Friendship Meets The Caped Crusader

Twilight's magic-draining device broke apart like glass under Killer Croc's grip. A shockwave of energy burst outwards from the machine, sending all seven Rainbooms and Batman onto their rears. The sphere of solid magic was released from inside, floating out of his grip. Croc stared in surprise at the orb, before his arms snapped to his sides, apparently against his will. The orb began to decrease in size, seemingly collapsing on itself, before a purple trail of light appeared where it once was. The light zipped around before flying into Croc's mouth and down his throat.

"Uh-oh," breathed Sunset. She knew exactly where this was going.

Croc screamed in pain, clutching at his neck, as white electricity began to crackle across his body. His sharp fangs began to length in his jaws, as his scales changed from gray to a sickly green color. His muscles began to bubble as they expanded outwards, and his entire body grew to a height of approximately thirteen feet. Spiny frills burst out of his upper back, and his pants were shredded to reveal a crocodile-like tail that expanded to six feet long. His eyes shifted into yellow, reptilian slits, and his fingernails morphed into massive claws. The entire cavern shook for the duration of Croc's transformation, and when it was finally over, he dropped back to the ground, landing on all fours with a thud.

Nobody moved, or rather, nobody could move for about ten seconds. Fluttershy and Pinkie trembled with nervousness, Twilight and Sunset could only catch short, quick breaths, and even Rainbow, Applejack, and Rarity were sweating in terror. Only Batman showed no outer signs of fear, merely raising his fists. Finally, Croc raised his head, looking around at the octet surrounding him.

"Croc?" Sunset whispered. "Are you in there?"

That was the trigger. Croc let out a bestial roar so loud it physically hurt to hear it, and lunged at Sunset. Even with his increased mass, he moved like lightning, reaching for the former unicorn with one head-sized claw. If Rainbow hadn't zoomed over to her and yanked her aside at the last second, he would've crushed her like a tin can.

After depositing Sunset next to Batman, Rainbow grabbed the remaining Rainbooms one by one, and put them all beside the Dark Knight. She also grabbed the three unconscious supervillains and placed them behind the door that led into Arkham Asylum. Then she rejoined the others.

"This isn't part of the plan!" exclaimed Twilight, clutching at her head with both hands. "Now what do we do?!"

"Well, at least he isn't tearing holes in the fabric of reality!" said Pinkie. At the glare Twilight shot her, she hastily added a "Sorry, Twilight!"

"Please tell me you know how to stop this!" Batman said, as he chucked three batarangs at Croc's back. The sharp weapons simply bounced off Croc's thick, scaly hide. He didn't even seem to notice, as he kept sniffing around, looking for the fresh meat that was now out of sight.

Sunset tensed her muscles. "We need to stop him," she said. "Like we stopped Gloriosa, Wallflower, and so many others. Full pony up, girls!"

The Rainbooms obeyed, in spite of their fear. Reaching up, they each touched their geodes, which began to glow pure white. Within seconds, the glow spread across everyone's entire body, and when it faded, the women were all wearing completely different outfits. Their ears transformed into horse ears, and migrated up to the tops of their heads. A length of hair was added to each of them, tied off to appear like a pony's tail. Even stranger, Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Twilight had all sprouted wings from their backs.

Batman's eyes widened. "Whoa," he breathed. He'd believed in their magic long before this, of course, but this was the next level.

"You jelly?" asked Rainbow Dash, grinning.

"Not now, Rainbow!" shouted Applejack.

The sounds of the Rainbooms' powering up drew Croc's attention. He could barely stand up to his full height in the caverns, but he still rounded on them surprisingly fast. Instinctively, Batman dropped a smoke pellet, obscuring him from view and giving him time to leap away. Croc paid him no heed, instead charging at the seven women with a roar. Applejack leaped into the air and punched him in the face, no longer holding back any of her strength. Unfortunately for her, Croc's scales had hardened considerably from the magic, and she hurt her hand on impact. Thankfully, his armor-like skin didn't fully protect him, and he tumbled back, landing on his butt.

However, Croc merely shook off the new pain, and leapt to his feet once more, facing down the Rainbooms. He slashed with his left claw, forcing Rarity to raise one of her barriers to intercept the attack, and though it saved everyone from getting sliced in half, the shield still cracked from the blow.

"Hm," Twilight pondered as Rarity hurriedly reinforced the shield before Croc could take another shot at it. "It looks like there is a limit to how much damage Rarity's barriers can take. Fascinating."

"Less egghead stuff, more fighting back, Twilight!" yelled Rainbow. She scooped up a rock from the cavern floor and pitched it at Croc's face, where it shattered on impact, the dust blinding Croc momentarily.

Twilight hurriedly raised her hands, engulfing Croc's descending hammer fist in her telekinetic aura. She intended to force his arm back up and make him punch himself in the face, but the Equestrian magic coursing through his veins fought against her own, making it harder than normal to move him. It took all her strength to keep his arm from smashing them.

"Hold him back, Twi!" shouted Applejack. She rushed behind Croc and grabbed his tail, while Rainbow zipped up to his legs and began pushing with all her might, legs still running at super speed. Together, they forced Croc to drop face-first into the ground with a heavy slam. Rainbow then grabbed Applejack and pulled her over to Croc's face, where they began attacking simultaneously from both directions.

However, Croc's thick scales came in again, and he shrugged off most of the damage. Propping himself up on both arms, he swiped out with his right. Though Rainbow was able to escape the damage, she didn't have time to save Applejack, who went flying and crashed into Twilight, Sunset, and Fluttershy, knocking them down like bowling pins.

"Girls, I hate to be the bearer of bad news," said Rarity, as she frantically shielded the fallen Rainbooms yet again, "but we're not making any progress here!"

"Can't we just light him up with the rainbow lasers?!" demanded Pinkie. She leaped over Croc's swinging tail, and threw a handful of exploding sprinkles into his thick hide. It had no effect.

"That takes a minute to set up!" Twilight reminded everyone. "We need some way to slow him down so he can't eat us while we're charging!"

As Croc turned to face Pinkie Pie, a rope with a batarang tied to it came flying out from behind him. It encircled Croc's neck, constricting his windpipe, though not by much. Behind him, Batman held the length of rope, pulling with every muscle in his body to keep Croc from attacking the party planner. Though Croc could've easily severed the rope with his claws, he clearly wasn't thinking like a human anymore, and he was left retching and trying to reach behind him. His tail threatened to smack Batman in the ribs with each powerful swing.

"Batman!" yelled Pinkie. She knew it was a matter of seconds before Croc simply turned around and tore the Dark Knight apart. Desperate, she popped the cap off the sprinkle bottle, and grabbed all the sprinkles remaining inside. Her aura flared pink as she charged up and hurled every last sprinkle into Croc's face, where they detonated with the force of a small pipe bomb. Croc screamed in pain and rage before falling onto all fours.

Rainbow zipped over to Batman. "You okay?" she asked. "You can't fight that thing, you don't have any powers! He'll shred you like confetti!"

"I can't stand by and do nothing while you fight!" Batman retorted. He yanked on the rope again, trying to cut off Croc's oxygen. "We'll wear him down together, then you light him up, like you said!"

Rainbow had to stop herself from fangirling over his dedication, but was quickly reminded of the gravity of their situation when Croc's tail slammed into the earth in front of them. The ground shook, and Rainbow and Batman were sent onto their backs, allowing Croc time to stand up once more. He rounded on the duo and howled, his teeth dripping with saliva, as he reached for them.

"Back off, you big, ugly lizard!" yelled Applejack. The farmer came flying towards Croc with her fist pointed outwards, propelled by Twilight's telekinetic powers, and punched him in the jaw, knocking out a tooth. Croc, naturally enraged by the development, turned to take a bite out of her, but Batman tossed a handful of smoke pellets into his face, blinding him yet again.

"We need to wear him down!" yelled Twilight, pulling Applejack back to her. She launched Applejack into Croc's stomach, where she punched with both fists, driving him to his knees. Rainbow and Fluttershy flew around his head, just out of reach, keeping his attention away from the others. Noticing that AJ's blows had left a small gap in Croc's scales, Batman produced another batarang, pressed a button in the center, and hurled it at the opening. The sharp edge sunk into Croc's flesh, and the device activated, sending an electrical current through his body. Croc yowled with fury while Applejack continued to punch his body, driving him lower and lower.

Suddenly, Croc stood up and roared, and from within his body came an invisible shockwave of pure magic. The Rainbooms, particularly the airborne ones, were sent flying, and crashed into the cavern floor. Batman fared no better, getting launched off his feet and crashing back-first through a stalagmite in his way. He shouted in pain before rolling onto his side, clutching at his ribs.

Killer Croc, having freed himself from the flies getting on his nerves, was now free to pick them off. He lumbered towards Batman, perhaps urged on by memories that were submerged beneath layers of magic and primal rage. The crime fighter, desperate, reached into his utility belt and produced one of his knock-out gas spheres, before chucking it at Croc. The ball burst against his chest, and Croc clearly breathed in some of the gas, but it didn't affect him. He reached for Batman with one massive claw.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" shouted Rainbow. She zoomed over to the beast at supersonic speed, and began delivering rapid-fire punches to the back of his knee. Without Applejack's super strength, she wasn't doing much damage, but at least it diverted his attention. Croc swung one heavy fist backwards remarkably fast, and Rainbow only dodged by taking off with a flap of her wings. With him distracted, Fluttershy flew up to Croc's face, and grabbed his head.

"LISTEN HERE, YOU BIG MEANIE!" she yelled, giving him the full force of the Stare. "YOU MIGHT BE BIG AND STRONG AND SCARY, BUT YOU DO NOT TREAT MY FRIENDS THIS WAY! NOW CALM DOWN THIS INSTANT, OR SO HELP ME I'LL GIVE YOU SOMETHING TO CRY ABOUT!"

To Fluttershy's credit, it did have an effect. Croc's entire body froze in sheer shock, as though he couldn't believe what was happening. But that only lasted for a few seconds. His yellow eyes narrowed, and he began shaking his head back and forth, taking Fluttershy for a ride. She yelped as she struggled to maintain her grip, before being thrown off. If Pinkie hadn't jumped in to catch her, it would've been quite a painful impact.

"Why does the Stare never work when we really need it to?" Fluttershy whined from her position in Pinkie's arms.

"It was a good attempt," replied Pinkie. "He's just buried beneath animal rage and magic."

With Fluttershy out of the way, Killer Croc instead targeted Batman, bringing his fist down in a massive overhead smash. Batman dived aside just in time to avoid it, and responded with an explosive batarang to Croc's face, which did little damage, but kept the beast's attention on him. His tactics didn't escape the notice of Sunset Shimmer.

"Girls!" she shouted. "We have to do it now! Croc's not gonna be occupied for long!" The other six Rainbooms nodded eagerly.

Everyone's eyes glowed white as they began to charge their powers. They levitated into the air, and the six natives to the human world held out their hands. Spheres of solid magical energy gathered in their palms, each one shining a different color. Sky blue for Rainbow, blue for Rarity, pink for Pinkie, yellow for Fluttershy, orange for Applejack, and purple for Twilight.

Batman noticed them powering up out of the corner of his eye, but didn't lose his focus on Croc. He continued throwing every weapon in his utility belt at the monstrous reptile man, and dodging every blow by the skin of his teeth, until he reached down for another batarang, and found none left. Croc's hand shot outwards and snatched him up.

"Uh, girls?!" he called out. "Little help here?!"

"Don't worry, Batman!" came Sunset's voice, as she floated up, surrounded by a bright red aura. "Hold out for one more second...!"

The six human Rainbooms thrust their hands outwards, causing their energy spheres to morph into beams. The six colors came together on Sunset's back, and a pure white orb of power gathered between her palms. Sunset held the orb, then thrust both hands forwards, releasing all the collected energy. A harmonic rainbow of power shot forth, and began encircling Croc and Batman. Croc, sensing the danger, took a swipe at the kaleidoscope of light, but it had no effect. Batman swallowed nervously in Croc's grip.

"This is gonna hurt," he muttered.

Suddenly, the rainbow changed course and went under Croc's feet, before erupting like a geyser. Croc and Batman were bathed in a sea of colorful light, causing the beast to scream one more time. Batman noticed that, although Croc was clearly in pain, the rainbow didn't seem to harm him at all. In fact, he felt soothed, like the pain and weight he'd been carrying since he was a child had lessened just the slightest amount. He actually smiled a little, before Croc released his grip. Batman fell, but managed to land on his feet.

Killer Croc continued to roar with pain as the rainbow ravaged him. From inside his maw, streaks of purple light floated out and dissipated into the atmosphere. His entire body shrank back to its normal height, and his spines and tail actually retracted into his body. The color of his scales faded back to the normal gray color. When the blast of rainbow lasers faded away after a few seconds, Croc was back to his old self, and he pitched forwards, landing on his face, totally unconscious.

With their work done, the Rainbooms floated back down towards the floor, and their clothes and ears shifted back to what they'd been before. Their wings and tails vanished in pulses of white light as well.

"Well," Batman breathed, clutching his chest, "that was certainly...something."

"Yep," replied Sunset. "That's Equestrian harmony magic for you. It's never let us down before." She walked over to Croc and checked his pulse. "He'll be fine. Take it from someone who's been hit by the magic rainbow laser before, he'll be just fine. Might be dizzy for a day or two, but that should be it."

"Good," said Batman. "Will he remember any of this? He didn't seem to be at all in control of what he was doing. It'd be nice if this whole experience gave him a new perspective on life."

"It depends on the person. I remembered everything, but I took the magic on willingly. It might just be a really foggy memory. As for the whole evil nature thing..." Sunset looked down at her feet, remembering the Dazzlings. "Again, depends on the person. It might make him a better person, but it might not."

Batman sighed. "I supposed that was a little much to hope for." The octet heard a bunch of footsteps above their heads, inside Arkham Asylum. "That clatter probably attracted quite a bit of attention. You should probably get out of here before the police show up. I'll come up with some excuse for them."

Sunset nodded. "It's been a pleasure working with you, Batman."

Batman smiled again, before pulling out one more pair of cuffs, and putting them on Croc's wrists. He heard a banging on the access door to Arkham Asylum, and turned back around.

"Girls, you should..." He trailed off, discovering that the Rainbooms were gone. There was a faint, rainbow-colored trail of light leading out of the cavern, but it vanished quickly, leaving no sign they'd even been present. "So that's what that feels like."