Power Ponies: The Storm Unleashed

Chapters

Vanished
The Search
Dead Ends
Bad Mane-tenance
Calm Before The Storm
Stormtotter
Memory
Sunder

Vanished

Power Ponies: The Storm Unleashed
Chapter 1: Vanished
By Darksonickiller and Izangi

“It would appear you’re in a ‘hairy’ situation now, Power Ponies!” a maniacal voice declared, their demented laughter echoing down the vaulted hallways of the Maretropolis Museum of Natural History.

Seven ponies stood near the origin of the incessant cackling, but none of them were smiling or sharing in the apparent humor of the situation. The seemingly demented mare ceased her laughter, and returned her nemeses’ stoic gazes with wild and disturbing red-green eyes as she brandished something golden and lustrous in one of her prehensile green locks.

“We’ll see about that, Mane-iac!” The Masked Matter-Horn replied finally, lowering her horn in an aggressive posture and sneering. “That artifact is public property of the museum, and the citizen of Maretropolis!”

Mistress Mare-velous readied her golden lasso to the Matter-Horn’s right, as she studied the stolen artifact in question that Mane-iac was grasping with so much nefarious enthusiasm. “Stealing priceless pieces from museums now, huh Mane-iac? That’s low, even for the likes of you.”

Radiance huffed in agreement as she adopted a readied posture, her horn ignited in a violet aura. “It’ll take more than even that magical comb to fix a rat’s nest of a mane like yours!”

Mane-iac’s lips pulled into a scowl of displeasure, and she cackled briefly before replying, “Fools! Have you any idea what this is?” She held the golden comb aloft, revealing the scrolling of hieroglyphics across its polished handle. “With the Pharaoh’s Comb, every mane in Maretropolis can, and will, bend to my will! Every hair salon from here to Trotham will quake with fear at the name, ‘Mane-iac’! My hair-care product empire will be unrivaled! The streets will be flooded in a tsunami of shampoos-”

“She’s going to keep on going, isn’t she?” Fili-Second stated with a deadpan tone at the villainess’ ongoing rant.

“Always the monologues with her…” Hum Drum groaned, peering up with a mixture of annoyance and wariness at the Mane-iac.

“The same could be said for all of the blatant reprobates that terrorize our fair city, truthfully,” Zapp replied, hovering above Fili-Second with a look of distaste. Mane-iac was still giving a monologue about her plans with the Pharaoh’s Comb, even now.

Saddle Rager was the only one of the group who looked more nervous than angered or annoyed. “Oh boy...Mane-iac’s really starting to get on my nerves…” Her timid nervousness was rapidly giving way to anger, and the veins on her neck were pulsating dangerously.

After nearly a whole minute and a half of Mane-iac’s speech about combs, hair domination, and other things rather outlandish, the Masked Matter-Horn had heard more than enough for a single night.

“...and now, I will start right in this very museum with the hair of none other than the dreaded Power Ponies, themselves. Say goodbye to your precious manes, I-”

“Power Ponies, attack!” Matter-Horn shouted, cutting Mane-iac off mid sentence. “Standard formation!”

In the span of a heartbeat, the Power Ponies sprung into action and engaged their foe, leaving Hum Drum and Saddle Rager standing there with anxious looks. Mane-iac, never one to back down from a chance to spar against her hated nemeses, let out a laugh. The many hair appendages of her mane and tale went to work with guided efficiency.

One of them blocked the ring of Mistress Mare-velous’ lasso as she attempted to seize the villain immediately in hopes of ending the fight early and avoiding damage to the many museum exhibits surrounding them all. Mane-iac’s hair-legs glided quickly across the polished marble floor, working hard to avoid hoof jabs from the rapidly-darting form of Fili-Second.

The Masked Matter-Horn fired arcs of directed energy and blasts of ice from her horn at the Mane-iac, attempting to sever the writhing appendages and get through the villain’s defense. Radiance cooperated with Fili-Second by creating energy construct trampolines that the lightning-fast mare used to bound off and launch her attacks at Mane-iac’s sides as she attempted to fend off Mistress Mare-velous’ additional attacks.

Above the battle, Zapp was in position and concentrating her power into summoning a miniature storm cloud. Her sapphire-blue eyes lit up with mounting power.

The Pharaoh’s Comb began to glow as Mane-iac channeled its power to help her fight back while dodging one of Zapp’s lightning bolts, but she knew she would eventually be overwhelmed if she didn’t come up with something quickly that could distract the Power Ponies, if only for a couple precious seconds.

“Henchponies!” Mane-iac shouted, her eyes wild and insane as ever. A group of a dozen or so flamboyantly dressed stallions with a colourful array of mane styles materialized around a corner expectantly, immediately rushing to their insane employer’s aid. Mane-iac’s plant-wilting stare bore into each and every one of them. “Where were you fools this entire time?”

“Uh, well, we-” One stallion began nervously, before being cut off.

“Nevermind, you imbecile, deal with the Power Ponies! I must secure the Pharaoh’s Comb, or else our plans are lost!”

The mob of mooks got to work without further comment, moving towards the Power Ponies with vicious snarls as the heroines continued to assail their boss. They were able to draw Fili-Second and Radiance’s combined attention away from the Mane-iac, but the Masked Matter-Horn, Mistress Mare-velous, and Zapp were still keeping up their attacks.

Matter-Horn attempted to fire a beam at Mane-iac’s chest to stun her, but she fired a millisecond too late and missed, leaving her open to a painful attack by one of the hair appendages, which Mane-iac used very much like a whip across the unicorn mare’s face.

Seeing a comrade on the marble floor, covering their now reddened face and groaning intensely, Saddle Rager had finally had enough, and decided to join the fray. “That tears it! Mane-iac, YOU’RE GOING DOWN!”

Going into full berserk mode, the now hulking and impossibly ripped pegasus smashed her way through an unlucky glass vase display with ease, emerging from the debris unfazed, but increasingly angry as she charged at the villainess.

Saddle Rager broke through Mane-iac’s hair appendages with as much difficulty as she had the late exhibit, and promptly pick the normally larger pony up like a ragdoll. The Mane-iac wailed like a banshee in between giggling fits as she went flank-first into a replica statue of Maretropolis’ founders, shattering a couple of display cases that also lined the statue’s base.

Their numbers seemingly multiplying like magic, several more henchponies appeared in front of the pegasus, blocking her path to the downed Mane-iac. Saddle Rager looked up to the Tyrannosaurus exhibit that sat nearby and let out a very unpony-like roar, before charging at the stallions, whose bravado was quickly fleeing their faces faster than Fili-Second could jog to Neighpon and back.

“YOU ALL MADE POOR CAREER CHOICES!” Saddle Rager thundered at the minions.

“You tell em’, Saddle Rager!” Hum Drum cheered from afar.

The mooks rolled haphazardly out of the way, but it provided a now recovered Mane-iac with more than enough warning to do just the same, before the pegasus could flatten her completely with the statue.

Not all the stallions were able to escape Saddle Rager’s path of rather destructive justice, but Mane-iac did. Her hair pulled her back to her hooves, then held her aloft again as she dusted her bodysuit off and regained her bearings. Through her brief spat with Saddle Rager, Mane-iac had been able to retain hold of the golden comb. The artifact seemed to be practically glued to her mane, now.

Channeling its power, Mane-iac found herself with deja vu as she dodged yet another of Zapp’s lightning bolts, which had already felled a couple of her henchponies. Their fried-black and unconscious bodies lay all over the debris-strewn marble, damp from indoor rain. Some of them twitched.

Mane-iac dodged or blocked yet more lightning bolts with unnatural, inequine speed. Her eyes began to glow much like her pegasus opponent from the magic of the Pharaoh’s comb.

“Calamity!” Zapp exclaimed as she turned away briefly to watch Mistress Mare-velous lasso and hogtie three mooks near the Masked Matter-Horn’s incapacitated form. “What sort of mind would think it a fitting idea to imbue a golden hairstyling implement with any form of magical power?”

“A brilliant mind. Whatever else, Power Pony?” Mane-iac retorted venomously, her voice now underlined by an ominously new note of hostility.

“I must correct you, Mane-iac. A deranged mind.” Zapp countered.

“Oh, but Zapp, you fail to see the mane point of the matter. Insanity is but another form of beauty!” Mane-iac chuckled as Radiance catapulted Fili-Second towards her with an energy force-field for a battering ram, seizing Fili-Second by the hindlegs with the appendages of her tail and tossing her towards an exhibit for prehistoric amber.

“I beg to differ!” Fili-Second shot back with annoyance, her forelegs crossed as she soared through the air.

“Fili-Second!” Radiance cried out.

Ceasing her barrage of lightning strikes with a gasp, Zapp attempted to catch Fili with gust of wind before she could impact the stands, turning her back to the Mane-iac in the process. “Yes!” Zapp’s rescue attempt was successful, but Mane-iac saw a window of opportunity. “You are safe now, Fili, for a true pegasi is always watchful!”

“Uh, thanks for the save, Zapp.” Fili-Second scratched rapidly at her orange forelock of hair awkwardly before returning to jump back into the fray.

In the moments it took for Zapp to deposit Fili-Second back on the ground to help Saddle Rager, Radiance, Hum Drum, and Mistress Mare-velous deal with the remaining henchponies, Mane-iac was able to entangle the pegasus in her green mane, which had taken on a consistency comparable to metal in the places where it was not still the Mane-iac’s ‘ordinary’ hair.

The hair held Zapp with a vise-like grip as the pegasus fought against it with grunts of effort.

“Urgh! Release me at once, vile fiend!” Zapp demanded. Her command was met by another tirade of sanity-shattering laughter and cackling from the Mane-iac, who only tightened her grip more on the Power Pony.

“Let her go!” the Masked Matter-Horn shouted, having recovered from the strike to her face. The entire area around her muzzle was as red as a cherry, and looked almost hot to the touch.

“Ah, ah, ah, Power Ponies. It’s not that simple, I’m afraid. I’d rather not have to hurt your friend, and run the risk of dirtying my gorgeous hair any further, but first there’s something you must do for me.” Mane-iac held her forelegs out in a broad gesture. “Need I to spell out the obvious?”

“You really expect us to surrender to the likes of you?” Mistress Mare-velous hissed, standing near Matter-Horn to hold her up while the unicorn rubbed at her sore muzzle.

“RELEASE HER BEFORE I BREAK HALF OF EVERY BONE IN YOUR BODY!” Saddle Rager roared, her berserker rage already beginning to fade away back to normal. In response, Mane-iac simply laughed and tightened her grip on Zapp, now rivaling that of a constrictor snake. Zapp cried out in pain. “...please?” Saddle Rager added with a squeak as her normal voice returned.

“I told you,” Mane-iac began, glaring intensely at her nemeses. “Every hair salon in this region would quake with fear at my name, and I meant it!” She squeezed at Zapp again and giggled as the pegasus yelped with a mixture of pain and righteous anger. “If you wish your comrade free of any lasting injuries, you will accept your defeat like proper mares.”

“Zapp, no!” Hum Drum cried with distress. The others echoed him.

Eventually, the Power Ponies shared a mutual look of desperation, and finally, the Masked Matter-Horn caught the villain’s rapt attention with a drawn-out sigh.

“Very well, we-” Matter-Horn swallowed hard, as if the words she were about to utter were an earlier lunch that her stomach hadn’t quite agreed with. “-we surrender.”

Mane-iac’s eyes glowed with excitement as she let out a victorious bout of laughter. “Henchponies, you know what to do!”

The stallions that could still walk approached the Power Ponies with sturdy ropes they produced from their satchel bags.

“Go ahead, make your getaways, have your moment in the sun. You’ll still get yours, all of you!” Fili-Second taunted as she held her forelegs out to the nearest henchponies with mock enthusiasm. “Justice is as swift as I am quick.”

“I can attest to that,” Radiance affirmed, who was already being tied to one of the large, ornate wrought iron lamp posts that graced the cavernous halls of the museum.

Working quickly, the mooks were able to secure the Power Ponies at various points around the hall. All of them were now looking at Mane-iac expectantly, waiting for her to fulfill her end of the bargain and release Zapp. What happened next caught everyone, even the henchponies, by complete surprise.

Mane-iac laughed like a madmare for the thousandth time that night as she looked between Zapp and her fellow Power Ponies sadistically, before running the pegasus through the back with one of her metal-like strands of hair formed into a wicked point, easily punching through the mare’s blue body suit, and barely missing her vitals, as it exited near her stomach.

Zapp’s eyes widened with disbelief and shock as she felt an explosion of almost unfathomable pain blossom out from her very core, rendering her unable even to cry out as all the air escaped from her lungs.

For the rest of the superheroes, time seemed to slow to a mere crawl as Mane-iac then released Zapp from her clutches and wantonly catapulted the wounded pegasus out through the skylight above, as if she were barely more than a teddy bear, or a polo ball.

What followed was a chorus of panicked cries, interspersed with shouts of rage or Zapp’s name from the Power Ponies as Mane-iac’s laughter picked up. The villain paid them one final smirk-filled glance, before leading her remaining henchponies away to their escape, the Pharaoh’s Comb and its power still in their grasp.

The Power Ponies quieted themselves as their departing foes finally vanished from sight, as each team member worked to wrap their heads around the unthinkable event they had just witnessed.

Mistress Mare-velous slammed a free hoof down onto the floor in fury as she struggled to loosen her bound forelegs, leaving cracks in the marble tiles. While in her ministrations, she noticed a small pony staring at her wide-eyed from behind one of the exhibits.

“Hum Drum?” Mare-velous’ voice softened as she attempted to keep it from breaking. “I guess they forgot to tie you up with the rest of us, huh?”

Hum Drum emerged from the shadow of the exhibit stand, nodding. He gulped as he did so, his eyes wide and brimming with tears.

“C’mon squirt, untie me and the others.” Mistress Mare-velous registered the colt’s expression, and adopted a maternal tone on instinct. “Don’t worry, Hum Drum. Zapp is a tough mare, possibly the toughest one of all us! We just gotta go out and make sure she’s alright. But first,” The earth pony tilted her head towards her bonds, – her own lasso – with emphasis, causing her platinum mane to move with her.

“O-ok,” Hum Drum nodded, sucking up his tears and getting to work loosening the knots.

“Good boy. Don’t you worry, we won’t rest until Mane-iac is brought to justice for this!” Mistress Mare-velous’ features darkened as she uttered the name.

Hum Drum quickly made his way over to the Masked Matter-Horn and freed her, and did the same with the others, until the entire team was free again.

“Zapp needs our help, let’s go, hurry!” Matter-Horn urged.

Wasting no time, they all darted outside to begin the search for their undoubtedly wounded friend and comrade, not bothering to let their ankles recover from the tight knots. They did not have to look long.

Zapp had evidently landed right outside the front of the Museum of Natural History, which was by now filled with the blaring lights of police squad cars, and the frantic back and forth talk and calls of police ponies and random members of the Maretropolis press as they responded to the incident.

At least a few helicopters were buzzing overhead, but none of the Power Ponies paid them any mind. All seven of them had their eyes glued on one particular spot of the pavement, which the authorities were already taping off and taking pictures of for their later reports.

Lights from hundreds of cameras flashed all around the surrounding street behind the police cordons. No doubt, a story of the decade was already circulating through the papers and the major news networks.

For on the pavement, in a pool of blood and shattered glass, lay nothing but Zapp’s lone lightning bolt pendant.

The Search

Power Ponies: The Storm Unleashed
Chapter 2: The Search
By Darksonickiller and Izangi

“I’m afraid every exterior museum camera was knocked out of commission. Wires cut, or circuits fried; every last one of em’.” Police Commissioner Golden Badge hung his head low in vexation, scratching at his neatly trimmed black mustache with the tip of an unsteady hoof.

Mayor Blossom was beside him in the briefing room of the Maretropolis Police Department Headquarters, and shared in the seasoned police stallion’s largely forlorn mood. “The MPD were unable to recover security footage of Zapp or what happened to her, nor of what direction it was that Mane-iac and her criminal cronies carted off to with the stolen artifact.”

“Mane-iac must have planned her raid on the museum for days, maybe weeks in advance, then!” The Masked Matter-Horn declared, shaking her head at the possibility.

“According to the museum Curator, the security staff were still in the process of changing shifts with the night watch when Mane-iac began her heist.” Golden Badge said, pointing to the video screen on the wall, which was displaying footage gathered from several interior cameras simultaneously in a grid.

“Which is when musuem security is at its most vulnerable,” Radiance added.

“Precisely,” Golden Badge nodded.

Everypony then watched the screen as they saw several glimpses of the Mane-iac or her henchponies in various frames of video, canvassing the layout of the museum, knocking security guards unconscious, or stealing additional artifacts, no doubt for a hefty profit off to the side down the road in the city’s thriving underground trade in stolen art.

“While the loss of such a priceless artifact as the Pharaoh’s Comb from the museum is an unfortunate loss for our city, it is nothing compared to the loss of somepony as important as one of its great protectors,” Mayor Blossom said with a frown of distaste, her disgust at the contents of the footage evident in her voice. “You have my sincerest condolences, Power Ponies, but things have only just begun.”

Blossom turned to Golden Badge for elaboration. “By that, Madame Mayor means that the police of Maretropolis will stop at nothing until Zapp is returned to you all safely. I’ll pull some strings at the state and federal level, and see about getting some assistance from the National Intelligence Community.”

“Thank you very much, Commissioner Golden Badge, Mayor Blossom,” Mistress Mare-velous said with a grateful nod. The rest of the Power Ponies echoed her, and they all got up from their seats to take their leave.

“Best of luck in your own search, Power Ponies,” the Mayor said.

Golden Badge nodded back at them. “I’ll see about my boys and girls in blue nabbing Mane-iac personally for this, if I can help it.”

In the day that followed and on every single one after that, not a single hour was spent without at least one of the Power Ponies actively working to detect even so much as a trace of their lost friend and comrade. The mares and Hum Drum searched in almost every place they could think of; every district, every borough, and every neighborhood.

The Power Ponies looked into private residences and businesses, even the various crime families that the heroes were on at least speaking terms with, hoping for even a hoofful of leads or eyewitnesses at the time of the museum incident. They would always emerge empty-hoofed from each, not a single step closer to finding Zapp.

Eventually, in a week’s time, the search zone expanded to well outside Maretropolis itself, from as far north as the Trotham City metropolitan area, to as far south as Crystal City, and all towns and cities in between. Local police, government agencies, and even fellow superhero teams up and down the East Coast lent their assistance to the Power Ponies from time to time in their efforts.

Unfortunately, even with such dedicated searching and professional resources committed to the task, no physical sign of Zapp could be found, nor any word of her. It was as if the pegasus mare had simply vanished off the face of the Earth, leaving even her potential death as a mind-boggling uncertainty for all involved.

Meanwhile, back in Maretropolis, the Power Ponies were in their penthouse headquarters atop Maretropolis Tower, preparing to begin yet another day of strenuous searching.

Between the incessant search, and the heroes’ preexisting job of crime fighting, the fatigue of their situation was rapidly beginning to show on all the heroes, not to mention the young Hum Drum.

The colt sidekick sighed from a mixture of tiredness and melancholy as he ate breakfast with a downcast look. Saddle Rager paid him more than a few worried glances with her golden but slightly bloodshot eyes, barely able to eat her own bowl of oatmeal. Two voices, both belonging to Mistress Mare-velous and the Masked Matter-horn respectively, were issuing out from the HQ’s central mission room, which adjoined the high tech and spacious kitchen, an equally spacious lounge, equipment room, and a staircase that lead up to their private suites, rooftop garden, and other rooms.

“We’ve searched up and down the coast, I think it’s high time that we widen the zone further. Go national. International, if we have to.”

“Mare-velous, even with all our powers and abilities, we’re just six ponies. We’re already stretching our resources too thin as it is, searching the entire coast while still trying to fight crime. The government is losing confidence that we can find her, and the other superheroes have their own jurisdictions to attend to.” Matter-Horn’s voice paused, sighing. “There must be something else we haven’t tried yet...something that will finally lead us to her, and fast.”

Hum Drum and Rager both heard Mistress Mare-velous let out an irritated snort. “That ‘something’, should be broadening our search zones. What if Zapp was snatched up or kidnapped by some other diabolical mastermind while we were staring down Mane-iac, and is on the other side of the planet right now?”

“Don’t you think said mastermind would have sent us a oh, I don’t know, ransom or something by now?” Matter-Horn asked sarcastically.

“Maybe...I dunno!” Mare-velous replied, the frustration in her voice increasing. “That’s my suggested course of action, and I’m sticking to it!”

With Radiance occupied in her room trying to conceal the effects of fatigue and stress on herself, and Fili-Second still asleep after having spent the entire night zooming about the city hoping for signs of Zapp, the duo were currently the most active of the team at present besides Hum Drum and Saddle Rager.

They had both awoken just before the crack of dawn, blundered into the kitchen robotically to nab two mugs of coffee, and promptly stormed back into the main room, having barely so much as greeted the pegasus and young earth pony.

Seeing Hum Drum in such a low mood, Saddle Rager decided to see if there was anything she could do to somehow lift the kid’s spirits, even a little bit. “Hey, Hum Drum?”

The colt looked up from his half-finished waffles with a frown, his mask off and laying beside his utensils like Saddle Rager’s currently was. “Hmm?”

“Want to watch My Little Donkey with me after breakfast? There’s supposed to be a marathon on all day, and only Mare-velous and Matterhorn have hero duty today.”

To Rager’s relief, Hum Drum’s features seem to brighten quite a bit. “Really, you watch it too? Sure!”

“All the time,” Saddle Rager replied with a smile and a light giggle. “Believe it or not, it helps me with managing my power, so that I only get angry when it’s needed.”

Hum Drum starting attacking his waffles with a newfound interest, his mood improving even more as he got bits of butter on his muzzle. “It’s great to know, Rager, that’s so cool!” he said in between bites. “Who do you think is best donkey? Ooh careful, trick question!”

“All donkeys are best donkey, of course,” Rager answered with a wink, grinning. Hum Drum returned the grin.

It was at that moment that the Masked Matter-Horn and Mistress Mare-velous returned to the kitchen in the same semi-distracted fashion as they had left it, picking their argument up right where they had left off mere seconds ago. Hum Drum and Saddle Rager remained where they were, wondering how long it would be before their overworked friends actually registered their presence in the kitchen.

“I’m telling you, we simply can’t do it. Maretropolis still needs us to watch over her, who will do that if we’re halfway across world on a wild goose chase?” The Masked Matterhorn asked incredulously. “The police? On their own, against super villains?”

Mare-velous could see her colleague’s point, but she rolled her eyes nevertheless. “Fine, then. What do you suggest we do?”

“From here on out, we ought to start sending out broadcasts all over the region, offering rewards for anyone with leads on Zapp’s possible whereabouts. If we can’t find info ourselves, maybe some will make its way to us.”

“While we do what, sit on her haunches in between villain cases and hope for the best? If you were missing or kidnapped, wouldn’t you want us to go to the ends of the universe itself to find you?”

Matter-Horn had to think for a bit at that, causing the earth pony to arch her brow at her. “That’s...you know what, I can honestly say that I wouldn’t,” she finally answered, frowning. “Missing team member or not, Maretropolis still needs us. Not that I would ever give up on Zapp or any of us, but there’s a middle ground here, in all this. I aim to find it, before we all run ourselves ragged.”

“And I hope you do,” Saddle Rager interjected, with a mixed look of stoicism and bashfulness only she could pull off. “and soon, before we all keel over from exhaustion. Finding Zapp is one of our most supreme priorities, but we still have our sworn duties to protect the city. You two arguing won’t get us any closer to finding her.”

“Oh, Saddle Rager, Hum Drum! I…” The Masked Matter-Horn sputtered, finally registering the duo sitting at the table. “You heard all of that, huh?” They both nodded. “Sorry.”

“The toughness of the situation is just getting to us, guys.” Mistress Mare-velous explained apologetically. “We’re mighty sorry about all that, earlier.”

“Don’t worry, it happens to the best of us.” Hum Drum reassured both mares, getting up and gesturing Saddle Rager to follow him to the lounge. “If you think sending out a broadcast might help, and you haven’t tried it yet, then why not do it? With Maretropolis itself as our eyes and ears, that could free up our government friends to focus on the countryside.”

Mare-velous smiled a bit, before the smile turned into a grin. “Ya know what, Matter-Horn? The squirt’s right, and so are you, afterall.” She knelt down to be eye level with Hum Drum as he stood beside Saddle Rager. “Kid, you might just be the brightest out of all of us. Let’s go get that broadcast out to the city, tell them to search high and low for Zapp, and to be on the look out for anything suspicious; my estate back in Trotham can offer big bucks for anypony whose intel leads to the safe return of Zapp. We’ll be sure to find her in no time after that!”

After quickly chugging some more coffee, the Matter-Horn nodded vigorously. “I’ll send Radiance out to check on the tower’s radio mast, and I’ll go get everything running in the mission room.” The primly-maned unicorn was already making her way out of the kitchen, habitually putting her goggles on as she went.

“Capital!” Mistress Mare-velous replied. “Hum Drum, whatever you and Saddle Rager are up to on your day off, could you both go and wake up Fili-Second, first? We need her to go tip off the local radio stations in a jiffy so they can relay our bulletins.”

Hum Drum gave her a salute before donning his mask, and Saddle Rager gave an eager nod before they both made their way up to Fili-Second’s room.

In a few minutes, Radiance was already hard at work outside priming their communications equipment for a large-scale broadcast, Fili-Second quickly (and somewhat irritably) left Maretropolis Tower and was now zooming about town, Saddle Rager and Hum Drum were glued to the lounge’s idiot box, and the Masked Matter-Horn and Mistress Mare-velous were in the mission room, already going over the finished script for their upcoming transmission.

Radiance poked her head in from a doorway that lead to one of the outside rooftop access ways. “We’re all good now, girls. You’re on the air!” she called to them.

“Thanks, Radiance,” Matter-Horn called back as Mare-velous donned some headphones and waved a hoof thankfully at her.

The Masked Matter-Horn flicked on some radio consoles that began emitting quiet tidbits of other broadcasts with her magic, and levitated the mic to her muzzle. Various monitors off to the side and above them displayed muted video feeds of busy city intersections and TV newscasts. She carefully cleared her throat before turning on the microphone and speaking into it.

“Good morning, fair citizens of Maretropolis, this is the Masked Matter-Horn, leader of the Power Ponies. I am speaking to you now, under the most urgent of circumstances.” Matter-Horn paused for just a second and looked to Mistress Mare-velous, who was monitoring the strength of the transmission throughout the city. The earth pony smiled encouragingly.

“You’re doing great, keep going.” she said in a whisper.

The Matter-Horn nodded and quickly continued. “No doubt, you have all by now heard the unfortunate news regarding the recent and almost inexplicable disappearance of the superhero known far and wide as Zapp, our valued colleague and dear friend. I’ll be frank with you all: we need your eyes and ears.”

Mistress Mare-velous nodded as she adjusted some dials. Matter-Horn continued. “Anypony with verifiable sightings of Zapp, viable leads, clues, or any other form of information that leads to her discovery, or the discovery of anyone involved in her disappearance if applicable, will be handsomely rewarded. This reward is not offered by the city, nor the Mayor, but by us personally. Please be on the lookout for Zapp, and stay ever vigilant. Thank you.”

With a sigh, the Matter-Horn placed the microphone back on its stand and wordlessly made her way over to the lounge, Mistress Mare-velous following closely behind. She didn’t even bother to ask Hum Drum or Saddle Rager what they were watching, and just plopped herself down on the sofa next to them, staring at the TV and holding her head up with a hoof in exhaustion. Mare-velous took one of the recliners off to the side.

“You think the city will help, now?” Matter-Horn inquired finally after several minutes, to nobody in particular.

Before the others could answer, Fili-Second darted into the room’s doorway, accompanied by Radiance.

“Actually, I already spotted a few folks on the way back here who were launching some airships over at Maretropolis International. They had signs with Zapp’s picture on their sides with dollar signs that said, ‘find me.’ or something like that.”

Mare-velous nodded sagely. “Thought as much. We...or rather, I...just offered them a blank check.” Everyone nodded at that.

What passed around all the Power Ponies’ minds that remained unspoken however, was that all of them were willing to spare next to no expense, save for the security of Maretropolis itself, if it meant reuniting with their friend.

Fili-Second and Radiance joined the others on the couch. “You never were bashful about your family’s more than prosperous corporate background, were you, Mare-velous?” Fili-Second half-heartedly gibed.

“Why should I be?” Mistress Mare-velous retorted, fumbling with her utility belt. “Unlike some others who ride out on their families’ fortunes, I put mine forward to equip this whole shebang of ours with not only part of my company’s skyscraper, but all of the latest crime-fighting equipment available!”

Fili-Second, sensing that she had clearly struck a nerve with the earth pony, grinned sheepishly. “Ah, that’s right, of course, heh-heh!”

“So...uh, is anypony worried that some of our nemeses might see our broadcast as a sign of incompetence? Anypony at all?” Radiance put forward. “Think some villain or two might be emboldened by our asking for help?”

“Oh...that, that actually hadn’t crossed my mind…” Hum Drum said nervously.

Saddle Rager looked away from the TV and glared at nobody in particular. “That’d be a very incorrect assumption on their part. I for one am still at the top of my physical game.”

“Hmm.” Matter-Horn shook her head after a moment of thought. “To address your concern, Radiance, that could be to our advantage.”

Radiance twitched an eye oddly at her. “C-come again? Have you lost your marbles, Matter-Horn?”

“Hold on a sec,” Mistress Mare-velous interjected, a lightbulb practically turning on above her head. “I think Matter-Horn here means that it could actually mean some villains might end becoming careless, possibly including whomever might be involved in Zapp’s disappearance, if it wasn’t Mane-iac!”

Fili-Second let out an excited gasp. “We could set up traps using intel the citizens provide! Those mooks won’t even know hit em!”

“Exactly, girls. Nailed it.” Matter-Horn nodded. Hum Drum sighed in relief, and Fili-Second did a hoof-pump of triumph. “Let’s not start getting overconfident ourselves, though. We might let our guards down.” The unicorn looked at a picture of their team on the coffee table in front of her, focusing on Zapp in particular. “And we all know we can’t afford to let something like that happen again.”

Dead Ends

Power Ponies: The Storm Unleashed
Chapter 3: Dead Ends
By Darksonickiller and Izangi

It didn’t take long for the Power Ponies before leads and potential information began to flood into their headquarters’ mission room by mail, email, and phone on the same day.

Bounding nimbly from rooftop to close rooftop across the crown of Maretropolis’ old and densely built-up theatre district, the Masked Matter-Horn and Mistress Mare-velous were currently hot on the trail of one of their most recent and most promising leads of the day as the Sun traced a lazy orange-violet trail across the sky in its gradual descent.

“What a dump. A rooftop shack for a stolen goods warehouse, seriously? This district’s seen better days. Do ya think he’s still holed up there?” Mare-velous inquired, looking up at the approaching form of a gargantuan and somewhat dilapidated theatre sign, interlaced with an elaborate system of scaffolding, as well as layers upon layers of carefully placed rain tarps, scrap wood, and corrugated metal.

“Of course he is. That guy has amassed such a hoard of gems in just a few short days worth of robberies, he might as well be part dragon, for all we know.” Matter-Horn replied back, closing the gap across another narrow alleyway below.

“Must be planning to sell them all off to shady parties all in one fell swoop.” Mare-velous snorted as she used her lasso to swing herself onto the next rooftop ahead. “I’d love to nab them all in one fell swoop!”

According to a mare by the name of Tira Mi-Su, the proprietor of a well-known pizzeria and bakery just down the street from the Maretropolis Museum of Natural History, a pegasus cloaked in black that she identified as the infamous Prench jewel thief and minor villain La Silhouette had been spotted darting past the front windows of her establishment around the same time as the break in at the museum.

Miss Mi-Su’s testimony was backed up by her upstanding reputation in the city, as well as those of several of her customers, who all gave similar descriptions of the same black-clad winged stallion.

Tira Mi-Su’s lead was just too compelling for them to not investigate. If La Silhouette was indeed an accomplice for Mane-iac, or at least saw anything that was more suspicious than himself that night, it could mean the Power Ponies will be just a bit closer to finally finding Zapp.

With a firm thud on the rough surface of the old theater’s weather-beaten roof, both Power Ponies flexed their muscles and limbs a bit before approaching the tired-looking door that lead into La Silhouette’s makeshift storehouse and hideout.

“What type of jewel thief makes their hideout in a place like this?” Mare-velous muttered in a low voice, unimpressed by the villain’s lair.

“I wouldn’t bet on it and run the risk of underestimating him, but judging by all these potential electrical hazards, Silhouette might not be terribly bright in some aspects,” the Masked Matter-Horn whispered back, narrowing her eyes at the mess of old wood, tangles of wires that provided stolen cable and power to the shack, and overhead tarps that formed awnings in places.

“Ready to spook this goon?” Mare-velous whispered, taking silent position on one side of the door.

“Yeah. On my mark, if he tries to make a break for it, I’ll stun him with my horn, and you lasso him into a knot.”

“Textbook.”

“Yeah. Okay, three, two, one, go!” At the Masked Matter-Horn’s signal, Mistress Mare-velous bucked the door open with ease, and Matter-Horn charged inside in a manner identical to a MPD tactical team. “There you are! Stop right there, keep those hooves where I can see em!”

“Sacrebleu!” a heavily accented voice shouted from somewhere inside.

Mistress Mare-velous saw a flash of light before she too was inside the hideout with her lasso, ready to secure and restrain Silhouette. Matter-Horn was standing in front of a stallion in a matte-black body suit, the hood of which was pulled off to reveal the dazed face of the thief.

Still reeling from the effects of the magical stun attack, Silhouette was an easy target for Mare-velous’ rope.

“No more wine, baguettes, or diamonds for you, Silhouette!” Mistress Mare-velous taunted. “You’re at the end of your rope.”

Silhouette, a rather slender pegasus with a closely cropped white mane and violet eyes under the ordinarily shadowed veil of his costume, sneered back at her as he strained against the golden rope. His grey coat was ruffled a bit as he wriggled about “For your information, Power Pig, I find the taste of wine quite disagreeable with my stomach. And before you continue to stew in your own ignorance, the very thought of snail can make many a common Prench pony gag.”

“Well capital for you, you’re a near perfect anti-cliche. You wanna cookie?”

The villain’s sneer only widened as his eyes glared daggers at the masked earth pony. “Anti-stereotype! Curse you, Madame Mare-velous!”

“That’s Mistress Mare-velous to you, sneak-thief!”

“Alright, that’s enough. Silhouette, we have some questions for you.” the Masked Matter-Horn said, flashing the pegasus a scowl that made his sneer gradually give way to a look of great unease. He’d rather not be on the business end of that horn again, if he could help it. “If you agree to cooperate, Mistress Mare-velous here will untie you so we can speak on more civil terms.”

“Bah! You really expect me to cooperate with the likes of you?” Silhouette managed a sarcastic chuckle. “I’d rather be struck dead by a random lightning bolt! Mark me, being zapped by your horn a second time would be more pleasant than helping you.”

“Well that’s such a shame, you know?” Mistress Mare-velous replied, staring at him down the bridge of her nose and not the least bit impressed by his over-exaggeration, of which he was quite well-known for. “We were even willing to give you a thirty second head start before we attempt to apprehend you, leaving all your stolen goods behind for confiscation by the MPD, of course.”

There was another bout of sardonic laughter. “You would give me, a pegasus, a thirty second head start? That’s practically the same as letting me walk free, ha-ha!”

Matter-Horn inspected her hoof briefly with an impassive expression, brushing off bits of debris from her uniform. “Times change, and so often does the ways of doing things.”

Silhouette gave her a bizarre look as surprise washed over him. “Wait, you are serious, aren’t you? Mes dieux, this is so surreal, like the Cirque de la Lune! Fine, untie me and I’ll answer your questions. Some of them, that is.”

“All of them,” Mare-velous corrected him, as Matter-Horn charged her horn for show.

“All of them,” Silhouette squeaked like a mouse, nodding rapidly.

Nodding in the satisfaction, both superheroes looked about the ramshackle warehouse of stolen gems before beginning their questioning, increasing Silhouette’s sense of personal tension as they silently and stoically scanned the shelves. Their surfaces were occupied by small boxes containing diamond rings, uniform black bags nearly overflowing with rough and finely cut gems of all types, assorted gem-inlaid jewelry, and miscellaneous junk.

Besides the dozens of shelves that took up the majority of the space, a facsimile of a kitchen consisting of an old wooden table with a microwave and mini fridge sat in one dingy corner, and a typical pegasus cloud bed and old TV sat in another. One other table sat right in the center of the storehouse, cluttered with the thief’s various equipment.

Having completed her evaluation of the motley structure’s interior, Mistress Mare-velous finally untied Silhouette as the Matter-Horn conveniently positioned herself between them and the door, just close enough to speak reliably with a normal conversational tone, which Matter-Horn used to begin their inquiry.

“Now, where were you on the evening of the Pharaoh’s Comb incident at the Maretropolis Museum downtown?”

Silhouette took his time with his answer, groaning and flexing his legs about, all the while the two mares watched him with the intensity of a bird of prey. He moved over to the nearest bit of exposed scaffolding and leaned casually against it, mentally cursing himself for having stupidly built the safehouse with only one entrance and exit. Only a tiny window high up on the wall farthest away provided an alternate option for egress, were he the size of an owl.

“I was...out and about town, of course, doing I-think-you-know-what, mademoiselle.” The jewel thief stared off into space for a moment as the mental gears in his head spinned. “Oh, oh! I think I know what this is about, Power Ponies! It explains your rather unorthodox behavior tonight, quite thoroughly.”

Mare-velous’ ears suddenly flickered atop her head. She thought she’d just heard a distant thunderclap. If a summer storm was coming in, she would prefer to be back at HQ before it hit the city, not in this unruly rattrap. “Well, then talk!” she demanded with a frown.

“Rest assured, mademoiselle, I played no role whatsoever in your comrade Zapp’s suspicious vanishing act. I was simply doing what I do best, and that does not happen to entail colluding with the likes of that madmare Mane-iac.”

“Vanishing act?” Mare-velous scoffed with derision. “Are you implying that Zap-”

Matter-Horn interrupted Mistress Mare-velous with a loud clearing of her throat. Both the earth pony and the pegasus thief stared at her. “He’s just trying to throw you off topic or get you angry, Mare-velous. Seen it a thousand times,” she stated with a deadpan voice.

Silhouette grinned at her. “Clever mare. I would not be lying, per se, were I to tell that I did actually see somepony else, besides the Mane-iac, that night. While I was doing my very best to avoid crossing paths with that dingue, this other pony seemed to be doing the opposite. They were shadowing her as she and her henchponies made their rapid escape.”

For a moment, the Masked Matter-Horn’s poker face faltered as her ears perked up, showing anxiousness. “Other pony? So she did have an accomplice, then! Who was it, how much of them did you see?” The speed of her voice was noticeably increasing.

“Are they the one that took Zapp? What condition was she in?”

Still leaning against the scaffolding, Silhouette brushed a hoof absentmindedly against the cold iron, smirking at both Power Ponies. “Mademoiselles, it was a very busy evening for me, if these shelves laden with shiny gems is any obvious indication. But if I had to rely on my memory, I could start by telling yo-”

Silhouette’s sentence was cut off abruptly as he suddenly emitted a scream that almost no pony could ever voluntarily make. Both of the Power Ponies’ jaws fell as the jewel thief’s entire body suddenly lit up with pure electricity as he convulsed violently, briefing revealing his skeleton like an X-ray. Stray arcs of white-hot lightning spread out from the shelf and the pegasus still gripping it, cascading across the entire structure.

The Masked Matter-Horn and Mistress Mare-velous kept themselves as far from any metal surface as possible as the electricity gradually made its way out of the shack and safely down into the frame of the building below.

When the area was finally clear of hazards, Matter-Horn looked around. Nothing had caught fire, save for Silhouette’s mane. His entire coat was now fried to a crisp and covered in ash, and he stared at everything but nothing in particular with widened eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, and feebly raised a hoof as if presenting a point of debate.

“Uh...n-nevermind.” With that, he promptly made a fainting motion before he fell in between the scaffolding and against the wall behind it. The scrap wood gave way to his body weight quite easily, and the pegasus fell through and out of the Power Ponies’ sight.

Both Matter-Horn and and Mare-velous were still gawking at where Silhouette had just been standing a few seconds before, standing still like statues. Eventually, their faces animated once again, and the duo rushed over to inspect the now gaping pony-sized hole in the side of the shack.

“My gosh, that came completely out of nowhere!” the Masked Matter-Horn exclaimed, peering through the hole and down the side of the building to street level. She looked back to Mistress Mare-velous. “We should call an ambulance…”

“I wouldn’t worry about it, it’s only six stories, the police will take care of it. You were saying something earlier about electrical hazards?” Mare-velous stated, raising a brow.

“Right...well, let’s just light the signal flare for stolen items for the police to confiscate, then be on our way back to HQ. Hopefully Fili-Second and Radiance will have much better luck in their lead then we just did.”

While nature apparently saw fit to interrupt the investigation of one major lead, the two other currently active Power Ponies were currently busy looking into theirs, which just so happened to lead them to a seemingly abandoned mansion on the edge of Maretropolis. As they were quick to confirm, it must certainly was not.

“Alright, Long-Face, where the heck is Mane-iac? What did she do with Zapp?” Filli-Second demanded, holding a peeved-looking fellow painted like a mime by the cuff of his black and white striped shirt as she stood in the middle of a dusty old parlor room. The place was littered with paint cans, as well as portraits and canvases of frowning mimes and sad clowns.

“I do not know what you are talking about, Power Pony. It has been a very long time since the Mane-iac and myself have crossed paths.”

“Is that so?” Radiance retorted. “Well, we have sources that say otherwise, ones that confirm you were overheard discussing the security vulnerabilities of the Museum of Natural History with one of her lieutenants, three days before Mane-iac’s break in there and the theft of the Pharaoh’s Comb.”

Impossibly, Long-Face’s frown widened. “Relying on outside parties to do your investigative dirty work now are we, Power Ponies? How sad. I know nothing about your precious missing team member. You’re all, tragically, wasting your time. Perhaps Zapp was so gloriously saddened and humiliated by your defeat and hers at the hairs of Mane-iac, that she simply left off her own volition, and changed her identity to avoid sharing in your despair and embarrassment.” It was the last thing he said before a white and purple clad hoof socked him across the face, knocking him out cold.

“Funny guy.” Fili-Second said sarcastically, hefting the unconscious villain onto her back as if he weighed hardly more than a feather.

“Well, if he won’t tell us anything, Balkham Asylum will definitely get him talking if he knows something,” Radiance replied. A flash of lightning shined through the tall windows as the rain battered them, briefly illuminating the dreary and poorly lit parlor. She summoned ropes made of magical energy to secure Long-Face to Fili-Second’s back. “C’mon, let’s hurry out and get this one to the authorities before the storm can get any worse. I’m overdue for a nice hot shower!”

“Beats staying here,” Fili-Second affirmed as they both marched through the dark foyer and out the heavy oak front doors. “Race you to the nearest police station! Oh wait, scratch that. Beat you to the nearest police station!”

Radiance smirked at her, before conjuring up some hard-light weights on the earth pony’s back not currently occupied by Long-Face’s snoring form. “Good luck with that!” She then levitated Long Face up and secured him onto her back, then conjured up a motorcycle of pure energy in the mansion’s driveway, promptly dashing off down the street.

Filli-Second sneered half-heartedly at her quickly departing squadmate, stepping back under the shelter of the porch roof above and shaking her costume to get rainwater off it. “How’d I not see that coming. All well, suppose she deserves a head start if she has to carry the perp!”

With a chuckle, Fili-Second readied herself before zooming after Radiance, leaving the property behind.

Unfortunately, a few days in Balkham Asylum confirmed that Long-Face had, despite expectation, been telling the truth the entire time. He knew nothing that could get them any closer to Zapp. To compound the Power Ponies’ misfortunes, La Silhouette had died at Maretropolis General, apparently from complications arising due to the injuries the lighting accident and subsequent fall had inflicted on him, taking whatever information he may have had with him to the beyond.

As the next couple of weeks passed, the Power Ponies pursued lead after lead, as well as questioning villains left and right regarding the whereabouts of Zapp or the Mane-iac. The latter course of action produced similar results that Long-Face had, to the frustration of all.

High Heel had virtually no known connection to Zapp’s disappearance, and was quite adamant about that fact upon her arrest, stepping on the tails of many police officers with her stylish shoes on her way to Balkham. Shadow Mane had not only produced no new intel, but had also evaded capture as well, and was still at large.

The previous and most recent villain to be questioned, Pharaoh Phetlock, had simply no comment whatsoever during his apprehension, beyond his expressed wish to have gotten to the Pharaoh’s Comb before Mane-iac for his own unrelated shenanigans.

By now, the Federal Government had finally given up its own search for the missing superhero, much to Commissioner Golden Badge’s chagrin, who promised that his own jurisdiction's search for Zapp would end only when the Power Ponies’ themselves finally gave up all hope.

And as the six Power Ponies carefully navigated their way into the lair of yet another villain in search of answers, hope was a value almost dangerously in short supply. To make matter worse, the air of the lair’s approach ﹘ Maretropolis’ old storm drains ﹘ was understandably quite foul, to say the least.

Donning face masks that obscured their muzzles and other facial features, the Power Ponies were in search of one particularly unusual villain, a entity of red and black ectoplasm-like material in the vague shape of a stallion that called himself Smudge. Whether he had always been that way, or was once a regular pony, only Smudge himself knew for certain.

“Eughhhh...of all the places for a hideout!” Radiance moaned through her mask, her galoshes splattering across the dank concrete of the city’s storm drains and underworks.

Saddle Rager turned to her with an equally uncomfortable expression. “How are we supposed to even fight in these conditions? Galoshes? Face masks? I barely have enough breathing room to u-unfurl my wings!” The confined space was starting to wear at her, and not just because she was a pegasus.

“Don’t worry, Saddle Rager.” The Masked Matter-Horn reassured her. “Smudge is more of the scheming type, then a rough-hooves brawler.”

“Brains over brawn,” Mistress-Mare-velous added.

“Indeed. We’ll have to be mentally and verbally on our guard, lest he make an offer even we can’t turn down, in an effort to weasel his way out of questioning.”

Nevertheless, Saddle Rager still gulped nervously, and stole one final glance behind her at the ray of sunlight cast by the open ponyhole above. Nothing but piping, curving brick, and concrete lay to her left and right as she followed after her fellow heroines.

After a few minutes’ trek around stagnant pools of rainwater and garbage, the Power Ponies finally reached the lair of Smudge, a repurposed cistern originally meant for catching and diverting excess stormwater. When Mayor Blossom had commissioned the Public Works Department to install a newer network around it, the older storm drains now remained dry all year, leaving them open to harbor all sorts of nefarious operations.

Smudge was no exception to this rule, and had outfitted his cavernous cistern-turned living space with all manner of equipment needed for facilitating diverse activities such as insurance fraud, counterfeiting, hacking, electronic theft, and most prolifically: illegal plasma weapons research.

Radiance scanned the menagerie of equipment with borderline envy as the Power Ponies unceremoniously barged themselves into the somewhat humid room.

“SMUDGE!” Saddle Rager shouted in her berserker mode, standing near the entryway and holding the reinforced metal entry door in the crook of her bulging foreleg like a surfboard.

“Smudge! We know you’re here, come on out!” Matter-Horn shouted, charging her horn to emit a spell allowing her to see through solid surfaces.

“Urggghh?” A low gurgly voice grumbled from somewhere behind one of the equipment stands.

“You know who we are, and why we’re here. It’s last week’s news. Literally,” Mistress Mare-velous said with a deadpan.

“Mluuurgh.”

“Found him!” Hum Drum announced with a light smile of triumph as he looked down and pointed from a large console he had clambered on top of.

The Power Ponies followed his point of view and finally spotted the supervillain. Smudge was working on something at a large and surprisingly pristine metal table. He looked up at them from his ministrations with a somewhat hostile but largely inquisitive glare through the fierce red openings that made up his eyes.

“Don’t you know this type of weapons research is banned by international treaties enforced by the Heroic Order of Righteous Nations?” Radiance asked rhetorically.

Smudge waved an aetherial hoof at her dismissively. “Blarghuugh! Uruurgh.”

Radiance scoffed. “Yes, well, H.O.R.N. does use plasma weapons as well, but the ban is of course to prevent terrorist access t… wait, we’re not here to discuss illegal research!”

“That’s right, Radiance. We’re here to ask you what you know regarding the potential whereabouts of Zapp.” Matter-Horn moved and stood next to her, while the others positioned themselves at all of the potential exits from the room, glaring at the supervillain expectantly.

Smudge appraised each one of them with his glaring red eyes. His features, what few that were actually discernable, were entirely unreadable. “Rurrrgggh. Blurggh, ghhhurgh urghh lurrgh. Mnurrgghahahahurlg!” The being began laughing aloud at what he said, a sound somewhat similar to a loudly flowing brook.

Fili-Second shook her head dubiously. “You...you would have ransomed information to the police if you knew anything?”

Saddle Rager and Hum Drum both wore a worried expression as the former had returned to her normal state, and Mistress Mare-velous had her face scrunched with a mixture of confusion and suspicion.

“W-what does he mean that it’s all pointless?” Hum Drum asked.

The Masked Matter-Horn’s own face fell as realization took hold at the same time as Radiance, whose body language directly mirrored hers. “Girls, Hum Drum….he’s right,” the Power Ponies’ leader whispered. “If he knew anything, he could have made a small fortune off it by selling it to the police, ages ago! I can’t believe that hadn’t ever crossed my mind. We...wasted even more time coming here. Ahhh!”

Furious, Matter-Horn ignited her horn and fired it at a nearby console in an unoccupied corner, obliterating it and whatever work it had been in the middle of.

“Urrugggh!” Smudge rumbled in displeasure, rushing over to inspect the damages.

“Save it, you lowly mass of protoplasm!” Mistress Mare-velous snapped, unfurling her golden lasso and readying it. “You can do all the illicit weapons research and money laundering you want soon...in your head, in a cozy little cell back at Balkham Asylum!”

Smudge made next to no effort to resist as Radiance conjured energy restraints around the supervillain’s forelegs, who chuckled impishly at the Power Ponies’ dour expressions. “Malurrgh.”

“Save it for the judge,” Radiance growled, glaring as she watched Mare-velous physically manipulated her rope to hog-tie Smudge, adding onto his existing bonds. “Next, is Mane-iac! One way or another, we will get answers about Zapp, and that nutter will brought to justice!”

By now, the Masked Matter-Horn had gotten a grip on her anger, and her eyes had grown impassive beneath her goggles, her tone flat. “Girls, I think it’s about time that we call off the search for Zapp.”

Saddle Rager and Hum Drum both gulped hard, and Fili-Second suppressed a sniffle as the full implications eventually sunk in. Smudge’s chuckling returned with new intensity, causing Mare-velous to forcefully put the weight of her hoof down on his mostly solid back to quiet him.

“And-and do what?” Radiance sputtered. “Zapp is…”

“Gone. We could continue searching, or focus on other priorities. We could find her in a year, or never find her at all. Every way I look at it now, a thousand roads could lead us to finding her, and each one could take a little bit longer than the last to travel to its end. Our time is not infinite!”

“But...what if this is just a ploy of Smudge?” Fili-Second ventured, not yet willing to cut to a similar conclusion. “What if he actually does have information, on one of these computers, maybe? It’s not a sure-fire guarantee he would have ransomed it out, just very likely!”

Smudge craned his neck to peer up at the uttering of his name. “Huuhrgh? Murrgh!” he rumbled to Fili-Second.

“N...not your favored way of under-hoofed tactics, you say? ‘Lying is a tactic for lesser minds? You...’” Fili-Second’s determination in her assertion began to falter. If a villain who was already a master of under-hoofed and illegitimate dealings claimed that something as simple as lying was a tactic that was beneath him due to its crude simplicity, then where did that leave the present matter?

“Fine,” Fili-Second relented. “Regardless of what this weirdo said, I’m telling the police to search these computers. But...I second the notion to,” she swallowed. “call off the search for Zapp. We need to shift our focus to Mane-iac.”

Fili-Second’s words seemed to open up a floodgate amongst the rest of the team. “D’oh very well,” Radiance agreed, visibly distressed. “I agree.”

“Agreed.” Hum Drum and Saddle Rager murmured in unison, their heads held low. Mistress Mare-velous seemed to be the only one that now shared the Masked Matter-Horn’s inexpressive look.

“Fine. Call if off. Let’s get this scumbag downtown, and we’ll go from there.”

Matter-Horn nodded, and waved towards the nearest exit point. “Move out, Power Ponies.” Something about her voice sounded vaguely hollow as she gave the order. One by one, with Mare-velous and Smudge in tow in the middle, the Power Ponies filed out of the cistern, heading back up to street level.

Shortly after Smudge was booked and taken off their hooves, the Power Ponies then went to see Mayor Blossom, to begin preparations for an official announcement, and the subsequent service that would follow for the city’s presumed lost defender. While the normal time for a missing persons’ case could last for years with ordinary ponies before being presumed deceased, years in superhero terms were like centuries, given the specific dangers, characteristics, and rigors of the average metapony’s world.

The following week, Mayor Blossom and Commissioner Golden Badge joined the Power Ponies at one of the city’s newest parks, which was subsequently renamed in honor of her as Zapp Memorial Gardens, to hold a ceremonial service to her memory and legacy as a paragon of justice.

The Memorial Gardens were packed nearly to the brim with mourners as first the Mayor, then the Masked Matter-Horn, gave their speeches. Matter-Horn was accompanied by the rest of the Power Ponies, who were all centered around the dias of a large statue of the pegasus herself,

“...for our fallen hero, her comrade and team leader, has this to say,” Mayor Blossom said, making the transition for the Masked Matter-Horn to speak.

“Citizens of Maretropolis, I thank you for your sympathies, condolences, and your respects. Zapp was a true hero, and a true friend to us all. To honor her memory, we will remain steadfast in our sworn duty to this city, and all her citizens. Justice, cannot be held back by the grip of death. It is immortal; timeless.” As Matter-Horn finished her speech, she looked to the statue behind her.

On the statue, Zapp’s wings were flared out and proudly perched atop a cloud of the whitest marble, ready to strike all who would do wrong with justice as swift as the very lightning she wielded.

Even with the superhero seemingly vanished without a trace from the world, Zapp’s statue would now stand as a reminder to all, that there exists ponies - some willing to make the ultimate sacrifice - who will stop at nothing to uphold the rule of law, and protect the innocent from injustice.

As for the remaining six Power Ponies, their own jobs were far from over. Mane-iac was still out there, and apprehending her was now priority tier-one for the Masked Matter-Horn.

While she sat in their mission room atop Maretropolis Tower and pondering their next move as a team, she heard a red phone begin to ring off its hook nearby. The unicorn darted to it and levitated the speaker to her muzzle with a speed that could nearly rival Fili-Second’s.

“Masked Matter-Horn, speaking.”

“Masked Matter-Horn? Ah yes, brilliant,” a suave-sounding voice replied on the other end, before clearing their throat. “Listen closely, please. I have information for you regarding Mane-iac, that you may find beyond invaluable.” Matter-Horn’s violet eyes widened with wild anticipation, and she plopped herself back down in her chair, running a hoof through her vibrant mauve mane, which was currently down and loose. She licked her lips before replying.

“I’m listening.”

Bad Mane-tenance

Power Ponies: The Storm Unleashed
Chapter 4: Bad Mane-tenance
By Darksonickiller and Izangi

Night hung high above Maretropolis as a lone delivery truck made its way down a seldom-used road on the edges of the city’s harbor and industrial district, carrying a diverse collection of goods to its destination at a private pier owned and operated by the large conglomerate Sol Corporation and its hair-care product subsidiary, Parasol Inc.

The truck itself seemed inconspicuous enough, bearing the SolCorp logo of a smiling sun on its back trailer as it pulled up to the gatehouse of the pier.

Having lazily put down his newspaper and coffee mug, the rent-a-cop earth pony put on a friendly smile as he emerged from the small gatehouse and approached the truck’s driver side window. A unicorn wearing a polo hat and sunglasses smiled back at him.

“Evening,” the guard greeted, frowning a bit in perplexion at the driver’s choice of eyewear at this time of day. The way things were looking so far though, it was going to be a long night for the stallion, and he had hardly the energy to continue caring about that insignificant detail. “You uh, need directions, or do you already know where you’re going?”

“Nope, I’ve delivered to this place before,” Golden Badge answered back, looking briefly at the guard’s SolCorp lapel pin. “Thanks.”

The guard nodded cheerfully and opened the gates. “Right you are, go ahead in. Somepony should be around further in to help unload.”

Golden Badge nodded with a light smile, before proceeding through the gates and into the expansive grounds of the dockside industrial park. Like much of the rest of the city’s harbor, this place was abuzz with activity in some parts, and completely devoid of activity in others. Forklifts and workers went back and forth, and one of the pier’s three massive cranes was currently busy loading cargo onto a weighting freight ship moored to the dock, which had a cheerfully grinning stylized sun emblazoned on its hull, accompanied by the slogan, “We sell everything under the sun!”

Scanning the area like a hawk, Golden Badge tilted his head against a hoof to speak into a concealed earpiece. “We’re almost in position. Approaching the factory now.”

“Copy that, Commissioner,” a police lieutenant replied. “We’ve got three choppers on hot approach about three minutes out, and our ground teams are already at the perimeter waiting for the Power Ponies’ signal to move in to assist. September and the rest of the Feds haven’t joined us yet, looks like they’ll be late to the party.”

Golden Badge pulled into the section of the pier operated by the Parasol company. The activity here was much less bustling then in the rest of the industrial park. “More work for us, then.” He turned to the wall behind him and slid open a little slot that allowed him to peer into the trailer. “Are the Power Ponies getting ready, Masked Matter-Horn?”

“As we speak,” the mare replied, her goggled face appearing near the opening of the slot with a determined expression. “Saddle Rager has reached the roof of the factory, and Radiance and Fili-Second are infiltrating the structure from the tunnels below.

“Good, because the inside of this place is going to be swarming with Mane-iac’s goons and hired mercs. Alright, showtime.” Golden Badge closed the slot and got the truck moving again, now approaching the loading docks for the shampoo factory.

“Commissioner Golden Badge?” a flat-sounding, almost monotone voice stated inside the unicorn’s earpiece.

“Yes?”

“This is Special Agent September, Federal Intelligence Agency. We will be arriving via the main entrance once the operation is fully underway. In light of the failure to ascertain Zapp’s whereabouts, I’m obligated to inform you that should Mane-iac fail to be apprehended, the Government will be forced to employ the assistance of H.O.R.N. in all further peacekeeping efforts. The MPD, as well as the Power Ponies themselves, will fall under their jurisdiction. To avoid all that paperwork, let’s prevent that, shall we?”

“No worries, Agent September. We’ll have Mane-iac thrown in Balkham under maximum security before sunrise.” The Police Commissioner assured him.

“She’s not getting away on our watch again,” the Masked Matter-Horn agreed, joining the radio chatter. “We’re securing all potential points of escape this time around.”

“See to it that you do, Power Ponies. Mane-iac’s recently uncovered plan to flood the market with the mind-altering shampoo ‘Mane-tenance’ constitutes a threat to national security. Agent September, out.”

In the back of the delivery truck behind neatly stacked pallets and boxes of random goods, the Masked Matter-Horn and Mistress Mare-velous readied themselves. For backup against mooks, they had brought along five MPD SWAT officers with them in the truck, three stallions and two mares.

“My Little Donkey? Oh hey, my daughter watches this,” One of the stallions commented, the sound of his voice muffled a bit by his blue full-faced helmet. He had his rifle curled in one foreleg, and was inspecting the colorful package of a movie from one of the boxes.

“Not a bad show,” one of his partners agreed, slamming a full magazine into her gun with a hoof. “We watched it at police academy a lot.” The police mare swung her head around to look at the superheroes beside them, her scarlet eyes focused and alert. You ready to come out swinging, Power Ponies?”

Mistress Mare-velous clipped her lasso firmly to her belt. “Let’s do this!”

The police pony closest to the exit kicked the doors open, and all five SWAT officers filed out uniformly, aiming down the sights of their guns. They were quickly joined by Mistress Mare-velous, the Masked Matter-Horn, and Commissioner Golden Badge, who had stripped off his impromptu disguise, revealing a ballistics vest. He levitated a pistol out from its holster in the crook of his left foreleg and held it ready.

Matter-Horn observed the loading docks quickly and carefully. They were presently occupied by at least half a dozen stallions smoking or milling about. They would appear to be dockworkers on break, were it not for their conspicuous lack of hardhats, and their elaborately styled manes. In addition, a mare in paramilitary gear was patrolling an otherwise nondescript gantry that adjoined the loading bay area.

The squad looked to Golden Badge and the Power Ponies expectantly as they hung low behind the cover of a stand of barrels, weapons at the ready. Golden Badge held up his hoof to tell them to wait, as the three of them kept their eyes glued on the mare.

Pausing in her patrol, the mare adopted a bizarre look and sat on her haunches. She brought her rifle about to scan for potential intruders. It was the last thing she did before a pegasus practically materialized behind her and socked her in the back of the head. The mercenary promptly tumbled onto the ground of the catwalk like a sack of potatoes, and Saddle Rager took her place, crumpling the barrel of the rifle like paper and rendering it useless.

Saddle Rager signaled to them from on high with a quick wave, and Matter-Horn returned the signal, prompting Golden Badge to wave the team forward. Rager then made her way quietly into the factory via the catwalk.

The SWAT officers formed an arc pattern as they stormed up to the loading bay doors. “MPD, on the ground, now!” one of them ordered sharply.

The stallions turned to look at them instantly, many of them wide-eyed in surprise as their cigarettes fell comically from their mouths in unison. As the officers slowly neared them, most of them dropped like planks with their forelegs over their heads, but at least a few were feeling somewhat bold. One with a purple faux hawk was slowly reaching for something in his grey wool designer jacket, and another thug had produced, of all things, a loaded crossbow.

“Drop it, dirtbags!” Golden Badge shouted. The stallions didn’t comply, and the team leaped into action.

“He’s packing!” In the time it took for one of the officers to put a suppressed round in the gun-drawing henchpony’s leg to incapacitate him per standard procedure, Mare-velous had closed the gap between herself and the crossbow-wielding one, knocking the wind out of him with a hoof strike and crushing the bow with another.

“You’re in the wrong century, evildoer.” Mare-velous then put a lasso around the downed stallion, and flung him into the air, sending him crashing into another mook that was charging at her with a crowbar in his mouth, knocking them both out cold.

Just as Mistress Mare-velous paused for a moment to observe the police ponies hoof-cuffing the stallions that had surrendered, she heard a chiming of magical energy as a beam shot past her, freezing a thug in his tracks that had been attempting to sneak up on her.

“Nice shot, Matter-Horn!”

The Masked Matter-Horn was already in full gallop towards the loading bay doors. “C’mon!” she answered back. “Golden Badge can handle these guys on the outside, we need to go reinforce Radiance and Fili-Second’s team as they enter the factory from the basement.”

Mare-velous paid one final glance at the Police Commissioner, who finished hoof-cuffing crossbow guy. He nodded to her. “Good luck, Power Ponies. We’ll hold here and neutralize any stragglers until Agent September arrives with reinforcements. Just give the signal if you need our guys on perimeter watch to back you up.” The earth pony nodded at him with a small smile, then darted after Matter-Horn.

Golden Badge then turned to see a small group of newcomers. Regular security guards, from the look of their uniforms. The ponies had their pistols, tasers, and nightsticks out.

“Security! What’s going on here?” One of the guards shouted, evidently failing to register the insignias on the SWAT officers. The tactical team had their rifles raised in warning, and the security guards just gawked at them.

Golden Badge scoffed. “Seriously, guys?”

After a few awkward seconds, the guards finally dropped their weapons as they realized what was going on.

Matter-Horn stood in front of the large loading door with her horn glowing, as Mare-velous took up position beside the frame of the door. “Power Ponies, come in!” a voice said urgently in Matter-Horn’s earpiece. The unicorn paused her spell.

“Hum Drum, good to hear from you. What do you have for me?”

“According to the police ponies doing overwatch on the perimeter, there’s going to be quite a few of Mane-iac’s private army milling about in the main room just behind that door. I suggest you and Mare-velous wait until Saddle Rager is in position and the others have breached the factory, which should be just about any seco-”

“Radiance reporting, we’re in. I say again, we’re in!”

“This is Saddle Rager, ready whenever you are,” the pegasus’ voice was angry; she was clearly entering into her berserk state.

“Acknowledged, breaching the loading bay now,” the Masked Matter-Horn replied to all, narrowing her eyes at the door and charging her horn again.

“Right, good luck girls. Hum Drum over and out,” Hum Drum paused without closing his channel. “Oh...yeah. You’re right. I mean, Hum Drum, out!” With that, the young sidekick’s channel closed again. Mistress Mare-velous allowed herself to chuckle briefly at that.

Without further fanfare, Matter-Horn began cutting a large circular opening into the metal door. Upon completion, Mistress Mare-velous bucked the freed metal down with her hind legs, and Matter-Horn followed up by levitating two flashbang grenades from her teammate’s utility belt, lobbing them through the opening.

Immediately after the mean little devices erupted in a loud pop of light and smoke, both superheroes charged in, Matter-Horn forming a field of vision for them through the smoke with a ray from her horn. Roughly twenty guards and thugs greeted them, the majority of which had easily been dazed by the grenades.

Before the henchponies had any time to fully respond, Saddle Rager appeared from the catwalks above and leapt down, forming a small crater in the concrete floor and pummeling down any pony foolish or unfortunate enough to be near her. Their bullets bounced harmlessly against her skin as if they were made of styrofoam as more henchponies poured in from side doors to investigate the disturbance.

Taking advantage of the distraction their enraged comrade provided, Matter-Horn and Mistress Mare-velous made short work of all the mooks on their side of the loading bay room. By now however, the entire factory was on alert; a freight elevator that lead to one of the factories’ upper floors was reaching ground level, carrying a whole load of additional henchman to back up their fiendish friends.

As Saddle Rager continued to make short work of the guards and equipment in her vicinity, the heavy elevator doors opened in front of Matter-Horn and Mare-velous, revealing a smirking orange-maned unicorn in a grey costume, perching herself carelessly on the barrel of a rather colourful cannon. She was flanked by several henchponies on either side, the mercenaries forming a demented rainbow in their differently-coloured paramilitary gear and ostentatious mane styles.

“So, you’re the ones who have been making a ruckus in the boss’ factory,” the unicorn mare greeted. “You may call me Phantom, Power Ponies, for I will be the one killing you today.”

The Masked Matter-Horn glared at her with loathing, as did Mistress Mare-velous.

“Whoa, look out girls, that’s Mane-iac’s lieutenant, the Phantom. She ‘s an assassin, can turn herself invisible!” Hum Drum warned them over the radio.

“Uh, Hum Drum?” Mistress Mare-velous said uncertainly. “How on Earth can you see her? You’re all the way over at Police HQ, right?”

“The police overwatch have military-grade penetrating cameras on hoof, we can see almost everything in the factory. In fact, we’ve just located Mane-iac...”

“‘See her’, you say?” Phantom chuckled sadistically. “Not for long! Get them!” Without any further warning, the mare lit the fuse on the cannon, and Phantom’s cadre of mercenaries charged out of the spacious elevator car, scowling and firing their submachine guns from the hip.

“You’re trespassing on Parasol Corporation private property!” one of them snarled.

Mistress Mare-velous grunted and lassoed the armed mare forcefully onto the ground, using her as a battering ram against several of her compatriots. “Heh-heh, that maneuver never gets old. Bad news for you, mook, to say that we have a search warrant would be one heck of an understatement!”

The party cannon finally fired, easily missing the Masked Matter-Horn and Mistress Mare-velous as they dodged out of the way, and instead finding the hulking form of Saddle Rager in its line of fire. The cannon ball slammed into the pegasus with great force, sending her backwards into the nearest wall.

“Umm, Hum Drum? What was it you were saying about locating Mane-iac?” Mare-velous inquired, now in cover with the Masked Matter-Horn as they tried to avoid the gunfire.

“We’ve spotted her, she’s holed up in her office on the top floor, above the shampoo mixing vats.”

Matter-Horn’s eyes almost seemed to ignite upon hearing the intel. “Those vats of toxic Mane-tenance shampoo must be disposed of, but Mane-iac comes first!”

“Baby steps, Matter-Horn,” Mistress Mare-velous replied. “There’s still the matter of these goons in our way.”

Saddle Rager was quick to recover from the cannon attack, as the light artillery had barely even winded her, only adding fuel to her rage instead. She roared, and Matter-Horn arched her brow at Mare-velous. “Solution acquired.”

“SADDLE RAGER SMASH!” Saddle Rager ripped one of the large loading bay doors right off its frame, tossing it towards Phantom and her cannon. Phantom turned invisible as she dodged the attack. The cannon was crushed under the impact, and anyone still near it was quickly knocked onto their backs by the shock wave.

It was around that time that Fili-Second and Radiance burst into the room from a staircase, quickly followed by at least a dozen well armed and armored police. Additionally, if the sudden sound of helicopter engines and addition of searchlights were any indication, the police and FIA had finally arrived in full force.

The five superheroes quickly assembled together with the new influx of police officers, who were pouring in from every exterior entrance now and were keeping the mooks thoroughly busy.

Mane-iac’s lieutenant was lurking about in the chaos with a hoof blade drawn, now attempting to get the drop on Fili-Second. “Now you see me....now you do-ah!” Phantom’s whispered declaration was cut off abruptly as she mistakenly blundered face-first into a door as it was swung open by an advancing police officer.

The policemare looked down with surprise at the knocked out unicorn assassin, now fully visible again. “Oh hey, looks like I just floored Mane-iac’s lieutenant somehow. Nice job, me!”

“Well done, let’s cuff her and move on,” another officer behind her said.

“Capital!” Mistress Mare-velous exclaimed as she joined up with her comrades.

“Fili-Second, Radiance, good to see you! How was the way in?” the Masked Matterhorn greeted.

Radiance rubbed a patch of dust off of her blue suit. “Quiet...but messy.”

“We would have gotten here earlier, were it not for Radiance here slowing us down by insisting on making as little racket as possible,”

“Those guards needed to be taken out properly, or else we would have brought the whole facility down around our ears,” Radiance retorted.

“Suppose so,” Fili-Second muttered.

“OUR BACKUP IS HERE! THE TIME TO CRUSH IS NOW!’ For emphasis, Saddle Rager rapped a hoof against the metal strut of an overhead catwalk. The entire structure crumpled in on itself, spilling a bunch of henchponies onto the ground level, groaning and covered in dust.

“Wow, Saddle Rager,” Fili-Second said with a whistle. “You probably hear this a lot, but you are a beast in the muscles department!”

Saddle Rager looked down at her with her teeth barred. “IT WAS NOT ME THIS TIME! THAT WAS SIMPLY POOR MAINTENANCE PRACTICES ON THE PART OF THE OWNERS!”

“Well uh, shall we get to it, girls?” Mistress Mare-velous inquired.

“Power Ponies, attack!” Matter-Horn shouted. Once again, the heroines sprung into action.

In no time at all, the MPD combined with the Power Ponies were making a mockery of Mane-iac’s private army. In two short minutes, the entire ground floor of the factory was now full of unconscious or downed henchponies, moaning with pain as they clutched at their bleeding legs or bruised coats.

Wasting no time, the Power Ponies took to the factory’s stairs as they made their way up to their primary target, pausing only briefly to take in the sight of the mixing vats for shampoo, which were full of a bubbling green gunk, and to deal with any henchponies dumb enough to still put up a fight.

With Matter-Horn leading the charge, the five superheroes stormed into Mane-iac’s luxurious office, and stared down the madmare herself. The whole room was set up almost like a hair salon; in addition to the typical office fixtures, the place was complete with hair dryers, curling irons, potted plants, and a veritable mountain of beauty products.

Mane-iac glared at them with wild eyes as she peered up from a bubble-filled claw-footed tub in the corner, gasping. “Power Ponies, barging in on a bathing mare, unannounced? Why am I not surprised? Golden Badge would never have the gall to challenge me or my company on his own.” The mare had been in the middle of styling her mane while bathing, running the golden Pharaoh’s Comb through her prehensile green locks.

“You’re going down, Mane-iac!” Fili-Second declared,

“And that horrid shampoo of yours is never going to endanger the public!” Mistress Mare-velous added. “Not if I have a say in it!”

Mane-iac scoffed at them, and prepared to exit the bathtub as she broke out into a laughing fit. “So sure of yourselves, Power Ponies, as always. That shampoo would have created the perfect army of brainless twits, ready to obey my every command! It’s high time I got you Power Ponies out of my hair, once and for all!” Too late did she noticed the Masked Matter-Horn charging a particular spell on her horn that had seen much usage that night. “Oh no…”

In the blink of an eye, Matter-Horn unleashed a freeze ray at Mane-iac’s tub with a roar of anger. The effect was instantaneous; Mane-iac’s entire body up to the base of her neck was now stuck in place inside the tub, leaving only her head and mane free to move.

“Curse you, Power Ponies!” Her mane prepared itself to attack as Mane-iac herself struggled to break herself free of the frozen bathwater, cackling all the while. “Uh, wait, shouldn’t there six of you, not counting the little runt? Hmm...one of you is missing…oh wait, now I remember.” Mane-iac’s insane laughter returned as recollection overtook her puzzlement. “It must be Zapp, the one who went missing somehow when I made my escape. Ooh, and you even named a park after her.”

“Don’t play dumb,” Saddle Rager growled. “We all saw what you did to Zapp, we know you killed her and your mysterious accomplice.”

Mane-iac gritted her teeth in displeasure. “Kill? Accomplice? Bah! I simply left your precious teammate for dead; the Museum shtick was simply the work of yours truly and her handsome henchponies. Besides, Power Ponies aren’t worth the effort to kill, especially when it’s much more satisfying driving you mad instead! Have you any idea how much work it takes to clean superhero blood out of one’s mane? Ha-hah-ha, Zapp’s took at least five attempts!”

“That’s enough of your nonsense, you’re finished, Mane-iac!” The Masked Matter-Horn spat, igniting her horn. “Zapp sends her regards.” The others adopted a ready stance.

The hairs of Mane-iac’s mane formed into readied wips. “I may have ran your precious friend through with my mane, but I never would have harmed a single hair on that pretty violet mane of hers,” Mane-iac stated with a wild and hostile sneer. “Now, we fight!”

The battle was quick but intense. In her current restrained state, Mane-iac was quickly defeated despite her best efforts, but not before hitting Radiance and Matter-Horn sharply on their sides with a few well-aimed swings of her hair. Just as she was able to free her body completely, Matter-Horn froze her still damp mane, which Saddle Rager promptly shattered before reverting back to her normal form. As Mane-iac began howling like a banshee at the loss of her mane, the golden comb fell from her and into Fili-Second’s grasp, and Mistress Mare-velous was quick to secure Mane-iac with an especially tight lasso.

“You’re nicked!” Radiance said, snatching the Pharaoh’s Comb from Fili-Second and containing it in a jar-shaped energy construct.

“My mane...my majestic, beautiful mane!” Mane-iac hollered. “Mark me, Power Ponies! When it grows back, you will have wished you disappeared like your friend did, for I will have my vengeance! Mark me!”

The Masked Matter-Horn stared her down angrily as the others prepared to leave. “You’re going straight to Balkham Asylum, and you will answer for whatever it was that happened to Zapp. Regardless of where she ended up that night, as of now, we hold you as the sole pony responsible. Let’s go girls, Golden Badge will be beyond relieved to see this whackjob in our custody.”

Early in the morning on the next day, Golden Badge proudly upheld his promise to Agent September and the Federal Intelligence Agency. Mane-iac was now confined under maximum security in special quarters kept under constant surveillance. Guards were posted to have complete control over what got out, and got in.

Meanwhile, he and the Power Ponies were currently in a conference room inside Balkham, holding a meeting with the Special Agent himself, who sipped a mug of coffee in a stiff, almost mechanical way.

“Well done, Power Ponies, Commissioner. Already, Parasol’s stocks have fallen rock bottom and Sol Corporation has officially disavowed the company and its practices; Mane-iac’s empire is finished and all her assets are being frozen.” September was steel-gray coated stallion who, oddly enough, possessed no tail or visible mane. He wore a gray business suit, and donned a matching grey fedora on his back that both somehow complimented his cutie mark, which was a pair of binoculars.

“We couldn’t have done it without you heroes,” Commissioner Golden Badge added, sighing with relief as he finished his own coffee, looking out the window as rain began to patter against the glass.

“Just doing our jobs, gentlecolts,” Radiance replied.

“I don’t know if we'll ever truly find out what happened to Zapp, but at least Maretropolis can rest a bit easier knowing that another major villain is behind bars,” the Masked Matter-Horn stated, flipping through the after-action reports the police filed for the raid.

“Thanks for letting me help with the radios,” Hum Drum said to the Police Commissioner.

Golden Badge smiled and patted him on the head. “Don’t mention it, Hum Drum. You’ll make a great crimefighter in the not so distant future.” The unicorn was going to add ‘maybe even fill Zapp’s shoes,’ but he felt it not fitting enough, with the given timeframe they were currently in. He cleared his throat. “So, what’s next for the Power Ponies, girls?”

Agent September looked to the six ponies as well, his eyes studious. “Based on last night’s operation, I would like to inform you all that I will be reopening Zapp’s case personally. While you have pronounced her deceased, I will still coordinate with my counterparts at H.O.R.N. to begin a proper global search. Your teammate is not the only metapony in recent years to have vanished under inexplicable circumstances.”

That seemed to catch all the Power Ponies off guard, who gasped with surprise.

“I-I...thats...thank you, Special Agent September,” the Masked Matter-Horn stammered. She quickly collected herself. As she did so, the veil of clouds gave way just a bit to let in some dawn sunshine, which filtered in through the tall, robust windows. “And to answer your question, Mr. Commissioner, we’ll keep doing what we always do: keeping Maretropolis safe from whatever threat we can.”

Calm Before The Storm

Power Ponies: The Storm Unleashed
Chapter 5: Calm Before The Storm
By Darksonickiller and Izangi

Roughly three and a half years after the final major apprehension of Mane-iac and the complete collapse of her criminal hair-care empire, the Power Ponies were still going about their routines as usual. Eat. Sleep. Crime-fight. Repeat.

Radiance, always the one most likely to volunteer for the desk work when it struck her fancy for a multitude of reasons she would be more than delighted to list down on paper, was currently in the Power Ponies HQ mission room. The stylish unicorn was keeping close watch on the many camera feeds that allowed the heroes to keep watch over Maretropolis, pausing only twice an hour to briefly work on her energy constructs, tinker with machinery, play a diverting game, or tweak her own sense of personal beauty in her suite upstairs.

Besides Radiance, another Power Pony was currently present in the HQ, while the others were out on daily patrol. Radiance heard his armored hooves against the floor, and greeted the newcomer whilst keeping her gaze glued to the screens. “Ah, good morning, Hum Drum.”

“Morning, Radiance,” Hum Drum greeted. “See anything unusual on the street feeds, yet?”

Radiance finally spun around in her chair to look at him and smiled, briefly appraising his choice of clothing and equipment with approval.

Of all the Power Ponies, to say that Hum Drum had changed the most would be an understatement. Once the somewhat bumbling and unsure sidekick of six super-powered and highly skilled mares, Hum Drum had grown quickly to become a true superhero in his own right. He had almost doubled in size thanks to a late growth spurt, and had spent much time honing his personal fighting skills and reflexes. Unsurprisingly, his voice had also deepened, an now carried a stronger edge of confidence and more than a little eagerness in its cadance.

“Not yet, I’m afraid. That’s quite a dashing ensemble you have today.”

This morning, Hum Drum had equipped himself in his set of blue and red semi-powered armor, Radiance’s own design. The suit was accompanied by four sophisticated rocket shoes that enabled flight almost as reliably as a pegasus’ wings, a holographic visor, Hum Drum’s trusty old red cape, and a diverse array of gadgets on his belt.

The young stallion chuckled. “I’d hope you would think so, seeing as how you made most of it.” The equipment rustled quietly as Hum Drum took a seat next to Radiance and smiled back, showing the whiskers of pale brown hair that were beginning to sprout above his upper lip and muzzle. “Hopefully some perps will get overly ambitious and try to rob a bank, I’ve been itching to try out my new stasis beam.”

Radiance shot him a slightly perturbed glance as she sipped a bit of cappuccino and passed an open box of delightfully-smelling doughnuts his way. “‘Hopefully,’ he says? Not getting too anxious now, are we? Always remember what Matter-Horn says about never letting our guard down.” she scolded.

Hum Drum flattened his ears as he frowned, biting into a chocolate-glaze with sprinkles. “Uh-huh, yeah, yeah. Guard and stuff.” The stallion paid a quick look at a framed glass stand not too far from where they sat. Inside the blue-gold velvet lined display, lay Zapp’s golden lightning bolt pendant. “Don’t worry, I got it.”

“That’s good to hear...hold up, well that’s out of the ordinary!” Radiance exclaimed. The other Power Pony snapped to attention as Radiance began tuning on the nearby police scanner.

“What is it?”

Radiance pointed a hoof at one of the screens. “Some pegasus nutter in a black and gold suit seems to be attacking downtown with lightning strikes.” Both she and Hum Drum shared a startled look before doing a double-take at the screen.

“A pegasus?” Hum Drum stated wide-eyed. “The others need to hear about this yesterday!”

Radiance was already fumbling for the radio microphone, nodding in agreement. “This is Radiance, calling all Power Ponies! An unidentified pegasus has been spotted downtown in the vicinity of Trottingham and 7th, attacking random targets with lightning. He or she is giving the police one hay of a bad day, approach with extreme caution!”

“Saddle Rager, here. I hear you, Radiance,” Saddle Rager answered back in a growl. “I’m a bit occupied with a gang of rogue mascots raiding a costume store at the moment, but Matter-Horn, Fili-Second, and Mistress Mare-velous should be able to respond.”

“Affirmative, we’re already enroute,” the Masked Matter-Horn. “Join us if you can, we’re catching this lunatic by the book, if possible!”

Radiance put on her mask, and Hum Drum lowered his holographic viser over his eyes. “We’re on our way,” Hum Drum replied.

The duo made their way out to the rooftop. Radiance summoned a small helicopter construct, and Hum Drum kicked his rocket pack shoes into action, soaring off and deeper into Maretropolis’ central business district.

“He-he’s gone, zoomed away just before you heroes showed up!” a police officer said while out of breath as they leaned against the door of their squad car.

“What? No!” Fili-Second exclaimed in frustration. “I thought we were gonna catch him for sure, how the heck could he evade us so easily?”

Fili-Second was joined by the Masked Matter-Horn, Mistress Mare-velous, Hum Drum, and Radiance at the intersection of Trottingham Boulevard and 7th Street, analyzing the damage wrought by the as of yet to be identified electricity-wielding pegasus. The area was full of police and emergency response teams.

Immediate viewing of the area seemed to indicate that at least three separate buildings had bore the brunt of the villain’s attack, as well as several fried street lights and a ruptured fire hydrant, a half dozen cars, as well as quite a few cops and some civilians who were covered in black soot and their manes standing completely on end, but otherwise not fatally hurt. A strange pile of charred scrap metal laid near one of the damaged police cars.

“Which way did they go? We don’t know if it’s a he yet, or not,” the Masked Matter-Horn inquired, turning to Radiance and Hum Drum. “You saw them first. Would you say it was a mare, or a stallion? If it’s a mare, then...” Matter-Horn paused. “Nevermind, we shouldn’t cut to conclusions so soon.”

“Not one hundred percent sure, but I would have to say it was a stallion that I saw,” Hum Drum said, scrunching his face in thought. He then looked to Radiance, who nodded in agreement.

“From what little of the pegasus I could make out, that would have to be one heavily-built mare.”

Mistress Mare-velous cursed. “If only we could have asked this loon in person, remove all the guesswork from the picture.”

Matter-Horn just shook her head in exasperation, and turned to the police pony, who had finally regained his breath. “He shot off eastward, in the general direction of the harbor. That was after he totalled that laboratory up there,” the pegasus gestured towards a five story building, which now had smoke billowing out of the windows on top two stories. Fireponies were already working to douse whatever flames were still burning within. “as well as that restaurant, and the doughnut shop at the corner.”

The officer pointed at a business marked ‘Tartarus’ Oven,’ and another with the sign, ‘Donut Joe’s’ respectively. One of his colleagues appeared beside him, nursing a wing of hers that had been zapped with lightning.

“Madstallion made off with something from that laboratory. Wasn’t alone, either, had some rohbutts with him, too.” Radiance fought back the urge to cringe at the mare’s thick Trotham City accent, as well as her pronunciation of ‘robot’. The policemare pointed at the charred heaps of metal. “Darn things were trying to make off with the soda fountains from the restaurant. Scared the patrons off to no end. Both of em’ self-destructed or the like when we nicked em’ and tried to bring em’ in for questionin’.”

A trio of police officers were either sorting through the twisted metal of the robot henchponies’ debris in confusion, or helping a group of civilians to cart the soda fountains back into their proper place at Tartarus’ Oven.

“Drat. We need to shadow the pegasus somehow and pinpoint where his base of operations must be,” Matter-Horn declared, rubbing at her chin thoughtfully.

“Base of operations?” the pegasus stallion inquired with confusion, raising his blue cap to scratch at his scraggly red mane, and idly fiddling with his baton in the other hoof.

“There’s always a base of operations,” Radiance told him. “It’s a thing endemic to almost all of these villainous types.”

“Forgive my friend here,” the policemare said. “He’s a wee bit new to the force, if you catch my drift. Not sure if the additional info helps, but uh, your mystery pegasus also made off with some donuts. Like, a lot of donuts.”

The Masked Matter-Horn raised an eyebrow beneath her large goggles. “Right…well, we have work to do. There’s a lightning-toting maniac psychopath on the loose. Thanks for the briefing...I guess.”

The policemare flared her wings and grinned. “Happy to be of help, Power Ponies!”

It was at that point that Saddle Rager appeared, looking flustered and worn out as she landed next to Fili-Second. “Phew...darn mascots. What is it with those costumed weirdos…” the other Power Ponies gave her weird looks. “Uhh...you know? So, where’s that lightning pegasus stallion I heard about?”

Hum Drum grunted. “That’s what we were just about to go find out.”

“Mystery stallion made a run for it before we got on the scene,” Mistress Mare-velous added.

“And now it’s time to find him, before he can cause any more mayhem around Maretropolis!” the Masked Matter-Horn stated firmly. “C’mon, team. Back to HQ!” As everyone moved to follow, Saddle Rager huffed with exhaustion before hurrying back home after them.

The Power Ponies began keeping track of the security cameras all day, and as chance would have it, the mystery pegasus in the gold-black suit attacked once again.

On the first couple of attacks, he was always able to get away before the Power Ponies could arrive, much to their ever mounting frustration. The pegasus managed to raid not one, but three other private laboratories across town, snatching unidentified devices or parts for an obscure intent, as well as attacking a seemingly random slew of additional business, making off not with cash, but everything from copper wiring, to silverware and magnets.

Eventually, however, the Power Ponies were finally able to catch up with the mystery villain in the late afternoon. He was in the middle of attacking a fifth laboratory in his daylong spree, and had yet to cart off with whatever it was he desired from the scientific establishment.

“Hold it right there, evildoer!” Mistress Mare-velous shouted, drawing the pegasus stallion’s attention to Power Ponies. The Masked Matter-Horn was next to her, and had her eyes narrowed as she studied the villain up close for the first time.

The villainous pegasus was still clad in his black bodysuit from earlier, and had vivid red eyes as he looked down at them studiously. There was no mistake in the Masked Matter-Horn’s mind, the villain’s eyes practically glowed with insanity that nearly rivaled Mane-iac’s. His wavy mane was a pale purple through his spiky headgear like his tail, and his wings and visible coat were a bright silver

“Stop, whoever you are!” Matter-Horn finally said. “Surrender to the MPD and this will go smoothly, or we’ll be forced to take you down the hard way. Which would you prefer?”

To Matter-Horn’s chagrin, the pegasus simply chuckled at her, before zooming off at full speed towards the east side of the city.

“Oh no you don’t!” Fili-Second shouted.

“Power Ponies, special pursuit formation!” the Masked Matter-Horn barked.

All six superheroes kicked into gear, breaking off into pairs of two. Hum Drum and Saddle Rager took to the skies and relayed their sight of the fleeing villain to the others by way of radio, Fili-Second and Radiance sped through streets below, and Mistress Mare-velous and the Masked Matter-Horn nimbly negotiated the city’s rooftops, spires, and fire escapes, all heading in a eastbound direction towards the Maretropolis Harbor.

The Power Ponies managed to track the pegasus all the way to the edge of the waterfront, stopping at the fenced-off perimeter of a run down “Ponyland Universal!” amusement park, which had been abandoned for at least a decade after falling victim to a mysterious real-estate bubble that had afflicted the entire eastern coastline.

“An old theme park?” Hum Drum remarked, touching down on cracked concrete and frowning at all the decrepit rides and empty stalls.

“That guy had the eyes of a lunatic,” the Masked Matter-Horn replied. “Can’t say I’m surprised.”

“Right, shall we get to it, then?” Radiance asked. “Finding the entrance to his secret base, that is. It’s bound to be around here somewhere.”

“Sounds like a plan, Radiance.” Mistress Mare-velous agreed.

“Alright, split up. If anypony finds so much as an odd looking button, call us over!” Matter-Horn instructed.

Everyone nodded and got to work scanning every nook and cranny of the grounds. Their search lead them through an odd little world separate from the rest of Maretropolis that was populated only by that of dust motes, cobwebs, mildewy plushies and stuffed animals that had been tragically left behind, and guarded by a widespread army of old popcorn buckets and candy wrappers.

It was only once they one of them had the idea to search the still intact house of mirrors that he Power Ponies finally yielded what it was they sought. Deep in the depths of the maze-like building was a false floor that slid away, revealing the metal door entrance to an entire bunker-like facility that must lay beneath the park.

Now standing inside the entrance hall to what she assumed was some kind of laboratory or military facility, the Masked Matter-Horn and her five companions studied their well lit surroundings, which clashed with the dilapidated park that lay above like night and day.

The floors and walls were clean and free of debris, with a white, somewhat futuristic design aesthetic. Radiance studied the polished and shiny surfaces with something bordering approval, while the others looked on in surprise.

“This guy must be loaded in the dollars department,” Filli-Second whistled, appraising the space-age corridors that surrounded them.

Mistress Mare-velous scoffed. “Sleek laboratories? Fancy computers? Nothing new to me. We should split up again, we’ll probably find this pegasus a bit quicker that way.”

Everyone nodded their heads. “Saddle Rager, you’re with me. Fili-Second, you’re with Hum Drum. Mistress Mare-velous, you watch Radiance’s back. Everypony keep in touch on the radio, go loud only if you see our target. In the meantime, try to dispatch any goons you come across as quietly as possible, let’s not tip off the entire base to our presence.”

The others nodded a second time, and wordlessly broke up into their three pairs, each taking one corridor for themselves deeper into the facility.

As they went along their chosen corridor, Radiance would occasionally pause to analyze every last bit of exotic looking machinery she came across, much to Mistress Mare-velous’ displeasure.

“Must you keep gawking and drooling over every last shiny bit of equipment in this blasted sci-fi fortress?”

Radiance looked up from something she had just been studying with a frown, her nose held high and her eyes closed dismissively.

“Anyone of these things could yield all sorts of fascinating intel on our newfound pegasus foe, including the possibility of weaknesses, both of the technical and physical variety.” She began rubbing her forehooves together in anticipation.

Mare-velous rolled her eyes in resignation, for she found little at fault in her companion's argument. “You know what? Since our searching methodology seems to be at odds so much, how about we split up, and each take our own routes.”

Radiance got off her haunches and back onto all fours. “Well, I suppose so, that way nopony will be tripping over the others’ hooves any longer. Fine, fine. Just radio if you see him.”

“Ditto,” Mare-velous replied, already making her way towards a branching corridor from their current position, which appeared to be a break room of sorts judging by the large number of doughnut dispensers and other vending machines accompanied by televisions. The lone occupant, a gangly pegasus stallion in a lab coat, was knocked out with a spilled soda next to him on the table.

Having finished her analysis of a maintenance terminal in the wall of the break room, Radiance sighed and prepared to exit the room and head back into the hall. “Nighty night,” she said to the stallion, who was snoring loudly.

Radiance found herself wondering how on earth such an expansive facility could operate for so long without having drawn notice from the city at large. From what she could make out, the laboratory seemed to illegally draw at least some of its electricity from the Maretropolis municipal grid, while the rest seemed to be massive electrical spikes generated by an entirely separate source that, for the moment, was yet to be determined.

“How very odd,” Radiance remarked, making her way further into the facility. The deeper she went, the more she started to hear a faint electrical crackling noise that was growing ever clearer and more pronounced as she went along.

The unicorn eventually found herself in the entryway to a massive chamber, the largest room she had yet seen. The area was full of heavy machinery, catwalks and platforms, piping, and a vast networked array of cables and electrical wires that lead to a single circular, reactor-like machine that dwarfed everything else in the room, Massive electrical discharges arced about its metallic coiled surfaces.

It sat underneath a heavy reinforced concrete dome that recessed into the ceiling and ended in an aperture opening, which lead straight up to ground level, if the single shaft of sunlight filtering straight down onto the center of the machine’s arrays was any indication.

It took only a cursory inspection of the entire setup for Radiance to gasp in absolute shock. Instinctively, she had activated her ear piece while still reeling back in the throes of her shock. “By the gods…”

Despite the machine’s nearly titanic proportions, it was not by any means what was so shocking to Radiance. Rather, it was the familiar pegasus that was suspended in the air near the machine, held aloft by a myriad of cables like some form of ghastly marionette that struck fear directly in her heart.

“Radiance? What is it? Radiance!” Mare-velous shouted through her comrade’s earpiece. When the unicorn failed to answer her after a couple of seconds, Mare-velous relayed herself to the others. “Guys, I think she found something! Our target maybe, I don’t know, but it must be big.”

Struggling to find her words, Radiance finally replied back. “M-Mare-velous? Team, I-I just....I found Zapp....."

Stormtotter

Power Ponies: The Storm Unleashed
Chapter 6: Stormtrotter
By Darksonickiller and Izangi

“Fili-Second, hurry up ahead and let us know what you see,” the Masked Matter-Horn ordered sharply, currently in a gallop with Fili-Second, Hum Drum, Saddle Rager, and Mistress Mare-velous down the white-walled corridors of the electricity wielding supervillain that had been the focus of their entire day. “Make sure we’re not about to blunder into some kind of obvious trap.”

Fili-Second gave off a salute of sorts before darting off ahead of them in a rapid blur of movement.

“Radiance, can you hear me?” Mistress Mare-velous asked into her earpiece urgently. She grumbled to herself. “I shouldn’t have let her go on alone.”

“But she’s found Zapp!” Hum Drum breathed. “Of all the things to stumble into in this madstallion’s base, she stumbled into Zapp!”

“I can’t believe it, after so long…” Saddle Rager mused. “I wonder what condition she’s in?”

Fili-Second returned and fell back into stride with the others. “Chamber up ahead is currently empty of anypony but Radiance and...yeah, it’s definitely Zapp. But uh,” she shook her head in disbelief. “you’re going to have to see this for yourselves…”

The others said nothing to that, and instead only increased their speed, until they finally reached a large entryway leading into the chamber that Radiance was still inside.

When the inequinely fast earth pony and the others made their way into the cavernous room, Fili-Second found that Radiance was rooted to the same exact position as she had been half a minute ago. Having barely moved at all, Radiance’s eyes were focused on something in the air, and were wide with shock as she stood statue still, evidently unable to utter a full word.

“Radiance, where’s Zapp...oh, my...” The Masked Matter-Horn’s voice trailed off as she finally registered what it was that Radiance was gawking at.

All the rest of the Power Ponies followed their gaze upwards, and a chorus of horrified gasps emerged from each of them like birds flying out of their cages.

Still attached to the massive reactor-like machinery by a webwork of electricity-conducting cable, suspended in the center of the room, was the missing superhero, Zapp. The pegasus’ eyes were open wide and glowing white with channeling energy that seemed to surge in and out of her body from head to tail every second.

“Gods! How, w-why…?” Radiance uttered in a gasp, finally managing to find her voice. She lifted a shaking hoof up and pointed at Zapp.

Arcs of white-hot electricity shot between her and the machine every couple of seconds, making Zapp resemble some bizarre form of living lightning rod, stuck in the midst of an endless thunderstorm like some old mythological nightmare. She still wore the original suit that she’d had equipped the night that Mane-iac had raided the Maretropolis Museum, its fabric slightly tattered and its colours faded.

“She...looks like she’s barely even alive!” Saddle Rager whimpered, unable to contain her anguished disbelief.

Matter-Horn, managing to maintain a grip on her own cauldron of emotion, regarded a particular characteristic of Zapp’s current appearance with an air of intense outrage. “That hole in her costume, where Mane-iac impaled her, the wound’s turned into scar tissue. Somepony must have stitched it closed at some point after her disappearance!”

Fili-Second decided to give voice to the obvious. “Her presence here is no coincidence, not one bit!”

“Dammit!” Mistress Mare-velous cursed. “The lunatic that runs this freakshow of a laboratory must have been who that late Silhouette fellow was going to tell us about! I wonder…”

“Wonder what, my fairest guests? Oh wait, wait. Don’t answer that, it’s purely rhetorical!” A refined voice answered back with an echo and a somewhat friendly tone through the cavernous room.

Once again, the Power Ponies’ combined attention was drawn to a single point, as they all turned from Zapp to look up at a smiling silver-coated pegasus situated on an upper balcony, one they could largely recognize even without his black-gold bodysuit as he scarfed down the last bites of what had to be a doughnut.

He was joined by dozens of scientists, armed henchponies, and robotic equines all across the upper peripheries of the chamber. The minions collectively regarded the Power Ponies with a mixture of scorn, curiosity, and wariness.

“You again! Who are you, why have you kept Zapp here for so long!” the Masked Matter-Horn snarled at him.

“My, my, so hostile! Is that any fitting way to introduce yourself? Thankfully, at least some of us in this room have some modicum of manners. I, am Stormtrotter; Storm for short, if you prefer. I am the owner of this fine...” Stormtrotter turned to a robot beside him with a questioning face. The robot shrugged helplessly, and he turned back to the heroes with a thoughtful sigh. “...establishment.”

“Stormtrotter, huh?” Fili-Second replied derisively, her eyes boring into the villain. “Nice, now we can put a name down to the lunatic we’re about to flatten in their own secret base!”

“What is this place, all this machinery? What are your designs with Zapp?” Radiance demanded.

Stormtrotter simply smiled down at them with a twinkle in his scarlet eyes as he removed his spiky headgear and ran a hoof through wavy violet hairs. “Yes, of course. I was anticipating that you would have many questions.”

“Speak, then.” the Masked Matter-Horn growled.

The supervillain’s eyes scanned across from Zapp, to Hum Drum and Saddle Rager, and onto the rest before continuing. "Now, to tell you the truth, ladies and gentlecolt, I’m not much of a fan for lengthy explanations or pretentious speeches, but I am a supervillain, am I not? There's certain...etiquette, I suppose you could say...that demands recognition in situations like this."

“Spit it out,” Mistress Mare-velous retorted.

“Fine, fine. I’ll get the obligatory spiel out of the way first, then on to superhero fighting.”

Stormtrotter sighed in exasperation as he leapt off the balcony and began hovering close to Zapp, who seemed to give little indication she sensed his presence, or anyone's, for that matter. He pointed at the reactor and its arcing electrical light. “You see this mighty conglomeration of bolts, copper, and technological wizardry? You dearest friend Zapp here is vital to its operation.”

He lowered himself in the air a bit, and gestured his hoof as if pointing at an invisible blackboard. “To put it carefully for the slower types that may be in the room: pegasi plugs in like battery, battery kicks on machine, machine connects to the array, array spawns meteorological monstrosity under my control, said meteorological monstrosity holds world hostage for whatever I may desire, and fin.” His smile returned. “Zapp is, as stated, vital to the machine and cannot safely be removed without killing her in the most painful way equinely possible. Now, any further questions?”

“What kind of ‘meteorological monstrosity’?” Hum Drum inquired, preparing to reach for his stasis beam emitter on his belt.

“Ah yes, my most favorite weather phenomena, actually. The majestic hurricane!” Stormtrotter gushed, waving at his machine affectionately. “A sustained Category Six!”

There was a rustle of murmuring amongst the scientists near him at that, expressing their lingering astonishment that their and Stormtrotter’s combine work could now possibly generate such a titanic monster of a storm. The facial expressions of the Power Ponies only darkened.

“No, I’ve heard enough,” Matter-Horn replied flatly, appraising the massive pulsating machine with a grimace, her eyes avoiding the pegasus that was currently powering it. “This machine will be turned to scrap, and you’ll be going away soon to where all your ilk do.

Having landed just in front of the machine, between its looming mass and the Power Ponies, Stormtrotter nodded thoughtfully, and rubbed his forehooves together as he sat on his haunches. He cracked a smile to the armed pegasi henchponies who landed beside him, then adopted a scowl in a little longer than the blink of an eye. “Ah, very good. Superhero fighting time it is, then!”

“Power Ponies, engage!” the Masked Matter-Horn shouted. The Power Ponies readied themselves and scattered into separate positions, preparing their attacks. In the span of a second, the central chamber of Stormtrotter’s base turned into a warzone.

On the balconies, mobs and orderly files of electric weapon-wielding henchponies and robot ponies stormed to the lowest level firing arcs of electricity at the superheros, while scientists were quick to make their getaway from the place altogether. Stormtrotter, for the moment, remained in place as the battle unfolded, closely watching the methodology of each Power Pony as they dealt with his staff.

One of the first to interest him was the youngest, Hum Drum, who seemed to utilize a varied arsenal of gadgets to stun or take down his opponents, and whose physique seemed augmented by the armor he donned.

The stallion darted about in the air with his rocket shoes, surrounding pairs, and sometimes even trios of minions in a violet beam that completely immobilized whatever it touched in a field of energy. Stormtrotter observed as, with the flick of his pastern just above the hoof, Hum Drum slammed two separate groups in stasis fields together, collapsing both fields and leaving all involved with the air completely knocked out of their bodies and defenseless.

That’s something that Stormtrotter would have to deal with quickly, lest it over-complicate matters. As for the others, their techniques, equipment, and tactics - of which Saddle Rager’s was the least robust - were nothing new to Stormtrotter in his long studies.

As the tally of defeated henchmen and destroyed robots began to reach an unsightly number for him, Stormtrotter decided now was the time to intervene in the fight.

Hum Drum noticed him approaching immediately as the younger stallion floored a hench pony with a kick, and obliterated the torso of another robot with a pulse laser from his armor. As expected, Hum Drum prepared to bring his stasis beam back to the fray hoping to stop the pegasus in his tracks, and Stormtrotter took what he felt to be the necessary response.

With his eyes lighting up briefly, Stormtrotter completely short-circuited the internal components of Hum Drum’s suit with lightning from his own body before the Power Pony could trigger his device, rendering the armor dead weight and stunning Hum Drum to the ground. Stromtrotter seized the stasis beam for himself, leaving Hum Drum where he laid.

“Hey, get back here with that!” Hum Drum shouted, struggling to get back up. Stormtrotter ignored him and moved on to his next target. One of his henchponies stood in his path, fiddling with his arc rifle.

“Sir, my uh...my battery’s dead.”

Stormtrotter gave him an annoyed grin that was a borderline grimace. “Maybe it wouldn’t be, if you fools actually practiced with your accuracy, for once!” Before the embarrassed stallion could reply, a beam of energy struck him in the head, knocking him out cold.

Stormtrotter stepped over the stallion’s body. “What in Tartarus am I even paying you ponies for? Dear Matter-Horn,” he turned to her. “at least somepony in this place is a decent shot. The equine form really isn’t all that difficult to hit, is it? Or is there something I’m missing, here?” He hovered in the air with the stunned stallion’s rifle and recharged it, aiming down the sight casually at Matter-Horn’s glaring face. “You erm, got a bit of oil on your face from one of the robots, my dear.”

The Masked Matter-Horn answered back with nothing but a growl and another beam attack. Stormtrotter drifted out of the line of fire as the beam singed off part of his mane and spiked headpiece. “Ohh, not the helmet! All well…” the villain shrugged, then aimed and fired back, augmenting the shot with the power of his own body.

Matter-Horn put up a point-defense magical shield, but gasped in surprise as the single electric bolt split into seven smaller ones that arced straight around the unicorn mare’s shield, shocking her and producing a pained yelp as the shield collapsed. She then attempted firing different beams at him, forcing Stormtrotter to channel a great deal of energy to deflect them with his own hooves as he slowly approached.

One final zap of electricity, and Matter-Horn was down for the count. Before Stormtrotter could register her defeat, he felt something rough circle forcefully around his hoof, yanking him forward. It was Mistress Mare-velous. Snarling, Stormtrotter seized the golden lasso with his free hoof, and channeled a charge down the rope, right back at its owner.

Mistress Mare-velous screamed as several volts stunned her, giving Stormtrotter an opening to seize control of the lasso, taking to the air and hefting the mare with him. He bared his teeth against her weight as he swung her about towards Radiance, interrupting her engagement with several robots and catching the attention of Fili-Second.

“Mare-velous!” Fili-Second shouted, watching as her fellow earth pony collided into one of Radiance’s constructs - a large hammer - before she could dispel it. Mistress Mare-velous slumped to the ground, apparently too winded to get back up. Fili-Second sneered and shot out, bounding off several walls to gain momentum before aiming a jab straight at Stormtrotter’s face.

The blow connected, and Stormtrotter reeled violently back from the mare’s force, rubbing at his rapidly swelling muzzle. “Gah, a fine strike! Think you can land another?”

Fili-Second went bipedal, her hooves raised offensively in a martial arts stance. She glared defiantly at him. “Try me!”

“You have bite, don’t you? I’m happy to oblige.” Stormtrotter aimed a kick at her, the air cracking from the swiftness of the movement. Fili-Second dodged it easily, and threw another punch his way, which he managed to catch mid-flight with his own hoof. Making contact with the Power Pony’s own hoof, Stormtrotter quickly sent a barrage of lighting outwards as Fili-Second’s eyes widened. “This is way better then any joy buzzer, I must say,” Stormtrotter chuckled as his eyes lit up again.

Seeing Fili-Second fall to the ground incapacitated by Stromtrotter’s relentless electrical attacks, Radiance attempted to put up a small cube around the supervillain in hopes of containing him long enough to regroup. Hum Drum, Fili-Second, Mistress Mare-velous, and the Masked Matter-Horn were either unconscious or currently too dazed to rejoin the battle.

Unfortunately, the energy construct was eventually overloaded after several seconds by Stromtrotter’s seemingly limitless stream of electricity, which also soon found its way inevitably towards Radiance herself.

Finally, only Saddle Rager remained. The twisted metal of over a dozen crushed robots littered the ground around her, their CPU’s having not received proper programming for self-preservation. Their organic counterparts were doing well to keep their distance from the hulking mare.

Stromtrotter quickly noted that the electric shots from his henchponies’ arc guns were only serving as fuel for Saddle Rager’s power, and decided that an alternate course of action would have to be undertaken to defeat this final Power Pony. Shocking her with his usual method of attack would be most unwise.

“STORMTROTTER, FACE ME!”

Producing the stolen stasis beam emitter, Stormtrotter found his solution for Saddle Rager. He put it around his hoof and triggered it as the Power Pony charged furiously at him.

“I am staring right at you, does that count?” Stormtrotter inquired with his brow raised. The beam hit Rager in the chest, surrounding her in a purple field of energy and turning her into essentially almost a weightless statue. Trapped within the field, Saddle Rager eventually reverted to her normal form, and the battle was over.

Taking a deep breath and releasing it with a huff of satisfaction, Stormtrotter glanced around the chamber. All of the Power Ponies were now either dazed, knocked out, trapped in a field of energy, or otherwise incapacitated in one way or another. “Alright, mares and gentlecolts, let’s get this show started!”

“Yessir,” the henchponies chorused loyally, as many of them got to work gathering the superheroes together. Some robots appeared and began methodically assembling what appeared to be a cage just large enough for hold all of the Power Ponies.

When the minions tossed them into the cage and Stormtrotter surged more power into it to electrify the bars, the Power Ponies gradually began to came to, and Saddle Rager’s field dissipated as Stormtrotter destroyed the emitter and brushed a hoof against his black-gold fabric. “Mmm...need to kidnap a dry cleaner in the near future...and an interior designer, this place is too drab in places. Sterile white, of what was I thinking?” He cleared his throat and took to hovering again.

“Stormtrotter!” Mistress Mare-velous shouted.

“Yes, what is it? That is my name, should I start charging you a toll each time you utter it? It’d make me a very wealthy stallion. Oh, wait...” Stormtrotter chuckled to himself. “I already pay everypony’s salaries, and have quite a substantial family background. I’m sure you can relate, eh Mistress Mare-velous?”

“Get away from Zapp, or I’ll…” Mare-velous stopped mid-sentence, cursing the apparent futility in trying to talk to the madstallion.

“Tsk-tsk, so hostile! You’re just like Matter-Horn here; I bet you too must butt heads quite frequently, am I wrong? Nevermind,” Stormtrotter reached out to Zapp, and patted her gently on the head. “We have other important business to attend to, after all. Isn’t that right, my dear Zappara? The gang’s all here, we’ve gone and had that reunion I’m sure you no doubt desired. Now, its time to get to work.”

Stormtrotter moved his hoof down to her forehead just below the forelock of her mane, removed his spiked crown-like helmet, and his own eyes began to light up like hers.

The Power Ponies below watched with confusion, worry, and begrudging amazement as the machine energized substantially, producing a loud whirring and forcing some to have to squint from the increasing brightness.

Some of Stormtrotter’s researchers had returned to the chamber to see the results of their many months of work. Donning oversized goggles that were much like Matter-Horn’s but tinted, they looked every bit the part of the mad scientist.

Electricity surged between the two pegasi and the machine, until the energy build up within the reactor reached a critical mass. A single beam of white-hot energy fired from the weather machine’s array and through the aperture opening above, up and out of the chamber and the base itself.

Crying out from acting as a vessel for such intense power, Stormtrotter relinquished his hold on Zapp’s forehead, tearing his wild and excited eyes away from the now fully active to machine only briefly to inspect his hoof. The silver fur was now singed black where it had been in contact with the superhero. His laughter reverberated all throughout the massive room.

“We’ve finally done it, Zappara! You, and me working together, even after choosing such radically different paths through life. Finally, we will have power over the world that our family once had but lost!” Stormtrotter rubbed at his chin in thought. “I admit, we had to fly through quite a few rings, tragically step on many hooves and change many lives, yes, but now we’re here. Victory, almost within our grasp,” he mused.

Stormtrotter wasn’t fully sure if he was expecting a reaction from her or not after finally activating the machine, given her circumstances. To his disappointment, she continued looking on into oblivion, her originally blue eyes still as glowing as ever.

He turned to address his minions, keeping his burning eyes fixed on the Power Ponies impassively now as he cleared his voice to give instructions, one foreleg behind his back as he hovered, the other gesturing with the precision of a military general’s swagger stick. “Staff, the array is no doubt primed, by now. Please bring up our monitors. Give our dear guests here a front row seat to the fruits of of your diligent toils.”

“Yessir.”

“Yes, milord.”

The Power Ponies glared at him, many of them running multiple possible scenarios in mind of how they could possibly free themselves and take control of the situation. Several large holographic screens sprung up above the control consoles that lined the upper levels of the chamber, and forced their attention away from the supervillain.

Displayed on screen were live video feeds from several cameras perched in covert locations all around the city, from the skyscrapers all the way down to street level. The heroes gasped at what they saw unfolding.

Maretropolis’ sky was rapidly darkening with powerful stormclouds as the white shaft of light Stormtrotter’s weather machine was projecting up to the heavens disturbed and agitated the atmosphere around it severely. As the clouds began to form the usual revolving walls of what would normally be a tropical storm, new additions to the city skyline cropped up.

White spires, of the same architectural style as Stormtrotter’s base, began emerging from the harbor and deepwater rivers that surrounded the city, having been submerged and undetected by the city at large for quite some time. Though their otherwise pristine surfaces were somewhat covered in river algae and barnacles, they still bore sweeping, cloudlike designs. Their majesty belied the true danger they posed.

Lightning flashed and thunder clapped. The artificially generated stormclouds were beginning pick up an electric charge as they gained increasing strength. With at least a full Category One hurricane now dumping hail and heavy rain in a region of the coast where hurricanes are typically encountered about only once every century, the whole of Maretropolis had long since broken into a mass panic as commuters urgently sought shelter.

Inside the cage, the Masked Matter-Horn cursed to herself as she prodded experimentally at the bars and reeled back, wincing from the shock. Meanwhile, Saddle Rager was staring intently at Zapp.

“Saddle Rager, what’s your thought?”

Saddle Rager didn’t answer, and instead began hollering, “ZAPP!”

To the Masked Matter-Horn’s surprise, the rest of the team began echoing her. She decided to join her voice with theirs, hoping it might have a chance of stirring Zapp awake from whatever state she was in and possibly distract Stormtrotter.

Stormtrotter himself looked down at them as their shouting broke into his thoughts while he watched the monitors with many of the others, and arched his brow at them. “If you all can do the impossible and wake her up after all that has happened, then I’ll gladly agree to a full gender change once I’m undisputed emperor of the world. She hasn’t said a word in over three years, you know, ever since you held that memorial for her.”

“Zapp!”

“I thought it was just the machine myself for a while, personally. But now, I know better.”
“Zappara!” Matter-Horn ventured, deciding to add her comrade’s birth name to their repeating chorus. “Wake up old friend, we need your help!”

By now, the shouting had caught the attention of some of the base staff, who looked down at them as if they were zoo animals, or escaped mental patients. Their expressions were short lived, however, for a noticeable change overtook the room. The electricity seemed to ark about the storm-generating machine in a different fashion from the usual, and all eyes were drawn to the pony above.

“Quiet down, won’t you? You’re all starting to make a sc-” Stormtrotter finally looked up as well. “Oh, my.”

Zapp had shifted her head, and was now staring right at him with her glowing eyes. “S-Storm,” the pegasus managed, her voice barely more than a raspy whisper after so many years without use.

For the first time today, Stormtrotter seemed almost at a loss for words. His bewilderment tentatively shifted to the ghost of a smile. “Zapp...dearest Zappara. I wonder when it was next you would speak, sister.” Zapp’s expression was unreadable for the moment as she seemed to stare right through him. He brought a hoof to his chin. “Can...can you even understand me?”

“You’re her brother, and you did this to her?” Mistress Mare-velous snarled with disgust. “Mane-iac was one piece of work, but this...this is on a whole different level!”

“I said quiet!” Stormtrotter snapped, breaking his default composure. “Family business far beyond you, metapony,” he hissed. “Zapp? How lucid are you, can you hear me?”

Zapp slowly raised up her head and looked into Stormtrotter’s eyes. “Brother mine, what a fool you are,” she murmured faintly.

“What did you say, sister? I cannot hear you over the din of our machine…”

“You attempt to....harness great power, but do not fully understand it. It was always beyond your ken,” Zapp replied, slowly getting a grip on her own voice, which felt nearly alien to her. “You will not be an emperor like our ancestors, you will only destroy yourself, and this city.”

“How can you say that, Zappara?” Stormtrotter asked, blinking with puzzlement. “These three years most have addled your mind. Another price we must pay for our victory, I lament.”

“Even if the machine functions true, your plan to seize the world by ransom is doomed.”

Stormtrotter’s features darkened. “How would that be, exactly?”

“I will not allow you victory, Storm. Mother and Father had always...always been right to fear for your sanity.”

“You would do what, then? Strike down your own twin brother? With what?” Stormtrotter flew backwards, holding out his forelegs with mocking incredulity. “Whatever powers you may still have command of, strike with it now. I’ll match you, bolt for bolt, and more!”

Zapp shook her head almost apologetically, as her voice was rapidly threatening to give out again. “You forget...the power in your machine...in you...is mine.” With a pained cry, Zapp tapped into the machine, drawing a stream of energy straight out of the primary array of the weather machine.

Stormtrotter’s eyes grew wide as the charged particles were re-directed straight at him. The beam struck him in the chest, straight through to his heart. The pegasus was flung back from the force like a ragdoll, coming to a crash against one of the control consoles. Stormtrotter’s body spasmed a bit as electric current continued to flow through him and down into the ground. Without hesitation, Zapp then directed her right hoof at the electrified cage containing the other Power Ponies, absorbing the energy back into herself and shattering the metal apart in the process.

The Power Ponies were finally free, and glared dangerously at the henchponies surrounding them. With Zapp’s attack still burned into their retinas, they were quick to drop their weapons, and a loud clattering briefly filled the vast cavern of a room.

The Power Ponies ignored all of them, and made their way up a set of stairs Radiance summoned that lead up to the catwalk that sat directly beneath where Zapp was still suspended.

“Zapp, we finally found you!” Hum Drum all but shouted, nearly out of breath.

Zapp looked down at him with a faint smile. “You’ve grown,” she croaked. She turned to regard the others. “My friends…”

“We thought you dead for sure,” Radiance said, on the verge of tears.

Saddle Rager actually burst out bawling. “You’ve been here the whole time…groups like H.O.R.N. are searching the world for you, and you’ve been here all along!”

“Right under our noses,” Mistress Mare-velous muttered with distress.

“If only we’d known sooner…” Fili-Second lamented.

“But here we are,” the Masked Matter-Horn concluded, almost at a loss for what to say. The unicorn was more focused on Zapp’s physical condition. Her skin was pale beneath her white-silver fur, her violet and mauve mane was matted and disheveled, and her wings appeared jagged and almost withered with so many feathers missing.

Matter-Horn bit her lip as she finished surveying her old teammate’s condition. “Zapp, how did all this happen to you?”

Zapp looked slowly down in thought, and tried to regain her voice once more. When she regained the desired level of strength she sought, she looked back up to each of her fellow supers, and parted her lips to speak. “I’ll tell you…”

Memory

Power Ponies: The Storm Unleashed
Chapter 7: Memory
By Darksonickiller and Izangi

In the span of just a few seconds, the whole of over three years’ worth of events passed through Zapp’s mind, starting with the very moment one of the Power Ponies’ greatest nemeses had ran her through with that unnatural aberration of a mane. Just like an assassin’s blade in the dark; the primary source of the scorching pain.

Pain. It was one of the first things Zapp sensed creeping into her memory. To say that she was surprised by this would not be entirely accurate. Pain had become second nature to her, a sensation rendered almost impactless from repetition after having spent so much time in her predicament.

Mane-iac had flung and catapulted her through the air almost effortlessly, and the glass of the skylight had given way to her momentum with just as much ease. Zapp felt herself soaring through the air, arcing wildly over the edge of the Museum's ornate marble and copper roof and towards the street. Zapp’s vision was blurry, her eyes watering from the wound.

Next, came the concrete. The crunch of bone against a hard surface, and the tiny clatter of glass fragments. Zapp struggled to draw breath against injuries that could have long since ended the life of an ordinary pony.

The faintest sound of sirens could be heard in the distance, too far to be seen yet even if Zapp could make sense of her surroundings. Her body was in a state of shock as it entered survival mode, her metabolism flooding her arteries with the necessary chemicals to keep her alive.

By some stroke of chance, Zapp was able to regain a semblance of a grip on her senses enough to notice something odd: she was no longer laying on the debris-strewn sidewalk, but on something soft. Fabric, perhaps? Whatever it was, she was no longer still; she sensed movement.

Zapp then registered the regular flapping of wings, and part of her mind that managed to endure through the searing pain was struggling to make sense of the situation. Somepony must have been carrying her through the air on their back. Who’s carrying me? she wanted to ask. Saddle Rager? She opened her mouth in an attempt to speak, but not a sound came out.

Whomever was carrying her sighed as they gained altitude. “My apologies for such a violent and unpleasant acquisition, dear Zappara. Bah, I wonder if you can even understand me in the state your in…” they muttered apologetically, still maintaining an aristocratic eloquence.

The only part of them Zapp could currently make out were wavy shocks of mane in front of her, almost the exact same color as her own. Their voice was all too familiar to her, but whatever significance that held was currently present in the part of her consciousness overcome by having been impaled through the chest.

“Ugh, all this blood, it will take me a lifetime getting it off my suit. Now, I had hoped that mare Mane-iac would dispatch you and your friends for me, but not in the barbaric way that she did. Now I have even more work on my hooves, but no matter,” the pegasus continued.” You and me get some quality sibling time together anyhow, you’ll finally be able to assist me in my project like I’d always hoped you would, and Mane-iac will eventually face her downfall. Everypony’s happy, are they not?”

Zapp could only answer back with a feeble groan.

“Don’t worry, Zappara! I have an associate just a couple of seconds away, they’ll patch you up in mere moments, just enough for now. Unicorns are quite convenient like that, aren’t they? This particular chap is a retired surgeon and part-time thaumaturgist, typically does work on short notice for mafia types, but he has no qualms about metapony anatomy, fear not! “

The next several moments were a blur as blood loss gradually took its toll on Zapp. When things became clear again, it was to the greeting of another wave of agony.

“Don’t you dare skimp on the anesthetics, unicorn. Not only am I paying you half of your life’s wages, you could very well say that I also payed with my own blood, and saved you a little trip to a blood bank. With that in mind, hear this: upsetting your usual clientele is nothing compared to the storm of misery that could be brought down upon you if this mare dies! Double. The dosage.”

Zapp’s eyelids began to flutter again as the pain ebbed away to nothing. The outline of what could be a bed in a brightly-lit room was all that her vision could make out.

“My apologies, Lord Stormtrotter. The stitching and restorative field were keeping my eyes too occupied to pay attention to the gauge. Besides that, I-I figured that with her robust anat-”

“Just continue your work, I have things that demand my attention. Signal me the second she’s safe to be moved.”

“Of course.” There was a squeaking sound as a metal knob was continually turned.

With that, the superhero finally blacked out as the anesthetics took full effect.

According to her recollection, when Zapp had next come to, her physical state had changed drastically. She had finally regained full control of her senses, and her surroundings left her with nothing but a growing number of questions as she looked on in confusion.

She was once again on a soft surface, a bed, and the room was well lit, just as the previous had been. Squinting as her eyes adjusted to the overhead illumination as it reflected off white pristine walls, Zapp struggled to figure how much time had passed since her costly defeat at the Museum in the clutches of Mane-iac. She decided to mentally shelf the time dilemma for now, focusing instead on her immediate surroundings and situation.

Zapp started with a physical self-evaluation. While many of her muscles were still quite weak, and they protested stiffly as she gently tested each, she discovered with relief that every one of her limbs appeared to be attached to her body still, and were where they should be.

Waves of dull pain still radiated outwards from her core area with regular frequency, but other than that, the damage from her subsequent fall seemed to be mostly healed. Zapp was still wearing her damaged costume, to her slight surprise.

A cursory inspection of her chest yielded the somewhat grisly sight of an intricate working of stitches laying past the gaping hole in the fabric. The fur of the area had been removed completely in a neat circular radius around the original wound, the sensitive skin beneath bearing the tell tale markings of unicorn restoration magic that was ordinarily used for cauterizing the wounds of soldiers.

Just as Zapp was about the address the matter of discerning her present location, the voice of a pony drew her attention away from her chest.

“How are you feeling, Zappara?”

At the end of the rectangular room, past several consoles and tables lined with medical equipment, stood a pegasus, the one whose voice Zapp had heard during her feverish bouts of consciousness. Zapp’s eyes widened with almost immediate recognition as the newcomer casually approached her.

“This is no world-class hospital I admit, but we have world-class equipment, and my doctors did their best. Nothing too pretty, but it got the job done.”

“Storm!” Zapp’s face fell into a bitter scowl, and she recoiled as Stormtrotter curiously reached a hoof out to inspect her chest.

Stormtrotter gave an indignant sigh, but retained a warm smile as he withdrew his hoof and cupped it under his chin. “Actually, it’s Stormtrotter, these days. Lord Stormtrotter to some, although I seldom invoke my assumed nobility, myself. We never were very keen on making our alter-egos overly elaborate in the House of Nimbus, were we sister?”

“Thou would speak of assumed nobility, brother?” Zapp snorted with derision. “There was good reason why the Nimbus family abandoned our old heraldry over a century ago. It took only a hoofful of deluded fiends such as thyself in a single generation to forever slander our ancestral name and spark revolution back across the sea. I ask now, and I will ask only once with civility: where am I, and what cause have you to restrain me?”

The expression on Stormtrotter’s face became inexpressive as he appraised her physical condition.

“Speak, or you will know the true fury of a storm!” Zapp snapped.

Perplexingly, Stormtrotter’s face brightened again. “Good,” he said, nodding. “Good. If you’re strong enough now to make wanton threats, then you should be more than strong enough for the work you and I will have on our hooves, very soon.”

He was about to make a gesture to a wheelchair adjacent to the bed, much to her chagrin, but paused in the movement. “Oh, and one quick thing before I forget...I was unable to recover your pendant along with yourself, due to a little friend I like to call ‘time’. You can thank Mane-iac’s barbarism for that, you see. That is the last time I willingly rely on variables outside of my control to get the job done,” he mused.

To his apparent disappointment, his twin made no effort to get off the bed. “Come, come now! Let’s not make this difficult, the chair is a lot cozier than it looks, security straps and all!”

Zapp rapidly pondered her tactical options in her head, which were to her begrudging acknowledgement, laughably limited given her present condition. She had no choice but to cooperate, for now. “Very well…”

Slowly and carefully, the mare ambled her legs off the bed and onto the tiled floor. The minimal difficulty made the movement seem promising at first, until Zapp finally put weight on the legs as she fully got up. The gave out almost immediately, and Stormtrotter had to break her fall with his forelegs.

“There we go...easy now.” Stormtrotter guided his sister into the wheelchair, then secured her forelegs to the sides neatly. “Alright, now we can get down to business. Allow me to give you an impromptu tour of sorts as we make our way to our destination, shall we?”

“Mane-iac,” Zapp growled. “I’ll see her rot in Balkham for the rest of her natural life for enabling this travesty, however unknowingly. Were I fully convalesced, thou would be the one in need of this chair, or worse.”

Stormtrotter leaned in towards her ear as he wheeled her down the hallway. A group of armed guards passed by them accompanied by a robotic equine, the barrels of their exotic guns crackling with electricity. “Be humbled, Zapp,” he whispered. “There are other, far less pleasant ways of getting a pony from place to place when it’s not their idea.”

After a couple minutes passing through the corridors of Stormtrotter’s lair, the siblings eventually arrived in a large circular chamber, several stories tall and easily the largest section of the base.

Zapp looked upon the sprawling machinery with bewilderment as Stormtrotter stopped them at the edge of a balcony. Throngs of scientists and engineers milled about, tending to what Zapp could immediately recognize: a weather-generating array, the largest one she had ever seen.

“Impressive, is it not?” Stormtrotter asked her, taking in the sight of his machine with pride. “We’re just now beginning the covert work on its network of amplification spires that will surround Maretropolis via its waterways.”

The cogs turned rapidly in Zapp’s head as she quickly discerned her twin’s intentions. “Waterways? These spires, by superheating the water around them, they’ll…”

“Provide fuel for the most powerful hurricane that ever was? One so great in magnitude that no army of pegasi could ever hope to stop it, without gaining control of its source?” Stormtrotter finished with a nod. “Very astute, sister, very astute indeed.”

“This? This is the tactic you were alluding to when you made that claim so many years ago?” Zapp’s vexation had grown to the point that she had ceased using her usual second person tense. “That you would resurrect our family’s old empire by some great show of power? Delusion! I will not allow this to be so!”

“There is but one final piece to this puzzle that is needed, besides the spires,” Stormtrotter declared, ignoring Zapp’s protest. “Think you can walk now, sister?”

“You would un-restrain me, and tempt chance?”

“I have made far riskier decisions in the past.” Stormtrotter moved to undo Zapp’s straps. The Power Pony sighed and rubbed at her wrists as she tentatively got onto all fours, briefly watching a group of henchponies on the other side of the balcony.

“What is this ‘work’ that you referenced, earlier? Is my presence here merely a form of childish boast on your part, brother?”

The supervillain’s sudden laughter caused Zapp’s frown to deepen to a scowl once more. “Dear Zappara, you do not realize your importance yet, do you?” Stormtrotter waved to the weather machine, and her gaze followed. “The generator for such a powerful storm cannot be sparked by conventional means.”

“How do you mean?” Zapp demanded, hearing the heavy clang of boots on the ground behind them.

“Carefully,” Stormtrotter said in an authoritative tone, his head tilted away from her.
Zapp scrunched her face in confusion as she finished flexing and testing her legs, and prepared to turn around. “What?”

There was no response from Stormtrotter. Instead, Zapp felt a sharp pain against her head as something heavy and blunt struck it without warning, before everything went black.

When Zapp regained consciousness again, a familiar sensation greeted. Pain, pain of such burning intensity that it easily rivalled the agony that Mane-iac had inflicted. The pain was accompanied by one emotion in particular: anger.

Zapp managed to looked down as her body itself felt as if it were melting, and saw Stormtrotter returning her gaze.The mastermind was joined by two stoic unicorns in labcoats, their horns ignited as magic danced about in the air around Zapp.

“The cables are not fully installed yet, keep her pacified,” he instructed sharply. “or her wound may reopen. I don’t trust your spells enough to hold the stitching fast. Damn that glorified salon mare for inflicting this complication upon our plans!”

“Stormtrotter!” Zapp roared. “You will pay for this treachery!”

The two unicorns sneered and amplified their magic, doing their best to try and prevent her from straining against her restraints.

Stormtrotter ignored her and studied the readouts in front of him. “That’s it!” An inner fire began to burn inside the red of his irises. “The cables are primed, now we can begin.” He looked up at Zapp. “I’m afraid you are wrong. When enough of your power has primed the array in a few years’ time, victory will be at hoof!”

“A few years...you…” Zapp’s outrage was cut short as the cables began siphoning off her body’s power. The augmented pegasi magic, of which Zapp’s pendant had long been used as useful focal point for, was slowly channeled into the waiting weather machine, which would now serve as a gargantuan counterpart to the superhero’s missing pendant.

As more of her power was siphoned and circulated between her and the machine to gradually amplify the charge, her eyes began glowing, and Zapp began to scream as her body felt like it was trapped in the center of the sun itself.

Stormtrotter raised a brow and had his mouth open as he stepped back a bit to observe his sister’s convulsing form. “Impressive.” He looked to his researchers beside him. “My decision was wise, wasn’t it.” he stated more so than asked. “We may be twins, but I don’t have the build of a superhero. My body would not have been enough.”

Zapp’s now glowing white eyes turned to stare daggers into Stormtrotter. If her eyes could kill, her twin would no doubt already be a pile of ash.

The scientists nodded. “Indeed, sir. If I may, sir, it would be most unseemly were you to have be restrained in such a manner,” one of them said.

Stormtrotter nodded thoughtfully. “It would be, wouldn’t it? Too many little things that demand my attention to be hanging out in one spot, all day.” He cast one final glance over to Zapp, then began taking his leave. “Speaking of which. Look after her, won’t you? I’ll be back to check on her progress in a few weeks. Have some loose ends to tie up with the Power Ponies and Maretropolis above, you see.”

“Sir,” the other scientist nodded. “We’ll notify you immediately if anything seems amiss with her, or the machine.”

“Good.”

With her body having mostly stabilized in response to the siphoning of energy it was forced to endure, Zapp’s eyes followed her brother’s movements carefully through the chamber until he was well out of her sight.

True to his word, Stormtrotter returned in person to the central chamber after a few gruelling weeks had passed for Zapp as she continued to endure being a living battery for her brother’s weather-based superweapon.

The stallion quickly nodded to members of his staff that were present before checking the console readouts that monitored the machine and its many components, both within the base, and around Maretropolis.

“Spires?” he questioned.

“Nearing ten percent completion, milord. The local government and port authority have given no sign that they suspect anything. The spires are still hidden.”

“Good, splendid, excellent, other synonyms for good!” Stormtrotter almost seemed like a foal at play with the twinkle of excitement in his eyes. He approached the edge of the balcony and peered up at Zapp. “How has your stay been, Zappara? Are you hang-”

“I dare you to use that common colloquialism when speaking with me, Storm. I promise, it will make your eventual fate all the more unpleasant,” Zapp growled. “You will beg me for mercy, you damn twisted deviant.”

Stormtrotter smirked and made a tsk-tsk noise. “Zappara, I’m surprised at you! That’s not very superhero-like of you to say something like that, you know.”

“You’re not forcefully powering a doomsday device against your will.”

“Ah...fair point.” Stormtrotter chewed on the inside of his cheek for a few seconds. “Oh, I have some big news for you. You know how I’ve been busy out and about in the city?”

“My team will find me soon. It’s only a matter of time,” Zapp declared.

“Under different circumstances, yes. However, due to the circumstances you have landed in, that’s both true, and false.”

“Stop speaking in riddles, Storm!” Zapp retorted venomously.

“You will be reunited with your friends, yes. But not in the way you’re expecting. We have quite a bit of time before we’re there, yet.”

“They will not rest!”

“Actually, about that, there’s something I feel...obligated to show you, Zappara. The big news...” Stormtrotter said, pressing a button on a console. With a loud beep, and whir, several large holographic screens sprung up on the walls of the chamber, automatically drawing the eye of several of the staff currently working in the room.

Zapp frowned in confusion as she initially studied what was onscreen. It was a local newscast on mute, focused on one of Maretropolis’ many city parks.

The venue was packed to the brims with citizens, and a large stage had been erected in front of some kind of statue that Zapp regarded with incomprehension.

“What is this?” she demanded, turning to Stormtrotter.

He shrugged incredulously. “Is it not obvious? Have you not read the captions, perhaps?”

The Power Pony’s breathing picked up, and her glowing eyes intensified as she returned them to the screen, and she finally read the headline caption beneath the dour-looking news anchors.

Breaking News: Power Pony Zapp Pronounced Deceased; City Mourns

Her eyes widening with shock, Zapp’s stomach churned in her gut, and her heart began beating furiously in her throat. Every single hair stood on end across her fur.

“N-no…this is a fabrication! Another dimension to your depraved insanity!”

Stormtrotter shook his head sadly. “You do me too much credit, Zappara.” He pressed something on his console, and the channels changed on the large screens above between several different television programs. Zapp’s story was the topic of almost every newscast currently on the air.

Had a pony been in combat with Zapp and heard the roar of pure, primal rage that she immediately emitted upon coming to her realization, it likely would have been the last thing they ever heard. In an instant, the machine began glowing brighter than it ever had yet as Zapp’s outroar echoed across the chamber, Many of the scientists quaked with terror, fully convinced that they had all crossed a line, and the weather array would detonate then and there.

Fortunately for them, the machine soon returned to its normal glow, and Zapp finally fell silent.

Stormtrotter wouldn’t openly admit it, but for a brief few seconds, his sister’s roar had struck true fear into him. It reminded him of the sheer power he had managed to harness in the heart of his hidden base.

To his surprise, Zapp remained mute seemingly on a permanent basis after that, rather than simply losing much of her confrontational edge, as had originally been intended.

And so Zapp remained, from that time onwards until the final phases of Stormtrotter’s plan began to slide into motion. Her body gradually weakened as the machine itself grew to become the primary nexus of her power, rather than herself.

With her mind finally returning to the present and her eyes making contact with those of her friends, there was one primary thought that demanded her consciousness’ full and foremost attention: Stormtrotter’s plan was still in the middle of its final stage, even with the supervillain himself seemingly out of the picture.

It was all clear to her, now. She still had work to do.

Sunder

Power Ponies: The Storm Unleashed
Chapter 8: Sunder
By Darksonickiller and Izangi

“...which is how I came to be here, before you,” Zapp finished faintly, not breaking eye contact with the other Power Ponies.

“Gods!” Matter-Horn gasped, devastated. “All this time…”

“How are you even still breathing?” Mistress Mare-velous asked with a lingering air of disbelief. “How could anypony possibly survive such torture?”

Saddle Rager’s crying had been reduced to sniffles, and Hum Drum was attempting to comfort her by gently patting her shoulder.

“That freak’s storm is increasing in strength. We must get you out of here, Zapp! Now!” Fili-Second urged.

Radiance’s eyes studiously darted between her suspended comrade and the machine that was now the focal point of her powers, picking the storm-generating array apart in her mind. She shook her head, downcast. “Stormtrotter was not lying, I’m afraid. I’m absolutely certain this machine is the only thing keeping her alive, now, even as she powers it.”

“What are we going to do, then?” Hum Drum asked, visibly mortified.

“Somepony has to dissipate this storm before the spires amplify it so much that it destroys the city!” Saddle Rager suggested, her puffy eyes narrowed in frustration beneath her mask.

Withholding her response to any of the other Power Ponies, Zapp relaxed her body as much as she could, and she drew a deep breath. The metapony was preparing herself for the final thing she knew she must do.

All supervillains’ plans, whether successful or otherwise, had an end. And she would bring about that end on her terms.

Zapp looked down upon the remaining occupants of the great chamber. “Thou hath foolishly collaborated with a deluded mind,” she told the throngs of stupefied scientists and henchponies. “If thou wishes to escape the true fury of the storm, thou shalt flee this place.” With a pained expression, the mare turned to her fellow supers. “You must all do the same, I cannot guarantee your safety with the sundering of this infernal array.”

Preferring the covert entrances of the base close to the hurricane over the prospect of remaining in a chamber where a machine was primed to tear apart with unknown amounts of destruction in its wake, Stormtrotter’s staff began running out of the room like so many scattering cockroaches.

“What about you?” the Masked Matter-Horn questioned Zapp with a distraught frown. The pegasus looked down at the machine.

There was a brief flash from the weather machine as its spawned hurricane jumped to a Category Three magnitude in the sky above, reaching such a critical mass that Category Four and Five status was no doubt close behind, and a meteorological threshold would be catastrophically crossed for the first time in history.

Zapp shook her head in apology as she looked the leading Power Pony in the eyes. “I have long had time to study this machine. Stormtrotter left a weakness he had completely overlooked. The moment the artificial hurricane reaches Category Six, the spires will overload from the sheer power. There will be no control over the storm, after that. But I have control now. Time grows short, go! My death has already been mourned a thousand times over!”

Quickly, Matter-Horn waved the other Power Ponies over. “Zapp’s destroying this entire machine to quell the hurricane. We have no choice, we must evacuate!”

Water from the storm’s now torrential rainfall was beginning to seep little by little into the chamber from the chamber’s aperture in the reinforced concrete dome above, as if to prove a point.

“We should retreat to base’s dorms, which are just a few corridors down from here,” Radiance declared. “I studied the blueprints on a console on the way to this chamber. I don’t think my constructs are capable of resisting whatever energy Zapp will be putting out, and the living quarters are part of an older, original structure that was built to withstand a direct hit from a high yield rainbomb.”

Matter-Horn nodded. “That should work. Let’s go, Power Ponies!” Before heading off after her now galloping comrades, the goggled unicorn turned to regard Zapp for what she expected to be the final time. “Godspeed, Zapp.”

Straining with effort as she began to channel vast amounts of electricity and magical energy, Zapp looked up just enough to nod at her, before the Masked Matter-Horn darted away after the others.

For Zapp, it was now or never. Her connection to the machine had also enabled connection to its network of computers and diagnostic systems, which all faithfully reported to her that the artificial hurricane raging above their city was now a Category Five, which meant Category Six and true calamity lie just beyond the door.

Seconds away.

Not if she could help it.

With a strained roar, Zapp circulated as much energy back into her as she could physically manage, and using her own body as an amplifier, send a torrent of surging, destructive electricity right back into the storm-generating machine.

The central array was overloaded in milliseconds, pumping out thousands upon thousands of volts of electricity all throughout the chamber. Every electrical device was fried instantly, and the lights that illuminated the room surged with brightness, resisting short-circuiting thanks to their largely magical nature. Explosions began erupting around the frame of the weather machine’s central reactor as lesser components gave out from sheer stress they were never designed to withstand.

Secondary explosions rocked the chamber from above, as every amplification spire in the network overloaded and detonated itself all around Maretropolis. The vibrations of even the most distant spires’ impact with the surface, harbor, and surrounding rivers were easily enough to reach the base’s location, putting further stress on the architecture of the facility itself.

As Zapp gritted her teeth, she silently hoped that none of the vibrations were the result of toppling buildings. She shut her eyes. The machine’s reactor itself was nearly about to give out; and so it did.

In a final massive shockwave, the storm generator exploded. To Zapp’s surprise, the central structure of the domed chamber largely held save for sections of the dome that caved in, revealing a violent and churning black sky above. However, the combination of shockwave, explosions from failing subsystems, and the vibrations from above was finally too much for many of the base’s load-bearing columns.

Entire sections of the facility gave way to the old amusement park above it, creating further tremors and shooting dust into the central chamber from some of the exitways. The destroyed hulk of the machine came apart, dropping Zapp onto what remained of the catwalk beneath her, which was now bent and twisted into a ramp of sorts.

The pegasus felt herself slide down to the bottom floor of the crumbling chamber, and her movement ceased as tons of debris surrounded her and threatened to completely envelope her.

With one final earthquake-like vibration, the unfolding destruction ceased. Zapp found herself left with nothing but the shifting of rubble and the steady dripping of water to stimulate her senses and help keep her conscious, which was becoming increasingly difficult as sensations in general became faint. The concrete and metal around her was beginning to become hard to distinguish from the few drops of water that occasionally pattered onto her forehead from the now open roof above.
The white energy faded out from her eyes, like a lightbulb dying out.

“Zapp?” The yelling of her name brought Zapp back from the brink of near-oblivion. “Zapp!”

More rubble shifted, forcefully. Somepony must have been digging.

“Zapp, we’re gonna get you out of there, just hold on!” Mistress Mare-velous?

“There, I can just see her!” Another, most likely Hum Drum shouted. “Radiance, need an energy spade, please!”

A energetic crackle was followed by more shifting objects, before rays of light suddenly assaulted Zapp’s weary eyes. She tried to raise a hoof to shade them, her forelegs refused to respond. Zapp’s eyes were able to adjust however, and she inwardly smiled a bit as she was greeted by the sight of a rapidly clearing blue sky, and six familiar faces that gazed upon her with worry.

“Girls...Hum Drum,” Zapp greetly weakly.

“Hold on!” Mistress Mare-velous repeated. “Matter-Horn’s gonna float you out. You just saved over two millions lives today, Zapp.”

For the first time in ages, a genuine smile crossed Zapp’s lips as she was lifted out of the debris pile. Although the moment of victory was fleeting, she was finally at peace with herself.

Her friends closed around her, giving her just enough space to comfortably breath in her condition. One of them used the fabric of their costume to gently dab the stray rainwater off of Zapp’s head. Zapp couldn’t tell who, nor anything of what was being said, but she cared little. All that mattered was that she was surrounded by her friends at last.

Sapphire-blue irises moved about to carefully scan each of the ponies surrounding her, even as her field of vision began to narrow and grow blurry.

Part of Zapp’s mind wondered if anything should be said, but a larger, more vocal part asserted that she had already died many months ago, and only a single phrase was all that was in order for the circumstance. Her lips parted to speak it, with a final breath of life.

“Goodbye, my friends.”

The Power Ponies’ collective reaction was instantaneous. Every last one of them bowed their heads solemnly, and some shed tears as they gave their final respects to a comrade they had already mourned, what felt like centuries ago.

Radiance and the Masked Matter-Horn shared equally in holding the weight of Zapp in their telekinesis as they prepared to make their exit.

None of the superheroes were surprised when the distinct hum of a VTOL’s engines manifested above them, the silhouette of the sleek white-blue aircraft appearing around the massive opening that the chamber’s domed roof had become in the recent upheaval.

The aircraft’s tail fin and fuselage were decorated with a logo of sharp-pointed horn adorned with a pegasus’ wings. Text beneath the insignia read, H.O.R.N.A.C.

Several rappel lines emerged from the craft, and group of soldiers descended down, immediately greeting the Power Ponies with salutes. Their white armor was embossed in gold with the same insignia as the aircraft.

“Masked Matter-Horn?” the lead stallion inquired smartly, arching his brow questioningly and peering at the goggled hero through his one good eye. “General Ire, of H.O.R.N. Is that…”

“Zapp? Yes.” Matter-Horn interjected with a nod. Ire sighed a bit.

“Damn shame, but it was also a damn good thing she did today. That storm could have wiped out half the East Coast.” The General kicked at some loose rubble idly while giving a cursory glance at Zapp’s limp form. “Right, let’s get you heroes out of here. Don’t worry, we’ll handle this mess.”

On the surface, several minutes later, the Masked Matter-Horn was surveying what remained of the old theme park while discussing the aftermath of what was quickly being dubbed “The Stormtrotter Crisis” with Commissioner Golden Badge, General Ire, and Special Agent September.

Eager to get out before the news media could arrive, the rest of Matter-Horn’s colleagues had left with Zapp in tow towards city hall.

“We’ve scoured the whole damn chamber,” General Ire explained, sighing with exasperation. “That lunatic terrorist was the first thing we were looking for, and we’ve turned up nothing so far.”

“Which means that his death cannot yet be verified. My apologies, Madame Matter-Horn,” September added stolidly.

“Commissioner, can your forensics lend assistance?” Matter-Horn asked Golden Badge. The stallion nodded.

“We’ll offer whatever extra hooves we can spare. The city needs extra police power right now, what with the hurricane, and all.”

“I understand. Check for any possible sign of him, even ash piles for DNA analysis, please. If you gentlecolts will excuse me, I have a funeral to help arrange.”

“Will do,” General Ire nodded. “It’s the least we could do.”

“Some of my own team will be searching what remains of Stormtrotter’s base as well. The FIA is looking into all personal and professional ties that he had in addition.” Special Agent September said. “We cannot allow something like this to be replicated by anypony else.”

The Masked Matter-Horn nodded, and gave them all a light smile of appreciation, but her features quickly turned impassive again as she left the waterfront area, and entered further into the now weather-beaten and rain-drenched city.

In one week’s time, the streets had been cleaned of debris rapidly, and the final funeral for one of the city’s greatest protectors saw an unprecedented turnout of mourners that packed the streets all way from City Hall in the heart of downtown, to the neatly manicured boulevards that surrounded the Zapp Memorial Gardens on the east side of the city.

Despite a bevy of police cordons, crowding was still an issue, until Zapp’s procession itself entered a given area.

In a show of solidarity, the crowds of Power Pony supporters and curious onlookers readily parted way for the motorcade. This phenomena recurred all throughout the city, until the procession had well reached its destination.

With the work of the most masterful unicorn masons the nation had to offer, a mausoleum had been constructed for the deceased hero within the base of her statue, and another podium, smaller and humbler this time, stood before it. Lining it’s length were all six surviving Power Ponies, accompanied by a solemn Mayor Blossom, the Police Commissioner, and several other high-ranking members of Maretropolis’ city government all clad in their finest.

Having said their eulogies and parting words a few years prior, the Power Ponies left the Mayor to give her speech, which was broadcasted live.

Blossom cleared her throat as she took to the podium. She kept her features firm and carefully arranged as dozens of cameras flashed at her and the superheroes behind her.

“Citizens of Maretropolis. It is with a heavy heart that I address you all today, the second time on this hallowed ground of our city, to honor the memory of a true paragon.” Blossom’s voice was as firm as her stoicism from years of practice and public speaking. “A mare who not only possessed powers greater than that of the average pony, but used them to uphold virtues she believed in, and strived to better the world around her in the best ways she could.”

On Golden Badge’s signal, a perfect arranged line of dress uniform-clad MPD officers stood at attention on their haunches, and readied their rifles for a salute.

“For her steadfast devotion,” Mayor Blossom continued. “I, on behalf of the City Council of Maretropolis, and the state government of Albaneigh, hereby commence the Power Pony Zapp’s burial with the highest of honors.”

“Present, arms!” A police sergeant instructed.

The police officers arose in perfect synchronization, and fired off their salute to Zapp. It was a further cue for the Power Ponies, who likewise arose in a ceremonial fashion. The Masked Matter-Horn was at center, and was bearing Zapp’s golden lightning bolt pendant since she was the leader of the Power Ponies.

As the six superheroes made their way off the podium and towards the entrance to the Zapp Mausoleum, a small crowd of mourners offered their respects and condolences to the passing ponies.

The pendant was the final act of ceremony before Zapp was fully laid to rest.

As the funeral neared its completion, the crowd near the tomb entrance dispersed, and a pegasus stallion in a handsome black blazer and matching wool coat made his way out, eager to get home before a rainstorm was due to hit in roughly a half hour.

In his haste, the pegasus accidentally bumped into a fellow attendee.

“Whoops! Terribly sorry about that, Mister.” The stallion blushed at his accident.

“Oh, that’s quite alright, my good friend,” the other mourner replied with a warm, cheerful air as they finished something they had been eating. “Mmm, delectable sprinkles.”

The cheerfulness surprised the pegasus. “Oh uh, okay. Yeah...I’m a big klutz, sometimes.”

“They call you Klutz?” the stranger inquired, idly flexing his silver wings underneath his overcoat. “That’s quite unusual of a name for a pegasus, wouldn’t you think?”

“Oh, no,” the stallion let out a soft chuckle. “My actual name is Cumulus. And you are?”

The stranger chuckled as well at his new acquaintance. “Call me Stormtrotter. Storm for short, if you prefer.”