Power Ponies: Appreciating Humdrum

The heroes of Maretropolis, The Power Ponies, has just saved the city again from a villain called, Dark Armor. His plan was to release a deadly toxin over the city, thankfully the Power Ponies fought him off and thwarted his plans. After the battle, the team were greeted with cheers from the citizens; all except for one member.

Humdrum, AKA Spike, was not only the only male member of the team, but he was also the only one who didn’t have any powers. Even though he was lacking in the powers department, he was extremely smart with computers, In fact, while the girls fought off Dark Armor, they distracted him long enough for Spike to climb to the top of the city’s tallest building and hack the tower’s computer; shutting down the operation and preventing the toxin from being released.

Spike had exited the building and saw his friends being surrounded and praised by the people. He tried to make it over to them, but was stopped by the police. He tried to tell them that he was part of the team, but was told to go home. This was nothing new. Every time after they save the city from destruction, Spike finds himself being left out of the loop. Most people just see him as someone playing pretend each time the Power Ponies leap into action. Most don’t even believe him when he says he part of the team. At one point, he was threaten with being arrested when he tried to attend a ceremony in Central Park which unveiled a giant statue in the team’s honor. Spike had left to change into his civilian clothes and entered the park; only to be dishearten once he saw that the statute only had the six girls. He left soon after.

****************************

That evening, Spike walked into Pony Manor, a giant mansion located on a small island just outside of the city and the Power Ponies home and base of operations. After changing out of his costume, Spike flopped onto the bed and turned on the TV. Channel after channel was just news reports about how the Power Ponies saved the city by stopping Dark Armor and his tower holding the deadly toxin. This was only half true. While yes, the girls stopped Dark Armor, Spike was the one who hacked the tower. Hearing each news report not even mention Humdrum caused Spike to just turn off the TV altogether. Staring at the ceiling, Spike started to question what’s the point in being on the team if no one cares to acknowledge the work you put into it.

*knock* *knock* *knock*

“Spike, you in there?” came a voice. “I’m coming in.” The door opened to reveal Twilight, AKA Masked Matter-Horn; leader of the team. Still in her costume, save for her mask she removed. “I just wanted to tell you that you did great out there. Because of you, the city was saved.”

“Uh-huh.” he said; uninterested in what she was saying.

“Spike, is something wrong?” she asked with concern.

“No, just tired.” he answered as he rolled to his side; his back facing her.

“Well, it was a very eventful day today.” she said with a light chuckle. “You rest up and i’ll call you for dinner.” Spike said nothing as Twilight slowly closed the door; leaving him alone to his thoughts.

****************************

The next day after school, Spike went over to his locker to grab a few things before leaving for the day. He could hear the murmurs of the other students, mostly the male students, going on about how close he was to the six most popular girls in school, and that they didn’t like it. After packing his backpack, Spike headed towards the exit; a group of jocks following behind him. He rolled his eyes knowing what they were after. They wanted to “teach him a lesson” on why he shouldn't be anywhere near Twilight or the other girls. They were too good for a loser like him. “If they only knew.” Spike thought to himself as he exited the building.

The jocks soon followed; only to find out that Spike had disappeared. They quickly scattered in hopes of finding him, not knowing that he was actually floating above them on a cloud. Three seconds after he walked outside, Rainbow Dash flew in and scooped Spike up to get him away from the jocks. The two of them looked at each other and shared a quick laugh before Rainbow took of with him to land where no one can see them.

“Thanks for the help, Rainbow.” Spike said.

“No problem, squirt.” she said as she wrapped an arm around his neck. She giggled once she heard him groan after being called, squirt. That was her little nickname for him after he officially joined the group, and he gets annoyed by it every time. The two of them decided to take a quick trip to their favorite arcade before heading home, however, that plan would soon be shot down. Just up ahead of them, they saw people running for their lives while out of nowhere, a police car was flying through the air and crashed into a building; blowing up on impact.

“We should check it out.” Spike said. Rainbow nodded and the two started running off towards the action. Turning the corner, they saw cops hiding behind their cars and opening fire upon three muscle bound men whose skin were bullet proof. “Hey, isn’t that......?” Spike started.

“The Diamond Dogs.” Rainbow finished. “Bastards are at it again, huh? Spike, follow me.” Rainbow grabbed Spike’s arm, and ran with him to a nearby alley. After looking around to make sure no one followed, Rainbow turned to Spike and took off her backpack. “You got your suit?” she asked.

“Yeah, always.” he answered.

“Then, let’s suit up.” Rainbow said.

“W-w-wait......you mean here?” he asked in shock.

“Get over it, Spike.” Rainbow groan; being slightly annoyed by Spike’s reaction. “You’ve already seen me in my underwear before, now suit up!”

****************************

Rover, Fido, and Spot, also known as, The Diamond Dog, are a trio of superpowered villains who are C-list at best. Their goal is to cause as much criminal damage as possible; doesn’t matter who get hurt in the process. While they were having the time of their lives, Spike and Raibow landed right in front of them. “Hold it right there!” Rainbow announced.

“T-The Power Ponies?!” yelled Spot.

“What do we do, boss?” asked Fido.

“What do you think, dumbass? Crush them!” Rover yelled. All three men charged at the two with Rainbow cracking her knuckles.

“Spike, you get the big guy, and the other two are mine.” said Rainbow as she powered up.

“With pleasure.” Spike pulled out a small stick with quickly extended on both ends; turning it into a Bo staff. Rainbow raised her hand up into the air and caused a dark lightning cloud to form. From that cloud, a silver hammer fell down from it and into her possession. In one move, Rainbow threw the hammer hitting the leader of the Diamond Dogs, Rover, in the face and sending him flying. With him out the way, Rainbow charged at Spot; hitting him with a huge uppercut that sent him flying upwards in the air. Rainbow quickly flew after him, grabbing him by the leg, then throwing him into the street.

While that was going on, “the big guy”, Fido, charged at Spike who leapt in the air and landed behind him. Fido quickly turned around and threw a punch to which Spike blocked with his staff. Spike continued to block the oncoming onslaught of Fido’s fist with his staff until he saw an opening. Acting quickly, Spike swung his staff and hit Fido in the legs; causing him to lose balance. Spike twirled his staff around to build momentum before hitting Fido in the face; sending him flying into an already destroyed police cruiser. Fido soon emerged from the wreckage as if nothing happened and started to charged once again at Spike, who reached into his back belt pocket and pulled out three metal balls that were all hooked together with ropes, otherwise known as bolas. Spinning it around, Spike threw it at Fido. The weapon hit the diamond dog in the legs, wrapping itself around them, and sending him to the ground. Spike walked up to the man, breaking his staff in half and pressing hidden button on them; turning them into baton stun guns. He jammed them into Fido’s back and shocked him until he passed out. Looking up, Spike saw Rainbow Dash walking towards him with the other two Diamond Dogs over her shoulders. “Good job, Humdrum.” she said as she dropped them on top of Fido. “We’ll let the police take it from here.”

Before anything else could be said, the two of them were met with applause from the citizens who witnessed the fight. They came running to show their appreciation by surrounding Rainbow Dash; unceremoniously knocking Spike out of the way as they did so. As Spike rose up and began to put his weapon away, he was approached by two cops. At first he thought they were going to thank him for his services, but the looks on their faces said otherwise.

“What the hell do you think you were doing?!” one of them said. “Those were REAL superpowered criminals! One wrong move, and you would’ve have been killed!”

“Hey, i’ve heard of you.” said the second officer. “You’re that kid who dresses up and pretends to be a member of the Power Ponies.”

“I AM a member of the Power Ponies!” Spike stated.

“Heh, yeah right, you don’t even have powers.” the second officer laughed.

“You don’t need powers to be a hero.” Spike said.

“Yeah, right, keep telling yourself that.” the second officer replied.

“Look, this is your first and only warning, give up on this farce, otherwise i’ll arrest you for impersonating an actual hero.” the first officer said as both he and his partner left to greet Rainbow Dash. Looking at the ground, Spike felt anger and humiliation. So what if he didn’t have powers like every other hero on the planet, it doesn’t mean he’s any less heroic. After seeing the attention Rainbow Dash was getting, Spike left the scene; without anyone noticing.

****************************

Back at the mansion, Spike sat in the living room watching the large 2500in TV. There was news coverage of the fight with the Diamond Dogs that happened earlier that day, and of course, they only focused on Rainbow Dash; completely ignoring his role in the fight. In fact, they made it seem like Rainbow single handedly took down all three of the Diamond Dogs; which wasn’t true. Everything that was being said on the TV plus that police officer’s words replaying in his head over and over caused Spike to yell out in frustration and throw the remote at the TV. He didn’t break it, but it did shut off at the impact. Raising from his seat, Spike made his way into the kitchen to get dinner ready. Maybe some cooking would get his mind off of what he saw on the news.

“Spike?” came a soft voice. “Is everything okay?”

Spike knew who it was. It was Fluttershy, but he didn’t turn around to face her; seeing as how he was filling up a pot of water to boil. “Yeah, everything fine.” he answered. “What’s up.”

“W-well, there’s gonna be a gathering at the mayor’s office tomorrow, and she wants the entire team to come.” she explained.

“What for?” Spike asked.

“Twilight said something about getting the “keys to the city” or something.” she answered.

“Oh.....okay, thanks.” Spike said as he placed the pot on top of the stove. Fluttershy, seeing he was busy, decided to leave him alone; not believing for one second that everything was “fine". Little did Spike know, Fluttershy actually witnessed him throwing the remote at the TV, she just didn’t know why. Fluttershy traveled to the game room where the other girls were.

“Hey, did you tell Spike?” asked Rainbow.

“Yes, but......well......” she said.

“Well, what, darling?” asked Rarity.

“Spike, seemed upset about something.” she answered. “I saw him yell at the TV then throw the remote at it.”

“That's nothing new." said Pinkie Pie. "The past few months he seemed to be upset about something, but each time I try to confront him about it, he says it’s nothing.”

“Any idea what he was watchin’?” asked Applejack.

“He was watching the news.” Fluttershy answered. “They were saying something about a downtown event that happened earlier.”

“OH, THAT MUST BE IT!” yelled Rainbow. “Spike and me took on the Diamond Dogs some time after school, but I didn’t see him afterwards. I figured he surround by the people like I was.”

“We should talk to him and find out what’s been troubling him the past few months.” Twilight suggested.

“I doubt he’s actually gonna tell us.” Rainbow replied.

“Then we keep pressing the issue till he cracks.” said Twilight as she started to exit the game room.

The six girls traveled to the kitchen where they saw Spike cutting up some spring onions. The smell of whatever he was cooking filled the room; causing the girls to almost forget why they were coming to talk to him in the first place. Strengthening their resolve, the girls pushed aside their desire for Spike’s cooking and confronted him. “Oh, hey girls.” he said with a smile. “Dinner will be ready in an hour.”

“That’s not why we’re here, Spike.” Twilight said. with concern.

“Is the city in trouble again?” he asked.

“No, it’s about you.” she answered; causing Spike’s heart to skip a beat. “Spike, is something wrong?”

“N-no, nothings wrong, why?” he asked nervously.

“Spikey, for the past few months you’ve been......how do I say it......"distant” from us.” said Rarity. “We know that you’re upset about something so why not talk to us about it?”

“I.....I told you.....it’s nothing.” Spike said while looking away.

“It’s not nothing, Spike.” Pinkie spoke up. “Fluttershy saw you throwing the remote control at the TV earlier.”

Spike froze as he felt a small stream of sweat slide down the side of his head, and it wasn’t from the stove. Spike had been avoiding this topic for months now, but now that his friends are all confronting him on it, there was no way out. Sure, he could run away, but that wouldn’t help. Pinkie would catch him before he took one step in the wrong direction or Twilight would just simply freeze his legs in place. Looking up at his friends, he saw them closing in on him; almost as if they were anticipating him to try and make a break for it. There was no escape for him. Spike sighed heavily and was about to speak up when suddenly the alarm went off.

“Looks like there’s trouble in the city, we better get moving.” Spike said as he went to turn off the stove.

“Don’t think this conversation is over, mister.” Twilight said sternly before leaving with the girls to get changed.

“Saved by the bell.” Spike thought as he put the tray in the oven at a very low temperature; cooking slowly until they came back.

****************************

The next day after school, Spike was contemplating on whether he should meet up with the girls at the usual hang out spot so they can travel to the mayor’s office together or simply head home and skip it all together. Either way, the girls would just confront him later. Last night after they saved the city from a giant mutant, Spike quickly ran home as they were being surround by the public, took the food out of the oven, and headed to bed just as the girls made it back. Then early this morning, Spike got up an hour earlier than normal and headed to school before the girls woke up. He’s been avoiding them so far, but knew this couldn’t keep up. He thought maybe he should just tell them what the problem is. That he feels under appreciated for all the work he does to protect the city. Part of him wanted to, but then the other part started to think that if told the girls, they’d think he was just being petty and childish.

While Spike was deep in thought, he saw that the police blocked off part of a street while people gathered all around.

“Get back!” one of the cops yelled. “I said get back!”

Spike walked up to the scene and saw other cops hiding behind their cars with their guns drawn. “Hey, what’s going on?” he asked a random man.

“Three men wearing masked just took hostages within that bank.” the man explained. “Someone needs to help those poor people.”

Spike looked over at the scene before him and knew something had to be done. Slipping away, he ran into a dark alley and quickly change into his costume. He climbed to the roof of a nearby building and ran across many rooftops; avoiding being seen by the public until he made it to the roof of the bank. After locating a ventilation shaft, Spike removed the cover and began to crawl his way through; being extra careful as to not make a sound. Soon Spike made it to the front lobby and saw the robbers. One of them grabbed a little girl from her mother, and walked to the door with a gun pointed to her head. He had demanded that he and his partners have a getaway car or else they’ll kill everyone. Spike quickly annalize the situation and thought it would be best to go after one of the other robbers instead of the one with the hostage. One wrong move and the gun could go off; killing the little girl. Looking over at the other two, he saw one had an assault rifle and the other had a linoleum knife. The two of them were pretty far apart from one another which would give Spike enough time to save the hostage if this was planned right. Very slowly and carefully, Spike traveled to the nearest cover which was right over his target’s head. He quietly removed the cover, took aim and pounced on top of the robber with assault rifle. Standing on the guy’s head, Spike quickly pulled out a kunai knife and threw at the first robber; knocking the gun out his hand and freeing the little girl. Spike then threw his bola; strapping the man’s hand to the door before he could retrieve his weapon. Looking out the corner of his eye, the third robber with the knife charged at Spike who grabbed his stick and turned it into a bo staff.

With a single swing, Spike knocked the knife out of the guy’s hand and into the air, then using some impressive combo moves, Spike knocked him all the way to the other side of the room; knocking him out cold. Without even looking, Spike stuck out his left hand and caught the linoleum knife. Turning around, he threw it at the second robber who was going for his rifle; piercing his hand. While he screamed out in pain, Spike broke his staff in half, turning them into baton stun guns, then ran up to the guy and shocked the crap out of; knocking him out.

“YOU SON OF A BITCH!” yelled the first robber. “WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU, I’M GONNA.............!” Spike went over to the man and shocked him unconscious.

“Is everybody alright?” he asked as he turned to the hostages. To his shock, he was met with angry gazes.

“What were you thinking?!” yelled the mother of the child. “You could’ve gotten my daughter killed! You could have gotten ALL of us killed!”

“Yeah, this was a serious situation, not some game!” yelled a man.

“You should have just let the police or someone with ACTUAL powers handle the situation!” yelled a woman.

Spike couldn’t believe this. He saved these people and is now being berated by them for doing so. He put his life on the line for them and they attack him for not having powers. All of the hostages stood up and continued to yell and curse at their savior while the police were making their way inside. Unable to take anymore, Spike reached into his back pocket and pulled out a couple smoke balls. Throwing them on the floor caused them to explode and a huge puff of smoke filled the room. Once it settled, Spike was nowhere to be seen. The cops stormed the building to find all three robbers beaten and knocked out and the hostages without a scratch. As they were set free, the crowd of people cheered the police as if they were the ones who rescued them; all while Spike watched on from a far away distance. Gripping his weapons hard in anger, he turned and walked away.

****************************

It was evening when Spike saw a large group of people starting to gather in the streets. It was then he realized that he was close to the mayor’s office. He remembered Fluttershy, saying that the team was invited to accept some kind of award for their services to the city. Correction.......the girl’s services to the city. Spike wasn’t even a thought in anyone’s mind. He was about to walk away when his phone started vibrating. He’d received a text message from Fluttershy, telling him to suit up and meet everyone at the mayor’s office. Spike didn’t reply. Instead, he put his phone back in his pocket and walked off. Why should he go? It’s not like anyone will believe he’s part of team anyway. Not to mention, some of the cops he saw there were the ones who said they’d arrest him if they saw him.

Spike’s phone started vibrating again. This time it was a text from Pinkie, wanting to know where he was. Again, he didn’t answer. As he walked, he could hear people talking about the Power Ponies and how they were on their way to the mayor’s office; some couldn’t wait to see them. He soon heard someone mentioning him, but it was the same thing he’d heard before. He’s no “REAL” hero because he has no powers. At this point, Spike received another text message; this time from Twilight, which caused him to stop dead in his tracks. The text was in all caps and bolden. Basically, it said that if Spike doesn’t suit up and meet the girls right this second, she was gonna hunt him down. There were many things in this world Spike would gladly face off against.......a pissed off Twilight, was NOT one of them. Sneaking into a nearby alley, Spike changed into his costume once again.

****************************

The sun was nearly visible when Spike made it to the roof of the building across from the mayor’s office. Standing in front of him were his teammates. “I’m here.” he said.

“Where were you, Spike?” Fluttershy asked concerningly.

“Oh, you know, around.” he answered; not wanting to tell them about the bank.

“Well anyway, we better see what the mayor has for us.” said Rainbow.

Before any of them could go forward, Rarity noticed a woman being followed by a stranger. “Look over there.” she pointed. “We have trouble.”

Everyone looked over at where Rarity was pointing and saw the stranger closing in on the unsuspecting woman. “I’ll take care of it.” Spike suggested. Without giving the girls a chance to respond, he’d already left. Spike had no idea why he was doing this. He knew how it would end. He saves her, then get berated for not having superpowers. Maybe it was a reflex. “Whatever, let’s get this over with.” he thought as he ran across rooftops to catch up to them.

On the ground, once the stranger got close enough, he grabbed the woman’s purse and started to make a break for it. Before she could scream for help, Spike landed on top of the guy, threw him up against a light pole, and strapped him there using his bolas. Grabbing some smoke balls, Spike threw them on the ground and disappeared within the smoke before the woman could tell him anything.

Spike soon made it back only to witness the girls landing next to the mayor on the steps of city hall with the crowd of people cheering them on. Spike was very hesitant to go down there, but noticed Applejack waving at him; calling him to come over. As the mayor stepped up to the microphone to give her speech, Spike took this time to leap from the building and land in the street. Taking a deep breath, Spike started to make his way towards his friends.

“HEY!” yelled a voice.

“Shit.” Spike thought as he looked over his shoulder. He the cop from yesterday was speed walking towards him, he wasn’t happy.

“I warned you to to give up this farce.” he said angrily.

“Look, I don’t have time for this. I don't care if you believe me or not, but my friends are waiting for me.” Spike said as he turned around to leave. He didn't even get the chance to take one step because the cop grabbed him by the shoulder and squeezed it hard. “You’re under arrest.” he said.

“For what?!” Spike said in shock.

“Impersonating a hero and trespassing.” the cop answered. Before Spike knew it, four other cops a ganged up on him and wrestled him to the ground.

“H-hey, LET ME GO!” he yelled. “I TOLD YOU GUYS, I’M PART OF THE TEAM!”

“Shut up!” yelled one cop while another grabbed Spike’s left arm and tried to pull it back. Spike yelled out in pain causing another cop hold his head down with his foot. “STOP RESISTING!”

****************************

The mayor had just finished giving her speech and was about to present the girls with an award when Fluttershy noticed something happening in the crowd. “What’s going on over there?” she asked.

“What’cha mean?” Applejack asked while looking in the same direction. “Hmm, looks like some cops er takin’ down some trouble maker.” The two girls watched as one of the cops pulled out a taser and shocked the suspect; causing him to scream out. That scream was one the two instantly recognized and when one of the cops moved took a step out of the way, Applejack’s heart nearly stopped while Fluttershy’s anger rose once they saw who was being attacked. With her eyes turning red, Fluttershy started to bulk up into a hulk-like creature releasing a very loud roar; catching everyone’s attention. “Saddle Rager, what’s.......” Twilight didn’t even finish that sentence once she saw Spike being man handled by the cops. “HUMDRUM!” she screamed as Fluttershy leapt into action.

*BOOM*

Fluttershy landed next to the cops, grabbed one of them and threw him into another county letting out another roar; much to the crowds horror. The other girls soon arrived on scene and saw their friend on the ground bruised up and grabbing his left arm. “HUMDRUM!” they all yelled with Rarity kneeling next to him and putting his head in her lap.

Dark thunder clouds started to form as Rainbow’s anger went through the roof. “Give me one good reason why I should shock you into oblivion.” she growled.

“W-wait, I can explained.” said the cop. “Every time, you girls are out fighting crime, there he is. He claims to be a Power Pony, but we all know that’s a load of crap.”

“How is THAT a load of crap?” Rainbow angrily asked.

“B-because.......well look at him, he’s no real hero, he has no powers.” he answered. “How can anyone like that call himself a hero.”

That statement angered the girls to no end, but what was really disturbing were the amount of people agreeing with the officer. Rainbow dash was about to unleash hell on him, but Twilight stopped her by placing a hand on her shoulder. Stepping forward to confront the officer and his supporters, Twilight kept her anger in check when she spoke. “So you think that just because Humdrum doesn’t have powers he’s not a “real” hero? Is that what you, all of you think?” The cop nodded along with many people in the crowd. Twilight took a deep breath before speaking once again. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. Humdrum has fought against superpower being the likes of which you’ve never seen. He’s fought alongside us in battles that would decide the fate of the planet, and not once, NOT ONCE, did he let the fact that he had no powers stop him. He found ways around that handicap and managed to come out on top. He’s helped saved this city more time than anyone here can count.”

“No he hasn’t.” yelled someone from the crowd. “What about yesterday when you girls defeated Dark Armor? He was no where to be found. He just shows up after every battle and tries to take credit.”

“Do y’all know what he was doin’ while we were fightin’ Dark Armor?” Applejack jumped. “He hacked Dark Armor’s tower that would have released a deadly toxin across the city.”

“Yeah, and earlier today both he and I took on the Diamond Dogs.” Rainbow said; joining in as well. “He went head to head against their strongest member and took him down without a sweat.”

“We’ve asked Humdrum to join our team because we each saw something within him.” Rarity said with tears starting to form. “And everyday when we fight for this city he exceeds all our expectations and out does himself! HOW DARE YOU STAND THERE AND BELITTLE EVERYTHING HE’S DONE TO KEEP YOU ALL SAFE!”

Right after Rarity said that, it quickly dawn upon her why Spike was upset. The others soon realized it as well. The people belittles and berates him for not having powers. Come to find out, in all of the news reports and events held in their honor, not once was Spike even there. He wasn’t even a part of the statue of the team that was built in the park. All six girls felt their hearts sink for not realizing this sooner. Applejack, Rainbow, and Twilight all turned away and went to Spike; being extremely careful as to not hurt him while they helped him to his feet. “Saddle Rager, take him home." said Twilight. Fluttershy carefully picked Spike up and took off into the sky.

“Girls?” ask the mayor as she took a couple steps towards them.

“Mayor, what was it you were going to give us?” Twilight asked without looking at her.

“I-it......it was a large custom made golden key to represent the “Key to the City”. she explained. “It has all of your names engraved on it.”

“Is Humdrum’s name on it?” Twilight asked sternly while the mayor kept quiet. “Is it?”

The mayor lowered her head. “N-no. He......wasn't even a thought in my mind while have it made."

“Let’s go girls.” Twilight said; still without looking at the mayor or the people.

As the girls started to walk away, someone from the crowd called out to them. “Power Ponies, wait! Does this mean you won’t protect the city anymore?! Are you going to abandon us?!”

The girls stopped walking with Twilight turning around and facing the crowd of people. “We’ll never abandon the city. That’s not who we are.” After turning back to her friends, Rarity encased them all in a giant purple bubble, and flew off with them; leaving the mayor and the people of Maretropolis alone.