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.

Author's Notes:

A murderer is condemned to death. He has to choose between three rooms.

The first room is full of raging fires.

The second is occupied by a firing squad, ready to pull the trigger on a second's notice.

The third is filled with lions who haven't eaten in years.

Which room does the murderer choose?