The Magic of Friendship, Love, and Guns

NO POV. SAME TIME

When the explosion hit everything went dark. The mane 6, the Princesses, and Spike all looked around the dark, empty void.

"W-Where are we?" Twilight asked out loud

"Nothing could have survived that explosion, and since this is the mind of Jason, and there is nothing here that only means..." Celestia said as she was shocked to discover that Jason... Had died. Really died. The others all gasped at this realization, to be killed in such a way was just brutal. Suddenly they all heard screaming and the scene changed to some sort of cave with a pool of green liquid. They saw... Jason?! Jason was wrapped around in bandages like a mummy and was screaming. The others saw two men wearing red robes, a woman with long brown hair in a black skin tight suit, and a man with a goatee wearing a black suit with a green cape. Jason screamed as he ran out of the pool, the two men tried to stop him but Jason snapped one of their necks and then shoved his thumbs into the other one's eye sockets. Rainbow Dash flew over and touched him

"Rage and fear. That was all i felt when i came back to life. My mind was hazy but i could still remember things from my life, mostly just Batman and the Joker. Fun fact, coming back to life hurts a lot more than dying." Red Hood said. The resurrected Jason Todd started to climb the rocks of the strange cave and ran out. The others followed him out until he then jumped out of a window, watching as he fell down high off what appears to be a mountain down to a river below. Fluttershy looked away

"H-H-He died and.... Came back to life?!" Spike shouted out in complete disbelief

"Such a thing is unheard of." Celestia said as her mind was still processing everything, never seeing or even hearing of things like this before in all her years of life. Everything changed once more and they found Jason, now appearing to be normal, standing in a room with the woman from before. Luna touched the woman

"Talia al Ghul. Daughter of the Demon. And one deadly bitch, although i guess i should be a bit thankful to her. She helped me regain my sanity and helped train me in order to seek revenge. Letting me train with masters from all over the world, even helping me with my plans." Red Hood said.

"If you want revenge then you must do more than just kill them. You must take what is important to them. Important to both of them." Talia told Jason, Jason walked over to something that was covered in a white sheet

"Gotham." Jason said as he pulled down the white sheet to reveal a glass case with a suit of advanced combat armor. Jason opened it and grabbed the blue helmet "I'll need an army." Jason said as he stared at the helmet. Fluttershy touched Jason shyly

"I never forgave Batman for not only leaving me and replacing me, but because he let the Joker live. He was no protector, he was a fraud. And i was going to show the world that he is not the great hero they think he is. Get ready Batman, because the Arkham Knight... Is coming for you." Red Hood said

"The Arkham Knight?" Fluttershy asked out loud

"This... He was a... Supervillain?" Spike asked out loud as he saw Jason lift up the helmet. The scene changed once more and now they found themselves with Jason, now wearing that suit from earlier with the helmet on, standing in front... Of an army. Celestia and Luna both gasped as they saw this army, they were armed with strange weapons and wore red and white armor, some looked like giant behemoths coated in black alongside flying metal creatures and armed carriages that looked like they could destroy a whole town. Standing in front of the Arkham Knight was a figure coated in black but his face looked like it was rotten, almost like a scarecrow that was torn. Twilight hesitantly touched Jason's shoulder

"The Arkham Knight. After so many years i was ready to come back home. This place still hasn't changed, hehe... That would change tonight. I'm coming you, Batman." Red Hood said as his voice was calmed yet the others could feel the rage from it. Pinkie Pie then poked the figure in black "Never thought i'd be working with this creep, scarecrow. But his new scare toxin was powerful, and having him on my side would bring me closer to getting my revenge. It's time that he paid for what he did." Red Hood laughed. They all saw Arkham Knight giving out orders as the soldiers and strange machines obeyed his command, they watched as this army began taking over this large city of Gotham.

"Oh my stars...." Luna gasped as she looked at Jason, walking up to him and looking into his eyes through his helmet, even though he couldn't see her. Luna felt her heart ache as she watched this, seeing Jason be so lost and then return only to bring destruction. Just like how she did as Nightmare Moon, she couldn't help but feel for Jason. Wanting to help him find peace now more than ever. The scene changed again and they were now standing in a room of some strange building with a group of soldiers from before aiming their strange weapons at... Batman. Suddenly a rope came down and from above came the Arkham Knight

"Keep your guns trained on him. If he even looks like he's planning to leave that room... Open fire. Oh, and forget about the bat symbol on his chest. That's a little trick, that's where it is the most armored. Aim for the weak spots in the shoulders, then coordinate fire where the armor plates meet." Arkham Knight instructed his troops, Celestia was both impressed and fearful at how well Jason took command. Pinkie Pie touched the Arkham Knight and gulped

"I had him right there, i could have killed him. I could have ended him, but Scarecrow wanted Batman to know fear even more, i was beginning to regret joining up with him." Red Hood stated. Rainbow Dash then touched one of the soldiers "My militia, trained by me and are one of the best soldiers in the world. All of them trained on how to deal with Batman, and armed with vehicles all meant to take him down.... I'm still shocked on how Batman was still able to win." Red Hood sighed. This had Everypony shocked, that this whole entire army, perhaps the most advance army in all of Equestria, still lost to just ONE MAN?!

"Just one pony took out this entire army?! What the hay?!" Rainbow was beyond shocked as she heard this

"Just what is this Batman?" Celestia asked out loud as she looked at Batman. To think that just one man is able to do all that.

"Please..." A man said wearing an orange hazmat suit and was cuffed to a pipe

"Did you say something?" Arkham Knight asked the man

"Leave him out of this." Batman said as he glared at Arkham Knight

"Ah, same old Batman. Protecting the weak and helpless. That's what i love about you. You're predictable. We know every move before you're gonna make them, i know how you think!" Arkham Knight slammed his hands against the glass and laughed

"Can you tell what I'm thinking right now?" Batman asked him

"Hehe. You're thinking "Who the hell is this guy?"" Arkham Knight said

"No. I'm thinking on which one of you I'm taking down first." Batman said. Suddenly one of the soldiers were hit by something and was sent flying in through the glass of the room Batman was in, Batman used this opportunity to take down the soldiers but Arkham Knight escaped before Batman could get him. The girls were impressed at just how well and quick Batman moved and took down the soldiers

"Whoa." Twilight said as her jaw dropped, she started to take down mental notes on how he moved and the way his own suit looked. It looked heavy yet it didn't seem to hinder his movements at all. The room changed Once more to a room full of highly advance tech and controls, and was full of soldiers as well as the Arkham Knight

"Keep all access points covered. Get some snipers on the roof and make sure every corner is checked." Arkham Knight ordered "You're not leaving here alive, Batman!" He called out. Just as he said that Batman popped out from of the vents on the floor and took down three troops before grabbing Arkham Knight by the neck, but he quickly grabbed Batman's neck as well. Batman used his other hand to choke him but Arkham Knight did the same thing

"Who are you?" Batman demanded to know

"Not yet, Dark Knight." Arkham Knight said. Pinkie Pie grabbed Jason's arm

"I wonder just how pissed off he got when he couldn't figure out who i was. That no matter how hard he tried he would never figure me out, that he didn't have all the answers. That... Hehe, now that was fun." Red Hood chuckled.

Arkham Knight then kicked Batman away and then disappeared in a puff of smoke. The scene changed and they saw Arkham Knight walking out of an elevator and down a hallway, opening a set of doors to enter a large room that looked like a holding cell. Fluttershy gasped as she saw two dead bodies on the floor and a man wearing the Robin outfit in one of the cells. The man was pretty well build and had a buzz cut. Arkham Knight looked at the man and scoffed

"So you're the 3rd Robin, huh? You don't look like much." Arkham Knight said

"Let me out of this cell and I'll show you what I'm made of." Robin said glared at him

"Hehe, Alright. Let's see if you got what it takes." Arkham Knight then opened the cell and Robin lunged forward at Knight but he quickly grabbed Robin's arm and threw him oved his shoulder. Robin landed on his feet and got up and held up his fists "Not impressed. Wonder what Bruce saw in you." Arkham Knight said. Robin gasped as he heard this name

"H-How did you...?" Robin asked

"I know him better than he knows himself." Arkham Knight said as he charged at Robin, jumping up and bringing down an axe kick, but Robin blocked it and pushed Arkham Knight back. Knight flipped and landed on his feet, then he took out his duel pistols and started shooting. The girls all covered their ears while Robin rolled and doged out of the line of fire. Jumping in front of the girls as bullets flew, luckily none of them were hurt. Applejack used this to touch Robin on the back

"The replacement. The third Robin. Tsk, smart mouth bastard. I hated him the second i realized that he was my replacement. Because that's all we are to him, expendable I didn't want to kill him, but i did want to break him." Red Hood said, time went back to normal as Robin threw two batarangs at the Knight but he shot them down, Robin used this small window of opportunity to close the gap between them and started punching at Knight. Knocking the guns out of his hands as it turned into a full on fight, fists were flying as both fighters blocked, countered, and dodged the others attacks. Robin tried to kick Arkham Knight in the side but he grabbed his leg, bringing his elbow down hard on Robin's knee

"Gah!" Robin yelled as he tried punching him in the face but Arkham Knight moved his head to the side and let go of his leg, Arkham Knight then grabbed his arm, turned them both around and pulled his arm down on his shoulder, a sickening crack could be heard as well as Robin's scream of pain. Arkham Knight then wrapped his arms around Robin's waist and lifted him up, doing a german suplex on him. Robin grunted in pain as he laid on the floor, soon some of Arkham Knight's militia came in and aimed their weapons at Robin

"Cuff him and take him to scarecrow. I'm going after Batman." Arkham Knight ordered as he then walked off. The girls and Spike all looked on with sadness at this, to think that Jason had gone and done all this was just.... They couldn't even comprehend any of this happening to them or someone they know and love.

"Took control of his own home, gathered an army, took down this Robin guy... Holy hay..." Rainbow Dash ran a hand through her hair.

"I... I-I never knew this... My word, how can this happen to just one pony..." Celestia took a step back. The scene changed once more and they all saw a man in a blue jacket with a bushy grey mustache tied up in a chair in a large room that seemed to look like a base of some kind. They saw Batman trying to the free the man until

"Turn around." Arkham Knight demanded as he aimed a gun at Batman

"Who are you?" Batman asked, able to hear a slight frustration in his voice

"You still don't know, do you?" Arkham Knight asked, he then chuckled coldly as he walked up to Batman "Well, if you really believe and work hard then you can do anything. You know what i want? I want you dead!" Arkham Knight held up the pistol up to Batman's jaw, but Batman quickly knocked his hand away and side kicked him in the gut, Arkham Knight grunted as he skidded back but started shooting at him. Batman rolled away from the bullets. The girls and Spike watched on with great interest and heartache, to watch a broken boy fight against the man who took him in and raised him. Batman threw two batarangs at Arkham Knight, he tried to shoot them down but they moved in an unorthodox way that he couldn't shoot them down until they knocked the pistols away from his hands.

Batman then ran forward and tried to punch Arkham Knight but he quickly leaned back and did a backflip kick to Batman's jaw, making the Dark knight fly back. Arkham Knight landed on his feet and ran at Batman, tackling him over the railing and falling down to the floor below. The mane 6, Princesses and Spike ran over to see that Batman had flipped them both and slammed Arkham Knight down on the ground, punching the Arkham Knight as he moved his head out of the way and blocked it, but a few hard punches landed on his helmet. Arkham Knight grabbed Batman's arm and tossed him off him, Batman spun and rolled back up to his feet as Arkham Knight took out a knife ad started slashing at Batman, the blade grazing against Batman's neck as it was able to cut through his armor. Batman grabbed his wrist and gripped it tightly, making Arkham drop the knife and allowing Batman to toss him over his shoulder. Arkham Knight grassed through a glass fountain, shattering all over the floor.

Arkham Knight grunted as he slowly got back up to his feet, Batman grabbed him and then lifted him up, slamming him up against a wall. Arkham Knight tried to punch Batman but Batman grabbed his arm and gripped it hard, Arkham used his other hand to punch Batman but once again Batman grabbed it. Soon they both started to head-butt each other, both sides trying to force the other down on their knees. Arkham was filled with rage, but Batman was still stronger. Soon actually breaking his helmet a bit

"Who are you!" Batman shouted as he then threw Arkham Knight over to a stone pillar. The Arkham Knight chuckled coldly as he used a smoke bomb to disappear, Batman used his grappling hook to reach back up to the man in the chair only to see Arkham Knight there with a gun pointed to the man's head

"You still don't have a clue, do you..." The Arkham Knight then took off his Helmet "Bruce." Arkham Knight finally revealed himself

"Jason? But... You're dead... Joker sent me the video." Batman said, shocked to see his former partner back from the dead

"You'd like that wouldn't you?" Jason said as he tried his best not to let his voice crack, fighting back all the rage and sadness he had within him

"I looked everywhere for you." Batman said

"Don't you dare lie to me! How long did you wait before replacing me, huh? A month? A week! I trusted you, and you just left me to die!" Jason shouted. The girls could hear the sadness in his voice and couldn't even imagine going through this. Luna in particular felt connected to Jason more as they had similar experiences, but compared to what Jason went through and what he did when he returned.... Luna got off easy and only threw a tantrum compared to this.

"That's not what happened!" Batman said as he tried to walk towards Jason but he aimed his gun at him

"You know, all these years you and him were on my mind. I knew that killing you wouldn't be enough. I wanted to take everything that truly mattered... Gotham. And know that i have it all i want now is you both dead!" Jason fired at Batman but he ducked and threw two batarangs, one at the gun and the other behind his back. Jason shot one of the batarangs but only had time to doge it, Batman then disappeared while Jason was distracted "You can't hide from me! I will find you!" Jason shouted as he pulled down another helmet that was under his old one, a red helmet. Jason then combined his two pistols to form a sniper rifle and used his grappling hook to fly up to one of the gargoyles that were stationed above all over the place. The girls and Spike watched on as Batman and Jason entered a very deadly game of cat and mouse. They watched as Batman sneaked under Jason and then used a grappling hook to fly up and try to talk with Jason, all while Jason tried to shoot him

"Jason, i can help you!" Batman tried to reason with him

"There's no helping me!" Jason grunted as he then fired, missing Batman's head by a few inches. Jason fell but only to disappear in a cloud of smoke. Jason was now on a different Gargoyle and had some drones scanning the area. Batman sneaked around again and used some batarangs to electrocute the drones off, going up and pushing Jason up against the wall, tearing off the symbol on Jason's chest

"You're Robin, Jason! You're not what he made you." Batman said as he pointed at Jason's heart, where he used to wear the R proudly

"Stop it! Stop talking to me!" Jason said, his voice cracking as he was overwhelmed with all sorts of emotions. Jason tried to tackle Batman off but Batman kicked Jason off, only for him to disappear once more. Jason was on another gargoyle with militia troops and drones with him, yet Batman got past and beaten all of them. Batman flew up one last time. Batman knocked the gun out of Jason's hands and pushed him up against the wall

"Son, let me help you!" Batman said as he tried so hard to save him

"I am not you're son!" Jason shouted as he tackled Batman off, both of them landing hard on the ground. Jason's helmet cracked and his face was shown, Batman got on top of him and reeled his fist back, gritting his teeth as he looked down at Jason. Seeing the look of his former... The look of his son. The son he lost. Batman put his arm down and got off him. Jason held up a spare pistol at Batman "You did this to me!" Jason said

"I'm sorry." Batman said softly, pain and guilt within him

"You left me there in that abandoned wing of Arkham for over a year!... With him." Jason said, tears swelling up in his eyes.

"It's not too late. We can fix this... Together." Batman said as he held out his hand to Jason. The girls and Spike all teared up at this heartbreaking scene, but also a bit happy that after everything that Jason has done Batman was still not only willing to forgive him... But to help him. Twilight walked over and touched Jason's hand

"All those deaths. All that destruction. Chaos. He still... Believed in me. He still wanted to help me... I have been such a fool. But i couldn't go back, I was too broken... I'm sorry i let you down... I let all of you down." Red Hood said sadly. They watched as Jason lowered his gun and just looked down. When Batman looked away Jason... Was gone. The scene changed and they all found themselves on a balcony where Jason was standing on. They looked down and saw Batman and scarecrow. Scarecrow was going on about having beaten Batman and was about about to unmask him after pumping him full of his fear toxin, but it had no affect on Batman. Scarecrow as shocked and then tried to kill Batman with a gun until Batman was saved by Jason, having shot the gun away and shooting the chains of Batman. Rainbow Dash touched Jason's shoulder "After everything Batman still tried to help me, I'd be an idiot if i didn't save him. I can't go back to the way things were... But i can make a change." Red Hood said. The girls and Spike smiled as they heard this. Soon everything changed again and they were all standing in a large room that had a group of men discussing something. They then heard glass shatter and turned to see Jason wearing a grey and black Jacket with a red hood and red helmet on, black pants and a red bat symbol on his chest

"My word." Rarity said as she looked up and down at Jason's new attire. Pinkie Pie jumped to his side and touched his chest

"After everything i started thinking for a bit, trying to find myself or whatever shit people say about this crap. I knew that i can't ever be a hero... But maybe this world didn't need another hero. Instead i became something that the world really needed. Someone to show that there is someone who will put you down, but i still need to know when to hold back. Batman and I will never see eye-to-eye, but if he ever needs my help... I'll be there. I am vengeance. I am... The Red Hood." Red Hood said. Suddenly everything went dark and they all soon opened their eyes to find out they were out of Jason's mind. Jason looked at them

"So.... How was the trip?" Jason joked. They all looked at him soon hugged him tightly "Stop! No no!" Jason said

"We aren't letting go." Luna said as she hugged him

"No seriously, this hurts. Ow ow ow ow!" Jason winced as the girls and Spike quickly let go. Jason groaned a bit "Thanks." He said. Jason looked at Celestia and Luna "I take it you probably want me gone a lot sooner, right?" He asked

"I have never seen anypony go through or do the things you have done..." Celestia said "... And I am so sorry." She said as she looked down at him

"Thy know thou said no but... I wish to help you." Luna said as she gently held Jason's hand. Jason looked at them and chuckled softly

"... We all know that a guy like me don't belong here... This world isn't ready for... Well, me." Jason said softly

"Perhaps." Celestia gently put her hand on his chest "But we are ready to know you, Ja... Red Hood." Celestia said

".... Call me Jason." Jason smiled softly. Celestia blushed slightly as she saw him smile, but smiled as well

"Thank you, Jason." Celestia smiled

"I think we should let you get some rest. But we'll come visit you and Rainbow Dash." Twilight said

"Thanks Twilight." Jason smiled. They all smiled and soon started to leave. Luna was the last one out, she turned to Jason

"Thy... If thou would grant permission... I would... Want to help you if you ever have a... Bad dream." Luna said shyly. Jason looked at her and smiled softly

"Alright, moon-butt. But are you sure you're not just making an excuse to see me?" Jason playfully teased as he chuckled softly. Luna blushed heavily

"N-No! I-I-I wouldn't... Thy would never..." Luna tried to speak, Jason laughed a bit

"Ah man, you're a riot. But yeah... You have permission to do... Whatever that thing you do." Jason said. Luna smiled and nodded, soon leaving the room and shutting the door. Letting Jason get his rest to make a full recovery