Canterlot courtyard.
Batman rolled to the side as column of flame tore through the remains of a castle wall that he had previously been using as cover. Morgaine was in desperation mode, using every trick in her endless arsenal to try and destroy the bat. Torrents of crushing water, storms that could tear a skyscraper in half, fires that were reserved for hell and all of them had failed to kill Batman. But despite fighting as if she was about to lose, deep down inside of her mind Morgaine wasn't worried in the least. She was destined to win and Batman would lose. That was how she managed to remain calm even after three fourths of her forces had been beaten or captured. The combined forces of the Royal Guards and the Diamond Dogs had proven too much for her slaves to handle. Now, it had simply come down to her and the bat...
"You can't win Morgaine! Your forces have fallen! Give up!" Batman yelled from behind the plaza fountain, using it as cover. Morgaine tossed her head back and laughed.
"Give up? Dear Batman, I have already won. You know how this battle will turn out. You are destined to fail and I will win." Morgaine gave Batman a smile. "So why should you even bother fighting at all?"
Batman snarled as his retort. "Until I can no longer draw breath, I will oppose you and any other force of evil that would try to harm the innocent!" He sprinted towards her, ducking and dodging past her multiple attempts on his life. He quickly pulled out the bat claw and fired it upwards, snagging Morgaine. He pulled on the cord to drag her towards him, but snarled when she vanished into thin air. He spun around to find her floating comfortably above him on a cloud.
"As to my forces, Batman, I do believe that I have one last trick up my sleeve. Something that even you wouldn't expect." She snapped her fingers and her last surprise materialized in front of the bat. He had been expecting something massive and terrifying. What he got was even worse. Standing in front of the bat with the green mind controlled eyes were at least fifty foals, each of them armed with small knives and murderous intent in their young eyes. To say Batman was mortified was an understatement. As his eyes widened in shock, Morgaine began to laugh.
"So what will you do, Batman? Will the great crusader break the bodies of children to stop me? Would even you sink that low?" She turned her head to the foals waiting for her orders. "Kill him." With a unified yell, the little ponies rushed at Batman. His reflexes took over and he quickly tossed a smoke pellet at his feet. The foals rushed into the smoke, only to look around to find he was no longer there. They looked around in confusion while Morgaine taunted Batman.
"Hiding will not help you to beat me, Batman. You will either break my foals or they will rip you apart. Either's fine with me." Unknown to the foals or the sorceress, Batman had stationed himself on top of a nearby tower, trying to think of a strategy to combat Morgaine’s newest assault. Even though he needed to stop Morgaine, he just couldn't harm children, no matter how deadly they were. His mind raced as he considered his options, none of them looking particularly good. Without a better alternative, he decided he would try to only knock them out with pressure point strikes.
'If I'm lucky, none of them will be hurt. It's not their fault that a psychopath took control of them. They won't suffer for her greed,' he thought grimly. Stealing himself for what he was about to do , he extended his cape and descended to the ground. As he slowly rose to his full height, all of the foals turned towards him and slowly began to advance. Batman eyes darkened as her prepared himself for the task he was about to undertake. With a high-pitched yell, one of the young colts charged the Dark Knight. Batman watched as the small green foal with a smiley face cutie mark charged him with a knife. Batman felt sorrow fill up his heart as he prepared to strike.
'Why must it always be the children who are caught in my war?' he thought to himself, remembering all the young ones who had suffered during his crusade. He was supposed to protect them, so why did it seem like children only got hurt around him? Batman shook those thoughts aside as the green foal went to drive his knife into Batman's chest. Batman sidestepped the colt's attack and brought a light chop to the back of his neck. The foal was unconscious before he hit the ground. Batman felt a stab of grief pierce his heart as he turned to face the rest of the foals. Each one of them let out a scream as they charged him in unison.
Batman dodged the first two attacks and knocked the both of them out. He grabbed a third and gently tossed her onto a pile of hay. Another pair attacked and Batman was forced to kick one of them in the gut. He felt a stab of guilt as the filly cried out in pain before collapsing to the ground. Batman cast his eyes over the rest of the foals trying to kill him, imagining what their lives must have been like before Morgaine showed up. He tossed the other colt into an overturned cart, wondering what his life had been like. Did he do well at school? Did he play with friends in his spare time? These were things children should be doing on a day like today, not being forced to face a costumed psycho in a fight. And as he thought about the foals lives, he also wondered about their parents. Had any of these foals’ parents been killed in this fight? Had any of these foals become like him in Morgaine's unholy crusade? An orphan whose parents were stolen from them by a criminal?
With each foal Batman was forced to incapacitate, his rage towards Morgaine grew darker and darker. Did she even care about the lives that were lost? Did she care that she had orphaned children that had done nothing wrong? Batman felt his jaw clench in pure rage as he saw her sitting on her cloud, smiling at his suffering. He swore that no matter what happened, he would make her pay. But in his moment of rage, he let his guard down for a moment.
"GAH!" he cried in pain as a pink unicorn sunk her knife into his leg. He knocked her out and pulled the knife out, trying to regain his balance. As the foals circled around him like sharks that smelled blood, Morgaine began to speak.
"Your compassion for others is your weakness, Batman," Morgaine taunted as the foals closed in on him. "You cannot bring yourself to harm these ponies enough to even save your own life. You are weak."
"WRONG!" seven voices cried out at once. Everypony that was still conscious turned to the source of the voices. Morgaine's eyes widened in shock just as Celestia eyes gleamed like the sun. Standing atop a tower overlooking the battlefield stood Scootaloo and the elements of Harmony. Celestia's forces and the Diamond Dogs cheered in unison as they saw their champions standing tall with the Elements resting firmly on their bodies. As the celebration started, Morgaine looked on in disbelief.
"How did you get past my apprentice?" Morgaine asked, still trying to process what she was looking at. Twilight gave her a sad smile.
"I guess you bet too much on Trixie. Because now, this fight's over." As she said this, she and the other five began to glow. The six ponies floated up into a circle, power crackling in-between each of them. Once the power of harmony was charged, the six ponies eyes snapped open, letting loose a rainbow torrent of harmonic magic down upon all of Canterlot. Batman, Morgaine and everypony else their watched as the magic enveloped all that were controlled by Morgaine, as well as all those that had fallen in battle, restoring them to life. Roars of glee were sent into the as those ponies slowly stood up, looking around in confusion and amazement at where they were. Batman watched with a smile as foals ran around to found his or her respective parent. Guards were also rejoining their comrades that had fallen in the battle, each of them laughing and/or crying as they embraced each other. The mane six and Scootaloo had joined Celestia, who had embraced her now free sister. As the celebration continued around them, no pony noticed that Morgaine had descended from her cloud and now stood alone with Batman in the center of the plaza.
"This is not over!" she roared, sending forth a shockwave of magic that sent everypony except the Dark Knight reeling away from her. A force field was placed over the plaza as Morgaine bent down and placed the Dimensional stone in the center of a circle she proceeded to etch into the ground. The stone reached out with it's powers and sensed the presences of the princesses. With the requirements met, the stone began to create a vortex to hell in the center of the square. Batman rushed her, trying to stop Morgaine before she could begin. she opened her hand and let loose a bolt of ightning so powerful that it tossed Batman straight into the barrier. The two princesses and the Elements of Harmony unleashed their great powers against the field, but it refused to even bend to their might. All the ponies and dogs could only watch as Batman struggled back to his feet, glaring at Morgaine. Morgaine had begun the first step of opening the portal to hell and was now in the process of completing it. Batman reached inside his belt and tossed his antirang towards the dimensional stone, but with a swish Morgaine's blade cleaved it in two.
"Did you really think I would learn nothing from our last encounter Batman? The portal has begun to open and only the destruction of the stone will stop it. Of course," Morgaine whispered, pointing her sword towards Batman's chest, "You will have to get past me."
"With pleasure," he growled, charging Morgaine. The sorceress swung the blade towards Batman, who brought his gauntlet up to intercept the strike. His eyes widened in shock as the blade cut right through his gauntlets and into his arm. His arm would've been sliced right off if Batman hadn't jumped back. The ponies all gasped at his injury, but Batman was more concerned with Morgaine's weapon.
"Do you like it, Batman?" Morgaine asked with a smile, turning the blade over in her hands. "I call it the Sword of Destiny. It allows me to see anyone's future. Even yours. But as an added bonus, it seems to be able to cut through any know material. Even you!" Morgaine fired off a stream of lightning that Batman failed to entirely avoid. One bolt clipped his shoulder and he staggered back, trying to block out the pain. Morgaine seized his moment of weakness to press her attack. She attacked him with the skill of any expert swordswoman, forcing the Dark Knight into retreat. He was having a difficult enough time dodging her skillful strikes, but the wound he had received to his leg was impeding his movements. It was time for a counter attack.
He rolled as Morgaine channeled flames onto her sword and brought it down with strength one would not expect from her. Batman was the first to recover and came up out of his roll to kick Morgaine in the side with his good leg, knocking the wind out of her. He caught her wild swing and knocked the blade out of her hands, watching as it clattered to the ground a few feet away. Batman then smashed his fist into her face, dazing the sorceress. He slowly realized that he was standing in front of the person that had brought so much pain and misery to a race that didn't deserve it, a race of peaceful creatures that only knew happiness. She had taken their innocence away. But worst of all, she had tried to kill Scootaloo. And that was going too far. Batman's rage finally broke and he started to beat Morgaine with a dark vengeance. He laughed demonically when he heard one of her ribs break and smiled when she spat out blood. Batman remembered all the families that Morgaine had torn apart in her conquest for power. And that sent him over the edge. He grabbed her by the front of her robes and lifted her off the ground, preparing to finish her once and for all.
"This ends now Morgaine. Permanently," he whispered, bringing his right fist back. He was about to bring his fist into her face when a sound caught his ear, a sound that one does not hear often on a battlefield. It was the sound of silence. Batman turned his head to look at the ponies, who where all looking at him with fear in their eyes. The same look of fear that they had given to him when he had defeated the Elements in the forest. The looked at him as if he was a monster. He then slowly turned his gaze to the mane six and to Scootaloo. His heard his heart break with a snap as he looked into her eyes. For the first time since he had met her, she had the same look of fear in her eyes. She was afraid of him. Batman looked back to Morgaine, who was barely moving in his grip. He closed his eyes as he realized that if he killed her, Batman would forever be a monster in Scootaloo's eyes. And he was her hero, he could not let her down.
"No, not today. Not ever," he whispered, dropping Morgaine to the ground. He stood up triumphantly before turning his gaze over at Scootaloo. he felt his heart soar when he saw she had one of the biggest smiles he had ever seen on her face, tears welling up in her eyes. The ponies began to cheer, all of them realizing that Batman had won. Celestia gave him an approving nod and Twilight gave him a warm smile. Fluttershy had tears of relief rolling down her face, whereas AJ and RD just smiled at him. Pinkie Pie had practically exploded with joy and Rarity let out a sigh of relief. And Scootaloo simply smiled at her hero that had defeated the greatest threat to Equestria. Batman turned his attention away from the ponies and to the vortex still opening in the ground. It was about time he dealt with-
BANG!
Batman reeled back while the ponies screamed as a blinding light lit up the square. Before he could even comprehend what had happened, Morgaine sprang up and fired a blast of magic into his face. He screamed in agony as he felt part of his face blaze with pain and he brought his hands up to try and clear his sight. Morgaine lept to her feet and held out her hand. Her sword leaped off the ground and flew into her hands. She let out a scream of pure rage as she pointed the blade towards the bat's chest and lunged. Batman cleared his eyes just in time to see Morgaine's blade reach him.
SHUNK!!
Batman slowly looked down at the Sword of Destiny, which had now embedded itself deep into where his heart was located. He then looked up into the smiling face of Morgaine, who was staring in an equal amount of disbelief at the where the blade had entered. Everypony was dead silent, the reality of the situation having not yet reached them. Batman tried to lift his right arm and instead felt blood began to pour out of his mouth. Morgaine pulled the now crimson blade out of his chest as he slid to his knees, darkness beginning to swallow his sight. He used his remaining strength to look up into the face of a triumphant Morgaine.
"I told you, Dark Knight. This is your destiny," she said with a smile, raising the blade soaked with his blood over her head. Batman fell on his face, creating a small splash as he landed in a pool of his own blood. He could no longer hear or feel anything. He didn't even feel it when Morgaine plunged the sword into his back or hear all the ponies cry out in shock. All he could do was watch as the darkness of death that he had avoided for so long finally over took him. He breathed in one last time and then ceased to move. The ponies stared at his body as Morgaine tossed her head back and began to laugh. Her laugh was one of pure disbelief.
"I don't believe it! I finally killed Batman!" she shrieked in joy, letting tears of relief fall down her face. The ponies still hadn't moved or said anything. All they could do was stare. As Morgaine screamed her joy into the heavens, Scootaloo was the first to break the silence.
"How..." she whispered, tears falling from her eyes. Morgaine stopped celebrating and looked at her with a huge grin on her face, eager to inform them of her victory.
"What do you mean by how? Do you mean how did the great Batman manage to lose? Or maybe how did I manage to kill him? The answer is; it was his destiny." Everypony turned towards Morgaine as she continued to talk.
"Yes, with my blade I managed to see what the Dark Knight's future was and much to my surprise, I found that I would be the one to finally kill him! Yes, I killed BATMAN!" she cried out again, drinking in her victory. After a minute of laughing, she turned back to the almost complete portal. The stone had risen above everypony and rested twenty feet off the ground, sending its power into the expanding vortex. She smiled again and turned back to the ponies, looking at Celestia and the Elements.
"Brace yourselves, because in five minutes, your world will belong to me." Celestia stood silent, a terrible realization washing over her. They had failed. Morgaine was going to win and there was nothing Celestia could do to stop her. She had failed her sister, her country, but most importantly she had failed her ponies. She sat down and continued to stare at the vortex until a light tap diverted her attention. She looked down to see Scootaloo standing near her hooves. Celestia smiled and bent down to Scootaloo’s height. Scootaloo took a deep breath and asked her question.
"What did Morgaine do to Batman?" Celestia felt her heart break as the little one looked at her in confusion, not knowing that her hero was dead.
"Batman fell to destiny. See, his destiny is that he would lose to Morgaine and all of Equestria would be placed under her rule," she whispered sadly. Scootaloo still looked confused.
"Why didn't he fight it?" Celestia shook her head.
"No pony can defeat destiny, child. It's impossible." The two turned back to the laughing form of Morgaine, standing over her nearly complete portal. Celestia closed her eyes and waited for the end.
======------======
Nowhere.
Batman slowly opened his eyes and lifted himself up. The first thing he noticed when he stood up was that all his injuries were gone. The next thing he noticed was that he was in a completely white room, standing before a pair of massive golden gates. He looked at the gates in interest. The looked like the sort of thing that peopled talked about when they mentioned the afterlife. He had to admit, he had been expecting hell fire when he died. It suited him better. He looked behind him and found that in the distance was a small bit of darkness. Odd. He turned his attention back to the magnificant gate, examining it closer. He was still studying the gate when it began to open. He jumped back, preparing himself for a fight. He slowly stood down when he recognized the two figures emerging from the gate.
"Mom? Dad?" he asked in disbelief. The two figures nodded with a smile.
"Yes son, it's us," Martha Wayne said with a warm smile.
"It's your parents," Thomas Wayne told him, giving his son a proud look. Batman shook his head in confusion.
"No, you can’t' be here. You're dead. But if you're here, then that means..." his voice trailed off as realization over took him. Martha nodded her head sadly.
"Yes, you're dead. Well, you're not completely dead. But you are dying."
"No, I can't be dying! They still need me back there! If I don't fight, then Equestria will..."
"We know son, but we can't do anything about that. However, we can tell you this," Thomas beamed, gazing at his son with pride. "You've been accepted."
Batman looked confused. "Accepted where?"
"Where do you think? Paradise," Thomas answered, waving his arm to the gate. The massive golden gates swung open, letting a beautiful light envelope them all. Batman had never felt anything like it. While he was in the light he felt...happy.
"Because of your brave deeds dear and your never ending sacrifice for good, you have been accepted into paradise," Martha told him with a smile. "And someone else is here to see you." Batman's eyes widened when he saw the one person he had longed to see the most.
"Talia," he whispered. The love of Batman's life had walked through the gate, smiling as she saw her beloved. She walked over and embraced the bat.
"Beloved, it's been too long," she gently whispered. Batman closed his eyes and returned the embrace, feeling the happiness fill up his heart. After a minute, the two released each other. Talia gave him another smile.
"We are finally together again, beloved. And you...are finally at peace," she whispered, gently placing her hand on the side of his head. "Now, let us go. Paradise awaits." Talia and the Wayne’s turned and walked back towards the gate. Batman sighed and let a smile cross his face. He was finally with his family and his love again. He had finally found peace and happiness. Batman went to take a step forward and a blinding pain lanced up his side. Batman yelled and clutched his right side, trying to avoid collapsing. Talia and the Wayne’s rushed over to him.
"Beloved, what is wrong?" Talia asked. Batman reached inside his belt and pulled out the source of his pain. The others watched as Batman slowly opened his hand. Resting on his palm was Scootaloo's charm. Talia and the Wayne’s looked at in interest while Batman looked at it in awe. The charm was glowing white and power pulsated from it. As he looked at it, Scootaloo's words came back to him.
'You need it more than me. And besides, I know it works.' Batman had assumed at the time that the charm was supposed to ward off physical harm. But now, he knew what its true purpose was. It was meant to protect him from anything that comprimised who he was. Batman slowly closed his glove around the charm and closed his eyes.
'Thank you, Scootaloo, for reminding of who I am.' Talia and the Wayne’s looked at him concerned.
"Are you alright, beloved?" Talia asked. When Batman looked her in the eyes, she saw not the eyes of the man she had fallen for. She saw the eyes of the Batman.
"I’m going back."
"What? Son that's ridiculous! You’re in paradise now, why would you want to go back?" Thomas asked in disbelief.
"Because I'm needed."
"Son, are you sure?" Martha asked.
"Positive." Batman turned and looked at his love.
"How do I go back?"
"Bruce, there's no way to-" Thomas began.
"You said that YOU two couldn't do anything about it," Batman retorted. "However, you never said that I couldn't do anything. Am I right?"
"All you have to do is turn around and run back to reality," she whispered. Batman nodded and turned around. Before he could go, he felt Talia's hand on his shoulder.
"I will warn you though. If you go back, the gate may not be open for you the next time you come back. Are you sure you want to give up paradise?" Batman gave her a smile.
"I already found paradise. But if I don't go back, it will turn into hell. And I promised that as long as I still drew breath that I would continue to fight. And I'm not dead yet." Batman broke free of her grip and began to run back towards the fight. And all the while he ran, he never once looked back.
=======-------========
Canterlot.
Morgaine smiled as the portal reached ninety percent completion. She had to admit; even she had thought her plan was doomed when the Elements of Harmony had shown up. She would have to go and look for Trixie later. Hopefully she was still alive. Morgaine knew that Trixie would love her new world, a world where the two of them would rule side by side. Her happy thoughts were interrupted by a pony screaming at her.
"You...you monster! Witch! Give me back Batman!" the orange filly yelled, tears rolling down her face. Morgaine looked at her, remembering that the filly had attacked her early. And Morgaine was not the type to forgive and forget.
"You wish to be with him so badly? Very well," she smiled, holding out her hand. Scootaloo was yanked off her hooves and straight through the barrier into Morgaine's grasp. The sorceress slowly began to close her hand around the filly’s throat. "I will send you to him." Scootaloo flailed the best she could, but could not escape the sorceresses grasp. Her vision began to black out and her movements ceased. She could hear the screaming of the mane six and the cries of Celestia, but she couldn't respond. All she could do was watch as the darkness of death slowly-
"MORGAINE!"
Time seemed to freeze as everypony stopped and turned towards the voice. Morgaine slowly turned her head around, not believing what she had heard. What she saw was so shocking that she dropped Scootaloo out of pure disbelief.
Batman was getting to his feet.
Batman still felt where the blade had pierced his chest and his back, blood still flowing from the wounds. He still felt all the abuse he had suffered in the battle. But what he felt the most at that moment was a strength, the strength of a hero protecting those that needed it. Morgaine staggered back as her "fallen" foe slowly advanced towards her. Batman dragged himself over to Scootaloo and knelt down beside her, shaking her awake.
"Get out of here," he told her when she was awake. Scootaloo didn't say anything, but her smile told Batman everything he had wanted to know. Her faith in him was restored. Scootaloo ran through the now wavering portal and over to Celestia as Batman stood back up to face Morgaine.
"How? I killed you! It was you're destiny to die! To die a failure! It's what you are!" she shrieked, still hoping that this was an illusion or some kind of trick. Much to her dread, Batman let out a small laugh.
"What I am? Morgaine you fool, I do what I do not because it was written in the stars or that some magical tooth pick told me it was to be," he panted, still stumbing towards Morgaine. "I fight because it is the right thing to do. I write my own path, it is not written for me. I became a warrior who fights against evil because I chose to. Not because I was destined to. I chose to do this," Batman whispered, remembering giving up his chance at paradise. He looked straight into Morgaine's eyes, as if he was glaring into her soul. "That is WHO I am!"
All the ponies watching were watching the scene infront of them in complete and utter awe. Celestia was dumbfounded, whereas Scootaloo was awestruck. "He beat his destiny" she whispered to herself. Celestia slowly shook her head.
"But that's impossible. No pony can fight their destiny. It's impossible," Celestia whispered. Scootaloo's eyes widened, as she finally got what Batman had told her so long ago.
"It's only impossible until someone goes and does It." Scootaloo whispered, now understaing that Batman had been telling her the truth. Celestia looked down at Scootaloo, then back to the battle. Morgaine had regained her composure and redrawn her blade, once again pointed it towards Batman.
"It doesn’t matter. I killed you once, I can do it again!" With a feral scram, Morgaine rushed the Batman. She brought her sword high and swung it down on Batman's head. Batman managed to catch the blade in between his hands, struggling to keep it from splitting his skull.
"Why do you fight so hard to protect these ponies?! Why do you care for them so much?!" Morgaine screamed, still trying to force her blade down on Batman's head. Batman saw his vision blacken for a moment and he fell to one knee. His leg was still in bad shape and the loss of blood was drastically weakening him. Using his remaining strength, Batman managed to fight back to his feet. Only after he was standing up straight did he answer her.
"Why do I fight so hard? Because I finally found a world where no pony has to be afraid of criminals. Where everyone is happy and can get along without the need for violence," he panted, looking into Morgaine's eyes. "A world where an eight year old child will never have to worry about his parents being murdered in the street by someone with a gun." Morgaine's eyes widened in realization.
"Wayne," she whispered. Then with an inhuman scream, she pulled the blade from Batman's grasp and staggered back, breathing in an irregular pattern. The ponies watching where still silent, unable to comprehend what was happening. Morgaine looked to her nearly complete portal and a smile reemerged on her face.
"Well, it doesn't matter who you are now, Batman. My portal is ninety nine percent complete. And without your precious antirangs and with no way for your ponies to pierce my force field, I still WIN! And there isn't a damned thing you can do-" Right as Morgaine screamed this, a burst of azure magic pierced through her barrier and struck the dimensional stone head on. The force of the magic spell caused the dimensional stone to fracture, resulting in the portal beginning to go haywire. The entirety of Canterlot began to shake from the unstable magic as Morgaine looked at the stone in confusion.
"Impossible, my barriers unbreakable. The only other one who could pierce it besides me would be-"As realization gripped her heart, Morgaine slowly turned to where the spell had come from. Standing atop the tower in front of the Hall of the Elements stood an azure unicorn with a white mane, golden armor and tears rolling down her face.
"Trixie?" Twilight called out in disbelief. Trixie teleported herself down next to the other ponies, never taking her eyes off Morgaine.
"Trixie? Why?" Morgaine asked in a crushed voice, sorrow gripping her heart. Trixie closed her tear stained eyes in regret.
"I'm sorry," Trixie whispered, before firing off another blast of magic straight through Morgaine's shield and into the stone. The stone cracked from the second spell and began to let off energy everywhere. Morgaine slowly turned to where the stone was in the process of destroying herself. Batman slowly shook his head.
"Even your own apprentice knows that what you're doing is wrong. Give up." Morgaine slowly turned towards Batman. She looked at this man, this hero, who had foiled her plans and somehow turned her most prized student against her. And then she snapped.
"GGGRRRRAAAAAHHHHH!" She screamed hurling herself at Batman in a flash of speed. Batman never even had the chance to react as Morgaine plunged her sword into his abdomen. Batman spat out more blood as he felt pain course through his body. But with the greatest willpower known to any race, he kicked Morgaine back and pulled the blade out of his stomach. And then, in front of everypony there, he snapped the Sword of Destiny on his knee. Morgaine staggered back as Batman dropped the two pieces of the blade to the ground, all of her rage and hatred giving way to another emotion: fear. Batman nearly fell over as he felt weakness course throughout his body. From the amount of blood he had lost and that his vision was almost completely black, he came to a realization: it was too late for him. In a few minutes, he would probably bleed out and he'd die for real. But before that happened he would make sure Morgaine fell; make sure that his friends would be safe. And much to the eternal wonderment of everypony there, he began to stagger forward.
"No, stay back!" Morgaine screamed, backing away from the advancing bat. "I impale you, blast you, KILL you! But you won't stay DEAD! W-what are you?" And then Batman began to laugh. A laugh that was said to be heard all across Equestria that day, shaking all the criminals who heard it to their core. The laugh of the Batman.
"I already told you who I am, Morgaine. But as to WHAT I am," Batman answered, glaring straight into Morgaine's eyes.
"I am vengeance."
The whole of Canterlot began to shake as the stone reached critical mass. Ponies and Diamond Dogs alike began to run around, trying to find somewhere safe. Only the princesses, the mane six, Trixie and Scootaloo remained, unable to tear themselves away from the zenith of the battle.
"I am the night."
The portal started warping, as the stone was no longer able to hold it in place. Morgaine slowly looked around at her great plan, which now lay in ruin because of one person. Batman. But if she was going to go, she made damn sure she would take him with her. She screamed and lit her hands ablaze, before jumping into the air over the Batman. Batman brought his right fist back and cocked it for and uppercut, slowly raising his head towards the incoming Morgaine.
"I AM BATMAN!"
Batman swung his fist at Morgaine right as the dimensional stone finally gave out. A blinding flash of pure energy burst from the portal, destroying the stone in a blinding light. The light enveloped the two combatants right before they collided and quickly reached the barrier. The light slammed into it and without Morgiane's magic to hold it in place, the barrier began to break.
"Twilight, Princesses, with me!" Trixie yelled, tossing up a barrier of her own to encompass Morgaine's. Twilight and the princesses followed suit, casting their own magic over the barrier. Even with combined might of two alicorns and two of the most powerful unicorns in history, the shield just barely held. The ponies held up the barrier until the light had finally died out, at which point they lowered it. Celestia, Luna, the mane six, Trixie and Scootaloo all entered what was left of the battlefield. Everywhere the light had touched, only ash remained. Nothing was left of Morgaine or Batman.
"He's gone, isn't he?" Fluttershy half-sobbed, having used up her tears during the battle. Rarity gently put a hoof on her shoulder to comfort the pegasus.
"He gave his life to protect us," Rarity added, still trying to comprehend what had happened.
"H-he can't be dead! He's Batman! He's survived much worse than this! He can't be..."Rainbow Dash trailed off, starting to cry herself. The others continued to look around in false hope, believing that they'd see Batman laying off to the side alive or standing there in his tattered outfit. But as their spirits fell, Trixie uttered the last words.
"It's over. And they're gone."
All of the ponies hung their heads in sorrow, except for Scootaloo who stared at the spot where Batman had stood defiant to the bitter end. Tears slowly began to fall down her face as she looked up at the sky, with one last question escaping her lips.
"Batman?"