A Cracked Reflections Still a Reflection
Temple of Reflection.
The door to the temple creaked open as the six ponies and one bat entered. The temple door was similar to the last one, allowing Batman to open it with ease. The temple inside was not what the ponies or Batman were expecting. The room was filled with warped crystals, cracked mirrors and a pond in the center of the large chamber. Rarity raced right over to one of the crystals and began to swoon over it, while the rest of them explored the chamber. On the other side was another door, with a riddle written in ancient Equestrian.
"Well, Twilight, what does it say?" Rainbow asked.
"Hold on, I think it says 'To open this door, you must face yourself, in a battle without friend or help. And while some reflections may allure, the one for you must be pure'." Twilight shook her head in confusion.
"And just what the hay is that supposed t' mean?" Applejack asked.
"It means we must find a reflection of ourselves that is perfect," Rarity said. Everypony looked at her with a questioning glance. "Oh come on, it's about mirrors, of course I'd know something about it," she said.
"Well, you heard her. Let's look for the best reflection." The ponies spread out while Batman sat down in front of the pond. Twilight walked in front of a giant crystal, which reflected her as a massive mare. Twilight backed away.
"Okay, it's not this one!" she called out. Pinkie stood in front of a mirror that showed her with her mane flat and her eyes dangerous. She laughed at the image, knowing that this wasn't her.
"It's not this one!" she yelled with a smile, bounding over to another mirror. Rainbow found a particular crystal that offended her. In the reflection, she was a tiny filly with short wings that couldn't fly. Batman, who was watching all of the ponies, took note of who she looked like.
"This is pointless," Rainbow growled, breaking the crystal with a kick. "It could be any one of these stupid mirrors or crystals and there are hundreds of them! We'll be here forever."
Fluttershy had just finished looking at a version of her that was dark and cruel, before she saw Batman meditating by the water. She walked over to him, curious as to his thoughts.
"Um, Batman, what do you think?" she asked quietly.
"I was hoping that you could figure it out without me," he sighed. "When the rest of them give up, I'll show you the answer."
"You mean you already figured it out?" Fluttershy asked surprised. Batman gave a thin smile.
"The solution is obvious." Fluttershy sat down next to him.
"Can you show me how you figured it out?"
"Look around at the chamber. What do you see?"
"I see broken mirrors and weird crystals," she answered. Batman nodded.
"Now then, what did you see when you looked into the mirrors or crystals?"
"I saw a reflection of myself, but it wasn't me," Fluttershy answered, slowly beginning to get what he was hinting at. "It wasn't the real me."
"Correct. The crystals and mirrors didn't show you your natural self because they are not natural," he explained like a teacher, while Fluttershy listened like a student. "Mirrors can be fixed to show you something else and crystals can be warped to give an odd image." Then he faced forward. "Only one thing in this room will show you your true self."
Fluttershy thought about what he said, trying to put the pieces together. Then, like the last piece of a puzzle becoming clear, the answer came to her.
"The pond," she whispered. Batman nodded.
"Girls, I figured it out! The pond is the real mirror!" she yelled out. All the other ponies raced up to the pond.
"Are you sure?" Twilight asked, looking at her refection in the pond. "It just looks like a-AAAAHHHHHH!" Twilight scrambled away from the pond as her reflection began to climb out of it. The reflection looked exactly the same as Twilight in every way, except that it was ready for battle.
"W-what's going on?" Twilight stammered, staring at herself.
"You have to beat yourself," Batman said. "Remember?"
"R-right, well, I guess I can do this," she said nervously. The reflection and Twilight stared at each other for a minute before both attacked. Twilight launched a magic blast at her reflection, which easily side stepped it. The reflection levitated some shards of glass and flung the glass at Twilight. Twilight barely managed to get a barrier in front of her before the glass hit. The glass shattered against the barrier, but the force of the impact still knocked Twilight onto her back.
She quickly got to her hooves and started firing off blasts in a rapid succession, but her reflection just ducked and dodged out of the way. The reflection used its magic to pick up water from the pond and hurl it at Twilight, temporarily blinding her. While Twilight was blinded, the reflection got behind her and unleashed a magic wave straight into Twilight's back. Twilight was knocked across the floor and collided with a crystal, knocking the wind out of her.
"We've gotta help her!" Applejack cried, watching as another magic blast sent Twilight sprawling.
"You heard what the riddle said. Twilight has to do this on her own," Rarity responded.
"But she's our friend! We have to help her!" Pinkie yelled at Rarity.
"I know, but we can't interfere," Rarity said.
"So we should just leave Twilight t' fend fer herself?" AJ replied, glaring at Rarity.
"N-no, but-"
"Hey, where's Batman?" Fluttershy asked.
The reflection walked over to Twilight, who was lying exhausted on the ground. Twilight tried to lift her head, but her reflection placed a hoof on it. The reflections horn glowed with power, aimed straight for Twilight, until a batarang was placed close to its throat.
"Fight's over," Batman growled. The reflection looked at him for a minute before turning into water and slithering back into the pond. Batman helped Twilight to her hooves as her friends ran over.
"Twi, are you alright," AJ asked, leaning against Twilight to support her.
"I-I think I'm alright," Twilight mumbled, barely able to stand.
"I can't believe how powerful your reflection was," Rainbow said.
"It was like a darker version of you," Fluttershy softly said.
"It...It was like I was facing me, but it was stronger and faster than I was," Twilight panted.
"Alright then, ah'll go next," Applejack said, walking over to the pond. She looked at her reflection and just like with Twilight, a reflection of her came out of the water. It looked exactly like Applejack, except a darker shade. The two glared at each other for a moment before charging. AJ went for a buck, which the reflection sidestepped and retaliated with a punch. Applejack deflected the blow and kicked the reflection in the leg, staggering it.
AJ's reflection jumped back from a second kick and smashed both for hooves into the ground. The resulting shockwave tossed Applejack into a mirror, shattering it against her back. AJ stood back up quickly, even though she had multiple cuts over her back. AJ pulled out her rope from under her hat and whirled it over her head a few times before tossing it at her reflection. The reflection caught the rope with its teeth and began to swing AJ around the room.
"Not agaiiiiinnnnnn!" Applejack yelled as she got whipped around. The reflection let go and Applejack landed in the pond. She dragged herself out and picked up her hat, which had fallen off. The reflection chuckled at her.
"Now you've made me mad," she snarled, charging her reflection. The reflection was bowled over by one very angry cowpony, but managed to get it's hooves under AJ and launched her off. AJ spun and landed on her hooves, sprinting back towards the reflection. But the reflection had learned. This time when AJ went for a tackle, the reflection spun around and delivered two bucks to the chin. AJ was nearly lifted off her hooves, but right before she passed out, she connected with a buck of her own right on the bridge of the reflections nose. The reflection, like Applejack, collapsed on the floor. Unlike Applejack, however, the reflection got back to its hooves. But before it could even blink, Batman kicked it back into the pond.
The ponies rushed over to Applejack.
"Did ah win?" she muttered through clenched teeth.
"Sorry, darling. You came up a little short in the end," Rarity said sympathetically.
"Alright then, who goes next?" Pinkie asked.
"I will," Batman said. The ponies exchanged nervous glances with each other.
"Um, Batman, we don't want to offend you, but we think it be a better idea if you didn't go," Rainbow said.
"And why is that?" Batman asked.
"Because the reason Twilight's and AJ are probably still alive is because you stopped their reflections," Fluttershy explained. "But if you were to lose to your reflection...we wouldn't stand a chance."
"Then I won't lose," Batman said with certainty and walked over to the pond. But when Batman looked into the water, a ripple sprend out over his reflection. Batman backed up when he saw what his reflection was. And the reflection wasn't him. He watched as a silver gloved hand grabbed the edge of the pond. The figure slowly pulled itself up, revealing what Batman already knew. He had a silver cape and a blue body suit. He wore a belt similar to Batman's and on his chest was an o.
"Batman, ain't that supposed t' be yer reflection?" AJ asked in shock.
"This is a reflection of me," Batman answered, as the reflection finished pulling itself out of the pool. "Just one I'd never thought I'd see again."
The silver clad man stepped out of the pond and cracked his neck. He then saw Batman.
"Hello, Batman," he said.
"Owlman," Batman replied.
And the battle began.
======------======
The ponies couldn't believe what they were seeing. Batman's reflection, called Owlman, was matching Batman pound for pound. Batman went with a high kick, Owlman ducked and went to sweep the feet. Batman flipped over the sweep and came down with ground pound. Owlman rolled out of the way and tossed three owlrangs, which Batman countered with three batarangs. Owlman swung with a left hook, which Batman caught and countered with a throw. Owlman turned in the air and kicked himself off the wall, in an attempt to hit Batman with a flying side kick. Batman ducked underneath the kick, before trying to drive his shoulder into Owlman's ribs. Owlman braced one hand on Batman's shoulder and used Batman's own force for him to get himself clear. It was like watching two master fighters that knew each other well were fighting. And all the while they fought, Owlman taunted Batman.
"Why bother fighting me Batman? I am your superior," Owlman emotionessly said, dodging a roundhouse. Instead of retorting, Batman chose to be silent, trying to focus on the battle.
"I am a superior fighter, I am a superior thinker and more importantly, I am a better leader."
"And how is that?" Batman asked, blocking a hard kick to the side.
"Simple. Your refusal to kill your enemies allows them to live to fight another day. Allows them to kill more of your precious citizens. Whereas I allow no such weakness to soil my plans. That's why I killed the entire Justice League. If they had been allowed to live, they would have continued to be a thorn in my side. And why would I bother with thorns, when I could just burn the whole bush?" Owlman asked with an evil smile.
"You will never value human life," Batman growled, connecting with a punch to the stomach. "And that's why you will lose to me."
"Oh really?" Owlman asked, before lashing out with his cape. Batman yelled out as the blades on the end of Owlman's cape sliced through his suit and slashed his chest. Batman staggered back, clutching his wound as Owlman advanced.
"But despite our difference in morality, we are very similar, you and I," Owlman stated. Batman gave him a look of loathing.
"I am nothing like-"
"Actually, you are," Owlman cut in, still advancing towards the injured bat. "We have similar training, similar gadgets and thoughts. We both do whatever it takes to complete a mission. The only real difference is that you chose to be a hero that the world will never truly love, whereas I chose to be a success that the world has come to fear. You could still be that success, you know."
"NEVER!" Batman roared, tossing a haymaker at Owlman. Owlman sighed and caught Batman's punch in his crushing grip, before tossing a kick straight into Batman's side. Batman's face contorted with pain as he heard one of his ribs break with a sickening CRACK. He also heard the ponies watching gasp at his pain and tried to rush to his aid, but he held up a hand to keep them back. He staggered and fell to his knees as Owlman finished his thoughts.
"But I suppose it doesn't matter. You will never have what it takes to become a success. You'll always be the rich boy who lashes out at everything in rage, even when you should be mad at yourself."
"And you know what you'll never have?" Batman asked him, getting to his feet. "True friends. TWILGHT, NOW!" Owlman spun to face the purple unicorn, prepared for whatever she was planning to do. What he saw was a unicorn that had a look of confusion on her face. Only when it was too late did Owlman realize Batman's true plan. He spun around just in time to see a black gauntlet smash through his armor and come clean out the other side of his chest. Owlman looked at the hole, then back at Batman. Much to the Dark Knights surprise, a smile crossed his face.
"You have passed the test. Well done." Owlman transformed into water and slithered back into the pond, leaving Batman standing there, panting. Then he fell to his knees again, clutching the area where his broken rib was. The ponies rushed over to hm.
"Are you okay!?" Fluttershy practically screamed, trying to get a better view of his injured area.
"Yeah, I'm-" his statement was cut off when he started to cough blood. The ponies looked horrified.
"We need to get you to a doctor NOW!" Fluttershy exclaimed, trying to help Batman to his feet. The other ponies joined in as well and started to escort him to the exit. He shook them off and started to lecture.
"We don't have time for this. We need to get the artifact. The last time we stopped for my sake Morgaine beat us to the staff. I will NOT risk losing this one," he panted, wincing every few words.
"But your hurt," Fluttershy whispered, tears in her eyes.
"Trust me, I've had worse. Had my spine nearly snapped in half once," he said with a pained smile, watching as the ponies turned green at the mental image. "We get the relic and then I get the medical attention. Now let's go." He turned and walked up to the door. It rumbled and slowly opened, revealing a hallway to the artifact much like the last one. Batman and the ponies began to walk down it.
"So who was that?" AJ asked.
"Owlman," he replied.
"Well why'd he come out?" Rainbow asked in confusion. "I thought only your reflection was supposed to come out."
"He was a reflection of me...or rather, a reflection of what I could be," Batman said, trying to keep more blood from trickling out of his mouth.
"What do you mean?" Twilight asked.
"Owlman comes from another reality, one where I'm one of the most dangerous villains known to man," he began. "He's a killer, a thief and has no regard for any life. But some of what he said was true. If I'm not careful, one day I might become him."
The ponies looked at each other with worried looks. Batman as a villain? That would be a very bad day indeed.
"Don't worry," Fluttershy said to him with a smile. "You’re too good a person to turn evil."
"I'm not as nice a person as you think," he replied grimly.
"You're right, you’re even better," Fluttershy said with a bigger smile.
"Why do you say that," Batman asked. The other ponies stayed quite, curious to hear Fluttershy’s reasoning as well.
"Well, Owlman said that you'd never be a success because you refuse to kill," Fluttershy started off. "Also, he was a very nasty person. If he is the opposite of you that means you are really nice deep down."
Batman thought about what she said. He always saw himself as a terrible force of vengeance, who's only purpose was to fight against injustice, while slowly destroying himself. But was she right? Was he really a nice person deep down? He didn't think so, but the possibility was there. His train of thought derailed as the group made it to the final chamber. Much like the last one, it had a beautiful stain glass floor and a statue of Star-Swirl in the center. The main difference was that beneath the statue, a book rested on a pedestal.
"The Tome of the Worlds," Twilight said in awe. The book had a light silver cover, with golden pages. The air around it seemed to shimmer with power. Twilight took a step towards it, but Batman placed an arm in front of her.
"Hold on," he said, scanning the room with detective vision. Much to his surprise, the detective vision wasn't reading any hostiles, which meant that Morgaine wasn't here.
"Why wouldn't she be here?" Rainbow Dash asked when Batman told them of the readings.
"Maybe that ruffian decided to find an outfit that didn't make her look like a toad," Rarity said with indifference. The ponies all laughed at that and even Batman allowed a small smile to escape. Until a wave of pain washed over him again. He clutched his side and coughed up more blood onto the floor. The ponies immediately stopped laughing and rushed over to him.
"We can make jokes later. For now let's get that book," he spat, trying to stay steady. Fluttershy put herself under his arm and allowed him to use her as a crutch. The two walked over to the pedestal, while the other ponies watched. As Batman went to pick it up, Star-Swirls voice echoes through the chamber.
'Congratulations on reaching the Tome of the Worlds. Defeating yourself was not as easy as you thought it would be, was it? But for your efforts, let me-'
"Shut up," Batman growled, snatching the book from the pedestal. The book flew open in his hands and let out a blast of light in every direction. Out of the book sprung an entire universe, showing a cosmos and many different planets. The ponies gasped in awe at the infinite number of stars, the comets blazing through space, the-
"That's enough of that," Batman growled, slamming the book shut. The images faded away, returning the room to its original form. "Let's go."
Having what they came for, the group headed for the exit.
=======--------========
Airship.
Batman was resting as best he could on the deck. His rib felt like it had been snapped in two and the pain was beginning to get to him. Not that he'd ever show it, but it annoyed him none the less. Fluttershy and Twilight had refused to leave his side, no matter how many times he protested. AJ was back at the helm, while Twilight tried to heal Batman with her magic.
"Okay, just hold still. I'm fairly certain this will-"
"GAH!" Batman cried out as the rib moved the wrong way.
"Oops. That wasn't supposed to happen," Twilight said sheepishly.
"Grrrrrr."
"Twilight, we'll let a doctor look at him when we get back to Ponyville. Until then, let's try to make him comfortable," Fluttershy said sternly. Twilight lowered her head and sighed.
"O-oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I just don't want to cause him any more pain," Fluttershy stammered and hid behind her mane.
"Hey, I have a question," Rainbow Dash said as she flew over to them. "How did you know Owlman would fall for your trick?"
"Because he's similar to me and if I was fighting a group, I would expect them to try and tag team me. So I used his own brilliant mind against him. I pretended I had formed a plan with Twilight and he fell for it."
"Wow, that's pretty cool," Rainbow said with some respect.
"Rainbow, get over here and push these clouds outa' the way. Ah can't see anything!" Applejack called out.
"Hold on!" Rainbow yelled out before taking off. Batman leaned his head back against the rails, deep in thought. Twilight noticed that something was up.
"So Batman," Twilight said. "What's on your mind? You've seemed distant since we got on the ship."
"You mean besides the horrible pain in my side? I'm thinking about why Morgaine wasn't there. If Celestia could figure where the temple was located, then Morgaine would've solved it as well. So why wasn't she there?"
Little did the group flying home know, that same question was being asked to Morgaine.
======-----=======
Morgaine's Castle, Location Unknown.
Morgaine was staring into the Sword of Destiny, reliving her future triumph for the tenth time. Trixie stood off to the side, waiting for her master to come back to reality. When she finally did, Trixie had a question for her.
"Master, why do we lounge around here? Shouldn't we go after the Tome of the Worlds?"
"My apprentice, we have no need for the book. The Stone of Reality is necessary to bring my army here and this sword is the key that opens the portal. All the book does is tell of the different worlds. I already know from which place I wish to bring my army from. And besides, even if Batman does get the book, we can still take it from his corpse," Morgaine said with a laugh. The thought of killing Batman sent a shiver of excitement up Morgaine's spine, whereas it sent a chill down Trixie's.
"All we need is that stone, then this and any other world I want, will be mine," Morgaine said with a smile. "And Batman... is doomed to fail."
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Morgaine, you really don't know Batman very well, do you?
Also: theritz.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/moses20first20post.jpg?w=395&h=480
media.comicvine.com/uploads/11/117802/2429340-2155040_owlman_thomas_wayne_010.jpg
Owl man VS Batman- Winner, BATMAN
BEST EPIC FIGHT EVER!!!!!!
Do Not Buck With BATMAN!!! CAU'SE BATMAN ALWAYS WIN WHOEVER ENEMY ARE!!!!!!
......
......
Oh Thanks Celestia Pinkie didn't watched the lake....
I think the reason Owlman always loses is that saying "I'm Owlman" doesn't have the same punch to it as "I'm Batman."
1757600 ,,,,,, I'm owlman
......... I'M BATMAN
RRrrrright, 'I'm owlman' sound absolutlynot cool. which mean BATMAN IS THE BEST HERO. (and sometime, i think Owlman's suit design are... to cranky.)
1757409 Owlmans eyes are off kilter
Stupid Morgaine! Thinking that something, as puny as fate, can stop The Batman!
1757238Ban.
Also, to the author. Keep up the good work. Why this hasn't been featured yet is beyond me.
To be painfully obvious the mirror in the pond bit was really really obvious to the point Twilight would of figured it out in the first few seconds.
Well you know villains, always gotta look stupid in their uniforms, lol! Honestly Owlman is something I would expect to be the good guy and someone called BATMAN to be the evil one. It just doesn't make sense! Lawl
So... I suppose they might be able to use the book and get reinforcements? Course that opens up Equestria for travel and corruption from the human world could enter. Course Morgaine is already there and they'd have to get the stone from her to get reinforcements.
Owlman voiced by James Woods.
Does any oe else thinks Owlman looks like niteowl from the watchmen?
i148.photobucket.com/albums/s36/paladin_album/NiteOwl.jpg
Owlman... Of all the retarded villian names it had to be Owlman.
1870633 That name never sit well with me either.
Owls are too goofy to be a threat, in my eyes. lol
mirror pool? BEFORE the actual episode? Are you a wizard?
2813494 Of course not. Obviously, he is a spy.
A pond in which a copy of the person staring into it rises from? I wonder what that reminds me of...
Oh, and I believe this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkBBgtjy4cE will be perfect for "facing yourself."
"NEVER!" Batman roared, tossing a haymaker at Owlman.
A better answer than "YOU'RE NOT ME!" in my honest opinion.
Owlman transformed into water and slithered back into the pond,
"Hey, ya big drip! Where ya goin'!?"
I love how Batman looks at the fancy light show and, if I may meme-quote, basically goes "Ain't nobody got time fo' that."
Pinkie stood in front of a mirror that showed her with her mane flat and her eyes dangerous. She laughed at the image, knowing that this wasn't her.
bull shit pinkie that's you are on the inside and you know it.
OOohhh I get it batman's gonna pull a Morgan freeman isn't he.
Okay, you can call him lame all you want...
Seriously, I f***ing love that villain!
THANK YOU! I LOVE YOU for putting him in this story!
...but Owlman is a BADASS!
nicely dun chapter
2839284 It seems I am not the only Spy here.
OMG! OMG! OMG!
That was an awesome chapter!!! And...It was kinda relate-able [if not similar] to something I have planned in my own fanfic.
If Bane makes and appearance in this story I'm going to nerdgasm so hard.
4205725 Sunset shimmer with glasses is too kwai.. oh my manliness.
5320342
What's 'kwai' mean?
5320380 i think he meant kawai it means cute
Achievement earned: Through the Mirror Darkly (survive the Temple of Reflection)
Thought it was going to be Wrath instead of Owlman. Same murderous version of Batman granted Wrath was not an alternate version of Batman from a different universe, he was a kid whose parents were killed in the middle of a heist they were committing by either a crooked cop who pocketed the stolen money or rookie cop James Gordan depending on the universe.
Wrath 1 tortured a group of kids until only one remained and then he indoctrinated the kid into becoming Scorn a twisted version of Robin, before that he massacred quite a bit of the Gothem PD.
Then Wrath 1 died or was imprisoned I forget which and Scorn became the 2nd Wrath who torture even more children in an attempt to make several more Scorns and killed even more cops. Batman stopped Wrath 2 before he was able to create another Scorn, but not before most of the current police force was killed, you can see his priorities here right?
nice choice with owl man. personally i would have gone with the arkham version of prometheus.
1757409 Yeah. I can imagine 'Surprise' and Pinkie going at it for quite a while, with Batman saying aloud, "So, there's a Joker here as well."
As well as the other ponies being shocked and horrified at the dark side of Pinkie...
Owlman, huh? Not a bad choice
8266332
it was basically the only choice.
That is Batman's biggest fear.
Yes, THE Batman has fears but its reasonable.