Phoenix

6 MONTHS LATER

“To be completely honest, the few months following the party were relatively unassuming, although we were finally able to fight crime with our own fists, we were always being handed the worst possible jobs… and no, I don’t mean Serial killers or psychopaths… no, those were reserved for the real heroes or at least those in high school…WE had to deal with petty thugs and drunks who didn’t know when to call it quits, sometimes we would be asked to help the police in crowd control, but it was a really rare situation,”

“As for me and the girls… well, the only things that had changed were that we grew taller with each passing month, and Radiance and Zapp being a bit friendlier towards me… well, Radiance would willfully talk to me during school hours, but, it was mostly small talk, and Zapp, well, Zapp was Zapp, she still was rather cold towards me, but, at least she wouldn’t complain when we were teamed up together to patrol, much to Fili’s annoyance, heck, I can even say we were a good team,”

“However, not everything was smiles and peace, minor disagreements started to arise within the group, especially when it came to discussing how the league should move forward once we enter High School, and also when it came to the girls discussing their wishes, dreams, and aspirations,”

“When I enter High School, I want to be part of the Wonderbolts,” said Zapp

“Don’t you have to be, like, very good at flying and fighting to join the guild?” asked Rarity almost mockingly

“I am a good flyer and fighter,” said Zapp

“For a mall cop maybe,” said Radiance

“Oh really, well what about you miss perfect?” asked Zapp

“I want to be a famous fashion designer and create beautiful clothes, respected and adored everywhere,” said Radiance

“Right… you just want to date one of those hot models or rich producers, don’t you?” said Zapp

“Of course not, although if it were to happen I wouldn’t be against it,” said Radiance

“Of course, you wouldn’t,” said Zapp

“What is that supposed to mean?!” said Radiance annoyed

“She had a point, Radiance still tended to flirt with hot or rich guys, even if they were older than her, something that was always giving the league a bad image, and as you suspect, I was the one that had to babysit her during her parties or when we were out on patrol,”

“Anyway, what about you Masked?” asked Zapp ignoring Radiance

“I’d love to run my own library,” said Masked Matter-horn

“Yeah, that sounds like you,” said Zapp

“However, my future is already decided,” said Masked

“Oh… how’s that?” asked Zapp

“I am to become a diplomat, as per my family’s and Crown’s decree,” said Masked

“Wait, Princess Celestia has asked for you to be a diplomat?” everyone asked everyone in shock

“Yes, so, that’s my answer,” said Masked

“I want to be a vet,” said Ragger

“Of course, you would,” said Zapp

“I want to run a bakery,” said Fili

“That one is new,” said Radiance

“And we all know that Ms. Biceps over here is going to be a farmer,” said Zapp

“Ah’m takin’ over the family business, don’t ferget, we’re the ones that provide much of the cities fruits and vegetables, especially the cider you love so much,” said Mare-velous

“Point… and Humdrum here… well, anything that doesn’t make you a hobo will do,” said Zapp

“Thanks for the vote of confidence Zapp, but I'm actually going to be a…” Spike started

“Don’t care, well, it seems I’m the only one here with an actual cool future,” said Zapp

“Your “future” is the biggest fantasy of all,” said Masked

“Yeah, you ain’t even smart enough to pass the written entrance exam to the Wonderbolts,” said Mare-velous

And just like that, another argument started.

“Yup… they were that petty, that they wouldn’t respect their friends’ aspirations… at this point it was becoming an everyday thing, and my job was to make sure that the league didn’t disband or that the girls didn’t pull their hair out,”

“However, one day, during one of this many arguments, reality punched us hard in the gut… to be honest, I think it was some sort of premonition sent by God himself to make us stop arguing over dumb shit… but the cost of such premonition was… astronomical,”

“It was one of those very stupid arguments, that had become a routine which each passing day,”

“We should become one of the frontline leagues, we have the capacity,” said Zapp

“I second that idea,” said Fili

“We should wait a bit before we jump into the frontline,” said Masked Matter-Horn

“Oh, come on, even Sentry Knights are going to do it,” said Zapp

“Yeah, because for Flash’s family that’ll make them even more famous,” said Masked

“Shouldn’t we do the same?” asked Zapp

“We’ll join when we’re truly ready, right Mare… Mare?” came Masked as they all turned to face Mare-velous who had a blank and desperate look on her face as she lowered her phone from her ear.

“Mare? What’s wrong?” asked Spike

“My… my parents just… died,” she said as she broke down in tears

Goosebumps ran through the body of the rest of the team as Spike hugged an inconsolable Mare-velous.

For the first time in over a week, the control room was completely silent.

“Mare’s parents were killed while responding to a fake call for help and being ambushed by a group of supervillains known as the “merchants” don’t let the name fool you, they were ruthless when it came to attacking their targets, and apparently, their new targets were Mare’s family,”

“However, after the murder of her parents the gang disappeared without a trace, so we were never able to get revenge,”

“Today is a dark day for the city of Canterlot, for we have lost 2 great heroes, great friends, and citizens, Brian Mason “Bright Mac” Smith known professionally as “Boomer” and Pearl Adrienette “Pear Butter” Smith-Philips known as “Delta” were lost yesterday during a savage attack as they raced to aid, what they believed was a person in distress… They are survived by their 3 kids, and the matriarch of their family, Granny Smith, we are deeply saddened and wish to express our sympathy towards the Smith family,” said Princess Celestia, doing her best to keep the address professional while fighting back tears at the loss of 2 old friends.

“The funeral went on without a hitch, at the end everyone was giving their sorries to Granny Smith (Mare’s grandma), Boulder (Mare’s older brother), Mare herself, and Applebloom (Mare’s younger sibling), you can tell it was a very emotional moment, but we all tried to be there for our friend,”

“Needless to say, this issue made Zapp stop arguing about going pro and sticking to the hero plan given by the academy, and well, everything seemed to be getting back to normal… well, for a few days that was,”

“None of us realized that the death of Boomer and Delta was going to change so many things, but, with them gone, the city had to scramble to find heroes, even if they were still in training to take their place… naturally, Boulder was supposed to take their place, but he had to step down to help Granny Smith and Applebloom, so naturally, other Heroes in training were called, leaving holes to fill, which were assigned to Junior High Heroes, AKA, Us, and some other volunteers,”

“Zapp was static and did her best to get us to take the longest shifts aloud, and we were all up for it, however, Mare-velous was, worse for wear, her mental and emotional state was worse than terrible, so, she was deemed “unfit to fight”... this kind of angered Zapp, who was a little too vocal about it, not caring if she was making things worse… and by this point, I had reached my limit…”

“DENIED AGAIN! WHY?!” asked Zapp as she sat up from her chair

“Because Mare is yet to recover from the incident, and Princess Celestia doesn’t want to risk it,” said Masked Matter-Horn

“I don’t blame her, she just lost her parents, it may take a bit to recover from that,” said Radiance

“No, you never truly recover… trust me, I know,” said Spike

“Oh, right, you lost both your parents at an early age,” said Fili

“Argh, don’t stop being so melodramatic about it,” Zapp said getting angry

“Zapp that isn’t nice to say,” said Ragger

“Honestly, darling, I knew you were… “special”... but this is a new low, even for you,” said Radiance

“So? listen, people die all the time, it’s life, no one lives forever, we all have to go eventually… someday, it’ll be our turn, and I’m not going to sit around crying when I can be out there making sure people are safe,” said Zapp, not caring that Mare-velous was sitting right next to her.

Mare-velous was shaking both in anger and sadness, Spike took notice of this and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, in an attempt to calm her down.

“Zapp, even though you might have a point, there is something called empathy,” said Masked

“Wouldn’t you be sad if your parents or someone you cared for passed away?” asked Fili

“Of course, I would, but I wouldn’t sit here and become weak, I’ll pick myself up and try my best to make them proud,” said Zapp arrogantly

“You might have that personality, but Mare actually cared about her parents, so naturally she's going to be depressed,” said Masked

“If she isn’t ready to accept death, she shouldn’t even be here, I mean, look at Humdrum, he lost his parents a while back, and, although he is weaker than most heroes, you don’t see him crying in the corner, like a baby, cause he ain’t mentally weak, unlike Mare-velous,” said Zapp

The whole room went silent, with either angry or ashamed looks on their faces

“What? You know I’m right, Mare is just weak and should leave the league,” Zapp said arrogantly

At that point, a loud crack was heard across the room, and before Zapp knew it, she felt something collide with the left side of her face and found herself flying through the room and through one of the steel barriers used for the training ground.

“THAT’S ENOUGH!!!” roared Spike as Zapp looked up with blood dripping out of her nose

“YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SAY THAT! NO ONE HAS!” Spike said as he stumped towards the center of the room

All of the girls looked at him in shock, except Zapp, who was shaking with fear.

“I KNOW YOU’RE DUMBER AND MORE SELF-CENTERED THAN MOST PEOPLE, BUT RIGHT NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR THAT, OUR FRIEND JUST LOST HER PARENTS, OUR JOBS SHOULD BE TO MAKE HER FEEL BETTER NOT OSTRACIZE HER”

The girls just kept on looking at Humdrum, anger clouding his eyes.

‘YOU MIGHT NOT GIVE TWO FUCKS ABOUT YOUR PARENTS, BUT SHE DOES, AND JUST SO YOU KNOW, MY PARENTS MIGHT’VE NEVER WANTED TO HAVE ME, BUT I WAS STUCK WITH THEM AND THEM WITH ME, AND WHEN THEY DIED I WAS MESS, I DIDN’T EAT FOR A WHOLE MONTH FROM THE SHOCK… to this day I… I still feel sad they’re gone… the only reason I’m not “crying in the corner” is because, after some help and time, I learned to accept it…” he continued as he got closer to her “Don’t you ever dare to call someone weak just for mourning their loved ones, that doesn’t make you any better than the ASSHOLES that killed them… It makes you worse,” he said as he knelt down in front of her.

“I… I’m sorry Mare… I-I shouldn’t have said that,” said Zapp as tears fell down her face

“I forgive ya… That’s what mah parents taught me to do,” she said

“And… I’m sorry to Humdrum… I assumed something I wasn’t supposed to,” said Zapp

“It’s ok… I also crossed the line too when I punched you,” said Spike

“I-I deserved it… you have a mean left hook,” said Zapp

“I’m glad that’s that, now, scoot over,” said Masked as she started to heal Zapp’s injuries.

Spike got up and walked over to Mare-velous

“Are you sure you’re ok?” asked Spike

“Yeah… thank sugacube, w’all need that reality check,” said Mare-velous

“Still, don’t rush yourself, take your time, we’re going nowhere, and once you’re feeling better we’ll be right here, waiting for you,” he said but was surprised when Mare got off her seat and hugged him.

“Thanks for tha support sugacube… you’re right… I’ll go see that therapist, and get back on my feet sooner than later,” said Mare-velous

“We’ve got your back girl,” said Radiance

“Yeah, hey, I can throw you a “you got better” party… the name needs a little work, but you get the idea,” said Fili

“Sure… imma head there now… thanks for being my friends… and Hum…” said Mare-velous as she got on the elevator

“Yeah?” said Humdrum

“When ah’m back… no, nothin’... see y’all later,” said Mare as the elevator took her out of the Palace

“Mare-velous started to attend the family mourning sessions to get emotional help, which was a big relief, especially when we saw her doing better…”

“However, crime waits for no one, so, against her better judgment, Princess Celestia had no choice but to give the green light for us to, officially, join the fight against crime,”

“At first we thought we could hold our own, but we slowly started to notice that not all of us were fully committed to it… Ragger tried her best but still, she was too afraid to properly fight… Fili-second was way too over eager and got hurt most of the time… Zapp, well, Zapp was doing her job very well, but… for whatever reason she was always trying to show off when I was there… I don’t know if she did it when I wasn’t but, at least when I was there she did… Radiance, well, Radiance was Radiance, and she was still acting like she usually did… as for Masked she was slumped, she had to fight crime and sometimes fight against her league-mate’s own stupidity… and me… I had to be the one to make sure to keep them in check,”

“AND THAT’S 12! Not bad right Hum?” said Zapp as she defeated another drug dealer

“It is not a competition Darling,” said Radiance

“You’re just being a sore loser since you only incapacitate 4,” said Zapp as she landed next to Humdrum who was cuffing a few more Dealers

“I can’t believe they are letting us tackle this sort of mission at an early age,” said Masked as she rounded up more dealers

“It just shows how much confidence the Princesses have in us,” said Ragger

“Yeah, because we’re awesome,” said Zapp

“No, because we’re the only team who actually works together… and the best available proxy for Bright Mac and Boomer… at least until Boulder is fit for fighting again,” said Spike

“Guess you’re right… So what now?” asked Fili-second

“Well, it’s Friday evening, that means tomorrow is our day off,” said Masked Matter-Horn

“Cool, that means I can go patrol on my own time,” said Zapp

“No, that means WE are going to take it easy, you included,” said Masked

“Oh, that’s so boring,” said Zapp

“Zapp, I know you love sports, so tell me this, what happens to an athlete's body when they overwork them without taking a break?” asked Spike

“They get injured for long periods of time,” said Zapp

“Correct, so, what are you going to do?” asked Humdrum

“Take a break and recover,” said Zapp

“Precisely, we all will,” said Humdrum

“And with that out of the way, we should be heading home,” said Masked

“See you Monday,” said Ragger as they all headed to their respective homes minus for two of them

“Say, uhm, Hum… I-uhm- I have 2 tickets for the Wonderbolt flight exhibition happening tomorrow and-uhm- I was wondering if you’d like to come with me?” said Zapp in a very shy voice

“Thanks for the offer, but I already have plans for tomorrow… why don’t you take Scootaloo, she might enjoy it,” said Humdrum

“Yeah, that works… see you Monday,” said Zapp as she flew away as fast as she could

“I was really happy that Zapp had invited me to the exhibition, but I had to make a few purchases on the same day and it collided with my schedule,”

“Never in my wildest dreams did I expect that this decision would not only save someone's life, but change my image inside the academy…”

THE NEXT DAY

“It was around 5 in the afternoon when I was finally done doing the purchases I had to do and getting them delivered to my dorm room, since it was the middle of spring and the day was beautiful, I decided to just go for a walk.”

“Just as I reached the entrance of the shopping mall, I looked around and saw something rather, surprising, there, across the street, was none other than, Radiance, and she wasn’t alone, she was walking, hand in hand, with a very… handsome guy, it took me a few seconds to realize that it was Gallahan, one of the upper-class hero course students in the academy,”

“I didn’t know much of him, but I had heard rumors that he was involved in some shady business, willingly or unwillingly, that I didn’t know,”

“By the looks of how she was wrapped around his arm, you could tell they were on a date, and they seemed to be having a good time… I was about to leave when I noticed something weird,”

“2 kids, probably in their late teens were following them, at first I thought it was a coincidence, but, when Radiance abruptly stopped to do some window shopping the 2 kids stopped as well, what’s weirder they made eye contact with Gallahan and they all nodded at each other, at that moment Radiance looked at Gallahan and the 2 kids quickly tried to hide their presence, milliseconds later Radiance turned to look at them, but, since they were minding their own business she didn’t give them any special attention as they continued walking, with the 2 of them following closely by,”

“I didn’t trust this scenario, so I decided to follow them… I quickly crossed the street and noticed that the buildings on that side of the road had flat roofs, making it easier for me to follow them from above and not give my presence away,”

“I followed them for a few minutes until Gallahan turned left and guided Radiance through an alleyway, with the excuse that it was a short cut, however, that alleyway was a cul-de-sac, and the only thing at the other side of that corner was a trap,”

“Are you sure this is safe?” asked Radiance

“Of course, I’ve used the same alleyway before to save time,” said Gallahan as they rounded the corner and found the dead-end

“Strange, this wall wasn’t here last time,” Gallahan said, acting surprised

“What do you mean? You said you knew these streets very well,” said Radiance nervously
“Well, no biggy, let’s just turn around and head back to the main street,” said Gallahan

“Ok then, let’s hurry,” said Radiance as they both turned and found themselves cut off by the 2 kids from earlier, and a few more friends.

“Seems you’ll have to take a detour, lovebirds,” said one of them

“Who are you and what do you want?” Gallahan said, acting almost as well as a pro actor

“Revenge, for what you did to our boss, girl,” he said

“Your boss?” asked Radiance

“Yeah, Big K,” said another

“The drug dealer?” said Radiance

“Yes, thanks to you and your girl club, he’s behind bars, and we’ve got no job,” said another

“Your boss got what he deserved, that garbage was killing hundreds every year,” said Radiance

“Not our problem, you’ve ruined our business so now you’ll pay,” said another

“Well, unless you haven't realized, we’re 2 A-ranked heroes against 6 misfits, so… ARGH~!” Radiance said as she was tased from behind.

“Oopsy, sorry,” said Gallahan as he walked over Radiance

“G-Gallahan, what… are… you..?” asked Radiance

“Sorry, sweet cheeks, but, you defending yourself would be such a hassle,” Gallahan said as he played with his taser

“What now?” asked another goon

“We take revenge,” said the first

“How would you like to do it?” asked Gallahan

‘She’s got a nice body, I think I’d like to give it a try,” said the first as he gave Gallahan a roll of bills

“Have fun,” Gallahan said as he started to count the bills

“Oh shit! I have to do something! But what?” thought Spike as he looked around, only to remember something “Well it’s now or never… it’s a good thing I kept this,” he thought as he held a piece of black fabric in his hands.

Radiance was doing her best to crawl away from the goons as fast as possible, but the sudden shock of electricity going through her body had stunned her badly.

“Relax, you’ll enjoy it too, just…” he said as he got closer, but he never finished the sentence.

Just as he was about to reach Radiance, the goon felt an intense amount of pressure and weight over him, and before he knew it, his head was smashed hard against the concrete, cracking it.

Everyone stared in fear at the scene before them, standing above their friend/attacker, was Humdrum; of course, with his new mask, no one realized it was him.

Humdrum slowly turned his face to the right to meet eyes with Radiance, she was still stunned, but his sudden appearance had spoked some of it away.

He then turned and glared at attackers, especially at Gallahan

“HEY! WHAT GIVES? WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?!” another goon asked as they all started walking towards Humdrum and blocking his escape.

“Someone who doesn’t appreciate the treatment you’re giving my friend,” said Humdrum

“F-friend?... w-who is he?” thought Radiance as she tried to recover in order to fight

“Well, we don’t approve of the treatment YOU’RE giving our friend,” said the goon

“Hmm,” Humdrum said as he looked down and noticed that the guy was trying to get up, he had mustered enough strength to lift his head, only for Humdrum to once again smash it against the floor.

“What are you going to do about it?” asked Humdrum

“GET HIM!” screamed the leader as he lunged at Humdrum aiming to punch him in the face, but Humdrum easily caught the punch, broke the leader’s defense, and punched him in the face and kicked him in the stomach sending him flying back towards the other goons.

“Last chance, leave, and I can promise you’ll live for one more day,” said Humdrum

“As if,” said the boss as he wiped the blood from his face

“Then… may you rest in peace,” said Humdrum as he got into a fighting stance

“Let’s show him who's dead!” said the leader as he once again lunged at Humdrum, only for him to evade his punch, grab him by the neck, lift him up and slam him hard against the ground.

“ATTACK! GET HIM!” Gallahan screamed

The 3 remaining goons quickly lunged at Humdrum.

The first one took a swing at Humdrum but Humdrum ducked and countered the attack, punching the goon right on his ribcage.

The punch was so hard you could see the goon's skin imitate a water ripple, followed by the sounds of his ribs breaking and other bones cracking.

Before the goon could even react to the pain, Humdrum punched him in the jaw making him fly into a set of dumpsters damaging them before he fell to the ground unconscious.

Seeing this one of the remaining goons stopped dead in his tracks out of fear, leaving his friend to attack Humdrum solo. And it went right as you imagine.

The goon tried to kick Humdrum in the chest to destabilize him and gain the upper hand, however, Hundrun evaded the kick, allowing the goon to land right next to him.

Before the goon could react, Hundrum kicked him into the wall cracking it as he fell to the floor squirming in pain.

"GO! STOP HIM!" Exclaimed Gallahan encouraging the last remaining goon to attack.

But the goon doubted and before he could figure out what to do, he felt something connect with the right side of his head, flying through the air landing unconscious a few feet away.

Humdrum then turned to face Gallahan who just let out a small Yelp and started running away.

Humdrum quickly kicked one of the big garbage cans straight into the path of Gallahan blocking his exit.

"Leaving so soon, Gallahan?" Asked Humdrum catching his attention

"STAY BACK!" Gallahan screamed

"Or what, are you gonna sell me out to your cartel buddies too?" Said Humdrum getting closer

"I HAVE NO BEEF WITH YOU!" he screamed

"But I have a beef with you, you went against academy rules, you sold out one of your own, you attacked a classmate, and you've threatened another," said Humdrum

“STAY AWAY!” Gallahan screamed as he tried to punch Humdrum, using his wind magic to make it go faster.

However, once the punch connected with Humdrum’s face, Humdrum didn’t move, he didn’t even flinch.

“Shit power for a shit hero,” he said before uppercutting Gallahan, making him fly up and land inside the garbage can “Pathetic,” he said as he looked around

Meanwhile, at the other side of the alleyway, Radiance had finally gotten to her feet, even though she was still dizzy.

“I… I have to recover fast, he might get ambushed… or worse… come after me… WOAH!” she said as she lost balance

“Are you ok?” asked Humdrum helping regain it

“Y-Yeah… who are… Humdrum?” she said when she realized the voice behind the mask

Humdrum just placed a finger on her mouth and motioned for the roof of the building next to them.

Radiance nodded and levitated towards the roof followed by Humdrum who climbed all the way up

Once on top Humdrum rushed to help Radiance stabilize herself

“Anything broken?” asked Humdrum

“Nothing but my pride,” said Radiance

“Again? Radiance, it’s the 5th time this month that happens,” Humdrum joked, earning a small slap on the shoulder from Radiance

“What are you even doing here?” asked Radiance

“I was at the mall getting my new hero gear, you know, since we’re going against tougher opponents I thought it would be a good idea to change my persona a little bit to make it harder for them to identify me in my civilian life, you should do the same… or at least modify your suit a little bit more,” said Humdrum

“You’ve got a point dear, and your new mask does make you look mysterious and powerful… and a bit more handsome…” Radiance said muttering the last part

“What was that?” asked Humdrum

“...Just a mental note to myself dear, but you still haven’t answered my question,” said Radiance doing her best not to be caught fantasizing about Humdrum

“Well, when I was leaving the mall I saw you and Gallahan walking, at first I thought it was just a date or something and I was going to ignore it, but then, I noticed those 2 following tailing the both of you and something didn’t feel right, then Gallahan made eye contact with the 2 of them and nodded, that’s when an alarm went off in my head and I decided to follow… also I set up a marker, Princess Celestia, Luna and Discord are on their way,” he said

Radiance was in shock after hearing how Humdrum had dealt with the situation

“I can’t believe that I fell for it again,” she said

“Fell for what?” asked Humdrum

“The cute smile, handsome face, and hot body… even after you warn me about it so many times,” Radiance said

“Old habits die hard, they say,” said Humdrum

“But… it’s like… I just can’t learn my lesson… I’ve been turned down, rejected, betrayed, and/or used so many times and I still go back to it…and this time, my bad habit almost got me killed,” said Radiance as she started to shake in anger

“Radiance, it’s ok, being yourself is not a bad thing,” said Humdrum, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“I’m always screwing things up, how can you say it’s not a bad thing?” said Radiance

“Well… at least you can admit to making the mistake, then you can grow upon it and learn… and eventually, you won’t make the same mistake again,” said Humdrum, giving her a comforting shoulder massage.

“How is it… that every time that I mess up, you’re always there to help me out?” asked Radiance as she turned to face her league-mate.

“Well~ usually you mess up when I’m nearby, this time… I’ll just go with the right place, right time, right instincts,” said Humdrum “See you in school,” he said as he walked away

“Humdrum, wait!” Radiance said catching his attention

She then proceeded to reach up and start removing her mask, but Humdrum quickly stopped her, making her look surprised.

“There is no need for that Radiance, you’re my friend, you know I’ll always have your back,” Humdrum said with a smile

This made Radiance’s heart skip a beat as she blushed at the interaction.

“A-Are you sure? Even after how I treated you?” asked Radiance

“Yup, you’re my friend so, of course, I’ll be there for you,” said Humdrum “Later!” he said as he jumped off the roof and walked away

“He’s so cool,” Radiance thought as she blushed, realizing what she said.

“RADIANCE!” came a familiar voice from behind her

“Princess Celestia?” she answered

“Oh good, your safe,” said Discord

“When Humdrum lit the beacon we were really worried, your friends wanted to come here too but we told them it wasn’t necessary,” said Princess Luna

“Yeah, Humdrum already took care of everything,” said Radiance as she pointed at the unconscious assailants below them, just as more heroes appeared to arrest them.

“What are you going to do about Gallahan?” asked Radiance

“We’ll see after talking to him and investigating a bit further, but, he might be heading to jail,” said Celestia

“Are you sure you’re ok, dear?” asked Discord

“Yeah, he only tased me, nothing else,” said Radiance

“Well… we’ll take care of the rest, you should head home and rest, call us if anything comes up, ok,” said Luna

“I will, thank you,” said Radiance as she levitated away, her thoughts hooked on one thought, seeing Humdrum at the Academy on Monday… and making him her prince charming.

“I never really found out how or why Gallahan was involved with these thugs, I still believe he had been forced or blackmailed into doing such a thing, but, the easy money seemed to make him like it…”

“Last I heard about him, he was transferred to another campus in Phillydelphia, which we like to call “The Gulag” since it was a boarding school where heroes were sent to be “Re-sensitized” to their original cause, how, I don’t want to know,”

“OH! You must be wondering what was that interaction with Radiance, right?... well, as you may know, for a hero, your secret identity is everything, once that’s out, every villain in the world will try to cash into your black-market bounty, or attack your family… so, naturally, your mask is the most important part of your persona, so, you must protect it even more… So, when a hero and/or heroine decide to remove their mask and show each other their identities, it symbolizes “complete trust and respect” towards your comrade, in many cases, it is also done by heroes who want to start a romantic relationship…”

“Now you may be wondering, but Spike, why did you stop her from doing so? And my answer is… I have no idea, it-it just didn’t feel right to do it, I already trusted Radiance, and she trusted me, plus, it seemed that the reason she was doing it was that she was anxious and desperate and not in the right state of mind at the moment… plus, I doubt she had a crush or any sort of romantic feelings towards me, she didn’t show it anyway,”

“Going back to the topic… I was congratulated on Monday for my actions in saving Radiance, and for once, everyone clapped and cheered at me, even if it was only forced, but, other than that, nothing changed… except for Radiance's behavior towards me, but, I know it was because I saved her, nothing more,”

“And my school life went back to normal… at least for a few hours… cuz that same day, I had my first encounter with my mortal enemy for the first time…”

CANTERLOT HERO ACADEMY, MONDAY 12:45 PM

“You could’ve reminded me!” said Humdrum as he heard the news

“But, you said you’re always in control,” said Knick Knack

“It’s obvious I lied!” said Humdrum

“Well, good luck anyway man,” said Shadow

“Damn it, why did I procrastinate on doing this English assignment… ok… all I have to do is write lyrics for a song, luckily I’m used to doing that, with the right amount of inspiration… come one think…” thought Humdrum as he frantically looked around for something to inspire himself with, until his eyes landed on Radiance who was walking in the rotunda with the rest of her league-mates

“I got it!” Humdrum said as he started to write, unaware that now he was the target of someone’s eyes.

“I push my feet to the edge I look and I face my world This lonely scene, I take it in
It's hard to say where all of it begins And I end… And I waited for the sky to change
But, oh, it never did And I almost dropped my head And lost my faith Then I saw you from a distance You were worlds away Oh, but you had me from the vision I never looked away Again… I still fall for you like suns do for skies… Cerulean Pouring in from your eyes Just a hollow moon that you colorized… So powerful I feel so small But so alive Like watching the Earthrise…” Humdrum quickly wrote down until his trail of thought was interrupted abruptly

“Hey Humdrum, what are you doing?” came Radiance’s voice making him jump

“Radiance! Hey, What’s up?” he asked hiding his notebook

“What are you doing?” she asked as Radiance levitated the notebook towards her hand and read the paper

“Oh, nothing much, just finishing this project for English class,” said Humdrum as he snatched it back nicely.

“Wow, that’s very good, I didn’t know you were a poet,” she said in a flirty manner

“Neither did I… anything I can do for you?” Humdrum asked with a smile

“Do I really need a reason to talk to one of my “friends”? I mean you said it yourself,” said Radiance

“Right, I did… uhm… I have no idea what to talk about,” said Humdrum

“Oh, no problem, darling, allow me… ahem… Humdrum, do you like fashion?” asked Radiance

“I have no knowledge of fashion whatsoever,” Humdrum said with a straight face

“Oh, really?” asked Radiance as her eyes glimmered “Perfect, this would give me a chance to spend some alone time with him… yay fashion!” Radiance thought to herself while already making plans to ask Humdrum out on a date, disguised as a “Fashion Class”

“So… I was thinking… would you like to go on a d…” Radiance started but was interrupted by a familiar voice

“Radiance! Ms. Widow needs you at the Fashion room now, she says it’s a fashion emergency!” said Cloudchaser

“NOW?! OH, WHY DO YOU HATE ME WORLD! Coming dear… Humdrum, may we continue this conversation later?” Radiance asked with hope in her eyes

“Sure,” said Humdrum, still not cashing on to the situation, watching her walk away

“Yo, dude, anything going on between you and Radiance?” asked Knack as he, Shadow, and Micro appeared out of nowhere

“Nothing out of the ordinary, why?” asked Humdrum

“Well, it’s the first time she comes to talk to you at school,” said Micro

“And the first time her trail of conversation is not “Hero related”, so…” said Shadow

“Well, it did surprise me, but… I doubt she has any ulterior motives,” said Humdrum

“Nah man, she definitely crushing on you,” said Knack

“HA! Only because she talks to him ones when the situation isn’t forced, please, she’s just being nice,” came Flash’s voice as he, Caramel, and Soarin walked up to them

“Walk away Flash,” said Shadow

“Or what, I ain’t scared of any of you, especially YOU,” he said pointing a finger at Humdrum “Plus, I’m only stating a fact, there is no way she would ever be interested in such a pathetic life form as him or any of you for that matter, so, you better stick to your hentai anime and porn mags, right guys!” he said

“Yeah,” Caramel said while Soarin remind silent and looked at the floor ashamed

“Oh, it’s on now pal,” said Micro as he walked up menacingly towards Flash

“Oh, you wanna be a hero, eh, wrong path pal,” said Flash as he was about to punch Micro, only for Soarin to stop him

“Apologize,” he mumbled

“What!” Flash said looking at him

“You crossed the line this time, Radiance is free to hang out and love whoever she wants, even if it’s… one of them,” he said

“What’s wrong with you, man?!” asked Flash

“I’m acting my age, unlike you,” Soarin said getting in Flash’s face

“Fine… sorry, losers… come on, let’s go,” Flash said as he walked away with Caramel in tow

“Thanks… for having our back,” said Humdrum

“Don’t mention it,” said Soarin as he walked away

“What was that all about?” asked Micro

“Maybe he touched a nerve,” said Shadow

“Anyway, it doesn’t matter… Plus… Flash is right, Radiance is being nice to me because I saved her, you know “Damsel-in-distress syndrome” that’s it,” said Humdrum

“When a rescuee becomes overly attached to their saviors/heroes… are you sure?” asked Knack

“Yeah, that’s all there is to it,” said Humdrum

“Well, guess you’re right, I mean, you guys are from 2 totally different worlds, it wouldn’t last anyway,” said Micro.

“Yeah,” said Humdrum disappointed

Then all of the academy’s sirens went off

“What is going on?” asked Microchips

“EMERGENCY LEVEL SS, ALL PERSONEL, AND STUDENTS REPORT TO THE AUDITORIUM, AND TO YOUR LEAGUES IF YOU BELONG TO ONE,” said a computerized voice over the loudspeaker

“Apocalypse-level emergency?” said Shadow in disbelief

“Come on, we must hurry,” said Humdrum as they all ran towards the auditorium

AUDITORIUM

“Hey, what’s going on?” asked Humdrum as he reached the girls

“We have no idea, but it seems serious,” said Masked

“Maybe it’s just another drill,” said Ragger

“Doubt it,” said Fili

“Yeah, look, Princess Celestia looks distressed,” said Mare-velous

“Oh no, did the bakery run out of Red Velvet cake again?” Humdrum said making all the girls laugh

“Oh, Darling, your sense of humor never fails,” Radiance said as she hugged onto his arm

“Right,” said Humdrum, feeling uncomfortable and wiggling himself free “No, but I’m serious, remember last time,” said Humdrum

“Yeah… hopefully Princess Luna and Discord kept an eye on it,” said Masked

“EVERYONE, THIS IS NOT A DRILL!” Celestia roared into the microphone making everyone stop talking and look at her

“Warltonwood has been captured!” Celestia said making everyone gasp

“To give some context, The Walrtonwood castle is one, if not, the MOST, important fort that belongs to Canterlot and Cloudsdale, and it was considered impenetrable, much worse, was the fact that this fortress has many technological advanced weapons, including an anti-magic shield surrounding it, with that on, there is no way to get in, even if you’re a normie, so when she said that this fortress had fallen a lot of red flags started to pop up in my head, I just knew, it was an inside job… but it wasn’t mutiny…”

“We have confirmed that the parties responsible for capturing the fort is “The Shroud” led by one Tobias Rucker, also known as “Tirek”,” said Princess Celestia

“Thanks to 2 of his former associates, Charisse Sabrock, aka, Queen Chrysalis, and Pontus Svensson, King Sombra, we know what he is after…”

“He wants to activate the Foreman Ray and use it to destroy various strategical locations, including the Palace right here in the city of Canterlot,” said Chrysalis as she came forward

“What is his real goal?” asked Humdrum raising his hand, catching everyone’s attention

“We believe that he is after a magical artifact, however, we are not sure which one he was referring to,” Chrysalis said

“And hopefully we won’t have to know… I am hereby giving the order to join the siege of Warltonwood Castle, we will split up and aid wherever we are needed… Teachers and instructors, you will join us, the main force in the center, non-league affiliated students will join the Eastern flank and help Cloudsdale heroes and military in finding a way into the castle from that side, as for the Power Ponies, Sentry Knights, Powerful Heroes Coalition, and Kyōryokuna tasukufōsu will head to the Western flank and do the same… I know this is a very risky mission, and that we are practically sending you to a mission you might not return from… if any of you is not feeling up to it, we would understand if you decide to step down,” said Celestia

But to her surprise, no one moved, letting her know that they were ready for action.

“When we arrived at the fort, we were greeted with scenes that matched the D-day invasion, minus the dead bodies, the land surrounding the castle, which was once green and full of life, was now a barren wasteland filled with mortar craters and debris,”

“We were debriefed by a man called Dante, he was a Cloudsdale hero and explained the situation to us, as best he could,”

“Around 05:00 Hours a distress signal was triggered inside the fortress, do to some… “Miscommunication” we did not react in time to stop the assault…” said Dante

“By “Miscommunication” you mean you brushed off the signal because you thought it was fake?” Humdrum interrupted

“NO!... Well, not exactly…” Dante said while Humdrum raised his eyebrow “Ok, yes, we brushed it off,” said Dante in defeat, however, Humdrum kept staring at him with his eyebrow raised

“OK! We were told to stand down by the leader of the guards, he said he’d take care of it,” Dante said finally revealing the truth.

“Was saying the truth that difficult?” asked Masked Matter-horn as she walked up to Humdrum

“It’s… humiliating,” said Dante

“What else are you hiding?” asked Celestia getting in his face

“W-Well, for one we know that they have no hostages as it seems all acting members of the guard were in on it, and the ones that weren’t part of it, used the catacombs to escape with the tech-heads and scientists, however, do to protocol Chaoseum the Catacombs were collapsed after the successful escape,” said Dante

“When did you actually decide to pay attention to the distress call?” asked Celestia

“After the Emergency, the beacon was lighted in the city,” said Dante

“How long after the beginning to the take over?” asked Celestia

“8 minutes… the beacon was lit by one… Tempest Shadow,” said Dante

“Tempest?” all of the Power Ponies said in shook

“You know her?” asked Celestia

“Former right-hand mare of the Storm King… before she questioned his actions and disappeared without a trace,” said Masked

“We last thought she had retired from this life,” said Radiance

“Well, seems she changed allegiance alright, all of the people that escaped say she and Troubleshoes saved them,” said Dante

“I bet, Troubleshoes tripped and caused the collapse of the catacombs,” Spike muttered

“Agreed,” said Mare-velous

“Anyway, where are those 2 now?” asked Celestia

“They were both badly hurt, so they were taken to Royal Cloud Hospital,” said Dante

“Well, we’ll thank them later, now, everyone knows their stations right?” asked Celestia earning a nod from everyone as they fanned out.

“Remember, that anti-magic shield is a prototype, it can overheat and explode after a considerable amount of damage has been dealt to it, we also have magic rail guns and cannons on each wing, use them as much as possible,” said Dante

“When will we know when the shield is weak?” asked Masked

“When it turns purple, by then, the whole thing will explode leaving them exposed,” said Dante

“It didn’t take long for shit to hit the fan after that, most of us weren’t even in position when cannons on the fortress started to shell the area around us, and we couldn’t really do much since the anti-magic shield was still up and we didn’t have guns or bazookas, plus, we couldn't make a charge for the fortress since the no man’s land was flat with little to no cover, the mortars and machine guns would tear us all to shreds, all we could do was hold our ground and keep firing our magic attacks at the shield hoping to make a dent, we had split up into pairs to work the cannons and rail guns, Fili and Zapp, Radiance and Mare-velous, Ragger and Masked on the last one assigned to us, the other teams did the same, and I teamed up with the rest of the present members of Stigma to refill the ammo for the weapons, the teamwork was amazing and it seemed to be working… until…”

“Everyone, concentrate all your fire at the northern-most quadrant of the shield, I can see some purple there!” Masked said as

“You’re not the boss of me, disregard her order, keep firing at the center, full force!” Flash said

“Flash, Masked’s plan is way better, that area of the shield is weak,” Soarin said as he was starting to re-arrange his shot

“I am your leader not her, my wish is your command… unless you’re a traitor,” said Flash as he aimed his magic Sword at Soarin

“You wouldn’t dare,” said Soarin glaring at him

“Try me, bitch,” said Flash as he glared back

In the end, Soarin gave in and fired at the center of the shield

“There, that wasn’t so hard,” said Flash with a smug grin firing his cannon

“What is he doing? He’s blowing the whole plan!” said Zapp

“Oh, if only the rail guns could hit higher quadrants! Radiance said as Mare-Velous recharged the cannon

“Well, they don’t, now, we must find a way to bring the shield down without Flash’s help,” she said

“Flash, Cannons are supposed to be used to create damage to areas on the shield that the rail guns can’t reach, if we use them as frontal assault weapons the shield won’t, UFF!” Microchips tried to reason with Flash only for him to receive a boot to his face.

“I don’t remember asking for your opinion, loser, now, STAY. OUT. OF. MY. WAY!” Flash said as he kicked Microchips in the face again making him stumble back and fall to the ground, his nose bleeding from the attack.

“HEY! WHAT GIVES?!” Knack said as he rushed over to Microchips and Flash leaving his cannon unattended

“HEY! COME BACK’ERE AH NEED A RECHARGE!” Caramel exclaimed as his cannon emptied, but Knack ignored him

“Get, back to your post “sidekick” if you don’t want to end like your loser friend here,” Flash said in a threatening way.

“You’re not the boss of me Flash,” Knick said ignoring his words

“Then so be it!” Flash said as he swung his leg to kick Knack, only for Humdrum’s hand to appear out of nowhere and stop it, grabbing onto his leg while making it crack from the force of the collision.

“ARGH! Let go of my leg weirdo!” Flash said

“Or what? Flash, we’re in the middle of a battle here, we’re a team, you are no one’s superior, I think it’s time for you to decide what side are you on!” Humdrum said

“I SAID LET GO!” Flash said as he swung his sword at Humdrum, nearly missing his head “YOU are all sidekicks, WE are heroes, WE are better than YOU, that means IF YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO FOLLOW OUR ORDERS, FUCK OFF!” he said glaring at him

“Fine… but, once this is over, I’ll report this to Celestia,” Humdrum said letting go of Flash’s leg

“I dare you to do so!” Flash threatened with his sword

“I’m not scared of you Flash,” Humdrum said

“Neither are we, and WE WILL report it too,” said Masked

“ARGH! Have it you’re way, Fucking losers!” Flash said as he started firing his cannon again

“Are you ok?” asked Sombra as he appeared next to them

“Peachy,” said Microchips

“The nerve on this guy,” said Knack

“Leave it, he isn’t worth the trouble,” said Humdrum

“But, we can’t just let this slide,” said Knack

“And we won’t, at least I won’t,” said Humdrum

Just then, they heard a loud boom and looked at the shield

“Look, the shield is disappearing!” said Zapp

“But, it didn’t even turn purple,” said Ragger

“I have a bad feeling about this,” said Fili

“Who cares, we won!” said Flash in celebration

“Don’t count your chickens yet,” Humdrum interrupted his celebration

“I swear, you talk to me again and…” Flash never finished his threat, for seconds later, the shield reappeared, this time, red.

“Uhm… why is it red?” asked Knack

“They did it,” Dante said over the com-links

“What?” everyone asked

“They were able to activate the self-defense mechanism, now that shield is also a weapon… but, it only activates when… WHAT IDIOT OR IDIOTS AIMED AT THE SAME SECTION OF THE SHIELD FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME!” Dante said

Everyone turned and looked at Flash

“What? How was I supposed to know! It’s your fault anyway, you weren’t fast enough” Flash defended himself.

“EVERYONE, YOU MUST RETREAT!” said Dante

He didn’t even finish that sentence when mortar shells started to rain down on the west flank, one falling near Fili and Zapp’s cannon

“RUN!” Fili exclaimed as she and Zapp vacated their cannon seconds before a mortar fell on it

“PULL BACK!!!!” Masked called out

And with that everyone abandoned their cannons and made a run for it towards the safe zone located 300 meters behind them (It was the area where mortars were out of range)

Little by little every single cannon and railgun was hit by mortar fire and exploded, except for one

“Come on, we’re almost at the safe zone!” screamed Zapp

Just then, a mortar shell landed in the safe zone, taking out part of the wooded area surrounding it and leaving a massive crater

“WHAT THE?!” Caramel said as another shell landed in the safe zone

“It’s cutting us off!” screamed another hero-in-training

“B-but how?” asked Soarin

“The shield!” screamed Humdrum, making everyone turn and notice that the shield was maneuvering the shells further up and then giving them extra strength to hit their target area.

“We have no escape!” exclaimed a heroine-in-training

“Wait! Didn’t Dante mention that it’s attacking the area where the most damage came from?” asked Masked

“Yeah, what about it?” asked Knack

“Well, if we manage to hit another area of the shield it might confuse the AI!” said Microchips

“Yeah, the system will overload and go back to its default setting!” Microchips added

“But how are we going to do that, we have no more cannons,” said Flash

“That one is still intact, come on!” said Mare-velous as she and Radiance headed for the cannon as they were closest to it

“Girls, wait, it’s suicide!” exclaimed Masked but it was too late, the girls were filled with determination

As soon as they got to the Cannon, Radiance quickly jumped up on it and Mare-velous helped re-aim and reload it

“Ready!” Mare-velous exclaimed

“Take this, you stupid shield!” Radiance said as she fired the cannon’s full canister of ammo (10 shots) into one quadrant north-east of the top

All of the shells connected and the red color of the shield started to disappear

“WE DID IT!” the 2 heroines high-fived

But their celebration was foiled when they heard a loud boom near them, the girls turned and saw a new mortar crater a few feet away from them.

Then they looked up and saw another one heading straight for them

“Oh no!” they both gasped as they froze as they saw the mortar getting closer and closer

“Look out!” they heard as they felt something grab their arms and pull them away from the mortar’s trajectory

Just as the mortar hit the cannon, the girls realized that Humdrum had pulled them away and into a crater to shield them from the blast.

However, Humdrum wasn’t fast enough to avoid the explosion, as hot pieces of shrapnel flew around him as he fell into the crater, a few pieces even hitting the right side of his face burning his mask and scales in the process.

“ARGH!!!!” Humdrum screamed as he held his face

“HUMDRUM!” they both exclaimed

“Are you ok?” Radiance asked as they noticed steam coming from his face

“I’ll be fine, my wounds are healing already, It might leave a scar though,” Humdrum thought

“Coming through!” Knack said as he jumped into the crater, placed his hand over humdrum’s exposed cheek, and recreated his mask “There, Identity secure!”

“Thanks,” he said as he got up

“Anytime!” Knack answered as they all emerged from the crater and headed for the safe zone

“That was the… MOST DANGEROUSLY AMAZING THING I’VE EVER WITNESSED!” Fili said as she hugged her 3 league-mates

“Are you all ok?” asked Masked

“Humdrum took some shrapnel to the face but he says he’s fine,” Mare-velous said as they turned to face Humdrum, who was comically, trying to avoid Radiance’s hands from touching his face and removing the part of his mask that contained his injury

“Well, at least they’re in good spirits,” said Caramel

“Yeah, but what about the Shield, I mean, look, it regenerated,” said Shadow

“Well, if someone would’ve heeded our warnings, we wouldn’t be in this mess,” Masked said as everyone turned to glare at Flash

“Oh, so it’s my fault now!!” he said angrily

“When was it not!” said Zapp as a full-blown argument erupted

“What are we going to do?” asked Shadow

“There is no way of defeating that shield,” said Knack

“There is a way, but…” MIcrochips said

“Tell us!” said Knack

“If we can reach the generator, we can destroy the shield but for that to happen…” Microchips said

“Someone has to run across no man’s land, and breach the wall, then fight his way to the generator,” Humdrum finished

“If only we could teleport to the wall… hey Shadow, can’t you shadow run?” asked Knack

“It’s doesn’t work that way, at least not yet for me, I can only use shadow run with the shadows of leaving beings, and in a certain radius,” Shadow said

“What about a teleporter?” asked Knack

“That’ll work, but, we still have to place it at the other side of the shield near the wall, and then breach,” said Microchips

“I’ll do it,” said Humdrum

“What?!” they all exclaimed

“I’m the only person fast enough to run through,” said Humdrum

“What about Fili-second?” asked Knack

“Uneven surface, if she is not careful, and trust me, she isn’t, she can get injured and need rescue, that’s why she didn’t do that earlier,” said Humdrum

“What about the wall, it’s 18 feet of concrete and Marble,” said Shadow

“Knack, can you make me a C4 powerful enough for that?” asked Humdrum

“Easily,” said Knack as said C4 materialized in his hand

“Micro is the Teleporter ready?” asked Humdrum

“Yeah, but, I still think it’s a bad idea,” said MicroChips

“No risk, no reward,” said Humdrum as he placed everything in a backpack

“Famous last words?” asked Soarin who came out of nowhere

“Hopefully not, and don’t try to stop me,” said Humdrum

“I won’t… I want in,” said Soarin

“Really?” asked Humdrum

“Yeah, with all their bickering, they completely forgot about the mission, so, I want in,” said Soarin

“Alright, once I get you all to the other side, follow me into the breach,” said Humdrum

They all nodded.

“I hope this works,” Humdrum said as walked out of the tree line

MEANWHILE AT THE FRONTLINES

“...Ok, good… yes… I am just happy that everyone is safe and unharmed… report something?... sure what is it?” Celestia said as she talked with Masked over the com-links.

“Uhm, Princess?” interrupted Dante

“What?!” she said

“Isn’t that one of your students?” he asked as he pointed to a small figure coming out of the tree line

Celestia quickly used her binoculars, and as soon as her eyes landed on the figure, they widened in horror and shock

“WHAT IS HUMDRUM DOING?!” Celestia quickly said over the com-links but, before Masked answered her, Humdrum began to run down No Man’s land.

This caught everyone’s attention, even the media outlets that had arrived to cover the news were recording his daring charge on the impenetrable fortress.

Humdrum dashed as fast as he could through No Man’s land, by this point, all of the weapons had locked on him, and sure enough, a rain of bullets began to fall around him, but he successfully avoided them all, then mortars began to fall near him, one of them actually fell right next to him causing him to trip and almost damage the equipment in his backpack

But he quickly recovered and made a final dash towards the shield, an area where mortars or bullets couldn’t hit him.

Just before he got to the safe area, a mortar hit a rock formation near the shield, causing it to fall directly on Humdrum’s path, almost crushing him, however, he stopped dead in his tracks and jumped onto the falling rock, using it to as stepping stones to climb the small hill where the fortress stood.

Once he was safely leaning against the wall, he could hear cheering coming from all directions, he looked back and saw everyone cheering, he even noticed Flash give a few claps himself, more than likely forced by the situation

“Well, that wasn’t as fun as I thought it would,” the said as he opened his backpack and placed the teleporter.

Seconds later, his friends and Soarin appeared next to him

“YOU, my friend, are one brave, deranged, son of a bitch,” said Knack as he hugged him

“Yeah, you just made the impossible, possible,” said Shadow

“Plus you even almost gave Radiance a heart attack,” said Soarin

“Really?” asked Humdrum in disbelief as Soarin pointed at a semi-conscious Radiance being held by Mare-velous “Wonder why?” he said as he walked away

“He can’t be THAT clueless?” said Soarin in surprise

“Dude, trust us, he is,” said Microchips

Then they heard the C4 timer start and Humdrum say

“Are you guys ready?”

“Always,” they all said as they got into formation

“Then follow me once more into the breach,” Humdrum said as the C4 exploded and opened a hole in the wall.

“Once we entered we were able to subdue the targets inside in record time, however, we later found out that the men and women who were manning the weapons had all been mind-controlled, and that there was no trace of many weapons and resources, Microchips pointed out that there was a Teleporter in the armory and weapons lab, but the other part of the pair had been deactivated or destroyed… regardless of this, I had become an international sensation due to my “Mad dash of death” as the media had named my charge on the fortress,”

“Once we gave the all-clear signal everyone involved in the siege crowded the fortress, and before I knew it I was being bear-hugged by both Radiance and Mare-velous, man, my ribs hurt like hell after that, which is funny since they had natural airbags, but, anyway...”

“Princess Celestia praised us all for a job well done and then said that there was going to be an assembly later that night at the academy and that we should all rest.

“That was a statement that I could not follow, for various reasons, the first one, the second I stepped out of the fortress I was surrounded by so many reporters I even had cameras pointed at my butt and tail… I still feel violated by this, but, what can we do… and the second reason… well…”

LATER THAT DAY AT THE ACADEMY’S TRAINING HALL

“Man finally, between the reporters and Radiance and Mare following me around asking me if I was ok, I needed some alone time,” said Humdrum as he reached the training hall.

The training hall was desolated since everyone was at the celebration, so Humdrum thought he could have some alone time as he walked around the arena.

Then he felt his nerves tingle and goosebumps run all over his body

“What the? This feeling… was the shield activated?” Humdrum wondered

“Hello, Humdrum,” came a voice he knew too well

“Flash… Caramel… oh and Soarin, what can I do for you?” he asked sarcastically

“Drop the sarcasm, we have a bone to pick with you,” said Flash as he got closer

“So I take it, it was you who activated the health shield,” said Humdrum

“Damn right I did,” said Flash

“Flash, you do know that we have to report the fight since…” Humdrum started

“OH YEAH, Cause that is all you like to do, don’t you?” Flash interrupted

“What are you talking about?” asked Humdrum

“YOU, you snitched on me to Princess Celestia about what happened with your nerd of a friend,” said Flash

“Flash, with all of the reporters following me around, do you think I had time to talk to Celestia?” Humdrum said

“IT DOESN’T MATTER! All this fame of yours is getting on my nerves, you’re a lizard, a worm… you’re no hero,” said Flash

“That is not for you to decide…” Humdrum said

“Well, let's see if you believe that after bashing you down a few pegs,” Flash said as he and Caramel got into fighting stances

“3v1, that seems fair,” Humdrum said sarcastically

“And this time, there will be no witnesses,” Flash said as he, Caramel, and Soarin surrounded Humdrum

“That means they deactivated the cameras,” he thought

“Are you ready for the beating of a lifetime,” Flash said

“First tell me, what do I get if I win?” asked Humdrum

“What?” asked Flash

“Yeah, I know that you want something out of this,” said Humdrum

“Yeah, I want you to remember what you are,” said Flash

“And if I win?” asked Humdrum

“That won’t happen,” said Flash

“Oh come, come, Flash, you better make this worth my time,” said Humdrum

“Fine, not that it’s gonna happen, but… if you win, we will go up on the stage during the ceremony and confess to this fight and the way we’ve treated you all this time,” said Flash

“Deal,” said Humdrum

“Ready then?” asked Flash

“And here we go,” said Humdrum imitating the Joker

And with that Flash and Caramel lunged at Humdrum but he easily avoided their attacks even making them trip and fall to the floor

“Too easy,” Humdrum said as he blocked Soarin’s kick

After this Soarin started to throw punches wildly, almost as if he wanted to avoid hitting Humdrum

“What are you doing Soarin? Why are you not fighting seriously?” Humdrum said

After a few more seconds Humdrum had enough and pushed Saorin away making him fall flat on his butt.

“What are you thinking?” Humdrum thought as he ducked to avoid Flash’s kick

“Don’t get too cocky!” Flash said as he started to throw punches that Humdrum kept blocking and countering.

This continued for a few seconds until Humdrum had enough and punched Flash in the gut making him wheeze in pain.

“Take this!” Caramel said as he tried to fly kick Humdrum in the back, but he quickly moved out of the way and punched Caramel in the jaw, causing him to fall to the floor in a semi-conscious state, but he quickly recovered despite his nose bleeding profusely

“OH, THAT’S IT!” Flash said as he summoned his magic sword, followed by Caramel and his guns

“Flash what are you doing, this wasn’t part of the deal,” said Soarin

“Did you get hit in the head or some shit? What do you care about fairness with this loser,” said Flash as he and Caramel turned to face Humdrum

“Time to end this, Sidekick,” said Flash as charged Humdrum, he was going so fast that, Humdrum only moved to the side and tripped Flash over as he passed by, making him fall to the floor face first “Bastard!” he said as Caramel opened fire against Humdrum

However, Caramel was still a bit drowsy from the punch so his aim was way off, making it easy for Humdrum to rush him and knock him back down to the floor with a shove.

“Useless, Soarin! Finish him off!” Flash said as he got up

Humdrum turned to face Soarin expecting him to draw his weapon, but to his surprise, Soarin only rushed him with his bare hands.

Humdrum easily incapacitated him by using an inside block and then smacking him in the chin and placing him on a choke hold until he tapped out in surrender.

“Weakling,” Flash said as Soarin hit the floor gasping for air “If you want something done right, do it yourself,” he said as he charged at Humdrum, this time making sure that he wasn’t tripped.

However, even though Flash was a great swordsman, he lacked hand-to-hand combat technique and body strength and speed, something that Humdrum possessed, so naturally, once he was at an arm's length of Humdrum, he decided to strike, which was a mistake.

Humdrum avoided the swing, and before Flash could even reposition himself, Humdrum punched in the stomach again and disposed of his sword as he shoved him to the floor one last time, with a punch another punch to the gut.

“It’s over, we’re done here Flash,” Humdrum said as he placed Flash’s sword next to him “I am not your enemy, never been,” he said as he left the arena.

Flash just looked at Humdrum walk away, anger in his eyes, but he was too tired and hurt to continue fighting.

LATER THAT NIGHT

“Her royal highness, Princess Celestia, ruler of Canterlot, would like to present this medal of bravery to Humdrum, one of the bravest students and heroes to ever live,” the announcer has Celestia handed Humdrum the medal of bravery.

“Thank you, your highness,” Humdrum said as he vowed down to her

“My pleasure… but, please, don’t give me or your classmates any more heart attacks,” Celestia said as she hugged Humdrum while the room roared with cheers and applauses

“Will do ma’am,” said Humdrum

“We have a young man who would like to say something your highness,” whispered the announcer

Celestia looked at the edge of the stage and saw Soarin standing there looking ashamed

“Sure,” she said

“Soarin? What are you doing here?” Humdrum asked

“Holding my end of the deal… Classmates, heroes, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Discord, I stand before you today… to admit to the harassment and wrong treatment I inflicted on Humdrum… for the past 3 years, since day one, I have belittled, harassed, and bullied Humdrum, for the simple fact that he was a sidekick with no magic powers… At first, I have to admit, I enjoyed it, it made me feel… powerful… but, after some time, I started to doubt my actions… and thanks to some… very important people to me, I realized that the treatment I gave Humdrum was wrong…” Soarin said as he looked at someone in the crowd “And… I also want to admit, to the fact that I and 2 others ganged up on Humdrum moments ago, intending to beat him up,”

“Beat me up, you were purposely avoiding hitting me,” Humdrum interrupted

“Nevertheless, a deal was struck during that fight… a deal that I plan on completing, and hope that the other 2 parties involved drop their ego, and hold their end of the bargain…” Soarin glared at his “friends” at the back of the room, which Discord noticed, “Once again, Humdrum, I apologize for everything I put you through,” Soarin said as he walked off the stage his head hung in shame.

“It takes bravery to say something like that in front of so many people,” Celestia said to herself as everyone followed Soarin with their eyes until he reached his seat.

“Well… thank you, Soarin… now…” Luna continued the party.

1 HOUR LATER

Soarin walked down an empty hallway all alone, his head still hanging in shame, even though many people patted him on the back, congratulating his honesty.

“Soarin,” came Humdrum’s voice

“Humdrum? What can I do for you?” he asked

“Why did you go through with it?” asked Humdrum

“Because it was the right thing to do, everyone had to know how we were treating you,” said Soarin

“What triggered this change in you?” asked Humdrum

“Flitter and Cloudchaser,” said Soarin

“Really?” Humdrum said

“Yeah, truth is, we’ve been secret friends since we were kids… we never could hang out properly since, my father only cares about power and those 2, well, they didn’t have much, to begin with… however, after you invited them to your “club” they became stronger and my father approved of our relationship,” said Soarin

“Wait, you know of STIGMA?” Humdrum said in disbelief

“Yeah, since the day they received the self-burning paper,” said Soarin

“How did you know?” asked Humdrum

“We were… on a date when, Cloudchaser opened the paper… I promised them… and now you… that I will take the secret of your club’s existence to the grave,” said Soarin

“So, how did that, change anything?” asked Humdrum

“If it weren’t for your club, I could’ve never found the happiness I feel within, knowing that now, I can be with them… love them, without having to care about my father’s views… still, I was… torn… Flash has been my friend since I was a kid, a toddler, and, despite what my father thinks and acts, for us Loyalty is everything… I knew we were doing the wrong thing, but… he can I betray my friend… but then… Flitter and Chaser made me realize something, before, I couldn’t even be in the same room as them, now, they are almost as powerful as me, and all that is thanks to you, I am happy now, not because of my friend, but because the kid I bully in school helped them… saved them… I-I-In short, how can I betray the person that brought happiness into my life… I may be many things, but I am not ingrate, that’s why I defended you earlier today when Flash was annoying you, and then when he kick Microchips… and why I refused to hit you during the ambush,” said Saorin

“So… it was you,” said Humdrum

Soarin looked at Humdrum

“The one ratted Flash out to Celestia and Discord,” said Humdrum

“You don’t attack your teammates…” Soarin said

“Thanks, for everything,” said Humdrum

“No, I should be thanking you… hopefully, now, we can put all this behind us,” Soarin said

“I hope so too,” Humdrum said as he removed his mask, much to Soarin’s surprise

“Xavien Davidson,” Soarin said as he removed his mask as well

“Sebastian Torres,” Humdrum said as he saw the face of his old kindergarten classmate

“We got old,” said Soarin

“Indeed we have,” said Humdrum

“How’s your cheek?” asked Soarin noticing the barely visible scar

“It’s a keeper, I’ll be fine, but, you need the proper light to see it,” said Humdrum

“Glad to hear… thank you for all you’ve done for the weaker population, thank you for giving them strength and confidence,” said Soarin

“Thank you, for everything, it’s partially because of you that I started Stigma,” said Humdrum

“See you in school...” said Soarin as he placed his mask back on “Friend,”

“See you then… friend,” said Humdrum as he placed his mask back on

“That day, Saorin and I became something closer than friends… we became brothers-in-arms… however, our friendship didn’t last that long… 3 days later, on That Thursday, I was going to finally go and visit Tempest at the hospital, since she was finally clear for visits… but, we never go to get, for that day… that day… is the day, many historians have dubbed, as my last… “The day that changed us all forever… for better or worse…”