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Prickle Berry Tries to Be Careful

by David Silver

Chapter 3: 3 - End Arc 1, The Birth of a Hero

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The next day, after school, Prickle moved to trot on her way only for Sweetie Belle to be there in front of her. Prickle blinked. "Hello." She wasn't sad to see Sweetie. They were friends, after all. Still, it confused her a little. "What's going on?"

Sweetie clopped her forehooves loudly. "Our surprise is ready!" She leaned in close. "My sister went all out. You're going to be so amazed!"

Sweetie's sister? Prickle frowned faintly with thought. "The clothes maker?" What on Equestria could Sweetie have that Rarity, famous fashion designer, could have made? She colored faintly. "Did you get me a dress?"

"Close, but no. This way!" She waved eagerly and trotted to the door. "C'mon!" And out she bounced, eager to show Prickle forward.

Prickle trotted after the white unicorn, ears pricked with curiosity. "Is it clothing?"

"You're getting warmer," sang out Sweetie Belle in a musical tone. "This way." She led on unerringly to Rarity's boutique. "Rarity's really proud of it, so we'll show her it after you try it."

She was going to model? The very idea made her shiver softly in renewed dread. "I'm not that pretty."

"You're going to be even better than pretty." Sweetie opened the door with her magic and circled around Prickle. She tried to nudge Prickle in, but no force Sweetie could muster had a chance of moving Prickle against her will. "Don't be scared. You'll like it, I absolutely promise."

"You're sure?" Prickle looked over her shoulder at Sweetie before venturing forward, stepping into the boutique carefully. Her eyes gravitated to the displays of fake ponies wearing very real dresses. "They look nice." She smiled a little. "None of them would fit me though. They're made for mares and we're just fillies."

"Oh don't be ridiculous," came a new voice as a larger white unicorn approached, Rarity. "I make delightful coverings to bring out the springtime charms of foals all the time. Well, maybe not quite as often as grown ponies, but you're far from the first."

Prickle gave a nervous smile. Her mother had taught her to always be polite around grownups and she didn't plan to be a bad filly. "Hello, Miss Rarity." She dipped her head a little before bobbing back up. "Sweetie Belle said you made something for me? You didn't have to, but thank you very much."

Rarity tittered gently. "It's no trouble at all. Once Sweetie Belle told me what it was, I was consumed with the need to see it through to reality. Imagine... It could become its own line, and then I would owe you, dear."

Sweetie bounced past Prickle. "This way!" She led the way to a small changing booth and waved them in. Once Prickle was inside, Sweetie followed her in with a piece of cloth floating beside her. "This will only require a moment." The cloth suddenly folded around Prickle's head, blinding her. "Mustn't ruin the surprise."

Prickle squeaked in surprise and looked around ineffectively.

"No peeking," admonished Sweetie. "Now just relax and we'll have you properly attired in no time."

Prickle could feel her hooves being lifted up one by one. She could feel something being slipped over her. Whatever it was, it clung tight to her fur and felt very smooth. Of course, if she wanted to resist, she probably could. She could use her freakish strength and ruin the whole thing! She didn't want to do that though and tried to be as limp as possible as magic moved her around and did whatever it was doing.

She felt her hooves touch the ground and raised a hoof towards her eyes. "All done?" She felt that smooth material there besides the cloth that was blinding her.

Rarity's voice came confidently. "Oh, yes, behold! I'm sure you'll love it." With a tug of magic, the cloth was whisked away.

Prickle was facing a mirror, but the pony in it she didn't recognize as easily. They were wearing clingy spandex-like material from their ears down to their tail, where it became a shroud of sorts. She could see none of her usual colors besides her eyes that stared back at her with shock.

Her outfit was brown with reddish-orange lines that ran across it, seemingly outlining where her muscles were beneath it. She took a slow step away from the mirror, blinking her masked eyes. "W-what is this?!"

Sweetie clopped her hooves animatedly. "It's your super hero costume! Now you can save ponies without them even knowing who you are. You'll have a secret identity."

Rarity gave a light nod. "Do enjoy yourself, dear." She leaned in as Sweetie was bouncing around with excitement. "Don't get into any real trouble, darling. This is just for pretend, right?"

Prickle quickly nodded. She was not a super hero, and she was quite certain of that. "Thank you... Miss Rarity." She wasn't sure how thankful she felt, glancing at herself in the many mirrors available in the boutique.

"We have to show the others!" gushed Sweetie. "They're gonna love it!" She suddenly hopped and landed right on Prickle's back. "How do you like it?"

Prickle could bear Sweetie's weight easily, but not so much the pressure she felt in her chest. She glanced towards Rarity, then started to walk for the door without replying to Sweetie. She just carried the smaller unicorn along as if she were nothing at all until they made it outside.

Once outside, Prickle burst into a gallop. Sweetie cried in alarm and fell down. She barely had time to grab Prickle around the neck to avoid sliding off the fleeing filly. "Hold on! Stop!" Prickle ignored the words and kept on running until they were at the edge of town.

Sweetie thumped to the ground once they were stopped, panting for breath. "We have to stop doing that... Why'd you run off?" She rolled up to her haunches. "Is something wrong?"

Prickle trembled with a combination of fury and confusion. "This... You... I look like even more of a freak!" The last word was a frantic shout. She covered her eyes with her hooves. "You even made my super weird parts stand out more!"

Sweetie blinked vacantly, lost a moment. "But... you're not weird. You're super... amazing. You're extra special, in a good way." She gave a faint smile. "Don't you wanna try, even a little? If you don't like it, you can put it away and we'll stop bothering you, promise. But! You have to try, honestly try."

Prickle pushed Sweetie. She had meant for it to be a nudge, but Sweetie was knocked flat on her back, breath knocked clear of her. Prickle was too upset to really notice. "What do you want me to try?! Show off to the world how freaky and disgusting I am?" She took a loud step forward, her hoof thudding on the ground. "I'm not a hero, I'm a monster!"

Sweetie felt tears in her eyes, both from the sudden blow and the urge to agree with those equally painful words. "Y-you're not a monster!" She rolled up to her hooves, facing Prickle. "You're not!"

Prickle glared at Sweetie a moment in fury before it all blew out of her. She sank to the ground, sniffling. "I don't want to be, but I am!" She pointed at Sweetie. "Look, I bruised you and I wasn't even trying. I'm no hero."

Sweetie resisted glancing at the sore spot on her chest. "It's alright, Prickle. I'm not mad. We just have to take this one step at a time." She gave a hopeful smile. "While you're in that suit, you don't have to be Prickle. You can be a hero." She sat down slowly on her haunches. "No one has to know who did it, but you can do good things, I promise."

Prickle closed her blue eyes and took a slow breath. The breakdown was passing, slowly. "You're crazy."

Sweetie cracked a queer smile. "I get told that more often than you think. Still, I believe this. I believe in you, Prickle." She approached the powerful filly and put a leg over her. It was quiet, but no more words were needed that moment as the hug was given and received.

Prickle sat up and opened her eyes. "Thanks... Do you... really think this... even has a chance?" She looked down at her smoothly-clad form. "If I'm not Prickle Berry, who am I?"

Sweetie flashed a bright grin. "You need a superhero name!"

"They have names?"

"Of course!" Sweetie hopped up to her hooves. "The Dark Prick!"

Prickle waved that suggestion away where it belonged. "That sounds terrible."

"Titan Filly!"

Prickle shook her head.

"The Masked Smasher!"

Prickle was getting the general idea. "The Irresistible Force."

Sweetie's expression brightened. "Nice! Oh, what about One Kick Mare? Like when you beat up that monster."

Prickle frowned a little. "That feels... taken."

Sweetie tapped her chin. "Miss Buck."

Prickle giggled at that. "That sounds funny."

Sweetie nodded quickly. "There's nothing wrong with that. Do you like it?"

Prickle considered deeply over what name would be the last part of her mask. Her hopes were low, but she still had some. Perhaps things would pick up...

Author's Notes:

So ends the first episode of Prickle Berry!

What name does she pick! Well, now's a good time to weigh in before I pick one and we're stuck with it. Leave comments below!

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Next Chapter: 4 - Start Episode 2 - The Rise of Tiny Titan Estimated time remaining: 7 Hours, 20 Minutes
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