//------------------------------//
// The age of Batmane 
// Story: Batmane, the dark steed 
// by Guillermo 
//------------------------------//

Night had fallen on Canterlot a while ago, and the full moon lit up the quiet streets. Near the airship station, there was a warehouse area where some companies kept merchandise brought in from various parts of Equestria. At one of these, a group of ponies were working to get boxes out of the containers and onto the arranged carriages. The place was a veritable labyrinth full of containers, and the lights that were there failed from time to time, creating a somewhat gloomy atmosphere.

After a while, a few stopped, tense as a group of four policepony approached the scene, and before long, everypony who worked there stopped. One of the agents, a unicorn, went over to one of the boxes and pulled out a small teddy bear.

"What do we have here?" he asked with a smile, before snapping the teddy's neck and revealing that inside was a plastic bag filled with white powder. "Oh, what is this?" he asked as he watched the ponies, who looked at each other.

"You shouldn't distract my workers, time is precious."

The policepony turned to look at the king of crime, Falcone, looking with a smile at the group, and next to him, one of his most faithful henchpony, Zuchetto, a large unicorn with a knack for throwing knives.

"I was just kidding them, Mr. Falcone" said the policepony with a small laugh and leaving the stuffed animal in its place. "As you requested, we have come to save you trouble."

The policepony approached the two, smiling, while Falcone nodded in satisfaction.

"Great, I'm already losing too much merchandise on the streets to lose it on delivery."

"Have you already found out who is hurting you these weeks?"

"No, and our vendors keep talking about a giant batpony," Zuchetto snorted, earning a glare from the cop.

"I've heard about it in the papers. Is it a thestral?"

"According to what they say, no, he's more diabolical," Falcone said, rolling his eyes. "And I'm inclined to think that it's nothing more than a myth, an excuse that those who work for me use to hide their flaws. I want the one who is really screwing me up, and I want him dead."

"That's right, boss" replied Zuchetto.

"I hope so... I'll be in my carriage, let me know if anything happens."

Falcone said a final goodbye to the two ponies and walked off to his carriage, parked outside the warehouse. It had been almost two weeks since somepony had been thwarting their dealers' sales on the streets, and many of them were turning up tied up and beaten, all the time saying the same thing, a monstrous bat-like pony had done that to them, and the newspapers soon spread the word through the city, baptizing him as Batmane. Although he was sure it was a lie, a rumour, a myth, he was beginning to wonder if there wasn't something to it.

Zuchetto watched the ponies work, watched over by a few guards and the policepony. Many of the lights in the place, hanging from the ceiling, were flickering continuously, something that was making him nervous. After a while, he pointed to one of the ponies keeping watch.

"You, go check on the generator! I want those lights to stop flashing."

"Yes sir..." said the pony, a unicorn, nervously.

Clutching his griffin submachine gun tightly in his magic, the pony plunged into the maze of containers, trying to find the generator. He didn't want to be there, he preferred a thousand times to be in one of the restaurants and places that the mafia had in his name, or settling accounts with someone who owed money, that would be more fun. But the pay was good, so here he was. 

After a while, he finally reached his destination, at the other end of the warehouse, a metal box rumbling slightly with power, its wires connected to the wall. Leaving his weapon in a nearby box, the unicorn crouched down and tried to find a problem, which was difficult since he was no electrician. Before he even started to do anything, a hissing object sped past him and slammed into the generator, sending up a shower of sparks that forced him to step aside.

"Fuck!" he yelled as he covered his eyes.

When he managed to open them, he noticed that the place was now dark, dimly lit by what little moonlight came through the windows. Nervously he used his horn to illuminate his surroundings and grabbed his weapon, then looking at the impact site. Protruding from the machine, with various sparks around it, was what appeared to be a metal object, an object that he carefully removed with his magic. Bringing it closer, he saw that it was some kind of blade in the shape of a bat, which confused him. Where the hell had that come from?

He looked around him, trying to find the source, but it was too dark for that. He heard a noise above his head, and raising it, he saw nothing, the ceiling completely hidden by shadows. He kept his gaze up for almost a minute before giving up, and as he was about to lower his head, he saw something, something approaching him rapidly. Eyes wide as saucers, he saw some kind of bat pounce on him with its wings spread. The unicorn screamed loudly as he tried to ready his weapon, but he barely had time before the thing caught up with him and plunged everything into darkness.

Far away, two ponies, a unicorn and an earth pony, looking for the pony that went for the generator, following Zuchetto's orders. The unicorn led the way, using his magic to light the way. They both stopped dead when they heard a scream in the distance, so they looked at each other doubtfully before starting to run. 

They passed dozens of containers and several corridors between them, in the general direction of the scream. Shortly after, just before their got there, something grabbed the unicorn and dragged him into one of the dark corridors, and the earth pony stopped short, hearing his mate's screams before the light went out completely, leaving him in darkness. 

Swallowing hard, he grabbed his adapted submachine gun and slowly approached, trying to see in what little moonlight there was. He looked out into the hallway, which was totally shrouded in shadow, trying to make out something.

"He-hello?" he ask nervously. "A-are the-there an-anypony the-there?"

There was no response, which only made him more nervous, the hairs on his fur standing on end and fear beginning to overpower him. Some noises were heard behind him, making him jump and start shooting in that direction, only to find the same containers as always. 

The earth pony tried to breathe easy, to calm down, but another noise to the right of him unnerved him and prompted another round of shots. He backed away, startled, his eyes trying to make out something in the shadows. From time to time, he would shoot at some strange shape, only to see that they were silhouettes formed from the shadows, almost as if they were mocking him.

"WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?!"

"Here."

The earth pony felt his blood run cold at the sound of that deep, sinister voice, and turning, he saw the head of somepony... something... that it had white eyes that were not equine and seemed to be looking straight into his soul. All he could do was scream in terror before the thing lunged at him.

Zuchetto waited by the group of ponies, watching the darkness, listening to the cries of the ponies that had entered the maze of containers, which was making those present nervous, and some were getting scared. Both he and the other unicorns lit their horns to illuminate the space, giving a much larger viewing area.

"What the hell was that?" the cop said, his horn also on and watching the shadows carefully.

"No idea, but whoever he is, he's going to learn a lesson" Zuchetto growled.

"It's him…" one of the ponies whispered, drawing the attention of a few more. "It's Batmane..."

The ponies looked at each other nervously and scared, but Zuchetto growled and hit the ground hard, drawing everypony's attention.

"Listen to me, there is no Batmane, and if he did, he would be nothing more than a clown in disguise. You don't have to be afraid, he should be afraid of us."

The ponies looked at each other, those words were enough to cheer them up a bit. Zuchetto continued to stare into the darkness, alert for any change.

"Tell Mr. Falcone" he said to the cop next to him.

He watched him for a second before obeying and turning around, beginning to move forward at a fast pace. Shortly after he was gone, something flew out of the darkness and bounced off the ground before stopping. The ponies moved quickly away, looking at what it was, a small ball. Before their could get closer to study it better, it exploded and released a huge cloud of smoke that covered them all. Zuchetto coughed as he walked away, managing to get out of the smoke and look at it. Something caught his attention, and when he focused on that, he could see for a few seconds how a figure jumped from somewhere in the heights towards the great cloud of smoke.

In a few seconds, the sound of banging, screaming and ponies falling to the floor filled the room, Zuchetto could barely tell what was happening in there. The smoke began to thin out, revealing the unconscious bodies of the ponies and, in the center, the silhouette of what appeared to the naked eye to be an earth pony, dressed in a gray suit, half hidden by the black cloak, the bat symbol on his chest, those ears that looked like horns and his soulless white eyes. The great unicorn looked him up and down as he used his magic to pull a few knives out of his saddlebag.

"So you are that Batmane... Well, let me tell you that you don't scare me."

Zuchetto threw the knives, but the figure was quicker, nimbly dodging as he closed. When the unicorn ran out of daggers, he decided to charge into the fray with a battle cry, throwing his right hoof forward to strike, but the thing dodged and struck him in the neck. The pony backed away, clutching its throat, gasping for air in pain, but his opponent didn't stop, punching him across the face several times, then, with impressive speed and agility, spinning to use his legs and send him to the ground.

Zuchetto stared at the ceiling, gasping for air, but soon he felt a hoof being placed on his chest, and practically afterwards, the thing's head appeared in his vision. His hoof came up and, in a swift movement, it struck him with such force that he was knocked unconscious.

"Stay here!" said a voice behind him.

The figure slowly turned his head and saw that the cop had returned and was pointing his gun at him, levitating shakily in his magical aura. He was joined by Falcone, who stood next to him and watched the figure.

"I told you to go away, Mr. Falcone, I have this under control."

"Bullshit," growled Falcone, taking a good look at the pony in front of him. "This is my territory, and nopony meddles in my business." The earth pony looked at the figure, then passed the unconscious ponies. "I don't know how you knocked out my boys, but your luck ran out, kill him."

The cop didn't need to be told twice, firing his pistol directly at the figure's chest, just above the bat symbol. When they hit him, aside from stepping back slightly, and letting out a small gasp of pain, he did nothing else, untouched. The gun kept firing until it ran out of bullets, leaving the unicorn wide-eyed. The figure began to walk forward slowly but steadily.

"Do not move!" the cop yelled as he tried to reload his gun.

Falcone, on the other hand, started to back away and walked away, leaving only the unicorn. The figure continued to advance, making the cop more nervous, at last reloading his pistol and preparing to fire, but the thing stuffed one of his hoofs into his cloak and whipped it out,  throwing a blade and hitting the weapon, knocking it to the ground. 

The pony stared at the thing in terror for a few seconds before running off, but he didn't take four steps before something bit into one of his legs. With a cry of pain, he stumbled and fell to the ground, turning his head to see that, on his right hoof, was a bat-shaped blade, and further back, slowly approaching, was that monster.

"GET AWAY!" he scream, totally terrified as he tried to get away, crawling on the ground. "DON'T COME NEAR ME!"

Far away, Falcones was leaving the warehouse, pausing for a few moments as he heard the cop's screams, rather than fall silent. Nervously, he approached his carriage, pulled by two earth ponies who eyed him doubtfully.

"What's going on, Mr. Falcone?"

"Shut up, we're out of here!" yelled the mobster as he got into the carriage.

The drivers looked at each other before moving off, however, something sharp and fast flew out and bald deep into one of the ponies' legs, causing it to yelp in pain as it fell to the ground, preventing his partner from moving. Falcone, from inside, became more nervous upon hearing the scream, and when he looked out his right window, he saw that coming out of the darkness of the warehouse was that monster, slowly approaching.

"Fuck," he growled as he grabbed the sawed-off shotgun he had.

A bang was heard outside, and when Falcone raised his head, he heard that the unharmed pony had unrestrained the carriage and was running, hurrying away.

"DO NOT LEAVE ME HERE!" shouted the other, for seconds later to shout even louder. "NO, NO...! MERCY! MERCY!"

With one last cry, everything fell silent. Falcone didn't dare come out, instead making sure the shotgun was loaded and ready. The carriage moved slightly, making him even more nervous.

"What the hell are you?" he growled to himself.

The moonlight streaming through the small window in the roof of his carriage disappeared, and before he could look in that direction, the glass shattered, dropping the remains of him as the figure landed inside. Before Falcone could take aim, that monster snatched the shotgun from him and hit him in the chest with its right hoof, pinning him against the wall and staring at him with those white eyes.

"I'm Batmane."

Right after saying that, he used his head to hit him in the forehead and knock him unconscious in one blow, leaving everything in darkness.



Luna snapped out of her dream state, raising her head and looking around her dark room. Giving a small yawn, she got out of her bed and stretched a little, attentive to any movement. One of the advantages of being the princess of the night and dreams, is that apart from only needing two hours of sleep, she could wake up almost immediately if she required it. Her gaze focused on the door that led to her balcony, from which she took out the moon, walking towards it and stepping out into the cold night air, looking at the stars.

"I know you are there."

She turned her head to look at the far end of the balcony, engulfed in shadow, and from which emerged the figure of a pony wearing a costume that resembled a bat.

"So you're the one they call Batmane, huh?" Luna said as she looked at the pony in front of her. "I don't know how you dodged the guards, but your luck runs out here."

Before she could use her magic to arrest him, Batmane tucked his hoof inside his cloak and tossed a folder at Luna, who watched with a frown.

"What's this?" she asked her as she grabbed the folder with her magic.

"Evidence against corrupt judges and prosecutors, there is also evidence against Falcone, photos, letters... Everything necessary to lock him up."

"Even if it's true, without something more forceful it would be difficult to arrest him..."

"That's why he's waiting for you at the scene of a drug delivery at one of the airship station's warehouses. If you goes now, you'll be there before he wakes up."

Luna stopped looking at the folder full of files and looked at Batmane.

"Why?"

"Because this city belongs to the citizens, and I'm going to remind them."

Luna raised a curious eyebrow, focusing on the folder, seeing that Batmane was right, it was full of different files cataloged by judges and prosecutors, and an exclusive one for Falcone, with photos of him in drug deliveries, letters where murder crimes were evidenced, kidnapping or drug trafficking...

"You may have helped, but I still don't know if I can trust you..."

Luna stopped when she saw that Batmane was gone. Frowning, she lit her horn and scanned the place, finding a small trail that disappeared beyond the balcony. With a sigh, the princess of the night looked at the moon, meditating. She had a feeling that this would become a very common thing.



Blueblood walked wearily towards his dining room, where Service was already waiting with a tray with his breakfast and a newspaper.

"Eleven o'clock in the morning is a new record, sir" Service said with a small smile.

"I know, Service, a small price to pay."

Blueblood sat down at the table with a sigh, using his magic to grab the apple on the tray and bring it to his mouth.

"Your performance last night caused a furor."

Blueblood glanced at Service before focusing on the newspaper, grabbing it and looking at it. On the front page was an artistic rendering of Batmane.


Falcone victim of the bat.


Last night, Her Highness, Princess Luna, went to a warehouse with a squad of her own guard and apprehended the notorious, supposed crime kingpin Falcone along with a group of ponies and corrupt cops. Drug shipments were found at the scene that came from various parts of Equestria and were to be distributed in the city. But the important thing is that, although her highness has not said anything official, there are rumors that the cause of this arrest and that Princess Luna has been involved, is none other than Batmane, who until now had only been a rumor among criminals.

Is this vigilante real? If so, is he a pony or something else? We are not sure, and none of the princesses have wanted to make a statement about it. As for Falcone, he is to stand trial in two days, and in the meantime, he will be held in the dungeons of the royal castle. Real or not, Batmane has put organized crime in check, we just have to wait and see what happens next.

Blueblood nodded as he set the newspaper aside, looking at Service.

"Theatricality and deception, Service, are powerful allies."

"It seems so, sir. But…I keep wondering why you chose your Aunt Luna over Princess Celestia."

"I suspected Celestia wouldn't be very cooperative with me." Blueblood frowned as he focused on his food. "She prefers to make things as legal as possible, I doubt she will approve of my methods. Luna, on the other hand, has always been more permissive with the law."

Blueblood took another bite of his apple, grabbing his glass of orange juice to drink later.

"What are you going to do now with Falcone behind bars?"

"I'm not done yet," Blueblood said, swallowing his food and taking a sip of his drink. "There are still several more mob members and corrupt ponies left. Tonight, I'll pay them a visit."