Luna carefully walked down the steps, her saddlebags lightly weighed down with the things she'd chosen to bring with her. Glancing around as she entered the massive cavern the stairs descended into, she could tell that most who entered the cave unwelcome would find it quite frightening, likely driving them to flee. However, to her it was quite homey. Deep within the Earth, shrouded in the dark of night, bats fluttering here and there through the stalactites, the only light that which visitors brought with them into this hidden abyss...she felt quite at home down here.
As she set her hoof down on the floor of the cavern, a voice startled her. "Not the face I expected to see when the motion sensors were tripped. Then again, Rarity usually calls ahead when she's coming for a visit."
Turning, Luna saw a human male, his body only just beginning to give in to the ravages of time. His white hair still had a few stray bits of black, and his eyes were old and wise, filled with caution but showing a gentle kindness. He sat at a chair before a massive computer system unlike anything Luna had ever seen, dressed in faded purple. While his visage was somewhat intimidating, this was balanced by the fact that Sweetie Belle was sitting on his shoulder, stretching her body out towards his hand like a cat as she sucked on a popsicle he held for her.
"Hi Princess Luna!" Sweetie said happily, before pouncing Bruce's extended hand, rolling onto the floor as she caught the popsicle.
Bruce chuckled at her antics. "How do you do...Princess?" he asked, his words showing a balance between respect and cynicism.
Luna smiled. "Quite well, thank you...Bruce, was it?" she asked. "Rarity said I could visit you. Her...friend...suggested you might be able to give me more details regarding her story, and that we might get along well."
Bruce raised an eyebrow. "You are acquainted with Rarity's...friend?" he asked cautiously.
Luna nodded. "Intimately. It is history for me."
Luna couldn't help but smile as she watched Bruce rapidly put the pieces together. Seeing the sudden smirk cross his face, she wondered just how many pieces he had been able to intuit from what she'd said...and what she hadn't said. "I think we have a great deal to talk about then," he said, pressing a few buttons on the computer. The display on the screen changed.
"Sweet!" Sweetie Belle shouted, grabbing a controller. "Button's never going to know what hit him once I've finished practicing!" She then proceeded to play the game Bruce had loaded up for her.
Bruce stood up, leading Luna over to a table where tea was already set up. He sat in a chair on one side, while Luna sat on her haunches on the other side. She chuckled as a large hound walked up calmly to say high. "And this?" she asked, running one hoof between the dog's ears.
"This is Ace," Bruce explained, smirking as he saw Ace start licking the Princess's face. "He's been rather fond of Rarity, and Sweetie Belle since she started visiting, so it could be he just likes ponies."
"Hardly an unprecedented preference," Luna murmured, picking up a few of the dreams of the city's sleeping citizens. "While we speak, here is one thing I'd like to explore. Rarity implied that you were exceptionally mentally gifted."
Bruce gave a modest tilt of his head. "I have my moments," he replied.
"While we speak, I wonder if it would be alright if I tested you in that regard?" she asked archly.
Bruce smirked. "What did you have in mind?"
Smirking, Luna levitated a board and sixteen carved figurines from her saddlebags. "Tell me...might your world have some variant of the game I know of as Chess?"
Bruce smirked. "I believe so." He glanced over the pieces, and how Luna was setting them up. "It doesn't look like - beyond terminology - it will be much different."
Luna smiled as she finished setting up the board. On one side from the middle outward was Celestia, Twilight, two Fluttershys, two Applejacks, two Shining Armors, and a row of white armored pegasi, all garbed in gold. On the other side was Luna, Cadence, two Raritys, two Rainbow Dashs, two Pinkie Pies, and a row of thestrals, all garbed in dark blue. "Shall we play Diurnal or Nocturnal?" Luna asked.
Bruce smiled. "I take it those are two different styles of play based on who goes first?"
Luna nodded. "Indeed. The game is always played best of three, with players switching which side they play each game."
"In that case, let's play Nocturnal," Bruce replied. "Ladies first."
Luna smiled warmly, then rotated the board so the night side was in front of Bruce. "I shall let you move first the first game," she replied.
Bruce smiled, his hand snaking forward for a piece.
Terry stretched as he changed out of the Batsuit after his long patrol. Hearing the clip-clop of hooves, he perked up, hoping to see Rarity. However, instead he saw two ponies he didn't recognize. "Umm..."
"Hi!" the smaller one said. "I'm Sweetie Belle, Rarity's little sister!"
Terry smiled down at the unicorn. "I'm Terry...kinda sorta Rarity's little brother."
"Little?" Sweetie asked with a raised eyebrow.
Terry chuckled. "All evidence to the contrary, yes."
"Do you have anything to eat?" Sweetie asked desperately.
Terry chuckled. "Didn't Bruce feed you?"
"Ever since he and Princess Luna started playing Chess, neither has a moment of attention for me," Sweetie replied. "They've been playing forever!"
Terry chuckled. "One game can't take that long."
"It's best out of three."
Terry laughed, scooping Sweetie Belle up. "Well, I'll get you something to eat from the kitchen. What game are they on?"
"37," Sweetie sighed dramatically.
"But you said they were playing best out of three!"
"Princess Luna won the first game because Bruce didn't fully understand the Last Stand rules, of how the Diarch piece's movement changes when one side has only one piece left," Sweetie explained. "Bruce won the second game with a surprise strategy based around that mechanic. The past 34 games have ended in stalemates."
"Yikes!" Terry exclaimed. "Didn't think anyone could match the old man like that."
As the sun began to rise over Gotham, Luna realized it was time for her to head back to Equestria and lower the moon. "How many stalemates is that?" she asked.
"64," Bruce replied, rubbing his eyes. After the first dozen or so games, the two of them had begun to get a handle on each other's play styles, and the games had started going faster. While the first few games lasted between 10 and 40 minutes, they eventually started resembling Blitz Chess as their pieces blurred across the board, the only limit on the time each move took being how fast Bruce could move his arm.
"Art thou well?" Luna asked in concern. "We...I had forgotten the limits of mortal bodies."
Bruce smiled. "Quite alright," Bruce replied. "My body is tired, but if schedule permitted, I could probably go for another dozen games or so." He chuckled. "I haven't had this level of mental gymnastics since that time The Riddler trapped me in a virtual reality quiz labyrinth. Invigorating."
Luna smiled coquettishly. "Perhaps this evening would have been more enjoyable had I spent the games asking about your story, rather than your daughter's," Luna replied.
Bruce smiled. "Challenging my mind with a lovely young woman as she listens to me talk about myself?" Bruce asked. "Few men could imagine a better way to spend an evening at my age."
Luna chuckled. "While flattering of you to say, you are the one who is but a foal compared to me," she teased. She frowned, a thought crossing her mind. There was something she could do here, and - oddly - she found herself wanting to. However, if she did, Celestia was likely to never let her hear the end of it. After a time of thought, she decided it would be worth it. "Bruce, you seem to have a great deal of experience and wisdom. I feel that my Night Guard - nay, all of Equestria - might benefit from it."
Bruce smiled. "Equestria, from all I've heard, seems like a nice place to visit if you're young." He shook his head. "I doubt my heart could handle the change if I were to visit now."
"I actually know of a spell that could restore your youthful energies, vigor, and stamina for another century or more," Luna pointed out.
Bruce's eyes narrowed. "What's the catch?"
Luna smiled, pleased to be able to speak with one who was both brilliant and direct, while still respectful. "To be blunt, the spell will not make you a young man. It will make you...a young stallion."
"...how young?" Bruce asked after a time.
"Physically, about double Rarity's age," Luna replied. "Ponies age at a different rate from humans, so you won't start to face senescence for another century or more...and that's if you don't take good care of yourself."
"And what would this do to my mind?" he asked.
"If you mean to your conscious mind - the part that holds your persona, your thoughts, your memories - nothing," Luna countered. "The only thing it will change of how your mind works is the subconscious aspect, the part that controls your limbs and involuntary systems, to adjust to having a different body."
Bruce thought about that for a time. Luna could see in his eyes that the offer was tempting. "...what guarantee do I have that this is all the spell will do to me? That it won't, for example, implant any subconscious trigger to let you control my actions?"
Had he asked this of Celestia - or just about any other unicorn in Equestria - they would have been so offended that the offer would have been immediately withdrawn, and Bruce likely would have received a hoof to the cheek at high speed. Luna, however, smiled. This was the man who had raised Rarity to be able to tame Nightmare, the one Nightmare had said had the strongest will she had ever seen. Luna was pleased to see he lived up to all the praise he had received. "I have one oath I can give," Luna replied. "If any of Rarity's previous life bled through while you were raising her, then you will know this oath as unbreakable, if not why." Sitting up straighter, she began the motions. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye, my spell will do no more and no less than what I have stated."
Bruce frowned. While he didn't recognize the oath and it seemed somewhat childish, the sheer solemnity with which Luna gave it - and the fact that Ace's ears went back and every bat in the cave froze stock still (even those in mid-flight) while it was being spoken - led him to believe it carried some sort of Equestrian magic behind it. "I will accept your offer," he said.
Luna smiled. "Very well, please stand up." As he did so, she stepped around so she'd have a clear spell path. "Do you have any last questions before I cast the spell?"
"Just two," Bruce replied. "What kind of pony will I become?"
"That depends on your own DNA," Luna replied as she charged her horn. "What is your last question?"
Bruce looked her right in the eye. "Will it hurt?" he asked, his voice level, showing neither concern nor fear but idle curiosity, almost as though - if it would hurt - he looked forward to testing his mettle against one last physical hurdle before he left being human behind.
Luna smiled. "To be perfectly honest, I have no idea. While the magical formula is sound, and the limited mental effects has been confirmed...I've never actually cast this spell before."
"Wait, what-"
Bruce was cut off as the blast of magic impacted his body, and he was enveloped by a blazing white light.
Luna smirked as the light faded. "Gotcha."
Bruce frowned as he pushed himself to his hooves. "Not. Funny," he scolded, then blinked. His voice sounded much younger than he was used to. Turning towards a blank computer screen, he took in his reflection.
His coat was the same dark bluish-grey as his eyes. His mane and tail were a blue so dark as to be almost black. His ears were large, sharply pointed, and tufted at the edges. Bat wings spread from his back, and he found it relatively easy to fold and unfold them. He noticed a mark on his flank: a red shield with something dripping off the bottom. He wasn't sure if it was supposed to be rust or blood. He also noticed that he was just as fit as he had been when he first donned the cape and cowl.
He wasn't the only one who noticed. "Woof!" Luna said without fully meaning to as she took in his changed form.
Bruce turned to look at her, and noticed one thing Luna might have overlooked as far as the changes the spell worked on him. It effected his instincts for his form...specifically, in this case, those covering physical attraction to one's own species. Seeing her eyes lock on his, he knew she realized it as well.
Smirking, he threw her a wink.