An Unconventional Adventure
“Mm, I love that new badge smell!” Quibble Pants chuckled at the pristine ‘Powercon’ badge dangling from his chest. He weaved through the crowd toward an empty table, plopped his saddle bag down, and began looking for his program book. “Now Wind, before we check the hotel’s layout, we need to take a few minutes to review the schedule. I don’t want to miss out on any-!” As Quibble opened his program book to the appropriate page, he realized that Wind Sprint’s chair was empty. Immediately, he got up and retraced his path.
“Oh Wind Sprint, I’m so sorry!” He gasped as he scooped the startled filly onto his back. “I didn’t mean to leave you behind, I just got a little… distracted. First day of the convention and all.”
Wind frowned at the crowd milling and murmuring around them. “Are ‘conventions’ usually this busy?” She asked. “I thought the fun stuff didn’t start until ten o’clock.”
“Well, that’s just it! We need plenty of time to get ready for the fun stuff!” Quibble said, as if it were obvious. “Some of these ponies have been here since last night.”
“Last night??” Wind had once stood in line for a whole hour to get Buckball tickets, but a whole day? “What do we need a whole day to prepare for?”
“Well, first things first, we need to do a full run-through of the schedule.” Quibble grabbed a pen from his saddle bag and tapped at the first icon. “See? We’ll start with Opening Ceremonies, and then we’ll check out the ‘Anatomy of a Villain’ panel. But we’ll only stay for the first half, because we want to line up for autographs at least ten minutes in advance..” Quibble glanced down at Wind, who seemed clueless. “But… maybe we should just take it slow for now. I want your first con experience to be fun.”
“Yeah, okay.” Wind sighed. She was starting to regret agreeing to this ‘bonding’ weekend with Quibble, if it was just going to be a bunch of boring nerd stuff. Quibble packed up his things and led Wind Sprint down a long, carpeted hallway that opened onto a large set of double doors. Two security guards stood at the entrance, and a tall banner on the opposite door read “Mane Events”.
“Why don’t we start with Opening Ceremonies?” Quibble suggested. “It should give you a good idea of what Powercon is all about!” The doors opened onto an ornate ballroom filled with glittering chandeliers, ornate wallpaper and seating that stretched from wall to wall. The big stage at the front was empty, but everypony stared at it eagerly, as if a show were about to begin. As Quibble picked out seats, Wind stared around at the audience in considerable wonder: some were chatting about their favorite superheroes, others were wearing homemade costumes, and still more were cradling plushes as big as themselves!
“What is all this stuff?” she called over the noise. “Why is everypony wearing costumes?”
“Oh, those are cosplays!” Quibble explained. “Some ponies like to dress up and act like their favorite characters from comics and movies. I… couldn’t finish mine in time.” He added, a little embarrassed. “Rarity was fresh out of vermillion spandex, and there’s no way I’d wear burgundy for my Captain Caballo outfit! I mean, can you imagine?”
“Um, yeah… that’d be… bad.” Wind guessed. As she looked around the room, her gaze fell upon a cosplayer in the next row. A mare, who was wearing a purple jumpsuit and a green wig that had been styled into long, distorted ropes. “Wow, that’s so cool!” Wind pointed at the mare. “Her mane looks like a bunch of green tentacles!”
“Oh yeah, that’s Mane-iac.” Quibble explained. “She was once the head of Maretropolis’ biggest hair care company, until she fell into a vat of experimental shampoo. It drove her crazy, and her mane turned into these crazy tentacles! In fact, once she-!” But the rest of Quibble’s explanation was drowned in a chorus of applause. He looked up to the stage, and grinned.
“Oh hey, it’s Lucky Hops and Libby Roars!” Quibble said. “They run the convention. See?” Quibble lifted Wind Sprint onto his shoulders, so that she could watch the two unicorns take center stage, along with a kirin whose mane and tail glittered like pixels.
“Hey everypony! Welcome to another awesome Powercon!” announced the pony with the big smile and bushy beard. The crowd whooped and cheered. “Libby and I are so glad to have you all here. This is going to be our most awesome Powercon yet!”
“That’s right, Lucky!” the pink unicorn chimed in. “We’ve collaborated with the best content creators in the Power Pony fandom to create this years’ panels, including our best friend Fizzy Glitch!” As the kirin waved to the crowd, a notebook slipped from her grasp, and several musty papers tumbled from the pockets.
“Sorry, sorry.” Fizzy muttered as she collected the scattered papers.
“Well anyway,” Libby continued. “We’ve got some great guests this year! Crackle's Cousin Cosplay will be judging the cosplay contest...” A team of costume-clad ponies skipped onto the stage and posed for the eager crowd.
“And Cloud Sweeper and Velvet Drop, the voices of Mistress Mare-velous and Fili-Second themselves!” Lucky added. Two well-dressed mares took the stage, and everypony cheered. “And of course, our annual buckball tournament, which will be held in the main ballroom this afternoon at 2pm! Hope to see you all there!” For the first time since she arrived at the convention, Wind Sprint was paying attention.
“Wait, did she say ‘buckball’? They have buckball at conventions, too?”
“Yeah, we like to have a little something for everypony!” Quibble said. “It’s a little smaller than the real thing, but it’s still pretty fun.”
Maybe this ‘convention’ won’t be so bad after all, Wind thought to herself.
“Libby and I will be keeping an eye on things, making sure everything runs smoothly…” Lucky continued. The stage lights went out for a moment, and then back on. Everypony laughed. “Yes, thank you, AV team.” Lucky called to the staff at the lighting board. “But if you need anything, let security know. We want this to be a fun, safe con for everypony. Power Ponies, GO!” Lucky and Libby cheered, and shot dazzling lights from their horns. The crowd applauded and milled toward the exit, taking Quibble Pants and Wind Sprint with them.
“I didn’t know there was so much stuff at conventions.” said Wind. “I thought it was just a bunch of ponies talking about nerd stuff.”
“Well yeah, there’s a lot of nerd stuff.” Quibble admitted. “But like I said, there’s a little something for everypony at conventions. They wouldn’t be so popular if they only catered to the biggest fans.” He pulled out his program book and marked the ‘buckball’ block on his schedule. “So that’s a ‘yes’ on buckball this afternoon?”
“Yeah!” Wind Sprint cheered and clapped her hooves gleefully. “I can’t wait! Do you think they’ll let me play, too?”
“I don’t see why not. You’ve got the speed for it!” Quibble chuckled and tousled her mane. “Mind if we check out a few other things before the game starts?”
“Yeah, okay!” Wind chirped. “What kind of other fun stuff do they have around here?”
Quibble flipped through his program book and scanned the map. “Got it! This way, Wind!” He walked off with Wind in hot pursuit, occasionally hovering in the air as she flapped her wings.
Down the hallway, around a corner and down a flight of stairs, they came to another set of doors, where a security pony stood guard.
“Just show him your badge, Wind.” Quibble explained. “And get ready for a surprise!” Wind produced her badge, stepped through the doors… and into her dreams. There were huge tables filled with art and toys everywhere she looked.“Oh my gosh!” she squealed. “It’s like a big toy store! Look at that plush, it’s as big as me!”
“Yeah, there’s plenty of cool stuff in the vendor hall!” Quibble chuckled. “But trust me, you don’t want to spend all your money on the first thing you see. Come on, let’s look around.”
Wind Sprint turned her head in every direction, and she still couldn’t see everything; flashy superhero posters, scented candles in all the colors of the rainbow, and some funny long pillowcases that Quibble hurried her past. One booth in particular featured a display of soft, big-eyed plushes; most of the figures were unfamiliar to Wind, but the one with purple fur and a wild green mane definitely caught her attention.
“Hey Quibble, look! It’s that mane lady again!”
“Oh yeah, Mane-iac!” Quibble said brightly. “Come on, let’s check her out.” The vendor, a pegasus with short brown hair, was stuffing another plush, but looked up and smiled as they approached.
“Hi there, welcome to Plushes by Primrose!” she chirped. “See anything you like?”
“Yeah actually, we were just admiring that awesome Mane-iac plush of yours.” Quibble beamed. “Mind if I take a closer look?”
“Yeah, go ahead.” said Primrose. Quibble eagerly scooped up the plush, admiring it from every angle.
“Mane-iac is one of my favorite characters.” Primrose noted. “I think villains are usually more fun than the heroes.”
“Oh totally, I’ve been a Mane-iac fan since the beginning!” Quibble chuckled. “I actually bought a near-mint copy of Stories to Startle #37 last year, ‘Mane-iac Unbraided’. You know, the one where we finally learn Mane-iac’s backstory? Man, you wouldn’t believe how many bits I spent…”
Wind stopped paying attention; there was no stopping Quibble once he got into one of his ‘nerd talks’. So instead, she looked at the other plushes on the counter, which she assumed to be the Power Ponies. One of them wore a red suit with a golden lasso on her belt, another had a lightning-bolt shaped pendant, and yet another was dressed in a green suit with flowers on it. Finally, Wind’s gaze landed upon a perky looking plush, whose white bodysuit was decorated with long purple arrows. Maybe she was a speedy pony? Wind galloped over to Quibble, who was now standing several booths away, admiring some vintage comics.
“Quibble, wait!” Wind cheered and tugged at Quibble’s shirt. “Can I get that plush, please? The one with the purple arrows?”
“Hm?” Quibble looked back at Primrose’s booth, and grimaced. “Oh… oh, I’m sorry, Wind, I already bought Mane-iac. And I… don’t really have enough bits to buy two plushes. I’m sorry.” He showed her the Mane-iac plush in his hooves, and Wind’s face fell.
“B-but if you want, you can have my plush,” Quibble stammered, eager to fix his blunder. “She’s pretty cool, right? You said you liked her crazy tentacle mane.” He wiggled the plush, so that its mane seemed to writhe on its own. “Rar, I’ll get you, Power Ponies! Hehe…” Wind sighed, and took the Mane-iac plush in her hooves.
“Yeah… thanks,” She forced a smile, and Quibble seemed to cheer up.
“Now come on, there’s lots more to see!” As Quibble led her through the crowd, Wind kept her eyes on the speedy pony plush, until Primrose’s booth vanished from sight.
Quibble stared at his bag of bits glumly as they left the vendor hall. “Well, there goes my lunch budget.” He sighed. “Good thing I packed snacks!”
“Is it time for the buckball game?” Wind asked. The Mane-iac plush stared up at her with its blank, embroidered eyes, and she felt uncomfortable.
“Hm… we’ve got about forty-five minutes,” he said, with a glance at his watch. “Oh hey, there’s a quiz show starting in a few minutes! Mind if we check it out before heading to buckball? I don’t mean to brag, but I’m kind of an expert on the Power Ponies.”
“Uh… sure. But we’ll leave before buckball starts, right?”
“I promise,” Quibble smiled, and led Wind down another hallway. After a few twists and turns, they ducked into a small room taken up by a large table and thirty chairs, somewhat like the Mane Event hall. Two ponies in superhero costumes sat at the big table, busily going over some final notes as they set up their slideshow presentation.
“Oh hey, welcome!” one of the ponies called from the front. With a pang of despair, Wind Sprint noticed that she was dressed in the same white bodysuit with purple stripes as her elusive plush. “Feel free to grab a seat, we’ll be starting in just a minute.” Quibble ran to the front of the audience and grabbed two empty seats for Wind and himself. Suddenly, the projector screen flashed to life, displaying the words ‘Ponder Ponies’ in big golden letters.
“Well, I guess we can get started now.” The hostess whispered as the last few seats were filled. Then she called out in a triumphant voice, “Welcome heroes, one and all, to ‘Ponder Ponies’, everypony’s favorite crime-fighting quiz show!” The audience whooped and stomped their hooves. “I’m Sundance, and this is my awesome co-host, Licorice Root!”
“Hi everybody!” Licorice waved to the audience, who applauded again.
“We’ve got some great prizes in store,” Licorice continued, “So if you think you know your magic lassos from your power bracelets, we want to hear from you! Do we have any volunteers?” Quibble’s hoof shot into the air, nearly knocking Wind Sprint out of her seat.
“Ooh, right here!” He cheered. “Me me me me me!”
“How about… you, in the front row? Come on up!” Licorice gestured to one of three podiums at the front of the room. Quibble sat at his podium, eyeing the big red button eagerly. “And you in the Saddle Rager hat, and… you, in the corner?” Licorice called up two more ponies from the crowd, who each claimed a podium next to Quibble. The other contestants introduced themselves, but Wind didn’t listen. She just wanted to get to the buckball game.
As the game reached its second round, Wind started to feel a little restless. How long had she been sitting there? Five minutes, ten, twenty? She glanced over at the Mane-iac plush, which seemed to mock her with its beady eyes and frozen, malicious grin. It wasn’t much, but in the absence of anything else to occupy her, Wind picked it up.
Hahaha, I’m so evil! She thought as she wiggled its hooves. I’m gonna take over the city! Wind cracked half a smile as she imagined Mane-iac building a hair-themed doomsday device and rampaging through Marewaukee.
“... And now for the Super Stumper Round!” Sundance finally announced, and Wind Sprint looked up curiously; Quibble was in second place, but only by a few points. “Aqua, Quibble and Tango, please grab the dry erase boards under your podiums.” The three contestants obliged, and uncapped their markers. “Here’s your question,” Licorice pressed a button, and read out the text that filled the projector screen. “Which censorship law, passed down by Princess Celestia herself, strongly impacted one Power Pony for six years? You have sixty seconds, starting… now!” A cheery jingle drifted out of the speakers, and the contestants screwed up their faces in thought. Quibble eagerly scribbled something down, then shook his head and erased it. Finally, the jingle ended, and the players looked up from their boards.
“Time’s up!” said Sundance. “Okay, super sleuths, let’s see what you’ve got.” The players each lifted their boards for Sundance to read. “‘Mistress Mare-velous was banned from kicking criminals…’ correct! Princess Celestia didn’t want to promote violence, so for six years, Mistress Mare-velous was only allowed to fight bad guys with her magic lasso and hooferangs!” Tango and Quibble beamed proudly, but Aqua shrugged; she had guessed ‘Saddle Rager could only rage against wendigos’.
“And with the final tally, it looks like our winner is… Quibble Pants!” Quibble stood up and waved to the crowd, who cheered and clapped.
“Nice job.” said Aqua. “That last question really stumped me.”
“It’s okay, you were great!” Quibble replied good-naturedly, and shook her hoof. “You remembered a few things that I’d forgotten, and believe me, that’s impressive!” Wind smiled and clapped as the players claimed their prizes; Aqua was given a full volume set of Power Ponies #1-6, Tango won a vinyl statuette of Radiance, and Quibble…
“Is that Akhal-Teke’s Amulet??” he gasped, draping the golden necklace around his neck. The audience ‘oohed’ and ‘aahed’, and even Wind Sprint, who had never read the comics, was impressed by the shield-shaped pendant. Realistic gems had been studded into the surface to create the silhouette of a rearing horse. Whoever Akhal-Teke was, he had a real sense of fashion!
“Wow, Quibble, you really are a Power Pony expert!” Wind Sprint cheered as they strolled down the hall. “So now we can go to buckball, right?”
“Yup, it’s just about-!” Quibble glanced down at his watch, and stopped dead in his tracks. “Uh oh.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh Wind, I’m so sorry, but…” Quibble showed her his watch. “It looks like the game just ended.” The excitement that had been bubbling in Wind’s chest instantly turned to ice.
“It’s… over? But… but you said we’d leave before buckball started.” She said, tears welling in her eyes. “You promised!”
“I did.” Quibble sighed. “I’m really, really sorry, Wind, I must’ve gotten caught up in the game, I didn’t know it was getting so late.”
“You promised!” Wind cried, and Quibble leapt back in surprise. “You knew I wanted to go to the buckball game, but you only cared about your… your dumb nerd games! And your stupid dolls!” She threw the Mane-iac plush at Quibble’s hooves. “I know Mom wanted us to bond and get along, but… I just wanna go home.” Quibble watched helplessly as tears streamed down Wind’s cheeks. It was a long time before he had the courage to speak up.
“Wind… I’m really sorry.” He sighed. “I wanted this trip to be special for both of us, but I should’ve listened to what you wanted, instead of just doing what I wanted.” He removed Akhal-Teke’s Amulet from around his neck and stuffed it into his saddle bag. It meant nothing to him anymore.
“Listen, Wind Sprint… can you do me one last favor? And then I promise, really promise that we’ll go home.” Wind looked up at him, still wiping the tears from her eyes. “I wanted to get an autograph from Mistress Mare-velous this weekend. Can you wait for me in Fillies’ Corner? It’ll only be a few minutes.”
“Yeah, okay.” Wind sighed. Quibble picked up the Mane-iac plush and led Wind into a brightly-decorated room, where a number of colts and fillies were coloring or playing board games with their parents.
“Excuse me, can my little girl stay here for a few minutes?” he asked a mare who was setting out coloring books and crayons. “I need to take care of something really quick.”
“Well… okay.” the mare said. “But please hurry back, the little ones aren’t supposed to be left here without their parents.” Wind Sprint didn’t seem to mind; she just climbed into a chair with her back to Quibble. Cautiously, Quibble set the Mane-iac plush down on the table next to Wind, who didn’t look up.
“Um… hey Wind, why don’t you draw a picture for your mom?” Quibble suggested. He opened a box of crayons and offered them to her, but she didn’t respond. “I’ll um, I’ll just leave these here. See you in a few minutes.” He walked out of the room, leaving Wind to stare at the box. After a long moment, she shrugged, selected a purple crayon and looked around for a blank piece of paper to draw on. She looked under the coloring books, around the board games, and even under the table, where an old piece of paper was half-pinned under a table leg.
“I guess this’ll do.” Wind sighed, and picked up the paper. For an instant, it seemed to glow, but as soon as she blinked, it looked like an ordinary piece of paper again. “Hm… now what should I draw?” She glanced over at the Mane-iac plush, and her eyes narrowed. That dumb old doll, with its goofy grin and wavy hair, the doll that Quibble cared about more than Wind herself. A moment’s consideration, and then Wind began scribbling away on the paper.
Quibble inched his way up the autograph line, but his heart wasn’t really in it. He couldn’t forget that dejected, betrayed look in Wind Sprint’s face.
“Hi, nice to meet you!” Quibble jumped, and realized that he had reached the front of the line, with Cloud “Mistress Mare-velous” Sweeper beaming up into his face. “What’s your name?”
“Huh? Oh, I’m Quibble Pants.” He said, with a forced smile. “It’s great to meet you, Miss Sweeper. I was really looking forward to meeting you.”
“Nice to meet you too!” She chirped. “Are you having a good time at the convention?”
“Yeah… mostly.” Quibble said. “But I don’t think I’ll be staying long. Something came up.”
“Oh well, that’s okay.” Cloud said. “Would you like a picture, an autograph, or a voice recording?” Before Quibble could answer, a tremendous crash, followed by a chorus of frightened screams echoed down the hall.
“What was that?” Cloud and Quibble gasped in unison. A trio of security guards ran into the room, looking disheveled.
“We need everyone to evacuate the hotel immediately!” the lead guard barked. “There’s been an accident in Fillies’ Corner.”
“Accident? Fillies’ Corner?” gasped Quibble. He shoved past the guards and galloped down the hallway as fast as his hooves could carry him. Cosplayers were screaming and running everywhere, stands were crushed beneath fallen rubble, but he didn’t care; he needed to find Wind Sprint. Finally, he arrived at Fillies’ Corner. The doors had been torn off their hinges, coloring books were scattered across the floor, and beneath an upended table, he saw a familiar plush.
“Wind!” Quibble lifted up the table and looked underneath, but Wind Sprint was nowhere in sight. Without thinking, he picked up the Mane-iac plush, stuffed it into his bag and left the room, still calling out for his stepdaughter.
“Wind Sprint? Wind Sprint, where are you?” He turned a corner into the entrance hall, and crashed into somepony. “Sorry, sorry.” He wheezed. “Have you seen-!” But as he looked up, Quibble froze. He had bumped into a tall, slender mare with a manic grin and hair that flicked and writhed like a forest of snakes. Her beady eyes glared at him curiously.
“M-Mane-iac?” Quibble squeaked, and the mare grinned. With a whip-like motion, one of her prehensile locks grabbed Quibble around the barrel and lifted him to her face.
“Oh, it’s always nice to meet an admirer!” She chuckled. “Well, little pony, since you’re so kind and clever, perhaps you could tell me where I am.” The hair began to tighten around Quibble’s barrel. “And quickly, please, I’m not very patient.” He could hardly think or speak; this was no cosplayer. Somehow, some way, this was the real Mane-iac.
“M-Marewaukee!” He gasped. “The Powercon convention in Marewaukee! Please, let me go!”
“Marewaukee?” Mane-iac looked confused. “Is that anywhere near Maretropolis?” Quibble whimpered as the hair drew ever-tighter. Just then, Mane-iac’s gaze flicked toward the crowd, where a trio of cosplayers were scrambling for the exit.
“Aha, the Power Ponies!” Mane-iac screamed with delight. “I was wondering when you’d make the scene!” Her mane dropped Quibble and grabbed the frightened fans, one in each tendril. They shrieked and thrashed, trying to escape, but Mane-iac just laughed.
“Oh, what’s the matter, Zapp?” She taunted the cosplayer with a lightning bolt necklace. “Did your little amulet finally lose its spark? And you, Fili-Second, Radiance?” She glanced at the other two. “You’re usually a lot harder to catch. You’re not even using your powers to fight back! It’s almost as if…” a flicker of comprehension crossed her face. She finally understood why the “heroes” weren’t fighting.
“You’ve lost your powers!” Mane-iac cackled, her voice echoing around the hall like an insane chorus. “Hahaha, oh, this is too perfect! I didn’t even need to use the Hairspray Ray of Doom on you! You meddlesome mares are out of my hair once and for all!” She whipped the screaming ponies through the air, and gleefully flung them across the room. They landed, somewhat softly onto a display of plushes, and stumbled toward the exit. “That’s right, heroes, run while you can!” Mane-iac boomed. “It won’t be long before this entire city falls before the magnificent mania of… THE MANE-IAC!! Hahahahaha!”
Fortunately for Quibble, Mane-iac was too busy monologuing to notice him sneaking away. He scrambled around a doorway, and cautiously peered out to watch Mane-iac’s next move.
“This is the dawn of my greatest triumph!” Mane-iac boasted. “Now that the Power Ponies are neutralized, nothing will stop me from building my greatest doomsday device ever! Marewaukee will be mine before nightfall!” She flipped her luxurious mane, and Quibble saw a dirty old piece of paper fall from one of her tendrils. As Mane-iac punched through a Power Ponies cardboard stand, her mane seized up, and she furrowed her brow.
“Ack-ah! What’s going on?” She gasped. “I feel… weak.” She stumbled, and stepped on the paper. Instantly, her mane flowed more smoothly, and her breathing eased up. Mane-iac glanced down at the paper, which seemed to glow in her grasp. “Hm… curious.” She mused. “I think I’ll hold onto this.” As Quibble watched, Mane-iac’s mane folded the paper into an origami tiara, and weaved it into the roots of her brow.
“Now then… I’ll need a place to serve as a temporary workshop. I’ll need lots of space, advanced technology…” Mane-iac scanned the area, finally settling upon the Mane Event hall. Two of her tendrils whipped out and tore the doors off as easily as plucking petals from a flower. “Yes, this should do nicely! Brace yourselves, Marewaukee! You’re in for a really bad hair day! Muahahahahahaha!” Mane-iac thundered as she stepped into the hall and out of sight.
Quibble stood frozen in shock for a full ten seconds. He didn’t know what was going on, or how to fix it… but then he remembered Wind Sprint, who was still lost and maybe hurt. Mane-iac could wait; right now he needed to find Wind. He followed the crowd down the hall, through the lobby and out into the chill autumn afternoon. A mob of cosplayers, security guards and staff members were gathered in a nearby park, so he ran across the street to join them.
“Excuse me?” He called out. “Excuse me, has anyone seen a little filly? She’s a pegasus with light purple fur, a pink streak in her mane…” A few ponies shook their heads or offered their condolences, but nopony seemed to know where Wind Sprint was. Quibble weaved and ducked through the crowd with his heart racing a mile a minute. If Wind Sprint wasn’t here, if she wasn’t safe… he couldn’t bear to think of the alternative.
“Wind Sprint!” He shouted above the chatter. “Wind Sprint, where are you?” And as he twitched his ears, he heard a tiny voice shouting his name back to him. “Excuse me, excuse me!” Quibble shoved through the crowd until he found Wind Sprint standing on a bench, with the mare from Fillies’ Corner sitting next to her.
“Quibble!” Wind cried. “Quibble, I was so scared…”
“It’s okay, Wind. I’m sorry I left.” Quibble said as he scooped her into a hug. Then he looked at her chaperone. “Thank you so much for keeping her safe. I’m sorry, if I knew this was going to happen, I never would have left her.”
“It’s okay,” said the chaperone. “I wasn’t about to leave her alone when there was a monster running around.”
“Yeah…” Quibble murmured, recalling the state of the Registration hall when Mane-iac had plowed through. “What happened back there, anyway? How did Mane-iac… come to life?”
“Well, that’s just it, I don’t know!” The mare gasped. “I was clearing up the board games when I heard Wind scream. I turned around, and that… thing was standing on the table, laughing at her. Then it ran down the hall and started smashing things, laughing as it went. So I grabbed Wind and carried her outside as fast as I could.” Wind Sprint sniffled and nodded up at Quibble.
“Would you… excuse us for a minute?” Quibble asked the chaperone, and pulled Wind Sprint aside. She seemed to be in shock, but she was gradually calming down, now that Quibble had returned.
“Wind, what happened?” Quibble asked. “I’m not mad,” he added hastily. “But what happened when Mane-iac showed up? Did you see anything… weird?”
Wind wiped her tears and took a few deep breaths before speaking.
“I… don’t know. I was gonna draw a picture for Mom, like you said, so I got an old piece of paper that I found under the table and drew a picture of Mane-iac. She was gonna take over the city with her ‘Mega-Mane Maker 6000’.”
Quibble’s heart skipped a beat. If Mane-iac was real, could her machine become real too? “What does the Mega-Mane Maker do?” he asked, trying to keep his voice steady. “Please, Wind, it’s important!”
“It was… gonna make her mane even bigger and stronger than before,” Wind continued. “So she could smash stuff and stop anypony who got in her way.”
“And then what happened?”
“I was gonna color her in, but then the paper started glowing, and she… stepped out of the page.” Wind whispered in frightful awe. “I thought she was going to hurt me, but then she saw… my doll.” She gestured to the Mane-iac plush poking out of Quibble’s saddle bag. “She smiled at me, said ‘you have good taste, little one’, and crawled out of the room on her crazy hair.”
“Well, good thing I bought that plush.” Just then, something clicked in Quibble’s mind. “Wait a minute. You drew Mane-iac on an old piece of paper?” Wind nodded.
“When Mane-iac was trashing the entrance hall, I saw a piece of paper fall out of her mane. She seized up, like she was in pain, and then turned the paper into a crown,” he recalled. “It must be some kind of magical paper, and as long as she’s touching it… she has physical form.”
“So if she loses her crown, she’ll go away?” Wind asked. “We should tell somepony! They could run up to Mane-iac and-!”
“I don’t know, it might not be that easy.” Quibble sighed dismissively. “The crown is surrounded by a hundred feet of flying hair, it’s her strongest position.”
“Well, maybe you can help.” Wind suggested. “You know about Mane-iac’s powers, don’t you know her weaknesses, too?” Quibble looked at her quizzically.
“Well… yeah, I guess so.” He said, shrugging in a so-so kind of way. “But what good would that do? I’m no superhero, I’m just a nerd. The closest I get to being a hero is when I dress up like one.” He sighed and hung his head, defeated. Wind opened her mouth, but she couldn’t think of anything to say, so she just patted Quibble on the back. He gave Wind a half-smile, and then honed in on something just beyond her vision.
“Wait a minute…” he whispered. “Dress up as a hero…”
“Huh?” Quibble leapt up, scooped Wind Sprint onto his back and marched purposely through the crowd.
“Wh-what’s going on?” Wind stammered. “Where are we going?”
“If we’re going to stop Mane-iac, we’ll need some professional help,” Quibble said. Finally, they stopped in front of Crackle's Cousin Cosplay, whose members were still wearing their beautiful Power Ponies costumes.
“Excuse me?” Quibble called out. “Could you guys do us a huge favor?” The team looked up curiously.
“Uh… maybe?” said the mare dressed as Masked Matter-Horn. “What do you need?”
“I think I know how to save Powercon, but I’ll need your help. We’re going to pull off the biggest superhero adventure ever.” The mares looked at each other with renewed interest.
“Oh, and… do you have an extra costume?” Quibble added sheepishly.
The hotel was no longer the center of fun and festivities that it had been that morning. The attendees were gone, the decorations were smashed, and the cheerful atmosphere had given way to a deep sense of foreboding. The only noises at all were a gentle industrial hum, and a steady chuckle echoing from the Mane Event hall.
The ballroom itself, once the heart of the convention, had been nearly ripped to shreds; chairs were carelessly piled against the walls, the lighting rigs had been torn down, and most of the electrical equipment had been repurposed into a curious device, rather like a salon dryer chair in the middle of the floor.
“Yes… Yes, excellent! The Mega-Mane Maker 6000 is almost complete!” Mane-iac chuckled as her mane bent wires and bits of scrap metal into position. “And with those pathetic Power Ponies out of the picture, nopony will stop me from gaining the most magnificent mane in Marewaukee! Muahahahaha!” With a final bit of soldering, the Mega-Mane Maker 6000 hummed to life, its dome flashing like a sinister disco ball. Mane-iac chuckled as she climbed into the chair and wound her mane into the glowing dome.
“Hahaha, yes, YES!!” She cackled. “I can feel the energy radiating through my follicles, stretching further, stronger than ever before! And soon, all of Marewaukee - no, the entire WORLD will be at the mercy of my massive, malicious mane! Mane-iac wins, by a hair! Muahahahahahaha… ha… haha…” Her laughter faded as she remembered that she was alone, and had nopony to monologue to. “Well, I guess I’ll save the gloating for later.”
But even as Mane-iac settled into her seat, the lights on the Mega-Mane Maker 6000 went dark, and its engine ground to a halt. That’s odd, Mane-iac thought. The process should have taken longer than that. Curiously, Mane-iac slipped one of her locks out of the dome and felt around the machine. There were no burns or loose wires, so her hair crept along the central power cable… which had been unplugged, and cleanly severed in two.
“What the-?” Mane-iac leapt out of her seat, her mane whipping and sparkling in outrage. “Who dares to stand between me and world domination?”
“Who else?” a voice called from the darkness. Mane-iac turned to face the stage, where a spotlight illuminated six costumed ponies. Masked Matter-Horn, Saddle Rager, Mistress Mare-velous, Fili-Second, Radiance and Zapp, better known as…
“Power Ponies??” Mane-iac gasped. “I thought I scared you off when you lost your powers! What are you doing here?”
“We’re putting a stop to your hair-brained scheme, Mane-iac!” Mistress Mare-velous exclaimed. She was brandishing a set of heavy-duty bolt cutters, with which she had severed the power cable. “Your mane is plenty powerful enough.”
“And you didn’t scare us off,” Saddle Rager chimed in. “We went to call in our new ally: Horse Sense, the All-Knowing!” The team parted to let another pony step forward; a stallion wearing an orange suit and cowl, with a crudely painted brain icon on his brow. Mane-iac was surprised, but hardly impressed.
“All-Knowing?” she scoffed. “A little pretentious, don’t you think? And it doesn’t matter how many ‘friends’ you call in,” Her mane rose high above her head, waving like a green inferno. “Without your powers, you’ll fall like an un-moussed shag cut! Hahahahaha!” Her hair rained down on the Power Ponies, but they nimbly leapt off the stage (except Horse Sense, who fell on his face) and surrounded Mane-iac. As soon as Horse Sense regained his bearings, he fastened a headset to his cowl and pressed the button.
“Zapp, Saddle Rager, to the sky!” His voice boomed from a small amplifier taped to his chestplate. “And Matter-Horn, around the back! Just like we planned!” The two pegasi took to the air, flying in great looping patterns around the ceiling. Mane-iac lashed out at them, but her mane got tangled in the chandeliers.
“Grr… you can’t evade me forever, you flapping fools!” She growled. “And as for you…” With a whip-like motion, one of Mane-iac’s thick green locks grabbed Mistress Matter-Horn, ensnaring her from head to hoof.
“Ha! I’ve got you in my crosshairs now, Matter-Horn!” Mane-iac cackled, gleefully squeezing her nemesis. Just then, Mistress Mare-velous galloped over, pulled a pair of hair dryers from her belt and blasted the tendril with a fiery gale.
“Wait, what are you doing?” Mane-iac gasped. The hairs cracked, split and loosened.
“We came prepared, ya’ shampoo psycho!” Mare-velous jeered as she pulled Matter-Horn free. Together, the mares grabbed the lock of hair and flicked it like a whip, sending a shockwave that snapped Mane-iac’s head back.
“Agh! How are you actually putting up a fight? You’re all powerless!”
“Yeah, so was Captain Caballo!” Horse Sense shouted as he ran past. “But he still trimmed you down before you could steal the Palomino Peridot!”
“I-what?” Mane-iac’s jaw dropped. How did he know about that battle? There had been no witnesses… Was Horse Sense really all-knowing?
“He... he just got a lucky shot, that's all!” Mane-iac lashed out at Horse Sense, missing by several inches. “My terrible tresses and keen intellect are unstoppable!”
“I don't know, you seem pretty stoppable to me. In fact, plenty of heroes have put you in your place.” Mane-iac stared at him with a mixture of disbelief and rage. “There was Fleet Fetlock, Druidon, the Power Ponies, of course... and you could never live it down.”
“Quiet!” Mane-iac snarled. She tried to strike him again, to no avail; Fili-Second and Radiance had sneaked around behind her, and were binding her loathsome locks in a huge net.
“You've always been obsessed with being the best, ever since beauty school.” Horse Sense persisted. “You built a hair care empire, created the most innovative hair care products...”
“I said be quiet!” Mane-iac pressed her hooves to her ears, but his grating voice still echoed in her mind. Her mane thrashed and glowed with fury.
“... But it was never enough. Face it, Chignon Du Con, that experimental shampoo didn't make you crazy. it just enhanced the maniac you always were.”
“ENOUGH!!” Mane-iac’s hair burst free of the net and pinned everypony to the walls. She looked more unhinged than ever; her eyes twitched, her teeth were bared, and the origami tiara sat lopsided in her overworked mane. She glared around the room, and then stalked over to Horse Sense, covering his mouth with one of her tresses.
“I don’t know how you know all those things,” She hissed. “But it doesn’t matter. All the secrets in the world can’t save you now.” She chuckled, and raised her voice so that everyone could hear her. “You’ve gotten pretty far without your powers, Power Ponies, but I still won! Now, I’m going to drag you all down to the cellar and lock you inside. By the time you’ve puzzled your way out, I’ll have fixed my Mega-Mane Maker 6000 and obtained the most powerful mane in the world!! Ooh, doesn’t that make your hair stand on end?” She cackled triumphantly, and then leaned in to sneer at Horse Sense.
“Any last words, mister know-it-all?” She chuckled. Horse Sense mumbled something through a mouthful of hair.
“I - I’m sorry, what?” Mane-iac loosened the hair around his mouth.
“Made you look.” Horse Sense croaked. Before Mane-iac could react, something small and purple zoomed between them.
“What the-?” As she looked around, a familiar paralyzing pain coursed through her body. She instinctively grasped her brow, and felt… nothing but hair. Some little purple pony was running off with her tiara!
“Great job, Nimbus Girl!” Horse Sense shouted. “Now quick, change the story!” Mane-iac dropped Horse Sense and the Power Ponies and charged after the fleeing filly, who dodged over and around her grasping tresses. Mane-iac thundered across the hall, her head throbbing as the filly climbed onto the stage, unfolded the paper and pulled a crayon from her saddle bag.
“… And the Power Ponies saved the day!” The filly announced as she scribbled a final note onto the page. She winced as Mane-iac leapt toward her, the snake-like mane inches from her face… but the blow never landed. For an instant, Mane-iac stood rigid, and then her eyes traveled down to the page, which was slowly pulling her mane into its ancient depths.
“No… NO!!” Mane-iac screamed. “I was so close!” She planted her hooves and held onto the lighting rig, but it did little good; most of her mane and tail had been drawn into the page, and her legs were close behind. “I’ll get you next time, Power Ponies! Next time!” Mane-iac howled. “And YOU, little pony…” she glared at Nimbus Girl. “I don’t care who you are, I’ll get even with you… and I’m not just splitting hairs!” She swung a hoof at Nimbus Girl, knocking her mask off. In an instant, Mane-iac’s vengeful rage was replaced with utter shock.
“Sorry, Mane-iac,” Wind Sprint proudly proclaimed. “But you’re hair today, gone tomorrow!” She glanced over at Horse Sense, who nodded approvingly at the pun. But Mane-iac didn’t listen; she recognized Wind. The first pony she’d seen after stepping out of that page, who Mane-iac had spared because she liked her doll. And now here she stood, the pony who had ultimately thwarted her plan for world domination.
“Heh…” Mane-iac chuckled. And once begun, she couldn’t stop. “Ha ha ha… HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!” She fell over, kicking her hooves even as she was dragged into the page. Her tail disappeared, then her barrel, forelegs and head, and finally, her ever-cackling muzzle was sucked into nothingness. An instant of silence, and then the crayon scribbles flaked and flew away like golden dust.
“Wind… you did it!” Horse Sense gasped as he climbed onto the stage and removed his cowl. It was Quibble Pants, naturally, and he looked down at his stepdaughter with a renewed sense of pride.
“No, we did it.” Wind noted. “We all did.” Crackle's Cousin Cosplays approached the stage and removed their masks. They looked tired, but triumphant.
“Oh man, that was the toughest show we’ve ever played.” Saddle Rager groaned.
“I’ll never complain about spending six hours in a ballgown again,” said Radiance.
“I don’t know, I thought it was kinda fun!” Filli-Second giggled.
“Thank you all so much for your help.” Quibble said as he shook hooves with the team. “We couldn’t have done it without you.”
“And we couldn’t have done it without you, either.” Matter-Horn said with a smile. “You’re a real mastermind.” She pulled off her wig and, much to Quibble’s surprise, her horn.
“Wait, you’re not a unicorn?“ He gasped. “But I thought-?”
“No, I’m just an earth pony.“ She chuckled. “But you don’t need wings or magic, or even laser eyes to be a hero. You just need courage.” Quibble couldn’t help but smile.
“Hey, maybe we should continue this after-school special outside?” Zapp cut in. “This place looks like a hydra’s playground.” They all glanced around at the mangled wallpaper, smashed windows and various debris, and quickly made for the exit.
“Just to be clear, you’re saying that the hotel has been taken over by a… crazy supervillain with living hair? You’re sure it’s not just a fan with a generous costume budget?”
“Captain Thunder, I know what I saw! And we have dozens of eyewitnesses who can confirm. I don’t know how, but she’s the real deal.”
“Okay, okay, just making sure. All right, grunts, prepare to breach! And carefully, we’re going for an indirect approach.” Captain Thunder and his soldiers threw open the hotel’s front doors and rushed up the stairs, but before they got very far, they ran into a second team of ponies, who were wearing much brighter outfits.
“Wait, wait, we surrender!” squeaked Quibble. The soldiers exchanged confused looks.
“Who are you? And what are you doing here?” Thunder demanded.
“I - I’m Quibble Pants, this is Wind Sprint, and these are Crackle's Cousin Cosplays.” Wind Sprint and the mares nodded. “We sneaked in to stop Mane-iac ourselves. And… we stopped her?” He ended, lamely.
“Hm… come downstairs with me. The rest of you, check the situation upstairs.” Thunder made a gesture, and the soldiers marched off. Meanwhile, Quibble and the team were led outside with their hearts in their throats. How were they going to explain what happened, and not get arrested for it?
“What’s going on?” Libby Roars and Lucky Hops rushed over to the Captain as the ponies stepped outside. “Were they captured by Mane-iac?”
“Well, these ponies claim that they ‘stopped her’.” Thunder scoffed.
“Miss Roars, it’s true!” Wind Sprint stepped forward, holding up the magical page. “I was in Fillies’ Corner, and I found this weird piece of paper. I drew a picture of Mane-iac on it, and she… came to life.” Libby lifted the page in her magical aura and examined it curiously.
“Yeah, and I asked Crackle's Cousin Cosplay to help us sneak inside and stop Mane-iac.” Quibble added. “We convinced her that we were the real Power Ponies, and-!”
“Wait.” Everypony turned to look at Fizzy Glitch. Her face was pale, and her eyes were as wide as saucers. Without a word, she took the page in her own glittering aura and pulled it close to her face. “Oh Celestia, this is all my fault.”
“Your fault? What do you mean, Fizzy?” With shaking hooves, Fizzy opened her folder and revealed several musty old pages, very similar to the first.
“I… got a mysterious package in the mail the other day,” Fizzy admitted. “It was this really old magic book, and some of the pages fell out when I was setting up for the convention. I thought I’d grabbed them all, but…” She looked back at the missing page with tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry, everypony. This is all my fault. None of this would have happened if I’d been smarter, or more careful, or just… better.” Fizzy hung her head, but looked up as Lucky laid a hoof on her shoulder.
“Fizzy, it’s okay.” He said in a gentle voice. “It was just an accident. This convention has been a huge undertaking, and we’ve all had a hard time keeping stuff together. But you can always trust Libby and I to help you out.”
“Well… yeah, I guess so.” Fizzy sniffled and wiped her snout. “Thanks, Lucky.”
“The important thing is that Mane-iac was stopped, the page was found, and everything’s back to normal.” Quibble and the others groaned and shuffled their hooves embarrassedly. “Well, at least nopony got badly hurt. We’ll, uh, assess the damage later.” He cleared his throat, grasped Fizzy’s folder and slid the missing page inside. “How about we keep these pages in a safe place for now?” Fizzy nodded.
“So… are we in trouble?” asked Quibble.
“Well, that was a pretty risky venture, sneaking into the hotel and taking on a supervillain on your own.” Captain Thunder interjected. “But you pulled it off, and saved the city. Princess Twilight and her friends couldn’t have done much better. So I guess I’ll leave it up to these three.” He motioned to Lucky, Libby and Fizzy.
“Quibble, Crackle’s Cousin, and… Quibble’s daughter,” Libby began, stepping forward. “You saved our convention and our attendees. And in my eyes, that makes you the biggest heroes Powercon has ever seen!”
“I couldn’t agree more!” Lucky chimed in, and with a unified wave of their horns, eight gilded tickets appeared out of thin air and floated to Quibble, Wind and the members of Crackle's Cousin Cosplays. “So as a way of saying ‘thank you’, we’d like to invite you to join our Guests of Honor for a special dinner. How does that sound?”
“I-incredible!” Quibble laughed. “Thank you, thank you all!” He smiled down at Wind, and came up with an idea. “Oh, hey, Mr. Hops?”
“Please, call me Lucky.”
“Well Lucky, could I ask for one more favor?” Lucky tilted his head curiously. “My daughter, Wind Sprint, really wanted to go to the buckball game this afternoon, but I… wasn’t able to get her there. Could we maybe have one more buckball game for her?” Lucky smiled.
“Yeah, that might be possible. But the Crackle’s Cousin team is in charge of the buckball games, you’d have to ask them.”
“Are you kidding?” Matter-Horn laughed. “It’s the least we can do for our new friends, and the bravest little hero.” Wind Sprint beamed proudly. “We’ll hold it in the ballroom first thing tomorrow. Or um,” She amended. “We’ll hold it in the smaller ballroom next to the lobby. Does that sound good?” Quibble and Wind nodded happily.
“That sounds perfect. And thank you all, for everything.” The team smiled back. “... Oh hey, would you guys excuse us for a minute?” Quibble pulled Wind aside, and knelt down to her eye level. “Hey Wind, I’m really sorry for messing up your fun and not listening to what you wanted to do at the con. If you don’t want to hang out with me again, I understand.”
“Are you kidding? This was the most fun I’ve ever had!” Wind laughed. “We got to fight a monster and save the day, just like Princess Twilight and her friends! Thanks, Quibble.” She hugged him around the foreleg, and he smiled.
“Oh hey, I almost forgot!” Quibble reached into his saddle bag and pulled out Wind’s Mane-iac plush.
“Oh! But she looks all clean. How did you…?”
“Never underestimate a nerd’s ability to keep his merchandise safe.” Quibble chuckled. “If you want, we can take her back to Plushes by Primrose and see about exchanging her for that Filli-Second plush you wanted. I’m sure Primrose will understand.”
“Yes, please.” Wind Sprint smiled. “What can Filli-Second do, anyway? I want to know all about the Power Ponies.” Quibble gave his biggest and brightest smile yet.
“Oho, you’ve asked the right pony! Well, Filli-Second is the fastest pony alive! She can run to the Crystal Empire and back again before you can say ‘cupcakes’! And Masked Matter-Horn is the leader of the team. She can fire elemental beams from her horn, like ice and light and stuff. Then there’s Radiance, she has these magical bracelets that can make any tools she can imagine! And Saddle Rager…”
THE END