Later in the evening, Fluttershy trotted to her hometown Ponyville. At that moment, her attitude and behavior were completely different from what they were before which defined her character. With her Element of Kindness vanquished from her heart and personality, she was then depressed, angry, and moody. She coldly passed by the bewildered critters on the road and ignored their calls of concern.
“Forget about kindness. Forget about love. Forget about FLUTTERSHY! She is now...dead.” she contemptuously moaned.
She kicked back the twigs and dead leaves on the ground and angrily stomped on the blooming flowers on the grass. Then she resumed her walk to the town.
IN THE LIBRARY
Twilight and Spike finished their duties in organizing the library books and dusting the whole room. “Okay, Twilight, all done! Everything is as good as new!” Spike said, wiping his hands.
“Great. I really wish that Gordon could stay with us tonight. He’s such a joy to have around here!” Twilight lamented.
“I know. It is was awesome to have him here earlier today though. I just wish that Batman...or Bruce was here to see us again.” Spike said, his tone filled with sadness.
“You really miss him a lot, huh?” Twilight asked, noticing his mood.
“Yeah, I really do. I remember him saying that we would see him again one day but not see his alter ego Batman.” recalled Spike.
“I still don’t like the thought that he moved on like Gordon mentioned earlier. Batman can never abandon his duty of protecting Gotham and even Equestria! Heroes never give up and never forsake their lives’ work! I can’t imagine having to live the life of Equestria’s princess without having him around to protect us!” Twilight whined. She slammed her head on the table in frustration.
Concerned with Twilight’s emotional state of mind, Spike ran to her and put his hand on her shoulder. “Twilight, I know that Batman was and is an inspiration to us all, but you need to stop solely depending only on him for strength! You need to develop that on your own while being inspired by his heroism! Relying on people’s strength without developing your own will atrophy your potential.” Spike lectured.
“How?! How can I develop my own strength if I don’t know what is my unique purpose as a princess?! I just feel so worthless and helpless right now!” Twilight said, beginning to cry on the table.
“Twilight, listen to me! Crying and moaning about it isn’t going to work! It will never solve your problems! While knowing your problem is a good start, you need to search for wisdom—maybe ask Princess Celestia to help you. I believe in you, Twilight. If Batman was here, I’m sure he would tell you the same thing.” Spike advised, lifting her chin up.
Twilight wiped off the tears from her eyes and hugged Spike with deep affection. “Thanks, Spike. I know I can count on my number one assistant.” she smiled.
“Any time, Twilight.” Spike smiled and hugged back.
“Well, come on, let’s just get ready for bed, shall we? (Yawn) I’m getting really tired now.” Twilight said, getting up from the table.
“Same here. Right behind you.” Spike said, following her.
IN GOTHAM
“That moon sure does look very beautiful. Very lovely.” Thorax observed as he looked upon the full moon shining brightly in the night sky above Gotham. He was hovering right above the whirlpool of the Atlantic Ocean where he and Bane ejected from earlier in the morning.
Suddenly, Bane flew out of the whirlpool portal and landed on the water’s surface below Thorax. “Hey, Bane! I didn’t expect you to come at the exact time for tonight like you said you would. Very good timing!” he commended.
“I’m a man of my word, friend Thorax. I’m never late for timely appointments.” said Bane.
“Awesome! Maybe we can talk somewhere...safe? Some sea creatures could come out at night to hunt.” Thorax suggested.
“You’re right. You think you can carry me to the city? You sure are small...no offense.” Bane asked right until Thorax shape-shifted to a bugbear. Bane looked at him surprised. “Did you just—?”
“Heh, heh, sorry...I meant to tell you that as a changeling, I can shape shift into any creature I want to. This is done for the sake of disguises whenever changelings infiltrate kingdoms or spy on ponies while undercover.” Thorax explained.
He gently grabbed Bane and put him on his back as he carried him to the city by flight. “Very impressive! So your mother and brothers utilized that unique ability of yours to conquer kingdoms and enemies?” Bane asked. “Thorax could be of great use to us with that type of capability. We need more infiltrators to discover what our old and new enemies are up to.” Bane planned in thought.
“Well...yeah.” Thorax said, a mixture of sadness and hesitancy in his tone. Bane immediately noticed it.
“What’s the matter, friend?” Bane asked as if concerned.
“Well, it’s just that—(sigh) it’s just that I was never in favor of devouring love from ponies. I never cared about war, conquest, national domination like how my mother Chrysalis did. She was obsessed with ruling over Equestria with much hatred and power-hunger. I only wanted to make peace with ponies.” Thorax explained.
Bane looked down at his bear face slightly puzzled. “Really? Your mother was a tyrant? And you said something about...eating love? What is that?” Bane asked.
“Changelings thrive on love. It is our main source of food, and without it, our race will starve to death. Sadly, that no longer matters since my whole family is dead thanks to Tirek. I have no family, no friends, and no home.” Thorax cried, tears dropping.
Bane thought on what he shared. “This changeling went through so much painful ordeal as of late. It’s nearly similar to what I endured in that wicked prison years ago. I will have to think about whether to have him join or not.” he thought.
“I feel your pain. Please be assured that I will always be here for you to help you with whatever you need. We will endure and fight together, little friend.” Bane encouraged.
Thorax smiled before he landed on a roof top of a skyscraper. Bane got off of his back, and Thorax changed back to his normal form. “Thanks, Bane. You’re the only friend I have now.” he said before hugging him on the waist. Bane hugged him back.
“Indeed, Thorax. Indeed.” Bane muttered, looking up at the stars.
Unbeknownst to them, the Lurking Phantom slithered around another skyscraper next to them just below them. As he viewed them, his smile grew larger which displayed his sharp teeth. “Goooooooddd...now, time for my rendezvous with the yellow pegasus. She’s in for a big surprise.” he hissed, slithering away till he disappeared.