“That should keep him locked up until Celestia comes here, or vise-versa.” Shining Armor, captain of the royal guard, was fed up. He didn’t want to wait until Celestia’s decision; he wanted the dark knight dead. But due to his sister’s pleads to keep it alive for a fair trial—whatever that meant, he had to lock him up in a prison cell until further notice. He glanced over his shoulder to a tall brown stallion. The stallion wore a dark brown trench coat and a brown fedora. His mustache covered his muzzle in fur, the only thing giving a hint of where it was the large cigar. The stallion adjusted his glasses as he walked alongside the captain of the guard.
“Make sure that scum doesn't escape from here commissioner.” The brown stallion snorted, the grey smoke seeping through his nose.
“Warden says that Stalliongate Prison is the most high security prison in Equestria, surpassing Goatham Asylum by a mile.” The stallion grunted as they walked down the dimly lit hall that lead to a large elevator. Two guards in uniform greeted them at the door as they entered. “If it’s any better than that, then it has to be good.”
“Bad times, eh?” Shining asked. The elevator jerked as it began to rise.
“Crazies as far as the eye can see.” The commissioner mumbled to himself. “Now there’s some colt dressing up as a bat. Must’ve thought the creature downstairs is a good role model.”
“If you know that freak like me, he’s nothing but.” The commissioner glanced at his friend. Shining ignored his gaze. The elevator finally stopped as the doors swung open. They both walked into a large lobby, where the mane 6 sat in waiting. Twilight’s head was the first to look up once she saw their arrival. She quickly got up and galloped over to her brother.
“Is he going to be OK?” Twilight asked. Shining gave her a questionable look.
“IT’s going to be fine until its execution.” Shining said flatly. He brushed past his sister and began to walk to the door. Twilight stomped her hoof on the ground.
“Shining, you’re acting like a foal!” She yelled. “This guy just arrived here on Equestria and you’re treating him like you've known him for years!” Shining stopped in his tracks, not even looking behind him.
“Yeah Shinin’, you've been kind of different since you've arrived here.” Applejack said, concern in her voice.
“You don’t know that THING like I do…” Shining said coldly. Everyone flinched as the temperature of the room shifted.
“Uhm, it’s not a thing. It’s actually a he.” Fluttershy said softly.
“That is NOT a HE!” Shining glared at the group. “That is a monster. A freak of nature! A demon that escaped Tartarus! A being of pure evil that should be killed on sight for what he’s done to you all!” Everyone was frightened by Shining’s attitude, except for Rainbow Dash.
“I heard that the thing’s been around longer than we think.” Rainbow said. “Ponies say that the thing attacked a Changeling kingdom years ago. They say it killed Queen Chrysalis’s daughter who owned the kingdom and killed the entire changeling race that lived in the kingdom. I'm surprised my au- I-I mean Chrysalis didn't attack Celestia.”
“I heard about that too, but I could care less about them.” Shining said flatly. Rainbow narrowed her eyes. “I just want it dead.”
“But why?” Twilight asked. “Even though it destroyed an entire kingdom of Changeling’s, it didn’t do any harm to-“
“The thing technically sliced off the horns of a lot of soldiers! Some of those soldiers I knew! Some of them have families to support! What now? Now they have no magic and have to live with being a hornless outcast!” Shining glanced at his sister. "You saw what happened on the streets. It took on probably an entire battalion without breaking a sweat!"
"Shining, he's lost!" Twilight walked up to her brother. "It's obviously not from here!"
"Yeah, Tartarus is where it's from." Shining said flatly. "First the Cerberus attack in Ponyville, and now a demon that walks in the night? I have a feeling Hades is smiting us!"
"Now you're just speaking crazy." Applejack chuckled. Shining smiled and rubbed his head.
"Yeah, I guess I just need some coffee." He sighed to himself. "Hearing about this thing's escapades by Celestia's been keeping me on edge. Plus with the crisis in Baltimare."
"Baltimare? What's going on over there?" Rarity asked.
"Some sort of explosion or something. She said that over 50 ponies died."
"Celestia's teats." the commissioner gasped.
"Yeah. Celestia sent Luna to investigate so she might not be able to come to Manehattan immediately, what with raising the sun and the moon and such." Twilight raised an eyebrow.
"How come she didn't tell me?" She said to herself.
"Enough with the sappy stuff, lets talk about something happy so we can turn those frowns upside down!" Pinkie jumped into the group, her bubble attitude lifting their spirits.
"Like what?" Twilight asked, still deep in thought.
"Like how much candy we're going to get on Nightmare Night silly!" The girls all began to talk about how their going to enoy the scary celebration, leaving the prison behind them. Little did they see the dark figure that watched them from the roof.
“That thing is not a he,” Shining said coldly. “It’s a monster.”
2 weeks later…
< * / * \ * >
Terry sat in the small cell. His arms and legs were chained to the walls when he arrived, but he escaped them pretty easily. He was imprisoned in a large white room. One of the walls as made of glass, or so he thought if he didn’t hear the guards talking about how it was a magic barrier. He looked at the two guards that stood at the metal door that was on the magical wall. They ignored the fact that he was free due to them thinking that he was stuck in the cell as long as magic kept him in. He could just prove them wrong, but he’s never experienced magic before.
“Wonder if Bruce ever dealt with magic.” Terry said to himself. “Then again, he’d probably think I’m crazy if I tried to explain to him a realm full of magical ponies and unicorns.”
“Shut up prisoner!” one of the guards shouted. Terry white eyes narrowed.
“Ass.” He mumbled. He gazed at his suit and sighed. “You know, you guys owe me a new suit.”
“We owe you nothing you filthy mule.” One of the guards growled.
“That’s one of the things I wanted to ask you ponies; what’s with calling things mule? I mean, you are aware that mule is a sentient race on your planet right? You’re kind of being racist.”
“We can call you whatever we like, mule.”
“Actually, the creatures got a point.” The other guard commented. “I mean, they are part of our society.”
“Fine then, we’ll call him a filthy pig.”
“The whole reason I’m filthy is because you ruined my suit!” Terry yelled.
“Shut up!” the guards both yelled.
…
…
…
“We can’t call him a pig.”
“Why the buck not?”
“That’s another thing I wanted to ask.” Terry mumbled.
“Well, pigs are sentient.”
“They are!?” Terry and the other guard said simultaneously.
“Well, there was a long lost Mayan pig tribe centuries ago.”
“That was from Daring Doo you idiot.” The other guard face hoofed. “They’re fictional.”
“T-There’s sprinkles of truth in those books!” the guard protested. They’re argument died down once the door at the end of the dark hall opened. The light from the other hall illuminated a tall dark figure. The guards looked at the figure, fear in their eyes. Behind the figure was a dead stallion that was sprawled on the marble floor.
“What the-“
SHINK!
The guard began to gasp for air. Terry got to his feet and took a step back. a large knife was lodged into the guards throat. Blood ran down the steel blade and to the floor. The guard choked as he fell to the ground. A small blood splatter present on the barriers wall. The other guard began to back away, fear in his eyes. His flank hit the magic wall, giving him a small shock. He looked back at Terry, then down the hall. The figure stood in front of the stallion. But before anything could be said, the figure slammed the guards head into the magic barrier. The stallion screamed in agony as the barrier began to burn the fur on his face. It began to shear through flesh and bone as it worked on his skull. The figure stopped applying pressure to the guard and let him fall to the ground. Half of the guards face was gone to the bone with only parts of his flesh left behind. Terry grabbed a batarang and kept it aimed at the dark figure. A grizzly laugh made his eyes narrow.
“You can put the batarang away, Batman.” The light from the barrier shone of the figure. The man was in a large duster jacket that covered his whole body. By the looks of it, it was made of animal skin. A hood covered the figure’s face, only revealing two white eyes that looked at the dark knight.
“How do you know me? Who are you?” Terry lowered his throwing hand but kept the batarang.
“Questions for another time. But I know one thing; you’re not the real Batman.” Terry narrowed his eyes.
“What do you mean?”
“You try to act like him; being quiet while being intimidating. If you spoke you wouldn’t be here.” The figure shuffled in place. “And yet, you’re not one of his prodigies.”
“Prodigies?” Terry raised an eyebrow.
“You’re no Grayson, that’s for sure. And you’re definitely not Drake. And you can’t be the dead one.” The figure rubbed his chin, or what Terry thought it was. The figures eyes looked at Terry. “You’re Waller’s kid.”
“Waller? Amanda Waller? The former leader of CADMUS?” Terry stepped closer to the barrier. “What does Waller have to do with this?”
“More than you think, McGinnis.” Terry took a step back.
“H-How-“
“Let’s just say, you were meant for the job.” Even though he couldn’t see it, he knew the figure was smiling. “I’ve been away long if you’ve grown this tall.”
“Who. Are. You.” Terry demanded.
“So easy to enrage, just like the dead one.” The figure turned his back to the dark knight. “You may wear the suit and call yourself Batman, but to me, you’re nothing but a Robin.” The figure began to walk away, his hands placed behind his back.
“I’ll find out who you are.” Terry growled.
“Oh I know.” The figure glanced over his shoulder. “We’ll meet again, Robin.”
-POOMF!-
Terry shielded his eyes from the bright light that came from the figure. He looked back to see that the figure was gone, leaving a burnt spot on the floor that had smolder rising from it as the long hallway began to illuminate itself with light. Terry raised an eyebrow in confusion. The magic barrier began to make a faint buzzing sound. And then it disappeared. The dark knight stood in silence. He took a small step out of the cell, then another. His eyes went wide as he stepped out of the cell and into the illuminated-
-BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!-
“Damnit!” Terry ran to the door in the hallway. He ignored the sounds of the blaring horns and the flashing red lights as he dived through the door and into a large room. Walls were covered by cells with magical barriers. Prisoners looked at the dark knight, howling and yelling at him. He sprinted down the hall, looking for an elevator. He slid to a stop as a bunch of guards turned the corner. Terry quickly ran down another hall, avoiding the blasts of magic behind him. He smiled as he found an elevator at the end of the hall. The dark knight flipped around and tossed a batarang at a guard that was chasing him as he quickly landed on his feet diving into the open elevator. The elevator doors quickly closed, blocking the barrage of magic bolts that would’ve hit him. He sat in the elevator and breathed. A soft, but catchy, tune played as he got to his feet. The elevator stopped and made a soft DING! sound. The metal doors slowly opened, and Terry could’ve believe what he was looking at.
The room was massive, with cells lining the walls. Over 25 stories of prison cells lined the walls, with small metal balconies on each floor. The ledges connected to a large elevator in the center of the room that probably brought prisoners to each floor and maybe to the top floor. Terry knew he was underground, but he didn’t know how far. But that’s not what scared him. It was the armada of guards that went from the elevator to where he was standing. They all guarded the center elevator. Some of the guards were in armor, probably leftovers of the assault in Manehattan, while others were in security uniforms. But what surprised him were the massive Minotaur’s in armor that had clubs and even axes. They all glared at the dark knight, not moving a muscle. He could hear the breathing of the guards in the silence. He gazed up to see a few unicorn guards stationed on each floor, their horns pointed at him.
“GRAAAHHH!” Terry looked back to see a Minotaur rushing at him. Each step shook the very floor beneath him. Terry quickly jumped over the massive creature, landing on his head. He quickly jumped off as he shot a grapple at the first floor of the prison. Barrages of magic shot at him, some grazing his chest and neck as he hoisted himself up. He gracefully landed on the metal bridge and ducked under a hoof from a guard. He punched the guard in the gut and tossed him off.
A massive cleaver flew in the air and cut through the metal bridge with ease. Terry quickly jumped off the falling bridge and grappled to the 5th floor. Bolts of magic shot at where he was, causing him to evade as he ran down the bridge and to the elevator. He skidded to a stop as a Minotaur slammed onto the bridge, causing it to shake. The Minotaur Ran at him, cleaver in hand. He jumped over the creature’s massive blow and grabbed hold of its horns. He back flipped off, kicking the Minotaur in the back of the head. Bolts of magic shot at the Minotaur As terry used it as a shield while he was in mid-air. He shot out a grapple from his forearm and propelled himself to the 8th floor. His red wings shot out as he glided his way to the 9th. He flipped off the rail and onto the bridge. Out roars from the prisoners turned into cheering as they watched Terry try to escape. He smiled and saluted the prisoners before running to the elevator. A Pegasus guard tackled him over the ledge and to the 10th floor. They slammed into the bottom of one of the metal bridges before falling back to the 9th floor.
Terry flipped to his feet. He jumped off the ledge and glided in the air, desperately avoiding the bolts of magic. The dazed Pegasus flew at him, rage in his eyes. Terry flipped onto the bridge above him, avoiding the quick pegasus that curved around to get him. He quickly ran to the elevator and slid inside. He slammed his fist on the button and watched as the elevator door quickly shut. A loud THUNK made him flinch as the Pegasus flew into the closed door. He pointed his wrist at the door and welded it shut. Even though the elevator was magic proof, a flaw, as he could hear the sounds of the magic bolts colliding with the metal. He rested his back on the wall and slid down to the floor. He pressed a button on his forearm. A few numbers flashed on his visor before stopping.
“83%. Good, still have some battery life.” Terry said. The numbers quickly disappeared. He paused, listening carefully. But all he heard was the hum of the elevator. The elevator abruptly stopped, causing Terry to get to his feet.
-CRASH!-
A massive hand ripped through the metal and grabbed Terry by the neck. The arm ripped him right out of the metal confines of the elevator and onto a bridge on the 23th floor. He landed hard on his back, the loud pang echoing in the large room. He got to his feet and groaned. Standing in front of him was a massive Minotaur, bigger that the others. The beast was clad in dark onyx armor that looked battle damaged. The shoulder pads were two large skulls of a lion. His massive hoof stomped on the bridge, causing it to shake. His fur was black as night, with only scars breaking up the colour. A massive gold ring hung from his nose in the shape of a skull. His horns were curled down like a ram, making a skullcap with horns. The Minotaur took a step closer, his hot breath dissipating in the cold air.
“I’m the warden of this Prison.” The Minotaur growled. “And if you think you can just waltz on out of here, you’re in for a world of pain. Because NO ONE. ESCAPES. STALLIONGATE PRISON!”
“Well then I get the honor to be the first.”
“BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! YOU? ESCAPE?” The Minotaur bellowed. “You’re smaller than my daughter and she’s five!”
“Well if she can take you down, so can I ugly.” The Minotaur snorted.”
“Funny guy. TOO BAD THAT WILL BE THE LAST WORDS YOU SAY!” The Minotaur’s massive fist slammed into the bridge, the metal exploding on impact. Terry jumped off the bridge and over the Warden. The massive creature spun around, ready to punch the smug grin off of Terry’s face, when the bridge gave away. The Warden roared as he fell, slamming through bridges with ease. Terry watched as the massive creature fell and began to climb up the side of the elevator shaft.
-SHREEEEEESH!-
Terry glanced down below. His white eyes went wide as the Warden gripped to the side of the elevator shaft on the 18th floor. His eyes glared at the dark knight as he began to climb, his hands bending the metal as he climbed. Terry gripped the side of the metal shaft with his claws and pointed his wrist at the metal. An orange laser shot out as he cut a hole in the shaft. He quickly jumped inside and climbed up to the ground floor as he grabbed the shaft doors and pried them open, ignoring the sounds of the warden’s rage. the light from the lobby almost made him not see the group of unicorn guards that pointed their horns at him. He slammed the doors shut and ducked under the doorway. A massive bolt of magic blew the doors open, right off of their hinges. The two blazing metal doors fell down the shaft, landing on the broken elevator. He waited for a bit, hiding in the shadows. A guard walked over to the edge in order to look over but sooner than he did Terry grabbed the stallion’s hooves, the electromagnetic pads on his boots keeping him up. As he pulled the guard over the edge and let him fall onto the broken elevator. He then proceeded to toss a few of his pellets over the edge as he flipped up onto the main floor. The gas pellets quickly activated as he ran through.
Terry charged through the twin doors and into a large courtyard. The glare of the moon shone down as he ran. A large wall was around the building he ran out of. He ignored the twin spot lights that shone down on him as he rushed to the large metal doors on the large wall. Bolts of magic began to shoot at him, causing him to go into a full on sprint as he proceeded to dodge them. A recognisable roar came from behind him. He glanced over his shoulder to see the Warden charging at him, pure rage in his eyes. Any Pegasi that were stationed in the dark clouds above the prison flew down to surround him. He had one chance. A Pegasus flew at him low to the ground. He jumped over the pegasus and continued to run. A few prisoners that were outside were cheering him on as he ran. If he didn’t know better, he could’ve sworn he was in a football game. He reached into his belt and grabbed a grappling hook. He aimed it at the wall and fired. The hook gripped to the ledge, surprising a unicorn guard. He pulled himself to the wall, flying in the air. a Pegasus grabbed the wire by him mouth and flew off with it, causing Terry to let go. His red wings shot out as he glided to the wall. His white eyes went wide as he saw what was over the wall.
The maximum prison was on an island, miles away from Manehattan. He could barely see the city in the distance. A rebreather covered his mouth as he dove over the wall and into the dark sea. He began to swim deeper as bolts of magic shot into the water. The bolts began to stop and soon it was quiet. Terry knew what they were doing. They were waiting for him to come up for air. Terry saluted the waiting guards and swam away, heading straight for the big apple. If he was right, it was Nightmare Night.
And he knows a certain mare that would be out at this time.