//------------------------------// // Let the show begin // Story: Batmane, the dark steed // by Guillermo //------------------------------// "Sir, you don't know where the foals are" said Service as he followed Blueblood, who was already putting on his suit. "He has attacked three warehouses of Ace Wing Chemicals, and has stolen chemicals from there. I don't know what he is creating, but surely he intends to use it tonight" Blueblood looked at Service, putting on his helmet, his horn disappearing and turning into Batmane . "It's the only lead I have, Service, and I intend to follow it." Instead of going down the stairs, he jumped over the railing and glided over to the Batmobile, a beast of a car and completely finished. It had three huge fins on the back, similar in design to the wings of a bat, an engine on its rear, much larger and more powerful than those that mass-produced vehicles would use, protected by several layers of steel, making it a tank in its own right, gigantic spotlights on its front to light the way and a small cabin for a single pony, and with a view to having more additions. Batmane climbed in, started the engine and shot out through the cave, bats screeching and flying overhead, waving their way to him. The Batmobile went up a natural ramp and through the waterfall that hid the cave, jumping to the ground and circling through the trees with precision, arriving in no time at one of the many dirt roads leading to the city. Batmane traversed its streets at breakneck speed, dodging what few carriages there were, ponies staring at the metal beast in awe, heading for one of the warehouses, at least until the Joker's voice, who hadn't stopped talking, caught his attention again. "The rules are simple, and I'm going to be very generous, you have one hour to do it, and for every hour you don't do it, a foal dies, but don't abuse it, because if you don't 't your part in four hours, a good part of Canterlot is going to get a gigantic chemical explosion from my new laughing gas..." "Chemical explosion?" Batmane muttered to himself. There was only one place in the entire city that could cause something like this, Ace Wing Chemicals. The Batmobile roared with power as it headed toward the outskirts of Canterlot. The big weather plant might be far away, but if there were an explosion there, the chemical disaster would reach the population in no time, not to mention the clouds that would be impregnated with that 'laughing gas', and if not controlled in time, they could advance throughout the city, and not just through a single section. Soon, Batmane reached a slightly lonelier road, winding alongside the river, and in the distance, he could see the factory. As he get closer, he notice that the entrance gates were open, and that inside, there was a huge carriage, typical of schools, stopped by the doors. The Batmobile skidded to its side, killing the engine. Batmane exited the vehicle and walked over to the doors, flinging them open with a boost of his magic and entering the building. Since he didn't have much time, he turned on his 'predator mode', which immediately highlighted the dozens of foal tracks and a few adults on the ground. Following them, the bat climbed some stairs, arriving at the office area of ​​Ace Wing Chemicals, and after a few more minutes, came to a large closed door, that led to a meeting room, behind which it could see the foals and their mistress, tied with a chain. Besides them, there were three different ponies, all armed, highlighted by their orange color, one pointing at the foals, a unicorn, and two at the gates, an earth pony and a pegasus. "How did the Joker get so many ponies to serve him?" the pegasus asked, being answered by the earth pony next to him. "Why did you join?" "Obviously, he promised me that the city would be our toy and I could do whatever I wanted." "There you have your answer, many joined because of that. A few were patients of the psychiatric hospitals who managed to escape and join the Joker." Batmane turned his focus away from them to search for another route of entry, as entering through that door was suicide. His gaze stopped at a vent, a vent that should be in every room of the building by municipal regulations. Pulling out his batclaw, he hooked it on the grate and yanked with all his might to get it out of its place, climbing up the duct after he did. "Can somepony remind me why we're aiming for a door?" the pegasus asked again as Batmane slid down the chute. "Because the boss says that Batmane survived, so it's likely that he'll show up here. And if he peeks through that door, bang" answered the earth pony at the same time that the bat removed the crack from that room. "But... they say he appears from the shadows" replied the pegasus. "Some say he is a ghost out for revenge." "Do not say stupid things." "I heard that he is a demon from Tartarus in search of souls to feed on" said the unicorn. "He's a fucking pony in a costume, he's not a demon." Batmane landed on the ground, using his cloak as a parachute, hidden by the shadows. His gaze went to the two ponies in the doorway, walking towards them in silence. Once right behind them, he raised his hooves, grabbed their heads and slammed them together with such force that they fell unconscious. "Time! A foal has earned a free trip to the afterlife!" the Joker's voice yelled in the distance. Batmane turned, watching the unicorn growl before approaching the foals. "Fuck, this is going to be hard" he said as he pulled some keys from a belt he had on. "Stay away from them, please!" Cheerilee yelled desperately, trying to remove her bonds. "Do what you want with me but leave the foals alone!" The unicorn ignored her as he unchained one of the fillies, a little unicorn that Batmane recognized, Rarity's little sister. The pony put the keys back in place and grabbed the little girl with his magic, placing the gun above her head, just below the horn, ignoring Cheerilee's screams, the cries of the other foals, especially the other two crusaders and especially the terrified and pleading look of Sweetie Belle. Swallowing hard, he closed his eyes and started to pull the trigger, but never succeeded. The bat grabbed him from behind, throwing his backwards and causing the filly to fall to the ground as she was not held by magic, closing in on her friends as she stared wide-eyed at the figure that had saved her life. The unicorn grunted in pain, getting to his hooves and turning around, seeing Batmane approaching. Eyes wide with terror, he ran off, leaving the pistol behind, staring in horror at his fallen companions. He lunged at the door and tried to open it, only to find that it was locked, and before he even thought of trying to force it, the bat turned him around and, grabbing him by the neck and getting on his two legs, lifted him into the air, leaning against the wooden surface. "WHERE'S THE BOMB?!" he yelled with all his might. "I... I don't know! I swear, I...!" Batmane interrupted him by grabbing his hoof and breaking it, causing him to cry out in pain. "SPEAK, OR YOU WILL NOT HAVE ANY HEALTHY BONE LEFT!" "T-the bo-boilers, i-it's in the bo-boilers!" cried the unicorn in pain. Batmane nodded and hit him on the head, knocking him unconscious. He dropped him to the ground and grabbed the key from his belt, turning and approaching the foals and the mare, the latter trying to hug the foals around her. "Don't hurt us…please…" she said, some fear in her eyes. Batmane stared at her before using the keys to remove her chains, much to the mare's surprise, both at being freed from her and at seeing him use magic. As soon as she was free, he brought them up to her mouth level. "Can you manage to untie them on your own?" Cheerilee looked at Batmane and then at the keys, nodding as she took them with her teeth. The bat moved away from her and prepared to leave the meeting room, heading for the boilers. He went down to the ground floor and from there to the basement, where the boiler room was. After going down some metal stairs and going through some corridors, he came to a fairly large metal door, and when he opened it, he found a huge room, full of pipes and boilers everywhere, turning the room into a metal labyrinth. There were several support beams in the ceiling, and the corridors were dimly lit by lanterns that hung from metal poles fixed to the ground. Batmane activated his 'predator mode', observing four different ponies, two earth ponies and a unicorn patrolling the halls and another earth pony in the center, by the largest boiler, and where he guessed the bomb would be. The bat deactivated his special vision and got ready, he had prey to hunt. The unicorn that patrolled the halls walked bored. He would rather have been with the Joker in his triumphant assault on the castle, though he was glad he didn't have to deal with the foals. He walked his gaze between the various pipes and boilers, at one point, he could see more or less the silhouette of one of the earth ponies, Strong, quite stocky, a worthy specimen of his race. As he watched, he saw something pull him away into the darkness, eliciting a startled cry from the pony, which was soon followed by silence. "What the hell was that?!" yelled another of his companions who were patrolling. "Something has taken Strong!" "Fuck...fuck...it's Batmane...we're dead" the same voice said again. The unicorn ignored him and ran to where the bomb was, arriving just in time to see the pony guarding it being lifted into the darkness by a figure, another scream coming from him before it was silenced. Swallowing hard, he backed away and started running for the exit. "I don't want to die!" shouted the same voice as before, followed by a few shots and then silence. The unicorn finally reached the door, practically pounced on it, discovering that it was closed. Turning quickly, he scan the shadows, his submachine gun ready to fire at the slightest movement. Something surged to the right of him and slammed into his weapon, knocking it away from his magical aura and sending it into the darkness, rendering him helpless. Too terrified to go after it, he fell silent, his eyes darting around for any sign of the bat. Right in front of him, hoovesteps were heard, and as he focused, he saw Batmane's silhouette approaching, first appearing his ears, then those soulless eyes and then the rest of his body. With a quick movement, he lunged at his victim, who screamed as loud as he could before being silenced like the others. Batmane knocked the pony unconscious and ran over to the bomb, activating 'predator mode' on him before removing the cover and seeing the connections. With great care, he began the deactivation process, knowing that, although technically there was a lot of time left, Rainbow Dash's life was in danger. After almost twenty minutes, the lights on the pump went out, they were out of danger. The bat let out a sigh that he didn't know he was holding, and walked away, he still had to save the element of loyalty, sometimes he envied Twilight Sparkle's dragon. He exited the Ace Wing Chemicals building, noticing that the foals had already exited and were eyeing the Batmobile with interest, ignoring Cheerilee's pleas for them to stay away. A little apart, he could see what he assumed were the cutie mark crusaders that Rarity had told him about, and they quickly noticed him, watching him intently. Batmane approached the mare, who focused on him, and though she could still see the insecurity in her eyes, she was calmer. "Everypony is fine?" "Yes, thanks to you." "Wait here, I'm going to the castle to stop that madpony and send somepony after you. When they arrive, tell them that there will be ponies that were working for the Joker inside, in the room where you were held and in the boilers." Cheerilee nodded, before focusing back on the foals and making sure they moved away from the car. Batmane watched them for a few seconds before starting to walk, being stopped by a tug on his cloak. Turning around, he saw Sweetie Belle looking at him, fear, doubt, and most of all, admiration in her eyes. "Th-thanks..." Batmane watched the filly for a few seconds before taking a batarang from his belt and, after watching it for a few seconds, extended it to the little unicorn. Sweetie's eyes widened before she caught the item in her own magic, looking at it in admiration. "Promise me you won't use it as a toy." Sweetie blinked and stared at Batmane, before a small smile appeared on her face. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." Batmane nodded before walking away and approaching the Batmobile, which made the more interested foals finally heed the teacher's demands. He got into the cab and started the engine, making it roar several times before barreling out of there, he had a clown to stop. Everyone in the room was silent, threatened by the weapons of the ponies, the leaders of other races, and the princesses themselves, suppressing the urge to pounce on them, knowing full well that until the guard and the police found these foals, they couldn't do anything. The ones who were having the worst time were the Mane Six, especially Twilight and Rainbow. Pinkie Pie had lost her fluffy pink mane, Fluttershy could barely look at her friends, crying softly on Rarity's shoulder, and Applejack couldn't take her eyes off Joker, the fury in her eyes, but the reminder of her sister present. Spike, on the other hand, was being held back by Shining Armor, as he had tried multiple times to go after the clown, which would only further complicate the situation. The announcement of the first dead colt made more than one cry, and both Luna and Celestia had to muster all their willpower not to act. As much as they wanted, the best plan of action was to play along with the clown until they found the whereabouts of the foals, it wouldn't take much longer. "Second foal on the way to the grave! You're going to have to work a bit, Your Highness, I'm beginning to think you want to see foals die." As Joker roared with laughter, Twilight tensed, tears running down her eyes, looking at Rainbow in front of her, who was also crying. "Twilight... please do as he says." "No…I can't…" she said as she hung her head. "Twilight, look at me" the alicron obeyed, seeing the confident smile that so characterized her friend, although she was clouded with concern. "The foals are more important... I... I won't hold you in mind." Twilight closed her eyes, crying even more as she lit up her horn, those present whispering to each other. The Joker just chuckled, pleased at what was about to happen. "I will miss you..." "And I you, egghead." Flash Magnus, one of the Pillars of Equestria and now the captain of the royal guard was outside, commanding all the guards and waiting for any of them to give him news about the missing foals. A roar was present in the street, drawing everypony's attention, and looking for the source, they saw it in the distance. Spotlights were approaching at high speed, revealing themselves as a kind of automatic carriage. The vehicle skidded, and a figure flew out, spreading what looked like bat wings, and flew over the castle wall, heading for one of the windows of the hall where the gala was taking place. Just before Twilight finished the spell she was casting, something caught the attention of the guests, a silhouette in one of the windows that looked too much like a bat. With a shower of glass, Batmane entered the room, his hind legs in front of him, before landing, raising his head and staring at a stunned Joker. "Hey, it's not your turn to play, Batsy," he said with a small frown. "You don't want any more foals to die tonight, do you?" "No foal has died, Joker" Batmane said as he stood up, staring at the clown. "And your bomb isn't going to go off today." Joker blinked in surprise, ignoring the princesses' stares or that the speaker spell on him had been deactivated. Before any of his minions could react, all weapons were raised in Celestia's magical aura, which easily melted them, closing in on some terrified ponies. The doors opened soon after and the guard, led by Flash Magnus, appeared, watching what was going on. "Guards, take Joker and his accomplices" Celestia said. The guards, some with expressions of fury, rushed to comply, pulling out their hoofcuffs and inhibitor rings. As the Joker was seized and dragged away, his gaze tried to stay on Batmane for as long as possible, before a laugh erupted from his mouth. "I was wrong to choose the contestant" he said with a macabre smile, being expelled from the room. Batmane looked at the Joker before focusing on Celestia, who looked him up and down before speaking. "I take it you were the one who freed the foals and defused that bomb, right?" "Ace Wing Chemicals, there will be the kidnapped foals and more henchmen of the Joker." Despite the fact that some began to murmur because of such a direct answer, Celestia remained calm. "Did you hear that, captain?" "I'm on it" said Flash Magnus as he walked away, ready to give the orders to go to Ace Wing Chemicals. "I must thank you for this, you have saved many lives" Celestia continued. "But you must stop your activities, you will only harm yourself. Still, for your actions, I will allow you to join my sister's night guard. There you will be of much more help to..." Batmane interrupted Celestia by throwing a spherical object at her, which the princess had no problem blocking with a small shield. Upon impact, a cloud of smoke completely enveloped the place, hiding the bat from her sight, and when the alircorn managed to remove all the smoke, the masked pony was already planning back to his Batmobile. A short time later, the sound of his engine was heard, getting further and further away. "I must say I didn't expect that" Luna said as she approached, a small smile on her face. "Normally he waits until you're not looking before he leaves." Celestia bit back the growl that wanted to come out of her, turning away from the window and her sister, focusing on the guests.