Rise of the Supermare!

by Kaliann25

Supermare 07

The Wrath of the Supermare

Dumbsey was finally at peace. The darkness and silence were a respite from the torture he had endured for longer than he could remember. He smiled at the nothingness.

He flinched as a spotlight filled his vision. Before him stood the object of his hatred, a lavender alicorn, larger than life. He roared as hatred filled his very being. He had no memory of why a simple image should cause so much distress, but he would do anything to make it go away.

The alicorn opened her mouth. Anger turned to horror; she was now singing. He clamped his hands over his ears. The song only grew louder. Like a siren's call, it drew him forward. He could feel her nearby. He would put a stop to his tormentor -- permanently.

Everfree Forest:

Hidden within an artificial cloud, the Batwing kept station above the clearing. From the pilot's seat, Silverwing said, "Doctor, are the sensor readings coming through?"

A voice responded on the commlink. "Quite. I'm getting a strong reading at the location I've projected on your monitor. There's also a much weaker reading, but I can't tell if it's just an echo from the source."

Batmare's voice came over the commlink. "Keep your eyes open. This smells like a trap. Perimeter team, extend your scans. Cover team, stay sharp; don't let them see you."

Sweetie Borg's voice came over the link. "I can see the second source, but it's too weak for me to get a lock."

Meanwhile, Twilight and the other Element Bearers approached the bear with the crystal. Arrow and Lantern silently followed from a discreet distance, hidden from view. Lantern looked at Arrow and pointed at the bear. Arrow looked at the bear. He turned back to Lantern and shrugged.

The Element Bearers giggled at the absurdity of a caterpillar wearing glasses and a necklace. They stopped when it began talking.

"My dear Fluttershy, I've had it all along. I was expecting to hold on to it for a few more months, but Twilight mastered her powers much sooner than I thought possible."

After the caterpillar had added a few more details, Dash asked, "Who are you? Some sort of spy?"

The caterpillar shrugged. "That's one way of looking at it. You might know me by the name my students gave me -- Master Mind."

The Dash activated her commlink as she scratched her ear. Her voice came over the commlink. "The caterpillar that's been riding around on Harry is Master Mind? No way!"

Green Lantern and the Arrow exchanged a confused look before they turned their gazes back to the scene in the distance and heard the rest of the caterpillar’s speech.

"Oh, changing bodies is foal's play. You would not believe the advantages that this little form holds. After all, who would suspect that the caterpillar in their potted plants or the caterpillar riding on their friend is actually stealing all of their secrets? In the end, my small size had been my biggest asset."

“You have to be kidding me,” mumbled the Arrow.

Lantern scratched his head in confusion. “So, we just have to squash the worm?”

Silverwing's voice came over the commlink. "Something big is coming!"

Sweetie Borg's voice added, "Bearing 177."

At that moment the Master Mind continued talking. "You might want to reconsider changing back; it'll lessen your chances of surviving."

A giant shadow jumped over them and then it landed on top of Twilight, smashing her under his enormous fists.

Master Mind taunted, "Justice League, come out and play!"

Green Lantern hastily raised a forcefield to protect the civilians while Dash touched the speed force and hurried the senior princesses to the outskirts of the clearing. At the same time, Arrow landed an explosive warhead on the centaur's face.

Dumbsey sneezed as the explosion coated his face with soot. Puzzled, he looked down at his fist; something was moving it.

Twilight hovered out of the hole into which she and been driven, lifting the giant fist. She glared at the centaur when she reached this eye level. Dumbsey roared in rage and threw his other fist at her. Twilight easily dodged and then slammed the captured fist into the centaur's face.

The centaur held up his fist, moving Twilight into view. He then blasted her away with a beam of concentrated magic, sending her crashing into a boulder.

Twilight slowly rose to her hooves, wiping blood from her lip with a fetlock. "Wait. I thought I was invulnerable."

A giant fist drove her into the ground, creating another crater. When it was raised, a beam of concentrated magic melted the ground where she had been an instant earlier. She landed a buck on her opponent's jaw before he realized she had moved.

Twilight dodged as the centaur swiped at her with a giant fist. She hovered back to get a better view of her opponent. He looked familiar. The teeth and horns were longer and sharper. The thorns were a new addition. The eyes were terrifying; they were empty and soulless.

"Wait. Tirek?"

The monster blasted her with a beam of concentrated magic. Twilight screamed in pain as she dug a furrow in the ground with her landing.

She looked at the monstrous vine centaur. “Tirek wait! I don’t know what happened to you but please, stop! You don’t have to be this insect’s pawn! You are better than this!”

Dumbsey roared as all he could hear was the irritating song from nightmares.

Dumbsey threw another punch. Twilight countered with one of her own. The resulting shockwave sent both of the combatants flying backward.

"Twilight, are you okay?" asked Dash as she zipped to Twilight's side.

"Something's wrong." She stared pointedly at the caterpillar lounging on Harry's paw. "It's as if somepony sucked all the intelligence out of him -- somepony or some worm."

In the meantime, with practiced ease, Arrow drew a bodkin point arrow and sent it flying. He snarled, "I can live with one more death, worm."

At the same time, Sweetie Borg unleashed a laser beam. Lantern's eyes widened in shock as he reflexively raised a shield that absorbed the attack.

Rarity looked in horror as the arrow flew directly toward Batmare. The Dark Knight deflected it with her forehoof a split second before launching a batarang at Master Mind.

Luna yelped as she deflected the batarang with her magic.

“What are you doing my Dark Knight?”

Batmare groaned. “Just as I thought. Playing with our perception is foals’ play for a master of mind control.”

Master Mind giggled. “Your parents’ death has made you wise my little Dark Knight! Even if you’re not a meta, you have earned a special place in this new era! Come, enjoy the show.”

As the caterpillar turned his attention back to the action, Twilight and Dash regrouped behind the centaur. "What now?" asked Dash.

Twilight tapped a forehoof on her chin. "That's it!

The two dodged a blast of magic from Dumbsey that melted a hole in the ground. Twilight said, "Gather the girls! I'll keep him busy!"

As Dash ran off, Twilight flew past Dumbsey's head and hovered behind it. He howled as she concentrated her heat vision on the base of his skull. Furiously, he spun around, trying to catch her. With great effort, Twilight managed to keep out of view.

Canary's voice came over the commlink. "What's the plan?"

"We'll use the Elements of Harmony! They stopped him the last time!"

Trixie's voice came over the link. "Excuse Trixie, but you have no magic."

"Doesn't matter," replied Lantern's voice. "Last time, Tirek had taken all of our magic, but the Elements still worked."

Twilight flew a little too quickly, and Dumbsey caught her with a fist to her blind side.

“We must immobilize him first!” announced Twilight.

“The League will take care of that!” said Batmare. “Everypony, let’s go!”

Twilight dodged another blow from Dumbsey and then she used her ice breath to trap his hooves under a thick layer of ice. Celestia and Luna flew to use their magic to reinforce it as Dumbsey began to punch the ice to break it.

The Arrow shot a series of cryoblast arrows that added to the deep freeze.

“If you’re going to do it do it now!” shouted Batmare.

The six Element Bearers joined hooves. Dumbsey shielded his eyes with a forearm as a stream of rainbow light cascaded over him. The bearers settled to the ground and breathed a sigh of relief. To their horror, Dumbsey charged his fists with magic and smashed through his icy prison.

Twilight reflexively raised her forehooves to block the giant fist, but it still swept her away.

"Impossible!" gasped Celestia. "The Elements are supposed to stop all evil!"

A goofy laugh caught everyone's attention. They slowly turned to face the caterpillar, who smirked at them. "Are you too blind to see that Dumbsey is not evil? Evil requires intelligence. He's nothing but a mindless beast."

“Then what about you?” asked Celestia.

“Me? I am far beyond such primitive concepts. Do it; blast me with the Elements. I could use some more color in my life.”

The Arrow snorted, "We already saw it wouldn't land anywhere near you."

Fluttershy flew to the Master Mind with all the might of the Stare.

“That’s enough!”

“Excuse me?” asked Master Mind.

“You lived under my roof, and betrayed MY TRUST, and turned Harry into your puppet? NOT TO MENTION YOU ARE TRYING TO KILL ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS! I will never forgive you. NEVER! You are going to fix this and they you are going to apologize! Especially with Twilight!”

The worm rolled his eyes. "A butterfly can only flap so hard. I've stared down the New Gods. Do you think I even feel your power, dear, sweet, Fluttershy?'

Fluttershy scooted backwards as she realized Master Mind was unaffected.

“No . . . please, you have to fix this!”

“Come on, why don’t you sit with me and enjoy the show, my dear Fluttershy?”

Against her will, Fluttershy sat.

“What?”

“Now you know how Harry felt all this time. How many times did he want to warn you about me? To tell you about everything I’ve done and planning to do? Poor bastard.”

Harry looked at Fluttershy and mumbled an apology as he kept his paw open as the caterpillar’s seat. He had lost hope of resisting the insect’s control long ago.

“Please don’t do this! At least release Harry!”

Master Mind smiled. “Of course, my dear Fluttershy. Now that I’ve revealed myself. there’s no point in keeping him. My students would be more than honored to carry me around. I am thinking about Grogar. He hates me so much that it would be hilarious! Now, if you would be so kind?”

Fluttershy held out a forehoof to Harry. Master Mind crawled over to his new seat.

Harry groaned.

“What are you talking about? He hates me far more that you can possibly could. You’ve been under my command for a few years only. He had to stay with me for over a decade before becoming what he is now. And his hate was growing every day!”

Fluttershy stared at the caterpillar, horrified, as did the other civilian bearers. Only now did they realize the full menace of Master Mind.

Meanwhile, Silverwing maintained station above the fray, hidden within the cloud projected by the Batwing. She hastily reviewed the capabilities of the weapons she had at hand. Nothing was even remotely powerful enough to handle Dumbsey.

"Silver!" called Batmare over the commlink.

"What can we do, Batmare? That thing is just too strong."

"Drop the rescue cable and maintain station until I tell you otherwise."

Silverwing was thankful nopony could see her trembling as she nodded. "I think I can. I think I can."

Batmare's voice replied, "Just drop the cable and be ready to teleport to Watchtower when I give you the word. You and I can't win against it, not like this."

Silver nodded. "I'll do my best."

A large snap hook on the end of a 50 mm thick cable dropped from the sky. Batmare turned to Mareval. "Wrap that around his legs!"

Mareval grabbed the hook in her teeth. She flew between his hind legs before circling around his limbs. Twilight hovered just out of the monster's reach, taunting him as she dodged his attacks by mere millimeters. Mareval clipped the hook to the cable near the centaur's tail and flew back to Batmare.

In the Batwing, Silverwing sat at attention when Batmare's voice came over the commlink. "Full throttle!" The filly firewalled the control, zooming skyward until the stretching cable pulled her to a stop.

Dumbsey screamed at the sudden chafing. The distraction kept him from planting his hooves as they were drawn together. Angrily, he twisted around and grabbed the cable. Hand over hand, he began pulling the cable down.

"Oh, Faust!" exclaimed Silverwing as she saw she was losing the tug of war.

Batmare's voice came over the commlink. "Stay calm, Silver. On my mark, release the cable. 3 . . . 2 . . . 1. . . now!"

Dumbsey fell over as the tension on the cable vanished. Dash kicked up a whirlwind around his head, blinding him while Mareval grabbed the end of the cable and pulled. Dumbsey screamed as Twilight unleashed her heat vision on his now-exposed underside.

Lantern created a giant boot and slammed the centaur into the ground. Twilight followed up with a blow of her own. Dumbsey tried to get to his hooves. Mareval sent the strongest bolt of lightning that she could down the cable. Dumbsey shuddered and then lay still.

Everypony sighed in relief.

“This was scary," said Fluttershy.

Master Mind frowned as he surveyed the scene. "The magic of friendship. That was disappointing; I wanted to see the full potential of my two creations."

"If you can't fight the magic of friendship, you are free to leave," said Fluttershy.

"Not yet. I still need to see the full power of the world's mightiest mare."

“Give up already!” shouted Applejack. “Yer never gonna win! Not as long the Elements and the League work together!”

Master Mind smirked. “Oh, ye of little imagination. This is all part of the plan. I needed to bring your precious princess out here. Luring you into a trap was just a perk. Onward, Fluttershy."

Fluttershy flew unsteadily, carrying Master Mind to the elder princesses. The sisters closed ranks, blocking his view of the chest containing Twilight's magic.

“Don’t y’all dare!” said Applejack, standing between the caterpillar and the princesses.

“You are not going to move forward you meanie pants!” cried Pinkie, aiming her party cannon and shooting.

The cake splatted right into Fluttershy’s face and all over Master Mind.

“Hey! You were supposed to blast the Princesses and your friend!” complained the Master Mind. “What is wrong with my mind control?”

Pinkie tilted her head. “Oh, so that was the fuzzy feeling on the back on my head. I thought it was the author.”

Master Mind shook his head. “You and the Joker are the most interesting specimens I’ve found so far. Your minds are in a league of their own.”

Pinkie smiled. “Thanks for the compliment, I think.”

“But as fascinating as you are, I still need that magic in order for my plan to work!”

“You’ll never get this magic!” promised Celestia.

“Over our dead bodies," added Luna with a growl.

“Oh, I won’t do it; I still need you,” said the Master Mind. “But you are forcing me to do something I would rather avoid. Here we go!”

A shadow flashed over the caterpillar, and he was gone."

"Oh my, that was terrible," said Fluttershy as she landed, shaking the bits of cake from her face.

"What in tarnation happened?" asked Applejack.

"Mr. Crow thought I was bringing him a treat. I . . . I couldn't do anything to stop him. I couldn't control my own body."

Celestia said, "Regardless, I'm grateful I didn't have to confront Master Mind."

"We concur, sister."

The twang of snapping cable drew everyone's attention. A bubble of magic surrounded Dumbsey as he rose to his hooves. It then expanded outward, pushing everyone away. Once more, he heard the siren's called. Once more, he was determined to silence it forever. The purple princess was out there, taunting him with that damned song.

Dumbsey leapt over the senior princesses, charging his fists with magic energy. The sisters cast the strongest shield that they could around the chest and themselves, but it was not match for the enraged centaur. Reluctantly they withdrew, lest they be crushed.

A triumphant roar came from Dumbsey’s throat.

A magenta explosion erupted as Twilight’s magic was set free. Except for Twilight, the alicorns and unicorns reflexively cast shields around themselves. The others, for the most part, had been protected by the foliage. Applejack and Fluttershy, however, were caught in the open. They absorbed a large portion of the magic as it passed through them.

A cry of anguish filled the air. Dumbsey turned to face it. A wave of terror swept through him when he saw the aura of menace coming from the one he thought he had destroyed. She was seeing red, literally. He raised a hand to block the heat streaming from her eyes. The others gasped when they saw the tracks that the tears had left on her face.

A green wall appeared in front of the alicorn. "Twilight!" cried Lantern.

“Spike. Out. Of. My. Way.”

"No."

With a flick of her forehoof, she cast him aside as if he were weightless. The wall shattered as she flew through. Dumbsey shot the most powerful magic blast he could at her face. Twilight casually batted it away with a forehoof. Shot after shot flew from his horn. Each received the same treatment until Twilight was in front of his face. Desperately, he threw a punch at her. She caught the fist in her forehoof and twisted. Dumbsey screamed as he was forced to the ground.

"We have to stop this!" cried Rarity.

"How?" asked Mareval, "I don't think I can match that sort of power."

Everypony cringed as Twilight systematically broke each defense that Dumbsey raised. The creature was clearly in agony as his limbs hung at awkward angles. Twilight wrapped her forehooves around his throat and squeezed. Feebly, Dumbsey struggled until he lay still.

Angrily, Twilight moved to his horns. "LET'S SEE HOW YOU LIKE IT WHEN SOMEPONY TAKES YOUR MAGIC!"

Trixie shouted, "Revoc Thgiliwt ni eci retaw!"

A deluge of ice water cascaded over Twilight. When the cloud of steam cleared, she looked over to the others. The rest of the League had gathered around her, along with Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Fluttershy.

Dash said, "Twilight, you have to stop before you do something that can't be fixed."

"HE TOOK MY LIFE AWAY! THIS IS JUSTICE!"

“Twilight, listen to what you’re saying!” cried Pinkie Pie. “This isn’t you! You are better than this!”

“Princess, don’t do this to yourself!” called the Arrow. “No matter how many lives you take, it never fills the emptiness. It only makes it bigger.”

“Twilight, please. Remember my crazy other self? Don’t cross that line!” warned Rainbow Dash.

Twilight’s anger slowly faded away as sadness took over. She released her grip on Dumbsey. His chest slowly rose and fell as his breath returned.

“What have I done?” asked Twilight, trembling as she finally began to cry.

“You didn’t do anything that can't be undone, and that’s all that matters.” said Lantern, hugging her as the others joined in embracing her.

When everyone had at last stepped back, Twilight said, "So this was all done by a stupid caterpillar. Where is it?"

"It was hardly stupid, darling," replied Rarity.

Batmare shrugged. "He was eaten by a crow. That's the end of him, isn't it?"

Everypony stared at her. She shrugged. "A filly has to dream."

Harry sat away from the circle of friends, looking forlornly at Fluttershy. The elder princesses each draped a wing over him as they sat beside him. Celestia said, "It must have been horrible for you."

Luna added, "We shall be by your side."

Harry sobbed in relief. It wasn't the same as Fluttershy's hugs, but they would do for now.

Finally, it was time to leave. Lantern asked, "What will you do now, Twilight."

After she stifled a yawn, she replied, "I'm going home. I need a hot shower and then I'll go to bed."

Mareval said, "I thought the Fortress of Solitude didn't have plumbing."

"I meant the Castle of Friendship. It's time for me to where I really belong."

Author's Note:

And here it is the final battle against Dumbsey and well, this was a difficult one to write but here it is. Two new heroes on the way, I hope you like the outcome.

Read ya’ later!!

Comments

[Comickook]

Excellent job on the second-to-last chapter of this story. Love the work that went into the exchanges, characterizations, action and set-up for both the epilogue AND the next story in this series. I LOVED the teamwork that went into the fight with Dumbsey as well as the fact that he was immune to the Elements of Harmony because he is too stupid to be truly evil anymore. And, yeah, also enjoyed how the gang also held their own so well in their first face to face encounter with Master Mind (particularly Batmare having the will to resist Master Mind's illusions and Pinkie's well-meaning insanity actually giving her a slight edge here) AND how Applejack and Fluttershy BOTH received doses of Twilight's released magic (which will pretty much set up them gaining super-powers of their own). My favorite parts, however, was how the League managed to calm Twilight down BEFORE she actually killed Dumbsey AND how Twilight finally feels ready to come back to Ponyville and the Castle of Friendship.

But, yeah, I ALSO rather seriously doubt that Mister Crow actually managed to EAT Master Mind. There is NO WAY the heroes could be THAT lucky. After all, with HIS mind powers, it's a reasonably safe bet that he teleported himself to safety at the last split-second.

But, all the same, VERY definitely looking forward to the epilogue.

[Crack-Fic Casey]

“Me? I am far beyond such primitive concepts. Do it; blast me with the Elements. I could use some more color in my life.”

That's not how good and evil work

[Comickook]

10400173
Yeah, maybe not, but nobody said super-villains were exactly sane individuals. And super-intelligent villains ALSO tend to be super-CRAZY.

[Crack-Fic Casey]

10400188
"I am above good and evil so you can't hurt OH CELESTIA WHY AM I ON FIRE THE PAIN ARGH"

[FanficReader920]

1. I really hope there can be a way to fix Tirek, because doing what Master Mind did to him feels like a fare worse than death.

2. Fluttershy and Applejack are about to get their abilities! Let’s go!

3. I feel like Pinkie is the equivalent of Mister Mxyzptlk, considering she has fourth wall breaking abilities.

[Comickook]

10400724

1. Well, yeah. I have to admit that what Master Mind did to him (taking away his intelligence to that degree) IS much worse than he deserves (even if it had made him immune to the Elements of Harmony)

2. VERY definitely looking forward to seeing THAT. Yeah. Odds are Fluttershy will gain the ability to duplicate the abilities of any one animal at a time that she can mentally visualize (ala Vixen) and Applejack will gain a sizeable upgrade on all of her physical abilities as well as the ability to enchant her lasso so that it can not only be unbreakable under normal circumstances, but also compel any sapient being bound by it to tell the absolute truth (i.e. basically the powers of Wonder Woman).

3. More likely either Plastic Man, the Creeper or a mix of the two (you know, given the whole "Good Counterpart to the Joker" deal [i.e. Plastic Man has the same basic origin as the Joker with the difference that Plas gained super-powers and a much stronger conscience instead of becoming a hopelessly insane mass murderer and the Creeper has the same basic personality as the Joker except with somewhat stronger morals and limited, but actual, super-powers]). If anybody is likely to be the Mxyzptlk Expy, it's Discord (mainly because he is ALREADY basically that anyway)

[Comickook]

10400210
(chuckles) Yeah. I know what you mean. That would have been some good Black Comedy (which would be doubly ironic concerning it would have involved some really bright lights).

[FanficReader920]

10400769
So excited that we just might FINALLY get to see the DC Trinity in Equestria.

Twilight, Applejack, and Diamond Tiara.