Batmare hoped that even though she was too late to prevent whatever forces had unleashed the spell which had destabilized time and space, she at least might be able to extract some answers out of Starlight Glimmer when she apprehended the unicorn.
Starlight proved to be less than cooperative upon being captured, squirming and kicking whilst trying to use her horn to overpower her captor as she felt herself be dragged out of the throne room in Twilight's castle. "Whoever you are, you're making a big mistake by making me angry!" She hollered at the top of her lungs, not caring in the least as to who might overhear her.
Batmare's response was to take Starlight outside and dangle the unicorn over the castle's balcony, maintaing a firm grip with one hoof whilst using another to tie one of Starlight's back hooves to the balcony railing so that she hung upside down. "Face it, Starlight. You've lost," The caped crusader told the unicorn with a growl. "I know you're working for someone else, for the League of Assassins. Now talk! Who put you up to this?! What do they want?!"
Starlight Glimmer snarled, trying desperately to concentrate her magic in the hopes of knocking Batmare down. She watched with dismay as her disorienting view messed up her aim, causing a blast from her horn to bounce off the balcony without hitting her captor at all. "I don't have to tell you anything!" She hissed in reply. "You're not a princess, and you're not the royal guard! Plus, I can't put my hooves on it, but something about you is awfully familiar."
Batmare could only shake her head in disapproval. "You're right, you don't have to talk," She coldly replied with narrowed eyes. "You can remain silent if you wish. But I would like to point out that in your current position, the blood is gonna start rushin' to your head. In a matter of minutes, you'll pass out. And if you stay that way afterwards, the blood will build up in your head and kill you. So the sooner you decide to talk may determine whether or not you'll live. It's your choice."
"I... I can't tell you anything!" Starlight nervously protested as she felt herself fast growing lightheaded. "I-I swear, I never met them face to face!"
"Don't lie to me!" The caped superhero snarled back. "Talk, unless you want me to hoof you over to the royal guard as soon as you lose consciousness! They're not going to go easy on you when they learn you're the one who broke into the Canterlot Archives."
Still, Starlight insisted on repeating her previous claim. "I-I'm being honest! I don't know anything! All I wanted was a little help getting the scroll so I could get my revenge! The league was just a means to an end. They told me if I stole the scroll, they'd take care of the rest! P-please, just put me down! I don't do well with heights!"
All Batmare could say in response was. "Well, you should've thought of that before you decided to break the law. You want out, and I want answers! Tell me what you do know! And you'd better do it now, because I reckon you'll pass out any minute now."
The dizzed and disoriented unicorn whimpered, shuddering with what seemed to be fright. "A-alright!" She stammered as she shook not unlike a leaf. "All I know is, the league is run by someone who goes by the name of Ghul."
"'Ghoul'?" Batmare blinked.
"No, Ghul," Starlight corrected. "G,h,u,l. Whoever it is, they've apparently been around for a long time. And desire nothing more than to topple governments and civilizations. I wasn't really paying attention, I just needed their help to get the scroll," As she felt herself on the verge of passing out, she pleaded! "Please, I don't wanna die!"
Batmare seemed to be satisfied with Starlight's answers, as a rare smile of sorts seemed to form on her face. She pulled the unicorn up onto the balcony and held her close. "Smart choice," She said with what sounded almost like sadistic pleasure. "Now you get to take a nap."
"What?!" Starlight Glimmer blinked, right before she felt a sharp blow be brought to her head. And it was the last thing she felt before she fell into unconsciousness.
"Well, at least it's a start." Batmare thought to herself as she carefully grabbed hold of her prisoner, and after unfolding her cape she descended from the balcony, gliding through the air.
Rather than deliver Starlight to the royal guard, Batmare decided to bring the captive unicorn back to the cave below Sweet Apple Acres. She hoped that maybe she could extract more information from the unicorn, or at least get a better idea of what exactly was going on.
Making use of what information she had, Batmare went over to the computer desk and powered up the computer. It was time for some database research.
Minutes ticked by, and the caped crusader fast lost all patience. The little information Starlight Glimmer had given her was failing to prove useful. No matter what was typed in: Be it "Ghul", "League of Assassins", or anything related, the results were the same. No leads could be found. The only information available about the league came from newspaper articles mentioning the imprisonment of several of their members at the hooves of Batmare. Nothing else was turned up.
Batmare lifted up her mask, and Applejack put a hoof to her forehead in frustration. "What am I not thinkin' of?!" She groaned and complained. "The league had to have gotten in touch with Starlight for a reason! What's the key I'm missin'?!"
Nothing would come to the costumed mare, which only increased her frustration and further diminished her already vastly depleted patience. If what Starlight had said about the league was true, they were a threat that was worse than any supervillain Batmare had ever gone up against before.
So why was it impossible to find any further information on them? Even the most secretive of societies had to have something about them that could turn up. Something that could prove useful.
Alas, it seemed that this search for answers had hit a dead end. Applejack pulled the mask back down over her face and sighed. Perhaps she would have to be more thorough on her next interrogation of Starlight. That appeared to be the only way any further information could be extracted for the time being.
Just then, the door to the cave opened. In rolled Robin, riding on his motorcycle. He parked it, took off his helmet, and trotted over to Batmare's location.
"Back already?" Batmare questioned her sidekick. "What did you do this time, Robin?"
Robin hmphed. "It wasn't me this time. Apparently, we've got competition. Some guy who looks like Spike and calling himself Super Dragon. He made short work of all those criminals. And, much as it pains me to admit it, he saved my life. One of those thugs was about to shoot me. Super Dragon stopped him."
Batmare was most surprised and taken aback by the news. "Super Dragon?"
"Guess you haven't heard," Robin remarked in a still very grumpy tone of voice. "Reckon he's gonna be in all the papers by now. Don't know what he's trying to pull looking like Spike. Must be a changeling or something."
The caped crusader, however, didn't reply with words. Instead, she hastily typed in the aforementioned name on the computer. Much to her shock, a newspaper article involving a rather blurry picture of the exact creature Robin had just mentioned popped up. If Batmare squinted hard enough, she could just make out the familiar face of Spike, and a shield with a big "S" emblazoned into the center.
Immediately, the gears in Batmare's mind began to turn. This other Spike's appearance in light of what had just happened not too long ago could hardly be a coincidence. It seemed highly unlikely that the same Spike Batmare had known and worked alongside could now suddenly also be this caped superhero that she'd never heard of before (and it seemed nopony else had heard of him either if this newspaper article was anything to go by).
All Robin could say was. "He mentioned something about looking for his Twilight, whatever that means."
Those words caused the caped crusader to gasp! Could it be?! Hastily, she turned to Robin and asked him. "What do you know about the multiverse theory?"
"What? That ridiculous old mare's tail?" Robin rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know I heard about it once. But it's all just a bunch of nonsense: The idea that there can be other universes besides the one we live in, and that they're all the same as ours except for one or two events that played out slightly differently."
"It's not nonsense!" Batmare protested. "If I'm right, I think I know just who our mysterious visitor is and why he's here. And if so," She swallowed hard. "He might need our help."