Bane uttered a war cry once he smashed his two fists on where Batman stood. However, Batman jumped out of the way before Bane could crush him. He then threw his regular batarangs at the villain. Bane stood there while the batarangs crashed against his body and shattered to pieces. Bane laughed as he proudly flexed his muscles.
“Your gadgets are powerless against the power I now possess, Mr. Wayne.” Bane bragged. “I broke your back once. This time, I will break you...in half.” He then rushed toward the Dark Knight to strike another blow.
Celestia and Luna stepped in front of him and fired their combined magic beam toward the monster. The beam struck him on the chest, but it only annoyed him as it did very little damage on him.
“Everypony! ATTACK!!” Celestia ordered. All the unicorns fired their magic beams as well at Bane while the other ponies evacuated the area.
“Might as well enjoy the fun! Hahahahaha!!” Joker laughed. He arose in the air and sent waves of shadowy magic at Batman and his friends. He, Robin, and Catwoman grabbed the Mane Six and Spike out of harm’s way.
After they put them down in a safe place, Batman faced them with a stern face. “We have to split up in order to engage Joker and Bane. Even though we may be many, their power are greater than ours.” Batman said.
Twilight caught something with her eye. She looked behind Batman and saw a chest right below the hill were several SWAT officers were guarding the FlimFlam brothers, Lightning Dust, and Trixie. Surprised by its appearance in Ponyville instead of the Everfree Forest, Twilight levitated the chest with her magic and brought it over to them. Her friends were surprised as well.
Batman raised an eyebrow as he eyed the chest. “What is that?” he asked
“That’s the chest which used to be right under the Tree of Harmony! It has six lock holes that requires six keys to unlock whatever is in that chest.” Twilight explained.
“Hmm, do you think it can help us defeat Joker and Bane?” Robin asked.
“I hope so. I feel as if this is our only chance in defeating those monsters and saving Equestria.” Twilight said.
Suddenly, a loud crash arrested their attention. Several Royal Guards were flying in the air while screaming in terror. They crashed against a house in Ponyville, and fell down unconscious. Bane pounded on his chest like a gorilla and jumped high on another house. “What’s the matter, Batman? To afraid to ask for my permission to die?!” he taunted.
“You seven figure out how to open the chest. Selina, Robin, and I will hold them off to buy you some time!” Batman ordered. The three heroes then rushed out to the open to hold off the Phantom and Bane.
Joker flew high up in the air and spun around in a circle. The darkness expanded all across the sky and all over Equestria. Thunder and lightning bolts filled the black clouds. He even shot himself from one section of the atmosphere to another to fill the entire planet with darkness. Once he accomplished filling the whole world of Equus with his darkness, he descended from the sky to Ponyville.
The Mane Six looked up and saw everything that The Joker did to the sky. Realizing what little time they had, they needed to act fast before things could get any worse. They surrounded the chest and discussed what they needed to do.
“We need to figure out how we can open this chest.” Twilight said. After about fifteen seconds of thinking, she got an idea. “I did some research recently at the Castle of the Two Sisters on our journal, and there’s something interesting about those sections which I bookmarked.”
Twilight teleported a journal from her library to her. She opened it to the exact page she bookmarked. Then she turned to the farm pony. “Applejack, do you remember when you had to tell everypony that the curative tonic of the FlimFlam brothers didn’t really work?” she asked.
“How could I forget? It was one of the hardest things I ever had to do.” Applejack recalled, wincing from the memory of exposing the scammers of their act. “I didn’t really want to ruin Granny Smith’s fun time, but in that moment, I knew I had to be honest. I just knew it. But what does this have to do with opening the chest?”
“Each of you had to face a situation. The harmony you represent wasn’t easy. Fluttershy, it was the way you showed kindness to the breezies by forcing them to leave your home.” Twilight said. Fluttershy recalled in sadness of what she had to do during that time.
“Oh, the looks on their poor little faces!” Fluttershy said, frowning to herself. “But difficult as it was, pushing them away was the kindest thing I can do.”
“Rarity, even after Suri took advantage of your generosity at the Fashion Week at Manehatten, you didn’t let it cause you to abandon your generous spirit.” said Twilight. Rarity nodded in agreement as it was correct.
“I simply couldn’t have lived with myself if I didn’t do something special for all my friends have ever been so generous to me.” Rarity smiled.
Another loud crash interrupted their conversation. Batman threw many explosive pellets at Bane which were ineffective on him. They exploded without damaging him. Bane grabbed his legs and threw him to the other side of town.
Luna was able to save him by levitating him over to her and Celestia. Once the three united, they resumed their fight with Bane while Catwoman and Robin fought against the Lurking Phantom. The Mane Six continued their talk inside a half-demolished house.
“Rainbow Dash, you had the chance to fly with the Wonderbolts at the Equestria Games. But instead, you chose to compete with your friends.” Twilight said to her.
Rainbow smiled proudly at that. “Being loyal to my friends was—!” Pinkie popped in front of her eagerly before the pegasus could finish.
“Oh! Oh! My turn, my turn!” Pinkie said.
“Pinkie Pie, you realized that seeing your friends laugh was more important than proving you were a better party planner than Cheese Sandwich.” Twilight said.
“Best party I ever had!” Rainbow said.
“It’s clear we’ve had our moments to shine Twilight, but I’m with Applejack on this. What does any of this have to do with opening the chest?” Rarity asked. The rest wondered the same thing.
“All of you had tough choices to make, but when you made the right choice and embraced your element, it helped somepony else make the right choice as well. Each of you received something from those whose life you helped change.” Twilight explained. “I know it sounds crazy, but maybe there’s something special about them that could lead us to the location of the keys.”
“The chest is connected to Tree of Harmony, and the Tree is connected to the elements. Plus, the elements are connected to us. There has to be a connection!” Twilight realized.
“But how? The elements are destroyed along with the Tree of Harmony! How can we stop those villains if we don’t have the elements?” Spike asked.
“I don’t know, but finding the keys can be our only chance of victory. Come on! We need to grab those objects and figure something out! Bruce can’t hold them off much longer!” Twilight ordered. Her friends huddled together before Twilight teleported them all out of Ponyville.
Bane punched away Celestia and Luna and kicked away Batman. The Joker blasted his magic beams at the Dark Knight, but the latter deflected the blasts with his armor and threw the silver batarangs at him. They electrocuted the Phantom which forced him to kneel his ghostly legs on the ground.
Just before the Caped Crusader could strike him any further, Bane grabbed him in a chokehold and attempted to cut off his oxygen. “It’s way past your bedtime, Batman. Go to sleep.” he growled.
“I’m not even tired yet.” Batman hissed, taking out his pepper spray. He sprayed him on the eyes, forcing Bane to release him. He covered his eyes as he wailed in pain.
“You’ll regret that!” Bane threatened. He dashed after him to prevent him from escaping him.
The Joker rose up in his shadow form and summoned lightning strikes to fall on the ponies. Shining Armor and the guards had to jump out of the way to avoid the deadly strikes. Celestia and Luna kept firing their beams at Joker and Bane as they too tried to buy the Mane Six more time.
IN THE EVERFREE FOREST
“I don’t see anything on them that can give us clues as to where the keys might be. They’re just...ordinary, everyday objects.” Twilight said, looking at the five things they brought over: a Boneless doll, a bit, a rainbow-colored string, a Wonderbolt badge, and a blue flower.
“Come on, Boneless! GIVE US THAT KEY!” Pinkie demanded, shaking the doll up and down.
“I don’t think that’s going to work.” Twilight said.
Once Pinkie threw Boneless at the chest in frustration, the chest magically transformed the doll into a golden, tri-balloon-shaped key and inserted it into the appropriate lock hole. The Mane Six gasped at the sight. That gave them a clear idea of what those objects were meant to do. They WERE the keys.
Thus, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rairty put their respective objects on the chest. Then it turned the remaining four items into their elemental keys and inserted them into their lock holes as well, leaving a T-shaped lock hole left. “There’s still one key missing—the one that represents the element of magic.” Twilight frowned. “My element...”
“Oh, but I’m sure that if we have gotten our keys, you have too, Twilight.” Fluttershy said.
“Think, Twilight. When you have completed a difficult, magical task, and in doing so, encourage another pony to do the same!” Rarity said, stroking Spike’s head.
“I haven’t! If I had, I would’ve written about it in the journal!” Twilight said.
“Don’t worry, Twilight. You will get your key eventually.” Spike assured.
“There won’t be an ‘eventually’ because time is running out!!” a strange voice called out. The Mane Six looked up and saw Thorax fly down to them. They were frightened at first because they haven’t seen changelings his size since the time they defeated Chrysalis at Shining Armor’s royal wedding.
“Ahh! Another changeling!” Rarity screamed.
“Who are you?! What are you doing here?!” Twilight demanded, charging her horn to defend herself.
“Don’t worry, I am not going to hurt you! My name is Thorax, a good changeling! I’m here to help you!” Thorax said.
Applejack arched an eyebrow in skeptically. “How do ah know you’re tellin’ the truth and not bein’ a spy for The Joker?” she asked.
“Honest, I am NOT working for that lunatic. Listen, I am the one who brought that chest from the Tree’s remains when I, Batman, and his friends came from Gotham to stop Tirek and his army. I thought it had something that could be powerful enough to stop him. But since they are dead, and Joker and Bane are working together, I think we need to discover its secret now more than ever.” Thorax explained.
Twilight and her friends looked at each other before they nodded approvingly. Her horn stopped glowing and drew close to Thorax. “Okay, Thorax. I think you’re telling the truth. I’m Twilight Sparkle by the way, and these are my friends.” she introduced, pointing to her friends. They waved at Thorax and smiled.
“Pleasure to meet you, Twilight Sparkle.” Thorax said.
“So you’re actually friends with Batman and his gang? That’s so awesome!” Rainbow said. “When did you guys meet?”
“I’ll explain that later. Right now, we need to save Equestria before it’s too late! We have to find that one last key to open that chest!” Thorax reminded.
“How can we find my key? Ever since I became a new princess, I never felt any significance of my true purpose in that role! You guys all had your moments to shine...but I never did. I don’t know what else to do.” Twilight said, beginning to cry.
Then she realized something she constantly ignored: the friendship that strengthened her during she had with her friends...even with Batman. Even during trials and times of danger, she still kept that bond dear in her heart no matter how strong the situation was. With that, she smiled at the realization and wiped her tears off.
Thorax had to think of a solution as the stakes were high. Suddenly, he remembered Bane saying to him that Tirek gave to him a necklace. He remembered him saying that it was a sign of friendship between him and Tirek both. Then it clicked in his mind. Turning to Twilight, he formed a smile.
“Twilight, I think I have a clue where your key may be.” he said.
“You do?” she asked.
“Yep! Follow me!” Thorax said.
“Wait! I can teleport us back.” Twilight said. They all huddled again as she teleported them all back to the ravaged town.
BACK IN PONYVILLE
Batman threw punch after punch after punch at Bane’s face. Nevertheless, they were also ineffective on the beast. He easily swatted him like a fly, causing Batman to crash against a wall of the house. He jumped high in the air and landed thunderously on the ground.
He grabbed his cape and swung him around until he slammed him on a water fountain. Breaking the fountain to smithereens, he picked him back up and uppercutted him without giving him time to recover from the blows.
Batman landed hard on the dirt and coughed out blood. Bane wickedly grinned as he saw his victory reaching to its satisfying climax. “The mighty Dark Knight has fallen once again. It is truly a pity it has to end this way. Oh, wait, I forgot...I have no pity for you. Why is that? It’s that simple...YOU KILLED TALIA!!!” Bane roared angrily.
Batman groaned in pain as he struggled to stand on his feet. “It...was (cough) for the safety of Gotham and her people. You and Talia...(cough)...were hellbent in killing millions of innocent people.” he spat.
“Oh, I’ve seen Gotham flourishing in reform as we speak. I’ve seen it myself, but I will not recant at least one thing which I know my former master would be proud of seeing me doing: killing the very one who took away his life. Once I’m done with you, your friends are next.” Bane said, cracking his knuckles.
“Never.” Batman said. He looked behind Bane and saw the Phantom overcoming Robin and Catwoman by slamming them down with his tentacles and throwing them against a pile of debris. He did the same thing to Shining Armor.
Taking advantage of his distraction, Bane grabbed him in a chokehold again. “Time to DIE!!” he said.
“You first.” Batman said, grabbing a pocket knife. He sliced open a tube on his back that spilled some venom. That weakened Bane as the venom was the source of his superhuman strength.
However, Bane was still standing. He punched Batman and threw him off to a distance. Then he ran up to him to deliver the final blow.
Suddenly, Thorax zoomed by and bit off another tube on his back. Bane groaned in pain before he turned to his former friend. “Thorax?! You?! What are you doing?!” Bane asked.
“Saving my new friends from treacherous creatures like YOU!” Thorax snapped, snatching away his triangle necklace. He flew off before Bane could touch him.
“Argghhhh!!! GET BACK, YOU TRAITOR!!” Bane bellowed. Batman however threw a pellet on Bane’s exposed tubes that were leaking venom. It violently electrocuted him once it impacted the venom. Screaming in agony, he fell down on the ground unconscious.
Thorax flew back to the Mane Six and held the necklace. “I believe this is the one you need to open the chest.”
“Thanks, Thorax. But Fluttershy and I have something to say that Bruce needs to hear.” Twilight said, looking at Fluttershy. They both nodded and flew over to their friend.
Batman stood up and saw Twilight and Fluttershy in a distance. Landing before him, they gave him warming smiles. “Bruce, I just want to say something that I wanted to say for a long time. You have been a great source of encouragement and strength for me during all those years that we’ve been together and worked together. But after you left Equestria three years ago, I’ve felt helpless and alone. I never realized that until I became an alicorn princess.” Twilight said.
“I never understood what my true purpose was. But then I realized something which I hadn’t noticed until now: Friendship was what made me who I am. Without friendship, I wouldn’t even be here now.” Twilight finished. Her element started to glow purple.
“I too am happy that you made me see my mistakes and my failures, Batman. I’m so sorry for those mean things I said to you when I wasn’t myself back there. All those lives gone...because of my selfishness. But together, I know for a fact we can make everything right.” Fluttershy said. Her element also began to glow yellow.
The Joker wiped out the rest of the Royal Guard and wrapped around Robin, Catwoman, Celestia, Luna, and Shining Armor in his shadowy tentacles. “Hahahahaha!!! Your time is up, kiddos!! Your precious kingdom will no longer be the light of the world! Everything else will soon follow! It appears you’re going out on a laugh after all! Hahahahaha!!” Joker laughed.
Then he spotted something unusual. He looked to his left and saw two glowing elements in the midst of the darkness. Widening his eyes in horror—which he rarely does—he beheld the transformation. Bane regained consciousness and saw in shock what was going on.
Batman opened his arms to Fluttershy and Twilight who embraced his arms in return. Purple and yellow rays of light flowed through his arms all the way to his chest. The rays then combined themselves to a new form—a new element—in him. Then the forming magic morphed his armor and body into a bulky version of himself.
His cowl had longer ears, his eyes were pure white, his bat insignia was bright orange, his armor was buff with dark blue plates, and his cape was twice as long as before. He emitted large white rays of magic. He extended his hands to the Mane Six. “Together...we need to do this together!” he spoke in a new, clearer voice.
Nodding, Twilight took the necklace and laid it on the chest. It turned the necklace to a star-shaped key and inserted it on its lock hole. The ponies turned the keys in an unlocking position to open the chest. Suddenly, a rainbow came out of the chest and flew all the way back to the Tree of Harmony’s remains. The rainbow magically rebuilt the Tree and its elements. The Tree glowed brightly and shot its element beams high in the dark sky and fell on the Mane Six in Ponyville.
The Mane Six then merged together within the chest and burst out of it in their new magical forms. Clothed with various different colors on their manes and tails, they rose up and reunited with the Dark Knight. Thus, the seven heroes boldly faced the terrified villains. The Phantom blasted his dark magic beams at them, but they were immune to his attacks.
“No, no, no, no, no, no!! This can’t be!! You can’t defeat me again like this!! I DESTROYED YOUR TREE!! How can that stupid chest revive a tree like that!! I AM THE MOST POWERFUL BEING IN THE MULTIVERSE!!” Joker Phantom cried.
“Thorax, surely, you cannot leave me to a fate like this, right? We are friends, aren’t we?” Bane asked, hoping to gain Thorax’s mercy. But the changeling thought otherwise.
“On the contrary, Bane, consider yourself...broken.” Thorax growled angrily. He arose in the air and glowed bright pink. He emitted a pink ray of love right at him which struck him in the face. As he flew in the air, he landed right below The Phantom’s feet. As he looked up, he saw himself without his mask. His agonizing pain returned and tormented his face.
“You misunderstand what is right in front of you, Joker! For we carry with us the most powerful magic of all!” Twilight declared.
“THE MAGIC OF FRIENDSHIP!!” they said in unison.
“You will not prevail, Joker. On this very day, the righteous will stand, and the wicked shall fall. These ponies have truly shown me what friendship can truly show to everyone and everypony here, especially to my own allies.” Batman said, looking down on Gordon and the police officers who smiled back at him. Then the seven heroes started to glow bright.
“For I am vengeance...”
“No!” Joker said.
“I am the night...”
“Don’t say it!” Joker yelled.
“I. AM. BATMAAAAAANNN!!!!” he triumphantly finished.
Batman and the Mane Six glowed even more bright even as bright as the sun and shot all seven of their beams at The Joker Phantom and at Bane. Screaming in pain, the villains raised their arms from the tormenting beams they were getting. Lastly, they slowly burned to dust from the deadly blasts, never more to exist again.
The metamorphosis of Thorax was accomplished. He emerged as a new type of changeling. He had antler-like horns, a silky green body, transparent wings, a purple underbelly, purple eyes, and a bigger size. He saw and admired his new look. Then he looked down on what remained of Bane—his mask.
“I’m sorry, Bane.” he whispered.
The glowing rainbow-colored blast did not stop at the demise of the villains. The Magic then became a humongous orb that expanded like a wave in the ocean. It filled the entire landscape and atmosphere, dispelling the darkness. However, it did much more than that.
The Magic reached everywhere in Equestria. It even reached to the frozen wasteland of the Crystal Empire. The Magic wiped out all the ice and snow, rebuilt the whole empire, the Crystal Heart, and all the houses of the kingdom. Plus, all the dead citizens and crystal guards resurrected from the ground and saw everything around them.
“Whoa, what happened? Did I fall asleep or something?” a crystal pony asked.
“I don’t know. I remember walking in the street until some sort of blackness or whatever blinding my eyes. That’s it.” a crystal stallion replied.
“I say the same. Ehh, it must have been a sleepwalk or something. Have a great day, friends!” another pony waved. All the crystal ponies then happily resumed their business.
The Magic wave also extended to the cemeteries and graves of those who were killed by The Joker years ago. Once the wave entered the graves of the dead, they all came out. Nurse Redheart saw herself in her clean, healed body and the expanding rainbow magic in the sky. She rejoiced at the sight. “I’M BACK!! I’M BACK!!”
The victims who died at the hospital and the Canterlot library were also resurrected. Doctor Horse came out as well as the unicorns whom Joker fatally shot in the head and celebrated their revival. “We’re alive again! We live again!”
“I can’t wait to see my husband again! I missed him so much!” a unicorn mare said who cried tears of joy.
“Me too! And my son too!” another mare said.
Fancy Pants also came out of his grave. He looked at his suit and noticed his suit wasn’t stained from all the dirt and soil underneath. “I say, all that atrocious mud and dirt haven’t even touch my precious blazer here. My, what a delight if I say so myself.” he smiled. “I must stay away from nooses and clowns though.”
Finally, a pink alicorn arose from her grave and saw everypony she knew rejoicing and celebrating their resurrection...Princess Cadence. “Wha-Where am I? Wait...I’m alive again? How? Did Batman and Twilight stop Joker and Discord?” she wondered.
She flew up in the sky and saw the Crystal Empire safe and sound with the Crystal Heart. “I take it they completed their mission. I have to check on my family.” Cadence said, flying off.
In Ponyville, all the dead Royal Guards came back to life and rejoined with Gordon and the police forces. Robin, Catwoman, Shining Armor, and the princesses stood together as their heroes land down on the ground. They reverted back to their normal forms.
All of Ponyville was likewise restored with the dead ponies being brought back to life. All the evil creatures’ bodies burned to a crisp until they were dust and ashes. Once everything was revived and settled, the rainbow sprung from the Tree of Harmony and took the chest along with it. The rainbow struck an area in the middle of Ponyville where the chest was implanted there. From it grew a large crystal castle.
“Sweet Celestia! Are you all seeing what I’m seeing?” Rarity wondered, gazing at the new castle.
“Who...whose is it?” Twilight asked.
“I believe it is yours, Princess Twilight.” Celestia smiled.