//------------------------------// // Riddle Me This // Story: A Dark Knight Over Canterlot // by Battwell //------------------------------// Canterlot City "After the accident, Princess Celestia took pity on me and took me in as her student." Sunset sniffled, sitting on the edge of the roof while Batman opted to stand beside her. After Sunset had calmed down, she decided to continue her tale to the Dark Knight, who had been silent ever since she began her story. Batman could relate to her on a personal level, he too blamed himself for the murder of his parents. If he hadn't have taken his parents down that alleyway they would still be alive. That night he vowed to never let what happened to his parents ever happen to anyone else again. His thoughts were broken when Sunset continued, "I guess that pain never went away, it was just bottled up. That's why I became so antagonistic towards Celestia. In my eyes, she was trying to replace my mother, but now I know that she would never try to do that." She sighed before continuing, "Eventually I grew bitter and mean, thinking that I was better than everypony else. Heh, it got so bad that I ran away to try and take the power that I felt that I deserved for myself, basically telling Celestia to 'screw off'." Sunset vented before wrapping her arms around herself for comfort, "God I was such an idiot." "You learned." Sunset turned around and looked at Batman questionably, prompting him to elaborate. "You learned that what you did was selfish and wrong, you became a better person in the end." Batman elaborated, "You got something not many people in your situation would ever hope to get." The former Equestrian tilted her head to the side, "What's that?" She asked, confused as to what Batman was referring to. "A second chance." That made Sunset stop and think for a moment. He was right. She did get a chance at redemption, not many people get that kind of opportunity. She used to be the bane of CHS' existence, and yet she was offered a hand in friendship, she was offered a chance to turn over a new leaf and start again. Maybe she could offer The Dazzlings that kind of chance. Extend to them what was extended to her, an open hand in friendship. Suddenly, the Comm in Batman's cowl screeched, causing the hero to wince slightly as the device in his ear readjusted itself. Sunset looked over to the hero and got up to her feet, slowly walking off the edge of the roof and making her way towards Batman. Once the device fixed itself, Bruce expected to hear Alfred in his ear. But the person on the other end of the line wasn't Alfred Pennyworth. "Can you hear me, Batman? I know you can. It is I, Edward Nygma, the Riddler, and more importantly, your intellectual superior. My genius has allowed me to hack into your primative communications." Batman scowled at the voice of The Riddler, but he kept quiet, hoping that Riddler would accidentally spill what he had planned. Nygma loved to hear himself talk after all. The villain continued, "But onto more pressing matters. It is time that we met face to face, test our intellectual prowess and determine who truly is the smartest out of the two of us once and for all!" Riddler exclaimed, finally wanting to settle the score between the two of them. "I'm not playing your game, Nygma." Batman declared, not wanting to play into Riddler's hands. Riddler chuckled before responding, "Oh you will, Dark Knight. Unless you want the death of seven teenagers on your conscious?" Bruce's eyes widened for a moment before they returned to his trademark scowl, "If you hurt them--" "Oh spare me the threats, Detective! After looking through the memories of the rainbow haired one it wasn't that hard to find the rest, with the exception of miss Shimmer of course." Riddler revealed before laughing, "Oh I can't wait to see you fail. Not only will I prove my intellectual superiority, but I'll also study this 'magic' stored within them after you're dead and gone. But if you wish to save them you will come to the Canterlot High School gymnasium and face me, and bring miss Shimmer too, or the girls are dead." And with that, the communication device cut off. Sunset looked at Batman with worry all over her face, "What's wrong?" Bruce turned to Sunset, his expression unreadable. "It's your friends." Batman started, "Nygma has them." Sunset couldn't believe that this was happening. She blamed herself for this, if she hadn't have abandoned her friends to be alone this never would have happened. Maybe if she were there, she could've done something to prevent this. But now her friends were in the clutches of a mad man hell bent on proving that he was better than everyone else. How could she have let this happen? Her thoughts were brought to a halt when the Batwing landed just in front of CHS, already cloaking itself to avoid detection from innocent bystanders. The glass above Sunset and Batman slid back and the Dark Knight was already leaping out of the cockpit, landing on the snowy ground beneath his feet. When Sunset managed to get out of the plane, Batman turned to her and gave her a harsh glare, "Listen and listen good. You don't touch anything, say anything, or do anything unless I tell you, got it?" He said in a stern, yet concerned voice. He really hated the idea of Sunset being here, but if he wanted to save the other girls, he had to follow Riddler's instructions. Sunset nodded before leading Batman to the gym, where The Riddler and the captive Rainbooms would all be waiting. When the two entered the gymnasium, they were greeted with the sight of green question marks spray painted all over the walls. Not only that, but various riddles were scribbled across the floor, the walls, and the ceiling, showing how unhinged The Riddler truly is. But Sunset wasn't focused on that right now, she needed to save her friends before they were killed. While Sunset worried for the wellbeing of her friends, Batman was more focused on whatever Nygma had planned for the girls. He activated his Detective Vision before they had entered the gym, hoping to point out any hidden traps Riddler had made just for them. But the room was clear. Something wasn't right. Suddenly, the stage on the other side of the gymnasium lit up with green spotlights, showcasing the captive Rainbooms, who were bound to chairs with clamps, mouth gags placed over their mouths to prevent them from speaking. Off to the side was Spike, who was trapped inside of a dog cage. And standing behind them was none other than The Riddler himself, who had a sick smile on his face. "Welcome Dark Knight, miss Shimmer, to our little game." Riddler greeted with a smile on his face. Sunset growled before shouting, "THIS ISN'T A GAME! THESE ARE MY FRIEND'S LIVES YOU’RE MESSING WITH!" She then took a step forward, continuing, "HOW COULD YOU BE SO HEARTLESS, SO CRUEL?!" Riddler shrugged, "Simple, I'm not in their situation, so why should I care?" Batman tightened his fists, "Enough, what's your game Nygma?" Riddler's smile widened, "I'm so glad you asked. You see with the recent tech I stole, I've been able to tamper with the mediocre technology of STAR Labs and use it for my own gain. And what better place to test my new technology than this backwater town full of nitwits and hillbillys?" "That's why you came here. To test your twisted creation on these innocent people?" Riddler scoffed, "Feh! They should feel honored that I even considered using them as my guinea pigs. Besides, their minds are practically mush already, what's the harm in twisting their minds for my own benefit?" He then raised his cane into the air, which now had a cybernetic look to it. "But enough bravado. This is it. The end. The final riddle." Nygma then pressed a button on the shaft of his cane. It was then that the tip of the cane lit up in a green hue, which made Sunset feel uneasy. But all of a sudden, seven individual lasers shot out of the cane and collided with the heads of the confined Rainbooms. Each of the girls let out screams of pain and anguish, some of them even letting out tears of pain while Riddler simply grinned at their suffering. Sunset looked on in horror until the lights died down and her friends slumped over with Spike screaming for Twilight's name from inside his cage. Before anyone could say anything, the Rainbooms suddenly awakened, their eyes glowing green and their expressions stoic, unfeeling and stone like. Riddler pressed another button on his cane and the clamps holding the girls captive fell to the ground. Riddler smiled before saying, "Stand up!" And much to Sunset's shock, the girls obeyed his very command. The villain laughed victoriously before pointing his cane towards his two enemies, "Now, see those two morons in front of you?" The Rainbooms nodded slowly. Riddler smiled evilly before giving out his command, "Kill them." Suddenly, The Rainbooms slowly made their way off of the stage with an intent on following their new master's command. Sunset took a step back in horror while Batman moved in front of the girl and took a protective stance in front of her. But to everyone's confusion, Pinkie pulled out a Boombox and pressed down on the Play Button. As the music started playing, the girls had quickly surrounded both Batman and Sunset, the two heroes looked around hoping to find a way out of this without fighting the mind controlled teens. Riddler, who was still on stage, shrugged as the spotlight moved to shine on him. He spun his cane around and began to sing to the beat. "He always has a sidekick Some boy wonder at his call! His utility belt holds everything Can't find that at the mall! The Batmobile is super fast There is no car that is surpassed! It's a good thing we've got Arkham Cause he really drives us bats!" As Riddler moved around on stage, Rainbow zoomed forward to try and tackle Sunset to the floor. But luckily, Batman moved Sunset out of the way, causing Rainbow to trip over her own feet and crash into Applejack, sending the two mind controlled teens to the floor. Then all of a sudden, the rest of The Rainbooms joined in on the song. "Drives us bats! Drives us bats! He really drives us bats, bats, bats! He drives us bats!" As the other Rainbooms charged forward to tackle the two heroes, Riddler continued to sing as Batman grabbed hold of Sunset and fired his Grappling Gun, sending the two of them into the air. "Whether dancing the Batusi Or using an array of tools He's always got the answer! He makes us look like fools!" As the mind controlled teens looked up at their two targets, Batman swung Sunset to the other side of the room. He placed her down as The Rainbooms charged forward with an intent to kill. The Dark Knight, thinking quickly, threw down a Smoke Bomb, evading capture. Riddler stamped his cane on the stage in anger before addressing The Rainbooms. "He's got no super powers He's just a flying rat! It's a good thing we've got Arkham 'Cause he really drives us bats!" Unbeknownst to them, Batman had snuck Sunset on stage so she could free Spike from his cage. As she made her way to Spike, Batman landed in the middle of the gymnasium, getting everyone's attention. "Drives Us Bats! (World's Greatest Detective!) Drives Us Bats! (Foiling every evil scheme!)" As they sung, each of The Rainbooms tried landing a punch on the hero of Gotham, but thanks to his quickly reflexes, he was able to dodge their strikes and send them tumbling to the floor without hurting them. They weren't in their right minds right now and didn't deserve this. "He really drives us bats, bats, bats! He drives us bats!" From the floor Pinkie sang dramatically. "Even without shark repellent..." Applejack also sang as she got back up to her feet. "He's tougher than he seems" As Sunset let Spike out of his cage, Rarity shot up to her feet and sang like she was singing at the opera. "Other heroes often ask...." It was then that Rainbow folded her arms and pouted. "Why is he always the top cat?" Batman had had enough of this, so he grappled upward and glided across the room towards Riddler, who looked worried for his safety. He should be worried. As the villain tried to scurry away, Sunset and Spike suddenly appeared behind him and blocked his path. He wasn't going to get away. "He drives us bats Drives us bats Drives us bats!" And with that final note, Batman reared back his fist and delivered a shocking blow to Riddler's jaw, sending the narcissistic villain to the floor, sprawling on his back as his cane flew out of his hand. The cane tumbled across the stage before it landed by Sunset's feet. Without thinking, she stomped her feet on the mind control device, breaking it in half and breaking Riddler's grip on The Rainbooms. Each of Sunset's friends stopped dead in their tracks as they shook their heads, their thoughts returning to them. Twilight looked up to Sunset, who had a look of joy written all over her face. "S-Sunset?" Twilight asked in a confused state. Applejack rubbed the back of her head as she stumbled slightly, "Wha... What happened?" "Ugh, I feel like I drank too much of AJ's cider." Rainbow commented. "I concur." Rarity agreed. "I think I partied too much. My head is all spinny." Pinkie added. "I don't feel very good." Fluttershy said softly. Sci-Twi removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes, "Sunset, do you have any idea what's going on?" But before any of them knew it, they were all tackled in a group hug by Sunset, who had tears of joy leaking from her eyes, "I'M SO GLAD YOU GUYS ARE OKAY!" She sobbed as she squeezed tighter. "YAY HUGS!!!" Pinkie shouted. "OW! Pinkie, that was my ear!" Rainbow complained as she managed to remove one of her arms to rub her now sore ear. At the sight of the now reunited friends, Batman couldn't help but crack a small smile at the sight. "Oh give me a break." Riddler muttered as he rubbed his jaw with his hand. Batman's smile faded as he turned and glared at Riddler, "On your feet, Nygma!" He ordered as he hoisted the villain to his feet by his arm. Riddler begrudgingly obliged, "Fine, fine, no need to shout." His arms were suddenly placed behind his back as Batman placed him in Bat Cuffs to prevent him from using his hands. "It's over, Riddler. You lost." Batman stated as he began taking Riddler out of the gymnasium. Riddler scoffed at the statement, "Tut, tut, Batman. In your incessant quest for justice you've just deprived this world of its one true genius!" "We'll cope." "Cope, yes. But also regress. My puzzles are the whetstone with which to sharpen your intellect. Keep me in custody and let your mind turn to mush! It will be all the easier when we reconvene!" Before Batman could take Riddler to the Batwing, a voice called out to him, getting his attention. "Batman!" Bruce stopped and turned around to face the grateful faces of The Rainbooms. Sunset took a step forward, giving the vigilante a grateful smile, "Thank you." Batman was about to respond, but was interrupted when the television inside the gymnasium sprung to life. Everyone turned to the tv as a static image turned to a program showcasing a fireplace with a familiar Christmas song playing in the background. Then to the shock of The Rainbooms, Adagio and her sisters appeared on screen wearing red dresses accompanied with a Santa hat. It was then that they began to sing. "Jingle bells, jingle bells Jingle all the way Oh, what fun it is to ride In a one-horse open sleigh, hey!" And then, much to everyone's horror, a familiar Clown Prince of Crime slid on screen with a sick and twisted grin plastered on his face. "Jingle bells, Batman smells Robin laid an egg The Batmobile lost a wheel And The Joker got away!" As The Joker laughed, Sunset and the other Rainbooms could only shake in pure terror while Batman scowled at his arch nemesis. Even Princess Twilight felt scared of this man. But it wasn't the same fear she felt when she faced off against Tirek, Chrysalis, or Sombra. No. This was different. "Merry Christmas, Canterlot." Joker greeted with an evil smile on his face, "Joker's in town. Hahahahahahahahaha! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"