Volume #1, Issue #2
Equestria is in a state of complete disaster thanks to the traitor Starlight Glimmer, who usurped the power of the Castle of Harmony to merge alternate timelines with Equestria, unleashing a full-strength King Sombra and his legions of enslaved stormtroopers and an all-powerful Queen Chrysalis and her swarm. Dark creatures from the Everfree Forest are roaming Equestria, terrorizing innocent and helpless ponies.
Discord has fallen in battle. Celestia and Luna are barely holding Canterlot against the invasion forces with the aid of Sunset Shimmer, who returned to fight in the war. Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends are tasked with protecting the Crystal Empire, the last true safe haven in all of Equestria.
With the situation growing increasingly desperate, Twilight Sparkle has come up with a completely insane plan: to recruit superheroes from comic books to protect Equestria.
After deciphering the spell used to send herself and her friends into a comic book and rewriting it to serve her needs, Twilight has summoned the Power Ponies to the Crystal Empire, which is currently under attack by Sombra's forces...
Maretropolis, moments after the Power Ponies disappeared.
Humdrum tripped over a crack in the pavement. The two boxes of donuts he carried skidded across the pavement, landing at the hooves of a unicorn beat cop.
"Careful there, junior," the cop said, levitating the donuts with his magic and opening the boxes. "Eh, no damage." He began passing them around among his cohorts.
Humdrum picked himself up and dusted himself off. "Any word on what happened to the Power Ponies?" he asked.
Commissioner Cordon frowned and shook his head. "We don't know anything," he said.
"It's a conspiracy," a voice spoke from the shadows. A stallion in a blue suit, yellow shirt, and black tie stepped out from among the police officers still gathered around the Maretropolis Arena. His blue trenchcoat flapped in the breeze. The brim of his blue fedora shaded his face...which was rather pointless, given that the off-white cloth mask which covered his head lacked any features save for a single black question mark drawn on with a marker. His hooves were encased in black gloves. He paused to examine a donut. "Sprinkles," he muttered. "Laced with mind control drugs. They make you susceptible to subliminal commands the government puts in mass-manufactured pop music."
The cop that was about to eat the sprinkle-covered donut paused, then put it down. Humdrum grabbed it and gobbled it up.
Commission Cordon sighed tiredly. "The Query," he muttered. "What rock did you crawl out from under?"
"That rock over there," Query replied, pointing absently at an alley. "The one the city's appropriations committee uses to hide coded messages for their partners in organized crime. Query: are you aware that the Maretropolis Manes are a front for a cabal of unicorns dabbling with experimental and unethical dark magic?"
"No, I...I wasn't aware of that."
"Hm." Query studied the arena, which had a steady stream of workers flowing into it. "Undoubtedly, the Power Ponies saw something they weren't supposed to see while they were battling the Lumberjerk." He nodded once. "The cabal used their dark magic to eliminate the witnesses."
Humdrum gasped. "That's horrible! What can we do?!"
"We'll look into that," Commission Cordon said dryly.
"Uh-huh." Query headed for the Arena without a backward glance.
Commissioner Cordon shook his head. "That guy's saddle's on too tight."
"Commissioner Cordon! What'll we do about the unicorn cabal?" Humdrum cried, flailing around.
"There is no unicorn cabal," Commissioner Cordon said gruffly. He stroked his mustache. "But something sinister did happen to the Power Ponies." He frowned. "We need to keep this quiet. If word gets out...Maretropolis is doomed."
The Crystal Empire, Equestria.
The defenders of the Crystal Empire watched in shock and confusion as a group of unfamiliar mares charged into the oncoming horde. Shining Armor blinked. "Twilight?" he asked numbly.
"Yes?" Twilight asked as she blasted a stormtrooper, shattering his slave helmet and leaving a listless, stunned crystal pony wobbling on his hooves.
"Are those...are those the Power Ponies?"
With a yell, Zapp called down a tornado which picked up three stormtroopers, spinning them around before slamming them into three more on the ground, sending them all flying.
"Yes. Yes they are."
Mistress Mare-velous threw her enchanted hooferangs at a stormtrooper, then used her lasso to snag another around the hooves. Lifting him up, she spun him around and threw him at a catapult, snapping its launch mechanism. In a white blur, Fillisecond moved from catapult to catapult, swiftly disassembling them. The war machines fell apart with loud cracks and groans.
"Hit their helmets!" Twilight commanded with a magically amplified voice. "That's how Sombra is controlling them!"
"Got it!" The Masked Matter-Horn's steel-covered horn glowed, and her eyes narrowed. Several thick bolts of fire lanced out of her horn in quick succession, striking a line of stormtroopers in the foreheads. The glowing green lights in their eyes flickered, but they kept coming.
"That's not the way to remove a stubborn helmet, Matty," Radiance said. She pointed her hoof at a nearby stormtrooper; the gem bracelet she wore expanded and began to glow. A giant shoehorn made of purple light appeared behind the stormtrooper, wedging itself underneath the base of the helmet. With a loud pop, the helmet went flying across the frozen plain. "That's how you remove a stubborn helmet."
Three stormtroopers hurled a black crystal bomb into the middle of the Crystal Guard. Three shards of black crystal embedded themselves in Saddle Rager's side. She glanced back at the wound, then glared at the stormtroopers. Her eyes started to glow red...
With an unearthly roar of rage, Saddle Rager exploded into her monstrous form, charging into the fray with a bellow of fury. Stormtroopers were scattered like bowling pins. Fillisecond blurred among the stunned soldiers, removing their helmets and tossing them high into the air, where Zapp smashed them with precision lightning bolts.
Shining Armor shook his head. "Wow. The Power Ponies are helping to save my kingdom. What an honor!"
"Geek out later!" Twilight shouted. "Rally your guards to give them support!"
"R-right!"
The Power Ponies, Twilight Sparkle, and the Crystal Guard fought their way through three waves of Sombra's stormtroopers. Flash Sentry provided air support with magic bombs, scattering the troopers into groups that were easily picked off by the new arrivals. Fillisecond's speed overwhelmed the slow-moving soldiers, preventing them from bringing in any new siege engines or catapults. Radiance's attack constructs stymied the enemy, as no strategy to fight her worked twice—she alternated between practical magical bubble fields and simple energy blasts to elaborate systems of traps, spinning saw blades, and even a giant kitchen sink. Zapp used lightning, tornadoes, and stiff winds to halt the foes' advance, piling them up for the others to finish off. Mistress Mare-velous combined her lasso, her hooferangs, and her immense strength to take out dozens of opponents. Saddle Rager rampaged through the masses, flattening them and taking the fight out of them. Matter-Horn's energy blasts destroyed the helmets of each fresh batch of immobilized invaders, while simultaneously providing cover fire for the others.
When the dust settled, scores of dazed, unconscious, and wounded crystal ponies—the former slaves of King Sombra—lay scattered across the tundra, their eyes glassy and their expressions foggy.
A great cheer went up from the defenders of the Crystal Empire, but it was swiftly silenced by Shining Armor. "Twilight," he said, "explain." He looked at the Power Ponies, who had just gathered around Twilight and Shining Armor.
"We'd sort of like an explanation ourselves," Mistress Mare-velous said.
"Verily," Zapp agreed, folding her hooves. "Now that the battle has been won, it is time thou...spilled thy beans."
Canterlot...
As Princess Luna leads her Legion of the Night into battle with the Changeling hordes and Everfree monsters attacking Ponyville and the surrounding townships, Princess Celestia and Sunset Shimmer lead a group of unicorns from Celestia's School and a legion of elite Royal Guards in the defense of Canterlot.
"Almost..." Sunset Shimmer's horn strobed as she strained against the force of her own spell. Sweat streamed down her face as her teeth ground together.
A teenage unicorn colt placed a fire ruby in a small notch Sunset had dug into the concrete, then fired a spark of silver magic into the gem. A rune etched on its otherwise flawless surface flared to life; the grooves connecting it to a dozen other fire rubies lit up with intertwining silver and red fire, and the wobbling, fading fire shield that protected Canterlot flared to full strength with a loud whoosh and an intense backblast of heat.
Sunset gasped for breath, her horn sputtering and smoking. "That...took way too much...out of me..." she panted, wobbling on her hooves.
Celestia caught her and propped her up, draping an angelic wing over her. "You've done well, my little pony," she said gently. "I think now you should eat a hearty meal and have a long rest. The shield will keep us safe for some time."
Sunset's eyelids drooped. "That sounds...good..." She listed on her hooves as she tried to trot in the direction of the castle. Celestia gently but firmly took hold of her with her magic, then motioned to one of her guards.
"Tell the kitchens to prepare a fresh green salad, cream of tomato soup, and a grilled cheese sandwich on thick bread," she said. "In fact, make that two; I believe I'll join Sunset in her repast." The guard nodded and ran off. Celestia gently draped Sunset over her back and carried her to the dining room.
"I can walk," Sunset said in a slow, slurred voice.
"You've overtaxed yourself," Celestia said. "You need to rest. Don't argue with me."
Sunset yawned. "'k," she murmured before nuzzling against Celestia's wing.
Celestia looked over her shoulder and smiled. "I missed you so much..."
Meanwhile, in the Crystal Empire...
The Crystal Guard and a legion of volunteers and medic ponies worked to set up a makeshift combination refugee camp, stockade, and triage center for the liberated slave troops. Nearby, Shining Armor, Twilight Sparkle, and the Power Ponies conversed in hushed tones.
When Twilight finished her tale, the Masked Matter-Horn's lips pursed, her eyes tightening. "I see," she said. She glanced at her compatriots, then sighed. "Let me be blunt here, Your Highness. While I sympathize with your plight, what you've done is..." She paused, glancing at the other Power Ponies.
"Really messed up?" Fillisecond suggested.
"Disturbing on several levels," Radiance amended. She tilted her head. "Are we truly mere fictional characters in your world?"
"You are," Shining Armor said. "Your book's been in publication since I was a teenager. I'll admit it was never one of my favorites, I'm more a fan of the classics, but...it's pretty cool."
Twilight sighed. "I know I've ripped you away from your home and everything you know, and I promise I'll send you back, but you've seen just a small taste of what we're up against here. Equestria doesn't have the resources to deal with Sombra, Chrysalis, and the beasts from the Everfree, and that's not even taking the cause of all this into consideration. She's still out there and she's still dangerous, and I can't even search for her because we keep having this kind of thing to deal with." She looked at the Power Ponies, her eyes full of pain and fatigue. "We need help. We need heroes."
The Power Ponies looked at one another. After a long moment, Matter-Horn turned to face Twilight squarely. "Our world can survive without us for a brief time. Yours..." She sighed. "We can't simply ignore what's happening here. The Power Ponies are at your service."
Twilight smiled. "Thank you," she said. "Thank you so much."
Later the same day, Canterlot.
A swarm of Changelings flew through the dark skies over Equestria, struggling under the weight of the cargo trapped in a sticky, slimy net they had worked for hours to secrete. Above them, Queen Chrysalis watched the spires of Canterlot grow larger as they flew near. A hazy red shield surrounded the city, magical flames dancing across it.
Chrysalis smirked, licking her lips. "Oh, Celestia. Do you really think to burn my children with such feeble flames?" Waves of green magic flowed from her horn, lighting up the titanic chunk of ice her followers carried. The ice began to glow green; the sheer numbing cold it was giving off intensified. Chrysalis laughed into the sky.
* * * * *
Sunset Shimmer moaned appreciatively as she slurped her soup. "Mmm," she said. A little strength had flowed back into her as she ate. She smacked her lips. "Okay, not saying the food in the human world is bad or anything? But...this is just heavenly."
Celestia smiled, daintily sipping her own soup. "I've often wondered if you've been eating well and caring for yourself there. Twilight has told me you were healthy and seemed to have prospered, but I still worry."
Sunset took a big bite of her sandwich, chewed for a minute, then swallowed. "I'm doing alright, considering I don't legally exist there," she said. "Well, I didn't at first. The first year I was there, I did some...things I'm not terribly proud of." Sunset grimaced. "Things I can't exactly undo without burning down my entire life in that world. I set myself up pretty comfortably there, and even though I regret a lot of my choices, I don't want to give up what I have, you know? Not when the alternative is couch-surfing or being homeless."
Celestia winced. "I would rather not see you reduced to that either, but if you've done something illegal—"
"No, nothing illegal," Sunset said hastily. "Just...questionable." She shrugged. "If Twilight had gotten stuck there, she'd probably have ended up having to do similar things to get by. I don't think she'd have had the nerve..." Sunset grimaced. "I don't think I'd have the nerve to do it again if I had to. But what's done is done, and all I can do now is keep making up for my past mistakes."
Celestia smiled sadly. "There are times when that is all any of us can—"
A loud explosion shook the castle. Both mares jumped to their hooves, eyes wide in alarm.
"What was that?!" Sunset cried.
A guard burst into the room in a mad panic. "Your Majesty!" he cried. "The Changelings! They've broken through the fire shield!"
"Impossible!" Celestia snapped. "How—?"
"They used some sort of amplified ice bomb! It weakened the shield long enough for them to break the plane of the circle!"
The castle shook again.
Sunset let out a string of unfamiliar, but foul-sounding, words. She started to charge out of the room, but Celestia caught her in her magic.
"You are still exhausted," Celestia said. "If you go out there, I fear you will be hurt. Or worse."
"But I can't just—!"
"You can and you will," Celestia insisted firmly. A roll of parchment, a quill, and an ink bottle materialized. "I'm contacting Twilight Sparkle immediately. I can only hope the Crystal Empire can spare reinforcements..."
The castle shuddered again. Celestia's ears pinned back.
"...and that I can hold them off until help arrives."
Elsewhere...
King Sombra stood in contemplative silence as the image in his crystal scrying mirror faded. "Hmm," he mused. "So that meddling princess has found new allies with strange powers...
"This could be problematic."
Striding out into the frozen plains surrounding the lair he'd built for himself on the edge of the Crystal Heart's protective radius, he strained his magic to unearth a massive chunk of crystal from beneath the ice and snow. Purple flames trailed from his eyes as his horn strobed with pulses of dark magic.
Slowly, the crystal reshaped itself into a massive crystal minotaur. Burning red eyes opened, and the golem threw its head back and roared.
"Yes, this will do nicely."
To be continued...
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So Commissioner Cordon is putting together a team to stop crime and pretend to be Power Ponies? I like it.
6982343 Or, you know, he could simply say they're dealing with a crisis somewhere else in the world so ponies don't start getting suspicious. Don't over-infer.
Moth, I just wanted to take a moment to say that with the number of fics you have going simultaneously (and their high quality) that your affection for the series and its characters is clear (Sunset seems to be a particular favorite).
As a fellow brony who also loves these characters (and wishes they were real--did I just say that???), I just want to say that I'm jealous of how easily you write. I haven't even attempted a fic in forever, and I'm so anal retentive that I have some sort of superstitious need to wait until I have a fully formed story in my mind before writing anything. I wish I could just relax and write as the spirit moves me without worrying about such things--just relax and wait till the next idea comes along while in the meantime at least I have something up for folks to read.
Um...not to say that you don't have everything already planned out. It's just that I have the screwy notion that it's "wrong" to do more than one story at once or to wait for as long as it takes before doing the next chapter.
Am I making any sense?
Anyway, thanks for the inspiration.
6982416 My problem is that I have too active an imagination and it's why I have all these dozens of stories that go for months or even years without updates.
6982445 Too active an imagination? Is there really such a thing?
I only wish I had as many unfinished stories as you do. I have only a handful of very short, limited slice-of-life fics that have made an impression on no one.
You really are an inspiration to me. I hope one day to just sit down and write something and POST it without worrying about whether or not it is ever concluded.
The Query, heh, nice. Do you have more parody heroes?
Another enjoyable chapter. Good job.
6982508 Oh, there'll be plenty more where he came from.
6982473 Yeah, putting it out there is the hardest part. I guess. It's never been hard for me, but it does make you anxious once it's in the wild.
I lost it at "The Query".
New update? Awesome!
Query: Who had an open tab with the Power Ponies to keep track of their actual appearances?
May I point out that you called Twilight "Your Highness" and Celestia "Your Majesty," when you said that it should be the other way around? At least in case of Celestia, since the Power Ponies don't know the politics of Equestria yet, so their case is excusable.
I loved everything goin on on this chapter. I cannot wait for the next update.
6983305
Are you sure about that?
You...might be remembering that wrong.
6983355
Huh, so I am.
Not a bad update. Now I'm interested to see how they handle this surprise Changeling attack.
6982356 You are well known for inserting small details which later have a huge impact on the story. The introduction of The Query made me think of other superheros that you might use to replace the Power Ponies.
6986694 Or other heroes that might get zapped to Equestria...
It's a big war, after all.
Silly Commissioner. You should NEVER question the Query. He knows what he's talking about.
So...what did Sunset do to survive in humanland?
6999678 Multiple choice past, but my personal headcanon has always been that she Anna Nicoled some rich old guy. Or, for a less dirty but still unethical version, she found out human Sunset is dead, found one of her last surviving relatives, pulled a soap opera scam on him, got in his will, and got everything when he died, setting herself up as legal AND independent. (I've actually used that one in another story). That one only works in any fanfic where human Sunset is dead; if human Sunset is still alive, then getting herself a sugar daddy is the more logical alternative.
6999866 Anna Nicole?
6999868 You know, the Playboy model who married a really old, really rich guy and inherited everything when he croaked?
6999877 Oh
6982508 Hero? Seemed like a parody of The Riddler to me. He's not EXACTLY known as a hero in the Gotham area.
7016935 You just made me sad.
(I mean even if you didn't identify Query as an expy of the Question, you should have at least assumed he was Rorschach. I'd have given you a pass on that one because Rorschach is an expy of the Question in the first place. But the Riddler? Seriously?!)
7016998 I'm not much of a western graphic novel fan TBH. I like the story style but I never have time to actually read them. Doesn't help that there's decades of backlog across dozens of intersecting series' I'd have to catch up on to really understand what's happening in the story.
My knowledge of comics is basically limited to the few superhero movies and episodes of Justice League/Teen Titans/Batman cartoon episodes I've seen.
7017018 I'm exactly the same way (I abhor American comic books) and even I know who the Question is.
I'm... not sure about this one. I mean, Starlight never actually wanted to destroy Equestria. She wanted revenge on a more personal scale. And the circumstances...
Well, I might as well give it a try. My intrigue currently outweighs my distaste. We'll see how it goes from here.
Equestria needs some more allies, zebras, minotaur, griffins, changelings
Yeah Changelings. That timelines Chrysalis should still be around and not happy about the new one
Hey Moth, when's the next update for this? Can't wait to see what happens next.
7088119 End of April. The March update was skipped because I went on complete hiatus from horsewords for the last month to focus on Miraculous Ladybug fanfiction.
7088129 Ah. Didn't read the update regarding horse words hiatus.
7088115
I'd assume that Main Timeline!Chrysalis was eliminated by the vastly more successful and powerful Alternate!Chrysalis. But that is just an assumption.
Yeeeeeesss?
YEEEEEEEESSSSSSS!!!
This is a rather interesting story. I look forward to seeing what other Power Ponies you bring in.
interest piqued. Putting into folder with other hiatus stories.