Gotham’s sun had set, and the streets fell dead—no-one dared to go out and about with the Batman cracking down on the Joker Gang. Batman and Tim Drake—known as Robin—were grappling and gliding from rooftop-to-rooftop, searching for another lead.
“Did we check the warehouses yet?” Robin asked, loud enough for Batman to hear.
“Not just yet—we still need to check the Narrows.” Batman bluntly answered.
It had been a year since Joker was sentenced to cryo-genesis by the state following the death of a pregnant Batgirl. Batman hasn’t been able to reach out to Nightwing due to the incident...
“So... how’s Dick?” Robin asked.
Batman didn’t even respond as he leapt onto another building, sticking the landing perfectly.
As Robin jumped, however, Batman shot his grappling hook onto the building behind them and attached Robin to it, dangling him across the brick wall...
“You know what happened, Robin.” Batman said.
Sure enough, Batman looked up to see Nightmare Moon’s symbol imprinted into Gotham’s moon, and the landscape began to change. The buildings around him disintegrated as the very ground below rose and changed into the surface of the moon, and the night sky was morphed into the vast emptiness of space. Robin rose up above the ground as his suit burned away, revealing Nightmare Moon underneath.
“Yes, Bruce... tell me at least what happened to Tim? What exactly happened this night in the Narrows, all those years ago?” Nightmare smiled as she began to charge at Batman.
Batman charged back, only for Nightmare Moon to send Batman across the landscape, landing him near the dark side of the moon.
“You can try, Bruce, but I’ve spent a thousand years, here... I know this place like the back of my hoof!” Nightmare began to emerge out of the darkness behind Batman as he turned to go for another fight.
He couldn’t even get close to her as she sent out a beam of energy, quickly-- but not painlessly-- disintegrating him.
“Do you think you can win? Think again...”
Bruce woke with a start as he quickly rose out of bed to see his calendar—four days had passed since Nightmare Moon had set her spell in place. Gotham had fallen into a dark winter and food is scarce. The common people are surviving through Wayne Enterprises safe-zones, where food was grown by UV-lights. As for the outside, it belongs to the criminals, now—save for a small group of vigilantes who deal out lethal force... the Sons of Batman.
As for the others, Lucius and Zatanna were killed, and Bruce sent Alfred away to a nearby volcano, where it was rumored that the heat can keep them warm and safe as long as they gather enough resources to last them...
Bruce would’ve gone with him, but Gotham was his home... and it needed him, just one last time.
He was currently looking after the people inside the Batcave—which was now converted into a safe-zone, with heaters and water-filters. Most of Gotham’s population were in these safe-zones, but some weren’t so fortunate and froze to death. As for the others, Superman is still missing and declared dead, the others have rallied people to the Watchtower, and Martian Manhunter is working to settle people onto Mars until the planet returns to normal, if it ever will...
“It feels like the end... for the first time since I became Batman... I don’t know if I can win this one, Dick... give me a call... please.” Bruce hung up the phone while firmly grasping the phone.
Behind him, a bright light emerged behind him, but not as bright as Celestia’s the week prior... he turned to see Diana—Wonder Woman—walk out of a boom tube, a gateway that can be used to travel through space thanks to the help of the Mother Boxes, objects containing immense power...
“Hello, Bruce.” She said, somewhat shivering from the temperature decrease.
“...Diana.” Bruce said back as he put his mask back on.
He didn’t care about people seeing his face, anymore... as far as he was concerned, it was the end of the world.
“You may as well wear a jacket while you’re at it...” Diana said, going over his tattered Batsuit.
“Perhaps a duster, maybe... some goggles, too—why not?” Bruce asked as he then opened a side compartment next to the Bat-computer, revealing a dark purple suit with a darkened cape and several new gadgets inside of it.
“Before Zatanna and Lucius were killed we all worked on ways to defeat Nightmare Moon. This is the end result.” Bruce said with a smile as Diana simply looked on.
She smiled for a moment, but it soon faded.
“You can always come to the Watchtower with us—there are thousands of inhabitable planets out there, and human refugees have already been sent to them.” She offered, but Bruce didn’t budge.
Diana knew there was no convincing him—ever since Clark was declared dead, he barely did anything else but research Equestrian magic, desperate to find a way to beat her once and for all.
“I can’t, Diana... not until this is over. But you’re free to see if any of these people want to go with you...” Bruce said, gesturing to the refugees gathered in the Batcave, just living out what could be their last days.
She chuckled and shook her head.
“I can’t do that, Bruce—they're your people... they look up to you, always have.”
Bruce looks out into the crowd, seeing Commissioner Gordon, along with several numbers of the GCPD, and the people of Gotham, the ones who refused to leave with the Justice League, for reasons such as concerns over family, religious reasons, or even just to see the Batman up close...
“I know... and that might kill them. It’s me against Nightmare Moon, and so far I’ve got nothing—no strategy, no intel... nothing but an upgraded suit.” Bruce said, glancing at what he called the ‘Nightmare Suit’... his only line of defense against her, and it had no promise of working...
“Okay... you cannot beat her, but perhaps you do not need to, Bruce... think about it, what if you just... sent her home?” Diana asked.
“I’ve thought about that, but it still won’t undo her spell--”
Bruce stopped, coming to a realization...
“I can’t stop her... but maybe I can send her to someone who can.” Bruce said as he ran over to the Batcomputer, entering a few lines of coding and opening a separate window for Boom Tube research—everything the League has learned about them, Bruce saved into the Batcomputer, should the need ever arise... just like now.
“Bruce? What are you--?” Diana started to ask before the voice of the Batcomputer cut her off.
“SET DESTINATION: EQUESTRIA... PLEASE CONFIRM.” The computed voice said.
“Confirm.” Bruce said, setting a miniature Boom Tube device into a compartment in the Batcomputer...
A few glowing lights later, the computer let out a ding, and Bruce took the device, setting it inside the Nightmare Suit’s utility belt...
“Tonight, we’re getting our sun back...” Bruce said as he started suiting up...