The Last Bat

JASON'S POV. THREE DAYS LATER.

I have been living in this old castle for two days now gathering more information about the people, or more accurately called ponies, of this world. From what I can tell they don't seem that very different from people. They all got jobs, homes, families, form of governments, law enforcement, etcetera. At night I would go into town and patrol the streets, there wasn't as much crime like back in Gotham, but I did stop a few break-ins, thefts, and a few muggings. The people, or ponies I guess they're called here, started to form a legend about me. The Red Bat of the Everfree, who soars in the night searching for criminals to feast upon.

"You gonna pull off the catchphrase?" Nightwing asked me while resting his hands in my head as I sat down on the bed.

"I can't say it without laughing my ass off." I laughed as I looked over at Batman being all grumpy "Oh please, don't give me that look! That line is dumb and edgy as Hell!" I mocked him

"It's meant to strike fear into the hearts of criminals." Batman grumbled.

"Breaking their bones and threaten their lives works better." I said while twirling my pistol in one hand. I yawned as I rubbed my eyes, having not slept a wink these past few days and it was starting to show.

"You need rest, you're pushing yourself too hard." Batgirl placed her hand on my shoulder, turning back I was greeted with... Nothing. I rubbed my eyes and tossed a pillow at the wall. I groaned and stood up, putting on my helmet as I stood up and walked around the castle, reading the book on humanity I stole from the library a few nights ago.

"Humanity. Though little evidence to the claim, it is theorized that long ago, Equines were not the dominate species. Instead, it was bipedal ape like creatures known as Humans. They are hypothesized to be intelligent enough to use tools for weapons and even build. It is unknown what happened to humanity, if they truly did exist, but some wonder. What were they like?" I stopped reading and stopped. I felt so... Out of place. Lost. I kept walking again but he had no real destination in mind, just wandering the halls. placing my hands along the walls I looked up and saw...

"Master Todd, care to join us for dinner?" I saw Alfred wearing his black suit while holding a tray of a freshly cooked turkey.

"Hope you saved room for us." I turned and saw Barbara walking by, a bir of a stumble in her step "Still getting use to walking again." She said as I smiled softly at her. Wearing blue and yellow sweatpants and a purple hoodie with her hair tied into a ponytail.

"We all knew that you wouldn't stay out of the fight forever." I said, looking down to see myself wearing a red sleeveless hoodie and black jeans. I walked towards the dinning room and saw the others. Dick wore a blue shirt, a black jacket, and dark blue jeans. Damian wore a dark green hoodie and cargo shorts. Tim wore a button up light red shirt and blue jeans. Bruce wore a black turtleneck shirt and black pants. I watched them as they ate, their bright smiles, the playful banter, and the delicious aroma of the food Alfred prepared. I stood just at the doorway of the dinning room and smiled at them, I took a step forward... And they were all gone. I stood inside the ruins of what appeared to be this castle's dinning hall. I grabbed the chair and practically fell into the seat, putting my helmet down as I rubbed my forehead

"They aren't here! Get it through your FUCKING head!" I thought to myself, rubbing my eyes as I stood up and put my helmet back on. I didn't want to sleep because that would just make shit worse. I figured taking a walk around the forest would help so I headed for the exit.

When I opened the doors I looked up and saw.... What the fuck?

"What the fuck?" I saw a... Pink cloud? No, pink clouds. They were everywhere. It soon started raining and... It's raining chocolate milk?

".... Okay, sleep it is." I said as I turned back and headed back to the bedroom, I REALLY need sleep right about now. I plopped down on the bed and closed my eyes, hopefully I will stop hallucinating when I wake up.

NO POV.

In the town of Ponyville it was... Chaos. That is about the only way to describe it. The ground looked like someone knitted a blanket, in the sky there were pink cotton candy clouds raining chocolate milk. If that wasn't strange enough there was a stampede of bunnies with giraffe legs, flying pigs, and... Buffalos doing ballet. As for this reason Twilight Sparkle and her friends all journeyed towards Canterlot, the capital of Equestria and home of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. The six ponies and Spike all made their way towards the castle where they found Princess Celestia waiting for them.

"We came as fast as we could! Does this have anything to do with the weather and the animals? And why my magic isn't working?" Twilight questioned as she wanted until Princess Celestia put up her hoof to silence her.

"Come with me, I need to show you all something." Celestia said as she proceeded to guide the Mane six and Spike down a hallway with decorated windows "I've called you all here for a matter of grave importance." Twilight and the others looked at the windows and saw that each one seemed to tell a story. One in which Celestia and her sister ruled together to Luna's betrayal and later Nightmare Moon's return and the return of Luna. But one stood out.

"It seems an old foe of mine has returned, one whom I thought I defeated a long time ago. His name... Is Discord." Celestia said while pointing at a window that showed a strange creature that looked to be multiple animals all mashed together. He had the head and body of a pony, horns of a dragon, wings of a pegasus, tail of a dragon, left leg of a goat and the right leg of a griffon, and the hands of a lion and dragon. "Discord is the mischievous embodiment of disharmony and chaos. Before my sister and I stood up to him, Discord ruled over Equestria in a era of unrest and turmoil. We saw how miserable and chaotic life was for Earth Ponies, Pegasus, and Unicorns alike. His mind was twisted and cruel yet he was smarter and clever than he appears, even with the elements of Harmony my sister and I were barely able to stop him and turn him into stone." Celestia retold the tale of the defeat of Discord to her little ponies.

"Alright, Princess!" Rainbow Dash cheered.

"But now that Luna and I are no longer connected to the elements the spell has been broken." Celestia explained.

"No longer connected?" Twilight asked as Celestia led them all to a set of large doors

"This is Canterlot tower, where the elements are kept inside after you all retrieved them. I need you to use the elements once more and stop Discord, or we may forever live in chaos." Twilight and her friends all looked back at one another, all of them looking at each other with some form of doubt.

"I-I don't understand, but why us?" Twilight asked

"When you used the Elements to redeem my sister the elements bound to you because of your friendship. So now it is you, all of you, who must once again use the magic of your friendship to save Equestria." Celestia declared after he speech. Twilight and her friends looked at each other as a fire ignited in their eyes

"Princess Celestia -"

"Wait!" Pinkie Pie butted in "Cotton Candy clouds, chocolate milk rain, and giant popcorn? Couldn't we just get use to it?" She suggested. Her friends stared at her with a deadpan expression on their faces as she chuckled nervously.

"Don't worry, Princess Celestia, we'd be honored to use the elements again." Twilight said. Celestia nodded and used her horn to unlock the door, the door lit up and soon started to open. After opening the door Celestia used her magic to pull out a box and opened it to reveal the Elements of Harmony... At least, she would reveal them if they were there. All of them gasped in shock and horror as their only defense against Discord was gone.

"... Welp! If you need me I'll be drinking chocolate milk rain outside." Pinkie Pie said while hopping away until Applejack dragged her back.

"That chamber is only unlocked by a powerful spell that only I can use. How could this have happened?" Celestia paced back and forth, until a voice rang out

"How indeed." A voice said, shocking the ponies and drake as they searched for the source of the mysterious voice.

"Discord! Show yourself!" Celestia demanded. A dark chuckle was heard throughout the palace as Discord spoke once more

"Dear Princess, how long has it been? Oh, how I missed you and all the adorable little ponies." Discord was seen to be on the glass as he moved his little figure of himself through the windows "Oh? And who are these little ponies? The bearer of the elements?" He chuckled.

"Enough! What have you done with the elements of Harmony?"

"Oh, I just borrowed them for a little game I wish for us to play, surely you still like games, yes?" Discord grinned at them. His eyes landing on Spike as he smirked and appeared in his little glass figure in front of Spike "Boo." Spike yelped in fear and pulled out the batarang he found back in the swamp. Discord stared at the batarang and gasped as he stepped back, he soon groaned in pain while holding his head as strange images flashed in his mind and disoriented voices rang out in his ears.

"Vengeance...."

"None can... Fate...."

"Long as I live.... Justice... Ends here!"

"This is your punishment!"

Discord groaned and then growled at Spike

"Where did you find that?!" Discord demanded an answer as Spike held up the batarang. Discord took a deep breath and chuckled "No matter, you all will loose this game."

"Enough games, Discord! You will never win and rule over Equestria!" Celestia lit up her horn as she prepared to fight

"I do not wish to rule this land, no no... I want to plant the seeds of chaos." Discord grinned as he snapped his fingers and changed the windows to show all the things he has done during his time "Besides, what can you do without your little fancy jewelry, little pony?"

"Hey! Nopony insults the princess!" Rainbow Dash sped towards Discord but only crashed into the window, which felt like hitting a brick wall.

"Ah, you must be Rainbow Dash. A very skilled speedster and bearer of the element of loyalty. I expected... No, I didn't expect much from you." Discord mocked.

"I can't believe we're wasting our time talking to a tacky window." Rarity scoffed

"Miss Rarity, bearer of the element of generosity. Charmed. I'd tip my hat, if I had one." Discord laughed.

"So you know who we are, big deal."

"Oh, I know a lot more than that, Miss Applejack, believe me."

"You seem to know all of your strengths and who we are." Twilight chimed in as she was impressed, and slightly afraid, that he knew so much.

"Yes I do, Twilight Sparkle. And I know your element is the most powerful and most elusive of them all. Magic. Though, I have seen more powerful beings than you." Discord said as he laughed before groaning while holding his head. Shaking himself to regain his composure he smirked at them all "Fluttershy is kindness, and Pinkie Pie is my personal favorite, laughter." Pinkie Pie snorted and giggled a bit. Twilight scolding her energetic friend for laughing.

"Enough stalling, Discord! Where have you hidden the elements of Harmony?" Celestia demanded

"How boring, back in my day things weren't so dull." Discord appeared back on his glass window "But fine, I'll tell you, but only in my own way. To retrieve your missing elements just make sense of this change of events. Twists and turns are my master plan. Then find the elements back where you began." Discord explained before leaving.

"Can we go home now?" Fluttershy asked while shaking in fear

"What do you reckon' he meant, twist and turns and where we began?" Applejack asked while trying to figure out the meaning. Twilight hummed in thought and walked over to the window. She then gasped as she realized what it meant

"Twists and turns! I bet Discord his the elements in the castle's labyrinth!"

"Good luck, my little ponies. The fare of Equestria rests in your hooves." Celestia said while having a look of hope in her eyes.

Twilight and her friends rushed out of the castle and out towards the entrance of the labyrinth

"W-We have to go in t-there?" Fluttershy trembled at the thought of getting lost in the labyrinth and the possibility that she could get lost.

"Pfft, no way. Discord forgot we got wings." Rainbow flapped her wings and sped upwards towards the sky "I'll just do a quick fly by overhead and we'll have those elements in no-" Rainbow was cut short as her wings had suddenly vanished and she fell back down to Equestria, she screamed as she looked to see her wings gone. She wasn't the only one, not only did Fluttershy also loose her wings, but Twilight and Rarity lost their horns. The ponies screamed in terror at loosing an essential body part of theirs when suddenly they heard laughter

"Bwahahaha! Hahaha! Oh my word, Your reactions were priceless!" Discord appeared while holding his gut from laughing so much.

"Give us our wings and horns back!" Twilight stomped her hooves in frustration.

"You'll get them back in good time, I simply took them to ensure there is no cheating. You see, this is the first rule of our game, no flying and no magic."

"The "first" rule?" Rainbow Dash asked, not liking where this is going.

"The second rule is that everypony must play or the game is over, and I win." Discord laughed gleefully "Good luck, everypony!" Discord then disappeared in a ball of light.

"Uh... Is it too late to turn back and go home?" Spike asked sheepishly, laughing nervously as the others looked at him "... Thought so.' he sighed

"Come on, girls! We got nothing to fear!" Twilight encouraged her friends

"Twilight's right! As long as we're together, there ain't nothing we can't overcome." Rainbow cheered as they all took one step forward together into the Labyrinth. But just as they did so large hedges grew forth from the ground, separating the group as they were now forced to venture through the labyrinth alone.

Applejack galloped through the labyrinth trying to reach the center as soon as possible, but stopped when she came upon three... Apples? The apples in question suddenly started rolling away and Applejack gave chase. Applejack chased the runaway apples and reached... Her family's farm?

"What in tarnation is going on here?' an apple fell down on her head and soon all the apples started falling, but what's weirder is that they all rolled around her in three piles. Red, yellow, and green apple piles. They came together and formed some sort of strange creature of apples.

"W-What are you?"

"We are the keepers of the grove of truth. You may ask us."

"One question."

"Future, past, or present."

"But be warned."

"For the truth."

"May not always be pleasant."

"Alright, ah don't trust this place worth a hill of beans. But ah got a real bad feeling about this feller, Discord. What's gonna happen to me and ma friends after this mission?" Applejack asked the three talking apple piles. They led Applejack to a lake and spoke

"To find the answer you seek."

Go ahead. Take a peek." Applejack looked down into the water and soon something appeared. In the water Applejack saw her and her friends arguing with each other and storming off, ending their friendship.

"No! No no! A... Ah loose my friends?" Applejack gasped as she couldn't imagine such a fate happening to them, refusing to believe the truth. Just up above out of sight Discord could be seen holding puppet strings, chuckling to himself as he manipulated the events happening

"A true warrior doesn't aim for the head or the body. They go for the heart." Discord thought to himself as he watched with amusement at the events that transpired before him.

"No! This can't be true!" Applejack cried

"Well all the truth does."

"Is make your heart ache."

"Sometimes a lie is easier to take." Discord's voice could be heard as Applejack fell into a trance, her colors soon disappearing as she became more grey in color.

"Applejack!" Suddenly Twilight's voice rang out as she trotted over to her friend "I thought I heard voices over here. Who were you talking to?"

"Nopony! Nopony at all!" Applejack quickly answered while darting her to avoid eye contact.

"Come on, we best be going. Come on!" Applejack quickly trotted off, still avoiding eye contact. As she walked off Twilight looked stunned and confused for a moment

"Did Applejack just... No! That's crazy." Twilight brushed off the idea of Applejack, THE Element of Honesty, lying right to her face. Twilight trotted off and followed her friend, unaware of Discord hovering high above them, chuckling to himself

"The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting." Discord said as he watched the ponies below.