Author's Note

Uuuggghhh! Good enough I guess.

Chapter 2

Spike awoke the next day with bandages wrapped around his head, torso and left shoulder; unable to move. That’s because Twilight and Rainbow Dash had wrapped themselves around him. Twilight slowly opened her eyes once she felt Spike squirming under her. “S-Spike?” Twilight said softly as she rose up a bit. “Spike, are you okay? You’re not in any pain are you?”

“I’m fine, Twi.” he answered. “A little sore, but fine.”

Twilight gave Spike a soft smile which quick faded away. “Spike, why didn’t you tell us? Why did you feel you had to keep this to yourself?” Spike knew what she was talking about. He really didn't want to talk about it, but knew Twilight wasn't going to let it go until he comes clean. Oh well, time to get this over with.

“I.......I thought that if I did, you guys would think I was being, petty.” he admitted.

“What? Why would you think that?” she asked.

“Well........whenever we’re out saving the day, you guys never asked to be thanked, or to be given some kind of appreciation award. You do it because it’s the right thing to do.” he explained. “So.....I thought that if I said something then........”

“We’d think you were acting like a petty, selfish child.” Rainbow said while keeping her head down and eyes close. “That’s what you thought, right?”

Spike nodded.

“Spike, you know we would never think that of you.” Twilight said while nuzzling against his neck. “Ever since you’ve joined us three years ago, you’ve become more than just a part of this team. You’re a part of this family. And even if the public doesn’t appreciate you, we sure as hell do.” Twilight finished by giving Spike a small peck on the cheek; causing him to blush a bit.

“But you know Twilight, this is kind of our fault too.” Rainbow said with a bit of sadness. “I mean, the signs were there and we didn’t pick up on it.”

“Rainbow.” Spike said softly.

“She’s right, Spike.” Twilight added. “We should have noticed ever since they put up that giant statue of us, but instead, we went on like nothing was wrong. I can’t believe we let our egos blind us to what was going on. We should have been better than that.”

Twilight grabbed Spike’s hand and gave it a light squeeze while Rainbow held onto him a bit tighter. “But it’s true.” he said. “If I did talk about it with you girls about it, then it would come off as being petty and selfish. I mean, when I first joined this team, all I really wanted to do was make a difference, but.......well.......it all changed. I’ve even thought about quitting the team from time to time.”

Both Twilight and Rainbow sat up and stared at Spike after hearing what he just said. Was he serious? Was he really thinking about leaving if things continued on this way?

“NO!” Rainbow yelled. “You can’t quit! If you do, I’ll kick your ass!”

“I didn’t say I was quitting, I said I was thinking about it.” Spike defended.

“But why?!” she asked.

“I was thinking that I should take some time away from all this to really figure out why I joined in the first place.” he explained. “I mean, did I join because I wanted praise, or did I do it just to make a difference?”

“Well, isn’t obvious?!” Rainbow yelled. “You did it to make a difference. Look at all the times we’ve saved the city, you’re normally the first one to come up with a plan to take down the bad guys. Every superpowered being we went up against, you’ve faced them head on because you knew it was the right thing to do!”

Spike noticed tears starting to form in Rainbow’s eyes. She made it evident that she didn’t want him to leave. Also, she did have a point, when he joined up he didn’t care about getting praise from the public, he only cared about keeping people safe from danger. Putting his life on the line in the face of danger so that others may live, that’s what he’s been doing for the past three years, but then, he started to see that the people only cared about those who have superpowers. In their minds, you’re only a hero if you have things like super strength, super speed, etc. Anything less and you’re just a pretender.

“Spike.” Twilight spoke up. “I understand why you’re thinking about leaving, but you can’t.” She placed her hand over Spike’s; squeezing tightly before speaking again. “You’re an important part of this team. You’re the glue that holds us together. Remember, Chasm, and how he turned us all against each other?”

“Chasm, The Master of Chaos? How could I forget?” Spike answered. “He nearly took over everything, by brainwashing you girls into hating each other.”

“But because of you, he didn’t.” she continued. “Spike, you were the one to break through his spell and bring us all back together. You saved not only the city, but us as well.”

“And what about when Mane-iac zapped all our powers away with her ray gun?” Rainbow chimed in. “You were the one who kept the city safe while we searched for her.”

“And after we found her, you managed to reverse what she did to us.” Twilight said while holding up Spike’s hand. “Spike, you’ve accomplished so much, don’t let them take that away from you.”

“Twilight’s right.” came a voice. All three turned towards the bedroom door to see Applejack and the rest of the girls standing there; still in their pajamas. “Especially after y’all saved a group of people from a bank heist.”

“He what?!” Twilight said in shock.

“It’s all over the news.” said Fluttershy. “Earlier before we met at the Mayor’s office, three men tried to rob the bank. The police are saying they saw someone fight off the robbers and save the hostages, but he vanished in a puff of smoke before they could get to him."

"It's obvious Spike was the one who saved all those people." said Pinkie.

“Only to get berated afterwards for not having any powers.” Spike growled as he lowered his head; remembering all the things that was said to him. Rarity walked over to the left side of his bed and sat next to him. Putting her arms around his neck, she held him close and gave him a small peck on the cheek. He slowly lifted his head back up see all the girls in bed with him. Spike blushed as he realized the position he was in. There he was, in his room with not only six of the most popular, but the most beautiful girls in school in bed with him. This is what all the guys at school would dream about. Hell, who wouldn’t? Spike’s face started to redden a bit once he felt Pinkie, to his right, gently wrap her arms around him and rest her head against his shoulder.

“Spike, you’re the bravest, most badass person I know, you don’t need powers.” Pinkie said. “And if they can’t see that, well, that’s on them.”

“Pinkie’s right, you don’t need to prove anything to anybody, Spike.” said Rainbow. “We know how awesome you are. So please, don’t leave.”

“They don’t decide on whether or not you’re a hero, Spike, you do." Rarity said as Rainbow, Twilight, Applejack, and Fluttershy all moved in closer to Spike; causing the blush on his face to darken a bit. Before he knew it, he was right in the middle of a group hug. A hug that caused him to fall backwards; bringing the six girls on top of him. Each one of the girls shifted their bodies as to not cause Spike any discomfort. He was still injured after all. Twilight moved to lay her forehead against Spike’s; unintentionally grinding her hips against his. The feeling of the girls’ soft skin on his combined with Twilight’s movements caused Spike’s shorts to get a bit uncomfortably tight. Spike could feel his male instincts rising up inside of him; telling him to capitalize on the situation. He didn’t want to. He didn’t want to take advantage of his friends like that, but the feeling was too strong to resist. Spike slowly managed to raise his right hand and gently placed over Twilight’s back; slowly moving it downward towards her perfectly round rear.

“What the hell am I doing?!” he thought to himself; stopping his hand right at her waist. “I can’t do this. I can’t take advantage of my friends like this!”

“Spike, is something wrong?” asked Twilight as she lifted her head to face him. “You’re not in any pain are you?”

“No, not at at all.” he answered nervously. Twilight smiled and went to lay her head back on top of his; once again unintentionally grinding against him. This time, Twilight shot her head up as she felt something hard poke against her. Looking down, she saw Spike’s redden face as he tried to not make eye contact. Her eyes widen a bit as a light blush started to appear on her face.

“Um, Spike?” she said.

*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*

Before she could say anything else, the alarm had gone off signaling that the city was in trouble. “Alright girls, let’s suit up.” Twilight announced. As everyone got up and prepared to move out, Twilight pushed Spike back down. “Not you, mister. You’re still injured.” she said. Each of the girls gave Spike a hug and a small peck on the cheek before leaving. Twilight was the last one to do so. “Spike?” she said as she started blushing. “W-we’ll talk about that later.”

Spike had no idea what she was talking about until he looked down and saw that his little buddy was sticking straight up in his shorts. “GAH!” he yelled as he quickly covered up. Twilight giggled and gave one last peck on the cheek before leaving to go out on the field. “I can’t believe that just happened.” Spike thought as he stared at the ceiling.

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

Three hours had passed since the girls left and Spike was starting to wonder what was taking them so long. “They must be at some kind of celebration or something.” he thought as he reached for the remote. Turning on the tv, the first thing Spike saw was a news reporter in a state of panic while explosions were happening behind him. He turned up the volume to hear what was going on.

“It’s pandemonium out here! Three of the Power Ponies are in a heated battle against Dark Armor!”

“Three?” said Spike as he watched on.

“Dark Armor has taken out half the team! We have no idea how he’s doing it, but the Power Ponies can’t seem to keep up with him!”

*BOOM*

“OH MY GOD, RUN!”

The camera was shaking violently as the reporter and the camera man ran for their lives as something close to them was happening. The sounds of screaming civilians could be heard before it cut back to the studio. The two reporters tried to keep their composer as the look of unadulterated shock was worn on their faces. Spike, scared for his friends, decided to hell with his injuries and leapt out of bed. It was time to suit up.

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

In the middle of downtown Maretropolis, Twilight, Rarity, and Applejack, stood in front of Dark Armor; preparing for the next round. Dark Armor’s armor was a black and red metal that looked like something straight out of a fantasy novel. The three girls were barely able to stand after fighting him for three rounds. The way he moved, dodged, and countered their attacks was as if he knew what they were going to do before they did anything.

“D-dammit.” Applejack panted. “Nothin’ we do affects him.”

“There’s gotta be a weak point on his armor somewhere.” said Twilight. “We can’t give up.”

Dark Armor taunted the girls by laughing loud and hard; preparing for his next attack. The girls braced themselves as he charged at them. After leaping in the air, he came down with both hands locked together ready to hammer the girls into the ground. Rarity used her ring to put up a barrier to block the attack, however, Dark Armor’s was powerful enough to shatter it. Landing in front of the girls, he grabbed Applejack and threw her into a police cruiser. He then turned his gaze towards Rarity who used her ring to encase him within a bubble. With a single punch, he broke through then blasted Rarity with an energy beam that mimicked her own; sending her flying off. With his back turned towards her, Twilight shot him with a powerful ice beam. Half his armor was frozen in ice, but that didn’t stop him from hitting Twilight with the back of his hand; sending her up into the air. He quickly grabbed her leg then slammed her down before throwing her into a nearby building. Dark Armor started to make his way towards her when he was suddenly hit from behind with a lightening bolt. He turned around to see Rainbow Dash panting heavily and barely able to stand up. Dark Armor didn’t say anything as he raised his hand and fired black lightening at her; sending her flying into light pole.

Dark Armor soon looked up into the sky as a dark shadow appeared over him. He saw the hulked out Fluttershy coming down on top of him with a powerful fist. To her and everyone’s shock, Dark Armor caught her fist then flipped her over his shoulder; slamming her into the ground on her back. Fluttershy roared as she quickly grabbed hold of him and threw him down the street. Dark Armor quickly recovered but was soon attacked by a pink and white blur. He chuckled as the blur continued hitting him from all sides until he countered by cutting it in the leg. Pinkie yelled out in pain as her speed came an end. She fell face first to the ground and rolled a few feet before coming to an end. With Pinkie down, Dark Armor could now focus on Fluttershy who was running towards him at full speed. He countered by running towards her at the exact same speed, and in one move, he clothesline her; sending her onto her back and knocking her out. Fluttershy reverted back to her normal size a few seconds later.

Dark Armor was soon wrapped with a golden lasso to be kept in place while he was being hit with a barrage of ice daggers. Twilight and Applejack had recovered enough to continue the fight, but Dark Armor managed to overpower them by grabbing the lasso and pulling Applejack towards him. In one move, he threw her into the air hitting Rarity who was trying to sneak up on him from behind and blasting Twilight with another ice beam; sending her a few feet back. As he started to walk towards Twilight, he prepared to release another powerful ice beam to finish her off, but then suddenly a couple of silver balls, the size of marbles, landed at his feet. He looked at them confused as to where they came from, but quickly figured out that someone threw them at him.

*BOOOOOM*

The balls exploded catching Dark Armor off guard and blowing him back, Out of no where, a small metal object was thrown and embedded itself on the back of his neck. Seconds later, a huge jolt of electricity started shocking him. He yelled out in pain before the assault stopped. When it was all over, he looked around and saw that the girls were gone. He growled in anger then stormed off to find them.

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

The six girls gathered together in a nearby alley in order to catch their breath along with the person who saved them. “Spike, what are you doing here?!” asked Twilight.

“I heard on the news you girls were having trouble with Dark Armor, so I came to help.” he explained.

“But, you’re injured.” Twilight argued.

“That doesn’t matter. I can’t just stay back while my friends are getting thrashed around.” he said. “Now what’s up with Dark Armor? How’s he getting the best of you?”

“He’s somehow able to copy our powers.” answered Rarity. "It's got to that armor of his."

“If I could get close enough, I could scan his armor; maybe even hack it somehow.” Spike suggested. “But i’ll need you girls to distract him long enough for me to do so.”

“Sounds like a plan.” said Rainbow. “Let’s do it.”

“Spike, I don't like the idea of you being out on the field while you injured, but if this is the only to take down Dark Armor then promise me one thing.” said Twilight. “If things start to get too hairy, then get out of there. I don’t want you getting anymore injured than you already are.”

“Got it, and don’t worry about Fluttershy, i’ll keep her with me until she wakes up.” Spike said while giving his friends the thumbs up. With masks back on, the Power Ponies leapt back into action.

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

Dark Armor rampaged through the streets; destroying everything in his path while looking for the Power Ponies. This was the closest he’s ever been to defeating them and he wasn’t going to let this chance of a lifetime slip away. He dug his hands into the street, pulled out a large chunk of concrete, and threw it at a nearby business. Thankfully, the people all scattered towards the back before the object hit. At that point, more cops and even a swat team arrived on scene. They wasted no time in drawing their weapons and opening fire. The bullets simply bounced off the armor; not even leaving so much as a dent on it. Dark Armor once again picked up a large piece of concrete and threw it at the cops who quickly ran away as the object crushed their vehicles; some of which exploded in impact. His then turned his sights towards a bakery where two small children cowered in fear. He started making his way towards them; cracking his knuckles as terrible thoughts crossed his mind. As he got closer, he was hit upside the head with an ice javelin. “GET AWAY FROM THEM!”

Dark Armor turned to see five of the Power Ponies ready for a another round. He moved to the middle of the street just as a couple police officers grabbed the children and brought them to safety. As Dark Armor stood there and waited for one of the girls to make a move, high up on a nearby building Spike hid out of sight as he put on a pair of wrap around shades and pulled out a cell phone like object that connected to it. Both items were created by Spike which allows him to scan and hack his enemies. Spike touched the right side of the shades and immediately started scanning Dark Armor. “Spike, how’s that hack coming?” Rainbow asked through the com in his ear.

“Scanning now.” he answered.

Down on the street, the girls stood like statues in front of Dark Armor; giving Spike as much time as he needed to finish with the scanning. Suddenly, shot from a gun went off and the bullet hit Dark Armor in the back of his head. The bullet bounced off the armor; not even leaving so much as a scratch. The armored villain turned to see who attacked him and witnessed a police officer reloading his gun. Other officers ran on scene with their weapons drawn and opened fire. “What that hell are they doing?!” yelled Rainbow Dash as she gathered lightening around her fist.

“Rainbow WAIT!” Twilight yelled as Rainbow charged at Dark Armor. The armored villain quickly noticed Rainbow and countered by launching a lightening blast at her; knocking her into a nearby building. As Dark Armor turned his attention back towards the cops, the girls saw they had no choice but to engage and another round before Spike had the chance to finish scanning. Spike watched as his friends engaged Dark Armor. “No, it’s too early.” he said. Spike grabbed Fluttershy and moved her out of the sun before hopping over building tops in order to catch up to the others. As soon as he made it to the third building, he fell to his knees and groaned in pain; clutching onto his sides. “S-SHIT!” he said. Fighting through the pain as he stood back up, Spike continued to get back in range to finish his scanning. Back on the ground, Applejack was thrown into Rarity just as Twilight shot off another ice blast to which Dark Armor countered with an ice blast of his own; knocking Twilight back. While Dark Armor was distracted with Twilight, Rainbow managed to land behind him with lightning bolts surrounding her fist. In a single move, she punched Dark Armor in the back of his head; sending him flying through the air. The armored villain quickly flipped his body around in mid air and landed on his feet; his hand digging into the street and pulling out another huge chunk of concrete. He threw it at Rainbow who quickly countered by unleashing a wave of lightning strikes to blow it up. However, in doing so, she left herself open to a direct attack. Dark Armor blasted her with another one of his lightning blast; sending her into a cop car. Groaning in pain, Rainbow rose back up only to be hit again.

Spike finally got back in range and continued on with his scanning. “A-almost there.” he groaned.

“Spike, y’all done scannin’ yet?!” Applejack asked over the com.

“Just hold him off a little bit longer.” he answered.

“Ah don’t know if we can.” she said.

*BOOOOOOOM*

Spike looked up just in time to see that a couple police cars had exploded; one of which had landed next to a van with a family of four; trapping them next to a gas tank. “Oh no!” he yelled.

“What.......what is it?!” asked Twilight.

“Around the corner, there’s a family trapped next to the gas tank!” he yelled. "Hurry and to them before it explodes!"

“Got it!” she said.

While Dark Armor was busy with Rainbow, Twilight took this time to run around the corner; preparing a ice attack. Once she saw the trapped family, she fired an ice blast to take out the fire. She ran over to the van and got the family out; telling to get as far away from the fight as possible.

Pinkie Pie ran circles around Dark Armor in an attempt to slow him down, but he managed to grab hold of her hair and yank her to the ground. She quickly rolled out of the way just as his foot came down; thwarting the attempt at crushing her head. Out of nowhere, a golden glowing rope wrapped itself around him; holding him in place just as a glowing purple construct of a hammer made by Rarity came down on him. Dark Armor managed to get his right arm free and grabbed the purple construct before it hit him; breaking it before turning his attention towards Applejack. He didn’t get the chance to do anything cause Rainbow Dash came down on him with a lightning strike; bringing him down to one knee. Looking up at Rainbow, he unleashed a powerful wave of lightning hitting all three girls and blowing them away.

Back up on the building, Spike’s scanning was now complete. Now he could see how his armor worked and form a plan to counter him. “Everyone, I have a plan.” he said into his com. “Twilight, I need you to get near Dark Armor; I’ll meet you there. Everyone else, keep him busy till I get in place.”

“T-That won’t be too hard.” Rainbow said sarcastically.

Pinkie Pie used her speed to catch Dark Armor in a pink vortex, however, the armored villain managed to trip her, grab her by the hair, and throw her into a building. This allowed Applejack to run up to him from the side and deliver a surprise uppercut; forcing the villain to stumble backwards. Rainbow charged at him from above, but he quickly dodged out of the way as she came down. As Rainbow punched the ground and caused a small crater, Dark Armor fired yet another wave of lightning at the two girls; causing them to yell in pain. He quickly looked over at Rarity and made a construct of a black fist and hammered her into the ground. He so busy with the girls, that he didn’t notice Twilight standing behind him.

Spike landed from the building; clutching his side as pain ran through his body. Clenching his teeth, he fought through the pain and started to run towards Twilight just as Dark Armor moved to face her. “Come on, Spike, COME ON!” he thought as he got closer to her. “NOW!” Spike jumped and pushed Twilight out of the way just as Dark Armor looked in their direction. As Spike hit the ground, he pressed a button on his device which caused sparks to shoot from Dark Armor’s armor. The armored villain stuck out his hand in order to blast Spike with an ice beam, but nothing happened. He turned to the other girls and attempted to use their powers against them, but nothing happened.

“I-In case y-you’re wondering.......I hacked your suit.” Spike explained as his body started to feel pain. “P-Pretty clever, building a suit that copies all of y-your enemies powers just by scanning them, b-but I n-noticed one problem. You can only scan one enemy at a time!” Spike chuckled smugly as he struggled to stand up; trying his best not to show how much pain he was actually in. “A-And now, your suit is permanently locked o-on to m-me.” he continued. “A-And in case you haven't figured it out, I have no powers!” Dark Armor was beyond furious and tackled an already injured Spike to the ground. Spike screamed as the pain he was already feeling increase ten fold. Dark Armor then grabbed him by the neck and threw him into a street pole. At this point, Spike coughed of a bit of blood as he struggled to stand up. “R-R-Right n-now, y-you’re.........just like m-me, but t-there’s one d-difference, y-you know what t-t-that is?” Spike pulled out a small detonator and looked at Dark Armor with an evil smile. The armored villain stopped in his tracks and looked down to see that Spike had managed to stick three beeping devices into his waist. It must have happened when he grabbed him. At that point, Spike was wrapped into a purple bubble before saying five final words to Dark Armor. “I’M A POWER PONY, ASSHOLE!”

*click*

*BBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM*

Dark Armor was caught in an explosion that destroyed many empty buildings and cars that sent him flying through the air; most of his armor falling off him. The villain hit the ground hard, and struggled to stand up, but the fight wasn’t over. Applejack used her golden rope to trap him while Pinkie used her super speed to constantly hit him from all sides at once; tearing off what little armor he had left, except for his helmet. Applejack then gripped her rope and swung Dark Armor towards Rainbow and Twilight who fired a combine attack of ice and lightning; striking the villain and sending him toward Rarity. Rarity came in with a construct of a big purple fist and hit him with a massive uppercut into the air. As Dark Armor’s body flew up like a rag doll, he came across something he did not want to see. A large hulk-like creature grabbed him by the head and slammed him back into the ground where it pummeled him over and over. Fluttershy released a large growl as she stood over Dark Armor’s beaten body. The battle was now over and the heroes had won. The citizens of Maretropolis came out of hiding and surround the Power Ponies; cheering on and showing their appreciation.

Spike slowly managed to rise to his feet only to be knocked over as more and more people showed up. “Hey watch it you!” yelled a male citizen.

“Hey, go play pretend somewhere else!” yelled a female citizen.

Spike was took weak to even respond to anything they told him. There were only two things he wanted right now, his friends and a quadruple bypass cheeseburger. Spike leaned against a building in order to stand up as he tried to make it to his friends. Little by little, step by step, he inched closer towards them. Breathing heavily, the pain he was feeling was one he wouldn’t wish on anyone; not even the bullies at school. Spike stopped moving in order to give himself sometime to rest. Taking a deep breath, he pushed himself off the building and began walking towards the crowd of people. He didn’t get far when more people noticed him. “Hey, it’s the pretender again!’ yelled a male citizen.

“Hey, go home!” yelled a female. “You didn’t do anything! Quit acting hurt!”

“Take off that fake blood!” yelled another female.

The crowd erupted with boos as Spike walked by, however, he paid them no mind. All he wanted right now was to be with his friends. He didn’t get far though, as three muscled men stood in his way. “Why don’t you do us all a favor and crawl back into the little hole you came out of, pretender.” one of them said. Spike said nothing and proceeded to walk pass them. That’s when one of them grabbed Spike’s left arm and twisted it; causing him to scream out. Before anything else could’ve been or done, a large hulk-like hand grabbed the muscle man by his head and proceeded to squeeze it a bit; causing him to scream out in a high pitch voice. “Let.....Humdrum.....go!” Fluttershy growled in a threatening tone. The muscle man did as he was told and released Spike from his grip. Spike fell forward into Twilight’s arms.

“We got you Humdrum, we got you.” she said. Spike looked up at her and smiled before closing his eyes and passing out.