An Ideal Of Hope And A Warrior Princess

Chapters

Chapter 1: A Dream Come True
Chapter 2: Suspicion
Chapter 3: Showdown
Chapter 4: Secrets

Chapter 1: A Dream Come True

A tall unicorn stallion, with a blond mane and orange coat and wearing a set of black and gold armor, stepped towards the big metal object in the middle of the room. A white Earth Pony mare with a brown mane was waiting in front of it, hugging a small bundle to her chest.

“Is it ready?” The stallion asked.

“Yes,” the mare answered.

“We must hurry, he’s on his way here.”

“Okay,” the mare said sadly, letting a tear trickle on her cheek. “I can’t believe I’m throwing my own daughter into space.”

The stallion placed his forelegs on her shoulders. “Do you think it’s any easier for me? This place is doomed. It’s the only way to keep her safe. She’ll live, I promise.”

“Three ships are approaching,” a monotone voice said from behind the two ponies.

The mare placed the small bundle in a little, weird-looking bed. The filly looked up at her mother, making it even harder for her. But her husband’s foreleg landing on her shoulder gave her enough strength to leave the filly.

The stallion hit a number of keys on a board full of strange metallic objects, and the bed containing the filly floated towards a teardrop-shaped object in the ceiling. The bed entered the wide end of the object, and it closed on it in a flower-like way. On the outside of the door that closed on the bed was engraved a strange symbol that resembled a big, stylized ‘S’.

“Goodbye, my daughter,” the stallion said. “Our dreams and hopes fly with you.”

With that, the object took off with loud noise and accelerated into the sky.

“Create a world better than ours,” the mare said, as a group of armored ponies broke into the room.

Suddenly, the view shifted into a burning planet in the space. And just a few seconds later, it exploded.

-oOo-

Celestia shot upwards from her slumber, taking a long gasp of air. A guard rushed through the bedroom’s door.

“Is something wrong, Princess?” the guard asked.

“I’m fine,” Celestia answered, as her breathing started to become normal again. “You can go back to your duties.”

“Your Highness.”

The guard exited the room, closing the door behind him.

Celestia stepped off her bed and headed towards the balcony, staring at the moon that had the head of a mare engraved on it, then staring at the stars.

“A world was destroyed?” she said to herself. “But, what does that have to do with our world?”

Years and years later...

It was a warm, starry night in Ponyville. Twilight and her friends sat around a table in the restaurant, each one of them with a plate and a cup of drink in front of them. But Fluttershy was missing.

“And then, I pulled off a sonic rainboom! They were all amazed!” Rainbow Dash said, taking a sip from her drink.

“You’re always the best, Dashie!” Pinkie said.

“How is Sunburst doing, Starlight?” Twilight asked.

“Oh, he had another crystalling just yesterday,” Starlight answered. “He said the baby had somehow escaped her bed and they had lost her, but Sunburst found her in the end.”

“I see his job isn’t as boring as some ponies think,” Twilight said.

“Yeah, it can get pretty action-packed sometimes,” Starlight laughed.

“Speaking of action,” Rainbow Dash put her drink aside. “Did you guys hear about that mare who saved a family from getting squashed under a rock?”

“Yes, we did,” Rarity answered.

“Who was she, anyway?” Applejack asked.

“I heard she was covering her whole body and face with cloths. There was no way we could know who she was,” Twilight said.

“I don’t care, she was so awesome!” Rainbow exclaimed.

“You’re actually okay with her?” Spike asked. “I thought you would get jealous because she was saving the day and all.”

“What? No no no! That whole ‘jealousy’ thing is so behind me. I can’t be the only one saving the day in Equestria. Besides, it’s not like I could save those ponies, anyway. The rock was huge! Had I tried to save them I would’ve gotten myself squashed. How that mare managed to stop it is beyond me. She’s overpowered!”

“It’s not the first time she did that sort of thing,” Twilight said. “I heard about many incidents involving a mysterious pony doing extraordinary things.”

Applejack placed her foreleg on her stomach and frowned.

“What’s wrong?” Starlight asked.

“I told you not to eat ice cream quickly!” Rarity scolded.

“Muh bad!” Applejack smiled sheepishly, before hurrying towards the toilets.

“So, anything new about Fluttershy?” Rarity asked. “When is she coming back from Trottingham?”

“I don’t know, Rarity.” Twilight sighed. “It’s been awhile since the last time she sent me a letter.”

“I hope she comes back soon. I really miss her,” Rainbow Dash said.

“We all do,” Pinkie said. “But don’t worry. She’s a strong mare. She’ll be fine.”

A few minutes later, a stallion rushed through the door of the restaurant, panting. Parts of his coat were black, indicating he was burned.

“Princess Twilight! We need help!” the stallion yelled.

Twilight and the others rushed towards him.

“What’s the matter?” Twilight asked.

“Three houses are burning! We tried to extinguish the fire when it was only in one house, but something exploded and the fire went out of control! There are still ponies there!”

“What’s happenin’?” Applejack poked her head from the bathroom’s door.

“There’s a huge fire. Hurry up!” Rarity answered.

“Wha’?! I’m comin’!” Applejack opened the door and galloped after her friends, who were already outside the restaurant and galloping in the direction of the fire.

When they arrived, they all just stopped and stared at the scene in horror. The situation was even worse than they had thought.

“Those are empty, I believe,” the stallion said, pointing at two of the houses. “That one still has ponies inside.” He pointed towards the third house

“Okay. Do you know any ...I don’t know, freezing or water spells, Twilight?” Rainbow asked.

“I know just a few, and they’re too weak to do anything to this huge fire,” Twilight responded. “I’ll use my magic shield and go inside that house to save the ponies, you guys help bring water. Rainbow Dash, try to make it rain above the houses.”

“Are you kidding, Twilight?” Starlight said. “You don’t know where the ponies are located, which means you may spend time looking for them long enough to turn your magic shield into your grave.”

“And gathering a storm cloud big enough to extinguish all of this will take me long enough for the fire to cook everypony inside,” Rainbow Dash added.

“This is all we can do, alright?” Twilight yelled. “We can just do the best we can. Let’s stop talking and get to work.” As Twilight prepared to enter the house, Pinkie placed a hoof on her shoulder and stopped her.

Pinkie pointed upwards. “I don’t think this whole thing is necessary.”

Everyone turned their attention to where Pinkie had pointed and stared in awe. A white mare with a black mane and tail and blue eyes, wearing a blue costume with a red cape and a red stylized ‘S’ on the chest, was floating in the air. What shocked them was that the mare appeared to be an Earth Pony, yet she was somehow flying.

“Everypony stay away from the fire,” the mare said, with a deep yet soothing voice. “I’ll take care of this.”

She quickly flew towards one of the houses and broke through one of its windows, disappearing in the fire.

“What the hay?! She’s going to get burned!” Spike exclaimed.

Some breaking sounds were heard from inside the house, before the mare broke through one of it’s burning walls, a big bundle covered in her cape. The mare landed and dropped three little fillies that were under the cape.

“These three are all that was there,” the mare said.

“How do you know?” Twilight asked.

“Trust me, I can see everything inside those houses.”

“My babies!”

A mare rushed towards the three fillies and hugged them.

“Um, there’s a little...on your shoulder!” Pinkie said.

The mare looked at her shoulder, it was on fire. Her expression didn’t change and she didn’t show any signs of pain. She took a deep breath and blew on her shoulder. Her breath was ice cold and the fire on her shoulder was extinguished immediately.

Pinkie’s jaw dropped.

“What about the fire?” Rainbow said. “Use your breath on it.”

“It’s not that strong,” the mare answered, looking around. “Just stay here.” She took off and flew at high speed. She reached a big, metallic water tank and pulled it from its place as if she was carrying nothing more than a saddle bag. She flew back and floated above the burning houses. “Stand back, everypony, unless you want a free shower.”

She stared at the bottom of the water tank, and two red beams shot from her eyes, slicing a hole in it and pouring water on the houses.

In less than a minute, the fire was extinguished, and the tank was empty. Some ponies did get a free shower, in the end. Small flames remained here and there, but the mare managed to put them out with her icy breath.

“Phew,” the mare said, landing not far from Twilight and her friends.

“Thank you,” Twilight said.

The mare turned to face her, a warm smile on her face. “It’s why I’m here.”

“Who are you?” Starlight asked.

“A well doer,” she answered, kneeling. “Um, I suggest you guys take a step back.”

Twilight and her friends obliged.

“A little farther.”

They took another step back.

The mare concentrated for a second, and the small soil particles around her started to shake. Then, she took off so fast and forcefully that she created a small crater behind her. Soon, she was out of sight. The sound barrier could be heard being broken.

Silence loomed for a few seconds, then Rainbow Dash decided to break it.

“That...was...AWESOME!” Rainbow exclaimed. “This is the awesomest thing I’ve ever witnessed!”

“It was SUPER awesome!” Pinkie said.

The ponies around them began to cheer.

“Did you see that?” Twilight said in shock. “She was flying ...but she was an Earth Pony! Pegasi can fly, and Unicorns with magic strong enough can fly, but an Earth Pony?! How could she do it?”

“And don’t forget the laser eyes, ice breath and super strength,” Spike added.

“Yes! How?!”

“Earth Pony magic?” Pinkie said.

“I don’t think so,” Applejack said.

“Guys, let’s head back to the castle. We won’t be able to discuss anything with all these ponies around us,” Twilight said, before she and her friends headed towards her castle.

In the castle, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash couldn’t stop talking.

“That was really awesome!” Rainbow said.

“Rainbow, you said ‘awesome’ more than twenty times in one minute!” Applejack said.

“You can say that minute was twenty percent more awesome!” Pinkie responded, but all she gained was deadpans from her friends. Starlight was the only one to giggle. “Ahem, never mind.” She smiled sheepishly.

Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but Rainbow spoke first.

“What are we going to call her?” Rainbow said. “She’s a superhero, you know. She needs a title.”

“Rainbow, please, we’re not living in a comic boo…” Twilight said, before she was interrupted by Pinkie.

“Supermare!” Pinkie exclaimed. “You know, ‘cause she had an ‘S’ on her chest.”

“The ‘S’ could mean anything,” Rainbow replied. “We don’t even know if it’s an ‘S’ or some other symbol. I say we should call her the ‘Mare of Steel’.”

“Nah, it’s long,” Pinkie disagreed. “‘Supermare’ is shorter and easier.”

“But ‘Mare of Steel’ sounds more epic!”

“Supermare!”

“Mare of Steel!”

Rainbow and Pinkie turned to Starlight.

“Say something!” the two yelled in unison.

“I...I don’t know,” Starlight replied nervously.

Pinkie and Rainbow turned to Twilight.

“Don’t even think about it,” Twilight said.

Pinkie and Rainbow turned to Spike.

“Guys, relax!” Spike said. “You don’t have to fight. Many superheroes in comic books have more than one title. Why don’t we do the same? Call her whatever you want.”

“It’s ‘Mare of Steel’ …” Rainbow said.

“AND ‘Supermare’!” Pinkie said, hugging Rainbow Dash. “Best friends forever!”

Spike face palmed.

“Did you send a letter to Celestia like I told you?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, but she didn’t respond,” Spike replied.

There was a knock on the castle's door.

“Twilight, it’s me,” Celestia said from behind the door.

“Princess!” Twilight hurried and opened the door.

“Hello, Twilight.”

“Why didn’t you just send me a letter?”

“Is it wrong to visit my ex-student and co-princess?”

“Ah, of course not. Come in.”

Celestia entered the castle and closed the door behind her.

“So, about that mare...” Celestia said.

“I believe she’s the same mare who’s done all those heroic acts before,” Twilight said. “But this time, with a costume.”

“That’s exactly what I wanted to say,” Celestia replied. “But you said she revealed her face.”

“That’s what’s confusing me. Why has she hidden her face before, but showed it now?”

“Then it’s likely that it’s not her ‘real’ face,” Celestia said.

Twilight’s eyes widened. “You mean, a Changeling?! But Changelings are too weak to do things like that.”

“Of course she’s not a Changeling, but she might be using a disguise spell.”

“Indeed! A Disguise spell, when practiced and done well, can completely change the look of the user. Even hide the horn or the wings. But a disguise spell is hard to cast and hard to make it last long.”

“What do you mean with that?” Starlight asked.

“I mean the mare…”

“Supermare!” Pinkie interrupted.

“Or ‘Mare of Steel’!” Rainbow Dash added.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “‘Supermare or Mare of Steel’ could be anypony. She could be a unicorn, pegasus, earth pony, heck even an Alicorn!”

“But how can an earth pony or a pegasus cast a spell?” Rarity asked.

“She might be using another unicorn to cast the spell for her, maybe,” Twilight responded.

“You also said there was some symbol on her chest?” Celestia said.

“Yeah,” Rainbow responded. “It looked like a big, stylized ‘S’.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Could any of you please draw it for me?”

“Of course. I remember it very well,” Rarity said, grabbing a pencil and a piece of paper and started drawing. Shortly later, she handed the drawing to Celestia. “Here.”

Once Celestia saw the symbol, her eyes widened in shock. “No way.”

“What is it?” Twilight asked.

“I need to see that mare. NOW!”

Author's Note

I know you have some questions now. Like "Is Supermare an OC?". My answer is: Can you see an OC tag on this story? No, she isn't an OC. Don't worry, you'll find out who she is soon.

As for Supermare's icy breath not being strong enough, that will be explained later, too. Don't worry.

Thanks to Word Worthy for editing this chapter.

Chapter 2: Suspicion

“I need to see that mare. NOW!” Celestia said, looking up from the piece of paper that was in her magic grasp.

“Now as in, right now?” Pinkie asked.

“What Pinkie was trying to say is, why do you want to see her?” Twilight said.

“It’s very important. I saw this symbol a long time ago,” Celestia nodded. “I must see her as soon as possible.”

“Well, she’s a superhero,” Pinkie shrugged. “The only way she’ll appear is if there’s some big problem. But don’t create a big problem just to summon her, because that would turn you into a villain.”

“Pinkie!” Twilight scolded.

“I must know who she is,” Celestia added.

“What?!” Pinkie gasped.

“But she’s a superhero!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

“And her identity must remain a secret!” Spike added.

“Would ya three please quiet your comic book obsession?” Applejack said. “This is real life. Though, I admit that the mare might have some good reason for letting her identity stay a secret.”

“And I have a very good reason to know her identity,” Celestia responded. “This mare means something to Equestria. It could be good, but it also could be dangerous.”

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Twilight asked.

“I couldn’t be more sure. And I have some ponies I suspect. Do you have any?”

“Well, I don’t know …”

“I’ll go back to Canterlot. If you get or remember any good information, send me a letter. Please, I need to see her. Equestria’s future might be at risk.” Celestia opened the castle’s door and stepped outside. “Good night, everypony.”

“Good night,” Twilight replied, before Celestia took off. Twilight didn’t know why, but Celestia appeared to be flying faster than usual.

“Twilight, do you really wanna help Celestia discover Supermare’s identity?” Spike asked.

“She didn’t tell me exactly why she wanted to do so, but she seemed really concerned, and I trust her,” Twilight replied. “But don’t worry. Even if she discovers her identity, I don’t think she’ll tell anypony else.”

“Unless Supermare turns out to be a villain trying to gain our trust!”

“How could you say that?!” Rainbow said in shock.

“Didn’t you see how she saved the day ...I mean the night?” Pinkie added.

“I know I know! It’s just a possible scenario,” Spike mumbled. “You guys need to read more comics.”

Twilight groaned.

“I’m going back to my house, and tell everypony on the way about Mare of Steel!” Rainbow Dash said, opening the castle’s door.

“Me too!” Pinkie said. “Except, I’ll tell them about Supermare!”

“Whatever.” Rainbow chuckled.

With that, Rainbow and Pinkie exited the castle.

“I guess it’s time for me to call it a night.” Rarity yawned. “Goodbye everypony.”

“I have a few things I need to do before I sleep,” Applejack said. “Don’t worry, Twilight. I trust Princess Celestia.” With that, she exited the castle with Rarity.

“Oh yeah! We have a hero in real life!” Spike cheered. He then began walking to the bathroom.

“Twilight, do you suspect anypony?” Starlight asked.

Twilight sighed. “Not really. Let’s just call it a night. You need to go shopping with Spike tomorrow, and I need to visit Cadance with Princess Celestia.”

“I hope Cadance gets better soon.”

Twilight sighed again. “Me too.”

-oOo-

Luna was standing at one of Canterlot Castle’s balconies, when someone dashed past her. She looked behind to find none other than her sister, Celestia.

“Celestia, you scared me for a moment!” Luna sighed in relief. “Why were you flying so fast?”

“Phew! I don’t know,” Celestia replied. “But it felt good, anyway.”

“So, what happened? With the mare?”

“She wears a symbol I’ve seen before.”

“What symbol?”

“I had that dream years ago, when you were...when you were still up there.” Celestia glanced at the moon. “Apparently it was a vision all along.”

“And what are you going to do now?”

“I must know who is that mare. I know that the symbol means something big for Equestria, but is that thing good or bad, I still don’t know.”

“And you want to find out if the mare is trustworthy.”

“Indeed.” Celestia trotted to the railing and rested her forelegs on it, staring at the sky. “She’s not from this world, Luna. Her world was destroyed years ago, most likely around the time I had that vision. I will ensure that my kingdom stays safe, no matter what it takes.”

“Sister, maybe you’re worrying too much. Twilight said the mare…”

“Supermare, that’s what they call her now.”

Luna raised an eyebrow. “Well, she said that Supermare helped them.”

“Perhaps I’m worrying too much. But when Equestria is in danger, I will regret that I didn’t consider this.”

Luna paused. “You have a point.”

Celestia chuckled. “Don’t worry, Luna. If I discover Supermare’s identity and she turns out to be trustworthy, I won’t tell anypony else.”

“Even me?”

Celestia smiled. “Depends.”

There was a moment of silence before Luna spoke.

“Do you suspect anypony?”

“Yes. My first suspect is somepony we’re visiting tomorrow.”

Luna’s eyes widened. “Cadance?”

Celestia nodded.

“But sister, how? She’s sick.”

“Exactly. Didn’t you notice how all these news about a mysterious mare ‘saving the day’ started to appear little after Cadance became sick?”

“You mean...she might be faking it?”

Celestia hesitated. “Maybe.”

Luna shook her head. “Tia, how could you doubt your niece? I can’t bring myself to think that way.”

“Easy now, Luna. If Cadance is indeed Supermare, then I’ll be more than happy.”

“Don’t you think she would’ve told you? You raised her, after all.”

“Which is why I want to investigate her first. What problem might prevent her from telling me? I may be able to help her. Besides, she has a family now, a husband and a daughter. I’m no longer the first one she would tell about something like that.”

“Yeah, you might be right.” Luna took a little pause. “Now, you have to rest, sister. If what you said now was any indication, than tomorrow is going to be important.”

“True enough. Take care of yourself, Luna.” With that, Celestia headed to her bedroom.

Just...what was that strength I felt when I was flying? Celestia thought, as she lay in her bed. Could it be...no no, I stopped doing that ages ago. She sighed. I must sleep now, tomorrow is another day.

-oOo-

“Come in,” Cadance said, after she had heard a knock on her bedroom’s door.

“Hello, Cadance,” Luna said as she entered the room, followed by Celestia and Shining Armor.

“Glad to see you again, my niece,” Celestia beamed. “I brought you something sweet.” She levitated a sachel and placed it on the stand beside Cadance’s bed.

“Aw, thank you so much, aunt Tia!” Cadance said, letting out a single cough.

“How are you now?” Luna inquired.

“Much better. I think the treatment has taken its effect.” Cadance smiled.

“May I ask how did you get sick?” Celestia started her investigation. “Do you remember contacting with anything unusual?”

Cadance raised an eyebrow. “Now that you mention it…”

Celestia nodded in anticipation.

“No...I don’t recall anything.”

Celestia closed her eyes in frustration.“How often do you leave your room?”

“Tia, don’t you think you’re moving quickly with the questions?” Luna whispered to her sister; Celestia didn’t respond.

“Well, I used to leave for the bathroom in the last few days, but now I feel better and I believe I can move more,” Cadance answered.

Celestia sighed. She glanced behind her and found a closet. Something immediately caught her eye. There was a small piece of red fabric squashed between the doors of the closet.

“What’s in there?” Celestia asked.

Once Cadance saw what Celestia was asking about, she opened her eyes wide. “There? Oh, well, there’s...something.” Cadance faked a smile.

Celestia raised her eyebrow. “What’s that ‘something’?”

“Tia!” Luna whispered, but to no avail.

“It’s ...something you don’t really need to see,” Cadance replied.

“What if I need to see it?” Celestia held the closet’s door with her magic.

“No! Don’t open it!” Shining Armor covered his mouth.

“Why?”

“Auntie, you really don’t wanna see what’s in there!”

“That’s not an answer.” Celestia began to open the door.

“I said you don’t!” Cadance raised her voice in desperation.

“Cadance, I’m your aunt. You can tell me.”

“Nope. I can’t”

“I may be able to help you.”

Cadance widened her eyes even more and blushed lightly. “What? No! You can’t help me with this!”

“What if I can?”

“Trust me, you CAN’T!”

Celestia closed her eyes and sighed.

Cadance let out a breath she had been holding.

“I’ll be the one to decide.” With that, Celestia swung the closet’s door open.

-oOo-

“Okay, Spike, ready to go shopping?” Starlight asked.

“Ready,” Spike replied.

“I wanted to go visit Cadance with Twilight, but I can’t let you shop everything like you want, that would be a disaster,” Starlight joked.

“I was going to say the same thing to you!”

Starlight giggled. “Okay, let’s move.”

As the two were walking, a flash of color zipped across the sky.

“What was that?” Starlight asked.

“That was ...Supermare!” Spike exclaimed, his eyes wide.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I recognized the colors of her costume. Come on, she went that way!” Spike ran in the direction Supermare had gone in.

“Wait, what about the shopping?!” Starlight galloped after Spike.

“Shopping can wait, but Supermare can’t!”

Starlight groaned, but kept following Spike. “Here, we can move faster if we teleport.” She held Spike with her foreleg as her horn began to glow, following Supermare’s track.

They ended up in an abandoned neighborhood and hid behind a house. There were many shacks and shelters, so they presumed it was an abandoned little town.

“Spike, look.” Starlight pointed towards a group of three young colts in the middle of the town. The colts were stepping back from a group of four dragons.

“I’ll send a letter to Celestia, both for the dragons and Supermare.” Spike began writing.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” one of the dragons said, as he and his friends cornered the colts.

“Didn’t your mom tell you to not wander along in abandoned places?” another dragon said.

“And didn’t your mother tell you to fight somepony of your own size?”

The dragons turned behind to find none other than Supermare.

One of the dragons laughed. “You mean you are my size?”

“You’re right. I might be bigger,” Supermare responded.

The dragon frowned, walking towards Supermare. “You think you’re funny, freak?” He pushed her on the chest, but she didn’t move even an inch.

Supermare sighed, before pushing the dragon, sliding him on the ground several meters backwards.

“How dare you?!” another dragon shouted, hurrying towards Super mare and swinging his claw to punch her, but she blocked his claw and punched him, sending him flying into one of the houses.

A third dragon opened his mouth and started breathing fire at Supermare. She trotted towards him and gave him an uppercut on his chin, closing his mouth and making him pass out.

Supermare turned to the fourth dragon, who was the shorter one. “Boo!” That was enough for the dragon to start flying. Supermare shook her head and held the dragon from his tail. “Come back here!”

“Mommy!” The dragon said in desperation.

-oOo-

Celestia blushed so hard, just like everyone in the room. What she had assumed was Supermare’s costume turned out to be nothing more than colored gags, with a few other objects that were used for known reasons.

“I told you...don’t open it,” Cadance said, covering her face in embarrassment.

It’s gonna be hard to stop those images from flowing into my mind! Luna thought.

Before Celestia could speak anything, a letter popped up in front of her. She levitated the letter and read it. Without saying anything, she threw the letter aside, opened the window and took off, flying as fast as she could.

“Tia! Wait!” Luna called. “I’m sorry, Cadance. I’ll explain later.” With that, Luna took off through the window.

Cadance and Shining sat there in silence for a few seconds.

“Well, that happened,” Shining broke the silence.

-oOo-

The dragons were all tied with thin steel ropes, and Supermare was pacing before them.

“You’re gonna stay here until Princess Ember arrives and gives you the suitable punishment,” Supermare said, turning to the three colts. “And you, never wander in abandoned places like this alone. You never know what’s lurking around.”

She noticed the colts’ attention was at something else.

“Hey, are you listening to me?” Supermare turned to her right, to where the colts were staring. A mare was flying in her direction, then landed a few meters away, creating a small crater where she landed.

The mare was none other than Celestia.

“Greetings, Mare of Steel.”

Author's Note

Thanks to Zoetic Zebra for the edit. Twilight wasn't in the visit because hasn't arrived yet. It will be addressed in the next chapter.

Chapter 3: Showdown

“Greetings, Mare of Steel,” Celestia said, taking two steps towards the hero. “Or should I call you ‘Supermare’?”

“Call me whatever you wish, Princess.” Supermare gave a quick bow.

“Why don’t you give me a normal name to address you with?”

Supermare raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“You know exactly what I mean.”

Supermare chuckled. “I’m so sorry, Princess, but if you want my true identity, I can’t give it to you.”

“Maybe you can, but you don’t want to.”

“The result is the same both ways.”

Celestia frowned. “Who are you? Where did you come from?”

“I’m not answering this.” Supermare turned around and prepared to take off.

“Stop right there!” Celestia raised her voice.

Supermare stopped dead in her tracks and faced Celestia again.

“Don’t you dare leave while I’m still talking to you.” Celestia trotted towards the superhero. Control yourself, Celestia. Calm down, she thought.

Supermare took a step back. “Princess, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you, but please, you don’t need to know who I am.”

“Yes, I do.” Celestia placed a hoof on the hero’s shoulder, her hoof slightly shaking out of anger.

“Trust me, you really don’t.” Supermare removed Celestia’s hoof off her shoulder, which seemed to make her angrier. “Now, if you excuse me?” Supermare slowly turned around to leave, making sure Celestia wasn’t going to shout at her.

Celestia hesitated, then put her foreleg on the superhero’s shoulder again. “You have to listen to me.”

“Princess, if you’re worried about me turning against Equestria, then trust me, I won’t.”

“How can I make sure you’re not lying?”

Supermare took a little pause, turning her gaze away. “You can’t.”

“You don’t understand!”

“No, you don’t understand.” Supermare tried to remove Celetia’s foreleg, but couldn’t.

Celestia was glaring at that moment. She leaned closer to Supermare and spoke with a lower tone. “Listen, so far all I’ve been doing is talking to you, and I tried to ignore how you disrespected me, but you better believe that I am ready to resort to violence. I need to know who you are.”

Supermare closed her eyes and tried to calm the princess down. “Princess, please, this is not necessary.” This time, she succeeded in removing Celestia’s hoof, but slowly. “Just calm down and forget about it. I mean no harm, and I’m sorry for any disrespect.”

“When it comes to my kingdom’s safety, it is necessary, and I can’t just ‘forget about it’.”

“Princess, don’t do this, you’re no match for me.” Supermare bit her lip and started to step back.

“Really? I’m no match for you? Why don’t we make sure?” Celestia took a step forward.

“Princess…”

Celestia dashed towards Supermare and collided with her, but the impact sent Celestia rolling on the ground to Supermare’s right, while the latter didn’t move at all.

“Princess I told you…”

Another attack, with the same result.

“Stop this. You can’t fight me,” Supermare cautioned again.

“You...think so?” Celestia said while panting. She removed her crown, shoes and regalia, before her body started to glow yellow as if she was burning. “We’ll see about that!” She charged her horn and hit Supermare with a blast of energy, sending her rolling on the ground several meters.

Supermare recovered slowly and stood up. “See? I told…”

Before Supermare could finish her sentence, Celestia had teleported in front of her given her a punch on the face, knocking her on the ground four meters away.

“Please, I’ve only just begun,” Celestia said. I can’t believe I’m doing this. My strength...it’s back, she thought. Oh, Celestia, what are you doing?!

Supermare stood up and started floating. “I warned you.”

“I warned you, too.”

The two mares flew towards each other as fast as they could. Their impact created a crater around the point of impact, and Supermare was thrown into one of the houses. The rough collision caused the chipped wall to collapse.

Supermare recoiled, flew towards Celestia and swung her hoof, but Celestia avoided it. Supermare landed and swung her right foreleg once again, but this time, Celestia blocked it with her foreleg. Supermare stared at her hoof in shock, then swung her other foreleg, getting the same response from the princess.

Celestia parted Supermare’s forelegs and pushed her on the chest with both forelegs, making her slide backwards a few meters. Celestia didn’t stop. She flash-stepped towards Supermare and began to punch, but her attack was blocked.

Celestia and Supermare aimed several punches at each other, finishing with Celestia giving the hero a punch in the stomach and another on the face, knocking her on the ground face first. Celestia grabbed her and threw her high in the air. She teleported to her altitude and slammed both forelegs on her. Supermare was thrown into the ground like a blast, creating a short, shallow trench.

Celestia continued her attack by swooping at Supermare, sliding her across the ground at high speed and lengthening the trench. While still sliding her, she put one foreleg on the hero’s face and pulled the other back, preparing to punch her.

Supermare hit Celestia with her laser vision, pushing the princess off her and making her roll on the ground to her left. Supermare stood up quickly, flash-stepped towards Celestia and punched her through the wall of one house.

Celestia rolled three times, before standing up and taking off. Supermare took off as well, and the two hit each other in the air several times, before Supermare slammed Celestia into the ground, the impact creating a crater around her.

Supermare flew towards the princess, but the latter avoided her by rolling to the side, leaving Supermare to hit the ground. Celestia attempted to stand up, but Supermare quickly dashed at the princess and kicked her on the side, knocking her several meters away.

“Princess, stop, please,” Supermare pleaded. “This is enough.”

“Why? Feeling tired?” A small smile crept into Celestia’s face. She flash-stepped past Supermare, striking her hind leg and forcing her to kneel. She teleported back to her and slammed both forelegs on her side, pounding her through a house. As the house collapsed, Celestia flew towards Supermare, lifted her, then punched her, sending her flying backwards.

As Supermare regained control over her flight, Celestia was flying towards her once again. The hero glared fiercely and prepared to counter the attack. When Celestia reached her, Supermare spun around and kicked her in the stomach with all her might, pounding her through three houses. She watched as the third house collapsed, expecting Celestia to emerge from the ruins at any moment, but she didn’t.

A worried expression replaced Supermare’s glare. “No. No, please no!” She flew to the ruins quickly and started searching among the ruins. “Princess! Princess, where are you?”

Before Supermare could react, a hoof emerged from the ruins and grabbed her by her neck, before the whole Princess of the Sun emerged from underneath and slammed her on the ground several times. She then threw her at the ground, hitting her with a spell. Supermare wasn’t damaged by the spell, but instead, her coat’s color started fading.

“What the...what did you do to me?!” Supermare said, standing up slowly with shaky steps.

“It’s a counter spell to the disguise spell you’ve been using,” Celestia answered. “I had to beat you around a little to make sure you wouldn’t escape once I casted it. Now, I shall see the truth.”

In a few seconds, Supermare’s coat turned orange, her eyes turned green, and her mane and tail became blond.

“Wha...it can’t be...” Celestia took a step back, eyes wide at the sight of the pony in front of her. “Applejack?! You are the Mare of Steel?”

Applejack closed her eyes and sighed. “Yes, I am. I hope you’re happy now, Princess!” She almost spit her last words.

“But this is impossible.”

“You found out who Supermare is, and you’re still not satisfied?” Applejack swooped at Celestia and pinned her to the wall of one of the houses, just as the disguise spell started working again. “Tell no pony else!”

“I still have more questions.”

“But I don’t have anymore answers.” Applejack let go of Celestia and took off, disappearing in a few seconds.

Celestia sat down, took a deep breath and rested her back at a wall, taking a rest after the long fight. A thin line of blood was trickling from her mouth and nose, but she wiped them with her foreleg. She looked down at her torso and found two black lines, caused by Supermare’s laser vision. What surprised her, and somehow pleased her, was that even though she looked all beaten up, the pain she felt was minor. Still, she was pretty exhausted.

“Tia!” Luna called, landing beside her sister. Starlight and Spike hurried towards her, too. “What in the name of Tartarus has happened here?!”

Celestia closed her eyes and exhaled through her nose before answering. “Me and Supermare had a little rumble.”

“‘Little’?! Are you kidding me? It looks like you two were using each other to demolish this neighborhood.”

Celestia didn’t respond.

“Did you...find out who she is?” Luna asked.

There was a short pause before Celestia answered. “Actually, I think you were right. I’ve been worrying too much. I don’t want to know her identity anymore.”

“What?!” Spike exclaimed.

“Are you sure?” Luna asked.

“Yes, I am.” Celestia stood up and trotted past her sister. “Come on, Luna. Let’s go back to Canterlot.” Before Luna could respond, she took off. This time, she wasn’t flying fast.

Luna, Starlight and Spike exchanged looks for a moment. Luna then shook her head and flew after her sister.

As the two sisters were flying, they noticed a little crowd in Ponyville.

“Those are...the three colts Supermare saved,” Celestia said.

“And they’re surrounded by journalists. Great,” Luna added, rolling her eyes. “I wonder how will they tweak the events.” She bit her lip once she said that. “Tia, please don’t…”

“I need to make sure of something.” Celestia flew down towards the crowd.

“Wait, is she seriously going to...talk to journalists? Sister, whatever happened to you?!” With that, Luna followed her sister.

“Look, it’s the princess!” one of the journalists exclaimed as Celestia landed beside them.

“Princess, what did exactly happen?” another journalist asked.

“Why did Supermare attack you?” another mare added.

That’s what I was afraid of, Celestia thought. “Give me this.” She took the microphone from the mare and cleared her throat. “Listen to me, everypony! I want to clarify something. Supermare did not start the fight. I started it.”

There was a gasp from the crowd.

“Yes. I wanted to make sure she was trustworthy. She didn’t want to harm me, and she only fought back to defend herself. I tested her, and she means no harm to Equestria. But rest assured, I’m completely fine, and she did not start the fight.” With that, Celestia dropped the microphone and took off, followed by her sister.

-oOo-

Twilight opened her castle’s doors and stepped inside, finding Starlight and Spike waiting for her.

“Uh, hi, Twilight! How was the visit?” Starlight asked, her ears folded back.

“When I arrived there, I didn’t find Celestia or Luna,” Twilight responded. “Cadance and Shining Armor told me they had left to who knows where for who knows what reason!” Twilight sighed. “At least Cadance is getting better.”

“Well, we have an explanation for all of that.” Spike scratched the back of his head.

“Really? Wait a minute, you two didn’t shop?”

“Aaaand we have an explanation for that, too,” Starlight said, looking down at Spike.

-oOo-

Celestia and Luna trotted down the hall of Canterlot Castle castle, heading to the bathroom.

“Tia, what about your injuries?” Luna asked.

“There’s nothing serious, they will heal very soon.” Celestia opened the bathroom’s door. “All I need now is a bath to help me relax.”

“Stop.”

Celestia closed the door.

“Do you really want me to believe that you suddenly gave up on discovering Supermare’s identity?”

A small smile managed to form on Celestia’s face. “No. I was waiting for you to ask me.”

“Look, I don’t want to know who she is, but do you know her very well? Is she trustworthy?”

Celestia waited for a moment, then nodded.

Luna sighed in relief. “That’s all I need to know. I mean, I am sure very curious to know who she is, but I think I can live without knowing her actual name.”

Celestia chuckled. “Good.” She was about to enter the bathroom, before Luna stopped her again.

“Wait!”

“What is it?!”

“How did you...how did you manage to go against Supermare hoof to hoof? And don’t you dare tell me you’re naturally that strong, because I know that’s a lie...maybe? I don’t know! I’ve been absent for one thousand years. I barely know anything about what you did in my absence.”

“That...I’ll tell you about it later,” Celestia answered after a short pause, then entered the bathroom and quickly closed the door behind her before Luna could stop her again.

Celestia stepped into the tub, closed her eyes and let the warm shower water wash over her, helping her muscles relax.

I have so many questions for Applejack. I must see her soon, she thought. Fighting her...it managed to awake the warrior inside me, after all these years. I should’ve known that I couldn’t stay a normal princess forever. There in the battle, that was who I really am. A warrior. But is this a good thing for me, or bad? She let out a long sigh. One thing is for sure: things won’t be the same from now on.

-oOo-

Applejack landed in front of her house and opened the door, disabling the disguise spell before entering. She inhaled the sweet smell of dinner, but even that didn’t change her mood.

“Welcome home, Applejack,” Granny Smith said, but Applejack didn’t reply.

“What’s wrong, sis?” Apple Bloom inquired, noticing that her big sister wasn’t happy. “Ya missed the Family Appreciation Day...again.”

“Look, I had more important things to do, okay? I have priorities!” Applejack snapped, gaining a frown from Granny.

Apple Bloom’s ears dropped and tears started forming in her eyes. “Yeah, I get it, yer a superhero now.” She stood up and trotted towards her room.

Applejack’s expression softened. “Apple Bloom, wait.” She galloped to her sister and wrapped her forelegs around her. “Ahm sorry. Ah didn’t mean to shout at ya. I...ah just had a bad day.”

“What happened?” Granny asked.

Applejack sighed. “Princess Celestia knows mah secret now.”

“What?!” Granny widened her eyes. “But why do ya look dirty?”

Applejack scratched the back of her head. “Because...she found out who I am the hard way.”

“You...fought her?” Apple Bloom asked.

“She started the fight,” Applejack responded. “She was so determined to discover mah identity. And ah didn’t know she was that strong. I mean, wow!”

Granny sighed. “What are ya gonna do now?”

Applejack thought for a moment before answering. “Ah don’t think Celestia would tell anypony else, but I must talk to her. Ah’ll just take a shower and head to Canterlot.” With that, Applejack headed to her bedroom to take off the costume.

“Please eat yer dinner before leavin’,” Granny called.

“I will.” With that, Applejack closed her room’s door behind her.

-oOo-

“Wow...I...I can’t believe you did that in my absence!” Luna stuttered, shocked with the facts her sister had told her. “Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“There was no need to,” Celestia answered, stepping onto the balcony. She was wearing a yellow bath robe for she had finished her bath just a few minutes ago. “Why would I tell you about something that wouldn’t affect you in anyway?”

“But I would notice eventually anyway when you go to visit your friends.”

Celestia took a moment to answer, a small smirk appearing on her face. “Don’t underestimate me, Lulu. I would’ve found a way to trick you.”

“Pffft, I doubt that.” Luna raised both of her eyebrows in a mocking manner.

“Sorry, Luna, but I really need to be alone for a moment now,” Celestia said, leaning against the railing and staring at the night sky. She and Luna had lowered the sun and raised the moon while Celestia was still in the bathroom. Celestia didn’t really like the idea of fulfilling her duty while taking a shower, but the shower was so relaxing she didn’t want to leave it so quickly.

“Oh, okay. See you later, sister.” Luna turned around and left. She did wonder why her sister told her to go away, but she just assumed that fighting Supermare and telling her secret to her sister was a lot to take in one day.

Mere seconds after Luna’s departure, Supermare flew slowly towards the balcony and landed a few feet away from Celestia.

“Thank you for telling Princess Luna to leave, even though I think it was a little harsh,” Applejack said, taking a step toward Celestia. She cleared her throat before speaking again. “Are you okay now?”

“Don’t worry about me. I can take some pounding, even from you.” Celestia turned to face Applejack. “What about you?”

“I’m fine. But that’s not important. What’s important now is, do you want to hear my story or not?”

“Sure I do.” Celestia moved closer to Applejack. “Tell me your story, I tell you mine.”

Author's Note

Sorry for taking too long to update. Real life had me busy. I'll try to not be late like this again. This chapter was edited by Zoetic Zebra.

If you're wondering how Applejack was there when Supermare first appeared, don't worry, it will be explained.

Chapter 4: Secrets

“First of all, I want you to answer the question that has been annoying me the most,” Celestia spoke, raising her hoof in front of Applejack. “How could you exist with your friends when Supermare was putting out the fire since, you know, you are Supermare?!”

“I knew that would be your first question,” Applejack chuckled. “It’s simple; I’m friends with a Changeling. His name is Kevin. He works with me in the farm from time to time, and he agreed to disguise as me to cover my absence when I’m wearing the cape.”

“Your story is already interesting,” Celestia said sarcastically, scratching the back of her head. “I hope it doesn’t get too interesting to the point where my story becomes boring in comparison.”

Applejack laughed. “I barely started.”

“Well then, go on. Tell me everything.”

“Okay. But first, keep in mind that there are things I still don’t know.”

Celestia nodded. “ I understand that .”

“Well, it all started about two months ago…”

Applejack faced the tree with her rear one more time and kicked it, getting rewarded with a few more apples.

“Phew!” She wiped the sweat off her forehead. “That’s about it for now.” She proceeded to carry the basket that had been under the tree. “Let’s have some lunch. We’ve been working all morning”

“Eeyup!” Big Mac agreed, carrying his own basket.

As Applejack trotted inside the barn, her right foreleg broke through one of the wood bars of the floor and sank beneath it, causing some apples to fall out of her basket.

“What in tarnation?!” Applejack pulled her foreleg out and placed the basket aside. “Wait a second…” She leaned forward and took a look through the small hole she had made in the floor. “There’s a chamber there? Ah always felt there was nothin’ under this spot whenever I trotted on it, but I never thought it could be a chamber. Do ya know anythin’ about it, Big Mac?”

“Umm, Nope!” Big Mac stuttered, his ears folded back.

Big Mac’s reaction annoyed Applejack. She took another look through the hole and made glimpse of something big. She then proceeded to remove the wooden bars from the floor.

“Applejack, what are ya doin’?!” Big Mac exclaimed.

“Ya can say I’m explorin’.” Applejack brought a shovel and removed a couple more wooden bars. After some effort she had a gaping hole leading to the small hollow . Below there was a short ladder leading to a large object that was covered with a black blanket.

“Applejack…”

“I’m goin’ there!” Applejack silenced her brother. She trotted down the stairs and stood in front of the blanketed item. Hesitantly, she placed her foreleg on it, and when nothing happened, she removed the blanket with a swift motion . Applejack found herself staring at a big, metallic, teardrop-shaped object. It was bizarre and foreign. On it’s wider end the front had opened like a blossoming petal.

“What the hay is this thing?” Applejack turned to her brother. “Big Mac!”

Big Mac just took a step back, saying nothing in response.

Applejack frowned. “Ya know something, and yer gonna tell me NOW…” Still facing her brother, she placed her foreleg on a spot on the object, and it glowed. A small, blue-glowing tube stuck out, making some weird noise. It then hit Applejack on the side with what appeared to be a small magic blast, knocking her to the ground.

“Applejack!” Big Mac hurried towards his sister, but he stopped when she stood up and raised her foreleg.

“Ah’m fine! Believe it or not, that thing didn’t hurt me.” Applejack rubbed her side. “It wasn’t any more painful than a push.” She returned to glaring at her brother. “Ya still don’t wanna tell me anythin’?”

Big Mac stared at the ground in response.

Applejack’s glare intensified. “Fine!” She trotted past Big Mac, kicking the shovel aside as she passed by it, then quickly trotted out of the barn. “If you won’t tell me, I’ll find somepomy who will!”

On the lunch that day, Applejack, Big Mac, Granny Smith and Apple Bloom sat down around the table, all the while Applejack exchanging looks with her brother.

“Granny, ah wanna ask ya somethin’,” Applejack said, wiping soap off her mouth. “What is it with that chamber under the barn?”

Granny almost choked on her food upon hearing the question, but she managed to answer. “Wha...what chamber, Applejack?”

Applejack raised both her eyebrows and chuckled. “Okay, lemme rephrase muh question: What do ya know about the huge piece of metal that lies under our barn?”

Granny Smith and Big Mac froze in their seats, not saying anything in response.

“Granny, what is Applejack talkin’ about?” Apple Bloom asked, confusion clouding her face .

“Ah...ah have no idea, Apple Bloom,” Granny answered, her ears folded back.

“Yes ya do!” Applejack exclaimed, slamming her forelegs on the table and almost causing it to break in half. “You and Big Mac know somethin’ and ya don’t wanna tell me!”

“Applejack, calm down.” Granny frowned.

“I’m the Element of Honesty. Ya really think I can’t tell when yer lyin’? But ya know what? It’s fine!” Applejack stepped down from her seat. “Ya can’t hide it forever! There’s probably an otherworldly thing in our barn that tried to hurt me today and ya still don’t wanna talk?! I won’t calm down until I find out what ya two are hidin’ from me!” She dropped the spoon she had been holding and trotted up to her room. The spoon had been crumbled as if it was a piece of paper.

That night, Applejack couldn’t sleep. She kept hearing the Cutie Mark Crusaders playing and shouting. Were they playing in the kitchen? She moved her hooves off her ears and trotted downstairs.

“Apple Bloom! Could ya please tone it down? Or, ya know, play somewhere else?” Applejack pleaded.

“Ah...Apple Bloom isn’t here, Applejack,” Granny Smith answered from the kitchin.

Applejack raised an eyebrow, rubbing her head as the loud noise intensified. “What do ya mean?”

“She’s in the club house with her friends.”

“Well, they’re being too loud! I can’t sleep.”

Granny raised an eyebrow and stared at Applejack for a moment. “Ah can’t hear anythin’. But I’m just an old pony. Big Mac, can ya hear anythin’?”

“Nope!” Big Mac replied.

“That’s impossible…” Applejack held her head between her forelegs in pain.

“Are ya okay, Applejack?” Granny asked in concern.

“I…” Applejack looked up, and for a moment, she thought she was staring at a skeleton of a pony. But when she rubbed her eyes, she found herself staring at Granny Smith again.

“What? Answer me.”

“I...I think I need help.” Applejack trotted towards the door with shaky steps.

“Wait, where are ya goin’?”

“The hospital, of course.” She opened the door and stepped outside, and it was like she opened the door to some huge party, as more and more noises rushed to her ears.

“Do ya need Big Mac to go with ya?”

“Nah, ah’ll be fine.” Applejack did her best to stay balanced and galloped as fast as she could in the direction of the hospital.

Thunderlane was lying on his stomach on a cloud when he noticed a mare trotting as if she was drunk. He left his cloud and flew down until he could recognize the mare as Applejack. He quickly glided down and landed beside her.

“Uh, Applejack? Are you okay?” Thunderlane asked, taking a step towards the farmer.

“I’m…” Applejack turned around to see who was talking to here, and saw a skeleton standing there instead. Everything around her looked weird and colorless. She fell to the ground and crawled back in panic.

“Whoa! Calm down. What’s the matter?” Thunderlane trotted forward to cover the distance Applejack had created between them.

Applejack closed her eyes and shook her head, and when she opened her eyes again, she saw Thunderlane looking at her with both concern and confusion.

“I...need to go to the hospital,” Applejack replied.

“Why?”

“My head hurts...I’m hearing noises...I’m seeing things. I think I’m going insane!”

Thunderlane scratched his neck. “I think you just drank too much cider.” He received a frown for his statement.

“Ah didn’t drink a single drop of cider today!”

“Alright alright! I’ll take you to the hospital.” Thunderlane placed his forelegs on Applejack’s shoulders. “But to ease your pain, I’ll use a technique that Doctor Whooves taught me to use to help me stay focused because I had drunk too much that day. I don’t know if he was joking, but it actually worked.”

“For the last time…”

“I know! You didn’t drink anything, but it may just work.”

Applejack sighed. “Fine. What is it?”

“Close your eyes and take a deep breath.”

Applejack obliged.

“Good. Now, to ignore the noises, focus on something else. Like...my voice. I’ll keep talking on our way to the hospital so you’ll be able to focus on it.” Thunderlane placed Applejack on his back and took off. “Ready to hear the story of my life?”

“Better than hearin’ those noises,” Applejack chuckled.

“Just remember to keep your eyes closed. Not only to keep you calm, but to prevent you from feeling the high altitude, too!”

“I’m not afraid of heights!”

With that, Thunderlane proceeded to telling happy and funny stories from his childhood as he flew to the hospital. Applejack didn’t know how long was the way, but it felt short thanks to Thunderlane.

In the hospital, the nurses gave Applejack an anasthetic after confirming that she was completely fine, but probably just suffering a bad headache. Thankfully, the medicine was slowly taking its effect, and the nurses told her that she could go home.

“Thank ya so much, Thunderlane,” Applejack said, stepping out of the hospital’s door. “I might have gone crazy without ya.”

“It’s nothing. And you can call me Thunder.” Thunderlane offered his foreleg to Applejack.

“Okay then, Thunder.” Applejack smiled, shaking Thunder’s hoof so quickly he felt it was about to go off. “See ya around, ah hope?”

“Y-yeah, sure!” Thunder managed to answer after stopping his foreleg from shaking on it’s own. “Allow me to fly you back to your home.”

“Oh, ya don’t have to …”

“I insist.” Thunder bowed to allow Applejack to sit on his back. “What if your headache returns on your way back?”

“Well, if ya insist.” Applejack hesitantly sat on Thunder’s back, before he spread his wings and took off.

The next day, Applejack woke up feeling much better. The tension between her, Big Mac and Granny Smith seemed to ease a little as they ate the breakfast together. Applejack finished quickly and started towards the door.

“Applejack, are you sure you can work again?” Granny asked.

“Ah told you ah’m fine. Don’t worry, if anything happens, it won’t be hard to notice,” Applejack answered before opening the door, only to be greeted with a black pegasus. “Thunder?”

“Ah, hi!” Thunderlane greeted.

“What are ya doin’ here?”

“I...I just came to check on you, see if you’re getting better. Ya know, after all that happened yesterday.” Thunderlane took a step back. “Sorry if I’m bothering you by visiting this early.”

“What? No, it’s fine!” Applejack scratched her neck, trotting past Thunderlane. “I really appreciate your concern, but I’m feeling much better than yesterday. There’s no need to worry.”

“Oh, that’s great!” Thunderlane grinned and followed Applejack as she took a basket and headed towards one of the apple trees. “So, I was wondering...would you…” A loud bang interrupted Thunder as Applejack bucked the apple tree.

Applejack froze in her place, seeing a look of pure shock on Thunder’s face. “What...what did I do?” She slowly turned around to see the tree she had bucked flying across the acres then creating a small hole in the ground as it landed.

“I...I’m going to assume that you don’t usually do that, am I right?” Thunder said, receiving no answer from Applejack.

Very soon, Big Mac, Granny Smith and Apple Bloom were standing with Thunder and Applejack after hearing the bang.

“Ya still don’t wanna tell me anythin’?!” Applejack yelled in anger. “First there was that metal object that tried to hurt me, then I started to lose my mind, and now I sent a tree flying across the acres like it was nothin’!”

“Whoa, wait, what metal object?” Thunder inquired.

“Alright, I’ll tell ya,” Granny sighed in defeat, then raised an eyebrow at Thunder.

“Um, if you want me to go…” Thunder stepped back.

“Thunder can stay,” Applejack said. “He’s already seen too much to not know the rest of the story. Plus, ah’m bad at lying.”

“Are ya sure?” Granny asked one more time.

“Yes!”

Granny sighed before speaking. “Ya see, yer parents were once trotting in the acres, when suddenly that metal object you found in the barn fell from the sky.”

Applejack nodded, signaling Granny to continue.

“They approached that object carefully, and when yer mother touched it, it opened. Inside that object, they found...you.”

Applejack widened her eyes and gaped her mouth, falling silent for a few seconds as Granny’s words sank in.

“Wha...how…” Applejack finally spoke, taking a few steps back. “What the...yar joking, yar joking, right?”

Applejack was still hoping that this might be nothing but a joke, but when Granny faced the ground with a sad expression, she realized there were no jokes.

“Ya mean my parents aren’t my real parents?!” Applejack said; Granny remained silent. “Ya mean in the funeral, I cried for ponies who weren’t my parents?” She paused for a second to wipe her tears. “Ya mean mah real parents are probably somewhere up there looking for me in space? Ya mean I’m not even a pony?!”

“Applejack…” Granny slowly approached Applejack, but the latter quickly fell back.

“How could ya hide all of this from me?!” Applejack yelled, tears welling in her eyes.

“We were trying to protect you.”

“By LYING to me?! How am I supposed to trust you now that I learned that mah whole life was one big lie?! That I’m not even a pony, but an ALIEN?!” With that, Applejack ran into the barn and down to where the big metal object rested.

“I was hoping she would never have to find out, even though I knew very well she would find out eventually,” Granny sighed sadly.

“Granny, does that mean Applejack...isn’t mah sister?” Apple Bloom asked with teary eyes.

“Of course she is!” Granny quickly wrapped her hooves around Apple Bloom.

“But...but…”

“Ah know what yer thinkin’, but it doesn’t matter. Applejack has always and will always be a part of our family, and the story ya’ll just heard doesn’t change nothin’.”

“Um, sorry if I’m intruding, but I think somepony should go an talk to her?” Thunderlane spoke. “And since she’s very furious now, I don’t think she will accept talking to any of you, so...I volunteer.” He finished with a sheepish grin.

“Ya think ya can do it, sonny?” Granny asked.

“Well, only one way to find out.” Thunderlane faced the barn. “And surely Apple Bloom can help me. I’m sure Applejack isn’t mad at her.”

With that, Apple Bloom followed Thunderlane as he trotted towards the barn.

In the chamber under the barn, Applejack sat in front of the small spaceship, resting her head and forelegs on the edge of the small room that had once contained her when she was a baby.

“Applejack?” Thunder said, as he and Apple Bloom trotted down the stairs leading to the chamber.

“What if they’re still out there, Thunder?” Applejack responded. “What if they’re looking for me, or they think that I’m dead and are now living in grief? Or worse…” She swallowed a lump in her throat before she continued. “What if they abandoned me on purpose because they knew I had these weird abilities?” She buried her face in her hooves. “I have so many questions.”

“Maybe you’ll never know,” Thunder replied as he approached Applejack slowly. “I mean, sure, if you could know, you would definitely want to, but does that matter? You have a family here, a family that loves you and would never abandon you. Are you really angry that you cried at ponies that weren’t your parents?”

“Of course not,” Applejack sighed. “Ah was just angry when ah said that. They took me in and raised me as their own daughter even though I fell from the sky and mah spaceship would’ve killed them had it fell in the wrong place. They were mah parents, and they were real enough fer me.” Tears began to stream down her face as she finished her sentence.

“A-and ah’m still yer sister, r-right?” Apple Bloom approached Applejack, choking on her tears.

Applejack quickly lifted her head and turned around to see the little filly, who had tears glistening in her eyes.

“Oh, Apple Bloom, of course!” Applejack wrapped her forelegs tightly around Apple Bloom, making sure not to crush her with her new strength. “I’m just looking for answers, but that doesn’t change anythin’. You’ll always be mah little sister.”

“Awesome!” Thunder interrupted them. “This is just awesome. I mean, you two...bonding together...like sisters and all...it’s just beautiful!” He grinned sheepishly. “I ruined the moment, didn’t I?”

“Eeyup, ya totally ruined it!” Applejack replied, driving Thunder and Apple Bloom to laughter.

“Are ya okay, Applejack?” Granny’s voice called from upstairs.

Applejack sighed. “I am. But tell me, did mah parents find anythin’ else in the spaceship?”

“Well, since ya asked, they found something like weird key attached to it, and found a little puppy with you.”

“And where is the puppy now?”

“She’s...still here.”

Applejack and Apple Bloom widened their eyes and exclaimed in unison, “Winona?!”

“Eeyup!” Big Mac confirmed.

“She’s aging much slower than normal dogs,” Granny said. “But other than that, she’s pretty much a normal pup...until one day we find her buryin’ a dragon bone in the acres!”

Everyone laughed at Granny’s statement.

The rest of the day flew fast, as Applejack continued to buck the trees while trying as hard as she could to not break any of them, as the tension between her, Granny and Big Mac was easing slowly.

Two days later, Applejack woke up with something else on her mind: She had to control her abilities. She didn’t want to hurt anypony by accident, so she had to know her limits. She ate her breakfast quickly and headed to the acres to start exploring herself.

“Alright, it’s okay to do this. The only things that could get hurt here are the trees. It’s the perfect place to train,” she said to herself, then stared down at her foreleg in fear. “Ya can’t pretend it doesn’t exist, Applejack. Ya have to deal with it.”

Slowly, she pulled her foreleg back and punched the ground, creating a small crater around her.

“Sweet mother of apples!” Applejack widened her eyes. “Rainbow Dash would’ve loved this.” She took a few steps back. “Okay, what else can I do?” She looked at her hind legs. “If these can send a tree flyin’, can they also send...ME flyin’?”

Applejack stood under a tree and looked up at an apple. She prepared herself and jumped, but her jump took her several meters higher than the tree, then she fell on the ground with an audible impact, but she didn’t gain any injuries.

“Whoa!” Applejack breathed quickly. “Ah felt like...ah felt like ah was flyin’!” She looked away into the horizon, shaking her head. “Ah can’t believe ah’m doin’ this, but ah can’t stop myself!”

She galloped a few meters and jumped high, then landed on her hooves and jumped again. She kept repeating the process, each time jumping higher and creating a crater where she jumped, until she jumped and didn’t land, and she kept accelerating upwards. She smiled widely, feeling the wind rush by her, but her smile quickly disappeared when she stopped accelerating began to fall.

“Um...this is baaaad!” she exclaimed, before she fell on a small hill, taking away a small chunck of it. She stood up and shooke the dirt off her mane. “Oh, what the hay am I doin’?! I should be bucking trees now!” She paused for a second. “Wait a second, with my strength, I can buck the trees ten times fater than usual. I have plenty of time. Besides…” She kneeled, and the soil particles around her began to float. “Ah can FLY back to the acres!”

With all her might she jumped, taking off to the sky. Once she was high enough and made sure she wasn’t falling again, she faced the direction of the acres and flew as fast as she could.

After a bumpy fly and almost falling again, Applejack was back un the acres. She simply sat down under one of the trees, the whole joy of being able to fly suddenly gone.

“So I have these powers, so what? Ya know what this means to you, Applejack, don’t ya?” Applejack said to herself. “One thing is fer sure: things won’t be the same from now on.”

“A few days later, ah discovered that ah could heat things up just by lookin’ at them,” Applejack continued. “And then I found out that the weird things I had seen when I had thought I was goin’ crazy were actually X-ray vision. Ah can see through anythin’, and anypony.”

“And then the icy breath?” Celestia said.

“Yeah. It was weak at first, and then started gettin’ stronger. It wasn’t strong enough to put out the whole fire back in Ponyville, but it’s gettin’ there soon.” Applejack blew on her hoof, forming a small ball of ice, then used her laser vision to draw an ‘S’ on it. “I then found this suit in the small spaceship. It was inside something like a drawer, separated from the room that had contained me and Winona. Obviously, I discovered that the suit was enchanted and could change mah appearance at will. But mah change in appearance is limited to that one form you saw. But I still don’t know what that black key thingy that came with me ship is for.”

“Interesting,” Celestia said. “And so you decided to become a superhero?”

“Yes, I mean no! I mean...sorta,” Applejack stuttered.

Celestia tilted her head.

“You can say that.”

“Are you going to tell any of your friends?”

“No!” Applejack snapped, but lowered her tone as she continued speaking. “Sorry, but ah can’t tell them! I don’t want them to think of me as an alien. I’m just a pony, an earth pony for that matter, and that’s what I always wanna be...in my friends’ eyes, at least.” She faced the ground, ears folded back.

“Applejack, they’re your friends. They wouldn’t change the way they look at you.”

“It’s easy to say that.” Applejack turned her gaze away. “Please, ah don’t wanna discuss it.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow, then decided to change the subject. “So, want to hear my story?”

“Um, sure, why not?” Applejack slowly faced Celestia again.

“Okay, first I want to say I’m really sorry for what happened earlier today. After seeing the symbol on your chest and realizing it was from a dream I had years ago, I was so worried. Had it been another hero, I wouldn’t have freaked out at all. You just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong moment.” Celestia smiled sheepishly. “Also, my powers returning to me so suddenly was making me unfocused. I don’t know if you’re radiating some sort of energy or something, but it helped bringing my powers back.”

“It’s okay, Princess.” Applejack waved her forelegs. “I’m not mad at all. I did some mistakes myself today, so let’s just forget about it.”

“Alright then. My story is a little simple, and it may sound like a mares tale to you, but I assure you, it’s real.”

Applejack nodded.

“Three hundred years ago, I flew into a certain spot in the ocean after flyers had reported witnessing strange phenomena, including an island appearing and disappearing out of nowhere. After half an hour of searching I began to believe there was nothing, until I saw it.

“An island suddenly appeared, and I quickly flew down towards it. When my altitude was low enough, I could see what was happening there. There was an army of mares, pegasi, earth ponies and unicorns, fighting a hydra. I decided to help them, so I swooped in and hit the hydra on one of its heads. It began to attack me, and it made so much damage and almost killed some of the mares. I had no choice but to finish it. So I quickly engaged in a battle with the hydra that ended with its death.

“When I landed to take my breath, I found all of the mares bowing to me. I wondered how could they know about my status, but then one of them, their queen, came and told me about a prophecy they had. The prophecy said that one day, an alicorn would come to the island and would be able to wear the armor of the daughter of Zeus, and the first thing the alicorn would do is to slay a hydra. They said that Zeus was one of their Gods, and when I asked them about his daughter, they told me that she was just gone.

“They then took me to a room where a set of red armor rested, and there was a spell engraved into a stone in front of it. The queen told me that I had to cast the spell, and if I was indeed the alicorn from the prophecy, the armor will respond and place itself around my body. I obliged, and the armor indeed responded. I immediately felt a massive power rush through me.

“The mares told me I was their princess now, but I told them that I was the princess of Equestria and I had to leave. I asked them why wouldn’t they just come with me instead of being isolated from the rest of the world. They said tha they were afraid of the evil of ponykind. I tried to tell them they were wrong, but they didn’t listen. In the end, they agreed to let me return to Equestria, but I had to keep in touch and visit them every now and then.”

“Um...wow!” Applejack scratched the back of her head. “And you thought my story was interesting?!”

Celestia giggled.

“What happened to the armor?”

“It’s still hidden here in the castle,” Celestia replied. “The power it gave me scared me, because I was still afraid back then that power might corrupt me and make my feelings control me just like my sister, especially since I wasn’t...emotionally stable, back then.” She turned to face the ground.

“I know what ya mean, Princess.”

“As I spent years and years without using the armor, my powers faded and the armor stopped responding to the spell, but I never told my friends in Paradise Isalnd. And centuries later, I realized that I didn’t need the powers to fight Nightmare Moon when she returns, because Twilight Sparkle was my student, and I knew she would be able to use the Elements of Harmony to save Luna.”

“But somehow, being around me brought your powers back, right?” Applejack asked.

“Indeed. I managed to defeat you without the armor because I was having a power outburst, and you were going easy on me.” Celestia smirked.

“Sure I was!” Applejack chuckled.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Celestia spoke.

“Applejack, we have discovered a giant object under the ice in the frozen north. It’s a spaceship, and it’s thousands of years old. I’m holding curious explorers back from it so far. If you want, I’ll keep holding them back until you explore the ship first.”

“What...me?”

“Of course. It could be something from your planet, who knows? Besides, if something dangerous is inside, you can defeat it before any explorers hurt themselves.”

Applejack scratched her neck. “Well, I was gonna have an important meeting with somepony, but it can wait.”

“You mean, you were gonna have a date with Thunderlane?” Celestia winked.

Applejack flinched and stared at Celestia in shock. “What the...how did ya know?!”

“First, I didn’t; you just told me,” Celestia giggled.

“Dang it!” Applejack face hoofed.

“Second, I knew it from the way you talked when you reached the parts in your story in which Thunderlane was involved. It was so obvious!”

Applejack blushed.

“Go to your date first if you want to, I can hold ponies from the ship as long as you want.”

“No, it’s…” Applejack paused for a moment, then turned to face the ground, using one foreleg to scratch the other. “Y-ya know what? Yer right. I hafta go to the date now.”

“Applejack, is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I’m totally fine! See yea later, Princess.” With that, Applejack took off in the direction of Ponyville.

“Hmm. Why do I have a feeling she’s not visiting the spaceship very soon?”

Author's Note

Edited by Zoetic Zebra.

Yes, Wonder Mare/Woman's back story here is a little changed, because 1) It had to fit with MLP. 2) What's the fun if I copy the comics/movies in everything? I hope you're all okay with this change.