Ant-Mare and the Wasp

Chapters

Issue 1 - Honey, My Best Friend Shrunk Herself!
Issue 2 - Conductor, I Was Not Informed This Was A Ghost Train
Issue 3 - Or How Fizzy Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Constant Villain Attacks
Issue 4 - Morning, Noon, and Black Knight
Issue 5 - Ploy Story
Issue 6 - A Royal Pain
Issue 7 - We're in the Endgame now. (Brought to by: Superhero Finale Without a Sky Laser!)
Issue 8 - Grow Big Or Go Home
Issue 9 - There Was An Idea… (Epilogue)
Bonus Issue - Post Epilogue Scene

Issue 1 - Honey, My Best Friend Shrunk Herself!

Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, 6 friends ruled over the kingdom. One from a castle in the capital city of Canterlot, the others from Ponyville, a small hamlet in the center of the land. They had saved the land from many dangers and made many enemies. However, they triumphed over every obstacle, and because of their efforts, when Princess Twilight took the throne, peace reigned in the kingdom, when every creature helped the Princess and her friends defeat the Legion of Doom once and for all. But this is not their story. This is the story of a pony scientist in the Princess’s employ, one year after taking the throne, when the peace Twilight and her friends had secured was thrown into jeopardy…

The scientist in question was in the middle of her lab in the city of San Franciscolt. She was a pale gray unicorn with a black and pale red mane. She was currently looking over a checklist she held in her magic as her partner shifted nervously in front of her.

“Okay, I think that should do it,” said Shrinky Dink. Shrinky backed away from the yellow changeling in front of her, who was wearing a reverse colored Wonderbolts uniform. On the changeling’s right foreleg was a watch-like device, with four vials attached around it. The red liquid in the vials was running through tubes into the watch, giving it a red glow. On the opposite leg was a similar device that had blue liquid running through it instead. Around her neck were a pair of yellow-tinted goggles and a breathing apparatus.

“Are you sure this is safe?” asked the changeling.

“Don’t worry, Fizzy. You’ll be fine,” said Shrinky. “This is based on changeling magic, remember?”

“I can’t shape-shift, remember?” Fizzy Wings shot back.

“Touché,” said Shrinky. “But while this has some basis in changeling magic, its mainly rooted in Equestrian magic. I don’t imagine it’ll have an adverse effect on you. Just remember, this isn’t our first time shrinking something.”

“This isn’t your first time shrinking something. And this is the first time we’re shrinking a pony/pony equivalent,” noted Fizzy, nervously. “And besides, why aren’t you the one doing this? I thought shrinking things was your specialty. Or does that microscope on your flan mean something else?”

Shrinky sighed. “You did volunteer for this,” she said. “But I promise you, you will be fine.” She smiled. “Now, shall we begin?”

“Sure,” said Fizzy, trying to hide the fear creeping into her voice.

Shrinky walked behind the half-wall that served to split the room between the main testing room and the observatory. Shrinky’s horn sprang to life as she used her magic to pull the microphone on the desk close to her muzzle. She activated the microphone and spoke into it, the device carrying her voice to an earpiece Fizzy was wearing. “Now when you put on the mask, just breathe normally, and when you go small, don’t take it off. Just shrink down, wander around for a minute, and then grow back up. I’ll be talking to you the whole time, and monitoring your vitals from here. Any questions?”

“Red is small and blue is big, right?”

Shrinky nodded “Yup. Ready when you are.”

Fizzy breathed slowly out her nose. She was trying to ignore the feeling that something was going to go horribly wrong that lurked at the back of mind as she pulled the goggles over her eyes and the oxygen mask over her muzzle. She closed her eyes, slowly inhaled, and lifted her left foreleg over to her right.

“Shrinking in five… four… three… two… one… now!” She pressed the small button on the side of the watch. In the span of about 10 seconds, the fluid in the tubes and vials began to glow brightly as it quickly rushed into the watch. The watch began to glow bright red and the red aura spread over Fizzy rapidly. Then, with the sound of rushing air, Fizzy felt herself moving rapidly downwards. Then, as suddenly as it began, it stopped. Everything was quiet. She tapped her earpiece, keeping her eyes clamped shut.

“Shrinky? You there? Can you hear me?”

As all she got back was silence, Fizzy grew increasingly nervous. She still refused to open her eyes, in case the shock as too much. Then, a sudden shock of static startled her, as Shrinky’s voice carried through the comm.

“You okay, Fizzy?”

Fizzy nodded, and then remembered that Shrinky probably couldn’t see her. “Uh, yeah. I think so.”

“Thank goodness,” said Shrinky. “I lost comms for a second and got worried. So, what’s it look like down there?”

Fizzy winced. “I haven’t opened my eyes yet, so I don’t know.” She could hear the disappointed look on Shrinky’s face through the earpiece. “I’m gonna open my eyes now, okay?”

“Mhm,” replied Shrinky. Fizzy slowly opened her eyes, the bright light obscuring everything, but as her vision adjusted, her jaw fell open, as far as it could in the oxygen mask. “Woooah,” said Fizzy. “This is weird.”

“What does it look like?” asked Shrinky with bated breath.

“Big,” replied Fizzy, amazement replacing the fear that had once dominated her tone.

Shrinky scoffed and chuckled at the same time. “Well, yeah. You did shrink. That’s how it works.”

“Nah, man,” said Fizzy. “I can’t even begin to describe it. I mean, I know it’s the lab, but still. Seeing everything from down here is somethi- ohmygosh that dustball is HUGE!”

“Don’t get distracted,” said Shrinky, although she was smiling. “You have to regrow shortly, ‘cuz I need you to monitor my vitals while I have a go.”

Fizzy laughed. “Alright, alright,” she said. “I’m growing back up in five… four… three… two… one… now!”

Fizzy closed her eyes as she pressed the button on the device opposite the first. Again, she felt a rush of air as she rapidly ascended, glowing blue all the while. It again stopped suddenly. She slowly opened her eyes to see through the observatory window that Shrinky in the process of putting on her own suit, a red and dark grey version of Fizzy’s. Fizzy trotted over and had turned into the open-sided room just as Shrinky finished getting it on.

“Well,” said Fizzy, smiling. “That went better than I expected.”

“What’d I tell ya,” said Shrinky, wrapping a foreleg around Fizzy. “I told you you’d be fine,” she said, smiling smugly at Fizzy. Fizzy blushed. “Now,” Shrinky said, “Help me put on my potion yielder module.”

Fizzy blinked. “Your what?”

“My potion yielder module. It’s what I’m calling the watch things,” said Shrinky.

“I don’t think you’re using the world yielder right.”

“I using it loosely,” said Shrinky. “To yield something is to produce something, and the module produces the potion’s effect, so it yields the effects of the potions.”

“I suppose, but I think you’re working too hard for that to work,” commented Fizzy.

Shrinky shrugged. “Whatever. Help me put it on.”

Fizzy laughed. “If you insist.” Fizzy and Shrinky walked back into the main lab. Shrinky went and stood in the center where Fizzy had been, and Fizzy used her magic to levitate over the modules while Shrinky put on her red-tinted goggles and breather via her own magic. As Fizzy attached the devices to Shrinky’s legs, a thought struck her. “Hey, what if for simplicity’s sake, what if we just called these P.Y.M.s? Or even just PYMs?”

Shrinky tilted her head to one side as she put the earpiece in. “Yeah, that could work. It certainly rolls off the tongue better than ‘potion yielder module’, now doesn’t it?”

Fizzy nodded as she finished fastening the PYMs to Shrinky’s legs. “There you go. All done. Ready to shrink?”

Shrinky narrowed her eyes behind her goggle lenses, and smirked, although no pony or changeling could tell behind the oxygen apparatus. “I was born ready.”

Fizzy raised an eyebrow, smiling. “Uh-huh. Sure you were,” she said as she walked behind the observation window. She leaned into the mic and turned it on.

“Ready when you are,” said Fizzy.

Shrinky nodded. “Shrinking in five… four… three… two… one… NO-“

The wall behind Shrinky exploded.

Shrinky was flying and shrinking, she saw Fizzy get knocked back as the force of the explosion imploded the window, sending glass and debris towards Fizzy. She quickly hit the button on the regrow PYM, right before slamming into the wall behind Fizzy, passing out from the pain. With only a few scratches and bruises, Fizzy crawled over to Shrinky to find her unconscious. She levitated over a saddlebag that had been knocked near her, as well as Shrinky’s notes and the recipe for the shrinking potion. She put them in the saddlebag, as well as reshrinking Shrinky, and putting her in the saddlebag as well, if only so Fizzy would know where she is.

Fizzy crawled over to the half wall and peered over the edge where the window once was. Standing in the gaping hole that was once wall, were three ponies. But as the dust settled, Fizzy barely restrained a gasp as she realized two of the three ponies weren’t ponies, but changelings. Unreformed ones. If Fizzy had to guess, they were part of the group that had replaced all of Equestria’s leaders in Queen Chrysalis’s second bid to take over Equestria, the one that was foiled by Starlight Glimmer and her friends. Everybody had wondered what had happened to the 12 who had replaced them, but nobody knew for sure. King Thorax had even sent out search parties but found nothing. But sure as day, two of the missing twelve stood in the hole. But standing between them was something else. If it wasn’t for the fact that Fizzy could clearly see pony legs, as well as the wings of a pegasus, she would have guessed the third figure was an alien or something. The pegasus was wearing green armor, with a strange, cone-shaped helmet. The armored pegasus flexed his wings, causing the changelings to move back. He then began flapping his wings in a circular motion. As he did so, he created a breeze that began blowing around the lab, rustling stray papers. But as he continued to do so, the winds got more and more powerful, into Fizzy was hanging onto the leg of the table (which was mounted to the wall) for dear life. Suddenly, the winds stopped, which caused Fizzy to flop onto her stomach unceremoniously.

“WHERE IS IT?” boomed a hoarse voice. “WHERE IS THE POTION?” Fizzy again peeked over the edge of the where the window was, and didn’t like what she saw. The green-armored pegasus was rummaging through the fallen items. He turned to the changelings. “You two,” he said. “Find the scientists. Maybe they can tell us where the potion is.”

Fizzy flinched. ‘Horseapples!’ she thought. “What to do what to do what to- I know!’ Fizzy fastened the saddlebag to her as silently as possible, and removed Shrinky from the bag just as quietly. She then pulled her goggles and breathing apparatus over her eyes and mouth and activated the shrinking PYM. She quickly shrunk down, and grabbed Shrinky as soon as she was finished. But as she began lifting Shrinky in her magic, she heard a voice say something that froze her.

“I heard something over there!” Fizzy could hear the sounds of quickly approaching hoofsteps, and quickly lifted Shrinky onto her back. She galloped as quick as she could to cover, diving under a loose piece of paper just as the pegasus and his changeling cohorts rounded the corner of the open observatory. As Fizzy hunkered under the paper, she felt Shrinky stirring on her back. She quickly slid Shrinky off her back and onto the floor. As Shrinky stood up, she began to ask, “What ha-,” but was quickly cut off by Fizzy’s hoof over her mouth. Fizzy moved her hoof over own mouth, silently shushing her.

Shrinky tilted her head in confusion.

Fizzy pointed to the edge of the paper, eyes wide in fright.

Shrinky’s narrowed as she slowly crept over to the edge of the paper and peered out. She did indeed see changelings, as well as an oddly dressed pegasus. She moved back under the paper and turned to Fizzy.

‘We have to get out of here!’ she whispered urgently.

‘How?!’ Fizzy whispered back.

Shrinky looked around. She saw a literal paper trail leading to the door. She pointed to it. “That’s how,” she whispered.

Fizzy nodded silently, and followed Shrinky as she made her way out from the paper. Neither the changelings nor the pegasus were facing them, instead focusing on papers away from the pair. As they made it to the first page, one of the changelings started walking their way, the hoofsteps shaking the ground like a low-level earthquake. The changeling made its way over to the door, and opened it and walked through. The other changeling headed back into the main side of the lab, while the armored pegasus followed the first changeling out the door, blowing up papers with their wings as he passed, almost exposing the pair of tiny scientists. As they walked by, Shrinky peeked out to try and see his cutie mark but frowned when she discovered the pegasus’s armor covered it. When the armored pegasus walked through the door, he shut it behind him as he murmured, “Where are those stupid scientists?”

As soon as the door closed, the pair immediately ran back towards where they had come from, decided to risk going through the gaping hole instead of braving the hall where the pegasus was. As the inched their way around the corner, they saw the changeling facing away from them, unaware of their presence.

Fizzy poked Shrinky to get her attention. “I can fly us out of here,” she said.

Shrinky shook her head. “No. We can’t leave without the potion recipe. It’s what they’re after.”

“That won’t be a problem,” said Fizzy, reaching into her saddlebag. “I have it right here.” She pulled out a scroll, and opened it, revealing the prize the pegasus and his crew sought.

Shrinky sighed in relief. “Excellent. Then let’s get out of here.”

Fizzy nodded. She wrapped her forelegs around Shrinky’s forelegs, and lifted her up as she began flying, leaving Shrinky’s lower half dangling. They flew towards the opening when the pegasus walked back into the room. Just as Shrinky and Fizzy made it halfway across the room, the pegasus spotted them. “THERE!” he yelled. “STOP THEM!” He took flight, as did the changeling in front of them, whirling around and hissing at them.

“OH SHIT!” yelled Fizzy. “HOLD ON!”

Fizzy dive-bombed right as the pegasus and changeling reached them, causing the two to collide into each other midair. Fizzy used the momentum to speed upwards and out the hole in the wall. As they left, they heard the pegasus yell in rage.

Issue 2 - Conductor, I Was Not Informed This Was A Ghost Train

Fizzy landed in an alleyway, obscured from view as she set Shrinky down. Both activated their enlarging PYMs, and once they were back to normal size, took off their suits and placed them in Fizzy’s saddlebags.

“We need to tell Princess Twilight about this,” said Fizzy.

“Agreed,” said Shrinky. “How many bits do we have?”

“Lemme look,” said Fizzy. She reached into the saddlebag, and shuffled around, feeling for bits. She found none. “Nothing in here at least,” she said.

Shrinky nodded. “Okay. We’ll just stop by the bank real quick and make a quick withdrawal. About ten bits should do the trick I should think.” As they headed out of the alley, the quickly looked around for the pegasus or any suspicious ponies. Seeing none, they quickly made their way to the bank.

After making the withdrawal, they headed to the train station. They bought tickets for the next train to Canterlot, which wouldn’t be there for a little while, so they took the time to get a snack and relax after the ordeal they had just gone through.

“What do you think they wanted your potion for?” asked Fizzy, taking a sip of her drink.

“I don’t know,” said Shrinky. She took a bite of her carrot, chewed, and swallowed before continuing. “But I don’t think it’s for anything good.”

They sat in silence after that, with the train arriving shortly thereafter. As they boarded, they again kept a lookout for suspicious individuals but found none. The car they had entered was empty save for them, and a couple other ponies. They settled into their seats as the train pulled out of the station, bound for Canterlot.

They were about halfway to Canterlot when the train suddenly stopped. Fizzy was leaning against the window, asleep from the exhaustion of the events from earlier, while Shrinky was too nervous to sleep. The jolt of the train stopping so suddenly shocked Fizzy awake, nearly causing her to fall out of her seat.

“Wha-what’s going on?” asked Fizzy blearily, rubbing her eyes.

“I’m not sure,” said Shrinky. “We aren’t at a station, so no one is boarding. I think. I’m sure we’ll be moving again shortly.”

As she soon as the words left her mouth, the train lurched forward and began moving once again.

“See, what’d I tell ya? Everything’s fine. Finish your nap,” said Shrinky, relieved.

“Uh… I don’t think everything’s fine,” said Fizzy nervously, looking out the window. “Look,” she said. Shrinky leaned over to peer out the window next to Fizzy, to see that the train was picking up speed at an alarming pace. “I don’t think it's supposed to be going this fast,” said Fizzy.

“Wait,” said Shrinky. “What’s that?” she pointed through the window. As the train followed the tracks in a wide turn, she could see a figure running across the train, a white cloak billowing behind them. They also appear to be holding something large and round, but neither Shrinky nor Fizzy could tell due to the distance.

“Do you think they’re with the changelings and that pegasus from earlier?” Fizzy whispered. Shrinky’s pupils shrunk.

“Maybe,” she said. “We should hide.”

Fizzy nodded in agreement. “I’ll slip into the bathroom and put on my suit. I recommend you do the same.”

Shrinky nodded as Fizzy stepped past her into the aisle, bringing the saddlebag with their suits in it with her. Fizzy stepped into the bathroom, leaving Shrinky alone in the main cabin of the car. She looked out the window again, but couldn’t see the top of the train, as it had straightened out. It had stopped accelerating and seemed to be holding at its current speed, but Shrinky was almost certain it was still going to fast. Suddenly, Fizzy’s voice spoke into her ear, startling her.

“Your turn,” she said. “I’m out and sitting on one of the lights.” I’ll let you know if anything happens.”

Shrinky nodded, and stood up. But right as she did, she heard thumps moving across the roof. Looking at the door, she saw a unicorn wearing a light gray hooded suit walk through the door without opening it. The unicorn’s face was obscured by a mask with large red lenses that seemed to glow. She slowly moved her head, seeming to scan the car, until she spotted Shrinky, who froze on the spot.

The unicorn spoke. “Found her. She’s in here.”

“Uh-oh,” said Shrinky. She turned to run down the aisle, only to find her path blocked by the white-cloaked figure, a pegasus holding a shield, wearing a blue and orange Wonderbolt uniform, and a skull mask. The round object Shrinky had seen earlier was a shield, being held in one wing, and a sword was being held in the other. Behind her, the sound of displaced air signaled to her that Fizzy had regrown, facing the unicorn.

The pegasus moved first, leaping for Shrinky. Shrinky dived, sliding underneath her winged opponent, as scrambled into the bathroom. On the sink, next to the saddlebag was her suit. She grabbed it and quickly began changing into it. Meanwhile, Fizzy went to tackle the unicorn, but when she did, she passed right through her.

“What the hell?” she asked. “Are you a ghost?”

The only response she got was a magic bolt fired at her. She dived out of the way, landing in front of one of the other ponies that had been in the car with them. “Go, get out of here!” she said. The pony nodded and scrambled out from under the seat, and out of the car. The other pony who had been hiding in the opposite seat did the same, leaving Fizzy alone with the unicorn who was maybe a ghost, and the skull-faced pegasus.

“So, what’s the deal with you guys?” she asked. “Are you guys dead or what?” This time, she got a verbal response, though not one she liked.

“No. We aren’t dead,” said one of them. Fizzy thought it might be the pegasus. “But you will be.”

“Uh, no thanks,” said Fizzy. She activated the shrinking PYM, taking flight simultaneously. The unicorn began firing magical energy blasts at her, which Fizzy responded with in kind. As they fought, Shrinky burst out of the bathroom, hitting the pegasus with the door. The pegasus whirled around, swinging her sword at Shrinky. Shrinky shrunk down quickly to avoid it, ran underneath her, and regrew, launching the pegasus into the roof of the car. The pegasus dropped her sword and shield on impact, which allowed her to fly while recovering from the blow. As she did, Shrinky quickly picked up the shield in her magic. The pegasus growled, swooping down to scoop up her sword. She slashed wildly downward, each blow glancing off the shield Shrinky held.

Fizzy dodged another blast and began flying straight towards the unicorn as fast as she could. She pressed the button on her left PYM, rapidly expanding as she collided with the unicorn, who hadn’t been able to go all ghosty in time. Fizzy went to throw a punch, only to find that the unicorn wasn’t there anymore. Spinning around, she could only see Shrinky fighting with the pegasus. She felt a tap on her shoulder, and turned around right into a punch to the side of her face, causing her to see stars. She swung, catching nothing but air. She felt two hooves ram into her side, and slammed into the wall of the train car. Black spots danced in her eyes as she realized that the unicorn was invisible, and probably intangible at the same time. She stood up, a plan formulating in her brain.

Shrinky was having a difficult time. Every time she went to punch or kick the pegasus, they always dodged out of the way, almost like they could predict her movements. She swung the shield to her left, blocking a sword strike from the pegasus, which gave her an idea. She swung the shield back in her magic, and then threw it with all her might. It flew straight for the pegasus, giving hope to Shrinky that she might have a chance after all. That hope was quickly dashed as the pegasus quickly flipped into the air, caught the shield with her wing, and as she landed, threw it right back at Shrinky, who dived out of the way to avoid getting hit. However, it flew past her and right into Fizzy’s head, knocking her out instantly. The unicorn reappeared, lifting the shield in her magic. The pegasus swung her sword at Shrinky’s head. Shrinky jumped backwards to avoid it, but got a shield slammed into her side for her efforts. She fired her own bolt of magic at the pegasus, who calmly deflected in with her sword, redirecting it into a wall. Realizing she was outmatched and out skilled, she quickly formulated a plan. Shrinky ran for the unicorn behind her, picking up Fizzy in her magic. The unicorn quickly went intangible to prevent Shrinky from bowling into her, which is what Shrinky wanted. She ran through the unicorn, and just made it to the door when the pegasus’s sword slammed into the wall next to her head, causing her to stop suddenly as it protruded out of the wall, inches from the side of her head.

“Where do you think you’re going?” asked the pegasus.

“Canterlot,” replied Shrinky, trying to calm herself with humor. It wasn’t working. She was shaking violently with fear.

The unicorn scoffed. “Please. Spare us your poor sense of hu-OOF!”

The unicorn was cut off when another white-cloaked pony smashed through a window, and right into the unicorn’s side. The door at the other end of the car opened, allowing a tall unicorn to step in behind the pegasus. Except, this unicorn was different. She had her rose-colored mane in a mohawk, and a broken horn. For some reason, she wore a bright yellow trenchcoat, and had square-ish solid pink glasses on her face. The pony who tackled the unicorn stood up, revealing a dark grey pony with bat wings, and set of lunar guard armor, only white, with a crescent moon emblazoned on the chest. He pulled out a short white baton, similar to the kind police use, and threw it at the pegasus, who batted it away with their sword. The purple unicorn’s broken horn began sparking wildly, before bright colorful sparks came flying out. The sparks flew all around the car before exploding in color blasts of light, disorienting the pegasus long enough for the bat pony to tackle the pegasus and incapacitate them. He tied the pegasus’s hooves together with rope, and moved the sword and shield far enough away so the pegasus couldn’t reach them. The unicorn with the broken horn walked over to the pegasus, and leaned down.

“Who do you work for?” she asked. The pegasus said nothing. “Hello? Can you hear me?” asked the unicorn. “Or is that mask of yours impairing your hearing?” As she reached for the mask, that pegasus began thrashing wildly, trying to prevent the unicorn from being able to grab her mask. Suddenly, the gray-clothed unicorn dived through the purple one, grabbed the pegasus, and then both of them passed through the floor like it wasn’t even there.

“What the-? Spector, get to the end of the train. See if you can find them!” The bat pony nodded, and ran out the door towards the end of the train.

Fizzy stirred behind Shrinky. “What happened?” she asked, as she looked around the car. About half of it was in various stages of destroyed, and the other half was covered in scorch marks.

“I think we were rescued,” said Shrinky.

“Indeed you were,” said the tall unicorn. “My associate and I are here on the orders of Princess Twilight. She asked that we find you after hearing about your lab from the local police. We were on our way via flying chariot when we saw this train moving dangerously fast. We boarded the train and discovered changelings had replaced the engineers. We took care of them and freed the engineers, who had been trapped in a storage locker. They were able to get the train slowed down, as we searched the train for more. That’s when we heard explosions coming from down here, and came to investigate. We saw that you were being attacked, so my bat-winged friend flew me to the other end of the car, so I could sneak up on the pegasus, and he then flew in through the window. And you know the rest.”

“I don’t,” said Fizzy. Shrinky leaned over. “They fought the villains and then they escaped.”

“So, they’re officially villains now?” asked Fizzy.

“Yes,” said the unicorn. “We overheard the changelings talking before we captured them. We believe they are planning to overthrow Princess Twilight as revenge for trapping Chrysalis in stone. And, obviously, they have help.”

“But that was over a year ago!” said Fizzy, pulling over her mask and goggles. “Why would they only be attacking now?”

The unicorn shrugged. “We don’t know. But we do need to inform the Princess of the potential threat to her life. Would you happen to know anything?”

“Wait… how do we know we can trust you? You might be changelings, for all we know,” said Shrinky.

The unicorn opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Fizzy spoke up. “I can guarantee they aren’t changelings. They don’t smell like them.”

“Excuse me?” asked the unicorn, looking mildly insulted.

“Let me explain,” said Fizzy. “Before we reformed, changelings secreted a pheromone that could only be picked up by other changelings. That’s how we were able to identify one another. We reformed changelings give off a different pheromone than what we used to. But the old pheromone smell is not one you forget easily. It wasn’t the nicest smell.”

“…okay then,” said the unicorn, now looking mildly grossed out. “Anyways, would either of you happen to know anything?”

“Well, do you know what happened at our lab?” asked Shrinky.

“I do not,” said the unicorn.

Shrinky began telling the unicorn what had happened earlier that day. About halfway through the story, the bat pony, Spector, returned and informed the unicorn that the pair of villains were nowhere to be found. As Shrinky finished relaying the events to the unicorn, the unicorn had a look of grave concern on her face.

“This is worse than we thought. We need to inform the princess immediately,” said the unicorn. “If you two wouldn’t mind, please come with us. We’ll take the chariot to Canterlot. It’ll be faster.”

“Wait,” said Shrinky. “What’s your name? I don’t think we ever got it.”

The unicorn smiled slightly. “My name is Fizzlepop Berrytwist. But you can just call me Tempest. It’s easier.”

“Okay then, Tempest. Lead the way,” said Fizzy, who had grabbed their saddlebag from the bathroom. The four of them walked to the front of the train, but when they got there, they found that the changelings had escaped. With nothing they could do about it, they climbed to the top of the first car, where the chariot was waiting, with two royal guards strapped to the harness. Once they had all stepped onto the chariot, the royal guards pulled it into the air, and turned towards Canterlot.

Author's Note

I had to make an edit to the last paragraph. I realized I had forgotten to what had happened to the captured changelings.

Issue 3 - Or How Fizzy Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Constant Villain Attacks

When the group landed at Canterlot Castle, they saw a small purple and green dragon waiting for them.

“Hi, Spike,” said Tempest. “Is Twilight waiting for us?”

Spike nodded. “Yup. But she’s in her private office, not the throne room. She asked that I escort you there, just so you don’t get lost.”

Tempest laughed. “Alright then. Lead the way,” she said.

As Spike lead them down the halls of the Castle, Fizzy attempted to make small-talk with the white-armored Thestral. “Soooo, what’s your name?”

“Spector. But you can call me Moon Knight,” he replied gruffly.

“Moon Knight?” asked Fizzy.

Spector nodded. “It comes from my position in the Lunar Guard. I am a member of the Knights of the Moon, an elite group of Lunar Guards hoofpicked by Princess Luna. We now serve Princess Twilight. Most of us are stationed here in the castle, serving as the Princess’s primary source of defense during the night. But a couple of our rank, myself included, go on special missions at the behest of the princess.”

Fizzy nodded. “That sounds neat. So, what kind of missions have you been on, other than coming to get me and Shrinky?”

Spector didn’t reply.

“He doesn’t talk much,” said Tempest. “That’s the most I’ve heard him say in a while.”

Fizzy nodded. “Oh, okay.” She noticed that Shrinky was starting to lag behind. She stopped, waiting for Shrinky to catch up. “Hey,” she asked. “You okay?”

Shrinky shrugged. “I think so. I’m just nervous since we’re going to meet with the Princess, my boss, about a potential plot against her, on top of being exhausted from everything else we’ve been through today.”

Fizzy nodded in agreement. “Yeah. In the span of about four, five hours, we’ve been through two villain attacks. That’d drain anypony.”

They continued in silence, following just behind the rest of the group until they reached the door to Princess Twilight’s office. Spike reached up and knocked three times. There was no response. He knocked again. Once more, nothing.

Spike sighed and opened the door, to reveal a purple alicorn in the middle of a giant pile of books and papers. She looked to be in the middle of cleaning.

“Oh! Hi. Sorry. I was just trying to get cleaned up before you got here, but as you can see, that didn’t happen. So, what can I help you with?”

Tempest coughed before stepping forward. “We, uh, brought the scientists from the exploded lab you asked for.” At this, Shrinky and Fizzy stepped forward.

“Oh! Right! Are you two okay? I can call the castle doctor down if you need it.”

“No, your majesty. We’re fine. Thank you though,” said Fizzy, bowing, with Shrinky followed suit. Spike snickered as Twilight looked extremely uncomfortable.

“Oh, uh, bowing. Uh, you guys don’t need to do that. Please.”

Fizzy and Shrinky stood back up. “I imagine you’d like to know what happened?”

Twilight nodded as she moved behind her desk and sat down. “Yes, please. Also, do sit. I imagine you guys are tired.” Her horn sprang to life, and with a bang, four beanbag chairs appeared in front of her desk.

“Hey, where’s my chair?” asked Spike.

Twilight rolled her eyes, and with another bang, a fifth, smaller beanbag appeared behind Spike, who promptly flopped down on it.

Shrinky, Fizzy, and Tempest all sat down in the beanbags, taking a moment to get adjusted. Spector stayed standing.

“Spector, you are allowed to sit too, you know,” said Twilight.

Spector shook his head.

“Fine. If you insist,” said Twilight, in a tone that suggested this wasn’t the first time this had occurred. “Okay,” began Twilight as she pulled over a quill and some parchment. “Tell me everything.”

So Shrinky did just that, with some interjections from Fizzy every once in a while to fill in the bits that Shrinky had missed. Twilight was mostly silent, sparing the occasional “WHAT?” and gasp. She was writing down notes the entire time. When she had finished, Tempest told her everything she had told Shrinky and Fizzy. When Tempest finished, Twilight was silent for a moment.

“Okay…” she began slowly. “So I believe this best course of action here is to deal with this quietly, to avoid widespread panic. Tempest, as someone who knows a lot more about this military-type stuff than me, what do you think?”

“I agree with your assessment, Princess,” she said.

“Great. So, now it's my turn to share some news that I believe may be related. So, you said that the pegasus who attacked your lab was after the shrinking potion you’ve been working on?” she asked Shrinky.

“Yes, your majesty. I also believe that the two ponies who attacked us on the train were after the same thing. It’d be too big a coincidence that the attacks were unrelated,” said Shrinky.

“Agreed. So it’s becoming apparent that whoever our enemies are, they are helping these rogue changelings by gathering up powerful magical artifacts. On that note, we discovered earlier today that Grogar’s Bell is missing.”

“WHAT?!” cried everyone in the room, including Spector.

“How did that happen?” asked Fizzy. “I would’ve thought that after the Legion of Doom, that thing would’ve been under heavy lock and key!”

“That’s just it. It was. It was probably the most heavily guarded thing in the castle, myself included,” said Twilight, tone serious. “I check the Bell twice a day to make sure it’s still there. It seems to have just vanished without a trace. None of the guards on duty remember anyone coming in or going out between when I last checked on the bell and when I found it missing. I even asked Discord, but he says he hasn’t gone near the thing since we turned the Legion to stone. I believe that the ponies who attacked you are either the same ponies who stole the bell or work for the pony who did. It would explain their seemingly enhanced abilities. It’s evident that there is something afoot here in Equestria, and I’d like your help to find out what it is.”

“You want our help?” asked Fizzy, incredulously. “But we’re just scientists!”

“Who invented shrinking suits, and fought off three supervillains. But what I have in mind for you is something a little more relaxing. But I’ll get to that in a moment. First, Tempest and Spector, I have a mission for you.”

“What would that be?” asked Tempest.

“Starting tomorrow, I want you and Spector to try and locate Grogar’s Bell. You may use any resources necessary to find it. I will try and help when I can, however I can.” Tempest stood up.

“We’ll get started right away, your majesty.” She saluted before trotting out of the office with Spector right behind her.

“I said tomorrow!” Twilight called after her. “Go get some rest and she’s gone. Anyways, what I want you to do is much simpler. I imagine you are almost out of your shrinking potion, if not completely out already, correct?”

Shrinky nodded.

“I thought so. Tomorrow, I’m sending you to Ponyville. My friend Zecora can help you make more. She lives in the Everfree Forest, but I can give you a map with directions to there tomorrow. Also, while staying in Ponyville, I’ll arrange for you to stay in my old castle. My old student, Starlight Glimmer, and her friend Sunburst live there, and I’m sure they wouldn’t mind you staying there. It is a big castle. I’ll send her a letter to let her know you’re coming tomorrow. For now, you can spend the night in the guest tower. Spike, would you please take them there?”

Spike stood up, brushing off popcorn he had gotten at some point. “Will do.”

“Thank you, Spike. Have a nice evening you two. Sleep well,” said Twilight.

“Thank you, Princess,” said Shrinky, as both she and Fizzy left the Princess’s office.

As Spike lead them to their rooms, Shrinky walked in thought until Fizzy asked her a question.

“Do you think the missing bell and the attacks are related?”

Shrinky nodded. “It’s too big a coincidence. Besides, no pony but the most powerful unicorns could do what those ponies could do, at the skill they did. It makes sense that they got a power boost from the Bell. I’m just curious as to where the changelings fall into all of this.”

“I doubt they’d work with ponies unless they had no other choice. My guess is that the ponies have something they want, and are coercing the changelings into helping them. Maybe they want the Bell,” theorized Fizzy.

“Then why come after us? Why do they want our potion so badly? It’s not like its super powerful or anything. If they have the Bell, that should be more than enough to get what they want,” said Shrinky.

“Maybe they want the potion because they can use it to their advantage. Stealth missions and whatnot,” suggested Fizzy.

“Why not just use the changeling for that?” countered Shrinky.

“I dunno. I’m just spit-balling here,” said Fizzy. “Changelings can’t just shrink in size without changing species, and changeling infiltrations take a long time, having to kidnap a pony and assimilate into society through their place and all. Maybe they just want something that’ll expedite the process.”

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were a supervillain yourself,” said Shrinky, looking vaguely disturbed.

Fizzy shrugged. “Hey, I might not be a villain anymore, but a. I used to be, and b. I used to live in the same building as Queen Chrysalis. You picked up a few things living around her.”

Shrinky raised her eyebrow. “Remind me never to make you mad.”

Fizzy smiled. When they reached their room, Spike gave them there key, told them what time he’d be back to collect them the next morning, then left. When they went in, they disrobed from their suits, put them in the saddlebag, which Fizzy shoved under her bed. Fizzy then promptly fell asleep, snoring quietly. Shrinky lay awake under the covers of her bed, her mind racing. But, eventually, she too fell asleep.

Fizzy awoke to a knock on the door. She blearily stumbled over to it, stretching her wings as she did so. She opened it to see Spike standing outside, smiling.

“Oh, hey there, dragon guy,” Fizzy said, half-awake. “Can you come back in like… tomorrow?”

Spike laughed. “I’m afraid not. Twilight just wanted me to let you know that you're invited to breakfast in the main dining hall before you leave, and that I’m to bring you there if you’re interested.”

At the word “breakfast”, Fizzy was much more awake. “Breakfast, you say. Give me a minute to wake up Shrinky.”

She closed the door and walked over to Shrinky’s bed. She was fast asleep, blanket pulled over her head. Fizzy smiled, getting a devious idea. She gently placed her hooves on Shrinky’s back, waited a moment, then began violently shaking her. Shrinky jolted awake, whacking Fizzy in the process.

“OW!” Fizzy yelped.

“Sorry!” cried Shrinky. “But… you did kinda deserve it. You startled me.”

Fizzy’s eyes narrowed. “I suppose… anyways, Spike’s outside waiting to bring us to breakfast before we leave.”

Shrinky blinked. “Uh, ok. Tell him we’ll be ready in five minutes.”

Fizzy nodded, and walked back over to the door. She opened it, Spike standing in the same spot as before. “She’ll be ready in five minutes.”

Five minutes later, Shrinky was locking the door to the guest tower, saddlebag strapped to her back. She then followed Fizzy and Spike, who were having an impassioned discussion about Ogres and Oubliettes. Shrinky didn’t really have any interest in the game, being more of a Dragon Pit fan, personally. Their discussion continued all the way into the dining hall, where it ended in favor of conversing with the Princess, over a breakfast of pancakes.

“So, I’ve already got a chariot ready to take you to Ponyville. Once you leave it’ll take about an hour for you to get there,” said Princess Twilight. “Also, another thing. When you get there, I have another task for you. Keep an eye out for suspicious ponies or changelings. I am aware Fizzy Wings can smell them, so I guess keep a nose out too. I only ask because if they are targeting me, they could be targeting my friends too. I’ve already warned them to be vigilant, but not to do anything out of the ordinary. I don’t want to clue them into the fact that I have some idea of their plans. With 12 changelings on the loose, and at least 3 supervillains running around, I don’t want to take any chances.”

“Of course, Princess,” said Fizzy Wings.

“I’ve also sent a message to King Thorax, asking for his advice on what to do should we apprehend them, to keep them from shapeshifting and escaping,” said Twilight.

As Shrinky took a bite of pancakes, she had a thought. “What if there was a way we could track them? Either the changelings or the villains?”

Twilight’s serious expression brightened. “I’m glad you asked! I had almost forgotten, but I have a tracking spell I wanted to give you to pass onto Starlight for that exact use!” She teleported a scroll into the room and floated it over to Shrinky, who took it in her own magic, placing it in the joint-owned saddlebag.

Fizzy leaned back, having finished her pancakes. “Those were some good pancakes, your highness,” she said, patting her stomach contently.

“Thank you! I made them myself, with some help from Spike, as always,” replied the Princess, evidently pleased with herself.

Shrinky finished off her pancakes as well, before standing up. “Thank you, Princess, for being such a gracious host. But we should really be on our way.”

Twilight blinked. “Yes, of course. But Shrinky Dink, you needn’t be so formal. I may be the ruling Princess, but I am the Princess of Friendship. Such formalities aren’t necessary in private. Really, the only time I just let it happen is when dealing with the elite and foreign dignitaries.”

“But you’re also my boss, so the requires professionalism,” said Shrinky.

“True. Then I request that you just call me miss or ma’am, until you feel comfortable dropping the formalities, though I appreciate your respect for professionalism,” said Twilight kindly. Shrinky was mildly taken aback. Despite how scatterbrained she had seemed yesterday, Princess Twilight could be quite wise and composed when she wanted to. ‘Most likely something she picked up from all those years studying under Princess Celestia,’ thought Shrinky.

“As you wish, ma’am,” said Shrinky, lowering her head slightly. “We’ll be heading out now.” They began following Spike to the chariot.

“Be careful, you two. Have Starlight send me a letter if something happens!” Twilight called after them.

Spike led them through the castle to the balcony where the chariot was waiting. As they climbed on board, Spike said, “You’ll be in Ponyville in about an hour. You’ll be landing just outside Twilight’s old castle, where Starlight and Sunburst are waiting for you. Since the school is closed for summer vacation, she’ll be able to help you whenever you need it.”

“Thanks, Spike,” said Fizzy. “See ya later.”

“See ya!” called Spike as the guards pulled the chariot into the air and towards Ponyville.

As they touched down near the castle, they were greeted by two unicorns. One was a pink mare, with a purple and teal mane, and the other was an orange stallion, wearing a star-speckled robe and glasses. The mare trotted up to Shrinky and Fizzy as they got off the chariot.

“Hi! I’m Starlight, and this is Sunburst,” she gestured to the stallion, who waved. “Nice to meet you!”

Fizzy waved back while Shrinky introduced themselves. “Also, we have something for you from the Princess,” she said. She lifted the scroll given to her out of the bag.

“What is it?” asked Starlight, taking the scroll in her magic.

“The Princess said it’s a tracking spell, for when we find changelings or supervillains,” answered Fizzy.

Starlight looked over the scroll. “Huh. All right then. I’ll hold onto this. Twilight mentioned in her letter you need to see Zecora?”

“Yes,” said Shrinky. “We were told she can help us make more of our shrinking potion. We’ve only got enough left for a couple more uses.”

As they walked towards the castle, Sunburst glanced back and froze. “Uh, Starlight?”

Starlight looked at Sunburst, then behind her. She then tackled Sunburst as a large boulder landed where he was moments ago. Shrinky and Fizzy whirled around to see two ponies standing behind them. One was a white Earth pony stallion with a poofy pale pink mane. He wore a blue suit with a yellow vest, and had a set of speakers on a collar around his neck. The mare next to him was also an Earth pony. She was wearing a construction pony uniform, with a metal helmet and metal boots. Based on the chunk of rock missing out of the ground next to her, Shrinky safely assumed that she had been the one to try and crush Sunburst. The speakers on the stallion’s neck crackled to life as he spoke. “You two unicorns!” he said, his flamboyant voice blaring out of the speakers as he pointed at Starlight and Sunburst. “Those two are changelings!” He pointed at Shrinky and Fizzy as he said that. Shrinky stared at him.

“What? No, we’re not!” she cried.

“Uh, Shrinky? You might want to tell them that,” said Fizzy, panic creeping into her voice. Shrinky turned to see Starlight and Sunburst glaring at them, eyes subtly glowing. Their horns sprang to life as they prepared to attack.

“Uh-oh,” said Shrinky. As Starlight and Sunburst fired at them, they dodged out of the way, only for Fizzy to be painfully rammed by the armored construction pony. As she skidded across the ground, she clutched her side in pain. She rolled over to see the construction pony break a giant rock out the ground, and lob it at her. Fizzy beat her wings as fast as she could, pushing herself along the ground, narrowly avoiding the rock as it smashed down inches away. She rolled over, and stood up, wincing in pain. Meanwhile, Shrinky was dancing around Starlight and Sunburst, narrowly avoiding getting blasted. The stallion with the speakers kept repeating what he had said earlier.

“Fizzy!” cried Shrinky, yelping as she avoided a bolt of magic lightning, courtesy of Starlight. “It’s the stallion! He’s - hup! - controlling them. Try to shut him up! I’d do it but I can’t - yikes! - stand still long enough to get a shot at him!”

Fizzy nodded. She watched as the construction pony charged again. Fizzy flew up, allowing the mare to pass under her and right into the side of the castle, partially cracking where she had impacted with it. Fizzy had an idea. She landed back down, making sure she was directly between the mare and the stallion. “Hey, blockhead! Missed me! Nanner-nanner-nanner!” Fizzy blew a raspberry at her, as the final touch to her taunting. The mare roared, and charged again. Fizzy turned and ran as fast as she could towards the stallion. The stallion saw her running for him and spoke. “Fly upwards.” She felt herself stop and begin flapping, increasing her altitude against her will. But the stallion had made her plan easier, as she had already planned on flying upwards. As she hoped, the construction pony barreled under her, and unable to slow down in time, collided right into the stallion, destroying the speaker on his right side. The stallion flew through the air and slammed down a few feet away. He stood up, obviously dazed, and then promptly passed out, face planting into the dirt.

Shrinky flopped onto the ground as the barrage of spells finally ceased. Starlight shook her head while Sunburst rubbed his temples. “What happened?” she asked. Shrinky pointed at the unconscious stallion, who the mare was placing on her back. Starlight’s horned flared.

“Hey!” she yelled. “Get back here!” The mare’s head popped up in fright, and carrying the stallion, ran as fast as she could. Starlight fired at them, one of the bolts striking the unconscious stallion’s side. The others missed as they ran into town vanishing.

Fizzy went to go chase after them, but Starlight stopped her. “We need to get after them. Catch them and get them to tell us what they know!” Fizzy protested. Starlight shook her head, smiling. “No need. They’ll lead us to where they want to go. The spell I fired at them was the tracking spell Twilight gave me.”

Shrinky blinked, standing up. “But you only looked at it for a moment. How could you have known what to do?”

Starlight’s smile widened. “Photogenic memory. Plus, the spell is directly linked to the map in the castle, so I can track their progress from there.”

“Oh. Huh,” said Fizzy, impressed.

“I know, right?” said Starlight. “Now, let’s get you to Zecora’s.”

As Starlight led them through town, she made sure to point out all the different places she thought important to point out, like where to find Sugarcube Corner, and where the Town Hall was. She led them past the road that would take them to Sweet Apple Acres, promising to bring them there for cider later. They soon reached a small cottage sitting on the edge of the Everfree Forest. “That’s Fluttershy’s house,” said Starlight as they passed.

“Why does she live right on the edge of the Everfree Forest?” asked Shrinky.

Starlight shrugged. “Beats me. Anyways, Zecora’s house in down this path.”

As they walked into the forest, the sounds of wild animals filled the air. They soon reached a large tree decorated with tribal masks and bottles dangling from the boughs. A door was set into the trunk, a mask hanging over it. Fizzy went over and touched one of the masks.

“Neat,” she said, smiling. Her orange eyes reflected the light coming from the windows, creating an eerie effect. Starlight trotted up and knocked on the door.

An exotic voice floated through the door. “Please offer just one more moment. I must quickly add this final component.”

The sound of a larger object falling into a body of water came from inside, followed by hoofsteps growing louder. The door opened to reveal a zebra standing the doorway. Her eyes fell on Shrinky and Fizzy, causing her to smile. “So you are the ponies mentioned in Twilight’s note. Now, I suggest you step inside, or you might need a boat.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, a loud crack of thunder rang through the air, and drops of rain began falling. Three ponies took up Zecora’s offer, making it inside just as it began to pour.

Issue 4 - Morning, Noon, and Black Knight

“So, my little ponies,” said Zecora. “I hear that the potion you need me to brew, can make you so small, you can fit in a shoe.”

Fizzy and Shrinky glanced at each other. “Yeah, I guess,” said Shrinky. “I have the recipe if you need it.” She floated it out of the saddlebag and over to Zecora.

Zecora plucked it out of the air and looked over it. “Oh my,” she said. “There are enough ingredients here to fill a whole tome. Luckily, I have most if not all, right here in my home.” She set the scroll down on a nearby shelf, and began pouring ingredients into the cauldron in the center. The liquid in the cauldron bubbled. “Can you do me a favor, my shapeshifting friend?” asked Zecora to Fizzy. “Take this spoon and stir until the potion turns red.” She placed a spoon in Fizzy’s hooves. Fizzy nodded and lifted the spoon in her magic, lowering it slowly into the cauldron, and began stirring slowly. Zecora then handed a vial of orange powder to Fizzy, and a similar vial of green powder to Starlight, both taking their respective vials into their magic. “I’ve made sure the amounts are quite right. Now pour them in at the same time, because to restart would cost us our sleep tonight.”

Starlight and Shrinky followed her instructions, pouring the powders into the cauldron in sync. As Fizzy stirred the potion slowly faded from neon green to a vibrant red. “Excellently done. Now to produce the inverse, we must follow the steps in reverse.”

Starlight groaned. “I can see what you made what little you did. This must have been tedious with just the two of you.” Shrinky nodded. “Exactly,” said Shrinky. “We had minimal potion experience before this project. After about a bajillion tries trying to get the ingredients right, when we finally got it, we just said screw it, and made the bare minimum, as well as a bit extra, just in case. At least this is going much quicker.”

About half an hour later, Shrinky’s saddlebag was filled to the brim with potions. They had needed to borrow a saddlebag from Zecora to fit the rest in, as well as carry their suits in, which Fizzy now carried as Starlight led the back to the castle. A trial run in Zecora’s hut proved the potion did indeed work.

When they arrived back at the castle, they saw two ponies standing outside the door. One was a large white unicorn stallion with a long yellow mane and a suit piece. The other was a pale blue unicorn mare, wearing a helmet similar to the ones of the old helmets worn by the unicorn night guards, but with a few exceptions. Most noticeably was that it was black, with yellow highlights. It also lacked a plume, and obscured the mare’s eyes from view. She also wore a brown jacket, with a sheathed sword strapped around her middle. Her tail was a sandy orange-brown.

As the trio approached, the stallion turned around, smilingly. “Ah, there you are. I was starting to get worried that no one was here, and I’d have to talk to one of the commoners.” He shuddered, as if the thought terrified him. Starlight raised an eyebrow. “Prince Blueblood, I presume? Twilight mentioned you were coming.”

Blueblood perked up at that, walking down the step, the mare following. “She did? Lovely. Then you must already know I am here to offer my assistance! As well as the assistance of my assistant here,” Blueblood shoved the mare next to him forward, into Starlight’s face.

“Hi,” she said nervously, leaning back, trying in vain to give Starlight some of her personal space back after violating it against her will. “I’m Dane. Dane Whitmare.”

Fizzy looked on in confusion. “Who is this guy?” she asked.

Blueblood gasped dramatically. “You don’t know who I am? Oh, wait. You’re one of those bugs who invaded Canterlot a few years ago. Then allow me to introduce myself. I am Prince Blueblood, nephew of Celestia.”

“Add about 11 ‘great’s in front of nephew,” Shrinky whispered into Fizzy’s ear. Fizzy snickered. Blueblood paid them no mind, continuing. “And as you heard, this is my assistant, Dame Whitman. She’s my loyal protector and servant.”

Dane stared at him. “It’s Dane. With an ‘n’. And I’m just your protector, not your servant.”

“Mhm, sure. Anyways, what are you fine fillies up to?” asked Blueblood, rudely disregarding Dane’s corrections.

“Well, we just got back from Zecora’s with more shrinking potion, and we’re going to check the Cutie Mark map to see if we can find out where the supervillains are hiding,” said Starlight, clearly wanting to get as far away from Blueblood as magically possible while going to open the doors to the castle. She even thought about sending him to the moon, but decided against for two reasons. One, she may be powerful, but not that powerful. And two, she didn’t want to have to deal with legal paperwork over a missing prince.

Blueblood’s eyes widened. “Shrinking potion? Supervillains? Twilight left out quite a bit of detail. Well, she was quite frazzled over losing Grogar’s Bell, so I guess she was mentally preoccupied. Well then, shall we head inside. I can have Dame-”

“Dane,” corrected Dane.

“Dane,” said Blueblood, eyes rolling. “Make us something to eat while you catch me up.”

“I am not your-! Oh, never mind,” grumbled Dane. She trudged up the steps and into the crystalline building, clearly disliking Blueblood more than anyone else present. Fizzy winced in empathy, before she and Shrinky also headed in, closing the door to the castle shut behind them.

While Shrinky and Fizzy wandered up to their room to deposit their saddlebags, Starlight led Trixie and Dane to the map room in the center of the castle. As they walked to their room, they ran into Sunburst.

“Oh, hey guys,” he said. “Uh, who came in with you guys? I heard voices I didn’t recognize.”

“Prince Blueblood,” said Shrinky, with loathing.

“Oh. Great,” said Sunburst with equal loathing. “What does he want?”

“He says Twilight sent him here to help,” said Fizzy.

Sunburst laughed. “Help? Twilight sent him to help? She must be really out of it over losing Grogar’s Bell. I can guarantee she’d have never sent him if she was thinking rationally. A bucket of rocks would be more useful.”

Fizzy cocked her head in confusion. “Seriously? Is he that bad?”

“YES,” said Shrinky and Sunburst. “He came in to demonstrate magic during one of my classes while I was at Celestia’s school,” said Sunburst. “When he tried to teleport an apple across the room, he turned the room into a swamp! It even had flash bees!”

Fizzy winced. “Yikes. Okay. He’s bad. I believe you.”

Shrinky resumed walking towards her and Fizzy’s room, with Sunburst now tagging along. “You know, I heard that Prince Blueblood was mad that Twilight inherited the throne instead of him,” said Sunburst.

“That’s just a rumor,” said Shrinky dismissively. “He only has one emotion: vain. I doubt his brain can process anything else.”

Sunburst nodded. “True that.”

When they reached their room, Shrinky lifted both her and Fizzy’s saddlebags off of them, and carefully slid them under her bed, careful to not spill any of the potions or crack the vials.

“Well,” said Sunburst. “Shall we go see if Starlight has made any developments?”

When they entered the map room, they say Starlight grinning, while Blueblood reclined in Twilight’s chair, eating grapes from a bowl being held by Dane, who had taken off her helmet to reveal shocking red eyes, and a messy mane. She looked like she was about to murder somepony.

“Oh, great! You guys are here. Guess what? I know where the villains are!” said Starlight, excitedly. Before she could continue, Blueblood suddenly began hacking as he choked on a grape. He quickly leaned forward, trying to cough it up. Dane reached over and whacked him in the back as hard as she could, and going by her expression, took great joy in being able to hit him. The grape launched out of his throat, and narrowly missed Starlight before landing in the chair next to, which was adorned with three diamonds at the top of the chair’s back.

“You said you found the villains?”

“First, gross,” said Starlight. “Secondly, yes I did. That tracking spell from Twilight worked a treat, and I’ve been able to find out where they are.” She pointed to a glowing dot on the map, situated directly under Canterlot Castle.

“They’re hiding in the catacombs under the castle,” she said.

Starlight, Shrinky, and Fizzy stood with Blueblood outside the front of the castle, as the sun sank on the horizon.

“I will inform Princess Twilight of this as soon as I arrive,” said Blueblood as the chariot landed in front of the castle. “I’ll meet you at the train station when you arrive.”

“Wait,” said Fizzy as Blueblood climbed aboard the chariot. “Where’s Dane?”

“I’ll be accompanying you, at the behest of Prince Blueblood,” said a voice from behind them. Shrinky turned to see Dane leaning against the doorway of the castle. She had put her helmet back on.

“Well, I should be off,” said Blueblood. “Farewell.” With that, the guards pulled the chariot off the ground and into the air, turning towards Canterlot. As Blueblood flew away, Starlight headed towards town, citing the need to go pick up supplies before Dane, Shrinky, and Fizzy left for Canterlot on the train tomorrow.

As Fizzy and Shrinky headed inside, Dane joined them as they headed to their rooms. The silence permeated the space between them, making everyone uncomfortable. When they passed Dane’s room, she headed in with a short “Goodnight,” before closing the door.

“Well, that was awkward,” said Fizzy.

“Yeah,” agreed Shrinky. “Although, I feel bad for her, having to work for Blueblood of all ponies. That’s gotta suck.”

“I can only imagine,” said Fizzy as they reached their rooms. They each climbed into their beds, wishing each other a good night’s sleep as they did so. Soon they were both asleep.

They had woken up the next morning to blueberry muffins, courtesy of Starlight, as well as a magic bag that led to a pocket dimension, so they could hold their extra potions without having to use a second saddlebag, which she had gotten last night for them, as well as some snacks. After transferring the potions to the new bag, Fizzy gave the spare saddlebag back to Starlight, to return it to Zecora. Dane was quiet the entire morning.

They arrived at the station just as the train for Canterlot arrived. They turned in their tickets (part of the supplies Starlight bought for them last night), and boarded. This time, the train was a fair bit more crowded than the last train they had taken. They found open seats in the middle of the train, with Fizzy and Shrinky sitting together on one side, and Dane sitting alone on the opposite. She had taken off her helmet, and was carrying it in her own saddlebag, which had an image of a shovel and a book emblazoned on the buckle. Shrinky presumed it was Dane’s cutie mark, but didn’t ask, not wanting to pry.

A ways into the train ride, Dane still had said nothing, preferring to just stare out the window as the countryside whizzed by. Fizzy couldn’t stand it. Rather, she couldn’t stand the silence. It was making her uncomfortable.

“Soooo, Dane,” she began slowly, trying to capture the distant mare’s attention. To her surprise, it worked. Dane looked at her. “Yes?” she asked, seemingly hesitant.

“So, I’ve been wondering for a while now, what’s your story? Like, why do you work for Blueblood? He seems awful to work with. And what’s with the sword. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you take it off.”

Shrinky had lowered the book she was reading, equally interested in Dane’s response. Dane, for her part, tried to not look too uncomfortable, with moderate success. “I-I don’t like talking about it,” she said.

“Oh,” said Fizzy, mildly disappointed. “Well, if you don’t like talking about it, then I won’t make you. I just wanted to get to know you better, since it seems we’ll be working together for the meanwhile.”

Dane pondered this. “I suppose you’re right. But it’s a long story, with no comprehensive short version.”

Shrinky shifted in her seat, getting comfortable. “Well, the train won’t get to Canterlot for a couple of hours at least, so it isn’t like we’re pressed for time.”

Dane nodded her head to the side in agreement. “True. So what do you know of the Black Knight?” she asked.

Fizzy blinked at her. Shrinky tried to remember if she had heard the name before, but kept drawing up blanks. She shook her head.

“Okay,” began Dane. “So, a quick history lesson first.

“The Black Knight was a pony from ancient times, before Equestria was formed. The Black Knight was one of King Bullion’s elite guards. (King Bullion was Princess Platinum’s father). The way the legend goes is that when he was passed over for a promotion to leader of the army, he went rogue, but not before stealing a magic sword forged from a meteorite, named the Ebony Blade. The sword had been enchanted by Starswirl himself, giving the sword a number of powers, including the ability to deflect magic, and even absorb it at times. That’s how most swords got their ability to deflect magic, by the way.

Anyways, the sword could also cut through any material, though as far as anyone can tell, an exception hasn’t been found yet. It also forms a psychic link with its wielder, allowing the wielder to summon it if they lose it, and it also can prevent the wielder from being killed. But Starswirl also placed a curse upon the sword. If anypony were to use it with nothing but pure intentions, it would slowly turn the wielder to stone the more it was used for evil reasons.

The Black Knight didn’t know of the curse. Nopony did until the Princesses discovered some of Starswirl’s notes. But he became a highwaypony of sorts, robbing rich nobles and such. But that soon wasn’t enough for him. After Equestria was founded and the Princess took power, he decided to try and rob them, despite the fact they lived in the Everfree Forest. It was said that by the time he executed his heist, the only reason he wasn’t stone was through sheer willpower. He was said to have appeared like a moving statue, with only his eyes and horn not yet stone. When sneaking through the castle, he was spotted by a guard. Knowing he wouldn’t be able to finish his heist, he fled. Nopony knew where he went after that. Some say the Princesses hunted him down, and before he could be arrested, he allowed the curse to take over, turning him to stone. Others believe that he went globe-trotting in search of a cure, but found none before the curse overpowered his will and claimed him. There are a couple other versions, like one where he lived in the Everfree Forest until the curse got him, but the general consensus is that he turned to stone after vanishing.

But I know what actually happened. When he was in the Castle of the Two Sister and spotted by the guard, he killed him, as the guard who found him was the guard that got promoted over him by King Bullion. He then was able to steal a number of trinkets and treasures before the Princesses found him. He tried to fight them, but the Princesses were far more powerful than him. Now, this is where that first story becomes accurate. This is when he allowed the curse to claim him, instead of being arrested. You can even find his statue in the sculpture garden on the castle grounds in Canterlot.”

“Woah,” interrupted Fizzy. “He sounds like a bad dude.”

Dane nodded gravely. “A ‘bad dude’ is putting it mildly. Now, this is where I come in. This is gonna take a bit of a turn, so just bear with me on this.

“I got my cutie mark when I was a foal, same as you. However, I got it when I went on a school trip to a dig site, where they were working to uncover an ancient pony city in the San Palomino desert, hoping to find ancient artifacts. As it turned out, it was where the lost seapony city of Atlantis used to be. When we were there, we were allowed to do some digging, so I grabbed a shovel, as well as my copy of Pony Artifacts Lost to Time, and got to work. Maybe about 10 minutes in, I noticed something sticking out of the sand. When I picked it up, and cross-referenced it with my book, and realized I had found the Amulet of Aurora. I also accidentally activated and almost flooded the dig site, but that’s not the point. During the chaos, I had failed to realize I had gotten my Cutie Mark. In a nutshell, it means I have a knack for discovering lost artifacts, and being able to use artifacts with little trouble. After graduating, (maybe a year or two before our current Princess, actually), I spent about 3 years working at dig sites, until Princess Celestia sent me a letter, asking me to become the new Head Archivist for the Canterlot Archives after the old one retired. I accept the offer, requesting I come on after finishing the dig I was at. A few months after I accepted the position, I actually started the job. While working there, I noticed that there was a section of the Archives only the Princesses were allowed into.

After spending those two years wondering what was in there, I finally mustered up the nerve to ask the Princess about it. She explained that the Restricted Archives was actually a small, yet intricate series of underground tunnels that formed Starswirl the Bearded’s personal library. Much to my delight, it also housed a number of magical artifacts. While we were down there, I came across a sword, black as midnight. I felt compelled to pick it up, but as soon as I did, the sword bound itself to me. Celestia heard me panicking, but by the time she found where I was, the sword had already finished. Confused and panicked, I almost passed out on the spot. Celestia managed to calm me down, and explained the history of the Black Knight to me. She also revealed why the sword bound itself to me. I’m a descendant of the Black Knight, and the sword would only bind itself to someone of the same bloodline as its first wielder. No one, Celestia included, is particularly sure how I’m descended from him, but the evidence is irrefutable. But with the sword also came the curse, and now I’ll have that looming over my head. But, after the Princesses recovered the sword, Starswirl made an amendment to the initial curse, should a descendant come along, that if the sword is used for noblest of intentions, the curse will break permanently. From that point on, I’ve been trying to find a way to break the curse, even taking a leave of absence to protect that blockhead of a prince, at the request of Princess Celestia. But so far, I’ve had no luck breaking the curse.”

Shrinky released the breath she didn’t know she was holding as Dane took a drink out of the water bottle in her bag. “That’s… a lot. Too much for one pony to handle.”

Dane nodded in agreement. “It is.”

Fizzy raised a hoof. “I have one question.”

Dane raised an eyebrow. “Just one?” she asked, incredulously.

Fizzy nodded. “Yup. Where’d you get that?” she pointed at the helmet sticking out of Dane’s bag.

“Oh,” said Dane. “I just repurposed a helmet from a line of unicorn night guard armor that isn’t in use anymore.”

“Neat,” said Fizzy.

“Eeyup,” said Dane. Silence fell between them for a moment before Dane spoke up again. “So, what're your guys’ stories? Other than the whole super villains and changelings thing. I know about that already.”

Shrinky spoke up first. “Well, I don’t really have a story. Not one on par with yours anyways. I just went to a public school, and when I learned how to shrink things, I got my Cutie Mark. I went into the magical research and development field, and was hired by Princess Twilight soon after she took the throne. I was basically given free rein to come up with whatever I felt like, permitted I submit a yearly report to her, and she signs off on what I choose to do before I start. So, pretty boring until two days ago. Five villains in two days is exhausting.”

Dane turned to Fizzy. “What about you?”

Fizzy looked hesitant, but spoke anyways. “So, as you can see, I’m a changeling. Used to be all evil and scary-lookin’, but along with basically everyone else, I rebelled against Chrysalis after King Thorax did. I was part of the pony/changeling exchange program, where changelings stay in Equestria and ponies go live with the changelings. It’s only supposed to last a couple months, but after agreeing to work with Shrinky on her shrinking potion, I was basically made a citizen of Equestria, giving me joint citizenship between the Changeling Kingdom and Equestria. Also, despite the fact that it’s what we’re known for, I… I can’t shapeshift.” Fizzy looked almost ashamed when she said that.

“Why not,” asked Dane. Fizzy didn’t reply, instead laying down in her seat and nudging Shrinky, signaling that she wanted Shrinky to explain. Shrinky sighed. “She lost her ability to shape-shift. As near as we can tell, it’s due to a mental block stemming from her guilt over feeding on ponies’ love while disguised as their loved ones.”

Dane’s expression became one of incredible empathy. She stood up and stepped next to Fizzy, crouching down. “I don’t often do this, but I feel like you need one.” She proceeded to wrap her forelegs around Fizzy in a tender hug. Fizzy’s eyes watered as she hugged back.

Dane broke the hug first, stepping back and climbing back into her seat. Fizzy sat up, rubbing her eyes. “Can we keep her?” she asked Shrinky. “She’s nice. I like her.”

To both their surprise, Dane laughed at this. “Well, you can’t keep me, as I have a job to do, but the most I can offer is us working together until this crisis is done.”

Fizzy smiled. “Deal.”

Author's Note

I've been wanting to tell this part of the story (Dane's backstory) ever since I came up with it. :twilightsmile:

Issue 5 - Ploy Story

As the four of them left the train, they saw Blueblood standing on the platform, looking nervous. He ran over when he spotted them, as Shrinky adjusted the saddlebag, making her it was tight around her middle.

“Are you alright?” asked Dane, pulling her helmet back on, obscuring her red eyes once again.

Blueblood shook his head. “No. I have news regarding our…” he looked around conspiratorially, as if to make sure no one was listening. “…infestation.”

Fizzy bristled slightly at that but made no comment. Blueblood didn’t notice, or if he did, paid it no mind as he continued. “Starlight was right,” he said. “The villains are indeed in the caverns beneath the castle, as are the changelings.”

Dane raised an eyebrow. “Did you go down and look?”

Blueblood scoffed. “Of course not. Do you really think I’d put myself in danger? I sent two guards down to investigate. They came back just a little while ago and confirmed it.”

“Wooow,” said Fizzy, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “That was quite brave of you.”

Blueblood straightened up. “I know,” he said, evidently pleased with himself. Dane facehoofed.

“Anyways…” said Shrinky, changing the subject for Dane throttled the narcissistic prince. “Since we know where they are, we should probably head down there as soon as possible.”

Dane nodded in agreement. “That would be prudent.”

Blueblood grinned. “Splendid! I’ve already gathered a squad of Royal Guards to accompany you!”

“Really?” asked Dane, surprised. “That’s surprisingly helpful of you.”

“Thank yo-,” began Blueblood, before stopping, seemingly processing Dane’s words. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Fizzy snickered. “Don’t worry about it,” said Shrinky. “Let’s just focus on getting the bad guys.”

Dane nodded. “Lead the way to the caverns, your highness.”

Blueblood smiled. “Right this way.”

As they strolled the Canterlot in the evening light, the streets were mostly empty, the high society having mostly turned in for the night. As they approached the castle, they saw the squad of guards Blueblood spoke of. As they approached, the leader of the group stepped forward.

“Prince Blueblood. We’ve barricaded the entrance to the caverns, so nopony is getting in or out, you and your associated notwithstanding.”

“Thank you, Sergeant,” said Blueblood. He opened his mouth to continue, but before he could say anything, a dark mass tackled him out of nowhere, scooping him up. The guards reacted quickly, readying their spears, as did Dane, drawing her sword for the first time since Shrinky had met her. As her story said, the blade was black as midnight. Yet somehow, it seemed to radiate light, but at the same time absorbed it, creating a disorienting effect. Fizzy too had entered a battle-ready stance, transparent insectoid wings flared.

The dark mass holding Blueblood was a changeling. It held Blueblood in such a way that he was pinned against its underside, with a hoof held over his mouth, silencing him. That didn’t stop Blueblood from attempting to break free and call out for help, which only resulted in very slight wiggling and muffled sounds. The changeling hissed at them, before flying away.

“After him!” cried Shrinky. The pegasi guards took flight, as did Fizzy, flying as fast as they could after the changeling and his captive. Everypony else ran behind them, hooves slamming into the cobblestone as they ran.

“It’s heading for the caverns!” cried the sergeant. They could see the changeling ahead, but it was quickly losing them, flying faster than even the pegasi. Fizzy beat her wings as fast as she could, slowly closing the gap between the two changelings as she left the royal guards in the dust.

It suddenly made a sharp left turn, vanishing down an alleyway. Fizzy swerved down the alley, grinding to a halt midair as she looked around. The changeling had vanished. Fizzy floated out of the alley as everypony else caught up.

“Where is he?” asked Dane, panicked.

Fizzy shrugged, looking defeated. “I don’t know! They just vanished.”

Shrinky turned towards the sergeant. “Where is the entrance to the caverns?”

“Right this way, miss,” he said. He led her through the alley to the street on the other side. He led her down the street, to where it ended at a wall, part of the elevated castle grounds. Sticking out of the wall was a tower that climbed all the way up to the castle grounds. The double doors leading into the tower were open. Broken planks of wood and stone littered the ground in front of the door. ‘Some barricade,’ she thought.

Dane and Fizzy came up behind her. Shrinky turned towards the guard. “You guys stay up here and keep looking for Blueblood. We’ll head down and take care of the villains.”

The sergeant nodded. “Shall I have a couple of guards accompany you?”

Shrinky looked back at her companions, both of whom nodded. She turned back to the sergeant. “Yes, please.”

“Day Ranger! Stalwart Shield!” At their names, two Pegasus guards stepped forward. “You two will accompany these three into the caverns!” ordered the sergeant. “Be on your guard. We don’t know what sort of powers these villains have, and there are changelings down there. Stay alert. That is all.” The pegasi saluted. “Yes, sir!” they chanted back.

One guard stood on either side of the three mares, spears lowered. “Alright then,” said Shrinky. “It’s go time.” And with that, they stepped through the doors and down into the caverns below.

The only light in the cavern came from Shrinky and Dane, using their magic to illuminate the cavern. The crystalline structures around them reflected and refracted the light with dancing shades of purple light, formed from Shrinky’s blue aura, and Dane’s red. As they walked, they kept silent, listening for sounds that could locate their enemies.

They suddenly heard a CLANK from behind them. Dane whirled around to see one of the guards had vanished, his spear on the ground. The other guard lowered into a battle stance. They heard a thud from the tunnel ahead, prompting them to turn forward again to find nothing.

“What’s happening?” asked Dane.

“I don’t know!” cried Shrinky. “It’s almost like this place is… haunted.” Chills of realization ran down her spine. “It’s that unicorn. The one from the train!”

“Ghost?!” asked Fizzy. Before Shrinky could confirm, the second guard vanished with a hrrk, and his spear clanking to the ground. Behind them, the ghostly unicorn from the train silently rose from the ground. Fizzy glanced back and saw her. “She’s behind us!” Fizzy ran off down the tunnel, with Shrinky and Dane following, Ghost in hot pursuit.

“Also,” said Shrinky as they ran. “You named them?”

“Yeah!” said Fizzy. “So we could differentiate between them better. So instead of saying “Watch out for that unicorn!” I can say, “WATCH OF FOR BULLDOZER!!!”

Shrinky was about to ask who Bulldozer was, when she got her answer via an armored Earth pony ramming into her side, sending her flying into the wall of the cavern. She felt herself get picked up in Dane’s magic, being brought alongside the mare in question as she ran.

“Are these *huff* the villains you fought?” she asked, panting heavily as she ran.

Shrinky nodded. “Yeah. They aren’t the only ones though. What Fizzy named them though is something you’d have to ask her.”

Dane didn’t get the chance, as when they turned a corner, it led to a dead-end, with the only possible escape route being the tunnel they had just come from.

“Oh shit,” said Shrinky.

They heard a sinister laugh from behind them. “‘Oh shit’ is right,” said a voice. They turned around to see somepony standing in the entrance to the dead end. The light emanating from their horn revealed their identity to be, of all ponies, Prince Blueblood.

“Prince Blueblood? Are you okay?” asked Dane, stepping forward.

“Oh, I’m fine. I’m afraid, however, you soon won’t be,” he said, sneering at them. Five other ponies stepped up next to him, the light of both Blueblood’s horn, as well as the horn of the ghost unicorn, revealing herself and the other villains, all sneering.

Dane stepped back. “W-what?”

“‘W-what?’” mimicked Blueblood mockingly. “Gods, you’re pathetic. Well, at least I won’t have to deal with you for much longer.”

Shrinky stepped forward shakily, Dane having dropped her in shock. “So you’re the one behind this?”

“Don’t sound so surprised. You’ll hurt my feelings,” said Blueblood, coolly.

“But why? Why are you doing this?” asked Dane, voice heavy with hurt.

“Because, you whimpering foal,” snapped Blueblood. “I was supposed to be the ruler of Equestria. I should be the one sitting on that throne, but instead that good-for-nothing bookworm is sitting there instead. I’ve been planning this for years, ever since my aunt gave that purple worrywart wings. Up until that pointed, I’d coasted by on my good looks, romancing ponies into getting what I want, but after that I realized two things. First, my aunt was grooming her prized pupil to take over, instead of me, her flesh and blood. That led me to my second realization. I had to get smart.

So, I started planning. I slowly bided my time, waiting for the perfect moment to eliminate that stupid purple bitch and her friends. But after Cozy Glow almost managed to eliminate all magic, I realized something. She was right in one aspect. You can’t take on the former Bearers of the Elements of Harmony by yourself. So, I sought out allies, ponies with a bone to pick with the new Princess and her friends.

“First I found Nosey Nose trying to sneak into Twilight’s coronation. She was trying to regain her reputation as a reporter after having it destroyed by Fluttershy and Applejack. I offered her a deal. Revenge on those who wronged her, in exchange for joining my cause,” he gestured to the hooded pony Fizzy had dubbed Ghost, who stamped her hoof. “C’mon,” she said. “We’re wasting time.”

Blueblood ignored her and continued.

“Then I found Lightning Dust here,” he gestured to pegasus with the skull mask, “and offered her the same deal. Vengeance on Rainbow Dash in exchange for joining my cause. Needless to say, she didn’t need much convincing.”

Lightning Dust snickered menacingly, drawing her sword. “Rainbow’s gonna pay,” she said.

“I offered the same deal to the rest of these fine ponies, who all accepted.”

The white stallion with the speaker collar stepped forward. “I used to be Countess Coloratura’s manager. But then that stupid Pinkie Pie and her apple friend turned Countess Coloratura against me, even though I made her somepony. They took everything from me, and I plan to do the same to them.”

The armored construction pony stepped forward. “I used to be a construction worker in Ponyville. But because of Princess Twilight and her friends, my job became ten times harder than it was before she moved there. I almost lost my life on multiple occasions! They’re too dangerous to be in charge.”

The stallion in the green armor stepped forward, and removed his helmet. However, before he could speak, Fizzy spoke up. “Wait! I know you! You’re Wind Rider, the disgraced Wonderbolt!”

“FORMER WONDERBOLT!” roared Wind Rider in rage. “The only reason I was ‘disgraced’ is because I tried to protect my record, but Little Miss Mystery had to do and reveal everything. That stupid unicorn shoulda kept her nose outta business that wasn’t hers.”

Blueblood nodded in agreement. “Save for Twilight, Rarity is probably the most vexing out of all of them.”

“Okay, so Twilight and her friends have all wronged you. That’s why you’re all here. But that doesn’t answer everything,” said Shrinky. “What about the changelings? Where’d you get your powers from?”

Blueblood grinned. “That’s the genius part. I didn’t plan on changelings coming into the mix, but when they abducted me to replace me, I realized I could use them to my advantage. They were… unorganized. Angry. They wanted revenge for their Queen being turned to stone. The deal I made with them is quite simple. I point, and they shoot. I gave them targets, and they’d destroy them, slowly causing chaos around Equestria until Princess Twilight was too frazzled to notice as I enacted the final piece of my plan.”

“Which was?” asked Fizzy.

“Getting my hooves on this,” he said. Floating from out behind him came Grogar’s Bewitching Bell. “With Twilight distracted, I was able to convince the guards to let me in, claiming I was doing the bi-daily Bell check for her. Once inside, I used the Bell on myself, giving myself just enough power to wipe the guards' memories of letting me in and seeing me leave with the Bell. Once I did that, I swiftly handed it off to Lightning Dust, who brought it down to these caverns for me. I met everypony down here that evening to hold up my end of the bargain.

Using what little power was left in the Bell, I distributed it amongst my five associates. I gave Lightning Dust the ability to mimic any physical movement or attack after seeing it once, to Nosey Nose, I gave her enough power to turn invisible and intangible. Wind Rider got the ability to move fast enough to generate whirlwinds, Ambrosia got her natural Earth pony strength, speed, and durability jacked up to eleven, and to Svengallop I gave the ability to get anyone to believe what he says just by hearing him say something. Now, I understand Fizzy Wings here came up with charming nicknames for us. Care to share?”

Fizzy gulped. “Well, Nosey Nose is Ghost, on account of being able to turn invisible and walk through walls. For Lightning Dust, I came up with Taskmaster. For Ambrosia, I came up with Bulldozer. For Wind Rider and Svengallop: Whirlwind and Voice.”

Blueblood frowned. “Well, those last two could use work. And what about me? Do I get a supervillain alias?”

Fizzy nodded. “Power Broker. Since you brokered deals with them and gave the powers as part of your end.”

Blueblood nodded. “Power Broker,” he said, almost like he was trying it on. “I like it. I think I’ll keep it.”

“I have one more question,” said Shrinky.

Blueblood rolled his eyes. “Ugh. What now? I can promise you there isn’t going to be a pop quiz on this.”

“Why are you telling us this?” she asked, tone dead serious.

Blueblood’s eyes sparkled. “Oh. Now that’s a question I’ll gladly answer. Because you asked. Well, that, and the fact that I was going to kill you either way.”

“WHAT?!”

“Don’t act surprised. I wouldn’t have said anything if I believed you had a chance of stopping this. My plan is already in effect. The changelings are in position, ready to strike at each of Twilight’s friends. They’re only waiting for my signal, which they will receive as soon as I leave here. Svengallop, or should I say, Voice, you know what to do.”

Svengallop stepped forward, the repaired speakers on his shoulders crackling to life. “Dane Whitmare. The only way to break your curse is to kill Shrinky Dink and Fizzy Wings.”

Fizzy gasped and backtrotted away from Dane, who was slowly standing up, drawing her sword in the process.

With a BAMF!, the saddlebag containing Shrinky and Fizzy’s shrinking suits vanished from Shrinky’s back, reappearing next to Blueblood in his magic. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to confiscate these. We can’t have you escaping, now can we?”

“BLUEBLOOD!!!!” screamed Shrinky in rage. She charged at him, but instead of running, he simply waved a hoof and said, “Ta-ta.” An earth-shattering THOOM rang throughout the cavern. Shrinky turned to see Ambrosia had rammed into the wall, sending cracks all way up to the top. Another headbutt from the Earth pony would cause a cave-in. Shrinky turned to instead charge at Ambrosia, but was too late. Ambrosia had already begun her second charge, colliding with the wall with another THOOM. Cracking sounds filled the air as the ceiling above the entrance came crashing down, cutting off Fizzy and Shrinky from the villains, trapping them with a brainwashed Dane.

Issue 6 - A Royal Pain

Author's Note

SEASON 9 FINALE SPOILERS AHEAD! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Issue 6 - A Royal Pain

Fizzy was not happy. Her new friend was now trying to kill her, thanks to a curse that wasn’t ever her fault, and a sick joke courtesy of a sociopath. Dane’s eyes had the same eerie glow that Starlight’s and Sunburst’s had when under Svengallop’s control. Only this time, they couldn’t knock him out to break his control. As Dane swung her cursed sword at Fizzy, she kept saying, “I’m sorry, but it’s the only way.” Fizzy’s heart was breaking as she danced just out of reach of the enchanted blade.

Fizzy leapt backwards, narrowly avoiding the tip of the blade, only to hit the end of the cavern. Dane raised the Ebony Blade high into the air, again saying “I’m sorry, but it’s the only way.” She slashed the sword down, as if to decapitate Fizzy at an angle. It would have done just that had Shrinky not intervened, dragging Fizzy to the right with her magic.

The sword instead drove itself into her left shoulder, causing Fizzy to scream in pain. The sword continued its swing, cutting a medium-sized chunk out of Fizzy’s shoulder. She howled in agony. Shrinky gasped, both at the fact that her friend had less shoulder than before, but also at something else. True to how Dane had described the curse, Shrinky saw a splotch of gray appear on the back of Dane’s left foreleg. She was turning to stone. This gave Shrinky an idea.

“Dane!” she yelled. “Listen to me! This isn’t how you’ll break your curse!”

Dane turned towards her, swiveling the Ebony Blade midair, now aiming at Shrinky. “You know nothing about my curse,” said Dane angrily.

“But I do!” protested Shrinky, while behind Dane, Fizzy applied changeling goop to arm as a sort of makeshift bandage. “You said the only way to break the curse was to do something with the noblest of intentions, right?”

Shrinky paused, quickly side-stepping the sword as it stabbed at her. It grazed her side, drawing blood. This caused another stone splotch to appear on her front, and the one on her leg to grow larger, wrapping around to the front of her leg.

“Look at yourself! You’re turning to stone now!”

Dane froze. “W-what? What do you mean?”

Shrinky slowly stepped forward. “Look at your leg, and your front.”

Dane looked down, lifting up her left foreleg. She gasped as she realized Shrinky was telling the truth. The Ebony Blade clattered to the ground as Dane’s magic dissipated. She broke down sobbing. Shrinky slowly stepped forward, lifting Dane’s helmet off her head, and wrapped her hooves around Dane in an embrace, giving Dane a shoulder to cry on. Fizzy limped over, hissing in pain as she did so. She wrapped her good foreleg around Dane as well.

“I’m so sorry,” said Dane between sobs.

“Hey, hey,” said Fizzy. She used her good leg to lift Dane’s face up to hers. The fur around her eyes was matted down from tears. “It’s okay,” said Fizzy. “I’ll be fine. But for now, we need to worry about getting out of here.”

Shrinky nodded in agreement. “The only question is how. We can’t live the rocks, as that could cause the cave in to get worse.”

Shrinky walked over to the rocks, and leaned down, scanning along the floor. “I’ve got an idea,” she said. “But it’s risky.”

Fizzy cocked an eyebrow. “How risky are we talking?”

“Eh… maybe, possibly, potentially fatal risky,” said Shrinky. She laughed nervously.

Fizzy stared at her with a deadpan expression for a moment. “Alright,” she said, shrugging with her good leg. “It’s not like we’ve got much to lose. What’s the plan?”

“I can shrink us down with my shrinking spell so we can get out under the rocks. But we won’t be able to breathe, and I don’t know how long I can hold the spell, since our natural magic will try to resist it. I think I’ll be able to hold it for a minute or two at most, so we’ll need to move fast.”

Dane stood up, wiping her eyes. “Let’s do it.” Fizzy nodded in agreement. Dane lifted her sword over to her and stored it back in its sheath, and placed her helmet back on her head. They walked over to Shrinky and stood next to her.

Shrinky took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “Alright then.” Her horn flared to life, a blue glow enveloping it. The aura expanded to encase all three of them. Once it did, it slowly began to compress, shrinking them along with it. They each took a big gulp of air before the shrinking sped up. Within moments, they could easily fit in between the gaps. Shrinky gestured for them to go.

They started through the cracks at a quick trot. As they maneuvered through the rocks, they had to make sure they didn’t disturb any of the rocks. As the seconds ticked by, Shrinky could see the edges of her vision going black, and was feeling more light-headed by the second. She presumed the others were experiencing similar symptoms, as Dane was starting to slow down, and Fizzy kept wobbling like she was about to pass out.

“Mmmmm!” grunted Dane. She pointed ahead, where they could see a light. Fizzy glanced back at Shrinky, but as she did, her eyes rolled into the back of her head, passing out from both lack of oxygen and her wounded shoulder. Shrinky lifted Fizzy onto her back and signaled to Dane to run. They ran towards the light as fast as they could. Shrinky’s vision was tunneling. ‘We’re not gonna make it,” she thought. But Dane put on another burst of speed, giving Shrinky hope. But Dane tripped, stumbling into a rock that formed part of the wall. When she did so, the rocks around them began rumbling.

Shrinky ran, the only thing she could see was the tiny red light of Dane’s magic in the center of her vision. She tackled Dane, and dropped the spell as she did. As her body expanded back up to normal size, she breathed heavily, gulping down air. She could hear Dane coughing before doing the same.

“Well, *huff* that was *huff* close,” said Dane between heaving breaths.

Shrinky nodded. “Too close,” she said. She laid Fizzy down on the ground, before lightly shaking her. “C’mon Fizzy. Wake up,” she said. Fizzy didn’t move, but Shrinky could see her chest rising and falling slightly, showing she was breathing. Fizzy groaned, opening her eyes slowly. “Di-did we make it?” she asked before coughing.

“Barely. But we have to keep moving. We need to warn the Princess if it isn’t too late,” said Dane, pulling Fizzy to her hooves. They made their way back through the caverns as fast as possible, though they were slightly hindered by Fizzy’s wound, as she had to keep reapplying changeling paste to it. When they reached the entrance, they didn’t see any of the guards, which made Shrinky uncomfortable. The feeling was worsened when Fizzy said, “How much do you wanna bet that all those guards were changelings?”

“My entire life savings,” grunted Dane.

“C’mon, we need to get to the castle,” said Shrinky. They hurried through the city until the reached the castle gates, where two guards blocked the entrance. “State your name and purpose,” said one of the guards.

Dane sighed and stepped forward. “My name is Dane Whitmare, assis-,” she never got to finish, as the guards’ spears were shoved into her face. “Dane Whitmare? Isn’t that one of the ponies Prince Blueblood said to arrest should they come to the castle?” The other guard nodded, turning his spear towards Shrinky and Fizzy. “In that case, I imagine you two are Shrinky Dink and Fizzy Wings. By the orders of Prince Blueblood, all three of you are under arrest.”

“WHAT?!”

The three of them stood in their cell, glaring at the guard who confiscated their stuff. They’d even taken Dane’s helmet. Fizzy leaned against the side of the cell. “Hey guard,” she asked. He didn’t respond. Fizzy carried on, unfazed. “So, if Blueblood’s in charge, where’s Princess Twilight? Can I at least have some bandages?” He again said nothing, but instead stepped out of the room and into the hall. They heard approaching footsteps, and prepared to deal with Blueblood again, but were pleasantly surprised to see Tempest and Spector walk through the doorway instead, both wearing the same outfits they had been wearing when Shrinky and Fizzy last saw them, if only looking a little worse for wear.

“Oh, thank Celestia,” said Shrinky, filled with relief. “Tempest, boy am I glad to see-”

“Save it, traitor,” said Tempest loudly, scowling. “Don’t treat me like I’m some friend of yours, not after you betrayed my trust.” Tempest winked at Shrinky who was immensely confused. “But we didn’t,” she said. “We’re on your side!” Tempest scoffed loudly while gesturing to Spector, who was slipping a piece of paper and a quill through the bars. Two words were written on the paper: “What happened?” Fizzy took the quill and began scribbling madly, writing down all the events that had transpired. Shrinky’s eyes widened in understanding. “Oooooh,” she mouthed. Tempest grinned and nodded, before continuing. “You expect me to believe that you didn’t send Princes Twilight a letter telling her to go to Ponyville and that her friends were in trouble? A likely story. Prince Blueblood told me what really happened. About how you were the ones behind the changeling attacks. All we need to do is link the stolen Bell to you.”

Shrinky fought back a giggle. “But it wasn’t us! Oh, Tempest, you have to believe us! It’s Blueblood. He’s the one behind everything.”

“We were told you’d say that, you filthy liar,” said Tempest, clearly enjoying this. “Now, tell us what you know about Grogar’s Bell.”

Dane had since picked up on what was happening, and decided to join in on the fun. “Well, you see, Discord originally took the bell and pretended to be Grogar in order to get a bunch of villains together to… oh, you seem to know this part. Shall I jump ahead?” It was all Shrinky could do to not lose it.

Fizzy finished and slid the paper back to Spector, who picked it up and scanned it. He then passed it over to Tempest, who read it while Spector took over.

“We know you had the Bell in your possession recently. I can smell it on you. Or did you forget that we Thestrals are natural trackers?” despite the circumstances, Spector didn’t smile. But Shrinky could’ve sworn she saw a twinkle of mirth in his eyes, if just for a moment.

“Since you won’t talk, it seems we’ll have to try more extreme measures. Guard!” called Tempest.

“Yes?” asked the guard.

“Release these prisoners,” said Tempest. “They’re coming with us. Also, give him their stuff,” she said, gesturing to Spector, who didn’t seem to like that.

“Right away, miss,” said the guard. His horn sprang to life, and the cell door swung open. He also levitated the two saddlebags to Spector, who placed them on his back.

“Thank you,” said Tempest. “Prisoners, come with me. And no funny business. You know what I am capable of.”

They followed Tempest out of the cell, single file in order to keep up the act, with Spector bringing up the rear. Once they turned the corner, Tempest ushered them into a side room, locking the door behind her once everyone was in.

“So,” she began. “Blueblood is behind it, then?”

“I thought you already knew he was,” said Dane, accepting her saddlebag from Spector. She pulled out her jacket and sword, and put on both.

“We had our suspicions. As we hinted at earlier, I could smell the Bell on him. He was rank with the scent,” said Spector, handing the other bag to Shrinky, who put it on her own back. She looked inside for their suits. They weren’t there. “Fizzy,” she said. “Our suits are gone. So is the all the shrinking potion. What are we going to do?”

“Fight,” said Fizzy, determined. “Because we have to.” She went to take a step, but hissed as pain shot through her leg from her shoulder.

“Oh! Fizzy, here’s a healing salve and some bandages,” said Tempest, pulling them from a pocket in her bright yellow coat.

Fizzy quickly took them and began applying the salve to her arm, sighing as it began to work its magic. “Thanks,” she said graciously. “So, what’s the plan?”

Dane pulled her helmet on as she spoke. “We confront Blueblood, and get ready for a fight.” Her voice wavered slightly at the prospect of more violence. Much to her despair, they had discovered the stone was slowly spreading, and she feared that more unnecessary violence would expedite the process.

Shrinky nodded. “Fizzy and Dane are right. We have to do this. It’s our only shot. We have to stop Blueblood here and now, before it’s too late. Hopefully, the Princess and her friends can handle the rest of the villains and the changelings in Ponyville.”

“You know,” said Fizzy as she wrapped her shoulder. “I’ve taken to calling them The Masters of Evil. Has a nice ring to it, huh?”

“You’re giving them a team name?” asked Spector.

Dane shrugged. “She already gave them aliases.”

“Wow,” said Tempest. “Just… wow.”

Fizzy responded with a one-legged shrug as she finished wrapping her shoulder and began pulling on her suit. Once finished, she turned to Shrinky. Shrinky looked at each of them. “Alright. This is it,” she said. “The big one. If we fail here, Equestria falls. We can’t lose. And we won’t. Blueblood has no idea we’re coming, so let's use that to our advantage. We got this.”

“Nice speech,” said Fizzy. “Bit of a rough start at first, but you got there in the end.”

“Thanks,” deadpanned Shrinky. “C’mon. We have a country to save.”

Tempest and Spector pushed their way into the throne room to see Blueblood reclining on the throne, looking immensely pleased with himself. He was wearing a black suit, and a chin-mask-thing. His purple tie had a glowing dot in the middle. He looked up as they walked in, and smiled. “Ah, Tempest. And the other one. How goes the interrogations?”

Tempest and Spector bowed. Shrinky had to grab on to Tempest’s mane hairs to stay on her head. She hoped the glow of her horn couldn’t be seen, as she held her breath. “They weren’t responding to traditional methods, so I had the guards bring them down to the lower levels. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get them to be more talkative down there, with a little… persuasion.” Her horn sparked, filling Shrinky’s nose with the smell of ozone.

“Excellent,” said Blueblood. “And I imagine you’ll soon locate the whereabouts of the missing Bell?”

“Once they tell us everything they know, we should have no trouble finding it,” said Tempest.

“Good, “ said Blueblood. “Dismissed.”

“Oh, another thing, your highness,” said Tempest.

“What?” said Blueblood, clearing wanting the conversation to be over.

“Gotchya,” she said. At that, Shrinky shot a shrinking spell at the door, causing it to shrink to the size of a bread slice, allowing Dane and Fizzy to run inside, sword drawn. Shrinky leapt out of her hiding spots, growing up to full height as she dropped the spell. Spector pulled out his baton, lowering into an offensive stance. Tempest’s horn began sparking madly.

Blueblood rolled his eyes, looking bored. “Gods, you’re predictable. You know that? I saw this coming a mile away. You just have to play the hero. But there’s no point. I already told you that you can’t stop me. But I guess I do need to speed things up. Guards! Time to go!”

The two guards at the end of the steps leading up to the throne burst into green flames, revealing themselves to be changelings.

Blueblood hopped out of the throne and walked down the stairs toward the five heroes.

“Well, you guys are persistent, I’ll give you that. Persistent thorns in my side! But no matter. Soon, I’ll have enough power to blast you to the moon. Literally.” He reached the bottom step, where the changelings stepped over to him, one on either side.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have business to attend to. Ta-ta!” His horn sprang to life, and with a loud bang and a flash of light, Blueblood and the changelings were gone.

Issue 7 - We're in the Endgame now. (Brought to by: Superhero Finale Without a Sky Laser!)

“Where’d he go?!” cried Tempest.

“He went to Ponyville,” said Dane. “That’s where the other Masters of Evil are. The only question is, how are we going to get there fast enough. The trains are too slow. And none of us can teleport vast distances.”

“Hey,” said Fizzy, pointing to the balcony that was immediately off the throne room. “That could work.” Sitting on the balcony was a chariot. “Between Moon Knight and I, we should be able to get there in time to stop them.”

Shrinky looked at Spector, who nodded in agreement. “Get strapped in. We need to leave. Now.”

Ten minutes later, they were in the sky, bound for Ponyville. Even though the moonlight was more than enough, they could easily see Ponyville, as it seemed like every light in the town was on. As they flew closer, they saw why. Ponies were gathered around the town hall, while gray-haired mare in glasses seemed to be trying to calm the mob. As they landed, they could hear various cries of confusion.

“Please calm down everypony,” said the mare. “I’m sure everything is perfectly fine.”

“It isn’t,” said Tempest, stepping forward, her voice carrying over the crowd. They turned and looked at her. A small yellow Earth pony pushed her way to the front. “What’s goin’ on?” she asked, with a county twang to her voice. “All Ah know is that mah sister was kidnapped by a couple o’ non-reformed changelin’s and a construction pony in weird armor. When Ah got here, Spike was poundin’ on the door like a mad-dragon. So were Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. There we’re lights flashing from inside, and what sounded like a cowbell ringin’.”

“He used the Bell,” said Tempest to Shrinky. “Where’s Spike now?” she asked the filly.

“He went runnin’ off to the Everfree Forest. Ah think he went to go get Zecora,” said the filly. “Sweetie and Scoots went with him.”

Shrinky stepped forward. “You and Spector go find him. And if he’s with Zecora, tell her to come too. We need her help in slowing Dane’s curse. She’ll be living in a decorated tree in the forest.” Tempest nodded, and she and Spector raced off towards the forest.

“Ponies of Ponyville,” said Dane, loudly. “The Princess and her friends have been kidnapped by Prince Blueblood. He and five other ponies are working with the rogue changelings to take over Equestria. He has used Grogar’s Bewitching Bell to absorb their magic. We are here to rescue them. As this could get ugly, I urge you to back to your homes, and stay hidden.”

The ponies in the crowd quickly ran back into their homes, leaving the square deserted, save for the little yellow filly. “I wanna help,” she said. Fizzy stepped forward, leaning down to her level. “I’m sure you do. But trust me on this. You don’t want to be here when we go in there. I’m sure Applejack wouldn’t want you here either.”

The filly’s head cocked. “How do you know my sister’s name?” Fizzy smiled. “Other than the fact that she’s a national hero?”

The filly blushed. “Oh. Right.” With that, she quickly trotted off.

Shrinky nudged her. “You’re surprisingly good with kids.”

Fizzy shrugged. “Thanks. Now, how are we getting in?”

“I’ve got a plan. Let’s wait until the others get back,” said Shrinky.

A few moments later, Tempest and Spector came running back, with Zecora tailing behind them. She was wearing a blue and purple costume, complete with cape and hat. She had a saddlebag strapped to her side. Shrinky could hear bottles clinking inside as they ran up to them.

“I’m glad to know have returned. As you can see, the tables have turned,” Zecora grimly. “Now, come over here, my changeling friend, for it seems you have wounds for me to mend. And for you and your curse, I may have a solution inside of my purse.” Both Fizzy and Dane stepped forward, with Fizzy unwrapping her shoulder. Zecora inspected it. “Well, your shoulder has healed fine so far. All I suspect you’ll have is a scar.” She turned to Dane, “But your condition is worse, my friend,” she said. “If this isn’t undone, you’ll soon meet your end.” And Zecora was right. The curse had turned the entirety of Dane’s upper leg to stone, and most of her chest was rock as well. “I know how to break the curse,” said Dane. “Do you have anything that could slow the effects?” Zecora nodded. “I have a way to slow the jinx, but I must warn you, this potion stinks.”

She pulled a vial of sickly green fluid out of her bag and offered it to Dane. Dane picked it up with her magic and downed it with no hesitation. Zecora looked mildly surprised, but moved on. “Now my friends, to this request I want no resistance. I want to offer my assistance. I can fight and use my brews. I have many designed to confuse.”

“So, I got that you want to help us fight,” said Fizzy. “But what does that second part mean?” asked Fizzy. “Uh, no offense.”

“It’s fine, friendly changeling. I just need another shot at explaining. I have potions and brews designed for confusion, since I use them to for the art of illusion. When used these potions create alarm, but I like them because they cause no harm.”

Shrinky nodded. “That could be useful. Also, what’s with the costume?”

“I borrowed it from Rarity the other night. I’m glad I brought them before the fight.”

“Brought what?” asked Shrinky.

Zecora reached into her saddlebag and pulled out to folded bundles, one yellow, one red, as well as PYMs, complete with shrinking and growing potions.

“Are those…” Fizzy asked, taking the yellow one. Shrinky took the red one in shocked silence.

“After you left, I was inspired. And your old suits needed to be retired. The old ones looked worn and bare, so I made new ones, with added flair.”

As Shrinky looked over her new suit, she had to admit Zecora was right. Compared to the old suits (which were technically only test suits), the new ones looked downright gorgeous. Looking closer, she noticed that Zecora had incorporated a bug-like hexagonal pattern to the colored sections of the suit, with the front of the suit looking like a bug.

“These look incredible. How did you make them?” Shrinky asked, putting on her suit.

Zecora looked mildly embarrassed. Well, when you gave me the potion sheet, the suit designs came along too, rolled up inside all nice and neat. I committed it to memory, before I worked on the recipe.”

“Oh. Huh,” said Shrinky. “I didn’t even notice.”

“Well,” said Fizzy, pulling on her suit. “We were still recovering from Voice and Bulldozer.”

Tempest coughed. “Anyways, let’s actually start said fight. What’s the plan?”

Shrinky stepped forward and turned towards the group. With Zecora and their new suits, their chances of success were slightly better. “Alright, here’s the plan: Fizzy and I shrink down and sneak inside. When we unlock the door, you all will bust in. Zecora, start working your illusion magic quickly. We’ll need a distraction if we’re to get everypony out. I know it’s the Princess and her friends, but our first priority is getting them out of danger, since they’re the targets.”

“I can guarantee they won’t leave,” said Tempest. “But it couldn’t hurt to try.”

Shrinky nodded. “The next part of the plan will be to take out the Masters of Evil. Our best chance is to separate them, and fight each villain separate from the rest. But the end goal is to steal the Bewitching Bell back from Blueblood and incapacitate him before he can use it.”

As Shrinky surveyed her friends’ faces she could see the doubt in their eyes. But she could also see the determination.

Fizzy spoke up. “I love this plan! I’m excited to be a part of it! Let’s do it!”

“I couldn’t have said it better myself,” said Dane, chuckling slightly, despite the circumstances. Shrinky could’ve sworn she saw a blush on Fizzy cheeks, but it was too dark to tell. She still planned on teasing her about it regardless.

“Alright. Let’s-”

“Oh, wait!” said Fizzy. She stepped over to Shrinky. “First, I hereby dub thee: Ant-Mare. And I hereby dub myself, The Wasp.” Fizzy then pulled on her mask.

Shrinky smiled, despite herself, and pulled her own mask on. “Ok, now that we’re officially superheroes, let’s do this.”

Shrinky and Fizzy crept into the Town Hall, sneaking under the door. They could hear Twilight and her friends yelling at Blueblood. They made it in to see Blueblood standing on the alcove above the main floor of the room. The rest of the Masters of Evil, as well as the changelings, surrounded the Princess and her friends.

“You won’t get away with this!” yelled Princess Twilight. “Even if we can’t stop you, there will always be-” She never got to finish as Blueblood interrupted her. “Oh, you stupid naïve princess. For being such a bookworm, you’re really quite stupid. Don’t you get it? I’ve already won! Nopony can save you now.”

“That’s not true,” spoke up Starlight. “Don’t forget, Shrinky and Fizzy are still out there. They’ll stop you.”

Blueblood laughed, rolling his eyes. “Please, she, the changeling, and my doomed assistant, as well as Princess Twilight’s dynamic duo are stranded in Canterlot, or might as well be. Even if they took the train, by the time they get here, it’ll be too late.”

“ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THAT!” yelled Fizzy. Both Shrinky and Fizzy expanded back to full size.

“WHAT!? Impossible!” yelled Blueblood. He looked down at the other Masters of Evil. “STOP THEM!” he roared, pointing at them. Shrinky’s horn quickly sprang to life, and before any of the villains could move, she lifted shrank the doors down, revealing their allies, battle-ready.

The Masters of Evil and the changelings charged at the heroes, themselves charging into the room. Zecora smashed two bottles, green smoke pouring out of them. Zecora had pulled up the mask on her costume, and was now engaged in a brawl with a changeling. Tempest’s horn was fizzing wildly as multi-colored missiles fired out of it, slamming against Ambrosia as she charged at her. Shrinky made a beeline for Starlight, who was attempting to fight back, despite how awful she looked. Shrinky activated the shrinking PYM as a changeling dive-bombed her, causing it to slam into the floor instead. She expanded back up as she reached Starlight.

“Boy, am I glad to see you,” she said. “We were getting worried there.”

“Starlight, I need you and Sunburst to help Zecora confuse the changelings with her illusion potions.”

Starlight grinned. “I’ve spent enough time around Trixie to know how to do illusions. You can count on us. Sunburst!” she called. The orange unicorn turned around. “Yeah?” he asked. “Come with me,” said Starlight before running into the green smoke that was filling the room. Sunburst quickly followed.

Fizzy expanded up next to Shrinky, just as Svengallop stepped in front of them. He opened his mouth to speak before a very pink pony popped up in front of him, seemingly out of nowhere. “HIIIII SVENGALLOP!” said Pinkie Pie, very loudly. She bounced back as Svengallop tried to headbutt her. She landed between Fizzy and Shrinky. “Aw, that wasn’t very nice of you,” she said. She turned to Shrinky. “Can I have this one? I’ve got a score to settle.” Pinkie smiled sinisterly. Shrinky grinned back. “Gladly,” she said, gesturing to Svengallop.

“Oh no you don’t,” said Svengallop. The speakers on his shoulders crackled to life. “Pinkie Pie,” he said, his voice magnified above the din of the surrounding chaos. “You are going to fight those two ponies.” Pinkie raised an eyebrow. “I am? Why would I do that?” Svengallop immediately looked nervous, stepping back. He repeated himself. “Nope,” replied Pinkie Pie. “I’m gonna fight you.” She pulled a pastel blue cannon out of somewhere before aiming it at Svengallop. “It’s party time!” she said before cackling loudly. Svengallop turned and ran, with Pinkie giving chase. She kept firing her cannon at him, spreading confetti around the room as the sound of party horns and her cackling filled the air.

“Well then,” said Fizzy. “That’s one of them taken care of.”

Moon Knight slammed down next to them, having been rammed by Ambrosia. “Care to take this one?” he groaned, shakily getting back onto his hooves. Shrinky nodded, and lowered into a fighting stance. Fizzy followed suit. Ambrosia’s hood scuffed the ground as she prepared a charge. She broke into a run, roaring as she did so.

“Woah there, nelly!” said a country voice as a lasso strapped itself around Ambrosia’s snout, causing her to turn and smash into a support beam, cracking it. “Well, howdy there partner,” said Applejack, shaking Fizzy’s hoof, startling her. “Mind if I join ya? I get the feelin’ y’all might need some good ol’ fashioned Earth pony strength.” Shrinky nodded. “Yes please.” Applejack nodded. “Now, y’all lure her over here, so I can apple-buck that helmet o’ hers into next Tuesday.” Fizzy nodded, turning to Ambrosia as she recovered from her crash. “Hey, Ambrosia! You know what looks dumb? Your face! And your helmet, in all honesty.”

Ambrosia bellowed in rage, and began another charge. Fizzy grinned as Ambrosia approached. “Gotchya,” she said before shrinking down. Instead of ramming into a changeling as she intended, she ran straight into Applejack’s hind legs as she bucked Ambrosia’s helmet as hard as she could. Ambrosia was knocked out instantly, her steel helmet cracking.

Fizzy returned to normal size, surveying the damage. “Woah,” she said. “How’d you do that?” Applejack smirked. “I’ve been applebuckin’ since I was a filly. I didn’t need magic to make Bucky Mcgillicuddy and Kicks McGee my pride and joys,” she said, tying Ambrosia’s legs together.

“Who?” asked Shrinky. Applejack blushed. “Uh, don’t worry about it. I’m gonna go help Pinkie Pie wrangled up that good-fer-nothin’ Svengallop.” She trotted off quickly. Fizzy was about to make a comment, but was stopped by Shrinky before she could. “Look!” said Shrinky, pointing. Fizzy looked to see Ghost bearing down on Fluttershy, who was trying to put on a brave face, but only moderately succeeding.

Fizzy glanced at Shrinky. “You thinkin’ what I’m thinking?” Shrinky grinned, responding, “Most likely.” Fizzy ran towards Fluttershy while Shrinky ran off in the opposite direction. Fizzy skidded to a halt next to Fluttershy, who ‘eep!’d in surprise. “Hey there, Ghost, ya spooky scary. How’s it goin’? Sendin’ shivers down the spines of all who see ye?”

Fizzy couldn’t see Nosey Nose’s expression beneath the mask, but she assumed it was confusion. “What in Equestria are you talking about?” she asked, before saying, “You know what? It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that I have my revenge on Fluttershy for ruining my reputation!”

“Reputation?” asked Fluttershy. “How did I ruin your reputation, Miss Ghost? I’m sorry if I caused you any-”

“You know full well what you did!” screeched Nosey, shrilly, cutting Fluttershy off. “You hid the real pigasus from me, and made me look like a fool!”

Fluttershy’s eyes went wide with recognition. “Nosey Nose? Is that you?”

“YES,” said Nosey, angrily. “Now, it’s time for you to-,” She was interrupted by a surprise baton to the back of the head, courtesy of Shrinky who had snuck up behind her while small, and regrown while she was ranting.

“Oh my. Was that really necessary?” Fluttershy asked. “Yeah. It was either that or she shoved her hoof in your chest, crushing your heart.”

Fluttershy’s eyes went wide with shock. “O-oh goodness. Well, in that case, I rescind my apology.” This last part was directed at Nosey, but Shrinky doubted she heard it, considering she was unconscious and all. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go help Zecora. Good luck! And thank you!” Fluttershy trotted off into the fray.

“Alright,” said Fizzy rubbing her front hooves together in anticipation. “Who’s next?”

A large gust of wind answered her question as Wind Rider slammed down in front of them. “Time to die, you pests,” he said. “Then, it’s Rarity’s turn.”

“My turn for what?” asked Rarity, making herself known. She situated herself between Shrinky and Fizzy. “And who may I ask, are you?”

“You know me, Rarity. You humiliated me and cost me my position as a Wonderbolt!” He growled.

“Oh my,” said Rarity, raising a hoof to her mouth in surprise. “Wind Rider?”

“Yup,” affirmed Fizzy. Rarity sighed. “While I can’t say that I’m sorry for getting you kicked off the Wonderbolts, as you did that to yourself by trying to frame Rainbow Dash, I can say that your fashion sense has gone downhill. I mean, honestly. That shade of green clashes horribly with your natural blue coat. And just what is that helmet? It looks like a large ice cream cone with changeling ears stuck on it.” She quickly glanced at Fizzy before adding, “The old kind.”

Fizzy snickered. Wind Rider, however, didn’t seem as amused. He began flapping his wings, creating billowing gusts of wind. Smoke blew wildly around the room, and Shrinky felt like her mane was about to be ripped from her head. Wind Rider ceased the onslaught before he brought down the building.

Shrinky was about to charge for Wind Rider when Rarity shrieked, causing everyone in the immediate vicinity to wince in pain, clamping their hooves over their ears. “You- you- MONSTER!!!!” Rarity roared. Shrinky looked over to see Rarity’s previously coiffured mane had become something resembling a rat’s nest. With a near-animalistic, rage-filled scream, she threw herself at Wind Rider, tackling him to the ground. She grabbed a piece of wood in her mouth and started waling into him with it, denting his helmet with each blow. Shrinky and Fizzy watched on with a mix of horror and fascination.

“Should we stop her?” asked Shrinky.

“No,” said Fizzy. “He’ll be fine. I think.”

They heard cackling behind them. “Having trouble, Rainbow Dash?”

They turned to see Lightning Dust, hovering over Rainbow Dash. Every time Rainbow tried to land a blow on her, Lightning easily deflected it. “Oh, that’s right,” she said, a cruel tone in her voice. “Without your magic, you can’t fly. So much for being the fastest flier in Equestria. HA!”

“Oh yeah,” countered Rainbow. “Well, at least I… at least I… I got nothin’.” Rainbow looked defeated. Shrinky ran over, Fizzy right behind her. “Want some help?” she asked Rainbow nodded. Shrinky’s horn began to glow, her magic enveloping Rainbow. “I can only hold this for a moment, so act quickly.”

“What are you going to do?” Rainbow asked. “Practicing the Goliath spell.” With that, Rainbow began to slowly grow, picking up speed until she was half as tall as the room. “Ha-ha-hAWESOME!” said Rainbow Dash, grinning madly. Lightning Dust growled, and dived for Rainbow, leaving a trail of lightning in her wake. Rainbow leaned to her right, moving slowly to her large size. The lightning left a scorch mark along the side of her neck. “YEOW!” she yelped. Fizzy took to the air, firing bolts of magic at Lightning. She dodged all of them, but Fizzy quickly fired off a two-shot, the first missing, but the second hit Lightning squarely in the side as she moved into it to avoid the first.

“Quick! While she’s stunned!” Fizzy yelled. Rainbow nodded, and lifted her tail. She whapped Lightning Dust with it, sending Lightning flying into the wall. She slid down to the floor, and didn’t move. Shrinky cut off the spell, causing Rainbow to quickly reduce back to her normal size. “You didn’t kill her, did you?” Fizzy asked. Rainbow shook her head. “I used the same amount of force you’d use to sweep. If you used your tail for sweeping.” She seemed confused by her own metaphor. “You know what I mean,” she said. “Oh, is that Wind Rider. Yikes. I’d better get Rarity off of him.” She flew off towards Rarity, who was still whacking Wind Rider with the piece of wood.

“Now, to get Blueblood,” said Fizzy. “If you’re going after Blueblood,” said a voice. “You’re going to need help.”

The pair turned to see both Dane and Princess Twilight walking up to them. Dane was having some difficulty though, as the stone on her leg was slowly encasing her knee. “I want to help,” said Dane. Twilight looked at her, concern in her eyes. “Dane, you shouldn’t be doing anything in your condition.” Dane shook her head, “With all due respect, your majesty, I’m going to ignore that. This is the only way to break my curse.”

Twilight sighed, not wanting to argue. She turned to Shrinky and Fizzy. “Thank you. I don’t know what we would’ve done without you. But you aren’t done yet. Blueblood still has the Bell, and will probably absorb my magic soon, if he hasn’t already. The only way to stop him is to destroy the Bell. That’ll revert the effects of it, returning everypony’s magic. But it’ll be risky destroying an artifact that powerful. There might be a magical shockwave, and that could cause untold side effects.”

“We’ll be careful,” said Shrinky. She turned and looked up at the balcony, where Blueblood was surveying the battle, looking distressed. As he scanned the battle, he locked eyes with Shrinky. Her eyes narrowed. He quickly turned and ran inside.

“C’mon!” yelled Fizzy. She, Dane, and Shrinky ran into the belly of Ponyville Town Hall, to find Prince Blueblood and end this once and for all.

Author's Note

Just wanted to note, Nosey Nose is from the comics, as is the reference pigasus

Issue 8 - Grow Big Or Go Home

As they ran through the halls, they could hear the chaos of the fighting slowly getting quieter. They turned the corner and saw a flight of stairs leading up to the top floor, where Blueblood was. When the reached the top, they saw Blueblood standing in one of the large conference rooms, with the balcony he had previously been on behind him. He looked as if he was about to pop a blood vessel.

“You’re going to pay for this!” he yelled.

“Put it on my tab!” spat Dane.

Blueblood’s eye twitched. He pulled out Grogar’s Bell and ran to the balcony. He lifted the Bell over his head, aiming it down at the fighting below. The Bell rang, the sound echoing throughout the building. The fighting below stopped as everyone below froze. Black and yellow tendrils of magic reached out of the Bell, and latched onto the Masters of Evil, Tempest, and Spector. They screamed in pain as every last ounce of magic was sucked from their bodies. Once the Bell finished, he stepped back and turned to face Shrinky, Fizzy, and Dane once more. The three of them looked at him in horror.

“Well, then, girls. It’s showtime,” he said, almost manically. He turned the bell on himself, and it rang once more as it sprang to life.

“Oh fuck,” said Fizzy.

Blueblood began to laugh madly as the magic from the Bell poured into him. There was a bright flash, blinding them. When they opened their eyes, they saw Blueblood, grinning at them murderously, as he crackled with energy. The Bell fell as his magic hold on it dissipated. It landed on the floor with a clang.

“Remember the plan,” Shrinky whispered. She ran at Blueblood, Fizzy flying alongside her. Dane moved as fast as she could, stepping to the side of the room as she entered. Blueblood laughed. He fired a beam of magic at Shrinky, who miniaturized to avoid getting disintegrated. Fizzy flew past Blueblood and the balcony, until she hovered over the main room.

“Everyone! Get out of here, quick! Things are about to get really, really bad!” Zecora nodded, and began helping Tempest to her hooves. Twilight and her friends each grabbed one of the former Masters of Evil, and Starlight swept Spector onto her back. With everyone evacuating, Fizzy flew back in, aiming for Blueblood’s head.

He somehow sensed her coming, and quickly sidestepped it, sending a magic bolt into her back for good measure. She crashed into the floor. Shrinky, still small, leaped for Blueblood, resizing as she did so. Her hoof connected with his jaw, shattering the black thing he was wearing. Blueblood reared up and slammed his forelegs into Shrinky, sending her flying into Dane.

Fizzy stood up dazed, and activated her shrinking PYM, only for nothing to happen. She looked down and saw her shrinking PYM was sparking, the potion vials broken. She couldn’t shrink. She looked up and saw Blueblood lifting Dane by the throat with his magic. Dane struggling in vain as Blueblood floated her over to him.

“Awww, what’s wrong Dane?” he asked condescendingly. “You seem a little stiff. Oh, wait. That’s just you becoming the latest addition to the Canterlot Sculpture Garden. You know, it’d be a shame if somewhere to break off your leg, seeing as how its rock now.” He grinned evilly. He lifted his hoof up, and used his magic to force Dane’s leg underneath. Dane was crying as she struggled to pull her leg back, with no avail.

Fizzy’s vision went red with rage. She felt flames encase her body as it grew and changed. She felt her front legs extend, growing claws. Her head and torso expanded, as she felt her front two top and bottom teeth grow. Her nose changed, growing mini-appendages. Her hind legs shrunk slightly. As the flames died, Fizzy roared, now in the form of a Maulwurf. She charged at Blueblood, who dropped Dane in surprise. Dane quickly back-peddled as Maulwurf-Fizzy rammed Blueblood sending him flying through the wall into the next room.

Blueblood growled as he tasted blood. He stood up, and saw Maulwurf-Fizzy preparing to charge. He ripped his suit off, revealing what he wore underneath. Maulwurf-Fizzy burst into flames, and died down to reveal normal Fizzy, staring in shock. Shrinky and Dane were also frozen, eyes wide, as they processed the yellow and red hodge-podge Blueblood was wearing.

Blueblood laughed. “What do you think? Recognize it? You should, considering this used to be your suits. And now, your creation will be the instrument of your demise.” He reached down and activated the PYM on his left leg. He began to glow blue, as he began to grow. Within moments, he was almost too big for the room. He thrust himself upwards as he grew, smashing through the building. He lifted his hoof over Shrinky and smashed it down. Fizzy tackled her, just narrowly missing getting crushed herself.

The floor, however, had no such luck. His hoof smashed through it, sending planks of broken wood falling down to the level below. The floor creaked and groaned under the weight of a 30-hooves-tall pony. Shrinky noticed this. “Fizzy, can you get us down to the main floor before the floor gives?” Fizzy nodded. A burst of flames later, Shrinky was being held by a four-armed striped bear. Bugbear-Fizzy scooped up Dane, just as the floor gave way, sending Blueblood crashing down, along with most of the building. The Bell fell with him.

Bugbear-Fizzy set Shrinky and Dane down, and had only shifted back to her natural appearance when Blueblood stood up, shaking rubble of himself. “No more games!” roared Blueblood, his voice shaking what little bit of Town Hall with him. “I’m going to kill you three, then that stupid Princess and her friends!” His horn began to glow, and the Bell appeared behind him with a bang.

Fizzy leaned over to Shrinky. “What’s the plan?” she whispered, nervously.

“Same as before, only this time, I’m going to shrink inside the PYMs and destroy them. He expended the growing PYM, but he doesn’t know that. I’m going to shrink him down, then destroy it. Can you get me close?”

Fizzy nodded.

“What about me? I can’t get close to him,” asked Dane.

“Sneak through the rubble,” said Fizzy. “I’ll distract him. LOOK OUT!” They dived out of the way of a hunk of rubble that had been hurled at them, courtesy of Blueblood. “Fizzy, now!” yelled Shrinky. Fizzy nodded and flew by Shrinky, who leaped onto her, shrinking as she did so. She gripped onto Fizzy as she flew towards Blueblood. He swung the Bell forward, ringing it as he did so. Fizzy made a sharp turn to avoid the beam. She swung back towards Blueblood, and flew underneath him. As she did, Shrinky leaped off her back and onto the large PYM on Blueblood’s right leg. She slipped inside the device through a gap in the outer covering. She made her way over to where the potions were injected into the device, activating it. She turned around and bucked it as hard as she could, repeatedly as she tried to break it.

Meanwhile, Dane slowly made her way through the rubble, keeping low so as not to be spotted by Blueblood, who was currently being distracted by Fizzy, who had taken on the form of a large manticore. She repeatedly used her scorpion tail to sting Blueblood, but it didn’t seem to be affecting him. Dane spotted the Bell floating near Blueblood’s hind leg. She slowly crept towards it when Blueblood suddenly began to glow red.

Shrinky was not happy. In her efforts to break the injectors, shrinking potion had splashed on her, and was now shrinking her as well as Blueblood. She was currently trying to make her way out of the PYM, but kept slipping on the potion-coated surfaces she used as the floor.

Dane leapt out of the rubble, charging towards Blueblood as fast as she could. Her entire left leg was encased in stone, as well as her entire torso and most of her neck, and it had begun spreading down her right leg and back.

Blueblood, still shrinking back down to size, swung the Bell towards Dane, ringing it. Right as the beam fired out of the Bell, Dane threw her sword at the Bell, right down the center of the beam. As the beam hit the sword, it split in half, angling away from Dane as the Ebony Blade deflected it. The sword flew straight into the Bell, piercing it. The Bell rang loudly, and began to shake. Fizzy and Dane dived behind the rubble. Blueblood was rapidly approaching normal size when the Bell exploded. Just as the Princess predicted, a magical shockwave blasted over Blueblood and Shrinky as Blueblood stopped shrinking. But Shrinky didn’t. She continued to grow smaller and smaller. She immediately realized what was happening and activated her enlarging PYM. Growing, she leapt out of Blueblood’s PYM, reaching the size of a filly. “Guys!” she yelled. She could feel the magically-enhanced shrinking potion start to effect her again, so she hit the growth PYM a second time, expanding back up to her normal size. Fizzy and Dane climbed out of the wreckage and ran up to her.

Shrinky gasped. “Dane, look!” Dane looked down to see the stone falling off of her, revealing her normal body underneath. “You broke the curse!”

Dane’s smile quickly faded as she looked back as Shrinky, who was slowly getting smaller. “Shrinky? Why are you getting smaller?”

Fizzy stepped forward. “What’s happening?”

Shrinky sighed, hitting the growth PYM once again. She had one vial of the stuff left. “When I was inside the PYM, I got shrinking potion on me. I think it’s reacting with the magic shockwave from the Bell.”

Fizzy hiccupped, as tears formed in her eyes. “Wha-what are you saying?”

Shrinky smiled sadly, not that anyone could see it under her mask. “I can’t stop shrinking, and I’ve only got one growth potion left.” She was almost the size of a filly again. “So, I wanted to say goodbye.”

“No…,” said Fizzy, tears streaming down her face. “There has to be a way… we can figure out something.”

Shrinky pressed her growth Pym one last time, growing up to her normal height. She reached up, brushing a tear off Fizzy’s cheek. “You’ll just have to be The Wasp. Without Ant-Mare. And besides, you’ll have the legendary Black Knight by your side. As well as Moon Knight and Jubilee.”

“Jubilee,” asked Dane, as she wrapped her hooves around Fizzy.

“Fizzy’s not the only one who can come up with superhero names,” said Shrinky. “See how Tempest likes it, will ya’?”

Fizzy nodded, sniffling. “Goodbye, partner.”

Dane lowered her head in a sort of bow. Shrinky sniffed, trying not to cry. She had already shrunken past filly size. “Goodbye, my friends. I love you both. So much.” And with that, Shrinky shrunk down to the point where she couldn’t be seen.

The last thing Shrinky saw was Fizzy sobbing into Dane’s shoulder. She closed her eyes as she began crying. Around her, colors whirled by as she continued to get smaller and smaller. As the shrinking took its toll on her, Shrinky opened her eyes, watching the shapes and colors of microscopic life whiz by, before her vision went black as she lost consciousness, shrinking for eternity.

Author's Note

I honestly cried while writing this, mostly because the music for Tony Stark's funeral started playing as I wrote the ending.

Issue 9 - There Was An Idea… (Epilogue)

Fizzy felt a hoof touch her shoulder as her tears slowed. She turned to see the Princess standing behind her, with the rest of her friends, as well as Zecora, Tempest, and Spector.

“Where’s Shrinky?” asked Twilight. Fizzy couldn’t answer. She broke down sobbing again. As Dane looked up at Twilight, she shook her head. Twilight got the message, her own eyes watering. She spread her wings and wrapped the two in an embrace. Dane closed her eyes as she began to cry. She felt as more ponies joined the embrace, until everyone was consoling each other, not with words, but with a silent embrace.

A few months later…

Fizzy stood in front of the statue of Shrinky that Princess Twilight had commissioned. It now stood proudly in the Canterlot Sculpture Garden. Fizzy looked down to read the inscription. It read:

Shrinky’s Sacrifice

She gave her own life to save for the greater good

To help others when they need it most

Fizzy wiped her eyes. Dane stepped up behind her, kissing her on the cheek. “The Princess is waiting,” she said.

“Alright,” said Fizzy. The two of them walked inside the Castle. As they made their way to the throne room, Fizzy was silent. Dane coughed. “So, what do you think the Princess wants us for?” Dane asked. Fizzy shrugged. When they reached the throne room, the guards flanking the door opened it with their magic, admitting the couple entrance.

Princess Twilight sat on her throne, Spike by her side. At the base of the elevated area the throne sat on, were Zecora, Tempest, and Spector. “Ah, I’m glad you two could make it,” said the Princess, smiling.

“Whatcha need us for, Princess?” asked Dane.

“For some news, and a request,” said the Princess. “First, we finally apprehended the last of the changelings, as well as Prince Blueblood. We found them hiding out in Las Pegasus, but upon finding out who he was, Flim and Flam alerted me. After losing his magic due to the Bewitching Bell’s shockwave, he’s no longer a threat. We have him locked away in Tartarus, along with the other Masters of Evil. With the help of King Thorax, we were able to study the magic-negating effects of Chrysalis’ throne, and create inhibitors, prevent the changelings from shapeshifting. Now, before you get nervous, we only made enough for the cells the changelings are in, and they too are locked in Tartarus.”

Fizzy nodded. “And what was the request, your majesty?” Twilight stood up, and began walking down towards them, Spike flying along behind her. “After the shockwave blew over all of Equestria and beyond, we’ve been receiving reports of different anomalies. A Kirin who can transform into a Nirik, even without being angry. A pony in Manehatten who is fighting crime, despite the fact that he is blind, if the rumors are true,” she said, reaching the bottom step. “We’ve also received reports of an Abyssinian with strength and agility of Earth ponies and pegasi respectively, as well as a pegasus who can control the four alchemic elements, you know, earth, air, fire, and water. And those aren’t even a quarter of the stories and reports we’ve gotten!”

“Where are you going with this,” asked Fizzy. The Princess walked over to her.

“Those creatures I just mentioned are some of the ones doing good. But I didn’t mention the stories of powered creatures hurting others. So my request is this: As you know, there will always be threats to the peace, much like the one you dealt with a few months ago. But my friends and I won’t always be able to drop what we’re doing and save the day. So I want you five to go and find these powered individuals. I want you to form a coalition with the good ones, and stop the bad ones. And Fizzy, I want you to be the leader.”

Fizzy stepped back in shock. “You want me to lead a team of superheroes? ME?” Twilight nodded. “I can almost guarantee it’s what Shrinky would have wanted. If you want to, of course. I won’t force you to do it, not after everything you’ve been through.”

Fizzy thought for a moment. “No. I’ll do it. For Shrinky. To honor her memory. Her sacrifice won’t be in vain.” Dane leaned against her. “So, sweetie. Have you thought of a team name?”

“Really? I just got the job,” Fizzy said, cracking a smile. “But,” she continued, surveying her friends. “We all lost Shrinky that day. So, we’ll honor her legacy. We’ll avenge her.”

“Oh, I like where this is going,” said Tempest.

Fizzy smiled. “I think I’m going to call us: The Avengers. For Shrinky.”

Author's Note

Thank you to those who read this, and humored me long enough to get to this point. I've had this story idea for a while now, and thought that NaPoWriMo would be a good time actually write it. I also used this to get back into writing in general, since I got too busy to do any writing over the past couple years. It's by no means the best story ever written, but I'm happy with it. And in the end, that's all that really matters. (That doesn't mean I don't hope you enjoyed it :pinkiecrazy: :twilightsmile: )

Bonus Issue - Post Epilogue Scene

Shrinky jolted awake as she slammed into something solid. She stood up, rubbing her head.

“Where am Iiiiiiiiii- whoa.” As she looked around, she could on describe her current setting as colorful and chaotic. Everything seemed to be made out of the same slimy-looking material. As she looked around, she noticed the landscape appeared to be bubbling, almost like lava in a volcano. A kaleidoscopic volcano, with kaleidoscopic lava. Her brain struggled to process it all.

‘It’s like some sort of… microverse or something,’ she thought to herself. She quickly looked around, a thought occurring to her, along with a sense of dread. But that dread was dashed when she saw no other creatures around.

She headed off in a random direction, observing her surroundings and trying to mentally document it all. It proved to only work slightly. As she wandered, she trekked over large arches and through deep valleys. As she walked, she lost all sense of time.

Eventually, she cam across something odd. She had reached a flat expanse of the weird terrain. As she stepped into it, she could feel the ground rippling beneath her hooves. But the weird thing was it seem to be rippling towards something, not away. Curious, she followed it.

After about half a mile, she could feel something pulling her in, the force getting stronger with every step she took. She tried to back up, but it was too late. She was pulled forward by the force, and as she moved faster and faster towards the source, she saw it. A large gaping hole in the ground was sucking in everything in the surrounding environment. She could see a spiraling vortex as she got pulled down into it.

“NonononoNONONONONOOOOOOO!” Shrinky yelled as she was sucked into the vortex. As she flew through the vortex, everything was bright. And very blue. She stabilized herself, posing as if she were a flying pegasus. She saw split in the vortex ahead. She leaned right, and as she hoped, went down the right tunnel. She saw a light ahead. ‘Oh, thank Celestia! Maybe this is my chance to get out of here and back to my friends,’ she thought excitedly. As she got near the light, she had to close her eyes due to how bright it was. She could see the light through her eyelids, getting bigger and bigger until it was all she could “see”.

Suddenly, everything went black, and Shrinky slammed down on to cold, hard metal. She heard shouting, and the sound of running hoofsteps getting closer. She opened her eyes. “Fizzy?” she asked. Fizzy wasn’t in front of her. Instead, multiple unicorns holding strange looking objects at her head. They resembled metal bananas.

“Who is it?” asked a familiar voice.

“A unicorn in some kind of special suit, Miss,” said one of the unicorns.

The source of the voice stepped forward.

“Princess Twilight?” asked Shrinky.

Twilight stepped forward. “What do mean, Princess? I’m definitely not a princess. The closest I am to princess is Head of my Ministry.” Shrinky was inclined to agree. This most definitely wasn’t Princess Twilight. For one, she was too short. And second, she was wearing a suit, and she was certain Princess Twilight didn’t own a suit.”

“Ministry? Not a princess? What are you talking about? What’s going on? Where am I?” asked Shrinky.

“Well, let me answer that last question. You are in the Ministry of Arcane Sciences. And there’s a war on,” said Twilight.

Author's Note

This may or may not be a lead in to my Fallout: Equestria story. You can ignore this if you want. I won't bother me. But this has been the plan since the beginning, so...