//------------------------------//
// Origin Story III: Rise 
// Story: Sometimes They Call Me Super 
// by KorenCZ11 
//------------------------------//




Applejack








Ah remember it bein' real dark. Cold, maybe in winter or somethin'. There was somepony in a black and white suit, a mirror on his chest. He was turned around lookin' at somepony else. Ah could see him, it was Red Hoof. But, even though Ah saw Red Hoof, Ah heard Papa's voice commin' from him. He kept yellin' at me,

'Applejack, run! Applejack, run! Jaquline Apple, RUN!' When he said the name Mama gave me, Ah did what Ah was told. It hurt real bad, but Ah ran as fast as Ah could. I could hear the sound of bendin' metal, the creaks and crackin' of concrete all around. The area was destroyed, most of the buildin's around were just rubble. Those two had been fightin' fer an hour now, a good portion of the northern side of the city was completely wrecked. It was some ways away from the house, Macintosh was at home with Applebloom. All Ah could think about though, was Papa.

Ah didn't know where he was. Ah thought Ah had followed him out here before the rain came in, but Ah lost him. It was after school, on some stormy day. An explosion went off somewhere near, Red Hoof and the other Power Pony had crashed in ta another buildin'. The other one kept shoutin' at him,

“It's all your fault! She's dead because of you! You took my wife, I'll take your life!” The words were so clear, but the voice sounded fake. Then Ah saw it. The big buildin' couldn't support itself anymore. Those two were still in it. It started ta come down. Neither of them had escaped yet. It kept fallin', just like a tree chopped from the base. Ah remember yellin', “Get outta there Red Hoof!” as loud as Ah could. But the only figure that left was the black one. Shot off, like he'd been punched by all of Red Hoof's might. The buildin’ crashed. Red Hoof never left. 

Ah was shocked, stuck in place. The world all around me lost sound, all Ah could hear was ringin'. There were ponies tryin' ta get away from the scene still, police tryin' ta maintain order. Ah felt my legs kick in ta gear, runnin' toward the collapse. Ah saw the black clothed pony walk back ta the collapsed buildin'. His hooves were stained red. He walked toward where Red Hoof was, and then, he jumped away. Ah tried ta reach him, Ah knew it couldn't be. Red Hoof never lost. It couldn't happen. Ah kept runnin', but then one of the police had grabbed me.

“Stay back, little filly. It's dangerous this way,” he said, pickin' me up with his magic. 

Ah kicked and screamed, “No! My papa is in there! Let me go, he's still in there! Let me go! Let me- 

“Go!” Ah woke up in my bed, back at the apartment. Ah was breathin' real heavy and it looked like Ah’d sweat a ton. Damn it. That nightmare again... Before Ah’d noticed, Ah was sittin' up straight, lookin' out my bedroom window. The sun had gone down most of the way. It was probably six or seven PM, maybe somewhere in between.

“Wasn't there somethin' Ah was supposed ta do tonight?” Ah thought aloud. Shortly there after, Ah started shiverin'. Another cold sweat. This is gettin' outta hoof. Ah managed ta get outta bed before my sister came in ta remind me exactly what Ah'd forgotten.

“Applejack, are ya ready ta go?” Applebloom asked as she walked inta my room. Ah hate it when she does that. She almost caught me gettin' outta costume once because she doesn't understand the concept of knockin'.

“Ah've told ya once, Ah’ve told ya a thousand times, knock first, please?” Unusually, she had some kind of jacket on and her mane looked done up.

“Well, Ah'm in now, so Ah guess it doesn't matter does it? Are ya ready or not?” She asked, clearly frustrated. Then it hit me. Ah was supposed ta take her ta her friend's birthday party. Twenty minutes ago.

“Oh, crap. Uh, yeah, just give me a minute. Go wait by the lobby, Ah'll be right there.” A quick eye roll, and Applebloom was gone. Ah sighed. If she'd come in any earlier, and Ah woulda had ta explain that Ah'm havin' nightmares. 

Applebloom is on the verge of turnin' seventeen, and one of her friend is doin' so today. She happens ta live on the west side, just a few miles away from here though, and there's still a good sized gang of Power Ponies over there.

Fer whatever reason, criminals were either harder ta find or better at hidin' after Red Hoof disappeared. The guy had some kinda talent fer just happenin' upon 'em or somethin'. Nopony ever found out how he was so good at what he did, and nopony knew what his actual special talent was. It honestly coulda been anythin'. But, we try our best. Gangs pop up faster than weeds around here, so it's not always the safest thin’ ta be walkin' around alone. Especially when you're sixteen and pretty.

The unfortunate part of Applebloom gettin' up in age is that she's even more of a target fer all the things that go on in the underworld here. Mares like her go missin' all the time around these parts, and it's usually too late by the time a hero or the police finally get 'em. It's a cold place, this city.

Speakin' of, fall was startin' ta roll in. Applebloom's birthday is in late October, and September was just around the corner. It'd be nice if Ah could get her somethin' special. Maybe Ah'll see if Ah can't pull from my school savin's, or just pick up a decent bounty soon. Yeah, that would be real nice. Ah grabbed my hat, Pa's old hat, off my coat rack, and the old leather jacket he used ta wear. Macintosh out grew Pa, endin' up bein' a pretty huge guy, so Ah'm the one who wears it now.

Uncle Orange didn't do so well after aunt Dew died, even worse so when Pa followed suit or went missin'. His health had been in decline ever since, but fer the last couple of years he's been stable at least. He tried his best ta help Macintosh get through school, but couldn't get together the coin ta put him through college and feed the three of us, so Macintosh had ta try and pay fer himself. It hasn't worked out well. He can't keep a job and do well at the same time, so he's just decided ta put it off fer the time bein'. He got enough debt just tryin' ta get an Associate's at a decent school, he don't need more.

Even though he forewent school this term, he's had real trouble keepin' a job fer more than a month. He's not got a power like Ah do, well... as far as Ah know, and his skills are best used outside, but he's just a big klutz. He breaks more by accident than he repairs intentionally. He keeps gettin' told ta either go inta farm work, or somethin' with numbers. Either would be nice, but he refuses ta be a farmer after what the Apples did ta Pa, and there aren't any jobs available fer the latter around these parts. 

Banks get robbed on a weekly basis, and tellers happen ta have a high mortality rate. Ah don't let him look fer a job like that. Ah mean, what's the point if he dies just tryin' ta live? Maybe it makes me a hypocrite, but if he's safe, It's one less thing Ah have ta worry about. Ah'd finally made my way down the staircase ta the lobby, where Applebloom was impatiently waitin' on me.

“How long does it take ya ta get down the stairs? You can get down ta the ground floor in a minute, Ah've seen ya do it!” She said, more irritated now. Once, she caught me testin' out my powers about ten years ago after Ah realized they were there. She never lets me forget about it. Ah jumped off the ten story buildin' tryin ta get ta the other side, fell, and it was like nothin' happened. Save fer breakin' the concrete and a few scrapes here and there. As far as Ah can tell, my body is as strong as it is durable. Ah can hit just about anythin’ hard enough ta break it, and Ah’ve never been hit so hard that Ah break. At most, Ah’ve been slashed and shot, but wounds like that only go skin deep, or a little deeper if it’s somethin’ bigger than a hoof gun. Ah still get bruised and banged up every now and again, but never ta the point Ah couldn’t handle it.

“Yeah, yeah, let's just go. Ya don't wanna be later than ya already are, do ya?” Applebloom huffed and turned out the door. “Ah figured.” From sidewalk ta sidewalk, from traffic light ta traffic light, we walked in silence. The street lamps started ta dot the city roads in the evenin’ sun, and eventually, it had all but left the horizon.

“So, did ya see that Marevelous put that guy in the armor away?” Applebloom asked. Of course Ah did. Ah was there. Or so Ah'd like ta say. Ta keep from lettin' anypony on, Ah just play dumb whenever somepony asks me about the super world.

“Oh. Did she?” Even though she's started ta get a little indifferent ta me as she's gotten older, she's always liked Marevelous Red. From the very beginnin’ almost three years ago now, she’s always been a fan. She has the first paper Ah ever made hung up on her bedroom wall. Always puts a smile on my face ta see it.

“Yeah, she did. How ya managed ta miss that, Ah wouldn't know. Y’all were probably part of the crew that fixed the garden, right?” My lie is that Ah work as part of the street janitors in the city. Ah just go along with whatever and say what she needs ta hear.

Ah shrugged. “Naw, Ah got off early today. Ah was asleep from about noon till whenever ya walked in.”

“Oh. Well... Ah saved the paper that ran this afternoon if ya want. She's in it, and somepony got a real good picture. Apparently, she didn't even chase the guy down. He was throwin' rocks her, and all she did was send em back! The picture even has her in mid air!” It's always nice ta see Applebloom excited about somethin'. The kids at school are vicious, and her and her two friends get bullied all the time by 'em. At least she has somethin' ta enjoy every time Ah make the paper.

“Alright, Ah'll look at it later. Tomorrow is Sunday, ya know. Got any homework that ya need ta do?” Ah said, tryin' ta get away from the subject. The way these conversations go, 'a real good picture' usually leads to 'who do ya think she is?' and then 'do ya think she's related ta Red Hoof? Whatever happened ta him?' Ah got all worked up and yelled at her last time, and Ah still feel bad about it. Ah can't tell her the truth. The more she knows, the more danger she's put in. Star Slate always talks about how heroes who don't do a good job hidin' their identities end up gettin' their close ones hurt. Ah don't want that ta happen ta them.

“Well...” she said, losin’ eye contact. I raised an eye brow.

“Uh huh. Is it math again?” Ah said in my, 'ya know ya should've already taken care of this' tone.

“Yeah...”

“Ah'm gonna be at work tonight, so try and get yer brother ta help ya tomorrow okay? You’re smarter than the both of us, and you have a real chance ta get in ta school fer free. Don't let it go ta waste.” As much as Ah never knew one, Ah've always tried ta play the role of mother in the family. Dad never remarried, and with Aunt Dew gone, Ah just kinda took up the torch. Ah'd say Ah've done a good job so far, at least. Ah hope.

She sighed and said, “Alright, Ah guess. Do ya really have another all night shift?” 

Ah nodded. “Yep, it seems like it. But don't worry about me. How am Ah supposed ta get ya a birthday present if Ah don't work?” Ah patted her head and she tried her damnedest ta fight my hoof away.

“Applejack, knock it off! We're almost there!” She said through a bright red face. She hated it when Ah babied her. So Ah did it whenever Ah could fer that very reason.

Like she said, we had finally reached the place over on the west side. This area was mostly populated by unicorns due ta old segregation way back in the day. It's got a few ‘other’ tribe families here and there, but the unicorns still dominate the area. The city as a whole had become more friendly since the virus broke out, but old weeds run deep. The buildin' was real odd fer a livin' space in this city. It looked more like a clothin' store than anythin'.

“This is Rarity's Boutique. Sweetie Belle lives with her sister here because their parents ain’t in the picture. Please try ta keep from embarrassin' me while you're here, okay?” 

In response, as all good sisters must, Ah turned my southern up ta eleven. “Wa-hat? Me? Em-bar-ra-sin'? Why, how could Ah ever em-bar-rass yew?” 

Applebloom gave me a dead eyed look. “Ah don't even know why Ah asked.” She knocked on the door while Ah tried ta contain my laughter. Ah was stopped fairly immediately when the door opened to somethin’ Ah didn't expect ta see.

“Oh, hello. Why, you must be Sweetie's friend. Applebloom isn't it?” said a... familiar voice comin’ from a white coated unicorn with a curly violet mane and tail.

“Yes ma'am. This is my sister Applejack, Ah hope ya don't mind. She wouldn't let me come alone,” Applebloom said, givin’ me a good, hard glare.

“Oh, uh, right, nice ta meet ya, miss Dia- uh, Rarity right?” She looked like all the world had frozen around her, extremely fixated on me. 

The air was caught with silence as Rarity stared me in the eye fer what seemed like hours, until it was broken when a younger white unicorn with a pale purple and pink mane and tail came ta the door. “Rarity? Applebloom? What are you two just standing here for? Come on in!” Applebloom had said that Sweetie was a little oblivious some times. This must be her.

Rarity finally dropped her glare and turned ta Sweetie. “Hm? Oh, right. You two go on inside. Applejack... and I need to talk.” The younger girls shrugged and went inside, and then Rarity shut the door, never leavin’ eye contact with me. Well. Ya really did it this time, Applejack.








Citrus Root








“Red Hoof? Can ya hear me?”said the little filly's voice in Citrus' head.

“Ah can. Where am Ah goin' this time?” he replied to air.

“Take the next right down 114th, and then a right on to 115th.”

Citrus did as he was told, quickly jumping from rooftop to rooftop. The faster Ah get this over with the better. He learned from his last encounter that he doesn't heal nearly as quickly as he would like. This was the second attempt at Brute Force’s bounty, as the last one became a sticky situation far quicker than any of them could have imagined. Whatever Brightness’s power is, she seems to have the ability to pick up on things, locations of ponies, levels of stress in the area, and even being able to talk to somepony across long distances.

That night a week ago, Brute Force and the Mutants were about to ship large number of foal to young adult age ponies overseas to be... used for whatever means to a country of carnivorous inhabitants. Bright picked up on an extreme level of stress pinpointed near the same place Brute was located, and then a fight broke out. Citrus ambushed about half of the Power Ponies in Brute's gang before they had figured out something was up. After that, the whole place was lit like a laser show. Beams of all kinds of energy and elements were being fired at what could only be described as some 'freak in a red suit'.

It got ugly when they started threatening to hurt the hostages, at which point Citrus had to get creative. He found a flare up in the rafters of the old giant warehouse that the Mutants had holed up in, and flashed them while making an opening in the largest wall he could find for the hostages to escape through. Fortunately, all the hostages managed to escape, except one. Unfortunately, that one hostage is still in Brute's custody. Red Hoof was shot in the leg, and with only seventy five percent of his mobility, he couldn't fight Brute and save the foal at the same time.

The next day, a paper ran about the 'Pony in the Red Suit' who saved all the foals who'd gone missing that month. One of the children that was interviewed said that he had a Red Hoof on his flank, so the media took that and dubbed him, ‘Red Hoof,’ to Brightness’s dismay. Though his sister complained, Star was just happy that Citrus was in the paper at all. She’d get over it eventually. The Root family had moved into their new home, and with no goons to turn in, Citrus was just about out money after furnishing the place. It was do or die time, because utility bills and taxes were just around the corner.

“Do you see the building that has the smoke stacks?” Bright said.

“Ah do. Is that where they are?” He replied.

“Yes. From the looks of it, there are about six near Brute, and twelve more around the factory. One of them has a much higher stress level than the others around Brute, so that means the hostage is with him. You probably want to start by taking out the guys on the bottom floor. There are just four there.” The more often Brightness uses her powers, the more detailed it seems she can get. Star has been documenting all the things she can do ever since they started collaborating, and even Citrus has started to feel stronger. The virus as a whole is still completely unknown simply because nopony knows where or what the virus changes. Supposedly, Celestia herself has been researching it, but has made practically no headway.

“Ah'm at the buildin's edge. Where do Ah go in?”

“Get to the ground floor and there's a back entrance. The blue print says that there's a staircase that obscures this entrance, and it looks like there's only one mutant stationed by it. Take him out and then get the rest.” 

Silently, Citrus made his way down the rooftop he was on via the fire exit. The place that Brute was hiding out at was an old abandoned factory that used to make parts for armored machines used in the last war. A stallion named Automizer had invented a device that could travel twice as fast as a pony could run, and after forty or so years had passed, the whole world was obsessed with vehicles.

When war broke out between countries on the next continent over, Equestria's allies requested help, and so they did. En masse. With their mechanical beasts, they decimated the competition and put Equestria as one of the most powerful countries the world has to offer. We haven't been in a major war nearly sixty years since then, so factories in big cities like this one were all but useless now.

The building had several large gates for moving trucks to be docked and loaded up, but as for actual doors, there were just a few. After circling the building, Citrus finally found the one he was looking for. Just as Brightness said, there was one guard here, and he was an ugly beast. Possibly a Rhino hybrid based on the large singular horn coming from the end of his snout, he was about three times Citrus's size.

Lets just hope this mook ain't as strong as Shark was. Spotting a pebble, Citrus grabbed it and broke the window next to the door to get him to turn sideways. As soon as he did, Citrus kicked the door in on him. The metal was thrown with such force that once the rhino-pony hit a wall, the door folded in on him. Citrus sighed in relief and them jumped up to the staircase to see what he could see.

“What did you just do!? The other three ponies in the room just had their stress levels spike!”

Citrus decided it was best not to reply. He could see them, but they couldn't see him. The more normal looking unicorn guard motioned for the two pegasi he was with to go check out the sound. The big square staircase took up quite a bit of the room, so once they were behind it, Citrus leapt and took out the lone unicorn. When he looked at the now unconscious blue stallion, he noticed some large fangs, and paws instead of hooves.

Eeh. Ah definitely don't want ta deal with this guy. Unicorn or not, those claws look dangerous. He quietly ripped one of the chains on the assembly line apart and then hog tied the lion-corn. The jingling sound seemed to alert the other two because one of them called out.

“Leo? Hey, Leo, what was that sound!?” The words were quickly accompanied by the sounds of flapping wings, and then the two pegasi were in the same space staring at a masked pony in red with their superior in chains on the ground.

“Sorry fellas, Leo here is a lil tied up at the moment,” Citrus said, making a dash for the teal green pegasus first. With a quick punch to the ribs, he was out for the count. The red one however, was nowhere to be seen. Citrus backed off real quick and started to look around.

Where did he go? He's a pegasus, he didn't just up and disappear... unless he can just kinda do that. Damn it! Super powers make this kinda crap difficult. He heard the sound of a chain rattling, and then noticed that Leo's chain was moving on it's own.

Invisibility, eh? This Ah can deal with. The place that the chain was moving implied that the pegasus had his back turned to Citrus, which wasn't all that smart, but it looked like this guy knew where his talents lie. Silently, Citrus approached the rattling chain that the invisible stallion was struggling with. Citrus didn't think it was possible for him to un-press the chain together, so he took his time. With a heavy slam with his right foreleg to where he assumed the invisible pony to be, his hoof connected and the stallion lost his invisibility. However, it looked like it connected a bit too hard, as now the poor pegasus was bleeding real bad.

“Damn it! See, if ya go around all invisible like, Ah can't tell where Ah'm hittin ya! Ah just wanted ta knock ya out, not break yer back!” Citrus went around the production line until he found several rags that looked relatively clean and started to tie up the bleeding area.

“W-why? Why would you help me?” The red pegasus asked. It didn't look like he could still walk at this point, so Citrus was satisfied with keeping him alive.

“Ah aim ta be a hero, not a bounty hunter. Even if Ah have both titles, murderer isn't one Ah want ta add too 'em.” He hog tied the other pegasus and left the three in a row next to the rhino-pony.

“Well isn't that sweet of ya. Eight more on the next floor, I don't think any of them have been alerted to you yet. Make your way up, but be careful, there's three by the elevator door. You don't really have a way to avoid them.” Brightness said.

“Yeah, sure. Let's just hope that these are the ones that were shootin' things at me last time so Ah can take 'em out quick. None of the guys here were armed with anythin' but their powers.” Citrus replied as he made his way up the staircase.

“It's possible, but we can't really know. Hold on, stop where you are.” Citrus froze.

“What's going on?” The sound of electricity running through wires hummed and mechanical wheels started to turn.

“The highest stress level and the lowest stress level are moving floors. Brute Force is on the move.” Brightness warned. Citrus took this opportunity to test out his grip strength and grabbed hold of one of the chains toward the top of the very dark room. There were large windows on either side, but toward the ceiling where all the chains were fed through, there was next to no light. With Citrus in the shadows now, the elevator had finished descending through the winding staircase to the ground floor. Out of the elevator walked a very large white stallion in an expensive looking suit with a small tan filly chained at the neck being pulled along like a dog.

“Now you keep quiet this time. Blow this for me again, and you'll never see daylight or your brother again, understand me?” Brute growled at the little girl, bringing his massive face next to hers. She only tilted her head down in response. Brute smiled, revealing his singular gold tooth and started making his way to the front door.

“Nopony is moving upstairs! This is your chance!” Brightness said, almost shouting with joy.

“If you feel that freak in the red, tell me. If I see him again, I'll make it so he never takes another step.” Brute said, carefully scanning the room. The filly with him immediately looked in the direction Citrus was hiding, but Brute didn't seem to notice. Citrus laughed to himself. This might actually turn out to be ironic.

“Never walk again, ya said? Oh no wait, take another step. Yeah, that one might just be a lil more frightenin', if Ah do say so myself,” Citrus said, loud enough echo through the factory.

“Son of a bitch! Where are you hiding!?” Brute yelled, scanning the room for the voice’s source. Citrus jumped from the ceiling to the main entrance Brute was heading for.

“Ah don't remember hidin' from anypony. Howdy, mister kidnapper,” Citrus said, a big smile on his face. Brute frowned.

“You make a move, and the girl dies.” He said, placing a fire arm hidden under his sleeve next to the girl's head. Citrus clicked his tongue. Yep. Hostage. That was the word we decided was right here. This time though, Ah have a counter measure.

“Funny ya say that. It's real similar ta what ya said before. Except, this time, only one hostage is gonna escape from ya. Well, that and Ah'm gonna put ya in jail.” Brute was especially susceptible to being goaded into attacking. As his given name suggested, he wasn't one to think well in a heated situation.

“You piece of shit! I'll kill you!” As predicted, Brute turned the gun on Citrus. Just as quickly, Citrus took one of the chain links he ripped off earlier, and threw it full force at the gun. It collided with the barrel just as Brute fired and caused the barrel to explode. It burned Brute's foreleg, and while he was distracted, Citrus ran in for the girl. He stomped the chain in pieces and punched Brute hard in the ribs, sending him reeling. Citrus grabbed the filly and leapt toward the corner of the assembly line.

“Stay here young'in. You'll be safe, Ah'll make sure of it.” And with that, he ran back to Brute.

“I always make good on my promises, you red bastard!” With unexpected speed, Brute had closed the distance between himself and Red Hoof.

Shit, he's fast! With a quick shuffle, Citrus managed to avoid being slammed into the ground by Brute's earth shattering force. He noticed the veins on the stallion's bulky neck beginning to bulge, and then Citrus got an idea. He's not payin' attention...

“So tell me, uh... Biff was it? Are ya normally this dumb? Or is it just that ya look that way?” With an ever reddening coat near his face, Brute charged at Citrus again. He slammed into one of the assembly lines, ripping bolts out of the ground, missing Citrus.

That's what Ah thought... now it's time ta sucker this dummy. “Ya know, Ah lived in the south fer quite a while, but stereotypes tend ta depict me as dumb. Now, that's just a stereotype, but y'all? Y'all really make the grade fer dumb jock. Ah mean, really. It's a wonder that ya figured out how ta kidnap anythin’ with a brain.” That got his attention. Brute charged again, and smashed yet another assembly line, this time turning it into a solid V shape. Yeah, Ah'm not winnin' a strength contest against this guy, that's fer sure.

“When I get my hooves on you, I'll pop your head like a watermelon!” Brute Force roared, charging at Citrus again, smashing another assembly line.

One more now... “Get yer hooves on me? Well, Ah suppose that's possible. Maybe if somepony else was runnin yer body. Think of me like an amusement park ride. 'Must be this smart ta catch.' Sorry, but ya just don't make the mark.” Brute Force roared one more time, smashing a fourth assembly line.

“Ah've had lots of fun playin' with ya, but this girl needs ta make it home, and yer keepers at the station are waitin patiently, so Ah think it's time ta go.” Now Citrus was standing in front of the elevator entrance inside the stair case, leaning on it casually. Brute force charged again, and Citrus made a jump for the closest assembly line that had been up rooted. Brute smashed head first into the wall, breaking it and the staircase that connected to it. He sat there dazed from the impact, clutching his head. Citrus took this moment to spring back from the leverage point with a chain in hoof.

Swinging with all his might, he took a sheet metal panel at the end of the chain with him and slammed it onto Brute. The Power Pony managed to rip through the sheet metal that formed around him, only in time to watch the next one slam down on his head. Citrus was about to load up the next one when he noticed that the room had gone silent. Rather than following through, he went to check and see if Brute was still conscious. Lifting one piece of the two sheets, he could see the still, but breathing form of Brute on the ground, half underneath the first sheet.

“Brightness, can you tell if he’s is still awake in there?” He asked for assurance.

“It doesn't look like there's much of any stress coming off him now. He's got even less stress than the other guys on that floor, so I don't think so. Should be safe to tie him up now. But something has been bothering me...” Citrus started to fold the sheets of metal around Brute, making a nice and tight metal cocoon for him. He picked up the lug and responded to Bright.

“What's that?”

“It's the stress levels from the second floor. They haven't done anything but go up, yet none of them have moved. At all.” Citrus reared his head back.

“They what? Why? Aren't they his goons?” Before Brightness responded, the little tan filly with the collar had tugged on Citrus's tail wrap.

“M-my friends are up there mister... can you help them?” His eyes widened.

“Bright, Ah don't think Brute has any more goons.” After throwing Brute and his gang into an assembly cart, Citrus took the filly up to the second floor, only to find more foals tied up and gagged. After freeing all the children and loading up his cart, Citrus made his way to the station followed by a trail of foals.





As it turned out, each one of these kids belonged to a politician within the city to keep the police away from Brute's activities. Naturally, this news being made public caused a fire storm in the media. At any point Red Hoof was sighted in the city, a swarm of ponies chased after him trying to get a picture and a comment.

Citrus had believed that the money he'd gotten from Brute Force's bounty would have gotten him through the year. He believed that, anyways. Problem after problem arose, and so the pool that was supposed to last a year ended up lasting for only six months. Really, managing to get a house for as cheap as he did was unprecedented in Manehattan, and something must have been wrong with it. However, something happened to be everything. If it wasn't the kids who somehow caused unusually large amounts of destruction, then it was the unreliable corner cutting builders that were to blame. Even though he could fix most problems with materials and his own know how, Citrus would always find something that he would have to expedite to whoever could do the job.

The next half year didn't go easy. Villains with similar powers started to slip through the cracks, and with each passing month, a new terror would rise up. The money was nice, but eventually, he had more than he knew what to do with. The job wasn't just to make money anymore, it was about protecting the city he'd come to love, and the kids he wanted to grow in it. However, even with all his power, Citrus was not a match for everypony he ran up against. He relied on the allies he'd made in saving or rescuing ponies from his earlier acts, even some small time crooks that turned a new leaf after meeting him.

They formed teams, Power Ponies started to rise just as much as villains did. The war zone of Manehattan wasn't so one sided anymore. Burst, Wild Cyclone, Light Bringer, Zero/One, Octofish, Radiant Blaze. Heroes of all shapes and sizes came to stand by Red Hoof to protect the city that they all loved. But, as all good things do, it eventually came to an end. It was around the middle of the second year when change was in the air.





“Meet ya fer lunch? Really? Ya know Ah work nights. Ah shouldn't even be awake right now,” Citrus said, scratching his head. It was the middle of the afternoon, and his brother had called him.

“Oh, come on. I haven't seen you in a while, and we live like, a mile away from each other. Come see your little brother and his wife, huh?” Blood said on the other side of the phone. Citrus had actually paid to replace his own neighborhood's telephone pole so many times that he did it himself not too long ago.

One time his kids broke it. Somehow. He started to suspect that one of them might have inherited something, but that first pole was also a lightning rod, and was fairly weak at the base. The second one was his fault. A fight got too close to home, and so he ended it. The last one was due to another hero's work, and said hero was reprimanded heavily for it. Citrus sighed. The older kids don't get out of school for another four hours, and there wasn't any reason he couldn't take Applebloom with him. At this point, she was just as nocturnal as he was.

“Alright, Ah'll come see ya. Where are we goin'?” Citrus finally agreed.

“Sweet. There's this new place a little ways from the house that Dew has been begging to go to. And don't worry, we can pay, it's a little pricey.” 

Citrus took a deep breath. Money was literally no object at this point, but most ponies think he's a night janitor for the city. Rather than letting his pride consume him, Citrus decided it'd be best if he simply said, “Naw, it's fine. Ah got a raise recently. We can celebrate,” so the damaged pride wouldn't just eat away at him. Double income no kids couple, versus a single father of three. If he wanted to, Citrus could likely buy his brother a place in Manehattan Heights if he wanted without really putting a dent in his savings. But, collateral damage structural repairs cost money, and ‘you break it, you buy it’ was one of his mottos.

“Oh, really? That's fantastic Citrus. Meet us at the apartment lobby by one, okay?”

“Sure bud. Ah'll see ya there.” Citrus hung up the phone and rolled his way out of bed. The house had finally come together after working at it for so long. All the kids had their own rooms, and the nursery would eventually turn into Applebloom's room. They each had toys to play with, even one of the fancy and very expensive new video game thingies that had come out not too long ago. When Citrus was in his teens, the only place one could find a video game was in an arcade. He was never a big fan of them, but Macintosh and Applejack seemed to love them. The house was a home now. It was simply a shame that Rosie wasn't here to see it.

Citrus made his way to wake the sleepy toddler. Opening the door to the blackout curtained room let more light in and disturbed the little filly. Rather than wake her outright, Citrus simply picked her up and placed her on his back. She'd learned to speak recently, even if it was just a few crude sentences here and there. She talks more than she can understand, even picks up a few new things during a conversation. She seems a little quicker to get on the ball than the other two, which is interesting, all things considered.

The stallion and his daughter had made it out the door before Applebloom started to stir on her father's back.

“Papa?” She said weakly, trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes.

“Afternoon Applebloom,” Citrus said turning his head. His hat rim was keeping the sun out of her eyes, and now that it moved, she started to blink furiously.

“Where are we?” she asked.

“Oh, we're just goin' ta have lunch with yer uncle Orange,” he said casually.

“Oh really!? Yay!” she exclaimed, pleased with the unusual circumstances of either her or her father being awake at this point in the day. She began to sway on his back, nearly falling over if it weren't for the 'dad sense' he'd picked up over the years.

“Hey, be careful now,” Citrus said, pushing the filly back to the center of his back. They made their way through the streets, stopping at stop lights, watching cars go by, and Applebloom questioning everything in sight. It was rare for her to be up at this time of day, so the things she saw were all the more interesting. Much to his dismay, Citrus answered all her questions as best a two year old could understand. Eventually tiring of it, Citrus gave her a challenge.

“Now how about this. If ya can stay quiet, fer the whole lunch, Ah'll get ya ice cream afterward. That sound fair?” He said, expecting his challenge to be accepted.

“Huh!? Really!? Deal! But... do Ah have ta start now?” Citrus sighed.

“Ah suppose not...” He said, and then the onslaught continued. They were just a street light away from the apartment complex too. If Ah can just hold out fer a little bit longer, she’ll shut up on her own. The crossing light turned white and then Citrus started to cross. It was oddly empty on the sidewalks today, but the roads were filled with cars as always. They were just about half way through the intersection, when all of Citrus' senses went into overdrive. The sound of screeching tires and police sirens were rapidly approaching.

A car drifted into the intersection, tires squealing, engine roaring, about to catch grip again and run down the ponies crossing. Without thinking, Citrus tossed Applebloom high in the air and then stood on his hind legs. He was staring directly into the eyes of the driver as his hoof rocketed toward the front of the car, which was no more than a meter away. The steel body of the vehicle rippled as the crushing force of Citrus' punch started to crush the metal and cancel out its momentum. The car now stopped and broken, he then leapt to grab Applebloom, who was just about to leave her ascending arc. Rather than stick around, he decided that it would be best to come from the other side of the building just in case the driver got a good look at his face.

He landed on the apartment complex roof with the scruff of Applebloom's neck in his teeth. Setting the filly down, he checked over the edge to watch what happened next. The driver had slumped over in his seat, and the police cars were a few street lights behind. Oh good. Well, at least nopony saw me. Ah hope.

“Wee! Papa can we do that again?” Applebloom said, teetering near the edge of the roof. He quickly snapped her up and put her on his back again.

“No. Also, there's a new condition to yer ice cream. Don't tell anypony about what just happened. Especially yer Aunt and Uncle. Yer brother and sister either.” The filly tilted her head.

“Oh. Okay. Papa, what does 'con-dish-un' mean?” Citrus rolled his eyes, let out a breath that seemed to contain most of his adrenaline, and answered the question as best he could.





Blood Orange and Glistening Dew were waiting patiently, facing the door. They'd heard a strange and loud sound coming from just outside the complex, and decided to investigate. When they reached the glass doors, there were two police cars and another car with a nearly unrecognizable front half. There was nopony inside, and the police were searching for something, probably the driver.

“Hey, what are y'all up to?” said a southern accent from behind them. Blood turned around to see his brother and niece looking out the window at the scene.

“Oh, there you are. Where were you? Did you see this happen? How does that happen to a car? What did it hit?” He asked.

“Oh that? Yeah Ah saw it as Ah was comin' in. No idea what happened though, it was like that when Ah got here. Decided that Ah'd go through the back ta avoid bein’ interviewed.” Citrus said.

“Huh. Well, at least you're here. And how are you, little Applebloom?” he asked, his voice dripping with sugar at the end.

“Hi uncle Orange! Hi aunt Dew!” the filly replied. Dew took the girl up in her forelegs and gave her a hug.

“Oh, hello Applebloom! I didn't know you were going to bring her!” Dew said to Citrus.

“Ah figured Ah'd rather have her with me than leave her alone at the house. Macintosh and Applejack don't get out of school fer another couple hours, so there'd be nopony home ta watch her.” He took Applebloom back from Dew and put her on his back.

“Well, isn't that nice. Should we tell him?” Dew asked, leaning into Blood.

“No not yet. Let's make it to the restaurant first,” Blood answered. 

Citrus raised an eyebrow. “Tell me what?” 

“Oh, you'll see. Come on, we have reservations in ten minutes,” Citrus swallowed. Reservations? Ah only brought one black with me... Ah really hope he doesn't try ta get me ta drink again.

The group left the scene of the strange car crash and made their way ten blocks down the road to one of the fanciest restaurants Citrus had ever seen. The title of the place was labeled with a cursive sign that had back lights behind it that spelled out the word, ‘Champagne.’

“Oh. Well, uh. Ain't this a little special?” Citrus asked, questioning what exactly there was to be told.

“Yeah, well it's a special occasion, so I thought we could splurge a little,” Blood said. After holding the door for his brother and sister in law, Blood made his way up to the front desk, which might as well have been a command center.

“Monsieur Orange and company, I presume?” said the well styled pale orange mare with a shiny, dark black mane.

“Yes ma'am,” Blood replied.

“Of course. Zis way. Would you like a highchair for l’enfant?” she asked, looking at Citrus. It took him a moment to process that she was asking about Applebloom.

“Oh, right, Yes Ma'am.”

“Papa, she talks funny,” Applebloom said, loud enough for most in the restaurant to hear. 

Citrus quickly turned his head and stared her in the eyes. “You remember the deal?” he asked in a low tone.

“Oh. Sorry,” she said covering her mouth. 

Citrus smiled and nuzzled her head. “Attagirl.” 

The server mare gave Citrus a nasty look, then lead the group to their table. The dining room was floored with polished black stone and furnished with piano black stained wood and red leather cushions. The walls were all white with pictures of various cities around the country, and tastefully covered with large paintings done by artists that Citrus had read about in the news. The lights were all hanging red cones that were bright enough to read under, but dim enough to make it feel like it was dark outside. There was soft jazz piano playing in the background, and after a little searching, Citrus noticed a stage with a pianist playing on one of the biggest grands he'd ever seen. He started to sweat underneath his hat.

“How much is this gonna cost me Blood?” he asked quietly.

“Oh, it's not that bad. We managed to get away for under one twenty last time we were here.” Citrus bit his lip in an attempt to keep from dropping his jaw. 

He took a deep breath, and then put a foreleg around his brother. “This better be real damn important!” He said under his breath. 

Blood smiled and nodded his head. “Oh, it's important alright. Ready Dew?” He said shuffling his chair over next to hers.

“Okay, three, two, one!”

“We're pregnant!” They exclaimed, one foreleg over the other's neck. This time, Citrus did let his jaw drop.

“You're... you two are havin' a kid!?” He repeated the words just to make them seem real. After all the brothers had been through to get to normal lives in their youth, the idea of Blood having a child was… almost unthinkable.

“Yep! I found out yesterday! Isn't this great?” Dew said.

“Well... how far along are ya? What do ya know about it?” Citrus asked, still trying to absorb the information that was just given to him. His little brother, soon to be a father. Blood and Dew. Parents. With all the death in the past three years, it's about time fer somethin' good ta happen.

“We haven't seen a doctor about it yet. You're the only one who knows right now,” Blood said.

“I haven't even told my mother yet. I can't wait to see the look on her face! She'll be so proud of me!” Dew said, with an ever growing smile.

“You didn't do that alone,” Blood cooed, giving her a look. Citrus scowled at him.

“Eh hem. Y'all remember my daughter, right? The two year old filly?” He said, gesturing to the little filly who was furiously coloring something on a kids menu.

“Oh, right. My bad,” Blood said, scratching the back of his green mane.

“We're just really excited to finally share the news with somepony. I don't have siblings, and Blood said he wanted you to know first,” Dew explained, finally letting go of her husband.

“Yeah. And we were thinking...” Blood began.

“Thinkin' what? Come on, spit it out!” Citrus demanded.

“Well, we wanted to name it after you.” In that one moment, Citrus felt like the world had frozen. After me? Not her mother, or our parents, but me? Why would he want to...

“You see, we had our doubts about whether or not we could actually raise a foal...” Dew started.

“But, seeing you raise three on your own for these past couple years got us thinking,” Blood finished.

“If Citrus has the fortitude to raise three kids alone, surely we could raise our own together?” Dew said, getting closer to Blood.

“So, we figured, why not just go for it? Just take the plunge and see what happens next? Ponies have been raising foals for generations without knowing what to do, so we can’t be that bad off right?” Blood explained. They were holding each other's hooves now.

Citrus scratched his head. “Well, that's mighty kind of ya. But don't ya think-” 

Blood cut him off. “No. I don't think there is anyone else we'd rather our child to grow up like. You're the most honest, kind, and strongest stallion we've ever known. This would be a little like a testament to that. I mean, where would I be if you didn't help me get through school? Dew and I would never have moved out of that moldy old apartment.”

“And think about the time that Blood tried to blow all of our savings on my engagement ring. If you hadn't knocked some sense into him, he might've done it!” Dew added.

Blood frowned at Dew, who flashed a bright smile in response. He rolled his eyes and then turned back to Citrus. “Teenage mistakes aside, this is just... our way of saying thanks. Honestly, we never would've made it this far without you.”

Citrus shrugged and smiled. “Ah guess if that's what ya decided, then Ah can't do anythin' about it. It's yer kid, after all.” Shortly afterward, the waitress returned, and within minutes of that, the food was ready. It was expensive, but Citrus still managed to hold on to three silver bits after the ordeal. Citrus and Applebloom said their goodbyes to the Oranges, and made their way home. With such great news, what could possibly go wrong?

The city might just have become the brighter place he'd been working for in these past two years. Maybe it was time to hang up the cape, and try and be that uncle he was looking forward to be.

Of course, today things were set in motion. Things that nopony could have ever predicted would happen.