Batmare: Year One

Chapters

Anniversary
Back
Strike
Sentry
Run
Oracle
Mask
Play
Finale
Riddle Answers

Anniversary

"Where are we going, mommy?" asked a young mare. She had just gone to see a play with her parents, and though she didn't understand most of it, as it mostly consisted of ponies sing words the young mare could not comprehend (her mother called it an "opera"), she still had fun.

"We're going back to the farm, sweetie. Say, honey, I thought that was a wonderful show. What did you think, dear?" asked the young mare's mother. Her husband's face scrunched up in a look of obvious displeasure.

"Ah still don't understand what's so good 'bout these fancy Canterlotian plays. Didn't make a lick o' sense to me. Well, that doesn't matter, as long as our little girl had fun. Did you have fun, Applejack?" The young mare nodded gleefully and went to hug her father's leg, which drew a loving smile from him.

"Well, then I had fun too. Now, it is real late, so you need to go right to bed, ya hear me? And I don't wanna here nothin' 'bout yer big brother gettin to stay up-"

The young mare's mother let out a scream, prompting her husband to look up. A lone figure was standing in the shadows, but its horn was lit up a bright purple; the light coming off of it revealed the figure was male. His face was masked by the darkness, though the young mare thought she could make out the man's fur as light gray.

"Um...do you need something, sir?" asked the young mare's mother.

The man walked from the shadows. His fur was indeed gray, and his eyes were a light blue, focused intently on the young mare's parents. The young mare couldn't get a look at his cutie mark, as she was mostly distracted by the man's eerie, wide grin. His gaze switched from the whole group to her mother alone; specifically, the pearl necklace she wore.

The Necklace was her first anniversary gift; the young mare's father had gone all the way to Los Pegasus to get it, and it cost well over two thousand bits. Money was not a problem to the Apples, due to their business in Ponyville being one of the most successful in Equestria, but the labor of finding it and the love that came with it was absolutely priceless; it was by far the most prized possession of the young mare's mother.

"What a pretty necklace," began the man, tilting his head to look at it from different angles. "It glints in the light. Surely, it'll fetch a pretty price. I'll only say this once; give me the necklace now, and I'll let you walk away with your kid," he remarked.

"Now, hold a second, sir. That necklace is important to both of us, and I absolutely will not letcha have it," interjected the young mare's father. The man's smile quickly turned to an angry grimace.

"Well, if you ain't gonna give it to me, then I'll just take it!" he exclaimed, reaching his hand for the necklace. The young mare's father quickly reached to interject, and what happened next would shock the world for years to come.

The man's spell, which he had been charging ever since the group had come across him, fired off. The spell, just barely visible, tore through the young mare's father, who had jumped in front of his wife; as a result, the spell's momentum carried through the stallion and hit his wife as well, who cried out with a piercing shriek. They both fell to the ground with a sickening thud, and the holes the spell had created upon the young mare's father and were still smoking, blood slowly dripping from their now lifeless bodies. Their faces were frozen in a state of fear.

The young mare and the mugger wore the same expression. After fully comprehending what had just transpired, the young mare looked up at her parent's assailant, tears streaming down her confused and horrified face.

The mugger looked upon what had just done, and looked into the filly's face; he quickly ran away as fast as he could in the opposite direction, his heavy footsteps echoing in the dark and lonesome city.

The young mare, who's name was Applejack, screamed long into the night.

"Miss Applejack? Are you feeling okay?"

Applejack jolted in an upright position, and quickly looked around. She was in her room at Apple Manor, lying down on her reclining chair, the fireplace was going, giving the room a nice, warm glow to it, and her legal guardian, Mosley Orange, was standing directly across from her, with his pitch black suit's dust particles clearly visible due to the glinting light of the fire. His face looked worried, which was unusual for a stallion who usually had a monotone countenance.

"You've been laying there for the past half an hour," he continued. Applejack let out a brief sigh and slowly made her way off the chair.

"Yes, Mosely, I'm okay. What time is it?" asked Applejack.

Mosely Orange, Applejack's Uncle, was appointed her legal guardian after the death of Applejack's parents. Mosely grew up in Canterlot, and as a result, Applejack completely lost any hint of southern trace from her father, instead picking up an authentic Canterlot accent as she grew up under his care. Her brother, Big Mac, elected to take care of her sister, Applebloom, under the guide of their Grandmother Smith back at the farm; since she recently died, her brother has been taking care of her sister full time. Because of this, she sounded nothing like her siblings, all who still carried her father's heavy southern accent.

In their will, her parents left Applejack the company, as opposed to their eldest son Big Mac, as they saw something in her that Applejack still didn't understand. Despite this, her brother, who attended Canterlot's School for Gifted Ponies with a degree in technology, still ran the business operations of Apple Enterprises, under Applejack's blessing. However, Applejack lived alone, in the manor she built specifically designed to house just two; Mosely and herself. Big Mac and Apple Bloom still lived back on the farm where it all began, though Applejack made sure to frequently visit them.

"It's 10:30 in the morning, miss. You agreed to meet your brother at Sweet Apple Acres today, for what he described as a "rodent problem". Also, you invited Miss Twilight over to walk you down, and you accepted, so she should be here at any-" the doorbell promptly rang through the manor.

"-moment. I'll get that, miss," said Mosely as he rushed down stairs. Applejack slowly followed him, and was looming behind him when he opened the door for one of her greatest friends.

Twilight Sparkle was probably the nicest, sweetest pony Applejack knew. She wasn't always that way, however; incredibly, she was Princess Celestia's protégé, and came down to Ponyville from Canterlot to help plan the Summer Sun Celebration that had been taking place that year. Naturally, as she was an integral part of the celebration, Applejack had invited Twilight to her famed party the night before at Sweet Apple Acres, and there introduced her to her friends Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash; the group had been close for years to come. Twilight was one of few who knew her extravagant persona as one of the world's most recognizable billionaires was nothing more than a sham.

"Hi, Applejack! Are you ready to go?" asked Twilight, a warm smile on her face. Applejack grinned back.

"Yeah, just give me a second," replied Applejack. She ran upstairs and grabbed a black coat for the cold, along with her signature Stetson hat that she always wore in public. As she put it on, she grimaced at the memory today's date brought to surface.

Applejack made her way out the door, her uncle and assistant straightening up her hat as she passed through the door frame. Twilight wore a purple scarf that Applejack could easily tell was a product of Rarity's boutique; it was the only clothing she wore, after all. They walked in silence for a great deal of time before Twilight quizzically looked over in Applejack's direction.

"AJ? Is everything alright?" she asked. Applejack stared down for a little while longer before answering.

"It's the anniversary of my parents' death today," replied Applejack, a somber tone in her voice. Twilight silently gasped before looking away.

"I'm so sorry, Applejack. I can only imagine what you went through that night. You know that if you ever need our help or support you can come to us. You've been so strong about it your whole life, and you know we're all proud of you for what you've become," Twilight remarked. A silence hung in the air for what seemed like forever before Applejack answered.

"I know. Thank you, Twilight. You're more important to me than you'll ever know," answered Applejack. She had been staring at the ground for so long that when she looked up, she was stunned.

Ponyville had been getting bad, and it seems as if it got worse every time Applejack stepped outside. The sidewalk the pair had been walking on was cracked and splintered, and in some parts it seemed to disappear completely. Many homeless ponies of all ages and sizes were sitting on the corners and in the alleyways, with their only sources of warmth in the current winter makeshift fires that never seemed to be enough.

Celestia, is this what it's come to? This town was in bad shape enough when my parents were killed, but this...this is unacceptable. I've been doing all I can to help this city, but something on a much greater scale has to be done about the scum who terrorize this great town. The Police haven't been doing anything to help, either, even with the bits that are going to them, thought Applejack.

"It's bad, isn't it?" stated Twilight. "The crime rate around here is so high that the funds that would go towards fixing these kinds of things are going directly to the Ponyville Police Department; and unbelievably, it still isn't enough, even with the extra money you've been donating to the PPD over the past couple of years."

"I don't think my money is gonna help solve this, Twi," began Applejack. "It wasn't even this bad when my parents were murdered. Can you imagine the crimes that are going on now? Criminals are a cowardly and superstitious lot; they need something to be afraid of. Right now, Twilight, they know they can't lose. What are we supposed to do about that?" Twilight chuckled.

"You know, AJ, your dad was running for mayor before...the incident. Maybe you could do the same? You seem to have some good ideas," Twilight suggested. Applejack let out a short chuckle, the first in a very long time.

"Preposterous. I'd be too dark and brooding to get anything done," joked Applejack.

The mares both laughed and began small talk about recent events and how the others in the group were fairing. Before they knew it, the glamorous farmland that was Sweet Apple Acres came into view.

The apples were looking as good as usual, their color a deeper red than the barn that she grew up in, which had faced major renovations thanks to the efforts of her and her brother. There were countless workers out in the fields, as Applejack made sure that the poor of Ponyville could easily get a job there to support themselves and their families; in fact, Sweet Apple Acres employed the most ponies out of any company every year. While this was an expensive business model, their effort certainly made up for it, and it made Applejack feel good knowing she was helping many ponies and their families in Ponyville.

As they walked into the field, Applejack could spot her brother, Big Mac, supervising the work the ponies were doing. Many of the various machines the ponies were using to farm out in the field were of his own design, due to his technological skill, and he was always giving ponies a hand if they needed him. To Applejack, her brother was one of the few good people left in the world.

"Howdy, y'all!" exclaimed Big Mac when he spotted the two mares walking towards them. He shouted an order to one of the workers nearby before walking over to meet them half way.

"You said you had a rodent problem?" Applejack asked.

"Sure as Tartarus I do! Those damn Vampire Fruit Bats are eatin' all the apples 'gain! I was hoping y'all could help me flush 'em out," explained Big Mac. Twilight, however, had that look on her face that Applejack knew meant that her and her brother were about to get lectured.

"Silly Big Mac, bats aren't rodents! They're actually apart of their own order, Chiroptera, the only mammals with the ability to fly consistently-"

"Oh, I ain't got time for ya fancy Canterlot talk!" exclaimed Big Mac. After saying this, Big Mac turned to his sister with a grin on his face.

"Though, I must say, you're more Canterlot than she is, and you weren't even born there!"

The group shared a laugh before heading out to the backwoods of the property. Vampire Fruit Bats typically stayed away from ponies, though, if aggravated, they could bite; this results in a short period of time where the bitten subject shares the bat's passion for fruit. Big Mac has stated that it's happened to a few of the workers who strayed too far off the property, and her friend Fluttershy once remarked that it's happened to her many times, due to her position as an animal caretaker.

As they walked to the area of the infestation, Applejack took a look around at all the workers on the farm. They were working diligently, but they were laughing, smiling, joking, and comfortable in the environment as well, something Applejack was extremely grateful to see.

My parents would be proud to see what we've been doing with the company. Why can't all of Ponyville look as good as this? thought Applejack.

Once they arrived at the area of infestation, her brother set down a strange looking device on the soil. It was small and rectangular, with a red light beaming from the center; Applejack assumed this was one of her brother's new innovations, as she never used anything like it when dealing with the bats back when she was a kid.

"Alrighty, fellers, you know I'm not a man of many words so I'm gonna say this once. This device here is an innovation of my own design, and one I'm most proud of. This is a sonar device that will bring all the bats in these trees down to its location once it's activated. At that point, I want Applejack to round 'em up with her lasso and for Twilight to grab 'em all with magic and move 'em to a new location. All clear?" asked Big Mac. Twilight raised her hoof.

"Just one question. Why does Applejack need to use her lasso? I can just grab them all with magic and move them without it," Twilight asked. Big Mac smiled and turned towards his younger sister.

"I ain't gonna let her outta anything just 'cause she's a fancy billionaire. She's gonna do it to stay in practice. Ready?"

"Ready!" chorused both Twilight and Applejack, the latter rolling her eyes.

Big Mac leaned down and hit a small button on the device, causing the red light on it to begin blinking rapidly. While she couldn't hear anything coming from it, she could begin to make out the rustling sounds from all the Apple trees in the area. The rustling became louder, and louder, until the trees violently shook and a screaming flood of black took to the skies.

The bats clumsily flew in the air, and Applejack stared in awe. Against the waning sky of the day, the bats looked terrifying, like they were meant to dwell in the night. It was almost hard to follow them in the mass pack they flew in, and in that moment Applejack truly understood that they belonged with the night.

Ponyville needs one who preys in the night. They need a symbol that will represent hope for a new day, but that will horrify those who stoop to the life of crime. They will become prey. I will prey on them. Justice for not only me, but for all those the criminal body that thrives in this town have ruined. I will be the plague of bats over Ponyville, and thrive on the shadows as they do. I will be vengeance. I will be the Night. I will be...

"Applejack! Now!" shouted her brother, which made Applejack realize she had been staring at the group of bats around the sonar device. Whipping out her lasso, Applejack threw the ring of rope around the bats, rounding them into a tighter and tighter group, just like how she'd do it when she was younger. Twilight, who had been previously taking time to charge up the spell, fired it off, getting a complete magical hold over the bats and allowing Applejack to loosen her grip. Twilight carried the bats far outside the complex before letting them go, stumbling back and clutching her head as she did so.

"Ugh...that's gonna be bad in the morning," she moaned.

"Woohoo! Thanks a plenty for helpin' out, Twilight. And as for you, little sis, you haven't lost your touch," said Big Mac. Applejack sheepishly smiled and gave a little chuckle.

"Well, it's getting a little late, I should be heading back; Spike will be waiting for me. The girls want us to all meet up at Sugarcube Corner on Saturday. Would you be up for that?" asked Twilight.

"Of course, I'll be there. See you, Twlight!" said Applejack, waving her hoof goodbye. Twilight returned the gesture, and when she was fully out of sight, Applejack turned back to her brother.

"This is some impressive technology you've been building, brother. Where do you make it?" asked Applejack. Her brother raised an eyebrow.

"Well, the farm stuff is all made here. The big shed that you see a little to the right of the barn is actually my lab, where I make everythang ya see here. Apple Enterprises also had a short stint with the Equestrian Millitary and Guard, but that deal fell through, so I keep all the tech made for that down in the basement 'cause I ain't got nowhere else to put it. Why do ya ask?" said Big Mac. Applejack mischievously grinned, adding upon her brother's confusion.

"Can we check on that military gear? I'd like to see some of your finer creations, big brother."

Back

The pain was almost unbearable now. Her heavy breathing made it all the more obvious she was struggling, but she tried to ignore it the best she could. Straightening herself up, Applejack did her best to steady herself and get her front hooves back into position.

"I really think we should stop now. You'll be too hurt to try again tomorrow," stated Rainbow Dash, one of Applejack's greatest friends, along with one of her greatest rivals. Applejack spit what appeared to be blood, and shook her head in an affirmative denial.

"No. One more time. I'll get you here," she asserted. Rainbow merely shrugged her shoulders, as if to say "Hey, I tried," before lining up in the same position as the mare across from her. They both stared each other down, waiting and predicting if the other would start the match off.

Applejack lashed out first, going down on her front hooves and striking hard and fast with her back hooves. This was caught by Rainbow, who shoved them to the side and followed up with a hoof jab on the prone Applejack. It connected with brutal force, and Applejack cried in pain; this process repeated numerous times before Rainbow Dash let up, looking down upon her friend. Applejack was panting harder than she had been all night, holding her side and muttering expletives under her breath along with it.

"You're giving me all you have in an instant. Martial Arts is, well, an art, and you have to be patient; something I'm not known for being good at, I know, but it makes the difference between being on the floor and standing at the end of a battle," explained Rainbow. She held out her hoof to her fallen friend, who gratefully accepted it.

"You can't just start punching and kicking blindly," said Rainbow after yanking her off the ground. "This is about calculation. You need to know your opponent better than you know yourself, if that makes sense. You need to study and understand the other's movements, so that you may strike with knowledge, rather than sheer brute force."

"That's incredible, Rainbow. I didn't know you were thinking so much about this," Applejack replied. Rainbow gave a short chuckle before beginning to walk back to her house with Applejack in tow.

"It's copied verbatim from my instructor, but I'll take the compliment anyways. You still up for this whole thing, Applejack? We don't have to do this," Rainbow stated. It was Applejack's turn to smile.

"Don't you worry, Rainbow. I'll be back."

"You're zoning out again, Miss Applejack."

A few blinks brought Applejack back into reality. Her martial arts training with Rainbow Dash was vigorous, but it certainly paid off; she was now an expert in Muay Thai and the self defense technique of Krav Maga, thanks to Rainbow, who had showed her everything she learned as soon as she got back from her classes in the martial arts. While Rainbow Dash held a blackbelt in both those styles, Applejack was never officially trained, but Dash had remarked numerous time that she was on par with her every time they spared. On top of all this, Applejack also learned Equestrian Boxing from her brother, who briefly fought in a few matches once he graduated.

At the time, Applejack believed she would be needing all this for protecting herself, and to prevent her death had she ever found herself in the same situation as her parents, but it would be implemented now for a completely different purpose; a purpose that would do good for the people of her town for years to come.

"I'm sorry, Mosely. What was it we were doing, again?" asked Applejack.

"I believe you wanted to test the grappling hook, Miss Applejack," replied Mosely. Suddenly, the device was in the air, and Applejack only realized it at the last second; her attempt to catch it was laughable, and Mosely Orange did, indeed, laugh as it hit the hard floor with a clank.

"If you wish to become the terror of Ponyville, you'll have to be better than that," said Mosely.

Applejack let off an eye roll before reaching down and picking up the tool. She held it up to the light for a brief moment, and slipped it onto her wrist; she could feel the powerful device lock tight.

"This is what's called a Grapnel Gun, designed to carry a pony with heavy militarized equipment or two ponies lightly equipped. So, all in all, about six-hundred pounds. The gun is wrapped around the ankle of a front hoof of your choice, shooting from the topside of the front leg for easy aiming. You gotta be standin' up to fire the thing, as it requires whatever hand you ain't usin' to press the button to launch it. It doesn't hook like a traditional grappling hook, but instead has four outward prongs that'll clamp to any hard surface, as opposed to hooking on to it. I was plannin' to mass produce these for work in the field once the deal fell through, so I got three of 'em, but I'm real proud of 'em," her brother explained.

"Can it hold you with gear on?" Applejack asked. After all, her brother was known all around Ponyville for being well above average in terms of build and height.

"Unbelievably, yea, it can, though I still don't know why you're taking interest in all of this stuff anyways-" began Big Mac, before being promptly cut off by his sister with her hoof.

"I'll tell you eventually, you have my word. For now, I'd like to keep looking at everything. What is this over here?" Applejack asked.

After retrieving the grapnel hook from the ground, Applejack looked up to the ceiling to observe her surroundings.

Applejack had always known there was a cave system right around her house area. It was reportedly wide and vast (she hadn't actually been in it until now), and she had been mulling over whether or not to turn it into a homeless shelter or an area for domestic abuse victims seeking refuge from their partners. While she felt bad, she knew it was the perfect place to operate from with her upcoming identity, and felt that she'd be doing better for the city using it to help fight crime rather than using it to avoid crime.

Due to the vastness of the cave, there were plenty of ledges and areas on the ceiling; those areas were where she would test out the grapnel hook for the very first time.

Finding a perfect ledge of little far away, Applejack rose her right front hoof in the air and closed her left eye, aiming for the ledge. She slowly stood up, and she brought her left hoof over to rest on the button to fire. Feeling confident, she pressed the button to launch the hook, and that was when absolutely everything went wrong.

To begin, she saw she had misjudged her positioning. Instead of aiming just below the edge, as she had planned, the hook dropped and landed about five feet below where she had originally intended it. Applejack didn't think it was too much of a problem, until she lurched forward and realized that she was going much faster than anticipated. She had no time to react as her flying body slammed into the wall, knocking the wind out of her. On top of that, she still had her hand resting on the button to the grapnel gun, and upon impact her hoof forced itself back onto the button, causing the hook to detach; as a result, she took what looked to be a dangerous fall. Thankfully (but not really), Applejack's long fall was broken by other rocks on the way down. She hit the ground with a devastating thud, and let off a load moan in response to her now cut and bruised body.

"Celestia, Miss Applejack! Are you OK? Did you break anything?" asked Mosely, running up to Applejack as fast as he could. Slowly but surely, Applejack got up, and inspected her body; she was marked all over with countless cuts and bruises, but that was just about it.

"Incredibly, no," she replied, an obvious strain in her voice. "Big Mac didn't tell me it would go that fast."

"I believe it is for armored ponies, Miss Applejack. The plan was to don your Brother's alloy armor before you tested out the grapnel, in order to more fully simulate actual conditions. That would certainly slow it down a bit, but it doesn't quite make up for your aim, however. Dreadfully sorry about that," said Mosely. Applejack stared at him for a second longer before promptly giving herself a face hoof.

"I'll go put the armor on," she said, the annoyance in her tone clearly evident. She could almost feel her uncle's smile burning into the back of her head behind her as she walked away.

"This is the armor I was commissioned to build for Equestria's armed forces. They couldn't get the hang of fighting in it, as they were so used to the way traditional armor affected their combat skill, so they decided not to use it. It's created from an alloy I designed myself, called Nomex, mixed with the finest fabric from Rarity's Boutique. The armor, though more like a suit, has fifteen micro-layers of fabric, which creates a shock absorbin' effect to add more resistance to blows," Big Mac explained. Applejack let out a whistle.

The armor was sleek black, and it almost seemed to shine in the dim illumination the room provided. It encompassed an entire pony, including the head; there was a cowl that seemed detachable fused onto the suit, which seemed to encompass half the face, and gave room for a pony's ears. The eye sockets were rather small, and seemed to only give just enough room for the eyes to fit in; Applejack didn't particularly mind.

"Impressive," she stated. Her brother smiled.

"That ain't it, little sis. There are two other features I pride myself on when it comes to this thing. The first one is that, if extremely threatened and in a dire situation, the suit has a last resort mechanism that sends out 20,000 volts of electricity coursing through it. This won't cause pain to the wearer of the suit, but it will cause a mighty shock, both literally and figuratively, to an enemy soldier. Secondly, ya see that big symbol in the center there?" asked her brother, holding the armor up with his his hooves. Applejack could clearly see a symbol of their Princess Celestia engraved in the center.

"I do. Why, does it do anything special?" asked Applejack.

"You betcha! That symbol is the most armored part of the suit, and most magic and projectiles fired at it won't do much harm. Ya see, the symbol draws the attention of the enemy, and when they fire at it, they won't be doin any damage. Neat, huh?" explained Big Mac. Applejack bent down to inspect it further, running her hoofs across the fabric.

"Yes, it is. Could we fashion that into a different image?"

Applejack came back into the cave, her new armor upon her for the very first time.

The ear slots in the cowl had been modified to more resemble bat ears, the slots elongated and pointed significantly sharper. On top of that, the right ear was fitted with an antenna that served as a two way communicator that went back to Mosely, and the left ear was fitted with a warning beacon that would go back to the Manor if she was ever in significant trouble.

The cowl had also been fitted with another one of her brother's inventions that was meant to fit in glasses; a so called "tactical mode". This allowed Applejack to see the heat signatures of her enemies, and possibly items they may be holding, through walls. However, her brother had warned her that it may become unreliable, as heat signatures can be "forged", as he called it, by skilled magicians and manipulators, so she knew to use it wisely.

Finally, the cowl was lined with a very small amount of lead all the way through. If a magic user tried to look through her cowl by way of spell, they would come up empty handed, as they would not effectively be able to see through the cowl. This precaution was slightly uncomfortable to Applejack, but she believed it to be an extremely necessary implement.

"My goodness, Miss Applejack...you do look frightening. I see you and your brother were also able to fashion the center symbol as you wished," Mosely stated. Sure enough, a bat insignia stood across her chest, and Applejack looked down to admire it, moving side to side and watching it glint and shimmer in the light.

"Yes, it does look menacing," she said, though not in her voice. This voice was much lower, and lost its Canterlot accent for a more neutral and subtle Ponyville accent. Mosely joked that she sounded like a love interest in an old black and white noir film, which Applejack believed was fine; as long as it sounded menacing and disguised the fact that she was Applejack, the famed billionaire and owner of Apple Enterprises, it would work just fine.

"Before you try the grappling hook, your brother sent in one more thing," Mosely stated. Walking over to Applejack, took what looked to be some sort of black cloth and pinned it to her back. Applejack only realized what it was when Mosely stepped away.

"A cape? Is that needed?" asked Applejack, turning back to observe the new edition.

"Your brother told me in the letter it came with that the cape is meant to disorient your enemies. When you're fighting and moving, your foes will find it hard to discern whether their aiming at you or your cape, causing combat to be much difficult for your enemies and much easier for you," explained Mosely. After expecting it for just a few more seconds, Applejack nodded in agreement.

"You'll also notice that your suit comes fashioned with a utility belt," Mosely explained. Applejack looked down and, sure enough, a grey utility belt hung around the middle of her body.

"The belt comes with a few other surprises, your brother made sure to mention. You have what he dubs "batarangs", which are, well, bat shaped boomerangs. They are meant to subdue enemies, as well as provide distractions and hit unreachable areas. Aside from that, you also have six IED's that can be used to open inaccessible areas. You ONLY have six, so use them wisely for the meantime, as I'm sure you can get a refill eventually. Finally, the belt comes with smoke pellets that can allow you to disorient your enemies and position yourself onto vantage points to get an edge over your foes," Mosely explained.

Sure enough, all this was in Applejack's utility belt, and she took each one out and inspected them thoroughly. The "batarangs" felt perfect in her hooves, and the IED's seemed simple and easy to use, as did the smoke pellets. Applejack shook her head and let out a nervous laugh.

"I'm honestly a little overwhelmed by all of this, but...it's what I want to do. Okay, here we go," said Applejack.

Once again aiming her grapnel gun (this time correctly, she made sure), Applejack shot towards the ledge she tried to reach earlier, accounting for the drop she had experienced the first time she fired it. While still fast, it was a little bit slowed down due to the armor, but controllable as a result. Safely and (almost) soundly, Applejack landed on the ledge she was aiming for. She could hear Mosely clapping from down below.

Speaking of Mosely, thought Applejack as she brought her hoof up to the side of the cowl. Pressing a small button near where the bat ears began, Applejack's vision changed dramatically. A majority of the room became blue, save for a few key objects; a computer system running that she had set up in the cave, and Mosely Orange himself. Their heat signatures glowed a bright yellow-orange, making them easily stand out.

"My goodness, Miss Applejack. Your eyes turn an eerie white when you do that; a little unsettling, I'll admit," Mosely remarked.

"Good," replied Applejack, as she swung to the next ledge.

It took a bit getting used to, but Applejack kept practicing. After about three hours, she was successfully able to swing from one ledge to another at a smooth and fluid rate, as well as landing silently as opposed to the clumsiness she had been experiencing on the touch-downs earlier. She also worked on activating her tactical mode much quicker, and without making any noise whilst hitting the button.

She also got used to her bothersome tail, which was tucked next to her back right leg; there was no room for it in the costume, and didn't want anyone to see it, lest they could figure out her identity, and it would likely get in the way during combat. She thought the suit was absolutely perfect, but there was still one more addition she needed to make. Hoping down from her ledge, she trotted over to Mosely and slowly began removing her suit, piece by piece.

"I need you to send this back to my brother. Tell him that I want my whole mouth area completely covered, but that I still want to be able to speak very clearly; no muffling. Finally, ask him if there's a way to make my eyes white like they are during tactical mode all the time. It seems like it does good in making me seem more frightening, and I don't want anypony doing an eye scan on me. I also want it to be compatible with stealth, so don't make it really reflective. Got all that?" asked Applejack. Mosely nodded in an affirmative.

"One last thing, Miss Applejack. When is it you are planning to first become the Batmare?" asked Mosely, taking the suit and beginning to fold it.

"I'm going out to meet with the girls tomorrow. Gossip is rampant, so I'm sure they'll have a lead I can pursue. If they don't, I'll pick up the Planet and see if they broke any stories on anything around the area. So, to answer your question, tomorrow night. Tomorrow night...I'll make my mark on this city. My real mark," explained Applejack. Mosely nodded.

"Very well, Applejack...You seem driven by this course of action. You go back to the manor; I'll make preparations for the suit to go back to your brother and then I'll meet you there. One more thing, though, Applejack," said Mosely. Applejack had been ready to walk out of the cave, but, she turned around slowly. "Yes, Mosely?" she asked.

"Come back," he said.

Strike

The best thing about Ponyville had to be, in Applejack's opinion, the mornings. The birds have just come out, and they sing without a care or burden. The breeze just begins to flow through the town, the cold and pleasant sensation constantly brushing past. The warm Sun isn't too bright yet, but just enough to evoke a warm and happy feeling. And finally, the reporters weren't up yet, so Applejack could actually walk outside.

Feeling wet grass brush her hooves, Applejack began to make her way to Sugarcube Corner for the meeting her friends had planned for today. Sugercube corner was owned by Pinkie Pie, one of her great friends, and was their frequent hangout spot. While Sugercube Corner was famous for their deserts, they also served a good breakfast, so Applejack made sure not to eat before heading out.

This meeting was unlike other gatherings Applejack had in the past. She usually went to help take her mind off things and have fun, but this was now a minor objective; her purpose today was to pick up on any leads or rumors of the various crime related happenings around Ponyville. Once she did, she'd go back to her manor and rest for the remainder of the day, and when Celestia took down the sun and Luna brought upon the moon, the Batmare would strike.

Before she knew it, Applejack had arrived at Sugarcube Corner. The first thing she noticed is that the door had been repainted from pink to blue, a change Applejack found pleasant. The second was that the font on the sign had changed from big block lettering to a more subtle cursive font.

Applejack had always been complimented in her youth for being extremely observant. She could always tell if things were out of place, changed, or missing with a relative ease, something her parents had been particularly fond of. Applejack carried the Apples to victory every time at the annual Ponyville bird-watching contest because of this; in fact, she still does, as her brother and sister bring her along every time it comes around. She grew to love the event so much that she now sponsored the competition, and made sure that the entry fee went to the guard to help better protect the city.

When she entered the room, she noticed that the entire place was almost empty; the folks Pinkie Pie lived with, the Cakes, were nowhere to be seen. They usually ran the front desk, so Applejack assumed they were on vacation or Mrs. Cake was having another child, both which wouldn't be out of the ordinary. In the very center of the room was a round table with her five best friends, and an empty sixth chair reserved just for her.

"Applejack! Guess what! Mrs. Cake is having another baby!" Pinkie exclaimed excitedly. Applejack smiled and began walking to the empty chair.

They must know their bedroom well, Applejack thought as she sat down. She took her black coat off and hung it on the chair she was sitting on, which sparked a brief outrage from her friend Rarity.

"Applejack, Darling! That jacket is worth more than all of us! You simply can't treat it like a common coat!" Rarity said. Applejack knew how valuable Rarity's own creations were to her, but she had a bit of a tendency to over-exaggerate things quite a bit. She'd hope that'd be the end of it, but Rainbow Dash decided to comment on the event.

"You think Miss Billionare over here cares? She could probably buy your whole boutique!" Rainbow said, which caused the whole table to laugh. Both Applejack and Rarity got a little more humor out of it, however, as Applejack had once tried to do just that before they knew each other well. In fact, Rarity's blatant refusal of the offer is what led to the two of them being such good friends. Once the laughter died down, Applejack began to speak.

"So, here anything around town lately? I've been a little busy," Applejack said.

"Well, Sunset Shimmer is helping fund a new park project in Canterlot, which is nice; I've heard ShimmerCorp is one of the most charitable companies in Equestria, next to yours of course. Hmm, let's see...there's been a few sightings of an Earth Pony flying around Canterlot, but of course that's ridiculous. Oh, and Ponyville got a new guard commissioner! His name is Flash Sentry, and...well, never mind," Twilight said, blushing at the last sentence.

"Don't worry about it, Twilight, we've all seen him," Rainbow Dash assured, causing the group to laugh again.

This small talk continued. Rainbow Dash was having another Wonderbolts try out, which the group was happy for; it was her dream, after all. Fluttershy's animals were all healthy as ever, and she was expecting a shipment of some endangered Equestrian Birds to take care of, which she was really excited for. Rarity was going to meet Sunset Shimmer herself to make a dress for her coming party in Canterlot, which Applejack wasn't too thrilled about (there was something off about Shimmer, in her opinion). Pinkie Pie had a new desert she was entering in a contest called the "Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness". Finally, Twilight was heading up to Canterlot for a few weeks to go to Shimmer's party, as well as do some more training with Princess Celestia. It wasn't until it was almost time to go that Fluttershy, of all ponies, brought up just the thing Applejack wanted to hear.

"Oh, did you guys know? The Ponyville Guard was supposed to check out that old abandoned sawmill by the Whitetail Woods because ponies thought they heard noises in there, but the Guard completely ignored them!" Fluttershy said. Applejack raised an eyebrow at that piece of news.

"The really tall one?" Applejack asked.

"That's the one! I wonder why they never went?" Fluttershy said. Applejack leaned back in her chair, trying not to seem to suspicious with her interest in the event. She knew what she was going to be doing tonight, and she hoped her brother had gotten those modifications done in time.

"Come on, why do you think? The guard around here does absolutely nothing! I bet they were bought off by that one guy that lives in the middle of Ponyville square that everypony knows is totally a mob boss! Ya know, real scruffy hair, worn out face, brown fur, grey mane? That guy?" Rainbow stated.

"Pierce Talon?" Pinkie interjected.

"That's the dude--wait, how in Celestia's name do you know that?" Rainbow asked.

"Oh, he comes in the store every Sunday! I know what he always gets, too; a Key Lime Pie topped with a cherry. Which is really weird, because cherries and key limes totally don't mix, but he also seems real shady, and a real shady person would do something unconventional like that which would further prove Rainbow's baseless assumption that this dude is a mob boss but if a mob boss could order anything from a dessert bar it would probably be key lime pie topped with a cherry because boy is that odd-"

"PINKIE!" the group shouted in unison. Pinkie blushed and gave an embarrassed chuckle. "Sorry," she said.

"Well, it's been fun, I have to get ready for my trip to Canterlot. I shall not keep Sunset Shimmer waiting; you know how those billionaire types are...no offense, darling," Rarity said, directed towards Applejack. Everyone in the room knew one of Applejack's largest business rivals was Sunset Shimmer, but it didn't particularly bother Applejack; partly because she thought Shimmer was a crook, despite being probably the most intelligent pony in Equestria.

"Don't mention it. I'll go ahead and head out as well; I've got a few company things me and Mosely have to go over. Shall we do it again next Saturday?" Applejack asked. After a resounding "yes" from the group, They all began to file out of the door, save for Pinkie Pie, who put herself behind the counter and awaited for future customers.

Applejack's walk home was not absent minded.

Regardless of whether Rainbow's conspiracy theories are true or not, something is going on in that sawmill, and I intended to find out what it is. And then put a stop to it, Applejack thought to herself. She was so deep in thought, in fact, that she ran into the door of Apple Manor when she got there.

Applejack reeled back in a daze, and blinked a few times before clutching her head in pain. To make things, worse, Mosely opened the door and gave her a confused looked.

"This is your house, Miss Applejack. You don't need to knock on the door," he stated. Applejack made a slapping motion with her hoof as if to say "forget about it" before walking into the home she knew so well and plopping down on the couch, extending her arms across the back of it and kicking out her legs.

"Did you find any leads during your excursion, Miss Applejack?" asked Mosely, going to the kitchen to prepare a snack for his niece.

"I did, Mosely. The cops have been bribed to leave alone some sort of criminal operation down by the old sawmill in the Whitetail Woods, and I intend to find out why and make sure whatever is going on won't be going on again. Is my brother going to have that suit ready by tonight?" asked Applejack.

"I just got the modifications before you arrived, actually. The mouth is now closed with a thin black fabric, as you requested, and your eyes will now be covered by a one way white lens installed in both eye sockets. It's very thin, so the lenses won't bulge and weigh down the mask, and it can't be seen into; only you can see out of it. I was given a warning, however; your brother believes that using your "tactical mode" may illuminate the lens for the duration of its activity," Mosely explained. Applejack gave a curt nod and slowly got up from the couch, stretching when she got on all fours.

"Perfect. Set it up for me in the Batcave, ready to go for tonight. I'm gonna get some major rest until then, so make sure to transfer my calls to my brother while I'm sleeping. Tonight...the Batmare leaves her mark."

The henchmen did not like being in the sawmill. There was something wrong about it, they all knew; it creaked and moaned constantly, as the building was quite old, having been there almost since Ponyville was founded. On top of that, it was rather dark, the only illumination allowed being very dim sparks of fire from the horns of patrolling unicorns; the boss didn't want the building to be too illuminated lest people become suspicious. "The cops can only be bribed for so long," he said.

Lance Glacier was one such henchman. He was an Earth Pony from the Crystal Empire, having done jobs mob bosses and paramilitaries alike, but he had spent most of his time in Ponyville; it was Equestria's cesspool for all things crime, after all. While he received good pay for his new boss, he didn't like the uniforms they had to wear, black combat fatigue with a grey mask covering their face, only leaving room for the hair; he thought it was uncomfortable. He was also beginning to think that the boss wasn't quite being strategic by operating here for such a long period of time.

We've been here too long, he thought. By now the cops not showing up will have spread around town. Sooner or later, we won't be able to hold them off...or some regular pony comes snooping around and we have to blow the poor fellow's head off. Either way, I don't like it.

His shift was just about over. In ten minutes, he'd be able to clock out and leave this place for good; he was done with this operation afterwards, because he just got a contract from a rather mysterious mare down in Canterlot. He paced around restlessly for a few minutes before he heard a loud clank from the corner he was near.

"Ah, don't bother with it. Just one of the random noises," said one of his co-workers. Lance made it a mission to never make friends and never learn names.

"I'll check it out anyways. My shift is about over and you can never be too safe," Lance replied. Slowly. he moved towards the source of the sound. It got darker and darker, as there wasn't a unicorn near to light up the area, but it wasn't too dark that he couldn't see. He could barely make out shapes, which made him confident that he would see if anything happened to be amiss. He looked around and reached out with his hooves, but he wasn't finding anything. Satisfied, he turned around.

"We're all clear, guys!" he shouted.

"Are you sure?" asked a shadow.

A clear, audible thump echoed through the sawmill, and a short and strained cry came with it. The guards near the area shouted that they had been breached, and every guard in the area began to move en masse towards the sound of the disturbance. By that time, the Batmare was already at the other side of the steel mill.

A network of wooden beams ran at the top of the building to support it, and Applejack knew they were perfect as soon as she saw them. The grappling hook clamped onto them perfectly, and she could pretty much get anywhere in the mill she wanted too. Her first night as the Batmare, she suspected, would be an easy one.

"Hey, he's unconscious!" shouted one of the guards; he was a little bigger than the others (her tactical mode revealed this) so Applejack assumed he was the leader of the pack. He ordered them to spread out, and she began to size up every enemy, ready to pick them off one by one.

I can't quite tell what they're doing here yet, but I'll find that out later; right now, the priority is neutralizing all of these thugs, Applejack thought. Looking down, she noticed one of them was about to walk right below her; Applejack smiled and rested her left hoof on her grappling hook.

Her aim was perfect. She grasped the back of his neck with the hook, causing him to wince in pain; it wouldn't cause a fatal injury, but it would certainly hurt when he woke up from unconsciousness. When he began to shoot upwards, he began to let out a yell, but was cut off when he arrived at the base of the plank. Applejack allowed him to look right at her face, a terrified expression plastered upon him, before punching as hard as she could, knocking him out instantly; she detached the grappling hook and sent his still body sprawling towards the floor.

The thugs all heard the body hit, and so she began to move towards the next plank, and the next. this time she stayed near the middle, watching what actions they would take.

"I want you all spread out, but I want you two with me! Everyone else, keep looking! I don't know who's in here, but they ain't friendly!" said the Commander.

I'm not going to get them all in one place, thought Applejack, And I can't do that suspension trick again; it's too dangerous. I'll have to hop down and silently take them all down.

Applejack did, indeed, hop down, staying to the shadows and looking for the nearest thug to take down. One happened to be walking away from her about twenty feet to her left, so she followed, silent as she could. Apparently it was good enough, as she came right up behind him without anyone noticing. She quickly wrapped her hooves around his throat, constricting him; he attempted to throw jabs at her abdomen to break free, but it was no use; she slowly brought him down to the floor.

Quick as she could, she grappled up to the nearest plank, and upon landing on it, blew her entire stealth based strategy to shreds.

The building was old, she had knew, but she didn't know that some sections of the building were ready to break down. The wood support beam she had landed on instantly collapsed upon her weight, and with it a section of the roof. As she came careening down, she had thought about grappling to another area, but decided it was much too risky and looked downwards, readying herself for the fall. She was able to land safely, but it wasn't without pain, and she winced a little upon impact.

She didn't have time to reflect upon her injuries, as numerous thugs who had seen the incident were heading directly to her location. Turning on her thermal vision, she quickly looked around to first spot the magic users, who she realized she should have gone to take out first. However, they were rushing towards her, and couldn't use any spells without extinguishing the flame they were using to illuminate the sawmill.

They're bigger fools than I am, thought Applejack.

She dropped a smoke pellet, and the thugs rushing her all began coughing; thanks to the close mouth her brother had created, and her tactical vision, she could see and operate in the smoke when no one else could. Quickly, she took out all of the magic users, hitting them with devastating hooks and jabs her brother had taught her back in the day. As soon as she was done with the last unicorn, the smoke cleared, and she was left with the rest.

Some of them will be Pegasi. If they try and fly, take 'em down, Applejack thought. Sure enough, one began to make for the air, hoping to get a vantage point above her. Quicker than she thought she could manage, applejack released a batarang into the air, glancing the Pegasi on the chest and causing a long cut; he shrieked and fell to the floor as the rest of the thugs watched.

"Try me," said the Batmare. Her scare tactic worked, and none of the other pegasi attempted to go to air. Their Commander didn't seem to mind, however.

"GO AFTER HER! DON'T LET HER NEUTRALIZE YOU!" shouted the Commander. He would be the problem, as he seemed to tower over every other henchman in the room. Applejack made sure to engage with the smaller thugs, and avoid the Commander for as long as possible; so she did, and it came to the point where only they were still able to stand.

"Listen, I don't know who you are, but I'm gonna make sure you don't go poking around in areas you shouldn't be!" said the commander. His voice was brutish and hoarse, which didn't surprise Applejack. He began to charge, running as fast as he could towards the shadowy mare.

Really? Are you kidding? thought Applejack. Bending downward and waiting for just the right moment, Applejack launched a powerful punch to the jaw of the commander, rocking him upwards a little bit and glazing his eyes over; Applejack moved out of the way just in time, and watched his body fall to the floor.

Catching her breath, she looked around and realized she had forgotten to interrogate anyone; they were all unconscious. She was thinking of ways to wake someone up when she heard a moan from the corner of the mill where she had first hid; it appeared the first stallion she knocked out was slowly waking up.

Casually walking over, she came upon the stallion breathing heavily. As he got to his feet, he looked up and saw her face; he attempted to reel back, but Applejack grabbed his armor and ripped off his mask before pushing him back into the wall. He let out a cry of pain, and Applejack began to study him.

He was a crystal pony. Applejack could see the glimmer through the darkness. He had an off white mane and tail color, and he glowed an Ice blue; his eyes were the same color. In truth, he wasn't bad looking, but that wasn't important now; what was important was finding out what was happening in the sawmill, as well as who ran it.

"You're going to tell me what you're doing here, and who you're working for. If I get back-talked or so much as hear you stutter--" Applejack pushed her forehoof into the pony's neck, making him unable to breathe. "--I promise you'll be sleeping permanently. Now, talk. I'm getting impatient." She wouldn't kill him, of course, but the threat was real enough, and the pony promptly gave away everything she needed to hear in a frantic voice.

"There's a drug stash in the room next door, and we're here guarding it. We're here under orders of your most powerful mob boss, dude calls himself the "Black Mask"! I haven't always worked for him, I'm a pony for hire! My shift ended today, and then I was out! I swear that's all I know, please don't kill me!" said the pony, in a hurried voice. The Batmare stared at him for a few seconds before talking again.

"I won't kill you, but I can't leave you conscious," she said. She reeled her hoof back for a punch, but the thug threw his hands up and shouted for her to wait. Reluctant, Applejack obliged, but didn't lower her hoof.

"I don't know what you think you're doing, but his network is too big! He even had the cops paid off! You can't possibly hope to bring him down...who are you?" asked the thug. Applejack didn't bring her hoof down, so the thug turned his head to the side and closed his eyes, knowing her hoof would come flying at any moment.

"I'm the Batmare. Tell your friends," Applejack stated, before launching her hoof forward. The thug was quiet as he dropped to the ground once more.

Applejack made sure to bring a Police issued flare with her before the journey. They were issued to the guards who weren't unicorns in the event they were in danger; If it was seen in the sky, it would guarantee a guard unit would come to that location. Her brother had gotten one at a guard demonstration back when he met with them in Canterlot, and she gladly borrowed one. Firing it off below the collapsed part of the roof, she used walked out of the mill and began to head to the Batcave. She couldn't help but smile, however, because she knew she had done it.

Applejack had truly made her mark.

Sentry

My first day at work did not go well.

The first thing the guard told me about was the bribes. The criminal leaders here had the whole guard in their pockets, and they were allowed to do whatever they want and let the guard watch it happen, as long as the fifty bits was given to the right people. It was revolting. I thought about quitting almost three hours into the job, but I knew I couldn't, because my little sister needed me more than ever. I figured I would just get over it and move on; if I didn't take the bribes, I wasn't a bad person, right?

Then the flare.

The guard flare fired off from the old sawmill down at the Whitetail Woods, which sent the guard into a frenzy. Apparently, someone had payed them off to stay away, and they were not worried about a potential guard member being maimed or killed, they were angry at him for going in there. That alone almost had me walking out the door, but it turns out that there wasn't even a member of the guard there, but the guard did find something they couldn't believe.

The guard arrived to bodies sprawled upon the floor; everypony thought they were dead at first, but it turns out that whoever did it merely knocked them out. Along with these ponies was a massive drug stash that had to be worth half a million bits all together; it wasn't destroyed, and it seemed as if it hadn't even been moved for months. The first pony to wake up was this mercenary from the Crystal Empire who went by the name of Lance Glacier, and he told us the most ridiculous story any of us had ever heard.

Apparently, some mare in a bat costume showed up and kicked everypony's ass; she had technology, too, like smoke bombs and apparently some sort of grappling hook. He was the first one knocked out, and when he came to, she was there, and asked about the operations going on in the building before telling him to spread the word of her existence and knocking him out again. Ridiculous, right? I actually had a laugh with some of my partners. Then we interviewed everyone else, and it wasn't a joke anymore, because they all said the exact same thing. We couldn't get any information out of them, because they claimed that we were petty and that they didn't fear us, and that we were Ponyville's running joke.

They were, however, afraid of her.

So we arrested all of them, because we had no choice now, and we went back to the station. We sat in the meeting room and were silent for a few minutes, just because the thought of a vigilante in a bat costume was so insane, until the Chief of the Guard Noble Law (as if), spoke to us. He decided that this "Batmare" had to be brought in for her crimes. "Nopony takes the law into their own hands," he said, and the whole station seemed to agree; a large part of me did, too, because that's the law and I need to do my best to uphold it.

That part wasn't the dominant part, though. The guard in this town lies, cheats, and steals, and they break the law constantly; they're so corrupt, in fact, that the criminals of this town don't even fear them anymore; they know nothing is gonna happen. But here she is, the Batmare, delivering justice as it should be, and giving the criminals the one thing that'll stop them for good; fear. We can't do that. She can. I'm on her side.

We issued a warrant for her arrest. We told the papers. We made sure everypony in Ponyville knew who she was, because we wanted her captured. I wouldn't dare speak up, lest I get fired, but it pained me to help them with this whole deal; I wanted Ponyville clean, something the guard couldn't do. Eventually, everything was complete, and I made my way out the door of the guard station with Batmare being public enemy number one. It bothered me, sure, but I didn't think about it at all on the way home; I had more pressing issues on my mind.

My little sister, Blaze Sentry, was currently taking her final test at Celestia's School for Gifted Ponies in Canterlot. Should she pass that test, she would be relocated to Ponyville in order to pursue her field of study, Technology, and be placed in one of few technological research centers here. After tonight, I pray to Celestia that the test fails; this is no place to live. Unfortunately, Blaze is so smart that she'll definitely pass that test, and she'll be here within the next two weeks; I knew I'd have to do all I could to clean up this Celestia damned city, and I made it my mission. That brought my mind back to the Batmare, and how she was doing more to clean up this city than all of the guard combined. I told myself to stop talking about it; there was nothing I could do, after all.

Before I knew it, I was home. My house was at the nice area of Ponyville, one of the many that made the circle around Town Hall. It wasn't as glamorous as Apple Manor, which could be seen in the distance, but it was a nice little place, with two floors and two bedrooms. It had taken me a little bit to get used to it, but hey, that's a part of moving. I opened the door and walked into the house; it was unusually cold, though I attributed that to the weather. I reached around the wall for the light switch, and when I found it, flicked it on. When the light flooded through the room, I let out a bloodcurdling scream.

In the middle of the room was the very vigilante we had been discussing earlier that night. She was extremely frightening, covered in what looked like light black armor, with a slightly darker bat symbol on her chest. Her entire body was completely covered, including her mouth, and her eyes were somehow an eerie off white. There were curved blades on the sides of her hooves, and a thin belt seemed to wrap around her midsection. She was also fairly large for a mare, standing slightly taller than me and definitely more muscular. A deep but soothing tone came from her voice as she spoke.

"Hello, Commissioner. I assure you, I mean you no harm," she said. Despite her mouth being completely covered, her words came clear as day. I stood there dumbfounded for a moment before regaining my bearings. For some reason, I believed what she had said.

"What do you want?" I asked. I expected her to move or sit down somewhere, but she stayed right where she was; it would have calmed my nerves if she had laid on the couch and kicked her legs back, but she didn't seem like the type of mare to do something like that.

"I want your trust. I have valuable information that I know you couldn't get from any thugs at the scene. I also know that as of a few minutes ago, I'm Ponyville's Public Enemy Number One, so all I ask is that you work with me," she said. How she knew all of this was baffling, but I didn't question it; I didn't know what this mare was capable of. Carefully, I nodded my head, and she spoke.

"Those ponies were employed by one of Ponyville's most powerful mob bosses, who calls himself the Black Mask. While the biggest, that drug cache was only one of hundreds around Ponyville, and they're all being closely guarded by paid mercenaries; he has none of his own, loyal men. I don't know who Black Mask is, or where he is, but I was hoping we could work together to help find that out. I'd like access to guard records, but seeing as I'm currently wanted by them, that'll be very difficult; unless you can help me," she finished. She obviously learned a lot from those thugs, and seemingly had a passion for what she did, but there was one thing bothering me that I had to bring up.

"Why are you so sure that I want to help you? I'm Commissioner of the guard, for Celestia's Sake! I should have called the guard here and had you arrested!" I exclaimed. Even though I couldn't see it, I could somehow detect a smile through her cowl.

"Well, you haven't done that, have you?" she replied. "Also, I know your sister is Blaze Sentry, and that she's coming to Ponyville soon, if she passes that exam of hers. I know you don't want her to live in Tartarus, Flash. I don't want anypony to live in this cesspool, and I want young people like her to feel safe in this town. I can do that, Flash." My mouth was agape as she brushed past me and opened the door back out. As she was about to leave, she turned her head back to me.

"I'll be in touch. Congratulations on the job, by the way," she said. She whipped extended her front hoof towards the sky, and like that, she was gone.

I quickly ran outside to see where she was going, but there was absolutely no trace of her. Well, I thought there wasn't; when I squinted harder, I could barely make a figure out on one of the many houses in the area. The longer I looked and the more details I got, I quickly realized that the figure I was looking at wasn't the Batmare.

It was a mare, that was for sure. She had a full body suit on as well, but it wasn't black; it seemed like it was dark blue. Her eyes were also similar to the Batmare's but instead of being white, they were bright blue. On top of that, she wore a dark colored fedora, and some sort of jacket over her suit; she had a long, billowing cape, and her hooves were all wrapped with some sort of gauze. She seemed a little bit smaller than the Batmare, but at this distance it was hard to tell, and she seemed to be looking towards the west side of town, away from me.

Who in Celestia's name is that? I thought. She seemed like she could be affiliated with the Batmare, but there was no way to tell, and she would be alarmed if I tried to move any closer. Knowing attempting to make contact with the mare would be fruitiless, I closed the door and headed back inside. I knew I couldn't get to sleep, so I sat down on the couch and began to think.

I had only been here for three days, and since then, I had figured out the guard in Ponyville is a corrupt, fragile mess. I met the force that was striking terror into the hearts of all who do no good, the Batmare, and I even indirectly agreed to help her in her crusade. Finally, I saw something on the horizon that I wasn't entirely sure I should have, something I would indefinably make sure to tell the guard; and the Batmare herself. The sheer craziness of the whole ordeal made me chuckle, and I couldn't help but think one thing as I climbed the stairs and hopped into bed.

I wish I was in Canterlot.

Run

It was Saturday again, which means that it was time to meet with the girls. Applejack was grateful, and probably would have had a smile on her face if she wasn't wincing in pain with every single step she took. Gritting her teeth, Applejack trudged forward to Sugarcube Corner trying to ignore the pain the best she could.

Applejack was superior to any minor crook in Ponyville, that she knew, but that didn't mean that they couldn't hurt her. Applejack had bruises all over her body, and she had to wear her black coat to hide a majority of them; at least it protected her from the cold, thought the Ponyville winter was still strong enough to chill her bones. It was freezing, painful, and extraordinarily uncomfortable, but the Batmare had certainly endured worse; Applejack wasn't going to let it ruin her favorite part of the week, that was for sure.

Once again, Applejack was hoping for a lead. Ever since she had paid Commissioner Sentry that visit just about a week ago, she hadn't heard anything about him. She didn't know when his sister would arrive, but she did understand that if he didn't get back to her somehow, she would have to get back to him, because she definitely needed him. Without a guard contact, her job would become harder than it needed to be, something she didn't need; if he won't work with her willingly, he'll do it forcefully.

The door to Sugarcube Corner was soon in the distance, and Applejack noticed they had once again changed the font on the sign, which she found confusing,but rather irrelevant. She opened the door to the establishment and was surprised to find many balloons and other assorted party items on their meeting table.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, APPLEJACK!" they screamed. Applejack quickly remembered that it was December 22nd, meaning that it was, indeed, her birthday. She had been so caught up being the Batmare that she had completely forgotten it. Her pleasant surprise quickly turned to horror when she realized her friends had gotten up and were about to envelop her in a group hug.

DEAR CELESTIA, NO! thought Applejack. She tried to move away, but it was too late, and her friends all simultaneously crushed her in a massive hug. Applejack could feel every bruise and cut as her friends pushed down on each one, letting the intense pain linger throughout her body. It took an incredible amount of willpower to not scream, but she did have to wince in pain; her friends eyes were closed, so it thankfully slipped by unnoticed.

The group hug broke up soon (not soon enough) and Applejack was led to the table. There were presents at the table, though Applejack knew what was in them; it was a running joke when her birthday came around to give her money, which she always gratefully donated to charity. She always stated that it was the only gift she needed, and always detested physical gifts on her birthday. She sat down, and her friends chorused in a rather off key rendition of "Happy Birthday" before presenting her with a cake straight from Sugercube Corner.

Applejack requested they eat the cake first, and so they all dug in, beginning small talk while they ate; it only took a little while before the conversation went where she knew it would eventually go. Not that it mattered, of course, because Applejack was absolutely ready for it.

"So, how about this Batmare?" asked Rarity. Rainbow Dash pumped her hooves in the air and began to mock up various action scenarios.

"She is so AWESOME! Fighting crime where the guard won't, using fear to keep the criminals in their place! And totally EPIC martial arts! I'm sure glad that she's in Ponyville now, I actually feel safe walking down the streets at night!" The rest of the group raised an eyebrow at that sentence, and Rainbow Dash's face began to flood with a pinkish glow. "Err...I mean, I could totally take them on, of course, but you can never be to safe, ya know," she added.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Rainbow, we know the criminals here are scary...that being said, should the Batmare really be taking the law into her own hooves?" asked Rarity. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes very visibly, while Fluttershy shrunk a little bit further into her chair.

"I'm with Rarity. The Batmare seems really scary, and what if she messes up? She could put the whole guard in danger!" Fluttershy remarked. Pinkie, who had said she needed to take care of some things in the back room, suddenly popped up right behind Fluttershy, causing the whole group to let off a surprised scream. Pinkie Pie didn't particularly seem to care.

"She won't mess up! She has tons of cool gadgets and Kung Fu skillz! I think she's doing a lot of good!" Pinkie said. After the group had gotten over the shock of her suddenly appearing, Twilight decided to throw in her two cents on the matter.

"I have a really good friend of mine from Canterlot named Action Shot. She works for the Daily Planet, usually as a photographer, but she had to write an article on the Batmare just recently. She compiled data from a week before the Batmare made herself known to the week after the Batmare made herself known; despite only having actively fought crime twice so far, the overall crime rate in Ponyville dropped 23%! What the Batmare is doing is making herself a symbol, not just some street vigilante. I'm glad she's here!" Twilight stated. She had Fluttershy nodding her head, but Rarity didn't seem too convinced.

"Applejack, what do you think of this whole Batmare mess?" asked Rarity. All eyes turned to her, and she gave a grin; there was nothing to be afraid of.

"I'm with Rare on this one, sorry," she began. "The guard is trying the hardest they can, and they don't need some street vigilante to fix that. Also, I donate quite a lot of bits to the guard, so I'd hope they aren't being one-uped by some random mare in a bat costume," joked Applejack. The rest of the group laughed, and the conversation moved elsewhere; exactly what Applejack had intended to happen.

The day went on, and when it was time to break, Applejack didn't have any new information. She found it surprising, as rumor in Ponyville spread like wildfire, but she figured that Black Mask was lying low for the moment and wouldn't be trying to draw too much attention to himself; after all, he certainly knew that she was coming after her, so if he was a smart criminal, he would probably being trying to seem as inconspicuous as possible.

I need to go out tonight. The best birthday gift I could get is some new info on Black Mask, though I have a feeling that's a gift I'll have to find myself, thought Applejack. As she was walking back to her manor, she made a mental note to pick up a copy of the Daily Planet before she got home; she was interested in reading that article posted by Twilight's friend.

It was rather windy tonight in Ponyville, which Applejack was rather happy about. More wind meant more noise to disguise herself with, making tonight that much easier for her. Unfortunately, she couldn't really use the wind to her advantage, as she hadn't found anything of importance at all going on in Ponyville; no robberies, no smuggling, nothing. Applejack tried to shake off her boredom, but as time went on, she found it harder and harder.

Well, if there isn't any crimes taking place, I should probably be happy about it, thought Applejack. She decided she would brush up on her grappling maneuvers, as that way she may see something that needed her attention whilst slinging around the rooftops. She stood on two legs, rested her hoof on the grapnel gun's firing mechanism, and launched into the night sky.

She was getting much better at it now. Her control improved every night, and she had successfully unhooked her grapnel and pounced on a criminal just two days ago, something Applejack was rather proud of. Because she was so comfortable with the gadget, she took the time to look around and see if she could spot any trouble. While nothing appeared in the first few minutes, Applejack finally saw a scene near a back alley around town hall.

It was eerily familiar.

She could see two parents with a young colt backed against a wall. A stallion was threatening them with some sort of weapon, and everypony looked frightened; the young colt appeared to be crying. Applejack stared at the scene for what seemed like centuries before she promptly slammed into the wall of a suburban home. Once she came to her senses, Applejack realized she was still dangling from the building; her grapnel gun hadn't detached She did so, and landed soundly on the ground, before immediately shooting off again towards the scene she had found.

Not again, thought Applejack as the scene once more came into view. They were still in the same position, but the mugger was becoming increasingly violent; she didn't have much time before something terrible happened. Once she made it to the top of one of the buildings that made the alley, she got a good look of the scene below her. It seemed as if the mugger was about to attack, as his weapon was raised in the air (Applejack could now see it was a crowbar). Gracefully, the Batmare descended from the building, and landed right in the middle of the two parties.

The mugger reeled back with a scream, causing him to trip and fall to the ground. He looked up, and upon seeing the Batmare, began to slowly back away from her, his already scared countenance turning downright terrified.

"It's the freakin' bat!" he exclaimed. He tried to shuffle away, but Applejack was much too fast, and quickly grabbed a hold of him. She yanked him upwards and pushed him against the wall, and poured all of her angst, fury, and depression into her right hoof. She threw punch after punch after punch, and she knew her hoof would be in bad shape the next morning, though she didn't seem to care. Red slowly crawled upon the stallions face, until it was completely crimson, and it was then she finally dropped him. Turning around, the Batmare was greeted with the horrified looks of the family she had just saved.

"Run," she said. They obliged, quickly fleeing the scene. Why they would make the mistake of walking down a back alley this late at night, Applejack would never know, but then she thought back to her own scenario years before.

Why did we? she thought. Sighing, Applejack began to restrain the criminal with a nylon rope, a new addition to her utility belt. He put up no fight, as he was completely unconscious, and Applejack had only just began to see the damage she had inflicted upon the criminal, and her eyes widened in shock.

Dear Celestia, I could have killed him...I have to stop making this personal. I'm the Batmare, not Applejack. There's no need to be that harsh, she thought to herself. Satisfied with the restraint, Applejack turned around and began to make her way back into the city. Right before she launched her grapnel gun, however, she noticed a figure on top of a nearby building.

It had the shape and form of a mare, and it wore a suit similar to hers. Her suit was more of a navy blue, however, and her eyes had a light blue filter as opposed to the Batmare's white eyes. She wore what looked to be a light purple trench coat over the suit, and a fedora of the same color with a navy blue rim. She had also had a navy blue cape, and the buckle that attached it to her chest was a big black letter "M". The mare had been watching her, and upon seeing the Batmare look at her, immediately began to flee in the opposite direction.

I don't think so, thought Applejack, shooting her grapnel gun and launching after her. As she soared in the air, Applejack could see the figure running across the rooftops. She had no grappling abilities, but she could certainly jump from roof to roof with ease. Applejack began to focus as she drew closer, making sure her next move was perfectly planned out; if she messed up the landing, she'd loose her.

Here we go! she thought as she shot the grapnel off again. It hit the side of a nearby building, and Applejack used her momentum to swing around it. At her highest point, she detached the hook, and began a free fall straight towards the fleeing mare. Applejack couldn't help but grin; her calculations were spot on. She landed right on the mare, and they both tumbled to the ground.

the Batmare popped right up, only to see that the mysterious mare had done it faster. They both stared each other down before Applejack finally spoke.

"Why are you watching me?" she asked. In response, the mare charged right at her, and delivered a right hoof aiming straight for her face. Applejack only had just enough time to throw up her hooves to block, and it took all of her effort to not let her defense collapse.

"In due time," she replied. Her voice was extremely deep, and heavily distorted; she was using some sort of voice disguise mechanism. She tried to bring up one of her back legs, but Applejack pivoted away, at the same time shoving her backwards. It seemed as if the mare was about to fall on her back, but she instead did a complete back-flip and landed on her four hooves; she quickly reset herself in a bipedal combat stance.

Damn, she's fast! thought Applejack. As quick as she could muster, Applejack slung two batarangs from her belt and launched them towards the mysterious mare in one fluid motion. The mare leaned to the side to dodge one and did a quick jump to evade the other before rushing in again. Applejack grit her teeth and rushed to meet her.

I'm done playing defense, Thought Applejack as brought back her fist. The mysterious mare adjusted accordingly, though her punch never came; instead, her left hoof went into motion instead, and landed right in the gut of the mysterious mare. She didn't even grunt, instead immediatly firing back with a punch of her own; the Batmare easily dodged it and finally launched the right hoof, which connected with the mysterious mare's face. That was enough to make the mare cry out, and she retreated backwards. Applejack could barely see the bloodstains where she had hit her.

"Not bad, though it won't be enough," said the mare. Before she could make a move, the Batmare moved first, initiating the charge. The mysterious mare stood still, and when the Batmare was only a few feet away, threw her hands up. Unfortunately, the Batmare wasn't going for the upper body, and she performed a leg sweep that brought the mysterious mare to the group. The Batmare tried to take advantage of the prone mare and launched her hoof down as fast as she could, but it wasn't quick enough; the mysterious mare rolled over, and delivered a devastating kick with both of her backlegs at the Batmare's face. That sent her sprawling towards the ground, and when she opened her eyes, the mysterious mare was already on top of her.

the Batmare launched her back legs upwards in the same fashion the mysterious mare had just did, though it never connected; the mysterious mare saw it coming, and grabbed a hold of both backlegs, flipping them upward. The Batmare used this momentum to somersault backwards and land in a bipedal combat position.

"Who are you?" asked the Batmare. The mysterious mare didn't answer, so the Batmare charged yet again, and threw an onslaught on punches. The mysterious mare did her best to block them, though some of the Batmare's punches fell through, a couple in the stomach and one in the face. The flurry was stopped when the mysterious mare caught one of the Batmare's forehooves and twisted it to the side, causing the Batmare to cry in pain; she followed up with hard kick to the gut, which pushed the Batmare foward at least five feet.

"I'm the Mare Do Well," said the mysterious mare. The Batmare slowly got up from the ground, clutching her stomach and breathing hard. The Mare Do Well, still in a bipedal stance, began to slowly walk backwards towards the edge of the roof top.

"And I find you very interesting, Applejack," she said.

What!? thought Applejack, wide eyed. She began to sprint towards Mare Do Well, but it was of no use; Mare Do Well leaped backwards off the edge of the building in a spread eagle formation. The Batmare sprinted towards the edge to look over it, but there was no sign of the Mare Do Well; in fact, there was no trace of her going in any particular direction after leaping from the building. Applejack gave a long sigh before hitting her communicator button on the side of her cowl.

"Mosely?" she asked.

"Yes, Master Applejack?" answered Mosely. There was a silence before Applejack continued.

"I need to clear my head, and I also need some advice. I'm going to be staying at Twilight's tonight, OK? I'm going to drop off the suit before I go, of course, but I just wanted to let you know. Also, I want you to use the batcomputer and look through any records you can access that contain the phrase "Mare Do Well". Got it?" asked Applejack.

"Absolutely, Master Applejack. Anything else?" asked Mosely.

"No, that'll be all. Thank you," she replied. Giving off another sigh, Applejack turned off the communicator and began grappling through the roof tops towards the Batcave.

Oracle

Applejack stood in front of her best friend's door, staring blankly at the handle. She had been doing this for what seemed like hours, along with twisting her hoof in the dirt; she couldn't bring herself to knock on the door.

You've never needed help before. Why would you need it now? thought Applejack. While she had always believed she could always handle anything if it faced her, she wasn't so sure about this. Being the Batmare was putting quite the toll on her, and in order for Twilight to help her, she would need to tell her the secret she thought only her uncle would ever know. Outside of that, if anypony could help her find Black Mask, it would be Twilight.

She knocked on the door.

It took a bit, but Twilight answered. Applejack expected her to be a little bit groggy, as it was late at night, but when Twilight answered the door, she seemed to be wide awake; Applejack assumed she was doing one of her late night study sessions. Twilight cocked her head to the side and raised an eyebrow upon seeing Applejack.

"Hey, AJ! It's kinda late at night...is there something you needed?" she asked. Applejack looked at the ground for a little while longer before answering her.

"Yea, um...listen, I...there's something I need to talk to you about, and I'm kinda going through something, and...can I stay here tonight? Would that be cool with you?" asked Applejack. Twilight's countenance went from lightheartedly confused to worried and serious, and unlike Applejack, didn't hesitate with her reply.

"Of course. Stay as long as you need. I'll have you know, I do have a friend over now, but she'll be leaving real soon, so we can talk then. Come on in!" she said, stepping back and opening the door wider. Applejack gratefully obliged, and as she came in, hung her stetson on Twilight's coat rack. When she looked into the room, she saw the friend Twilight had over sitting on the couch, and instantly recognized who it was.

It was that reporter from the Daily Planet, Action Shot. Applejack had seen her profile picture by the article she had read, but seeing her in person now, she knew something was odd. She wore what looked to be cheap clothing, and if you didn't look closely, you might call her obese; Applejack could see right through the charade, literally. The clothes were a size too big, and so were the glasses she was wearing. In fact, judging by the hooves and legs she could see, Action Shot appeared to be just as well built as Applejack was. She also had a slight hunch, and Applejack immediately knew it wasn't natural.

"Applejack, this is Action Shot, that reporter I told you about," Twilight said. Action Shot looked up at her and waved, and Applejack smiled back, trying her best to hide any suspicious behavior.

"Wow, you're the Billionare! It's so nice to meet you!" she said. Applejack had to keep herself from laughing.

The damn voice is fake, too! It's unnaturally high; she's trying to make herself seem weak. But...why in the world would anypony ever want to do that? Applejack thought.

"You as well; I read that article you wrote on the Batmare just yesterday after Twilight told me about it. Real interesting stuff! Where did you get those statistics about the crime rates before and after the Batmare's disappearance?" asked Applejack. Action Shot blushed and turned her head away at the compliment.

"I got it from the Ponyville guard; perks of being a journalist! I'm so glad you liked it!" Action said. She slowly got up off the couch.

"Well, it is getting late, and I have a train to catch tomorrow! Bye, Twilight! Bye, Applejack!" she said as she was walking out the door. As soon as she was about to leave, however, Twilight's eyes widened, and she gasped loudly.

"Wait! I almost forgot! I was meaning to show you this, Action Shot, but now that Applejack is here, it's even better!" Twilight ran to the back of the house, and Applejack and Action Shot looked at each other quizzically. Twilight started talking as she began to come back to the front of her house.

"I was out in the forest with Spike yesterday, going for a walk, when we saw this weird, glowing rock! I can't wait to run some tests on it!" Twilight said, pulling it from behind her back. It was, indeed, a green glowing rock; it was rather small, but the illumination it was giving off was incredible. It was certainly an interesting find, and Applejack was glad Twilight found it; if anypony could figure out what it was, Twilight Sparkle could. When she looked over to Action Shot to gauge her reaction, Applejack once again noticed odd behavior from the pony.

She was smiling, but Applejack knew that she wasn't too excited about it. She had taken a step back, and her whole body leaned backwards with it. That hunch she had earlier was gone, and it seemed as if she was almost wincing. She was clearly experiencing some sort of discomfort at the moment, but Applejack couldn't think of a reason in the world why.

"Heh heh...That's amazing, Twi! Do tell me what you think it is when we see each other again! I really should go now, see ya!" said Action Shot. Her voice was weak, and before Twilight could say anything, she had power-walked out the door. Both Twilight and Applejack looked at each other with a face of confusion.

"Huh. It's almost like this rock actually made her uncomfortable," said Twilight. Applejack nodded, still staring at the doorway the mare had run through.

Note to self: do a background check on Action Shot, Applejack thought, before turning around to meet her friend.

"Ok, Twi...I have a little something I'm doing, and I just realized tonight that I just can't do it alone. I have this...instinct, I guess, to do everything by myself, and I think the death of my parents made me not able to easily trust those around me...can I trust you, Twilight?" asked Applejack. To her surprise, Twilight ran up to her and embraced her, not letting go for several seconds, before recoiling and meeting her with a smile.

"Of course, AJ! I'm so honored you would say something like that! So what do you need help with? Coping? Do you need to tell me what you're feeling?" asked Twilight.

"Nothing like that. I need your help cleaning up this city," Applejack answered. Twilight's smile dropped, and she cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"You mean, like community service? I'm sure we can set up some appointments around the city, if you feel that strongly about environmental issues-" Twilight was cut off by Applejack, who had been shaking her head. Applejack rolled down one of her coat sleeves, to reveal her trusty grapnel gun; a bat symbol was etched into the top. Twilight's eyes widened as she connected the dots.

"Depends on what you mean by "community service"," replied Applejack.

Princess Celestia was a hard working pony. Even if raising the sun is taken out of the equation, she was still responsible for the safety of her country, working hours a day with jobs that ranged from dealing with diplomats to managing her taxes, along with plenty other tasks. Her sister Luna did the same, and together, through hard work, they had made their kingdom a prospering civilization. At the moment, Celestia and Luna were doing none of those things.

The royal sisters were currently having tea in the Castle Gardens, a marvelous place filled with rare flora and fauna that make the nation of Equestria beautiful. Their table was situated to the side of a small waterfall, where numerous beautiful species of Equestrian sea life would be going on with their daily activities. The clearing was surrounded by roses of many colors, and the slight breeze running through the air made it all the more perfect.

"So," said Luna, taking a sip of her tea and setting it down on the table. "What do you think about this Batmare business?" asked Luna. Celestia stared at the waterfall beside them before answering.

"She certainly has Ponyville scared," she began. "Maybe that's what she wants." Celestia took a sip of her tea as her sister began to speak once more, and held the cup to her mouth for a bit longer than usual.

"It seems to me she's doing more good than harm. Crime over there is slowing down rapidly, and the citizens feel safe again. It's a shame that the police force is going after her, though I suppose I understand their reasoning. What would you do in that situation, Tia?" asked Luna. Celestia took a long time to answer her.

"Considering my apprentice is there? I'd let her go. Twilight needs all the protection she can garner in that city. I'm glad her friends are safe, too; we all know how much she's grown to care for them all," said Celestia. Luna couldn't help but notice Celestia was still zoned out, and reasoned that she was getting bored with the conversation. Shrugging, she began to discuss a different topic that more suited her dear sister.

"So, about that diplomat from Saudi Arabia..." began Luna. Celestia, however, wasn't listening; she was still staring at the waterfall, thinking intently. There was only one thing on her mind, and it had been there ever since she had gotten news of the vigilante's mysterious appearance.

Keep my Twilight safe, Applejack, she thought. She needs it.

"You...you're the Batmare?" asked Twilight, her eyes still wide from shock. Applejack put her sleeve back down and nodded the affirmative.

"Yes, I am. I've been wanting to actually change things around this city ever since I was old enough to take the company. I tried my best, Twilight; I gave money to the guard, I sponsored neighborhood watches. It wasn't enough. Nothing was. If I was to truly help this city, the city that ate my childhood, I would need to do it myself. I realized that these criminals don't fear anyone, Twilight; I realized that I could make that happen," Applejack said. Twilight's face hadn't changed.

"The bats," she began, now looking up at Applejack. "The bats at Sweet Apple Acres. That was what inspired you." Once again, Applejack nodded her head. Much to the billionaire's surprise, Twilight launched a hoof out and smacked her in the face. It didn't physically hurt, but it had quite a mental impact, as Applejack knew exactly why she got it. Looking back at Twilight, she could she tears slowly trickling down her face.

"You could die out there, AJ! Don't you see how dangerous this is? Don't you realize what you're putting yourself through? Wearing that bat on your chest might scare off smaller thugs, Applejack but you're asking for attention from more dangerous criminals. You're a mark for anypony who wants to make theirs!" said Twilight. Upon hearing that, Applejack thought back to that Mysterious "Mare Do Well" character.

"Well, that's why I'm here," began Applejack. "I was just out patrolling, and I saw a family just like mine in danger. I realized that while I may be well trained and well equipped, I'm just one mare. It was hard, but I finally understood...I just can't do this one alone. So I want you to help me, Twi," said Applejack. Somehow, Twilight looked even more shocked than she had before.

"Me? Why would you want me to help you? Why should I?" she asked. Applejack didn't hesitate in answering.

"Because I think you want the same thing as me. I know. And I don't know a more intelligent pony in the world, Twi. It doesn't have to be much, if you don't want it to be, but I really think I need you." Applejack looked away. "And not just for physical support."

Twilight stared at her hooves for what seemed like a lifetime, and her tears slowly began to clear. Finally, she began to speak with just a little bit more confidence.

"What do you need me to do?" she asked, sniffling.

"I need you to talk to people I can't. I need you to do a little research here and there, I need you to tell me what I'm going into before it happens. I need you to tell me what I'm up against before they even know I'm coming. Can you do that for me?" asked Applejack. Twilight once again looked up to meet her face to face.

"Like some sort of Oracle?" asked Twilight. To her surprise, Applejack smiled.

"Yes, exactly like that," she replied.

Action Shot opened her hotel door, sighing as she collapsed onto the bed of her cramped, plain hotel room. She took of her "glasses" and looked up at the bland white ceiling, continuing to think about her encounter with the famed Ponyville billionaire.

She could tell something was wrong. She saw right through me! I saw right through her as well, of course, but that's irrelevant; I'll have to make something up to explain everything, but what would it be? Ugh! And furthmore...how in Tartarus did Twilight manage to find a piece of kryptonite in the Whitetail Woods?

Action Shot slowly climbed from her bed and began to remove the clothing she wore. She put her shirt and pants in the washing bin (rarely ever used, of course; clothing wasn't commonplace anywhere in Equestria) and walked into the bathroom. Drawing some water from the sink, she began to splash the mark on her flank. It was a light blond dollar sign, but when the water hit it, the fake mark washed away to reveal her real one; the symbol of hope from her home planet, as well as her family's sigil.

Sighing once more, she walked from the bathroom and trotted over to her briefcase, right next to the only lamp in the room. Unlatching the large black case, she was immediately greeted with her standard news equipment; her trust camera, her red and white hat she always wore (the only article of clothing she owned that was actually the correct size) and a news clipping of the changeling invasion, which she won multiple awards for, a feat she was legitimately proud of.

Smiling at the memory, Action Shot began to pull everything out, revealing the apparent bottom to the briefcase. Action shot looked for a tiny latch that blended perfectly with the black fabric; upon finding it, she clicked the switch back which set the false bottom loose. Action Shot carefully lifted it, revealing the one thing she still had from home.

It was a Kryptonian suit, found in her pod upon her landing to the planet. It was inscriped with the symbol of the House of El, her people, in the middle of the suit; the same symbol that made up her cutie mark. The suit was navy blue, with a dark red cape attached to the shoulders. It had fascinated Action for years and years after she discovered her heritage, and she kept it with her ever since; at first for no apparent reason than to just have it, but now she kept it for a different reason.

If the world was ever in trouble, in the people of the planet were ever threatened, she would be there to save them. She would be at the ready to defend her new planet against the worst the universe had to offer, because she was not like any other pony; and when she did it, she would be wearing the symbol of her people. After staring at the suit a little bit longer, she put the false bottom back in its place before putting the rest of her belongings back as well.

Knowing it was late, Action Shot turned off the light and crawled into her newly made bed (thanks to the hotel staff). After all, she had to wake up early and catch the train back to Canterlot the next morning, then get back to work the following day. Her boss was nice enough to give her a day off to visit her friend, but the visit didn't at all go as she expected, of course. She still found it hard to get to bed, replaying the day's events.

I know a few things for sure. Applejack isn't who she claims she is, and she knows that I am not who I claim that I am. With the appearance of this Batmare, and the rumblings she's causing, along with the Changeling invasion, I have a feeling I'd rather not be experiencing. Action Shot looked over to the briefcase. Despite the total darkness she could still make it out.

I have a feeling I'll be using the suit soon.

Mask

Applejack's eyes shot open. Her vision was nothing more than a chaotic flurry of multiple colors, and she could feel her body rocking back and forth; she was being shaken. Measuring carefully, Applejack launched both her hooves out, pushing the figure backwards; once her sight came back to her, she realized it was Spike, Twilight's assistant. Applejack was reassured for a second, but was quickly reverted back into a state of panic once she saw the look on Spike's face.

"Twilight's been kidnapped!" shouted Spike.

Applejack didn't answer at first. She just stared at him, occasionally blinking on occasion. She tried her hardest to figure out why she had been taken, but every possibility led back to the fact that somepony knew who she was. There would be no other reason to take her, no other reason she was valuable. It was at that moment that Applejack remembered Twilight was Princess Celestia's protégé, and that she was extraordinarily valuable.

"Did they leave a note? At all? Anything to indicate who did this?" asked Applejack, snapping out of her daze. Spike nodded and ran downstairs, and came back with a small note. Upon reading it, Applejack knew that the situation was slowly going beyond her control.

If you want your pet back, you better pay up. Three million bits and the mare goes loose. Don't keep me waiting.

-Black Mask

"Is it...is it because he knows?" asked Spike. Applejack raised an eyebrow, and reasoned that he must have been overhearing the conversation she and Twilight had last night. Applejack began walking towards the front door of Twilight's house, with Spike in tow. She approached the coat rack and donned her black designer coat, along with her Stetson, and she placed the note in one of the coat pockets. Once she had done that, she turned her head to Spike.

"I thought that was it at first," she began, "but I realized it was because of her affiliation with Celestia. Black Mask knows he can get a good price for Twilight when it comes to the royal bank, and he signed his name at the end of the note to give himself more street credibility, whoever he is. That will be his first mistake," Applejack said. Spike looked confused.

"Why is that a mistake?" he asked.

"Because I'm keeping it," she replied, patting the note in her pocket. "I'm getting this analyzed, and nopony is going to know this happened besides a few select individuals, so I need your help. Contact Princess Celestia and give her the details, and make sure to tell her to remain calm. After you do that, I need you to go down to the Ponyville guard station and ask for Flash Sentry; only Flash Sentry. Tell him to meet the Batmare on top of the Ponyville Clock Tower at 11:30 on the dot. Got all that?" Spike quickly nodded, and Applejack turned towards the door.

"I've got you now," said Applejack, before heading out the door.

Applejack had been sitting on her couch for the past hour. She had been gently sipping her coffee, but by now it had gone cold; Applejack didn't care. Her straight forward gaze never wavered, and when Mosely Orange walked into the room, she didn't turn her head to acknowledge him.

"Anything?" she asked, in a somber tone. Mosely Orange took a spot on the couch next to her and pulled out a piece of paper along with his reading glasses; he put them just below his eyes and began to read.

"Yes, actually. The pony who wrote the note was not Black Mask, though that was a given; it appears that the Stallion that wrote the message is named Hunter Swift, and his hoof prints were found on the note, along with yours, Spike's and Twilight's, of course," said Mosely. Applejack turned her head to meet his at this news.

"Twilight? Why would she grab the note?" Applejack asked. Mosely shook his head.

"I'm afraid I haven't the slightest idea. There's another thing you should know about; his hair appeared to be on the scene as well, meaning he was one of Twlight's captors, if there were multiple. Swift lives here in Ponyville, and I suspect that they may still be keeping her in the city, strange as that may seem," he said. Applejack nodded and looked down to her hooves.

"It would be more cost effective...how could I let this happen?" Applejack said. Mosely put a hoof on her shoulder.

"You already explained why you didn't. Twilight is just high profile enough to get good money, but just low profile enough that not many ponies would miss her should she be gone for an extended period of time. This was going to happen whether you asked her to help you or not, Applejack, but the important thing now is that we find out who took her. A few more things, though," Mosely said. Applejack nodded, giving Mosely the OK to continue.

"Spike has contacted both Celestia and Flash Sentry on the matter. Celestia has written back that she thanks us for keeping the matter quiet and that she hopes we can bring her back without trouble. She also remarked that she is willing to pay the ransom money, should it come to that," he said.

"It won't," Applejack replied. "Sentry?"

"Sentry agreed to meet you at midnight on the clock tower. He's currently sweeping the Ponyville area to look for hairs or markings that could relate back to Hunter Swift or Twilight, and he aims to report these findings to you at midnight," finished Mosely. An annoyed look spread across Applejack's face.

"He needs magic to do that. He's working with somepony else," she said. Mosely was about to make a comment, but Applejack waved a hoof that let him know it wasn't a big deal. Slowly, she got up from her couch.

"I'll need to get ready soon...thank you, Mosely. For everything. And I don't just mean what you've done today," Applejack said. She paused for a second.

"Did you ever run that background check on Action Shot?" asked Applejack. Mosely nodded his head, though Applejack knew from his expression that there wouldn't be anything spectacular about it.

"She checks out for the most part, no pun intended. As far as the records show, she grew up as an adopted child from Vanhoover to a farming family, and moved to Canterlot at the age of nineteen to pursue a career in journalism, which she obviously accomplished. Her adoptive family are tree farmers, named Birch Oak and Willow Oak, respectively," Mosely said. Applejack raised an eyebrow, and Mosely knew exactly the question she was going to ask.

"Her birth parents?" Applejack asked. Mosely smiled.

"That's the inconsistency. There is no record of her birth parents, and there isn't any record of her ever being put up for adoption. That was the only thing that I noticed was truly strange, however; do you still believe there's something wrong with her, Applejack?" asked Mosely. Appeljack didn't answer for a second.

"Sometimes, Mosely, you can pick up things without Analysis. Sometimes, you just know in your heart that something isn't right, and I'll only tell you this; I don't know where in Tartarus that mare is from, but I know for sure that isn't Vanhoover. Do you have a house address in Canterlot?" asked Applejack.

"Yes," Mosely replied.

"I want it," said Applejack, beginning to walk away. Mosely Orange gave a long sigh and got up himself, picking up Applejack's coffee cup in the process. He went to dump it out in the kitchen sink, and noticed it was still half full.

Commissioner Flash Sentry had been waiting ten minutes. He felt that it was unusual, and wondered if something bad had happened to the Batmare, though he found that hard to believe. He turned around to see if he could see her arriving from the rooftops, and was pleasantly horrified to find her about two and a half inches away from his face. He did his best to hide a scream, but a faint shriek started in his throat and perished before it made it out.

"How long have you been here?" he asked, stunned.

"Longer than you. What have you found out about Hunter Swift?" asked the Batmare. At those words, Flash Sentry's eyes lit up, and Applejack knew she was finally going to get good news.

"Well, it's interesting. We started from Twilight's Library, and followed a trail of hair, and...well...drops of blood, all around Ponyville. I'm sure he thought he was smart, because the trail split off and led to three different locations," Sentry said. The Batmare nodded curtly, but had a question.

"How much blood was there?" she asked. Sentry gave a reassuring look.

"You have to be looking for it to find it. It was both Twilight's and Hunter's, but...well, I hate to say it, but the majority came from Sparkle," he said. He waited for the Batmare to say something, though she stayed eerily silent, so Flash continued.

"One location was the Sofa and Quills shop down by town hall; we checked to see if they had gone in, and there was no trace of anything to prove that they had, so we moved to the second location, which was the Ponyville Bowling Alley. They did go into the back room of the Bowling Alley, and came out the front entrance, well after the lanes were closed for the night. And finally, the real interesting one; the third trail let to a Rich Industries warehouse building, and it appeared they were inside for quite sometime. She was moved, obviously, but there isn't a trace of where she went after that," Flash said. The Batmare stayed silent for a few seconds once again before answering.

"Filthy Rich is still the owner of Rich Industries, correct?" she asked. His daughter, Diamond Tiara, went to school with Applejack's little sister, and Applejack had met the man himself plenty of times on business proposals. Flash Sentry nodded, grinning wider than Applejack had seen anypony grin in quite some time.

"Yep. I think we have our Blask Mask, huh?" he asked. The Batmare nodded.

"I think you're exactly right, and that's a huge problem," she said. "This wasn't on accident. Rich is leading us right into a trap, and he's using Twilight as bate. To his knowledge, the Ponyville guard won't hurt him, and he wants to make a power play and be rid of me before I start to affect this city for good. If he doesn't get me, he'll still get quite a substantial sum of money, so he seems to assume that this is a win-win situation," Applejack said. Flash Sentry looked confused.

"Hold on a second; in order for this, wouldn't we need to know where Sparkle is in order to walk into it? There's no indication that she went anywhere after being transferred from the warehouse," Sentry remarked. The Batmare nodded.

"Except I know exactly where he took her," she said. "I'm going to Filthy's personal mansion. At 1:30 A.M I want a perimeter around the compound, and if I don't come out for half an hour, I want you to breach the complex. Understand?" she asked. Flash Sentry looked back behind him, towards the Rich manner.

"Alright, but before you go-" he said, turning around. However, he noticed that the Batmare had completely vanished once again, leaving him alone atop the clock tower. Flash Sentry rubbed his eyes and gave a sigh before slowly making his way back down the stairs towards the ground level.

"I'm gonna have to get used to that, aren't I?" he asked to himself.

The Batmare stood in front of the vast mansion that she knew her friend was being held in. It wasn't quite as big as Apple Manor, but it was still quite the achievement, and it could be seen everywhere in Applejack's field of vision. The miraculous double doors that marked the entrance of the building were made out of the finest wood Applejack had seen, and the patterns carved into it were obviously the work of a master; they were enticing, but the Batmare wouldn't be using them tonight.

Grappling upwards, the Batmare landed atop the roof, and immediately noticed the lack of goons. There wasn't a pony to be seen anywhere on the rooftop, and something as simple as that was able to send a chill down Applejack's spine.

He knew I'd use the rooftops. I won't be getting any vantage points anytime soon, she thought. She found the chimney, and, as carefully as she could, began to slide down; there was plenty of soot in it, but her full body suit made sure to not let her breathe any of it in as she made her way down.

Merry Hearth's Warming Eve, thought Applejack as she crawled out of the chimney. The humor didn't last long, though, as she was greeted by at least twelve armed guards upon climbing out. Applejack had a feeling, however, that they were not planning to harm her, which even further disturbed her.

The room she ended up in was the living room, of course, but it was just as lavish as Apple Manor. Fine, red silk furniture decorated the halls, and the biggest chandelier Applejack had ever seen was dangling from the ceiling; why it was needed next to a fireplace, Applejack wouldn't know. There was a coffee table in the center of the room made from ironwood, which Applejack recognized was the most expensive wood in the world. Finally, a large carpet that was clearly imported from Saddle Arabia covered most of the floor.

"The boss wants to see you," said one in the front. He was an earth pony, and clearly the biggest member of the group; his face was hidden behind a mask, but his blue mane and tail could be easily seen. The Batmare nodded, and the guards began to form a circle around her, intending to escort her to a different location. They began moving, and Applejack silently flipped the switch on her cowl that turned on her tactical mode.

There are only ten of them, and only half seemed to be armed. There are some stone gargoyles hanging from the ceiling above me, and I can use those to my advantage and get his henchman out of the way. In order to use that advantage, however, I'll need to strike right about...now, thought Applejack. With blinding speed, the Batmare launched a kick to the nearest henchmen, dropping him to the floor, before dropping a smoke pellet and grappling to the nearest gargoyle she could see.

She once again activated her tactical vision, and began to survey the area from her vantage point.

The big guy was armed, of course, and those who weren't would likely be protected by those who are; since there are ten of them. The one I neutralized first happened to be unarmed, so there's one on his own; I'll save him for last. There's gonna be one armed man to one unarmed man; the job will be separating those with weapons from those who don't, and then it'll be easy, thought Applejack. Sure enough, once the smoke cleared, the henchmen lined up in the exact formation Applejack predicted, and so she waited.

One pair decided to walk right under the gargoyle she was perched on, and Applejack remembered a move from her first night as the Batmare, beginning to repeat it on the armed guard below her. She caught him with the grappling hook and brought him upwards, and when he had just made it to eye level, she punched him as hard as she could; exactly how she had done the maneuver the first time. The thug was sent sprawling down, and then there were eight.

However, Applejack knew, that move now meant she couldn't use the gargoyles, as they would be looking in that direction now; sure enough the guard pointed upwards, but by that time Applejack was gone.

Black Mask had kept the house lit up, which was a smart move; the Batmare couldn't use the darkness to her advantage. There was still plenty of cover, though, and Applejack found herself hiding behind one of Rich's smooth and silky couches. It would only be a matter of time before one group came stumbling over, and that would likely be the last stealth takedown the Batmare could make before there were no other options.

There were footsteps coming from around the corner, and Applejack knew the uneven pattern meant it was a group. She readied herself, and when she popped from the corner, she immediately went for the head of both henchmen. They didn't have time to scream, and they both dropped to the floor after a vicious combo from the Batmare to both their skulls. That left six; three armed, three unarmed, as the unarmed henchmen the Batmare had stranded just grouped up with the armed henchman the Batmare had stranded.

The resulting fight was rather short. The Batmare quickly threw three batarangs, all which connected with the armed ponies' legs; they dropped their blades and fell in agony. The three unarmed henchmen looked at each other before rushing in all at once, thinking the numbers would overwhelm them. They were horribly wrong, as the Batmare punched one in the skull before ducking simultaneous attacks from the other two and launching a kick with both back hooves, connecting with the stomachs of the two individuals.

Once that was done, the Batmare walked to the three formerly armed goons writing in pain and put them out of their misery, knocking them out. She removed the batarangs from their legs and began dressing their wounds when she heard a slow clap coming from above her.

She didn't realize it, but there had been an upstairs area where the gargoyles were; she didn't bother to look to her left, or she would have seen it. Standing on the balcony was a figure that had to be Black Mask; he wore what looked to be a black skull over his head, and he donned a white and black pinstripe suit. There was a figure next to him, and Applejack was horrified to see that it was Twilight; she had white tape around her mouth, and there was fear radiating from eyes.

"Impressive," said the crime lord. "I haven't seen anything like it. I'm sure it hurts, but I don't feel like finding out today." At those words, he wrapped a hoof around Twilight, causing her to make an unintelligible noise from her sealed lips.

"I knew you'd be coming for Celestia's plaything," he said. "I'm also aware that you know of my identity. No matter. If you so much as lay a hoof on me, the mare gets her throat sliced. You're going to follow me, okay? So come on up the stairs, bat-freak, and we'll start negotiations."

Applejack nodded slowly, and began to go towards the stairwell. While doing so, she took a look at the Grandfather Clock pressed up against the wall; she wouldn't be alone for much longer.

Play

The Batmare was led up into an attic. It wasn't your typical idea of an attic; this was nice and clean, and it was more like another room in the house of Filthy Rich. The whole area was constructed of marble, and when Applejack made could see the room fully, she noticed there was a fire place not unlike the one downstairs, though this one was lit dimly. Looking to the right, Applejack noticed what appeared to be a torture rack, filled with knives and tools of various sizes; Applejack had to look at Twilight one more time to make sure there wasn't a mark on her. Finally, for some odd reason, two old televisions were mounted on both sides of the fireplace; Applejack supposed they were there to review security tapes.

One of Black Mask's henchman brought a wooden chair to the center of the room, and set it on the floor. Twilight was forcibly seated onto it, and they began to strap her into it; Applejack was wondering why she wasn't resisting with magic until she saw what looked to be a sleeve over her horn. Applejack recognized the device immediately, as her company made them for the local asylum in the event a unicorn became unruly.

Damn! They're blocking her magic. Where did Rich even get one of those? she thought. It didn't matter now, though, and Applejack knew the negotiations were about to begin. Black Mask stood right next to the restrained Twilight, and his henchman proceeded to form a ring around the Batmare. The crime lord gave a small chuckle as he slowly pulled a blade from one sleeve, setting it right across Twilight's neck. Twilight's eyes widened considerably, and Applejack figured she was walking on very thin ice.

"You've been a thorn in my side for the past few weeks, bat-freak. I thought that taking the Princess's little toy would draw you out here, and I must say I am rather impressed by how well this whole thing worked. I either get some more bits to add to the pile-" The crime lord pressed the knife to Twilight's neck, putting just enough force on it to draw blood. Twilight wasn't in pain, but the sight put her into an extreme panic mode; she knew not to move, though, as one movement would spread the knife around.

"-or I get to kill the Batmare," he finished. His voice was deep and raspy, but still showed hints of Rich's accent.

"You mentioned in your letter you wanted three million bits. I'm not here to play, unlike you, and I'm taking this negotiation very seriously. I have word from Celestia herself-" began the Batmare, pulling out a letter from her belt, "-that she will be perfectly willing to pay your ransom. We can arrange Twilight's release off of that," she finished. Black Mask motioned with a hoof to one of his guards, who walked over and abrasivly snatched the letter from the hands of the Batmare; she never broke her gaze on the crime lord.

The henchman handed the note back to Black Mask, who read over it. Twilight attempted a little movement, and Black Mask responded by moving the knife a little to the side, causing more blood to spill; Twilight got the message, and stood still as a stone. Black Mask looked up from the parchment.

"You know, now that I think about it, I may have underestimated the value of our little...guest," began Black Mask. Applejack had a hunch this would happen, though she was hoping it wouldn't.

"I think I could get a little more outta this one. Whaddya think, guys?" asked Black Mask in a mocking tone. The guards all smirked and nodded, with a few throwing in a "yeah". Black Mask nodded with them.

"Yea, I'm thinkin more along the lines of...twenty, maybe? Yea, that sounds good. Twenty million bits, and the mare is yours. I'll even give her back to you in one piece! I think it's a fair trade, Batmare? Hmm?" asked Black Mask. The Batmare merely shook her head.

"You specifically said in your letter that you demanded three million bits, and that is the price I came to negotiate. You're a business man, Filthy; you met with the likes of Applejack Apple and Sunset Shimmer. You should know more than anypony that the price you list is ridiculous, so lets talk in more reasonable terms," Applejack said. In response, Black Mask cocked his head back in laughter.

"Aww, shucks, you got me. Here's the thing, bat-freak; I don't actually want any money. I've got plenty of that! I'm the richest pony in Ponyville, save for that weak mare Applejack who never worked for anything in her Celestia damned life. I would gain nothing if I handed over this thing for mere bits," he explained. "So here's the deal, sweetheart. I'll give her up for one measly thing; that's all I ask. In return for Twilight Sparkle, I want you," he said. Applejack looked in Twilight's eyes and knew that her dearest friend did not want that to happen, so Applejack searched the room in a last ditch effort; and then she saw them.

Two purple ovals, a short distance apart, just barely visible from the shadows. Applejack knew they were eyes, however, and she knew exactly who they belonged to. The ovals bobbed up and down, and an intense sensation of relief washed across Applejack's body; in fact, it caused her to chuckle, which naturally gave Black Mask and his goons a confused countenance.

"You see, I would do that, but there's one thing you don't know about me," explained the Batmare. Those words made Black Mask narrow his eyes in suspicion.

"And what would that be, bat-freak?" he asked. Though Black Mask couldn't see it, the Batmare grinned ear to ear.

"I come in a bundle," she said. At that moment, one of Black Mask's guards shot backwards into the darkness with a stifled scream.

The Mysterious Mare Do Well quickly halted the scream of the henchman by jamming her elbow into his forehead, putting him to sleep for a what would become considerable amount of time. She immediately began moving across the wall, towards Black Mask, and stopped right were the light was beginning to shine. Black Mask looked bewildered, but then a smile crept across his face.

"You attacked my stallions," Black Mask began, "and broke the rules of our negotiation. You just killed Celestia's pet!" he screamed. The Mare Do Well was fast, however, and floored Black Mask with a tackle just as he was about to slide the blade across Twilight Sparkle's neck.

The Mare Do Well heard a smoke bomb go off behind her, and quickly realized that the fight had begun. She knew it'd be difficult to see, but she also felt she didn't need to; as smoke began to fill her vision, she began listening for the coughs; like the Batmare, she was wearing a full face mask, and the smoke wouldn't affect her.

She heard a cough from behind her, and proceeded to whip around and launch a random kick in that direction; the pony in question was a tall one, and so her judgement was off; the hoof landed right on the pony's neck, and he fell to the ground with a satisfying gurgling sound.

That very well may kill him. Hopefully I'm lucky, thought the Mare Do Well. She realized the amount of coughing had greatly reduced in number; perhaps Applejack was better than she thought.

The Mare Do Well began to walk towards the center of the room, where all the henchman would be by now; sure enough, she heard their coughing, only for many of them to quickly cut off after a few seconds. She thought she felt Applejack go right passed her, and was momentarily baffled by how she seemingly could tell her apart from the rest of the thugs; however, she remembered that Applejack likely had some sort of thermal imaging system to help her fight in the smoke, and that it was probably easy to afford, knowing her status.

She was able to single out a raspy noise near the left edge of the room, one that she knew for sure was the crime boss. Before she could make a move, however, the smoke cleared, and Black Mask slowly rose from his prone position. His face slowly turned from surprise to fear as he realized that the Batmare had neutralized all of his henchman. He looked to the right to see Twilight Sparkle breathing heavily; the tape wasn't strong enough, obviously, because it had fell off during a coughing fit of her own.

"S-Stay back, freaks!" he said, waving the knife around weakly. Both the Mare Do Well and the Batmare closed in on him, and his movements became more frantic.

"Y-You come any closer, and I-I'll throw this knife straight at her, I swear!" said Black Mask, pointing to Twilight with his free hand. Twilight, despite no longer being prevented from speech, stayed silent. The Mare Do Well was thinking of every possible way she could get the knife out of the hooves of the crime lord, and couldn't seem to thinking of anything in particular; she supposed the two would have to try and talk him down somehow, though she didn't exactly believe such a tactic would work based on what she had seen during the farce that Filthy Rich had called a "negotiation".

Suddenly, a flash of silver launched through the air, driving straight into the armed hoof of Black Mask; he shrieked and dropped his knife, but the look of pain on his face transitioned to one of horror when he realized what he'd done. The Batmare rushed towards him, and he merely cowered in fear as the Dark Knight lifted lifted him up and pinned him against the wall with one hoof.

The Mare Do Well, in turn, picked the knife up and began to cut the ropes to Twilight's restraints.

"Thank you," whispered Twilight. Her voice was filled with fear and pain, and the Mare Do Well knew Applejack would be devastated to see her friend's condition when she brought her home tonight. The Mare Do Well didn't answer at first, but gave a distorted "No Problem" in response. Twilight seemed a little surprised, but quickly deduced that she was using a voice changer, just as Applejack had figured out when they first met.

"IF I WERE YOU, I'D BE PRAYING I DON'T SHATTER EVERY BONE IN YOUR WORTHLESS BODY!" shouted the Batmare. Twilight seemed frightened by this, but not quite as frightened as the stallion pinned against the wall.

"I-I'm sorry! I'm s-so s-sorry! She made me do it! SHE MADE ME DO IT!" screamed Black Mask. The Batmare paused, and the Mare Do Well estimated that Applejack probably had a confused look on her face. This didn't last, though, as the Batmare pressed her hoof into his neck even further and began questioning him even more aggressively.

"WHO IS SHE?" She asked, pressing her free hoof against his throat. Black Mask only continued crying, so the Batmare asked him once more; when it was clear he was a mess and that he wouldn't be answering any more questions the Batmare had to throw at him, the Batmare hit him with a viscous right hoof that send him sprawling to the floor. The Batmare turned around and faced the Mare Do Well, who had barely said a word through the whole ordeal.

As she was about to say something, the two TV's mounted on the wall suddenly came to life.

Finale

Static filled the screen for what seemed like a lifetime. Applejack was beginning to wonder whether anything would show up at all before the screen changed to what appeared to be a live camera feed.

The room was very dark, but it was easy enough to tell that the room in the film was in the house somewhere; there was a beautiful mural on the wall that could just barely be made out. A small lamp was in the center of the room, and was illuminating what appeared to be a small filly tied to a wooden chair, much in the same manner that Twilight had just been held captive. It wasn't exactly clear who it was, but Applejack could give a pretty good guess.

"That's Diamond Tiara, Rich's daughter. She's somewhere in the house, lets move!" said Applejack. The Mare Do Well gave a curt nod, and looked over to Twilight and silently asked if she was okay to come along; she too nodded, and so the mares were on their way.

Applejack began to talk to the mysterious figure beside her as they started their search for the young filly.

"That was why Rich did all this," she began. "Whomever was really behind this operation goaded Rich into doing it by capturing his daughter and holding her captive. She didn't appear to be hurt, thankfully, and we might be able to get a few clues as to who was behind all this at the scene," explained Applejack. The trio turned left at the end of a hallway and raced down yet another long corridor.

Twilight hasn't spoken yet. Dear Celestia, what if I scarred her? What if that horrid stallion did something to her? Please, please, please be okay! thought a frantic Applejack. Despite her love for mystery and intrigue, Twilight had not said anything regarding Diamond Tiara or who was manipulating Rich. Applejack decided she'd be worried later.

"I think I got something," said a distorted voice. Applejack remembered the Mare Do Well, and saw that she had moved aside a carpet on the floor. The trio had been checking Filthy Rich's master bedroom, the last in a long row of areas that were connected to the mansion's main hallway. When Applejack and Twilight came over to look, they discovered that a small trap door had been resting under the carpeted area.

"How in Tartarus did you find that?" asked Applejack. The Mare Do Well put her foot down on the carpet lying on top of the door; it was faint, but there was a faint noise that sounded like the surface of wood upon contact with an object. The Mare Do Well couldn't see it, but Applejack had been raising her eyebrows, rather impressed at the feat.

"Excellent work. I'll go down first, then the Mare Do Well. Can you climb down, Twilight?" said Applejack. Twilght gave a silent nod, which caused Applejack to hesitate a moment before opening the hatch. As Applejack expected, a wooden ladder waited for them, seemingly careening down into empty space.

It was extremely cramped, which was unusual for something built by Filthy Rich, but it wasn't impossible to move. The trio slowly moved down the ladder, and before they knew it, they had reached the bottom. Applejack helped both the Mare Do Well and Twilight take a safe step down, and the three turned to face the image that greeted them on the two televisions.

It was, indeed, Diamond Tiara. She was slumped downwards in her chair, and the ropes binding her to her chair seemed fairly tight. When she heard the three walk in, she looked up, and her eyes widened in fear. She was motioning with her hooves towards the edge of the room, and Applejack leaned over a bit to see that she was pointing to a wooden door.

"Watch the door," she said to the Mare Do Well, who immediately walked to go stand in front of it. Applejack approached the young filly, which caused her to be even more worried. When the Batmare knelt down to begin untying her, Diamond Tiara said something that sent a chill down her spine.

"Please, get me out of here. Before the monster comes back," whispered Diamond. The Batmare stopped for a moment, but continued her work without a word.

Her captor, perhaps? But she doesn't have a mark on her; whoever her captor was didn't touch her. So how could he or she make Diamond Tiara think they were monster? I'll have to ask her for a description once we get out of this place.

Once the ropes were untied, the Batmare helped Diamond out of her chair, and for the first time that night, she looked truly grateful. The Batmare pointed towards Twilight, who had been standing by the entrance to the trap door the whole time.

"I'm gonna take a quick look around, alright? You go stand by Miss Twilight until we're done, alright? I'm promise it won't take long," said Applejack. Diamond Tiara nodded and gave a quick "thank you" before running over to Twilight who, much to Applejack's relief, was smiling at the young filly.

Applejack walked over to the Mare Do Well, who she saw had been looking around the area at the same time she was watching the door. She appeared to be finished, though, and Applejack was eager to ask her for the results of her search. The Mare Do Well looked as if she knew what Applejack was going to ask.

"You find anything?" asked Applejack. The Mare Do Well nodded and raised her hoof to reveal she had been holding a small object.

"Only this," she said. Applejack was surprised to find that it was a playing card, but not a numbered one or a card of any suite, for that matter; the word "JOKER" appeared at the opposite ends of the card, and a smiling jester juggling three balls adorned the center. The onomatopoeia "HA" had been written over the image in green marker.

Applejack and Twilight quietly slipped into the Golden Oaks Library in the dead of night. Diamond Tiara, along with her father, had been taken to the Ponyville Guard, and Diamond was to be relocated to a more suitable family. She was sad, of course, but Applejack was hopeful it was change her attitude a bit; she had heard what Applebloom had said about her. The last thing to do was notify Celestia that Twilight was safe and sound.

They opened the door and stepped into the treehouse. Applejack slowly removed her mask, walked upstairs, and collapsed onto Twilight's beds crying her eyes out.

Twilight was baffled. She hadn't said a word all day, but only because she didn't know what to say. She was kidnapped in the dead of night, strapped to a chair, and held at knifepoint; she should be the sobbing mess. But her friend had done all she could to save her, risked her life (with a little help, of course), and Twilight couldn't think of a way to tell her how thankful she was. She stood bewildered for a second, until Applejack spoke amidst her tears.

"I'm so sorry..." she began, though she had a hard time getting it out. Twilight walked over and sat on the bed next to her.

"Why? You didn't do anything but save me," said Twilight. Applejack stopped crying for a second after hearing Twilight talk, but promptly continued.

"T-This was all my fault...I-I let t-this happen," she said. Twilight rested a hoof on Applejack's shoulder, and brought her up to a sitting position. Applejack looked at her, and her crying slowly started to die down. Twilight had a distinct feeling that Applejack was letting out grief for another significant event in her life as well.

"It wasn't your fault; if anything, it was mine, for being connected to the most powerful being in the land. You were unbelievable, Applejack, I know that for sure. Listen...me and Rainbow were gonna go to the hoofball game this Saturday; the Ponyville Express are playing the Cloudsdale Thunder. Why don't you come? It'll help you to blow off some steam. You can also stay here if you feel the need," said Twilight. Applejack looked up at her and slowly nodded, causing Twilight to smile.

Applejack got up from the bed and walked back down the stairs towards the mask she had thrown to the side.

"Thank you, Twilight," she said, although a little bit shaken. "But I'm not quite done yet. I still have something I need to do," explained Applejack, putting the mask back on. Twilight cocked her head to the side.

"Where are you going?" she asked. Applejack seemingly ignored her as she walked to the door, but as she was about to leave she turned her head to Twilight.

"Canterlot," she answered simply.

Action Shot had a long day at work, to say the least. She had been tasked with photographing the wedding of a local couple who had just returned from guard duty in Griffonia; it was cute, of course, but she was required to stay for the whole thing, and she was constantly taking pictures. She mostly hung out with the mare who was actually doing the interviewing, a reporter named First Scoop, but that was all over now; she could finally rest.

She opened the door to her apartment and was immediacy greeted by the visage of the Batmare. She was standing in the center of the living room, and it was clear she was more terrifying than the news could make out; Action Shot understood why the criminals of Ponyville feared her. Action Shot wasn't as afraid, however, as she had figured out the identity of the caped crusader while she was writing her article on her.

"Applejack? When did you get here?" asked Action Shot. the Batmare took off her cowl, revealing the face of Applejack Apple. For some reason, Action Shot noticed, her faced looked tired.

"I got into town last night, and arrived here little over an hour ago. I just came here to talk about something me and a friend of mine came across," said Applejack. Action Shot looked down and sighed, knowing that the day she feared would come for a while now had finally arrived.

"And what would that be?" asked Action Shot.

"We went over your DNA. And what we found was...rather unsettling. It didn't quite match anything Equine, or Griffonian, or Zebracan. In fact, it didn't match anything, which leads me to conclude, however strange it is-"

"That I'm not from this planet? Yea, you got me," Action Shot said. Applejack's face turned from smug to astonished as Action Shot slowly rose from the ground, hovering in mid air. She looked over to a lamp resting on a coffee table beside her and breathed on it, and her breath completely froze it. She then stared at it, and two red beams flew from her eyes, melting the ice and bringing the lamp back to it's original state. She looked over to Applejack, who had taken a step backwards.

"I am the last daughter of the Planet Krypton," began Action Shot. "I jettisoned from my dying planet when I was just a foal, and I watched it explode with my very eyes." Action Shot walked past the still bewildered Applejack and walked to the kitchen, drawing some water and rubbing it on both sides of her legs. When she came back out, Applejack noticed a completely different cutie mark; some sort of weird symbol.

"I am Lara of the house of El," said the now revealed mare. She put on a playful grin. "But you can call me Action Shot."

Applejack looked her over for a minute before finally talking.

"So you mean to tell me you're some kind of Supermare?" asked Applejack. Action Shot looked upwards in thought before once again smiling.

"Supermare? You know what, I kinda like that."

Filthy Rich, now known as the Black Mask, was currently being transferred to the Ponyville Prison by way of carriage. They had found him unconscious, ripped the mask off of him, and arrested him while he was still in his pinstripe suit. He hadn't said a word, until he learned they'd be taking his daughter away, which is when he begged and pleaded them let her stay with him; they did not oblige.

That stupid...thing had to make me try and kill the Batmare. I won't stay in prison for long, that's for sure, and when I get out, there will be hell to pay. I'll kill that creature who took my daughter, I'll kill the bat-freak to get her off my back, and I'll kill that pet of Celestia's for all that she's caused me. This ain't the last of the Black Mask, thought Filthy Rich. It was just then he noticed that the carriage was going unusually fast. He looked over the railing of the open carriage to see that they appeared to be heading to the Everfree Forest, the completely opposite direction of the prison.

"Hey, sweetheart, you blind or something? The plan is to take me to the prison," said Filthy Rich. The mare who was conducting the carriage turned to face him, and Filthy Rich's eyes widened in horror once he saw who it was; he recognized the face.

"Plans are boring," said a light, raspy voice.

Riddle Answers

Thank you for reading the story! I will now post the answers to every riddle I've asked over the course of the story.

Riddle #1: An Echo.

Riddle #2: The Letter X.

Riddle #3: The lions; they would have starved to death.

Riddle #4: A Waterfall.

Riddle# 5: This is a Caesarian Shift with the number to decode it being 14. I'll let you see the message for yourself.

Riddle #6: A Gun.

Riddle #7: The man had the hiccups. The water was to treat it, but the gun scared him enough to make them go away.