Chapter 16: Costumes and a Choice

The group of thirteen made it back to Ponyville and they were welcomed with thunderous cheers. It seemed like everypony in town had heard about what they were doing. Every single pony was cheering loudly for them as they made their way out of the forest. Within minutes they were at SugarCube Corner and a party was in full swing. The townsponies were celebrating the return of their friends. Everypony was laughing, talking, and having a great time.

The party went on well into the night. Nopony wanted to leave. While the Power Ponies understood their feelings, all six of them were extremely tired. They had one last drink of cider and they left along with their friends. Twilight Sparkle told the rest of the Power Ponies that they needed to talk about something important. The group of six and Spike went to the purple alicorn's castle and they sat down and waited for the princess to speak.

"Okay everypony." Twilight Sparkle began. "We need to decide about what we should do with these costumes."

They argued about whether or not they should keep their super powers. On one hoof it was dangerous to leave them in the open. But on the other hoof they would need them if the Mane-iac ever came back. It was a difficult decision for the six ponies.

"What do you think Spike?" Twilight Sparkle asked.

The dragon's eyes widened. Why did they care what he thought? He didn't have any super powers. He was just the sidekick of the Power Ponies. The young dragon looked down and refused to answer.

"Come on Spike." Rainbow Dash said.

"You're still a hero." Pinkie Pie told him.

"Ya deserve ta have a say in this." Applejack agreed.

"Like you said. You don't need super powers to be a super friend." Rarity said.

"We still think you're a hero." Fluttershy said.

"But I didn't even help you guys." Spike said quietly. "I tried to hurt you. I'm no hero."

"Spike you saved us from yourself and the Mane-iac." Twilight Sparkle said seriously. "If that doesn't make you a hero then I don't know what would."

Spike's head perked up a bit. Did Twilight Sparkle really mean that. The purple alicorn started to smile at him as she spoke in a gentle voice..

"Close your eyes." Twilight Sparkle said.

Spike closed his green eyes and wondered what was going to happen. All of a sudden he felt something being wrapped around his neck. He kept his eyes closed despite how badly he wanted to open them. He felt something get placed over his eyes while another object got wrapped around his waist. Other soft objects were being pulled over his hands and feet. Spike had no clue what was going on.

"Open your eyes Spike." Twilight Sparkle's voice said.

Spike opened his eyes and they widened in shock. He was staring into a mirror and his reflection was wearing his superhero costume. The red cape flowed behind him as he gazed at the rest of his outfit. Twilight Sparkle had given him the outfit he wore when he had been Hum Drum.

"What do ya think Spike?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"What's a hero without a cape?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Y'all are a hero just like us." Applejack told him.

"And you deserve to have a say in this decision." Rarity said.

"You're a really great friend Spike." Fluttershy said with a small smile.

"You're always our friend and you're always a hero." Twilight Sparkle told him.

Spike's eyes widened. His friends still liked him and they thought of him as a hero. They didn't think that he was useless despite not having any powers at all. They wanted to include him. Now he had to decide. Should they keep their costumes and powers or should they get rid of them.

"I say we keep them." Spike said much to the agreement of the others.

They all agreed that they could hold on to their costumes but their powers should only be used when they were absolutely necessary. If the Mane-iac returned she'd see just how powerful the magic of friendship was. The villainess would learn that even without super powers somepony could always be a superhero.

As the group of seven headed off to bed, a lone pony hid inside the forest and laughed to herself.

"Those fools." the Mane-iac said. "They may have won this round but they haven't beaten the Mane-iac yet. Isn't that right Dark Spike?"

"Yes. Master." a voice replied.

The Mane-iac grinned down at the small dragon. She had used her magic to make Spike evil and before she used him against the Power Ponies she had created a clone of him just in case. This clone of Spike would never abandon his evil intentions. The two villains laughed as they left Ponyville to plan out their next strategy.

The End!

Author's Note:

Thank you for reading this story. I hope you guys enjoyed it because I liked writing it. However I think that I started to lose my touch a bit as the story went on. While I don't hate this story I think I could have done a much better job with it. Unfortunately I just couldn't think of any ways to make it better. I truly hope you enjoyed this and I hope you are looking forwards the the sequel. Reviews are appreciated as always. Thanks for reading.