A distant sound of exploding rocks reverberated through the mountains, freezing Kassandra in mid-hoofstep. She perked an ear, but it was filled with the wild flapping of spooked birds taking flight from the blossoming cherry trees surrounding her. Petals rained down on the cool, sweet breeze, blanketing the path and tickling her orange coat.

Kassandra calmed her mind and waited, suspecting this might be a sign of [i]her[/i].

The second explosion drew Kassandra’s eyes toward a craggy rock face jutting up three hundred mare-lengths above the treeline. A small cloud of dust wafting above it shone gold in the dawn light.

Kassandra turned from the mountain path to crunch through the lush, aromatic forest. A third explosion, then a fourth, helped guide her through the thick wood to the almost sheer stone beyond.

She grunted, checked that her blond ponytail was still secure, and spat on her forehooves before scrabbling upwards. The explosions continued as she climbed, seeming to make the whole mountain buck and rumble. Kassandra gritted her teeth, clutched her hoofholds harder, and struggled against the temptation toward jealousy of her unicorn sisters.

With effort, she steadied her breath and fixed her mind’s eye on the journey’s end, until she felt able to continue the slow and pitiless ascent. In time, she collapsed, panting, at the top—only to flinch and roll away from a shower of rock chips bursting from another explosion.

“Sorry, didn’t see you there!”

Kassandra’s muzzle crinkled at the youthful tone of voice that greeted her. But this [i]had[/i] to be the place she’d gleaned rumors of, and the mint-green unicorn striding towards her through the haze of rock dust [i]had[/i] to be the Mistress she’d sought across oceans, trails, and legends.

“You…” Kassandra said with a parched tongue. “You must be…” She paused, thrilling to at last behold the great tan-and-silver mechanisms that enshrouded the mare’s forelegs. “Mistress Shatterhoof, I seek your wisdom to complete my training as a warrior.”

Shatterhoof [i]giggled[/i]. “Oh! Oh, of course you do! But… I don’t know how that’s going to work…”

Kassandra’s brow furrowed. “Are you… indisposed?”

“No, I’m [i]Lyra[/i],” the mare said, extending a power-gauntleted hoof toward Kassandra before apparently thinking better of it. “And about an hour ago I got pulled into this copy of ‘[i]Mistress Mare-Velous: Origins #3[/i]’ that Bonnie bought me!”

[hr]

The tea was cold, astringent, and tasted like tree bark—but Kassandra held it tight as the mare who’d spent far too long clumsily making it jabbered across the only table in the mid-sized workshop that wasn’t strewn with parts, books, or half-assembled oddities.

“So… you are [i]not[/i] Shatterhoof?” Kassandra interrupted.

“Like I said, Bonnie knows I love Power Ponies, and this was a souvenir from her last assignment—”

“But you bear her gauntlets. This is clearly her workshop. And you… do not project guile enough to best her, claim her things, and masquerade as her.”

“I think, somehow, the [i]comic[/i] must want me to be her,” Shatterhoof said, frowning. “And yeah, wrecking rocks with these babies is fun, but I’m [i]not[/i] her, and I… well, I don’t know how to mentor you through [i]your[/i] thing, either.”

Kassandra raised an eyebrow. “My ‘thing?’”

“Your superhero thing! I mean, this is a four-issue miniseries, and you spent all of last issue [i]getting[/i] to Neighpon, so this must be the issue where Shatterhoof… me… helps you see who you already are inside, and gives you your lasso from her techno-magical armory as a ‘graduation present.’ Then you spend issue four kicking flank for the first time as Mistress Mare-Velous!”

[i]Mistress Mare-Velous.[/i]

It was far from the first time that Shatterhoof had uttered the strange name, but hearing it presented now [i]as the name she should assume[/i] filled her with trepidation.

[i]Could this be what I’ve sought? And why a [b]lasso[/b], of all things…[/i]

“Then you have foreseen my coming,” Kassandra said, only half as a question. “And you are ready to complete my training.”

Shatterhoof’s frown pulled tighter. “I don’t know how to train a superhero! I mean, a lot don’t really [i]need[/i] training. Either they’re born super-geniuses, or their home planet gets destroyed, or they’re bitten by a radioactive stick-bug… or they’re just rich. Being rich is the [i]best[/i].”

Kassandra felt a sour taste fill her mouth—and not just from the tea. “I see things differently. Yes, some who stand up and protect their fellow ponies do so using powers beyond mortal ken. But I have always believed that training, discipline, and dedication, offers a path that anypony can take to better themselves. A hard path, to be sure; and not one that everypony will follow unless shown how. But one of meaning; one of worth.”

A broad smile worked its way across Shatterhoof’s muzzle. She nodded vigorously. “See, that’s what I love about Mistress Mare-Velous… er, you! You’ve got that big, strong, ‘self-made mare’ vibe, but you understand not everpony’s at the same point on their journey, and you don’t hold it against them.”

“This [i]cannot[/i] be the end of my training, though,” Kassandra spoke into her cup. “I was told… I would find wisdom here. That the journey would have meaning, at its end.”

Shatterhoof shrugged. “What if it has meaning in continuing, instead? What makes [i]me[/i] the one who gets to tell you that you've ‘graduated,’ anyway?”

The words hit Kassandra like a slap across her muzzle. “I’ve come thousands of miles to seek how you would shape me into the ultimate warrior for justice…” She stood up in anger, nostrils flaring. “And all you offer me is this ‘Mistress Mare-Velous’ name, and a [i]denial[/i] of finishing my quest?”

“I’m… not really good at teaching!”

Kassandra wanted to throw the tea at the wall, and let it shower the workshop with bitterness. But instead she breathed deep, set the cool ceramic cup down, and turned away.

She walked to the edge of the summit, heedless of Shatterhoof’s protests behind her. She sat, and stared down aimlessly, letting her gaze dance between the jagged mountains and their raiment of blooming trees. The sun stood at its zenith, suffusing the cool air with a warmth and light that seemed almost alien to the darkness of Kassandra’s inner uncertainty.

“[i]Mistress Mare-Velous.[/i]”

Once more she heard the name, and again felt its strangeness on her mind. Shatterhoof had followed her, and bore a piteous expression on her face. Oddly, she also held something that resembled a golden coil suspended in her magic. “Look… I’m sorry you ended up with [i]me,[/i] and not what Shatterhoof was [i]supposed[/i] to be written like. I’d teach you anything you wanted, if I knew how! But the truth is that I can’t.”

Kassandra sighed, and glanced out at the trees again. “I’m unafraid of truth, though not immune to disappointment. I suppose I’m guilty of the temptation to think… I would ‘graduate,’ as you say. That some wise pony would [i]tell[/i] me when I was ready to fight for ponykind.” She took another long breath. “But perhaps [i]I[/i] am the one who must tell myself this. And perhaps, by disappointing me, you have freed me the greater falsehood that ensnared me.”

Shatterhoof grinned from ear to ear. “Oh, [i]amazing![/i] This is turning out just like your canon origin! But I wonder if… [i]ohhhh![/i]”

She vanished with an almighty flash of white light, stunning Kassandra, and leaving her to search about for the missing mare.

Yet the only sign remaining of her was the golden lasso she’d left upon the ground.