Supports: Heroes for Harmony

Chapters

Chapter 1: The First Day (Edited: 12/13/2021)
Chapter 2: Opening Assessments (Edited: 12/28/2021)
Chapter 3: Prison Break

Chapter 1: The First Day (Edited: 12/13/2021)

“Alright folks, you know the drill! You’re inside a bank, and we have guns. I’m assuming you’ve seen movies, so that should tell ya what we're here for and what we want you to be doing.”

A frightened crowd of Canterlot citizens shuddered and screamed as three heavily armed men in black ski masks and turtlenecks moved in through the main doors of the bank. The robber leading the trio fired his semi-automatic at the ceiling. “Perhaps I was being too vague. Get on the floor and give us the fucking money!”

The crowd of bank patrons did as commanded, each lowering themselves to the floor. The robber broke away from his partners, leaving them to watch the crowd and entrance to the building respectively. Pointing his gun at the teller sitting behind the glass, he demanded, “bills, all of them. In the bag. NOW.”

A large duffel bag was thrown on the counter, giving the teller no excuse to linger. Rushing winds blowing the bank doors open suddenly drew the robbers’ attention.

“Excuse me, I was hoping to stop by and make a quick deposit, but if you’re busy right now with other clients I could come back later?”

The robber turned to see someone new had entered the bank. He was dressed in a suit of body length spandex, with a dark blue portion covering him from the waist down and a crimson red portion covering his top. A bronze breastplate wrapped around the crimson material and similar looking running shoes covered the ends of the blue leggings. But his most defining feature was the Roman helmet that made him look like a centurion with a black reflective visor.

The robber blinked at the new arrival in astonishment. “How the hell did you get in here?” He turned towards his buddy who was guarding the door. “You were watching the door. How the hell did he get in here?!”

The Roman dressed man only chuckled to himself in response. “Now you see, only a person who didn’t know who I am would ask that question. Which I really doubt is the case because, well… I’m a pretty big deal.”

All three robbers pointed their guns at the man, each laying their finger on the trigger, ready to fire. “Well then why don’t you enlighten us. It’ll make it easier to carve it out on your headstone when we’re done with you.”

The man tilted his head and smiled at the robber. “They call me Day-Runner, and it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

They fired, only to find him missing from the scene the second they took their fingers off the triggers. The robber who had been talking felt a sudden tap on the back of his shoulder.

“I think you dropped these.” The robber jumped back in surprise to see Day-Runner standing behind him completely unharmed. The centurion speedster then opened his fist dropping a handful of bullets to the ground.

The robber couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “No fricking way... you’re a super?”

“What? The costume didn’t tip you off?” Day-Runner then coiled his fist back before launching it forward directly into the robber’s nose, sending him spinning through the air before falling on his face unconscious.

The other two robbers lifted their weapons and shook as they got ready to fire. Day-Runner shot at them with blinding speed, causing one robber to scream in terror, before they both started shooting. Day-Runner seemed to weave between the oncoming bullets like a horse between a line of standing poles, before coming down upon the second robber a near millisecond after the first.

He delivered a powerful punch to the robber's gut, making him double over before finishing him off with a strike of his knee to his opponent’s face. He turned towards the final robber, who was now shaking so hard the poor thug could barely hold his gun.

Day-Runner walked towards the final robber at a more casual speed. The act of nonchalance seemed to unnerve the robber even more than his super speed did. He grabbed the barrel of the robber’s gun. “Mind if I look at that for a second?”

He pulled the weapon from the robber’s hands before he could respond, and just as quickly as the robber was able to blink, disassembled the semi-automatic to its most basic components. Day-Runner chuckled at the robber’s shocked expression. “I must be getting rusty.” He boasted. “Back in the day, I could have done that in half the time. Maybe I should get back into more intense training? What do you think?”

The robber didn’t answer, and instead only continued to stare at the superhero. Day-Runner smirked, “this is the part where you lay on the ground and surrender.” He whispered to the criminal. The sounds of police sirens cried out from the outside. “The boys in blue will be in to pick you up shortly.”

The robber only nodded before doing as he was told. The rest of the crowd however soon picked themselves up and cheered for their super-powered savior.

“You’re awesome!”

“Welcome back to Canterlot, Day-Runner!”

“That was amazing! You were always my favorite superhero!”

“Marry me!”

Day-Runner lifted his hands in an attempt to calm everyone down. “Thank you everybody! It feels good to be back! But I’m sorry to say, I can’t stay. As impossible as it seems, I’m actually late for a very important engagement.”

“No! You’re supposed to marry me!”

“...And by that I mean an appointment. A very important, platonic appointment among friends and government officials.” In that brief moment of calm after giving his answer, Day-Runner chanced a glance towards a clock he noticed on the nearby wall. Assuming it wasn’t fast, the hands told him that he was almost unforgivably late. He glanced back towards his fans, who were beginning to regain their joy-filled fire. He gave them an apologetic smile before leaning forward into a starting stance. “Sorry folks, but I’ve got a run!” He bolted out of the bank and down the street before anyone in the crowd could give him a response.

“Oh my god! We just heard the Day-Runner give his comic book catchphrase in person! Best. Day. Ever!”

The run proved to be rather short and easy by Day-Runner’s usual standards, even though most others would consider sprinting across the length of an entire city within a few minutes to be a near impossible feat. He only came to a stop once he reached the outskirts of the city limits, where a large, ivy-league building, with multiple floors and actual ivy growing on its walls, sat.

Before the stairs that lead to the front doors of the building stood a large, imposing mountain of a Scandinavian man. He wore a brown leather tunic that was cut to show off the build of his arms, and a pair of hairy tights that looked like it had been skinned off the back of a mammoth. His muscular legs also stood on display with a pair of shin-high leather boots that looked reminiscent of traditional viking garb. One might even consider him a viking in modern times, as a glowing golden battle ax was strapped to his back and held in place by a black plastic holster.

The large bearded man turned towards the runner as he came to a stop, just down the path. He gave the runner a smile, before walking towards his fellow hero.

“So, the great Day-Runner finally decides to grace us with his presence. I was beginning to think you weren’t going to show up, my friend.” His voice was deep and rumbling, and appropriately so for a man his size, standing a good foot taller than Day-Runner’s average height.

The odd sound of wheezing could be heard coming from the Day-Runner as he doubled over in an attempt to catch his breath. This caused the man to raise a brow in confusion. In all his years of knowing the superhero, he had never seen him get winded unless put under the most strenuous of circumstances.

Raising his hand to stroke his beard, he questioned his companion. “You seem out of sorts, Magnus. I can hardly believe a long distance run like that has taken so much out of you.”

“We’re not as young as we used to be, Rock.” Day-Runner lifted himself back up to crack the lower sections of his back in an attempt to relieve his muscles. “I can’t just run halfway around the world at the drop of a hat anymore. Doing this takes a lot out of me now-a-days, it’s one of the main reasons we decided to set up this school.”

The larger man’s grin narrowed into a grimace, before he reluctantly nodded in agreement. “This is true, though I’d rather not have to admit it. The once great days of the glorious Einherjar are behind him, and though he is still ready and willing to protect the world from tyranny, it is time for a new generation to step in and fight the battles he soon will not be able to.”

“It’s good to hear you waxing poetic again, big guy. It’s definitely been way too long.” Day-Runner lifted his hand up above his head and placed it on Einherjar’s shoulder. The differing heights of the two supers proved to make the situation rather awkward, as to reach his shoulder Day-Runner had to stretch his body to its full extent just to perform the gesture.

“Come, the others are waiting for us inside for the first assembly of the year. Just to warn you, Star Swirl isn’t very happy with how late you decided to be. Expect a very long and hurtful scolding when the assembly is over.”

Day-Runner laughed halfheartedly. “It’s nothing I haven’t handled before. That old fart is full of hot air. As soon as he lets it out, things will go back to normal, as if nothing had ever happened.” Though he could lie through his teeth, he couldn’t ignore an amount of worry that was starting to grow within his own mind. Day-Runner couldn’t help but think that nothing was ever going to be the same ever again.

Thirty minutes earlier…

“Shining, please hurry! We’re going to be late!”

A stylish, crystal blue sedan was speeding through the countryside at a rate roughly twenty miles faster than the normal speed limit for the area. Ironically, it was also being driven by one the city’s most respected police officers as he tried to get his younger sister and brother to a very important location.

“Twily, I know!” Shining Armor responded. “I promised I’d get you there on time, and I will!”

The man driving the vehicle was dressed in a pressed, white collar shirt and black tie with a nice pair of matching slacks. One would almost assume he could never be involved with a dangerous profession like police work, just based on his gentle demeanor and appearance alone. But the toned physique hidden just below his tightly fitting shirt told a different story.

In the backseat, his sister was nervously pulling on a lock of her hair. She was a timid, mousy looking girl, with a large pair of thick-rimmed glasses framing her dark magenta eyes. Her hair was long and done up in a ponytail, with a pink stripe running up the left side of her bangs all the way to the end of her braid. She was wearing a sophisticated dark purple long sleeve undershirt and light blue sweater vest, with a prim-and-proper black skirt and knee-high stockings. It looked more like she was going to be attending a business conference rather than her first day of school.

A yawn was heard by both the driver and his passenger, as Twilight turned to look at her younger brother. “Do you guys have to be so loud, I’m trying to get some more sleep before I have to sign my lives away to the tyrannical education system.”

“I wouldn’t be shouting if you didn’t make us late by sleeping in again, Spike!” Twilight countered. “And you shouldn’t be sleeping anyways! You’re drooling all over your outfit!”

The boy sitting next to Twilight was obviously younger than his older sister, roughly by three years if their heights were any indication. Sitting down, they seemed almost equal, but standing up his forehead only managed to reach to her shoulder. He was dressed in a nice dress jacket with the sleeves rolled down to his elbows, with a white undershirt to bring out the navy color. His legs were covered with a pair of charcoal jeans, and his feet a pair of flat bottom sneakers. Truly anyone would say that this young man was not lacking anywhere in the style department, but his clothes were not his most distinguishing feature. No, that would be the smooth scaly skin that covered his body, his sharp pointed teeth and the long prehensile reptilian tail that measured out to the length of his upper body.

“No, you’d still be shouting even if we had left on time. I’m just giving you an excuse, so you don’t have to feel guilty about it later when sign up is all said and done.” He smirked at his older sister. “You should be thanking me. Aren’t I being a thoughtful baby brother?~”

Twilight only continued to scowl at him. “If we’re late for our first day at the Pillars’ Institute for Metaphysical Learning, I will never forgive you.” She pulled a handkerchief out from seemingly nowhere. “Now hold still while I clean you up.”

Twilight rubbed the handkerchief violently against Spike’s spit stained collar. “Gah! Get off me Twilight!”

“You look like a slob and a simpleton! A Sparkle does not present themselves that way!”

“Don’t be quoting mom at me!” Spike tried to break free of Twilight’s hold. “Blast! Unhand me vile woman!”

“What did you just call me?!”

Shining Armor twisted his head slightly and shouted over his shoulder. “Both of you knock it off or I am turning this car around! Then nobody gets to go to school! Is that what you want? Huh?!”

Spike gave his brother a baffled expression. He then quirked his eyebrow in thought as if deeply contemplating if his brother was being sarcastic or not. “Actually…”

“WE’RE HERE!” Twilight exclaimed in glee.

The car came to a halt on the side of a dirt road that led up to the stair of a large ivy covered building. It resembled a posh mansion more than an institution of higher learning, but given the specific qualifications needed to enter the prestigious school, it’s odd appearance was to be expected.

Twilight immediately unbuckled herself and broke out from the car. “I’m going to let the faculty know we’ve arrived. I’ll be back to help you unpack in a little bit.” She slammed the door shut before running off towards the entry stairwell. Spike and Shining Armor shared with each other a pair of flat looks.

“You think we’re going to see her again before we get everything inside?” Shining Armor asked.

“With how gaga she gets on the first day of school, I doubt we’ll see her again till lunch.” Both let out a sigh before exiting the vehicle and heading towards the trunk.

Twilight bounded up the stairwell towards the doors and grabbed the handle with all the excitement of a child opening the door to presents on Christmas morning. She began to pull, only to find the door swing open by itself and accidentally clock her clean in the face.

She fell backwards almost comically, managing to clear the stairs and land on her back against the dirt path beneath her, her glasses somehow managing to fly off, yet perfectly landing back on face after the descent. Spike and Shining Armor, having heard their sister’s squeal, turned to see what was occurring, only to see someone else running to her side before they could.

Twilight felt herself being lifted within someone’s arms as they provided her support. She heard someone ask, “are you okay?” in a hazy sounding voice. She opened her eyes to see a boy holding her, one with short blue hair and a black hoodie with a blue shield and lightning bolt on its sleeve. Twilight began to blush.

The boy asked again, “hey, are you okay?” He looked at her with a concerned expression. “Please don’t tell me I managed to knock out someone on my first day, and it wasn’t a criminal. That will not look good on my superhero resume.”

Twilight began to giggle, whether it was because she actually found his joke funny or the awkwardness of the situation was getting to her, she was uncertain. “No, no, it’s okay. I’m fine, no concussions or anything.” She stuttered.

The boy smiled, before taking her hand in his own and helped lift her back to her feet. “That’s good to hear.” He expressed while rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. “Listen, I’m sorry I hit you back there. I didn’t know someone was going in, while I was going out.” He stretched out his hand casually. “My name’s Flash Sentry, what’s yours?”

Twilight smiled and reached out her own hand taking his. She oddly felt more warm in the face, rather than in the hand, even despite their now combined body heats. “I’m… I’m T-Twilight Sparkle. It’s very nice to look at you… I MEAN, meet you.” She stuttered.

If he had heard her mix up, he was doing a really good job ignoring it because he continued the conversation as if nothing at all was amiss. “I just came out here to grab something I left outside by mistake.” He walked around to the side of the stairs and grabbed a guitar case leaning against the railing. “Don’t know where I’d be without my special lady.” He swung the guitar case over his shoulder so the strap hung lazily against his back. “The opening ceremony is going to be starting soon. I’d get unpacked quickly or you're going to miss the whole thing.”

Twilight suddenly remembered what she was heading into the school to do. Her eyes widened, “Right! Thanks for reminding me.” She explained. Flash only gave her a friendly smile in response.

“No problem. I’ll see you inside.” He walked past her before heading towards the door. He spared her one last friendly glance before heading inside. Twilight started to feel her legs turn into jelly.

“Wow~” She whispered.

Spike and Shining Armor, having watched the whole scene, turned to give each other some perturbed glances. “Oh boy, she’s got it bad.”

“You sure?” Spike asked questioningly.

“Trust me, you spend enough time with Cadence, you learn to spot these things. Twilight’s got the hots for that guy, no questions about it.” Shining nonchalantly stated while pulling boxes out from the trunk.

Spike glanced back towards the door, only to notice Twilight was gone. He grimaced at the idea of Twilight and that guy alone together. “You want me to keep an eye on him? Beat him up if need be?”

“Watch him, but keep your distance.” Shining explained. “It’s Twilight’s decision who she wants to be with, and we have no right to stop her without reason. Still if that blue-haired casanova thinks he’s worthy of our sister, he’s going to have to prove it.” Shining Armor’s tone suddenly turned a bit more dark. “Make sure he plays it straight and respects her, and if not, you send him my way, where I promise no superpowers on this planet can save him.”

A wicked smile began to spread across Spike’s face. “You got it boss.” He stated. “No one messes with our sister and gets away with it.”

Shining Armor chuckled at his little brother’s enthusiasm. “Yeah…” He absentmindedly glanced at his dress watch after pulling all the boxes out of the car. His eyes shot open upon noticing the time. “Shit! We only have twenty minutes to get everything to your rooms before the opening ceremony!” He glanced up at Spike. “You know your room numbers?”

Spike looked back at Shining with an equally horrified face. “I never asked! Twilight was in charge of all the planning!”

Shining Armor began stacking boxes as high as he could carry, which surprisingly reached five boxes high in each arm, as Spike grabbed the rest. “We need to find Twilight and quickly before she chews our heads off because you were an idiot!”

They both took off sprinting as Spike began to shout. “Don’t you go blaming this on me! You had plenty of time to ask her yourself, but you were too busy trying to figure out how to tie your tie properly! You’re twenty-eight and a cop, it should be muscle memory for you by now!”

After ten minutes of random scrambling, coupled with an additional five dedicated to Twilight chewing their heads off, the Sparkle siblings said their goodbyes. Shining Armor explained that he needed to get back to the house and was sorry that he couldn’t be there to see them off, but his wife Cadence was still nursing her pregnancy and couldn’t perform a lot of the tasks she found easy prior to this point in her life. It made him feel better to be there for her on days he could get a day off.

Twilight and Spike nodded their heads to show they understood, and gave him a hug to thank him for all he had done. Upon separating, Shining Armor and his younger siblings sped off in opposite directions, Shining towards his car, and Twilight and Spike towards the school’s auditorium. Though when they arrived it didn’t look much like an auditorium.

The room they had just entered looked more like a personal theater for an eccentric billionaire, complete with several rows of seating for large audiences, and a large synthetic fiber screen sitting behind a stage with a podium built into it. In the front rows they could see the backs of fifteen other students, each with their own distinct build and dress. They seemed to be waiting for the assembly to start because none of the teachers were anywhere to be seen.

Twilight let out a relieved sigh, thankful to all the stars in the heavens that she wasn’t tardy. She and Spike started to make their way down the stairs, when they felt someone push past them with a forceful shove. She was dressed in a black leather jacket and multi-colored skirt, but her most distinguishing characteristic was her long locks of red and gold hair that almost perfectly resembled a still flame.

“Get out of my way.” She grumbled, making her way down the stairs before taking the only open seat in the first row. Twilight and Spike blinked in surprise, as the flame haired girl had just brushed past them like they weren’t even there.

Before they could think any further on the subject, they heard a voice call out to them.

“Hey! Over here!” A soft shout, something not too loud that it would immediately pull the attention of the entire room, but loud enough that it got their attention. Twilight and Spike turned to see a girl in a cowboy hat waving them down.

“We got some seats over here, if y’all like?!” She continued to shout. Spike and Twilight decided to not look a gift horse in the mouth and accepted the cowgirl’s generosity.

They moved towards the second row where they saw the cowgirl sitting alongside a bigger gentleman with a red and brown jacket and white undershirt. She quickly nudged him in the side so they could offer the two new students the edge seats.

“Mac make room, we got some late arrivals comin’ in.” The red-skinned boy looked towards the blond girl, before turning his gaze towards Twilight and Spike. He gave them both a friendly smile before moving over without a word.

Twilight and Spike sat down. “Howdy, Ah’m Jacqueline Apple, but you can call me Applejack.” Applejack raised her hand for Twilight to shake. “And this here is my big brother Macintosh.”

Twilight nervously took Applejack’s hand, only to feel the bones within her fingers practically shattering upon the cowgirl squeezing them with her own.

“OW!” Spike winced at Twilight’s shriek of pain. Big Mac almost instinctively looked over to see if she was alright.

Applejack chuckled sheepishly. “Sorry about that. Sometimes Ah don’t know my own strength when Ah get excited.”

Twilight shook her hand to relieve the pain. She glanced back up to better see the girl in front of her. She was dressed in a white shirt with green shoulders that had a picture of a red apple printed right on her chest. Coupled with a pair of brown leather cowboy boots, she also wore a denim skirt and red belt with several lace patterns sewn into the skirt to give it a distinct country look.

“It’s okay. We’re all here to learn how to better use our powers, right? It only makes sense that some of us would not be in full control yet.” She shot a timid smile towards Applejack. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, and this is my younger brother Spike Sparkle.”

Spike gave them both a friendly wave. “Hey there.”

Applejack and Big Mac both gave him a wave back. “It’s nice to meet ya, partner.” Applejack greeted. Spike sent a curious glance back towards Big Mac.

“You don’t talk much, do ya big guy?” Spike stated with a smirk. Big Mac only shrugged in response.

“It ain’t really a pleasant subject, but the truth is, he can’t.” Applejack explained.

Twilight suddenly looked shocked. “Oh I’m sorry. Spike didn’t mean to-”

“Naw, don’t fret none.” Applejack continued explaining. “What I meant to say was, it’s not really pleasant for him. Big Mac used to be able to talk yer ear off about anything, but ever since he got his powers he’s not allowed to utter a word without express reason.”

Spike raised an eyebrow. “But that doesn’t explain…”

The lights began to dim, drawing everyone’s attention away from the conversations they were holding. “Woah nelly, looks like we’ll need to talk later. Assembly's startin’ up.”

Spotlights flashed on and illuminated the stage, where eight chairs and the single unmanned podium sat. Before any of the students could voice any words of confusion however, eight heroes--each instantly recognizable by their different iconic costumes--stepped out into the light and took a seat. A tall woman, dressed in snow white business attire and heels, walked in front of the other heroes and stood behind the podium. The students waited with baited breath as she began to speak.

“Greetings and welcome to all of you who are attending this, the first ever glorious semester of the Pillars’ Institute for Metaphysical Learning. My name is Celestia Aurora Faustdatter. If you are worried that I seem strikingly familiar to you, do not fret, you probably already know me by my other title… the nova heroine, Sunrise.” A few of the other students cheered and applauded upon hearing the name of one of their favorite superheroes. Celestia was quick to titter at their excitement.

“It is my esteemed pleasure to introduce you all to this new and experimental institution. In these hallowed halls you will learn the general skills needed to start careers and assert yourselves as respectable adults within the outside world. But alongside that, you will also be trained to harness each of your own unique and incredible skills in order to aim them towards a much more adventurous career path… superhero stardom.”

Twilight couldn’t help but smile in elation. This was it, her first step. Soon she and Spike would learn to use their superpowers properly from actual experienced heroes. She could already see them graduating with flying colors, and becoming world-renowned licensed superheroes, respected and adored by people all over the world for their good deeds and incredible feats. Judging by the expressions given by the other students sitting around her, they too were thinking much the same thing.

“You eighteen were all chosen based on descriptions of your skills, the promise we believe you will bring to this career field, and the overall personality you exuded in your applications. You are now the start of this Institute’s history, so we expect a great deal of accomplishment and valor from your performance, and allow me to assure you that we intend to show you the same.”

Celestia turned from her podium and raised her hand before the heroes. “Behind me sit some of the greatest heroes the world has ever seen. They, alongside myself, will be acting as your faculty, mentors, and legal guardians over the course of the year you will be living in this building. Perform admirably, and you will be considered eligible to return for the following years until your training is fully complete.”

The students gave the heroes and heroines a standing ovation. The heroes for their part only sat and smiled, even though some of them deeply wanted to stand up and bask in their students’ praise.

As the applause died down, Celestia turned back towards the students. “Your first and only period for the day will begin in twenty minutes. Please make your way to the back of the school where your instructor will be waiting to lead you to class.”

The students did as they were told, some of them giddily getting up from their seats, while others remained silent as they exited the auditorium. Once everyone had exited from the room, Day-Runner found himself being pulled from his seat by a very angry-looking bearded man.

“Indulge me, Magnus…” The bearded man growled. “How is it that the fastest man alive was almost late for a meeting he was reminded of everyday for the last three months?”

“Wait... were you the one sending me all those emails?” Magnus joked nervously. “Didn’t take you for a tech guy, Star Swirl.”

“Actually, that was me.” Celestia stated, also sounding none too pleased.

“Lest you’ve forgotten, let me remind you, I can see the past just as well as the present.” Starswirl seethed. “I know you’ve been ignoring the reminders that we’ve been sending you!”

“I’ve been busy in Greece. The days have practically been blurring together...”

“No they haven’t. But they will be fairly soon!” He stated, lifting his fingers as if to snap them. “Tell me, have you ever moved so fast the world around seemed to stand still? It’s very lonely, so I imagine it’d be very frightening for a man with such a big ego!”

Before the old man could snap his fingers however, he felt a pair of dainty hands touch his shoulders. Star Swirl turned to see elderly woman smiling at him. “Let him go Star Swirl, he did end up making the assembly after all. Besides I’m sure he had a good reason for not being here exactly on time.”

Magnus nodded almost immediately. “Yeah! I do! I most certainly do!”

With an angry sigh, Star Swirl pushed Magnus back into his chair and rolled his wrist at the speedster. “Speak...”

Magnus let out a relieved sigh. “I was stopping a bank robbery in town before I got here.” The news of this did not make Star Swirl’s brow furrow any less.

“For your sake I hope these men were using military grade explosives and tactical kevlar.”

“Masks and automatics…” Magnus explained. He felt a drop of sweat run down the side of his head as he stated what he was sure would be his death sentence.

Star Swirl exhaled and pinched the bridge of his nose. “This organization has no room for showoffs Magnus. You get in, you get the job done. If complications are involved, you make a plan then execute it as soon as possible before anyone has a chance of getting hurt! God! I’ve been trying to hammer this lesson into your head since you were seventeen!”

“...And now I’m going on thirty nine. Quite the record, huh?”

Star Swirl lifted his gaze to glare into Magnus's frightened joking eyes. For a moment Magnus could have sworn the old man was burning a hole right through to his very soul.

“Stop. Talking.”

Still feeling up to pressing his luck, Magnus decided to bring up one last thing he was able to take away from his fight in the bank. “I stole this from one of the thug’s pockets while I was disassembling his gun.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a red handkerchief, before passing it to Star Swirl.

“Organized Strangers, right? The modern day cowboys?”

Starswirl stared at the handkerchief and frowned. He knew the red cloth calling card all too well.

Like the famous outlaws of the 19th century, the Cowboys, the Organized Strangers were a group of criminals, officials, and gangsters who all used secretly stored red handkerchiefs with invisible coded messages to identify each other. Effectively they were in control of all the major crimes and scandals affecting Canterlot City in recent years. They had never truly been a major threat back in the heroes’ heyday, but ever since the majority of the city’s super criminals were locked up in Tartarus Penitentiary, the Strangers had been unceasing in their opportunity to lay claim to a lot more territory. The fact that they were becoming brave enough to stoop to common bank robbery was a sign of bad things to come.

“Ever since we left Canterlot, things here have been going from bad to worse.” Star Swirl stated.

A woman with a tall beehive haircut strode up to look at the handkerchief. She gave Star Swirl a reassuring smile. “Organized crime is much more difficult to pin down than the criminals and disasters we’re used to fighting. It’s widespread, and evidence is needed to make charges stick. We simply don’t have the time to spend searching for clues to take down the entire mafia, especially when there are more immediate disasters to prevent elsewhere in the world.”

“But at least when we were here, criminals knew to think twice before performing jobs like this in broad daylight.” Star Swirl replied. “We stood as guardians, symbols that people could look up to and know they would be protected. Crime rates were at an all time low merely because we were present in the city.

“But isn’t that why we built this school, Star Swirl?” Celestia asked. “To find protectors for this city, while we are out protecting the rest of the world?”

“There are other heroes out there.”

“But as Celestia said, we are some of the best the world has ever seen.” The elderly woman added. “We need to go where we’re needed, and that means sometimes temporarily leaving the places we care for the most. We have a responsibility as heroes to protect anyone who can’t protect themselves, no matter how far nor how dangerous the task. Isn’t that what you always say?”

Star Swirl paused for a moment, but eventually ended up smiling at the woman. “It is Misty, and thank you for reminding me of this fact.”

He turned back towards his fellow heroes, before placing the handkerchief in his pocket and out of sight, just in case one of the students came back in and noticed it. “This matter will require our immediate discussion, but for now one of us will need to see to the students’ assessment.”

A woman with long flowing blue hair raised her hand to get his attention. “I can handle that, you can brief me on what you learn about the Strangers’ current organization later while someone else is educating the students.”

Celestia smiled. “Thank you, sister. That will be very much appreciated.”

The other woman nodded before heading off through the left exit to the stage. The others began to discuss as they exited through the opposite door on the other side.

“Scuse me... I’m here to see Mr. Rich.”

The woman behind the front desk, looked up from her crossword to address the person that had just entered the Rich Real Estate building.

He was a thin, disheveled-looking young man, but one probably wouldn’t realize that right away with the rugged five-o'clock shadow he was sporting on his chin. He was dressed in a mustard yellow jacket and a bright red undershirt. His hair was done up in a dirty-looking blond bun, which worked to complete the look she could only assume he was trying to go for.

She blinked at the man before shaking her head. It wasn’t her place to go judging other people’s fashion choices, even if they did make him look like a dirty hot dog. She was just the secretary after all.

She placed down her pen and quietly moved her hand towards the buzzer. “Mr. Rich, there's a gentleman here at the front desk who wishes to see you. Should I tell him you're currently busy?”

A low voice with a calming slight southern-drawl answered back over the intercom. “That won’t be necessary darlin’, Ah’m fairly certain Ah know what he’s here for. Send ‘em up, and while you're at it send yourself on break, you deserve an hour or two for lunch.”

The secretary smiled at the prospect. “Right away, sir.”

Taking her finger off the button, she then reached below the desk to pull out a laminated card with an attached lanyard. She handed it across the desk as the young man stepped closer.

“Mr. Rich’s office is on the top floor, just swipe this card in the elevator and press the button, it will bring you there shortly.” With a pleasant smile the young man didn’t recognize on his way in, the secretary picked up her purse from behind the desk and strutted towards the front door. As she moved, she exuded a confidence that made it look like she owned the entire building and was free to come and go as she pleased. As he watched her hips sway, the young man couldn’t help but wonder if what she was suggesting with her movements wasn’t partially true.

Shaking the thoughts from his mind, the young man made his way into the elevator, swiped the card, and pressed the top floor button that would take him up. After a short ride, he found the doors opening to a long hallway with no windows or doors, except for a large pair of ornate double doors sitting opposite the elevator. As he made his way down the hallway, he took note of the large portraits of company CEOs that ran the Rich monopoly before finally stopping at a final portrait of a middle-aged man with slicked black hair and a fine blue suit.

The corners of his mouth turned upwards slightly as he glanced down the line of similar looking portraits, before glancing back to the current one. He muttered to himself, “the resemblance is uncanny.”

He walked towards the door before giving it a knock. He heard the current company CEO call out to him from the other side of the door. “It’s open…”

The young man took the invitation and entered through the door. The man he had seen in the portrait was sitting behind his desk signing a few papers with a ballpoint pen. He didn’t look up from his work, so the dirty blonde assumed he was expected to speak first.

“Umm… the boss sent me to give some news.” He stated nervously as he played with his collar. The man in the suit, better known as Mr. Rich, finally lifted his head to acknowledge the youth in his presence. He cocked an eyebrow at what he saw.

“Who are you?” He asked, but sounded as if he didn’t care to hear the answer.

“I-I’m Z-Zephyr Breeze. I’m the new guy in Rat’s gang, the other’s call me Butter Breeze.”

Mr. Rich didn’t respond, and instead only continued to stare at him with a flat, uncaring expression.

Zephyr chuckled nervously. “Your secretary was really nice. You usually don’t see that with front desk jockeys in this city. She was really… perky.”

The man sighed and went back to signing his papers. He responded with, “my wife is a banshee.”

Zephyr blinked at the statement. “But that has nothing to do with-”

“Trust me.” Mr. Rich stated, cutting him off. “If you have ever met my wife, that statement has everything to do with it.”

The room went silent as Zephyr Breeze tried to come up with a response to the out-of-nowhere statement. Mr. Rich started to tap his pen impatiently. “What are you here to tell me?” He sounded more annoyed.

Zephyr gulped. “The robbery on Clydesdale Avenue was stopped before Ransack, Sever, and Hold Up could make it out with any loot.” He saw Mr. Rich’s hand tightening around his pen. “Word on the street is, they were taken out by a super… they say the Day-Runner is back in Canterlot City.”

Mr. Rich didn’t react to the news like Zephyr expected, instead he just exhaled out his nose and put down the pen he was using to write. Then he opened a drawer on the left side of his desk, reached down into it, and pulled out a glock. Now this was how he was expecting him to react.

“Listen, Zephyr was it? Ah’m going to ask you a few questions, and depending if you answer them right, greatly reduces the chances I make that jacket of yours match your shirt. Do you understand?”

Zephyr nodded almost immediately. “Good answer, now onto the real questions. Do you know how my family made their fortune, boy?”

The frightened teen was hesitant to speak. “Uh… your business, sir?”

Mr. Rich shrugged his shoulders and lazily swung his gun around. “Broad answer, but I’ll accept it. My family did make their money legitimately in land sales, but their real cash cow came out of another kind of business… control.” He narrowed his gaze back towards Zephyr. “You see, I’ve got men doing business deals for me all over this city. Protection rackets, loan sharking, the occasional hit and the procurement of valuable items, are all business ventures that I oversee and get a cut from. It has been done this way since my great, great, great, great, great granddaddy started this business, and has been going strong up till me. Now can you tell me, what happens when superheroes get involved?”

“We lose money, sir.”

“We lose money…” Mr. Rich nodded. “Ah think you meant to say, Ah lose money, boy.”

“Sir..?”

There was a click and suddenly the barrel of the gun was pointed at Zephyr’s head. “Last question, what’s my name?” Zephyr was too scared to answer. “WHAT’S MY GODDAMNED NAME, BOY?!”

“F-Fil… Filthy-” Zephyr could barely make it past his stutter, before Mr. Rich cut him off.

“Filthy Goddamned Rich! As in, fat stacks of cash that should be sitting on this desk! But aren’t because a bunch of morally self-righteous lunatics keep getting in the goddamned way of my business ventures!”

Filthy sighed before placing his gun down his desk. He rubbed his hands over his face before he decided to continue. “Ah apologize Zephyr Breeze, Ah shouldn’t have gone off on you like that. It’s not that Ah’m mad at you, it’s that Ah’m mad at the situation. With more supers back in the city, Ah’m gonna have to focus more of the organization’s energy on firepower. And that’s gonna be a whole new big headache for old Mr. Rich.”

He glanced back up at Zephyr. “Ah’m sending you back to Street Rat with new orders, so listen carefully…”

Before he could continue another knock came at the office door, drawing both their attention. “Ah’m in a meeting.” Mr. Rich called out to the door. “Whatever it is you’ve come to tell me, it can wait till later.”

“I don’t think you’ll want to wait till later, Mr. Rich.” An eerily deep voice rang through the door. “For what I have to tell might just be something you find very opportune.” The door began to swing open as a new person stepped in. “Please forgive my forward nature, but the person working the front desk was missing, so I decided to just let myself in.”

The person that stood before the two men was like nothing they had ever seen. He was shaped like an average man, but without any of the major defining features. No hair, blank white eyes, no… definitive organs, just a smooth coating of what looked like a midnight purple wax that covered his entire body, but still allowed his mouth and body to move uninhibited.

Filthy Rich immediately grabbed his gun and pointed at his newest visitor. “Who the hell are you?!” He threatened. “No one can get up here without a key card, and Ah’m sure as hell certain no one in my building would willingly give a freak like you one!”

The strange man lifted his hand and placed it over his chest. “That hurts, Mr. Rich. You don’t even know me, and already you’re resorting to threats and name calling… and here I thought we could be such good friends.”

He pulled the hammer of his glock. “You didn’t answer my question. Who. The hell. Are you?”

“Like I said, a friend.” The wax-coated man smiled, showing off his shining pearly white teeth. “I heard through the doorway that you were expecting to have some issues with firepower in the near future. Luckily for you, I happen to have a few hundred acquaintances that might be able to sell you some premium weaponry that is guaranteed to take down any super you might run into.”

Mr. Rich started to relax his arm, but kept his gun pointed at the intruder. “My family doesn’t do business with supers, especially not super criminals. No offense to you, but your kind don’t have the greatest record of keeping your word when major deals are involved.”

“None taken, but to be fair, the same could be said about mobsters like you.”

Mr. Rich didn’t respond and instead only continued to point his gun. The man shook his head ruefully. “It’s fine if you don’t want my help. Just know that my friends will be moving some supplies at this location and at this time, if you change your mind.” A little white card was slid across Filthy’s desk. It was no bigger than a business card and had even less information printed on it.

The man began walking towards the door. Filthy Rich picked up the card and began to examine it.

Before the man could grab the door in order to close it behind him, he heard the businessman call out to him. “If I did send some of my boys to this location, what’s my guarantee that I’ll be hearing back from them.”

The man smiled. “It’d be bad for business if we killed our clients, don’t you think?”

“And how much would these weaponry cost?”

“We’ll consider it a trial run. We’ll give your boys the weapons, and for a time you’ll be able to do whatever you want with them. Cause some mayhem, rob some banks, whatever you want. We can talk about payment, once you feel satisfied enough to start making regular shipments.” He turned again and this time actually began closing the door.

“How can Ah contact you?”

The man paused, and gave the mob don his best friendly salesman smile. “I’ll find you in my own time, but don’t worry, I’ll be keeping tabs on your purchases. You can just let me know if you're having any issues with our merchandise the next time I see you, okay? Okay.”

The door shut before Mr. Rich could ask him any more questions. He looked down at the card he was given and studied the name printed on the top, the only thing printed on it besides the location and time.

“The Man in Shadows…” He whispered to himself. Mr. Rich had to admit he was curious, but at the same time he couldn’t help but feel uncertain given how quickly the super had entered and left his office. He was also intentionally dodging questions he didn’t want to answer, Mr. Rich still couldn’t figure out how he was able to enter his office without a key card. Eventually, curiosity won out over caution, and Mr. Rich decided that at least seeing the promised weaponry would be somewhat worth the risk.

He uncocked his gun and turned on the safety so it wouldn’t accidentally fire while in his desk, and placed it back in its drawer. He then turned to Zephyr, who had been smart enough to keep quiet while Filthy was finishing his conversation.

“Change of plans…” Mr. Rich stated. “...here’s what Ah want you to tell Rat.”

Author's Note

This chapter has been recently edited in order to fix some grammatical mistakes as well as change some small aspects of the story. In this case, Flash Magnus's previous superhero name, Marathon Man, has been changed to Day-Runner and Rockhoof's previous superhero name, Vanguard, has been changed to Einherjar (pronounced as ayn-heh-ree-aar).

A special thanks to the people who commented on my "Can someone help me come up with a name for a superhero?" thread post on the Crossover group's forum. I really appreciate all the suggestions you guys gave me. :twilightsmile:

Anyways, as stated before with the original draft of this chapter, this story is largely based on the superhero genre as a whole, so expect to see a lot of references to comics and movies in the coming chapters. Here's the superheroes that inspired the designs for our characters in this chapter:

Day-Runner (Flash Magnus):

Einherjar (Rockhoof):

Zephyr "Butter" Breeze:

Chapter 2: Opening Assessments (Edited: 12/28/2021)

The trip towards the back of the manor proved to be more difficult than the students first imagined, as the multitude of windowless rooms provided no straight route to an exit.

Eventually, everyone decided to simply forgo the search in favor of leaving through the front door. Making their way around the building, a certain feature of the institution immediately caught some of the students' attention.

“We have a pool?!” A pink girl in a white outfit, vaguely similar to that of a ballerina, shouted. “Awesome! Let’s start this first day off with a splash!” Moving her hand to the shoulder of her outfit, she began to shuck it.

“Pinkie!” Applejack shouted, grasping the girl’s hand. “Ah love yer enthusiasm, Ah do, but Ah don’t think that’s what Ms. Faustdatter sent us out here for. Besides, Ah wouldn’t do that right here…” She glanced at the boys among her class, each of them wearing an expression ranging from embarrassment to mild interest. “...There are other people present.”

Spike felt more embarrassed then he probably should have, but that may not have been entirely his fault. “Twilight, could you move your hands away from my eyes please. I can’t see anything, but I’m fairly certain people are staring.” The quiet giggles he heard around him did not help to elevate his concerns.

Applejack grabbed the shoulder of Pinkie’s top and moved it back into its proper place. She whispered, “seriously, sometimes Ah wonder how we could ever be related. It's gotta be some distant kind of relation, because no one on my side of the family has this much issue with decency.”

Pinkie only giggled and responded as if Applejack wasn’t trying to keep their conversation private. “Silly Applejack, I’d never do anything indecent while so many people are around. See?” She pulled her top outwards, inviting Applejack to look down it, which despite the cowgirl’s better judgment, she did. “I always wear a swimsuit under my clothes in case of deep water based emergencies, because as superheroes it is our job to always be prepared for any sort of situation.”

Applejack leaned back and stared at her distant relative in confusion, then began to smile when Pinkie’s weird logic suddenly started to make sense. “Like Ah said Pinkie, Ah love yer enthusiasm.”

Everyone heard a male voice call out to them from outside the crowd. Turning, they saw Flash had walked away from the group, and was now pointing towards something and trying to get their attention.

“There’s something over that way!” He called out. “I think I can see a teacher over there too, so I’m pretty sure that’s where we’re supposed to go.”

No one else had any better ideas, so they decided to follow his hunch.

After a little more walking, the students found themselves standing before a large circular hole that had been dug into the ground. Unlike the pool however, this circle wasn’t filled with water and had a circular ring of cement surrounding its perimeter keeping the surrounding earth out.

The woman standing next to the hole quickly took note of their numbers, while the students were distracted examining the odd structure.

“Greetings students.” The woman addressed them.

The class turned to greet her back, only to immediately grow silent upon realizing who they were talking to.

The woman’s dark blue skin and long flowing hair was colored with the multiple hues of the changing night sky. Her costume was a darker blue, tight fitting, spandex jumpsuit with a black belt. Stripes ran down the sides of her arms and legs from the tops of her shoulders and the collar of her outfit, before reaching the end of her sleeves which were covered by a pair of black gloves. Her most “distracting” feature however, was the large v-shaped opening near the front of her collar that traveled down her body to just above her navel, where a black starburst design sat where the middle of her stomach would be. Her pant legs terminated in a pair of practical black boots.

It was abundantly clear to everyone who stood in close proximity that she was not wearing an undershirt.

“My name is Luna Astra Faustdatter, but you may refer to me as Ms. Luna, or my hero moniker, Dreamwalker.”

Lifting her hands up in front of her chest, the students noticed that she was carrying a clipboard with several pages of notes and a pen. “I will be your instructor for today.”

“Oh my gosh! We’re being taught by the legendary sleeping heroine, Dreamwalker!” Pinkie shot her arms out, grabbing the first person she could get her hands on, which just so happened to be a long haired girl in a blue sundress with pink straps. Shaking her violently, Pinkie exclaimed, “Can you believe it?!”

“I’m glad to see you're excited, but I must ask that you refrain from any further outbursts during the lesson.” Luna waggled her pen at Pinkie. “You will need as much of your energy as you can muster for the coming exercise. Also, I’ve never much cared for that title, the sleeping heroine. I am very much wide awake, so please choose your words more carefully next time.” Pinkie gave a nervous squeak.

Luna lifted her arm from her clipboard and motioned towards the hole. “This structure is what we here at the mansion refer to as “The Pit.” To begin your curriculum, we will be using it to assess your abilities through simple combat training.”

The students collectively blanched upon hearing those two final words. Twilight raised her hand.

“Yes, Miss Sparkle?”

“You’re going to make us fight each other? Actually make us go down in that hole and fight each other?”

“I believe the correct term is sparring, but yes that is essentially the plan.”

Twilight lowered her hand and began to shake. “But I’ve never been in-”

“We don’t expect anything incredible from you just yet. We only wish to see your abilities so we can evaluate your strengths and weaknesses to make your personal lesson plans as effective as possible. If you’re scared, I promise you shouldn’t need be. Despite its name, the Pit is extremely safe.”

Before she continued, Luna closed her eyes and let her body go stiff. The students looked at each other in confusion. Some were considering asking their teacher what she was doing, but before they could voice their questions, a being of blue energy floated out of their instructor’s back.

It had a woman's shape but lacked any distinctive features or even a face to present it's mood. Like Ms. Luna, it had long flowing hair, but instead of looking human, its body was composed of an energy that resembled the night sky at dusk. The students knew this as Luna’s astral form, the form that the sleeping heroine was most recognized for. She flew out from her human body and landed in the center of the Pit.

“Don’t be frightened children.” The students jumped when they heard their teacher’s voice speak from inside their heads. “This form allows me to project my voice into the minds of others in close proximity. As you can see, the bottom is bedded with a soft, non-coarse sand that will provide adequate cushioning should you be knocked down.” Her astral form flew towards the wall. “The wall as well has been expertly smoothed to near glass-like fineness by the most skilled masons within the city.”

Flying out of the Pit, she re-entered her physical body.

“Unless you intentionally try to severely harm your opponent by ramming them into the cement—which will be an immediate cause for expulsion—you will find the walls are incapable of causing bleeding.” She spoke sternly, her glare causing several of the students to step back in fear.

Luna lifted her clipboard and began reading over the first sheet. “I will be calling out the names of each combatant. When you hear your name enter the Pit and prepare to meet your opponent. Also, in future combat sessions you will not be graded on how many fights you win, only the amount of effort and creativity you put into subduing your opponent. This first session will not be graded.”

Lowering her clipboard, she looked towards her students. “Rainbow J. Dash and Jacqueline S. Apple, you’re up first.”

Applejack looked into the crowd to see another girl looking at her. She had cyan blue skin and multi-colored hair that matched her namesake. She was dressed in a white t-shirt and short sleeve blue jacket and pair of black pants with rainbow-colored lightning bolts on the sides.

The two girls smirked at each other as they both entered the Pit. Applejack walked to the center and stomped her feet into the ground, causing the earth to shake and almost everyone around her to begin losing balance. “Alright then, sugarcube. Come at me.” She said as she beat her chest not unlike a gorilla. Rainbow smirked as she went to one of the Pit’s sides and took a sprinter’s start.

Rainbow shot forward straight off the ground and flew like a rocket straight towards Applejack. The farm girl was so surprised she almost didn’t get out of the way in time, but managed to jump to the left just as Rainbow was about to tackle her stomach. Rainbow flew past her, only to turn upwards in a ninety degree angle and shoot several yards into the sky. Stopping herself in midair, she grinned confidently down at her opponent.

Applejack smirked back, before taking her hat and tossing it onto the edge of the Pit.

“You’re a quick one, partner. But runnin’ ain’t good for much when yer aimin’ to win a fight.”

Bending her legs, Applejack leapt into the air right to where Rainbow Dash was floating. The flying girl was shocked, and almost didn’t duck when Applejack tried to deliver a roundhouse kick to her head.

Rainbow Dash backed away to evade any more of Applejack’s attacks as the farm girl fell back to the ground. A smile spread across Rainbow’s face.

“I’ll show you running!” Rainbow Dash gleefully shouted.

Rainbow shot back to the ground, into a superhero landing. Flying forwards, she delivered a flurry of punches and kicks. Applejack didn’t even flinch as she began to block and tank all her opponent’s attacks, refusing to be pushed back even an inch.

Applejack chuckled. “Y’all know landin’ like that is terrible for yer knees, right?”

Pushing back with her own flurry of punches and kicks, AJ proceeded to counter attack. However, Rainbow’s faster reflexes allowed her to dodge every one of Applejack’s strikes.

“Thanks for the advice.” Rainbow snarked. “Those legs of yours are pretty awesome. When we’re actually considering superhero names, you should totally go with Captain Thunder Thighs.”

Applejack’s brows immediately furrowed. “Now yer just tryin’ ta make me mad.”

Applejack fell backwards, flipped over and landed on her hands. Curling her legs against her stomach, she then fired them outwards to deliver a powerful donkey kick to Rainbow’s midsection. The cocky girl however used her powers to fly over Applejack before the attack could hit and floated above her. Dash then shot forward and grabbed Applejack from behind in a submission hold then launched them both into the air before Applejack could attempt to break free.

“Whoa nelly!” Applejack shouted. She felt like she had been strapped to the body of a seeker missile with how fast they were climbing. She knew she could easily break free from her opponent’s hold with her superior strength, but given the velocity they were going, doing that could prove to be more of a hindrance than a help.

“I saw this one in a cartoon back when I was a kid.” Applejack heard Rainbow Dash explain. “Get ready for my seismic toss!” Flying in a loop, she quickly gained speed while making Applejack feel like she was stuck on the best part of a rollercoaster. Now sufficiently dizzy and extremely nauseous, Rainbow seized her chance and flipped Applejack over her shoulder and tossed her at the ground.

Applejack hit the sand with a painful sounding crash, the rest of the class hissed as they feared how hurt their classmate could’ve been. Laughing confidently, Rainbow’s jaw suddenly dropped when she saw her opponent standing in the center of the Pit unharmed.

Applejack cocked a brow and clicked her tongue. Brushing some of the dust off herself, she taunted, “Mighty respectable, but yer gonna need to put more umph in yer throws before you can expect to take me down, Dash.”

Rainbow furrowed her brows in anger. “Oh yeah, then how about you try this one on for size!” She flew higher into the air before shooting back downwards straight towards her opponent like a crashing meteorite. Applejack didn’t make an attempt to move, and instead only got ready to counter-attack. Applejack pulled her head back, before bringing it forward to collide with Rainbow’s forehead just before she could crash into her. The force of the collision sent sand flying out of the Pit and sent Rainbow careening into the wall. Applejack stood dazed for a second before falling over backwards as the force of her own blow finally overcame her. The two girls, though still fully conscious, were now no longer able to battle.

Luna clicked her pen in uncertainty. “A bit excessive…” Luna critiqued, “are the two of you uninjured?”

Rainbow replied with a garbled, “I’m cool…” while the farm girl gave her a shaky thumbs up.

Luna sighed in reluctant acceptance of the situation, “I guess I’ll allow it, since neither of you appear to be too terribly damaged. However Miss Dash, next time we hold one of these sessions, I must ask you to restrain yourself from going as “over the top” as you have today.”

Rainbow nodded. “Don’t know if that’s possible, but I’ll try, but it’s gonna be hella hard holding back this much natural awesomeness.”

A few groans were earned for that statement (mostly because she actually used the word ‘hella’). Applejack started to pick herself up, before Rainbow trudged over and offered her a hand.

“Miss Apple’s performance was just as exceptional. However, from this point going forward I must suggest you wear more “situationally appropriate” clothing. A skirt might not be the best choice of attire for some of the combat moves you were attempting.” Luna interjected.

Applejack blushed as she pulled herself out the Pit. Rainbow flying out and landing alongside her. She scratched the back of head in embarrassment. “Well technically they were appropriate since they let me do them fancy fightin’ moves. Anythin’ else would have restricted my movement. But Ah do see what yer implyin’.”

“The green apple patterned panties were cute by the way.” Rainbow patted her opponent on the shoulder mockingly, “I absolutely loved the view.”

Applejack’s face grew a brighter red as she grasped her left bicep in her hand. Walking back towards her brother and Pinkie Pie, she silently scolded herself for forgetting what underwear she decided to wear for the day.

“Next can I have Pinkamena D. Pie and Timber W. Spruce.”

As Pinkie skipped over to take her turn in the Pit, Spike and Twilight stepped over to see if Applejack was feeling alright. “You okay?” Twilight asked.

“A little red in the face, but no worse for wear.” She rubbed the back of her neck sorely. “Fly girl gave me one heck of a whoopin’ back there. But now that ah know her style better, ah’m pretty sure ah could beat her ass next time.”

“Are you so sure?” The group turned to see the rainbow-haired girl walking towards them. “The name’s Rainbow Dash by the way.” She held out her hand, which Applejack was all too eager to take. “You were pretty awesome out there. I wouldn’t mind going another round or two with you some other time. I’ll be winning next time of course, but don’t let that scare you away from trying.”

Applejack snickered. “Ah’m Applejack. This is my brother Big Macintosh and my friends Twilight Sparkle and Spike Sparkle.” The others waved and greeted their new acquaintance. Rainbow whistled as she glanced at Big Mac.

“Man, you’re a tall drink of water.” She smirked at him through half-lidded eyes. “You know, I’m feeling pretty thirsty after all that strenuous exercise. Think you could help me out with that?”

Big Mac silently chuckled as he shook his head. Applejack immediately grew more defensive. “Hey now, unless yer lookin’ fer that rematch to start right now, I’d suggest puttin’ them eyes back in yer head.”

“Relax, I was joking.” Dash relented, “Mostly...” she thought.

Turning back towards the Pit, Dash continued. “So that pink girl with you?”

“She’s our cousin from a distance branch of the family.” Applejack explained. “She used to live at an Amish quarry before movin’ into a bakery run by some close friends of her parents. Just so happened, ma family did regular business with that bakery, so you could imagine mah surprise when my brother and Ah first met her.”

“I’ll bet.” The two combatants had finally made it to the opposite sides of the ring for the spar to start. “Alright it’s starting. Everybody shut up!” Rainbow shouted.

“You were the only one talking.” Twilight commented.

“I SAID SHUT UP!”

In the Pit, Pinkie was standing across from a boy with forest green hair, gold pants, a red shirt with folded up sleeves, and a wool cap beanie on his head. Pinkie Pie waved excitedly at her opponent.

“Hi, I’m Pinkie Pie, it’s nice to meet you. Are you ready to get started?”

The boy nodded and gave her a smile. “Timber Spruce, and just give me a second.” Grabbing the hem of his shirt, he peeled it off, before tossing it out of the Pit.

Pinkie Pie gasped. “I’ll have you know, good sir. I do not participate in those kinds of battles.” She said jokingly, then gave him a mock sultry look. “At least, not when there are so many other people watching.~” She whispered only loud enough for him to hear.

Timber chuckled. “Sorry for the confusion, but it’s nothing like that. My powers just work better when there’s more of my body showing, you know?”

Before she could ask him what he meant, Timber’s body began to transform, changing from his copper-color skin into smooth polished wood, similar to a skillfully carved wooden statue.

“Oooohhh~” Pinkie Pie giggled. “Now I really know you’re into me~”

Timber shook his head goodnaturedly. “Make all the dick jokes you want, Pinkie Pie. Trust me, I’ve heard them all.”

Wood formed around his hands until his forearms resembled a pair of giant blunt clubs. “They aren’t going to distract me.”

“Darn.” Pinkie complained. “Guess that leaves me with only one option then...” Pinkie took up a fighting stance like an old timey boxer. “...I’ll just have to kick your butt the hard way.”

Shooting her arm forwards, Pinkie launched her fist across the Pit like her arm was made of rubber. Timber ducked under the punch, causing it to bounce off the wall behind him and back towards Pinkie before returning to its original shape once her fist finally reached her.

Timber stood up and stared at her in confusion. “A rubber girl, huh?” He asked. “That’s different.”

Pinkie nodded vigorously. “Yepper-deppers, my entire body can stretch like rubber before shooting back to its original shape, and before you ask, yes... yes it can.”

Timber blushed as he charged at her. “I wasn’t going to ask that.” He retorted. He swung at her with a right hook, only for Pinkie to duck under it. Shooting her fist upwards, she uppercutted him.

“You were thinking about it~!” She sang. While distracted, Timber delivered a punch right into her gut.

“Was not!” He smiled, despite the subject matter of their batter, it was still rather fun to joke around with the energetic girl. Pinkie flew back and hit the wall, only to bounce off like a rubber ball.

“Was too!” She planted her feet into Timber’s stomach, forcing him to stumble backwards to regain his balance.

“Uh-uh!” He brought his right forearm down on his left, breaking the club arm clean off his body. A new arm began to grow in its place. Pinkie’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Neato-mosquito!” She cheered. “That’s a cool party trick!”

“Oh you haven't seen anything yet.” Timber stated. Shooting his growing arm forward, it wrapped around Pinkie’s arms and midsection to form a vice like grip around her. “Being made of rubber, it occurs to me that just hitting you isn’t going to be enough to win this. It’d be like punching one of those Boppo punching bag toys, which leaves me with only one option. I got to ring you out.”

Pinkie appeared to stop listening after hearing the toy’s name being stated. “Oh I love those things! The only problem is that it always took so long to blow them up. But that’s okay because I can suck in a whole lot of air at one time. Watch!”

Pinkie began to take a long inhale much to Timber’s confusion as she slowly began to inflate like a balloon from the chest outwards. She almost couldn’t fit within his clamp despite her elastic body. Suddenly, she exhaled, becoming far skinnier than the clamp could hold. She fell to the ground much to Timber’s shock.

Before he could react, Pinkie re-inflated herself to her regular proportions and grabbed the club arm Timber had broken off. His eyes widened as she swung it and whacked him clean in the stomach, sending him into the air and out of the Pit.

As Timber crashed into the ground, Pinkie began to cheer for her victory. “It’s a homer! The crowd goes wild!” She breathed out of her open mouth to mimic the sound of a cheering crowd as Ms. Luna took down some final notes on her clipboard.

“Nice work Miss Pie.” Luna complimented. “You made fine use of diversionary tactics and unorthodox techniques in this match. Your incessant chatter may prove useful to you someday when actually in the field, but I must ask you to try to take these situations a little more seriously. You aren’t playing superheroes anymore.”

Pinkie brought her hand to her forehead and gave her teacher a salute. “Oki-Doki-Loki, Ms. Luna.” The sleeping heroine nodded, before placing her clipboard at her side and walking to where Timber had landed to discuss his performance.

Pinkie pulled herself out of the hole and rushed over towards Applejack. “Did you see me?! Huh?! Did ya?! Did ya?! Did ya?!”

“Yeah, ah did!” Applejack shouted just as excitedly. “You trounced that woody dude!”

“It was totally wicked!” Rainbow Dash cheered. She grabbed Pinkie by the arm and began testing its elasticity. “So how far can you stretch? Can you transform into other things by stretching? Have you ever pulled something by stretching too far?” By her last question, Rainbow had started using Pinkie’s arm as jump rope.

“Thanks!” Pinkie greeted. “Um… I don’t know how far I can stretch; Does curling up with my knees to my chest and bouncing count as transforming; I don’t think I ever pulled anything; and also, who are you again?”

Rainbow suddenly paused and let go of Pinkie’s arm, letting it snap back into place. She gave the pink girl an incredulous look. “You're kidding right? Didn’t you just see that fight I had with your cousin? I’m the soaring heroine, Rainbow Dash! How could you forget about me after seeing that awesome battle?”

“I’m just kidding.” Pinkie giggled. “You just seemed like one of those people with big opinions of themselves. Those kinds of people are really fun to tease, and so are you.”

Rainbow blanched and stared at Pinkie. The soaring heroine was unsure of how to take the pliable party girl’s words.

Pinkie broke the silence. “I’m Pinkie Pie.”

Upon hearing her name Rainbow lifted her hand to shake Pinkie’s, only for the pink girl to suddenly wrap her arms around her shoulders. “Silly Dashy. Pinkie Pies don’t shake hands, they give warm hugs!~”

“Dashy..?” Rainbow Dash asked in confusion.

Pinkie broke the hug. “It’s your nickname. I give them to all my friends.” Rainbow blinked at this, but soon began to smile.

“You know what, I like it,” privately she added, “and you are all kinds of soft too.” She growled suggestively.

“Pinkie Pie, ah’d like to introduce you to our new friends, Twilight and Spike Sparkle.” Pinkie turned to meet the people Applejack was introducing her to.

“Well if you don’t mind me butting in, let me say it’s a pleasure to meet all of you.” A new voice greeted them, drawing their attention before Pinkie could say a word in edgewise. A smile spread across her face.

“Timber!” Pinkie broke into a run and glomped onto her once opponent. Timber only smiled in response and attempted to stay standing.

“You are ridiculously forward, you know that?”

“Ahem…” Luna coughed, getting every students’ attention. “Now is not the time nor is this the place. You may engage in such activities on your own time, but right now you’re on mine. Next is Twilight E. Sparkle and Sunset E. Shimmer.”

Twilight was so focused on the conversation, she forgot that people were being called for sparring. “Wait, what?” She asked.

The same fiery-haired girl who had bumped into her earlier walked towards the Pit, hearing Twilight’s question, she replied with a rather threatening answer.

“You want to be a hero, don’t you Sparkles?” Sunset asked as she jumped into the Pit, “that means being ready to fight at any time. So come on and get down here. Let’s do this.”

Twilight gulped nervously, but felt a hand get placed on her shoulder before she could back away and show her fear. She looked back to see Spike giving her a reassuring smile.

“Don’t let her intimidate you. Just get in there and show her what you’ve got. It doesn’t matter if you win.” Spike reassured his anxiety ridden older sister.

“It’s not the winning part that concerns me.” Twilight rubbed her arm anxiously. “You saw what happened in those other fights, what if she really hurts me?! Or worse, I hurt her?!”

A few hairs on Twilight’s head began to fall out of place, a telltale sign of one of her notorious panic attacks.

Spike sighed. “You heard Ms. Luna. Hurting anyone too badly means immediate expulsion, and I doubt she’d take that kind of risk on a newbie like you-”

“Hey I’m growing old down here! Let’s get this slaughter over with!”

Spike growled, creating a sound not unlike the hiss of a crocodile. “You know what, scratch that. Get down there and show her smug ass up. Be as brutal as you want, I can tell she deserves it.”

“But…”

“Ms. Sparkle, I must warn you, if you do not participate in the lesson today, I will have to deduct points from your grade for the first day.”

Twilight stood up straight, her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. The only thing she feared more than bodily harm was the potential to fail a class, and because of that she began to anxiously amble towards the Pit.

“Yes, Ms. Luna. I’m sorry.” She replied.

Twilight sat down on the edge of the Pit, and slowly pushed herself in. She landed on the sand much softer than she would have if she had jumped, but still managed to stumble and almost faceplant in front of her opponent, embarrassing herself more than she felt already.

“Remember, you’re just showing what you can do.” Flash called out. Twilight looked up at the boy, beginning to blush a little bit. They had only met less than an hour ago, yet he was being so supportive of her. She wanted to call back.

But before she was able to speak, “thanks for the reminder, babe.” Sunset shouted back and blew Flash a kiss. She then turned to Twilight with a somewhat devilish smirk. “I promise I won’t break your new toy.” Sunset joked.

“Wait... what?” Twilight asked

“Yeah, my boyfriend is asking me to go easy on you, you must have left an impression on him earlier today. Maybe after this you’ll leave an impression on me, besides it's not cheating if we both do it with the same person together, right?” Sunset winked.

As Twilight’s inexperienced mind tried to fathom what she just heard, Sunset launched two balls of fire from her hands and then sent another flame in the shape of a wave via a kick. Twilight barely dodged each as she drove to the ground.

Sunset smirked, “This is gonna be fun.”

The fire attacks impacted the wall, but disappeared with no evidence of them being there in the first place. Twilight got back up to her feet as Sunset put her fists together. She pulled one hand away from the other, revealing a crimson baseball bat covered in a glowing gold aura.

“A little advice...” Sunset snickered. “This is going to hurt a whole lot less if you just go lax and stay still. Afterwards, well…. I always wanted a pet.”

Twilight gave a “meep” as she tried to recall those self-defense lessons Shining Armor had given her after he learned that she and Spike had been accepted into the Pillars’ school. Those thoughts immediately left her mind the moment she felt Sunset’s bat swing just inches over her head. Twilight gripped the sand in front of her, pushing herself away from Sunset, before shooting back to her feet and breaking into a run.

Sunset spun the bat in her hand before catching it by its center. Lifting it up over her shoulder, she cocked it back like a javelin.

“Heads up, Sparkles!” Sunset shouted

Sunset tossed the bat, watching with excitement as it flew towards the back of Twilight’s head. Twilight turned and squeaked upon seeing the bat. She raised her hands to protect her face, only to become confused when she felt nothing hit her.

Opening her eyes, she felt them widen. Sunset’s bat had stopped in midair and was now floating only a few inches away from her. Releasing a sigh of relief, Twilight finally remembered the telekinetic powers she had forgotten in her panic. Beginning to fidget with her hands, Twilight tried to get her powers to drop the bat, really wishing more non-fictional books explained how telekinesis worked. She gasped in surprise as the bat suddenly flew backwards and right at Sunset.

The fiery-haired girl shouted, “Shit!” jumping to the side as the bat flew by her and impacted the wall, dissipating the very moment it touched it. Sunset’s brows furrowed as she turned back towards Twilight.

“Alright Sparkles...” A sinister smile spread across her face, “...now that I know you can dish it out, the kid gloves are coming off. Maybe instead of my pet you just can be my submissive.” She finished with a low throaty growl.

Sunset’s hands erupted with the same golden aura that had covered her bat, her hair rising to flutter like the embers of a blazing campfire. Two crimson batons grew out from her closed fists. Charging Twilight, Sunset attempted to try and strike the telekinetic wunderkind with several sloppy but ferocious swings.

Twilight was now scared out of her mind, jumping back away from the aimless attacks that seemed to be coming at her in a variety of styles Sunset had probably never practiced before. If someone stood back and really studied her movements, they might even say she was trying to mimic the fighting-styles of several characters she might have seen in fighting video games.

Sunset huffed as she continued to attack. “So tell me… how’d a jumpy nerd like you get into this school anyways? I can see you have powers, and you’re probably one of those antisocial types who knows how to write papers but not how to talk to people, right?”

Twilight didn’t answer, feeling insulted by Sunset’s words, but at the same time she couldn’t refute any of the mean girl’s claims.

“I can tell you’re smart, sure. But you’re sure as hell aren't confident, am I right?” Sunset continued her verbal assault.

Twilight felt her anxiety growing, it was like Sunset was reading her mind.

“Yeah, you look more the kind of girl who’d piss themselves and run if ever put in a real dangerous situation. You probably only got into this school because your high ranking policeman brother recommended you and your pet lizard boy, right?”

Twilight’s eyes widened, partly because her opponent knew about Shining Armor, but also because she had just pulled Spike into this. A warm sensation started to grow in her chest as Twilight felt her eyebrows begin to lower.

Missing the change in her opponent, Sunset swiped Twilight’s legs out from under her with a surprise sweep kick, sending the bespectacled girl falling onto her back. Tossing her batons behind her, Sunset allowed them to dissipate. Straddling Twilight’s waist, Sunset clamped her hands around the purple haired girl’s skull.

“Wow, you didn’t even see that coming? You really are a loser.”

Sunset’s fingers began to glow gold as a burning sensation overtook Twilight’s mind. Twilight screamed in agony, it felt like she was experiencing the worst brain freeze of her life, but somehow the exact opposite.

Ms. Luna shouted at the combatants, “Sunset Shimmer, that is enough! Your opponent is unable to continue, let her up!” If Sunset could hear her, she refused to listen.

Sunset sniggered. “You’re going to lose, Sparkles. How does that make you feel?” Sunset pressed her fingers deeper into Twilight’s skull.

“I bet you’re going to hate me for the rest of this semester. It'll be a shame to lose out on a fling with a sweet thing like you, but I think I’ll get by. But if you're ever willing to give me a second chance further down the line, keep this in mind...”

Sunset’s lips opened up into a sneer. “Don’t submit to me because I’m mean. Submit to me because I’m better than you.”

As Sunset was about to deliver the final blow, that warm sensation in Twilight’s chest flared, clearing the pain and uncertainty from Twilight’s mind. She could no longer feel the sting of Sunset’s powers or words, but that was not where her thoughts were currently focused. Those last words struck something in Twilight's mind, something her parents had said. Her mind went back to when she was a little girl, when she found something on her family’s front doorstep, a basket with a baby boy inside, Spike. She remembered bits and pieces of her parents' debate about simply adopting him there and then and her confusion as to why anyone would abandon the then unnamed Spike. She said they should hate the people that left Spike, however her father said something else.

“Hating people who do bad is easy, loving them is hard. And heroes always make the hard choices.” There was much more but Twilight's memory ended as she mouthed those words.

“Night Light Sparkle, better known as the late white collar justice bringer, Dark Glow.” She added much like she was providing a citation for a quote.

Twilight focused her thoughts and the warmth around her mind started to invert itself and move outwards. A transparent purple barrier formed between Sunset and herself, before twisting outwards and surrounding Sunset. Sunset tried to force it back, but to no avail.

“Don't hate me because of how I got here. Respect me for being better than you.” She took Sunset's words and made them her own, throwing Sunset out of the Pit with her telekinesis.

She landed with a thud on some of the students that were too close to the Pit’s edge. As the warmth faded, exhaustion settled in to replace it and Twilight fell back onto her back, all but passing out on the warm soft sand.

Outside the pit, Flash helped Sunset up. There were no words between them, but Flash's soft smile hinted that this is why he said what he said earlier. It wasn't meant to encourage Sunset, but to reel in her ego. Sunset's pout and groan confirmed that she didn't want Flash to rub it in. The two then looked to the Pit and the struggling Twilight as she tried to get out. Sunset sighed and nodded.

After what felt like her tenth time trying to escape, Twilight's legs were about to give out under her. Falling back yet again, Twilight felt her arm get grabbed before being pulled out of the Pit. She was shocked and surprised to see it was Flash who was helping her. “Sorry about my girlfriend, she spent the year as Celestia's personal sidekick and apprentice.” He informed. “So she kind of has a little superiority complex.” He then rubbed the back of his head.

Twilight stared at him in shock. “She used to be Sunrise’s sidekick?!”

Despite her surprise, she found she couldn’t shout very loud because of how exhausted she felt. Flash nodded in response. Twilight glanced at Sunset briefly before turning back to Flash. She then grabbed him by the shirt before pulling him close so she could whisper in his ear. “She nearly killed me down there!”

Flash blinked before whispering back. “She wouldn’t do that. Sunset can get intense at times and has a bit of an attitude, but she wouldn’t actually...” Flash paused, seemingly unable to say the word. His defensive tone didn’t leave his voice as he continued, “Ms. Celestia trained her personally, teaching her both how to fight and what morals are needed when you have superpowers. Because of that she probably understands what it means to be a superhero more than any one of us does!”

Twilight furrowed her brows at Flash in frustration. She just couldn’t find herself agreeing with the boy's statement after dealing with the girl she just met.

An awkward silence filled the air as neither could think of anything else to say, even though they refused to break eye-contact. The odd little exchange did not sit well with Sunset as her brows began to furrow and her hair began to rise like it did in her fight with Twilight.

“Alright, Fluttershy M. Breeze and Rarity J. Belle, you two will be up next. Miss Sparkle, Mr. Sentry, please step away from the edge. You can deal with your hormones later.” Ms. Luna said, breaking the silence.

The two teens soon realized they had been staring and abruptly backed away from each other as the other students began to laugh. Grabbing Flash by the ear, Sunset began to pull him away before pushing him so he’d walk in the other direction.

Leaning in closer to Twilight until their faces were practically touching, she whispered in an aggressive tone, “the next time I get you down in that pit, I am going to incinerate you. Do you hear me?!”

Slamming her fist into her opposite palm to emphasize her threat, Sunset’s eyes glowed, twin embers boring into her rival. Twilight gulped and nodded in reply.

Walking away in the same direction as Flash, Sunset left Twilight to nervously shudder where she stood. The purple-haired science nerd only began to calm down when she felt Spike’s scaly hand grasp her own, leading her away from the Pit. As they walked, she looked down at her adopted little brother and felt those memories of her father returning. Once they stopped back near their new group of friends and Spike let go of her hand, she immediately pulled the younger boy into a close and affectionate hug.

The others around them were surprised by this, but kept their mouths shut, assuming that Twilight was just letting out all her pent up stress after winning the battle.

Spike blinked in confusion, whispering, he asked, “What’s up Twilight? Why’re you hugging me all a sudden?”

“I… I was just thinking about dad a little bit ago." Twilight admitted. “Could you just… let me hold you for a few seconds, till I calm down.”

Spike sighed and began to pat her back. “Take all the time you need. I’m not going anywhere.”

Back at the Pit, a girl with ivory pale skin and luxuriously curled purple hair was standing at the edge with a peach skinned girl with baby blue hair standing next to her. The first girl wore a sleeveless sapphire blue top that flounced outwards over a light purple skirt, a pair of closed white and purple pumps with clear heels that shined like crystal graced her feet. The girl next to her had an ornamental red and purple flower in her hair and a collared top with white lines running around the hem of the sleeves, bottom of her shirt, top of her collar, and down the center of her shirt. She wore a light red pleated skirt similar to one a cheerleader would wear, with a pair of cyan socks and open purple heels. She was also carrying a large purple satchel in front of her as the other girl inspected the battleground before them.

“Hmm… I do believe the satin will be most appropriate for this endeavor.” The first girl said as she turned to the blue haired girl behind her. “If you please, Coco darling.”

Coco nodded before reaching into the satchel and pulling out a long sapphire sash.

Handing it to her friend, she said, “here you go, Rarity.”

Rarity took the sash and wrapped it around her midsection, creating two long arms as she tied it into a large bow over the middle of her back. The arms of the bow rose as if they were actual appendages before reaching down into the Pit. Lifting Rarity off the ground, they slowly lowered her onto the sand below.

“Wish me luck!~” She sang as she waved to Coco.

Coco waved back, but seemed too nervous to actually reply.

Ms. Luna stared at the Pit a good few seconds before she realized that Ms. Rarity Belle’s opponent was not coming forwards.

Turning towards the group of students behind her with an annoyed expression, she said perhaps a little louder than needed, “Fluttershy M. Breeze, it is your turn. Please come to the Pit or I will be forced to dock points from your grade.”

A frightened squeak was heard from the back of the crowd causing them to part and reveal the same girl Pinkie Pie had been shaking when Ms. Luna had first met her class. The girl was shivering like she had just been caught in a blizzard.

Nervously gulping, “I-I’m here,” she stuttered, her voice barely rising above a whisper.

“Then if you please, get in the Pit and commence combat with your opponent.” Ms. Luna directed. “We are running behind schedule and we’re not going to be able to get to everyone as it is. Therefore, I need you to cooperate and do as I say so I can evaluate as many of you before being released to find you rooms.”

“O-Okay… I’m sorry, Ms. Luna.” Came the whispered reply.

The timid girl slowly began walking towards the Pit. Her shoulders were hunched and she shook more violently with every step. Fluttershy could feel the other students staring at her. She hated those stares, it always made her feel like they were judging her. Did they think she was too fat or too cowardly? Was she too tall? Would they think her superpowers were stupid? These thoughts and others ran through her head until she reached the edge of the Pit, and by this point she wanted no part in the lesson. But despite not wanting to fight the girl she saw below, she didn’t want to disappoint anyone by being a quitter now. Fluttershy took a deep breath, before calmly kicking off her sandals and hopping in the Pit.

Landing expertly, she showed a seemingly inherent grace and perfect sense of balance.

“Wipe the floor with her prissy haircut, Fluttershy!” Rainbow shouted in an attempt to cheer the shy girl on.

“Prissy?!” Rarity scoffed at the remark. “I’ll have you know my coiffure has been a trending style in Mareis, Prance since the days of Emperor Neapolitan, and has been worn by numerous stars of television and film for generations!”

Rainbow was about to throw back a rebuttal, but Applejack was quick to pull her back.

“Woah now, sugarcube. Let’s not go makin’ any enemies here.”

Letting go of Rainbow, Applejack turned her gaze back towards her group of friends, to catch Sunset still glaring at Twilight from some distance away. “Heaven knows we got enough of those already.”

Rarity huffed, turning her sights back towards Fluttershy.

“A friend of yours, I assume?” Rarity inquired.

Fluttershy brought her hands together and balled them in front of her mouth. She was so nervous she couldn’t even bring herself to speak. She nodded to give her opponent a reply.

Rarity could see that the girl was feeling uncomfortable, it reminded her of how Coco would act in most stressful situations. Taking on a pleasant smile in hopes of alleviating the girl’s fear, she said gently, “well then, I must say you seem far more pleasant then that ruffian up there. I wish you the best of luck.”

Fluttershy began to play with her hair, “She… She isn’t really that bad when you get to know her. S-She’s actually really nice, if a bit… loud.”

“Sometime today, ladies!” Ms. Luna shouted out of sheer frustration.

This caused Fluttershy to squeak and jump thirty feet into the air, before landing back on her hands and feet where she was standing like a bullfrog.

Rarity blinked in confusion, “Well… that was unexpected.” She muttered at the sight. “It would seem your powers share some similarities with our dear Jacqueline’s.”

A confident smirk spread across Rarity’s face. “Thankfully, I am quite familiar with combating such abilities. Have at you!”

An arm of Rarity’s sash curled up and shot forwards towards Fluttershy. The timid girl squeaked again and jumped to the side, landing on all fours with the grace of a cat. She then continued to run away from Rarity’s extended arms on all fours as the sash tried to whip or wrap her up in its fabric.

“Don’t get cocky now, Rares! It's always the quiet ones ya have ta look out for!” Applejack cautioned.

“You know her?!” Rainbow asked incredulously.

“She’s another girl from my hometown. A trendy, fashion-crazy gal who’s been workin’ in her ma’s clothin’ store since she was knee high to a grasshopper. We’ve been best friends since preschool.” Applejack informed.

Rainbow nodded. “Cool… the girl she’s fighting with is my best friend from Cloudsdale. She’s a total wimp, but she’s got this awesome power to memorize and mimic the movements of any animal she sees. Flutters can even talk to them if she hears them make enough noise.”

“That is a pretty neat ability. Sured be useful fer me back on the farm when Ah’d have to call the pigs.” Applejack complimented, “still, her powers don’t hold a candle to Rarity’s. As soon as she catches your friend in that sash of hers, it will be all over.”

Rainbow cocked a brow at the cowgirl, “you want to bet?” She challenged.

“Do Ah look like Ah have pockets to go with this skirt?” Applejack replied.

“True.” Rainbow Dash began to tap her chin as she thought. An idea suddenly hit her. “How about whoever wins gets to punch the other in the face?” She asked excitedly.

“Ah don’t think that’s wise.” Applejack stated bluntly.

“What’s the matter? Chicken?” Rainbow began to flap her arms and make the offending noises that came with her insult. Applejack smirked and was quick to reply.

“Oh Ah’m game.” Applejack suddenly picked up a fist-sized rock from the ground and smashed it in her palm. Rainbow’s eyes widened upon remembering what Applejack’s superpower was.

“Question is, are you?” Applejack continued. “Be a mighty odd sight if ya aren’t… be the first time Ah ever met a flyin’ chicken.”

Rainbow furrowed her brows. She feared for the structure of her face, but her inner bravado refused to let her back down.

“You’re on!” She shouted, shaking hands with Applejack. Both girls turned their eyes back towards the fight, Rainbow now slightly more fearful that Fluttershy wouldn’t come out the victor.

“Miss Apple, Miss Dash, there will be no gambling of any sorts in this school!” The girls heard the scolding within their own minds before Luna’s astral form knocked their heads together. “If I find out next time that either of you have engaged in such activities, you both will find yourselves in detention. Do I make myself clear?”

The astral form returned to Ms. Luna’s body, allowing their teacher to glare at them with her own eyes. For a brief second the two saw something dark and terrible flash through Luna’s eyes. They both gulped and nodded yes in absolute terror of what laid beneath the sleeping heroine’s surface.

Back in the Pit, Fluttershy was still dodging the arms of Rarity’s sash like a mouse would the paws of a house cat. Though not getting tired, Rarity was quick to notice that her current means of attack had no effect. Pulling her sash back to consider different options, she stared in surprise when Fluttershy fell on her rump and panted like an exhausted dog.

Rarity cocked a brow in confusion. “My dear, you do realize in order to win this battle you need to attack back? I realize I may have not given you a lot of opportunities to do so, but even still…”

Fluttershy only shook her head in response. “I don’t want to hurt anyone. I don’t want to fight.”

“Well that’s just not practical.” Rarity argued, placing her hands on her hips. “Being a superhero requires learning to fight, so we can thoroughly trounce the ruffians who may want to cause other people harm. What exactly did you expect when you joined this school?”

Fluttershy tapped her fingers together in embarrassment. “ I always thought that a hero’s goal wasn’t so much to stop the bad guy, but to save people.” She spoke just above a whisper at first while looking down. She slowly looked up then back down again as she saw that it didn’t answer Rarity’s question. “I thought that I could maybe focus on smaller crimes and disasters? Saving cats and children from trees, finding lost people, disaster relief, things like that…”

“Hmm… commendable.” Rarity replied with a smile and a nod. Her smile then turned to a sad frown as she readied her next attack, “but sometimes to save people you have to treat the cause, and that means stopping the villain. For example...”

Rarity’s opposite sash arm stretched out of the Pit and plucked Applejack’s hat clean off her head. “Hey?!” Applejack shouted in protest. She tried to grab it from the swiping length of satin, only for it to pull out of her reach and place the hat on Rarity’s head instead.

“...A detestable hat thief!” Rarity twirled before striking a pose as if to show off the glamor behind her villainy. “A true heroine would not only get back what has been stolen from the poor helpless maiden above-”

“Ah am not helpless!” Applejack interjected.

Rarity continued as if she hadn’t heard the farm girl’s complaint, “she’d also subdue the bothersome lout in order to make certain they couldn’t perform the crime again.”

Fluttershy stared at her opponent curiously, more fascinated than afraid.

“Let’s consider this lesson number one. Simply snatch Applejack’s hat off of my head and I will forfeit the fight here and now. But if I manage to catch you and throw you out of the arena, I take the victory. Does that sound fair, darling?” Rarity teased.

Fluttershy began to nod far more enthusiastically. “Um… Yes, I like that idea very much actually. Just as long as I don’t have to hurt anybody.”

“Splendid!~” Rarity sang as she clasped her hands in front of her. “Well take baby steps then and in time turn you into a spectacular heroine!~” A smirk spread across her face, “that being said,” Rarity’s sash arms slammed down above Fluttershy, forcing the timid girl to leap to the side in surprise, “don’t expect me to make this too easy for you! Challenge is the crucible for greatness, after all.”

Determination flooded through Fluttershy replacing the anxiety of hurting someone. Falling to her hands and feet again, She sped around the circumference of the Pit with the speed of a bunny.

The fashion-forward girl gasped in surprise, realizing that her opponent was charging towards her back. “My word, now I certainly wasn’t expecting this.”

Rarity smiled, as she placed her hand on her stolen hat. “But that doesn’t mean I am unprepared.” Pirouetting in place, the arms of her sash stretched outwards until they spread across the full diameter of the Pit.

The arms spun like the hands of a clock, forcing Fluttershy to jump over the first, only to get tripped up by the second a short moment after she landed.

Fluttershy landed face first against the sand, allowing Rarity to seize her opportunity. One of her sash arms lashed Fluttershy’s legs together. Fluttershy felt herself being lifted as she struggled to keep herself grounded by clawing at the dirt like a cat who didn’t want to be picked up.

The other end of Rarity’s sash wrapped around Fluttershy’s waist, cinching her skirt to her body, keeping it from falling over the shy girl’s chest as she was lifted upwards.

“Have to preserve the poor thing’s modesty after all.” Rarity purred inside her head, “It wouldn’t be prudent to grant any of the boys above a free show. A proper lady makes them work for it!”

Realizing her clawing wasn’t proving effective, Fluttershy knew she had to shift tactics as she was raised from the ground.

“Cat claws aren’t good for gripping malleable surfaces…” She thought. “...They’re primarily used for catching and tearing prey!” Fluttershy looked at the sash arms, remembering all the times she’d seen cats rip and tear at curtains.

A cheshire grin spread across Fluttershy’s face as she flexed her fingers like a cat unsheathing it’s claws. Hissing like the animal she was mimicking, she swiped at the sash restraining her, only to feel her fingernails rake across something that felt more like steel than sapphire blue satin.

Fluttershy’s pupils dilated, swinging again and again, she only received the same result for her efforts. She heard Rarity let out a haughty laugh from below.

“You aren’t going to be able to cut that fabric, darling.” Rarity gushed pridefully. “My abilities allow me to change the properties of any cloth I can keep in physical contact with. No matter how strong your swipes are, you will not be able to tear through my fabulous sash.”

Fluttershy let her arms go lax and hang downwards near the sides of her head. “Oh dear…” she commented.

Casually walking over to the side of the Pit, Rarity suspended Fluttershy over the grass outside the arena, “the battle was well fought, and I commend you for pushing past your anxieties to try and give me a fair challenge, but sadly this must be the outcome.” Rarity reminisced.

Gently laying Fluttershy down on the grass, she pulled herself out with her sash. Continuing to walk towards Fluttershy, Rarity offered her a hand to help Fluttershy to her feet.

“I hope that you won’t feel too bitter about this, because I would greatly like you to consider me a new friend, dearie.” Rarity gushed.

Fluttershy moved back into a seated position and grabbed the fabulous fashionista’s hand, before being pulled by her new friend into a stand. Fluttershy nodded her acceptance and gave a soft smile, earning her a brief hug from her once opponent. Fluttershy squeaked in surprise, but accepted the hug nonetheless.

Luna sighed and checked off the two students. “An excellent use of diplomacy, Miss Rarity. That skill is invaluable when dealing with crowds of panicked civilians or frightened individuals in the field. Miss Fluttershy however,” Luna lifted her gaze revealing a disappointed look, “though we do have classes focusing on support positions at this school, you will be required to know how to fight should violent situations occur. Simply trying to avoid confrontation will not be an option when you actually become a hero.”

Glancing back at her clipboard, Luna uttered crispily, “We’ve time for one more match before I’m required to assign your housing placements. Spike C. Sparkle and Flash T. Sentry, please enter the Pit as soon as possible so we may remain on schedule.”

An excited smile spread across Spike’s face as he headed towards the Pit, only to feel Twilight’s hand grasping his own.

Glancing back at the worried expression she was giving him, “Twilight, let go.” He whispered. “It’s going to be fine. I’m not going to get hurt.”

Spike’s eyes darted around, trying to make sure no one was staring.

“Just be careful,” Twilight whispered back, “I don’t think Flash will go too hard on you starting out, but I’m afraid what might happen if you go too far in this fight. You have a habit of putting your all into everything you do, and that could cause Flash to really hurt you if he thinks he needs to. Just remember this is a sparring match, so don’t poke the sleeping dragon, okay?”

Spike smirked at her before sliding his hand out of her grasp. “Relax mom, this is going to be great!”

Rushing towards the Pit before jumping in, like Fluttershy, he landed on his hands and feet, before standing up straight and walking towards the other side of the arena.

Flash walked past Twilight as he headed towards the Pit. Glancing over his shoulders at her with a sympathetic look, Flash mouthed the words, “he’ll be okay,” before casually jumping in the Pit himself.

Flash nonchalantly put his hands in his pockets as he sized up his opponent. Judging by the way Spike’s tail was swishing back and forth behind him, Flash assumed Spike was doing the same thing.

“Hey, may the best hero win,” Flash said as he nodded to Spike with a smile, “just remember we're only gonna show what we can do.”

Twilight wanted so much to look away, she just couldn't bear to see what might happen should Spike push his opponent too far. But at the same time, she couldn't look away. Something about Flash had her gaze locked on him and made her slightly anticipate the bout to follow.

“Your brother is screwed.” Sunset decreed as she walked next to Twilight.

Twilight turned to face Sunset as the pyro-psychic smirked at the oncoming battle.

Before Twilight could question what she meant, Sunset cut her off, “Flash can absorb kinetic energy and has an insanely fast healing ability,” turning her head to stare down Twilight she mocked, “doubt your educated enough to get what that means, so let me explain it to you. All the force behind any attack your freak bro manages to land will be absorbed into Flash’s body. He can then send that force back out through his own attacks or release it in a gigantic burst.”

“Got to experience it myself actually, last we had-” Sunset began haughtily, but suddenly went silent, as if stopping herself from spilling a national secret, “well I’m sure you know already. A girl like you has to have at least some stories about your bedroom, am I right?”

Burning red from both rage and embarrassment, Twilight knew this girl was going to be her greatest enemy while attending this school.

Quickly turning her attention back to the fight she admonished herself. “This is Spike’s moment. I need to support him, no matter what the fiery-haired bitch standing next to me says. Even if she did invite me to share her boyfriend. I believe in him with all my heart. I just wish it wasn’t the cute guy I’d just met who Spike was expected to fight.”

The feelings in her heart only helped to increase her already frazzled mindset.

Back in the Pit, Spike started out the fight by charging at Flash, spinning to swipe him with his tail. Flash ducked, rising back up to deliver an uppercut to Spike's lower jaw. Before the attack could connect however, Spike vanished, only a cloud of hazy purple smoke taking his place.

Flash blinked in surprise as the cloud quickly dissipated. Then suddenly with an unusual “Bamf”, Spike reappeared on the other side of the area out of another cloud of smoke.

Smiling in excitement, Flash teased. “Well, it looks like I was off the mark. I thought by your looks you were gonna be some kind of dragon and breathe fire at me or something. I never even considered you’d be able to teleport.”

“To be fair, I did scare the shit out of my parents the first time I did that.” Spike snarked back, “I was a baby and they thought I somehow spontaneously combusted. Found me an hour later gnawing on a piece of my mom’s jewelry in their closet. Point is, I look like an iguana and fire is somewhat involved in my powers. So yeah, you could say I’m kinda dragony.”

Spike spread his feet, moving his hand up to make the self-defense stance Shining Armor had taught him. “But enough about me, what’s your specialty?”

Flash smirked, “First, dragony? Really? Your big sister’s a bibliophile, so one would think you would know the word draconic.”

“What's a bibliophile?” Spike asked.

“It means lover of books. I can tell Twilight is one because she smells like an old library book. Actually it's kinda cute.” Clearing his throat he left that train of thought, “but to answer your first question. You want to know what I can do?” Flash turned to expose his right cheek, “give me your best punch.”

Spike snickered, “gladly.” Clenching his fist, he charged right at Flash, Spike threw his whole mass behind the blow. Everyone watching, sans Sunset, closed their eyes for a second.

Pulling his arm back, Spike was shocked to see Flash still standing. The only difference from before was that Flash’s right cheek was now glowing blue. Flash took a step back and turned to face Spike, as the younger teen stood horrified that his punch had done nothing.

“Sorry about this.” Flash said sincerely.

Making his own fist, the blue glow flowing down into his hand. Flash threw his punch right into Spike’s gut, sending the boy to the other side of the Pit.

“Energy absorption and redirection is what I do,” Flash said as he casually walked to Spike as the boy got back up, “the harder you hit, the more force I can hit back with.”

Spike looked at Flash and a grin started to form, “there's a limit to what you can absorb,” Spike mused, “and I am gonna find it.”

Spike's voice dropped two octaves, causing Twilight's eyes to widen in horror. As quickly as she could she ran to Luna.

“Ms. Luna, you have to call off the match!” She pleaded.

“Miss Sparkle, I have had just about enough of these interruptions. Your little brother seems just fine. The match will continue.”

“It's not Spike I’m worried about. Well not the way you think,” she started to backpedal.

“Miss Sparkle, either get to the point or let me be.”

Before Twilight could continue a crocodile-like hiss was heard from the Pit. Luna and Twilight turned to see Spike crouching down and teleporting. If they had been closer they would have noticed Spike’s pupils had turned to slits like those of an actual reptile.

Reappearing above Flash, Spike slammed his fists down onto Flash’s back. The other teen fell to his knees from the momentum of the blow, but absorbed the majority of the force behind it. Flash began to stand back up, only for Spike to reappear and deliver a knee to Flash’s chin.

The attack sent Flash back up and onto his feet with a stagger. Shaking his head, Flash tried to elevate the dizziness he was feeling. Spike was attacking faster and more ferociously than he first anticipated. Having lost sight of the draconic boy, Flash scanned the Pit in search of his opponent, only for Spike to teleport behind him again and deliver a kick to his lower back.

Staggering forward, Flash turned to meet his opponent. Finding that again Spike had vanished, Flash assessed his situation.

“Alright, so he can teleport,” Flash thought to himself, “but there seems to be a delay between when he reappears and when he disappears.”

Reappearing right in front of him, Spike surprised Flash, before delivering a punch to his stomach that made the onlooking crowd groan in discomfort. Disappearing again, Spike left Flash struggling to remain standing.

“The kid definitely took me up on the offer to hit hard.” Flash snarked to himself.

Looking down at his hands, Flash took note of the blue glow that was slowly creeping up his arms. Rolling up his sleeves, Flash saw that the glow extended up to just past his elbow. From above the pit, Sunset spotted the glowing arms and covered her mouth.

None of this was lost on Twilight. “Please, don't go overboard, Spike.” She silently prayed.

Flash groaned, “running out of space to hold all the energy he’s giving me. At this rate, I might have to risk releasing it as a burst. But with the cement walls surrounding us, that could easily lead to the kid getting squashed. But if I don’t…”

Flash took a breath. “Sorry Spike.” He whispered as he threw out his arms and widened his stance.

A burst of pure concussive force went out in a sphere centered on Flash. It drilled across the ground, through the air, and into the wall. Spike was caught up in the burst and forced into the wall like a bug on a windshield.

The crowd released a cloud of muttered “oofs” and hisses as they watched the collision. Twilight gasped, as Sunset began to smile again, and gave a sigh of relief. Spike fell to the ground like a broken toy, and as Flash watched the young man for movement, he realized exactly what he feared had come true.

“Shit!” Flash cursed as he ran forwards, only stopping when he heard a low growl coming from the draconic boy.

Spike raised himself onto his hands and feet, several of his joints producing cracking noises. He glared at Flash with the slitted eyes of a feral predator, causing Flash to stumble back in surprise.

Lifting her hand over her mouth, Twilight bit back her tears, “No…Not here you moron,” she whispered.

Charging at Flash with the ferocity of a predator, Spike leapt at the other teen, claws extended. Flash didn’t move back an inch however, only staring down his opponent.

“Not this time.” He stated.

Raising his leg, he swung it straight into Spike’s stomach, his shin sinking into Spike’s belly, the blue glow revealing he still had a small amount of kinetic energy left stored within himself. Releasing all the built up force, Flash sent the dragon boy soaring into the air like a rocket, Spike snarling and swiping at the air, before landing painfully against the ground far outside the ring.

Gasping Twilight ran to her little brother.

“Not now, please, not now.” She pleaded in silence.

Everyone else turned to watch Twilight run to her brother, save for Sunset, who reached into the Pit to help Flash out.

“Nice job babe, throwing a kid out of the ring.” She joked.

“Hey if I had a choice in my opponent, I’d pick the big guy. Something my dad told me in a letter, ‘School is like prison, if it comes to it, the best way to get respect is to beat the crap out of the biggest guy so everyone leaves you alone’.” Flash said as he pointed to Big Mac.

Sunset replied with a small laugh, kissing his cheek. Flash’s blush turned to concern as he looked where everyone was staring. A worried expression spread across Flash’s face as he watched Twilight help Spike back up.

“Excuse me a second.” He dismissed Sunset as he rushed towards his downed opponent.

“Hey is he okay?” Flash asked.

Twilight nodded as she picked Spike up, her little brother groaning. The force of the crash landing had apparently reverted him back to his more civilized self.

“What happened?” Spike queried, clutching his stomach, “ugh, it feels like I just had the all you can eat special at Taco Bell. My stomach is killing me,” Spike groaned.

“You better be glad it’s killing you and I’m not,” Twilight admonished, giving her younger brother a sharp smack to the back of his head, “I told you not to go overboard, you dingus.”

“I agree that you should be frustrated with him, but at least give the kid some credit where it’s due.” Flash smiled and softly punched Spike in the shoulder, “he had me in a pretty tough spot back there. If I didn’t have that burst technique, he probably would’ve had me.”

Twilight hugged Spike closer.

“Don’t encourage him. You're only going to make him think he can get away with not listening to me in the future.” Twilight's remark caused a snort from Flash and soon all three were laughing as the absurdity hit all three at once.

Back with the rest of the students, Sunset stood clenching her fists and growling at how close Twilight and Spike seemed to be getting with her boyfriend.

Behind her, Luna was not pleased either. Finishing her notes on the latest spar, Dreamwalker couldn’t help but notice several similarities between the youngest Sparkle and someone she would have rather forgotten.

“The use of fire in his teleportation abilities is alarming, but it doesn’t mean…” pausing as she tapped her pen against her chin, “...now is not the time to get lost in your memories, Luna. There is work to be done. Besides, even if he did share blood with that monster, one must never judge the child for the sins of the parent. I will hold my verdict till I observe more of young Mr. Sparkle.”

Standing straight, Luna clicked her pen, “students, I believe that will be enough sparring for today. Gather around, it is time to hand out your housing accommodations.”

The students gathered around, as Ms. Luna handed out slips of paper with each of their names printed on it. Across from their names was the room and floor number that would be their home for the semester.

“You’ve all received room numbers in the mail, to allow you to drop off your things, so let this sheet act as a reminder,” Luna explained, “You will each be assigned a roommate. Male students will be regulated to one floor of the dormitory with females on another. Communal washrooms and showers are provided and are present on both floors. You’re free to roam about both floors as you wish, but we ask that all lecherous and private matters be discrete. You’ll find that all important areas of the mansion are printed on the backside of the sheet. You’re free to do with the rest of the day as you will, but if you require my services for any reason, you can find me as well as the other teachers in the faculty lounge, which has also been printed on the opposite side of your sheet.”

Everyone looked at their sheets. Pinkie jumped, landing on Rainbow’s shoulders, like she was a three year old girl on the shoulders of her father. “Hiya roomie!” She cheered.

Sighing at her cousin's antics, Applejack walked over to Fluttershy.

“So it looks like it’s you and me. Name’s Applejack.” She said, offering her hand.

“I’m Fluttershy.” Her roommate whispered back, cautiously accepting Applejack’s hand.

Spike looked at his sheet and turned to Big Mac, “looks like we’re together.” He said.

The giant of a teen nodded in agreement, grunting in assertion.

Rarity smiled upon seeing who her roommate was. “You see Coco darling, it’s just as I told you. I’m going to be with you every step of the way. There was no need to be worried about this semester.”

“I should’ve believed you, Rarity.” Coco replied in relief.

Walking up to each other, Flash and Timber scrutinized each other before they both gave a small smile and shook hands.

As everyone else paired up and headed towards the mansion, only Twilight and Sunset remained. Twilight extended her hand to shake Sunset’s.

“We got off to a bad start, maybe we can begin again? I’m Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight tried, she was most certainly not going to gainsay the decision of her teachers.

Scoffing at the gesture, Sunset growled at her reply, “For your sake, you better hope we have a closet, because as far as I’m concerned that room we’re both assigned to is entirely mine.”

Turning her back on Twilight, Sunset was stopped in her tracks by Luna blocking her path. .

“You and I need to have a talk with Celestia about your performance.” Luna admonished. .

From Twilight’s perspective the way Ms. Luna spoke to Sunset didn’t sound like how a teacher would to a student. No, Luna’s tone sounded more personal, like how a close family member would correct a wayward child. .

Luna turned to Twilight, “she will meet you in your room later. You’re free to leave.”

Hesitating for a second, Twilight ultimately fled to her assigned room. With Twilight gone, Luna turned, leading Sunset to another area of the campus.

“I don’t know why I’m even here. I've already trained under her for a year.” Sunset grumbled as she looked away.

“You’re here because there is nothing more that my sister can teach you by yourself. Certainly there is more that she wishes to tell you, but nothing more that can be directly taught by herself. It has to be experienced.”

“She’s casting me out,” Sunset accused, “I’m not who she wants me to be so she’s dismissing me."

“I for one do not personally believe that.” Luna commented. “But you’ll need to speak with Celestia to gain a more accurate opinion. You two are more alike than either of you would care to admit.”

Sunset huffed as they entered the building, slightly more apprehensive of the upcoming school year.

Author's Note

This took a while, but finally the second chapter of Supports is finished. I'd like to give a special thanks to Foxhelm, for joining up with us as another co-writer and editor for this project. The story wouldn't have been completed nearly as soon without his help. Thanks also goes out to Minaren, Scholarly-Cimmerian, and The Dark Nightmare for being such amazing editors.

Along with this chapter, we are also introducing a new segment to go along with the story called the Power Index. All superpowers within this story are based on abilities found on the Superpowers Wikipedia, so to make them easier to understand, brief descriptions for each newly introduced power will be placed in the author's notes. Costume designs are also still largely based on already existing characters from film and comics so expect this box to get somewhat cluttered. :twilightblush:

Power Index

Luna Astra Faustdatter/Dreamwalker

Astral Projection
User can separate their spirit from the body by entering a trance, gaining access of travel the Astral Plane.

Rainbow Jennifer Dash

Levitation/High-Speed Flight
User can cause oneself to float in the air unassisted, allowing the user to carelessly float in the air and prevent their bodies from making contact with the ground below. User can obtain flight at incredible speeds through this ability.

Jacqueline Susanna Apple/"Applejack"

Enhanced Strength/Power Legs
User has strength beyond that of a normal member of their species. The user's legs and lower body are abnormally strong allowing for an increase in combat performance with those particular limbs.

Pinkamena Diane Pie

Rubber Mimicry
User's body is made of rubber. The user can become extremely malleable and elastic, allowing them to stretch, flatten, deform, expand, and contract their whole body, including limbs, torso, neck, etc. Body will always return to original shape after a stretch.

Timber Woodrow Spruce

Wood Mimicry
User can transform their body completely into wood, homogeneous matter, without any part of their form being more important than the other. User can shape and manipulate the wood present in his body.

Sunset Evelyn Shimmer

Psychic Flame Manipulation/Psychic Constructs
User can create and manipulate psychic flames, allowing them to burn away thoughts and minds and manifest psychic energy. User can change psychic energy into tools, objects, weapons, and other items, and create structures of varying permanence.

Twilight Eleanor Sparkle

Telekinesis
User can influence, manipulate, and move objects with their mind. This ability can be used to keep objects from moving and levitate objects off the ground.

Rarity Juliet Belle

Cloth Manipulation
User can shape and manipulate any sort of clothes of any material (cotton, plastic, leather, wool, etc.) or type, and textiles/cloth, a flexible material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibers formed by weaving, knitting, crocheting, knotting, or felting. The user can change the properties of cloth making them far stronger and more durable then they would be normally.

Fluttershy Melody Breeze

Animal Imitation
The user can imitate animal powers, they can run like an ostrich, swing like a monkey, sprint like a cheetah, move like a cat, take the strength of an ant, track like a dog, hide like a turtle, constrict like a snake, etc. They cannot transform into animals, as this power only enables the user to mimic animalistic traits while still in their original form.

Flash Thomas Sentry

Kinetic Energy Absorption/Hyperkinetic Exertion
The user can absorb kinetic energy, while removing it from the source, into their body and use it to enhance themselves. The user can exert an enormous amount of force with a mere touch once a sufficent amount of kinetic energy has been absorbed.

Spike Curtis Sparkle

Teleportation/Reptilian Physiology
The user can teleport from one point to another without traversing the physical space between them. User possesses several reptilian features, allowing him to mimic many of the abilities of common reptiles.

Dreamwalker's powers and the design of her costume was based off the Negative woman from the Doom Patrol comics.

Chapter 3: Prison Break

Tartarus Maximum Security Penitentiary was a facility known for resilience. Built on an island located several miles away from the Canterlot shoreline and surrounded by massive stone walls, the actual facility was underground below the main building.

This facility acted as a holding pen for the world’s most dangerous super-powered individuals, and as of twenty years ago, kept most of these individuals in lockup without a chance of release…

...of course, that would soon change if everything went according to plan.

The Man in Shadows’ orders were simple: Four targets, each located at the lowest level of the prison. Two operatives, one focused on hacking the facility’s security system and act as a distraction, while the other worked their way down to the prison floor and freed the targets. From there it would be a simple matter of escaping, and considering each targets capabilities, this would come sooner rather than later.

The only access point was a single lane bridge that received deliveries of food, supplies, and clean clothing bi-weekly, and today happened to be the day the prison sent out their dirty laundry.

The two operatives had commandeered a prison laundry vehicle, placing the real drivers in a safe location were the bridge began. They then donned the women’s uniforms generously supplied by their employer. All they needed to do now was get inside.

Arriving at the prison gate, a guard approached the driver’s side window.

“You guys are later than usual.” He cocked a brow at the two women. “You two new?”

“It’s our first day, actually,” the way the woman in the driver’s seat smiling was at the officer had more in common with an adult entertainer then a female guard, “we were just transferred from the prison in Canterlittle, so you can imagine our surprise when our warden said we were going to Tartarus.”

She had ebony black skin and mossy green hair that fell down past her shoulders. She wore envy-green lipstick and her eyes could easily be mistaken for emeralds.

Her passenger however was doing her best to avoid eye-contact and looked extremely disinterested in making conversation. She looked to be some years younger then the driver and had a scar going down over her right eye. Her most obvious feature was a total lack of the lower half of her right arm, her sleeve knotted at the elbow. The scarred woman’s skin was a rich plum purple and she wore a pair of black leather gloves over her remaining hand.

Upon seeing the woman’s injury, coupled with other woman’s oblivious and flirty attitude, the guard immediately grew concerned. “Are you ladies going to need any help getting around the facility? I’m going on break in five minutes.”

“We’ll be just fine, honey.” The flirty woman stated. “I’ve a natural talent for finding my way around big places. We’ll get where we need to go.”

“Alright…” He replied worriedly. “Well at least let me tell you where the laundry’s usually picked up. You’ll find a docking bay on the east side of the building, just pull in and load the bags into the back. The workers that were going to help you had to move on to their other shifts.”

He eyed the other woman one last time, before a grimace began to form on his face. The expression of sympathy was not missed by the scarred woman, but neither was it appreciated.

“Are you ladies sure you won’t need any help-”

“We’re. Fine.” The second woman growled, without even shifting her eyes from the windshield. The guard stepped back in surprise.

The flirty woman motioned him to lean in so she could whisper in his ear. “Don’t feel too bad. She has some ‘independence issue’ ever since…” She discreetly motioned a finger over her right eye and pointing to her right arm. “...you know.”

The guard looked towards the other woman, who had still not averted her gaze. “Of course.” He responded just as quietly.

The woman driving gave the guard one last flirty wink before starting the truck. Driving to the side of the building where the docking bay was located, they parked as expected according to procedure. However, they completely ignored the laundry bags as they exited the vehicle and headed for the door.

“You remember the plan?”

“Yes. I make my way towards Cerberus, while you obtain clearance to get to the lower levels.”

The taller woman glanced at her more serious partner and shook her head in amusement. “You’re much too stiff, honey. I realize you’re new blood in this business, but that doesn’t mean you have to treat the job so seriously. In our line of work, your presentation is just as important as the crimes you commit.” A playful smile etched its way onto her lips. “Have fun doing your job, be more creative with your banter. It’s what sets us above the common criminals.”

“I prefer to let my actions do the talking.” The smaller woman smirked. “But you already know all about ‘body language’ don’t you?”

“Oh you cheeky little gnat!” The woman said with a giggle. “I’m going to enjoy working with you.”

The two women entered the main building, finding a majority of the security patrolling the grounds and upper levels. The taller woman rolled up her sleeve slightly, revealing an emerald green alloy underneath. A holographic map of the prison appeared on her wrist.

“It says Cerberus is located in the building at the back of the facility, second floor. The elevator to the lower levels is on the first. Looks like we won’t be splitting ways just yet.”

“It’ll give us more time to procure an identification card.” The smaller woman commented.

The taller woman hummed in agreement. Pressing a button on her wrist, a red blinking light was revealed coming up the elevator shaft on the map.

“Well what do you know, we’re in luck. A guard with certification is coming up to the first floor as we speak.” She purred.

Making their way into the building, the taller woman stepped in front of the elevator while the other started up the stairs. “Remember, wait till I give you the signal, then implant the virus.”

The woman on the stairs nodded. “Roger.”

The taller woman was then caught by surprise when the guard suddenly stepped out of the elevator. The two crashed into each other and fell to the floor as the other woman headed upstairs.

The guard placed his hands on either side of her body and used them to lift himself up as she placed her hands on his chest. Feeling a laminated card attached to a retractable wire on his left breast pocket, she smirked mischievously at the unexpected luck.

Noting the guard’s hands, she cooed, “my aren’t you forward~” Rubbing her hands over his shirt, she batted her lashes. “Not that I’m complaining.”

Jumping back onto his knees in shock, the guard gulped audibly and rose to his feet.

Reaching his hand to offer her aid, he stuttered, “P-Please let me help you up, Miss... “

“Honeysuckle… but you can call me Honey. I’m new here.” Grabbing his hand, she let him pull her up, making a show of the gesture by playfully crashing into his chest with her own.

“Thank you. Your really are quite the gentleman.” She rubbed a pair of fingers against his cheek while the other hand was pressed against his left peck.

“Y-Yes well, I’m sorry for bumping into you back there.” He stated before politely pushing the female guard away. “I wasn’t aware that anyone would be waiting to use the elevator after me.”

Scanning the female guard’s body, the poor sap didn’t notice an identification card on her person. But honestly, he was finding it hard to focus on security clearance with how snuggly the woman’s outfit hugged her form.

He sweated. “Y-You’ve got clearance to head to the lower levels?”

Reaching into her breast pocket, she fondled it as she searched. Pulling out a laminated card attached to a wire, she showed its backside to him. The Guard reached forward to turn it around, only to have his hand moved away by the woman’s finger.

“It isn’t the best picture of me. You wouldn’t mind giving a self-conscious girl the benefit of the doubt, would you? I wouldn’t want to ruin your current opinion of the flawless beauty standing before you.”

“Sorry Ms. Honey, but it’s protocol.” The guard insisted as a cat-like smirk spread over Honeysuckle’s cheeks.

“Oh, I understand.” She sighed, wrapping her arms around the guard’s neck, “Then you have to understand you’ve forced me to do this.”

Leaning in close, she planted a deep kiss on the guard’s lips, a prominent lipstick mark being left in her wake, within seconds the guard collapsed to the ground unconscious. Reaching into her pants pocket, she pulled out a lipstick container. After applying a replacement coat on her lips, she placed the container back in her pocket and stared proudly at the snoozing guard.

“Why is it that boys can never seem to stay awake after a session with me?” She chuckled.

Moving the guard from the middle of the hallway, she placed him in a nearby supply closet before using one of his keys to lock the door. Entering the elevator, Miss Honeysuckle pressed the button for the lowest level. As the elevator descended, she removed her jacket and pressed a button on her metal sleeve.

“I’m in the elevator. There's a guard asleep in the closet near the front exit, but my tranquilizer lipstick should keep him from getting in our way before everything is said and done,” She removed her pants, “How’s it going on your end?”

A voice replied through her gauntlet. “I’m entering into the room containing Cerberus now. Shouldn’t take long to subdue the guards. I’ll shut down the system as soon as I’m done.”

Honeysuckle smiled as she pressed another button on her gauntlet. A flexible emerald colored alloy spread around her arms and legs from the one piece metal unitard that hugged her body underneath her clothes. Once her body was completely covered in the alloy, save for her head, she tied her long hair into a ponytail. Holding it upwards, she pressed a button on her neck, allowing a helmet to form around her face. The helmet had an opening for her mouth and had two spikes pointed forward on both sides of her chin. To complete the look, two large yellow lens now covered her eyes, turning her into a humanoid insect. The elevator stopped and the door opened, allowing the armored woman into the most secure section of the prison.

“Excellent. I’ve just arrived in the final circle of Hell. Keep in contact, but refer to me by my codename from now on, as I will be doing for you. Our communications are on a private channel, but we can’t risk anyone finding out our identities before the operation is completed.”

“Understood. Good luck, Damselfly.” Her communicator replied. The armored woman smiled mischievously, before reaching for the button on her gauntlet to turn off her communicator.

“As too you, Tempest.”

The room Tempest was heading into was of relatively small size, but comprised one of the biggest computer monitoring systems seen on this side of the country. This was the Mrk. III Cerberus computer, named so after the three large monitors that provided surveillance for all the major locations within the Tartarus facility.

The Cerberus computer was often mistakenly considered by many to be just one machine, but in actuality it was comprised of three separate computer systems that could each control the facility should one of the other computers breakdown.

This was done to prevent major breakouts. In order to complete her mission she would need to shut down the systems within all three before one of their back up programs could activate. But first that required taking care of the three technicians that were currently working on the systems.

Tempest stepped into the room, gaining the attention of the three guards working there. They turned towards her as the door behind her closed.

“Excuse me, do you have clearance to be in here, Miss?”

Tempest looked up from under her hat revealing her striking sapphire eyes. “I have all the clearance I need right here.” She grabbed the lid of her hat and tossed it onto the keyboard. Her hair was done up in tall mohawk with buzz-cut sides. She then brought up her hand and began to began to expertly unbutton her security jacket.

The guards began to blush. “Miss! You can’t do that in here!” Another one of the guards shouted.

Tempest removed the jacket revealing a black bodysuit comprised of kevlar and military-grade fabrics. With her jacket now gone, the guards could also see that the woman’s missing right arm had been replaced by a metallic cylinder about the with and length of her opposite bicep. A blue symbol like a pair of lightning bolts was printed on her upper part of the cylinder near her shoulder.

Her right eye began to glow as the sound of a fan began to whirl. Tempest smirked, “You boys look tired. Perhaps it’s time you got some air.”

Wind began to swirl around the end of the cylinder until a shape was created off the device that vaguely resembled her missing arm. She pointed her twister arm at the three men, and within seconds, the guards found themselves being pulled off their feet and towards the woman.

Tempest brought up her foot and slammed her heel down on the center-most guard’s head as he flew towards her. She then broke into a spin colliding her shin with the side of the right-most guard’s stomach, sending him flying into the only other conscious technician. Both were sent flying before crashing into one of the concrete walls lining the room.

Tempest chuckled to herself, “Improve banter, check.” She turned towards the computers. “Now let’s take care of the computers.”

She walked towards the center most computer and pulled a flashdrive from her pocket. She then placed the drive into the computer and watched with a smile as the virus the Man in Shadows had given her was downloaded.

Her turbine suddenly revved up again as she turned toward the left most computer. She pointed her twister arm at the computer. “The Man in Shadows said the virus wouldn’t take long to infect all three systems, but why make it overwork itself.” She fired a large blast of compressed air at the computer, rending it to pieces.

“After all, I do hate to see sick dogs suffer.”

The hallway Damselfly was walking down looked like the entrance to a mad scientist's lair in a spy movie. Futuristic lights shined from both the ceiling, and the hallway floor. Even the door at the end of the hallway seemed to be built for the purpose of maximum security, as the steel door whooshed upwards into a slot in the top of the doorframe.

The room on the other side was extremely plain in design when considering what it was used for. It was a simple square room with a concrete ceiling, walls, and floor, with four rooms enclosed by glass lining into three of the four walls.

These were the cells of her targets. If she were to attempt to hack into them or try to open them by force, the alarm would without a doubt activate, regardless if the Cerberus system were functioning or not.

Damselfly received a call on her communicator. “The system is down and it’s going to take more than just a technician to fix it. The cells on the higher levels will soon be unlocked until the other systems can start up, so set the others free and get ready to join the party. With everyone in a frenzy we should have an easier time getting out with only minor inconvenience.

Damselfly smirked. “Excellent, I’ll see you in a minute.”

She pressed the button on her communicator, before strutting over towards the first cell on her left. Inside the cell a large glass tube that was vacuuming a pink slimy substance from one side of the room to the other. She swiped the security card through the control panel next to the door. The door slid upwards, and the fluid slowly came to a stop in the center of the tube. Just then the fluid sprung outwards with an array of spikes suddenly shooting out of it like it were the head of a mace.

The glass shattered and fluid splattered against ground like a giant pile of pudding. The scent of bubble gum filled the air. The sludge began to grow, change color, and take shape until a tall lanky man was standing before her. He was dressed in a red and white horizontal striped shirt with a pair of chocolate brown caccees. A loafer with a thick black sole was fitted over his left foot, while a green alligator skin boot covered his right. A long scraggly goatee hung from his chin as impish smile spread across his face. “Would you believe rides like that used to make me nauseous.”

Damselfly returned his smile. “Hello Chaos Theory, it’s a pleasure to see you again.”

“Saluti.” The man greeted with a bow. The hair on his head had been swept back like he had just stepped out of a wind tunnel, but what really caught Damselfly’s attention was that it was colored a jet black in comparison to it to his stark white beard.

“New hair color? Don’t tell me you’re afraid of looking old?”

Chaos Theory chuckled. “Like you, I can be anything I want to be.” His body and clothes changed back to the color when he was a gelatinous pile gum, before transforming himself into a lamppost, a cocker spaniel, and finally Damselfly herself, all the while perfectly matching each transformation’s color, height, and proportions exactly to the originals.

He transformed back. “Why should I feel the need to be content with something as mundane as common hair color?” He snickered, “But enough of with pleasantries. What brings you to my own little section of hell?”

“A proposition.” She explained, “My new employer is searching for some gifted individuals with experience in crime. The pay is quite generous, and as an added bonus, he promises you a chance to bump off the heroes who put you in here.”

“I like him already.” Chaos smiled. He turned his gaze towards the others cells. “But what about the other misfit toys?”

Damselfly began to saunter towards the next cell. “They’ll be free momentarily.”

Chaos followed behind he watched her hips sway with interest. He was then suddenly a lot more interested in watching her move rather than see the next villain she’d decide to free.

She swiped the card to open the next cell. Within it sat a muscular charcoal-skinned man dressed in standard orange jumpsuit. A large mane of black hair covered his scalp and helped to hide his eyes before he looked up. A pair of bloody crimson irises soon met Damselfly’s, causing her to smile mischievously. She turned around to face Chaos Theory and planted the security card in his hands.

“Free the others, I have to get our friend up to speed.” Chaos Theory cocked a brow in reply.

“Alright. But when I get back here, you kids better still have your clothes on.” He turned and began to walk away, but still continued to talk as if Damselfly was still standing next to him. “I’m all for the concept of free love, but there’s a time and place for these sorts of things and in the middle of a prison break is not one of them.”

When she turned back, she found the man was already standing. The bright iridescent lights within his cell made it certain no area of his body was left unseen.

Damselfly started to purr. “Nice to see you again, Obsidian.” The man grunted before walking past her and out of his cell. As soon as he had reached the more open area of the floor, he began to stretch his tired muscles.

“What are you doing here, Chrysalis?” He asked rather bluntly. “It isn’t like you to attempt prison breaks.” He glanced at her over his shoulder with a pair of furrowed brows. “That is, of course, unless someone decided to pay you.”

Damselfly sauntered closer and wrapped her arms around the muscular man’s neck. “Why must you place me under such a harsh light, Obsidian? You know I’d be willing to do anything for you. That is… if your willing to do something for me in return?~”

Her hands traveled downwards over his chest and near past his stomach. Before they could get any lower however, she suddenly felt like she was grasping air. She fell forward and began to stumble but was able to catch herself before losing her balance. She turned to look at Obsidian only to see a black shadowy figure that matched his exact shape standing in his place.

Obsidian’s body was now as black as a shadow on clear summer’s day, his hair now wisped atop his head like smoke coming off a campfire, and his face had completely vanished, save for the pair of envy green eyes that stared back at her. Within seconds the shadows faded revealing the jump-suited man underneath.

He growled at her, “why are you here, Damselfly?!”

As the female villain began to explain, Chaos Theory began to open the other cells. The first held a man with grey skin the color of a gloomy sky, and the other a frail crimson-skinned man with a silver beard and mohawk.

The crimson man was the first to speak. “What is the meaning of this?” The grey man nodded in agreement, his long mullet of snowy white hair bounced slightly as he did so.

"Can't a girl break out a couple of her closest friends without question?" Chrysalis asked as she leaned against Obsidian. None of the four men believed that. Chrysalis groaned, "I was asked to bust you all out. Didn't get much more detail other than that."

"Who would want us busted out?" Chaos theory asked, “If I remember correctly, when we were all finally caught the city threw a parade to celebrate.”

"I didn't get the job directly, I'm… the hired help." Chrysalis begrudgingly acknowledged.

“Damselfly, the other Cerberus computers are kicking in sooner than expected. Most of the guards are downstairs dealing with the escaping prisoners, but we’re running out of time. Grab the targets and get them upstairs now before a patrol is sent to check on you!” Tempest’s voice shouted over Chrysalis's commlink.

“Was that…” the grey-skinned man smiled, “I knew she’d come for me.” He laughed.

Shuffling over, he grabbed on Damselfly’s arm and shouted into her commlink, “Tempest? If you can hear me, remind me to give you a raise!” Damselfly pulled her arm out of his grasp almost immediately. Before she had a chance to shout at him in complaint, the man began barking orders.

“Well you all heard the lady, let’s get this storm started.” He then started to rub his hands as a crack of thunder was suddenly heard. "Oh and by the way, that line’s trademarked."

Obsidian exhaled out his nose as the idiocy of his cell block mates began to aggravate him. He turned to Damselfly, “Will the elevator still be functional with the systems damaged?”

Damselfly smirked, “In case of prison riots the guards need to get to the lower levels somehow. Plus with only one exit leading back to the surface, it makes it really hard for any major breakouts to occur.”

“So what makes you think we’ll be able to use it?” The crimson man asked. “If the guards are dealing with riots upstairs, the elevator will clearly be preoccupied.”

“Yes, but remember Tempest warned us to leave before a patrol came by… which means they’ll have to enter through the only entrance available.” She pointed towards the elevator doors coaxing the prisons to look around her.

“The guards will definitely rat on us if they see us out of our cells.” Chaos Theory explained. “And with such a breach in security, you can bet they’ll be upping their defenses for when we get up there.”

Damselfly only placed her hands on her hips and turned back to face them. “Your point being?” She looked at her armored fingers as if she had just come off from having a manicure. “We’re five of Canterlot’s most wanted criminals, with rap sheets longer than the depths of this prison.”

She smirked at them, “I hardly think roughing up a few prison guards will count as the most difficult thing we’ve ever done.”

A ding was heard from the elevator door, followed by the stomping of multiple heavily armed SWAT officers rushing towards them.

“Freeze!” One of the officers shouted. Sinister grins began to spread across the faces of the prisoners standing before her. Damselfly turned to address the officers who were so intent on halting their escape. A grin soon parted her own lips when she noticed some of the guards were shaking.

“Come on boys, let’s show these brave little lawmen why they call us super villains.”

"I like her~" The grey-skinned man chuckled.

"Watch out, boy, she's a man-eater." Obsidian countered.

“Sunset, I am very disappointed in the behavior you showed in combat training today. According to Luna’s report you went against school rules and tried to expressly harm another student.”

Sunset for her part was leaning back in her chair and trying her best not to make eye contact with the woman glaring at her from across a mahogany desk. It wasn’t the first time she had been scolded by her mentor, and if she had any say in the matter, it most certainly wouldn’t be the last.

She wasn’t going to stay a sidekick forever, she had her own plans, and that meant stepping out of the shadow Sunrise cast and doing things her own way. Who cares if she roughed up that purple-haired brat a bit? At least now she knew never to mess with her again, and the same will go for any villain who thinks they can step up to Sunset Shimmer.

“What’s the point of all that training you put me under to control my powers if I’m never going to use it?” Sunset snarked back, finally turning to meet Celestia’s gaze. “If anything, it’s Sparkle’s fault for not giving me more of a challenge. She knew what she was signing up for when she came here.”

Celestia only shook her head in response. “No, I don’t think she did.” She knit her fingers together and balled her hands in front of her face. “You have to remember, Sunset, that the other students likely haven’t received the same training you did before the Pillars and I decided to start up this school. The likelihood that they would even be able to find an experienced meta-human able to teach them is also almost next to nil. Not everyone is as lucky as you ended up being.”

Sunset brows furrowed at the statement and she immediately turned her gaze away again. “Don’t ever say what I’ve been through was lucky, you got that Celestia.”

Celestia soon realized what she had just said, but still found herself signing in annoyance. “Please refer to me as Ms. Faustdatter when between these walls, Sunset. I may be your guardian outside of work, but here you are as much my student as my daughter. You will receive no special treatment here because of our relationship.”

“Gee mom, does that mean we’re not going out for ice cream now?” Sunset mocked. She turned to gage the expression of her mentor only to met with a cold, aggravated expression. Sunset scoffed, “Why don’t you just kick me out already? Clearly these super-zeros need your help more than I do, so why waste the time? I bet if you let me out there, within a week I’d have every criminal in Canterlot scared so shitless they wouldn’t even attempt jay-walking.”

Celestia only shook her head, “No. As much as you may want me to cast you out, I’m certain it won’t do you any good. I enrolled you here not only so you could graduate and cement Firebird as her own superhero persona outside of Sunrise’s shadow, but also because I have nothing more to offer you. You need to start learning from others and figure out what it means to be a hero in their eyes rather than just being a hero in your own.”

Sunset actually found herself contemplating these words. She hated it, but somehow Celestia always found a way to make whatever she said something to think about. But amongst all this brainstorming, one question still managed to worm it’s way to the surface, forcing Sunset to ask: “Why did you accept that Sparkle girl, anyways?”

Celestia smiled at the question, as if not expecting it to be asked, but was excited that it happened anyways. “Believe it or not, she has an extraordinary file and has shown signs of great power at a very young age, and like you she actually has some training under her belt thanks to her father.”

Sunset rolled her eyes. “Yeah I heard, that Dark Glow guy. But that doesn’t really answer my question.”

Celestia chuckled and reached down into her desk before pulled out a small bottle of whiskey and a clear shot glass. Sunset smiled, to her knowledge only she and Aunt Luna knew of her mother’s habit. She drank responsibly and only at times she knew she could get away with it, but made it a rule among her immediate family that no one else was to know, lest the saintly image of the Nova Heroine be besmirched by bad press and paparazzi.

She downed her drink quickly, not even noticing the burn, before speaking. “You need a true equal, Sunset.” She explained. “I’ve been your teacher for far too long, you don’t have the experience of the other teachers, and I have to admit, you’re way smarter academically than pretty much all the other students...”

Sunset couldn’t help but smile at compliments she was being given. They gave her a feeling of superiority that she greatly enjoyed.

“...except for her.” Celestia pointed out. “I’m not placing any bets, but I have a feeling she’s going to be our valedictorian right off the bat.”

Sunset frowned and huffed in response, “I’m surprised you didn’t say something sappy like, ‘you need to make a friend’.”

“Have no friends not equal to yourself.” -Master Kung.” Celestia said as she hid her alcohol back in her desk. “Please just give her a sincere chance, you might end up finding you’ll fly higher than I ever have, or ever will, once you do.”

Sunset looked at the ground before lifting herself out of her chair. She nodded, “Alright, I’ll give her a chance. Thanks… Mom.”

Celestia smiled, deciding to let this breach in academic conduct slide this once. She waved her off and watched happily as her daughter walked out the door. As she turned and started down the hallway, Sunset put her hands in her jacket pockets and turned her pleasant smile into a hateful scowl.

“Valedictorian my ass.” Sunset growled within her own head. “I’ll char her books and that adorkable little face of hers before I let her show me up again.”

Back in her office, Celestia smiled to herself. She hoped that her words might finally lead to Sunset making a breakthrough and start opening up to people, perhaps finally even make some friends. She knew she had a boyfriend of course, and as far as Celestia was concerned, Flash showed himself an honest and kind enough sort that could have a good effect on Sunset. That smile swiftly turned into a sad frown as she remembered that of course the opposite could also become true, and she would be stuck with two hellions instead of one. After all, Sunset, her little sunshine, was a much her father’s daughter as she was her own, and he always viewed others as underlings to use and make worship, or fools that need to be brought done to their 'rightful' level.

She mused over the thought and became steadily more concerned. Sunset did have a way of intimidating others and finding ways to wrap people around her finger. She was beginning to think she might need to keep a closer eye on her when her door was suddenly kicked open.

“Tia!” Luna shouted. “You need to see this!”

Luna brought up her phone in order to show Celestia the latest breaking news report.

“Greetings Canterlot, I’m Rum Burgundy and this is Channel 4 news. Shock and panic has gripped the citizens of Canterlot today as no less than an hour ago, four notorious super criminals escaped Tartarus Penitentiary. The inmates—confirmed by the police to be Crimson Banner, Obsidian Shard, Chaos Theory, and Hurricane Creed—were last seen entering a parked prison laundry vehicle before making their escape into the city. Reports from the front gate and a previously unconscious prison guard also suggest that two suspicious women seen in the prison and driving the vehicle were likely involved in the break out, but no major evidence clearly confirms this.”

Luna turned off her phone as the anchorman soon shifted to another story about cats. She looked at her sister, both quickly meeting each others eyes. Luna turned almost immediately, not even waiting for confirmation from her sister. “I’ll go get the other Pillars.”

“Please do.” Celestia replied, taking out her whiskey and shot glass again.

She poured herself another drink, "First Magnus is late... then Sunset starts acting like her father... and now this. This day just keeps getting better and better."

As Sunset walked to her room, she failed to notice someone was sneaking up behind her.

She felt a hand grab her shoulder and pull her back into a hug with a stolen kiss following soon after, not that she minded. She liked it when Flash played the bad boy and wished he did it more often. They broke the kiss, "Hey, sorry if I made you feel jealous." Flash said as he cupped Sunset's cheek.

Sunset smiled, but then raised an eyebrow. Flash wanted something. "Okay bae, what do you need?"

Flash sighed, "You know you can a real bitch to me, I can take it, but could you try to at least be civil towards everyone else." Sunset wanted to back away, but Flash kept his hand on her.

"You’re my girlfriend, I am obliged to worry about you. I know you might not be scared of Twilight, but her little brother," Flash looked squarely into Sunset's eyes and she could feel the room temperature dropping. "I don't know what it is, but after what we’ve seen today, I'd rather not see you on his bad side. There’s something in him that just isn’t right."

Flash released his hold. Sunset wanted to scoff at the notion, but Flash's eyes remained steely in his caution and the room didn't feel any warmer.

She sighed, "Fine. I won't break your new toy," she teased. Flash’s composure finally broke as a blush spread across his face. "Just make sure you share her." Sunset added with a wink.

She turned, leaving her boyfriend to stew in his own flustered thoughts. She didn’t get too much farther down the hallway before she started to hear Flash laughing. This made her smile, he knew she was kidding. It was refreshing to know someone understood her like he did.

It didn’t take long for her to reach her room after that, and upon pushing open her door found that that Sparkle girl had already set up her stuff on the right side of their room. Sunset shrugged at the missed opportunity to haze her some more. It didn’t matter anyway, they could discuss ground rules later… all of them in her favor of course. At least the dork decided not to take the side of the room she preferred. Sunset decided to be a little less mean to her come later.

A knocking on her door soon drew her away from her thoughts, and upon opening it was met with an unexpected sight. Two girls she hadn’t originally noticed at combat training were staring at her as if they had been searching for her all day.

One was a girl with light blue skin and silvery-white hair. She was dressed in a dark blue sweatshirt and purple skirt with a glittery light blue stripe lining the bottom. The other was a younger grey-skinned girl with darker grey hair done up in a braided ponytail. She had light blue glasses, a pearl necklace, and for some reason, a silver spoon hanging from her neck. She was wearing a purple shirt and a pink skirt.

“Sunset Shimmer,” the older girl spoke as if her name passed as some kind of greeting, “the Great and Brilliant Trixie wishes to speak with you.”

Sunset cocked a brow and leaned on her doorway, “Alright, and your name is?” She answered back sarcastically, earning a scowl from the girl in front of her.

“Her name is Trixie Lulamoon and my name is Silver Spoon.” The younger student greeted more formally. “You may not remember us, but we were the two students Twilight Sparkle dropped you on during combat training.”

Sunset’s sarcastic smile soon turned into an annoyed frown. “So what, you’re here expecting an apology or something? Newsflash Lens, I don’t apologize for anything, especially if it isn’t my fault. So if you’re looking for someone to lick your boots as penance, find Sparkles. Bitch has so little backbone it’s amazing she can even stand herself up.”

Silver Spoon adjusted her glasses. “Actually we came here to speak with you specifically.” Sunset actually found she was surprised by that response. Save for Flash, most kids tended to actively avoid her because of her rough personality and intimidating presence. “We saw how strong you were in the Pit today and heard you were personally trained by Headmistress Celestia herself. We were hoping we could hang out with you, and maybe learn what being a real superhero is like?”

Sunset blinked at the request, once again surprised. Were they asking her to be their tutors? If not, it was definitely the weirdest friendship request she ever heard. A mischievous smirk soon spread across Sunset’s face. Her mom did want her to make some new friends after all.

Sunset placed her hands on her hips and lifted her chin in a haughty expression. “Alright, I’ll help you out. But you have to do everything I say and not ask questions. You want to be the best like me you have to act like it, I won’t accept anyone who shows even a hint of restraint. Especially against those who think they can make fools out of us.”

“Like that Sparkle girl who humiliated you today?” Trixie asked mockingly, she knew exactly where this conversation was going.

“You got a problem with helping me get her back?” Sunset threatened.

Trixie and Silver Spoon looked at each other before turning their gazes back to meet hers. “Are you kidding?” Trixie replied. “No one flattens Trixie and gets away with it.”

Silver Spoon looked more hesitant, but didn’t take much longer to answer. “Diamond Tiara always said, only hang out with the people who can get you ahead.” She thought. Silver Spoon soon nodded in agreement to Trixie’s previous statement. “I’m in.”

“Glad to hear it,” Sunset smiled evilly, “You know girls, I think this could be the start of a beautiful and productive new friendship.”

Elsewhere in one of the mansion's many sitting rooms, Twilight was cautiously entering to see most of the students already congregating there and talking amongst themselves. Standing between them all was Applejack and Rainbow Dash, who looked like they were locked in some kind of intense staring contest.

Confused by the scene playing before her, Twilight walked up to the closest other student she could find. The person she found, Rarity, was currently in the middle of a conversation with another girl she hadn’t yet gotten the name of.

“Excuse me?” Twilight greeted. “Rarity, right? Applejack’s friend?”

Rarity turned upon hearing Twilight’s voice. “Oh, hello there dearie. Yes, my name is Rarity.” The beautiful girl extended her hand out to shake. “Twilight Sparkle, if I’m not correct?”

“That’s me.” Twilight replied and shook the other girls hand. She then turned towards the other girl. “And your name is?”

“Coco Pommel.” She whispered. Her voice was so quiet, Twilight was almost uncertain she was speaking at all. She was about to ask for her name a second time when Rarity interrupted.

“Forgive her timidness, darling. She gets nervous around new people.” Rarity smiled like she was introducing her shy younger sibling. “Her name is Coco Pommel.”

Twilight wasn’t normally one confident enough to make jokes, but following Rarity’s introduction could help but crack one at Coco. “Charmed~” She said in her best attempt to mimic Rarity’s posh and proper accent.

Thankfully the joke seemed to land as both Coco and Rarity began to giggle.

Twilight sighed in relief, “Could either of you tell me what’s going on? I’m afraid I came in late.”

Rarity waved her off as if she had only arrived fashionably late to the party. “Oh Applejack and Rainbow Dash are just having another silly contest. It would seem that fight they had earlier has really sparked a goodhearted rivalry between the two.”

“But it’s just a staring contest?” Twilight stated the obvious. “Why does everyone seem so interested?”

Suddenly Rarity softly coughed into her closed fist, almost as if embarrassed. “Well... someone may have noticed those two starting up their contest and… perhaps started taking… wagers on who would win.”

The undertones in Rarity’s words were not lost on Twilight. “Rarity, you didn’t?” She lightly scolded, “Ms. Luna warned us against this sort of thing.”

Rarity scoffed at the accusation. “I most certainly did not! A true lady would never stoop so low as to endorse a lowbrow game of chance like this.”After Coco cleared her throat in response, Rarity coughed into her hand again. “I may have however placed a small sum of dollars on Applejack, only to show my support for a friend, of course.”

Twilight placed her hands on her hips and scrunched up her face curiously. “Then who set up the bets if not you, Rainbow Dash, or Applejack.”

“I believe it was that scaly boy over there, your brother, correct?” Rarity pointed across the room towards a group of other students who were currently placing bets. Once they dispersed, Twilight could then fully see the one keeping tally of all the odds.

"Spike?!" Twilight shouted, causing both Rainbow Dash and Applejack to blink at the exact same time.

"I WON!" Pinkie cheered as everyone else started to groan. She then skipped over to Spike to collect her winnings.

“What’s going on here?!” Twilight asked as she stalked over to Spike like a mother about to scold her child.

Spike handed Pinkie her winnings minus his cut as the 'house'. “Come on Twilight, don’t be mad.” Pinkie said trying to defuse the situation. “We all just wanted to see who’d win a staring contest and everyone was betting anyway. Spike just had the fun idea to putting everyone’s money where their mouths were.”

Twilight glared at Spike, “Spike, you know gambling in wrong. What if Ms. Luna caught you?”

“Twilight relax,” Spike said in far more jovial tone then a person being scolded should have had, “you heard what Ms. Luna said, she’s in the faculty lounge, probably taking it easy like you should be.” He began flipping his fingers through the small stack of bills he had collected from the pot. She knew he didn’t mean it, but Twilight couldn’t help but feel like she was being mocked by the gesture for being too compliant with the rules. “Besides, if nothing else I was just helping these guys out. They wanted to place bets and thanks to you, mom, and dad, I’m an honest boy who’s good at math. So at least when they deal with me, they can expect to not get cheated, unlike in most of the ‘legitimate’ gambling dens in this city.”

Twilight would have continued reprimanding her little brother, but it was at that point that Luna’s astral form phased into the room through the wall.

“STUDENTS!” They all heard their teacher’s voice shout within their minds.

Spike gasped and Pinkie let out a brief shriek, both immediately rushing to hide their money before Ms. Luna could see it. Spike quickly took his stack of various denominations and shoved it in his pocket and Pinkie took her much larger wad of cash and shoved it down her shirt, creating a very noticable lump in the stomach of her outfit. Pinkie did her best not to make eye contact with the ghostly-being in the room and sweated profusely.

“I am sorry to interrupt you all, but an urgent matter has occurred in the city that requires the Pillars’ attention. The majority of your teachers will be leaving the mansion in order to investigate this occurrence, leaving only my sister and myself to supervise you.”

The students could pick up on the slight sense of panic present in the astral form’s voice. Applejack stood and began walking towards Ms. Luna, “What exactly is goin’ on out there, Ms. Luna?”

Luna’s astral projection sighed, “I suppose you all have easy access to the news, so keeping this from you would be a futile effort. A number of dangerous super criminals have escaped from Tartarus Penitentiary and are currently at large within Canterlot City.” A few gasps from the students made Luna thankful they understood the severity of the situation. “We are sending out the Pillars to quickly subdue them before they can do any major damage to the city or its populous.”

Some of the students looked at each other in worry before turning back to Luna. “Do… Do you need our help?” Twilight asked. “Did you come here to ask us to be some sort of backup?” In most of their minds, the students--including Twilight--all hoped Ms. Luna didn’t require them.

“Like I said, my sister and I will be remaining here to supervise you.” Ms. Luna stated more clearly. “The other Pillars should be more than capable of dealing with this threat.” A more serious look soon spread across the astral form’s face. “What we are more concerned about is some of you running off to aid your teachers without being properly trained first.”

A few coughs were heard and some students--including Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie--began scratching the back of their heads upon hearing that last statement. The people who were most likely to attempt this knew she had them pegged.

“Let it be known now that if anyone is found off school grounds before this crisis is dealt with, they will be punished severely.” That familiar stare their teacher gave back during combat training returned and sent a shudder down everyone’s spine.

Ms. Luna turned and headed back towards the wall she had entered through, nary saying another word. She then stopped, almost suddenly, and spoke in a low intimidating voice that sounded much more aggressive when compared to the calm commanding voice she used earlier, “Also, Ms. Pie, Mr. Sparkle, return all the money you have collected from your fellow students and don’t ever let me catch any of you gambling in this building again.”

She finally phased back through the wall again, leaving the entire student body with looks of fear and disbelief strewn across their faces. With a defeated sigh, Spike pulled out his stack of dollars and a sheet of paper he had been using to keep track of everyone’s bets. Pinkie Pie meanwhile looked like she was about to cry as she pulled the hem of her shirt outwards allowing her money to fall to the floor like so many dead leaves picked up in Autumn.

Twilight was debating whether or not she wanted to say ‘I told you so’ to Spike, but upon seeing how depressed everyone else was as they took back their money, she thought better of it.

She rubbed her chin in thought. Being right about something wasn’t nearly as fun when everyone else was sad because of it. A light bulb suddenly went off in her head, “Hey, has anyone here heard of tokushu keihin?” She asked. Everyone turned to Twilight, clearly curious, this brought a smile to her face as well as one to Pinkie and Spike’s faces as well.

Author's Note

For those of you wondering, kakuhen is a method in Japan to circumvent the Japanese gambling laws against cash based gambling. It was an idea generously offered by Foxhelm, and my friends may go into more detail concerning this idea in a later chapter.

For now however, we have two new characters for the power index! Powers and supervillain names for the other villains will be introduced in the next chapter.

Power Index

Chrysalis Hives/Damselfly

High-Tech Exoskeleton
The user utilizes a specialized suit of armor by using technology alone. Armor function's by the user's thoughts, so the user has to concentrate if the suit is to function properly.

Tempest

Robot Arm/Air Blast/Vacuum Creation
User possesses and is able to wield a programmable, mechanical arm. The user can release air/wind over a specific target area from this arm causing great damage and/or delivering great shock waves of pure force. User can also create vacuums by sucking in air with the power of a jet engine. This often allows the user to draw people and objects towards them.

Chrysalis's costume design is based off Marvel's Beetle and an anthro version of the armor she wore in the comics:

Tempest's costume is based off Marvel's Winter Soldier: