Power Ponies: The Shadows of Power Collection

Spike put down the first comic, and reached for the next one.

“Already Spike?” Questioned Twilight to her young dragon friend.

“I can't help it.” He confessed.  “The first book ended on a cliff hanger, and I wanna see the Power Ponies in action!”

Twilight sighed then nodded.  “We'll be in Ponyville in about fifteen minutes, so be ready to head back to the castle.”

“Sure thing Twilight!” Spike made a goofy looking salute with his hands before flipping open the comic.

For everypony that embraces the light,

there must be one who embraces the darkness.

That is the order I hope to enforce.

The doors to the convention hall flung open and the remaining power ponies: Masked Matter-Horn, Mistress Marevelous, and Zapp stood battle ready in front of a squad of now unconscious goons.  Radiance and Saddle Rager were scooping up all of the defeated henchponies with the help of a massive broom and dustpan, and were dropping them off in large trash bins; all of Radiance's creation.  Hum Drum on the other hand was taking advantage of the commotion caused by the ponies' entrance and snuck off to the side to administer an antidote for the hairspray ray to the captured citizens.  Asking them to play possum until there was a clear chance to run.

“I'm glad Hum Drum is finally making himself useful.” Spike praised.

“Maybe he got a confidence boost after he saved all of the Power Ponies from the Mane-iac.”  Twilight joshed with a friendly wink.

Spike smiled triumphantly before returning to the story.

“Blasted Power Ponies!” Heat Wiser snarled.  “I had hopped to be out of here before you arrived.”

“Fat chance!” Zapp scolded.

“We arrive when we're needed, and not a moment later!” Added Matter-Horn.

“Are you gonna come quietly, or does this have-ta get ugly?” Shouted Marevelous.

“Heat Wiser lifted up his front hooves.” Fine, fine.  I see no reason to go hoof-to-hoof with the legendary Power Ponies.  I know when I'm beaten.

As Hum Drum freed another hostage he turned back to Heat Wiser, and noticed something metallic positioned just underneath his coat sleeves.

“Look out!  He's got a-” Hum Drum immediately shoved his small hoof into his mouth, remembering that he was suppose to be staying quiet.

“You!” Wiser flung off his lab coat revealing two concealed cans of hairspray.  One pointed at Hum Drum, and the other at the ponies, and from the look of the rather large belt around his belly, he had plenty of spray o' doom to go around.

“Look out Drumy!” Fili-Second dashed to Hum Drum's aid only to be caught in a blast of hairspray as she shoved her friend to saftey.

“Fili-Second! Hang on! I've still got some antidote spray!”

Hum Drum was cut off by Heat Wiser, who towered menacingly between Hum Drum and Fili.  He aimed another spray at the young colt, but Hum Drum avoided it in the nick of time; by tripping over his own cape and falling.

“I got you two don't worry!” Zapp gripped her lightning bolt with her teeth, and after a moment a flash of lightning shot out towards Wiser.

The husky colt had just enough time to turn around, causing the bolt to connect with Wiser's heavily protected back harness.

“What?!”  Zapp shouted in disbelief.  “No effect?!”

Wiser laughed stereotypically manically.  “The Mane-iac was right! So sorry Zzzzzapp!” Wiser slurred out the name like saying it was toxic.  “Your lightning wont do anything against this protective harness!”

“If lightning wont work, then what about thunder?!”

Everypony turned to see Rividicous wearing his invention in place of his suit and tie.   His artificial wings were spread out through the holes in his suit, and the dish like node on his back was stretched out completely, and was releasing several pulse pounding beats like the music of the maretropolis night club.

“Time to step it up!” He proclaimed. He thrust his right hoof down with a high-ya, and the mecanical tentacle on his back fired out a large “wub” burst.  One that matched the sound of thunder key for key.  The concussive force shoved Wiser back away from Fili-Second, and gave Hum Drum enough time to administer his Antidote spray.

“Curse you Rividicous!” Heat Wiser claimed.  “I always knew a pony like you would be trouble for me!”

“Looks like there IS a lot of good I can do with this after all.”  Spark praised to himself.

“Nice trick kid!” Zapp commended.  “Mind if I give it a shot?”

“Sure no problem!” Rividicous eagerly removed the mechanical contraption, and helped Zapp sling it over herself.  Luckily Zapp was also a pegasus, so her proportions weren't very far off from the suit's, and her wings were able to fit right into the holes on either side.

“Time to see what this baby can do!” With Rividicous' help Zapp maneuvered the dish like instrument until it was just millimeters away from her lightning bolt.

“Whatever you fools are up to I won't let you do it!” Heat Wiser lifted both barrels of hairspray at the duo, but the attempts to spry them were interrupted by a big glass window that appeared in front of him; courtesy of Radiance.

“Hold that pose!” Shouted Matter-Horn who froze the angry colts four legs with her freeze ray.

“Gah, what the?!” Heat Wiser struggled to break out of the ice, but to no avail.

“Time to step it up!” Rividicous stated once again.

“Awe yeah!” Zapp cheered.

Zapp's lightning bolt sparked to life, and released a forceful blast of thunder, which was amplified to the explosive force of a sonic rainboom due to Rividicous' invention.  The force of the blast not only sent Heat Wiser flying backwards, but also took out a massive chunk of the wall behind him, sending them all flying outwards.  Mistress Marevelous used her special psychic rope to tie and hold Heat Wiser before he could fall too far, and Fili-Second made a milli-second sprint downstairs then back up to make sure nopony was in the way of the falling debris.  Heat Wiser, and the Mane-iac's henchponies were escorted off the premises by police, and the Power Ponies, who received a standing ovation from the ponies at the Maretropolis Science Convention.

When everything was back to normal the remaining three judges continued with the competition.  Unfortunately in light of recent events; two of the ponies were now disqualified from the contest.  The girl who had created the underwater steel cutter, and Rividicous Spark.

“How could you disqualify me?!” Rividicous shouted furiously.  “Need I remind you, that it was MY invention that helped the Power Ponies take out Heat Wiser?”

“Yes. you did take out Heat Wiser.” Explained Johnson the lead scientist and judge.  “But you also took out the entire back section of the building in the attempt.  Such technology is too dangerous for what we are attempting to pursue, and we will not be responsible for instigating another attack by a super villain on helpless Equestrian scientists.

“That wasn't me it was-”  Rividicous was interrupted by the raised hoof of the lead speaker.

“I'm sorry Mr. Spark, but this decision is final.  With that being said the winner of the tenth annual Equestrian Sciences of the Future Competition is Ms. Saphire Dusters, and her Crop Rotation Accelerator concept! Congratulations Ms. Duster!”

Cheers of adoration filled the room, but to Rividicous everything had gone silent.  All he could hear was the sounds of his own thoughts as he stormed out of the building.

A concept?! A CONCEPT?!  I saved EVERYPONY in that building, and I loose to A CONCEPT?!  How in Equestria am I going to get the funding now?!  My chance for glory is over and so is my future!

“There is still hope Mr. Spark.”

An ominous voice filled Rividicous' ears, and he discovered he had inadvertently walked into an allyway.  One that was getting increasingly dark as the seconds passed.

“Who's there?!” Asked a now panicing Rividicous Spark.

“A friend.” Assured the voice.  “An opportunity.”

“Opportunity?” Spark echoed.

“For justice.”  The stranger continued.  Soon after an entity emerged from the now completely black end of the Ally.  It was a white colt that much was obvious to Spark, but everything else about him was a mystery.  His entirety was covered by what appeared to be the shadows of the ally, which were loosely blanketed over him like a cloak.

“I can give you what you need.”  The stranger promissed.  “The money to finish your research, and the chance to strike back at the Power Ponies who wronged you.”

Rividicous was unsure.  After all it wasn't all the power ponies that “wronged him” it was only Zapp.

“I'm sure you've noticed it by now.” The stranger carried on.  “The crime rates of Maretropolis are at an all time low.  Thanks no doubt to the power ponies.  Those seven ponies have brought hope back to this struggling city, but they have also brought something else.”

“And what is that?”  Rividicous inquired.

“Light” explained the colt.  “A light so crushingly suffocating that no amount of darkness dare emerges from it's hiding hole.  These ponies are the pinacle of power, and the idols of the whole city, but despite their pedastles they are only ponies in the end.  They make mistakes like everypony else, yet to the common horse they are gods, and who is responsible when gods make mistakes?”

A shadowy pointed tendril stretched out from the cloak of black shadows on the colt.  Rividicous took a couple cautionary steps backwards, but to his surprise the entity merely pointed up.  Up to the surprisingly visible hole in the Maretropolis convention center.  The one that Zapp made, and he took the blame for.

“So there are others?”  Asked Rividicous.  “People who have taken the fall because of the Power Ponies?”

The stranger nodded.  “They are few, and far between, but they are there.  I'd like your help Rividicous.  To find them.  To recruit them.  We will be the ever present reminder of what they have done.  The guilt that hangs over them like the ever present shadows they cannot outrun.

“The shadows of the Power Ponies.”  Rividicous liked the idea.  A chance for glory had arisen once again.  Even infamy was in it's own way a form of acknowledgment.  “The Shadows of Power.”  He said aloud.

His new friend in the black cloak smiled.  “A fitting name.  I like it.”

“Then you'll love this one.” Rividicous smirked.  “From now on Rividicous Spark is no more.  I am Thunderstep.”

“Then I think it's time the two of us step it up.”  The colt extended a hoof of friendship, and the two colts vanished into the darkness of the ally.