Prickle Berry Tries to Be Careful

by David Silver

49 - Eternal Shore

Prickle perked up, ears swiveling towards the sudden dull but deep thump that shook the floor. She wasn't the only one to look, but the sound that came after it had her moving through the crowd as quickly as she could. It had been Immovable's laughing, and it wasn't stopping. It only grew louder the closer Prickle managed to wriggle her way towards it through the dense crowd. She popped free just in time to see a massive metal piston come down and crush the still cackling sidekick flat, slapping against the metal base of the platform with a low clang.

With wide eyes, Prickle jumped forward, sailing over the dividing rope and a few ponies to land beside the piston. She could barely see. All she could focus on was that piston, and her crushed friend. "Immovable!" she squeaked out, her own voice sounding alien to herself in her deep panic. She grabbed the piston so hard her hooves sank into it on either side and she wrenched it upwards. It didn't move. She clenched her teeth. Someone was saying something, but she couldn't hear it over the pounding in her own ears.

She put more strength into it and it buckled, but seemed stuck. With a fiery grunt of determination, she planted her hind legs on the ground and gave it her everything. The machine broke. It was sent flying upwards, along with the arm that once held it, to crash against the roof above them.

Immovable was sitting right where she had been when it came down, entirely unharmed, and still laughing, through her noise faded when she saw Prickle. "TT! What's... wrong?"

Prickle fell back on her haunches. "But... you were squished!"

Immovable waved it away. "It tried. I made a nice Immovable shaped hole in it. Nothing can move me!"

What went up tended to come down, and the broken machinery was no exception. It fell right back down towards Prickle and Immovable. Immovable extended a wing over her mentor just before it struck. Everything went dark.

The worker of the stand let out a weary sigh. "Well... that concludes that contest. Someone give me a hoof getting them out of there?" Fortunately, he happened to be at a collecting place of ponies capable and willing to do just that. Several super ponies stepped up and began tossing aside debris, working their way down to the pinned ponies underneath.

A slender unicorn grabbed the main body of the piston in her magic and it vanished, reappearing to the side where it wouldn't directly trouble anyone. She smiled, seeing Immovable and Prickle. Both seemed intact, with Immovable shielding Prickle. "An explosive performance," she said in a complimenting tone. "However, there are rules about trashing the displays."

Prickle had the decency to look properly shamed, eyes going downcast. "I'm sorry... It's just... my sidekick..."

The worker of the stand approached with a smile. "--already trashed things by not being trashed. She is the undisputed winner!" He pulled out a trophy that had what looked like a big weight on top. Arrows, shurikens magic bolts pounded against the weight, but it was unharmed. "Congratulations! You are hereby confirmed to be a Class S invulnerable."

The crowd erupted into clops of congratulations, even as some whispers spread rapidly, wondering who Immovable was.

Immovable accepted the trophy with shaking wings. "I... thank you... What does that mean? You know, the Class S thing." She pulled the trophy in close, cradling it like her foal. "I never won a trophy before..."

Prickle looked over to the stand worker. "So... you're not mad?"

He shrugged softly. "It wouldn't be the first year... I'll be reporting it to the boss and she'll go wild trying to make that not happen again. Oh, right, I did promise a pin." Out came a pin that looked quite similar to the top of the trophy. 'Class S' it read along the bottom.

Immovable giggled with joy as she took it and quickly had it next to her sidekick pin.

Prickle shook her head. "Can you get Rank S without also winning?"

"It's happened before, but not this year." He pointed to the destroyed piston. "If they can make it up to that but opt out of being smooshed, they get the pin. Mighty intimidating. I've seen heroes wimp out at the last moment as it got closer and closer." His eyes fell on Immovable. "Not you though. Do you just not get scared?"

"What?" Immovable's nose wrinkled. "I get scared plenty, but not here. You kept trying to move me, and nothing makes me move unless I let it, or they're Tiny Titan. She can move me any time."

A chorus of 'awws' emerged from the still present crowd, though it was starting to break up.

Prickle rubbed one of her warm cheeks. "Congratulations. Let's... check out the vendor hall."

Immovable's ears perked right up. "I thought we had that whole budget thing?"

Prickle smiled, eyes closing. "Of course. I budgeted for the dealer room."

Immovable clopped her hooves. "You are the best!" She tucked away her beloved trophy and stood up. "Lead the way." As they left, she nodded at the worker. "Thanks for everything!"

Together, they weaved through the crowd and emerged into the dealer den. Ponies were in thick abundance. There was less boisterous showing off than there had been in the display hall, and more ponies peddling their wares.

"What a fabulous outfit you have there, darling," came a familiar voice.

Prickle turned quickly to see a costumed unicorn mare smiling at her. Immovable suddenly stepped forward. "Oh wow, Radiance! I thought you were, you know, just a comic book character."

Radiance waved a hoof at the very idea. "Oh please, darling. That's just to keep the bad people off their guard." She flipped her bejeweled mane gently and fluttered her long lashes. "Just the way that a tastefully produced outfit can do in the thick of battle. I see your mentor has already enjoyed my services, but what about you?"

It all came together nicely for Prickle. She almost said it out loud, but swallowed it down at the last moment. "R-Radiance, yes, so glad to see you again." She forced a smile. "I... have so many questions."

Radiance pat Prickle on the head lightly. "They will have to wait, cherished client. Your sidekick is criminally underdressed." She looked Immovable up and down. "I mean, really, what look are you going for? It doesn't speak to me."

Immovable shuffled on her hooves nervously. "I like how I look..."

Radiance reached out and flipped a shredded portion of Immovable's outfit, then traced a burnt patch. "It's seen better days, dear. You need an outfit that's as tough as you are!" She leaned in close to Immovable, whispering to her, "Keep some bits saved and we'll update that outfit of yours." Her eyes snapped to Prickle. "How are you enjoying the show?"

"It's great, and a little overwhelming." Prickle smiled nervously. "I thought we'd check this..." She did a slow turn around the room. "There's so much to look at everywhere."

"Speaking of that." Radiance's horn glowed as a schedule book appeared. "There's a panel starting in about an hour you two will want to see." The book flipped open and the targeted panel glowed softly. "Just for newcomers to the heroism field."

Prickle tilted her head at it. "So you wanna catch a bad pony... But I have caught a bad pony before..."

Radiance waved away the objection. "Pffaw, don't get too worked up about the name. It's for ponies who are not veterans, which you are not, darling, as lovely as you are."

Immovable tapped at Prickle's shoulder. "I'm still new. Maybe they'll show me something good? Oh! Anything about teamwork? I wanna be the best sidekick ever!"

Prickle smiled at Immovable's eagerness. "We'll go. But before that, let's finish having a look around."

Radiance waved as they parted.

The lights went out with a low clang. Immovable suddenly grabbed Prickle close in the darkness. There were voices of concern, but nobody seemed to be panicked about it.

A voice emerged, seeming to have no single source, "Supposed guardians of Equestria! You have sought to consolidate your misbegotten--"

"--Not again," sighed out an unseen stallion.

"--and this time will be different!"

A new voice spoke up a female on an intercom. "You know the drill, ponies. Let's kick this annoyance to the curb."

Several ponies banished the dark with glowing horns, revealing spectres reaching with clawed talons. One of the heroes burst into flames, another jumped into the air as bits of armor flew in to clad them entirely in a technological shell. The fight was on.

Immovable kept her wings around Prickle. "Are we supposed to be part of this?" she asked over the sounds of battle. "Does not moving even work on ghosts?!"

Prickle winced as a ball of electricity lit the room a moment. "I think we... should, if we can avoid being in the way. Besides." She smiled at her sidekick. "Here's your chance to prove yourself."

Immovable's wings snapped back. "That's right!" She noticed she had dropped Prickle and squeaked. "Sorry, boss! C'mon, let's show them who's really in charge around here!"

Prickle picked herself up from the ground and bounced up, landing on Immovable's back. "I'm ready!"

Immovable launched herself into the air, just for a spectre to phase in from nothing directly in front of her. "Foolish pony," it rasped as if dead and dry for centuries.

Prickle reached over Immovable and swung at the incoming talon with a hoof with all her might. It was like punching a cloud and she passed right through it. Where the talon touched her hoof and arm went cold and stung terribly. "Ow!" she declared inarticulately.

Immovable swerved away from the cold beast. "What happened? Why didn't you wallop it?"

"I tried!" sweaked Prickle. "It's like a really cold cloud."

A cloud? "Punch it anyway! Punch it with... Punch it like it hurt your mom!"

Prickle cringed at the idea of her precious mother being stalked by one of those spectres.

"They will," reminded Immovable. "They'll chase all your friends and hurt them if we don't show them what's up first."

That was not something Prickle wanted, not at all. "Let's try again... I have to hit it..."

"Have to," agreed Immovable with a grin. "And you will." She came in for a dive at a spectre that was harassing Radiance. "There's one now, bothering a friend."

Prickle could see that Radiance, despite being a superhero (?) was mostly running in panicked circles, trying to not be touched. She couldn't let Sweetie's sister be hurt. She just couldn't! She jumped right off of Immovable. She came in at the spectre like a meteor, screaming the entire way. Despite her volume, the furious din of the battle-engulfed convention did well to hide her approach.

She clasped her hooves together and brought them down in a haymaker, still screaming. She had to! She collided with the spectre and fell through it, making a great crater where she landed and feeling cold everywhere, cold as death itself.

The spectre laughed at her feeble attempt. "Pathetic. You will join us." It reached out for Prickle with purposeful slowness, laughing as the small filly's ears pinned back on her head. "It won't hurt... It's too cold for that."

Immovable came swooping in. Clutched in her hooves was a large tarp. She dropped it over the spectre and both of them fell to the ground in front of Prickle. "Huh, that actually worked. One Flim Flam Extra Dimensional net! Hit it!"

Hit it? Oh! Prickle suddenly smiled as she stalked towards the thrashing lump under the tarp. "This is what you get!" She drove down a hoof against the lump. The entire tarp rippled as the lump vanished.

Radiance approached with a loud sigh. "I think you got it. Very nice, darling." She waved up at Immovable. "Take this net and help the others!"

Author's Note:

We needed a fight to round out this convention, right?

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Comments

[Chrome Masquerade]

Prickle reached over Immovable and swung at the incoming talon with a hoof with all her might. It was like punching a cloud and she passed right through it. Where the talon touched her hoof and arm went cold and stung terribly. "Ow!" she declared inarticulately.

Immovable swerved away from the cold beast. "What happened? Why didn't you wallop it?"

"I tried!" sweaked Prickle. "It's like a really cold cloud."

A cloud? "Punch it anyway! Punch it with... Punch it like it hurt your mom!"

Prickle cringed at the idea of her precious mother being stalked by one of those spectres.

"They will," reminded Immovable. "They'll chase all your friends and hurt them if we don't show them what's up first."

That was not something Prickle wanted, not at all. "Let's try again... I have to hit it..."

"Have to," agreed Immovable with a grin. "And you will." She came in for a dive at a spectre that was harassing Radiance. "There's one now, bothering a friend."

Prickle could see that Radiance, despite being a superhero (?) was mostly running in panicked circles, trying to not be touched. She couldn't let Sweetie's sister be hurt. She just couldn't! She jumped right off of Immovable. She came in at the spectre like a meteor, screaming the entire way. Despite her volume, the furious din of the battle-engulfed convention did well to hide her approach.

She clasped her hooves together and brought them down in a haymaker, still screaming. She had to! She collided with the spectre and fell through it, making a great crater where she landed and feeling cold everywhere, cold as death itself.

The spectre laughed at her feeble attempt. "Pathetic. You will join us." It reached out for Prickle with purposeful slowness, laughing as the small filly's ears pinned back on her head. "It won't hurt... It's too cold for that."

Immovable came swooping in. Clutched in her hooves was a large tarp. She dropped it over the spectre and both of them fell to the ground in front of Prickle. "Huh, that actually worked. One Flim Flam Extra Dimensional net! Hit it!"

Hit it? Oh! Prickle suddenly smiled as she stalked towards the thrashing lump under the tarp. "This is what you get!" She drove down a hoof against the lump. The entire tarp rippled as the lump vanished.

Radiance approached with a loud sigh. "I think you got it. Very nice, darling." She waved up at Immovable. "Take this net and help the others!"

http://ytcropper.com/cropped/f-595a6e501a7a4

[Seether00]

Easy. Break out the proton packs.

[RadicalDishonesty]

I see Prickle comes to the conclusion Radiance is actually Rarity...

But... so... when Rarity went into the comic book did she play dumb, and it was already based off of her? Did she pick it up later?

... How would Rarity be a full time superhero that doesn't operate out of Pony Villegas when she lives in Ponyville?

Or... Radiance might just heavily resemble Rarity.

[David Silver]

8272681
Radiance is not a super pony, outside of... what she actually does, which probably qualifies? She's helped save the day no few times. But she's there as a dealer. She's cosplaying as Radiance, who she learned of thanks to Spike and that adventure.

[Emtu]

8272681
Or perhaps they all did get some minor powers from being in that enchanted comic.

It's not related to the powers of Filli-second, but it was after the comic that Pinkie started becoming particularly blatant with her prehensile mane, like the Mane-iac. (See: Bats! and her flashlight.)

[Booster Spice]

I hope you all realise that each one of us is wearing an unlicenced nuclear reactor.

Heat Em Up.

[Morphy]

8272872

Yeah, I could see the Mane 6 playing Ghostbusters...

[tsaukpaetra]

Well what do you know, Flim and Flam can make good products!
This year's ghost theme was pretty good.
Side note: long live Queen Quake!
Keep going! ;)

[Greenhorn]

8272748
I see. I was just about to ask about other Power Ponies.

[Detsella Morningdew]

Ah, a cosplay. That makes more sense.

Still, it would have been really funny if Rarity was Radiance, then the comics were made, and then she got sucked inside it. And then she pretended not to be able to use her powers as cover.

[Emtu]

8345656
I don't know about the rest of them, but at least Pinkie took something out of the Power Ponies comics - it's only after that episode she really starts blatantly using her forelock as a limb, as though she got the idea from the Mane-iac. The first notable one is in Bats!, when she uses it to carry a flashlight she picked up from offscreen, and later stored in her mane.

derpicdn.net/img/view/2013/12/28/508344.gif

derpicdn.net/img/view/2013/12/28/508352.gif

I also know she used it in Not Asking For Trouble and Buckball Season, plus even human Pinkie was seen using her hair once to open a bottle of apple cider. in the first movie, just after Big Mac sets down a crate of cider bottles next to her.

[howard035]

Thinking about it, shouldn't earth pony hooves count as magic weapons vs incorporeal?

[David Silver]

8676813
One could argue that. Perhaps with the right training.