It Runs In The Family

by Onomonopia


Prepare

Scootaloo was used to going to the hospital, but normally it was because she was the one that needed an operation. She had only come here once for a friend and never for her sister. But according to the Cakes, who had seen the entire battle go down, RD had been brutalized by what looked like ponies with demon horns that breathed fire, and she had been taken to the hospital while the other Elements had tried to contain the battle. Luna had left to await Celestia's arrival, once Twilight had joined up with them and told them that Celestia wanted them to know she was on her way. Twilight then joined Scootaloo to go visit RD in the hospital.

"I'm amazed that we had as few casualties as we did considering how strong the Demon Spawn were," Twilight said in a tired voice, while she and Scootaloo walked down the hospital hallway to Rainbow's room, carrying the newest adventure of 'Daring Do' to help her friend survive the hospital stay. "Rainbow did most of the fighting, but those demon-like creatures were just too much for her to handle."

"I was told that Pumpkin was foalnapped," Scootaloo said, wanting to get right to the point. She had changed out of the Batmare armor only a few minutes before she and Twilight had both gone to the hospital together. Failing to capture any members of the Demon Spawn, she was in a bad mood, made worse by the fact that her student had been taken. "Can you tell me who did it and what they looked like?"

"Sure, they're the ponies that wore white cloaks and spoke crazy talk, just like the ones you were fighting against," Twilight said with a bit of a growl, hating how powerless she had been against them. "The ponies themselves we could handle, but the demons that fought alongside them were too much for us to handle combined. Even the Elements' power had trouble against them, and that was when RD was still up and fighting. Once she went down, it was all we could do to drive the monsters from our town."

"This is my fault," Scootaloo said as she came to a stop outside of the door and placed a hoof on it, gritting her teeth in rage at how easily she had fallen for the trap. "I should have known that the base was bait and stayed here to protect my home. Because of my lapse in judgment, my student and friend might die. I can only spend a few minutes with Rainbow, then I need to get ready to go rescue Pumpkin." Twilight nodded as Scootaloo pushed open the door, revealing a bandaged Rainbow who was looking out the window, bored out of her mind, but the boredom vanished when she saw Twilight and Scootaloo.

"Hey, you two," she said as she raised her hoof a bit, wincing as she did so. "Thanks for coming to visit me. Any more time spent by myself I think I would have gone crazy."

"I figured that would happen, so I brought you this," Twilight said as she levitated the book over to her friend, who squealed as she grabbed it out of the air and held it close to her chest. Then RD looked at Scootaloo with a sad face, and she hung her head slightly.

"I...I'm sorry Scoots. I tried to protect Pumpkin, but those guys were just too strong. You warned me that they might come for her, but I only got to them once they had gotten her. I failed you."

"...No Sis, it's not your fault. I should have stayed behind and protected the town," Scootaloo said with a sigh as she pulled up a chair to sit behind her sister. "I'm the one to blame."

"No way Scoot's, this ones on me."

"Fine. We'll both take half the blame. Sound good?"

"Sure," RD said with a weak smile as she looked at Twilight. "Where are the rest of the girls? Are they alright?"

"They're fine, just taking some time to recover," Twilight said with a tired sigh as she pulled up a chair for herself as well. "I just wish I knew where these Demon Spawn came from and what they wanted. Are they really so crazy as to unleash the ultimate demon upon this land? It'll kill them as well."

"Believe it Twi, these ponies are bucking nuts," Scootaloo said with a growl as she crossed her arms. "One of them blew themselves up to try and kill me, so I don't think they care for their own safety. My only concern right now is to save Pumpkin, and in order to do that, I'll..." Scootaloo stopped talking when she sensed another presence behind her and turned to see Princess Celestia walk into the room, shaking her head at the sight of her wounded friend.

"I am so sorry, Rainbow Dash," she said in a powerful voice that was filled with empathy. "If only I had been here sooner to help you fight off the demons, maybe this would have never happened."

"Don't worry, Princess, I guarantee that they didn't leave in the best of health either," RD said with a confident grin. "Besides, Batmare here is going to go flatten them for us. Ain't that right kid?" Rainbow looked to Scootaloo as she said this, only to find her sister looking at Celestia and the newly arrived Luna with fear spreading on her features.

"Wait, why are the both of you here?" she muttered to herself, but it was loud enough for all to hear.

"Because a friend of mine was hurt and I wanted to see them," Celestia said in a confused voice, tilting her head slightly. "Why? What is wrong with that?"

"Because it's what the Demon Spawn want!" Scootaloo half-roared as she stood up and started to run for the door. "With both of the princesses gone, the Spawn will have no trouble-" A massive tremor shook the entire building before she could get to the door, knocking all of the ponies off their hooves. Scootaloo was the first back up and ran through the door, being the first pony to be struck dead by what she saw when she made it outside.

"What is that?" Celestia asked, once she and Luna had joined her outside, staring up at Canterlot like Scoots was. A massive barrier of darkness had covered the city entirely, making it impossible to view the city. Celestia had barely looked at the city before she faced Scootaloo in confusion. "How did you know of this?"

"It's like I said in my report, the Demon Spawn can only do the last part of the ritual in the place where the demons of old were sealed," Scootaloo said with a snarl as she turned and started for her house. Luna had taken to the skies and flew towards the city, horn glowing with power as she prepared to break through. Celestia followed Scootaloo, who continued to talk as she walked. "Since they nabbed the last pony that they needed to finish the ritual, all they needed was a reason to get the princesses to leave. The base out in the wasteland was enough to draw Luna and they knew that you couldn't resist coming to the aid of the Elements."

"They are cunning, for a bunch of crazy extremists," Celestia admitted with a growl as she entered Scootaloo's home behind her, standing back as she opened the secret passage to the cave.

"I need to prepare," Scootaloo said as she headed down the stairs into the cave. "The remainder of their forces will probably be in Canterlot with them, and it will take more than a pony in a bat suit and the three princesses to beat them. I'm going to need to bring my 'A' game."

"There is no point," Luna said as she entered the cave as well, Twilight following closely behind her. "Nothing can get through whatever barrier they have summoned. I cannot teleport inside and my magic does nothing to it."

"And with Rainbow in the hospital, we can't use the Elements," Twilight said as she watched Scootaloo suit up again. "And unless you have the something that can match the Elements in power, I think we're stuck." Scootaloo put a hoof under her chin and thought about what Twilight had said, realizing that there was somepony that might be able to help them.

"I might know somepony, but the three of you are going to have to trust me on this one," Batmare said with a sigh. "Celestia, I need you to teleport us to where...Pipsqueak's headquarters are."

"Wait a moment...why would we want to go there?" Celestia asked her, with the other two princesses looking at Batmare with equal confusion.

"Because...Pipsqueak is Blackmane," Batmare said with a grimace. All of the ponies were struck dumb by the news, and all of them let out a "WHAT?!" all at once. "Look, all the evidence I've collected indicates that he and Blackmane are the same."

"But how can that be?" Luna asked in disbelief, shaking her head. "He's far too small to be Blackmane, not to mention far too kind."

"Look, I'll tell you when we get there," Batmare said with a glare that silenced all of them. "Celestia, if you'd please." Celestia looked at Batmare with a little more uncertainty, but started up the spell that would take them to the headquarters of Black Flag. They all vanished with a flash, leaving only the bats in the cave.

====---====

The headquarters for the Black Flag was in the center of Mareiland and had some of the best security on all of Equestria, with even Batmare admitting that she'd have a tough time breaking in. But today was different as the secretary at the main desk was blinded by a flash of light, only to see--when she finally could see--that three of the four princesses and Batmare were standing in front of her, looking around with interest.

"We're here to see Pipsqueak," Batmare said to her with a cold voice.

"D-do you have an appointment?" she stammered out, trying to go through the regular procedure, but all of her confidence fell away as Batmare narrowed her eyes at her and gave her the glare that nopony could resist. "T-top floor. Elevator will be open to all of you." Batmare walked past her without a word, but Celestia had the manners to thank the secretary as they passed. Once they had all fit into the elevator, they pressed the button for the top floor and began to head up.

"I cannot believe how far technology has come in ten years," Celestia said with a whistle as she looked out the glass part of the elevator down at the city below, while Luna simply marveled at the fact that they all fit in the elevator.

"So Scoo--Batmare, you never did explain how you figured out that Pip was Blackmane," Twilight pressed, wanting answers.

"I'm not one hundred percent certain, but I do have strong assumptions and evidence," Batmare responded. "However, I want Pip to hear my theories so he can correct anything I might have missed. This is our stop." The door to the elevator opened to reveal a nicely decorated office filled with interesting knick knacks and items, but all of the ponies were looking at the stallion who sat in the chair at the end of the room.

"Princesses...Batmare? I must admit that this is a surprise," Pipsqueak said with confusion in his voice as he motioned for them to sit down. "Normally you call ahead whenever you want to visit me. Is this a special occasion?" He was smiling at first, but the smile fell when Batmare walked right up to his desk and glared into his eyes.

"Drop the act, Blackmane, I know who you really are." Pip looked down at his hooves for a minute before he looked into Batmare's eyes with a smile on his face.

"So you finally figured it out, eh Scoots?" he responded, causing the princesses to gasp, but he got no emotion out of Batmare. "I knew that you would eventually. So, how did you do it?"

"Simple. Every time you showed up to a ball or some sort of place filled with rich ponies, Blackmane was never far behind. Second, you are the only pony in Equestria with access to the engine that your ship uses. It wasn't that hard to figure out. Also, you had always dreamed of being a pirate and now you have the funds to do so. Have I hit all the marks?"

"All but one, my dear Scoots, and that one is because it's fun. The thrill of the theft and the even greater rush of being chased by such a lovely foe...it's too good to resist," Pip said with a chuckle that envoked Luna's rage.

"How could you do this Pipsqueak? You were one of the kindest ponies that I knew," Luna growled. "Why would you wish to become a pirate for the sake of fun? What about the lives you endangered?"

"Nopony was ever hurt by my pirate escapades, and I made sure that my crew understood what would happen if they tried it," he said with a dismissive wave of his hoof. "All of my tools are designed to incapacitate, not kill. But I don't believe that the four of you came here just to bust me. What's going on?"

"I'll make this quick since we don't have much time," Celestia said. "There is a force that has placed a barrier around Canterlot and we cannot get inside. Batmare believes that you have some way of getting in. Care to tell us what she is thinking?"

"She's probably thinking about the engine on the 'Desperate Gamble'," he said with a nod. "That's my ship by the way. Now, normally that sucker is just used to push the ship across the sky, but if enough magic is pumped into it..."

"It becomes a cannon," Batmare finished for him. "And that's what we'll need to get into Canterlot. So, will you help us?" Pip closed his eyes and lowered his head for a minute, thinking it over. Then he raised his head again with a massive smile as he got out of his chair.

"Oh, why not? This will probably be the only chance I'll have to lay siege to Canterlot and not get arrested for it," he said with a wicked grin.

"No, that bit comes later," Batmare muttered to herself as Pip walked past them and pressed a hidden button next to one of his bookshelves, revealing an even larger elevator.

"All aboard that's coming aboard," he said with a grin as he stepped on, the others following suit. As the doors closed, Batmare noticed that this elevator only had two buttons. One for this floor and the other for...

"So why keep your ship under your place of business?" Batmare asked Pip.

"Because I can't fit it under my house," he replied with a chuckle. "So, why weren't you surprised at the fact that I knew your identity?"

"I figured that it was only a matter of time before somepony put two and two together," she said with a shrug. "I was the closest to Batman after all."

"Yep. Oh look, we've reached our floor." Pip and Batmare both stepped off the elevator without any care, but the three princesses were struck dumb by what they saw. They were in a massive hanger with an equally massive ship sitting in the center of it. All around them, they could see ponies working on the ship, leaving a few more questions to be asked.

"So, are all of these ponies part of your crew or are they very well paid?" Twilight asked once she and the others had caught up with Batmare and Pip.

"Half and half, although most of them are both," Pip said as he walked to a place called the changing quarters. "Now, if you four will excuse me, I will be right back." He vanished into the room, leaving the four ponies to look around the hanger with both amazement and disbelief. After around ten minutes he came back out, but if a pony did not know his secret, it would have looked like a whole 'nother pony had stepped out.

"Alright you bilge rats, it's time to go lay siege to Canterlot!" Blackmane roared with enough power so that all the ponies in the chamber heard. There was a hearty cry of "HUZZAH" and ponies everywhere either began to take up stations or changed into pirate garb. "Come ye four, it's time to take the helm!" He ran off laughing as he said this, leaving the three confused princesses and Batmare to chase after him. Blackmane told his crew as he ran that the four ponies were with him, but that didn't stop them from giving the four wary glances as they passed. Only once he had reached the quarterdeck did Blackmane come to a stop, letting the four catch up with him.

"So, how did you do it Pip?" Luna asked as she looked over the much bigger form of Blackmane, not believing that this mass of mane and muscle was Pip. "You look nothing like your old self."

"This be the power of imagination and effort my dear," he said with a wink as he headed towards the helm. "And it's a trade secret! Now brace yerselves for the greatest ship ride of any lifetime!" The engine roared to life as he yelled his commands, and the group was thrown to the deck as the ship began to surge forward, multiple doors opening to reveal a hole in the side of the cliff where the ship could exit.

"And no pony just happened to notice a massive pirate ship coming in and out of the city!?" Twilight yelled in disbelief over the engines, once she had regained her hoofing.

"I will need to have a serious talk with the guards that are stationed here!" Celestia yelled back. They gripped the deck as tight as they could while the ship moved smoothly forward, the roar of the engines drowning out any other sound, except for the sounds of Blackmane's laughter as the ship rocketed out of the hanger and into the night sky. Once it was out of the hanger the force of the engines died down somewhat and the ponies were able to move around the deck without worry of falling over.

"If you had told me this morning, that a colt that I had watched over since he was little was the biggest pirate in Equestria, I would have sent them to an asylum for being mad," Luna said with a sigh. While the princesses looked over the land, Batmare walked up to the helm where Blackmane stood.

"You seem to really enjoy this," she said to him as she watched his face out of the corner of her eye, noticing the sheer euphoria on his visage.

"It's a rush for me; similar, I bet, to the rush you feel when you are fighting crime," he responded. Batmare responded with a scoff and shook her head.

"I did this because I promised Batman that I would follow in his footsteps and try to keep my world safe for him. I don't do it because I enjoy it," she said. Blackmane remained silent for a moment before he decided to respond.

"And who's to say that I'm not following a promise that I made? Maybe the two of us are more similar than you would like to believe. Have you thought about that?" he asked her with a raised eyebrow, but his eyes narrowd on the horizon before he could elaborate.

"All hooves on deck! Canterlot ahead!"