“So this place is called Ponyville, correct?” Batman asked.
“Mm-hm! Ponyville is the perfect place to make friends! I know you’ll enjoy our hometown, Mr. Batman!” Twilight replied, smiling.
Batman looked around the town and once again witnessed the ponies staring at him with the same reactions from before. While some of them couldn’t bear to stand in his frightful presence, there were some others who approached him and welcomed him to Ponyville as if he were a common visitor (or even another pony at that). He nodded his head to them in acknowledgment. “So this town is inhabited by these ponies, hm? So these horses have the ability to talk and have the same sentience that humans have. I bet everyone in my world would be freaking out if ponies on earth were to talk.” he mused.
He, Twilight, and the CMCs passed by Sugarcube Corner. When Batman looked up, he noticed the structure and texture of the house where Pinkie worked and lived. “This is Sugarcube Corner; it’s the place where Pinkie Pie works and lives with the Cake family.” Twilight explained. “If you have any need for a delicious treat, you can always stop by Pinkie. You’ll love it!”
“Hmm, as long as she doesn’t throw any unnecessary surprises, I’ll be fine with that.” Batman replied. “Or even better, not constantly annoy me every five seconds. Why does this look like a gingerbread house? If she works at a bakery, then that would explain why she is so annoyingly hyper. This is why kids cannot eat sweets all the time. I’m not even sure if I can go to her party with her around. I might turn it down.”
“Oh, come on, she’s not that bad. She’s very good at making parties! Don’t you like parties?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“No.” he replied flatly.
“WHAT?!” Pinkie shouted from Sugarcube Corner. Suddenly, she ran out of the door and stood right in front of Batman with a shocked expression on her face. “YOU. DON’T. LIKE. PARTIES?!”
“You heard me right. I do not like them.” Batman said again.
“I thought you said you would come!” Pinkie said.
“Well, I change my mind. I remember that I don’t relish parties at all.” Batman replied nonchalantly.
“Would you pleeeaaaasssseee come to my party...? You won’t be disappointed! I promise!!” Pinkie begged.
“No, I said!” Batman snapped.
“Come on!! You’ll miss out a great occasion in meeting new ponies, even new friends and having a great time!!” Pinkie pleaded. Batman then remembered what he planned earlier.
“That’s right...if I join them in their party, I’ll have a chance to get to know them and see if they can help me catch Crane and his thugs. With them at large somewhere, these innocent ponies will be in grave danger. I can’t allow that to happen. I also still need to find a way out of this world; Gotham will not last longer so long as I am absent.” Batman thought.
The Dark Knight then sighed before he replied back. “I’ll come to your party...on one condition.”
“Oh really?! YAYYY!! Oh, what’s the condition?” Pinkie said. Batman then drew close to her face menacingly with a firm glare.
“That you do NOT annoy me in any way, shape, or form. And no surprises either. Do I make myself clear?” Batman spoke.
“YES, SIR!! Anything to have you come!! See you at the party!!!” Pinkie saluted, blasting her party cannon once more.
After she re-entered Sugarcube Corner, Batman turned to see Twilight and the CMCs happy with his decision to join. “This is gonna be sooo exciting!! Having a party with Batman?! That’s so cool!!” Scootaloo squealed. Batman groaned in silence. It will be one interesting night he will never forget.
AT THE TRAIN STATION
Scarecrow and his thugs hid themselves behind the bushes; they discovered the traveling ponies that were waiting for the train to arrive. The villains had an objective to accomplish as well as a destination to travel to. “Are you gentlemen ready? Batman’s permanent defeat is no longer far away now that we have the means to seal our victory. The power of fear will never perish once this is said and done.” Scarecrow declared with pride. Some of his men nodded in agreement with wicked glee while others rolled their eyes in heavy doubt.
“You had better hope this will work out, doc. Because that Sombra fellow really has not given any trustworthy vibes so far the last time we talked with him.” Steiss said.
“It will be all right, my good friend! Trust him as you trust me. Everything will go just as we planned and just as he promised me. Besides, I am not willing to let Batman take me back to Arkham Asylum for ONE MORE TIME!!” Scarecrow vehemently assured. At that moment, the train arrived. “Here is our chance, men. Follow my lead.” he ordered.
They slowly crept around the station without being seen by the ponies. Hiding beside the wall of the station, they saw the conductor getting out of the train. “All aboard! The next stop is the Crystal Empire!” he announced. The criminals wickedly grinned once they heard the name of their target place. They jumped below the platform where they would not be spotted by the passengers. Then they went to the engine of the train and climbed on it. The train began to depart from the station and head toward the Crystal Empire.
Scarecrow and his thugs then smashed through the windows of the train engine which startled the engineer himself. Before he could scream for help, Scarecrow sprayed the fear toxin on him; the engineer collapsed on the floor completely paralyzed by the hallucinogen before he looked upon his attackers again. The moment he set his eyes on them, they appeared as demonic equines with sharp fangs and sharp claws ready to devour him. He shrieked in horror and covered his face to avoid seeing them. The villains laughed sadistically at his torment. They picked him up from the floor and threw him out of the train while it was still in motion. Landing on the grass, he continued to suffer from the nightmarish fears until they would somewhat subside later on.
“Well done, gentlemen.” complemented Scarecrow. “The first part of our objective is complete. Once we arrive at the Crystal Empire, we’ll pay a special visit to the royals of the palace. King Sombra will rendezvous with us there.”
LATER THAT NIGHT
“Welcome to Ponyville, Batman!!” several ponies of the town welcomed him. All of the residents held the party at Applejack’s farm where there was a huge cake that was baked in the exact same shape of Batman’s bat insignia. Big Mac and Granny Smith were both amazed and happy to see a new visitor to Ponyville although he was a strange, bipedal creature who was never known by anypony before.
“My, my, what a peculiar black feller the lil’ ones brought over!” Granny Smith acknowledged, gazing at him.
“Eeyupp!” Big Mac agreed.
“See, Batman? Everypony’s starting to like you already!” Scootaloo said, eating a piece of the bat cake.
“Yes, I can see that. Speaking of which, I think it’s a good time where we can get to know each other.” Batman said.
The Mane Six lightened at the idea. “Most definitely! How about we get to know you first before we share our stories? You know, since you’re the special guest here!” Twilight suggested. The others nodded in agreement.
Batman was hesitant at first until he realized that the only way they could help him on his mission was for him to reveal where exactly he came from, what his mission is, and how he got here. “So be it. Now, I didn’t tell you this the moment we met, but to tell you all the truth, I am from a planet called earth where humans inhabit the whole planet. I come from a city called Gotham; a city filled with vice, crime, corruption, and evil. Only a minority there are actually good law-abiding citizens, but it is nothing compared to the corruption that prevails throughout the entire city.” he began. The ponies attentively listened to every word he spoke, mostly Scootaloo.
“So this Gotham is your home city? Is it somewhat like Manehatten?” Rarity asked. Applejack rolled her eyes.
“Manehatten? A pony parody of Manhattan? Wow. Every place has a pony pun for a name.” he thought. “You could say that; but it’s even worse. Everyday, my people would get robbed for their money, most police officers, who are also corrupt, would overlook the crimes that would happen before their very eyes, and people would get murdered for anything. It was and is still the norm in Gotham.” he resumed.
“Oh my! That’s terrible!” said Fluttershy.
“Hold on. Is that the reason why ya have yer cape and that bat suit on ya?” Applejack asked. “To try to save yer folks and try to intimidate those darn criminals?”
“Indeed. Of course, it is much more than that...more than meets the eye.” Batman confirmed.
“Wow. That. Is. Awesome!!” Rainbow Dash said. “I bet all those losers fear you every night and have bad dreams of you! I would totally pay to see that!”
“Hmmm. But why? I’m just curious to know. What inspired you to save your fellow citizens from those criminals? Did something happen to you that made you like this?” Twilight asked. At that moment, Batman lowered his head and closed his eyes. This concerned the ponies when they saw his silent reaction.
“Um...Batman, are you okay?” Fluttershy asked.
“What’s wrong, Batman?” Scootaloo asked with the most worried look on her face.
“Was it something I said?” Twilight asked, tilting her head in confusion.
“I’ll tell you what happened. But first, you need to see the other side of me.” Batman said.
“What do ya mean?” Apple Bloom asked.
Batman then took his cowl off and showed his face in front of the ponies. “I am Bruce Wayne.”