It Runs In The Family

by Onomonopia

Rating: teen
Tags: Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Other, Scootaloo, Adventure, Pipsqueak, Tragedy, Gore, Dark, Alternate Universe, Human
Length: 95030

A new knight rises in Equestria.

Chaos runs rampant in the night. Screams of those innocent that are caught by the grime and filth of the criminal are never answered. The guard cannot keep up with all the crimes being commited. But thankfully for them and all of the ponies that live in Equestria, there is someone who watches from the shadows, one that stalks the stalkers. A silent guardian that brings vengance to those who deserve it. And they will be needed more than ever, as a group seeks to unleash a great evils back into the land. And it will be a day that no pony can forget. But just as there must be a day, there must also be a knight.

Sequel to the Dark Knight for Equestria and sister story to For Her Mistakes. Comment or critque.

I OWN NOTHING!

Published 2013-12-28 20:30:02 UTC
Last updated 2014-04-01 04:14:53 UTC

In the Shadows of the Knight

Manehatten.

Dark clouds covered the night sky, clouds that were lit up with a red hue from all the spotlights that were shining up into the sky. Blimps cirlced over the city like silent guardians that shined their spotlights down on all. The city was mostly asleep, with the sun having already gone down for the night. The streets were generally abandoned; those who were out were either courageous or up to no good. Outside of the Manehatten bank, two shifty ponies stood silently in the shadows, one of them looking at his watch while the other looked out at the bank. The one with the watch smiled as his watch counted down from five to zero.

KKKKAAAABBBBBOOOOOMMM!!

A massive explosion ripped apart the night, awaking all ponies who lived in a four mile radius. The two shady ponies quickly ran inside of the bank, racing towards the vault that was now a smoldering pile. They ran past the decimated door and smiled evilly when they found the stacks of bits laying there, waiting to be taken. The two of them pulled out the bags that they had brought along with them for this operation, stuffing them to the brim with as many bits as the bags could fit, before running back off through the hole in the side of the building. They ran out into the streets only to be blinded by spotlights from one of the blimps, the light showing a number of guards that had surrounded them.

"FREEZE! You have nowhere to go!" one of the guards yelled out to them. The criminals smiled to one another before pulling out twin magic crossbows, bows that had been modified to fire blasts of pure magic, essentially making anypony that had one on par with a unicorn. The two thieves opened fire on the guards with the magic crossbows, striking two of them in the head. The guards opened fire in return, their volleys of magic forced the thieves into an alley way as they continued to fire back. The two ran down the alley way until they reached a series of fire escapes, the taller of the two jumped up and grabbed the ladder, pulling it down for him and his partner to climb up. They pulled the ladder up after them and quickly ascended the fire escapes, leaving the guards lost and confused in the alley below. The two thieves smiled to each other as they began to celebrate their successful burglary...until a dark figure landed in front of them. The two of them came screeching to a halt as the dark figure slowly stood up in front of them, narrowing its eye slits as they entered its gaze.

"Oh Celestia...it's the freaking bat," one of them whispered in horror.

"Well don't just stand there gawking, shoot it!" the other one screamed as he pulled out his crossbow, the other one following suit. But before either could pull the trigger, the dark figure whipped its arm and a black bat flew towards them, knocking the crossbows out of both of their hooves. The dark figure then jumped into the air and flew straight into the first thief, slamming his head into the ground before flipping over his body. The second goon screamed in what was more fear than rage and started throwing wild punches at the figure, who simply dodged left and right to avoid the hits before delivering a wicked uppercut to the jaw. The goon had barely hit the ground before the dark figure had pulled out a cord of rope from her belt and tied both of them up. The figure turned its head as it heard guards approaching and vanished into the shadows just as the guards came climbing up the fire escape. They ran over to the thieves and looked down in confusion at them, wondering who had tied them up. The bags full of bits were found next to them and the guards also noticed one of them had a black eye. If any of them had looked up on the skyscraper that was across from them, they would have seen a solitary figure standing on top of it, cape flowing behind it as lightning streaked the sky behind. When the lighting stopped, the figure was gone.

--=====>

'Well that was a nice waste of time,' Batmare thought to herself as she leapt from building to building, thinking about how the crime in Equestria had gotten worse in the past ten years. She attributed that to the fact that ten years ago, a massive battle took place in Canterlot that showed all of Equestria that the princesses and the Elements of Harmony were not invincible and that the princesses could not be everywhere at once. She folded her wings and came down in a roll on the roof of a sky scraper, her armored suit absorbing most of the impact. As she flipped from one roof top to another, she remembered how the crimes had started out small--stick ups and purse theft. Then the crimes began to escalate, ranging from bank robbery to full blown assault and murder. And just as the assault ten years ago had shown, the princesses and their guards couldn't be everywhere at once. And that knowledge alone was enough to allow crime to spread all across Equestria. With the princesses unable to do anything to stop all of the criminals, and the guards being stretched way too thin, the criminals thought they ruled the night. And they had...until a year ago. That's where she came in.

One year ago she had started her crusade against all of the criminal scum that now plagued her world, deciding that she would help those who cried out in the night, but had nopony to answer their calls. She was the Batmare, and within the year all of the criminals and scum had come to fear the masked vigilante that dressed as a bat. She contributed to that fear, partially by her methods of terror and partially from the fact that her outfit was designed after the great hero of Equestria who fell ten years ago. The Batmare came to a stop on the side of a skyscraper, crouching over the corner and scanning the streets below for any sign of trouble while continuing to think.

But what had scared her most was the large number of recent crimes that had plagued this city and many others like it. At least four fillies had gone missing over the past month and they were nearly impossble to find...alive anyway. She had just recently been informed that a fifth one had gone missing two nights ago, and she was the only one with the clues to find her. She had found enough clues from the previous kidnappings to tell her where the fillies had been taken, but she always arrived too late to save them. But tonight that would change. She had managed to track the filly-nappers to a warehouse that was in what was called the bad lands. That's where she woud find the filly tonight.

Batmare leapt off the building and let her black wings spread from under her cape, allowing her to sail into the sky and head off towards the bad lands. Just as the ponies had said, this place looked bad. From the sky, she could see graffiti on most of the buildings and places that were no longer hospitable for pony life. She shook her head at the condition of the place, thinking about how grand the city had looked a few years back. The warehouse that she wanted was just up ahead, so she began her descent and landed on the rooftops. She silently walked along the roof, folding her wings back so that they rested under her cape. She then moved to a window and tried to open it, only to find that it was locked. Her masked face never changed its expression as she reached for her belt, extracting a lock pick and inserting it into the window's lock, having it open within a few seconds. She silently slipped inside after placing the lock back and landed on a walkway, allowing her to see into the empty space. Even though it was night, a circle of candles sat in the center of the room.

And what they revealed by their light made her sick.

It was the same as all the others. As she landed on the floor without making a sound, she saw that the filly was already beyond her help. The filly, or what was left of her, was in the center of a circle of candles with a weird symbol painted on the ground beneath her body with blood, but she couldn't tell if it was the filly's or somepony elses. As Batmare walked over, she scanned the ground with vision that could make a hawk feel pathetic. Multiple hoof prints were in the dust that were scattered all over the floor, telling her that much like the other cases, the filly had not been alone when she was killed. And that led her to the body of the filly herself, which was the least favorite part of job, examining the corpse.

The filly was laying spread eagle on her back, all of her legs strapped to the floor so she couldn't move. Batmare looked at her, seeing that she was a brownish filly with a green mane--just like the description of her had said. It didn't need much detective work to determine what the cause of death was, the giant knife sticking out of her chest was more than enough evidence. But the knife itself was interesting. There were symbols carved into the side of it and it seemed to glow with a mystical property, just like the other knives that she had found. It was barely eight inches long, but it looked sharp enough to go through her own armor. She gently pulled the knife out of the filly's chest, ignoring the blood that started to pour from her chest again. After she placed the knife on the back of her belt and secured it, all that left her was the corpse. Batmare looked down at the body of what had been a young life; she never showed any emotion. That's what she had learned from her teacher, never show emotion on a case. But she felt it, the sheer rage and disgust at the thought of those who would do this.

"...and then I told her, HEY! Watch the suit!" a pony with an accent said to his buddies as he threw open the door to the warehouse and sauntered in, six ponies following him with a number of mops and trash bags. They walked over to the only other pony in the room and looked down at her body, shaking their heads with a whistle. "Man, I hate it when these turn into a big mess. Can't they just ever finish the ritual without the fancy knife? Sure would make my job a lot easier."

"Just be thankful you have a job," another one of the ponies with a hat said as he walked over to the body, whipping out another knife and began to cut the restraints that held the filly down. "With the way the world's been going, just be thankful you can scrounge up this job."

"I suppose you're right, but I just hate to think that when I look back on my life, this is the job that I'll remember having," the other pony muttered, mopping up the bloody symbols that covered the floor. The pony with the hate had finished cutting off the restraints and prepared to move the filly's body...but then something stopped him.

"Hey, isn't she supposed to have a knife in her chest?" he asked his companion. The other pony walked over and looked at the corpse as well, looking at her with a frown.

"Yeah, I think that they normally do. Why would this one-?"

WHAM!

The pony with the hat jumped back with a scream as the Batmare came flying down from above and landed on the other one's head, knocking him out as well as knocking out a few of his teeth. She flipped through the air and landed on all fours, slowly rising to her full height so that the pony with the hat knew with whom who he was dealing.

"Holy hell...you're the freaking bat," he said in a whisper, backing away slowly as she began to advance. Just like all the others she scared crapless, his eyes were immediately drawn to the batarang that was infused with the front part of her suit. Then his eyes looked up into her eyes; the fear slowly spreading as her white eyes stared back. "P-please don't hurt me! I don't want any trouble!"

"I can't guarentee that," she said in a deadly whisper as she started a slow walk towards him, keeping her voice menacingly low. "But we can do this two ways. You can tell me what you know and go turn yourself in...Or you can tell me what you know and end up in a hospital for three months. Choose carefully." The pony backed away with pure terror in his eyes, but then he remembered that he was not alone and that gave him the confidence he needed.

"I think I'll take the third option...kicking you ass!" he said with a smile as he blew a whistle that was hanging from around his neck. At the sound of the whistle, six more ponies came running in and quickly surrounded the Batmare. They were all big, burly ponies that had a number of tattoos and knives, which would make them intimidating opponents in another situation. She looked around at them with a bored look before turning her attention back to the main guy.

"Hardly seemes fair," she said to him without emotion. All of the ponies began to laugh at that.

"Why should we make it fair? If we kill you, the legendary Batmare, then we'll be the most feared ponies around!" the hat pony said with a grin, the thought of killing the myth caused his eyes to shine.

"You misunderstand. I meant that it wasn't fair...because you're all horribly outclassed," she said with a grin, a grin that sent chills down their spins.

"What are you standing around for? Get her!"

The ponies all yelled and rushed her at once, hoping that their number advantage would overwhelm her. They were sorely mistaken. Batmare shifted her front leg and dropped a small black pellet that exploded into a cloud of smoke that blinded all of them. Batmare burst out from the cloud of smoke and drove her leg into the first pony's face. As his head snapped back from the force of the blow, she flipped over top of him and axe-kicked his head, smiling slightly when she heard his skull crack. His body had barely hit the ground before she landed on her back and rolled over to the next one, coming out of the roll by placing her front hooves on the floor and drove both her hind legs into his face, breaking a number of teeth. She spun around as he crashed to the ground and blocked a punch that had been aimed at her head with her front hoof, grabbing onto the pony's attacking arm and pulled him into her knee. He collapsed to the floor as the next two punching bags ran towards her screaming at the tops of their lungs. Batmare smiled while she leapt into the air over their heads and reached inside her belt, pulling out two batarangs with blue crystals in them and threw them at the hooves of the two ponies. A storm of electricity lanced out of the batarangs and struck them, the electricity coursing through their bodies as they screamed. She landed behind them and looked back, knowing that the electricity wouldn't be enough to kill, but they wouldn't be feeling well for a week. She turned back around to the last pony and-

WHACK!

Stupid, arrogant, foolish pony. Batmare staggered back a bit from the punch to the face, cursing herself for letting her guard down during the middle of a fight and allowing the enemy to hit her. The pony with the hat had run up to her the moment she turned her head and sucker-punched her right in the eye. She stopped staggering back and slowly turned to face him, her rage boiling over. She said nothing, but began to walk forward right at him, her eyes watching him for any sign of movement. He swung with a right aimed at her head which she blocked almost immediately, and drove her hoof into his chest, knocking the wind out of him and staggering him. He growled and rushed her again, trying to take her out with a 'one-two'. She countered each hit with both of her hooves, setting him up for a kick to the face. He stagged back while clutching his jaw, and blood began to pour out of his mouth and nose. He tried one last time to strike her, winding back with all his might and throwing a powerful haymaker towards her head. She smiled and reached up with one arm to catch it, stepping in close so that his arm now rested over her shoulder, before she stood up while bringing is arm down.

"AAARRGGHH!" he screamed as his bones shattered. He staggered back as he clutched his arm, all the while swearing at her. She grabbed him by the neck and drove him into a wall, pinning him there with her arm.

"How did you know about the murder tonight? Who hired you to clean up the body?" she asked him with a growl, lifting him off the ground as she did so.

"I don't have to tell you nothing," he spat at her defiantly, even though he had teared up from the pain of his broken arm. All of his defiance slowly turned into fear as a small smile spread on her lips, and she held her other arm over next to his head, flicking her arm and letting him watch as three black blades came out of the armor.

"I will not ask again," she said in a deadly whisper. She smiled as she watched the beads of sweat begin to roll down his face, and she could feel his confidence breaking. She slowly moved the blades closer and closer to his throat until they were right next to his neck, drawing a small bit of blood.

"Okay! Okay!" he screamed as he felt the pain of the blades going into his throat, all if his confidence gone. "I'm not sure who hired us, but they always speak through a random pony. We're never contacted by the same guy, but they always pay well as long as we don't ask any questions! We get rid of the bodies and they pay well! That's all I know, I swear!" Batmare frowned, not sure if he was telling the whole truth, but she needed to get back to the cave and analyze the dagger she found. She smiled and gently lowered him to the ground...before delivering a massive knee to his face. She sighed as he slid to the ground with blood coming from his nose, dropping the bat persona for a minute.

"Ow, jeez that really hurt," she groaned to herself as she gingerly rubbed her eye. "That's going to bruise in the morning. And that's just what I need, more clues as to who I am." She grabbed the hat pony's leg and dragged him over to the group of other ponies, placing him next to all other bodies. She then reached back into her belt and pulled out a flare gun, which she aimed at the ceiling and fired. She watched as the flare shot through the roof and up into the air, exploding above the warehouse into a massive bat symbol. The guards for the city would be here soon, so that meant her time here was over. She picked up her two batarangs and slipped them back into her belt before vanishing once again into the shadows, heading off towards the cave. The guards would arrive later to find the broken bodies of the scum and the corpse of the filly. That would be all they'd find.

Author's Note

Trying something a bit new with this and it's sister story, so bear with me for a while.

Clues to the Crime

The Cave

Batmare always hated going through the teleportation process that was required for her to get back to her cave, but she had found that if she thought about her work while she teleported back, it was tolerable. As the light from the teleportation process died down, she thought to herself how useful the multiple teleporters were that she had set up in various towns and cities throughout Equestria. She used the teleporters whenever a crime came up in a city close to her home, allowing her to get there almost immediately. She stepped off one of the teleportation platforms that sat in a circle in a hollowed out chamber and thought about how Twilight was so well-skilled with inventions and magical abilities. Batmare headed past a rocky outcrop and finally reached what she considered to be home...a massive cave. The cave was three stories' worth of rock and darkness, illuminated by a number of blue flames in lanterns that hung from the ceiling every few floors. The teleporters were located on the bottom floor where she could jump down to them if needed. She opened her wings and kicked off of the ground, flying up to the uppermost floor in one wing beat. She then gently landed on the metal structure embedded in the wall and walked over to a chair that sat in front of a massive crystal screen, pulling the dagger out of her belt and placing it in front of her on a grid.

"Computer, full scan of the item's symbols and compare them to any other symbols in the data base," she said to the computer before her. It hummed as it came to life, the massive screen lighting up to cover her in a bluish glow. The invention of the computer was still ages away from being even thought of in the land of Equestria, but Batmare had gotten this one from a...friend for her last birthday. It ran on magical crystals that were supplied by her comrades, and it was one of her greatest tools in the war on crime. Some days, she wondered how she'd get anything done without it. While the computer was scanning the dagger, she decided that she would try to find out more about tonight. She rose up out of her chair and headed to a pole near the computer, her cape swishing behind her as a damp breeze blew through the cave. She wrapped an armored hoof around the pole and slid down to the second floor, where she kept an archives that had been around for hundreds of years. The books were stored on massive shelves that went all the way up to the bottom of the floor above and were fifty feet across, it was an impressive collection of knowledge. She scanned the shelves with a discerning eye, finding what she needed within seconds.

"Advanced rituals and dark magic," she muttered to herself as she floated up to the top of the shelf to grab it, pulling it out with such precision that she didn't bother the books next to it. "If that symbol where I found the body of the filly murdered is in any book, it will have to be this one," Batmare said to herself. Although she had found traces of the symbol in the past, this was the first time she actually saw one up close, due to the quick-working ponies that cleaned up after the ritual. But now she knew what to look for. She flew down to a comfortable chair that she kept for whenever she needed to get some research done and sat down, cracking open the book and flipping through it until she found what she was looking for. The symbol was a summoning circle, used whenever a pony wanted to summon...'a demon or any other creature of dark and mysterious power'? Batmare frowned as she read that sentence, already not liking where this was heading. As she read on, she found to her increasing disgust that a sacrifice was required for demons or creatures of stronger power, the greatest of them requiring six sacrifices. But the demons could be made even stronger if the sacrifices were young fillies of pure blood, killed in just the right way.

"And tonight was the fifth filly," she muttered to herself, closing the book and placing it on the chair as she began to pace, lost in thought. Six sacrifices were required to unleash the most powerful of demons, and since this mysterious sicko was using fillies as sacrifices, that told her that he was going all the way with the sacrifices to summon a full blown demon. Her next stop was the floor just below this one, where her chemical lab was set up. A number of chemicals and potions lay on the table, as well as a number of vials that she had to be very careful with when using. One wrong move and she might blow the whole cave to Hades. Batmare reached into her belt and pulled out a small bag containing some blood that she had found on the knife that hadn't belonged to the filly, and came from some other pony. She slowly poured the blood into a vial and gently placed it over a beaker, reaching next for the spell-searcher potion. This potion was designed to determine the properties of the blood of a pony, telling if it was unicorn, Pegasus or earth pony. As she poured a small bit of the potion into the vial, she watched with a nod as the potion turned purple upon touching the blood. That made sense to her, since only the most dark rituals could be performed by the most advanced unicorns. She heard a ding from the computer above, telling her that it was done scanning the dagger.

"Mental note, write princesses about findings tomorrow," she muttered to herself as she placed the equipment down and turned all of the burners off, stifling a yawn while she headed for the pole and grabbed onto it, letting it pull her up three floors to the computer. As she walked over to the computer, she felt her eye begin to hurt again, which probably meant that she would have a black eye in the morning. She sat down at the computer while rubbing her eye, cursing herself for not seeing his attack coming and allowing herself to get hit. She always hated to explain her wounds to the other ponies. "Computer, what did you find?"

'Information found in secret reports by the princesses. The writtings on this dagger correspond to a race of ponies that vanished into the sea long ago, never to be heard from again,' the computer told her in a calm voice that still unnerved her when it 'spoke'. She was used to the computer voice, yet its lack of emotion bothered her. She rubbed her eye again, wondering how bad the blow had been. She reached around to the back of her dark mask and unhooked the cowl from the rest of the suit, slowly slipping it off her head and placing it on the table in front of her. With the mask gone, her purple mane came tumbling to her neck and allowed her to see again without obstruction. She wiped away the black face paint from her mouth that she used to disguise her face so that her natural orange color did not show. She held up a mirror to her face, allowing her to see the full extent of the damage.

"Damn, that's going to be black and blue in the morning," she muttered aloud as she looked in the mirror at her right eye, which was already beginning to swell. "Scootaloo, you have to be faster. Make another mistake and it may be your body that gets cleaned up. Computer, who were these sea ponies and what did they have to do with the rituals," Scootaloo asked the computer as she put the mirror down.

'The sea ponies used the dark rituals that consisted of sacrificing fillies to summon monsters to fight off those who tried to take over their race and their homes. Legend says that when the forces of King Sombra tried to invade the kingdom of the sea ponies, they used all of their powers to summon forth the greatest of monsters, the kraken." Scootaloo placed both hooves together as she began to think again. She had read of the kraken, one of the greatest sea monsters of all time. But she had also read that the kraken's assistance came at a price.

"What happened next?"

'Legend says that while Sombra's forces were defeated, he managed to steal one of the sea ponies' foals for his own, along with the spell book that contained all of the dark rituals. Enraged by this, the sea ponies sent the kraken into the land to finish him and get their foal back, forcing him to retreat to the Crystal Empire. The kraken returned without the foal but still demanded to be paid with more fillies for it's work. However, it had been weakened due to its time on land and it's battle with Sombra. The sea ponies, seeing how weak the kraken was, decided to betray the kraken and kill it.'

"But nopony betrays a beast like the kraken and gets away with it," Scootaloo said, not needing the computer to answer.

'Correct. The legend ends with the kraken returning as an even more powerful monster and dragging the home of the sea ponies to the bottom of the ocean, where it made them its eternal slaves as revenge for their betrayal. Legend says that they are still there, eternally trapped by the will of the mystic kraken.' Scootaloo smiled to herself at how familiar that sounded, a mystical being of unbelievable power forcing ponies to be their slaves. The same thing would have happened to Equestria if a certain someone hadn't fought for them.

"What happened to the book?" she asked the computer.

'No pony knows, although most of legends say that the original book was lost when Sombra's forces fell. Copies, like the one you have, were made, but the original still holds spells within it that are not in it's copy. The book and its dark rituals were lost to time and to this day no pony knows what became of it.'

"But some pony found it," Scootaloo said with a frown, realizing that she might be out of her depth here. She was used to fighting criminal scum and the occasional psychopath, but mystical dark arts and monsters that could wipe out an entire race of ponies might be out of her league. She gently cast a look towards another item that sat on the desk next to her cowl, a small stone that hummed with power. This stone was what she used whenever there was a case she couldn't solve or a problem that was too big for her. This was her backup. She slowly reached out a hoof to take it...but decided against it. There was still one more ritual to be stopped, and if her hunch was right, she had at least two weeks before this cult would try again, time that she could use finding out where the ritual would take place.

"I need to do this on my own," she convinced herself as she got to her hooves, grabbing the cowl and placing it over her shoulder. She walked over to an opening in the rock wall next to the computer, a crack that revealed a set of staircases that headed up to the surface. Next to the crack was a suit stand, the stand where she hung her suit when she wasn't using it. Scootaloo placed the cowl on the stand first, allowing herself to be drawn in by the design, from the empty eye sockets that were smaller than her eyes to the pointed horns that were reminiscent of her teacher.

"Even after ten years, I still smile when I see those horns," she whispered to herself with a smile before attending to the rest of the suit. Next came the body armor, the part of the suit that more often than not kept her alive during her crusading. She smirked at that thought, realizing that even though she had grown from a filly to a mare, that she was still crusading. Her eyes returned back to the armor. It had been designed in a plated form with lightweight poly-metal plating. The poly-metal plates were some of the toughest and lightest material in all of Equestria, easily able to shrug off a fully charged spell or a spear to the chest. But what made her smile the most about the suit was the bat symbol that had been crafted into the chest piece. It was a grey batarang, made of a material called 'anti-source' that could stop any magic dead in its tracks. This batarang wasn't just special to her because of its power, but because it had been given to her by her hero. After she had taken off the armor, all that was left was the black body suit that she wore underneath so that no pony would know her coat's true color. She had just started to remove it when she heard a ripping sound.

"Darn, that's the third time this month," Scootaloo said with a frown as she held the black body suit in front of her eyes, sighing at the massive tear down the side if the suit. "Rarity's going to kill me. She hates how long it takes to sew this up, especially considering I'll probably get it torn again by the end of the week." Finally after she had hung up her suit, she took the belt off the armor and headed toward the armory. The armory was hidden behind two massive metal doors that were located next to the stairs to the surface, and they could only be opened by her hoof print. She placed her hoof print on the scanner (another birthday present) and stepped back with a smile as the armory swung open, allowing her to look upon her items and gadgets. Three panels greeted her as the doors swung open, each one holding a different set of gadgets. On the first panel were all her batarangs, ranging from her electric ones that she had used early, to exploding batarangs that could bring down a wall. In the center was her bamboo staff, a memento of her time training with Rainbow Dash and Zecora in the way of the martial artist to perfect herself physically.

"Ah yes, I remember that time fondly," she said with a smile as she held the staff in her hooves, spinning around like a flash and swinging it behind her. "So much training, so many bruises. Who knew that Zecora could be such a harsh teacher?" She placed the staff back on the shelf and went over to the third shelf, where she kept her detective vision goggles and grappling gun, something that she mostly used when her wings got injured or she couldn't fly, which was more often than she cared to admit. She took her belt off and emptied the contents onto the table in front of her, sorting out her batarangs from the smoke pellets that she had brought with her but hadn't used. She yawned again after a few minutes of sorting her gear, hoping that she hadn't stayed up too late again. She finally finished putting all of her gear away after inspecting it and closed up the armory, yawning again as she passed through the crack in the wall and headed up the stairs. The stairs came out at an old grandfather clock, which slowly swung open as she pushed a button on the wall that opened it for her. The clock opened into her small dining room, which was barely big enough for a table, a few chairs and the clock. As she started to walk towards her bed, she could feel the weariness really start to get to her, making her stagger instead of walking straight and blurring her vision.

"Yawn...ugh, hopefully it's not as late as I think it is," she muttered to herself sleepily as she staggered through the open door into her bedroom and over to her bed, where she fell down face first and instantly fell asleep, dreaming to herself about what she had seen tonight and how much it frightened her.

Mornings Suck

Ponyville.

Scootaloo's alarm clock was the first thing she heard every morning after she came back from a night of hunting, and she never got used to being awakened by the loud beeping sound. She groaned as she heard the repeated beeps. She moved her head off the pillow to look at the clock, not believing that it was seven already. She mumbled to herself and slammed her hoof onto her alarm clock, breaking it apart instead of shutting it off. She sat up with a growl and picked up the clock to throw it into the wall, falling back down onto the bed when the alarm finally died.

"Ugh, it's no good. I'm awake now," she muttered groggily to herself, rolling out of bed to the floor and dragging herself into the bathroom. Scootaloo flicked on the lights and looked into the mirror, wincing as she did so. "Yep, that's just what I thought would happen. Great." As she went to wash her face, she tried her best to avoid the fact that her eye was now surrounded by a ring of black and she could barely see out of it. It hurt more emotionally than physically, since it was a reminder of how she messed up last night. Scootaloo turned on her shower and got inside, letting the cold water rush over her eye and body in hopes that it would help keep any bruises that she had gained from last night's crusading. She leaned her head against the side of the shower as the water ran down her body, trying to figure out where the next attack on the fillies would be. Ten minutes later, she opened her eyes again and realized with a shock that she had fallen asleep in the shower again.

"Oh crap, I'm going to be late!" she screamed as she turned off the water and raced out of the bathroom, zipping through her house without even drying herself to her scooter, while she shot out the front door, slamming it behind her with her hoof as she raced off down the streets. Her house was located in a small corner of Ponyville that was out of the way, forcing her to race to work each morning. That suited her fine, since it gave her a chance to practice her scooter skills on her way there. Scootaloo shot down the street, weaving around the stands and barrels that got in her path, waving to all of the ponies that waved to her in the morning.

"Yee-haw!" Scootaloo yelled as she rode up a cart that made a ramp and launched herself into the air, landing on the roof of a building. She turned her scooter sideways right before impact and started grinding the pipe line along the roof, allowing her to skid right over the early morning traffic and make up for lost time. She flipped off the roof and landed wheels down on the other side of the intersection, but came grinding to a halt when she saw a cart wheel bounce by her followed by a pony chasing after it furiously. "Hey, what's the matter?" she asked him as she rode beside him.

"My cart lost it's wheel again!" he yelled as the wheel got farther and farther from him. "That's the...third time this month!"

"I got it," Scootaloo said as she crouched down on her scooter and started flapping her wings, shooting herself after the wheel. She grinded along beside it, timing her moment perfectly. She shot out her left leg and kicked the wheel over, allowing it and her scooter to skid to a stop before she hit anything. "There you go, one runaway wheel stopped. Now I gotta go, I'm late enough as it is."

"Thank you!" the pony yelled out after her as she raced away, heading towards the other end of town as fast as her wings could carry her. She jumped her scooter onto a fence and grinded that a bit to avoid a large crowd of ponies, before wrapping a hoof around a light pole to turn faster to the left as she almost reached her place of work. She worked at a gym on the outskirts of town She crouched down even further to gain as much speed as she could, waiting until the last second before she flipped off the scooter and landed on all fours, while her scooter skidded into the corner where she kept it during the day. She felt her mane with a sigh, the wind having dried it but left it a mess. She was already ten minutes late for her job so with a sigh she opened the door and walked inside.

"'Morning," she said to her boss as she walked inside, looking around at all of the equipment. Horse Power (the name of the gym) was where she worked and it was the only gym in town, having opened ten years ago. It was a state-of-the-art gym that had been built next to Ponyville so that all ponies could enjoy it. It was about the size of three houses and sat just beside the river that eventually made its way down from Fluttershy's. All of the latest workout equipment was in there, and Scootaloo was in charge of all of it--that was when her boss wasn't yelling at her. Her boss happened to be the most 'ripped' pony in all the land, Snowflake. The name didn't seem to fit the snow-white horse, who looked like something from those bodybuilder magazines that lined the gym. He watched her with a raised eyebrow as she entered the gym, pointing at her eye when she walked over.

"You think this is bad, you should see the other guy," she said with a smirk as she wrote down the time she arrived on the sign-in sheet on his desk. He picked it up and looked down at the time, giving her a shake of his head. "What? Are you worried that I'm not getting enough sleep again?" she asked him with a bit of a growl. He didn't speak much, aside from his yells of victory, but during the time she worked here, she had learned how to understand him--more or less. He sighed and shook his head, docking her for being late for the fifth time this month. Snowflake sighed again and pointed to the poles, indicating that they needed to be wiped down. "Aye aye sir," she responded with a salute while she grabbed a tube of wipes, thanking her stars that he was as understanding as he was. She was constantly late, often coming in looking like she had been beat up (which she had been) and often she was tired and slept on the job. Yet he still only had hired her.

"At least wiping these down gives me a boring task to clear my head," she muttered to herself as she started to wipe the bars down, while Snowflake flipped open one of the workout magazines and started to read from it. Ponies had started to trickle in, most of them were ponies like the Wonderbolts that mostly did sports, or ponies who either thought they needed to lose weight or really needed to lose weight. Her job was mostly to supervise the ponies' work-outs, and to make sure they didn't use the weights irresponsibly--especially the teenagers that often hung out around here. Even if it didn't look like she was watching, her eyes were always on those who entered the gym. Her friends came around every once in a while, but it was more to check up on her than it was to actually work out. As she finished wiping down the last of the equipment, she walked over to the bench press machines to start her work out. The ponies next to it kindly stepped aside for her and watched with smiles as she added four hundred pounds to each side. Now, even for magical horses, eight hundred pounds was quite a lot. Snowflake's max was a full thousand, but that was because he looked like a tank.

"There's no way she can lift this," one of the ponies muttered to his friend.

"Ten bits says that you're wrong," the other one--a regular at the gym--said back with a smile as Scootaloo slipped under the bar and placed both her hooves on it. She smiled to herself while she lifted the bar off the rack with a grunt, started to bench it multiple times, much to the shock of the pony that had made the bet. Snowflake had helped Scootaloo with her workout when she asked him six years ago, and she had only gotten stronger ever since then. And working at the gym, besides allowing her to work out to maintain her crime-fighting body, also gave her an excuse for why she was so muscular and avoided any awkward conversations from curious ponies. She placed the bar back up on the rack after a set of twenty, walking away as the sound of bits clinking in a pony's hoof were heard. She was heading for the treadmill when a voice called out to her.

"Well well, if it isn't the eighteen-year-old blank flank," the snobby voice said from behind her.

"Tiara," she muttered to herself, not bothering to turn around while she continued to head towards the treadmill as another voice piped up.

"Yeah, it seems that she really has no special talent," another snotty voice said with a smirk.

"Spoon," Scootaloo muttered again, placing a hoof on the control panel to start up the machine.

"Wait, she does have a talent. Losing parents!" Tiara's voice said with a laugh. Scootaloo's hoof cracked the screen with much force as she slowly turned around to face them. "First, it was your mom and dad--and then you lost that stupid bat guy. Your track record really is terrible with family. No wonder no pony bothered to adopt you after all these years." Some of the ponies that had been watching frowned at what the two mares were saying, but Scootaloo simply looked at them with an emotionless stare. She didn't care what they said, and beating them senseless would be disrespectful to what Batman had taught her...to be in control and only fight for others or one's self defense.

"What's the matter? Too ashamed to say anything?" the pink pony with the diamond crown said to her with a sneer, her greyish friend snickering beside her.

"No, I was just admiring your bangs. They do a great job of hiding the lobotomy that you got," Scootaloo responded with a smirk, watching as Tiara's face turned bright red. The other ponies watching snickered at the burn, while Diamond Tiara only got more frustrated.

"This might come as a shock to your tiny mind, but my intelligence is so great that I got to leave college before finishing because of how bright I was," she snarled back with a growl.

"Really? I thought it was because your daddy lost most of his money and couldn't afford to send you to that rich school where they teach mares how to be manikins?" Scootaloo asked with a smile of her own, which grew even wider when Tiara's face went from red to white.

"You dare...?" she growled in a dangerous tone as she started to walk towards Scootaloo, but her advance was stopped by a massive stallion leg that placed itself in front of her chest. She looked up at the frowning face of Snowflake, who took his hoof off her chest and pointed it across the room at a sign on the wall. It read, "If you're here to work yourself to perfection, you're in the right place. If you're here to be mean, you will be thrown out and posed at." She glared at him before turning to leave with a huff, Silverspoon following her with her nose held high. Snowflake glared at them until they left. Then his eyes immediately softened and he ran over to see if Scootaloo was alright.

"Yeah, don't worry about me," she said with a smile as she read the concern in his eyes. "I learned how to deal with their taunting years ago. I just can't believe that they're acting like this at this age. Seriously, are they ever going to grow up?" Snowflake gave her a worried glance before looking at an image that he had up on his back wall, an image of a giant black bat. "Yes, I'm fine even though they brought that up. It's been ten years. I can handle it." Snowflake gave her one last glance before he headed back to his desk while the other ponies headed back to their exercises as well, leaving her alone to simply shake her head at the two's attempt to bring her down. She knew that she shouldn't have brought up Tiara's father to get back at her; he was a nice-enough pony who had fallen on hard times. But while he might be a nice pony despite being poor now, it had made Tiara completely unsufferable. As she shook the conversation out of her head, Scootaloo walked onto the treadmill and turned it on, not looking at the cracks she had made on the machine as she started it at a slow pace and allowed her to overhear the conversation going on next to her.

"Did you hear that they found another dead filly the other night?" Cloudchaser, another regular, said to her sister Cloudkicker as they both used the treadmills beside Scootalooo. "That's the fifth one in a little under six months. What if none of the fillies in all of Equestria are safe anymore?"

"Don't worry about it, don't you remember who found the filly? Batmare," Cloudkicker whispered in return, looking at Scootaloo (who had kept her eyes forward the entire time) to make sure she wasn't listening before continuing. "If Batmare's on the case, then it won't be long before whoever is doing this is brought down. Remember the ponies in the clown masks that tried to blow up Canterlot? She stopped them."

"But can she be trusted?" Cloudchaser asked. "I mean...no pony knows who she is or what her goals are. All she does is appear and take out any who commit a crime."

"Look, I may not trust her completely, but any pony who wears the symbol of the hero Batman can't be a bad pony," Cloudkicker reminded her as she looked at the image of the bat on the back wall. "And we all remember what Batman did for us." Scootaloo turned off the treadmill and walked away, smiling sadly to herself at the memory of Batman's sacrifice. Every pony believed that he had died that day; that he gave his life to defend them from the terror that was Morgaine--every pony but her. She looked over at the clock near Snowflake's desk and sighed when she saw that only an hour had passed since she had arrived here to work.

"Oh well, might as well find something else to do," she grumbled as she walked to the pull-up machine, hopping up onto it without her wings. She began to lift herself up while thinking about how things had been going in Ponyville. After Batman and Morgaine were done tearing apart Canterlot, a lot of the ponies in Equestria had decided to try and be more like Batman, kind and caring to others in order to try and honor his memory. Luna had even created a special branch of her forces call the Dark Knights in memory of him, despite the two of them not really liking each other. Celestia had dedicated the day he fell as a holiday in his honor to remember him, so every year ponies dressed up like him and celebrated his memory. That reminded her, the day was coming back up again and she needed another cheap costume. Last year she had ripped her other one, when a crazy pony tried to use magic to turn the Elements of Harmony into bugs. That had been a weird one. She pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind while she started thinking about what she needed to do after work. First, was to go to Rarity's to get the suit repaired again, followed by a trip to Twilight's to see if she had any idea on what to do about the ritual and see if there was any way to reverse it.

"Hopefully there will be a way to stop this spell," she muttered to herself, ignorant of the crowd that had gathered behind her as she hit her hundredth pull up. "From what I was told this spell is serious bad news. I can't protect all the world's fillies forever, eventually one of the criminals are going to find a way to get by me. And when that day comes, having some strong pony in my corner would be nice," she continued to think to herself as she repeated her pull ups, wondering what Batman would do if he were in her position. He would probably figure out immediately who the culprits were and have a plan to defeat them. She smirked as she remembered how he always seemed to have an answer for everything, even in areas where he wasn't that skilled. No pony had ever been able to figure out just how he managed to do what he did without wings or magic, but she knew how he did it. He had a heart greater than any magic or stronger than any pairs of wings. And that was the pony she wanted to be one day. So she would continue to train and fight the forces of evil to one day become the bat.

Scolded

Scootaloo shot back home after work, kicking herself for forgetting her bag that contained the bat suit in her living room. Seriously, what if a pony had decided to come in just to visit and found the bat suit on accident? All those years of training and all the years of preparing would be washed down the drain, and all because she had forgotten her stupid bag. Fortunately for her, she found the bag in her living room completely untouched, still under the table where she had left it.

"Thank Celestia that Batman wasn't here to see this," she said with a shake of her head as she picked up the bag from under the table and tossed it over her shoulder. She got back on the scooter, flapping her wings as fast as she could as she rocketed towards Rarity's Carousel. While she shot down the street and startled a number of ponies that she zoomed by, she couldn't help but think about what Tiara had said to her back at the gym. Even though she had laughed off the fact that she didn't have a cutie mark, it still bothered her whenever she thought about it, especially when she was alone. Out of the three fillies who made up the CMCC, back when they were fillies, Scootaloo was the only one of them that hadn't gotten her cutie mark yet. Applebloom's was, naturally, an apple while Sweetie Belle turned out to be quite the singer. But despite their success, Scootaloo still hadn't found her special talent. Not that it bothered her all the time, since she had devoted herself to becoming like Batman, but it still bothered her from time to time. What was she doing wrong?

"It doesn't matter any more; all that matters is the mission," she said to herself as she reached the Carousel Boutique's front door, bringing her scooter to a halt in front of the shop. She hopped off the scooter and picked up her bag, opening the door to a familiar sight. She smiled as she saw all of the clothes all over the floor, the fabrics and thread strewn out like spider web all over the windows; and finally there she was, the white mare with the purple mane who was running around like crazy trying to finish up some order on time. Some things never changed.

"Oh why did I have to wait until today to finish up that order?" Rarity asked herself as she rushed back and forth across the room, grabbing and ditching a number of items that she needed in her mad rush.

"Um, hello Rarity," Scootaloo said with a smirk as Rarity came screeching to a stop at the sound of her voice, turning towards Scootaloo with a tired smile on her face.

"Oh, hello there, ScootaaaaHHHHHH!" Rarity shrieked when she saw the state Scootaloo was in, both of her eyes immediately drawn to the nasty black eye that Scootaloo had on her face. "My word, Scootaloo, what happened to your face?" Rarity asked her as she moved closer to Scootaloo's eye, wincing at how painful it looked.

"It's nothing; I've had worse," she said to Rarity with a smile, a smile at which Rarity frowned.

"You got this fighting those criminals again, didn't you?" Rarity asked her, not needing to see Scootaloo's guilty face to know that she was right. "This isn't the first time I've seen you come into my shop with a bruise like that. One time it was a bruised leg, and another it was a busted lip! Why do you do this to yourself?"

"You know the reason for that, Rarity," Scootaloo said as she placed her bag in front of Rarity. Rarity looked down at it with a scowl, already knowing what was inside. She looked up from the bag to the nervous face of Scootaloo, her emotions hidden behind her stare.

"You ripped it again, didn't you?" Scootaloo rubbed the back of her head as Rarity used her magic to open the bag and pull the suit out, shaking her head with a sigh as she found the tear in it. She frowned as she dragged the suit away to her workbench, dropping it off there as she opened a chest that she kept hidden under the stairs. It held the materials needed to repair the suit. "That's the third time this month, Scootaloo. And I wish you would let me put armor on the wings as well. I can't remember how much blood you lost when you came to Twilight's with that arrow in you wing."

"Hey, it didn't do any permanent damage," Scootaloo reminded her, as Rarity pulled out more of the diamonds that she had mixed into Scootaloo's armor, sighing at the excessive damage.

"Are these burn marks? What have you been doing?" Scootaloo said nothing, as Rarity continued to grumble to herself about the danger that Scootaloo constantly was throwing herself into every time she went out. Rarity was a life saver, though, and had been the one to make the suit for Scootaloo, starting from scratch instead of using the armor that the princesses' guards wore. And while she might hate what Scootaloo did as Batmare, she knew that it was important to Scootaloo and so she went along with it. Scootaloo had fallen asleep in one of the waiting room chairs while she waited for Rarity to finish, so she awakened with a start when she realized that Rarity was poking her with her hoof. "I have finished mending your suit," she said as she dropped the bag at Scootaloo's hooves. Scootaloo pulled out the bits for the repair and hoofed them over to Rarity before she bent down to pick up the bag, waving 'bye' to Rarity as she headed for the door, but was stopped by a hoof on her shoulder.

"What's up?" Scoot's asked Rarity, who looked at her while biting her lip.

"Promise me...that you'll be careful. Sweetie Belle has been worried about you lately, saying how you're always tired and you always look like you were beaten," Rarity said, voicing her sister's concerns. "Applebloom has been very concerned about you and your well being too. So stay safe when you're jumping across rooftops or whatever it is you do. Also, you should go to Zecora's and see if you can get your eye healed up. Twilight would have a fit if she saw you like this." Scootaloo nodded and thanked Rarity again for repairing the suit as she hopped onto her scooter and raced away from the shop, heading towards the Everfree Forest.

Within minutes, she was shooting through the dark undergrowth, zipping in between trees with a daredevil's smile on her face while she headed towards Zecora's. Despite the terror that the forest was supposed to house within, it would always have a special place in Scootaloo's heart. This was the forest where, one night, she had been chased by Timberwolves and was nearly killed on the edge of a cliff...only to be saved by someone she saw as a father, Batman. He had come from the darkness of the sky to strike down those who had attacked her, only to vanish again into the forest. She sometimes stopped by that same cliff when she came here. But today she needed to visit Zecora, not reminisce.

"That should be her hut up ahead," she muttered to herself, as the spook hut that was created in the center of a tree appeared through the forest trees. Scootaloo skidded to a stop outside of the hut and placed her bag on her scooter, knocking on the door twice before Zecora opened it in answer.

"Well, Scootaloo, this is a surprise," Zecora said with a smile, happy to see a student of hers again. Then her eyes came to a rest on Scootaloo's injured eye and Zecora shook her head. "And I see that you have done something to your eye. You interrupted me while I was making my brew, but take a seat and I can see what I can do for you." Scootaloo followed her inside of the hut, looking around with fond memories at all the trinkets and voodoo items that Zecora had collected and were strewn all over her hut. She sat down in one of Zecora's chairs as the zebra started rummaging through her potions, looking for the one that helped relieve swollenness. "This potion will take a bit of wildberry and a bit of lime. So how goes your battle against crime?"

"Honestly, it's gotten a lot tougher," Scootaloo said with a sigh as she leaned her arm on the table, resting her head on her hoof. "The criminals are getting smarter, not to mention all these new weapons being sold on the black market. Then there's this whole black magic thing that's been going on. If it weren't for your secret zebra martial arts, I probably would have died a while back. Thanks for all the training, by the way." After the battle of Canterlot, Scootaloo had sought out the greatest martial artist to help train her to become more like Batman. Much to her surprise, she discovered that Zecora was actually a master of her homeland's style of martial arts, which involved pressure point strikes and quick chopping attacks. Her training had been hellish, but had paid off in the long run when it saved her life a few months back.

"It was no problem at all. I'd rather help you to stand high than watch you fall," Zecora said as she poured some of the lime into her cauldron and began to stir, creating a thick blanket of steam covering the hut. "Dark magic is dangerous and can tear apart lives, so you must be extra cautious if you wish to survive. Before you go out crusading tonight, I'd recommend that you stop by Twilight's."

"That was my plan to begin with," Scootaloo agreed as Zecora scooped up some of the stew in a ladle and poured it into a bowl, sliding it across the table to her. Scootaloo chugged down the stew in one drink, closing her eyes as the sour flavor completely overpowered her taste buds. "Wow, are all your stews that sour?"

"Only when it is for mares that have been punched in the eye. Now, unfortunately, I must say good bye," Zecora rhymed as she put on her brown cloak and flipped the hood up. "The Ponyville market is having a two for one sale, and in this battle I must prevail. You are welcome to stay as long as you like, but I'd recommend going to see Twilight." Zecora let out a yell and raced towards Ponyville, leaving Scootaloo to feel bad for any of the ponies that dared to try and buy something she wanted. Scootaloo got to her hooves and walked over to Zecora's mirror, smiling to herself when she saw that her eye had already begun to heal. That would make talking with Twilight less awkward, but it would still be tricky, since her eye still had a yellow ring around it. Twilight had also been the pony who had taught Scootaloo most of her detective skills, including how to find hidden clues by experimenting on blood samples. Tricking her was no easy feat.

"Better go and see her then. I need to figure out about this black magic as soon as possible." Scootaloo placed the bowl on the table and hopped onto her scooter, after leaving a few bits for Zecora's potion. She raced back towards Ponyville, heading for the Golden Oaks library. She had the foresight to bring the information on Sombra's spell book with her so that Twilight could help her analyze it. Two detectives would be useful on a case like this. She stopped outside the library, looking through one of the windows to see the purple alicorn running back and forth with a look of worry on her face.

"Things really don't change, do they?" she said as she walked up to the door and knocked on it, stepping back as the sounds of hooves heading for the door were heard from the other side. Scootaloo braced herself for the scolding as Twilight opened the door with a smile.

"Hi Scootaloo. What are you...?" Her words died when she saw Scootaloo's eye. It only took a second for Twilight to see through the potion that Zecora had given Scootaloo to fix her eye. She narrowed her eyes at the bruise but moved aside to let Scootaloo inside, levitating her bag in after her with one last glare. "So, were you making friends last night or did you run into another street sign again?"

"You're never going to let that go, aren't you?" Scootaloo asked with a sigh, knowing that Twilight was talking about the time she flew face first into a light pole when she was racing Rainbow Dash. Twilight sat down with a frown next to her desk and tossed the bag back to Scootaloo, sitting across from her.

"When I agreed to help train you to become a better detective, I had hopes that you would join Celestia's detective force, or Luna's Dark Knights, and share your skills with the rest if the ponies. I never...no, I hoped that you wouldn't become like Batman. But I should have known better. You've become so much like him, it's scary."

"Come on, we're not that similar, are we?" Scootaloo asked as she reached inside the bag and pulled out all the information that she had on the dark book, hoofing it over to Twilight, who looked down at it with a fear-filled face.

"You have the same look in your eyes as he did," Twilight said as she placed the sheet of paper on her desk, before racing over to a bookshelf, scanning it for a certain book. She pulled the book off with such speed that none of the books next to it were bothered by its being removed from the shelf. She slammed the book onto the desk next to the paper that Scootaloo had given her, flipping through the book until she came across the designs of the ritual pentagram in the book, which matched the ones on the paper. "This is very bad. And you say that this ritual had a filly in the center of it?"

"Yeah and according to the computer, all of the fillies that have been murdered died in a similar manner and in the same design," Scootaloo answered with a frown, knowing it was often bad when Twilight said so. "So how bad is it? Is it another kind of crazy pony trying to destroy a city or-"

"The ritual that you have stumbled across is for a pair of demons of unimaginable power," Twilight said to cut her off, slamming the book closed before running back over to the bookshelf in search of another book. "Over ten thousand years ago, two demons with power that no pony could ever begin to fathom unleashed a great war upon each other. Each of them wanted to rule the land of Equestria by themselves, so they sought to destroy each other. The only reason they were stopped was when an earth pony, Pegasus, and a unicorn teamed with a creature, whose name has been lost to history, to seal the two in the depths of Tarturus. If these ponies are trying to summon the two demons again, then they must be stopped at all costs. I need to write a letter to Celestia to inform her of what's going on." As Twilight pulled out a piece of paper and her pen, Scootaloo grabbed the information again and placed it her bag, throwing the bag over her shoulder as she headed for the door.

"Then I need to go as well. If these ponies are on the loose, I need to prepare to stop them." She placed a hoof on the door, but Twilight stopped her before she could go out.

"Scootaloo...I know that you feel like you need to do this, but dressing like Batman won't bring him back," Twilight said in her most sympathetic voice, ignoring the fact that all Scootaloo did was stare at the door while Twilight continued to talk. "You can do good things without needing to dress up like a bat and fight criminals in the night. Batman wanted you to be happy, not to follow what he did."

"You wouldn't understand, Twilight. You can't," Scootaloo said in a whisper. Twilight sighed and turned away from Scootaloo, knowing that nothing she could say would change her mind.

"You're just as stubborn as him," she whispered to herself. "Well, if you do run across these demons, be careful. While they might not be free, the ponies might be able to summon their minions to our world. And their minions are insanely strong, even by our standards."

"Think I can't take them?"

"I'm saying that Batman gave his life to save you more than any pony else," Twilight said. "Don't go making his sacrifice in vain. I'll go through the library and see if I can find any more information on the twin demons, and how they are summoned. And if you go out tonight, be very careful. Whoever is trying to resurrect the demons will know that you're trying to stop them, and they will try to kill you."

"Then I'll prepare with caution. But if fillies or other ponies are going to be in danger, then I need to be out there." Twilight watched as Scootaloo hopped back onto her scooter and rode away, leaving Twilight alone to look up into the sky as the sun began to set. She saw a number of fruit bats fly off into the darkening sky; the sight of them made her sigh.

"Please watch over her Batman. She needs somepony right now."

Demons In the Night

When night finally fell upon the land once again, Scootaloo returned to her cave beneath her home. She felt at peace here, more than she did when she was in her actual home or whenever she went out. The sound of the bats fluttering around her was more calming than any music, and she knew that here she would find peace from the world. But tonight would not be a peaceful night, since she prepared for a fight tonight. Scootaloo stood in front of her armory, looking over all of her gadgets and weapons, to decide which she would take with her. She had to pick wisely, since a wrong choice could spell the end for her if she messed up on the battlefield. After thirty minutes of staring at all her weapons, she decided that she needed the electric batarangs, the grapple gun, a number of explosive pellets and her trusted thunder horseshoes--horseshoes that had electricity coursing through them. She put them on over her hoof guards and smiled evilly as she watched the power surge through them.

"I'd hate to be the pony that I'm punching tonight," she said with a chuckle as she turned the gauntlets off with a flick of her hoof, grabbing the rest of her gadgets and placing them inside her utility belt. While she respected Batman completely, she never understood why he had a yellow belt on a black and grey suit. Seemed like it would give him away when he was sneaking around. When she finished placing her gadgets in her belt, she headed over to the computer where she kept her cowl. She picked it up and quickly put it on, changing from the bright and smiling Scootaloo to the dark Batmare.

'And now the hunt begins.'

Scootaloo flew over to the pole that traversed all three floors of the cave, grabbing onto it and sliding down to the bottom, where she let go and walked to a large bridge made of naturally carved rocks. On the end of the bridge was a variety of magical teleporters that had been crafted by Twilight; each of them would teleport her to a different city in Equestria. But according to the pattern of murders and the time of night, she figured that her best bet would be to travel to Stalliongrad tonight. So she stepped into the appropriately labeled teleporter and closed her eyes as she felt the magic begin to wash over her, scattering her atoms to the wind before re-configuring her. She opened her eyes under the cowl, to look around the city from the rooftops upon which she found herself, her ears turning in all directions at all the different sounds the city made at night. The screams of those in danger, as well as the wail of sirens in the night, greeted her.

'Okay, according to the pattern generated by the computer, there have been a large number of spikes in dark magic in the south east part of town,' Scootaloo thought, going over the information to make sure that it sounded right. She then spread her wings and jumped off the skyscraper's rooftop, sailing across the night sky with her cape trailing behind her. None of the few ponies that were out saw her, and she flew undetected across the sky, narrowing her eyes to look at a warehouse off in the distance. That was where the source of the dark magic was said to be coming from, so that was her next destination. She landed on the roof of the building without so much as a sound and walked across the roof to find a skylight. She reached inside her utility belt and pulled out a glasscutter (she always carried one) and slowly cut a hole in the glass big enough for her to fit through, allowing her to jump down into the warehouse. Much to her surprise, it was actually a lot bigger on the inside than it looked on the outside, complete with neon lighting and silver tiled floors that most only saw in a government laboratory. She heard a sound to her left, and she looked around the room in search of something to hide behind, settling on a number of boxes in the corner. She dove behind them as two ponies in lab coats walked around the corner, talking to each other as they entered the room.

"I still can't believe that the Batmare found another one of the ritual stations again. That's nearly five times she's been there at the end of a ritual," one of them sighed, as they came to a stop in front of one of the walls, placing his hoof on a hidden panel the Batmare had missed in her initial scan. "Do you think that she knows about the ritual plans?"

"Highly unlikely. She has only stumbled across the rituals on accident, there is no way she can connect the patterns between each ritual. She is just a foal in a suit who thinks that she is the demon, Batman. It is obvious that she is an utter foal." The two of them waited as the walls slid back to reveal a hidden elevator. The two of them stepped onto it without turning around, since the interior was glass and allowed them to look down on the floors below. "After all, she's just a pony in a bat suit. How could she possibly know about us?" When his friend didn't answer, the pony turned to his left to find Batmare standing next to him with a dark smile on her face. He tried to cry out, but a hoof to the side of his head stopped him cold. He collapsed to the floor without a sound, leaving Batmare alone in the elevator to see what they had been looking at. The room far below her was massive, filled with something that made her skin go cold, despite the suit's external resistance to the elements. All she knew, as the elevator that she was on headed down, was she would not like what she found when she got to the bottom. When the elevator came to a stop, two heavily armored ponies stood by the doors and waited for them to open. When they did and revealed the unconscious scientists, they raced forward into the elevator.

"What happened to them?" one of them asked the other.

"I don't know. Maybe it...what's that?" the other asked as he found a small sphere on the floor. He picked it up with a confused look as the device opened, letting a storm of electricity loose and frying them both. Neither of them let out a sound as they dropped to the floor, followed closely by Batmare, who dropped down from the ceiling next to them.

"What the hell...?" she muttered to herself as she stepped out of the elevator and into what she assumed was a laboratory of sorts, but it looked like a lab out of a horror movie. There were hundreds of bodies all suspended in the air; dark ritual circles at their hooves. All of their eyes were closed in pain and they all seemed to be letting out silent screams into the air. Batmare started to walk down the corridor of subjects, trying her best not to throw up, This was in-pony. She saw a light at the end of the corridor of terror, and she stealthily moved closer, hiding behind one of the floating ponies to conceal herself. Two ponies stood at what to her looked like a small computer, which didn't make sense. She was supposed to be the only one with that technology right now, and that was only because of her father. How did they...?

"All seems to be going as you wished," the smaller of the two in a lab coat said with a sickly voice as he pressed a few buttons on his computer. "We have successfully brought one of them over. Although I have no idea how we would have managed a creature like that without your magic skills. All of our magic just seemed to feed it."

"It is a creature of immense power, which we will need to overthrow the princesses," the other pony said in a deep voice. Batmare couldn't see his face due to a white hood that covered it. And the white cloak covered his cutie mark along with the rest of him. But he was definitely a unicorn, and that he was bad news. He also reminded her of sompony else she had seen. "Pity that we could only summon one of the stronger ones, but it will have to do for now. Have there been any events that might bring unwanted attention to our operation?"

"Only the one with Batmare, Sir. It seems that just last night she managed to discover one of the sacrifice locations, before the disposal team could get rid of the evidence. Now the princesses know and the rest of the nation will soon." The unicorn sighed and placed a hoof on his covered head, shaking it slightly.

"It seems that she has become an issue that we can no longer ignore," he said while turning his head slightly. "We should dispose of her as soon as possible."

"When should we get rid of her sir?" the scientist asked.

"Now." That single word gave away his next move and gave Batmare time to roll out of the way of his magic spell, a spell that blasted apart the floating pony she had been hiding behind. She reached into her utility belt and threw three batarangs before she had come out of her roll, one smacking the unicorn on the side of the head and the other two going into the computer screen. The scientist swore as he was knocked unconscious by sparks that had started to shoot from the computer, while the unicorn regained his balance and simply stared at the costumed Batmare, waiting for her to make the next move. "So the mythical Batmare comes to grace us with her presence. This is a good day indeed."

"Who the hell are you?" Batmare asked, as she took up a fighting stance, preparing herself for anything he might try. The unicorn stopped for a moment and thought about her question, preparing a suitable answer.

"I am simply the instigator," he eventually replied, walking towards her with no fear. "I am simply part of a larger plan for all of Equestria, for all the world. For too long those who are weak have held on to power and used it to make the very world weak in their wake. But now we have found a way to make the world strong again, and all who take part in it will surely have their reward. We are simply the followers of a higher power."

"You all sound like nuts to me," Batmare responded as she flipped herself into the air and attempted a flying kick. The unicorn placed a barrier around himself in response, but she still had enough time to pull her kick in and roll out of the attack, pulling out another batarang and throwing it at his shield. The shield held, but the pony looked surprised when electricity started to shoot from the projectile. "Just like the Jester clan I brought down a few months ago, or any of the other sickos that I deal with on a regular basis, you're nothing special."

"'Nothing special,' are we? I sense that we have a doubter in our midst, brethren," the cloaked unicorn said with a chuckle. Batmare wondered who he was talking to when his chuckle was echoed across the entire laboratory. Her eyes shot up to see at least twenty of the white cloaked ponies were flying above or all around her. She quickly spun around to face the newest threat, but none of the ponies moved to engage her. "While we are more than enough to dispose of you ourselves, there is a more pressing matter that we all must attend to. But do not fear, for you will see the glory of those who will save Equestria. For just as the great demon Batman saved pony-kind from the witch, these demons will save it from the weak."

Batmare wondered what he was going on about when a ritual appeared and shot a column of darkness in front of her. She backed away as a claw grabbed onto the ground before her and a creature started to pull itself out. She turned on her stun knuckles as the demon fully emerged from the depths of Tarterus. It was around her size, with the head of a snarling dog and a body covered with pitch black fur that stood up like spikes.

"Behold their glory," the unicorn said before he vanished in a flash of light, all of the other members of his group of sickos following suit. That left her alone to deal with the dog creature. She brought her front hooves up in a two-legged fighting stance, as its pure red eyes looked down on her and its maw started to drool at the sight of her. It let loose a howl before charging at her, its speed beyond any dog she had seen before. She timed her attack and brought her hoof up to punch it in the jaw with an electric hoof, smirking as she heard it howl with pain and stagger back.

"I thought that you were going to be stronger than this," she taunted as she spun around and delivered a spinning hook kick to its face, sending it staggering back. She landed on both her rear hooves with a smile as the demon shook its head, looking at her with more cautious eyes. It then snarled and stood up on its hind legs just like she was, letting a row of sharp claws extend on its front paws. That's not good," she muttered before the demon resumed its attack, slashing at her with its front legs while quickly closing in on her. She gritted her teeth as one of the claws slashed against the suit, almost cutting through the diamond-enhanced armor. A swift shot to the eye sent the creature to the ground and a massive kick to its gut sent it skidding across the tiled floor, giving Batmare some breathing room.

"The hell is with this thing," she panted as it started to get back up, the damage to its eye already starting to heal. She looked at the spot on her suit where its claws had almost ripped through, thanking her stars that she had this armor on. "Darn thing nearly tore through my diamond armor, and almost nothing can get through that. What is this thing?" She would have to ponder whatever it was later, for it let loose another roar and started to charge her again. She resumed her fighting stance and waited for it to get closer again. She made it pay when it got closer, flipping over its head and letting her wings take her to the ceiling of the lab, before she kicked off the roof and sent herself flying back down at the creature. It looked up just in time to see a black hoof drive itself into its face, shattering the skull of the demon and blasting apart its brain. It collapsed to the ground as Batmare landed beside it, breathing heavily while she regained her breath.

"Not so tough, are you?" she asked it with a smirk, but quickly jumped back as the demon began to dissolve into a pile of black goo. She stared at the sight for a second before reaching inside her belt. She pulled out a small vial, which she used to scoop up a bit of the black goo for later examination. "Well, whatever you WERE, I'll know all about you soon enough." She place the vial back in her belt for safekeeping while she stood up and walked over to one of the spellbound ponies, looking at the circle beneath her hooves with a frown. "Now I need to do something about the rest of you. Should I get the princesses and see if they can fix this mess or--"

"How about you simply die?" Batmare spun around to see who had spoken, realizing that the scientist pony had gotten back up and was standing next to the computer panel, a weird flask in his hoof. "My master has requested that you die for our glorious mission, and I will abide by his words!" The pony popped the lid off the flask and quickly downed whatever was inside. Whatever it was, it made him drop the flask to the floor as he clutched his heart and started to scream while his body began to mutate. His skin went from white to grey as red cracks started to appear along his body. He grew to about twice her size and his eyes were replaced with black dots. The new monster turned towards Batmare with an insane smile in its eyes, slowly walking towards her while laughing.

"Behold our glory," he said in a sinister voice. Batmare said nothing in return, instead bringing up her hooves in preparation for another tough fight.

Knight and Night

Batmare screamed in pain as the former scientist tossed her across the room with a smack of his hoof, sending her sailing into one of the floating pony bodies. She crashed to the floor with groan and quickly sprung to her hooves, as the giant monster started to lumber towards her with a smirk. His skin began to rip as his muscles broke through his own body. Batmare reached inside her belt and tossed exploding batarangs at the titan, who held up a hoof to protect himself from the explosions. She scowled as he walked through her attacks and threw herself into the air, flying right at him with both rear hooves extended and driving them right into his jaw.

"Is that really all the famed Batmare can do?" the monster asked with a smirk, as he grabbed her legs and lifted her over his head, slamming her into the ground. She gritted her teeth when she felt her right wing break from the impact, dazing her enough that she couldn't do anything as he lifted her up again and prepared to slam her once more. Reflex kicked in, and she grabbed his hooves with her electric gauntlets, sending a torrent of electricity into his body. He roared in discomfort and threw her across the room, watching with a frown as she rolled and vanished into the rows of ponies. "Come out, come out, wherever you are," he taunted as he started to walk through the rows of the ponies, looking past them with a growl. Batmare had taken refuge on the other side of the room opposite of where he had been, trying to keep her pained breathing quiet as she assessed the damage to her body.

'Damn, wing's broken in at least three places,' she thought to herself as she gingerly tried to move her wing, wincing as pain shot through her body. 'That means I no longer have my aerial advantage. And since he is at least three times as strong as me, most of my martial arts won't work on him either. What do I do?' She got back to her hooves and started to sneak through all the floating bodies, hoping that her stealth would keep her alive long enough to help her think of a plan. And then, she saw her chance to beat him in the form of a pillar in the center of the room, one of four that seemed to keep the entire place standing. If she could figure out a way to bring it down, she might make it out alive. But as she looked over her remaining gadgets, she noted that none of her explosives had the power to destroy the pillar. Maybe she could--

"Got you." Batmare spun around and kicked the titan in the jaw, turning his head to the side slightly despite it being one of her strongest kicks. He reached out to grab her with his massive hoof, but Batmare slipped underneath and flipped herself onto his arm. He roared and tried to grab her with his other arm as she flipped over him and placed both of her remaining explosive batarangs on his face, leaping off before he could grab her and detonated them with a smile.

"No, I got you," she said as she pressed the remote detonation on her gauntlet, blowing up both of the batarangs and causing the titan to roar with pain as he staggered back, holding his smoldering face. She whipped out her grappling hook and fired it around his throat, stomping on the cord to throw him off balance and force him to stumble towards her. "And now, I'll bring down the house!" Batmare flipped into the air over the titan and kicked him in the back of the head with her hooves, sending him staggering forward again into the column. She looked back with a smile as she saw cracks begin to spread across the first column, but scowled as the titan pulled his head out of the pillar and looked back at her with rage.

"It will take more than that to kill me!" he roared as he charged her again, his speed much faster than it was before. She barely had time to throw up her hooves to protect herself as he charged into her, throwing her across the room and sending her skidding along the floor. She fired her grappling hook towards his face as he resumed his charge, nailing him in the eye, perfectly. He staggered back in pain and placed his back up against the side of the pillar, holding his hooves to his bleeding eye. Batmare then grabbed her smoke pellets and threw them all around his hooves, completely blinding him in the smoke. Her eyes were protected by the cowl so the smoke gave her no problems as she raced through it to drive her hoof into his face, smiling to herself when she heard the sound of bone being broken. He let out one last pathetic groan before he dropped to the ground, stunned and beaten. She smiled at her triumph before crying out in pain as her wing reminded her that she had been broken too.

"Damn it, that's the second time I've broken my wing," she groaned as she got back to her hooves, using Zecora's mental block technique to keep the pain at bay. She staggered herself past the titan's unconscious body to the computer panel that she had broken earlier. Despite the extensive damage, she could still plug in one of her gauntlets to the terminal and download all the information that was on the hard drive. As she slowly looked through the documents, her eyes got smaller and smaller when she realized that this wasn't just a few psychopaths who wanted to bring about the end of the world. There were literally thousands of names on the list of members that were a part of the organization, with the addresses of each and every one of them. All except for the white cloaked figures she had seen, their information just showed their cloaked forms and a question mark next to their name. Odd, the lack of information or facial features reminded her of the-

"You think that you've won just because you stopped me?" Batmare turned towards the broken titan, who sat bleeding on the ground with a smirk on his face. "You have no idea how deep this den of vipers goes. You haven't even scratched the surface of what will be your final act. I'd recommend just killing yourself, for that would be a far better fate than what they will do to you."

"I'm not afraid of a bunch of weirdo's in cloaks," she replied as she looked through the files again, smiling when she found the emergency release switch. Once she flipped it, she looked back at the floating ponies that were trapped in the spells and smiled as they all started to drop to the ground. A quick scan with her detective vision told her that only some of them had made it out alive, while the others hadn't been so lucky. After a few seconds, the ponies started to groan and shakily got to there hooves, most of them looking around with confusion at the place where they found themselves. Then, their confusion turned to either joy or terror at the sight of Batmare. "It's alright, you're all going to be alright. There's an elevator at the other end of the room. Take that to get out of here. Those of you who are strong enough to carry those who are unable to walk on their own, please do so." The ponies all started to do as she asked, helping the weak and elderly out of the building. Most of them looked with terror at the titan that lay on the ground, but he paid them no mind. His eyes and hatred were fixated on Batmare.

"You will not make it out of here alive," he snarled as he forced himself back to his hooves, his massive body starting to decompose. The elixir that he had drunk was now starting to turn against him and his body could no longer stay together. But he didn't plan to go alone. "Computer, self destruct protocol. Password: new world." The computer turned a blazing red as sirens started going off throughout the base, the voice over the speaker saying that they had sixty seconds to escape.

"Are you crazy?! In your current state there's no way that you can get out of here in time!" Batmare yelled at him, his answer was to chuckle at her.

"No, I cannot. But neither can you," he said with a sick smile, and with the last of his strength he threw his body into the elevator, shattering the glass and destroying the cable connecting it in the process, bringing the elevator car down on him as well. Batmare looked at the bloodstained car while trying to avoid throwing up, changing her thoughts from the dead pony to how she was supposed to escape. With her wing and the elevator both out of commission, her only chance to escape was a small one. She aimed her grapple gun to the ceiling and pointed it at the support beams, hoping that the base wasn't further underground than she had thought. She rappelled into the rafters and pulled out a device that she hoped she wouldn't need to use, a Mark Three Twilight Special. This little ball of energy was three of the most powerful spells in Equestria placed in three separate chambers, so that when they collided upon their release, it made the explosions look like firecrackers. She primed the bomb and placed it on the ceiling, jumping down behind the computer terminal for safety and wrapping her cape around herself.

The explosion was said to be felt all throughout the city, waking up every pony within fifty miles. As for the Batmare, who had been next to the explosion, it felt as if her ears had been obliterated by the sound of the explosion, and her already broken body was sent sailing across the room, along with the rest of the corpses and technology that had remained in the room with her. After about five minutes of regaining her senses of hearing and feeling, she used her might to push a sheet of the metal ceiling off of her so that she could drag herself out of the small hole that she had been tossed into. She got out with a groan and fell to her side, breathing heavily as pain coursed through her body. Her front right leg was practically numb and she was fairly certain that she had a gash in her side. Rarity would not be happy about having to get the blood out of her suit, as well as having to stitch it up again. She forced herself back to her hooves and slowly limped towards the massive hole that she had made in the ceiling, the explosion having ripped a hole in the streets. She coughed up a bit of blood as she walked into the moonlight, reaching into her belt to pull out her grapple gun. She pointed it towards the edge of the hole and fired, pulling twice to make sure it was secure when she felt it hit. She hit the retract button and felt the rope start to pull her up, the barely conscious Batmare holding onto the gun.

R?R

Batmare groaned and lifted her still aching head, blinking the static out of her eyes. The moment she lifted her head she felt the insane pain course through her body again, and she gritted her teeth as she forced it back down, focusing instead on where she was. She was on a night blue bed in the center of a circular room, the room having been painted to look like the night sky with the top of it being a full moon. That, along with all the royal-looking clothing in the closet across from her, told her where she was.

"Why am I here, Luna?" she asked as she turned her head towards the door, where the silhouette of Princess Luna stood silently. The princess walked out of the doorway and over to Batmare, looking over her wounds while wincing every now and then. "Why did you bring me here?"

"I brought you here because you were injured," she responded in a calm voice, floating over a stack of bandages to Batmare's side. "When I found you, during my investigations of that massive explosion that tore apart the night, you had almost bled out and were in a terrible state. Half of your bones were broken along with your wing, and you were covered in second degree burns. It is a miracle that you are still alive, despite the medical treatment."

"You allowed other ponies to operate on me?" she asked with a growl that turned into a wince, as her body reminded her that she was still hurting. "That could have jeopardized my mission. I thought that I was clear when we last spoke?"

"Do not worry, I was the only one who attended to your wounds," Luna said with a huff as she started trying to wrap bandages around her body, only to frown with annoyance when Batmare waved them away. "And considering the amount of damage you had gone through, consider it a miracle that I had the resources on hand to save your life. Keeping you alive while I tried to mend your wounds was one of the most terrifying experiences that I have ever had to go through, I thought that I had lost you at least twice during the surgery. Even my great magical skills couldn't heal all of your wounds, and you will be hurting for at least a week. Not to mention my sheets are probably ruined from the amount of blood you spilled on them. Would a simple 'thank you' be too much to ask for saving your life?"

"Thanks," Batmare muttered from under her breath as she forced herself back up, the pain continuing to course through her body when she started to slowly move her limbs to see how much she had recovered. She would require more surgery in the future, but right now the important matter was giving Luna what she had found out. She pressed a button on her gauntlet and a small memory unit slipped out, which she then hoofed to Luna. "This is a list of all the known members who worked with the group that has been foalnapping fillies. It tells you their addresses and who they are, but if there's any information on the leaders, it's not on here. You can use your magic to scan it like the others I have given you," she started to walk towards the window, narrowing her eyes at the sun which was slowly beginning to rise over the horizon. "I need to go. It's late."

"You've become so much like him, has anypony told you that?" Luna asked her softly as she floated the memory unit over to her hoof, planning on giving it to Celestia later. "Your tone, your demeanor...the fact that you don't like others helping you."

"Yes, I've been told that already," Batmare said. "How long until I need to go visit a doctor?"

"I recommend by the end of tomorrow. The stiches I gave you won't hold up forever." Luna said. Batmare nodded and spread her wings to soar back home, but an aura of magic encompassed her, and she looked over her shoulder to see that Luna was looking at her with a smirk. "You're crazier than he was if you think that I'm just going to let you fly home in your state. I'll teleport you." Batmare nodded, knowing that she wasn't being given a choice in the matter, and closed her eyes as Luna's magic started to teleport her back home. Luna watched her vanish in the flash of light, sighing as she headed over to where Celestia normally spent the mornings watching the sun rise. Luna looked at the device that she had been given, hoping that the information inside would be enough to finally help put an end to the foalnappings and murders. Heaven knows that she couldn't ask any more of Batmare. She hadn't brought it up in fear of offending her, but that was the second time that she had found her close to death. Luna didn't know how much more Batmare's body could take before she finally gave out. And Luna didn't know what she would do if Batmare was to die, especially after all that Batman had gone through to make sure that she had a future. Luna looked out the window at one of the few stars left in the sky, making a silent wish upon it.

'Batman, I do not know if you can hear me, but please help her to find happiness,' Luna whispered silently to the stars, praying that she would be heard. 'She is going down a path from which I don't know if she can return. Please, if you can hear me, help Scootaloo once again.' Luna then turned and headed back towards where her sister should be, wondering what the next day would hold.

Father Daughter Chat

Scootaloo awoke the next morning to pain beyond anything that she had experienced before, the sheer agony that she felt when she opened her eyes was enough to make her cry out in pain and roll out of her bed as her body spasmed. She clenched her jaw and forced herself to suppress the pain into the back of her mind, sighing as she felt the pain recede for now. Her next order of business, since she was now awake, was to look down at herself and see that she was still in the Batmare suit, minus the cowl which rested on the stand beside her bed.

"Last night could have definitely gone better," she groaned, as she scooped up the cowl and headed for the basement of her home, where she kept her entrance to the cave. Everything ached when she moved, and from the way the room was moving, she was fairly certain that she had suffered a concussion. Once again she repressed the pain and pulled out one of the books on her living room bookshelf. Hidden mechanisms moved it to the side to reveal the entrance to her cave. She wrapped her hooves around the pole that descended to the cave and slid down. When she reached the bottom, her hooves gave out underneath of her and she collapsed to the floor, scowling as she got back up. "Come on body, you can't give up on me yet, we still have to figure out what's going on." Scootaloo headed over to the computer to catalogue the information she gained last night before she needed to head out later.

Her first order of business was to connect her gauntlet to the computer terminal and start categorizing the names that she had recovered, a process that only took her ten minutes. While she was going through the list of names, she came to a stop on the cloaked figures. She rested her head in her hooves, wondering who these ponies were and why they were trying to destroy the world. The one that she assumed was the leader had told her that they believed Batman to be a demon, and they were using demons to free Equestria in his name, which showed her just how bat crap crazy they were. Batman was a hero to the ponies, whose only goal was to keep all of them safe from any kind of harm, even if he didn't like them or if he disagreed with them. He certainly didn't want the princesses to be overthrown, and there was no way that he would ever want to see innocents killed in his name.

"Just another sign, showing me how far gone their minds are," she said with a smirk, as she finally got to the end of the list where the unicorn that she had fought resided, the only information on him being that he was the leader of the whole organization, and a unicorn with only one equal in terms of magical power. Scootaloo narrowed her eyes at his outfit, wondering why it was so similar to the pony that she had caught watching her from a distance so often. She minimized this file and clicked on another one, bringing up the only picture she had of the pony who watched her. It was a silver pony standing on the edge of a building, an image that she had captured after she had beaten a few muggers and only caught her on accident. What had made Scootaloo ponder about her was that she had vanished the moment she had been caught on her cowl's camera, but without the cowl picking up any kinds of magic that was known to ponies. Was she an energy being or a creature that used another form of magic? The pony in the picture was a silver mare of sorts with a similar cloak and outfit, but unlike 'the Instigator' (the criminal name she gave the leader) Scootaloo could see her eyes...to a degree. While there were two eyes from what she could see through the hood, they were both pure white and were flooded with energy. Scootaloo noted that while the cloaks were similar, the silver mare had odd designs on her body as well as her cloak, while the Instigator only had them on the cloak. Could she be the real leader of the 'Demon Spawn' (her name for the group) or was she somepony else entirely?

"Gah, this is making my head hurt even worse than before," she growled as she put both hooves to her face, trying to think. She couldn't figure anything out right now, and there were too many questions for her to deal with on her own. She lowered her hooves onto the keyboard and looked to her right at the small stone that sat in the middle of a golden contraption, giving off an eerie aura. 'Should I ask for his help? I'd prefer to do this myself but I'm at a dead end...Besides, it's been almost four months since I last talked to him. Maybe I should ring him up, just for a few pointers.' Scootaloo placed her hoof on the stone and closed her eyes, concentrating on a land far away from hers. She felt her mind traveling across space and time to the other world. A cool sensation ran through her body when she felt the stone make contact with its counterpart, telling her that the connection had worked.

"Hello? Anypony there?" she asked into the void, hoping for an answer. She sat in her chair silently for the better part of two minutes before another voice answered her.

"Hello there, Miss Batmare, it is nice to hear from you again," a voice with a bit of an accent said on the other line, a voice filled with sophistication and a voice that she knew fairly well. "I take it that you are calling to speak to the master about some urgent news in your world?"

"When is anything different?" she asked back with a chuckle, hearing a dry laugh on the other side.

"Hold on a moment please. I will go get him." Scootaloo heard the sound of steps walking away, and her nerves started to get the better of her. She wondered how things had changed in his world in the last four months, if anything terrible had happened. The other voice had told her that he was at least alive, but other than that she knew little. In the hero line of work, anything could happen in the blink of an eye. She sat in her seat without making a sound, waiting uncomfortably for about a minute.

"Who am I, really?" She nearly jumped out of her chair at the deep voice that seemed to come out of thin air. "Who am I, when I'm not wearing the mask?" This was a question that she was asked every time that the two of them talked, his test to see that if she was really the pony that he knew.

"You're still the same with or without the mask," she answered with a smile, having answered this question hundreds of times before and never once getting it wrong. True, she had never seen who he was without his mask, but that meant nothing to her. It had been the hero that had saved her, not the face that was worn when he wasn't playing hero.

"Speak."

"And you even managed to sneak up one me while we're talking across dimensions," she said with a smile, glad to see that he seemed unchanged. "How did you get your stealth skills to such an incredible level."

"Years of training. I take it that there was something specific that you wanted to talk to me about? Or did you finally get your cutie mark in 'most broken bones,' like I predicted?" he said with a hint of humor in his tone.

"No, I still don't have my cutie mark," she replied with a bit of frustration, but quickly brought her mind back to what she needed to talk to him about. "And yes there is something more specific that I need to talk to you about."

"Is it the reason that you sound like a manitcore got a hold of you?" he asked. She froze for a second before sighing with a smile. Even after ten years his detective skills were still as good as she remembered and he could see right through her, no matter how strong a front she put up. "I take it by the silence that you are wounded and you're doing your best to try and hide it from me?"

"And you say that you don't have x-ray vision," she said with a smile. "Lately there have been a number of foal nappings that have taken place in cities all across Equestria. At first I thought that it was just a number of random occurrences, but recently I discovered that it is actually a series of pre-meditated murders with a sinister intent behind them. The fillies were murdered as sacrifices in a ritual designed to bring about two demons that at one time tried to rule Equestria, but went to war with each other when they grew tired of each other. If my information is correct, the organization that I'm up against needs only one more filly before they can open the portal to Hades and summon the demons again. And in all honesty, I have no idea where to go from here." She sat in silence, knowing that on the other end a brain far greater than hers was hard at work trying to think of a solution to her problem.

"Is there a pattern to the murders, such as they appear in certain areas or at a certain time?" he eventually asked, forcing her to go through a number of her notes on the cases.

"No, according to the autopsies, and from the locations of the murders, there is no clear pattern to them. Connecting the cities doesn't form any kind of pattern either. Also, the times of death were completely different; one was said to be at midnight, while the other was in the afternoon. If there's a pattern, I'm not seeing it."

"Try bringing up all of the places where the incidents took place on the map of the land and see if there is a pattern. Mess around with it if you have to, but I guarantee you that there is a pattern." Scootaloo nodded as she started to type away on the computer, doing as he suggested and looking at the incidents from a number of different angles. "So...how is the computer I sent you holding up?"

"It's a lifesaver," she said. "I don't know how ponies could work with simply paper and quills before. Which reminds me, the ponies I ran across last night had a pretty advanced computer as well as a 'teched-out' base. It makes me wonder if one of them had managed to get into contact with somepony from your world."

"That is a possibility that I don't like to think about," he replied. "Speaking of gifts, your birthday is coming up again soon, isn't it? Anything in particular that you want or need?"

"I'm sure that whatever you get me will be fine, Dad," Scootaloo said without thinking, finding that there was something strange about the occurrences and where they took place. The did start to form an image...somewhat.

"We're speaking while working. Please use my name."

"Sorry, Batman, slip of the tongue," she said innocently. "Sorry, no good. There might be a pattern, but it looks to be a weird star of sorts. One more point and it would be a star, but as it is now, it just looks weird."

"Then, the answer's simple: It actually is a star, but the final point is missing. And since you told me that they had already killed five fillies, there are five points. But you told me that they need six in order to complete the ritual. So that would mean..."

"That the final point is where the last of the rituals is going to take place," she finished for him as she started typing away again, filling in the final point and watching with a frown as the image took on the shape of a pentagram. "That's not good. You were right in saying that there was an image, but it looks to be a summoning circle of sorts."

"Did you find where the final filly is supposed to be murdered?" he asked.

"Yeah, Canterlot," she said with a sigh. "I'll send this information to the princesses after today, but right now I need to see if I can find out when they are planning their next move. Knowing where it is won't do me any good if I don't know when." Batman went quiet as she continued to look at the computer for any signs that might help her.

"Remember, if you ever need my help, Dr. Fate can always-"

"-thanks for the offer, but you're needed in your world much more than you are in mine. I remember that during the last time we talked, your cave came under attack. I can manage here."

"...So, how are the other ponies?"

"They're all doing well. Rarity finally got her fashion line going and is all the talk of the Equestria at the moment. Can't believe that it took her this long to finally do it. Of course, you would know all of this, if you had actually told all of the ponies that you were still alive and not just me."

"Like I told you the last time we talked face to face, the fewer ponies who know about the ability to travel between our worlds, the better," Batman reminded her. "If more and more ponies knew that it was possible to travel between our worlds without an energy explosion, then they would constantly try to get to my world. And once the people, or more specifically villains, of my world found out about the power you and your kind wield, they would stop at nothing to get it. And I don't know if the other members of the Justice League and I could protect all of you if they did."

"I'm sure you're just being paranoid," she said.

"How long do you think you could keep Twilight out of my world?" Batmare sighed, knowing that Batman had used his logic on her once again.

"Point taken," Batmare said with a smile. "But then, why bother revealing to me that you were alive if you weren't going to tell anypony else?"

"...Because you needed me to be alive. What about your student? Still having problems with her?"

"Like you wouldn't believe," Scootaloo said, her smile turning into a frown. "Sometimes, she's her own worst villain. She thinks that she needs to defend her family name at every turn for all the crap she gets. Speaking of villains, how's the old bag Morgaine doing?"

"She still doesn't remember a thing about Equestria, but she's still evil," Batman answered. "Just a month ago she tried to take over the world by mind-controlling Superman. That was not a fun a time, although we did manage to break Superman free and arrest her again."

"Ha, she'll never learn, will she?"

"What about Trixie? Have you heard anything from her?" Scootaloo sighed at that, memories of ten years ago flashing through her mind. Trixie was a braggart that let her jealousy get the better of her, and she allowed herself to become a pawn in the plan of Morgaine Le Fay, being taught magic so powerful that she defeated all six of the Elements of Harmony by herself. But Scootaloo had managed to reach through the pain and jealousy to stop her before she could kill any of the ponies. And in the end, she had been the final piece needed to help defeat Morgaine when she used her magic to destroy the dimensional stone that Morgaine planned to use to bring her army of darkness to the land. "She's still been silent after all these years, huh? Do you think that she's-"

"Trixie single-hoofedly brought down all six members of the Elements of Harmony and beat the Element of Magic at her own game, not to mention that it was she who destroyed the stone and foiled Morgaine," Scootaloo reminded him with a sad smile, knowing that Trixie was probably still alive. After Morgaine's fall, Trixie had been blamed for being a cohort for trying to overthrow the princesses and had been exiled by her fellow ponies even after the princesses forgave her. The last time Scootaloo had seen her was five years ago when she visited Ponyville on a trip, but she barely stayed long enough to talk to any of the ponies. She had only spent about five minutes talking with Twilight before she had left, but that had been enough time for Scootaloo to see that she still had the same sad-filled eyes that she had, when she left after the massive battle ten years ago. "My money says that she's still alive somewhere."

"If you say so," Batman said, preferring actual facts to a hunch. Then again, the ponies had shown him that sometimes their hunches could be more accurate than all his detective work. "How's the job going? Are you still working at the gym that you told me about?"

"Yeah, but only Celestia knows why Snowflake hasn't fired me yet, with me constantly being late and showing up looking like a living punching bag," Scootaloo said with a sigh as all of her searching yielded no results. Nothing to tell her when the Demon Spawns would attack next.

"From what you've told me about him, he probably cares about you despite all of your slip ups." Scootaloo sighed again and looked at her clock in the corner of her computer, her eyes widening when she realized that is was almost time for her to get to work. She quickly sprung out of her chair and raced over to where she kept the suit, taking off parts of it as she ran. "Scootaloo, what's wrong? I thought I heard-?"

"Sorry, but I'm going to be late for work again if I talk any longer!" she yelled back as she tore off the suit and threw it on the ground, grabbing her utility belt and racing to her armory to put it all away. "And If I'm late one more time, Snowflake might have me clean the gym bathrooms, and that's something I can't face even with my training!" Once everything was put away, she rushed back over to the computer, putting it into sleep mode before turning to the small dimensional stone. "Bye, Dad, talk to you later," she said quickly as she turned it off and raced up the stairs, praying that she would make it in time to her job.

On the other end of the line, a dark figure sat in his chair in front of a massive computer screen. He rested his chin on his hands as he thought long and hard about what he had been told. Scootaloo was in danger again, but this time it was similar to the danger that he had barely prevented so long ago. Bruce looked down at the small stone that sat on his desk, the only item in the cave that kept him connected to the world he wished to turn Earth into, and wondered if he should go help her despite her refusal. Normally he didn't like to get involved in the business of his partners unless they asked, but Scootaloo was...special to him.

"Are you worried about her sir?" his faithful butler, Alfred, asked him as he sat brooding silently.

"Yes, Alfred, I am. She is determined to follow the life that I have chosen, but I'm worried that this life will destroy her...just as it has done so many others." Bruce snapped out of his thoughts as the alarms on his computer started to blare and he spun out of his chair, heading for a glass case that stood beside the computer. Inside the case was the batsuit.

"Alfred, I'm going. If she calls back, make sure you write down what she says."

"Of course, Master Bruce," Alfred said as Batman tossed himself into the batmobile and drove off, leaving the butler alone with his thoughts. "I say, not since Master Grayson has he ever cared so much for another. I wonder who this Scootaloo is?"

A Path No One Follows

Scootaloo was once again late for her job at the Horse Power gym, but this time instead of rolling his eyes at the tardiness that he had grown accustom to, Snowflake's eyes widened in horror when he saw Scootaloo enter the gym. She was covered in bruises and burns, not to mention stitches that covered the right side of her body. Her skin was black and blue, giving her the appearance of a pony that had been beaten badly. Finally, he looked into her eyes and saw only pain, although she was doing her best to repress it.

"I'm fine, alright?" Scootaloo said with a sigh, when Snowflake asked her about her injuries despite the fact that he could clearly see that she was not fine. Instead, she looked like she had been hit by a train.

"I just fell down my stairs this morning, it's nothing serious."

This time, he did roll his eyes at her obvious lie, but decided to say nothing more about the matter as he walked back to his desk. He couldn't force her to tell him the truth, and she was a stubborn mare at times--a good worker, but stubborn. Snowflake sat back down at his desk and pulled out a magazine to read, but found his attention being constantly drawn away by the sounds of Scootaloo struggling to complete her daily jobs. She was the strongest mare he had ever seen, but with the shape her body was in, even simple tasks such as lifting the bar bells or resetting the weight seemed to be too much for her--not that she'd ever admit it.

"Don't worry, I got this!" she yelled out to him as she started to put the weights back on the rack, straining her muscles as she tried her hardest to get it up. However, her muscles gave out and she dropped the weight on her hoof, causing her to yelp back in pain as she grabbed her hoof--while starting to swear. Some of the ponies chuckled to themselves at the sight of Scootaloo hopping around on one hoof, while others simply shook their heads with a sigh, this not being the first time they saw Scootaloo hurt herself on the job. Her cries of pain were interrupted by two of her closets friends walking into the gym.

"Sweetie Belle! Applebloom!" Scootaloo said with a smile as she hobbled over to her friends, who had just entered the gym, a huge smile on her face at the sight of them. The two of them, however, looked at her with sorrow, viewing her beaten body with tears in their eyes.

"Oh my Celestia, Scootaloo, what happened to you?" Sweetie Belle asked as she gave her friend a hug, not noticing that Scootaloo winced when she hugged her. "You look like some pony beat you senseless."

"Ha, more like an army of ponies," Scootaloo said with a chuckle, but her humor died down when Sweetie gave her a stern look. Sweetie had grown up to become as beautiful as Rarity, and some might say, to Rarity's annoyance, even more so. Her mane had grown long and her eyes were like diamonds. But just as she had inherited her sister's beauty, she also had that stern glare of her sister, which she now used on Scootaloo.

"So, what happened to you to make you look like an army of ponies beat the heck out of you?" Sweetie asked again as she let go of Scootaloo's neck.

"As I told my boss, I fell down my stairs this morning and knocked a table over on top of myself," Scootaloo said in her most convincing tone. As good a lie as it was, Applebloom chuckled to herself sarcastically, since she heard the lies ringing in her ears.

"Ah'm sorry, Sugarcube, but it was funny listening to ya telling us such a lie with that innocent look on yer face," Applebloom said with another chuckle. "So, ya honestly think that after growing up with the Element of Honesty as a sister, that ah wouldn't be able to see through a lie that one of my best friends told? We've been friends for nearly eleven years now; it's foals play seeing through yer lies. So what is really bothering ya?" Scootaloo kept her face emotionless so as not to give anything away, but she was scowling on the inside at how easily her years of learning how to lie had been ripped apart in a matter of seconds. Applebloom was right, saying that living with AJ had made her able to see through lies; making her a very strong ally to the princesses to tell when a criminal was lying. Of course, another one of her strengths was the body that she had gotten, working on the Apple's farm made her the second strongest mare in Ponyville, just behind Scootaloo.

"Yer not going to answer, are ya?" Applebloom eventually asked, sighing in frustration when Scootaloo nodded her head. "Come on, Scootaloo, why can't ya tell us what's wrong? This isn't the first time we've seen ya like this, looking like ya were beaten within an inch of yer life. At first we knew it was because ya were training with Zecora, but now we don't know what it is. Heck, we barely know anything about yer life anymore."

"Yeah, you barely talk to us, and when you do it's never about what you do in your free time or how your life is going," Sweetie Belle agreed as she walked in front of her friend to get her attention, scowling when she saw Scootaloo avert her gaze to avoid looking her in the eyes. "We're supposed to be friends, but all you've done for the past year is push us away farther and farther." Scootaloo looked around out of the corners of her eyes, noticing that a number of ponies had started to listen in on their conversation. She looked over at Snowflake and moved her head towards the door, smiling when he nodded and motioned for her to leave. Scootaloo led both of her friends outside and behind the gym, so that they could talk without being overheard.

"Look girls, I know how thing used to be back when we were fillies, but we aren't fillies anymore and we've had to grow up," Scootaloo explained softly, her mind going through memories of when they first formed the CMC, and when they started hunting for their cutie marks. "But we've all grown up now and each of us has gotten jobs now. My job happens to be tougher than most, but it's a job that has to be done. I don't want to push you two away, but I have to do this." Her two friends looked at her with unsure eyes, knowing that she wasn't telling them everything but hoping there was a reason behind it.

"Can you at least tell us what that reason is?" Sweetie Belle asked, her eyes pleading with Scootaloo, who had to look away again.

"I'm sorry, but I can't," she said softly as she started to head back towards the gym doors. "I...understand if the two of you don't consider me a friend anymore, I haven't exactly been the best friend that you two remember." Scootaloo closed her eyes and hung her head, waiting for the two of them to answer. They were right in saying that ever since she became Batmare, she had grown more and more distant from them, devotiong herself to her work as a crime fighter and detective. She barely had time to sleep and keep her job at the gym, let alone have any time to spend with them. She knew that she had let them down on a number of occasions and that she didn't deserve their friendship. And that's why she was so surprised when both Sweetie and AB both wrapped a hoof around her shoulder and pulled her into a massive hug.

"Aw come on, just because we're not always together doesn't mean that we can't still be friends," AB said with a smile as she pulled Scoots into one of her bear hugs. "Besides, we're still the Cutie Mark Caped Crusaders, and we promised that we would not stop until all of us have our cutie marks. And ya just happen to be missing a mark, so we can't just stop being friends now, can we?"

"It's like Applebloom said, we promised to be friends no matter the obstacles that we were faced with," Sweetie Belle agreed as she smiled at Scootaloo. "And even if we can't spend all our time together like we used to, we're still friends. We also know how hard it's been for you to stay positive in your day-to-day life, after...Batman...but you still pulled through and continued to be the hard-working pony that he showed you how to be. We can't fault you for that. So even if you haven't be the most reliable of friends, you're still our friend." Scootaloo didn't know what to say, so she decided not to say anything in response. She only smiled and closed her eyes in an effort to hide her tears.

"You two really are the best friends I've ever had," she whispered to herself with a smile. Snowflake opened the back door to the gym and caught the three of them as they gave each other a massive hug. He waited until they had broken apart before he coughed to get their attention. He pointed to Scootaloo and pointed inside the gym, where the weights she had been picking up earlier were still on the floor. "Alright, I'm coming. I guess I'll see the two of you later...I hope," Scootaloo said with a sigh as she ran back inside, Snowflake nodded to the two mares as he closed the door.

"Well, that didn't go as we wanted it to," Sweetie Belle said with a sigh as she turned to leave, AB following her. "I was hoping that we'd finally get her to tell us the truth, but she still seems uncomfortable about it."

"Well, ya know how she is," AB said with a chuckle. "She likes to keep her secrets, just like Batman. She really is his daughter, isn't she?"

"How could she be anything different? In the few months he was here, he practically became her father," Sweetie Belle agreed. "I just wish that she'd trust us more and tell us the truth."

"Well, being that Batmare is a secret that needs to be kept," AB said when the two of them reached the point where they'd each head off to their jobs, "I still can't believe that she still hasn't gotten her cutie mark fer being Batmare. Ya would think that being a superheroine would be cutie mark material. What do ya think she'd doing wrong?"

"Dunno. Maybe being a heroine isn't what she was meant to be." AB waved goodbye to her friend and started to head back to Sweet Apple Acres, while Sweetie walked off to her own home to prepare for an upcoming concert, both of them wondering if Scootaloo's decision to be a hero really was what she was destined to be. It was foolish for a pony to try and fight against their destiny, since nopony had managed to change what it was. Once Scootaloo figured that out, she would get her mark. They were sure of it.

====---====

After her work hours had ended at the gym, Scootaloo left to see Twilight for some desperate medical attention. Her legs had given out on her while she worked, and she had dropped some pretty heavy weights on her back. Snowflake had given her the ice packs that the gym carried and told her to sit down until the swelling stopped, an order that she hadn't argued with. While she did her best to rest up, her wounds had started to act up as well, making her entire body cry out in pain which forced her to meditate in the gym to repress it, gaining her some odd looks. She could feel her mind starting to go and certain parts of her body were going numb, which was not a good sign. As soon as her shift had ended, she grabbed her scooter and raced for Twilight's, knowing that she needed aid--and fast. She hoped that the alicorn was still home when she pulled up to the library, banging her hoof against the door and immediately pulling it back as pain coursed through it. Her knocks were answered a few seconds later as the door opened to reveal a massive purple dragon, who towered over her.

"Scootaloo?" Spike asked as his eyes looked over her body, widening in shock when he saw all the bruises and stiches. "Sweet Celestia, what happened to you?"

"Can you just let me in? I don't know how much longer I can remain standing," Scootaloo moaned as she tried to remain balanced, but fell over when she tried to take a step forward. Spike caught her before she could hit the ground and scooped her into his arms.

"Hang on. I'll go put you on the couch and see what kind of medicine Twilight has," he told her as he rushed inside, placing Scootaloo on the couch that Twilight had in the living room, before he dashed off to find any bandages that they kept. Scootaloo struggled to keep her eyes open and to keep from crying out in pain. "Don't worry, Twilight will be here soon. Just try to relax," Spike said from across the room. Scootaloo did as he said and simply closed her eyes, planning on resting for a few minutes. So she was a bit surprised when she awoke an hour later to find Twilight standing over her, and to see that she had been moved to the medical table Twilight kept in her basement.

"Well, look who's finally awake," Twilight said with dry humor, using her magic to heal some of the injuries that Scootaloo had sustained. "I believe this is the sixth time in under a month that you've woken up down here? Why do you keep doing this to yourself?"

"Because you're such a good doctor," Scootaloo said with a weak laugh, which turned into a coughing fit as blood forced itself into her mouth. Twilight put a hoof on her chest and gently placed her back down on the table, sighing when Scootaloo stopped coughing. "Besides, unlike all the other doctors, you don't ask any questions when I show up on your doorstep like this. Makes conversations a lot less awkward."

"That's only because I know what you do during the night," Twilight growled, as a loud crack could be heard when she connected two of Scoot's broken bones back together. Since Scootaloo didn't feel anything, she figured that Twilight had used a drug on her or that had shut down most of her nervous system. Either way, she didn't like it. "And sometimes, I wish that I didn't know what you were doing. Every time I feel explosions in the distance or hear rumors about how the Batmare has been killed, I have a heart attack! I can't sleep at night anymore in fear that one day, one of those rumors might be true! Why do you do this to yourself?!"

"You know why," Scootaloo said weakly, tired of having the conversation. "You've heard the reports from the princesses about how ponies have gone missing and how there's an evil at work. Five fillies have gone missing and a sixth might too, if I'm not out there. Batman wanted to protect everypony, but he's not here to carry out that mission. So I'll have to fill in for him." Scootaloo could hear the sounds of Twilight's magic being used to heal the burns on her body, as well as Twilight wincing, at some of the more badly damaged parts of her.

"Seems like somepony did a poor job of stitching you back together," Twilight muttered as she looked over the stitching that Luna had done last night. "Where in Equestria did you get all these burns? And how did you manage to break a fourth of your bones? A normal pony would be hospitalized for weeks on end by this level of injuries; what in Tartarus are you doing to yourself?"

"Well, I brought down an entire warehouse on myself the other night, and most of the broken bones were caused by me fighting a demon from the depths," Scootaloo explained with a shrug, gaining a horrified look from Twilight. "Don't worry though; I used the techniques Zecora taught me to suppress the pain until I could make it to you."

"I hope you realize that because of these nightly crusades of yours, I had to spend three years learning how to mend broken bones, how to heal burns of the third degree, and how to bring back a pony from the brink of death!"

"Wow, you really do care," Scootaloo said with a chuckle. Twilight roared and slammed both hooves onto the table, looking at Scootaloo with tear-filled eyes.

"OF COURSE I CARE! Do you think that I would spend all this time helping you to become like Batman if I didn't care?! Do you think that I would spend years learning how to heal the worst of injuries if I didn't care?!" Twilight yelled at her, letting all the fear and rage she had pent up out. "I care for you so much that I hate myself for not being able to stop you from going on this crusade of yours. But after Batman died, I knew that I had to help with this if you were to ever find closure; to ever find happiness! But over the years, I've come to see that this crusade will only end up with you dead...and it will be my fault for not stopping you." Her rant over, Twilight placed her head down into her hooves and started to sob. Scootaloo willed herself to get off the table and walk over to her friend, placing a comforting hoof on her shoulder.

"Twilight...I appreciate all you've done for me. I wouldn't have lasted this long without you and you know that," Scootaloo said, trying to comfort her. "But I have to do this. It's...who I feel like I am." Scootaloo looked out one of the windows to see that the sun had just started to set, telling her that it was almost time to go crusading again. She squeezed Twilight one last time before she turned around and headed for the stairs.

"Are you planning to go out again?" Scootaloo looked back at Twilight, who had lifted her head off the table and was looking at her with worry in her eyes. "You're in no condition to go out. Heck, I'd recommend that you spend three weeks off your hooves, minimum, just to heal up. If you continue to do this to yourself, your body will eventually give out."

"That's a risk I have to take," Scootaloo said in a much darker voice than she usually used as she turned and walked up the stairs, passing Spike, who had been walking down to bring Twilight some more medicine.

"Heh, even her voice is starting to sound like his," Twilight muttered to herself as Spike put down the medicine next to her.

"Are you sure that you should be letting her go, Twilight?" Spike asked her once Scootaloo was out of earshot. "She looks terrible. And this isn't the first time she's shown up like this. There was that one time, barely three months ago, when she had lost almost half of her blood gone, or when she had burns on both her wings. Can't you stop her from doing...whatever she's doing?"

"Honestly, Spike, I don't think anything I say can change her mind at this point," Twilight said with a sad sigh as she gathered up the bloodied bandages and her medical equipment. "She has to do this, I'm fairly certain it's all she lives for anymore. But I know one day that her luck is going to run out in the field, or I won't be able to save her. And her death will be my fault." Spike walked over and wrapped Twilight in a hug, comforting her as she quietly cried to herself.

"Hey, don't worry. She'll be fine," Spike assured her, even though Twilight didn't believe it. He looked out the window at the blackening sky, not knowing that another knight was about to rise with the moon.

Riches to Riches

The Cave.

Scootaloo stared at the giant monitor in front of her, racking her brain in efforts to try and find where the Demon Spawn would strike next, but she could think of nothing as she continued to stare at the six-sided star on the screen. Why was it a six sided star? Normally, summoning-stars were pentagrams with five sides, each of the points connected to some sort of sacrifice or symbol. This wasn't her first time dealing with ponies who wanted to summon beings of darkness, but this was the first time for her that a group of ponies had managed to do it.

"Argh, there are no patterns or clues," she groaned to herself as she fired up the list of the ponies who had been associated with the Demon Spawn, scrolling through half, expecting the ponies in there to give her a clue. But no matter how she looked at it, the ponies didn't match up either. Some of them were simple folk who hadn't done anything weird, whereas others were the rich and popular kind, whom others were used to seeing in the paper for doing something crazy. Then there were the real sickos, the kind that Scootaloo dealt with on a regular basis. She spent another ten minutes scrolling, before she finally gave up and decided to just go crusading in hopes that she would find something. She scooped her cowl off of the keyboard and placed it over her head, brushing her mane to the side and out of her eyes as she snapped the clamps into place, so that the cowl wouldn't fall off. Batmare rose from her chair and turned around...to see the silver mare standing across the cave from her.

"You," Batmare said with a growl as she reached inside of her utility belt and whipped out two batarangs, which she flung towards the silver mare with deadly precision. But much to her amazement, the batarangs went right through the silver mare and struck the wall on the other end of the cave, falling to the floor with a clink. No sooner had they hit the ground than Batmare pulled out the electric horseshoes of her belt and turned them on, rushing towards the mare with the magic electricity crackling on her hooves. Unlike with the batarangs, the silver mare actually dodged out of the way of the punch that Batmare threw, disappearing in the blink of an eye. Batmare came to a stop and looked around the cave, finding that the mare had somehow gotten past her and to the computer. She took a step forward to attack, but a silver barrier shot up in front of her.

'I did not wish to do this, but your actions have shown me that if I let you out, you will try to attack me again,' she said--or at least Batmare assumed she said it, since she couldn't see her mouth move. Now that the mysterious mare was finally in front of her, she could see what she looked like. She was definitely a silver pony, but it was an ethereal silver, like she was something that didn't belong in this world. Her cloak also looked other-worldly, covered in strange markings that seemed to glow with power, just like her. Finally, there were her eyes-- two spheres of glowing silver. Her eyes shown with a soothing yet powerful aura, telling Batmare that she was a deadly foe. She pressed a button on the keyboard, watching as the screen began to change.

"What did you do?" Batmare asked as the image on the screen began to twist and turn, eventually coming to a stop when it showed Equestria and its cities from the side.

'You are looking for your answers in the wrong places,' the silver mare said to Batmare as she started to zoom in with the computer, showing all five of the places the fillies had been murdered. 'When a beast is normally summoned, a simple spell on the surface will do. But when you are dealing with the ultimate demons, you must continue to go higher until you make a path for them to rise to the surface.' Batmare narrowed her eyes at the map, realizing what she was talking about. Each of the murders hadn't just taken place at a different location; they had taken place on a different level. Each one was lower than the last, the highest being the one that she had found on accident. Now that she thought about it, the first filly that had been found had been in an old mineshaft, hundreds of meters under the ground.

"So why are you helping me?" Batmare asked as she kicked a hoof against the shield, frowning when she saw that it was still up. If you've been watching me for all this time, why pick now to actively come out and help me? What has changed?" The silver pony looked at her with those empty eyes, seemingly looking through Batmare.

'The darkness that will consume this land is coming faster than I had thought possible. Despite the Batman stopping the evil ten years ago, it was only temporarily sealed,' she explained as she walked up to the other side of the silver barrier. 'If left on your own, you would not be able to stop the darkness from being summoned in time and this world would be lost, just like countless others. And that is something that I will not allow.' See pressed another button on the keyboard and the image of a massive skyscraper came into view, a building that one of the richer ponies in Equestria owned. 'This is where you will find the Demon Spawn as you call them tonight. But you must leave now.'

"Wait, what do you-?" Scootaloo covered her eyes as the silver mare vanished in a flash, sending a blinding light through the cave that scared away some of the bats. When she could see again, the silver mare was gone and she was alone once again. Seeing that the barrier was gone as well, Batmare walked up to the computer screen and looked at the building, her eyes narrowing as she looked at it. Now that she had a target, she could plan for how to get in. She jumped down a level and raced over to her breaking-and-entering supplies, figuring that she'd need a number of items to help her get inside. She pressed a button on the side and stepped back as the black metal doors opened, revealing her stashes of burglary tools. Diamond-tipped window cutters, smoke pellets that revealed magic trip lasers, and her personal favorite, sonic batarangs that could blow all the windows out of a building no matter the size. Of course, she never threw them without her cowl on; she'd seen what they could do. As she finished placing those items in her utility belt, she turned and headed for the teleportation station that lay at the bottom of the cave. She stepped on the teleporter that would take her to the building, preparing herself mentally for what was to come as the magical energies surrounded her.

======--=====

The tower was located in the center of Stalliongrad, a place that was famous for its tougher ponies, who were less trusting than the other ponies in the land. The guards that had been stationed here were there for everypony's protection, and they did not take kindly to thieves and burglars, especially those that ran around in a suit. Even though the princesses had openly declared Batmare an ally of the nation, the guards here still didn't trust her and she more than once had to fight her way out of this city, not just from the criminals, but the guards as well. Normally, she would love the challenge of fighting the guards, but tonight she needed to be stealthy.

She appeared in a flash of light as the teleportation process came to a stop, once again praising Twilight's skills as she looked at the massive skyscraper across from her. She narrowed her eyes at the sheer size of the monstrosity for only a second before she spread her wings and threw herself off of the building on which she was standing, sailing into the night sky as she flew towards the building. The lights in the city had died down for the evening, making her flight over to the building uneventful, something that Batmare appreciated. She spread her wings wide to slow herself down as she landed on the side of the skyscraper, whipping out her grapple gun and firing it up towards a vent opening in the side of the building. Since she was this close to the building, she didn't want to risk a pony seeing her flying around when stealth was what she needed. She jumped next to the vent as the grapple gun finished pulling her up and flicked on detective vision, seeing that the vent covering was barely secured to the wall.

'So rich ponies can make a building this grand but can't be bothered by construction codes?' she thought to herself as she started to tug at the vent covering. It came off with no problem and gave her an access point to get inside, which she dove into without a moment's hesitation. She slid down the vent with all four hooves on the sides, wincing every time that a sound escaped from her hooves. She hoped nopony would hear it. But she managed to make it inside the building without raising any alarms, completing the first part of her plan.

'Infiltration successful,' she thought to herself as she kicked off the cover at the end of the vent and landed inside of the building, her eyes quickly scanning for any signs of ponies that may have heard her. 'Now to find where this meeting is taking place.' With nopony around, Batmare started to scan the area and quickly noted how similar the inside of this building looked to the interior of the warehouse that she had been in the other night. So once again, she had to sneak through a place where her suit stood out against the background as she made her way through the building. As she snuck through the corridors, she heard the sound of multiple hooves on the tiles, telling her that a large number of ponies were on their way. Spotting a place to hide, she dove out of the way just as six armed guards turned the corner and walked into the room where she had been hiding. They looked around once before moving on, none of them looking behind them as Batmare dropped down from the ceiling.

'They were carrying some of the most powerful magic crossbows that can be bought on the market,' she noted to herself, as she ran down the corridor from which they had just come. Whoever this pony was, they had their own personal army and the bits to fund it, a combination that never worked out well. The corridor ended when she reached an elevator. She pressed the call button and stood to the side so that if anypony was on it when it opened, they wouldn't see her right away. As she waited for the elevator, she thought about how far along technology had come in ten years. First, Twilight helped the princesses to replicate some of the gadgets that Batman had used, most of which were eventually given to Scootaloo, like the batarangs they replicated. While she was ahead of the rest of the world in terms of actual technology (thanks to Batman and the fact that he gave her something new every year on her birthday), it was still incredible to see just how fast the world had caught up to the tech that the humans used. Computers were starting to become a common item, while the weapons continued to get deadlier and deadlier, something that she remembered Batman talking about--how when new tech is discovered, the first thing that would be done with it would be to weaponize it. It was scary just how fast the world was changing in such a short time, and how thankful she was that she still had an edge over most of the populace. She heard the elevator ding and she moved closer to the wall as two ponies stepped out.

"...and then the foal actually started to plead for his life, like I actually cared," one of the ponies, a tough looking unicorn, said as he stepped off the elevator.

"Dude, not going to lie, that's pretty harsh," the other said as she shook her head and looked over at the unicorn, her eyes widening when she saw the Batmare standing there. Faster than the unicorn could turn around, Batmare shot out with one of her hooves and slammed the unicorn's skull into the wall, smirking to herself when she heard the skull crack. "Not going to lie, you totally deserved that one," the other pony said before a kick to her muzzle knocked her out as well. Batmare grabbed the two unconscious bodies and dragged them onto the elevator with her, standing them up and leaning them against the side of the elevator in case any other ponies got on. Batmare pressed the button for the top floor and jumped onto the ceiling. She stretched out her legs so that she could hold herself in place, keeping herself there as she felt the elevator start to go up. Just as she had expected, about half way up to the top, the elevator stopped and two more ponies got on.

"Hey, how's it going?" one of the ponies in a scientist outfit asked as the elevator doors closed behind them. When neither of the two responded, the scientist and his associate checked up on them to see what was wrong, but two hooves to the back of their heads put them down as well. The rest of the ride up went without another interruption, and Batmare rolled out of the elevator when it came to a stop on the top floor, pulling out a batarang and turning to the right...and making herself known to six tough-looking stallions that had been lounging around.

"Well, what do we have here?" one of them asked as he got off his couch with a chuckle, cracking his joints as he started to walk over to her. "Aren't you the legendary Batmare? You're a lot smaller than I read in the paper, not to mention you look like a freakin' Halloween foal." Batmare decided to shut him up with a flying kick to the face, but he moved his head to the side just in time to avoid most of her hoof, though a bit of it still grazed his jaw. "Oh, you've got some fight in you. I like it."

"Think we should tell the boss that she's here, Blaze Mane?" another one of the ponies asked.

"Don't be stupid, you know what he'll do to you if you interrupt his meeting," another one reminded him. "You want to end up like Black Heart? Turned into some freaking demon?" Batmare blocked a punch from Blaze Mane and countered by slamming her re-enforced cowl into his nose, paying close attention to what the other's were saying. Ponies were being turned into demons? How did that work? But if that was the case, she couldn't play around any longer. So when she dodged another attack from Blaze, she reached into her belt and pulled out her electric horseshoes, driving both of them into the pony's jaw. He went down without another sound as she spun on a dime and threw herself at another one of them, driving her knee into his muzzle and knocking a few teeth out. The other four ponies sprung to their hooves but were knocked right back down as Batmare threw four batarangs at them, only one of the ponies being fast enough to dodge out of the way. She flipped through the air and landed on one of the downed ponies, driving her electric hoof into his face and putting him out of the fight.

"That's it lady, you're going down!" the one that was still standing roared as he grabbed a lamp and started to swing it at her. Batmare caught it with one of her hooves and smiled at the pony as she coursed the electricity in her horseshoes through the pole, zapping the pony on the other end and causing him to cry out in pain as he fell to the floor. She barely had time to check to see if he were still breathing when a blast of magic caught her in the back, causing her to take a step forward to steady herself. She slowly turned her head around to see that one of the ponies had grabbed a crossbow and was pointing it at her chest.

"Time to die, freak!" he screamed as he fired the magic bolt into her chest with a laugh. But the laugh died down when he saw the spell disperse against her chest and the sound of her laughter echoed throughout the room. "W-what's going on? Why didn't that spell kill you?"

"Simple, you foal," she said with a chuckle as she ran up to him and grabbed him by the neck, smiling evilly when his eyes shrank in fear. "You can't kill...what's already dead." She drove her back hoof into his chest and sent him crashing through the door that they were supposed to be guarding, splintering it under the force of the impact. Batmare started to walk through it but heard a sound behind her. She looked over her shoulder to see the only pony that she hadn't knocked out yet slowly get to his hooves, chuckling as he did so.

"Can't kill you, huh? That act might work on my foolish co-workers, but I know the truth. You're just a mare under all that armor and tricks, just flesh and blood. But the ponies in the other room...they're beyond us. All you're doing is marching towards your own death."

"Thanks for the warning," she said as she threw another batarang into his head, knocking him out. She walked past the pony she had kicked through the doors, into a corridor with two more sets of doors at the end of it. She placed her ear on the door and listened in, hearing the voices of two other ponies on the other side.

"...And you're certain that the other supplier will be able to keep supplying us with the ash we need?" a deep voice said from the other room, a power flowing through it that sounded...otherworldly.

"If he wishes to live, he will continue to do so," another voice said, this one sounding more businesslike than the other voice, but there was a coldness to it that made it hard to tell which one of them was the greater evil. "That foal aside, what should we do about BlackMane? That pirate has constantly stolen supplies that we need for our rituals and has interfered on more than one occasion, not to mention killing several of our most powerful guards."

"Leave him for now, I am more concerned with finishing the plan. We are so close now that our leader will not allow any more slip ups." Batmare noticed that the room went quiet for a second, which to her was never a good sign. And it was interesting, hearing that BlackMane was interfering with the Demon Spawn; she thought he only went after rich ponies. Then again, this pony was rich, so maybe it made sense. The two began to whisper to each other, obviously spooked by something and she couldn't hear what was going on anymore.

'Time to make an entrance,' she thought to herself as she pulled out a number of smoke pellets and an explosive batarang from her belt as well. She placed the batarang on the door and backed off, preparing her smoke pellets for her entrance. The batarang went off in a massive explosion that blew the door off its hinges, the smoke from the door being followed up by the smoke pellets that she threw into the room. She smiled as she heard the ponies began to panic, each of them asking the other what was going on. She slowly walked into the room, the light behind her casting a dark shadow over the two, who peered through the smoke to see her. She noted that one of the two was wearing a white cloak, just like the ones from the warehouse.

"Hello, stallions," she said in a dark voice, her tone sounding like death incarnate as the two started to back away from her. "Tonight you're going to do one of two things. You tell me what your plan is and go to jail, or you put up a fight and go to a hospital...your choice."

Beneath the Hoods

Batmare didn't waste any time in going straight to work. She let loose two batarangs that flew across the room aimed directly for the two ponies' heads. The cloaked pony managed to throw himself out of the way of the rang, but the business pony took it right between the eyes and fell without a sound. Batmare turned to face the cloaked pony, who rolled back to his hooves and threw himself at her, wrapping his hooves around her waist as he drove her into the wall. Batmare drove her electric horseshoes into his face to break his grip and shattered his nose with a knee. He staggered back and snarled at her as she calmly lifted her hooves into a fighting stance.

"I wondered when I would be meeting you on the battlefield, runt," the pony said in a thick accent as he wiped the blood off his nose. Batmare's eyes were analyzing his build and outfit, quickly confirming that he was an earth pony and a strong one at that, considering that a knee strike like that would have knocked a normal pony out cold. "You know that we should not be fighting, right? We should be allies!"

"Heh, allies with you psychos? Don't make me laugh," she said as she kicked him in the side of the head and sent him sprawling across the floor. "We have nothing in common. You're trying to destroy the world, while I'm trying to help it." He groggily got back up, sneering at her from under his hood. Unlike the silver mare's hood, Batmare could still see most of his face despite the hood being up.

"Are we really that different? You are a creature of the night who uses her abilities to fight against those who have done a terrible wrong, just like the Batman taught you. We are following his teachings as well; just a little differently than you. The princesses have failed the ponies on so many different occasions. When Chrysalis invaded, when Nightmare Moon overpowered Luna, and most recently when Morgaine invaded and nearly destroyed all of Equestria. All we are doing is removing the weak from positions of power and placing only those who would know what to do with it in charge."

"And how many ponies and innocents are you willing to kill before you reach that stage in your plans?" Batmare asked as she fired her grapple at the pony in an attempt to bind him, but he ducked behind the desk to avoid it. "I've already found five dead fillies that were needlessly slaughtered, all because you and that weirdo of a leader believe that demons are the answer."

"It was a necessary sacrifice for the greater good!" the pony yelled as he tackled her again, lifting her over his head and throwing her into the window, which cracked as she hit it. "But take comfort in the fact that their lives were not wasted deaths, but were instead vessels that will bring about the salvation of Equestria!"

"You're a sick fu-...Wait a minute, vessels?" Batmare asked, as what he said hit her. "What do you mean vessels?" The hooded pony smiled as he reached inside his coat.

Yes, vessels. Vessels for the demons that cannot exist without a physical form; that are too powerful to exist without flesh or blood. And these fillies can hold the soul of a demon, but only if they are prepared a certain way." The pony had to throw himself to the floor to avoid a batarang that was aimed for his eye. "Since you are here, I figured that you already know about our plan to resurrect the most powerful of demons, Azarock."

"Azarath?" Batmare asked as she threw another batarang at him, smiling when this one slashed the side of his face. "That's the freak you're trying to summon? Well, I hope you and your group enjoyed all those years of planning, because it's all going to go to hell when I get through with all of you."

"You cannot stop us," he said with a smile as he threw whatever he had grabbed inside his cloak at her hooves. Batmare looked down to see a red six sided star on a black rock that glowed with an unholy energy. A massive blast of dark magic shot into the air and knocked her back into a wall, while the dark magic began to swirl around the room. Batmare pulled herself back to her hooves as the magic formed into the shape of a filly on the ground, a filly that Batmare recognized as one of the ones that went missing. But unlike her picture in the reports, the filly's coat was a deep black and her eyes were a bright red...red eyes that looked at her with bloodlust in them.

"What did you do to her?" Batmare growled in a cold fury.

"She has been blessed by the demon that has possessed her," the pony explained as he wrapped a hoof on the tiny demon's shoulder and smiled at her. "And she's just so hungry for...souls!" When he said this, the filly let out a shriek and threw herself at Batmare. Batmare had been ready for this attack though, and drove a hoof into her face with the electric horseshoe, knocking her to the floor. The attack barely stunned the demon and it jumped back up at her with a hiss as it tackled her to the ground, trying to slash at her throat with claws on the end of her hooves. Batmare drove her hind leg into the filly's gut and kicked her off her body, jumping to her hooves as she reached inside her belt and threw a number of smoke pellets at the demon's hooves, blinding her when the smoke burst out.

"Smoke will not be able to hide you from the reckoning," the pony said as the demon lifted her head into the air and started to sniff, hissing when she locked onto Batmare's scent and threw herself into the smoke. But what she thought was Batmare turned out to only be her cape, which she jumped onto with a confused look. While she looked around for Batmare, Batmare snuck up behind the cloaked pony and grabbed him by the back of his hood, spinning him around and slamming his head into the window.

"What did you do?" Batmare said in a much darker tone, holding her sharpest batarang up to his throat as she said so.

"You think I fear death, foal?" he asked her in a calm voice. "I do not fear death, but you should fear the demons." Batmare yelled as she was hit from behind by the demon filly and rolled to recover from the attack as the demon jumped at her again, driving her elbow into her head to knocking her to the floor. The hooded pony slammed into her from behind and drove her into the window, nearly blowing it out. "What about you, pony? Do you fear death?"

"No, I fear what I'm going to do to you!" Batmare yelled as she kicked him in the groin and flipped him over her head onto the desk. She heard a snarl and spun around to grab the demon filly out of the air, throwing her against the wall behind Batmare. This time, when she struck the window, it shattered under her weight and she started to fall down the skyscraper.

"NO!" Batmare yelled as she pulled out her grappling hook and shot it toward the filly, holding on as tight as she could when the grapple wrapped around the falling filly. Batmare struggled because the filly was trying to claw through the rope to get to her. The hooded figure stood up behind her and grabbed one of the weights on the desk, lifting it over Batmare's head.

"Batman showed us that even those without the godly powers of the alicorns can be truly fearful beings," he said as he brought the weight down on the back of her head, nearly knocking her out as her grip began to slip. "That the darkness should rule over the land just as it did all those years ago."

"You're all sick," she growled at him as she moved her head out of the way of another strike, trying to kick him with her hind leg, but he managed to dodge. She was about to re-aim her kick at his face when she felt the rope go slack, stopping her heart as the weight left. She looked over the edge just in time to watch the demon filly hit the sidewalk below, averting her gaze from the gruesome sight as fast as she could.

"How sad. We only had four more of those." Those words were enough to drive Batmare over the edge with rage, and she spun around to drive her head into his nose, shattering his face with the reinforced cowl. He staggered back as she hopped to her hooves and drove her hind legs into his chest, the legs that could kick all the apples off a tree shattered his ribs. He screamed in pain as she grabbed his head and drove the already broken snout into her knee, breaking anything that she hadn't broken before. He collapsed to the floor, trying to breathe through his broken nose as Batmare walked over to him and grabbed the back of his hood.

"Let's see what you twisted freaks look like under those hoods," she growled as she ripped the hood off of him, her eyes widening as she slowly backed away from him. "Your horn...what did you do to it?"

"It was a small price to pay for being one without powers, just like the bat," he said with a menacing smile as he threw himself towards her. Purely on reflexes, Batmare rolled back and placed both her hooves under in his gut, and kicked him as hard as she could over her head towards the window behind her. Then she realized what she did and spun around, while she whipped out her grapple gun to fire...only to realize that the cord had been cut. So she raced to the window and started to throw herself out...only to see the pony hit the ground next to the demon. Batmare looked down at the carnage below her with a shake of her head, personally kicking herself for messing up again. What would Batman have said if he had seen this? He would have thought of her as a failure. She shook the thoughts from her mind as she tried to focus on the room and the conversation that had been going on here.

'There should be some evidence or documents that might give me another clue," she thought to herself a she started to go through the papers on the desks. Then her legs got weak and she felt vomit try to come up. She closed her eyes and forced it back down with her will. 'No, can't think about what just happened. Have to focus on the mission.' A certain paper looked like it didn't belong among the others, and she pulled it out to see it was a flier for the Canterlot Ball that was coming up in a few days. Why would they be interested in that? She placed it in her belt and scanned for more evidence, picking up a file that had a list of potential fillies who might be acceptable for sacrifice. She promised herself as soon as she beat these criminals she would burn this file with a smile on her face. The moment she placed the paper in her belt, she heard a siren begin to blare throughout the base. She spun around to see that the pony she had knocked out with her batarang was back up to his hooves, smiling at her as he removed his hoof from a hidden button on the wall.

"Don't think that you can get away with breaking into my business and attacking me without there being consequences, young lady," the pony said with a sneer, as Batmare flicked on the detective vision to see at least twenty armed guards racing up the stairs towards the room they were in. "Every guard in this building is rushing to this spot, pegasi and unicorns a like. You have no escape." Batmare snarled and started to throw herself out of the broken window, but a number of pegasi with magic crossbows flew up to stop her, all of them pointing at her heart. She threw down a smoke pellet and tried to race towards the door, but it was blasted open by a powerful spell that sent her reeling. Batmare got back to her hooves as a large number of unicorns came running in, all of their horns pointed at her.

"Like I said, no escape," he said with a menacing smile. Batmare slowly reached down into her belt and pulled out the sonic batarang, bracing herself for what this was about to do. Faster than any of the ponies could see, she threw the device at her feet and rolled away and clamped her hooves to her ears. With the protection on her cowl and her hooves covering her ears, she couldn't hear the sound of the sonics that had been set specifically for ponies, or the screams that all the ponies let loose as they too clamped their hooves to their ears as the remaining windows shattered. While the ponies were screaming, she threw herself out of the window and flew down to the sidewalk below, extending her wings to slow herself down.

"Not today!" the business pony screamed, as he grabbed one of the magic crossbows and fired down at her, his aim being off because of the ringing still going on in his ears. The stars had aligned for his shot, since it struck Batmare in the wing, sending her crashing to the ground. She watched as the bloodstained sidewalk got closer and closer as she closed her eyes right before impact, bracing herself for the pain.

===---===

Batmare shot up as her senses returned to her and immediately regretted it, feeling a weird sick feeling wash over her. It wasn't like any pain she was used to, it felt like she had been in pain, but only the memory of the pain remained this time. She was really getting tired of waking up this way. She groaned and looked around her as she rubbed the back of her head, realizing with a start that she was back inside the Cave. But how could that be? She certainly never made it to the teleportation station she had hidden in the city, and she couldn't perform magic herself. Had somepony helped her back, and if so, who?

'I am glad to see that you are awake, and even happier to see that your brain didn't leak out the back of your head before I could repair it.' Batmare turned to realize two things: One was that her cowl was gone and her entire head was bandaged up; and the second was that the silver mare was standing across from her, holding some more bloodied bandages in her hoof. 'You have a thick skull and I mean that as a compliment. Only one other has had a thicker skull, and that human is a pain in my flank to deal with.'

"What are you going on about? What do you mean before my brains leaked out?" she asked as she got back up to her hooves, taking a few shaky steps forward as she forced herself to focus.

'I thought it was obvious,' the silver mare said as she helped steady Batmare with her magic, a creepy silver magic that seemed to be very different from the normal magic she had seen. 'When you fell out of that building, you shattered your skull against the pavement. I was able to repair it in time, but you lost a decent amount of blood, most of which now covers up your floor.' Scootaloo looked down at the floor to realize she was right, reminding herself to clean up the mess later. 'I also took the liberty of repairing the rest of you. You should be fully healed at the end of the day.'

"Well, I suppose I should thank you for getting my beaten flank out of there, but I have work to do," Scootaloo said as she walked over to the computer and pulled out the papers that she had taken from the office. She placed both of them on the keyboard as she started to look them over, not noticing that the silver mare vanished without a sound. She understood the first paper she looked at, since it was simply another sick list of theirs that they made to kill more innocents. She would send it to the princesses later and tell them to protect the ponies who were mentioned on the list. But what truly confused her was the other paper, the flier for the Canterlot Ball that was coming up. Why would they have that? She growled and started to rub her head as the pain returned. She sighed and looked over at the stone that sat humming with power on her desk, knowing what to do. Whenever she got stuck, Batman was always there to help her out.

She pressed the button on the platform that the stone was placed on and sat back, watching as the spell started up and smiling at the fact that she'd get to talk to her dad again.

Dad's Orders

"Speak," Batman said to her, once she had passed the question that he asked her every time she got on to talk to him. The tone in his voice told her that she wasn't the only one having some problems at the moment. And if Batman was having problems, then she would need to be quick so that he could get back to work. But since she had his attention, she might as well use it to her advantage.

"Hey Dad...Batman, I'm having some issues with my work again," she said with a sigh as she looked back down at the flier for the ball, frowning at the sight. "Last night I busted into a rich business pony's home, after I found out about his involvement with the Demon Spawn from one of my...sources. Most of the mission was normal, sneaking through the building and busting up guards when they were foolish enough to mess with me. But where it got weird was when I made it to the top, where one of those hooded ponies that are behind all this crap was talking to the owner of the building. The business pony went down without a fight, but the hooded one did something...that shook me up."

"You let your emotions get the better of you during a mission?" he asked her with no tone of disapproval in his voice. Instead, it was filled with hidden worry for her well being. But Batman was a master of hiding his emotion, so Scootaloo was only barely able to pick up on the hidden emotions, but she smiled when she heard it all the same. "You know how dangerous that can be when you lose your focus for even a second. I almost lost my arm when that happened and I've trained all my life. You're lucky you got out unscathed."

"Um..."

"What did you break this time?"

"My skull. But don't worry, nothing of importance was lost," she said quickly when she heard his sigh on the other end. "Anyway, back to what I was saying. "The hooded one threw a stone at my hooves that had the six pointed star, that we discovered was the symbol that they were using to summon the demon, which I've found is called Azarock."

"I'm going to tell you right now, if the rest of that name has zinthos in it, you run for your life," Batman said quickly, wanting to say more but stopped when he heard Scootaloo huffed in annoyance. "Sorry, continue."

"As I was saying, after he threw the rock at my hooves, one of the fillies I failed to save emerged from it, but she was completely consumed by some sort of demon that possessed her dead body," Scootaloo said with a shiver, remembering the cold eyes that had only shown death. "She attacked me along with the hooded pony and forced me to defend myself, ending in her being thrown out a window near the top floor. I tried to catch her, but she slashed through my grapple's rope and...ended herself. The hooded pony attacked me after than and I accidentally kicked him out the same window. I tried to save him, I did! But...my rope was cut...and I wasn't fast enough to catch him."

"It's alright. You didn't mean to kill him and were only defending yourself," Batman said to comfort her, having been placed in similar positions before. "And he chose his own fate when he joined the criminals. It was not your fault." Scootaloo wiped the tears away from her eyes with a smile, taking comfort in his words

"After that, I found a few papers on the desk there that had some interesting information on them," she explained as she looked at the papers again. "One of them is a list of ponies that I will give to the princesses later today, but the other one is the reason I called you. It's a flier for the Canterlot Ball, a special event that the princesses have every year around this time. What I want to know is, why did they have it there. Are they planning something? If so, what?" Batman went quiet again, letting her know that he was thinking about her problem.

"I think I know the reason behind it," Batman said at last after nearly two minutes of thinking. "My theory is that-"

"Hi there, Batmare, how's it going?" a new, much friendlier voice on the other end said.

"SUPERMAN! What are you doing in here?" Batman roared on the other end, Scootaloo snickered as Batman began to roar at him, while the calming voice of Superman sometimes made its way through, trying to calm Batman down.

"Calm down, Batman, I just dropped by to say 'hi' and--Ow! Stop it! Put the ring away!" Superman pleaded with a pained laugh as Scootaloo began to laugh at the two's antics. Batman had told her all about Superman from a biased perspective, but one day Superman had answered one of her calls and the two of them had a nice talk about one another. Superman was a super being that fought alongside Batman in the Justice League, and she told him about how Batman had inspired her to be a crime fighter. "Okay, Okay, I'm leaving. Just let me give you the documents you asked for. See you later Batmare, I'll say 'hi' again when Batman isn't being all brooding on me."

"God, I hate him sometimes," Batman said with a growl as Scootaloo heard him sit back down on his chair. "Where was I? Right, my theory for the Ball is that most of the most rich and powerful ponies will be there along with members of the Demon Spawn, who will be there to meet with them. It would be the best place for them to speak in public without having attention drawn to themselves, plus you told me that the top ponies on the list you found had little information on them. So we have no idea what they look like or if they'll be there."

"But I have to go anyway?" she asked with a groan.

"Unless you have another contact that you're sharing all this information with, then yes, you will have to do this personally," Batman said with a small laugh. "One of the many joys of being a crime fighter, having to sit through boring parties and occasions to get the information you want. Have fun."

"You can be cruel sometimes, you know that?" she said with a frown, not looking forward to this. She hated all things that had to do with fancy or upper-class, to the point where she punched out one of the royal brothers when he tried to flirt with her. Even though she apologized, Celestia never let her near him again. "Do I really have to do this?"

"My orders. Trust me, it will either be worth it or you get to go to a fancy party. So it's a fifty-fifty that you'll come out positive," Batman said with a chuckle.

"Do I really have to learn how to be fancy?" Batmare prostested.

"Trust me, if you don't act like the rest of them, it will only draw suspicion to you and alert your enemies to your plans. I go to my share of parties and events, and while I may hate it personally, the guest would never know because I learned how to put on another face. That is what I want you to do for this ball, become another pony for a while," Batman said with knowledge, before his end went quiet.

"Something the matter?" Scootaloo asked him.

"It's nothing, just a case I'm working on," Batman said in his thinking voice. "Multiple murders, three bank robberies and the kidnapping of the Gotham mayor all seem to have nothing in common, but I have seen traces of a certain chemical at all the crime scenes that tell me that all the events are connected. Tomorrow night, I'm going to a run-down part of town where this chemical is made. I'll let you know how it goes when you call again. Now go get ready for that ball."

"How am I supposed to learn how to be an upstanding member of society in one day?" she asked with a huff.

"Oh, I think I know one pony who would be able to help you," Batman said with a smile that she didn't see.

"Don't say it. She'll never let me live it down." Batman chuckled again and said goodbye, leaving Scootaloo alone to hate herself as she stood up and headed for where she stored the suit, already going over ideas on how to talk to Rarity about this. While she knew that Rarity would not hesitate to try and teach her how to be a lady, she would still need a good excuse to tell her. Besides mending the suit, Rarity refused to do anything that involved the Batmare. So with a sigh, she headed up the stairs to her house and dreaded the rest of the day, wishing that she was instead being attacked by a hydra.

=====----=====

With her plan all thought out, Scootaloo walked down the street towards Rarity's, ignoring all the looks she got from the ponies as the stared at her bandaged head with the blood stains on it. She was tired once again from the night's crusade, but she needed to get into that ball to see what the Demon Spawn were up to, even if that meant a night of pain for her. But while she was on her way to Rarity's, she stopped when she heard the sound of ponies fighting near her.

"Come on, Sis, go easy on him. He didn't mean it," a pony whose voice she recognized said as Scootaloo walked up. She sighed when she saw that a fight was going on between two ponies, one of whom was a colt that didn't know when to shut up (named Motormouth) and the other a pony she knew well, Pumpkin Cake.

"He insulted our family again!" Pumpkin yelled at her brother as she sat on the cowering pony's back, smacking him in the back of the head. "And I'm tired of our family being insulted by this foal!" Pumpkin yelled at Pound Cake as she started to hit the pony again, but an orange hoof stopped her before she could.

"Scootaloo?" Pound Cake asked as Scootaloo picked Pumpkin up with on arm and placed her on the ground, walking over to the pony she had been wailing on and helped him up.

"Pumpkin, with me," Scootaloo said with a growl as the other pony ran off.

"Why? He started-"

"Now," Scootaloo said calmly, but it was enough to silence any other complaints she wanted to voice. Pound Cake chuckled to himself as his sister followed Scootaloo with her head sunk low, Scootaloo leading the filly away from the town and to a small field where a treehouse sat in a tree. Scootaloo sat down and glared at the yellow filly with the orange mane, who avoided looking into her eyes in fear of the bat stare. "Care to tell me what that was about?"

"He kept insulting my family!" Pumpkin said in a defiant tone, her sudden burst of rage being quelled by another look from Scootaloo. "He kept saying how my family is all sugar addicts and that we should get help as soon as possible! It's not my family's fault that we've run a sweet shop for generations! I couldn't take his words anymore and I-"

"You used what I taught you to beat a pony who only bad-mouthed you," Scootaloo said coldly, cutting off Pumpkin once again. "When you came to me a year ago asking me to train you how to fight, I did so since you promised me that you would only use the techniques I showed you to defend yourself and others, not to wail on ponies whose opinions shouldn't matter to you in the least."

"I was defending somepony, I was defending my family," Pumpkin retorted, to which Scootaloo stood up and indicated for her to do the same.

"When I was taught the martial arts by my Dad, he told me that stooping down to your foe's level is to make yourself like them," Scootaloo said as the memories flowed through her mind. "And I have lived everyday of my life following his example."

"Sounds like he didn't know what he was talking about," Pumpkin muttered, thinking that Scootaloo wouldn't hear her. How wrong she was.

"Come with me," Scootaloo said in a cold tone as she stood up again, Pumpkin following with grumble. Scootaloo walked her back through Ponyville and to a graveyard on the other side of the town, where a large number of gravestones stood, but a statue of a human in a batsuit stood above all the other statues. Scootaloo came to a stop in front of the statue and suppressed a smile. The statue was of Batman with his head held high as he stood in front of a scared filly with defiance in his eyes. She chuckled to herself at how he would react if he saw this, probably think that this was done as a mockery of him.

"Why are we here?" Pumpkin asked.

"Because I need to remind myself of why I took you on as my student," Scootaloo said with a sigh. "While you may be too young to remember the actual battle, I'm certain that you have heard the story of what he did in the short time that he was here. He used his skill and powers to protect us, not to take his vengeance upon those who angered him." 'And for healing my heart,' Scootaloo thought to herself.

"And what's that have to do with me?" Pumpkin asked.

"I want you to think about why you chose to be a martial artist. I know that you were picked on when you were little, and that you came to me to help you to learn how to control your emotions, instead of beating on others." Pumpkin sighed and muttered something about how she'd never do it again, which Scootaloo figured would be the best she could get out of her.

"And if you must know...Batman saved me in more ways than one," Scootaloo whispered, having told only one other this, and he wasn't a pony. "So I try to live out his memory in everything I do, and that includes teaching you the martial arts. He taught me how to control myself and that is what I'm trying to teach you." Pumpkin lowered her head and didn't say anything else, so Scootaloo decided it was time to let her go. She told Pumpkin she could leave and watched with a frown as she ran off back towards Ponyville.

"I don't know what to do with her Batman, she just won't listen to anything I say," Scootaloo said with a sigh. "Was I ever that much of a hoof-full when you tried to train me?" The statue didn't respond, but she knew what Batman would say anyway, stay strong and never give up. And speaking of never giving up, she still had to head over to Rarity's to learn how to be a proper lady. So with one last reminder to stay strong, she headed towards the Carousel Boutique.

Lady Like

Swallowing as much of her fear as she could, Scootaloo knocked twice on the door to the Boutique and stood back, waiting for the horror that was to come. While she had been expecting Rarity to be the one to answer, Sweetie Belle was the face that met Scootaloo when the door opened.

"Hey Scootaloo, what are you doing here so early in the morning?" Sweetie asked her as she walked past her friend and into the Boutique. "Um, why do you have a bandage around your head that's covered in blood?"

"Because I decided to headbutt a rock and the rock won," Scootaloo said without thinking, her mind still on how Pumpkin had been acting earlier. Then she realized what she had said and looked back at her friend with sorry eyes. "Sorry, I didn't mean to say it like that. I've just been having a rough couple of nights and the pressure is starting to get to me. Plus, Pumpkin isn't taking her training seriously, and I'm starting to think that the only reason she wanted to learn in the first place was that she could look cool beating up the boys in her school. Cheerilee told me before that she's been having issues with her, and that they're only growing worse as time goes on." Sweetie Belle motioned for her friend to sit down on a couch as she went into the kitchen to get some refreshments. She came back a few minutes later holding a tray filled with snacks and drinks, which she placed on the table in front of them, sitting down next to Scootaloo.

"By all means, go on. Celestia knows that we don't get to talk much anymore," Sweetie said with a smile as she picked up her drink and started to sip it.

"I'm just worried about her. I know that she gets picked on because she looks like a cake, but I taught her so that she would be able to ignore and overcome the bullying, just like I did," Scootaloo said with a frustrated sigh, placing her head in her hooves. "Sometimes I feel like I'm failing her, and that she doesn't listen to me. Am I doing something wrong?" Sweetie placed her drink down and looked at her friend with thoughtful eyes that also had a tinge of sadness.

"Pumpkin never had the Batman as a teacher, "Sweetie reminded her. "You got to become close to a person that Equestria had never seen before or will again. And in the few months he was here, he chose to become close to only one pony, and that pony was you. Pumpkin will never know the fear of staring into his eyes or the joy that comes of spending time with him. Only you know that. He didn't just live his teachings in you, he left you hope. And even though he's gone...you honor him in another way." Scootaloo looked at her friend with a bit of suspicion in her eyes, but Sweetie Belle's were emotionless.

"You know?" Scootaloo asked with uncertainty. Sweetie Belle didn't respond, but the small smile that spread on her face was more than enough to tell Scootaloo, who sighed and placed her head on the back of the couch. "Well, if you know, you probably know why I'm doing this. When Batman left, he left Equestria without a guardian. And when the scum of the nation saw that the princesses were vulnerable, they wasted no time in trying to bring them down. You've heard the reports of the fillies that went missing? Well I'm finally tracking down the scum responsible for doing it. I will bring them to justice." Sweetie looked at her friend's determination with a frown, not sure how to respond to that.

"Scootaloo...are you sure that this is what Batman would want you to do?" Sweetie asked her.

"Not this again."

"Think about it. You're the only pony in our class that still doesn't have her cutie mark and you don't seem to care about getting one anymore. You're constantly up late and are often late for work. And whenever you do show up, you look like you were beaten with sticks and set on fire."

"I was only set on fire twice," Scootaloo mumbled, not helping her case any.

"Scootaloo, what you're doing is killing yourself," Sweetie said with a sigh. "I talked to Twilight about how many times you've gone to her or Zecora to get your wounds repaired, and she said that some of the stuff she's seen done to you is terrifying. And this is only after a year. Imagine what will happen to you if you keep this up. You'll end up broken beyond repair or worse. Why do this?"

"Because I have to..." Scootaloo whispered to herself. "As for the cutie mark, I no longer care about that because it doesn't matter. I don't care about finding my special talent, only stopping those who seek to hurt others."

"And what will you become in the process?" Sweetie asked her. "Will you become like Batman? Or will you destroy Scootaloo to become the Batmare?"

"If that's what it takes."

"Do you hear yourself? You're so determined to be like the hero that Batman was, that you've forgotten about the other side of Batman--the side he showed around you! He was kind, compassionate, and I think I even saw him smile on occasion. He wasn't trying to turn you into him, he was trying to help you heal. But instead of letting the wounds heal, you continue to hurt yourself! Why?!"

"Because the world needs a Batman," Scootaloo whispered, looking down at the floor so that she didn't have to look Sweetie in the eyes. "And the fillies need somepony to help them from these freaks who are constantly trying to hurt them. Batman gave me the tools to fight against evil and injustice, and I will NOT fail him! He placed his faith in me, nopony else! I have to do this; it's what he would approve of." Sweetie closed her eyes when she heard the last line, not hearing what Scootaloo was saying, but instead what she really wanted.

"You're just like Trixie was all those years ago," Sweetie said as she opened her eyes again. "You continue to seek Batman's approval even after he's gone. You want him to approve of you."

"He was my mentor."

"No, he was your father, and as a father he would want what's best for you, not this...vigilante nonsense." Scootaloo was saved from answering by the appearance of Rarity, who opened the door with a smile when she saw Scootaloo.

"Scootaloo! I'm glad to see you here and I'm even happier to see that you and Sweetie are talking again," she said as she closed the door behind her and walked inside. "You two haven't spent any time together in so long, I was beginning to think that you were no longer friends. By the way Sweetie, weren't you supposed to help Twilight and Spike with the library today?"

"You're right, I need to get going," Sweetie said as Rarity walked into the back, looking at Scootaloo one last time before she got up. "Think about this Scootaloo. Batman wanted you to be happy, but is this really the way to do it? Dressing up like him and fighting crime? Do you think he'd be happy if you wound up dead?" Scootaloo didn't answer, so with a sigh Sweetie picked up her things and walked out of the Boutique, leaving Scootaloo alone with her thoughts. She should probably tell both Sweetie and Applebloom about Batman still being alive, but if he thought it was best that they thought he was dead, she probably shouldn't go against his wishes.

"So Scootaloo, what can I do for you today?" Rarity asked as she sat down next to Scootaloo on the couch. "The only times you come by to see me is either when your suit needs to be repaired or you run out of the diamonds that you use for your flash grenades. But since you don't have your bag with you, it must be something else. So what is it?"

"Rarity, I need you to..." Scootaloo began through gritted teeth, the thought of what she had to say next hurting her worse than any weapon or injury could. "...teach me how to be a sophisticated pony." Rarity's eyes widened in shock as Scoot's words reached her ears, and for a moment she stayed completely silent in shock. Then with speed that Scootaloo wouldn't credit her with, Rarity jumped off the couch and levitated Scootaloo up with her magic.

"Who are you and what have you done with Scootaloo?" Rarity asked as she narrowed her eyes and floated her scissors over beside her. "Scootaloo would rather face a manticore than spend any time learning how to be fancy. She HAS faced a manticore instead of trying to become fancy, actually."

"Rarity, put me down," Scootaloo said in the Batmare voice, a voice which Rarity knew could not be duplicated so perfectly. She slowly placed Scootaloo back on the floor, but didn't drop the scissors. "Look, I know that this might seem completely out of character for me, but the Canterlot Ball is coming up tomorrow and I need to learn how to be a lady fast, or else odds are I'll embarrass myself while I'm there," Scootaloo grumbled. Rarity narrowed her eyes again, trying to see through Scootaloo's lie. Rarity had known Scootaloo long enough to know that there was always something she was hiding when she asked for favors; she had learned from the best, after all.

"Why do you want to go to the ball?" Rarity asked, not bothering to try to hide the suspicion in her voice. Scootaloo had suspected her to be suspicious, Rarity was a sharp one, after all. But she had come prepared with a reason that should throw Rarity off her trail, but it was one that she didn't want to give.

"Because..." Scootaloo began, saying the rest in a hesitant whisper.

"I'm sorry Dear, I didn't hear that. Could you please speak up?"

"Because...there's a stallion there that I like and I want to impress him," Scootaloo grumbled as she looked away from Rarity, but turned her gaze into one of the mirrors so that she could still see her face. Just as she had predicted, the moment Rarity found out that a stallion was involved, all of the suspicion was washed away and a gigantic smile spread across her face and she started to squeal with delight.

"Oh Scootaloo, you finally found a special somepony!" Rarity exclaimed with a laugh of joy as she pulled Scootaloo into a massive, hug, not hearing Scootaloo grunt in pain as she started to crush her ribs. "I thought that after Batman died, you would turn into him and spend the rest of your life staying away from other ponies, but to think that you would find your somepony before Applebloom or my sister...sort of, is just incredible!" Rarity squealed again as she dropped Scootaloo and pulled a chair over to her, sitting on it excitedly with eyes full of curiosity. "Oh, you just have to tell me who it is!"

"Sorry Rarity, but I can't," Scootaloo said with fake embarrassment as she hid her face. "But I haven't seen him in a while and I want to make sure to impress him when we meet again. Or else things might-"

"Not another word," Rarity said as she stood up with a fierce determination in her eyes, grabbing Scootaloo by the arm and dragging her across her Boutique and into the back, sitting her down in a chair as she started to go through her things. "I swear, on the power of love, that I will turn you into a lady that no stallion can resist or so help me I will shave my mane! Prepare yourself Scootaloo, tonight, you become a princess!"

'What have I done?' Scootaloo thought to herself as Rarity began talking about all the proper ways to stand and pose while in the presence of much richer and important ponies. Scootaloo had to endure two hours of being told proper poses and ways to look and not look at other ponies, along with...

"Alright, greetings time. What would you do if a pony walked up to you and stuck out their hoof," Rarity asked as she looked up from her note book where she was grading Scootaloo.

"I'd grab their wrist and flip them over my head," Scootaloo responded with a smile, remembering the time she did that to a fancy pony. Rarity sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, looking at Scootaloo with stern eyes.

"No, that is wrong. So very wrong. I know that might be how you treat half the stallions you met during your...night job, but this is the uppercrust of Equestria and an action like that will be frowned upon," Rarity said as she stood up and tossed her notebook to Scootaloo. "Now watch carefully. Oh, hello there my good sir. I am Miss Rarity. May I enquire your name?" Rarity said with a flirtatious eyelash bat as she bowed. "THAT is how you introduce yourself."

"I think I got it, but I still don't know why I have to bat my eyelashes like that," Scootaloo said with a sigh, gaining a growl from Rarity.

"Do you wish to impress this stallion or not?" Rarity asked with a huff, nodding as Scootaloo nodded her head. "Then you have to learn how to be a proper lady. Now then, come with me and we'll pick out a dress for you. Having good manners is only half the battle, you must look the part as well."

"Got anything in black?" Scootaloo asked with a smile, only to have the smile knocked off her face by the glare that Rarity gave her.

"Make your jokes, the dress is important," Rarity said as she whipped open her wardrobe and let a sea of clothing crash down upon Scootaloo, who was helpless to defend herself against the torrent of fabric. "Now then, what would look good on a pony such as yourself? Blue? No, that won't work, it will go against your eyes. Green? Heavens no. How about...red?" Rarity asked as she pulled out a frilly red dress that looked like something that only pampered ponies in stories wore.

"I will fight you to the death before I let you put that thing on me," Scootaloo said in all seriousness. Rarity got the hint and put the dress away, grabbing a dress in the closet that made her wince as she pulled it out.

"Oh heavens, not this thing," Rarity said as she pulled out a sleek black dress, one that made Scootaloo's eyes widen. Rarity saw where her eyes were looking and immediately pulled the dress away. "Oh no, you are not wearing this dress. I haven't even begun the final touches to this dress. I wouldn't dare let you go out in public with this on." Rarity looked down at the dress to realize it was gone and she looked around the room to see that Scootaloo had taken it and had already put it one, looking at herself in the mirror with a smile.

"So, how do I look?" Scootaloo asked as she turned around to Rarity with a smile, striking one of the poses that Rarity had shown her.

"You...wear that dress perfectly," Rarity said with a smile. The dress did look perfect on her, as much as Rarity didn't want her to wear it. Rarity figured she could swallow her pride and let her friend wear it, especially since this was for the perfect stallion.

"So I can keep it?"

"Yes, you may wear it. Now if you'll excuse me, I to need to pick out my dress for the ball," Rarity said with a happy smile as she walked by Scootaloo, whose heart had stopped beating.

"What did you say?"

"I said, I need to pick out my dress for when I go with you to Canterlot," Rarity said with a smile as she started to go through all the dresses again.

"Why are you going?" Scootaloo asked, using all of the techniques she had learned to remain calm, despite the fact that she was freaking out inside her mind.

"Oh Scootaloo, didn't you know? I attend this ball every year, hoping that one year I'll meet the stallion for me," Rarity said with a sad sigh as she looked off wistfully into the distance. "But for now, you are the one who is going up to meet your perfect stallion, so of course I will be accompanying you along the way." Scootaloo didn't know what to say as her thougths raced through her head like lightning while she tried to think of what to do. She might have gotten the information she needed from Rarity, but Rarity was a good friend of hers who would freak when she found out that she had been lied to, especially since Scootaloo had lied about the stallion. She'd kill her for that. And she couldn't talk her out of it, since she knew that no force on Equestria could move Rarity when her perfect stallion is involved.

"I'm so happy to have you come along with me," Scootaloo said with forced happiness, hoping against hope that Rarity would change her mind, but she knew it wasn't to be. So Scootaloo had to brace herself in preparation for going to a ball with one of the most fashioned-crazed ponies out there.

Shiver Me Timbers

"You two know each other?" Scootaloo asked as she did her best to control her burning hatred for this pony, but to her surprise it looked like Pip was trying to do the same. The pony chuckled and did a slight bow while attempting to kiss Scootaloo's hoof, but she moved it away while resisting the urge to slap him senseless...then having to resist the urge to beat him into pulp.

"Oh yes, I've met him before," Pip said in a calm tone, the same tone Scootaloo used when she tried to repress the anger that was welling up in her. "This is Mr. Manestream. He deals mostly in trade, but he is also well known for being a cruel and rough business pony. He constantly bothers me about trying to buy my business, even though I keep turning him down. What do you want this time?" Manestream chuckled to himself as he took a sip of his drink, looking at Pip over the rim of his glass.

"Come now, young Pip, is that how a gentlecolt speaks to another pony of his own class...hmmm?" he teased with a playful smile, one that was met with a cold stare from Pip. "You know that I wish to buy your company, so that we can merge the two businesses and triple our profits, being able to make more than you would believe in a little under a year. Now, I get that you're still a young business pony, but even you must see that triple is a much bigger number than you are currently earning. Why do you still refuse?"

"Because, my late grandfather taught me to value the employees of my company, rather than to focus only on making a profit; something that you obviously know nothing about," Pip said in an emotionless tone. Scootaloo could still feel the sting of his words, even though she hadn't been the one to whom they were directed. Manestream didn't bat an eye at the remark, but Scootaloo could see the rage beginning to form in his eyes at the insults. But he hid it well, as he calmly took another drink from his glass and looked at Pip again with a laugh.

"Pip, employees are nothing more than paid labor. They will do almost anything if paid enough. Trust me, it's quite fun seeing some of the things they'll do when paid properly. With all the wealth you have inherited, you could easily do the same." Pip was seeing red now and wanted nothing more than to flatten Manestream right then and there. Scootaloo knew that she wouldn't stop him if he tried. But Pip took a deep breath and calmed himself down to the point where he could speak without his voice shaking.

"I would like nothing more than to settle this with our hooves, but I will not brawl in the presence of a lady," Pip said through clenched teeth, while Scootaloo looked around to see what lady he was talking about. "I will, however, ask you to leave me and my friend alone before I make you leave."

"Oh, very well Pip, but do consider my offer some more," Manestream said as he turned and started to walk back into the crowd of ponies. "Don't make the same mistake that your old stallion made when he was still alive."

"Buck that ass, I want to beat him into glue," Pip swore to himself once the pony was out of earshot. Scootaloo raised both her eyebrows at the sudden outburst of language from him.

"Now Pip, is that anyway for a gentlecolt to talk?" she said in a haughty manner, mocking Manestream. "If you are to truly be accepted in society, you must first become a pile of garbage that's only purpose is to continue being pile of garbage. Do you think you can do that?" Pip looked at her in confusion for a few seconds before he cracked up, chuckling to himself at the joke.

"Thanks for doing that, I hate talking to that guy," Pip said with a sigh. "My Dad passed away about two years ago, and since I was his only son, I was the one who inherited the family business. It isn't always fun and the paperwork is boring as heck, but as long as I own the company it prevents scum like him from getting his hooves on it."

"Taking the lesser of two evils, huh?" Scootaloo said with a smile, one that he returned as he looked up at a clock on the wall.

"Man, is it that late already? I must go for now Scootaloo, but I promise we'll see each other again soon," he said as he bowed to her, gently taking her hoof and kissing it. "Until then, mademoiselle." Scootaloo lifted an eyebrow at the performance, but smiled nonetheless as he stood up and walked back into the crowd, waving goodbye to her from over his shoulder.

'He's really changed, hasn't he? I can't believe the colt that used to get picked on in class all the time, for dressing up like a pirate, would become the owner of a multi-million bit company. Never would have expected it from him. Then again, I dress up in a batsuit and go around at night fighting crime, so I guess anything can happen." Scootaloo's thoughts were cut off when she was grabbed from behind by a very excited Rarity, who was very lucky that Scootaloo looked to see who it was first instead of deciding to break her ribs. "Care to explain why you tackled me?"

"Oh, Scootaloo, I know that you said that you had a stallion that you liked, but to think it was the owner of the Black Flag engine company is something that I could never have guessed!!!" Rarity said as she squeezed Scootaloo tighter, forcing the pegasi to have to use her muscles to stop Rarity from breaking her. "I am so proud of you darling, to think that even though you are a crime fighter, that you would have time to get into a relationship. Next time you must introduce me formally."

"Yeah, next time," Scootaloo said as she rolled her eyes. It had been pure coincidence that a stallion that she knew would have been here, and even a bigger coincidence that he had been rich. But then again, Batman always said that luck is just a skill that is harder to master, so maybe her luck was stronger tonight than it normally was. After a little while longer of Rarity introducing Scootaloo to friends of hers, a royal guard came onto the stage in the front and announced that it would be time for the dancing to begin. Scootalo groaned to herself as Rarity began to scan the crowd like a hawk, looking for any stallion that would be fortunate enough to garner a dance with her.

"I'm just going to go sit down," Scootaloo told Rarity, who waved her away as a well-dressed stallion caught her eye. Scootaloo sighed to herself as she sat down, although just like Rarity she too had a stallion in her sights. Manestream was speaking with a number of rich-looking ponies, all of whom were laughing at his jokes like there was a shred of decency in the pony. But despite watching him for nearly twenty minutes, he did nothing suspicious in the least. However, her attention was quickly dragged away from him, when all the lights in the room suddenly went out with a loud bang, causing the ponies to scream in confusion. When the lights came back on a few seconds later, five ponies were standing in the middle of the room.

"Ahoy, ladies and lasses!" the one in the front said, looking up at the ponies at the ball with a smile. "We be here to take your booty," he said with a scowl as he pulled out a cutlass and pointed it at the ponies there, all of who backed away in terror as the other three pulled out weapons of their own. But the pony in the center was the one that they were all truly afraid of, the pony in black. The pony began to walk forward past the other three that were robbing the guests, and came to a stop in front of everypony there. He wore a long red jacket with a black hat that had the skull and crossbones on it, complete with an eyepatch as well. Most called him a ghost or a myth, but his proper name was-"

"Blackmane..." Rarity whispered as he looked over at all the ponies with his one eye, his black coat making the red in his jacket look like blood under the lights. He walked over to Rarity and looked at the number of gems that she had on her red dress, raising an eyebrow as he looked up at her. "You are a foal to come to Canterlot, Blackmane. The princesses are here and I know that they are more than a match for you!" Rarity said with a growl. Blackmane just smiled in return as he walked away from her and back to the center of the room.

"Of course, I know that my crew and I are no match for the two princesses, but that is why I have allowed three of my fastest ponies to go entertain the princesses while ask all of you for your co-operation," he said in a calm, sophisticated voice while he looked around the room. "I am here to collect donations to help keep the rich from being too rich, and any donations you give to us will be appreciated. But if you cannot give, do not worry. I'm sure that we can find something else to take." The ponies all slowly backed away from him as he said this, not sure what he meant. Blackmane stomped his hoof and one of the other ponies dressed like a pirate brought him a magical crossbow that had been customized with a black paint and red skulls, which he then pointed towards the ponies. "So then, who wants to be the first to donate. Don't be shy, you'll all get your turn."

"Then allow me to donate this." Blackmane jumped back as a metal projectile struck him in the hoof and made him drop his crossbow to the floor, the metal device embedding itself in the floor. The ponies all gasped when they saw that the projectile was in the shape of a bat, but Blackmane just smile as he looked up into the rafters.

"Batmare, I didn't expect to see you at this party. Please come on out, I'm the only one on my crew who doesn't bite." Without a sound, Batmare landed behind Blackmane and silently walked up behind him as she went for a knockout blow. But he spun around faster than she thought he could and caught her arm, throwing her over his head and watching with a smile as she landed on all hooves, slowly getting back to her full height. "Still as lovely as ever, Batmare. And still as deadly, I see."

"I won't kill you," Batmare growled at him as he slowly pulled out a black cutlass. "But that's only because it's no fun that way. Breaking criminals like you is what I live for."

"Well, we are at a ball. I guess one dance wouldn't hurt," Blackmane said with a smile before he threw himself at Batmare, swinging his blade at her head as he did so. Batmare rolled out of the way of the swing and shot in for a quick kick, one that the pirate saw coming and jumped away from. He pulled out a crude version of a pistol, like the kind Batman had shown her, from his jacket and fired straight at her chest, the small magic ball striking her directly. But much like the magic crossbow, the ball simply bounced off the armor without leaving a mark.

"I'm going to stop you," Batmare said as she whipped out two batarangs and flung them at his head with precision aiming. Blackmane managed to duck both of them, although his hat wasn't so lucky as both batarangs tore through it and snatched it off his head.

"You do realize that that hat wasn't cheap," he said with a grin as he swung his blade at her, raising his eyebrows as she caught it with her gauntlets and deflected it to the side. Batmare shot her leg out and caught him in the gut, kicking him to the floor and knocking him into a table. "Wow, your dance moves are certainly too much for one partner. But how about four?" Batmare spun around and caught the foal of a pirate who had been trying to sneak up on her with a kick to the jaw, laying him out flat. The other three pulled out their weapons as well and swarmed her, hoping that their numbers would be enough to defeat her. They were wrong. The next one to charge her received a kick to the knee for his troubles and an uppercut to the face to finish him off.

"Your lackeys are weak," Batmare said as she shattered the jaw of the next one to attack her, before finishing off the final one by throwing an electric batarang into his visage, spinning to face Blackmane as the pony fell to the floor. "Give up, Blackmane, you won't escape this time."

"That's what you said last time, my fair lass, but nopony can stop the one who embodies the wind!" he yelled as he threw a chair through one of the windows and jumped out on the bridges that connected the towers together. Batmare leapt out of the window after him and landed on the same bridge he had landed on, looking up to see him running across the bridge to the other side. Her grapple gun was the first item she grabbed off of her belt and she fired it at his hooves, smiling to herself when she hooked his back legs and brought him down with a hard tug. Blackmane pulled out his blade and cut the cable, jumping from the bridge to one of the turret's roofs as he pulled himself on top of it.

"Don't think that you're safe up there," Batmare growled as she jumped up onto the roof with him, dodging the two magic shots he fired at her as she threw another batarang at him, growling when he managed to jump out of the way. Blackmane scrambled to the top of the turret and looked down at her with a smile as the wind whipped his namesake mane behind him.

"Hahaha! This reminds me of the time that we fought along the roofs of Manehattan!" he said with a grin as he moved his head to avoid another batarang. "But as fun as this has been, I'm afraid that otherwise it has been a fairly bad night for me. I didn't get any loot and you kicked most of my ponies' heads in, so...I'll call this one a loss. Until next time!"

Batmare wondered what the heck he was going on about, until the entire castle began to shake as a massive construct of metal and magic rose from the buildings behind him. Batmare's eyes widened in shock and awe as the giant metal ship came to a stop above him, spotlights beaming down on them from nearly every point of the ship, and she could vaguely hear the sounds of ponies barking orders over the loud humming sound. This was like the newest model of the Equestrian air ships, but a much larger version that seemed to have more powerful engines, compared to the ones she had seen. A rope was thrown over the side of the ship and down to him, a rope that was immediately pulled back up when he caught it. Batmare started to throw a batarang, but the combination of the lights and sound threw off her aim and it sailed past the rope. She went for another one, but knew it was pointless when she saw him climb over the side of the ship. So all she could do was watch as the massive titan of metal and power flew off into the night.

"Next time," she muttered to herself as she turned around and headed back to the ball.

====---====

"Oh Scootaloo, thank heavens you're safe," Rarity said as she held her hoof to her head and threw her head back, telling Scootaloo that she was in some shock but not to the point where it could stop her from being a drama queen. The Canterlot guard had shown up just after Blackmane had escaped (this wasn't the first time this happened with criminals) and had promptly arrested the four ponies that had been knocked out by Batmare, whom the guests had told the guards vanished after diving out the window to chase Blackmane. With the ball obviously ruined, the ponies had been told to pack it in for the night.

"It's too bad that the ball had to end like that," Rarity said with a sigh. "I was certain that I would have a stallion by the end of the night."

"Or another restraining order," Scootaloo said with a smirk before laughing at the look Rarity gave her, but the smile fell as she thought back about Blackmane. This hadn't been the first time that she had run into him, and it was certainly not the last, but he confused her to a degree. His MO was to steal from richer ponies and gather their "loot," as he called it, for him and his crew; but it was how he did things that confused her. Despite having done over five robberies, nopony had been killed during any of his robberies, and the only pony that had been hurt was one that had tried to attack him from behind. Interrogating his captured crew was useless since they only knew of him as Blackmane and didn't know who he was otherwise. Her thoughts about the pony were interrupted, as both she and Rarity saw that the two princesses were waiting for them by the door way.

"May we speak with the both of you for a minute?" Celestia asked them. At once they agreed, Celestia and Luna led the two of them to a part of the castle that only Scootaloo and the Elements of Harmony had access to: The Command Room. This was the room where Celestia and Luna kept track of all important information that concerned pony safety. The doors swung open to reveal the blue lit room to the two mares, each of whom took up a seat at the giant table in the center of the room.

"What's the matter Celestia?" Scootaloo asked the princess once Celestia and Luna sat down as well.

"We have found some...disturbing information while we examined the list you...Batmare...provided to us," Luna began as she placed a larger version of the list on the table. "It seems that the Demon Spawns targets are fillies between the age of five and ten, not a day older or younger."

"They're going after fillies now? What will these sickos sink to next?" Rarity asked with an angry growl, while Scootaloo looked at the list with a frown.

"What else are you not telling me?" Scootaloo asked, using the Batmare stare to force the princesses to talk.

"We have found that most of the fillies on the list live in cities or areas farther away from Canterlot, but there is one name on this list that is very close to home."

"Who is it?" Both Luna and Celestia looked at each other with unsure glances before they decided to answer.

"Your young student, Pumpkin Cake."

Training Day

Now that Scootaloo knew that a pony she cared for was in danger, her time as Batmare almost doubled. She was out every night from sun down to sun up, hunting down the Demon Spawn and chasing any leads she had on them, even if they were an obvious trap. But despite her incredible tolerance for pain and her great skills, a week of all-nighters and constant fighting wore her into the ground to the point where she physically couldn't get out of her bed in the morning. That was where she found herself on a sunny morning, when a knock forced her to leave her bed and stagger to the door.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," she muttered to herself as she navigated her home through half-closed eyes, running into a few of her walls. When she finally did manage to get to the door to open it, the sunlight that burst through blinded her to the point where she had to retreat into the shadows of her house. Fortunately for her, she didn't need to see to recognize the voice that spoke to her.

"Woah there, little Sis, are you alright?" the pony standing in the blinding sun said as she stepped into Scootaloo's home. "You look like you got beat up and haven't slept in days."

"That's because I haven't, Rainbow," Scootaloo said with a groan, as her eyes finally adjusted to the bright light and she could see the pony standing in front of her. The tough-looking Pegasus with the rainbow mane was a close friend of hers and almost like a sister to her. Scootaloo waved for Rainbow to enter her home as she walked into her living room and collapsed on her sofa, groaning into it as RD sat down across from her.

"You haven't? Then what have you been...you've been out as Batmare again?" RD asked with hesitation in her voice. Unlike most of the Mane Six who disapproved of Scootaloo's crusading as a hero, RD was actually proud of her for doing it, but that still didn't make it any easier for her to have to see the pony she considered to be her little sister, looking like she got on the wrong end of a bat. "And this happened to you? Geez Sis, I'm used to seeing a bruise or two, but you look like-"

"I got into a fight with ten ponies all armed with knives and sticks?" Scootaloo said in a muffled tone through her pillow, guessing what Rainbow was going to say. "I look like that, because that's what I had to fight the other night. And the night before that. And before that one as well."

"Wait, you've been going out for three nights in a row?" RD asked in shock, Scootaloo did not bother to tell her it was a full week. "Scoots, I know you're tough, but your body has to have a limit. Odds are, you're going to kill yourself at this rate. Why are you-?"

"The princesses told you what we discovered, didn't they?" Scootaloo said, cutting off Rainbow Dash off once again as she picked her head off the pillow and looked into her sister's eyes. "That Pumpkin Cake is one of the targets on the list of fillies that the Demon Spawn might try to foal nap to achieve their goals? She is my student and it's my job to keep her safe through any means necessary, even if it means pulling a bunch of all-nighters to find those who are trying to hurt her."

"Scoots...I know you're doing what you think is right, but I can't stand to see you this way," Rainbow Dash said with sorrow in her voice. "I promised Batman that I would watch over you when he was gone, and even though it might not have been in the manner he meant, I will still protect you. I know it's pointless to try and talk you out of your crusade, but can't you at least let me help you?"

"And if you die, who will the Wonderbolts call their captain?" Scootaloo asked her with a growl, her exhaustion making it hard for her to keep her emotions in check. "Sorry RD, I'm just tired. Thank you for your offer, but I need to do this. By myself." Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to respond, but found that she couldn't say anything. Scootaloo looked up at the clock on her wall and cursed when she saw what time it was. "I need to go. I promised the Cakes that I would train the both of them today, and they will never shut up about it if I'm late again."

"I'll come with you," Rainbow said quickly as she jumped up off the couch, Scootaloo got up as well with a raised eyebrow. "Well, we never really do anything anymore, even though we're supposed to be sisters. And I figure since I taught you some of your fighting moves, I can see how my student teaches her students!" Scootaloo rolled her eyes, but figured that she at least owed RD this, considering how often she had to ignore her attempts to bond with her, considering her night job. So with a nod of her head, Scootaloo and RD both headed out the door and to where Scootaloo trained the two foals, a small field by the CMCC clubhouse, where she had been taught by the greatest martial arts master and her father. When the two of them arrived, they found a large number of foals already playing in the clubhouse. The other two formal members of the CMCC donated it to foals who didn't have their cutie marks yet. In the field were two foals who sat side by side; one was sitting in a meditative state, while the other was pacing back and forth with annoyance in her face.

"Finally, you show up," Pumpkin said as Scootaloo and RD walked onto the field. The foals in the clubhouse all came running out of the tree house and surrounded Scootaloo, all of them asking her why she looked so terrible. She told them that she fell down the stairs even though it was a lie, but it was enough for the foals. "We've been here for ten minutes waiting for you!"

"And it seems that one of you took advantage of the time," Scootaloo said as she looked over at Pound Cake, who still hadn't registered that either of them were there as he continued to meditate. "Alright you two, fall in. Class is in session." Pumpkin kicked her brother, who then opened his eyes and smiled at the two mares, standing up and stretching before walking over.

"Hey teach. Why do you look like a-"

"I get it, I look like crap," Scootaloo said to cut him off, tired of everypony pointing it out. "Today, one of my teachers will be joining us and will also be-"

"Will you be showing that move you used to bust that ugly pony's head open?" Pumpkin interrupted, causing Scootaloo to growl in frustration.

"No, that move is only for advanced students, which we are nowhere near at the moment. Now as I was saying, Rainbow Dash will be sitting in on us and-"

"What do you mean I'm not ready?" Pumpkin asked with a frown. "I'm one of the best fighters in the class."

"Yes, but there's more to the arts than fighting," Scootaloo said as she tried to keep her emptions in check. "There is the control aspect that you sorely lack. So if there are-"

"Hey, I'm one of the most in controlled ponies there is. I can-"

"Laps," Scootaloo said with a growl, tired of the filly interrupting her.

"What did I do?" Pumpkin asked as her brother snickered at her. Scootaloo pointed to the field and told her to get running, watching as Pumpkin got up with a grumble and started to head to the field.

"Stupid, no good..."

"And for that you can run the entire field!" Scootaloo yelled out to her, hearing her groan as she started to run. "And keeping going until I tell you to stop." RD whistled with a chuckle as Pumpkin started to run, her brother chuckling to himself.

"She's certainly got issues," RD said as Scootaloo let out a sigh.

"I have never met a more stubborn pony in all my life," Scootaloo said with a growl as she started to control her breathing. "She back-talks everything I say, only wants to learn what she wants to learn and constantly abuses her skills, to either look cool or get revenge on somepony. I would kick her out of my class if her parents weren't so desperate to try and get her under control."

"Why don't you hoof her over to me or Zecora?" Rainbow suggested. "I'm sure either of us could whip her into shape in no time and knock that sass right out of her. I know Zecora would enjoy it."

"No, the only reason she even takes that class from me is because I was trained by Batman," Scootaloo said as she told Pound Cake to start doing stretches. "And even then she treats him and what he taught me like a joke. I don't know where this attitude of hers came from, but it really gets on my nerves."

"She's upset about a lot of things," Pound Cake said as he started doing headstand pushups without the aid of his wings. "A lot of ponies make fun of her for the fact that she looks like a cupcake, which she does, and feels like she needs to defend herself every ten seconds. You think you have it bad, try living with her and see how bad it is."

"Still, she shouldn't talk to you the way she does, especially considering what you're doing for her," RD said with a frown as she watched the unicorn run back and forth across the field. "With what you went through when you were her age, I'd say that you've more than earned respect from others."

"I don't really care if I'm respected or not, but I am fed up," Scootaloo said before turning back to Pound Cake. "Alright, that's enough talking. Let's get class started."

"Is Sis going to join us?" he asked as he flipped out of his headstand and landed in a sitting position.

"No, if she wants to run her mouth she can run her legs as well. Alright, today I will be showing you some internal striking techniques. These are very advanced so pay close attention." Pound Cake nodded and watched closely as Scootaloo brought out the dummy that she had practiced on back when she was being trained, a small smile escaping her lips as she remembered how Batman had drilled the techniques into her. She closed her eyes and focused for a quick second before she struck out with her hoof to strike the dummy, stepping back as Pound looked at it in confusion.

"Um, I didn't see-"

"Wait for it." The second after she said that the dummy fell over with a loud crack, causing Pound Cake's jaw to hit the ground as RD smiled at the display. The brief wait for the impact wasn't necessary, but it was still a cool trick that she liked to do. "So, did you see what I did there?"

"Nope."

"Alright, the trick is to try and focus your energy into your opponent's internal organs instead of trying to break their exterior. The key to this is, of course, focus and concentration. Combine that with a lightning-fast strike and you should be able to preform it. Want to give it a try?" Pound hopped up to his hooves and walked over to the dummy, setting it back up before he began trying to imitate what Scootaloo had done.

"Zecora teach you that one? I know I didn't," Rainbow asked as Scootaloo watched with a smile, while Pound got closer and closer with each hit. His sister might have been the better fighter, but Pound Cake was definitely a quick learner and a master of techniques. She wouldn't be surprised if one day his sister found herself unable to beat him in a sparring match.

"Actually, this is one of the techniques that Batman showed to me, telling me that it would be helpful in bringing down ponies that were a lot tougher than me. It's saved my flank a few times."

"Wait, this is a Batman move and you're not showing it to Pumpkin?" RD said with a smirk as she looked to the running filly, who was breathing heavily but still continued to run. "She's going to hate you for this."

"She's not ready. This is a move that requires control and focus, two areas that she lacks considerably. When I feel that she's ready, I'll teach her, but until then we'll continue to focus on breathing and slow motion moves." Scootaloo waved Pumpkin over after deciding that she had run long enough, ignoring the look that the orange-maned pony gave her as she instructed her to start with controlled movements. Pumpkin started to ask why she couldn't do what her brother was doing, but a glare from Scootaloo silenced her.

"You teach just like he does," RD said with a chuckle as she continued to watch.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you are kind and tolerant, but you don't take any crap and give the same glare he does," RD said as she thought back. "Yep, I got the same glare from him that one day he showed you throws and takedowns. It was the same day that he mentally beat into me what it meant to be a respectable sister and how to get my act together. Speaking of that day, that was about ten years ago today, meaning your birthday is tomorrow. Are you making any special plans for it?"

"I plan to wake up whenever I can after work, and visit my parents' grave. Then, I'll go see my Dad's grave and speak to him for a while as I try to avoid whatever Pinkie has thought up for me. Then, I might visit that foreign restaurant I like and sleep for a few hours before going crusading again."

"What kind of birthday is that supposed to be? " RD asked with a look. "As your older sister, it is my job to make sure that you have fun on your birthday, not spend it like Batman would. Tomorrow, you and I are going to invite your friends over and we're going to go so something awesome. I don't care what the Wonderbolts think, my little sister comes first." Scootaloo didn't bother to argue, when RD got set on something like this, it was almost impossible to break her out of it. Which was a shame, because she had planned to spend the free time she had tomorrow talking with Batman. A few new points of interest had shown up in her case, and she wanted to speak with him, especially since she hadn't been able to during the week due to their different schedules.

"Fine...but promise me that you won't have Pinkie throw me a massive surprise party and not tell me about it," Scootaloo made her promise. RD agreed and Scootaloo told the two foals to stop what they were doing to prepare for sparring. Pumpkin chuckled to herself as she rubbed her hooves together, while Pound simply closed his eyes and relaxed. The two faced each other and bowed as the orange mare raised her hoof and brought it down, telling them to begin. Just as she had predicted, Pumpkin charged right for her brother and threw herself at him. And also like she had predicted, Pound saw this coming and rolled with her attack, placing a hoof in her gut as he kicked her over his head. She struck the ground and rolled back up, resuming her attack with a more cautious stance. She threw punch after punch that was either dodged or deflected by Pound, who watched her eyes carefully as he took step after step back.

"What's the matter Bro, too afraid to fight a girl?" Pumpkin asked with a smirk.

"I'm fighting a girl?" Pound shot back with a smile, rolling out of the way of her next angry punch. She tackled her brother to the ground and went in for a punch, but an orange hoof stopped her.

"That is enough," Scootaloo said coldly, breaking the two apart and helping Pound back up. "Pumpkin, what have I told you about fighting while you're angry?"

"Hey, he's the one who insulted me! He-"

"What did I say?"

"...Anger can cloud your judgment and cause you to make mistakes that could cost you a fight or your life," Pumpkin muttered. "But I had him beat!"

"Yeah, you had your brother beat, but that was probably because neither of you were really trying to hurt each other," Rainbow Dash said as she decided to enter the discussion. "But in real life, your opponents will never hold back and will fight to kill. You have to learn to control yourself or else you will put yourself and others at risk." Pumpkin grumbled to herself as Pound dusted himself off, going over in his head what he had done wrong during the match.

"Alright you two, that's enough for today. You can both go home. Pumpkin, I want you tell your parents that I want to meet with them...again." Both the foals ran off while talking to each other about various things as RD walked in front of Scootaloo.

"So, you're fine with tomorrow then?"

"Yes, I suppose I can take a day off. Maybe Snowflake will finally fire me," she said with a smirk that was met with a look from Rainbow.

"Also, I want you to take tonight off as well. I want you at one hundred percent tomorrow morning." Scootaloo didn't answer as RD flew off, knowing that she wouldn't be able to keep that promise. She was needed and there might be ponies who could die if she wasn't patrolling the cities. But she might be able to cut her routes a little shorter for tonight. Scootaloo shook her head and headed back home, already planning what gadgets to take with her as she went crusading tonight.

Birthday Surprise

After another night of fighting the local scum and trying to find more information about the Demon Spawn, Scootaloo had finally fallen asleep in her bed around four in the morning. She had planned to sleep in the rest of the day, but then she remembered the arrangement that she had made with her sister the day before, moments before a loud knocking came at the door. Scootaloo groaned as she looked at the clock, which read noon, before rolling out of bed and landing on all fours, walking over to the door and once again opening it to blinding sunlight.

"Well, look who's finally up," Applebloom said with a smile as she pulled Scootaloo into a hug. "We come by earlier but ya didn't answer yer door. So we figured that we'd let ya get some sleep before we visited again."

"You're too kind," she muttered as she tried to keep her eyes open. Through her bleary eyes, she could see Sweetie Belle and Rainbow Dash standing behind AB, both of whom were smiling at the scene. "So are we going to do something or are you going to continue to crush me to death?"

"Oops, sorry," Applebloom said as she let go of her. Scootaloo closed the door behind her as she left her house and turned back to her friends.

"Alright, what do you have planned for me on my special day?" The three noticed the lack of enthusiasm in her voice, but that didn't stop them from smiling at her with a hint of mischief in their eyes.

"Well, first we're going to do something that you just love to do, but haven't had the time to go do in a while," Rainbow Dash said with a smile.

"I swear, if you're thinking what I-"

"We're going to get you some new clothes!" Sweetie yelled.

"I will kill you all," Scootaloo threatened, but her words were lost on her friends, who grabbed her arms and dragged her through the streets despite her resisting them as painlessly as she could. But it was to no avail, as she quickly found herself outside of the Carousel Boutique, shuddering at the thought of having to go inside. "I could drop all of you right now and the courts would rule it as self defense."

"Come on, you used to go in here all the time when we were younger," Sweetie Belle said with a smile, as she placed both hooves on Scootaloo's back and started to push her towards the door, having the other two help her when Scootaloo managed to stop Sweetie by bracing her legs against the door. After a minute of pushing, screaming and fighting, the three finally managed to not push her through the door, but broke the hinges on the door instead, and they all tumbled inside. Scootaloo pushed the other mares off of her and looked up to see...

"Is that...something that humans would wear?" she asked in disbelief, as she stood up and walked over to the outfit that was resting on one of the manikins that sat in the center of the room. It was just as she thought, a tee shirt, short pants combo. And on the front of the shirt was a black bat in the center of a yellow circle, bringing back memories for her. "What is this?"

"It's my gift to you," Sweetie said with a smile as she walked over to her friend and hugged her. "I noticed how down you've been lately, and figured that you could use something somewhat familiar to cheer you up. Now I know that the bat symbol in the center isn't the same as your father's, but it was the best I could do." Scootaloo looked at the clothing in her hooves with a thin smile, happy with how they looked, despite what Sweetie said. She placed them on a table next to her and wrapped her friend in a hug as well.

"I love it. Thanks for the gift." She let go of Sweetie as she threw the clothes on. "How do I look?"

"Like a human would." Sweetie said with a smile. "Now come on. The rest of us each has a gift for you as well, and for Applebloom's, we can't be late, so let's get going." Scootaloo raised an eyebrow, wondering what they had planned for her, but she followed with a shrug. Applebloom took the lead this time and led the group through the streets of Ponyville, Scootaloo chatting with RD about what the Wonderbolts were up to.

"I make sure that I only pick the best fliers for my team, or the ones with the most heart," RD said when Scootaloo asked how the recruitment process was going. "If we're supposed to be the aerial defenders of Ponyville, then we need to be the best. We can't let the Dark Knights beat us." Scootaloo rolled her eyes at RD's rivalry with the Dark Knights, which had formed ever since the Knights had managed to stop an Ursa back when it had attacked Ponyville, before the Wonderbolts could. "Of course, Luna's training program is only for the toughest of the ponies, so they have that going for them, but we won't lose!"

"I hope that whatever you guys had planned for me isn't happening outdoors, because it looks like it's going to rain," Scootaloo muttered as she looked up at the sky, seeing the black clouds that had formed. She hadn't been informed of any rainstorms coming near Ponyville, but then again, the pegasi sometimes forgot days when they were supposed to make it rain.

"We're here!" Applebloom yelled as they reached their destination. Scootaloo looked past her to see that they had arrived at the bowling alley.

"And why are we here again?" Scootaloo asked as she walked over to Applebloom.

"Because we haven't done this in ages, and ah still owe ya fer beating me that one time by one pin," she said with a wink. "And Rainbow thought it would be a good idea to help ya unwind since yer so tense and stressed from yer job." Scoot's really didn't want to, but she owed her friends from all the times she hadn't been there for them, so she figured that this small sacrifice wouldn't hurt. So with a bit of a forced smile on her face, she followed her friends and sister inside. She noticed immediately that there was already a small area set up for her with a banner hanging overhead, with the words 'Happy Birthday' written on it and the table already had a cake on it.

"You guys really didn't have to reserve me my own spot," she told them, feeling touched that they cared this much.

"Anything fer our friend," AB said. "Now let's get our bowling balls and we'll get started." Scootaloo went with one of the heavier balls for her, while the other mares went with mostly lighter ones, except for RD, who matched Scootaloo pound for pound. Naturally, the mares had set it up so that Scootaloo went first. The girls cheered for her as she threw the ball down the lane and yelled even louder when she hit the strike.

"How did you do that so easily?" RD asked as Scootaloo sat down while Sweetie went up.

"It's easy to calculate how the ball will roll when the proper spin is applied," Scootaloo said as she poured herself a drink that they had gotten. "You should try to throw a batarang. Much harder to do."

"I'll take your word for it," Rainbow said as Sweetie sat back down at the table with a huff, having only hit five pins. After watching AB buck the ball down the lane and obliterate the pins as well as the back wall, it was RD's turn to go. And just like Scootaloo, she nailed a perfect strike with ease and had a huge smile on her face as she walked back over. "I just throw as hard as I can and hope that I don't kill anypony in the process. So far it hasn't failed me."

"Uh-huh. Okay, how about when we finish up we get to cake?" Sweetie suggested. So after their rousing game of bowling (RD and Scootaloo crushed the other two), they let Scootaloo cut the cake while singing her the birthday song--with their own little bits of personal history thrown in, embarrassing Scootaloo to the point where she hid under the table.

"Alright, so we got my new outfit and we went bowling, where you three promptly destroyed any reputation I had. What horrors await me next?" she asked with a smile as they left the bowling alley an hour later.

"Next up is my gift, and trust me when I tell you that it will be the greatest gift you ever received," Dash boasted as she started to walk away. "Just follow me to see...Scootaloo what's wrong?" Scootaloo had completely blocked out everything that RD had been saying and was simply staring down the street. Her friends all followed her gaze, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. But Scootaloo saw somepony that she always hated to see. The silver mare.

"I'll catch up with you guys later. Something's come up," she said in a tone that made none of them question her, despite the many questions they did have. So they all left Scootaloo alone as thunder crackled across the sky and simply went their separate ways. Once they were gone, Scootaloo walked up to the silver mare and glared at her. "What are you doing here? If any of my friends saw you-"

'They cannot see me unless I choose to be seen by them,' she said without moving her mouth again, which was starting to creep Scootaloo out. 'And I had to risk meeting you here in order to pass along a warning, for there is not much time left.'

"What are you yammering on about?" Scootaloo asked. The silver mare began to answer, but then a massive lightning bolt flashed across the sky and shook the very land beneath them. Scootaloo looked up at the sky with confusion while the silver mare looked up at it with fear.

'I've always hated thunder,' she muttered to herself as she looked from the sky to Scootaloo, debating her next move. 'Very well, I will have to be quick. Tonight the Batman is going to die unless you or somepony else goes to save him. And if he dies, then this world and many others will be helpless at the hooves of evil. This may be the last time we speak for a while, but remember what your father has taught you and be honest with yourself. Do not ask me any questions, for I must get out of here to be safe. Farewell and remember my warning.' Scootaloo had no idea what she was talking about, but she stepped back as the mare began to glow, expecting to see her teleport away like she normally did. But instead she surrounded herself with silver energy and shot into the sky in a burst of light, one that could still be seen by Scootaloo even as she reached the dark clouds. Scootaloo wondered why she left in such a way that would draw attention to herself if she preferred not to be seen.

'But what worries me the most is that she knew of Batman and said that he was going to die,' Scootaloo thought to herself as she spread her wings and flew down the streets towards her house, worry for her dad beginning to seep into her mind. As she raced through her door and down into her cave, she wondered if the mare had been telling the truth. While she wasn't certain of whether or not the silver one could be trusted, there was a way to find out. The moment she reached the dimensional stone that was on her keyboard she flicked it on and sat down in her chair, her fears keeping her from sitting still as she waited for the other side to answer.

"Hello?" the butler's voice answered from the other side.

"Alfred, it's me, Batmare," Scootaloo said quickly, not wanting to waste anytime. "I received word that Batman may be in trouble and it could be possible that he might die. Is he there right now or is he still out on his nightly route?" The silence that followed her question was the longest silence of her life, her question being answered before any words could be said.

"Batman went to the abandoned part of Gotham two nights ago," Alfred explained with hidden concern in his voice. "He stayed within radio contact most of the time, but when he reached the main room he went silent. We have sent his protégé and Robin in after him, but so far neither have been able to get into the underground facility. We do not know whether he is still alive, but we can only hope." Scootaloo wasn't aware of what Alfred said next, or the fact that she turned off the device as she headed out of the cave and up the stairs, her mind was only focused on what she had heard. Batman might be dead. Alfred could have told her that the world was coming to an end and that would have hit her with less impact than the news she had just received.

'No, he can't be dead, the Batman can't die!' Scootaloo thought to herself as she sat down on her couch. 'Dad can't die! He's survived everything else that the world has thrown at him without batting an eye, it would take more than whatever he was fighting to bring him down! But...what if...?' Scootaloo stood back up as an idea entered her head, an idea that she needed the help of another in order to achieve. At a speed that would make Rainbow Dash proud, Scootaloo shot out of her house as fast as her wings could carry her to the Golden Oaks library, kicking in the door before she flew into the room to find the alicorn she was looking for.

"Scootaloo? What the heck are you doing barging into my house like this?" Twilight screamed as Scootaloo came skidding to a stop in front of her, the wind from her speed knocking a large number of the books off the shelves. "And you knocked most of the books off my-"

"My place. Now," Scootaloo said in such a dark tone that all of Twilight's rage vanished as she wondered what was up. Twilight instructed Spike to pick up the books that had fallen (both of them ignored the groan that he gave) as they raced out of the library towards Scootaloo's home. Twilight noticed that Scootaloo hadn't locked her door in her rush, and the cave's entrance was still open and in plain sight.

"What were you thinking?" Twilight asked as she and Scootaloo started to descend down into the cave. "What if a neighbor had passed by wondering what was up and found-"

"I need you to replicate the spell that Morgaine used ten years ago to open a portal between dimensions," Scootaloo said as she tossed her dimensional stone over to Twilight before she raced to the batsuit, slipping it on in the blink of an eye and heading over to her armory as well.

"I'm sorry, WHAT?!" Twilight asked in disbelief as Batmare slipped her utility belt on. "Are you crazy?! Why on Equis would you want me to open-?"

"I need to go to Batman's world and save his life before he dies," Batmare said with no emotion as she finished placing her batarangs into her belt. Twilight gave her the look of all looks, a mix of compassion and sheer disbelief all in one.

"Scootaloo...Batman's-"

"Batman never died; he managed to survive the explosion and the massive blood loss due to a friend of his on the other side. The reason that I haven't told you or anypony else about him still being alive, is because he asked me not to, but now that his life's on the line I needed to tell you," Scootaloo said as she walked up to Twilight. "The portal please." Twilight placed a hoof on her head as she tried to comprehend what Scootaloo had just told her, but if all of it was true, that meant that Batman's life was on the line and he needed her help.

"Scootaloo, what are you planning to do?" Twilight asked as she started up the portal.

"Simple. I'm going to Gotham."

The Streets

"Are you certain that you want to do this?" Twilight asked Batmare again as she finished armoring-up, taking her most powerful suit with her instead of the regular one. "With the coordinates you gave me, I think I can drop you off in Gotham, but I'm not sure where in the city you'll land. Plus, Batman said that his home was a very dangerous place, one that he never wanted you to visit."

"If I don't go, he may die," Batmare said matter of factly as she walked over to Twilight, giving her the stone. "And I've already lost my family once, I won't lose my father again. Open it." Twilight sighed, but knew that she wouldn't be able to dissuade Scootaloo, especially since she now knew that Batman was still alive. She was somewhat mad at Scootaloo because she kept him being alive a secret, but right now she needed to concentrate.

"Alright, step back. This is going to take a lot of power and I don't know how long I'll be able to keep it open," Twilight warned as Batmare stepped back from her. Twilight started to concentrate her magical power into the stone, feeling her magic span across galaxies until she finally found an area close to where the other stone rested. That was were she hooked the anchor for the magical portal as she looked to Batmare. "Okay, I'm going to open the portal. Are you certain that you have everything that you need?"

"Certain."

Twilight screamed as she let her full power into the stone, her eyes blazing while she forced the dimensions between their two worlds open. Batmare watched as a purple portal appeared in front of her, allowing her to see to the other side: Batman's home. "Alright, I'm going in. I'll contact you when I find him, but if you don't hear from me in three days odds are I'm dead. So hope that you hear from me." Before Twilight could wish her luck, Batmare leapt through the portal without any hesitation. She had no idea what to expect from her first leap across space and time, but she expected it to hurt or be weird.

It was far beyond either of those.

She screamed into the void as she felt like her body was being ripped apart, molecule by molecule, and that she was slowly losing her very identity in the endless spiral of colors and galaxies that she flew by. But just as the pain had started, it was suddenly gone and replaced by another sensation: awe. As Batmare looked around through the gaps in the spirals, she could see a multitude of other worlds...worlds where robots ruled over all or where massive machines battled each other in the vacuum of space. She had no idea how long she had spent staring into the void, but the next thing she remembered was landing face first on something hard and blacking out. When she finally came to, she felt like hell.

"Okay, that sucked," she grumbled as she got to her hooves, holding her head as she started to look around. "So, did I-?" She didn't need to finish her question since the area where she found herself looking answered it for her. She was standing on a building that would have put all those in Canterlot to shame, surrounded by similar buildings that were almost as tall as the one on which she stood. Her eyes widened in amazement as she saw what looked like hundreds of lights blinding her, the stars in the sky invisible due to the multitude of lights. Then the noise reached her, the noise of millions that all lived in a city together. She looked down over the edge of the skyscraper to see thousands of streets with thousands of beings moving down below her. The zoom feature on her cowl allowed her to get a better look at the beings, and a thin smile spread on her face when she saw that they all looked similar to Batman.

"Well, at least I know now that I made it to the right world," she said as she continued to scan, seeing the flashing lights of something called 'police' drive below her. "But where am I in terms of where Batman is? Hell, where am I in general?" She looked down at a massive sign that was attached to the building where she was standing, reading the name "WAYNE" on the side of it. She smirked at the name, knowing that she was in safe territory. And that's where she didn't want to be. As cool as the buildings were, she needed to find Batman. Batmare leapt off the side of the building and spread her dark wings, catching a current, and soared into the sky over the city, avoiding spotlights and skyscrapers.

'If I remember correctly, Alfred said that Batman vanished in one of the scarier parts of the city,' she thought to herself as she continued to fly across the night sky. 'But I have no idea where any of this is.' Then she heard a cry for help and looked down to see what looked like a robbery. 'I suppose I'll just have to ask the locals for help,' she thought to herself with a smirk as she dove straight down towards the call for distress. The robber never saw her coming as she slammed her hooves into the back of his head and sent him skidding across the ground.

"Oh, thank you so much," the victim said.

"Get out of here. This place isn't safe," Batmare responded in the darkest tone she could muster. The person nodded and ran off, leaving Batmare alone with the unconscious criminal. "Why is he out, I barely touched him?" she grumbled to herself as she realized she wasn't getting any answers out of him. "Argh, I guess Batman is one of the few tough humans. This one went down without a fight." She dragged the person to the side of the road, where she expected the authorities to come grab him at some point, before shooting off into the sky, looking around for any more "helpful" citizens.

'I can't believe how big this city is,' she thought as she flew, going from the massive buildings to smaller ones that she was more used to, but they were still gigantic in their own right. 'Canterlot would be put to shame. I can see why Batman fights so hard to protect it--it's really a beautiful place.' Batmare wished that Batman had told her the location of his cave so that she could go there to try and meet up with Alfred, and maybe find out some more about where Batman was. She hated going into a situation like this blind, as it often ended badly for either her or others. Maybe she should have brought-

BANG!

The loud sound startled Batmare and forced her to come to a stop in the air, looking around for the source of the noise. She had only just started to look around when she heard somepony begin to scream, before the loud noise rang out again in an alleyway close to her. She spotted a group of muggers with two bodies in front of them, the bodies of those they had been robbing. Batmare started to see red as she dove down at super speeds and drove her hind hoof into the front mugger's back, smiling to herself as she heard the sounds of bones breaking. The other three spun around as the first collapsed to the ground, all of them gasping when they saw her land.

"What the hell is that thing?" one of them asked as she landed in front of them, her cape covering her body so all they could see was the white of her covered eyes.

"It's got to be one of the bats," another whispered in a panicked voice to the others. "But this one looks really weird."

"Maybe it's a mutated freak."

"You're all wrong," she said in a whisper as she pulled two batarangs out of her belt. "I'm your nightmare." She let the batarangs fly and smacked two of the muggers in their faces, throwing herself into the air as she dove at the third one, who rolled out of the way and reached inside his coat to pull out a black object. "I don't know what you have there, but you must know that it can't hurt me. Nothing can-"

BANG!

Batmare roared in pain as she fell back, her right side burning with pain. She had no idea what had just happened, only that she was hurt. The bullet from the gun had gone through most of her armor and scraped her side, drawing blood along her right flank. Before the criminal could fire again, she threw another batarang into his face. It slashed him across the eyes and brought him screaming to the ground, where she finished him off with a kick to the head.

"The hell was that thing?" she asked herself once she had leaned up against the alley wall and given herself a moment to breath. 'It tore through my armor like I was wearing the cheap stuff the guards at the palace have. What kind of weapon was that?' Once the pain had died down a little, she walked over to the person and picked the gun off the ground, her eyes narrowing as she looked it over. 'Well it's dangerous, that's for certain. I need to watch out for this in the future.' She took to the skies once again, ignoring the burning pain in her side as best she could as she scanned the streets for any more signs of crime, this time planning on getting answers. Another robbery was in progress and she dove down to intercede. The criminals this time never saw her until it was too late and she brought them down with ease, leaving one conscious so that he could talk.

"W-what do you want from me?" he asked her as he slowly backed away, backing into a wall as she got closer and closer to him. She narrowed her eyes as she pulled out a batarang and threw it right next to his head, smiling to herself as she saw his eyes widen in terror.

"I will give you only one chance to answer this before I find myself somepony else to interrogate," she said in a whisper, taking the batarang and holding it at his throat. "Where is Batman?" He started to stammer about how he didn't know, but his whimpers died down as she moved the edge closer to his throat, drawing blood. "Where?"

"He's in the old part of Gotham, by the steel mill! That's all I know!" he screamed as tears started to fall from his eyes. She figured that was going to be the best answer she could get out of him and she knocked him out with a shot to the nose, walking away as he fell over silently. She spread her wings again, looking through the city for areas that looked more run down than others. Ten minutes flew by as she scanned the city, eventually reaching an area that looked similar to what she thought a steel mill looked like. It was in a part of town called Amusement Mile and seemed to be completely abandoned, besides the number of humans carrying the devices that had managed to hurt her.

'Now why would a number of armed guards patrol an area where nopony lives, unless they had something they wanted to hide?' she thought to herself as she landed on a smokestack, using the height as well as her detective vision to scan the area. There were six of them in all, each holding a larger variation of the weapon she had been hit with. And the burning pain in her side told her that a frontal assault would be a very bad idea. 'Stealth it is.' She spread her wings and sailed over to a catwalk and dropped down behind a person, stealthily walking along behind him until she was within striking distance. She drove her hoof into the back of his knee, dropping him down to one knee. He had just enough time to cry out in surprise before she dropped him with a chop to the neck.

'Alright, one down, five to go-' Batmare screamed aloud as the sound of multiple shots raced by her head, forcing her to dive off the catwalk to a destroyed section of road where she hid behind a sign. She looked around the sign to see the other five race over to where the unconscious person was.

"Holy crap, somebody's down over here!" one of them yelled out.

"Did any of you see who it was?"

"It looked like the bat!"

"Impossible. Scarecrow's got the bat locked up in the steel mill; there's no way he could be out here."

"What if Batman escaped though, and he's just mad enough that he'll bring down any person that crosses his path? I don't want to fight him again!"

"Shut it, now. The bat's trapped and we know that there's a dead fool who's trying to mess with us. All we have to do is stick together and we'll be alright. Isn't that right Joey? Joey?" While the gunmen began to panic, Batmare thought about what the people had been saying as she finished off the guy called Joey, letting go of his neck when she felt him slip into unconsciousness. So she had been right in figuring that they kept Batman here, but who was this Scarecrow? As she grappled up to another vantage point, she watched as the gunmen split into two groups of two, each covering the other's back.

'And they think that they're safe like that,' she thought with a chuckle as she pulled out a smoke pellet. A well aimed throw caused the pellet to land between two of the gunmen, who began to panic and fire around wildly in the smoke. While those two were distracted, she flew over to the other group, both of whom were running to the ones trapped in the smoke. But while they ran, the one in the front never noticed as a dark figure jumped onto his buddy's back and silently choked him out on the ground. Before the other one could reach the other two, she threw a batarang and hit him in the head, dropping him to the ground and allowing her to finish him off with a ground pound. She vanished out of sight just as the smoke cleared for the other two, which allowed them to see what had happened.

"Oh God, not you two as well," one of them said as he raced to the two, kneeling down to check on them. "Hey! What are you doing over there? Help me!" The other gunman looked at him for a second before he ran off in the other direction as fast as he could.

"Screw you! It's every man for himself!" he yelled. The kneeling gunman watched him go with a shake of his head as he started to try and wake the two up. Then he heard a scream followed by gunfire for a second, until all went quiet.

"Matt?" he asked as he got back up, looking around nervously as he raised his gun. "What happened to you man? Don't do this to me."

"He is in a better place now," a dark voice said as it echoed throughout the area. The gunman swallowed his fears and started to look around, pointing his gun at every shadow. "But don't worry. I haven't forgotten about you." The gunman never had time to ask what she meant as another batarang knocked him to the ground. He clutched his head with a groan as a black hoof slammed into the ground next to his head.

"Where is Batman being held?" she growled as she grabbed him by the jacket and slammed is head into the ground, glaring into his fear filled eyes.

"Bottom floor. But you'll never get there," he said with a small chuckle. "Scarecrow will kill you first." Batmare slammed her elbow into his face and headed towards the door that would let her inside. She placed a hoof on it and stopped for a quick moment. She had no idea what was on the other side, but she had heard enough stories from Batman to know that he went up against some very dangerous foes, maybe out of her league. But she knew that Batman needed her and needed her now, so she took a deep breath and headed inside, never noticing the hooded figure in red watching her from the rooftops.

When the Crow Caws

The first thing that Batmare noticed as the door closed behind her was that the entire room felt like a sauna, and she could see steam coming out of the pipes in the walls, as well as a massive stream of water that boiled with heat. She quickly scanned the room she was in to make sure that nopony was in there with her, before she turned her attention to the scalding stream. She would be able to fly over it with no problem despite the heat, but with no knowledge of what was on the other side it might be risky. But Batman's safety and what the gunmen had been talking about worried her, so she decided to risk it and dove over the boiling water as she spread her wings. She flew under a bridge and came out the other side to see what looked like massive drills in the water, not moving due to lack of maintenance. Past that was a corridor with more water and a green question mark on the wall, but its bulb had burned out. But her main concern, as she landed on a pipe, was the trio of enemies standing around near the next door.

"I can't believe that someone finally managed to catch the Bat," one of the grunts said with a chuckle. Batmare noticing that none of these henchmen had the cylinder that tore through her armor.

"I know, always thought it'd be the Joker that would have caught the Bat, not Scarecrow," another muttered as he took a sip of water from his bottle. "But ever since the Joker died, things just haven't been the same. Crime has gone down, police act like they're in charge, and the Bat has gotten even more birds in his cage. Maybe when Batman finally dies, things will go back to the way they used to be."

"Speaking of dying, what has Scarecrow been doing to Batman for the past day?" another asked. "He hasn't killed the Bat; all he's done is continue to spray him with that gas of his. Why don't we just kill him and get it over with?"

"Naw, he want's to break the Bat first; then we get to cut his head off. Personally, I hope Scarecrow let's me keep the mask. It would be a great Halloween outfit."

"That's sick, but I like it. Maybe I can keep the suit." The three's conversation drifted into areas where they each started to talk about past Halloween outfits, but Batmare was beginning to get both mad and even more worried. She had no idea who this Scarecrow was, but if he caught and was trying to break Batman, then it wouldn't end well for him. Time to take action.

"...and then the lady screams for me to stop throwing flaming toilet paper on her dog, but I just laughed and--" The goon received two hooves to the back of his head before he could finish and was sent skidding across the floor on his face. The other two spun to see Batmare land in front of them, seething with rage.

"Holy hell, it's one of the bats!" one of them yelled as he rushed towards her and tried to throw a kick at her head, only to watch in fear as she jumped onto his leg to use it as a spring board, propelling her front hoof into his jaw and driving him to the floor. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye and flipped to the side as a fire extinguisher flew past her, the goon swearing when he missed and rushed in with a pipe.

"Beat it down and kill it!" he roared just before he got a mouthful of electric hoof to the face, knocking him down and out. The final goon ended up just like his friends, face down on the ground with blood trickling from his nose. Batmare walked past them and to the door, noticing how old everything looked. She grabbed the handle and coughed twice, before swinging it open.

And her world went to hell.

The room beyond this one was lined with tiles and stained glass similar to the ones she saw in Canterlot, but all of the images were horribly disturbed. Instead of showing the triumph of ponies like before, it showed terrors that she had only read about in the olden times. She looked at the single square of ground she was standing on to the infinite void below her, looking forward into nothingness. She was scared and had no idea what was going on. But the thought of keeping Batman safe drove her forward as she took to the air once again, sailing into darkness with her eyes narrowed. After only a few seconds, a wall shot up from the ground and forced her to change her flight path, which she barely managed to do without hitting it. She had regained her balance when another wall shot up, followed by another when she had dodged that one.

'These walls are leading me somewhere,' she thought as she flew around another, looking down to notice that the emptiness beneath her had been replaced with a river of blood. She shook her head and ignored it the best she could as she flew, but she nearly threw up again when she saw the bodies hanging from one of the bridges. She had to descend onto a small platform so that she wouldn't drop from the images before her, but as she looked up she saw all of her friends hanging by their necks, eyes replaced with bloody spheres and mouths stitched shut.

'It's not real,' she thought to herself as she closed her eyes and tried to put the images from her mind. 'They're all safe back in Ponyville. They're not here.' She gritted her teeth as she flew by the bodies, only to scream as the one of Twilight reached out and grabbed her.

"What are you doing with your life, little filly?" Twilight asked, even though her mouth was stitched shut. Batmare screamed and kicked her in the head, forcing Twilight to break her grip which allowed Scootaloo to fly up onto the bridge they were hanging from. She turned to head to the exit, but found Twilight standing in front of her. "Playing hero even though you are a failure. No cutie mark, losing your friends, and you're worthless."

"You honestly think I care what a fake has to say about me?" Scootaloo asked with a growl, swinging her hoof at Twilight only to realize that she was a filly again and her attack did nothing to the body. "I am a hero! I am the daughter of the greatest hero known to man kind!"

"Are you now?" the Twilight asked with a laugh as a crow started to caw in behind her. "Has he ever called you his daughter? Has he ever admitted that he loved you? Maybe you don't mean as much to him as you thought. Or maybe...?"

"He's ashamed of you." Scootaloo spun around to find the one person she didn't want to see in this nightmare standing behind her: Batman. The Dark Knight looked worse than all the other corpses, with just his skeleton remaining under his shredded suit. "Despite all that I taught you, all the ways I tried to keep you safe, you still think that you need to prove yourself, just like you needed to all those years ago. I gave my life for you and this is how you repay me? By dressing up like me and trying to be some hero? But you're not a hero, you are a failure."

"I'm not a failure!" the foallike Scootaloo said, knowing that this had to be an illusion as well. "I want to be a hero! It's who I-"

"Who you are?" Batman asked with a cackle, slowly marching towards her. "Oh that's what you say, but you truly don't know who you are, do you?" Scootaloo didn't answer as the room around them changed, going from a bridge with bodies to her entire life from when Batman left to this point. "You've gone through your entire life not knowing who you are, not knowing what your destiny is." Scootaloo slowly backed away from him as the images showed her being picked on for not having her cutie mark or for being parentless, then changed to her beating those ponies when it went too far. "I taught you those skills so that you could defend yourself, not so you could hurt those who bothered you. You have truly failed me."

"No...I used what you taught me to make my world safer!" she screamed as another crow cawed behind her, Batman laughing at her again.

"Oh, you say that, but all you're trying to do is be like me, trying to be the Batman. But you will never be me, you can't be me," he said in a whisper as he slowly walked towards her, the bridge behind her expanding into nothingness as darkness began to swallow them, Batman's red eyes being to only thing visible. "All you've wanted after all these years was to hear me say how proud of you I was, or how much I care for you. But I don't care for you. All you are is a scared little filly who ran all her life from her problems until she found someone she could hide behind."

"N-no, I'm not a-"

"Not a what? Coward? You refuse to face the fact that you are alone, and you run from the fact that you are nothing but a little filly who is trying to be who she is not. Who are you Scootaloo? Are you a scholar? An outstanding member of society? Or are you a pony who is holding on to the last illusion of comfort she has, believing that she can be someone she isn't? You have no idea who you are because you're trying to be someone else. Every day you go through life cold, alone, and in pain, praying that one day your "father" will acknowledge you for being a copy of him. It's truly pathetic. So just close your eyes and let me end your suffering." Scootaloo backed away from Batman with tears running down her face, feeling what felt like a knife being twisted in her heart. She was used to hearing these words, but the fact that Batman was saying them to her made it all the more worse. She collapsed to the ground and could only stare at it as Batman flickered into the image of a being resembling a scarecrow standing above her with claws extended.

"Rest in peace." Before Batman could swing down, a blinding flash of silver light blinded the bat, causing him to back away from her with a hiss.

'This way.' Scootaloo had no idea who had called to her, but she found enough strength to force herself back to her hooves and bolt away from the 'Bat', who told her that run as she might, he would find her again. She sprinted through a nightmare, ignoring it as best she could and not noticing when the armor re-appeared on her. A circle of crows flew around her as she sprinted down the halls, screeching at her as she fled desperately. Batmare burst through a pair of double doors to find herself standing in a room filled with fire and steel, three demons standing in the center of it. One of them noticed her and hissed, walking towards her with two claws extending from it's hands.

"No, stay back!" she roared as the creature charged at her. She pulled a batarang out of her belt and threw it towards the creature, watching with horror as the burning demon knocked it to the side and continued its charge. Batmare pulled out another one and let it fly in desperation, watching as it sailed into the demon's neck. The creature screamed as green ooze began to pour from its wound and it fell over dead. The other two hissed in rage and charged at her as well, forcing her to stab them in the legs to defend herself. The two of them fell over and allowed Batmare to drive her electric hooves into both of their jaws, where she held them until the two demons stopped moving. She panted twice as she stood back up, looking behind her to see that Batman was right behind her.

"Why do you run, dear daughter? Don't you want to be with me?" Batmare turned and ran as hard as she could, bursting through another set of doors into a room where a large number of bumper cars ran back and forth across the ground, each of them having a blazing fire coming out of their faces. She stopped for half a second as she wondered what she should do, when Batman burst through the doors behind her. "Isn't that been your dream all along? To be with your father?" Without a moment's hesitation, Batmare jumped into the swirling vortex of bumper cars and raced to the door that she could see on the other side. A bumper came flying at her with flames in its maw, forcing her to jump out of the way to avoid getting killed. One managed to get behind her and set her cape ablaze with fire, making her detach her cape as she ran.

"Do you honestly think that you can escape from me alive?" Batman asked as he walked through the cars with ease, not one of them heading towards him. "I am the greatest hero known to any race in the entire multiverse. A foolish pony who neglected my teachings would never be able to escape me." Batmare forced herself not to focus on what he was saying. Her only thought had to be running and dodging to stay alive. She jumped onto one of the bumper cars hoods to avoid being hit and flipped off of it onto another one, waiting until it had crashed into yet another before she jumped off of it and raced down the long hallway to the door at the end. She heard a whizzing sound and threw herself to the ground as a batarang came flying by her head, Batman following after the batarang with speed that would surpass most of the ponies. Batmare got back to her hooves and bolted for the door, tearing it open and slamming it behind her, using a pipe that she found to barricade it shut.

"That should hold him off for a few minutes," she panted to herself as she tried to get control of her heart and calm herself down. She turned from the door...to find Batman standing right in front of her. "Of course, he's the worlds greatest escape and entry artist. Why did I think a door would keep him at bay?"

"Because you are a fool, Scootaloo," Batman said with a sneer as he took up a fighting stance, his clawed fingers flicking together. "I tried to teach you what I know, but in the end you couldn't even master the simplest of my skills. I have nothing but shame for you. And I will erase all my shame." Scootaloo took in a deep breath and took up a fighting stance, tired of running. But she couldn't face him here. He was too good. Scootaloo dodged out of the way of his attempts to grab her and burst into the next room, which was a cliff wall straight up. She wondered a moment why this was here when she saw something in the sky: a bat symbol against the dark clouds. She didn't know what it was, only that it might be her only way out of this nightmare. So without a moment's hesitation, she spread her wings and shot up the cliff face, never once looking behind her as Batman's screams reached her ears. When she reached the top she saw what looked like a spotlight with a bat in the center of it, the light coming from it gave her feeling of safety.

"Hopefully that can get me out of this nightmare," she muttered as she ran over to it and grabbed hold of it, feeling her fears begin to melt away. She turned to see Batman land on top of the platform along with her, hissing at the light as he marched closer.

"Why do this, Scootaloo? Why prolong your pathetic existence. It hurts me emotionally to see you throw your life away like this. Give up on this foolish crusade of yours."

"And that's where you fail to be Batman," she said as she swung the light around and pointed it towards Batman. "Batman would never tell me to give up." Batman screeched as the light struck him in the chest and veins of blue light started to form all over his body, bits and pieces of him starting to fly off.

"DO YOU THINK HE WILL TRULY LOVE YOU?! YOU ARE A PONY! NOTHING MORE!" the fake Batman yelled one last time as the light completely consumed him and blew him apart in a flash of blue and silver light. Scootaloo let out a sigh of relief as she sank to the floor, closing her eyes and letting all of the darkness out of her mind. When she opened her eyes again, she saw that she was laying on the floor in a fairly small room with a broken flashlight clutched in her hooves.

"That...was weird," she said to herself as she stood back up and walked over to what she hoped was the last door, having no idea if another nightmare awaited her behind this one. But since she had no choice but to push on, Batmare pressed her hoof against the door and prepared to open it as the fears returned in a quick whisper.

'What if he doesn't love me?'

She shook her head and refused to let her own emotions come before the mission to save her father, especially since it was her father. So as she locked those fears away to deal with later, she threw open the door and walked inside.

Bats in the Night

The first thing that Batmare did when she entered the room was hide behind the crates in front of her, waiting a few seconds to make sure that she hadn't been seen before she peeked around the side of the crates to look around the room, her eyes widening in shock from what she saw. A large number of the humans were in the room. Only a few of them carried the weapon that hurt her, but she only noticed them after she absorbed what she saw in the center of the room.

"Batman," she whispered to herself as she set her eyes on her father, who was sitting in the center of the room apparently strapped to a chair with chains. He looked a bit different from the last time she saw him. His suit was now a pure black with a red bat in the center of it, but she knew who it was without a doubt. She would have risked throwing herself into the fray no matter how many of the humans there were, but one figure kept her from attacking right away. It was a human that was clothed in brown cloth, with some weird mask on his face that made it look like something out of a horror story. It had a knotted noose around its neck and its right hand had four long needles protruding from it.

'Scarecrow,' she confirmed as she looked back to Batman. She couldn't tell much about how he was holding up due to his suit, but from what she could see from the portion of his face that wasn't covered up, he was in terrible shape. His skin was nearly completely white and he had sweat running down his jaw, his teeth clenched together from either pain or rage. His suit had a large number of gashes in it and she didn't know if the blood on the side of it was from him or somepony else. But either way, he wasn't doing well. She started going over the options she had just as the Scarecrow began to speak.

"So here we are again, my little bat," he said in a higher pitched voice than she would have expected, but it sent chills down her spine all the same. This was a crazy one. "Time for another dose of your medicine. I hope this isn't like the last few attempts where you try to attack your doctor. I'm only trying to help you."

"Go to hell, Crane," Batman spat back, his eyes opening to glare at his captor. That gave Batmare a bit of relief, because if he had enough willpower to remain defiant, then he might not be as bad off as she thought. Scarecrow sighed as he heard this and looked to the four needles that he started to move in front of his face, giggling slightly to himself as he did so before he looked back to Batman with two glowing orange eyes.

"Oh Batman, why must you be so stubborn? A doctor can't help a patient that refuse to co-operate. All I want to do is help you with your fears," Scarecrow said with a sickening honey in his voice as he pointed the needles towards Batman and started to move them closer. "And you are truly the most stubborn patient I have ever had walk into my office. A full day and a half of receiving my toxin and yet you still refuse to break. You are a remarkable person, but I'm afraid, my little bat, I will have to break you."

"You'll never break me, Crane. Do your worst," Batman said with a growl, watching as the needles got closer and closer. Batmare also watched the needles get closer, knowing that she was running out of time and couldn't afford to wait any longer. She had a plan of attack and figured that the shock factor of seeing her might be enough to scare off a few of the humans so that she could get to Scarecrow. So she flew to the ceiling before diving back down onto one of the henchmen on the ground, kicking his lights out. All turned to face her as she slowly stood up.

"You want fear?" she asked them as she flicked her visor from white to red, a feature that she rarely used. "Then you get it." But much to her surprise, none of the humans ran despite their faces being filled with sheer terror at the sight of her.

"It's another monster!" One of them roared as he charged her, a pipe clutched in his shaking hand. "KILL IT!" She dove out of the way of the strike and broke the human's leg so that he went down. But again to her shock, the human grabbed her rear leg with an iron grip. "DIE MONSTER!" The rest of the humans began to roar similar lines and all rushed her at once, those with guns not bothering to fire them as they held them like clubs. The only thought running through their minds was to kill the terror. Batmare had no idea why the humans were so afraid of her, yet chose to fight as she broke the hand that was holding her so that she could take up a fighting stance, unaware of the fact that they were all under Scarecrow's fear toxin and they were fighting for their lives.

"What the hell is that?" Scarecrow muttered as he turned back to Batman, his eyes going wide with shock under the mask. For a brief second, despite the will and the years of training, Batman had let an emotion besides rage or anger slip through his defenses. Even though he hid it a second later, the moment he saw Scootaloo in his world taking on a large number of fear-fueled psychos, an emotion rose to his face that rarely did.

He was afraid for her life.

"So you fear for it?" Scarecrow asked, with a smile spreading beneath the mask that would have made the most hardened of criminals shake as he slowly turned to face Batmare, who was fighting off the large number of humans with varying success. When they attacked her one or two at a time she could hold them back, but when they all attacked together she found herself quickly overpowered. Scarecrow began to laugh at the thought of Batman caring for whatever this thing was, but he now knew how to hurt the Batman, how to make him afraid. "Hold it down crows, I want Batman to watch as this thing dies in front of him." Batmare kicked another guy in the head as she pulled out a batarang and aimed for one of the chains holding Batman in the chair, but it was knocked out of her hoof as a human tackled her from behind, the others that weren't laying broken on the ground jumping on top of the two before she could shake him off.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Scarecrow asked as he slowly walked over to Batmare, who was being held down by about six of the henchmen despite her best struggles to escape. "Oh no, please, don't hurt yourself trying to resist, this will only take a moment. I have no idea what kind of creature you are, but you must be intelligent from the fact that you can talk. Tell me...do you feel fear? Fear of pain? Of loss? Of...death?" He flicked his needles together as he said this, looking down at her with the two orange eyes that made her begin to sweat a bit. "Do you fear death, little one?"

"CRANE! Touch her and I will end you!" Batman roared as he struggled against his restraint, but the combination of mental and physical exhaustion along with the restraints prevented him from escaping.

"Shhh Batman, you're scaring the poor thing," Scarecrow said as he put a finger to where his lips were, looking at Batmare who was trembling as she pushed against her captors holding her down. "Why, you're shaking. You must be afraid. Don't worry though, you'll soon be freed from your fears." Despite her struggles, Batmare could only watching with increasingly widening eyes as the needles came down, piercing her suit and her skin as she felt her mind begin to spin. Images flashed in front of her eyes as she shook her head, feeling a sense of panic beginning to flow through her. She blinked twice and realized that she was no longer in the mill with Batman and Scarecrow. Instead, she was on a cliff overlooking a sunset, while standing next to an orange stallion with a brown mane on one side while a white mare with a purple mane stood on her right.

"Mom? Dad?" she asked hesitantly, holding out a hoof to the two, oblivious to the fact that her armor was gone once again. The two of them turned to face her with smiling faces and each held out a hoof, inviting her to join them. She smiled as well and ran over to join them...when a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky and her father went from glowing with life to a bleeding corpse. "NO!" she screamed as another lightning bolt flashed and her mother ended up in the same state, both of her parents laying dead in front of her. Scootaloo fell to her knees as dark clouds began to form over her, tears starting to fall from her eyes again. Then the lightning flashed one more time and another body joined her parents: Batman.

"No," she whispered to herself as she closed her eyes. "Not you too. Not again." She walked over to Batman had started to cry over him, unaware of the massive creature that rose out of the sea and towered over her, its laugh echoing throughout her mind. She slowly looked up to see the massive form of Scarecrow towering over her, looking down on her with red eyes that shone like spotlights.

"Poor little pony, all she wants is to be loved by her family, but they just keep dying around her," he said with a chuckle as he slowly lifted his hand over her, blocking out any light as his shadow completely enveloped her. "But don't worry, a doctor only strives to free his patients from their pain. Now let me free you from yours." Scootaloo never blinked or moved as the massive hand came down to crush her, she simply stood still and accepted her fate. Scarecrow laughed as his hand came down on her...only to stop as he realized that his hand had hit a silver barrier. "What in the...?" he asked as a blast of silver knocked him back. Scootaloo looked down with some confusion to see the silver mare standing in front of her.

'Giving up so easily, Scootaloo?' the silver mare asked as she turned her head to look at her. 'What would Batman think if he saw you giving up? You may be afraid, but if you are to truly become the pony that you wish to be, you must overcome those fears.' She turned back to face Scarecrow as he got back up, an unseen smile. 'Stay true to who you know you are, not what others want you to be. Overcome your fear.' She vanished in a flash of light, but left the bat-signal where she had been standing. Scootaloo looked at it for a second before she shook her head and ran over to it, pointing it at Scarecrow and firing the beam of light into his chest. He roared in rage as his illusion was blasted apart, both of them vanishing in a flash of white light. Batmare blinked again and opened her eyes, realizing that she was back in the real world now and that the henchmen had been blasted off of her. She started to get up, but Scarecrow tackled her back down and held her by her throat as he positioned his needles right above her eyes.

"Time to die, creature," he spat as he brought the needles back, only to have them shattered as a batarang flew through them and embedded itself in the wall. Scarecrow turned to see a very angry Batman walking towards him, cracking his knuckles with rage in his eyes. "How...?" he asked before Batman's fist drove itself into his face, sending him skidding across the ground.

"I think I finally found something I fear," Batman said in a whisper that scared even Scootaloo. "I fear what I'm going to do to you." As Scarecrow screamed and started to run with Batman chasing him, Batmare slowly got back up, noticing that she was being offered an armored hand.

"Need some help?" Batmare looked up into the face of another human, this one wearing a small mask on her face (she assumed it was a her because of her voice) as well as a black hood that covered her head, but Batmare could still see red hair underneath. As Batmare grabbed her hand, she noticed that the human was wearing a red suit with black pants, a collapsible staff hanging from her side.

"Thanks," Batmare muttered as she shook her head, trying to get rid of any of the remaining toxins.

"No prob. It's nice to finally meet the person...or whatever you are...that Batman's been trying to keep a secret," she responded with a friendly smile, one that Batmare wasn't sure she should return. "Name's Robin by the way."

"Batmare," Batmare said after a second of silence, not knowing who this person was. She was about to ask who's side she was on when Batman walked back into the room, holding a bleeding and unconscious Scarecrow in one hand.

"What took you so long, Robin?" he asked her as he ungraciously dropped Scarecrow on his head, folding his arms. "I went 'communications silent' a day ago. You should have been here within a few hours."

"Well sorry, but there were a large number of robberies once you got yourself captured and I needed to deal with those first, not to mention it was supposed to be Diiii...the other Batman who was supposed to be looking for you," Robin said with a shrug of her shoulders as she placed her hands behind her head, looking down at the unconscious form of Scarecrow. "So, how's the doctor?"

"He'll live," Batman muttered before looking down at Batmare, both anger and relief in his eyes as he looked at her. "We have a lot to discuss, but this isn't the place to do so. Batmare, you go with Robin to the Cave. I'll join you after I drop this piece of garbage off."

"Wait, we're going to show her the Cave immediately? Aren't we going to blindfold her or-?"

"The Cave. Now," Batman growled as he picked up Crane again and grappled out of the building, leaving Robin to sigh as she looked down at Batmare.

"Fine...come with me, Batmare, we're going to the broodiest place in all of Gotham...the Batcave."

====---====

It was a sight beyond words.

Batmare thought that her cave back in Equestria was a centerpiece of technological perfection, but she saw that even with all the cool gifts that Batman had modified for her use, there were still hundreds of gadgets and tech of which she knew nothing. Batman and Robin had taken her to the Batcave in something that he called the Batmobile, a strange carriage of sorts that went faster than anything she had seen move on land before. Batmare had heard Robin ask Batman why they weren't using a blindfold on her, but Batman had said that Batmare could be trusted but said nothing else. So Batmare was content with looking out the window as the streets and lights of Gotham raced by them. When the car finally came to a stop, the three costumed vigilantes hopped out of the car, Batman indicating for Batmare to follow him.

"Where are we?" she asked him as she looked around the massive cave that had more lights than she had been expecting from Batman.

"We're in the Cave. This is the hub from where I wage my war on crime," Batman said as he sat down in a revolving chair that sat under a massive computer with at least six separate screens. "Robin, go ask Alfred to come down here and tell him to bring his medical kit with him. Both Batmare and myself aren't in the best of conditions."

"Aw come on. I wanted to talk more to the-"

"Now." Robin grumbled to herself as she headed for the stairs at the far end of the Cave, which Batmare assumed led to the mansion in which Batman said he lived. After Robin had left, Batman spun the chair to face her, with a look she couldn't read on his face.

"Why are you here?" he asked her in a near whisper, a tone that she recognized and meant that he was angry.

"Why am I here? I came to save you," Batmare responded as she unhooked her cowl and took it off, letting her sweat-drenched mane fall behind her head. "Because you needed my help." Batman's eyes narrowed as she said this and he placed both hands under his chin.

"How did you know I was in danger?"

"Alfred told me when I called the other night," she said quickly, looking into his eyes the best she could without flinching. She was, technically, telling the truth. Alfred had been the one to specify what danger Batman was in. She didn't know why she wasn't telling him about the silver mare, but it just felt like something that needed to be kept secret for now. Of course, Batman almost immediately saw through her attempt to hide something from him, but instead of pressing on he decided that it was time for the scolding.

"What were you thinking, in crossing over to my world and risking your own life to rescue me on a mission that could have been a trap?" he growled at her, his eyes flashing with rage. "You could have been caught by any one of the maniacs that run through the streets, or worse. I was fine. Robin was on her way and she would have gotten me out of that trap with little issue. But because of your interference, you nearly got yourself killed. I thought that I taught you better than--"

"No, you taught me to use my skills to protect myself and those I love," Batmare shot back, doing what few dared to do as she interrupted Batman in the process. "And the last time I checked, I still love you...Dad. So when I heard that you might be in danger, that your life might be at risk, I didn't hesitate to come here to make sure that you were safe." Batman looked taken aback for a second by her words, but the Dark Knight regained his composure and resumed the attack.

"Noble, but foolish. You came into this world blind and entered a fight that you might not have been able to win," he reminded her with a scowl. "And in that situation, I was not able to protect you. What would you have done if Robin hadn't show up in time? How would you have handled Crane?"

"The same way I handle any foe that tries to hurt somepony I love. I hurt them. Badly," she said with a scary smile. "And I don't care that I didn't have a plan or that I went in blind. You were in danger and needed help then. And don't say that my reasons were foolish, because I know that you would do the same if not more to keep me safe, even if you had to go in with no plan!" she roared back, with Batman narrowing his eyes as a result.

"You could have waited for a better moment to strike, instead of risking your life the way you did. Why did you act so recklessly?"

"Because...because I was afraid that I would lose you as well," she said with her emotions finally overpowering her will, mixing her voice with both rage and sadness. "I already lost my parents in an accident that I couldn't stop, and it has haunted me to this day. But this time was different. This time I could do something to save you and so I did...because I couldn't lose you. Not like this." The iron will of Batman that had only failed him once before was on the verge of collapsing again, as Scootaloo's emotions got through to him. He let out a sigh and took of his cowl as well so that Scootaloo could look into his eyes without any interference.

"Scootaloo...you weren't the only one who was afraid that they were going to lose someone they cared about," Batman said in a tired voice, holding his still gauntleted hands to his face so that he could wipe away the sweat. "I had managed to overcome nearly all of Crane's fear toxins, when you showed up out of the shadows to face those killers...and the image of you standing against them did something that his gas could never do: it scared me." Now it was Scootaloo's turn to be shocked by what she heard. Batman had been afraid?

"But you're Batman! You aren't afraid of anything! You took on a magical enchantress with two holes in your body, when all of hell was breaking loose behind you without flinching. How in all of Equestria could that--?" Her words died in her throat as she looked into his eyes to see both the seriousness of what he was saying, along with the traces of fear that had been there earlier.

"Because I was afraid that I'd lose you," he admitted in a whisper. Scootaloo didn't have anything to say, all she could do was stand silently as Batman closed his eyes. Then, after a few moments of waiting, she walked forward and wrapped her arms around his waist with a small smile.

"You wouldn't lose me. You trained me better than that," she said as she tightened her grip a bit. "Don't worry, you won't be rid of me so easily...Dad." Batman looked down at her for a second with no idea what to do, before he decided to forget his Batman side for one second and knelt down to her level and hugged her back as gently as he could.

"And you have to hold more faith in me, because you won't be rid of me that easily either...Scootaloo." The two stayed like that for a minute before the sound of a person clearing his throat was heard throughout the cave. Both Batman and Scootaloo spun to see the butler standing at the bottom of the staircase, with a case of medicine in one hand and a barely contained smile on his face.

"If the two of you don't mind, I was told that you needed some medical expertise," he said as he walked over to them, kneeling down to Scootaloo's level and asking her to take off her armor. He shook his head as he saw the bleeding that was still going on from the needle wound. "Yes, this will take a few stiches to fix. If you would kindly sit down at the table over there, I can get started." Scootaloo did as he asked, wondering why he was taking to talking a Pegasus so well. "Trust me when I say that you are not the strangest thing that Master Bruce has brought into the cave with him. Please turn."

"So what do you plan to do now that you've rescued me?" Batman asked as he sat down next to her on the table, removing the top half of his suit so Alfred could look at his injuries as well. Despite her resisting the best she could, Scootaloo couldn't help but wince as she looked at the multitude of scars that he had acquired over the years, along with a number of discolorations and burn marks.

"My plan is to--ow--head back home and get a day's worth of sleep before resuming my search for the scum that are trying to resurrect the demon that will destroy all of Equestria," she said with a stifled yawn as Alfred finished up her stiches and turned his attention to Batman. "However, I'm worried that they only need one more filly to complete the ritual. While I might be able to protect Pumpkin, there are still at least fifty fillies on that list that could still be used as sacrifices."

"Do you need me to help you?" Batman asked. "I'm more than willing to go back to Equestria, especially since I see that you are having a hard enough time keeping up with your training. Your form has slipped a bit from the last time we trained together. You should have been able to handle the grunts without that much trouble."

"The Scarecrow threw me off my game, okay? But don't worry, one day I will be as skilled as you. And maybe even as dark and terrifying." Batman looked down at his hands as she said this, waving Alfred away when he wanted to look over the rest of his body for more injuries.

"I never wanted you to become like me," he said softly as he looked over at her. "The life I lead is a life that would wish on no other, and especially not one that I care for as much as I do you. In all honesty, if it were in my power, I would make sure that there was no need for a Batmare...or man."

"If you don't want me to be Batmare, then why did you help me by sending all of those cool gadgets to my cave," Scootaloo asked as she and Batman both hopped off of the table.

"Because I can't be the one who decides who you want to be, you have to," Batman said, bringing back memories of what he had said during his final battle with Morgaine. "Because you have to choose your own path in life. And as your mentor, I'll do my best to support you in any way I can. Which reminds me." He motioned for Scootaloo to follow him to a part of the cave where he had a number of spare suits lined up on the wall, with one labeled Equis 1.

"Ever since you mentioned that you've been having trouble with you armor, I decided to have some of the minds at Wayne Tech whip this up." He pressed a button on the side and stood back as the locker opened up. "I give you your new batsuit." Scootaloo's jaw hit the ground when her eyes rested on the suit within the locker. It was a sleek black design, with a red bat in the center of it's chest. "The materials are made from a lightweight titanium that can deflect most projectiles and blades. I also had a few of my more mystical allies work on it and it can also reflect almost any spell back at the caster. And of course, there is room for you to spread your wings. Go ahead, try it on." Scootaloo walked up to the suit and gently placed a hoof on it, having to force herself not to start giggling at the touch of the metal armor. She slipped the actual suit on first, feeling a tingling throughout her body as it fit perfectly over her muscular body.

"It feels like I was meant for this suit," she said with a smile as she started to throw punches, the suit not hindering her in any way.

"That's because it was," Batman reminded her as she slipped on the hoof guards and cowl. "The cowl comes with thermal vision as well as the newest version of detective vision that my suppliers have produced. It can also show you where structures are weak and can scan for blood. It should help you during your crusades."

"I love this armor!" Batmare yelled as she spun around a few times, watching the black cape following her with a grin. "It's like it's another skin."

"It's supposed to be. The armor you wear should be like another part of you, not weigh you down like the armor you wore," Batman said with a shake of his head as he held the torn up suit she had been wearing. "I admit that Rarity does have talent when it comes to fashion, but I don't think that going to her for armor was one of your better ideas."

"Because the Canterlot armor is bulky and sticks out," Batmare said. Then she remembered what she promised Twilight. "I hate to say this so soon, but I need to get back to my world. I promised Twilight that I would contact her as soon as my mission here, or rescuing you, was complete. Do you still have the dimensional stone that you used to visit me so that I can get back?" Batman nodded and walked over to a locker labeled "Batmare" and opened it, reaching inside to pull out a small stone with blue markings over it.

"I've kept this here in case the day came when I needed to go to Equestria again, despite some of the more paranoid sorcerers on the league advising me otherwise," Batman said as he walked over to a device that sat near the computer, looking like twin metal rods sticking out of a metal circle with an image burned into it. "So I asked Dr. Fate if he would help me construct this device, which can be used to access other dimensions. This should take you home." Batmare walked over to the device as Batman placed the stone in the center of it and started to mutter something that she couldn't hear, covering her eyes as a bright flash went off and a portal appeared in front of her.

"So...I guess that I'll see you later then?" Batmare said with a hint of sadness in her voice as she looked over at Batman, who had walked away from the portal towards a tarp that covered something.

"Before you go, I have one last thing for you," Batman said as he pulled back the tarp, revealing a night black motorcycle that had the red bat symbol on the front as well. "You may not have been in my world long, and a lot happened so that it was mostly us fighting for our lives, but I still enjoyed spending time with you. This is for you."

"You're giving something this awesome to me? Me? The pony that nearly crashed a hang glider and almost got herself killed trying to learn how to cook?" Batmare asked in disbelief.

"It's your birthday, isn't it?" Batman asked with a smile as she walked over to the motorcycle with awe in her eyes. "Every year I've given you something that would help you and this year is no different. Happy Birthday." Batmare hopped onto the back of the vehicle as Batman explained to her how it worked. "I have a test track at the end of the cave if you wish to--" His words were drowned out as Batmare shot off to the track with a gleeful laugh following her as she hit the track and started to drive around flawlessly.

"She is truly as talented as you said she is," Alfred said as he walked up beside Batman, who shook his head with a thin smile as he watched Batmare drive around the track.

"And just as reckless," he said with a small sigh.

"But you still took her under your wing."

"She needed somebody to help her with her grief. I just wish that she found somebody better than me." Alfred chuckled to himself as he placed a hand on Batman's shoulder.

"Don't be too hard on yourself, Master Bruce. You have done a fairly good job despite your own grief. And she helped you just as much as you helped her." Batman smiled at that as Batmare drove up to the two of them, a massive smile under her face.

"This. Is. AWSOME!" she yelled.

"I'm glad you like it, but I thought there was somewhere you needed to be?" Batman asked with a smile.

"Right, I gotta go," Batmare said as she revved the engine. "Despite the small amount of time we spent together, it was still nice being with you again. Bye Dad!...Love you."

"Go stop those criminals. I know you can do it." Scootaloo hung her head a bit, but she raised it again with a smile as she aimed the motorcycle at the portal. With one last rev of the engine, she shot forward through the portal and vanished into the other side.

"And there she goes. So how does it feel to see your daughter all grown up?" Alfred asked, raising an eyebrow as Batman walked past him and sat down at the computer. "And right back to work with you. I'd recommend at least a few days to let the wounds heal."

"Crime doesn't take a break and neither do I," Batman said as he started to scan the screens. "You should know that by now." Alfred sighed and walked over to the suit that Scootaloo had left behind, picking it up gently and looking at it with a smile.

"Well, I know that I am going to set this up in a case right away," he said as he headed for the display cases.

"Do you think I've...done enough for her?" Batman asked in a whisper, a whisper that Alfred had only heard once or twice before. "I've given her all she needs to be a crime fighter, but is it enough? Have I been as supportive as I could have been? Should I be out there with her instead of spending my nights fighting this endless battle?...Should I have gone back to Equestria?" Alfred walked over to Bruce and put his hand on his shoulder to comfort him a bit.

"You are doing your best, Sir; that's all she ever wanted from you," Alfred said gently. "And despite the fact that you think that somebody better should have helped her, you were the one to save her...in more ways than one. She loves you, Master Bruce. Never forget that." Alfred turned towards the suit cases and began to walk away, leaving Bruce there to think quietly to himself about what he should do. He eventually sighed and looked back to the computer, scanning the streets for the next crime.

Author's Note

Bonus points if you can guess which Robin this is. And I didn't change the Robin outfit from City because you can't improve on perfection.

Royal Visit

Back in the batcave located underneath Scootaloo's house, Twilight paced back and forth across the floor, her head hung with worry as she tried to keep her mind off of the negative thoughts that kept trying to creep in.

'I'm sure she's fine,' Twilight thought to herself, constantly looking towards the spot where Batmare had vanished into the portal she had opened. It had been a few hours since Batmare had traveled over, and every single one of those seconds had been hard for Twilight to get through. 'She's had training; she's done this for over a year now. I'm certain that she can handle whatever's on the other side.' But it was a futile battle for Twilight, who had almost re-opened the portal herself once or twice to rush over to save her. She had been told to wait at least three days, but she didn't know if she would last three more minutes.

"If she doesn't come back in one more hour, I'm going in there after her," Twilight said in a panicked voice as she floated the dimensional stone over to her, looking at the weird designs on it with a frown. "This is all your fault. If you hadn't shown that tyrant how to get to our world, then Scootaloo wouldn't have to go to where you came from to save her father. But you did bring Batman here, so I guess it balances out." Twilight sighed as she realized that she was talking to a rock again, and she turned to the massive computer that Scootaloo had told her she received from the princesses. But ever since she learned that Batman survived, she figured that he had given it to her. But despite her worry for Scootaloo, Twilight couldn't suppress her curious side when in the presence of such foreign tech.

"How do the humans come up with this stuff without magic?" She muttered to herself as she pressed a button on the keyboard, jumping back as the computer turned on with a low humming sound. "Maybe it's their lack of magic that forces them to build better things to survive? But then that raises the question of how do the Demon Spawn have a computer, because according to the report Celestia gave me, Batmare found one in an underground facility of theirs. Where did they get it?" Twilight made a mental note to ask Celestia the next time they talked and she placed the stone on the keyboard as she exhaled gently.

"Alright Twilight, another fifty minutes and then you will--"

BOOOOM!

Twilight screamed and threw herself to the ground as the sound of thunder echoed throughout the cave as a massive portal tore a hole in the center of the cave, causing all of the bats to fly around while screeching in confusion. Twilight looked out from under the desk where the computer rested as a blur came flying out of the portal and skidded to a stop before it ran over the edge, a laugh that she knew well following it as the pony in black jumped off the back.

"Why anypony would want to run after finding out about one of these things has to be the most old-fashion pony I'd have seen," Batmare laughed to herself as she started moving the motorcycle to the center of the cave, ignoring the portal as it started to close. "Yo, Twilight, you in here!?"

"SCOOTALOO!" Despite her amazing reflexes, Batmare was completely blindsided by a purple blur that tackled her to the ground. Scootaloo tried to figure out what had happened as Twilight crushed her ribs with a death hug. "You're alive! And...have a new suit of armor," Twilight muttered as she let go of Scootaloo and looked at the new suit with a raised eyebrow. "Where'd you get the suit?"

"From Batman," Scootaloo said as she pushed Twilight off of her and reached up to her cowl, removing it to reveal another black eye for Twilight to frown at as Scootaloo took her belt and walked over to where she hung it.

"So besides the black eye you brought back with you, how did meeting Batman again go?" Twilight asked as Scootaloo next walked over to where she kept her suit and started to take it off, a gasp escaping Twilight's lips as she saw the stiches and the bruises that lined her side. But despite the wounds, Scootaloo gave her a huge smile.

"It was great," she said with a smile as her eyes looked off into the distance. "He was trapped just like I was told, but I managed to save him...with a little help. We went back to his home and I got to meet some of the people that help him and got this cool new suit as well as the bike you see over there...hooves off for the record."

"So why did you come back so soon?" Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow. "If you were having so much fun with your dad, why did you come back so soon?"

"Because I'm needed here," Scootaloo said as her hero personality set back in. "I would have stayed longer, but with the fillies in danger I figured that I should come back here to help save them." Twilight noticed that she said this rather quickly and that she avoided her eyes as well.

"Scootaloo...what happened?" Scootaloo sat down in her chair and looked down at the floor as she thought about how to answer.

"When I was going through the steel mill to get to Batman, something happened to me that almost destroyed me. I saw...all of my friends dead in front of me and the skeleton of Batman tearing into my worst fears, as if it knew how to strike at my most private fears." Scootaloo left out the part about the giant scarecrow and the silver mare, not knowing what to make of that.

"Well, that doesn't seem so bad," Twilight said as she wrapped a wing around Scootaloo's shoulder to comfort her. "It may have been terrifying, but it was only an illusion right? We've dealt with this kind of thing before, in fact I remember training you how to tell illusion from reality. Why was this one so tough?"

"Well, getting through the illusion was tough but manageable, but there was one line that the fake Batman said that really got to me," Scootaloo said. "He said that Batman would never love me because I'm just a pony and not really his daughter." Twilight knew that Scootaloo was being serious, but a small chuckle still escaped her lips and gained her a glare from Scootaloo.

"I'm sorry, but the illusion thought it could get to you by saying that Batman doesn't love you?" Twilight asked with a smile. "He gave his life...I thought that he gave his life for you after being impaled twice and blasted with enough magic to drop an alicorn. I think that he 'loves you' is an understatement." Twilight had hoped to cheer her up, but Scootaloo's face fell even further.

"That's just what I thought at first, and what I used to help me through the illusion, but when we were at the cave before I left I told Batman I loved him and he didn't answer me. What if what that illusion was saying was true and that he doesn't love me as his daughter?" Scootaloo asked in a whisper. Twilight frowned sadly at this and tightened her hug.

"He does love you Scootaloo, he probably just has trouble admitting it. Remember how long it took us to get him to give an actual laugh? It might take some time to get him to admit how to say I love you." Scootaloo thought about this for a minute before she gave Twilight a small smile.

"Thanks for reminding me, I appreciate it," Scootaloo said, gently pushing Twilight's wing off of her. "I'll be up in a minute, I need to figure out where I'm going to put my new motorcycle." Twilight nodded and headed up the stairs out of the cave, leaving Scootaloo alone. She waited until Twilight was out of sight before she reached into a hidden compartment that was under her computer and pulled out a small amulet, holding it close to her chest.

'If he does love me, then this should still work, right?' she thought to herself with a hint of fear, placing the amulet around her neck as she headed up the stairs.

===--===

Scootaloo had to admit, of all the princesses that she expected to see in her living room, Celestia was the last one she expected due to her schedule. But as she ascended the stairs, she saw her sitting on her couch with what looked like what remained of her birthday cake around her mouth, with Twilight sitting next to her with her face in her hoof.

"Hello there, Scootaloo," Celestia said as she swallowed the rest of the cake. Scootaloo raised an eyebrow at the plate she placed on her coffee table. "I apologize for raiding your fridge, but when I saw the cake I couldn't resist."

"Sorry Scootaloo, I tried to stop her," Twilight said with a meek smile. "But when princess Celestia sets her sights on cake there is no force on Equis that can stop her." Celestia's face turned red as Scootaloo sat down next to her with a frown.

"So besides raiding my fridge, is there another reason that you came to visit me?" Scootaloo asked. Celestia wiped her mouth with a napkin and regained her regal pose, bringing out a small document that she hoofed to Scootaloo with a serious look.

"This is the most recent information that Luna's Dark Knights have discovered, and I figured that you would want to be the first to see it," Celestia said seriously as Scootaloo opened the document, her eyes widening in shock as she read what was written.

"You found their base?" Scootaloo asked in disbelief as she looked at the smiling Celestia. "The Dark Knights found the headquarters of the Demon Spawn?"

"Luna is not sure how they did it, but late last night three of Luna's squad returned with the information, saying that they found a pony in a white cloak heading to a part of Equestria that ponies had avoided for years. They chose to follow and found a large facility that was not there the last time I went to that part of the country. We are certain that it is their base."

"And why did you contact me?" Scootaloo asked as she hoofed the papers back to Celestia, having memorized what the papers had said. "You promised me when I started my work that you would avoid contact with me as much as possible, so ponies wouldn't suspect me. Why bring me into this?"

"Because you are the only pony who has come into contact with the Demon Spawn and survived, not to mention you told us that you had a personal stake in this as well," Celestia said, reminding Scootaloo of the five fillies she had failed to save.

"Please help us, Scootaloo. The princesses are afraid of what would happen if they were able to resurrect Azaroth," Twilight pleaded. Scootaloo didn't have to think about her answer, she already knew that she was going, but a nagging doubt still clung to the back of her mind. The Demon Spawn were always mysterious and were nearly impossible to track, a fact that kept her up late scouring the news reports and photos of possible sightings for them. But to just stumble over their base by following them didn't seem right to her. An organization that perfected vanishing until they wanted to be seen wouldn't just let a group of easily recognized ponies follow them.

"I think it's a trap," Scootaloo said as she placed both hooves under her chin. "They wanted us to find them for a reason, not because we followed them." Twilight and Celestia both shared a look before they looked back to Scootaloo.

"How can you be so sure?" Celestia asked.

"Because I've fought them and they aren't the types to make a mistake like letting a group follow them back to their base. No, they wanted us to find them, and if it's not a trap, it's probably a diversion of sorts." Scootaloo thought a little bit more about what she had said, trying to see if there were something she missed. But all of her thoughts eventually wound up back at the place she had been trying to avoid: why Batman hadn't said he loved her.

"Even if it is a trap, this is an opportunity that we cannot pass up. They might move the next night or they might make their move if we wait any longer," Celestia said with a frown. "We need to attack and soon. We were planning to attack tonight, but with the current shape you are in, it would be wiser to wait longer for you to heal," she said as she looked over Scootaloo's wounded body, averting her eyes when she got to the stiches in the side and the blood stains on her coat.

"I've trained my mind to handle any physical pain, I can handle this," Scootaloo said with a smirk that made Celestia all the more worried about the Pegasus' health. "So when were you planning to attack and what are the details?"

"Tonight is when we want to assault the complex, which is located about ten miles from Stalliongrad. We will have a large number of forces, but Luna will be the one leading the attack. Originally, I was going to join you, but since you mentioned a trap or diversion, I think it's best one of the princesses stay behind to keep things safe. Besides, Luna is strongest at night and the two of you get along well, so it's for the best."

"And what role will I play, Princess?" Twilight asked eagerly.

"You will be staying behind to protect Ponyville. Again, with the idea of a diversion, I would like a pony who I can trust and who's strong enough to handle the demons here. Can you do that, my student?"

"Of course I can!"

"Then it is settled. Scootaloo, meet Luna tomorrow night at the castle and take the airship we have on hoof to the location. With the new engines we have purchased, it shouldn't take long for you to reach there. The soldiers will be told not to bother you unless you ask something from them. You will be team leader along with Luna, so I ask you to think up a plan with her as well." Celestia rose as she finished saying this and headed for the door, expressing her gratitude for the cake and for the both of them listening. She used her magic to open the door before she stopped and looked back at Scootaloo. "Also, I appreciate all that you've done for us as your other self. Even if my sister and I don't often show it, we do worry about you."

"I'm still alive, aren't I?" Scootaloo responded with a smile of her own. Celestia nodded with a sad smile as she walked out of the door and took to the skies. Twilight walked her to the door as Scootaloo stood up as well.

After she had gone, Twilight turned to her friend and said with a frown, "I need to get going too. I want to have the Elements of Harmony on standby in case those weirdos try anything in my town. Are you sure you're okay? You still seem shaken up about what happened to you when you went to Earth. Do you need me to--?"

"Thank you for offering, Twilight, but I'm fine," Scootaloo said with a smile. Twilight sighed and walked out of the house as well, leaving Scootaloo alone with her thoughts. Scootaloo spent a minute thinking about what Celestia said and how she should proceed. She was certain that it was a trap, but this was the best chance she had to strike at the Demon Spawn. She sighed to herself as she stood up, deciding that she would have to trust Twilight and the others to keep the town safe in her absence.

'Do not go.' Scootaloo spun around with a growl as she prepared herself for a fight, but she calmed down when she saw the silver mare sitting on her couch, looking at her from beneath her hood.

"I'm sorry, but did you tell me not to go stop the evil force that has been attacking my home and innocent fillies across the world?" Scootaloo asked with a smirk. "I thought that you were going to help me stop the Demons?"

'I am, but this is one battle that I suggest not going to. You will be needed here.'

"Why? What's going to happen that would be more important than stopping the most dangerous organization in all of Equestria?" Scootaloo growled.

'I do not know for certain, but I had a warning that if you are not here, something terrible will happen." Scootaloo scoffed at the useless clue.

"So is that a vision from the future or are you just making this up as you go?" Scootaloo asked with a chuckle, backing away a bit when the silver light that surrounded the mare began to glow a bit more harshly.

'No, I cannot see the future, not entirely. I can see certain parts, like who will be there when certain events unfold or what will happen if the proper care isn't taken,' she said with a hint of anger in her voice. 'Like in this instance. Trust me when I tell you that this is one of those times.' Scootaloo wasn't buying what she was saying, even if the mare had saved her life before. It sounded more like a plot to keep her away from the fight.

"If it's so important, why don't you stop the threat yourself?" Scootaloo asked, waiting to see what her answer was. She was surprised a bit when the silver mare hung her head a bit.

'Because if I stay here, a power far worse than the one you are fighting will descend upon your world and there will be nopony to help you from his wrath,' she said with fear in her voice, something that bothered Scootaloo. What could scare a being that was untouchable? Scootaloo looked down to consider her offer when she heard what sounded like far off thunder, a thunder that sounded familar. When she looked up again, the silver mare was gone.

"I'm getting tired of seeing her do that," Scootaloo muttered to herself as she headed for her door, needing to talk to a few ponies to prepare for the upcoming night.

====---====

Rarity was her first stop. Since she had a new suit created by her father, there was no need for her to keep asking Rarity to make her the bat suit. Plus, Rarity had been helping her ever since she started her crusade, so she deserved to know that Batman was still alive and what was going to happen. Rarity's Boutique was only a quick flight away for the second fastest flier in Equestria, and she reached the shop within a minute. Scootaloo skidded to a stop outside of the shop and knocked twice, waiting patiently as she heard the sounds of hooves heading towards the door.

"Yes, who is-? Oh, Scootaloo, what can I do for you?" Rarity asked with a smile as she stepped aside to let Scootaloo in, gasping at the new wounds on Scootaloo's body. "Dear Celestia, Scootaloo, it has barely been a few days since we last met and already you have a new set of scars."

"Don't worry, this should be the last time that I get scars like this," Scootaloo said with a smile as she sat down. You might want to sit down Rarity, I have big news that will probably knock you over."

"Oh, this should be interesting," Rarity said with a curious smile as she sat down across from Scootaloo. "So what is it?"

"Well, you'll be happy to know that you will no longer have to repair the bat suit for me," Scootaloo said with a shrug, watching as Rarity's eyes widened in surprise and a hint of joy. Then she gave Scootaloo a suspicious glance as she started to think about what she had said.

"And why is that? You would never give up on your dream so easily," Rarity pointed out. "Why would you no longer need to have the suit repaired?"

"Because I have a new suit, and this one is made from materials that will make me nearly invincible," Scootaloo said with a smile, noticing that hurt came to Rarity's eyes as she said this. "Rarity, I thank you for making me the suits, but this new one is special. It was given to me by somepony I love." When Rarity gave her a confused look, Scootaloo's smile grew even bigger. "Batman."

"You can't be serious," Rarity whispered as her face went even whiter, and she held a hoof to her head as the shock started to set in. "But he died. We all saw it. The explosion, the blood loss. He-"

"Come on, Rarity, this is Batman we're talking about. Do you really think he'd let something as trivial as death stop him?" Rarity looked at her coffee table for a minute as she tried to process what Scootaloo had just told her, but then a smile came to her face followed by a chuckle.

"I suppose I would have to agree with you, not even death could stop him," she said with a shake of her head. "But why tell me? If he didn't tell us he must have had a good reason not to." Scootaloo looked down at her hooves for a second, trying to think of the best way to answer her question.

"I told you because you've supported my crusade more than any other pony, even Twilight," Scootaloo said with gratitude in her eyes. "I would be dead now if you hadn't taken the time out of your busy schedule to make and maintain the bat suit. So I figured that you should be the first I told without circumstances forcing me to. Thanks." Scootaloo stood up and motioned for Rarity to give her a hug, which Rarity did with a few tears in her eyes.

"Of course I would help you. With all the times you've been over here, you're practically another little sister to me. So, are you going to tell the others?" Rarity asked when they broke apart.

"I'm going to tell Rainbow, AJ and Fluttershy, but I'm not sure I should tell Pinkie. Batman did break a Pinkie promise to her after all, and she might break through reality to get to him. And I don't want Batman to have to bring Pinkie down." Both of them laughed at that, although they both did wonder if Batman could stop a driven Pinkie. Scootaloo headed for the door, but Rarity stopped her by placing her hoof on her shoulder.

"Scootaloo, did something happen? You look...sad." Scootaloo sometimes hated how observant her friends could be.

"It's nothing. Now I need to go talk to Rainbow. Thanks...for everything." Rarity removed her hoof and let Scootaloo walk out of her Boutique, smiling to herself despite the sadness she had seen in Scootaloo's eyes.

'So you got to visit Batman again, eh? I'm a little jealous of you, getting to see what Earth looked like. But I'm happy that you got to see your father again. But I do hope that you show me this new suit that seems to be better than mine." Rarity started to hum a tune to herself as she headed back inside, wondering what she would now do in her free time.

Preparations

Scootaloo's next destination was to go and find her sister, who normally would be found lazing about on some clouds near either Applejack's farm or near the field outside of town. But after ten minutes of looking and checking out both locations, Scootaloo was surprised to find that she was at neither place.

'Ugh, she always does this whenever I want to talk to her,' Scootaloo thought with a sigh as she walked through the streets of Ponyville, waving to the ponies who waved to her as she looked for Rainbow. 'She always bothers me whenever I want to be alone, but is she there when I want to talk? Nooooo, she's off with the Wonderbolts or bothering somepony else. Why do I even...?' Scootaloo decided that there was one last place that she hadn't checked yet, but it was a longshot even by her standards of longshot. The only other place she could think that Rainbow Dash would be was at the CMC clubhouse, where she often watched Scootaloo train her two students. Scootaloo shot across the land at top speed, not wanting to waste any more time since she had a mission to prepare for the following night. But much to her surprise as she came skidding to a stop near the clubhouse, she saw that Rainbow Dash was in fact there, but what she didn't expect to see was both Pound and Pumpkin Cake fighting her at the same time, with mixed results.

"Come on, you call that a kick, Pumpkin?!" Rainbow asked with a laugh as she shot to the left to avoid a dive kick by Pumpkin Cake, watching with a snicker as the foal hit the ground and skidded along on her face. Her snickering stopped when Pound Cake chopped at her head and forced RD to block his strike before grabbing his arm with both hooves, tossing him over her head and down into the dirt next to his sister, where he managed to roll to recover. "Good roll there Pound. But you need to be quicker with your strikes. Put some power into them!"

"Argh, this isn't fair," Pumpkin muttered as she got up to her hooves, shaking the dirt out of her mane as she watched RD bounce on her hooves while motioning for the two of them to bring it. "She taught our teacher. How are we supposed to beat her?"

"With kicks and strikes," Pound Cake said in a serious tone as he watched RD bounce around before rushing forward at her, throwing a feint high before going to sweep the two legs she was balancing on. Scootaloo got a quick glimpse of Rainbow's eyes before the strike, a small smile spread on Scootaloo's face when she saw that RD had been caught off guard. However, RD quickly recovered by using her wings to keep herself from falling and she floated over Pound's head to land behind him.

"I gotta admit kid, you're every bit as skilled as Scootalo said you were," Rainbow said as she threw a light kick at the back of his head. "But you're not--" It was Scootaloo's turn to smirk as Pound Cake dodged the blow by performing a perfect split, catching Rainbow's hoof as it shot over his head. Her reflexes kicked in and she spun around with the young colt still grabbing onto her leg until he lost his grip. He landed next to his sister with an "Omph" while Pumpkin laughed at him.

"Come on Pound, you gotta be more aggressive," Pumpkin said with a smile as she charged at RD, bringing back a single hoof to deliver a powerful blow. RD just rolled her eyes at the predictable strike and caught the blow with one hoof before she used a kick to knock Pumpkin's legs out from under her and flipped the filly over her head. Rainbow looked down at Pumpkin with a shake of her head.

"Really? You're going to charge at me with a wind-up punch? Do you know how many foals I've fought who used that as their strategy?" Rainbow said with a small shake of her head. Pumpkin growled and used her strength to break free of Rainbow's grasp while she shot to her hooves, glaring daggers at the smirking pegasus. "Come on, I hope that this isn't all you've got. It reflects badly on my own student." Pumpkin growled and started throwing wild rights and lefts, her rage growing higher and higher with each missed strike that she threw. RD didn't even bother to block the easily dodged strikes, while she waited for Pumpkin to go in for one massive blow before she caught her with the same move that she had just done, looking down at the dumbfounded Pumpkin with a sigh.

"Alright, that's enough. Group up." Pound Cake ran over and sat at RD's hooves quickly while Pumpkin took her time getting back up, grumbling to herself about how unfair that was. RD waited until the both of them sat down before she took out a scoreboard where she had written down their performances. "Okay, both of you did put up a decent fight, but you both need work. First, Pumpkin: You might be the stronger of the two of you, but pure strength means little in a world based on technique and discipline. Do you know why I was able to defeat you so easily?"

"Because you spent years mastering your art and are the strongest pegasus around?" Pumpkin muttered as she rested her head on her hoof, avoiding Rainbow's eyes as she did so.

"Both true points, but that's not the main reason. You rely too much on that power and focus less on your technique," Rainbow critiqued while Pumpkin just scowled at the ground. "Strength can only get you so far; you need to discipline yourself and try to concentrate more on skill. If that had been a real fight, you would have been the first to go down out of the two of you."

"WHAT?! Are you telling me that this weakling next to me would have lasted longer than me?!" Pumpkin asked in disbelief, not noticing Pound Cake 'hmph' next to her. RD shut her up with a glare and cleared her throat before continuing.

"Yes, he would have. He is very skilled for somepony his age, and I wouldn't be surprised to hear that he's learning faster than Scootaloo was," Rainbow Dash said with a warm smile to Pound, who smiled while looking away. "That and your temper is probably why Pound is considered--"

"That will be enough, Rainbow Dash." All three of them looked over at Scootaloo, who was walking up to the group with a glare at RD before she looked to her two students. "The two of you may leave for now. Consider this little sparring session to be your training for the day. Dismissed." Pound Cake shot up with a smile and ran off while doing flips of joy, while Pumpkin slinked off with her head hung low and occasionally looking over her shoulder at Scootaloo with a sad face.

"Hey Scoot's, I thought that you'd be asleep at this time of day," RD said with a smile as she looked at Scootaloo, wincing every once in a while as she saw the bruises. "Geez, you look even worse than the last time we talked. What have you been doing to yourself?" she asked in a tone meant to mock Rarity.

"We need to talk. Now," Scootaloo said sternly as RD looked up into the sky, telling Scootaloo that she was considering flying off. Rainbow sighed and followed Scootaloo to the clubhouse, where (much to her thanks) they sat under the tree instead of going into the much too small for them clubhouse. Scootaloo sat in front of her to make sure that she was paying attention.

"Okay Scoot's, you have my attention. What's up?" RD asked as she leaned back against the tree, closing her eyes as she placed both hooves behind her head.

"First, I need you to watch over the two of them for the next two days. I'm going to be gone on a mission," Scootaloo said in a serious tone, hoping that Rainbow Dash would get that she was not joking around.

"Sure, sure. What's the mission about?" RD asked with a dismissive wave of her hoof.

"I'm hopefully going to the main base of the ponies who have been kidnapping fillies all over Equestria," Scootaloo said quickly after looking around to make sure that nopony was listening to them. Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at this, but shrugged her should after a second.

"I'm sure you can handle it. You were trained by me after all. And Batman."

"That's the other thing I wanted to talk to you about, Scootaloo said with some hesitation, gaining Rainbow Dash's attention once again. "Batman...is still alive." Rainbow Dash was one of the toughest ponies that Scootaloo knew, so she was surprised by how quickly Rainbow Dash was bowled over by the news.

"WHAT!? HE'S STILL ALIVE?!" Rainbow Dash screamed in shock, forcing Scootaloo to ram her hoof into RD's mouth to shut her up. While Rainbow Dash tried to get the hoof out of her mouth, Scootaloo looked around to make sure that nopony had heard her scream.

"Keep it down, will you?" Scootaloo hissed with a bit of rage, but RD was past the point of just talking normally.

"Keep it down? The greatest hero known to Equestria that ever lived is still alive and you didn't tell anypony?!" RD said in as quiet a tone as she could, which was a dull roar at best. "Why would you keep that a secret once you found out, let alone ten years!"

"Because he asked me to," Scootaloo responded. "He asked me not to tell the ponies that he was alive, and so I did as he asked. I've wanted to tell you guys for a while, but I only got permission recently. I'm sorry if that bothers you, but I wanted to respect his wishes." Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to respond, but closed it with a huff, deciding that it wasn't her place.

"Well, I'm still going to be upset about this for a while," she said as she crossed her arms. Scootaloo nodded with a small sigh of relief, amazed that Rainbow Dash had taken the news so well. She stood back up along with Rainbow, who wrapped Scootaloo in a quick hug.

"Stay safe, little sis," RD said before she quickly let go and looked around nervously. Scootaloo smiled in response and told RD that she always was and turned to leave. However, she barely made it half way across the field before she was stopped by Pumpkin, who had been waiting for her teacher to finish up.

"Hey Pumpkin, what's up?" Scootaloo asked in a friendly tone, but her mood changed when she saw the look of sadness on Pumpkin's face. She quickly knelt down so that she could look her student in the eyes, her tone becoming serious. "What's the matter Pumpkin? I've never seen you like this before."

"...Do you like my brother better than me?" Pumpkin asked in a whisper that Scootaloo barely heard, but she pursed her lips when she heard the words. This had been a question that she had been expecting for some time, but she had hoped to avoid it for a while.

"Now why would you think that?" Scootaloo asked with as much joviality as she could in her voice, but it was lost on her student. "I like you both the same, just for different reasons. I don't like one of you over the other."

"...Is my brother easier to get along with." Scootaloo could feel herself getting backed into a corner, and unlike Batman, she still had a few issues with her escape artistry, so she had some trouble trying to think up a good answer to Pumpkin's question. Yes, Pound was easier to get along with and easier to train, but that didn't mean that she didn't like Pumpkin. Scootaloo almost had an answer when Pumpkin hit her with another blow. "And please be honest, I want to know."

"...Your brother is easier to train and deal with in class," Scootaloo said with a sigh, having little choice but to tell the truth. "But that is only because he listens to what I say, instead of being stubborn like a certain filly I know. Is he easier to train? Yes. Do I like him more than you or care about him more? No. You are both special to me, don't forget that." Before Pumpkin could ask another question, Scootaloo pulled her into a hug in hopes to comfort the little filly. Scootaloo waited for a brief moment with her breath held tightly in her chest, having no idea how Pumpkin would respond. Then, to her relief, Pumpkin wrapped her arms around Scootaloo with a sigh.

"Thank you for being honest with me. When I heard Rainbow say that's why Pound was the better fighter, I was afraid that you might like him more than me," Pumpkin said softly, not used to letting her emotions out in this manner.

"I like you both. If I didn't, I wouldn't train you two," Scootaloo said with a small laugh as she released the hug. "Now, I'm going to go away for a day or two, so I want you to either stay indoors or if you have to go outside, stay with Rainbow Dash. And I want you to promise me that you won't try anything foolish while I'm gone, okay?"

"Okay, I promise. But where are you going?" Scootaloo's response was to stand up and turn around so that Pumpkin couldn't see into her eyes, which had become filled with a cold fury.

"I'm going to keep you safe."

====---====

Canterlot was only a short train ride away from Ponyville, and in hindsight Scootaloo probably should have taken it to conserve her strength for the upcoming fight, but she wanted to make sure that she got there and she didn't always trust the train, so she had flown to the shining city as fast as she could with her batsuit in her duffle bag. Upon reaching the princesses' castle, she was met the way all ponies who flew up to the castle were met: with spears pointed at her heart.

"Stay where you are," one of the guards yelled at her, lowering his spear as he walked towards Scootaloo, who gently landed in the center of the square that led into the castle.

"I have official business with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Let me in," Scootaloo said with such authority that the guard stopped for a second before he walked up to her and grabbed her bag.

"What's in the bag?" he asked.

"Your ticket to a hospital," she responded with a cold stare, smirking as he backed away from her and pointed his spear at her. Along with the skills and attitude, Scootaloo had also inherited Batman's distrust of the police, or any force of the law that could be manipulated or bribed, and the Royal Canterlot Guard was no different. The guards surrounding her snarled and prepared to attack (which would have ended badly for them) but they were all spared as Luna chose that moment to show up.

"Lower your weapons, all of you," Luna ordered as she landed in front of her guards, putting herself between them for their own sake. "I am sorry about that Scootaloo, I have been so busy preparing for what has to come tonight that I forgot to tell the guards that you were coming. Thank you for not beating them."

"Just because it's fun doesn't mean that I like to do it," Scootaloo said with a smirk as she and the princess headed up towards the castle, giving one last smirk to the guards who simply glared at her from a distance. "Thanks for stepping in when you did, I don't know if I'm in the shape to handle so many guards." Her words caused Luna to look down at her with a raised eyebrow and a look of concern.

"Then are you certain that you are up for the mission tonight? I do not want to put you in any unnecessary danger."

"I've handled worse when I was in worse shape. I'll be fine," Scootaloo said in an attempt to comfort her, but all she did was gain another look from Luna, who made a mental note to take more interest in Batmare's actions. The two ponies walked up the stairs and into the main hall of the castle, Luna telling Scootaloo that Celestia would be busy for a while and would not be able to speak with them yet.

"But you can come to my chambers for a while we wait for night to fall," Luna offered as the two of them walked by the Hall of Memories, a place that Celestia and Luna had constructed when they had first become princesses, so that they could remember all events that took place during their reign. Scootaloo gave the entrance a quick glance inside through the open doors, noticing a large number of items ranging from ancient artifacts to weapons and armor taken from foes in the past. And then her eyes widened as they rested upon an item she hadn't seen for nearly ten years: a sword that glowed with power and was stained with the blood of somepony she knew dear.

"The Sword of Destiny," she whispered to herself as her body came a stop, all of her attention focused on the weapon that had been used to wage a war against all of Equestria. Luna came to a stop as well and walked back over to Scootaloo's side, following where she was looking to see the sword as well.

"That is an item that we have not looked at in quite some time," Luna said softly as her own memories surfaced, reminding her of how she had been mind-controlled during the battle ten years ago, and how she had to be freed by Batman, something she still wasn't happy about to this day. "We never truly got along, Batman and I," she said more to herself than Scootaloo, who looked up at Luna with a raised eyebrow. "My first encounter with him was when I thought that he had attacked the town of Ponyville, and I responded in kind. Then in the dungeons of Canterlot I actually talked to him, where he tricked me to reveal some things about my world while I got nothing out of him. And my last memory of him is when I woke up after being mind-controlled to find him standing over me with one of his knuckles covered in my blood, having to literally knock me back into my senses. I did not like him."

"But...?"

"But he did save us, and he showed me that just because I do not like a pony doesn't mean that I cannot respect said pony. Batman is a hero and I am glad that he decided to help us when he did. He taught me a lot in the short time he was here."

"Same for me," Scootaloo said as she looked at the sword that had supposedly read Batman's destiny and told him that he was going to fall in the Battle of Canterlot, his response being to shatter the sword and to punch Morgaine in the face. But still, the sword had been right on the money for the rest of the Elements of Harmony despite Batman's destiny being wrong, which made her wonder... "Do you mind if I walk through the Hall by myself for a while? I just want to...go through some of my old memories." Luna nodded and turned to leave as Scootaloo walked into the hall, not even bothering to look at any of the other items in the room as her eyes were glued to the sword, which she a bit nervously walked up to. The moment that she got close to it, however, a massive white flash shined throughout the room, blinding her. When she could see again, she saw...

"Me." Scootaloo's eyes widened as she saw herself standing in front of her, but it wasn't the same pony that she was. This Scootaloo was standing on top of a ramp while on a scooter, looking around at a massive crowd of ponies with a smile as they screamed her name and waved her banners. The Scootaloo then slid down a pair of goggles across her face and leapt down the ramp, shooting off another ramp at the bottom and performing a number of incredible tricks in the air. And all the while the real Scootaloo watched with confusion as the other her stuck the landing perfectly, raising both her arms with a cheer before she was mobbed by all of her fans.

"What is this?" she asked herself in confusion.

'This is you.' Scootaloo jumped and started to look around, certain that the silver mare was talking to her again. But instead, a wisp of smoke appeared in front of her and floated there silently, as if looking over her. 'Or rather, who you should be.'

"What do you mean, should be?" Scootaloo asked with a bit of a growl, having heard dialogue similar to this being told to her before. The wisp pointed at the Scootaloo who was posing for the crowd, a huge smile on that version's face.

'You were supposed to be the greatest scooter rider in all of Equestria. It was who you are destined to be,' the wisp said with what sounded like disappointment in its voice. 'But instead, you try to follow this hopeless dream of being like your false father, a being that you cannot be.'

"Well, I choose my own destiny, just like I was shown," Scootaloo said with a growl, hating this wisp. "I don't care what a stupid sword says about me or who I should be, because I choose who I want to be. Batman did it, and so will I." The wisp floated in place for a moment before a strange sound came from it and her image vanished, replaced by a strange darkness.

'The human might be able to choose his own destiny, but ponies were not meant to do so,' the wisp said in a much darker tone, floating by her to bring up a scene that showed all of Canterlot burning, with the bodies of the dead everywhere. 'Ponies are destined to be who they are by the mark that they wear. It is a part of nature that cannot be fought and cannot be beaten. And if you continue on this foolish path of yours, it will only lead to your own destruction. A cutie mark tells a pony who they are so they can excel at what they are good at and what would benefit all of ponykind. Not what they want to be.'

"Well, buck you then, because I chose to be the Batmare and I'm not about to stop now just because some smoke told me I was wrong," Scootaloo said with a growl. "A pony CAN choose his or her own path and I don't care what you say, because Batman proved that you are wrong."

'About him maybe, but what about the other ponies? Rainbow Dash is now captain of the Wonderbolts and Rarity's fashion line is known all throughout the land. Their destinies came true.'

"Well mine didn't, so too bad." The wisp seemed to sigh at her comment and turned its attention back to the image it was showing her.

'If you continue down this path, it will lead to this. Do not say that you were not warned.' The wisp moved to the side to show Batmare's corpse laying beaten on the ground, with a dark shadow standing over it with its head held high, watching all of the land burn with a toothy grin. 'If you fight against your destiny, then you will be the one to bring this catastrophy down upon the land. You will be responsible for the deaths and destruction of--'

'That is enough.' Both Scootaloo and the wisp turned to see a silver mare standing next to them, who looked at the scene before her with a shake of her head. She turned and walked over to the wisp, smirking at it from under her hood. 'You're annoying. Be gone.' A flash of silver went off, blinding Scootaloo again. When the dots vanished from her eyes, she noticed that she was back in the Hall, the sword of destiny laying on the ground broken in half again.

"What happened?" Scootaloo asked as she looked around at the room, trying to make sense of what she was just told.

'What happened is you just saw what your destiny was supposed to be,' the silver mare answered.

"Wait, so you're saying that the stupid pile of smoke was right?" Scootaloo asked in disbelief. "My destiny was really supposed to be that of a dare devil? And that if I continue down this path I will cause the destruction of Equestria?" The silver mare walked over to her and tried to put a hoof on Scootaloo's shoulder, only to watch it pass right through her.

'Destiny is only a pony's way of feeling secure with the path they have chosen,' the silver mare said. 'Remember what Batman taught you, that a pony makes their own destiny, no matter if a mark or sword tells them differently.' As she said this, she placed her hoof on the small charm that Scootaloo wore around her neck. 'Be who you want to be.' Scootaloo looked down at the charm while the silver mare vanished, a smile spreading across her face as she remembered the day that Batman had defied his own destiny to save her, defying even death to do so.

"Don't worry, Dad, I won't let you down," she said with a small smile as she turned and headed for Luna's quarters.

=====---======

Gotham.

Batman sat in the chair in front of the computer, looking at each of the screens with a cold stare. It was nearly four in the morning and he had been up all night battling against criminals. Fortunately none of the crazier of his rogues gallery had come out to play, and he was about to wrap up for the night when he heard a sound that he didn't like to hear. The sound of the Batcave's doors being opened. He slid his cowl over his face and turned to where the doors were, expecting a fight, but he sighed in relief inwardly when he saw the being in the black and silver clothing that floated into the room.

"Clark, how many times must I tell you not to force open the doors," Batman said with a scowl as he sat back down at the computer, his friend floating over to him and hovering just off the ground next to the chair. "It costs money to repair those locks each time you force them open."

"Sorry about that Bruce, but I needed to talk to you right away," Superman said in a more serious tone, gaining Batman's full attention. "I was contacted by J'onn and he said that a certain supercriminal wanted to speak with you."

"Which criminal is it this time? Clayface? Black Adam? Captain Boomerang?" Batman guessed in mocking tone.

"No. Morgaine. And she said that if you refused, to come to tell you this. Equestria." Superman had known Batman for years and he knew just how well Batman could hide his emotions, making reading him practically impossible. So when Superman watched both Batman's eyes widen in shock, he knew that this was something serious.

"Take care of Gotham for me," Batman said quickly as he sprung out of his chair and headed over to a batsuit marked "Anti-Magic Beyond," slipping it on as fast as he could. "And tell Robin that she'll be working with you for a while. I need to go."

"Bruce, whatever this is, I can help you with it," Superman offered as Batman jumped into the Batmobile, which now floated a few feet off the ground. Batman looked at his friend for a minute before shaking his head and closing the canopy.

"No Clark. This is a personal visit."

Infiltration

Scootaloo threw open the door to the guest room that Luna had lent to her with a heavy sigh, tossing her bag with her armor in it into the first chair she could find, before she collapsed on the fancy bed that took up most of the room. She rolled onto her back and gazed up at the multicolored ceiling while still trying to make sense of what had just happened. Apparently, according to the sword that had predicted the destinies of the other ponies, her destiny was to be the greatest skate pony ever, instead of becoming the Batmare.

"So that's who I was supposed to be?" she asked herself with a small smirk, covering her face with one of her hooves. "Argh, it's so obvious now that I think about it. I always loved riding around on my scooter; how could I have not connected the dots?" But from that train of thought she went to another thought, about what the blade said would happen because she hadn't accepted her destiny: That all of Equestria would fall to the Demon Spawn and the elements of Harmony would be broken, signaling the end of the pony age.

"But that can't be right," she grumbled as she sat back up and started to pace around the room, looking at the floor with a frown. "Batman's destiny was overcome by his choice, so why can't I do the same?"

'Because you are a pony. And ponies cannot fight their destinies.'

"Bull. Batman showed me that destiny is just something ponies rely on to comfort themselves when they think they have no control of their lives," she said to herself with a snarl, but that little nagging voice refused to go away.

'But he was not a pony. He was a hero beyond anything the land had ever seen. But you, you are nothing more than a foal trying to be something she's not.'

"I've heard this before and my answer's still the same," Scootaloo said with a growl, but there was a bit of doubt in her voice this time. "I can forge my own destiny."

'Even without the Batman's love?' If there was one thing Scootaloo hated, it was the fact that these nagging voices knew everything that she tried to keep buried deep down inside, and dragged it to the surface. And this was a topic that she had tried to keep out of her mind as best she could, but nothing seemed to stay locked away.

"He does love me, he nearly gave his life to keep me safe," Scootaloo reminded the voice, but it snickered back at her.

'He gave his life to protect all the ponies, not just you. And that's what he does, he saves the lives of those who need it, no matter how they feel about him.'

"Maybe, but-"

'And he didn't say that he loved you; he didn't call you his daughter. He sees you as just another pony that he saved. Nothing more.'

"If that's true, then why does the charm still work?" she asked in one last attempt to try and repress the voice, but that too failed her.

'It worked for him, but for ten years it hasn't worked for you. Like the time you tried to stop that fire and you were burned terribly. Or when you threw yourself in front of others to protect them and you were the only one to make it out alive, but barely breathing. There is no need for any more proof. He does not care.'

"Shut up," she whispered to herself as she clamped her hooves to her ears and fell to her knees, trying to block out the mocking laughter that the voice echoed throughout her mind. "SHUT UP!"

"Um...are you alright?" Scootaloo uncovered her ears and looked to her side to see that Luna was standing in the doorway, looking at Scootaloo with concern in her eyes. Scootaloo nodded slightly and staggered up to her hooves, gently slowing down her breathing as the voice began to fade.

"Yeah...I'll be fine. What did you need, Princess?" she asked while trying to hide her emotions, but Luna could still hear the exhaustion and stress in her voice.

"We will be gathering in the war room in thirty minutes to discuss our battle strategy for tonight," Luna said. "Batmare is expected to be there, but if she is not physically able..."

"I'll be there. Don't worry." Luna wanted to say something else, but Scootaloo gave her a look that told Luna she wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. So with a sad sigh, Luna turned to leave, letting Scootaloo sit back down on her bed and pull out the small charm that was supposed to keep her safe...so why did it bring her pain instead?

====---====

The Dark Knight's were used to weird and stressful situations in their line of work, especially when it involved things that went bump in the night. Everything from mind melders to eight-headed dragons were what they faced in their work, so it was fairly hard to surprise them. But that's exactly what Batmare did when she walked into the war room in full costume, gaining her the attention of both the ponies and bat-ponies that Luna employed. She watched them as their eyes widened and listened in as they started to whisper to each other, able to read their lips to "listen in" on what she couldn't hear.

"Holy buck, it's the real deal."

"Why do you sound surprised? It's been rumored for a while that the princesses work with Batmare, this just proves it."

"Yeah but...it's actually her." Batmare looked towards the guards in the black, Batman-like armor to quiet them a bit before turning towards a door as it opened and Princess Luna entered the room, looking at Batmare with a thin smile on her face.

"Glad to see you could make it," Luna said as she nodded to Batmare before turning to the rest of her guards with a raised eyebrow. "I thought I told all of you to be ready for action, not to talk about my guest who will be accompanying us tonight. Now gather around the board, we need to plan our strategy for the assault." The guards and Batmare gathered around a map of Equestria that was placed on a center table, but with a flash of her horn Luna transformed the map from two dimensional to three dimensional, allowing the ponies to get a better look at the terrain.

"This is where some of our best trackers have found the hideout of the Demon Spawn," Luna explained as she pointed her hoof at a part of Equestria that few ponies dared to traverse in this day and age, a wasteland that was supposed to be uninhabitable. "Near the center of this desert, we have discovered a large structure that looks like it could be an abandoned building from long ago...which would make it the perfect hiding place for our foes. Any questions so far?" When none of her guards spoke up, Luna nodded and turned her magic again to the map, creating the image of three airships heading towards the base.

"The plan is as follows: We will head to the structure in three airships that have been modified with special lead that will prevent any magic sensors from spotting us. And since we will be flying under the cover of the night, we most likely will not have to worry about being spotted. Once we arrive, a team consisting of myself, Batmare and two of you will join us in a side assault to sneak into the facility while the main forces keep the guards, if there are any, distracted on the outside."

"And how do you expect your forces to be able to deal with the demons that the Demon Spawn are able to...spawn?" Batmare asked, gaining her the attention of everypony in the room. "I could barely deal with one of them and that was with all my advanced gadgets and training. Regular guards will most likely be slaughtered."

"You may not know it, but the Dark Knights have faced some of the most disturbing things in all of Equestria," one of the guards to Batmare's right said with a chuckle. "The reason the guards get a bad rap is because Celestia's guards are the ones that can't handle any threat, since rarely does anything attack during the day. We can handle demons just fine." Batmare knew that they had no idea what they were getting into, but she figured that they were too convinced that they could handle it to be talked out of going. So instead she simply shrugged and turned back to Luna, motioning her to continue.

"Once inside, the small team of four will head for the center of the complex where we hope to find whoever is in charge of the Demons," Luna continued as an image of four horses running through the complex appeared. "We will arrest them on sight and finally bring an end to the nightmare that they have cast on the land. That is the plan. Any questions?" This time all of the ponies looked to Batmare, waiting for her to speak up. When she said nothing, they all saluted Luna and headed to their stations, each one of them preparing for the battle. Batmare turned to leave as well, but Luna stopped her before she could leave the room.

"Do you really think that my forces can't handle these foals?" Luna asked Batmare, with a tone that sounded like she was both offended and worried. Batmare sighed and looked at all the Dark Knights running to their stations, shaking her head.

"They're going to face a lot worse than just demons and some crazy ponies. I fought the corpse of a filly that was brought back from the dead with black magic as she tried to kill me. I've seen some crazy stuff as well, and that still gives me nightmares. I don't know if they're mentally ready for what we might find." Luna's face turned a bit green at that news, but she shook her head and continued to question the bat.

"Anything else about these freaks that you can tell us?"

"Yeah, the one I fought had cut off his own horn so he could be...perfect like Batman," Batmare said with a scowl, looking up at Luna to notice that she was confused. "These freaks are following Batman, or so they say. They believe that Batman was a sign for things to change, and that he showed the ponies that they no longer had to fear the oppression of the princesses or their magic. That those without horns or wings can be just as powerful as those with them. So don't be surprised if you come across pegasi missing wings or unicorns without horns." Luna turned a shade darker and had to lower her head for a second.

"That is terrible. How do you deal with things like this on such a regular basis?"

"Punches, kicks, and a lot of therapy," Batmare said with an impish smile as she started to head to where the airships were located. "We should probably head out now Princess; the night doesn't last forever."

"Then why does it feel like this one will?" Luna asked herself as she followed Batmare to the airships, not able to shake a nagging feeling that she was missing something, something vital. The guards were all waiting for the two of them as they reached the three massive airships, Batmare even raised her hidden eyebrows at how sleek they looked. She also noticed that all three of them had a magic drive in them, so she wasn't certain at how stealthy they could be with those rockets. She hoped that Luna had a plan and walked up a ramp that came down from one of the airships, looking over the edge a bit.

"I hope you feel comfortable in here," one of the guards said to her nervously as she entered, indicating all of the luxorious seating that the airship had. Batmare ignored him and sat down in one of the chairs, crossing her arms as she did so and closing her eyes--though none of the guards could tell through the ballistic material that covered the eye holes on her cowl. Luna ordered them to start flying as she sat down next to the bat and waved her guards away, wanting to talk to Batmare privately.

"How did entering the human world go?" Luna asked once the two of them were alone.

"It was weird, with loads of creatures to fight and I almost died. So it was a typical Friday," Batmare said with some humor, but it quickly died down when she remembered the charm around her neck. Luna noticed the sudden change in demeanor, but she wasn't sure if it was her place to ask about personal information between her and Batman. "So what do you plan to do with the Demon Spawn once we've caught them? You know that they are far too crazy to actually co-operate, and odds are that they'd rather die than talk."

"I do not know at the moment, but right now we just need to focus on catching them and putting an end to their operations," Luna said with a sigh, as she looked out the window at the moonlit landscape while it flew by her window, hating how the worst that Equestria had to offer came out during her night. Why did all the freaks always come out during the night? The Demon Spawn, manticores, the Batman. Why did they love the night so much? "After we are done with this task, I will talk to Celestia about what to do with them. From the information you gave us there are ten--

"Nine now."

"Nine of the ones in cloaks who seem to be the instigators behind the operations. I hope once those nine are gone, the rest of the organization will collapse." A knight came down to tell them that they were reaching their destination before he headed back up, leaving Luna and Batmare to prepare themselves for the battle to come. Luna began to slip into her Luna Liberator armor while Batmare sat down to begin meditating, clearing her mind of all distractions.

'Doesn't love you.'

'Shut up.'

Batmare stood up while Luna walked by her with a nod, and the both of them headed to the bow of the ship where they were both greeted by a number of salutes as they walked by to the front. From what Batmare could see with her newly-installed detective vision, the facility was in front of them in a canyon, fitting the exact description of what the Dark Knights had found. The ship's engines came to a stop and the airship slowly glided into the canyon, with all the ponies onboard holding their breath in anticipation of whether they'd be spotted or not. A collective sigh escaped them when all stayed quiet and the ship touched down away from the base without a fuss being raised. Once the ship had landed, Luna and her guards all headed to the exit, where she turned and gave her orders one last time.

"Alright, first up Batmare, myself; Shadowscar and Whisperingwind will come with me into the base through the side entrance. The rest of you are to wait on standby until either I give the signal or you hear the sounds of battle. Whichever it is, your orders are to storm the base and bring down anypony inside. Am I clear?" The Dark Knights all saluted in response and Luna turned to the darkness that was the wasteland in front of her with Batmare, looking up at the clouds that she had hidden her moon with. "Move out." Batmare shot out of the ship with her detective vision scanning every place where a possible trap might have been laid, but spotted nothing that would harm them. She nodded to Luna who told the two with her to move and the three ponies soon joined Batmare, who had already reached the side entrance where a lone door stood.

"Hold," Batmare said as she reached into her utility belt and pulled out a gift from Batman, a lock pick that used a small laser beam inside of metal. She flicked the device on and slowly cut a hole in the lock, removing the missing lock silently once she had cut through it. She gently pushed the door open, flinching a little when it squeaked before motioning the group to follow her. The four of them silently made their way through the empty corridors, which Batmare noticed were devoid of both ponies and light, something that she didn't like. The first real obstacle that the group faced was a path that branched off in two directions with no real indication of which way was the right way.

"What do we do?" Luna whispered to Batmare, who thought to herself for a second before she pointed at the two guards and motioned for them to go down the path on the right. The two saluted and silently flew down the path, leaving Luna and Batmare to go left. "Shouldn't I have gone with one of the guards instead? To keep them safe?" Luna asked.

"I sent them down the path that was far away from where we want to go," Batmare whispered back as she moved. "I am keeping them safe." The duo made their way down the hallway until they reached the opening to a large room. Batmare motioned for Luna to stop and quietly rolled into the room to take cover behind a desk, where she slowly peeked her head out from around its corner to get a better look of the room. It looked like another one of the chambers that had housed the captured ponies, except this one was empty. But the blood stains on the floor told her that she was already too late. But what really caught her eye was another computer in the center of the room.

"What is this?" Luna whispered to Batmare once she had been given the 'all clear' and joined her friend by the computer. "Is this the...computer that Batman and you both have?"

"Yes, but they shouldn't have this level of technology yet," Batmare said with a frown as she examined every inch of the computer for clues. It had been cleaned of hoofprints and the files had all been deleted, leaving her very little. All she could find was a logo on the side that read, "Lexcorp." "But if they do have it, it doesn't bode well for us. Let's keep moving." The two walked out of the door on the other end of the room to find another hallway. But unlike the last one, this one had lights on the floor that seemed to point to the end of it, which made Batmare very nervous. But with no other way to go, the two slowly began to walk down the hallway, both of them on guard for any tricks or traps that they might run across.

"Get ready, we don't know what's at the end of this hallway," Batmare warned Luna as she started up her electric gauntlets, letting the electricity crackle along them. Luna nodded and began to charge her horn, letting her magic cast a light down the hallway. The two walked to the end of the hallway to the final door that stood before them, both of them coming to a stop before it as they both readied themselves for what they were both certain was a fight.

"Are you ready for this?" Luna asked Batmare with a bit of concern, remembering her episode earlier. But her worries were replaced by fear as Batmare turned towards the Princess with a dark smile on her face.

"Always." Then Batmare opened the door and both of them walked forward into the light.

Of Course It's a Trap

The first thing that Batmare had to do upon entering the room was to shield her eyes from the glaring light, which nearly blinded her as she entered. The moment she could see again her first action was to immediately take up a defensive stance to protect her and Luna, who was still shielding her eyes from the light. And she did so not a moment too soon, as twin knives came flying at her and the princess, knives that Batmare deflected with her gauntlets while glaring at the ponies who threw them.

"I wondered if I would run into more of you here," Batmare said with a snarl as she glared at the two silver cloaked figures that stood across from her in the odd room. The room wasn't odd in design or color, but by the fact that there were ten thrones placed throughout the room in odd locations, although one of the thrones was shattered. Batmare narrowed her eyes as the cowl began to scan the two silver cloaked ponies in front of her, telling her what her eyes couldn't already discern. One of the two had his hood down and was bigger than she was, but not by much. He was missing an eye and had a smile on his face that seemed completely fake. Next to him was a small mare that was a bit shorter than Batmare and had her face completely covered, so that all Batmare could see was darkness. "Demon Spawn."

"Oh I heard that you were a smart one Batmare, but to think you would do something so predictable as to come in the side entrance is a bit of a disappointment, isn't it my sweet?" the stallion asked the mare with a chuckle, his creepy smile growing even wider when the mare didn't answer him. "Oh you are quiet right as always, but we mustn't be rude to our guests, especially when one of them is a princess. Would either of you like some tea?" he asked with a smile as he pulled out a small teapot from under his cloak. Luna scowled at the tea and stepped forward, glaring at the two.

"You are both Demon Spawn, correct? Then by the authority of the twin sisters of Canterlot, I place the two of you under arrest," Luna said as she pointed her horn at both of them. "Come quietly if you wish to live." The stallion sighed and reached under his coat once again, bringing out a small cup into which he began to pour tea.

"See, this is why I never invite princesses to my parties, they always are such killjoys," he said with a sigh as he placed the teapot on the table behind him and gently blew on the steaming tea. "I just don't know what to do with them. What? No, you can't be serious, that's just not done!" he exclaimed in shock at his partner, who hadn't moved a muscle or said a word since the two had entered the room. "Hmm, you may have a point, but it seems a bit violent. No, you're right. It is the only course of action."

"What are you yammering on about?!" Luna asked with a bit of a growl as she started up her magic. "Come quietly or-" Luna never saw the mare move as twin blades came out from under her cloak, while she launched herself at the princess with such speed that even Rainbow Dash would be amazed. Fortunately for the princess, Batmare had been waiting for one of them to make a move and placed herself between the pony and the princess, catching both of the blades on her gauntlets.

"Wrong move," Batmare said with a smirk as she turned up the power on the gauntlets, sending electricity coursing through the pony. But much to Batmare's surprise, the pony barely even moved despite the fact that it was being shocked. Instead, it kicked Batmare back before charging at her again with both blades gleaming. While the two began to fight, Luna looked back to the stallion who had just finished his tea.

"Don't mind her, she doesn't really talk much. Actually, she doesn't do much of anything ever since she lost connection to most of her nervous system," he said as he placed the cup down on the table and smiled at Luna, who kept her horn pointed at his chest. "Of course, it makes her hard as bloody hell to stop in battle, but she's a downer when you are trying to have a conversation. She likes knives though, and she likes to slice others apart."

"Why are you telling me this?" Luna asked as she fired a stunning spell at him, only to watch him stick out a hoof to intercept it.

"Simple. Because you will be dead soon," he said as he began to walk towards her, his now blackening muscles ripping through his coat as he smiled with pointed teeth. "Me, on the other hoof, I always prefer a cup of tea before a battle. It really helps to get me...pumped." Luna yelled in shock when he let out a roar and charged at her, now being her size as well as having glowing red eyes. She fired another spell into him, but all it did was make him smile as he barreled into her, knocking Luna over as he came to a stop and looked down at her. "Now I am a gentlecolt of course, so I will give you the chance to just lay down and die. It is a lot less painful than the other choice."

"Go to Tarturus!" Luna snarled as she flew into the air and began to fire spell after spell into him, each one with a different effect and ability. Yet each one proved as futile as the first because the stallion simply walked through each attack, smiling his insane smile at Luna the entire time. While the two of them continued to battle, Batmare found herself being placed into a predicament that forced her to use all of her martial arts knowledge and training to survive. Her opponent was just as skilled as she was and far more deadly, forcing Batmare to adjust her tactics.

"Even if you can't feel my blows, I can still knock you out cold," Batmare said as she blocked an attempt to stab her. The mare she fought said nothing but continued trying to attack, looking for any chinks in Batmare's armor to land a killing shot. Batmare had the opposite problem, as she was constantly having to fight in a way that prevented her from killing her foe...and stop her foe from getting herself killed. Every time Batmare tried a nerve attack or a match-ending blow, the mare would put herself in a position where the blow might kill her, forcing Batmare to either stop the attack or hold back. "I have to stop this pressure or else I'll be quickly beaten,' Batmare thought with a growl as she dropped a smoke pellet and backed away, taking a moment to regain her composure.

"You know how I work, don't you," Batmare said with certainty, watching the way the mare took up a different stance to match each one that she took. "And you also know that I don't want to kill, so you constantly put yourself in killing situations, knowing that I'd hold back. I have to admit, I never thought I'd fight a foe who would try to get themselves killed in a fight with me." The mare said nothing but instead resumed her attack, forcing Batmare to go on the defensive once again. Across the room, Luna was getting smacked around fairly fiercely. As she forced herself back up to her hooves, she growled and decided that she had suffered enough.

"Time to end this," she said with a growl as she fired a spell through the roof of the facility, smiling at the stallion across from her who simply watched the spell explode in the sky with a raised eyebrow.

"And what was the point of that, my dear Luna?" he asked her.

"That was the call to my Dark Knights that were waiting outside of the base, waiting for my signal to come in here and arrest all of you," Luna said with a smug smile as she waited for her troops to come pouring in. Instead, all she got was a chuckle from the stallion who shook his head once he was done laughing.

"Oh Luna, you are far too predictable. Just be quiet and listen fro a moment." Luna narrowed her eyes at his words, but she did turn an ear to the air to listen as a faint sound reached her ears that caused her to gasp with horror. It was the sounds of ponies fighting and screaming. "We knew that we had been followed back here, so we took that time to set up a simple trap for you that you fell into splendidly. Don't you think it was odd how we are called the Demon Spawn, yet there wasn't a single demon here? That's because they're all out front, making friends with your Knights." Luna roared in rage as she rushed at her foe with her horn glowing at full power, the stallion laughing as he charged at her in response. But before either of them could collide, a smoke pellet hit the stallion in the face, causing him to curse as he backed up while trying to clear the smoke from his eyes.

"Stay focused, Luna, and remember to keep your range," Batmare said as she caught the mare in an armlock and threw her over her shoulder, watching with a growl as she rolled in the air and landed on her hooves before rushing Batmare again. "You said yourself that your soldiers could hold their own against the demons, and you'll have to trust them to do so. Focus on the task at hoof right now." Luna growled but took Batmare's advice and took back to the sky to avoid being grabbed by the stallion, allowing Batmare to go back to focusing on her own problem. The mare had decided to start throwing daggers at Batmare who intercepted them with her own batarangs. One of her rangs slipped through and nailed the mare in the face, knocking her hood off and revealing her face.

"Faust..." Batmare muttered to herself when she saw that the pony was missing an eye as well as well as her horn, the rest of her face covered in scars that didn't make her look much better. The mare never bothered to fix her hood as she went right back to fighting, this time pulling out daggers that had an odd green tint to them. The mare tried a face stab that Batmare barely dodged, allowing her to take a closer look at the daggers. "So, you use poison as well? This night just keeps getting worse and worse." Batmare looked over at Luna who was barely able to hold her own despite her great powers, and Batmare figured that she needed to end her fight quickly.

"Time to end this," she growled was she pulled out twin batarangs that were also covered in a poison that Batman had said would knock out an elephant. She blocked an overhead strike and tried to stab the mare, smirking to herself when she nicked the pony in the side before kicking her in the chest to knock her back. "And that's it for you," Batmare said as the pony tried to rush her again, but staggered once before falling onto her face silently. "Which just leaves you." Luna sailed overhead as Batmare said this and slammed into the wall behind her, slowly sliding down to the floor.

"I...might need your help with this one," Luna panted as she wiped away a trickle of blood from her mouth while the stallion walked over to his partner and looked down at her with a shake of his head.

"She never knows when to show any caution. The curse of not feeling any pain I suppose," he said as he turned to face both of the dark clad warriors. "Now then ladies, are you ready to face me together now? Maybe you'll be able to put up a fight this time." Batmare snarled at his arrogance and whipped out two rangs that she threw towards his face. He simply chuckled and knocked them aside with ease before charging at the two.

"Follow my lead," Batmare said to Luna as she ran forward and slid between the stallions legs, bringing her electrified hooves into a soft spot. The stallion howled as electricity coursed through his nether regions, leaving him open to Luna's magic. Luna lifted him with her horn and threw him into one of the thrones, shattering the throne as the stallion sailed into it. He slowly got back to his hooves with tears in his eyes as he looked back to his opponents, both of whom were making their next move. Batmare tossed twin concussion grenades into his face which exploded with enough force to knock him across the floor as well as scatter his thoughts. Yet much to the two ponies' surprise, the stallion shook his head and got back up, his wounds on his body starting to heal.

"What is he?" Luna asked as she lifted the remains of one of the thrones and threw them towards the pony, growling as he swatted them away. "How can he be this strong without magic?"

"Simple, my princess. We have found a way to trap the essence of demons inside a liquid form, so when we drink it, we become pseudo-demons ourselves," he explained as he charged into Batmare and lifted her with a hoof, only to let her go with a growl as she drove a batarang into his arm. He went down as Luna tossed more rubble into the back of his head and Batmare went to finish him with something in her belt labeled explosive gel, which she sprayed over his fallen form.

"GET DOWN!" she yelled at Luna as she dove behind the remains of one of the thrones and pressed the trigger, detonating the gel with a massive explosion. The stallion's cry was lost to the roar of the explosion as Batmare was tossed backwards into the wall, with Luna having to use all of her magical might to keep from being blown back by the force of the blast. When the roar finally died down she lowered her shield to see the stallion laying in a blackened mess on the floor, apparently unable to regenerate his wounds.

"Now then, have we beaten you enough or are you still a glutton?" Luna asked him with a smile, as his eyes looked up at her with rage.

"Very well...I suppose you have beaten me," he said with a good natured chuckle after a few seconds, looking up at Batmare once she had walked over to him. "But it...will do you no good. We have...already all that we need. There is...no need...to finish you here. So...I will bid you...aediu." As he said this, his body began to dissolve into darkness until there was nothing left, leaving a confused Luna and a very worried Batmare.

"Well, that didn't quite go as planned," Luna said with a small chuckle as she looked over at Batmare, who was looking at the floor lost in her thoughts.

"He said that they already had all that they needed, which I can only assume means that he was talking about the ritual," Batmare deduced as she turned and ran towards the exit. "And that means somepony is in danger. We need to help the guards out with the battle that is going on outside and then we immediately need to head for Ponyville. Hurry, Princess!" Luna nodded and raced after Batmare, both of them bursting out of the facility to see that Luna had been right in saying that the Dark Knights were indeed capable of defending themselves. They had managed to set up a magical defensive shield that hurt the demons when they were forced to pass through it, leaving them a lot more manageable. With only a few demons left on the battlefield, Luna and Batmare wasted no time in helping the Knights mop up the remaining demons.

"Thanks for the help, but we didn't need it," one of the Knights said after the last of the demons had fallen and the two ponies had rejoined them. "It's like we said, Batmare, we handle all kinds of weird things."

"I'll apologize later, but right now we need to head back to Ponyville," Batmare said with enough urgency in her voice to stop the Knight from bragging any further. He nodded and started to round up the other Knights before they all headed to the ship, raising the anchor and sailing towards Ponyville. Batmare sat beside one of the windows, watching the rising sun with worry in her heart. She didn't know what the stallion had meant by 'they had what they needed', but if her guess was right then all of Equestria was in trouble.

"What concerns you, my friend?" Luna asked as she sat down beside Batmare, removing her helmet and looking at Batmare with concern.

"I'm worried about the ponies of Ponyville," she replied as she removed her cowl and placed it on the table in front of her, letting the warmth of the sun fall onto her face. "I know that there were a large number of other fillies to choose from on the list, but I have this horrible feeling that the one they went after was Pumpkin."

"Why would you think that?"

"Because, as Batman put it, everyone around him that he cares about seems to be in danger, even if they have nothing to do with the current case," Scootaloo said with a smirk as she remembered the full conversation, how Batman had been working on a string of robberies and how the conversation had ended with Superman being thrown through the cave by somepony named Mongul. Batmare was practically bouncing in her seat when Ponyville finally came into view, and the sight of it caused her heart to sink to an all time low. Even from a distance, she could still see the smoke billowing from the town, causing her to grab her cowl before she rushed towards the balcony of the ship to throw herself over the side. She spread her wings almost immediately and sped towards the town, fearing that the worst had come to pass. She landed in the middle of the main road, looking around in shock at the destruction. She was barely aware of the ponies looking at her until she needed to ask one of them a question

"Where's Rainbow Dash?" she growled at the pony closest to her, who backed away in shock from the knight. She snarled and ran through the streets until she came across the ponies she feared to meet. The Cakes were standing in the street in front of their home, from which a pillar of smoke was billowing. Mrs. Cake was crying into her husband's arms when Batmare ran up to them.

"What happened?"

"We're not sure," Mr. Cake said with shock in his voice as he blankly looked at the knight. "Some ponies in white cloaks started attacking the town late last night and...Rainbow Dash tried to fight them off along with the rest of the Elements, but she got injured and..." He stopped talking when his wife pulled her head out of his arms and looked at the Dark Knight, tears streaming down her face.

"They took her," she said in a whisper. Batmare's heart sank even further, but she had to confirm who it was.

"Whom did they take?"

"My daughter. Pumpkin."

=====---=====

Batman didn't like coming to this place when he could avoid it, but he liked coming here even less when he was summoned by a criminal. He was standing on an elevator heading down into the greatest prison that had ever been constructed for super-criminals, brought here by the fact that a certain foe of his had apparently gotten over her memory loss, which according to a certain doctor was impossible. Beside him stood a green figure who wore a blue cape with a red x on his chest, who silently looked at Batman when he believed the Bat wasn't looking.

"Will you quit staring at me?" Batman eventually growled. The martian was not surprised that Batman knew he was being watched, little about Batman startled him at this point. But what he was concerned about was the way Batman was reacting to the summons. "If you have something to say, just get it out."

"Why are you listening to her demands?" J'onn asked as the elevator reached its destination, opening to reveal the psychic and magic block of the prison, where all the mentalists and magicians were kept. "You know better than to be in a room alone with one of these criminals, yet you agreed to her terms without so much as bringing an anti-rang. What is going on here?"

"Nothing that concerns you," Batman snapped with a glare. "And don't you try to read my mind to find out or I will use the flamethrower in my belt." J'onn backed away from Batman a bit as the two came to a stop outside the door labeled "Morgaine." Without a word to his ally, Batman opened the door and walked inside of the white room, where Morgaine sat in a chair at a white table.

"Batman, come in," she said with a smile as Batman entered the room. "Please, have a seat. I have much to tell you."

"Then get talking, because I don't have all night," Batman said with a growl as he remained standing. Morgaine sighed and crossed her arms before looking up at him.

"I believe you do, especially when it involves my student...and your daughter." Batman's eyes narrowed as she said this, but he slowly pulled out the other chair and sat down, glaring into Morgaine's eyes as he did so.

"Talk."

Prepare

Scootaloo was used to going to the hospital, but normally it was because she was the one that needed an operation. She had only come here once for a friend and never for her sister. But according to the Cakes, who had seen the entire battle go down, RD had been brutalized by what looked like ponies with demon horns that breathed fire, and she had been taken to the hospital while the other Elements had tried to contain the battle. Luna had left to await Celestia's arrival, once Twilight had joined up with them and told them that Celestia wanted them to know she was on her way. Twilight then joined Scootaloo to go visit RD in the hospital.

"I'm amazed that we had as few casualties as we did considering how strong the Demon Spawn were," Twilight said in a tired voice, while she and Scootaloo walked down the hospital hallway to Rainbow's room, carrying the newest adventure of 'Daring Do' to help her friend survive the hospital stay. "Rainbow did most of the fighting, but those demon-like creatures were just too much for her to handle."

"I was told that Pumpkin was foalnapped," Scootaloo said, wanting to get right to the point. She had changed out of the Batmare armor only a few minutes before she and Twilight had both gone to the hospital together. Failing to capture any members of the Demon Spawn, she was in a bad mood, made worse by the fact that her student had been taken. "Can you tell me who did it and what they looked like?"

"Sure, they're the ponies that wore white cloaks and spoke crazy talk, just like the ones you were fighting against," Twilight said with a bit of a growl, hating how powerless she had been against them. "The ponies themselves we could handle, but the demons that fought alongside them were too much for us to handle combined. Even the Elements' power had trouble against them, and that was when RD was still up and fighting. Once she went down, it was all we could do to drive the monsters from our town."

"This is my fault," Scootaloo said as she came to a stop outside of the door and placed a hoof on it, gritting her teeth in rage at how easily she had fallen for the trap. "I should have known that the base was bait and stayed here to protect my home. Because of my lapse in judgment, my student and friend might die. I can only spend a few minutes with Rainbow, then I need to get ready to go rescue Pumpkin." Twilight nodded as Scootaloo pushed open the door, revealing a bandaged Rainbow who was looking out the window, bored out of her mind, but the boredom vanished when she saw Twilight and Scootaloo.

"Hey, you two," she said as she raised her hoof a bit, wincing as she did so. "Thanks for coming to visit me. Any more time spent by myself I think I would have gone crazy."

"I figured that would happen, so I brought you this," Twilight said as she levitated the book over to her friend, who squealed as she grabbed it out of the air and held it close to her chest. Then RD looked at Scootaloo with a sad face, and she hung her head slightly.

"I...I'm sorry Scoots. I tried to protect Pumpkin, but those guys were just too strong. You warned me that they might come for her, but I only got to them once they had gotten her. I failed you."

"...No Sis, it's not your fault. I should have stayed behind and protected the town," Scootaloo said with a sigh as she pulled up a chair to sit behind her sister. "I'm the one to blame."

"No way Scoot's, this ones on me."

"Fine. We'll both take half the blame. Sound good?"

"Sure," RD said with a weak smile as she looked at Twilight. "Where are the rest of the girls? Are they alright?"

"They're fine, just taking some time to recover," Twilight said with a tired sigh as she pulled up a chair for herself as well. "I just wish I knew where these Demon Spawn came from and what they wanted. Are they really so crazy as to unleash the ultimate demon upon this land? It'll kill them as well."

"Believe it Twi, these ponies are bucking nuts," Scootaloo said with a growl as she crossed her arms. "One of them blew themselves up to try and kill me, so I don't think they care for their own safety. My only concern right now is to save Pumpkin, and in order to do that, I'll..." Scootaloo stopped talking when she sensed another presence behind her and turned to see Princess Celestia walk into the room, shaking her head at the sight of her wounded friend.

"I am so sorry, Rainbow Dash," she said in a powerful voice that was filled with empathy. "If only I had been here sooner to help you fight off the demons, maybe this would have never happened."

"Don't worry, Princess, I guarantee that they didn't leave in the best of health either," RD said with a confident grin. "Besides, Batmare here is going to go flatten them for us. Ain't that right kid?" Rainbow looked to Scootaloo as she said this, only to find her sister looking at Celestia and the newly arrived Luna with fear spreading on her features.

"Wait, why are the both of you here?" she muttered to herself, but it was loud enough for all to hear.

"Because a friend of mine was hurt and I wanted to see them," Celestia said in a confused voice, tilting her head slightly. "Why? What is wrong with that?"

"Because it's what the Demon Spawn want!" Scootaloo half-roared as she stood up and started to run for the door. "With both of the princesses gone, the Spawn will have no trouble-" A massive tremor shook the entire building before she could get to the door, knocking all of the ponies off their hooves. Scootaloo was the first back up and ran through the door, being the first pony to be struck dead by what she saw when she made it outside.

"What is that?" Celestia asked, once she and Luna had joined her outside, staring up at Canterlot like Scoots was. A massive barrier of darkness had covered the city entirely, making it impossible to view the city. Celestia had barely looked at the city before she faced Scootaloo in confusion. "How did you know of this?"

"It's like I said in my report, the Demon Spawn can only do the last part of the ritual in the place where the demons of old were sealed," Scootaloo said with a snarl as she turned and started for her house. Luna had taken to the skies and flew towards the city, horn glowing with power as she prepared to break through. Celestia followed Scootaloo, who continued to talk as she walked. "Since they nabbed the last pony that they needed to finish the ritual, all they needed was a reason to get the princesses to leave. The base out in the wasteland was enough to draw Luna and they knew that you couldn't resist coming to the aid of the Elements."

"They are cunning, for a bunch of crazy extremists," Celestia admitted with a growl as she entered Scootaloo's home behind her, standing back as she opened the secret passage to the cave.

"I need to prepare," Scootaloo said as she headed down the stairs into the cave. "The remainder of their forces will probably be in Canterlot with them, and it will take more than a pony in a bat suit and the three princesses to beat them. I'm going to need to bring my 'A' game."

"There is no point," Luna said as she entered the cave as well, Twilight following closely behind her. "Nothing can get through whatever barrier they have summoned. I cannot teleport inside and my magic does nothing to it."

"And with Rainbow in the hospital, we can't use the Elements," Twilight said as she watched Scootaloo suit up again. "And unless you have the something that can match the Elements in power, I think we're stuck." Scootaloo put a hoof under her chin and thought about what Twilight had said, realizing that there was somepony that might be able to help them.

"I might know somepony, but the three of you are going to have to trust me on this one," Batmare said with a sigh. "Celestia, I need you to teleport us to where...Pipsqueak's headquarters are."

"Wait a moment...why would we want to go there?" Celestia asked her, with the other two princesses looking at Batmare with equal confusion.

"Because...Pipsqueak is Blackmane," Batmare said with a grimace. All of the ponies were struck dumb by the news, and all of them let out a "WHAT?!" all at once. "Look, all the evidence I've collected indicates that he and Blackmane are the same."

"But how can that be?" Luna asked in disbelief, shaking her head. "He's far too small to be Blackmane, not to mention far too kind."

"Look, I'll tell you when we get there," Batmare said with a glare that silenced all of them. "Celestia, if you'd please." Celestia looked at Batmare with a little more uncertainty, but started up the spell that would take them to the headquarters of Black Flag. They all vanished with a flash, leaving only the bats in the cave.

====---====

The headquarters for the Black Flag was in the center of Mareiland and had some of the best security on all of Equestria, with even Batmare admitting that she'd have a tough time breaking in. But today was different as the secretary at the main desk was blinded by a flash of light, only to see--when she finally could see--that three of the four princesses and Batmare were standing in front of her, looking around with interest.

"We're here to see Pipsqueak," Batmare said to her with a cold voice.

"D-do you have an appointment?" she stammered out, trying to go through the regular procedure, but all of her confidence fell away as Batmare narrowed her eyes at her and gave her the glare that nopony could resist. "T-top floor. Elevator will be open to all of you." Batmare walked past her without a word, but Celestia had the manners to thank the secretary as they passed. Once they had all fit into the elevator, they pressed the button for the top floor and began to head up.

"I cannot believe how far technology has come in ten years," Celestia said with a whistle as she looked out the glass part of the elevator down at the city below, while Luna simply marveled at the fact that they all fit in the elevator.

"So Scoo--Batmare, you never did explain how you figured out that Pip was Blackmane," Twilight pressed, wanting answers.

"I'm not one hundred percent certain, but I do have strong assumptions and evidence," Batmare responded. "However, I want Pip to hear my theories so he can correct anything I might have missed. This is our stop." The door to the elevator opened to reveal a nicely decorated office filled with interesting knick knacks and items, but all of the ponies were looking at the stallion who sat in the chair at the end of the room.

"Princesses...Batmare? I must admit that this is a surprise," Pipsqueak said with confusion in his voice as he motioned for them to sit down. "Normally you call ahead whenever you want to visit me. Is this a special occasion?" He was smiling at first, but the smile fell when Batmare walked right up to his desk and glared into his eyes.

"Drop the act, Blackmane, I know who you really are." Pip looked down at his hooves for a minute before he looked into Batmare's eyes with a smile on his face.

"So you finally figured it out, eh Scoots?" he responded, causing the princesses to gasp, but he got no emotion out of Batmare. "I knew that you would eventually. So, how did you do it?"

"Simple. Every time you showed up to a ball or some sort of place filled with rich ponies, Blackmane was never far behind. Second, you are the only pony in Equestria with access to the engine that your ship uses. It wasn't that hard to figure out. Also, you had always dreamed of being a pirate and now you have the funds to do so. Have I hit all the marks?"

"All but one, my dear Scoots, and that one is because it's fun. The thrill of the theft and the even greater rush of being chased by such a lovely foe...it's too good to resist," Pip said with a chuckle that envoked Luna's rage.

"How could you do this Pipsqueak? You were one of the kindest ponies that I knew," Luna growled. "Why would you wish to become a pirate for the sake of fun? What about the lives you endangered?"

"Nopony was ever hurt by my pirate escapades, and I made sure that my crew understood what would happen if they tried it," he said with a dismissive wave of his hoof. "All of my tools are designed to incapacitate, not kill. But I don't believe that the four of you came here just to bust me. What's going on?"

"I'll make this quick since we don't have much time," Celestia said. "There is a force that has placed a barrier around Canterlot and we cannot get inside. Batmare believes that you have some way of getting in. Care to tell us what she is thinking?"

"She's probably thinking about the engine on the 'Desperate Gamble'," he said with a nod. "That's my ship by the way. Now, normally that sucker is just used to push the ship across the sky, but if enough magic is pumped into it..."

"It becomes a cannon," Batmare finished for him. "And that's what we'll need to get into Canterlot. So, will you help us?" Pip closed his eyes and lowered his head for a minute, thinking it over. Then he raised his head again with a massive smile as he got out of his chair.

"Oh, why not? This will probably be the only chance I'll have to lay siege to Canterlot and not get arrested for it," he said with a wicked grin.

"No, that bit comes later," Batmare muttered to herself as Pip walked past them and pressed a hidden button next to one of his bookshelves, revealing an even larger elevator.

"All aboard that's coming aboard," he said with a grin as he stepped on, the others following suit. As the doors closed, Batmare noticed that this elevator only had two buttons. One for this floor and the other for...

"So why keep your ship under your place of business?" Batmare asked Pip.

"Because I can't fit it under my house," he replied with a chuckle. "So, why weren't you surprised at the fact that I knew your identity?"

"I figured that it was only a matter of time before somepony put two and two together," she said with a shrug. "I was the closest to Batman after all."

"Yep. Oh look, we've reached our floor." Pip and Batmare both stepped off the elevator without any care, but the three princesses were struck dumb by what they saw. They were in a massive hanger with an equally massive ship sitting in the center of it. All around them, they could see ponies working on the ship, leaving a few more questions to be asked.

"So, are all of these ponies part of your crew or are they very well paid?" Twilight asked once she and the others had caught up with Batmare and Pip.

"Half and half, although most of them are both," Pip said as he walked to a place called the changing quarters. "Now, if you four will excuse me, I will be right back." He vanished into the room, leaving the four ponies to look around the hanger with both amazement and disbelief. After around ten minutes he came back out, but if a pony did not know his secret, it would have looked like a whole 'nother pony had stepped out.

"Alright you bilge rats, it's time to go lay siege to Canterlot!" Blackmane roared with enough power so that all the ponies in the chamber heard. There was a hearty cry of "HUZZAH" and ponies everywhere either began to take up stations or changed into pirate garb. "Come ye four, it's time to take the helm!" He ran off laughing as he said this, leaving the three confused princesses and Batmare to chase after him. Blackmane told his crew as he ran that the four ponies were with him, but that didn't stop them from giving the four wary glances as they passed. Only once he had reached the quarterdeck did Blackmane come to a stop, letting the four catch up with him.

"So, how did you do it Pip?" Luna asked as she looked over the much bigger form of Blackmane, not believing that this mass of mane and muscle was Pip. "You look nothing like your old self."

"This be the power of imagination and effort my dear," he said with a wink as he headed towards the helm. "And it's a trade secret! Now brace yerselves for the greatest ship ride of any lifetime!" The engine roared to life as he yelled his commands, and the group was thrown to the deck as the ship began to surge forward, multiple doors opening to reveal a hole in the side of the cliff where the ship could exit.

"And no pony just happened to notice a massive pirate ship coming in and out of the city!?" Twilight yelled in disbelief over the engines, once she had regained her hoofing.

"I will need to have a serious talk with the guards that are stationed here!" Celestia yelled back. They gripped the deck as tight as they could while the ship moved smoothly forward, the roar of the engines drowning out any other sound, except for the sounds of Blackmane's laughter as the ship rocketed out of the hanger and into the night sky. Once it was out of the hanger the force of the engines died down somewhat and the ponies were able to move around the deck without worry of falling over.

"If you had told me this morning, that a colt that I had watched over since he was little was the biggest pirate in Equestria, I would have sent them to an asylum for being mad," Luna said with a sigh. While the princesses looked over the land, Batmare walked up to the helm where Blackmane stood.

"You seem to really enjoy this," she said to him as she watched his face out of the corner of her eye, noticing the sheer euphoria on his visage.

"It's a rush for me; similar, I bet, to the rush you feel when you are fighting crime," he responded. Batmare responded with a scoff and shook her head.

"I did this because I promised Batman that I would follow in his footsteps and try to keep my world safe for him. I don't do it because I enjoy it," she said. Blackmane remained silent for a moment before he decided to respond.

"And who's to say that I'm not following a promise that I made? Maybe the two of us are more similar than you would like to believe. Have you thought about that?" he asked her with a raised eyebrow, but his eyes narrowd on the horizon before he could elaborate.

"All hooves on deck! Canterlot ahead!"

Siege the Day

The sphere of darkness that surrounded Canterlot had grown in size in the short time the ponies had been away, with it now covering some of the mountainside as well as the city. Blackmane brought his ship to a halt in the air and engaged a hover feature that made even Batmare whistle with amazement.

"Alrighty lass, let me see if I got this straight. You want me to fire the engine of my ship at full power towards a city that has thousands of ponies living in it, because you and I think it will work?" Blackmane asked with a devious grin. "This plan is as crazy as Discord. I like it."

"Two things. One, drop the accent, it doesn't make you sound any cooler," Batmare said with a roll of her eyes. "Second, I am seventy-eight percent certain this plan will work without losing any lives, and that's a risk we have to take to help those who are trapped in the city."

"This sounds like the craziest plan I have ever heard," Blackmane said with a smile as he turned his ship around so that engine was aimed right at the shadow barrier that surrounded the city. "Fortunately for you, I love crazy. FIRE THE ENGINE!" The whole ship shook as the engine fired at maximum power, straining the hover feature and letting a blast of blue energy erupt from the engine, which collided with the black barrier. The magic in the engine's fire began to send ripples across the barrier, which quickly turned into cracks that formed all along its surface.

"I can't believe this is working," Twilight said with amazement as she watched the spectacle with Celestia and Luna. Blackmane's roar of laughter was nearly lost amongst the noise of the firing, but Batmare had been watching with careful eyes for a certain moment.

"Alright, cut it there!" Batmare roared at him, his response being to frown at her before he cut the engine. "If we continued the pressure, the fire would blast through the shield and possibly kill some of the ponies on the other side."

"So what do we do now?" he asked her as he looked at the fractured barrier. Batmare's response was to give him a dark smile.

"Ramming speed."

Blackmane's smile grew to match hers and he let out another hearty laugh as he spun the wheel as well as the entire ship around to face the barrier, reving up the engine once again.

"PREPARE TO BE BOARDED!" he roared as he drove the ship straight towards the barrier, both princesses and crew members alike diving for any cover they could find before the ship collided with the shield. Batmare smiled again when the part they hit shattered completely with the rest of the barrier following suit in a manner of seconds. "Now we storm the city!" Blackmane drove the ship over the streets of Canterlot, allowing all three of the princesses to look over the side and see what had become of their city. There were plenty of dead in the streets with demons running amuck around the city. And that was something Celestia would not tolerate.

"Luna. Twilight. With me!" she yelled as she looked to Batmare. "Batmare, I leave the Demon Spawn in your hooves. We will take care of their petty demons!" She dove off the side of the ship as she said this, with Twilight and Luna in hot pursuit. Blackmane brought his ship to a halt as he watched them dive and turned to his crew, who were all looking at him waiting for their orders.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" he yelled at them as he raised his sword. "Those foals of princesses can't do it by themselves. GO HELP THEM!" The crew let out a roar of "HUZZAH" as they too grabbed ropes and tossed them over the side, descending into the streets to help fight in the battle. Blackmane winked at Batmare once nearly all the crew members had jumped off and turned the ship towards the castle, where he and Batmare both knew the Demon Spawn to be hiding. "So, you have a plan for getting inside or taking them out?"

"With both hooves swinging," Batmare responded with a smile as she jumped off the side of the ship, spreading both wings as she headed towards the castle below. With her zoom feature, she could see that two ponies in white cloaks were standing outside of the castle by the closed doors. She landed in front of both of them with her cape swishing behind her as she looked up at them, watching as one of them began the familiar transformation into a psudeo-demon while the other pulled out a sickle and chain. "Oh trust me, neither of those are going to help you against me."

"For the Bat--" the one with the demon blood began to yell before an armored hoof to the face shut him up. Using his face as a platform, she kicked off and flung herself at the pony with the sickle and chain, who did the impossible and caught Batmare in the chest with the bladed end of the weapon. Batmare managed to recover by rolling, although she was infuriated about the scratch mark across her suit.

"Do you know what I had to go through to get this suit?" she roared as she flung herself towards the chain wielder, who naturally threw her chain towards Batmare to try and knock her out of the air. Batmare didn't fall for it this time and wrapped the chain around her fore hoof and flew past the pony, who lacked the common sense to let go. So he was dragged along as Batmare flew into the sky and headed back towards the demon pony, who had just gotten back to his hooves and looked up in time to see his partner come crashing into his face.

"Like I said," Batmare said with a smirk as she bound the two up with the chain. "You're no match for me now." Batmare left them there as she pushed open the doors to the castle with an effort and slowly began to walk through the halls, keeping the sight of the dead guards from getting to her as she headed towards the throne room. The castle was in pretty good shape though, despite the fact that bodies lined the halls, as she began to walk up the stairs to the throne room, bracing herself for the worst...which is exactly what she got when she opened the door.

"Hello there, Batmare," another pony with a white coat said to her, but this was a cloaked pony she recognized. This was the pony that she met back when she first found out about the demon spawn. Instigator.

"The hell do you want?" Batmare asked with a growl as she let three batarangs fly, snarling when the pony threw up a barrier to protect himself. "The hell? I thought that all of you cut off your horns and wings?"

"Oh, the more psycho of my cohorts do that, but I actually do not participate in that sort of thing" Instigator said. "However, with the power of the demons' blood, I can use a darker magic to some degree, and it's not the magic that you are used to."

"Doesn't matter what magic you use, I'm still bringing you down," Batmare said with a growl when the sound of a voice she knew well reached her ears.

"Put me down you morons! When Scootaloo gets here you are going to regret-GAH!" the voice of Pumpkin Cake rang throughout the castle, draining all the color from Batmare's face. Without another thought she spread her wings and started to fly out of the room, but the doors behind her slammed shut.

"Sorry, but as you can probably guess I cannot allow you to..." Instigator began before a batarang that came dangerously close to his throat whizzed by him, causing him to yelp. "That could have killed me!"

"Then, be thankful that I missed!" Batmare growled as she leapt into the air and drove her hoof into the front of his hooded face, knocking him to the floor while Batmare dove out the windows. She spread her wings and flew to the roof of the castle, the place her cowl was telling her Pumpkin's voice was coming from. She shot to the roof and landed in front of one more of the hooded ponies, glaring at him with venom in her eyes as she saw that he was the one holding Pumpkin. But what terrified her more than that was that he was holding a knife over her head, and had Pumpkin tied up in the middle of a ritual circle. "Not on your life!" Batmare roared as she threw one of the exploding batarangs in her belt into the pony's hoof, blowing it clean off. She brought the pony down with a blow to the throat before he could yell and quickly moved to Pumpkin, who looked up at her with amazement in her eyes.

"Batmare?" the filly asked as Batmare used a rang to cut the ropes binding the filly. "I can't believe that you're here. What's going...?"

"No time to be talking; we need to get you to someplace safe and fast," Batmare said before she noticed that the ritual circle under them was slightly beginning to glow. "No! I rescued her in time! the ritual should not-!"

"Not be what my dear? Working?" Batmare and Pumpkin turned to see the Instigator standing there with a smile, a smile that they both could see since Bamtare kicked his hood off. He had gotten the knife, which he had inserted into his comrade who lay dead at his hooves. "You're right, it should not be working without the blood of the final filly. However, when I researched the ritual a bit more, I found that while it may not be complete without her, it can still be finished. And that," he began as he pulled the knife out of the ponies body and pointed it at himself. "Is what I plan to do."

"NO!" Batmare yelled as he drove the knife into his own heart, blood beginning to pour from his mouth as he fell over. But before he died, he managed to get out his last words. "And with this, you are all doomed." Batmare and Pumpkin were both thrown back from a massive explosion that occurred the moment he uttered those words, the ritual having been finished. Batmare groaned as she got back up in time to see a pillar of dark energy coming out of the circle, her face growing white with fear when she saw a massive black claw grab onto the edge of the circle.

"W-what is that thing?" Pumpkin asked as the creature began to emerge, allowing the two to look upon it with fear. Its head was completely made of dark magic, except for its teeth, which looked like red crystals that jutted out of its mouth. The rest of its body was made of the same dark magic in physical form, but was spikey and grotesque.

"Azarock," Batmare said before she turned to Pumpkin. "Run. Run now and don't look back."

"I'm not running! I can fight-"

"You will run. This is a thing that cannot be fought by anypony," Batmare said as she took up a fighting stance, not liking the look of her chances. The creature had pulled itself out of the circle, showing Batmare that it was at least the size of a manticore. Pumpkin, for the first time since Scootaloo had started training her, decided to use her brain and ran off to the stairs that led into the castle. Batmare didn't know how safe she'd be in there, but she was safer in there than out here. 'Alright, if it's just the one demon I can think up a way to keep it away until the cowl finishes analyzing the ritual circle and let's me know how to..." And then to her horror a white claw reached up on the edge of the circle, and another being that looked like a white reflection of Azarock began to pull itself out of the circle, roaring once it was out and gaining the attention of the other.

"Why are there two of them?" she asked herself in shock as the two beings collided on the roof, sending out a shockwave that nearly blew her off. The white one fired off a blast from its mouth that Azarock managed to dodge, the blast heading into the sky and piercing the side of the giant pirate ship that was floating there. Batmare watched in horror as the burning ship crashed into the side of the city before it fell to the land below. "That's it, you're both going down!" she roared as she pulled out twin batarangs and threw them at the twin beasts. But both batarangs shattered against the creatures that continued to fight with no knowledge of being hit.

"Dammit, that didn't work," Batmare said with a growl as the white one punched Azaroth with such force that he flew off the roof and collided into another part of the castle, crashing through that and falling into the streets. With its counterpart gone, the white one turned to the dark clad warrior with a seething growl. Batmare barely had time to throw herself out of the way as it let loose another blast of pure white energy at her, causing another massive explosion. She rolled and got back to her hooves, bracing for another blast, but the creature turned away from her and towards the portal, placing a stone on it that was all too familiar. "A dimensional stone?" she asked in disbelief.

'RISE.' Batmare's fears continued to increase as another blast came from the portal, followed by hundreds of the type of demons she had been fighting, which came out of the portal and quickly rushed into the streets where the screaming grew only louder. With more and more of the demons pouring from the portal, the more Batmare realized that she was outmatched. She couldn't stop all of the demons, so she had to completely focus her efforts on the big demon.

"I said that's enough!" Batmare roared once again as she switched to shock batarangs and threw them into the demon's face. This time they did gain her its attention, which she quickly realized was a bad thing. The creature looked towards her and roared with rage, appearing before her in a flash of white before a claw struck her in the side and knocked her across the roof. She coughed up a bit of blood as she struggled back to her hooves, watching out of the corner of her eye as the demon came charging towards her with both claws extended.

'Not today,' she thought before she pulled out her explosive gel and sprayed it onto her hooves, which she then charged up with electricity before she drove it into the demon's jaw. The resulting explosion of gel and electricity numbed her arm completely and threw her back, the demon roared in pain as it staggered back. Batmare got back to her hooves, scowling at the fact that her strongest attack had only stunned the creature. 'So I guess this is it,' she thought to herself as the demon came walking towards her and smiled, knowing that it had her trapped. But before it could strike her down, a blast of azure magic struck it in the side and sent it skidding across the rooftops. Batmare slowly turned her head towards the mare that had suddenly appeared on the roof, knowing that there was only one pony with magic like that.

"Trixie."

Gone Batty

"Trixie!" Batmare yelled as the azure pony landed beside her, Trixie's white mane flowing behind her as she glared at the white demon that was getting back to its claws. Batmare was just about to ask her a question when a number of other creatures landed beside Trixie, causing Batmare's jaw to drop. "I don't believe this. A Diamond Dog? A foal? A Changeling?...Sombra?"

"That's KING Sombra to you, Dark Knight," Sombra said with a smile as he walked up beside Trixie, his eyes narrowing when he saw the being. "Seems they were right. That's definitely one of the demons--Daragon--but I don't know where Azarock is."

"Azarock fell down into the streets," Batmare said with a bit of shock still in her voice as she looked at the team that Trixie had with her. The Changeling and the Diamond Dog were surprising enough, but the fact that King Sombra was here told Batmare that Trixie had a story to tell. Trixie noticed the look of confusion in Batmare's face and smiled a bit.

"These are my partners and friends. The Changeling is Armora and the Diamond Dog is Bark. The colt is Starshine. Sombra, I am certain, you already know." Batmare nodded to show that she had gotten their names, but that didn't make her any less confused. The white demon, now known to her as Daragon, roared in rage and fired out another blast of pure white towards the ponies and others. Batmare didn't know whether to take the blast herself to protect her friend or jump out of the way, but Trixie and Sombra both got in front of her first.

"Sombra."

"Got it." Both of the unicorns concentrated their magics together to create a shield of both azure and dark energy. With their combined strengths, they were able to quickly deflect the attack skyward, leaving them all safe. Trixie and Sombra then let loose a blast of magic into the demon's chest that stunned it a bit. "Darn it, that took a lot more power than I was expecting," Sombra growled as his horn stopped glowing. "Sorry Trix, I'm still recovering and I don't know how much use I'm going to be in this fight."

"That's alright, I want the four of you going into the streets to help the princesses fight off the demons," Trixie said with the air of a specialist while she looked to the streets. "It seems they could use your help. Also, give Twilight my regards if you see her. Starshine, stay with one of them." The four nodded and ran off towards the streets, but Sombra stopped for a second and turned around.

"Are you sure you can handle this on your own?" he asked with what sounded like...concern in his voice.

"Don't worry, your highness, I'm certain that I will be fine," Trixie said with a playful smirk before turning back to Batmare. "It has certainly been a long time, Scootaloo. I see that you're following in Batman's footsteps."

"Why do I bother wearing the mask?" Batmare grumbled before a loud roar got their attention. Daragon had recovered from the attack and was now charging at them. Trixie's horn glowed again as she destroyed the roof underneath the demon's claws, sending it crashing into the throne room below. "I'm sorry to break up this reunion so early, but we both have work to do. Do you think that you can handle Azarock on your own?" Batmare bit her lip as she thought about it. Daragon had almost killed her by himself and she was certain that Azarock was at least as strong as he was. "I can handle one of them, but not both. Can you stop him?" Trixie asked again.

"Yes...but I'll probably die in the process," Batmare said with a growl as she leapt off the building and down into the streets near the castle, gliding along until she came across the dark demon slaughtering a number of guards. She dive-bombed into the back of Azarock's head and flipped off of it while leaving an exploding batarang on its head, smirking as she came to a landing with a roaring explosion behind her. "That will probably be enough to get his attention," she muttered as the beast turned and began to charge at her, giving her little time to think of a plan.

'First, I'll try some sonics,' Batmare thought as she rolled out of the way and watched the demon run into a lamppost that barely slowed it down. While it was redirecting itself back towards her, she whipped out the sonic batarang and hurled it onto the creature's back. Once it was in place, it sent out a soundwave that caused Batmare to wince, and that was with the protection of the cowl. Azarock experienced the full power of the sonic batarang and covered its ears in agony, howling as it slammed its back into the wall in a desperate attempt to get the device off.

'So it doesn't like the sound, huh?' Batmare thought with a smile as she noticed that the pole it had run into was almost uprooted. She pulled out her bat grapnel and fired it at the pole, the claw grabbing onto the pole, while she ran around to the front of the still-stunned demon. With a tug, she watched as the light post came crashing down on top of the demon's head, stunning it further. 'Alright, that's good but not good enough. I need to find a way to damage it. Maybe some electricity will get me thinking,' she thought with a sinister smile as she activated her shock gauntlets and rushed the demon, driving her right hoof home with her strongest punch...which only ticked off the demon further.

"Oh hell," Batmare said as Azarock grabbed her and threw her across the street and through a window, diving in after her only to find that she had already vanished. It growled as it sniffed the air and began to look around, its rage growing every second that it couldn't find her. It felt a sudden pain in the back of its head and it spun around with a swing of its claws, snarling when all it hit was a batarang. "Please, you'll have to do much better than that to catch me. At least try to beat me," Batmare's voice taunted from the darkness surrounding the demon. Azarock sniffed the air again and smiled as it drove its claws down and launched itself into the air, crashing onto the catwalk on which Batmare was standing.

Batmare tried to pull out her smoke pellet to escape, but Azarock tackled her and drove her through the wall on the other side of the building, both of them skidding across the street. Batmare groaned as she got up, her armor having taken most of the impact, but her head still hurt like hell. Unfortunately for her, Azarock showed no such signs of slowing down and charged at her again. This time she leapt onto his back as he charged past and drove both electrified hooves into his back, zapping the both of them and causing Azarock to dive off the side of the city. Batmare bailed and came crashing down in a park that sat on the side of the mountain near the city, feeling some of her ribs go as she crashed into the ground. She had just gotten back to her hooves when Azarock's claw buried itself into the side of the park and pulled itself back up, glaring at her with hate-filled eyes.

"This is not good," she muttered as she staggered into a fighting stance as Azarock slammed all four of his clawed limbs into the ground, opening his maw far beyond how far it should be able to go, and pointed it at Batmare. She tried to dive out of the way as the demon unleashed a massive burst of darkness that caught her back leg, the armor there being the only thing that prevented her leg from being ripped off. Pain was all that coursed through her mind as she gripped her leg, watching through tear-stained eyes as the demon slowly began to march closer and closer to her. In a final act of defiance, she pulled out her most powerful exploding batarang and prepared to take hem both out.

KABOOM!

Both Batmare and Azarock looked into the sky as a massive vortex of darkness appeared there, shattering the sounds of the battle in the city as lightning began to flash across the sky. Batmare watched as a glowing sphere of energy emerged from the portal and rocketed off towards Canterlot Castle, sending down golden bolts that shook the ground. Then another thing came through the portal, something that surprised both the bat and the demon. It was some sort of metallic ship, completely black and sleek as it flew out of the portal and right towards the two of them. The bottom of it opened and launched some sort of black pillar that landed in front of Batmare, with the black ship flying right into Azarock, exploding upon impact in a massive ball of fire. Batmare had no idea of what to think of the pillar in front of her, but she backed away as quickly as she could since it hissed and began to open. As it opened, it revealed a massive black, metal golem, nearly three times as big as her and much more terrifying. Her eyes were wide as the golem stepped out of the pillar, shaking the ground as it walked towards her. She had no idea what to do or think...until she saw a symbol on the center of its chest.

A single black bat.

"Dad?" she asked weakly as the back of it opened and a figure with a red top and black pants flipped out, her red hair showing under her hood as she landed in front of Batmare. "Robin? What are you-?"

"Don't worry, we're here to help," Robin said with a smile as she did a quick scan of Batmare, whistling when she got to her ribs, and then placed a finger on her ear when she finished. "Yeah B, her ribs are broken and she seems to be in shock. We got here just in time."

"Wait, where's Batman?" Batmare asked as Robin picked her up in her arms, walking Batmare over to the giant golem.

'I'm right here,' the giant golem said as Robin placed Batmare into its hand, the golem then bringing Batmare to the spot where Robin had gotten out. Batmare was then placed inside of the golem, where she saw her father connected to the machine. The black and red clad figure turned his head to Batmare, a thin smile on his face. "Don't worry Scootaloo, I'm here now."

"DAD!" Batmare cried as she wrapped her hooves around his neck, not noticing as the hatch closed behind her. "What are you doing here? And what is this thing?"

"I'm here because you need my help," Batman said as he stood back up, the golem following his every action. "And this is the Bane-Breaker, designed to bring down the nastiest of criminals." Batmare was estatic that her father was there to help her, but something didn't add up for her.

"Don't take this the wrong way, I'm glad you're here, I really am, but how did you know I needed help? I never sent you a message."

"Morgaine told me," Batman said as he turned his head, and in turn the robot's head, to watch Azarock pull himself out of the flaming wreckage that was once the Batwing. Batmare was too stunned at the moment to say anything, so Batman did some deducting. "I take it that that's the demon Azarock that you told me about? I thought that he would be bigger." As if on cue, Azarock howled at Batman and began to take on more darkness, growing larger and larger until he was the same size as the Bane-Breaker. Batman narrowed his eyes as the creature smiled at him, leaning forward and commanding the machine to charge at Azarock, who responded in the same way. Both titans collided with a loud crunch, sending out a shockwave through the streets that one caped crusader failed to avoid.

'Hey watch it B, don't forget that I'm still out here!' Robin yelled over the speakers as Azaorck pushed the Breaker to the ground, the Breaker grabbing both of its jaws to prevent it from biting his head off. Batmare had regained her senses and immediately remembered something she had no time to think of earlier.

"Dad, I managed to save Pumpkin on top of the castle, but I have no idea where she got to," Batmare said with worry in her voice. "Do you think Robin-?"

"Robin. There is a filly still trapped up by castle and she needs to be rescued," Batman said over the intercom as he kicked Azarock off of him, pointing his arm at the beast and pressing a trigger. The Breaker's arm opened up to reveal a rocket which fired at Azarock, covering him in an inferno as it exploded.

'I'm on it,' Robin said as she fired her own grapnel gun and vanished into the city, leaving the two titans alone to do their battle. Azarock was the first to attack, unsheathing his claws again as he charged at the Breaker, roaring wildly until a well-placed kick to the face shut him up. Even though the robot was ten times Batman's weight, it still could keep up with his martial arts skill and reflexes, making it just as dangerous as he was.

"So what do you mean Morgaine told you?" Batmare asked as the Breaker ducked underneath a right hook from Azarock before responding with rapid punches to the gut that sent the demon reeling. Batman followed it up with an elbow to the back of Azarock's head that knocked him to the ground, leaving him open to be picked up by the Breaker, which held the demon over its head before it was brought down spine first onto the robot's knee.

"Morgaine told me that she had a dream about the destruction of Canterlot and the deaths of everypony in Equestria," Batman growled as he kicked Azarock across the park and into a tree, picking up a bench as he passed it and driving it into the demon's head. "She then got into contact with me and told me what was going on, saying that just like her, I had a personal stake in the matter."

"Wait a minute, how does she remember Equestria?" Batmare asked as Azarock kicked the Breaker in the chest and knocked it to the ground. It leapt into the air with claws extended, but Batman engaged the thrusters on the robot and flew into Azarock's gut, both of them flying and fighting at the same time. Azarock's back claw managed to slash off one of the rockets on the Bane-Breaker's leg, which sent both it at the robot into a spiral into the ground outside of the castle. "And what did she mean by a personal stake?"

"I have no idea how she remembers, but she said something about a silver pony," Batman grunted as he forced the machine back to its feet, only to be taken down again by Azarock, which began to claw at the front of the machine and succeeded in ripping off pieces of it at a time. "Time to go," Batman said as he activated the self destruct feature before he turned around and grabbed Batmare, activating the cockpit's ejector seat to launch the both of them out of the suit. Azarock looked up just in time to see the two of them escape before the suit blew, sending the demon falling to the land far below in a blazing inferno. Batman watched it go with a smile before he gently placed Scootaloo on the ground. "As for the personal stake, I assumed that she was talking about Trixie."

"But Trixie betrayed her," Batmare muttered as she and Batman both looked up to where multiple spells were being cast, while somepony was gliding towards them. Robin came landing down next to them with a terrified Pumpkin in her arms and a bruise on her face.

"Little bastard kicked me in the face while I was trying to get her out of some rubble," Robin grumbled as she placed Pumpkin on the ground, watching as she ran over to Batmare with a shake of her head, before she looked to Batman. "I can't believe that you blew up both the Batwing AND the Bane-Breaker in the same day. I know you're made of money but come on."

"It was worth every cent," Batman said as he looked down at Batmare with a hidden smile, watching as Batmare comforted the small filly. "Now come on, Morgaine has probably found a way to mess up..." He turned with a snarl towards the edge, pulling out twin bat blades as he did so. Robin followed his example and whipped out her bow staff, while Batmare looked at both of them in confusion.

"What's going on?" she asked before telling Pumpkin to get someplace safe.

"It's not down," Batman said with a growl, a face guard clamping together over his mouth. Batmare didn't need to ask what he meant because at that moment two dark wings appeared over the edge of the castle which was quickly followed by the dark form of Azarock.

"What do we do?" Batmare asked her father, who responded with a growl.

"We fight."

A Father's Duty

Azarock took the initative against the three of them by throwing his winged self right into the center of them, using his tail to knock Robin across the castle park, while Batmare and Batman both threw whatever explosives they still had left with little effect.

"Batmare, aim for the head," Batman ordered as he leapt onto the creature's back and placed explosive gel there, flipping onto Azarock's head and kicking him in the nose. Azarock countered by grabbing Batman in one of his giant claws, and he slowly began to crush him with a dark smile. Batman responded with a smile of his own and pressed the detonation button on his gel, blowing a hole in the back of the demon who howled with pain as he dropped Batman.

"You are so going to pay for that!" Robin roared as she jumped into the air over Azarock and dove down staff first. Unfortunately for her, Azarock grabbed the staff and swung both it and Robin into Batman, knocking them both off their feet.

"You need to hide. NOW!" Batmare roared at Pumpkin as she pulled out her second to last batarang and threw it for all she was worth, which wasn't a lot judging from the way the projectile shattered against the demon like it was nothing. Azarock roared and charged towards Batmare, but a grapple wrapped itself around the demon's neck and forced it to stop.

"You will not touch her," Batman said with cold venom in his voice as he pulled back with all his strength against the demon, able to force it to halt, even though it was much stronger than he was. Azarock turned its head and fired a beam of darkness from its mouth towards the bat, which would have probably killed him if Robin hadn't jumped in front of him with her bullet proof shield out. Even though she intercepted the attack with a titanium shield, she was still thrown across the garden and into a tree, where she slid down the side of it with a groan. Batmare snarled and activated the electric shock feature on his grapple, sending enough voltage into the demon to drop a Killer Croc.

"That won't work!" Batmare yelled to Batman as Azarock tanked through the electric shock, turning towards Batman with a snarl. Batman released the grapple and dove out of the way as Azarock threw a chunk of the ground at him, rolling to his feet next to Batmare. "He seems to be immune to electricity or any other element for that matter. Nothing I hit him with works."

"Do you have a plan then?" Batman asked before throwing down a smoke pellet to blind the demon, leaping into the air and driving his elbow into the demon's head, sending it staggering back. "Physical attacks only seem to slow it down and my Beyond suit won't hold up against any of the dark energy. What do we do?"

"Why are you asking me?" Batmare asked in confusion. "You're the hero--you're the one who has done this for years! You should be the one-!"

"Your world, your rules," Batman responded before she could finish, pulling out a gadget that he hadn't busted out in a while. It was like his grapple gun, but it could bring two objects together as well with painful force. He fired the first claw into Azarock's face and then the second into one of the park benches, releasing the trigger to send the two hurdling towards each other with a satisfying crunch when they collided. "I never did thank Deathstroke for this. But as I was saying, you know more about what's going on than I do. Therefore, you're in charge." Batmare looked from him to the demon that was getting up, trying to keep her fears suppressed as best she could. This was the situation she feared, having all this pressure on her with thousands of lives on the line. What's more, this was her biggest chance to earn her father's approval and she couldn't mess it up. She had to think.

"Okay, I think I may have a plan," she said out of desperation, not noticing as a beat up Robin re-joined them. "Azarock likes to adjust his size depending on what he's fighting. So we keep him confused, each of us attacking him in different turns." Batman's eyes narrowed a bit when he reviewed her plan in his head before he took up another fighting stance.

"Alright Batmare, I trust you," he said before he threw himself back into the fray, throwing another smoke pellet into Azarock's face and following up with a hammer blow to the teeth.

"Payback time," Robin said with a smile as she spun her staff twice, rushing up and pole vaulting over the demon so that she could land behind it and sweep its back legs, leaving it open for a beat down from Batman. While the two of them fought, Batmare watched how Azarock responded with worry in her heart.

'Okay, so far I seem to be right and he does adjust his size to whomever he's fighting. But why does he do that when he could go giant and crush us all?' she asked herself before a massive blast of white energy went off on the castle's roof. 'Of course, he's saving his real power for his arch-enemy and he doesn't want to waste his power on us. His reservations will be our advantage.' But just as Batmare thought this, Azarock roared with rage and clasped his claws together, sending out a shockwave that knocked both Batman and Robin to the ground. He then slammed his claws into the ground that sent out another shockwave that sent both of them flying back towards Batmare.

"What's going on?" Robin asked as she got back to her feet, looking at the now glowing Azarock with worry.

"He's stopped holding back," Batman said with a growl as he fired up his own electric gauntlets, knowing that they were in trouble now.

"You knew he was holding back?" Batmare asked him. "How did you...right, it's you. So what do we do? Do we call for backup? Ask the members of the Justice League to help? Superman?"

"No time," Batman said as he looked up to the sky with a frown, not liking what he was seeing. "Does that look familiar to you?" Batmare looked up into the sky and her jaw nearly dropped. There were a number of spirals that swirled in the sky, seemingly getting larger with each rotation. "That looks like the portal that Morgaine was trying to open the last time she came here."

"So it's not a good thing then?" Robin asked before cowering from the glare that Batman gave her as his answer.

"So how do we stop it?" Batmare asked before another blast of darkness from Azarock sent them all reeling back. Batman kicked up and went back to fighting with the demon while Robin and Batmare struggled back up.

'Batmare, can you hear me?' a voice that came out of nowhere said to Batmare.

"What the...Trixie, is that you?" Batmare asked as she looked around.

'Yes, and we don't have much time. Morgaine has figured out that the twin demons plan to open the portal she wished to open and unleash their forces upon the land. I have a spell that can stop it, but it will take time to do so. But when it activates, you have to get Azarock into the light that will be cast.'

"...What's the catch Trixie, I can hear the hesitation in your voice." Trixie went silent for a few seconds, during that time Robin and Batman both did their best to hurt the demon again, Batman using a combo of freeze grenades and explosive gel to try to damage it, while Robin went for the simpler method of 'beat it with a staff'. Neither method worked and both of them were thrown off by the demon.

'The catch is that this spell will stop the demons, but at the cost of the user's life,' Trixie's voice said with sorrow on the end.

"Then don't use it!" Batmare yelled as she was grabbed by Azarock, who stretched his arm farther beyond what they had seen it stretch before. It threw her into the air before catching her again and slamming her into the ground, breaking even more of her ribs. Batman roared in fury as he pulled out two more batarangs and dug them into Azarock's eyes, the demon howling in pain as it ran charged into a wall to try and knock Batman off, with no success.

'Batmare, we are both losing this fight badly, even with our parents helping us out,' Trixie reminded her as the sound of both Sombra and Morgaine being blasted in the backround reached Batmare's ears. 'And it won't stop with us. If we do not send them back now, their armies will swarm upon the land and consume everything, with no chance of stopping them. This could be our only chance.' Batmare closed her eyes as both physical and emotional pain stormed in her. On one hoof, she didn't want Trixie to go this way, especially since Equestria still hated her. But on the other...

"Do it," Batmare whispered with tears in her eyes as she got back up, watching as Azarock threw Batman off his back and slammed Robin into a wall with its tail. The demon turned to face Batmare, both of them waiting for the other to make the first move. Batmare went first as she pulled out her grapnel gun and fired it into Azarock's eye, sending the creature roaring back. Azarock retaliated with a blast of darkness that Batmare couldn't completely avoid, causing her to scream with pain as half of her face felt like it was an inferno as the darkness ripped away her cowl. She fell to the ground with a groan and struggled to get back up, barely able to see out of her left eye. But what she could see was a small filly that ran to her side and lifted her onto the filly's back before taking her behind some bushes.

"Don't worry Batmare, you're safe here," the filly said with a smile as she looked at Batmare, slow realization dawning on her face as she saw the side of Batmare's face that wasn't covered. "...Scootaloo? You're Batmare?...Of course you're Batmare, you were the only pony that was close enough to Batman to take on his mantle. And the way you taught me--Argh I was so stupid!"

"Pumpkin...what are you doing here?" Batmare panted as she slowly struggled to her hooves, trying to block out the pain that had consumed half her face. "I thought that I told you to run..."

"You did, but then I saw how badly the fight was going and I had to come back to help," Pumpkin explained as she helped Batmare get back up. Batmare looked at the battlefield with her good eye and saw that Robin was laying unconscious on the ground, while Batman continued to fight on. His black suit was torn and the red bat had been ripped in half, but he still had the will to fight flashing in his eyes.

"Thank you for helping me, but this is something that you cannot help with," Batmare panted as she forced herself to run back to the battlefield. "Stay here and no matter what happens don't interfere." Before she re-engaged the fight, Batmare reached up to her neck and felt where she kept her good luck charm, praying that it would work. 'As long as the giver of this charm loves the holder, then they shall be protected from all harm,' she thought to herself as she threw herself into one of Azarock's back legs. 'As long as Dad loves me, I can't lose!' Azarock responded to that thought by swatting Batmare away with a back hand before he grabbed Batman and threw him into the side of a tree.

'GET UP!' Batmare roared in silent fury as she struggled to lift her head, barely managing to get herself to look up as a dark shadow fell over her. She looked up in time to see a massive foot begin to come down on her...before it came to a stop against a barrier of silver. Azarock looked down in confusion before a blast of silver magic knocked him off of Batmare, who felt a sense of calm spread throughout her body as silver energy began to heal her. She got back up to see the silver mare standing next to her, focusing her magic on the demon.

"I wondered if you would show up," Batmare growled as Azarock fired another blast of darkness that the silver mare had to block with her shield. "What took you?"

'I cannot assist both you and the other champion at the same time,' the mare said as she struggled to keep the blast of magic from killing Bamtare. 'And I may need to help her again in a moment, judging from how her fight was going. Where is the Batman?' Batmare pointed to the tree that Batman had been thrown into, while the silver mare turned her head slightly to see where he was. And the moment that Azarock saw his foe take her focus off of him was when he decided to strike. He sent his tail through the ground and caused it to shoot out underneath of the silver mare, knocking both her and Batmare over and breaking her shield. The moment the shield was down he fired off his most powerful darkness beam at the silver mare, who was quickly engulfed in the darkness.

"NO!" Batmare yelled as the attack ended. All that was left of the silver mare was a small silver sphere that lay untouched on the ground. Batmare got back up and kicked the sphere towards the bushes and away from the battle, leaving just her and Azarock standing. "So it's just you and me left, is it?" Batmare asked the demon as she tried to keep her fears buried, images of her destiny beginning to flash through her mind: Her dead, and everypony she loved or cared about dying with her...that she would fail. Azarock sensed her momentary weakness and lunged at her, pinning her to the ground with one claw while the other slashed at her armor, tearing a good chunk of it off on the first swipe. Before it could swing again, Batmare activated her sonic, screaming in pain as both she and the demon felt the sound tear their ears apart. Azarock threw her across the ground as it clamped its claws to its ears, Batmare was too tired to do anything besides turn the sonic off. She lifted her head to see the demon look at her with hate in its eyes, knowing what was coming next.

'I guess this is it,' she thought to herself as the demon drove all fours of its clawed limbs into the ground, taking aim at her with deadly precision. 'This is how it ends. I failed to protect Canterlot and Equestria...I couldn't even save my Dad. My destiny came true I guess...I'm going to die,' she thought as she closed her eyes, before she felt the charm pressing against her skin. 'Unless...the charm does protect me. I guess it's...my only hope.' Azarock roared in fury before he unleashed his most powerful blast towards her, leaving Batmare to wonder if the charm would protect her. She closed her eyes and waited for oblivion...only to find that no pain came to her, that she felt exactly the same as when she closed her eyes. But that would have meant...

'The charm worked!' she thought to herself with joy as a smile crossed her face, feeling the magic coursing through her. 'That means that Batman does love me! That means...' Her joy came to a stop when a smell reached her nose, a smell that had come from her on more than one occasion. It was the smell of burning flesh and fried armor. Then she heard the soft breathing that came when one was badly hurt or dying. And as she put the pieces together she opened her eyes and looked up to see...

"Dad?" she whispered weakly, her eyes widening in horror when she saw Batman standing in front of her, both arms outstretched as he stood rooted in place, the ground in front of him ripped apart form where Azarock's blast had torn the ground apart. His armor was smoldering and blood was trickling from his mouth. Tears began to well up in Batmare's eyes when she realized what he had done. He had thrown himself in front of the attack.

"Scootaloo...are you...alright...?" he asked her weakly before his legs gave out and he fell over on his face. Batmare couldn't say anything, but she dragged herself over to his side while tears began to stream from her eyes. Azarock roared and prepared to attack again, but a combination of silver magic and metal staff to the face stopped it from doing so.

"Why did you do that?" Batmare sobbed as she struggled to get his cowl off, having to tear it from the suit before it would come off, leaving her only more heartbroken when she saw his face. It was covered in burns and cuts, with blood running down the side of it. But the worse part was his eyes, eyes that didn't hold much life in them.

"Because you...were in danger..." he responded weakly, his breaths growing weaker and weaker with each one.

"You idiot," she sobbed as she reached inside of her suit and pulled out the charm, rolling him over so that he was laying on his back and could see him. "I still have the charm you gave me! It would have protected me from the blast! There was no need to-"

"It was...a risk...that I couldn't take," Batman wheezed with a bit of strength, wrapping his hand around Batmare's hoof. "There is...no risk...worth your life. No cost...too great to...protect you. Even...my own life is... a trifle...to keep you safe."

"Don't say that. You're not going to die," Batmare sobbed as Robin and the silver mare both got knocked back again by Azarock, both of them in rough shape having to fight the demon by themselves. "You've survived worse than this. You will survive again.

"All people...die eventually," Batman said as his black eyes started to fade a bit. "If I die...protecting you...then it is a death...I can accept. It's...my duty as a father...to keep you safe." Batmare choked up and couldn't say any more, all she could do was cry as Batman's breathing began to grow shallower and shallower.

'Batmare, this is Morgaine, can you hear me?' an all too familiar voice said in her head.

"The hell do you want?" Batmare snarled as she looked down at her dying father.

'The spell is ready. Can you get Azarock to step into the light?' Batmare lifted her head to see a giant pillar of light shoot out of the top of the castle, consuming anything that was close to it. She looked down at Batman with pain in her heart, wanting to stay by his side desperately.

"I'm not going to leave you," she said quietly to him as the tears began to well again. "I almost lost you once before. I can't do it again. I'm not strong enough"

"You...are strong, "he panted weakly. "So much...stronger...than I could ever be. But you...have to end this...have to stop this..."

"I won't leave you," she whispered. And then, using the last of his strength, Batman looked into Scootaloo's eyes, giving her a look that he never had given her before. He was batglaring at her.

"You will...because I...raised you to value life...to fight against evil...to know the value of sacrifice," he said again, this time his words barely making it out of his lips. "You...have to...because if you don't...who will?" Scootaloo looked down at him with tears streaming down her face, but she also knew that he was right. She gently kissed him on the forehead before she stood up and glared at the demon in front of her, who had swatted off Robin and the silver mare with ease.

"Don't worry, Dad. I'll be back quick," she said with a growl.

"Wait...Scootaloo, no matter what happens next...I'm proud to call you...my daughter," Batman said with a smile as he gently placed his hand on her shoulder. With those few words, Batman had managed to erase all of her fears and doubts about herself, giving her the strength to fight this final battle. He then clicked the front of his utility belt and handed it to Scootaloo, who grabbed it with a nod. "Go...get him." Batmare nodded with a smile, a single tear of happiness falling down her face.

"Stay alive," she whispered before charging back into the battle. Batman's head fell to the side as she said this, knowing that he was not going to be able to follow her request. And just as all vision began to fade from his eyes, he saw a hoof of silver next to his head.

"GRRRAAAAAHH!" Batmare roared as she charged at Azarock and reached inside of Batman's utility belt, throwing a number of grenades marked "for super-villains" into Azarock's face, knocking him backwards and closer towards the light. Batmare then activated her gauntlets again and slammed them into Azarock's face, gritting her teeth as each strike racked her body with pain.

'Even if it kills me, I have to stop him!' she roared in her mind as she continued to strike him again and again, each blow knocking him closer and closer to the light.

'So this is who you have chosen to be,' a mystical voice in her head said as she ducked a blow and fired a concussion grenade into Azarock's eyes, causing him to howl with pain. 'Despite it not being your special talent, you wish to protect all of Equestria...all life that needs it. Why?'

"Because it's who I am!" Batmare roared as she fired the REC into Azarock's chest multiple times, nearly having knocked the demon back to the light. "I choose who I want to be even if the universe is against me! That is what Batman taught me and that is who I want to be! Even if I have to die to show it!"

'And this is honestly who you are?'

"Honestly!" Batmare yelled as she put everything she had into one last attack, driving her entire body into Azarock's gut and flying him up into the air. She flew them both into the white light that was still storming on the roof of the castle, nearly blacking out as she did so, but a voice in the back of her head kept her going.

'And you figured nearly all this out without my help. Batman truly did show you how to choose your own path, didn't he?'

"I just need to be me and choose to be what I want to be, no matter what a sword or mark tells me," Batmare said with a smile as she continued to press forward. " And I made a promise on his grave that I would fight the forces of evil until the day I died. And that's the honest truth."

Both Batmare and Azarock could feel the magical energies of the portal begin to tear at them, both of them feeling as their entire beings would be sucked into the unknown.

Azarock, being the demon, was being dragged into the spiraling vortex of magic much faster than Batmare, already having lost half of his body to the vortex. In a last ditch effort to save himself, he reached out and grabbed Batmare, trying to drag her into the vortex with him. And then, with all of her remaining strength, Batmare struck Azarock in the face one last time.

"GO TO HELL!"

The blow was enough to force Azarock to let go, the result was he got completely sucked into the spiral. With all of her strength exhausted, all Batmare could do was collapse as the vortex began to suck her in as well. Before she closed her eyes, she could see that the white demon was getting sucked in as well, telling her that Trixie had prevailed.

'So that's it. We won,' she thought as she closed her eyes for the final time. 'Good. I'm...tired.' And with that thought, she let herself get sucked into the swirl of the vortex, smiling at the fact that she died saving the day. 'I'm truly my father's daughter.' And then everything went silver.

===---T---===

Both of Batmare's eyes opened in shock and she kicked up, landing on her hooves and growling at the black demon in front of her. Then, to her surprise, the white demon walked up beside it and placed a claw on its shoulder, causing the both of them to begin to merge.

"The hell do you think your doing?" Batmare asked as she reached for a batarang, only to realize she was out.

"They are fusing with each other, meaning that they are preparing to kill us." Batmare turned her head to the side and saw Trixie teleport beside her, one of her eyes covered in blood while the other glared at the demon. "These two are normally enemies, but they work together only as a last resort. And since the two of us, along with our families, pushed them back into their dimension..."

"They will use every trick they have," Batmare said as she took up a fighting stance. The area all around them was silver, a similar silver to the silver mare, but she couldn't focus on that for long as the demon roared and opened two holes in reality, one behind the ponies that led back to Equestria and another that led to the depths of Tartarus. "And we have to stop them, don't we?"

"We do, although I find it odd," Trixie said with a smile. "Nearly ten years ago, you and I were on the opposite sides of the line, and now we are working together to defeat a final foe. It amuses me."

"We may have been physically on the opposite side of the line, but your heart wasn't there," Batmare reminded her as the black and white demon began to advance. "You saved us then and you'll save us now."

"That's what a lot of creatures have been saying to me lately," Trixie said with a smile before she unleashed her full power into the beast, sending a symphony of magical power into its chest, causing it to skid backwards. A cyclone of fire and stone materialized from her horn and lifted the demon into the air, but with a roar it blew apart the cyclone and hurled itself at the two. Batmare responded with a grapnel to the chest that had electricity coursing through the cables, sending volts through the demon. But the creature barely felt the effects and teleported behind both the ponies, grabbing them by their necks and lifting them up. It prepared to snap their necks before a blast of silver tossed the demon to the ground and freed the two mares.

"Thanks for the save," Batmare said to the silver mare, who had appeared beside them. "But what do we do against that thing? We could barely handle the demons separated, but how can we beat them together?"

"See the two portals?" she asked Batmare, who looked behind her to see a portal that showed Canterlot. She then looked forward at another portal that showed a land of fire. "The one behind the demon is Tartarus and we have to get them in there. But it's going to be difficult."

"Trixie, we've fought creatures that Equestria didn't even know existed," Batmare said with a smile. "I think we can handle this." The twin demons roared and charged towards Batmare and Trixie, the latter unleashing her power once again into the demons. The magic wasn't enough to hurt the creature, but it was enough to slow it down. Trixie growled as Batmare began to throw whatever she had in her belt at the thing until it ran empty. Trixie looked over at Batmare with a frown until an idea came to her.

"Batmare, do you still have that anti-rang that you used?" she asked.

"Yeah?" Batmare asked before looking at the demon made almost entirely of magic. "Yeah, I do." Batmare reached into her belt and pulled out the last batarang, aiming it right at the center of the creature's head. "Fall." She threw the batarang with all her might, watching as the gift from her father flew on a true arc that nailed the demon in the center of its head, breaking through all of its magical shielding and causing it to roar in pain, giving Trixie the chance she needed to push the demon into the other portal. Both of them watched as the demon was sucked into the portal, roaring one last time before the portal closed. Trixie and Batmare both collapsed to the ground exhausted, each trying to ignore the pain.

"So, what happens now?" Batmare asked Trixie.

"Now, this dimension collapses and takes everything inside with it," she responded with a sigh.

"So this is it?"

"Yep, this is it."

"At least we died knowing we won," Batmare said as she closed her eyes.

"Yeah, at least we did," Trixie responded as everything went white.

All Grown Up

The train ride up to Canterlot the night of the ball was one of the more terrifying events that Scootaloo had to endure, since her fears of when Rarity found out she lied to her were beginning to get the better of her. She and Rarity had gotten on the train bound for Canterlot just as Celestia began to sink the sun over the horizon, both of the two mares sitting next to each other and observing all of the other ponies on the train.

"Seems like there won't be many ponies from Ponyville heading up with us," Rarity said as she looked around at the other ponies, none of whom she recognized. Scootaloo had rested her elbow on the armrest and was staring out the window, wondering how she was going to get out of this one. While Pinkie may have taught her how to escape from being locked up, escaping friends was something that even Pinkie had a hard time doing. "Oh I can't wait to meet this stallion of yours! Can't you tell me a little more about him? What's he look like? He is good looking, right? Oh, what am I saying, of course he is, you picked him!"

"Sorry Rarity, but I already told you I'd say nothing more 'til you met him," Scootaloo said with false confidence, hoping that her tone just then hadn't given away what she was thinking. "Besides, this is my first time going to one of these and I'm a little nervous. Please don't ask me anymore about him." Rarity nodded sympathetically as she pulled out a magazine to entertain herself, although Scootaloo saw that she was really using it as a blind, so that she could look at the stallions on the train with them. While she "read," Scootaloo went through the bag she had brought with her to go over her inventory again, just to be on the safe side. She had a number of clothes near the top of the bag, but that was only to cover the batsuit underneath of them. She had brought the suit just to be safe, along with a number of her gadgets as well. She had also brought the list with all the fillies' names on them, planning to hoof it to the princesses when she managed to get away from Rarity. Speaking of Rarity, Scootaloo looked up at Rarity with her eyebrows lowered, wondering how she was going to slip away from her once they got to the ball. Slipping away would be easy to do, she had been practicing for years, but to do so without offending her would be the tricky part.

"Oh, we can see the city now!" Rarity exclaimed as she looked out the window towards the shining city on the mountain. "It doesn't matter how many times I see it, it still excites me every time. How about you, Scootaloo?" Scootaloo looked out the window with a bored expression, but something did come to mind when she saw it.

"On the surface, a city glows and shines, but wipe that away and you find dirt and grime," she muttered, reciting something that had been told to her. "All the ponies there are supposed to be of high class, but they'll betray anypony to save their own-"

"Scootaloo! That is not how a lady talks!" Rarity said before Scootaloo could finish. "Honestly, where did you hear that awful rhyme anyway?"

"From a pony who called himself, 'the Poet,' one of the first criminals I caught," Scootaloo said as memories started to run through her mind. "That's what he was saying when he killed three innocent ponies in the streets. I kicked him in the mouth so hard it was months before he could talk again." Rarity frowned at that since she remembered the event, having read about it in the papers. That had been the first of many criminals that Scootaloo had gone on to fight in the short time she had been Batmare.

"Well, that may be your opinion of it, by I still stand by the fact that it is a monument to what ponies can achieve," Rarity said with a huff as she went back to staring at the city, Scootaloo simply shrugged and went back to organizing her bag. The train pulled into the station a few minutes later, the ponies onboard getting off as they chatted excitedly with each other about the ball. While the ball wasn't as impressive as the Grand Galloping Gala, it was still considered to be an important event. Rarity pushed her way past the other ponies so that she could be the first to see the majesty of Canterlot at night.

"Oh Canterlot, it has been far too long," she said with a sigh as she spun around, drinking in the beauty of the city. "The lights, the buildings, the sheer status of the city. It has been too long."

"So, you punch your way through a train of ponies so you can be the first to see it? Maybe you should have been the one to teach me martial arts," Scootaloo joked as she walked out of the train, helping the ponies that Rarity had knocked over back up. "That didn't look very lady like."

"Sometimes a lady must fight for what she needs. You remember what happened to the Diamond Dogs, don't you?" Rarity asked with a smile. Rarity was referring to how she single-hoofedly got the entire pack of Diamond Dogs to listen to her just by whining loudly and obnoxiously. It was one of her favorite tales, and she often told it to Scootaloo when she was caught waiting for her suit to be repaired. Rarity walked by the bell pony who took their bags for them (Scootaloo helped the poor pony with her heavier ones) as the two of them walked through the streets towards the majestic castle in the distance. "Now, you did remember the tickets, didn't you?" Rarity asked her, smirking as Scootaloo's face turned white as she started to rummage through her bag. "No worries dear, I brought the extra one that Sweetie Belle rejected. Such a shame, with her natural beauty, all the stallions would want to talk to her."

"Like they do in Ponyville?" Scootaloo teased, knowing that Rarity hated the fact that her sister was more popular than she was. Rarity stuck her nose into the air as she did her best to ignore what Scootaloo was saying, and instead focused on all the ponies who walked to the castle around them, each of whom was dressed for the occasion.

"Darn, I was hoping to see more of my work being worn for such an event, but I can see that my taste in fashion has not become quite as popular yet," Rarity muttered to herself with a sigh. "And my destiny was supposed to be, how I became the greatest fashion designer in all of Equestria. Oh, why did Batman have to go and prove that our destinies were false?"

"So that he could save all of Equestria, as well as all of us," Scootaloo reminded her coldly, not liking it when others forgot about the sacrifice he made for them. "Plus, he only proved that his own destiny was false, he never said anything about you or the others. And if anypony can make it in the fashion industry, it would be you."

"You're right dear, I certainly have more than enough talent to make it. It is my cutie mark, after all," Rarity said with a smile as she looked at her cutie mark, not noticing that Scootaloo hung her head a bit when she said this. The two of them reached the front grounds of the castle, Rarity getting herself worked up as if she were about to battle for her life. "Alright, we are at the gate guarding paradise and on the other side is heaven, but in order to get in, you must remember everything that I taught you. Any mistake could turn you from a sophisticated lady into the mockery of the entire crowd. Are you ready?"

"Always." Both mares walked up to the front gate, where two pegasi guards stood waiting with keen eyes and weapons at the ready, collecting the tickets from the ponies as they entered the castle. Rarity and Scootaloo walked up to them with smiles on their faces, each of them hoofing their tickets to the guards as they did so. The guards recognized Rarity and let her pass without a problem, but they gave Scootaloo a glare in warning as she passed. She would have loved to show them both the glare that she was capable of, but that would probably blow her cover and cause a scene, which she couldn't afford to do...yet. "Are the guards here always this uptight, or am I just that good looking?" Scootaloo asked Rarity once she had joined back up with her.

"A combination of the two, darling. I'm not joking, you truly look divine," Rarity said as she scanned the crowd like a hawk seeking its next meal as she searched for a certain stallion, one that wasn't there. "I cannot see this stallion friend of yours, and I know I would be able to pick him out in a crowd if he's as good looking as you think he is. Can you see him?"

"Um, not yet, but I'm sure he'll be here," Scootaloo said as she started to look around the room with a bit of awe at how it looked. Celestia really went all out for these events, and this one was no different. Expensive fabrics were on every table and the curtains were made of material that she had only rarely seen at Rarity's. Not that she really cared about any of it, but she always picked up details whenever she could so that any changes to the environment wouldn't surprise her. Most of the conversations were dull, but one did gain her attention.

"Did you hear about Trixie? Seems she was spotted in a far off town."

"THE Trixie? I feel bad for any ponies that were around her. Why isn't she locked up yet?"

"That's not all. I heard that Sombra was with her. Sombra. When are the princesses going to take action?" The rest of the conversation was cut off as there was a flash in the center of the room that gained a cry from the ponies (Scootaloo took up a fighting stance just to be safe) but it turned into cheering and applause when Princess Celestia appeared in the center of the room, looking at all the ponies with a smile.

"Hello everypony and welcome to the forty-fifth Canterlot Ball," she said as she scanned the room to see all the faces that had showed up, recognizing almost every one of them. But when her eyes got to Scootaloo, they widened slightly with shock, not expecting to see her here. Scootaloo nodded slightly and moved her eyes to the bag she was carrying, hopefully telling Celestia that they had matters to discuss. Celestia nodded slightly in return before going back to speaking to the ponies. "It is so nice to see so many familiar faces here, and 'hello' to all the new ponies as well. I hope that you all have a wonderful time and enjoy yourselves." The ponies clapped politely when she had finished speaking and had started to enjoy themselves, while Celestia walked over to Scootaloo and Rarity, all the happiness gone from her eyes as she prepared for the worst.

"I did not expect to see you here Scootaloo," Celestia said. "Rarity, always, but not you. I hope that you are not the bearer of bad news this time around?"

"Unfortunately, I am this time," Scootaloo said with a sigh as she looked at all the ponies around them, not sure if she could trust any of them, given what she knew. "Can we talk someplace a little more secure? This is some very private information." Celestia nodded and looked over at the balcony with a nod. All three of the ponies walked out onto the balcony, with Rarity looking up at the stars with wonder in her eyes.

"I wonder where Luna comes up with her ideas for the night sky?" Rarity asked aloud. "Because every time I look up at it, it's always beautiful. I must ask her for some advice sometime."

"Alright, we should be alone out here. So what news do you have for me this time?" Celestia asked as she sat herself down, knowing that with Scootaloo's line of work any answer could be possible. Scootaloo set her bag down and rummaged through it until she had gotten to the list she had taken from the pony's office.

"Here is a list of possible ponies that the Demon Spawn might try to take at some point in the future, since they only need one more to complete the ritual," Scootaloo said to the horror of Rarity as she hoofed the paper to Celestia. Celestia took it with a frown, scanning over the list of names while shaking her head.

"It will be impossible to protect all of these fillies at the same time. Is there any other information that might be of use?"

"Yes. Thanks to a source of mine, I figured out that the final ritual will have to be held in Canterlot, sometime within the next week or so," Scootaloo said. "It will have to be above ground and someplace where the moon can strike the body. That's all I know for now and I hope it's enough."

"Any information is better than no information at all," Celestia said with a smile as she slipped the paper away. "I thank you for bringing this to my attention and for what you do in your other outfit. Now if you'll excuse me, I must share my reports with my sister immediately." Rarity bowed as Celestia opened her wings and flew off towards another tower, leaving the two mares to head back inside.

"Have things really gotten that bad?" Rarity whispered to Scootaloo. Scootaloo nodded in response as she started to scan the room, eyes peeled for anypony that looked the hint suspicious. With her training, she had learned to block out nearly all forms of distractions that might try to hinder her. Unfortunately, Rarity as not somepony she had learned how to block out. "So do you see him? Is that him? What about him? Oh, I pray that's not him."

"Rarity, I'm trying to look for somepony," Scootaloo hissed as the two reached the center of the room, the place where Scootaloo did not want to be. Here, she could be seen from all angles, yet if she tried to look around she would be the suspicious one. So she could only scan the ponies that were within her field on vision for the moment.

"I know you're looking for him too, but I want to see who he is," Rarity said impatiently while frowning, until a thought popped into her head. "You weren't...lying to me, were you?" Scootaloo could just hear the traces of rage in what she said and was immediately on guard. She didn't know if Rarity would cause a scene among so many ponies--the higher ups at that--but Batman taught her to put your trust in luck only as a last resort. She had to defuse her friend before everypony here became collateral.

"I'm sure he'll be here," Scootaloo said while trying to avoid Rarity's eyes. "We just need to wait a little-"

"Scootaloo?" Whether it was divine intervention or not, both Scootaloo and Rarity turned to see a stallion that neither recognized walk over to them. He was tall, well-built under the expensive suit he was wearing and had all the air of a rich pony, yet Scootaloo felt like she had seen him before somewhere. His coat was white, but it had brown spots on it as well. And there was only one pony that Scootaloo remembered that had a coat like that.

"Pipsqueak?" she asked in disbelief, the stallion smiling at her when she said his name.

"Wow, you do remember me. I'm touched," Pipsqueak said with a chuckle as he looked over at Rarity, who was too stunned by Pipsqueak for words. "Nice to see you again, Miss Rarity. Age has only made you more lovely." Rarity didn't know what to say, but she did look over at Scootaloo and wink at her with a smile.

"Yes, Pipsqueak, it is nice to see you again. My goodness how you have grown," Rarity commented as she had to now look up to see into Pipsqueak's face. "And you look like you're doing very well for yourself."

"Yes, my business has had the fortune of being a great success," he said humbly. "And yes, most ponies no longer call me Pipsqueak and just refer to me by my last name. But you two may call me 'Pip'."

"Well, Pip, it certainly has been nice speaking with you again, but there are other friends of mine here that I wish to talk to. I'll leave you two alone," Rarity said with another wink to Scootaloo before bowing graciously and walking away, leaving Pip alone with Scootaloo.

"You have no idea how great your timing was there," Scootaloo said with a sigh of relief as she watched Rarity walk away. "Probably saved my flank right there. Thanks for that."

"No need to thank me. What are old friends for," he said with another chuckle. "But I must admit, I never expected to see you here either. The Scootaloo I remember wouldn't be caught dead at one of these parties. So what happened to the filly who couldn't go five minutes without getting into trouble?"

"Oh, she's still in here. In all honesty, I'd rather not be here but I'm here on account of a friend," she explained with a sigh. "I haven't really changed all that much. But I can't say that about you. Good Celestia, aren't you different from the tiny foal that always used to play pirate back in the school yard. What happened to you after you moved to Mareiland? You went from small pony who nopony could take seriously to rich and famous. I've heard of the engines your company makes even in Ponyville."

"I grew up, got a good job and worked my way up in the world," he said. "That, and I also grew about four times my size in a few years. I suppose all this wealth comes from the fact that my company designs engines for the newest form of airships, and those are always in demand in Mareiland. Ever since Twilight managed to replicate one of the devices that Batman used seven years ago, the technology in Equestria has shot up by leaps and bounds. I was just fortunate enough to grab onto a good idea. Although I still miss Ponyville from time to time, Mareiland's not that bad a place."

"I heard it's filled with criminals and scum who prey on those who go out after dark."

"Maybe, but the ponies who come out during the day aren't bad at all," he said with a shrug as another pony who entered the room caught his attention. "Oh Celestia, what's he doing here?" Scootaloo turned to see that a pony had entered the center of the ball room and had gained the attention of all the ponies there. He spotted Pip and walked over to both of them, a smile on his face as he approached them.

"Hello again, Pipsqueak, how nice to see you again," he said in a suave tone. Pip was doing his best not to glare at the pony, but Scootaloo would never have noticed. The moment she saw this pony, she was instantly on red alert. She had seen him before and instantly knew he was guilty. He was the business pony from the skyscraper incident the other night.

"Manestream," Pip said with a hint of disgust.

Author's Note

Might be a few errors in this one.

A Dark Knight

'You did well.'

Scootaloo groaned once and opened her eyes, looking around in confusion when all she saw was whiteness. The only other thing that was there besides the white was the silver mare, and even she was hard to see against the background.

"Where am I?" she asked the silver mare, looking down at herself to notice that her batsuit was gone--and so were the multiple wounds she had suffered over the day. Then a slow realization came to her, and she looked at the silver mare with fear in her eyes. "Am I...dead?" The silver mare chuckled in response and shook her head.

'No. Unlike the champion of lightning or the armored father, you survived your battle with the demon and do not require my aid,' the silver mare said calmly. 'As to where we are, this is my birth place, where I was created.'

"And why am I here?" Scootaloo asked.

'Because I wanted to say how proud I am of you,' the silver mare said with a hidden smile under her hood. 'You managed to overcome your fears and fight off a force that would have consumed the land. You proved yourself to be every bit the hero that I needed you to be.'

"To be fair, I had help," Scootaloo mumbled. "My Dad and Robin were a huge help in stopping Azarock, and even then I don't know if we would have been able to do it without the aid of Trixie and Morgaine...what happen to them by the way? Heck ,what happened to me?"

'Calm yourself. When you were sucked into the portal back to the demon's plane, I grabbed you with my magic and tethered you to this reality. The portal closed and you were safe, but in very bad shape. What happened to Trixie and Morgaine is something that you must find out for yourself once you return to your world. As for Pip, he and his crew are alive and managed to escape from the princesses. Canterlot will survive and most of the ponies are safe. But all of them know about the Knights and the magicians that saved them. Now please hurry and awaken.' Scootaloo wondered what she meant, when the white place vanished and was replaced with darkness.

====---====

A solitary figure sat next to the bedside in one of the hospital rooms, looking down at the mare that had changed his life so much in the ten years he had known her. The cowl that had defined thirty years of his life sat on the table next to him, its empty eye sockets looking at him as he sat over Scootaloo. He knew she would be fine; the doctors had confirmed that. What he didn't know was what he was going to say to her once she had awakened.

"You're a real piece of work, you know that?" Batman looked over at the door, where six ponies that he knew all too well stood, some of them looking at him in disbelief, while a certain purple mare looked at him with rage. "Ten years. Ten years and not once did you bother to try and communicate with us, to let us know you survived. Why?"

"I had my reasons," he said back in a dark voice as he looked back down at Scootaloo, but Fluttershy walked up to him and tried to look into his eyes.

"We're still your friends, right? Then why...?" She backed off once as he gave her a look, but Rainbow Dash took offence to that and marched right up to him enraged.

"Telling us was the least you could have done," she growled. "But what I hate you for, is not stopping Scootaloo from doing this! She believed that this was the only way to honor you, but you did nothing to stop her! If you had said something-"

"Then you and all of Equestria would have died by the demons' hands," he responded with his dark voice, causing Rainbow Dash to back up. "As for why I didn't tell her to stop...this was her choice, to become a protector. Do you think I like the idea of her going out and fighting against the unspeakable? But I knew that I couldn't stop her, so I did my best to prepare her, to give her the tools to fight her own crusade." The others turned to look at themselves as he sat back down, watching Scootaloo. "And I do worry. Make no mistake about that." The six waited a moment before they all walked up to him and wrapped their arms around him a hug.

"And we're glad that you're alive. Make no mistake about that," Twilight said as she and the others let go.

"Although I wish that your sense of style would have improved," Rarity teased.

"Oh...I think she's waking up girls!" a very excited Pinkie said as Scootaloo could feel herself beginning to awaken. The first sign that she was still alive was that she could still feel her body. The second sign that she was still alive was the intense pain that followed. She groaned once and opened her eyes, having to blink twice before she realized that she was looking into the eyes of a certain pink pony.

"YES! She's alive!" Pinkie said in glee as she went in to give Scootaloo a bear hug, but a black gauntlet held her back.

"I wouldn't recommend giving the 'death hug' to somepony with six broken ribs," Batman advised, looking down at Scootaloo with concern. She looked up at him with surprise, but she ignored that feeling as she leapt out of bed to tackle him with a hug.

"You're alive!" she cried as she tightened the hug. Batman used his good arm to gently pat her on the back, the two holding the embrace for a minute before she let go. "But, how did you survive?"

"Our mutual friend saved me," he replied with a nod. "She knows how to heal wounds, I'll give her that much. How are you feeling? You shouldn't be moving around so much."

"I feel like I got beaten up, set on fire and dragged through an interdimensional portal by a demon," she responded with a dry chuckle. "So, an average Thursday--to us." A thin smile crossed Batman's face and he sat back in his chair with a sigh. Now that Scootaloo could look at him better, she noticed that there was a lot more gray in his hair than she remembered, and he looked more ragged. "Did I miss anything while I was out?"

"Celestia threw a celebration for the heroes that helped to save all of Equestria, but I decided to stay here since you were out," Batman explained as he leaned back with a sigh. "Trixie and her band of misfits did attend, but Twilight can fill you in later." He grunted as he tried to sit back up again, causing concern to flash in Scootaloo's eyes.

"You okay?"

"I think I might be getting a bit old for this," Batman groaned before he heard a faint gasp and looked at the six ponies standing beside him, their eyes looking at him in disbelief. "What?"

"I can't believe that the mighty Batman would ever admit out loud that he was getting weak," Twilight said with a playful smirk. "You must be going senile as well."

"You'd be feeling bad too if you had your back snapped, been set on fire, impaled by hooks, thrown through multiple buildings, shot at point blank..." Batman could see by their faces that he had already gotten his point across, so he allowed his smile to finish what he was saying as he looked back to Scootaloo, who was trying to sit up.

"Whoa there partner, you need to rest up," Applejack said as she tried to push Scootaloo back down, but Batman held the earth pony back.

"Trust me, you won't be able to stop a will like hers. Just let her up." AJ backed away and allowed Scootaloo up, the orange mare jumping to the ground with a grunt. She then looked up to Batman with some hesitation in her eyes that didn't go unnoticed by him. "Is something the matter?"

"It's nothing, just that I...can I speak to you in private?" she asked him. Batman noted the tone and nodded his head as he stood up. But before he could move a pink hoof placed itself on his chest to stop him from leaving.

"I just remembered something," Pinkie said with an angry glare at Batman. "You made a Pinkie promise with me that if we survived the battle at Canterlot you would go to my party. And you broke a Pinkie promise. Nopony breaks a Pinkie promise." The ponies all began to back away from Pinkie, whose mane had fallen flat and she was glaring murder from her eyes. The ponies didn't know what would happen next, but they weren't expecting what Batman did next: He placed his hand on Pinkie's shoulder.

"You're right Pinkie, I did make a promise," he said calmly, causing the other ponies to look at him in disbelief. "I promised that I would go and I--" A quick pinch of his fingers was all it took to send Pinkie collapsing to the floor, the snores that quickly followed told all in the room what he had done.

"You knocked her out?" Fluttershy asked. "Why would you do that?"

"Because," he said as he picked his cowl off the bed stand and put it on one-handed, before looking at Scootaloo. "Let's head to someplace more secluded. I don't know how long she'll stay out." Scootaloo nodded as Batman threw a smoke pellet on the floor, kicking up a cloud of smoke that caused the ponies in the room to cough. When the smoke cleared, they saw that both Batman and Scootaloo were gone.

"How do they do that?" Rarity asked, with Pinkie's snores being her only answer.

====---====

"So they did make a statue of me," Batman said with a smirk as he looked up at the statue in the cemetery, his eyes mostly focused on his grimacing face and how beat up he looked. "They really did a good job with my grimace. But I don't recall throwing myself in front of a filly."

"No, you threw yourself in front of three," Scootaloo said as she looked up at the statue as well, remembering all the times she had come here to talk to her "father." But now her actual father was right next to her, and this time she needed her father to talk back to her. "As for the grimace, you did that a lot while you were here."

"Force of habit," Batman said with a shrug before he looked down at Scootaloo. "Now what was it you wanted to talk to me about? Whatever it is has you rattled." Scootaloo took in a deep breath and tried to calm herself, wanting ever word to come out exactly the way she wanted it to.

"Do you love me?" She should have punched herself for the lack of control, but the words just came blurting out before she could stop them. Batman raised an eyebrow at her as she averted his gaze, terrified to find out the answer.

"Why do you ask?" Batman answered, not certain where this question had come from. Scootaloo looked at the ground for a few minutes before she finally worked up enough courage to answer.

"Because...I don't know if you do," she whispered. "And while my charm may work, I'm not sure if that's from my real parents' love or yours."

"Scootaloo, I-"

"I just don't know and it drives me crazy. Plus...you have all these other sidekicks and people that you train to fight alongside you, yet you so rarely train me. You saved me in so many ways, but I don't know how you truly feel about me. What do I mean to you?" Batman could feel the despair and desperation in her voice, forcing him to sigh. He really was bad at this. Batman grunted as he got onto one knee so he could look Scootaloo in the eyes, waiting until she looked into his before he answered.

"Scootaloo...I am a terrible parent, just ask Nigthwing or Robin when you see her again," Batman said with a thin smile. "But that is because I have spent so long with my emotions closed off, because of my parents death, that I...can't open up to anyone. Not truly." Scootaloo hung her head as he said this, trying to keep the tears back. "But, that doesn't mean I can't speak truthfully. And to answer your question...yes, I do love you." Scootaloo's head snapped back up and she looked into Batman's smiling face with disbelief for a brief moment before she threw herself into his arms, knocking the Dark Knight over, where she began to sob.

"I-I'm sorry, I'm just so relieved," she sobbed, stammering her words out as Batman patted her gently on the back. "It's just...after all you did for me, I had no idea whether or not you cared anymore. I thought since you were a hero, you must be used to ponies or people like me looking up to you."

"You'd be surprised at how wrong you are," Batman said as he gently pushed her back. "Also, you keep saying about all I did for you, but I never really got to say what you did for me." Scootaloo blinked the rest of her tears out of her eyes as Batman sat down with a sigh. "After the death of the Joker, I was in a dark place. Darker than I was used to. Then a report came in about how a certain enchantress was planning on destroying all of reality, and I was the only League member on standby that could take her. And then I ended up here and met you."

"Wait...are you saying that I helped you?" Scootaloo asked in disbelief.

"Like I said, I was in a dark place," Batman repeated. "And then I met you...you and your boundless optimism despite all the hurdles that had been thrown at you. When I met you in the forest all those years ago, I thought of you as nothing more than a person--pony--to be saved, nothing else. But then you sought me out again and I began to take an interest in you. You had the desire to win and the will to never give up. And that's when I decided to train you, to teach you so that you could heal. But the more I tried to heal you, the more you healed me. I felt...happier in this world when I was with you and the others than I have in a long time. You reminded me that I should try and look on the positives every once in a while, and that the world isn't always so dark."

"I taught you that?" Scootaloo asked.

"Yes, you did. You gave me a reason to smile again," Batman said with a smile of his own as he pulled her into a hug. "And for that I wanted to thank you...my daughter." Nothing in any world could have made Scootaloo happier at that moment than hearing those words. She fought to keep herself from breaking down as she hugged Batman back. They stayed like that for a moment before they both became aware of somepony watching them. They turned to see Pumpkin standing next to the Batman statue, motioning for Scootaloo to join her.

"I wonder what she wants?" Scootaloo asked.

"Go find out. I can wait," Batman said as he let her go. Scootaloo nodded and rushed over to Pumpkin while Batman stood back up, a frown crossing his face as he looked down to his right. "So you're the silver mare that saved me, even though I would have been fine. I see no marks were left when Azarock smacked you around."

'Correct. I am,' the silver mare said with a hint of warmth. 'You are welcome by the way.'

"For what?"

'For assisting you in your battle against Azarock and saving your life.'

"I could have beaten him if you hadn't interfered," Batman shot back. "And I've had much worse. I've died before; didn't stop me."

'I also saved Scootaloo from the collapse of the in-between world that would have dragged her into the demon's plane,' the silver mare reminded him. Batman went silent for a minute before he responded.

"...Thank you. So why are you bothering me now?" he asked her. This time the mare went silent before answering, and her answer was something Batman had heard before.

'There is a darkness coming. Not to this land which has already defeated this darkness, but to a land that must be protected,' the mare said cryptically. 'And I will need the power of a certain knight to help defeat it.'

"You said a certain knight. Does that mean that you don't necessarily need me?" Batman asked with a hint of suspicion.

'No, I am speaking about your daughter, even though I thought to use you as well,' the silver mare replied as she watched Scootaloo and Pumpkin talk. But I thought that you should be informed because it is your daughter, and that the Element that you follow the closest flows through her. But know this. I cannot save this world without her.' Batman thought about what she was saying, used to being whisked away to fight someone else's battle for them. And he knew nothing about this mare or if she was telling the truth. Yet she had a certain calming quality about her, like the way people felt when they were around Superman.

"You said 'Element that flows through her,' but that I'm only close to it," Batman replied. "That means that she truly possesses its power."

'Correct, it does,' the silver mare responded. 'I just wanted to make sure that you were alright with her going into danger.'

"I live in a world with gods, demons and everything else in between. Danger is a part of the job," Batman responded as he began to walk towards Scootaloo, before turning to look at the mare. "But there will always be a need for vengeance and a Knight...and I have no doubt that she can handle anything you throw at her. She's my daughter after all." The silver mare smiled before she vanished as Batman walked over to Scootaloo, Pumpkin nodding her head at him as she backed away, giving him a chance to speak to her one last time.

"You need to go, don't you," Scootaloo said, already knowing his answer.

"I do. My world would fall apart without me if I were gone for too long. Plus, the League is probably already in trouble and need me to save them," Batman said with a smile as he looked down at Scootaloo, seeing himself in her. "Not to mention, there's the information about Lexcorp computers being in your land. I need to find out how Luthor was involved. But before I go, I just want you to know that I'm proud of you and who you've become. You're not me, and I never wanted you to become me, even if you wanted to. But I see that I didn't need to tell you that, because you figured it out on your own."

"I'm your daughter and that's all I'll ever need to be," Scootaloo said with a smile. Batman nodded and backed up, reaching in his belt for a smoke pellet. "Goodbye."

"Not goodbye. 'Til next time," he said before looking at Pumpkin. "Try listening to Scootaloo more. She really is a good teacher."

"I will," Pumpkin responded. Batman nodded and threw his smoke pellet into the ground. When the smoke cleared, he was gone.

"At least this time I got to say goodbye," Scootaloo said with a smile as Pumpkin hung her head a bit. But then both of them were startled by a blaze of pink that came to a stop beside them.

"WHERE IS HE?!" Pinkie roared into the sky, leaving Scootaloo to begin laughing, happier than she had been in a long time.

====--====

In the darkened streets of Mareiland, two ponies ran down the street with bags of bits in their hooves and a trail of blood following behind them, as well as ten members of the Royal Guard. The two of them raced as fast as they could for a ladder on the side of a building and quickly scaled it, racing across the rooftops as quickly as they could to escape the guards. The unicorn of the two used his spell to send out two copies of them down the side of the building, while the two real criminals escaped across the rooftops.

"I can't believe we escaped!" one of them said with a smile as he plopped the bag down and started to look at the loot.

"Keep your voice down! Somepony might hear us," his partner whispered.

"Yeah? Who's going to come after us?" the criminal asked as he started to count his money, before a grunt and a dragging sound came next to him. He spun to see that his partner was gone, leaving only his bag of money behind. The criminal got up and started to look around, his fears beginning to get the better of him. He screamed as his partner's broken body landed next to him and he started to look around everywhere.

"WHERE ARE YOU?!" he screamed as he backed up, his body going cold as he bumped into something behind him and he heard the word,

"Here."

And he let out one last scream before a black cape consumed him. Atop the rooftops a few minutes later, Batmare looked over the city with a small smile, thinking back on the past few days and how everything had changed. She felt like an idiot for thinking that Batman didn't care for her, but her fears did get the better of her from time to time. She also thought about how everypony's opinion of Trixie had changed as well, but Trixie had left before anypony could tell her that. Finally, there was her. She had to go through hell and nearly the end of the world to figure out who she wanted to be, but it had been worth it in the end.

'I am who I chose to be, not who I'm supposed to be,' she thought to herself as she looked to her flank where she knew no mark would ever be. 'And that's just the way it should be.' Then she heard a faint cry for help and dove off the building, heading off to save the day.

=====---======

One word. How could one word have changed her world so much? The silver mare could still hear the lightning that had followed a single word that had ripped her world apart, as she looked out the window across the barren landscape, remembering the heroes that had fallen on the battlefield that day to the alien. The tower she stood in was the only surviving building from the battle and was the only place that nopony came to anymore, so it was safe. At least, until he found her again.

'I must not dwell in the past,' she thought to herself as she shook her head clear of memories and walked back into the tower. 'I must focus on gathering the six heroes. I do not have much time.' In the center of the room sat six pedestals, four of which were empty but two held objects of great power. One was an armband that had a green radiation symbol in the center and the other was a crown with a golden bolt of lightning on it. But she walked past those two and instead looked at an empty pedestal, knowing what was coming. Just as she had expected, a swarm of bats materialized from the air and swarmed the pedestal, covering it completely for a moment. When they vanished, a necklace was left on the pedestal with a black bat symbol in the center of it.

'I knew that she would be able to find herself,' the silver mare said before she turned back to look out the window. 'But will I be able to find the other three before he finds me? Sister watch over me.'

Author's Note

Thanks to all who read this story, your next therapy session is on me. But I know that the real reason that you guys read this is to find out who I'm writing next, so here you go. The next story is going to be different in terms of character choice and source material, but it should still be good. For in the next story, daddy has arrived.