The Lost Element

by XD-385

Equestria has long been known as the land of ponies. However, the name of Equestria is misleading. For far too long, a certain element has been missing from the world. And now, that element has been brought back. But for better or for worse?

47. Project H

While dividing up chapters is a massive pet peeve of mine and I promised I would not cater to the critics again after releasing Closing the Year, even I feel that this next chapter is becoming too long for a single upload. So I will be uploading this chapter in two halves. The next half will be uploaded once it's complete.

This is a chapter I've had on my bucket list for a while and I am having a lot of fun writing it. I hope it proves entertaining as both a chapter and as an homage to my favorite video game series.

---

To say that today was out of the usual or even exciting would be a grave understatement. Just... Even as I write this now, it is still hard to convince myself that everything that happened today was not a dream in any way.

Being a Sunday, I was able to sleep in today and did not wake up until some time past 9. Summer had more or less just ended, but it was still reasonably warm out today. I was a bit disappointed to find that Fluttershy was already up by the time I woke up, but I understood that someone had to get started on breakfast or Scootaloo might start complaining. And that was exactly what I smelled. I could already pick up the aroma of fried eggs, hash browns, toasted bread, and... Well, whatever was being served up, it prompted me to slide on my favorite green polo and jeans in a hurry so I would not miss breakfast. That aroma was getting me hungry fast.

I rushed downstairs once fully closed and peeked into the kitchen. Scootaloo had just taken a seat at the table while Fluttershy had finished setting it. y nose had more or less correctly identified everything that Fluttershy had cooked up. She was the first to notice me and said with a smile as she took a seat, "Good morning, honey. And just in time to eat."

"No one can sleep through the smell of your cooking, Fluttershy. I'm surprised you've never had a case of someone sleepeating because of how good it all smells." I replied while I took my seat, my hand idly petting Scootaloo's head as I passed her.

Our daughter then said, "I heard a mom's cooking is always great. Everything you make is awesome, Mom!" It tickled my heart to know that Scootaloo had finally gotten into the routine of calling Fluttershy 'Mom' when addressing her. And it clearly tickled Fluttershy as well if that smile of hers served as any indication.

"Well, I have to do my best to do my part as a mom now..." Fluttershy replied shyly while she soon paused to eye Scootaloo for a moment, her eyes wandering. I was curious of why she had paused before she revealed what she had been looking at. "Scootaloo, do you think you would like me to give you flying lessons sometime?"

This caused Scootaloo to actually freeze for a moment as if briefly unable to comprehend her words. And I could understand why Fluttershy would offer such a thing to her. From what Fluttershy and even Rainbow Dash have revealed to me, Fluttershy also used to struggle with flying as a filly in similar fashion to Scootaloo. Only nowadays, Fluttershy is a very capable and strong flier in her own right. Perhaps learning from someone who had the same slow development Scootaloo does would do the little sparkplug well. And Scootaloo seemed to know this as she glanced at her little wings before looking back at her mother. "Ye... Yeah! That'd be awesome! But you think you can teach me better than Rainbow Dash can?"

Fluttershy nodded while she began to serve out the hash browns. "Uh huh. You kind of remind me when I was your age. I took longer than most fillies to learn how to properly fly, so maybe I can teach you how I found out the right way to use my wings."

Scootaloo seemed all too excited to get started and even bolted down her breakfast faster than either of us. Unfortunately for her, Fluttershy still needed to feed the animals around her home for the morning. So to pass the time, Scootaloo decided to go hang out with her friends and soon rode away from the cottage while ringing her new bike bell on her scooter's handlebars.

With Scootaloo and Fluttershy out of the house, I stayed behind to clean the dishes before going outside to get some air. The air was still warm, but a bit cooler and crisp than what you would feel in mid summer. Although I was surprised to see that the trees were still lush with green leaves. At least until I remembered last year. How is it that the plants and trees around Ponyville retain their leaves even through winter? There is something particularly confusing about seeing lush green trees covered in snow without the leaves withering from the sheer cold. But I digress.

Not a fan for days that are too quiet, I soon headed into town while Fluttershy stayed behind to finish up feeding her little animal friends. I did not find a whole lot of activity upon reaching Ponyville proper, knowing that most people take things easy on Sundays as well. At least I felt less isolated in town.

I took a walk through the streets, eyeing many of the vacant shops that were closed for the day with the exception of only a handful. Felt a lot like Sundays back in the neighborhood I came from. I eventually passed by the café, the time being too early for them to be open. However, there was still someone using one of the unoccupied table and a stool. It was Spike. And he seemed to be quite engrossed with a book he was reading.

I took a few more steps before stopping and doing a double take. Spike? Reading? Even though Spike is the personal assistant to Twilight Sparkle, who is pretty much notorious for being quite the bookworm, I have never known Spike to ever take that much of an interest in reading. Then again, lots of kids are more interested in physical activities and Spike feels like that kind of kid. My curiosity got the better of me and I approached him from the side. He must have been quite engrossed in the material he was reading. Finally, I gently tapped him on the head and said, "Hey there, Spike. Whatcha got there?"

My voice and touch got his attention as the little dragon boy lowered his book and looked up at me. "Huh? Oh, hey! Morning, James. If you came here for a bite, they're not open yet. I'm just using the table to do some reading."

"Yeah, I know that much. I was just wondering what you were reading. You don't seem like the reading type." I replied while trying to peek over his shoulder at the book's contents, but his rather large head and spines gave ample obstruction.

Fortunately, I did not have to look as Spike soon took the book in hand and showed me the cover while sounding quite excited about it. "Yeah, I'm not. But who doesn't like comic books?!"

He was right. The book in question was indeed a comic book. And the cover depicted... Um... Well, it certainly looked like a superhero style comic book. I assumed that the bizarre dark mare with unsettling green and red eyes in a purple jumpsuit with wild green hair that took up the entire cover was probably a villain. But it was the series title that caught my attention. "Power...Ponies..."

Just the sight of that title alone made me snicker. What were the superheroes like? Five or six ponies dressed in identical jumpsuits aside from color and helmet designs who occasionally take on giant monstrosities in a colossal robot made up of several smaller robots in the forms of a manticore, ursa minor, chimera, timber wolf, parasprite, and phoenix? Spike seemed to notice my brief snickering and asked, "Uh... What's so funny?"

"Sorry, sorry... Just had quite a bit of a nostalgia trip right there." I replied while trying to compose myself. I then took the comic book in hand and examined the title a bit further. "Issue #96. Published by...EAC?"

"Equestria Action Comics. They're based in Manehatten and make more comics besides these, but the Power Ponies are their most popular series." Spike explained while I handed the book back to him and he opened it to continue reading. He seemed fully capable of multitasking as he continued to speak to me. "I used to only read the mini comics they put in the iPOWER magazines, but I just started collecting the full comic books too. And they're a lot better than just the little ones!"

I glanced at the table he was sitting at and noticed a very small pile of more Power Pony comics. The next was issue #97, causing me to assume issues #98 to #99 were right under it. But as I started to reached for the one on the bottom, Spike suddenly looked my way and reached out to me. "Don't touch that one!"

"Huh? Why? Brand new?" I asked promptly, pulling my hand back in reflex.

Spike nodded and looked at the bottom of the pile. "You bet! I just picked it up yesterday! That's issue #100 and it just came out! I heard there's something really special happening in that one. Something about it maybe pulling double duty as a pilot for a completely new series! And I wanna be the one to read it first!"

"Huh, I see..." I muttered while pulling over a stool and leaning on the table with my arm. "Hoping to draw attention to it by having it piggyback on another successful series that lots of readers already check out regularly. Pretty smart. Then again, superhero series crossovers are pretty common. I don't see why that wouldn't work. Do you know what it's about?"

Spike took the issue he was already reading in hand again and explained, "I dunno. I only looked at the cover, but I didn't read it yet. I'm still getting caught up on these issues I didn't have time for until today. But it said something about the rise of 'Project H', whatever that is."

Project H... Something about that actually really piqued my curiosity. Even though I have not had an interest in comic books for years, I found myself at least wanting to know more about the series in general. I then tried to look at issue #96's cover again. "I see... Sounds interesting. So... Who's this freak show on the cover? A villain, am I right?"

Twilight's little helper seemed all too eager to talk about the contents of his favorite comic book series. "Oh, she's not just a villain. She's THE villain! The Power Ponies' arch nemesis! The Mane-iac! She used to be a power-mad CEO of a hair-care product company. But there was a big accident at one of the shampoo factories in Maretropolis that not only gave her mane strange new properties, but it caused her to go nuts! I mean just look at the cover!"

I took the comic book in my hand again and took another look at the Mane-iac on the front. She certainly had an unstable look in the eye, but the long thick flailing locks of green hair combined with her purple jumpsuit brought to mind two names. "So they tried merging the Joker with Doc Oct? And made the result female?"

My words seemed to only confuse Spike about as much as I expected since he stared at me in silence for a moment before raising an upturned hand and asking while giving me a cockeyed stare, "Who?"

I almost laughed at his response. I was not expecting him to get it. "Uh... Nothing. You wouldn't get it. So, the Mane-iac is the series' big bad?" Man, it is so hard remembering to add a hyphen to that name.

That reminded Spike of his passion for the series. "Well, she's not the only supervillain in the series, but she's public enemy #1 to the Power Ponies. She was even cunning enough to round up the rest of the villains to take on the Power Ponies as a team. Good thing Hum Drum got them to work together the right way."

"Work together the right way? What, the Power Ponies aren't buddies?" I asked while trying to comprehend what their character types are like.

Spike shook his head. "Nope. At least not for a while. They all didn't like each other one bit. But Hum Drum watches a TV show sometimes that teaches...the 'Magic of Friendship'. Sounds like a bunch of baloney to me, but it at least got the team to start being real friends after that."

There was something about the 'Magic of Friendship' that made me think of my six dearest friends. Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash. It was subtle, but...I felt like I knew exactly what it was that comic book character was referring to. I then patted Spike on the head and said, "You'll get it when you're older... Wait. Who's Hum Drum? You make it sound like he's not one of the Power Ponies. He a solo superhero?"

"Nah, not even close. He's the bumbling sidekick of the team who's only there for comic relief." Spike replied while opening up the comic book and pointing to one of the panels. "The guy in blue boots and tasteless red cape. See him?"

I took a closer look at the panel and clearly saw the colt wonder. He really was just a kid, a colt with a dull green coat and a short puffy dirty blond mane and tail. I could tell he was the kind of superhero who lacks any sort of unnatural abilities and compensates with unique gear. He was wearing blue boots that snugly fit the contours of his hooves as well as a matching blue wrap around his waist along with a simple classic black mask over his eyes and a red cape spreading out over his back. It really did not do a whole lot to mask his identity, but you would be surprised how little you have to hide to mask your identity in the comic book world. Even so, I managed to crack a smile at him. "I've gotta say... He's really cute. But...where's his gear? I don't see a tool belt or anything... What kind of stuff does he have?"

Spike then closed the book while giving me a dry gaze. "He doesn't. Hum Drum's totally useless and is only there for comic relief. Still, he did get the Power Ponies back together, so I guess that counts for something."

Hearing that did not make me smile at all. I frowned strongly and sighed, "Seriously? Someone who only makes things worse for the heroes all the time isn't comic relief. That would be comic relief if the character did that for the villains. The kid barely sounds like a sidekick at all and more like a convenient damsel in distress on standby."

"Yeah, I thought so too! Hum Drum's cute and all, but he's totally worthless! Maybe if the writers gave him a grappling hook or some smoke bombs, he could at least do something! But nope! He's just there to get in the way. Man, someone should really write some complaints to the editor..." Spike grumbled as well while crossing his arms and looking away. I have to wonder if he found himself personally relating to Hum Drum in any way...

"Yeah, you'd be surprised. A good sidekick backs up the hero and can sometimes even outshine them. Well, enough about that." I replied with a roll of my eyes. "Anyway... You said you've fallen behind and want to marathon these most recent chapters before you get to the newest one?"

Spike nodded while he opened issue #96 back to the page he had left off on. "Yep! This one's got the Mane-iac robbing the Maretropolis Museum to steal the Electro-Orb to power some kinda doomsday device... And it was Hum Drum who spilled the beans to her about it in the first place."

Robbing a museum to steal an artifact that just happens to have the necessary properties to allow it to be used to power a doomsday device... Yup, that sounds like comic book supervillain logic to me. I wonder if EAC is still in the Silver Age of comic books... Well, maybe not. From the glimpses of the art style I saw, the illustrations are far too detailed and colorful to be that primitive. "Huh... Sounds like a textbook comic book formula to me. You think it gets more interesting later?"

"Well, the Power Pony series is the most popular comic book series in the world for a reason. It's probably gonna be good! You wanna read it with me?" Spike replied while looking up at me.

Tempting as it was, and discovering that Equestria has its own comic book series did make me a bit interested, I generally had lost my taste for comic books in general a long time ago. "I appreciate the offer, but no thanks. I just don't have enough motivation to check comic books out anymore. Still, you have fun with that. And be sure to let me know what that Project H thing turns out to be about. That one got my attention."

"Oki doki! See ya! Now, what page was I on again...?" Spike said in reply while I stood up before going right back to reading issue #96. Knowing that he was really getting into the current story arc and that he was in a hurry to finish that one as well as the next three so he could get started on issue #100, I decided to leave him alone and headed on my way. Perhaps I could get a snack at Sugarcube Corner while I was out.

Sugarcube Corner always closes early at noon on Sundays, so I wanted to make sure I got there in time to grab a snack. They were still open when I arrived, though I stepped out of the way as the door opened when I was about to reach for it. But the person coming out was not who I was expecting... Well, I suppose I really was not expecting anyone in particular in the first place. Upon seeing that gray coat and crimson mane, I spoke up with a smile. "Hey there, Mitta!"

My dear friend from the Everfree Forest stopped in her tracks and looked my way with a smile. "Oh! Good morning, James! I didn't think I'd see you this early."

Without much coaxing, the two of us reached out and held each other in a tender embrace. I then asked with her ear beside my lips, "So, what brings you to Sugarcube Corner? Your sweet tooth calling again? And you didn't try to eat the roof again, right?"

Mitta let out an amused snicker while she let go of me. "That's pretty much exactly what I came here for. Oh, and Pinkie Pie asked me to let you know that she wanted to tell you something. Funny that I found you this fast."

"Well, thanks for letting me know. What you up to today?" I asked in return while starting to reach for the door.

My friend replied as she stepped away a bit, "Well, since the Carousel Boutique is closed for the day, I was going to spend some time in the park with Ruby and then go see the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Ruby doesn't get to spend time at the clubhouse that often."

Not wanting to keep her away from our little ghost friends any longer, I gently ran my fingers through Mitta's mane. "All right then. Tell the kids I said hi." Mitta then bid me farewell before trotting away. I then stepped inside Sugarcube Corner, the aroma of freshly baked muffins flooding my nostrils.

Pinkie Pie was minding the counter with the storefront being completely devoid of customers. Stores tend to be pretty slow on Sundays. Still, she promptly greeted me with that trademark smile of hers. "Well, that fast! I just asked Mitta to let you know to come here, but you're already here!"

"Yeah, I just bumped into her at the door. So, what's up?" I asked while approaching the counter. I was in the mood for something fruity. Something as heavy as chocolate sounded like something I would rather have later.

"Uh huh! I just got an invite from Twilight for a tea party! She probably already sent one out to Fluttershy, but I guess you didn't get it since you're not home right now. You think you'll be attending? The note said it would be happening at noon." Pinkie Pie explained while I browsed the front counter of treats.

"Tea, huh? Can never say no to that... How about a blueberry muffin today?" I replied while thinking over the thought of a tea party at the library. It had been a while since I had last attended one and I must confess that I have become something of a tea connoisseur. I am always eager to try out unfamiliar types of tea.

I reached into my pocket to get out a few bits, but Pinkie Pie just pushed a fresh fluffy blueberry muffin to me across the counter. "Don't worry about it, James. This one's on me. Just make sure you come to the tea party on time! I'll be heading over there once we close up for the day in a couple of hours."

"Thanks, Pinkie. I'll be sure to not miss it." I said with a smile while taking my muffin and discarding the paper wrap into the nearest trash bin. With another friendly goodbye, I headed out and began to wander around town some more to pass the time.

There really is not a whole lot left to say about what happened afterward. I just took the time to enjoy my snack while exploring Ponyville for the next two hours or so. Even after spending a year in Ponyville, I still was not familiar with the entire layout. Ponyville is much larger than one would expect from such a humble town. So I took the time to wander with every corner of it I could while occasionally glancing at the distant clock tower to keep track of time. With how few people were out and about, it felt like I had the whole place to myself at times. It felt good to just wander about while also allowing my mind to wander in the fairly warm late summer sunlight.

Once the clock tower rang twelve times, I promptly turned around and walked at a brisk pace to get to the library as quickly as I could. I was not even certain of how far away I was, but some familiar locations soon guided me back into familiar territory. Getting lost in Ponyville is more or less impossible anyway. Eventually, I saw the leafy canopy of a large tree over some rooftops and immediately recognized it as the library. Sure enough, I soon stood before the library. A quick peek through the window showed that all six of my closest friend were already there with the central table having half a dozen tea kettles set up with little paper tags set up to display the type of tea each of them held. It seemed to be less of a tea party and more of a friendly get-together for a tea sampling. Curious of what exactly was going on, I ducked through the doorway and stepped inside. "Morning, ladies."

Applejack was the first to face me and waved . "Howdy, pardner! Yer just gonna love all this tea. Twilight got the good stuff!"

"Good stuff, huh?" I asked while turning to Twilight as she used the levitation spell to hold a teacup aloft. "You got a whole bunch of tea you wanted to share with us?"

Twilight nodded as she chugged the contents of her little cup and smiled at me. "You bet! I just got a whole bunch of different loose leaf tea from Zecora just yesterday and wanted to try them out." She then called up the stairs beside her, "Spike! Is that pot of oolong tea ready?!"

Spike then came running down the stairs and over to a vacant shelf set into the wall that held a teapot over a small hotplate. "I think so! Lemme fill it up again."

The little dragon boy carried the teapot over to the table again and poured its contents into one of the pots before rushing back over to the shelf and setting it down and rushing back upstairs. He seemed to be in quite a hurry. Fluttershy seemed to be watching him from near me as she sipped from her tea and said, "He looks pretty preoccupied today. Is something wrong?"

"Probably just in a hurry to get started on issue #100. He seemed pretty psyched about it earlier." I replied, thinking back to a few hours earlier. I know the feeling.

Rainbow Dash, who seemed to have a dark liquid in her teacup, walked over to me. "Issue #100? Oh, you mean that comic book series he's really into? Yeah, I saw him browsing the magazine aisle yesterday."

Pinkie Pie then hopped over to us with a pink fluid in her cup and asked, "Ooh! What kinda magazine were you picking up? I thought you only read Daring Do stuff!"

For whatever reason, Rainbow Dash grinned nervously as she lowered her head. "Uh... Playmare?"

I got quite a laugh out of that revelation. Good thing Spike was not within earshot. Rarity was clearly not as amused and instead held her hoof to her face. "For shame, Rainbow Dash! You actually spend your bits on those?!"

Rainbow Dash then smirked at our elegant and refined friend before saying, "Hey, you look through those things sometimes too! Don't you have a monthly subscription to that?! Or was it Playcolt instead?"

Rarity quickly began to sputter, "Sh-sh-sh-shut up! I only read those for the articles! And maybe a bit of inspiration in my lingerie works! That's it! I swear! Now stop laughing!" Oh boy, how did that little tea party go from a little time with friends to us all laughing while joking about porn magazines? Or are they really porn magazines or just skirt the edges of it?

Regardless, we got back to just chatting and sampling the tea. It was a delightful variety of white, oolong, black, chai, green, and herbal teas. The herbal and white teas were my favorite, but they were all quite enjoyable. If I had to choose one that I could do without, it would be the black tea. Some were warm while others were chilled. Either way, we all just kept going back for more. I can smell the tea right now.

While I just leaned against the wall to relax and listen in on my friends conversing with each other, I caught Twilight calling up to Spike from the stairs again. She finally convinced him to come downstairs and hang out with us, even if he still had something he wanted to read. That is just what he did, running down the stairs with one of his comic books under his arm. Since it was just one issue and not a stack of them, I suspected it was issue #100. He ran over to a pedestal made out of a tree stump at the far end of the room and placed the comic book on the slanted top before opening it. Although it seemed that in his haste, he accidentally opened it backwards and was looking at the inside of the back cover. But just when he seemed like he was about to flip it back over to the front, something on the back cover caught his attention. I have no idea what it was he saw, but he soon ran around the room checking the drawers that were set into the walls.

I paid no mind to Spike and turned my attention towards Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Applejack then said, "Well, autumn's right around the corner again. Y'all reckon yer up for the Runnin' of the Leaves again this year, Rainbow?"

"Man, it's been a while since we last did that. Sure! That's in a couple of weeks, right?" Rainbow Dash replied while sipping from her tea again.

"Sure is! Just no usin' yer wings this time. We don't wanna end up dead last like last time." Applejack then said while giving Rainbow a snide smirk. Something tells me that things got rather heated between those two a while back. Rainbow Dash merely snorted and looked away as if she was being forced to remember something she was not proud of in hindsight. While the two friends bantered, I noticed Spike running over to the comic book he left on the pedestal with a magnifying glass in hand. He seemed to be muttering something as he examined the back cover, but I could not make it out from my current distance and over the other voices in the room.

Soon, Applejack and Rainbow Dash turned to me. Rainbow then asked, "Hey, James! You a big fan of autumn too?"

I decided to be completely honest with my response as I gulped down the rest of my chai tea. "Not really. Between the cooling weather, the leaves losing their green color, and the trees just becoming bare, it all feels kind of depressing since it gives the impression that the world is dying. Except when it comes to the trees that turn all red. That's just beautiful."

"Yeah, I can kinda see where yer comin' from..." Applejack replied before she then smiled. "But ya gotta admit, it's a great time for business! It's the harvest season!"

"That's just your farmer instinct talking... Wha... What the hell is that?!" I said in return before suddenly being distracted by a truly unexpected sight. From what I could see, a blinding light had engulfed the pages of Spike's comic book!

"Whoa, this is awesome!" Spike exclaimed while standing right in front of the comic book as it even began to levitate a couple of inches off the pedestal.

Everyone was focused on the strange spectacle before us. The tea party had just been crashed. Although Pinkie Pie did not seem too worried and looked at Twilight with an excited smile. "What kinda spell did you use on that, Twilight?!"

"I didn't do anything! Spike, what did you do?!" Twilight shouted in response while Spike just stared in awe at the sight before him.

"I don't know! I just read the... Huh?" Spike said while looking back at Twilight right before something...indescribable began to occur. His head started to...stretch towards the glow in a way that was far from natural. He then began to struggle while an unseen force began to pull the dragon child right into the light! "Wha...?! Hey! Help!"

Twilight was the first to rush to her little assistant right as he was on the verge of disappearing into the light. She jumped up onto the podium and reached right down INSIDE the book before emerging from it with her arms tightly wound around Spike's surprisingly stretched out tail. However, it was not enough and she soon found herself being drawn back inside as well. "What kind of magic is this?!"

I should have rushed to her side and tried to pull her and Spike back out, but I was just frozen in place in a bizarre combination of horror and outright bewilderment and curiosity. Fortunately, Rainbow Dash swooped in and grabbed Twilight around the waist and began to pull hard to get her friends back out. "Oh, no you don't... Dang it, I can't resist it!"

"I got it!" Fluttershy yelped as she too grabbed onto Rainbow Dash along with Rarity as a chain of ponies started to form between them all. But even then, they were also being drawn in! There was no suction or vortex. Just...an unseen gravitational force drawing them into the light!

"What in tarnation even is that there magic?!" Applejack yelled when she finally rushed forward and clamped her jaws onto Fluttershy's tail at the back of the line. With her strength, I thought for sure that Applejack would be able to pull them out. But that idea was quickly scrapped as she was literally swept off the floor and dragged into the light. And like that, she was gone with the rest of them. However, the light was still there as an oblivious Pinkie Pie started hopping towards it.

The sight of a merry Pinkie Pie approaching the enchanted book was what got me to finally awaken from my trance and rush towards her to at least prevent her from getting anywhere near it. Unfortunately, Pinkie Pie did not see it as a threat and she soon jumped towards it. "Weeeeee, wait for me!"

"Pinkie, no! We gotta... Shoot!" I yelled as I grabbed her tail just as she made contact with the light and started to get drawn in. Praying that her tail's long poofy hair would not rip, I struggled to stand my ground and began to slowly step backwards to pull my friend's strangely lengthening body out of the book. If that had been anyone else there, I would have been quite freaked out.

"If I can just...get...to the door..." I growled while trying to keep my goofy friend from disappearing into the light. I was hoping my shoes had better traction than their hooves and would allow me to resist the pull.

Sadly, that did not happen. When I made the mistake of lifting my heel first, my foot suddenly slipped on the smooth wood floor and caused me to stagger forward and be lifted right off the ground as I too was being drawn in with Pinkie Pie. I knew I should have gotten my shoes replaced! The soles were getting too worn! Unable to bring myself to let go, I helplessly dove into the light with Pinkie Pie right ahead of me. "Crap!"

And then... Nothing. For a second, that bright light filled my vision. And then, nothing but blackness. But that was not the strangest part. I could not move. I could not feel anything. Anything at all. And I mean that quite literally. I did not feel confused, scared, or worried. Everything was just...blank. All I did feel was a sense of waiting.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I did feel a sense of curiosity. Where was I? Why was I so numb and lacking in emotions? After what I had just witnessed, I should have been far from calm. And yet, I felt no sense of apprehension. It was as if I was stuck in some sort of...standby mode.

I am not sure how much time passed. It could have been seconds or several minutes. But finally, I got a visual response. In the top left corner of my field of perception, something appeared in the blackness. A flashing white rectangular symbol. A cursor. It felt familiar. Like what one would see when starting up a computer. Did I have my face pressed up against a monitor that was starting to turn on?

A second later, text and numbers began to be rapidly typed out in the cursor's wake. It moved down a row, typing out more and more information that made no sense to me. Nothing registered with me. It was just a computer's startup process from what I could make out. Strange, considering that I have yet to see a single home computer in Equestria yet. Finally, the long rows rapidly rose to the top of my field of vision and disappeared off the top of the black screen.

For a moment, the cursor was gone too. And then it appeared again at the middle of the screen's left side. And this time, it typed out a single row of only a few words.

MICRO-FUSION CORE OUTPUT - 2%

A fusion core... Far too scientifically advanced for anywhere in Equestria, I was sure. But it was at least something I understood. As I watched, the percentage began to rapidly rise. In roughly ten seconds, the 2% became 100%. My barely feeling mind began to deduce that I was witnessing some sort of diagnostics scan or startup sequence.

The text disappeared once more as the cursor appeared alone once more. It then skipped across the screen as another list of words were typed out.

PRIMARY MOTION SYSTEMS - ONLINE

It was at that moment that I felt feeling in my body once more. Although I was still strangely unable to bring myself to move. Why? What did this text on the screen have to do with me?

Once more, the text disappeared as the lonely cursor typed out another line of text that I could understand.

CEREBRAL SENSORY FUNCTIONS - ONLINE

It was then that I felt the ability to...well...feel fully return to me. I was not in a stupor of any sort. I was awake and aware. However, I still could not bring myself to open my mouth to speak. I could not even make any sounds with my throat. It was then that I realized something. Was I even breathing?!

A sense of panic began to set into me. Why was I not breathing?! And shortly after that, a new realization hit me. Why did I not feel like I was suffocating? I was feeling no discomfort at all. Before I could even think about this, the cursor once more stuttered across my field of vision while spelling out another trail of letters in its wake.

AUDIO RECOGNITION SYSTEM - ONLINE

And then it happened. I heard sound. Some distant quiet electronic humming and a few beeps and blips. But what caught my attention the most was the sound of a single voice muttering quietly.

"Excellent, excellent... All is going well. No glitches or malfunctions to be seen. Just one more step." It was a voice I did not recognize. It was soft and gentle, being that of a man I did not know. I decided to be patient and wait for the next function to be restored. Maybe I could actually talk to the person who was overseeing the whole thing and get some answers. I did not have to wait long before the cursor once more moved across the blackness, leaving two rows of text.

VOICE GENERATION UNIT - ONLINE

OPTIC SENSORS - ONLINE

That was the last step I needed. It was then that my vision returned to me as I felt my eyes finally open. However, what I actually saw at first surprised me. Instead of seeing anything, I saw nothing but static filling my vision. But in just a few seconds, it began to clear and left me with normal vision. However, my surroundings were not at all what I expected as I found myself leaning back somewhat against a slanted wall of sorts.

The room was... It was unlike anything I had ever seen in person on Earth, let alone Equestria. It was all metal, like something out of a science fiction setting. A large computer screen of sorts was ahead of me at the far end of the room. The screen seemed to be showing various statistics and readings on a bipedal machine of sorts, I think. It was only being displayed as a wire frame image. And while I felt the ability to move, I could not move my limbs at all. Was I being restrained? As I stood there, the same voice as before spoke up somewhere out of my field of vision. Somewhere below me? "Ah, perfect! All primary systems are functioning properly. So far, so good."

Unsure if I should say anything, I remained silent and still to play it safe while my eyes glanced around. It was then that the voice seemed to speak to me directly. "Well then... Uh... Hello there. Can you hear me? Can you see me?"

Even while trying to glance at things out of the corner of my eye, I could still see no one around me. "Uh... I hear you, but I don't see you."

"Ah, right. Well, if you wouldn't mind, could you look down here please?" The voice asked again. It was then that I realized my neck was not being restrained. I proceeded to tilt my head down and saw probably... Well, actually I was not entirely sure what I was expecting after getting a look at my surroundings. The man before me was a unicorn stallion who seemed to be fairly close to being middle-aged with his dull brown mane and short beard. He was wearing a whit lab coat while his cutie mark depicted a glowing light bulb. He then waved at me with a calm yet somewhat excited smile and said, "So... At last, we meet. How do you feel? Calm? Confused? Angry?"

"I..." I muttered quietly while taking a good look at the pony scientist before me. How in the world did I go from getting dragged into a bright light coming from an enchanted comic book to being strapped to a table in a room with a scientist who just happened to be a stallion? Left utterly bewildered, I decided to just get some answers. "I... I really don't know. But... Who are you?"

The scientist seemed mildly flustered as he took a step back while chuckling briefly. "Oh, of course. I suppose I should introduce myself. I am Doctor Luminous."

The name certainly seemed to fit the cutie mark he had. He definitely seemed warm and bright. I then asked, "OK... Nice to meet you, doc. So... How'd I get here?"

"Get here? You've been here for quite some time. You only just came online for the first time a minute ago." Luminous replied while giving me quite a puzzled stare. It was as if my words made no sense to him at all. Even so, most of what he said did not add up to me either.

Still, there was something weird about the way he used those words. I only just came online? That is a term used with machines, not living creatures. Still, I brushed it off as scientific lingo for the moment. I then tried to pull myself off the table, but once more found my limbs restrained. "Uh... Sure. Hey, am I tied down right now?"

"Yes, but just as a precaution. Initial activations always carry some risk. Just a moment, I'll set you free." The doctor said as he turned and trotted over to the terminal below the massive computer monitor. A few windows popped up on the display before I heard a few clicks as my bonds retracted. Feeling my arms being freed, I pushed myself off the table I had been leaning against and stood up. However, I was quick to notice the heavy clanks that came from my feet as I landed on the floor. I had a pretty heavy tread...

Something did not feel right. As if I felt...something missing. It was only then that I was consciously aware of the fact that I was truly no longer drawing breath even though I was not at all in any discomfort. I was not even sure if I was actually 'feeling' anything through the air or beneath my feet. I then took a moment to look at my hands and realized that something was off right away. My hands were white as if they had skintight gloves over them. Furthermore, I noticed that my forearms were covered in equally white metallic bracers of sorts. However, both sides did not quite match. On the back of my left forearm was... Well, the best I could describe it was a type of a polished white plate with a shape reminiscent of a type of kite shield with a golden finish around the edges. It spanned my forearm's entire length, stopping just before the elbow. My right forearm's covering had no such armor, although it did bear a golden decoration that spanned about two thirds up my forearm's backside before sliding down both sides an inch or two in a way that brought to mind a ship's anchor. Just behind the wrist section was also a red crystal of sorts that probably could light up.

Why was I wearing this attire? And why was... I turned to Dr. Luminous and asked, "Uh... Doc? You got a mirror anywhere?"

"Oh, sure! Right over here. I normally use it to dress myself, but it should be tall enough for you to see yourself in." He replied while leading me over to the left side of the room. A tall mirror was set into the wall, allowing me to get a good look at myself. And... Well, I was unsure of how to react. Just... I was a feast for the eyes.

I will try my best to describe my appearance as there is a lot to mention. Much like my forearms, my body was coated in sleek polished white metal that was all too clearly a suit of armor, although the metal around the joints and other parts of the body that are meant to bend in some way was softer flexible material. However, it was nothing at all like the suit of enchanted plate armor Celestia and Luna bestowed upon me. It was all too clearly technologically advanced armor even my home world has yet to develop. My boots seems to have thick oval-shaped segments for my feet to slide inside with the gold highlights circling over the sides of the boots where my ankles most likely were. A pair of semi-triangular pauldrons covered my shoulders while a square plate of golden metal was secured in place over the center of my chest armor by a V-shaped strip of the white metal. Possibly as additional plating to protect my upper body. I also noticed some sort of holster affixed to my upper right thigh. A red crystal was atop it while affixed to a golden piece that extended down into the holster. What was inside it? I did not have the time to think it over while my gaze was directed at my head's reflection. My helmet... It covered all but my face, bearing only a vague resemblance to the helmet of my armor back in Canterlot. It did make me think it was a helmet designed for flight due to the broad rudder-like fins that spread vertically towards the rear sides of the helmet, each sporting dashing golden edges. Lastly, upon the forehead was a sizeable red crystal in the shape of a five-sided diamond with gold skirting the edges.

I was temporarily spellbound by what I was seeing. So flashy, yet so awesome! I pivoted and turned while taking in my new armor. "Whoahoho, sweet armor! Did you make this, doc?"

Luminous chuckled at my enthusiasm and said, "Well, I'm glad you like the design. I did my best to come up with a design that was functional as well as appealing. State-of-the-art too. There's nothing else like it in the world as of this moment."

I turned around to face the scientist pony and reached up to remove my helmet. "Yeah, it's awesome. I've only seen armor designs this cool in... Huh? Hey... What's the deal?" As much as I pushed and lifted, my helmet would not rise off my head. "Hey, doc? What's with the helmet? It won't budge."

It was at this point that Doctor Luminous was giving me a particularly baffled stare. "Uh... It's not just a helmet, you know. That's your head."

"My head?! Very funny..." I grumbled while continuing to try to lift my helmet off my head. As I did so, I was given the uncanny sensation that the helmet was not merely resting over my head, but was actually a part of it. I cannot describe the sensation. I just...felt it. As I pondered this sensation, I thought back to the doctor's words. His mentioning of me coming 'online'... With an odd sense of dread, I looked at him and asked, "Hey, doc... What field do you specialize in?"

"Me? I'm one of the leading experts in the world in the field of robotics." He replied while still showing me a concerned stare.

Robotics... It was then that it started to make sense to me. I began to look myself over slowly as a...peculiar sense of both wonderment and horror started to come over me. "No...no...no...no..." I begun to mutter, speak, and eventually yell as the truth began to dawn on me, my voice gaining volume with my pauses between words becoming increasingly shorter. "No...no...no no no NO NO NO! NO!"

By this point, I had essentially begun to spaz out, staggering about while looking at myself. I was a machine! My body was entirely mechanical! A robot! The armor over me was not a suit of any sort. It was my actual body! I had no lungs to inflate with breath. No heart beating in my chest. No skin to feel tingle in anxiety. And of course... Something else was missing that I definitely could not feel. Something that no man wants to lose. Ever. The doctor quickly spoke up in my distress. "What is wrong with you?! Why are you so upset?!"

I then held my hands out to my sides and raised my voice at him. "Doc, there's some parts no man ever wants to be without!"

Even then, he seemed more confused than alarmed. "Ugh... I just don't understand this." He then trotted over to the main computer in the room and seemed to start looking over various readings on the screen. "Was there something wrong with the AI? The data upload to the memory banks? I was so sure that Project H would be a flawless success at this rate..."

I was quick to catch a few of the words he mentioned. And it made me freeze in my tracks. "Hey, doc... That project you just mentioned... What was it again?"

Luminous looked my way and replied, "Why, yes. You are the first human-type robot to ever be constructed. I named the endeavor, and you by extension, after the mythical race your design is based on. Project H."

That title again. The series whose pilot that had been worked into Power Ponies issue #100. Project H. And the main character... The protagonist of this new series was...

"I'm...Project H? That means..." I muttered before I yelled at the top of my lungs, "I'm INSIDE a comic book?!"

My yelling startled Doctor Luminous as he turned towards me while starting to look mildly annoyed. "There's no need to shout! Tell me, what's wrong with you?! What do you keep getting so flustered about?!"

Just as I was about to try to explain what I had experienced as I watched my friends and then myself get sucked into the light coming from between the pages of Spike's comic book, a new realization began to dawn on me as I just stared at Doctor Luminous. The stallion before me was not truly real, even though he still stood right in front of me and looked and sounded just as real as any other person in Equestria. He was nothing more than a fictional character within the world of text and ink in a comic book series. No matter what I said to him, he would not understand. Because he could never understand beyond the world that he had been created for. Anything I said would just be words of madness to him. "It... It's nothing. Just forget everything I said."

"If you say so. You do seem to be a bit more relaxed now." The doctor replied before looking back to the computer screen and using his magic to tap the keyboard while a billowing light yellow coated his horn akin to the glow of a light bulb.

I tried to take a moment to evaluate and process my situation. That glow that sucked me into itself was really a portal between the real world and the fictional world within the comic book series of both the Power Ponies and this brand new series titled 'Project H', leading me to believe that they share the same world and continuity. And as fate would have it, rather than just be tossed into the comic book world, I instead assumed the form, role, and identity of one of the characters in the book. Namely, and fittingly, the only human-type character in the series. Project H itself. But if I was Project H... Who and what had my seven friends taken the roles of?

I then remembered them. They were in this world too! Somewhere... And while still a bit weirded out by the loss of my flesh and blood body, I was also intrigued by this mechanical body I had come to inhabit. It was not uncomfortable at all and even felt natural to me. I gazed at the plate on the back of my left arm and then to my right. Were there special functions of my body I was unaware of? Furthermore... If I could get into this world, I could surely return to the real world as I had always been. Understanding that this artificial form was likely temporary greatly helped me cope with the change.

As I began to come to terms with my situation, I turned to face the mirror again. My eyes scanned over my armored body of white, gold, and red. It was not only sleek and tough. It was even beautiful. It looked noble, almost like a cybernetic knightly form. Definitely heroic. And in my reflection, I could almost make out someone else. A form of a being I had known and idolized since childhood. I could nearly see his own confident and kind green eyes looking back at me instead of my own brown eyes. A scientist with a name akin to 'light'. A human-type robot who is fully self-aware. The similarities were uncanny...and exciting.

Despite lacking lungs, I let out a sigh as I relaxed. Rather than be scared, I was starting to feel more and more interested as this predicament started to feel more like an adventure. I was Project H. And if I was stuck in a comic book, I may as well get some fun out of it by experiencing the story in a way typical readers never could. I turned and approached the doctor, deciding to play along. "Hey, doc... Sorry for freaking out like that. I... Uh... I guess my memory banks just glitched up and data I couldn't understand put nonsensical memories into me. My thoughts have stabilized for now."

Doctor Luminous nodded in response before he looked up at me while rotating his chair away from the computer. "Well, I'm glad to see that. All your systems' readings are just fine and there are no malfunctions, so I would say that this project has been a success so far."

I pulled up another chair, although it was a bit small for me, and took a seat on it. "So... You created me, huh? Does that make you my dad?"

My question got a flustered chuckle out of the scientist before me. "Well, if you want to get technical, I suppose I do qualify as that. I created you, so I gave you life. Although I wasn't exactly planning on being a father figure to anyone. Although you are far from being a child. I programmed you with the mentality of someone going through the earliest stages of adulthood. More than anything, I think we'd be best as friends."

I nodded with a smile, finding Luminous to be a catering and friendly stallion of great intelligence who makes for good company. "Sounds good to me. So... You say I'm the first of my kind? No one's ever made a human-type robot before?"

"Well, no. Largely because of having so little to go on. Aside from those used for simple industrial tasks, most robots these days are crafted in the visage of other creatures. It allows for an easier and less awkward interface between them and the people of the world. For example..." The doctor explained before tapping a few keys on the keyboard beside him with his magic. In response, a picture file was opened and displayed an image on the large computer screen to my right. It seemed to depict a filly who... Well, she seemed to bear an uncanny resemblance to Sweetie Belle, although I was quick to notice a few key differences in the body design. The child seemed to have tiny separations between the hooves and legs, shoulders, and every other segment that would need to exhibit some range of motion. The mane and tail did not even look like real hair either. It was then that I understood that the filly was not an actual child, but a machine. "This was the very first robot I ever created who possessed an AI advanced enough to exhibit sentient thought. She is still active to this day in an education program that teaches children about robots and their functioning in society."

"Sounds like you've had quite an impact on the industry, doc." I replied while examining the filly robot on the screen. She certainly was cute and even though she was clearly mechanical, I did not feel like I was looking at a machine at all. It felt like it was another person instead of an inanimate object.

The good doctor began to cycle through more and more lists of robots that seemed could have easily passed for living creatures. Most of them were ponies, although I also saw some that were clearly griffons, minotaurs, and other creatures who make up Equestria's society. While some were relatively bare, others had various apparatuses and equipment grafted onto their bodies meant for a variety of roles and work. Some of the ponies and minotaur robots even seemed to lack visible mouths. They almost seemed interchangeable, allowing them to be swapped out for other gear. "I suppose you can say that. The field of robotics is still fairly young, but has grown exponentially with designs and functions becoming more and more sophisticated."

It was rather fascinating to listen to and the slideshow he was showing me was certainly entertaining. It was beyond anything Earth had ever succeeded in producing outside of fiction. I then glanced at my arm and asked, "And what about me? Since I only just came online and that there have never humans in this world before..."

"Interesting story there, Project H." Doctor Luminous replied while he turned to face me as it seemed the picture on display was the second last in the folder. "It was around five years ago that I began to develop a new blueprint for my next design. The only question was as to what to base the design on. I had crafted robots in the form of ponies, griffons, minotaurs, even an alicorn. But..."

I raised an eyebrow at the mention of an alicorn. At least I would have if I had any. My helmet's crown came down a little too low to allow eyebrows to actually be there. "Hang on. You created an alicorn-type robot? Like Princess Celestia and Princess Luna? How'd that go? It must've been quite a masterpiece."

To my curiosity, Doctor Luminous did not seem all that happy that I brought it up and turned to the computer screen once more. "Exactly... I did indeed base this one's design off of this world's royal rulers. Especially Princess Celestia herself." With the tap of a key, the picture on the screen cycled over to the last one in the folder. And indeed, a tall sleek alicorn-type robot stood before us. "I considered this one to be my finest work. Alpha."

Somehow, the mention of that name gave me a bad vibe. Even so, his body was a glossy metallic white and made him seem quite majestic. His slender lithe body also seemed to possess some armored components, although his mane and tail seemed to be absent. His wings were spread, although they possessed long retractable thin sheets of metal instead of feathers in order to trap air beneath them. Or was that even their function? I had a hunch that his wings were meant more for stabilization and steering than for actual propulsion. He had no visible mouth and his head structure was indeed a bit more angular than Celestia's giving a more masculine presence. He also seemed to have a cutie mark of sorts, although it seemed to be a dark empty circle with another smaller circle inside it. His horn was long, being on par with that of Celestia's or Nightmare Moon's. "Kind of majestic, I have to say."

"Yes, that is what I was going for when designing his body. At the time of his activation, he possessed the most advanced technology this world had ever developed. Oh, and before you comment on the lack of a mane or tail, he's not actually bald. His body's reactor emits a harmless exhaust that produces a rather warm orange particle field that gives the illusion of an orange aurora of sorts."

"A...reactor?" I asked, finding that word to have a dangerous tone to it. Although I was having a hard time picturing him with the same type of mane and tail design as Celestia.

Luminous turned to me and said, "Yes, his armored chassis contains his power source. Namely a compact reactor. It is what allows him to fulfill his function of energy production. While I constructed him as an overseer of all robotic activity in Maretropolis, he largely participated in the regulation and distribution of energy in power plants. Essentially, the leader of all robots in the city. Even the princesses themselves paid a royal visit to the city to greet him during his official introduction in society. Although..."

I cocked my head to one side slightly. Luminous seemed troubled. Although he did continue speaking. "While he did maintain his manners and conducted himself in a dignified way while in their presence... He seemed to harbor a sense of...loathing towards the two of them just barely hidden under the surface. He insisted nothing was wrong when I asked him later and continued to deny that anything was wrong later. I ultimately just let it go, but I never forgot that wrathful glare he gave them when they turned away."

There was only one thought that came to mind. "You think he's gone rogue?"

"Of course not. Even my own most advanced creations, no matter how independent they are, all follow the Three Laws of Robotics. As much as I respect their free will and interests, I cannot ignore these safeguards..." Luminous explained while still seeming somewhat...unsettled by some thoughts.

I looked at him in silence, relaxed yet curious. I did not look away while he did not say anything at all. I then asked, "Alpha's not like the rest, is he?"

It took a moment, but Doctor Luminous finally bowed his head and let out a sigh of defeat. "Yes... I will admit it, I did push the boundaries of what a robot is capable of thinking and doing when I designed him. While all of my robots that show self-awareness are just as mentally competent as most people, they still have moral restrictions placed upon them. Alpha though... With him, I tried gifting him with the ability to exhibit full autonomous thought. A robot capable of thinking and acting entirely without restriction. As being the overseer of all robotic activity in Maretropolis, he required the highest processing output possible. I had faith in him that he would have the same wisdom as that of Princess Celestia herself and would watch over his robotic brethren with the same grace as she does over us. But..."

"But what?" I asked in return, beginning to suspect the worst.

Just as Luminous was about to reply, that was a sudden beeping coming from the computer just before a large grid of some sort spread across the screen. It appeared to display a dark blue overhead grid of a city with a glowing orange dot somewhere on it. Luminous sighed as he zoomed in on it. "Great... I was afraid of this. It's another outbreak..."

"Outbreak? You mean viral?" I asked while standing up and stepping closer to get a closer look.

"Yes, but not the kind you're thinking. It's been going on the last couple of years. Every once in a great while, robots have shown aggressive unreasonable behavior to the point of becoming belligerent to the point of becoming a threat to the population and even other less aggressive robots. Dozens have been wounded in these 'irregular' episodes and Alpha has come under frequent scrutiny and criticism for not detecting it before they could act." Doctor Luminous explained as the clacking of computer keys filled the air. He never once looked away from the screen as he spoke to me. "And every time that one of these robots were disabled or damaged to the point of no longer being able to function, the diagnostic scan would show the same result. A type of subroutine in the AI's programming that was never present before. Most likely a type of virus. I had personally confronted Alpha over these developments and he constantly insisted that all robots in the city were always functioning properly."

I was already having a bad feeling about this Alpha person. And the similarities in this comic book plot felt far too similar to another I had come to know long ago. I already knew where this book's plot was going. "Well... What about me, doc? I don't suppose you outfitted me with this kind of armor on a whim..."

A moment of silence passed before Luminous turned his chair to look at me. "Before we get into that, I suppose I should tell you everything there is to know about you first... Ah, that's right. I was about to go into that, but then we got sidetracked about Alpha. Where was I?"

I actually let out a chuckle and waved my hand at him. "Sorry! Uh... It was something about having so little to go on in designing me?"

Doctor Luminous nodded while holding a hoof to his chin to think. "Yes... As I was saying, you are the first of your kind. The first human-type robot ever constructed. But here is the catch. Humans appear only in myth. We have no physical records to go on. And yet, there were various tales I had found during my research. In particular... Their infamous adaptability."

I bowed my head only slightly as I listened in silence. Adaptable. That certainly did sound like a trait humans are known for. Although I am certain the ponies of Equestria exhibit it too. Regardless, the good doctor continued to explain Project H's origins to me. "I wondered if I could actually properly recreate a human in machine form. No one had ever seen a human before, so why not create a physical manifestation of one? And thus, you became a concept."

"Flattering, doc... But seeing as I was created after Alpha... Do I have the same lack of restrictions that he does?" I asked in return, beginning to wonder what lies in the future for this Project H character should the series ever take off.

"You do, Project H." He replied rather grimly. "Some myths claim that humans were creatures of a completely gray morality. No sense of right or wrong. If they existed at one point, this inherent apathy may have led to conflict with the rest of the people in the world and would have likely brought about their extinction due to being unable to live in peace with other races. It was this 'blank slate' morality that partially drew my attention in the first place. If reached in time before such a sense of apathy could irrevocably set into the human's mindset, could a human adapt and assimilate itself into our society just as well as anypony else."

"In other words... To temper the human's mind and spirit with constant exposure to the benevolence of the peace-loving people of this world." I replied bluntly while taking in his words. It certainly sounded like a noble goal.

Luminous smiled at me as I spoke my response. "That is exactly it. To influence. While I have programmed various practical bits of information and knowledge into you, you are still newly awoken and somewhat naive. And I pray that you will fit nicely into this world. And to that effect, I... I had to give you the same lack of moral restrictions as I gave Alpha. I cannot force you to think or feel anything. How you perceive and feel... That is for you to decide."

I too smiled at those words. Of course, I was not nearly as naive as he thought I was since all of my memories from the past 20+ years of my life were still intact. But for the sake of things, I played along anyway. Even so, I glanced down at the holster on the side of my right thigh and at the plate on the back of my left arm. I could almost feel something within my right forearm as well. Something that could be accessed. And I already had a hunch of what it was. "That sounds like an awesome endeavor, doc. But... All this armor. Why would you incorporate this into my design?"

"I think you can already guess after all I have said." Luminous said glumly while his happier demeanor began to fade. "With all that has been transpiring within Maretropolis these past couple of years, I felt it was necessary to outfit you with armor and weapons of my own design. I fear...that the time will come for you to choose to fight this rising threat. It feels as if this is just the prelude of a grave crisis that is just over the horizon. Due to this, I began to develop you in secret here deep under my home far from the city. The world does not even know of your existence. I doubt even Alpha has the slightest idea that you are here. I would hate to see that happen. My people are a people of peace and I would not want to see one of my creations... What now?!"

More of those blinking orange dots began to pop up on the computer screen until there were almost a dozen in all. "I've never seen this many! No more than five or so at a time! Is it happening?!"

As I watched the warning sensors displaying various data, I felt a sense of dread. But more importantly, I felt a new drive fill me. Somehow, I knew what I possessed already before even accessing them. From what I understood, this fictional world was still Equestria. A world I have come to love. And knowing what I was capable of in this machine body gave me a strong sense of responsibility. I was not an ordinary human. I was someone with the ability to actually do something about this problem. "Doc... I'll go check it out."

The scientist before me turned abruptly to me with a look of shock, "You... Are you sure?! I must warn you that you are still only in the prototype stage, Project H. Some of your internal systems may not be fully functional yet!"

Trying to stay in character, I stood up from my chair. "Doc... You've already given me a great first impression of this world. If everyone else in this world is as nice as you, then I don't want to see that world be tarnished in any way. If you think I can protect your people, I'll try."

"Project H..." Luminous muttered while I stood before him. Although that look of subtle shock soon faded and was replaced with a warm smile. "Very well... As I have had faith in all of my creations, I will have faith in you too. We are miles from Maretropolis, but you should be able to get there in minutes. When you do, try to locate the Power Ponies. They are the guardians of Maretropolis and have been keeping the 'irregular' outbreaks in check. Though one of this size may give them trouble."

"Will do, doc. How do I get there?" I asked in return while starting to feel more and more excited. Perhaps my friends were already there in Maretropolis. And if they were, hopefully they were in a safe location.

Doctor Luminous then pointed to the table of sorts I had been strapped to when I first came to after getting sucked into the comic book. "Just stand right there and I'll take care of the rest. Just need to make a few more preparations and scans before sending you on your way."

I did as I was told and stood before the nearly vertical table and turned to face the supercomputer at the front of the room. Right as I did that, the table moved away from me as a glass tube came down from the ceiling and became attached to the floor with me inside. The circular panel of the metal floor I had been standing on quickly descended into the darkness with me on it. I snickered as the express elevator carried me down and sideways through the dark. "You sure planned this all out in advance, huh?"

As I said that, I heard the voice of Doctor Luminous speaking to me somewhere in my own head. Probably through a type of radio transmission. "I most certainly did. I'm currently moving you towards the launch tunnel for a final diagnostic before you get going. And thankfully, it seems your primary thrusters are fully operational."

"Thrusters... Wait, you mean I can fly?!" I asked upon realization that I could 'feel' something compact and slender folded on both sides of my upper back. Were they retractable rocket engines for aerial propulsion?!

The doctor answered my question as he chuckled over the transmission. "Of course! How else would you get there in time? This will be an excellent time to test them out and see their maximum output."

"Oooooh man... Can we hurry this up? I've gotta try this out!" I said in giddy excitement as images flashed through my head. I could already picture myself rocketing over the ocean at speeds I had never achieved before.

Finally, I felt myself moving upward before coming to a stop in a dark tunnel. Despite the complete lack of light, I could still see somewhat. Possibly a type of ultraviolet or IR vision function programmed into my optic sensors. I felt something clamp over my foot plates to secure me in place as a panel of sorts rose under me. As excited as I was, I soon felt myself calm down as my internal functions likely all but shut down while Doctor Luminous spoke to me once more. "Just relax, Project H. One more full diagnostic to see how you're doing and to get all your systems online."

The compact metal tunnel was utterly silent. But that silence was soon broken as two automated voices began to fill the tunnel. One was unmistakably male while the following voice was always female.

INTERNAL POWER - ENABLED

It was after I heard that first line spoken by the male voice that I felt something within me followed by the female voice parroting the last word in the first voice's statement.

ENABLED

The voices continued to speak in the same fashion one after the other as more and more faint sensations filled me.

EXTERNAL POWER - DISABLED

DISABLED

PRIMARY WEAPON - ENABLED

ENABLED

I felt a sensation within my right forearm. Something had been activated within.

SECONDARY WEAPON - ENABLED AND PRIMED

PRIMED

The weapon contained within the holster on my right thigh resonated with me in someway. It was not a firearm. I could tell it was a blade.

PRIMARY DEFENSES - ENABLED

ENABLED

I felt something spread throughout my body. Like something just under the layer of armor that coated me became more active. As if something was there that enabled my armored shell to take blows more effectively while reducing damage to my internal systems and functions.

NAVIGATION SYSTEMS - ENABLED

ENABLED

At those words, I felt a type of sensation fill my head. Like a compass of sorts. I could almost see a grid showing the coordinates of a city several miles away of the surface of a planet.

SHIELD GENERATOR - ENABLED AND PRIMED

PRIMED

I felt a sensation in my right forearm. The plate on the back of it. It...became active. Perhaps it was able to produce a particle shield of sorts?

HUD SYSTEM -ENABLED

ENABLED

Something activated in the sides of my helmet. I opened my eyes slightly to see an orange visor of sorts slide from both sides before joining between my eyes and becoming a single sheet of glass or whatever material it was. it stopped right at the tops of the bits of my helmet that covered my cheeks and lower jaw, snuggly fitting. It seemed to activate promptly, losing its orange hue from my side of the visor and displaying a variety of data.

VARIABLE WEAPON SYSTEM - PRIMED

PRIMED

This was a more subtle sensation than the others. I felt something occur in my hands as well as in my forearms in general, but could not really pinpoint what it was I felt. It felt...latent.

PRIMARY PROPULSION SYSTEM - ENABLED

ENABLED

SECONDARY PROPULSION SYSTEM - ENABLED AND PRIMED

PRIMED

I felt it in my feet and on my back. Some sort of systems were online and would probably be seeing some use very soon. And then, the final words from both voices.

ALL SYSTEMS ARE GO

ACKNOWLEDGED. ALL SYSTEMS ARE GO.

I felt my primary systems regain full functionality as any and all doubts and worries I felt upon discovering I had become a machine were replaced with a sense of excitement. This was a rare opportunity and adventure that I may never get to experience ever again. I was pumped and ready. Ready to experience the life of my childhood idol.

A row of circular lights in the ceiling of the tunnel rapidly lit up towards the far end of the tunnel. Doctor Luminous then spoke up to me as I straightened my posture. "Ready for launch, Project H?"

I wholeheartedly smirked in anticipation. "Roger that. All systems are go."

At those words, I felt the need to bend my knees just before the panel my feet were secured to suddenly slid forward at great speed along the floor. It was probably going to eject me at the very end of the tunnel. And soon, I saw the end of the tunnel sliding down to reveal what was clearly a waterfall falling past it in an effort to hide it. I am unsure how I did it, but I felt the slender flexible thrusters unfold from my back like the frames of a pair of wings as the tiny propulsion emitters lining their undersides began to activate. The top of them were long and segmented with a beautiful gold finish and looked more durable than you would be led to believe. As they adjusted their angling, I felt the clasps on my feet retract just before the panel came to a sudden halt at the end of the tunnel, hurling me face first through the waterfall and plummeting towards the ocean below the night sky.

Having gotten used to performing dives while flying with my enchanted armor back in the real world, I was not that greatly phased by gravity taking hold. Not that it mattered. Seconds later, I suddenly shot forward and began to rocket across the ocean under the cover of night as my thrusters began to reach maximum output. Over the hissing of the thrusters, I could hear the voice of Doctor Luminous speaking to me within my head. "Excellent so far, Project H! Thruster output is at 50% and rising."

"Let's see what they can do at 100% then!" I replied as I began to unconsciously increase my system output. My HUD visor showed numbers at the far right of its display rapidly rising. And only a minute later, while feeling greater pressure being placed upon my mechanical body, I suddenly felt that pressure release me as a deafening boom roared from behind me.

A sonic boom! I had just broken the sound barrier! As if on cue, I heard Luminous' voice call out to me. "100%! Your current speed is just past Mach 1! These readings are spectacular, Project H!"

"Sweet! WOOOOO!" I yelled in exhilaration as I curved through the air while dipping low towards the ocean, the waves actually parting several feet down while I zoomed between them before they could fall on me. Even at the speed I was going, my body was able to move mostly uninhibited by the intense wind. Even so, I felt the need to keep my movements subtle to avoid creating extra drag. Regardless, I was just having too much fun!

"Project H, I know you're probably having a blast with this test run, but we need to get you over to Maretropolis right now. You're currently heading directly north. You need to turn to the west and a bit south as well to get on course." I heard Doctor Luminous speak to me during his transmission.

"Got it! Just a... How do I... Oh, there we go!" I replied as I began to turn to the left with my thrusters automatically adjusting their angling like stabilizer fins. I was still several feet below the surface of the ocean and decided to gain some altitude just to be safe. If I went too deep and right into the ocean, I doubt my flight mechanisms would function properly and I would be stuck walking along the ocean floor until I got to my destination. That, and the thought of sinking into that murky abyss... Rather terrifying, even if I knew I would not drown. Speaking of that, despite flying at supersonic speeds, I had no trouble moving my jaws or even talking despite the fact that I would be struggling to inhale with such strong wind blowing against me.

In a moment, I was flying mostly west while a map screen of sorts was displayed on the upper left side of my visor. It seemed to depict the immediate area with what was clearly Maretropolis at the left edge of it. "I take it this is the right direction, doc?" I asked while maintaining the lowest altitude possible as I rushed over the surface of the ocean under the glow of the moon. Nighttime infiltration... I could not think of a better time for this point in the plot to be taking place.

"Yes, you should be arriving at your destination in just a couple of minutes at this rate. It should start coming into view at any time." I heard him reply while apparently checking the readings on my internal systems. "I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised by this feedback. All your internal functions are surpassing my expectations. If this keeps up, we may be able to declare your current state the final result."

"Thanks, doc! But, uh... What about these Power Ponies? Anything you can tell me about them? And what do they even look like?" I asked while my eyes scanned over the visual data that was being displayed on my visor, a wire frame display of my body constantly being present in the top right corner at all times.

"Them? Well, to be frank... They're superheroes. The defenders of Maretropolis. There are six of them in all, or seven if you count their little sidekick. Although I would hesitate to call him a true member of the team... Hold on, I'm uploading some data on them to help you get a better idea." Seconds after Doctor Luminous spoke to me, two translucent images opened on my visor. It was a good thing I could still effectively see through them.

"This is the leader of the team. Masked Matter-Horn. If you have any questions, you should speak to her first." Luminous explained while I scanned over the person being displayed on my visor. Each imaged showed the character from both the front and the sides. However, only the superhero uniform was being properly displayed while any part of the character's body was blacked out, although I could tell she was a unicorn. Not that I minded it. The whole setup gave Masked Matter-Horn a sense of mystery. As for the uniform, it was mostly a shade of red akin to red wine with a silvery blue garment woven into the fabric that covered much of the back and around the neck with a V-shaped gap at the base of the neck like with most shirts I wear. A tiny pink diamond seemed to be set into the base of her neck between the gap in the fabric, but did not seem to actually be part of the uniform. White boots covered her hooves and calves while a single purple stripe wrapped around the middles and ended up disappearing under a type of emblem on the fronts that seemed to depict a craggy rock with three bold yellow bars rising up in three directions. I had no idea what such a thing could have to do with this particular superhero... Anyway, the whole outfit was topped off with a mask of matching red that wrapped around the entire head while letting the mane be free with two large circular goggles over the eyes and a matching silvery blue layer that covered the forehead and horn. Another pick diamond was set into the bottom bit of the silvery blue section between the eyes. Just after I had finished analyzing the data before me, which took far less time than I thought it would, the images closed out before two more opened up.

"This is the form of Mistress Mare-velous." I heard the doctor's voice say while I suspected the mare before me was an earth pony. I could make out no horn or wings on the black silhouette. The majority of the uniform consisted of a red jumpsuit that ended in a shirt collar around the neck with what seemed to be an underlying layer of lime green in the gap over the base of the neck. There were black wristbands wrapped around the ankles, each with a golden crescent moon on the fronts. A black mask was wrapped around much of the head and over the ears, although the muzzle and much of the space around the upper half of the face was exposed along with not keeping the mane concealed. I am not sure how I could tell what was silhouette and mask, but I suppose my optic sensors could make out the miniscule differences in the hues on the display. The mane and tail were tightly bound in a lime green wrap to the point where I almost mistook them for sacks of some sort. Lastly, there seemed to be a black tool belt or harness worn around the middle. A golden rope of sorts was wound up in a section that hung low off the wearer's side while what seemed to be a pair of golden horseshoes were sticking out of a pair of slots set higher up. Like before, I took in the visual data shockingly quickly before it could close for the next two images to open up.

"And here we have Zapp." I heard Doctor Luminous say as the next two images appeared on my HUD. It seemed to be the simplest uniform so far, although I could make out the form of folded wings at the sides of the uniform. Clearly a pegasus. The uniform was mostly a shade of navy blue, though the areas over the shins and hooves were white with jagged edges at the tops while sporting yellow lightning bolts on the front. There was a white band around the neck before ending in a navy blue stripe above it, but the most noticeable feather was a golden lightning bolt pendant hanging around Zapp's neck. Her head was not wearing anything that seemed to be a mask of any kind. Instead, it appeared to be a headdress of sorts that covered her brow and sides of her face, consisting of navy blue with white edges that ended in jagged tips. The mane and tail, while blacked out, seemed rather wild and still kept the jagged edge theme I had been noticing. Taking into account that the character's name is 'Zapp', I quickly deduced that this superhero is an entity that controls and produces electricity. Before I could dwell on it, those images closed out before two more were uploaded to my display.

"This here is Fili-Second." My creator's voice added while I examined what was clearly the simplest uniform of the bunch, even moreso than Zapp's outfit. It consisted of a single piece of clothing that covered the entire body, leaving only the face exposed and a long lock of hair that reached up above the face and curved backward on a sharp angle. Fili-Second's long tail consisted of a series of zigzags, making me think of rapid movement rather than lightning. While the uniform was all white, there were a number of purple stripes on it as well. There was a zigzagging purple stripe around each ankle that had what seemed to be a stopwatch symbol on the fronts. Whether they were mere patches or actual stopwatches, I could not say. There was no sign of wings or a horn, so it was clearly an earth pony. There was another purple stripe around the neck that ended in an arrow pointing down on the front with two more set along her sides with the arrowheads stopping at the shoulders. But as my eyes traced the side arrows to the point of origin... I remember cringing as they seemed to be coming from her posterior. Were they truly extending from between her buttocks? Hopefully I would be able to refrain from mentioning it if that was the case. Thankfully, before I could think about it too much, the images closed out and were replaced by two more.

"Next, we have Radiance." The good doctor said while my eyes observed by far the most glamorous uniform of the team yet. The presence of a pointed rod on the forehead of the silhouette revealed that the mare before me was a unicorn. Diamonds seemed to be a theme in Radiance's attire as not only were there three light blue five-sided diamond patches sewn over the back ends of her uniform like a cutie mark, but actual similarly shaped dark blue diamonds adorned her hind legs and shoulders with bracelets made up of pink diamonds wrapped around her wrists. Her actual jumpsuit was of a dark shade of blue, as was the masquerade set over her eyes. The mask reached quite wide and ended in two tips that gave it a bit of flair that Hum Drum's similar mask lacked. There was even a larger pink diamond set into a large golden chest piece that covered the base of her neck and a large light blue folded collar hanging slightly over the top of the shoulders. Lastly, even though the mane and tail were blacked out, I could see numerous five-sided diamonds lining them. Definitely a superheroine with a strong sense of style and flair. I was given the impression that she was probably on par with most models in terms of beauty. How frustrating it must be to face a superheroine who is not only capable and competent, but also downright sexy. But just before I could fantasize over what Radiance really looked like, those images closed as well and were replaced by two more depicting yet another pegasus.

"And lastly, we have Saddle Rager." I finally heard Doctor Luminous say over the transmission. Like her comrades, she was clad in a jumpsuit. However, the overall decorations on it were fairly modest. While the jumpsuit was something of a sea green color, as was the simple mask that covered her upper face around the eyes, there were pink beaded bracelets around the ankles of only her forelegs that bore yellow flower decorations on the fronts. A similar yellow flower brooch was fastened to the base of her neck and was holding a pink and purple sash around her neck. She seemed strangely delicate and elegant for someone with the word 'Rager' in her alias. But then again, I had no idea what to expect until I could actually see these superheroes in the flesh as her physical appearance was still blacked out like the others, although I could make out a long flowing mane and tail.

Finally, these last two images closed and cleared up my HUD. "So, it's an all-girls team, doc?"

"Yes, the Power Ponies are an exclusively female team of superheroes. Unless you count their sidekick. Still not entirely certain what he contributes to the team, but they seem to keep him around." Doctor Luminous replied over the transmission.

Just as I was pondering something else to ask, I began to see it on the horizon across the murky surface of the ocean. A row of tiny bright specks against the night sky, which was starting to turn strangely brighter. Lights shining through the windows of buildings in a city and was lighting up the sky due to their sheer volume. "Doc, I see it coming up on the horizon. Is that it?"

Doctor Luminous wasted no time in providing a response. "Yes, Project H. That's Maretropolis. The Power Ponies are probably already on the scene trying to contain the uprising. But this one is bigger than any I've ever seen, so they're probably spread thin. Try to locate them and render assistance any way you can. I'll provide you with information on how to access and operate your weapon systems if you have any questions. But for now, slow your approach and ascend. It'll be best if you search from above."

"Got it, Doc." At the speed I was going, Maretropolis was rapidly growing in size as I drew closer until a sprawling metropolis stood before me. With my speed dropping, I began to ascend until I was on the verge of flying over the towering skyscrapers. Very soon, things would heat up. And I was pumped to experience what this pilot's plot was about to throw my way. "All right... Beginning mission."

As I rose to a proper altitude, my movement speed dropped dramatically until I was cruising relatively lazily over the vast city of Maretropolis. At least it felt like I was going too slow after reaching Mach 1. "So this is what it's like for Rainbow Dash after a long burst of speed... Heh, wonder if she'll believe me I pulled off a sonic rainboom of my own. Just without the rain and only the boom."

Eventually, I set myself down upon the tallest structure I could find, which turned out to be the tallest skyscraper in the city. The thrusters on my back automatically deactivated and folded in once I set down. "Mmm... Never was fond of these heavy urban environments... Pretty to look at during the night though."

With the city aglow in countless light sources shining through windows, it was actually something of a beautiful sight even though there seemed to be a few darkened areas in the city and it was not as noisy as I expected. Even so, it truly felt unnatural for a city like this to exist in a world of magic like Equestria... Is Equestria the name of the planet or the kingdom that covers it? Maybe I should ask that next time I meet up with Celestia or her sisters.

"Project H, is something wrong? You've stopped. The readings on the outbreaks have not decreased in size at all." I suppose Doctor Luminous was puzzled as to why I had come to a stop and was taking the time to survey my surroundings. Still, considering that I was likely going to end up following the comic book's plot, things would likely turn out fine.

Mostly on instinct, I lifted my left hand to my helmet's left stabilizer fin and held two fingers to it. "Easy, doc. I've been online for less than an hour and am just getting used to the world around me. Besides, I have no idea where to start."

"Hmmm... Well, give me a moment. Let me see if I can pinpoint the nearest outbreak." I heard my creator reply while I gazed down at the vast metropolis below. It felt so...strange that the world before me was nothing more than an illustration on paper. The world looked and felt just like the real world. Who could have ever expected such a world existed between the pages? Then again, I am not entirely certain what I should have expected once I was pulled into that glowing white void. Although the end result was certainly worlds better than what I would have expected had I known what was happening. That is being stuck on a two-dimensional plane and having to jump between panels while fending off droves of look-alike thugs while been about as fragile as the comic book itself after someone thought the reading experience would have been enhanced by dipping the comic book in a vat of liquid nitrogen.

While I snickered to myself as I thought up that analogy, I suddenly saw a blinking dot on the tiny map grid in the upper left corner of my visor. It seemed to be only a couple of blocks away. "Right there! Hurry on over there!"

"Got it!" I yelped as my back-mounted thrusters promptly snapped fully open and activated, launching me forward at great speed while keeping me high above the city. Guided by the map, I hovered above the streets while looking straight down. After passing a couple of intersections, I came to a stop right above another intersection as I noticed movement and a large cluster of lights ranging from reds to greens to yellows. As I focused my eyes, my vision in one eye rapidly became magnified even though I was not left disorientated. Indeed, the movement seemed to be coming from a large cluster of metallic beings with a variety of colors, though they were mostly metallic grays with a few yellow and black striped patches that brought to mind construction equipment. My HUD suddenly displayed various readings before me while seemingly scanning all of them. "Are they hostile, doc? You're seeing this, right?"

My creator replied in my head, "Yes, they're all malfunctioning. It's just like every time before. And... Look there! They've cornered somepony!"

I quickly glanced to one corner of the intersection and felt a wave of tension rise through my mechanical body. Two ponies were clearly backed into a corner, one a unicorn and the other a pegasus. It looked like they may have already put up a fight since a couple of disabled machines were already littering the nearby streets and sidewalks. Still, I knew they were in trouble and I knew exactly what to do.

With a blink of my right eye, its vision returned to normal while I stuck my right arm out to my side. In response to my will, my primary weapon system began to activate. Somehow, I lost feeling in my hand as it compacted and disappeared into my forearm while it became wider towards the front before a very low cone of metal formed with a short nozzle at the tip. My forearm had become a type of cannon. A smirk crossed my face as I chuckled in excitement. "Oh yeah, that's what I'm talking about!"

I promptly pointed my cannon down and grasped its side with my other hand for some extra stability in my aim. With my visor providing me with a lock-on, I fired a flurry of several bright glowing plasma shots that rushed towards the ground and peppered the group of rogue machines. Damage was light, as I expected from such small rapid shots, but the group began to split up in response. They seemed to have detected my presence high above them. Primed for action and some fun, I smirked as I felt my thrusters deactivate and fold into my back while I held my arms out wide and went into a freefall towards the intersection below.

"I hope you know what you're doing! You'll suffer massive damage if you hit the ground at this speed!" Luminous yelled over his transmission at me. Not that I was expecting the laws of physics to still be intact in this fictional world, but I had no intention of performing a concrete belly flop.

After falling for no more than several seconds, I prepared myself for landing. I managed to get myself righted by successfully pulling my upper body forward to perform a forward flip. Once that was done, I promptly activated both secondary thrusters on the bottoms of my feet. The output for those two thrusters must have been utterly massive since I rapidly decelerated until I finally landed. Even so, I hit the ground with enough force to make me all but fall to my knees. While the sudden impact dispersed through my body, I slowly brought myself to a standing position and detected the many rogue machines before me. It was truly a mishmash of different robot types, consisting of mostly robots designed like ponies while a couple of griffons and a towering minotaur were mixed in too. They seemed hesitant to attack as they looked at me, probably because they were uncertain if a machine like me was one of them. But as I surveyed the opposition, a familiar brash feminine tone spoke from behind me that I recognized instantly. "Whoahoho! Who's this guy?! And awesome entrance!"

Right after that, I heard a sophisticated and elegant woman's voice that I know and love speak up. "Wait... Is that... Darling, is that you?!"

"No time to deal with them for now, Project H. You need to take those out before they can hurt anyone else!" The good doctor said to me before I could turn to face them. He was right, it would be a bad idea to turn around and take my eyes off those rogue machines. While most likely inferior to me, I still did not have the best grasp of what I was doing just yet.

"Roger that, doc." Eager to try out equipment that was both new and familiar to me at the same time, I raised my cannon and pointed it at the first pony robot that was at the head of the pack. With some nearly unconscious focus, I felt a rapidly growing buildup of energy without my arm as a brightening glow began to be emitted from the barrel. As more energy built up, I heard a familiar steadily growing high-pitched whistle reach the auditory sensors right behind the bases of my helmet's stabilizer fins. Ready for a crash course, I pointed my weapon at my first target. "Do your worst, mavericks!"

With my plasma cannon powered up to only a partial charge, I unleashed the concentrated burst of energy right into the construction robot at the front of the pack. It had a bit of a greenish hue and was maybe three times larger than the rapid-fire shots I had launched at them from above. Regardless, it ended up striking with more power than I expected as it blew the robot apart and even slammed into another behind it and causing quite a bit of structural damage before the plasma burned itself out, leaving the metallic shell burst open and even charred and somewhat melted.

That was all the rogue machines needed to know I was not on their side. Several charged me with tools like drills and jackhammers revving up to dig into me while others even took to the air with thrusters and wings spread. Knowing better than to stay in one spot, I ran to my right while continuing to fire upon them with rapid shots as I strafed around them. My legs carried me at greater speed than expected, reaching the kind of speeds I can reach when wearing my enchanted armor. However, one of the flying griffon robots then swooped at me with claws extended. Thinking quicker than I thought I could, I came to a stop and rocketed towards the other side of the street with my boot thrusters activated. It only lasted a second, but I came to a screeching stop dozens of feet away while effortlessly regaining my balance without falling flat on my face.

"Project H, don't forget your secondary weapon and defensive functions! You don't have to only attack from a distance and evade." I heard Doctor Luminous call out to me while probably getting a kick out of the action. I assume he was able to see everything I was seeing.

"Secondary weapon... Oh!" I yelped upon remembering the holster on my right thigh. In just a second after performing a long reverse rocket dash backwards to get some space from the rogue robots, I glanced down at holster as it seemed to pop open on its own while something partially rose out of it enough for me to grasp it. A sword hilt?

A quick grab of the tool caused the holster to close again. Indeed, the tool in my hand was a sword hilt. And only the hilt. Although it was beautifully designed with mostly a gold finish and a red crystal set into both side of the top point of the hilt and one set into the bottom like a pommel. Still, I had a hunch of what it was. Knowing better than to point the top of the hilt at myself, I held it straight up while the three red crystals began to glow. A second later, I got what I was expecting. A narrow stream of fiery whitish yellow plasma burst from the top of the hilt, creating a literal blade of the scorching energy! "Sweet! Only I should call this the H-Saber, right?"

While I was briefly mesmerized by my secondary weapon's active form with its blade being somewhere between two and three feet in length, I heard Doctor Luminous call out to me while I heard the two ladies the robots had been attacking cheering me on. "Well, I doubt it would be accurate to call it a saber, but it should be effective should your cannon not be able to make a dent in them."

"Fine by me, doc. It's fun emulating my idol, but I've always preferred blades to blasters!" I said with a raised voice while one of the pony robots charged me with a pair of drills whirring on retractable metal limbs.

"Now, Project H! The shield!" I heard my creator shout over his microphone. As if on instinct, I threw up my left arm as I noticed a light blue glow filling the white plate on the back of my forearm. A second before the machine pony could try to gut me with its drills, a translucent kite shield-shaped barrier spread out from the plate on the back of my arm that was not too far from the size of the Lunar Shield. The drills slammed into the barrier, futilely scrapping against it. It was roughly what I thought it was. A portable shield generator!

Seeing that the shield had mass despite lacking weight, I smirked before swinging my arm and throwing the drills to the side, causing the robot to stagger from loss of balance. With my right hand, I swung the plasma blade straight down and through the robot. It felt like I was swinging nothing at all due to the noticeable lack of mass. At first, I was unsure if it did anything. At least until a second later when the whole thing split in two with molten metal lining the edges of its insides! "Dang! Hot knife on butter! Now where's my toast?"

"Are the puns really necessary, Project H? This is a dangerous situation, you know." I heard Luminous ask with some bewilderment in my head.

"Sorry, doc." I replied briefly before rushing forward towards the rest of my mechanical foes with blade at the ready. "I'm just having too much fun!"

My optic sensors scanned the readings I was getting on my HUD visor and saw that several of the malfunctioning robots were lined up in a row. I smirked as I had an idea while changing my grip on my blade to a reverse grip. While holding the blade straight out to my right, I activated my boot thrusters and rushed right by the row of bots at high speed before coming to a quick halt a good distance behind them. When I looked back, I had only a few seconds to look at them before their top halves slid right off their lower halves as they had been neatly cleaved in two by my scorching blade. "Ha! And I thought the Celestial Sword had a sharp blade! I'll take this gear over that any day!"

I was charged by a few more of the rogue machines and effortless cleaved them apart with only a single swipe of my plasma blade, marveling at the glowing molten metal that lined their internal mechanisms where the blade had contacted them. While the blade of plasma was normally straight, it would take on a noticeable curved shape with every swing, giving more credence to the 'saber' title I had considered. I continued on for a moment, slicing away at every approaching bot while using my shield generator when needed and rushing through the swarm of killer robots to get towards others that were keeping their distance.

Just as I was starting to really get lost in the fun of going to town on enemies that would only appear in a video game, the lone minotaur successfully landed a blow on me just as I brought my shield up to block the swing. Even though I prevented damage, the force behind the hit sent me flying and forcing me to activate my back thrusters to keep myself airborne to survey the situation. It seemed to have smacked me with a type of large mechanized hammer meant for industrial uses. Currently out of range, I deactivated my shield as a new tactic came to mind. I swapped my plasma saber to my left hand while my right forearm took on its cannon form as I hovered right above the middle of the street with the remaining machines glaring up at me. Not one of them spoke, apparently only having destruction on their minds.

I fired off a few quick shots at some of the smaller bots with some even having a few pieces blown off of them before collapsing in a pile of charred metal and sparks. I then swooped low at high speed, slicing through a few robots on the go with surprisingly dexterity and reaction time for someone who is not ambidextrous. Finally, only the hulking minotaur robot remained with its bulky battle hammer hoisted over its shoulder. I set down at the center of the intersection nearby and folded my flight thrusters before the glowing plasma blade disappeared as I seemed to just will it to deactivate. I tried dropping it back into its holster on my thigh without restoring my right hand, but found that some form of magnetism drew it in before closing after the hilt was secured. With only my buster ready, I began to once more charge my next shot to maximum power as the high-pitched whistling sound began to go higher. "Toro, toro! Come get some!"

The minotaur robot let out a surprisingly authentic bovine bellow before it charged at me with hammer held high, ready to smash me into the ground. Still, I watched through my visor as it tracked the machine's movements. I was unsure if my extreme focus and awareness was a result of me really getting into my role as the new machine hero in the Project H pilot or if it was the result of my own internal systems doing all the work for me. Regardless, just as it seemed the minotaur was about to lift its hammer even higher to wind up for the swing, my boot thrusters shot me forward for just an instant to close the gap before I came to a stop right in front of the startled bovine.

I lifted my cannon arm until it was pointing right up at the hulking mechanical beast's armored chest section. The sucker clearly was designed for heavy duty construction work and looked like it could take a beating. Out of instinct, I had brought my left hand to its side for extra support despite it probably not being necessary. Before the minotaur could respond to the short glowing barrel of the arm cannon pointing right at it, I let out a shout. "BANG!"

With that, I unleashed the energy that was being stored within my arm. And at that instant, a burst of bright blue plasma shot forth from my cannon that was roughly my own size! The recoil from the shot was unexpectedly strong as I felt my arm fly up for a second. The plasma burst slammed into the minotaur and carried it up and away at high speed for a few seconds until there was a great explosion as I felt the urge to shield myself from the shockwave and bits of debris with my left arm. Once the air had become quiet and still, I lowered my arm as my right hand emerged from my right forearm once more. I looked at my right hand and curled it into a fist, feeling quite satisfied now that the gaggle of rogue machines had been scrapped. "Mission accomplished."

"Dang, that was nuts! Since when could you do all that?!" I heard the brash woman's voice call out from behind me as the sound of clopping hooves drew near. "I mean... You ARE James, right?"

Seeing as how the mare knew my name, I knew that she could not be a mere character from the comic book. So I turned around as my visor retracted into the sides of my helmet to reveal my eyes. "Yeah, it's me... Huh?"

Once I got a look at the two mares who were hurrying over to me, I heard Doctor Luminous speak up through the comm system in my head. "Excellent! You've already found two of them. Go ahead and introduce yourself. The Power Ponies are a righteous bunch and you should have no need to be wary of them."

"Wait... Really?" I asked while I gazed at the two excited mares, having not expected a pair of superheroes to have needed assistance against rogue construction robots. Recalling the details on the uniforms I had seen appear on my HUD while approaching Maretropolis, I managed to unconsciously access the memory data in my mind. And two of them matched the attires the two mares were wearing. "Oh! Zapp and Radiance, right?"

As they stepped out of the shadows and into the glow of a streetlamp that was between us, that familiar elegant woman's voice spoke up. "Come again? Darling, you know who we are! Thank goodness you showed up when you did! Things were starting to get hairy."

That was undeniably the voice of Rarity. But... The uniform. It was indeed Zapp and Radiance approaching me, but... While Zapp's uniform was exactly as displayed in the image I saw, there was a small inconsistency with Radiance's outfit that I noticed while she came closer. There were indeed diamond shapes all over her and in her hair, but they were all four-sided like those that make up Rarity's cutie mark. And I recognize that rainbow-striped mane and tail anywhere. "Rainbow Dash? Rarity? You... You girls are two of the Power Ponies?!"

The two of them stopped in their tracks. Indeed, two of my dearest friends were right before me. And they were clad in the outfits of two of the Power Ponies with Rainbow Dash taking on the visage of Zapp and Rarity as the dazzling Radiance. Rainbow Dash then spoke in a louder voice than before while looking her outfit over, "Is that what this getup's all about?! Where are we?!"

Rarity did not seem all that bothered by her attire at all and seemed to be quite fond of it as she looked herself over. "Well, whoever this superheroine is, she has a spectacular sense of fashion! I should really consider making this design when I get back home... Wait a moment! You mentioned the Power Ponies just now! Don't tell me we're..."

I could not help but snicker a bit at Rarity as she began to process the meanings of my words. "Uh... Yeah. I think we all got sucked inside that comic book. But since we don't exist in that world, I think we've taken on the personas of certain characters in it."

"And if we're wearing these clothes and looking like this... We're superheroes now?!" Rainbow Dash shouted while she began to hover in place to look herself over. Her mane had been styled into a very windswept look and it seemed to be a bit slicked back instead of hanging over her headwear. It really suited her. Rarity... Well, she looked completely unchanged aside from the diamonds in her mane and tail. Although one of the two curls of her mane was secured higher than usual behind her head.

"And if we're two of the Power Ponies... Who are you?" Rarity asked while she directed her gaze up at me.

I shrugged my shoulders and held my hands out to my side. "Well, from what I've been told... I'm Project H."

"Seriously?! You're that new mystery hero Spike was going on about?! Man, he's gonna flip when he sees you!" Rainbow shouted while she began to hover around me. "I thought your old armor was pretty sweet, but this...! This stuff is awesome! A sword made of fire, a shield of blue light on your left arm, rocket boots and jetpack, and a cannon on your arm that shoots big balls of fire! Man, if this is what Project H can do, there's no way this series won't take off!"

Rarity too stepped forward to take a closer look as well while I remained rooted to the spot. "Indeed! And not just capable, but quite a feast for the eyes too! All this white with traces of gold... You quite simply look like a sci-fi era white knight! Dashing, James. Simply dashing!"

It was quite flattering, but they were right. Project H's physical aesthetics were both functional and stylish. However, Rarity then began to make a curious observation. "Wait... Darling, isn't that suit a bit... Well, much too tight for you? It looks like its hugging your body too much for you to even move!"

I flinched at that statement. Indeed, while my body certainly looked human in shape, the proportions did not quite match an actual human body. Surely for performance issues. There was no way my actual body could fit inside that suit without being crushed. "Uh... Well, the thing is... Project H is called that because he's... Well... He's the world's first human-type robot."

"Ro...bot?" Rainbow Dash asked while she and Rarity both gave me a dumbfounded look. However, I soon noticed her eyes seem to focus on my pelvic section momentarily. I winced as I realized what that little pervert was thinking. She then looked up at me and asked, "Does that mean you don't have..."

I facepalmed before she could even finish and spoke loudly, "Don't remind me, Rainbow! It was traumatizing enough when I realized that there was stuff missing the first time!"

Rarity and Rainbow Dash could only snicker in awkward amusement. I just looked away in irritation only for Rarity to tap me on my hip. "Well, don't worry too much about it, darling. I mean surely you'll be back to normal once we get back home. Although... How does it feel being like this? Is it comfortable?"

I took a few seconds to think my response over before looking down at her. "Well... Actually, it is. It was weird coming to and realizing that I was not breathing while not feeling like I was suffocating. It all feels natural, to be honest. I still feel my limbs, I can feel subtle sensations throughout my body... The transition from flesh to metal wasn't as jarring as you'd expect... Hey, wait." I then tried glancing at the side of my helmet and spoke, "Hey, doc. You've been really quiet for the last few minutes."

It was only then that I heard Doctor Luminous speak up with a rather dry tone of voice. "I'm just going to pretend I know what's going on here and not make any comments on what you were discussing."

That response got quite a laugh out of me as I hunkered over and guffawed loudly for a moment, noticeably startling my two friends. Rainbow Dash then asked while giving me a cockeyed stare, "Hey, James? You sure you don't have a few glitches in your head that need some tweaking?"

Of course. They could not hear the doctor talking to me through my internal comm systems. I then shook my hands at them and said, "Huh?! Oh, no! It's not like that! It's just Project H's creator. Doctor Luminous, he said. He's chatting with me over a wireless transmission. Hang on a second." I then tried talking to Luminous again. "Hey, doc? Do you have a means to talk to them too?"

"Yes, the two plates over your cheeks have a microphone you've been using all this time on one side and a voice emitter on the other. Just let me adjust the frequency and I'll see if they can hear me." I heard him reply. A few seconds later, the same voice seemed to be coming from a part of my helmet that was right by my face. "Good evening, Radiance. Zapp. I am Doctor Luminous, the creator of Project H. I trust the three of you had a good first impression with each other?"

Rarity then replied while stroking the diamond-studded curls of her mane. "Well, you certainly did a fine job on his armor, doctor. And he most certainly left a strong impression with how effectively he sent those metal monstrosities to the scrap heap."

Luminous showed a bit flattered as he chuckled over the comm system. "Well, thank you. I tried my best to keep the design visually appealing while still making certain it remained unencumbered. I'd say it turned out quite nicely."

Before we could get sidetracked any further, Rainbow Dash brought up the most important question. Or one of the more important questions. "Hey, wait! If we're superheroes, then... How do we use our superpowers?"

I was left uncertain of how to answer that, though Rarity also inquired about it as well. "That's a good question... Doctor, you wouldn't happen to know how we utilize them, do you?"

"Why are you asking me? You've been using those powers for years! Are you certain the two of you have forgotten?" Luminous asked while sounding like he could not comprehend what he was hearing. Then again, I strongly doubt he could make any sense of our friendly banter towards each other as friends when in actuality, this point in the comic book was probably having Project H encounter Radiance and Zapp for the first time as strangers.

Rainbow Dash scowled at me, although she was likely scowling in the direction she heard the doctor's voice come from, and raised her voice while gesturing in frustration with her hooves held high. "We wouldn't be asking if we knew how!"

"Ah, sorry! Well... I can't say I'm the most observant citizen of your activities, but..." Luminous yelped in response to Rainbow's scolding while pausing to think for a moment. "From what I have seen, Zapp is capable of summoning and controlling lightning and wind while Radiance conjures up energy constructs in the forms of various tools to fit the situation at hoof."

This only served to frustrate Rainbow Dash groaned in further frustration. "So we're superheroes who don't even know how to use our own superpowers?!"

"That does not tell us much, doctor..." Rarity mumbled as she and Rainbow Dash looked themselves over. I sighed while rolling my eyes. Being told what their superpowers do is not the same as saying how to use them. However, Rarity then gasped as she glanced back and forth at us. "Wait! Spike was drawn in with us, wasn't he?! He's familiar with this world and its characters. Perhaps he could enlighten us to how to access our unique abilities!"

"Oh yeah, he was! You think he's with the other girls?" Rainbow Dash asked as I was promptly reminded of the danger at hand in other sectors of the city.

Sure enough, my visor slid back into place as if on instinct and saw the tiny map grin in the upper right corner. There were still a few blinking blips set in it, but fewer than I expected. Either the other Power Ponies were being successful in neutralizing some fo the groups of rogue machines, or the groups had joined up into large swarms. I quickly put two and two together. If Rarity and Rainbow Dash had become Zapp and Radiance, then surely our four other companions had assumed the roles of the rest of the superhero team. And if they were having just as much trouble accessing their superpowers as Rainbow Dash and Rarity were... "Oh crap, the others! They're probably taking on the rest of the robots who've gone haywire!"

"Wait a second, there's more?!" Rainbow Dash asked while looking at the piles of scrap littering the streets and sidewalks around us that the first wave of robots had become. "And those were tough nuts to crack! I only managed to take down a couple with just some judo throws!"

"At least you CAN fight... Anyway, I think we better go find the rest of the girls before... Jeez, what'll happen if any of them get hurt in the comic book? You think they'll just get kicked right back out no worse for the wear?" I asked while my back thrusters extended and prepared for liftoff.

"I'd rather not risk it... We should probably search from the air to speed things along." Rarity replied while Rainbow Dash began to hover once more. But she then reached out to me and asked with a smile, "But seeing as how I lack wings... May I fly in your arms tonight, sir knight?"

Tempted to snicker at Rarity's adoration of my current appearance, I dropped to one knee and took her hoof in my hand before kissing it right on the bracelet that wrapped around her wrist. "It would be an honor, m'lady."

It seemed that this little sweet gesture was not overlooked by Doctor Luminous. I heard him chuckle over the comm system as he said, "Oh my, Project H. Love at first sight, is it?"

Rarity giggled loudly while looking away as she held a hoof over her smile while I glanced at nothing in particular. "Knock it off, doc! Anyway, we better get going." I then reached out and snatched Rarity up in my arms. My mechanical body must have contained far more strength than I expected since she felt light as a feather in my grasp. "Ready, m'lady?"

My lovely friend held onto me with her arms around my neck and smiled warmly at me. "Take me into the sky, sweet angel." Rainbow Dash could only snicker at Rarity's flirty behavior. I know she was having just as much fun as I was.

I bent my knees to prepare for a jump as the rocket thrusters on my back began to flare up. The instant I tried to jump, I rocketed skyward while Rainbow Dash flew straight up beside me at equal speed. This seemed to surprise her since she then called out, "Whoa! Since when could you keep up with me?!"

"Since I got these babies on my back here! Let's fly!" I called back before I righted myself and began to soar over the towering rooftops with Rainbow Dash by my side. Even as Zapp, she still possessed the swift speed I had always known her for. We did not fly for long before we drew near another gap between four buildings as the map grid zoomed in and showed a large blinking dot. It seemed another swarm of malfunctioning machines had gather in another intersection. "Found one!"

"Then let's take it to them!" Rainbow Dash replied before she suddenly dove straight down towards the mass of metal and glowing lights while I followed suit. Rarity was not prepared for this sudden dive and the resulting g-forces on her and let out a frightened shriek as we plummeted to the ground. But while we did, I noticed what seemed to be arcing streams of electricity starting to surge around Rainbow Dash with growing intensity. Just as she seemed to become a falling ball of lightning, I heard her call out. "Whoa, what the hay's going on?!"

She must have been quite distracted by this new development since instead of stopping herself from hitting the ground, she smashed right into the swarm of machines. It let out a huge electrical explosion, sending some of them flying while causing many others to give off sparks before they became still and lifeless. Clearly these machines lacked any sort of significant surge protection, leaving them vulnerable to electrical attacks. A common weakness in machines. Hopefully my body did not harbor the same shortcomings...

While I righted myself and began to slow my descent properly with both my back thrusters and boot thrusters, Rarity called out to a bewildered Rainbow Dash as the flabbergasted pegasus mare stood in the center of a ring of fried disabled machines. "Goodness, Rainbow Dash! That was spectacular! Did you finally figure out how to access your superpowers?!"

Whatever it was she did, Rainbow Dash clearly had no idea how she pulled it off. "I dunno what I did, but it was awesome! Maybe I'm finally getting the Buccaneer Blaze down right!"

Right as I set Rarity down and the less damaged rogue robots began to regain balance and detect our new presence I heard a familiar voice yell from nearby accompanied by the sound of something smashing metal. "How 'bout y'all quit yer yappin' and gimme a hoof over here?! I can't take care of these tin cans all by my lonesome, ya know!"

Applejack! A bit further away was a rather tall bipedal robot of...indeterminable design. It just seemed to be a large mech of sorts that was strictly machine in both function and even outward design. And clinging to its back while pounding its...head with her hooves was clearly Applejack, although she seemed to be missing her hat.

Rarity seemed eager to help, but ended up reluctantly backing away since her superpowers were still beyond her grasp. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash flew over to the large mech and began to distract it while Applejack continued to pound on it. It seemed like she was steadily bashing the head section in thanks to her famous strength. However, I was quick to notice that many of the robots nearby, both active and disabled, consisted mostly of inorganic designs. There were a few pony-type robots in the mix, but most were...lacking of any anthropomorphized traits. "What's up with these robots, doc? Just a bunch of mechaniloids?"

Doctor Luminous then replied as my HUD pinpointed and scanned all the enemy machines before me, quickly detecting the same settings and readings as the last bunch. "I'm not familiar with that term, but I think I know what you mean. Yes, the majority of the robots you see before you are designed solely for the functions that were intended for them. They are programmed with very basic AI and are about as simple as robots get. But it would seem that they are exhibiting the same malfunctions as those you have seen so far. Treat them all with the same caution."

"Will do, doc." I said as my right forearm assumed its H-Buster form. Or at least that was what I had come to call it. Maybe short for Helios Buster? That sounds really cool... Wait, I am going off topic now.

Anyway, before I could get a shot off, I heard Applejack yell out again. "Fluttershy, how 'bout some help here?!"

Fluttershy?! I instinctively glanced around, fearing for my beloved's safety. I could never imagine her getting involved in a combat situation, especially with a bunch of killer robots that she probably would not want to go anywhere near. Sure enough, my HUD detected organic life readings partially obstructed by a blue metal mailbox. But before I could approach to investigate, another one of those mechs... I think for the sake of clarity, I will refer to the sentient machines as robots while calling the machines with basic intelligence mechs. Anyway, a particularly tall mech stomped over to the mailbox and swung its bulky arm at it, ripping the thing right off its foundation and revealing a frightened Fluttershy. Its right arm consisted mostly of a massive industrial drill, which began to whir while Fluttershy shrieked and ran to the left and down the sidewalk while it began to clank along in pursuit of her. "No, please! Not my baby!"

Those words awoke a nameless fury in my mind. She was right. Fluttershy, my future wife, was carrying my child. And this hulking bucket of bolts was going to rip her and our unborn child apart with that drill. Activating my boot thrusters, I rushed past it and came to a stop with my buster already reaching maximum charge. I then jumped in the way as it raised its drill arm while I took aim at the upper half of its body. "Hands off my mare, chump!"

With that said, I unleashed my charged shot right into the rogue mech, blowing much of its upper torso apart. It immediately shut down, its mangled body falling limply to the ground with a crash. Even its spinning drill became still and silent. But just as I was about to turn around to check on Fluttershy, Doctor Luminous spoke up. "Project H, hold on. This would be an excellent time to try out one of your secondary systems."

"Huh? Which one? You mean the H-Saber?" I asked while glancing at the holster on my right thigh. "I already tried that out and it works great."

"No, not that one. I mean the other one. There's another reason why I chose your default color to be white, you know." He replied with a slight chuckle. "It's the only system in you that required some magic to get to function properly."

My curiosity piqued, I nodded while looking down at the ruined mech. "OK, I'm listening, doc."

"Good. It's easy to use, so don't worry about getting confused." Luminous replied while I listened closely. "Both of your hands are lined with the necessary sensors that are tied to this function. Your forearms also contain these sensors as well. All you have to do is reach out and touch a robot that carries a specific function and these sensors will scan its body to detect any compatible designs."

"OK... Like this?" I asked while kneeling and touching the mech's drill on the right arm. As I did so, my visor showed the drill, its blueprints, and internal functions across my field of vision briefly in a series of wire frame diagrams. "Huh? Hey, something's different..."

"There. You've assimilated its primary weapon into your own weapon systems and memory banks. And your body reflects it when you are accessing it." The doctor explained as I noticed something odd about my body. While the softer and more flexible components of my armor seemed to still be a shade of white, like my thighs and my midsection, the hardened armor on my body had mostly become a shade of light green! "That drill weapon is now yours to use in some form or another, although I doubt your systems will perfectly replicate it to function the same way as its original. It should..."

Before Luminous could even finish what he was saying, I already knew what it was that had just activated. I rose to my feet while raising my buster cannon. "Variable Weapon System! Oh hell YES!"

"Huh?! You mean you're already familiar with it?!" Doctor Luminous asked in surprise while I rushed back towards the fray with a familiar trick to try out.

"Sure do, doc! And this little toy is an old favorite of mine!" I replied while taking aim at a few mechs while staying on the move. Filled with new excitement, I shouted out the identity of my new assimilated weapon. "Tornado Fang!"

At those words, I rapidly fired a trio of spinning drills set upon tiny rocket thrusters that rushed forward and slammed into a few of the mechs. The horrible screech of the drills scarping through the tough metal shells filled the air, just before the projectiles got inside the mechs and exploded. While the explosions were relatively small, the fact that the mechs' internal systems were exposed to them made for massive internal damage that caused the rogue mechs to just fall over and shut down. I laughed while firing off another flurry of Tornado Fangs at some more mechs while paying little mind to Applejack and Rainbow Dash just beating into smaller mechs with simple brute force. "Yup! Works just as well as I remember it!"

While firing off more and more drills, I noticed a particularly large brute of a mech coming my way. Any of the Tornado Fangs I fired at it just got swatted aside by its armored arms, the spinning drills being noticeably bent to the point of being useless. Seeing that the situation required more of a direct approach, I began charging up the H-Buster with the Tornado Fang still set to be used. Once at maximum charge, I released the concentrated energy within to produce a very distant effect. A long drill bit emerged from the buster's barrel and began to whir noisily on the tip, giving me a clearly deadly melee weapon.

I rushed forward with my shield generator active, expecting the mech to try to smash me into the ground. It behaved as I assumed, swinging its thick arm down at me only for my shield to block it. I was impressed by my mechanical body's ability to stand up to such force as I barely gave to the weight behind the hit. Taking the opportunity presented to me, I stepped forward while still holding its arm up and thrust the drill on my arm into its body. With more force behind the strike, the drill sank deep into its metal torso and clearly hit something important since its body became limp and just collapsed before me. Feeling I had gotten enough use out of the Tornado Fang for the moment, I unconsciously swapped back to the default H-Buster as the drill disappeared back into my arm and leaving my body a shimmering white. I patted my cannon on the side and chuckled a bit. "Man, anyone who hates those drills used by dentists haven't seen these... Huh?! Hey!"

I yelped and reached out to catch Rainbow Dash as she was hurled into me by one of the larger mechs. I nearly got knocked off my feet as I caught her in my spare arm, but then noticed another reading on my visor as another diagram seemingly showing the body of Zapp and a few tiny readings on her briefly pop up. I simply thought it was preforming a quick scan of her body for injuries, but I could not make anything out that made sense to me. Even so, Rainbow Dash sounded grateful for the catch. "Phew! Good save, James... Huh?! Hey, why do you look a bit gray now?"

"Gray? You sure I don't just look darker in low light settings...? Hey, wait..." I replied while noticing that what was normally white on my armored components was now a silvery gray. I then realized what my visor was trying to tell me. It had been due to the Variable Weapon System activating. But what had I just assimilated?! It could not have come from... Rainbow Dash? Utterly confused, I called out while setting Rainbow Dash down, "Hey, doc! Does this stuff also work on living creatures?!"

Luminous sounded noticeably baffled as well. "Well... Considering the magical components used in its functions, I suppose the Variable Weapon System would exhibit capabilities I wouldn't have anticipated. Perhaps it can also scan and assimilate unique abilities from those with unusual powers. For example, Zapp's mastery over wind and lightning. Give it a try and see what you get."

Rainbow Dash heard the doctor as well and asked, "Huh?! You mean you can use my superpowers too?!"

"I don't even know what I got! Is it lightning or wind?!" I replied loudly while aiming my buster at a row of mechs that were approaching us. But when I fired... Well, things got noisy. A roaring cylindrical vortex of surprisingly visible wind burst forth from the H-Buster and rushed through the row of mechs. While they tried to stand their ground against the miniature hurricane, I soon stared with my jaw hanging open as the powerful wind began to rip the mechs apart piece by piece! Seconds later, a row of scrap metal lined the street once the lateral tornado ran its course. Rainbow Dash and I merely stared in silence for a moment before I actually let out a laugh. "Ohoho man! Another old favorite! Storm Tornado!"

"Dang, James! What else you got in there?!" Rainbow asked while she flew up to my right and grabbed my arm before looking my buster over. "First you're shooting drills, and now tornados! What's next?! Shooting cupcakes and glasses of milk?!"

"Considering how magical and zany Equestria can be, I wouldn't be surprised if there's a Cupcake Cannon or Milk Shower weapon system out there... But lemme go! I'll take care of the rest!" I said before pulling my arm away and sprinting towards the middle of the intersection. "Hey, Applejack! Get away! I'm gonna try something!"

"Huh?! Sure thing!" I heard Applejack reply before seeing her galloping away from the handful of remaining mechs and robots. To get their attention, I fired off a few smaller plasma shots at them. It seemed that I could still access some of the H-Buster's default functions while accessing something stored in the Variable Weapon System, although only on the lowest settings. Probably because most of the energy required to make it fire was being directed to my currently equipped weapon. Once I was in the middle of the intersection, the mechs started to head towards me as I began to charge my buster with the Storm Tornado weapon ready. Once at max charge, I pointed my arm straight up towards the night sky. "I'm gonna rock you...like a hurricane!"

OK, I must have been having too much fun if I was spouting that much playful banter. Regardless, when I unleashed the charged Storm Tornado, a huge vertical vortex began to swirl all around me and began to either rip apart the machines that were around me or even just carried them high into the air! It only last for several seconds, but anything that had not had its limbs ripped out of their sockets by the vortex instead fell to the ground with a thunderous crash. If the wind did not total them, the impact from the fall did. Once the area had fallen silent, I deactivated the H-Buster and allowed my right hand to emerge once more as my armor turned white once more. "Man, this just keeps getting better and better."

With the current wave of rogue machines having been neutralize, I heard a pair of hooves applauding from the shadows. Upon turning to face the source of the sound, Rarity stepped out from the shadows. "Bravo, darling! It's as if you were made to dispose of those metal menaces! So sorry I couldn't help you in any way, but I'd hate to get in the way as a damsel in distress."

I smiled at her and chuckled while my visor retracted to reveal my eyes. "Hey, it's no problem, Rarity. I know you have no idea how to use your superpowers right now, so you'd just be setting yourself up for trouble if you jumped in. At least we got a glimpse of Rainbow Dash's superpowers."

Speaking of that little daredevil, she came swooping over to us. "Nice work, big guy! First zombies, now robots! You're a wrecking machine!"

"Thanks, Rainbow... Hey, wasn't Applejack around here?" I asked upon remembering seeing her and Fluttershy upon arriving.

"Oh, right!" Rainbow yelped before looking over to the far end of the street. "Hey, AJ! Get over here!"

"Hang on a second, Rainbow! This...darn lasso just ain't listenin' today!" I heard that familiar voice call out from over yonder. It seemed that Applejack had somehow gotten herself partially tied to a fire hydrant with her lasso... Only I do not recall her ever bringing her lasso along when we were attending Twilight's tea sampling party. Unless she just happens to always keep it under that hat of hers at all times, that is. Finally, she got it undone and put it away somewhere before she trotted over to us. "Phew, there we go! Anyway, thanks for yer help back there, stranger. That was a tough scrape."

Now that I was getting a good look at her, I saw that Applejack was also clad in the attire of one of the Power Ponies. Namely the outfit of Mistress Mare-velous. While I did not see much of a difference between the original design of her outfit and what I was seeing at that moment, I noticed that the crescent moon designs on the fronts of her armlets around the ankles and wrists had been swapped out for apple shapes. "Mistress Mare-velous, huh? And I'm no stranger to you, AJ."

"Huh? Yer not? Ummm..." Applejack said before she squinted her eyes while looking at my face. Rainbow Dash and Rarity were respectfully silent as Applejack scanned my face. A few seconds later, her eyes opened wide in surprise. "What the...?! James?! Whoa nelly, what happened to ya, pardner?! I ain't never seen armor like that! And... Wait, that was YOU who mopped the floor with them tin cans?!"

"Yep! Glad to see you were kinda paying attention there!" I said with a laugh while Rainbow and Rarity joined in.

"Well, y'all sure showed 'em! But... Wait a tick! Rarity?! Rainbow?! Where'd ya get those duds?! It's a bit early for Nightmare Night, ain't it?" Applejack then asked while glancing back and forth at the two mares beside me. "And come ta think of it, where's my hat?! And where'd I get this lil getup?!"

Rarity was the first to speak up. "Well... I suppose we could explain, but shouldn't we find Fluttershy first? She was with you, right?"

"Huh?! Yeah, she was. I kept tryin' ta get 'er ta help me out against them metalheads, but... Well, y'all know Fluttershy. She's probably hidin' somewhere." Applejack replied while looking a bit annoyed. It must have been frustrating to hold those mechs off by herself while Fluttershy cowered under a mailbox. Then again, I cannot fault her for trying to not get involved with how dangerous those rogue machines were. If I was still human and not a robot designed for combat, I would have likely made a run for it too.

"Hang on, lemme try something..." I spoke up as my visor slid back over my eyes and activated. I looked down the street where Fluttershy had been running while being pursued by that drill-equipped mech. After I took that thing down, I lost sight of her. I doubt she even noticed me at all. My visor seemed to swap to a type of infrared function, allowing me to see through the thermal spectrum. Sure enough, there was a shape of a mare curled up a very short distance off the ground. Upon deactivating that function, I saw another mailbox ahead of me. I snickered under my breath at Fluttershy's rather laughable hiding spot. "Found her."

I then led my three friends over to the mailbox by the side of the street. It was very silent, leading me to believe that Fluttershy was being as silent as possible to avoid detection. Then again, how did she even get into it? Applejack then whispered, "Y'all think we should knock?"

I did just that. I tapped my fist on the side of the metal box a few times. Although I did not expect the response I got. "Uh... Hello! I'm a mailbox! Give me all of your letters, packages, and gift baskets, and I'll make sure they get delivered! But please don't forget to use sufficient postage."

Oh my god, Fluttershy... The four of us burst out into quiet snickering at Fluttershy's attempt to wear her hiding place like a disguise. I then knocked on the mailbox again, "Fluttershy, you can drop the act. We know you're in there."

My mention of her name seemed to startle the timid pegasus. "Fluttershy?! Um... Who's Fluttershy? I'm just a little mailbox. I'll take all your parcels and make sure the mailpony gets them for delivery. But please remember that the postal service doesn't run on Sundays."

Once again, we all laughed at Fluttershy's act. Finally, Rainbow Dash tapped rather hard on the side of the mailbox with her hoof. "Come on, Fluttershy! It's Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, and your future hubby!"

"You... Rainbow Dash?" I heard Fluttershy's voice ask from within the mailbox before the flap at the top opened inward to reveal her eyes. However, there seemed to be a purple mask set over her eyes. Indeed, she had taken the role of another one of the Power Ponies. I stepped into her view along with the rest of my friends so she could see us. "Oh my! Where did you get those amazing costumes! But...is it safe? Are all of those big metal meanies gone?"

"Yeah, we got 'im. Now how 'bout ya get outta there?" Applejack replied while trying to not seem too irritated by Fluttershy's cowardice.

"Oh! Well, all right... Oof..." Fluttershy replied while she seemed to squirm inside the mailbox. However, she did not appear to move much at all. "Uh oh... Um... I don't think I can actually get out..."

"You can't?! But then... How did you ever get in there in the first place?" Rarity asked while sounding noticeably puzzled. I too was baffled as to how she could get in through the opening at the top. Those letter slots are not terribly big to begin with.

"I was desperate! I had to hide from them! But... How do I get out? Do any of you have the key for this mailbox?" Fluttershy retorted while sounding knd of embarrassed for choosing to hide in somethign that was hard to get out of.

Rainbow Dash sounded rather amused by that suggestion and rolled her eyes. "Hey, it's not like we can just go back to the real world and ask Derpy Hooves to stop by. We're stuck here until we find a way out."

"Real world?! But... Where are we then?!" My fiancée asked in shock, clearly having no idea where we were.

Seeing that there was no way to get Fluttershy out of the mailbox through the opening at the top and that we lacked the key to open the front, I realized the only way we were going to get her out was to rip the mailbox open. I did not like the idea of causing property destruction, but the fact that everyone seemed to be staying indoors due to the rogue machine outbreak, no one would get mad at us over it or just likely pin the blame on a rampaging mech. "Hang on a second, honey. I'll get you out."

The holster on my right thigh opened and extended the handle of my H-Saber before I grasp it and held it up. It promptly activated, extending its fiery plasma blade from the top of the hilt. Having not seen it in use yet, Applejack stepped back in shock. "Whoa nelly! That looks like some hot stuff!"

"It sure is. Fluttershy, hunker down in there as low as you can." I replied while looking at my lover's eyes through the open slot.

She was clearly uneasy about the thought of me using a blade made of fire to get her out of there, but Fluttershy still placed her faith in me. "Uh... OK... Just...please be careful, James..." She then ducked out of sight as the hatch slammed shut.

"OK, girls. No distractions." I switched my visor setting's to infrared again to make certain I could see exactly where Fluttershy was inside the mailbox. She had curled up and was pretty low inside it. Carefully holding the very bright blade of my sword laterally, I slowly cut through the mailbox's top with essentially no resistance.

Once I had cut through it, I deactivated my visor and had it retract into my helmet. Glowing molten metal slowly oozed down the sides of the mailbox from where I had cut through before rapidly cooling and hardening. I then deactivated the saber and placed it back in my holster before grabbing the top of the mailbox and lifting it before tossing it aside with a clank to reveal a cowering Fluttershy inside among a pile of letters. Applejack then slowly shook her head and let out a quiet whistle. "Phew... Like a hot knife on butter..."

I then reached in and grabbed Fluttershy under her arms and lifted her out as easily as if I had been lifting a puppy. "There you go, honey."

It was only then that both Fluttershy and I got a really good look at each other. Sure enough, she was clad in the attire of one of the Power Ponies. Namely that of Saddle Rager. While the entirety of her outfit was largely unchanged, I noticed that the flower decorations on the front of her wrists had been swapped out for more fitting butterfly shapes. Fluttershy's mane and tail seemed to have changed styles as well, now having a wavier appearance to them. Even so, for someone who carries the title of 'Rager' in her name, Fluttershy's outfit was...rather cute. "Huh... Your outfit's actually really pretty, Fluttershy."

"Thank you... And... You're... Oh my goodness..." Fluttershy replied while gazing up at me. She was utterly speechless.

In the end, it was Rarity who spoke for her. "Stunning, isn't he?! Truly a heroic visage from the far future! Aren't you proud to be betrothed to such a gorgeous champion, darling?"

Fluttershy finally let out a giggle while Applejack and Rainbow Dash either averted their eyes or rolled them in amusement. "Well... Yes. It's...very stunning. And very dazzling too! Is that really you, James?"

I reached out and gently caressed my lover's head. "It most certainly is. Though how'd you get stuck in the form of someone who has 'Rager' in her name? I've never seen you rage over anything."

"Rager?!" Fluttershy then took a good look at herself before looking at Rainbow Dash and Rarity. "You're all wearing weird outfits too! Where are we?! And where'd these outfits come from?!"

Before anyone could say anything, I heard Doctor Luminous speak up over the comm device as his voice reached us all. "Ah! Sorry, I had to step away for a moment. Duty calls and everything... Oh? Well done, Project H! You've located Saddle Rager and Mistress Mare-velous. Good evening, ladies. I trust you two have been introduced to our friend here?"

The doctor was clearly unable to see the physical differences between my friends and the original Power Ponies, which I found mildly entertaining. However, Applejack was quick to speak up. "Who said that?! Somepony sneakin' around 'ere?"

"Oh, sorry. I'm afraid I'm nowhere near you. I'm merely speaking through Project H's long-distance communication system. I am Doctor Luminous, his creator. And I assure you he only has the best intentions for everypony." My creator explained while Applejack and Fluttershy looked on in bewilderment.

"Project H? Spike said something about that when he was describing his... Wait! You don't think we're..." Fluttershy suddenly gasped as she began to realize what had happened.

It was Applejack who said the obvious while she looked her outfit over. "Ah, hay no... Nope! There ain't no way we're stuck in a comic book! There just ain't! Where's Spike?! I got some questions! And... Oof, this getup really chafes my hindquarters..."

There was something about that claim that caught my attention. And when Fluttershy and Rarity turned to face Applejack and Rainbow Dash, I saw it. My eyes glanced down and caught a perfect unobstructed view of their hindquarters. Perhaps it was because I have become so used to simply not noticing that area of their bodies most of the time along with the fact that they seldom wear anything to begin with, but... Those skintight jumpsuits hugged their bodies tightly, showing off the curves and contours of their hips and flanks like never before. Knowing that no blood was contained in my body left me hopeful that I was not blushing. But my cover was still blown when that pesky doctor made the mistake of speaking out for us all to hear. "Project H, has something caught your eye?"

"Shut up, doc! I was looking at nothing!" I yelped in shock as all eyes fell upon me while I tried to look at nothing in particular. Even so, I soon noticed that Applejack was giving me an odd look. Had she seen me looking down? "Uh... AJ, what's with that look?"

"Uh... Maybe I was just seein' things but... Were ya ogling Fluttershy and Rarity's haunches just now?" She asked in return while Rainbow Dash started to smirk at me.

Fluttershy grinned shyly while she also began to blush. Apparently she appreciated the attention I was giving her. There was little I could do to deny what I had just been eyeing, so I reluctantly came clean. "Ugh... Yes, I was. I couldn't help noticing. Those jumpsuits you girls are wearing just do such an amazing job at showing off your curves, to be honest."

Applejack seemed to blush as she looked back at herself, although Rarity instead smirked at me while stretching and flexing that gorgeous body of hers. "Oh, darling... You know I don't mind your attention at all. Admire to your heart's content."

"Oh my, maybe I should turn this display and mic off for a while... I mean I know you two just met, but..." Doctor Luminous said jokingly over the comm system while getting a giggle out of Fluttershy.

I was tempted to try to diffuse the situation, but Rarity drew near and stood on her hind legs to lightly tap her hoof against my armored chest. "Doctor, you don't know the half of it. Granted, he may be a machine. But beneath this cool metallic shell beats the heart of a lover!"

It was then that I noticed Rainbow Dash turn around and give me a good look at her hindquarters as well while she spread her wings. Judging by that grin, she was just messing with me. "So, these suits make us easy on the eyes, huh? Too bad you don't have a boner to get anymore."

"Not funny, Rainbow! Keep this up and I'm gonna have one hell of a libido to take care of once we get back in the real world!" I yelled while Rarity and Applejack let out a laugh. Fluttershy seemed naturally concerned over the fact that...something about me was missing. Even so, once I got to thinking about Fluttershy and I having some quality private time together that night, I immediately thought about our unborn child and rushed to her side. "Hey, that reminds me! Fluttershy, those mechs didn't get to you, did they? Is the baby OK?"

She seemed to have all but forgotten about the fact that she was pregnant during all that banter and glanced down at her side. "Oh! Um... No, they never got me. Although... I almost feel like there's something missing..."

I felt a surge of concern fill me as I became fearful for the unborn life within my lover. "Doc, does that HUD have the ability to perform deeper scans on organic beings?"

"Well... Yes, your visor can scan people for internal damage, hormone levels, and other readings." He replied while I made my visor slide back into back and activate.

"Be still for a minute, honey." Various readings on Fluttershy's physical condition began to pop up onscreen, ranging from heart rate to blood sugar to adrenaline levels. I even got a very unexpected x-ray view of her skeletal system. No signs of broken or cracked bones, at least. "What's your take on this, Luminous? You are a doctor, right?"

"Hmm... Let's see... Most interesting." I heard him reply while we all waited in silence. "I am seeing heightened hormone levels consistent with pregnancy, but no actual fetus is present."

As expected, Fluttershy pretty much panicked. "What?! My... My baby isn't even there anymore?! Where is it?!"

"Whoa, honey! Easy!" I said loudly before grasping her in my arms securely for an embrace. "Maybe the baby is just waiting for us. Saddle Rager probably isn't pregnant in this issue, so I guess the comic book had to put your pregnancy on hold until we get back into the real world."

Applejack then added while smiling reassuringly, "Yeah, that's what I was thinkin'! Think of it like this... Y'all needed the oven ta be empty for a while, so the bun had ta come out. It'll be put right back in ta keep bakin' when we're done here."

"Oh... I... I guess that makes sense... Can't really be a superhero when you can't put yourself in dangerous situations..." Fluttershy muttered quietly, but then suddenly seemed to realize exactly what role she had taken. "Wait! I'm a superhero now?! But... But I don't wanna fight! They always have to be in dangerous situations and... And fight really scary supervillains! I just want to go home!"

"Yeah, I dunno what the book was thinking when it gave you this job... I mean we don't even know what your superpower is!" Rainbow Dash replied while looking Fluttershy over.

While looking at Rainbow Dash, I recalled when I acquired the Storm Tornado upon touching her. "Hang on a second. Maybe I can get an idea for it."

I reached out and set my hand on Fluttershy's head. However, I got no new indications on my visor. My armor remained white as well. "Uh... Hey, doc? What did I get from her?"

"Um... To be honest... I don't think you got anything. Perhaps some natural abilities and superpowers are incompatible with your internal systems." I heard Luminous explain while I lifted my hand from Fluttershy's head. "Besides, from what I've seen... There's no way your body could actually replicate her superpower in action. She... Well, you have to see it to believe it. Just don't do anything to make her mad. Might end up being the last thing you ever do."

"If you say so, doc." I replied, left utterly baffled as to what Saddle Rager's superpower could be. Judging by his explanation, it was likely physical. And the mentioning of angering her... No. No way in hell. I almost busted out laughing as that image flashed through my mind. There was no way THAT superpower could have found its way into tender sweet Fluttershy... Right?

In the hopes of getting my mind off of such a ridiculous thought, I turned to Applejack. "What about you, AJ? You figure out your superpowers?"

Applejack just lifted her hooves and shrugged her shoulders. "Ya got me. I didn't do anythin' when those mechs cornered us except for bashin' their heads in. Although... I did notice this here harness with a golden rope and a few horseshoes stickin' out. Whatcha make of it?"

"Hmm... Gimme a second." I looked right at the harness set over her back and midsection. It was exactly like in the images I had been shown during my approach to Maretropolis. My HUD seemed to focus exclusively on the golden horseshoes and the rope hanging from the bottom section, although both scans ended up with no real results. "Well, whatever that stuff is made of, there's no data on it in my memory banks. Very unique. Mistress Mare-velous is probably the kind of superhero with only heightened physical attributes who compensates with special gear."

"Special, huh? That explains why I swear this wonky rope has a mind of its own." Applejack retorted while giving a rather disdainful stare at the coiled rope out of the corner of her eye. Hard to imagine someone as skilled with a lasso as Applejack having a hard time manipulating a rope, so it truly must have had some sort of trick to using it right without getting herself tangled.

It was then that Fluttershy asked the most important question. "Say... Um... Did any of you see Twilight or Pinkie Pie out there? Or maybe even Spike?"

"Right... We still gotta find those guys! Doc, where to next?!" Rainbow Dash yelled as she began to hover.

"Hold on a moment, Zapp. I think I need to instruct Project H in accessing a few more of his functions. Better to do it now than have him fumble with them in a live fire setting." Doctor Luminous replied while I glanced down at the tiny speaker on my helmet's facial plating. "I know the current threat hasn't been fully neutralized, so let's try to make this quick."

"Uh... Sure thing, doc. What's next?" I asked while instinctively stepping out into the middle of the quiet street while my four companions looked on. Rainbow Dash seemed especially interested with that focused stare and smirk.

"Now then... I see that you have become very familiar with your primary weapon... The H-Buster I think I heard you call it? Not sure where you thought of that, but it has a nice ring to it. Anyway, I'm sure you understand that it has both repeat fire and charge settings. Furthermore, the charge settings can work in tandem with any secondary weapons you assimilate with your Variable Weapon System as you have already displayed. However, keep in mind that much of the energy that feeds the weapon systems in your right arm becomes mostly directed into your Variable Weapon System when you are accessing one of those assimilated functions, reducing your primary plasma cannon to being only able to fire in rapid bursts. Keep this in mind." Much of what Doctor Luminous said was more or less what I expected. Still, it was helpful to get a second opinion on the matter.

"Uh huh. Is there anything else?" I asked while lifting my arm as my hand disappeared inside it to activate the H-Buster functions.

"Well... There is a couple of things. Your primary weapon comes with a third setting. Rather than fire in bursts, it can launch a concentrated stream of plasma. However, the recoil from this is quite impressive, so I do not recommend using it on the run. Stand your ground and use your left hand for extra support if needed." The doctor explained, causing me to look at my weapon with renewed interest. "Shall we take a practice shot?"

"Sure!" I replied with excitement. I then turned to my four companions and said, "Might want to back up! Not sure what's gonna happen!"

"Y'all heard 'im! Up against the wall, girls." Applejack added while she and the other three superheroes backed up until they were pressed against the walls of the building behind them.

I looked down the street ahead of me, seeing the long row of urban buildings lining the sides with the night sky high above us. It made me feel quite small while being surrounded by such tall buildings for the first time in well over a year. I then widened my stance slightly and held the side of the H-Buster with one hand as it began to charge. I could already feel something change within it, as if I somehow new it was changing settings. I lifted my arm, aiming directly at the horizon over the distant buildings. "OK then... Ready!"

I suppose the charge was necessary to get the cannon going as I soon felt a sudden push against me after hearing a lower sound come from the end of the buster's barrel before a bright yellow beam of plasma shot forth like a laser! The recoil was indeed so great that I nearly lost control of it! Thankfully, I stood my ground and held my arm steady enough to avoid having the beam blast through any of the towering buildings in the distance. Just five seconds was long enough before I decided to cease firing. The plasma beam soon stopped bursting from my arm while a trail of superheated wavering air rose from the short barrel at the tip. "Phew! Thought it was gonna overheat!"

Clearly entertained, my four friends began to applaud from nearby while Applejack and Rainbow Dash even cheered and whistled. However, I then heard Doctor Luminous speak up. "Well done. I was a little worried you would've lost control with that setting, but you managed quite well. Even so, only use it when necessary. Now then... I should inform you that there is something that I know I have not had the chance to fine-tune just yet... Remember when I said you're still only in the prototype stage?"

That certainly got my attention. From what I had seen so far, all of my body's functions were working amazingly well. "Yeah, I remember. What's wrong? One of my parts not working up to spec?"

"Yes... Your Variable Weapon System. Like I said, I'm a scientist. Not a mage." Luminous replied with a less than happy tone. "I had to enlist the aid of those skilled in magic to properly make this system function. But even then, it has proven most difficult to get working just right. At the moment, your data banks can only hold enough data on a total of two weapon types. And you've already filled those two slots. If you want to try copying another, you will have to delete one of them."

"Seriously?! Are you sure it's limited to just two and not eight?!" I asked with some mild irritation. I was not in the mood to have to discard one of my favorite secondary weapons.

Doctor Luminous sighed before he said, "I'm sorry, Project H. I'm afraid you will have to if you feel there is a new type of equipment you want to try out. However, once I get this system working to full capacity, your systems will be able to store the assimilated data on dozens of such functions. It's only a matter of time."

"Dozens?! And all at one time?! Nice! I think I can wait for that." I replied while I noticed a tiny grid on my visor's display that showed the two weapons I had already copied in the form of a tiny swirling tornado and a drill bit. The Storm Tornado option was then highlighted and soon disappeared. "I guess the Storm Tornado function can go for now. All I gotta do to get it back is give Rainbow a hug anyway."

"Yes, I suppose so. Now then, one last thing to cover. First, draw your blade." The good doctor said while my holster for said blade popped open to reveal the hilt.

"Huh? OK then." I muttered while I drew the H-Saber and held it in my hand. The blade soon activated, creating that pale yellow blade of plasma once more.

I then listened closely for the doctor's instructions. "All right. Now, something you might be pleased to know is that your saber is also connected to your Variable Weapon System. Try equipping... What did you call that drill weapon again?"

My eye glanced at the grid displaying my copied weapon systems. "The Tornado Fang? Sure."

In response of it becoming active, my body's white armor turned a shade of green again. But I was in quite a surprise as I watched the H-Saber. The plasma blade seemed to vanish as it deactivated, only for a small device to rise out of the slot on the top of the hilt and then produce I long and narrow drill! It instantly began to spin rapidly as me and my friends marveled at the blade's transformation. Rainbow Das even called out, "Whoa, James! You ever considered taking up dentistry?! I bet you could use that on Ursa teeth!"

"Ha! Maybe!" I retorted before deciding to try the drill blade out a bit. Taking it into a reverse grip, I then placed my left hand on the pommel and drove the spinning drill into the ground. The asphalt stood no chance as it crashed and tore through the ground with ease, leaving only the hilt exposed before I pulled it right back out. The drill was hardly scratched as I deactivated the saber, causing the blade to compact and retract before I placed it back in its holster as my armor turned all white again. "Um... Don't have the Japanese term for that... What would they call that? Drill Thrust? Diving Heaven Drill? Ugh, what a mouthful..."

Luminous merely chuckled over my muttering. "Well, keep in mind this little bit of information next time you assimilate a new function. Sometimes the blade is mightier than the buster."

Right as I was starting to turn towards my four friends, I heard a distant crash. It must have been only a few blocks away. Fluttershy yelped at the sound and hopped backwards while we all looked down the street. "Eep! Was that more robots?"

"I don't know what else it could be, darling. But surely Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and Spike are there!" Rarity replied while she began to make a run in that direction.

"Then let's go back 'em up!" Applejack shouted before she rushed after Rarity. I was contemplating flying to get there faster, although I quickly decided against it since it would leave my friends vulnerable without me. Until they knew exactly how to use their gear and superpowers, they were in danger.

Just as I was about to run after my two friends, I noticed Rainbow Dash pulling on Fluttershy's tail while my girlfriend clung to a lamppost in a comedic fashion. "Come on, Fluttershy! Our friends might be in trouble, so what's got you scared?!"

"Robots! Big mean scary robots who want to introduce me to their big scary drills! No thank you!" Fluttershy shrieked in response, clearly having been left mildly traumatized after that last mech tried to take a shot at her.

Finding her cowardice to be both justified and amusing to watch, and thinking up a witty retort, I walked over to the two arguing pegasi. "Yeah, I know. The only big drill you want in you is mine, right?"

"Wha... WHAT?!" Fluttershy replied in shock as she detected the playful innuendo and let go of the poll out of shock. She ended up getting yanked right into Rainbow Dash, who had busted out laughing. That mare always has been such a pervert, so it is no wonder she got a laugh out of that.

"Fluttershy, I get why you're scared. And since you don't know how to use your superpowers, you'd just get yourself in trouble if you jumped into a fight anyway. I'm gonna go see what's going on, so I can't stay here and watch you. Just come along, but stay back and let us handle it." I said while stroking her head in an attempt to calm her. "Besides, it'd be safer sticking with your friends. Right?"

"Uh... I guess it would be better to stay with you... Um... OK, I'll go." Fluttershy squeaked out somewhat reluctantly while standing up and letting Rainbow Dash take to the air.

"Right! Enough blabbing! We gotta find the rest of the team! Hey, girls! Wait up!" Rainbow Dash shouted before swooping after Rarity and Applejack in the distance. Fluttershy and I followed on foot too, having no trouble keeping up with our friends.

We kept running until we passed three city blocks and made a left at the next intersection. And right there another block away was the source of commotion. Another swarm of haywire machines, mostly mechs, had gathered at another intersection. But I was quick to notice a pink streak with a jagged white and purple line running through it zipping around some of the larger mechs. And every time it came to a stop... That was undoubtedly Fili-second. But that poofy pink tail with some jagged edges... Of course. How could it be anyone who is not Pinkie Pie?

"Wow! You guys are really slow! And I thought Twilight was slow during the Running of the Leaves on her first time!" Yeah, that was Pinkie Pie. I know that peppy voice anywhere. And it seemed she was the only one of my friends masquerading as the Power Ponies who knew how to access her superpower. Then again, it was all about running fast. But then where was...

"I heard that, Pinkie!" Another familiar voice yelled from somewhere nearby. Definitely Twilight, although I did not see her anywhere. Spike was probably with her, so it was likely that we had located the last of our friends.

"Whoa nelly... I dunno if we can take these with just our bare hooves... James, are ya up for this?" Applejack asked while we sprinted towards the next robotic swarm while Pinkie Pie seemed to be trying to just annoy them into submission by making herself an impossible target to hit.

Feeling more at home in my robotic body and having a better grasp of my various functions, I felt I was ready for a full field test. I felt a smile spread across my lips as confidence filled me. "Got it! Leave this one to me, girls!"

I activated my boot thrusters and rushed forward at high speed towards the larger mech that towered over Pinkie Pie. I really wish I could do a better job of describing their appearances... Regardless, about halfway towards my target, I bent my knees slightly and suddenly propelled myself into the air with a jump while my thrusters carried me high. I promptly drew the H-Saber from its holster and activated its flaming blade before preparing for a swing to my right with the blade being held to my left. I flew towards the mech just as it began to notice me and swung my blade to my right just as I was about to pass it. I screeched to a stop upon hitting the ground behind it a second later only to glance behind me to see its upper body slide right off its lower body with a crash. It was during this moment that I heard Spike call out from somewhere nearby. "Holy guacamole! Who's that?!"

I do not know what it is with Spike and that particular food, but he tends to use that word a lot when shocked. Regardless, the rest of the machines started to take an interest in me. Just what I was hoping for. Better to take their attention away from those who cannot defend themselves and focus on something partially designed to take them down. I felt a bit of a giddy feeling in my chest as I felt their optic sensors focusing on me. Like I was in a lot of trouble, but in a more playful sense. I then rose to my feet and pointed my blade at no one in particular. "Who's next?"

The mechs did not wait long to charge. One by one, they closed in on me only for the fiery plasma blade in my hand to cleave them into two. Some of the larger ones stood up to the blade for a couple of hits, the blade cutting through them and leaving molten metal in its wake while smoke rose from their damaged internal systems. And they never really got a shot in at me either. Perhaps it was a result of some programming in my locomotive systems combined with feedback from my HUD, but I would always turn to face and parry any incoming attack from my blind spots. It felt like I was not even really thinking anymore. As if my body was just responding to stimuli.

As more and more of the rogue mechs were reduced to scrap, the ones that had been hanging back began to take a more aggressive approach. I then turned and saw something flying towards me that I had not seen since my time on earth. Small, but swift. "Huh?! Missiles?!"

In a desperate attempt to evade the propelled explosives, I leaned back as my boot thrusters carried me backwards across the ground at high speed and past a few more mechs. The missiles either exploded upon hitting the ground or ended up slamming into other mechs by mistake and even blowing one apart. Upon coming to a stop and getting a good look at the mech that launched them at me, I saw that small missile launchers lined its shoulders. A mech designed for combat? However, I then felt myself smirk as I got a good look at its primary weapons. "Hey! I want what you got!"

Setting my sights on a new toy to try out, I rushed forward with my boot thrusters zooming past several mechs as the one that fired at me sent another flurry of miniature missiles at me. I was too quick and ended up going right under them before I switched weapons to the Tornado Fang and watched as the H-Saber's plasma blade was swapped out for a long and narrow drill bit instead. I drove the whirring drill right into the mech's torso, probably hitting its power supply since it all but immediately went limp and slouched forward. I promptly pulled the spinning drill out and reached up and touched one of the missile launcher boxes. Sure enough, a tiny missile diagram popped up briefly on my visor before disappearing and leaving the majority of my body a bit of a greenish gray while the drill blade in my right hand swapped back to its default plasma blade, probably a sign that this weapon type had no compatibility with it.

"Just the right trick for enemies at multiple angles." I muttered to myself as I put the H-Saber back in its holster as I heard large industrial drills whirring up behind me. Recognizing the sound as the same kind of drill as the one I had acquired the Tornado Fang weapon system from, I turned to see a few large construction mechs marching towards me. I looked down at my right arm and smirked as it assumed its weapon form. I then pointed it at the approaching mechs without even bothering to aim. "Dodge this one! Homing Torpedo!"

I fired several times, each time launching a small spiraling missile from the H-Buster. Sure enough, they were veer sideways to hit their mark and exploded with the force of a grenade. Unfortunately, while one or two were completely wrecked, most of the construction mechs were still standing and approaching. "Whoa... I know construction stuff has to be able to take a beating, but dang."

"Project H, do you read me? This might be a good time to try out one of your Variable Weapon System's functions." I heard Doctor Luminous call out in my head. "You should be able to combine some assimilated weapons together for a fusion of the two. And it seems the two you have so far are compatible. Give it a try!"

"Combining weapons effects?! Sweet!" My eyes glanced at my visor's grid that showed my list of copied weapons. Two empty squares opened up beside the list. It first selected the tiny missile shape that represented the Homing Torpedo and then selected the tiny drill shape that stood for the Tornado Fang. I assumed that it would basically take one weapon and then supplement it with the effects of the other. Not wanting to waste time with a quick fire, I began to charge my cannon instead. Just to be safe, I ran away from the approaching mechs and then pointed my arm at them with a full charge ready. "Let' see what we have here..."

Upon releasing the charged energy within, I got a bit of a surprise. A total of five Tornado Fangs burst forth from the H-Buster, but then veered in flight and drilled their ways into the remaining mechs before exploding with enough force to blow off large chunks of their bodies! It seemed that combine the homing technology of the Homing Torpedo with the Tornado Fangs, but also gave the drills a bigger explosive charge. "Whoa! What do I call this one then... Seeker Drill?"

"Woooo! Nice job! Hey, who're you anyway, mister?!" I heard Pinkie Pie shout before she literally popped up in front of me in a pink flash. To be honest, she was really cute in that outfit.

Seeing that speedy little mare pop up in front of me like that actually startled me as I jumped back. "Hey! Pinkie Pie? Or Fili-second... Oh, hey! Move!" I then reached out and pushed her aside as another mech armed with a jackhammer on each arm lumbered towards us. But as I did, my Variable Weapon System acted up as if I had just copied a new weapon. My visor displayed Fili-second's body, but... What kind of ability could I have assimilated from her?! Her superpower is speed and nothing else, although my body took on a mostly light purple color that matched the arrows on her uniform.

Even so, I had to make space as both slots for assimilated weapon systems were full. Deciding that I had gotten enough out of the weapons I had been trying out so far and deleted both. The symbol that stood for Fili-second's superpower seemed to display a human shape sprinting. Pinkie Pie rapidly backed away in hilarious fashion as her legs sputtered and moved too quickly even for my optic sensors to track. Thus, I faced the approaching mech as its jackhammers revved up. "OK, how do I use this one..."

For some reason, trying to access this weapon system seemed to trigger something in my boot thrusters. I felt them charging up for a blast. "Huh?! What's this?!"

They activated and I rushed forward... But far faster than I was prepared for. I must have been going near supersonic speeds since before I could even blink, I had slammed shoulder first into the mech with such force that I sent it sprawling with a large dent in its armored torso. A high speed charge for physical impact? "Whoa! What am I supposed to call that one?!"

In my brief fascination with this unexpected result of my newest trick, my visor suddenly alerted me to a threat to my side and I turned just in time to receive a blast of fire to my body, apparently suffering minor damage before I could raise my shield arm. It seemed to be another construction mech armed with an upgraded blowtorch being used like a flamethrower. As I watched the stream of fire from behind the particle shield, I quickly had an idea. "Oooooh, that's what I need!"

Activating the... Uh... Well, if I have to call that ability anything, I guess I can call it the Rocket Tackle... Anyway, with my shield arm up and with my right hand on it for additional support, I used the Rocket Tackle to smash into the welding mech and bowl it over. It was more of a quadruped in design and therefore its rigid low to the ground body made things difficult for the mech when it came to righting itself. I then approached it and placed my hand on its body. "I'll just take that, thank you."

Sure enough, a wire frame diagram for the blowtorch popped up on my visor briefly before a small flame symbol appeared in the Variable Weapon System grid. I immediately swapped to it, my white armor taking on a fiery red color while my softer components seemed more of a fiery yellow. I deactivated my shield and activated the H-Buster, knowing the power of heat now lied within. I turned to face several mechs, each of them unfortunately equipped with melee tools. Holding my buster in my left hand for support, I took aim before unleashing my new weapon. "Fire Wave!"

A huge torrent of concentrated flame burst forth from my arm and scorched the mechs so thoroughly that either their metal shells began to melt or they simply combusted and exploded while I waved my arm from side to side to make sure I did not miss anyone. Once the mechs had been melted into hot slag or had otherwise been disable, I ceased firing as a plume of wavering hot air rose from the H-Buster's barrel. I shook my head while trying to let out a whistle, impressed by my new arsenal.

"Heads up, hot stuff! There's still a few left!" I heard Rainbow Dash call out to me. I then turned around and saw the last stretch of rogue mechs lined up in front of me with a burly minotaur robot standing at the front while lugging around part of a lamppost in its hands.

"Huh... All in a row." I muttered to myself while my eyes glanced at the two symbols in one corner of my HUD. The Rocket Tackle and the Fire Wave. What would happen if I combined them?

Eager to try out such a combo, I tried selecting them both for a combination attack. The row of rogue machines charged me in a thunderous roar of clanking while I charged up my buster. "Something tells me this is gonna go right through you!"

How right I was. The instant my boot thrusters activated, my buster emitted a burst of flame that coated me like a type of aura. At that speed and surrounded by such heat, I rocketed right through anything that got in my way before coming to a screeching halt a second later. When I turned around, I saw that the minotaur robot was nowhere to be seen while the rest of the mechs had large chunks of their body missing before they fell over with molten metal around the edges of where the rest of them used to be. And behind me along the ground was a trail of fire. I looked down at my arm as it regained its hand, utterly blown away. "Whoa man... That was Speed Burner!"

Seeing that the current threat had been dealt with, and that countless pieces of scrap metal were lining the roads, I swapped back to my default weaponry as my body regained its mostly white look. My four friends who had accompanied me trotted forward while Fluttershy looked especially unnerved by all the destruction. "Oh dear... I feel sorry for whoever has to clean this mess up."

"Aw, I wouldn't worry too much, Fluttershy. They're just a buncha tin cans anyway." Applejack replied while lightly kicking away a piece of scrap by her hoof. "Anyway, was that Pinkie Pie runnin' around just now?"

Right at those words, a pink blur rushed over to us and came to a sudden stop in a truly cartoonish fashion. "Here I am! And wow, nice costumes! And I thought Twilight and I were the only ones."

"She's here?! Well, where is she?! And is little Spike with her too?" Rarity promptly asked while I looked around in the hopes of spotting her. As I did, I saw someone approaching from the shadows. Rarity soon noticed as well and called out. "Ah, there she is! Twilight, is Spike with you?!"

A familiar voice called out as a not so familiar unicorn mare stepped into the dim light that covered the immediate area. "Yes, Rarity. Spike's right here. And... Who are you?! I can't believe how you just obliterated all those machines!"

"Yeah, where'd you come from?! The only human we know is James!" Pinkie Pie added while looking up at me. "Reeeeally cool look though!"

Just seeing my lower jaw clearly was not enough to show her who I was, more than likely since my visor's orange tint prevented her from seeing my eyes. But before I could make my HUD deactivate and retract, Spike hopped off of Twilight's back and ran over to us while...also in costume. And judging by those boots, simple black eye mask, and that red cape... Oh no... "I thought so! I just knew you were all just like Pinkie Pie and Twilight when you ended up here! Radiance, Saddle Rager, Mistress Mare-velous, Zapp, Fili-second, and Masked Matter-Horn! You're... You're the Power Ponies!"

"Yeeeeah, we kinda had that figured out by now." Rainbow Dash replied while looking herself over once more. "But still... Sweet! We've got superpowers now!"

Spike, however, seemed both shocked and impressed by seeing some of his favorite superheroes in the flesh, even though he clearly knew that they were still his longtime friends. However, he then looked up at me in awe while his eyes scanned my armored body. "Whoa... Who are you?! You totally wiped the floor with those robots!"

Chuckling lightly, my visor retracted to reveal my eyes. "It's me, Spike. As for who I am... Well... Say hello to Project H."

At the sight of my face, Pinkie Pie's jaw quite literally hit the floor. Twilight then raised her voice and asked, "James, you too?! But then... Where are we?!"

It was Spike who offered a quick explanation. "I got it! That bit of text on the back cover! That must've caused some weird magic to happen that sucked us all into the comic book! We're in the world of the Power Ponies and we've all assumed the roles of some of the characters! And James is Project H, the new protagonist of the new series whose pilot is being worked into the 100th issue! And all those rogue robots must be the primary threat! But... Who's the main antagonist of Project H?"

"Ya sure know yer comic book lingo, Spike. But still, who in tarnation puts a spell like that on a comic book anypony can buy?!" Applejack asked in mild frustration, clearly not at all happy with being thrust into a world and role she never asked for.

Twilight also seemed bothered by the thought of that as well. "No kidding... It sounds like a prank the editors might've thrown in while probably never expecting anyone to notice it. Unless it's actually some sort of gimmick used specifically for the 100th issue and this new pilot."

While the girls talked back and forth from each other, I took the opportunity to look at Twilight's outfit. It looked identical to the design I had seen during my flight across the bay, but the cracked boulder patches on the front of her leggings had been replaced with the pink six-sided star that makes up her cutie mark. Pinkie Pie's uniform was completely identical with only her poofy hair not able to completely match the look of the real Fili-second, especially with her tail And Spike... I just had to speak up. "Hey, uh... Spike? Are you aware of the outfit you're wearing?"

Pinkie Pie then asked, "Yeah, just WHERE did you even get that stuff?!"

Rarity was quick to speak up while lifting Spike's overly long red cape with her hoof. "Why, its simply a classic superhero look, darlings. Comes with the mask and cape and everything!"

"My outfit? Uh... Uh oh..." Spike muttered while he looked himself over. While the attire was different overall due to Spike being a dragon instead of a colt, the look was unmistakable. "I was wondering why I kept tripping... I'm...Hum Drum?!"

I facepalmed right there, half laughing and half groaning. "Oh man, Spike... Really?! That's like auditioning for a play and getting stuck with the role of grass!"

This remark actually got a bit of an angry response from Twilight, who stepped between Spike and me. "James! It's not like Spike chose to take Hum Drum's role!"

I flinched at Twilight's scolding, but then tried to explain myself. "Hey, it's not Spike I've got anything against! It's Hum Drum. I mean... Hey, Spike. What is Hum Drum's role in the comics again?"

Sounding noticeably disappointed, Spike then said, "Well... He's the bumbling comic relief of the team. He has no superpower of gear and only gets... He's just useless and he wears this cape for no reason... Aw man, this sucks! Why'd I get stuck as him?!"

Spike angrily crossed his arms and pouted in frustration from him getting stuck with the role of the most useless character of the Power Ponies. I felt bad for the kid. I glanced back and forth at my six other friends before looking back at Spike before Twilight spoke up with a comforting smile as she patted his shoulder. "Don't worry too much, Spike. You might be dressed as Hum Drum, but you're still Spike. And you've always come through for us when we've needed you."

This little reminder seemed to perk Spike up quite a bit. He then proceeded to give Twilight a hug as he replied, "Yeah... I guess I do! Thanks, Twilight."

I could not help but smile at the almost siblinglike bond the two shared. However, I then felt the need to ask. "Well... You know more about this world and the characters than we do. How about giving us a tutorial on proper superpower use?

Rainbow Dash quickly spoke up as well. "Yeah! I know I've got something to do with wind and lightning, but I've got no idea how to use it!"

Twilight also nodded while she looked down at an intrigued Spike. "She's right, Spike. You know everything about this world and its characters, but we don't. And if we're the Power Ponies without knowing how to use our superpowers, we need someone who does know how we use them to instruct us."

This cheered Spike up right away. "All right! Yeah, I know how they all work! Um... Radiance! Oh wait... I mean... Rarity! Your bracelets! You can use them to create attack constructs!"

"Attack...constructs?" Rarity asked while lifting a hoof to inspect the pink diamond bracelet around her ankle.

I cocked my head to one, thinking that 'attack' construct might not be quite the right term. Even so, Spike provided a more thorough explanation. "Just think of anything and your bracelet will make it real."

"Oh! Well, that's simple enough!" Rarity said with a smile as if she knew exactly what she wanted. She then stuck out her hoof while the bracelet on it began to shimmer in response to her will. However, what did appear... It was far from useful. But seeing as how it was a practice run, I suppose it was all right. A small round table, a large teapot, a saucer, and a teacup materialized out of nowhere while bearing the exact same pink color as her bracelet. "Much better!"

Applejack rolled her eyes and asked in mild irritation, "Really, Rarity? A cup and saucer and teapot?"

Rarity took hold of the teapot with her levitation magic and turned it forward to pour her a spot of tea while she looked over her shoulder at the masked country mare. "Well, we WERE in the middle of a tea sampling party when this happened. I would just like to... Hm? Oh, don't tell me I can't conjure up anything edible!"

"Sorry, Rarity. I don't think that's how it works." Spike said coyly while shrugging his shoulders with his hands upturned. Rarity set the pot down in a huff before the pink apparitions vanished. I suppose they only stick around as long as she needs them to. After that, Spike turned to Fluttershy. "OK, Saddle Rager... I mean Fluttershy. If you lose your temper, you become a hulking super strong monster that can take anything that's thrown at you!"

I glanced at my fiancée instantly, as did the rest of our friends. Fluttershy losing her temper and becoming... I almost laughed at the thought. Could that magic have picked a less compatible superpower for someone as meek and gentle as Fluttershy? I honestly cannot remember the last time I ever saw her angry. And Fluttershy clearly was thinking the same thing. "But... But I don't feel angry. And I don't want to be angry! I would be so mean and... That doesn't sound very nice."

I managed to let out a snort while averting my gaze. "Actually, I don't think it's possible for anyone to lose their temper at the drop of a hat. Unless you're my dad..."

Pinkie Pie also did not seem to like the idea either. "Uh, yeeeah... I don't think we need another Meanieshy episode after that big minotaur came to town." Whatever it was Pinkie Pie was referring too, Fluttershy seemed utterly embarrassed by it and bit her lower lip while trying to not look at anyone in particular.

Spike merely sighed and rolled his eyes while turning to Rainbow Dash. "OK then... Uh, right. Zapp... She has the superpower to control the mighty forces of nature. It's all in her necklace! She uses that to summon lightning and wind."

Rainbow Dash looked down at her chest and gingerly nudged the lightning bolt pendant that hung from it. "Oh! So it's all about this thing..." She tried taking the pendant in her teeth and pointed it around for a second. Just as it seemed like nothing would happen, a quick burst of lightning shot out of it. "Whoa! Gotta be careful where I point that thing!"

Out of curiosity, I activated my HUD system before my visor was quick to lock onto the pendant and detected some form of electrical presence in it. "Huh... So that's why touching you gave me the Storm Tornado. I bet if I touched the pendant itself, I'd get an electric based weapon. But which one? Tri Thunder? Electric Spark? Thunder Dancer?"

Twilight and Pinkie Pie looked at me in some confusion while Spike asked, "Huh? Touch her? What, you've got some kinda superpower too?"

"I don't actually have superpowers, Spike. It's all built into me. Project H is a character whose power is technology. That's what Doctor Luminous..." It was then that I realized that the good doctor had been awfully quiet for the past several minutes. I glanced down at the tiny speaker on my helmet's jaw armor and spoke up, "Hey, doc! You gonna say something or what?!"

It was only then that Doctor Luminous finally brought himself to talk. "Oh, so sorry! I was just waiting for a moment to speak without interrupting anything."

"Who's there? I hear somepony, but I don't see you." Twilight asked while she took a few steps towards me.

"Oh, I'm afraid you can't see me because I'm miles away from you, Masked Matter-Horn. I am communicating with you all through a long-distance transmission through a sophisticated comm system built into Project H's internal systems. Anyway, it's relief to see that you are all well after this most troubling development. I hope my friend here made a good first impression with you."

"Oh, you bet he did! The way he trashed all those rogue machines?! Awesome!" Spike said rather loudly while looking up at me.

I glanced down at Spike to insure that Doctor Luminous could actually see him through my optic sensors. "Oh! Hello there, Hum Drum. Yes, I have been carefully monitoring this feedback I've been getting from his systems and it is very encouraging. Now, as I'm certain you are aware, the outbreak of machines gone rogue has reached alarming levels when compared to the last several months. Project H here will do what he can to assist you in neutralizing this threat. I hope the lot of you get along with him."

Probably deciding to play along with the situation that had been presented to them and with their current identities, my friends merely responded with nods and smiles. Twilight then replied, "It is appreciated, doctor. I'm sure we Power Ponies will need all the help we can get with this one."

Doctor Luminous sounded quite pleased by Twilight's response. "I'm glad to hear that. Now, I'm going to have to step away for a bit to measure and record this feedback data I've been getting. I'll let you know when I return. Take care, Project H."

"No problem, doc. We'll manage." I said as all sound on the other end of the comm system fell silent.

"He sounds really nice! Think we'll meet him someday?" Pinkie Pie asked while she started trotting around me in a likely effort to find exactly where the doctor's voice had been coming from.

"Maybe... Hey, Spike. Exactly what did you do to make that weird portal pop up anyway? You said something about a message on the back cover?" I then asked, barely recalling noticing Spike carrying a magnifying glass with him shortly before that portal opened up and sucked us all in.

At first, Spike seemed to be struggling to remember as all eyes fell upon him. Fortunately, he soon remembered while scratching his head. "Oh, yeah! It was in really tiny text, so I needed a magnifying glass to read it. It said something like... You can return to the...place you started once the...first path has reached its conclusion. I think that's what it says."

"It's a... A bit cryptic, don't you think?" Fluttershy asked while looking more closely at Twilight's outfit.

"Well, it mentioned a first path..." I muttered with my arms crossed. "Perhaps... Maybe it means that we just need to follow the trail of events that take place in the pilot chapter of Project H to get back home."

"Yeah... Yeah, maybe that's it!" Spike said enthusiastically. "And I haven't even read it yet! I've got no idea what's gonna happen! This is... Man, it's just so exciting LIVING the first chapter of a new comic book series instead of just reading it!"

"Yeah, it has been pretty fun so far! Like a dream! You girls up for the rest of the ride?" I added while looking at my six other friends.

"Uh... I don't know if it involves a lot of fighting... But I'll stay close." Fluttershy meekly replied while trying to crack a smile. I could tell she is not the kind of person who enjoys such a level of excitement. I can certainly relate to her as I too prefer a more laidback lifestyle and only enjoy these sorts of events under very specific circumstances.

Applejack seemed a bit more in favor of the idea while the rest of our friends smiled and seemed a bit fired up for action too. "Well, I reckon a lil' fun wouldn't hurt. It's like Dash said. We're all superheroes now, so why don't we have some fun while we can? Right, girls?"

"Yeah! Let's have some fun while we're here!" Pinkie Pie replied before she zoomed right up to Spike. "So, what's my superpower?!"

The sudden gust of wind that had been kicked up by Pinkie Pie's nearly supersonic rush towards Spike had kicked up his cape and caused it to get draped over his head. Spike promptly pulled it down and explained, "I think you already know! Fili-second is pretty much the fastest thing in the world on four legs! She can run miles in seconds!"

"Oh, so THAT'S why I ended up several feet away from those robots whenever I blinked!" She replied with a silly giggle while I cracked a smirk. Needless to say, it looked like Pinkie Pie required no practice to get the hang of her superpower. That, and I have heard some bizarre rumors that she is somehow fast enough on her own power to almost keep up with Rainbow Dash at cruising speed. Did I mention that in an earlier entry or is it just me?

Spike then turned to Applejack. "OK... Now for Mistress Mare-velous. I mean Applejack. You already tried out that rope, right?"

Applejack looked down at the golden rope that was hanging from the harness draped over her back. "Uh... Yeah, sure did. I swear the thing just don't wanna listen though. Even tied my hoof up last time."

"You shouldn't use it like the rope back home! It's psychically connected to you! All you have to do is will it to do what you want and it'll do it." Spike explained, as preposterous as the claim was. Of all the Power Ponies, Mistress Mare-velous seemed to be the type of superhero with no superpowers at all who compensates with special gear.

"Get outta here! Yer sayin' I can use this lasso without even holdin' it?!" Applejack sounded just as skeptical as I did, but she still looked down at it. With a bit of a focused glare, she gazed at it was the rope actually began to move. Soon, it slithered right out of its holster and formed a lasso that began to twirl above her without any contact with its user. I honestly thought that the levitation spell was being used by someone, but that clearly was not the case. With a smirk, Applejack directed the lasso to fly towards Rarity and quickly hogtied the startled mare around the ankles. "Heheh, I always wanted ta do that!"

Rarity promptly fell onto her side while being unable to stand. However, she soon smirked maliciously as her bracelets began to shine. "Oh, it...is...on! Two can play at this game, darling!"

As those bracelets shined, a vivid pink pair of scissors, styling gel, and hairpins appeared next to Applejack's head. "What the...?! Aw, you wouldn't dare! Hey!" In a minature cyclone of pink, Applejack's head was surrounded for just a few seconds. When the conjured tools vanished, Applejack's mane had been styled into a rather classy looking topknot. A hairstyle Applejack clearly did not care for one bit. "All right, ya made yer point! Now gimme back my do!"

I could not help laughing out loud at the playful rivalry those two were displaying, as did everyone else while Rarity conjured up her tools again to fix Applejack's mane. Twilight even held a hoof to her face as she giggled loudly. "Oh boy... Old habits die hard..."

Once Applejack's mane had been fixed back to normal, she called back her lasso without a word as it placed itself back in its holster. She then glanced at the two holding horseshoes that were sticking out of the top of her harness. "All right, so my rope does whatever I want it to just by...wanting it to. But what 'bout these things? Special footwear for somethin' dicey?"

Spike smiled in some amusement at that assumption. "Uh... No, you don't wear them. You throw them! They're called hoofarangs and they're used for restraining your enemies."

"Throwin', huh? Well, I always was pretty good at throwin' horseshoes." Applejack said while she reached back and grasped one on her hoof. There must have been some magnetic attraction between her hoof and the device since it did not slide out of her grasp. She then seemed to smirk towards Rarity as she was likely wanting to try it out. "Hey, Rarity. Ya wanna... Uh..."

That smirk instantly left her face when she turned to face Rarity. And I burst into giddy snickering as I saw that Rarity had conjured up a rather hefty pink sledgehammer and had it floating before her while giving Applejack a completely not amused stare. It only took two words to make it clear how not in the mood for Applejack's shenanigans she was. "Try me."

The rest of our friends backed away a bit due to the clear hostility Rarity was displaying. Knowing better than to try her luck, Applejack quickly backed down and looked at me with an uneasy grin. "Right... Uh... Hey, James! How 'bout ya let me try this sucker out?"

"Uh... Me? I guess so." I replied while wondering if the gap between the middle of the hoofarang was wide enough to actually fit my wrist into. It was only then that the sledgehammer Rarity had summoned disappeared. I stepped over to a nearby building and lifted my left arm and holding my hand against the wall. "OK, lemme me have it!"

With an overhead throw, Applejack hurled the device right at me as it twirled through the air. Somehow, almost like a guided device, the hoofarang struck the wall with the gap having landed over my wrist. My arm was completely pinned to the wall, no matter how much I wiggled. Applejack seemed proud of herself while our friends cheered and applauded her for such skillful use of her gear. "And that's how we do things down on the far... I mean in Maretropolis!"

I chuckled a bit before trying to yank the hoofarang out of the wall to free myself. However, I found that no matter how much I tugged and wiggled, I could not get the device to let go. "What the... Hey, Batmare! I think these things are magnetic! Get me outta this thing!"

"They are?! Shoot, hold on! I'll getcha down!" Applejack soon came running, but I then noticed that as I touched the hoofarang, my Variable Weapon System's sensors had reacted and detected something it could copy. The hoofarang came up on screen in a wire frame form. Judging by how it would likely function, the words 'Boomerang Cutter' came to mind. But since the Fire Wave and Rocket Tackle were already useful abilities on their own and could be combined for the incredibly potent Speed Burner, I opted to ignore the proposed new weapon and hold on to what I already had.

Applejack had to jump a bit to actually reach my raised arm, but she managed to get my restraints undone. It seemed to detach at her mere touch before she placed it back in her harness. "Sorry 'bout that, sugarcube. Still got no idea how these doohickeys work. Y'all OK?"

I instinctively flexed my wrist to check for damage, but found nothing wrong with it. "Nah, I'm good. Awesome aim though. I think you'll have no problem using that stuff."

"Much obliged, James. I gotta get good with that stuff if I'm gonna hold my own while we're here." Applejack retorted with a smile while we headed back over to our friends. "All right, so that's my goodies all taken care of. Who's next?"

"I think I'm the only one who doesn't know how to use my superpowers." Twilight said while stepping forward. "What's mine, Spike?"

"Well, aside from being the leader of the Power Ponies, you can fire all sorts of different kinds of beams from you horn. Give it a try!" Spike replied while pointing to the covered horn on Twilight's forehead.

"Oh, so it's like magic! Piece of cake." Twilight then tried to focus as an unusually bright blue aura surged around her horn. But only a few seconds later, all that happened was a small burst of snow and frost came from her horn. Small does not do it justice, actually. It was tiny. Completely ineffective. Twilight seemed genuinely embarrassed by such a pitiful output and grinned sheepishly at us. "Uh... OK, so it's not that much like magic."

It seemed that Twilight's superpower revolved around ice spells. But since her outfit did not seem to point to anything cold based, it is likely that Masked Matter-Horn's spell pool is quite balanced and rounded. Even so, I looked back and forth at my friends. "So, we've basically got Storm, the Flash channeling Deadpool, Wonder Woman crossed with Batman, the Green Lantern, possibly the Hulk, Mr. Freeze and..."

My gaze fell upon Spike, who was just looking up at me with about as much bewilderment as the rest of my friends were. I sighed heavily as I realized how just utterly helpless he was as Hum Drum. But just because the writers of the Power Pony comics had insisted on Hum Drum being completely incompetent did not mean Spike had to be that way. "OK, Spike. If you're going to stick around with us instead of hiding in a cardboard box somewhere for the rest of the chapter, you need to be able to pull your own weight... What little weight there is."

Spike certainly seemed to agree, but also had his doubts as he began to pace in front of me. "Yeah, I know! I want to help, but I'm Hum Drum! And he's... Oof!"

He fell. Just up and tripped right in front of me. And I was quick to see what caused it. His cape. It was simply too long and got caught on his foot. As dashing as it looked, having it extend past his ankles made it a tripping hazard. "I see something that needs to go. Rarity, you got any scissors?"

"Absolutely, darling. Right here." She replied as a pair of pink scissors appeared in the air beside me. She took the time to admire her bracelet as she lifted it closer to her face. "Stylish and functional... The best of both worlds!"

I reached down and grabbed Spike by the end of his cape and hoisted him into the air while grabbing the scissors in my right hand. "Hold still for a second."

Spike did not move as he hung in the air. I then began to snip away at his cape until a few inches of the fabric had been sheered off. He fell right back to the ground and on his feet. "There you go. Much more functional."

Fluttershy took a closer look at the cape, which now stopped just above Spike's ankles. "Oh, it does look better now! I don't think you have to worry about tripping with it being shorter like that."

Spike then grabbed the red cape and let it swish around a bit, showing off a bit of flair while it did not get in the way. "Yeah! It doesn't feel like it's in the way all the time anymore! Thanks, James!"

"No problem. Now we just need to get you some gear. Need something to protect yourself with. Where I come from, there are comic books where superheroes have no superpowers at all and instead rely on various types of gear to get the job done. They can even hold their own against other superpowered heroes too." I explained while once again turning to Rarity.

My gorgeous friend seemed to understand why I was looking at her and stood at attention while her bracelets began to shine. I then crossed my arms while glancing back over at Spike. The kid is small and not very mobile when compared to ponies. He would be asking for trouble if he tried to get up close to an enemy to attack. And while he is able to breathe fire like all dragons, it seems too weak and has too little range to be effective. He would be best suited for keeping his distance. His small size would also make him a harder target from a distance. I then looked at Rarity and asked, "Think you can make a slingshot?"

"That's all? Well, if you insist." A second later, a floating pink slingshot appeared and drifted over to Spike. It was even just the right size for him too. "All yours, Spikey Wikey. Use it well."

"Really...? Just a slingshot? Well, I guess it's better than nothing." Spike grumbled while looking the little tool over. Stil, I could tell he was glad to have a means to fight back with. "Uh... Wait a minute. What do I shoot with it?"

I then looked back at Rarity and asked, "How about a satchel of smoke bombs?"

Pinkie Pie then butted in and added, "Ooh! And try to make it an unlimited supply! That always helps!"

Rarity seemed genuinely baffled by such a claim, but tried it anyway. "Unlimited supply?! Well, I'll see what I can do." At her words, a small pink satchel of sorts appeared and floated over to Spike. It was just the right size too as he soon slung it over his shoulder. "How's that, Spike?"

"Uh... It's pretty comfortable. And...uh... These are smoke bombs?" He asked while reaching into the satchel as it rested against his hip. The smoke bomb he pulled out was just a tiny pink orb. "I guess I better try it out."

Spike turned to the nearest wall and loaded up the smoke bomb into the slingshot before pulling the sling back as far as he could before letting it loose. For such a tiny ball, the amount of smoke it released was quite impressive. More than enough to completely engulf something of my size. The cloud of smoke was the same shade of pink as the slingshot itself, but it also glittered quite a bit too. Along with the smoke blocking one's vision, the sparkling effect could also provide a slight flash bomb effect by disorienting the victim. I know I would probably be seeing spots after getting caught in that. Clearly satisfied by the result of the smoke bomb, Spike looked at Rarity with a smile. "Hey, that works pretty good! Thanks, Rarity!"

Our little friend hurriedly rushed over to the beautiful mare and gave her a hug while she returned the favor. "Anytime, Spike. Be sure to use it well. I doubt the ruffians we have to deal with will ever see it coming."

"Well, he's definitely more capable than some of us right now. I still don't know how to get the most out of my superpower yet." Twilight spoke up while once again trying to produce some sort of energy from her horn. This time, it was a red glow and produced a few embers.

Rainbow Dash then added while looking at her necklace, "Yeah, I think we better get some practice in before we bump into the bad guys. Don't wanna get ourselves in trouble, right?"

Before I could say anything, I heard a quick beeping sound before the tiny map grid in the upper left section of my HUD. It zoomed in quickly to show what was all too likely another outbreak that needed to be put down. And it was only several blocks away. "Dang it... Girls, it looks like there's another swarm of rogue machines that need to be taken care of. I better get going."

However, Pinkie Pie suddenly rushed up in front of me and asked, "I'll come too! I've already gotten the hang on my superpowers, so I can help."

"I guess that'd be OK. All she has to do is run really fast." Fluttershy replied quietly while still looking uneasy about having to get involved in this superhero business. I know I would be too if I was still an ordinary human.

"Sounds good. Y'all take care of them varmints and we'll catch up once we've got an idea of how all this stuff works." Applejack added while having her new golden rope do some lassoing tricks with her jumping through the loop, probably as a means to test its flexibility.

Pinkie Pie then turned around and... Well, whatever it was she said, I did not notice as my attention was drawn to something else. My eyes happened to glance down while her back was turned and... Well, my assumptions about her outfit were correct. I kind of cringed as I saw that the two long arrow designs on her sign seemed to be...coming out of the creases between her hindquarters.

It did not take Rainbow Dash to notice what I was looking at and discreetly flapped over to me while smirking playfully. She then whispered, "What's up, big guy? See something you like?"

Trying to avoid drawing attention to myself, and hoping that Doctor Luminous had not returned to his seat yet, I quietly replied, "Just...see for yourself. The arrows..."

With that sly smirk turning into a more confused one, Rainbow Dash looked down as well. And then her baffled expression turned into a crooked exasperated expression before becoming a crooked smirk as she began to snort and snicker with suppressed laughter. When she started to bite her lower lip, I knew she was about to start laughing. "Rainbow, don't..."

Sure enough, she began to snicker loud enough to get Pinkie Pie's attention. The speedy mare looked over her shoulder and asked, "What's so funny, Rainbow? I didn't tell any jokes!"

I facepalmed momentarily as I knew the truth was about to come out. As she burst into laughter, Rainbow Dash spilled the beans. "It's your jumpsuit! Those two purple lines on your sides! They're coming outta your butt!"

"WHAT?! My butt?!" Pinkie shrieked as she turned around. But when she did, our five other friends eyes were automatically drawn to Pinkie Pie's posterior. And only a second later, those looks of confusion became looks of either revulsion, shock, or outright disgust as they reeled from the sight. Fortunately, Twilight was quick to cover Spike's eyes before he could get a good look at it.

"Hey! I blinked and missed it! Lemme see, Twilight!" Spike said loudly while trying to sway to the side to see past Twilight's arm, only for her to move it in accordance with his head.

"Uh... Maybe when you're older." Twilight replied while still looking rather unsettled by the incredibly awkward origin point of the two purple arrow designs on the sides of the outfit.

Rarity, being the master of fashion design she is, provided the most scathing commentary while reviling in horror. "Who even designed this outfit?! To call it a fashion faux pas would be too lenient! Just... Why?! The implications of such a design is... Ugh! I'd say this issue warrants several letters to the editor!"

"That, or the artist who came up with Fili-second's design was working too many late nights or might have even been drunk and thought anything involving butts are funny." I remarked while shaking my head in disbelief. It was impossible for me to believe that the artist overlooked that bizarre little detail when he drew that outfit.

"Are you girls done talking about my booty, or can we get to the good part?!" Pinkie Pie then barked while seeming a bit annoyed for once.

Fluttershy coughed to help break the tension and smiled awkwardly at us. "Right... Uh... So, you keep an eye on James and help out, all right?"

"Yeah... Uh... We're gonna hang back a bit and make sure we've got the hang of these superpowers before we catch up. And I gotta make sure my throws with these here doohickeys is spot on."

I quickly glanced at the map grid on my HUD to check the location of the nearest irregular outbreak and saw that it had not moved much. Strange that they would be sticking in one place for so long. "Yeah, we better get going. Those rogue machines aren't gonna toss themselves into the scrap yard. Let's get going, Pinkie."

"OK! You be careful, guys! I've got no idea what's gonna happen in this issue!" Spike replied as he waved goodbye. I turned and ran with Pinkie Pie keeping up with me while consciously trying to keep her superpower from activating. I would have no hope of keeping up if she took off at max speed.

Once we rounded the corner and started making our way down the next street, Pinkie Pie suddenly zoomed ahead of me and stopped while facing me. "Hey, James! I just wanna say how cool it was the way you showed up and trashed those metalheads! And the way you changed colors! It's like your white armor's just a canvas waiting to be painted! So cool!"

I slowed to a stop before her upon seeing that she wanted to stop and shoot the breeze as friends for a bit now that it was just us. I looked down at my white armor, remembering how it would change to different colors depending on what assimilated ability or weapon I had accessed. "Huh... Yeah, it is. I guess being white means I'm just waiting to splash some color on me."

However, she asked while we started to walk along, "Hey, um... Are you sure you're feeling OK? Maybe it's just me, but when you talk, it just looks like you're saying ma ma ma ma ma over and over."

"Huh?! Ma ma... What, you mean I just look like I'm flapping my jaws without my lips matching my words... Wait a minute..." I replied while trying to imagine myself talking like... Like... I suddenly busted out laughing and hunched forward with my hands on my knees. "Are you kidding me?! Pffft... Hahaha! Project H is a manga-style character! The artists must be experimenting with a new art style!"

"Huh? Manga? What's that?" Pinkie Pie asked while looking at me with her head cocked to one side. I continued to snicker, wondering why it did not feel like my jaws and lips failed to lip-synch with my words. Maybe it was just Pinkie's own weird vision. The others would have surely mentioned it too.

"Ha... Don't worry about it. Just another type of comic book from the world I'm from. I just hope they don't try to mix things up by having the panels read from right to left... Anyway, let's move." I retorted before breaking out into a run again with Pinkie Pie rushing ahead to scout things out.

After another block or so, something began to change. There were bits of trashed junk littering the street here and there with a number of broken windows. We must have been going in the right direction. Although I was beginning to notice that the city had been...oddly quiet for such a bustling metropolis. I then tried speaking to Doctor Luminous. "Hey, doc? You back yet?"

I heard the squeaking of a pivoting office chair on the other end of the mic. "Ah, yes. I just now got back. I trust everything's all right?"

"Well, I haven't run into any trouble yet. Fili-second and I are scouting ahead and it looks like we're closing in on another gaggle of irregulars... That's what you call them, right? Also... Is it just me or does the city seem a bit...deserted? I mean I do see lights on in some of the buildings, but they're a bit spread out." I explained while stepping off of the street and onto the sidewalk to be a bit less noticeable.

"Hmm... You have a point..." Luminous muttered before a brief pause. "It seems that an evacuation order has been issued and the city's residents are evacuating the city through the underground metro system or through ferries at the harbor. I suppose the city council is not taking chances with this latest outbreak being so big and are trying to keep the people safe while deciding how it should be dealt with. On the plus side, this means you don't have to worry about anypony getting caught in the crossfire."

As I broke into a run, I smiled confidently. "Yeah, that's a relief. Wouldn't want... Hold up, who was that?!" I came to a halt after passing by the long window of a restaurant. Whatever it was I saw beyond it, it was not my reflection.

"Something up? I'm not picking up any bio signs or electronic readings right next to you." Luminous replied quietly while I turned around. It was quiet aside from the distant howl of an evacuation siren.

"I know I saw something... Hang on, I'll take another peek." I then began to lower myself to the ground and inched myself closer to the very edge of the window. Just in case whoever was on the other side was not a threat, I opted to keep the H-Buster in standby mode and kept the saber in its holster.

After pausing just before the window, I stepped forward and looked into it. Indeed, my reflection was not what I had noticed. In fact, my reflection was completely absent. Instead... Was it my mind playing a trick on me? Or was it a glitch in my neural network? Regardless... There was a human-type robot standing before me, and it was not me. But I still recognized his human face and green eyes. "X...?"

Luminous soon spoke up in my head again. "Project H, are you all right? All I'm seeing is your reflection. There's nopony there."

Only I was seeing it... A robot with a human face and with blue armor covering much of his body with a vaguely triangular red gem set into the front of his rounded helmet. His eyes and face seemed to be showing the same expression as mine, but that was our only similarity. I lifted my hand and pressed it against the glass panel while he did the same, my solid white hand touching his translucent one. "Why am I seeing you? I wish I could shake your hand..."

Before I could think much of it, there was a sudden pink streak to my left before showing Pinkie Pie's reflection beside that of the blue robot before me. "Hey there, James! There's a bunch of robots up ahead and... Uh... Are you OK?" She then looked at my reflection, most likely just seeing me in the same way Luminous was. "Whatcha doing? See something interesting?"

I felt myself smile as a feeling of elation and powerful nostalgia flooded my senses. I sighed and closed my eyes before opening them again to see the blue man still standing before me. When I spoke, his lips remained still. "Nothing, Pinkie... Just... Thought I saw a familiar face."

What she said next was not at all what I was expecting. "Who? The blue guy with green eyes?"

"Wait, you see him too?!" I yelped before looking down at her as the blue robot did the same to Pinkie Pie's reflection. How could she see what Doctor Luminous could not?! I doubt even the rest of my friends could see it!

Pinkie Pie merely giggled innocently before explaining, "Silly filly! I see lots of things that nopony else can. Like all the comic book panels and even the cursor and scroll bar as you're typing this! And that one reader who's picking his nose." She then looked at my false reflection and asked, "So, who is he? I really like his eyes. Confident, but really kind too."

Finding myself becoming more accepting of the situation, I looked at the window again and found myself smiling. "He's...my childhood idol. Always looked up to him. Some have even said my personality is similar to his. I guess...his nature may have rubbed off on me in some way."

"He sounds like a really nice guy. No wonder you're such a nice guy too. Hey! Maybe Project H was based on him!" Pinkie replied while I merely chuckled at the thought. Impossible, but it would not surprise me either way.

"Yeah, right... Anyway, we better get going. Got some mavericks to scrap." I replied with a slight chuckle. Pinkie Pie then ran off as I turned to follow her. However, I stopped before I could completely step away from the window and took one last look at the blue hero before me. "Thanks for inspiring me, X. If only you were real..."

Gathering my resolve, I rushed after my friend and soon found her standing in the middle of the street. And ahead of her... Well, it was certainly a step above what I had seen so far. Numerous mechs were strewn about the length of the street, but not nearly as compacted as the other swarms I had seen. They seemed to be engaging in general property destruction. Fallen lampposts lined the streets, several stores had been set ablaze, and so on. The cool faint illumination that had covered the city had been replaced with the caution-instilling orange glow of flames. Pinkie Pie then looked up at me with an uneasy frown. "Um... Looks pretty serious. Think we should wait for the others?"

"Nope." I replied while drawing the H-Saber from its holster before its bright plasma blade extended from the hilt. "They're just cannon fodder anyway. We'd best take them down now. You're a superhero now, Pinkie. You can handle these things."

"Oh, right! Duh! I've got this!" She said with a giggle before rushing over to a mech that was scorching a storefront with another heavy blowtorch and gave it a quick kick in the back before zooming away. It then turned around to check for the source of the assault and seemed to eye another mech armed with a heavy drill arm that seemed to be drilling through the street for a water main or something. I was not expecting it to target another rogue machine, but that is exactly what it did! It unleashed its makeshift flamethrower at the construction mech and set it ablaze before it burst in a series of smaller explosions. I got a good laugh out of that and ran forward before chopping its blowtorch off its arm.

"Dummy! Now what're you gonna do, huh?!" I said while laughing at the disarmed mech. Its response was pretty straightforward. With its large clasping hand on its other arm, it grabbed me by the throat and lifted me into the air. "Ack! Good answer!"

Seeing that Pinkie Pie was not around, I just decided to strike low with the H-Saber and skewered the mech through its upper region before lifting my hand, bisecting the thing vertically. That was more than enough to put it down as it promptly released its grip on me and fell to the side with a clank. "Right then... Mechaniloids might be simple, but they're not exactly stupid. I'm asking for trouble if I try that again."

I turned my eyes down the street once more as Pinkie Pie was performing a classic trick to annoy the rogue mechs into attacking each other. Get one's attention, then rush in front of another one while getting that one's attention, and then get away just as the earlier one is coming and cause them to collide or strike each other. It was good to see her pulling her own weight in a way only she could, but I still had to focus on the rest. I began to run down the middle of the street and only ignored mechs that Pinkie Pie was already dealing with. At one point, she caught my eye as she began to land a flurry of rapid-fire punches on one mech at such blinding speed that she effectively chiseled a hole right through it. Have I mentioned just how strong Pinkie Pie is? Maybe not as strong as Applejack, but not too far off either.

The street was littered with varying sizes of burning rubble and debris. Having been relying a bit too heavily on the H-Buster, I decided to focus solely on using the H-Saber to keep my approach balanced. I hardly bothered going around the burning debris as I felt no fear to brief exposure to flames within the confines of my metal exterior. Just to be safe, I kept my shield arm constantly active and felt my current status to be not too far apart from whenever I am armed with the Celestial Sword and Lunar Shield.

I was quick to see that mechs were not the only threat I had to deal with. Numerous types of anthropomorphic robots were mixed in as well, ranging from ponies to griffons. They had clearly been modified for combat use, extra armor plating on their torsos and limbs while the unicorn robots could even fire various types of energy bolts from their horns such as lasers and electric bursts. The griffons seemed to have exceptionally sharp claws on their hands and flew with very strong and broad metal wings. They must have been exceptionally light to get off the ground without thrusters of any sort. But that also meant they probably could not take much of a beating either since extra armor would just weigh them down.

Seeing a greater range of intelligence in these robots, I hoped that they would stop and listen to me if I spoke to them. "Hey! Stand down! Halt!"

I lowered my blade and waited for a response as the rogue robots halted their attacks on their surroundings and turned to face me. I tried speaking out to them again. "Please! You don't have to do this! Just stand down."

At first, they all stared in silence. Would they listen and disarm? Finally, I got an answer from one of them. One of the unicorn-type robots spoke up with its voice sounding noticeably digitized and without a visible mouth, most likely just speaking from a voice emitter. "Target signature inconsistent. Viral presence negative."

Viral? As if to respond to that, I heard Doctor Luminous speak up in some degree of alarm over my comm system. "Project H, I'm getting the same reading from all of them! They're suffering from the viral infection! They're not going to go peacefully!"

As if to further hammer in the doctor's words, one of the unicorn robot's horn began to surge with electrical energy. "Directive... Eliminate!"

"Tch... Fine!" I stood ready while trying to select the Fire Wave from my data banks. Upon doing so, I was surprised as the plasma blade on the H-Saber burst into a flaring blade of fire. I was not expecting it to cut as cleanly as the H-Saber in it default state, but those billowing flames clearly covered a wider area. "Bring it!"

The first robot to charge me was one of the griffon robots while it let out a robotic avian screech as it extended its shimmering blade claws. But as it swooped towards me, I was flanked by one of the unicorn robots as it bombarded me with a concentrated laser. It even managed to land a hit on me and threw me off balance. Not willing to let myself take a hit from the griffon robot as well, I rushed to the side with a quick burst from my boot thrusters and then rushed forward before swinging the blazing blade of the H-Saber right into it. As expected, the blade did not cleanly cleave through it, but constant exposure to the intense flames caused continuous damage until half of its body ruptured in a blast of smoke and ignited hydraulic fluids. And unlike the mechs before it, I heard a cry of pain as the unicorn robot collapsed to its side and became deathly still.

It was as I saw this rogue machine become still that I felt something new. During my first encounter with the rogue machine menace, I was completely caught up in my new abilities and just went to town on all of them before me while not one of them spoke. But after having become more used to my new form and becoming more seasoned with further exposure to the world of fiction found in the pages of the Power Ponies comic book, I felt...a twinge of horror as I gazed down at the fallen robot. He spoke to me before he attacked. He let out a cry of pain as his internal systems combusted. And now... He laid dead before me.

My stupor was shaken from a sudden shot to the back of my head. One of the other unicorn robots had just blasted me with another laser shot. I could not let myself get distracted by what was lying motionless at my feet. Even though my design far surpassed my enemies, they could probably destroy me if I allowed them to. Furthermore, a horizontal gauge was displayed across the very top of my HUD that likely tracked my physical condition. It was still all but full with perhaps a sliver of a piece of it missing. I had nothing to worry about so far.

Once more, the unicorn bombarded me with repeated laser shots. Keeping my shield up, I charged through the volley towards it and decided to let my programming do the rest. With flexibility and balance I never expected to possess, I essentially performed a back flip kick once right up in front of the robot when it was on the verge of firing off another shot. It hit with enough force to launch the robot maybe a good twenty feet into the air. Before it could start to fall, I flipped the H-Saber into a reverse grip and jumped after it with its flame blade active while my boot thrusters gave a big boost to my height. I swung upward with it, cleaving through the robot until it burst into flames and exploded into smaller bits of scrap. A quick glance below revealed that a few earth pony robots were waiting for me to fall back down to them. Responding to my will, the fiery blade of the H-Saber became even broader as its hilt extended to the point of being that of a longsword. Still grasping it in a reverse grip with my left hand grasping the pommel, I descended rapidly with my great fiery blade pointing straight down. Upon plunging the blade into the ground, a wave of fire exploded in all directions and just scorched gang to charred husks that collapsed in flames. "Crap... Why'd these techniques always have to be in Japanese?! I have no idea what to call that!"

Once more, the griffon robot came swooping at me. It approached with surprising speed, forcing me to block its passing slash with my shield arm. While it began to turn back for another pass, I decided to try out the Rocket Tackle with the H-Saber ready. Upon being selected, the blade of flame became its default pale orange plasma blade again. However, instead of feeling something shift in my legs, it happened in my arm. "Oh boy, I can't wait to see this..."

I stood ready with the intention of intercepting the griffon robot on its approach. But once it was around ten feet away from me, which was the moment I tried activating the Rocket Tackle's functions, I... I swear, it felt like time just slowed down. I swung my blade over and over, cleaving through the griffon from too many angles to count without appearing to have done any real damage. All the while, it was basically moving at the speed of a slideshow presentation. Either that, or my internal systems were processing information so fast that the world just seemed too slow now. Was that how it is to see the world through the eyes of Fili-second?

Once the energy required to fuel the Rocket Tackle ability had run its course, the flow of time returned to normal and... Well, I just got pelted with a barrage of bits of metal. I staggered back while mildly startled and took a look around to see what had just hit me since the griffon robot itself was nowhere to be seen. And at my feet were...all that was left of it. The griffon robot had been cleaved up so fast and into so many glowing pieces that it probably just fell into bits and cubes before it even had any idea what hit it. I looked at my arm as my armored shell turned white once again, more blown away than horrified. "Man, that is nuts! What do I call this one? Hypersonic Blade?"

Before I could really ponder it much more, an earth pony robot came in swinging with heavy plates lining its forelegs. Despite being shorter than me, I knew better than to let it land a direct hit on me and kept backing away and out of reach with each swing as it stood on just its hind legs. At one point, I reached out and planted my foot on its head while being just out of reach as it began to swing its arms back and forth in an attempt to hit me, but being just out of reach. Finally tiring of this, I placed the H-Saber back in its holster and shot the robot's left leg out with a small shot from the H-Buster. "Stay down."

Forced to its knees, I thought the robot would stop trying to attack. However, its viral corruption forced it to keep swinging, even as it jumped at me with one leg only to fall flat on its face. Feeling pity for the machine, I instead turned my attention to several more robots charging at me in a row while more unicorn robots fired bolts of heat, lasers, and electric bursts. I took shelter behind my particle shield and swapped to the Fire Wave while my body became fiery hues. I charged up my buster and just before the melee robots could reach me, I pointed my buster at the ground before me and released the shot. The result was about as much as I expected. A towering wave of fire streaked across the ground and engulfed anything its path without slowing down. Even the unicorn robots that hung back ended up being engulfed. When the flames finally ran their course around a hundred paces away, the only thing that remained of the robots were charred husks. Well, aside from the one poking at my ankles still.

Seeing that their were no more hostiles in the immediate area, I set my foot down on the robot's head to pin it to the ground as my armor became white once more. "You know, this is the part where you stop trying to make a fool of yourself. You can't even stand, let alone fight. And where's Pinkie Pie anyway?"

The robot kept trying to swing at my foot plate, speaking in only broken sentences. "Destroy organics... Eliminate or convert all machine brethren..."

It was just then that I noticed a pink streak suddenly approached me from far down the street just before Pinkie Pie popped up in front of me. "Hey, James! All done here? You were going way too slow, so I went ahead and played tag with all the robots up ahead. Who knew they liked to blow each other up so much?" She then looked down at the earth pony robot that was pinned under my foot. "Ooh, you made a friend! Hi there! I'm Pinkie Pie, but I think everypony around here calls me Fili-second. What's your name? Is it Metal Hoof?"

"Pinkie, I wouldn't. This one's... Hey! You stay down!" I yelled before stamping on its head harder to pin it to the ground even more effectively as it suddenly became more hostile in Pinkie Pie's presence. It tried to get to her, but I kept it from reaching her as she suddenly backed away faster than I could actually restrain it. "What's the deal with you anyway?! Hey, doc. What's your readings on this?"

Doctor Luminous replied with a rather grim tone of voice. "It's as I feared. The readings I'm getting definitely point to the same viral infection that was detected in the remains of disabled robots before this outbreak. All infected machines exhibit an alarming level of hostility towards living creatures, but not as much towards fellow machines unless they attempt to interfere. Most antiviral software is not even effective in repelling it."

"The maverick virus..." I muttered to myself. "Well... All we have to do is perform a hard reset on this guy and he'll be back to normal, right? Wipe his hard drive clean and remove the virus?"

"It's not that simple, Project H. This virus is somehow able to spread from machine to machine almost like an actual viral strain to living organisms. You need to disable this robot before the virus can spread from it." The good doctor replied, placing a new sense of fear in me. In the world of the Power Ponies, I was still a machine. Could the virus also infect...

I almost staggered away from the pinned robot in abject terror as the thought of also going mad with xenophobic hatred filled me. Could I become just like them? "It can spread?! What about me?!"

The doctor was quick to try to calm me. "Easy there, Project H! Your antiviral program is a heavily customized version of one of the latest versions of the best antiviral software in the world. I am all but certain you are immune to whatever this virus is."

"Oh... Phew. But what about this guy? If I disable him... Will he be able to be repaired and then rebooted with the virus being wiped from his systems?" I replied with a sense of fear and hope while Pinkie Pie seemed to have back away further due to all the talk of a virus. Maybe she did not understand that it was a computer virus rather than a retrovirus we were discussing.

The doctor was quiet for a moment while I looked down at the restrained robot as it constantly muttered and squirmed under my foot. When he finally did speak to me, it was not an answer I was hoping to hear. "I really don't know, Project H. Maybe the virus can be removed or not. I don't know. But you need to disable this one right now. When its internal systems go offline, the virus will no longer be able to spread from it."

With great reluctance, I drew the H-Saber from its holster before its plasma blade emerged from the hilt before I held it in a reverse grip with the blade pointing down. I looked at Pinkie Pie, who seemed to have heard everything. She looked rather distraught as she looked down at the pinned robot, who seemed completely oblivious of any danger it was in. Clearly understanding everything Luminous had said, she looked at me with a gaze of horror before she turned away, sat down, and covered her ears. I would have likely done the same. I lowered the tip of the blade until it was right beside the robot's neck as it continued to squirm and try to crawl out from under my foot. As I tried to bring myself to finish it off, I closed my eyes and turned away. And then... I performed the stroke sideways.

A second later, I looked down. The robot's head rolled unevenly to its side as its body became still while smoke rose from the points where its neck was connected to its torso. Its voice began increasingly filled with static as it muttered incoherent phrases and words before it finally fell silent. I placed the H-Saber back in its holster before I looked back at Pinkie Pie. She finally turned around and approached me while directing her gaze towards the fallen robotic pony. "Why did this story have to get so dark...?"

I looked down at the robot before me before looking around at the smoldering remains of the others I had just scrapped. How many of them had at one time been ordinary mechanical members of Maretropolis' society? What was it like to have their thoughts and desires forcefully replaced with only a desire to bring harm to other people? Which of them had been ordinary citizens at one time and which had been rogue from the moment of activation? I closed my eyes and bowed my head, wondering if there had been a better way. Wondering if they could have been saved. "Now I know how you felt, X..."

The air was quiet aside from the snapping and roaring of fires around us. Still... Why was I so distinctly shaken by the demise of a machine? It was just an illustration on paper. A picture. And yet... It felt as if the longer I was in this comic book world, the more real it felt. Finally, Pinkie Pie tapped on the side of my leg. "Hey, James... I don't wanna be here anymore. Can we go somewhere else?"

"Yeah... Let's get outta here." I replied after looking down both ways of the street and finding no more rogue machines. It seemed that Pinkie Pie had taken care of the rest while I was busy. We ran along until the next intersection and then made a left to get away from the carnage. But before we got much further, we were thankfully greeted by a sight that gave us reason to smile. Our friends emerged from an alley and soon turned to face us. I called out to them, "Oh! Hey, girls!"

"Phew, there y'all are! What'd we miss?" Applejack replied while Pinkie Pie and I came to a stop in front of them.

"Uh... Just a bunch of robots getting blown up. Nothing new." Pinkie Pie replied somewhat nervously, apparently still uneasy about the last few moments we spent back there. It was quite a shift in tone that may or may not have been intended to happen in the comic itself. "Anyway, what's new with you girls?"

"Oh, nothing much..." Rainbow Dash replied before she reached down and took her lightning bolt pendant into her mouth. "Unless you mean this!" She then lifted her head to the sky as bolts of lightning suddenly shot forth from it.

"Whoa! You're all getting the hang of your abilities now?" I asked while jumping back a bit from surprise. It was very sudden and quick, like true lightning.

"Yep! Just watch!" Twilight replied before she suddenly launched a beam of light blue energy from her horn at the street nearby. It was instantly coated by a broad layer of ice. A few seconds later, she then fired a concentrated red beam from her horn at it that gave off quite a bit of heat. The ice rapidly evaporated into steam before Twilight looked at me and Pinkie Pie again. "I'd say we're just about ready for anything now."

I knew Rarity and Applejack were having a much easier time using their superpowers and Spike had likely improved his accuracy with that slingshot Rarity made for him. However, my gaze then fell upon Fluttershy while she stood at the back of the group. "What about you, honey? Any luck getting yours to work?"

Fluttershy did not immediately reply, instead just looking away with a sheepish grin. Rarity then tenderly patted her friend on the shoulder and looked at us. "Well... Let's just say Fluttershy has never been the angry type, darlings."

"I can't help it! It's not like I can just get angry whenever I want!" Fluttershy said a bit loudly in some embarrassment. Not that I blame her. How many times have I actually seen her become angry? Probably enough times that can be counted on one hand.

"Hey, it's OK. Saddle Rager always has her superpower come in handy at just the right moment anyway. I'll bet you'll get mad right when we really need you too." Spike said while showing a bit more of his knowledge of the comic book world we were in.

"I hope so... Huh?" Fluttershy began to say before she was distracted by something across the street. She then pointed at something and said, "Is somepony out there?! In the alley?!"

"Huh?!" I turned and tried to scan the entrance to another alley. I locked onto something for just a moment before it ducked out of sight and into the shadows. But what I could tell was that it was some sort of organic bipedal entity. And the overall shape. "Hey! That guy was human!"

I sprinted for the alley, wondering if there was an actual human character in the story. Perhaps a villain? Regardless, my visor quickly detected a human shape running for the opposite end of the alley. And he was clearly a bit faster than the average human. "Hey! Get back here! Who are you?!"

I ran down the alley after the mysterious human character, knowing I would eventually catch up do to my superior speed. But something soon then flew by my head before curving in flight and clearly pinning the human to the wall by his wrist. It was one of Applejack's hoofarangs! She must have really gotten the hang of throwing them if she could make them curve in such a narrow pathway. "Gotcha, ya varmint! Huh?! Hey!"

I saw it too. After only a few seconds of struggling, the target somehow pulled his hand free and made a run from it while leaving the hoofarang stuck in the wall. My HUD had detected that the bones in the restrained hand were in numerous pieces as he made a run for it again. "He broke the bones in his hand to get free!"

Finally, I reached the other end of the alley and looked to my left to see the human target just standing in the middle of the street. He did not flee, but he still had his back turned. I instinctively came to a halt in the middle of the street myself with the H-Buster ready. I could see a couple of sword hilts sticking up over his shoulders with my HUD detecting tempered steel as the alloy the blades were made of. But the readings I was getting from the rest of him... It was mostly incoherent data. My scans revealed absolutely nothing about him. Even stranger was the fact that both hands were fine. Neither were broken. What was he?

I began to approach him very slowly with my buster constantly aiming for his head. "Hey... You OK? And who are you? Why did you run from us?"

The sound of hooves soon came up behind as my friends caught up to me, but I then threw up my left hand to make clear that they should stay back. The man before me seemed to be clad from head to two in a red and black spandex suit. A suit that, in hindsight, I should have recognized right away. Finally, he reached for his face. And then when he spun around to face me... "OOGA BOOGA BOOGA!"

Coming from the guy's eyes were large plastic eyeballs on springs. However, I mistook it as an attack and fired my buster at the approaching eyeballs. The shot, while small, streaked right through them and obliterated before slamming into the masked weirdo's head. And then... There was no head. At first, it took me a second to actually realize what I had done. "Wait... Did I... Oh my god, what have I done?!"

My friends started shrieking in panic with Fluttershy calling out, "You shot his head off! His head's gone!"

I turned around to face my friends, being in a panic myself as I realized I may have killed someone who was actual flesh and blood. I waved my hands at them while flustering. "It was a reflex shot! I thought he was trying to hurt me!"

Before we could even argue or debate over what I had done, Applejack suddenly pointed at me. "Heads up, pardner! Looks like the guy's alive and kickin'!"

I promptly turned around to see...the headless corpse waving at me. "What the..."

A second later, it reached into its...neck stump and pulled out...its masked head? And then... "Whoa, easy on the trigger next time, cowboy! The next guy might not be able to pop a new head out!"

"What the... Who's this joker?!" Rainbow Dash asked from behind me while I kept my buster aimed at his head. It was only then while getting a look at his red and black masked face that the truth began to dawn on me as I tied to deny what I was seeing could be real.

Sure enough, the masked lunatic before me responded to Rainbow Dash in a way only he would. "Joker?! Nah, he's DC Comics. I'm Marvel. And... Helloooooo?" He then peeked around me and suddenly hopped to the side. "Pinkiiiiieeee! Long time no see!"

"I knew I recognized that voice!" Pinkie Pie replied while she suddenly zoomed past me in a pink streak. "Deadpoooooool!"

My quirky friend ended up barreling right into the guy and ended up causing him to do several backflips before successfully breaking his fall and landing on his feet while holding Pinkie up in just his hands. "Whooooaaa, when you become Lil' Miss Speed Demon? I thought that's Quicksilver's thing! Huh...? Oh hey, I get it now!" He then set her down and began to nonchalantly approached us. "Yeah, that explains it! Lemme guess. You guys got sucked into a comic book ala Comix Zone and got stuck as superheroes, huh? No wonder we met here! Although..." He then looked directly at Spike and asked, "Hey, kid! This IS New York City in the Marvel universe, right? Or did I make a wrong turn back at the Suicide Slums and wind up in Gotham?"

"Uh... No, you're in Maretropolis in the Power Ponies comics. They're owned by EAC. That's Equestria Action Comics." Spike replied while being noticeably baffled by this guy's appearance. "So, who're you?! I thought Project H was the only human-type character in this series!"

"Oh come on, you know me! The Regenerating Degenerate! The Merc with a Mouth! The one and only Deadmmph?!" He replied with ridiculous gusto before Pinkie Pie suddenly jumped and wrapped her hoof around his mouth to silence him.

"No! You can't say your name when you're actually appearing in the chapter! Marvel might sue!" Pinkie Pie said rather loudly before letting go and dropping back down to the ground. The rest of our friends and I could only look on in utter shock and bewilderment as Pinkie Pie interacted with this old friend of hers. How they knew each other is beyond me.

Once released, the masked goofball seemed to look up at nothing in particular and said, "But... Hang on! You just said my name five paragraphs ago! Why can't I say it?!"

"That's because I said it with a lot more Os than there really are! So it's not a perfect match." Pinkie Pie replied while... I will say right now that I was just along for the ride to see what zaniness those two would get up to next.

"Oh, yeah! I getcha. Hey, wait..." The masked man said before looking down at his friend. "Hey, if you can see that... What's he using to write this?"

"Microsoft Word 2000!" Pinkie Pie replied while I just cocked my head to one side.

"2000? Man, kinda outdated, but still reliable. What font?"

"Times New Roman!"

"Typical. What page?"

"We're on page 86!"

"86?! Shoot, this guy's a machine! How about... What type computer?! Desktop or laptop?! And what brand?!"

"It's an ACER Aspire laptop!"

"And the image on his desktop?"

"A picture of Nightmare Moon standing on a lake looking up at the full moon!"

Finally, the guy busted out laughing before patting Pinkie Pie on the head. "Man, I have GOT to take some lessons from you, oh Guru of the 4th Wall. Anyway, enough padding out the script." He then turned to me and walked towards me while I kept my buster trained on his head at all times, even though I was not feeling very intimidated at all. "Well, I can't just stand here all day without referring to me in pronouns. I've got something to fix that."

He then reached behind him and pulled out a small black stone held between his thumb and finger. Pinkie Pie seemed to recognize it and said,, "Oh, the infinity stone! The one you got back in... Um... Which issue was it?"

"Ah, who cares? And nope! This one's the Continuity Stone. Besides, it's just what we need!" He said before the stone seemed to shine for a few seconds before he put it...right back where he got it. The guy then walked up to me and said, "There ya go. Now I belong to nobody for the rest of the chapter. So, what's my name? I know you know!"

With some apprehension, and with a genuine feeling of being squicked out, I lowered my arm and said... "Deadpool..."

"BINGO! And your prize is a brand new... Uh..." He then seemed to pull a slip of paper out of nowhere before glancing at it and back at me before putting it away again. "Oops. Forgot that Equestria doesn't have automobiles. So, uh... How about an oil change? Maybe loosen up those joints?"

"First of all... What're you doing here? I thought you were fictional." I asked while trying to keep a straight face. Seeing the guy in person felt like a very different experience than seeing him from the outside. No wonder no one laughs at him in the comics...

Deadpool responded by poking me right in the red crystal on the front of my helmet. "No more fictional than you are right now, chump! BTW, love the anime look! That a Mega Man reference?"

Before I could say anything, Pinkie Pie trotted over to us. "Hey, Deadpool? Are you sure that thing changed the continuity enough for you to be temporarily out of Marvel's copyright for the moment?"

"Of course I'm sure!" Deadpool replied before reaching out and grabbing at nothing as if he was holding a...camera, maybe? "You hear that, Marvel?! It's all part of free use! Not that Hasbro would know that if it bit them on the... Hey, you! Yeah, the reader with the neckbeard! Stop looking up porn and listen! And... Oh hey! You! The guy reading on the toilet! I see you had peas in your dinner last night!"

While he was just rambling on at nothing in particular, I turned to face my friends while they were still behind me. "Do you have any idea what to make of this?"

Twilight replied with a slight giggle while rolling her eyes. "We're just enjoying the show..."

Finally, I turned around as I heard Deadpool yell. "What?! Oh, shut up! You DC fanboys still pissed about my new hood ornament?! Well, if you're so smart, let's see YOU do a better job than Wiz and Boomstick! The guy was tough, but I'll outlast everybody! And speaking of outlast, when're you fanatics gonna shut up about the Superman VS Goku rematch! Yeah, I was right up there with you too after the first, but face it! The big G might be more skilled, but that ain't gonna matter when that's your only advantage! Remember Broly?! Skill wasn't enough to save Goku then, so what makes you think it'd change for the Big S?!" And he just went on and on and on until he finally hunkered out panting in emotional exhaustion. I tried walking up to him only for Deadpool to straighten himself up and look at me over his shoulder. "Anime fanboys, I swear... Scum of the internet. Makes for fun drama though!"

"I wouldn't know. Never really got that involved in any fandom." I replied before Deadpool grabbed my buster and lifted it up. "Hey! What're you doing?!"

"A magic trick! Watch! I can pull a rabbit outta your arm!" He said before sticking his arm down the H-Buster's barrel despite probably not being able to fit and going even deeper than its length would allow before pulling it back out with a bouquet of flowers in hand. "Flowers?! I said a rabbit!"

One by one, he started pulling out more and more...junk out of my buster. "Mackerel?! Rats! Beach umbrella?! Rats! Lawn flamingo?! Rats!" By this point, even I was starting to crack up along with the rest of my friends. Finally, he gave up and let go of my arm. "Ah, forget it! What else you'd expect to find in a machine?"

I could not help but keep snickering as I staggered back a step. Deadpool seemed pleased by his attempts to entertain and seemed to grin from under his mask. "Huh?! Oh, you think that's funny, huh? Well, you're a funny guy too! Oh man, it gets me every time when I remember you reference my slaphappy skit..."

"Huh? I did a reference to you?" I asked while calming down slightly.

"Yeah! With Discord! Here, I'll show you!" Deadpool then pulled out what seemed to be a...life-size Discord balloon and a bike pump.

However, this seemed to be a cause for alarm as most of my friends all but pounced on him with Rarity even shrieking, "No! You mustn't!" Only Spike was left behind while just looking on in confusion.

Even Pinkie Pie seemed to dislike the idea. "Bad idea! He doesn't need to see that one! I mean it!"

After a few more seconds, Deadpool crawled out of the pile. "Sheesh, girls! I was just gonna show him the only funny part of the chapter! I know what went on a couple of chapters back! I'm just gonna make the guy laugh!"

I was a bit concerned too as I was still drawing blanks on what exactly happened between me and Discord, although I was especially baffled by how Deadpool knew about it. Even so, I stood back and let the guy work his magic. He just started working the bike pump until the Discord balloon was fully inflated. "All right then! Now for a perfect reenactment of the funniest part of the story!"

"Hey, readers! Just to letcha know, this next paragraph's gonna be a long one!" Deadpool shouted up at nothing in particular before setting the Discord balloon on its back and straddling it on the neck as he raised his right hand. "Oh Discooooo. Time to wake uuuuuuup!"

And then... Just back and forth, he kept slapping the balloon across the face! "Rise and shine, skinny! Up and at 'em! Oh, that's how we're gonna do this, huh?! Fine then. THAT'S for being tall! THAT'S for never writing to say hi or introduce yourself! THAT'S for being stuck in stone instead of diamonds! THAT'S for using a mariachi band instead of Michael Jackson's backup dancers! THAT'S for never shaving! THAT'S for never getting your eyes fixed… HEY! WHY! WON'T! YOU! WAKE! UP?! WAKE UP! THAT'S for being a total douche! THAT'S for turning the most important people in my life into douches! THAT'S for turning me into the biggest douche! THAT'S to check if you've woken up yet! But I guess not… THAT'S for not having any crab in you! THAT'S to check if the reader is still scrolling down to see what I say next! THAT'S for making me like you…! THAT'S for making me hate you! THAT'S for getting floored by Sisko, you pussy! Keep your left up! Jab with your right! THAT'S for never showing me how to do the moonwalk! THAT'S because my wrist's getting tired! THAT'S to jack up the chapter's word count! THAT'S for kicking me in the balls! Oh wait, that was you, not me… THAT'S because the little voice of reason is telling me to stop, but this feels soooooo good that I don't wanna! THAT'S for having no symmetry! THAT'S for not tasting like chicken! THAT'S because I felt like it! THAT'S to see if the readers haven't chickened out and left yet! THAT'S for playing a bugle instead of a saxophone. EVERYBODY PREFERS SMOOTH JAZZ! THAT'S for turning the clouds into cotton candy instead of real cotton! THAT'S for making it rain chocolate milk instead of root beer! THAT'S for making the corn turn into popcorn. WITHOUT THE BUTTER! THAT'S for not getting a good night's sleep last night! THAT'S for letting Nightmare Moon get such a cheap shot on you, ya pansy! THAT'S because you made the cake a lie! THAT'S for turning all those poor beavers into gold! Wait, that wasn't you… THAT'S for all that haters who're getting pissed off reading this! THAT'S because I'm getting bored! THAT'S for being the ponciest ponce to ever ponce past the poncing parlor! THAT'S because looking at your ugly mug makes me wanna slap you! THAT'S for all the hot pegasisters who're reading this! Hey, be sure to comment! THAT'S for having more fans than me! THAT'S for never making my former friends laugh! THAT'S for making ME laugh! THAT'S to see how long I can pad out this scene! THAT'S for forgetting to bring a saw with you before you started sawing logs! And finally… THAT'S for making me add almost two whole extra pages to one of the best Human in Equestria stories on the Internet!"

By the end... Oh man, I was just on the ground rolling with laugher. As were all my friends. It was just a roaring clamor of laughter. Thank goodness I did not have to breathe or I would have likely passed out at some point. Finally, Deadpool stood up and walked around us with arms outstretched. "See?! Funny, right?"

"Oh man... Yeah, too funny. And I did that?" I asked while slowly staggering to my feet. I was certainly in need of a good laugh.

"Yeah, that was... Well... You were actually really funny at that point." Fluttershy said while giggling as she stood up with the rest of our friends.

Pinkie Pie then asked, "Hooo... Too funny. Hey! Why don't you stick around and help out?! We're all superheroes right now, so you'd fit right in!"

However, Deadpool merely shook his head while walking past my friends. "Nah, not this time. Equestria just don't interest me. The ladies just don't have the kinda funbags I like... Although..." He then came to a stop behind Rarity, turned around and...slapped her rump! "The ladies of Equestria sure have human babes beat in the booty department...ACK!"

"How DARE you?!" Rarity shrieked as she kicked him squarely in the... Oh god, that had to hurt. A hoof to the crotch. I could not help but laugh at the sight and neither could Spike as Deadpool froze in place for a good five seconds before he stiffly fell over and started to roll away towards what seemed to be a manhole in the middle of the street. Rarity merely scoffed triumphantly at her harasser and said, "Count yourself lucky that it wasn't Applejack you molested."

Applejack merely smirked menacingly at Deadpool as he began to stagger to his feet. Clearly seeing that he had outstayed his welcome, he lifted the manhole and set it aside. "Uh...yeah. Real funny. But besides that, I also gotta get going because we've got a movie coming out next year. And I'm the star! Stay classy, ponies! And you! Big J! Loosen up sometime."

I merely snorted in amusement before waving goodbye while Pinkie Pie did the same too. "OK! Bye, Deadpool!"

However, just before he could actually descend into the sewer, Deadpool snapped his fingers as if he just had an idea in that diseased head of his. "Oh, wait! I got something else for ya!"

He then looked my way and... What in the world was that? A loud bleep? And above my head... A text bubble lined with several symbols that just...dropped into my arms? "Hey, what?! What's all this?!"

"I'll let you figure it out! Later!" He replied before sitting at the edge of the manhole and lifting the heavy iron lid above him before scooting forward and dropping out of sight with the lid making quite a clank. However, we could still hear his voice becoming increasingly distance in the sewer. At least not until he began to sing. "Hey! Leo! Don! Casey! Got any pizza?! I sure could use a bite! Woo, mutant chain reaction, livin' underground! Ninjutsu action..."

For a moment, there were no words. Me and my companions just looked on in awkward silence before I looked down at the...stuff that was being held in my arms. Completely two-dimensional symbols that one would find on a keyboard. No matter what direction I looked from, it always seemed to be facing me. Left utterly speechless, I turned to Pinkie Pie. "Hey. Pinkie Pie. Can I get some clarity from you on something?"

She zoomed up to me and asked, "Sure! What's up?"

I then looked down at the...stuff left behind by Deadpool in my arms before looking back at her before speaking in a completely deadpan tone of voice. "I am hold an asterisk, a question mark, a pound sign, an equal sign, and a semicolon in my arms. What do you make of this?"

Pinkie Pie then stared at the stuff being carried in my arm for a moment before looking up at me and shrugging her shoulders. "I dunno! I started in cartoons, not comic books! They don't use speech bubbles in that medium of entertainment!"

"Of course... Spike, you figure out what to do with this junk! Might even make some good ammo for that slingshot!" I called out before tossing them to the boy wonder.

"Me?! Uh... OK!" He said before gathering up the dropped wingdings or whatever you call those symbols. "But... What're we gonna do with that big balloon?"

I looked over my shoulder at Pinkie Pie only to see her pick up the Discord balloon and stash it...somewhere. "I'll figure out something to do with it!"

"Sure... Well, now that this bit of filler is over, what next? Hey, doc. You still listening?" I asked while instinctively glancing down at the tiny speaker on my helmet's plating. I was surprised he had stayed quiet for the whole thing.

"Uh... Yes. Well, there seems to be one more outbreak nearby that needs to be... Hm? Hold on..." He replied while sounding noticeably distracted. "Well, this is odd... I'm picking up a disturbance in the northern sector. It's not too far from you..."

Right as he said that, I heard something in the far distance. A distant boom of sorts, like something heavy just hit the ground or an explosive device had just gone off. My sensory systems must have been the only things to detect it since it seemed none of my friends showed a reaction. I glanced at the tiny map grid in the corner of my visor and saw it zoom in to show the location of the noise. "Yeah, I'm seeing it now. Doesn't look like its too big a problem. I can handle this myself." I then looked at my friends and asked, "I'm gonna go check out this new disturbance. You think you girls can handle that other robot outbreak?"

"Sure, no biggie! It'll make for some great practice on using these superpowers!" Rainbow Dash said with some gusto as she hovered above the rest of our friends.

Applejack then looked back at Fluttershy and said, "Well, except for you, Fluttershy. Ya wanna just hang back while we do the work?"

"Um... That might be a good idea. I'm just feeling concerned right now, but not angry." My lover replied meekly while also seeming a bit disappointed in herself for being unable to utilize her latent abilities.

"Sounds good. Pinkie? How about you stick with James like before? If you need us, you can get to us in a flash and lead us to him." Twilight then added while she turned to Pinkie Pie.

Our speedy little friend nodded rapidly before turning to me. "Sure thing! Ready to go, James?!"

"Yeah, sure. You all take care." I replied before running off and following my map while Pinkie Pie stayed close behind me. Rainbow Dash then seemed to fly off to locate the remaining rogue machines with an aerial view before reporting back to her friends to lead them there.

Pinkie Pie and I rounded a couple of corners while on our way to the source of the disturbance. I was expecting to find another machine outbreak, but I did not find any signs of property destruction that seemed to be consistent with the behavior of the previous robots and mechs I had scrapped. Finally, we reached the city block that my map had led me to. My vision in one eye became briefly magnified while I ran down the center of the street and saw a lot of dust and maybe smoke rising from one stone building that seemed to have much of its front crumbled away. And moment later, numerous ponies began to emerge from it. Not machines, but regular earth ponies. They were quite a ragtag bunch of numerous colors and even attire with most of them seeming a bit gruff. Clearly just common thugs, something that seemed incredibly unnatural for the ponies of Equestria. Then again, the world of the Power Ponies is fictional, so... Creative liberties?