//------------------------------// // Harmony Mission I: Argent Foundry Disappearance // Story: Sometimes They Call Me Super // by KorenCZ11 //------------------------------// Applejack “Ow, damn that hurts...” Ah sat up and rubbed at my head. What the hell happened? “Move, you idiot!” another voice said. Ah turned ta look and all I saw was some cyan colored face comin' at me real fast. She hit me in the side hard enough ta knock me about fifteen feet away from where Ah was. Ah got up about ta yell at her when Ah heard the sound of some horrid cry and watched as the spot Ah was just at get smashed by some hairy claw. “Holy shit! What in the hell was that!?” Ah asked the pony in front of me. She was covered in dark feathers, black as night and shined blue in the moonlight. She was wearin' boots and pants of some kind, and a sheath fer what looked like an eastern sword. She must've been a power pony because just above her back were a pair of bright red wings that flowed and ebbed like a liquid. Is that blood? “How the hell do you not know? Oh goddess, please tell me you remember who I am.” Turnin' ta me now. Most of her head was covered by a mask of some kind, but at the same time, Ah felt like it was missin' a piece too. Of what Ah could see, her coat was bright cyan, her irises were magenta colored, and she had a scar over her left eye that looked pretty old. Also, she was bleedin' with a new lookin' hole in one ear. Ah got up quick, but winced when Ah did. My left foreleg was hurt real bad. What in the hell happened? “Uh, no? Who are ya?” She rolled her eyes and groaned. “Oh for fuck's sake! Now is not the time for amnesia! Shit, move!” Another horrible cry, and this time Ah got a look at whatever was attackin' me and... whoever this was. It was as big as a house, gangly and hairy. Bright pale yellow fur, almost white, draped all over it, coverin' it's eyes. It had teeth the size of mystery mare's sword, and it's right leg looked like it'd been cut. The creature slammed its good arm down where mystery mare was a second ago, and Ah hopped out of the way in time ta avoid the slam. Ah realized now, that Ah was in costume too. Where am Ah? Wait a minute... today is Thursday! Is this the mission? Is that thing the monster that was makin' the Argent people disappear? Come on, remember damn it! “Applejack? You're late.” Twilight said from somewhere inside the castle, clearly irritated. “Sorry, It was my turn ta buy groceries, and Ah forgot ta do it.” Ah said. In reality, Ah was finishin' a chess game with my sister and just lost track of time. Looks like she bought it though. “Fine. Just don't let it happen again.” She said. The castle door slid back and opened up, grantin' me access ta it. Ah made my way down the windin' halls until Ah found the Meetin' chamber. “Oh, look who decided to show up.” Twilight sneered. Ah frowned. “Well, after such a warm welcome, Ah'm just about ready ta leave. Let's get this over with.” Ah narrowed my eyes at the purple mare and stared her down until Ah was tired of watchin' her squirm. Ah took my seat next ta Rarity, who was already in costume as Diamond. Across from me was Pinkie, coated in some kinda blue suit with a pale yellow series of diamond shapes runnin' down either side. Then, ta my right was Fluttershy in a big black coat that hid her wings, wearin' a dark face mask with a green tinted one way lens over her eyes, and a fedora that somehow hid all her pink hair. “Huh. So Pinkie is actually Blur, and Fluttershy is...?” Ah asked. “O-oh, right. W-while I'm wearing this, they call me T-target Lock. S-sorry if the mask is a little scary. I-I don't particularly like it, b-but it helps me focus my dark sight better than n-normal,” she explained. Pinkie took off her mask and was just about in tears and smilin'. “You…” she sniffed, “you know my name! I'm so happy!” in a second, she was in my lap huggin' me. “Woah there trooper, ain't no need fer that,” Ah said, slowly pryin' her off. “I'm glad you could make it darling,” Diamond said. “Hey! We're here to do a job, not gush over who pretends to be who!” Twilight snapped. “Geez. Buzz kill,” Pinkie said as she stuck her tongue out and returned to her seat in an instant. “And you! Get in costume, we've got a job to do, and you're our front liner.” Ah'd had about enough of her. Ah got up and slammed a hoof next ta her head. “Yell at me again. See if Ah miss next time.” The now cowerin' alicorn nodded and Ah went back ta my seat ta change. “Ahem. I uh, apologize for being so... rude, but another worker has disappeared, and had we done this sooner, that wouldn't have happened. Well, that and Luna has been on my case about it all morning. I've been awake since about four.” Diamond giggled. “Ha. I was wondering how long it would take before you apologized. Seems my prediction was right. Well done Applejack, you subdued the raging caffeine fiend.” Twilight lowered her ears, her cheeks red instead of violet. “Bout time somepony did. Ah'd make a rude crack, but Ah'm pretty sure that's takin' it too far.” Ah said as Ah put on my suit. Ah zipped up my mask and said, “So now that the real Beast has calmed down, why don't ya fill me in?” Ah smirked through the mask ta make sure she could see it. She glared at me and then sighed. Her horn lit up, and on the table was some kinda computer like grid that had a display of the whole city. A single buildin' lit up red over on the south west side of town that was surrounded mostly by forest and not really connected by any major roads. The whole map shifted ta focus on it. It was large enough ta be a warehouse, but had all the makin's of a factory with the smokestacks and trucks that were docked ta it. “This is the foundry I told you about earlier. The report says that a grand total of thirteen workers, as of yesterday, have gone missing after entering the basement via the elevator.” The buildin' expanded on the table, now showin' the basement floor underground. Based on the layout, there were two entrances ta the basement, one bein' a staircase at the southwest corner, and the other bein' an elevator on the east side of the buildin. It had two floors in total, and the main floor had several caldrons fer pourin' steel inta castin's, a conveyer belt in the center, a sand deposit and all the thin's they use ta treat it before makin' a cast. It looked pretty standard, but Ah couldn't think why it had a basement. “Now, the blueprint for the building has nothing about the basement other than it's a big square box made of concrete, and when I sent Pinkie to visit yesterday, she wasn't allowed in. This leads me to believe that Argent has something hidden down there, but I don't know what. Why he would allow a missing ponies report to be filed if he was hiding something in that foundry is beyond me, but whatever is going on, your job is to investigate it. I have a bad feeling about this, so I'm sending everypony. If you need to contact the others, just call out in your mind to the pony you want to speak to. The brand should do the rest, so long as there isn't magical interference. But if there is... then we have a bigger mystery than just what's in the basement.” Twilight concluded her briefin', and that made me wonder. What can cause magical interference? Unless it's another spell, but... how does that work? “Hmph. I still don't like you suspecting Mister Argent of anything illicit, but I suppose if there is something wrong going on, I'd like to know.” Diamond said. Twilight shrugged. “I didn't, at first anyways, this was a job Luna asked me to take care of. Blur, tell them what you were told the other day.” She waived a hoof at Blur, who then started ta talk with her hooves. “Okay. Well, I wasn't welcomed at the door, that's for sure. There were four guards, one posted at each corner of the foundry, all carrying pretty high grade rifles. I though that was kinda sketchy, but was a little more surprised that they actually let me in. I was wearing Rarity's reporter disguise, and they told me I couldn't bring the camera along. So, after I got in side, I thought it was kinda weird that there were only a few workers there too. One pony operating the line, one quality checker, a few ponies moving carts with finished products in them, a few truckers loading up the cargo, and that was it. Since I... know how these work because of my earlier days, I knew that there were usually about four ponies assigned to quality checking, and with an operation this big, there shouldn't be any way they could get away with just one. But what I found most weird, was that there weren't any execs anywhere to be found. Nopony was really 'running' the place. I got a good look at the elevator to their basement, and it could probably carry about twenty ponies in it, which lead me to believe that they had some kind of storage for their extra stuff down there. But when a cart filled with green glowing whatever came out of it, I stopped thinking that. I was quickly hurried out of the facility when the elevator came up, so I could only see the glow before they kicked me out. I don't know what they have down there, but it sure isn't steel.” Diamond and Ah frowned, and Ah assume Target Lock did too. “Hmm... now what could they have down there that does that? Y'all don't think it's some kinda kryptonite like in the comics, do ya?” Ah said, half jokin'. “A-at this point, who knows? A-all the green things I know of d-don't glow...” Target said. “While I find your joke in poor taste, let's just hope that isn't it. Argent owning a store of a rock that can seal powers away isn't good for the economy here, and it would likely cause some kind of political movement that splits the power ponies on making themselves normal. I'd prefer not to have a war in Manehattan like in the other comic. Besides, real Kryptonite glows in pale pink when stimulated.” Twilight said. Diamond huffed, probably rolled her eyes too. “In any case, I suppose we should get going. The sun is just about gone for the day, and you know how I hate to drive in the dark.” Diamond said. “Drive? Are we takin' a car?” Ah asked. “Yes, and I usually just bring Target with me in it, but today it would be the three of us.” She said. “And that means Blur is gonna beat us there, right?” Ah asked. “Yep! I'm going to scout ahead and see if I can't get in by myself somehow. I never saw the staircase, but now that I know where it is, I can probably get down there and check it out.” Blur said. And just like that, she was gone. A few seconds later, Ah felt the air rush past me. “I guess Blur wanted to get a head start. Alright, Harmony, move out!” “Red, get your head out of the clouds! It's coming after you!” Mystery mare yelled at me. The claw was a large as Ah was, and Ah wasn't about ta get slammed by it. Instead of runnin', Ah took a stance, and threw a hard punch inta it. The creature howled and reeled it's paw back. “What the hell are you doing! Why would you hurt your friend like that!?” It took me a moment ta process what she said, then it dawned on me that this was the Beast. “My...? Oh goddess, what happened!? Is that... is that really Target?” The memory had come back from when we left, so Ah thought ta try and contact somepony. "Twilight? Twilight, are ya there?" Nothing but static replied. Diamond? Blur? Anypony? What the hell happened!? The Beast was comin' in fer a swing again, and she just about sliced part of my tail. Ah took a look at my surroundin's now that thin's were startin' ta come back. There wasn't a whole lotta light in here, this was probably the foundry basement. All but one source of light was dim and bright green, and it looked like the whole place was littered with troughs of glowin' crystals. What the are these? Is this what Blur was talkin' about? Ah met up with the mystery mare, and figured that somethin' was up fer her ta talk about the Beast like it was my friend. “Okay, Ah'll be blunt, Ah must of gotten hit on the head pretty hard ta be hurt, and even more so ta not remember the past few hours. Who are you?” The Beast came in, just about chargin' us with a full body tackle. We split, and she crashed inta the wall, scatterin' more crystals everywhere. Somethin' beyond the glowin was strange about em. They were a lot like the crystals in Twilight's scroll, and Ah was just about attracted ta them. Is that what happened? Did somepony end up with one of these inside their- “If you have to ask, then I'm not gonna say a damn thing. All you need to know is that the thing that just attacked us was one of the ponies you came here with, and after she got hurt, well... she turned into that.” The Beast followed her with her paw and just about caught her as she was flyin' on those blood wings. Ah jumped and whipped my tail across her claw, knockin' it out of the way. “Well gee, that helps. What about the others? Diamond? Blur?” Now her attention was on me. She took both of her claws together inta one fist and tried ta slam me with it. Ah dodged the initial slam, but was pushed back by the shock wave it created. Goddess damn! Ah ain't never seen anypony as strong as Ah am till now! Hell, she might even be stronger than me! “Outside. After your friend here transformed, she threw the blue one through the ceiling, the other was already there. I don't think they're dead, but I doubt they're in good shape.” Ah stopped and thought, then Ah noticed that the regular light was comin' from a good sized hole in the roof, and not the staircase, wherever that was. Then it triggered my memory. “Yep. As soon as Ah get paid, Ah am gettin' a license. Never again Rarity, never again,” Ah said, still a little terrified from the drive over. Diamond pulled the keys out of the ignition of her black sports car and shoved them inta her pocket. “Hmph. My driving gets us where we need to go as fast as possible. You don't hear Target complaining. And call me by my hero name while in costume, by the way. Being listened in on is much more likely to happen outside the castle.” “W-well...” Target began. “See? No complaints. Now then... Blur should be around here-” Diamond exited her door only to have it closed by the pony in question. “Geez, you guys took your time. I've been here for like, twenty minutes.” Target and Ah made our way out of the car, and now we were all standin' in front of a large gray cinder-block buildin'. Just like the image Twilight showed us, it was about three stories tall from above the ground and had four smoke stacks juttin' inta the sky in the moonlight. There were a few guards, but it looked like Blur had already taken care of them. “So, what've ya been doin' just standin' around here? Ah thought ya were gonna scout inside.” Ah asked. She zipped around the car and then came ta lean on me like some kinda arm chair. “See, I would have done that, if I could get in. None of these guys had any kind of key on them as far as I could tell. I didn't notice it before, but the doors have some kind of biometric lock that I can't make heads or tails of.” She said. “Did you hear that Twilight? You're up,” Rarity said. Then Twilight's voice started ta echo through my head. “Pinkie, if you couldn't get this open, why didn't you ask me in the first place? I'm only here for this exact sort of thing. Well, and I act as a safe com system, a map, a one use teleporter, an enemy detector-” Twilight started. “It's nice ta know y'all can do all that, but Ah get the sinkin' feelin' that the guards here are supposed to trade shifts in a few hours. Seein' a bunch of heroes messin' around their facility, especially me, would probably not end well,” Ah said... ta the air. Still not sure about the whole 'talk ta somepony far away without a device' thin'. Phones? Ah grew up with em, those are fine. Telepathy? Ah learned about that Tuesday. There was an audible sigh from the other side and then, “The door should unlock just about... now.” And just like that, the control panel that looked more or less like some kinda black pad lit up green, and the metal doors slid open. “Remember to be on your guard everypony. We might lose contact once you make it down there. Find whatever was glowing, and if you come across any kind of shady character, interrogate them. The foundry should be closed, so none of the regular workers should be there now. Oh, and a warning for Marevelous. Whatever you do, do not let Target get hurt.” Well that was real specific. That bad feelin' she had is startin' ta spread. “You heard her everypony. Be on alarm. If you need ten extra seconds, just call out 'toki wo tomare' and you'll get it. Let's move,” Diamond said. Ah took the lead, and we all headed inside. Save fer emergency lights, the place was completely dark. Target said that there wasn't anypony else in this room, so Blur then lead us ta the staircase and then the catwalk. We stumbled around in the low red light with Blur leadin' until we made it to the staircase. Long and cylindrical, we went down the black path holdin' on ta Target ta keep from fallin'. We made it down ta the basement, and realized that we couldn't talk ta Twilight anymore. All anypony had was static from her end. “So what do y'all wanna do? Should we leave somepony up there in the event we are walkin' inta a trap?” Ah asked. “Nah. If we really need to tell her anything, I can just run back up here and do it. I doubt we'll run into anything faster than me,” Blur said. “Hmm... Marevelous makes a good point though. I suppose the code word and Blur should be enough to get us out of anything, however, getting to the point where we need them both seems a little unrealistic doesn't it?” Diamond commented. “I-I don't know... I'm so used to the dark, I can't r-really tell if this is even ominous. I-I'll be fine with whatever Marevelous decides,” Target said. She was the only one who could see it, but Ah frowned. Why am Ah the decidin' factor here? “Uh... Well, Ah guess we should have Blur let Twilight know what's goin' on with the interference. After she gets back, we go in. If it's still too dark ta see, Target, Ah want ya ta check around the room fer anymore doors or places that could lead further down. If they're keepin' weird stuff, then they probably have a secret records room fer it too.” Somepony moved in the darkness. “Ooh, now that is a good idea...” Diamond said. “Okie doki boss,” Blur said, and then the feelin' of wind followed, meanin' she was gone. In silence we waited about two minutes fer Blur ta get back ta us. Once she returned, Ah opened the basement door. From inside it spilled a bright green light that just about had the whole room lit, albeit dimly. All sides of the walls were lined with carts filled ta the brim with a bright green crystal, save fer two spots. One was the elevator, which Ah expected ta be clear. The other however looked like a regular wall. Bingo. We all flooded in, and then Target stopped. "S-somepony is here." The moment she halted, the actual lights fer the basement came on. Son of a bitch. “Whew. Here I thought this job was just another boring security detail, but somepony actually came!” said a voice. Out from behind a row of carts came a figure Ah wouldn't soon forget. Her head was covered by a silver helmet, hidin' her face and shinin' against the green and white light around her. Her body was covered in dark black feathers that just about shined blue. She was wearin' boots on each leg, and only reflections could have told ya there was anythin' underneath that dark coat. On her side though, was a dull red sheath fer what looked like an eastern sword with a gold hilt. “And aren't you an interesting bunch... let's see here... the one in black carrying a big gun, the one in black with a... is that a police baton? Ooh, a bright blue clad Power Pony I bet... and finally, if it isn't the hero herself, Marevelous Red! I get the feeling I've met a few of you somehow, but how could I not know the famed hero herself! No wonder I'm gettin' paid so much.” Her voice was almost scratchy, and it had an air of cocky ta it. Somethin' about her makes me wanna hit her. “Well, that's real nice of y'all ta know my name. So how bout ya tell me yers?” Ah asked. Ah figure if Ah can play ta her ego, she might say somethin' she's not supposed ta. She took a bow. “I am The Crow. But you may know me as The Bloody Crow. I would say it was nice to meet you, but I'm supposed to kill anypony who enters here without permission. Hehehe... ha ha ha! Oh goddess, my blood is already boiling! It's been such a long time since I got to fight anypony decent! I really hope you live up to your name, miss hero!” The Crow lowered herself, then stretched a bright cyan colored wing over her right to her sword on her left. A red mist started to flow from under her coat until it formed a cloud above her back. The mist became thicker until it formed a pair of crimson wings. Just as she was about to leap from her spot, Target's rifle went off. There was a hole in the wall just inches from the Crow's cyan wing. “P-please don't make a move. T-that was a warning shot. T-the next one w-won't miss...” Target said as she reloaded the bolt action on her gun. The Crow stood back up straight. “Will it now? Geez, did you bring a teenager along with you? How old is this kid anyways? Little fillies shouldn't wave around toys like that!” The Crow took ta the air and dive bombed toward Target. She was about to pull her trigger again, when Ah said, “Toki wo tomare!” Just like that, the world froze and Ah jumped in ta line up a punch. The Crow was just aligned with me as Ah loaded up when the world unfroze. Ah let loose and watched as the Crow sailed across the warehouse sized basement. Her wings, which Ah could tell were made of blood now, took just about all the impact, and the Crow landed on her hooves. “Holy hell, you almost broke my wings! Oh goddess, you are as strong as they say! But who did that exactly? I doubt you're really able to teleport. I bet it was... the unicorn!” The Crow lunged into the air again, and this time deflected Target's shot. As she drew close, the red mist started to cover us so quickly that we couldn't see. Blur started ta run, takin' the mist with her, but just as she did, the Crow was on top of Diamond. With a quick draw of her crimson sword, Diamond had a gash in her shoulder. “Aaah!” She screamed. As soon as the slash was done, the Crow knocked her away with a kick. “That makes one!” The Crow said. Target had finished reloading and fired a shot that looked like it was gonna kill the Crow had it landed. However, the Crow redirected her blood wings to take the bullet. This wasn't enough ta stop it completely though, as it broke through and cut inta the Crow's shoulder. “A gash for a gash huh? I like it! You're next!” She was about to take off, but Ah lunged in first. With a quick jab ta the side, Ah knocked the wind out of her. Then, Ah swept at her hooves and bucked her across the room. This time, she did hit the wall. So hard that she made an indent in it. The Crow fell ta the ground and didn't move. “Now you listen here. This ain't no fight y'all are gonna win, so Ah suggest ya stand down.” When Ah didn't get a response, Ah figured she was down. "That outta take care of that then." “Stand down? But... is she even alive? Can ponies survive a hit like that from you?” Blur asked. “Ah'm not tryin' ta kill her. May've broken a few bones, but nothin' like that. Besides, she's got a helmet on, she should wake up in an hour or so... probably. Is Diamond okay?” Blur moved over ta check her, but it didn't even look like she was bleedin' too much from where Ah stood. “She's not hurt too bad, but she definitely passed out. I get the feeling that the blood on the Crow's sword does more than help her fly though. I don't know that she'll be down as long as you think.” Ah shrugged. “Okay, well, we'll just deal with that if it happens. You take Diamond back outside and tell Twilight what happened. Target, keep an eye on our little bird while Ah go check somethin' out.” Target nodded and aimed her rifle at the spot where the Crow was, Blur took Diamond back up the stairs, and Ah made my way over ta the empty wall. Ah put my ear next ta it and started ta tap my hoof on it. Closer toward the carts, Ah got a low tone, but closer toward the empty space, Ah got a higher one. Ah took a step back and loaded my hoof fer a hard punch, then let loose. The bricks crumbled and fell outward inta a new room. “Now that's just what Ah thought.” Ah said, smilin' at my accomplishment. Just then, Ah heard Target. “M-marevelous...! She's getting up!” Ah turned just in time ta watch as a ball of red liquid started ta float from where The Crow had fallen. “That really hurt. Hah! I wouldn't be surprised if you broke a rib or two! But a fight I can't win? Now that just needs to be seen! You might not be in such good shape without your little helpers!” The ball exploded, covering the wall with blood and rocketing the Crow toward Target. Ah went ta move, but it was already too late. Target fired once and knocked the Crow's helmet off. She fired again, and shot through the Crow's ear, but neither of those kept the Crow at bay. With a clean swipe, the Crow slashed across Target's fore legs and mask, making her drop the gun and scream. Target fell ta the floor, then the Crow turned her attention to me. “Now then, where were we?” She took a single step toward me, and Ah did the same, but then the air suddenly felt different. We both must've felt it because we both looked directly at Target at the same time. “You... b-blood...! Aaaaah!” Half of Target's mask had fallen off after being cut, and somethin' about Fluttershy's eye was all kinds of wrong. Her iris turned red, and her sclera was more yellow than her coat. We watched in horror as her body began ta contort and change. The sounds of bones snappin' and flesh rippin' were accompanied by Fluttershy expandin'. Her hooves grew inta five nails on claws, her fur grew outta control and long, becomin' a pale yellow mess of straight hair. Her snout stretched and began ta sport a set of fangs nearly as large as her legs used to be. The costume she had was all but destroyed, save for her fedora which just fell off. The transformation finished, and The Beast howled. “What the fuck!?” The Crow managed ta say before she got knocked across the room again, this time by The Beast. She hit the wall again, but not as hard as when Ah bucked her. The Beast howled, and Blur returned at the same time. “Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no. Marevelous what happened!? I thought the Crow was down!” Blur said. The Beast then turned her attention to Blur and roared at her. The sheer volume of the sound broke all the florescent lights in the basement, returning us to the green lit darkness. “Well, she got back up and cut Target. Now she's back on the floor. What do we do!?” Ah asked. It is very apparent that Fluttershy was, no, is in fact The Beast now, but how do we get her back ta normal? Clearly she can revert somehow, but how does that happen? “It only lasts for some amount of time. If we can tire her out, she should just go back to the way she was, but don't hurt her! If you do, that carries over when she transforms back. I'll distract-” She was about ta finish, but then she was grabbed by the Beast. The Beast slammed her inta the ground, then threw her through the ceilin', and presumably the roof. Ah couldn't tell how far she went, but there was moonlight in the basement now. Well. Shit. “Aw hell, Blur!” Ah didn't have time ta say anythin' else before the Beast turned her attention ta me. Ah felt like a wack-a-mole game, and Ah was the mole. How the hell am Ah supposed ta keep this up? What did Twilight think Ah was gonna do? Wrestle her back ta normal? She ten times my size! Ah missed a step just once, and she smacked me inta the wall over by the Crow. Ah could feel my head throbbin' now, she hit me hard. Almost as hard as Ah hit that wall. Ah started ta get back up ta make my way toward the Beast again, when Ah felt somethin' tug on my tail. “Wait...” The Crow said, then coughed. “What the? Damn, y'all are one tough pony.” She started ta stand, but her left foreleg wasn't movin'. “I need you to tell me if what I saw was real... did... did your friend have a yellow coat and a pink mane?” She asked. Ah was struck fer a moment. She saw her face? Oh goddess, what do Ah do? “Uh... what about it?” Damn it! Why did ya say that!? “Oh goddess, it is her...” Now Ah was more confused. “Who is her? What are y'all talkin' about?” Another roar interrupted any further conversation and the Beast charged at us. Against my better judgment, Ah grabbed The Crow and ran ta the other side of The Beast. She slammed inta the wall, staggerin' herself. “I... look, this may never happen again, but I need you to help me calm her down.” The Crow said, now standin' on her own. Ah shook my head. What in the world? “Uh... what?”Ah asked. “Don't make me say it again! I need to right an old wrong, and I need your help to do it! I'm gonna get her attention, and you need to hit her on the back of the head in between her ears! Once she's knocked out, she'll go back to normal!” The Crow yelled, her blood wings startin' ta form on her back gain. “Ah'm so confused right now, but if y'all are serious, then whatever.” Did the world just suddenly get turned upside down? The Crow went ta the left, and Ah went ta the right. The Beast had focused her attention on the Crow, which was just enough of an openin' fer me ta get the hit in. or so Ah thought. She took notice of me just as she started ta swipe at the Crow. Her claw kept comin and caught me mid jump. Ah managed ta block with my left, but ah hit the wall harder than Ah've ever hit anythin', and it all went dark. “Now Ah remember! You're The Crow!” Ah said. After Ah did, The Beast swept a claw at me again. Now that Ah could remember her movements, it was easy enough ta see 'em comin'. If Ah can avoid gettin' hit like that again, that would be great. “It's about time! Look, let's try that aga- ack!” The Crow, payin' attention ta me instead of the Beast, got caught by her claw. The Beast roared in her face, and that gave me just enough time ta get behind her. Ah jumped fer her head at about the same time she started ta crush the Crow. With a good swing, Ah punched her right between the ears. She dropped the Crow and started ta fall to the side of her good foreleg. What started as a low moan began to raise in pitch as the hairy form started ta shrink in a heap on the floor. Now all that was left was an unconscious yellow pegasus in a pool of blood that wasn't much of her own. Ah went ta check on her, and it looked like she was breathin' normal now. “Whew. Ah'm glad that's over. Are y'all alright?” Ah asked the Crow as Ah picked up my sleepin' team mate. She coughed three times, spat out a good glob of blood, then started to raise herself up. “Alright? No. Alive, sort of... In any case... I'm in no shape to fight... Heh. I can barely stand. Oww...” She said as she grabbed at her side between breaths. “Well, that makes my job easy. Not gonna lie, you're really good. Ah think if it was just the two of us in a fight, nopony would come out a winner. So, out of respect fer yer talent, Ah'm just gonna leave ya here, but Ah have a question first.” Honestly though, if Ah did go hoof ta hoof with her on my own, she might actually beat me... “Oh yeah...? And what would... that be? As one who values this... 'honor among thieves' thing, I can't say I'll... tell you much of anything.” Eventually, she'd had enough of standin' on three hooves and sat down. “Well, Ah'd like ta know how ya know my friend here fer starters. Why would ya go out of yer way ta help get her back ta normal if we were yer enemies in the first place?” Ah asked. “Oh, that... Let's just say, she and I knew each other as kids. She did a lot for me back then, and before my life took a different turn, we were good friends. I owe her a lot, so I'll call it even after this.” The Crow finally regained her breath and decided ta lay down. “Huh. Well, Ah suppose Ah can't complain if things turned out like this. Ya weren't tryin' ta kill anypony like ya said ya were anyways, so ya can't be that bad.” Because if she was, Rarity would be dead. Target might be too." Ah headed ta the secret office with Fluttershy on my back. There was a desk, a computer, a few filin' cabinets and what Ah was lookin' fer was a client list. Ah bet it gets updated often... They wouldn't want ta have it just stored in the PC just in case somepony forgot ta use a VPN one day, so it should be... “You could tell? That's impressive. But I'd guess you have a lot more experience than these other kids. Heh. I was actually told to scare away anypony who tried to trespass, but do what I needed to in the event I ran into somepony special, such as yourself. I wasn't expecting an actual challenge, really. Or a hole in my ear. Oh well. This will all heal in a few days.” Ah searched through a few drawers until Ah found the ledger with the list of all the buyers and dealers fer whatever these crystals are, and pocketed it. Ah'll just take one of these crystals too, see if Twilight can make heads or tails of that. “So what exactly is yer power? And fer that matter, do ya only have one wing?” Ah asked as Ah picked up a crystal from one of the carts. It still had that allurin' quality ta it, so Ah had ta shake a thought outta my head before Ah pocketed it. Some of the ones that spilled on the floor durin' the fight got crushed under Fluttershy's feet, and Ah didn't want a broken one. It's strange though. They don't break inta chunks like a normal crystal would, these just kinda turned inta powder where they snapped off... that should be worth note. “I can manipulate my own blood as if I were a unicorn or some shit like that, but that's only if I have a source to draw it from. I also heal really fast, but the drawback is that sometimes I sleep for days straight. As for the wing, I lost my right one about seven years ago in an accident.” She said. Huh. Ah figured she'd be more tight lipped about this. Might as well see how far Ah can go. “Really? So, ya stab yerself with that sword ta get yer powers goin’ every time?” Ah asked. “Nah. The skin where my bone fractured with the rest of my wing never fully healed, so the marrow has been exposed to the air for years now. My power continually refreshes it, and I've never been sick in my life, so that's where it all comes from.” Maybe she really doesn't care what Ah know. Ah'm not sure if that's a sign of trust or a sign of 'Ah'll kill ya later.' “Sounds painful. How'd that happen?” Ah asked. The Crow laughed. “I would tell you my life's story, but I figure the victor has gotten her share of information today. I respect you Marevelous. It takes a lot to break my blood wall, and even more to knock me out. Even still, you were holding back after all that.” Well, maybe she's smarter than she sounds. “So ya noticed? Gestures between the veterans always go over pretty well don't they?” Ah wonder... what would have happened if Ah'd come across her first? “I guess. I've been doing this for about as long as you have, working as a sort of... mercenary that is. Your power is genuine, I'll give you that. But so is my employer's. Don't look into this much more. Otherwise, you and your little friends might end up dead. Take it as a warning from somepony in the know.” Ah made my way toward the staircase holdin' one of the crystals fer light, but said one last thing before Ah left. “Ah'll keep that in mind. If we see each other again, let's have a real fight. Y'all ain't too bad, miss Crow.” She laughed again. “Alright, sure, Marevelous Red. I'll hold you to it. But for now... I think I need to sleep.” And then there was only the sound of soft breathing. Ah made my way back out of the foundry and collected the rest of my passed out friends. “Twilight? Can ya hear me?” Ah said ta the air. “Zzztt... Appl... every... kssst...” Replied the voice. What the? But Ah'm out of the basement, why is...? Then it dawned on me just what exactly these crystals were for. Ah stole Diamond's keys and piled my friends inta the back seat. Ah set the crystals and the documents down in the passenger, and walked away from the car. “How about now, Twilight?” Sure enough... “Applejack!? What happened? Where did all that static come from? Is everypony okay?” Twilight said, all frantic. Ah sighed in relief. “Sort of. Diamond and Blur need ta be treated, and... well, the Beast came outta Target. Her costume is completely destroyed, but she's just got a scratch on her foreleg. We found the crystals, and based on what Ah just did, they're causin' the interference. Ah found a client list too, so we can track who has what. But uh... this wasn't exactly a clean operation. The bottom floor has a good number of dents and holes in it, and the top floor has a good sized hole in it too. Uh, so does the roof fer that matter.” Yeah, maybe about the opposite of clean. If nothin' else, somepony is gonna know we were here in the mornin'. “Hmm... well, good work all the same. They must've had some kind of security for everything to go that wrong. Head back to the castle and we'll discuss this with my aunt. I'll see you when you get here.” And then the feelin' of somepony bein' on the other side cut off. “Y'all got it... as soon as Ah figure out how ta drive this thing...” Ah sighed. It's gonna be a long ride home.