Steel Wing was angry. While that was not a very uncommon phenomenon, Celestia’s constant avoidance of the Supermare issue was getting annoying. He paced around his quarters, muttering to himself while a few of his lieutenants looked on.

“Has Shining Armor given any support?” he asked, not looking up from his pacing.

“No sir.”

“Figures; the damn fool is so wrapped up in his idealism that he can barely function. Probably spending too much time sleeping with Celestia’s niece instead of taking action.”

“Sir, you know that you shouldn’t speak ill of the Guard.”

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

“Perhaps they are useless, but you are failing because you have not been direct in your attempts to capture Supermare.” a voice said from the next hall. Steel Wing and his followers looked and saw a pony walking out of the shadows, a green unicorn with a purple mane and weird suit. “You waste your time complaining when you should take action.”

“Who are you, and why are you here?” Steel Wing asked, advancing towards the newcomer.

“Please, let’s not make enemies of each other. You may call me Vril Dox, and I have... personal issues with this Kryptonian.” Steel Wing regarded the pony; his speech was flat and his expression never changed. He took a step back to distance himself from Vril Dox, who merely raised an eyebrow. “Are you so intimidated by my presence?”

“No. How did you get in here?”

“The security spells on your home are laughable at best, so it was no real trouble letting myself in.” Steel Wing headed towards the far wall before the newcomer spoke again. “Don’t even bother calling for help; your personal guards have been contained.”

“And by contained, you mean...?”

“Contained; I don’t have to go into details, but they are still alive if you worry about them.” Vril Dox walked further into the room, his eyes never leaving Steel Wing. “But to address your problem, I believe that you should go forth and deal with this issue.”

“Why should I listen to you? You break into my home and dispose of my guards, and so far you have not given me any reason to trust you.”

“Perhaps you should allow me to speak before jumping to conclusions.” Steel Wing raised an eyebrow as Vril Dox continued. “Now, you lack powers and technology capable of defeating a Kryptonian. I, however, have dealt with them several times during my life, and thus I know many of their secrets. Give me time, and I shall have a plan capable of showing the world who Supermare truly is.”

“How do I fit into this plan of yours?”

“You have connections, do you not? Friends or potential allies that may be able to support you?”

“Well, yes-”

“With their support, I should be able to give you the victory you so desire.”

“How do I know that you are capable of delivering?” Vril Dox looked at Steel Wing, his face still as emotionless as ever. His horn shimmered slightly before an oddly shaped bottle popped out of the air next to him. The bottle was passed to Steel Wing, and he saw a small city resting inside. A few small dots flitted across the cityscape, but Steel Wing made no note of them.

“Very nice toy, but what does that prove?”

“That is the city of Kandor, one of Krypton’s greatest cities before it was destroyed.”

“So you have a replica of a destroyed city, that still doesn’t-”

“That is not a replica; I shrank the city.” Steel Wing laughed as Vril Dox took back the city.

“You’re crazy. Nopony can shrink a city like that.”

“Really? Do you base your accusations off of facts, or merely a generalization brought about by your own limited understanding of your world?”

“Are you calling me stupid?”

“Perhaps I am, but I try not to insult those I am working with.”

“Look, just because you have a little city and you claim to have shrunk it does not convince me that I should work with you.”

“True, but deep down you know that there is more to what I say.” Vril Dox dismissed the city and turned to leave. “I have a list of powerful ponies that may help your cause, and I believe it is best if you be more assertive in your attempts to defeat Supermare.” the pony walked out of the room and disappeared, leaving Steel Wing alone with his lieutenants.

“I think he’s using us.” one pony said.

“Why? We never agreed on anything.” Steel Wing sighed and looked to his lieutenants. “Keep looking for anypony in the Guard that might want to join us.”

Firefly sat near the edge of Cloudsdale, looking out over Equestria. She had dismissed the Wonderbolts early today, citing poor weather, but really she wanted some time for herself to relax and not have to worry about anything, a difficult task considering her daughter was a superhero. She fluffed her wings and took a breath in, allowing the sound of the wind to lull her into a semi-trance state.

“I remember Dad used to take you out here whenever you were stressed.” Firefly turned slightly and saw Rainbow Dash, the younger Pegasus wearing a small pack over her flank. “I snuck after you guys once, and I saw you just sitting there and talking.”

“There’s nothing wrong with having a nice talk with someone you love.” Firefly looked back out at Equestria. “Besides, not all of us can spend our days racing around at breakneck speeds.”

“Says the trainer of the Wonderbolts.”

“I’m sixty years old, Rainbow; if I ever tried to go that fast I would end up breaking my neck.” Firefly chuckled. “So, was there something troubling you that you wanted to talk about?”

“Nah, I just wanted to spend some time with you.” Rainbow Dash sat down next to Firefly, unhitching her pack and setting it aside. “So... How are the Wonderbolts doing?”

“Well, everyone except Fleetfoot is fine. They seemed very amused by your little stunt the other day.”

“What, saving those ponies in the airship?”

“No, you hanging an earth pony from Trottingham’s clocktower.” Rainbow Dash frowned and looked away.

“I was having a bad day, okay?”

“No, it’s not okay. You could have killed somepony with your powers.”

“I know, but I didn’t.”

“Sure, not this time, but what happens if you get really mad?” Rainbow opened her mouth to protest, but Firefly raised a hoof and silenced her. “Don’t say that won’t happen, because we both know you have temper issues. Now, say you got really angry, would you be able to hold back? Could you prevent yourself from beating some pony to death?”

“... Yes I could. I didn’t beat Blueblood to death, who says I couldn’t hold myself back again? Yeah, I might hurt somepony, but actually kill them? Nah.” the two Pegasi sat in silence before Firefly spoke again.

“Rainbow, I’m sorry if I sounded too harsh there. I... I was just nervous, that’s all.”

“I know.” Rainbow scooted a little closer to Firefly. The older Pegasus smiled a little and wrapped a hoof around her daughter, pulling her close. “I should spend more time here; all this superhero stuff is turning me into an egghead.”

“I’ve noticed. You speak more formally now.”

“Hey, I’m still the same pony. I’m not going to start rattling off a bunch of big words and stuff every day... I hope.” She shook her head. “I need to spend less time talking with my father.”

“Your father?”

“Yeah, my father. He put himself into that crystal you gave me, sort of, and he helped me with my powers. You’d like him, but he talks a lot.”

“Sounds like my uncle; shame you never met him.”

“Yeah...” Rainbow Dash pulled away from Firefly for a moment. “Wait, earlier you said that there was something wrong with Fleetfoot.”

“Well, Fleetfoot...”

“Fleetfoot what?” Firefly sighed and tossed her hooves up in the air.

“Fleetfoot got engaged to some Los Pegasus pony and plans to take half the Wonderbolts with her as bridesmaids. Look, I like Fleetfoot, but sometimes she acts like she owns the entire team.”

“I... Fleetfoot’s getting married? Does that mean there’s a spot open on the team?!” Rainbow Dash leapt up to her hooves, spreading her wings in excitement. “If there is a spot, can I join?”

“No, Fleetfoot’s still on the team, and even if there was a spot open I think you should get your issues as Supermare settled before you join up.” Rainbow’s wings drooped and she sat down. “Hey, don’t worry; you’ll get on the team someday.”

“That’s what you said the first time I failed tryouts.”

“And I’m still right.” Rainbow nodded.

“Uh, Mom, there’s... something else.”

“What?”

“Um, well... Do you know who Thunderlane is?” Firefly looked away for a moment.

“Grey colt, tried out for the Wonderbolts about the same time you did?”

“Yeah, that’s him. Well... You see, he was on the airship when it, uh, crashed. Anyway, I was thinking about him... I mean, him being all traumatised from the accident and all, maybe, and...”

“Rainbow I’m sure he’s fine.”

“But what if he’s not? I mean, if I was on an airship that almost crashed I’d be pretty freaked out, so maybe... maybe I should go talk to him or something?” Firefly thought about it for a moment, looking off towards the horizon for any inspiration.

“Maybe you should; if you do think that he is traumatized, which I doubt, then talking to him could be the best option. Who knows, maybe you’ll get past the ‘trauma’ and strike something up with him” Rainbow Dash looked away, and Firefly saw that her cheeks had tinted red slightly.

“What should I say?”

“I don’t know; what would Supermare say?”

Thunderlane was lying on his bed staring up at the ceiling. A small plate of half-eaten food sat on a table nearby, the Pegasus having long forgotten what exactly it had been that he was eating. He flicked his tail a little and sighed, finding another patch of cloud in the ceiling to focus on.

He kept thinking back to the day of the accident, specifically Supermare. Yes, he had seen the various news articles and newsreels on the so-called “Mare of Steel”, but he had never gotten the chance to see her face-to-face. Images of her drifted through his thoughts, some of her hoisting the airship over her head, others of her just smiling and flying off into the clouds. He sighed again and rolled over, flaring his wings and finding a small spot on the wall.

“Well, it’s better than hearing Blossomforth nagging me about the weather.” he groaned and rolled over again before there was a knock at the door. Puzzled, Thunderlane got up and flew to the door, cracking it open slightly to see who it was.

“I don’t mean to disturb you, but I wanted to talk with you about the other day.” Supermare said. Thunderlane almost slammed the door in shock, but the discipline he had gained during his training session with the Wonderbolts was able to keep him in check. He swallowed slightly and opened the door a little more.

“I, uh... are you sure this is okay?”

“I don’t spend all my time fighting criminals. I was tipped off that you might have been feeling a bit off after the accident, and I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help.”

“Oh yes, you can help with things... I mean, with the accident, and...” Thunderlane blushed and looked away. “Sorry, I just... well, just didn’t expect you to, well, come and talk with me.”

“I get that a lot. So...” Supermare pawed at the ground. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Well, I just wanted to... I just wanted to talk to you, I guess. I-I mean, I’ve talked to a lot of ponies, but I really wanted to talk to you about... well, about things.”

“If you are still traumatized by the accident, then I can assure you that you did all you could to help. You are as much a hero as I am, Thunderlane, and you should be proud that you-”

“No, I’m fine about the accident.” he looked away again. “Well, I mean it’s still bad, but I think... look, maybe we could...” He paused, biting his lip and pawing at the floor of his house slightly.

“We could...?” Supermare asked, raising an eyebrow.

“We could... I don’t know... maybe, meet up sometime soon?” Supermare failed to remain composed, her eyes widening and her wings spreading slightly beneath her cape. She backed up and looked around, unsure of how to proceed.

“I... I, uh-”

“You know what? Forget about that. That was a stupid idea anyway-”

“No, no, you’re not stupid. I mean, the idea wasn’t stupid. I-I just...” a pause. “Saturday?”

“Sure.”

“Seven?”

“Okay.”

“Good.” the two stood there, staring at each other and waiting for a response. “So, I’ve got to leave.”

“Oh, of course.”

“Yeah, gotta go do some superhero stuff.” Supermare smiled, her face flushing red, before giggling slightly and taking off. Once he was sure she was out of sight, Thunderlane closed the door and collapsed.

“I am an idiot. Start off asking for some closure, and I ask her out on a date.” Thunderlane hit himself in the face with his right hoof, groaning in frustration. “Of all the mares I could have talked to, I had to chose the superhero.” he groaned again and pulled himself to his hooves.

It’s not a date, Thunder; we’re two ponies, just talking about things, that is all... He nodded slightly before a small voice from the back of his mind, which sounded like Blossomforth for whatever reason, entered his train of thought.

“Keep telling yourself that, Thunder.” the voice said, causing whatever confidence he had managed to regain to dissolve. He groaned once more and looked at the floor.

“What have I gotten myself in to?”

Author's Notes:

So, I think I could have done more with this chapter... that's probably because I think a bit too fast for my own liking and try to rush things... that's bad.
Anyway, villains! Also, if you were to ponify Lex Luthor, what would his pony name be?
I don't own ponies or Superman. Likes and comments are appreciated, and if I messed something up please let me know