I’m assuming that you’ve read the first part of Mare of Steel. If you haven’t, I’d advise you to do so. If you have, let’s not waste any more time. Let’s jump into Mare of Steel Part 2.

So Part 2 starts off with Celestia in a meeting with an unnamed pony and are discussing about a zombie apocalypse… Wait what?

Yeah, that seems kind of weird. Fortunately, Celestia doesn’t seem to take it too seriously, but the other pony seems to be convinced of zombies taking over the world. Personally, I would throw the crazy guy on his ass, but I guess that is why Celestia is in charge and not me.

The paranoid General Steel Wing… She has a paranoid military officer, who is more worried about zombies than anything else? He must have read World War Z.

Anyway, Steel Wing is convinced that Supermare is dangerous, but Celestia tries to sway him otherwise.

“You’re paranoid, Steel Wing, and I don’t want a paranoid general in command of my forces.

If there was ever a reason why Celestia should be in charge, this is why. Celestia is smart enough to realize that paranoia leads to making mistakes and not thinking rationally. This is dangerous to anyone who is in a role of power and everyone who follows and Celestia understands that. And that is why you are number 3 on my list.

All hail Celestia, motherbuckers!

Anyway, Steel Wing isn’t buying it, something I’m sure he’ll regret later, and storms off swearing that he will discover he truth about Supermare. God, he’s worse than Applejack was.

We cut to Rainbow Dash, who is relaxing and enjoying some downtime. She says that everything has been quiet in Ponyville and the only significant thing that has happened is she has tried out for the Wonderbolts.

Wait, she has super powers and she’s still not a Wonderbolt? Well, maybe there is some kind of ritual that she would be force to do and her powers couldn’t help her in any… Gainbow Dash… God, damnit! I’m already trying to suppress that memory! I don’t need to be reminded of it!

Rainbow Dash is getting worried that imitators are on the rise and discusses it with Twilight Sparkle. Also, on the rise are some nutjobs who just want attention and demand to be Rainbow Dash’s arch-nemesis.

“Yeah, they never talk about superheroes having bad days. It’s always ‘love interests’ and ‘arch nemeses’.”

Tell that to Spider-Man. And while you’re at it, ask him how his wife is doing.

Twilight tries to get some information out of Rainbow Dash, feeling that something is bothering her. But Rainbow Dash flies off to help some innocent ponies.

We cut to the scene of said disaster, where Thunderlane is attempting to keep his airship floating as it starts to plummet to the ground. However, thanks to Supermare, the crisis is averted. Supermare tells him that if it wasn’t for Thunderlane’s quick thinking that ponies might have died. Thunderlane humbly suggests that he was just doing what was right.

You’ve got all of Ponyville backing you up, Thunderlane! … And a shit ton of OC’s, but you get the point!

Supermare flies off and Thunderlane simply watches her take off.

We cut to Steel Wing who is pissed off about the zombie thing, though to be fair I would be too if Celestia basically called me crazy. However, he is even more upset that nopony is doing anything about Supermare, claiming that the guards are practically useless.

“And why not? They couldn’t defeat Nightmare Moon or Chrysalis, so they’ll be useless fighting Supermare.”

Hey, he just brought up a thought. If Celestia’s army is basically useless against everything, why the hell are they there? The only soldier that I have seen that is actually competent is Shining Armor. All the other soldiers do is seem to get there asses kicked or ignore everything around them.

Seriously! The main 6 can defeat an army of changelings, but a few highly trained soldiers, can’t even handle a few of them! Maybe the problem doesn’t lie in their incompetence! Maybe it lies in how poorly they are trained! You ever think of that, Steel Wing!

Anyway, a mysterious being named Vril Dox breaks into Steel Wing’s home and explains that he can devise a way to help him defeat Supermare.

Steel Wing is skeptical, rightfully so, considering this pony just broke into your home and possibly murdered your guards, but he asks what sort of plan Vril has in mind. Vril shows Steel the shrunken city of Kandor, a Kryptonian city that was lost before the planet was destroyed.

Vril then leaves Steel Wing with a list of powerful allies that he can used to defeat Supermare.

We then cut to Firefly and Rainbow Dash talking about what Rainbow Dash is going through. Firefly says that she isn’t impressed with Rainbow Dash’s inability to control her temper and that one day it is going to get the better of her.

Rainbow Dash denies her temper, rather harshly I might add, and Firefly dismisses it. Doesn’t Rainbow Dash basically snapping at her mother means she has a temper problem? And her mother lets go of that problem a little too easily for me. It would be like someone telling me I have a temper problem and the next sentence they say I don’t.

You do have a temper problem, sir.

I fucking do not! Now shut up!

Yes, sir.

… What?!

We then get the reason why Rainbow Dash is not on the team, despite her having super powers and her mother being the coach. Firefly doesn’t want the Wonderbolts interfering with her responsibilities as Supermare. If Rainbow Dash wants to continue being Supermare, Firefly will not allow her to be on the team, because it would be difficult to balance the two lives.

That’s… actually a pretty damn good reason. Suppose that Rainbow Dash is in the middle of a show when some disaster happens, then she would be forced to abandon it in order to perform her responsibilities as Supermare. Eventually, ponies would start to put two and two together and discover her secret identity, due to her constant disappearance.

Also, this creates a pretty damn good dilemma for Rainbow Dash. She finally has a chance to achieve her lifelong dream, but in order to achieve it she has to give up her responsibility to her fathers and the ponies she protects. That’s a really damn good dilemma for her character, as it forces her to choose between what she wants and what her responsibilities are. Superheroes don’t have problems my ass!

Rainbow Dash brings up Thunderlane and says that she is concerned about him. Firefly tells her to go check in on him if she is really concerned.

Rainbow Dash, guised as Supermare, goes to check up on Thunderlane. And during the conversation, Thunderlane asks Supermare out on a date. You keep changing your Lois Lane stand-ins. First it was Twilight. Then it was Scootaloo. Now it’s Thunderlane. Make up your mind!

The next day Rainbow Dash runs into Scootaloo. Scootaloo asks what she’s been up to and Rainbow Dash tells her that she just needs to get to Rarity’s to talk about something, but she doesn’t tell Scootaloo what.

Rainbow Dash quickly changes the subject and tells Scootaloo about a series of caves she and her friends could explore.

CUTIE MARK CRUSADER SPELUNKERS, YAY!

After Scootaloo accidently crashes into a fruit cart, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon come to cause Scootaloo grief. Rainbow Dash attempts to step in, however, somepony else beats her to the punch.

Silver Spoon pointed over towards the damaged cart, smiling sheepishly. The stallion was unimpressed.

“We will discuss this at a later time. Take your friend and return home.”

“Yes father.” Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened slightly and her jaw lost a bit of tension. Silver Spoon has a father?

Wow… you’re kind of a dick, aren’t you, Rainbow Dash? I mean… did you just assume she was an orphan? Did you just assume she didn’t have any parents? I know they never appear in the show, but… really?

Anyway, Rainbow Dash talks to the father of Silver Spoon, who turns out to be a pony named Alexander Silversmith.

but you may call me ‘Lex’.

Hm… this could actually be interesting. The daughter of the arch-enemy of Rainbow Dash is the arch-enemy of Scootaloo. The parallels this could draw from. This should be interesting

Anyway, Lex reveals that he was an inventor for a time, but then leaves stating he has important business to attend to, taking his daughter with him.

Rainbow Dash suspects he’s up to no good, but with no evidence of what, she just leaves it be.

Rainbow Dash goes to Applejack for information on Lex. I don’t know why, since Applejack most likely doesn’t know who high society ponies are. Rarity would have been a more logical choice. Not to mention that you were already on your way there anyway. Also, Pinkie Pie would have been a better choice since she knows everypony in Ponyville. And she does mean, everypony in Ponyville. She would know who Lex is.

Not trying to dog on Applejack here, I’m just saying that it doesn’t seem like she would be my first choice in this situation. Anyway, it turns out that Applejack has seen him before, during her brief stay in Manehatten.

“Yeah, well he was downright weird if’n ya ask me; he’d be all fancy one minute, then he’d slink off ta who knows where. ‘Least Twilight’d say goodbye if she ever wanted ta get back ta science.”

Okay. That was pretty damn funny. Computer, get back to the science.

What type of science, sir?

What are you talking about? The science. Get back to it.

There are multiple branches of science, sir. Each one studying different subjects. There is physical science, such as physics and chemistry. Earth science, which consists of Oceanography, Geology, Meteor-

I don’t care! Whatever one will get me a machine gun faster! Stupid machine, doesn’t know the first thing about science.

So, we discover that Lex doesn’t live in Ponyville and that he lives in Manehatten, but Silver Spoon continues to live in Ponyville. Turns out that Lex dropped his whole family in Ponyville and left them to fend for themselves.

You know that would make a pretty damn good story by itself. I’m writing that one down.

So Rainbow Dash asks why Lex would suddenly come to Ponyville.

“Beats me. Ah ain’t a gossip like Rarity, and Ah don’t think she’d want ta know a lot ‘bout Silversmith.”

I know I brought this up before, but it bears repeating. You were on your way to Rarity’s! Why are you not there talking about it to her and getting the other thing of your chest?!

So, Applejack reveals that going to Pinkie Pie would have been a bad idea. It turns out that Pinkie was terrified of Lex, for very vague reasons, and that her Pinkie Sense was telling her something bad was going to happen with this stallion. … That doesn’t seem like Pinkie Pie at all to me.

Fortunately, I’m not the only one, as Rainbow Dash finds it hard to believe as well. However, if it was true, Rainbow Dash feels that Lex is worth keeping an eye on and goes to Silver Spoon’s house to investigate.

She begins to spy on Silver Spoon’s family as they enjoy a quiet dinner. We then get some insight into Lex’s character.

“I’m sure it wasn’t. However, how you handled the situation is less than satisfactory; you drew attention to yourself and turned multiple ponies against you, and once everypony is against you you will suffer. You should have waited for a more opportune moment, when any comments made would have assisted your position.”

You know… I’m going to take a wild guess and say…

That’s basically what this translates into.

Rainbow Dash overhears a plan about attacking somepony and Rainbow Dash is convinced that Lex is not as good as he seems.

However, Rainbow Dash is forced to leave when he hears about the silent alarm that went off due to her presence and she decides to investigate further another time.

She flies over to Manehatten on the lookout for any problems that Lex might be connected to. She spots some guys on a rooftop, but doesn’t see any evidence they are working for Lex. However, despite this, she knows they are up to no good as they carry around explosives.

Supermare flies down and intimidates the thugs into surrendering themselves. And for those of you who think that they should have fought back. Here’s the image that was painted in my mind.

And I think I just wet myself…

The next day Lex isn’t happy about his plan failing, thanks to Supermare and vows revenge on her. Lex, Steel Wing and the mysterious Vril Nox. And they say superheroes don’t have problems.

We cut to Rainbow Dash, who is finally going to Rarity’s. Kind of a day late, don’t you think? Well, better late than never I suppose. Anyway,  Rainbow Dash explains that he’s going on a date with Thunderlane as Supermare and is not really sure she is okay with the idea. Rarity is worried that Rainbow Dash is going to tell him her secret.

“Rarity, it’s just a small get together; it’s not like I’m getting married or anything.”

Nah, it will take several decades of comics to get that far. Besides, Rainbow Dash would have to die first by a hulking monster that was really just created for the sake of killing her. … I’m not kidding. Look it up. Doomsday.

Rainbow Dash asks for advice on the matter, but Rarity just says to enjoy herself. And really, that’s the best advice anyone can give. If it works out, great. If not, there are plenty of other apples in the orchard. You don’t have to settle for one! That goes for all of you who are dreading over the one guy or girl that you lost.

Oh, great now I just turned this into a PSA. We’d better move on before I mention the dangers of alcohol abuse.

Anyway, we cut back to Lex, who is working on a weapon to take down Supermare. Damn, this guy works fast. What has it been? One day since he even heard about Supermare?

General Steel Wing meets with him and asks for his help on destroying Supermare. Lex, of course, agrees to it, but he wants to defeat Supermare on his terms.  He shows General Steel Wing a device that can shut down the neural network of a pony. General Steel Wing agrees to this and demands that Lex make more of these to capture Supermare.

As General Wing leaves, Vril Dox appears and makes a deal with Lex. Vril will upgrade the tech that Lex needs to capture Supermare with and in return, Lex will not only be rid of an enemy, but will share in Vril’s knowledge. I’m sure this won’t backfire on him later.

Rainbow Dash starts to talk to Tank the turtle-

What Rainbow Dash said.

And starts to ask herself why she is on this date and if she should get some more advice on the subject. She thinks about going to Rarity for more advice but after venting to Tank, she gets her confidence. She meets up with Thunderlane and they decide to have a picnic

Thunderlane tries to talk to Supermare, but is intimidated by her. Thunderlane finally gets out his question, thanks to a little coercing from Supermare, and asks if Supermare was waiting around for bad things to happen.

Well, that’s kind of what superheroes do. Something bad has to happen before they can react to it.

So, Supermare and Thunderlane fly to one the hills near Sweet Apple Acres and start a conversation. That really doesn’t tell us a lot about Thunderlane, only that his parent’s divorced when he was young. While that does suck, that really isn’t a lot to go on. Yeah, they mention that they discussed dreams and hopes and stuff, but what kind of dreams? What kind of stuff?

Anyway, the date ends and Thunderlane flies home.

The next day, Thunderlane goes off to see his little brother when who should appear at his door. Why his father, General Steel Wing!

Actually… I kind of saw that coming…

Thunderlane and Steel Wing get into an argument about Supermare. Thunderlane stating that she is a hero, but Steel Wing convinced that she is a threat.

Thunderlane tells Steel Wing to leave his house after bringing his mother into the conversation, with Thunderlane telling him that their mother took care of them when he was never there for them. I assume that the mother is dead, once again proving that if you are good parent in a fictional story, you are most likely to die.

Rainbow Dash starts having nightmares about the death of his father and the return of Zod. After a restless night, Rainbow Dash goes to visit the grave of her father. She talks to the headstone about her problems and while this would normally be emotional for me, it doesn’t really feel like it belongs here. I just feel like there isn’t anything here. I felt this would have been much better in the first part then in the second. It just feels out of place in this part of the story, like it was rushed in here because the story forgot that she didn’t have closure with her father.

She then gets distracted when she hears the screams of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

You three are in a cave! How did you get covered in tree sap?

Very carefully!

So, we cut to the Crusaders, doing probably the dumbest thing in the world.

“C’mon guys.” Scootaloo turned around to face her friends. “Do you know how awesome it would be to have a manticore slaying cutie mark?”

Really? … A manticore slaying cutie mark? … Really? A manticore slaying cutie mark? You are taking these three children, young children, and you are making them fantasize about killing a manticore for a living?

Look, I know the Cutie Mark Crusaders are desperate for their cutie marks and are willing to try a lot of things to get them, but this is just stupid! I mean, really?! They think that going up against an adult manticore, who almost tore apart their sisters, is a good idea?! If it was manticore taming, yeah, I could see where the thought process came from! They saw Fluttershy do it and thought “How hard could it be?” Yeah, that makes much more sense, but this?! This is just so utterly stupid!

We cut to Supermare who is looking for the Cutie Mark Crusaders, though I can’t see why it would take her long since she has super-speed, super hearing and x-ray vision but whatever. When suddenly, she is attacked by General Steel Wing and his forces.

We then cut to Vril Dox who summons a hyrda from the swamp at Froggy Bottom Bog and sends it after the crusaders, telling it to at least leave one alive.

All you need is the manticore they are hunting, since it is likely they won’t even survive that. You don’t really need the hydra, buddy.

Rainbow Dash continues to battle the paranoid general and notices that a hydra is on the move below. Feeling that Crusaders are in trouble, or probably dead due to the manticore-

Yes, I know I’m lingering, but seriously?! A manticore slaying cutie mark?! Did they really think that is what they were destined to do?! What did manticores do to them?! Kill their parents?!

Okay, back to the story. Supermare gets hit by the general’s neural disabler. Supermare tries to convince the general that ponies are in danger, but the general isn’t buying any of it. Fortunately, Supermare uses her heat vision to cut through the neural disabler and flies off to help the crusaders.

After not being able to find… *insert manitcore slaying freakout here* … the cutie mark crusaders are attacked by the hydra. Fortunately, they are saved by Supermare.

Meanwhile, Vril Dox looks onward and states that Scootaloo will be just what he needs for his plans.

Oh, my god! He’s going to eat Scootaloo!

Supermare then goes back to General Steel Wing and allows herself to be taken by him.

Yeah, general, once Celestia hears about this, I think your ass is fired.

So Rainbow Dash gets arrested by General Steel Wing and is taken to a high security facility. Steel Wing tries to interrogate Rainbow Dash, asking why she is here and what her plans are. Rainbow Dash explains that her only “plan” is to help ponies and save lives, but the general doesn’t buy it saying that she must have an ulterior motive. And this guy is allowed to be in charge of an army of Equestria? Yeah, I can see why Queen Chrysalis overpowered them so quickly.

When General Steel Wing starts becoming enraged by Rainbow Dash’s lack of cooperation, Rainbow Dash starts being a sarcastic asshole. Yes, because that will help you out. Not staying cool, calm and collective. Reassuring him that you aren’t here to cause problems, but are here to help. Actually making an effort, instead of blindly insulting his intelligence. And you don’t have a temper problem.

Anyway, after the interrogation, Lex comes to the door and demands to visit Rainbow Dash.

“Sir, General Steel Wing gave strict orders that nopony was to see the-” one of the guards outside replied.

“Look, just shut up and open the damn door.” Silversmith ordered.

“... Y-Yes sir.” the guard replied, and the door swung open

Yes, apparently, the guards for Supermare will just let anypony waltz into his prison if they are stern enough. Clearance? Pfft. Fuck that shit. All you need is a stern voice and a little confidence in yourself and you can do whatever you want. Bonus points if you swear.

Lex and Supermare get into a conversation about the betterment of Equestria and how Lex is going to bring about it. Supermare, of course, doesn’t trust him. Lex explains that the power in Equestria lies with industrialists and that he plans to make sure everypony relies on him for jobs, food, and other necessities.

Supermare accuses Lex of corporate espionage and sabotage, but Lex plays it cool.

Silversmith smiled, something that caused a small chill to run down Rainbow Dash’s back. It was not like Pinkie smiling; this was cold, predatory even.

What the hell would make me think this is a Pinkie smile? He’s a manipulative bastard that wants to take over Equestria using economics. I don’t think this-

-Is the face I would associate with evil business ponies. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

“Yes, but how can you prove that I am lying? You may have respect, but you are still one pony; unless you bring forward hard evidence of my involvement, then you don’t have a case.” Now it was Rainbow Dash’s turn to glare.

Um… you just confess to him in a room that probably contains some kind of security recording system? I think that will hold up in court. You know for a super genius, you are pretty stupid.

Now, one could make the argument that they haven’t invented cameras yet. But in the show, there are multiple instances where they use cameras, so it’s likely that video cameras could exist.

After all, they have a machine that can cause a neural network to shut down! Why couldn’t they have video cameras? Now, you might be saying, “But Vril Dox helped them invent them.” No, he didn’t. According to the story, they invented these devices themselves. Vril only improved them. He didn’t invent them!

So it makes this scene where he basically confesses kind of weird. And being Mr. Paranoid General, I very much doubt he would leave anything to chance and not have Supermare monitored 24-7!

Okay, rant over… Lex tells Supermare that he is going to lead ponies into a better tomorrow and that there is nopony that can stop him.

General Steel Wing confronts Lex about him speaking to Supermare. Lex offers him some advice on taking Supermare down, but the general, being as stubborn as a mule, refuses to listen to him.

No offense…

Another day goes by with General Steel Wing interrogating her, and apparently there is no big problem in Equestria during that time. I’m just saying it’s weird that whenever a superhero is preoccupied, crime just kind of stops and waits for them to get better. Well, except in Spider-Man’s case. Just saying.

However, Princess Luna comes in and royal voices his well-deserved ass!

“ENOUGH, GENERAL. THOU HAST CONTAINED A CLOSE ALLY OF OUR SISTER, AND THOU HAST INSULTED OUR CAPABILITY OF RULING. FOR THIS TREASON, CONSIDER THYSELF STRIPPED OF YOUR POSITION AND UNDER IMMEDIATE CUSTODY.”

Luna: AND THOU HAS USED OUR ARMY TO CAPTURE THIS ALLY WITHOUT ANY AUTHROIZATION FROM US OR OUR SISTER!

Steel Wing: Why are you still talking with the royal voice if this takes place after Luna Eclipsed?

Luna: SILENCE!

Okay, Luna does actually talk normal after she frees Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash asks her opinion on her and we should finally see why Luna might have been upset about the whole thing.

“Do you think I’m dangerous?” there was a pause as Luna thought on Rainbow’s question.

“To some extent, yes. But I believe that you possess a good heart and mind, and you helped save my sister’s life during the Summer Sun Celebration.”

… Was that it? … Was that really it? … I’m… I’m really disappointed here… I was kind of ... expecting a lot more… I mean, this was a huge deal that Celestia made to not tell Luna about Supermare. And the only reason we are given here is that, Luna doesn’t trust Supermare 100%? That’s… weak. I’m sorry, that’s just really underwhelming.

I mean, if it was something earth shattering like, a kryptonian killed her best friend when she was little. She was forced to marry a kryptonian jack ass. Hell, even a kryptonian made her drop her ice cream cone when she was little would have been a more powerful reason! I just felt that for something that Celestia made a big deal out of, it would have been… more interesting.

the ponies of Krypton were among some of the most honest beings I had the privilege of knowing.

Though, apparently not the most intelligent.

My sister and I owe our lives to them...” Rainbow Dash was about to ask what exactly Luna meant by that, but the Princess waved her off. “That is a tale for another day. I believe you would like to leave this place.”

Well, that makes my rant even more justified, but I’ll get back to that in a minute.

We cut to Thunderlane who claims that he is having a good week, despite that his father just got thrown in jail. Man, and I thought I had daddy issues.

And apparently, Supermare, instead of going to confront Lex like he probably should, decides to go and visit Thunderlane and set up another date. Because an evil-mastermind planning to take over Equestria is not nearly as important.

We cut to General Steel Wing in his cell when Vril Dox appears. Dox reveals that he was the one who told Princess Luna about what Steel Wing was doing. Steel Wing threatens to reveal everything to Princess Luna, but Vril wipes his memory.

Rainbow Dash starts to scout the area for a spot to start her picnic with Thunderlane, instead of, you know, saving the world or some bull shit, when she runs into Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. They ask Rainbow Dash if they had seen Scootaloo around and that they are getting worried something has happened to her.

So Rainbow Dash starts to look for her when she suddenly runs into Derpy. However, Derpy doesn’t seem quite herself as she reveals that she was the one who kidnapped Scootaloo and that her real name is Vril Dox.

Vril Dox explains that Derpy is under hypnotic control so he can talk to Rainbow Dash.  Vril says that he is holding Scootaloo hostage and that if Rainbow Dash values her life, then she will get Supermare to meet Vril in Seaddle.

Supermare realizes it’s a trap, but goes to confront Vril anyway for fear of Scootaloo’s life being in danger.

So, Scootaloo is the Lois Lane of this story? Oh, whatever, let’s just move on before my brain decides to malfunction.

Supermare confronts Vril, who explains the backstory of Supermare and how he knows it. Supermare says that she isn’t interested in that and says that she only wants to know if Scootaloo is safe. Vril reveals her and says that he will not surrender her stating that she is important to his plan.

Supermare, not interested in his plan, attacks Vril and the two duke it out for a while.

I still cannot fathom how a Kryptonian such as you could retain so much of her ‘Equestrian Upbringing’ and still be able to function... well, I say function in the broadest sense of the term.”

A computer with a snarky attitude. That’s a stupid idea.

Would you prefer to be the pot or the kettle, sir?

Shut up.

Supermare tries to overpower Vril, but Vril proves too much for her. Vril then takes Scootaloo back to his ship and flies off with her. Supermare tries to keep up, but Vril disappears before she can catch them.

Supermare decides that she needs to find out more about Vril and goes to consult her father on the matter.

Jor-el explains that Vril was the only one of his species, the Coluans, that they ever met, presuming that the other members of his race died years ago. He explains that Vril came to their world even before Kryptonian’s took to space. He explains that through experiments and augmentations, Vril, known to the Kryptonian’s as Brainiac, he was able to transcend pony existence.

“Brainiac is more machine than pony;

Jor-el explains that Krypton put too much trust in Brainiac and that Brainiac stole the city of Kandor in his mad quest for power and knowledge. Rainbow Dash asks how and why it happened, and Jor-el says…

“I cannot answer that question, Kara. I could have found a solution, but Krypton was destroyed before I could get around to it.

It’s not like I had a time window or anything and probably could have used that to find out where Brainiac is keeping Kandor or use it to spy on him or something and learned how to free my people.

Rainbow Dash rushes back home believing that Brainiac will strike again, stealing something that Rainbow Dash loves to use as leverage.

I don’t really see why he needs extra leverage since he already has Scootaloo as a hostage and a child’s death might hurt Rainbow Dash more than anything, but whatever.

She races home and meets with her mother and she explains what Brainiac is planning. She tells her to lay low and is off to protect Thunderlane.

Supermare explains what is going on to Thunderlane and Thunderlane says that she can’t be an effective guardian if she can’t be close to anyone. Dude, she asked you to wait for her for a while, not break up with her. Geez, this guys really can’t let go, can he?

Supermare is suddenly attacked by a masked man named Slade. Oh, wait this is rated teen, so Deathstroke. Deathstroke hits Supermare with Kryptonite and flies off with her after knocking out Thunderlane.

Supermare is delivered to Lex and Brainiac and the two start to toast their success.

Rainbow Dash finds herself tied to a table and… Oh, God! Brainiac is going to turn Rainbow Dash into Cupcakes! Run for your lives!

Actually, she wakes up on Brainiac’s ship with Brainiac’s robot guards preparing to dissect her. Which really is not that much different from Cupcakes. But Rainbow Dash breaks free and tears apart the robots with little difficulty. She starts to soar around the base looking for Kandor and Scootaloo.

Brainiac tries to stop Rainbow Dash from freeing the city of Kandor, but Rainbow Dash is able to overpower his minions. Brainiac then offers Rainbow Dash to be a part of the city of Kandor and the last survivors of the city. And Rainbow Dash replies thusly …

“Read my lips: go to-”

“I predicted that you would answer in such a way. Fortunately, I planned for such a reaction.”

Yeah, actions speak louder than words, Brainiac. Here’s what happened to the last guy that tried that.

But it turns out that Brainiac is giving the sadistic Spider-Man Vs Green Goblin choice on the bridge scene. Brainiac has implanted microchip in Scootaloo’s brain and planted a bomb in Cloudsdale. If Supermare goes to save Cloudsdale, the microchip will fry Scootaloo’s brain and kill her. If she tries to save Scootaloo, the bomb will go off in Cloudsdale and kill hundreds of ponies.  And within 15 minutes, the bomb will go off and Scootaloo will die anyway, giving a small window of opportunity for Supermare to come up with a plan.

Brainiac explains that the test is designed to break her will. That it will break the illusion of control Supermare thinks she has.

While I do question, why Brainiac needs to make a sadistic choice for Supermare, this is a pretty damn good dilemma and I am very interested to see how she will get out of it.

Supermare smirks and quickly uses her heat vision to fry to pressure plate beneath her, which would have set off either reaction. Um… Brainiac, you still have Scootaloo. Even if the pressure plate was the trigger for the bomb, I’d imagine that you’d still have control of the surge that would kill Scootaloo.

Anyway, Supermare rescues Scootaloo and gets her off the ship.

Supermare gets Scootaloo to Cloudsdale and orders her to give the shrunken city of Kandor to Firefly.

Supermare starts to scout for the bomb, but after she locates it, she is attacked by Deathstroke. Supermare tries to explain what is going to happen, but Deathstroke says he just wants to finish the job he started.

They fight it out, with Deathstroke using a sword that can cut through Supermare’s flesh. I would question it, but in Equestria, magic is as common as flies, so maybe it’s a magic sword.

Supermare finally beats Deathstroke and Deathstroke runs off. Well… that was distracting…

So Supermare analyzes the bomb and after exploring all of her options, she punches it. The bomb explodes but somehow the resulting explosion is not enough to take out Cloudsdale. … That was kind of reckless. Not to mention stupid.

But it turns out that Rainbow Dash is as surprised as I am (understandably so) and it looks like it’s time to face down Brainiac. Cue Superman theme song!

Supermare and Brainiac start beating each other, but Supermare finally gets the upper hand (or hoof in this case). Brainiac starts to flip out (and for a guy who says doesn’t have emotions he is sure vengeful) and comes at Supermare with everything he has.

Firefly overhears the battle and races off to help Supermare. Brainiac is finally able to pin Supermare down and is about to finish her when Firefly appears and distracts him. However, before Firefly is able to get away, Brainiac kills her.

Good Parent Deaths – 3

Bad Parent Deaths – 0

And Good parent deaths take the lead by 3 points. Thanks for playing everypony!

Yeah, I really shouldn’t take light of this, because it is pretty tragic, but I can’t help it.

Supermare goes into a blind rage and tries to kill Brainiac, but Thunderlane stops him saying it’s not right and that he’s not an executioner.

A week passes by and Supermare continues to moan the loss of her mother. She consults her father, asking if there was more she could have done. Her father says that she may have to make that choice one day and he says that he knows she will make the right decision.

“I do not wish to pry, but how is your adoptive mother?” Rainbow paused, looking out at the snow beyond the Fortress before looking back at Jor-El.

“She’ll live.” With that, she spread her wings and took flight, heading south towards Ponyville.

God, damn it! Now, I have to change the scoreboard! Thanks a lot, fake out!

We cut to Lex, who is looking over Deathstroke’s sword that happens to have Supermare’s blood on it as he plans to use it to further his goals.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash visits her mother in the hospital and Thunderlane explains that she discovered Rainbow Dash’s secret identity.

And finally, our story ends with a hunchback named Desaad going up to his master on another world. And what is this master’s name?

And that’s Mare of Steel Part 2. … Honestly… I liked part 1 better…

… Just hear me out.

I’m not saying it was bad, I’m just saying I felt it wasn’t as strong as the other one. The first one felt more focused and more centered. It was about Rainbow Dash coming to terms with her identity and the battle against her heritage.

Here it felt all over the place. One minute we’re dealing with Steel Wing, then Lex and then Brainiac and we are never really given a chance to breathe or take a moment to reflect. Honestly, simply lengthening the story could have helped a great amount.

The love interest was… really not that interesting. I really don’t see what real purpose Thunderlane had in this story. Yeah, he was the romantic interest, but he felt like he was thrown in last minute, like the relationship wasn’t able to flourish as it should in a short story. We hardly know anything about him and he’s just not that interesting a character for me to be invested in. There wasn’t any role he played that I felt Scootaloo couldn’t accomplish.

In fact, it made more sense to have a better relationship with Scootaloo than Thunderlane, since Scootaloo was actually in danger and she was actually threatened by the villain. I’m not saying that they should have a romantic relationship, Lord that is not what I’m saying, but maybe an older sister/little sister relationship that would have taught Rainbow Dash a little bit about being a sibling and an example to others. Isn’t that what an older sibling is to a younger one? And isn’t that what Supermare is supposed to be, according to her father?

The villains were interesting, while not as interesting as Zod. Brainiac was cool, but not as interesting to watch. Lex, we hardly got to know, so I hardly connected with him. The only villain that I actually enjoyed reading about was General Steel Wing. His paranoia made him an interesting character and enjoyed reading about him. He was actually pretty well done and I felt sorry for him in the end.

It also suffers a lot of the same problems as the first half of the story, but I do admit it got better as the story went on. For the first few chapters the talking head syndrome was present, but as it went on, they story got better at giving the characters movement. There were still sections of it, but they didn’t feel like talking heads.

The action scenes were more creative, though I do question why Deathstroke needed to be in this when we had three villains already.

It clearly takes some of the best pieces of the Superman mythos such as Superman: Brainiac, Superman the Animated Series and Justice League series.

Now,for all that I’ve said, what kind of judgment to I give it?...

…

…

…

While the second part did hurt this story, I don’t think it was enough to not enjoy it. There are things to enjoy about it. Rainbow Dash felt completely in character, even as Supermare. The other members of the main six were not just assholes to get into Rainbow Dash’s way, they actually made use of their skills to aid her when they could. The villains, while there were a couple that didn’t interest me, were never unlikable to the point of annoying. All the villains still had a level of threat and respect to them that they need and were more than a match for Supermare. The action scenes were pretty good. There was a level of emotion for the characters, and while I do think that some scenes could have used more and other scenes could have used more exploration, the scenes that were fleshed out were pretty damn fleshed out.

There were few spelling and grammar errors, but nothing that interfered with what was meant to be enjoyed. Overall, it was just plain fun. And a story that is fun to read is all I need to approve it. Yes, it has problems. Yes, it has flaws. Yes, there are things I didn’t like. Yes, there are things I hated. But isn’t that true with every piece of art?

Every piece of art has a flaw. It’s just knowing where to look for it. And if the artist can make it more difficult to spot it, harder we have to try to break the illusion to find it. And while I don’t think this was the best story I’ve ever read, I still regard it as a well done one. I would recommend it to anyone to enjoy.

And that’s my review of Mare of Steel. What do you guys think?

Yeah, I figured that would be the response. Have a good day guys.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lightning made his way back to the library he was forced to remain at until he was prepared for his task. He had not spoken to his partners about the severity of his mission. It was of the most important task of any the Grand Ruler had asked of him. Yet, he was charged with doing it alone. Alone, against one earth pony who didn’t seem to do anything but whine about how he wasn’t getting anywhere in life.  A pony who would constantly complain about things that he didn’t like about stories he had read.

Lightning would shake his head at his claims. If only he had the power of believing, he thought to himself. Besides, if he is so smart, why does he not have a successful story to his name?

He had been studying up on his opponent. He needed to be prepared. Not that there was much to go on. His family record beyond his great grandfather was shrouded in mystery. Not that it seemed that interesting anyway. They owned a small library in Ponyville, rebuilt after the one owned by one of Equestria’s greatest heroes had been destroyed in a mysterious fire. The library was rebuilt and given to the family of the Critique.

Aside from that, the Critique was did not seem anything that could threaten their operation. He was average intelligence at best, had no physical attributes and had made almost zero accomplishments. His computer, however, seemed to be something else entirely. There was no information on where he acquired it or where it came from. Still, it seemed like a powerful weapon had been placed in the hooves of an idiot.

And yet, the Grand Ruler was frightened of him. He would hide it under his stern glare and his confident smile, but he had been keen on reading his master’s facial expressions. He was afraid of this pony. Even more than their encounter with Titan.  As he made his way to the sofa, a tiny fairy flew up to his face.

“Well, how was the strategy meeting?” she asked.

Lightning shook his head. “It was fine.” He slunk down in the seat, taking in a deep breath. As he exhaled, he looked to the ground, his eyes not fixed on any specific point. His vision just seemed to peer at the floor as his mind echoed with his strategy to battle this Critique. He had no powers. No abilities. And as far as he knew, no magic. Not like him. His Uniforce was unstoppable. Not even the so called Elements of Harmony or the power of friendship could stop it. Or at least, that is what the Grand Ruler had told him.

Yet as he sat on the sofa, his mind conjured a question. If the Uniforce can overtake the Elements of Harmony, why have we waited so long for our attack?

The fairy sat herself upon the arm of the chair. “Are you alright?” Lightning looked over to her as she sat down. “You seem distracted.”

Lightning placed his hoof on his forehead. “Krysta, I’ve been ordered by the Grand Ruler to take out our newest enemy.”

Krysta’s eyes widened as her body shook with fear. “A new enemy?” She curled up and shook her head. “Is it anything like Titan?”

Lighting looked over to her and gently picked up Krysta. He took a deep breath as his eyes diverted away from her. “According to the Grand Ruler, he’s much worse.”

Krysta clasped her hands to her mouth, as she let out a gasp. A silence fell upon the room as the moment etched itself in her mind. She looked down to the center of Lightning’s hoof as tears began to dwell in her eyes. “What are we going to do?”

Lightning gave a smile and tilted Krysta’s head up to his with his hoof. Upon seeing his face, Krysta replied with a smile. “Don’t worry,” Lightning said reassuringly. “We’ll beat him. Just like everything else we’ve faced.”

Krysta leaped up in the air and wrapped her tiny arms around Lightning as best she could.

Lightning placed gently returned her hug. “All I need is the power of believing and I’ll conquer it.”

Krysta looked up to him. “I know you can beat it, whatever it is!”

Lightning let out a chuckle as he tilted his head upwards and blankly looked up to the ceiling. He wasn’t sure how this pony could be any more dangerous that the ‘Lord of the Dimension of Evil’ Titan. But he wasn’t going to take any chances. He knew if he was to protect his home and his Grand Ruler, he would have to destroy his enemy.