“Now entering Gotham City,” the conductor said over the speakers.
'Finally,' thought Luna. Twilight had asked no less than a thousand questions, though she did stop and take several minutes to write in her journal. Now that they had arrived, these questions would stop and they would all get some rest. Luna had raised the moon already, so that was done. All she needed now was some rest.
At the announcement that they had arrived in Gotham, the ponies all looked out the windows. They realized that they were fairly high off the ground, riding a kind of monorail. The monorail, they saw, led across the city, several turns and tracks accommodating multiple trains. They all had a central hub in the heart of the city: Mayne Tower.
Mayne Tower was an impressive skyscraper, gargoyles on every few floors. The top floor had two: Thomas and Martha. Mayne Tower was one of the few buildings to look clean. One of the few you could actually see through all the smog! All the buildings other needed a good washing, too, and a few buildings tilted slightly!
Gargoyles were a common sight in the city. They lined certain buildings looking down to the world below. The gargoyles seemed to be watchful protectors of the residence. After further research, Twilight would learn that these gargoyles were called the Dark Knights of Gotham.
Another peculiarity of the city was the sky. It was blood red. This made the city look even more gritty than it already did, with the building silhouetted by Luna's moon. Indeed, the “Red Sky” was an big attraction for tourists, and it was easy to see why. You would never see this kind of thing in Canterlot.
***
The group exited the train, but not before throwing on some cloaks. These cloaks were enchanted to make the wearers seem unremarkable to anyone who wasn't paying attention. So they could walk past normal ponies without concern, with only the most observant pony noticing the group.
Luna took note of the guards in the station. They were placed sparsely around the room, all armed with spears and armor. Why could a station possibly need armed guards? Luna also noticed that everypony took long strides to avoid getting close to these guards. Strange...
Rarity was slightly confused. She noticed that almost everypony was wearing clothes. While such behavior was normal in high-society cities, these were not normal clothes. They were old, torn, uncomfortable looking. They seemed to almost choke the ponies. Why doesn't anypony discard those rags?
Rainbow Dash was astounded at how high the pegasi were flying. It was as if they were trying to escape through the ceiling, like they were trying to stay as far away from other ponies as possible. Huh...
Applejack was uneasy, especially about the guards. Those ponies were hiding something. She could feel it in her bones! What with the way ponies were avoiding the guards, she could just smell the corruption.
Pinkie was... sad. There was no joy here. No euphoria. Normally she would do some hops and sing a song, but... That wouldn't work. This can't be happening! Never before had she felt the overwhelming despair that she felt here.
Fluttershy couldn't take her eyes off the homeless that lined a wall, wearing rags and huddling together. She watched as they starved, feeling completely helpless. She couldn't fix this on her own.
Twilight ignored the helplessness around her. Instead, she listened, swiveling her ears to hear a discussion on the bat.
Ten minutes later, they realized they had made a wrong turn. Twilight stopped hypothesizing over the Bat's favorite snack, taking in her surroundings for the first time. They were on a street, but these streets were somehow worse than the others in the city. There was trash everywhere, spray-paint on all visible walls, and several discarded knives covered in what they all hoped was rust.
They learned not to peer into the alleys. Whenever they did, they saw vaguely equine-shaped objects laying in the darkness. Applejack wished she could lie to herself and say, 'the ponies are just sleeping on the cold, rock-hard concrete. And they had some of my cupcakes. That's why they smell like dead cattle.'
All the girls kept their eyes to the ground, eyes clenched shut to stop the tears. Even Luna seemed sick. 'Just don't use your sense of smell,' Rarity told herself. 'It's all fine! They're alive...' Seeing these corpses, the group were filled with new resolve. They would fix this city, come Hades or Poseidon. After several moments, Fluttershy heard a sound and reflexively looked behind herself. Then she saw him.
“Um... girls?” Fluttershy whispered, her throat soar from the silent sobbing she had done while walking down the road.
“Ya, Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash responded, failing to hide the catch in her throat.
“There's a... pony... who may or may not be... possibly following us.”
The ponies turned around to see an orange earth pony with almost no mane. He was severely underweight, likely anorexic. He stopped in his tracks, looking to the group awkwardly. He was clearly nervous.
Luna steeled herself, inserting authority into her voice. “May we help you?”
“No, ma'am,” he said quickly turning back around to hurry off.
“Hey,” Pinkie Pie appeared in front of him, inspecting him with a magnifying glass. “Are you following us?!” She got close to his face, her eyes magnified 10 fold.
“Uh, n-no!” stammered the stallion. “I was just, uh,” he paused, “wanting your... pictures, yes, for my art.”
The Mane Six and Luna thought about it. It was obvious the guy was lying. On the one hoof, this guy was spying. On the other hoof, he might leave them alone if they would give him the autographs. “Okay,” Luna finally said. “Do you have a camera?”
The stallion looked confusedly, and then realization crossed his face. Then horror. He'd been caught. “N-no,” he said. He looked everywhere but at the princess in front of him. “You see... I was... well... uh––”
“You were spying, weren't you?” Luna interrupted, her voice cold.
“Y-yes,” the stallion replied. “Please... I'm sorry! I'll never do it again! Please don't take my art!”
Luna looked at the pathetic creature. He was cowering on the ground, not unlike Fluttershy would do. 'Is this how bad the city is? Do you fear for your life after simple transgressions? And... Does he have scars on his cutie-mark?' Luna walked over to the shaking stallion and patted him on the back.
“Do not worry. I won't hurt you. Why were you spying?”
“Well,” he sniffled, then seemed to forget any sadness or fear that he had felt. He started to star at Luna more intently. “I don't know if I should say.”
“Pleeaaassseee!” Pinkie begged, once again appearing near the stallion. He didn't flinch at her sudden appearance; his eyes were always on Luna.
“I was paid,” he said, his voice now devoid of emotion.
“Who? Who paid you?” Luna had a gentle voice now. The last thing she wanted to do was terrify this pony. She could only guess what he had been through.
“I don't know,” he said.
“What did he look like, then?” Luna asked.
“He was no where near as beautiful as you,” he said, changing tones from emotionless to affectionate. Luna blushed, more at the awkwardness of the compliment than the actual compliment itself.
“He was orange. Had a black mane. Looked kinda like Bruce Mayne. Couldn't have been the same pony, though. This guy had a deeper voice. And he had the dirtiest coat. He was clearly very poor.” the pony continued. He paused for a second, staring at Luna lovingly. “I bet you're not poor, though. You're too beautiful.”
Luna was confused. 'What is this guy doing? Does he really think he had a chance?' After more contemplation, Luna decided to reject him gently; this guy was clearly unstable.
“I–” Luna started, but the stallion interrupted her.
“I have chosen you to be my next mark. Will you come willingly?”
Luna thought quietly for a few seconds. If I turn him down, he might have a psychotic break. I should be kind here. I know! The stallion held his breath as he waited for a response. Then Luna levitated several bits over to the guy. “Mr.?”
“Zsasz.” he responded, anticipation in his voice.
“Here you go, Mr. Zsasz. This should cover your troubles. Now, please leave us alone.” her voice had subtle anxiety.
He looked at the money in his hooves. Thinking. 'Maybe this kindness proves that the world isn't meaningless,' Zsasz thought. 'No! I need the mark!'
“Nice try,” he said, not even trying to conceal his menace anymore. He tossed the money to the ground as the Six hid behind Luna, Fluttershy was in the early stages of a mental breakdown. Luna's horn was lit and ready. Though she wasn't the best at combat spells, she would certainly be able to take this underweight psychopath.
“But you cannot separate me from my mark!” Zsasz continued, becoming more and animated. “I will drag the knife through the flesh and you will be––” Zsasz collapsed to his knees mid-sentence because of something in the sky: bats. A large colony was flying through the sky, their black bodies contrasting with the red skies.
Zsasz got over the momentary shock and got back to his hooves, putting on some kind of weak fighting stance. “Leave me alone, Bat! I need the mark!” He turned to look behind him, then turned back, then checked his sides, over and over again as if expecting the Bat-pony to appear out of thin air. This gave the seven other ponies an opportunity to see his cutie-mark more clearly, or what was left of it. It appeared to be something to do with paint, but you could hardly make out the brush because of the scars covering it. Tally marks.
The Six and Luna were watching, too paralyzed to move. This guy was unraveling in fear. Terror. “I will find you!” he threatened as he turned to Luna. In a desperate attempt, he charged. "You must be my mark!”
But after a few steps, the colony overhead converged on a single target: Zsasz. The bats knocked the ponies lucid. As Zsasz struggled and screamed something about his 'mark', other ponies were running down the street. They didn't care where they ran, as long as it was away from that psycho.
They slid to a stop when a luxurious chariot landed in front of them. “Are you the Elements of Harmony?” the passenger asked. The ponies nodded, not capable of coherent speech yet. “Get in!” the passenger ordered. The seven were happy to comply. They piled into the chariot. The chariot took off at speeds that Rainbow Dash could appreciate. They reached cruising altitude, and the seven tried to stop panicking.
They looked around. It was a luxurious chariot, large enough to keep them comfortable. The passenger was an old pony, though he was much younger than Granny Smith. He wore an expensive-looking tuxedo that, along with his white mane's careful orderliness, boasted of great wealth.
“Excuse my momentary lack of manners” the passanger, an almost elderly stallion, asked. “My name is Alfred Bitworth. I am the personal Butler of Bruce Mayne. When you didn't show up at the Iceburg lounge, I had assumed you got lost. When I found you, you all looked terrified!”
“Yes,” Luna started. “We–”
Dash interrupted. “We were assaulted by this crazy stallion who went on and on about 'his mark', whatever that means. He was getting violent, but I could've taken him in 10 seconds fl–”
Twilight zoned out at this point. Luna's, and possibly her own, brush with death still replayed in her mind. That psycho could have killed them all. Well, Luna would have stopped him. But it was scary non-the-less.
But something stopped him. Bats wouldn't just attack a single target like that. It wasn't in their nature. Something had to be directing them, controlling them. The Batpony. And Twilight vowed to find him, to think him for saving her.