//------------------------------// // The Mare of Steel Vol. 1: A Pony of Two Worlds: Issue #5: Homecoming // Story: MLDC: The Justice League of Equestria - Omnibus 1 // by littleman001 //------------------------------// The first rays of the morning sunlight illuminated the sleepy town of Ponyville long after Applejack was already up and about. As a framer, she was well used to getting up early, but this time, it was an entirely different work she was eager to get started. She didn't want to just foolishly burst into Sweet Apple Acres for two reasons. First of all, she learned her lesson from what happened in the research facility. Granny Smith was right, she really was getting overconfident and she almost paid the ultimate price for it back there. That can't happen again. She couldn't just run headfirst into danger anymore. She needed to be careful this time. The other reason was that since she had no proof that Filthy Rich was actually the pony she was looking for, she would make herself look pretty bad in the eyes of Equestria if she broke onto an innocent stallion's properly and tear it up for no reason while looking for the stolen machine. She needed proof that Filthy really was the stallion she was looking for. It took her a while to figure out what would be the perfect disguise for this investigation, but when this journalist thing came to her mind, she knew right away it was perfect. If she posed as an investigative journalist, she could wander around the town and ask questions without raising suspicion. Not to mention that her ability to detect ponies' heartbeats with her hearing will let her know when somepony is lying. And with her other abilities, she will be able to go places where other journalists couldn't. And now all she needed to do was head outside and get to work. She washed herself and got dressed but as she was about to make it to the door, a loud knocking interrupted her. "Uh... Who is it?" Applejack asked. She definitely wasn't expecting company. "Room service!" A male voice called from outside. "Delivering your breakfast, madam!" After making sure with her x-ray vision that it was indeed a hotel worker, Applejack opened the door. "I don't mean to sound rude but I'm sure I didn't order anything." She told the unicorn stallion as he pushed small table with several trays on it inside. "You paid for the full package, madam." He replied cheerfully. "And that includes breakfast in bed." "Really now?" Applejack wondered. "Guess that explains why the room was so expensive." She quickly caught the smell of the food. It was rather appetising actually. Applejack learned form Pom-El that she actually didn't need food. The rays of the sun fueled her body so much that she needed no other nourishment. Kind of like a plant, she joked when she first learned about this. But she still wasn't gonna refuse a nice meal. "Trust me, the food is gonna worth the cost." The stallion assured with a smile. Applejack shrugged, if she accidentally paid for everything this hotel had to offer, she might as well enjoy it. "Besides, you're gonna need all the energy you can get for the whole day of investigating you have ahead of yourself." Applejack chucked. 'Trust me, sugarcube, I have more energy in me than you can possibly imagine.' She thought as she reached for her fork," only to drop it when a realisation hit her. "Wait, how do you know about that?!" The stallion chuckled nervously. "Well, you see, our receptionist is kind of a gossipmonger. She couldn't keep a secret to save her life. I expect everypony in the hotel knows why you are here by now." Applejack became worried that maybe her mission was ruined before it even started, but then she realised she could use it to her advantage. "Is that so?" She asked in amusement. "Well then, how about you make up for it and make my job easier and tell me a few things while I enjoy my breakfast?" The stallion actually contemplated her offer. "Well, our other guests have already been served, so there's nothing preventing me to spend my morning with a pretty mare." Applejack smiled and waved him off. "Flatterer. Well, here's the thing. I've been hearing some nasty things about a famous business pony living in this town named Filthy Rich and I thought it would make for an interesting story." The reaction she got was not what she expected. The stallion's eyes widened and his pupils shrunk into the back of his head the moment he heard Filthy Rich's name. Applejack was rather confused when she saw the stallion becoming nervous and backing away towards the door. "Uhh... You know what? I just remembered that I had some urgent business down at the lobby." He stammered nervously. "See... See you later. Enjoy your breakfast." He said before dashing out the door. Applejack wasn't sure what she should make of this situation. She wasn't an actual journalist, but even she could tell this was a suspicious behaviour. Looks like she didn't have to search for long to find somepony who knew something that could help her investigation. Any inter journalist would have major trouble with getting that stallion to talk, but not her. She used her x-ray vision to follow the stallion's movement down into the lobby where the receptionist was waiting for him. Applejack lifted her right ear and listened to their ensuing conversation. Mastering her super hearing made this job extremely comfortable for her. She could possibly get all the information she needed without moving a muscle. And during a luxurious breakfast no less. "So how is our newest guest?" Asked the receptionist. "Did you find out what kind of story she's writing?" Her excitement became confusion and concern when she saw her coworker's expression. "What's wrong?" The stallion looked around as if to make sure they weren't being overheard "You're not gonna believe this! She's another one going after you know who." The mare gasped, lifting her hooves in front of her mouth. "Did... Did you tell her what happened to the last ones who were foolish enough to try that?" The stallion looked down in shame. "I... I don't really want to get involved. You know how dangerous that guy is." The receptionist mare gave him an angry look. "All the more reason to convince her to stop this whole thing!" She cut back. "Well, as long as she stays away from Sweet Apple Acres, she should be fine, right? He's there like 24/7 and he seems blind to everything else going on in the outside world. And it's not like she has any clue to look for him there." The receptionist nodded. "That's true. The least we can do is make sure she stays away from there. Ponies have been shot at for even looking at that land for too long. What is Filthy's obsession with that place?" "See? I think she'll ask around for a bit and eventually just give up when she finds nothing. It's not like anypony would tell her where to find Filthy. No one wants trouble with him. Applejack found out way more than she needed to. She stopped listening to the conversation and went back to her breakfast. Inadvertently, somepony did let her know where to find Filthy. And if everything she just learned about him was true, then there was one pony who very much wanted trouble with him. And she would be more trouble than he could handle. Applejack left the hotel with a full stomach and a plan in mind. Even the ominous warning of the receptionist wasn't enough to deter her. She was now more than certain Filthy Rich was in fact guilty of at least some illegal activities. Whether those included the theft of Professor Quick Scan's device or the assassination of her parents for their land she still couldn't say. But he still had done things he needed to answer for. And with her investigative journalist guise, she will also be able to get proof against him. She also knew where she was supposed to go to find it. A place she hasn't seen in over a decade but no day passed without her longing to see it again. Her family's old farm. She wasn't sure how to feel about this homecoming. One the one hoof, she was looking forward to it more with each passing second. One the other hoof, she knew the place would no longer be what it once was. Filthy probably had most of the apple trees removed by now and replaced them with mechinarey he may or may not have stolen to find whatever it was he was looking for. And while it was a silly notion, she knew that what he was looking for was connected to her. Even if Granny Smith and Big Mac hauled her spacepod all the way to Appleoosa to make sure nopony can find it, there was a chance that something else they didn't find might still be there. And if that was the case, then that belonged to her and therefore she was going to have to take it back. After a while, the road she was walking on was starting to look familiar. She would have recognised these trails from within a million. She was well on her way to Sweet Apple Acres. It was kind of eerie. From what she heard, Filthy spent almost all of his time on this farm. And even as she got closer to the property, she couldn't see a single soul. She expected the place to be crawling with Filthy's mercenaries. How could Filthy leave a place that was so important to him unguarded. She got her answer when a jolt of electricity rushed through her body. She groaned before jumping back. While she was invulnerable to normal damage, she learned from her previous encounter with with Filthy's thugs that electricity still had a numbing effect on her. She looked around in confusion, trying to locate the source of the shock. Using her x-ray vision, she could see an electrical trap system running beneath the ground. Normally, she would just fly over it, but she didn't want to risk blowing her cover in case somepony was watching. She got a better idea. If only she could locate the power source of the device, she could shut it down easily. After a few moments, she did manage to locate the generator powering the trap and with a smirk, she used her heat vision to fry it. With the trap taken care of, she was free to make her way further down the track. Though she kept her x-ray vision active to avoid anymore surprises. While they wouldn't have harmed her, if she ran into something bigger than this electrical floor trap, that might attract unwanted attention. And she didn't want that yet. Getting closer towards the actual farm, her hearing actually started picking up chatter, hoofstepes and heartbeats. It was obvious that she was getting closer to where the actual activity was taking place. And that meant she'll have to stay out of sight. Fortunately, many apple trees were still around. Applejack even recognised some of them. She bucked several of them more than once. And then there was the one that threw Big Mac's ball back into his face with it's branch when she accidentally kicked it too hard. She smiled. Those were better days. She was so caught up in her daydreaming that she almost didn't notice a pair of patrolling mercenaries coming her way, but she snapped out of it in time to hide between some of the trees until they passed. She quickly scolded herself in her head for getting distracted like that before telling herself to focus. She had a job to do. She was here to find evidence that Filthy was behind the theft of Professor Quick Scan's device. If he was behind it, that is. And that meant that was what she was supposed to find. And finding it on this enormous farmland is going to be quite the challenge. Using her x-ray vision to look through her surroundings, she saw several ponies around the place but nothing that reminded her of the device. She was gonna have to get to another position. She looked around again to make sure the coast was clear then spotted another group of trees she can hide behind before making a bolt for it. BOOM! Applejack felt a sudden force blowing past her from beneath. She looked down to see that her clothes were tattered and her camera was destroyed. She scoffed. So much for potentially gathering evidence against Filthy, but more alarmingly, her cover was now blown! She could already hear several ponies approaching her location. Applejack cursed under her breath. She was so caught up in using her x-ray vision to find the device that she forgot to look out for traps. If these mercenaries were the same she encountered in Quick Scan's lab, they knew about her weakness to magic and they could use it against her. She probably could dash away from the orchard before they found her with enough speed to avoid being seen. She was about to do just that, but then she heard the mercenaries speaking. "What was that?!" "One of the mines detonated!" "Must have been an animal from the woods. Nopony can get past the electric ground trap." "We're not gonna take that chance! Call Bloodsport!" Applejack froze. Bloodsport. That was one of the mercenaries at the lab. The one that shot her with a magical bullet. So these definitely were the same mercs from that heist. And if that was the case, then Quick Scan's device was also here. These animals had a lot to answer for. Applejack forgot about running. It was time for action. She tore off the remains of her clothes to reveal her kryptonian suit underneath it with the sleeves pulled up. She unrolled the sleeves, put on her shoes and untied her mane. This looked like a job for Supermare! The explosion was heard all throughout Sweet Apple Acres. Everypony heard it, even Bloodsport. But it wasn't until his panicked troops came running to him and asking him to check out what caused it. He sighed in frustration. Must he do everything around here? Accompanied by a couple of mercs, he went to investigate the group of trees that have been blown to pieces. There was nothing to be seen except for the wooden remains and splattered apples lying around. And yet, Bloodsport felt it in his gut that something big was about to happen. Something big and bad. "I'm still saying it was just an animal." One of the mercenaries said as they searched the area with their weapons. "Then how do you explain this?" Bloodsport asked the group, spotting a pile of shredded clothes between the trees. All of the other mercs collectively gasped. "What the hay?" "Well, I guess that's that. Whoever it was, there's nothing left of them now." Bloodsport rolled his eyes. "Come on! Even if the mine exploded right under them there must have been something left of them." He retorted. "So what do you suggest happened? Did the explosion only shattered their clothes?" Bloodsport was about to roll his eyes again, but instead they widened. That explosion was so huge that there was no way that an ordinary pony could have survived. But somepony who could survive being shot with a magical bullet... He looked on the ground around the clothes in search of hooftracks and sure enough, he noticed a trail of them leading towards the forest behind the orchard. The right corner of his mouth curled upwards. "Back for more, huh?" He asked smugly, much to the other mercenaries' confusion. "What?" "Never mind. Keep searching around the orchard and make sure you don't step on one of those things. I want to check something out." Before the others could say anything, he ran off into the direction where the tracks lead him. If his hunch was correct and he was really dealing with who he thought, they would only get in the way. The tracks didn't lead that deep into the forest. If he didn't know any better, he would have assumed that his target was also afraid of this place. But he knew that there was nothing here that could have hurt her. Only he will be able to do that. He eventually reached the end of the tracks but there was nopony around. Considering her abilities, she could have gotten away in any number of ways, but if she wanted to get away, she wouldn't have lured him out here. She was obviously baiting him on. Very well, he will bite. "You can come out now. It's just the two of us." He looked around to see the familiar figure in the blue suit and red cape emerge from between the trees, but all he saw was a large shadow appearing on the ground in front of him. He looked up to see the mare he was expecting floating in the air above him with her mane and cape being thrown around by the wind. "Stylish entrance." Bloodsport clapped sarcastically. "I suppose the boss was right. It was naive to assume that magic bullet would be enough to put you down." Applejack narrowed her eyes. "Too bad for you. And him." In response, Bloodsport merely put together his gun and fired another shot at her, but this time, Applejack wouldn't let her overconfidence get in the way. She flew out of the bullet's way and in the blink of an eye, she was already behind Bloodsport and grabbed him from behind. "You didn't expect that to work again, did you?" Bloodsport shrugged. "Can't blame a pony for trying." "Let's not make this any more difficult. Tell me where your boss is along with the device you stole from Professor Quick Scan!" Applejack ordered. To her surprise, Bloodsport's response was just an unamused look. "Seriously? You came all this way just for that? I'm actually disappointed. For a moment, I almost believed you came for me. I almost felt special." "Make no mistake, Bloodsport. Once I'm done with your boss, you're going to prison too. You have a lot to answer for!" Applejack snarled at her, but the stallion merely grinned. "Don't be so quick to count me out of the game, sweetheart. I may still have something up my sleeve." He then used his magic to lift something up from underneath his uniform. Applejack was ready to dash away before he tried anything else, but to her relief and confusion, it was only another bullet. It looked like it was carved from some green stone. Applejack didn't think much of it at first, but suddenly, she started to feel nauseous. She suddenly felt all of her sfrenthg leaving her and the world starting to spin in her vision. Eventually, she was forced to let go of the mercenary and step back, grabbing her head. Bloodsport chuckled. "Well, this is better than anything I dared to expect. When the boss dug up these stones he said they weren't made of anything found on this planet. That could have only meant one thing." He spoke casually as he walked around the struggling Applejack who was now on her knees and close to vomiting. "It means that it's not of this planet. And when I learned that, I had a thought. I have never seen anything quite like you. And I have seen quite a lot. So that leaves only one explanation." He knelt down in front of her and lifted the bullet near her head. "When I put two and two together, I figured that an alien material might work on an alien. And once again, my instincts didn't fail me." The only action Applejack's body allowed her was to wonder what was happening to her. Her mind usually worked fast but probably due to the stone's effect, she could only slowly piece it together. Pom-El did explain to her that her abilities came from the sun of Equus. The only theory she could come up with was that these stones were carried away with her spacepod from her home planet all those years ago and they somehow nullified the effects of the sun. Her brainstorming was interrupted by the cocking of a gun near her head. "I could use this to put you out of your misery, you know." Bloodsport taunted. "But I'm not just a killer. I'm a fighter. I enjoy the thrill of battle above all else against the most dangerous opponents. That's why I named myself Bloodsport. So if you're really as tough as the boss thinks you are, then surely you can overcome this and take me all the same. So come on!" Powers or not, Applejack was never one to back down from a challenge. She gathered all of her remaining strength and launched herself at the mercenary. "Coming right up!" She roared as she leaped forward, only to be hit in the face by something hard enough to knock her back on the ground. "Going back down." Bloodsport retorted. Applejack groaned in pain as she sat up and looked to see the stallion's front hooves glowing with the same green light as his bullet was. "Turns out, this makes fine hoof brasses too." Bloodsport was done playing around. He launched himself forward and repeatedly attampted to punch Applejack again. Deprived of her abilities, the mare could only roll back on the ground before clumsily backing up on her hooves. She needed to think of something and fast, but the relentless barrage of attacks by the stallion did not make that easy. Bloodsport moved faster than Applejack could have anticipated. He struck the mare in the chest repeatedly, not only causing her stinging pain but further weakening her. Applejack's only chance was to strike back, but despite being a unicorn, Bloodsport had two things Applejack didn't, experience and military training. No matter where the mare attempted to strike, the unicorn managed to block every time. And he followed up every successful block with another strike, eventually forcing Applejack to retreat. She backed and almost tripped over something which turned out to be a rock. That gave her an idea. She may not have been an actual earth pony, but her physiology was exactly the same. And that included the same level of physical strength. Even without her super strength, she should be able to move this rock. With no further thought, she picked it up and hurled it at Bloodsport. The unicorn wasn't fazed at all. He assembled his energy cannon and blasted the rock apart before it hit him. "Nice try, but..." He never got to finish. Bloodsport made the mistake of letting his guard down and Applejack made full advantage of that. She jumped forward and tore the unicorn's cannon out of his grasp before breaking it to pieces. It was a mild inconvenience at worst. He could easily put it back together with magic, but that process needed time. Time Applejack didn't plan to give him. She headbutted the stallion in the muzzle, making him stumble backwards. She then spun around and bucked him straight in the head, sending him crashing against a tree. Bloodsport groaned in pain. His weapon was lost and his senses were blurry but he could still make out the silhouette of the Mare of Steel approaching him. He didn't have much choices left. He took off his hoof brasses and threw one of them in Applejack's direction. She saw it coming and managed to avoid it. Bloodsport held up the other one in front of her in a vain attempt to fend Applejack off, but the mare just picked up a piece of rock from the ground and threw it at him, knocking the stone out of his hoof. Bloodsport was now completely defenseless. Applejack marched over to him before reaching down and picking him up by his collar and pressing him against a tree. "Now listen here and listen good. And if your horn as much as sparkles, you can kiss it goodbye." She seethed through her teeth. "Tell me where your boss is." To Applejack's surprise, Bloodsport chuckled. "You think you've won? You have no idea what that pony is capable of. What be has up his sleeve. He's been expecting you. And he has something that might be a little too much for you to handle." He taunted. Applejack's eyes narrowed. "We'll see about that. Now talk!" "Suit yourself." Bloodsport replied with a shrug. "But don't say I didn't warn you." He then pulled out a map from his vest and gave it to Applejack. "The map marks the location of all the traps the boss has set up. From what I've seen, you're gonna need that if you want to stay subtle. The device is in the main research station and most likely the boss too." Applejack observed the map for a few moments before folding it and putting it away. She then took off into the air and hung the mercenary on a tree branch by his vest. "You're gonna stay here. When I'm done with your boss, I'll send the police for you." With that, the alien mare floated back on the ground and galloped off into the direction of the orchard. Bloodsport looked down. The ground was rather far from him. A fall from this height might not be fatal, but he would more than likely break enough bones for his injuries to be. And the branch was thin enough that it would easily break if he fidgeted around too much. As he wondered what to do, he suddenly heard the flapping of wings from around him. He looked up to see two pegasi from Filthy's mercenary force appear next to him. "Don't worry, sir. We'll get you down." The two ponies grabbed the unicorn and carried him to the ground. "Did Filthy send you for me?" He asked as he dusted himself off. The mercenaries shook their heads with a scowl. "Filthy can go to Tartarus. That bastard was ready to test that monstrosity's strength on us last night." "But you stood up for us. Even back in the lab when we first met costumed freak you didn't leave us behind. From now on, we are your unit, sir." They replied with a salute. Bloodsport was rather shocked by this turn of events. He never expected to lead his own unit of mercs, but he couldn't say this was an unwelcome development. Eventually, he returned the salute. "At ease, soldiers. We are moving out. Whatever happens on that orchard is Filthy's problem from now on. Our costumed friend will more than likely keep him and his new pet occupied. We'll go and gather the rest of our troops and leave town." The two pegasi saluted again before heading back to the orchard. Bloodsport reached into his vest again and pulled out the one piece of green rock he still had left. The one he carved into the shape of a bullet. He smirked at it. "I think I'll keep this. Just in case our paths cross again one day." Subtlety was no longer an option. That explosion she triggered no doubt alerted all available mercenaries on the orchard. Not that they could have done much to prevent her from getting to Filthy. Still, it was weird that she saw nopony on the field as she surveyed it from above. She turned her x-ray vision towards the building that Bloodsport identified as the main research center and she only saw one earth pony inside that only could have been the stallion he was looking for. Not bothering with subtlety anymore and eager to confront the pony who possibly ruined her life, she elected to simply burst through the ceiling of the building and landed in the middle of the room. In front of her was standing Filthy Rich with his back turned to her. He was observing several computer screens, all of which were playing footage of Applejack's recent activities as Supermare, including her fight against the mercenaries in Quick Scan's laboratories and to her surprise, even her fight with Bloodsport. Did he set up cameras all over the acres? "I have been expecting you." The business pony said on a smooth voice. "I have seen what you are capable of. You are a fascinating creature. A perfect organism. A pity you are clouded by conscience, remorse and delusions of morality." He lamented as he observed the footage. "I wouldn't call them delusions." Applejack replied with a glare. "The only delusional pony here is a greedy business stallion who thinks he can do anything he wants to everypony without consequences." Filthy sighed and shook his head. "The body of a full grown mare with the powers of a demigod wasted on somepony with the naive mind of a foal. Sad." He retorted before turning around and looking at her for the first time. "Your foolish faith in the good of ponykind will just restrain you from reaching your full potential." With a dash, Applejack got right up in his face. "Don't talk about me like you know me. You don't know anything about me or what could happen if I stopped restraining myself. And I suggest you don't push me into showing you either." She intended to intimidate, but Filthy's only response was a smug smirk. "You won't. And I wouldn't say I don't know anything about you." He then motioned towards the computer screens. "I have been watching you and seen what you are capable of. And I've also seen that you are holding back. More than likely out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness. And that is why you will fail." "I don't think so." Applejack scoffed. "You have taken something from somepony through violence and taking several innocent lives in the process. I'm here to take it back and there is nothing you can do to stop me." "That may be true." Filthy agreed. "I don't have the power to stop you. But he does." Applejack didn't even have time to become confused at that because she felt a powerful tug on her cape that sent her crashing through the wall of the building and landing in the soil, carving a long ditch into the ground. She groaned in pain, holding her head as she tried to get herself together and slowly get back on her hooves. Despite the fact that her father, Pom-El told her that the yellow sun radiation makes kryptonians unstoppable, Applejack came close to being stopped on several occasions. She looked up to see who her latest attacker was and she could barely believe what she saw. Emerging from the hole she just created in the wall, emerged a huge earth pony stallion that looked like his body was rotting away. The monstrosities looked at Applejack with a look of pure rage as he made his way towards her, making it clear just what was about to happen. "Solomon... Grundy..." The huge stallion groaned as he made his way towards Applejack. "Born on a Monday..." The stunned mare completely forgot about her powers and just crawled back on the ground until she reached the end of the ditch. "Crystaled on Tuesday..." The stallion raised his forelegs and brought them down towards Applejack whom the sense of danger immediately reminded of her abilities and flew out of the ditch. "Married on Wednesday..." The stallion's hooves slammed into the ground, but they only met the dirt. Applejack was already floating up in the air, looking down at the monster in shock. 'Sweet Celestia! What on Krypton is that thing?!' Grundy looked up at Applejack and tried to reach her in the air. The mare's shock immediately faded, replaced by amusement when she witnessed his feeble attempts to jump up to her. 'Strong, but dumb. Just the way I like 'em.' Applejack decided to make short work of this guy. She took a deep breath and tried to blow him away, but to her surprise, Grundy just took it. 'What the? Okay, this is not normal!' Applejack was so stunned by Grundy's resilience, that she didn't even notice him tearing a tree out of the ground and hurling it at her. Before she could dodge, the tree knocked her out of the air. 'Still not at full strength...' Applejack groaned as she pushed the tree off of herself. 'Either Bloodsport's stones had more of an effect on me than I thought, or this guy has something about him.' Applejack barely snapped out of her thoughts in time to avoid a huge rock being thrown in her direction. "Okay, ugly! Let's see how you like this!" Applejack heated up her vision and unleashed two heatrays at Grundy. The huge stallion stumbled, but still kept advancing towards her. Eventually, she realised it was useless and flew back before he could reach her. 'What's with this guy?! It's almost like he's...' Her eyes widened at the revelation. 'magical!' She smacked herself for not realising this earlier. The guy looked like he was dead because he was dead! Filthy was running all sorts of experiments at this place. She wouldn't be surprised if he messed around with zombies. That meant Grundy was dead already. And if he was dead, then she couldn't kill him. Which meant she didn't have to hold back. Applejack cracked her hooves and her neck. "Alright, you undead freak! The kiddie horseshoes are off." Applejack flew up and raised a foreleg before slamming into Grundy at full strength. She managed to punch him to the ground but he still got up easily. Applejack knocked him down again and used her heat vision for good measure. Grundy was actually hurting at this point but he wasn't done yet. He raised a foreleg and managed to push it against Applejack's eyes, blocking her heatrays. The energy building up in the mare's eyes eventually exploded, sending her crashing back against another tree. Grundy slowly got up and marched towards Applejack once more. Applejack got up and flew at Grundy again, but the zombie was prepared this time. He picked up another tree and used it as a bat to strike the hero, slamming her into the ground with it. The zombie then lifted the tree back up and brought it down again repeatedly until it exploded into splinters. Applejack was about to immediately spring back up, but found that she couldn't. Once again, she felt all of her strength leaving her. 'Oh, not again! What is it this time?!' She got the answer very soon when she raised her head and saw more glowing green stones in the ground she was just pummeled into. 'Ugh... Great! More of this stuff.' Broken pieces of her homeworld wouldn't just randomly pop up in the ground. This must have been the spot where her spacepod hit the ground all those years ago. 'Ironic.' She scoffed with a bitter laugh. 'The spot where I entered this world is about to be where I leave it if I don't get back up quickly.' But it was too late. Grundy brought his hoof down on Applejack's head and slammed it into the ground, right between the stones. The pain combined with their nauseating effect was too much for Applejack and she finally gave into the beckoning of sweet unconsciousness. When Applejack opened her eyes again, she only saw the trees of the sorrunding acres. They slowly crawled backwards in her vision. She groaned in confusion. That wasn't right. Trees couldn't move, so she must have been moving. But she was lying on the ground, how could she be moving? As her senses slowly returned, she felt a hoof gripping her leg. So she was being dragged on the ground. Alright, that made more sense then moving trees. But where was she being dragged to? She closed her eyes and passed out for several more minutes. The next time she came to, she was greeted by a green glow. As her eyes opened fully, she saw a huge formation of the green stones in front of her being held on a table. Her instinctive response was to back away from it, but she felt all of her four limbs were restrained. She looked around and saw that she was being held upright by metallic cuffs. She struggled to get free but it was of no use. With the stone in front of her draining her abilities, she was powerless. "I clearly didn't give my friend, Grundy enough credit earlier." Spoke a voice that Applejack quickly recognised as Filthy Rich. The business pony walked into her field of vision with a scornful look. "Without him, I wouldn't have found out about your weakness to this matter. Good think I gathered a big supply of it." Applejack returned his glare. "I guess you're not as smart as you like to think. Your pet, Bloodsport figured it out long before you did." Filthy was surprised, but he quickly overcame it. "So that's where some of the stones disappeared to. It doesn't matter. The fact that you're here shows that he wasn't capable enough to finish the job. Nevertheless, I must thank you for coming here. I spent a large sum of my life and unimaginable resources to find what secret these lands hold. And what I find here surpasses all I could have imagined." He walked closer to Applejack and leaned right in her face. "You call yourself a hero. You pretend to be generous and helpful by flying around and saving ponies in trouble. And yet you have been hiding among us, keeping us from the knowledge and secrets you have brought with yourself from wherever you came." He then finally got out of the mare's face and began to walk away. "But I will uncover them." Applejack felt this the right time to address something that has been on her mind for a long time. Ever since Professor Quick Scan mentioned it. "Was it worth the life of the Apples?" Filthy stopped and looked back at the hero over his shoulder. "Yes." He replied without even an ounce of hesitation. "Those simple minded farm ponies had no idea what lay right beneath their hooves. But I will give make the most of it." Applejack couldn't believe it. This stallion he knew for almost all her life had just admitted to having her parents killed for their land! She was happy that she didn't have her powers at the moment because she wasn't sure if she could restrain herself if he could get her hooves on Filthy right now. The stallion then resumed his way out, pausing to turn towards Grundy who was standing next to the door. "Grundy, please watch her. Just in case she tries anything. I'll be right back." He said before leaving the room. Applejack wasn't eager to see what kind of vivisection process Filthy had in mind for her. She looked around to find a way to escape. She looked out the window and saw the trees of the acres outside. That meant she must have been inside one of those small research buildings she saw earlier. Breaking out of one of these shouldn't be too difficult, but without her powers she couldn't even break her cuffs. And with the stone being directly in front of her and that behemoth zombie watching her every move, her chances didn't look good. Applejack looked up at Grundy. Without her powers, she wouldn't stand a chance against him even if she broke out of her cuffs. She needed sunlight. And to get that, she needed to get outside. Or maybe she didn't? An idea suddenly hit her. Grundy was strong, but dumb. She could use that to her advantage. And she already knew how. Applejack smirked. 'Oh, Filthy, the very thing you had guarding me is gonna be my ticket out of here.' She mused. Grundy may not have been very smart, but even he found it weird why Applejack was smiling in her current predicament. "Why cape pony smile? Cape pony in trouble." He uttered. Applejack knew it was the perfect time to put her plan in action. "Oh, not for long. The others are already on their way to save me?" Grundy tilted her head in confusion. "What others?" "Did you think I was the only one of my kind out there?" Applejack taunted. "Dozen others are coming. And they will be too much for you." Grundy growled as his expression hardened into a glare. "No pony too much for Grundy. Grundy break them all." Applejack's smile widened. She had him right where she wanted him. She looked up at the ceiling with fake shock. "No! Don't come down yet! He's still in here!" Applejack shouted to nopony, but her ruse had the desired effect. Grundy followed her gaze towards the ceiling and stood up on his hind legs to punch a hole into it. Applejack could feel the sunrays shining down on her through the newly created hole, but she needed to get the stone in front of her away to regain her powers. "Careful! He has a big green stone in here that takes away our powers!" Grundy looked back at the stone in front of Applejack and snatched it away before marching outside with it. With the stone taken away and the reinvigorating rays of the sun recharging her body, Applejack slowly felt her strength returning. Her cuffs started to loosen around her hooves as she moved them around and soom freed all four of her limbs. "Much better." Applejack sighed in relief. She then flew up through the hole in the ceiling and searched for Grundy. The zombie was looking around for the "others" that Applejack mentioned while holding the green stone in one hoof. Applejack wanted to strike immediately but then remembered that he had to get rid of the stone first. She locked her vision on it and heated her eyes up, releasing a pair of heat rays which blasted the stone right out of his hoof. Grundy jumped in surprise before looking up at Applejack who slowly descended down before him. "Round 2?" Applejack dashed up to the zombie and punched him in the face repeatedly. Without the element of surprise, Grundy was at a disadvantage and Applejack quickly gained the upper hoof. She never even left Grundy any time to recover from her strikes and even when he did, she swiftly flew back before he could counterattack before resuming her attacks. Eventually, Applejack managed to knock the zombie back inside the research station and down on it's floor. That was too much punishment for even an undead to take and Grundy was beginning to pass out, but Applejack wanted to make sure. As the zombie slowly got up, Applejack took the biggest breath of her entire life before releasing it. Grundy tried to leap forward and stop her but it was too late. By the time the hero was done, Grundy was covered in a thick layer of ice and rendered completely motionless. Applejack floated back on the ground and took one last glance at the trapped zombie to make sure the ice will hold and only then she allowed herself a relaxing sigh. After she was done with Grundy, she turned to look around the station. The mercenaries and the research staff have long since left. Apparently, Filthy wanted nopony to interrupt the crowning moment of his lifework. Fortunately the place was not too damaged from their fight. In the middle of the room, she noticed a familiar looking device. It was the professor's scanner! She walked over to it and examined it with her x-ray vision. While she wasn't a mechanic, from what she could see, it seemed to be undamaged. She was about to grab it and fly off right back to it's rightful owner but then she remembered that Filthy was still at large. He needed to be brought to justice as well. Still, even though she managed to retrieve the scanner, she had no proof against the corrupt business pony. Maybe she could find something in one of those computers lying around. The researchers left in such a haste that they didn't even shut them down so Applejack could access them easily. Sadly, she couldn't find anything incriminating, only research data. "Trying to reclaim your secrets?" Applejack spun around to see Filthy Rich standing in the door with a tray of sergical devices behind him. "Everything you see in there I've uncovered through years of hard work. You may feel like they're rightfully yours but I'm going let you take my moment of triumph from me." He said menacingly as he approached the mare. Applejack returned her glare and walked up to meet him in the middle of the room. "Oh, really? Your mercs have left you and your pet zombie is frozen solid. How do you intend to stop me?" Filthy smirked in reply. "Do you know how I made it so far in life?" He asked cockyly. "By always having a backup plan." Applejack suddenly felt a sharp pain in her chest as Filthy moved with astonishing speed and slashed her chest with a dagger carved of the exact same green stone. The mare stumbled back and fell on the floor from both the shock and the pain. She looked down and saw blood leaking down on her chest from an open wound. All she could do was use her heat vision to cater the wound and try to crawl away from the stallion. But the stone was starting to take it's effect. "You don't have to be alive for me to learn your secrets." Filthy said ominously as he approached the mare. Applejack crawled back under the hole in the ceiling to soak up more sunrays but the effect of the stone was very strong. She didn't know what to do. The two ponies were so focused on each other that they didn't notice the ice holding Grundy beginning to crack. The zombie eventually broke out of it's confines and roared in rage, drawing the attention of both Filthy and Applejack. Grundy didn't even seem to mind that Filthy was also in the way, all he could see was Applejack and without thinking, he threw himself at the mare. Applejack jumped back and Grundy ended up crashing into the computers. He also swept Filthy away, causing him to stumble back and accidentally stab his stone dagger into a computer panel. The damage was too much for the machines. The electric sparks flying out of them soon set the whole research station on fire. Applejack managed to escape the flames by flying out the hole in the ceiling, quickly grabbing Quick Scan's device to save it from the fire. She looked down at the burning building with her x-ray vision and saw that Filthy was very much alive and struggling to get free. For a moment, Applejack felt like she was content to leave him to his well deserved fate. He not only had his parents assassinated and exploited their family out of their land but he also caused the death of several other ponies to fulfill his own selfish gains and also tried to kill her as well. She had every right to leave him for dead. Or at least that's what she thought. But deep down, she knew that she didn't. With a sigh, she flew back down on the ground and put the scanner down safely before flying inside the burning building and beginning to put out the flames with her super breath. She then ran to check on Filthy. The stallion was trapped under the badly burned body of Grundy and he was still holding onto the dagger stuck into the computer panel struggling to get out from under the zombie and pull the dagger free. Applejack could tell that he was no longer in danger so she was perfectly willing to to leave, but then her enchanced hearing picked up something. The computer his dagger was stuck into was making some ominous noises and beginning to shoot sparks at an even more alarming rate. Applejack's eyes widened as she realised what this meant and ran to stop it but it was too late. The computer panel exploded with a blinding green light as Filthy's dagger was obliterated by the blast. Applejack once again felt the effect of the stone as she was sent crashing back into the wall. Fortunately, with the source destroyed, the effect was temporary this time. Applejack swiftly recovered and looked at the damage to see that Filthy was knocked unconscious by the blast. Checking his body with her x-ray vision, she saw that his vital signs were still very strong. He was an Earth Pony after all. Assuring herself that he will live, she headed out the building and picked up the scanner before taking off. Professor Quick Scan was not having a very good day to say the least. Ever since the raid in his lab, he was constantly bothered by police officers asking him to give the same account he had given several time before. Both about the attack and his story about their mysterious savior, the so called "Supermare". The mercenaries took out the security cameras when they attacked so he had no proof of her presence. And when he was finally allowed to get back to work, all he could do was attend to the ones who were still recovering and help the others fix the labs. Thankfully, they didn't damage it too bad and most of the damage that did happen was easy to fix, even there was a lot of it. It helped that he was the one who designed most of these machines. At the moment, he was currently working on one of them when he was interrupted by one of the researchers. "Professor!" A brown earth pony mare with blonde mane wearing a lab coat ran in the door. "You have a... visitor." "Tell them I'm busy." The professor replied in irritation, clearly struggling with the repairs. "Uh... Professor." Quick Scan looked up at the mare and saw that she was rather agitated. "I think this is one visitor you definitely want to meet." True to the mare's words, when Quick Scan followed her to the balcony of the building, he was greeted by an amazing sight. The flying Earth Pony mare in the colorful costume he operated on a few days ago was floating up above them, holding his scanning device above her head with her hooves and slowly descended down among them before placing it on the ground. "I believe this belongs to you, professor." Applejack said, smiling proudly. The assembled onlookers were stunned, especially the police officers who were still in the building for the time of the investigation. Quick Scan walked past them casually with a smirk and went to look at his device. When he saw that it was in good condition, he turned to the hero. "Thank you very much, my friend." He said while shaking her hoof. "You have truly honored your promise to me." "Don't mention it." Applejack replied dismissively. "After you saved my life from that magical bullet, this was the least i could do." *Um... Excuse me?" The two ponies turned to see the police officers on the scene approaching them with embarrassment clear on their faces. For Quick Scan, after days of mocking because of his stories about this mare, this was immensely satisfying. "Yes, officers? Can I help you?" Applejack asked politely. It took one of them a few seconds to find his voices and even when he did, he sounded pretty meek. "How... How did you find it?" "I tracked down the mercenaries that stole it." She explained. "Based on the professor's hunch, I found them near Ponyville on Sweet Apple Acres. They were using the professor's scanner to find something deep in the ground." "What about the culprit? Have you found him as well?" Asked the other one. Applejack nodded. "The mercenaries were lead by a pony named Bloodsport. He was hired by Filthy Rich to steal this device." The two officers looked at each other in disbelief. "Horseapples! Mr. Rich is an honorable business pony! He would never be complicit in something like this!" "Yeah, right." Quick Scan muttered. Applejack was prepared for this however. She pulled out a few photos from her suit. "Would these photographs change your mind, officer?" The photos showed several shots of the damaged Sweet Apple Acres and the research station, including one that had the scanner in it. "Quick Scan's device was found on a property owned by Filthy. What else would explain that?" "Where are these from?" An officer asked as he and his colleague ran through the pictures. "An investigative journalist who would prefer to remain anonymous gave them to me." Applejack replied. While her camera was destroyed when she stepped on a mine, what kind of self-respecting reporter walks around without a spare one? After she defeated Grundy and Filthy, she could go back to the acres and took the photos without anypony noticing. "I'm afraid even if these photos are legitimate, they wouldn't stand." One of the officers replied. "Your journalist friend trespassed on Mr. Rich's property when they took them. Evidence obtained by illegal means cannot be used in a court of law." He then hoofed them back to Applejack. "Sorry." They told her as they walked away. Applejack sighed in defeat. Looks like the bad guys with a lot of money and influence would get away again. No matter. The fact that she's been able to do some good was enough to fill her with satisfaction. Quick Scan saw her disappointment and placed a hoof on her shoulder. "Hey, those pictures may not be able to prosecute Filthy, but we may use them to give justice to some more ponies." He suggested. Applejack raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" "Can you arrange a meeting with your journalist friend?" It has been a week since Applejack returned the professor's scanner and later met him as her journalist alterego, Lark Cent. The professor introduced her to the chief editor of a newspaper named the Daily Sun who jumped at any juicy story. Not only did they scoop up her pictures from Sweet Apple Acres, but they also congratulated Applejack on a job well done and offered her a job. At first, she didn't want to accept it. After all, her job was with her family. But after thinking it over, she realised this was a great opportunity for her to keep doing good. She could use this job to go around Equestria and ask questions without raising suspicion. Help ponies and uncover the truth wherever she went. And given her super speed, she could deliver a juicy story by dinner and be at home bucking apples within an hour. In the end, she decided to accept it. And her first story has already done some good for the most important ponied in her life, her family. After she revealed to Equestria what Filthy was doing at the Acres, he may not have been prosecuted for it, but even he could not sweep a scandal like this under the rug. Eventually, he was forced to put Sweet Apple Acres up for sale. And that's where the Apple Family came in. It may have cost them almost all of their savings, but they were able to buy back the land and return to their rightful home. Filthy wasn't happy about it, but he quickly realised that selling the land back to the beloved family would be good publicity. Applejack also didn't like how they had to give their money to her parent's killer, but in the end it didn't matter. They were home. Now that they were all able to work on the field, keeping the place also won't be a problem. "I can't believe it." Granny Smith said with tears in her eyes as she saw the familiar trees and breathed in the air. "I never thought I'd see the day." "You can say that again, Granny!" Apple Bloom cheered as she bounced past her grandmother. "It's great to be home!" "Eeyup!" Big Mac added. "I'll sure miss the old house though." "Don't worry about that, Mac." Applejack replied, lightly tapping her brother on the shoulder. "We'll build a new one that's gonna be like an exact replica. It'll be like we've never left." She announced, flashing a blueprint of their new home to them. "A few cousins from Appleoosa are also coming over to land a hoof with it." "But, AJ, I'm sure you could wind up a new house in the blink of an eye." Apple Bloom suggested in confusion. Applejack chuckled. "That may be true, sis. But doing it with my kin is far more fun." Applejack replied, ruffling her sister's mane. Big Mac suddenly remembered something. "Uh, speaking of kin, AJ, you might wanna let Braeburn in on your little secret when he gets here." Applejack tilted her head. "Why?" Big Mac looked unsure if he should tell her, but eventually decided he must. "Well, don't be weirded out, but we've been talking and ever since Supermare saved him from that stampede, he's been kinda... well... smitten with her..." Applejack's jaw nearly hit the ground upon hearing that. "Yeah, that's what I thought." Big Mac said. "So please sort this thing out with him." He then went to join the other two mares, leaving Applejack to think by herself. Well, Applejack certainly didn't see that coming. Braeburn had a crush on Supermare? Who was actually his cousin? Well, not by blood, but it was still weird. Or at least it should have been. But was it really? Applejack suddenly became so confused. Just when she thought she would finally catch a break, she had a new problem on her hooves. One that was gonna be a whole lot more difficult to deal with. Fitlhy Rich entered his new laboratory he set up beneath the main building of RichCorp in Canterlot. He immediately noticed the looks of his researchers. He has been getting that a lot lately. While the blast from the computer back at the research station didn't cause significant damage to him physically, the radiation that came from the exploding stone dagger had a peculiar side effect. It caused him to lose his whole mane. Permanently. Still, he wasn't as upset about it as may expected him to be. Neither by the fact that he lost Sweet Apple Acres. The place that has been his personal obsession for years. But now, it no longer mattered. He got exactly what he wanted from that place. And more. At least selling it made him enough money to pay pack his "benefactors" and now he never had to see them again. That alone was a win. "I gotta hoof it to you boss, you've been dealing with your defeat much better than I thought." His assistant, Office Colt told him. Filthy just smiled in response. "There is no defeat to defeat to deal with, my boy." He replied confidently. "Sweet Apple Acres was just the beginning. It taught me much more than I ever could have expected." "Such as?" "You'll see soon enough." The two ponies stopped in the middle of the room and waited for the researchers to wheel in a large object covered by a white sheet. Filthy then pulled the sheet off of it to reveal the charred remains of Solomon Grundy. Office Colt backed away in shock. "Wow! Is it the zombie the researchers have been talking about?" Filthy nodded. "The very same." "Is it dead?" "It's been dead for a very long time. It cannot possibly die again. For the time, let's just say he is dormant." Filthy then set up several computers around the body. "Computer, SCAN the body for any signs of alien DNA." He instructed. The scanners immediately lit up. They may not be as advanced as Professor Quick Scan's but for this task they will be adequate. And with that, the seeds of Filthy Rich's new obsession were planted.