What If: Alternate Mane-iac

by Wayward Shadow

Rating: teen
Tags: Rarity, Mare Do Well, Mane-iac, Random, Slice of Life, Power Ponies, Anthro, Main 6, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Alternate Universe
Length: 5751

What If...The Mane-iac was a hero instead of a villain?

In various Power Ponies comics, stories, and such, the Mane-iac (aka, Tresemme) isn't shown as to what could happen if she chose to be a hero instead of a villain. I, Wayward Shadow, have taken the task to answer the question: "What If...Tresemme never went insane and chose to use her powers for good...rather than evil?"

This takes place in an Alternate Universe, where Ponyville is replaced by Maretropolis, everypony is anthro, and (obviously, if the title hasn't given that away) the circumstances leading up to the creation of the Mane-iac create a hero instead of a villain.

Slice of life tag because Adventure, Mystery, and other such tags are all part of a Superhero's life.

Published 2016-06-10 15:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2016-08-21 23:34:29 UTC

Prologue: Meeting this Story's "Watcher"

Hello there. My name is Wayward Shadow.

...

Okay, my name isn’t that, but do you really think I’d give out my real name on the Internet.

Anyway, I just couldn’t help but notice a lot about the Multiverse and how it is affected by the various forms of comics, movies, games, and other forms of media. Their pasts, their current lives, and what the future may lay in store are shown. Such is the case with My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Now that is practically a whole section of the Multiverse itself.

At its start, the show and related media was aimed at young girls. However, through some cosmic or Godly intervention of some kind, the show showed appeal to the masculine side of the spectrum as well as to the older generations. From there, fans have been dreaming, writing, and creating art of what would happen if X happened, or what happened between Episode Alpha and Episode Omega, and other kinds of cases.

As the base world (as I will term ‘Equis 2010’) continued to grow, so did its section in the Multiverse. New pasts, alternate presents, and out-of-this-world futures were being explored by various explorers of the Multiverse (these ones call themselves bronies or pegasisters).

One sector of the Equis Multiverse section that I find rather curious is the one that the Power Ponies live in. Ranging from their actual comic depictions to the Mane 6 filling the roles, these six…*ahem*...seven heroes have saved Maretropolis and other cities time and time again from various villains. Ranging from Pharaoh Phetlock to the Mane-iac, these villains have been existent as long as the heroes have.

One villain, however, catches my attention: the Mane-iac, AKA, Tresemme. On Equis 2010, she is a power hungry owner of a shampoo company that gained the power of a prehensile, stretchable mane and tail in a late night accident in one of her own factories. She also went insane from the sudden change. Thus began her career as one of the Power Ponies’ nemeses.

Now, as with all characters with no easily known background or life, the Fandom has explored all possible pasts, presents, and futures to her. I have seen the classic villain, the psychopathic murderer, and the inflatable anti-hero (don't laugh at that one; I laughed at that and...well...let's just say, it didn't end well).

However, in all of the various versions of her, I haven't found one story that shows her as a hero. So, I feel that it is my duty to show FIMFiction my answer to a burning question of mine.

“What If...Tresemme never went insane and chose to use her powers for good...rather than evil?”

(And now, for the magic words.)

“Bingo! Bango! Bongo!”

…

“Er...I mean...Friendship is Magic!”

Author's Note

So, yeah. I'm the "Watcher" for this 'What If...' story. You'll only hear from me in the Author's Notes...As I am the Author.
So what about me?
I was getting to that Tresemme! Anyway, yes, she will have a minor ability to break the fourth wall...
YEEEESSS!!!
...But ONLY in the Author's Notes.
Awwww.
On to the next thing. I'm having a hard time trying to figure out a suitable name for Tresemme's hero depiction. Her villain name just won't cut it.
Of course it won't cut it...It would just grow right back.
ANYWAY, leave possible names in the comments and we'll see which name fits the best. In the mean time...Tresemme? Where's that link?
Uhhh, OH! WAIT! I had it here a moment ago. *incoherent mumbling* AHA! Got it. It was stuck between the Browsers.
*sigh* Thanks. The link links to a picture depiction of the 'Inflatable Anti-hero' I mentioned. Laugh away, just make sure the artist doesn't hear you.
And when you're viewing that, make sure to see this sequence to understand the difference in mutations from the accident.
Well, see you next chapter...It should already be published.

Chapter 1: Origins (Part 1/2)

[Maretropolis, Equestria]

*Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Be...Click!*

“Ugh...Okay, come on Tresemme, time to get up and get to work,” Tresemme, a light violet earth pony with sky blue hair, said to herself. She sat up on her bed, running a hand through her disheveled mane and proceeded with her usual wake up ritual. Take a shower (using her company shampoos and soaps), get dressed (a casual business suit/skirt combination, with faux-leather horseshoes), eat breakfast (haybacon and eggs, with a glass of orange juice), and then look out the window while contemplating life.

Her father, Old Spice, had originally planned to marry her mother, Avon Q-tip, in order to merge their companies and increase his wealth. However, her natural beauty and her kind and caring nature melted his cold heart, and he fell in love. Their companies merged, but his wealth didn’t increase. Him and his wife started becoming philanthropists, donating to various charities, hospitals, orphanages, and providing scholarships for various colleges, universities, and academies.

A few years into their marriage, they had a child. An earth pony filly with a light violet coat and sky blue hair. They named her Tresemme. As she grew up, she became a bit arrogant and expected that everything was to be handed to her on a silver platter. This burdened her parents to no end, having to try and discipline her with limited results. Despite all of the trouble she gave them, they loved her to no end.

Then, when Tresemme was around age 12, her parents died in a violent manner. A crime mafia had finished attacking an armored truck filled with dangerous alchemic ingredients and other chemicals. The attack on the truck had caused a dangerous magical explosion that destroyed four city blocks and damaged the eight outside of that. Within the damaged portion of Maretropolis, a limousine was crushed by some of the rubble. In that wreck was her parents.

Tresemme was devastated. Gone were the days that she could just have this or that to her pleasure. Gone were the days of bedtime stories, family hugs, and home cooked meals. Gone were her parents. All that was left for her was regret and shame.

The only pony she could go to to confide to was Rarity Belle. Her parents were also buisness ponies and owned a rather successful jewelry business. When their daughter showed skill in the art of fashion, they allowed her to open a boutique and it was a huge hit. Tresemme’s parents actually decided to help her in the boutique by allowing some of their products be sold there, thus boosting the boutique’s business.

Now, a number of years later, Rarity owned a number of clothing stores and had ownership over the clothing brand ‘Fabulous Fashion.’ In all of her stores, she still sold her parent’s products. This connection allowed for both Tresemme and Rarity to bond and become friends. When she approached Rarity to talk about her loss, she was all ears. Tresemme was rather surprised by her generously allowing for her to talk and to be understood.

When she asked her about why she didn’t reject her in her sorrow, Rarity simply said, “Oh, Tres Darling. Just because you were rather uncouth in life doesn’t mean I will be. One thing I have learned is that no matter how crude a pony is or has been, they can be befriended and be given a chance to be better.”

Those words shook Tres to the very core. She was able to remember all that her parents had tried to get into her mind about being honest, kind, and generous to others, loyal to what is right, and to try to smile for the correct reasons. All of that came back to her from what Rarity had said. With that came a resolve to fix what what broken, leave the past behind, live in the present, and work towards the future. The next several years, Tresemme worked hard to fix her mistakes, try to work despite the pain of her loss, make better use of the fortune she was left with, and leave her mark on the world.

Now, standing at the window of her penthouse suite at age 25, having finished high school and college, she was ready to tackle the final task of leaving her mark on the world. She checked her watch and moved to the private elevator. She went down all 40 floors, exited to her 1016 Ponyota Stallion, and began the long tedious task of driving to her company office building through rush hour traffic.

As she endured the constant honking and shouting that comprised rush hour, she couldn’t help but glance at the picture of her parents that she taped to the dashboard of her car. As traffic was still slow, she was able to spare a few minutes to gaze upon them and remember their love.

A honk from behind her jolted her from her nostalgia and she tore her gaze from the photo and continued driving to work. After what felt like an eternity, she arrived at the office building. Spice and Nice Co. was what it was called. It specialized in various soaps, shampoos, personal hygiene and beauty products. While the 10 floors of offices were nice, what was next door was what both her parents and herself considered the best part of the family business. The Factory.

The Factory was the nickname that Tresemme had given that factory, even though it wasn’t the only factory in the business. It was just the first factory the company had, and also the largest. She could still remember the times that her parents would walk her through it and point out how a piece of machinery worked. The nostalgia was so strong that she wanted to skip going into the office and walk around the Factory.

She parked her car, got out and walked to the office to start her boring day.

Tresemme’s day wasn’t exactly boring, but neither was it exciting. From licensing issues to labor favors, she was ready to hit the hay by the time that the day was closing down (thank Luna). She packed her stuff up and went to her car. She just barely had gotten into the car when she looked at the Factory longingly. She couldn’t hold her nostalgia back any longer. She left her car and went to the Factory.

Entering one of the side entrances, she saw some of the cleanup crew in the last stages of cleaning and closing for the day. One of them saw her and approached her. A good morale boost for Tresemme, as the few times she was in there when she was younger, she was rather snotty. It took years and many new employees to get the ‘old timers’ to at least respect her.

The employee that approached her was Kevin. He was one of the first few that was hired shortly after she reclaimed control of the company. He had the appearance of a grey unicorn with red and orange hair, with said hair styled to look like it was actual flames. However, those looks were only skin deep as he was actually a changeling.

She had discovered that in her interview with him. He had a rather nasty cold when he came in, and some of the disguise flickered every time he sneezed. About half-way through the interview, he threw out a violent sneeze that slammed his head on her desk and dispelled the disguise completely. When he saw his disguise fail, he made the attempt to flee, but Tresemme managed to get him to stay and finish the interview. Despite him being of a race that generally was looked down upon by most, Tresemme actually was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and hired him, under the provision that he maintain his ‘Live Coal’ disguise when at work.

Now, nearly a year later, he has proved himself time and time again to be a valuable asset to the Factory. And, if Tresemme was ever to admit it, she also had a bit of crush on him...and he probably knew it too.

“You’re doing it again,” she heard. Shaking her head slightly, she looked from her thoughts and saw Kevin ‘Live Coal’ standing a few hooves in front of her with a smirk on his face.

She blushed and tried to hide her face in her mane. “You felt my infatuation?” He nodded. “I’m sorry, I just...ugh...I can’t help but be fascinated by you being an independant...” Before she could go any further with her rambling, he stepped up to her and gave her a peck on the cheek. She stopped and her blush increased.

“As much as I understand that you trying to keep a professional distance, but you need to know that, sometimes, it is just hard to not love,” he said, “And I know about love as much as the Star Sapphire does.”

Tresemme was confused. “Kev...er…’Live Coal’, why are you saying that?”

Kevin shrugged. “I’d have to say two reasons,” he held up two fingers to emphasize this, “One: if you try to hold back your feelings, it’s going to explode eventually. Think of it like a can of soda with too much carbonation. And two: while I enjoy the taste of infatuation, I can only take so much before I want a different emotion.” She gave him a bit of a scowl, before he threw his hands in defeat. “Alright Tres! Fine! The second reason was more of a joke, but it is still true all the same!”

Tres could only sigh in mild annoyance. “And to think I hired you for more than your looks,” She mumbled to herself. Kevin was about to speak again, but an explosion rocked the factory. “GRRR! What Now!? She shouted out at the ceiling, “Is it enough that the Board doesn’t trust me, but My Own FREAKING FACTORY IS SUBJECT TO BOMBINGS?!”

Kevin winced at her shrieking. He grabbed both of her shoulders, looked her in the eyes, and asked her, “Would it make you feel better if I checked where the explosion happened?” Tres nodded. He shifted to his changeling form and buzzed to the spot of the explosion.

After only a few seconds, she couldn’t wait any longer. She ran to a ladder that led to the catwalks. She traversed the maze of walkways and tanks for a few minutes. Suddenly, the sound of gunfire erupted from behind one of the nearby tanks. Tres instinctively dove behind a different tank as the gunfire continued. She chanced a peek and saw Kevin placing up a force field around the tanks, shielding it from the bullets. He, himself, was unprotected, but his natural chitin exoskeleton protected him from the the bullets raining down upon him.

After he had placed the barriers, he started firing of green changeling fire bolts off at whoever was shooting at him. Abandoning his gun, the thug pulled out an orange and violet bladed switchblade and proceeded to try to go hand to hand with Kevin. Kevin was able to hold his own, but received a number of gashes that would have been impossible, if the switch blade was normal.

Changeling chitin is what most ponies would call ‘magical vibranium’. It was called that, because while a normal bullet or knife wouldn’t hurt them, bullets and knives coated in Lust could cut through chitin as if it was skin.

As the fight progressively started moving towards Tres’ hiding spot, she was able to see the thug in the light. He was an earth pony wearing desert combat pants, but the rest of him was wrapped in what looked like bandages. No doubt about it. He was a member of the Desert Snakes, Minions of the Phony Pharaoh himself, Pharaoh Phetlock.

When the changeling and the mummified pony passed by her hiding spot, Tres jumped out and shoved at the criminal. It didn’t do much but distract him. Kevin took advantage of the distraction and delivered an uppercut punch and a subsequent headbutt. The knife wielder went down hard on the catwalk floor.

After that, Kevin looked to be light headed. Tres rushed to him and supported him. “Damn Desert Snake,” he swore, “Either that Snake just happened to have a knife with my bane coated on it, or the gang was prepared for anything...including changelings.” He made the motion to try and walk forward, but he stumbled. A nasty gash was on one of his legs, dripping blood onto the catwalk, which in turn, dripped onto the floor below.

“We need to get you out of here!” Tres said, moving him so that she could help support him, getting his blood on herself in the process. They began moving towards the set of stairs, in the opposite direction of the ladder she came up on. Before they reached it, they heard whispering. Tres stopped moving, as she swiveled their ears to hear what they were saying. It was difficult, as Kevin would lightly moan, and there was still gunfire going off within the Factory.

“Did you find the vault?”

“Yes, we did.”

“And the preservative herbs?”

“Still inside the vault. It’s reinforced steel and has a magical lock that can only be opened with the magic of a specific unicorn.”

“Have you had any luck finding the unicorn that has access to the vault.”

“Negative. We’ve tried several unicorns already, but it still isn’t opened yet.”

“GRRR!!! Comb the factory and office building for every unicorn available! If none of them open the vault, find the register that holds the names, races, and addresses of those that work here and we’ll try again!”

Tresemme paled from the conversation. The Desert Snakes were trying to break into the Alchemy vault for a certain herb of some kind. More than likely for their Pharaoh so he could perform some ritual to end the Princess’ reign over Equestria.

Tres moved herself and Kevin on a different path. Kevin was about to protest, but Tres waved off his attempted questions and continued to their new destination. After a few minutes of evading any other Snakes that were on the catwalk, they arrived at one of the factory power panels. Tres set Kevin down and began searching the panel for something.

“What are you doing?” Kevin asked, rather weakly.

She opened one of the panels, revealing a red button with a silver horseshoe inlaid on the front. “If I heard things correctly, The Phony Pharaoh is involved in this. We need the Power Ponies.” She then pushed the button.

Outside the Factory, red spotlight lit up the entire factory, catching the attention of a young teenage drake and a well dressed unicorn on a nearby rooftop.

Author's Note

There are a lot of things that may need to be explained in this chapter. We can list off a few.
To start, lets look at Tresemme's car. A 1016 Ponyota Stallion.
My car I use for work is based off of the Toyota Allion. Here's a cool picture I found while breaking the fourth wall.

The next bit is the Star Sapphire.
Before you ask, yes the Star Sapphire, as mentioned in the story, is both the same as and is based off of what is found in the DC comics.
I don't own that, BTW.
Of course. Anyway, the Star Sapphire uses a special power ring to manipulate the emotion of love in crystal like ways. It is different from what Radiance can do, primarily because Radiance uses a magic bracelets, while the Star Sapphire uses a power ring (advanced alien technology).
We'll give you three guesses as to who the Star Sapphire is. Just leave your guesses in the comments below.
What about the reference to my parents' names?
Okay. Guess about those too.
Now as for what was said about changeling chitin...well...
In this universe, there are three forms of unbreakable/tough materials. Vibranium, adamantium, and chitin. Vibranium is a natural occurring metal that is extremely difficult to mine, melt, and mold. Zebrica have mastered how to do all three, making Vibranium worth almost as much as the Spice and Nice Co.
I still think that's a lame name.
Adamantium is a magically created alloy. It isn't vibranium, due to the fact that it doesn't reflect/amplify what is thrown at it.
If Captain America had a shield of adamantium instead of vibranium, then Thor would have killed him in that Avengers movie.
Changeling chitin is considered more of the magical vibranium. It is tough like both adamantium and vibranium, but it has a weakness that makes it lesser than the other two.
Negative emotions.
Lust, as shown in the story, is basically a combination of Avarice and Love. The main reason to this and other negative emotion colors being a weakness to Changeling Chitin is because of Changeling biology. Will, Hope, Compassion, and Love and their positive variations are safe for Changelings to handle. However, negative emotions and variations are dangerous to them. If a positive emotion is mixed with a negative emotion (Rage, Avarice, and Fear), it is ultimate kryptonite to Changeling Chitin.
Anywho, we hope you enjoyed the chapter, and we'll see you when the next chapter comes.

Chapter 2: Origins (Part 2/2)

[Maretropolis, Equestria]

Outside the Factory, red spotlight lit up the entire factory, catching the attention of a young teenage drake and a well dressed unicorn on a nearby rooftop. The unicorn looked at the young drake with amazed eyes, while he had a bit of a proud, smug look on his face.

“See, Radiance. I told Matterhorn that the Phony Pharaoh wouldn’t be after those banks that are currently being broken into,” he said, as he pulled on his tight suit that identified him as Hum Drum, “He’s gotta be after some form of medicinal herb for some reason or another.”

Radiance conjured a set of fancy binoculars and surveyed the Factory. “I would doubt he would need it for keeping his goons safe,” she said, handing the construct to Hum Drum for him to look. “Judging from what I could see, somepony had done a number on one of them and nopony has even tried to find or help him.”

Hum Drum nodded and pulled a grapple gun from his belt and fired it off toward a construct that Radiance had placed. After it connected, he swung down to the Factory, crashing through a window…

...and right on top of a blood covered mare supporting a badly beaten changeling. The impact sent the three of them sprawling and raised a rather loud racket.

“What was that?!” One of the goons shouted out.

“It came from the catwalk above! Somepony go check on that!”

The mare got up quickly and hauled the changeling and Hum Drum up. “Really bad timing,” she muttered as she stabilized the barely conscious changeling. Just as he was about to apologize, some Desert Snakes had turned around a nearby corner. Upon seeing Hum Drum, they raised an alarm.

“It’s Hum Drum! The Power Ponies are here!” One of them called out.

“Then kill the young drake!” A deep, authoritative voice bellowed. “I will not have the Power Ponies thwart my plans to bind with Horus and become immortal!” In obedience to the voice they raised their weapons to fire.

The mare saw the danger and looked at the changeling worriedly before shifting his weight around. “Forgive me, Kevin.” She then swing him around, angling his back towards the goons as their weapons fired. The bullets struck Kevin’s back, but put no damage in him. The mare was doing a fair imitation of Captain Equestria, except she was using a changeling rather than a vibranium shield.

The Snakes stopped their shooting. “Switch to the Spectrum Rounds!” One of the goons shouted out. Hum Drum heard that and pulled a few dracorangs off of his belt and managed to disarm the attackers. Before they could pick up their weapons, another window was broken through by Radiance behind the goons. Before they could react or run, Radiance captured each of them with large hair tie constructs on their wrists and legs. She then gathered the group together in a large hair scrunchie construct.

The mare relaxed a bit and managed to lower Kevin down gently. Radiance approached Kevin with a mean look on her face. Before she could even begin to try to interrogate him, the mare got between him and her with a stern look on her face. “Now is not the time to be talking,” she said. Hoofsteps were heard, verifying the statement.

Hum Drum stepped forward. “Radiance, let’s get them to safety, and then we can point blame of one kind or another.”

Radiance wilted a bit under the mare’s gaze and the drake’s words. She slumped her shoulders in defeat, and said, “Alright, we’ll get them to safety and see to wrapping this case up.” She looked to the restrained goons. “No pun intended. Hum Drum, watch our backs. I’ll carry the changeling.” She looked to the mare, opening her mouth and closing it.

“Tresemme,” the mare said, “My name’s Tresemme.”

Radiance’s eyes showed a bit of recognition before going back to serious. The hoofsteps were getting louder, so Radiance was direct. “Tres, guide us.” She then made a stretcher construct and carefully placed Kevin on it.

Tres began leading the group through the maze of the catwalk. They did their best to avoid the Snakes that were searching for them. If they did encounter one of the goons, a well aimed dracorang or a hard hit from a broom construct took care of the problem. They had managed to get to a set of exposed catwalk above some mixing vats.

Just as they were over the top of one of vats, the sound of flowing sand was heard throughout the Factory. Tres stopped suddenly, swiveling her ears to hear where the sound was coming from. Radiance stepped forward to ask what was wrong, but Tres slammed her shoulder into her, knocking her back. After she landed, and the stretcher construct collapsed, a large jackal head made of sand crashed into the catwalk, breaking it in half.

Hum Drum, Radiance, Kevin were well out of reach of the attack, but Tres was barely out of the way of the attack. She was knocked down and was barely clinging onto the edge of the platform. Hum Drum acted immediately, firing his grapple gun to the roof of the Factory, he tried to swing to where she was. However, half-way across, part of the ceiling gave way and Hum Drum found himself falling instead of swinging.

The falling sensation stopped about as soon as it started. Tres had caught him before he fell. Looking up, Hum Drum and Tres saw that part of what gave way was some electrical wires that were dangling dangerously close to the vat. Tres began pulling him up, but the damaged platform creaked and groaned in protest.

Just as she managed to get him to grab the platform, it snapped and fell a bit. Hum Drum reacted by pulling himself up and onto the more stable part of the catwalk. Tresemme, on the other hand, had let go out of fright and fell. She screamed and grabbed the electrical wire, hoping to stop her fall, but it was too late. Both her and the exposed wire fell into the vat.

Hum Drum, Radiance, and Kevin looked into the vat in horror, believing Tres to be dead. Hum Drum’s platform section was soon overrun with five Desert Snakes, holding him at gunpoint. Radiance recovered from her shock and readied a few acupuncture constructs to incapacitate them. Just as she was about to launch them, an evil voice behind her spoke. “If you value that drake’s and this changeling’s life, I suggest you pay attention to the real threat.”

She turned around to see a greyish brown earth pony in Royal Egyptian clothing (the standard headdress, ornamental chest plate, and his Egyptian skirt/kilt/lavalava). In his hands was an Ankh staff and a Khopesh edged in yellow and violet sand.

“You seem surprised to see me, Radiance,” the pony said, “I, however, am not surprised to see you.”

“I never expected you and your thugs to raid a shampoo factory, Phony Pharaoh,” she shot back. The Pharaoh suddenly looked enraged and sand flowed from his staff onto himself, forming what looked like bronze Egyptian armor.

“It’s Pharaoh Phetlock!” He swung his khopesh at her, only for it to be countered by a sabre construct. “And I expect you to remember it.” The two began a ferocious sword fight. The Pharaoh focused on wide sweeping swings with his khopesh and the occasional jab with his staff. Radiance countered the swings and jabs mostly by sidestepping them and with an occasional parry. While Radiance had a preference with defence, she did slash and thrust once in awhile, all of which bounced off of the armor.

The two locked swords. “We both seem to be at an impasse,” Radiance said, “You can’t get a hit on me, and I can’t past your armor.” The Pharaoh grinned.

“You, however, have something I don’t have,” he said.

“And what, pray tell, is that?”

He pushed her off. “Liabilities.” He then flung his khopesh at Kevin. Radiance went to created a kite shield construct to protect him, but a dracorang intercepted it, barely knocking it out of its path of travel. The sword missed Kevin barely by a few milimeters. Before both Radiance and the Pharaoh could express their surprise, another dracorang came flying from across the platform gap and attached itself to his armor. A blue light lit up on its center and several volts of electricity were sent through the Pharaoh and he fell unconscious, twitching a bit.

Radiance turned around and saw that the five goons that had Hum Drum captured were hanging by their ankles with grappling hook wire on the catwalk. After he had managed to cross the divide between the platforms, she said, “Thank you, but I must ask; how did you get past those ruffians?”

Hum Drum looked down at the vats below with a nervous look before answering. “I...uhh...had a little...HELP!!!” He suddenly shouted out the last word in response to something long and green grasping his ankle and nearly pulling off the catwalk. Radiance simultaneously grabbed his arm and summoned a scissor construct. It made the attempt to cut what was grabbing the young drake, but the construct actually broke in the attempt.

“SKREE!!!” Radiance looked to where the sound was coming from only to receive a hoof to her nose. While that did cause her to loose her grip on Hum Drum, he was able to catch himself and hold onto the platform. Radiance turned to her new adversary with a bloodied nose. There, both hanging by and being held up by her mane and tail, was Tresemme...but she was different.

For one obvious thing, she was soaked from her dip in the mysterious vat. Another thing was her looks. Her office attire was a bit tattered and torn (not to mention, soaked). Her hair was green, impossibly long, and was moving on its own (not to mention, it was soaked). Her coat was a deep purple (not to mention, soaked).

OKAY! They get the idea that I was soaked when I saw Rari...er...I mean...Radiance. Just get skip to the fight and get to the good part...you know...where I get...
Fine.

Anyway, Radiance was shocked. Her eyes were showing her a threat, but her mind could only comprehend it as a friend. That conflict nearly cost her her life as several tendrils of her hair attacked her. She set up a shield that blocked the hair and she set back to trying to free Hum Drum.

One tendril managed to get past the shield and tried to undo her grip on him. Hum Drum responded by grabbing the tendril and bit it. Tresemme screeched in pain. Hum Drum connected the dots and came up with an idea.

“Radiance, get off the platform and be ready to catch me.”

“What?!”

“I’ve got an idea, and it will hurt badly,” he responded. Radiance nodded and used bridge construct to get off the platform. Once she was safely away, Hum Drum pulled out another electric dracorang and attached it close to his ankles where the hair was. When it activated, jolts of electricity surged through him, Tres, and the parts of the platform they were touching. Both fell unconscious and fell off the platform.

Radiance wasted no time in creating constructs to catch them. She then went to retrieve the changeling and the Phony Pharaoh, but the Pharaoh was nowhere to be seen. “Drat!” She muttered to herself. She then used a spiral staircase construct to exit the factory’s roof and flagged down Saddle Rager, who was piloting the Power Plane. Once the drake, changeling, and mutated pony were loaded on, they were off to the Power Pony Hideout.

Author's Note

TRES! What did I say about the breaking the fourth wall!?
Give me a break! Be glad that It wasn't me doing the-character-in-the-moment type of breaking the fourth wall.
Touché.
Anyway, is it too soon to announce my hero name?
Well, considering that only one person made suggestions, I guess it's okay to reveal the name.
Quick shout out to Belated1truth for the name suggestions.
And of the four names he gave, we've decided on...Maneline.
Not the best of names, but what can we do?
Now to talk about some different things.
To start, the Phony Pharoah...
*AHEM*
Uh...I mean Pharoah Phetlock.
*SNORT*
Anyway...From what I know (and probably don't know), Pharoah Phetlock doesn't have powers. So I have taken the liberty of giving him powers akin to Sand Man and Sinestro.
Sand manipulation to the level of a Yellow Lantern.
And now for Hum Drum.
What about him?
He's now much more useful, able to hold his own in a fight and has better tech to use (as is demonstrated by the Dracorangs).
Now that I think about it, that shock really hurt. It felt like my hair was being pulled out with the force of a speeding truck.
Yeah, not pleasant. Anyway, once the next chapter is ready, I'll have it up. See ya soon.