//------------------------------// // Pacification // Story: My Little Arkham // by ADHD365 //------------------------------// Pinkie followed Batman through an air duct as they continued through the abandoned subway station. She helped as best she could, but she was still shaken up from her encounter from Killer Croc. She didn’t want to do anything except for curling up into a little ball and cry herself to sleep. They had encountered more Joker thugs through the sewers that were still trying to get rid of the last of Penguin’s henchmen. They had started using heavy-duty riot shields in combat. Batman quickly changed his tactics and assaulted them by literally climbing onto the shield and attacking their faces. They were approaching a large group of thugs. They were standing on the other side of a subway door and talking to themselves, but they heard every word from inside the duct. Batman had ripped the vent off the wall and crawled in. “You people have two choices: join up with the Joker and live, or stay with the Penguin and die. Simple.” “So what’s it gonna be?” “I’m in.” “Yeah, me too.” “Good. We got weapons on the way.” They silently crawled through the air duct until they were directly underneath the Joker thug in charge. “What? You expect us to join up with you unarmed?” “Screw that!” “He said, guns are on the way, it wont be long. What part of that did you not understand?” Before he could get an answer, Batman shot up from below, grabbed the thug’s neck and took him down. “What’s the Bat doing here?!” Pinkie shot up right behind him and took the other Joker thug down in the same manner. She turned to face the remaining thugs. They were Penguin henchmen with either clown masks or face paint on. They were switching sides and joining up with Joker. They all charged at Pinkie and Batman. Two thugs had riot shields while the rest either used their fists or metal pipes. Batman quickly engaged two thugs simultaneously. He grabbed their necks and forced them to the ground. Another thug behind him swung his pipe at him, but Pinkie sprung to intercept him. She planted her hooves on his pipe and bounced off, causing the pipe to hit him in the face. Batman got up and started attacking more thugs. Pinkie took note of a thug running to a gun box on the corner of the room. She ran toward him and tried to take him down before he could open the case. Another thug with a riot shield stopped her from advancing. He shoved it forward and smacked Pinkie in the face. She flew back a few feet and landed on her back. She looked back up at him with anger in her eyes and got to her hooves. She charged at him with all her fury. He readied his shield, but Pinkie quickly improvised her attack. She climbed on top of the shield, and stomped on the top of it, making it squish his toes. He screamed loudly and broke concintration. Pinkie took advantage of this and kicked him in the face. He fell to the ground and she bounced over to the first thug just as he managed to crack the case open. She quickly stopped him and knocked him out before he could start shooting up the place. She turned around to see the thug with the shield getting back to his feet, and quickly fixed that by bucking him in the head. Pinkie noticed that in every single fight, these thugs were quite weak in the head. A hard hit to their skull usually made them go down in a heartbeat. She was glad that it was this easy. After a few moments, the rest of the thugs were down and scattered all over the floor. “Woo hoo! We did it!” Pinkie cheered. Batman cracked his neck and looked around. “Come on. We need to get to Freeze.” “Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie said. Batman walked over to a terminal that was on the wall to their left as Pinkie bounced happily behind him. He took out his cryptographic sequencer and began to hack the device. After a few moments of turning the dials around, the device beeped and the doors opened. They walked through the doorways and went up the stairs. They were now in a more modern, yet still old, subway station. This was the main subway station that must have been used in Gotham before it was closed down. Pinkie looked around for a moment before she saw the pile of corpses in the center of the room. She gasped and stopped walking as she stood there in utter shock. About thirty dead Penguin henchmen were piled on top of each other in the center of the station. A few other bodies littered the surrounding area. Pinkie could hardly believe her eyes. “Wha- What happened?” Pinkie stammered. “Looks like they decided to die instead of join up with Joker.” Batman said. --- “Are you sure, darling? Completely sure?” Rarity asked. “Yes, I’m totally positive about this! It just clicks!” Twilight exclaimed. She was pacing back and forth in the church beside Applejack and Rarity. She had deduced that Bruce Wayne was Batman’s secret identity and she couldn’t stop freaking out about it. She was beginning to make the carpet beneath her hooves wear out because of her pacing. Applejack shook her head. “This is pretty huge, sugarcube. Ah mean, what are we supposed to do about this?” “I don’t know, but Strange has got some sort of beef with Bruce Wayne because of Batman, but what is it? I can’t think straight right now.” Twilight replied, not stopping her pacing. Rarity and Applejack looked at each other with concern. “Twilight, I agree with you that this is a big deal, but we have many more important things to deal with than Bruce Wayne’s double life.” Rarity said. Twilight stopped pacing and looked at her friends. “Now that Applejack’s safe again, perhaps it would be best to go find Victor and Fluttershy. We’ll be much safer with him.” She continued. Applejack nodded. “Rarity’s right. After what ya’ll told me back in Riddler’s cage, Mr. Freeze sounds like a really good guy. We’ll all be safer with him.” Twilight thought for a moment. “Well that would get us all together again. Rainbow Dash was going to go with Batman to find Ra’s Al Ghul’s blood while Rarity and I went to rescue you. Maybe they found him already and are on their way back.” “Maybe they managed to find Pinkie as well.” Rarity added. Twilight nodded. “Yeah, maybe.” “Well, what are we waitin’ for? Lets get goin’!” Applejack said. Twilight smiled. “Okay! Lets get out of here and find Mr. Freeze!” They all got what they needed, and head out into the cold once again. Once they passed the old gate, they turned left. Anything to the right of the church was demolished. Twilight also figured that an old police building had to be somewhere in the city section of Arkham City. They all walked down the dark city street. They kept alert in case they ran into any trouble. Twilight couldn’t stop thinking about Batman and Strange. What did he want? What did Protocol 10 have to do with anything? What was Protocol 10? She hoped that Batman had figured it out while he was off retrieving Ra’s blood. They had no idea where to even start looking. They could find their way to the theatre and the museum, but that’s about it. The only way they made it to the church in the first place was through sheer luck. Twilight was panicking too much to stop and take mental notes on where things were. She wished Rainbow Dash was with them. An aerial view would help them out immensely. “Any idea where we’re goin’ sugarcube?” Applejack asked. “The old police building. Problem is, I have no idea where it is.” Twilight replied. “Perhaps we should check by the main entrance.” Rarity suggested. “Hmm, maybe.” Twilight mused. It was a good a chance as any. They continued walking down the street. They passed a large courthouse on their right. It looked like one half of it was destroyed while the other half looked pristine. A few inmates were gathered out in front of it wearing dual colored outfits. The left side of them was dark while the other side was white. They turned left and made their way down the next street. They didn’t want to get into a skirmish right now, they had a building to look for. Continuing down the street, they noticed a bright sign that read “Ace Chemicals.” Twilight mentally made it a landmark and walked toward it. The trio said nothing as they traveled. They didn’t have anything to say, and they didn’t want to bring any more attention to themselves than need be. They passed a few inmates along the way who gave them strange looks or spewed profanity at them, but other than that they gave them no trouble. They were all grateful for that. They entered an alleyway at the base of the chemical building and turned right, only to meet a dead end. They all sighed with exasperation and turned around. “Where in the world is the main entrance?” Rarity asked loudly. “One would think something like that would be relatively easy to find.” “Don’t worry, Rarity. Ah’m sure it’ll pop up eventually.” Applejack assured. “I know, but still. It would be nice for some sort of directions or something.” Rarity said. She didn’t know anything about this city. The moment she was incarcerated, she was knocked out cold and kidnapped by Cobblepot. She had followed Twilight back to the church after her rescue, but even she couldn’t tell where to go. This part of the city was like a maze to her. They made their way back to the main street and continued left. They passed another large street and decided to take it. Twilight recognized the large Gotham Hotel from earlier and thought they were on the right track. They continued down the familiar street, hoping for something that would lead them in the right direction. To their left, they heard Strange’s voice echo over the city. They all stopped what they were doing and listened. “Citizens of Arkham. As I speak, there is a new inmate entering my facility…” --- “…The more nostalgic among you will recognize him as Quincy Sharp, Mayor of Gotham and failed warden of Old Arkham Asylum. Please provide him with the welcome he deserves.” Pinkie stopped listening and ran after Batman. He sprinted through the entrance to the old subway station at full speed. Oracle’s voice buzzed through the radio. “That doesn’t sound good, does it?” “No it doesn’t.” Batman replied. They quickly turned around and ran toward the entrance to Arkham City. “I don’t get it. Why would Strange arrange for the Mayor to be sent there? Scrub that. How the hell did Strange even manage to have the Mayor arrested?” Oracle asked. “I don’t know, Barbara. But I am going to find out.” Batman replied. Batman vaulted over the fence that separated them between the entrance to the prison. Pinkie tried to keep up as best as she could, but she couldn’t stay right with him. “Head to the entrance but stay hidden!” Batman ordered before he shot into the air and out of sight. “Wait!” Pinkie called, but he was gone. She climbed up and over the fence and followed in the same direction Batman had taken off in. She ran through the dark alleyway, turning left and right until she encountered another fence. She climbed over it and fell to the ground on the other side. Just when she was about to run, she stopped. To her right was the entrance to Arkham City. It was completely devoid of life except for five inmates all beating up an old man on the ground. They all had guns and were all kicking him, swearing at him, and spitting him. The old man was screaming and begging for mercy. Pinkie wanted to help him, but Batman ordered her to stay hidden right where she was. She didn’t want to be noticed and shot, but she also didn’t like just sitting here and waiting for the old man to die. A large cloud of smoke engulfed the group of inmates and they started firing in all directions. Pinkie smiled as she waited for Batman to clean up the mess. She couldn’t see anything in the cloud of smoke, but she could hear screaming and punching. A familiar voice caught her off guard. “Pinkie Pie?! What are you doing here?!”+ She whipped her head to her left and saw Twilight, Rarity and Applejack standing behind a fence in the alleyway. “Twilight! Rarity! Applejack!” Pinkie exclaimed. She ran toward her friends while Twilight teleported the three of them on the other side of the fence. They all embraced eachother and began to slightly cry. “We thought we’d never see you again!” Rarity said. “What are you doing here?” Pinkie asked. “We heard Mr. Strange say somethin’ about the Mayor being thrown in here and we followed his voice! We were lookin’ for the police building so we could find Mr. Freeze and Fluttershy!” Applejack explained. “Once we find it, we’ll all be together again!” Twilight exclaimed happily. Pinkie released the hug. “Wait a minute, Twilight! Something terrible happened to Rainbow Dash!” Their smiled faded immediately and they waited for Pinkie to explain. “After I went to find food for Fluttershy, the highway exploded! The only place I could go was the Steel Mill where Joker was! We got along after we talked for a little bit, but then I ran into Rainbow and Batman! They said they were chasing a ninja to find a guy named Ra’s Al Ghul so they could get his blood for Joker’s cure! I followed them and we eventually made it to his secret base, but something was wrong with Batman and Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie took a deep breath and continued, more slowly this time. “Rainbow said that she had broken her wing and fell into some really cold water in a museum and you used your magic to heal her, Twilight.” Twilight nodded. “I did heal her! She would’ve died if I hadn’t!” Pinkie bit her lip and continued. “Well, something went wrong with your magic.” Twilight blinked. “What?” “It was starting to wear off. Whatever you did, it suddenly stopped working.” Pinkie gulped. She could sense Twilight’s surprise and shock as she stared her down. “Rainbow’s wing gave out and she started feeling extremely cold again. She held on as best she could, but…” Pinkie couldn’t continue. Her eyes were watering so much that she couldn’t speak. Twilight, Rarity, and Applejack’s eyes were also watering as they hung onto the last part of Pinkie’s story. “What happened?” Rarity asked. Pinkie’s hair deflated completely as she opened her eyes. “Don’t react immediately, okay? Let me finish every single detail before you say anything.” They all blankly nodded, but Pinkie could tell that they already knew what she was going to say. “Rainbow… died.” All three ponies’ eyes widened in shock and disbelief. Rarity put her hoof to her mouth and began to cry. Twilight also began to cry and Applejack simply stood there with tears rolling down her cheeks. “Oh Pinkie, these kind of jokes are too low…” Applejack said slowly. “I’m not joking, AJ.” Pinkie said as she continued to cry. She gulped and continued. “But, we continued on. I carried Rainbow’s body on my back as we followed the ninja to the secret lair. They made us take these trials and become members of their League of Assassins. Batman said it was the only way to meet Ra’s. This woman saw Rainbow and she told me that there was a way to bring her back.” Applejack blinked. “Are you serious?” Pinkie nodded. “Yes. Ra’s Al Ghul is over 600 years old and its because he keeps bathing in this stuff he found called ‘Lazarus’. The woman said that she could use it to bring Rainbow back from the dead. It worked.” Twilight smiled slightly. “R-Really? She came back to life?” Pinkie nodded solemnly. “Don’t celebrate yet though. The woman said a side effect of using the Lazarus Pit is that it makes the person who uses it insane for a little bit.” “Insane?” Rarity asked. Pinkie nodded again. “She kept screaming about how it was Twilights fault that she was in here.” Pinkie said. “She escaped and flew up to the surface in search of you. She wants to kill you.” She said to Twilight. Twilight gulped. “She wants to kill me?” “Yes.” Pinkie clarified. “We had to tell you before we did anything else.” Twilight exhaled. This was huge. Her best friend died and came back only to become insane and totally focused on killing her. Not only did she have that to worry about, she also still needed to find out about what Strange had planned. The only way she could even try to figure that out is if she asked the person who was in charge. From what Strange had said, that very person was now incarcerated in Arkham City with them. Twilight turned her attention to the brawl in front of the main door. Batman was just about to take down one last inmate. It had taken him longer than usual, most likely due to their rifles. All four ponies ran toward Batman just as he kneed the inmate in the gut and took him down. As they approached, Batman glanced at all them before turning his attention to the bruised old man on the ground. He was a short, fat, bald man who looked incredibly angry as Batman approached him. “This is all your fault.” He growled. Batman grabbed him and yanked him up to his feet. He turned him around, grabbed his back, and grappled up to a rooftop. Twilight followed where he was going and concentrated her magic to teleport herself up to where they were. In a flash, she was gone. --- “No! Please, no!” Mayor Sharp pled. “I want to know all about Strange, and how you’re tied into all this!” Batman demanded. Batman was holding Sharp by his ankle and was dangling him upside-down off the edge of the building. Twilight stood right next to him and stared daggers into his eyes with unbridled fury. “I’ll tell you everything! Strange came to me back at the asylum. He told me he had friends, powerful friends. The sort of people who could make things happen! All I had to do was turn a blind eye to his experiments, and work on my campaign. He said his friends would ensure that I won!” Sharp explained shakily. “Who are they?” Batman growled. He shook the Mayor violently over the edge, causing him to panic once again. “NO!” He screamed before Batman held still again. “I have no idea! I never met them! They funded everything money was no problem! All I had to do was set up Arkham City and put Strange in charge! It made perfect sense! The scum of Gotham needed to be punished! It would be my legacy!” Twilight looked up at Batman. He glanced at her a moment and looked back at the Mayor. “Strange has been removing anyone with evidence against him and sending them into Arkham City.” Batman lifted Sharp up and threw him back against the wall behind him. “Enjoy your legacy.” Mayor Sharp slid along the wet rooftop until he stopped at the base of a wall. Twilight glared after him. “What do we do now?” She asked Batman. “We need to find out who Strange is working with. It isn’t the Joker, its someone with money, someone with power.” Batman said. “I know about Rainbow. We’ll need your help if she shows up as dangerous as Pinkie says. We’ll need to bring her back to our way of thinking and go get Strange.” Twilight said. “I don’t need your help against Strange. I can work alone.” Batman said, turning around. “Need I remind you that Strange also says he has the Elements of Harmony; our Elements of Harmony. He told us he would use them for Protocol 10 somehow.” Twilight said. “Neither you or we know what that is, but if he’s using the Elements’ power, then whether you like it or not, we’re going with you to get what’s ours. Our home’s survival is on the line.” Batman paused for a long moment where he was. Twilight knew she had him right where she wanted him. He glared at her. “What are you?” He asked. “Only one of the smartest unicorns Equestria has ever known.” Twilight replied. Batman studied her for a moment longer. “Come on. Lets get back to your friends.” She grinned and Batman leapt off the edge. She walked over to the edge and looked down to the three ponies all looking up at them. She closed her eyes and teleported down to them. A second later, Batman glided down and landed behind her. The radio in Pinkie’s bag buzzed to life. “Bruce, I’m seeing massive spikes in your suits biometric analyzer. Your health, it… it doesn’t look good.” “I just had a chat with our old friend, Quincy Sharp. He confirmed that Strange is working with someone else. We’re going to find out who.” Pinkie and Twilight felt a sense of pride when they noticed that he said ‘we’ instead of ‘I’. “What are you talking about? You need to get that blood to Freeze now.” “I will.” Batman replied. “I just need to-” “No you don’t.” Oracle interrupted. “You need to go back to the GCPD. Please, Bruce. For me?” Batman took a deep breath. All four ponies were looking at him and waiting for him to say the word on what to do next. “So, you’re really Bruce Wayne?” Rarity asked. Batman glared at her, causing her to look uneasy for a moment. “I figured it out.” Twilight said. “How?” Batman demanded. Applejack stepped forward. “Well, Twi rescued me from one of Riddler’s traps and we found an outline of two people behind a theatre with a note from Strange to Bruce Wayne. Ah reckon she figured it out based on that, somehow.” She said. “Twilight’s always been a brighter bulb than the rest of us.” Twilight blushed and smiled. “Don’t worry, we wont tell a single soul.” She confirmed. Batman looked at all of them again before taking another deep breath. “Come on. Lets get to the GCPD building. Freeze is waiting there with your other friend Fluttershy.” They all nodded and took off down the nearest street after Batman. --- As they sprinted down the street, Twilight was sure to keep her eyes on the skies. After Pinkie told her that Rainbow went insane and wanted to kill her, she began thinking to herself about her magic. Why would it wear off? It didn’t make any sense. She got the spell straight out of the most powerful book about magic ever written; not to mention that she was also the Element of Magic. There’s no way it could’ve worn off. She didn’t doubt her skills, so something must’ve triggered it. The only thing she needed to find out was what it was. They rounded a corner and continued down the street. Batman was leading them back toward the church. They all kept up with him every step of the way. They needed to get back to Freeze and Fluttershy with Ra’s blood so they could finally get this whole thing behind them and focus on Strange. “Uh oh! I feel my Pinkie-sense coming up with something!” Pinkie said as she started twitching. Everypony stopped running. “Batman wait!” Applejack called. He stopped running too. “What is it?” “Her Pinkie-sense is a tinglin’.” Applejack said. Batman blinked. “Explain.” “We don’t know how or why, but Pinkie occasionally gets these twitches in certain parts of her body that predicts the future.” Twilight explained. “The only problem is that most of the time, we don’t know what’s going to happen. All we know is that something is definitely going to happen.” Rarity added. “My knee is feeling pinchy! Something scary is going to happen!” Pinkie said with worry. They all turned around and faced every direction as they waited for whatever was scary to happen like Pinkie predicted. Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie all faced a different direction and stood ready for battle. For a few moments, nothing happened. Batman rolled his eyes. “We’re wasting time. I’m scarier than anything else we’ll find here.” “No, no. Something scary is definitely going to happen.” Twilight mused. “But where?” “Right… HERE!!” A voice screamed from the sky. Twilight turned to face the source, but whatever it was hit her square in the face and carried her into the nearby alley. “Come on!” Rarity called. The four that remained took off after Twilight and her assailant. Twilight was on the ground and screaming for help as a deranged figure began to attack her mercilessly. “Help! Get her off of me!” Twilight yelled. When the rest of them figured out who it was, Rarity and Pinkie gasped. Applejack stood there in shock. Rainbow Dash looked at them all with furious bloodshot eyes for a split-second before continuing her assault on Twilight. “YOUR FAULT! YOUR FAULT! YOUR FAULT! YOUR FAULT!” She snarled. Applejack ran to them. “Hang on, Twi! Ah’m comin’!” As Applejack got within reaching distance, Rainbow immediately grabbed Applejacks mane in her mouth and flung her over to Pinkie and Rarity. The cowpony screamed and slammed into her friends. Applejack’s back hoof hit Batman in the arm and he took a step back from the impact. After she threw Applejack, she flew up and around and landed on Twilight, before continuing her uncontrollable assault. Twilight tried to recover, but she couldn’t in time. All she could do was shield her face with her hooves and scream for help. “I’LL KILL YOU! I’LL RIP YOUR HEART OUT OF YOUR PATHETIC BODY AND SMASH IT TO PIECES YOU LITTLE FOAL! YOU’RE MINE!!” Rainbow wailed. She brought her mouth down on Twilight’s hooves and bit her as hard as she could. Twilight screamed in pain and agony. Batman whipped out his electrical charge and aimed it at the insane pegasus. He fired a blast and it hit her on the back of the head. She flailed madly and fell off Twilight. Rarity and Pinkie ran to Twilight and helped her to her hooves while Applejack and Batman ran to Rainbow. “Come on, Twilight! Get up!” Pinkie begged. “Please, Twilight hurry!” Rarity added. Twilight sniffed and sobbed as she slowly got to her hooves. Her front leg was bleeding from Rainbow’s bite and her face was now covered in more bruises than the time she fell victim to the series of unfortunate events when she was investigating Pinkie’s Pinkie-sense. She limped away as fast as she could. Meanwhile, Applejack was wrestling with Rainbow as she tried to keep her on the ground. “Rainbow Dash, we are not your enemies! We’re your best friends! Ya’ll better snap out of it right now!” She grunted. Rainbow snarled and spat blood everywhere as she saw her prey get up and limp away. “Let…go…of…me…now!” She spread open her wings and bucked Applejack off her. Her hat flew off her head as she was thrown backwards. She landed on her back and looked up at the furious cyan pegasus as she approached. Applejack quickly got to her hooves and took a defensive stance. “Okay, sugarcube. You wanna dance? Lets dance!” Applejack growled. Rainbow snarled and charged at Applejack. Applejack quickly turned around and used all the strength she could muster as she bucked Rainbow in the snout as hard as she could. Rainbow flew backwards and screamed. She landed in a pile of garbage and looked back at Applejack as she approached. Rainbow started giggling sadistically through her bleeding mouth. Tears were flowing down her eyes as she giggled and snarled at the angry cowpony. “heheh… HA…heheh…he…help….m…m…mee…” Rainbow stammered. Applejack’s eyes widened. “What?!” She demanded. Rainbow began laughing again and took off at Applejack. She tackled her to the ground and tried biting her. She bit her ear and Applejack screamed in pain. Rainbow snarled and tried to bite her face, but Applejack held her far enough away. She was a lot stronger than Twilight, physically. She would be able to hold her long enough. Applejack felt the warm liquid drip down the back of her head from her ear and into her mane. Rainbow grinned madly and continued gnashing at Applejack. Applejack looked up to Batman as he whipped out a Batarang and waited for a clear shot. Applejack shoved Rainbow away and brought her hind legs up to her chest. When Rainbow came back down, she bucked her in the chest as hard as she could into the air. Batman threw his Batarang and it hit Rainbow in the head. She grunted and went down to the ground. Applejack breathed heavily and stood back up. Rainbow was wheezing and writhing on the ground beside her. Applejack had knocked the wind out of her. The insane pegasus was gasping for air. Batman stormed over to her and grabbed the back of her head. He slammed it on the ground as hard as he could and Rainbow’s body went limp. Applejack tried to catch her breath as she looked at Rainbow. Batman got to his feet and went to Applejack. “Are you alright?” He asked. She inhaled. “Ah think so.” She weakly replied. “Go… Go check on Twilight. Ah’ll stay here and… and watch her.” Batman nodded and ran back down the alleyway. Applejack sniffed and examined her injury on her leg. Rainbow bit a chunk clean out of her. She was worried about how bad her ear was. She didn’t want to see what it looked like. She limped over to Rainbow and turned her over. Sure enough, she was unconscious and breathing evenly. Applejack took a deep breath and lifted Rainbow’s eye open. Like before, her pupils were pinpricks and the whites around her eyes were bloodshot. She didn’t know how to feel. She knew it wasn’t Rainbow’s fault that she was like this, but it was Rainbow that did this to her. She wanted to hate Rainbow, but she knew that was wrong. She needed to blame someone, anyone. It wasn’t her fault, it wasn’t Rainbow’s fault, it wasn’t Twilight’s fault, but she still had to find someone to take it out on. Rainbow started moving again. Applejack jumped back, ready for anything. Rainbow slowly tried to get to her hooves, but Applejack changed her mind and slammed her hoof on Rainbow’s, holding her down. Rainbow winced and cried out in pain. “Sorry, sugarcube. You’re just gonna have to wait a sec.” Applejack snapped. Rainbow tried to wiggle free, but she was too weak and Applejack’s grip held firm Rainbow stopped wiggling and held still a moment. She used her other hoof to smack Applejack’s injured leg as hard as she could. Applejack cried out in pain and released Rainbow. Rainbow shot up and bucked Applejack away. Applejack landed on her back again and looked up at Rainbow. She was closing in again with a sadistic half-grin on her face. “I’ll kill you… Then, I’ll kill anyone and anypony that stands between me and Twilight… You, though… I’ll kill you slowly…” Just before Rainbow pounced, her grin went away and she shut her eyes tight. “No you wont… I… wont… let… you…. kill…. anyone!” Rainbow grunted and threw her head back and forth. She tried to pounce forward on Applejack, but something was stopping her. Almost like an invisible wall. “My… friends… wont… die! I wont… let you k-kill them!” Rainbow grunted to herself. “Y-Yes… I… will!” She growled with a grin. Applejack backed away slowly. Rainbow Dash was still in there, the real Rainbow Dash, and she was taking back control of herself. She stood up on her hind legs and grabbed her mane. “GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!” She screamed. Applejack heard steps coming from the alleyway. She turned and saw Batman holding Twilight, her horn glowing brightly. Rainbow also saw them and got to the ground. She snarled and charged at them as fast as she could. “DO IT, TWILIGHT! NOW!” Twilight obeyed Rainbow’s command and blasted her with magic. Rainbow flew back against the wall and held still. She tried to get free again, but Twilight’s magic held. Batman set her down and she limped over to Rainbow, who looked at her with anger and hatred. “Come back to us, Rainbow!” Twilight said as she lowered Rainbow to her level and touched her horn to her head. Rainbow’s eyes widened and she stopped moving. Applejack knew what Twilight was doing. She smiled and got to her hooves. Just like when Rainbow was corrupted by Discord and abandoned her friends, Twilight used the same memory spell on her and drove the insane Rainbow Dash out of her mind for good. Rainbow groaned and fell unconscious. --- Blood. That’s all she was thinking about. Blood. Revenge. Revenge against Twilight for something she knew was out of her control. She had been out of control. The Lazarus had done something else to her other than bring her back to life. Rainbow slowly opened her eyes at the five faces staring down at her. “T… Twilight?” She asked. Twilight got closer to her. “Rainbow Dash?” She asked. “Are you alright?” Rainbow grunted weakly before she started to openly sob. “No…” She brought her hooves up to her eyes and started crying uncontrollably. “I’m so sorry Twilight! I couldn’t stop myself!” Rainbow felt Twilight wrap her in a hug. “Its okay, Rainbow.” She sniffed. “It wasn’t your fault.” Rainbow returned the hug and cried into Twilight’s mane. “It isn’t your fault either, Twilight.” Rainbow opened her eyes and saw Applejack standing there behind her with a small grin. She released Twilight and wrapped her hooves around Applejack in a tight hug as well. “AJ, I’m so sorry I hurt you! Please forgive me!” Applejack returned the hug. “‘Course Ah forgive ya, Rainbow. Ah knew you had no control over what you were doin’. So don’t you worry, we’re still the best of friends.” Rainbow made her apologies and gave hugs to everypony. Pinkie Pie was especially happy to see her alive and well again. She almost flooded the alleyway with her tears of joy. Batman reminded them about Freeze and Fluttershy. Twilight used the same spell in the book to fix Rainbow’s broken nose, Applejack’s ear and leg, and her own bruises and leg. They all got up to their hooves and followed Batman down the street. He walked and took it slowly this time while Rainbow repeated her apologies and recalled what she felt. She could see herself doing and saying all those things, but she couldn’t stop herself from doing or saying them. It was like a bad dream. She wanted to stop more than anything, but her insane persona was too strong. Luckily, she didn’t give up. Applejack said that she had whispered ‘help me’ to her right before Twilight used her memory spell. “The insane side effects of Lazarus are only temporary, but the person affected is forever damaged in one way or another.” Batman explained. Rainbow looked worried. “I’m still messed up?” She asked. “I don’t know. I’ve never worked with magic before. If you feel like your old self again, then I’d say you’re fine.” Batman replied. Rainbow looked to the ground. “I think I feel like my old self again.” They continued past the church and onto the broken freeway. Pinkie looked over to the makeshift sanctuary beneath the overpass. “You’re sure that Fluttershy is safe with Mr. Freeze?” She asked. “Positive.” Twilight replied. “Freeze and Fluttershy share a special bond with each other. He would never let anything bad happen to her.” “He says its because her kindness and innocence reminds him of his wife, Nora. He told me that even with his relentless search of a cure for her, he could never hurt her. Its so sweet.” Rarity added. Applejack rolled her eyes. “Yeah, it’s a nice story and all, but why is such a great guy like Freeze even in here for?” Rarity paused for a moment at Applejack’s question. “Well…” “He doesn’t let anything, not even the law stand between him and his wife.” Batman said. “He robbed and stole lots of equipment and money so he could try and find a cure for her. He also hurt a lot of people in the process.” “Unfortunately, most people don’t agree with him when it comes to what to do.” Twilight said. “Oh…” Pinkie said. “Well, he doesn’t seem like a bad guy, it sounds like he just made a few bad decisions.” “Right.” Twilight and Rarity said. They got to the edge of the collapsed freeway and looked around. The only way they could all get to the other side in one trip is if they flew. Rainbow was feeling much better now and offered to carry somepony on her back. Batman could carry two ponies without losing control of his flight patterns. Pinkie decided to go with Rainbow, Rarity and Applejack would go with Batman, and Twilight would teleport rooftop to rooftop on the buildings beside where the highway had been. Before they took off, Pinkie gave Rainbow’s saddlebags back to her and Twilight gave Pinkie hers. Now finally, everypony had matching black saddlebags with their cutie marks as the buckle on either side. Pinkie climbed on Rainbow’s back and took off. Rarity and Applejack held onto Batman’s waist while he grappled up into the air off the highest rooftop. Twilight took a running start and teleported to the nearest rooftop. As they flew in the air, the radio in Rainbow’s bag buzzed to life. Joker’s voice came from the other side. “Ring, ring! What are you doing, Bats? I thought we were friends, working together and all that! You know, from where I’m lying, desperately clutching at what’s left of my life, it seems like you betrayed me and started working with the walking with the walking icebox! Well, two can play at that game. Try and get back to that double-crossing snowman in the GCPD without my guys blowing your pointy head off! I double dare you…” Pinkie gulped nervously. Rainbow did too. They thought it best to prepare for a fight when they landed. --- Eventually, they made it to the building directly in front of the GCPD. They all crouched and listened to the clown thugs talk amongst themselves as they tried to get inside. “What’s stopping it?” “I don’t know! It keeps freezing back up!” “Its Freeze, he’s doing something. You got a backup plan? How’re we gonna get in?” “We’re not.” “I’ll tell Harley you said that.” “What?” “You heard, Quinn’s on her way over. She sounded real pissed, I don’t think Joker’s holding up too well. She’s coming over to hurry us up. When she asks what’s stopping Joker from getting his cure, I’m pointing at you.” Rainbow’s expression hardened. She didn’t like that woman one bit. They needed to hurry and get the cure before she got here. She squinted her eyes at the group of people trying to bang down the door. Two of them had armor, two had shields, and another had a shock baton. This should’ve been a challenge. It was six against seven, but they had Batman on their side. The thugs didn’t stand a chance. “Come on.” Batman said. He leapt off the building and glided over to them. Rainbow and Pinkie flew after him, Rarity and Twilight teleported to the ground, and Applejack leapt down from ledge to ledge until she landed on the ground. Once they were all together, Batman threw a Batarang at the nearest thug and he fell to the ground. “It’s the Bat and his pets!” All six of them charged at the thugs. Batman knocked out the grounded thug and threw another Batarang at another thug. Twilight forced an armored thug into the wall while Applejack bucked the other one as hard as she could. Pinkie distracted another thug while Rarity levitated his shock baton out of his hand and electrocuted him with it. Rainbow crashed into the last thug’s head and took him down. The fight was over in ten seconds flat. They shook themselves off and approached the door. Like the thugs said, the door was frozen shut. Applejack kicked it hard to try and break the ice, but it froze back up immediately. “How in the hay are we supposed to get inside?” Applejack exclaimed. Batman examined the door. “Hang on.” He backed up and pulled out his electrical charge. He aimed it at the generator above the door and shot. The door whirred to life and opened just a crack. Batman ran and slid underneath it. Everypony else did also. On the other side, directly in front of them was the entrance to the parking garage. To their left was the main entrance to the building itself. Batman entered the building, while everypony started to follow. “Okay. Ya’ll go in, get Fluttershy and the cure. Ah’ll stay out here and keep watch.” Applejack said. Everypony looked back at her. “You sure, AJ?” Twilight asked. Applejack winked. “Sure thing, Twi. Anything comes this way, Ah’ll holler at ya.” They all looked at each other again. “Well if you say so, darling. Please be careful though, alright?” Applejack nodded. “You got it.” With that said, Pinkie, Twilight, Rainbow, and Rarity all followed Batman into the GCPD, leaving Applejack alone. --- A few minutes passed. Applejack sat there and looked back and forth for any movement. She hoped nothing would come this way and that Joker’s thugs were just bluffing about Harley Quinn. Now that she was alone, she had time to think to herself. She wondered what was going on back home. Twilight said that Equestria was dying somehow and that if the Elements of Harmony did not return, everypony back home would perish. She couldn’t bear the thought of that happening. There was just too many ponies back home that she missed: Big Macintosh, Applebloom, Granny Smith, and every other member of her family. Losing them would make her life pointless. She started thinking about Equestria when her stomach started growling. She realized that she hadn’t eaten anything in a few hours. She was starving. She hoped that everypony got back out here soon. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something. She turned her head and saw a bright red apple floating in the air. Her mouth started watering and her eyes went wide. She swallowed her saliva and took a few steps toward the shiny apple. It looked bigger and juicer than any other apple she had ever seen on her farm. Even Zap-apples didn’t look as good as this one did. She stopped right in front of it and took it in her hooves. “Oh boy!” She said, licking her lips. “Ah’m so gonna enjoy this!” She bit into the apple. Her mouth exploded with flavor. She shut her eyes and savored every bite of the delicious apple. She chewed and swallowed. For the first time since she got here, she was finally happy. She didn’t have a single care in the world. She opened her eyes and looked back at the apple. It was starting to fade in and out of her vision. She squinted her eyes and looked around. The rest of the world also faded and seemed to move in slow motion. “Whut uhn turnashun?” She slurred She rocked back and forth as darkness suddenly took over her vision. She dropped the apple and fell to her side. She took one last breath, shut her eyes, and fell into unconsciousness. --- They entered the GCPD building and shut the door. The cold air hit them immediately. Everypony grabbed themselves and huddled close to each other as they tried to keep warm. Rainbow couldn’t stay airborne it was so cold. Batman walked out the door. On the walls around him were posters of wanted criminals, news bulletins, and other important documents that the police department may have used. Everypony followed Batman as he turned left and walked down the hall. They heard Freeze in the main room. “This is futile. How can this ‘Ra’s Al Ghul’ hold the secret to the clowns cure?” He said to himself. They turned right and walked into the main room after Batman. This room was very large. Icicles hung from the ceiling and ice covered the floor making it shine brightly. Many instruments that the GCPD may have used for forensics were all over this room. A small staircase was right in front of them. Batman walked down the steps and approached a hard working Mr. Freeze at his computer terminal. He pressed and clicked the keyboard a few times before turning around to face Batman and the ponies. “Impressive, Batman. I doubted you would actually return.” He said. Batman placed the vial of Ra’s blood on the desk. “I’m a man of my word, Victor. You should know that by now.” Freeze gave him a neutral look and took the vial of blood. He walked back to his computer and inserted the vial into a machine. It sank inside and Freeze began typing on the computer again. Rarity looked around by his desk. Fluttershy was nowhere to be found. “Victor, where’s Fluttershy?” She asked. Freeze stopped working and looked at her. “She didn’t find you?” “No.” Rarity said slowly. “What happened to her?” Freeze looked around the room as if he was thinking. “I don’t know.” He said before returning to his work. Rarity blinked with surprise. “What do you mean ‘you don’t know’?” “In front of the church, we encountered a group of inmates. After I took care of them, Fluttershy was nowhere to be found.” Freeze stated. “I assumed she went inside to find you.” Rarity and the other ponies looked shocked. Why did he just leave without checking to see if Fluttershy was okay? He pressed a button and the machine produced two vials of a blue liquid. Freeze walked over to the safe on the wall and placed one vial inside. He brought the other out and closed the safe behind him. “The formula is complete.” He said, pressing a few buttons on his gauntlet, locking the safe behind him. “The bonding process appears to have been successful.” He looked at Batman with a slight smirk. “How are you feeling? You look unwell.” Batman held out his hand. “Give it to me.” He ordered. “I’m afraid I cannot do that, Batman. You have given me your last order!” He lifted the vial and broke it between his fingers. Rarity cautiously stepped back and glared at him. Pinkie and Twilight covered their mouths while Rainbow took a defensive stance. Batman also glared at Freeze. “This is not a time for negotiation.” He said. “I think it is. The Clown has my wife. Bring her back to me.” Freeze said. Batman looked at the safe and stormed over to it. Freeze brought his ice gun up and shot the safe. Batman covered his face and flew back from the blast. Rainbow instinctively charged at Freeze. Freeze simply shot and froze Rainbow where she was. She screamed as the ice covered every inch of her body until it reached her neck. Her face was frozen so her expression of terror and anger was stuck there. Batman slid on the ground and looked up to Freeze. “You don’t want to do this, Freeze.” He warned. Freeze’s suit began to whir to life. “Oh, I believe I do.” He said. His suit’s lights began to light up and his defenses came online. Freeze slowly walked toward them. His visor came up to cover his head, distorting his voice. “You will bring me Nora, or you. Will. Die!” His goggles glowed red as he locked onto his target. He pointed his gun at Batman and fired. “Run!” He yelled as he dove out of the way. Rarity also dove out of the way to her left. Pinkie tried to get out of the way of the blast, but it hit her. She started to freeze from her flanks all over her body. Unfortunately, she was grabbing Twilight as hard as she could and it froze her too. Rarity recovered and dove up the stairs they came in from. Batman landed right next to her. They both looked up to see Freeze kick the frozen Rainbow Dash out of his way before he started storming toward them. “You are in my world now, Batman.”