With her grapple gun stolen and her cape torn, going back to the library in the usual manner was a no go. Fortunately, since ponies typically don't wear clothes, taking off her costume and hiding it in a totebag wasn't something anypony was going to find strange as she made her way home via public transport. It did take annoyingly longer than it usually did though and Twilight would lie if she said it didn't bother her to sit idly on the seat of a tram until it reached the park around the library.

When she entered the building, she was surprised to hear the sounds of conversation and to see the light of the TV in the living quarters shining brightly. As she made her way to the room, she saw Spike and the young Lunar, Mor’ng Mizzt in her pony disguise - a small green filly with dark red mane named Morning Mist - sitting next to each other and watching the evening news.

"I thought I told you two that I don't want to see you awake by the time I get home!" She chided the two youths as she barged into the room. Said youths only looked up at her with unamused glances.

"And I thought I told you to socialise instead of fighting crime tonight." Spike said dryly as he pointed at the screen. Twilight looked over and saw a recording from Capper's security cameras on the roof showing the Cat leaping off the roof with the Batmare chasing after her. Twilight's expression turned to a nervous frown. How could she expect Spike to keep his promises if she didn't do the same?

"And didn't you teach me that getting a good night's sleep was key for the mental and spiritual strength of a young mare?" Morning retorted while crossing her front legs over her chest. Twilight narrowed her eyes at her.

"Don't give me the mouth, young lady!" She then turned to Spike. "And it's not like I asked that mare to rob Capper's auction, is it?" The reasoning did little to improve Spike's mood.

"You don't believe the Penguin would be so easy to to rob, do you?" He replied, pointing at the screen again.

"Thankfully, we were prepared for such a criminal act to be committed during this event." Capper reported to an off-screen interviewer. "All the displayed items have been only replicas of the original artifacts. The true Eye of the Black Cat was safely locked away in a vault beneath the Iceberg Lounge and is currently being delivered to its new proper owner who paid a generous fee for it. Which will of course go into supporting Mr. Dent's campaign."

"See?" Spike asked sarcastically. "The Batmare doesn't need to do everything by herself. But you just can't resist putting on that suit, can you?"

"I'm with Spike on this one." Morning added. "There is a lot of stubborn pride in you that you seem to be mentally unable to overcome. Not to mention an unhealthy dependency on your nocturnal lifestyle." Twilight narrowed her eyes at her in response.

"I thought we agreed you'll stay out of my head!" Morning was unfazed by her outburst.

"Would you belive me if I told you that I didn't need my telepathic abilities to determine that." Twilight shook her head.

"Not really, no."

"I sure would." Spike remarked. "I could tell you the same thing without telepathy since the beginning." He then turned off the TV and jumped off the couch. "Come, Morning. Let's head to bed. I'm sure there'll be extra chores for us tomorrow after our little observations here." Twilight's eyes widened. She was just reminded that she needed to break the news about their new housemate to the two youngsters.

"As a matter of fact, Spike, you won't have to do all the work from tomorrow on." Twilight called after the purple dragon. Spike looked back at her with a raised eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" Twilight sighed before beginning her explanation, hoping that the two would take the news well.

"Guys, from tomorrow on, we'll have a new roommate..."

Apple Bloom looked up at the sign of the park entrance over her, drawing the path to the library with shiny golden letters and arrows. It was impossible to miss. Which was a pity because if she missed it, she could have an excuse for why she didn't attend the work Applejack arranged for her for today. It's not that she just wanted to laze around at the Orange's mansion all day, but she also didn't want anything to do with being a library assistant.

It was all Applejack's idea and it irritated Apple Bloom to no end. Just because her sister was Eqiestria's biggest superhero and spent all day flying around, saving ponies and being a symbol of hope she thought she knew what was the best for her? She almost heard Applejack saying that it was actually the fact that they grew up together and she spent her entire life helping raise her was the reason she thought she knew what was the best for her.

The teenage earth pony sighed as she hung her head down and began to walk towards the library. Deep down, she knew her sister was right, but it didn't make it any easier to accept. Her beloved granny just passed and she didn't even have time to grieve for her probably. It wasn't fair! Then again, nothing about Apple Bloom's life was fair. She was supposed to be one of the flower fillies at the wedding but the Changelings ruined it. That wasn't fair. They were forced out of their own farm and had to move to Appleoosa. That wasn't fair. She lost her parents before she could even remember them. That wasn't fair. And now her granny too.

But there worst thing about it was that there wasn't a darn thing she could do about any of it. Sometimes, she wished she was a superhero too, just like her big sister. Then she could fight against the injustices befalling her family and make all those who hurt them pay. But then she shook her head. This was a silly fantasy that she should have outgrown years ago. She was just an ordinary farm filly and that was the way it was always gonna be.

She was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she didn't even notice that she already arrived at the Atheneigh Library and ended up walking straight into the door with a loud bang and the impact sent her to the ground, landing right on her flank. But apparently she hit the door with enough strength to attract the attention of the ponies inside, as she heard the approach of hooves behind the door before it opened. A purple pony opened the door, looking down at her with a gentle, motherly smile.

"Ah, you must be Apple Bloom!" Twilight greeted merrily before opening the door wider. "We've been waiting for you. Please, come in!" The earth pony quickly straightened herself before walking past the librarian. As she closed the door, Twilight couldn't help but notice that she didn't dare to look her in the eye, but she could still see the embarrassment on her face.

"Oh, don't worry about it!" She chuckled. "The first time I entered this library, I accidentally knocked my future boss off of the ladder and I still got the job." This finally got Apple Bloom to look at her.

"Really?" She gasped in surprise. "But you're Twilight Sparkle! Your library is one of the most successful businesses in the city! Surely you can't be so... clumsy!" She quickly covered her mouth with a hoof, afraid that she might have already offended her future boss, but Twilight just chuckled again.

"You don't know the half of it!" She said encouragingly before looking up. "Oh, here's your future coworker! Spike, come here and meet Apple Bloom!" Apple Bloom looked up to see a young purple dragon standing on the ladder and putting some books back on the shelf before sliding down in front of them.

"Hi!" He greeted the earth pony with a bright smile as he reached our his claw towards her. "I'm Spike! Nice to meet you!" Apple Bloow was too stunned to shake his claw, which Spike noticed with concern. "Is something wrong?"

"You're a real dragon?" Apple Bloom wondered after a few moments of silence. Spike laughed half heartedly. This wasn't the first time ponies have been taken aback by the sight of a dragon.

"You bet!" He replied, trying to sound enthusiastic. "But don't worry! I've been raised around ponies all my life so I won't start burning down villages or gobble up ponies anytime soon." Twilight was about to come to her charge's rescue. She knew how uncomfortable Spike could get when his draconic nature was brought up by ponies who found it alarming, but to her relief, her help wasn't needed.

"That's so cool!" Apple Bloom cheered. "I've never seen a real dragon before! Now I'll get to work with one! Suddenly this job doesn't sound so dull after all!" She exclaimed before realising what she just said and covering her mouth again. Twilight was a little hurt by that comment but Spike's chuckling lifted Apple Bloom's spirit.

"I like her already!" He told Twilight teasingly. "We'll get along just fine, Apple Bloom! Now come on! I'll show you what your job is gonna be." He then wrapped one of his arms around the earth pony's shoulders and lead her away.

"Have fun you two!" Twilight waved after them before leaving towards her bedroom. Or more specifically, the place beneath her bedroom.

"Alright." Spike began. "From what I understand, you're used to hard labour." Apple Bloom nodded.

"Yeah, I grew up on farms and my family bucks apple trees for a living. So it's safe to say I'm a tough gal."

"Good! That's gonna make things a whole lot easier for me..." Spike cheered before noticing Apple Bloom's raised eyebrow. "Uh... I mean you." He said sheepishly. "I'm gonna run the register of the books and you're gonna get them for me and put them back on the shelves. As you can see, this library is big to say the least so I think you'll find it a hard enough task."

Apple Bloom looked around and her eyes widened. She didn't bother to look before, but standing in the middle of the library, surrounded by enormous shelves full of thousands of books made her realise for the first time just what she was signed up for. She never thought books would make her feel so small.

"Wow!" She gulped. "How were you not driven mad by this job already?" She asked, once again without thinking. But Spike completely understood what she was talking about.

"Well, it wasn't easy. I'm not gonna lie, working here can get pretty monotone and sometimes a little boring. But trust me, it's impossible to be bored to madness in this city." Spike replied. "There are plenty of other ways to do that here." He added under his breath, but Apple Bloom still managed to catch it.

"What was that?" She asked curiously, making Spike's eyes widen as he realised he said too much.

"Uh... Never mind. Anyway, let's get to work, shall we?" Apple Bloom quickly realised that the dragon was trying to swiftly change the subject. It was weird, but she didn't think much of it. Spike then lead her to a huge pile of books lying on a table in the middle of the room. "These books have just been returned today. I've already catalogued them, now they just have to be put back in their places." He then handed her a list. "Here, this will tell you where each book belongs. You can use that ladder." He said before patting the earth pony on the shoulder. "Good luck! If you need anything, I'll be at the front hall, dealing with potential loaners." And with that, he left her to her work.

At first, Apple Bloom was really nervous about the task in front of her. This was nothing like bucking apples and she was afraid she might do something wrong. In the beginning, she only dared to take one book before climbing the ladder with it and putting it back on the shelf. Encouraged by the first success, she increased the number of books she put back every single time she got back down and in a few minutes, she was already carrying eight books in one of her front hooves and pushing herself around the shelves on the wheeled ladder without even coming back down with great confidence. She'd been at it for about half an hour when Spike came back from the front hall.

"Hey, AB! I'm gonna need that ladder for a minute. One loaner would like a book that's up there." He called up to her.

"It's okay, Spike! Just tell me the book's title and I'll get it for you!" She yelled back down, waving her hoof at him. Spike was unsure if this was a good idea, but decided it would be a good little test for his future library assistant.

"Okay! It's a fictional pegasus war drama called 'Gone With the Wind'. It should be on the third shelf from above, on the left side."

"Got it!" The yellow teenage mare called back before climbing higher. She then pushed herself to the left and quickly found the book Spike mentioned, but failed to notice another book sticking out from between the others. As she reached to grab the book, the ladder brushed against the other book just enough to knock it off the shelf.

Spike was about to run and catch it, but Apple Bloom beat him to it by sliding down the ladder and kicking herself away from it, grabbing the book in the air before spinning around and landing on her hooves with the book Spike requested being held out in front of him.

"Here you go." She said with a smile, completely ignoring the impressive feat of acrobatics she just performed. Spike was too stunned to take the book, instead he just stared at the young mare with an astonished look and wide open mouth. It was beginning to make Apple Bloom feel uncomfortable. "Uh... You okay?" She asked in confusion. It took Spike some time to snap out of his stupor, but eventually he managed to get something out of his mouth.

"Where did you learn that?!" He wondered in awe, but Apple Bloom just shrugged dismissively.

"Oh, it's nothing. Last summer, I spent some time training with an earth pony stunt team called The Flying Neighsons. I picked up a thing or two."

"I'll say." Spike replied, still in a state of awe. "What on Equus were you doing with a stunt team? Was life that dull on the farm?"

"Not really." Apple Bloom answered, shaking her head. "You may have noticed that I still don't have a cutie mark." She said, presenting her blank flank to Spike. The young drake turned away in slight embarrassment.

"I confess that I haven't been looking." He said sheepishly. "Twilight didn't like it when I checked out a mare's derriére. She made sure that I learned to treat a female with respect and dignity and that was not a fun experience." Apple Bloom could have loved the rest of her life without knowing that.

"Right." She said in a weirded out tone. "Anyway, my time with them was just one of my attempts to earn one. You name it, I tried it. Sports, acting, baking, plumbing, exploring or singing. That one didn't turn out so well." She added, blushing in embarrassment as she remembered how Mayor Mare publicly banned her from singing anywhere in Ponyville.

"So I take it your time with the stunt team didn't work out either." Spike commented with sympathy in his voice.

"Sadly no, but I still enjoyed that time very much." Apple Bloom replied, smiling fondly at the memories. "I remember this one time when we were practicing the trapeze near a lake. We hanged it on the branch of a tree above the water but we didn't notice the bird nest on it. There was a small baby bird in it that fell out while I was in the middle of an exercise. It would have surely drowned but I managed to catch it before it fell into the water. Too bad I didn't notice I let go of the trapeze while doing so and ended up crashing into another tree. I spent close to a month in hospital with a broken front leg. Applejack was so mad but I didn't care. I knew anypony would have done the same in my place. Even the Flying Neighsons visited me at the hospital. They said I was a hero and made me an honorary member of the team. They even gave me a stage name, 'Robin'. Because the bird I saved was a robin and I flew in to save it like I was its mother." She recounted the tale with a soft smile but it quickly faded.

"For all the good it did to me. No cutie mark and I never saw the Neighsons again. All Robin got out of the stunt was a broken wing during her short career without ever even performing." She continued sadly before shoving the book into Spike's claw. "I'm starting to think I'll never get it. I don't know, maybe I'm just not good for anything." She was about to climb back up the ladder, but Spike pulled her back.

"Hey, don't talk like that! Everypony has a purpose. You just haven’t found yours yet. Who knows? Maybe you'll get a cutie mark as a library assistant in the next few days." The two shared a hearhy chuckle over this, but for the young mare, it meant the world.

"You really think so?" She asked hopefully and Spike put his free claw on her shoulder.

"I know so. Broken wings mend in time, Apple Bloom. One day, Robin will fly again. You'll see." While her expression didn't show it, his encouraging words meant the world to Apple Bloom. She was about to thank him, but Spike suddenly looked away, as if somepony called out to him despite there being only the two of them.

"Oh... Uh... Sorry, AB. Duty calls. Would you mind helping the loaner check this book out?" He said, handing the book back to her before hurrying away without even waiting for the young mare's reply. Apple Bloom was so stunned by this that she didn't even move for several seconds, merely watching him run off in the direction of Twilight's room. She saw him enter the room, wondering just what kind of duty he needed to perform in there. She was about to follow him when she heard a voice calling out to her.

"Excuse me! Can I have my book already? I want to get my book report done as soon as possible!" Yelled an impatient, young voice. Once she helped him check the book out, she took off into the same room Spike ran into. She knew this was probably a violation of the elder mare's privacy, but her curiosity got the better of her. She opened the door slightly to peek in but when she didn't see anything or anypony, she opened it wider and walked in.

"That's strange. I knew they both came in here." She wondered, looking around in confusion. Eventually, she decided to leave and go back to work, but she made a mental note to herself to keep an eye on this room in the future.

Spike descended down the stairs leading into the batcave as the secret door closed behind him. He felt bad about leaving Apple Bloom behind so quickly. Her first day on the job barely began and she already had a bad experience with her superiors. But when Twilight was calling him, it was best not to keep her waiting. Especially when she was working down here.

As he expected, when he entered the cave, he found Twilight sitting in front of her computer, researching something he couldn't make out, but he was sure she was gonna tell him. The sight of Morning Mist floating nearby in her Lunar form, reading a book about the foundation of Equestria after the first Hearth's Warming Eve wasn't even the least bit surprising to him at this point.

"How's your new coworker doing up there?" Twilight asked without diverting her gaze from the screen. As the keen detective she was, she was easily able to detect the young drake's footsteps.

"Oh, she is doing just fine." The dragon replied, remembering the little stunt she pulled back on the ladder, but deciding not to mention it. "So what's the emergency?"

"It's not much of an emergency, more of a preparation for our next move." Twilight replied as she summoned a list of names onto the monitor surrounded by a bunch of articles about the mysterious cat burglar she encountered last night. "Capper may have replaced the Eye of the Black Cat with a decoy, but I doubt our burglar is going to take that lying down. I know her kind, Spike. This is not some deranged psychopath doing this for kicks. She very much knew what she wanted. And she won't quit until she gets it."

"Sounds like a mare after your own heart." Spike joked but surprisingly, this time it actually caused Twilight to chuckle.

"That she is." She mused. "I kinda like that in a pony." Spike's eyes widened in shock. Did Twilight actually laugh at one of his comments and display interest in something else other than an her investigation? Let alone another pony?

"You know... when I told you to move on and start seeing somepony else... this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind." He said. This time it was Twilight's turn to widen her eyes.

"No... Not like that!" She shouted with a huge blush on her face. "It's just a... professional respect for a fellow pony of the night. That's it." Spike clearly wasn't buying it.

"Right. You must be flattered from all the 'professional respect' you received from the Joker." He snarked, making Twilight roll her eyes. Spike then turned to the reading Lunar.

"What is she really feeling about her, Morning?" He asked. Mor’ng turned to look at Twilight but she couldn't give the drake answer.

"It's hard to make it out. It shames me to say, her thoughts haven't been easy to read lately." Twilight tapped the side of her head with a smug smirk.

"Telepathic inhibitors, don't bother. Turns out, psychic unicorns aren't the only ones they're effective against." Mor’ng grunted in annoyance before turning back to her book. "Anyway, can we please just get back to business?" She asked turning back to the computer. "I found the name of the pony who bought the actual gem. His name is Moneybags. I managed to hack into all the security cameras around his mansion and we're gonna need to keep an eye on it in case something suspicious happens." Spike already knew what this meant for him.

"And of course, by we..." He started.

"...I mean you." Twilight finished as she got up from her seat. "Applejack trusted me with looking after her little sister and that means she's my responsibility." She said as she made her way towards the exit.

"I thought you considered the city to be your biggest responsibility." Spike said as he sat down in front of the computer.

"And I know it's safe under your watchful eyes." She smiled back at him before making her way up the stairs. Spike sighed as he turned towards the screen.

"Just don't expect me to pull on leather pants and start jumping on roofs like a lunatic librarian with too much anger and free time."

Apple Bloom was surprised to find that this job was becoming easier by every passing minute. The pile of books was almost completely gone by now, reduced to only a few that still had to be returned to the shelves. Maybe working here won't be as bad as she thought. But she still wasn't sure she would want a cutie mark for this kind of stuff though.

As she was putting the last book back onto the shelf, she could see from the top of the ladder that Twilight was just exiting her bedroom. She narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Just where did she disappear to in there? Still, she had to pretend she was none the wiser. She couldn't get herself fired on her first day just when she was starting to enjoy this job.

"Hi, Apple Bloom! How are you doing up there?" Twilight asked as she walked down the stairs to ground floor.

"These were the last books from the pile Spike left me." Apple Bloom replied, sliding down the ladder. "That's all done. What's next?"

"Well, personally I love reshelfing in my free time but I realise that's not for everyone." Twilight chuckled. "Tell you what, I have a shipment of books to deliver to one of my bookstores in town. If you want to, you can accompany me." Apple Bloom grinned in excitement.

"That sounds great! No offense but I like getting out as much as I can. Being locked up inside is just not for me." She explained.

"None taken." Twilight reassured her. "I already had the cart filled before you arrived. We can leave immediately." Apple Bloom didn't need to be told twice.

Once they were outside, she got in front of the cart, ready to pull the entire thing by herself but Twilight stopped her.

"You don't have to do that, Apple Bloom. That's a pretty big cargo to be carried by a filly like you." But Apple Bloom just waved dismissively.

"Nonsense, Twilight. You're talking to a farm filly, remember? I carried harder loads than this. Besides I prefer hard labour anyway. Isn't that what Applejack sent me here for?" Twilight's concern didn't abate, but she resigned.

"Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you. Follow me." To Twilight's surprise, Apple Bloom had no difficulty with the cart. She even got in front of her with it sometimes even though they were walking at the same pace. She had to agree with the teenaged mare in one aspect though. It was great to be outside on a nice day like this. It wasn't too chilly, the sun was still warming her body and the light breeze against her body felt very nice.

"Hey there, sweet cheeks!" The two mares froze in place as they heard a male voice calling out to them. They turned to see a trio of stallions from all three ponykinds walking out from between the trees, all three were wearing leather jackets and sunglasses. "Nice time we're having, aren't we? But I think you two could make it even nicer. Know what I mean." A gray unicorn chuckled as his cohorts surrounded Twilight and Apple Bloom. Twilight rolled her eyes. Didn't creeps like these start their "shifts" after sunset?

"Thanks, but we have an appointment to get to." Twilight replied disinterestedly. "Come on, Bloom." They were about to walk past the unicorn but the other two blocked their path.

"Aw, come now." A skinny green pegasus mused to Twilight as he reached up to caress her muzzle. "I'm sure that appointment can wait. We can give you a far better time."

Twilight was beginning to grow nervous. Not from fear of course. If she was alone, she could wreck this trio without breaking a sweat. The Batmare ate punks like these for breakfast. But Apple Bloom was nearby and if she was careless, she might get suspicious. Fortunately, before she had the chance to do anything, Apple Bloom stepped in.

"She said we're not interested!" She snapped while slapping the stallion's hoof away. "Hit the road, creeps!" The stallions were shocked by this display from such a young little thing, but the earth pony of the group quickly regained his composure

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. That's no way for a little filly to talk." He taunted before pulling out a switchblade. "You need to learn some manners." Apple Bloom just about had enough.

"No. You do." She snarled before knocking the switchblade out of the stallion's hoof and spun around to deliver a kick into his chest with both of her hind legs, knocking him back several hooves. The other two punks were just as surprised by this as Twilight.

The pegasus quickly got over it however before flying at Apple Bloom to deliver a punch into her face, but the earth pony - with speed that belied her size - grabbed the stallion's hoof and spun him around in the air, using his own momentum to throw him against the unicorn and knocking him off his hooves before he had a chance to summon a defensive spell.

"Lesson learned, I hope." Apple Bloom fumed. "Now then, let's go, Twilight." She then got back in front of the carriage and began pulling it again like nothing happened. She noticed that Twilight was not following her and turned back to see her still standing where she left her in shock. "Aren't you coming?" Her words finally snapped Twilight out of her shock and she ran to catch up with her.

"Where did you learn that?!" She exclaimed. Apple Bloom just shrugged.

"You wouldn't believe half the things I've tried to earn my cutie mark." Was her only reply. This response only unnerved Twilight further. They didn't say anything to each other for the rest of the journey, but Apple Bloom felt great. Dare she say, relieved after beating up those punks.

It felt like she righted some wrong with this world. If anything, those three definitely won't be trying to pull that stunt on another mare anytime soon. And that made her feel better from her hopeless state after everything went to Tartarus in her life. She wondered if that was how Batmare felt like every time she beat some crooks into a pulp in an alleyway and saved their would be victims. In any case, it was a very good, liberating feeling. One she could get used to.

Author's Note

Hi, guys! I know the new chapter took longer than usual but I have a good reward for it this time. I'll be making a blog post about my current situation soon, but for now, enjoy this chapter.

Apple Bloom has arrived to work Twilight's library and already she's been noticing some things about her new employer. And her curiosity won't end here.

Next time, we'll head back Canterlot to check on Shining Armor who is in the middle of a very questionable endeavour that will land him in hot water with the princesses themselves. Join in next time in...

Issue #4: Project Venom