The Cutie Mark Crusaders were, once again, in Canterlot. They had been visiting a lot recently, to the point where one could wonder if they ever went back to Ponyville. But this time, they weren’t alone.

The trio of fillies trotted in the back of their group as the school ponies followed their teacher, Miss Cheerilee, though the famous gardens of the royal palace courtyard. Their reason for being there was for a school field trip…at least, that’s what Miss Cheerilee said.

They took a lot of different routes the Cutie Mark Crusaders never had to: first they had to climb through the pipe at the base of the mountain all the way to the underground sewer system. Apple Bloom would fondly remember Diamond Tiara covered from head-to-hoof in sludge for the rest of her life. Then they had to crawl out to street level and take a bunch of creepy dark alleyways through the city without being seen by any pony (Miss Cheerilee said they were playing hide and seek with the locals.) Then when they reached the castle perimeter, Miss Cheerilee punted all the foals over the stone wall and told them to open the iron gate for her. And finally, they had to army crawl through a maze of bushes while they were playing “hide and seek” with the palace guards.

Apple Bloom was starting to feel very suspicious.

“Here we are, class,” Miss Cheerilee sang, trotted between a multitude of stone sculptures. “I want to start our field trip here, in the world-famous Canterlot sculpture garden.”

“Miss Cheerilee, are you sure it’s okay for us to be here?” asked Sweetie Belle, vocalizing Apple Bloom’s concern.

“Oh, Sweetie Belle,” Miss Cheerilee chortled amusingly. “…Shut your Luna dang mouth and keep up.”

“Wow, she’s been really outta character since she got dumped,” Scootaloo commented quietly to the other crusaders.

“Better than when she spent the last two weeks crying in class,” said Sweetie Belle. “It was so incredibly awkward.”

“Pay attention, my little ponies,” called Cheerilee, pointing out the various different kind of sculptures. “That one over there represents friendship – “

She pointed at a two of statues that looked suspiciously like the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

“And this one represent victory,” Cheerilee, pointing out a pony stand up and holding a flag.

“How cool would it be to have that for a cutie mark?” said Scootaloo excitedly.

“Cool, if y’all were actually victoryful at somethin',” said Apple Bloom smugly, causing Scootaloo to glare.

“That’s not a word!” Sweetie Belle snapped.

“What are you, a dictionary?” Scootaloo retorted.

“Girls!” Cheerilee snapped impatiently, making the fillies jumped. She coughed in her hoof, quickly regaining her composure. She gestured to a statue in the middle of the garden that had a rather…odd appearance. “Now this is a really interesting statue. What do you notice about it?”

“It’s got an eagle claw!” chimed Apple Bloom

“And a lion paw!” added Scootaloo

“And a snake tail!” Sweetie Belle concluded.

“This creature is called a draconequus,” Cheerilee explained. “He has the head of a pony and a body made up of all sorts of things. What do you suppose that represents?”

“Confusion!” chirped Apple Bloom.

“Evil!” shouted Sweetie Belle, shoving her friend out of the way.

“Chaos!” yelled Scootaloo, pushing Sweetie Belle aside.

“It's not chaos, you dodo!” Sweetie Belle snapped at her friend.

“Don't call me things I don't know the meaning of!” retorted Scootaloo. “And it is too chaos!”

“Is not!”

“Yer both wrong!” Apple Bloom entered the shouting match, shoving her hooves into her best friend’s faces.

The fighting quickly escalated from there, descending into a full-blown hoof fight. As the three fillies descended into a chaotic cartoon cloud of flying limbs and scattered dust, nopony heard the quiet humming noise emanating from the draconequus statue. The more the Cutie Mark Crusaders fought, the stronger the pulses between hums got. It was on the verge of reaching its zenith when Miss Cheerilee jumped in the middle of the fray, using her hooves to separate the fillies. The humming noise dimmed, then went silent.

“Actually, in a way, you're all right,” Cheerilee explained. “This statue represents discord, which means a lack of harmony between ponies. In fact, you three have demonstrated discord so well that you're each going to write me an essay explaining it.”

The Cutie Mark Crusaders threw their heads back with loud groans while the rest of the class laughed at their misfortune…which caught the attention of a guard on the other side of the hedges. The guard sprinted the length around the shrubbery and he, Flash Sentry, ground his hooves and skidded out into the open.

“Halt, who goes there!” Flash Sentry shouted, confused by the sudden appearance of school ponies in the closed off section of the castle. It wasn’t until caught sight of the teacher that everything came together. “What the – you’re at it again, Cheerilee Blossom? The courts clearly stated you’re not allowed without a hundred hooves of the castle after the fruit punch incident!”

“Uh, okay, class, it’s time for another game!” Cheerilee stuttered frantically. “We’re uh – playing tag! And that scary-looking guard is it! Now let’s get out of here before he puts us in detention!”

“Stop! I said, stop!” Flash Sentery screamed as Cheerilee and school foals stampeded in the opposite direction, kicking up a cloud of dust in their wake.

Flash Sentry dutifully chased after them, leaving the statue of the draconequus alone. It hadn’t hummed since the Cutie Mark Crusaders stopped fighting, but if you listened very closely, you could hear what sounded like a muffled grunt of frustration….

Twilight Sparkle pranced through the streets of the Canterlot market, Spike riding her saddle.

Princess Celestia had raised the sun on a gorgeous day – the first day of Spring! It was almost hard to believe that, just yesterday, the streets of Canterlot had been bleached white with snow. Winter Wrap-Up was always so quick with unicorn magic that it was almost enough to give one whiplash. Twilight heard that things were done differently in Ponyville; she should make a note to visit next winter.

“Isn’t it a beautiful day, Spike?” Twilight said to her #1 assistant.

“I’ll say; I always love it when spring rolls around,” said Spike enthusiastically. “No more itchy scarves and hats. The flowers are in bloom. The animals coming out of hibernation. And” – He took a deep whiff of freshly baked pastries coming from a nearby store. “And best of all, the seasonal treats.”

“Like you were gorging out on the pumpkin spice foods in October,” Twilight giggled.

“I’m a dragon with a refined palette,” said Spike jokingly.

They came up to the corner of Trottington St. and Galloping Ave. (It used to be called Trottington Rd., but the sign was…mysteriously atomized and Starlight couldn’t get a good look at the culprit.) Twilight and Spike were thinking of heading over to Cinnamon Chai’s Cake and Tea Shop when they turned the corner and spotted a familiar strip of bacon-shaped hair on the opposite side of the road.

Sunset Shimmer was talking to a tall Stallion – like, Alicorn tall – standing in front of a cart filled to the brim with shiny red apples. The sunny mare signed something on a clipboard she was levitating, then handed it back to the stallion. When Twilight and Spike got closer, they recognized the stallion. It was Big Mac – Apple Bloom’s older brother from Sweet Apple Acres. They hardly ever saw him around, it was understandable that Twilight didn’t know him right away.

Big Mac looked over the clipboard Sunset handed him with a critical eye.

“Is everything in order, Big Mac?” asked Sunset.

“Hmm…Eeyup,” Big Mac answered, nodding.

“Thank you for making the effort to bring these up the mountain,” said Sunset appreciatively. “Sweet Apple Acres is the best producer of apples this side of Equestria.”

“Eeyup.”

“By the way, is your little sister doing all right?” asked Sunset curiously. “Haven’t seen her for a spell.”

“Eeyup.”

“What about your other sister?” Sunset continued the, essentially, one-sided conversation. “The one that moved to Appleoosa?”

“Eeyup.”

“That’s nice,” said Sunset. “Well, I’ll have the guards come pick these up later. See you again next month.”

“Eeyup,” Big Mac answered articulately and trotted away.

“Hey, Sunset,” Twilight greeted as she and Spike walked over.

“Hey, Twilight, Spike,” said Sunset.

“What’s with all the apples?” asked Spike, gesturing to the enormous pyramid of fruit teetering dangerously inside the small cart.

“Oh, this happens every year,” said Sunset, waving off their concerns. “We went through our entire supply to made all the food at the Grand Galloping Gala last week because all the food made from Sweet Apple Acres apples are the most delicious. So, every year, Big Mac sets aside a huge harvest to deliver to Canterlot on the first day of spring.”

“Wow, that’s some dedication,” said Twilight, impressed.

“And the huge bag of bits probably doesn’t hurt either,” said Spike jokingly.

“Princess Luna is one of their biggest customers,” said Sunset, shaking her head humorously. “They even have an entire section of the orchid dedicated to her…. Speaking of which, what’re you two doing here? It’s almost ten A.M. Shouldn’t you be at work?”

“Unfortunately, I’m temporarily out of a job after Princess Celestia banished Princess Luna to the Time-Out Dimension for the stunt she pulled at the Grand Galloping Gala,” Twilight sighed. “So until Princess Luna comes back at the end of the month, I’ll be working a few odd jobs here and there.”

“The Time-Out Dimension, huh?” Sunset hummed thoughtfully. “I wonder what it’s like there….”

Princess Luna narrowed her gaze at her “cellmate” with great suspicion. She had never expected the Time-Out Dimension to be occupied by someone else, especially as someone as cunning and crafty as him. Princess Luna needed to choose her next move very carefully. If she was wrong, then she was finished. The midnight alicorn took a deep, cleansing breath –

“Got any twos?” asked Princess Luna.

“Go fish,” said Garlic Jr. smugly.

“Me darn it!” Luna cursed.

Spike leaned back in Twilight saddle, exhaling a loud yawn as his best friend and Sunset got into a “riveting” discussion about taxes or something equally boring. He glanced around the market street for anything that would relieve his boredom when he saw Starlight Glimmer walking their way. The lilac mare strode through the streets with her head raised in confidence, strutting in a formal maroon power suits and levitating a briefcase beside her. It wasn’t difficult to imagine that she turned quite a few heads.

Whoa-ho-ho, go Starlight!” Spike spoke up, catching Twilight and Sunset’s attention. “Work it, marefriend!”

“Hehe, thanks, Spike,” Starlight giggled as she strutted up to the trio.

“Wow, Spike is right, Starlight,” Twilight gasped in awe. “You look amazing. What’s the occasion?”

“Professor Giddilee is going on maternity leave tomorrow and asked me to sub in while she’s gone,” Starlight explained excitedly. “I’m going to be teaching for twelve weeks, so I have to look the part; don’t want a repeat of what happened last time. I think Sassy did a really great job coordinating this outfit.”

“You’re really getting used to his whole teacher thing, huh?” Sunset commented.

“I think I finally found my calling,” said Starlight proudly. “Professor Inkwell says that if I do a good job with this, she’ll recommend me to the Board of Education to work full-time.”

“That’s great news, Starlight!” Twilight praised.

“Yeah, especially since you never found Sunburst at the Grand Galloping Gala,” said Spike.

“I was…trying real hard not to think about that,” Starlight bemoaned, hanging her head slightly.

Twilight and Sunset glared at Spike; the young dragon shrugged and grinned nervously.

“Well, this calls for a celebration,” Sunset thankfully changed the subject. “How ‘bout we get some drinks at the Final Act? Trixie’ll probably want to hear about it.”

“Ooh, perfect!” said Starlight cheerfully. “I could go for a blueberry fizzy fruit potion right about now!”

The Final Act – Trixie’s up-and-coming entertainment bar.

Walking through the middle-class district, Twilight and the others saw a few posters for the bar’s grand opening coming scattered here and there. They heard several of the neighboring shop owners talking excitedly how the bar would bring more business to the distract, and passersby would stop to look at the posters for a moment and talk about what they would do once the Final Act opened. Twilight was proud of Trixie, going from a small-time street magician to a business owner (and street magician.)

They turned the corner at Unicorn Ave. and spotted the bar on their left. The exterior was just as flashy as its owner: the walls were painted purple and splashed with dozens of stars, a giant version of Trixie’s hat sat on the roof, and inside the two curtained windows, there was a bubbling cauldron and a pyramid of potion bottles filled with various colored liquids. And above the doorway was a (tilted) sign bearing Trixie’s Cutie Mark with the words “The Final Act” in loopy writing.

The quartet walked through the door; a little bell overheard jingled. Twilight reeled back on her hind hooves, throwing Spike off, as Sunshine Starhunter skated past, just barely missing Twilight by inches.

“Sorry, Twilight!” Sunshine apologized.

The skater pony was sweeping through the tables – literally. She taking a dust mop to all the starry-spangled tables with amazing precision despite constantly moving.

Looking around the bar, the mares could see the other employees hard at work. Charmy – Trixie’s begrudging rival and regular performer – was setting up the stage with items from a seemingly bottomless trunk. Berry Punch was behind the bar, stocking the shelves with various bottles – both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. Every once in a while, she would look over her shoulder and “sample” the supply before putting it back. And the bar owner herself was across the room talking to her talent coordinator, Raven Inkwell.

They were discussing something on Raven Inkwell’s clipboard when Trixie heard Sunshine apologize and looked up.

“Hey, Mares!” Trixie greet, waving her hoof enthusiastically. “How’s it go – Berry Punch, stop drinking Trixie’s supply!”

Berry Punch pouted and put the bottle of liquor back on the shelf.

Trixie dismissed Raven Inkwell, whispering something into the bespectacled mare’s ear before they parted. Twilight and the others to their seats while Trixie moved behind the bar, shooing Berry Punch before she guzzled down more of her product.

“Place is looking great, Trixie,” Spike complimented. “Getting ready for the grand opening, huh?”

“Just one week until the Final Act is open for business!” said Trixie enthusiastically. “Trixie hasn’t been this excited since she performed the great Statue of Liber-Pony disappearing act in Manehatten.”

“Wait, that was you?” said Sunset, doing a double take. “It took the police six months to find that statue…in the Badlands!”

“Trixie never said she knew how to bring it back,” said Trixie pointedly. “So, what bring you ponies here?”

“Starlight is substituting for her own class for twelve weeks,” Twilight explained. “And if she does a good job, she might become a permanent teacher.”

“That’s fantastic, Starlight Glimmer!” Trixie praised.

“I haven’t got the position yet,” said Starlight humbly.

“Pfft, Starlight Glimmer will earn it no problem,” Trixie scoffed, waving off her concerns. “After all, Starlight Glimmer is best friends with the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

“Not sure how those two correlate,” Twilight commented.

“This calls for a celebration!” Trixie cheered, throwing up her hooves in jubilation. “Fizzy Fruit Potions all around!”

Trixie levitated her hat off, revealing her glowing horn, and magically summoned four glasses filled with carbonated colored drink in front of the four. Spike practically guzzled his entire glass, but Twilight took slower sips, savoring the fizz of her tongue and the taste of grapes. Even after seven months of knowing her, Twilight still hasn’t figured out the secret to Trixie’s special concoction. Potions was the one subject that Trixie excelled at better than Twilight.

The bell over the door chimed again and everyone turned around to see who had walked in. Since the Final Act wasn’t open to the public yet, there were only a hoofful of ponies who could enter. And wouldn’t you know it, Moon Dancer trotted into the bar, readjusting her glasses

“Evening, everypony,” Moon Dancer greeted.

“DANCER!” Everyone in the bar yelled together.

“Moon Dancer,” Twilight followed up.

“Wow, this really is a place where everypony knows your name,” Moon Dancer chortled.

“What can I get you, Dancer?” asked Trixie as the bespectacled pony took a seat at the bar.

“A new job?” said Moon Dancer.

“How ‘bout a drink?” Trixie offered.

“Even better,” said Moon Dancer.

“Something going on at work?” Spike asked Moon Dancer while Trixie drew her a watermelon fizz.

“I’ve been interviewing potential new employees for the store,” said Moon Dancer, pausing for a moment to take a huge gulp of fizzy potion. “I have six candidates, but they’re all so…incredibly bad. One of them kept knocking over the shelves, so I had to clean up every five minutes. One of them kept trying to hide behind the counter so they could take as nap. And one of them Winkleburg.”

“Winkleburg…,” everyone in the brow growled.

“I’m reluctant to hire any of them, but I need the help,” said Moon Dancer. “It’s not easy running a book store on my own.”

“What about the owner, Miss Novela?” asked Twilight, remembering the wizened pony from her ten minutes of employment at Novella’s Books. “Isn’t she helping out?”

“Twilight, she’s dead,” said Moon Dancer bluntly.

“WHAT?!” Twilight shouted in shock. “HOW? WHEN?”

“Twilight, you gave her a heart attack,” said Moon Dancer; Twilight jaw dropped in horror.

“Dear Luna, Twilight’s already committing homicide,” said Sunset, sounding almost impressed. “I always figured Tempest would be the first one to murder somepony.”

“Speaking of which, has anyone seen Tempest lately?” asked Moon Dancer curiously. “I walked by her usual corner and I didn’t see her there.”

“Is that her right there?” said Trixie, pointing behind them.

The mares (and dragon) swiveled around in their seats. Just as she said, Tempest Shadow walked past the window with Grubber waddling alongside her, her head bowed and her brow furrowed in a contemplative stare. The Mane Five (and Spike) watched her in silence until she disappeared from view.

“It looks like something’s bothering Tempest,” said Twilight, concerned.

“Maybe she’s just mad because Flash Sentry upgrade the security around the vault – again,” Spike suggested.

“No, this looks like something very serious,” said Sunset, hopping out of her seat. “Let’s go check it out.”

“Inkwell, I’m heading out!” Trixie shouted across the bar while the ponies galloped out the door one by one. “You’re in charge until I get back! If Charmy breaks out the fireworks again, lock her in the trunk!”

“Understood,” said Raven Inkwell coolly with a crisp salute.

“Hey!” snapped Charmy, insulted.

“So, whaddya want to do today, boss?” Grubber asked, oblivious to his partner’s solemn expression. “Fleece Fancy Pants, unload Uppercrust, swindle Spoiled Rich – wow, that’s a lot of alliteration. Whatcha think, boss?” When Tempest didn’t answer right away, he looked at her, worried. “Er, you okay, boss?”

“Just thinking, Grubber,” Tempest finally answered tonelessly.

“About what?” asked Grubber curiously.

“About this,” said Tempest.

She reached under her cloak, withdrawing a silver canister.

“What’s that?” Grubber wondered aloud.

“It’s the message we found from the last big storm,” Tempest answered. “You know, during Twilight’s slumber party?”

“Oh…OH! Oh, wow, I completely forgot about that!” sputtered Grubber, who notably started to sweat as he stared a hole in the canister. “Is it from…him?”

“Obviously,” said Tempest. “Who else would send a secret message during an unexpected thunderstorm?”

“Well…what does it say?” Grubber questioned nervously.

“I don’t know,” Tempest stated. “I haven’t opened it.”

“You haven’t opened it?” Grubber shrieked, his voice squeaking in a higher pitch that it drew the attention of several ponies on the street. Grubber quickly clapped his paws over his mouth, trying to pretend nothing was wrong. After a few moments, the ponies got bored and moved on. Once they were in the clear, Grubber removed his paws and spoke in a softer voice. “It’s been five months. Why haven’t you opened it yet?”

“I – I don’t know,” Tempest stuttered uncertainly. “I’ve been…very busy. With – with the girls and – and the snowball fight and the gala mystery and – “

“You really, really need to open it, and soon!” said Grubber fearfully. “Or else he’s gonna be super mad.”

“Who’s gonna be super mad?”

Grubber jumped with a high-pitched squeak; Tempest shoved the canister back under her cloak before anypony could see it. Tempest spun around. It was just her luck that she only realized she had walked past the Final Act and all of the Mane Six (and Spike) happened to be in the same place in the same time. Tempest inwardly cursed herself; living in Canterlot all these months have dulled her senses.

“Who’s gonna be super mad?” Starlight repeated.

“Uh, mad – did I say mad?” Grubber fumbled incoherently. “Well, I uh – yeah, I guess I said mad, didn’t I? Well, it’s uh – “

“We were talking about Flash Sentry,” said Tempest calmly with a hint of her usual playful smirk, while shoving her hoof in Grubber’s big mouth. “We just got through some of Flash’s new security measures for the royal treasury. Left a huge mess behind.”

“Honestly, Tempest,” said Sunny, shaking her head good-naturedly. Good, Tempest thought, it looked like they believed it. “Don’t you have anything better to do than getting you flank handed to you by the royal guards?”

“Not until two,” said Tempest casually.

“That’s when we’re getting out hair done!” said Grubber, running a paw through his surprisingly luxurious locks.

“So what’s everypony doing?” asked Tempest, gesturing to the group. “You all having as party without us? Is that why Starlight’s dressed like a clown?”

“Hey, this is a very refined look!” Starlight retorted.

“Starlight’s taking a long-term substitute teaching job,” Twilight explained, “so we were celebrating. Wanna join us?”

“I never turned down a free drink,” said Tempest, grinning. “I could go for a tall glass of – “

Tempest stopped midsentence and blinked when the area around them suddenly got darker. The Mane Six (plus dragon and hedgehog) tilted their heads back to the sky curiously. It was supposed to be a mostly clear day, but there was a massive cloud flying over Canterlot, momentarily blotting out the sun.

Only, it wasn’t a shadow as they soon realized. Too solid.

Rather, it looked like a giant building made of polished black steel with a number of rockets on the bottom, explaining how it was able to fly over the city. It took a moment of squinting their eyes before any of them realized what they were looking at.

“Is that a barn?” asked Sunset strangely. “With rocket boosters and a pony skull painted on the doors.”

“That’s not just any barn,” Trixie gasped dramatically. “That’s the Barn of Doom!”

Now everypony (except Tempest and Grubber) were gasping dramatically. The broken-horned mare and the pudgy hedgehog exchanged clueless glances.

“Uh, what’s the Barn of Doom?” asked Tempest. “And why are we worried about it.”

“The Barn of Doom is the evil headquarters of the most evil ponies in all of evil Equestria!” Starlight exclaimed frantically.

“You added one more ‘evil’ than necessary,” Moon Dancer pointed out.

“Trixie, are you sure that’s the Barn of Doom?” Twilight asked worriedly.

“Positive!” answered Trixie, nodding furiously. “Trixie remembers it from the big Justice vs. Doom battle in Maretropolis last year!”

“Why would those villains be coming here, to Canterlot?” questioned Starlight.

“It looks like they’re headed for the castle!” said Spike, pointing at the flying barn as it (gradually) made its way across the Canterlot skyline.

“The princess(es?) are in trouble!” said Twilight urgently. “C’mon, everypony!”

The Mane Six (plus Spike and Grubber) galloped through the streets as fast as their hooves could carry them –

The Cutie Mark Crusaders took shelter behind the statue of the draconequus, hooves on their tiny chests trying to stop their hearts from pounding so loud. The three fillies had somehow gotten separated from Miss Cheerilee and the rest of the class when Flash Sentry chased them through the hedge maze. The maze was so confusing that Apple Bloom couldn’t tell at which point they had split up, but Flash Sentry had persistently chased them on hoof, even though he, being a Pegasus, could’ve easily flew overhead.

When the Cutie Mark Crusaders miraculously found their way out, they ran back to the statue garden, which brought them to the present.

“Oh man…,” Scootaloo wheezed. “That guard is stubborn. He must’ve been chasing us for almost twenty minutes.”

“Which is weird because he was chasing Miss Cheerilee in the first place,” Apple Bloom commented.

“Yeah, what was that whole thing about the ‘fruit punch incident?’” Scootaloo wondered curiously.

“Probably a throwaway line that will never be properly explained,” said Apple Bloom knowingly.

“Can you two focus for a minute?” said Sweetie Belle, annoyed. “We’re in some serious trouble!”

“Nah, we’re only in trouble if we get caught,” said Scootaloo, grinning.

“Gotcha!” shouted Flash Sentry, appearing around the statue and snatching up Scootaloo by his scuff.

“I’m in trouble!” Scootaloo yelped quickly.

“You fillies are in a whole heap of trouble when I – “ Flash Sentry began when, suddenly, the roar of jet engines overshadowed his voice.

Flash Sentry and the Cutie Mark Crusaders snapped their attention to the sky as the Barn of Doom soared over the high castle walls. The flying headquarters landed in the middle of the castle courtyard where its engines were cut with a fizzling hiss. A moment of uncomfortable pause passed – Flash Sentry and the Crusaders exchanged uncertain looks – when ramp descended to the ground and the barn’s double opened with a mechanical creak. A stallion emerged from the barn with a haughty grin, donning a high-tech suit of armor with the sun reflecting off his bald head.

Flash Sentry narrowed his gaze; he could tell this pony was bad new….

“You three stay here,” said Flash Sentry seriously, setting Scootaloo down. “And stay out of sight.”

“Is that who ah think it is?” Apple Bloom whispered to her friends as they hid behind the draconequus statue, watching Flash Sentry march over to the intruder.

“That’s Rex Hoofer,” Sweetie Belle hissed, biting her hoof nervously. “One of the worst villains in all of Equestria.”

“And that’s the Barn of Doom,” Scootaloo added nervously. “That means they are here too. This would be so cool if it wasn’t so bad.”

The bald pony – identified as Rex Hoofer – looked around the surprisingly empty courtyard. Seriously, he just flew an entire fortress into one of the most protected places in the kingdom. There should’ve been a dozen guards surrounding by now. Instead, there was just one Pegasus marching up to him with a furrowed brow.

“Ah, the help, right on time,” said Rex Hoofer in a condescending tone. “Would you be a good sport and go fetch the princesses for me? I have some…ideas I would like to share with her. Namely who should be in charge.”

“I must ask that you leave at once!” said Flash Sentry forcefully. “This is the private property of the princesses of Equestria, and you are in clear violation of – “

What seemed like the beginning of a long speech was swiftly silenced when a blur of black and green knocked Flash Sentry off his hooves and launched him across the garden into the base of the flag-holding statue. The royal guard slumped to the ground and didn’t get back up. The Cutie Mark Crusaders gasped and tried to make themselves smaller behind the draconequus statue, shivering.

They didn’t notice the small crack forming in the stone.

“Thank you, RD,” said Rex Hoofer gratefully. “That looked like it was going to be longwinded, and I’m a very busy stallion.”

The black and green blur landed next to the bald villain, revealing it to be a Pegasus in a similarly colored crash suit and helmet. Four more ponies trotted out of the Barn of Doom after them. A unicorn in a poncho and cowboy hat with a bandana over her muzzle, carrying something not normally seen in Equestria: guns. Next to her was a mutated pony that looked like a crossbreed between a mare and an owl, her feathery wings stretching and bright yellow eyes unblinking. A masked mare came up behind Rex Hoofer, her suit covered in paint splattered and the end of her tail dripped in paint. And finally, quite possibly the most terrifying and evil creature in all of Equestria: a mime.

“It’s them!” Apple Bloom gasped quietly. “The Herd of Doom!”

“Come along, ladies!” Rex Hoofer called and started walking toward the castle. “We don’t want to keep the princesses waiting!”

“What do we do?” asked Scootaloo nervously asked they watched the group of villains walk past.

“What can we do?” said Sweetie Belle. “We’re just a bunch of fillies. We’re not superheroes.”

The Herd of Doom was halfway across the courtyard when flash of magic exploded in front of them, causing Rex Hoofer to take a cautious step back. The bald stallion glared at the Mane Six who had teleported in their path thanks to Sunset’s magic.

“No, but they are!” Apple Bloom cheered.

“Holy cow, it really is the Herd of Doom,” said Moon Dancer, pushing her glasses up with a surprised look.

“Trixie told you!” Trixie declared smugly.

“Well, well, well,” said Rex Hoofer in a condescending tone. “If it isn’t the so-called Heroes of Harmony. Was wondering when we would run into you. I have to say, you don’t look nearly as impressive as you do in the paper. Truthfully, I’m surprised to see you’re still here, Lulamoon?”

“You know each other?” Starlight asked her best friend curiously.

“We met at a cocktail party,” said Trixie nonchalantly.

“You broke into my kitchen and stole my fancy mustard!” shouted Rex Hoofer irritably.

“Hoofer,” La Bandita spoke with a thick southern drawl. “Should we really be wasting time with these…silly fillies?”

“Yeah, I thought we were here to nab the princesses,” said Reverse Dash gruffly, swooping around in the air. “I don’t wanna waste time on these dill weeds.”

“You think you can walk in here and kidnap the princess?” Twilight scoffed. “Fat chance! When Princess Celestia realizes what’s going on, she’s gonna send you flying all the way to Tartarus!”

Meanwhile, Princess Celestia was seated at the head of the table in the castle dining room, enjoying the rare moment of quiet without her sister of friends to spoil her afternoon. The princess of the sun licked her lips as she cut a slice of cake…then left the slice on the tray and moved the rest to her plate. Celestia telepathically picked up a fork when she noticed something in the corner of her eye. She looked out the window and spotted the Mane Six in a heated stare down with what looked like a band of supervillains in the courtyard.

“…I’m sure they’ll be fine,” said Celestia before taking a bite of her cake.

“…Or not,” said Twilight, her ears falling in disappointment.

“Seriously, do they do anything around here?” questioned Tempest.

“Good luck, girls!” Spike cheered, waving at them beside Grubber…from behind the safety of the statues. “We’ll be rooting for you…wa-a-ay over here!”

“How reassuring,” said Sunset sarcastically.

“Come on, mares!” said Twilight boldly. “Let’s show these villains not to mess with Canterlot!”

The other mares cheered and pumped their hooves, lining up side-by-side with their leader as they stared down the Herd of Doom. Rex Hoofer looked smug; Twilight would gladly wipe the smirk off his face. The violet unicorn charged her horn with magic and short a burst of energy at the bald stallion…and her jaw dropped as a spherical barrier of green energy suddenly appeared, deflected her spell, and then vanished.

“Wh – What the – “ Twilight stammered.

“You like it?” said Rex Hoofer cockily. “It’s my anti-magic field belt. I fine-tuned it to combat Equestria’s mightiest magic user, but it should be foal’s play to the likes of you.”

Rex Hoofer held out his right hoof and his gauntlet automatically transformed into an energy cannon. The bald stallion pulled the trigger and shot a beam of green energy before Twilight even had time to react. The Element of Magic was catapulted across the garden, spinning three times before hitting the grass with her back and sliding across the yard with a pained grimace.

“Twilight!” the Mane Five cried out in fear.

But they had no time to worry about their leader; La Bandita had whipped out her double revolvers with a levitation spell and started spraying the ponies with bullets down the middle. The Mane Five yelped and scattered like cockroaches.

“Ladies, show our new friends a good time,” Rex Hoofer commanded mockingly.

The villains scattered, each one taking on a different mare, while Rex Hoofer casually walked over to Twilight. The violet unicorn winced as she flipped over on her side, raising herself by her elbows. She glared up at the bald stallion as he overshadowed her with a smug smirk.

“What was it you said?” Rex Hoofer taunted. “You going ‘show us not to mess with Canterlot,’ is that right?”

“You won’t get away with this,” Twilight said through gritted teeth.

“I beg to differ,” said Rex Hoofer before raising his hoof cannon and firing point blank.

Sunset Shimmer galloped across the statue garden, weaving between sculptures with a trail of bullets spraying the dirt behind her. The sun-themed mare dived behind the statue of victory; the bullet trail follows and cuts a pattern across the statue’s torso and breaks off one of its arms, causing the flag to drop. Sunset took a moment to catch her breath, heart thumping against her ribcage. There was a moment of silence where she didn’t hear any gunshots and poked her head around the base of the statue –

The ducked back immediately as another shower of bullets peppered the statue.

“How have those things not run out yet?” Sunset shouted. “They only hold six rounds each!”

“Magic bullet, ma’am!” La Bandita explained. Ah make ‘em with my magic and shoot ‘em with Bonnie and Clyde here!”

“Wait, so they’re not real bullets?” asked Sunset curiously. “They don’t kill ponies?”

“Nah, but they sting real, real bad,” La Bandita admitted.

“Good to know.”

La Bandita’s visible eye glanced sideways over her shoulder. Sunset had used teleportation magic to appear behind the outlaw while they were talking. Clever, but rude. Sunset shot a bolt of magic from her horn to trap the bandit in a containment spell…but La Bandita spun around the spell with a swish of her poncho. Then, before Sunset could recover, La Bandita pressed the muzzle of her revolver to the side of Sunset’s temple and pulled the trigger. Sunset collapsed sideways holding her head, her vision blurred with a piercing ring in her ears.

La Bandita stood over the sunny mare wincing in pain and stomped her hoof on Sunset’s head.

Moon Dancer was not fairing any better. If anything, she was doing the worst out of all of them. Unlike the rest of the Mane Six, Moon Dancer doesn’t have experience with combat (outside of the Realm of Dreams) and the spells she knows are purely supportive. That was of little help against the owl-pony hybrid swooping around her head.

Moon Dancer squeaked and dived into the grass, narrowly avoiding Hawk Mare’s razor-sharp talons.

“Why do I get the creepy cannibal!” Moon Dancer whined. She hopped to her hooves and made a run for it. “I should’ve stayed at home today – WHOA!”

Owlmare flew up behind the bespectacled unicorn and snatched her up by the back of her sweater, lifting Moon Dancer into the air. Moon Dancer kicked and flailed, but the creepy mutant had a vice-like grip. She tilted her head and looked up at Owlmare, who was staring back with her bright yellow and unblinking eyes.

“Luna, you’re so creepy!” Moon Dancer winced. “Stop looking at me, you freak of nat – AAH!”

The owl-pony hybrid suddenly stopped in midair, launched Moon Dancer forward, and watched the unicorn fly face first into the castle wall. Owlmare hooted softly while staring at Moon Dancer, who slowly slumped to the ground.

But in a welcomed turn of events, Starlight seemed to have Palette on the run.

The lilac mare used levitation magic on herself to fly over the paint-splattered supervillain, then rained down a shower of magical beams like a deadly raincloud. But, annoyingly enough, Palette was dodging all of her attacks. And not just dodging – she was literally frolicking between the magic beams, making nonstop comments such as “Mizzed me!,” “Try again!,” “Are you even trying?,” and “Je ne peux pas toucher à ça!” in that annoying Prance accent.

“Ugh! Stop moving already, you irritating filly!” Starlight screamed furiously, increasing the rate of her blasts.

“Non, non, mademoiselle!” said Palette, nonchalantly hopping around the beams. “You do not ask ze artist to stop painting before zhe completez her masterpiece.”

“What masterpiece?” questioned Starlight with a raised brow.

Palette flashed an (admittedly) dashing smile, twirled around, and swiped her paint splattered tail along the ground. Now that she took a good look at the entire scene, she realized that in between dodging her shower of magical death, the artistic supervillain had been drawing a giant picture of a unicorn in the grass. Actually, it kinda looked like Starlight, now that she thought about it. It wasn’t half bad.

Then it turned bad – downright evil, in fact – when the paint peeled itself off the ground and transformed into a twenty-hoof replica of Starlight Glimmer with burning-red eyes staring down the original. The real Starlight’s eyes practically bulged out of their sockets.

“Well…that’s new…,” Starlight remarked lamely.

The evil paint Starlight clapped its hooves over the genuine article like swatting a fly, dropping the lilac unicorn on the ground in a daze.

At the same time, Tempest gritted her teeth and was shooting off bursts of energy from her horn in every direction. But no matter what, the Reverse Dash effortlessly dodged, literally flying in circles around Tempest with a mocking cackle. The Reverse Dash flew past Tempest in a blur, punching the broken-horned mare across the face. Tempest stumbled, but kept her footing (hoofing?) She fired another wild shot where she thought the speed villain would be, but missed and received another punch to the same.

“C’mon, loser!” The Reverse Dash laughed. “What’s the matter? Too fast for ya? You’re partially standing still for me! Man, talk about lame! Are you trying to be edge with that dumb cape? You look like such a dork!”

“You’ll be talking out of your flank when I’m done with you!” Tempest swore, shooting another wild blast.

“Hah! I’d like to see you try!” The Reverse Dash taunted.

Tempest threw another horn blast, which the Reverse Dash once again easily avoided. The speedy villain then suddenly zipped in front of Tempest, catching her by surprise, before delivering a painful uppercut. Tempest was launched ten hooves into the air. The Reverse Dash whooped and zoomed around Tempest, flying back and forth over twenty times while throwing a flurry of punches that Tempest couldn’t see. From an outsider’s perspective, it looked like Tempest was flailing around in the air like she was possessed by a demon.

The Reverse Flash shot into the air high above Tempest as gravity pulled her down, then dived like a falcon and punched Tempest’s back with both hooves. The supervillain speedster slammed the scarred pony with enough force to crack the ground. Tempest hissed through gritted teeth while her opponent stood over her battered body, stretching her wings victoriously.

And Trixie…well, I don’t know what Trixie’s doing.

Her assigned adversary was Le Mime. But instead of an epic battle, Trixie was staring slack-jawed at Le Mime, who was pantomiming sitting in a chair, hooves crossed, sipping an imaginary cup of tea.

“How are you doing that?” Trixie gasped, waving a hoof at the empty space beneath Le Mime’s flank. “There’s nothing there!”

Suddenly, Le Mime pretended to gasp and jumped out of her imaginary seat. She pulled out a pair of imaginary binoculars and stared out into the distance. Trixie looked back and forth between the mime and the horizon confused (at least more than usual.)

“What? What do you see?” Trixie asked frantically. “Answer the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

Le Mime threw down her binoculars, twirled an imaginary lasso, and threw it at something Trixie couldn’t see. It seemed to be putting up a struggle because Le Mime was pulling furiously, stamping her hooves into the ground while keeping in place.

“What did you catch?” Trixie cried, pulling her mane. “Why won’t you say anything? Trixie does not understand!”

While Trixie’s mind was being melted by Le Mime power of pantomiming, Twilight was thrown at the base of the draconequus statue. The Cutie Mark Crusaders nervously poked their heads out and gasped. Twilight – the Element of Magic – was leaning pathetically against the statue covered in cuts and bruises, wincing as she pulled herself up. Twilight panted, looking up at Rex Hoofer, who trotted up to her with a patronizing smirk.

“This is your first time fighting a real villain, isn’t it?” said Rex Hoofer mockingly. “I’ve heard about your exploits with Daybreaker. You essentially ran away to find a bunch of magic jewels to do the job for you.”

“That’s not – “ Twilight grunted weakly.

“Well, you’re reputations certainly aren’t deserved,” said Rex Hoofer. He waved a hoof to his cohorts as they piled the defeated Mane Six together (Trixie looked like she was going to have a mental breakdown.) “My partners in crime bested your companions and they’re only the B-listers.”

“What was that?” questioned the Reverse Dash.

“Nothing!” Rex Hoofer responded quickly. He raised his hoof cannon to Twilight’s face, charging it up. “Now, my dear, I’m afraid this where I bid you – OW” A rock clonked him on the side of the head. “Hey, who did that?”

Twilight and Rex Hoofer looked sideways. The Cutie Mark Crusaders had bravely stepped out of their hiding spot and were throwing rock they found on the ground (not realizing that they were actually pieces of the draconequus statue that was slowly chipping away.) It was kind of funny watching Rex Hoofer cover his face with his foot, being pushed back by a bunch of fillies.

“Ow! Ow! Watch – cut that out, you troglodytes!” Rex Hoofer complained.

“Stay away from our friends, ya big bully!” Apple Bloom shouted, throwing a well-aimed rock at Hoofer’s dome.

“Apple Bloom, what are you girls doing here?” Twilight gasped fearfully.

“We’re on a field trip?” Scootlaoo answered cheerfully.

“Actually, we were not supposed to be here,” said Sweetie Belle truthfully. “We think Miss Cheerilee has a criminal record.”

“Girls, you can’t be here!” Twilight shouted. “It’s too dangerous!”

“Nuh-uh, we ain’t leavin’ our friends behind,” said Apple Bloom, lobbing another rock between Hoofer’s eyes.

“OW! That’s it!” Rex Hoofer yelled impatiently, pointing his cannon at the fillies. Twilight instinctually put herself in front of them, ignoring the pain all over her body. “I’ve never shot a foal before. I can’t knock this off my supervillain bingo card.”

The cannon charged up. Twilight wrapped her arms around the Cutie Mark Crusaders, ready to use her body as a shield –

But the attack never came.

Instead, a beam of purple magic shot over their heads and caught Rex Hoofer unawares. His anti-magic barrier protected him from the brunt of the blast, but the force behind it was enough to knock Rex Hoofer off his hoovers and slide across the grass on his back. The Herd of Doom stared at their leader, mystified. Rex Hoofer groaned as he sat up.

“What – What happened?” questioned Rex Hoofer. “Who did that?”

“I did, Hoofer.”

Twilight and the Cutie Mark Crusaders raised their heads and gasped. A masked pony garbed in shades of blue and purple trotted past them, her long cape billowing behind her as she replace the fedora on her head. The masked hero placed herself between Twilight and Rex Hoofer; the latter gritted his teeth in unrestrained irritation.

But the mysterious hero was not alone. She was swiftly joined by five more ponies, each of them seemingly appearing out of nowhere. An Earth Pony mare wearing a poncho and a sweet cowboy hat; a Pegasus that looked like a cross between a bat and a pony; a unicorn floating overhead with a glowing diamond necklace; a Pegasus zipping through the air with a rainbow streak in her wake; a pink Earth Pony in a patchwork jester’s outfit giggling like a madmare.

Together, the six of them stood heroically in a line, staring down the Herd of Doom.

“No way!” Scootaloo squealed excitedly.

“It’s them!” Sweetie Belle shouted joyously.

“Equestria’s greatest heroes,” Apple Bloom joined in.

“THE JUSTICE PONIES!” The Cutie Mark Crusaders cheered in unison.

“Impossible!” yelled Rex Hoofer. “How did you find us.”

“You flew a giant barn over the capital of Equestria,” answered the Dash like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “How could we not notice?”

“This wasn’t part of the plan, Hoofer!” said La Bandita. “Now what do we do?”

“What do you think, you idiots!” Rex Hoofer snapped. “Get them!”

“Justice Ponies – Action!” Mare-Do-Well declared heroically.

The Justice Ponies scattered on command, each confronting their villainous counterparts.

Bucking Bronco galloped around the edge of the statue garden, outstripping the line of bullets trailing behind her. The orange mare skid to a stop in front of the statue of friendship, crouching low to avoid the shots aimed for her head, then plucked her hat off her head and tossed it. Incredibly, the hat flew like a disk, slapping La Bandita’s revolvers out of the air.

“Yer a long way from Appleoosa, sugar cube!” said Bucking Bronco. “What’s Hoofer got on ya that’d make you leave your turf.”

“I’m a simple mar with simple pleasures,” answered La Bandita. “Namely, anything that’ll make me rich.”

La Bandita’s horn lit up as she levitated her revolvers off the ground. But at the same time, Bucking Bronco withdrew a lasso from under cloak, twirling it around in her teeth, and threw the rope around the masked outlaw before she could get a shot in. Bucking Bronco tugged hard at the rope, pulling La Bandita off her hooves and sent her flying towards her archenemy. Bucking Bronco turned her back to La Bandita, raising her hind hooves, and kicked –

BAM!

Batmare and Owlmare swooped through the sky with a flap of their leather and feathery wings, bending and twirling around one another in ways normal Pegasi couldn’t. But while Owlmare was frantically swiping at her rival, Batmare was on the defensive the entire time, almost causally dodging each attempt.

“Miss Owlmare, please stop being mean?” asked Batmare politely, her tone surprisingly gentle in contrast to her terrifying appearance. “I don’t want to hurt you, but if you continue do bad stuff, I will have to stop you.”

Owlmare screeched in Batmare’s face, swiping (and missing) her rival’s face. Batmare sighed dejectedly.

“All right,” she said. “You left me no choice.”

Batmare fluttered away from her enemy for a moment and inhaled a deep breath. Owlmare lunged at the opposite hybrid when Batmare threw her head forward and exhaled a screech louder than thunder. Everypony in the courtyard clapped their hooves over their heads. Owlmare, who was in the direct path of the sonic scream, was thrown backwards against the castle ramparts, smashing through the stone and lay buried underneath the rubble.

Batmare quickly silenced herself, looking sheepish, and said, “Excuse me.”

Meanwhile, Palette cackled obnoxiously as she pranced around, dipping her paint-covered tail around on the grass. White Diamond, who had hovering overhead, casually sipping a cup of tea she fabricated, rolled her eyes at the so-called ‘artist.’

“Hahaha! Behold, Mademoiselle Diamond!” said Palette. “Ze power of true art from ze greatest artist in the world!”

Once again, the paint-themed supervillain had drawn another portrait of her enemy, which peeled itself off the ground and transformed into a twenty-foot, red-eyed White Diamond. The real White Diamond didn’t seem to notice – or, more likely, just didn’t care. She took another delicate sip of her tea, fabricated a handkerchief to wipe her mouth, then vanished both.

“Please, darling, how droll,” said White Diamond. “That shame of a portrait cannot be considered ‘art.’ This is art.”

Her diamond necklace radiated with light, fabricating a perfect copy of the white unicorn made entirely of diamonds, though some parts seemed slightly exaggerated to make the doppelganger more beautified than the original. What’s more, the diamond copy was alive move to mimic the original’s posture and poses.

Palette’s painted abomination lunged forward with a monstrous squeal. White Diamond pointed a hoof and her gemstone copy gave the original a salute. The diamond clone flew forward with one hoof outstretched in a superhero pose to meet its painted opposite. The diamond copy effortlessly punched a hole through the paint monster’s chest, causing it to squeal in pain before melting into a puddle. Palette cried for her mutilated masterpiece right before the diamond copy flew down and punched her across the face, knocking her out cold.

Meanwhile, high above the castle, an epic duel was taking place, but nopony could see it. From an outsider’s perspective, it looked like a rainbow and a green-and-black trail were zipping across the sky, bouncing off each other with each clash resulting in a booming shockwave. Nopony could see the Dash and her Reverse counterpart zooming back and forth, pounding their hooves together.

“What’s the matter, slowpoke?” the Dash taunted. “Can’t keep up?”

“You’re gonna regret going up against me!” the Reverse Dash shouted furiously. “I’m gonna show everyone once and for all that I am the fastest pony alive!”

“How’re you gonna do that,” the Dash smirked cockily, “When you can’t even keep up with me?”

Though her face couldn’t be seen, the Dash knew her opponent was glaring.

The speedy superhero pushed her counterpart away, then suddenly turned and dived towards the ground. The Reverse Dash immediately chased her without a second thought. Both speedsters were flying faster than the speed of sound; the Reverse Dash was only half-a-second behind her heroic counterpart. The ground was coming up fast, but at the very last second, the Dash pulled up, barely avoiding crashing by inches. The Reverse Dash wasn’t so lucky. She couldn’t stop herself in time and plowed straight into the ground, digging a trench that stretched almost thirty hooves long.

The Dash landed next to her villainous copy. The Reverse Dash groaned as she weakly raised her head, then plopped back down and fell unconscious.

“You gotta be, like, twenty percent cooler to keep up with me,” the Dash taunted her fallen foe.

And over with Party Popper, the hyperactive jester bounced (Boing! Boing! Boing!) over to Le Mime, who was performing her ‘sitting and drinking tea’ bit that broke Trixie’s brain. The fluffy pink mare took one look at the scene and gasped in delight.

“Oh yay! A tea party!” Party Popper cheered, bouncing up and down. Le Mime was taken aback. “I love tea parties! But you know, you can’t have a party – without cake!”

Party Popper reached inside her curly pink tail and magically produced a three-tier cake with candles from Luna knows where. She handed the cake over to Le Mime, who stared, dumbfounded.

An awkward period of silence passed between them…before Le Mime noticed the cake suddenly glowing and hissing. Le Mime’s visibly screamed, but no sound came out. Then the cake literally exploded in her face – the sound was oddly muted as well. When the smoke cleared, Le Mime was covered from hoof to horn in soot. She mysteriously pulled out a wooden sign that read “OW” before collapsing backwards.

Rex Hoofer shuddered in terror. He watched as his allies were defeated one after another, their unconscious forms thrown into a pile by the Justice Ponies.

“Now…would be a good time for a tactical retreat,” Rex Hoofer told himself. He turned to run, only to be cut off by Mare-Do-Well appearing in front of him. “GAH! Son of a – somepony need to put a bell on you!”

“It’s over, Hoofer,” Mare-Do-Well declared firmly.

“Don’t try anything, Mare-Do-Well!” said Rex Hoofer, taking a step back. “I’m still wearing my anti-magic field belt! There’s nothing you can do to hurt me!”

Mare-Do-Well stared at him for a long second…then punch hoofer across the jaw, knocking him to the ground.

“Note to self…,” Rex Hoofer groaned. “Build…an everything field belt.”

And then he was out cold.

Mare-Do-Well dragged Hoofer’s limp body and threw it with the rest of the Herd of Doom, where Bucking Bronco proceeded to tie them up with her lasso.

“Good work, Justice Ponies,” Mare-Do-Well complimented her allies. “Another successful mission.”

The Justice Ponies – minus the stoic Mare-Do-Well – whooped and cheered for their victory. All the while, Twilight, who had been hovering over the Cutie Mark Crusaders protective, watched them in awe. The Mane Six couldn’t handle a pack of supervillains, but these heroes in tights did it almost effortlessly. It made Twilight remember how Hoofer had mocked her – how the Mane Six’s “heroic” adventure – boiled down to running away and finding a bunch of magic jewelry to pick up the slack.

Twilight’s ears fell and felt an uncomfortable weight in the bottom of her stomach

“That was awesome!” Twilight snapped out of her stupor. Spike and Grubber had come out from their hiding place when the action was over, and both of them were with the Cutie Mark Crusaders looking at the Justice Ponies like they were idols (which might not have been a stretch.) “Did you see them? They were like ‘pow!’ and ‘wham!’ and ‘biff!’”

“’Biff?’” Twilight parroted questionably.

“You know what I mean,” said Spike, rolling his eyes.

“They’re the coolest ponies in the world!” Apple Bloom gushed. “And totally not because we’re related to them.”

“Don’t say that out loud, you dunce!” Sweetie Belle scolded her, slapping her best friend in the back of the head. “Secret identities, remember?”

“I wanna get the Dash’s autograph before they leave!” Scootaloo yelled quickly.

“Me too!” said Grubber enthusiastically.

The fillies, baby dragon, and pudgy hedgehog practically stampeded over to the Justice Ponies, some of whom greeted the Cutie Mark Crusaders with familiarity.

And Twilight was left behind, feeling downcast.

“Well, that was…humiliating,” Starlight commented drearily and she walked up beside Twilight, her fabulous suit torn to shreds.

“We didn’t do a single thing,” mumbled Moon Dancer, readjusting her cracked glasses.

Tempest spit sideways, looking irritated, and said, “Can’t believe we got showed up by a bunch of cosplayers.”

“Well, they are Equestria’s greatest heroes for a reason,” said Sunset half-heartedly.

“Trixie head still hurts,” Trixie groaned.

“Okay, I know this didn’t end on a good note for us,” said Twilight, trying to sound optimistic. “But, hey, at least the worst is over, right?”

Oh, how wrong she was.

For none of them realized that the statue of the draconequus behind them had completely disappeared, a soft chortle carried on the wind.

Author's Note

This is by far my longest chapter - doubt they'll all be this long.

After being teased for two books (and five years) the original mares are finally here! Tell me what you think.