Mane-iac's Return

by Art Inspired

Rating: teen
Tags: Power Ponies, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Alternate Universe, Original Character, Comedy, Tragedy, Mane-iac, Adventure
Length: 11960

She made a mess of things. It took two whole gallons of calming gel just to lock her up. Unfortunately, Arkhoof Asylum had another inmate who'd been waiting for her own chance at revenge. Maretropolis had more than just one nut to worry about.

The last thing Mane-iac could remember before being knocked out by the electric currents coursing through her body, though mostly her mane and coat was the sight of her now most hated enemies trotting away in victory. Before, they were of little concern to her, but with her plans utterly foiled, Mane-iac's new intentions turn to the six meddlesome mares and Hum-Drum, that single, scrawny little dragon of theirs. However, even he would need to be watched closely, especially after seeing what that twerp can do. The rest of the event played out in her mind as darkness, save for a few moments of alertness when she saw the familiar gates she'd been locked away behind so many times before.

The two guards who'd been carrying her could've sworn they heard the mad mare say, "It's... good to be home again..."

Published 2014-01-07 21:20:02 UTC
Last updated 2014-07-28 16:21:26 UTC

Part One: The Frying Pan

“So, make all the manes in the city go wild, eh?”

She’d heard this question far too many times. How long had she been there? Time seems to speed up, and then slow down suddenly when one’s in an asylum, or if they might be truly crazy. Unfortunately for Mane-iac, she was both bonkers and locked up in a tiny room, all by herself. Well, not entirely all by herself.

Whoever must’ve built her cozy little home just so happened to be kind enough to also craft a window just big enough for one to speak through, and maybe peek into if they were desperate enough to see somepony other than themselves in the broken, rotting mirror for once. To Mane-iac, actually, that was the only thing keeping her mentally mad.

Her room was just as she liked it. Green, ivy-like drawings done by her mouth with crayons circled the walls completely, making her feel like she was in a cocoon of her own mane. It was a good substitute, seeing as how the real deal was wrapped up in an ultra scrunchy. They even had to go to great lengths and use her very own hair spray on her once a day.

Her neighbor, a new girl that got in for a stabbing had been pestering her all evening. Mane-iac was normally open to talking with somepony as long as they didn’t carry on, and she had to start the conversation. Instead, the moment this newbie gets in, she finds the hole and says, “Hey, wanna talk?!”

After that, the green maned psycho started ignoring the wall that was trying to speak with her. Besides, her daily spraying was coming up pretty soon here. They both heard the guards outside enter the halls, one of them saying, “B13,” which was Mane-iac’s cell number.

“Quick! Just tell me,” the inmate pleaded. “What chemical made you like this?”

That got her attention easily. Sharply looking over and finally seeing those lustrous, deep blue eyes, she huffed, “How…?”

“Never mind,” The boggy eyed mare said. “You fell into a batch of hair chemicals, and it made you go mad, right?”

“Y-yes…” She was cautious, but for some reason, she also felt like she could trust this pony, whoever she was.

“What was the chemical called?”

Gulping with a twitching eyebrow, Mane-iac said, “Conditioner extract for extra strengthened batches…”

Her doors opened, and the bulky stallions shadowed in blackness grabbed her roughly, yanking her out of the room. Unlike so many times where she’d be afraid and struggle, or not care and howl like a banshee, this time, she was used to it. She didn’t care, and allowed them to drag her off for the torture chamber, or as they liked to call it, the treatment center.

She’d been there enough to learn that if she didn’t struggle, it wouldn’t hurt as much. Still, when she stopped showing such resilience, the forces tried their best to keep her on edge. They’d change their tactics again and again, but no matter what they did, shortly after her fourth month, she just wouldn’t react to their name calling, or even anything seriously physical, though that wasn't really all that devastating before she basically gave up on resisting. It was no secret they liked to drive the ill-minded to the brim. That, and insulting the inmates while patrolling by their cells were their favorite activities.

It must’ve been over a hundred times Mane-iac had been in this room, where she’d be strapped down and numbed up with shots. Everything else went by quickly after that. It almost made her feel sane, something she was beginning to despise more and more. One of the usual scum that spat at the ground she walked on didn’t even try to get a response from her as he strapped each mane lock in.

Perhaps, she would be ready to resume a normal, boring life again, like she once did before all this excitement struck her life. What kind of an existence was that, anyway? To her, being one with reality was to truly be mad, not the other way around. “We all set?” the voice on the com asked. He was shielded by a two way mirror.

“All good on our end,” the locker said as though he wasn’t phased by his daily job at all.

Mane-iac’s head was put flat down on a table that resembled something one might see at a spa, though this one was mode out of worn wood with tattered bloodstains on the ridges from previous ponies being wrestled into this thing and being treated in whatever manner the superiors saw fit. It wasn’t at all comfy, but it was better, at least, now that they started giving her the pain killers. Before, she’d have to earn them by taking their humiliation.

After so long of simply giving up the fight, so did her holders. There was nothing left for them to do to her that wouldn’t bring about some emotion, like anger or fear. Now, instead of that insane, silly glare she always gave, her eyes were blank. She even smiled less and less as more and more hope slipped away from the tips of her hooves with every passing day.

The jolt hit her spine sharply, but it felt like a friendly pressure now. For fifteen minutes, they would make sure to get almost every inch of her chaotic mane thoroughly doused in that gunk. All they could do after that, though, was hope it stuck. More than not, it did, but stories loomed around. “What if it doesn’t work today?” More questions like that were frequent, too.

While her very own instrument of mane destruction was used on her, she wondered how the outside was doing. It’d been almost five whole months since her defeat. What new villains had taken her place, if any at all?

If one were to look in through the opposite side of the mirror, he or she would see what looked like the lifeless corpse of the once proud, masterminded menace to the city getting her mane done up yet again. It would’ve been a pitiful picture to behold, and that’s why Mane-iac’s savior was happy she could bring some life into the situation. After all, she killed somepony to get in and save Mane-iac in the first place. She wanted a show before packing up and heading out.

The others wouldn’t even notice the noise coming from the other room thanks to the loud spraying sounds ringing in their ears. On the other side, a mare Mane-iac would’ve recognized had she seen her through the mirror stood next to the control panel, and flicked the switch for the air vents.

They slid open directly next to their hooves while a lively mist dodged them by, and reached Mane-iac’s nostrils first. Her head was, after all, closest to the ground, and she got a good five minutes worth of sniffing toxins that would ultimately be everypony else’s doom that was in the room with her. The lead doctor turn off the automated sprayer, and said, “Alright…”

He held up some scissors with his magic towards the edge of Mane-iac’s single loose strand. “What’re you…?” The others didn’t share his enthusiasm.

“Anyone take up chop shop in high school?” He looked from the thread of hair to his fellow doctors, restrainers and nurses. “Always wanted a lock of Mane-iac’s hair…”

He stopped for a moment, the handle bars that held one of her tentative, power-active appendages had moved an inch, but he wasn’t that worried even though he should’ve been. Right at that time, the chemicals were hitting Mane-iac’s brain, and hard.

She gave a startling jump, straining for a bit, but then relaxed before everypony. They all stared at her, frowning, and sweating with fear. The doctor looked back at the scissors he had and noticed the strand he planned on cutting was gone. “Huh?”

By the time he was able to look down, it was too late. The tendril pulled him right on up into the air by his left hind hoof, and then tossed him against a needle holder, pushing him and two other standing mares over. One by one, each mane lock broke free from the sticky substance yet to be fully dried, all the while, Mane-iac’s memories tracing back to that horrible, though wonderful night.

It burned her mouth, her ears, her nose, chest, and even her brain to inhale much more of the life threatening chemical that wafted at torso level. Everything beyond the silencing darkness of her shut eyes were obvious cries of death. Splattering blood and bodies hitting the roof echoed in her ears along with her own wallops of pain.

The only severe difference in tone between Mane-iac and the workers was that she laughed. She couldn’t stop giggling and chortling at the slick gore she was helpless to cause. It was sheer bliss for her, to feel the thwacking of her mane against somepony’s waist, and then hearing the sharp sound of a brutal crash following that. It brought back criminal remembrances.

Even the silence following the massacre was hypnotically nostalgic for her. It’d been far too long since she’d been able to relish in unrelenting madness like that, and it was almost enough to make her feel nicely on edge again were it not for the lack of an explanation.

She didn’t need to wait long for that, though. The creaky door opened slowly, and a pair of white-gloved hooves walked into the painted box. “My, my! The legends were true…”

“Who’s there?” Mane-iac demanded, her hooves and lower body shaking around to get free. “Stay back!”

One of her locks whipped around to smack the approaching pony, but was caught by a bushy hoof as if it were going the speed of a snail. After that, it just fell to the floor with a loud thump. “Ah, ah… Now, is that anyway to treat someone who’s here to help you out?”

“That voice…” While the familiar mare unhatched the mechanism’s clutches and got Mane-iac’s hair free, the strapped down mare rattled her brain to figure out where she’d heard that voice from. It was so, very fresh in her mind, too. “The cell! You’re the pony that was bugging me!”

Upon standing, she saw not a straight jacketed inmate, but a poshly dressed earth mare. Her blue eyes brought out the curly bow that swirled around her neck, and the green gent’s vest matched Mane-iac’s own color rather nicely, though why she wore stallion clothing was beyond mane-powered mare.

The blue flower, however, sitting gently behind her ear made Mane-iac realize just who’d come to her aid. The name had been lit up in lights around the asylum, ponies going off about how they’d finally caught her, and over such a minor crime, too. Stabbing somepony must’ve been a lie. She would’ve had to stab ten to get such high praise.

The crime that got her here had to have been so she could get in in the first place. The reasoning behind that, though, still slipped Mane-iac’s ruptured mind. Even though she wasn’t officially up to date, Mane-iac wasn’t too far off with times. Five months didn’t change much on the outside. Other than herself, this was the most feared and sought out villainess in all the major cities, not just Maretropolis. Her name was Poison Joker.

Nopony knew for sure if that was a self given title, like Mane-iac, or her real name. Either way, it still struck fear into the hearts of many, mostly the forces. Her power is a predictable one by now. She commands poison joke, and bends ponies to her whim just by placing a hoof on their shoulders.

It doesn’t sound like much to be feared at first, but if one looked into the hearts of any guard, they would see a will to help and protect. The opposite of that is exactly what Poison Joker turns them into. They couldn’t stop themselves once graced by those pretty, blue petals. However, over her villainous career, Poison soon learned most would rather die than betray their loyalty to the law.

“It can’t be…”

“Oh, but it is! Me, in the flesh.” She rose her hoof to model before a particularly gory wall. “Now, I like the work here,” she began, pointing out what Mane-iac had done. “That’s a maximum hit count of, what? Ten, twenty? Nice, blind luck!”

Before uttering another word, the Mane-iac shot herself up against a top corner of the room, away from the Joker. “What’re you doing here?”

“Oh, yeah, yep… Should’ve got to that right away.”

“Well?!” Mane-iac was very much on edge by now, unable to smile at the situation anymore, which baffled even her. “Start. Talking.”

With a sigh and a frown, Poison Joker nodded. “Fine, alright! You deserve your silly little explanation… Where do I start?” Her voice wheezed at the last word. “I was nine years old.”

“Oh, come on! Get on with-”

“I will if you’ll let me!” Joker rubbed her chin, and then said, “Me and my best, fillyhood friend were out in the woods exploring together. I was always taking dares from her, like nothing bad could come from eating this, or touching that… One day…”

Mane-iac cut her off. “I’ve heard this story before! You’re tricked into eating poison joke!”

“Correct!” the pony pointed a hoof towards the mare opposite of her. The hoof was positively leaching with the blue plant. “And from that day forth, I’ve been seen as a freak! You’ve heard the news. You know what they call me; what they wish to do to me… But, here’s the best part. You and I have an enemy in common.”

Mane-iac lowered herself down, but kept a balled up tentacle fisted in case Poison Joker tried something fishy. “Who might that be?”

With a smiling muzzle, she nodded, “Masked Matter-Horn.” The room fell silent, and though she didn’t ask it, Poison joker knew her possible new friend wanted to know why that was. “She’s the friend that dared me into eating that strange, colorful plant all those years ago.”

“And, you want revenge…”

She offered a hoof as a symbol of alliance. “Don’t you?” Mane-iac simply watched judgmentally. “I hunted you down, and heard what you were put through. They ruined your plan to give the area a city-wide bad mane millenia. What do you do when you have somepony stopping you from doing something really important to you?”

She raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know. What?”

With a mean, toothy snicker, Poison Joker said, “You get rid of the problem first.”

She started turning around and headed for the door. As for Mane-iac, she simply stared at the mutilated bodies that littered the floor. “Is that what you do?”

“Mane-iac?! You coming, or what?”

With a scrunched up muzzle, the tentacle maned mad mare followed suite, down the halls. They weren’t out of the frying pan just yet, but they would try and go together, as accomplices in a breakout. However, if you thought Arkhoof Asylum would let two baddies like these walk out as if they didn’t do anything wrong at all, sorry friend, but you are wrong.

Part Two: Leaving Home

Even before getting on the road, the two were already bickering about their next course of action. It was the forked road incident, where they had two paths they could take. One lead to their old cells where some items await them that might help with get out.

Another road was to simply fight their way through the forces and fences that tried to keep them caged. The only problem with that was the two both agreeing they might need further supplies. However, Mane-iac put up the fight when she declared she absolutely needed to get out of those walls that she’d had great discomfort in watching for five whole months.

Despite that, they returned to their cells, only because Poison insisted on being ready to fight. All throughout the empty, cleared out halls, she complained far too loudly about how her supplies and favorite, special gun was left back there. When questioned about how she got her things in, she simply said not to worry about that. Mane-iac, being insane, shrugged it off as they reached the end.

As the door opened, Mane-iac was shocked to see bodies laying everywhere. Not a single drop of blood tainted the floors or walls, nor anyone inside the room dead or alive, and yet, some of these ponies seemed to be motionless. Mane-iac, however, didn’t dare find out the truth unless unfortunate circumstances that were beyond her ability to control happened.

“Hey,” Poison said after noticing her accomplice giving a concerned expression. “Wanna know what-”

“No!” Mane-iac looked at her with an eyelid twitching. “Don’t care. They’re out of our way.”

Shaking her head, the flower maned pony walked in, her friend seeing the gun on the counter. It was a hoof grip that wraps around the right foreleg. Just aim, point a hoof to the floor, and it fires. Unlike other guns, though, Poison Joker’s signature trinket was a shade bluer with three or four flower petals dangling from the edges.

“I said, do you want to know what sort of plan I’ve got cooking up? Or, perhaps you want me to save your life first, proving my plan will work because you’ll be along with us since you’ll owe me your life?”

Mane-iac, who’d walked into the other cell, her old one, sounded unassuring. “Let’s just get out of here. After that, based on how you do, I’ll think on it. Never trust a mad mare at first.”

“Takes one to know one.”

Joker wasn’t without reasoning, even when being without the ability to comprehend logic very well. She knew in order for them both to escape unscathed, she’d need to share her supplies. Mane-iac was given pain killing pills for if she got shot and had already used her first aid kit. Along with that, the two also had bandages to keep them from bleeding out.

“I’ve only got fifteen seeds in this,” Poison Joker voiced, showing off the gun as they regrouped at the table. “Those seeds numb their bodies. If a little stronger, it’d kill them clean. That’s where our big heist comes in.”

“Enough!” Mne-iac shot up to the ceiling. “We were in agreement! Nothing about what we do once outside these cursed walls until I have my freedom!”

Frisking her mane aside, Poison giggled lightly. “Oh, come now! We have plenty of time. The cameras are all on old, looping tapes. We can get the jump on them at anytime we so please. For now, though, I’d like to talk.”

Her grin wasn’t very bright. Instead, it almost invoked fear within Mane-iac’s being. She lowered herself down more, her eyes stuck on her rescuer. “What do you have in mind?”

“Simply put,” she began, “I think we should start out with improving both of us. Two against seven is hardly the way to go, and we’re not out for their base, or a new head quarters. No, we just need… an army.”

“How do we get that?” Mane-iac asked forwardly, following along with little trouble.

“My seeds sprout very weak, unbloomed plants that are too puny to take full, physical shape. With a power up, however… Before you ask,” Poison rose a hoof. “No, we aren’t robbing the bank, a jewelry store, none of that.”

The mare across from the Joker ventured to question one last thing. “Where to, then?”

With a wicked grin, she simply said, “Government owned research facility Double P. It’s there that they're working hard to create a concoction that enhances our own enemy's powers. We’re going to turn the tables on them, though, and share the spoils amongst ourselves.”

Mane-iac’s mind surged with visions of new, chaotic powers being shot out from her mane tips. If there was one thing she enjoyed hearing about more than mane domination, it was the possibility of newer, better powers she could use to her advantage. “Although I’m still not entirely convinced, you’ve peaked my curiosity. How is that even possible?”

Cocking her wristed gun, Poison said, “Beats the hell out of me, I don’t think much of it. All my informant was able to give me before dying was your location, a few little details, and the fact that the Power Ponies are sending one of their own along to get our package. Next thing I know, I’m here.”

Mane-iac looked at her sharply. “Just who did you kill?”

Smiling even more as her new friend lowered herself down slowly, Poison admitted, “I killed the scientist who started the project. The Powers will be sending their own because in a few minutes, they’re going to find out their dear friend who was only trying to help them... was murdered.”

Mane-iac walked quickly passed her, saying, “You mean we actually don’t have that much time! Let’s get moving then!”

She punched her way clear through the steel double doors to see at least three startled guards pulling out their weapons. They were immediately dishoofed, knocked unconscious and ransacked for keys. At that time, it was all or nothing. They’d reached the moment that fated which way their lives would go. As the doors slid open smoothly, alert guards shielded themselves against Mane-iac’s hair with magic.

Unicorns, strong and steady reflected every attack she dished out, so with her partner in crime stopping her with a hoof, she sprouted forth flowers complete with prodding stems forward. Like darts ripping into a thin wall, they punctured through, pointing at the ponies behind the pink shields. Just like that, they became helpless, lowering it for their mistresses. Once they bowed, Mane-iac realized the dirty work here. “Good lads,” Poison complimented.

She walked by, but stopped before what looked like the commander. Her hoof rested on his neck, and before Mane-iac could comprehend why she would stoop so low, a prickly vine shot itself through her sleeve and into his body, and then slithered right back up her shirt. With him falling to the ground with white eyes, the uncontrollable maned mare demanded to know, “Why would you do that?! He wasn’t in our way!”

She simply gave a glance, and smirked. “It’s so that they don’t forget who they were dealing with. They’ll never forgive me for this, and I highly doubt they’ll forget waking up to their beloved officer laying in a pool of his own body fluids.” She raised an eyebrow suspiciously. “I thought you were beyond feared. Surely, you can kill a little…”

Mane-iac looked away, frowning. “I’m more of a rogue, only killing when I need to. If I can slip by a small group without them noticing me, then I will.” She approached, scowling. “From this moment forth, you will do your best to behave yourself, and save tendencies like that for only when you absolutely need to harm another.”

As she walked by, being watched, Mane-iac heard Poison say, “Rogue, huh? Interesting…”

Down the hall, they walked, Poison Joker explaining her abilities while keeping her eyes wide open for the possibility of an ambush. “I can spray joke toxins that makes everypony hallucinate and start attacking each other, I can pierce their skin with a needled root, paralyzing them for an hour or so, or I can just touch them.”

“That’s the most common,” Mane-iac predicted with a nod.

“Yep. Just gracing them with a flower makes them mine, or in some cases, about as close to mine as I can make them. Though, somepony like you, or the Power Ponies are harder to battle. You and them, and I have all built up an immunity to other powers thanks to our own might. Consequently, that makes the fights longer than they should be. That’s about to change, though.”

Mane-iac smiled as they approached the lower levels of the building. “Once we get these new powers, we’ll have a home field advantage.”

In agreement, they faced elite soldiers waiting for them just around the corner, and Commissioner Gelding leading the doomed troops. He was the one who’d first stood up for the Power Ponies during their court days, but mostly the Masked Matter-Horn herself. There were ponies out there even the Mane-iac wished harm on, but thinking about it briefly, she realized Poison would likely kill him if she allowed it.

Nopony needed to be hurt, though. Poison Joker knew her part once being given a wayward glance from her accomplice. As for the Commissioner, he was about to be cut down rather harshly. “Well, it’s come to this,” he said in a scratchy, deep voice. "I can't allow you to leave, you know...

Poison stood forth. “Nice to see you again.”

His eyes squinted. “I should’ve guessed that murder we busted you for was just a small piece of the puzzle. You’ve killed countless, and got away every time without ever even being seen. How we caught you back there baffled me. What baffles me more, though, is how I couldn’t see the plan that was laid out right in front of me.”

Mane-iac snickered, “Your father always did do a better job.”

With that, he gave the word. “Open fire.” A thick haze of blazing gun smoke filled the room as bullet after speeding bullet was shot directly at the two, but every fire was missed somehow. “Enough, stop!” yelled the commissioner. “Can’t you idiots see? They’re holographic!”

His words couldn’t have been more true. Just before walking right into the opening, Poison pulled off one of her better tricks. When one’s only ability was limited mind and body manipulation, they learn to stretch their capabilities. A simple, unnoticeable blue mist of her spores was all it took to get them to empty their rounds.

“What now?” the lieutenant asked.

“Ah, reload your weapons! They must’ve run off…”

“On the contrary…” A weave of frame-crushing hair engulfed the room, slamming everyone around Gelding to the walls, and then the ground. Some landed with broken bones, others with bloodied faces, but only the chief leading the parade was left standing there, flinching at the green spirals hovering over his head.

“Look at him,” Poison said as she exited the corner, her follower closely walking behind. “Did he really think he’d get the jump on us here? Perhaps in the hallways, but here?!”

“Oh, I know! Look at him… shivering. Tell us, Commissioner, on a scale of one to ten-”

“Zero!” The chief went for his gun, firing its six rounds loosely, missing both the mares with every shot. He stopped clicking after the third time, finally realizing he’d run out of bullets, and stumbled a bit after realizing he'd somehow lost track of his targets. Tossing the useless thing aside, he peered left and right, head held low, and his eyes wide, still scanning the immediate area. “Where’d they go…?”

“Psst!”

He looked straight up, tried to jump out of the way, but was caught by tethers too strong for even him to break. Finally as the two wished him to be, the Commissioner hung from the ceiling, incarcerated within a cocoon of Mane-iac’s green locks. “Let’s go,” Mane-iac insisted, headed for the front door. All that lied ahead was the waiting room, and then, eventual freedom.

“Wait! I wanna humiliate this swine! And then kill him, too!”

“What?!” Mane-iac asked in disbelief. “I thought I made myself crystal clear!”

“Think about it! Manie, baby! This isn’t a normal pony who’s taken up their job just because they had to! This is someone who has chosen his line of work, creating trouble for both of us! He knew he had this coming. We end him here, and it’s WAY smoother sailing from here on out!”

“NO!” The Mane-iac rose high, her eyes wild with rage. “We do this my way, or NO WAY AT ALL! GOT IT?!” Poison didn’t say anything. “I’ve never had to kill in order to cover my tracks. Returning enemies keeps things sizzling, and having standards is MY CHOICE!” She lowered herself down again, breathing rapidly. With a deep breath and closed eyes, she finished, “You will not drag me down that road…”

It was silent for a few seconds. The two of them stared at each other for a little too long, making sure one another was calm enough for them to resume the objective. Then, without another word, they left Arkhoof Asylum’s innards, and wandered out into the cold, foggy air of Maretropolis.

Of course, the specialists who they justly faced was merely them ringing the doorbell. If the Mane-iac wanted out of her prison, her hoof might just be brought up to murder again. This time, no familiar drug from a past life was going to help her along. She’d do what she needed to on her own this time around.

Part Three: Into the City

As a young filly, Poison Joker used to walk right into all sorts of surprises. She’d be startled at first, but then got over it after seeing her birthday cake. The very same memory surged through her head as she came out into the opening, trotting right into an all out last stand. Being the villain who’s not going down when finally so close to what they’ve been working on, Poison showed a smile, one most unlike the kind she’d beam as a little girl. She wasn’t one to mess with, after all.

As a few of her most hated combination of words were spoken, she grew ever more angrily overjoyed.

“Freeze!”

A pony behind the blue and red flashing caravan chimed in, “It’s all over!”

“You’re surrounded!”

And finally, the helicopter above head. “Give yourselves up!” It was a new model justly released last year as a solo combatant. It’s only big enough to hold one stallion, and was quick, too. The targeting system, however, as Mane-iac would soon learn,was still in premature beta testing stages.

The Joker’s friend even had to rest a hoof on her shoulders to stop her from doing anything rash. “It’s alright, we can get through these guys easy,” Mane-iac said. “I have everypony targeted. The moment I rise into the air, spray some of that toxin of yours.” She looked out into the frenzy of blue uniformed ponies waiting for them to make a move. “Obviously, this is one huge misunderstanding.” She slowly started to rise. “We were only-”

From left to right, everypony except her, Poison Joker and the helicopter fell to the ground like a wave of sleeping gas happened to pass by them all. “We don’t have time for this!” Mane-iac turned to the pony standing next to her, opened mouthed. Her hovering hoof, and the smoke coming off of her wrist gun’s chamber told Mane-iac everything she needed to know. Just like that, the rounds were emptied. “Let’s go! Get us into the air, now!”

Acting quickly, a thick lock of hair wrapped around Poison, and Mane-iac shot each other into the air aiming right for a nearby roof. The asylum’s history came back to Mane-iac as she climbed the walls like a spider. Holding onto her ally proved difficult while running from a flying hunk of metal-made machinery that fires bullets. As she dodged left and right, she quickly relapsed to the first time hearing about this place.

When the walls first opened up, the whole facility acted as a prison on an island just off the coast of the Bright District within Maretropolis. Mane-iac was still a little, innocent girl at that time. Upon the very first day, so many inmates had been brought in that they were able to strategically devise a severe breakout. The tragedy ended with an alarming death toll, and with the jail being considered worthless afterwards, one man stepped in to take it upon himself to refurbish the place, and make it his own.

Eliot Arkhoof, a grizzled, old stallion barely alive transformed it into an asylum for the intense, and/or criminally insane. He’d spent his whole life savings, and a bit more towards renewing the structures, and hiring staff. Yet, it was still a mystery as to how this place still stayed standing. The owner, Eliot himself disappeared ten years ago, and to this day, is still presumably dead. It was in his will, however, that the remainder of his money went to servicing, and running Arkhoof Asylum for as long as his money could, which was still quite a long time.

He’d taken care of business for this place with an odd goal in mind just before he vanished, and so, some believed he was somewhere inside the asylum. The major conflicting thing with the city hall was the undeniable fact that everyone that went in came out worse. However, its doors remained open because of another undeniable fact. So long as the criminals that are sent there stayed inside, they didn’t do any harm towards others outside, within the urban streets. So, it was decided right before Mr. Arkhoof’s death that his asylum would stay in tip top shape long after his kid’s kids grew up.

If it wasn’t for the gobs of money Eliot had somehow garnered before his mysterious death, his cherished ex-prison would’ve been demolished long ago, and maybe, more innocent ponies would’ve been saved from its maddening walls. Those walls, however, were being turned into swiss cheese thanks to the miniature helicopter that kept on chasing the Mane-iac and Poison Joker.

As they lunged down to the cracks and jumped onto the next high tower, that pony-controlled junk just kept tailing them expertly. It wouldn’t even lighten up on the fire power. Luckily, Mane-iac was still able to resolve through the chaos and reached the bridge. She stood there, noticing the loud vibration in her ear had stopped. She turned around along with Poison in the middle of the road to see the helicopter merely floating there. He was out of ammunition.

“Damn it all! Hold still, I’ve still got a rocket!”

Together, the two mares asked, “Rocket?!”

“Aha, here we go!”

Just like that, the idiot shot away, the single, mega-powered explosive device heading right for them. Mane-iac acted quickly by pulling herself up in the cross beam, hurling forward and grabbing the rocket with her mane. She pushed it straight up, and in the split second, landed underneath the enemy. She was trying to sent the thing flying into the ocean, but unfortunately, it wouldn’t be that easy.

“Haha!” the pilot laughed tauntingly. “It’s remote controlled. You’d better start running!” He wasn’t lying. Just before hitting the water, it jet streamed up, into the air, turned down and targeted onto them yet again. With little choice, Mane-iac and Poison Joker ran as fast as they could across the bridge tying the asylum island and the mainland together. The helicopter flew above them, and announced, “They’re coming to get you, Barbra!”

The rocked sped towards the galloping couple, but dipped suddenly, destroying the middle portion. Like nothing, the road crumbled behind them quickly. Mane-iac could even feel the heat coming off from the explosion. Soon enough, they reached the other side, and stood amongst rather familiar buildings once more. Across the way, the bridge crumbled and broke, fumbling into the ocean, and fuming smoke where it’d been struck.

“Awe, damn it all!”

Mane-iac looked up, the helicopter swaying around within range. It was at that moment, Poison hastily offered, “Kill him!”

“What?”

“He’s going to call in backup!”

Mane-iac looked at him, saw through the dark glass, and caught on. In his hoof was a communicator. If they let him live, every guard within a hundred yards of them would be alerted of their escape, and current location. Crouching down, her mane slung her towards the capsule-sized vessel. With all four hooves, she knocked it clean into the water below. She’d hoped he would live, but that reality wouldn’t come to pass. Just as she landed back down on the ground, another explosion triggered below her. There was no way he was walking away from that.

“Nice kill,” Poison complimented.

“I tried to spare him…”

Poison turned around, grabbed her friend and pulled her aside from the edge. “Look, you did what you had to. We all do that. You just do your thing in a much more stable manner, I can respect that. However, you can’t be afraid to kill.”

Mane-iac snapped back, “I’m not afraid of anything!”

“Are you sure?!” Poison turned around swiftly, almost smug in attitude. “The more you take out, the less you have to deal with later on in life. I learned that the hard way. That’s why we need these new powers.”

“What do you mean we?” Poison Joker turned around, her eyes wide, and her mouth open. “I told you I’d be judging, and I determine you to be unfit to help me get my revenge! You’re far too trigger happy when the situation looks grim. My henchcolts did a better job at keeping their cool than you.”

Poison Joker growled, “We both have a kill! You killed the chopper, and I killed the commando! Which of us is more evil? Neither!” She sat down, her voice trying to calm itself. “I just… I spent so much time, and put forth the effort because I saw a way for the both of us to gain from your imprisonment, and instead, we can’t cooperate for a second, all because of this stupid life or death deal.”

“It’s not stupid,” Mane-iac said. “Rogues like me are prone to combat between another individual or two if the circumstances are right. You’re more of an assassin, one of the old ones too. You attack on instinct and aim to hurry along, but at checkpoints, you think it alright to waste time!” She sighed for a moment, and then said, “Alright, okay… I promise to try and ease up on your decisions on killing so long as you do your best to limit yourself, and in return, let’s just hurry along at safe points. On the road, I like to look around for supplies.”

“Understood,” Poison said with a nod. “We’ll adapt, I suppose.”

Mane-iac looked around. Beyond the city bridge rested the whole town waiting to have all of its residence’s manes frizzed up beyond repair, but even more importantly, a Power Pony headed for their treasure. “Let’s move on. I feel like we’re being watched…”

As Mane-iac took the lead and hopped from rooftop to rooftop, a shadowy, purple figure rose from a high up pedestal. His wrist loomed up towards his mouth, and after a brief period of static, a soft voice came in. “Darling? How’s it looking up there, Hum-Drum?”

“Fine, fine… I’ve got my sights set on them right now,” the dragon reported, then smiling. “Yep, they’re headed towards Mistress Mare-velous. I think she’s gonna need back up.”

The mare on the other end began to complain. “Oh, poo. I just got my mane situated! It’s always getting rustled when dealing with the Mane-iac!”

Hum-Drum stood, the moon light hitting his eyes. “It’s either you, or Zapp, and she’s not the best choice for this mission. If you want, I’ll meet you there.”

“... Fine, you win! Just… Hummy, stay out of trouble. If you got hurt, Matter-Horn would never forgive me.”

“Yeah, well, she wouldn’t be happy with me if you AND Mare-velous got yourselves in a pinch, either. Let’s just get in, take em’ out, and get back to the base before they’re able to steal the upgrades.”

After he hung up, Hum-Drum leaped off the ledge. Pointing some kind of gun at the next building, he resumed sneakily stalking the two from above like a spider. One thing he’s learned as a rogue is that they never look up. His investigation consisted of almost losing them three times throughout the chase, and a few cuts from sharp corners. Other than that, he arrived at the building next to the complex structure. One would never even find it without exact instructions. It was just a glass window that opened up into stairs. It promptly lead straight to the government owned research facility Double P, which to Hum-Drum’s great discomfort had little security due to it being nothing more but a research facility.

Inside was dark save for a few glimmers of metal. Poison walked forth, found the light switch, and flipped all thirteen on. The whole chasm lit up brilliantly, revealing an edge before the two. One more step forward, and they would’ve fallen into a huge ring of iron. Down below, on a small balcony was a small stand, about the size of a filly. The rest up above was dry stalagmites hanging loosely, and everything downward was a visible bottom. Any normal pony would probably die from the fall, but these were no normal ponies.

“Let’s go!” Poison jumped over. As for the Mane-iac, she found the stalagmites amazingly sticky, and easily climbed across them with her mane. Now, before them stood the very thing they’d been searching for, and no pony was even there yet to stop them from juicing themselves up. “How does this work?” Mane-iac asked, looking at her friend curiously.

The instrument was that of a huge needle, the kind used for rather painful injections. It was shiny, though intimidating, too. Within was some blue liquid, or was it jelly? Mane-iac couldn’t tell. She wasn’t sure how this would work itself out, or if it was even a good idea to give it a try in the first place. Poison, however, seemed about as ready as ever, for right then and there, she grabbed it by the end.

“Bottoms up!” Just like that, the sharp needle slid deep inside her neck. She gave a gruesome, curled face, and allowed all the energy within to fill her body up with its potency. Upon it poking out, she held onto her neck with a flowery hoof, stopping herself from bleeding much, and preventing any of the drug from dripping out. “There,” she strained to say. “All done.”

The Mane-iac backed away. “Nuh-uh.”

“Oh, relax! It’s not that bad!”

“You just injected yourself with who knows what! Is it even working?”

Poison giggled, and hurtled over. “Oh… It’s working alright.” She coughed a little, and then stood. “I’m letting it simmer. Go ahead, it’s not that bad.”

Mane-iac looked at the syringe, and asked, “Are you sure?”

With her friend nodding her head, Mane-iac walked up to it. Dumping the used one into the trash and replacing it, just as it shows on the picture monitor, she pointed it up to her neck, took a deep breath, and penetrated her skin with tightly closed eyes. The feeling of her bloodstream being pumped full of that muck gave her the chills, but at the same time, she could already feel herself evolving.

It left, and Poison came to her aid, covering up the open wound with her other hoof. As it was quickly healed, the two rested on the hard, cold ground, huffing at the change they were close to undergoing. At first, the weight was far too overwhelming for them, and they blacked out for a few minutes. Upon awakening again, they couldn’t help but to gasp at each other.

Poison Joker’s mane had grown slightly, now with lively roots that could reach long distances, but beyond that, no real physical change occurred. Her powers, however, were forever changed. Everything about her was ten times more deadly. Her needles couldn’t just lull others to sleep. They could also kill if that was what she so wished. That went the same way with her new fog power. It could be a regular fog, or a dense death trap. It was entirely her choice. Despite her being a forward assaulter, her powers resembled the lighter side. A stealthy approach to things.

As for the Mane-iac, she was dramatically changed. Her locks were now much more flexible, and faster, but that was just the beginning. There were now eight separate, ebony spikes connected to most of her mane, though none on her tail. They curved like pieces of a giant ball, and at the top, a giant, dark red eye lit the way. Their nature, though, was much more destructive than their owner knew at first.

In their moment of admiration for their new, untapped powers, however, one of three heroes showed up, if only too late. Hum-Drum had heard of Poison Joker, and even battled the Mane-iac himself, but never was he brought up to face them both. Would he be able to outwit the two mega-powered villainesses, or will the wrong move leave him looking like comedic relief yet again?

Part Four: Tag Teams

With blurred vision, the Mane-iac awoke with a throbbing headache. Her friend stood over her, shaking her back with her hooves, trying to bring the green themed mare back into reality. Everything around her, though, still remained hazy, and she seemed to be unclear of where she was. “What… happened?”

Poison slowly spoke, “We got new powers. I think.”

The floor beneath their hooves felt colder for some reason, but not as chilly as the air around them. Upon lifting her frame, Mane-iac found her body to be more heavy, or more specifically, her mane was even denser than her body itself. “What the…?”

As she tried to lift them up and into view, the eight, new eyes engraved into ebony plates looked at her, each a different color. They looked like stop lights. Red, green, yellow, and blue, too. Whatever this was, it wasn’t easy to take in. Under the eyes, as the ebony metal curved down, it met into a sharp point seemingly dense enough to pierce concrete, but that was just about all there was, it’d seemed.

As for Poison Joker, she had radically different powers. Her mane had grown slightly, and was a shade deeper than before with pedals randomly hanging from her loose strands. Inside, lively roots stirred around. Poison’s true and new nature was much darker than her friend’s. An increased potency with her fumes made things that much more dangerous for normal ponies untouched by the gifts of superpony strength. Among other such gifts, Poison knew she would need assistance figuring out what her newer powers could really do once harnessed.

“Seems we’re all done here,” Poison said, turning around towards the chasm. “I suggest we-”

“Wait,” Mane-iac voiced. “What happened?”

“What do you mean?”

“Our powers, what do they do?”

Poison looked onwards at the window across the way; some trees could be seen beyond the glass. “I’m not sure. I can… feel power coursing through me, but…” She turned around with a sigh, and finished, “I don’t think we’ll ever really understand what’s happened to us until we see an expert.”

The Mane-iac’s new, eight appendages rose towards the air, backing up slightly while the owner looked to the left. “Not sure if this is a good idea. After all, who’s your contact, and how is he gonna know what… what these things are?”

“She,” Poison corrected. “And, she’ll know. She’s a scientist, after all.”

Suddenly, out from behind Poison, a figure dropped through the window, the mysterious being closing the entry way behind him. “Hey!” the Mane-iac shouted.

As her partner in crime turned around, a reptilian figure leaped forth, grabbing the stalactites and swinging his way over. “Freeze!”

“Not a chance!” Poison’s mane released a swarm of thick branches at Hum-Drum, slashing the air and rocks he leaped forth. The stone he was holding at that time was sliced through like butter, and he fell to the floor screaming. With that taken care of, Poison turned around to ask, “Think he’ll live?”

A clanking noise was heard behind her shortly followed by sharp reeling. The moment Poison turned around, she was caught off guard by the teen dragon holding onto some sort of grappling gun with one claw. The other had a communicator. “Hum-Drum reporting in. They’re here, but be warned…” He glanced at the two suspiciously. “Looks like we’re a little late. They’ve got the upgrades.”

On the other end, loud enough to make even Poison jump a little from the other side, somepony yelled back, “They’ve got my power booster?! Those wretched, thieving, no good doers are going down!”

As it clicked off, Hum-Drum put it away in his apparently new and much more useful looking utility belt. This one had all sorts of pockets, and gizmos that probably did all sorts of things. Noticing it, Mane-iac asked, “These five months seemed to have hardened you, Hum-Drum.” She gave him a wicked smirk.

“Hmph, Matter-horn helped me figure out some things, so now, I’m not the little guy that was always in the way.”

“What is it you do?” Poison asked forwardly, humoring him.

“I mostly deal with petty thievery and drunken brawls.” He smiled while going for what seemed to be explosives. “Been too long since I helped take down a crazed, super powered psycho.”

With them flinching a little, he threw what he had down to the floor in front of them. Immediately, the air was filled with a dense, white, purple and orange smoke. In that instance of surprise, Hum-Drum got his chance to escape after having fulfilled his job admirably. Now, it was the others’ turns. Coughing from the impact, both the villainesses backed away from the edge. As the fog separated, two beings emerged, both recognizable.

“My, my, they really did get a power upgrade.”

“Yep, which means we don’t get to hold back, do we sugarcube?”

The Mane-iac snarled at the shadowy figures and leaped forward. However, the moment her hooves touched either one, she seeped right through, falling over and into the pit. Luckily, her mane stopped her from landing on her back just in time. They’d punctured through the metal itself, all eight, and once she found out how safe she was, Mane-iac stood like she always did; with her mane hoisting up her entire body. Though, this time around, she seemed more like a spider. Up above, Poison slithered down so she could make certain her friend was alright. “Ever considered looking before you leap?”

“Yes, indeed,” Radiance shouted down from the other side of where Mane-iac fell from. She and Mistress Mare-velous floated down from the railing using a magic carpet, and landed in front of their enemies. “I say you turn yourselves in!” Radiance commanded. “You’re not leaving here without a good fight, and you know it.”

“Yeah,” chimed Mistress. “Y’all gots one of two options that’ll work. Either give in now, and we’ll administer the antidote. Resist, and we’ll force it on the two of you!”

Poison turned to ask, “You’ve fought with these girls before, right?”

Mane-iac responded forwardly, “Naturally. They’re two of the seven Power Ponies I’m used to dealing with, Hum-Drum being one of them.”

“How powerful are they?”

Acting as though they were getting ready for a football match, Mane-iac began pointing out their flaws and strong points she’d been able to pick up. “For example, when properly provoked, Mistress Mare-velous may swish her lasso at you.”

“Heyah!”

With her unbreakable blades, Mane-iac caught the rope and began swinging the mare in the air, giggling at the predictable move. Unfortunately, five months away from battle still left Mane-iac rusty. As a consequence, she didn’t see the huge, lavender wall made of shimmering sparkles headed right for her. Hastily, Poison snatched her ally out of the way by instinct alone. Were it not for the long stretching roots flowing from her scalp, Mane-iac would’ve been dealt with then and there.

“Darn it all,” Radiance scoffed. “I missed!”

Meanwhile, Mistress got to her hooves, holding her head. “Seems you were right, Radiance. Ah really don’t have any new moves.”

“Yes,” she concurred. “I think it best if you took on… Umm, excuse me, who are you again?”

Radiance looked over at the Joker curiously. With a hoof pointing to herself, Poison questioned, “Lil’ old me?”

“Yes, you, with the… Are those flower petals?”

Poison snickered, “Actually, they’re poison joke petals, if you want to get technical.”

This struck fear into Radiance. “P-P-Poison Joke?”

Mistress Mare-velous huffed, “No way!”

Mane-iac commented, “You must have quite the name. Not even my name reaches out like that!”

Radiance stepped forward. “Killer! Murderer! How many lives?”

“Too many to count!” Poison admitted, almost delighted to hear of her potent influence.

She swung her hooves open to crouch down in an intimidating manner with that same, maddening smile. Then, the air became cold again. Silence overtook the four juiced-up beings that distanced themselves from each other, and for a moment, Radiance and Mistress understood, even if they mixed things up, they’d be at a disadvantage. Nopony knew what sort of mystic abilities these two possessed. Even worse, with them being undiscovered, Radiance and Mistress were basically facing the unknown in a completely threatening form.

Mistress speculated, “Maybe we should choose a more open area?”

“My thoughts EXACTLY!”

Instantly, Poison Joke lashed out, impaling the heroines while shooting them clear through the establishment’s glass exit. They tumbled to the grassy ground, spores ripping through their coats and costumes. Using her horn’s might, Radiance took care of the parasites that gnawed away at her attires with a miniature blast, and made quick work of her partner’s problems as well. Though, this left them little time to prepare for the two threats that launched themselves clean out of the laboratory.

First, Mane-iac, taking control of who she fought by whacking the orange maned mare to the sidelines. Immediately after her followed Poison Joke, leading Radiance away from the other two, into the far off woods. Of course, the unicorn wasn’t letting herself be felled so easily, for she’d already started gathering energy. The faster those roots curled around her hooves and neck, the sooner she’d be able to blast her enemy clear across the sky.

Meanwhile, Mane-iac allowed her opponent to recover, only to watch in disbelief as the mare began screaming out in agony. Undoubtedly, even Radiance would hear her friend’s cries. “M-mah shoulder! Ahh!”

She held on tighter than she would anything else in the world, a tear or two escaping as she tried to relocate it. As for the mare standing across from her, she simply teased, “Haha, you’ll probably never be swinging that lasso straight again!”

However, with a ‘pop’, and a ear-piercing, “Hyah!” Mane-iac was lashed backwards from where she held her ground harder than even she could comprehend. She didn’t even really catch the fact that she’d basically cut the tree she had been standing in front of in half until a few random piled of leaves came tumbling down through the air. Along with the upper portion laying down on top of Mane-iac, Mistress Mare-velous felt it right to explain, “Had… mah hoof dislocated p-plenty of times to come slashin’ back twice hard… Now, time for the antidote.”

The tree laying down in front of her snapped in half, Mane-iac bursting out, but before she could send Mistress Mare-velous packing, an explosion in the background threw them both off momentarily, but the hero of this tale was unfortunately more worried than Mane-iac was, and didn’t see yet another devastating blow coming her way. This time, she was knocked even further, and right for where the purple beam of light emitted from. Too bad the battle Radiance gave was also in vain.

With that, there was no doubt in her mind, that the two Power Ponies they faced were finished off. If they still had any amounts of fight left inside, it’d be a meaningless attempt to continue on when so much energy had already been lost during their struggles. So, the villains regrouped before the beaten bunch… and what a sight it was. If anything, Mane-iac and the Poison Joker might’ve taken things a bit too far.

“What should our next course of action be,” Mane-iac asked, her mane swinging to the side as she quickly questioned the Joker. “Disabling them is a must for me to resume my work, but what about you? Once we both know what we’ve got running through our systems, where will you go? What will you do?”

The ever fertilizing companion shook her head, and said, “Firstly, these two are going into a coma, and so will all the rest of the Power Ponies, every last one of them!”

Mane-iac gulped, and said nervously, “I told you, limits are a must… It’s appreciated that you’ll help me deal with the others, but what kind of coma are you speaking of? How long will it hold them?”

With a devious smirk, like it was all just one big game to her, she simply said, “Forever and ever…” Mane-iac blinked with an unmoved expression. “It’s simple,” the Joker wheezed. “We’re not killing them! The scientists, and doctors are killing her by not having a cure… for this.”

With a green and blue striped root loftily wiggling before the purple coated pony, she watched critically as slimy seeds began spewing from Poison’s cranium. “This is a toxic breed, and once within their brains, it never comes out, and keeps them forever suspended in… limbo, so to speak. The only way to cure them is at the get go, when it’s first administered.”

Showing interest, Mane-iac ventured further by asking, “How do you administer it?”

Smiling that much more gleefully, the mare across from the Mane-iac began shoving her tentacle-like appendage straight into Radiance’s right nostril. Just like that, a few were planted. Seeing as how Mane-iac didn’t protest, Poison continued to do her dirty work to the lasso wielding warrior as well, and with that, she was finished. “They’re basically done for,” she mentioned while backing away. “Follow me into the city.”

“Mmh…”

Poison blinked at Mane-iac’s response. “Hey, you cool?”

Looking away from the two unconscious heroines, she stated, “I’ll meet you at Dunkard’s rooftop, across from Element Street.”

Poison looked at her, unsure of the reasoning behind the sudden splitting up ordeal. “....Wwwhy?”

“Because,” her friend said firmly. “I need to get used to these new developments, and some alone time wouldn’t hurt.”

Poison didn’t believe the excuse, but went along with it nevertheless. However, the second she was out of sight, and out of mind, Mane-iac quickly removed the seedlings by gripping the small, straggly vine that could be seen sticking out of each mare’s noses. Like a cork to a bottle, they came free rather easily, but with blots of green and red blood dripping from the bottom. She hastily discarded them, and stood back, an unsatisfied look on her face.

“Tying you up and leaving you girls here for now will do, because like I said... Murder is just too much for me… I have to have limits.”

Part Five: Fun Time

Sparing the lives of others had always been Mane-iac’s single redeeming quality, because it showed well enough a level of compassion for those without supernatural talents. At the same time, her sparing those two mares back in the woods made her feel… incomplete, and as though she should be doing much more to better corrupt her town. If only to retain her devious nature, she figured that with this alone time spent away from Poison, she might better become acquainted with the locals she’d missed during her off time. After all, she wouldn’t want the homely citizens of Maretropolis to think she was beginning to go soft on them.

Soon enough, after only minutes of searching around town, she spotted a wandering pedestrian in the back alleys, walking around with a sulky look on his lowly held face. Mane-iac began creeping behind him, stalking her prey from a fair distance, and what prey he was, too. Suited, hatted, and a head full of hair! Yes, that’s what she wanted! Not money, oh no… Not even jewelry, or riches. This steed was going to suffer through his very follicles.

She crept up closer to him, but while she could, she took in his appearance as well. As usual, he was the generic business stallion who’d been overworked yet again, intending on not being disturbed while he took his time trotting the long way back home. Of course, at this time, he’d decided to take a shortcut, a choice he’d soon be regretting. He wore basic attire, such as work slacks, a suit and tie, and what seemed to be a reporter’s hat.

“Perfect,” the Mane-iac purred.

“Who’s there?!” the stallion asked immediately.

He turned to look, but saw nothing but the same trashcan he’d recently walked by earlier on. However, as he turned back around with a nervous motion to continue walking, none other than the mad mare herself leaped down from a justly killed lamp post.

“Boo!” she yelled.

He stumbled back, screaming, and tumbled right into a heap of garbage. “T-the… THE MANE-IAC!”

Hearing her name being shouted out like that brought a sense of familiarity to her. “Haha! Yes, foolish steed! Wandering the night? All alone, in the dark… and, with such a well made mane, too!”

She chortled even more while he began holding onto his head for dear life, and then pleaded nervously, “You can’t do this to me! I’ve got a wife and kids waiting for me at home! We’re to have roast surprise tonight... What’ll they think If I return looking like I’d just come from some sort of… wild party?! Please, let me go! I’ll do whatever you want! Y-you want money? I can get you money! Gold?”

She blinked with a sweet smile. “Your… mane?”

“Please! Anything but that!”

She wheezed suddenly, a wild grin creeping plainly across her wicked muzzle. “YES! Cower before me! It does not change your fate. Once I’m done with you…” Instinctively, she rose one of her ebony claws up easily, or more exactly, the green one at the end, and pointed it at him. Without realizing what she was doing, her mane surged with electricity, causing her to let out a yelp of her own. Luckily, nopony was around to hear the cries coming from just around the corner.

Right before the Mane-iac’s eyes, her victim began holding onto his forehead in pain rather than fear, and with both knees, too, while his scalp turned into a soft blue color. His sideburns shaped into zig zags, and the mullet only added insult to injury. If that wasn’t bad enough, his bangs grew long, and curved straight into the air, nearly going in a complete circle. Not only was his mane ruined, but for whatever reason, the coloring of the poor thing’s upper coat was also died peach blonde.

Now, he was utterly ruined, and beyond hasty repair. It’d take the gentlecolt at least six or seven months to return his upper body to normal, and be able to blend with society again. He felt weakened after that experience, and as for the artist in question, she couldn’t fathom how this had happened either. She’d hardly touched him, and yet, he was already well taken care of. The claw that had done this looked at her, seemingly, and then drilled its sharp end into the concrete wall next to her. With a smile, she said, “I’ll have to remember, then, that the green one is the Defacer Canon! Mwahaha!!!”

Taking a look at the fallen stranger one last time, he gave her a more rotten attitude, and made eye contact. “B-by tomorrow, all of Maretropolis will know of this! Y-you're finished!”

She smirked even more, and then said, “Silly, diluted citizen of this town…. You will do my bidding, yes, and then the world will know of Mane-iac’s return!”

He shook before her, extending his hoof, but then he collapsed. With that done and over with, there was nothing else for her to attend to. Undoubtedly, he’d let the whole entire city know that she’s back, and seeing as how the police like to keep things like this hidden, everything was now falling into her favor. Were it not for him not only being a reporter, but one of the best at that, unbenounced to her, the Mane-iac might not’ve had such popularity in store for her now. Whether that was considered a good or bad thing, however, would have to be determined at a later date.

Picking up the pace as to not keep her friend waiting, Mane-iac arrived at Dunkard’s, a local donut distributor factory conveniently located just at the start of town, where both the mares could easily meet. Poison Joke was hoisted over the railing, and seemed to be looking at something. “What troubles you?” Mane-iac asked while her claws clamped up next to the mare across the roof.

“I could hear you for miles, coming loudly with your claws… literally piercing everything on your way here.” She looked up while she fixed her bowtie, and asked, “Do you want the town to know of your return?”

This told her something. Just from that question alone, Mane-iac could tell that the Joker preferred stealth as compared to being an actual supervillainess. It all made sense, too, because her name was able to reach many more than Mane-iac’s. Though, that’s only because of just how downright evil this mare really was inside, and outside as well. Just by being around her, Mane-iac was already beginning to understand just what kind of criminal the Joker was.

So, to avoid problems, she admitted, “Even though murder and invisibility is how you make your infamy, it’s not my way.” Rising to the air by using her tail, she exclaimed, “Tonight, haha… I attacked a reporter! My name will soon return quickly.”

Poison just stood there, staring. Though, once the mare across from her lowered herself back down, Poison quickly started giggling rather than being upset. “I think I’ve got you figured out… You really ARE bonkers! Like, I’m insane to the point of which I’ll stab whoever I want unless the pay to not do so is good enough… You, though; you’re more about exactly what you’re after, which is to deface everypony in town.”

Mane-iac nodded. “After that, Maretropolis will be destroyed! Hahaha!”

This only made her friend laugh that much more. “Now I know what that guard meant when it comes to levels of madness… Anyways, look, we need to be serious for a moment.”

“Yes, what’s the plan?” Mane-iac asked, but instead of getting an answer, Poison Joker’s hoof started moving her mane out of the way. Then, she quickly leaped to the nearest neighboring building. That in turn made the Mane-iac follow along, and as they headed towards what Mane-iac thought was still Midday Park, she soon realized that wasn’t the case. Instead, for whatever reason, they arrived at some newly built music store.

“Here we are,” the seemingly confusing mare said.

“This… is not a laboratory, or even the first place I’d guess there’d be a scientist of any kind.”

Poison nodded. “Say no more, my humble associate.”

With her roots seeping through her mane, she unlatched the rooftop door, and in they went. Inside was actually quite regal as opposed to the outside look of things. A few doors here and there, but only one was opened. That was the one on their right, and it wasn’t opened by anypony but Poison herself. Behind the door, as one might randomly guess, was a recording studio. Mane-iac entered the spacious, on-air back room, and noticed all the buttons and knobs, but she was more interested with what was behind the shielding glass.

Through the translucent window showed some brilliantly white coated, electric blue maned, and very busy looking mare playing away with the keyboard. As if that wasn’t enough, instead of using her hooves to make her music, she had what looked like… extra appendages mechanically attached to her arms, all the way up to her elbows. “What is that?” the Mane-iac asked with a dull tone.

“Her newest invention. She calls then hands. Five fingers, which lets her do a whole lot more, like those of monkeys. It’s still buggy, though, because it’s hooked up to her cerebral cortex.”

Upon further examination, the Mane-iac saw that her friend was right. Steel wires hooked up directly to her back, but as the song ended, her palms rested on the floor in front of the glass, and the two watching got to see the steam exiting the center hole on her side neck. The wires released their grip, and off came the inventions. She stood, a bit whoosy, but was caught just in time by Poison who intruded through the now unlocked door. She acted in a quickness, and just before the music symbol cutie marked girl could hit the floor with a powerful thud, her friend caught her, and settled her down on the couch behind them.

The mane-iac, still in the recording room hadn’t realized the living quarter-styled environment in the background, but it was very homely, and had enough room for her to use the smoother sides of her sharp talons to move around safely. In front of her laid the music symbol cutie marked tomcolt. By the looks of the equipment she was not only using, but surrounded herself with, she was a highly certified technician.

“This is Vertical Streak, Versus for short.”

Mane-iac loomed over, curious about the deary’s condition. “Is it alive?”

Poison gave her this unamused look, and shook her head. “She’s quite alive, but sleepy… She must’ve been going through another all-nighter. She does this to herself from time to time…”

“And, this is who will be teaching us on our newest skills?”

Huffing, the plant-like pony got up, her roots gently laying the genius down to confront the guest. “She’s an undercover agent able to get me anything I need from anyone that opposes me. She works directly for the Power Ponies. This means, she’s got the goods. You’ll just have to be a bit more trusting… Although, gotta give you credit so far.”

She turned around as she finished her sentence, but gave Mane-iac a glance, and made sure she could see her smirking. Time ticked on with all three ponies remaining in pristine silence. Then, Versus awakened. However, instead of acting friendly towards the Joker upon seeing her, she calmly pushed her away, and wandered through the back door.

Behind it, the two that stood where they were heard the owner call forth, “I’m in the kitchen! Poison, get in here. Bring that guest of yours with you. We’ll have to take a look at her… things, or whatever’s attached to her mane.”

Poison walked in calmly, and with a gesturing hoof, instructed Mane-iac to do the same. Inside was the typical cooking area. Tiled floors, black and white checkered; a fridge, stove, table and chairs, and a lamp above head. It was hardly what one would call a base, but it would have to do. After all, they needed answers, and if Versus had the intellect in regards to their newest powers, according to the Joker, then the Mane-iac had no choice but to remain silent for the time being. She'd simply have to hope that this traitorous pony could truthfully help them out in some way, like Poison promised.