More Than A Stallion

"Princess Luna, we need Superhorse."

The princess mulled over Oleander's suggestions. He had indeed brought up several valid points.

"Alright, We'll give you this; you've clearly thought this out well. But how are you going to make this work without ruining it? You did call yourself a… ‘putz,’ correct?"

Oleander set himself back down onto all fours. "Exactly why I came to you, Princess. You're just the pony that can ensure I don't ruin this."

"... We're listening." Luna leaned forward a bit on her throne, investing more of her attention on Oleander. With a quiet sound, Luna’s guardian “statues” changed their poses, striking a more somber and thoughtful appearance.

Oleander shook his creeping fear of the moving statues and cleared his throat. “To start off with…”

All was quiet in Ponyville. The excitement of the day before had died down, now replaced by peaceful slumber. A starry fog flowed through the nighttime streets of Ponyville, its divine movement making way to the library.

"-We get the help of the Elements of Harmony. I've done my research on them when I did some reporting on their defeat of Discord. I know how each and every one of them can help create a 'secret' identity for Superhorse..."

The stellar mist entered the library through an open window and materialized into Princess Luna. A yelp of fright drew Luna's attention to a shivering blue bundle at the foot of a bed. She levitated the lump over to herself, revealing Spike.

"Salutations, Spike." Luna set Spike back down onto the ground. "We wish to speak with Twilight Sparkle; would you kindly tell us where she is?"

"Oh! Sure, she's right downstairs. She's tinkering around with some ring she found, but I'm sure she'll have plenty of time for you.'' Spike looked up at the princess and crossed his arms. "Say, is this about Big Macintosh?"

"Yes, but it is a very private matter. Come with us and We will explain." Luna trotted down the staircase, Spike following close behind.

"Twilight Sparkle, We must speak with you on matters most urgent."

Twilight shot up out of a fort of books in surprise, spilling the books onto the floor. From the fallen book fort dropped a small yellow ring, which rolled across the ground and stopping at Luna's hoof. Picking up the small object with her magic, Luna eyed it curiously, taking note of the fine detail put into a design etched onto the metal.

"Princess Luna! What brings you here on such short notice? I would've cleaned up a bit if I had gotten some warning." Twilight bowed politely and looked back up to Luna.

"We are curious, Twilight Sparkle: where did you procure this ring? It seems oddly familiar." Luna gave the ring back to Twilight, who gladly tucked it away in a desk drawer.

"It's just something I found. So, what can I help you with, Princess?"

"First, we need both of them to show up in the same place at the same time. Twilight, being your sister's student, is naturally fit for covering the magical aspects of this operation...

"Twilight Sparkle, it seems that in our haste, We have made a grave error." Luna bowed her head a bit in shame. "We have thrust Macintosh Apple into the role of 'hero' in order to solve a 'problem' that We cannot have you use the Elements of Harmony on, and in our carelessness, have forsaken his right to privacy." Luna produced a children's comic book from under her wing, featuring the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well going head-to-head against the villainous Karyz-Chen, a grotesquely obese monster that stood upon thin, spidery legs.

"We're sure you remember the 'Mare-Do-Well' incident, considering that you helped to create her."

Twilight blushed. "Oh, that? That was just a silly disguise. If I had known that she'd inspired somepony to write an entire..."

Luna sighed and gently waved the book, cutting Twilight's thoughts short.

"Forgive us for our lack of grace, but you are missing our point. As our 'royal advisor' has explained to us, Mare-Do-Well is a pony who hides her identity behind a mask in order to protect her privacy and the ponies close to her."

Twilight tilted her head and rubbed her chin. Her mental gears ran at such a speed, the friction between them shot into sparks of thought and planing. Before Luna could pose any further questions, Twilight came back with a suggestion--or rather, a lack thereof.

"So you want to give Big Macintosh a secret identity like Mare-Do-Well? Ponies in Canterlot have seen the news already. They’ve already seen his face in the paper…” She lifted the paper her parents sent her, the front page loudly proclaiming Big Macintosh’s feat, complete with photo. “And if the ponies of Canterlot are anything like they were while I was growing up, they’ve already spread the news all over Equestria by now.”

Down went the newspaper, onto her desk. Twilight began to pace the length of her library. “It’d be too difficult to disprove the existing evidence. The paper can't be recalled, because that would be an infringement of the freedom of the press, and we can't alter the photo magically because it's already too late."

Defeated, Twilight looked to the princess. "I'm sorry, but there just isn't any way to distinguish the two that I can think of."

"Our advisor has all the details handled. He simply requires the help of you and your friends in creating the identity of 'Superhorse'." Luna tucked the comic book back under her wing. "Will you help us?"

Twilight saluted. "Anything to help a friend!"

Luna bowed gratefully. "We thank you, Twilight Sparkle."

Trotting towards the door, Luna looked back at Twilight. "Now, how familiar are you with illusions?"

A light snoring drew Twilight's attention to little Spike, who'd dozed off in the middle of their conversation. A small smile on her lips, Twilight levitated the baby dragon back up to his bed and tucked him in.

"My uncle was a rather macabre stage magician, so I know a little bit about duplication illusions. When he did the classical 'sawn-in-half' trick, he'd place a blank dummy into the box and have a unicorn assistant cast a spell to make it look like a real pony. It moved, talked and walked, but it really only did what it was made to do. They also didn't have any insides, so he had to fill the interior with packets of cherry jelly to make fake blood and-"

"Please get to your point." Luna's held her forehead with her hoof. "We don't need to know every minor detail."

"Oh, well basically, the spell is easy, it's finding an accurate dummy that'll be the hard part. That's where Miss Rarity comes in. She run a boutique, so naturally she should have an abundance of ponnequins to choose from. Also, I had this idea for a really awesome cape. Here, let me jot down the design..."

Twilight led Luna though the nighttime streets of Ponyville towards Carousel Boutique. The two ponies talked back and forth over Twilight's role in the plan. This discussion- which had been prolonged by double-checking and triple-checking the details -had lasted for several hours already. Luna, quite frankly, was ready to actually move the plan forward while Twilight began her quadruple-check.

"-so I'll be casting a Copycat Colt spell on Big Macintosh so that he can be in two places at once?"

Luna nodded, glad that Twilight had finally committed her role to memory.

"So what would you need Rarity for? I can see why I'd be needed, but Rarity doesn't seem like-"

"Was it not Rarity who made the original Mare-Do-Well costume?" Luna countered.

"But Big Macintosh already has a costume, why would he need a new one?"

"Our advisor has told us that she is absolutely integral in the success of our ruse." Luna knocked on the front door and stepped back, awaiting a response. None came.

Twilight shrugged. She hated having to do this kind of thing to a friend, but it certainly would get Rarity out of bed at this hour. "Oh, I seem to have found this absolutely magnificent pair of neon pink polka-dotted pants!" she shouted. "I'm sure Rarity wouldn't mind if I wore them out in public!"

The thundering sound of a stampede on the other side of the door alarmed Luna. Twilight nonchalantly backed away from the door as the noise grew louder.

"STEP AWAY FROM THE PANTS OR YOUR LEGS COME OFF!" Luna jumped back in fright as a hideous, oily, green monster shot out of the door. Several writhing purple tentacles tipped with deadly pink maws, gaping and ready to gnash at her with their sharp, toothy linings. Where the monster's face would be, a pair of unblinking, pale green discs with multiple pupils lay.

The beast wiped away the slime and eyes, revealing its identity as Rarity.

"Alright then, where are these... pants?" Rarity seemed reluctant to name the object, as if disgusted by the very idea that something so bone-chillingly unfabulous could even be considered an honest pair of pantaloons. "We'll have to deal with them before some unlucky pony wears them."

Twilight coughed, catching Rarity's attention. "There weren't any pants. I needed to wake you up. Somepony very important would like to speak with you." Twilight made a sweeping gesture to Princess Luna.

Rarity almost immediately went into a state of catatonia, mirroring the princess' own expression.

"Sh-she looked exactly like M'Nagalah!"

"The pr-pr-pr-princess wants to speak with me!? On such short notice! Please, come in, come in!"

Rarity pushed the pair of ponies into the boutique and slammed the door shut behind her. The fashionista led the two to her kitchen and seated them.

"I'll prepare some tea! Don't wait for me, please explain! It's such an honor to have you here! If there is anything I can help you with, just say the word!"

Twilight looked to the still-shocked Princess Luna. After some weird silence, Twilight decided to answer for the vacant royal.

"Rarity, you remember the Mare-do-Well costume, don't you?"

“Oh, that old thing?” Rarity asked as she prepared the tea. “It was one of my most imaginative works, certainly. Inspired some hack artist to steal my idea and turn it into a superhero.” Her facial features darkened. Her voice grew quiet, reaching a boiling point faster than the tea kettle. Twilight raised an eyebrow as she felt the atmosphere in the room quickly warp into something terrifying.

“Steal my idea. You know, without the permission of the original artist. Then claim it as their own, and then have access to better lawyers because they are a part of some big publishing firm, all to make sure that the original artist can’t do anything against them!” Rarity slammed a hoof on her counter-top in frustration. “And all the while, LAAAUUUUGHING. Laughing in your face because they know you can’t do anything! All because you - silly you -forgot to patent your design to begin with! And then they make millions off of your idea, while you have to just SIT THERE and TAKE IT UP THE-”

But before she could say more, the tea kettle whistled. Just like that, Rarity snapped back into her previous joviality. Her present company stared at her uncomfortably as she poured their tea. Its lively aroma broke Luna out of her disturbed trance.

Luna sipped from the tea. "We do not require the costume, but we do require your help. Help we may only find in your particular line of work."

"How may I be of assistance?" asked Rarity.

"We require one of your ponnequins- specifically one with the same measurements as Macintosh Apple." Luna lifted her cup to her mouth and sipped.

"Whatever could you need one of those for?"

"We need it to create an illusory copy of Big Macintosh." chimed Twilight

"Indeed. We'll also require a cape." Luna conjured a thick black cloud. Just looking at it unnerved Rarity. Tentacles and claws and writhing somethings squirmed out of the cloud in a way that just wasn't meant to be. The tentacles dropped an imposing black chest covered in runes and retreated back into the cloud with a sickening squelch.

Luna opened the the chest to and named to the treasures that lie within. "High-strength silk gathered from the webs of iron spiders. Vivid red dye made from ground-up Ruby Beetles. Your initial payment. The design for the cape." Luna shut the case and slid it over to Rarity.

"I thank you for the materials." Rarity nodded, a sly grin creeping onto her face. "...You do know that we can't simply put him in a costume and cape and expect ponies not to recognize his face. We need to give him a makeover!"

Luna made a small gesture with her tea cup. "Macintosh Apple was first seen in Canterlot," she said, "so perhaps we should have his appearance reflect that of its middle class citizens. 'Twould seem more... common than a farmer. We would also need to employ an accent-changing spell, in the event that Macintosh Apple is incapable of putting forth a false accent."

Rarity's eyes lit up at the prospect of making the leap into the field of stallion cosmetics. "It's a good thing I keep an eye on what's popular in the world of fashion! Spit curls are making a comeback!" Using her magic, Rarity picked up a magazine from the side of the room and fanned it to a page somewhere in the middle. She fixed her gaze on a subdued-looking stallion with his hair slicked back, a single lock of hair out in front, curled into an 'S'.

"Give me just ten minutes with him, and I could have him looking like a Canterlot native in five."

Twilight and Luna both sat their empty teacups down as Rarity folded the magazine shut and placed it to the side. "I'll be glad to help," said Rarity. "Come get the cape and ponnequin when you're ready. Bring Big Macintosh too."

Twilight stood. "Thanks for the help, Rarity. I'm sure Big Macintosh will be thankful." Twilight made her exit, with Luna in tow.

"Alright, Princess, who's next?" Twilight quietly shut the door behind them and looked to the sky. It was almost exactly thirty minutes since they had left the Library.

"Our advisor said that we need to get Rainbow Dash. She'll need to act as cover."

"Finally, we'll need a place to have Superhorse live. Everyone has their own place they retreat to in order to have some time alone - a fortress of solitude, if you will. Rainbow Dash, being the fastest of the Elements of Harmony, could easily build a cloud house in the deepest parts of the Everfree Forest. The weather there may be unpredictable, but it should be safe if it is built in the deepest portion of the canyon in the forest. If any ponies become curious about where he lives, we can simply direct them to the forest."

Princess Luna flew up to the Rainbow Dash's cloud-house with Twilight wrapped in her magical grasp. As they alighted onto Rainbow Dash's 'lawn', they were surprised to find its resident was already wide awake. Their sudden approach startled Rainbow Dash, causing her to drop the comic book she was reading by candlelight.

"Rainbow Dash, we need your help."

Rainbow Dash recovered quickly, and shifted her gaze to Princess Luna. "Uh, hey Twilight, hey Princess Luna. Could you guys not tell anyone you managed to sneak up on me? I've got an image to keep up." Rainbow Dash closed the book and sat it to the side. "So, whatcha need help with? Is it a dragon?"

"Sort of. Princess Luna has a special job for you. I think she can explain better than I can." Twilight looked to the Princess.

Luna nodded. "Rainbow Dash, We require your talents. How quickly can you make a cloud house?"

Rainbow Dash leaned back in thought. "I dunno. I made my second house in about a half hour. Why?"

"Wouldn't you need to map out the house's interior, settle on a basic design, and survey the area where you intended to build the house?" Twilight began to panic. "If you don't follow the guidelines, the whole place could fall apart!"

"Ppphhht, that's what beginners do!" Rainbow Dash tapped her porch. "Twilight, when' you're as good as me, you can build a good, sturdy house with your eyes closed. They didn't make me captain of the weather team for no reason."

Princess Luna looked out over the Everfree Forest. "We need you to construct a cloud fortress in the Everfree Ravine. One that is strong enough to withstand the erratic weather of the forest."

"Are you kidding me? I could have one of those done before sun-up, and that's including the the fancy trim!" Rainbow Dash jumped up, eager to take on the challenge. "I just need to know who I'm making this for and I'll be right on it!"

"It's for Big Macintosh. We're trying to keep attention away from him. Since you've been reading that comic book, I think you might be familiar with the concept."

"Twilight, if that's egghead-speak for 'give Big Macintosh a secret identity', then I'm game." Rainbow Dash took to the air. "I'll drop by to tell you when I'm done!"

Luna and Twilight watched Rainbow Dash vanish into the depths of the forest. As they did, Luna shivered suddenly. She couldn't shake the foreboding sense that tomorrow might not go exactly as planned... as though control over the future had been passed over to somepony more sinister...

Twisting, wicked plates of metal weaved together into a pony-shaped beast. The lack of a head did nothing to dissipate the feeling that it eyed one like a lion eyed a wildebeest.

Lack Luster labored away in her office, her face covered by a welding mask. Sparks flew from a small torch, held carefully by her cream-colored magic. The final piece- a diamond-shaped metal patch- was burned precisely into place. Lack Luster killed the torch's flame and lifted her mask, admiring her work.

Some things are just too easy, she mused with a wistful smile, like solving a complex spell algorithm, beating an automaton at chess, or building a killer suit of armor.

As she set aside her welding implements, her office door was slammed against her wall. As the loud and proud Swift Sword barged into her office, Lack Luster smiled to herself. This was the moment she was waiting for.

"Lack Luster, I'm here to see your review of the data from the last testing."

"Sift Sord, I do believe that you requested a way to enter the world that you've been seeing through the goggles." Lack Luster stepped aside, revealing the armor. "Rather than review the test data, I have so graciously decided to create a suit of armor that should allow you to create a portal with a mere thought."

Swift Sword walked over to the armor and stroked his hoof across the dark metal. "I'm impressed, Lack Luster. You managed to create such a fine invention within the span of a few hours." Swift Sword looked back at Lask Luster. "May I?"

"Certainly." Lack Luster unfurled the blueprints and began to read from them with a helpful tone while Sword pulled on the armor like a new set of pants. "The armor was designed to survive environmental extremes, specifically the kind that would normally be visited through a portal system. The armor can withstand the interior of a volcano, the withering cold of a polar waste, and re-entry from the edge of space."

Swift Sword placed on the last piece of the armor, the chest-plate. "So, all I have to do is think of the location I want to go, and it opens a portal?" Sword admired his reflection in the metal of the suit.

"That is correct..."

Lack Luster eyed him suspiciously. Sword was being less erratic than he had been, his voice betraying an element of cunning she'd not noticed before. She reached for the small destruct-switch she'd hid in her pocket.

"Thank you, Lack Luster." Swift Sword turned on Lack Luster suddenly, grabbing her with his magic and slamming her into a shelf. The destruct-switch fell from her pocket and onto the floor. Swift Sword eyed it with a knowing grin. "Clever girl." With a quick movement, he crushed it. "But no matter. It seems that despite your level twelve intellect, you're still so very easy to manipulate."

Lack Luster's hooves shot for her throat, instinctively trying to pry herself free.

"My intentions of finding a way to utilize portal magic to aide the Equestrian military were genuine... At first." Swift Sword let Lack Luster drop to the floor. "You see, a few months ago, I was contacted in a dream by a pony who sounded like me. Looked like me. And he told me that he had been wrongly accused of war crimes, and had his body ripped away from his mind and magic."

"What does that have to do with this?" Lack Luster pulled herself up shakily, but Sword slammed her back down with a bolt of magic.

"You're the genius, Lack Luster. You should have figured that out in milliseconds. He promised me everything I wished for, in return for everything he wished for. What I lacked in magic, I had more than made up for with the fact that I have an actual, physical body. So he proposed I use the portal project to get a good look at his parallel Earth, Kryptpon. Then I thought to anger you until you have sufficient motivation to attempt murder. I even feigned mental decay to solidify the act."

Lack Luster blanched as Sword leaned in slyly.

"Yes, my dear, I wanted you to try to kill me by cutting me in half with a portal. I wanted you to make this suit." Sword opened a portal behind himself. An ominous, violet-colored shadow of a pony emerged from the portal, cackling at Lack Luster.

"Lack Luster, meet Dru-Za, my counterpart." Dru-Za melted into a foreboding fog of foul magic, and entered Sword through his mouth and nose, as if he were breathing in a dangerous hallucinogen. "And say goodbye to us, because in a mere few moments, Swift Sword and Dru-Za shall no longer exist." Sword's voice deepened as his greying brown mane blackened. His eyes darkened into the ominous violet of the magic that flowed into him and began leaking an aura of magic.

"Say hello to your new lord and master... Zod!"

Lack Luster charged at Zod. "How about I say goodbye to you both!?" Using her momentum, she tossed the newly born Zod through the portal. Zod laughed madly as he fell in, amused by her last-ditch attempt to get rid of him. She knew it shouldn't be that easy to push him while he wore the power-armor he had manipulated her into building. He was letting her push him- going easy on her because to him she was a mere child.

The portal closed up, and Lack Luster drooped to the floor, exhausted. As she fell out of consciousness, all she could hear was the sound of Zod's maddening laughter.

Zod looked out over the burning landscape and shouted with glee. Plumes of red-violet magic swirled around him, their corrupting influence scorching the ground. The dying land that would become the throne from which he conquered Earth. Zod reared back onto his hind legs and roared with insane joy.

"NOW I BEGIN MY CONQUEST!"

Zod stamped his hooves back down with enough force to shatter stone, and took to the burning skies of the dying Kryptpon. Zod flashed a mouthful of razor-sharp pearly whites. "I do believe that I should pay Jor-El and his wife a visit."

Zod swerved through the sky, leaving a trail of foul magic that pointed right to the emerald city ruins.

~Late Morning, Big Macintosh's Bedroom~

Big Macintosh breathed deeply as he finished freshening up for his day. He looked at the medallion on his bedside table with a suspicious eye. He could feel its meaning, its deep weight, like a pendulum swinging in a direction he'd rather not go. The end of his chance at a normal, unbothered life.

"Hey."

The sound of Applejack's voice grabbed Big Macintosh's attention. She leaned in his doorway with a look of concern he hadn't seen her make for a very long time.

"Big Macintosh, Applebloom already tol' me about what happened last night." Applejack tilted her hat over her eyes and looked down. "I don't know what it must feel like... losin' two sets'a of parents, but..."

At Applejack's last word, Big Macintosh's face fell. He sighed and looked away mournfully, only for Applejack to embrace him in a tight hug.

"...I figgered ya might not be feelin' up to snuff." Applejack stepped back. "Do you remember when Maw was pregnant with Applebloom, and I didn't want no sister?

"I reckon I would've never gotten used to Applebloom until Paw gave me that slice of cherry pie," she continued without waiting for a reply. "He tol' me that Grandpa Cortland gave him this advice. 'When you want ta make a pie and life gives you lemons, make lemon pie.' But Paw tol' me Grandpa an' him were never really good at followin' the beaten path." Applejack pulled out a lemon from under her hat and tossed it to Big Macintosh.

"Paw said 'Applejack, when life gives you lemons, don't make lemon pie. Throw away the lemons, plant a cherry tree, harvest the cherries, and make cherry pie. Takes longer ta get the pie, but the work makes it worth it.'" Applejack turned towards a series of portraits of her grandfather and father.. "Basically, what Paw said was..."

Applejack looked back at Big Macintosh so she could drive her point home, but all she met was a warm gust of wind and an open window. She sighed. "Must've flown the coop. Cain't blame him. Not his fault his life's been flip-turned upside-down."

When his vision returned, Big Macintosh's surroundings had changed from his drab bedroom to the stylish Carousel Boutique. Twilight's voice coming from somewhere behind him cleared up things a little. She must've teleported him here.

"... great! I'm so sorry we had to wake you so early, but for just a few hours work on little-to-no sleep, you really managed to out do yourself!"

"Twilight, you flatter me!" chirped a response.

Big Macintosh turned his head. Twilight was conversing with Rarity, whose blue magical aura carried a majestic red cape through the air. "But it was nothing, really," she continued unperturbed. "I've had to do much harder work before, like when Sapphire Shores came and-"

"I'm sorry Rarity, but we don't have time for a story. You've got to get Big Macintosh ready, remember?"

"I suppose it can wait. Come along Big Macintosh, I'm going to make you shine!" Rarity gripped Big Mac by the ear, leading him into a nearby room. The door closed behind them.

Twilight patiently waited, listening intently to the events going on the other side of the door.

"Alright Big Macintosh, you know how Princess Luna gave you that suit you were wearing yesterday?" asked Twilight.

"Eeeeeyup." Big Macintosh sounded a little distressed. In all likelihood, Rarity was attacking him with soap and a brush.

"Well, she came to Ponyville last night, and told us how we can hide you in plain sight before any mobs of ponies come from Canterlot looking for the 'superhorse' talked about in the paper. So we're giving you a little makeover!" Twilight smiled. "So when mobs of ponies do come, we'll be ready and waiting for them. Then you can live your life in relative peace, without having to worry about being famous."

Twilight paced back and forth in front of the door until she heard a yelp. "Sorry, but your mane is just so tangled!" said Rarity from inside. It was followed by some grumbling.

Meanwhile, behind the door, Rarity poured a viscous black fluid out of a bottle and onto Big Macintosh's mane. She began lathering it in, turning his mane from straw blonde to jet black. With a stroke of her magic, Rarity slicked his hair back. She stood back and looked between her work and a picture in her hair-style magazine.

"Aha!" She licked her hoof and used it to pull a small lock of hair into an 's' shape just in front of Big Macintosh' face.

"Now, tell me what you think. Very well done for a quick job, don't you think?" Rarity levitated a mirror in front of Big Macintosh's face, and he noticed the difference immediately. In addition to the dye job, his freckles had vanished, and his eyes were surrounded by what seemed to be a darker shade of red to accentuate the lines of his face. His eyes seemed to glow in a lighter shade of green. Save his red coat, he hardly looked like Big Macintosh at all.

"...Eeyup," he said, genuinely surprised at the result.

"I knew you'd like it. It's the perfect disguise." Rarity swung open the door and allowed Twilight in.

"Alright, now all we need to do is get him into the..." Twilight trailed off as she looked at Big Macintosh, noticing the obvious absence of the most important part of the Superhorse look. "Wait, where's your armor, Big Macintosh?"

Big Macintosh pulled out the small 's' emblem from a small cavity in his horseshoe.

Twilight gawked at the size of it. "We need you in the armor for the plan to work!"

Big Macintosh looked at Twilight sadly and muttered something.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that."

"It's not like anypony asked my permission or nothin'," Big Mac said in surprising bitterness. "Not like I got an opinion in anything that happens to me."

Twilight raised a shocked eyebrow. "Big Macintosh...?"

Big Macintosh continued at a slightly louder volume, his tone irritated. "I don't wanna play along 'til I know exactly what the Princess is plannin'." Twilight and Rarity both stared at him, surprised at his reluctance. "If you can tell me what she needs stopped, then I'll play her game. Until then, y'all can find me in th' orchard." With that, he turned to leave.

"Stop-!" Before he could leave, Rarity swung the door back shut. "How about you stay for a spot of tea? The princess should be arriving soon, and you can ask her for yourself when she does."

Big Macintosh locked eyes with Rarity. There was no getting out of this - he could see it in her eyes. They burned with the stubbornness that he'd only seen in Applejack before.

Big Macintosh relented. "Fine," he sighed. At least he'd get answers out of this.

"Good." Rarity dragged Twilight and Big Macintosh into her kitchen and seated them, draping the red cape she'd made over Big Macintosh's shoulders as she did. "How do you like your tea?"

Rarity had her head buried in a cabinet full of various tea based wares when it happened. The ground shook violently, sending several loose objects clattering to the tile floor.

They galloped outdoors, and then looked up. The sky parted in two high in the atmosphere, as if something had slashed though it with a massive sword. Meteors fell through the rip as though they were the fiery blood of some giant, invisible monster.

Rarity fainted at the sight. Rolling her eyes, Twilight lifted her friend onto her back. "Big Macintosh, could you investigate? I'll meet you in a bit."

Big Macintosh supposed that this was exactly the kind of thing Luna was trying to prepare for. Slipping the emblem out from his horseshoe and placing it over his chest, Big Macintosh tried to come up with an activation code and a fitting voice for a pony who could lift a train and only work up a sweat.

When Lack Luster awoke, she took note of three things. One, Sword was still gone. Two, her office floor was more comfortable than her desk. Three, she swore she could smell burning metal. Pulling herself up and dusting herself off, Lack Luster went over the the window and pulled open the blinds to assess just how long she'd been asleep.

The sudden rush of light into her eyes forced her to shield her face, but as soon as she adjusted, she surmised by the position of the sun that it was around eleven in the morning. Oh, and there was a giant tear in the fabric of space and time of in the distance, pouring out a hail of meteors upon Ponyville.

Lack Luster shut her blinds, turned away from the window and approached her desk. Slumping down in her chair, she rang a buzzer.

"Would somepony bring me my coffee?"

A voice came through the other end of the buzzer. "Right away ma'am."

Zod flew over the emerald ruins of the city of Kantor and laughed. Looking over the area, he immediately noticed that there were only two ponies left alive, simply by listening to the sounds of their panic. To be expected, he thought. Time in this world ran much differently than it did in his world, so there would be some survivors.

Zod blasted through the sky and towards the sound of panic, smashing his way through walls of hard, rocky building material like they were stacks of cardboard boxes. With his new-found might, he was a mere stone's throw away. A mile was an inch.

Crashing through the ceiling, several explosions went off, rocking the laboratory within.

"Kal-El, our only regret is that we could not watch you grow up. Goodbye, son."

Zod looked to the two ponies who resided in the laboratory. They were carrying a strange flashlight-like device, and stood near a red, blue, and gold pod.

The stallion looked at Zod and blanched. His wife took a few steps backward. "...Dru-Za?" he asked in shock. The mare slipped the device into the pod as her husband spoke.

"I am not Dru-Za," he said with what sounded like two voices at once. "I am what happens when the unstoppable force of Za met the immovable object that was his counterpart from a parallel universe." He descended slowly and landed on the ground before the stallion and mare. "You may call me Zod."

Zod began circling around the scared scientists like a big cat circling its prey. "The Za you betrayed is no more. The Za you tore apart, mind from body, was an ingredient to this god before you now."

His eyes glowed sinisterly. Jor-El was gripped by unseen forces and with a sickening crack, a leg was broken. He was then flipped onto his back as his wife shrieked helplessly.

"How does it feel, Jor-El?" Zod growled as he came closer. Jor-El was flipped again, landing hard on the floor. "The helplessness?" Another leg broke. Another harsh flip. Zod was now nose-to-nose with his quarry. Jor-El could smell his rancid breath, feel the ice-cold otherworldliness of his voice as he spoke. "Not so powerful without your council of mindless judges backing you up, are you?" he chuckled.

"The hypocritical laws you loved to enforce can no longer protect you. Not from me..." Zod motioned out to the chaos around them. "...Not even from yourselves. You didn't even need me to destroy your world. All I had to do was wait!" He laughed heartily in Jor-El's face.

Suddenly, through the sounds of Kryptpon burning down, Zod heard a distant cry. It sounded like...

...an infant.

His predator eyes followed the sound to the escape pod near the wormhole generator. The crying continued as the sounds of chaos battled above.

"No..." Jor-El said weakly, his eyes wide with terror.

Zod answered his plea with a grotesque smile that displayed a row of shark-like teeth. The new god got off of Jor-El's battered body and trotted casually to the escape pod. Suddenly, the wife jumped between him and the escape pod, her stance resolute. "Don't-you-even!!" she growled.

With a sneer, Zod brushed her aside as if she were an old newspaper. She crashed into the wall with a yelp.

Jor-El used the distraction to his advantage. Pulling a small remote from his pocket, he mashed a button, opening the wormhole and sending the pod falling through.

Zod boiled with fury as the wormhole shut. "Resisting are you? I'll show you what happens when you resist!" Zod's horn lit up in that sickening purple glow, and he fired a fragment of it at Jor-El.

The sheer force tossed him across the room. Lara-El picked herself up and rushed to aide her wounded husband, occasionally glancing back at Zod, who glared them both down, unmoving. Suddenly, Zod relaxed, his anger abruptly dissolving.

"I am beyond you, Jor-El," Zod growled. "It is futile to resist the wrath of Zod." His horn glowed, and a wormhole opened up in the floor of the lab.

"I'll be back for you soon, House of El. Ta-ta!" Zod sunk through the hole in the floor, with an unsettlingly wide grin; as if he had planned his daily schedule with genocide and world domination at the top of the list.

~Somewhere in the Atmosphere, Above Equestria~

Zod exited the wormhole miles above the rural town of Ponyville. With a scowl, he blasted the portal with a bolt of energy not unlike the one he used to cripple Jor-El, but to a vastly different effect. The portal was ripped apart, and the tear began to spill out a storm of flaming rock and metal.

Zod flew down from the sky with great speed, the friction of his entry into the thicker parts of the atmosphere engulfing him in flames, just like the meteor storm that surrounded him.

Most of the meteors had burned out long before they reached the ground, but one kept moving. It slowed to a stop above Ponyville, revealing an armor-clad unicorn. The town erupted into chaos, with panicked ponies scattering around, trying to find a place to hide.

A loud, booming voice washed over the town, forcing everypony to drop to the ground and hold their hooves to their ears.

"BE. STILL."

Another voice could be heard throughout the town, and carried with it hope.

"This looks like a job for Superhorse!"

Big Macintosh flew fast enough that he blurred into a fast-moving blot of red and blue, hiding himself as his medallion melted over his body and encased him in his father's armor. The suit incorporated Rarity's cape into it, spilling it out over the edges of the metal yoke.

Superhorse slowed to a stop mere feet away from Zod. "Who are you!?"

The ashen gray pony lit his horn up and glowered at Superhorse. "Ah, you must be Kal-El." He let loose a shroud of darkness from his horn and he vanished into thin air before reappearing directly behind Superhorse. "The Last Son of Kyrptpon."

Superhorse turn to glare at him. "What do you want?" Zod looked down at him through unimpressed eyes. Like a lightning bolt, he back-hoofed Superhorse across the face, sending him hurtling to the ground.

Panicked ponies darted away like minnows as he smashed through fruit stalls in the market place and came to a rest before the cabbage cart. Zod used his magic to amplify the sound of his voice loud enough to be heard by all in Ponyville.

"I WANT YOU ALL TO KNEEL BEFORE ZOD!"