//------------------------------//
// Latent madness 
// Story: Batmane, the dark steed 
// by Guillermo 
//------------------------------//

Service got out of the elevator and went into the so-called batcave, entering the main room, and at the moment, the only one. In one corner was the suit made by Time Hooves in its respective ponnequin, and Blueblood was sitting in front of the new computer, completely focused on it.

"How's the connection, sir?" he asked as he approached.

"Good, Service. The network may only work for private companies and government corporations like the police at the moment, but it's doing great. And Dr. Hooves has been a great help in getting me inside."

"It's lucky that we had a prodigy in engineering and computer science" Service stood next to Blueblood, looking at the screen, where you could see a picture of a unicorn and, on the other side, pictures of unicorns were scrolling at full speed. "May I know what you are doing, sir?"

"Last night I went to Ace Wing Chemicals, five ponies broke in to rob the plant manager. I caught three of them, one escaped and one died."

"He died?" Service asked with a raised eyebrow.

"He fell into a chemical tank, they found his body stuck in one of the dam's purifiers, his head was smashed, he couldn't be identified."

"What an unpleasant fate" Service commented with a smirk.

"The leader of the operation managed to escape, I'm trying to find a match between his mugshot and the airship and train station cameras."

"I didn't know they had cameras."

"Not until a few weeks ago. Blood Enterprises offered they an efficient and cheap security service. They get up-to-date security, the company makes a profit and I..."

"A surveillance network on the main exits of Canterlot, smart sir" Service stated with a smile, one that Blueblood returned.

"Don't give me so much credit, the one who managed to link the cameras with the batcomputer was Time."

"An important achievement. Have you managed to locate the fugitive, sir?"

"Unfortunately, no. He most likely escaped on the roads" Blueblood said, frowning. "That has escaped and is not still in the city."

"Well then you should leave it for later, sir, you have visitors."

Blueblood blinked before looking at Service with a raised eyebrow.

"Visitors?"



Applejack was frowning as she looked around the spacious room they were in, sitting in an oversized chair surrounded by paintings and statues too pretentious for her taste.

"Brighten up that face a bit, dear" Rarity said, sitting next to her, with a smile.

"I told you when you asked me to come, I don't like that pony. I'm not going to pretend otherwise," Applejack growled sullenly.

"My dear, I already explained to you why Blueblood behaved that way. I thought you understood."

"He I don't care because he did it, it was horrible how he treated you, and on top of that, he said my food, my family's traditional food, was worthy of a landfill."

"If I remember correctly, he said it was carnival food" Rarity commented with a small laugh, although she fell when she saw Applejack's face.

"It's still an insult."

"Applejack, I know it upset you, but try to understand, he mistook me for the fillyfriend of his parents' killer. How would you have reacted?"

Applejack didn't reply, instead she looked away, refusing to speak. Rarity looked at her friend for a while before sighing.

"Look, I know he was a bad pony, but I found out he wasn't what I imagined he would be. We've written a few letters to each other and he's quite nice."

Applejack glanced at Rarity, who had a smile.

"You...do you still like him?"

Rarity blinked in surprise and looked at Applejack curiously, before an embarrassed smile appeared on her face.

"In fact... I've realized that what I felt for him was a typical teenage crush, I'm still embarrassed to remember it. Please don't tell him."

Applejack looked at Rarity for a few seconds before letting out a small laugh, nodding.

"I promise you."

"Rarity! What a surprise" said a voice from the entrance.

Both mares turned to see Blueblood, dressed in a bathrobe and approaching with a smile. Rarity smiled happily, though she raised an eyebrow at the unicorn's clothing.

"Hello, Blueblood, it's nice to see you... though I didn't expect to see you like this."

"Yeah, I just woke up" commented the unicorn with a smile as he sat up.

"At this time?" Applejack asked with a raised eyebrow, judging the pony in front of her.

"What? What about the time?"

"It's almost 12 in the morning, sir" Service said as he walked in with a tray on his magic. "I gather that for Miss Apple, waking up at this hour must seem strange to her."

"Oh, that's right, farm life and all," Blueblood commented as he waved a hoof in the air, not even noticing Applejack's face, but before the mare could say anything, the stallion continued. "Hard work, I wish I could have that strength. Sometimes I envy that of earth ponies."

Applejack blinked in surprise as she watched Blueblood's smile, looking askance at Rarity, that if they were alone, she would say 'I told you so'.

"Well... You don't have to be an earth pony for that... We only have a small advantage, nothing more."

"Of course, of course" the unicorn commented as he waved a hoof, watching as his butler placed the tray on the table, where there was a teapot and three cups. "Do you fancy some tea? Service's teas are quite good, they always help me wake up."

"Of course dear, that would be divine" Rarity said with a smile, watching as Service poured a cup.

Applejack watched everything in silence, and when the butler handed her a cup, she took it between her hooves hesitantly. Blueblood took his own mug from him and took a sip, sighing with satisfaction.

"Well, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" I ask.

"Oh, I was passing through Canterlot for a visit to my Boutique here, and thought I'd drop by to see you with my friend Applejack. I hope I haven't interrupted anything."

"Nonsense, I didn't have anything important to do" Blueblood took another sip from his cup. "I don't have to go to Blood Enterprises today, so I'm free."

"How's the company going? Derpy told me that Time is much happier than usual" Rarity asked curiously, eliciting a laugh from Blueblood.

"I should be the happiest. Honestly, the counselor was stupid to fire Dr. Hooves. Just under a month and he already has a number of projects underway that will put Blood Enterprises on a par with other companies like Lexcorp. They took years to develop a motor vehicle based on the designs published by Hooves, he already has almost half of our first model ready. Next year you will begin to see cars circulating in Canterlot."

"I'm so happy for him, I always knew that pony was n't taking advantage of all his abilities from him" Rarity said with a smile and a sip from her cup of her.

Applejack preferred to remain silent, she had never been a fan of science, and she didn't think she could give any outstanding opinion. Instead, she watched Blueblood carefully, there was something about his way of being that seemed... dishonest. What he said was true, she could see that, and she could also see that
he got along with Rarity, but his carefree attitude… it was as if he was faking it. In the past, she would n't pay much attention to that, but ever since she and her friends de ella defeated Tirek, her element de ella was stronger inside her than ever, and right now, it was telling her that the pony in front of her was not being entirely honest.

"Would you like to stay for lunch? Since it's 12 o'clock, it would take you a while to get to canterlot on hoof. Believe me, I've done it" Blueblood commented with a smile.

"I'd love to, but I promised Applejack it'd be a quick visit, she's got stuff to do."

Applejack blinked and looked at her friend de ella, who gave her an amused smile, to which she just rolled her eyes at her. Blueblood, for his part, fainted.

"In that case, let me say something I should have said a while ago" his gaze went to Applejack, who raised a curious eyebrow. "I'm so sorry for what I said to him years ago. I know there's no way to justify it, but I hope you can forgive me."

Once again, Applejack felt honesty in her words, causing her image of Blueblood to change. Sighing, she forced herself to smile, even knowing that Rarity would tease her about this.

"You are forgiven."

Blueblood smiled, then offering to escort them out of it. Instead of simply saying good-bye, he had one of his carriages brought over and told them they could ride in it, refusing to take no for an answer. As they traveled inside, Applejack took in the scenery, thinking.

"Why wasn't it as bad as you imagined?" Rarity asked with a triumphant smile, causing Applejack to roll her eyes at her.

"Okay, I admit it, he's a good pony" Applejack frowned, remembering what she had felt.

But she preferred not to say anything. She already met a mare once who pretended to be somepony she wasn't, forced by her manager de ella, yes, but she did it. Blueblood would have to figure that out on his own or, if he continued like this, she might try to help, but she saw it as complicated, since she rarely went to Canterlot. Maybe she would tell Rarity in the future so she could talk to him about it. At the moment, it was none of her business.



It had been a few weeks since Batmane wiped out most of the mob's presence on the streets, but crime was still present and Blueblood wasn't planning on leaving any time soon. Service entered the Batcave, carrying an envelope in his magic, past the Batcomputer and down the stairs to the second level, where the Batmobile was already parked, covered with a sheet until Time came back to finish the job. At the other end, near the pond that housed the cave, the unicorn was training in a small makeshift entertainment area, doing barbell push-ups, going up and down at a good pace.

"Letter from your aunt, sir" he said as he held it up in the air.

Blueblood dropped back down on all fours and walked over, wiping his face with a towel before laying it on his neck.

"A letter?" he asked him puzzled. "What's so important that she can't wait until later?"

Blueblood grabbed the envelope and read the letter inside, frowning.

"Is something wrong, sir?"

"My aunt has canceled our meeting today, apparently something extremely urgent has demanded her attention."

"I trust it's nothing serious."

"On the contrary, Service" Blueblood said as he walked away. "This is a fire in one of the four mental hospitals in Canterlot, it has had a fire and the patients have escaped."

"You don't think it's something that requires your attention, do you?" following the unicorn up the stairs.

"That's what I want to think, but I have a feeling that I will have to intervene."



Night had fallen over Canterlot, illuminated by the silhouette of the moon overhead. Batmane leaned out from the ledge of a building towards the Sane Mind hospital, completely burned. The entrance was cordoned off by a police cordon and two cops keeping watch. The bat stopped watching them to focus on the roof of the hospital, a little lower than he was at that moment, specifically, on the service door there was. Backing up a bit, he began to run and jumped over the ledge, his hooves splayed to the sides, and a touch of magic to his cloak spread and allowed him to glide, without alerting the ponies below.

He landed softly on the roof, returning his cloak to its usual state, and walked to the door. With a mighty blow, he broke the lock and opened it, entering the mental hospital and going inside, following the signs. After a few minutes of walking, he arrived at the center director's office, and despite the fact that his plan was to continue to the cells, he stopped, something caught his attention. The office door was smashed, but it shattered inward, not outward, as if somepony had forced it from the outside. Curious, Batmane entered the room and studied it with his eyes.

Like the rest of the building, the trace of the fire was also present. In front of the door, there was a desk, and behind it, a large window gave a view of the street below. Batmane walked around the table, noticing a chair thrown on the floor, but what caught his attention was the window. In the glass, there were two small holes, which could very well belong to a gun. The bat focused on the chair, using his magic to put it in place and getting a better look at it. In the back, where the head would rest, was another bullet hole.

The bat quickly made a mental image, whoever did this, opened the door after forcing it open and shot the director of the hospital three times, one of his shots would hit him in the head and knock him to the ground, while the others two would hit the window. Batmane looked around him, searching for anything else that was relevant, finding it on the walls. As he got closer, he noticed that the pattern of the fire was strange, starting at the end closest to the window and moving in a straight line, the flames then moving sideways, as if the source had been the mouth of a dragon or a flamethrower.

The bat followed the trail until it reached the center of the room, where the impact mark of the fire cut off before continuing, much thicker and more powerful. Batmane moved away from the wall to the next one, noticing that the pattern there was the same as the last half as the previous one. Something had changed the power of the fire source, but what? He activated his 'predator mode' and studied the office, noticing a trace of magic that was lost under the desk. Returning to his normal vision, he walked over to the table and dragged the table aside, revealing a small red gem underneath. If his memory did not fail him, due to its magical capacity and its color, it was a ruby ​​of fire, of different shapes and sizes, a delicacy for dragons and for the rest of the species a way to control fire.

It could be used in spells or, more recently, technology. Depending on the size and amount of magic, they served various purposes, increasing the power of fire or regulating it, and judging by the size of it, it was the latter. Since dragons didn't need a fire ruby ​​to control their inner fire, and since a spell would leave even more residual magic, plus it would need the ruby ​​at all times, Batmane deduced that what had been used was a flamethrower. Which brought up another question. Where did the pony responsible get a flamethrower of that caliber? They weren't sold in Equestria, like other weapons, and they were also hard to come by on the black market. Keeping the gem, the bat left the office, he had somepony to see.



"Are you sure it's okay for me to go?" Fleur Dis Lee asked as she walked down the stairs with her husband Fancy Pants.

The unicorn limped on his front left hoof as it was bandaged. Fancy smiled slightly as he shook his head.

"Honey, you've been waiting months for that play to come out, you deserve it."

"But I don't like leaving you here alone with your paw the way you have it," Fleur said with a frown, stopping by the door.

"Fleur, nothing's wrong, I can manage on my own, I'm a grown-up now."

Fleur frowned even more, not happy with her husband's decision. Fancy rolled his eyes at his before pulling a coin out of his suit and showing it to his wife.

"No coin again, please," Fleur said narrowing her eyes at him, but Fancy didn't hear her.

"This is what we'll do, heads you go out and have fun, tails you stay with me" he said with a smile before flipping the coin and catching it with his hoof, making his smile bigger. "Heads."

"What a surprise," Fleur murmured as she rolled her eyes, though she couldn't help a smile from creeping onto her face.

"The coin has chosen, come, go and enjoy the play."

"I doubt a coin with two equal sides would get to choose," argument while having a small laugh, eliciting an offended gasp from Fancy, who could barely contain his amusement.

"How dare you make such an accusation without proof?"

Fleur shook her head before kissing Fancy, turning to the door and opening it.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"YOU WANT TO GET OUT OF A DAMN TIME...?!"

"Of course" Fancy said calmly, suppressing as best he could the grimace that he wanted to get out of him.

Fleur raised an eyebrow before her understanding hit her face.

"Before I go, I left some spare pills on my nightstand, I knew you'd end up spending them all on your own."

"What would I do without you?"

Both unicorns kissed each other lovingly before the mare closed the door and left, leaving Fancy Pants alone...at least physically.

"You won't be rid of me forever…you need me…" whispered a voice that was mostly quiet, but without the pills, it roamed freely through his mind.

"With Fleur in my life, I don't need you at all... Let's see when you get the message," Fancy growled as he walked up the stairs to his room.

Fancy got to his room and went to the nightstand of his wife, opening the drawers and looking for the pills. Finding them, he took one out of the box and took it, closing his eyes as he felt the presence in his head fade to silence. Breathing a sigh of relief, he left the room and went to his office, turning on the light and heading to a small glass cabinet where he kept a collection of his best wines and ciders.

Pulling out a bottle of cider, he poured himself a glass and took a sip, humming with satisfaction, turning to go to his desk and almost jumping with fright. There, behind the table and by the open window, was Batmane, watching him with those white eyes.

"Holy Celestia, how do you do that?" he said, still trying to catch his breath.

"Hello again, Mr. Pants. I've come to ask you a question."

Fancy watched the bat for a while before shrugging.

"Thanks to you, Falcone is behind bars, so you can ask me whatever you want."

Batmane removed the fire ruby ​​from his cloak with his magic and placed it on the table. Fancy, deciding to ignore the fact that a supposed earth pony used magic, grabbed the gem and studied it, adjusting his eyeglass.

"That gem is a fire ruby, it was used in the flamethrower that set the building on fire."

Fancy widened his eyes, resisting the urge to stroke his bandages, and glared at Batmane.

"And what do you want from me?"

"I need to know who the dealer is who sold that flamethrower to the pony responsible."

Fancy blinked, looking at the gem and sighing, setting the gem back on the table.

"Maybe I knows who he is. For all I know, the street criminals say there is a dealer much richer and more powerful than any other on the black market, one that even Falcone respected in a way, they call him the Penguin."

"Penguin."

Do you know him?"

"I've heard his name" said Batmane. "Do you know who he is?"

"No, none of those who have questioned have ever said anything."

Seeing that Batmane didn't respond, Fancy sighed and turned around, going over to the bottle of cider and pulling out another glass.

"Look, I don't know what you're going to do, but anyway, let me thank you for what you did properly."

Fancy turned around with his goblet full, only to see that both Batmane and the fire ruby ​​were no longer there. The unicorn was silent, looking at the place where the bat had been, sighing and shrugging, taking a sip from the newly filled cup.