After returning home from viewing a meteor shower, Rainbow Dash finds a green rock in her room that makes her violently ill when she touches it. As she and her friends work to find out what exactly happened, she will come to learn more about her past, her family, and her place in Equestrian society.
Cover Art provided by Supersheep64
Comments may contain spoilers. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
The sun had been set some time ago. Down in the town of Ponyville, some of the populace had turned in for the night, while quite a few more had stayed out late for one of the more special times of the year: the annual meteor shower that graced Luna’s night, her gift to the ponies that she and her sister ruled.
Rainbow Dash fluttered her wings a little, just enough to keep herself loose. Sitting still for prolonged periods of time was not really her thing, so slight agitation helped to keep her calm. She looked up at the night sky, then back at her gathered friends, trying to draw some kind of reaction from... well, anything really.
“Hey Twi, how much longer until the shower starts?” she asked, subconsciously kicking a small rock down the hill they were seated on.
“Just a few more minutes, Rainbow,” Twilight Sparkle said, the unicorn having set up a large telescope to observe the shower. “I don’t remember you ever being this impatient about a meteor shower before.”
“Last time we got here just before the shower started, but we’ve been sitting here for two hours." Rainbow let out a frustrated sigh. "I’m starting to get all twitchy.”
“Nopony ever said you had to sit still for two hours." Twilight countered. "You could have gone for a quick flight any time you wanted.” Rainbow blinked for a second and looked away.
“... Okay, maybe sitting here with you guys is a little more important right now. But still, this is boring. Don’t you have a book or something that has activities for times like this?” Twilight was silent for several moments before giving a sheepish grin.
“Um, well, I did, but Pinkie accidentally set it on fire when we went on that camping trip last month.” Rainbow Dash chuckled a little; she had not actually been there, but Twilight had apparently had a meltdown that made the “Smartypants Incident” look like a foal’s tantrum. Pinkie and Applejack had calmed her down, but the two earth ponies had swore never to go camping with Twilight again.
“Aw, come on Twilight, it wasn’t that bad,” Pinkie Pie said, popping out from behind Twilight’s telescope “I only burned it a little, and now it’s got that old-timey look to it.” Twilight wanted to answer, but a flash of light across the sky distracted her.
“Look, it’s starting!” Rainbow Dash looked back up as hundreds of small lights flashed through the sky. She had seen meteor showers dozens of times throughout her life, but she never got bored of them. If anypony had asked, she could just say “They’re cool” and be done with it, but her admiration for meteors and comets went a little deeper. When she was younger, she would imagine herself up there, racing through the sky with the meteors for everypony in Equestria to see. She showed off all the time nowadays, but meteors were still something special to her, something that spoke of childhood innocence and a sense of wonder she tried not to let slip away.
Still, she was not the pony to get philosophical; she left that job to Twilight, or possibly Rarity. She was just here to enjoy the show.
“So, Twi,” Rainbow Dash said. “What’s it like looking at one of those meteors through your telescope?”
“Amazing.” Twilight said, still focused on her observation “With the right calibrations I can see the entire structural makeup of the meteors; all the pockets, the irregularities, everything. They’re kind of like snowflakes, in a way.”
“I was never good at working with snow, or snowflakes for that matter.” Twilight chuckled a little, causing Rainbow Dash's ears to droop. “What’s so funny about that?”
“I-I don’t really know." Twilight said through her chuckles. "It’s just... snowflakes.”
“Hey, it takes a lot of work to make a good snowflake! I’d like to see you try it sometime.”
“Believe me, she has.” Twilight’s dragon assistant Spike said. Twilight shot Spike a glare before looking back at Rainbow Dash.
“Sorry, Rainbow. It’s just that I’d expected you to try to be a perfectionist at everything weather related, but snow kind of seems like a mundane thing to be bad at.”
“I never said I was bad at it," Rainbow looked back at the sky. "Just that I wasn’t good at it.”
“Isn’t that kind of the same thing?” Twilight asked.
“You would think that Twilight.” Rainbow Dash sat in silence as she watched more meteors streak across the sky, another thought coming to mind. “So, what do you do with all that egghead stuff?”
“I store it, in case anypony ever needs any information on meteors.”
“Or in case you get bored?” Rainbow asked, grinning.
“Yes, in case I get-” Twilight’s mouth flapped a little before she returned to her stargazing. Rainbow Dash chuckled a little before standing up, stretching out her wings as she did so.
“I think I’m going to head home.” This drew a raised eyebrow from Twilight.
“Why? Don’t you want to stay out here longer?”
“Any other night I would," Rainbow turned towards her friends. "But we’ve got a big storm coming in later this week and last time I screwed up the lightning because I didn’t get enough sleep.” Now Twilight's ears drooped as she gave Rainbow an incredulous look.
“You, the pony who takes three naps a day, didn’t get enough sleep?” she asked.
“Yeah, I didn’t." Rainbow shot back. "Besides, don’t we all have that Pony Pet Play Date thing down at the park tomorrow?”
“Oh, that’s right..." but as soon as it left, Twilight's confusion returned. "Wait, you didn’t get enough sleep for that too?”
“Sometimes, and I forgot to feed Tank before I came over here; he gets kind of grouchy when he doesn’t eat... at least I think he does." Rainbow massaged the back of her head. "Kind of hard to tell when he doesn’t move all that fast most of the time.”
“Maybe you should ask Fluttershy about it.”
“I tried, but she talks about animals the same way you talk about egghead stuff.”
“Oh. Well, see you tomorrow Rainbow.” Rainbow Dash nodded and started to take flight before an orange hoof stomped on her tail.
“Hold on Rainbow.” Applejack said, removing her hoof from Rainbow Dash’s tail “Don’t forget ya promised me you’d help with harvestin’ some apples before that big storm y'all are plannin’ blows in.”
“Yeah yeah, I remember that. What, do you think I’d actually let you down on something like that?” Applejack did not appear amused.
“Last time ya came to help, ya just found a tree and took a nap while me’n Big Mac had to do all the work.” Rainbow blushed.
“Okay, there was that one time, but I promise I won’t ditch you guys like last time.” Applejack looked at Rainbow Dash for a few seconds before releasing the Pegasus.
“All right, but I’m holdin’ ya to that promise.” Rainbow Dash made a mock salute with her right hoof and took off, quickly speeding away from the hill. Her house was not very far away, but she decided to slow down and enjoy the night a little longer. A cool breeze came in from the south, blowing through her mane and cooling her down a bit. She spun lazily in the air for a bit before reaching her house, a two story cloud home complete with rainbow fountain, veranda and massive columns. She spun in the air one more time before landing outside her door.
“Hey Tank, I’m home.” she called as she walked into her house. Tank was waiting for her in the main hallway, the tortoise’s little flight harness giving him away in the darkness. Rainbow Dash walked over to Tank and kneeled to be at eye level with him. “Do anything cool while I was gone?” This received only a slow blink from the reptile.
“Well, next time I’ll take you with me. I think you’d like to see the meteors.” Tank made some sort of croaking sound while Rainbow Dash made her way into the kitchen. It was nothing much, just a stove that only worked when she did not need it and a fridge that was too small. Rainbow Dash opened the fridge and pulled out a package of glossy leaves, something that Fluttershy had said was good food for tortoises. Rainbow Dash selected several of the larger leaves and set them before Tank, who began to methodically chew on them while Rainbow Dash made her way to her room.
Still have to finish that last Daring Do book I got from Twilight; she seemed kind of anxious to get it ba-
Her train of thought was interrupted when she entered her room. Sitting on her bed was a rock, about the size of one of her longer feathers. Rainbow Dash frowned; Tank was always bringing back rocks whenever they went down to the ground, and this could have been the latest addition to his collection. She did not mind most of the time, but when he left them around for her to find it started to get annoying.
“Tank, did you leave one of your rocks on my bed?” she asked, looking back at the tortoise. Tank slowly shook his head no and returned to eating his food. Curious, Rainbow slowly walked over to her bed, her eyes fixed on the rock.
Okay, mysterious rock shows up in my room and it’s not Tank’s... How am I supposed to deal with this? She leaned over and looked closer at the rock. It was a greenish color, and it seemed to glow a little when she got close. She frowned again and tried to think if she had ever seen a rock like this before.
“Maybe it’s a meteor...” she mumbled. It was not an uncommon phenomenon; ponies would find little meteors all over the place, and most just put them up on shelves or gave them to eggheads or museums. Some kept them around, showed them off to friends, sometimes even made them into things. Rainbow perked up at this.
My own meteor. Even Twilight doesn’t have a meteor. Maybe Rarity could fit it into some kind of necklace or something so it would be easier to show ponies. It would say something like “Coolest Pony Ever” and then everyone would say “Hey, Rainbow Dash is cool, but now she’s got a meteor and is even cooler!”... Yeah, I’d like that. Rainbow Dash smiled and scooped the rock off her bed, looking around for a place to keep her prize somewhere until tomorrow.
“I still have that leftovers box from the last time we ate out. That should do.” With the rock wedged between her forelimbs, she began to fly towards her kitchen, thoughts of owning a meteor permeating her mind.
However, she did not notice that the rock had started to glow when she picked it up. At first it was only the glow, but slowly, ever so slowly, things began to happen to her.
She stopped flying for a moment. Rainbow Dash had started to feel a bit drowsy, her wings feeling like they were made of lead. She tried to shake it off, but the feeling got stronger and she dropped out of the air, the rock bouncing off to one side of the hallway. A wave of nausea overcame her, and she had trouble focusing on the area around her.
“Wh... Wh-What’s happening to me?” The nausea reached its peak, and Rainbow Dash vomited , the combination of stomach acid and half-digested food splattering across the floor. She tried to get back to her room, but vomited again before tripping over her hooves, collapsing into a heap on the floor. Violent spasms shook her body, twisting the Pegasus into unnatural shapes.
“T-Tank!” Rainbow Dash called, hoping her tortoise would respond “I-I need you t-to go get... help...” Then another spasm hit, casting Rainbow Dash into darkness.
Rainbow Dash did not show up on time for the Pony Pet Play Date. At first, the other five thought she was just running late and saw no reason for concern, but as time wore on and the cyan Pegasus did not show up, the others got nervous. After a quick conversation on what to do, they decided to send Fluttershy up to her house to check if she was home.
Fluttershy landed near the entrance to the cloud home, her butter yellow hooves sinking slightly into the clouds. She looked around for any sign of her friend, but the house seemed empty.
“Um, hello? Is anypony home?” there was no answer, and Fluttershy started shuffling her hooves “Rainbow Dash, you missed our Pony Pet Play Date, and everypony was wondering where you were...” still no answer “You still like us, don’t you?... I mean, of course you do, but maybe we said something... Did I say something? Because whatever I said I’m sorry I made you mad... u-unless you’re not mad, and maybe you’re just tired or something... I could come back later if you’d like.” there was still no answer, so Fluttershy had to think harder.
“Um, the Wonderbolts stopped by my house today; they wanted to talk to you about something.” Fluttershy gave the best smile she could in her attempt to sound sincere. The smile slowly faded when there was no sign of her rainbow-maned friend.
No answer... But Rainbow Dash would never miss a chance at meeting the Wonderbolts, even if I did lie... a little. Fluttershy pawed at the clouds a little, small wisps of vapor floating up in her face.
“I-I really don’t want to do this, but... Rainbow Dash! You’re making everypony nervous by not showing up and if you don’t come here this instant I’ll... I’ll... I’ll do some kind of prank that even you wouldn’t consider funny!” There was some shuffling behind the door and it slowly opened “Thank you. You had me so worried that I thought you’d-” Waiting at the door was not Rainbow Dash, but Tank, the tortoise hovering at eye level with Fluttershy. The Pegasus frowned.
“Tank? Is something wrong? Where’s Rainbow Dash?” The tortoise buzzed down the hall, Fluttershy following quietly behind him. When he stopped, Fluttershy looked to where he had stopped and gasped.
Rainbow Dash was lying on the ground, her head resting in a pool of vomit. Most of the color had drained out of her coat and mane, and she was breathing in ragged gasps. Sporadic spasms would shake her body, punctuated by bouts of dry heaving.
“Oh my goodness! Rainbow Dash, are you alright?” Fluttershy flew over to her stricken friend and turned Rainbow Dash to face her.
“Fl... Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash said weakly.
“Yes, I’m here. What happened to you?” Rainbow Dash coughed a few times before pointing behind Fluttershy.
“R...rock...” she said. Fluttershy looked and saw a rock sitting against the wall. She thought she saw it glow green for a second, but she could not be sure.
“This rock did this to you?” Fluttershy left Rainbow Dash for a moment to inspect the rock. She was no geologist, so she could not tell if there was anything unusual about the rock. She stepped closer to pick it up when two hooves grabbed her leg.
“NO! D-Don’t touch it!” Rainbow Dash tried to pull Fluttershy away, but she started dry heaving again and collapsed.
“Oh, you look awful. I need to get you to the hospital right away.” Fluttershy scooped her friend up in her hooves and made her way towards the door. She was not an exceptionally strong flier, but she would be able to get Rainbow Dash to the ground where somepony else could help.
“Please don’t die, Rainbow Dash. I couldn’t live with myself if you died.”
...............
“Well, I’d have to say that this is one of the strangest cases I’ve ever seen.” Ponyville’s doctor said to the five mares in the waiting room.
“I-is she going to be alright?” Fluttershy asked.
“She's weak right now, but we have her hooked up to a couple IVs and she seems to be responding well." the doctor gave a slight smile. "If we’re lucky, she should be out of here in a day or two.”
“Oh, thank goodness.”
“But what’s wrong with her?” Twilight asked.
“That’s where things get a little more complicated." The doctor's smile faded as he pulled out a clipboard. "We did a number of tests and we found that there’s a spike in radiation in her body, so I initially wrote it off as some form of radiation poisoning.”
“That’s treatable, right?”
“Well, yes, but she would have had to receive a lethal dose of radiation in order for it to affect her so quickly and violently.”
“L-lethal?" Fluttershy gasped again. "So she is going to die?”
“No. Normally she would have died before you brought her through the door, but as I said she is recovering much faster than anypony her age should." the doctor tucked away his clipboard before continuing. "My guess is that the radiation came from some other source and we might be dealing with something else completely different.”
“But she was perfectly fine last night.” Twilight said.
“Maybe it was something she ate.” Pinkie Pie offered. “She did eat a lot of cupcakes and sandwiches last night.”
“I don’t think overeating is our culprit here." the doctor said after a pause. "You five know Rainbow Dash better than I do; has she ever had any trouble with substance abuse or drinking?”
“Well, she does drink, but only on special occasions.” Applejack said. “‘Sides, the girl can hardly keep it down for longer than five minutes.”
“Also, wouldn’t you have tested her for alcohol poisoning when we brought her in?” Rarity asked.
“That test is still processing. Now, when you found her was there any indication of what might have caused this?”
“Um, well,” Fluttershy said. “She wanted me to stay away from this little rock in her house.” the doctor seemed surprised at this.
“A rock? In a cloud house?” he asked.
“I think they’re strong enough to hold small rocks." Fluttershy shuffled her hooves for a moment. "I wanted to pick it up, but she told me not to and then I brought her here.”
“If possible, could you bring that rock by so I can have a better look at it? I’ll send one of my orderlies with a hazardous material container if you’d like.”
“Oh, that would be nice.”
“But rocks don’t just make ponies sick,” Twilight said quickly. “There are a few, but they’d never work this fast.”
“Believe me we’re all as confused about this as you are,” the doctor replied. “What’s even more unusual is that it happened to Rainbow Dash, of all ponies.”
“What’s so weird about that?” Rarity asked, one eyebrow raised.
“Besides her accident last spring, this is the second time she’s actually checked in to a hospital in her entire life." the doctor pulled out another sheet, Rainbow's medical records from the looks of things. "She’s never broken any other bones, never gotten sick, never had any issues with her senses, never had any rashes, concussions, burns, deep cuts. You name it, she hasn’t had it.”
“She’s only lived in Ponyville for a few years," Twilight said. "what about her time in Cloudsdale?”
“I’ve already cross referenced my records with Cloudsdale’s. It’s the same thing; Rainbow Dash has only been admitted to any hospital once in her lifetime. Either she’s obsessive over staying healthy, extremely lucky, or there’s more factors that I’m not aware of.” There was a pause while the ponies collected their thoughts.
“Can we go see her?” Fluttershy asked “I mean, if that’s okay with you...”
“Visiting hours are over, but I’ll let you check in with her for a few minutes.”
.................
The first thing Rainbow Dash was aware of was that she was lying in a bed. It was stiff, and the sheets smelled funny, but it was a bed nonetheless. If she had her way, she would have remained immobile for as long as possible, but her nerves would not allow that and forced her awake. She groaned and slowly opened her eyes.
“She’s wakin’ up.” a voice said. Rainbow Dash blinked and saw her friends circling her, all of them looking at her with concern.
“Hey guys...” Rainbow Dash said, her voice raspy from lack of water.
“Oh Rainbow Dash, we were so worried you weren’t going to get better.” Fluttershy said.
“You are feeling better, right, darling?” Rarity asked, leaning in a little closer. Rainbow Dash coughed a little.
“Not really..." Rainbow replied. "I feel really weak right now.”
“The doctors said you’d recover in a day or two.” Twilight said.
“That’s nice..." there was a pause before Rainbow spoke again. "You guys’ll come visit me if I have to stay here longer, right?”
“Of course we will." Twilight gave Rainbow Dash a smile. "We’re your friends, and friends never abandon one another.”
“And when you do get out, I’m going to throw a massive ‘Rainbow Dash-isn’t-going-to-die’ party and invite as many ponies in Equestria as possible!” Pinkie Pie chirped. “Maybe I’ll even get the princesses to come, and then everypony will have lots of fun and you’ll be there and we’ll all be happy and stuff!”
“Thanks... I’d like that.” Rainbow Dash shifted a little before continuing. “Hey, if it’s okay with you guys I’d like to get some sleep. Can we talk more when I’m feeling better?”
“Of course.” the others began to leave before Twilight spoke again.
“Rainbow Dash, do you remember anything that happened last night?” Rainbow mulled over the question for a moment.
“A little. Why?”
“The doctors were having a little trouble trying to diagnose what was wrong with you." Twilight replied. "If you can remember what happened that might help them treat you.”
“Okay..." Rainbow sat up straighter before continuing. "Well, I came home and fed Tank, and when I went into my room I found this rock sitting on my bed. I thought it was some kind of meteor and wanted to keep it for later, but when I picked it up... I got sick.”
“Just like that?” Twilight asked, one eyebrow raised.
“I think so.” there was a pause.
“I’ll tell that to the doctors, and I’ll try to find out what kinds of elemental combinations could make a pony sick.”
“Guess that egghead stuff is useful after all.” Rainbow Dash started laughing a little before coughing again “Ah... it hurts to laugh.”
“Just rest for now. We’ll come check up on you tomorrow.” Rainbow Dash nodded and rolled over in her bed. Her body was still weak, but her mind was alight with different questions.
Did I do something wrong? Was I not supposed to pick the meteor up? Maybe I should have used tongs... Yeah, that’s what they do with weird space objects in Spike’s comic books... I think I need to read some more of those sometime. Rainbow Dash pulled the sheets of her bed a little closer and allowed herself to drift off into sleep.
Unbeknownst to her, a certain rock continued to glow a bright green as it was brought to Ponyville’s hospital.
Rainbow Dash was released from the hospital two days later. The doctors were still not entirely sure what had happened, so they had told her to eat light and not fly faster than twenty miles an hour for the first day. She was willing to accept both of those restrictions, just as long as she was out of the hospital and away from the rock that had started this whole thing.
It seemed like everypony in Ponyville knew about Rainbow’s condition, and for the next two days everypony from Derpy to the mayor stopped by to make sure Rainbow was okay. Scootaloo in particular had followed Rainbow Dash everywhere for the first day, the little Pegasus terrified of the idea that her idol could have been killed. Rainbow Dash saw no problem with this, and even gave Scootaloo a few pointers on flying as reward for her concern.
Soon, the buzz died down, and everything returned to normal. Had circumstances been different, Rainbow Dash probably would have tried to keep the buzz going, but for once she was glad to have a bit of peace. Normalcy sounded like the best thing in the world right now, and she intended to let it last until she could get her strength back up and go back to being awesome.
Rainbow Dash slowed down as she neared Sweet Apple Acres. She would have kept going at her normal speed, but the last time she had tried that she had accidentally woke Granny Smith up from her afternoon nap, and Rainbow Dash had found that a cranky Granny Smith could be scarier than facing off against a dragon. She shuddered at the thought and landed near one of the fields.
“Howdy Miss Dash.” Rainbow turned and saw Applejack’s older brother, Big Macintosh, walking up the path with a large cart of apples in tow. Rainbow Dash gave him a smile and a nod.
“Hey Big Mac." she called. "Harvesting going good today?”
“Eeyup," Big Mac replied. "We should be finishin’ up by tomorrow mornin’. If you’re lookin’ for Applejack, she’s over in the south field.”
“Okay, thanks Big Mac.” Rainbow Dash spread her wings and took off towards the south field. Although she often took naps in and around Sweet Apple Acres, she never liked the south field due to its proximity to the Everfree Forest. Despite being told by Applejack that it was perfectly safe, the idea that a manticore or a pack of Timberwolves could be watching her at any given moment was not very appealing to Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash spotted Applejack, the orange farm pony busy setting out large buckets under some of the larger apple trees. The Pegasus altered her trajectory and swooped down through the trees, coming to a stop near one of the biggest apple trees on this part of the farm
“Well, good to see yer up'n about.” Applejack said, picking up another bucket.
“Hey, like I'd let getting sick keep me from helping my friends.” Rainbow Dash replied.
“I know, jus' don't overwork yerself.” Applejack placed the bucket down. “Now, I want ya to harvest these here apple trees while I go’n get more buckets. If ya get hungry, try not to eat too many apples, okay?”
“I’ll try not.” Applejack nodded and walked off. Rainbow Dash turned and faced the nearest tree, looking for any worn spots where Applejack or Big Macintosh had beaten into the trunk. When she did find the worn spots, she backed up a bit, planted her forehooves, and kicked back it all the strength she could muster.
There was a loud crack and Rainbow Dash found her hind legs flailing in the air. To prevent herself from falling over, she quickly flapped her wings and righted herself. Confused, and more than a bit spooked, Rainbow Dash turned to see what exactly had happened.
The good news was that she had successfully knocked all the apples from the tree. The bad news was she had also knocked all the leaves and branches from the tree as well, and she had splintered the tree into eight large chunks and countless smaller ones, and several apples had been knocked into the air and were now raining down on the Pegasus.
“... How’d that happen?” she asked herself. She looked to her hind legs, then back to the tree. “Applejack is not going to be happy when she comes back.... there’s gotta be a way to fix this.” Rainbow looked over the bits of tree that were scattered around. She gathered the biggest pieces she could find and tried to fit them back in place, but there had been so much damage that her attempts to fix things only broke the larger chunks into smaller and smaller pieces.
“Gah! Where’s Twilight when you need her?” Rainbow Dash screamed after several minutes of failure.
“What do ya need Twilight for?” Rainbow Dash froze. Her irises shrunk to pinpoints and her face dropped significantly. With a gulp, she slowly turned to face Applejack.
“Heh, um, stuff...” she squeaked. Applejack raised an eyebrow until she saw the remains of the tree, her eyes widening in shock.
“Rainbow Dash, What the hay happened to my tree?!” the farmpony cried.
“Um, well, you see, I was just... I mean, I got all the apples down, but... I didn’t mean to... your tree exploded.” Applejack did not look amused.
“Exploded?” she deadpanned.
“Um, yeah!" Rainbow stood up straighter. "I bucked it as hard as I could and it... well, exploded.”
“Just exploded?”
“Yeah!” Rainbow Dash smiled, trying to convince Applejack that she was being honest. Applejack sighed and placed a hoof against her forehead.
“Why is it that whenever ya come’n help us out, ya get lazy’n break somethin’.” Rainbow scoffed at this.
“I wasn’t being lazy!”
“Rainbow Dash, ya can’t kick nearly as hard as me or Bic Mac, ‘n I know for a fact he can’t make trees explode." Applejack raised an eyebrow. "So what happened? Did ya try to get fancy with your weatherpony skills’n try usin’ lightnin’?”
“No, I kicked the tree and it exploded.” this seemed to annoy Applejack further.
“Don’t lie to me!” she snapped.
“I’m not lying! Would I ever lie to you?”
“Yes.” Rainbow frowned again.
“Okay, maybe that wasn’t the best way to convince you I’m not lying, but you have to believe me when I say I kicked your tree and it exploded.” this drew a snort from Applejack.
“Yeah, ‘n I suppose Twilight summons demons from Tartarus to do her laundry.”
“She does?”
“Of course not! Now tell me, what did ya do to my tree?” Rainbow Dash’s mouth twitched as she tried to come up with the best explanation possible, but she merely sighed and slumped over.
“Look, I’m sorry I destroyed your tree. It was just an accident and... yeah, I did get a little lazy, I guess.” Applejack looked at Rainbow Dash for a moment.
“Don’t do any more stunts like that, okay Rainbow? Just finish up here’n we’ll move on to the next grove.”
“Okay.” Rainbow Dash dropped the bits of tree she was still carrying and walked to the next tree. After finding where she was supposed to kick, she planted her hooves once again and reared back for a kick, her body subconsciously trying to limit the amount of force she placed in her kick. There was a satisfying thud as her kick connected, and most of the apples in the tree dropped into the nearby buckets.
That’s better... Maybe Twilight would know something about what happened.
..................
After she finished harvesting with Applejack, Rainbow Dash flew over to the library. When she landed, she made note that all the curtains had been pulled, meaning Twilight was busy with some magic experiment... or reading one of those romance novels Rarity was always raving about. As if Twilight needs anything more to confuse her. She shrugged and pushed open the door.
Twilight was standing in the center of the room, a pair of heavy duty goggles over her eyes and a notepad clutched in her magic. Her mane was slightly frizzled, but Rainbow guessed it was from the numerous pieces of equipment she had set up rather than stress. Twilight had not noticed Rainbow Dash coming in, all of her attention being focused on the equipment surrounding her and her notepad.
And sitting in a claw-like contraption was a very familiar green rock.
“Twilight! Are you insane?!” Rainbow cried. The purple unicorn paused her studies and looked at Rainbow Dash.
“What?” Twilight pulled her goggles off. “Is there something wrong?”
“‘Is there something wrong’? That’s what’s wrong!” Rainbow Dash jabbed a hoof at the rock.
“Don’t worry, Rainbow," Twilight turned back to the rock for a moment. "I cast enough dampening spells that we shouldn’t be in danger.” Rainbow was unconvinced, but decided against arguing further.
“Well, okay, but still why do you have that thing here?” she asked.
“The hospital doesn’t have the right staff or equipment to study this rock, so they gave it to me." Twilight looked back at Rainbow Dash. "It’s actually quite amazing.”
“The thing that almost killed me is ‘amazing’?” Rainbow asked, scowling.
“I mean scientifically." Twilight pulled out a small collection of documents. "It’s structure is... odd. It’s more crystalline than it looks, but it doesn’t refract light like your standard crystal; if anything, it actually absorbs it. And it glows green every five minutes, but I can’t figure out how or why.”
“Because it’s evil.” Rainbow glared at the rock, watching as it flared green for a brief instance.
“Evil doesn’t have anything to do with this.” Twilight replied.
“Why not?" Rainbow looked back to Twilight. "The changelings used green magic. Flim and Flam used green magic. That thing glows green. It has to be evil!” Twilight looked at Rainbow Dash with a blank stare.
“That violated so many laws of logic I think you deserve an award.”
“Are you calling me stupid?”
“Not stupid, just confused.” Twilight turned back to the rock. “Was there anything else you wanted to talk to me about?” Rainbow stopped, massaging her foreleg for a moment. It was just Twilight, she was more than trustworthy with this sort of thing... right?
“Well, sort of..." Rainbow started. "I kinda broke one of Applejack’s trees today.” Twilight set her notepad aside and looked at Rainbow Dash.
“Were you misusing lightning again?” she asked.
“No, of course not." Rainbow shook her head. "I just tried kicking it to harvest the apples, and it exploded, sort of.” Twilight looked at Rainbow Dash for a moment before pulling a book off a nearby shelf.
“Well, it’s not an unusual phenomenon for somepony to hit a tree wrong and cause damage, but causing a tree to explode? That would take a kind of force that very few ponies can muster without hurting themselves.” Twilight said as she flipped through the book.
“What’s in the book?”
“Oh this is Minerals and Their Effect on the Common Pony." Twilight raised it up so Rainbow could see the cover. "See, there are a few types of rocks and metals that can supercharge a pony’s internal magic, increasing their strength and magical abilities significantly. What I think is that the rock might be one of those types of materials, and you kicking the tree released all that pent up energy.”
“Is that bad?” Rainbow asked.
“Supposedly your internal magic should have gone back to it’s normal levels, but if it doesn’t then...” there was a lengthy pause, Rainbow's nervousness increasing.
“Then what?” she asked.
“... Then the magic will tear you apart from the inside out.” Twilight finished, setting the book down. Rainbow Dash’s face and emotions dropped.
“So, I am going to die?” she asked.
“Don’t say that." Twilight said. "I said your internal magic should be back to normal and you don’t have to worry about it.”
“But what if you’re wrong and it’s still supercharged?" Rainbow Dash could feel sweat forming on her brow as she continued. "What’s going to happen to me?”
“I don’t know. It happens so rarely in Pegasi and earth ponies. If you were a unicorn this would make more sense, and you’d... well, most likely explode.”
“Explode?!” Rainbow cried.
“Yes. All that magic has to go somewhere, and the only way is out. Given how much energy you have stored up, it could be anything from a balloon popping to a Sonic Rainboom sized explosion.” Rainbow Dash started sweating more and pawing at the ground.
“C-can you do something to stop it?”
“It’s beyond my casting range.”
“But you’re the most powerful unicorn I know! Can’t you find some kind of spell that will help?”
“I’m sorry, Rainbow, but I don’t think I could perform a spell like-” Twilight was interrupted by Rainbow Dash grabbing her and pulling her closer.
“Please Twilight! You have to do something! I don’t want to die!”
“Rainbow Dash! Calm down before you hurt yourself.” Rainbow Dash let go of Twilight and backed up. “I’m sorry, but I just don’t know any spells to siphon magic off of somepony. If anyone would know, it would probably be Princess Celestia. But this was only a one-time event; like I said, maybe the magic has depleted itself and you’re back to normal.”
“But if you’re wrong?”
“Then you should go see Princess Celestia and she may be able to help you. But if you do go, make sure to bring this,” Twilight nodded towards the rock “with you.”
“What, so the Princess can blow up too?”
“Princess Celestia is immune to that sort of thing. Now, go home and get some rest; you’ve gotten yourself worked up over this and you may only make things worse.”
“Okay... But when should I go to see the Princess?”
“If anything else happens to you that you think is not normal, come see me and I’ll tell her you’re coming.”
.................
Rainbow Dash woke from her afternoon nap and stretched. Her conversation with Twilight the previous day was still rattling around in her mind, the idea of her body overloading and exploding a haunting shadow she did not want to face. She had tried to ignore it, but it still crept into her thoughts whenever she least expected it. She shook her head and looked around.
Not wanting to break any more trees, Rainbow Dash had flown back to her house to take her nap. The room was fairly dark, even for the afternoon, and she flipped on a few lights in order to see better. Tank was napping in his favorite corner, a few half eaten leaves sitting in front of him. Rainbow Dash sighed, got out of bed and picked up the smaller bits of plant matter, treading carefully so as to not awaken the sleeping tortoise. Once that was done, she walked outside and looked towards Ponyville.
Rarity and Fluttershy should be on their way back from their spa trip... Maybe I should go and see what they’re up to. Rainbow Dash took a few moments before takeoff to check the weather. There was a breeze coming in from Canterlot, and Rainbow Dash prepared herself in case he had to fight against crosswinds.
Rainbow Dash spread her wings and shot forward, the Pegasus racing across the sky with unprecedented speed. While she enjoyed the speed boost, she noticed a few things that were off; normally when she reached speeds like this, her eyes would start watering and her forelegs would become stiff and unresponsive, and she only ever achieved speeds like this when diving. Now, she was flying straight, her arms felt fine, and she could see clearly.
Twilight was wrong; I’m still getting affected by whatever that rock did to me. Rainbow Dash pulled up and stopped flying in order to prevent herself from panicking. She was in the center of Ponyville, and several other ponies had noted her sudden arrival and were looking at her. She grinned and continued walking, keeping her head down so she did not look directly at anypony. She continued like this until she heard a familiar buzzing sound, a buzzing sound drawing closer.
“Hey, Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo said as she pulled up next to her idol.
“Hey Scoots.” thoughts of death by magical overload receded back into Rainbow Dash’s mind and she gave the younger pony a smile “What’s up?”
“Well, me and Applebloom wanted to do Cutie Mark Crusader Cliff Divers, but then Sweetie Belle got hungry and they sent me to Sugarcube Corner to get some snacks. Then I saw you coming into town and I wanted to see what you were up to and here I am. So,” Scootaloo leaned in a little closer to Rainbow Dash “What are you up to?”
“Not much of anything, really; I was going to see what Rarity and Fluttershy were doing, but since you're here I don’t see why I can’t hang out with you and help you out with some of those snacks.” Scootaloo’s face lit up with excitement.
“Really? You’d do that?”
“Would I ever leave my biggest fan waiting?” Best spend some quality time with her before I die. Her thoughts were interrupted by two orange hooves wrapping around her neck.
“This is awesome! I get to hang out with Rainbow Dash!” Rainbow Dash chuckled and the two began walking (or in Scootaloo’s case, riding) towards Sugarcube Corner.
“You know, you kind of remind me of myself when I was a filly.” Rainbow Dash said.
“I do?”
“Yeah. Have you ever heard of Rolling Thunder?”
“Uh, a little. He was a Wonderbolt, right?”
“The Founder of the Wonderbolts, actually. My mom lived next door to him when she was young, and she used to tell me all these stories of all the cool things he did. That’s actually what got me into trying out for the Wonderbolts.”
“Wow. Did you ever, y’know, meet him?”
“Well, once, just after I got my cutie mark. My mom thought it’d be a good idea to introduce me to some of the Wonderbolts and maybe pick up a couple of pointers from them, and then there was Rolling Thunder. He’d retired by then, but he was still, well, Rolling Thunder.”
“Was he cool?”
“Actually, I don’t remember; I fainted when he asked me what my name was.” Scootaloo stopped and looked at Rainbow Dash.
“You fainted?”
“Hey, it wasn’t my fault! The guy was like me and Princess Celestia combined, and I was eight at the time. I guess I got so excited that my brain got fried or something... kind of like when we first met.”
“Oh, yeah...” there was a pause “Sorry if you thought I was lame when I fainted.”
“Lame? You’re the second coolest pony in Ponyville, after me. I’d never think you’re lame.” This got a smile from the younger pony.
“Thanks.”
“No problem.” The two continued on “So, after cliff diving what are you going to try next for your cutie marks?”
“Well, Applebloom said something about sprinting...”
“Hey, sprinting’s actually kind of fun. I don’t do it that much since I fly all the time, but I think you three could be good at it.”
“We were going to ask Applejack if we could use that rodeo track she has, but with that big storm I don’t think we’ll-” Scootaloo stopped talking and pulled her scooter to a stop “Aw, why to they always have to show up whenever I go to Sugarcube Corner?”
“Who?” Rainbow Dash looked towards the bakery and saw two fillies standing near the entrance. The first one, who was wearing a pair of saddlebags, was a magenta pony with a purple and white mane, complete with a small tiara, and the second was a gray pony with pigtails and blue rimmed glasses. “Don’t tell me you’re scared of them.”
“No of course not! It just... every time I come here, it seems like Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are waiting for me just so they can mock me and call me ‘Blank Flank’.”
“I know what that’s like. Everypony used to call me Rainbow Crash. Just try to ignore them and they’ll... wait.” Rainbow Dash squinted. There seemed to be something wrong with Diamond Tiara’s saddlebags, so Rainbow Dash squinted harder to see what exactly the problem was. She saw a notebook, but that was not what was wrong. “Wait here.”
“You’re not going to-”
“I said wait here.” Scootaloo merely nodded while Rainbow Dash walked over to the two fillies “Hey! Diamond Tiara!”
“Oh look Silver Spoon, it’s Rainbow Dash the Blank Flank Lover.” Diamond Tiara smiled smugly “Come to protect your precious little Blank Flank?”
“That doesn’t matter right now. How did you get ahold of Cheerilee’s notebook?” Diamond Tiara’s gaze shifted to one of surprise, while Silver Spoon eyed her friend nervously.
“Diamond, you didn’t... did you?” the gray pony asked. Diamond Tiara ignored her.
“I... I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
“I’m not. What, is this, like, some stupid plan to try and get me in trouble?”
“No, now give me the book.”
“Or what? You’ll go tell? Because I’m sure that will go over well. Who do you think my dad will believe: you, the mare who almost flooded our house with that storm last month, or me?” Diamond Tiara’s smug look returned, and Rainbow Dash had to suppress the urge to tackle the filly and forcibly remove that smile.
That wouldn’t solve anything... But finding Cheerilee might. Smiling, Rainbow Dash lunged forward, grabbed Diamond Tiara by her forelegs and took off, leaving a shocked Scootaloo and Silver Spoon behind. Once airborne, she turned south and flew towards Cheerilee’s house, while Diamond Tiara struggled to free herself.
“Let me go! Are you insane?” the filly screamed over the wind.
“No, just doing what’s right.”
“My dad will hear about this, and he’ll see that you get fired from the weather team!”
“I’d like to see him try.” Cheerilee’s house was close to the school, and its lavender paint job made it a bit easier to spot from above. Cheerilee herself was outside tending to a small collection of daisies, her back turned to the approaching ponies. Rainbow Dash dropped out of the sky and landed outside the fence before dropping Diamond Tiara unceremoniously on the ground. “Hey, Cheerilee!”
“Oh, hello Rainbow Dash.” the schoolteacher said, turning to face Rainbow “How nice of you to drop in...” she frowned when she saw Diamond Tiara “Rainbow Dash, what are you doing with one of my students?”
“It was terrible!” Diamond Tiara began “I was just walking home from Sugarcube Corner when this madmare came and dragged me over here! She didn’t even tell me why-”
“Quiet you.” Rainbow Dash looked at Cheerilee “She stole your notebook and I brought her here so she’d give it back.”
“I didn’t steal any notebook. Miss Cheerilee, she’s trying to get me in trouble!”
“Rainbow Dash, my notebook is back in my desk at the school; there’s no way she could have taken it.”
“Really?” Rainbow Dash pulled Diamond Tiara’s saddlebags off and turned them over, spilling their contents on the ground. The last thing to fall out was a dark colored book with three smiling flowers on the cover “Then I suppose she just happens to have a book that has your cutie mark on it.” Cheerilee and Diamond Tiara stared in shock at the book while Rainbow Dash struggled to not smile.
“Diamond Tiara...” Cheerilee said “What do you have to say for yourself?”
“I, err, uh... How do you know she didn’t just plant this on me, huh? She could be trying to frame me.”
“Why would she frame you?”
“Because... well, because...”
“Diamond Tiara, you, your father and I are going to have a long discussion about stealing things, after which you’ll have detention for the next month.”
“But Miss Cheerilee-”
“No buts. Now go gather your things; you and I are going to find your father.” Diamond Tiara looked like she would continue complaining, but merely grumbled and began to pick up her things. Cheerilee looked at Rainbow Dash “Thanks for that, Rainbow Dash. How did you know she had my notebook?”
“It was nothing really. I just looked through the bag and saw it... wait, I looked through the bag?”
“Is something the matter?” Rainbow Dash backed up.
“Yes... something is wrong with me.” Rainbow Dash turned and took off, changing direction towards Twilight’s library.
I’ve got to see Princess Celestia now or else everypony will get hurt.
Rainbow Dash swallowed. Standing in front of the massive double doors that lead into Princess Celestia’s throne room was daunting, and the Pegasus found herself pawing at the ground again. She looked down at the lead-lined box Twilight had placed the rock in, which was currently dangling by a rope from her neck like a necklace, then back up at the two guards standing outside.
Be brave, Rainbow... Ponies’ lives are at stake. She swallowed again and approached the closer of the guards.
“Um, can I speak with Princess Celestia?” she asked.
“What is your problem?” the guard asked.
“Well, my friend said something about my internal magic going screwy, and I wanted to see if she could help me not explode.”
“Princess Celestia is busy with another pony at the moment. If you would like, you may wait here until she is finished.”
“Okay... I’ve got nothing better to do.” Rainbow Dash turned and walked away. She found a nearby pillar and sat down against it, pulling the box off her neck as she did. She was tempted to open the box and look at the rock, but images of herself half dead drove off those temptations. Instead, she began to push the box around with her hooves, much in the same way a foal would play with a rock or stick. She continued like this for five minutes before the sound of hoofsteps distracted her.
Approaching the doors was a white unicorn with a blonde mane and bowtie. He paid Rainbow Dash no mind and marched up to the guards “I must speak with Princess Celestia immediately.”
“What is your problem?”
“Don’t give me that. I don’t need to tell you what my issues are.”
“Unless your problem is of national importance, then I must ask you to wait.”
“You would dare to say that I, Prince Blueblood, must wait like some commoner?”
“Yes.”
“How dare you! I am a prince and I will not allow myself to be treated in this manner!”
“Unless the changelings are attacking, Discord broke loose, Nightmare Moon returned, or Canterlot is on fire, I cannot place you before anypony else.”
“But there’s nopony else here.”
“Uh, yeah there is.” Rainbow Dash said. Prince Blueblood looked over at her.
“Why are you here?”
“I’m trying to get Princess Celestia to prevent me from exploding.”
“Likely story. I bet you just have some petty matter you wish to approach the Princess about. I don’t see why she lets freeloaders like you even come in here.”
“Freeloader?” Rainbow Dash stood up “You think I’m a freeloader? I work just as hard as anypony, probably more than you've ever worked in your life. I helped save the world, twice, and I helped fight the changelings. You have no right to say I’m a freeloader!” Blueblood looked at Rainbow Dash before snorting.
“Please, don’t try to intimidate me with your speeches; I’ve had plenty of times where ponies claimed to be superior to me because they felt they accomplished more.”
“You want intimidation, I’ll show you intimidation!” Rainbow Dash took a step towards Blueblood and raised her right hoof. She was interrupted by the sound of doors opening.
“Princess Celestia will see you now.” another guard said. Rainbow Dash dropped back down on all hooves and grabbed the box containing the rock. She shot one last glare at Blueblood and entered, the massive double doors closing behind her.
“I see my nephew has managed to antagonize you significantly, Rainbow Dash.” Rainbow turned towards Princess Celestia, the snow-white alicorn sitting calmly on her throne.
“Is he always like that?”
“He was much more respectful when he was younger. I’m not entirely sure what happened.” the ruler of Equestria smiled “Now, let’s address the question of why you are here.”
“Oh, right.” Rainbow Dash stepped forward “I... I think something’s wrong with me.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah... a couple days ago a rock showed up in my house, and when I touched it it got me sick and... Twilight thinks it did something funny with my ‘internal magic’ or something like that. Oh, and I accidentally destroyed one of Applejack's trees and looked through a closed saddlebag.”
“Is that the problem?”
“Yes. I don’t want to explode! I’ll hurt everypony in Ponyville if that happened.”
“I’m sure that won’t happen. Do you still have the rock that caused this?”
“Yeah, Twilight gave it to me so I could show you.” Rainbow Dash placed the box on the ground and opened it. The rock was still glowing a bright green, even as the yellow aura of Celestia’s magic enveloped it. The princess brought the rock closer and inspected it.
“Dear me...” The Princess said “I haven’t seen anything like this since...”
“Since when?” Princess Celestia placed the rock back in its box and looked at Rainbow Dash.
“If you will permit me, I would like to see if this rock has had any affect on you that isn’t visible in either strength or speed.”
“Uh, okay.” Celestia’s horn glowed with magic, and Rainbow Dash was wrapped in a soft yellow glow. Celestia’s face remained stony, and Rainbow was unable to detect any signs of confusion or interest. After a minute the glow ceased.
“Well, that makes more sense.”
“What does?”
“Your internal magic is fine. Actually, it seems that quite a bit of it has been repressed.”
“Repressed?”
“Tell me, Rainbow Dash: what is your earliest memory?” Rainbow looked at the floor for a moment, trying to think up any memories.
“Well, sometimes I remember when I was a foal, standing by a road and watching my parents fix a cart, but other than that I can’t remember much.” Celestia looked at her with a mix of shock and mild excitement.
“It was you... after all these years...” the ruler of Equestria said.
“What was me? What did I do?”
“It’s not so much what you did as what happened to you. Rainbow Dash, what I am about to tell you may seem crazy, but you must believe what I am about to say.”
“Okay.”
“Good. Rainbow Dash...” the princess’ mouth twitched, as if she was struggling for the right words “You... You are not a native born Equestrian.” Rainbow Dash raised one eyebrow in confusion.
“... Okay, I know I was adopted, but then what am I? Neighpanese? Germane? Saddle Arabian?”
“Actually, Rainbow Dash, you are a Kryptonian.” Rainbow Dash shook her head slightly, her confusion building.
“A cryptozoo-what-now?”
“A Kryptonian.”
“Uh, I might not have had the best grades in Geography, but I’m pretty sure there’s no ‘Kryptonia’ anywhere in the world.”
“Of course not. Krypton is a planet on the very tip of this arm of the galaxy. By my reckoning, astronomers still haven’t found its exact location.”
“Wait, planet? Krypton is another planet?”
“Yes.”
“Then, if Krypton’s another planet... does that make me some kind of alien?”
“Yes, if you want to see it that way. Your increase in strength and other senses is merely your body adjusting to a change brought upon by that rock.” Rainbow Dash looked down at the floor. Me? An alien? She shook her head and looked up at Princess Celestia.
“I don’t believe you. I-I can’t believe you.”
“Rainbow Dash...”
“I’m not an alien. I’ve been a Pegasus my entire life. I’ve got the same number of limbs and eyes as every other Pegasi in the world... unless I’m going to grow more or something. I’m not going to, right?”
“Rainbow Dash, I need you to calm down-”
“I don’t want to grow anything! Will I get four more legs, or an extra pair or wings, or two heads? I don’t want to have to share my body with some copy of me-”
“RAINBOW DASH!” the force of Celestia’s shout was enough to knock Rainbow Dash off her hooves “I know you are disturbed by this change of events, but remember that I am still the most powerful pony in Equestria, and if you do not calm down now I will force you to do so!” Rainbow Dash quickly got back to her hooves, her head hung.
“All my life I’ve been told I was a pony like everyone else... what will my friends think?”
“I’m sure they will still see you as-”
“No, they won’t. If I tell them I’m some alien, they’ll start treating me funny. They’ll try to act sincere, but they’ll just throw me out and shun me... like we all did with Zecora.”
“Ponies are naturally scared of things they don’t understand.”
“They won’t understand this... They’ll think I’m either crazy or some kind of freak.”
“If it’s just because you think they’ll turn on you for being different, there’s nothing wrong with-”
“That’s easy for you to say!” Rainbow Dash shouted, pointing her hoof at Celestia “You’re a goddess; you’ve always been different than us! You’ve had centuries to get used to ponies fearing and respecting you! Me, I’m just a normal pony, and I just want to be a normal pony; not some alien, not some feared... thing, just a pony! I don’t want to be a ‘Kryptonian’! I want to be Rainbow Dash!” in a fit of rage, Rainbow Dash slammed her forehooves on the floor, the floor cracking and buckling with her strike. She looked up at Princess Celestia, Rainbow's glare rivaling Fluttershy’s Stare in intensity.
“Rainbow Dash, I know you are stressed, but lashing out in anger is not going to solve anything.” Rainbow Dash’s breathing came out in ragged snorts as the Pegasus struggled with her rage. Eventually something broke inside her, and her breath became choppy and she collapsed, tears streaming down her face and spilling into the cracks on the floor.
“Rainbow Dash?” Princess Celestia said, stepping forward. Rainbow Dash did not look at her, instead grabbing the box and rushing out of the room, small teardrops trailing after her.
.................
Once she returned home, Rainbow Dash had collapsed on her bed and cried for almost an hour. The only thing she could feel was anger: toward her parents for never bothering to tell her where she came from, towards Princess Celestia for tearing her entire past to shreds, towards herself for making a scene at the palace, and towards her biological parents for abandoning her with no knowledge of who or what she was. She wanted to hurt something, to release all her pent up anger, but knowing that she was now much stronger than normal meant it would only do more harm than good.
My whole life, my parents hid this from me... Why? Were they scared? Did I threaten them? And why don’t I remember anything before they found me? Rainbow Dash sniffed and wiped away some of her tears.
The Wonderbolts training facility was on the far end of Cloudsdale, away from the housing and industrial quarters. The main facility was a large indoor area, complete with barracks, so that the Wonderbolts could train more or less undisturbed. There was a second outdoor facility right next to the main building, but due to the numerous hopefuls and overeager fans that hung out in the area the flying team only used it for special events.
Rainbow Dash landed outside the main facility, quickly checking to make sure no guards got the wrong idea and attacked her. Once she was certain nopony had thought she was an intruder, she approached the entrance to the building and pushed the door open. Inside, she could only see a few ponies, and most of them paid her little mind at first.
“Rainbow Dash?” Rainbow turned and saw Spitfire, captain of the Wonderbolts, standing behind her “What are you doing here?”
“Sorry, Spitfire, but I need to see Firefly.”
“She’s busy right now. Can you come back later?”
“No, I really need to see Firefly. Please, Spitfire, it’s really important.” Spitfire regarded Rainbow Dash for a moment, then sighed.
“I suppose I still owe you for saving those ponies from the statue at the Gala. Okay, Firefly’s on the track with Rapidfire. Just don’t tell anypony you were here, okay?”
“Okay.” Rainbow Dash gave a nod of thanks and made her way towards the track. Again, the Pegasi present did not pay her much attention, and some even waved to her as she passed. Rainbow Dash would have waved back, but she was focused on what lay ahead of her.
Mainly, the sound of Firefly shouting.
“Rapidfire, I’ve told you a hundred times that you’ve got to stop cutting your corners so close!” the source of the voice was a pink Pegasus mare with a slightly grayed blue mane. She was standing with her back to Rainbow Dash, all of her focused placed upon the Wonderbolt standing in front of her.
“I’ve tried, but it cuts back on my speed, and you’re always preaching about speed.” Rapidfire said.
“Oh, of course. I can tell you all about speed when you’re in traction for turning too sharp and slamming into a wall! Get back out there and watch your turns, or I swear to Celestia I will buck you into the nearest pillar!”
“Yes ma’am.” Rapidfire turned and took off down the track. Now that Firefly was no longer occupied, Rainbow Dash stepped forward.
“Um, Mom?” Firefly turned, her face showing a mix of surprise and joy.
“Rainbow?” Firefly laughed, then raced forward and hugged Rainbow Dash “Oh, it’s so good to see you!”
“Good to see you too, Mom.” Rainbow Dash said, returning the hug.
“I’ve been meaning to visit, but I never get the chance. I swear, if it wasn’t for me these ponies couldn’t do their routines if you gave them cheat sheets.” Firefly laughed again before dropping down on all fours “So, how are things in Ponyville?”
“Pretty good. I got myself a pet tortoise.”
“Really? I always thought turtles were cool.”
“Um, they’re not the same thing.”
“Eh, that doesn’t matter. So, anything else?”
“Yeah...” Rainbow Dash looked away and shuffled her hooves a bit.
“Rainbow, something is wrong, isn’t it? Did you get fired from your weather job?”
“Huh? No, of course not.”
“Are you getting married?”
“No, it’s just...” Rainbow Dash shuffled some more before deciding to tell Firefly everything “Why didn’t you tell me where I came from?” All the joy rushed from Firefly’s face. The older mare staggered back, as if Rainbow Dash had just disowned her.
“I... I wanted to, I really did, But your father and I... we were scared.”
“Scared? Scared of what I was? Scared that your alien daughter might hurt you?”
“No. We thought... the guards would find you and take you away from us... you were so young we didn’t want to hurt you like that.” Firefly sat down on the ground “When did you find out?”
“... A few days ago, this rock showed up in my room and when I touched it I got sick. The next few days were fine, except that I started doing... things. Things I’d never done before.”
“Like?”
“I splintered a tree with a kick, I flew from my house to Ponyville in under thirty seconds without feeling stress, and I looked clear through a pony’s saddlebags. My friend said it was my magic overloading, but Princess Celestia said I was... Kryptonian, whatever that means.” Now it was Rainbow’s turn to sit “I got mad. I said a few things I shouldn’t have... I don’t want to be some alien monster.”
“You are not a monster, Rainbow Dash. You’re still a pony, even if you weren’t born on this planet.”
“But what if I-”
“Rainbow Dash, I raised you since you were a little filly, and never once was there anything that told me you were dangerous. And if your definition of monster is simply ‘big scary thing that doesn’t look like a pony’, not only do you not fit that definition but you need to broaden your views of the world.” Rainbow Dash was silent for a moment.
“How did you find me?” she asked.
“Well, first off, your father was a lousy driver...”
................
Firefly looked up at the sky, then back down at the cart. The current remains of the left wheel were strewn across the road, and the various food stuffs inside the cart had spilled on the floor and slid to one side. Beneath the cart, struggling to get the spare wheel unstuck, was her husband Thunderhead, a gray-coated Pegasus who was nowhere near as good at repairs as he liked to say he was.
“This is your fault, you know.” she said.
“Yes, you have reminded me for the past five minutes of that and I am well aware that it was, in fact, my fault.” Thunderhead yanked the wheel out from under the cart and crawled back out.
“Well, at least you acknowledge it.”
“Sure... You do know it’s as much your fault as it was mine.”
“Was not.”
“Says the mare who was tickling my flanks.”
“Oh, right... yeah, I guess I did do that.” Firefly blushed and looked away.
“Hey, it wasn’t that bad until we crashed.” Thunderhead pulled a jack from the cart and began to set it up beneath the cart. “Since it was partially your fault, you mind helping me out here?”
“Sure.” Firefly trotted over to her husband “What do you need me to do?”
“I want you to hold on to that wheel and make sure to slip it on as soon as I get the axle off-” he was interrupted by a large explosion in the field next to them. The ground shook and a massive cloud of dust flew up in the air, obscuring any visibility. Firefly yelped in fright and grabbed on to Thunderhead, and both of them ducked in case there was any falling debris.
“Wha... What was that?” Firefly asked. She released her husband and looked around, searching for any signs of danger. There was still plenty of dust in the air, but she could see the faint outline of something half-buried in the ground “Should we go have a look?”
“Are you crazy? What if it’s some monster come to kill us?”
“I think it would have killed us by now. Besides, what if it’s a pony? Maybe those unicorns in Canterlot tried to send somepony into space and their capsule crashed.”
“You read too much science fiction.”
“Oh, and you don’t?” Firefly swatted Thunderhead with her tail and trotted towards the field, Thunderhead following soon after. As they neared the object, they were able to get a clear look at it; it was large, about the size of two ponies, and cylindrical in shape. Due to dirt and a fair amount of soot it was hard to tell what color the thing was, and the sides looked as if somepony had taken a heavy mallet to them.
And crawling away from the wreckage, dazed but otherwise unhurt, was a filly Pegasus. Its coat was light blue, and the little tuft of hair that comprised its mane was a wide spectrum of colors. Firefly stopped when the filly looked towards her, large magenta eyes staring at the older mare in awe.
“Thunder. It’s... it’s a filly.” Firefly took a step towards the foal “Can we keep her?”
“Now I know you’re crazy.” Thunderhead said “You want to adopt some pony that fell out of the sky and nearly killed us.”
“Look at her, she’s only a baby; it’s not like she was trying to kill us.” Firefly took another step towards the filly. The filly did not run, but instead stood rigid and focused on Firefly.
“Firefly, stop this. Do you have any idea what you’re doing?”
“Thunder, she’s harmless, and I think she’s scared.” Firefly was now only a few feet away from the filly, who had not moved from her spot “Hey, don’t be scared. I want to help you.” Firefly said, trying to calm the foal. The filly smiled and ran over to her, her tiny wings buzzing in happiness. Once the smaller pony reached Firefly, the older mare gently scooped her up in her hooves and nuzzled her.
“See?”
“I... well...”
“Thunder, you and I always wanted to have kids, and since I... well, can’t...”
“Firefly, please don’t bring that up.”
“No, it’s okay. I just... maybe this is our chance to have a foal of our own.” Firefly felt something tugging at her neck and noticed the filly had wrapped her forelegs around her in an attempt at a hug “Please? For us?”
“I... All right, she can come with us.”
“Thank you, Thunder.” Firefly looked at the filly “Would you like that? Do you want me to be your mommy?” the filly smiled again and nodded, causing Firefly to laugh and place the foal on her back.
“How are we going to explain this though? We can’t just say she fell out of the sky in a spaceship.”
“I have a friend who works in the Royal Archives; she can get us some birth certificates and adoption papers to fill out.” They walked back to their cart, the little filly smiling all the way “What should we name her?”
“You really want to do that now?”
“Well, why not? Better now than when we start explaining to ponies how we got a child.”
“Okay... Any ideas?”
“Well, something with rainbows, obviously.” Firefly pointed to the small bits of rainbow fur on the filly.
“I’ll think of something. Meanwhile, I’ve got to get this cart fixed.” Thunderhead picked up the spare wheel and moved towards the cart. “Here, hold on to the wheel so I can get this level.”
“Okay.” before taking the wheel, Firefly turned and plucked the foal off her back and set her down on the ground. “How much longer?”
“Not much. Next time we’ve got to get a lighter cart; this one takes too long to-” there was a creak before the jack slipped out from beneath the cart, threatening to drop the cart on Thunderhead’s back. He yelped in surprise and jumped back, almost knocking Firefly over in the process.
“Thunder! Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. The stupid jack slipped but I think I’m fine... where’s the foal?” The two ponies looked around, searching in vain for the filly.
“She must have run off... oh dear, what if she gets caught by a manticore or-” Firefly stopped talking when she looked back at the cart. The filly was standing underneath it, her little legs pushing up against the bed of the cart. What was more surprising was that she was showing no sign of strain, and she was still smiling just as before. Firefly had heard of Pegasus foals having abnormal bouts of strength, but this was unheard of.
“... That’s actually kind of cool.” Thunderhead said after a long pause.
“Yeah... is now a bad time to say that I think Rainbow Dash is a good name?”
“No, I don’t think it is a bad time...”
...................
“... and that’s how we found you.”
“So, I saved Dad’s life when I was a baby?”
“More or less. Your strength mellowed out a bit after that, so you never did anything like that again.”
“But, that spaceship thingy I was in... what happened to that?”
“Well, lucky for you there was a storm scheduled for that afternoon, and say what you will about your father’s driving skills he was very good at creating lightning strikes. That’s why I married him in the first place; he could get very creative with bursts of energy.” Rainbow Dash shuddered at an unpleasant image that came into her thoughts.
“But, I mean, you still could have told me about what I was.”
“You were young, and we didn’t want you to feel like you were different than other ponies.”
“Like how I feel now?”
“I know this is a lot to take in, but it’s nothing to be afraid of. You have an amazing gift, Rainbow, and it would be a shame if you kept it away from everypony else.”
“But... What if they don’t like this? What if they shun me because I’m something they don’t like? I don’t want to deal with that... I don’t want this ‘gift’, I just want to be a normal pony.”
“Rainbow Dash, you are anything but a normal pony. Even before you found out about this, you were never just a ‘normal pony’. Remember what your dad said to you, the day before you got your cutie mark?”
“Yeah... yeah I do.”
................
Rainbow Dash was sitting outside her house, watching the Pegasi return from their various jobs. While she watched, she picked at little pieces of cloud and swatted them around with her hooves in an attempt to alleviate the situation.
“Rainbow Dash?” Rainbow turned and saw her father standing behind her “Why are you sitting out here by yourself?”
“Hey Dad,” Rainbow Dash said “I had a bad day at flight camp today.”
“Oh?” the older Pegasus sat down next to his daughter “Care to tell me about it?”
“Do I have to?”
“The only way it’s going to get better is if you talk to somepony about it. What’s wrong?” Rainbow Dash looked away, briefly swatting at a few small bits of cloud.
“Well... those bullies at flight camp were really mean today, especially to that one filly, Fluttershy. I wanted to do something, wanted to make them less mean, but I couldn’t...”
“‘Make them less mean’? How would you do that?”
“I don’t know. Maybe beat them up or something.”
“That’s only thinking on their level, Dash. They want you to do that, and if you do it only puts you one step closer to being just like them. Do you want to be like that, being mean to ponies and hurting others?”
“No. I don’t want to hurt anypony... But, all those things they said, it made me feel bad, especially for Fluttershy. They said we weren’t anything special, and that we were terrible fliers.”
“You are an amazing flier, Rainbow Dash, and don’t let anypony tell you otherwise. And you are special; heck, you’re probably more special than you realize.”
“But, all the adults I’ve met said that everyone is special...”
“That’s true, but you’re not just anypony,” Thunderhead turned Rainbow Dash towards him “One day, you’re going to have to make a choice. You’re going to have to decide what kind of mare you want to grow up to be. Whoever that mare is, good character or bad, she’s going to change the world.”
“Me? I’m going to change the world?”
“Of course you will.”
................
“Do you think he was trying to tell me the truth back then?”
“Maybe. I lived with him for twenty eight years and I never really figured out most of what he did.” Firefly sighed and shifted her position “I don’t think the other ponies will shun you. Sure, they may be scared just because you are a little different, but have more faith in them and they will come around.”
“I guess...” there was a pause before Firefly stood up.
“If you’re still having doubts, there’s something I want to give you.” Firefly trotted over to a nearby wall, where a pair of saddlebags was waiting. she opened the nearest bag and pulled out an object wrapped in a blue cloth. “Your father found this in the wreckage of the ship you landed in. He wanted me to give it to you if you ever found out about who you were.” she placed the object before Rainbow Dash and pulled back the cloth.
It was a green crystal, only about five or six inches long. It looked more like a shard of glass than a gem, except that it lacked the small air bubbles usually found in glass. Like the rock, it glowed green with some kind of energy, but Rainbow Dash felt more at ease with this crystal than she ever did with the rock.
“What is it?”
“I’m not sure. I haven’t really thought about finding out, but every time I’ve touched it I hear... voices, like there’s somepony inside wanting to be released.” Rainbow Dash picked the crystal up in her hooves, searching of any indication of what it was.
“What am I supposed to do with it?”
“That’s for you to figure out. I’ve never gotten it to do anything, but maybe you can.” Rainbow Dash smiled a little and stood up.
“Thanks for the talk, Mom. I... I really needed it.”
“You’re welcome, Rainbow.” Rainbow Dash tucked the crystal behind her wing and prepared to leave.
“I think I need some time to clear my head.”
...................
Another Pony Pet Play Date had arrived, yet they were still short one pony.
“Maybe she got sick again and couldn’t come...” Fluttershy said.
“No, I don’t think that’s it.” Twilight said “She did seem kind of distraught after she met with the princess.”
“Wait, why’d Rainbow go to see the princess?” Applejack asked.
“Well, I had a theory that Rainbow Dash’s internal magic was overloading and could have killed her, so I told her Princess Celestia might have been able to help.”
“Did she?”
“I don’t know... but I really shouldn’t pry.” the conversation was interrupted by a buzzing sound. The group looked and saw Tank flying towards them, a small scroll in his mouth. The tortoise landed in front of them and spat out the scroll, which Twilight then picked up with her magic and opened.
Hey guys, Sorry I couldn’t make it to the Pony Pet Play Date, but the last train for Seaddle leaves early and I want to make it on time. I suppose I should have said that earlier. Well... I’m leaving Ponyville for awhile. I just have a lot on my mind right now and I need somewhere to clear my head. Don’t worry, I’m coming back... someday. There should be an address here, so if you want to stay in touch you can send letters to me. I’m not the best at responding, though, so you’ll have to wait a few days. Oh, and if you can make sure that nopony breaks into my house while I’m gone that would be great. Oh, and if Fluttershy can take care of Tank, that would be great too. I’ll miss you guys.
Rainbow Dash
Twilight set the note aside and looked at her friends. “Do you think there was something we could have done to help her?” she asked.
“Sounds like she’s tryin’ to figure it out for herself. Don’t worry about it, Twi; Rainbow’s a strong pony an’ I’m sure she’ll come back right as rain.” Twilight nodded and looked back at the note.
The biggest complaint from those visiting Seaddle, asides from the numerous weird ponies that flocked to the city, was that due to the numerous national parks that surrounded it, and its proximity to Equestria’s northern border, it rained. A lot. Sometimes for weeks on end. The locals were used to it, which is why other ponies in Equestria thought they were crazy.
Rainbow Dash stepped out from the shelter of the train station and into the rain. She was no stranger to being rained on, being a weather pony and all, but it was a change from the idyllic setting of Ponyville. She sighed and started walking, pausing only to make sure she was headed in the right direction.
The crystal her mother had given her was tucked away in a small pack, hidden behind some camping supplies. During the train ride to Seaddle, Rainbow had pulled it out every now and then in an attempt to figure out what exactly it was, but other than glowing and occasionally spinning it did nothing. Being a mare of action, this frustrated Rainbow Dash to no end, and she began to feel like the crystal was silently mocking her. When she looked back to check on her pack, she thought she could see the green glow of the crystal through the fabric, as if the crystal was reacting to the attention she gave it.
By now a wind had come in from the east, making the rain harder to traverse. Rainbow Dash shook out her mane and continued walking, and she used her right wing to shield herself from the worst of the rain. She would have flown, using her newfound strength to combat the wind, but Pegasi never flew well in the rain, special powers or not. When I get inside, I’ll need to do an overhaul on my feathers before they start to smell... Sweet Celestia, I’m starting to sound like Rarity! Rainbow Dash shook from the thought; she liked Rarity, but the unicorn’s obsession with appearance and style got annoying after awhile. She checked her bearings again and continued walking.
After a few minutes, she came to a row of houses not unlike those in Ponyville save the roofing was slate and not thatch. Most of the houses were dark, but one or two still had lights on, allowing Rainbow Dash more visibility (night-vision, it seemed, was not something Kryptonians had). She kept walking until she saw her destination, a house near the end of the block with a large sign hanging over the door. Once she reached the house, Rainbow Dash shook as much water off of herself as possible and knocked.
There was the sound of shuffling behind the door before a Pegasus mare opened the door. She blinked a few times, as if she was still adjusting to the light. “Hello there. May I help you?”
“Yeah, I was wondering if I could say here for a few days?”
“Oh of course. Please come in.” Rainbow nodded her thanks and stepped inside, setting her wet saddlebags down. The other mare had disappeared, only to reappear with a book and pen balanced on her back. “I must say, I wasn’t really expecting anypony this time of year; most just wait until the rain goes away.”
“Really? Do the weather teams not schedule sunny days or something?”
“They do, but some ponies like to play in the rain more often than not.” the mare chuckled. “Oh, where are my manners? I’m Honeydew, and I want to welcome you to-”
“Seaddle Heights Bed & Breakfast.” Rainbow Dash finished.
“Oh... so you’ve visited before?”
“Once, when I was really little. I’m not sure if you remember me.”
“Oh, I’m very good at remembering ponies.” Honeydew took a moment to size up Rainbow Dash. “Oh yes, you were with that couple that was working with the Wonderbolts, right?”
“Yeah, that was them.” the other mare beamed.
“My mother was so worried she’d mess something up... well, I’d love to keep chatting about the past, but you’re probably beat from the trip.”
“Yeah...” And other things, but she doesn’t need to know that. Honeydew nodded and grabbed the book and pen from her back.
“Now, I usually charge ten bits a night, but since you are a repeat customer I’m willing to charge eight. Breakfast is at eight every morning, and if you have any questions just ask either me, my husband or Honeysuckle.”
“Who’s Honeysuckle?”
“My daughter.” Rainbow Dash blinked before taking the pen and signing her name in the book. Satisfied, Honeydew walked over to a nearby cabinet and produced a small room key. “You’ll be staying in the second room to your left, up the stairs. We mostly use it for storage nowadays, but I can move things out if you’d like.”
“Nah, I think I’ll be fine.”
“Just holler if you need anything.” Rainbow nodded and made her way up the stairs. The stairs squeaked with each step and the water on her hooves soaked the rug, but after being stuck on a train for several hours the sensation was welcomed by Rainbow.
The room itself was small, only about half the size of Fluttershy’s cottage, and smelled of pine. There was a bed set against the farthest wall, right beneath a window, and next to that sat a small nightstand with a clock. A few boxes were tucked away in one corner, and Rainbow Dash saw that they were filled with books, toys and small magazines. Rainbow set her saddlebags against the nearest box and walked over to the bed.
A nice nap should be good...
................
There were two ponies: a mare and a stallion. They stood at a distance, staring at Rainbow Dash. Confused, and a bit scared, Rainbow stared back at them, trying to get a response.
“Um, hi.” she said. No response “So, are you going to keep staring at me like that? Because it’s starting to get creepy... Seriously, can you guys even talk?” The other ponies did not respond. Rainbow Dash tried to get closer, but every time she did the others would move away from her. Trying to move farther away had the same result, with the ponies merely drifting after her.
“Stop following me around like that.” Rainbow Dash said “Did I do something wrong?” The ponies did not respond to her, the stallion merely looking at the mare.
“She is ready.” he said.
“Ready for what? Wait, does this have to do with me being an alien? I’m not going to go crazy, right?” the ponies looked back at her and she began to rise up in the air, lifted by some unseen force. Flapping her wings to counteract the rising had no effect, and Rainbow Dash saw that she was now the size of a small filly. Seeing that her wings were effectively useless, she tried flailing her legs in an attempt to break free of whatever was pulling her up, but this only made her ascend faster.
As she flew higher, the two other ponies faded out of sight, replaced by a column of rock and fire.
Rainbow Dash woke to the sound of knocking. A quick glance at her clock showed that an hour and a half had past since she had fallen asleep, and she guessed it was probably Honeydew coming to make sure Rainbow was okay. She pushed thoughts on her recent dream out of her head, rolled out of bed, and crossed to open the door.
Honeydew was not at the door. Instead, Rainbow nearly tripped over a filly about the same age as Scootaloo. “Oh, you must be Honeysuckle.”
“Yes.” The filly said “I need something in here.”
“Oh, sure. Take whatever you need.” the filly nodded and brushed past Rainbow Dash “So, what’s it like living here?”
“It’s nice.” the filly reached one of the boxes and began nosing through it.
“Is there anything cool around here?”
“Not really.”
“... Then what do you do?”
“Nothing much.”
“So, you just sit in your room and do nothing all day?”
“Yes, except when I have school.”
“What’s that like?”
“Nice.” the filly grabbed one of the magazines and exited the room.
“Are you trying to avoid talking with me?”
“Yes.” and with that the filly left, leaving behind a confused and slightly angry Rainbow Dash. Deciding that complaining about it was probably not in her best interests, she went back into the guest room and closed the door.
“Okay. That was weird... Guess she’s kind of like Twilight.” She sat down with her back propped up against the door and looked at the box “Still, even Twilight wouldn’t be that focused on a book.” She stood up and walked over the the box, pushing her saddlebags aside for the moment. She selected one of the magazines and pulled it out of the box, dropping it on the ground when she was sure she had enough room.
Calling it a magazine was probably excessive; it was small, had more bright colors, and was printed on cheap paper. The cover showed the picture of a beige stallion, dressed in a light blue suit, punching a grey pony with an ugly haircut and funny mustache in the face beneath the banner “Captain Equestria”.
“This must be one of those comic books Spike told me about.” Rainbow flipped the comic over “Well, it looks cool... kind of crummy, though.” She flipped it over once more and began leafing through the pages.
“I guess I have some time to kill.” two hours later, she was asleep again.
...............
“Miss Dash... Miss Dash?”
“Hmn?... No, Captain, we’ve gotta stop Red Skull...” Rainbow rolled over, dragging a nearby blanket with her.
“Miss Dash?” Rainbow felt somepony poking her in the back, right between her wings. She flared them briefly and rolled over, coming face to face with two very large green eyes.
“Gah!” Rainbow Dash reeled back, tangling her forelegs in the blanket and startling Honeysuckle. “Why did you do that?”
“Sorry, I didn’t know you’d roll over like that.” the filly said, looking towards the floor.
“Well, don’t stand so close to me next time.” an image of Rainbow accidentally smacking the filly through a wall drifted into her mind, but she quickly shifted her attention and proceeded to untangle herself from her sheets “Where’s your mom?”
“She’s doing something with Dad downtown. They said I should be able to help you if you need anything.”
“Oh...” Either she’ll just ignore me, or whatever freaky alien powers I have will come out and I’ll kill somepony... this should be fun. “So, uh, is there anything you wanted?”
“No. I already ate; I just came to wake you up and tell you you’re watching me.”
“Couldn’t you have waited until I’d woken up?”
“Well... I was going to... I’ve never really woken somepony up before.”
“You sound like one of my friends. She makes everything from spells to getting drunk sound like some kind of school assignment.”
“I... I don’t know anything about that... getting drunk, that is...”
“Good.” Rainbow Dash finished untangling herself and climbed out of bed “So, you’re sure you don’t need me to do anything?”
“Not yet.” Honeysuckle turned and left. Rainbow Dash exited her room and headed downstairs, the carpet still a bit wet from where she had walked the night before. When she reached the bottom floor, she glanced around and was able to spot a small pot of something sitting on a stovetop. It took Rainbow a minute to realize she was looking through the wall before everything returned to normal.
“I’ve got to find a way to turn that off.” Rainbow said as she walked towards the kitchen “Well... there’s always poker night with Applejack... that should be fun.” Rainbow chuckled and continued on. Upon entering the kitchen, she looked and spotted the pot once more, and an idea came to mind. Planting her hooves, she looked at the pot, trying to call up her special vision to see what exactly had been prepared.
What happened next was nothing anypony would have expected; as she started focusing, two red beams shot from her eyes and struck the pot in the center. Unable to withstand the amount of energy being poured into it, the pot exploded, scattering bits of food and shrapnel across the room. Rainbow Dash yelped in surprise and ducked, small pieces of metal bouncing off her with little lasting effect. When she was sure it was over, she stood back up and surveyed the room, noting the number of gouges in the wall caused by wayward shards.
“... I really need to find a way to turn that off.” there was the sound of hooves coming down the stairs before Honeysuckle burst into the kitchen, a small fire extinguisher balanced on her back.
“What happened?” she asked.
“I, uh, accidentally blew up a pot.” the filly placed the fire extinguisher on the ground and looked at Rainbow Dash.
“How’d you do that?”
“Laser vision?” Honeysuckle merely raised an eyebrow “I’m not really sure what happened; I was just looking at the pot and it exploded.” there was a long pause before Honeysuckle picked up her fire extinguisher and made to leave.
“You’re weird... I like that.” she smiled and trotted out of the room. Rainbow Dash smiled slightly and turned her attention back to the mess in front of her.
All in all, it was a rough start for a pony trying to clear their mind.
..................
Another day had passed. In an attempt to be useful, and to make up for destroying part of the kitchen, Rainbow Dash had taken up a few smaller chores around the house. Most could be done without Rainbow overexerting herself and breaking something, and for that she was grateful.
However, after the incident of the other day Honeysuckle had taken great interest in Rainbow Dash. While Rainbow was tolerant of foals following her around, the little filly was almost as persistent as Scootaloo. When she was not peeking around corners or hiding in her room, she was always standing next to the older mare as she went about her different tasks.
“My mom said you loved flying.” Honeysuckle said “Why aren’t you flying?”
“I’d love to, but there’s no room.” Rainbow Dash flapped her wings for emphasis “I’d knock something over if I was careless. Wait until the weather clears, and I’ll show you some of my moves.”
“Moves? Like stunt flying?”
“Yeah, something like that. You ever see any stunt flying?”
“Not really. I haven’t thought a lot about flying since my wings aren’t strong enough.”
“Hey, maybe I could give you some pointers. My mom’s a flight trainer, so I’ve picked up a few things from her.”
“Such as?”
“Well... When I was five, she took me out to a lake with a small cliff to teach me how to fly. She proceeded to throw me off the cliff until my wings got strong enough for hovering.”
“Isn’t that a little dangerous?”
“It’s better than the alternative; I've heard of foals being pushed off of Cloudsdale. Besides, it wasn’t that big of a cliff, and she was waiting to catch me if anything went wrong.”
“You’re not going to do anything like that, are you?”
“Of course not. I’d probably get a lot of ponies angry if I started throwing foals off of cliffs. I could probably show you a few exercises to get you started.”
“Okay.” There was a pause before Rainbow Dash spoke again.
“So, I noticed that you read comics.” Honeysuckle frowned and looked away.
“You think that’s weird...”
“No, of course not. I’m not one of those prissy Canterlot ponies who thinks everything anypony does is ‘weird’. Besides, it’s kind of like me and the Daring Do series... Have you ever read any of those?”
“No.”
“Oh. Well, you should, I think you’d like them. But that doesn’t matter now. I just wanted to know why you read them.” Another pause, punctuated only by Honeysuckle’s shuffling.
“Well... when I was really little, some mean ponies came and... they hurt my dad. I mean really hurt him. He couldn’t fly for days... Mom cried a lot, and I didn’t really know what was wrong, so I got sad and cried too... The guards tried to be helpful, but nothing really happened. But if there was a superhero, then nopony would have gotten hurt. Everypony would have been fine...”
“So...?”
“It makes me feel better, that there’s still some ponies who don’t want the bad guys to get away... You remind me of them, somehow.”
“Me? I’m not much of a hero.”
“Why?”
“... To be honest, I’m not the nicest of ponies; I play pranks, I show off, and my friends say I talk about myself too much.”
“Maybe that’s why you could be a hero. Maybe you need to work those things out.”
“Yeah, maybe...” there was more silence.
“Mom’s still wondering how that pot exploded.”
“Maybe when the weather clears I’ll show you what happened.”
“You said something about laser vision... that’s not possible, is it?”
“I’m not an egghead so I couldn’t tell you if ponies could have laser vision... it’d be pretty cool if they did.” Rainbow Dash chuckled. “Fluttershy wouldn’t have any trouble with her animals if she had laser vision. Maybe Angel would actually be nice to her for once.”
“Who’s Fluttershy?”
“One of my friends from Ponyville. I suppose I should tell you a little more about them someday.”
“I’d like that.” Honeysuckle smiled and wandered off.
...................
The rain stopped the next day. Even if she had learned just to bear with it, Rainbow Dash was glad to see the sun again. She stepped outside and took a deep breath; there was enough moisture in the air to give it a sweet smell, and Rainbow Dash felt a small shiver run down the length of her spine as she inhaled. Seeing as the weather was clear enough for flying, she spread her wings and prepared to take off.
At least she would have, had there not been extra weight tugging at her tail.
“Miss Dash?” Rainbow turned and saw Honeysuckle standing behind her.
“You can just call me Rainbow Dash. Keep calling me ‘Miss’ and I’ll probably start acting like my mom.”
“Okay... where are you going?”
“I was just going to fly around for a little, maybe do some sightseeing... Wanna come with me?”
“I can’t fly, remember?”
“Well, no you can’t, but I can.” she turned, grabbed Honeysuckle by the scruff of her neck, and placed her on her back.
“Wait, are you sure this is safe?”
“Relax, I’ve done this a million times. Just hang on tight.” Rainbow felt the filly’s hooves wrap around her neck just before she took off. Before the incident with the rock, flying sessions like these usually got off to a slow start, but with her new powers taking off was no problem at all. If anything, her greatest problem was keeping a reasonable speed.
“So,” Rainbow asked once they leveled off. “Enjoying the view?”
“Yes,” the filly said “I’ve never done anything like this before.”
“Ask your parents about it sometime; I’m sure they’d love to take you out flying like this... Well, ask your dad; I don’t think your mom is in any condition to fly right now.”
“Why, is she sick?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know.” they circled around and began to head south. As they did, Rainbow Dash spotted a group of ponies gathering around a cart in a large green area “Wonder what’s going on down there.”
“Ponies don’t really get into groups around here...” Honeysuckle said.
“Well, I always liked a good crowd.” Rainbow Dash changed direction again and glided down to the rear of the group. She landed and allowed Honeysuckle to climb off her back before proceeding. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Not sure.” one of the nearby ponies said. “Some mare came in after the storm; said she was some kind of powerful wizard and wanted to show off her powers.”
“Powerful wizard... Wait, what does she look like?”
“Just wait, I think it’s starting.” Rainbow Dash looked towards the cart, where a small stage had been set up. there was a puff of smoke and a blue mare with a white and blue mane and wizard costume stepped out.
“Trixie...” Rainbow said, her gaze shifting to a scowl.
“You know her?” the other pony asked.
“Yeah. She showed up in the town I lived in and started bragging about defeating an Ursa Major. A couple of colts believed her and woke up an Ursa for her to defeat, and it would have destroyed the whole town if my friend hadn’t driven it away.”
“... She’s not going to do anything like that, will she?”
“I hope not. Just don’t try to prove her wrong. I’m going to get out of here before she-” Rainbow looked down and saw that Honeysuckle was missing “Great. She ran off.”
“You really should keep an eye on your daughter when you go out in public.”
“My what? She’s not my daughter.”
“Sister?”
“No.” Rainbow Dash scanned the group once before attempting to use her new vision. She saw nothing at first, but after a second sweep she spotted the filly shoving her way towards the front. Frowning, Rainbow began to follow her, trying her best to not shove the other ponies in her path. She was so focused on finding the filly that she was not paying attention to what Trixie was saying.
“Citizens of Seaddle! Gaze upon the force of magical might that is the Great and Powerful Trixie! I have traversed the world many times over! I have studied many spells and magical arts that most ponies wouldn’t dare to attempt! Now, watch as the Great and Powerful Trixie dazzles you with her immense power!” There was a flash of pyrotechnics as Trixie reared up on her hind legs. Rainbow Dash ignored this and continued towards Honeysuckle.
“Why did you run away from me?” she asked in a whisper once she found the filly.
“I couldn’t see the stage.” she replied.
“Yeah, well, you don’t know the kinds of ponies that hang around these places.”
“Do those kinds of ponies watch magic shows?”
“I, well... I don’t know.” Rainbow Dash turned her attention back to the stage, where Trixie was busy setting up her next act... and stroking her ego quite a bit. Rainbow Dash was not really listening to what she was saying until somepony asked what exactly Trixie had done to qualify her as “Great and Powerful”.
“Trixie is glad you asked. When she was starting her journey of discovery, Trixie stumbled across a village being menaced by an Ursa Major.” a quick spell created an illusion of a massive blue bear made of stars and magic “Drawing from my mass of power, I, The Great and Powerful Trixie, vanquished the Ursa and allowed the town to rest in peace for-”
“That’s not an Ursa Major.” Trixie visibly panicked as Honeysuckle stepped forward.
“Wha- Who dares to challenge the integrity of the Great and Powerful Trixie?”
“Um, me?” Trixie glared at the filly.
“And what would you know about Ursas? Have you ever seen one?”
“Um, no... But Red Skull hypnotized one to attack Manehattan in a comic I read, it looked exactly like that one and he said it was an Ursa Minor.”
“You mean...?” Trixie failed to suppress a snort “You mean you base your accusations off of... comics?”
“Um, yes?”
“Well, how do you know what they say is true? After all, they just tell fantastic stories that have no chance of actually happening. Who are you going to trust, a mare who has spent more time out in the world than you ever will, or some poorly colored pieces of paper?” the filly backed up and hung her head, pawing nervously at the ground as she did so.
“... They’re not poorly colored...”
“Keep telling yourself that, maybe you’ll actually convince yourself it’s true.” Trixie turned back and was about to continue her act when she saw a second pony step forward.
“You know she’s right, Trixie,” Rainbow Dash said, glaring at the showmare “And I’ve actually seen an Ursa, so I know the truth.”
“You...” Trixie merely returned the glare “Have you come to attempt some pitiful show of force to prove yourself to the Great and Powerful-”
“Don’t give me that! You couldn’t even scare the Ursa away; you only made it angrier. What kind of power is that?”
“Oh, and where were you during that incident? I didn’t see you trying to stop the thing from destroying your town.”
“Unlike some ponies, I know not to go attacking giant rampaging animals... okay, there was this one time with a dragon, but that doesn’t matter.”
“Bah! I know the real reason; you just stood aside and let that little witch of a friend humiliate me in front of all those ponies.”
“Twilight is not a witch!”
“Sure, and you are not a Pegasus.” Rainbow Dash approached the stage.
“It’s your own fault that you got ‘humiliated’. If you hadn’t been bragging every second you were in Ponyville, those colts wouldn’t have led the Ursa to you.”
“You are calling me a braggart? What about you? You constantly spoke of yourself as the greatest pony to come out of Cloudsdale, and I have it on good account that you are a massive glory hound. If I actually considered myself a braggart, I would say you are no different than Trixie.”
“You want to know what’s really different about us Trixie?” Rainbow Dash leapt up and landed in front of Trixie “I’ve learned to back down when I’ve gone too far, and I know when I’m starting to hurt ponies. You, on the other hoof, you just keep bragging and insulting and humiliating ponies until everypony is against you, and you don’t seem to have a real problem with this. I am nothing like you, and I never will be anything like you.” Trixie stared at Rainbow Dash, unsure of what to do. After a pause, she chuckled and regained her composure.
“So, now what? If you think that you are somehow superior to me, do you hope to prove that in a show of skill? Because I’m sure you would love to pit yourself against my arcane powers.”
“No.”
“... What?”
“No. I don’t think you’re worth it.” Rainbow Dash turned around “I’m going home.” This, more than anything Rainbow Dash had said, seemed to hit Trixie the hardest.
“Not worth it? Not Worth It!?” Trixie stamped her hooves “Trixie is the most powerful unicorn to have ever lived, and you say I’m not worth it?!”
“Yeah. Besides, I’d probably end up breaking you or something.”
“‘Breaking me’? How’s this for ‘breaking’?” Rainbow Dash turned to the sound of wood splintering and saw a large chunk of the stage flying towards her at high speed. She threw her right foreleg up in defense as the chunk of wood slammed against her. There was a second crack and Rainbow Dash saw the stage chunk splinter into pieces while her foreleg and head remained unharmed. She lowered her leg and saw Trixie staring at her in shock.
“What was that for?”
“I-I... Wha-... How did you... That’s impossible!”
“Well, I’m still standing and I’m not dead. I’d say it is possible.” Trixie could only stare and babble in incoherent sentences. Finally, she recovered and glared at Rainbow.
“I just didn’t use enough power, then.” Trixie’s horn began to glow and another section of the stage began to tear off. In desperation, Rainbow Dash reared up and slammed her hooves against the stage, shattering it and sending both mares tumbling into the dirt.
“Trixie! Calm down before you kill somepony!”
“You upstage my show, destroy my stage, and you want me to calm down?!”
“You’re the one who threw the stage at my head!”
“Oh, I’ll do more than that!” Trixie lowered her head, her horn glowing with magical energy. She would have cast her spell, had not another aura of magic enveloped the two mares and yanked them off the ground.
“Sweet Celestia, you’re both out of control.” a unicorn stallion said, stepping out of the crowd “I don’t really care what you two have against each other, but stop fighting like a couple of angry foals or we’ll have to take more drastic measures.” Rainbow Dash turned to the best of her abilities and looked at Trixie.
“I’m up for it. Are you?”
“Just put Trixie down.” the aura ceased and the two mares dropped to the ground “So, you have turned yet another town against me.”
“Hey, I thought he said-”
“Silence. You have made a cham of me now, but this will not be the end. This is not the last you will see of the Great and Powerful Trixie!” there was a puff of smoke and Trixie was off, running towards the town as fast as her legs could carry.
“Still hasn’t learned how to Teleport.” Rainbow Dash turned to the other ponies “You all should go home now; I’m sure the town guard will show up and take care of this mess.” Most of the ponies nodded and began to wander off, while some decided to stick around and help with the cleanup effort. Rainbow Dash stepped back to allow the others room, while Honeysuckle trotted over to her.
“How did you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Smashing the stage like that. It was bad, but it was also kind of cool...”
“I panicked, I didn’t mean to let loose like that.”
“You mean you’ve done something like this before?”
“... I made a tree explode by kicking it once, if that’s what you want to know.”
“Wow... Is that why you’re here?”
“What?”
“You never told me why you came here, so are you hiding from somepony because you broke their tree?”
“No, it’s not that... Come on, I’ll show you.”
................
They were back in Rainbow Dash’s room, with the crystal in front of them.
“I know I shouldn’t get worked up over this, but I feel like there’s something with this crystal that I need to find out. Everything I’ve done has only made it glow.”
“Have you tried talking to it?” Rainbow Dash looked at the filly.
“It’s a crystal, it’s not going to do anything if I talk to it.”
“How would you know? You haven’t tried that yet.”
“Yeah, because I don’t talk to rocks. One of my friends might if she ever got lonely, but me? Not so much.”
“Maybe I should try.” Honeysuckle stood to approach the rock, only to be blocked by a blue hoof.
“No. I don’t want you to get hurt if something goes wrong... I can take a lot of hits, you can’t. I’ll do it.” Rainbow Dash approached the crystal and leaned in. It continued to glow, the brightness increasing as she got closer.
“Um... Hey there, rock. So, I think there’s something important that I need to find out, so if there’s any way you could help me that would be very much appreciated.” the rock did nothing, its glow never dimming for a second. This is stupid. How is Pinkie able to do something like this. In frustration she swatted the rock with her hoof, and she saw it.
She saw a field of white, with snow blotting out the sky. The ice beneath her hooves was firm, but slippery, and ahead she saw a green glow from beneath. The glow flickered for a moment before a massive spire broke from the ice. Rainbow Dash blinked and she was back in the room, the crystal sitting next to her.
“Hey, it worked... I know what I have to do.” She grabbed the crystal and made for her saddlebags. After rummaging around for a minute, she produced a sack of bits and tossed them to Honeysuckle. “Here; best give this to your mom when she comes home.”
“Are you leaving?”
“I have to. The crystal wants me to go somewhere, and If I’m going to find out anything then that’s where I have to go.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m really an alien and that crystal is the only thing I have that can tell me where I’m from.” there was silence as Honeysuckle made sense of what Rainbow Dash said.
“You mean... all this time...”
“You were spending time with an alien. Yeah, I know it’s kind of hard to believe, but it’s the truth.” The filly blinked a few times before smiling.
“Well, I hope you find what you’re looking for.”
“Me too.” Rainbow Dash strapped on her saddlebags and exited the room. “Your parents should be home in a minute... tell them that I’m really happy that they let me stay here for a bit... Oh, and tell your mom to go see a doctor some time soon.” the two reached the front door, Rainbow Dash prodding it open with her nose.
“Why? Is she sick?”
“No, she’s having twins.” with that, Rainbow Dash spread her wings and began to fly north.
................
It was night, and Trixie found herself roaming the streets of Seaddle. In her mind she was scolding herself for destroying her wagon, as now she had little money and no real place to stay. Again.
“It’s that stupid Pegasus’ fault.” she growled “If she hadn’t shown up I could have actually made something on this tour. But no, she just has to go and ruin my life one city at a time... Well I’ll show her. I’ll show her, that witch Twilight, Ponyville, Seaddle; I’ll show them all why no one shames the Great and Powerful Trixie!”
“But do you have the means to do so?” a voice said from the shadows. Trixie whirled around, trying to find the source of the voice.
“Show yourself! Be warned, I am well versed in many combat spells!”
“Don’t panic, I am not here to kill you.” the voice said again “I just couldn’t help but overhear that you have been wronged several times.” Trixie relaxed her magic and slumped to the curb.
“Yes... it’s as if the universe is content on making Trixie suffer.”
“I doubt it is geared specifically for that purpose. But again, how do you plan to go about your revenge?”
“... I don’t know. Someday, I hope to have enough power that I can flatten that miserable town with ease.”
“Someday? Why not now?” Trixie looked to where the voice was coming from.
“You have a way?”
“I have many ways, and I share your cause. Many years ago, I was wronged by ponies who did not share my ideals, who wished to take credit only for themselves. I want to redeem myself and do away with that lot, but I need help.”
“What’s in it for me?”
“I know several powerful spells that will aid you greatly. No longer will you be on your own; you will have servants, ponies who will do anything for you, even die for you. You will be able to slay the most powerful beasts on the planet, even challenge Princess Celestia herself.”
“And you will teach Trixie these spells?”
“Of course. You help me regain my honor, I help you get your revenge. What is your answer?” Trixie thought about it for a moment before replying.
“Yes, I want this. Give Trixie the power to challenge the gods. Let my name be feared and respected by every stallion, mare and foal in Equestria. Let me squash that little witch and her posse! Give me this power!” there was a pause before Trixie heard chuckling.
“I admire your enthusiasm. I will do so. I just ask for one more thing.”
“What?” there was the sound of movement before a stallion stepped out of the shadows.
The frozen north of Equestria was poorly explored. The only ponies who ever ventured this far north were either incredibly brave or incredibly insane, and more often than not they were a combination of both. Most died, their bodies vanishing into the snow and ice, while those that did come back told stories of either roaming monsters or caves filled with massive crystalline structures.
Rainbow Dash shook out her mane once more and continued walking. The snow and wind did obscure her vision, but traveling mainly by instinct allowed her to not get lost amongst the snowdrifts. Her coat and feathers were damp from the exposure, and her saddlebags were once again thoroughly soaked. The only thing that remained remotely dry was the crystal, still glowing after days of travel.
She crested another hill and looked down, a small smile crossing her lips. “This is the place from that vision.” she said, turning and pulling the crystal from her bag. she let it rest in her hooves and inspected it. “Now what?”
The crystal did nothing. It sat here, flickering at Rainbow, as if it was mocking her. In frustration she tossed it down the hill, and she watched as the crystal rolled to a stop near the base of the hill. For a moment nothing happened, then the crystal began to slowly sink into the ice. After half a minute, the crystal had vanished without a trace, not even its glowing visible.
“Well... that was a waste. Now what am I supposed to do?” she swatted a few snowflakes and looked back at where the crystal had vanished. She prepared to leave when the ice shook and a green glow spread out from beneath her. She took a few steps back, trying to figure out what was going on, when a massive crystal broke through the surface of the ice. The crystal continued to grow, rising higher and higher into the sky, and it was soon joined by several others, all of them interweaving with one another. Rainbow Dash took flight and backed away as more and more crystals began to smash their way through the ice, all of them weaving together to form a large structure of crystal.
When the display was finished, Rainbow Dash landed and looked over the structure. It was large, almost twice the size of Twilight’s library, and it sparkled in a way similar to Celestia’s mane. While it did not glow like the crystal it had grown out of, she could feel energy radiating off the structure, a pleasing sensation when compared to the cold of the snow. She fluttered her wings once more and approached, the energy slowly bringing feeling back into her body. She smiled a little and sped up, the snow giving way to hard crystal similar to the tiles in Princess Celestia’s throne.
Rainbow Dash entered a large circular room, one that glowed with white light as she walked through. Inscriptions in some ancient language were carved on a few of the crystals, most of which were either too worn or too faint for Rainbow Dash to read. The sound of the wind was stifled completely, and the only thing she could hear were her hooves clicking on the crystal beneath them.
“Um, hello? Is anypony here?” she asked. There was a chime and several crystals parted from one another. A cloud of something rose from the parting crystals, and it slowly formed into a large blob “Okay, that’s kinda freaky.”
The cloud began to take a more solid shape, finally setting on that of a unicorn stallion’s head. The stallion looked old, not as old as Granny Smith but still pretty old, and even for being only an image he seemed... wise, like the Princesses. The stallion smiled a little before speaking.
“Welcome, my little filly. You do not know how much it pleases me to see you before me.”
“Uh, thanks.” Rainbow Dash stepped towards the image “Who are you?”
“I suppose I should have introduced myself earlier.” the stallion sighed “Even with my position on the Council, I still forget that. My name is Jor-El; I am a scientist from the planet Krypton... and I am your father.” Rainbow stepped back in shock. This guy’s my father...
“If you’re my father, then who am I?”
“Who you are, exactly, is not for me to decide; how you were raised and how you treat others ultimately decides who you are.”
“But I mean, did I have some other name?” Jor-El paused.
“Your name is Kara Jor-El. I would have wished to deliver this to you face to face, but as you are receiving this, I have been dead for nearly a thousand years.”
“... Dead?”
“I suppose there is more I should have told you, my dear Kara.” he sighed again “Around the time you would call the ‘Nightmare Moon Incident’, I made a discovery: our homeworld, Krypton, was dying, and would take all of us with it very soon. I tried to warn the others, tried to get the Council to stage an evacuation, but... they did not listen to me. Krypton was entering a second golden age, and it’s destruction seemed absurd.
“In desperation, I constructed a ship and placed you, my only daughter, inside and sent you here. Kryptonians are no different from Equestrians physically, so you would blend in with the populace and be able to live a normal life. As for Krypton, well... as far as I know, you are the only surviving Kryptonian; the planet was destroyed only minutes after your ship broke through the atmosphere.”
“Oh...” there was silence. “I... I don’t really know what to say to this. I mean, well...” she felt a small tear running down her face “Look, I’m crying for ponies I haven’t even met.”
“That is a natural response to such news; our minds can only take so much in, that hearing of traumatic events, even if they did not occur to us, can trigger feelings we don’t fully understand.”
“Yeah,” she sniffed “But there’s still a lot of things I want to know. Can you help me?”
“Of course I can. You are my daughter, and I could never turn you away.”
“But how? I mean, you’re dead.”
“Before I sent you here, I poured much of my knowledge of the universe, most of my memories, and bits of my personality into the data crystal that created this place. Think of it as a copy of all that I was infused in a different form.”
“Like an artificial intelligence?”
“More or less. So, if you have questions, I will be able to answer them.” Rainbow Dash thought for a moment.
“What happened to me? Why can I break trees and shoot lasers from my eyes.”
“Technically they are not lasers, but it is easy to make that mistake. As for your other abilities, that is partially to do with Kryptonian physiology. You see, we have the ability to absorb and store solar energy. Krypton orbited an ancient red giant, so the effect was minimal, but Equestria has a much younger sun, and it is home to two goddesses as a bonus. The amount of energy that is within you has given you powers beyond that of any normal pony: you can fly faster, lift more, see farther, and survive injuries that would kill a pony without taking a scratch. While you are not exactly a foal, you are not used to your powers and still need to learn how to control them.”
“And you can help me with that?”
“Yes.” another pause.
“Why did you send me to Equestria? Why not somewhere else?”
“That is an interesting story, my child. When I first decided to send you away, I searched through time and space for a suitable planet. Most I visited offered such things as glory in battle, unlimited knowledge, endless luxury, even deification on some worlds, but the pony I contacted on Equestria... she told me of something more.”
“Who did you meet? Was it the Princess?”
“No, although I have met both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna before, but that is for another time.” Jor-El’s face vanished, replaced by an image of Canterlot “It was about twenty five years before today, one year before you would land in Equestria. My message arrived and I found a mare; she was one of Celestia’s attendants, young and full of promise. She already had one foal, and had just sent him to his first day of school when I met her.” the image shifted to that of a white unicorn mare with a purple and white mane and tail.
“Hey, that’s Twilight’s mom!”
“I do not know this Twilight, but she seems to be close to you.”
“Yeah, she’s one of my friends... I think she’d like you; she’s big on science and stuff.”
“I am sure she would be an interesting pony to meet. Anyway, after explaining what would happen to Krypton, I asked her what Equestria had to offer. This is what she said.” the image of the mare came to life, shuffling her hooves a bit and looking away.
“Well, we ponies aren’t really the most kind of beings; we tend to get judgemental and jealous, and occasionally do harm to one another. But I promise you, if I ever find your daughter, I will raise her and love her as my own along with my own son.” The image faded back to Jor-El.
“That is why I sent you here: love. These ponies have a capacity to love that is unmatched by any other race in the galaxy. I wanted you to be raised somewhere where you would be loved, and where you would learn to love those around you, no matter who they were.
“But there is another reason I sent you here. These ponies mean well, but they can become distracted. They have the capacity to become great, but what they lack is a light to show them the way.”
“But, the Princesses-”
“While I have nothing against the rulers of Equestria, their status as supreme rulers and control over day and night tends to intimidate more ponies than it inspires. They may try to shake this image, but it is a sad truth. The ponies of Equestria need someone closer to them, a pony who will inspire them and drive them towards reaching their full potential, and you will be that pony.”
“Me? But I’m not a ruler of anypony.”
“I did not send you here as a conqueror, Kara, but as a guide, a guardian. Allow your natural leadership to stir their higher instincts. You will give the ponies an ideal to strive towards. They will race behind you, they will stumble, they will fall. But in time, they will join you in the sun. In time, you will help them accomplish wonders.”
“That’s... a lot to take in.”
“I understand that. If you do not think you are ready for this, you may return home. I will remain here and wait until such a time that you are ready.” Rainbow Dash looked at the image of Jor-El. Yes, he was asking a lot of her, but a bit of her mind pushed her on, telling her that she could be the pony her father had spoke of.
“I... I want to help. I want to know what I can do with my powers.” Another pause, before Jor-El smiled.
“Then let us begin your training.”
.................
Rainbow Dash was not sure how long she had spent in the crystal structure, or Fortress of Solitude as her father called it. She had tried keeping track of time at one point, but she had gotten wrapped up in her studies and training and forgot.
“I think you are ready.” Jor-El said after she had woken up from the previous night.
“Are you sure? I’ve only been doing this for... How long?”
“Less than half a year. You have managed to master your powers, and you know much more about your place in the universe.” Rainbow Dash nodded and crossed to the center of the room.
“So, now what?”
“You will go out amongst the other ponies. Guide them, as I have guided you, and use your powers and skills to help them all. But before you leave, I have something for you.” a segment of the nearest wall parted to reveal a flight suit similar to one worn by the Wonderbolts. Unlike those suits, this one was a darker shade of blue, made from a material Rainbow Dash did not recognize, and it lacked a hood and mask for protection against the elements. A red cape was draped over the back, and a large stylized S had been set inside a shield, the emblem placed in the center of the suit’s chest.
“No mask... Won’t everypony know it’s me if there’s no mask?”
“If you do not wish a pony to see your true face, they will not.” Rainbow Dash shrugged and approached the suit. She was able to slip it on without a lot of difficulty, but the clasps for the cape had a few issues that needed to be worked out.
“Hmm, feels comfy.” she stopped, placing a hoof on her mouth. Her voice had shifted once she had put on the suit; it was higher, less raspy and a bit more melodic “Hey, what’s up with my voice? I sound like Princess Celestia right now.”
“There are ponies that may oppose you. To protect both you and those you care for, I have cast several shielding and cloaking spells on your suit to hide both your true face and your true voice. It is deceitful, but in a way you are protecting the others by doing this.”
“Oh.” Rainbow Dash found a smaller crystal that had been polished similar to a mirror. The pony staring back at her had a tan coat and a darker mane, although the faint outlines of Rainbow Dash’s multicolored hair could be seen “Hey, that’s actually kind of cool... at least now I know what to do for the next Nightmare Night.” the image slowly faded and Rainbow saw her normal face once again “Hey, what happened?”
“The spells adjust to you. The others will not see your true face, yet you will be able to.”
“Cool.” she turned and faced the image of her father “Thanks for the help.”
“It was my pleasure, Kara. I see that you have grown into a fine young mare, and I am proud of you.”
“Thank you.” Rainbow Dash turned to leave, her cape fluttering behind her as she walked.
“And remember, my daughter: if there is any information you may need, or if you feel as though you need to be alone, the Fortress of Solitude will always be waiting for you.” Rainbow Dash smiled and stepped outside.
“Now, Ponyville should be that way,” she said, pointing to the southeast “But I should try out this new suit and see how well I fly.” She turned into the wind and took off, shooting forward at speeds ponies only dreamed of. She banked right and increased her speed, flying over the Crystal Mountains and down into Equestria. She climbed higher, punching through a bank of clouds as she ascended. Rolling and turning right, Rainbow Dash giggled a little before shooting straight up, the wind pulling at her mane and cape and she climbed higher and higher.
As she flew, a small mach cone formed around Rainbow Dash. The cone grew in size and sharpened, narrowing considerably as she climbed. Finally, she reached the breaking point and shot forward, leaving only a tremendous explosion and a shower of light as she raced into the stratosphere.
“This... is... AWESOME!” she shouted. She twisted her head around and watched as the rainbow disk spread out across the sky, a wide grin stretching out across her face. Soon, the sound of wind diminished, and she was flying in almost complete silence. Looking down, Equestria was but a small green patch amongst the surrounding land, barely recognisable from where Rainbow Dash was flying. She hung there for a few minutes, her cape fluttering from the slightest breeze.
This is amazing. I can see so much... she relaxed as much as possible, allowing all of her sense to take in everything. By the positioning of the sun, it should have been early morning in Ponyville. She could hear the sound of Pinkie and Mr. Cake setting up for the day, the sound of Mrs. Cake tending to the twins, the sound of Rarity singing to herself in the shower, all of Fluttershy’s animals waking up for the day, even the sound of Scootaloo and the Cutie Mark Crusaders riding off on their daily adventure.
She closed her eyes and allowed the sounds of home to flood her mind. When compared to the winds of the north, or the dead silence of the Fortress of Solitude, the sounds of Ponyville were warm, welcoming, soothing. She breathed in, taking in as much of the sound as she could.
One sound, however, caught her attention: it was a clanking sound, like somepony banging two giant pots together. She opened her eyes and scanned the country, looking for any sign of trouble. She spotted movement in the Everfree forest, and she squinted to get a better look.
Something big and metallic was moving towards Ponyville, and her instincts told her that it was up to no good. She turned and dove towards Ponyville, using as much of her speed as possible to make the trip shorter.
Another day in Ponyville was beginning, and the denizens of the town were busy setting up for the day; shops were opened, food stands were prepped and ready, and foals ran about the town in their never-ending quest to find entertainment and excitement. Twilight would have joined them, but a letter from Princess Celestia concerning the rock that had poisoned Rainbow Dash had come in last week, so she was spending time reviewing her notes and preparing a report.
She was not getting far; since Rainbow had taken the rock with her to Canterlot (and subsequently lost it), Twilight had nothing to test on. Her previous test had drawn a little information, but none that could answer the question of what exactly the rock was or how it affected ponies. If she had had better foresight she would have asked for a blood sample from Rainbow Dash to test, but with the Pegasus nowhere to be found that plan had been scrapped.
She was about to review her notes (again) when Pinkie burst through the door at high speed and tackled her.
“Oh Twilight! You’re here! That’s good ‘cause this is really really really important!”
“Pinkie, get off me.” Pinkie jumped off Twilight and allowed the unicorn the chance to pull herself up “Now, what’s the problem?”
“Well, I was making cupcakes with Mr. Cake when my Pinkie Sense went off. My knees got all twitchy, my ears got floppy, and my nose and eyes got itchy.”
“And that means...?”
“That something really big and scary is going to come into Ponyville and lots of ponies are going to get hurt if we don’t do something!” Twilight’s eyes widened; Pinkie Sense was rarely wrong, and the concentration of ponies outside meant there was a very good chance that somepony could be hurt.
“What exactly is coming to Ponyville?”
“Uh... I don’t know. Just something big and scary!” As if to answer her question, the ground shook from an impact. The two ponies trotted outside and gasped.
Coming out of the Everfree Forest was a machine. Its design was based on a typical dragon, except the wings had been replaced by exhaust pipes and armored plating. Smoke and steam welled out of its mouth, and its eyes glowed blood red. The thing let out a roar, a terrible noise of synthesizers and worn steel, before continuing on its march towards Ponyville.
“Giant... robot... dragon...” was all Twilight could say.
“See, I told you it was scary. What do we do?”
“Uh... I, uh... Get everypony away from there... Now, please.” Pinkie was off, the earth pony disappearing in a cloud of dust. Twilight could only stare at the metal dragon as it advanced on the town, its heavy footfalls ringing throughout her entire being. She managed to shake herself out of her stupor long enough to take off in the opposite direction Pinkie had gone.
I’ve got to get everypony out of here... Do I have any spells that work against giant mechanical dragons?... I think I do. As she formulated her plan, other ponies noticed her distress and began following her.
“Listen up everypony! A giant robot dragon is coming towards our town, and I need everyone to leave before it starts hurting ponies.” Most of the ponies just stared at her, with some mumbling or chuckling nervously to one another “This is serious! We’re all in big danger... Pinkie Pie predicted it!” As soon as she said that, every pony panicked and made a beeline for the western half of town.
Just as the dragon reached the eastern half of town.
................
Scootaloo pulled her scooter to a stop and gasped. The giant robot dragon had stomped on a few houses and was now eyeing the small Pegasus and her two friends. Scootaloo gulped and began to backpedal, her hoof bumping against the wagon she had hitched to her scooter.
“Um, Scootaloo?” Sweetie Belle said, prodding the Pegasus in the back “Could you get us out of here faster?” The dragon bellowed and began to stomp towards them, its giant tail slamming into another house as it moved. Scootaloo gulped once more and took off as fast as possible, the dragon chasing after her and her friends.
“Can’t ya lose it?” Applebloom asked, her voice barely audible over the sound of the dragon’s stomping.
“Hang on, this might get rough!” Scootaloo turned left down an alley as a jet of flame scorched the earth behind her. The dragon roared again and changed direction, smashing the wall off yet another building as it moves. The fillies turned down yet another corner, with Scootaloo increasing their speed, and found themselves in Ponyville’s town square with the dragon still on their heels. Scootaloo, on the verge of panic, veered right and headed towards the town hall in hopes the machine chasing her would stall after wrecking a few more buildings.
However, Scootaloo was in such a panic that she failed to spot a large rock in her path. Upon striking that rock, she, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were pitched head over hooves into the dirt, stunning the three fillies and allowing the metal dragon to catch up to them. Scootaloo shook her head clear and watched as the giant machine raise one foot to stomp on the Cutie Mark Crusaders. With no time to roll away, or to save her friends, the orange filly raised her right foreleg in an attempt to shield her eyes from her impending doom.
There was a clang of hooves against metal and the sound of gears and pistons grinding together. Confused as to why she was not dead yet, Scootaloo opened her eyes and looked up.
Standing over her, pushing up against the dragon’s foot with her forehooves, was a mare. She had a tan coat and gray mane, and she was dressed in a red cape and blue suit, which was adorned by a stylized S. The mare showed no sign of strain as she held back the mechanical monster, as if this was something she had encountered every day of her life. The mare looked over her shoulder at the filly behind her.
“Are you alright?” she asked, her voice melodic and regal, yet containing a small bit of steel.
“Uh, yes, yes I am.” Scootaloo got back to her hooves while the mare turned her attention back to the dragon.
“Good. Get your friends out of here and go find the others. I’ll deal with this thing.” she swished her tail a little and with a snarl pushed up against the foot. The sudden force caught the robot dragon off guard and flipped it, the machine slamming into the ground with an earth-shaking impact. “Go, now!” Scootaloo nodded and raced over to the other two crusaders, who were still collecting themselves.
“You guys okay?” Scootaloo asked.
“Yup.” Applebloom said, placing her helmet back on her head “Wha’ happened?”
“We hit a rock and then this weird pony came out of nowhere and flipped the dragon!” try as she might, Scootaloo could not suppress her grin as she spoke.
“But that thing was huge!” Sweetie Belle said “No pony could have flipped it.”
“I’m serious. Look, see, she’s right over-” as the three fillies turned, they saw that the mare was now beneath the dragon, lifting the machine with her forehooves. With a lunge she pitched the machine to the east before taking off after it.
“See?! See what she did?!”
“But... that’s impossible...” Scootaloo smiled again and hopped back on her scooter.
“Come on Crusaders, we’ve gotta follow her.”
“Wait, ya want to follow th’ robot that tried ta kill us?” Applebloom asked. “Did ya hit your head or somethin’?”
“I just want to see what that weird pony’s doing.”
“I agree with Applebloom,” Sweetie Belle said “It’s really dangerous...”
“Well, if you don’t want to come, then I’ll go by myself.” Scootaloo kicked off and sped towards where the dragon had been thrown. The other two Crusaders looked at each other.
“Should we go after her?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Better’n her gettin’ hurt.” and the two began galloping after their friend before Pinkie jumped in front of them.
“Where are you two going?” she asked.
“Scootaloo went off after the dragon. We were just-”
“What?!” The pink pony grabbed the two fillies and pulled them in “You know what’s gonna happen to her if that mean robot dragon finds her?”
“Wait! There was this other pony that was fighting the dragon!” Sweetie Belle said, struggling against Pinkie’s grip. “She threw the dragon out of town and then Scootaloo started following her when she went after them!” Pinkie’s grip weakened and the two fillies dropped to the ground.
“Really?”
“Yeah, ya gotta believe us!” Applebloom said. There was a pause before Pinkie smiled.
“I’ll tell Twilight about this; she’ll be so happy knowing that the big mean robot dragon’s taken care of. You two go find Scootaloo and I’ll go get the others.”
“Wait, won’t somepony get hurt if something goes wrong?”
“Don’t be silly; there’s always crowds when big mean robots get beat up and they never get hurt.” and with that Pinkie was off, leaving behind two very confused foals.
“Let’s just go find Scootaloo.”
.................
The dragon landed with a crash in the field next to the Everfree Forest, kicking up a massive cloud of dust as it landed. As it struggled to get back on its feet, the mare hovered over it, her forehooves up in a fighting position.
“Listen to me.” she said “You attacked Ponyville, and for that I should destroy this machine. But I don’t want to kill you, so surrender before I am forced to defeat you.” It seemed like a reasonable offer, and flying halfway around the world had been taxing her energy a little. The dragon managed to get back on its feet before roaring again and swiping at the mare with its right hand. The massive metal hand struck the mare and sent her spiraling through the air, but she managed to recover quickly and return to her original position.
“So that’s how you want to handle this? Fine. This won’t take long, then.” The dragon roared once more and swung with its left arm. Before the attack could connect, the mare turned and swung with her right hoof, the two attacks colliding at high speed. The metal of the hand folded almost completely in half before the entire hand shattered, with bits of metal falling to the ground.
Seeing her opening, the mare shot forward and slammed into the robot’s chest, the steel plates bending under the force. The dragon staggered back, but she allowed it no time to recover. She rushed forward and slammed her hooves into the machine again and again, each strike leaving visible cracks and dents in the armor. Satisfied with the damage to the torso, she rose up and brought her right hoof down on top of the dragon’s head, knocking it back to the ground.
“I’ll give you another chance to surrender.” she said. The dragon struggled to get back on its feet, it’s eyes fixated on the mare in the blue suit and cape. With another roar, a jet of fire shot from the machine’s mouth and engulfed its opponent,who barely flinched as flames that would be hot enough to melt iron washed over her.
When the attack was finished, the mare was still flying, her suit and body no worse for wear. “Impressive. Let me try mine.” she flew around the side of the dragon, and after a pause two red beams shot from her eyes and struck the robot’s right leg at the hip. She dragged the beams across the leg, slicing through the metal like a pair of scissors through worn paper. When she finished, a clean cut had separated the leg from the rest of the body, and with the loss of support the metal dragon collapsed to the ground.
The mare landed on the back of the dragon, quickly locating a seam near one of the exhaust pipes. A quick smack with her hooves created a gap large enough for her to slip her forelegs through, and she proceeded to rip the entire back of the robot off. As she tossed the sheet of metal away, she spotted a large glowing cage lined with tubes and wires. “Ah, a power source. That should end this.” she jumped down to the power source and wrapped several wires around her hooves before yanking up, ripping it from the machine. The robot stopped moving and shuttering, and the glow in its eyes began to fade. The power source shook for a moment before it too stopped glowing, and the mare tossed that next to the piece of metal she had ripped off earlier.
She flew up to the head of the now disabled machine, searching for a way in. A brief scan showed a small door near where the left ear would have been. She landed next to the door and pried it open, readying herself for anything she might find inside.
Inside the dragon’s head, dazed from being knocked around, were two unicorns, identical save for different cutie marks and a mustache on the closer one. They wore striped blue shirts and bowties that looked like they had not been washed in quite some time. But what caught the mare’s attention was their eyes; they were dull, unfocused, and had a slight glow to them. They looked nothing like the con-artists she knew them as; rather, they looked like a pair of drunken bums.
“It appears we have been caught, dear brother of mine.” the lead said, his voice slow and mechanical.
“Yes indeed. Just like they said.” the other replied.
“Well, it was still a good run, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Indeed it was.” the two unicorns stood next to each other and faced the mare. “I suppose now we need to enact our contingency plan.”
“I suppose so.” With that, the two leapt at the mare, hoping that together they could overpower, or at least hassle, their opponent. Before they could reach her, however, she had slammed the door on their heads, knocking the two out.
“If your plan was to try and overpower the mare who just tore your robot to pieces,” she said, reaching in and grabbing the two other ponies by their shirts “I’ll have to recommend you to a psychiatrist.”
...............
Scootaloo had only arrived near the end of the fight, when the mare had sliced the leg off the dragon. She stood there in silence, awed by the display of power the mare had show, and it was only after the mare moved towards the dragon’s head that she noticed her wings were buzzing with excitement. She was so focused on the scene before her that she failed to hear the pop of a teleport and the sound of hooves rushing towards her.
“Scootaloo! What do you think you’re doing?” Twilight asked as she ran to the Pegasus filly. Scootaloo’s wings stopped buzzing and she turned to the older mare.
“Sorry Twilight. But look at what she did!” Scootaloo pointed towards the wrecked dragon. Twilight gasped a little but managed to regain her composure as the mare flew towards them carrying two battered ponies.
“Is... Is that Flim and Flam? They’re the ones that made that thing?”
“I’m afraid so, ma’am.” the mare said before dropping the two ponies to the ground “Contact the Royal Guards and put these two into custody. Also, check them for any signs of brainwashing; While they might not have been the most moral of ponies the first time I met them, I don’t think they would go on a rampage like this on their own accord.”
“Wait, you’ve met them before?”
“I traveled a lot before coming here. Now if you will excuse me, I have to dispose of the dragon.” The mare turned to leave before Scootaloo stepped forward.
“Wait! Who are you?” The mare paused before turning around and facing Twilight and Scootaloo.
“A friend.” she smiled and flew back to the dragon, hoisting the thing up in her hooves and flying off to the east.
Once the mare and robot dragon were out of sight, Scootaloo fainted.
....................
The next day, reporters from all over Equestria flooded into Ponyville. Every major newspaper, from the Manehattan Enquirer to the Seaddle Times, even the local Foal Free Press, had somepony scouring Ponyville for anything that might have been of use. They could care less about the damage, the displaced ponies, even the giant robot dragon; all they cared about was the mysterious mare that had appeared and saved Ponyville.
And inside Sugarcube Corner, five mares were discussing the events.
“I don’t like this,” Applejack said, pushing away her mug of cider “Somethin’ don’t add up.”
“Applejack, our sisters could have died the other day, and you think there’s something wrong with them being saved?” Rarity said.
“Nah, I’m glad they’re still alive... But I mean, some mare just shows up outta nowhere ‘n beats up some big robot that just happens to attack town for no reason? I bet she staged the whole thing!”
“Scootaloo and your sisters said she threw the dragon across town,” Twilight said, setting aside a newspaper “Nopony besides the Princesses is that strong.”
“Exactly. I reckon she used some kinda freaky magic stuff to make it look like she was throwin’ it around like that.” Applejack stamped her hoof against the floor “Just ain’t decent, tryin’ to make somepony look all big ‘n powerful like that.”
“I did a sweep of the area after I got Flim and Flam to the guards; the only magic residue I got was from the power source.” Twilight slumped over “Which I can’t analyse because she took it away. Imagine what I could do if I could figure out what was powering that thing; Equestria could enter a new age of technology if magical propulsion got worked out.”
“Twi, yer ramblin’ again.”
“Oh, sorry.”
“Well, I’m just happy everypony’s okay.” Fluttershy said “It would have been just awful if somepony had gotten hurt or died when that robot showed up.”
“Yeah...” Applejack looked around “Where’d Pinkie get off to?”
“Some reporters asked her what happened, and... Well, you know Pinkie.”
“When was that?”
“Six hours ago.”
“Oh.” there was silence.
“Well, I think we’re all just being a little too glum about the whole situation,” Rarity said, picking another cupcake up with her telekinesis “Let’s just be happy that everypony is okay.”
“Yes, I would like that.” Fluttershy said. Applejack muttered something and pulled her mug back.
“Another thing, why’s she gotta be so secretive about everythin’?”
“Because she’s a superhero!” Pinkie Pie said, popping out from behind a nearby table “And superheroes never tell anypony about all the super things they do because they don’t want to be big Braggy McBraggersons.”
“I think it’s a little early to be calling her a superhero.” Twilight said “Yes, she saved a bunch of ponies, but-”
“But nothing!” Pinkie said, leaning in real close to Twilight “She beat up a giant robot. She is a superhero.”
“But beating up robots doesn’t make a pony a superhero. There has to be more than that.”
“There is, but that’s ruining the fun of it.”
“Geez, I go away for five months and you guys start having arguments about superheroes.” the five ponies turned and saw Rainbow Dash standing in the middle of the room, her saddlebags resting on the ground “Guess I really do hold you all together.” The other five could only gape at their friend, while Rainbow Dash shifted her gaze to one of confusion “What? Should I leave and come back later?”
“R-Rainbow Dash!?” the five other said.
“Yeah, is something wrong?” She had barely finished her sentence when she was barreled over by a pink blur.
“Dashie! You’re back!” Pinkie said, hugging the Pegasus as tight as she could. “We tried writing you, but every letter we sent just came back unopened.”
“Spike wasn’t too happy about that.” Twilight said as Rainbow and Pinkie made their way over to the table.
“Well, I only spent a few days in Seaddle, then I started doing some odd jobs around that part of Equestria.”
“I can tell,” Applejack said, poking Rainbow Dash in the side. “Looks like you’ve been doin’ some hard labor.”
“There were a bunch of citrus farms over near Los Pegasus.”
“You were in Los Pegasus?” Rarity said, swooning slightly. “Oh, you simply must tell us everything you saw there.”
“Maybe some other time; I’m a little beat from the trip.”
“That’s another thing,” Twilight said. “Why didn’t you tell us you were coming back? You disappear for five months and then show up without warning. We could have met you down at the station.”
“I did send you a note... What, didn't you get it?” the other five shook their heads ‘no’. “Ah, sorry about that. Well, I’m here now, so you don’t have to worry about anything else... Hey, can I get some food, I’m really hungry.” Pinkie released Rainbow Dash and reappeared with a fresh plate of cupcakes and some milk. “Thanks... So, did I miss anything while I was gone?” The others looked at each other before looking back at Rainbow Dash.
“Well... Um... You missed something... yesterday.” Twilight said.
“What?”
“Um... Well, there was an incident with a... dragon.”
“And you didn’t tell me sooner?” Rainbow Dash set the plate of cupcakes down and grabbed Twilight. “Are you guys okay? Was anypony hurt? Where’s Scootaloo? Is she okay?”
“Relax, Rainbow. Nopony was seriously injured-”
“Because a superhero came out of the sky and saved us all!” Pinkie shouted, pushing Twilight out of the way.
“... What?”
“Yeah, she came in and she threw the big mean robot out of town and then she went and ripped it open and disabled it and beat it up and then flew off with it and she was all mysterious and didn’t say much and then Scootaloo fainted and-”
“Pinkie!” the other four shouted.
“What?”
“I think it’d be better if we explained it to her a little slower.” Twilight said.
“But Twilight-”
“No Pinkie.” Pinkie’s mane deflated slightly and she walked away. Twilight gave a small sigh and turned her attention to Rainbow.
“What she was trying to say was that this mare-”
“Who was a superhero.”
“... This mare came out of nowhere and started fighting the robot.”
“Like a superhero.” Twilight snapped her head around, leveling a glare at Pinkie.
“Pinkie, stop interrupting me.”
“But Dashie won’t get the whole story if you don’t tell her about the superhero.”
“You know what, fine! There was a superhero! She threw the dragon across town and shot it with laser eyes! She was wearing a big red cape and blue suit with an S on it, and she sounded a lot like Princess Celestia! Are you happy now!?”
“Yes Twilight.” Pinkie said, smiling all the way. Twilight sighed again and looked back at Rainbow Dash.
“Sorry you had to see that; I’ve just been under a lot of stress lately.”
“Hey, that’s okay. I mean, we’ve all had times like that, right?” the other five nodded. Rainbow Dash pulled a cupcake from the nearby plate and began eating. “So, a superhero?”
“Yes.” the other five, save Pinkie, said.
“And she just disappeared after destroying the robot?”
“Yes.” There was a pause.
“Okay.” Rainbow Dash resumed eating while the others looked at her in shock.
“Wait, you’re not jealous?” Rarity asked.
“Uh, no. Should I be?”
“Well, you are the local hero, and there was that one time when...” Fluttershy mumbled the rest of her sentence and backed away, but the others got the general idea.
“Well, yeah, but that was smaller stuff. I couldn’t fight a big robot dragon if I tried, so I guess this new mare gets a couple points there... whoever she is.”
“Ooh, she doesn’t have a super-cool name!” Pinkie cried. The others ignored her.
“Promise us that you won’t do anything... stupid?” Rainbow Dash chuckled.
“Hey, if she shows up again, I’ll be nice. But if she starts stealing my fans, well-”
“You’ll have a nice talk with her and get her to compromise.” Twilight finished for her.
“... I was going to say challenge her to some kind of competition, but I guess that works better in the long run.”
“What do you think would be a good name for her?” Pinkie said “She’s all super and stuff... How about Supermare? Is Supermare a good name?”
“Pinkie, nopony cares about her name.”
“Sure they do. I’ll prove it.” Pinkie bounced over to one of the reporters, a beige colt who wore a small button with the letters “EQD” printed on it “Hey, Mr. Reporter Guy?”
“Um, yes?”
“Do you think Supermare is a good name for the superhero?” There was a pause before the colt smiled.
“Good? It’s awesome! I was having trouble with what to call this new pony, but ‘Supermare’ fits perfectly. Besides, it’s kinda catchy.”
“I know!”
“Hey, can I talk to you about what you saw for a bit?”
“Sure.” Pinkie bounced off with the reporter tailing her. Rainbow Dash chuckled again and ate another cupcake.
“Ah, it’s good to see Pinkie being Pinkie.” the conversation would have continued, but the five friends were interrupted when an older mare with a grey mane and glasses came over to them.
“Oh, Twilight, so good to see you here.” the Mayor said “I need to ask you a favor.”
“Oh?”
“You see, some of the town council members, myself included, thought that we should show our appreciation to that mare-”
“Supermare.” Twilight corrected her.
“What?”
“Pinkie named her Supermare.”
“Oh. Well, anyway, I was hoping you and Pinkie could coordinate something to show her how thankful we are that she saved our town. Nothing too big, mind you; just something small and heartfelt for her.”
“Okay, I’ll think of something.”
“Wonderful!” the Mayor smiled “I’ll go tell Pinkie about my plan.” and she walked off, leaving the five mares alone again.
“Guess we need to fight more dragons if we’re ever gonna get a party like that.” Rainbow muttered.
“We don’t need that kind of recognition,” Twilight said “Can you imagine what our lives would be like if everypony thought we were superheroes? We’d be mobbed by ponies everywhere we went and couldn’t really live out our lives.”
“Hey, I wouldn’t mind; I think it’d be kinda cool to have a bunch of ponies following me around.”
“Well of course you wouldn’t mind, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity said “But we’re not all you. Could you imagine poor Fluttershy if thousands of ponies were coming to see her?” Fluttershy cringed a little and looked at the table.
“... Maybe you’re right.” Rainbow Dash finished another cupcake and stood to leave “I’m going to go find Scootaloo, just to see how she’s doing.”
“Oh, when will you be coming by to pick up Tank?” Fluttershy asked.
“When I’m finished hanging out with Scootaloo.” Rainbow Dash nodded her thanks to the Cakes and left Sugarcube Corner.
“Well, it’s good that Rainbow Dash is back home safe.” Rarity said.
“Yeah... but ain’t it kinda weird how quickly she blew off that whole ‘Supermare’ thing?”
“I’m sure she’s just tired,” Twilight said “Once she settles back into the swing of things she might have more to say.”
“Maybe...”
..............
That night, Rainbow Dash lay on her bed, her cape draped over her like a blanket. Tank was sleeping in his favorite corner, and Rainbow Dash was happy that she had him back. She sighed a little and pulled the cape a little closer.
So, superhero... I think I’m okay with that. She rolled over and looked out one of her windows. I still have to watch out for Pinkie; all that talk of superheroes and she might actually find out I’m Supermare... Wait, is there anything wrong with her finding out? Or my other friends finding out? Rainbow Dash sat up and frowned. Well... Pinkie’s Pinkie but she’s good at keeping secrets. Applejack’s a bad liar, but she keeps her word. Fluttershy might let something slip, but not on purpose. Twilight would probably want me in some lab, but I don’t think she’d betray me. Rarity’s big on the whole reputation thing, so she’ll probably understand... Rainbow smiled again, before another thought crept into her mind. But what if some bad guy comes along and tries to get to me through them...? No, I can’t risk it. She flopped back down on her bed and looked at the ceiling.
Someday, though... Someday. She pulled the cape and her normal blanket a little closer, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.
Scootaloo could not sleep. Even though it had been almost a week since the dragon and Supermare’s arrival, the filly could not get the fight out of her head. This was not helped by the fact that everywhere she went all anypony would ever talk about was “Supermare this” or “Supermare that”; even her fellow Crusaders would not stop talking about this new mare. She tossed one of her pillows off her bed and rolled over, trying in vain to clear her mind and find a comfortable spot to sleep.
After a few more minutes of failure, she grumbled and sat up. She went to retrieve her pillow when she noticed a small note taped to the outside of her window. Curious, she flicked on a nearby light and approached the window. The note had been hastily written, but Scootaloo could still read it.
Roof. I want to talk.
- Supermare.
“What?” Scootaloo said. She pushed the window open and retrieved the note before inspecting it as best she could (she made a note to try Cutie Mark Crusader Forgery Spotters someday). Scootaloo returned to the window and peeked out, trying to catch a glimpse of the mare.
“Hello, is anyone up there?” Scootaloo asked. There was the sound of hooves treading on thatch before another pony hung her head over the edge.
“I see you got my note.” Supermare said “I would have put it somewhere else for you to find, but it was late and I didn’t want to be intrusive.”
“Oh...”
“But since you’re here, I just wanted to talk to you for a few minutes. Mind joining me up here?”
“Um, I can’t fly. How am I supposed to get up there?”
“Silly question.” Supermare flew down and hovered in front of Scootaloo’s window “Just climb on my back and I’ll take you up.”
“... Okay.” Scootaloo backed up before launching herself out the window, spreading her wings as wide as possible to allow for gliding. She managed to land on the older mare, wrapping her legs around Supermare as she landed. Supermare chuckled and rose back into the air, her speed completely unaffected by the filly on her back. Once they reached the roof, she let Scootaloo climb down and make herself comfortable before landing next to her.
“You ever come up here?”
“Uh, no. I can’t really get out here, and if I did ponies would get mad at me.”
“If you asked them, I’m sure they would let you come out here.” Supermare gave Scootaloo a smile and looked up into the sky. Scootaloo, unsure of how to proceed, shuffled a little and looked up too.
“You know, when I was younger my mother used to take me out on nights like this to stargaze,” Supermare said “The first few times I thought it was because there was some larger meaning she wanted me to grasp, but she told me it was to thank the Princesses for the beauty of the night.”
“Is that why we’re out here?”
“I don’t know.” the superhero looked at Scootaloo “Do you see it that way?” There was a pause as Scootaloo mulled over her answer. Well, the Princesses are nice, but I already do things for them...
“I’m... not sure, really.” another pause before the mare shrugged and looked away. “Was that a bad answer?”
“No. If you had said ‘yes’ then I’d respect your connection to the Princesses, but if you had said ‘no’ then I’d assume you thank them some other way.”
“Well... what if I don’t thank them? What if there’s some other powerful beings that I want to thank?”
“You say a little prayer to the Princesses every night before you go to bed, and you ask Celestia to protect you every time you do something dangerous when trying to get your cutie mark. I don’t know of any other powerful beings you would know of.” Scootaloo’s mouth dropped.
“H-how did you know that?” Supermare tapped a hoof to her head.
“X-ray vision and superior hearing; I can see a fly sitting on the eastern side of the Statue of Libraety while I’m flying over Seaddle.”
“You’re lying.”
“You’re right, that is a little short ranged for my vision. I’m sorry for intruding on your personal life; I just wanted to learn more about you ponies and that seemed to be the fastest way possible.”
“You could have just asked.”
“I could have.” another pause.
“Is there anything else you know about me? Or my friends?”
“I understand how you live, how your day-to-day lives progress, but other than that I do not know much.” Scootaloo looked back up at the stars, her mind racing with questions. She looked back at the mare before speaking again.
“Who are you?” yet another pause.
“Everypony calls me Supermare, and I’m willing to let them do so. My real name is Kara Jor-El, but until I get to know you better I’d prefer if you do not call me that.”
“Can... Can I tell my friends?”
“... I suppose so, but the same condition applies to them.”
“Oh... Your name’s kind of weird.”
“Weird?”
“I’ve never met a pony with a name like that... except maybe Zecora, but she wasn’t born in Equestria.” Scootaloo smiled a little “Were you not born in Equestria?”
“No. I was born on the planet Krypton.” Supermare looked back up to the sky “You can probably see it from here; it was far enough away that it’s light should still be glowing for a few more years.”
“‘Was’?”
“Krypton was destroyed, many years ago... I was the only survivor, as my father had built a ship for me to travel to Equestria.”
“Oh.” Scootaloo looked away before something clicked in her mind “Wait, Krypton is another planet? You’re an alien?”
“I was raised in Equestria, but you are technically right. Does my being an alien scare you?”
“I, err... Uh, no! Of course not!” Scootaloo smiled as best she could, but the other pony was not impressed.
“You can tell me the truth; I promise I won’t get mad.” Scootaloo’s smile crumbled and she looked down at the roof.
“... I guess I’m a little scared. I’ve never met an alien before, and I saw what you did to that robot...”
“Rest assured, I am not here to hurt ponies; I am here to protect and guide you all.”
“Some ponies might not believe you.” Scootaloo looked away “I can probably think of one.”
“Who?” Scootaloo shuffled some more before looking back at Supermare.
“You see, there’s this pony that... well, I kind of see her like... like a big sister. And she’s really nice, and really cool. But... now you’re here she might not like you because... well... You’re cool too, and you’re big on the hero stuff, and she is too...”
“And you’re afraid that I might antagonize her by stealing her spotlight?”
“Uh... yeah, what you said.”
“I have no intention of doing so. If I do then it is purely by accident and I mean your friend no disrespect. And you never know; we could meet and become good friends... That would be okay, right?”
“Yeah, yeah it would be okay.” Scootaloo would have continued, but a yawn managed to slip past her lips.
“I should leave. You’ll need your energy for tomorrow.”
“Why? What happens tomorrow?”
“The town has that big celebration for me since I defeated the machine.”
“Oh yeah... I guess I forgot.”
“You’re tired; that was a likely outcome.” Supermare picked up Scootaloo in her forehooves and flew down to her window. “If you ever feel like you want to talk, just leave a note on your window.”
“Okay.” Supermare set Scootaloo down on her bed and prepared to leave “Wait!”
“Yes?”
“I... I just want to thank you again... you know, for saving my life and all.”
“You’re welcome.” Supermare smiled and took off, disappearing into the night. Scootaloo sighed and closed her window, making one last glance outside before returning to bed.
Maybe I could talk to Rainbow Dash tomorrow...
.................
Pinkie had gone all out for the party for Supermare; half of Ponyville was covered in streamers and balloons, and a giant stage had been placed right outside town hall. The Cakes had provided a large quantity of snacks, and the weather team had spent the entire morning clearing ever bit of cloud cover away. Pinkie had made sure that every single pony in Ponyville, and quite a few that weren’t, had been invited, and she was currently babbling away to a crowd of reporters and excited foals about her version of the story.
The other four, meanwhile, were busy making final preparations for the superhero’s arrival.
“Applejack, did you bring those components I asked for?” Twilight asked as she scratched out a rough design on the stage.
“Yes Twi.” Applejack pulled an apple and a flask of cider from her saddlebag and tossed them to Twilight, who caught them in her telekinesis without looking away from her scribbling.
“May I ask what, exactly, you plan to do?” Rarity asked.
“Well, Applejack said she was suspicious of Supermare, right? This will show if she’s really as powerful as she says she is, and if she’s hiding anything from us.” Twilight placed the apple and cider in the center of her scribbles. Her horn lit up and the apple products melted into an amber liquid, which quickly flowed down her scribbles and formed a large apple shape. “This is a Seal of Honesty; it allows the caster to tell whether somepony who is standing inside the Seal is telling the truth or not.”
“So that way we know if this Supermare is really telling the truth?”
“Exactly.”
“Ever try anythin’ like this before, Twi? Don’t want it to blow up’n send ya to some other world or somethin’, now do ya?”
“Don’t worry, this was one of the first spells I ever learned. We should be fine.” The design flickered for a moment before vanishing completely, taking her scribbled with it. “Come on, let’s get away from here before somepony starts asking questions.”
...............
As the four of them set up their spell, two other ponies watched from the shade of a nearby building.
“A Seal of Honesty,” the stallion said “That’s interesting.”
“It’s a basic level spell,” Trixie said “I could do it in my sleep.”
“I am well aware of that, and if I had wanted your input, I would have asked for it.”
“Trixie is sorry.”
“No you’re not... Although it is a wise choice for them; they know not what they are dealing with.”
“This is the same mare that destroyed that little toy of yours, right? Some attempt at vengeance that was.”
“Flim and Flam, as they are named, were vital to my plan. I used them to ‘test the waters’, as it were; had they succeeded, I would have had a powerful weapon at my disposal, but their failure shows potential risks and new enemies I had overlooked.”
“Then eliminate them. You and I are very powerful, so when this mare shows up we can just attack and be done with it. In fact,” Trixie stepped out of the shadows slightly “Why wait? I could extract my revenge right here and now while she’s unable to stop it.”
“And when she shows up, you will die.”
“I can fight her. You gave me strength, and now I want to use it.” Trixie would have stepped forward had not the other pony grasped her throat in his magic and slammed her against the building.
“Listen to me. If I tell you not to attack, you don’t. Should you fail, which I believe to be very likely, my entire plan is ruined and neither of us will achieve our goals. You swore an oath that you would assist me and follow my commands, and if you decide to break that oath,” he placed a hoof against Trixie’s forehead “I will crush your skull and find someone better suited to my plan. Is that clear?”
“Y-yes, c-clear.”
“Good.” he released Trixie and began to walk off “I will go back to Canterlot and continue my preparations. You will stay here and launch your attack in... six days.”
“You want me to attack the day before the Summer Sun Celebration?”
“Why not? It will make for a wonderful show. And remember, if this mare defeats you, do not tell her who I am unless she presses you.”
“‘Presses me’?” the stallion turned around and placed his hoof against Trixie’s forehead again.
“Remember my previous threat?”
“Yes?”
“Now imagine that, but replace me with her, and you will get the idea.”
“Y-yes.”
“Yes what?”
“... Yes, General.”
“Better. Stay out of sight until your attack.”
.............
The ceremony was about to start, and all the invited ponies had gathered in front of the stage. To ensure they were not spotted by Supermare, Twilight and her friends were standing as far back in the crowd as possible, with Twilight making final adjustments on her Seal of Honesty while the others waited for the arrival of the superhero.
“And... There, it’s finished. Now we’ll be able to tell if she’s lying or not.”
“If she ever shows up.” Applejack said “Did they even tell her about all this?”
“Pinkie said she found a way...”
“Oh... Still, they shoulda had her show up quicker; I swear, she’s just takin’ her sweet time, just like Rainbow Dash.”
“I suppose... where is Rainbow Dash, anyway?”
“Quiet, the ceremony’s starting.” a hush fell over the crowd as the mayor approached the podium.
“Fillies and Gentlecolts, I wish to thank you all for coming to this special ceremony today.” a few ponies applauded before the mayor continued “as you know, Ponyville has had to deal with some hardships over the past week, and we are still rebuilding from the mechanical dragon’s rampage. But, had it not been for the actions of one exceptionally brave and powerful pony, then we probably would not have a town to live in.” There was more applause while the five in the back continued to look on.
“Any minute now...”
............
Rainbow Dash was on a nearby hill, having just finished putting on her suit and cape. She would have changed at home, but doing so when she had come back from Scootaloo’s had startled Tank to no end, and she preferred him being calm than having privacy while changing.
“Remember, you’re not Rainbow Dash right now.” She said as she finished with her cape’s clasps “You’re Supermare, so no bragging if you can help it and try to use big words... not too big of words though; Twilight might get suspicious.” she flared her wings and faced Ponyville as her cue neared.
“Time to show these ponies who is protecting them.”
..............
“... and so, it is with great pleasure that I introduce to you, Ponyville’s new hero, Supermare!” the sound of applauding and cheering ponies drowned out the rush of wind as Supermare arrived. Although she had seen her before Twilight could now get a full picture of the pony: average size, yet fairly muscular, but any distinguishing features were hidden beneath her suit. The mare gave the crowd a smile and a wave before landing.
“Okay, here it goes.” Twilight said, summoning a small spell matrix in order to monitor the Seal of Honesty. Supermare waved again before speaking.
“Hello citizens of Ponyville! It’s good to see all of you alive and well on this fine day.” this was greeted by more cheers.
“Welcome, Supermare.” the mayor said “On behalf of the Town Council and everypony in Ponyville, I wish to thank you for all that you’ve done for us.”
“My pleasure, ma’am. It is my duty to make sure that all ponies in Equestria are safe from those that would try to harm them. I thank you for showing me your hospitality today; it’s a welcome change from the last place I stayed at.”
“Anything to show our appreciation.” the mayor smiled “So, is there anything else you would like to say?”
“Just that all of you really mean a lot to me,” Supermare took off and began to glide over the crowd “You are my friends, and I hope that we can work together to create a better future for Ponyville, and hopefully all of Equestria. You’ll help me with that, won’t you?” there were a few more cheers, while most ponies merely nodded or said “yes”.
“Thank you,” The mare said before rising higher in the air “Now, I would love to see your town when it’s not being attacked by a giant robot dragon.” there were a few ponies that laughed at this and a small crowd began to lead Supermare into Ponyville, leaving Twilight and her friends behind.
“Well, That was a bit anti-climatic, don’t you think?” Rarity asked.
“Guess ya wasted a bit of time with that spell then.”
“No,” Twilight said, turning towards town “I cast a much larger one this morning just in case something like this happened. Come, we better follow them so the spell has the best effect.”
...............
Trixie continued to watch from the shadows. Her new skills in magic made this easier, as she was able to use several illusion spells to hide when she moved.
“How does he know I’d lose?” she grumbled as she ducked behind another building “I don’t call myself ‘Great and Powerful’ for nothing.” she spotted Supermare and the others again, her anger building up inside her “I could kill all of them right now. I have that power; one spell and it would all be over! And then I will have my revenge.” she smiled before she remembered her “friend’s” command. She could still feel his hoof against her forehead, his magic against her throat. She shuddered and continued moving.
“No... he’s right; why blow my chances now? Then I won’t be able to enjoy my revenge.”
Just you wait, “Supermare”. I will show you who is the most powerful mare in Equestria.
...............
The celebration had died down by the time the sun had set. The town was still covered in party stuff, with numerous ponies drifting from house to house cleaning up the mess. Pinkie was still with the reporters, though most had lost interest with her now that they had been able to talk with the real Supermare. Pinkie did not seem to care all that much, as she saw it as merely an extension of her involvement with the story.
“Well, at least Pinkie’s enjoying herself.” Twilight said as the pink pony bounced past herself.
“And you’re not?” Rarity asked.
“No. I finally thought we’d be able to figure out who Supermare is, and did we? No; she told us nothing about who she really is.”
“Of course she did, Twilight. You just got caught up in all of your spells and seals that you weren’t really paying attention.” Rarity looked away “I thought you would have adored all that talk of crystals that her kind used to grow buildings. Can you imagine how beautiful that must look?”
“Yes, but that’s not the point. She was being honest with us, but she wasn’t telling us the whole truth.”
“Because superheroes never talk about their personal lives!” Pinkie shouted from across the square. Twilight ignored her.
“‘Secret Identity’ or not, I don’t like it that she can’t tell us. We’re trustworthy, right?”
“I suppose...”
“Hey, Twilight?” Twilight turned and saw Scootaloo approaching.
“Scootaloo? What’s wrong?”
“Have you seen Rainbow Dash? There’s something I need to talk to her about but I can’t find her.”
“I’m sure she’s around here somewhere. Maybe somepony else has seen her.”
“I’ve asked everyone, nopony’s seen her all day.”
“Well, maybe she’s somewhere you haven’t looked; you know how she likes her privacy when napping.”
“Yeah... I’m going to go check the trees by her house again.” Scootaloo wandered back into town.
“Rainbow Dash doesn’t show up to a massive party, she completely blows off the fact that there’s another hero in town, and she comes home without letting us know?”
“What are you thinking Twilight?”
“I think I need to have a talk with a certain weathermare about what she’s hiding from all of us.”
“Wait, Twilight, you can’t possibly think that-” there was a pop and Twilight was gone, having teleported back to her library. “Oh dear, I hope she doesn’t do anything foolish... and she was the one that told Rainbow not to do anything stupid.” Rarity sighed and began to walk back to her boutique.
It was Wednesday, and Rainbow Dash was doing what she enjoyed most: sleeping in. Her covers had been pulled over her head, completely cutting her off from the rest of the world. As Tank usually followed the same sleep patterns, she did not have to worry about tending to him for a few more minutes.
She was dreaming again, this time of fields of crystals and spires. She was flying, zooming between giant natural arches and racing over lakes as clear as glass. She spiraled through the air and shot upwards, racing into the clouds with blistering speed. She smiled as she climbed, the wind rushing past her ears... to the sound of somepony knocking on her door.
Rainbow Dash blinked and looked up. The knocking persisted and she climbed out of bed. “Okay, okay, I’m coming. Jeez, don’t you ponies know I like sleeping in on Wednesdays?” She sighed and entered her hallway, the knocking continued even as she drew closer “Unless something really bad is happening, you better have a good reason for waking me up.”
Standing at the door was not another Pegasus, but a very familiar lavender unicorn. And she did not look happy.
“Twilight? How’d you get up here?”
“Balloon and cloud walk spell.” Twilight said “Rainbow Dash, we need to talk.”
“Uh, okay. Could it have waited until I woke up on my own?”
“No.
“What is it? Is Ponyville in danger?”
“I’m not sure yet. I want to talk about Supermare.” there was a pause.
“... What do you expect me to know?”
“A lot more than you’re telling us.” Twilight advanced towards Rainbow Dash, the Pegasus backing up to keep her distance from her friend “Why didn’t you show up at the ceremony?”
“Uh, I wasn’t interested. Besides, you told me not to do anything stupid, so I decided not to go so I didn’t do anything stupid.”
“You weren’t interested by one of the greatest concentrations of ponies in Ponyville since the last Summer Sun Celebration?”
“Yeah.”
“You, the pony that spends her entire day showing off for everypony to see, weren’t interested?”
“Hey, that’s not true. I hang out with you guys all the time and I don’t try to attract attention then.”
“True. And what about when you came home; you disappear, and then when some new mare with weird powers shows up, you arrive soon afterwards.”
“So?”
“‘So’? You are connected to her in some way.”
“What? And you said I failed logic.”
“This is perfectly logical; She’s never around when you are, and you vanish whenever she shows up. You didn’t get confrontational when we mentioned her, and she said she held no ill will towards you when we talked to her during the ceremony.”
“Well, better that than trying to kill me.”
“Care to explain how she met you when you two are never in the same place at the same time?”
“Sure. She’s an old friend of mine.” Twilight paused, then glared at Rainbow Dash.
“Really?”
“Yeah. We used to live next to each other when we were kids. She... never told me about the superpowers and stuff.”
“Then how come Fluttershy doesn’t know about her?”
“She moved to Manehattan when I was five. We lost track of each other until the whole thing with the rock.” there was a long pause before Twilight spoke.
“You’re lying.”
“Why should I be lying? Because you want to find something wrong? Because you want to understand something that you should leave alone?” Now it was Twilight’s turn to back up.
“I-I never-”
“What was that you said about not wanting us to get all that attention? You said it’d ruin our lives because nopony would ever leave us alone. Isn’t that what you’re trying to do now: expose some pony that’s trying to do some good in this world just so you can be right?”
“I-I wasn’t going to-”
“Sure, you say that now. But somepony would find out, and then she’ll never have anything resembling privacy again. She’d become a shut in worse than Fluttershy, and then she’d never help anypony again. Is that what you want? Do you want to ruin her life?”
“N-no.”
“You want the truth? I don’t know anything about Supermare, and I don’t want to. I’m willing to let her have obscurity and run around in a suit and cape, but obviously you don’t want that. Is that it? You’re only tolerant of heroes if they’re somepony you know?”
“I never said that-"
“You always tell me that I'm the one who gets jealous and judgemental, but it seems that the only pony here that is jealous,” Rainbow Dash pointed her hoof at Twilight “Is you.” There was another long pause. Small tears began to pool under Twilight’s eyes, and she began to shuffle.
“I... I just wanted to know who she was... maybe learn more about where she was from... I-I never wanted to hurt anypony...”
“Hey Twilight,” Rainbow flew over and wrapped a foreleg around Twilight “Don’t be like that. Yeah, you probably meant well but you got too big on the facts and stuff. I mean, if I had a bunch of superpowers I wouldn’t tell anypony until I was sure I could trust them.” She turned Twilight towards her “Maybe that’s what you have to do; back off and let her trust you.”
“... Maybe you’re right.”
“Yeah, I think I am right this time. You know what, just go home and relax; maybe go join Rarity and Fluttershy for their spa trip. Just don’t worry about superheroes.”
“Okay.” Twilight turned to leave “I’m sorry I accused you of hiding something.”
“That’s okay. See you later.” Rainbow Dash waved as Twilight walked back to her balloon. Once the unicorn was out of sight, Rainbow Dash closed the door and collapsed.
“That was too close... Twilight might catch on again, so I’ll have to get creative.” Rainbow Dash yawned and stood up.
“But I think I want to finish sleeping first.”
................
The next few days went by without incident. Twilight did avoid Rainbow Dash for awhile, but whatever animosity that was developing between the two did dissolve over time. Talk of Supermare also died down, and by Saturday more ponies were focused on the upcoming Summer Sun Celebration than superheroes.
Pinkie Pie, however, had other plans.
Rainbow Dash was napping in one of Applejack’s trees when she felt something tugging at her tail. She opened her eyes and saw the pink pony staring back up at her, several bags draped across her back.
“Pinkie, what’s up?”
“You are, but I need your help.”
“Okay, what do you need?”
“Well, I was poking around the Cake’s storerooms and I found this.” Pinkie pulled out a small flask of glue “and then I got to thinking that since you’ve been gone things have been kinda quiet around here except for the superheroes but that’s something else entirely and I was thinking maybe you and I could go out and make these ponies a little happier.”
“So... pranks?”
“Yup.” Rainbow Dash smiled; it had been awhile since she had done any pranks, and now was her chance to see if she still had it in her. She jumped out of the tree and landed in front of Pinkie.
“Okay, how are we gonna do it?”
“That’s my surprise for you. You go and distract everypony and I’ll get everything set up.”
“Okay, how do I distract them? Sonic Rainboom?”
“I was thinking you’d dress up as Supermare.” Rainbow Dash blinked.
“Uh... what?”
“Everypony kinda expects you to do super-amazing stunt stuff, but nopony expects Supermare, so if you dressed up like her then they’d follow you.”
“But, I mean, we look nothing alike. She’s got tan fur and I’m, well, blue.”
“I figured that out too.” Pinkie rummaged around in one of her bags and pulled two bottles of mane dye out “It washes out, but you’ll look like her.”
“Okay. But I don’t have a costume-”
“I’ve got that too.” Pinkie continued rummaging and pulled out a suit and cape very similar to the one Rainbow Dash usually wore.
“Uh... How’d you get this?”
“I wanted to play superhero with the Cake Twins, but I didn’t have a costume, so I asked Rarity to make one for me. She even made wings and everything!”
“That’s pretty cool,” Rainbow Dash chuckled “Okay, I’ll go get dressed and we’ll get started.”
“Okie-Dokie Loki!” and Pinkie Pie bounced off. Rainbow Dash rolled up the costume and the mane dyes and took off towards her house.
I could use this stuff... but then I actually have a suit that can do all this without having to uses dyes and stuff... she shrugged. And should I even do pranks as Supermare? If I’m trying to be some kind of big role model then it won’t look good if I start harassing ponies... Well, maybe one or two little pranks wouldn’t hurt. Yeah, just to show them I do have a sense of- Hey, is that Trixie? Rainbow Dash stopped for a moment and squinted. It was Trixie, but something had changed; she now wore a black bodysuit beneath her wizard costume, and her eyes looked more sinister and cruel than haughty.
“This won’t end well. I guess Pinkie’s distraction will involve Supermare after all.” Rainbow Dash sped up and headed back to her home.
..............
Trixie trotted into town square, the place of her first great humiliation. She was a changed mare now, one whose mind had been opened to all possible powers. She smiled: today was a day that nopony would ever forget, and it would be the day that Trixie truly cemented her status as The Great and Powerful.
“Citizens of Ponyville!” she shouted, drawing the eyes of almost everypony present “You wronged me once, when you turned and drove me away! But now, Trixie has returned to show you all that she is not a mare to be wronged. However, she is not without mercy; surrender yourselves to me and admit you were wrong in throwing me out, and I will allow you to live out your lives in peace.”
“If you’re asking these ponies to bow down to you,” a voice said from behind Trixie “I’m afraid we’re going to have a few disagreements.” Trixie turned and saw Supermare, the pony hovering with her forelegs crossed.
“Oh, look who decided to show up.” Trixie chuckled “You can be and example to these ponies and be the first to surrender to me!” She leveled her horn and fired a blast at her opponent, but the Pegasus effortlessly dodged and landed.
“We don’t have to do this. I could snap you in half with my bare hooves, but I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Yes, we don’t have to do this. You can surrender!” Trixie fired another blast, Supermare again dodging and taking to the air again.
“I’m warning you, Trixie. Cease this now or I will have to subdue you.”
“‘Subdue me’? Try subduing this!” Trixie’s horn began to glow, energy swirling around her as her spell built up power. At first nothing happened, but soon the ground began to shake as something made its way towards Ponyville.
All the present ponies turned towards the Everfree Forest and saw a giant mass of purple marching out of the woods. It had a bear-like shape, and it was flecked with small pinpoints of light meant to look like the stars. The creature paused for a moment to determine it’s location before continuing on.
“Let’s see how well you stand against the might of a bull Ursa Major, Supermare!”
............
For the first time since she had put on the suit, Rainbow Dash was actually worried. Giant robot dragons were one thing, but an Ursa Major was something else entirely; no weak points, no power sources, just astral energy, bone and muscle. Yes, Rainbow Dash was probably stronger than the Princesses, but Princess Celestia had nearly died when she faced off against an Ursa shortly after the Nightmare Moon Incident.
Pull yourself together, Rainbow... You can do this.
“What’s the matter, Supermare?” Trixie called “Scared?”
“Hardly.” Rainbow Dash raced forward, her right forehoof aimed at the Ursa. The massive bear spotted this and rose up to attack, but this only gave Rainbow Dash a larger target. She slammed into the Ursa at high speed, the sound of the collision echoing across Ponyville. The bear staggered and collapsed, roaring in a mix of pain and rage.
Rainbow Dash hovered over the Ursa, waiting to see how it would react. The bear roared again and swung at her, the massive paw knocking Rainbow Dash half way across Ponyville and into the town hall. The wood planks shattered under the force of Rainbow Dash striking them, and small bits of wood rained down on her as she recovered.
“Okay, this is going to be a bit more difficult than the last fight.” she shook several chunks of wood out of her mane and charged, a small mach cone forming around her as she raced towards the Ursa. The bear swatted at her again, but this time Rainbow Dash pulled up and dodged before zooming in and punching the Ursa in the face. The Ursa managed to recover quickly and lunged at Rainbow Dash, massive jaws snapping shut mere inches from the Pegasus. She flew in for another hit, but the bear saw this coming and thrashed it’s head, clobbering Rainbow Dash and knocking her out of the air. She hit the ground hard enough to leave a small crater, and she would have recovered had the Ursa not proceeded to stomp on her.
A normal pony would have been killed instantly. Being stepped on only made Rainbow Dash mad.
The Ursa roared in pain as two red beams struck the underside of it’s foot. As it reared up, Rainbow Dash shot up and collided with the bear’s chin, her eyes glowing bright red with energy. She shot the Ursa several times before striking the Ursa in the chest, each hit channeling more strength than the last one. The Ursa collapsed, trying to recover from the punishment the pony had dealt it.
“Oh very impressive.” Trixie shouted “But it takes a lot more than a few light tricks to drop an Ursa.” Rainbow Dash turned and was about to confront Trixie when the Ursa’s jaws slammed shut on her midsection. Snorting in triumph, the Ursa began to shake its head back and forth, trying to rip the Pegasus in half. Rainbow Dash’s tough Kryptonian physiology prevented any lasting harm, but being tossed around threw off her focus and the massive jaws would leave a nasty bruise if not removed. She twisted around and bucked against the roof of the Ursa’s mouth, knocking the bear’s jaws open and freeing herself. She flew upward and slammed her right hoof against the Ursa’s head, knocking it to the ground once again.
It was then that she got a good look at it’s eyes; like Flim and Flam, they were dull and unfocused, and they glowed slightly. “Trixie, you brainwashed an Ursa?” The unicorn did not hear her, all of her focus on the Ursa before her. Rainbow Dash grumbled and flew in for another strike, the massive beast spotting this and lunging forward.
Bear and pony collided at high speed, the two combatants collapsing and rolling across the ground. The Ursa tried to use it’s bulk to crush Rainbow Dash, but the pony used her strength to push back against her opponent. When they came to a stop near the Everfree Forest, Rainbow Dash slammed her right hoof into the Ursa’s chest, knocking it off her once more.
However, doing so caused the Ursa to flail, a massive paw hitting Rainbow Dash and sending her flying. She crashed into the ground with enough force to form a shallow trench, coming to a stop somewhere near where the fight had begun.
“Face it, Supermare.” Trixie said, her smug smile spreading wide “Even with all your strength, you have nothing with which to defeat the might of an Ursa Major.” Rainbow Dash climbed out of the trench and watched as the Ursa began to advance towards her.
“Well... It goes to show that you yourself can’t beat me, then.”
“... What?”
“You use a proxy to take out a stronger foe. In some locales, that would be seen as cowardice.”
“And others would see it as cunning strategy!” Good Trixie; get mad.
“You know the Griffons would see you as a weakling, a backstabber?”
“I don’t care what Griffons think.”
“Maybe, but if word gets out everypony might start calling you the Meek and Treacherous Trixie.” Rainbow Dash took off as a bolt of blue magic slammed into the ground next to her.
“Trixie is anything but meek! She is the most skilled and cunning unicorn that has ever lived.” Rainbow Dash was not focused on Trixie; in the moment that the unicorn had lost her temper, the Ursa’s eyes had flickered slightly and the bear had stalled it’s attack.
Bingo.
“I want to thank you, Trixie.”
“You? Thank me?”
“Yes, you just showed me how to defeat you.” Rainbow Dash took off, climbing higher as both Trixie and the Ursa tracked her. Once she reached a good height, the turned and dove towards Trixie, her hooves outstretched and aimed at the ground right before the unicorn. Trixie’s eyes went wide as she saw what was going to happen, but she failed to scramble away before Rainbow Dash hit the ground.
The force of the impact was enough to blast a crater in the ground nearly two ponies wide, with bits of dirt and rock going ballistic and embedding themselves in nearby buildings. Trixie tried to dig in with her hooves, but the impact tossed her through the air like a leaf, shattering any spells she was currently casting. The ursa stopped again, it’s eyes losing their dull look. It stood there for a moment, puzzled as to how it ended up so far away from it’s home, before groaning in pain and lumbering off towards the Everfree Forest.
At the bottom of the crater, Rainbow Dash could not help but smile.
I win again, Trixie.
.............
All of Trixie’s body hurt. Maybe it was the feedback coming from her horn, or maybe it was from being thrown against the ground, but it hurt nonetheless. She groaned and tried to bring herself back up on her hooves, but failing that she began to crawl towards the nearest building, hoping to get some time to recover.
She never got far, for a blue clad hoof was pressed against her back, pinning her to the ground.
“You’ve lost, Trixie,” Supermare said “Your Ursa is free of his brainwashing, and your magic is spent. I ask you to surrender, so that no more violence will be needed.”
“N... no...” there was a pause.
“Then tell me; who sent you?”
“... What?”
“I have been watching you for some time, and there is no way somepony of your level in magic could use a spell like that. So who sent you?”
“How do you know I didn’t just learn that spell?”
“Because that spell would have taken years for you to master on your own. So,” Supermare leaned in closer “Who sent you?”
“... Trixie will not tell you. Nothing you can do will change this.”
“Really?” Trixie felt hooves slide under her forelegs and she was hoisted up into the air, Ponyville shrinking as they flew higher.
“What are you doing?”
“Since you don’t seem to be very cooperative, I feel a change in scenery is needed.” When they reached the nearest clouds, Supermare turned trixie to face her “Who sent you?”
“I... I still won’t tell you.” another pause before Supermare shrugged.
“Okay.” the Pegasus let go and Trixie plummeted towards the ground, her legs flailing to slow her descent. She would have screamed, but her descent was slowed when Supermare dove after her and pulled her up by her tail.
“You... you’re insane!” Trixie screamed.
“Not insane, just angry.” Supermare climbed up to her original altitude, Trixie’s tail wrapped around her left hoof. “Now tell me. Who sent you?”
“You’ll just drop me again!”
“If you don’t answer me, then yes I will drop you. Who sent you?”
“Zod!” Trixie wailed, her legs still flailing around “He called himself Zod!”
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know! He said he was in Canterlot, but he could be anywhere right now.”
“What does he look like?”
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
“I’m not! Why would I lie? He had some weird spell on his face.” Trixie heard Supermare mutter something about ‘Perception Filters” before pulling Trixie up.
“Thank you Trixie. You may have saved a lot of lives.” that was the last thing Trixie heard before something struck the back of her head and made the world go dark.
..............
Supermare had deposited Trixie outside the town hall before taking off towards Canterlot. When she was gone, several ponies took up the task of watching Trixie until a proper detachment of guards could be called in from Canterlot to arrest her. Ponies set about the task of clearing away any damages the fight had caused, and soon Ponyville was back to normal.
Pinkie bounced into the town square, her head swiveling around for any sign of Rainbow Dash. Finding none, she went over to a nearby group of ponies. “Hey, has anypony seen Rainbow Dash?”
“No, I haven’t seen her all day.” one of the mares in the group said “Why do you ask?”
“Oh, no reason. But if you do see her, tell her to come find me and that everything is ready and we need to find some good hiding spots but you didn’t hear about the hiding spots. Can you do that?”
“Sure thing, Pinkie.”
“Thank you.” Pinkie smiled and skipped off, continuing her search for her friend.
Rainbow Dash was sitting atop one of the buildings near Canterlot Castle. The sun had been set about thirty minutes ago, and she was juggling the idea of going home and continuing her search for “Zod” tomorrow with the idea of continuing on. She had been spotted several times, and already a small group of foals and other impressionable ponies was running from street to street in search of Supermare. She sighed and took to the skies again, sweeping her vision across the city for signs of anything unusual.
I don’t see how the royal guards does this sort of thing; he could be anywhere. She stopped and slapped herself.
“They’ve got records on every pony in Equestria; I should have looked there first.” She turned around and flew towards the castle, giving a friendly nod to a trio of Night Guards as she flew past. She scanned the castle once again to locate the archives, adjusting her flightpath once again to minimise her travel time. She landed on a nearby balcony and approached two of the guards standing outside.
“Excuse me, but I need access to the Royal Archives.” she said “I have a lead on a potential threat to Equestria.”
“Do you have authorization?”
“I’m really good friends with the Princesses. Does that work?”
“I don’t believe it does. Unless you are otherwise authorized, I cannot allow you to have access to the Archives.”
“Where can I get authorization?”
“You will have to sign up for the Royal Guards and become an officer, which would take... three or four years, give or take.”
“I don’t have that kind of time. Is there another way?”
“What is going on out here?” a voice called “I was trying to sleep and here you all are talking as if-” Prince Blueblood froze when he walked out on the balcony “Who are you and what are you doing here?” he asked Rainbow Dash.
“I’m Supermare. I have a lead on a potential threat to Equestria and need access to the Archives.” there was a pause.
“Well... I suppose I could give you authorization if it would get you all to shut up.”
“Sir, it’s not in your jurisdiction to authorize-”
“I am royalty, am I not? I am authorized to allow anypony in if I want.”
“... Yes you are.” the guard sighed “Fine, I’ll give you ten minutes. Find whatever you want and get out before somepony sees you.”
“Thank you.” Rainbow Dash nodded and brushed past the guards and Blueblood, the unicorn stallion following after her. “Why are you following me?”
“Well, other than the fact that you need somepony to let you in, you’d probably break something on your way there.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and continued on.
“I assure you, I am much more careful than you give me credit.”
“I doubt it.” One of these days I’ll give this guy a good dressing down. The two ponies continued until they reached a pair of large wooden doors, each one adorned with a carving of Celestia’s cutie mark. Blueblood raised his head and the doors parted, allowing Rainbow Dash to enter.
“You know this place better than me,” she said “Where are all the records on ponies, specifically ones with first names starting with ‘Z’?”
“I barely look at that section, but I suspect they would be somewhere over there.” Blueblood pointed to a row of shelves to his right.
“Thanks.”
“And be quick. We don’t want some nosy pony coming in and seeing you.” Rainbow Dash ignored him, flying over to where he had said the records had been kept. During her flight, she noticed something odd: there were no guards anywhere in the Archives. She ignored it at first, but after a minute she began to feel a little uneasy.
“Hey, where are all the guards?” she asked.
“I dismissed them for a few minutes.” Blueblood said from the other side of the room.
“Why? Aren’t you afraid I’ll steal something?”
“I highly doubt you would be able to do so... Kara Jor-El.” Rainbow Dash froze and turned towards Blueblood.
“How did you know my name?”
“I probably know more about you than you do. You were born on Krypton, nearly one thousand years ago, and your father Jor-El was known as a great scientist and a backstabbing traitor.”
“But how? You’re just Blueblood.” instead of answering her, Blueblood leapt across the room and slammed Rainbow Dash into the floor.
“The real Prince Blueblood died five years ago in an airship accident. I am General Zod, commander of Krypton’s defense forces, and true heir to it’s legacy.” Rainbow Dash tried to throw Blueblood off, but the stallion smashed his right hoof into her face several times before throwing her against a nearby wall, the stone cracking under her impact.
“‘True heir’?” Rainbow Dash asked, spitting out a small droplet of blood.
“I suppose your father failed to tell you who I was.” Blueblood said, circling his opponent “Typical; he only seemed to care for himself. He told me about Krypton’s destruction and asked for my help. I knew the council would not listen, so I sought to remove them so Jor-El’s plan could go ahead. But was he thankful? No, he turned me over to the magistrates and I was imprisoned while Krypton died.”
“You tried to overthrow a government. How is that considered helping?” Blueblood charged her, his hoof raised to strike. Rainbow Dash dodged the first strike, but the second caught her in the gut, driving the air from her lungs. Before she could recover, Blueblood hit her in the small of her back, knocking her to the ground.
“I was the only one on that miserable speck of rock to have the ambition and the drive to try and find a solution. Your father branded me a traitor when he should have seen me as a hero.”
“A hero that destabilizes an entire society?”
“What would you know about heroism? You dress up in a cape like a child and flee once those weaker than you begin to adore you. You could have set yourself up as a god, yet you did not.”
“I don’t have to be a god to lead these ponies.” Rainbow Dash pulled herself up, but as she turned to face Blueblood the stallion bucked with his hind legs, knocking her across the room. She tried to get up again, but he was upon her, each hit doing more damage than the last.
“And that is why you fail.” Blueblood backed up, allowing Rainbow Dash some time to recover “You’ve grown complacent; you attend to these ponies needs instead of your own. If they were capable of truly striving for greatness, they wouldn’t need you. Since you do not seem capable of controlling them, I suppose I will have to take your place.”
“How? Princess Celestia would-”
“Oh, I have plans, but the first obstacle I must do away with,” Blueblood turned to her “Is you.” Rainbow Dash charged this time, drawing back for a strike with as much power she could muster. Blueblood merely sidestepped her attack and punched out, his hoof colliding with her throat and causing her to choke. As she staggered, Blueblood advanced and hit her in the side, dropping her to the ground again.
“You call this a fight? This is more like a foal’s temper tantrum... though I suppose you are still technically a foal.”
“I’m twenty five. Twenty Five! I’m not a foal!”
“Please. I was fighting for the defense of Krypton before you were even a parasite in your mother’s womb.” He struck her again, slamming her into a nearby bookcase. “If you are so confident in your skills, go ahead and defeat me.” Rainbow Dash got back on her hooves and attacked. She swung out with her right hoof, but he ducked and delivered two punches to her chest before dealing another hit to her face, knocking her to the ground once more.
“So, this is how the valiant Supermare defends her fellows.” Blueblood said, circling Rainbow Dash as the mare struggled to get back up “Look how she lies, like a common servant. Come, use your strenght to get back up. Or are you just as weak as the ponies who call you their slave?” Rainbow Dash groaned as she pushed up against the floor, her legs quivering as she tried to get up. She almost made it before a sharp kick landed in her side, knocking her down yet again.
“Come, if you’re so strong, get up.” Blueblood kicked her again, a small spray of blood escaping her lips. “Get up and fight me like a true Kryptonian.” again she tried to get up, but Blueblood unleashed a flurry of kicks and punches, the strikes echoing throughout the Archives “Go on, get up! Get Up!” Rainbow Dash tried to shield herself from Blueblood’s strikes, but her weakened body could not take any more punishment. Blueblood stepped back, surveying his work.
“I knew it. You are weak, just like your father. You don’t know how to defend yourself, much less how to protect yourself. You are not worth my time.” he pushed Rainbow Dash onto her back, the sudden shift causing a gasp of pain to escape her lips.
“Wh... Why...?” she asked, her voice a hoarse croak.
“I told you. Your father wronged me, and since he is dead I must extract my revenge on his heir. But since you are not as great a threat as I thought, I suppose I will have to move to the next part of my plan.” Blueblood’s horn glowed and a small necklace appeared next to him. “Do you know what this is?”
“... necklace...”
“Oh, it’s much more than that. You see, there are very few ways to kill a Kryptonian once they have absorbed enough solar energy.” Blueblood approached Rainbow Dash, carrying the necklace in front of him “One such way lies in the very soil we used to tread on. Scientists used to call it Kryptonite, and it is one of the most dangerous elements in the world... for you and me, that is. Radiation from Krypton’s death infuses every ounce of the stuff, making it deadly poison.” he reached Rainbow Dash and pinned her to the floor with his hoof. While she struggled to knock him off, he draped the necklace over her head and backed up.
As soon as it touched her neck, Rainbow Dash could feel her strength dissipating. Her injuries became more and more painful, and her limbs lost almost all feeling. She reached to pull the thing off her neck, but a smack from Blueblood knocked her over.
“Ah ah, mustn’t touch. That needs to stay there until my plan is complete. Guards!” there was the sound of a door opening and three unicorns, dressed in the dark armor of Luna’s Night Guard, entered and surrounded Rainbow Dash. Like the Ursa, their eyes were dull and glowed slightly, and Rainbow allowed a small gasp to slip past her lips.
“The Summer Sun Celebration is tomorrow, as you probably know, and these three guards have lent their services to my plan. Pity Princess Celestia won’t be able to see it, as she’ll be busy with her preparations... Oh wait, she will see it, just before one of her precious sister’s guards blasts her from the sky.”
“You... you can’t...”
“Oh, I believe I can. There should be enough Kryptonite in that necklace to kill you, but not enough so you die before you can see me rise to the throne of Equestria.” Blueblood turned to two of the guards. “Take her to Ghastly Gorge and make sure she stays there. Kill anything that approaches.”
“Yes, general.” the two guards said before grabbing Rainbow Dash in their telekinesis.
“Farewell Kara Jor-El. Your time as Equestria’s defender has ended. I suppose I should thank you for disposing of that mare Trixie for me, but I'm on a tight schedule and need to finish planning Princess Celestia's assassination.” Rainbow Dash could only watch as the guards dragged her out of the Archives and away from General Zod.
.................
The guards had found a large ravine in Ghastly Gorge to pitch Rainbow Dash in, the Pegasus tumbling down the sides of the ravine as she fell and tangling herself up in her cape. When she reached the bottom, she struggled to get back up, reaching for the necklace to restore her powers. The guards had anticipated this, and soon a large rock had been placed on Rainbow Dash, pinning her to the ground and leaving only her head and neck exposed.
I can’t just lie here and let that... that bastard win. Rainbow Dash thought, trying to move a little beneath the rock. I’m Equestria’s protector. Princess Celestia needs my help. I... I...
I need help.
Rainbow Dash stopped struggling and looked up at the sky. She could feel the Kryptonite seeping into her system, slowly killing her. A small tear slid down her face, but she ignored it.
If there’s somepony there... I need help... Anypony...
Twilight’s studious nature made her a spastic sleeper; her mind always awash with information, she could never fully stay asleep and woke up once or twice per hour. She always managed to doze off again, but she was not overly fond of the spurts.
Especially not when certain pink ponies managed to break into her library.
“Twilight!” Pinkie screamed as she ran through the door. Twilight rose from her bed and crossed over to the stairs.
“Pinkie, this better be important.” Twilight said.
“It is! My Pinkie Sense said there was gonna be a really big doozie down at Ghastly Gorge and we all needed to be there!” Twilight suddenly felt much more alert now. She teleported down to the bottom level and approached Pinkie.
“What exactly is going to happen?”
“I don’t know. My Pinkie Sense never tells me that much.” Pinkie shook again from some unseen force “Wait... It’s Rainbow Dash! She’s in trouble.”
“Why would she be in Ghastly Gorge at night? She knows it’s dangerous.”
“Unless... she’s been ponynapped!”
“Pinkie, that’s one of the most ridiculous theories I’ve ever heard.”
“But it could have happened. Maybe some ponies got jealous of Rainbow Dash and took her to Ghastly Gorge so they wouldn’t be jealous of her anymore.”
“How would that work?” There was a pause.
“I have another idea; they thought she was Supermare and ponynapped her so she’d stop saving ponies.”
“Supermare? Rainbow Dash doesn’t look anything like Supermare.”
“She does if she wearing a costume and mane dye.”
“And why would she be wearing those things?”
“She was a distraction!” there was another pause before Twilight spoke again.
“By any chance were you two trying to distract us so you could play pranks?”
“... Maybe.”
“That explains why that box of books was covered in superglue.” Twilight sighed “So, you think these ponies mistook Rainbow Dash for a superhero that can beat a full grown Ursa half to death with her bare hooves?”
“Yup.”
“How would they catch her?”
“Special superhero catching devices!” Pinkie smiled while Twilight gave her a weird look “Don’t you ever read comic books?”
“No I don’t.” Twilight moved past Pinkie and opened the library door. “Come on, let’s get the others and see what exactly this doozie of yours really is.”
..............
“Well, I suppose if Rainbow Dash is in trouble then I could spare myself.” Rarity yawned before ducking back into her boutique to remove her nightgown “But couldn’t we have waited until it was a little lighter out?”
“By that time the bad guys would have hurt Dashie with their anti-superhero weapons!”
“What are you talking about, Pinkie?”
“She thinks that Rainbow Dash was ponynapped by somepony who thought she was Supermare.”
“But they look nothing alike... unless she was wearing that costume I made for Pinkie.” Rarity exited the boutique, giving her mane a slight toss as she walked “Well come along; we need to get the others.”
................
“What kinda stupid ponies’d think Rainbow Dash was a superhero?” Applejack said as she pulled her stetson on and grabbed a coil of rope.
“It’s just a theory that Pinkie has.” Twilight said.
“Well, it’s kinda a stupid idea. I reckon she just messed up one of her tricks and crashed.”
“At night?”
“She’s done dumber things before.”
“Okay, we can discuss those things later. Now we just need to get Fluttershy and we should be ready.”
.............
“I’m not going.”
“What?”
“I’m really really sorry girls,” Fluttershy said from behind her door “But I just can’t go out there at night.”
“Come on Fluttershy, we’ll all be there in case something bad happens.”
“And Rainbow Dash really really needs us to save her from her ponynappers!” Pinkie shouted.
“Rainbow Dash has been ponynapped?” Fluttershy flung open her door and tackled Twilight “Why didn’t you say so earlier? Oh, she must be so scared, surrounded by those awful ponies in Ghastly Gorge. Come on, let’s go save her!” Fluttershy took off, her wings carrying her as fast as she could go.
“Never thought Fluttershy’d be the one to lead the chase.” Applejack said “C’mon girls. Follow that Pegasus!”
..................
The five reached Ghastly Gorge in about thirty minutes. Using Pinkie as a beacon, they began to scour the canyon up and down, searching for any signs of their rainbow-maned friend. They had a brief run in with a group of Quarray Eels, but Fluttershy’s superior handling of animals allowed them to get by without much trouble.
However, the encounter had given them information; two of the Eels bore heavy burns on the sides of their faces, indicating something had attacked them recently. Given that Dragons usually did not eat Quarray Eels and Phoenixes never came this far north, the only option they were left with was either a pony with very powerful combat spells or something much worse than Dragons.
“Do you think we should have told the Princess about this?” Rarity asked.
“I’m sure it’s not that bad.” Twilight said, leaping over a log “Besides, the Summer Sun Celebration is today; I’m sure Princess Celestia has a lot on her mind right now.”
“Well, what about Princess Luna? I’m sure she could have been of some help.”
“She’s going to be at the celebration too, I think. I’m not sure what she’s preparing for.”
“She could always step away from her project for a few minutes to find Rainbow Dash.”
“... Yes, she could have.” They passed through a small grove of trees and stopped. Below them was a shallow ravine, with several large rocks hanging over the edge. The five spotted two unicorns, dressed in the armor of the Night Guard, and Twilight felt a bit more relieved.
“Looks like Luna already did something for us.” Twilight said “Come on, let’s see why they’re here.”
“Wait, Twilight, they might have been the ponies that attacked those Eels. Are you sure this is-” but Rarity’s warning went unnoticed. Twilight trotted out of the grove towards the two guards. The guards spotted her and turned to face her.
“Identify yourself!” the first guard shouted, his voice slightly monotone.
“Oh, sorry for startling you. I’m Twilight Sparkle, personal student to Princess Celestia. One of my friends is in danger and in the area and I was wondering if you had seen her.”
“Leave now, or we will be forced to deal with you.” the second guard said.
“‘Deal with me’? But I haven’t done anything wrong; I was just wondering if you had seen-”
“She's resisting. Kill her.” The two unicorns lowered their horns and fired, two beams of dark blue magic flying towards Twilight. Twilight threw up her shield spell as fast as she could, barely deflecting the spells. Twilight poured more magic into her shield spell, the spiderweb of cracks caused by her attacker’s spells slowly vanishing.
“Girls, help me!” Twilight shouted as another salvo of spells slammed into her shield. She dropped the shield for a second to fire her own spell, a bright purple beam of energy slamming into a nearby rock and causing the two guards to duck for cover. She continued to fire away to keep the guards pinned while the other four rushed forward to help her.
One guard stepped out to attack, but found two orange hooves slamming into his face. Applejack hit the guard again, knocking him out, and rushed towards the second guard. The guard shot another spell at the charging farm pony, but Twilight threw up a second shield and deflected the blast. Applejack reared up and struck the guard in the face, knocking his helmet off and sending him spinning.
“Funny, I thought they trained guards better’n that.” Applejack said, pulling out her rope in order to tie up the two guards.
“They do. But why would Luna want them to kill me?” Twilight approached the nearest guard and tapped her horn to his head, the remainder of her magic seeping through the connection to find any information. she concentrated for a few minutes before something forcibly threw her back, her horn sparking with magic residue.
“Twilight, are you alright?”
“I-I’m fine.” Twilight dusted herself off and stood “Those guards were brainwashed, just like Flim and Flam.”
“Brainwashed?”
“Yes. I don’t know who did this, but they obviously did not want us to come here.”
“Why Luna’s guards?”
“I don’t know. Finish tying those guards up and we’ll look around some more.” Applejack nodded and continued working. While the earth pony was occupied, Twilight and the others surveyed the ravine. She focused mainly on the large rocks on the edge, poking around the closest ones to make sure no other guards were waiting for them.
“Those rocks over there look like they might be useful for cover.” Twilight said, pointing to another patch of rocks on the other side of the ravine “I’m going to cast a small light spell so I can see better.”
“Do you need any help?” Rarity asked “I may not have the resources you do, Twilight, but I still know enough magic to assist you.”
“Okay, Rarity, cast your spells in that direction,” Twilight pointed further down the canyon “and I’ll cast mine in the other direction.”
“Very well.” Rarity turned away, her horn glowing with magic. Twilight’s own horn glowed for a moment before two balls of light shot from the tip, rising over the ravine and filling the place with light and illuminating a certain rainbow-maned Pegasus buried under a boulder.
“Rainbow!” Twilight cried. Rainbow Dash stirred and looked up.
“... Guys? What are you doing here?” Rainbow Dash asked, her voice a hoarse whisper.
“Pinkie had a doozie that said you were in trouble, so we came to find you.”
“... Thanks.”
“What happened to you?”
“It’d... take too long to explain.” Rainbow Dash coughed “Please... help me.” Twilight nodded before leaping down the side of the ravine, loose rocks sliding under her hooves. Fluttershy and Pinkie joined her, and soon the three of them had reached Rainbow Dash.
Now Twilight could see just what condition Rainbow Dash was in; the Pegasus was covered in cuts and bruises, her eyes were unfocused, and all the color had left her face. The rock on top of her was easily twice the size of any normal pony, and only Rainbow Dash’s head and neck were exposed.
“Come on, we’ve got to get this rock off her.” Twilight focused her magic and attempted to lift the rock.
“No! Forget the rock.” Rainbow Dash said, a little more energy present in her voice “Just get this necklace off me.” Twilight looked and saw a small necklace around Rainbow Dash’s neck.
“You’re worried about some stupid necklace when there’s a boulder crushing you?”
“Yes.”
“Ooh, is it some device that the mean ponies used because they thought you were a superhero?” Pinkie asked.
“Pinkie, will you cut it out with the superheroes?”
“She’s right... mostly.” Twilight turned towards Rainbow Dash, her eyes wide.
“What do you mean she’s right?”
“I’ll explain... just get the necklace off.” Twilight grumbled in frustration and yanked the necklace off Rainbow Dash with her magic. She noticed that Rainbow’s injuries began to slowly fade once the necklace was removed, but decided it was not very important right now.
“Okay, now we’ll get this rock off you.”
“No.”
“What? Are you insane or something? You’ll be crushed.”
“Not really. I’ll take care of this.”
“How? You’re not a unicorn, so you can’t use magic to lift it off. Your legs are probably pinned, so you can’t dig your way out. Unless you're some kind of super powerful pony then I don’t see how you can get out.”
“Well... remember on Wednesday when we had that talk about whether or not I knew Supermare? I... kind of lied, a little.”
“How so?”
“I know who she is.” Rainbow Dash grunted a little as she shifted beneath the rock. “You might want to step back and put up a shield spell.”
“Why? What does this have to do with you knowing who Supermare is?”
“I’m going to send this rock flying and I’m pretty sure it could kill you if it hit you. As for the second part, well...” Rainbow Dash let out a cry as she pushed up with all her strength, launching the boulder high into the air. Not wanting the rock to crash down and kill somepony, Twilight caught it in her magic and set it aside before turning to Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash was dressed in a very familiar blue suit and red cape, the former of which was adorned with a stylized S set inside a shield. The Pegasus landed, showing no signs of pain or fatigue from bucking a giant rock off her back. Twilight’s irises shrunk to pinpoints and she started stammering.
“Wha... how... you...”
“I am Supermare... Well, my real name’s Kara, but you can call me Supermare; it sounds cooler.” Rainbow Dash said. Twilight’s mind short circuited for a moment and she was unable to come up with a suitable exclamation. Seeing an opening, Pinkie decided to speak.
“My best friend is a superhero!” The pink mare cried, dashing forward to give Rainbow a hug. Rainbow Dash caught Pinkie and the two stood hugging for a minute while Twilight tried to pull herself together.
“You... you... rock... how?”
"Super strenght, Twilight; that rock is no heavier than a pebble to me.”
“So, the robot dragon and the Ursa... that was you?”
“Yup.”
“What other cool things can you do?” Pinkie chirped, but Twilight shot her a glare.
“Pinkie, can we talk about this later?” Pinkie backed off, but she was still grinning ear to ear. “How, thought? I mean, you’re just a normal pony-”
“Actually, I’m an alien.” there was silence before Pinkie spoke again.
“So you’re an alien and a superhero? That’s even better!”
“Pinkie.”
“Sorry Twilight, but it’s still really cool.”
“And I didn’t tell you guys about this because... well, I was scared you’d turn on me or something.”
“‘Turn on you’?” Twilight asked “Rainbow Dash, you’re our friend; we’d never turn on you just because you were some alien... Unless you were actively trying to kill us, but that’s something else completely different... You’re not going to do that, right?”
“Of course not.”
“But still, why did you have to be all secretive about it?”
“Secret identities, Twilight,” Pinkie said “She doesn’t want you to get in the way or other ponies to start harassing her about saving them.”
“What’s going on down here?” the group turned and saw Applejack and Rarity coming down the side of the ravine “Y’all leave us for a few minutes and ya go back to talkin’ about superheroes.”
“Because Rainbow Dash is Supermare!” another pause.
“But... that’s impossible.” Rarity said “You two look nothing alike unless you dyed your mane and coat, and honestly I think you would look terrible with mane dyes. And you’re just a normal pony; you can’t throw robots across town.”
“She’s an alien.”
“An alien?” Applejack said, taking a step back “Ya look just like some regular pony; how can ya be an alien?”
“Not all aliens have to look weird; I’m physically the same as every other pony... except for the superpowers. As for how I look with the suit and all... It’d take too long to explain, but it involves really powerful magic.” Rainbow Dash looked at Twilight “If you’re good, I’ll let you borrow my suit so you can study it.”
“Really?”
“Let’s not get distracted here, Twilight,” Rarity walked up to Rainbow Dash “How am I suppose to know that you aren’t just lying to us?”
“She threw this really really big rock off herself when you were busy looking away!” Pinkie chirped. Rainbow Dash and Rarity ignored her.
“So, what do you want?”
“Just proof. Show us some other superpower... without hurting us, or getting us dirty.” Rainbow Dash looked around and spotted a smaller rock about five feet away. There was a pause before two red beams shot from her eyes and hit the rock, destroying it instantly. the other five stepped back in shock as Rainbow Dash turned towards them.
“Is that good enough, or do you want me to fly around the world backwards and tell you this yesterday?”
“No, no, that’s good.” Rarity took a deep breath to calm herself before speaking again “So all this time, that was you?”
“Yeah.” Rarity approached for a moment before throwing her forelegs around Rainbow Dash.
“I never got to tell this to you, but thank you so much for saving Sweetie Belle. When I heard that she was almost killed by that dragon, I died a little inside. Can you imagine what my life would be like if she were dead? I just couldn’t go on with my life. So thank you again, and if there’s anything you need I will use all my resources to make sure you get it.”
“You’re welcome, Rarity.”
“‘Suppose I should be thankin’ ya too.” Applejack said, coming forward to join Rarity “Ever since my folks died, Applebloom’s been the thing holdin’ my family together. If she weren’t around... well, there’s no tellin’ what I’d do.”
“Hey, you could get creative.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing, really.”
“But if you are an alien and not just lying to us about that,” Twilight said “Does that mean there are other aliens like you? Is that why you have superpowers?”
“I’d love to explain, but we’ve got a lot of big problems and not a lot of time.”
“Problems?”
“Blueblood is evil; he beat me and threw me down here to try and kill me, and now he’s going to use one of Luna’s guards to kill Princess Celestia.”
“What? Why?” the other five asked.
“He’s a Kryptonian like me, except evil. I want you guys to go back to Ponyville and get whatever supplies you need, then get to Canterlot. I’m going to go and stop Blueblood.” Rainbow Dash took off, but she was stopped by Twilight.
“Wait, you can’t just fly off like that.”
“Don’t worry; I’ll explain more when all this is over. I promise I’ll answer any questions you have once I’m done beating Blueblood.”
“But if he beat you before, how do you expect to beat him now?”
“Trust me. I’m Supermare.” With that, Rainbow Dash shot into the sky and disappeared, a red and blue streak the only sign that she was even there.
“I just hope she knows what she’s doing.” Twilight said “Okay, I think I have enough magic for a teleport back to Ponyville, but we might be cutting it a bit close. So if I singe anyone... I’m really sorry and didn’t mean to do it.”
“We’ve been through a lot tonight, Twilight.” Rarity said “We were attacked by brainwashed guards, our friend is actually an alien superhero, and Blueblood is trying to kill Princess Celestia; I think getting singed is the least of our worries.” Twilight nodded in agreement before casting her teleport, the five ponies disappearing in a flash of purple light.
Princess Celestia watched as the first signs of dawn cracked over the horizon. Normally she was in full control of the sun’s cycle, but on days like this she allowed the sun a little more time to get into the proper position for a more dramatic raising. She sighed and turned away, her attention shifting to the upcoming ceremony.
“Sister?” Celestia looked up and saw her younger sister Luna enter, the dark alicorn looking slightly fatigued from preparations. “You seem stressed.”
“No, I’m fine.”
“You were always a terrible liar, Sister. Now tell me, what is troubling you?”
“... I don’t know, really. I’ve always been a bit troubled around this day, but this year I feel... I feel that something’s wrong.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know, and that’s what scares me. Can you imagine that? Me, goddess of the sun, and I’m scared of something I don’t even know.”
“I’ve been scared before. Everypony gets scared.” Luna crossed the room and laid a hoof on her elder sister’s shoulder “Do not worry. I am here by your side should you be troubled.” Celestia placed her hoof on her sister’s and smiled.
“Thank you, Luna. Come, we mustn’t leave the ponies waiting.” the younger princess nodded and followed her sister out. They continued down the halls before running into a familiar unicorn stallion.
“Blueblood? What are you doing here?” Celestia asked.
“Oh, I was feeling a little out of sorts and thought I’d skip the ceremony.”
“Really? Perhaps you should check in with the infirmary and see if you are healthy.”
“Perhaps. Well, enjoy the ceremony.” Blueblood made a slight bow and left.
“Does it seem to you that Blueblood has become a bit more distracted than usual?” Luna asked.
“Perhaps... Maybe I should speak to him on this matter.”
“You have known him longer than I have; I believe you are the better judge than I am.”
“Maybe you should talk to him more often; he is your nephew as well, after all.”
“I am aware of that, Sister, and I have tried to be personable. But he seems too... distant, like he’s been trying to avoid me whenever I’m present.”
“Then perhaps you need to be more assertive.”
“Oh, and me being assertive has gone over so well with the castle staff.”
“Give it time.”
................
Zod had found a suitable spot from which to overview the final stages of his plan. From here, he could see the entirety of the celebration, specifically the large stage where Princess Celestia would be most exposed. He smirked as an image of the white alicorn falling from the sky, fatally wounded by some spell cast by her “beloved” sister’s guards.
Best not get caught up in gloating now, he thought. I may become distracted and lose my opportunity. His horn glowed and from the next room came one of Luna’s guards, his eyes unfocused and dull.
“You know your task?” he asked.
“Yes, general.”
“Good. Get into position and wait until Celestia has fully raised the sun. And remember to position yourself where everypony can see that it was you who killed the Princess.”
“Yes, general.”
“Go, now.” the guard bowed and left while Zod turned his focus back to the scene before him.
................
“Are you sure you prefer standing there?”
“Tia, I know you’re stressed and nervous that the ponies may react negatively, but this is your celebration, not mine.”
“Don’t say that, Luna. This is as much your celebration as it is mine. It is supposed to show the two of us, together, leading the ponies of Equestria. Besides, if you stay here then everypony will still think you’re some brooding overlord if you stand over to one side with nopony near you.”
“... How do you know ponies still see me as an overlord?” Celestia blushed.
“Well... I may have... I’ll explain once my duties for the day are done.” Luna nodded while Celestia turned towards the stage.
“Good luck, sister.” Luna called. Celestia smiled and climbed up the stairs leading to the main part of the stage, a triumphant fanfare greeting her as she stepped out into the early dawn light. Her powers were such that she could have seen the other ponies as clear as day, but doing so usually put a strain on her magic, and she needed her magic to lift the sun. She smiled at them, several of the more enthusiastic onlookers cheering at her presence. She then turned her head skyward and took off, her horn alight with yellow magic as the sun rose behind her.
While she ascended, she noticed a commotion from the crowd. Curious, she opened one eye and spotted one of her sister’s guards shoving his way through the crowd, his horn aglow with magic. Once the guard broke through the crowd, he lowered his head and launched a spell right at the Princess.
The next few seconds seemed to go in slow motion; the spell flew towards Princess Celestia, the Sun Princess’ magic too focused on raising the sun for her to construct a suitable barrier to deflect the spell. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Luna and several other guards rushing towards her, but a quick calculation told her that they would not be able to reach her before the spell struck.
Just before the spell hit her, however, a second force slammed into her side, knocking Celestia out of the way of the oncoming spell. She tried to twist around to see what had hit her, but her vision was blurred just before she and her “attacker” slammed into the ground, a massive cloud of dirt and rubble blocking her vision and knocking her coordination off.
Once the dust cleared, Celestia twisted and saw a mare dressed in a blue suit and red cape standing over her. The mare was panting heavily, her entire body quivering. Celestia tried to say something, but the mare turned and took off towards the crowd while Luna and the other guards raced towards Celestia.
“Sister! Are you alright?!” Luna cried as she rushed to Celestia’s side.
“Yes... I’m fine.” Celestia pulled herself up from the ground and flared her wings in an attempt to dust herself off. “The more important question is why one of your guards attacked me.”
“I would never order such an act of treason; that guard was acting beyond my jurisdiction.”
“I hate to cut in,” both princesses turned and saw the mare coming back to them, the offending guard clutched in her forehooves “But this guard has been brainwashed.”
“Brainwashed?” Celestia asked. “That is a serious accusation you are making there, and seeing that you are not a unicorn you may have mistaken something more mundane for brainwashing.”
“True,” The mare dropped the guard to the ground and backed up. “I wanted you to check to confirm my suspicions.”
“Is there something you’re trying to hide from me?”
“Possibly, but it would be better if we discussed that in private.” Celestia merely nodded and tapped her horn against the guard’s forehead, a small pulse of magic surrounding the guard’s head. At first she found nothing, but soon she began to find small buildups of mental suggestions before stumbling on a massive concentration of magic. She withdrew her magic and faced her sister and the other mare.
“I guess you were right. Do you have any idea who could have done this?”
“I have a few ideas. With your permission, I would like to apprehend them.”
“You are asking for my permission? Why?”
“I don’t want to be your enemy, Princess; going off on my own would violate the trust between us and make me seem like I don’t respect you. You are in control here, not me, and you must decide how you wish to go about this.” there was a pause before Celestia smiled.
“I admire your respect for my position, but in the future you don’t have to ask my permission for situations like this. We’ll discuss terms once the situation is under control.”
“Of course.” the mare nodded and took off towards Canterlot Castle. Luna watched her leave and turned to Celestia.
“I play a role in this, right?”
“Of course, Luna. Now, gather your guards together and clear the area, then begin searching for anypony else that may be brainwashed.”
“Yes, sister.”
................
Rainbow Dash raced towards the castle, searching for her target. She swept her vision across the castle several times before finally spotting Zod in one of the hallways near the courtyard. She adjusted her flight pattern so she was aiming right at him and dove down, putting as much speed behind her as possible before striking the wall. The masonry shattered under impact and she tackled Zod, the two ponies careening through the next wall and into the courtyard. Rainbow Dash managed to recover first, but Zod was less lucky and hit the ground with enough force to leave a sizeable indent.
“You’ve lost, Blueblood,” Rainbow Dash said, descending “Princess Celestia is still alive.”
“I have grown to hate that name over the past five years.” Zod growled as he pulled himself back to his hooves “As for failing, I should have anticipated that; I should have killed you quickly when I had the chance instead of leaving you to die in that canyon.”
“For somepony who claims to be some big general, you aren’t very good at making plans.” This drew only a snarl from Zod. He lunged forward and tackled Rainbow Dash, the two hitting the ground once more. He reared up and slammed his hooves into her chest, but she countered by grabbing his head and twisting her body, knocking him to the ground. Before he could recover, Rainbow Dash pounced on him and landed three hits before he bucked her into a nearby wall, small bits of stone raining down on her as she pulled herself from the wall. Zod rushed forward to attack again, but Rainbow Dash spun and bucked outwards, her legs catching him in the chest and knocking him across the courtyard.
“Impressive.” Zod said as he stood up. “You’re fighting skills seem to have grown over the past few hours.”
“How do you know I wasn’t just holding back the last time we fought?”
“You paint yourself as a hero; a ‘hero’ never allows themselves to be defeated so easily by their opponents. If I was anypony else, I would find your attempts at strength to be endearing, but now I find them annoying.” The two circled, trying to find an opening.
“Why, though? You could have been just like me and everypony would love you.”
“That would not be enough. You don’t know what it’s like to really be a leader, to have hundreds of ponies obeying your every command. While you would go about with your foalish dress-up game, every stallion, mare and foal would kneel before Zod!” Sensing an opening, Rainbow Dash lunged forward, but Zod caught her with a punch to the face.
“All this was just so you could get respect?”
“Respect, honor, things that a pony like you would not be able to understand. Things that your father stole from me! Now, I’m just fulfilling my oath.”
“Your oath?” Zod responded by kicking Rainbow Dash in the side, but she rolled with the strike and got back on her hooves.
“Before your father imprisoned me, I swore that he would one day bow down before me. Seeing that he is dead, I suppose his heir would do just fine.” Rainbow Dash swung with her right hoof, but he intercepted the attack and hit her in the face. As she staggered back, Zod rushed forward and hit her two more times, bringing her to the ground.
“You will kneel before me, daughter of Jor-El. Even if it takes me my entire life and all my strength, you. Will! KNEEL!” Zod swung at Rainbow’s head, but she caught his hoof and stopped the attack cold.
“I’ll only kneel to two ponies,” she snarled “And you’re not one of them!” with a cry she twisted around and slammed Zod into the ground. She hoisted him up and punched him again, the force knocking him through the next wall and into Celestia’s throneroom. She shot through the hole in the wall and knocked him over before hitting him several times in the face, the last strike drawing a small stream of blood. Zod pushed her away and backed up to the other side of the room, trying to put as much distance between him and Rainbow Dash as possible. Rainbow would have gone after him, but noticed that he was standing between two very large pillars.
Please don’t be mad at me for this, Princess, she thought. Two red beams shot from her eyes and struck the first pillar, slicing clean through it. The next pillar suffered a similar fate, splitting in half as soon as her vision ceased. Without support, the ceiling collapsed on top of Zod, burying him under a pile of rubble.
Rainbow Dash took a moment to catch her breath, landing and flaring her wings to relieve some of her pent up energy. She did not have to wait long, for the rubble pile began to shake as Zod pulled himself out, pieces of shattered stones rolling to the floor.
“Did you really think that was capable of killing me?”
“No, I just needed a moment to gather myself.” Zod snorted and leapt at Rainbow Dash from the rubble, but she sidestepped his attack and took off again. He swung around, trying to track his opponent, but Rainbow Dash swooped around and hit Zod in the side, knocking him back into the pile of rubble. She rushed in again and headbutted him in the chest before pinning him to the ground.
“Surrender, now.” she said.
“... What?”
“Surrender. You’ve been defeated, and I don’t want to hurt you or have our fight hurt any other ponies.”
“You... you can’t be serious.”
“What?”
“Here you are, claiming victory, and you ask for something as soft as ‘surrender’ when you have a chance at killing me?”
“I’m not like you; I won’t take anypony’s life, no matter how much I may want to. Surrender now, and maybe some day you and I could work together to restore a bit of your honor.”
“You think it would be that easy? That you can just forgive me like that?”
“I really don’t want to keep fighting you, and I will do anything to try and settle whatever score you have between me and my family.” There was a pause before Zod shoved Rainbow Dash off, pulling himself from the rubble.
“No... never... I will never submit to you.” he lowered his head and his horn began to glow white with energy, a low whine building up as more and more magical power was put into the spell.
“Wha... What are you doing?”
“Silly girl. If your father had any intelligence at all, then he would have taught you what happens when a unicorn overloads his magic.” Blueblood smirked as his horn glowed brighter. “If I cannot defeat you, your death and the deaths of every pony in Canterlot will be just as satisfying.”
“You can’t... I can stop this.” She raced forward and tackled Zod, but his spell was unaffected by her attack. She tried hitting him again, but still the spell would not cut out.
“Try all you want, but I have total control of my magic; even your strongest attacks cannot break my concentration.” Rainbow Dash tried to attack again, but Zod struck back and knocked her down. “You have lost, daughter of Jor-El, and your strength has failed you. Now watch as Canterlot dies!”
“No... I haven’t lost yet.”
...............
Celestia and Luna’s guards were evacuating everypony as quickly as possible, no small task considering the number of ponies present. Some were more skittish than others, with a small stampede breaking out in the southern half of the square once the guards began evacuations. Celestia remained to keep order, a large group of guards surrounding her in case somepony else tried to attack her in the confusion.
Not far away, a small ball of purple light materialized. The ball grew in size before dissipating, depositing five ponies on the trampled grass.
“Okay girls,” Twilight said, dusting herself off. “That was the last of my magic reserves, so I won’t be able to cast any really complex spells.”
“We won’t need them because Dashie’s an awesome superhero and is already beating up the bad guys!” Pinkie said, bouncing with her usual energy.
“What is this about Rainbow Dash and superheroes?” the five turned and saw Princess Celestia walking towards them. Pinkie was about to start up her explanation, but Applejack jammed her hoof in the pink pony’s mouth.
“Uh, nothing really, Princess,” Twilight began “It’s just that... well...”
“Rainbow Dash is Supermare, isn’t she?” there was a long pause before Celestia spoke again. “Luna is going to be so disappointed when she finds out.”
“Wait, that’s it?”
“I suppose. It wasn’t that much of a mystery since Rainbow Dash actually confronted me about her powers. Honestly, I couldn’t think of a better pony to be Supermare.”
“But... what does Luna have to do with this?”
“Ask her next time you see her, but I would prefer that you do not tell her about Supermare’s identity.”
“We won’t.” Pinkie said. Twilight and the others ignored her.
“We have to see if she’s okay. Where did she go?”
“Towards the castle. If you hurry, you may be able to-” there was a crash from the castle and the six ponies watched as a red and blue streak shot through the roof.
“That’s her! That’s Supermare!” Pinkie cried. “But... what is she doing?”
..................
Rainbow Dash flew as fast as possible, Canterlot and Equestria shrinking away as she climbed. In her forehooves, struggling to get free, was Zod, horn still glowing with power.
“You would willingly sacrifice yourself for these... Equestrians?” he shouted over the rush of wind.
“Yes.”
“But... They’re of no use. As servants maybe, but nothing more.”
“My father sent me as a guardian, not a conqueror.”
“Yet another failure on his part. You could have been more than some costumed fool. You could have been a great leader. You could have been a god! Why are you throwing this away for mere weaklings?”
“Because I love them!” Rainbow Dash pulled Zod up so he was eye-to-eye with her. “They raised me from when I was a foal! They showed me all the good that’s in this world, and they were by my side throughout my life, encouraging and comforting me as I grew! They never abandoned me, or said I wasn’t worth it; not when I failed my first flight exam, not when my father died, not when I fought against Nightmare Moon and Discord, never! They made me the mare I am today, and I am grateful that I have such great ponies surrounding me! And you know what? They accept me for who I am; I don’t love them because they see me as a god, I love them because they see me as Rainbow Dash!”
“Then you are just as weak as they are!”
“I’m not weak,” Rainbow hoisted Zod over her head and drew back with her right hoof “I am Supermare!” She swung forward, her hoof striking Zod in the chest with enough force to shatter mountains.
Just as Zod’s magic overloaded.
................
There was a roar as a massive white disk exploded across the sky, shattering windows as far away at Appleoosa and nearly blinding all the ponies below. Clouds were vaporized and any Pegasus that happened to be flying nearby was knocked from the sky.
Twilight squinted up at the sky as the light dissipated, searching for any sign of Rainbow Dash. Part of her mind hoped to see the Pegasus swoop by, her cape flaring and her cocky smile across her face, but every second that went by a little bit of her hope died.
“Wha... what happened?” Applejack asked.
“I believe that whoever Rainbow Dash was fighting, they must have overloaded their magic.” Princess Celestia said.
“But... she can survive that, right?” Pinkie asked, her usual bubbly voice sounding flat and shaky.
“I... I don’t know.” Celestia hung her head “I’m sorry, but it’s been so long since I have known a Kryptonian, I’ve forgotten most of their abilities.”
“B-but... she can’t be dead...” Pinkie said, her mane slowly deflating “She’s the hero, she can’t just... die.”
“Wait! I see something!” Twilight shouted, pointing up to the sky. It was hard to spot, but a small black speck was falling down from the epicenter of the explosion. As it fell, it slowly began to take a more defined shape, and Twilight gasped as she saw Rainbow Dash tumble from the sky, her wings and limbs limp.
“That’s Rainbow! Princess, you have to slow her down!” Princess Celestia raised her horn, but Rainbow Dash was falling too fast. The Pegasus hit the ground with a loud crash, a cloud of dirt and pulverized grass raining down on the nearby ponies. Twilight and the others raced forward, heedless of the raining debris.
Rainbow Dash was in a bad way; her limbs were tangled up in her cape and her face, mane and tail had been blackened from the explosion. She was still breathing, but only just, and her body twitched slightly as magic arced off her.
“Oh no, Dashie!” Pinkie leapt into the pit, cradling Rainbow Dash when she landed.
“... guys...” Rainbow Dash said, her voice barely audible.
“Don’t worry, Rainbow,” Twilight said as she slid down the side of the crater “We’ll get you some help. You... You’re going to be fine, okay?”
“... guys... I did it...” Rainbow Dash smiled before passing out, the rest of her body going limp and cold.
“No... no, you can’t be...” Pinkie pulled Rainbow Dash closer. “Dashie, please wake up...”
“She... She can’t be dead,” Applejack said, shaking her head. “She’s a strong pony, s-she can’t...”
“She’s not waking up,” Pinkie said, her mane fully deflating and her colors fading “She needs to wake up. Dashie, why won’t you wake up? Why won’t you wake up?!” Pinkie looked out of the crater and screamed. “Somepony please help! She won’t wake up! Won’t somepony please help?!”
“I-I can try to lift her out of the crater,” Twilight said “Then Princess Celestia could help her... she can help...” a soft lavender glow emitted from Twilight’s horn, and the five ponies lifted their fallen friend from the rubble.
The five ponies sat in one of the hallways of the hospital, not moving, not speaking. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy sat in one corner, the two of them crying over their friend’s fate. Across from them Applejack sat with her hat pulled down over her eyes while Rarity and Twilight exchanged looks of concern with each other. They sat for several minutes before the doctor opened the door leading to Rainbow Dash’s room.
“Is she okay?” Twilight asked.
“Well... she’s stable, as far as we can tell, but she’s been knocked unconscious and there’s no way to tell when she may wake up.”
“But, she’ll live, right?”
“Like I said, we don’t know when she’ll wake up... or if she’ll wake up at all. The best we can do is wait and let her rest. You may see her if you’d like, but I must ask you to be quiet.” The doctor walked off, leaving the five friends alone once more. Applejack pushed her hat back on her head and crossed to the door, Pinkie and Fluttershy following behind her.
Rainbow Dash was lying on the bed, her face covered in bandages. Twilight had managed to remove her cape and suit before anypony had noticed, and the outfit was sitting in a small box near the door. Various machines monitored Rainbow’s condition, various beeps and clicks drowning out the Pegasus’ breathing. She twitched slightly, but otherwise did not react as the others entered.
“Twilight...” Fluttershy said “What happens when a pony is caught in... whatever Rainbow Dash was caught in?”
“I-I don’t know.” Twilight said. “Nopony has ever survived a magical overload, especially not on this level. If I ever overused my magic I would feel burned out for a few hours, but...”
“She’ll wake up.” Pinkie muttered, not even looking at her friends. “She has to wake up...” They stood in silence, unsure of how to proceed, when there was the sounds of hoofsteps at the door.
“Um, excuse me? This is Rainbow Dash’s room, right?” the five turned and saw a Pegasus mare with pink fur and a graying mane. “I’ve never been good with hospitals and I think I might have gotten lost.”
“Yes, this is her room. Who are you?” Twilight asked.
“I’m Firefly. Rainbow Dash is my daughter.”
“Oh. She... never really talked about you.”
“She was like that when she was younger,” Fluttershy said. “She never talked much about her personal life.”
“Yeah, that was partially my fault. I tried to have her not say who I was, that way nopony would treat her differently.” Firefly shuffled a little and looked past the five. “How is she?”
“I... We don’t know.” Twilight said, hanging her head. “The doctors don’t know if she’ll ever wake up again.” Firefly’s wings drooped, and she looked towards the floor.
“I-If you don’t mind.” She said after a few moments of silence. “I’d like to spend some time with her... alone.” Twilight looked towards her friends and nodded, and the five made their way out. Once they were gone, Firefly slowly approached the bed and sat down, placing a hoof on her daughter’s foreleg once she was seated.
“I... I remember once, when you were three, your father and I took you to Ponyville for a picnic... You were so happy to be on the ground, you had... you had that little smile, the one that always made me laugh. We found a nice hill where we could look over the town, and you were still so happy... You ran around, chasing after bugs and little animals... You were happy, and I was happy, and your father was happy.
“Then... then you tripped and fell down that hill... you screamed. No matter how hard I try, I will never forget that scream. You were scared, and... I think you may have been in pain, but now I’m not sure. I was terrified; I didn’t really know about your... powers, and I thought you had hurt yourself.” She chuckled a little. “You cried harder that day than any other day in your life... I cried too, but you were fine... I guess, seeing you scared and hurt... we connected, somehow. We had each other, and that’s what mattered.
“Then... Your father died... Just couldn’t recover, no matter what they did. Seeing him lying there, his chest collapsing in on itself... He was in so much pain. That’s all he talked about was pain... I couldn’t take it. I wanted to die with him, but I couldn’t. And there you were, young and confused, and... it hurt you too. It hurt both of us, I guess... But we had each other... We had each other...
“But now... here you are, and here I am, and... I have no one. You’re all I have left, Rainbow; the Wonderbolts, the prestige of being their trainer, even my closests friends, nothing compares to you. And here you are, lying unconscious and... I’m scared, Rainbow. I-I’m scared. I can’t lose you too... I-I can’t...” Unable to hold back, she hung her head and cried, tears staining the hospital sheets.
“Please... Don’t go...”
.................
Her mind drifted through darkness. Images of her fight flashed before her, each impact and strike tossing her further into the void. She tried to struggle back, but every slight movement drove her deeper and deeper into her thoughts.
“Don’t go... don’t go...” the voice of her mother called. Rainbow reached upward, but continued to fall, her mother’s voice fading into nothingness as she fell.
“I... I can’t go...” she muttered.
“No, you can’t go.” a voice echoed through the void. An image appeared before her and she saw Jor-El, the unicorn’s eyes filled with remorse. “You are not finished.”
“Not finished?”
“Equestria still needs a protector. I cannot allow them to lose you; not yet, not like this.”
“But... how?”
“You are strong, my dear Kara. Not just physically, but in your heart. You are one of the strongest ponies I have ever met, and I know that you can save yourself. Use your strength to pull yourself in, and then you will be home.
“Your time has not come... not yet, my daughter... not yet.”
................
“... not... yet...” Firefly stopped crying and looked up.
“Wh-What?”
“Not... yet...”
“Rainbow?” Rainbow Dash’s eyes slowly fluttered open, her head turning towards the source of the sound.
“Mom?” Rainbow Dash could not respond before Firefly had wrapped her forelegs around Dash, squeezing her daughter tight against her. Tears streamed down Firefly’s face, staining the hospital gown Rainbow was wearing
“Oh Rainbow! You had me so worried.” the older mare sobbed.
“Hey, at least I can say I’ve been blown up now.” Rainbow Dash chuckled, but this dissolved into a coughing fit. “Ah, my throat feels terrible.”
“Just rest, Rainbow; everything will be better tomorrow.” Rainbow nodded and shifted around a little, trying to find a comfortable spot to sleep. She did not get long, for Twilight and the others had entered the room to see what the commotion was.
“Rainbow Dash’s alive!” Pinkie screamed, rushing over to Rainbow and giving the Pegasus the biggest hug she could manage.
“Pinkie... you’re choking me...”
“Sorry Dashie! But you’re going to be alright!” Pinkie broke off and was about to sing, but Fluttershy managed to cut her off.
“Oh Rainbow, we were so worried you weren’t going to be alright.”
“Hey, I’m getting better, I guess.”
“If there’s anything we can do for you, darling,” Rarity said. “Please let us know.”
“I will... right now I’d like to get some sleep, if you don’t mind.”
“‘Course, sugarcube.” Applejack gave Rainbow Dash a playful poke. “You just rest up’n get outa here as soon as you can.”
“Okay... See you guys later.” the five said their goodbyes and left, talking to themselves in hushed tones so as to not disturb Rainbow. Firefly was the last to leave, lingering by the door before speaking.
“Rainbow, promise me you’ll be more careful when you do things like that?”
“I’ll try, mom.”
..............
High above Equestria, out of the way of most observation, a ship hung in space. The pony in command of the ship watched several screens, trying to pick up as much information on the planet below as possible. Probably the most interesting one was replaying a fight between two ponies; a tan mare in a blue suit and cape, and a white unicorn.
“Interesting...” He said, replaying the fight once more. “So it seems that a Kryptonian did survive. This changes a few things... at least she was able to remove that one pony; he would only have caused trouble.” He turned to another screen, flipping through the profiles of several important Equestrian politicians.
“But before I confront her, I’ll need a few allies...”
...............
A few weeks had passed. The attack on Canterlot was old news now, and most ponies were content to leave it at that. Rainbow Dash returned to Ponyville, happy to leave Canterlot behind and rejoin her friends and family.
While the public was no longer interested in Canterlot, they were still searching for Supermare; some did so in an attempt to catch her and study her powers, while others merely wanted to congratulate her for defending Equestria. Fillies and colts of all ages scanned the skies constantly for her, venerating her on a level usually reserved for the princesses. Supermare sightings were reported almost daily, but most turned out to be falsified to drum up excitement.
Rainbow Dash was content to leave it at that, for now.
She stood atop the mountain where she and her friends had defeated the dragon. The wind lashed at her, causing her cape to flare out across the sky as she watched, scanning the country for signs of trouble. She took a breath in and closed her eyes, opening all of her senses to the world.
“My father made a wise choice when he sent me here.” she said, opening her eyes. “Equestria... my home... these ponies love me, and I love them. They’ve helped me and guided me, and now it’s my turn to help them. There’s so much I can do to help them...” She spotted something outside of Ponyville; Caramel and his marefriend were having a picnic, but a couple of Diamond Dogs were sneaking up on them.
“Equestria needed a protector, and I have answered the call.” Supermare said before taking off and racing towards Ponyville.
Princess Celestia hated meetings. Thousands of other ponies would agree with her, but being as old as she was she had a special disdain for them that no other pony would understand. Part of her wanted to call off all meetings and run the country as she saw fit, but the more rational side of her kept pressing her to accept the meetings as the best way for ponies to voice their ideas on how Equestria should be maintained.
Dealing with the amount of weirdos she had to put up with made her doubt her rationality.
“While I admire your enthusiasm in wanting to defend Equestria,” Celestia said “Giving every pony hoof axes, regardless of age or mental stability, so they can fend off a zombie attack is not only risky but economically unsound. Besides, it’s impossible to reanimate dead flesh; believe me, I would know.”
“That’s what they want you to think!” the pony standing before her said. “The necroponies let you believe that they can’t exist, and then they attack you with their zombie armies while you’re weak and helpless.... Also, if we ever got attacked by the Griffon Kingdoms then we’d be better prepared to defend ourselves.”
“The Griffons have been our allies since the Nightmare Moon incident; the chance that they would willingly turn on us is incredibly low, especially with our economies being so intertwined. Your proposal is fine, but it needs work; speak to me about it once it costs less money and deals with a viable threat.” the pony sputtered for a few seconds before composing himself and returning to his seat. Celestia turned to the rest of her administrators.
“Now, is there anything else that needs to be discussed?” she asked.
“Yes; what are you going to do about Supermare?” Celestia’s face dropped and she hung her head in frustration. Not this again...
“General Steel Wing, we have discussed this matter several times and my answer is still no.”
“But she is a viable threat!” said Steel Wing, a white Pegasus with a black mane flecked with streaks of grey. “Think about it; she is a pony who can withstand any weapon known to ponykind, can lift an incredible amount of weight with one hoof, and her senses can pick up more signals than anything we have. She is a threat to Equestria, and we need to stop her.”
“From doing what? Supermare has done nothing to convince me that she plans to harm the citizens of Equestria, unless you consider stopping crime and saving ponies from natural disasters to be threatening.”
“It’s a ruse; you place more trust in her and she’ll start making demands, and soon she’ll be ruling this country and all of us will be her personal attack dogs.”
“That is the most ridiculous idea I’ve ever heard.” Celestia stood, looking at Steel Wing. “Have you ever heard of a Seal of Honesty?”
“Yes.”
“My personal student has cast several to see if Supermare is telling the truth, and every time she has been more than honest with us.”
“How do you know that she doesn’t have some power that allows her to fake a test such as that?”
“You’re paranoid, Steel Wing, and I don’t want a paranoid general in command of my forces. Drop this matter, or I shall have you replaced with someone I can trust.” Steel Wing glared at Celestia, his wings beating slightly.
“I will convince you that I am right, no matter what it takes. I bet that Supermare is away in her secret base, planning your downfall as we speak.”
..............
Rainbow Dash was lying beneath one of Applejack’s trees, finishing up her afternoon nap. She yawned, brushing the Daring Do book she had brought off her face, and stood to gather the rest of her things. She pulled a pair of saddlebags over and tossed the book inside before strapping them to her back, turning towards Ponyville as she did so.
The last few weeks had been quiet; other than trying out for the Wonderbolts nothing exciting had happened in Ponyville. Rainbow had spent most of her time napping, practicing a few of her older moves to make sure they were still good, and occasionally saving a pony or two. The number of ponies searching for Supermare had dropped down, but Rainbow was still careful that her identity was safe with her.
She spread her wings and took off, wind rushing through her mane as she flew towards Ponyville. She would have gone faster, but going too fast could have tipped a few ponies off as to who she was, and she would be up to her neck in Supermare fan-ponies. She liked attention, just not that much attention.
She continued on her present course, flicking her ears this way and that in order to pick up any signs of trouble. Yes, it made her feel paranoid, and it drew attention sometimes, but it was better than letting a bunch of ponies die when something bad happened. She had searched for a way to stay informed without the ear-twitching, but short of being Supermare all the time nothing came forth. Unable to pick up any sign of danger, Rainbow Dash smiled and sped up a little riding an errant wind current towards Ponyville. She folded her wings and dove, pulling up just before colliding with the ground.
“Oh, Rainbow Dash.” Rainbow turned and saw Twilight walking up to her, a few book bags slung over her flanks. “I didn’t expect to see you here this early.”
“Oh hey Twilight. Yeah, I just couldn’t get to sleep.” Rainbow Dash landed and looked around. “Did I miss something?”
“No, I was just on my way home when you showed up. Would you like to walk with me?”
“Sure, why not?” Rainbow Dash fell in place next to Twilight, the two mares walking past dozens of other ponies going about their daily routines.
“So... What’s in the bags?” Twilight asked.
“Oh, just a Daring Do book and... other things.”
“Oh...” it took Twilight a few moments to realize what Rainbow meant “Oh! Rainbow, isn’t that being a little paranoid?”
“Beats having to fly back to my house every time somepony’s in trouble. Seriously, those clasps are a pain in the flank to get done in a hurry. I think I might expand my house so I can change faster.”
“Rainbow, you have to be a little quieter about this. Some ponies may figure things out.”
“Yeah, I know. Still, it’s kind of fun, going out there and helping ponies. Besides, I think I look cool in that suit... but, I’ve got problems.”
“Oh joy.” Rainbow gave Twilight a soft jab in the side, retaining as much of her strength as possible to not knock Twilight into a wall.
“Hey, this is serious! I keep getting these freaks that want to be my ‘arch-nemesis’.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard.” Twilight produced a newspaper and passed it to Rainbow Dash. “This was in yesterday’s paper.” the picture showed a green earth pony dressed in a poorly fitted mask and towel cape hanging by his tail from Trottingham’s clock tower.
“‘Local Earth Pony Attempts to Fight Supermare: Claims to be Arch Nemesis.’. Never knew the guy in my life.”
“He said he did.”
“He also said I was from Jupiter and was his second cousin or something. I don’t even have a second cousin!... At least, I don’t think so, and they’re probably dead anyway.”
“Still, you don’t hang ponies from clock towers.”
“I was having a bad day, okay? Tank had something wrong with his stomach and I had to wake up early to get him to Fluttershy, Derpy sent my mail to Raindrops and I had to spend three hours getting everything sorted out, once that was done some firebug in Trottingham tried to burn down an orphanage, and then this bozo comes up and says I’m his arch nemesis.”
“I... I didn’t know about that.”
“Yeah, they never talk about superheroes having bad days. It’s always ‘love interests’ and ‘arch nemeses’.”
“But... you still like it, don’t you?”
“Of course.” Rainbow Dash smiled. “Didn’t you hear what I said earlier?”
“Well, yes... Are you sure you don’t need us to help with something?”
“You’re doing fine; as long as you don’t tell anypony, I’m good. I mean, unless you can teleport halfway across Equestria and have a bunch of powers to prevent big natural disasters then you’d only slow me down.”
“Oh, okay.” Twilight looked away. “Just make sure you don’t forget about us.”
“I’d never do that. You guys mean the world to me and I’d never forget you, superpowers or no superpowers.” As soon as she finished saying this, her ear flicked towards Canterlot. Airship, weak ropes, not enough Pegasi to save everypony. “Uh, Twilight, I’ve gotta go.”
“What? Did I do something wrong?”
“No, just... I need to go. Now.”
“Is something else wrong?”
“Plenty.” Rainbow Dash took off towards Canterlot, tugging at the straps of one of her saddlebags.
...............
Thunderlane set another pony down near a grove of trees, taking a quick headcount to determine how many ponies had been rescued. Usually he would have asked somepony to join him, like his cousin Blossomforth, but either because of his cockiness or stupidity he had decided to go alone. Last time I’ll go out like this alone.
Nothing had happened until a rough spot near Canterlot had snapped one of the ropes holding the balloon to the rest of the airship. Things quickly spiraled out of control, and with only two other Pegasi capable of lifting a pony they were having trouble evacuating everypony.
“Hey! Is that all of the foals?” he shouted as an older stallion landed.
“I don’t know. I didn’t have time to check and see if there were any below deck.” Thunderlane spread his wings and shot upwards, returning to the stricken airship just as a second support cable snapped, causing the airship to lurch to one side. his wings beat against the skewed deck of the airship, allowing him to stay upright and continue his search for more ponies. However, debris from the deck of the ship were now raining down on him, and try as he might he could not get close enough to make his search more thorough.
Thunderlane’s heart stopped for a moment when he heard the last few supports snap. He could only watch in mute horror as the airship fell to the ground, gradually picking up speed as it fell. He thought he could see a few ponies still onboard, some of them looking up to him as if to ask “Why me?”. He closed his eyes, waiting for the sound of the airship crashing against the ground.
But no such sound came. Curious, Thunderlane opened one eye and saw the airship floating several meters off the ground, the ponies on deck confused as to their continued survival. Slowly the airship was lowered to the ground, and now he could see who had saved the airship: a tan pony dressed in a blue suit and red cape, her forehooves wrapped around the bow of the airship.
“It’s Supermare!” one pony shouted, and soon the others were joining in with cheers for the hero. Supermare smiled as she lowered the airship to the ground, setting it down gently before flying up to help those still on board get down. Thunderlane couldn’t help but smile and flew down to the airship, trying his best to not get in Supermare’s way.
“You should be proud of yourself.” Supermare said after unloading the last of the ponies. “If you and the other Pegasi hadn’t reacted how you did then more ponies would have been injured.”
“Well, sure,” Thunderlane looked away, unsure of how to proceed “But, I mean, you saved the day.”
“I like to think that we all saved the day here; you did the most important step, and I helped in the end phase.” She smiled and took off, rising over the rest of the ponies. “Statistically speaking, airships are still the safest way to travel. Just remember to check your supports next time you go flying.” she waved and took off, vanishing into the clouds while the other ponies cheered.
Thunderlane stood in silence as Supermare left. He attempted to say something, but nothing could really describe the mix of emotions he was currently feeling. On one hoof he was still scared that somepony could have been hurt during the accident, but on the other hoof he was in awe that Supermare had arrived and saved everypony so quickly. He stood there for a few minutes before feeling something tugging at his tail.
“Mister Thunderlane?” Thunderlane looked and saw a Pegasus filly staring up at him “Are you okay?”
Steel Wing was angry. While that was not a very uncommon phenomenon, Celestia’s constant avoidance of the Supermare issue was getting annoying. He paced around his quarters, muttering to himself while a few of his lieutenants looked on.
“Has Shining Armor given any support?” he asked, not looking up from his pacing.
“No sir.”
“Figures; the damn fool is so wrapped up in his idealism that he can barely function. Probably spending too much time sleeping with Celestia’s niece instead of taking action.”
“Sir, you know that you shouldn’t speak ill of the Guard.”
“And why not? They couldn’t defeat Nightmare Moon or Chrysalis, so they’ll be useless fighting Supermare.”
“Perhaps they are useless, but you are failing because you have not been direct in your attempts to capture Supermare.” a voice said from the next hall. Steel Wing and his followers looked and saw a pony walking out of the shadows, a green unicorn with a purple mane and weird suit. “You waste your time complaining when you should take action.”
“Who are you, and why are you here?” Steel Wing asked, advancing towards the newcomer.
“Please, let’s not make enemies of each other. You may call me Vril Dox, and I have... personal issues with this Kryptonian.” Steel Wing regarded the pony; his speech was flat and his expression never changed. He took a step back to distance himself from Vril Dox, who merely raised an eyebrow. “Are you so intimidated by my presence?”
“No. How did you get in here?”
“The security spells on your home are laughable at best, so it was no real trouble letting myself in.” Steel Wing headed towards the far wall before the newcomer spoke again. “Don’t even bother calling for help; your personal guards have been contained.”
“And by contained, you mean...?”
“Contained; I don’t have to go into details, but they are still alive if you worry about them.” Vril Dox walked further into the room, his eyes never leaving Steel Wing. “But to address your problem, I believe that you should go forth and deal with this issue.”
“Why should I listen to you? You break into my home and dispose of my guards, and so far you have not given me any reason to trust you.”
“Perhaps you should allow me to speak before jumping to conclusions.” Steel Wing raised an eyebrow as Vril Dox continued. “Now, you lack powers and technology capable of defeating a Kryptonian. I, however, have dealt with them several times during my life, and thus I know many of their secrets. Give me time, and I shall have a plan capable of showing the world who Supermare truly is.”
“How do I fit into this plan of yours?”
“You have connections, do you not? Friends or potential allies that may be able to support you?”
“Well, yes-”
“With their support, I should be able to give you the victory you so desire.”
“How do I know that you are capable of delivering?” Vril Dox looked at Steel Wing, his face still as emotionless as ever. His horn shimmered slightly before an oddly shaped bottle popped out of the air next to him. The bottle was passed to Steel Wing, and he saw a small city resting inside. A few small dots flitted across the cityscape, but Steel Wing made no note of them.
“Very nice toy, but what does that prove?”
“That is the city of Kandor, one of Krypton’s greatest cities before it was destroyed.”
“So you have a replica of a destroyed city, that still doesn’t-”
“That is not a replica; I shrank the city.” Steel Wing laughed as Vril Dox took back the city.
“You’re crazy. Nopony can shrink a city like that.”
“Really? Do you base your accusations off of facts, or merely a generalization brought about by your own limited understanding of your world?”
“Are you calling me stupid?”
“Perhaps I am, but I try not to insult those I am working with.”
“Look, just because you have a little city and you claim to have shrunk it does not convince me that I should work with you.”
“True, but deep down you know that there is more to what I say.” Vril Dox dismissed the city and turned to leave. “I have a list of powerful ponies that may help your cause, and I believe it is best if you be more assertive in your attempts to defeat Supermare.” the pony walked out of the room and disappeared, leaving Steel Wing alone with his lieutenants.
“I think he’s using us.” one pony said.
“Why? We never agreed on anything.” Steel Wing sighed and looked to his lieutenants. “Keep looking for anypony in the Guard that might want to join us.”
...............
Firefly sat near the edge of Cloudsdale, looking out over Equestria. She had dismissed the Wonderbolts early today, citing poor weather, but really she wanted some time for herself to relax and not have to worry about anything, a difficult task considering her daughter was a superhero. She fluffed her wings and took a breath in, allowing the sound of the wind to lull her into a semi-trance state.
“I remember Dad used to take you out here whenever you were stressed.” Firefly turned slightly and saw Rainbow Dash, the younger Pegasus wearing a small pack over her flank. “I snuck after you guys once, and I saw you just sitting there and talking.”
“There’s nothing wrong with having a nice talk with someone you love.” Firefly looked back out at Equestria. “Besides, not all of us can spend our days racing around at breakneck speeds.”
“Says the trainer of the Wonderbolts.”
“I’m sixty years old, Rainbow; if I ever tried to go that fast I would end up breaking my neck.” Firefly chuckled. “So, was there something troubling you that you wanted to talk about?”
“Nah, I just wanted to spend some time with you.” Rainbow Dash sat down next to Firefly, unhitching her pack and setting it aside. “So... How are the Wonderbolts doing?”
“Well, everyone except Fleetfoot is fine. They seemed very amused by your little stunt the other day.”
“What, saving those ponies in the airship?”
“No, you hanging an earth pony from Trottingham’s clocktower.” Rainbow Dash frowned and looked away.
“I was having a bad day, okay?”
“No, it’s not okay. You could have killed somepony with your powers.”
“I know, but I didn’t.”
“Sure, not this time, but what happens if you get really mad?” Rainbow opened her mouth to protest, but Firefly raised a hoof and silenced her. “Don’t say that won’t happen, because we both know you have temper issues. Now, say you got really angry, would you be able to hold back? Could you prevent yourself from beating some pony to death?”
“... Yes I could. I didn’t beat Blueblood to death, who says I couldn’t hold myself back again? Yeah, I might hurt somepony, but actually kill them? Nah.” the two Pegasi sat in silence before Firefly spoke again.
“Rainbow, I’m sorry if I sounded too harsh there. I... I was just nervous, that’s all.”
“I know.” Rainbow scooted a little closer to Firefly. The older Pegasus smiled a little and wrapped a hoof around her daughter, pulling her close. “I should spend more time here; all this superhero stuff is turning me into an egghead.”
“I’ve noticed. You speak more formally now.”
“Hey, I’m still the same pony. I’m not going to start rattling off a bunch of big words and stuff every day... I hope.” She shook her head. “I need to spend less time talking with my father.”
“Your father?”
“Yeah, my father. He put himself into that crystal you gave me, sort of, and he helped me with my powers. You’d like him, but he talks a lot.”
“Sounds like my uncle; shame you never met him.”
“Yeah...” Rainbow Dash pulled away from Firefly for a moment. “Wait, earlier you said that there was something wrong with Fleetfoot.”
“Well, Fleetfoot...”
“Fleetfoot what?” Firefly sighed and tossed her hooves up in the air.
“Fleetfoot got engaged to some Los Pegasus pony and plans to take half the Wonderbolts with her as bridesmaids. Look, I like Fleetfoot, but sometimes she acts like she owns the entire team.”
“I... Fleetfoot’s getting married? Does that mean there’s a spot open on the team?!” Rainbow Dash leapt up to her hooves, spreading her wings in excitement. “If there is a spot, can I join?”
“No, Fleetfoot’s still on the team, and even if there was a spot open I think you should get your issues as Supermare settled before you join up.” Rainbow’s wings drooped and she sat down. “Hey, don’t worry; you’ll get on the team someday.”
“That’s what you said the first time I failed tryouts.”
“And I’m still right.” Rainbow nodded.
“Uh, Mom, there’s... something else.”
“What?”
“Um, well... Do you know who Thunderlane is?” Firefly looked away for a moment.
“Grey colt, tried out for the Wonderbolts about the same time you did?”
“Yeah, that’s him. Well... You see, he was on the airship when it, uh, crashed. Anyway, I was thinking about him... I mean, him being all traumatised from the accident and all, maybe, and...”
“Rainbow I’m sure he’s fine.”
“But what if he’s not? I mean, if I was on an airship that almost crashed I’d be pretty freaked out, so maybe... maybe I should go talk to him or something?” Firefly thought about it for a moment, looking off towards the horizon for any inspiration.
“Maybe you should; if you do think that he is traumatized, which I doubt, then talking to him could be the best option. Who knows, maybe you’ll get past the ‘trauma’ and strike something up with him” Rainbow Dash looked away, and Firefly saw that her cheeks had tinted red slightly.
“What should I say?”
“I don’t know; what would Supermare say?”
..............
Thunderlane was lying on his bed staring up at the ceiling. A small plate of half-eaten food sat on a table nearby, the Pegasus having long forgotten what exactly it had been that he was eating. He flicked his tail a little and sighed, finding another patch of cloud in the ceiling to focus on.
He kept thinking back to the day of the accident, specifically Supermare. Yes, he had seen the various news articles and newsreels on the so-called “Mare of Steel”, but he had never gotten the chance to see her face-to-face. Images of her drifted through his thoughts, some of her hoisting the airship over her head, others of her just smiling and flying off into the clouds. He sighed again and rolled over, flaring his wings and finding a small spot on the wall.
“Well, it’s better than hearing Blossomforth nagging me about the weather.” he groaned and rolled over again before there was a knock at the door. Puzzled, Thunderlane got up and flew to the door, cracking it open slightly to see who it was.
“I don’t mean to disturb you, but I wanted to talk with you about the other day.” Supermare said. Thunderlane almost slammed the door in shock, but the discipline he had gained during his training session with the Wonderbolts was able to keep him in check. He swallowed slightly and opened the door a little more.
“I, uh... are you sure this is okay?”
“I don’t spend all my time fighting criminals. I was tipped off that you might have been feeling a bit off after the accident, and I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help.”
“Oh yes, you can help with things... I mean, with the accident, and...” Thunderlane blushed and looked away. “Sorry, I just... well, just didn’t expect you to, well, come and talk with me.”
“I get that a lot. So...” Supermare pawed at the ground. “Is there anything I can help you with?”
“Well, I just wanted to... I just wanted to talk to you, I guess. I-I mean, I’ve talked to a lot of ponies, but I really wanted to talk to you about... well, about things.”
“If you are still traumatized by the accident, then I can assure you that you did all you could to help. You are as much a hero as I am, Thunderlane, and you should be proud that you-”
“No, I’m fine about the accident.” he looked away again. “Well, I mean it’s still bad, but I think... look, maybe we could...” He paused, biting his lip and pawing at the floor of his house slightly.
“We could...?” Supermare asked, raising an eyebrow.
“We could... I don’t know... maybe, meet up sometime soon?” Supermare failed to remain composed, her eyes widening and her wings spreading slightly beneath her cape. She backed up and looked around, unsure of how to proceed.
“I... I, uh-”
“You know what? Forget about that. That was a stupid idea anyway-”
“No, no, you’re not stupid. I mean, the idea wasn’t stupid. I-I just...” a pause. “Saturday?”
“Sure.”
“Seven?”
“Okay.”
“Good.” the two stood there, staring at each other and waiting for a response. “So, I’ve got to leave.”
“Oh, of course.”
“Yeah, gotta go do some superhero stuff.” Supermare smiled, her face flushing red, before giggling slightly and taking off. Once he was sure she was out of sight, Thunderlane closed the door and collapsed.
“I am an idiot. Start off asking for some closure, and I ask her out on a date.” Thunderlane hit himself in the face with his right hoof, groaning in frustration. “Of all the mares I could have talked to, I had to chose the superhero.” he groaned again and pulled himself to his hooves.
It’s not a date, Thunder; we’re two ponies, just talking about things, that is all... He nodded slightly before a small voice from the back of his mind, which sounded like Blossomforth for whatever reason, entered his train of thought.
“Keep telling yourself that, Thunder.” the voice said, causing whatever confidence he had managed to regain to dissolve. He groaned once more and looked at the floor.
Rainbow Dash landed outside of Ponyville, looking around for anypony that she could talk to. Finding no one, she sighed and walked into town, heading in the general direction of Rarity’s boutique. Some other ponies noticed her and waved, but her thoughts kept distracting her and she barely noticed them. She moved on, not really watching where she was going and nearly running into a few ponies.
She barely even noticed a familiar buzzing coming towards her.
“Hey, Rainbow Dash!” Rainbow managed to snap out of her daze and saw Scootaloo racing towards her. The filly pulled to a stop next to her idol, gently pushing her scooter back and forth and looking up at Rainbow Dash. “What’s up?”
“Oh, nothing much.” she smiled weakly and kept walking, Scootaloo following. “Just wanted to talk to Rarity about... things.”
“Things?” Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. “Why would you need to ask Rarity about ‘things’?”
“They’re the kind of things she’d be interested in.” Scootaloo pulled her scooter to a stop, looking at Rainbow Dash.
“You’re not getting into that weird girly stuff, are you?”
“No, of course not.”
“Then if it isn’t girly stuff, then what is it?”
“Things a filly like you shouldn’t be worrying about.” Scootaloo gave Rainbow Dash a weird look, but did not press the matter. “But enough about that. What have you been up to?”
“Crusading, mainly.” Scootaloo buzzed her wings “I was looking around for other things for me and the other Crusaders to do, and then I saw you and I thought ‘Hey, maybe Rainbow Dash knows a lot of cool things to do’. So... Do you know any cool things to do?”
“Do I? Of course I do. I remember that there were these caves near the river that Fluttershy used to talk about a lot; said she’d find a bunch of weird things floating around in them.”
“Really? You know where they are?”
“I might. Go get the others and I’ll show them to you.” Scootaloo nodded in excitement and turned her scooter around, flapping her wings for extra speed and racing off into the crown. Rainbow Dash was prepared to continue towards Rarity’s boutique when there was a loud crash. Hero instincts cut in and she raced towards the sound, tugging at saddle bags that weren’t there.
In her rush, Scootaloo had clipped a small fruit stand. Nopony was hurt, but a large amount of fruit had been spilled on the ground. Rainbow Dash released some of her tension, planting her hooves back on the ground, before hurrying over to Scootaloo.
“Good to hear.” Rainbow Dash looked at the mess. “Think you could help me clean this up?”
“Yeah, I probably should.” Rainbow Dash smiled and walked over to the stricken fruit stand, tossing a few pieces of fruit back into their respective bins. Scootaloo pushed the fruit towards Rainbow Dash, and once that task was finished the filly began searching around for her scooter.
She found it, lying before two fillies she did not want to deal with right now.
“Very impressive, Scootaloo.” Diamond Tiara said, smirking. “I think you, like, doubled the amount of damage you caused since your last screw up.”
“Yeah, totally.” Silver Spoon added, the two fillies giggling as Scootaloo took back her scooter.
“Hey, it could be worse.” Scootaloo grumbled. “I’ve seen the school floor crack every time you walk.” Diamond Tiara glared at the Pegasus, her face flushing red with anger.
“You better take that back, Scootaloo.” Rainbow Dash decided that now was a good moment to intervene and stepped towards the three fillies.
“Leave her alone, Diamond Tiara.” the older mare said once she reached Scootaloo.
“Oh, well if it isn’t Miss ‘has-to-protect-Scootaloo-from-everything’. Trying to get me in trouble for something I didn’t do?”
“Hey, you did steal Cheerilee’s notebook.”
“Nopony can prove I did that!” Rainbow Dash gave the filly a blank stare.
“Get out of here.”
“I don’t have to do anything you say, you know; nopony can boss me around.”
“Silver Spoon!” a voice barked from behind them. The two fillies froze in terror as a pony approached, a grey stallion with almost no mane. He stopped behind the two and looked down, his steely gaze causing the two to quiver. “Would you care to tell me what’s going on here?”
“Um, n-nothing...” Silver Spoon stammered, shuffling her hooves a bit “W-we were just... talking about that mess over there that she made.” Silver Spoon pointed over towards the damaged cart, smiling sheepishly. The stallion was unimpressed.
“We will discuss this at a later time. Take your friend and return home.”
“Yes father.” Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened slightly and her jaw lost a bit of tension. Silver Spoon has a father? The stallion looked up at her, his expression softening slightly.
“My apologies for any discomfort my daughter may have caused.” He said.
“Thanks...” Rainbow said. “Um, I don’t mean to sound rude, but I don’t really know who you are.”
“That’s understandable, as I don’t really enjoy visiting this town; bad experiences.” the stallion held out a hoof. “My name is Alexander Silversmith, but you may call me ‘Lex’. And you are?”
“Rainbow Dash, weather manager.”
“Oh really?” Silversmith smiled. “I was always fascinated by weather management. I tried working on a device to handle minor weather issues in case there was an absence of Pegasi and, well...” he pointed to his head. “That didn’t work out so well.”
“You’re an inventor?”
“I dabble from time to time. I would love to stay and chat, but I have other matters to attend to. Good day.” and with that Silversmith left. Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow Dash, then back at the retreating stallion, then back up to Rainbow Dash.
“Did you know about this guy?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Why would I care about Silver Spoon’s family?” Scootaloo got back on her scooter. “Anyway, I’ll go get Applebloom and Sweetie Belle and then we can go check out those caves you were talking about.”
“Okay, see you in a few minutes.” Scootaloo gave a small salute and raced off, a cloud of dust trailing after the filly. Rainbow Dash was not focused on her, though; she was focused on Silversmith, watching the stallion as he drifted through the marketplace. He seemed to have no real direction, although he did shoot a few glances back in her direction before heading down another street and out of sight.
Something deep inside her told her that Silversmith was up to no good.
..............
“Silversmith? Grey pony, no mane, tells everypony ta call him ‘Lex’?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah, Ah know who he is.” Applejack reared back and bucked, knocking down a tree’s worth of apples.
“So, what’s the deal with him?”
“Look, RD, Ah said Ah know who he is, Ah never said Ah know him.”
“Uh, isn’t that kinda the same thing?” Rainbow Dash asked, raising an eyebrow.
“No, it ain’t.” Applejack finished gathering this batch of apples and moved on to the next tree. “Ah met him once, when Ah was livin’ in Manehattan; showed up at Auntie Orange’s dinner first night Ah was there, said he was workin’ on some thingymajig fer airships.”
“He did say he was an inventor.”
“Yeah, well he was downright weird if’n ya ask me; he’d be all fancy one minute, then he’d slink off ta who knows where. ‘Least Twilight’d say goodbye if she ever wanted ta get back ta science.”
“Maybe he just likes being alone.” Applejack looked at Rainbow Dash.
“Ah don’ think so. Ah’m good at readin’ ponies, Rainbow, and he didn’t seem like the loner type. Seemed mighty smug, like he was lookin’ down on all of us.”
“Then what’s he doing living in Ponyville? Don’t all the snobby ponies live in Canterlot?”
“He don’t live in Ponyville.” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow and followed Applejack further into the orchard.
“What? But then how come Silver Spoon-”
“She lives here, he doesn’t. Just gone and dropped his whole family here a couple years back. Ah think he lives in Manehattan, but Ah never saw him around all that much after that first night.”
“Well, then what’s he doing here now?”
“Beats me. Ah ain’t a gossip like Rarity, and Ah don’t think she’d want ta know a lot ‘bout Silversmith.”
“Well, is there anypony else I can talk to?”
“Big Mac’s met him a few times, but he’s in Appleoosa ‘till next week. Other than him Ah can’t really help ya.”
“What about Pinkie? She’s probably thrown a welcome party for-” Rainbow Dash was interrupted by an orange hoof to the nose.
“Don’t talk ta Pinkie. Don’t say anythin’ ta Pinkie ‘bout Silversmith.”
“Was the party really that bad?”
“There weren’t no party.” Applejack sighed and bade Rainbow Dash to sit. “It happened a couple weeks ‘fore ya moved into town. Pinkie’d just moved in with the Cakes’n had gotten into the habbit’a givin’ new ponies welcome parties. Well, one day Silversmith comes in fer who knows what reason; Pinkie took one look at him and ran away screamin’ her head off. Ah was takin’ Applebloom ta a doctor’s appointment when Pinkie comes runnin’ up, ravin’ ‘bout some ‘evil evil stallion’ she’d seen comin’ into town. Ah didn’t pay her no mind; Ah thought she was just bein’ Pinkie, and she was scarin’ Applebloom somethin’ fierce. But Pinkie just locked herself inside Sugarcube Corner ‘till Silversmith left, and she was all twitchy until ya moved in.”
“Wait, this guy scared Pinkie?”
“Ah know it’s hard ta believe, but that’s what happened.” Rainbow Dash shook her head; Pinkie, the mare who sang constantly about facing fears and loved Nightmare Night more than any other holiday in Equestria, was scared of some bald high-class pony. It made even less sense than Pinkie’s usual nonsense.
“Where does Silver Spoon live?” Rainbow Dash said, standing up to fully face Applejack.
“Now hold on there, ya ain’t gonna do anythin’ stupid, right? Ah know yer pretty protective of us, and yer... well, a superhero, but Ah don’t want ya ta pick a fight with this pony just ‘cuz of somethin’ in the past.”
“I don’t start fights just because I want to fight; something told me that Silversmith was up to no good, and I want to make sure that I’m right.”
“Well... s’long as ya don’t get yerself hurt.” Applejack pointed to the northwest. “She lives in a big ol’ mansion near the road ta Canterlot. Lotta trees ‘n stuff, so it’s kinda hard ta see from the road. Nopony Ah know’s ever been up there, so Ah can’t really tell ya what ta expect.”
“Eh, don’t worry about it.” Rainbow Dash took off, circling over the farm. “I am Supermare, after all.” And with that she was off, drawing up plans for how to best confront Silversmith.
.................
Rainbow Dash looped over Ponyville once more before heading northwest, her cape flapping in the breeze. Under the cover of darkness she was almost invisible, a shadow in the night sky that nopony would mind. After spotting her destination, she slowed down and skimmed over the trees, sweeping her head back and forth in order to spot any ponies that might have been hiding.
The mansion was massive, dominating a chunk of land the size of a small town block. Groves of trees blocked the view from the road, and Rainbow Dash could spot a few ponies, presumably guards, milling around outside. She rose higher into the air to avoid being seen and allowed her gaze to zoom in on the house, her x-ray vision allowing her to see every single room in its entirety.
Silversmith was sitting at a table in what Rainbow assumed was a dining room, perusing through a few pieces of paper. Silver Spoon was seated at the opposite end of the table, slowly eating a small salad. She did not look up from her food, as if she was afraid of drawing Silversmith’s wrath. Rainbow Dash flew in a little closer, swiveling her ears to pick up any conversation they may have been having.
“So, about that little incident in the market.” Silversmith said, not looking up at Silver Spoon.
“That wasn’t my fault.”
“I’m sure it wasn’t. However, how you handled the situation is less than satisfactory; you drew attention to yourself and turned multiple ponies against you, and once everypony is against you you will suffer. You should have waited for a more opportune moment, when any comments made would have assisted your position.”
“Yes father.” the two were interrupted by a third pony, a skinny unicorn wearing a tie.
“Um, sir?” Silversmith looked up at the unicorn.
“Back from Manehattan so soon?”
“Well, there wasn’t much left to set up.” Silversmith nodded and looked at Silver Spoon.
“Go up to your room and finish your homework. We will continue this discussion later.”
“Yes father.” Silver Spoon got up from her seat and left, passing the unicorn on her way out.
“Now, all the ponies have their assigned tasks?”
“Yes sir, and anypony that might object has been well bribed, as per your orders.” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow and inched closer.
“Good.” Silversmith rose and crossed the room, heading towards a door Rainbow Dash assumed led to an office. “Make sure to send a message to our... ‘friends’, and ask them if they are still interested in my deal.”
“Um, well, we did. They said you could go burn in Tartarus.” Silversmith stopped for a moment and looked at the other pony.
“Well then, tomorrow should be an interesting night for them.”
“Uh, yes...” the unicorn fidgeted a little.
“You don’t think this will work, do you?”
“Um, well... Are you sure this is the best idea, going after-”
“They didn’t accept my deal, and now I have to convince them to.”
“B-but I mean, trying to undermine a small company is one thing, but-”
“But nothing. What alternative would you have me do? Go after Mane Enterprises?” Silversmith snorted. “Oh yes, that would work out so well. They’d probably have spies in our establishment before we even think about how to undermine them.”
“Well, I never said-”
“But you were thinking it.” Silversmith turned and continued towards his office. “Go back to Manehattan, and once everything is finished come back and report to me.”
“I always hated the name ‘MagiTech’.” he muttered before stopping in front of his office. “On your way out, would you be so kind as to notify the local authorities to a potential break in?”
“Break in, sir?”
“Somepony set off the silent alarm about.... three minutes ago. There’s nothing here to steal, but may as well get rid of such distractions.”
“So that’s what that ringing was.” Rainbow Dash muttered as she turned and shot off into the night towards her house. “Guess I know what I’ll be doing tomorrow night.”
...............
The following night found Rainbow Dash hovering over Manehattan, scanning every street for signs of trouble. Twilight had managed to procure a layout of the city, allowing Rainbow to find most of the major MagiTech buildings fairly easy. Using a few clouds as cover, she was able to remain unseen to the populace, something she was enjoying since there seemed to be a higher percentage of Supermare fans in Manehattan.
Rainbow Dash had just finished eating a few cupcakes Pinkie had given her earlier when she spotted something out of the corner of her eye. Pushing her cloud cover closer, she saw a small group of ponies, mainly unicorns, moving towards a building with a large box. A quick scan saw that the box was loaded with various explosives, but none of them seemed to be marked with anything that could incriminate Silversmith. She abandoned her cloud cover for just long enough to take cover on the roof of the building they were heading towards.
“So, what do we have to do again?” one pony at the rear of the group asked.
“Just set this up and run for it.” the lead pony said. “We spent three hours talking about this. What’s the matter, you scared or something?”
“Well... I’m just nervous, that’s all. You remember that story about those guys in Trottingham?”
“What, you mean the idiot that wanted to be Supermare’s arch-nemesis?” Rainbow Dash frowned. Why does everypony have to make such a big deal about that?
“No, I mean... those other ponies...”
“They’re all nuts. Besides, this is Manehattan, not Trottingham; there hasn’t been a vigilante here in twenty years.” Well, I guess I do count as a vigilante... I should talk to Princess Celestia about that. Rainbow Dash crawled closer to the edge of the roof, and looked down, watching as the ponies pulled out crowbars, hammers, and a saw.
“Okay, this shouldn’t take long. Make sure nopony is watching.” And that’s my cue. Rainbow Dash leapt off the roof of the building, spun one in the air, and landed on top of the explosives crate.
“Excuse me,” She said, catching everypony off guard. “But if you are planning to do some remodeling I’ll have to see your copy of the builder’s permit.” The ponies looked at her in shock and confusion, unsure of how to proceed.
“Where did you come from?” the lead pony asked.
“Krypton, if you really want to know. Now, so we don’t make a mess here, why don’t you go turn yourselves in and save us all the trouble?”
“You’re not Supermare!” one pony cried. “Supermare’s taller, and the colors on your suit are weird!” Rainbow Dash rose into the air and looked at the pony, crossing her forelegs and allowing her eyes to glow red for intimidation.
“And do you want to prove that?” The pony swallowed and shook his head “no”. “Good. Now, go find the cops and turn yourselves in.” The ponies nodded and ran off, dropping their tools to shed excess weight. Rainbow Dash chuckled to herself before picking up the crate, turning and flying towards the harbor.
“I’ll just get rid of this and then make a few sweeps just in case Silversmith paid off different ponies.”
.................
Silversmith was sitting in his office, looking through a few forms. Silver Spoon was on her way to school, and if he had deemed that important he would have joined her. However, work took precedence and was more enjoyable, and he had to make sure that everything was ready once news from Manehattan arrived.
“Um, sir?” Silversmith looked up. Standing in the doorway was a unicorn, different from the one he met with the other night.
“May I inquire as to why you are here?”
“Well, um... I think you should see the paper.” the unicorn produced a copy of the Manehattan Times and passed it to Silversmith. Upon opening it, he saw that the front page was dominated by an article that read “Supermare Stops Saboteurs”, the article giving a fairly detailed account of how Silversmith’s plan had been foiled.
“Do they know it was us?” he asked, not even looking up from the paper.
“I don’t think so, sir.” the unicorn shuffled around nervously.
“We can’t risk having this get out to the public; get in touch with some of our... friends in Manehattan and have them eliminate anypony that was there that night.”
“Yes sir.” the unicorn turned and left. Silversmith looked at the newspaper once more, focusing mainly on the image of a tan Pegasus in a blue suit and red cape.
So, you wish to interfere with progress, “Supermare”. He thought, his glare intensifying. Then I’m afraid that we are going to be in disagreement with each other. Smirking, Silversmith pulled out a small pad of paper and a pencil and began to scratch out a few rough outlines.
“We’ll see how well you perform next time we come into conflict.”
Rainbow Dash was standing outside Carousel Boutique, looking around to make sure nopony was watching. Yes, she had gone into Carousel Boutique numerous times (Rarity was still her friend, after all), but she still had a reputation to uphold. She swallowed and pushed the door open, making one last check before stepping in.
“Cooooming~!” came Rarity’s singsong voice, the white unicorn strolling in with several rolls of fabric grasped in her magic. “Oh, hello Rainbow Dash. How may I be of assistance?”
“Hey Rarity. I... wanted to talk about something.” Rarity frowned, setting aside her fabric.
“Is something the matter?”
“Um, not really. See, there’s this... colt that I like, sort of.” Rarity gasped slightly before using her magic to close every curtain and door in the boutique.
“A colt? Why my dear Rainbow, you should have told me about this somewhere more secure; you don’t know what kind of ponies might be listening in on us.”
“I can see half way around the world if I really wanted to, I think I’d be able to deal with a few nosy ponies.” Rainbow Dash fluffed her wings and continued. “Anyway, he... well, he and I are... meeting up Saturday.”
“You are?” Rarity’s smile widened and she trotted in place for a few seconds. “Why, that’s positively adorable, Rainbow! I promise to tell nopony, but you simply must tell me everything when you get back.”
“Yeah... But, well, there’s kind of a small problem.” Rarity’s frown returned.
“What kind of problem?”
“Well, you see... he doesn’t know it’s me.”
“... I’m afraid I don’t quite understand what you are saying.”
“He doesn’t know I’m meeting him Saturday.”
“Is it a blind date? Then I’m afraid that I don’t have any experience with-”
“No, he knows it’s me, but he... doesn’t know it’s me.”
“Well how can he not know that it’s you but-”
“I was in my costume when he asked me out. He thinks he’s going out with Supermare.” Rarity was silent.
“... Well, that is a problem.” Rarity turned away and began pacing. “You don’t plan on telling him anything, right?”
“Rarity, it’s just a small get together; it’s not like I’m getting married or anything.”
“Well, if you do plan to continue this relationship to it’s logical conclusion then you will have to tell him sometime. I would probably suggest that you just act natural.”
“... How?”
“Rainbow Dash, don’t be dense; you’ve been Supermare for quite some time, so you don’t need my advice on how to act natural. Just do whatever Supermare would do, and you should be fine.”
“Okay, but... Well, I’ve never been on a date before in my life, so I figured you’d know something about... date-stuff.”
“Um...” Now it was Rarity’s turn to be nervous. “Well... I haven’t had a stable relationship in... five years or so.”
“... Really?”
“Yes. That’s why I had such high hopes for Prince Blueblood when we went to the Gala, and... well that didn’t work out so well, now did it?”
“Considering that he tried to kill me and Princess Celestia, no it didn’t.”
“Yes, there’s that too. Well... If I can offer one warning, just don’t rush into any relationship; take it as slow as you like, and just enjoy yourself a little bit.”
“Okay... But, what if he starts doing... things?”
“You forget, Rainbow, you are a superhero and he, most likely, isn’t; I think you can handle yourself.”
“I guess. Thanks for the advice Rarity.”
“My pleasure.” Rarity pulled a few spools of thread from a nearby stand and set to work on a new dress. “If you have any other questions, feel free to come by and ask them.”
.................
Silversmith had set up a Research and Development lab beneath his headquarters long ago, when he first made his fortune. He did not spend as much time down here as he did in the early days, but now that he had new ideas and new “foes” he was prepared to get back into the business of inventing.
“Those power crystals I asked for were acquired?” he asked a passing attendant.
“Yes sir. We’re installing them into the prototype now.”
“Good. I’ll deal with the diagnostics once the initial test is complete.” the unicorn nodded and wandered off to the other side of the room. Silversmith prepared to head into the testing chamber when another pony approached.
“Sir, there’s a pony by the name of Steel Wing asking for you.” Silversmith frowned.
“What does he want?”
“He didn’t say.”
“I don’t have time to deal with whatever problems he has with my establishment. Tell him to come back tomorrow.”
“S-Sir, that might not be the best option.” Silversmith leaned in closer and glared at the pony.
“Tell him to come back tomorrow.”
“Y-yes sir.” the pony hurried towards the door, stepping outside and out of sight. There was a brief argument before a Pegasus entered, who Silversmith guessed was Steel Wing.
“You do know it’s never good to gain a pony’s trust if you don’t respect their wishes.” Silversmith said as Steel Wing marched towards him.
“I don’t have to be lectured by you.” Steel Wing said. “I have come here to ask a favor of you.”
“And I’m in the middle of an incredibly dangerous test, so I don’t have time to handle personal favors.”
“Do you know who I am? I am General Steel Wing of the Equestrian army, and if you will not listen to me I can have you arrested for opposing justice.”
“Dozens of ponies have threatened me with that before, yet here I am.” Silversmith sighed and looked down. “What’s your problem? Ex-wife finally found you and is sending assassins to collect the alimony?”
“This isn’t a personal issue. I am facing an incredibly dangerous enemy, one that is more powerful than anything you could offer as comparison.”
“And that enemy is...?”
“Supermare.” this piqued Silversmith’s curiosity; normally he did not like to work with other ponies, but seeing that Steel Wing did not have any love for Supermare was an interesting factor.
“Well, it seems that we hold some common ground, general. Perhaps I have been too hasty in dismissing you.”
“Yes, you have.” Silversmith nodded and began walking towards the testing chamber, Steel Wing following behind him. “Back to my original point, I need something to either incapacitate or kill Supermare. I presume you are capable of developing such a device?”
“Killing her is a bit out of the question at this point; I do not have enough information on her strengths or potential weaknesses, and I do not want to risk the chance of making her more powerful. However, I think I may have stumbled upon an idea.” the two ponies entered the testing chamber, a whitewashed room lined with lights. In the center of the room was a device that looked like a small cannon, aimed at a door on the south side of the room.
“Your a military pony, right? You know the dangers of trying to subdue a potential captive, right?”
“Of course.”
“Now, give that pony the powers of a god, and the task becomes nearly impossible. However, I think I have remedied the problem.” Silversmith turned to a nearby technician. “Send in the first test subject.” The technician nodded and nodded towards the door. The door opened and out stepped another pony, a Pegasus mare dressed in a yellow body suit and goggles.
“What exactly does this device do?”
“I can’t say, that would ruin the whole point of testing. But to put your mind at ease, the device is painless, so nopony will be hurt before the device is ready.” Silversmith and Steel Wing walked over to a blast shield, and they were soon joined by two more technicians. “Turn it on.” the first technician nodded and pressed a small green button. There was a dull hum before a beam of light shot from the cannon and enveloped the Pegasus, hoisting her into the air. Steel Wing frowned, obviously not impressed
“So, long-range telekinesis. If I had asked for that I would have found a unicorn.”
“Ah, but there’s more than that.” Silversmith looked at the test subject. “Try to move your wings and your legs.” the mare nodded and began to squirm around, her legs and wings not responding to anything she did.
“I... I can’t move, sir.” Silversmith smiled and looked at Steel Wing.
“Anything struck by this suffers from immediate neural shutdown in their legs and, in this case, wings. Think of it like getting anesthetic during an operation. In normal ponies it wears off after an hour or two, and I think that is more than enough time to take Supermare into custody.”
“Are you sure that the device will work on Supermare?” There was a pause.
“This is only a prototype, so it hasn’t been perfected just yet. We’ll just have to test it through trial and error until we can find a frequency that will stun somepony like Supermare.”
“I may only have one chance at this.”
“True.” another pause.
“I want ten of these, and anything that can be used to keep her from escaping once we do have her in custody.”
“I’m sure I can provide. However, this technology isn’t exactly free...”
“I’ll send somepony over to negotiate payment with you.” Steel Wing smiled. “I am glad we had a chance to work through this.”
“My pleasure.” Steel Wing nodded and walked away, exiting the test chamber and leaving Silversmith alone with his technicians.
“Shall I call manufacturing and have them start production?” One technician asked.
“Finish up the calibration tests, then we’ll start production.”
“I am afraid that you may have another delay in your progress.” a third voice said. Silversmith turned and saw a green and purple unicorn with a weird suit walking into the room.
“Who are you?”
“My name is Vril Dox,” the unicorn said. “And I wish to help you against Supermare.”
“How exactly can you help me?”
“I have had several encounters with Kryptonians during my life, and I know many of their weaknesses. Also, I am familiar with stasis technology, so I can help you perfect your device.” Silversmith raised an eyebrow; he was a little put off by Vril Dox’s monotone, but at this point he needed all the help he could get.
“What’s in it for me?”
“For one, I help you eliminate a powerful threat. Also, you will have access to all my knowledge of technology and the universe. Think of it: you will be able to bring in a great deal of funds with some of the devices my knowledge can help you create, and ponykind could prosper greatly.”
“Well, I am working with another pony, Steel Wing, and he may not be too keen if I devote more of my time to-”
“Steel Wing thinks he’s a knight in the scheme of things, when in reality he is closer to a pawn; his impulsiveness may reveal what I need to know about Supermare, but once it does he is no longer of any use to me.”
“What exactly do you need to know?”
“That is not important now. Know that Steel Wing will not object to anything, and if he does I know several methods to make him comply.” there was a pause.
“What exactly do you want from me?”
..............
Rainbow Dash finished with the clasps on her suit. Behind her, Tank was snacking on a few leaves, the tortoise looking up at her as she prepared to leave.
“Well Tank, look’s like I’ve got a date tonight.” Rainbow Dash walked over and knelt down in front of Tank. “So, uh... Fluttershy said something about tortoises living a really long time, so... have you ever been on a date before?” this only caused the tortoise to blink slowly. “... Didn’t think so.” She sighed before flopping down on her stomach. “Ah Tank, why am I so nervous? I mean, I can lift airships with one hoof tied behind my back and fly around the world in a few seconds; why am I freaked out over one colt?” Tank blinked again. “Maybe... Maybe I should have talked this over with someone besides Rarity... like Mom.” Rainbow looked over at Tank. The tortoise looked at her for a moment before licking her face, causing Rainbow to blush.
“Thanks, I needed that.” She nuzzled Tank before standing up and heading towards the door, using her x-ray vision to make sure nopony was nearby. Seeing no one, she slipped through her door and took off towards Trottingham, turning back towards Cloudsdale when she was certain she had gone far enough. She considered increasing her speed, but remembering how she had blown out half the windows in Los Pegasus last time she went too fast she decided against it. She passed over Ponyville and headed towards Cloudsdale, making minute adjustments in her flight path to find the best route to avoid being spotted.
She spotted him soon enough. He was standing just outside the main part of Cloudsdale, searching through the darkness for her. A small basket rested on a nearby cloud, and despite her curiosity Rainbow Dash refrained from using her x-ray vision to see its contents. She straightened out her wings and began to glide, landing with a small bounce on a nearby cloud.
“Hey there.” she called, waving with one hoof.
“Hey.” he said once he had spotted her and returned the wave. “Don’t mind the basket; my cousin thought I should bring snacks.”
“Nothing wrong with that.” Rainbow Dash leapt over to the next cloud and landed next to Thunderlane. “So... anywhere in particular you wanted to go?”
“Well...” Thunderlane shuffled around a bit. Maybe he’s as nervous as I am... “There’s this little hill just outside Ponyville, so... maybe that’ll work?”
“Sounds great.” Thunderlane blushed a little and the two set out for the hill. They didn’t talk much during the flight, the two merely exchanging a few looks as they glided through the air. Several times Rainbow tried to say something, but she merely stumbled over her words and failed to say anything.
“So... um... Supermare?” Thunderlane began.
“Yes?”
“Well, I was just thinking... you know, the other day with the airship and all... Forget it, it was a stupid question-”
“No, I don’t mind.”
“No really, I don’t think-”
“Just tell me what you were going to say.” Wow, that came out harsher than I expected. Thunderlane hesitated for a moment before speaking again.
“Well... You weren’t just waiting around for that to happen, were you?”
“No, of course not. I do remain vigilant, but I don’t just fly around looking for trouble... well, I tried that once, and I ended up getting cloned and blew up part of Baltimare.”
“... Really?”
“Yeah... At least Trixie said she was sorry.” Rainbow shook her head. “That doesn’t really matter, though, does it?”
“I, uh, I guess not.” Thunderlane chuckled a little. “Hey, there’s the hill.” The hill in question was just outside of Sweet Apple Acres, and it was one of the spots Rainbow and her friends loved to meet up at. There were a few bushes off to one side, and one of Fluttershy’s racoons was rummaging around for a snack. The two Pegasi circled once before landing, startling the racoon and causing it to rush off into the bush.
“So, do you come out here often?” Rainbow asked.
“Well... with somepony else, no. I’ve thought about it, but...”
“Just never got around to it?”
“No... Have you ever done anything like this?”
“Not really. My parent... adoptive parents, they used to do things like this all the time... I snuck out after them a few times.”
“Oh... I don’t think my parents ever did anything like that.... come to think of it I don’t really think they did anything together after my brother was born... probably why they got divorced.”
“Oh... sorry to hear that.”
“Nah, it’s okay. I’ve gotten used to it, and my brother’s too young to really remember it.”
“Ah.” there was a long pause. “So, food?”
“Right, forgot.” the two sat down and enjoyed the small salad and plate of sandwiches that Thunderlane brought. They chatted about different things: her powers, his chances of getting into the Wonderbolts (Rainbow had to rein herself in to avoid revealing her identity to him), and a bit about their families. They would have kept going on, but Rainbow cited that they had other duties in the morning and the two prepared to part company.
“So... Thanks for inviting me out here.” Rainbow Dash said.
“Oh yeah, no problem.” Thunderlane said before blushing once more. “And... well, maybe... we could do this again?” another pause.
“Yeah... I’d like that.” Rainbow Dash gave him a small smile before taking off, turning back towards Trottingham and flying off into the night.
................
Thunderlane took his time getting home that night. He circled past the weather factory and the Wonderbolts’ Training Facility before turning towards the north, strait towards a small cloud house he shared with his brother Rumble.
Maybe I’m being too forward... no, everything is fine, and if I was being too forward, she’s a superhero... yeah, she could handle it. He cleared his mind before landing and entering his house, flipping on a few lights as he did so.
“So, how did your little tryst with the Kryptonian go?” All sense of joy that Thunderlane possessed before vanished. He shut his eyes for a few moments before glaring at the source of the voice.
“Hello, Dad. It was not a tryst, it was just a meeting, nothing more.”
“Call it whatever you like.” Steel Wing said as he stepped from the shadows.
“If you’re looking for Rumble, he’s not here.” Thunderlane continued. “Besides, didn’t Mom tell the courts to keep you away from him?”
“I’m not interested in Rumble. I am interested in your rendezvous with Supermare.” Thunderlane blinked.
“... Why would you care? And can’t you just stay out of my personal affairs.”
“Not when Equestria’s safety is on the line. She is a credible and dangerous threat, and you fraternizing with her is putting dozens of ponies at risk.”
“‘Fraternizing’? I’m not one of your little military stooges, Dad, so don’t talk to me like I am one. And seriously, ‘threat’? She’s not dangerous.”
“The mare who caused damage to several major metropolitan areas attempting ‘heroics’ is not dangerous?”
“Okay, so she causes collateral damage, but she’s not dangerous in the way you’re suggesting.”
“Really? You’ve been caught up in her speeches about how she was sent to guide Equestria, about how she’s just the same as everypony else?”
“She’s just a mare who happens to be a superhero.”
“She’s an alien! Or were you so wrapped up in her charms that you forgot about that?”
“So what if she’s an alien? She’s here, she’s helping ponies, and-”
“And nothing! This is all a front to her plans to take over Equestria. Mark my words, but the time this is over you will be her personal slave.”
“... You’re insane. Get out of my house.”
“Is that what you want to think? That I’m insane? Is that what your mother taught you to think over the years?” Something inside Thunderlane snapped. One minute he was standing at the door, the next he had Steel Wing pinned to a wall, one hoof raised to strike.
“Don’t you dare bring Mom into this! She treated me and Rumble better than you ever did. You always cared about your career, about ‘protecting’ Equestria! What about us? Did we even amount to anything in your views?” Thunderlane would have hit Steel Wing, but chose to throw him towards the door. “Get out of here. I never want to see you in Cloudsdale again.” There was another pause before Steel Wing spoke.
“She really does have you under her charms, doesn’t she?” he sighed. “And here I thought you would be reasonable.” with that, Steel Wing exited the house and took off towards Canterlot.
Reasonable? Thunderlane thought. I hope she caves your skull in if you meet up with her.
“C’mon, Dad, just one time around the lake!” Rainbow Dash was standing near the banks of Ponyville’s local lake. Her parents had set up a small blanket and some food near the treeline, and now the wide-open space around the lake was calling to Rainbow. Normally she would have just taken off without hesitation, but she was moving to Ponyville in a few weeks and wanted to spend just a little more time with her parents.
However, she had been caught off guard by her dad turning down her offer for a race.
“I don’t really think that’s a great idea, Dash.” her father said. “Probably wouldn’t be much of a race, anyway.”
“That’s a lie and we both know it. You’re the best flyer I know.” Rainbow bounced on her hooves. “Just one lap, please?”
“Dash-”
“Pleeeeease?” Thunderhead paused before chuckling.
“Okay, just one lap. But that’s it.” Rainbow Dash nodded quickly before rushing forward and hugging her dad.
“Thanks Dad, you’re the greatest!” Thunderhead chuckled again and tousled Rainbow’s mane before she broke from their hug. “Okay, last one back has to explain to Mom why the rainbow fountain clogged up. Onetwothreego!” Rainbow Dash spread her wings and shot forward, heedless of her Dad’s rebuttal. Down the banks of the lake she flew, zipping over rocks and around trees as she circled the lake. Out of the corner of her eye she thought she saw her Dad gaining on her, so she increased her speed and surged ahead.
We should do this more often, Rainbow thought as she rounded the last corner and headed towards where they had set up. Dad never gets out to race. She smiled and pressed onward, stopping only when she was sure she had crossed whatever passed as a finish line.
“Yes, I won!” Rainbow did a victory loop in the air, giggling as she landed.
“Nice job, Rainbow.” Rainbow’s mother Firefly said, walking over and giving the younger pony a hug. “With that kind of speed, you’ll be able to keep the skies clear before anypony notices there’s a problem.”
“Thanks Mom. Hey, do you think that I could-”
“No Rainbow. If you want to join the Wonderbolts, you’ll need to get in on your own merits, not because of connections.” Rainbow Dash groaned and gave her mom a playful poke. “Come on, you’re probably starving. I packed a couple of those dandelion sandwiches you love.” Rainbow smiled and started towards the camp, but stopped halfway there.
“Hey, where’s Dad?” Firefly stopped and looked around.
“He was right behind you. Maybe he got distracted.”
“Dad gets distracted?”
“You’d be surprised how many times he messed up proposing to me.” Firefly rose up into the air, scanning the shoreline for any sign of Thunderhead. Rainbow Dash joined her, searching amongst the trees and rocks for her dad.
Worry went straight to horror when she saw one of the rocks move.
“Dad!” Rainbow cried, racing towards him followed by Firefly. Physically he seemed fine, but his breath was choppy and he was clutching at his chest. Rainbow reached him first and pulled him up as gently as possible. “Dad, what’s wrong?”
“I’m fine,” he gasped out in pain, his wings seizing up. “I’m fine... just fatigued.”
“And I’m Princess Celestia.” Firefly looked up at Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow, go into town and get help. I’ll stay with him.”
“Okay.” Rainbow Dash took off, flying towards Ponyville as fast as her wings could carry her. Please Celestia, don’t let my Dad die.
She raced in between the buildings, heedless of anypony else. Sweat broke out on her brow as she neared the hospital, the building dark and foreboding as she neared it. The closer she got, she noticed irregularities; the windows and doors had been boarded up, and copious amounts of graffiti adorned the walls.
“No... this isn’t right. This can’t be happening!” she landed and raced towards the dilapidated hospital, hoping that there was anyone or anything that might help. “Somepony help me! I need help!”
“They won’t help you.” a familiar voice said. Rainbow turned and saw Prince Blueblood walking towards her with the tattered remains of her cape. He grinned before tossing her suit to the ground. “Not here.”
“N-no! You’re dead... you’re supposed to be dead!”
“Does that really matter?” Zod said, advancing on her. “What does matter is that you have failed once again, daughter of Jor-El.” Rainbow Dash tried to run, tried to do something, but she found herself frozen into place as Zod pulled back and slammed his right hoof into her face.
“No!” Rainbow Dash cried out, nearly jumping out of bed and startling Tank. She gasped for air, looking around the dimly lit room for any sign of trouble.
It’s okay, Rainbow; it’s just a dream. Your fine, everyone’s fine, Blueblood’s gone, Dad...
Dad...
Alone, wracked with bad dreams, Rainbow Dash curled up and wept.
...................
Sunday morning. After a night of restlessness, Rainbow Dash made a stop by Rose’s flower stand before heading south, towards the road that lead to Trottingham. It was a quiet day, with nopony really out and about, so she did not see any reason to rush.
She paused for a moment before adjusting her flight path, heading for a small field near the road. The only sign of civilization other than the road was a small house near a grove of trees, where an elderly earth-pony tended to a vegetable garden. Rainbow pulled up and landed, tucking the flowers beneath her wings for stability.
“Morning Mr. Waddle.” She called. The old pony turned to her and smiled.
“Why good morning, Rainbow Dash. I haven’t seen you here in awhile.”
“I’ve... I’ve been busy. I’ve been meaning to visit but-”
“Oh, no need to explain things to me.” Mr. Waddle chuckled. “I’ve been having a slow day today, so you should have all the time and privacy you need.”
“Thanks.” Rainbow Dash walked past the house while Mr. Waddle returned to his gardening.
There were no cemeteries in Cloudsdale, not even one in the immediate surroundings. The nearest one was the Ponyville cemetery, where Rainbow now stood. She walked amongst the headstones, some still fresh as the day they were carved, while other were no more than worn pieces of rock. She went down several rows before arriving to a small plot of land near a bush, where a single headstone rested. She stopped, placing her flowers down at the base of the headstone before composing herself.
“... Hey Dad.” she said after a long pause. “It’s me, Rainbow... I’m not sure if you can hear me, but I hope you can.” she sighed. “Sorry I haven’t visited more often... I, well... I guess I decided what kind of mare I wanted to be.” she chuckled. “Yeah, so... I’m a superhero now, more or less. I’m not sure if that’s what you wanted, or that’s what you were telling me all those years ago... but if it was, thanks.” She sighed.
“I... I had a dream about you last night... haven’t told Mom about it, you know how she is with that sort of thing. Besides, you were always better at telling me about dreams, and... w-well, I really miss that.” she sniffled. “I miss a lot of things about you, and... I-I wish you could see me now.” She looked up towards the sky. “I-I think sometimes... what you thought about me being an alien and all. I never got to ask you about that... I-I didn’t ask you about a lot of things.” She wiped away a few tears. “I... I-I miss you; I miss you a lot. You were probably the greatest pony I ever knew, a-and you taught me a lot about... well, everything.” more tears. “Mom still thinks about you all the time... she probably misses you more than anything else in the word.” Rainbow wiped away the last of her tears. “Well, it was nice... saying this, and seeing you... I love you, Dad.” She smiled and turned to leave, but before she could get very far one of her ears flicked towards the Everfree Forest.
Cutie Mark Crusaders... Why do you have to get in trouble now?
...............
“Ah’m not sure if this is a good idea, Scootaloo.” Applebloom said as the trio of fillies trekked through the forest.
“We’ve tried everything, and that mare said this would be easy.” Scootaloo pushed a branch out of the way, heedless of her friend’s concerns.
“She said we should have an adult watching, or... what was that word she said?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Somethin’ ‘bout lights, or somethin’.”
“So? We go find Zecora, and she can watch over us.”
“Ah don’t think Zecora knows a lot ‘bout manticore slayin’.” Applebloom stumbled over a small log. “Maybe we should go back.”
“C’mon guys.” Scootaloo turned around to face her friends. “Do you know how awesome it would be to have a manticore slaying cutie mark?”
“I’d like to be alive when I get my cutie mark.” Sweetie Belle said. “I agree with Applebloom, we should go back.”
“C’mon guys! We can’t just give up! Please?” the Earth Pony and the unicorn looked to one another before looking back to Scootaloo.
“Well... Maybe just a little longer...”
“Yes!” Scootaloo turned and continued back into the forest. “Come on, Crusaders! We’ve got manticores to catch!” Applebloom and Sweetie Belle gave half-hearted cheers and followed after followed after her.
Unbeknownst to them, a second unicorn drifted through the forest, heading towards Froggy Bottom Bog.
..............
I think I’m overreacting. Rainbow said as she finished suiting up and began racing towards the Forest. They could just be going to see Zecora... I should still watch them and make sure they get there safe. she increased her speed once more, cape fluttering as he raced over Ponyville.
As she neared the Everfree Forest, something caught her attention; it was the sound of flapping wings, coming down on her from above. She pulled to the right just as a spell exploded where she had been flying only seconds before, tendrils of energy lashing out at her but failing to slow her down. She twisted around and saw one of the flying chariots used by the Equestrian military, the ponies onboard shouting something to her.
“Were you the ones that fired on me?” she called. The ponies said something to one another before firing a second spell, Rainbow easily dodging the attack. “I’ll take that as a yes. Have I done something to offend you?” another spell, another evasion. “Please, cease this before somepony gets hurt.” The ponies in the chariot prepared for another spell, but had barely any time before Rainbow charged and hit the chariot head on, knocking the ponies towards the ground. She swooped down and caught on to them before they managed to hit the ground, pulling them up and turning them around. “Why are you attacking me?”
“You have been accused of crimes against the Equestrian government.” one of the ponies said. “Will you surrender?”
“Not yet... ponies are still in danger.” not wanting the other ponies to get hurt in any ensuing fight, Rainbow Dash merely knocked them out and gently placed them on the ground. As she turned to continue on to the Everfree Forest, she spotted several more chariots flying towards her.
“Well, this isn’t good.”
....................
Vril Dox had just entered Froggy Bottom Bog when he heard the sound of spells being fired. Using his superior optics, he spotted Supermare and several Equestrian military Pegasi and flying chariots chasing each other near the edge of the forest, the Kryptonian ducking and weaving to avoid incoming attacks.
“Steel Wing has launched his attacks too early.” he muttered, ignoring the fight as he continued further into the swamp. “I should have looked for someone less impulsive. Oh well, his distraction may yet bear fruit.” Vril Dox stopped by one particularly large puddle, grabbing a branch in his telekinesis and throwing it into the water. At first nothing happened, but then the water began to boil as four large heads broke through the surface, reptilian eyes glaring down on him.
“This will suffice.” he said before his horn began to glow. The hydra cried out in confusion before it’s eyes took on a violet hue. “I have given you the images of three fillies wandering this forest; attack them, but leave them alive long enough for the Kryptonian to find them.” The hydra growled before stomping off into the forest, Vril Dox following silently behind.
................
Rainbow Dash dove towards the ground and turned north, evading the military ponies once more. She would have tried to disable them with her powers, but they were so persistent and densely packed that it would be impossible for her to save anypony that fell. She dodged another spell and pulled up, trying to lead her attackers away from Ponyville.
Okay, evasion isn't working... guess I’ll just have to lose them. Another spell exploded in front of her, forcing her to weave away. at the same time, her ears flicked back towards the Everfree Forest. And there’s a hydra on the move... come on, why does a hydra have to be on the move when I’m being attacked? Another spell dodged, and Rainbow Dash found herself over the mountains near Canterlot, a large airship hovering out just outside her field of view. Another spell exploded near her, and she dove back towards the mountains in another attempt to escape.
As she neared the airship, though, she caught sight of some kind of beam racing towards her. She dodged the first easily enough, but doing so caused her to run into the second beam. Immediately all of her limbs and her wings went limp, and trying to move them proved fruitless. Rainbow Dash hung in space for a moment before the beam pulled her upwards towards the airship.
Okay, this is bad... can’t move, captured by lunatics, and there’s a hydra running around the Everfree... Think, Rainbow; how can I get out of this. She mulled over this as the beam pulled her up, so that now she was level with the deck of the airship.
From here, she could see the device that held her, and the ponies that were her captors. The leader was a white Pegasus with a black and white mane, and he seemed very happy that she was captured. “Sir? If it’s too much to ask, there are ponies in danger because of a hydra; may I save them and then come back to hear your accusations?” Rainbow asked, using a limited amount of power to make her voice reach the ship
“No.” Steel Wing shouted back. “You have done too much damage already; I must see to it that you are contained so that you may not subvert any more ponies with your wiles.”
“‘Wiles’? Charming ponies is not one of my superpowers. Please, ponies are in danger, and I need to save them.”
“Likely story.” Steel Wing turned to one of the unicorns near the device. “Pull her in.” The unicorn nodded and Rainbow Dash was dragged closer to the airship.
Really not good... this might be my last chance. Rainbow Dash looked towards the device, her vision intensifying until two red beams shot from her eyes. The beams struck the device, which exploded and left a large gash in the deck of the ship. No longer suspended by the beam, Rainbow Dash plummeted towards the ground as feeling rushed back into her wings. Just before she struck the ground, she regained her balance and shot towards the Everfree Forest, a mach cone forming over her as she flew.
.............
Scootaloo was ready to give up on Manticore Slaying. They hadn’t managed to find a single one, not even the cockatrice that attacked them during their sleepover at Fluttershy’s. They had wandered around the forest for close to an hour, but there were no manticores whatsoever.
“Scootaloo, ah’m gettin’ tired.” Applebloom called. “We should go back.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” Scootaloo turned around. “Let’s go back. Maybe we could try out Cutie Mark Crusader Forgery Spotters.” Applebloom and Sweetie Belle perked up at this, and the three fillies began walking back towards Ponyville. They had not gotten far before they heard the sound of something big moving towards them, small twigs and rocks shaking as whatever it was approached. Scootaloo looked around, trying to spot the oncoming monster before it attacked.
“Guys, start running, now!”
“But then wouldn’t whatever is attacking us be able to get us quicker?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“I don’t know, just run!” the other fillies took off, with Scootaloo looking behind to make sure that they were not being chased. She tried to speed up, but at that moment the hydra attacked, one of the beast’s heads slamming into the ground right in front of Scootaloo. The force of the impact threw the three fillies to the ground, dust and twigs raining down around them. Scootaloo coughed as the hydra rose up and looked at her, its heads smiling at her before rushing down at her.
But before the hydra’s attacked connected, a shadow fell over Scootaloo and a blue-clad hoof slammed into the hydra’s face, sending it reeling. As Scootaloo watched in silence, Supermare flew up and punched the hydra once more, the beast crying out in shock and pain as the superhero attacked. The hydra distracted, Supermare raced down and scooped Scootaloo up in her hooves, stopping only to find Sweetie Belle and Applebloom and pull them out of the underbrush.
“Don’t worry, girls; you’re safe now.” They rose over the top of the forest and turned towards Ponyville, wind rushing past Scootaloo’s ears as they flew. “What were you doing in the Everfree Forest without an adult?”
“We... We were going to find Zecora, but we got sidetracked.” They began slowing down as they neared the edge of Ponyville, Supermare setting them down on the road.
“Don’t do that again. Stay out of the Forest unless you have somepony watching over you.”
“Yes, Supermare.” The superhero smiled before turning north, taking off and disappearing into the cloud cover. “C’mon guys, let’s go see if we can find Rainbow Dash.”
“What about that other pony?”
“... Maybe we should ask her about good manticore catching skills.” Applebloom and Sweetie Belle rolled their eyes.
“Let’s just go find Rainbow Dash.”
.................
Vril Dox watched the scene unfold from the edge of the Forest, watching as Supermare departed from the town and left the three fillies.
“Hmm, interesting...” he muttered. “My previous estimate of her protective instincts seems to be inaccurate.” he began walking through the woods, headed in no particular direction. “Steel Wing has become too much of a liability; I shall have to deal with that. In the meantime, I shall move to the next part of my plan... the orange Pegasus should be sufficient.”
................
Steel Wing was mad. Not only had Supermare gotten away, but his airship was badly damaged, one of the devices he had purchased from Silversmith had been destroyed, and he was certain that the little aerial display had drawn attention.
“Sir,” one of the ponies at the helm said. “ We should be able to get back to base with minimal issues.”
“‘Minimal’ issues? You call the destruction of a very expensive piece of equipment and the loss of a dangerous criminal ‘minimal’?”
“Uh, no sir. I never meant it like-”
“No of course you didn’t. You’re more interested in saying what you think I would like to say. Get us moving, then join the repair crews.”
“Yes sir.” Steel Wing was about to give out more orders, but heard the sound of hooves against wood. He turned and saw Supermare standing behind him, the mare standing as if she did not mind the damage around her.
“I’m sorry for the damage, general.” she said. “But you should have listened to me when I said I needed to go.”
“You... you came back?”
“Yes. You have accused me of some wrongdoing, and I want to make sure that you and I can work together to smooth out any animosity between us.”
“... You either have an ulterior motive, or you are an idiot.”
“Or you are just untrustworthy. Perhaps you should have considered that.” Steel Wing gritted his teeth, trying his best to hold back his anger.
Rainbow Dash was hovering in a room with one door, her limbs and wings useless in whatever field Steel Wing was in possession of. The room was white, with constant light beaming down on her, and Rainbow knew that one wall was really a two way mirror. She looked around the room once more, her eyes darting from corner to corner, before the door opened and Steel Wing entered.
“I suppose this arrangement is not merely because you are paranoid?” she asked.
“I am not paranoid.” Steel Wing said, stopping in front of Rainbow Dash. “However, I do not want to risk the chance that you might break free.”
Rainbow Dash nodded. “That’s reasonable, but understand that I am willing to cooperate with you fully.”
“Heh, like I’d be drawn in by that.” Steel Wing began to pace in front of Rainbow Dash. “Someone with your power level wouldn’t just allow herself to be captured so easily. Then again, most of what you’ve done over the past year doesn’t make much sense to begin with.”
Rainbow Dash shook her head, raising an eyebrow. “I went out and helped ponies. Is that so confusing?”
Steel Wing cast a glance back at Rainbow Dash. “I know that, but really? You can break through solid rock and fly faster than any living pony, why consign yourself to such menial tasks?”
“‘Menial’? Saving lives is ‘menial’?” Rainbow Dash asked, leaning forward slightly in surprise. “General, I’m beginning to think that you don’t really care all that much about the citizens of Equestria.”
Steel Wing glared at her. “Don’t say that I don’t care about Equestria. I swore to defend them from anything that might present a threat by any means necessary.”
“And you see me as a threat?” Rainbow Dash replied, looking Steel Wing in the eye.
“Yes, who wouldn’t?” Steel Wing replied. Rainbow Dash paused for a moment, thinking over Steel Wing’s words.
“You’re probably right; I suppose that if, for whatever reason, I decided to go rogue, then it would be justifiable in keeping me incarcerated.” she said, nodding slightly.
Steel Wing scoffed. “I think you made that decision a long time ago. Now tell me, why were you really sent to Equestria?” There was another pause.
“... My father was just trying to save me-”
“That’s what you’ve said, but do you really expect anypony to believe that? Now why are you here? Was your father planning an invasion?” Steel Wing said, looking at Rainbow Dash with disdain.
“How dare you say that about my father!” Rainbow snapped. “He was a respected scientist who opposed unnecessary violence and cared for the survival of all living things! And you accuse him of being a warmonger?”
“How am I to know you are being truthful? You could just claim that he is a scientist when he is really the mastermind of your species.” Steel Wing replied, sounding equally angered.
“Oh, so I’m a species now?” Rainbow Dash asked. “What’s next, are you going to claim I have acid for blood or something?”
Steel Wing scoffed. “Don’t try to play stupid with me.”
“Oh, that wouldn’t be too hard.” Rainbow Dash replied. Steel Wing glared at her again.
“Answer my question: why were you sent here?” he asked again, his voice cold.
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and groaned. “When two Kryptonians really love each other and realize that their planet is about to be blown to pieces, they take their baby daughter and send her-”
“I said stop pretending to be innocent! What are your plans for Equestria?” Steel Wing shouted, cutting her off again.
“Get rid of crime, stop monsters and natural disasters from killing ponies, that sort of thing.” Rainbow Dash replied matter of factly, doing her best to remain calm. There was a growl before Steel Wing asked his next question.
“What have you used to charm Thunderlane?”
Rainbow Dash blinked. “... I’m sorry?”
“My son Thunderlane has been developing feelings for you.” Steel Wing said, his voice tight. “Since I know him to be an upstanding colt that does not deal with... ponies such as you, then you must have charmed him in some way. How, though?”
Rainbow Dash simply shrugged. “... I’m cute?”
Steel Wing's eyes narrowed. “And you continue playing innocent. What have you done with my son?”
Rainbow had started to get irritated; she was willing to help Steel Wing and iron out any issues between him and her, but prying into her social life? “Nothing; I saved a bunch of ponies in front of him, and he asked me to go stargazing with him.” She replied, her voice losing her patient tone.
“Stop lying to me!” Steel Wing shouted.
“I’m not!” Rainbow shouted back. “I didn’t even get a chance to kiss him!” Rainbow instantly regretted those words and bit her lip while Steel Wing looked at her in shock. “I... I’m sorry; I allowed myself to lose control.”
“No... that just helps me in the long run.” Steel Wing smiled, turning to leave. “We shall continue this conversation at a later time.” with that he closed the door behind him, leaving Rainbow alone. Rainbow hung in silence for a minute or two, thinking about what Steel Wing had said during the “interrogation”.
She sighed. “Captured by a paranoid general who thinks I’m seducing his son... I may have misjudged this situation.”
................
Rainbow Dash hung in space, her eyes closed in meditation. It was a technique Jor-El had taught her during her training in the Fortress of Solitude, and it allowed her to reach out farther with her senses and powers. Her ears twitched as she listened to the conversations of those in the facility, all of them oblivious to her eavesdropping. She flicked her left ear towards the door of her prison, listening as a pony approached the door.
“Open the door.” a familiar voice said. Rainbow’s eyes snapped open when she realized who was speaking. Silversmith?! What’s he doing here?
“Sir, General Steel Wing gave strict orders that nopony was to see the-” one of the guards outside replied.
“Look, just shut up and open the damn door.” Silversmith ordered.
“... Y-Yes sir.” the guard replied, and the door swung open and Silversmith entered, the balding Earth Pony glaring back at the guard before turning his attention to Rainbow Dash.
“I can’t say we’ve had the pleasure of meeting.” Rainbow Dash said, trying her hardest not to betray her identity.
“I suspected that you would be wrapped up in pleasantries. My name is Alexander Silversmith, President and CEO of Silver Industries.”
“Nice to meet you... May I call you ‘Lex’?” Rainbow asked. There was a pause.
Silversmith smiled. “Go ahead; I won’t stop you.”
“Well, it seems that you’ve done a little more than that.” Rainbow said, jerking her head towards the beam of light surrounding her.
“Oh what? Do you think this was my idea?” Silversmith chuckled. “I merely supplied the technology, nothing more. Capturing you was our esteemed ‘friend’ General Steel Wing’s idea.”
“I can see you’re not too keen on him.” Rainbow said, noticing how Silversmith seemed to bristle slightly upon saying the General’s name.
“Understand that I respect ponies in his position, except when their carrying on interferes with my own plans.” Silversmith said.
“And those would be?” Rainbow asked. Silversmith laughed.
“Of course, you would love to know, wouldn’t you? Rest assured, I am working for the betterment of Equestria.”
Rainbow Dash sighed. “Just like Steel Wing?”
Silversmith rolled his eyes. “He is only concerned about security. If one places too much emphasis on security, it’s impossible to make sure nothing falls through the cracks.” Silversmith shifted on his hooves. “Answer me this: who holds most of the power in Equestria?”
“... The princesses?”
“In theory. Reality is much different; it’s business ponies like me that make sure that Equestria survives. Without our vast resources, most of the things that normal ponies rely on would vanish. It’s not generals and princesses that are in control; it’s bankers and industrialists that forge cities and help unite continents.”
Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “And what of the common ponies? It wasn’t big business that founded Ponyville or Canterlot.”
“True, but if it weren’t for one pony’s investment then Ponyville would be nothing more than a trading post along the railway that no one would ever remember.”
“You don’t know that. Ponies tend to collect around farms-”
“Why, though? Because they provide food? Any Earth Pony with an ounce of sense can raise a farm; it’s ingrained into their DNA. No, ponies only gather when profits are involved. Would the city of Trottingham be as important as it is if the Manes hadn’t built their first factories there?”
“Maybe. I’d have to ask Fancy Pants next time I see him; he’s from Trottingham, right?” Silversmith laughed again.
“You’re better off looking elsewhere; Fancy Pants is too confused about himself to even carry his father’s name.”
“Getting back to the topic on hoof, how does collaborating with Steel Wing forward anything?”
“You’d be surprised. I have a vision, Supermare; a vision where everypony works, a vision of Equestria strong and industrial.”
“With you running everything, I suppose?”
Silversmith shrugged. “If I can manage it. For the past thirty years I have worked hard, building up a powerbase to make my dream a reality. In a few years I may be able to expand further, and your common pony will once again have a chance to make his or her fortune.”
“Nice rhetoric. You should run for public office.” At this, Silversmith frowned.
“I’ve tried, but it seems that the ponies of Manehattan prefer welfare and tax bailouts to a hard day’s work.”
“Says the multi-millionaire corporate raider.”
“Multi-billionaire, and as for being a corporate raider, I encourage you to review all of Silver Industries records; we have always dealt with our competition fairly and legally, and anypony else that says otherwise is merely trying to tarnish my name and my business.”
“What about the sabotage attempts on MagiTech a few weeks ago?”
“Review the Manehattan police records; those saboteurs were radicals attempting to both frame me and wreck MagiTech, thereby causing the economy to stall.”
“You know that’s not true.” Silversmith smiled, something that caused a small chill to run down Rainbow Dash’s back. It was not like Pinkie smiling; this was cold, predatory even.
“Yes, but how can you prove that I am lying? You may have respect, but you are still one pony; unless you bring forward hard evidence of my involvement, then you don’t have a case.” Now it was Rainbow Dash’s turn to glare.
“So, about your plan; why haven’t you finished it? I am all for raising Ponykind up, so why haven’t you?”
“See, there’s one problem: you.” What?
“... Me?”
“Yes. You go about saving ponies, then they are less likely to push themselves forward and rely on you for all of their minor issues.”
“I fight monsters and stop natural disasters, I don’t pay ponies’ back taxes. My father sent me here as a guardian-”
“Equestria doesn’t need a guardian; it needs a leader, someone to place these ponies on the path to advancing.” There was a pause as Rainbow thought about what Silversmith said.
“I think you’re wrong. Ponykind cannot function if they have someone dictating everything to them; suggesting, maybe, but robbing them of what makes them who they are and replacing it with something... artificial? I don’t think that’s right. I am pushing and guiding them towards a path that will lead them towards harmony, but you’d rather push them onto whatever path you’d want them to, most likely to serve your own purpose.”
“You are an idealist, Supermare; subtle manipulations don’t work when it comes to leading ponies. They will ignore your lessons, they will go off and violate all that you have fought for.” At this, Rainbow merely closed her eyes and lowered her head.
“I know. Ponies do commit wrong in their lives, but it would be just as wrong for me to lord over them and force them to obey.” there was silence.
“You really believe all that?”
“Yes.” there was a pause before Silversmith smirked.
“Then I look forward to being there when your dream comes crashing down on you.”
“Kind of hard for that to happen when I’m locked up in here, isn’t it?”
“Oh, I’m sure you’ll find a way out.” Silversmith turned and opened the door. “You are Supermare, after all.” and with that he was gone, headed into the bowels of the base while Rainbow Dash returned to meditating.
I’ll have to be more careful with what I say. She thought.
.............
Interrogating Supermare had not gotten very far; she had deflected every single question about who she was and why she was in Equestria, continuing on about how “her father had sent her to be a guardian for Equestria”. Steel Wing groaned; he had expected some resistance, but not to this degree.
“Perhaps you have been going about this in the wrong way.” Steel Wing looked up and saw Silversmith standing over him.
“Why should I listen to your advice?” he spat, turning away from the business pony.
“I have been in many similar situations; I’ve always found that browbeating the subject ends up tightening their lips more often than it loosens them.”
“You’re a business pony, not a general; we tend to do things a bit differently.”
“And I suppose that worked so well repelling the Changeling invasion.” Steel Wing glared at Silversmith.
“That was ‘Captain’ Shining Armor’s fault; I was settling a border dispute with Zebrica at the time.”
“Still, if your fellow generals hadn’t dithered around, they could have driven the Changelings out of Canterlot with ease. Although I should be thankful; some of the Changelings got knocked into Manehattan, and I was able to do a few experiments into artificial shape shifting technology.” Steel Wing merely raised his eyebrow at this. “All I’m saying is that Supermare is not some Griffin or Zebra terrorist; appealing to force doesn’t work on a pony who can fly from Manehattan to Seaddle in under thirty seconds and break an airship apart with her bare hooves. You need to challenge her beliefs, get her to start speaking rhetoric, and then she might slip up.”
“‘Might’?”
“She’s an idealist, yes, but she’s not stupid.”
“I’m not worried about that; even the most intelligent of prisoners will slip up under pressure.” Silversmith sighed.
“Have it your way. I have a few business appointments to make, so I’ll leave you and your little pet superhero alone for now.” and with that Silversmith turned and left. Steel Wing was about to call after him, to keep him within the confines of the base and prevent information from getting out, but he held back.
Silversmith is on my side in this. He’ll stay quiet.
.................
Another day, another interrogation. Rainbow Dash had come to plan her entire day around Steel Wing’s interrogations; most of the time between questioning she meditated, although she would use her breath to make small ice sculptures from time to time. Steel Wing and his soldiers would break them before she had a chance to really enjoy them, but such was her position as a prisoner.
However, things had started to look up.
“Being evasive again?” Steel Wing asked.
“Well, I’ve answered every question you’ve asked multiple times, with multiple variations on the same answer. Unless I start lying then you are not going to get any new information.”
“But how are we supposed to know you’re lying?” Rainbow shrugged.
“Why don’t you use a Seal of Honesty? Or cross reference my answers? Or why don’t you bring in the Bearer of the Element of Honesty?”
“I believe that you possess the ability to bluff your way through those types of tests.”
“If that’s true, then I could say whatever I wanted and you’d never know the truth. I think that right now you are being just a bit too paranoid.” Rainbow Dash could hear Steel Wing gritting his teeth together. She had to admit, it was pretty amusing to see him getting worked up.
“I. Am not. Paranoid.”
“And I’m not a Kryptonian.” Steel Wing’s glare returned. “Look, why don’t you just call the Princesses down here and they can decide for themselves?”
“Celestia has already fallen under your charms; she is useless to me.”
“Well, how about Luna? I’m sure she could accommodate you.” Steel Wing and his guards laughed.
“Luna? She can barely manage the night without having to run back to her sister for help when something goes wrong. What makes you think that she’ll be capable of detecting your lies?”
“I don’t know; she did a pretty good job breaking into your base five minutes ago.” Steel Wing’s glare vanished in an instant, and Rainbow failed to suppress her smile. “Now, I believe you were saying something about her having to run back to Celestia every time something went wrong?” Steel Wing failed to respond before a blast of magic blew in the door, showering all the ponies present with dust. As the dust cleared, a dark blue alicorn marched into the room, her eyes glowing with power as she glared at Steel Wing.
“ARE WE NOT CAPABLE NOW, GENERAL?” Luna bellowed, the force of her voice pushing the ponies back.
“P-Princess!” Steel Wing stammered “How did you-”
“ENOUGH, GENERAL. THOU HAST CONTAINED A CLOSE ALLY OF OUR SISTER, AND THOU HAST INSULTED OUR CAPABILITY OF RULING. FOR THIS TREASON, CONSIDER THYSELF STRIPPED OF YOUR POSITION AND UNDER IMMEDIATE CUSTODY.”
“You... You can’t do this! I’ve done nothing-”
“DO NOT TRY TO DEFLECT BLAME, GENERAL. GUARDS!” a squadron of Luna’s Night Guard entered, quickly surrounding Steel Wing and his followers. “TAKE HIM BACK TO THE CASTLE AND INFORM OUR SISTER; WE SHALL DEAL WITH THIS TRAITOR AND HIS ILK SOON ENOUGH.” Steel Wing tried to break through the ring of guards, but to no avail. Luna’s guards began to drag him from the room, ignoring his attempts to break free. Once Steel Wing was gone, Luna’s horn shimmered and Rainbow Dash dropped to the ground, feeling flowing back into her limbs.
“Thank you, Princess, for freeing me.”
“WE WERE INFORMED...” Luna stopped talking, blushing once she realized she had relapsed back into her old habits. “I mean, I was notified that you were being held here without authorization, so I made it my duty to investigate and free you.”
“You said you were informed? By who?”
“I do not know.” Rainbow Dash pushed herself back up on her hooves.
“Princess, may I ask you a question?”
“Of course.”
“Do you think I’m dangerous?” there was a pause as Luna thought on Rainbow’s question.
“To some extent, yes. But I believe that you possess a good heart and mind, and you helped save my sister’s life during the Summer Sun Celebration.”
“Yeah, but I could have just been doing that for my own gains... At least, that’s what Steel Wing said.”
“Perhaps, but I will say one thing: the ponies of Krypton were among some of the most honest beings I had the privilege of knowing. My sister and I owe our lives to them...” Rainbow Dash was about to ask what exactly Luna meant by that, but the Princess waved her off. “That is a tale for another day. I believe you would like to leave this place.”
“Yes... I have other questions for different ponies...”
...................
The weekend had come again, and Thunderlane had decided to sleep in. It was quiet for once; Rumble was in Ponyville with Featherweight, and his father was in jail where he wouldn’t trouble anypony with his paranoia. For how things usually went, Thunderlane was having a good week.
He was roused from sleeping by a knock at the door. Puzzled, Thunderlane got up from bed and hung his head out of his room.
“Who is it?” he called.
“A friend.” a bell-like voice replied. After blinking in surprise a few times, Thunderlane hurried towards the door and flung it open, Supermare cocking her head to one side as he made himself visible. “Why didn’t you tell me that your father was out to get me?”
“Uh... W-well, I never thought he’d do anything... well, anything like that. Harass you, maybe, but try and arrest you?” He pawed at the ground, a small line of sweat running down his face. “Y-you’re mad at me, aren’t you?”
“No, I’m not mad. You didn’t do anything wrong, and neither of us thought that anything bad would happen.” She fluffed her wings. “Thunderlane?”
“Yes?”
“I don’t want to bring any unnecessary hardship on you and your family. If there’s anything I can do-”
“Oh no!” a pause. Supermare looked confused while Thunderlane blushed. “Err, I mean, uh, you don’t have to do anything because of... well, what happened. I mean, well, you’ve got a whole bunch of other things that are probably more important, so, uh...”
“Oh, I can find time.”
“Really?” another pause. Thunderlane had started sweating again. “Uh, I mean, you don’t have to do-”
“Oh no, I insist.”
“No really, you don’t-” yet another pause. “... Tuesday?”
“Yes.”
“You pick the spot.”
“Yes.” Now it was Supermare's turn to blush. “Well, I best be off.”
“Okay then.” Thunderlane nodded as Supermare took off, disappearing back into the cloud cover. Thunderlane closed the door before banging his forehead against the wall.
“Why do I have to be so nervous?” he groaned before banging his forehead against the wall several more times.
................
Steel Wing couldn’t believe it; he had gotten Supermare in his grasp, unable to carry out her plans, and he was the one who got arrested. “It’s a conspiracy, I know it... the Princesses are in league with her... they must be!”
“And I had fears about your rationality before.” the flat voice of Vril Dox said, the unicorn stepping out of the shadows and approaching Steel Wing’s cell. “I suppose they may have been understated.”
“You... Why are you here?”
“Your impulsiveness delayed my plans significantly. I needed Supermare free to act, not in custody, and then you attacked and imprisoned her.”
“She gave herself up.” there was a pause.
“... Interesting. Her honor has skewed her judgement. Still, having her free is better than having her in chains, and the younger princess was surprisingly effective in eliminating that problem.” Steel Wing blinked before rising from the floor.
“You... You were the one who turned me in?”
“Yes. You are no longer necessary for my plan, and in the long run you would merely slow my plans. Removing you is the most logical path to take.”
“You bastard!” Steel Wing shouted, trying and failing to grab Vril Dox. “You think you can just betray me and get away with it?!”
“Yes.”
“Well you won’t! I know about your plans, I know who you are! I can tell the Princesses everything and I’ll be a hero!” Vril Dox said nothing. Instead, he leaned forward and tapped his horn to Steel Wing’s head. Immediately, Steel Wing’s eyes went blank, his mind tingling as Vril Dox’s magic took effect.
“No you won’t. You won’t even remember I exist. You will go about ranting in this prison while I deal with Supermare. And if you even so much as remember anything I have shown you or told you, losing your memories will be the least of your problems. Is that clear?”
“... Yes.”
“Good.” Vril Dox pulled back, allowing Steel Wing to drop to the ground. He said nothing more, instead turning and disappearing back into the shadows.
“A conspiracy.” Steel Wing muttered. “She and the Princesses have a conspiracy...”
Rainbow Dash looped over Ponyville once more. She tried her best at not panicking, but her patience and nerves were on the verge of fraying. She even switched between her vision modes, but could find nothing. She growled and swooped down into the plaza, scanning the passing crowds. Her hopes rose when she saw Applebloom and Sweetie Belle standing near Sugarcube Corner, the two fillies talking to each other about something.
“Hey guys!” Rainbow called, ducking through the milling ponies to reach the two Crusaders. “Have either of you seen Scootaloo?”
“No, Rainbow.” Sweetie Belle said. “She hasn’t shown up for any of our Crusader meetings ever since the... ever since we went to see Zecora.”
“We tried goin’ over ta her house, but they haven’t seen her either.” Applebloom said. “Is she in trouble ‘r somethin’?”
“I... I don’t know. I’ll just have to keep looking for her.” Rainbow Dash took off once more, turning east and heading towards the Everfree Forest. She switched through her vision once more, but to no avail. Grumbling she landed just outside Ponyville, scanning the woods for any sign of danger. “Scoots, I think you’re awesome, but sometimes you can do stupid things.”
“Why am I not surprised that you of all ponies would say such a thing?” a voice said from behind Rainbow. She turned and saw a blond Pegasus walking towards her, her already unfocused eyes dull and glowing.
“... Derpy? What’s wrong with you?”
“Oh, rest assured that your friend is perfectly alright.” “Derpy” said. “Although, with her simple mind she was rather easy to manipulate.”
“Who are you, and what have you done to my friend?” Rainbow rose up into a fighting stance, before remembering that she was not carrying her suit.
“Please, violence now would only complicate matters, especially concerning the likes of you. My name is Vril Dox; I am a Coluan scientist in search of... an acquaintance of mine.” Rainbow lowered her forehooves.
“Coluan... that’s some kind of alien thing, right?”
“Derpy” nodded slightly. “Technically yes, but I believe that I have moved beyond that sort of classification.”
“Whatever. What have you done to my friend? And where’s Scootaloo?” Rainbow Dash asked, taking a slight step forward.
“Derpy” blinked before speaking. “Your friend is simply under my hypnotic control. I would have preferred to use another unicorn, but the specimens around here tend to be... a bit stronger when it comes to mental capacity. As for your second question, the filly is safe with me... for the time being.”
Rainbow Dash growled and raised her hooves once more. “If you do anything to hurt her I swear to Celestia I will-”
“Please, save me the speeches.” “Derpy” rose into the air, coming to eye level with Rainbow Dash. “The filly is, by and large, useless to me; her mental capacity is underdeveloped, and I do not worry over physical forms as much as you Equestrians do. However, she does have one thing that I need.”
“What?” Rainbow asked.
“Connections.” “Derpy” said matter of factly. Rainbow raised an eyebrow as “Derpy” kept talking. “Preliminary scans of the filly’s memory and subconscious show that she has a connection with the Kryptonian, ‘Supermare’. What exactly that connection is is not very important right now, but that fact that it exists gives me an advantage.”
“She is close to you, which is why I consider it fate that you happened to be looking for her at the exact same time I was looking for you.”
“So what do you expect me to do?” Rainbow asked.
“I need you to deliver a message.” “Derpy” smirked. “I will be in Seaddle with the filly tomorrow. Supermare will meet me there, and then we can discuss what will happen to our... ‘friend’.”
“You won’t get away with this!" Rainbow Dash rushed forward, right hoof raised, but Derpy’s eyes stopped glowing and the Pegasus plummeted towards the ground. Hero instincts overwrote anything else and Rainbow dove, scooping up Derpy before she hit the ground.
“Remember: Tomorrow in Seaddle.” the voice of Vril Dox said before cutting out entirely. Rainbow Dash growled again and scanned the buildings around her, as if she was searching for any sign of Vril Dox.
“R... Rainbow Dash?” Derpy asked, her eyes returning to their normal skewed position.
“Derpy, what happened to you?” Rainbow placed Derpy on the ground before stepping back, allowing the other mare room to speak.
“Well... I was on my way to Berry Punch’s house to pick up Dinky from a playdate, but then this unicorn stepped out of an alley and... now I’m here.” she shuffled her hooves. “I... I didn’t do anything bad, did I?”
“No... but somepony’s up to no good.”
...................
Rainbow had never done a lot of heroics near Seaddle. Despite attracting a larger proportion of weirdos, there was almost no crime to speak of. It was a ways away from anything that might have caused a natural disaster, and being close to a few airship manufacturers meant that almost all of the construction equipment was top of the line, thereby negating the chance of pony-caused disasters. She turned once more, scanning the city for any sign of Scootaloo or this “Vril Dox”.
When I’m done here, I need to ask my father about Coluans. She scanned the city once more before looping around, heading straight towards Seaddle’s central park. There were not many ponies in the area, meaning that if there was a fight there would be few civilians to get in thee way. Rainbow came to a stop in the center of the park, adjusting her suit once she landed.
She did not have to wait very long.
Beneath a nearby tree a small ball of purple energy began to form. It grew in size before dissipating, depositing a green unicorn with a purple mane and weird suit. Rainbow Dash rose into the air, forehooves raised. “Vril Dox, I presume?”
“More or less.” the unicorn replied, his voice flat and lacking in any emotion. “Judging by your age and your attire, marked by the crest of the House of El, I can assume you are Supermare.”
“The crest of- How did you know that?”
“I know many things about Kryptonians, Supermare; heraldry is nothing of great importance.” Vril Dox took a few steps towards Rainbow before continuing. “As you seem too temperamental in your emotions, you were most likely raised here in Equestria rather than on Krypton. Further records show that only one ship managed to escape Krypton’s destruction, and only Jor-El was capable and had the means to produce such a ship. As the dimensions of that ship were too small to seat a fully grown Kryptonian, you must have come here as a child, meaning that you are most likely Kara Jor-El, Daughter of Jor-El, rather than one of Jor-El’s agents.” Rainbow blinked. How does this guy know all of this?
“... What are you?”
“Many things, Kara Jor-El. My form may appear to be that of a Coluan scientist, but many years of experimentation, augmentation, and acquisition have transformed me into something much greater. All of the knowledge in the universe is within my grasp, ready for me to access at any given moment.”
“So... you’re really smart or something?” Rainbow glared down at Vril Dox. “So what am I suppose to call you now? Ultra-Egghead? Brainiac?” There was a pause.
“Brainiac... that was what your kind called me when I first encountered them in the final days of Krypton... Interesting that one such as you would remember something like that.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Rainbow’s eyes began to glow as her heat vision built up. “Where’s Scootaloo?”
“Ah yes, the filly that you care about so much.” Brainiac’s horn shimmered and Scootaloo appeared next to him. Her eyes were dull, but not glowing with the signs of brainwashing. “Here she is, unharmed.”
“Good, now give her back to me.”
“I said I would be here with the filly; I never said I would give her back.” With a snarl Rainbow Dash shot forward, right hoof drawn back. Brainiac teleported Scootaloo away, but was struck by Rainbow’s attack and sent flying.
“Give her back now!” she screamed.
“My final plan is not complete, and it requires her services. Your impulsiveness, however, may complicate things.” Rainbow Dash rushed forward for another strike, but Brainiac sidestepped the attack and punched her in the side, knocking her to the ground. Rainbow rolled back to her hooves, just in time to catch a spell to the face from Brainiac. The spell sent Rainbow tumbling head over hooves, stopping only when she slammed into a large tree. Snorting, she rose up into the air, tracking Brainiac as he prepared for an attack.
Rainbow growled and rushed forward, tackling Brainiac and slamming him into the ground, showering the park with dirt. She managed to land three punches before Brainiac hit her in the gut and pitched her away. As she recovered Brainiac pulled away, launching a spell that pinned her to the ground.
“Pathetic waste of potential.” Brainiac said as Rainbow struggled against his spell. “The mind of an Equestrian implanted into the body of a Kryptonian. I find it almost insulting.”
“Why? Because you’re too good for something like compassion, loyalty?”
“Those words lack any meaning for me. I understand and respect only logic, not flights of fancy or idealism.” The unicorn replied. Rainbow Dash finally broke free of the spell and lunged at Brainiac, tackling him just as he fired his next spell. The attack went wide and impacted the side of a nearby building, blowing out the windows and starting a small fire. Brainiac bucked Rainbow away, knocking her towards the burning building.
Not wanting anypony else to get hurt, Rainbow rose into the air and turned towards the fire. She took a deep breath before blowing a stream of ice at the building, crystals interacting with flames and dousing the fire. Just as she finished putting out the fire, Rainbow was struck by another blast from Brainiac, tumbling from the sky and landing in a heap on the ground.
“I am not a fighter, primarily,” Brainiac said as he walked towards Rainbow. “But I must say that your performance today has been subpar.”
“Why... would you... care?”
“I am always interested in data, Kara Jor-El. Your strength, speed, mental capacity, all of it is interesting to me. I still cannot fathom how a Kryptonian such as you could retain so much of her ‘Equestrian Upbringing’ and still be able to function... well, I say function in the broadest sense of the term.”
“Sure.” Rainbow Dash twisted around and sent a stream of freeze breath at Brainiac. He managed to block the attack, but this left him open to a gut punch. Rainbow picked Brainiac up and pitched him into a tree. She rushed forward once more, slamming Brainiac against the tree again and again. “Release Scootaloo!”
“No.” Brainiac fired another spell, hitting Rainbow right between the eyes and bringing her to the ground. He kicked her a few times before tossing her into a building, glass and wood raining down around her. “Your persistence is annoying. I will return to my ship but I may be back for something else... perhaps something of value to you.”
“No... You can’t!”
“You could not stop me here, what makes you believe you can oppose me again?” Brainiac's horn began to glow, a disc of light forming around him. Rainbow Dash snarled before pouncing, but Brainiac vanished before she could hit him again.
“No... No! You can’t get away from me that easily!” Rainbow reached out as far as she could with her senses, but could pick up nothing. Brainiac and Scootaloo had vanished without a trace, and all she knew was that he would be back for something or somepony that she cared about.
I need answers... my father should be able to provide some of them.
Rainbow Dash did not visit the Fortress of Solitude as much as she had when she first began being Supermare. Her knowledge of the universe had grown immensely under her father’s tutelage, and now that her friends knew her secret, she never really needed to be alone.
Still, the spires of the Fortress were a welcome sight amongst the frozen wastes surrounding it. The crystals seemed to glow with an otherworldly energy, regardless of angle, and this comforted Rainbow as she flew through the clouds and snow. And while she was mostly immune to heat and chill, the design of the Fortress was a welcome shield from the worst of the elements.
But the business with Brainiac had really thrown her for a loop; she found herself more uneasy as she entered the Fortress, even the slightest breeze putting her on edge. She sighed and closed her eyes, trying her best to calm herself down before proceeding further
“Welcome back, my daughter.” the voice of Jor-El said as she crossed the threshold into the Fortress’ main hall. “It has been some time since you have visited last.”
“I know.” Rainbow stood in the center of the main hall as Jor-El’s hologram appeared before her. “I’ve been trying my best to guide Equestria, but I’ve been having some issues.”
“That is understandable, Kara. Overcoming these challenges will allow you to become a stronger guardian. But I believe that there is more to your visit than just that.”
“Well... What information do you have on Coluans?” there was a long pause.
“... You had an encounter with Brainiac, did you not?” Rainbow Dash blinked; she had thought that Brainiac had been joking when he said that other Kryptonians had called him by that name.
“Wait, how come you call him Brainiac?”
“It was merely a name that some of the younger scientists and military officers came up with when he first arrived, but I suppose the name stuck.” Jor-El’s image faded, replaced by a picture of the same green unicorn from Seaddle. “Brainiac is the only Coluan we ever encountered; the others died out a long time ago, even before we Kryptonians took to space.”
“Then why is he still around?”
“Brainiac is more machine than pony; through various experiments he managed to merge his mind with his ship, giving him access to more information and processing power than anything I could have dreamed of.” Jor-El sighed. “I suppose, in hindsight, that should have been our first warning.”
“What happened?”
“I was dealing with another matter at the time, but Brainiac betrayed our trust and kidnapped the city of Kandor before disappearing into space, with no way for us to know where he went or why he stole Kandor.” Rainbow’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Wait, he kidnapped an entire city? How do you kidnap a city?”
“I cannot answer that question, Kara. I could have found a solution, but Krypton was destroyed before I could get around to it. But if it is Brainiac that you have encountered, then you can assume that his intentions for Equestria are indeed malicious.” there was another pause before Rainbow spoke again.
“What can I do?”
“Find some way to get aboard his ship. Having never directly dealt with Brainiac myself, you must rely on your own skills. I shall provide you with whatever information you might need.” Jor-El’s image faded, replaced by several columns of information. Rainbow Dash scanned through them as quickly as she could, but gave up after a few minutes. She dismissed the information before her frustration grew any further, closing her eyes and allowing her mind to clear.
I should have gone to Twilight and seen if she could spot this guy with her magic or something... No, dragging Twilight into this would only cause problems. She sighed. Although, he said he might try and come back for something else... Maybe he’d try to steal Cloudsdale just like Kandor... Or try and kidnap Mom or Thunderlane or- Her eyes snapped open.
“Thunderlane... I forgot about Thunderlane!” of the potential kidnapping victims that Brainiac could choose from, Thunderlane seemed the most likely; he was not a magic user, or a class athlete (as far as Rainbow knew), surrounded by a gaggle of animals, a world-class whiner, or Pinkie Pie, and that left him vulnerable. Rainbow spread her wings and took off, racing out of the Fortress of Solitude and turning south towards Ponyville.
Okay, I’m panicking... Thunderlane’s fine, I’m just overreacting... Then again, Brainiac kidnapped a city once... Yeah, I’m panicking. She raced over the Crystal Mountains and down into Equestria, increasing her altitude so no one saw her returning home. She slowed down and swung around towards the back of her house, tugging at her cape’s clasps as she came to a stop.
“Tank, are you in here?” she called. The tortoise appeared soon after, a small leaf clutched in his mouth. “Hey, I need you to lay low, and look for unicorns in weird suits, okay?” Tank gave her a slow blink in reply, and continued to munch on his leaf. “Don’t give me that! This is serious; this guy Brainiac is out to get me, and he might try and hurt you.” another blink. “... You just don’t care, do you?” Tank blinked once more and flew off to another room. Rainbow sighed and continued taking off her suit, returning it to her saddlebags for future use. She went back to her room and flopped down on her bed, trying and failing to clear her mind and stop panicking.
She was not helped when she heard somepony land just outside her house.
“Rainbow? Are you there?” a voice called, and Rainbow recognized it as her mother. She got out of bed and hurried to the front door, opening it and letting Firefly in. “I just wanted to see how you were doing after the whole kidnapping thing.”
“... You heard about that?” Rainbow asked. Firefly chuckled.
“It was in the papers. ‘General Kidnaps Supermare; Claims Hero Plans Domination’. I got a few laughs out of that.”
“Yeah, great...” Rainbow shuffled around a little. “Mom, do you think... maybe ponies have gotten the wrong idea about me?”
“Some, but you shouldn’t let that get to you.” Firefly moved closer to Rainbow Dash, lifting the younger mare’s chin with her hoof. “Everypony has to be a critic for something. You know a lot of ponies didn’t think I’d be a good enough trainer for the Wonderbolts.”
“I know.” Rainbow gave a small smile before another thought came to mind. “Mom, have you seen any unicorns in weird suits?” Firefly frowned.
“Why?”
“Well, there’s this pony called Brainiac, and... he kidnapped one of my friends.” Firefly was silent as Rainbow continued. “And... he said that he might come and try to do the same to someone close to me-”
“And you think I might be one of his targets?” Rainbow nodded. Firefly chuckled. “Rainbow, I’ve been through a lot in life; this ‘Brainiac’ is going to have a hard time if he thinks he can kidnap me. But what about your coltfriend?” Rainbow’s face flushed red with embarrassment and anger.
“Mooooom, Thunderlane’s not my coltfriend.”
“Really?” Firefly said, raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah. I mean, sure he’s cute, and a good conversationalist, and cute, but that doesn’t mean-” Rainbow was stopped by her mother placing a hoof to her lips.
“I get it. Still, what about him?”
“Well... I was probably going to warn him, and... maybe tell him to stay away from me for a little bit.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea? He might get the wrong idea and react badly.” Rainbow was silent for a moment before nodding.
“I know... But it’s a risk I need to take.”
...............
Thunderlane was nervous, once again. Now that his father had gotten involved, though, his nervousness had gone through the roof; Supermare said she understood, but something of this scale was not to be taken lightly. The only thing he had going for him was that Rumble was asleep, more or less, so he did not have to put up with any harassment from his younger brother.
He stood near the window, searching for any sign of the superhero. He would have paced, but that would only increase his tension. He sighed and banged his head against the wall, trying and failing to calm down.
I... I really should tell her what I feel about her. She’s nice, she’d understand... or just let me down gently. He sighed again. Maybe I’m being too forward. He looked back out the window, spotting a small shape that materialized into Supermare. She landed just outside and waved to him, and basic instinct told him to wave back. He hurried to the door, opening it and stepping out into the night while she waited.
“Hello again,” she said. “Sorry I was late; I had some things I needed to clear up.”
“That’s okay." Thunderlane took a moment to analyse Supermare. She seemed... off, and nowhere near as happy as she had been last time they had met up. “Is something wrong?”
“Hmm? I... I don’t think so.” she pawed at the ground. “I... I need to tell you something.”
“Really? Because there was something I wanted to-”
“I just-” Supermare stopped. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“Oh no, go ahead.”
“No really, you go first.” Thunderlane stammered for a moment, trying to compose himself as he stood before the superhero.
“Well, I was thinking... you know, about, what we’re doing. You know, going out like this, talking? And... well, I like it. A lot. And you... you’re one of the most interesting mares I’ve ever got a chance to talk with.”
“Well, I am a superhero.”
“It’s not just that,” Thunderlane took a few steps towards her. “You’re nice, you’re smart, and just being around you, I just... well, I feel happy.” he looked away. “Sorry, I’m not good at this sort of thing but... I think-”
“... You like me?” she asked, taking a few steps of her own.
“... Yeah. Yeah I do. And not just like ‘Hey, you’re cool because you’re a superhero’. I like you as... well, as you.” Supermare was silent, her head tilted to one side. “Sorry if I’m being too forward; I just wanted to say that.”
“No, it’s okay. I... I understand.” she pawed at the ground. “I... I guess I like you too.” She smiled, but that quickly shifted into a frown. “But Thunderlane-”
“Yes?”
“We... I can’t keep seeing you... at least, not for a while.” Thunderlane’s emotions dropped. He was not fully sure what to do, and his mind was on the verge of panic.
“What do you mean?”
“There’s a... pony. He’s an alien, kind of like me, but... well, he’s out to get me. He already kidnapped one of my friends and... he might do the same to you. I can’t risk him finding out and hurting you.” Supermare pawed at the ground some more. “So... I can’t see you, until he’s gone.” Thunderlane thought for a moment before speaking.
“That’s kind of silly.” this seemed to catch her off guard.
“I’m sorry?” she asked.
“How do you know that I’d be the one he’d go after? Does he even know about... well, us?”
“I can’t risk the chance that he does.”
“But there’s still a chance that he doesn’t. You don’t have to just abandon me to fight this guy. You don’t have to abandon anypony.”
“I’m not trying to-”
“That’s what it sounded like you were doing. I don’t mean to sound disrespectful, but how are you supposed to be an effective guardian if you just push everypony away like this?”
“But I’m trying to protect you all. How am I supposed to do that when you put yourself in harm’s way?” Thunderlane did not exactly have a good answer for that. He paused for a moment, trying to word his response in the best possible way without insulting her. “Look, I’m sorry if I offended you. I just want to make sure that you and everypony else stays safe.”
“But we have to have a chance, right? You’re a guardian, not a dictator.” Supermare stepped back, a shocked look on her face. She worked her jaw for a few seconds before closing her eyes and turning away.
“I... I’m sorry, Thunderlane.” She said. “I should never have come back.” With that she spread her wings and took off.
“Supermare, wait.” Thunderlane took off after her, but just as he lifted off he spotted a flash of green out of the corner of his eye. Supermare spotted it too, but she did not have time to react before something slammed into her, right between her left wing and her shoulder. With a cry she plummeted towards the ground, Thunderlane watching as she twisted around in the air. Without thinking he dove down after her, his wings burning as he tried to catch up with the fallen superhero.
It was all for naught; Supermare crashed into the ground at high speed, dirt and grass exploding outward as she landed. Thunderlane pulled up just before he hit the ground, sprinting the rest of the way to Supermare.
“Are you alright?” he asked, rushing to her side and trying to pull her up.
“N-No.” she said, coughing as she flopped over onto her side. Now Thunderlane could get a good view of the wound; It was not incredibly deep, but the crossbow bolt embedded in her back was glowing green with some kind of energy. “Kr-Kryptonite...”
“Funny, I wasn’t really expecting this reaction.” a new voice said. Thunderlane turned around just as a third Pegasus landed. The newcomer was clad in black body armor, his face hidden behind a black and copper mask, and strapped to his back was a large sword and a variety of other weapons. “Then again, I wasn’t fully briefed on just what I was dealing with here.”
“Who are you?” Thunderlane rose into the air. “And what do you want with Supermare?”
“I can’t answer the first question.” the Pegasus said. “But somepony has paid me a generous sum to bring in Supermare... alive, preferably. So, if you would be so kind as to leave now, I won’t waste time in hurting you.” Thunderlane looked back to Supermare. She was lapsing in and out of consciousness, although he could tell that she was still in pain. He looked back at the masked Pegasus, who was staring at him with what Thunderlane guessed was a bored expression. I can’t just let him get away with this; she’s my friend, and...
“No!” Thunderlane raised his hooves. “I won’t let you harm her again.” there was a pause.
“Fine.” the Pegasus moved a lot faster than Thunderlane had anticipated. Before he could realize what was going on, his attacker had swung around him and bucked him in the side, knocking Thunderlane away from Supermare. He tried to get back up, but the Pegasus kicked him down once more.
“And here I thought your defiance meant you would actually present a threat.” the Pegasus muttered before tossing Thunderlane aside. He landed with a grunt just outside the crater, and as he tried to get back up, the Pegasus tossed Supermare over his shoulder and took off. “I suppose I’ve had my hopes too high. Guess that’s what I get for leaving Trottingham for this. Here,” the Pegasus tossed something towards Thunderlane. “This might be of some help.” and with that the Pegasus took off, disappearing into the night as the gas grenade detonated. Thunderlane couched hard as he stumbled through the fog, trying and failing to locate Supermare and her kidnapper.
“This is bad...” he said to himself. “What should I do? I can’t just let that... that... nut kidnap her!” he stopped for a moment. “... But what can I do? I’m not a superhero, I’m just a Pegasus.” he looked up at the night sky, searching for any sign of movement.
“... I can’t give up on her. She needs my help.” Thunderlane spread his wings and took off, heading in the first direction he thought of in search of Supermare.
...............
Silversmith was waiting on the balcony of the Silver Tower, Silver Industries’ main headquarters. Most of his employees had left for the night, and he was thankful for that; there would be fewer witnesses to what he was up to. He checked his watch once more before looking back up to the sky, scanning the stars and clouds for any sign of his... “contact”.
This is what I get for dealing with “professionals”. he thought. They always have to run on their own schedule... He adjusted his suit one last time, just as the shape of two Pegasi approached.
“Here is Supermare, just as you asked.” The first Pegasus said, dropping the unconscious superhero to the ground.
“Good work.” Silversmith approached Supermare, carefully examining her to make sure she was still alive. “I must say, I am glad that your services were available, Deathstroke.”
“My pleasure. Now, about my reward...”
“Yes, the first payments should be on their way now, as per our agreement. If you make sure my shipment to Cloudsdale remains intact, then there may be a little extra in the second payment.” Silversmith always considered himself good at picking out details, but he could not tell if his contact was smiling from behind the mask.
“Of course.” with that, the Pegasus took off and disappeared into the night, leaving Silversmith alone with Supermare. He did not have to wait for long before there was a pop of magic behind him.
“I see you managed to acquire Supermare.” Brainiac said as he approached the fallen hero.
“More or less. The synthesized Kryptonite should keep her under for a few more hours, give or take.” Silversmith turned towards Brainiac. “And you will keep your end of the bargain?”
“Of course. In exchange for the Kryptonian, Equestria shall survive unharmed... of course, only after the next part of my plan is complete.”
“The shipment is already on it’s way.” Brainiac did not show any sign of acknowledgement, instead stepping past Silversmith and picking up Supermare in his telekinesis. “One thing, though; if capturing Supermare was your original plan all along, why didn’t you just do it when you first arrived?”
“I could have, but she would still have been fortified in her beliefs. Now, though, she is much more distraught, meaning that she is more likely to make a mistake.” Brainiac looked at Supermare. “She will not have to deal with such petty issues again.”
“Just as long as she is gone, I’m fine with it.” Again, Brainiac remained passive, just before there was another pop and he disappeared with Supermare. Silversmith remained on the roof for a few minutes before heading back inside.
Something was in her mouth. That was all Rainbow knew; something was in her mouth, and the rest of her body was in pain. Her strength was coming back, so the Kryptonite had been flushed out of her system, but that offered little immediate comfort. She tried moving, but her legs and wings were unresponsive. And there was still the issue of the thing in her mouth.
I flew right into that, didn’t I? she thought as she tried to regain motor function. I should have seen that guy coming... Doesn’t matter now; I need to find Brainiac... Where am I? Somehow, Rainbow managed to open her eyes. It took a while for them to adjust to the poor lighting, but soon she was able to see.
She was lying on her back, in a black room with only a few dim lights. Around her were what looked like ponies, but closer examination revealed that they were robots of some kind rather than real ponies. The robots seemed to be conversing in some language she did not yet understand, passing various tubes and wires amongst each other. She looked down to her mouth, and saw a long black tube leading from her mouth.
Instincts took over, and the sudden rush of adrenalin gave Rainbow the strength to move again. She yanked her right hoof upwards, snapping several wires and catching one of the robots in the face. The metal shattered beneath her strike, and as the first robot staggered away the other two reached out to restrain Rainbow Dash. With her free hoof she struck out, knocking the robots away while she broke free of her remaining restraints.
The robots regrouped and advanced towards her, but now that her forehooves were free, she could strike back. She lunged forward as best she could, grabbing the robots and slamming them together. The robots destroyed, Rainbow Dash broke free of the remaining restraints before tugging at the tube in her mouth, wincing as tiny barbs dragged along the inside of her throat. She coughed up several mouthfuls of black liquid once she was free, collapsing to the ground and gasping for air.
“Oh Celestia...” she moaned, pulling herself up from the ground. “Where am I? And why was that thing in my mouth?” She looked around, scanning the room and shifting through her different visions. She saw more wires and machinery, but other than that she found nothing to tell her where she was. Shifting back to her normal vision, she took off and began to fly down one of the corridors, moving slowly just in case she was spotted.
The hallway she was flying down opened up into a large atrium. Exact dimensions were irrelevant to Rainbow, but she guessed that it was nearly the same size as Canterlot Castle. On the walls of the room were giant sacks, each one holding some kind of creature hooked up to the same tubes that those robots had tried to hook her up to. Some resembled different species she had encountered in Equestria, while others were completely alien in design. She flew up to one of the sacks, inspecting it closely.
The creature inside was still alive, trapped in some kind of trance state. For a brief instant Rainbow considered trying to set the creature free, but she had no idea of knowing whether or not her attempts would end up killing the thing instead of freeing it. That black stuff in my mouth probably wouldn’t have been good either.
She turned around, and it was now that she saw the lights. Dozens of them, all hanging from wires leading off into the darkness, dangling over her head. The lights had been hung at varying heights, all radiating away from a chair-shaped structure in the center of the room. Rainbow rose up towards the lights, inspecting them closer.
Now she could see that they were not lights, but jars. In each jar was a city, many of them highly advanced. They appeared mostly undamaged, but Rainbow guessed that there was more to the cities than she could see. She drifted from city to city, inspecting each one as she passed.
Kandor should be one of these... I just need to figure out which one. She kept drifting until she spotted one city that was held away from the others. The design of the buildings was crystalline, similar to the Crystal Empire, but it was not an Equestrian city. The artificial lights provided by whatever technology Brainiac was using caused the city to sparkle, and Rainbow had to blink a few times in order to adjust her vision. She flew in closer, and she could pick out miniature Kryptonian glyphs that had been carved into the buildings.
Here it is. She smiled and reached towards Kandor when she heard an alarm sound. Like birds avoiding a larger flyer, the cities were yanked up and away from Rainbow, leaving her alone once more.
“I must advise you to leave my specimens alone, Kara Jor-El.” Brainiac’s monotone echoed through the room.
“Is that what you call them, Brainiac? Specimens?” Rainbow landed near the structure in the center of the room, searching for Brainiac.
“Everything you see in this room is merely storage for the information I have collected over the years. All of these creatures and cities you see before you are remnants of long dead civilizations, eras that only I have been able to preserve.”
“I’d be impressed, if you weren’t insane.” the cities had returned to their previous level, but they had parted to reveal a large screen, Brainiac’s face projected onto it.
“None of this is fueled by insanity.” Brainiac said. “It is all simple logic; a planet advances to it’s peak in physical and technological evolution, and I arrive to preserve it for eternity. Every piece you see here is a perfection of a design, and once added to my mainframe I advance even closer towards perfection.” Brainiac’s face was replaced by images of his ship over several worlds.
“It took nearly a year to assimilate the first world I encountered.” he continued. “It took six months to assimilate the next four. With every planet I draw information from, my power grows. Soon I will be able to strip an entire galaxy of information in only a few hours.”
“And what happens to the planets once you steal their citizens and cities?” Rainbow asked. Brainiac’s face returned after a brief pause.
“They are of no more use to me, and any continued advancement would prove threatening to the information I have gathered. Planets I take information from are destroyed, so that they may remain forever in their perfect status.” Rainbow looked around the room at the hundreds of different creatures and cities.
“I suppose Equestria is next on your list?” she asked.
“No; this planet has not advanced far enough along to be considered for harvesting.”
“Then why did you come here?” there was silence as Brainiac’s image shifted once more, this time showing a picture of what Rainbow assumed was Kandor.
“When Krypton was destroyed, I had thought that I possessed the only source of Kryptonian DNA left in the universe. However, I picked up a signal of some kind of Kryptonian technology transmitting from this sector, and though it went dead soon after I had arrived, I continued my search and discovered you instead.” the screen shifted back to Brainiac’s face.
“You are the final piece of lost Kryptonian knowledge.” he said. “You will be preserved, as will the rest of Krypton. Your memories, your experiences, all will be preserved in me. Would you not want that, a chance to be reunited with the survivors of your race?” Rainbow looked up at the cities, then back to Brainiac.
“No; not if I have to give up protecting the ponies I love.” she said. Brainiac frowned, an impressive feat considering his previous lack of expression.
“You will not comply?” Rainbow glared up at Brainiac.
“Read my lips: go to-”
“I predicted that you would answer in such a way. Fortunately, I planned for such a reaction.” there was the sound of sliding machinery before a glass pod rose from the floor at the other end of the room. Rainbow scanned it and found Scootaloo hanging in an anti-gravity field, asleep and unharmed.
“This is the filly designated Scootaloo. As you know, I scanned her memories and found that she is close to you.” Rainbow stepped forward to retrieve Scootaloo, but another warning bell sounded and an energy field tossed Rainbow back. “I am not finished speaking.” Brainiac’s face disappeared, replaced by an image of Cloudsdale. “From scans that I have performed on your brain, this is where you were raised, was it not?”
“What does Cloudsdale have to do with-”
“I am not finished.” the image zoomed in to the center of the city, where several heavily armed ponies stood in a circle around... something. “My associate Alexander Silversmith has had a bomb planted in the center of the city. The panel you are standing on is a pressure plate, designed to trigger one of two reactions depending on which decision your mind makes.”
“What are those?”
“Should you go and try to stop the bomb, a power surge will destroy the filly’s brain. Should you try and save the filly, the bomb will detonate and kill every single citizen in Cloudsdale.” Rainbow’s eyes widened.
“What happened to trying to preserve information?”
“As I have stated before, Equestria is of little interest to me. I would have just captured you and worked out a more suitable plan to assimilate you, but Alexander Silversmith convinced me of this plan.” Brainiac returned to the screen. “What is your decision, Kara Jor-El?” Rainbow thought for a moment before looking back to Brainiac.
“What if I decide to just sit here and wait until you give up?” she asked, smiling smugly.
“The bomb will detonate regardless. You have fifteen minutes to decide.” any sense of accomplishment Rainbow had before vanished. She looked to Scootaloo, then back to the screen.
If she saved Cloudsdale, thousands of ponies would live. She had said it was her duty to protect Equestria, and Cloudsdale mattered more than one filly, right? But then Scootaloo would be dead, and her friends, the Crusaders, most ponies she knew, all of them would hate her for it.
I’m a hero; I can take the hate... can’t I? She looked to Scootaloo. If she saved her, then while her friends would not turn on her, Cloudsdale would be destroyed, and Silversmith would win. She could see him now, standing triumphant over the ruins of Cloudsdale while she was seen as a traitor. She frowned and looked down at her hooves.
“Why?” she asked, looking up at the screen.
“Why what?” Brainiac responded.
“Why are you doing this? Why not just take me now and leave Equestria alone?”
“Because you are free.” Brainiac's face moved off to one side, and Rainbow could see a brief clip show of her career as Supermare. “You have spent your entire life uninhibited by control or order. I cannot properly assimilate an individual like you, what with your corrupted mind and soul. Frankly, you disgust me. You are a perversion of your Kryptonian genes, an unbridled hybrid with Equestrian ideals. This is designed to break you.”
“‘Break’ me?”
“To show you that you are not as ‘free’ as you think. Here, I am in control. Every action you take from now on has been perfectly doctored to my design. You are under my command, Kara Jor-El, and there is little you might attempt to break free.” Rainbow tensed up, her teeth grinding together as she tried to hold back her anger.
“That’s it?” Rainbow glared up at Brainiac. “All of this, all of the abuses you’ve put me and my friends through, was about control?”
“There is little else that can be considered important.” Rainbow’s glare intensified, her eyes glowing as she restrained her heat vision.
“You really don’t understand anything about ponies, do you? You can’t control everything, Brainiac. For instance,” She looked down at the ground. “I think I found the wires that control the pressure plate.” Two red beams ripped through the floor as Rainbow sliced through wires and microchips with her heat vision.
“What are you doing?” Brainiac asked, still as monotone as ever. “This is an illogical set of events.”
“Wake up, Brainiac; not everything is based off of logic. You’re so wrapped up in what you think will happen that you’ve completely forgot that we ponies tend to do things that make no sense.” Once she was sure the pressure plate was disabled, Rainbow shot forward towards Scootaloo. The force field popped up once more, stalling Rainbow's flight and pushing her back towards the now ruined pressure plate.
“I will not allow attempted deviations from my set program.” Brainiac said as the force field pushed Rainbow back further. “You will comply with my commands.”
“No... I... won't!” Rainbow Dash pushed back with all of the strength, the panel beneath her bending under the strain. Finally something gave and the force field cut out, and Rainbow flew into the containment unit that held Scootaloo, smashing the glass and freeing the filly from her trance.
“WARNING: CONTAINMENT UNIT BREACHED.” an announcement rang throughout the ship. Rainbow ignored it as she tried to revive Scootaloo.
“Scootaloo, wake up... Listen to me, wake up.” the filly blinked a few times as she looked up at Rainbow Dash.
“Supermare...? Where am I?”
“I’ll explain later.” Rainbow scooped Scootaloo up in her hooves and looked up at the bottled cities, racing upwards once she spotted Kandor once again.
“You cannot do this.” Brainiac said.
“Watch me.” her heat vision flashed again, and she caught Kandor in her free hoof before passing it off to Scootaloo. “Hey, can you hold on to this for a little bit?”
“Uh, sure.” Scootaloo took the city in her hooves as Rainbow looked around for an exit.
“Your little act of defiance is in vain, Kara Jor-El.” Brainiac droned on. “The bomb will still detonate whether you break out of here or not. You are still under my control.”
“Really?” No exit... guess I’ll have to make one. “You think that you can just keep everything contained, that you can just put the universe in a bottle? How does it feel, to know that you really don’t have as much control as you would like to think, to know that you found somewhere that won’t play by your rules?” she fired her heat vision once more, slowly melting the hull of the ship and allowing Rainbow and Scootaloo an escape route.
Scootaloo hurried down the streets of Cloudsdale, the city Supermare gave her sitting on her back. Having never been to Cloudsdale before, she was having a bit of trouble navigating the streets, and a lot of trouble trying to find the home that Supermare had said for her to go to.
No, I can’t fail Supermare; she needs my help! She started running faster, using her wings to keep the city balanced on her back.
“Scootaloo!” she turned as best she could, trying to find the pony that was speaking to her. She stopped running just as Thunderlane landed next to her. “What are you doing up in Cloudsdale... and what’s that thing on your back?” Scootaloo’s nerves had been frayed severely, so what came next came out in a blur.
“Well I was minding my own business and then this alien guy at least I think he was an alien but anyway he came and kidnapped me and was going to fry my brain but then Supermare came and she saved me and said I had to go find this lady Firefly and-” she was interrupted by Thunderlane placing a hoof up against her lips.
“Just calm down,” Thunderlane said. “What’s going on?” Scootaloo took a deep breath and started over.
“I was kidnapped by this alien named Brainiac, and Supermare saved me.” she nodded towards the city on her back. “She wanted me to get this to this pony named Firefly, because she’d know something to do about it.”
“Firefly...” Thunderlane frowned and looked around. “I think I know where she lives, but what would Supermare need her for...” Scootaloo ignored that and started running again. “Wait, Scootaloo! You’re going the wrong way!” Thunderlane shouted after her.
.............
Rainbow raced through Cloudsdale, ducking and diving through the crowds of ponies. She would have tried to get as many ponies away as possible, but she was still only one mare; unless she planned on breaking Cloudsdale apart piece by piece, she would never get everypony out before the bomb detonated.
Whatever thugs Silversmith hired probably have those Kryptonite arrows... she thought as she dove down over the weather factory. I’ll have to be careful... How am I going to disarm the bomb, though? She set that thought aside as she reached the center of Cloudsdale, rising up over the buildings to get a better view of the situation. She counted about ten ponies standing around where she assumed the bomb was, and by a stroke of luck they had not spotted her yet.
She flew upwards before diving down towards the guards, aiming for the patch of cloud just in front of them. They spotted Rainbow too late, and before any of them could shoot at her she had already hit the ground, knocking several back with the impact. Before the others could recover, Rainbow flash-stepped and disarmed them, using quick flicks of her wings to knock them out. Opposition gone, Rainbow scanned the plaza with her x-ray vision, in case Silversmith decided to trick her and had the bomb planted elsewhere.
She managed to find the bomb after about a minute of searching. It was large, and more complex than any of the bombs she had read about in the Daring Do books, but it was a bomb nonetheless. She hurried to the bomb, brushing away the clouds that covered it with her hooves. She would have tried to disable it, somehow, but the sound of a crossbow being fired caught her attention. She jumped out of the way just in time, the glowing green bolt whizzing by mere inches from her cheek. Other than brief dizziness she felt fine, but she did not have much time before the shooter readied a second bolt.
Once she spotted the shooter, a Pegasus in black body armor and a mask, Rainbow flash-stepped again and punched the shooter in the face, knocking him back and causing him to drop his crossbow. The second Kryptonite arrow had already been loaded, but Rainbow melted the crossbow into a solid chunk of metal, thus shielding the Kryptonite from causing too much damage.
“I suppose you’re the one that Silversmith hired to capture me?” she asked.
“Why he didn’t ask me to kill you, I’ll never know.” Deathstroke said before drawing his sword. “I guess he won’t mind if I finish it now.” Rainbow raised an eyebrow.
“You do realize that bomb will explode any minute now, right?”
“Then I’ll just have to be quick about it, won’t I?” Deathstroke swung his sword in a downward arc. Rainbow Dash sidestepped the attack, but the sword slid across her flank, leaving a small gash.
“Wha-?”
“The sword’s enchanted to pierce anything I so desire.” Deathstroke explained, readying for another attack. “Even with your physiology you won’t be able to last very long.”
“Try me.” Deathstroke swung again, and Rainbow ducked underneath the strike. She tried using her heat vision to melt the sword, but the red beams only reflected harmlessly off to the side. Rainbow frowned before dodging another strike from Deathstroke, rising up into the air to put distance between her and the mercenary.
Deathstroke rose up to follow her, sword drawn back for another strike. Not wanting him to get any closer, Rainbow beat her wings harder, the resulting gale being enough to knock the other Pegasus to the ground. Rainbow dove towards him, but Deathstroke smacked her across the face with the flat of his sword. She twisted around, Deathstroke slicing a notch in her cape with his sword before she could get back on her hooves.
“And here I thought this would be a challenge.” he said. “But your terrible form and over-reliance on your powers has crippled your potential.”
“Well, I’m not dead yet, so I consider that good.” Rainbow backed up a little more as Deathstroke closed in. Her eyes darted back to the bomb for a brief instant, then back to Deathstroke as he pulled back for another swing. Think fast Rainbow; you don’t have time for this.
Deathstroke swung once more, and after dodging, Rainbow rushed forward and swatted at his hooves. By her own standards it was not much of a swat, but to a normal pony it was the equivalent of having a boulder dropped on their hooves. Even for a hardened mercenary like Deathstroke, the impact was too much to handle and he lost his grip on his sword. As Deathstroke stumbled away, Rainbow grabbed the sword and brought her hooves down on it, shattering it into five pieces. That task completed, she looked up as Deathstroke recovered from the attack.
“Had enough?” she asked, rising up into the air and hovering over him. He smirked and spread his wings.
“Hardly, but since I seem to be the one pony here without superpowers I feel I must end this engagement. Besides, I’ve already been paid; it’s not like I needed to be here anyway.” Rainbow dove down towards Deathstroke, but before she reached him, a gas grenade detonated and blanketed the entire area in fog. She was not affected in the same way a regular pony would have been, but she was still a pony at heart and having something explode in her face was disorienting.
Once she recovered, she noticed that Deathstroke had vanished. Rather than search for him, she turned and hurried back to the bomb, removing the clouds that had reformed over it. She scanned the bomb once more, chewing her lip to keep from getting too nervous. She tried blasting it with heat vision, but like Deathstroke’s sword, the red beams only reflected harmlessly off to the side.
I could fly it into space. She thought. ... No, that wouldn’t work; there might be something in the bomb that could get in the air or something... Not sure if Twilight knows anything about disarming bombs... she growled in frustration as she scanned the bomb once more.
Not enough time... wish I had time stopping powers, that’d be cool. She shook her head, trying and failing to keep herself calm. As the time to detonation neared, Rainbow became more exasperated until she did something that she would never have done if she were not under pressure:
She punched the bomb.
The resulting explosion was nowhere near as large as Brainiac had described. It was about as big as a medium-sized firework, and the force was enough to blow Rainbow’s mane and cape back. However, the bomb was obviously not designed to withstand impacts from Kryptonians, so any large firing mechanism was most likely dust by now. Rainbow blinked as the explosion died down, smoke and steam wafting over her and the large hole in the center of Cloudsdale.
“That... that worked?” she blinked a few more times, backing away from the hole, “I can’t believe that worked.” No sooner had she said this that a blast of magic struck her in the side, knocking her to the other end of the square.
“Kara Jor-El,” Brainiac said as he stepped towards her, horn and eyes glowing. “You have become an annoyance.”
“Wow, I actually made you angry.” Rainbow said as she pulled herself back to her hooves. “I consider that a major accomplishment.” Brainiac did not respond, instead firing another blast of magic at her. She dodged and rose into the air, trying to get the best angle for an attack.
“I suppose that I have given up in convincing you of the logic of my plan.” Brainiac charged up another blast. “Therefore, I shall eliminate you and make sure that any potential data that can be collected from you is removed.”
“Look, if you’re going to try and kill me, you can just say so; you don’t have to go into uber-egghead mode.” Rainbow dodged the next blast of magic, returning to her original position as Brainiac prepared another strike.
“This will end, Kara Jor-El. I will see to it that you are eliminated.”
“Many ponies have tried that already.” she smirked. “They failed.” before Brainiac could fire another blast of magic, Rainbow dove down and hit him square in the chest. The punch could have split solid rock, but all it did was knock Brainiac back a few meters. She rushed in, but caught a spell to the face and was sent flying into a nearby building, cloud vapor wafting around her as she plowed through the wall.
She got back up and raced out of the hole she had made, tackling Brainiac and driving his head into a different building. As he struggled to free himself, she began to pummel him relentlessly, placing more and more force into each punch before Brainiac bucked her away. She rushed forward once more, but Brainiac intercepted her attack and the two became locked in a grapple, the Coluan still as impassive as ever.
Eager to break the grapple, Rainbow smacked her head against Brainiac’s, knocking him back and giving her some room to maneuver. She hit him again, this time putting enough force in her strike to knock Brainiac into the air, and the follow-up strike drove him through yet another building. She dove after him, but he sidestepped her next strike and punched her, yet another wall suffering as Rainbow crashed into it.
“You continue to resist, Kara Jor-El.” Brainiac said as he stepped through the hole she had made.
“You threaten my friends and my home. Why shouldn’t I resist?” he fired another spell, striking Rainbow right between the wings and knocking her into another building.
“What I have done was necessary for collecting data... or so I thought, at the time.” Rainbow flash-stepped over to the side and knocked Brainiac away.
“All this talk about perfection and study, I don’t buy it. I mean, you think that just shutting yourself off from the world will make you perfect? If anyone is pathetic, it’s you.” Brainiac turned and lunged at her, but she dodged away and rose up into the air.
“What would you know about perfection?” he asked. “Your mind and form is so corrupted by emotions that you cannot fully grasp what perfection means.”
“I’ve strived for perfection all my life, and you know what I’ve learned?” she tackled Brainiac and hoisted him over her head. “If this is where perfection leads, I don’t want any of it!” with that she hurled him away, the force of her pitch causing Brainiac to drill through five buildings without losing momentum. Before he could hit a sixth, Rainbow had flown ahead and punched Brainiac into the ground, the shockwave of the impact causing every single nearby wall to bend inwards.
“End this, Brainiac.” she said, hovering over Brainiac. “End this now.”
“No.” Brainiac got back on his hooves, his horn glowing with power. “I will destroy you, Kara Jor-El. You and everything you hold dear. I will show you the folly of blindly following your emotions. I will kill you, Kara Jor-El.” Brainiac’s horn glowed even brighter. “And you will suffer.”
................
Thunderlane had to carry Scootaloo and Kandor on the last leg to Firefly’s house, the filly tightening her grip on the city as best she could. She had to admit, this was fun: helping Supermare, fighting aliens, carrying around cool pieces of alien stuff.
I could get used to this, she thought. Thunderlane set her down at the edge of the cloud, and she too the moment to return Kandor to her back.
“Okay, I need you to wait here while I see if Firefly’s here.” Thunderlane started forward, but Scootaloo cut him off.
“No way! Supermare said I needed to find Firefly; I’m not going to let you hog all the credit.”
“This isn’t about who gets credit.” Thunderlane countered. “Ponies lives are at stake.”
“Well, yeah, but I still get credit.”
“Credit for what?” a third voice asked. Scootaloo and Thunderhead turned as a pink mare with a graying blue mane landed next to them.
“Are you Firefly?” Scootaloo asked.
“Um, yes, but what does that have to do with-” Firefly was interrupted by an orange filly shoving a city in her face.
“Good. Supermare saved me from an alien and said I should give you this, then said something about you being able to handle this kind of thing.” as Scootaloo finished talking, there was an explosion from the center of Cloudsdale.
“I... Wait here.” Firefly took to the air again and raced off towards the sound of the fighting, leaving Thunderlane and Scootaloo alone.
“Well, we’re not going to listen to her, are we?” Scootaloo asked.
“I’m not. You’re staying here.”
“What?!” Thunderlane looked at Scootaloo.
“This isn’t fun and games, Scootaloo. Ponies could get hurt out there, and honestly I’m a lot more expendable than you are. I need you to stay here and wait for us, and make sure that no one takes that city, okay?”
“But-” Scootaloo never had time to finish, because Thunderlane was already flying off after Firefly. Scootaloo opened her mouth to call after him, but he was already out of earshot.
“No one ever lets me do anything fun.”
................
Rainbow Dash was slammed against a pillar, the structure snapping under the force of the impact. Before she could get back up, Brainiac launched another spell at her, magical energy shocking her and stabbing into her joints. He prepared for another attack, but she grabbed a broken piece of the pillar and clubbed him into the ruins of a nearby building before slamming the pillar repeatedly into the spot where he landed. She would have attacked again, but another blast of magic knocked her out of the sky.
I need to end this before any ponies get hurt... how, though? As she dodged another attack from Brainiac, she thought of her fight with Zod. He had overloaded his magic and tried to blow both of them up when he realized he was losing, but Brainiac was different; he was not a pony that cared about emotions or temper. He would just keep coming until either he or Rainbow was dead.
Does it really have to go that far? She thought before dodging another attack and diving back down towards Brainiac. She hit him again, knocking him further into the rubble, but he countered and threw her to the ground, pinning her there with another spell.
“I tire of your resistance.” Brainiac said, stepping away from her as she struggled against the spell. “This will end. Now.” before Rainbow could break free of the spell, a surge of power flooded into her body. She cried out in agony as pain stabbed into every cell in her body, tossing and turning to try and get free. Brainiac remained passive, watching as she struggled against his spell with every bit of strength she had.
Before the pain could fully overwhelm her, it stopped. There was the sound of something hitting a pony’s skull, and Rainbow looked up to see Brainiac reeling from a strike to the back of the head. Rainbow looked behind him and saw a familiar pink mare clutching a large pipe. Mom?!
“Get away from her!” Firefly shouted, raising her impromptu club over her head. Brainiac pulled himself up and turned to face Firefly.
“You show such blind loyalty to this mare.” he said. “Do you feel it’s really worth it?”
“Anything if it will get you away from her!” Firefly swung the pipe at Brainiac, missing but causing him to take a few steps back. “Get out of here, freak!” she swung again, but this time Brainiac reached out with his magic and seized the pipe before it could connect.
“Equestrians; always so... emotional.” he yanked the pipe out of Firefly’s grasp and tossed it away. “I suppose eliminating you shall make my task less strenuous.”
What happened next seemed to move in slow motion. Firefly tried to fly out of the way, but Brainiac’s spell was too fast. She screamed as the spell exploded against her body, tendrils of energy wrapping around her as she was knocked away. Firefly was slammed into one of the ruined buildings and collapsed, her body spasming as magical energy ran through her.
At that moment, the world was silent to Rainbow Dash. She could only watch in horror as her mom lay beaten, possibly dead, at the hooves of Brainiac. Her struggling ceased as she looked on, her brain numb with shock. Rainbow’s mouth hung open, her breathing shallow and slow. She waited for any sign of life, waited to see if her mother would get back up again, but she did not.
“Pathetic,” Brainiac said, turning his attention back to Rainbow Dash. “Equestrians never seem to learn where their place is, do they?”
Pathetic... PATHETIC?! Rainbow’s shock was gone. Every muscle in her body began to tense, and each breath came out in a snarl. Her eyes began to glow bright red as she glared at Brainiac, her rage reaching a breaking point before she threw herself forward, snapping through her bonds and slamming into Brainiac with the force of a large train.
“Do you have any idea what you’ve just done?!” She snarled, her eyes glowing even brighter as she stalked towards him.
“I merely eliminated a distraction.” Brainiac said, putting distance between himself and Rainbow Dash. “After all, it was only an Equestrian.”
“That was my mother you just tried to kill.” Rainbow let loose with her heat vision, two red beams striking Brainiac in the face and forcing him to his knees. “You were right, Brainiac. This is over. Now, I’m not going to hold back, no matter what you try to do to stop me. Now, you die.” Rainbow placed more power into her heat vision, stopping only when Brainiac raised a shield spell to deflect the blast. Before he could recover, she flash-stepped again and pulled him into a headlock, slamming her right hoof repeatedly into his face before throwing him into another wall. She pounced on him before he had even come to a stop, each punch she delivered echoing across Cloudsdale.
“This is for Kandor!” she said, pulling Brainiac up and punching him in the gut, hard enough that her face was splashed with a small amount of blood. “And Equestria!” she twisted him around and slammed him into the ground, knocking him out. “And for my mother!” Rainbow turned Brainiac towards her and drew her right hoof back, aiming for his head.
“Supermare, stop!” a voice called from behind her. Rainbow turned and saw Thunderlane, the Pegasus landing and running towards her.
“Get out of here! Now!” she screamed, turning back to Brainiac and raising her hoof again.
“You can’t do this.” Thunderlane slowed down, coming to a stop a few feet away from Rainbow. “You can’t kill him.”
“Yes I can!” she turned back to Thunderlane, eyes glowing red and tears streaming down her face. “He’s killed thousands and imprisoned thousands more! He threatened to murder an innocent filly because I wouldn’t agree to his plan! He’ll keep on killing and imprisoning ponies and others if I let him go! He deserves to die!”
“Since when did you become an executioner? My father said you were planning to take over Equestria, and wouldn’t this just add fuel to his arguments?”
“I don’t care! He’s had his chance, and he’s thrown it away! He dies!” She brought her hoof up once more, ready to crush Brainiac’s skull and end this before Thunderlane spoke again.
“Would your mother have wanted this, Rainbow Dash?” Rainbow’s eyes returned to their normal hue in an instant. Her hoof hung in space, unresponsive, and her breath stopped for the briefest of instances. She sat there, silently, looking down at Brainiac as he lay unconscious.
Would your mother have wanted this, Rainbow Dash? With a cry she struck, her hoof impacting the ground just next to Brainiac’s head. Her tears were flowing freely now, and it took most of her willpower to keep herself from breaking down completely. Another moment of silence, and then she turned and passed Thunderlane, flying over to where Firefly lay.
“Mom...” she whispered, scooping up the fallen mare in her forelegs. “I-I’m sorry, Mom. I’m sorry...” Rainbow spread her wings and took off, searching for the closest hospital she could find.
For once the wind around the Fortress of Solitude had died down, allowing Rainbow to fly more or less in silence. Tucked under her left foreleg was Kandor, the city still unchanged since her fight with Brainiac, while a large crate hung suspended from one of her free legs. She turned right and landed outside the Fortress, using her heat vision to sever the rope carrying the crate.
Resting Kandor on top of the crate, Rainbow began to push the two objects into the Fortress. Briefly she considered bringing the shrunken city in first, but decided that that was too much work. As she pushed the crate and Kandor into the Fortress, the standard automated systems turned on and she was once again greeted by an image of Jor-El.
“Welcome back, my daughter.” he said, watching as Rainbow finished pushing the crate and city in. “I see that you have found Kandor.”
“Yes.” Rainbow reached up and plucked the city off the crate. “I managed to recover it when I was onboard Brainiac’s ship. I want to find a way to restore it, along with the other cities he had in his possession once I find suitable planets for them to inhabit.”
“A noble cause, Kara.” Jor-El looked to the crate. “And that?”
“Brainiac.” she gave the crate a kick, causing it to fall open. Resting inside was a stone statue of Brainiac, the Coluan as emotionless as ever. “I couldn’t deal with the thought that he might break free and start his plan all over again, so I convinced Princess Celestia to use the Elements of Harmony to turn him to stone. He’ll be staying here, where I can keep an eye on him.”
“Most likely a wise course of action. I will make sure that he remains secure.”
“Thank you.” Rainbow looked around the Fortress in silence, her eyes tracing every single ridge and crack in the surrounding crystals.
“Something is troubling you, my daughter.” Jor-El said after a period of silence.
“Yes.” Rainbow looked towards the petrified Brainiac. “I was thinking... maybe there was some way I could have prevented this. Maybe if I had just cut loose when I first met him, none of this would have happened.”
“That is not something I can answer for you, Kara. Personally, I would not wish to see blood on your hooves, but there may come a time where what I wish and what would keep your home safe will not align. I believe the more important question is are you that kind of pony, and if such, would you make the decision lightly.” Rainbow frowned and looked away.
“... I don’t know.”
“Think on it, my daughter.” Rainbow nodded and turned to leave before Jor-El spoke again. “I do not wish to pry, but how is your adoptive mother?” Rainbow paused, looking out at the snow beyond the Fortress before looking back at Jor-El.
“She’ll live.” With that, she spread her wings and took flight, heading south towards Ponyville.
..............
With Brainiac missing, Silversmith had to modify his plan, again. He still had enough technology to reasonably challenge Supermare, but he was still one pony against an alien with the powers of a god.
Well, that can be remedied. He turned to the sound of the door opening. In stepped a brown Earth Pony mare in a chauffeur’s uniform, a box resting on her back.
“Your trip to Cloudsdale was a success, Mercy?” he asked, stepping behind his desk.
“More or less.” Mercy replied, reaching around and plucking the box off her back. “There were a few issues with the repair crews, but I was able to... convince them to let me through.”
“Good work.” Silversmith reached over and opened the box. Inside were the remains of Deathstroke’s sword, somehow overlooked during the fight between Supermare and Brainiac. Carefully, Silversmith pulled the fragments from the box, examining each and every one closely.
“If you don’t mind me asking, sir,” Mercy said. “What good is a broken sword? I mean, unless you’re going to reforge it or throw it at someone then it’s pretty much useless.”
“You’re not looking close enough, Mercy.” Silversmith held up one of the fragments to the light. On one side was a small splash of blood. “What do you see?”
“... Blood?”
“Not just any blood; Supermare’s blood.” he set the fragment down on his desk. “More importantly, her DNA is within my grasp. Given enough time, I can clone myself an army of loyal superponies, more than even Supermare can handle. No more meddling around in the background, no more deals with wannabe dictators. I can finally take what I want, and she’ll be powerless to stop me.”
“Sir,” Mercy raised a hoof. “You’re ego-tripping again.”
“Oh, of course.” Silversmith composed himself. “Apologies, Mercy. Would you be so kind as to bring these fragments down to the lab? I want a closer look at them once I’m finished.”
“Yes sir.” Mercy took the box of fragments back and exited Silversmith’s office. Once he was sure she was gone, Silversmith pulled out another pad and pencil and set to work on his newest project.
I can carry on without Brainiac... This will be perfect.
..................
He had asked to speak with her on the hill they had their first meet up on. He did not say why, but she was not the kind of pony to jump to conclusions... well, she thought she was not the kind of pony to jump to conclusions. She put those ideas out of her mind as she neared the hill, slowing down and pulling up once Thunderlane was in sight.
“Hi.” she said, landing beneath the tree. “Sorry I’m late. I... I needed to check and see how my mom was doing.”
“That’s okay.” Thunderlane gave her a quick smile. “How is she?”
“... Better.” Rainbow sat down and looked out towards the west. “Still unconscious, but her vitals have gotten better. At this rate, the doctors say she’ll be out in a week or two, but she won’t be able to fly faster than twenty miles an hour, and even then only for a few minutes.” she sighed. “I... I don’t really want to talk about it, okay?”
“Okay.” Thunderlane found a spot next to her and sat down, pushing her cape out of the way to make room.
“How long have you known?” she asked, not looking over at him. “About who I am?”
“Well...” Thunderlane brushed his mane, blushing. “I sort of ran into Scootaloo when... when you sent here to find your mom. Now, I’ve met your mom before, so I asked myself, ‘Why would Supermare put so much trust in her?’ After that it just came together.”
“Oh.” there was silence. “So... are you mad at me?”
“I’m sorry?”
“Are you mad at me for not telling you sooner?”
“Not really.” Thunderlane shrugged. “I mean, I understand why you would want to keep it quiet and all. I mean, you can’t spend the rest of your life being Supermare all the time, can you?”
“I guess not.” Rainbow glanced over at Thunderlane. He gave her a small smile before she looked away. “But where does that leave us?”
“What do you mean?”
“You said you liked me, but now that you know who I am, you’re probably not going to carry on with this, are you?” Thunderlane frowned.
“Rainbow Dash...”
“There was the whole mystery thing, right? You’re probably upset that ‘Supermare’ turned out to be me instead of some other pony... not to say I’m not cool, but come on, we’ve had our arguments in the past.”
“Rainbow Dash.”
“I mean, I actually punched you in the face two years ago!... Okay, it was more like a smack, but it still counts! What kind of pony would do that? I wouldn’t be surprised if you just-”
“Rainbow Dash!” Rainbow stopped and looked over at Thunderlane.
“What?”
“You’re killing the moment.” Rainbow was about to respond when she found two lips pressed up against hers. She blinked in surprise, unsure of how exactly to respond, before she closed her eyes and allowed some of the tension in her body to subside.
I... I could get used to this.
...............
The hunchback kept his head close to the monitor, not looking up at even the slightest stimuli. His work was too important, and no distraction could draw him away... less He arrive and find the hunchback delaying.
It had taken many years of work, ever since He had commanded the hunchback to take up the task. Many had failed before him, and he had their screams to remind him what lay in store for him should he fail. He was not usually a cowardly sort, but he valued his existence and poured that value into his work.
He will be here soon... he thought, entering a few more keystrokes. So close... He will not be disappointed.
The hunchback heard the sound of the large doors behind him opening. What few servants he did have stopped their work, some of them quivering in fear as He entered. The hunchback could feel His gaze upon his back, but he dared not look up, even for a second.
“Well, Desaad?” He asked, stopping next to the hunchback’s terminal. “Is it ready?”
“Almost, my lord.” he replied, entering a few more pieces of data. “The device shall be up in just a moment.”
“Good.” He looked past the hunchback to the testing platform before Him. “When it is finished, open it fully.” Now, the hunchback took a moment to look up.
“My lord, we do not know if that will cause the device to fail. We all could die.” He looked down at the hunchback, eyes glowing red with power.
“Are you questioning my judgment, Desaad?” He asked. The hunchback chose his next few words carefully, for they may have been his last.
“N-no, my lord. Forgive me, for I have allowed myself to fall to cowardice.” He looked down for a moment before His eyes stopped glowing.
“Very well.” He looked back up, fluffing His wings for a brief instant. “Open it fully when you are finished.”
“Yes, my lord.” the hunchback returned to his work. A few more keystrokes, a few adjustments, and they were ready. “I am turning on the device now, my lord.” He gave the hunchback a satisfied grunt, and the hunchback pressed a button.
At first nothing happened, but soon a wind began to flow through the room. The servants and the hunchback hurried for cover, but He remained as He was. He stood there as wind and lightning whipped around him, scowling at the testing platform before him.
The wind grew in ferocity before there was a rush of air followed by a small booming sound. A small white circle appeared in the air before Him, and as it grew more circles began to form until they took the shape of a tunnel, leading off to places only He knew.
As the boomtube to Equestria opened wider, a smile spread across the face of Darkseid, Dread Lord of Apokolips.
End Part 2
Supermare will return in Justice League of Equestria
