Anyone can be a Superhero
"Somewhere, in our darkest night, we made up the story of a man who will never let us down."
--Grant Morrison
I can do this! Snails yelled inside his head. Drops of sweat were visible streaming down from his brow, and he grinded his teeth with all the force his young body could muster. His eyes were completely shut, not only so that he could concentrate better, but also to stop his determination from melting away into the watchful eyes of his classmates.
The reason behind this was the yellow glow atop of his horn, which would grow brighter or diminish on uneven intervals. All of Snails’ classmates, and even Miss Cheerilee, watched with wide eyes and completely silence as he tried his hardest to make this work. All save for two fillies, Diamond Tiara and SIlver Spoon, who instead had their hooves covering their mouths on an attempt to hide their laughter.
After some time, the glow began to get weaker and weaker. On the other hand, Snails’ breathing got heavier and heavier alongside his heart beat that grew more and more. Until it was too much, and the glow completely disappeared followed by Snails opening his eyes and taking a deep breath.
“I’m sorry, Miss Cheerilee. I couldn’t do it,” Snails said, not even bothering to look at Cheerilee, instead he had his fixed on the school’s wooden floor.
“It’s okay, Snails. I’m sure that if you continue practicing you will be able to do this spell,” Cheerilee responded while smiling at him.
“Thanks,” Snails mumbled before going back to his chair.
The moment he sat down, Diamond Tiara voice could be heard as she spoke a bit more louder than she should. “So not only we have a pegasus that can’t fly, we also have a unicorn that can barely do any magic.” This caused Diamond Tiara and SIlver Spoon to laugh, and Snails to find the floor even more interesting.
“Hey, Snails.”
Snails turned his head and looked at the one calling him, his friend Snips. “Don’t be like that,” Snips continued. “You almost did it this time! You only need some more practice.”
Seeing Snips smile and hearing his words caused a small smile to appear on Snails face.
“Yeah!”
Snails looked back and saw that Featherweight was the one that said it. “My big brother always tell me that if you want to be good at something you need to practice constantly!”
The excitement on Featherweight’s eyes caused the Snails’ smile to widen a bit. But even then, the dull color of his eyes and the way his ears flopped to the side of his head still overran his smile, keeping on him a image of total defeat.
The rest of the class went completely unnoticed by Snails, with Cheerilee’s words failing to reach him. Even when his friends tried to talk to him, he would just continue to keep his head down staring at nothing.
It was only when the school’s bell rang, announcing the end of school for today, that Snails awoke from trance. But even then, he was only half awake. He continued to stare at the ground even when walking. At least now he could hear his friends.
“Hey, Snails. How about we go to my home? I have the new board game from Unicorns of the Coast. You know, the one with the Diamond Dogs?” Snips said as he walked beside Snails.
“No, thanks,” Snails responded in a barely audible tone. “I think I’m gonna go straight home, sorry.”
“Nah, it’s okay. Just don’t let what happened today bring you down. I know that one day you’re gonna be a very powerful unicorn.” Snips had big grin as he said that, and his eyes were filled with enthusiasm. Enthusiasm that managed to rub off on Snails causing him to smile wide.
“Thanks, Snips.”
“Hey, Snails,” a feminine voice called him.
Both Snips and Snails turned around and saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders walking towards them. Scootaloo leading them.
“Hi, Scootaloo,” they said at the same time. Snails, of course, with a little less energy.
“We just want to say that you should ignore those two,” Scootaloo started.
“Yeah! You shouldn’t take to heart what bad ponies say about you. At least that’s what my sister and brother told me,” Applebloom continued.
“And don’t let what they said about you make you sad. My sister once told me that we shouldn’t get down when we mess up, but instead learn from it and become better ponies!” Sweetie Belle finished with her energy filled voice.
The smile on Snails’ face now spread from ear to ear. “Thanks, you three. You’re the best friends a pony could ask for.”
“Hey! What about me!?” Featherweight exclaimed in the distance.
“You too, Featherweight!” Snails exclaimed back, causing them to laugh for a moment. “Well, I still gonna go home. See you guys tomorrow,” he said before walking away from them.
And in the distance, four ponies could be heard saying the same word at the same time. “Bye!”
Inside Golden Oaks Library, dozen of books laid scattered through its wooden floor, as if a tornado had found its way inside the library. On the epicenter of this disaster of libraric proportions was Twilight Sparkle and her assistant Spike.
“I think I’ve done it!” Twilight exclaimed, lifting her head from the open book that laid at her hooves. “With this the range and power of your normal teleportation spell will be increased exponentially!”
“Are you sure?” Spike asked with an skeptical tone. “Because last time, we had to fight off a bunch of grundies.”
“Don’t worry, Spike. I’m sure this time. No more encounters with the undead. Or whatever those things were.”
“I hope so. I just finished cleaning the library.”
Before they started, Spike grabbed a few pillows, some duct tape, a hard helmet, a red safety goggles. Combining all these things together he created a invincible armor that would protect him from any crazy nonsense that would be unleashed this time.
Spike put the goggles on, snapped his neck and fingers, and gave a determined look to no one in particular.
“Are you ready?” Twilight asked with an amused face from Spike’s antics.
Spike responded with a thumbs-up and a even more determined look.
“Okay. Here goes nothing!” Twilight then closed her eyes and began concentrating.
A small white light appeared atop of Twilight’s horn. In an instant, it expanded in a blinding light that covered the entire inside of the library with the color white.
“Ha! I knew these goggles would come in hand! How do you like them apples?!” Spike exclaimed as he smiled with defiance at the not-so-blinding light.
And as quickly as the light devoured the library, it completely disappeared.
Twilight opened her eyes and Spike took out his goggles. Both of them looked around the library searching for anything of unusual. When they found nothing, they looked at each other and Spike shrugged.
“I don’t get it,” Twilight said, her eyes returning to the book she was reading. “My calculations were flawless...” Her voice had a hint of sadness on it, and her face had a look that Spike had seen many times before.
“Oh, come on, Twilight!” Spike said, walking closer to her. “Look at the bright side! No grundies or unspeakable horrors either! I’m sure this spell just needs a little bit more work.”
Spike gave Twilight a wide smile, which Twilight immediately reciprocated with a smile of her own.
“Thanks, Spike. I don’t know where I would be without you.”
“Probably still fighting those Grundies. Speaking of that, I cleaned that mess, you can take care of this one.” Spike pointed to all the books that were on the floor.
“Of course,” Twilight responded while rolling her eyes.
Snails held his head high as he walked through the dusty streets of Ponyville. His usual smile back to his face thanks to his friend’s words that now ringed inside his ears.
But, with every step he took, his smile faded little by little. And the voice of his friends gradually disappeared, at the same time that Diamond Tiara’s voice grew inside him.
‘So not only we have a pegasus that can’t fly, we also have a unicorn that can barely do any magic.’
“He is so slow that it must take an entire day for him to get a joke.”
“As if somepony like you could ever join the Royal Guard.”
“You’re just a useless pony. Even those blank flanks are better than you.”
Snails’ eyes once again looked only at the ground at the ground, and his smile was completely gone.
While his body continued to walk, his mind was bound to not only Diamond Tiara’s words, but also to his own thoughts. Maybe she’s right. I’m a good for nothing that can’t even do magic right.
It was at that moment, when those words filled his mind, that his vision of the ground was covered by what looked like a book.
Snails blinked a few times to make sure he wasn’t seeing thing, and then he lowered his head to take a better look at it.
The cover showed a man, who was wearing a red cape with a golden ‘S’ on it, sitting atop of a cloud overlooking the city below while the sun rose in the distance. The strange creature, combined with the scenery, eliminated the previous thoughts from Snails’ mind, replacing them with a curiosity that was clearly shown into his eyes.
What is this book? And why would somepony leave it here?
Snails grabbed the book with his magic and took it off the ground. With another look at the cover, Snails read what he assumed was the title. “All-Star Superman?” he said aloud. “Who’s Superman?”
Snails opened the book, and by looking at its first page he realised that it wasn’t a book, but actually a comic-book. This is a comic-book? Cool! Snails proceeded to read the page.
The page only had four panels, each with a single caption.
‘Doomed Planet’, showing a red landscape where lava flowed through its surface while a city could been seen on the distance.
‘Desperate Scientists’, a couple holding each other close while looking at something far away, their expression filled with worry.
‘Last Hope’, a vessel traveling through space as an explosion behind it spreads countless debris.
‘Kindly Couple’, two people looking down at something, their eyes filled with surprise and wonder.
The vagueness and simplicity of the page made the curiosity inside Snails grow even more. With a smile on his face Snails turned the page, and the image that his eyes saw made them widen, and caused his smile to be substituted by open jaw that failed to come up with any words.
The next two pages combined to show one big picture. On it there was that same man that was on the cover. Behind him only the color yellow that depicted the sun in all his magnitude. But what robbed Snails from any words wasn’t the sun, but that man. Flying through the immense yellow without any wings while his red cape flapped behind him; his body covered in a blue mesh that had a red ‘S’ on his chest; and his face, a face that showed an invincible determination that not even Discord or Nightmare Moon could break.
And was at that moment that Snails previous question was answered, he was Superman, and he was larger than life.
Returning to reality, Snails closed the comic-book and sprinted away. On his face a giant grin, and his eyes sparkling with the pure excitement of someone that found something that they had been looking for a long time.
I can’t wait to get home and read this! Snails thought as he ran.
“Dad, I’m home!” Snails exclaimed, closing the masterfully carved wooden door behind him.
Entering his home, Snails was met by the usual sight of his father seating on their couch and reading his favorite book.
Snails’ father had a beige coat that almost completely mixed with the couch. While the book covered his face, his horn and part of his blue mane could still be seen.
“Welcome home, son,” he responded, his eyes not leaving the pages of ‘Raven’s Last Hunt’ even for a second.
“Well… I’m just gonna go to my room. I have some homework to do, you know?”
Snails walked with small steps in the direction on the passageway on the left. His eyes continually darted between his dad and the comic-book that floated by his side.
The moment he entered the kitchen area, his eyes went from the comic-book to the yellow bag of potatoes chips that sat atop of the counter. A yellow aura immediately enveloped the bag and gently floated it to Snails. There’s nothing better in life than reading a comic-book while eating some chips. he thought with satisfied smile. The smile expanded even more once Snails read what flavor the chips were. Oh, spicy! My favorite!
Done with that, Snails put his best serious face and turned back to the passageway. Drops of sweat appeared on Snails brow as he approached it. Just a few more steps and he was free...
“Wait a minute.” Snails’ dad lowered his book and turned his head to look at his son. “Where’s Snips?”
“Uh… eh… he’s…” Snails’ eyes frantically shifted left and right as he tried to come up with an answer. He was so immersed into it, that he completely forgot to hide the comic.
“What’s that you have there?”
“It’s a comic-book.”
“And where did you find it?”
Come on, Snails, lie to him! He’s your father, the most kind and gentle pony in all of Equestria. I little lie wouldn't hurt.
“I… I found it.” Dammit!
“Found where?”
“On the street. It was laying there so I took it. I even looked around to see if anyone had drop it, but I found none.”
“Snails, you can’t just take things from the street. Listen, some poor colt probably drop it and now he is looking for it. We are going to take this comic-book and give to those two ponies that help others. They probably know what to do.”
“But…”
“No buts! How would you like if somepony found something yours and didn’t gave it back?”
“But I already started reading it! Can’t I finished then give it back?” Snails stared at his father with the most adorable face he could muster: his black eyes shined like two obsidians, his ears folded to the side of his head, and his mouth was in the form of a quivering pout.
Snails’ dad stared back at his son with a look that had the intensity of a thousand suns. But the long he stared, the intensity died out little by little, until he was just a shivering mess covered in sweat.
“Okay,” he said after letting out a defeating sigh. Snails beamed at this. “But, you finished this comic today; tomorrow I’m taking it to them.”
“Okay! Thanks, dad!” Snails exclaimed with a big smile before zooming to his room.
Once Snails went to his room, his dad wiped the sweat out of his face. “Wow, that was hard. I think he’s spending too much time with that Fluttershy mare… But anyway, where was why…” He floated the book back to the front of his face and returned to reading it. “They say my mother was insane,” he read aloud.
“Yeah? Well, I don’t need magic. Because different from you two, I have a good heart, and more than just one friend! And I don’t make other ponies cry just for fun!”
“Dude! That was awesome! You’re like a real hero!” Snips exclaimed as loud as his little lungs could allow him, while at the same time throwing his hooves up in the air.
“Nah,” Snails responded with just a simple smile. “Not like a hero. Like a superhero.”
"If one of the unarguable criteria for literary greatness is recognition, consider this: In all of the history of literature, there are only five fictional creations known to every man, woman, and child on the planet. The urchin in Irkutsk may never have heard of Hamlet, the peon in Pernambuco may not know who Raskolnikov is; the widow in Jakarta may stare blankly at the mention of Don Quixote or Micawber or Jay Gatsby. But every man, woman, and child on the planet knows Mickey Mouse, Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan, Robin Hood... and Superman. He is more than the fanciful daydream of two Cleveland schoolboys. He is the 20th-century archetype of mankind at its finest. He is courage and humanity, steadfastness and decency, responsibility and ethic. He is our universal longing for perfection, for wisdom and power used in the service of the human race. Of all the literary creations of American fiction, Superman, after all these years, born of a 'dispensable, disreputable' genre, is the only one that seems certain to get Posterity's nod. And that is because, simply put, he is our highest aspirations in human form. "
--Harlan Ellison
