Terrified screams and choking sobs echoed through the night air. Chaos had descended, and people ran desperately in an attempt to put themselves as far as possible from the destruction currently being waged upon Ponyville. The police vainly tried to assert control over the situation, but to no avail. The Ursa Major was on a rampage, and nobody knew how to stop it.
Flames consumed the houses of two Ponyville residents, their homes being erased within moments as the greedy blaze consumed everything it touched. The owners of the houses had -thankfully- long since been evacuated by the Element of Loyalty, her blazing fast speed making the flames look cool. In moments, however, the air was thick with smoke and flickering embers, casting an evil orange glow upon the town square.
All across the village the people cried for help, for someone to save them in their darkest hour. Ungodly roars deafened the terrified residents as they faced the prospect of death by giant astral ursine. Mothers hugged their children closely as they fled, and all across the town there was one question on everyone's mind; where was Nightwing?
The answer was simple: in grave danger.
"Trixie..." Nightwing spat a mouthful of blood onto the dirt, and dropped to his knees gasping for breath. His suit had been breached in multiple areas, and a large gash had opened up his side. Blood oozed out through the armoured fingers that were applying pressure on the wound, desperately attempted to keep Richard's organs inside of his body. One of the optical ports in his mask had cracked, the omnipresent white glow in it had faded, leaving just flickering lights that occasionally revealed Dick's blue eye. "Trixie... please... these people will die... I need to save them..."
Trixie smiled cruelly and slapped him viciously across the face, sending the defeated young man sprawling to the ground behind the Golden Oaks Library. The young witch's heart began beating faster in her chest. Soon, Nightwing would be dead, and she would be rich.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie cares not for this pathetic town! Trixie is only concerned about the bits and fame that your assassination will bring her! But by all means, continue to beg for mercy. Trixie had hoped that the great Nightwing," she sneered as she spat out his name, and raised her a glowing hand, "could prove himself worthy to face Trixie in combat. You hardly put up much of a fight, however. Such a shame. Trixie was so looking forward to having a worthy opponent."
There was a sudden flash as a bolt of purple energy streaked through the air and connected with Trixie's arm, sending her flying off of her feet and careening into the grass fifteen feet back. "Why don't I have a turn, then?" Twilight Sparkle stood in the back doorway of the library, her horn and hands glowing with raw magical energy. "Nightwing, can you stand!?"
"Yeah..." Richard stumbled to his feet, gasping in pain. The grass he had been sprawled upon was dyed crimson with the blood that had seeped out of his body, and shone in the moonlight with an evil glint. He lifted his hand slightly off of his mortal injury, and grimaced as he realized just how dire his situation was.
Refusing to surrender his brain's signals to just give up and go to sleep, Nightwing reached down and ejected a small disk from his almost completely depleted utility belt. He fumbled with if for a moment before tapping its center with a shaking thumb. The disk expanded to five inches across, and began to glow a bright, cherry red, warmth radiating off of the super-heated bandage. Dick pressed the medical tool into the open wound in his side and gasped in pain as the device cauterized and sealed the gash. The black haired young man left the device attached to himself and took a few shaky steps backwards to be beside Twilight Sparkle.
"You -AUGH!- shouldn't have done that... she was only after me, she'll be after you now, too."
"Nightwing..." The purple haired girl's voice was fraught with an air of hopelessness. "The Ursa Major, it's out of control. It's free again, we need to stop it before-" Twilight's voice cracked, and her tears of desperation began to well in her violet eyes. "I just... I don't know what to do..."
Nightwing grimaced. If these were indeed his last moments... If he was going to be reunited with his mother and father... he was going to spend them saving Ponyville. No matter the cost. "If we both go after the Ursa, we'll just have a repeat of last time, and I won't survive another hit like that. Get inside the library, and do some research on possible weaknesses. I'll keep Trixie busy for... ungh... as long as possible." Richard's shoulders were slumped, and his breathing came in ragged gasps.
Another scream echoed through the night, this one of pure rage. A powder blue glow appeared in the distance, and Trixie levitated herself back into view, her silvery hair whipping wildly behind her as she called upon the full extent of her power. "You dare challenge the Great and Powerful Trixie to a duel of magic!? Foolish girl, I-"
"Twilight, go. Now." Dick stepped forward and cautiously watched as his oldest friend`s face contorted in rage. Her hands began to glow as well, and Richard considered his options. "Harmonizer broke when I fell, I'm out of razor-wings, Line Launcher was busted by the Ursa, and I'm out of wrist darts... Looks like it's just me and the escrima sticks."
"Okay... Be careful, Nightwing." Twilight's gaze took in the blood soaked armour of his right side, and realized the sacrifice that the man she was supposed to be arresting was making for her. Steeling herself, she turned and ran back into the library, slamming the door shut with a burst of magic before frantically searching for a book that would give her some sort of information that could give her the edge on an Ursa Major.
"Alright Trixie..." Nightwing panted, "Let's finish this." He drew his electrified sticks and briefly wondered if Trixie would regret her actions once she found out that she had killed her childhood friend.
"With pleasure," She growled, her whole body trembling with magical energy. She raised her hand and began charging one, final magic bomb. This time, Nightwing wouldn't be getting back up.
Two days earlier...
"Spike, we're-"
"SURPRISE!!!"
Richard Grayson and Spike had (after writing Twilight to confirm that she was indeed going to be home with the girls for supper) prepared a feast of Goliath proportions. Spaghetti and tomato sauce, rolls fresh out of the oven, caeser salad, risotto that Richard had perfected during his travels in Neightaly, steaks, and an apple pie for dessert. The two young men had lavished all of their impressive culinary skills on the meal, and the delightful smells that enveloped the library were enough to make even the most picky eater shut up and chow down.
"Wha... holy cow, boys, I didn't even know that much food could fit on our table..." Twilight's jaw had dropped in awe, and the rest of the girls breathed in deeply as they entered the library in apprecation of the spread that the two young gentlemen had made for them.
"Did you both do all of this?" Rainbow Dash asked, eyeing the steak hungrily.
"Ya, Dick and I tagged out making different dishes," Spike replied, puffing his chest out proudly.
Finally coming back to her senses, Twilight finally realized she was in the presence of her old partner, someone whom she hadn't had a chance to talk to for ten years. For a moment, the two just stared at each other awkwardly, Twilight trying to match the looks of the man in front of her to the shadowy silhouette that had been in Luna's tower the previous. Could he really be Nightwing? Could the handsome, smiling man in front of her moonlight as a masked vigilante who beats criminals to a pulp with his bear hands?
"Uhm... Do I have something on my face?" Dick asked nervously, noticing the magic user's piercing stare.
Realizing that she had been leering at him, Twilight blushed (earning a smug grin from Rarity, who completley misinterpreted Twilight's gaze), and quickly looked away. "N-no... I just uh..." Now everyone was beginning to make the same assumption that Rarity had, which only caused Twilight's blush to deepen. "It's nice to see you again." She offered sheepishly.
"Ya, it's nice to see you again too, Twilight. How's Shining Armor doing? Spike told me that he was admitted into the hospital."
"Oh, uhm... he's fine, thank you." There was another awkward silence. "Oh! Uh... these are my friends Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash. Oh, and Fluttershy. And I guess you already met Spike. And me too, but uh... ya." For a moment, the two just looked at each other, before Pinkie bounded up to him.
"Hi! My names Pinkie Pie, and it's really, really great to meet you! I felt so, so sad for you when Twilight told us that your parents died, and-"
"Pinkie." Applejack warned, knowing from experience how hurtful it could be to bring up someones dead mother and father.
The baker simply continued, oblivious to her even headed friends admonishments. "I just wanted you to know that if you ever wanted to come by and hang out I'd totally be willing to-"
"Pinkie."
"just listen if you wanted to talk about it because it's unhealthy to bottle up emotions inside of you and whatever and I just want everyone to smile all the time and be happy, so-"
"PINKIE!" Applejack barked, silencing the bouncing young woman, who quickly realized how inappropriate she was being.
"Ohmygosh, I'm so, so sorry, I just-"
"It's fine." Richard said, cutting her off. "My parents passed a very long time ago. I'm over it." It was a bold faced lie, of course. He would never be over it. Not for as long as Nightwing continued to exist.
Another awkward silence enveloped the room, and it was Spike who came to the rescue.
"Well, we might as well eat before everything gets cold!" Spike chuckled, and strode over to the table, pulling a chair out for Rarity, gesturing at it vaguely and flashing her what he hoped was a winning grin.
"My, thank you Spikey. Such a gentleman."
Dick smiled, the previous discomfort all but forgottem. "Spikey?" He mouthed at his young friend.
The enamoured dragon boy just returned the smile and shrugged, taking a seat next to Rarity. The rest of the group soon followed him to the table, and began to make some small talk over the meal.
A certain pale fashionista, however, was irritatingly interested in how well Richard Grayson and Twilight Sparkle matched up with each other. "So Dick -may I call you Dick?- tell me about yourself." Rarity noted with pleasure how Twilight's ears seemed to perk up at the question, only furthering her false notion that Celestia's pupil had a crush on the unfortunate ex-circus performer.
Richard shrugged and piled some food onto his plate, considering the question. "Uhm... Well, I spent two years as Celestia's student with Twilight, though you've probably already heard about that. Then I left and travelled the world, and uh... here I am."
"Where'd y'all head off to?" Applejack inquired, helping herself to one of the juicy steaks that Richard had grilled earlier.
"Hoof Kong, Neightaly (which is where I learned how to make the risotto, actually), and Japone... to name a few. I just was doing some odd jobs here and there to make ends meet."
"Oh, Twilight!" Rarity sparked up, "Weren't you saying earlier how much you'd simply love to visit Japone? Such a rich culture, no?"
The introverted librarian flashed her prying friend a glare and nodded. "Ya, I was." She said simply, not wishing to indulge the purple haired beauty any further.
"Well you simply must tell us about it! I won't take no for an answer!"
"Aw, give it a rest Rarity," Rainbow Dash interrupted. "Let the poor guy eat."
"Naw, it's fine. But I hear that you girls had some pretty fantastic adventures while I was gone! Sealing Nightmare Moon, and whatnot."
"Speaking of which!" Twilight Spoke up. "I saw you there. At the Summer Sun Celebration. How come you're only back now?"
Richard just smiled. "Well I was in town to buy a house, and then Nightmare Moon and Nightwing showed up, so I got the heck out of there. Besides, the house only free'd up yesterday, and I had some other stuff going on, so I kind of neglected to visit the town first."
"Ya, that was the first night that Nightwing was active, wasn't it?" Twilight continued, trying to subtly investigate her friend without giving it away. Unfortunately for her, she was trying to investigate the Worlds Greatest Detective, someone who had already pieced together that she suspected him of being Nightwing.
"Was it? I dunno. I skipped town after he shot her with his hook thingy." He admitted, forcing himself to blush a little. "I uh... I guess it kind of freaked me out."
"Oh, I was scared as well, Richard." Fluttershy offered. "Both of them were very intimidating."
"Ya, but Nightwing saved us," Applejack reasoned. "He gave us the time we needed to get the Elements of Harmony. As it was, Nightmare Moon was only able to spare fractions of her power to try an' intimidate us. If she jus' came after us herself, I don' think we woulda made it."
"And yet," Rainbow Dash answered sourly, "He attacked Twilight, AND Rarity, AND Celestia herself last night! Our friends! Not to mention he nearly beat Shining Armor to death! Tell me that's not a guy who's tryin' to play both sides of the coin!"
"Wait, what?" Spike asked, bewildered. "He attacked Rarity and Twilight, too?"
"He was actin' in self defence!" For some reason, the southern farmer was having a tough time believing that Nightwing, a man was willing to stand up for Equestria's downtrodden, would be able to commit atrocities in cold blood. "An' he even apologized!"
"Oh, well as long as he apologized," Rainbow hissed, "That makes it all better!"
"If you want my opinion," Dick interjected, earning the gazes of everyone at the table, "He's doing more harm than good with what he's trying to accomplish. If he keeps hammering the mob, attacking them over, and over, and over, they're going to lash out. They'll just start killing people -innocent people, like my mom and dad- until Nightwing unmasks or something. Who appointed the Nightwing? Who gave him permission to run around and try and police Equestria for us? How many people are going to die so he can fulfill whatever is in his agenda?"
The venom that Richard spoke with was startling. There was silence for a moment as everyone just stared at him, before Rainbow nodded. "What he said."
"But, what do I know? How're you enjoying the risotto, Fluttershy?"
Conversation after that gained a much more friendly tone as Dick's outburst was put behind them, and the black haired young man smiled inwardly. With any luck, that tirade would place him above suspicion in Twilight's eyes for now, and he could work on more permanent solutions to her mission later.
The night wore on, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Even Fluttershy wasn't having any difficulty opening up to the new resident of Ponyville. After a time, however, when everyone was stuffed with the delicacies that Spike and Richard had prepared, it was time for Dick to excuse himself. Nightwing had a date with Craghorn and his boss, Blue Blaze tonight. There would be a meet up in Canterlot's red light district, and he would be damned if he was going to miss such an important event.
After cleaning the dishes with Pinkie Pie (who still felt guilty about bringing up Richard's late parents), he made up some excuse about being tired after cooking all day and bid everyone farewell.
As the door clicked shut, Rarity's knowing grin returned and she stared at Twilight expectantly from across the living room. Her Cheshire cat grin did not go unnoticed by the studious young librarian, who finally gave in. "What!?"
She shrugged, though the smile never left her face. "Nothing."
Hiding her suspicions from her friends was going to be harder than she thought. Especially when they thought she had a crush on the person she was trying to investigate.
“I’m going with Celestia. She invited me to live in her castle until we catch the man who did this.”
Trixie levitated a glass of whiskey to her lips and read the rather meager file that Tony Zucco had provided her with. The contract was simple: Kill Nightwing, get fifty-million bits; a mere fraction of the huge bank account that the mobster had amassed over the years. Having the superhero six feet under was a near priceless asset, however, and Trixie knew that she was worth every cent.
Deciding to read the dossier for a fifth time, Trixie rubbed her eyes and added some oil to lamp she had lit in her wagon. Disguising her career as a contract killer with a magicians show had been a stroke of brilliance; in all of the years she had operated as an assassin in Equestria and Saddle Arabia, her disguise had never failed her. She came to town, put on a show, earned a reputable name for herself, then killed her target in the dead of night and left.
"Nightwing... Age unknown, place of birth unknown, secret identity unknown... Highly dangerous, incapacitated over one hundred armed members of the Equestrian Mob... Surprisingly, no casualties. Nightwing didn't kill. Even so, he would probably be too dangerous to face head on... Trixie will need to find out who the man behind the mask is, and strike there. But, that seems impossible... So the Great and Powerful Trixie will just need to set a trap. But what...?"
Trixie leant backwards in her chair and stared at the ceiling of her cramped wagon. "He operates out of Canterlot, it seems, and the police have grown bold under his protection. Trying to threaten the city now would be tantamount to turning myself in. I could try and feed him false information, but Zucco's tried that in the past, Nightwing had seen right through his lies..."
Trixie levitated a map out of her trunk and spread it out on the table in front of her. There, on the outskirts of Canterlot, was Ponyville. Trixie smiled. It was located right next to the Everfree Forest, where there were plenty of creatures who could be baited into attacking a poor, defenseless little town. Coupled with its close proximity to Canterlot, Nightwing would show up to try and stop the carnage. And when he did, Trixie would strike him down from the sidelines.
The best part was that Trixie would be able to peg it as an accident. She could see it now. "Oh dear, officer, Trixie is so sorry, but Trixie was merely trying to destroy the dragon that was attempting to attack the town, and Nightwing got in the way of Trixie's magic. Deeply regrettable.".
Of course, Dragons were smart, and they were rare. It would be very difficult to get one to do her bidding. Perhaps something else... A large pack of timberwolves, or an Ursa Major. Yes... that would do. She would bait an Ursa Major into attacking Ponyville. She would need to make sure that it couldn't be traced back to her, however. Still, Trixie was nothing if not smart. She would find a way.
Trixie glanced at the photo on her desk, the one memento she had kept for all of these long, lonely years. In it, there were two children with their arms around each others shoulders, and smiling into the camera. They were standing in a grassy meadow, the city of Canterlot visible in the mountains in the distance. This was the last photograph that Richard and Trixie had taken together, one day before the accident. It had been windy, and Trixie's silvery-blue hair was whipping wildly behind her, the sleeveless summer dress she was wearing accentuating her cutie mark. Dick (The words "It's Richard!" echoed through her head, making her smile gently) was covering his unadorned shoulders with a red jacket, the spandex of his performers uniform clearly visible underneath the garment. She remembered with a smile that Big Top always used to call him the 'Boy Wonder'.
Trixie's eyes began to mist ever so slightly as she lamented for her lost friend. That day that he had left, that was the day that something opened up inside of Trixie. She had only been ten when Richard went to live with Celestia, and yet the deaths of two members of the circus troupe combined with the disappearance of Dick had affected her deeply.
Her only solace was that, one day, show would find him. Knowing Richard's apptitute for grandeur, the kid had probably gotten a new job as a performer somewhere, a damn good one probably. His fame would him easy to track. And if he wasn't famous, Trixie would find other ways of tracking him. After she killed Nightwing, and had the bits to retire, she would make Dick her first priority.
"It's RICHARD!!!"
No time like the present. It was time to move. Trixie enchanted her wagon, and the wooden cart began wheeling itself towards Ponyville. By noon tomorrow, she would arrive at her destination, and then she could set her plan in motion. She would be rich, she would be free, and best of all, young enough to enjoy her money fully. Not a bad combination.
It was just about noon in Ponyville. The sun beat down warmly on the town, and many its residents lined the streets, going about their daily business. On days as nice as today, it would almost be a crime to stay inside all day. Of course, Twilight Sparkle had better things to do than to frolic outdoors; after being summoned to Canterlot to be given a mission by Princess Celestia herself, the obsessive librarian had woken up early to devise some kind of plan to take Nightwing down.
"SPIKE!" She called out not taking her eyes off of the files she was reviewing, "MAY I HAVE SOME ICE TEA, PLEASE?"
"Sure thing, Twi!" He replied, pouring her a tall glass of the sweet liquid he had taken the liberty of making earlier that day. "Any progress with your plan?"
"No." She replied simply. "All of these police reports say different things." She opened one, and pushed it towards the dragon boy, who promptly picked it up and began to scan it. It seemed that this one contained a series of interviews that the police had conducted with eye witnesses. Pouring himself an ice tea, he sat on the floor next to Twilight's desk and began to read.
Taped interview with Witness A (Miss Starfire, age 21, Pegasus Descent) vs. Sergeant Copper, Canterlot Police Dept. Audio transcribed into text for investigator's convenience. Interview begin.
S.C: Good evening, Miss Starfire.
S.F: Hello, officer...?
S.C: Copper. Sergeant Copper. I hear you had a pretty rough night.
S.F: If by rough you mean almost being raped in an alleyway, then ya, I'd say so.
S.C: I'm sorry, ma'am, I didn't mean to be so blunt about it.
S.F: It's alright... It could have been worse.
S.C: Yes, it could have. Could you describe the events of the night for me, ma'am?
S.F: Ya... I was hanging out with my sister, Blackfire, and we went to a bar downtown. I think it was called The Golden Ghost... Anyways, we had a few drinks, and then we decided to walk home. I think it was around one in the morning. But as we left the bar, Blackfire noticed she had lost an earring, and went back to get it. I just waited outside for her, when... someone grabbed me from behind, and dragged me into the alley nearby... I tried to scream, but he was covering my mouth, and I couldn't. He took out a knife and cut off my shirt, and threw me to the ground. Oh, Celestia, I thought he was going to kill me. But then... It came...
S.C: "It"?
S.F: Yeah... Nightwing...
S.C: I can assure you, Starfire, Nightwing is but a man.
S.F: No... no... you didn't see him. That... that thing wasn't a man. It was some kind of... living shadow. It materialized from out of no where behind the guy that grabbed me, and it just... destroyed him. Threw him against the wall so hard that I heard some bones break. Then its... tendrils, I guess, extended, and electrocuted him. It turned to look at me, its eyes glowed some unearthly white... and then it just vanished back into the darkness...
S.C: It doesn't sound like you think too highly of the Nightwing.
S.F: Nightwing, whatever horrific kind of monster it was, saved me tonight, Officer.
S.C: It could have just as easily killed you, though. Is there any other details about him you can remember? Anything at all?
S.F: Just that blue bird symbol on its chest. It was only there for... seconds... and its eyes... oh Celestia its eyes... I'm sorry, I don't want to talk about it anymore.
INTERVIEW FINISHED
Taped interview with Witness B (Mr Veiled Heart, aged 32, Earth Descent) vs. Sergeant Copper, Canterlot Police Dept. Audio transcribed into text for investigator's convenience. Interview begin.
S.C: Good morning, Mr. Heart.
V.H: Uhm... Good morning, Officer. Nice to see you again.
S.C: I wish I could say the same. How many times is it you've been arrested for drug trafficking, now? And this time, you showed up with two broken arms and a cracked rib.
V.H: Yes... I uhm... I fell... After the deal, I fell over.
S.C: ...You seem nervous. May I get you a glass of water?
V.H: Yes, please. *sound of water being poured* Aah, thank you. I was parched. Now then, may I ask why I'm here?
S.C: You don't know? I'd like to talk about your encounter with the Nightwing.
V.H: *long silence.* No... No, I don't think that's possible.
S.C: Why not?
V.H: He'll find me.
S.C: Nightwing will never know that it was you who talked. If you can help us catch him, your sentencing can be made much less severe.
V.H: You don't understand. No one can protect me. Not from him. Not from that thing. He'll find me.
S.C: What do you mean when you say 'thing'?
V.H: He... can you promise me lighter sentencing?
S.C: Yes, I can.
V.H: He came from nowhere... Me and my boys were in the red light district, we were gonna make a deal, when suddenly he pounced on one of my guys... It was like he was some kind of bird, or something, he just bounced and jumped around so fast... too fast to be human. In five seconds, I was the last one standing. I turned to run, but he caught me, and... and... *sobbing*
S.C: Pull it together, Veiled. What did he look like? Did you catch a glimpse?
V.H: No... But he wasn't no pegasus descent. Didn't have any wings. But he could still fly. Believe me, Copper, if you want to keep your ability to walk, I'd stay far away from Nightwing.
S.C: *to guard* Get this animal back to his cell. We're done here.
INTERVIEW FINISHED
Taped interview with Witness C (Miss Dinky Doo, aged 11, Unicorn Descent) vs. Sergeant Copper, Canterlot Police Dept. Audio transcribed into text for investigator's convenience. Interview begin.
S.C: Hello there, Dinky. How are you today?
D.D: I'm good. Mommy seems to be worried, though.
S.C: Ya? Why's that?
D.D: She's scared of Nightwing.
S.C: Are you?
D.D: Scared of Nightwing?
S.C: Yes.
D.D: No. He saved mommy and her boyfriend.
S.C: Would you care to tell me about it, Dinky?
D.D: Sure! It was so exciting! Mr. Turner took mommy and I here to Canterlot for the weekend, and we watched a play at the theater. But it ended real late, it must have been midnight when it let out! Anyways, we were walking back to the hotel, and Mr. Turner was carrying me on his shoulders, when four guys came out of nowhere, and they had knives! Mommy fainted, and they began to get closer and closer, when suddenly Nightwing appeared! I didn't even realize he was a robot before then!
S.C: Uhm... A robot?
D.D: Ya! He had white, glowing eyes, and all of these tools and a metal body and everything! And he was all like "Back away now!" And all of the thugs started running at him, and his hands transformed into giant thunder maces, and he was like pow! Bam! Bop! And then his hands transformed again into ninja stars, and he took down the last guys with them! And then I asked him if he wanted my teddy bear as a reward, and he said "Your smiling face is reward enough." And then his jet feet activated and he flew off.
S.C: ... I see. Thank you Dinky. It was very informative. We're done here.
INTERVIEW FINISHED
Spike went over the eye witness reports a few times before he handed them back to Twilight Sparkle. "Well I dunno about you, but I think the robot thing sounded plausible."
"Be serious, Spike! Nightwing is obviously very skilled in the arts of deception and combat, not to mention acrobatics, which means I'll have to lure him into a situation where none of those skills will be an asset to him."
The young boy rolled his emerald eyes. "I don't actually think a scenario like that exists, Twi."
"Well then I'll have to make one." Twilight put the file she was reading down, and rubbed the corners of her eyes. She took a sip of her ice tea and sighed. "Spike... Do you think that what we're doing is right?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well..." Twilight paused for a moment, and looked out of her window. "Nightwing... He attacked the Princess, Rarity, and I, he beat Shining Armor to a point near death, and I'm sure that he's had to take out a number of Royal Guards, as well. But... You read the files. He saved Ditzy, and Dinky, and Time Turner. Sweet Celestia, Spike, we know them! What would have happened if Nightwing wasn't there!? And that Starfire girl, she would have been traumatized for life! And, and, that drug pusher, what was his name... Veiled Heart! He would still be on the streets!" Twilight was practically yelling by the end of her tirade, and she had a wild, desperate look to her eyes.
She sighed again, and buried her face in the mass of papers on her desk. "I just... I want to do what's right. But I just don't know... Nightwing is making a difference in Equestria. That said, he's dangerous and doesn't answer to anything other than his own moral code. And with everything he's doing... how long will it be before he snaps? No one can withstand constant fighting without being changed. And it's like Dick said last night, the mob will strike back, and what then? Is he doing more harm than good with all of this?"
Spike gazed at the hunched over young woman and placed his hand on her back, gently rubbing. "Twilight... I wish I knew what to say, but... it doesn't sound like there's an easy answer to any of this. Nightwing is a hero, but I'm not sure for how long. For now, maybe you should just take a break, get out of the library."
The librarian exhaled and inhaled deeply, calming herself. "I think it you're right. I've been at this all day. Is there anything interesting happening in town?"
"Well now that you mention it, Snips and Snails were by earlier talking about some travelling magician that just showed up today..."
"Are you ready?" Princess Luna asked the masked man on her balcony.
"Yes. I've been staking out the tower loading docks all day. Taking down the punks who are unloading the drugs from the scheduled air ship shouldn't take too long, maybe fifteen minutes total. After I'm done with them, I'll signal you to send in a team of Nightwatch Guards."
"I understand." Luna paused for a moment, but then flashed Richard a rare smile, her pearly teeth shining in the night. "You really did it, Dick. After tonight, the last of Zucco's men will have been arrested in Canterlot."
"Just the rest of Equestria to go." Nightwing mounted the balcony railing and crouched, looking out over the shining city. "By the way, I'm glad you took my advice to ditch the ballgown, but I'm not really sure you're the 'jeans and a t-shirt' kinda girl."
"Must you really ruin every moment in which I try to be friendly?" She sighed, now self conscious of her clothing choice. "These modern fashions are... difficult... to grasp. Oh, and I have arranged for Richard Grayson to be sent a ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala this year as a thank you. You'll be my personal guest."
"Like... a date?"
Luna sighed in exasperation. "No, not like a date. It would be a date. However, you would be remiss if took this to mean that I have any romantic interest in you. I merely thought Nightwing would enjoy a night's break."
Dick chuckled. "I'll think about it, though I'm not sure how you're going to explain that one to your sister. After all, Richard Grayson and Princess Luna have never met before."
The princess smiled. "I'm sure I can think of something. Anyways, if you want to get back to Ponyville at a decent hour, I would recommend you get moving."
"Of course." Nightwing flipped off of the tower and drew the grapnel gun in his typical fashion. Maybe Luna had a point. Taking a night off wouldn't kill him, and it wasn't as if he wasn't allowed to have fun. Why, just last night he was having dinner with Element Bearers and Spike the dragon boy, and that was fun. For the most part, at least. He would need to spend some quality time with Pinkamena to prove to her that he wasn't upset with the loud mouthed pastry chef.
As Richard made his way towards Wonder Tower, he wondered if maybe he had yet to find an appropriate balance in his life. He enjoyed spending time with Spike, and while he was sure Twilight Sparkle suspected him of being Nightwing, catching up with her had been really nice. Heck, maybe one day he could even start investigating where Trixie had disappeared to.
A bellowing roar rent the night air, waking half of Ponyville from their slumber. There was silence in the town, but only for a moment.
Then, the screaming started.
Twilight Sparkle and Spike jumped out of their respective beds, and cast their eyes through the bedroom window, only to find a blank expanse of darkness. "What's happeneing!?" Spike asked, unsure of what to do.
"I... I don't know. Spike, stay here. I'm going outside to check it out." Twilight pulled on her bathrobe and slipped on some socks before running downstairs.
"Twilight, wait! Maybe we should just-" SLAM "-call the police." Spike sighed and slumped onto his bead. Twilight had told him to stay put. It wasn't his place to disobey a direct order from his sister figure.
Another roar echoed through the town, this one to the accompaniment of even more screams. Human screams. That wasn't good. Spike was caught between disobeying his boss and sister, Twilight Sparkle, or running headfirst into danger. "Well... If Nightwing does it..." Spike threw on some proper pants and a t-shirt before he followed the librarian out the front door.
"Twilight!? Twilight!? Where are you!?" Spike called out, worrying at the sight of all of the people fleeing from dowtown Ponyville. "Not good..." The dragon boy sprinted forwards, in the opposite direction of the crowds flow, and considered shifting into his dragon form. Alas, he was still just a baby by dragon standards, and would be next to useless against anything bigger than a timberwolf. Not to mention the fact that a little purple dragon running around would likely just cause an even bigger commotion.
A third roar, this one louder, made Spike wince. He was definatley getting closer to whatever it was. Thoughts of earlier today came unbidden to his mind; The boastful magician from earlier, "The Great and Powerful Trixie could easily defeat an Ursa Major! As a matter of fact, she wish she had an Ursa Major right now that she could vanquish!", her staring suggestivley at Snips and Snails, her humiliating the love of his life and a good deal of her friends, him running to Richard's house to see what he made of all of this, only to find he wasn't home...
He gulped, and rounded the corner, entering the town center, only to find his darkest suspicion had been correct. There, stumbling towards the square, was a colossal, astral bear, it's behemoth girth easily outstripping the houses it was clumsily damaging. Twilight Sparkle and the Element Bearers stood in the square, with Trixie backpedaling in the distance, firing bolts of energy at the enraged ursine.
"Stay back foul beast! The Great and Powerful Trixie will make you rue the day you dared challenge her!" The attractive young woman hadn't counted on the bear getting this far into town; and she certainly hadn't counted on being one of the only ones in town that was (theoretically) capable of stopping the monster.
"Twilight!" Spike called, as he ran forwards to join her. "What in Celestia's name is an Ursa Major doing here!?"
"I don't know, Spike." She stated simply, her voice filled with worry.
"Well... How are we going to stop it!?"
"I don't know, Spike."
Spike's emerald eyes flashed as he considered what he should be more worried about; Twilight's near catatonic state or the Ursa Major that was tearing the town apart. "Twilight! Snap out of it!" The purple haired woman just continued to gape at the towns dual tormentors duking it out. "Alright... Fluttershy, do you know any way to stop this thing?"
"No, no! I just... Oh, Spike, I'm sorry, I've never cared for an Ursa before, and the bears that I look after are all friendly, and-" Her voice cracked, and tears filled her eyes as she watched the creature in front of her roar in pain.
Trixie was losing, though she would never admit it. Her magic was having next to no effect on the bear, and she was burning through the spells she knew at a very fast rate. She couldn't keep this up for long. Nightwing needed to show up, and he needed to show up now.
"Alright, girls," Twilight Sparkle stated weakly. "Let's... Let's try and stop this thing." Her horn glowed purple, and she wondered how in Celestia's good name she would be able to think up a spell that could stop an Ursa Major.
Nightwing looked around at the crates full of cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine that surrounded him. In the center of the tower's loading bay, the thirty or so men that had delivered the shipment lay unconscious. A cold wind blew through the open bay doors, and Richard would have shivered had he not been encased in an armoured suit that regulated his body temperature.
He pressed a finger to his ear, an unfamiliar sense of peace welling up within him. He had done it. Canterlot, the city that so long ago had killed his parents, was cleansed. And it was his doing. "Luna. Send them in. I'm done here."
"Good work, Nightwing. Go home and get some rest. You've earned it."
"You read my mind, Princess. Nightwing out." He removed his finger from the earpiece and, for a moment, looked out over the tower edge, allowing himself to bask briefly in his accomplishment. Wonder Tower was located almost at the very edge of Canterlot City limits, and it overlooked the great valley that stretched out around Mount Canterlot. Train tracks spiraled down the mountain, before splitting off at the base leading all across Equestria. But for Richard, the only stop that concerned him right now was-
Ponyville.
In the dark of night, it was easy to make out flames the stretched into the night sky, as if eager to reach out and touch the stars above. The sounds of wing beats surrounded him, and he was aware of the large squad of Nightwatch that had just entered the bay doors.
"Nightwing...!? What are you still-" One of them began in a shocked tone. Only Princess Luna's most trusted guards were permitted to aid her on her joint missions with the Nightwing, and none of them would dare raise a hand, or speak out against him. To the Nightwatch, Nightwing was almost like a patron saint. He symbolized exactly what they believed every Royal Guard should be; honourable, swift, gallant, and brave, but also strong and ruthless towards his enemies.
Richard whirled around, and pointed at two of the Nightwatch with the largest wings. "You and you. I need a favour."
They knelt before him, a hand over their hearts. "Yes, sir. What would you ask of us?"
"I need a lift to Ponyville, effective fifteen minutes ago. It's in danger."
"Yes sir!" The two black armoured men replied in unison, rising to their feet and gripping his arms. "This may not be very comfortable, Nightwing, you might want to hold on tight."
Another Nightwatch stepped out of the crowd. "Would you like any more reinforcements, sir?"
"No. You all stay here and secure the drug shipments. I'll be sending my escorts back to join you shortly. The fewer of you accompany, the safer you'll be. Now, let's move."
The Nightwatch all nodded, saluted, and Dick felt himself being lifted into the air. The three men began speeding towards Ponyville air rushing past them. As they neared Richard's home, however, it was becoming increasingly clear that Ponyville was in dire straights. After some uncomfortable maneuvering, Nightwing activated the binocular mode in his mask and zoomed in to it's maximum capacity.
There, in the distance, was an Ursa Major, roaring in fury as blue and purple magical bolts flew up at it.
"No..." He whispered to himself. "We need to go faster! Ponyville's being ripped apart!"
"Aye, sir!" The two began working in overdrive, their huge, leathery bat wings beating at the night air in a desperate struggle to fulfill the desires of the fabled Nightwing. Finally, they were above the terrorized village, smoke rising up to meet them. "Alright, we're beginning our descent, and-"
"No time. Drop me, return to your squadmates, and alert the rest of the royal guard that Ponyville needs reinforcements."
"But sir-" One of them began, but he never got to finish. Utilizing his extensive training as an escape artist, Dick worked his way free of the airborne men's arms, and allowed himself to drop into free fall, withdrawing a small pellet from his belt. His timing would have to be perfect: too soon, and he would miss his mark, and splatter into the ground. Too late, however, and the result would be very much the same.
Closer and closer the ground flew up to meet him until finally he whipped the pellet at the ground he was about to slam in to. As soon as the little ball hit the grass, it exploded into a dense, pink foam that absorbed the shock of Nightwing's descent, and allowed the superhero to survive the surely fatal fall.
He coughed, and spat out some of the foam that had found its way into his mouth. "Ugh... I wonder if I can make this stuff strawberry flavoured..." He mumbled to himself, and quickly brushed the gooey substance out of his hair and armour, eager to make himself as aerodynamic as possible. Taking his bearings, he recognized a few houses and quickly ascertained that he was in North Ponyville. It would take maybe five minutes to reach the town square if he ran full out.
Breaking into a sprint that would leave Rainbow Dash breathless, he started towards the flames raging in the town center, pumping his arms and legs to their limits. Pegasus descent's may be fast, but earth descent's had incredible stamina and strength, not to mention reinforced bone structure. With the proper training, they could become some of the best athletes of all time. And Dick Grayson had certainly had the right training.
As he ran, the panicking populace of Ponyville took notice the hero within their midst, and he could hear their surprised exclamations.
"It's Nightwing!"
"We're saved!"
"Someone call the cops!"
"You belong in prison, freak!"
"Where's the Ursa?"
"Someone follow him!"
Ignoring their cries, Richard just kept running. He couldn't afford to stop. Not now, not with so much at stake. Where was Twilight Sparkle? And Spike? Were the Element Bearer's safe? How long had the Ursa Major been here? More importantly, what was it doing here in the first place? Putting on an extra burst of speed, Dick burst into the town square and took stock of his surroundings.
There in the center, was Twilight Sparkle, her tear streaked face was illuminated in the light of the fire, and lending her whole face a look of extraordinary desperation. Rainbow Dash flew circles around the Ursa Major's head, doing her best to distract the raging bear. Fluttershy and Rarity were tending to a wounded man in the doorway of one of the undamaged houses, and Applejack was evacuating everyone in the immediate area, kicking down doors and pulling frightened Ponyville residents to safety. Pinkie Pie and Spike were here too, directing people to less dangerous areas of Ponyville. And there, on a rooftop next to the Ursa Major...
Trixie Lulamoon stood, her cape flapping in the wind, and her teeth bared in rage. This bothersome Twilight Sparkle was showing her up, and while Trixie had never really intended on defeating the Ursa in the first place, she certainly didn't expect anyone else to be able to either.
She cried out in frustration. This night was a total loss. Well, not a total loss. She had at least gotten the pleasure of seeing the Rainbow haired girl being blasted out of the sky, and it seemed that the meek librarian was about to be killed as well. This would be a fascinating spectacle.
Suddenly, however, a grey blur shot across the square and knocked Twilight Sparkle out of the way, much to Trixie's disappointment. What was it that had saved her...?
"NIGHTWING! TWILIGHT!" Someone called out (Trixie vaguely registered it being Twilight's whelp of an assistant), and her face broke into a broad grin. Her plan had worked after all. Of course it had. The Great and Powerful Trixie never made any mistakes.
She had to wait for the correct time to strike, however. She lay down on the rooftop she had teleported on to earlier in the night, hiding her silhouette from the figures below, and watched. Her horn glowed slightly with a pre-charged spell, it's purpose to put a gaping hole in her prey's chest. Soon, very soon, the Nightwing would be dead.
"Alright, Rainbow Dash, keep circling him! I'm going to try and freeze his paws to the ground, just-" Twilight Sparkle was cut off as her titanic adversary let out a bellowing roar in the Element of Loyalty's direction, the blast of air plucking the pegasus-descent out of the sky like a rag doll and sending her flopping uselessly onto a nearby rooftop.
Twilight was stunned. "Rainbow!" The librarian screamed, standing stock still. She was too overcome by shock to notice the Ursa Major stalking towards her, eager to exact it's grizzly vengeance on the magic user that had been tormenting him. "Rainbow..." She mumbled, fresh tears streaking down her face and mixing with the sweat and soot that had accumulated there.
"TWILIGHT!!!" Rarity and Applejack screamed simultaneously. "MOVE!!!"
But she just stood there, her mind in complete lock down. Rainbow Dash was...
"Twilight!" Spike called from seemingly so far away as the Ursa Major raised it's giant paw to crush her. "Twilight snap out of it! TWIILIIIGHT!"
"This is it" She thought to herself, "I'll never complete my studies, or see Shining Armor ever again, or get married, or see Spike grow up, or-" Whatever the next item on her incomplete bucket list was, she would never get to create, as a sudden slamming sensation lifted her off of her feet and carried her across the square.
Nightwing had showed up, and was using some device that threw a huge cable horizontally across a distance, and the pair was currently riding along the handheld lift, Twilight Sparkle safely clutched in one of Nightwing's arms. He had saved her from the Ursa's swipe just in the nick of time, but the cable holding the two off of the ground wasn't so lucky.
With a sharp CRACK, the line was snapped by the impact of an astral paw grinding its way through the near unbreakable cable, sending Richard and Twilight sprawling to the ground.
"NIGHTWING! TWILIGHT!" Spike's voice called from across the square, fraught with worry.
"That kid doesn't miss a beat..." Dick thought to himself as he pulled his partner to her feet. "Are you injured?" He asked, using the disguised voice he had become so accustomed to.
"N-no, but Rainbow Dash, she's-!"
"She's fine. The scanners in my mask are reading her life signs to be strong. She's likely just unconscious." Richard was suddenly aware of a crowd that was beginning to gather around the square, much to his displeasure. He should have seen that coming, though. Who wouldn't want to see a superhero duke it out with an Ursa Major?
"Nightwing..." She whispered, the gravity of her near death experience taking its toll. "You saved my life..."
"You can thank me later. For now, we have bigger problems. Literally."
"Right, right!" She began, looking the Ursa Major over again. It was currently wedged in between two houses, unable to make any more progress into town. "Before Rainbow went down, she was going to distract it while I froze his paws to ground! Can you make sure he doesn't come after me for a while!?"
"Of course." Dick stated simply, turning around and pulling out his grapnel gun. He took careful aim at the rooftop he across the square, planning to make himself shoot directly in front of the monster's face.
Twilight immediatley began charging the freeze spell, and focused all of her being into it. The ice would need to not only be cold enough to trap the Ursa, but also keep him relatively docile until a more permanent solution could be found.
As the very powerful magic user began preparing to release her spell on the rampaging beast, Nightwing began his distraction. Grappling upwards, he zipped through the night sky and threw three explosive razor-wings the Goliath animal, which detonated upon impact and made roar in pain and surprise.
Now intent on punishing this little ant who defied it, the Ursa began swiping its paws at the agile young man, to no avail. Nightwing was never in one place for more than a second, and the vast arsenal of gadgets on his belt and tucked away in his boots ensured that the pissed-off bear never had a spare moment to bother Twilight.
The crowd watched in awe as the ex-acrobat nimbly weaved and dodged, making any form of attack look like it was in slow motion. Even for a creature that large and powerful, Nightwing still made his movements look effortless, easy. First he was on the ground, performing a back flip as he fired some kind of weapon out of his wrist. Then, he was on the Ursa's back, slamming two electrified escrima sticks into the beast's neck.
Grinning savagely to himself, Richard jumped off of the creature's back and landed nimbly on a balcony of one of the nearby buildings. He watched with narrowed eyes as it struggled to raise a giant claw up, it's eyes alight with raw animal rage. Dick casually calculated how much time he would have to dodge the strike, and made to move.
Alas, even Richard Grayson, last surviving member of his family, makes mistakes.
As Nightwing leapt off of a balcony, he misjudged the speed in which the Ursa Major had begun to move. A giant, golden claw grazed his side, splitting it open and tearing through his suit. "GAH!" He cried out as he was thrown into the ground hard by the momentum of blow, and blood began pooling around his prone form. The ripped flesh was bleeding profusely, and he had landed on the sonic harmonizer, shattering it completely. Until he could build a new one, he would be susceptible to magic users.
The Ursa roared in triumph, and the cheers of the crowd quickly turned to screams. "Come on..." He thought to himself, vision fading. "Get up... You're not gonna die... not here..." Drawing upon his vast reserves of will power, Richard drew himself to his feet, and raised the grapnel gun again. "Twilight!" He called weakly, "How's that spell coming!?"
"Good! Al... most..." Her horn glowed a bright purple, illuminating the square. "Now! Get off of the ground! I'm gonna release it!"
Dick grunted and nodded, firing his gadget at the rooftop that he had seen the cloaked figure standing upon, all the while continuing to clutch at his side. The grapnel gun hissed as it fired, and Richard ascended quickly through the sky, much to the excitement of the gathering crowd. Even the Elements of Harmony stopped what they were doing to watch as Twilight and their target's plan came to fruition. As he approached the lip of the building, however, the caped figure popped up quickly, her hands and horn glowing blue.
There was a flash of bright blue, and Nightwing and the mysterious, cloaked figure disappeared, much to the confusion of Ponyville's onlookers.
Still, Twilight's spell had been completed, and a huge blanket of ice spread across the ground in the direction of the Ursa Major, freezing the bear in place. The librarian sighed in relief. It was over. Or... was it...?
There was a great cracking sound, and Ponyville watched as hair line fractures began to appear in the ice around the bear's paws. "No..." Twilight whispered, dropping to her knees in defeat. Nightwing was gone, the Ursa was going to free itself, and she would be right back to square one.
Rarity and Spike, seeing Twilight Sparkle's state of distress, ran forward to tend to their mutual friend. "Twi!" Spike called out to her, to little response. She had fallen unconscious, the massive energy expenditure of the ice spell draining her completely. Great. "Rarity, can you help me get her back to the library? She needs rest!"
"Yes, Spikey, stand back. I'll levitate her. Come along now." Rarity's demeanor was cool and collected, which surprised her young admirer. He would have thought she would be the first to panic in a crisis. "Applejack!" She called out, "Round up Rainbow Dash and get everyone else out of town! Meet us in the library with the rest of the girls when you're done!"
"Sure thing, Rares." The cowgirl replied, sweat gleaming off of her face. "Fluttershy, can ya' fly up to tha roof of the building Rainbow was knocked on and check on her?"
A murmer of acknowledgement, and then the timid young woman took off in a flash of yellow wings.
Spike sighed. This night just kept getting worse.
Once she realized that a crowd had gathered to watch in horror as the Ursa Major destroyed their village, Trixie quickly came to the realization that there would be witnesses. So, she changed her spell to be one of teleportation. As Nightwing flew closer to her, she smiled grimly and punched him hard in the face, releasing the spell. In an instant, the two were behind the Golden Oaks Library, one of the few places Trixie knew for a fact would be deserted.
For his part, Nightwing had been thrown backwards by the force of the punch, and slid along the cool grass, completely disoriented. Then, he noticed the make-shift basketball net position in a nearby tree, and realization dawned upon him. But then, how...? Who...?
He shakily stood, noting with displeasure that he had left a long, streaky blood trail in his wake when he was tossed against the ground. A flickering in one of his eyes told him that the impact on his face had broken an optical port in his mask, rendering the advanced technology useless.
Nightwing squinted. There, before him, stood Trixie Lulamoon, her hands and horn shimmering in the extreme darkness. "Trixie..." He whispered, taking a few steps forwards. "Trixie!"
She smiled, and threw an energy ball at his chest, tossing him backwards and melting the outermost layer of his armour and revealing the reinforced mesh underneath. "It seems the Great an Powerful Trixie's name precedes her! Still, it matters not. Tell Trixie, Nightwing, are you prepared to die?"
Richard, however, could only lay on the ground for a moment as the woman stood before him, grinning maliciously. "No... This can't be real. The Trixie I know is a good person... The Trixie I know would never do this..." He once again rose to his feet, careful to keep pressure applied to his open wound. Dick realized that there was no time to waste with his assassin. The ice holding the Ursa Major wouldn't hold forever. "One... chance, Trixie. Stand down, and I'll let you walk out of here." He panted, trying to keep his voice even through the pain. Friend or not, he had proved before that he would not let his past relationships interfere with Nightwing's mission.
Not now. Not ever.
But... this wasn't just an old friend. This was Trixie.
"Oh, I was so hoping you'd say that." There was a flash of energy, and the young woman stole forwards through the night, her wicked smile flashing with the crackling blue magic that enveloped her. A palm shot out, but met only air, as Nightwing twisted his body out of the way.
There, a chance for a counterattack. A quick backhand, and Trixie would go sprawling backwards. A voice echoed forth from his past, staying his hand.
“You nervous, Dick?” a voice behind him asked with a hint of mischief.
Richard hesitated, and Trixie took the opportunity to elbow her target in the chest, before releasing a quick burst of kinetic energy which pushed Nightwing brutally, and he flew through the air where he smacked into the library with a sickening crunch. "How disappointing!" She taunted, drawing up to her full height.
Dick rolled forwards, grunting in pain, and began sprinting towards his enemy, narrowly dodging the magical blasts that whizzed by his face and chest. He was so close to her now, he could smell the sweat and exertion on the young woman's body. He raised a fist.
"The great and powerful Trixie is far beyond us mortals,” He teased.
“Great and Powerful Trixie, huh? I kinda like that…”
“You would. Now get a move on, you’re up next.”
Trixie blushed for a second, before stammering “Can I, uh… have a hug for luck?”
Richard blinked, wishing these flashbacks would leave him alone. The moment of weakness gave Trixie all of the opportunity she needed send a razor sharp shard of ice in Dick's shoulder. It didn't quite pierce the suit, but it sent the wounded superhero careening backwards. He managed to stay on his feet this time, but barely.
"T-Trixie... You don't want to do this..."
"Oh, but I do."
Summoning as much energy as she could muster, Trixie caused the ground underneath the Nightwing to explode, and the young man cried out as dirt and bits of rock rained down outside the library. Crashing into the floor in front of his assassin, he attempted to stand one more time, and succeeded, but his badly shaking legs promised him that very soon he'd be on the ground again.
"Alright, Twilight, we're... Oh sweet Celestia..." Rarity mumbled. The three Ursa survivors had reach the library again, only to be met by the sounds and sights of a vicious confrontation coming from outside. Through the back door, Spike, Rarity, and Twilight could clearly make out Nightwing and Trixie dueling.
And Nightwing was losing.
"Why...? Why won't he hit her!? He's had so many openings!" Spike gasped, confused.
"Spikey, look away! This isn't appropriate for a boy your age!" The fashionista commanded, her own eyes glued to the vision. Beside her, Twilight Sparkle was beginning to stir, her mind returning to conciousness.
"Wha... Where..? The library? But... Nightwing!" She cried, bolting to her feet from where Rarity had laid her on the floor. "And... Trixie!? What's going on?"
"It looks like Trixie teleported Nightwing to the library to... fight him, or something," Spike explained, entranced by the intricate dance the two of them were weaving. Suddenly, there was a great BOOM, and dirt flew up in the backyard, obscuring the two parties. For a few moments, there was nothing but a cloud of dust, until Nightwing and Trixie were revealed again.
The superhero had had enough. Nightwing was on his knees at Trixie's feet, his legs refusing to keep him upright any longer. The two exchanged words for a moment, before the evil magician slapped her prey. She smiled, and raised a hand skyward, pouring energy into it as it glowed once again with a pale blue light.
"Spike, Rarity, stay here. Trixie's mine." Twilight Sparkle made for the door, but was stopped by a slender, pale hand on her shoulder. "Rarity-"
"Teach her a lesson, dear." Her friend offered warmly, and let her go. The violet eyed woman smiled, and opened the door with her telekinesis.
"You hardly put up much of a fight, however. Such a shame. Trixie was so looking forward to having a worthy opponent."
Present day...
Richard Grayson's life had never seemed quite so bleak. He was about to be killed by his childhood friend, the same friend who had come to check on him when his parents died. The only friend to come and check on him when his parents died. But, he had to buy Twilight Sparkle the time she needed to research a way to stop the Ursa Major.
He saw her hand began to move, and chose this moment to press the tips of the escrima sticks together. The electrical charge within the weapons began to overcharge as lightning arced between them, supercharging the sticks. "YOU DID THIS, TRIXIE! NOT ME! YOU!" Roaring in effort as the escrima sticks began to polarize, Dick finally raised his makeshift cannon flicked a switch.
A lightning bolt shot out in the night, flashing brightly and slamming into the chest of Trixie Lulamoon, interrupting her spell. A hole burnt into her one pristine robe, and forced her to shudder uncontrollably as the electricity coursed through her body. The girl screamed, a horrible, ear splitting sound that made Dick wince, the one functioning optical port of his mask narrowing in accordance with his eye movements.
Finally, Trixie grew silent and slumped to the ground, falling flat on her face. "Trixie!" He called, jogging forward to check on her, and turned her over onto her back. Dick took her head in his hand, and shook gently. "Trixie!? Are you-" Her eyes fluttered open, and she moaned in pain again. "Oh, thank Celestia you're alright, I thought-"
Her horn flashed, and a bolt of energy hit Richard point blank in the chest. The ebony haired man didn't even cry out as he flung into the darkness, where he lay unmoving in some anonymous patch of grass. Panting heavily, Trixie stood and limped her way over to his prone body. Nightwing's arms and legs were splayed at awkward angles, and his the rise and fall of his chest was shallow and erratic.
"Well, you'll probably just bleed out soon enough, but before Trixie turns your head into a bloody paste... Let's have a look beneath the mask." The young woman bent down, her silvery blue hair dropping down and tickling the young mans cheek. She grinned, and reached forwards, clutching either side of the mask that was almost completely destroyed. She pulled upwards, and revealed the face of her target.
Her eyes widened in shock. "No..." She whispered.
Twilight Sparkle stumbled through the streets of Ponyville, her energy almost completely drained. The Ursa Minor had been dealt with. A soothing lullaby and a large bottle of mile for the baby bear had proved more effective than any weapon or spell ever would. But now, after levitating the creature back into the Everfree Forest, Twilight had a new priority.
"Twilight! Slow down, sugarcube! You're gonna hurt yourself!"
"No... time, Applejack," She panted, making for her library. Dawn was nearly upon the town, and Twilight wondered if she was already too late; if she was returning to her home to save a corpse.
Drawing upon reserves of strength she didn't even know she had, Twilight screamed in frustration and broke into a run, her feet pounding against the dirt road, and kicking up little clouds of dust. "Almost, Nightwing... Almost... Hang in there..."
Finally, just when Twilight had reached her breaking point, they reached the giant, hollowed out tree. The girls crashed through the front door, and made for the back one, desperately keeping an eye out for the tell tale grunts and flashing lights of a battle. But, the backyard was silent, and covered in darkness.
Suddenly, the six Element Bearers were outside in the cool morning air, the darkness beginning to lift as the sun rose. There, in the yard, were Trixie and Nightwing, embraced in a tight hug. "What...?" Twilight gasped, her brain not comprehending what she was seeing. She took a step forward, and her foot hit something hard and smooth. Looking at the obstruction in the grass, Twilight's violet eyes made out the flickering lights of Nightwing's discarded mask. But that meant...
Finally, the two broke apart, and Trixie wiped some tears from her eyes. For a moment, she just looked in Richard Grayson's eyes. Then, she turned and ran off into the sunrise, before teleporting to some unknown location in a final flash of blue.
Richard's battle damaged back was towards the Element Bearers as he watched his oldest friend flee Equestria. Tony Zucco wouldn't accept failure; she would need to run somewhere where she would never be found, lest the mob boss order a hit on her as well. It was for her own safety, and yet Dick's heart was heavy as he watched her disappeared. How many more friends would he lose to Nightwing? How many relationships would he have to sever?
"Nightwing..." Twilight gasped, her panting breaking the golden silence. "What was that?"
For a moment, he didn't say anything. He just continued to watch Celestia's golden sun crest, its warm, golden rays reaching across the land. Dick had never felt anything colder.
"One last hug." He explained. "For luck."
Remembering he was unmasked, Dick ran forwards, out of Ponyville, and entered the Everfree Forest, making for the hidden entrance to the Cave. Behind him, he heard Twilight Sparkle call out, but, much like the Great and Powerful Trixie, he never looked back.