The stallion standing guard outside the back entrance to the bank looked around, his eyes shifting left and right as he nervously took another peek to the sky before his friend could notice. The guard wiped his eye brow and let out a small and shaky breath, his friend taking notice and scoffing in annoyance at his friend’s nervousness.
“Oh come on man, we’ve done this before! What do you think is going to happen? We’re completely fine! My boy made sure the cops have their attention to the other side of town if things go south, a’ight?” The stallion said, punching his partner lightly on the shoulder and chuckling, shifting the toothpick in his mouth with his teeth and leaning against the wall.
His partner swallowed a lump that was growing in his throat, his breathing becoming shakier as he tried to form words.
“Come on man! Stop being such a filly! What is it?” His partner said, trying to hide his annoyance but failing miserably.
“I-I’m keep-keeping m-my ey-eyes out.... F-For th-the B-B-Bat......” His partner said, lifting his hoof up and adjusting his hat rested firmly on his head, covering his mane.
“The Bat-Oh, come on! What we heard last night was bull, okay? Party Favor just fell from the walkway!” The other stallion said, rolling his eyes.
The Bat had only been in Trotham for almost a year and there were probably millions of rumors surrounding it. The stories of a giant, bat like creature running around Trotham had begun growing tiresome. Some of the rumors of the Bat were starting to sound ridiculous. A regular pony that was able to lift concrete off himself? A pony that could stand on its hind legs? A pony that, while on its hind legs, stood at over 10 feet tall? And the most ridiculous of all has to be the rumor that the Bat drinks pony blood.
“Th-That ain’t what I-I heard man... That ain’t wh-what I heard a-at all....” His partner said, backing up closer to the door and towards the safety of the light, “I-I heard the Bat got him and sucked his blood....”
The other stallion opened his mouth to say something, but as he did the back door to the bank flew open, knocking the other stallion forward and back to the darkness.
“Okay! Let’s go, now!” A stallion said, holding two duffel bags, lumpy from all the money inside.
The three stallions began taking off, turning to enter an alleyway and make their way to the rooftops, but they stopped once one of their partners started shaking crazily while on the ladder.
“Hey, what’s wrong with you?” The stallion carrying the duffel bags quietly shouted down to his quivering partner.
“I-I don’t think w-we should go up to t-the roo-rooftops m-man.... Th-The Bat m-might be up there....” The stallion said, causing his other partners to both scoff and roll their eyes.
“The Bat. Ain’t. Real!” His other partner said, taking his toothpick out with his magic and throwing it down to the shaking stallion, who made a short, shrill scream upon feeling the toothpick come in contact with his skin.
“Stop crying and come on! Now! Or you ain’t getting your cut of the money!” His other partner with the duffle bags said, continuing to scale up the ladder to the top.
The quivering stallion began thinking as both his partners abandoned him at the bottom of the ladder, his mind racing as he imagined both scenarios. He could go with them and possibly have all his limbs shattered by the Bat, with his blood being sucked from his body, or he could leave and go home. Maybe the Bat wouldn’t come after him then.
The stallion swallowed another lump that was forming in his throat, looking back up to his partners as they had gotten to the top, making the stallion’s fear and paranoia get even worse as he began climbing the ladder desperately after his friends.
Once he had reached the top of the ladder he saw his two friends sitting down, one counting out the many bits they had just scored from the bank while the other practically drooled over the sight of the pile of gold bits.
“Woah....” The stallion said, his fear and paranoia going away almost instantly upon the sight of the bits they had collected.
“Yeah, right? We definitely scored it big tonight boys. I figure there's gotta be at least a mil and a half here, easy!” The stallion counting said, laughing.
The other stallion wiped his mouth and chuckled, reaching into his pocket, taking out another toothpick which he placed in between his teeth as he laid back against a nearby air conditioner. “Yup boys, we’re definitely getting out of this trash of a city. Where would you guys like to vacation to? Maretropolis?”
“Maretropolis?” The stallion counting said, “Why would I want to go there? It’s full of pussies!”
“Alright,” The previously frightened stallion said, “What about Canterlot? Or Ponyville?”
“Both are full of pussies, but at least Canterlot and Ponyville have something worthwhile in each of them.” The stallion biting on a toothpick said, adjusting his hat with his magic to cover his eyes as he sighed.
“What the hell could be worthwhile in Ponyville?” The stallion counting said.
“Ponyville’s own Apple family has the best cider this side of Equus at this time of year.” His friend replied, chuckling slightly.
“Oh yeah! That Apple family’s famous apple cider! Man, my mouth waters just thinking about that stuff man!” Their previously frightened friend said.
“It’ll be a quick job. Easy, clean, done. Even easier with one of them missing. We’ll go in at the dead of ni-What was that?” The stallion with the toothpick shot up as soon as he heard soft pattering sounds coming from an unknown area. It seemed to have come from all directions, so it was impossible for him to make out exactly where it had come from.
“Yeah, I heard it too.”
Their friend began quivering again, it getting so bad they could see his flushed face go from its normal dirty brown color to a color of pure white that made him look like the Equestrian famous fashionista pony known as Rarity. “Th-The-The-The B-B-B-Bat........”
Both of his friends scoffed, but neither of them could deny they didn’t feel even a bit of fear.
“I-It’s not the Bat, man!” The stallion counting said, moving away from the money and to the edge of the building, looking up at taller buildings, down to the alley way, and anywhere else that he could see.
“Anything there?”
“No, I’m not seeing anything.” The stallion said, turning back, only to scream in fear as his body is thrown over the edge by something from behind.
The stallions screamed in fear upon seeing their comrade disappear over the edge of the building, both of them backing up shakily.
“I-It’s the Bat, man!!!” The most frightened said, his friend shaking so hard he couldn’t disagree with his friend.
The thought of the Bat coming and smashing their faces into the concrete below was enough to make their friend shake like there was an earthquake.
The one at the edge turned to his friend, but couldn’t get an word out before his friend screamed in terror, his body disappearing into the shadows of the night, leaving him all alone against the monster in the dark.
He quickly took out his small handgun from their duffel bag, grabbing the handgun swivel as well and struggling to place it on his back, the gun falling multiple times as he tried to place it on the swivel. Once he had succeeded he aimed it towards the shadows, firing off a round as he heard the sound of pattering from the shadows behind him.
“W-WHERE ARE YOU????” He shouted, backing away from his spot.
He had no time to react as he heard one word, one word uttered in a low, deep and clearly modified voice that would send chills down the spine of the most hardened criminal, the one word, ‘Here’ before his vision was obscured by pitch black darkness as he felt his hooves leave the ground.
His eyes opened and he groaned, his vision slowly returning as he regained consciousness only to see himself hanging upside down with the rest of his friends on a street lamp, surrounded by several ponies and Town Guards, all looking up at them and muttering to themselves.
The cave was dark, damp, and filled with the soft screeching of bats that were sleeping peacefully on the roof of the cave.
Amidst the group of sleeping bats a single bat woke, stretching its wings far and letting out a soft screech before it began climbing along the ceiling, passing by it’s sleeping companions, making its way to a slightly darker part of the cave before its eyes were assaulted by a bright light emanating from the other side of a doorway that had opened, a dark and tall silhouette on the other side of the doorway.
The bats on the roof screeched loudly at the bright light, all of them flipping over and flying deeper into the cave to escape the bright light as the silhouette walked on its two hind legs as it entered the cave, walking underneath the bats as they flew from the light, the intruder not bothered by the flying creatures above.
The intruder made its way to a large screen in a larger room, the screen above a large board of wide, hoof sized buttons that the intruder immediately began pushing when it arrived, taking the helmet off of it’s head and revealing its sweat drenched brown mane.
An elderly earth pony walked to the intruder, a small plate with a bowl rested on the elderly pony’s back, the bowl filled with a yellow liquid, steaming as the elderly pony rested the bowl on a nearby table.
“Do you have any injuries, master Mane?” The elderly pony asked.
“Huh? Uh, no, Duke. I’m fine.” The pony said.
“Well, Master Cobalt, if you need anything you know where to find me.” Duke said, nodding to Cobalt.
“Of course Duke.”
“Oh, and Master Mane? Do not forget you are expected to attend a party tomorrow.” Duke Bristle said, Cobalt occupied by the screen as he continued searching through the records of criminals, marking down all that he had captured that night.
“Of course Duke, I remember. How could I forget?” Cobalt said, not taking his eyes off the screen, much to Duke’s displeasure.
“Well I think it’d be a great thing for you to do if you were to arrive at the party early, taking a little time off of your nightly routines?”
“You know I can’t afford any more time than I have to Duk-”
“If you can’t do this for yourself, then do this for them, sir.” Duke said, walking out of the cave. Duke knew Cobalt well enough that the one thing he said, just him saying the word ‘them’ was enough to get Cobalt thinking, and Duke knew it.
As Duke left Cobalt leaned back, falling onto a chair he had often sat on during long times in the cave, and began remembering many years ago. Many years back before he became the watchful eye. The protector of Trotham. The Bat. The Dark Knight.
Young Cobalt Mane was just like any young colt, one looking for his place in the world. One who was looking for what he was meant to do with his life. But he soon found his answer in his father’s business. His father was a stallion who had raised his son with a love for ponykind.
Cobalt had adopted his father’s love for all ponykind, looking up to his father and watching, awe inspired, at how much his father loved all. He shared that trait with Princess Celestia, both of them having an immense love for the ponies of Equestria.
Cobalt could remember how large a friendship Cobalt’s father had with Princess Celestia, both of them meeting up as often as they could for tea and general chat.
Cobalt’s mother was a big fighter in the war against the abuse of Trotham’s children, sharing that same quality with Princess Celestia. She showed Cobalt as much love as a parent should show to her child, his father as well.
Both of them had raised Cobalt to believe in the good of ponies, raised him to love all of ponykind and to be a beacon of light to the ponies of Equestria. Cobalt often thought about what his parents would think of him now. A creature of the night, one who stalks the darkness and attacks the criminals of the city in the name of vengeance for his parents’ murder by an unknown criminal. A pony that could literally have been any criminal in all of Trotham.
Cobalt sighed deeply, letting out a breath he didn’t even notice he was holding in and shifting himself in his chair as his eyes traveled across the room, watching the group of bats soaring through the cave, desperately looking for another dark place to hide in.
Duke always got Cobalt to think about his parents, it was a surefire way Duke had to get Cobalt into public affairs, and now was no different. Duke often tried subtle ways to talk Cobalt out of his nightly rounds, scouring the rooftops in search for criminals, but Cobalt would always shoot him down.
Duke cared for Cobalt, he knew this, they both were the only family either of them had, but Duke would never be able to fully support Cobalt’s decision to combat crime each and every night, leaving Cobalt to a destructive lifestyle. What sane family member would support such a decision?
Cobalt groaned as he thought about the celebration tomorrow, being surrounded by rich nobles who thought they were the greatest thing to walk upon Equestrian soil after Celestia and Luna themselves.
There were only ever a hoofful of ponies at any of those parties truly worth knowing. And of course, on occasion, a certain mare from Ponyville.
Cobalt had met her before when he was a young colt, but the two of them never really clicked due to her always having her face shoved in books one goal that was too important to her, not letting any friends in, while Cobalt tried to be friends with the mare. When he had heard of her new status he couldn’t quite believe what he was being told. But, then again, ponies do change. He’d surely changed since his days as a young colt. So the two of them never spoke much, the last time being before he left Equestria to train.
And with that, Cobalt made his way up and began removing his suit. He placed the suit on the larger pony sized mannequin, staring intently at the bat emblem rested upon the suit’s chest, taking a while before snapping from his trance and exiting the caves and turning off the lights, much to the the bat’s delight. He then took the elevator up to his manor, where he’d travel through the hollow and empty halls until he came to his equally empty room to lay upon his bed and get some rest for tomorrow’s celebration.
He made his way to the kitchen for the first stop and started the sink, plugging it and dipping his tail in once it was full, washing off the black paint into the water, revealing its natural brown color. He sighed and ran a hoof through his mane, the same shade of light brown as his tail and fur, before he turned to the main room of the manor.
He yawned softly as he made his way to the manor’s steps, taking him upstairs as he climbed them, something he had noticed since he had become the Bat was that every voyage up the stairs of his manor seemed to take longer than the previous one.
When he reached his room Cobalt laid down on the bed with a soft groan, the soft and fluffy bed unable to fully comfort the stallion. He had already gotten much too used to the hard, wooden beds he had always slept on during his training.
Cobalt looked onto the crowd of ponies, seeing each of them raise their glasses and cheer at the somewhat joyous times that had befallen Equestria now. He would shrug the celebrations off, but he had a reputation as Cobalt Mane to keep up. His persona as the self-centered, playcolt, philanthropist needed to stay safe, so he mingled among the guests, drinking apple cider that he would lie was champange, laughing with the crowd, and putting on a smile for them all to see as they waited for the guest of honor to take the stage and make a speech.
Just as Cobalt began chatting with the pompous Blueblood the lights dimmed slightly, then went back to signify that the guest of honor was about to take the stage.
As Cobalt’s gaze turned his gaze to the stage as everypony there smiled at what they saw, while Cobalt maintained his composure, but was still highly curious at what he was seeing standing next to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, with Cadence and Shining Armor in the background. Shining Armor was notably, and strangely, still armored, making Cobalt wonder if they had suspicions of trouble arriving tonight.
Cobalt turned his attention back to Twilight, looking up at her horn, and then her wings. Or lack of, as both her horn and her wings were clearly missing, her horn reduced to a mere mark on her forehead and her wings just gone completely. Her face was bright and her lips formed a soft smile as she looked upon the crowd, but Cobalt couldn’t help but notice that Twilight’s eyes showed something different. Something that could be related to fear, exhaustion and anger.
She gave the crowd a little speech, thanking everypony for coming, and for their support for her in this time.
Twilight finished her speech and asked for questions, which there was sure to be an abundance of with what she had been through. A brown haired mare shot her arm up as high as she could without standing on her hind legs, Cobalt recognizing her instantly as the newsmare from Gotham who had interviewed him the day he had returned to Trotham from his training.
She asked Twilight about the new appearance in Equestria, and Twilight took a moment to respond, almost as though she were struggling to think of an answer.
“..... I am Iron Mare.” Twilight said after a short moment of stuttering.
The press began swarming Twilight as soon as she said that, all of them raising their microphones and getting their notepads out in a frantic attempt to get any information out of her.
Cobalt was somewhat taken back by this revelation, looking upon the lavender pony as she kept her eyes to the back of the room, smiling with a hint of a smug expression on her face. Twilight did have the money and the machinery capable to build a suit such as the one that the Iron Mare uses, and she did have the motivation, seeing as how the Iron Mare had been attacking groups of the Four Rings, up until recently.
Several minutes passed, feeing like hours, and the press finally died down and stopped their assault of questions on Twilight, allowing her teacher to finally take the stage and clear her throat.
“We all hope that you enjoy the party, if you wish to speak to Twilight, my sister or I, we shall be to the side, having a discussion with Twilight’s brother, Shining Armor, and his wife.” Celestia said, catching Cobalt’s attention.
Celestia stepped down from the stage and trotted to the side of the room, where her sister, Twilight, Shining Armor and his wife waited.
“So, what’s this about, Princess Celestia?” Twilight asked her teacher.
“My sister and I would like to tell Shining Armor that we are stationing him somewhere different than Canterlot.” Luna answered.
“Somewhere different? Where?” Twilight asked.
“A city that Shining Armor should be all too familiar with.” Celestia responded.
Shining’s eyes grew with his realization, “Wait… Do you mean… Trotham?” He asked.
The two princesses simply nodded in response.
“It’s been almost 20 years, why would you send me back there?” He then asked. The name of Trotham was feared throughout Equestria, as it had always been associated with crime, evil, and psychopaths of all kinds.
“The city is in desperate need of your help, Shining.” Luna replied, “crime runs rampant, gangs are now taking their violent meetings to broad daylight, and now with these rumors of a giant bat creature living in the city, the citizens need a good guard member to help them through this time.”
Shining stood in silence for a moment, remembering his past in the city, struggling with the corrupt guard who planted evidence as often as they could also make evidence disappear. Trying his hardest to get through to the citizens too scared to speak about whatever they had seen.
He had left the city when Celestia had promoted him to the Captain of the Royal Guard, he thought he was done with that corrupt and rotten city, but it seemed as though the city wasn’t done with him.
“We have booked passage on the train for you to head straight to Trotham first thing tomorrow. Good luck Shining, but be thankful for one thing, you won’t be doing this alone.” Celestia said.
Shining knew she had meant Cobalt Mane, the playstallion billionaire who calls Trotham his home. It was a strange day for Shining when Cobalt had returned to Trotham after several years of his disappearance. He had just figured Cobalt grew tired of the dark city, and had moved somewhere sunnier, but then there he was, smiles and all living in Trotham.
“Alright, I understand, Princess Celestia.” Shining replied.
The princesses nodded and turned, walking away to speak to the Council member, Fluer, who had an immensely irritated look on her face.
“Don’t worry, love. I’m sure the city can’t be worse than how it was.” Cadence said, placing her hoof on her husband’s shoulder.
“I left that city a week after a Cobalt’s parents were murdered in a dark alley. And now its had nearly 20 years to fester and rot even more. I appreciate it sweetie, but I’m afraid the city may be worse.” Shining replied.
“Well if there’s any member of the Royal Guard who can help the city, it’s you, big brother.” Twilight said, smiling.
Shining nodded and smiled back, and his sister went off to enjoy the rest of the party.
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t Shining Armor.” Shining heard a voice he knew all to well, and turned to see just who he thought it was, Cobalt Mane.
“Cobalt! You’re here?” Shining said.
“Well of course, why wouldn’t I be? The return of Twilight Sparkle is a momentous occasion. I’m surprised more ponies hadn’t come.” Cobalt replied, smiling warmly and holding his hoof out.
Shining raised his own hoof and bumped it into Cobalt’s, smiling back.
“And this must be your wife, Princess Cadence.” Cobalt then said, turning to Cadence and raising his hoof again.
“Yes, it is a pleasure to meet you, Cobalt.” Cadence said, bumping her hoof into Cobalt’s as well.
“The feeling is mutual. So Shining, you seem troubled. Is something the matter?”
“Oh, well... The Princesses have moved me, I’m to leave Canterlot tomorrow to be stationed at Trotham.” Shining replied, leaving his thoughts behind for a moment.
“Well, allow me to be the first one to welcome you to my humble city.” Cobalt said, lifting his drink slightly as a toast to Shining.
“A ‘humble’ city? Are you sure we’re talking about the same city here?” Shining said.
“Trotham has it’s problems, yes. But it is still a great city. Do not let the murky exterior delude you from this.” Cobalt replied, already used to the negative comments about his city.
“Well I hope you’re right Cobalt, I really do.” Shining said, still not fully sure if he believes Cobalt’s words or not.
“Ahhh! There he is! Cobalt Mane! The playstallion of Equestria, and the Son of Trotham!” Cobalt instantly recognized the voice, and he could feel his blood begin to boil and his body beginning to tense up.
He turned and he was right, seeing a stallion of brown fur, black mane, and green eyes trotting towards him. His mane was made into a wavy style to the left, and his eyes were focused on Cobalt alone, as if Shining Armor and Cadence weren’t even there. His white suit held a rose next to his heart, and he wore a wide grin.
“Romano Stallionis.” Cobalt said, turning to the stallion.
“It’s good to see you here, Cobalt. Then we can both join everypoony else in rejoicing over Twilight Sparkle’s joyous return to Equestria.” Romano said, raising his hoof towards Cobalt.
“Yes, it is good that Twilight was able to return safely. Well, as safe as she can be with her new career choice.” Cobalt said, leaving his hooves planted firmly onto the ground.
“Hmph, I expected better manners from the child of the Mane’s.” Romano said, lowering his hoof and turning to Shining, “so, I see you’re distraught. What’s bothering you?”
“Oh, nothing much. It’s just that Princess Celestia and Luna are moving me back to Trotham after nearly 20 years.” Shining replied.
“Trotham?! Well that’s good, we could use more guard. If you ever need anything, then just know that you can always count on me to help you out.” Romano said, smiling and holding his hoof out.
“Thank you, Romano.” Shining said, smiling back and bumping his hoof against Romano’s.
Romano took one last look to Cobalt, smiling still, and then trotted away. Cobalt kept his soft smile, but his eyes continued glaring towards Romano, his eyes trained on him as he walked away.
“What are you planning, Romano?” Cobalt wondered.
Shining hugged his wife tightly as the train opened its doors, passengers from all over Equestria stepping off.
“I wish I could go with you, Shining. But the Crystal Empire needs me. I’ll make sure to write everyday, and you write back too, okay?” Cadence said, hugging her husband tighter.
“Yes, love, of course I will.” Shining said, finding it harder to breath as Cadence tightened her embrace.
Cadence released her hold on him and gently pressed her lips against his, giving him a kiss goodbye before he went off towards the train.
The train ride to Trotham was long, and Shining could swear that the closer he got to Trotham the darker the colors of the world got. The clouds grew in numbers, allowing less sunlight through, and the train ride seemed to feel bumpier. Most everybody had gotten off the train at previous stops, leaving Shining alone with just himself and a young filly with her mother. The filly was playing with her toy plane, while her mother looked out the window, her body tensing up as they got closer to the city.
The train screeched to a stop as it arrived at the Trotham train station, and a whole group of people quickly gathered onto the train, pushing Shining out of the way, nearly causing him to become trapped in the train as it went to its next stop.
Shining quickly looked around and immediately wished he had been transferred somewhere else. There was countless wrappers, papers, cups and food containers all over the floor, sometimes they were empty. He counted at least 4 rats running around as he stepped off, and about 2 ponies dressed in torn up clothing sleeping on the benches, hugging themselves tightly to conserve warmth.
“Ugh... This is the Trotham that I’m glad I escaped...” He thought to himself, and he started feeling his pockets, getting a sneaking suspicion something may not be there.
When he was finished he grabbed his bag and continued outside of the train station, there he could see the city. It was a city that one would mistake for an honest city, one full of hardworking ponies. But the truth was that anypony would try to swindle a homeless mare struggling to feed her children any day of the week.
Shining saw an automatic carriage pull up to him, and stop, the door opening to reveal a stallion in police attire at the driver’s seat. “Get in.” He simply said, chewing on his hayburger still.
Shining put his stuff in the back seat and climbed into the passenger side, the car already half way down the road before Shining had the opportunity to shut the door.
“So, they finally decided to push you back into our own little corner of Tartarus, did they?” The officer said, driving through traffic, turning his police siren on as he drove. The cop went at a quick speed, going faster whenever he saw a single yellow light in his path.
“U-Uh... Yeah. I didn’t expect them to put me back here... It’s been almost 20 years.” Shining replied, holding onto the chicken strap with dear life as the cop made a sharp turn.
“Well hopefully you know that the city hasn’t been quiet without ya. It’s gotten a lot more exciting. Especially with that giant freak running around at night.” The cop said, taking a bite from his hayburger.
“Ugh... But that thing’s just a myth, right? It’s just a legend.” Shining replied.
“No, no, it’s real alright. Me and my partner found it once, just sitting on a gargoyle on the rooftop of a building we chased it through. It’s fast, giant, and damn creepy.” The cop said, “and the commander of our station, the stallion you replaced, was working on getting him captured at all costs.”
“Well... I just hope I can-WHOA!” Shining lunged forward as the car screeched to a stop.
“Well looks like we’re here. Now get out, I gotta head on over to the burger joint and get me some more hayburgers.” The cop said, finishing his last piece of his hayburger.
Shining tried to calm his heartbeat down as he grabbed his luggage, pulling it out of the carriage and onto the ground, where he looked up to see the familiar sight of the TCGD, still with barely any cops leaving unless it was simply to visit the coffee shop next door.
The smell of the city hadn’t gotten any better, nor did the sick look of it all. Shining sighed deeply and took a step forward, hearing a sick squish under his hoof and sighed again, moving his hoof away to see a hayburger under him, the condiments from the inside covering the bottom of his hoof. “... Faust dammit.”
Shining leaned back in his chair, looking around his new office. Surprisingly it was in much better condition than the rest of the station, which was still littered and covered in muck. The greasy walls were nowhere to be found in this office, instead it appeared that this room was the only one that had been given any care when it came to cleaning. Shining looked closer to the wooden desk and he could see small scratch marks on it, along with a large stain.
“Well no room can be perfect.” He said, opening his suitcase and beginning to settle in. He took out a small frame with a picture inside of him and his family all together, his wife to his left in his arms, kissing his cheek, while his sister was to his right smiling widely to the camera. His parents each had soft smiles, looking like the most calm members of a crazy family. Which they probably were.
Shining put the photo on his desk facing him, and continued to unpack as he heard a knock at the door.
“Come in!” Shining said as he removed a mug saying, “world’s best big brother”.
A large pony then stepped inside, wearing a large, brown coat and a brown hat. His growing beard suggested that he hadn’t shaved in several days, and the smell he brought with him indicated he was a heavy drinker. His eyes lazily looked around the room, then focused back on Shining as he dug through his suitcase.
“Shining. Armor,” the stallion said, “I’ll admit I didn’t think they were telling the truth here. I told them ‘no way was Shining coming back to our little shit stain of a city. But here you are, back in hell with the rest of us, brought here by the princesses to eternal damnation.”
Shining wrinkled his nose at the stallion’s swears, and then looked up from his suitcase, seeing the stallion and instantly recognized him. “Hayve Bullhorns. Heh... Still as vulgar as ever, I see.”
“Some things never change. Unlike you, with your new royal bride, status and new shiny armor. But now look at you! Put back in Trotham City. Probably the princess’ attempt to ‘rid Trotham of its impurities’, am I right?”
Shining let out a sigh, “I came back Hayv, and I better not find out you’ve still been taking criminal’s money to keep your lips sealed.”
“Hey, hey! I’m innocent! You can practically see my golden halo floating above my head!” Hayve said, chuckling.
“Oh, you mean that ring above your head made of copper, rust and mold? Heh... You’re right. Some things never change.” Shining smirked.
“Ha! Well... It’s good to have you back, Shining. This place was getting bored without you. But then you took the case of that bank robber that nobody could catch and you cracked it wide open! You caught that son of a bitch as he was leaving the bank!” Hayve let out a laugh as he remembered the moment.
“Heh. Yeah, and I still remember the face you made when you saw him pull out a KITE to escape us!” Shining replied.
“And yet we still caught him, and now he sits in Blackgate Prison, wishing he had pulled out an umbrella instead!” Hayve continued laughing, remembering the days of the past he had as Shining’s partner. Shining joined in on the moment of laughter, but it slowly died down.
“Yeah... And then you were offered a higher rank over in Manehatten, and you accepted. Then you kept moving up until you got to be the captain of the Royal Guard in Canterlot. But then, it all came right back to dragging you back here.” Hayve said as his laughter went away.
Shining remained silent for a moment, “how’s Cobalt Mane been doing recently? I’ve heard that Mane Enterprises has been doing some incredible things recently.”
“Cobalt definitely took after his parents, I’ll tell you that. The guy’s been donating millions to charities all across the city, he recently made a program that’s going to clean the trash off the streets of the city that’s supposed to start at the end of the week, and much more. Shit, he’s even been spending money on having Blackgate Prison and Arkham Asylum cleaned up!” Hayve said.
“Well that’s good. I’m sure his parents would be proud of the man he’s turned out to be.” Shining replied.
“Ehh... He’s still a playstallion, Shining. And the man drinks heavily at the parties he throws.” Hayve said.
“Well I’m sure they would still be proud of all the good he’s doing.”
“Eh, I guess.” Hayve replied, “anyways, I just stopped by to welcome you back to Trotham. But I’ve gotta get going. I’m currently working on a case and I was just given a clue as to where I can find something that can help.”
“Oh, well alright Hayve. I’ll see you later then, good luck on the case.” Shining replied.
“Thanks. And see you later!” Hayve stood up and trotted towards the door, exiting the room and allowing Shining to continue setting up his new office.
A few minutes later another knock was heard on his door.
“Come in!” Shining said.
A young stallion walked inside then, trotting towards the door with a large box of donuts in his hoof.
“Here you go sir, a little welcome back present from everypony here.”
Shining smiled and opened the box, seeing two donuts inside, one of them with a big chunk taken out of it.
“Oh... Uh... Thanks? I’ll... Just put this somewhere to eat it later.” Shining said, pushing the box to the side of his desk.
“You’re welcome, sir. Is there anything else you need?”
Shining was about to reply ‘no’ to the young stallion, but then stopped and asked something else. “Can you tell me where Hayve went for his case he’s working on? I think I’m going to go out and help him. Just for old time’s sake.”
“C-Case, sir?” The stallion replied, confused.
“Yes, what’s his case?”
“Hayve isn’t working on a case. He hasn’t worked on a case in at least 4 weeks.” The stallion replied.
Shining’s eyes grew wide, and he then grit his teeth. “Hayve you little... Hey, I’ll be back! I’m going out!”
Shining grabbed his coat and ran out the doors of the precinct, sprinting towards a guard cruiser and jumping inside, starting it, and driving off. “You better not be at the docks... You better not be at the docks!”
Hayve stopped his cruiser at the docks, in the usual spot in front of three large warehouses, overlooking the Trotham bay. He turned the cruiser off and waited, eating a donut as he got out his DragonFireDroid, reading a text.
Meet me and my guys at the docks. No guns. Just business.
Half an hour later two black cars showed up, and Hayve stepped out of his car as the doors on them opened. Several large stallions in black stepped out, including a mare with glasses, long brown hair and a stern look directed towards Hayve.
Then behind her, a stallion stepped out dressed in a white suit, black shoes, and an black skull mask over his face.
“Ahh! Hayve! How are you doing today, my friend?” The stallion said.
“I’m doing fine, Mr. Stallionis. And I assume you found out the news at the party celebrating Twilight Sparkle’s return?”
“Yes, yes, yes. I have. Shining Armor has returned to Trotham. Well, I think it’s time to enlist your services again, Mr Bullhorns.”
A couple of Stallionis’ men let out a soft chuckle as he said Hayve’s name.
“As in... Kill Shining?” Hayve said.
“No, no! Well... Maybe. I like you Hayve. And I want to give this a chance. So I want to meet Shining. He and I met at the party, but we didn’t really get the chance to talk business. So now that he’s here, we can finally try to see if there can be an agreement between us.” Stallionis said.
“It won’t be easy, Stallionis. You know how hard it was for any criminal back then to pay him off.” Hayve said.
“Well if he doesn’t see the benefits of cooperating with us... Then you know what to do with him.” Stallionis said.
Just then, a loud screech was heard behind Hayve, and they turned to find what had made the noise, seeing another guard cruiser pulling up.
Shining armor swung the door open and jumped out, a look of anger on his face. “Hayve! What the heck are you doing here?!”
“Shining?! What-What are YOU doing here?!”
“Ah! Speak of Tirek and he shall appear!” Stallionis said, “we were just talking about you, Shining Armor.”
“Oh yeah? What about me?” He said, trotting to Hayve, his look of anger unwavering.
“We were just discussing the possibility of a mutual partnership. We know things have been rocky in the past, but we’re willing to set aside our differences to work together for the pure benefit of Trotham City.”
“So I was right,” Shining said, seemingly ignoring Stallionis’ offer, “you’re still taking criminal’s money! Hayve, what’s wrong with you??”
“Come on Shining, don’t be dense! Sometimes we need to do something bad to do something good! We can’t-”
One of Stallionis’ men cleared his throat loudly, everypony then turning their attention to him. As everypony watched him, he simply nodded out towards the bay.
Everypony turned to see the red and orange of the sunset on the water and the sky. It was a beautiful sight that Stallionis would have stayed around to enjoy, but as he saw the sun setting his heart sunk.
“Hayve. Shining. We’ll continue this conversation at a later date. But for now, I have another business deal I need to settle with the old Commissioner of the Guard here in Trotham that Shining replaced.” He said, his men and assistant turning to enter the car.
“Wait, what?? You’re not going anywhere! You’re coming with me for bribing an officer!” Shining said.
“Oh really? And what’s your proof?” He replied, smirking as he entered the car.
“You just said it, and I have Hayve as a witness!”
“And are you really sure that everypony else will believe your story?” Stallionis said, turning to Shining, smirking still, and then entering the car.
The cars started and drove off, leaving Hayve and Shining alone at the docks.
“... Hayve, I can’t believe you’re STILL-”
“Hey, you can be mad all you want, but be mad at the precinct, okay? Because I don’t want to be out at night any more than Stallionis and his men don’t.”
“Why?? What’s so bad about the night?!” Shining asked, his anger still visible.
“Because night in Trotham is the time when The Bat rules the streets. So unless you want to have your bones broken, then I suggest you come with me back, okay?”
Shining had heard of The Bat, of course. Everypony has. Even in Canterlot and Ponyville, rumors of a flying monster dressed in black, standing on it’s hind legs at 8 or 9 feet tall, and with pure white eyes that stare directly into your being and burn your soul. This creature had been attacking ponies since it showed up, and terrorizing the city. So Shining knew what his first act as the commissioner of the Trotham Guard will be.
“No. We’re going to stay out. And I’m going to send more Guard out onto the streets. We’re going to catch this creature, and stop its reign of terror on this city.”
“S-Shining?? Did you not hear me?? The Bat won’t hesitate to attack you, okay?? I don’t know if you’ve heard of it before in Canterlot, but I suggest you come back with me and stay in the precinct while the night is going on!” Hayve said.
“No! We’re staying out, I’m sending more guards, and we’re going to capture this creature! And that’s the end of that!” Shining snapped, turning back to his cruiser and driving away back to the precinct to send out more Guards.
Cobalt leaned back in his chair, the chair creaking softly as he does, and the bats above him on the roof of the cave squeaking softly.
Some light shone from his right side as the elevator opened, and an elderly pony trotted out, who Cobalt knew was Duke. “Ready for your nightly rounds, Master Mane?”
Cobalt pressed a few keys on his keyboard, and all the files on his computer closed, being put into a folder where Duke can access them easily if needed and the stallion stands up, his suit tightening as he stands on his hind legs, picking up his helmet from a nearby table and putting it on.
Cobalt walked to the large aircraft vehicle, jumping inside and starting it, slowly lifting it up off the ground.
“Shall I make a sandwich for you, sir?” Duke said.
Cobalt didn’t respond, but merely drove the aircraft forward, flying through the tunnels of the cave before finally emerging outside.
“Duke, give me a full rundown of what’s happened.” Cobalt said through his altered voice his helmet gives him.
“Romanos Stallionis has paid a visit to Blackgate Prison earlier today, just before the night. And he brought the old commissioner of the Trotham City guard with him. Apparently Stallionis has plans for him.” Duke replied through the communication device, looking through the files on the BatComputer back at the cave.
“Hmm... I’m nearing Blackgate now. I’ll get in and put a stop to whatever Romanos has planned.” Cobalt pushed the eject button on the console in the jet and he was sent flying into the air upwards, only to fall downward.
He allowed himself to fall before he opened his cape, lifting himself up and allowing him to slowly glide through the cold, night air. The snow had begun going down harder now, clouding his view, but he could still see the spotlights assaulting the night sky as they went back and forth, searching the sky.
Cobalt continued to glide down, before he flipped his body to land onto the snowy ground, inside one of the small prison yards in Blackgate, the entrance wide open, with the sound of gunshots and screaming inside.
He quickly got up and ran inside, running through the halls of the prison, the sound of gunshots getting louder, but the sound of somepony being beaten was even closer. He turned the corner and could see the hall entered to a room, where a group of ponies wearing black masks and white or black suits were beating somepony.
Cobalt tensed himself and grit his teeth, slowly walking to the room, and his shadow slowly grew. His shadow reached the room and was covering the ponies, who turned to see what was blocking the light, only to see Cobalt standing there, his white eyes the only thing they could see on his dark silhouette.
“AH! W-WHAT THE HELL IS THAT??” One of them yelled.
“Don’t matter! Shoot it! Shoot it!” Another said, all of them readying their firearms.
Cobalt threw two batarangs, each stabbing into two of the ponies’ hooves, stopping them from firing, and he threw a small, circular device at the gun of another, causing his weapon to jam. He sprinted towards the group at full speed, jumping up as his cape spread out, then covering the body of one of them.
He quickly jumped to the right, sending his right hoof directly towards the jaw of another, then quickly spinning and sending his back hoof flying towards one of their leg, shattering it and leaving them on the ground in pain.
Another yelled as they charged at him from behind, but Cobalt quickly jumped out of the way behind them. He got out his grapnel gun and fired towards a bench behind him, then he pushed a button on his grapnel gun and sent the bench flying past him, slamming into the pony.
The pony that was being beat looked up from their fetal position, his cheeks stained as he cried. He saw the ponies around him, each groaning in pain, one of them passed out, and then they turned to see Cobalt’s shadowy frame.
“Are you okay?” The Bat asked.
“Y-Yeah... O-Oh dear Faust... Please don’t hurt me!” He said, holding up an arm to cover himself.
“Relax. I’m not here to hurt you. I want to know what happened here. How did this all start?” Batman asked.
“I... It happened so fast. First... First Romanos Stallionis showed up with the former commissioner, and... And then all of a sudden he shot one of the guards here! Then his men began pouring in through every entrance! Hell, even some of the guards here revealed themselves to be working with him!” The stallion replied.
“Do you know where Stallionis went?” Batman asked.
“O-Of course! He went through that door,” the stallion pointed to a large double door, “it leads to the west wing. Where we have a big theater room. We usually use it for big announcements to the staff here. I don’t know what Stallionis would want to do there though.”
“He’s going to send a message.” Batman said, turning and walking to the double doors, opening them, and continuing to run through the halls.
Batman ran through the halls, finding no short supply of Stallionis’ workers attacking guard members, and sometimes even prisoners. He took them all down.
“Well, well, well. Look who it is. The rat that nearly fucked this up for us.” One member of Stallionis’ gang said.
“I-I-I’m sorry!” The guard said.
“No, no, no. You don’t GET to be sorry! ... At least... Not yet anyways. You see... My boss likes to get his revenge when he’s betrayed. But right now, he’s left that to me, because he’s got much more important things going on. So until then, you’re stuck with me.” The gang member said, “and oooohhh, do I have some fun things planned.”
Batman was above the stallion, then he dropped down, knocking him onto the ground hard, immediately knocking him out.
“T-T-The Bat??? W-What are you doing here?!” The guard asked.
“Stopping Stallionis.” He simply replied.
“I-It’ll be tough, man! He-He’s got something up his sleeve!”
“So do I.” Batman said, walking away.
He continued walking down the long hall, finding a large set of double doors. Leaning against the door helped him hear a large group of people talking inside.
Stallionis must be in there. He thought, looking up to see a vent above. And that looks big enough to fit me... Good. I can use the advantage.
He got out his grapnel gun and fired at the vent, grabbing on, and he tugged down hard, knocking the grate off the wall, allowing him to use his grapnel gun again to climb inside.
He crawled through the tight, small vent, the noise of chatter getting louder as it was shown below him. He then found another grate and looked through it, seeing he was in the theater room, high up above the crowd. He gently pushed on the grate, grabbing it before it fell, and putting it on top of the ventilation pipe, then climbing on top.
He looked around, seeing nearly every single pony in the room had been armed well, so a head on attack was out of the question. He turned to the stage and saw Stallionis walking out, the former commissioner behind him, being dragged by Stallionis himself.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Stallionis’ voice boomed through the room, commanding silence from everypony there as they all turned their gazes towards the stage. “isn’t this just truly the most wonderful time of the year??”
The crowd gave an approving cheer, Stallionis raising his hand up to make the room silent again.
“Thanks to me you are all free to leave! Free to make this city yours! Free to do whatever it is you please!” The crowd cheered again, but Stallionis simply let the moment pass, allowing them their fun, “and now, we have the former commissioner right here! Ready to face for his crimes against you!”
“W-Why are you doing this, Stallionis??” The former commissioner asked, “haven’t I always helped you?!”
“Oh yes... You have. But unfortunately for you the world is changing. Trotham... Is changing. And you’re just not set in this new world.” Stallionis said.
“W-What?? Why not??”
“But, we have somepony who challenges your freedom! Who challenges ME!” Stallionis said, ignoring the former commissioner, “and he goes by the name of BATMAN!”
The crowd immediately started to get tense as Stallionis said his name.
“And we are ALL going to show this “Batman” just what happens when you mess with Romanos Stallionis!”
The crowd cheered and Romanos turned, nodding to somebody back-stage, and the curtains behind him began parting.
The crowd immediately went quiet as they saw what was there, and Batman could barely believe his own eyes.
“This, everyone... Is somepony who has been harmed by Trotham’s poison! Somepony who is very valuable, but treated like garbage! THIS... Is somepony I like to call... KILLER CROC!”
The green giant roared as his name was sounded, everypony remaining quiet as he stepped out of the shadows. He had to have been 9 or 10 feet tall. He was a giant. He had no fur, or skin, just green crocodile scales, with spikes along his spine. He had appendages on his hands much like a dragon or Minotaur. He wore long, black and torn clothes on his bottom half, and he had a stench of swamp and fish.
“Say hello to Killer Croc, everypony!” Stallionis said, the entire crowd nervously saying ‘hello Killer Croc’.
Stallionis pointed to the former commissioner and continued, “this man has harmed Killer Croc’s home! And I am glad to announce that Killer Croc has agreed to work with us! As long as we let him have his revenge. So everypony with a weak stomach, I will give you a moment to leave the room. Because this is going to get pretty nasty!” Stallionis said with a chuckle.
Stallionis waited a full minute before turning to Killer Croc, “go at him.”
Killer Croc smiled and roared, grabbing the former commissioner and lifted him up, grabbing onto his other half with his other hand, and pulling hard. The entire crowd let out a gasp, a large portion of them throwing up as a loud ripping sound was heard, with the sound of blood splashing against the floor, with munching sounds coming from Killer Croc.
This went on for five whole minutes before it stopped, and the former commissioner was completely gone, Killer Croc completely covered in his blood.
“Enjoy the meal, Croc?” Stallionis said.
Croc just growled in reply, which seemed good enough to Romanos.
“Now, I hope you’re all as happy as I am to have such a beast with us, helping our organization out and such. Because if you’re not... Then I guess you’ll get to see what it’s like to not be Croc’s friend.” Stallionis said.
The crowd went completely silent after that, and Stallionis chuckled. “But I’m glad we can all be on the same page! Because there are big things coming up! And I’m sure that Batman would absolutely love to meet Croc! It’d be a meeting... To die for.” Stallionis chuckled darkly as he turned and walked away, Croc following him as one of Stallionis’ men gave him a large pile of towels.
Batman watched as the group slowly left the room, and he turned on his communicator. “Duke. Send an tip to the TCPD telling them to hurry over to Blackgate. And tell them to bring a lot of men.”
“An anonymous tip, then. Very well, sir. I’ll see to it at once.” Duke replied.
Batman jumped down as the last of the large crowd was gone, using his cape to slowly glide down to safety. He turned and ran to the stage, past the large pool of blood, and continued to where Stallionis and Croc had gone.
He burst through large doors, and could hear Croc’s growling from up above, at the top of the staircase. Batman quickly sprinted up as fast as he could up the stairs, following the stench of fish and blood, it growing stronger as he gets higher.
Romanos stepped onto the helicopter, turning to Croc, who was stopped, sniffing the air in the giant room they were in. There were stone walls on all sides, with one having a giant door that leads inside. Another side had a door that led to the outside world. The roof was gone, allowing the snow to fall in.
“Come on! We gotta get back!” He said.
“No! You go on ahead... I’ve got something...” Croc said, waving off the helicopters.
“Ugh... Fine! Kill one last cop and hurry back! Call when you’re done with your meal!” Stallionis said.
Stallionis’ guard closed the helicopter door, and it flew away, the second helicopter flying after it. Croc stayed where he was and sniffed the air still, looking around like a dog that had caught a scent.
Batman landed behind him quietly, but Croc simply said, “thought I caught your scent.”
“And I caught yours.” Batman replied.
Croc roared and turned around, swiping at Batman, who jumped back to avoid the attack. He threw three batarangs at the monstrous beast, each of them just bouncing off his scaly skin.
Batman jumped to the giant and kicked his jaw, sending him flying back, but not before he grabbed onto Batman’s leg, slamming him down onto the ground. He then lifted him up, and brought him to his agape mouth.
Batman grabbed onto both jaws and pushed away as hard as he could, but he was slowly inching closer. He punched the creature hard, but it only seemed to make he angrier, and he growled louder, gnashing his teeth.
Batman let out another punch to his face, knocking him back, allowing Batman to let out a hard kick to his gut, followed by many more. He kept up his assault on the creature, which just threw him back as retaliation.
Batman landed on his hind feet, looking up to the creature as he ran towards him, roaring loudly. He removed his grapnel gun and fired upwards, attaching to a gargoyle up above them. He flew up high, Croc not being able to stop himself before he smashed into the wall ahead of him.
Batman landed behind him, and turned, throwing another batarang at Croc. This one stuck in him, then releasing volts of electricity into him. The monster roared in pain from the shocks, and reached back to try and tear the batarang out, but was unable to reach it.
Batman took this opportunity to run forward, jumping up and kicking the monster hard into the wall, then punching him in the kidneys.
The creature growled softly as it fell slowly, and Batman panted softly. He then grabbed the creature’s head and slammed it into the wall.
“Why did Stallionis murder the former guard commissioner??” He roared.
Croc merely laughed Batman’s comment aside.
“You’ll have more important things to worry about than that when Black Mask’s through with you! Because he won’t stand for you anymore!” Croc simply said.
“You want teeth, I WANT ANSWERS!” Batman screamed, slamming the creature’s face against the wall a few more times.
Croc merely laughed softly before he slowly passed out.
“Dammit... Batman said, letting go of Croc and letting him slowly fall. “Just what exactly happened to this guy to make him like this”
That’s when he heart footsteps from behind him, and turned to see members of the guard pouring inside the small area, all of them focused on Batman and Croc’s unconscious body. And at the front of them, he saw the new commissioner, Shining Armor.
“Halt right there! You! Monster! You’re under arrest for breaking and entering and assault! Now put your hands in the air and come quietly!” Shining said, using his magical grasp to aim his handgun at Batman.
Batman simply looked around and analyzed each officer, checking the area for any way to escape, and he found none. “Duke,” he whispered softly.
“Sir? Why are you whispering?” Duke replied, “has something happened??”
“Bring the car to me. Batman simply replied with.
“Right away sir! It’s going off right now!” Duke answered.
Batman then continued his gaze towards the guards as several of them broke apart from the main group to check inside the prison by Shining’s orders.
“So,” Shining eventually said, breaking the silence, “you gonna put your hands in the air?”
“Are you going to lower the gun?” Batman replied.
“You know, I’m kind of wondering just what has to happen to somepony to inspire them to dress up as a BAT of all things, and run around the streets, beating everypony up.” Shining said.
Batman’s eyes narrowed, and the loud sound of an engine was heard from a distance, causing a slight smirk to appear on his face.
The car made a loud screech as it stopped in front of the doors to enter the area that Batman and the guards were, the area that led to Blackgate. Batman reached back slowly, pulling out his grapnel gun, aiming up and firing it.
The grapnel attached itself to the top of the wall, and it pulled him up quick, the guard immediately opening fire on him as he went away.
“No! Cease fire, cease fire!” Shining yelled, activating his trottie-talkie, “we’ve got The Bat here! I repeat, we have The Bat! He’s escaping Blackgate right now! Get any available unit sent down here right now!”
Batman flew by the top of the wall and fell down, using his cape to slow down his descent to a safe speed as soon as he was directly above it. He sat down in the car and the doors closed. The engine roared to life as it started, and he backed it up. He then shifted the gear and the car drove off quickly down the winding road away from Blackgate.
As Batman drove away, he could look up in the sky and see a small dot in the sky. Two dots. And he knew that one of them was Romanos Stallionis.
Shining sighed as he lowered his gun, putting it back into its holster. He then turned to look at the green, scaly monstrosity leaning against the monster. “... Oh my Faust. What... What is it??”
Hayve turned to look at Croc, but merely shrugged. “Welcome back to Trotham City, Shining Armor.” He replied.
