A Dark Knight Over Canterlot

Chapters

Arrivals and Sinister Alliances
Reunions
Hurt
Encounters
The Big Bad Bat
Arguments and Detective Work
Involvement
The World's Greatest Detective Vs. The World's Deadliest Assassin
Break Free
Crime Alley
Interlude
A Conversation with a Guardian
Riddle Me This
Joke's on You
Killer Airtime (Part 2)
The Last Laugh
Closing Curtains
Prologue: Robbery at S.T.A.R Labs
Killer Airtime (Part 1)
Memoriam

Arrivals and Sinister Alliances

Equestria

Things were quite frantic inside the walls of the Castle of Friendship. But what was the fuss about? Was it another magical threat? Did Tirek escape Tartarus again? Were the Changelings invading? Was there another Friendship Problem that needed solving?

Nope.

It was just Twilight Sparkle, The Princess of Friendship, stressing over a three day getaway through the mirror portal. Sunset and her other human friends had invited her over to celebrate Christmas, the human world's version of Hearth's Warming.

Twilight accepted of course, not only because she would get to spend time with Sunset and the girls, but because this was her chance to learn all about Christmas and what it entailed. And of course, knowing Twilight, she had to bring whatever she could bring to take notes and compare this Christmas to Hearth's Warming.

The Alicorn mare paced around the library, muttering to herself while her assistant, Spike, sat on a chair reading his Power Ponies comics. He figured that Twilight would calm down eventually, it was only a matter of time before she would realize that this was not such a big deal.

...right?

Spike sighed before setting his issue of Power Ponies down on the table to his left and walked over to Twilight.

"Twilight."

No response.

Spike frowned, "Twilight."

Again, no response from the Alicorn.

The young Dragon barred his teeth before yelling, "TWIIIIILIIIIGHT!!!" This seemed to snap The Princess of Friendship out of her frantic state, as she shook her head and regained her composure.

She let out a breath before turning and scolding the Dragon, "Spike, that wasn't very nice."

Spike shrugged, "Well you weren't answering when I called you." He replied, defending his actions, "What else was I supposed to do? You were only a few seconds away from going completely Twily-Nanas."

Twilight blushed profusely in embarrassment as she turned away, "I know, and I'm sorry." Her cheeks returned to their normal color before she turned and looked at her Number One Assistant, "It's just that I'm a little nervous is all."

The young Dragon tilted his head in confusion, "Huh? What in the whole wide world of Equestria would you have to be nervous about? We're just going to see Sunset and the gang for a couple of days." Spike stated, not seeing what the problem was.

Twilight looked down to the ground as she spun her right hoof around in circles on the ground, "I-It's not that. I can't wait to see them. It's just.... ummm..."

"Twilight?" Spike asked, becoming concerned for his mother figure.

Twilight let out a deep breath she didn't even know she was holding in before looking Spike in the eye, "It's... the other me."

Spike was now even more confused, "Huh?"

"In the brief time that I met... well me... I felt so awkward. Like I was intruding." Twilight explained before looking away, "I'm glad that they were able to show her the Magic of Friendship, but I just feel like I'm going to be left out. Like I'm... a third wheel."

Spike slowly approached the mare, "Now why would you feel like that?"

Twilight then began to explain, "It's just that... they've been through so much together. They've all bonded. Ever since they met the other Twilight, Sunset and I have barely stayed in contact. Sometimes I would write to see how she's doing and I wouldn't even get a response. So I'm just thinking, if they've already got a Twilight, what in the world would they need me for?"

As Twilight looked down in sadness, Spike approached her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Spike smiling at her, "Twilight, they need you because you are their friend. Sure there may be another you there, but you two are completely different people. You may have grown distant from the others, but now's your chance to rebuild your bonds."

After hearing those words of comfort, Twilight actually felt a little better. She wrapped the little Dragon in a hug with her wings as she said, "Thanks Spike, I needed that." She then nudged Spike's shoulder not a moment after the embrace ended, "Since when did you become so wise?"

Spike chuckled as he placed his hands on his hips, "I learned from the best."

Twilight giggled as she used her magic to levitate her saddlebags onto her back, "Well come on, we don't want to be late now do we?"

Spike nodded before he hopped on Twilight's back, "Yep, after all we've seen what you're like when you think your going to be tardy."

Twilight laughed at the jab, knowing that it was all in good fun. The two then made their way to the mirror portal and activated it, making their way to their home for the next few days.

Canterlot City.

Canterlot City

Adagio's head hurt.

It was ringing like a bell.

The next thing she felt was a cold feeling, specifically on her back. She groaned as consciousness came back to her. The last thing she remembered was preparing to perform for another festival when she and her sisters were suddenly knocked out. The Siren moved herself into a sitting position, rubbing the back of her head as she looked around at her surroundings. She appeared to be in some sort of storage facility, what with all the storage units being all around her.

"Oooh, my head hurts..." She heard the voice of her sister, Sonata Dusk, from behind her. Adagio turned her head to see Sonata and Aria both regaining consciousness.

"Hnngh... Shut up, Sonata." Aria groaned groggily before realizing their current predicament, "Hey, Dagi? Where the hell are we?"

Adagio didn't know how to answer that, "I don't know. Last thing I remember was getting ready for another festival when these three guys entered our van and knocked us out."

Aria Blaze crossed her arms, "Well why the hell would they do that?"

It was then that Sonata noticed three figures headed towards them, "Ooh! Maybe those guys know why!" She exclaimed as she pointed to the three individuals walking towards her and her sisters.

Once they stepped into the light and out of the shadows, these three men appeared to be wearing masks. Which wasn't the only thing that weirded The Dazzlings out, the other thing was the fact that they were wearing...

"Clown masks?" Sonata said, tilting her head in confusion.

Aria however was in no mood for games, "HEY! WHERE THE HELL ARE WE?!"

One of the clowns scoffed as if she were stupid, "We're in a storage facility, stupid. What, did we hit ya on the head too hard?" He replied condescendingly.

"Now, now, we can't blame The Dazzlings for being a bit disoriented." A voice that made the clowns stand still in fear said, making his presence known to all who were present. The three clowns quickly shuffled to the side as their boss walked into the light, hands placed behind his back with a huge smile plastered across his face.

Sonata yelped in terror while the other two Dazzlings looked up in terror. They knew who this was, and they knew if he wanted them, then they were in big trouble.

Aria and Adagio were genuinely afraid. Evident as they were both shaking in pure terror.

"Y-You're..." Aria stuttered out before Sonata beat her to the punch.

"THE JOKER!!!" Sonata screamed in terror, backing away and huddling up in Aria's arms. Normally the second eldest Siren would shove the youngest off of her, but with the current situation, she would make this an exception.

"Hah!" Joker laughed before continuing, "Glad to see that my reputation precedes me. But please, there's no need to be so formal. Call me Uncle J!" He said before leaning down, getting right in Adagio's face, his sinister red eyes seemingly glowing thanks to the light shining off of them, "Everyone does."

Adagio gulped, her words seemingly stuck in her throat, "W-W-What are you d-doing here?" She managed to ask before Joker leaned back into an upright position.

Joker sighed before a somber look appeared on his face, albeit for dramatic effect, "Such a sad story," He started as he walked to his left, looking down at the floor as he told his 'Sad' tale, "You see, things haven't been going well for me back at home." It was then that a look of pure anger made its way onto his face, "Thanks to a cranky Bat, all of my operations in Gotham City have been SHUT DOWN!!!"

His voice echoed through out the storage facility, making The Dazzlings more terrified than they already were.

Joker recomposed himself before turning to face the three girls with a sick smile on his face, "But I finally struck the jackpot! I got wind of a new technology being developed by S.T.A.R. Labs, the type of technology that could be sold for millions on the Black Market. I had it! Right there for the taking! Until that loser with a question mark fetish stole it from me!" He sneered before continuing, "So I had my guys follow him, and wouldn't you know it, it led me here! Canterlot City, this backwater town that I've never heard of!"

The Dazzlings couldn't help but feel a little bit offended by that, but they didn't voice their complaints for obvious reasons.

"Now you're probably wondering why you're here." He addressed the three Sirens, to which they nodded slowly. Joker clapped his hands together before continuing, "Well, I did some digging on this backwater town and it turns out that you three were pretty big here. Specifically on how you tried to mind control an entire school." Joker's grin only grew wider when he saw the looks on their faces, "So I figured, since I'm in town, why not make a few new friends? Show me the ropes, the ins and outs of Canterlot, cause some anarchy, get into the Christmas spirit! You help me out, I help you out."

Adagio and the others looked at each other nervously before the leader of the band nervously asked The Clown Prince of Crime, "W-What if we refuse?"

Joker shrugged, "It's your choice after all." But that's when his smile grew sinister. He motioned for one of the clowns to come forward, to which one did so without question. Once close enough, Joker quickly spun around and sprayed some Joker Gas from his flower, right into the clown's face.

The Joker Thug backed away, coughing and hacking as he waved the cloud of gas away with his hand. But before long, his coughs turned into fits of laughter. He began laughing uncontrollably, like he couldn't stop. Joker saw this and leaned in to remove the clown's mask.

Once Joker tore the Thug's mask off, The Sirens all gasped in horror at the sight of the Joker Thug.

His skin was as pale as The Joker's, a smile that was too wide for any normal man was present on his face, showcasing all of his teeth. His eyes had blood leaking from them as he continued to laugh uncontrollably, he just couldn't stop, even if he wanted to.

A sudden snap sounded off within the storage facility and the Joker Thug fell to the ground.

He was dead.

The Dazzlings looked on in horror before looking up at Joker, who was laughing at the display.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Oh, I love that sound!" He stopped laughing and turned to the three girls on the ground, "Of course if you refuse, well, you'll end up like Bobby there and go out on a happy note." He threatened, motioning to the corpse behind him with his thumb.

The three Sirens were petrified, they couldn't move. He just killed a man and laughed about it, and if they refused they would end up just like that Joker Thug.

"So what do ya say, kiddies?" Joker asked, getting their attention. They looked up to see Joker smiling at them, "Wanna hang with the cool kids?"

They had two options, join up with Joker or die.

With no choice they all reluctantly nodded, much to Joker's delight.

"Looks like you three are smarter than you look! Trust me when I say that together, we're going to set the whole damn town on fire!!!" As The Dazzlings looked at one another with fear and uncertainty on their faces, Joker's haunting laughter echoed throughout the entire storage facility.

Reunions

Canterlot High

"Ugh! What is taking her so long?" Rainbow Dash complained, her body involuntarily shivering due to the harsh cold, "Brrr... I'm freezing my butt off out here."

It was a very cold day in Canterlot City, winter was hitting the town with full force as it neared Christmas Eve. The Rainbooms were currently waiting outside the school in front of the statue for their friend, Princess Twilight, to show up to spend the holiday season with them.

Rarity rolled her eyes at her friend, "Honestly, Rainbow Dash, must you act so uncouth? Plus if you are as cold as you make it out to be, maybe you should have worn the proper attire." The Fashionista stated, showing off her winter attire. A purple overcoat with a pink, fluffy scarf over her neck. On her head was a beanie of the same color as her overcoat and a pair of pink earmuffs to keep her ears warm.

Rainbow turned her head and glared at her friend, "Well exuuuuuse me, but not all of us are as "In touch" in fashion as you are." She replied, using her freezing cold fingers as quotation marks as she spoke. "Besides we've been waiting here for over an hour!"

It was then that Twilight, or Sci-Twi as Pinkie called her on occasion, decided to speak up, "Actually, Rainbow Dash, school only ended a half hour ago."

The prismatic athlete looked at the nerdy teenager with a bewildered expression, "Wait, really?"

"YEPAROONI!!!" Pinkie shouted, suddenly popping up behind Rainbow, scaring the impatient girl, "I've been counting the seconds until Twilight shows up and we can throw a massive 'Princess Twilight's First Christmas' party!"

Sunset Shimmer smirked as she placed her hand on her hip, "So that's how you've been occupying yourself this whole time, huh Pinkie?" She asked, to which Pinkie nodded enthusiastically, "Heh, sure wish RD could do that." The former Equestrian muttered loud enough to be heard.

Rainbow pouted like an infant while everyone else laughed, "Yeah yeah, laugh it up, but can you all blame me? It's like negative one thousand degrees out here!"

Sci-Twi frowned, mentally facepalming at Rainbow's comment, "There's no such thing as negative one thousand degrees below zero, Rainbow Dash."

Now it was RD's turn to frown, "It's an expression, Twi. Have you ever heard of an expression?" She exclaimed mockingly before a sly smirk appeared on her face, "No, because you're an egghead."

Sci-Twi glared daggers at her prismatic friend, "I am NOT an egghead, as you so eloquently put it. I'm just well educated, unlike a certain athlete in our group." She jabbed back in a passive aggressive tone.

Fluttershy, already seeing the tension grow between her two friends, decided to pipe up, "Oh... um... please don't fight. Friends don't fight with each other. So.... could you say sorry to one another... if you don't mind, that is."

The two looked at the shy girl and their expressions softened.

They both sighed before looking at each other again, "Sorry about the jab, Rainbow." Sci-Twi apologized.

RD rubbed her elbow awkwardly, "Yeah, me too. But you gotta admit that it is freezing out here!" She exclaimed before turning to Applejack, who had been silent this whole time, "I mean, c'mon AJ, how are you not a popsicle right now?"

The apple farmer shrugged, "Guess Ah'm used to tha cold from all that workin' on tha farm, Ah guess."

Rainbow grumbled under her breath as she turned away, setting her sights on the statue. All of a sudden, the base of the statue shimmered slightly, signifying that someone was coming through. The girls' expressions brightened as two familiar figures walked through the portal.

Princess Twilight and Spike.

Twilight let out a breath of fresh air, holding the straps of her backpack, which used to be her saddlebags, before wrapping her arms around herself due to the cold.

"GAH!" Twilight exclaimed loudly, "W-W-Why is i-it s-s-so c-c-c-c-cold?" The former Alicorn shivered before being tackled into the snow by Pinkie Pie, showing her affection towards her Equestrian friend.

"TWILIGHT!!!" Pinkie shouted right in Twilight's ear, "OH MY GOSH IT IS SO GOOD TO SEE YOU HOW HAVE YOU BEEN ARE YOU EXCITED FOR CHRISTMAS WAIT YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT CHRISTMAS IS WELL DON'T WORRY AUNTIE PINKIE IS HERE TO SHOW YOU STARTING BY THROWING YOU YOUR VERY FIRST CHRISTMAS PARTY!" She shouted all without taking a single breath.

"P-Pinkie... Can't.... Breathe..." Twilight gasped out underneath the weight of her hyperactive friend. Spike chuckled at the sight as he saw Pinkie get up off of Twilight. As the Princess dusted all of the snow off of her, the rest of the Rainbooms giggled before making their way over to their friend.

"How've ya been, sugarcube?" Applejack asked as she hugged her friend.

Twilight shrugged as the embrace ended, "Eh, I've been pretty busy, what with running the School of Friendship and all."

It was then that Rainbow Dash busted out laughing, giving her friend a sideways hug, "A School of Friendship? C'mon, Twi, you know you can't teach friendship in a classroom."

Twilight frowned slightly, "W-Why not?"

Rainbow's expression turned dead serious, "Y-You're kidding, right? Friendship can't be taught with books and fancy shcmancy words, Twi. People have to experience it for themselves."

Sunset shrugged as she approached the pair, "Meh, I think it could work, if it's all implemented properly." As Rainbow grumbled in disagreement, the two friends held each other in a tight embrace, happy to see one another. The hug ended as Sunset asked, "So how does one run a School of Friendship exactly?"

Twilight giggled before replying, "Ehehehe... It takes a lot of hard work and dedication. In fact, just a few weeks ago we had a former student try and drain all of the magic from Equestria."

Sunset's eyes widened at that, "Woah, really? How'd that turn out?"

"She's... received her punishment." Twilight said hesitantly, "Although Tartarus is no place for a child." She added in her mind. Cozy's sentence in Tartarus bothered Twilight, but what could she do? Luna told her after she had already placed Cozy Glow right next to Tirek. Tirek of all creatures. Really made her feel like she had no say or authority, even though she was a fellow Princess.

Her train of thought was broken as Rarity approached her, "Well darling, if anyone can get through that and still deal with all the work that comes with running a school, it's you." She said, boosting Twilight's confidence as she hugged her friend.

The Princess turned to Fluttershy, who was currently giving Spike a belly rub. The shy girl got to her feet and gave Twilight a big hug. "Goodness, sounds like a lot of pressure is on your shoulders, Twilight."

Twilight giggled nervously, "You don't know the half of it." Once the hug ceased, Twilight finally took notice of her counterpart, standing a few meters away from her, kicking the snow slightly.

As the two counterparts stared at one another, Pinkie leaned in towards Rainbow's ear and whispered, "Awwwwkwaaard." Rainbow snickered at that as Pinkie zoomed away from her.

Sci-Twi rubbed her arm nervously and looked away, "H-Hi there, Princess." She greeted awkwardly.

Twilight looked away, looking ever so slightly bitter. Nobody noticed, except for Sunset, she would have to bring this up with Twilight later.

"Hey." Twilight muttered in an attempt at being polite.

Spike, sensing the tension and awkwardness, coughed into his paw and asked, "Sooo, where's other me?"

Sci-Twi perked up at that, "Oh, he's at home napping. Either that or he's chasing his tail, who knows with that dog."

"Cool, can't wait to meet him." Spike said, remaining optimistic.

"Well, what are we waiting for?!" Pinkie exclaimed loudly, "Let's get this weekend started!!!"

"I thought you'd never ask, darling." Rarity swooned before pointing to the sky dramatically, "TO THE MALL!!!"

While everyone laughed at the Fashionista's antics, Sunset just stared at Twilight. She was looking at the ground, clearly thinking about something. Something was on her mind, and before this weekend was through, Sunset would get to the bottom of it.

After all, what are friends for?

The Batwing flew through the clouds, parting them so the Dark Knight could get a clear view of Canterlot City from his plane. Riddler was here somewhere, for some unknown purpose. Batman would find out what that reason is, and put a stop to it.

"Sir?" Alfred's voice suddenly sounded off in Batman's ear, "What exactly do we know of this place. In all my years I've never seen this town in the news or anything. It seems rather... peaceful."

"Not everything is as it seems, Alfred, I've had this place on my radar for a while now." Batman revealed before continuing, "There's been some strange magical phenomena appearing in this city for quite sometime now. It's just that Amanda Waller and the United States Government have been covering it up."

Alfred was confused, "Why on Earth would they do that?"

"The Earth's already got Aliens to worry about, Waller thinks that magical disruptions would be too much for people to handle."

"Am I correct in assuming that you got this information illegally, Master Bruce?"

"When the Justice League took down Brainiac and Waller shut down Project Cadmus, I made it my mission to learn everything I could about the government and what they were hiding. I stumbled across Canterlot City in my search and decided to keep tabs on it." Batman revealed.

Alfred was less than surprised, "You hacked the United States Government?"

Batman shrugged, "Wouldn't be my first time." He replied before adding, "From what I gathered, everyone in the city has an altered skin pigmentation. From what I could gather from Zatanna and Dr. Fate, there was a magical outburst a thousand years ago that affected the populace's DNA. It passed down from generation to generation, continuing even now."

"Oh my. From what you've gathered Master Bruce, do you have any idea what mister Nygma could want with this place?" Alfred asked his adoptive son.

Batman's gaze was stern as he replied, "I have an idea, and it's nothing good." He then put more power into the boosters and flew down towards Canterlot City.

Meanwhile, inside a dimly lit green room with several monitors, a man in a green suit with a cane in his hand was currently making alterations to what appeared to be an orb of sorts. Using the screwdriver to try and remove the panel on the side of the orb, being very careful not to damage it in any way.

This man was none other than Edward Nygma, aka The Riddler.

Riddler finished unscrewing the panel and removed it with the utmost of care, "That does it. Slow and steady wins the race." He whispered as he set the panel down on his workbench, gazing into the orb and its various wires that it was made up of.

"You still haven't told me what we're doing here." A stern, authoritative voice spoke from behind the enigmatic villain, hiding in the shadows.

Riddler rolled his eyes, "I should've known that someone like you wouldn't understand."

"Watch it." The voice threatened sternly.

Nygma massaged his temple before replying, "This technology has the ability to take control of the most important thing in the human body."

The voice was silent before asking, "Which is?"

Riddler smiled, "What did the right hemisphere say to the left hemisphere when they could not agree on anything?" He waited for the voice to answer, but when he didn't say anything Riddler just sighed in annoyance before revealing the answer, "Let's split!"

The voice seemed to know where Riddler was going with this, "You're talking about the brain."

"DING DING DING, We have a winner!" Riddler shouted sarcastically before continuing, "With this technology, I will have the ability to take the control of the mind of any Average Joe, make him or her do whatever I want. With this piece of tech, not only will I be able to have anything I want, but I will also prove my intellectual superiority over that bothersome Bat!"

"How so?"

"This technology was developed to increase the capacity of the human brain. But allow me to dumb it down for you, it would allow the brain to store more information, therefore, making it and the individual smarter. I've already begun altering it so it could literally make them so stupid that they would have no choice but to follow my every command. I will have literally taken over the city with my sheer intellect, proving once and for all that I, The Riddler, am better than the Big, Bad Bat!"

"There's one thing I'm still confused about. Why here? Why did you choose here exactly?" The voice asked.

Riddler smiled, "It's a backwater town filled with hicks and dullards. What better place to test out my device than a town full of morons?"

The voice chuckled, "You really are an arrogant prick."

Nygma scowled, "Watch yourself, I'm not paying you to be snarky... Mister Wilson."

It was then that the mysterious figure stepped out into the light, revealing himself to be none other than the World's Greatest Assassin.

Slade Wilson, aka Deathstroke the Terminator.

Slade folded his arms, "Don't worry, as long as you're paying me nobody's laying a finger on you."

"I should hope so, I'm paying top dollar for your services, Deathstroke. I expect there to be no disruptions whatsoever, am I clear?" Riddler reiterated before turning back to his work.

"Crystal." Slade sneered before adding, "Just as long as you're paying me and not wasting my time, because if you are screwing with me, then there's nowhere on the planet where I won't find you." He threatened before walking back into the shadows, leaving Riddler to plot and plan his next move.

Hurt

Canterlot City

Canterlot Mall was busier than usual, but that's to be expected around the holiday season. Kids were running around, laughing and having the time of their lives, going from shop to shop buying and searching for things that they wanted for Christmas.

Twilight was astounded at the sight, she felt a warmness inside of her when she saw all the little girls and boys playing with each other, united in friendship and harmony. It appeared that this Christmas was a time for people to come together, much like how Ponies came together during Hearth's Warming.

As she and the rest of The Rainbooms walked around the mall, the Equestrian Princess caught the eye of a Mall Santa, who was taking photos with small children on his lap.

Twilight turned her head to ask Sunset what was going on, but then realized that all of the girls were having a discussion about something. She didn't know what it was, but it was obviously about something that she wasn't a part of. Twilight looked away as sadness returned to her, she was feeling... left out.

She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to take her mind off of her sudden loneliness, but the joyous laughter of The Rainbooms wouldn't leave her mind. She gave her counterpart a sideways glance, seeing how she was having a good time, how she was enjoying herself with her friends.

The friends that she stole from her.

Twilight's eyes snapped open when that thought came to her. Where did that come from? She was the Princess of Friendship, not the Princess of Spitefulness. So why did she feel so bitter towards her Earth counterpart? Why did she feel like she stole her friends from her? Was it because of the fact that she felt... replaced?

No. Sunset and the others would never replace her. She did bring them all together after all. Besides, she still had her best friends back in Equestria, so did it really matter?

If it didn't, then why did it hurt so much?

"Yo, Twilight!" The Equestrian was snapped out of her thoughts by Sunset, who had been calling her name for a few seconds. Sunset looked concerned, "Are you alright?"

"No! I feel like you've all replaced me!" She shouted internally before replying, "Y-Yeah, I'm fine." She lied, she hated the act but didn't want to spoil the holidays with her sour mood.

Sunset nodded slowly, obviously not believing her before saying, "Well come on, we're going over to that Mall Santa to take pictures."

Twilight was about to ask who Santa was, but Spike, who was riding along inside her backpack, beat her to the punch, "Who's Santa?"

"WHAAAAATTTT?!!!" Pinkie screeched, suddenly popping up beside the two, "You don't know who Santa Clause is?!"

Twilight and Spike looked at one another before the Princess asked, "Should we?"

The Rainbooms, sans Sunset, all looked at the pair as if they were crazy.

Rarity huffed before wrapping her arm around her friend, "Oh, this shall not do! Come, we can tell you all about Santa Clause while we wait in line."

As The Rainbooms guided them to the long line of children and their parents, Twilight, even though she was finally being included, still couldn't help but feel... lonely.

"Deck the halls with body parts of a girl named Holly. Falalalalalalalala~" Joker sang as he danced around with a stuffed Teddy Bear, while The Dazzlings just stood in the corner, watching the psychopath have his fun.

Aria rolled her eyes at the sight, "I don't remember those being the lyrics." She snarked, clearly unhappy with their current situation. Her sisters looked at her with pleading eyes, practically begging her to shut up.

Joker smiled as he turned to face the Siren, "Oh ho, I am tremendously creative, that I can tell you!" He then tossed the bear behind him as he giggled to himself, walking over to the wooden crate full of stuffed animals he had his goons bring in.

As Joker dug through the crate full of toys, Adagio glared at her sister, "Are you stupid?! Do you have a freakin' death wish?!" She whispered harshly to her sister.

The second youngest Siren glared back at her older sibling, "Well, we wouldn't be in this mess if you hadn't thrown our lives away to this freak!" Aria whispered back, getting in Adagio's face.

The leader of the band of Sirens grit her teeth and got right in Aria's face, "I seem to recall you being terrified as well, dingus!"

Sonata, who was curled up on the cold, concrete floor, covered her ears with her hands, "Guys, please stop fighting!" She pleaded with her sisters, but her pleas went ignored.

Aria's face went red with anger, "Who're you calling dingus, wimp!"

"I'LL SHOW YOU WIMP!!!" Adagio roared back in anger.

Unbeknownst to them, this little dispute had caught Joker's attention, enticing him to walk over and intervene, "Girls, girls girls." He said soothingly before getting in between the two. "Mellow out, Dagi," He said to Adagio before turning to Aria, "Don't throw a tantrum, Aria." He then addressed the both of them with a stellar idea, "Here's an idea! We all go out, have a few drinks, kill some carolers, we'll all feel better!"

The two siblings backed away and cooled off, clearly horrified by the suggestion.

Joker looked at them both before frowning, "Ugh, you girls are no fun." He muttered as he walked away from the group of Equestrians.

Sonata, finally having removed her hands from her ears, looked up towards The Joker and asked, "U-Um... Mister Joker... Sir... Er... Uncle J... W-What exactly are we p-planning to do?" She stuttered out, obviously terrified to question the Clown Prince of Crime.

Joker turned his head and gave the youngest Siren a sick and twisted grin, "Oh, you'll know when it's time, Sonata. The whole town will know. Hehehehehehehe." He giggled darkly toward the young girl, causing her to whimper and curl up even further.

Even Aria had to admit, the way Joker said that sent chills up her spine.

"So, let me see if I've got this right." Twilight started as she and the others continued to wait in line, "A fat man in a red suit stalks little girls and boys for a whole year and during the eve of December 24th, he breaks into their homes and leaves presents for the little girls and boys. Did I miss anything?"

Sunset rubbed the back of her head awkwardly as she giggled, "W-Well when you put it that way..."

Whatever Sunset was about to say fell on deaf ears as Rainbow's complaints took center stage, "How much loooongerrr?!" She complained like a spoilt infant.

Applejack rolled her eyes, "Honestly, Rainbow Dash, you have got to be the most impatient girl Ah have ever met."

It was then that Pinkie wrapped her arm around her athletic friend, "Aw, cut Dashie some slack, you know she gets cranky when she's hungry."

"Hey! I'm not cranky, and I'm not hungry!" RD exclaimed before, much to her embarrassment, her stomach let out a Manticore sized growl that actually startled Pinkie. The rest of the girls gave RD deadpanned stares before the athlete's cheeks turned red and she placed her hands on her middle, "Ooookay, maybe I am a little hungry."

"Aw don't worry, Auntie Pinkie has a solution!" She exclaimed as she gave Rainbow's belly a pat, feeling it growl beneath her hand. She then suddenly pulled out a cupcake from behind her and gave it to her friend, "Here you go, Dashie!"

Rainbow took the cupcake, but gave Pinkie a weird look, "Um... Where did you get that?"

Pinkie perked up before she pulled out a tray of cupcakes from behind her, "Oh! I always carry a stash just in case of emergencies."

RD and the other girls laughed at their friend's wacky antics, "Oh, Pinkie Pie," Rainbow started before shoving the cupcake in her mouth, "Never change."

Applejack chuckled before turning to Sci-Twi, "Ya know, Ah'm surprised ya didn't go inta a full blown lecture about how what Pinkie does isn't scientifically possible."

Sci-Twi smirked at the apple farmer, "I learned a looong time ago that whatever Pinkie does, doesn't make sense. It's just Pinkie being Pinkie."

AJ gave out a hearty laugh as she pulled Sci-Twi into a sideways hug, "That's our Twilight!"

When Princess Twilight heard this, she couldn't help but feel hurt. Maybe she was right. Maybe... They did replace her. That sense of loneliness came back, as did that form of resentment towards Sci-Twi. There it was again, why was she feeling this way? Her counterpart did nothing wrong. Why was she taking all of her stress and hurt out on her?

Her thoughts were broken when a young girl accidentally crashed into her, clearly not watching where she was going. Twilight saw that the girl had dropped her Chess set and decided to pick it up for her, "Here you go, you dropped this. Wouldn't want to lose it, now would we?" She said with a smile.

"Golly, thank you miss!"

Twilight's eyes shot open. That voice. She looked down at the young girl, who was the counterpart of a familiar face.

It was Cozy Glow.

She had her curly hair and was wearing a pink dress with a light blue skirt to go with it. She slowly handed the Chess set back to the young, not so evil girl, which she practically beamed at.

"COZY, LET'S GO!!!" The girl's father shouted.

"COMING DAD!" Cozy shouted before turning to Twilight, "Thank you, have a merry Christmas!" She said before happily skipping away.

As the young girl skipped away back into her father's arms, Twilight just stood there with her eyes wide open. She just saw Cozy Glow. A version of Cozy Glow who was happy and free, not filled with hate and locked in Tartarus. She imagined that's how her Cozy could have turned out if she had had the opportunity to reform her. If Luna and Celestia had even bothered to console her before sending the young filly to Tartarus.

Sunset, taking notice of her friend's state, decided that enough was enough.

She turned to the other girls and said, "Hey girls, you take photos with Santa. I'm gonna take Twilight home, she doesn't look too well." Twilight, catching Sunset's drift, nodded slowly in agreement. While they were sad that their day got cut short, they understood.

As they bid their farewells, Sunset couldn't help but think to herself, "Whatever's wrong with you, Twilight, I'm going to figure it out and we're going to get through it. It's the least I could do after all the good you have done for me."

Author's Note

Next chapter: The two Equestrians meet The Bat!

Encounters

"So, do you mind telling me what's up with you?" Sunset asked, breaking the awkward silence between her and Twilight. The cold, winter night seemingly getting worse as the wind was starting to pick up as Twilight, Spike, and Sunset all made their way down the walkway, snow covering their shoulders and any other part of their bodies as they trekked towards Sunset's apartment.

Twilight hadn't said a word since they had all left Canterlot Mall, she just couldn't find the words to at the moment. Seeing what Cozy Glow could've been had she had the chance to be reformed hurt Twilight, made her feel inadequate being the Princess of Friendship.

Trixie, Starlight, even Discord had the opportunity to turn their lives around for the better, and yet Twilight never got the chance to offer that to a young filly? That didn't sit right with her. Why would the Princesses not console her about this? Did they not respect her as a Princess? She wasn't technically royalty, she was only considered a Princess because of her wings.

Luna and Celestia are related by blood, and Cadance was adopted by the Solar Monarch when she was young, so she was royalty in that regard. But what about Twilight? She had been thinking about this ever since Cozy was sent to Tartarus. Sure she used to be Celestia's faithful student, but other than that, she wasn't even royalty. She was only addressed as a Princess out of respect.

Hay, even her brother, Shining Armor, was royalty due to being married to Cadance.

If that was the case, then what made Twilight so special? Why was she meant to be a Princess? She would outlive all of her friends and any others she would make by centuries. But even then, would she still consider herself worthy of the title of Princess?

Twilight sighed heavily, all of her stress and resentment weighing her down, "I-I don't want to talk about it, Sunset." She replied, sounding dejected, which worried Sunset even more.

It was then that Spike decided to pipe up, "Come on, Twilight. You have been acting weird lately, ever since we stopped Cozy and sent her to Tartarus you've been quiet, secluded, and overall just not yourself." He recounted as he peeked his head up from Twilight's backpack, "Plus, all that stressing about the other Twilight and--"

Whatever Spike was about to say would never be heard as Sunset suddenly interjected, cutting Spike off, "Woah, woah, woah, hang on." Sunset said as she shook her head and waved her hands to stop the conversation, "Let's rewind it, Twilight, you were stressing over our Twilight?"

To Sunset's surprise and shock, Twilight actually snarled when she finished her sentence.

"Your Twilight," The Princess of Friendship scoffed as she picked up her walking pace, getting further away from Sunset.

"Twilight wait!!!" Sunset shouted before running towards her friend, who was clearly angry about something. "C'mon, talk to me!" She pleaded, trying to get her friend to talk to her.

Twilight however, was in no mood to talk, "Sunset, I don't want to talk about it!"

Sunset, finally having caught up with her friend, positioned herself in front of Twilight to block her path, "You may not want to talk about it, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't talk about it!" Her stern expression softened as she put a hand on her friend's shoulder, "I'm worried about you, Twilight. I want to help you, so tell me what's wrong."

"Why? So you can just replace me again?" Twilight replied spitefully before scoffing and walking around Sunset.

The Equestrian stood there, confused beyond belief before she turned around to see Twilight's retreating form, "W-What the hell does that mean?!" She yelled, expecting a response from the angry Alicorn.

Twilight's body snapped around to face Sunset, but before she could yell a reply, a sudden gunshot sounded off nearby, causing the girls, and dog, to flinch. Sunset, knowing what a gunshot meant, decided to grab Twilight's wrist and booked it out of there.

"Come on, Twilight! We have to get out of here!" Sunset shouted with urgency in her voice.

Twilight was confused, "Why? What's going on?"

"Nothing good, someone could in trouble or hurt. We have to call the police!"

"Someone could be hurt... And Sunset wants to RUN?!" Twilight thought to herself mentally. She was about to tear Sunset a new one, when a sudden thought came to her. This was it. This was her chance to prove that she had worth as not only a Princess, but as a friend willing to help out anyone in need. She had no clue why Sunset was running away, they defeated The Dazzlings and other magical threats, even without her help. "No, I'm the Princess of Friendship, and I won't abandon anyone, or any creature ever again!"

Twilight suddenly planted her feet onto the snowy ground and broke free of Sunset's grip. Taking the girl's confusion as an opportunity, she tossed her backpack, with Spike inside, to Sunset and made a beeline for where the gunshot sounded off.

A building with a radio tower installed on the roof.

Sunset's eyes widened in horror as Twilight made her way towards the building, "TWILIGHT!!! NO!!!" She shouted before placing the backpack, and Spike, on her back and ran right after the foolish Alicorn.

Up inside The Batwing, a strange signal suddenly appeared on the navigation HUD inside the vehicle, which caught Batman's attention.

He clicked the earpiece inside his cowl and spoke, "Alfred, I've got--"

"I know, sir, I’m tracking it, too." Alfred's voice cut him off, revealing that he too was getting the same signal as he looked at the map of Canterlot City on the Batcomputer. "It appears one of the radio towers in the city is putting out a strange signal. Seemingly jamming all forms of communications in the surrounding area."

Batman scowled, his expression hardening as he tapped the screen, specifically where the signal was coming from, "Riddler's making his move, I'm heading there now, Alfred." He explained before nose diving The Batwing downward and activating the boosters.

"Understood. Be careful, Master Bruce."

Twilight walked through the building, wondering where everyone was. She searched the lower floors and made her way to the top floors of the building until she reached the floor below the roof. The Princess of Friendship was nervous, but put on a brave face.

She was coming around a corner but stopped suddenly when she heard the sound of voices.

The Alicorn turned Human poked her head around the corner and let out a small gasp at what she saw. There were three men standing above an injured man, he was grasping his right arm, it looked badly hurt. Twilight didn't understand what was going on.

Were these guys just bullying this man for no reason?

Twilight scowled, she didn't like bullies. Believe it or not, Twilight used to be bullied just for being Celestia's student. Ponies used to call her names, push her around, tease her, all because she was... special. Her frown deepened, she was going to put a stop to this.

And she would have too, had a hand firmly grasped itself around her wrist.

Twilight turned around, only for a light amber hand to cover her mouth. Sunset gave Twilight a glare that actually surprised the Princess.

"Twilight... What the hell were you thinking?!" Sunset whispered to her naïve friend, "You could have gotten yourself killed, you moronic Pony!"

Twilight's eyes widened. Killed? She could have been killed? "W-What are you talking about, Sunset? These are just your run of the mill bullies, that's all." She tried explaining herself.

Sunset looked at her as if she were insane, "Twilight, those aren't bullies. They're criminals!" She whispered harshly before adding, "This isn't like Equestria, where things can be solved with a song and dance. No. If you go out there, you could die."

Twilight was at a loss, all she wanted was to prove her worth as a Princess, maybe she was in over her head.

Her thoughts were broken when both she and Sunset heard the sound of the hostage's voice, "I swear, I'm the only one here. Look, My boss gets a call that the tower starts acting funny, right? So he sends a guy over. But he never shows. Probably went home for the night, lazy bastard… Anyway, when he doesn’t report in, he sends me over. There’s no secret plan here, fellas. I'm just doing my job." The clearly terrified hostage reassured his captors, hoping that they would believe him.

One of the goons was about to reply when suddenly, his Walkie-Talkie sounded off. He removed it from his belt and answered, "Yeah boss?"

"What's taking you imbeciles so long?!" The voice of The Riddler shouted over the Walkie-Talkie, "The signal is live but I don't have a complete connection! Did one of you idiots drop the device?! If you dropped it I swear..."

"Uhhh, no boss, we've kinda hit a slight setback." The thug replied.

Riddler was now annoyed and curious, "What kind of setback?"

"Some tech company sent a worker here to check on the tower. We got 'im here, but we don't know what to do with him."

Riddler groaned over on his side of the Walkie-Talkie before replying, "Isn't it obvious, you dunder-head?! Do you want a step-by-step tutorial on what to do? Well here you go! Step number 1: Take out your gun. Step 2, and listen carefully, this next step is very important. You take the gun.... AND YOU BLOW HIS BRAINS OUT, YOU DIMWITTED DROPOUT!!!"

Twilight, Sunset, and Spike all collectively gasped. Whoever this person was had no problems with taking the lives of other people. Their looks of horror only got worse when they all saw the thug take out his gun and aim it at the hostage's head.

Twilight, having seen enough, rushed around the corner and reached out her hand in an attempt to stop the criminal.

"STOOOOOP!!!" Twilight shouted just as Sunset and Spike rushed in after her to stop her from doing something stupid. All three Riddler Thugs turned around and aimed their guns at the three friends.

That's when the lights went out.

There was only darkness for no longer than a few seconds.

But a few seconds was all that he needed.

When the lights turned back on, the three Riddler Thugs screamed while Sunset Shimmer gasped in shock. Twilight and Spike were confused at the sight before they saw what the criminals were afraid of. What Sunset was shocked about. Even though they had no idea what was going on, they could tell that a sort of presence had entered the room.

Because there, standing in the middle of the room.

Was Batman.

The Big Bad Bat

Canterlot City

Batman surveyed the room and the people around him. Two girls were positioned behind him, and three Riddler Thugs were standing right in front of him.

This was going to be easy.

"I-IT'S THE FREAKIN' BAT!!!" One of the Riddler Thugs exclaimed, shakily pointing his gun at the Dark Knight.

The other two crooks followed suit, "WHAT'S HE DOIN' HERE?!" One of the other Thugs shouted.

"WHO CARES?! SHOOT 'IM!!!"

But before any of them could fire a single bullet, Batman threw three Batarangs at lightning quick speeds, disarming the three criminals. As the three guns landed on the floor, the World's Greatest Detective pounced and grabbed one of the Riddler Thugs.

Batman then planted his feet on the floor and hurled the Thug at the wall, knocking him out. Thinking quickly, he ducked under a punch being thrown by a Thug behind him. As he ducked underneath the punch, The Dark Knight rotated his body slightly and slammed his fist into the Thug's gut, causing the criminal to bend over in pain.

The Dark Knight then delivered an uppercut that sent the Thug flying into the air. As the Thug was launched into the air, Batman grabbed the criminal's foot and brought him back down to the ground.

One to go.

Twilight, Sunset, and Spike couldn't believe the sight before them. This stranger in a Nightmare Night costume just took out two of those Riddler Thugs without even trying, and at surprising speeds as well. Twilight turned her head to see Sunset staring in awe, her mouth agape and her eyes wide open.

She returned her sights to the fight, which was beginning to wrap up.

As the final Riddler Thug ran towards him, Batman took out his Grappling Hook and fired it at the Thug's chest. Once attached, Batman recalled the hook, pulling the criminal closer until he hit the him with a clothesline, knocking him to the floor.

This fight was over.

The three friends let out a breath of relief, glad to have seen that the danger has passed. They were about to approach their savior, when suddenly, the sound of Riddler's voice came through on the Walkie-Talkie.

"Hello? What's going on?!" Riddler asked, impatient as always. Batman, hearing this, walked over to the Walkie-Talkie and picked it up, "Somebody answer me!"

Batman pressed the button on the side of the communication device and spoke to his foe directly, "You're smart, Nygma, figure it out."

All of a sudden, Riddler's voice went from one of anger to one of annoyance, "Well, well. If it isn’t the King Thug himself. Figured it was only a matter of time before you showed up." Nygma declared, having the feeling that Batman would find him eventually.

Batman scowled, "Whatever you're up to, it's over."

Nygma growled in anger, "Oh ho ho. You must think you’re so clever. Well how’s this for clever?! That device that's currently on the base of the radio tower on the rooftop. I have five more up and ready to go, and believe me when I say that this time, there will be no amount of cheating that you can do to win this game!"

"You need help, Nygma." Batman replied in a stern manner.

A loud crash was heard on the other side of the Walkie-Talkie, indicating that Riddler had just slammed his fist on his desk, "I DON'T NEED HELP WITH ANYTHING!!! I AM THE SUPERIOR INTELLECT OUT OF THE TWO OF US!!! I AM A GENIUS!!! YOU ARE A BULLY WHO CHEATS HIS WAY THROUGH MY GAMES AND RIDDLES!!! BUT THAT WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN!!! I SWEAR IT!!! I WILL NOT BE BEATEN BY YOU AGAIN, DARK KNIGHT!!!"

Batman couldn't help but smirk slightly, "We'll see." And with that, he crushed the Walkie-Talkie in his hand before tossing it to the ground. He turned to see the hostage get back up on his feet, with Twilight and Sunset looking on from a distance.

"T-Thank you, Batman." The hostage thanked before continuing, "Gosh, never thought I'd ever see a member of the Justice League doin' this job."

Batman nodded, "You're safe now. Get out of here," He said before turning to Sunset and Twilight, "All of you." And with that he turned and walked towards the door that led to the staircase so he could get to the roof. As Batman left the room, the hostage booked it out of there, not wanting to test his luck.

Twilight and Sunset on the other hand, decided to go after the Dark Knight, with Spike tagging along for the ride.

Batman kicked the metal door leading to the rooftop open with little to no effort, not wanting to waste any time whatsoever. As he walked towards the radio tower, his cape covering his form like a shroud, the three Equestrians had finally made their way to the roof to catch up to Batman.

They saw the Dark Knight approach the small device on the base of the tower, curious as to what it was.

Twilight was about to walk over to ask what was going on, when Sunset stopped her by putting a hand on her shoulder, "Twi, maybe we should get out of here."

The Princess of Friendship looked at her friend as if she were out of her mind, "Are you crazy?! We just got saved from someone who's dressed up like it's Nightmare Night and you don't want to know what's going on?!"

Sunset's look became stern as her grip tightened on Twilight's shoulder, "When it involves a member of the Justice League, I'd say that whatever is going on, we would be way out of our league here."

Twilight was now confused, "What the hay is the Justice League?" When Sunset went to answer, Twilight shook her head, "You know what, doesn't matter. I want answers, and I'm going to get them. It sounded like something bad was going to happen over that... What are they called?"

"Walkie-Talkie." Sunset answered in a deadpanned tone.

"Right! And if that puts my friends in danger, I am going to do everything in my power as a Princess to put a stop to it." Twilight declared before getting out of Sunset's grip and walking over to the Dark Knight. Sunset, against her better judgement, gave in and walked after her.

Batman was currently looking at what this device was. It was a rectangular device, but it looked very advanced. He activated his Detective Vision to get a look at the inner workings of the device. It looked almost like an exact replica of the technology Riddler had stolen from S.T.A.R. Labs.

He deactivated his Detective Vision and pocketed the strange device inside one of the pouches on his Utility Belt. He was about to grapple away, that is until...

"Hey!" The voice of Twilight Sparkle sounded out, causing the vigilante to turn around to face the young Princess. Batman folded his arms as Twilight began to speak to him, "First of all, I would like to thank you for saving us back there. Second of all, WHO ARE YOU, AND WHAT'S GOING ON?!"

Spike, having heard her, rolled his eyes as he and Sunset knew that she was about to go "Twiley-Nanas"

As the other two Equestrians made their way over, Batman responded, "I thought I told you two to get out of here." He spoke with such authority that it actually made Twilight sink back a little bit.

She shook it off before replying, "Look, I just want to know what's going on. This is my friend's home and if it's in danger, don't we have a right to know?"

Batman, against his better judgement, decided to indulge her, "A criminal known as The Riddler has come to your city. I'm here to stop him and put him back behind bars."

"Is the city in danger?" Twilight asked, raising a curious eyebrow.

"If it involves The Riddler, then yes, this city is in danger." Batman replied with the utmost of seriousness.

Twilight then practically beamed, "Then let us help you!" She spoke much to Batman and Sunset's shock, "Believe it or not, we're heroes too! We've helped save this city before, we could work together."

While Batman just stood there, his expression having not changed, Sunset giggled nervously, "Umm, Twilight, maybe we should just let Batman--"

"Batman?" Twilight repeated to her friend before turning to face the Dark Knight, "Is that your name? Why are you called that? Why do you wear a mask? What's the Justice League? Who are you under there?" Those were just some of the many questions the inquisitive girl had bombarded Batman with.

When she wouldn't stop, Batman simply said, "Enough." With such authority that Twilight immediately froze up, as did Sunset, who wasn't even saying anything.

Twilight giggled softly before offering an apology, "S-Sorry, it's just that I get a little bit curious is all." She recomposed herself, "Let's start over. My name is--"

"Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer."

The Equestrians just stood there, their mouths agape in shock. How did he know their names? How was that even possible?

"H-How..." Sunset stuttered out before Batman answered.

"I've had Canterlot on my radar for a while now. That also means that I know exactly what type of events have occurred in the time I've monitored your city. I know about The Dazzlings, the magic mirror," He began listing off before directing his glare to Sunset, "You turning into a demon." Sunset flinched back at that before Batman dropped a massive bombshell, "And if you think that I don't know about Equestria, then you'd be wrong."

That is why Batman is known as the World's Greatest Detective.

"Y-You're not going to tell anyone, are you?" Twilight asked meekly.

Much to everyone's relief, Batman shook his head, "No. Equestria doesn't pose any threats to Earth at the moment." Sunset and Twilight let out a breath of relief, "But that doesn't mean it won't be." And then they sucked back in the air they had just exhaled.

Shaking her head to recompose herself, Twilight pressed on, "So if you know us, then you know that we can help you! This is great! With us helping each other, there is no doubt of the type of friendship we'll forge--"

"No." And with that, Twilight's excitement instantly shattered like glass. She looked up to Batman as he continued, "You're staying out of this, The Riddler is far too dangerous for you to handle. Plus given your previous experiences..."

Sunset then placed her hands on her hips, "What's that meant to mean?"

"You're untrained and undisciplined. You'd be more of a liability than an asset. You could get killed, I won't have that on my conscience. You're going to stay out of the way and let me handle this." Batman ordered, clearly already having made up his mind.

They both looked hurt by that, if Batman was anything, he was direct.

Twilight gave Batman a harsh glare, "You can't honestly expect us to sit back and do nothing!"

Although Twilight's glare was harsh, it was nothing compared to the Bat Glare, "That's exactly what I expect you to do."

"But... But we could help you!" She declared before turning to Sunset, "Right Sunset?" Although hesitantly, Sunset did nod in agreement. With a smile on her face, Twilight turned to face Batman.

Only to realize that he was already gone.

Arguments and Detective Work

Canterlot City

The door to Sunset's apartment flew open as an angry Princess Twilight Sparkle and an equally angry Sunset Shimmer, with a neutral and confused Spike, all walked into the apartment. Twilight stomped towards the couch while Sunset took Spike out of the backpack so he could finally move around.

"Okay, Twilight, confession time!" Sunset started in a stern tone, trying really hard not to lose her cool, "You are going to tell me what the hell is wrong with you right now!"

Twilight groaned exasperatedly before dragging her hand down her face, "Sunset, for the last time, I don't want to talk about it!"

But Sunset wasn't having any of it, evident when she stomped her foot on the floor, "NO! That's not an excuse anymore! For God's sake, Twi, you nearly got us all killed! Do you even realize the amount of danger you put us in?!"

Being as defiant as ever, Twilight crossed her arms, "I-I had it handled..." She replied, not even convinced herself that she had the situation under control.

Sunset, resisting the urge to groan, gave her friend a stern look, "You're so full of it. Twilight you need to learn that this," She gestured to her surroundings with her hands, "Isn't Equestria, where you sing a little song and your problems magically disappear!"

Spike, who jumped onto Sunset's sofa, looked to Twilight and nodded in agreement, "She's right, Twilight."

Twilight snapped her head to Spike and gave him an angry look, "Since when do you always take her side?!"

"SINCE SHE BECAME THE ONE MAKING SENSE!!!" Spike shouted back, trying and hoping to get through to his best friend, "This is just like what happened back on Mt. Aris! You shut yourself down and carried the weight of the world on your shoulders until you lashed out on everypony! Driving them away when you needed them most!"

Twilight curled her fingers in frustration, "That's different, young Dragon!"

"It isn't and you know it!" Spike replied hotly.

Sunset, having had enough of this, stomped over to Twilight, "You want proof? Fine! You have been nothing but distant since you got here, you're temperamental and hot headed, which is unlike you, you won't talk to anyone, you rush into things without thinking clearly, and you have been nothing but cold to Twilight." Sunset listed off to her angry friend and teacher.

Twilight snarled and all of a sudden, stomped her foot on the ground, "SHE'S NOT TWILIGHT!!! I'M TWILIGHT!!!" She shouted, catching Sunset off guard, "So what? You meet a new version of me and suddenly I'm not good enough anymore? She's suddenly your Twilight? Glad to know that I'm sooo easy to replace!"

"R-Replace?" Sunset stuttered out before asking, "What do you mean by that?"

Twilight rolled her eyes as she folded her arms over her chest, "Hmm, let's see. Ever since you met the other me, you've barely stayed in contact with me using the journal. The last message I wrote to you was months ago and you didn't even respond! Now you're calling her your Twilight when I'm right there with you, do you know how that makes me feel? It makes me feel like you don't need me anymore! Which makes sense since not even Equestria needs me! I'm a failure there and I'm a failure here, so thank you so much, Sunset, for showing just how much you don't need me and how much of a bucking failure I am!!!" She finished shouting, panting heavily with her face so red due to how angry she was.

The apartment was silent until the dams finally burst.

Twilight started to cry.

She fell to her knees and covered her face, Sunset instantly rushing over to comfort her distraught friend. Spike whimpered and jumped off the couch and curled up next to his mother figure to try and comfort her. As Twilight sobbed into Sunset's chest, the former Unicorn couldn't help but wrap her arms around her friend for support.

The docks were abandoned, perfect for a temporary base of operations. The Batwing slowly landed next to the warehouse, covered in its cloaking mechanism as to not draw attention towards the docks. Once the Batwing landed, the top of the cockpit slid open, allowing Batman to jump out before closing again.

The Dark Knight entered the warehouse, it was a small setup, what with the two training dummies, the weights, and the miniature Batcomputer at the back of the warehouse. Batman removed his cowl and made his way towards the Batcomputer as it turned itself on.

Bruce Wayne, billionaire playboy by day, vigilante by night.

Bruce took out the device he found from his Utility Belt and placed it on the scanner to his left. He then typed on the keyboard and brought up multiple pop up windows as the scanner finished scanning the strange device. Once the scanner did its job, another window popped up, showing some sort of map of Canterlot City.

"This must be how the device is connecting to Nygma's main server. But if I want to find out where he is held up, I'm going to need the other devices he has placed around Canterlot to build a stronger connection to the server." Wayne thought to himself as he typed on a few more keys to try and locate the next device.

Unfortunately as soon as he pressed a key, another window popped up, this time one of Riddler's head and a wagging finger with the text, "Ah ah ah, you didn't say the magic word." The window stayed like that for a few seconds before it disappeared, a window with a riddle and an answer box replacing it.

"A riddle, how original."

The riddle on the Batcomputer appeared to be one that led to the next device's location. The riddle asked,"I’m a dividing line at an edge; a squiggle of land lacking rock or ledge.
I stretch out far and sometimes wide, but you'll stay dry if you pick my side.
There's salt on my breath, and I've sand for feet; you sometimes sit with me in the heat.
When waves come to call, I hold them back- keeping your visit right on track.
But remember, should they ever choose to rise, those who leave surly are wise.

What am I?"

Batman shook his head before typing in the answer, "The Beach." He pressed the 'Enter' key, to which the pop up window disappeared and moved towards Canterlot Beach, where the entire area was highlighted.

"Riddler's not making it easy." Bruce thought to himself before bringing up his own map of Canterlot for reference. He zoomed in on Canterlot Beach and the various buildings and construction sites in the surrounding area. He zoomed in on a Shipping Yard that was close to the beach itself, "There's a Shipping Yard right next to the beach. It's secluded and abandoned, has been ever since it was bought out from Filthy Rich. That's where the next device is." He deduced before shutting off the Batcomputer and putting on his cowl.

He pressed his finger to his ear, activating the Comms in his cowl, "Alfred, Nygma has the next device stored in a Storage Yard next to Canterlot Beach. I'm heading there now to retrieve it."

"Be careful sir, there's no telling what that mad man has in store for you at that Shipping Yard." Alfred reminded his surrogate son in a worried manner, "He obviously wanted you to find it."

"Makes sense. This is all a game to him, Alfred, to prove that he's smarter than I am." Batman said as he made his way out of the warehouse towards the cloaked Batwing, "I'm going to prove him wrong."

Author's Note

Next chapter Twilight opens up, the girls come up with a plan, and the Worlds Greatest Detective comes face-to-face with the World's Deadliest Assassin

Involvement

Canterlot City

"So, you ready to talk now?" Sunset asked in a soft tone, to which the distraught girl in her arms nodded slowly.

Twilight sniffled as she wiped her eyes with her hand, finally ready to open up about what's been bothering her. "I-It all started when magic was suddenly being drained out of Equestria. Somepony was literally killing our world and everything in it. It turned out to be a student of mine, one I thought I could trust. Her name was Cozy Glow, she was a sweet little filly who wouldn't hurt a fly." She explained before sniffling once again, "But that's what she wanted everyone to think. She manipulated me, played me like a Violin and cut my strings.

"But we stopped her and saved Equestria. All was right again, Sunset, but then Luna went behind my back and sent her to Tartarus." As Twilight's voice grew heavier with anger, Sunset couldn't help but feel shock at the harshness of Cozy's punishment. Sure if she had succeeded, everyone in Equestria would've died, but she was just a filly after all. That doesn't excuse her, but sending her to Tartarus is a bit much. Her train of thought was broken when Twilight decided to continue, "I wanted the chance to redeem Cozy, show her that there was a better way and use of making friends. Heck, if Starlight and Discord were allowed to get a second chance, then why not her?

"But instead of putting Cozy's fate to a vote or something between us four Princesses, Luna," She sneered the name venomously, Twilight was clearly not happy with her fellow Princess, "Took the opportunity of proving myself as the Princess of Friendship away from me and sent that filly to Tartarus, right next to Tirek of all creatures." She vented to her friend, who was listening closely, wanting to help with Twilight's problems.

Sunset shook her head, "Wait, let's backtrack a second here, what do you mean by 'Proving yourself as the Princess of Friendship'?" She asked, to which Twilight only looked away in sadness and regret, "Haven't you done that time and time again?"

The Princess let out a heavy sigh before elaborating, "When The Storm King invaded, the fate of our home was on my shoulders, and my friends weren't taking it seriously. They were just singing songs and doing Sonic Rainbooms and instantly trusting strangers when we were on the run." Twilight explained before closing her eyes in remorse, "It all got to me and I did something really stupid. So stupid that it could have started a war between our two nations."

"What did you do?" Sunset asked.

"I-I tried to steal something precious to the very kingdom that we were trying to get to help us. My friends and I were banished and I just... snapped. I said that I would be better off without them... and the worst part is... at the time... I meant it."

This was a shock to the former Unicorn, she never would have thought that Twilight Sparkle of all people was capable of such nastiness and cruelty.

But she let the Alicorn Princess continue, "I failed friendship, and it almost cost us Equestria itself. Ever since that day, I have been desperately trying to prove to not only Equestria, but to myself, that I am worthy of my wings and my status." She said before letting out a bitter laugh, "But it seems that no matter what I do, I just make everything worse! I try to save my home, I end up almost ruining my friendship with the girls. I try opening a school to teach friendship to other creatures, a filly takes my kindness and spits on it by using said school to drain all of Equestria's magic. I try to prove myself by helping someone in need, I end up almost getting two of my friends killed."

The distraught Equestrian let out a breath after her rant before continuing, "And the worst part is that all of this pressure and self loathing, has bottled itself up into some form of resentment towards this world's version of me. I feel like she has stolen you all from me, and I hate feeling like that. I want to get to know her, but every time I look at her, I just feel resentful and bitter towards the poor girl. She's done nothing wrong, she doesn't deserve this... this anger."

"So, that little girl in the mall..." Sunset trailed off, letting Twilight finish her thought for her.

"It was Cozy. Seeing her just made me crack." She finished before looking up at her friend with tears in her eyes, "You want to know the problem, Sunset? The problem is me. I'm the problem."

Sunset wrapped her arms around the girl while Spike curled up on her lap, "No, you are not the problem. You're just going through some things people always go through. You'll work past it, you always do. You beat Lord Tirek, Chrysalis, Sombra, reformed Discord and me, I might add. You don't make things worse, Twilight. You make things better, know that."

Twilight looked at her friend with a sparkle in her eyes before she smiled gratefully, "T-Thank you, Sunset." She replied before hugging her friend back.

The hug ended as Sunset got back onto her feet and pulled out her phone.

"What are you doing, Sunset?" Spike asked as he popped his head up.

"Calling the girls, we gotta tell them what happened." She said before adding, "And the fact that Batman is in town."

"Soooo... What now?" Rainbow asked, finally breaking the silence in the apartment.

Once Sunset had called Applejack, the girls came rushing over in the van. Explanations were made and much was revealed, including the fact that the friggin' Batman was in Canterlot City, along with a member of his iconic Rouges Gallery to add into the mix.

Sci-Twi turned to her prismatic friend and frowned, her hands on her hips in disapproval, "What do you mean 'What now?' We let the Batman handle the situation and go about our lives."

Now it was Rainbow's turn to frown in disapproval, "Oh come on, Twi, you can't seriously expect one guy to save an entire city."

Sci-Twi shrugged, "Why not? He saves Gotham on a day-to-day basis, Rainbow. If he's here, then the situation's handled."

RD stomped her foot onto the ground.

"Oh sure, just damage my floors." Sunset muttered with a roll of her eyes, not being heard of Rainbow Dash.

"Come on, Twilight, think about it. We help Batman, one of our world's greatest heroes, not only do we save our home, but we could finally have the chance to be actual superheroes!" Rainbow exclaimed with an excited grin on her face.

Sci-Twi tried repressing a groan of agitation, but failed as she pinched the bridge of her nose, "For the last time... We. Are not. SUPER HEROES!!!" She yelled in frustration, scaring Fluttershy so much that she quickly ducked behind the couch.

The athletic girl just stared at Sci-Twi as if she were stupid, "Twilight, I don't think you realize just how big of a deal this is."

The nerdy scholar grinded her teeth, "You wanna know what this is?" She rhetorically asked her impulsive friend, "This is you wanting to play hero so you can fill your big fat ego."

"C'mon, just think of how cool it would be to work with Batman and stop one of Gotham's most dangerous criminals! It would be the most legendary adventure ever!" Rainbow replied.

"And what if the villain he is chasing is The Joker?" Sci-Twi replied.

That shut Rainbow right up. The weight of that bombshell of a reply was felt in the entire apartment. Everyone in that room, sans Princess Twilight and Spike, knew just how dangerous that Clown Prince of Crime was. Going after him would be suicide.

Twilight and Spike looked at each other before shrugging and asking the group, "Who's The Joker?"

It was then that Fluttershy whimpered and asked, "C-C-Could we please not talk about him?"

Sunset nodded in agreement, "Yeah, the less of you know about him the better."

"I concur."

"Eeyup."

"Yeeparooni."

Rainbow then shook her head and replied, "Still, we should at least try to help Batman out, this is our home after all."

Twilight then piped up, "I agree with Rainbow Dash, together we handled The Dazzlings with the Magic of Friendship, we can handle this. Plus what's the point of having Equestrian Magic if you don't use it to help others?"

Everyone then looked to the Equestrian with looks of disbelief before Applejack placed a hand on the Alicorn's shoulder, "Sugarcube, no offence, but this ain't like Tha Dazzlings. They just wanted to be adored by everyone, if we screw up just once, we could die."

"They're right, darling, we should leave this to the Batman." Rarity agreed, "Even though his outfit could use an upgrade."

Suddenly, Sci-Twi's phone went off, she got a message from someone. She took out her phone and gasped, covering her mouth with her hand.

Pinkie looked at her friend, "What's up, Twi?" She then gasped dramatically, "DID YOU RUN OUT OF CAKE?!"

Sci-Twi shook her head and looked to her group of friends with horror in her eyes, "T-That was Shining Armor. There's been an explosion at the Shipping Yard right next to Canterlot Beach."

Everyone looked shocked and appalled.

Rainbow, already knowing that there was a chance that Batman was there, took off out of the apartment at super speed, a rainbow trail following right behind her.

Everyone gasped, except for Applejack who screamed, "RAINBOW, GET BACK HERE YA DAMN IDIOT!!!" But her pleas were in vain as the rainbow haired girl was already gone. AJ turned to the girls with a look of determination on her face, "C'mon, we gotta find Rainbow before she gets herself killed!"

A Few Minutes Prior

All was silent at the Shipping Yard, not a single soul wandered inside.

None except the presence that is the Batman.

He entered the singular warehouse that was in the center of the Shipping Yard, from what he could see through his Detective Vision, he was the only one in the warehouse. He jumped from his vantage point and landed in the center of the warehouse.

The Dark Knight turned around to see a wooden table behind him, with a steel briefcase sitting on top of it. He quickly scanned the briefcase using his Detective Vision and found that it was the source that led him here in the first place. Batman slowly walked over to the briefcase, staying alert for any hidden dangers that may reveal themselves.

When he finally made it to the table he opened the briefcase, revealing a small monitor, not one of Riddler's devices. Suddenly, the monitor turned itself on, revealing a certain one eyed assassin.

"It's good to see you again, Batman." Deathstroke greeted, "It's been a while."

Batman furrowed his brow at the familiar face before him, "Slade." He acknowledged his adversary.

"Codename's Deathstroke. And I am on the job." Slade replied, "Now, as I recall, you once said that I was just another merc for hire. Well, our mutual friend, Edward Nygma, says different. He sought me out, said I was the toughest bastard you'd ever gone toe-to-toe with. And I believe it is time for a rematch, it is long overdue."

"If you want me, Slade, come and get me." Batman replied, not afraid to go another round with Deathstroke.

Slade chuckled, "With pleasure. See you soon." The call ended, replacing the video on the monitor with a 10 second timer.

Bruce's eyes widened, the briefcase was a bomb, and it was about to go off.

Batman leapt through the wooden sliding door as the warehouse lit up in a blaze of glory, the sheer force of the blast sending the Caped Crusader flying forward and crashing into the snow. As snow and ash fell down, Batman slowly got back up to his feet, not letting his guard down.

"Nice to see that you got my invitation." The voice of Deathstroke said from above, causing Batman to turn his head and look towards the direction of the voice. Slade Wilson was standing atop a red shipping container, his sword in hand as he glared down at the hero of Gotham with nothing but hate in his eye.

Slade pointed the tip of his sword down towards Batman, "Now it's just you and me."

The World's Greatest Detective Vs. The World's Deadliest Assassin

"COME ON!!!" Deathstroke shouted as he pulled out his sidearm and shot down towards Batman.

The Dark Knight was already on the move, using his wrist gauntlets to deflect the bullets as he ran. Seeing an opening as Deathstroke was reloading his gun, Batman quickly took out his Grappling Hook and fired it at the red shipping container just ahead of the mercenary.

The World's Greatest Detective zipped up to the container, quickly throwing three Batarangs from his Utility Belt. Quickly discarding his weapon, Slade slashed his sword in a downward motion, slicing the three projectiles clean in half. Deathstroke dashed forward as Batman landed on the snow covered container with a tuck and roll.

Batman, thinking quickly, raised his arms and used his wrist gauntlets to block the strike from Deathstroke's sword. He then used his forearm to move the blade away from him and delivered a punch to the mercenary's face.

Staggering back, Deathstroke quickly recomposed himself just in time to see Batman leap into the air, intending to kick him in the chest. Slade then rolled out of the way, throwing four throwing stars as the Dark Knight landed. The mercenary saw as the hero before him used his cape to block the throwing stars.

Slade quickly got to his feet and charged towards Batman, his blade ready to taste blood.

The Dark Knight quickly moved his body to the left to avoid Deathstroke's attack, he then ducked down as Slade tried cutting his head off. Batman then kicked the bottom of Slade's legs, sending the assassin down onto his back. Batman then leapt into the air and brought down his fist, but missed his intended target as Slade rolled out of the way.

Slade quickly got back up and tried bringing his blade down on top of Batman's head, only for his adversary to catch it in between his hands. Batman moved the blade out of the way before kicking Deathstroke in the chest, sending him off of the shipping container.

But as Slade was falling, he quickly pulled out a Grappling Hook of his own and fired it at Batman. Just as he planned it, Batman caught it with his hand. With a mighty tug, the hero of Gotham was pulled down along with him.

The two marital artists landed harshly in the snow, quickly getting back onto their feet and resuming the fight.

Slade tried hitting Batman with his sword, but no matter how hard he tried, the hero would not stand still. "Time to change it up." Slade thought to himself as he swung once more, missing again, except this time he quickly pulled out his second sidearm and pulled the trigger.

Batman, anticipating this, deflected the projectile with his gauntlets and then proceeded to knock Slade back with a shoulder charge.

Sliding to a stop, Deathstroke chuckled as he looked right at Batman and pointed his sword directly at him, "Y'know, before Luthor hired me to kill you, I had never once failed a contract. But then you and those brats you call sidekicks bested me. I never forgot that night, and I long anticipated the inevitable reunion between us."

The two combatants circled around each other, the snow and wind growing harsher as they conversed.

"You failed then, Slade, and you'll fail now." Batman responded coldly.

Once again, Slade chuckled, "Not this time. Ever since that night I have watched you. Studied you. Learned whatever I could for whenever we would meet again." He revealed, with Batman remaining unfazed, "I will not be bested again, and I won't allow anything to interfere with our duel."

Deathstroke then pulled out a remote device and pressed on of the multiple buttons that was on said device. Suddenly, two sentry guns popped up on top of the brick walls surrounding the Shipping Yard.

"No doubt that the explosion from earlier has been called in by the locals," Deathstroke continued, regaining Batman's attention, "That means that the local police will be here shortly. If they get within ten feet of the Shipping Yard, then those sentry guns will open fire, and casket makers will be having a very merry Christmas."

Batman clenched his teeth as his fists tightened into a ball, "You're going to regret this, Slade." He threatened in a low tone.

"Yes, that is what I want to see! The fire that burns within you, the thrill of the fight!" Slade shouted as he prepared to charge forward, "SHOW ME!!!" And with that, he charged toward the Batman with an intent to kill.

The Dark Knight quickly rolled to the left, avoiding Slade's strike before he quickly grappled away, dodging the barrage of bullets Deathstroke fired from his SMG. As he grappled into the air, Batman hurled three Batarangs down toward his foe. Deathstroke ran away, avoiding the projectiles as they exploded on the ground.

Batman let go of his Grappling Hook and glided back down onto the ground, avoiding even more bullets fired from Deathstroke. As the hero landed, Deathstroke leapt into the air and brought down his blade, but not before Batman turned around and roundhouse kicked the villain in the chest.

Slade tumbled across the snow, his sword flying out of his hands and sticking out of the ground where it landed. Batman walked over to the blade and removed it from the ground, snapping the blade in half and tossing the two pieces aside. The hero then rushed forward as his foe rushed toward him.

Once they met in the middle, Deathstroke threw a punch, but Batman caught it with his fist. He intended on throwing a punch of his own, but was suddenly kneed in the gut by the assassin. Slade threw another punch, but the Dark Knight blocked it with his forearm and then proceeded to punch Slade right in the face.

Staggering back and leaving himself open, Deathstroke received multiple punches to the face and knees to his torso. Batman threw another punch, but Slade ducked under the attack and punched Batman in the stomach. He then knocked the hero down with a sweep kick.

Coming back to his senses, Batman quickly rolled away as Deathstroke punched the ground where his head rested. As the assassin recovered, Batman hurled a Smoke Pellet at his foe. Slade saw this coming and caught it in his hand, only for it to explode in the palm of his hand.

Taking advantage of the confusion, Batman used the smoke to his advantage and struck Slade from multiple angles, not giving him time to think or recover. Unfortunately, Slade caught on to his attack pattern and tilted his head to the right to avoid a punch from behind. He then rotated his body around and punched Batman in the jaw, the smoke finally dissipating.

The two stared each other down for a moment before resuming the fight... That would've been the case had it not been for a speedster who rushed into the Shipping Yard and punched Deathstroke when he wasn't looking.

Rainbow slid to a stop across the snow as Deathstroke crashed into the side of a shipping container, creating a dent where he impacted the steel structure. The prismatic athlete turned around to see Deathstroke fall to his knees. Her fist shot up into the air in victory, cheering at how she knocked the villain down.

Her celebration was cut short by a stern and authoritative voice, "What are you doing here?!" She turned around to see Batman looming over her, her ego no longer inflated by her dumb luck.

Rainbow shrunk back at the gaze of the Batman, gulping a ball down her throat as she began to sweat nervously, "W-Well... It seemed like y-you needed help..." She stuttered before her eyes shrunk, "N-Not that you're incapable of handling yourself... It's just--"

"You should not be here, Rainbow Dash," RD ignored the fact that Batman knew her name as he continued, "Get out of here before you get yourself killed."

"Ugh, teenagers." The voice of Deathstroke caught the attention of the both of them. They both then noticed Slade pull out a detonator from behind him, "I hate teenagers." Deathstroke sneered before pressing his thumb on the detonator.

Suddenly, the snow covered ground began blinking on and off with red lights.

Knowing what they were, Batman quickly grabbed Rainbow Dash and grappled them both over the brick wall surrounding the Shipping Yard. As Batman and RD flew over the wall, the entire Shipping Yard was engulfed in an explosion, propelling the two of them forward, crashing into the snow covered road.

Groaning, Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her head and rolled onto her back, the sound of incoming police sirens blaring in her ear. She set her sights onto the now blown apart Shipping Yard, which had flames dancing around it. Her eyes widened in fear as Deathstroke slowly walked out of the blaze, his singular eye set on her and the unconscious hero beside her.

Before she could move, Deathstroke pinned her to the ground. Dash tried struggling out of her predicament, but couldn't due to the weight of Slade's boot. Much to her horror, Deathstroke pulled out a gun and aimed it directly at her head.

He reloaded the gun and prepared to pull the trigger, "Lights out kid."

That would have been the end of Rainbow 'Miriam' Dash, had it not been for Batman, who had regained consciousness and hit Slade in the side of the head with a flying knee. Deathstroke let out a grunt of pain as his helmet shattered to pieces, the various pieces falling onto the snow.

As Slade staggered back, Batman darted forward and punched the mercenary right in the nose, shattering it and knocking the villain out cold.

This fight was done.

Batman folded his arms as he stared at the unconscious form of Slade Wilson, "Sorry Slade, looks like I win again."

"HECK YEAH WE WON!!!" Rainbow shouted as she jumped up in victory.

Her celebration was cut short when Batman snapped around and gave her a glare that made her want to use the bathroom. Her form shrunk as the Dark Knight's menacing form shrouded her shaking form. As a bead of sweat trickled down the side of her head, Batman's eyes squinted, showing just how serious he was about the situation.

Rainbow couldn't help but let out a nervous laugh, "Ehehehehehe.... Whoops."

Author's Note

Sorry for the delay on the chapter, I've been playing God of War and Sonic Frontiers.

Fun fact, the OST for Sonic Frontiers is the music I listen to when writing these chapters.

Anyway, see you all next chapter.

Break Free

Canterlot City

Applejack stomped on the brakes of the minivan, causing the vehicle to skid across the snow. Once the minivan came to a complete stop, all seven girls stepped out of the vehicle, the cold chill of the air hitting them like a tidal wave. But that would soon go completely ignored as they took in the sight before them.

Police cruisers parked in front of the now destroyed Shipping Yard, the unconscious form of Slade Wilson being placed into one of the cruisers, the Fire Brigade fighting the flames that danced in the cold night. But what caught their attention was that of Rainbow Dash, sitting on the side of the road with her knees up to her chest.

Before anyone could react, Applejack stomped over to the impulsive athlete to give her a piece of her mind.

"You impulsive, irresponsible, stupid idiot!!!" Applejack started, her voice gaining volume as she talked, "What in Sam hill were ya thinkin RD?! Runnin' off like tha Flash thinkin' ya could be some sort of super hero! Ugh, if I wasn't so worried about you, I would pummel you until ya couldn't move no more, ya moron!"

AJ panted heavily, her rant having been said to her impulsive friend. The rest of the girls and Spike walked over and scolded Rainbow, wondering how she could be so reckless.

Rarity flicked her hair back, "Honestly darling what were you thinking?" She asked before gesturing to the blaze behind them, "I mean, look behind us, you could've been killed!"

Fluttershy didn't say anything, she just looked at her friend with disappointment. Rainbow couldn't even look in her eyes, she didn't want to see her best friend look at her like that. In truth, Rainbow knew how stupid it was, but she just wanted to help.

The athlete shook her head slightly, "They wouldn't understand." She thought internally.

She then thought back to what Batman said to her.

Rainbow was sweating under the gaze of the Dark Knight, his glare piercing her soul, her adrenaline wearing off. She rubbed the back of her head nervously before saying, "Look, I don't get what the big deal is. I just saved you from whoever that guy was, I was a hero, I helped save the day."

Rainbow didn't think that Batman's glare could get any deeper, but somehow it did, and it terrified her.

"The big deal is that you're a kid. You're inexperienced and untrained. Your reckless behavior could've gotten us both killed." Batman started, already laying into her, "And you would've been killed had I not been here."

Rainbow rolled her eyes at that.

Big mistake.

Batman clenched his fists, "Don't believe me? Allow me to give you an example." He then started walking closer to her, his shadow looming over her shrinking form, "Slade Wilson had a gun pointed to your head, and you just laid there, shaking in terror as he prepared to pull the trigger."

Rainbow decided to get defensive, "H-Hey! I was fine, I could've just ran out of there and hit him from behind, easy peasy." She said, defending herself with a smug smirk plastered on her face.

Batman quirked an eyebrow, "Then why didn't you?"

That shattered her façade instantaneously, "H-Huh?" She stammered, not prepared for that exact question.

Batman decided to not back down, "If you could've escaped just like that," He snapped his fingers to further push his point, "Then why didn't you? Why didn't you speed out of there when you had the chance?"

Rainbow honestly didn't have an answer. She tried coming up with one, but she just couldn't find one, "U-Um, well--"

"I'll tell you why." Batman said, cutting her off, "Because you weren't thinking. Just as you weren't thinking when you decided to come here." Rainbow was about to object, but Batman wasn't done, "You were afraid." That actually caught Rainbow off guard, "You were scared."

Batman then leaned down and got right in her face.

"You should be."

The prismatic girl visibly gulped before the Dark Knight continued.

"In this line of work there can be no mistakes, no room for error, no fear. If there is, lives could be lost, and not just yours, but those around you. What if someone else had been there tonight? What if there were hostages inside that Shipping Yard? What if you being there causing Slade to blow it up killed those hostages. Those deaths would be on your shoulders. You would have to live with that for the rest of your life."

Rainbow had no words, her ego deflated down to nothing. He was hammering right into her with his points, it made her feel horrible. But that's not what hurt the most.

This was.

"You call yourself a hero, yet you put yourself first before others. And that's not what heroes do. At this rate, you, Rainbow Dash, will never be a hero."

Those words rung in her head multiple times, they just wouldn't leave her alone. The fact that Batman was right didn't help either. Now with her friends chastising her, she needed time to think.

She needed to be alone.

She needed to run.

With that mindset, Rainbow suddenly took off at super speed, leaving her friends in the dust.

"RAINBOW WAIT!!!" Princess Twilight shouted, reaching an arm out to the retreating form of her friend. When RD was no longer in sight, Twilight sighed and bowed her head.

Applejack was fuming. Rainbow just took off again. She was about to let out an agitated scream when the voice of Pinkie caught her ear.

"Hi there, stranger in the darkness!!!" She exclaimed, waving her arm enthusiastically.

The girls all turned to the alleyway, hearing footsteps grow louder as the figure drew closer. Everyone sans Spike, Twilight, and Sunset let out a gasp as the Batman stepped out into the light.

And he did not look happy.

"We need to talk."

Rainbow slid to a stop in front of Canterlot High, it was the Holidays so she knew that it would be the perfect place to stop and think. She placed her hands into her pockets and began walking around the statue, thinking to herself, "Stupid Batman, saying that I'll never be a hero, saying that I was reckless. I just wanted to help, he could've at least said thank you. Stupid jerk."

She then kicked some snow with her foot before groaning in annoyance, "But he's right though, I was stupid and reckless! I could've gotten people killed, I could've been killed had Bats not been there. But I just want to help people, I want to be a hero! I want to show all those stupid jerks who said I wouldn't amount to nothing that they're wrong! I want to save the day, I want to prove that I'm at least worth something!"

A small tear trickled down her face before she wiped it away with the back of her hand.

"I want to break out of these limitations! I want to show everyone that I am not a dumb, stupid, brainless athlete! I want to be more than that!" Rainbow's face turned to one of determination as she tightened her fists, "I want to break free."

Rainbow pulled up her hoodie as she began to tap into her magic, she could feel the magic pulsing in her veins as time literally began to slow down, the falling snow slowing down to a stop.

"I have so much more to say
But I live in slow motion
From moment to moment, hey

Holding back from day to day
The clock's ticking slowly
But time cannot hold me down

I find myself in the rhythm of my feet
Feel it in my heartbeat
The time is now, and I won't hold back, hold back"

She began stretching her legs and bounced around on the spot before moving into a running start. Without warning, she took off at speeds so fast that she was practically invisible to the eye.

"Gonna break free, yeah, I'm runnin'
Watch me, yeah-yeah, I'm runnin'
I let go in this moment, all roads open
Gonna break free, yeah, I'm runnin'
I was born to break free"

She zipped through multiple blocks and maneuvered around several cars. She looked to the sidewalks and saw that everyone was frozen, everything was moving in literal slow motion for her. This is what life was like for her every single day.

"I choose my path, I choose my dreams
My spirit's a fighter
A passion igniter, yeah

All I need's inside of me
A light shining brighter
A spark to a fire now"

She made a sharp turn to the right and began running up and around a building.

"I find myself in the rhythm of my feet
Feel it in my heartbeat
The time is now, and I won't hold back, hold back
(Whoa-oh-oh-ohhhh-oh)"

Rainbow then suddenly stopped and pushed herself off of the building, Ponying Up and jumping from rooftop to rooftop, having the time of her life.

"Gonna break free, yeah, I'm runnin' (yeah-yeah)
Watch me, yeah-yeah, I'm runnin' (I'm runnin', runnin', whoa)
I let go in this moment, all roads open
Gonna break free, yeah, I'm runnin'
I was born to break free"

She jumped one last time and flipped a few times before she landed before landing on the ground in a Super Hero Pose. She stood upright before depowering herself, she looked around and noticed that she was right back at CHS. RD folded her arms over her chest and began to ponder.

"I should head back, right? Explain myself and admit that I was wrong.... And dumb." She then began to walk away, but stopped when she heard slow clapping coming from right behind her. She turned around and saw that a man in a green suit with a cane was leaning against the statue.

The Riddler.

"That was quite the display, my dear dimwit." Nygma started before getting off of the statue, stamping his cane on the ground. Before Rainbow could react, one of Riddler's goons wacked her across the back of the head with the butt of their gun, knocking her into the snow.

Rainbow groaned as her vision began to blur, slowly slipping into unconsciousness.

The last thing she saw was Riddler crouch down in front of her with a gleeful smile on his face.

"I can't wait for you to show me more."

Author's Note

Come on, you can't have an Equestria Girls crossover without some songs plastered in there. :pinkiehappy:

Crime Alley

Canterlot City

The cold wind picked up, causing Princess Twilight to shiver involuntarily as she gazed into the clearly annoyed expression of the Batman. After Rainbow Dash zoomed away to think, the Gotham City Vigilante decided to make himself known to The Rainbooms so that he could talk to them.

And that included scaring the daylights out of them.

All had been silent ever since Batman arrived, no one had even dared to say anything, they were too afraid to.

Applejack, being the brave teenager she was, decided to clear her throat and break the tension, “Um... Howdy, Ah'm--"

"Jaqueline Apple; also known as Applejack," Batman finished, cutting her off, "I know who you all are, what you can all do." He then looked at each and every one of them with his famous Bat Glare before adding, "I also know that you're thinking about going after The Riddler. Let me give you a piece of advise."

He then took a step forward, to which the Equestria Girls took a step back.

"Don't."

That shocked all of them, not the fact that Batman told them to stay out of the way, but the fact that The Riddler was in town. Things just went from bad to worse. The native Humans shivered in slight terror, the thought of being in one of Riddler's puzzles terrified them.

They were all broken out of their stupor when Batman continued, "The Riddler is far too dangerous for you to take on. Your friend, Rainbow Dash was nearly killed because she overestimated herself. If I hadn't been here, your friend would've been killed." The hero then turned his back on them and began retreating into the darkness, "So do me a favor and stay out of the way."

None of the girls made a sound of defiance, he had clearly gotten through to them on how dangerous this mission of his truly was. And that's exactly what he wanted, for them all to stay out of the way and remain safe.

"But we can help you!"

Batman frowned, clearly one of them wasn't as bright as the others.

The hero turned his head and saw that Princess Twilight was the source of defiance, a look of sheer determination written all over her face. She wasn't going to back down.

"Look, from what I know from my friends, you are some kind of hero here on Earth," Understatement of the century, "But as a Princess I just can't stand by while there are innocent people in trouble." She declared, taking a step forward, hoping to appeal to him, "Please, let me prove that I'm worthy of being a Princess."

With Batman not replying, Twilight's hopes were rising. Maybe she had gotten through to him.

She didn't.

Batman gave the former Alicorn a quizzical look, "You want to prove yourself? Show everyone that you're more than just a poster girl?" He surmised, slightly shocking the former Pony. When she nodded her head, Batman only had four words for her.

"Cry me a river."

Twilight's mind shut down and began rebooting at that very moment.

"You wish to put the lives of your friends at risk just so you can prove yourself?" Batman shook his head in a disappointed fashion, "That doesn't sound like a Princess of Friendship to me. That sounds like a Princess of Selfishness." And with that, Batman turned his head and began to walk away from the flabbergasted Princess.

Twilight tried imitating a fish, opening and closing her mouth multiple times. Her mind tried to comprehend what had just happened, but it just couldn't fathom it.

When Twilight looked away and bowed her head in sadness, Sunset glared at the retreating form of the Batman.

"Hey!" She shouted, stomping over towards the retreating vigilante, "You can't talk to my friend that way and just walk away!" Sunset emphasized this point by grabbing hold of Batman's hand, hoping to stop him from leaving.

But as soon as she made contact with him, her eyes glowed bright and stopped dead in her tracks.

She was looking into his memories.

Sunset's eyes snapped open, her breath escaping her as she found herself shrouded in darkness. The former Unicorn panted heavily as she looked around at her surroundings, fear slowly creeping up her spine. She backpedaled before bumping into something behind her. Slowly turning around to face what was behind her, she was relieved to find that it was only a sign.

A sign with the words Crime Alley written on it.

Tilting her head to the side in confusion, the young girl then noticed that the darkness surrounding her began to brighten, a spotlight shining down on a family consisting of three members.

A mother.

A father.

And a child.

Keeping at a safe distance, the Equestrian slowly followed behind the family as they laughed heartedly at the young boys antics. It appeared that he was role playing that of a hero of sorts, using a foil to fence away at his imaginary foes.

Their laughter was suddenly drowned out when the sound of heavy footsteps sounded out in the alleyway, the family freezing to a halt when a man covered in darkness made himself known. Sunset looked at the shrouded man, noticing how his hands were in his pockets.

His face was completely blank, as was the rest of his body, shrouded in nothing but blackness.

The girl's eyes shot open in horror as the shrouded man removed his hands from his pockets, revealing that he was holding a gun. The mother held her son close while the father stood in front of his family, willing to defend them from harm. Sunset took note of the young boy, he looked terrified, he clung to his mother for dear life.

But suddenly the father rushed forward, hoping to disarm the shrouded man.

BANG

A single gunshot sounded off in Sunset's ears.

She looked on in horror as the father fell to his knees, blood oozing from the wound in his chest.

He had been shot.

Sunset let out a scream as the father fell to the floor, succumbing to his wounds and bleeding out.

The mother let out a pained cry as the shrouded man walked towards her and her son. Reaching for her pearled necklace, he tore off the jewelry before aiming his gun at the mother.

Sunset's eyes widened even more as she rushed forward, hoping to stop what was about to happen.

"NO!"

BANG

Sunset stopped dead in her tracks as the second gunshot sounded off. She looked on as the mother collapsed right in front of her son, lying down on the ground right next to the father. Sunset put a hand over her mouth as tears began falling from her eyes.

She once again took note of the boy, who's face was one of pain, tears streaming down his face as he fell to his knees. Sunset watched as the shrouded man took off into the darkness, escaping into the night with his prize, leaving a family forever broken.

A few minutes passed before Sunset worked up the courage to walk over to the young boy.

As she walked closer, she noticed a strange amount of bats flying above her, which was really strange. The closer Sunset got, the louder the boy's sobs came to her ears. But it would appear that she got too close, as suddenly, a tornado of bats appeared from the sky and swirled around the young boy.

Backing away, Sunset could only notice how the boy slowly got to his feet as his two dead parents faded away. Then all of a sudden, the boy turned to Sunset, a vengeful scowl written across his face. It was then that all of the bats obscured Sunset's vision of the boy.

She reached a hand out to help him, but stopped dead in her tracks as the bats parted, revealing a familiar silhouette.

Sunset gasped as the shadow of the Batman appeared in the middle of the swarm of bats, his white eyes turning into a frown as the bats suddenly shot towards the Equestrian.

Sunset placed her arms in front of her in a desperate attempt to defend herself.

But she was engulfed in the swarm of bats.

And Crime Alley dissipated.

Sunset returned with a pained gasped, her hand releasing Batman's as she took a shaky step back away from the vigilante. As Sunset looked around in confusion and fear, the Rainbooms could only look on in concern for their friend.

"Sunset?" Fluttershy asked in worry, taking a step towards her friend and placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Sunset flinched at the touch, but relaxed when she saw that it was only her friend.

But that didn't help much.

She turned around to face the Batman, but found that he was already gone.

Pinkie looked around in confusion, "Hey, where'd he go?"

"I don't know, how did he do that without any of us noticing?" Sci-Twi asked as she too looked around for the Dark Knight.

As the others looked around for the hero, Princess Twilight noticed how Sunset didn't move an inch from her spot. Concerned, she walked over to see if she was okay, "Sunset, are you alright?"

The student didn't answer the teacher.

She was too busy processing what she saw.

What revelation she witnessed within her vision.

The story of a young boy who lost both of his parents after coming home from a movie. As she put the pieces together, she reminded herself of a news article she found on the computer when researching about Earth when she first arrived.

She remembered the story of the Waynes.

That was it! The pieces fit together!

And Sunset finally put it together.

And it shook her to the core. How could it not? She let a gasp of air escape her as she finally came to the only logical conclusion of what she saw.

The reason why he does what he does.

His origins.

Sunset Shimmer had figured it out.

Bruce Wayne is Batman.

Interlude

Canterlot City

Rainbow Dash groaned, her vision slowly coming back to her as the bleariness in her eyes began to clear. She shook her head slightly and tried moving her hands to rub her eyes.

Tried being the key word.

Rainbow's eyes shot open, no longer in a dazed state, and she looked down to see that she was strapped to a chair. Her wrists were strapped to the arms of the chair, as were her feet strapped to the legs of the chair. The teenage hero struggled to break out of her bindings, but it was all in vain as the straps wouldn't budge.

Deciding that this wasn't getting anywhere, she took note of her location. It was a dark room with a single spotlight shining down upon her. Rainbow's eyes darted around in a panic, she didn't like not being able to move. Sweat slowly began to form and fall down the side of her face, her fingers began to twitch, her feet began to tap on the ground.

Rainbow began to hyperventilate as her situation became apparent.

She wasn't going anywhere.

"HELP!!!" Rainbow shouted, hoping, no, praying for someone to hear her, "PLEASE SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!" The fear in her voice was evident as panic set in at full force.

"Oh, nobody can hear you, my little dimwit." A condescending voice suddenly spoke up through the darkness, causing Rainbow to cease her escape attempt. It was then that the sounds of footsteps made their way to her hears, echoing throughout the dark room.

There, exiting the darkness, was none other than Edward Nygma, holding a strange device in his hand with an evil smile on his face. Rainbow physically gulped as the super villain slowly approached the teenager, readying his mind reading device to be placed on top of her head.

"Now let's see what makes you tick." Riddler finished with a dark chuckle as he stared intently into Rainbow's eyes.

Sunset watched as the raindrops collided with the window, her head being held by her hand under her chin. She hadn't said a word since the groups encounter with Batman, how could she?

"It's not like I just uncovered one of the biggest mysteries in the world." Sunset thought to herself, still struggling to process this information. The rest of the group were talking, but she wasn't listening, she drowned it all out as she continued thinking to herself.

What was she to do now? What would she do with this information? The old her would've found some way to play it to her advantage. But she wasn't like that anymore, she was better, she is better than she was before. She needed time to process this. She needed to think.

It was then that the former Equestrian finally decided to speak up for the first time since they left the Shipping Yard, turning her head to say, "Stop the van."

Although confused at first, Applejack slowly placed her foot on the brakes, slowing the van down before coming to a stop next to the sidewalk. Sunset wasted no time in opening the door and getting out of the vehicle.

As the teenage girl was walking down the sidewalk, Pinkie suddenly popped her head out the window and called out to her friend, "SUNNY, WHERE ARE YOU GOING?"

"TO THINK!" She replied without turning to face her friend, not seeing the worried expressions on each of The Rainboom's faces.

Her hands firmly in her pockets, Sunset Shimmer walked through the rain so she could find a place to regather her thoughts, to process her recent discovery.

Author's Note

Sorry for the lack of updates, you know how things get around the holidays.

Just thought I'd upload this little interlude for the holidays.

Don't worry, a full chapter should be uploaded either before New Years or after, anyways Merry Christmas and have a happy holiday.

A Conversation with a Guardian

Canterlot City

The blistering cold hit Sunset Shimmer like a freight train, why did she think that walking alone in the harsh winter was a good idea? Her teeth chattered together upon reflex to the cold as she wrapped her arms around one another in an attempt to warm herself up. Her nose became runny, and her fingers began to feel numb, this definitely wasn't a good idea in the slightest.

But her attention was brought away from the cold when she accidentally bumped into someone on the sidewalk. "Oh, excuse me." Sunset said politely in an attempt to apologize for her clumsiness.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Sunset Shimmer." The bacon haired girl stopped dead in her tracks at the sound of the oh so familiar voice. When she turned around, she was greeted with the sight of The Dazzlings smiling viscously at her.

Sunset clenched her fists as she tried to remain calm.

She failed miserably.

"Adagio, Sonata, and Aria," Sunset listed off their names with distain, "What the hell do you think you're doing here?" She asked, clearly not in the mood for any type of game they were willing to play.

The Dazzlings chuckled before Aria flicked her hair, "What? Is it illegal to go out for a nice stroll in the middle of the night?"

"Besides," Adagio continued, "We're reformed now. Not like we can do much since you removed our magic."

Sonata then added, "Well, we can eat as many tacos as we want, but that's beside the point."

The Equestrian girl looked at the former villains suspiciously before placing one hand on her hip, "Well exuuuuse me for not exactly believing a word any of you say." She replied before adding, "It's not like any of you guys are exactly trustworthy."

Adagio rolled her eyes, "Oh you made that perfectly clear at the Starswirled Music Festival. You know, when you broke into our bus and manhandled our toaster!"

Sonata looked to the sky in sadness, "He hasn't been the same since."

Aria looked to her sister in an annoyed fashion, "Sonata."

"Yeah?"

"IT'S A FREAKIN' TOASTER! IT DOESN'T HAVE FEELINGS, MORON!!!"

Sunset rolled her eyes and turned away from the trio of Sirens, already having had enough of their shenanigans, "Look, I don't know why you girls are back in Canterlot and right now I frankly don't care. I have other crap to deal with. So, if you'll excuse me, I'll be on my way."

And with that, Sunset Shimmer continued her walk down the sidewalks, leaving The Dazzlings to themselves. However, once Sunset was out of earshot, Adagio took out her phone and dialed a number before placing it on loudspeaker.

"Alright, we did what you asked." Adagio informed the recipient of the call.

The Clown Prince of Crime.

"Well played, Kiddo! Ya did good!" Joker praised before adding, "Now get your asses back here! Time for a good ole fashioned game of Cat and Mouse. Hahahahahahahaha!"

Back with The Rainbooms, it had only been ten minutes since Sunset had decided to go her own way. Twilight Sparkle was worried about her friend, she seemed really distant since the girls' encounter with Batman. She held Spike in her arms as he whimpered slightly, also worried about the former Equestrian.

The Princess of Friendship looked over to see the others looking dejected as well. Not only did they have to worry about Rainbow Dash, but Sunset as well. She noticed that her counterpart had curled herself up and rested her head against the window of the vehicle.

Twilight's eyes softened as she laid sight on Sci-Twi. All of that amnesty she had been feeling toward her seemingly vanished when she gazed upon her. By the way she was sitting, Twilight could tell that her human reflection was genuinely worried for her friends.

They had made a real connection.

Maybe... Maybe she should do the same with Sci-Twi.

Start over. Begin a new chapter. Sunset is right after all. It's not healthy to keep such emotions bottled up and it is certainly not right to push all of that anger and sadness onto an innocent girl who just wants to be liked. Twilight sighed, gently stroking Spike's fur as she turned to face her counterpart, hoping to build new bridges between the two of them.

"H-Hey, Twi--"

But whatever she intended to say didn't get said as a minivan smashed itself into the side of the vehicle, sending the van tumbling down the road and stopping on its side, the engine of the car smoking out of the now destroyed bonnet. Twilight's vision became hazy, she could feel a warm liquid dripping down her forehead.

The last thing she saw before fading into unconsciousness was Applejack being pulled out of the drivers seat... And the door on her side open up, revealing a man in a green suit standing above her.

Sunset sat at the edge of the roof of her apartment complex, feet dangling and swinging side to side as she was left alone with her own thoughts.

"Okay, so I know that Bruce Wayne is Batman. What the hell do I do now?" Sunset thought to herself, "Well I obviously can't tell anyone, as that's a can of worms I do not want to open." She then looked downward in worry, "But I don't want to keep things from my friends. Secrets are like walls, eventually they break down and people get hurt. But if I tell anyone, people could get hurt."

Shimmer exhaled, the freezing cold air showing her breath leaving her mouth.

But it was then that a thought came to Sunset's mind.

"Wait, if Batman knows of our abilities and what we can do with them... Then why did he let me grab his arm? Why risk the exposure of his identity? ARGH! THIS IS SO CONFUSING! WAS IT A TEST? DID HE SIMPLY NOT KNOW?" Sunset sighed and rubbed her forehead ferociously with her hands, finding it hard to think straight with all these questions running amok in her brain.

Well at least she was alone with her thoughts and not having to deal with anyone else's crap while driving herself mad.

"Shimmer."

"YIPE!!!" Sunset exclaimed loudly before turning her head to face Batman, who's cape was shrouded around his entire form. She let out a sigh of relief before asking, "Do you have to sneak up on people like that?"

Batman however wasn't in the mood for small talk, "What did you see?"

It was then that the teenager's eyes widened in shock and predominantly fear.

"S-See?" Sunset stuttered before turning to face the vigilante completely, standing up from the ledge of the roof, "What do you mean?"

Batman's glare harshened, "I'm not in the mood for games, Shimmer, I know you looked into my memories."

At this, Sunset looked down shamefully, she was caught red handed.

Not a word was spoken between the two, at least not until Sunset tried this.

"I'm sorry about your parents."

Batman's eyes widened for a second before returning to that scowl he was known for. "You looked into my memories. Why?"

Sunset then raised her hands defensively at the accusation, "I-I didn't mean too." She pleaded to the dark hero, "I just wanted to stop you from leaving."

"The wards in my suit should've prevented you from peering into my head, how did you break through them?"

Sunset was now confused, "'Wards'?"

Batman's glare remained as he elaborated, "I don't like magic users peering into what doesn't concern them. That's why I had a certain Magician conjure wards into my suit to protect my mind from magical intruders. But you broke through them and I want to know how."

Sunset Shimmer was now at a loss for words. If what Batman said is true, then how did she break through the wards? Maybe she underestimated the sheer power of Equestrian Magic? The girl rubbed her arm awkwardly before answering, "I honestly don't know. For some odd reason my magic just... Flared up. I didn't mean to peer into your mind, I swear I didn't. I'm not gonna tell anyone, I promise."

Batman didn't respond, he just simply stared at the girl as his cape flapped with the wind. The two just stared at one another before Sunset looked to the ground in sadness.

"If it's worth anything, I know what it's like to lose your parents as well."

Now that caught Bruce's attention.

As Batman didn't respond, Sunset took that as a sign to continue, "When I was a filly, I lost my parents as well. We were so happy, nothing could separate us. But then one night, as I was practicing magic, one of my spells went wrong and it started a fire." She stopped suddenly as she hugged herself with her arms, "I didn't mean it, I tried to stop it but I couldn't. I screamed in fear as my parents shot into my room. Without even a hint of hesitation, my mother and father dashed over to me so they could protect me."

It was then that Sunset looked away and squinted her eyes closed, tears leaking from the enclosed orbs.

"B-But that was the last thing that they would ever do. The floor beneath them collapsed and they fell... And they were.... W-Were..." She couldn't even finish as she began openly sobbing, she hated thinking about that night. It always ended up with her in tears.

But all of a sudden, Sunset felt something embrace her shivering form. Someone wrapped their arms around her to comfort her.

Batman held the young girl close, he knew what it was like, he was reminded of it every single day. The loss of your parents really made an impact on your life. It would change you forever. He felt the girl sob into his chest, bawling her eyes out as the painful memory returned to her.

Batman made no movement whatsoever. He just continued to hug the poor girl.

And he would continue to for as long as he needed to.

Riddle Me This

Canterlot City

"After the accident, Princess Celestia took pity on me and took me in as her student." Sunset sniffled, sitting on the edge of the roof while Batman opted to stand beside her. After Sunset had calmed down, she decided to continue her tale to the Dark Knight, who had been silent ever since she began her story.

Batman could relate to her on a personal level, he too blamed himself for the murder of his parents. If he hadn't have taken his parents down that alleyway they would still be alive. That night he vowed to never let what happened to his parents ever happen to anyone else again.

His thoughts were broken when Sunset continued, "I guess that pain never went away, it was just bottled up. That's why I became so antagonistic towards Celestia. In my eyes, she was trying to replace my mother, but now I know that she would never try to do that." She sighed before continuing, "Eventually I grew bitter and mean, thinking that I was better than everypony else. Heh, it got so bad that I ran away to try and take the power that I felt that I deserved for myself, basically telling Celestia to 'screw off'." Sunset vented before wrapping her arms around herself for comfort, "God I was such an idiot."

"You learned."

Sunset turned around and looked at Batman questionably, prompting him to elaborate.

"You learned that what you did was selfish and wrong, you became a better person in the end." Batman elaborated, "You got something not many people in your situation would ever hope to get."

The former Equestrian tilted her head to the side, "What's that?" She asked, confused as to what Batman was referring to.

"A second chance."

That made Sunset stop and think for a moment. He was right. She did get a chance at redemption, not many people get that kind of opportunity. She used to be the bane of CHS' existence, and yet she was offered a hand in friendship, she was offered a chance to turn over a new leaf and start again.

Maybe she could offer The Dazzlings that kind of chance. Extend to them what was extended to her, an open hand in friendship.

Suddenly, the Comm in Batman's cowl screeched, causing the hero to wince slightly as the device in his ear readjusted itself. Sunset looked over to the hero and got up to her feet, slowly walking off the edge of the roof and making her way towards Batman.

Once the device fixed itself, Bruce expected to hear Alfred in his ear.

But the person on the other end of the line wasn't Alfred Pennyworth.

"Can you hear me, Batman? I know you can. It is I, Edward Nygma, the Riddler, and more importantly, your intellectual superior. My genius has allowed me to hack into your primative communications." Batman scowled at the voice of The Riddler, but he kept quiet, hoping that Riddler would accidentally spill what he had planned.

Nygma loved to hear himself talk after all.

The villain continued, "But onto more pressing matters. It is time that we met face to face, test our intellectual prowess and determine who truly is the smartest out of the two of us once and for all!" Riddler exclaimed, finally wanting to settle the score between the two of them.

"I'm not playing your game, Nygma." Batman declared, not wanting to play into Riddler's hands.

Riddler chuckled before responding, "Oh you will, Dark Knight. Unless you want the death of seven teenagers on your conscious?"

Bruce's eyes widened for a moment before they returned to his trademark scowl, "If you hurt them--"

"Oh spare me the threats, Detective! After looking through the memories of the rainbow haired one it wasn't that hard to find the rest, with the exception of miss Shimmer of course." Riddler revealed before laughing, "Oh I can't wait to see you fail. Not only will I prove my intellectual superiority, but I'll also study this 'magic' stored within them after you're dead and gone. But if you wish to save them you will come to the Canterlot High School gymnasium and face me, and bring miss Shimmer too, or the girls are dead."

And with that, the communication device cut off.

Sunset looked at Batman with worry all over her face, "What's wrong?"

Bruce turned to Sunset, his expression unreadable.

"It's your friends." Batman started, "Nygma has them."

Sunset couldn't believe that this was happening. She blamed herself for this, if she hadn't have abandoned her friends to be alone this never would have happened. Maybe if she were there, she could've done something to prevent this. But now her friends were in the clutches of a mad man hell bent on proving that he was better than everyone else.

How could she have let this happen?

Her thoughts were brought to a halt when the Batwing landed just in front of CHS, already cloaking itself to avoid detection from innocent bystanders. The glass above Sunset and Batman slid back and the Dark Knight was already leaping out of the cockpit, landing on the snowy ground beneath his feet.

When Sunset managed to get out of the plane, Batman turned to her and gave her a harsh glare, "Listen and listen good. You don't touch anything, say anything, or do anything unless I tell you, got it?" He said in a stern, yet concerned voice. He really hated the idea of Sunset being here, but if he wanted to save the other girls, he had to follow Riddler's instructions.

Sunset nodded before leading Batman to the gym, where The Riddler and the captive Rainbooms would all be waiting.

When the two entered the gymnasium, they were greeted with the sight of green question marks spray painted all over the walls. Not only that, but various riddles were scribbled across the floor, the walls, and the ceiling, showing how unhinged The Riddler truly is.

But Sunset wasn't focused on that right now, she needed to save her friends before they were killed.

While Sunset worried for the wellbeing of her friends, Batman was more focused on whatever Nygma had planned for the girls. He activated his Detective Vision before they had entered the gym, hoping to point out any hidden traps Riddler had made just for them.

But the room was clear.

Something wasn't right.

Suddenly, the stage on the other side of the gymnasium lit up with green spotlights, showcasing the captive Rainbooms, who were bound to chairs with clamps, mouth gags placed over their mouths to prevent them from speaking. Off to the side was Spike, who was trapped inside of a dog cage. And standing behind them was none other than The Riddler himself, who had a sick smile on his face.

"Welcome Dark Knight, miss Shimmer, to our little game." Riddler greeted with a smile on his face.

Sunset growled before shouting, "THIS ISN'T A GAME! THESE ARE MY FRIEND'S LIVES YOU’RE MESSING WITH!" She then took a step forward, continuing, "HOW COULD YOU BE SO HEARTLESS, SO CRUEL?!"

Riddler shrugged, "Simple, I'm not in their situation, so why should I care?"

Batman tightened his fists, "Enough, what's your game Nygma?"

Riddler's smile widened, "I'm so glad you asked. You see with the recent tech I stole, I've been able to tamper with the mediocre technology of STAR Labs and use it for my own gain. And what better place to test my new technology than this backwater town full of nitwits and hillbillys?"

"That's why you came here. To test your twisted creation on these innocent people?"

Riddler scoffed, "Feh! They should feel honored that I even considered using them as my guinea pigs. Besides, their minds are practically mush already, what's the harm in twisting their minds for my own benefit?" He then raised his cane into the air, which now had a cybernetic look to it. "But enough bravado. This is it. The end. The final riddle." Nygma then pressed a button on the shaft of his cane.

It was then that the tip of the cane lit up in a green hue, which made Sunset feel uneasy.

But all of a sudden, seven individual lasers shot out of the cane and collided with the heads of the confined Rainbooms. Each of the girls let out screams of pain and anguish, some of them even letting out tears of pain while Riddler simply grinned at their suffering.

Sunset looked on in horror until the lights died down and her friends slumped over with Spike screaming for Twilight's name from inside his cage. Before anyone could say anything, the Rainbooms suddenly awakened, their eyes glowing green and their expressions stoic, unfeeling and stone like.

Riddler pressed another button on his cane and the clamps holding the girls captive fell to the ground. Riddler smiled before saying, "Stand up!" And much to Sunset's shock, the girls obeyed his very command. The villain laughed victoriously before pointing his cane towards his two enemies, "Now, see those two morons in front of you?" The Rainbooms nodded slowly. Riddler smiled evilly before giving out his command, "Kill them."

Suddenly, The Rainbooms slowly made their way off of the stage with an intent on following their new master's command. Sunset took a step back in horror while Batman moved in front of the girl and took a protective stance in front of her. But to everyone's confusion, Pinkie pulled out a Boombox and pressed down on the Play Button.

As the music started playing, the girls had quickly surrounded both Batman and Sunset, the two heroes looked around hoping to find a way out of this without fighting the mind controlled teens. Riddler, who was still on stage, shrugged as the spotlight moved to shine on him. He spun his cane around and began to sing to the beat.

"He always has a sidekick
Some boy wonder at his call!
His utility belt holds everything
Can't find that at the mall!

The Batmobile is super fast
There is no car that is surpassed!
It's a good thing we've got Arkham
Cause he really drives us bats!"

As Riddler moved around on stage, Rainbow zoomed forward to try and tackle Sunset to the floor. But luckily, Batman moved Sunset out of the way, causing Rainbow to trip over her own feet and crash into Applejack, sending the two mind controlled teens to the floor.

Then all of a sudden, the rest of The Rainbooms joined in on the song.

"Drives us bats!
Drives us bats!
He really drives us bats, bats, bats!
He drives us bats!"

As the other Rainbooms charged forward to tackle the two heroes, Riddler continued to sing as Batman grabbed hold of Sunset and fired his Grappling Gun, sending the two of them into the air.

"Whether dancing the Batusi
Or using an array of tools
He's always got the answer!
He makes us look like fools!"

As the mind controlled teens looked up at their two targets, Batman swung Sunset to the other side of the room. He placed her down as The Rainbooms charged forward with an intent to kill. The Dark Knight, thinking quickly, threw down a Smoke Bomb, evading capture.

Riddler stamped his cane on the stage in anger before addressing The Rainbooms.

"He's got no super powers
He's just a flying rat!
It's a good thing we've got Arkham
'Cause he really drives us bats!"

Unbeknownst to them, Batman had snuck Sunset on stage so she could free Spike from his cage. As she made her way to Spike, Batman landed in the middle of the gymnasium, getting everyone's attention.

"Drives Us Bats!
(World's Greatest Detective!)
Drives Us Bats!
(Foiling every evil scheme!)"

As they sung, each of The Rainbooms tried landing a punch on the hero of Gotham, but thanks to his quickly reflexes, he was able to dodge their strikes and send them tumbling to the floor without hurting them. They weren't in their right minds right now and didn't deserve this.

"He really drives us bats, bats, bats!
He drives us bats!"

From the floor Pinkie sang dramatically.

"Even without shark repellent..."

Applejack also sang as she got back up to her feet.

"He's tougher than he seems"

As Sunset let Spike out of his cage, Rarity shot up to her feet and sang like she was singing at the opera.

"Other heroes often ask...."

It was then that Rainbow folded her arms and pouted.

"Why is he always the top cat?"

Batman had had enough of this, so he grappled upward and glided across the room towards Riddler, who looked worried for his safety.

He should be worried.

As the villain tried to scurry away, Sunset and Spike suddenly appeared behind him and blocked his path. He wasn't going to get away.

"Hedrivesusbats
Drivesusbats
Drives us bats!"

And with that final note, Batman reared back his fist and delivered a shocking blow to Riddler's jaw, sending the narcissistic villain to the floor, sprawling on his back as his cane flew out of his hand. The cane tumbled across the stage before it landed by Sunset's feet.

Without thinking, she stomped her feet on the mind control device, breaking it in half and breaking Riddler's grip on The Rainbooms.

Each of Sunset's friends stopped dead in their tracks as they shook their heads, their thoughts returning to them. Twilight looked up to Sunset, who had a look of joy written all over her face.

"S-Sunset?" Twilight asked in a confused state.

Applejack rubbed the back of her head as she stumbled slightly, "Wha... What happened?"

"Ugh, I feel like I drank too much of AJ's cider." Rainbow commented.

"I concur." Rarity agreed.

"I think I partied too much. My head is all spinny." Pinkie added.

"I don't feel very good." Fluttershy said softly.

Sci-Twi removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes, "Sunset, do you have any idea what's going on?"

But before any of them knew it, they were all tackled in a group hug by Sunset, who had tears of joy leaking from her eyes, "I'M SO GLAD YOU GUYS ARE OKAY!" She sobbed as she squeezed tighter.

"YAY HUGS!!!" Pinkie shouted.

"OW! Pinkie, that was my ear!" Rainbow complained as she managed to remove one of her arms to rub her now sore ear.

At the sight of the now reunited friends, Batman couldn't help but crack a small smile at the sight.

"Oh give me a break." Riddler muttered as he rubbed his jaw with his hand.

Batman's smile faded as he turned and glared at Riddler, "On your feet, Nygma!" He ordered as he hoisted the villain to his feet by his arm.

Riddler begrudgingly obliged, "Fine, fine, no need to shout." His arms were suddenly placed behind his back as Batman placed him in Bat Cuffs to prevent him from using his hands.

"It's over, Riddler. You lost." Batman stated as he began taking Riddler out of the gymnasium.

Riddler scoffed at the statement, "Tut, tut, Batman. In your incessant quest for justice you've just deprived this world of its one true genius!"

"We'll cope."

"Cope, yes. But also regress. My puzzles are the whetstone with which to sharpen your intellect. Keep me in custody and let your mind turn to mush! It will be all the easier when we reconvene!"

Before Batman could take Riddler to the Batwing, a voice called out to him, getting his attention.

"Batman!"

Bruce stopped and turned around to face the grateful faces of The Rainbooms.

Sunset took a step forward, giving the vigilante a grateful smile, "Thank you."

Batman was about to respond, but was interrupted when the television inside the gymnasium sprung to life. Everyone turned to the tv as a static image turned to a program showcasing a fireplace with a familiar Christmas song playing in the background.

Then to the shock of The Rainbooms, Adagio and her sisters appeared on screen wearing red dresses accompanied with a Santa hat.

It was then that they began to sing.

"Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh, hey!"

And then, much to everyone's horror, a familiar Clown Prince of Crime slid on screen with a sick and twisted grin plastered on his face.

"Jingle bells, Batman smells
Robin laid an egg
The Batmobile lost a wheel
And The Joker got away!"

As The Joker laughed, Sunset and the other Rainbooms could only shake in pure terror while Batman scowled at his arch nemesis. Even Princess Twilight felt scared of this man. But it wasn't the same fear she felt when she faced off against Tirek, Chrysalis, or Sombra.

No. This was different.

"Merry Christmas, Canterlot." Joker greeted with an evil smile on his face, "Joker's in town. Hahahahahahahahaha! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

Author's Note

Sorry for the long wait, life's been a pain lately.

I got COVID at the start of the year, great way to start the year off right?

I also started a new job, so that's been fun. (Not really, I gotta get up at 4 in the morning every day, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do to get by)

Anyways, thanks for reading and stay tuned for what's to come.

Joke's on You

Canterlot City

"Ah ah ah, don't touch that remote." Joker warned, wagging his index finger at the camera before continuing, "Now I know it's heartbreaking to have your favorite show preempted. But look what you're getting instead. ME! And a whole truckload of mindless violence and wanton property damage, everything that makes TV great! So stay tuned! You won't believe your eyes."

The Joker's manic grin sent chills down the spines of The Rainbooms, it was safe to say that they were absolutely horrified. Heck, even Twilight and Spike were scared of this guy, but they had no idea why. Batman just scowled at the television while Riddler seethed in anger, the clown was showing him up after all.

Once The Joker laughed, Fluttershy let out a startled cry and moved to hide behind Rainbow Dash, feeling somewhat safer behind her prismatic friend.

Joker then started talking again, getting the attention of everyone in the gymnasium, "Citizens. Christmas is a time for togetherness. And what better form of togetherness is there than coming together to disembowel our enemies? Hahahahahaha!" The Clown Prince then started moving around, the camera panning around to follow the manic clown, "As of right now, I have planted eight bombs all across Canterlot City, filled with my delicious patented 'Joker Toxin'! Everyone within a ten block radius of my little stocking stuffers will be laughing all the way in exactly one hour!" The mad man then stopped and tugged on a loose string, pulling down a map of Canterlot City with certain areas marked with a smile.

"Here's the jist, folks! I know there's a certain flying rat in town, and I know that you can hear this Batsy! After all, we both know that you can't ignore me, can you? So here's how this is going to go down. Eight bombs, all connected to one another, set one off, they ALL go off. Disarm one without disarming the others, they all go off!!! Ooooh, I can't wait to put this town full of nobodies on the map with my Christmas gifts!" Joker shouted before leaning in towards the camera, "Let's see ole Bat Face pull something out of his rear with this! HAH!!!"

He then turned around to face The Dazzlings, who were dancing to the background music. Sunset was wondering why The Dazzlings were even there. Why would they work with The Joker?

Joker gave them a thumbs up, "Keep it up, ladies, you're doing great!" He complimented them before turning to face the camera again, rubbing his hands together with anticipation, "Now that introductions are out of the way, let's not waste anymore time!" Suddenly, a countdown appeared on the bottom left side of the screen.

59:59

59:58

59:57

"Better get a move on Bats! You have about..." He said, drifting off before glancing downward towards his left. His face then turned to one of worry, "Oh dear, that's not a lot of time!" He feigned worry before his face shifted back into that classic Joker Grin, "You're move, Batman. Hahahahahahahahaha!!!"

Batman's frown deepened as the Clown Prince of Crime laughed maniacally. He couldn't allow Joker to put this town in danger, he had to be stopped. But a sudden explosion from somewhere inside the school caught everyone's attention. Wanting to see what had happened, The Rainbooms rushed out of the gymnasium and saw a purple van with Joker's face plastered on the side of it fleeing the crime scene.

Batman soon joined them with Riddler in custody, only for the villain to yell in frustration as the backdoors opened, revealing Riddler's tech and a female jester holding a giant mallet.

Harley Quinn laughed like a school girl before blowing a raspberry at the group of heroes, specifically Batman.

"NOOOOO!!!" Riddler screamed dramatically as the jester got away with his tech, "My tech! That jester stole my possessions! They were mine, mine, mine!!!"

The sound of The Joker laughing caused Batman to quickly return into the gymnasium, with Sunset and the others in toe.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Joker laughed, placing his hand on his forehead, "I've just been informed that my lovely Harley has stolen Eddie's tech! Oooohhhh I would just love to see the look on that losers face!" Joker then clapped his hands together, "Now I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Sunset Shimmer," Sunset's eyes widened as The Joker said her name, "Thanks to her I was able to steal Eddie's tech from right under his AND Batman's long pointy nose!"

Sunset took a step back in shock and confusion. How did she manage to help The Joker of all people? This didn't make any sense. As she was about to have a panic attack, Batman saw a flash of light from the corner of his eye coming from Sunset's shoulder. He walked over and pinched at her shoulder, grabbing a small tracking device in the shape of a playing card.

The former Equestrian turned around and stared at the miniature device in shock.

"Joker must've been tracking you with this." Batman surmised before crushing the device with his thumb and index finger.

Sunset stared into space, how did The Joker manage to plant a tracker on her? She never encountered the psycho clown before, so how did he do it? Then her eyes shot open in realization. Adagio and The Dazzlings! They must've planted it on her when they bumped into each other on the sidewalk.

Sunset then took a moment to stare at the television, noting the countdown on the bottom left of the screen.

58:45

58:44

58:43

They were running out of time, they had to move now.

"So what do ya say, Batsy?" Joker cut in once more, "Wanna roast chestnuts?" He asked menacingly before laughing again.

Without wasting any time, Batman shoved Riddler into the corner of the room and placed a pair of Bat Cuffs onto his ankles, preventing him from going anywhere.

"Oh this is just degrading." Nygma complained as Batman moved towards the exit.

The Rainbooms looked at the Caped Crusader curiously before Pinkie asked, "Hey, where are ya going?"

Batman stopped at the door before turning his head slightly, "The Joker has to be stopped."

"Yeah, but you can't stop him on your own!" Rainbow piped up.

"Ya need help, partner." Applejack added as Batman turned around to face the group.

"I've stopped him before, I can do it again." Batman argued, not wanting these kids to get anymore involved.

Rarity then decided to throw in her two bits, "But this is our home on the line. We cannot just stand by and watch it be destroyed."

"Besides there are eight bombs to deactivate in one hour! No offense, but I don't think even you could pull that off." Sci-Twi explained, which was surprising considering she didn't want to get involved before. But her home was on the line, and she wouldn't stand by and do nothing.

Twilight stood forward in front of the group with pleading eyes, "Please, we know you don't want us to get hurt. But we're asking you to trust us to help you. I don't even care about proving myself anymore, I just want to do what's right and save my friends' home."

Pinkie bounced beside Rainbow Dash excitedly, "Besides, it wouldn't be a crossover story if we didn't end up teaming up!"

Fluttershy, although she didn't say anything, stood forward and nodded enthusiastically.

Sunset walked forward and stood alongside Twilight, looking to Batman with nothing but determination in her eyes, "Please, trust us. Just like how I've trusted you."

Batman grit his teeth in frustration, he didn't have time for this. On one hand, they all could go and defuse the bombs while he stops Joker, saving the city. But on the other hand, they were kids, they could get killed! All these variables and time was running out. He had to make a decision, and he had to make it now.

Bruce exhaled and focused his gaze on the eight girls standing before him. Looking at each and everyone of them, he saw a fire burning within them, wanting to do what's right. In a way, that earned a lot of respect from Batman, even though he didn't show it.

He saw Sunset's eyes and knew that this was the only way to beat Joker's twisted game.

Eventually, Batman relented, "Fine." This actually surprised The Rainbooms, given how stubborn Batman can be, "I'll let you help. But under no circumstance are any of you to go anywhere near The Joker, am I clear?"

The Rainbooms nodded before Pinkie pulled out her phone, "And we can find the bombs with this!" Everyone turned to her at her proclamation, staring at her confusedly. The pink girl shrugged, "What? I took a photo of the map Joker put on screen. Now we can find the bombs easy peazy!"

The girls all gathered round Pinkie, staring down at her phone.

Eight bombs. Eight different locations.

Sci-Twi squinted her eyes at the marked locations on the map, "Hey, I recognize these locations. That's Canterlot High!" She exclaimed, pointing at the marked location on the phone.

"And that there is Sweet Apple Acres!" AJ shouted in worry.

Rarity gasped dramatically as she pointed at the phone in horror, "That's Carousel Boutique, that ruffian intends on blowing up my shop!"

"Hey, isn't that Crystal Prep, Twilight?" Sunset asked, to which the nerdy teen nodded in worry.

"That's Canterlot Mall." Fluttershy whispered in a scared tone.

"And Equestria Land!" Rainbow added.

"And the last two are at The Sweet Shoppe and Sweet Snacks Café!" Pinkie finished before looking up from her phone.

As Batman approached the group, they all turned to face him, "Eight bombs, eight locations, one job to do. Deactivate them before Joker's timer runs out."

Princess Twilight then formulated the plan, "Alright, Applejack, it's your job to disable the bomb at Sweet Apple Acres," she then turned to Rarity as the farm girl nodded, "Rarity, you go to the Boutique," she turned to Rainbow Dash, "Rainbow, you head to the mall," Twilight turned to Fluttershy, "Fluttershy, you're headed to The Sweet Shoppe," her gaze then fell on her counterpart, "Other me, you're going to Crystal Prep," she then set her gaze onto Sunset, "Sunset, you're on CHS," Twilight then turned to Pinkie Pie, "Pinkie, you're going to save Sweet Snacks Café."

Twilight was about to tell everyone she was going to Equestria Land, but Batman beat her to it, "Princess, you're coming with me to Equestria Land, after that I'm going to find and stop The Joker."

Twilight nodded before turning to Spike, "Spike, your job is to make sure that he," she pointed directly at The Riddler, "doesn't go anywhere."

The purple dog nodded before saluting with his right paw, "You can count on me, Twilight!"

Twilight smiled sweetly at her Number One Assistant, "I always can."

Sunset then punched her palm with her left hand, "Alright girls." She started as they all turned to her, "Let's save our home."

Author's Note

Sorry for the long wait, been planning out my next story. Which so happens to be my passion project. It's a very big story and I've waited long enough, but I just have to get this story done first then I can begin publishing.

Anyways, thanks for being patient with me.

Killer Airtime (Part 2)

Canterlot City

"Gotcha!!! Hahahahahahahaha!!!" Joker laughed victoriously as he moved closer towards the camera, "Turns out my little stocking stuffers weren't bombs at all. Sure I may have tricked you all, but you gotta admit. It was one hell of a trick." The villain then placed his hands behind his back as he began explaining his true intentions, "You may be asking yourselves, 'If they're not bombs, then what are they?!' Hehehehehe, let me show you."

Joker then reached into his pocket and pulled out a miniature remote. The Dazzlings stopped swaying to the background music and looked on in confusion. When suddenly, three of Joker's thugs appeared behind them and placed a collar on them individually.

"Hey!" Adagio shouted as the collar clamped around her neck.

"What gives?!" Sonata exclaimed.

"Get your filthy hands off me!!!" Aria screamed at the top of her lungs.

All three girls tried taking the collars off, but stopped when Joker turned around and wiggled the remote in his hand, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Adagio glared at the psychotic human, "And why shouldn't we?!"

Joker smiled, "Because, those little gifts around your neck have a certain... Explosive trait to them."

The Dazzlings paled as they all slowly looked down at their collars in fear. "Y-YOU PUT BOMBS AROUND OUR NECKS?!!!" Aria shouted in pure terror.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Not just bombs, sweet heart. There's another special trait to these little collars of yours. Remember when I told you three that I did my research before coming to this place? Well I found out that when you losers tried taking over that school, you lost your ability to mind control people. So being the generous person that I am, I decided to give that back to you as a little Christmas present."

The Clown Prince of Crime then turned around to face the camera.

"Canterlot City, those bombs that have been plastered around aren't bombs at all, they're amplified speakers!" Joker explained, "Thanks to Eddie's technology, I've been able to connect his mind control tech with The Dazzlings latent magic, so when they start singing, you're minds will be bent to my will! Except, with the little adjustments that I've made, instead of succumbing to mind control, The Dazzlings beautiful voices will drive you all crazy! Just. Like. Me!"

Adagio and her sisters gasped loudly before taking a step back in horror. They never signed up for this, they only did this so that they wouldn't die. Now they had no way out of this.

"Oh, and girls!" Joker piped up with a sick grin on his face, getting the girls' attention, "If you so much as lower your pitch by a single decibel... KABLOOWE!!! You'll literally lose your heads!" He threatened before pressing the button on the remote, activating the collars, "Ooooh, they're active! Sing, sing, sing, sing, sing!!!"

As their collars began to blink and beep, The Dazzlings had no choice but to follow Joker's order.

So they sang like their lives depended on it, because in this scenario, it did.

As the screen inside the now revealed speaker shut off, miniature loud speakers sprung out of the top of the device. Then suddenly, the singing voices of The Dazzlings began to play out of the speaker. Twilight covered her ears with her hands, not wanting to be driven crazy.

"Ngh!!! BATMAN!!!" Twilight shouted over the blaring sound of the speaker, "WHAT DO WE DO?!" She asked as she turned around, only to find that Batman was already gone.

Sunset covered her ears as she tried running away from the speaker, only to find that it produced sound all throughout the school, making it impossible for her to escape the maddening sound. She barged out of the door as Rainbow Dash sped right past her before she crashed into a bush.

Sunset rushed over to her friend, worried for her safety, "Rainbow, are you okay?" She asked, helping the prismatic girl out of the bush.

RD shook her head, "No, Sunset it's bad! Like really bad! As soon as the speakers started playing, everyone in the mall just... just.."

"Just what?" Sunset asked, tilting her head to the side.

Rainbow shivered as the memory played back in her head, "Just started... laughing."

Now Sunset was confused, if it was as instantaneous as Rainbow said it was, then why weren't they affected? Her eyes shot open as she suddenly felt a warm feeling on her chest. She reached into her shirt and pulled out her pendant. It was glowing, humming softly as it brightened up.

"The pendants?" She thought to herself before snapping her fingers, "THAT'S IT!" The Equestrian turned human looked to her friend with determination written all over her face, "Rainbow, I need you to take me to Sweet Apple Acres. After that, speed off and bring everyone else there, we don't have time to lose."

Rainbow, although confused, nodded and grabbed hold of Sunset before speeding off to Sweet Apple Acres.

"WHEEEEEEEEEEE!!!" Pinkie exclaimed happily as Rainbow speed her into the barn of Sweet Apple Acres. Once she arrived through the door of the barn, she set Pinkie sown next to Fluttershy, who was shaking due to the fear she was currently feeling.

Rainbow nodded to Sunset, signaling for her to start speaking, "I think I've figured out a way to help put a stop to all of this." Now she had everyone's attention. Sunset took out her pendant and showed it off to everyone, "It's our pendants, they're made up of Equestrian magic! Somehow they're shielding us from The Dazzlings voices, that's why we aren't insane yet!"

Everyone, sans Princess Twilight, took out their pendants and surely enough, they were all glowing.

"But I don't understand." Twilight spoke up, gaining everyone's attention, "I don't have a pendant, why aren't I crazy yet?"

Sunset stroked her chin in thought, "I think it's all the built up magic inside of you. It's temporarily shielding you, but I don't know how long that will last."

"Darling that's all well and good, but how are we suppose to fix all of this. It's a complete disaster. Of all the things that could happen, this is the worst POSSIBLE THING!"

Sunset smirked as she folded her arms over her chest, "Simple. We're going to help Batman stop The Joker."

"But how exactly are we meant to stop him? One, he is the most dangerous super villain in the entire world, and two, we don't even know where he is!"

It was at this time that Pinkie giggled, "Of course we do silly! He's at the movie set, y'know, where Mr. Zoom let us see the 'Daring Do movie get made?"

All of The Rainbooms looked at Pinkie as if she were either a genius or a crazy person. They all then proceeded to smack their foreheads, why hadn't they thought of that?

"Y'know Pinkie, for someone as random as you, you actually manage to make a lot of sense sometimes." Applejack complimented the pink girl, at least, Pinkie took it as a compliment.

"Thanks!" She expressed her gratitude by pulling out a cupcake from her hair and offering it to Applejack.

Princess Twilight raised a finger in confusion, "Um, someone is going to have to fill me in here."

"We'll fill you in on the way, Twi. For now," Sunset looked at AJ, "get the van ready, we're going back to the movie set!"

"You feel it, don't you Canterlot?" Joker asked as he leaned in closer towards the camera, "Your minds turning to mush. Your skin crawling. Like you're being watched? Trust me when I say that you'll get used to it. Give it time and it will become the greatest feeling you'll ever feel. It's like I've always said, 'All it takes is one bad day to drive the sanest man alive to lunacy.' That's how far the world is from where I am. Just one. Bad. Day."

Joker turned around to face The Dazzlings to see how they were doing. He saw that they all had scared looks on their faces, Sonata even had tears falling from her eyes on account of how scared she was.

"Oh don't be such a crybaby, Sonata! It's Christmas after all, don't wanna lose your head now, do you?" Joker laughed as he waved the remote in his hand, taunting the distraught girl even more.

"PUDDIN'!!!" A sudden shout caught the clown's attention.

Joker's eyes widened as he turned around to see his girl running right towards him, "HARLEY?!" His surprised expression turned to one of pure rage as she got closer, "What are you doing here?! I told you to stay at Equestria Land!"

"But Puddin', Batman was there with some teenage brat! I had to get away so I wouldn't get caught." Harley explained as she came to a stop right in front of The Joker.

Joker's right eye twitched as he loomed over Harley, "You saw Batsy... and you came running here?!"

Harley looked a little hurt, what was the big deal?

"Puddin'?"

"You just don't get it, do you?" Joker snarled slowly before grabbing Harley by the throat, cutting off her flow of oxygen, "You led Batman RIGHT TO MY DOORSTEP!!!" He shouted before backhanding Harley to the floor, knocking her unconscious. The Clown Prince of Chaos tugged on his jacket as he exhaled heavily. "Good help is so hard to find these days, wouldn't you say so Batman?"

No response.

Joker put his hands to the side of his mouth to amplify his voice, "YOO HOO!!! Batsy?! I know you're here some-- OOF!!!" He let out a pained grunt as he was punched directly in the nose by a gloved hand. Joker fell on his back as Batman emerged from the shadows.

He did not look happy.

Joker rubbed his face before smiling up at his adversary, "Oh there you are."

Batman grabbed Joker by the scruff of his collar and got right in his face, "Shut it down." He growled lowly, Batman wasn't in the mood for games.

Joker responded by spraying Batman with some acid from his flower. The dark hero grunted in pain as the acid met with his shoulder, burning the fabric of his suit and exposing his now burnt skin. Joker took this chance to reach into his jacket, he then pulled out a crowbar and smacked Batman up the side of the head with it.

Batman fell to the floor, his ears ringing from the impact. His sight was blurry, he felt dizzy and nauseous.

Joker sighed contently as he stroked his crowbar fondly, "Ah, the memories." He then smiled evilly as Batman tried getting back up, before he brought the crowbar down onto Batman's back, sending him back down onto the floor. As blood pooled out of Batman's nose, Joker decided to kick the downed hero in the face, sending him onto his back.

"Big old Bats has fallen down!" He delivered a swift kick to Batman's rib cage, "On the ground!" A stomp on Batman's chest kept him down. The ringing in Batman's ears returned as he sprawled over onto his chest and tried to pick himself back up, "Mind unsound!" Joker walked in front of Batman and smacked him in the face with his crowbar, sending the hero back onto his back, "Big old Bats has fallen down!" He then pressed his foot onto Batman's chest, keeping him down, "I'm so happy!"

The Dazzlings could only watch on in horror as Joker tossed away the crowbar and pulled out a gun from inside his jacket. The Clown Prince of Crime aimed the gun directly into Batman's face, his finger placed on the trigger, ready to fire at any given moment.

He was about to kill him, and there was nothing that Adagio and her sisters could do to stop him. They could only just stand there and sing as they watched Joker cock back the gun.

"Now," Joker began as his smile grew even wider, "time to deliver the punchline."

The Last Laugh

Canterlot City

"Are ya sure that they're here, sugarcube?" Applejack whispered to Pinkie Pie, wanting to keep it quiet as to not alert any possible guards to their presence. The movie set was quiet, like it had been abandoned ever since they finished filming Daring Do. "'Cause we don't have a lot of time."

Pinkie, who was uncharacteristically quiet, looked to her friend and gave her a small smile, "Trust me, Jackie. This is the place, I mean, it makes the most sense." Pinkie responded as she and the rest of the girls snuck past an old temple set.

But all of a sudden, Princess Twilight let out a small cry of pain before collapsing to her knees. Alarmed, the rest of the Rainbooms rushed over as the Alicorn Princess grasped her head in pain. Sunset knelt down and held Twilight's shoulders as tears fell down her face.

"What's happening to her?!" Rainbow asked in alarm, clearly worried for the wellbeing of her friend.

Sunset looked away from Twilight and stared at the rest of her friends with worry all over her features, "Her Equestrian magic. Since she doesn't have a pendant like the rest of us, Twilight's built up magic is protecting her from The Dazzlings' voices." She surmised before looking back to Twilight, who was starting to calm down, "It must be wearing off. If we don't put a stop to this, Twilight will be driven mad."

Princess Twilight was hyperventilating, her head was pounding like it was about to explode. She heard faint laughter in her head. Horrid, sinister laughter. It terrified her to the core, she didn't want this. All she wanted was to hang out with her friends for the weekend, now she was being driven insane.

When Sci-Twi saw the look of despair on her counterparts face, she knelt down next to Sunset and gave the Princess of Friendship a stern look. "Twilight, you have to fight it." She said sternly.

"I-I can't!" Twilight cried in response. The laughter was getting louder.

"Yes you can, I know you can! If you're anything like me you know that we used to be afraid, scared to even let anyone get close to us. But ever since we made friends we have grown, you have grown. We've both done some things that we had never thought possible! With the friendships we've made, the bonds we've forged, there's nothing that we can't overcome. But I'm just a human, you Twilight, are the Princess of Friendship! Show the world what it means by beating this thing!"

Sci-Twi's encouraging words seemed to really connect with Twilight, seeing as the Princess' breathing was beginning to slow down.

"In and out, just like Cadance taught you." Twilight thought to herself as the laughter inside her head began to recede, allowing her to collect her thoughts once more. She opened her eyes to see the smiling faces of Sunset, Sci-Twi, and the other members of the Rainbooms. Twilight collected herself before looking at her counterpart with a kind and gentle smile, "Thank you, Twilight."

Sci-Twi nodded before standing up and offering her a helping hand. It was at this moment that the Princess of Friendship had finally realized that her counterpart hadn't been out to replace her. She just so happened to make friends with the same group she had made friends with.

She had really misjudged her. Twilight smiled and took Sci-Twi's hand, accepting this new blossoming friendship. Once the Princess was back on her feet, Sunset suddenly heard the unmistakable sound of Joker's laughter echoing from the room next to them.

"Wait, do you guys hear that?" Sunset whispered before elaborating, "That's the sound of laughter."

It was then that Pinkie became dead serious, glaring at the wall before her, "That's not laughter." She said in a scarily serious tone. Everyone turned to the pink girl with surprised looks on their faces, never in all of their lives had they ever heard Pinkie talk in that tone of voice.

It was eerie.

Rarity cleared her throat, gaining everyone's attention, "Well darlings, this is it. A-Anyone have any rousing speeches in their repertoire?"

Everyone looked at one another with fear evident on their faces. Heck, even Rainbow Dash was terrified to go in there. Nobody was up to say anything, how could they? They were about to go up against the most dangerous foe they have ever faced. It was pretty clear why they were so afraid.

When no one said anything, Sunset sighed before placing her hand on the door knob and twisting it open. The door creaked open, but the music drowned out the noise. Looking through the door, Sunset gasped involuntarily as she gazed at the sight of Batman being beaten senseless by Joker.

The girls all gasped before turning their gaze to The Dazzlings, who were swaying their hips and singing their tune of insanity. While Rainbow and Applejack glared hatefully at the trio of Sirens, Sunset and Twilight looked on in concern as they noticed the tears spilling down Sonata's face.

Even Adagio and Aria looked petrified, afraid to make one wrong move.

"They look terrified," Sunset noted in her head as she continued to stare at the Sirens. "What if they don't want to do this? Maybe their being forced to." With that thought in mind, she turned around to her friends and declared, "We have to help The Dazzlings."

"WHAT?!" Both AJ and Rainbow shouted simultaneously while the others looked skeptical.

"Why would we ever help them?!" Rainbow shrieked as she got right in Sunset's face, "They're working with The Joker of all people!!!"

While Rainbow looked like she was about to explode in a fit of anger, Sunset maintained a cool and steady look as she pointed a finger to The Dazzlings, "Look at them Rainbow and tell me that they're here of their own free will."

Rainbow did exactly that and looked at the three siblings, when she did, her face softened as did AJ's when they saw the state that Adagio and her siblings were in. It was hard to argue with the facts, they looked scared, something that they had never even thought of when The Dazzlings were brought up.

They both sighed and turned back to Sunset, "What's the plan, sugarcube?" Applejack asked her Equestrian friend, on board with what Shimmer had planned.

Sunset smiled, "Here's the plan."

"You wanna know what the best part about this is, Bats?" Joker asked his fallen adversary before kicking him in the ribs, "You try to struggle and resist the insanity, when the fact is that you are already crazy. Why else would you dress up like a flying rat, going around Gotham beating up crooks for fun? Face it Batman, you're just like me."

"Yeah right!" A sudden shout caught Joker's attention before he was suddenly shoulder charged at super speed by Rainbow Dash. Joker was sent sprawling to the floor as the rest of the Equestria Girls rushed over to join their prismatic friend. Joker rubbed his jaw before standing back up on his feet, chuckling as he tugged on his jacket.

"It's over, Joker!" Sunset declared.

Joker barked a laugh in response to the declaration, "Not quite, Equestria Girl! I don't know how you all aren't crazy yet, but hey I'm flexible." He replied as he tugged on the collar of his jacket.

As Joker laughed at the girls standing before him, Princess Twilight took a step forward, showing that she wasn't afraid of him. "You may think you'll win this day. You may think that fear and terror is the most powerful thing in the world. But know that you cannot win, because you lack the most powerful magic of all! The Magic of Frie---"

"Oh shut up!" Joker shouted as he cut Twilight off, ruining her friendship speech, "Is she like this all the time? Here I thought that you couldn't get any lamer!" He then reached into his jacket pocket, "But if you think that the 'Magic of Friendship' is going to save you from going insane, then allow me to bring you into the real world!" He then made a move to pull the remote from out of his jacket... only to find that it wasn't there.

When Joker dug deeper into his pocket, Rainbow cleared her throat with a smug look on her face, "Looking for this?" Joker looked up from his pocket and saw that Rainbow had the remote in her hand. She must of snagged it off of him when she shoulder charged him. She then dropped the remote to the floor and smashed it to pieces with her foot.

For Adagio and her sisters, it suddenly felt like they could breathe again as the collars unlocked themselves from their necks and clattered onto the floor. They looked at one another before Sonata tackled them all into a giant group hug. As Aria struggled to break free from the bear hug, Adagio looked over to Sunset, who gave her a kind smile, which confused the heck out of the Siren.

Sunset then looked down at Batman, who was slowly getting back up to his feet.

Sunset then looked back at The Joker, and instantly regretted it.

The Clown Prince of Crime did not look happy.

"Now that's. Not. Funny." He growled before he smiled, "But this is." Joker added before he pulled out his gun and aimed it at the girls.

BANG!

The bullet flew through the air, headed right towards the girls. Rainbow quickly moved into super speed to try and catch the bullet. She was so close to catching the bullet, it was right there.

But it slipped right through her fingers.

And hit Fluttershy in the shoulder.

The kind and sweet girl cried out in agony as the bullet tore through her shoulder and fell to the floor. The sheer impact of the bullet sent Fluttershy falling to the floor, blood oozing out of her now wounded shoulder.

"FLUTTERSHY!!!"

All of the girls screamed in unison before rushing down to their friend, who was now openly sobbing due to the bullet wound in her shoulder. Batman looked on in shock before gritting his teeth in pure, unyielding rage.

"FLUTTERSHY, IT'S GOING TO BE OKAY!" Twilight reassured her wounded friend, failing at hiding the panic she was in.

"I-I-It h-h-hurts..." Fluttershy sobbed weakly, grasping her wound tightly with her hand.

"Well I'd like to stay and celebrate your victory, but I've got stockings to stuff, mistletoe to hang... and about fifteen skyscrapers to blow up before sunrise. Ciao!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" The mad man laughed before running through the doors with a weak Harley Quinn following behind him.

Batman grit his teeth before mustering the strength to get back up and chase after The Joker, but stopped when he saw the girls gathering around Fluttershy. With a look of sympathy on his face, Batman walked over to the group and looked down at Fluttershy, "I'm sorry."

Applejack shook her head, "N-Not yer' fault." She reassured through her tears, "Not at all."

Rainbow couldn't move, she couldn't speak, all she could do was sit there next to her best friend and hold her close. "I wasn't fast enough." She thought to herself darkly as she continued to cradle Fluttershy.

It was then that Pinkie spoke up, her cheeks wet from the tears she had shed, "Hey, where's Sunny?"

It was then that everyone noticed that Sunset Shimmer was gone. She was nowhere in sight. As everyone looked around, Batman's eyes widened in realization before returning to his stoic glare, "That idiot!" He then sprinted out of the room, "Call an ambulance, I'll go get her!"

"Go Harley, go go go!" Joker shouted as the helicopter began to ascend into the air. Harley was currently in the pilots seat steering the helicopter. Sure she had no experience but how hard could it be?

As the chopper began to fly away from the movie set, Joker suddenly heard something Thud behind him. He turned around and was met with a fist to the face from Sunset Shimmer. Joker stumbled back before he hit the back wall of the chopper.

Joker wiped some blood from his mouth as Sunset slowly marched forward towards him with a look of vengeance on her face. "That was for Fluttershy!" She shouted before rushing forward.

Joker laughed as he pulled out his pistol and fired. Sunset quickly ducked before he shot and punched the clown in the gut. He gripped onto his knife, which slid down from under his sleeve and slashed at the girl, but she back trotted away from the blade. Joker slashed again, to which Sunset kept dodging before he swung once more, giving her a chance to grab his arm and punch him in the face again.

Joker stumbled back, growling before Sunset charged forward and tackled him to the floor.

Meanwhile Harley was having trouble steering the chopper, she was struggling to avoid the various buildings in her flight path, somehow managing to avoid crashing into most of them. But her luck ran out as the tail of the chopper smashed against the windows on a building she was flying past, damaging the back propeller.

The chopper experienced major turbulence, causing Joker and Sunset to roll multiple times. But Sunset still had a grip around The Joker's throat, and it looked like she wasn't letting go whatsoever.

Joker simply smiled before nodding his head towards Harley, "Y'know she's going to kill us right?"

As the chopper swayed from side to side, smoke coming from the back of the chopper, Joker and Sunset continued their fight. Sunset was kicked across the chopper by Joker, who quickly overpowered her with ease. Sunset collided with the wall of the aircraft as Joker got back up and started walking over to her.

"For someone who's not Batman," Joker started as he pulled out another knife from his jacket, "You've been a real pain in my ass. Hahahahahahaha!"

As Joker loomed over Sunset, Harley noticed from her peripheral vision that a certain Bat like aircraft had suddenly appeared next to the helicopter.

"Oh crap." She muttered to herself.

The glass above the cockpit slid open, allowing Batman to stand up and aim his Grappling Hook at the helicopter. He fired and it grappled onto the side of the chopper, allowing him to zip up to the open door on the side of the chopper.

Joker giggled as he stood over Sunset, completely unaware that Batman was right behind him. When Sunset smirked, Joker turned around and was punched directly in the nose by the Dark Knight. The impact sent Joker spinning around in circles before he collided with Harley's seat.

The impact accidentally shoved Harley forward, causing her to tilt the steering mechanism to far left, turning the helicopter right into a building. The rotors on top of the chopper smashed the glass windows, damaging the rotors themselves. The console beeped loudly as the chopper spun around through the air.

"Uh oh. Heh!" Joker muttered before laughing at their current predicament.

Batman, thinking quickly, kicked Joker in the chest which sent him to the back of the chopper, allowing him to grab both Sunset and Harley as the chopper fell through the sky. The two girls wrapped their arms around the Caped Crusader as he jumped out of the chopper, gliding down and crashing into the lower windows as the chopper crashed through the windows just a floor above them.

Sunset groaned as her sight returned to her. She appeared to be in an office of some kind, it was hard to tell since the lights were off. The Equestrian slowly got up to her knees and looked to her left to see that Harley had been knocked unconscious from the impact.

Shaking her head, she got back up to her feet and saw that Batman was doing the same.

Though she couldn't see it, she knew that Batman was giving her the most serious of Bat Glares right now.

As Batman straightened himself, Sunset slowly approached the hero, "B-Bruce..."

"We'll talk about this later." Was the reply she got.

(Play from 1:10)

Joker groaned as consciousness returned to him, his head was pounding from the sheer beating he had received. He took note of how close the chopper was to falling from the newly made hole in the side of the building. He looked around fearfully as a sudden shift in the weight of the chopper shook the ground he was standing on.

Joker saw the smashed window in the front of the chopper and made a break for it.

Big mistake.

The sudden movement caused the chopper to lean back, sending Joker crashing down into the back wall of the chopper. After he shook his head, he saw that the chopper was leaning back.

It was about to fall. There was nothing he could do. Joker sighed before he smiled. He bared his teeth as he began to laugh.

The chopper fell off the side of the building with Joker's laugh echoing throughout the night.

Batman and Sunset both heard the sound of Joker's laughter rush past the window behind them. They both ran to the window and saw the chopper falling down to the ground.

With Joker still inside.

Joker continued to laugh, even in the face of death. He crossed his legs and folded his arms, still laughing.

The ground was itching closer. He was still laughing.

The silhouettes of Batman and Sunset were moving further away. He was still laughing.

He continued to laugh until...

BOOM!!!

The helicopter smashed onto the ground and blew up in a blaze of fiery glory. There was nothing left, all that there was were the remains of the chopper and dancing flames. Not even The Joker could've survived that.

Or could he?

Sunset stared down at the blazing inferno down on the street below with horrified eyes. The helicopter blew up with The Joker still inside. There was no way that he survived that. The Equestrian turned her head as Batman began walking away from the window.

"B-Batman?" She asked hesitantly.

Batman didn't stop walking, he simply said, "He'll be back." That statement confused Sunset, he just blew up, how could he be back. It was then that the Dark Knight stopped and turned around to face the confused girl, "He's survived worse."

And with that, he picked up the unconscious Harley Quinn and walked out of the room, leaving Sunset to ponder what Batman had said. Could he have survived that? She shook her head, no way, he was in the dead center of that explosion. The Joker was dead and gone.

Right?

Closing Curtains

Canterlot City

"And if you're just tuning in, the reported explosion in downtown Canterlot was due to an escape attempt made by the villain only known as 'The Joker' after an attempt on driving the citizens of our great city insane. The Joker was reportedly inside the helicopter when it exploded, but his body has not been found at this time."

As the news report reciting the events that played out with The Joker played on the television inside the hospital room, the Rainbooms gathered around Fluttershy's hospital bed, refusing to leave her side no matter the circumstances.

Fluttershy, despite the circumstances, smiled happily at the sight of all her friends gathered around her. Sure her arm was in a sling due to her injury, and sure it hurt like nothing before, but she was still grateful to have such great friends gathered around her wishing her nothing but the best.

"Hey, Fluttershy." The voice of Rainbow Dash cut her off from her thoughts. She turned to face her oldest friend so she could listen to what she has to say, "I-I'm sorry."

That caught her off guard, "W-Why are you sorry? You have nothing to apologize for."

RD shook her head in denial, "No, that's not true. I wasn't fast enough to catch that bullet, now you're in the hospital because I was too slow. Batman was right, I'm not cut out for being a hero."

"Maybe not." Fluttershy spoke suddenly, making Rainbow feel worse. That is until she added, "But you're definitely cut out for being my best friend."

Rainbow had small tears in her eyes before she wiped them away with the back of her hand.

Twilight cleared her throat, getting everyone's attention, "I would also like to apologize. They way I've been acting lately, especially towards you Twilight, was unacceptable. I hope you can all forgive me."

Applejack and the other girls smiled before said farm girl wrapped her arm around her Equestrian friend's shoulder, "Aw, don't worry about it, sugarcube. Ya'll were clearly going through somethin', Ah'm just glad that ya got through it."

"We all are." Sunset added.

Spike, who had been curled up on the foot of Fluttershy's bed, walked up to Twilight's hand and nuzzled it affectionately. The princess giggled before moving her hand to the top of Spike's head and rubbing it, causing the pup to wag his tail happily.

Rarity let out a breath, "Well darlings, I think I can safely say that this has been a long night."

"Yeah, I mean, we did stop two psycho's in one night. It's bound to take a lot out of us." Rainbow added, boasting about their accomplishments.

Sci-Twi giggled before adjusting her glasses, "Well we did have help."

"I wish I got to throw him a 'Thank You for Saving Our Home and Stopping Two Crazy Meanies' Party. But we all know how that would turn out." Pinkie said, a little bummed out that Batman wouldn't attend one of her parties.

Sunset placed a comforting hand on the party girl's shoulder, "I'm sure he knows how grateful we are for his help already Pinkie."

A sudden knock at the door caught everyone's attention. They all turned to see The Dazzlings standing there looking nervous as all hell. In each of their hands were a set of presents, wrapped neatly in Christmas wrapping paper.

All was silent in the hospital room before Sonata waved nervously, "H-Hey."

"Hi..." The Rainbooms responded together.

Adagio rubbed the back of her head, "Listen, we just came by to say t-t-thank you for saving us from The Joker. As a token of our appreciation, we all pitched in and got you all Christmas presents."

Aria nodded in agreement before looking away, she wasn't any good at this emotional stuff.

"Look, we know that this isn't enough to make up for everything that we did. But we hope that it's a start, if you'll have us of course." Sonata spoke in a tone sad yet hopeful.

Sunset looked back at her friends, each of them looking at one another before turning to her and nodding in confirmation. Sunset turned to The Dazzlings and gestured for them to come in, "Come on in, it's Christmas after all. It may not be the ideal setting, but we can make it work."

The Dazzlings' faces all lit up almost instantaneously as they all walked in, placing their presents on the table full of 'Get Well' cards.

As Adagio and her siblings walked over to join the Rainbooms, Sunset noticed a shadow zoom up past their hospital window.

Specifically a Bat shaped shadow.

She smirked before making her way towards the door.

"Where're you going, Sunset?" Twilight asked, causing her to turn around and smile at the group.

"To see off a new friend."

Once the door to the hospital roof opened up, Sunset was hit with a chilling breeze that shook her to the core. She wrapped her arms around herself before moving towards the edge of the roof where Batman was waiting for her. She walked up and stood beside The Dark Knight as the snow started to pick up.

"How's your friend?" Batman asked, breaking the moment of silence between them.

"Doctors say that she's going to be fine." Sunset responds before sighing, she was waiting for the lecture to start. Waiting to hear how stupid it was to go after Joker alone.

But it never came.

Confused, Sunset looked up at Batman with an arched eyebrow, "Aren't you going to lecture me on how stupid I was?"

Batman didn't look at her, he just stared forward, his cape flapping with the wind. "What would be the point? I know you'd do it again in a heartbeat. When it comes to your friends you'd do anything for them, even risk your own life."

"Yeah I would."

"Now you know why you got your second chance. Why you're worthy of it. Don't squander it, Shimmer, there won't be another chance."

Sunset giggled, "Yeah, cause I wouldn't want you to come after me, right?" She said in a tone that indicated that she was joking.

Batman didn't respond.

Unnerved, Sunset shied away from the dark protector slightly.

"Soooo," Sunset started, hoping to move on from the awkwardness from before, "What happened to Riddler and Harley?"

"They're on their way back to Arkham Asylum as we speak."

Now it was time for the big question on everyone's minds, "...And The Joker?"

"They never found his body."

"Okay that's not creepy at all." Sunset blurted out.

"Sir, there's been an incident back in Gotham. Two-Face is currently robbing Gotham National Bank. Batgirl and Robin are headed there now, but you might want to be there for back up." Alfred said over the Comms as the Batwing uncloaked, revealing that it was hovering over the hospital.

Batman then took out his Grappling Hook and aimed it at the Batwing, "Duty calls." He said to the girl, but just as he was about to fire, Sunset caught his attention once more.

"Hey Bruce," Batman looked at the girl, who offered him a smile, "Take care of yourself, and thanks for everything."

Batman nodded before replying, "Stay out of trouble, Shimmer." He then fired his Grappling Gun and zipped up into the Batwing. Once inside, the aircraft took off into the night and soared into the clouds.

Sunset smirked and waved at the retreating vehicle before turning around and walking back inside to join her friends.

The Batwing soared through the skies. Canterlot was now safe, now it was time to return home. To Gotham. To his city. The criminals of Gotham had better be prepared, he was coming home. They had reason to fear, after all...

He is vengeance.

He is the night!

HE IS BATMAN!

THE END!

Prologue: Robbery at S.T.A.R Labs

Gotham City

A gunshot.

A singular gunshot sounded off in the dead of night.

Scaring away all the rats and vermin in the alleyways of Gotham City. Gun violence was very common for a city like Gotham, the streets are practically run by scum. Criminals. Individuals who like seeing pain be inflicted onto others. Crime was the norm, the GCPD couldn't do a thing about it.

Not alone anyway.

The gunshot originated from an armed gunman, who was currently on a heist with his fellow crew members. The armed gunmen stepped over the corpses of the security guards, blood puddles forming behind their heads where they lay. The raindrops were starting to pick up, it was going to storm tonight, but what else was new.

These gunmen were not your ordinary thugs, however, they were dressed in green with question marks tattered all over their clothing. These thugs worked for Edward Nigma, aka The Riddler.

The first Riddler Thug approached the glass doors and stuck an explosive device on the glass. While he armed the C4, the other two Riddler Thugs were looking around in the various alleyways, rooftops, anywhere where he could strike.

"Aye!" The Riddler Thug shouted to his teammate, "Could you hurry the hell up! Last thing I want is for The Bat to show up and send me to the Emergency Room!"

The other Riddler Thug rolled his eyes as he finished prepping the C4, "Would you quit your complaining! It's armed, so step back!" Taking his advice, the other two Thugs backed away as the C4 began to beep ominously. After a few seconds, the glass doors exploded open, glass shards flying everywhere due to the explosion.

"ALRIGHT, WE'RE IN!!! GO, GO, GO!!!" One of the Riddler Thugs yelled above the blaring alarm, rushing inside S.T.A.R. Labs to get what they came for.

Unbeknownst to them, someone was watching them. But it wasn't just anyone.

It was him.

The armed Riddler Thugs traversed through the hallways of S.T.A.R. Labs, whatever they wanted with this tech company, it wasn't for anything good. S.T.A.R. Labs had various weapons built to counter extraterrestrial threats, such as the forces of Apokolips, the Sinestro Corps, or the likes of Brainiac.

Sure they could rely on the Justice League, but what if they weren't enough?

The likes of Superman have succumbed to mind control before, they needed to be prepared. But what could the likes of The Riddler want with S.T.A.R. Labs technology?

One of the Riddler Thugs smashed a scanner on the wall with the butt of the gun, opening the door to reveal the Testing Room for all sorts of new technology. The three armed gunmen turned on the flashlight attachments on their guns and began looking around.

The shadows of the raindrops colliding with the glass skylight could be seen on the floor.

But so could the shadow of a Bat.

One of the goons walked up to a Boom Tube projector and stupidly knocked on it with the barrel of his Assault Rifle, "Hey," He called out to his compatriots, "Check this friggin' thing out."

"Will you knock it off, you moron!" The other crewmember shouted, "We've got a job to do."

As he walked away, he failed to see the dumb crewmember flip him the bird.

"What are we supposed to be looking for anyway?" The third Riddler Thug asked, finally speaking up.

"Anything we can get our hands on," One of the Riddler Thugs responded, "The boss already got what he wanted a few weeks ago, remember? Since he's out of town, he asked us to break into S.T.A.R. Labs so we could steal any useful stuff we could get our hands on."

The second crewmember huffed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, "If that's the case, then why are we doin' this now? Why couldn't the boss do it when he stole the stupid thing in the first place?"

"Yeah and come to think of it, why send us?" The third Riddler Thug.

"Because A: The boss is a stuck up prick. And B: Because we're on his payroll, and if you wanna get paid, then quit complaining and get to work!" The first Riddler Thug listed off, already having grown bored of his associates complaining.

The third Riddler Thug shrugged as he turned away, "Look, all I'm sayin is that it looks like the boss thinks our lives aren't worth much."

"I agree."

Suddenly, the skylight shattered into pieces as he smashed down from the sky and glide kicked one of the Riddler Thugs in the face, sending him flying right into a desk. The rain dropped down onto his shrouded form as he rose up to full height.

"HOLY SHIT!!!" The other Thug screamed in terror as he fell onto his back and scurried backwards to get away from him.

The first Thug aimed his gun at the assailant, his entire form shaking in pure unadulterated fear, "I-IT'S HIM!!" He stuttered as the figure turned to him, glaring right into his soul.

The second Thug finally got back up to his feet and looked on in terror, "IT'S THE FREAKIN BAT!!!" He screamed before trying to make a run for the exit.

But Batman wasn't going to let him escape however, as he quickly threw a Batarang into the Thug's calf muscle, causing him to fall to the ground, screaming in pain. Not even a second later, bullets started flying. Batman, thinking quickly, took out his Grappling Hook and took off to the banisters inside the room.

The two Riddler Thugs aimlessly shot up towards the ceiling, hoping to hit the Caped Crusader, but he had already moved to the perfect position. One of the Riddler Thugs walked backwards, still shooting up towards the ceiling, not knowing that Batman was already behind him.

The Dark Knight cupped the Thugs mouth and pulled him back into the shadows, his screams of terror muffled by Batman's hand.

"And then there was one." Batman thought to himself as he grappled onto a banister above ground. He looked down at the final Thug, who was looking around in terror, he was done for, he just knew it.

"SH-SHOW YOURSELF, CHICKEN!!!" The Riddler Thug shouted angrily into the darkness, knowing that the Batman could be anywhere. Watching and listening to his every move. Out of nowhere, a Batarang knocked his gun right out of his hands, leaving him unarmed.

It was then that a Smoke Pellet was dropped at his feet. He looked at the metal ball for a moment before it exploded into a cloud of smoke. He coughed and hacked, aimlessly swinging his arms around, hoping to land a punch on the World's Greatest Detective.

His eyes darted around, his heartbeat picked up, sweat was falling from his forehead. He was terrified. He couldn't take this. The Thug made a run for it, not knowing where to run due to the smoke surrounding him. He was running and running and running until he collided with something.

Or rather someone.

The criminal looked up in terror as Batman loomed over his shaking form.

The Dark Knight then punched the goon right in the face, breaking his nose and loosening several teeth. The now unconscious Riddler Thug landed on the ground, blood oozing from his nose and mouth. Batman turned his head slightly to see the Riddler Thug he incapacitated crawling towards the exit.

He shook his head before aiming his Grappling Hook at the Thug's leg and firing. Batman then pulled the Thug back, ignoring the criminals pleading screams as he fired the Grappling Hook again, this time at one of the banisters. He then walked around slowly as the criminal was being strung up by his leg.

As the criminal squirmed, Batman got right in his face and gave him a glare that would make someone's heart stop, "I'm only going to ask this once, I will know if you're lying."

The Thug nodded his head frantically, "S-SURE! W-WHATEVER YOU WANT, MAN!!!"

It was then that lightning struck outside, adding to the terror that was The Dark Knight.

He leaned in and grasped the Thug by his shirt, pulling him closer as a scare tactic. He then asked in a low, threatening voice, "Where's Riddler?"

Batman stood atop a nearby rooftop as the GCPD arrived to take the criminals into custody, raindrops bouncing off of him as he eyed the scene down below. Once he saw that the three criminals were shoved into the back of a GCPD cruiser, Batman tapped his earpiece and contacted his Butler and father figure: Alfred Pennyworth.

"Sir, I presume you apprehended those thugs?" Alfred asked, already knowing the answer.

Batman nodded, "They were part of Riddler's crew, sent to steal anything of value that he could use for whatever it is he's got planned." He then turned away from the edge of the building and began walking away, "I know where he is, Alfred. Whatever he's got planned, I'm going to stop it."

"Ah, so I can assume that he'll be behind bars when the night is done?"

"Wishful thinking. Prepare the Batwing, Alfred."

Alfred was now confused, "May I ask why, Master Bruce?"

"Because Riddler's no longer in Gotham."

"Oh my, then where is he?"

Batman's stern expression did not change as the lightning struck behind him, "Canterlot City." He answered before he leapt off of the rooftop, gliding into the night.

WB Animation presents

In association with HASBRO

In Loving Memory of KEVIN CONROY

My Little Pony: Equestria Girls
A DARK KNIGHT OVER CANTERLOT

REBECCA SHOICHET

TARA STRONG

ANDREA LIBMAN

ASHLEIGH BALL

TABITHA ST. GERMAIN

KEVIN CONROY

NEIL PATRICK HARRIS

KAZUMI EVANS, MARYKE HENDRIKSE, & DIANA KAARINA

MARK HAMILL

Written by BATTWELL

Author's Note

In Loving Memory of Kevin Conroy, though you may be gone, you are never forgotten

Killer Airtime (Part 1)

Canterlot City

The Batwing soared through the sky, the jet engine roaring as The Dark Knight piloted the aircraft with the Princess of Friendship sitting in the seat behind him. Twilight twiddled her thumbs nervously, looking down at her hands, too nervous to say anything.

Even when he wasn't looking directly at her, Twilight could feel the judgmental gaze of the dark hero. She didn't blame him, of course, she did act like a foal trying to prove her worth.

"You're quiet." Batman pointed out, breaking the silence.

Initially startled, Twilight calmed herself and replied, "I'm just thinking about what you said to me earlier." When Batman didn't respond, she decided to elaborate, "When you called me selfish for putting my needs above everyone else's, and for what? To prove my worth because I was feeling down? Heh, some Princess of Friendship I am."

Batman was silent for a few seconds before saying, "I'm not gonna hold your hand and say that you weren't in the wrong. Because you were." Twilight cringed at the hero's tone, "But you've come to realize your mistake and want to repent. You wanted to prove yourself? You already have."

"How?"

"You're here now, helping me save innocent lives. Innocent people you don't even know, you're putting your life on the line to protect them. You want proof that your worthy of your title? You already have it."

After hearing that, Twilight felt a sense of self worth swirl within her, like a heavy weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Batman was right, she was, no, she is worthy of her title, her school, her friends! She had nothing to prove, and she felt like a total idiot for not seeing that until now.

She smiled, leaning forward in her seat, "Thank you, Batman. Or whoever you are underneath that mask." She then quirked an eyebrow and a smug expression dawned upon her face, "Y'know, since we're friends now," Batman wouldn't go that far just yet, "We shouldn't hide secrets from each other. So I was wondering-"

"You try to remove my mask, I'll push you through that portal myself."

Applejack drove around town like a mad woman, but she had every right. The entire city was under threat after all. Sunset remained at Canterlot High, but not before dropping Sci-Twi off at Crystal Prep on her motorcycle. Rainbow had sped off to Canterlot Mall with her super speed. So Applejack had to leg it so she could drop everyone else at their designated locations.

She had already dropped Rarity and Fluttershy off, all that was left was to drop Pinkie Pie off at Sweet Snacks Café.

"WHEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!" Pinkie cheered as she slid from one side of the van to the other.

Applejack, still very much focused on the road, yelled back to her hyperactive friend, "PINKIE! SIMMER DOWN BACK THERE!!! WE'RE ALMOST THERE!!!"

Joker laughed his iconic laughter as the countdown on the bottom left of the screen got smaller and smaller. Second by second. This was going very well.

"Now I know what you're thinking," Joker stated to the camera, "Say Joker, isn't this similar to what you did in Las Vegas?" He asked himself in a gruff voice. He shrugged and smiled, "Well yeah, if ya want to get technical about it. But it's like the old saying, 'If it ain't broken, don't fix it'."

"Say, Canterlot. You all don't seem to be in the Christmas spirit!" Sonata stated the obvious, speaking as if she were reading a script. Both of her siblings rolled their eyes at her poor attempt at acting.

Joker looked back to the Siren and gave her a pitied smile, "If I were you toots, I wouldn't get into acting anytime soon." He said before turning to face the camera once more, "But you're right, kiddo! They don't seem to be so holly jolly now do they? Perhaps a song will change that." He said with a grin before snapping his fingers.

As the music thundered throughout the studio, one of Joker's thugs threw him a cane and top hat. With a chortle of laughter, Joker placed his hat on top of his head as a singular spotlight shone down upon him.

"When the world is full of care

And every headline screams despair,

When all is rape, starvation, war and life is vile"

Applejack slammed her foot on the brakes as she came to a stop in front of Sweet Snacks Café. Pinkie wasted no time in getting out of the vehicle and getting her spare keys out as Applejack floored it towards Sweet Apple Acres.

"HAH! Then there’s a certain thing I do

Which I shall pass along to you,

That’s always guaranteed to make me smile:"

Canterlot Mall was in absolute chaos, everyone was running around in a panic. It was hard enough that Rainbow Dash was on a time limit, but now she had to make her way through a crowd full of scared people. She budged her way through with effort but saw what she was looking for.

Her eyes widened as she gazed upon the bomb, dead set in the middle of the mall, right in front of the fountain.

"YES!!!!!

I go loo-oo-oony as a light-bulb battered bug!

Simply loo-oo-oony, sometimes foam and chew the rug!"

Rarity rushed into her Boutique and passed all of her latest designs and mannequins. She opened the curtains to one of her changing areas and saw the bomb sitting right there on the floor.

"Mister, life is swell

In a padded cell,

It’ll chase those blues away:

You can trade your gloom

For a rubber room

And injections twice a day!"

"Just go loo-oo-oony like an acid casualty,

Or a moo-oo-oonie, or a preacher on T.V."

As Joker walked around, spinning his cane around in his hand, The Dazzlings couldn't help but cringe at the psycho's ideas of ignoring the world's problems.

Sci-Twi rushed through the halls of Crystal Prep, anxiety evident throughout all of her features. Sweat dripping down her face, a stumble in her step. She had to hurry! She made her way into Principle Cadance's office and there, sitting in her chair, was the bomb.

"When the human race

Wears an anxious face,

When the bomb hangs overhead,"

Sunset kicked the doors open and rushed into CHS. She knew where she was headed. Joker had singled her out personally thanks to Adagio and her sisters. "So what better form of a practical joke, if you could even call it that, than to put the bomb," Sunset stopped in front of her locker and opened it, revealing the bomb, "inside of my locker."

"When your kid turns blue,

It won’t worry you,

You can smile and nod instead."

Fluttershy shied through The Sweet Shoppe, hoping to see any signs of what she was looking for. She let out a tiny 'eep' when she looked toward the counter. There rested Joker's bomb.

"When you’re loo-oo-oony, then you just don’t give a fig,

Man’s so pu-uu-uny, and the universe so big!"

As Equestria Land became visible through the clouds, Twilight couldn't help but feel a sense of urgency. She leaned over Batman's shoulder and saw the same, non expressive look on his face. She sat back in her seat and wondered how The Dark Knight was able to stay so calm in these type of scenarios. She would have to wonder that later as The Batwing began to descend down towards the park.

"If you hurt inside,

Get certified,

And if life should treat you bad…

DON'T GET EVEN...GET MAD!!!!!

YES!!!!!!!"

The Batwing slowly descended from the sky, the landing gear emerging from the bottom of the plane so Batman could land the vehicle safely. With a sudden 'THUD', the Batwing landed in the middle of Equestria Land. The glass concealing the cockpit slid open, allowing Batman to hurdle out of the plane, with Twilight slowly following behind as she struggled to remove the seat buckle and exit the vehicle.

Once they were both out of the plane, the two wasted no time in looking around the park for the bomb. After some time they came across the carnival games. In each booth would be a specific game one could play to earn prizes, although most of them were rigged, there was the off chance that one could win these games.

Twilight's eyes shot wide open when she came across Flim and Flam's Ring Toss booth, because laid before her on the countertop was one of The Joker's bombs.

"Batman!" Twilight shouted. "I found one of the bombs!"

As the princess rushed forward towards the destructive device, Batman felt a sense of worry, like something wasn't quite right. This was made evident when a shadow peeked over the top of the booth.

Batman immediately rushed forward, Batarang in hand as the figure jumped into the air and landed in front of Twilight. The Equestrian let out a gasp as the figure smashed a giant mallet on the ground in front of her. The Princess of Friendship landed on her rump as Harley Quinn let out a mad giggle of glee.

"Nice try, bozo!" Harley teased as she spun her mallet around in her hand, "But Mistah J has plans for this bomb, and I ain't letting you go anywhere near it!" The jester blew a raspberry at the Equestrian before raising her mallet above her head, ready to squish the scared Equestrian.

But before she could, three Batarangs struck the face of the mallet, distracting Harley long enough for Batman to leap into the air and knock her down with a kick to the chest. As Harley landed on the ground, Batman helped Twilight get back to her feet.

"Thank you Batman." The Princess of Friendship said, expressing her gratitude.

The Dark Knight nodded before turning to face Harley, "I don't understand you, Harley. Time and time again Joker treats you like dirt and yet you keep coming back to him."

Harley barred her teeth as she snarled angrily, "You don't know anything!" She shouted before getting back up to her feet, "Sure he smacks me around sometimes, but you're the one who's always hurtin' me!" Harley then picked up her mallet and raised it into the air, "Now I'm gonna hurt you!!!!"

As the jester charged forward towards Batman, the hero turned to the shocked princess and shouted, "Twilight, get to the bomb!"

"B-But what about you?!" Twilight responded, worried for her new friend's safety.

Batman turned to the worried girl, "I'll be fine. GO!!!" But before he could turn around, Harley smacked him into one of the booths with her mallet.

As wooden pieces fell onto the Dark Knight, Harley laughed victoriously before turning to Twilight, who was slowly backing away. "Hey, you know we sound similar, right?"

Twilight gave Harley a deadpanned look before responding, "I don't hear the resemblance."

Harley then shrugged before that crazed look reappeared on her face, "Meh. Maybe it's just me!" She then charged towards the Equestrian, but not before a hook from Batman's Grappling Hook latched onto Harley's mallet. Batman then pulled on the hook, causing Harley to lose balance and fall over.

Twilight took this chance to rush over towards the bomb while Batman took on Harley.

Applejack smashed into the door of Sweet Apple Acres, taking the door slightly off of its hinges.

"Ah'll fix that later." The farm girl thought to herself before rushing upstairs. Luckily Apple Bloom was at a sleepover with the other members of the Canterlot Movie Club, so she was as safe as she could be in this instance. AJ checked every room of her home before rushing back downstairs.

She ran past both Granny Smith and Big Macintosh before rushing out of the back door. Granny and Big Mac looked at each other before the latter decided to run after his little sister.

"AJ, WAIT!!!" Big Mac shouted, but was ignored as Applejack rushed into the barn. He followed his sibling into the barn, worried what was going through her head at this point in time. When he finally caught up with her, he found that his sister was panting heavily as she stood in front of one of Joker's bombs. Big Mac slowly approached his sister as she pulled out her phone, "Sis, what's that?" He asked, pointing to the bomb in question.

Applejack initiated a group call on her phone before turning to her brother, "Big Mac, get Granny outta here." She ordered grimly, "If things go south, Ah don't want any of you here when things go wrong."

Big Mac looked worried now, "AJ, what are you--"

"DAMN IT MAC, WILL YOU JUST DO WHAT AH SAY AND GET GRANNY OUTTA HERE!!!" She screamed as she cut her brother off.

Seeing how serious his younger sibling was, Big Mac wasted no time in booking it for the house to get Granny Smith off of the premises. With a sigh of relief, Applejack looked down at her phone, praying that they were all gonna get through this.

"God, Ah hope this works."

Everyone answered the call, turning on the cameras on their phones so they could all see each other.

"Alright, are we all in position?" Sunset asked first. In response, everyone turned their cameras to their own bombs. She shrugged her shoulders before adding, "I guess that answers that."

Rainbow raised her index finger, "Um, we found our bombs, but we never actually said what we were meant to do once we found them."

Everyone paled at that before Princess Twilight turned her head away from the camera, "BATMAN! WE ALL FOUND THE BOMBS, BUT WE DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!"

"REMOVE THE CENTER PANEL ON FRONT OF THE BOMB!!!" Batman instructed while avoiding a mallet strike from Harley Quinn.

Twilight turned back to the phone, "Everyone catch that?"

Everyone nodded before pressing their hands on the front panel of their bombs. Once a click was heard, the panel fell to the floor, revealing a set of tangled wires with a small screen behind them displaying the time they had left.

1:03

1:02

1:01

They were running out of time.

"Okay darling, what's next?" Rarity asked.

As if one cue, Batman shouted, "NOW THERE SHOULD BE A SET OF THREE COLORED WIRES! RED, GREEN AND BLUE!" He dodged an attack from Harley and pushed her to the floor with the palm of his hand. Batman then rushed over to Twilight's side and activated his Detective Vision so he could see which wire deactivated the bomb. Once he found the real wire to disarm the bomb, he said, "Cut the green wire. But it has to be at the same time."

Batman then reached into his Utility Belt and handed Twilight a Batarang so she could cut the wire. Rarity looked around her shop and found a pair of scissors. Fluttershy looked over the countertop and found a knife to use. Rainbow looked around, when suddenly she saw a Kitchen Appliances store and rushed in with her super speed to grab a kitchen knife. AJ decided to use her super strength to pull the wire herself. Sci-Twi readied her magic to pull out the wire. Pinkie pulled out a pair of scissors from her hair, because it's Pinkie Pie. Sunset looked in her back pocket and pulled out a switch blade. She had it on her for her own protection, she'd been ambushed by Gilda and her cronies once during the Anon-A-Miss incident, she wouldn't be caught off guard like that ever again.

They each pressed their respective blades against the green wire, ready to cut it.

0:10

0:09

0:08

0:07

0:06

"Alright. On three." Sci-Twi instructed, sweat falling from her head due to sheer panic beginning to set in. The other girls nodded in agreement.

"One." Sunset began counting.

"Two." Princess Twilight continued.

"THREE!!!" All the girls shouted at the same time before they all cut the green wire on their bombs.

0:02

0:01

They all stood there, waiting for the timer to reach zero.

But it never happened. It stayed at one.

They did it.

Each of the Rainbooms let out a breath as relief began to set in, they did it. They actually did it. They disarmed the bombs at the same time and saved their home. Even with all the stress and tension, they all managed to pull through and save the day.

"WE DID IT!!!" Pinkie exclaimed as confetti sprung up behind her.

"WE'RE HEROES!!!" Rainbow added as she pumped her fist up into the air.

All the girls cheered while Batman looked on with a calculative look on his face. Something wasn't right. But suddenly, the tiny screens inside the bombs displayed a text that confused each of the girls.

GOTCHA!!!

"W-What?" Princess Twilight stuttered before Joker suddenly appeared on screen with a manic grin plastered on his face.

"SURPRISE!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Joker cackled like a lunatic, much to the girls' confusion. "You fell for the ole' fake bomb gag!!! Now it's time for a real war on Christmas!"

Memoriam

Kevin Conroy 1955-2022

A hero even when he wasn't in a cape

Author's Note

Not gonna lie, I kinda teared up when I finished this story. This man was one of my heroes, mine and many others definitive Batman. I'm sad that he's gone, but I'm happy that he is at peace.

Thank you all so much for reading this story and remembering the legacy that this man left behind.

I think I speak for all of us when I say

Thank you Kevin.