Sometimes They Call Me Super

by KorenCZ11

Harmony Mission III: Release... (part 1)

Applejack

---

“Goose, grab the new stuff!” Ah heard Twilight yell from the other end of the livin’ room. Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rarity, and Ah had all gathered. Today was Thursday the 5th, and it was 6 PM. In two hours, the ship on the list labeled Stannum would come inta port. If we don’t stop them from unloadin' it, chances are that more mirrors will end up in the city and who knows what will happen if they’re used. Either way, nothin’ good will come out of it. As soon as Twilight sat down in her chair, Goose blinked right next ta me and sorta cowered behind me.

“Oh thank the goddess, you’re back! These mares are insane! Using me as a literal punching bag, even if they’ve only managed to get me once, making me do house work, barely feeding me! they’re treating me like I’m some kind of-” he started.

“Prisoner? Because last Ah checked, ya are.” He shook his head.

“And here I thought we had an understanding. I’m disappointed in you, Apple bottom.” Ah turned around as quickly as possible and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

“Ah swear ta the goddess, Ah will end you if ya call me that again!” The poorly withheld gigglin’ behind me made my cheeks heat up and now Ah was mad at everypony. Ah threw Goose on the floor and angrily sat back down.

“I must say, you’re quite adorable when you blush like that, darling,” Rarity said. Ah turned and death stared her until she stopped movin’ like a rabbit in headlights.

“Okay, that’s enough everypony. Goose, do what I told you to and give everypony their new equipment,” Twilight said. Goose groaned, then blinked away. Twilight, satisfied with that, lit up her horn and made a 3D map of the harbor on the main table.

“Alright, now that we’re all here, let me begin the briefing. After suffering through dialogue with Mother and Luna, I finally have all the information we were missing. As Goose said, there was a list of ships recovered by the Lunar Guard a few days ago and the ship highlighted and labeled ‘Stannum’ arrives at 8 PM tonight. Intel from deeper interconnected Argent HQ moles have gathered rumors from the local staff that mentions a new set of ‘vanities’ will be arriving on Friday. This code word was caught around the same time the first ship was captured by Goose and his gang so it’s safe to assume this is how they refer to the mirrors within Argent Tower.

This just about confirms our suspicions about the next ship, and we will be there to stop the mirrors from entering the city. Luna was obstinate about not giving anypony the information she was hiding, even Mother, so we still don’t know what she knows about this. She did however, offer us new equipment in return that we allow her to tell us what she knows when she feels it necessary. I suspect that she has suspicions that haven’t been confirmed and the problem isn’t yet big enough for her to act on suspicion alone which, in her defense, is fair.” Goose blinked next ta Twilight with forelegs full of stuff that he just about dropped in a pile on the table.

“Thank you,” she said politely.

“Sure, princess slave driver,” he shot back with an eye roll. Twilight ignored the comment and began levitatin’ gear toward everypony. Ta Rarity went a baton with several gems like the one on my cable bracer in it and some kinda harness lookin’ thin’. Ta me, new cable bracers, these ones bein’ much thicker and actually had a little heft ta ‘em. Ta the red gemmed seat that Goose had taken residence in, somethin’ that looked like lunar guard armor mixed with a hero suit, and a harness like Rarity’s. Ta Fluttershy, a new huge gun that she looked just about ecstatic about, and a harness. Ta Pinkie, a set of knives that had some kinda violet glow around the blade and the same gems that my bracers and Rarity’s batons had.

“Aunt Luna said that she had been preparing these for us anyways on account of our work for her and decided to just give them to us for field testing. Oh, and she also said to thank you, Applejack, for the idea on the cable harnesses. Apparently, the cable bracers that you have were the last pair made since testing on the cable harnesses went so much better. The cable harnesses, in case you haven’t seen Applejack use her bracers, have little blades connected to long cables that extend until they hit something and immediately retract afterward, pulling you or whatever you hit to the base of cable’s barrel. On the harnesses, this is located at the hips, so you’ll have to practice using them, but since we don’t have the time for that, just figure it out as you go.” Goose had raised his hoof like he was tryin’ ta get the teacher’s attention, and while a little confused, Twilight called on him. “Y-yes Goose?”

“Uh, why do I have this?” Ah was wonderin’ the same thin’ too, really.

“Oh. Aunt Luna believes that since you have the brand, you will be deployed on missions as well. She had a set of guard armor tailored to your approximate size and a harness made for you. This way, you can save the teleporting until we desperately need it, and we can have you fight alongside us, effectively adding a sixth member to the team. As you know, we’re not really concerned about your past as long as you help us out.” Goose and Pinkie frowned.

“Really? We’re just gonna use him, just like that?” Pinkie argued. Twilight nodded.

“We don’t have much of a choice in the matter. He’s just about as combat experienced as Applejack, and we’re not really up against normal ponies anymore. Or normal power ponies for that matter. Having essentially another Marevelous on our team should really make things easier on everypony.” Well, Ah can’t really argue with that. As much as he’s an ass, he is good in a fight. He’s strong, and not really a bad guy either. Pinkie groaned and picked up one of her knives.

“Fine, whatever. Tell me what this thing does? I know it’s not normal. Because apparently, ‘normal’ isn’t cutting it anymore.” Twilight simply nodded.

“The knives are enchanted with three different settings. When you press any of the three crystals at the bottom of the hilt, the corresponding enchantment will activate and give the weapon a new property. Red will cover it in flame, blue will electrify it, effectively making it a taser, and green will coat the blade in a lethal poison. She said not to even use the green button unless it’s absolutely necessary to kill your target. If you accidentally cut yourself with it, you’ll have about ten minutes to administer the antidote hidden in the base of each blade before you die.” Pinkie quickly let the knife drop back on the table and Twilight turned to Fluttershy.

“Much like Pinkie’s knives, your new gun has similar settings but they change the power output that the rifle fires with. The white gem is for nearby targets, within forty meters, the pink gem triples that range to one hundred and twenty meters, and the red gem will extend your range to three hundred meters. She said that while the red gem is on, even rubber bullets will kill a target under within one hundred twenty meters, so be careful about that.” Fluttershy’s brows furrowed in confusion.

“S-so wait, the g-gun does this?”

“Specifically, the gun will add an additional explosion to the chamber when igniting the primer on whatever bullet you’re firing. If you put a rock that fit in the chamber and just used the gun to fire it, it would go about half the distance of whatever gem you’re using, white being the default setting. She said this was part of another thought to make reusable bullets, but finding a less expensive substance to react with the spell properly would take more time that it's worth, so this gun is likely the only one to ever be produced.” Fluttershy stared wide eyed at the large gun in her hooves, and Twilight moved on ta Rarity.

“Your baton has similar properties to Pinkie’s knives, but in this case it changes what kind of weapon it is. Like Pinkie’s knives, the blue gem will electrify whatever state you have the weapon in. the violet gem will change the baton into a sword, and the maroon gem will turn into a thin spear, much like a javelin. Oh, and this is for everypony, pressing your gem again while active will revert your weapons to their normal state.” Twilight explained. Rarity picked up the baton with her magic, and pressed each gem. With the blue one, the thin' came ta life covered in pale blue lightnin’ that swirled around the weapon from the top of the hilt ta the top of the weapon. She pressed the violet one, and the thin’ morphed inta a long sword without really lookin’ like it lost mass. She then pressed the black one, and the whole thin’ stretched out until it was about as tall as she was on her hind legs, still swirlin’ with lightnin’ from one point ta the next, save fer the hilt which was now in the middle. She pressed the maroon button again, and it reverted back ta the silvery baton it was before.

“Oh my. Well, this certainly would have been helpful during the fight with the Crow,” she said, still marvelin’ at the weapon. Twilight sighed.

“And it may yet be. Some of the rumors from Argent tower talked about her. The moles believe that she may be there waiting for the ship to arrive as an extra measure of security. If she is then… you may end up testing your new weapons on her.” Ah shook my head and stood from my chair.

“No ya won’t. Listen here y’all. If we run inta the Crow, you're not ta interfere. She and Ah have somethin’ ta settle and we cannot kill her.” The others started talkin’ ta each other about why Ah would say that until Goose finally asked.

“So, I get that you’re Marevelous, and your whole thing is that you’re the good guy but… why? If we take her out, then she won’t be a problem anymore, especially if she straight up works for Argent.” Twilight nodded.

“You know, I said something similar when I first heard that Applejack let her go during the foundry incident. What’s the deal?” Ah shook my head.

“Ah can’t say. Look, Ah need y’all ta trust me on this, we just can’t hurt her. There’s too much at stake if we do.” If she dies, Scootaloo goes back ta wherever she came from, or worse, the street, and if anythin’ that Luna said ta me was true, she’ll be a friend one day. If we kill her… Ah just can’t help but feel we’ll be doomin’ ourselves in the future. Twilight frowned.

“You can’t seriously expect us to just take your word for it without telling us anything, can you? We’re a team after all, why can’t you just tell us?” Ah shook my head again.

“Ah need yer trust. Ah know Ah’m askin’ a lot here, but just do exactly that fer me. There are other factors at play.” If she finds out about Scootaloo and tells Luna… that poor filly might end up a hostage and cause a real fight ta break out with the Crow. She won’t go down without a fight, and if she’s cornered… who knows what she’ll do? She could have a mirror sittin’ around fer an emergency, and Scootaloo gettin’ captured? Well, if it were me and Applebloom… that would be an emergency…

“Look, Twilight darling, I can tell she’s serious about this. I trust Applejack, so I’m going to vouch for her here. Besides, while Applejack deals with the Crow, alone, we can infiltrate the ship. If things get desperate, I can freeze time and Goose could get her out of danger.” Ah raised a hoof but shut my mouth and put it back down. The thought of him rescuin’ me makes my blood cold.

“I suppose that has some merit to it. Very well, as long as you don’t leave Rarity’s range, we can let you handle this.” Goose put a hoof to his chin and smiled at me.

“Don’t you worry baby, if the time comes, I’ll be your Super Hero.” Ah could just feel the itch ta punch him in his perfect shark teeth growin’ in my stomach. Twilight made a face that just about looked like she was gonna gag, but resumed without acknowledgin’ that.

“Anyways… The mission this time is to retrieve the mirrors. It sounds simple, but based on what we know about the first ship, there may be planted explosives within the cargo, and we’ll have to check every container. I’ll be sending a device with Pinkie that makes a sonic reconstruction of the interior of whatever it is attached to, so we can easily figure out what’s in what. It’s set to change frequency if it detects magic or explosives, so we’ll know what container has what. If you are found out, attempt to show mercy and do not kill if at all possible. We do not need another pirate ship fiasco.” She stared directly at Fluttershy, who in turn rolled her eyes.

“T-that wasn’t my fault and you know it.” Twilight shrugged.

“Complaints aside, it’s already seven and you need to be at the harbor fifteen minutes before the ship arrives. Use the cable harnesses to get to your location and you should be there in about fifteen minutes… provided you get the hang of it fast enough. That being said… Harmony, Move out!”

---

After the five of us had equipped our gear and put our suits on, we looked like a bunch of weird ponies travelin’ in a group that didn’t quite fit. My new suit as Star promised, ended up lookin’ more like the original Red Hoof suit but reversed, all the yellow Ah used ta have on it now white, with some kinda white section runnin down the middle. While Ah was thankful that he’d replaced the old one, Ah probably should’ve asked him ta make it a darker set of colors, because now Ah stuck out in the night worse than Rarity did without her suit on. Goose on the other hoof… looked kinda intimidatin’ in that armor.

He was wearin’ a dark suit that covered his entire body like mine, and he was featureless in it save fer the lenses over his eyes so he could see. The Armor was almost identical ta the Lunar Guard’s set with big plates along his sides and chest that almost completely covered his upper and lower body. The helmet that went with it took away what little ya could see of his face, makin’ him damn near invisible in the night along with any indication of what he was gonna do next.

All of ‘em however, were strugglin’ with their harnesses due ta how tight around the hind quarters they were. They could still move around well enough, it was just the pressure on certain areas that made them uncomfortable ta wear. We moved ta the more remote side of southern Manehattan away from the park and Ah showed them how ta use their new equipment. After about ten minutes of crashin’ inta walls, everypony eventually got the hang of ‘em. We made our way toward the harbor, but this time, we had the sense ta stop and survey the area first. There were a few ponies about and a few boats were docked in various places, like there should've been last time, but there was just about nopony anywhere near either of the Argent docks.

“What do y’all think about this?” Ah asked everypony.

“Well, I for one, think this is sketchy as all hell. There were at least a few Argent ponies around when we nabbed the first ship. This… this is weird,” Goose said.

“As much as I hate to say this, I agree with him. There should at least be somepony to guide the ship into port,” Blur followed.

“W-well, couldn’t it just be anypony? W-what if they’re not even using the s-same dock anymore? I-it's still damaged from last time,” Target added.

“Hmm… that’s a good point. These two docks look like they haven’t been repaired yet. He could have rented one of the other ones just for this,” Diamond finished. Ah thought about it all and formulated what ta do next.

“Alright then, spread out and watch every dock. Goose, you and Blur head ta the far end since y'all can move the quickest if we need ya back in a hurry.”

“Yes ma’am,” they both said, Blur almost like it was a complaint, then each blinked and shot off respectively ta the opposite side of the port further out in the water.

“Target Lock, take a high point and make sure ya can see the whole port from where ever it is ya go. If ya can get a cloud in place, do that, otherwise just do what ya can. If ya see anythin’ strange, let me know, and Ah’ll relay it ta the others.” Target nodded and flew up inta the twilight sky until she found a nearby buildin’ at about the center of the harbor that overlooked it and landed.

“And what would you like me to do?” Diamond asked.

“Stay near enough ta me that ya can freeze time if Ah call. Ah get the feelin’ that the Crow will show up before the ship does, and if that happens, y’all need ta get together and clear out the harbor. Ah can’t promise this won’t get ugly. Take over if she and Ah start fightin’. They’ll need somepony ta give directions, and Ah’ll need all my focus ta deal with the Crow.” Diamond frowned, but sighed in response.

“I suppose. Look, I don’t know why you’re so adamant on taking the Crow on by yourself. Why exactly? I promise I won’t say anything to the others, but at least tell me what’s going on.” If anypony, Ah could trust her with this since she knows Scootaloo.

“Ya promise ya won’t say anythin’?” She nodded and we both moved a few buildin’s over toward the near end of the harbor. “Do ya know who takes care of Scootaloo?” Diamond got a confused look on her face.

“Scootaloo? You mean the girl’s friend? The disabled pegasus?” Ah nodded. “No, but I do believe Sweetie has mentioned her before. Her name is Rainbow Dash I think.” Ah nodded again.

“Well, Ah met her Tuesday. Tell me, what do ya remember that was interestin’ about the Crow?” She tapped a hoof ta her mouth in thought.

“I suppose I thought it was odd that she only used one wing and that she held her sword with it. That and it was cyan. You don’t typically find such a bright blue green like that on anypony. Why?” Diamond asked.

“Well, Scootaloo’s guardian also just so happens ta be a crippled cyan pegasus with one wing. She works just ta give that filly a good life, and after a roller coaster ride that she passed out on, Ah saw Rainbow use her one wing ta reach fer her side while a blood red mist was swirlin’ around in a long curved shape. Without a doubt in my mind, Rainbow Dash is the Crow. Now, if Twilight just so happened ta mention ta her aunt somethin’ about this, what do ya think would happen ta that little filly she takes care of?” Diamond’s eyes went wide and she covered her mouth.

“Everything could go wrong all at once...” Ah nodded.

“If nothin’ else but fer our sister’s friend, we cannot kill or disable the Crow. At the same time, we can't let Luna find out either. If thin’s go the wrong way too fast, we could end up with some kinda monster that can spew toxic blood everywhere. The worst thin’ we could do is let Luna know.” Diamond looked down ta take in my words, but suddenly her head snapped ta a spot that she stared at.

“Speak of the devil and she shall appear...” Ah followed her line of sight, and out of an alley closer ta the third dock at the near end of the harbor, the black feathered figure started ta walk. She was accompanied by one other pony who looked like a dock worker and they both stopped near the water.

“Twilight, what time is it?” Ah asked.

“Seven forty-five exactly. What happened?”

“The Crow just showed up with a dock worker at the third dock. Let everypony know and tell ‘em ta get the civilians out. Ah’m gonna engage.”

“Wait, now!? shouldn’t you wait for everypony? The ship hasn’t even arrived yet!”

“Goose can teleport a group. Speakin’ of we need a code name fer him. That aside, when the ship docks, just have him take Blur and Target ta run the checks and Diamond can manage the ponies tryin’ ta leave the ship.” Without waitin’ fer any further response from her, Ah jumped from rooftop ta rooftop until Ah was at the harbor’s edge. Ah jumped off the buildin’ Ah was on and landed just a few meters away from the Crow. She turned around ta face me and used her wing ta motion fer the worker ta back away.

“Hey there. Long time no see,” she said in her young-ish raspy voice. Ah nodded.

“Same ta y’all. Ah was hopin’ this wouldn’t happen, but… we already knew it would in the diner, didn’t we?” She nodded in return.

“We did.” She took in a deep breath and drew her sword. “I’m not gonna hold back this time, and you better not either! You might have beaten me in a pure strength contest, but I’ll be damned if I lose to you in a fight!” The red liquid flared ta life around her frame and formed a pair of movin’ wings just above her back. Ah stood on my hind legs and got in a stance ready ta fight back.

“And Ah’ll be sure as hell ta clean yer clock first!” And just like that, the fight started.

---

Applebloom

---

“So, Ah’m still a little lost, where are we goin’ exactly?” Ah asked behind Taps as we passed central park.

“I told you once already, we’re going to Carcha,” he said. Ah shook my head once he was lookin’ at me.

“Ah know that, but like, where is it? Ah thought it was by the harbor, so why are we at the park?” He'd gotten ahead of me while Ah was lookin' around, so Ah caught up ta him real quick. Taps wasn’t real big, and Ah was a good bit taller and bulkier than he was. If we’re bein’ honest here, Ah look more like the guy in this relationship, save fer my giant bright pink bow. His cheeks went red and turned away.

“I… only know one way to get there.” My face deadpanned.

“Really? That’s it? Ya coulda just told me where it was and Ah coulda gotten us there. As much as Scoots, Sweetie, and Ah screw around town, we know just about the whole city by the back of our hooves.” Taps sighed.

“I know, I just… wanted to look like I knew what I was doing.” He paused fer a moment and looked me up and down. “I don’t get it. How are you so confident all the time? You just, you know, do whatever you want to. Don’t you worry about things? Like what other ponies think? I always feel like everypony expects something of me that I’m not capable of delivering.” Ah wrapped a hoof around his neck and pulled him in.

“Look Taps, ya gotta learn how ta stop givin’ a shit. Ya see those mares in the park? Who gives a damn what they think! And fer that matter, you’re probably the furthest thin’ from their minds anyways. Same goes fer everypony at school. Fuck ‘em.” He laughed and shook his head.

“You know, you’d probably get put in jail if you did that.” Ah hit him up side the head and let go.

“Ya knew what Ah meant. Quit mopin’ ya pussy.” He laughed and rubbed at the back of his head.

“Yep, mom was right. You are definitely something else.” Ah shrugged.

“Maybe Ah am.” My thoughts went back ta Tuesday and then ta the feelin’ like Ah knew just how many ponies were around us right now. Maybe Ah really am… As we turned the corner toward the south eastern side past the park, a coulda swore Ah felt Applejack and Rarity pass through my radius. Ah picked my head up and listened carefully fer anythin’ outta the ordinary. It was probably closer ta 7:30 PM, so there was a good bit of traffic around the southern shoppin’ district right now, but if ya’ve lived in Manehattan long enough, ya get real good at tunin’ out certain sounds. Fer just a second, Ah felt ‘em pass again, this time accompanied by the sound of… wire? It was real quiet, but loud enough that Ah could pick it up.

“Taps, where exactly is this place? Ah bet we could get there faster if we cut through some alleyways.” Ah asked, a little more concerned what Rarity and my sister would be doin’ together all the way out here. He frowned at me.

“Really? You want to go through alleyways in the south district?” He asked. Ah rolled my eyes.

“Ah don’t see why not. Didn’t ya see the post on Ponnit? The boneheads disbanded a little while ago, so there shouldn’t be any gangs around here right now. Just tell me where the damn store is.” Ah was quickly gettin’ frustrated with him because they were movin' fast. Ah don’t know where they were goin’, but they were headed there in a damn hurry. It didn’t make sense that they could move that fast between buildin’s, and Ah know Applejack didn’t have her bike yet, so…

“Fine,” Taps sighed, “it’s on the corner of 540th and 541st. It’s like, a couple blocks from Manehattan port, but this is the way mom always takes me.” With that said, Ah grabbed him and just about dragged him along as Ah ran after Applejack’s signal. Come on, Ah’ve got ta catch up with her somehow…

“H-hey! Why are you running!? The store doesn’t close until ten, we have plenty of time to-” Ah got tired of him not bein’ fast enough and threw him on my back. He was about at light as Scootaloo is, and Ah could literally bench her. Ta be fair though, she’s a mare and a pegasus, weighing her in at about one hundred or so pounds. Taps… should probably weigh more than he does. Ah forced him ta grip around my neck and then with all my hooves free, Ah ran as fast as Ah could toward our destination. As Ah did, Applejack and Rarity popped in and out of my radius several times before they just suddenly disappeared. Ah tried ta get a feel fer her again, but Ah just couldn’t get anythin’. It was like they popped out of existence. Ah would have kept goin’, but Ah’d accidentally reached our destination.

“Um… can I get down now?” said the embarrassed voice from my back. Ah felt a certain shape and warmth on my haunches and realized how this might look without context.

“Oh! Uh… yeah, go ahead and do that...” Ah said feelin’ a bit of the embarrassment myself. He clambered ta the ground as quick as he could and combed back his violet mane ta look respectable again.

“You know uh… usually the stallion asks to ride the mare.” Ah sat down on the concrete and rubbed my temples with my hooves.

“And just like that, even if we ever do get that far, you will never get the chance.” He laughed which made me laugh, and after that stopped, Ah finally took a look at my surroundin’s. 541st was just about the closest street ta the water, goin’ almost all the way from the harbor ta the edge of Manehattan, about fifty miles north of here. Ta the left facin’ the water in the evenin’ twilight sky in some kinda pearly white marble was a fancy lookin’ store that had the name ‘Carcha’ written in gold serif letterin’ on it. Maybe a couple blocks down was the entrance ta the harbor and the few buildin’s that were built onta it. A big clock inside the display windows of the store, also with gold serif on white marble, had it’s hands pointin’ at just before eight and nine, makin’ it seven forty-five.

“Well. It might have been a weird way to get here, but we made good time, that’s for sure.” Ah barely registered that he said anythin’ though because Ah was still tryin’ ta find Applejack and Rarity. There were a few ponies nearby, but fer the most part, they were either in apartments, stores on the waterfront, or just outside of stores on the waterfront. In total there were about thirty within my range, includin’ Taps, but Ah knew him so Ah could tell him apart from everypony else, just like Ah could Applejack and Rarity. Neither of the two were here.

“Damn it...” Ah said absentmindedly. Taps got a confused and concerned look on his face.

“Wha…? Why? Applebloom, is there something wrong?” Ah shook my head and muted my ability fer now ta finally address him.

“Oh, it’s… nothin’. Ah just thought Ah saw one of the heroes.” Which isn’t exactly untrue. “This is the place right? Why don’t we go in?”

“Oh, right. You’re really into them, yeah? You’ve talked about them before, uh… you said your favorite was Marevelous Red right?” Ah know that she isn’t around, but the sheer fact that she could find out those words came outta my mouth made my blood cold. Ah’d never live it down.

“Yeah, sure, whatever, let’s go inside. Now.” Ah just about pushed him inside Carcha as the glass doors slid away when we came near. The store itself was somethin’ of a sight ta behold. Ah’ve never seen so much pretty white marble in Manehattan all in one place before. It’s like the entire room was lined with the stuff. The walls were covered in clothes that Ah’d seen Taps and some of the other highly wealthy families in, a few outfits that Ah’d actually seen Tiara wear around and even some that Rarity had last time Ah was over there. Dresses, shirts, pants, shoes, everythin’ looked expensive and like it were made fer somepony who could spit and make money off it. But that was just the front of the store.

As we traveled back ta where Taps was leadin’ me there was even more stuff in the veritable gold mine of what was probably actually gold. Books written by famous ponies and famous books in rare print or edition, watches, rings, and every kind of jewelery ya could think of. Even then, our destination was the back of the shop which was a coffee bar that smelled amazin’. It was somehow less bright over here where the tables and chairs were, even with all the white and gold on the floors and the walls, but Ah suppose the black ceilin’ will do that with the right lightin’. We took a seat at a table and Taps was then approached by a waitress and greeted by name.

“Good evening mister Taps. What is it you would like today? Ooh, I see you’ve brought a friend this time. The usual then?” The white coated, blonde mane and tailed waitress asked.

“Yes please,” he said before lettin’ her pass me a menu.

“Very well then, I’ll be out with that shortly.” And off ta the bar she went.

“Thanks Soprano.” There were finally enough questions in my brain directed toward Taps ta take my attention away from Applejack.

“So uh… there somethin’ ya wanna tell me?” Ah asked, relaxin’ in one of the ridiculously comfy black leather chairs that dotted this side of Carcha. All in all, this was a pretty cool place. Ah could see myself hangin’ out here… if Ah could even pretend that Ah could afford any of the shit in here. There was no way that a marble faced waterfront store covered in gold had anythin’ affordable in it. Ah know that he knows that Ah’m poor, so Ah bet he had planned ta pay fer whatever the whole time. We weren’t the only ponies in the coffee bar section, and everypony else here looked like they belonged in the northern part of Manehattan near the university. Ya know, where all the mansion-esque apartments and expensive hotels were located. He wouldn’t meet me eye to eye.

“Well… not really, but my family kinda owns most of the performance venues in this city.” It took a moment ta process that, but if that’s true, that means he’s part of the Carneigh family.

“… Really?” It was at that time the waitress had returned with two almost plastic lookin’ slices of cake, they were so perfect, and a couple of cups of coffee that smelled like the rest of the buildin’; absolutely delicious.

“Here you are mister Taps and his friend. What is your name miss?” The question just about blindsided me because the thought that Ah was hangin’ out with somepony from one of the richest families in Manehattan was strugglin’ ta make it across ta reality.

“Uh… Applebloom.” She put a hoof ta her mouth.

“Oh, one of the Apple clan? I hear Sweet Apple acres is more productive this year than it’s ever been.” Ah shook my head and stopped her before she could continue.

“No! Um… no, Ah’m uh… not. One of them. Ah’m just… related,” Ah said, far louder and angrier than Ah should have at first. She looked confused, but shrugged my outburst off.

“I see. Well, I hope you two enjoy your evening.” Then she wandered over to another table to greet one of the other guests.

“So uh… is there something you want to tell me?" He copied my tone from earlier, and Ah couldn't help but roll my eyes.

“No, really there isn’t. Let’s just ignore that fer now, you’re a Carneigh?” Ah changed the subject as fast as Ah could. The last thin’ Ah wanted ta do right now was talk about my family. With everythin’ that’s happened in the past few days, Ah still don’t know how ta feel about all this. Yer sister is one of the biggest super heroes in the city. She’s the Marevelous Red. Yer father was the Red Hoof, the biggest hero ta ever grace the planet. Within' just yer immediate family, just because of a damn blood feud, yer father died a super hero at thirty four and there’s a good chance yer sister will die young too.

“Applebloom?” Ah shook the thoughts away and brought my attention back from the corner of the floor my eyes were focused on.

“Oh, yeah?” He tilted his head, lookin’ a little ashamed.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. A lot of the ponies I know who have the kind of money my parents have are assholes and I didn’t want anypony to think I was like them just because of my status.” He must have said more while Ah was lost in my own thoughts.

“Oh, don’t worry about it. My real question is why aren’t ya in a private school or somethin’? Surely money isn’t an object if you’re part of the Carneighs. Why go ta a public school?” Taps started ta sip on his coffee.

“Well… Rich kids have a lot of time and money on their hooves, and teenagers like to play with things they shouldn’t. At my old school, which was private, I was just about pulled into a drug ring because some of my so called ‘friends’ got caught trying to sell speed. The ponies who caught them weren’t the police either. I managed to get away, but the others attempted to integrate themselves in the gang that caught them, a few of them were successful. I eventually told my parents about it and this was their solution. The ponies at North Manehattan aren’t too bad off, but none of them are rich and dumb enough to try and pawn off meth on the streets.” Ah nodded my head.

“Well, that sounds reasonable. So what about yer name? Ah figure it’s gotta be Carneigh somewhere.” He took a bite out of his cake and responded after he swallowed.

“It is. Tender Taps was a nickname given to me after I got my dancing cutiemark. My real name is Performance Carneigh. I go by my nickname to avoid association at school. I’d prefer ponies know me as I am rather than for my namesake you know?” Ah nodded again.

“Ah know that feelin’. Ah’m Bloom Apple. If there’s one household name across the damn country, it’s the Apple family name. What’s worse is, my siblin’s and Ah hate our extended family, and we’re one of the remainin’ direct descendants of Johnny Apple who founded Sweet Apple Acres centuries ago. If Ah had the money, Ah could get a blood test done and hire a lawyer ta take the farm right outta their damn hooves! But… Ah’m not old enough ta own property, and we’re so poor, just gettin’ through college is a challenge fer Applejack and Macintosh. Plus, Ah don’t know anythin’ about runnin’ an orchard, even if it might come natural ta me. Most ponies Ah talk ta immediately think Ah’m one of them and really, that just pisses me off. Ah, uh… don’t have the cleanest behavioral record at school ya know?” Ah let out a nervous laugh thinkin' about all the fights Ah've been in. Ah quickly shoveled cake in my mouth ta avoid openin’ it again.

The cake itself was a fantastic, some kinda coffee flavored chocolate and vanilla, almost cream like stuff over white bread-like cookies. Ah think they call this tiramisu, and it’s a Cavallian, but Ah don’t actually know. Macintosh used ta cook the most thanks ta all the food jobs he’s had, so he knows a lot about it, but these days everypony fends fer themselves. At one point Applejack made meals fer everypony when she had the time before jobs, but the minute we had ta throw out food she stopped.

“Well, I think I’ve seen you fight more than once if I remember correctly. You got in an argument with one of the hoofball dickheads and ended up kicking his ass last semester didn’t you?” Ah could feel my ears droop. He was a dick, but the thin’s Ah did ta him borderlined cruel. Well, if one thin’s fer sure, that guy is outta the gene pool. They almost kicked me out on account of violence, but Uncle Blood managed ta convince them otherwise. It was the advice he gave me about it that really stuck with me that day.

“If you ever get into a fight, make sure nopony can see you do it. He probably deserved to get punched in the face, not saying you didn’t take it too far, but that’s not the point. As long as it’s your word against theirs, they can’t prove much. Besides. If it’s somepony like him, he’d never admit that a mare kicked his ass.” Put him in a new light fer me that day. Ah didn’t really know dad since he died when I was four, but somehow, Ah think Ah woulda gotten somethin’ similar if he were still around. They were brothers after all. And yer dad was a super hero. He didn’t have any qualms about beatin’ the shit outta ponies.

“Well… Ah might’ve done somethin’ like that before...” Reluctance found it's was inta my voice and Ah took another bite. Ah took a look around the room ta avoid lookin’ him in the eye and Ah settled on another one of those fancy marble faced clocks. The hands pointed at eight fer the hour and two fer the minute. Eight ten huh? Just then, a loud crash was heard outside the storefront. Nearly everypony in the cafe turned ta look at the direction it had come from, but we were too far inside. Ah got up from my chair and made my way out the store ta see what was up. Ah made it outside and met up with Soprano, who’d come ta check before Ah did.

“Shit, that hurt,” said a stallion in a suit that was dark as night and armor that made him look like he was part of the Lunar guard. He was in a crater that was about ‘him’ sized and he got up ta rub at the space where his helmet and armor didn’t meet on his neck.

“A-are you okay?” Soprano asked. The stallion turned ta look at her and came in and gave her a hug.

“Soapy! Long time no see! How’s the shop? Actually, don’t answer that. My boss is yelling at me and I have to get back to work.” She just about pushed him off.

“Lamni!? Where have you been!? Everypony thought you got arrested! What are you doing in... all this!?” Soprano gestured at the suit and armor the stallion was wearing. before he could answer, everypony turned when the sound of some horrid monster’s cry shook the air. Over on the visible side of the port, there was some kind of giant green tentacled cthulhu lookin' thin' destroyin’ thin’s as it was swattin’ at flies or somethin'.

“I’m gonna have to go, but it was nice to see you again. Don’t tell anypony I talked to you. Oh, and you should probably evacuate the store. There’s a low chance of this, but we might not be able to deal with that thing over there. Loyal customers and dead customers don’t mix well, ya know? Whoops, sorry, my boss is really getting on my ass now, and between you and me, I’d like to get on hers, so if you’ll excuse me...” It looked like he was about ta do… somethin’, but Ah managed ta catch him before he did.

“Wait! Are y’all with Marevelous!?” His helmet turned and nodded, then he just popped. Like, there was never a pony here. Gone, disappeared inta thin air. Applejack is over there. She’s fightin’ that thin’ with the black armored guy. A knight maybe? But wait… if she was over there, and she was with Rarity, does that mean…? Ah have ta know. More ponies had exited Carcha ta see what all the fuss was about and they were all stopped just about dead in their hooves when they looked at the sea monster. Soprano was the first ta move.

“Everypony, a kaiju has appeared in the harbor. An, um… Black Knight, yes, a Black Knight has asked us to evacuate while he battles the monster! Please head deeper into the city or move to somewhere safe beyond the south eastern area!” They reached a consensus and all started ta head the opposite direction, but Ah was determined ta find out just who all was over there fightin’ that thin’. Ah started ta head ta the harbor after the crowd moved through an alley when Ah felt a hoof on my shoulder.

“Applebloom, what are you doing? We need to get away while the supers deal with that... thing,” Taps said. Ah shook my head.

“Look, there’s some serious shit happenin’ right now and Ah need ta see it. Ah’ll be fine on my own. Don’t follow me!” Ah easily removed his grip on my shoulder and ran down 541st. When Ah’d gotten far enough away and didn’t see him come after, Ah galloped as fast as Ah could and made my way ta the harbor. When Ah was about half way there, that’s when Ah felt the knight guy and Applejack in my radius again. It really is her… No! That isn’t enough, Ah have ta see her! She… she just can’t be Marevelous, she just can’t! If she is… oh goddess, what would we do without her? What would Ah do without her? She can’t end up like dad, she just can’t!

As Ah got closer, Rarity came inta my radius and so did Rainbow. All three of them!? There’s no way! That just doesn’t make any sense! Isn’t it one in three? The odds don’t match, this can’t be right! As Ah neared the tail end of the harbor, Ah finally saw the ponies at work. The one in the red and white suit, whom Ah knew was Applejack, was Marevelous and currently in the world’s most dangerous game of whack-a-mole with that sea monster… pony? It looked distinctly like a pony, yet at the same time, it looked like some kinda kraken out of Alogo’s dangerous seas. Ah looked around and tried ta match up everypony with what Ah knew. Ah felt one that was far up above me and watched rounds that just about glowed in the night as they impacted with the sea monster that barely noticed them when they hit. Ah couldn’t see the pony doin’ it, but the fact that there was a lone cloud in the sky told me it was a pegasus.

Zippin’ around the thin’ was whom Ah identified as Rainbow in some kinda black feathery suit flyin’ on red wings that ebbed and flowed like water… blood maybe? She kept makin’ cuts with the red sword in her lone wing and the sea monster seemed ta take notice of that and it was swingin’ some of it’s huge tentacles at her too. The Black Knight guy was doin' the same thin’ as Applejack was, but he kept poppin’ from place ta place tryin' ta hit the thin’ in the eyes. Ah could feel Rarity was nearby, but Ah think she was gettin’ ponies from around the area away from the area. There was a cargo ship that had been mangled ta death and thrown on the port so likely chances are it was the crew.

Ah watched as the team of ponies attempted in vain ta damage the sea monster and eventually, they regrouped while dodgin’ tentacles from the monster, the pegasus from above comin’ down ta join nearby, but not quite on the front lines with those three. It looked like they’d come up with a plan, but just as they were about ta move, the sea monster backed up and started ta make a low pitched noise that seemed ta grow with every passin’ second. The sea green half-pony creature’s tentacles all split open inta three appendages with huge needle lookin’ thin’s in the center that were probably as long as a car is. The creature screeched an impossibly loud sound and started ta swing it’s needles at the group, makin’ all the heroes scramble ta get away. Fer a second, it looked like it was gonna pierce Rainbow right through the middle, but just before it did, the Applejack jumped and grabbed her out of the way.

Ah took a step forward and a vision of what was gonna happen next ran through my head. The monster had six tentacles, and all but two were after the heroes. One was after the Black Knight, another was blockin’ the shots that it had apparently started ta take notice of. The other had just missed Rainbow, but the last one was aimed at Applejack. Ah was at the back edge of harbor at this point, and there was only one thought runnin’ through my mind. That thin’s gonna kill her!

“Applejack, look out!” Ah shouted at the top of my lungs. She made a quick movement with her hooves ta toss Rainbow away and did the opposite of what Ah expected her ta do. With one fluid motion, just as the lightnin’ fast tentacle shot down at her, needle ready ta pierce her from her neck ta her tail, she punched it. Even in the low light, even in her suit, even at night, Ah could see every single muscle in her body workin’ as hard as they could ta put as much force inta that punch as she could manage. The needle shattered and sent pieces rocketin’ toward the creature, diggin' bloody holes in the sea green monster’s hide as they did. It screeched out in pain, and fer the first time in my life, Ah felt true fear.

It was lookin’ right at me. Ah couldn’t move. Ah couldn’t do anythin’. Every inch of my body was tellin’ me ta run, but it was like my muscles wouldn’t act. No, no, no, no! Move damn it! Move! The tentacle that had tried ta get Rainbow had moved in position ta strike at me. Ah stared down the needle, completely frozen. This is it. Ah’m gonna die. The last thin’ Ah remember hearin’ was my name, yelled in my sister’s voice.

“APPLEBLOOM!!!”

Comments

[Dash32]

Oh no...BLOOM MOVE YOUR ASS!!!

[KorenCZ11]

7870005 Instinctive fear is really hard to overcome. She's just about a deer in headlights at this point.

That's actually really dark now that I think about it in context. Deer are a people in this story. Cars are also a thing.

[Dash32]

7870038