Capper Dapperpaws was sitting in his office with a glass of whisky in one paw and a copy of the Manehattan Media in the other. He was reading through the article about the Cat's attempted heist last night with less than moderate interest while his electoral protegee, Hoofy Dent was pacing around his office in frustration.

"Well?! What do you have to say about this?!" He asked. Capper placed the newspaper on the table and took a sip of his drink before answering.

"I don't remember signing up as your campaign manager, Dent." He replied disinterestedly. "Did you consider bringing it to her attention?"

"Don't get clever with me!" The pegasus snapped back. "The break in happened in your casino! During my mayoral fundraiser! How do you think this makes me look?!" He then marched up to the abyssinian and pointed to a picture in the paper.

"Look! See how much my popularity dropped?! 'If Hoofy Dent can't even keep these lunatics out of his own fundraiser, how could he keep them out of the city?!' I remember you saying that your ponies can keep this place secure!"

"Hoofy, relax!" Capper said calmingly as he put a paw on his shoulder. "Last night was a total success! The money gathered for your campaign is safe!"

"Money is not everything!" Hoofy said. "My reputation counts as well and it took a major blow last night!" Capper put a finger on his chin in thought.

"We'll be able to turn this around in no time. If anything, this proves that we managed to make a fool out of a mask! I'll give another interview about this soon. Your popularity will be soaring again by the end of the week."

"How can you be so calm about this?!" Dent asked frantically, but Capper was unfazed.

"First, it isn't my campaign on the line." He chuckled. "And second, my ideas for your campaign have all worked so far. I assure you, this time will be no different." He said before taking a sip of his drink without a care in the world. But Dent was nowhere near reassured. Not only was he tired of Capper doing all his work for him, but his attitude was also starting to bother him.

He turned and left the office without even saying goodbye. He was far too focused on his thoughts as he made his way out of the building. Ponies thought he was unable to handle his duties himself and won't be able to deliver on his promises as mayor. He was tired of leaving everything up to chance. It was time he took things into his own hooves.

When Twilight got back to the library after her tasks with Apple Bloom were finished, the sun was already beginning to set. She was wondering how Spike was doing back in the cave. She wanted to make her way back down as soon as she walked through the door, but she had to dismiss Apple Bloom first.

"Well, I suppose that wraps your first day in my library, Apple Bloom." She said, trying to sound as appreciative as she could. "How did you like it?" The younger mare shrugged.

"It was alright. Not as sluggish as I feared." She replied half heartedly. "Maybe I'll get more into it with time." Twilight was a little disappointed by her lack of enthusiasm but it was not the time to voice that. She had a job to do.

"I'm sure you will. Well, I believe it's time for you to go home. You've been a tremendous help today. Same time tomorrow?"

"I guess." Apple Bloom replied on the same stoic voice. "It's not like I have anything better to do." Twilight took the cart from her and carried it into the library. She was about to lock the door, but then Apple Bloom stopped her.

"Wait! I left something in there! Could you let me get it before I go?" Twilight was not sure she should. She wanted to get down to the cave and she needed to lock the library first. "Don't worry, I'll lock up once I leave! You can trust me! After all, I'm kinda like your employee at this point." She reasoned. A point which Twilight conceded.

"Okay, fine. Come in." Apple Bloom did just that and pretended to walk towards the interior of the library, but when she was sure Twilight was not looking, she hid behind one of the shelves. She waited until Twilight left towards her room and began to follow her, staying close to her, but making sure she always had cover to hide behind.

When she saw Twilight enter her room, she jumped onto the banister and launched herself up onto the upper floor just as the door closed. Waiting a few seconds after the door closed, Apple Bloom peeked through the keyhole, but the only thing she saw was the bed falling back to its place, covering a tunnel.

Apple Bloom's eyes widened. So that was what she was hiding under there! But where did she go? What did she hide down there? The young mare opened the door and began to inspect the bed, trying to locate the mechanism that operated it. She was not the world's greatest detective but one thing she was not lacking in was determination. She's going to find out what Twilight Sparkle is hiding!

When Twilight entered the cave, Spike was still sitting in front of the computer and Mor’ng was in the training area, doing exercises. She must have finished her studies for the day. Twilight walked up to the computer and got the surprise of her life when she saw that Spike was napping in his chair, snoring loudly. Twilight frowned and shut Spike's mouth, forcing the young dragon awake with a loud gasp for air.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." Twilight told him sarcastically. Spike rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Sorry. I kinda dozed off, but there hasn't been anything going on around Moneybags' house!"

"You mean before or after you fell asleep?" Twilight asked bitterly.

"I tell you! There hasn't been anything?" Spike snapped. "The only thing that was even moving was this black cat prowling around the mansion!" Twilight rolled her eyes, only for them to immediately widen as Spike's words reached her brain.

"Black cat?" She asked, looking up at the screens. Just as Spike said, she saw a feline showing up around the mansion from time to time. A completely unassuming onlooker wouldn't have thought much of it, but when Twilight zoomed in on the animal, she saw the pointed look in its eyes, aimed at the mansion. It was far too focused to be just a stray looking for birds to catch.

"Yeah, it was the only thing that made me aware I was looking at live footage instead of a still picture." Spike complained. Twilight gave him a stoic look for a few seconds.

"Spike, could you give me that?" She asked, pointing at a newspaper lying on the desk.

"Uh... I already solved the crosswords." Spike said as he did what he was asked.

"That won't be a problem." Twilight replied as she rolled up the newspaper and smacked Spike on the back of his head as hard as she could.

"OW!" The drake cried out. "What's the big idea?! I told you it was just a..." His eyes widened as he finally understood. "Oh."

"Oh." Twilight replied with a nod. "Alert Captain Garden immediately! Give him the address and tell him I'm gonna deliver one of the city's most wanted thieves!" She ordered as she went to suit up. Spike began to carry out her instructions before a thought occurred to him.

"You know, Twilight, maybe you should let the police handle this one. You said it yourself. This is not a psychopath like the Joker. Perhaps they'll be able to handle her."

"Like they've been able to handle her in the past?" Twilight asked as she pulled on her gauntlets. "I'm dealing with her myself, Spike!"

"She had the element of surprise in the past!" Spike argued. "If you took that away, I'm sure she won't be much of a problem!" Twilight kept ignoring him as she put on the rest of her suit and headed to the secret exit.

"Look, all I'm saying is don't be so dismissive in accepting a little help. It can go a long way."

'Why does everyone keep telling me that!' Twilight groaned in her head before turning back to Spike. "I don't need help, Spike. The Batmare always managed to get everything done by herself and this time will be no different."

"You allowed me to help!" Spike countered.

"That's different! You help out by staying back in the cave and feeding me information. In the field you would only get in the way. As would anypony else! Now send that message already!" Spike sighed and turned back to the computer to do as he was told.

"Your stubbornness is going to be the death of you someday, Twilight." He said as he finished typing. "And no offense, but I don't want it to be mine as..." He turned around to say this last line into Twilight's face, only to notice that she had already disappeared. "...well." Spike sighed. "But nopony ever listens to me, do they?" He then turned to the exercising Lunar. "Hey, Morning! You mind seeing if Apple Bloom has left already? I need to play bat mission control here!"

"Sure thing!" Mor’ng called back as she wiped the sweat off her head with a towel and shifted into her pony appearance. She then made her way towards the staircase leading up to Twilight's bedroom. She didn't know how, but she somehow knew that Apple Bloom was in fact still there. And closer than Spike would have believed.

Apple Bloom was still inspecting Twilight's bed, trying to figure out how it worked. She'd been at it for about ten minutes when she suddenly heard a loud mechanical sound from beneath the furniture before it began to ascend. Apple Bloom gasped before running off to hide behind the curtain.

She peeked out to see a young earth pony mare coming out of the secret passageway beneath the bed and walking out of the room. Apple Bloom only stared after her in stunned surprise before she noticed that the bed was beginning to lower back to its place.

She seized her opportunity and quickly ran towards the entrance, dropping onto her knees and sliding into the hole before the bed completely sealed it. She found herself at the top of a long staircase leading down into a cave with a row of lamps lighting the way. With an uncertain gulp, she began to descend the staircase.

As she got closer to the bottom, she began to wonder just what she's gotten herself into. She was hoping she did not accidentally stumble upon a supervillain or even worse, a serial killer lair in Twilight Sparkle's basement. Little did she know, what she would find would forever change her life in the most spectacular way she could imagine.

The night had fallen which made it easier for a black cat to lurk through the darkness unnoticed. The good thing about rich ponies like Moneybags was that they were convinced that no one could infiltrate the safety of their home. But what they didn't know is that all security measures can be played out with the proper preparations.

There was no security measure that she and her little partner in crime didn't encounter at least once. Security guards? They'll never even see her. Surveillance cameras? They never caught an image of her. Laser detector system? No challenge for someone as athletic as her. And when she had such a well trained little sidekick like her trusty Onyx, it only made things even easier.

The cat dashed through the dark corridors of the mansion, avoiding everything that could detect it before finally arriving at the rich stallion's safe. The control panel next to the safe door was a relatively primitive construction. It was easy even for a creature like it to shut it down.

After the security of the mansion had been shut down, the window of the room opened and a black clad figure climbed in through it with agility matching its animalistic counterpart before dropping onto the floor. She slowly walked over to the safe, stroking the cat with her hoof as she passed by it before stopping in front of the safe door.

It was a fairly standard model. Moneybags probably didn't expect anypony to make it this far. It didn't even require a keycard or a code, just a plain old key which she had the perfect substitute for. She could pick a lock like this in her sleep. And with the help of her built in claws, she managed to do just that.

The inside of the safe was full of content. Jewels, artifacts and several other valuables. Normally, she wouldn't hesitate to take as many things as she could carry, but tonight, she came for something specific.

The real Eye of the Black Cat was there, placed on a black bust in a glass cabinet. She drew a circle on the glass with her claw before removing it and pulling out the necklace. It was rather disappointing to find out the one she stole was just a decoy but once she had her eyes set on something, she was dead set on getting it. It would be hers, no matter what.

She was about to leave with her prize when she felt something wrapping tightly around her body. She gasped as she lost her balance and fell onto the floor, unable to move with a rope connecting a pair of bolas wrapped around her body. She tried using her claws to cut the rope but it was of no use.

"Don't bother." Came a familiar, gruff voice. "That rope is made of the strongest material known to ponykind. Not even dragon teeth can cut it."

Onyx the cat angrily hissed at the Batmare as she stepped into the light before leaping at her with its claws ready to attack. The vigilante wasn't startled though. She reached into her cloak and pulled out a ball of yarn before throwing it at the feline. The ball collided with the cat and exploded, wrapping up Onyx in red strings and trapping her.

"Bad kitty." Batmare growled. "Now to deal with the other..." She didn't get to finish as she received a kick to her face. She backed away to see that the Cat had managed to wiggle her way out of the rope and was now free to engage her.

"Normally, I would prefer to get away." She growled, swiping at Batmare with her claws who barely managed to avoid them. "But now you really managed to piss me off!" She then threw her whip and wrapped it around Batmare's neck. "I think it's high time somepony taught you some manners!" She then pulled Batmare close to her and kicked her in the chest. But the padding in her suit managed to absorb most of the impact, giving her the opportunity to grab the Cat's legs and wrestle her to the ground.

The two landed muzzle to muzzle to each other with Batmare on the top. This brought a temporary pause to their fight as both of them became pretty flustered, but this time, it was the crimefighter who snapped out of the stupor first. She learned her lesson from their previous encounter.

She pulled out a pair of hoofcuffs and latched it onto one of the Cat’s front hooves. She was about to latch it onto the other one, but she realised that the Cat beat her to it and now the two of them were attached to each other by their hooves.

“You have an odd way of proposing.” She mused before headbutting the hero, pushing her off of herself. She then stood up, yanking on the cuffs and slamming Batmare against the wall. Thanks to the protection of her helmet, the impact didn’t disorient her much, so she was able to react quickly. She used the spikes on her glove to sever the chains on the cuffs and jump away from the Cat.

Not wanting to give her time to recover, she jumped straight at the thief, tackling her onto the ground and attempting to cuff her hooves again, but the thief was once again quicker and tied Batmare’s own hooves together with her whip. The burglar smiled up at the hero before blowing her a kiss and kicking her in the stomach and lifting her with her hind legs and kicking her out the windows she used to enter.

Batmare failed to free her hooves in time before she hit the ground. Even with the protection of her armor, the impact of the fall hurt, especially when the Cat jumped out the window and landed on Batmare’s stomach with all four of her own hooves. She knelt down and caressed Batmare’s cheek in a soft and seductive manner.

“My, I am even better than I thought I was. To think I could succeed where so many others have failed and unmask the big bad bat herself…” She moaned in an almost aroused delight. “The very thought makes me shiver with anticipation. Just imagine how much the wannabe crime lords of the city would pay for this information…” She then pushed her claws at the neck of the mask, only for a jolt of electricity to run through her body, making her recoil and cry out in pain.

Batmare smirked under the mask. As if she didn’t anticipate any villains trying that. The Cat’s momentary shock gave Batmare enough time to free her hooves and push the burglar off of herself. She’s had enough of her nasty little surprises for tonight. It was time to finally end this fight for good.

She rushed at her opponent, but the Cat still had some fight left in her. She managed to avoid Batmare’s strikes before dropping down and spinning around, swiping Batmare’s hooves out from beneath her. While she was busy recovering, the Cat regained her whip and swung it at the heroine. Batmare raised a front leg to protect herself and the whip was wrapped around her hoof.

Batmare then yanked on the whip and pulled the Cat towards herself and kicked her in the stomach, knocking her back on the ground, taking her weapon and throwing it away. She then pulled out a batarang and threw it at the Cat but the burglar caught it easily between her hooves. She shot the Batmare a smug smirk, but it didn’t last long.

The Cat felt a huge electric shock running through her body which made her feel so much pain she couldn’t even throw away the projectile she was holding. Batmare took advantage of the opportunity and ran up to her and kicked her into the fountain behind her. She then reached into her belt and pulled out another pair of cuffs, ready to finally take her into custody.

But as she pulled her body out of the fountain, she noticed that she was not breathing. Panicking, she put her ear to her chest, realising that her heart was still beating. She sighed with reluctance as she realised what she had to do. She pulled up the bottom of her mask and placed her lips on top of hers to give her CPR.

But she got the shock of her life when the Cat suddenly kissed her and taking advantage of her stupor, she wrapped her hind legs around her body and slammed her headfirst into the fish statue on top of the fountain. Batmare slowly got up and saw the Cat heading towards the mansion’s gate to make her escape. She tried running after her, only to realise that she once again managed to use her own cuffs against her and placed them on her front legs.

She turned back to give the hero a mocking smirk before kissing her goodbye. She was about to leap over the gate before it was slammed open by none other than Captain Garden and a hoofful of his police officers. They instantly aimed their weapons at the cat burglar before ordering her to surrender. The Cat of course had no intention of doing that and tried to leap over the gate, but one of the officers was faster and hit her with a taser, stunning her midjump and making her fall back on the ground. While the officers took her into custody, Garden went to check on Batmare.

“Are you OK?” He asked before freeing the vigilante with a skeleton key.

“I’m fine.” She grumbled, putting the cuffs away and climbing out of the fountain. The police stallion saw that the costumed crime fighter was not happy with her failure to capture the burglar herself and having to rely on the police for help. He walked up to her and placed a hoof on her shoulder.

“Look, I know your pride is more hurt than anything. Trust me, I’ve felt that way before. When I was investigating a heist by the Calendar Colt, I got caught in one of his booby traps. I couldn’t make my way out of the darn thing. Do you know what the password was for the darn thing? The date of my anniversary with my wife. I just couldn’t remember.” Batmare raised an eyebrow.

“His name was the Calendar Colt?” Garden nodded.

“He was wearing a cape glued together from calendar pages. The guy was a freaking lunatic. But my point is, I had to rely on my officers to free me and bring him in. So I know how far some help can go. Sometimes, you just have to swallow your pride and let others help you. That’s why we currently have a huge bat signal on top of the police station after all.” He chuckled, patting Batmare on the shoulder before walking away. “All I’m saying is, don’t feel bad for having to rely on others. We are ponies, not islands. A pony’s true power comes not only from brute strength and intelligence, but also from their allies.”

As he walked away to help his officers, Batmare left the scene, ruminating on his words. She couldn’t deny that the police showed up just at the right time and did a good job at where she failed. But if it wasn’t for her, they would still be under the crushing pressure of the mob or fighting powerlessly against those supervillains. They needed her more than she needed them. One lucky exception didn’t change that.

It didn’t matter. The Cat was behind bars and that was the only important part. Still, despite her attractiveness, she was a very bothersome criminal to deal with. She could use some kicking back and relaxing. Hopefully, nothing important happened back home while she was away.

It was around midnight when Twilight made it back to the Batcave beneath her library. Being the Batmare, she couldn't stop herself from stopping a few more crimes on her way back. But with the Cat finally apprehended, she wanted nothing more than to get out of the suit and take the rest of the night off.

But she didn't know that fate had other plans for her.

“Another one is heading to prison, Spike.” She announced proudly as she emerged from the tunnel that connected the cave to the city sewer system. “The streets are safe again and one less costumed criminal is haunting the night. I think I'll take your advice and finally get a good night's sleep!” She turned to her young dragon assistant to see that he was avoiding her gaze rather nervously. “Spike, is there something wrong?” Spike rubbed the back of his head.

“I'm not sure if wrong is the right word for it, but something happened while you were away.” The dragon told her before stepping aside and pointing at a glass container. Twilight's eyes widened when she noticed what, or rather, who the container was holding. It was none other than Apple Bloom who raised a hoof and gave her a shy wave. Twilight put a hoof to her forehead.

“Oh, you've got to be bucking kidding me…”

Author's Note

Hello, everypony! I'm back! My finals are over! For this semester at least. Of the five subjects, I have only passed three, which means the other two, I will have to try again next semester. But at least, until then, I can focus on my writing.

This might be the first story in my Justice League anthology where I felt like I bit more than I can chew. I feel like there's too much stuff going on at the same time to tell in just 10 chapters. I hope the rest of the story won't feel too rushed. Also, I changed the title of this chapter. Originally, it was gonna be The Apple Blooms, as I originally intended a more active role for Apple Bloom, but it looks like that's gonna have to wait for a while. Thank you for my proofreader, Lex the Pikachu for suggesting a more fitting title for this chapter, as well as making sure it was the best it could be!

So, Apple Bloom managed to figure out Twilight's secret. And as if that wouldn't complicate her life enough, in the next chapter, a new villain will arrive in Manhattan, hellbent on taking her down. And he will have help. Will she be able to swallow hers and get some of her own?

Tune in next time for...

Issue #6: The Bane of All Existence