//------------------------------// // Being Generously Loyal // Story: A Dark Knight for Equestria // by Onomonopia //------------------------------// Ponyville, the next day. Rainbow Dash was bored. Twilight and the others had chosen to spend the time leading up to the battle at Canterlot with their families. Rainbow, who hadn't talked to her family in ages, had no idea how to spend the days. Going to Cloudsdale was out and she sure as hay didn't want to talk to Batman. Tom had more conversation skills than him. But as she thought about Batman, she remembered what she had seen at the temple. The pain he had gone through as a child and the evil he fought on a regular basis. She still didn't know how he managed to keep going after that. Rainbow was so lost in thought that she didn't even notice when Scootaloo ran underneath of her cloud. The sound of the running derailed Rainbow's train of thought and she looked over her cloud down at Scootaloo. Then an idea of how to ease the boredom came to mind. Scootaloo would probably love to see some of Rainbow Dashes awesome tricks. With a smile on her face, Rainbow flew down right behind Scootaloo. "Hey!" Rainbow laughed to herself as Scoots jumped ten feet in the air with a scream. She spun around in shock, but let out a sigh when she saw who it was. "Oh, hey Rainbow Dash what's up?" Scootaloo asked with a smile. Rainbow Dash responded with her own huge smile. "You're in luck my friend, because right now you have front row seats to see the awesomeness that is Rainbow Dash!" she exclaimed flying around Scootaloo, leaving a Rainbow colored trail behind her. She stopped and looked over at Scootaloo with a huge grin, which slowly lowered as she saw Scootaloo's face. "Oh, you mean right now? Sorry, I'm a little busy. But if the invites open for later, then I’ll come back and watch. So, um...bye," Scootaloo said awkwardly, before taking off. Rainbow spent a moment picking her jaw off the floor. Scootaloo had just turned down an offer from HER? Scootaloo was one of Rainbow's biggest fans; she'd never had turned down an invite before. Now Dash had to know where Scootaloo was heading. She silently took off and followed the orange filly as she ran through Ponyville. Scootaloo waved to her friends as she saw them, but didn't stop to play. So if she wasn't hanging with her friends, then where was she going? Rainbow's answer came a few minutes later when she followed Scootaloo to the CMC clubhouse. And when Rainbow Dash saw who was waiting there, her jaw once again fell to the floor. Scootaloo was meeting with Batman? Rainbow hid in a bush to watch. "Hi Batman!" Scootaloo said cheerfully, walking up to him. He was in a weird crossed legged state, with his wrists on knees. His eyes were closed, but he opened them as Scootaloo approached. "You're late," he muttered. Scootaloo gave a bashful grin. "Yeah, I met Rainbow Dash on the way here. She wanted me to watch her perform some tricks," she explained. "And you said no?" "Of course! There's no way I'd miss meeting you for training!" Rainbow would have to see the dentist from how many times her jaw hit the ground that day. "I thought she was your idol." "She was- I mean is, but I like to spend time with you just as much," she said with a small smile. "Besides, if I'm really late for one of our training sessions you may just leave." Rainbow Dash's heart sunk in her chest. Scootaloo preferred Batman over her? The dork in a costume over the most awesome flyer in Equestria? Rainbow bit back her rage and continued to watch. "So, what am I learning today?" Scoots asked. "Today I wanted to teach you throws, but I'd rather not demonstrate on you. Rainbow Dash, would you like to help?" Batman asked, looking over at where she was "hidden". Rainbow slowly stood up and angrily walked over to Batman, giving him a resentful look. He ignored it and turned to Scootaloo. "Alright, I'm going to show you a shoulder toss. Pay attention," he said, turning to Rainbow. "Now then, please attack me." "With pleasure," Rainbow Dash growled. She dashed straight at Batman and threw a powerful fore hoof at his head. Batman responded by grabbing her hoof and placing his shoulder into her armpit. The follow up was Rainbow Dash was tossed onto the ground, having the wind knocked out of her. While she struggled to breathe, Batman turned back to Scootaloo. "And that's how it's done. I want you to practice on the dummies. Understand?" "You bet I do!" Scootaloo gleefully said, before rushing to the dummies. Batman watched with a bit of pride as Scootaloo perfectly tossed the first dummy. Rainbow finally got her breath back and walked over to confront Batman. "So what's the big idea?" she asked in a cold fury. Batman raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?" "I mean you getting Scootaloo to become your fan instead of her being mine. That's pretty low of you." Batman was still confused. "What?" "She was MY fan and you somehow managed to convince her that you are cooler than me!" Rainbow Dash said in a rage. Batman finally got what Rainbow Dash was saying. Rainbow Dash was saying that because Scootaloo preferred Batman over her, that he had somehow stolen a fan from RD, which upset her. That is what RD was implying. And it made him furious. "So now you care?" he whispered in a dangerous tone. Rainbow Dash slowly backed up, hearing the underlining threat. "W-what?" "Now you care about her? Now that she isn't one of your "fans"?" Batman whispered in an enraged voice, advancing towards a retreating Rainbow Dash. "What do you mean?" "You really don't know? You didn't realize how much she cared about you, idolized you?" Batman looked into Rainbow's eyes with the bat glare. "All this time she just wanted you to acknowledge her." "S-she did?" "So is that all she is to you? A fan? Are you telling me that you only care about her when she's cheering you on?" "What? No, I care about her more than that!" Batman narrowed his eyes. "Prove it," he whispered. "What do you mean prove it?" "Did you go to her play when she asked you to?" "W-well no, I had to go to Canter-" "Did you ever take time out of your 'busy' schedule to do something with her?" "N-no, but I have a ver-" "Do you even know when her birthday is?" "Um...it's in May, right?" "It's tomorrow." "Tomor- Wait, how do you know that?" Batman scowled at her. "I know because she invited me to her party, which Pinkie Pie is throwing for her at the farmhouse. I am willing to brave one of Pinkie's parties just to make her happy." Rainbow looked at him in confusion. "I thought you said you would never go to one of Pinkie's parties." Batman gave her a hard glare. "I don't want to. But being a good friend means sometimes doing things you don't want to in order to make your friends happy. And," Batman muttered, looking back over at where Scootaloo was practicing, "I know how much it mean to her if I was there. It's what a good friend does." "Hey, don't lecture me on being a good friend! I'm the Element of Loyalty!" Rainbow snarled back, but shrunk under the bat glare. "Really? And what have you done for Scootaloo lately? Have you spent time with her? Talk to her? When I first met her, she felt as if she was alone in the world. She said I was one of the few people that actually took the time to have a heartfelt talk with her. And what about you? Did you even bother to say hello to her?" "N-no, I suppose I haven't," Rainbow Dash whispered, now understanding what Batman was telling her. The crushing guilt was the next to follow. "I guess that's why she didn't want to hang with me. All this time I’ve taken advantage of her and my other fans." Rainbow lowered her head. "She must hate me." "Probably." "I doubt she'd even want to be my friend now." "You're probably right," Batman answered. But then gave RD a different look. "But that doesn't mean you shouldn't try." RD looked at him in disbelief. "But you just said-" "I know what I said. But if you try hard enough, maybe Scootaloo will be willing to forgive you and possibly be your friend. Unless you're scared." Watching her reaction, Batman knew he had hit the right buttons. "Ha, I'm not afraid of anything. I'll be Scootaloo's friend by the end of the day. HEY SCOOTS!" Rainbow yelled, flying over to the orange filly that was still practicing. Batman watched as somehow RD managed to convince Scootaloo to join her to do something. Scootaloo looked over at him for permission and gave a shout of delight when he nodded his head. Scootaloo jumped on RD's back and the two flew off. As Batman watched them go, he smiled slightly to himself. RD wasn't as stubborn as he thought. Batman had been angry with RD and had meant every word that he said to her. But he also knew that he needed her to see that Scootaloo still looked up to her. Batman knew that his final hour was approaching, whether it was his return to Earth or his death at the hands of Morgaine. When that happened, he wanted some pony that Scootaloo trusted to be able to comfort her when he was gone. RD was one of the few ponies that Scoots actually admired, so Batman figured that she would trust Rainbow enough to one day confide her suffering in RD the way she had in Batman. Now that he thought about it, Batman wasn't sure that he wanted to leave. It had been nice, living in a world where there wasn't the reports of a shooting or some supervillian trying to destroy the world every other week. A world where he wasn't needed. His thought was interrupted by the sounds of hooves running on the ground. Batman looked over a found Sweetie Belle running towards him. "And what can I do for you?" Batman asked Sweetie Belle. She stopped and tried to regain her breath. "Rarity asked me to tell you to come to her house. There’s some pony she wants you to meet." Sweetie informed him. He growled to himself, but since he had nothing better to do he might as well pay her a visit. "Fine," he grumbled, standing up and following Sweetie Belle to Rarity's. ====---==== As Batman and Sweetie Belle entered the Carousel Boutique, he noticed that a few things were different from the last time he had seen it. The hole in the wall was repaired and it looked very clean. Rarity's mane had also grown back in well, although he was a little nervous bringing that topic up around her. Sweetie Belle said something to Rarity and ran back outside. What gained his full attention was that a stallion was standing in the center of the room, a stallion that bats had seen before. When he heard them come in, the stallion turned toward Batman and gave him a smile. "I say, so you are the Batman figure that I have heard so much about. Pleasure to meet you, I'm-" "Fancy Pants," Batman cut him off. Fancy looked surprised, but his smile returned to his face. "I see you've heard of me. Well to finish introducing myself, yes I am Fancy Pants. I come from Canterlot and I came to visit a friend of mine who told me all about you." Batman gave Rarity a look. "I must say that I find you quite fascinating. I mean, a pony, or person, that goes around battling crime dressed as a bat. Who does that?" Batman didn't hear a mocking tone, indicating that this pony was only curious as to Batman's reasons for his crusade. "Apparently I do," bats responded in a dry manner. "And I don't need to explain why I do it." "Batman, that was very rude of you," Rarity scorned. Batman opened his mouth to retort, but Fancy Pants spoke up first. "Oh it's alright dear Rarity, if he doesn't want to talk about it, I see no need to push it any further," he said in good humor. Batman raised an eyebrow at the fancy pony. He seemed to be very laid back and didn't mind Batman's attitude. "Is there a particular reason you chose to send your sister to bother me?" Batman asked Rarity. "That's right; Batman, I want you to apologize to Fancy Pants for going through his luggage on the train." Batman raised his other eyebrow. "And just how did you know about that?" "Princess Celestia figured that you had to escape Manehatten somehow, so she figured that you'd use the train. A train for Ponyville did depart from Manehatten on the same day that you were spotted, so she figured that you were on that train. And since no pony would ever go through another one's luggage, she deduced that it was you." Batman hated to admit it, but Celestia was smarter than he gave her credit for. Not that he'd say that to her face. "So how long ago did she figure this out?" he asked. "After she met you for the first time. Now, you didn't hear it from me, but apparently she found you as highly intelligent," Rarity gossiped. Fancy Pants cleared his throat. "Um, I'd hate to interrupt your most interesting conversation, but about that apology..." Batman sighed. "Fine. I apologize if going through your things upset you, but I don't apologize for doing it." "And why is that?" "If you woke up in a new land with no idea where you were, wouldn't you try to figure out as much as you could?" Fancy Pants thought about what Batman had said. "I suppose you are right," he said with a chuckle. "I would most certainly want to know as much as I could. Dear heavens, is that the time? I must thank you for inviting me over, but my train leaves in a few minutes." With that, Fancy Pants bowed and headed out the door, leaving Batman with Rarity. "Was that the only reason you bothered me?" he asked after a minute. "Actually, I wanted to ask if you wouldn't mind if I repaired your suit," Rarity said uncomfortably. Batman's eyebrows were getting a workout from the amount of times he raised them. "And why would you do that for me?" "You mean besides the fact that it looks like Opal mauled you?" she answered, looking at his somewhat shredded outfit. "Sweetie says that you've been helping them with their bullying problem as well as help her friend out. I figure that I should do something nice in return." "As much as I appreciate the offer, I don't think that you have the proper material to fix this suit." "Are you sure? I also went and made you this," Rarity smiled, pulling a long black cape from one of her many clothes bins. It was an amazing piece of work; Batman could see that even though he wasn't much for fashion. He held it in his hands while Rarity looked on with a barely surprised smile on her face. Batman looked it over, admiring the quality of the craftsmanship. However, it wasn't designed for combat. It would only be a liability. "I made that for you after the...incident in the Temple of Fear," Rarity softly said. "I figured that you'd need a new cape to replace the old one. So here it is. Don't you just love it?" Batman looked at the cape one last time before handing it back to Rarity. "Thank you for the gift, but I cannot accept it." Rarity's jaw fell to the floor. "B-But why?" Batman tried to think of an ease way to let her down. "The craftsmanship is evident, but I'll be taking my cape into battle. Do you really want something you spent so much time on destroyed in a fight?" Rarity nodded in agreement. "Yes, you're most certainly right. But are you sure you don't want it?" "Yes...but thanks for the offer." Batman opened the door and walked out of the building. Once again the ponies had surprised him. First was RD's willingness to be a better friend with hardly any convincing on his part. And Rarity of all ponies was trying to be nice? He shook his head as he arrived at the closed library. Twilight had once again completely ignored Spike and returned to Canterlot until the final battle. Opening the door, he once again found Spike asleep at the table. Spike had gotten out a board game and had apparently had been waiting for Batman. With a sigh, Batman picked the dragon up and carried him to his bed. After Spike was back in his own bed, Batman headed for the basement. As he passed the table, he took notice of the board game. It was chess. Batman sighed inwardly and reminded himself to spend some time with Spike during these last few days. The poor guy looked like he needed it. Once the B-man was back in his spot in the basement, sleep came easy, as well as the nightmares that followed him.