Masked Matterhorn and Anon in: The Terrible Wolfpony! Pt1

>The Library's monthly cleaning usually was Spike's job.
>It would usually take the poor guy two or more days to do, specifically because there were places the short dragon simply couldn't reach easily.
>Now that you were here, well, that changed.
>Last month's cleaning was done in six hours.
>This month?
>You were on task to have it all done in four.
>You were currently deep into the spaces between the library shelves and the ceiling with a duster, exterminating dust bunnies with extreme prejudice.
>You chuckled at the thought of Fluttershy having a heart attack from that analogy.
>"I've done it!" Twilight shouted excitedly from the basement.
>The sudden shout caused you to jump, and you cracked your head and back on the hardwood frame.
"Ah, son of a bitch!" You groused, slowly withdrawing so you could nurse your aches and pains.
>"You alright?" Spike called from across the room, dusting everything below your waist height.
"Yeah, yeah, just gimme a sec." You grumbled, sitting on the couch until your back stopped aching.
>Twilight came bouncing up from the basement, grinning wide.
>"Hey Spiiiike!" She said, holding up a...comic book?
>One of Spike's, actually.
>"The Masked Matterhorn and Hum Drum in: The Terrible Wolfpony!" The title read.
>There was also a "Pt.1" in tiny text at the end of the title.
>The cover showed a pony that looked strikingly like Twilight in some ridiculous purple and blue spandex costume (complete with goggles), as well as a baby dragon that looked much like Spike but with a red cape and black eye-cover.
>There was also a silhouette in the back of the cover that you couldn't make out before Spike excitedly snatched the comic out of Twilight's magical grip.
>Spike's eyes widened.
>"Y-you mean...?"
>"Mmhm!" Twilight hummed. "Anytime we want, I just cast a simple spell and we're in the comic!"
>Twilight looked around deviously.
>"Want to try it out?"
>You looked at the library, the place was still a mess.
>Nothing an hour of straightening couldn't fix, but still.
"Uh, Twi, you sure you don't want to finish cleaning up the Library first?" You asked, arching an eyebrow.
>It wasn't like her to shirk straightening the library up, though you supposed this was a special occasion.
>"It's fine, Anon." Twilight said, not even looking at the library foyer.
>Her grin was wide, and she was obviously tempting Spike...who in turn folded like a house of cards in a wind tunnel.
>"Yes, yes, yes! Aw man, you're the best pony EVER!"
>The comic was laid on a podium, and Twilight cast her spell.
>The beam that struck the comic was a light blue, which was...odd.
>Twilight's magic was pink.
>The comic opened gently, pages glowing white.
>Spike clambered up onto the podium.
>"See ya on the other side, Twi!"
>With that, he cannonballed...into the comic?
>The pages swallowed him without so much as a ripple.
>Twilight quickly followed with a wide grin, wings flared and beating for a little extra "oomph" in her jump.
>She too vanished into the pages.
"Hey, hey hey hey!" You shouted, walking up to the podium.
>The comic appeared to be made of...paper, go figure.
>No obvious signs of enchantment aside from a slight magenta glow.
>Nothing else.
>You cautiously stuck a finger in, which vanished into the paper.
>You pulled it back out with little issue.
>Testing it again, something grabbed you from the comic itself and dragged you in.
>You didn't have time to shout before blackness overtook you.
---
>Your vision returned almost instantly when you crashed *through* something, hitting another wall on the opposite side of an alley.
>A beefy Earth Pony followed you through, intent on turning your face into putty.
>A smaller but just as angry pegasus followed him out.
>You rolled and stood, lashing out with an armored boot when he came near again.
>Boot met face, and something crunched in his mouth as he sailed down the alley and into a group of trashcans.
>Your hands then instinctively went to your waist, where a lone pistol sat in its holster.
>It was a handgun, heavily resembling an Earth pistol.
>How it got on you was a mystery, one you didn't care enough to solve right now.
>You pulled it and aimed it at the fallen earth pony's pegasus buddy, who slowly backed up with his wings flared in fear.
"Yeah, you know what this is, don't you?" You taunted. "45 calibers of instant death, right?"
>You didn't care if that even made sense, what was important was that it was scary.
>Which it apparently was.
>Instead of helping his buddy, the pegasus turned and ran for the hills.
>Satisfied you weren't going to get ambushed, you turned and pinned the earth pony to the wall.
>Where this burst of strength had come from, you didn't know.
>This Earth Pony was at least...
>"90 Kilograms." Something answered for you, highlighting the trapped pony in red.
>You shrugged, pressing the barrel of the gun into his neck instead.
"You're gonna answer some questions, and then maybe I'll let you go."
>The pony shivered in fear as the cold steel was felt on his skin.
>It was then you realized.
>You had zero idea what to ask him.
"Uh..."
>Location was a good start.
"Where are we?"
>"W-what?"
"You heard me!"
>You ground the barrel into his neck for added emphasis.
>"M-M-Maretropolis!"
>The pony looked at you with a mix of terror and confusion, then bucked you in the thigh.
>You flinched and winced, dropping both your weapon and him.
>The pony galloped away at full tilt, screaming something about "Alien!"
>Whatever.
>You curiously picked up the handgun, dropping out the magazine and checking it.
>It was glowing an interesting shade of green.
>You replaced the magazine and took a few experimental shots into the nearby wall.
>The handgun spat out several bolts of plasma, scorching the brick on each impact.
>Definitely lethal...or so you hoped.
>A small counter popped up in the upper-right hand corner, displaying a 97% charge before quickly jumping back to 100%.
>You holstered the pistol and tried to find a mirror for you to look at.
>You found one in roughly a minute, conveniently in one of the overturned trashcans.
>Green, vest-like padding on your chest was overlaying what appeared to be black spandex.
>On your arms were two armored gauntlets that ended in dark-blue fingerless gloves, presumably to allow you better control of your weapons.
>Your pistol was in the holster, but a small handle was on the opposite side.
>You'd check that out later.
>Several white armor plates were on your thigh, one of them cracked slightly from the buck.
>Green armored boots covered from just under your knees to your feet, spattered slightly with blood from the pony you just nailed in the face with them.
>A green helmet was on your head.
>It was open-faced and had sharp, short fins on either side running to the back of the helmet.
>In the center of the helmet was a gunmetal grey plate reading "AA".
>A blue, transparent visor was across your eyes, providing a real-time Head's Up Display with vitals and directional heading, among other things.
>The rest of your face from your nose on down was exposed.
>Your self-exploration was swiftly ended when something slammed into your side.
>This one was growling like a wild animal, and you reflexively kicked to get it away.
>These boots of yours were getting quite the workout already, as they forced the rabid animal off of you.
>You leapt to your feet, drawing the handgun again.
>The pony in question was wild indeed, patches of brown coat flat out missing.
>His horn was curved like a blade, similarly sharp like one.
>His mouth held sharp, wicked fangs, and he was actively drooling as he sniffed around.
>He looked deranged, eyes bloodshot and darting to look at everything at once.
>They settled back on you as you held your aim steady...
>A crimson beam split the air between the two of you, and the deranged pony was suddenly off in the opposite direction.
>"Darn, I missed him again!" Came the feminine whine afterwards.
>You looked up and saw a lavender alicorn, in matching purple uniform with powder-blue cape and boots, beating her wings slowly to lose altitude.
>You arched your eyebrow...then started chortling when you looked at her horn.
"Twilight?" You asked with barely restrained laughter, and the alicorn in turn smiled at you.
>"Yes, but here I'm the 'Masked Matterho-...why are you laughing?"
"B-because!" You choked, trying to avoid busting a gut.
>She arched an eyebrow as she landed.
>"What?"
"It looks like you have a condom on your horn!"
>Twilight flushed a deep red.
>"Wh-but..."
>The blush faded as she looked away with a huff.
>"ANYWAY, we're trying to stop Mr. Hide's rampage around Maretropolis."
>The red tinge returned.
>"I, uh, still haven't mastered all of my beam powers yet."
>Spike leapt off of her back and into the alleyway, looking you over.
>"Looking sharp, Anonymous Avenger!"
"The what now?" You asked in confusion, raised eyebrow hidden under the helmet.
>"The Anonymous Avenger!" Spike repeated. "A strange being from another dimension! He and Matterhorn have crossed paths multiple times, he's a commonly recurring side character in her comics."
>"They have an 'on again off again' relationship after, uh, 'certain events' past issue one hundred."
"And I bet you have all of those 'special' comics." You commented dryly.
>The dragon flushed, almost invisibly.
>Almost.
>He remained silent, kicking the ground nervously.
"Dude, come on, really? That's like watching Twilight fu-"
>"I KNOW!" Spike cut across, suddenly half-disgusted at the thought.
>Twilight eyed Spike with a small amount of humor at your teasing, before nuzzling into your side.
>"Don't worry, that relationship is definitely 'on' right now." She giggled.
>Spike adopted the expression of one who was internally screaming.
"Wait, wait, wait, we're actually *in* the comic right now?" You asked.
>Spike nodded eagerly, happy to have an excuse to change the subject.
>"Isn't this so AWESOME!?"
"It's...something, alright." You replied, looking around.
>"In this issue, the kindly Dr. Longsnout has messed up a formula for enhanced strength, endurance, and regeneration, resulting in him transforming into the savage Mr. Hide!" Spike provided, having pretty much encyclopedic knowledge of this series.
>"We, naturally, have to stop him!" The dragon finished, pumping his fist in a heroic pose.
>A water bucket found itself on his head almost a second later.
>"Quit the yellin'!" A voice called from a second story window. "I'm tryin' ta sleep here!"
---
>You had all moved to your underground armory.
>Which apparently you had.
>Go figure.
>Came with a rearming station, a wardrobe, and oh yeah.
>A friggin' supercomputer complete with GPS locators and DNA trackers.
"What am I, Batman or something?"
>"Who?"
"Comic book character from my world, Spike. Never mind." You muttered as you settled into the chair.
>"Your pod had these things when you crash landed from your doomed homeworld, and it simply set up shop beneath Maretropolis!" Spike filled you in.
>"I just never thought I'd get to look around in person!"
>The computer's large blue screen was prompting you for a password, and a small QWERTY keyboard from Earth popped out for your use.
>You noted it would be practically impossible for a pony to use, simply due to the spacing of the keys.
"Spike, tell me more about who I...supposedly am right now." You said, sitting back in the chair for just a moment.
>"You are the Anonymous Avenger! You didn't choose that name, you just didn't care what people called you. Uh, let's see..."
>Spike paused, hand to his chin in thought.
>As he thought, you noticed Twilight rubbing a hoof to her right foreleg in obvious discomfort.
>You arched an eyebrow, but she waved you off.
>"Your pod came from a doomed world, jumping away with an experimental 'Dimensional Jump Drive'. It's why you're here and not space dust. You have cybernetic enhancements such as enhanced strength and endurance, but are incredibly cold and distant due to growing up in a war zone."
>You rolled your eyes.
"So I'm your generic 'misunderstood anti-hero'?" You asked with a small derisive huff.
>"Sorta. He really doesn't talk much about the war in his story. Twili-, er, Matterhorn," Spike corrected, "Is slowly bringing you out of your shell."
>He shrugged.
>"Then again, that's in the actual comic. We can act how we want!"
>Shrugging, you turned back to the computer.
>You typed a password that you knew seemingly by heart, semi-shocked when the computer unlocked with a "Greetings, Master."
"Uh, hi?"
>"What may I help you with?" It asked in a feminine tone.
>You looked back at the alicorn and dragon, then shrugged.
"Uh, last known location of Dr. Longsnout."
>"On Mane Street, three hours ago." The computer replied in its pleasant monotone.
"And the appearance of the beast?"
>"Two and a half hours ago, on Hoofington Lane."
"Distance between the two?"
>"One alleyway apart, approximately twenty-five meters."
>A map popped up onscreen and showed the likely alleyway that the doctor disappeared in and the monster came out of.
>"Yeah, Hum Drum and I have already been in that alleyway. That's where we started out, actually." 'Matterhorn' said, approaching the holographic map.
>"The place is torn up, claw marks and fur everywhere." She continued, hoof rubbing her chin in thought.
>The map traced a line roughly five hundred meters to the point where you encountered it.
>A small marker said '1.5 hours ago.'
"Okay, so we know where he was. Any idea where he *is*?" You asked, crossing your arms and leaning back.
>"Not a one." Spike said, your resident fourth-wall breaker. "I never finished this one, and Part 2 just came out two days ago."
>"I don't know either." Twilight also replied, sighing.
>You sighed as well.
"I guess I'll have the computer scan the police communication lines, check for mentions of a 'beast'."
>At that mention, the computer automatically began doing just that.
>Nifty.
"Well, I'm gonna send my armor to get fixed. Took a small hit earlier today."
>Twilight arched an eyebrow.
>"How..."
"Bar fight."
>The mare simply gave you a flat look and shook her head.
>"Stallions, I swear."
>You stripped your armor off, putting the damaged thigh plating in the machine marked 'repairs.'
>"Mmm, I like what I see..." Twilight teased, licking her lips for full effect to her teasing.
>She similarly stripped, which is when you saw it.
>An angry-red bite mark on her left front leg.
>There didn't seem to be any actual puncture wounds due to the lack of bloodstains, but that explains what she was scratching at earlier.
"Hey, you alright?"
>"Yeah, I'm fine. Just hurts a bit."
"Maybe I should run a few tests...?"
>Matterhorn rolled her eyes.
>"Fine, fine."
>You guided her over to the medical center, presumably where you would go if you were injured.
"Up here."
>The purple mare hopped up onto the cold metal table, obviously uncomfortable.
"Let me see."
>She held her hoof forward, and you took it gently.
>Matterhorn blushed.
>"Never had a medical examination by someone who actually cared. Doctors can be so impersonal sometimes."
>You chuckled quietly, pulling out a syringe.
"On three, okay?"
>She nodded, taking a few deep breaths.
"One. Two..."
>On two, you carefully slid the needle in.
>"OW! HEY, what happened to three!?"
"Three."
>You gave her a cheeky smile.
>The alicorn looked like she would like nothing more than to slap it off of you.
>You drew some blood and send it through to be tested, Matterhorn cringing at the sight of her own crimson lifeforce.
>You then wrapped the wound in gauze after applying a general antiseptic.
"All done. If something's wrong, we'll know."
---
>The search had taken all night, and not a peep.
>Your alarm clock woke both you and Twilight up, the two of you yawning and rolling to opposite sides of your shared bed.
>You both stood and donned your uniforms.
>Matterhorn was going to check on Hum Drum, you were going to check on the computer.
>You did, and your blood ran icy cold.
"Oh...shit."
>84 sightings, in random areas of the city.
>Reports of ponies being bitten and outright killed.
"Why didn't you set off an alarm?!" You asked the computer, slamming a fist into the desk.
>"I was not informed to do so."
>Blasted overtly specific machine.
"Fine! Location of last call for assistance?"
>"On Mane Street, two minutes ago."
"Matterhorn, Hum Drum! Mane Street, let's go!"
>The other two quickly gathered, looking at you in confusion.
"Police called for help on Mane Street, two minutes ago. Let's move."
>Your group was on Mane Street in under fifteen minutes, where the wild animal was still wreaking havoc.
>It lifted a car with its bare hooves, then hurled it at a barrier that police were hiding behind.
>"Stop right there, or we'll be forced to put you down!" Matterhorn cried, horn charging up with a bright-blue energy.
>Hide responded negatively to the threat, and simply roared at the three of you.
>Matterhorn fired off the chilly blast of energy she had building up.
>Your HUD blared a temperature warning, noting the beam was just a few degrees above absolute zero.
>Hide ducked to the side, and Matterhorn dragged the beam after him.
>She began sweating with exertion before cutting the ice beam off.
>Half the street was frozen, though thankfully there were no bystanders to get caught in it.
>Hide lunged, making the thirty meter gap between you in a few seconds.
>Matterhorn took off to evade, Hum Drum hanging onto her tail.
>You dove and rolled, noting the gouges Hide's claws were putting into the concrete sidewalk you had just occupied.
>Your HUD finally lit him up in red, a small display off to the side pulling up technical data...all of which was followed by a big "N/A" or "Unknown".
"Useful, really." You muttered, moving to draw your handgun.
>He lunged at you again before you could pull the pistol up, his claws tearing into the armored gauntlet.
>The gun clattered onto the street, sliding away from you on the ice.
>You shouted in pain, slugging him in the jaw with your free arm and hearing a satisfying *crunch*.
>He yelped and let go, recoiling as he held his jaw...
>Which you could *hear* resetting.
>A few seconds watching him, and your HUD confirmed what you thought was happening.
>"Warning, target possesses highly regenerative abilities."
"No shit!" You shouted to your helmet AI, ducking under a vicious slash that would have taken your head off.
>The feral wolfpony then rolled, and a bright red beam slammed into your chest.
>You were sent sailing down the street, where you crashed into a building.
>As you went to stand up, half of the building came down on top of you.
===
>You just hit Anonymous with an over-charged heat beam.
"Whoops." You said with a wince.
>"He'll be fine. Cross-dimensional super armor, remember?" Hum Drum reminded you.
>You dropped the dragon off on a roof, then went to try and subdue Hide.
>Charging up another ice beam, you fired and lead your target this time.
>Hide was far, far too fast, and much too agile.
>As you lead him one way, he dug his claws in and reversed directions.
>He then launched himself at you.
>You dove, and the feral pony's talons tore a few of your purple feathers out.
"Ah, hey! That hurt!" You cried, cringing as you briefly inspected the damage.
>Nothing serious, you could still fly.
>You landed, letting Hide come to you.
>Horn aglow, you began firing off low-power ice beams to conserve your strength.
>The beastpony ducked and weaved around the shots, getting closer and closer.
>Exactly what you wanted.
>He lunged at you, and you beat your wings to take off.
>You then abruptly stopped, dropping onto his back and releasing the charged ice beam you had stored up.
>Mr. Hide had been completely encased in quarter-meter thick ice by the end of the shot.
"Hum Drum! Go find Anon!" You called up to the dragon. "Really wish Radiance was here, she could help transport this guy..."
>You stepped off of the wild doctor to check on him, when you heard a crack.
>That was all you got before claws grabbed your throat and everything started spinning.
>You blacked out seconds later.
===
"Ow. Ow. Fucking...ow." You grumbled, pushing brick and other debris off of you.
>Your HUD was flashing red, showing an elevated heart rate and minor injury to your ribcage and back.
>"Anon? You alright?" You heard Hum Drum call, stepping into the semi-demolished building.
"Yeah, yeah, over here."
>A wave got his attention, and he started moving towards you.
>"Wow, full power shot and you're still moving?"
"I've been hit with worse...I think."
>Your HUD showed a small video in the upper right corner, confirming that you indeed had been hit with worse...from the very mare that just shot you, to boot.
>Standing up, you stepped out in time to see Hide making a getaway.
>He had Twilight on his back.
>Your HUD highlighted her in green and displayed her status.
>Totally unconscious, bruises around her throat.
>You started sprinting down the street, going for your pistol still lying in the road.
>You picked it up and aimed it at the wild stallion, target lock telling you he was still in range.
>Issue was getting a shot that wouldn't hit Twilight as well.
>Hide rounded a corner and was out of sight, HUD losing lock and giving you no more useful info in return.
>You charged around the same corner mere seconds later, to find it empty.
>A few parked cars, but otherwise devoid of anything that would give you a clue.
>Not even a single claw mark in the street.
>You whirled on the spot and leveled a punch into a nearby Police car, which dented the door.
"DAMMIT!" You roared, seething with barely-suppressed rage.
>"Hey, that's our car..." One of them started.
>"...yeah, you try giving him a ticket, then." His partner replied, looking away and obviously going to pretend nothing happened.
>"Twilight!" Spike shouted, tears welling up in his eyes.
>The dragon started fruitlessly searching the alleyways and side-streets, until you grabbed his cape and forced him to stop.
"Spike, stop." You said, having calmed down just enough to stop shouting.
>"He took Twilight!" The baby reptile shouted, whirling around and wrenching his cape out of your grip.
"You think I didn't see that?!" You shouted back, temper flaring again. "There's nothing we can do right now, unless you can pull where he's taking her out of your scaly ass!"
>Spike was giving you a heated glare, one you returned.
>After a moment, he broke the staring contest with a huff, crossing his arms.
"I don't WANT to leave her with that psycho, but we don't know where he's going. Wandering around the city for hours isn't going to help, and it's obvious he's much, much faster than we are."
>Several purple feathers were lying on the street, and you picked one up.
>An idea brewing, you went back to your underground base.
---