//------------------------------//
// Part I: Batmare Begins 
// Story: I Am the Night 
// by Ezn 
//------------------------------//


I AM THE NIGHT


by Ezn



PART I
BATMARE BEGINS


THE SOUND of a gunshot tore a hole in tense air of the moonlit alley behind the Sidneigh Opera House. A bright muzzle flash exploded the unshaven muzzle of the stallion with the desperate eyes and harsh voice, and Luna heard her sister scream out in pain.
“Sister!”
Princess Celestia slumped to the pavement, and red blood stained white fur. Luna stood motionless, watching.
The stallion cursed. “This is your fault!” he growled, before turning tail and galloping away. He was gone before Luna regained control of her faculties.
So was her sister.

Luna woke up with a start. Renewed memories of that night all those years ago opened up old wounds, and she shivered and breathed heavily. There was no getting back to sleep now.
Princess Luna slipped out from under the covers and slid out of bed. Her hooves clopped softly on the wooden floors, and the bedroom door creaked as she opened it. Perhaps a glass of warm milk would soothe her troubled mind... more likely not.
Milk filled up a glass, and Luna cast a heating spell over it. Steam rose from the white surface. The part that wounded her the deepest was that bullet had been meant for her.
It had been happened a scant few months since her return from exile within the moon. Although she was finally free of the anger and jealousy that had consumed her in the form of Nightmare Moon, there were still ponies who were justifiably suspicious of the sudden appearance of a long-lost princess they'd never heard of before, and who they were supposed to accept as an equal to their beloved Princess Celestia. Of these, there was a smaller group of ponies who hatched a plan to forcefully voice their disapproval and – in their minds – free Princess Celestia of her sister's – of Nightmare Moon's – bad influence.
The shooter had been nervous. Guns were a griffon invention, not optimised for mouth-wielding. And ponies, a largely peaceful race, could not be said to be optimised for shooting guns.
Celestia had been hit directly in the heart. She was dead long before the paramedics arrived.
Luna blew the steam away and took a sip. The milk warmed her from her throat to her hooves.
That's when she heard a scuffling coming from one of the walls, followed by low whispers. Some ponies were having a low conversation in the room adjacent. Luna walked closer to the wall and put her ear to it, straining to hear what their talk was about.
“Are you sure this is going to work?” asked a cautious, female voice.
“Undoubtedly, Pink,” a deep, confident male voice replied. “I've got everything set up. We're just going to march in, show them the requisition letter stamped with Princess Moody's royal seal and collect what's coming to us. Trust me.”
“And then we'll have enough money to throw a super-duper surprise party for little orphan Pip?” the female voice asked.
“Oh, that'll be just the beginning, my dear,” the male voice continued. “With the money we're going to get, we'll be able to throw a surprise party for every orphan in Equestria, and still have change.”
“Ya– mmff!”
“Shh, somepony'll hear us!”
“Sorry.”
“Okay, let's get out of here. We'll meet at the First Equestrian Bank tomorrow at noon. Come in costume, and don't be late.”
There was a scuffling of hooves, and then silence. Luna slowly, unsteadily stepped back from the wall, as if in a trance.
She had to wonder how many times such crimes must have been committed in her name during the last eight years. In all that time, she had barely left Canterlot Castle, and hardly spoken to anypony apart from maids and cooks. A whole new generation of school-age foals must have known nothing of the princess who raised the sun and moon each morning and evening.
But this was no time for idle musing! She had just uncovered a criminal plot, and had to do something about it. Luna grit her teeth and cantered out of the kitchen, leaving her half-empty glass on the counter.
She hoped the nightguards’ barracks had not been relocated recently. It had been years since she had spoken with any of the eager young nightguards who were supposed to be under her command. Surely they would be brave and resourceful enough to foil the plans of these castle-infiltrating evil-doers!
But as she zigzagged through the hallways, her canter slowed to a trot, and then a walk, and then a crawl. She, the immortal Princess of the Night – the one pony who controlled both the sun and moon – was running to her guards for help against petty thieves.
Her guards weren’t there on that night at the opera house. She and Celestia hadn’t even considered bringing them. An entourage of guards for an evening of socialisation and entertainment? Whatever for?
Princess Luna had come to a standstill in one of the great, airy corridors of her palace. The ceiling was far above her head, and nopony else was anywhere to be seen.
Nopony else except her sister, Princess Celestia, who gazed down on her from just above the door on the other end of the hallway. The artist had captured her in a mood of solemn determination, her chin high, her eyes set fixedly ahead of her and her mane flowing out behind her. She looked strong, proud and ready for anything.
Glancing down at her bony frame, Luna felt stingingly inferior. She imagined herself as she must have looked from the eyes of that enormous portrait – a small, hunched speck of midnight blue, dashing across cavernous halls in desperate search of help from others more brave and capable than herself.
Luna asked herself what her sister would have done had she been the one drinking milk in the kitchen; what her sister would do about ponies plotting to impersonate her. Luna knew she would never stand for it. Celestia would have burst into that secret meeting and arrested those ponies herself. She would have sorted out and forgotten about this issue in the time it had taken Luna to run halfway to her nightguard, because she was a Princess.
Luna wanted to be a Princess too. She cast her mind back into the mists of time, remembering when she and Celestia had imprisoned Discord in stone with the power of the Elements of Harmony. Celestia had said something then, something important...

The wind whipped at Celestia's pink mane as she stood at the edge of the cliff that was to host Canterlot. Below her, pink clouds turned white and a landscape polka-dotted with harsh blues and oranges slowly grew greener. “Sister,” she said, glancing back, “you and I have done a great thing today. But our great task has only just begun.”
Luna was frightened. “W-will Discord return?”
“I do not think so, but that is not what I speak of. I speak of the great, everlasting task we accepted the day we discovered the Elements of Harmony. Do you remember?”
“Y-yes. But... forever?”
“Yes, Luna. It is our sworn duty to protect ponykind for as long as they still live. We have not aged these past twenty years of preparation, and I do not think we ever shall. Our job is too important.”
Luna nodded solemnly and joined her sister at the edge of the cliff.

Pangs of regret tugged at Luna's heart as she recalled how she had betrayed her sister only a century later, but she shook the memories out of her head and gazed up at the oil painting again. Then, nodding with a genuine solemnity, she reaffirmed her devotion to that eternal duty that was now hers alone.
She would become a Princess worthy of her title, a ruler like her sister had been. And she would start by fighting her own battles and protecting her own ponies.

/^oo^\


It was a busy day at the bank  – the last Friday of the month. Ponies of all kinds, from pegasus pencil-pusher to earth pony construction worker to unicorn lab assistant, stood in long lines, fidgeting and making smalltalk.
The main room was abuzz with noise and activity, but everything turned quiet and still the instant a timid unicorn with a dark blue coat and lighter blue mane stepped up to one of the tellers and said her name.
“Um, hello. I, Princess Luna, have come to make a withdrawal.” A hoof slapped a piece of parchment down on the counter, and the royal seal of the Night Regent seemed to almost jump off its surface.
“Y-your Highness!” exclaimed the teller, awkwardly dropping below the counter in an unpraciticed bow. “It– It is an honour!”
Murmurs and gasps floated around the room.
“Is it really her?”
“What’s the Princess doing here?”
“Mommy, what’s a princess?”
“Please,” said Luna, “do not be frightened. I need to take out a royal loan for a matter of grave national importance – the same matter that has kept me occupied for this last decade. Understand that I do not mean to –”
There was  a sudden and very loud bang as the double-doors at the entrance of the bank flew open. “An impostor! That blackguard art not your Princess!”
Iron-clad hooves clanked against the floor as a figure in a black cloak entered the bank. A hood covered her head, casting a shadow over her face. A faint glow lightened the fabric at the top of the hood.
“Who’s this? What does she want?” somepony asked.
“She’s scary!”
“Look up! What’s that?”
Far above everyponies’ heads, a steel bucket floated in a cloud of brilliant blue magic glow.
“What’s she doing with that?”
The moved swiftly to a position above the dark blue unicorn in front of the teller’s station, and then upended itself.
A torrent of water poured out, and the Princess screamed in fright.
“What’s this madmare doing to our Princess?!” shouted somepony.
“She’d not our Princess, you idiot! Look!”
“Mommy, what’s an idiot?”
The Princess's body dripped with blue water, and large splotches of pink had appeared on her mane and coat. Her fake horn had fallen off.
The cloaked pony snorted derisively. “This cretin intended to make off with thousands of bits of your hard-earned savings, fair citizens! But fear not, for your salvation is at hoof.”
All eyes turned to the pink impostor, silently accusing and judging her. A path cleared between her and the cloaked pony, allowing the latter to march right up to her and stare angrily down at her pitiful expression. “What hast thou to say for thyself?”
The pink pony sniffed and stifled a sob. Her blue eyes brimmed with tears. “I just – I just wanted to throw a party for little orphan Pipsqueak’s birthday. I didn’t know it was wrong... I... hey! White Collar! Tell them about the Robbin’ Hood! Tell them what you told me!”
“Shoot,” muttered an all-white unicorn with a sack slung onto his back, obviously trying to make a quiet getaway amidst the commotion. He froze for just a moment as every pony in the room turned to face him, and then bolted.
“Hey! What’re you doing? Don’t leave me!”
“No hard feelings, Pink, but I never really liked your parties anyway!”
The cloaked pony charged into action. “Block the exits! He mustn’t escape!”
White Collar chuckled cruelly and shot a beam of magic energy at the central light. The mostly windowless bank was plunged into darkness, and the sounds of ponies tripping over and colliding with each other masked his speedy hoofsteps.
The cloaked pony, however, felt perfectly comfortable in the dark. Her keen eyes spotted White Collar inches from the double-doors, horn at ready to throw them open. She knew she wouldn’t be able to reach him in time. Instead, she unfastened her cape from her around her neck.
“Go, furry friends!”
Squeaking and screeching filled the room as a horde of bats flew from her back and charged at White Collar, cutting him off seconds before he could escape.
“Ah! Get ‘em off, get ‘em off!”
White Collar trashed his forehooves around wildly at the bats circling his head, but it was futile. He had already lost, and his defeat became complete as he felt the pressure of a cold metal horseshoe on his shoulder.
The door was pulled open, and a swift buck from a pair of long dark-blue hindlegs sent White Collar spinning head-over-tail onto the hard pavement... right in the middle of large gathering of policeponies and their wagons.
“Don’t steal from our ponies! Thy Princess commands it!”
And with this utterance, the real Princess Luna cast a light spell within the bank, illuminating her proud figure for all to see. Her starry mane billowed in an extra-strong solar breeze.
“Your Majesty!” everpony cried, dropping into bows.
Luna smiled.

/^oo^\


“I can’t tell you how much my ponies have been badgerin’ me to ‘express their sincerest gratitude’ to you for your help in the bank today, your Highness,” said Police Commissioner Applejack warmly. “White Collar’s been a thorn in our side for years with his fraud and embezzlement, and now we’ve finally got him locked up, ready to be charged, all thanks to you.”
“We were merely doing our duty!” Luna boomed.
Commissioner Applejack winced slightly, but forced a polite smile over it. “Still, we’re all very thankful. White Collar was a highly wanted criminal, and his assistant... well, word is she’s just a confused young mare, an’ I’m confident we c’n get her the help she needs.”
Luna recalled the dripping girl’s tearful eyes. “Tell us more about the assistant.”
“Well, your Majesty, her name’s Pinkie Pie, and she’s hardly a criminal. She’s got no previous record, and has apparently been gainfully occupied in the running of a small events-organising business for most of her adult life. That she would turn to crime like this is bafflin’, to say the least. I reckon that White Collar fellow spun her some pretty stories.”
“She said she wanted to have a party for an orphan,” Luna said. “Take me to her.”
“Well shucks, I’da given my money to a cause like that without it needin’ to be stolen. Come, I’ll show you to her cell. Just leave any weapons you might be carrying here.”
Commissioner Applejack plucked a holster from a strap on her shoulder and placed it inside a safe in the wall. She beckoned for Luna to follow suit.
“We don’t believe in guns.” Luna shook her cloak vigorously, and nothing fell out.
“Oh.” Applejack suddenly looked uncomfortable. “Right, right, of course. Perfectly understandable.”

/^oo^\


“The cell’s right around this corner, Princess. Poor Ms Pie, she must be awful frightened. She didn’t even let my ponies help her wash off the p– what?!”
Luna felt a horrible sinking sensation in her chest. She turned the corner and caught up with Applejack. A wide-open cell door greeted her.
“How could she have escaped from my jail?! It’s impossible!” Applejack angrily stalked into the empty cell. “An’ what in the hay has she done to my walls?”
Two different shades of blue paint where splattered all over the walls, spelling out a message.


PARTY! PARTY! PARTY! PARTY!
PARTY! PARTY! PARTY! PARTY!
PARTY! PARTY! PARTY! PARTY!



“Well she ain’t no poet.”
“She’s a monster!” came a cry from the corner of the cell, behind the bed. A scruffy, bruised policepony pulled himself into view from where he had been lying on the floor. “I came in here to get her to stop vandalising the cell, and she savaged me! Knocked me out and made a run for it!”
Commissioner Applejack blew an angry snort through her nostrils. “I want every pony we can spare on the streets, now! This girl’s obviously more dangerous than we thought, and I’m not gonna let her get away with assaultin’ my officers!”

/^oo^\


A pink pony covered in blue splotches galloped through the night with a singular purpose. Too much time had passed now for her to even think about carrying out her original plan. She had neither the funds nor the time nor the spirit to organise the party she’d dreamed of, but maybe if she hurried, maybe then she wouldn’t be too late to at least say goodbye.
After running for what felt like hours, she finally reached the orphanage. She burst in through the front door and barrelled up the stairs. Hooves clopped against hard wood as she raced to Room #20.
“Surprise!” she shouted as she dashed inside.
A cleaning mare looked up from where she was making the bed. The empty bed, in the barren room.
Realisation came to Pinkie slowly, and then it hit her like a brick as another pony galloped into the room behind her.
“I’m so sorry, Miss Pie!” wailed Mrs Cherish, the mare in charge of the orphanage and an old friend of Pinkie's. “Pipsqueak’s condition started to deteriorate rapidly early this morning. He passed on just before supper.”
Just before supper. Pinkie put the horrible pieces together. She had entered the bank at noon. If things had gone according to plan, Pipsqueak would have had his party. If White Collar had kept his promise to protect her, she wouldn’t have been sitting in jail for most of the day. She wouldn't have been prevented from seeing dear, sickly Pipsqueak.
But that’s not what happened.
Pinkie had failed, and now her little friend was gone.
She never even had a chance to say goodbye, let alone throw him one last party.
Pinkie Pie stood dazed for a moment. She felt dizzy, then sick, and then her eyes grew wet. She blinked, and the tears flowed. Pinkie slumped to the floor, sniffling.
Mrs Cherish moved in and hugged her, staining her apron with rivulets of blue and blue tears.
Somewhere in the dark of the night, a bat screeched. Then distant sirens sounded. Pinkie Pie’s ear stood at attention, and adrenaline broke through her grief. Blank-faced, she pushed Mrs Cherish away.
“Pinkie, what’s –”
She ran out of the door, still sobbing, ran out of the building, barely seeing through her tears, and disappeared into the night.

/^oo^\


“I’m afraid we haven’t caught Miss Pie yet, your Majesty,” Commissioner Applejack said morosely. “It’s as if she just disappeared!”
“Keep trying. She has to be somewhere. We cannot rest until she is apprehended.”
“Will do, Princess Luna. Do say som’in if you manage to get to her first.”
“We shall. Good day.”

On the way out of the police station, Luna heard a familiar voice.
“...and he big floppy ears, and a brown coat with a big black spot on his back, and his name is Bruce, and I love him very – Mommy, look! It’s that bat mare!”
“Her name is Princess Luna, Autumn Leaf, and you need to bow when she comes in the room, like this.”
Luna smiled as the little orange filly and her pink mother bowed to her, and bade them to rise.
“Thank-you for saving us from the bad ponies, Princess Luna!” shouted Autumn Leaf.
“It is our pleasure!” Luna exclaimed.
Autumn shrunk back in awe and wonder, and Luna thought she noticed a tear of joy in the child’s eyes. She left the station with a smile on her face.
“‘That bat mare’,” she repeated to herself, amused. "We like the sound of that..."


[Luna and Pinkie Pie will return in I Am The Night Part II: Party in Tartarus]