The Crystal Empire glistened in the afternoon sun as Superstallion surveyed the city. This was the pride of the north, recently recovered and now a gleaming beacon against the arctic cold. He was no crystal pony himself, only one of many emigrants from the south who had chosen to make the place his home.
The recovered crystal ponies who dwelt there had given him nothing but kindness since his first days. Now at last was his chance to repay them, if only in some small way.
Equestria’s mainland had its own protectors—the Elements of Harmony, with incredible magic turned against any threat or evil attackers. The Crystal Empire had only its heart by comparison, an ancient relic that even the locals barely understood. That heart kept out the cold as well as whole teams of pegasi weatherponies, but it could do nothing against more mundane dangers.
But other ponies could. Today was his chance to repay all the kindness the Crystal Empire had shown him. With luck, it would be the first of many.
His sharp eyes scanned the bustling streets, teeming with ponies going about their day. The Empire’s remoteness usually kept it insulated from the worst attacks—why travel thousands of miles through the snow when Equestria had more tempting targets in temperate climes? Still, his instincts told him that not all was peaceful. Tension hung in the air, the cord of fate drawn tight to that moment. What was he missing?
A blur of movement from the corner of his eye drew his attention to a spectacle unfolding. First the gasps of the surprise cut through the peaceful murmur of the marketplace, followed by shattering glass. Ponies dodged out of way, parting before some unknown force. A child’s cry pierced it all, drilling directly into Superstallion’s mind. Someone needed him!
Then he saw it, a blur of color and motion emerging down a sharply sloping road. A young foal, no more than eight winters old, had lost control of a red wagon and was hurtling down the steep incline. A pang of fear clutched Superstallion’s heart, but he swallowed it, replacing it with the icy calm of duty. The child now lay sprawled in the wagon’s back section, clinging desperately to keep from tumbling out.
He caught a sharp horn on that terrified face, a sign of the colt’s frailty. An earth pony could emerge relatively unscathed from such a runaway fall—a unicorn wouldn’t.
He leapt into a gallop, descending down the rooftop of the market building he’d made his observation post for the afternoon. His cape, a vibrant hue of crimson, flapped wildly behind him, billowing like a heroic banner in the wind. His heart pounded in rhythm with the steady drum of his hooves, resonating with the desperate urgency of the situation.
Others scattered from before the runaway wagon, as it accelerated to great speed on the hill. But at its end was a solid wall, the barrier into the train station. Such a sharp impact could have only one outcome.
As he descended toward the street, he saw the foal's wide, terrified eyes, glistening with unshed tears. Finally he came up alongside it, matching the wagon’s speed. Superstallion offered a comforting smile, reaching out with assured hooves. "I've got you," he reassured the child, his voice a soothing balm amidst the chaos.
With a strength born of pure determination, he yanked the young colt out of the wagon, tucking the child against his broad chest. The wagon, now devoid of its precious cargo, continued its downhill trajectory, then smashed against the wall. One wheel splintered off into the distance, while the metal frame scraped loudly against the bricks.
The young colt, still wide-eyed and quivering, peeked from under Superstallion's protective embrace. "My... my wagon," he whimpered, watching the remains of his beloved toy scattered in the chaos.
"It's alright," Superstallion cooed, lowering the child to the ground. "Wagons can be fixed. You're safe, and that's what matters."
With a few powerful bounds, Superstallion was back at the scene of the crash. The wagon was worse off than he had anticipated. A wheel was shattered, its wooden fragments strewn across the cobblestones. The red paint was scuffed and scratched, a mirror of the ordeal it had just undergone.
Casting a look back at the foal, Superstallion took a deep breath, his eyes alight with a determined spark. Flexing his muscular body, he tossed the assembly up onto his shoulders, balancing it there with ease. His strength was vast, far beyond such a simple task. But to the watching colt, he might as well be lifting a building onto his shoulders.
A crowd had gathered, circling up around the scene. Whispers fluttered through the crowd, a hushed chorus of admiration and awe as the local hero demonstrated his resilience in the face of adversity.
"Looks like we'll need a new wheel," Superstallion said, his voice filled with warmth. "But until then, let’s get you home.”
The foal nodded, the faint glimmer of a smile lighting up his tear-streaked face. As Superstallion rose to his full height, a few nearby ponies cheered. Most said little, turning from the scene to return to their lives. This was no Changeling invasion, and Sombra hadn’t returned to assault the city. What did one life matter to them? Superstallion only had eyes for the young colt, safe and sound, his gaze filled with admiration.
He followed the child home, hiking back up the steep incline, then returning to the streets of the Empire. With every step they took together, the child seemed to recover some of his strength. His racing heart calmed, and the terror of his accident faded safely to memory.
They meandered through the winding streets of the Crystal Empire, a city whose radiance often hid the struggles of those residing within its shimmering walls. The neighborhood gradually changed, the grandeur of the central city fading into a modest warren of smaller, humbler homes.
With each step, the young colt seemed to grow in confidence, his small hoofsteps keeping pace with Superstallion’s stride. The afternoon light faded into a kaleidoscope of twilight hues, casting long shadows that danced along their path.
“I… I thought you’d be out… saving Equestria or something,” the colt finally voiced, looking up at the towering figure beside him. His voice was small but filled with a curiosity that belied his earlier terror.
Superstallion chuckled, his eyes twinkling with a soft warmth. “You know, there are a lot of ways to save Equestria,” he began, his voice steady and comforting. “Sometimes it stops a big threat, sure. But sometimes, it’s helping a little guy like you.”
The colt blinked up at him, pondering the words before a slow smile spread across his face. “I guess so…” he murmured.
They walked in companionable silence for a while, the clatter of hooves on the cobblestone streets a soothing rhythm in the encroaching twilight. They eventually reached a house that, though small, glowed with warmth from within. A mare awaited at the entrance, her face a mask of worry that quickly dissolved into relief as she spotted her son.
“Little Red she exclaimed, stumbling down the broken steps to meet them. She swept the child with her magic, squeezing him tightly against her breast. “What happened?” Her discerning eyes fell on the broken wagon, and a conspicuous open spot where the forth wheel ought to be.
“I was playing…” Little Red began. He rushed through the explanation in the usual hurried way of children, conspicuously neglecting his own role in the whole affair. From the story, the wagon had taken control of itself, with Little Red a helpless passenger.
But no parent could hear a story like that and not connect the dots. His mother nodded along until he reached the part about the rescue, and Superstallion’s role.
As the child spoke, Superstallion deposited the broken wagon on their front steps. It wobbled to one side, then landed hard against the pavement.
“Thank you,” the mare finally said. She eyed Superstallion, eyes lingering on his costume. She wouldn’t be the first one to remark on the strangeness of it—yet in her gratitude, those remarks faded. “I don’t know what would’ve happened if you weren’t there. Little Red… is always ending up in places he shouldn’t.”
He nodded solemnly. “Just helping where I can. Hopefully your son will choose a level road to play on next time, and not a busy marketplace.”
She set her child down, then levitated the home door open. “Come inside, Little Red. You can leave the wagon out here. I’m not sure when we would be able to fix it anyway.” She left, vanishing into the house beyond.
Yet the child lingered, watching Superstallion with barely-contained, nervous energy. Superstallion needed no magic to sense the pressure building there.
“I’m guessing your family… might have trouble fixing this,” Superstallion said, breaking the silence. “Wheels can be expensive.”
They weren’t, not for most ponies who lived in such a city. But said that way, perhaps the child wouldn’t feel so self-conscious about his situation.
Little Red nodded glumly, taking a few nervous steps up the steps to his home. His mother lingered in the doorway, waiting impatiently for him. “Yeah. Saved up… all summer for that. Guess I should’ve been more careful.”
Superstallion watched him go, watching the harsh sag of his shoulders and his limp, drooping tail. The child had no hope of seeing his toy repaired, probably ever.
“I’ll bring you a new wheel,” Superstallion said. “I think I know where to get one. Just leave the wagon out here, and I’ll have it fixed by morning.”
Little Red spun in place, his expression lighting with a wave of fresh excitement. “You sure? I don’t think my mom can pay you. We don’t usually have…”
Superstallion flicked his tail to one side, dismissive. “No need. If I wanted bits, this wouldn’t be the profession.”
The colt made it the rest of the way up the steps, before stopping in the doorway again. His mother left him there, wandering back into the house. She shouted after him, reminding the child to shut the door and come in for dinner.
Little Red hesitated even so. “I like your costume!” he blurted out, prompting a hearty chuckle from the towering hero.
“Thanks, my mom made it for me!” Superstallion replied, winking at the colt. The child giggled, vanishing inside the house. The home’s door shut with a soft click, leaving Superstallion standing in the waning twilight. He glanced at the broken wagon, its splintered wheel a stark reminder of the afternoon’s events.
The decision was made, Superstallion lifted his gaze to the twinkling stars, his eyes resolute. He waited for another moment, glancing back to be sure the child wasn’t still watching. There were subtle signs of his power at work in the rescue, sure—but nopony in the marketplace noticed. Let them think he was eccentric, or that he had strange choices in fashion, but nothing more. For the moment, Equestria was better off not knowing he existed.
At last he was sure, and Superstallion broke into a gallop. He leapt upward into the air, the air of dusk whipped at his brown coat.
up.
soaring over the broken rooftops and humble streets of the impoverished suburb before landing squarely in the outskirts of the empire, launching himself up once more to into the frozen wasteland beyond the empire
Up.
Superstallion impacted into the ground once again, shaking the frozen earth beneath his hooves before shooting from the ground like a stray bullet until finally, continuously gaining altitude until it became apparent he wouldn't fall. With a grin only found on farm boys, he soared into the night sky, his silhouette barely discernible against the star-strewn canvas.
"And Away!"
Below, a pair of young eyes watched the miraculous ascent, wide with wonder. The child, peeking out from a dirty window, bore witness to the impossible feat, a new tale of heroism imprinted in his heart. Flight in the Empire was not so strange—a third of its residents could do it. But all of them had wings—Superstallion didn’t need them.
As the shadows swallowed the humble neighborhood, a promise hung in the air, echoing in the silent streets. It was the promise of a hero, of a guardian who would always be there. He was ready to leap into action, ready to save the day one small miracle at a time.
The Crystal Empire might not have been under the threat of invasion, but within its luminous boundaries, hope had been kindled anew. A child's life mattered. To the ponies who needed him, Superstallion would always be their hero, ready to fly into action.
By morning, Little Red would find his wagon fixed.
Author's Note
Hey, I guess I'm a fanfic writer now, so feel free to be as harsh as you'd like in the comments, I need all the criticism I can get if I wanna get half-decent at this! check out my inspiration for this story here: https://www.reddit.com/r/mylittlepony/comments/xoddxy/superstallion_vs_sombra_the_full_mini_comic/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
