Power Ponies
Night's POV
Night was trying to sleep when a light turned on which disturbed Twilight as well. "Spike, you really need to go to sleep," Twilight told the dragon, sounding groggy.
"Aw, two more minutes, Twilight? I'm just getting to the really good part. The Mane-iac is about to-" Spike started.
"'The Mane-iac?'?" Twilight asked.
"The Power Ponies' most evil nemesis. She was the power-mad owner of a hair-care product company. A tragic accident at her shampoo factory in Maretropolis not only gave her mane strange new powers, but also caused her to go completely insane! She and her henchponies are planning to break into the Maretropolis Museum and steal the Electro-Orb so she can use it to power up her doomsday device. Of course, the Mane-iac wouldn't have even known if Hum Drum hadn't slipped up and told her all about it," Spike explained.
"And Hum Drum is?" Night asked.
"Guy in the blue boots and pointless red cape. The Power Ponies' bumbling and totally useless side-kick. The Power Ponies have to stop the Mane-iac or Maretropolis is doo-hoo-hoo-hoomed!" Spike said dramatically.
"So… it's your classic superhero comic, alright, I'm going back to bed," Night said, plopping his face in his pillow.
"Believe me, Spike. If anypony understands what it's like to get caught up in a really good book, it's me. But if we're going to make any progress fixing up Celestia and Luna's old castle tomorrow, we all have to do our part. We don't want to be too tired to lend a hoof. Or claw," Twilight told him.
"OK. OK. I'm going to bed," Spike said reluctantly. "Good-night." The light then turned off, and Twilight went back to sleep as well, but the two heard Spike shifting around. Twilight moved the book away with her magic causing Spike to poke his head out of the blanket.
"Two more minutes," Twilight told him.
Spike turned back on the light and whisper-shouted "Yes!" before taking up a position.
"I really hope you don't encourage that too often. My mom took the books away when she caught me doing that," Night told Twilight.
"It's just this once," Twilight promised.
The next day, everypony was helping to clear out some of the damage done to the old castle in the Everfree Forest. Celestia had been wanting to restore it, but with what happened to Luna and how dangerous the Everfree Forest had been before the Tree of Harmony was repowered made it difficult to do so. Now that things have calmed down, it's easier to do the work. Twilight was hoping to clear out a lot of the rubble and debris before the construction ponies came in for their work.
"Good work everypony. Let's keep this magical make-over moving," Twilight said from the center of the old throne room. Night was currently moving some parts of the old roof that looked too dangerous for ponies to stand on.
"Hey Night, you need any help?" Spike asked him from the ground.
"Wouldn't recommend it, Spike. This roof is so old that the slightest pressure might cause it to fall," Night told him as he removed a piece with his magic. As he moved to the next piece that was bending down, it wasn't moving that easily and he didn't want to use his powers since he might damage it more.
"Let me help you with that," Twilight said, flying up to him. The two were able to pull out the piece without damaging the roof more and it appeared stable.
"So, where's Spike?" Night asked, noticing the dragon was missing.
"He's probably reading his comic somewhere else. Besides, he's likely more tired than he wants to admit. He was yawning the whole way here," Twilight answered.
"Probably for the best," Night replied. After they finished up with the throne room, they decided to take a bit of a break. The group went together to look for him but they were having no luck.
"Spike! Where are ya, Spike!" Applejack called out.
"We're breaking for tea and biscuits!" Rarity shouted.
"Spike!" Rainbow shouted.
As they approached the library, they heard Spike's voice coming from the hidden room. When they entered, Spike was being sucked into his comic. "Help!" he shouted.
"Spike!" Twilight shouted as she ran up to him and tried to pull him out, but was getting pulled in as well. Night tried to pull her out but he ended up going through as well with the others behind him, judging on the weight he felt going in.
When Night opened his eyes, he saw that he was in a city. "Somepony wanna tell me what the hay is goin' on?" Applejack asked.
"Holy new personas, ponies!" Spike shouted at the ponies, wearing blue boots, a red cape, a mask, and a belt. Night looked around and saw that he and the others were in costumes. Night's costume was black with white outlines with a bow attached to one side and a bunch of arrows on the other. "You're the... Masked Matter-Horn! Fili-Second! Zapp! R-Radiance! Mistress Mare-velous! Saddle Rager! Snap-Shot!" Spike said, addressing Twilight, Pinkie, Rainbow, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Night in turn. "You're the Power Ponies!' he then shouted.
An explosion then went off down on the street across from the building they were on and Night saw ponies running away from a building that had a large hole in it. Long green tendrils then came out from the hole and a voice said, "Power Ponies! How kind of you to join us." before cackling. Night recognized the pony as the villain from Spike's comic.
"Huh," the ponies said.
As the lunatic laughed, Applejack asked, "Did she just call us "Power Ponies"?"
"You're the… the superheroes from my comic book. It somehow zapped us all in here," Spike said.
"So somepony zap us back out," Rainbow said.
"My comic book! It said the way to get back to where we started was to defeat the Mane-iac! Your arch-nemesis!" Spike explained.
"So, it's going to be one of those adventures," Night commented.
"Time for the mane event!" the Mane-iac said. She then threw a pretzel cart at the group followed by a mailbox that hit where Pinkie was.
"Pinkie! Where'd she go?!" Rainbow asked, seeing that Pinkie had disappeared.
"Wheeee!" was all they heard while seeing a pink streak runoff.
"She could be miles away from here by now! Pinkie is Fili-Second, the fastest pony in all of Maretropolis!" Spike explained.
Applejack pulled out the lasso on her costume and threw it at the Mane-iac, but ended up tying it around a lamp post and wrapping herself in it.
"Twilight! Freeze her mane!" Spike told her.
"Do what?" Twilight asked.
"You're the Masked Matter-horn. You can shoot all kinds of crazy power beams from your horn!" Spike explained. Twilight tried to do what Spike told her to do but only shot out a few snowflakes.
"You know, I'm beginning to enjoy this," Mane-iac mocked before laughing and throwing something else at them.
"Dash! Quick! You're Zapp, and your superpower is controlling the mighty forces of nature! Unholster the lightning bolt!" Spike shouted. Rainbow grabbed the lightning-bolt-shaped pendant around her neck and started a tornado. "Lightning, not a tornado!" Spike shouted. The tornado ended up pulling everypony but Applejack and Pinkie somehow ended up in there as well. "Fluttershy! You're Saddle Rager! Lose your temper, and you'll turn into a huge, super-strong monster!" Spike told her.
"Oh, gosh! That wouldn't... be very... polite!" Fluttershy answered.
"Rarity! Use your jewelry to create attack constructs!" Spike shouted.
"What's an attack construct?!" Rarity asked.
"Just think of something, anything, and your bracelet makes it appear!" Spike answered. Rarity made a bunch of china which hit Spike in the face. "Something useful!" he clarified before turning to Night. "Night! You're Snap-Shot. You have specialized arrows. Use one!" Spike told him.
Night looked at the arrows on his side and tried to find a grapple one. He found it quickly and shot the arrow out of the tornado. He then managed to pull himself out of it and onto the street. "Alright, let's try this," Night said, grabbing another arrow and firing it a Mane-iac, who caught it with her mane.
"Nice try Snap-Shot," Mane-iac said before the arrow started beeping and exploded. The smoke cleared but she was fine. "Well, this has been quite the mane-raising experience. But I really must be going," she added, hitting Night away. He saw Spike grabbed an orb she had, but he tripped over his own cape and dropped it. "Why, thank you, Hum Drum!" Mane-iac said as she picked up the orb before laughing as she left.
Night and Spike were then pulled back into the tornado. "Applejack! You gotta… help stop the… tornado from destroying… the city!" Spike told her.
"But every time I move, this darn lasso gets tighter!" Applejack protested.
"You're psychically connected to it! Will it to go where you want it to go, and it'll obey you!" Spike explained. Applejack was able to do what Spike said and Night was thrown to the ground.
"That was spin-tastic!" Pinkie said before running off.
"Lemme get this straight: We've been sucked into some kind of comic-book world?" Applejack asked Spike.
"Technically, it's called Maretropolis. And if we wanna get back to Ponyville, I think we have to stop the Mane-iac from using her doomsday device to destroy it!" Spike explained as the others tested their powers while Night figured out what kind of arrows he had.
"No biggie. I was already awesome. And now we've all got superpowers!" Rainbow said excitedly.
"Almost all of us have superpowers…" Spike said.
"But you must have them too, Spikeyboo; your character is wearing a cape," Rarity pointed out. "Night I can see not having powers, he's got a bow and arrow," she added.
"Night's character has the benefit of being a full member of the Power Ponies'. He can't miss a shot. Mine, on the other claw, wears a cape for absolutely no reason. He's pretty much useless," Spike explained.
"Good thing you're not really Hum Drum, then," Twilight stated.
"Yeah. Good thing," Spike said.
"So the seven of us Power Ponies' will take care of Mane-iac and get us back to Ponyville," Rainbow said.
"Spike, where is the Mane-iac building her doomsday device?" Twilight asked him.
"Her top-secret headquarters. But you'd better get there quickly. That glowing orb she just stole is what she's going to use to power it," Spike explained.
"Lead the way, Spike," Applejack told him.
"Then leave the rest to us," Rainbow added.
Spike showed them the way and led them to a factory. "There it is," he said.
"Is that a shampoo factory?" Applejack asked.
"All it's missing is a sign that says, "Mane-iac's secret lair" because these things are always so obvious for some reason," Night commented.
"All right, Power Ponies, here's the plan. Rarity, you, me and—" Twilight started.
"Come on out, Mane-iac! Or the Power Ponies are comin' in!" Rainbow shouted, causing a lightning bolt to hit the sign above the door.
"So much for the element of surprise," Twilight commented.
"Let's do this then," Night said, drawing his bow.
"Oh, I don't think she's home. Maybe we should just come back later," Fluttershy said but they heard laughing from the factory.
"She's home," Rarity told her. The door opened to reveal a small army of ponies.
"Time to Power Pony Up!" Applejack shouted.
"Oooh. Nice catchphrase," Pinkie commented.
The henchponies charged at the group and Night ended up taking four on his own. It didn't even matter though. Night pulled out a net arrow and jumped above two of the four and trapped them onto the ground. The other two turned it into a melee but Night hit one over the head with his bow and tripped the other into Rainbow who shocked him. "Nice work, Power Ponies! Now let's take care of the Mane-iac and get ourselves home!" Twilight said when they finished them off.
"I don't think so! I have a city to destroy, and I'm not about to let the Power Ponies stop me! Not this time!" Mane-iac said.
"Just watch us!" Rainbow shouted before charging in.
Mane-iac just pulled out a… hair spray bottle? "The Hairspray Ray of Doom! It stops you in your tracks and renders your powers useless!" Spike warned. Mane-iac sprayed Rainbow and she fell to the ground like a brick.
"We'll just see about that!" Rarity said. The remaining ponies but Fluttershy charged in with Night preparing an ice arrow when they were sprayed as well. Night was frozen in place as more henchponies came up. They pulled all of them into the factory and Fluttershy must have been hit as well as her frozen body was brought in as well.
They were all put into a cage and every time everypony was starting to move, the hairspray went off and stopped that from happening. "This is really getting annoying," Night commented.
"Congratulations, Power Ponies! You shall live just long enough to see me fire… the instrument of your destruction," Mane-iac said, revealing her doomsday device to be a hairdryer cannon. "Once the Electro-Orb has powered it up completely, this cannon will amplify the power of my mane one million times, expelling an energy blast that will cause everypony in Maretropolis's mane to grow wild!" she said before laughing maniacally.
"Ahem. I don't mean to interrupt, but aren't you forgetting about somepony?" Fluttershy asked her.
"Hum Drum? Little guy? No superpowers whatsoever?" Mane-iac asked. "He's utterly useless."
Night then saw Spike watching nearby. "Maybe that's why we keep him around. Everypony underestimates him and I really don't understand why?" Night asked in an attempt to provoke Mane-iac but also encourage Spike.
"You, of course, would think he's worth something considering yourself, but Hum Drums worse than you in every way!" Mane-iac said.
"Maybe. But Hum Drum will always come through when we need him. Always," Twilight told her and everypony agreed.
"I see dementia must be a side-effect of prolonged exposure to the Hairspray Ray of Doom," Mane-iac commented before turning to her henchponies. "Tonight, we stand upon the brink of immortality, for we collectively -though mostly me- have finally defeated our most hated nemeses. We have hurled the brush of badness into the now fearful face of goodness, and have struck a blow for freedom, in the name of oppression! And nothing will stop us!" she ranted. As she did so, Spike was busy working up his plan and sprung it into motion. Using the tarp that once covered her weapon, Spike pushed a large box over that grabbed multiple henchponies before swinging down a chang and knocking over the hairspray bottle.
"Way to go Hum Drum!" Twilight shouted. The group was then able to break free of their stone-like prisons and Rarity used a filler to open a hole in the bars.
"Get mad!" Rainbow told Fluttershy.
"I'm trying. Grrrr," Fluttershy said, but it wasn't working. Night used a grapple arrow to get himself out of the cage since the suit he wore didn't let him use his wings. He then fired an electric arrow at a group of henchponies and it knocked them out.
"I'm really liking this thing," he said to himself. The fight continued with Night taking down several ponies and pretty effortlessly.
"Are you kidding me? I mean, I know you're evil and everything, but you hurt a teensy, little, harmless firefly?! Really?! Well, you're just a great, big, meanie! There! I said it! What makes you think you're so special?! Like the rules of common courtesy don't apply to you?! Why don't you pick on somepony your own size?!" Fluttershy suddenly started saying as she became larger and her voice deepened. She then let out a roar and everypony realized that this was Fluttershy's power. Mane-iac realized how much trouble she was in and attempted to shout Fluttershy with her doomsday weapon, but Fluttershy bounced the attack back at her before jumping onto the device and ripping it apart. Night and the others watched as Fluttershy did so and when it clued in for her as well, she stopped and looked at them awkwardly.
"My mane! My mane!" Mane-iac shouted as her mane tied herself up and she fell to the ground laughing insanely.
"Once again, the day is saved by-" Spike started when the group was suddenly pulled back into the real world. They all started celebrating with each other.
"Did you see how I was raining down a storm of justice at the end there?" Rainbow asked.
"You catch how I was wieldin' that lasso?" Applejack asked.
"Cupcake?" Pinkie asked the group, holding a tray of them.
"How did you-?" Rarity started.
"Eh, we had a good half-second before we got sucked back out of the comic, and the Maretropolis bakery was only 65 blocks away," Pinke answered.
"I'm just glad to be back," Spike admitted, plopping down onto a pillow.
"We wouldn't have made it without you, Spike. And I hope you realize that just because we don't always need your help, it doesn't mean that we don't think you're helpful," Twilight told him.
"Though where did you get that comic?" Night asked him.
"This one I got in Canterlot at the House of Enchanted Comics," Spike answered.
"And you didn't find that suspicious because…?" Twilight asked.
"Well, I didn't know it meant they were literally enchanted," Spike admitted. "I thought it just meant, like, the comics they sold there had really enchanting storylines!" he added as the group muttered out their disbelief and left the room. "Hey, wait up! I'm an important part of this team, remember?!" the dragon called out after them.