The Hero They Need

Spike may have been a royal advisor and international ambassador, but he was just like a kid again as he sat cross-legged on the floor, engrossed in one of his favorite Power Ponies comic books. The fanboy in him was thriving as he pored over the pages, anticipating each move almost as if he were reading it for the first time again.

But now, he was joined by two real kids who really were hearing this story for the first time. Two foals who he could impart his wisdom on all things nerdy to.

“‘Now, for the icing on the cake!’”

He read with an evil cackle, imitating the maniacal mannerisms of the Power Ponies’ nemesis: the Mane-iac.

When he turned the page, the children gasped.

“What’s that, Uncle Spike? What’s happening to them?”

Little Bismuth Sun begged him for answers, relying on him to clear the air since she could not read yet.

“Wait, Bissy! He’s going to tell us!”

Her older sibling Celestial Blessing tried to curb the barrage of questions she was inevitably about to ask, but the look of wonder in their eyes made it clear they were just as eager to find out.

“Oh no! What is this terrifying, dastardly device?”

Spike read from the page, emphasizing the words slowly to build up tension.

“And what will it do to our intrepid heroines? Those of you with faint hearts might want to look away!”

He looked between the kids suspensefully.

“Can you handle it?”

Bismuth ducked in the crook of his wing, feigning fear.

“I don’t know!”

But she couldn’t wipe the smile off her face.

Celestial tapped on his tail impatiently.

“Yes we can! Tell us what happened!”

“Krak-snap!”

Spike read out the sound effect, flipping the page to an image of the Power Ponies writhing in agony under some mysterious villain device. Then he showed them the aftermath:

“‘What did you do to us?’”

The dragon’s voice shifted into a more feminine, somewhat nerdy tone, reading for Masked Matterhorn but sounding a bit like the children’s mother.

“‘They’ve stolen our powers!’”

Radiance’s voice came out posh and dramatic, like their mother’s friend Mrs. Rarity.

The children gasped.

“I know, right?”

Spike commented.

“‘But...without our powers, we’re…’”

“‘Useless? Powerless? Helpless? All of the above?”

He switched back to the Mane-iac voice.

‘“You’re now as ineffectual as your little sidekick! You can have him back, by the way.’”

Bismuth looked at the picture of Humdrum in his helpless state and scowled.

“She’s mean! Humdrum isn’t ine…ineffe…”

“Ineffectual.”

“Well, he hasn’t done anything yet.”

Celestial countered, not rudely but matter-of-factly.

“Ah, but just wait and see!”

Spike’s voice had the tone of playful suspense, but he was a little insulted that “his” character was being called useless by his own nibling.

He read on to the next page, describing to the foals in more detail how the Power Ponies were defeated, reading more of the Mane-iac’s evil insults, all the while watching them both hang on to the edge of their seats with anticipation and scorn for the villain.

Then, it was Humdrum’s time to shine.

“‘Those— Those fiends! They’ve taken everything from us!’”

He read Mistress Mare-velous’ words in a southern accent, like Applejack’s.

“‘We’re helpless!’”

Poshly.

“‘We’re hopeless!’”

A softer tone, like Duchess Fluttershy.

“‘We’re hapless!’”

A high-pitched, energetic tone like Pinkie Pie.

“‘Alas! Who will shield our citizens from villainy in our absence?’”

A strange tone mixed between Zapp’s royal mannerisms and a character that the kids couldn’t recognize.

“‘Nopony can, except us! Without us, the city doesn’t have a chance!’”

“‘Maybe we can still defeat them! Maybe we can be heroes, even without powers!’”

“‘No…We can’t.’”

Spike sucked his lips in to make a comically quizzical look, as if to say, what does this mean? Bismuth was practically vibrating as she clung to his shoulder, like a parrot on caffeine.

“Well?”

Even CB couldn’t be patient.

“‘What do they have that we don’t?’”

He read in Twilight’s voice. Then, as himself,

“‘Friendship!’”

Spike went on to read the heartwarming yet empowering tale of Humdrum standing up to the Power Ponies and teaching them the ways of friendship, and then the thrilling and action-packed montage of the Power Ponies thwarting the villains’ plans and getting their powers back. Each page provoked “oohs” and “ahhs” and a million questions from these preschool foals, so much like their own parents.

He wouldn’t be surprised if they did a research project on Power Ponies lore at this rate!

Finally, he reached the end where the Power Ponies were once again lauded by the mayor, and Masked Matterhorn said,

“‘I think Maretropolis will be safer than ever before, thanks to Humdrum! He showed us what we needed in order to be a real team!’”

Spike looked at Humdrum’s face, teary-eyed but smiling in the face of such high praise, thinking back to his own youth. All the times that he felt useless or invisible, or even like he was actively screwing things up. Before he was an ambassador, an advisor, a hero. He always had Twilight and the others by his side, even when they were out saving the world before he, too, could make his own mark.

They were always a team, the six—no, seven of them. Reading about the Power Ponies’ adventures reminded him of that, when they were all together. Not that he didn’t still see most of them from time to time, but now it was mostly just him and Twilight—

“Uncle Spike?”

This snapped him out of his reminiscing. He couldn’t go back to that, but now there was a new generation to teach about teamwork and friendship.

“Is this the end? I wanna see more Humdrum!”

He smiled, setting the book down and ruffling Bissy’s mane.

“Oh, you will! Just wait till tomorrow’s story. There’s never an end for these ponies!”

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[Image Description: Spike, a purple dragon with green spikes along his back and a lighter green underbelly, sits on the bedroom floor with a comic book in his hands. Clinging to his right shoulder is Bismuth Sun, a dark blue pegasus foal with purple, blue, yellow, and green pigtails. Nestled behind Spike's tail is Celestial Blessing, a white unicorn foal with a pink, orange, yellow, and blue mane. Celestial looks like they are in awe while Spike and Bismuth are smiling at each other. End Description.]

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