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.

Author's Notes:

See, there were these two guys in a lunatic asylum… and one night, one night they decide they don’t like living in an asylum any more. They decide they’re going to escape! So, like, they get up onto the roof, and there, just across this narrow gap, they see the rooftops of the town, stretching away in the moon light… stretching away to freedom. Now, the first guy, he jumps right across with no problem. But his friend, his friend didn’t dare make the leap. Y’see… Y’see, he’s afraid of falling. So then, the first guy has an idea… He says, “Hey! I have my flashlight with me! I’ll shine it across the gap between the buildings. You can walk along the beam and join me!” B-but the second guy just shakes his head. He suh-says… He says, “Wh-what do you think I am? Crazy? You’d turn it off when I was half way across!