Ponyville.
Batman was awoken to the sound of a repeated knocking on the library door. He heard Spike yell out that he'd get it, so Batman lowered his head and tried to go back to sleep. His sleep was interrupted by the sound of the door being slammed open and the sound of hooves running towards the basement. The basement door swung open to reveal a very determined Pinkie Pie. She ran down the stairs to where Batman should have been, but was no longer. She looked around confused, until a deep voice startled her.
"What do you want?"
Pinkie spun around to find Batman looking at her with his arms crossed.
"How did you manage to get around my Pinkie sense?" she asked in confusion.
"What do you want?" he asked again.
"Oh, right," Pinkie said in a serious tone. "I want you to come with me to Applejack's farm."
"This isn't another attempt to get me to go to a surprise party, is it?"
"I Pinkie promise that there will be no party waiting for you at the barn," Pinkie said, performing the promises motions. Batman figured that she was going to have him help set up Scootaloo's party, so with a heavy sigh he followed her up the stairs and out of the tree. The two walked down the street. Well, Batman walked and Pinkie hoped. As the two proceeded down the street, Batman was watching the other ponies that populated the town. Much to his amusement, he saw that most of the ponies no longer gave him strange looks. Some of them actually waved at him and smiled. Were they just finally used to him or did they think that he wasn't a threat. It didn't really matter to him, but he was a little curious. After a few minutes of silence, Batman and Pinkie had reached the outskirts of the Apple's orchard. Pinkie tried to start a conversation with the bat.
"So...how goes things?" she asked awkwardly.
"Fine."
"You know, you'd be a lot more fun if you let your emotions out more often," Pinkie said with a frown.
"I don't want to be "fun", I want to be intimidating," he replied dryly. Pinkie let out a frustrated sigh.
"You can't be all mopey-wopey all the time," she murmured.
"Watch me."
The two finally reached the Apple's barn. Batman activated detective vision to see the inside of the barn. Much to his surprise, Pinkie had been telling the truth and there were no ponies or party material in the barn. Pinkie opened the door and the two walked inside.
"So what was the point of brining me here?" Batman asked, looking around the empty barn. Pinkie closed the door and gave him a smile.
"Well, I just wanted to ask you a favor."
"A favor?" he asked suspiciously.
"Just a teeny-weenie favor," Pinkie begged, giving Batman puppy dog eyes.
"Fine, what is it?" he asked in an annoyed tone. Pinkie let out a little giggle.
"I want you to close your eyes and count to five," she asked. Batman blinked once at the request.
"Why?" he asked in disbelief.
"Oh come on, please?" Pinkie whimpered, making her eyes even bigger. Batman let out a frustrated growl.
"Fine," Batman muttered, closing his eyes." One. Two. Three. Four. Five."
Batman opened his eyes and his jaw dropped. The empty barn was now full of party supplies and ponies. There was cake, punch, a music player; not to mention nearly everypony in Ponyville was there. He recognized Scootaloo, Applejack and Rainbow Dash, as well as the blue pony that had been stalking him. He looked up and saw a happy birthday banner for Scootaloo. Batman’s eyes finally rested at the pink pony, who had a huge smile on her face. Somehow she had managed to set up a party in the span of five seconds.
"How did you...?"
Pinkie giggled. "I guess you underestimated me!" she said with another huge smile. "Come on, let me show you around." With another sigh, Batman followed the pink pony around as she showed off the party to him.
"Over there's the dance floor. Oh and that's the cake; it's super delicious and I made it," Pinkie bragged, her smile not wavering for a second. She was super happy that she had finally gotten Batman to come to one of her parties.
"And that," she said, pointing to the back of the barn. "Is where all the best games in all of Equestria will be played. Isn't that right, everypony?" she asked, turning to the crowd. All the ponies responded with a huge cheer. With a smile, she continued talking.
"So, Batman, what do you...?”
Pinkie's question died in her throat. When she turned back around to continue her talk with Batman, she found he was gone. Pinkie stood silent for a moment before she started looking around the entire room. He wasn't hiding in the hay. He wasn't in the rafters; he had simply vanished. The other ponies watched nervously as Pinkie's mane went flat. Her eyes began to twitch and her head slowly turned to the side. Batman had managed to get away from another party. And with that one thought, Pinkie snapped.
"WHEN I FIND HIM, I'M GOING TO DRAG HIS CAPED BODY BACK TO THIS PARTY! CONSCIOUS OR NOT!" she roared and burst out of the barn, heading straight for Ponyville. She took off so fast that it left scorch marks on the ground. Applejack whistled at Pinkie's rage.
"Ah sure hope that Batman can avoid that," she muttered to Scootaloo and RD.
"Avoid what now?"
The three ponies gasped and spun around. Standing behind them with a smile on his face was Batman, who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
"How did you...?" Applejack began. Batman let out a dry chuckle.
"I'm not called one of the ultimate escape artist for nothing." Scootaloo was beaming at Batman, having yet another reason to like him.
"Wow, you managed to get around Pinkie’s Pinkie sense. How'd you do that?" she asked in awe.
"Maybe one day I'll teach you," he said with a smile.
"So why'd you come back if went through all that trouble to escape?" AJ asked in confusion.
"Simple. I was originally going to go to Scootaloo's party anyway, but when Pinkie pulled that little stunt she turned it into a game of one-ups man ship. I got even with her on that with my vanishing act." AJ shook her head.
"She'll tear you apart when she finds you," she muttered. Batman shrugged his shoulders, not particularly worried. He looked around at the rest of the party guest. Despite the lack of Pinkie, the rest had started partying. The music alone was enough to make him leave, but he could take it. Batman found a spot for him and looked back at the three.
"I'm going to sit down. The three of you have fun," he said, walking over to a haystack in the back of the room. He sat down and started to observe the party. He started by scanning the punch. To his surprise it didn't contain alcohol.
'Well that makes sense,' he thought to himself, 'it is a party for a child.'
After a few minutes, Scootaloo's two friends from school showed up. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, if he remembered correctly. The three friends greeted each other and instantly became an incomprehensible mess of words. Turning his attention away from them, he spotted the pony that had been stalking him for a while. She looked away and made no motion as to get closer, but Batman knew when someone had questions for him. When she looked at him again, he signaled for her to come over. With a smile that nearly matched Scootaloo's, the pony sprung up and bolted over to Batman. Batman watched her approach, as she went from speedy to timid in a matter of seconds.
"And you are?" he asked her when she sat down next to him. When she failed to answer, he asked another question.
"Why are you stalking me?" This time the timid pony answered.
"Why am I following you? Because you're Batman!" the cerulean pony exclaimed. Batman raised an eyebrow.
"And who are you again?"
"Oh right, sorry. I'm Lyra Heartstrings, the local expert on humans." Now that was something Batman took interest in. A pony that knew about humans? Now that he thought about it, her name was semi-familiar.
"Aren't you the one who wrote the book on heroes?" he asked. Her face lit up at the mention of her work.
"Yes I am! And I must say I am so grateful to you for showing up. It was getting really difficult to convince my friends that humans actually existed." Batman raised an eyebrow at that.
"Ponies don't normally believe in humans?"
"Nope, actually any pony who believes in humans is considered crazy. Like I was."
"But now everyone knows you're right and that you weren't crazy." Lyra let a huge smile cross her face.
"I guess you're right. I'm no longer the crazy one! If you excuse me, their's a certain mare I need to go brag to," Lyra smiled, taking off. Batman watched her go until AJ's voice was heard.
"Ah'll right then everypony, time fer cake and presents!" Applejack yelled out. All the parting ponies stopped the festivities and walked over to where AJ had set up the cake. It was a three stacked, frosting layered, super mega cake. A little Scootaloo figure on her scooter was on top of the cake. The party goers were salivating at the sight of it and even Batman had to admit that it looked good. The guest of honor, Scootaloo, was dropped jawed at the majesty of the cake.
"Well, go on sugar cube, you get the first piece." Applejack told Scoots, pointing towards the cake. Scootaloo walked up and cut the first piece. She looked at it hungrily and went to take a bite. But in mid-bite she stopped and turned to Batman, offering him the piece with a smile. All the ponies Awed as Batman crouched down and received the cake from her, with a smile on his face as well. The cake quickly vanished into the stomachs of everypony there as the ponies decimated it. Next were the presents. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom battled over who would give their present to their friend first. Eventually the two decided to give her their gifts at the same time. Applebloom had made Scootaloo a custom made apple helmet for her when she rode her scooter. Sweetie had made an impressive banner that had the image of Scoots riding her scooter across Ponyville. After opening her friend’s gifts, she opened the rest of the presents. The one from Rainbow Dash made her jaw drop. She had gotten the two of them tickets to see the Wonderbolts. A smile crossed RD's face after seeing Scootaloo's reaction.
"Heh, I figured that you'd like to see the Wonder bolts with me." Scootaloo squealed and jumped up and down in place, clutching the tickets to her chest. After that gift, the rest of the presents just weren't as exciting. Scoots still thanked all the other ponies for the gifts, but Batman noticed her face had started to fall throughout the party. After a while, she excused herself from her own party. AJ and RD watched her go.
"What do you think's eating her?" Rainbow Dash asked Batman. The Dark Knight switched on detective vision, watching the filly as she left the Apple estate. She was heading east with her head sunk. Batman zoomed on the location that she seemed to be heading to and his face fell as well. Scootaloo was heading to the Ponyville cemetery. He felt sorry for the little filly, until his detective vision indicated that a hostile was approaching. He looked around and saw a very angry pink pony heading for the barn.
"If you two will excuse me, there's somewhere I need to be," he muttered, tossing a smoke pellet at his feet. When the smoke cleared, he was gone.
"What do ya suppose made him take off like that?" Applejack asked. Her question was answered when the barn doors blew open, showing an enraged Pinkamina.
"WHERE IS HE?" she bellowed. AJ was glad that Batman was no longer there. By the look on Pinkie's face, she'd kill him if she found him.
======-----======
Ponyville Cemetery.
Scootaloo wandered through the field of tombstones, her heart aching with sorrow. Every birthday she was reminded of the fact that she had no parents, no family to love her. Her friends and towns folks helped ease the pain, but no pony would ever erase the pain. She moved through the endless monuments and remembrances, until she finally arrived at her parents "grave". All it was a rock with the words mom and dad carved into it. She sat down in front of the grave and wiped away her tears before she began to speak.
"Hi, mom. Hi, dad. I know it's been awhile since I last came to talk to you, but a lot has been going on." The stone remained silent as Scootaloo took a deep breath.
"I made a new friend about a month ago. He's a human if you can believe it and that means that Lyra was right all along. His names Batman, but I don't think that's his real name. I didn't know what to make of him at first, but over time he turned out to be a really nice guy." As she took another breath as the wind moaned throughout the graveyard. "He's a dark, menacing character, but I think that's because of what happened to him. He’s like me. He lost his parents when he was little, but instead of being down on himself like I did he chose to be a hero. One that fights crime and battles evil."
The lone pony looked up at the darkening sky, smiling at the moments in the past few months that had made her happy. "But he took the time to teach me how to handle the pain, how to be strong and carry on. The great and powerful Batman took the time to help me. Batman's also teaching me the martial arts, so I'll be able to defend myself once...once he's gone," she forced out at the end. Scootaloo still hadn't gotten over the fact that Batman would have to leave soon. But after a moment her determination returned.
"But I won't be upset! I will remain strong!"
"Now that's what I want to hear." Scootaloo turned with a smile and found Batman standing behind her. She waved him over and he sat down next to her.
"Talking to your parent’s grave?"
"No, I'm talking to a rock," she replied with a sarcastic smile. Batman chuckled.
"Well, I see you've adopted my sense of humor as well as my teachings." Scootaloo laughed and looked at her parent’s grave again. Batman gave her an empathetic look.
"I know how it feels. It's like there's a hole in your heart that will never be filled." Scootaloo nodded, but gave him a small smile.
"Maybe not completely filled, but friends help to fill the hole," she whispered. Batman nodded in agreement.
"Friends do help. I saw your friends at the party. Those were some nice gifts they got you. That reminds me," he muttered, reaching into his belt. "I have a gift for you." Scootaloo watched as Batman pulled out one of his batarangs. Unlike his regular ones, Scootaloo noticed that this one was made with a silver-whitish metal. Scootaloo stared at it in awe as Batman placed it in her hoof.
"W-what is it?" she asked in amazement. This batarang felt different from the other ones Batman had shown her. It felt...powerful.
"This is an antirang. It is made of a certain element that cancels out any form of magic," he explained as Scootaloo turned it over in her hooves. "It's one of my main weapons against Morgaine." Scootaloo's eyes grew huge when he said that.
"Then why would you give it to me? You need it to fight Morgaine!" Batman let out a small sigh and looked into her eyes.
"I'm giving this to you so I know you're safe. With your martial arts skills you should be able to defeat pegasi and earth ponies. But this way I know you'll be able to defeat any unicorn that tries to mess with you." Scootaloo lowered her head, deep in thought. When she looked back into Batman's eyes, determination was on her face.
"I'm coming with you."
"What?" Batman asked in confusion.
"I'm coming with you to Canterlot. I'm going to fight with you against Morgaine," she said.
"Oh no you're not. It is way too dangerous for you to be anywhere near Morgaine."
"I'll find a way to go, whether it's with you or if I have to hide on the train." she stubbornly said. Batman opened his mouth to argue, but closed it before he said anything. He looked over her should at the rock with her parents’ names carved into it, knowing the real reason why she wanted to go with them. The last time someone she cared about went somewhere, they had never returned. Scootaloo was afraid that the same thing would happen to Batman. And if that happened, it would probably break her.
"...Fine, you can come, but ONLY if you listen to what I tell you. You find a safe place to hide and you avoid fighting unless it's absolutely necessary. Understand?" he asked sternly. Scootaloo lit up with happiness.
"You mean it?!"
"Yes, I mean it. Show up at the train station tomorrow at seven in the morning. If you're late however, we will leave you behind." Scoots nodded vigorously.
"Don't worry, I won't be late." Batman stood up and looked at the now dark sky.
"Come on, let's get you home." As the two walked, Scootaloo talked while Batman thought about what tomorrow would bring. He would defiantly have to battle Morgaine, but would Equestria still be free at the end of the fight. His destiny is what worried him the most. If his destiny was real and he did fall to Morgaine, then this world, this paradise, would become enslaved by a tyrannical leader. Shaking himself free of his thoughts and listened to what Scootaloo was talking about.
"...and I'm now up to ninety wing-ups. And that's without breaking a sweat," she smiled at him. Batman returned the smile.
"So can you fly yet?" She lowered her head.
"I-I'm not sure. The doctors said that my wings should be strong enough to fly, but they say I lack the motivation. I don't know what they mean. I want nothing more than to fly," she sighed, "I guess I'll fly when the time's right."
"I suppose so," Batman responded. As the two reached the front doors of the orphanage, Scootaloo asked Batman a question.
"Are you really ready for the battle tomorrow?"
"How did you know that the battle was tomorrow?" he asked her with a questioning glance.
"Oh, Fluttershy told me!" Scootaloo answered with another bright smile. Batman made a mental note to tell Fluttershy not to tell Scootaloo everything they were doing.
"So, wanna come inside?" Scoots asked. Batman shook his head.
"Sorry, but there's somep-...someone I need to talk to," Batman said, catching himself. He waved goodbye to Scootaloo and headed back to the library. There was one more person he needed to talk to.
===---===
Batman was surprised to see that Spike was still up at this hour. Batman had returned to the library to find the baby dragon reading a comic book next to the fire place. Spike turned to look at Batman as he came in and ran over to the Dark Knight.
"Hey Batman! How was your day?" he enthusiastically asked.
"Not bad," he muttered sleepily. Spikes face fell when he heard the tired tone in Batman's voice.
"I guess you'll want to go to bed then," Spike mumbled. Batman gave the dragon a small smile.
"Actually, I was hoping to get a game of chess in before bed." As Batman predicted, the young dragons face lit up at the mention of the game.
"Sure, I'll get the chess board!" Spike joyfully said, racing upstairs. Batman smiled in spite of himself. A month ago he wouldn't have even thought of playing chess with the young dragon, now here he was. Maybe this place had gotten to him more than he had thought. Spike came back down the stairs and set up the board on the table. Batman sat down as Spike set up the pieces.
"Black or white?" Spike asked.
"What do you think?"
"Black it is," Spike smiled, giving Batman the black pieces. After the pieces were set up, Spike made his first move, followed by Batman's move. The two went on like this in silence until Spike asked a question.
"What's really going on tomorrow? No pony will tell me anything and Twilight won't answer my letters" he asked, taking Batman's pawn.
"War."
Spike gulped and moved another piece. "W-will ponies die?"
"Probably."
Spike looked very disturbed by that statement. He made a bad move and suffered for it when Batman took his queen. Spike retaliated by taking five of Batman's pieces, while Batman took none. Spike looked surprised that he was beating Batman in a battle of the minds, but stayed silent. After a minute, Batman spoke up.
"But you have my word that I will do whatever I can to keep as many of them as safe as I can." Spike gave him a small smile.
"How do you plan to do that?"
"Simply. War is like a chess game. You need to predict your opponent’s moves and counter them the best you can while trying to lose as few pieces as possible. And with the right strategy," Batman smiled, moving his piece, "you can dominate the battlefield with as few casualties as possible. Checkmate." Spikes eyes widened as he realized that Batman had put him into checkmate by only taking one piece. He looked up at the smiling bat.
"And this piece," Batman smiled, showing Spike the queen, "Is the only piece I need to take." Spike slowly began to grasp what Batman was saying, but when he got it a huge smile crossed his face.
"The only piece you need to take tomorrow is Morgaine. And then..."
"And then the rest of her army will crumble," Batman finished with a smile. Spike gave him a smile, which was followed by a yawn. Spike looked at the clock, which now read nine.
"Wow, it's getting late. We should probably get to bed."
"Sounds like a plan." Batman agreed, standing up and heading for the basement door.
"Thanks for spending some time with me, Batman. It gets lonely sometimes when I'm here by myself."
Batman gave Spike a small smile. "What...are friends for?" Leaving the jaw dropped dragon behind, Batman headed down the stairs and found the spot on the wall he had come to call home. He lay against the wall, thinking about the battle to come. He had a plan in mind for the majority of Morgaine's forces, but Trixie was a wild card. You never knew what someone driven by vengeance would do. Then there was Morgaine herself. Even though Batman had beaten her before, she was now in control of two of the most powerful artifacts known to this world. It would take all his cunning to defeat her this time. Then there was the whole destiny thing. Batman didn't even know where to begin with that. He reached into his belt and pulled out Scootaloo's diamond charm.
'Let's hope you really are a protective charm. Because I have a feeling I'm going to need you tomorrow.'