The Adventures of the Power Ponies

#27-The Power of Six-Part 5

Later that day, the Mane-iac turned on her boyfriend's TV and watched the news. The screen showed Starlight Glimmer walking out of the police station into a crowd of reporters.

"Ms. Glimmer," a reporter shouted, "Ponies are saying you were the victim of a new villain calling herself the Mane-iac."

"Yes, she tried to hold me hostage and make me shut down my company." Starlight spoke out. "This Mane-iac used to be an employee until she went insane. To everyone in Maretropolis, do not listen to anything the Mane-iac says. She's a psychopath and a liar."

CRASH! The Mane-iac shot her mane to the television set and broke the screen to shards. From the kitchen, Briny Deep reached his head out and examined the broken set.

"Sweetie, watch your temper. You break it and we'll have to buy another one."

"Don't start with me!" the Mane-iac snapped. "I was close too! So close, I tripped at the finish line! Then this armored Alicorn just waltzed in and stole my thunder! She ruined my chances! I've got to know who she is and how I can surpass her!"

"Alicorn?" Briny Deep asked. "I thought Princess Celestia was the only Alicorn."

The Mane-iac widened her eyes. "You're right. If Celestia kept this much from us, I wonder..."

Later on that week, the search for the Dark Alicorn wasn't going very well. The Power Ponies had no luck looking at the city surveillance.

"Any luck?" the Masked Matterhorn asked.

"None whatsoever." Radiance said.

"Finding one pony in a big city is like finding a needle in a concrete haystack," Mistress Marevelous said, "Even if this pony is an armored Alicorn."

"I don't know what to do." the Masked Matterhorn said. "I was supposed to stop her from carrying out her evil plan, but I can't even stop her from robbing a factory."

"Hey, don't think like that." Zapp said. "As long as we're together, nothing can go wrong."

"Yeah." Filli-Second said. "Do you know what our team motto used to be?"

"No." Hum Drum said. "I'm interested."

The Power Ponies held up a bunch of necklaces with pendants on them. They all matched their owners' Cutie Marks. They all spoke at the same time.

"Individually, we are the friendliest, most powerful heroes in Equestria, but together, we are the Power Ponies!"

"Wow." the Masked Matterhorn said. "Hard to believe you all mean so much to each other."

"We're friends." Radiance said. "We're supposed to be. Didn't you ever notice that?"

The Masked Matterhorn took note of that question and thought for a minute.

"Well..." she said. "You see..."

Suddenly, a metal stomp was heard. The Power Ponies turned and saw a familiar pony on top of their computer screen.

"The Mysterious Mare Do-Well!" the Matterhorn said. "What are you here for?"

The Mare Do-Well reached into her cape and held up a front-page newspaper. She dropped it in front of the Power Ponies and they took a good look at it.

"A robbery at the Canterlot Museum?" the Masked Matterhorn read in confusion. "The Electro-Orb stolen? I don't understand. What does this have to do with our mission?"

"Uh, Matterhorn..." Hum Drum said pointing in the front-page photo. Everyone squinted and saw a certain Alicorn in the far background.

"No way!" the Masked Matterhorn gasped.

"So that's why we had a hard time finding her." Radiance said. "She's not even in the city anymore."

"What's the Electro-Orb again?" Saddle Rager asked.

"It's an ancient power source." the Masked Matterhorn explained. "These days, the Electro-Orb can be used for any machine. That's why it's so dangerous, it's required to stay in a museum. But that's what bothers me."

"What do you mean?" Mistress Marevelous asked.

"Well, this plus all the machine parts she stole..." the Masked Matterhorn said. "Sounds like she's building something. The problem is, what can she possibly know how to build? She's been living on the moon for many, many years. The wheel wasn't even invented then. How can she build anything if she doesn't even know how engineering works?"

"You know, that is actually a good question." Mistress Marevelous said.

The Mysterious Mare Do-Well then picked up a square piece of paper and dropped it. It swished back and forth until it fell above the newspaper. With one quick look, the Masked Matterhorn gasped at the photograph.

"Is that..." Hum Drum asked looking at the pony in the photo.

"Who?" Zapp asked. "Who is she?"

In an instant, the Masked Matterhorn ran to the counter and picked up a phone. Holding it to her ear, she dialed a number. She waited nervously until she heard a familiar voice.

"Hello?"

"Moondancer, it's me, Twilight!"

"Twilight? I haven't heard from you since your test. How was it?"

"Not important." the Masked Matterhorn answered nervously. "Listen, where are you?"

"The library." Moondancer explained. "Where else can you read things?"

"Listen to me!" Twilight said with fear. "You need to get out of there, go home, lock your doors, and seal your windows!"

"Whoa, Twilight, you're not making any sense." Moondancer said. "What are you talking... Wait, what was that?"

"Moondancer..."

"Sounds like someone broke the window."

"Don't..."

"Twilight, I'm not sure what... Hey! Who are you? What are you... WAIT! DON'T!" That was all that was said before the phone hummed. The Masked Matterhorn put the phone down and felt panicked.

"Matterhorn..." Hum Drum asked nervously. "What happened?"

"The Dark Alicorn." the purple hero breathed. "She took her. She took Moondancer."

"Should we know who this Moondancer is?" Zapp asked.

"I'll explain on the way." the Masked Matterhorn said. "Right now we should go to Canterlot now...

"...and be careful! As long as the Dark Alicorn has the Asteroth, she's more powerful than any super."

Starlight Glimmer turned off the speaker on her office desk and smirked.

"It's a good thing I slipped in that listening device. So, the Dark Alicorn has something that makes her more powerful than a super, huh?

"...Sounds like a game-changer to me."

The Mane-iac chuckled at the sound of Starlight's voice coming out of the speaker in front of her. She turned it off and laughed.

"You're not the only eavesdropper, Starlight. Briny, start the van! We're going to Canterlot!"

Princess Celestia was pacing around her hallways with a worried look on her face. She couldn't stop thinking about what her student had told her over the phone earlier. She stopped pacing when she heard the door open and the Power Ponies galloped through.

"We came as soon as we could." the Masked Matterhorn said. "Any luck?"

"I'm afraid not." Princess Celestia responded. "I've had guards patrol the streets ever since you called and told me the situation. So far, they've had no luck on finding my sister nor Moondancer."

"This is all my fault." the Masked Matterhorn said. "The Dark Alicorn must have figured out who I was and has kidnapped Moondancer to get to me."

"That makes no sense." Filli-Second said. "If she did know who you are, then why didn't she just come after you? Also, how could she have known how much this would impact you?"

Everyone stopped and looked at the pink heroine.

"Whoa." Zapp said. "You know something's off when Filli-Second makes sense."

"I... I don't know." the Masked Matterhorn said. "Look, I just need some time to myself." She didn't give her team a chance before she galloped up the stairs.

"What's up with her?" Mistress Marevelous asked.

"I wish I knew." Hum Drum said scratching the top of his head.

"Hurry it up!" the Dark Alicorn shouted. Her screams echoed in the dark room with just her, Moondancer, and a machine between two glass domes.

"I'm going as fast as I can." Moondancer said. "You know, if you let me take a break every once in a while, I can have the time to look over any mistakes I might have..."

"NO!" the Dark Alicorn roared scaring the daylights out of Moondancer. Her mane rose higher like a fire with more wood added. "I WON'T ALLOW YOU TO REST UNTIL I GET THIS DONE! IF THIS DOESN'T WORK, I WON'T BE RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU! Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal." Moondancer replied in a frightened tone.

"Good." the Dark Alicorn said. "Continue on your work."

Moondancer turned back to the machine she was building and started to continue. During her construction, she couldn't help but think to herself.

"Come on, Twilight. Where are you? I could sure use your help right now."

Where was Twilight? She was on a balcony near the top of the castle staring off to the sunset. She thought back on every moment she shared with Moondancer. Then she thought about moments with Spike. She then thought about her new friends before shaking her head back into reality.

"What is wrong with me? I can't believe this happened. Everyone wrong, it's what I was trying to avoid.

"There once was a time I was by myself

And now, I am starting to miss those days

Yet, why do they insist on trying to help

This isn't some game that anyone wants to play

I have never been

Outside of my walls

What is wrong with me

I was always on my own

How can someone like me

Get hurt so easily

Was it a lot better when I was all...

Aloooooooooooooone"

She turned her head and saw the rest of her team standing there waiting to speak.

"You want to tell us something?" Radiance asked. "This is about more than just what might happen with Moondancer, is it?"

The Masked Matterhorn sighed and was ready to admit something. "You may not have noticed, but I'm not the most social pony in Equestria."

Filli-Second let out a loud, expressive gasp as she jumped into the air. No one else gave any reaction.

"...Anyway..." the Matterhorn continued. "You see, my brother's part of the royal guard, so he's not home so much. My parents are also very busy with their jobs. It's like everyone I count on keeps leaving me. The only logical idea I could come up with is keep myself as secluded as I can. That way, no one can let me down again."

"That's your answer to your troubles?" Saddle Rager asked. "To push everyone else away?"

"It's not like I want to. There were a couple of times I decided to let my guard down, like when I first met Spike or the day I met Moondancer. I really opened up to her, telling her almost all my secrets. But then, the debate over the Super Purification Act started. Ever since then, criminals started to be more confident and I've been really busy on my superhero work. And now, some demonic Alicorn just kidnapped someone who I admitted I could relate to. If anything would happen to her, I'd feel worse than ever before."

"Sugar-cube, it's all right to feel worried over someone." Mistress Marevelous said. "It's a part of life. Look, I have a sister myself and she worries for my safety every day. But I get even more nervous about letting her down. If that's how it is between us, what do you think Moondancer might think about letting you down?"

"Yeah." Filli-Second said. "You see, friendship doesn't work one-way. Moondancer might just be as worried for you as you are for her."

"You... you think so?" the Masked Matterhorn said.

"Twilight, I've known you for a long time," Hum Drum said, "So of course I'm worried for you. But I still support you and help you out as much as I can. Doing things on your own does guarantee no one letting you down, but it also guarantees no one helping you either. I think you've known that all along."

The Masked Matterhorn looked at everyone and smiled. She stood high and proud with a confident look on her face.

"You're right! I can't believe I've been blind for so long. From now on...

"I'LL LIVE ANOTHER LIFE

OUTSIDE OF MY WALLS

I'LL IGNORE WHO I WAS

ALWAYS ON MY OWN

NO MORE WASTING TIME

FROM HERE ON OUT, I'M

CHANGING WHO I AM! NOW, IIIIII AM NOOOOOOOT...

ALOOOOOOOOOOOOOONE"

The Power Ponies cheered loudly. Suddenly, they were interrupted when a rock fell in front of them. The Power Ponies looked at it suspiciously.

"Maud?" Filli-Second asked.

Just then, another rock landed before the ponies, and they looked back over the balcony. Down below, they saw the Mysterious Mare Do-Well awaiting them to show.

"Again?" Zapp asked. "Look, Mare Do-Well, you've been taking us on a zig-zag path all week. You're not telling us anything about what's going on and what we're supposed to be doing."

Just then, the Mysterious Mare Do-Well raised her hoof into the air and motioned it around her to the other direction.

"I think she wants us to follow her." Saddle Rager said.

"But to where?" Radiance asked.

"I don't care." the Masked Matterhorn answered. "Anything's better than just pacing around worrying for Moondancer all day."