MLP: Long Nights in Maretropolis

Spike wasn’t sure what he was doing, following the Power Ponies back to their headquarters like this. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust their intentions, per say, as he’d done his homework the night prior and ensured that they were a legit team of heroes.

It was more so the fact of their trustworthiness that made him so skeptical. Sure, Zapp had likely told her fellow heroes about their encounter the day prior, but for all Spike knew, none of them really recognized him as an existing hero, which made sense. He tried to fly under the radar to keep the MPD off his ass, and a part of ensuring that secrecy was flying solo unless absolutely necessary.

Working with the Power Ponies could make things more complicated, even in the short term…I need to be careful about how I do this, try not to become too involved. He thought to himself as he leapt across yet another rooftop, landing beside Mistress Mare-velous who had volunteered to keep an eye on him as her teammates led them back to their hideout.

So far, Mare-velous seemed like the only one to match his skepticism over this entire situation, fixing him with a cautious look as she studied him for a moment, turning to follow the others after a moment while still addressing him.

“So, Noir…how long you been a vigilante for?” She asked, a thick country accent punctuating every word she said. Her tone was friendly, even conversational, but he could tell she was trying to get a read on him.

“Just over three years now. It’s been quite some time.” He replied with a hum, deciding that a bit of leeway was for the best. He certainly didn’t plan to overshare with the Power Ponies, but they weren’t his enemies, so answering their questions honestly was in his best interest.

“Well shoot, awfully long time to be protecting a city alone.” She chuckled, shooting him a curious look after they bounded across yet another rooftop. “How’d you manage it?”

“Honestly, it just became routine after a while. I tried to work with the MPD once or twice on higher profile cases, crimes I couldn’t handle on my own…never ended well.” He explained as his mouth curved into a thin frown. He didn’t hold it against the MPD, he didn’t have the same glowing reputation of the newly formed Power Ponies. He’d gotten close enough to crossing the line more than once…

Mare-velous hummed again, seeming to process this answer as they caught up to the other two heroes, perched on the latest ledge and looking down at the streets below. After a few moments of waiting for civilian traffic to clear up, Masked Matter-Horn and Fili-Second jumped down into a nearby alleyway, with Mistress Mare-velous and Noir following soon after.

The four then descend into the sewers via a manhole, dropping down into a service tunnel without alerting any passersby. Spike grimaced at the stance, to which Matter-Horn shot him a sympathetic look. “Apologies, this is one of the quicker shortcuts back to base, plus far more discreet than leaping across the rooftops.”

“I get it. Not a half bad place to hide a shortcut, frankly.” He conceded with a nod, before noticing the hesitant look she cast him before they started moving, sighing as he did his best to restrain a chuckle. “I’m guessing you have questions you’d like to ask me as well.”

“A few, admittedly, yes.” She replied with a bashful chuckle, scratching the back of her neck as they resumed walking, with Matter-Horn still in the lead with Noir at her side as Fili-Second and Mare-velous now took up the rear. “It’s just…the device you used to take out Rover’s weapon, the grappling gun…where do you get such incredible technology?”

“Let’s just say I have a friend in Drake Enterprises who’s more than happy to give me whatever tools I need in order to protect the city.” He replied as a small smile worked its way onto his face. Sure, it might have been showing his hand just a little too soon, but something about the enthusiasm that shone through on the purple woman’s face got him to lower his walls a little.

That got all three of the girls to perk up curiously, as Drake Enterprises was a decently big name in the city. Before bigger companies like Steel Stallion and Canter Electronics came in, Drake Enterprises was the premier tech outlet company in all of Maretropolis. Since more competition moved in and the times changed, however, the company had shifted to more specific products, mainly working with the MPD and other government agencies on fairly secretive contracts.

“Do you…work with Drake Enterprises directly, or is the arrangement more off the books?” Matter Horn asked as she led the group up to a green metal door, typing a code into the pin pad beside it and stepping back as the light on the pad flashed green, the door opening on it’s own.

“Off the books. On occasion, I test out prototypes of theirs. If they work out, I send back the data and keep the prototype version to assist me in the field.” He explained, recalling the few times he’d tested out gear that was…less than satisfactory. The “entrapment putty” still haunted his dreams that night. “The latest one I’ve received was an experimental hover board that uses state of the art repulsion thrusters to allow flight. It’s…pretty amazing, I can’t lie.”

“Wowie, that’s gotta be so fun! An actual hoverboard?!” Fili suddenly interjected, zipping up beside Spike with her impressive speed and making him jump in surprise. “How high can it go? How fast? You think we could race some time? Betcha I can make it to the city limit and back before you can!”

“Fili, enough. Let the man answer before you start bombarding him with questions.” Mare-velous chided her with a fond eye roll, bumping the pink woman’s shoulder in a playful manner. Fili-Second, to her credit, did mutter a sheepish apology as they continued on past the automatic door that sealed once more behind them once they passed.

“It’s fine. Truthfully, I’ve only taken it about 20 feet off the ground, but I think it can go higher. As for how fast it is…I’ll get back to you on that.” He chuckled, a bit caught off guard by just how friendly the three acted. The few people he’d met and worked with during his time as Noir were usually all business or sported wry humor and enjoyed teasing him lightly, like Sunset. Never were they outright cheery like these three seemed to be.

Suddenly, they came across a large tram that led down what seemed to be an abandoned subway tunnel. Matter-Horn waisted until they were all aboard before shutting the gate behind them and pressing a few buttons on an attached control panel. Just like that, they were off. Rattling down the tracks for almost a minute or two before arriving at a similar station, though this one had an apparent elevator waiting for them instead of an automatic door like before.

“Moment of truth, Noir. You ready to see what the new heroes on the block are working with?” Mare-velous asked him with a teasing tilt of her head. He returned the smirk in turn, and joined the group in the elevator.

“I’m prepared to be wowed. Let’s see what you got.”

The doors slid shut, and off the elevator rose, carrying them up for a solid twenty seconds before it finally dinged, the doors sliding back open and revealing a long hallway before them. The three Power Ponies took the lead, leading Spike into the well furnished and frankly impressive halls of what he could only assume to be a mansion of some kind.

They walked through at least two halls of sprawling rooms on either side before arriving at a large set of double doors, opening them with little fanfare and finally revealing the main event. A large circular table that glowed blue awaited them in the center of the room, bathed in cool lavender. On either side as they approached the table numerous computers lined what seemed like some sort of armory, with numerous mannequins that Spike imagined held the heroes' suits when they weren’t in the field.

What really caught his eye, however, was the gorgeous masked woman that was waiting for them beside the table. She had purple hair and porcelain white skin, clad in a dark blue suit and matching mess emblazoned with lighter blue diamonds along with a golden brooch on her chest. She grinned at her fellow Power Ponies as they approached, her expression warm and iridescent.

“Ah, there you three are! I assumed you’d arrive soon enough. Saddle Wrangler and Zapp are still on their way, but they should be here any moment now.” She greeted them, before fixing Spike with that dazzling smile and extending a hand to him daintily. “And you must be our mysterious new ally. Radiance, charmed to meet you.”

“Noir, and likewise.” Spike croaked out after a beat, taking her hand and giving it a ginger shake while trying to keep his cheeks from heating up over his unintended pause while he marveled at the woman. Clearing his throat, he soon turned his attention to Masked Matter-Horn, who looked like she was trying her hardest to hide a grin at the exchange. “So, while we’re waiting for your teammates, we should probably get to work on testing that sample I recovered.”

“That sounds like a great idea.” She chuckled, extending her hand expectantly as he pulled the metal plate from earlier out from his belt and planted it in her grasp. She nodded and turned, walking over to one of the nearby consoles and flipping up a containment unit, planting the plate inside before shutting it and tapping away on the keyboard. “Alright, a standard scan should only take half an hour or so, which means we have some time to kill.”

“Oh, oh! Does that mean I can break out the board games? It’s been a while since we last played Marenopoly~” Fili-second asked enthusiastically, bouncing on her feet once more despite the grimaces that rose on the rest of her teammates faces.

“Fili, hun…absolutely not. We both know why Marenopoly is permanently banned from team game night.” Mare-velous groaned, facepalming while the speedster enthusiasm turned to pouting as she crossed her arms and grumbled something about the game being rigged anyhow. “‘Sides, Zapp and Saddle Wrangler should be here any second now.”

Right on cue, a second set of doors opened from the far left side of the room, and in strode the two final members of the team. Zapp was still in her suit that Spike recognized from the night prior, but the other woman with pink hair and yellow skin wore a turquoise suit and purple mask.

“Sorry for the wait, gals. Just had to swing by the pound to grab S.D. real quick.” Zapp chuckled, before her eyes flicked to Spike, widening briefly before an almost impressed smile rose on her lisp. “Fancy seeing you here, Noir! Matter-Horn mentioned she was bringing back a guest, but she didn’t mention you specifically!”

Spike cast the Power Pony leader a curious glance, receiving a shrug in response before she walked up to the table in the center of the room, hitting a button on one of the panels and prompting seven chairs to rise up from around the table, each of the heroes moving to take a seat until it was only Spike left standing.

“Well, now that we’re all here…I believe we owe you a few answers, Noir. As long as you allow us a few more questions, as well.” Matter-Horn smiled at him with that same friendliness from before, and Spike had to fight the immediate wave of skepticism that followed.

I’m getting too paranoid for this line of work. He thought to himself before settling into the open seat, nodding in agreement to the terms and once more cracking a small smile. “Sounds like a fair enough arrangement. So, who goes first?”

“Please, we asked you a few questions before everyone arrived. You must have something you’d like to ask us.” The purple skinned woman replied, to which Spike nodded and did ask the first question on his mind.

“Alright then…how exactly did the Power Ponies come about? I hadn’t even heard about the six of you before last week.”

Before any of the members could respond, the lights suddenly dimmed before a spotlight appeared, with Fili-Second stepping up before, her silhouette projected against the nearest wall as she spoke in a low, dramatic tone like a voiceover in a movie trailer.

“There was an idea, Noir. To bring together a group of remarkable, super-powered people. To have them fight the battles the average man and women never could, using their otherworldly powers for good in an ultimate quest for justice and prosperity!”

“...Is she always like this?” Spike deadpanned to the remaining superheroes, who all nodded and grumbled confirmations in seeming exasperation at the pink speedster’s antics.

“Unfortunately, yes. She’s on the eccentric side, as you’ve likely noticed.” Radiance confirmed with an apologetic smile, before clapping hands together briefly to catch the other woman’s attention. “Fili, dear? I believe our guest would appreciate the simplified version.”

Just as quickly as it appeared, the spotlight vanished as the lighting returned to normal while Fili-Second groaned in disappointment, crossing her arms. “Aw, phooey, I was about to get to the good part! Fine, cliff notes version; Matter-Horn tracked us all down across the city to help her take down Mane-iac under the instructions of--”

“Ah, ah, ah! Too much, Fili!” Matter Horn chimed back in, looking alarmed at first and then apologetic as she turned to address a still bemused Spike. “Sorry about that, but there are still a few things we’d like to keep close to the vest…you know?”

“I understand entirely. No worries.” Spike assured her, understanding all too well the benefit of privacy. Still, the fact that someone had apparently instructed Masked Matter-Horn to assemble such a team…he was going to have to look into this some more. “Guess it’s your turn now. Any questions on your mind?”

After a moment or two of hesitation as the girls looked amongst one another, Zapp apparently decided to take the plunge and pop the most obvious question the group had on their mind. “What made you want to become a hero for Maretropolis?”

Spike paused and mulled over the question, once more battling with himself internally over how frank to be in his answer. Ultimately, his honest side won out and he took a deep breath before answering seriously.

“I’d like to say that I had the best of intentions when I started out…but I’d be lying. I didn’t become a vigilante because I wanted to help people…I did it because I wanted to hurt them.” He emphasized, stomaching the uncomfortable churning in his chest as he continued to the hardest part of the answer. “Four years ago, my parents were killed in a robbery gone wrong. Could have happened to anyone, anywhere in the city, but that night…my parents lost their lives for nothing.”

“I…I can’t even describe the pain I felt. It was like someone had caved in my chest and scooped my heart out. I was utterly useless for a year after my aunt took me in, but after a while…I got mad. Really mad.” He took another breath as his fists clenched briefly at the familiar pulse of tension recalling the events that. “They never caught the guy that killed them. He was just one masked goon in a city full of them, right? If MPD couldn’t find him, I had about as good of a chance as they did at finding the son of a bitch.”

“For three months, I played vigilante. Stalking the worst parts of town and picking fights with all kinds of criminals. I lost most of ‘em, but eventually, I actually tracked the guy down. Cornered him in a warehouse, had him trapped and alone. I could have crossed a line…but then I thought about my parents, if this is what they would want for me. To live my life behind bars because I gave in to vengeance and rage. So instead, I strung the guy up for the cops and planned to put the crime fighting behind me…before I had a thought.”

“I wasn’t the only person to lose someone to this city. Lots of boys and girls lost family, had the justice system fail them…maybe what Maretropolis needed wasn’t some dumbass, grieving kid bumbling around criminal territories, but a protector. Someone to step up where the cops couldn’t, to avenge those that the law failed…maybe that’s what I could be.”

“Three years later, I’d say I’ve done an alright job. Crime is down across the board, the MPD doesn’t shoot at me on sight anymore, and I can actually manage to get a good night's sleep most nights when I finally pass out in my bed.” He finished, taking one last breath before fixing the group with a serious look. “So…there’s your answer on why I do what I do.”

The six women looked stunned, horrified at his story and simultaneously sympathetic to what he’d gone through. Surprisingly enough, the one member who hadn’t said a word to him thus far was the first to act, gingerly reaching over from next to him and finding his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze as she looked into his eyes through his mask.

“I’m very sorry for your loss…I can’t imagine the pain you had to endure losing your parents, but…I think they’d be very proud of the choice you made.” She assured him in a very soft, sweet voice, offering him a kind and patient smile along with the words. It sparked a swell of emotion in his chest, and he found himself glad for his mask as he felt his eyes grow damp, quickly clearing his throat to prevent any cracking as he responded.

“Thank you…I appreciate the sentiment, honestly. Sometimes, it's nice to hear it from someone else.” Spike admitted, returning the shy woman’s smile. He felt a hand on his shoulder a moment later, turning his head to look up at Mare-velous, who was sending him a similarly sympathetic look.

“Took an awful lotta courage to tell us about your past, Noir. I’m sure I speak for all of us when I say we appreciate it, and that we apologize if we pushed you a bit too far.” She apologized with a sheepish expression, one shared amongst the group as they all looked to him with a similar range of emotions.

“It’s alright, I get why you asked, and it’s not like you would have known.” Spike assured them all, having composed himself enough to regain some of his humor. “Now, I believe you ladies still owe me a few more answers.”

The Power Ponies beamed at his remark, seemingly relieved they hadn’t upset him too much with their questioning. For the next twenty or so minutes, they continued to trade a few more questions before the terminal that had been analyzing the metal chirped, indicating the testing was finished.

“That’d be the results! Let’s see what we’re working with!” Matter-Horn chuckled, rising from her seat and walking over to the computer, flanked on both sides by the rest of her team and Spike. She tapped a few buttons and drew up the results…before promptly frowning in confusion. “Huh. That’s…weird. To say the least.”

“Is something wrong?” Spike asked, a nervous feeling churning in his gut as the purple skinned woman turned back to face him, her expression uncertain.

“Well, technically no. The analysis was successful; most of the metal is your standard for firearms, but there’s an unregistered alloy in the mix. One that isn’t showing up on any of our records…which is strange, since that implies our benefactor somehow hasn’t encountered it before.”

The heroes all looked disappointed with this news, though none more than Spike. With the alloy as a dead end, that meant that tracking down whoever sold Rover the weapon was gonna be all the more difficult.

“Well then…guess we’re both back to square one.” He muttered dejectedly, tapping the release button on the console and plucking out the sample before turning back to the group, his tone even and cool once more. “I’ll run some tests back at my own lab, and send you the results…somehow.”

Matter-Horn frowned at his sudden haste to leave, but nodded before reaching over to another console and plucking a silver device with lavender trim out of a charging port, passing it to him. “Alright. You can use this to contact us…stay safe out there, Noir.”

“You too.” He replied, taking the device and turning on his heel, heading back towards the exit he’d arrived through, though he did pause at the double doors. “For what it’s worth? It really was a pleasure meeting you six.”

And then he was off, leaving the six women to stew over their first proper meeting, uncertain of what the exact future between their group and the masked vigilante was.