“And now for the final splash page, Captain Powerfly!” said Spike as he held the paneller – a magical frame device used to capture stills of the subject and their backgrounds – up in front of him.

Fluttershy obligingly struck a heroic, contemplative pose from atop a faux-building rooftop. “The city is safe from the clutches of evil… for now,” she boldly proclaimed (according to the script.) “But when it strikes again, it shall find itself opposing Ponygon City’s new champion and protector: Captain Powerfly!!”

“Aww! Too perfect, Shy!” cried Spike.

Back in her own meek persona, she added, “Oh, but we really shouldn’t forget the… um… her new catchphrase. I mean, if you don’t mind…”

Spike froze as he contemplated that factor. “Oh, yeeee-eahhh. I knew I forgot something! Hold on!” He transferred the image on the paneller plate to the magic paper. Then he resized the frame and held it up. “Okay, Captain! Big finish! Here we go!”

She jumped up, and with one mighty flap of her wings, blasted off into the sky, yelling, “WINGS TO THE SKY!!”

And it was all captured right on the plate, action lines, catchphrase, and the whole shebang.

And when it was all done, Spike added with his pen, “The end… for now…!” He gently laid his comic template down and carefully flipped the pages from cover to cover. Each time he flipped a page, he ecstatically squealed with unbridled glee as he studied the story he personally developed with his subject.

Nearby, the resident draconequus and spirit of chaos, Discord, chuckled. Though he played the part of the villain rather nicely, he still had just as much fun helping put the comic together.

Fluttershy touched back down to terra firma as she slid off her mask. “Are we done now, Spike?” she queried wearily as she lowered herself on her belly and placed her head on the ground. “I’m just so tired!”

As soon as he finished, tears of uninhibited joy flowed down his face. “It’s perfect!” he squeaked. “It’s just… too… perfect!! You gotta at least read it, Shy!! You just gotta!!”

“Could I at least rest right now, Spike?” moaned the pegasus. “I am really too tired right now.”

“Yeah, let her rest, Spike,” said Discord. “I’ve been looking forward to reading it myself.”

Spike dried his joyful tears and settled back down. “Uh… yeah, you bet. Not a problem,” he said sympathetically. “Yeah, you have been giving ‘er all day, haven’t you, Shy?”

The only response coming from Fluttershy was a light, barely audible snore.

“That would probably mean ‘Yes’,” said Discord as he placed a blanket over her. “Now let’s see that comic of yours, old pal-of-mine!” He picked up the comic, sat right next to his best pony friend, and studied the pages cover to cover. “Oh, ho hooo! Fan-tab-ulous, dear boy! Oh, just look at that villain, Dr. Miksen Matsch; so dastardly and wicked!” he observed evilly.

“I know, right!” said Spike. “Hey, good job on that, by the way!” He gave him a thumbs up.

“Happy to serve, my boy.” Then in a more heroic tone, he continued, “Ah, and here comes our dear champion of all that is good and just: Ponygon City’s own Captain Powerfly!”

*******

This was the story in the comic:

It introduces the evil Dr. Miksen Matsch, a villain horrendously disfigured as a result of a lab accident involving a mutated lab rat, a vat of volatile chemicals, and a bad batch of cookies. (The reader was advised in a footnote that they “really did not need – or even want – to know the rest of the details.”)

Late one night, two young lovers are out for a stroll in one of Ponygon City’s numerous public parks after watching a rom-com movie. Suddenly, they are knocked unconscious by a strange beam of light. A mysterious figure in the shadows speaks in digital monotone, “Subjects acquired.”

Another voice via radio orders the being to bring them in; they will make “an ideal fit for the rest of the puzzle.” (Whatever the puzzle is was not mentioned. Spike was a tad… shy on details.)

Unbeknownst to the shadowy figure, yet another figure in the shadows is watching. “At last!” it thinks. “I catch your lackeys in the act! I’ll just follow along and find you out, Dr. Miksen Matsch!”

Several time-lapse frames later, the reader finally gets their first glimpse of the titular hero, clad in her heroic outfit.

“Watch out, vile fiend!” she says. “Captain Powerfly is hot on your trail!”

True to form, she is very hot on his trail. And using her super-speed and super-agility, she is able to keep up to the villain’s henchpony in jig time… without being spotted. According to the caption, she is “as a magic arrow, able to negotiate tight twists and turns with tremendous speed and unimaginable accuracy!”

Two pages later, Captain Powerfly is led towards an old abandoned HayFlakes factory. (“So the fiend hides out in a factory where my favourite yearlinghood cereal was once manufactured,” she notes sadly.) She quickly darts towards a skylight window, the only source of light in the whole facility.

There, she sees the evil scientist himself, laughing at the potential fate of his victims. He spends the next page detailing the reason they’re all here. He’d been watching them all and studying their DNA (How he got it was another detail Spike forgot to mention.) He does mention he needs the DNA to enhance his own personal powers and to create an army of super ponies who will all do his bidding.

After he’s done gloating, he reaches out to one mare with glasses. “Let’s start with this one. You look like a perfect choice for book smarts, my dear.”

Powerfly can no longer take it! She smashes her way in, shouting, “Actually, Matcsh, that is a BAD choice!”

Dr. Matsch whips around to face the intruder, a look of horror on his face. “Who are YOU?!” he queries.

“You don’t remember??” The next two pages detail that she was one his “more… interesting experiments.” She too was kidnapped when she was younger and experimented on by the scientist himself. “But thanks to my new super agility, I got away! Now I’m back to shut you down… for good!!”

He sics his robots – armed to the teeth with lasers and hoof-blades - on her; but despite being fast and strong, they are outmatched and outflanked by the super-agile heroine. Most wind up destroying each other.

Then out comes the huge, ugly mutant. (Spike and Discord had to draw this one out; it still resulted in a frightful semi-abomination.) However, this one is much more of a physical match for Powerfly. But this one is rather dumb, as one would expect. Still, the match gets to a bit of a stalemate… and Dr. Miksen Matsch returns to what he was about to do.

Just as things seem hopeless, a deus ex machina of sorts shows up in the form of several boxes of Honey HayFlakes that are revealed in a sealed box recently broken open. Powerfly gets the idea to open one the boxes and spills it into the mutant’s mouth.

The mutant stops fighting long enough to taste the “Yummy crunchies” he now has in his mouth.

“You want more?” offers Powerfly.

“YAH!! MORE!!” cries the mutant with joy, shaking the room with his bouncing. This gets Dr. Matsch’s attention just as he is unstrapping the mare.

“Open wide!” she spills another box into its mouth. The mutant jumps for joy, his giggly dialogue reading: “UH HUH-HUH! UH-HUH-HUH! UH-HUH-HUH!!”

“What are you doing, you brainless dolt!” demands the scientist. “What’s the meaning of this?!”

If the mutant wants more, Powerfly makes a deal: make sure the scientist is immobilized while she brings in the police. The mutant hesitates, but Powerfly asks him if the scientist was ever nice to it. Turning back with a hateful glare at the evil scientist, it’s clear he was not. The mutant thumps him on the head, knocking him unconscious.

Powerfly flies off to bring the police to the old factory, and the mutant frees the mare, who then helps him free the other ponies.

The police arrive to capture Dr. Miksen Matsch and the mutant. But Powerfly begs the authorities to let the mutant go free; after all, the poor thing just needs to be loved and cared for.

One scene later, she is offered a place in the supergroup, A.R.M.O.U.R. She says she will, but only on the condition they offer a place for her new friend, “Bobby” the mutant. (He was only referred to by Dr. Matsch as “that big blobby thing”, but a newer, better name was needed in short order.) After some deliberation, it is decided they will accept Bobby as one of their own, as long as he leaves some HayFlakes for the others.

In the next scene, she makes her heroic declaration from atop the building, overseeing the cityscape: “The city is safe from the clutches of evil… for now! But if it ever strikes again, it shall find itself opposing Ponygon City’s new champion and protector: Captain Powerfly!!”

She leaps up into the sky, yelling her new catchphrase:

“WINGS TO THE SKY!!”

The end… for now…

*******

“Well done, Spike!” gushed Discord. “Simply amazing!” He placed the comic back in Spike’s paws. “Now, then, I do believe Mr. Liveryfield awaits your entry. Best not keep him waiting.”

Spike raced off to the castle to collect the necessary requirements for the postal service.

Fluttershy snuggled deeper into Discord’s side.

“As for you, our little hero,” said Discord to Fluttershy. “We’d best get you to bed for a little rest.” With that, he collected the tired pegasus in his arms and took her back home.

*******

The next few days saw Spike waiting very eagerly by the mailbox, bouncing up and down with absolute glee for hours – if not almost days – on end. In fact, he went so far as to drag his bassinet next to it… just in case it came in while he slept.

As for Princess Twilight, sure it would have been nice to have the little drake inside more often, helping out with some of the daily chores.

On the other hoof, maybe it was better having him out of her mane for the next little while. Besides, keeping herself busy was actually quite relaxing… despite the extra royal responsibilities on the side.

Every morning after the mail was sent away was practically the same routine:

Twilight would walk out to the mailbox and collect her mail from Spike (which was quite a lot, being royalty, so she had to acquire the largest mailbox in town.)

“So?” she would ask Spike as he handed her the mail. “Anything for you yet?”

Spike had nothing else in his paws, so that pretty much answered the question. “Not for me. Not yet!” He was still quite hopeful, nonetheless, so he remained put.

“Well, you should come back inside one of these times. I kinda miss you inside,” she finally said on the fourth day.

By around the eighth day, though, Spike finally answered with a dejected sigh, “Yeah, maybe I should.” He packed his bassinet as he continued, “If I had won, the prize would’ve been here by now.”

“Um… you think?” she chided.

He sighed heavily again. “Oh, well. Guess it’s time to get the castle in order, huh?”

“Yes! That would be most appreciated, my good drake,” she replied as she looked over the bundle of mail.

As the dejected little dragon carried his basket up the stairs, Twilight took notice of a rather bulky envelope.

And it was addressed specifically to Spike the Dragon.

“Hold on a minute, Spike!” she called. “How did you miss this envelope?”

Spike froze. “Which one?”

She looked it over and studied the return address.

It was from Catalyst Comic Studios, the very same studio whose flagship comic was, in fact, the Power Ponies.

Twilight quickly placed all the rest of the mail on the nearby table. “Omigosh! Spike!” she cried in shock. “How did you actually miss this one?!”

“Why?” he asked, rather befuddled, as he approached her.

“Read the return address, ya shmuck!” she chided with an excited grin and giggle, as she passed the envelope over to him.

He took it in his paws and read it. He gasped. “No way!” He jumped up and down and screamed with excitement. “NO WAY!!” He sliced open the fold and gleefully dumped the contents on the floor.

“Ooh! Careful! Careful!”

Spike tried to catch his breath. “Yeah! Yeah!” He carefully picked up the bag containing the now officially published first edition of Captain Powerfly, (The Top Prize Edition). “Omigosh!” he squealed as joyful tears dripped down his face.

“You want me to read the note, Spike?” queried Twilight.

“Mm-hm, mm-hm, mm-hm!!” he replied, too excited to say much else.

She cleared her throat and read it to him.

Dear Spike,

How’s it going, Faithful Comrade? I hope everything is all cool on your end of things.
Well, I’m about to make your day! A panel of five judges (myself included) have read and reviewed your creation… and we all thought it was awesome! We all decided, after lengthy deliberation and hundreds of other tough decisions, it was deserving of the Grand Prize.
Inside this envelope is your own personal copy of the Top Prize Edition of Captain Powerfly. But that’s not all…!
The Grand Prize winner also gets a special amulet to transform into their chosen superhero. You read that right, Faithful Comrade! Your subject can officially transform – powers and the whole nine yards – into their chosen superhero! How cool is that?
But it gets even better!
As you probably know by now, we’re holding a comic-con in Canterlot this upcoming weekend, and I’ll personally be there to present the prize to your hero. Enclosed are tickets and back-stage passes for you and three other guests. Make sure you’re all there at Stage 4 by 1:00 pm, this very Saturday!

Where were those tickets? Spike frantically searched the envelope, then… oh, there they were, under the comic. He huffed out in relief.

Twilight continued:

We’re looking forward to meeting you guys! I think it will be so cool!

Sincerely,
Rob Liveryfield
President, Catalyst Studios, Inc.

P.S. And in case you’re wondering, my personal booth is in aisle C, no. 25. Stop by and say hi when you guys get a chance! I really wanna meet you guys!

Spike squealed again as he shook with glee. “Oh, joy!” he squeaked. “This is the happiest day of my whole life!!”

“Well, that’s in a couple days, so you might want to hurry over and let Fluttershy and Discord know,” said Twilight. “By the way, any idea who the fourth pony will be?”

Spike grinned at Twilight. “I sure do,” he said slyly. “How about you?”

Twilight glared at him. “How about ‘I am very busy this weekend’?”

This was going to be a challenge.

Author's Note

There you go, everypony! Meet Captain Powerfly, Ponygon City's newest champion and defender!

(Sawwy, no pink bunny mask, k16. Hope u like anyways!)

(Everypony else, don't be shy! By all means, please leave comments!)