//------------------------------// // Aftermath: A New Robin // Story: Batmare Triumphant // by SuperPinkBrony12 //------------------------------// Jet Set's trial was a massive public spectacle, with all of Canterlot being in attendence. Taking Fancy Pant's place as District Attorney was his wife, Fleur De Lis. Everypony agreed that she was the most qualified to take on the role, even if Fleur herself didn't think so. One exiled Cantelort citizen read about the trial in the papers, from the confines of his padded cell at Canterlot Asylum. "Such delicious chaos." The Joker thought to himself "And me without a means of being able to see it. Oh well, guess you can't win 'em all." The trial for Jet Set lasted for several days, as there were a lot of witnesses to testify, and a lot of evidence to sort through. Fleur De Lis proved to be a suitable successor to her husband, and managed to discredit all of the evidence Jet Set's team submitted. Thus, it came as little surprise to anyone when the verdict was handed down. "The defendant, Jet Set, is found guilty on all charges." the jury declared "He knowingly interfered in a project that resulted in the death of an innocent member of the night guard, and attempted to cover up the truth." With the exception of Jet Set's wife, Upper Crust, everyone in the courtroom cheered. Justice had been served. Nightwing was thrilled when he learned that the evidence he had obtained was the key factor in determining Jet Set's guilt. "I knew that disc would be important." he told his fellow crusaders, as they read about the verdict. "Here's hoping that scumbag gets what he deserves!" Cyborg said seriously. "Lock 'em up and throw away the key!" Beast Boy added. "I am just glad that justice has been served." Starfire replied. "Let us hope that his successor will not be as corrupt as he was." Raven commented. The news of the verdict traveled fast, and it wasn't long before all of Equestria knew of it. Most of the citizens cheered, but a few did not and still believed that Jet Set had done no wrong. "Fleur is definitely a worthy successor of her husband's legacy." Granny Smith commented, as she and Applejack read about the verdict in the Bat Cave "Do you intend to make an appearance, to offer your services to her?" "I think it's best if Batmare stays out of the affairs of the district attorney." Applejack replied "Besides, after what happened with Fancy Pants, I don't think Fleur would be too happy to see another costumed character." "Suit yourself, but if you ever change your mind, I won't stop you." Granny Smith smiled, before she began to a cough a little "This cold just doesn't seem to wanna leave." "Well, Miss. Freeze gave me somethin' that could probably help you with that." Applejack explained, and revealed the vial of blue liquid that she had obtained a short time ago. "She says it can extend your lifespan by a couple of years." "You're not plannin' on makin' me life forever, are you?" Granny Smith asked seriously "I've lived for a long time already, immortality would be a curse. I already said I didn't wanna have to bury ya." "It's only goin' to keep you alive for a little longer than you normally would." Applejack told Granny Smith "And look at it this way, with this, you have a greater chance of livin' to see great grandkids. Wouldn't it be nice to help raise one last generation of Apples?" "I suppose so, assumin' any of my grandkids ever actually settle down and raise a family. And right now, I don't see that happenin'." Granny Smith said crossly, glaring at Applejack. "Trust me, Granny Smith. I've been tryin' my hardest to find somepony to settle down with." Applejack replied "But it's pretty hard to do so when you've got a double life to lead. But there's always Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom." "That's true. Lately, Big Mac's been pinnin' for that school teacher like no tomorrow." Granny Smith commented "And Apple Bloom, well, she's got that whole 'Crusaders' club to help her. And as long as you and Apple Bloom are gonna be runnin' 'round fightin' crime, I get the feelin' you're gonna need me to help rein ya both in from time to time." "Truer words were never spoken." Applejack nodded "So, I guess that settles it." "Indeed it does, but don't get upset if it doesn't work." Granny Smith told Applejack, as she took the vial "And this is the ONLY thing I'm takin' that'll extend my life span. When my time runs out, it'll run out." And with that, Granny Smith poured the vial's contents into a nearby cup of tea, mixed it in thoroughly, and then drank said tea. Within seconds, she felt much better. It was almost as if she were completely young once again, but Granny Smith knew better. A few weeks later, Batmare was out on patrol in Ponyville. Rumors had circulated that Two Face was at it again, and Batmare was determined that the crime boss would not get away with whatever he was planning. However, the rumors about Two Face turned out to be duds. Two Face failed to show, and the only thing Batmare had accomplished, was draining The Batmobile of fuel. "Nightwing is gonna rub this in my face the next time we meet." Batmare thought to herself, as she parked The Batmobile in an alleyway behind Sugarcube Corner. Deciding that the refueling process could wait, Batmare headed inside to grab a bite to eat. "It's a good thing Pinkie Pie's kept my identity a secret." Batmare thought to herself, as she carefully removed her mask. When Applejack came back out, she was surprised at what she saw. There was an earth pony colt, who was busy trying to remove the wheels of The Batmobile. His coat was a familiar white with brown patches, though the white parts were hard to spot due to how dusty the colt seemed to be. In fact, even his brown mane and tail seemed to have lost their usual shine. Were it not for the reddish brown eyes, Applejack would've thought she was looking at a completely different pony. "Pipsqueak?" Applejack asked, catching the colt's attention. Pipsqueak froze upon hearing a voice, he knew he was busted. But when he turned to look at who had called out his name, he was incredibly surprised. Applejack was standing before him, clad in a dark gray suit with matching black boots and gloves. There was only one figure Pipsqueak knew of that wore an outfit like that. "Are you, Batmare?" he asked Applejack. "I am." Applejack nodded, after making sure no one else was around to overhear. She quickly put her mask back on and asked "Why are you tryin' to steal the tires from my vehicle?" "I'm just trying to make a living." Pipsqueak pleaded desperately "Tires are in high demand these days, and I really need the money." "Do your parents know you've been out and about, stealin' from ponies?" Batmare asked crossly. "Well, the thing is, I don't really.... have parents anymore." Pipsqueak admitted sadly, tears forming in his eyes. Batmare felt pretty bad for making Pipsqueak cry, but she had to know what was going on. For all she knew, Pipsqueak could be lying. "Are you absolutely sure about that?" she asked Pipsqueak. Pipsqueak nodded sadly "My mum and dad got divorced not long after we moved here from Trottingham. My dad died in a carriage accident a few weeks after the divorce. And my mum was killed by Two Face's goons during the attack on Ponyville." "And why haven't the foal protective services come for you and placed you in an orphange?" Batmare asked seriously "The orphange is much better for you than livin' on the streets." "I got scared." Pipsqueak replied "I couldn't think straight. All I could think about, was that I didn't want to go to an orphange. So I ran away from home, and I've been hiding from the foal protective services ever since." "And has anypony spotted you?" Batmare asked Pipsqueak. "No they haven't. I've never stayed in the same place for more than a day." Pipsqueak explained "I didn't want them to find out and report me to the foal protective services." "How have you been survivin' for all this time?" Batmare asked crossly. "I've found ways to sneak into ponies homes from time to time." Pipsqueak told Batmare "What I do is, create a distraction so they'll open a door or window, then I'll sneak inside while they're busy. I'll just grab whatever I can get my hooves on, and take off again. Sometimes, I'll even use the loo if I really have to go. I always make sure not to leave evidence of my visit, and nopony ever suspects that it's me." "So this is why I've been hearing so many reports of ponies believing that a criminal is on the loose!" Batmare realized "It's been you all along." "So go ahead, report me to the police and have me arrested." Pipsqueak insisted "At this point, even jail sounds better then continuing to live on the streets." Batmare looked at Pipsqueak, and saw just how sad he was. No wonder the colt was in such a poor state. There had to be something she could to make it up to him, but what? Batmare thought to herself for a moment, then an idea came to her. "I'll tell you what, Pipsqueak." she said to the colt "How would you like to come live with me at Sweet Apple Acres?" "Really? You'd do that for me?!" Pipsqueak asked eagerly. "Don't think you'll be let off the hook for what you've done." Batmare said seriously "Once you're all cleaned up and back to full health, you're goin' to have to do community service. You'll be helping the ponies who's homes you've been sneakin' into." "Ah, that's no fun at all." Pipsqueak complained. "Well, it's either that, or I call the police and have you arrested." Batmare told Pipsqueak "One way or another, you've got to pay for what you've done to the fine citizens of Ponyville." Pipsqueak sighed, but decided that community service was better than jail. Even if it meant doing things he had hated to do back when he still had parents. "I guess I don't have a choice." he realized "I'll do whatever I have to do to repay my debt to society." "Excellent." Batmare smiled, as she guided Pipsqueak to The Batmobile and gently placed him into the passenger seat. She then set to work on refueling The Batmobile. Once Pipsqueak was inside The Batmobile, a thought occurred to him. "Say, if I'm gonna be living with you, does that mean I'll get to be Robin?" he asked Batmare. "We'll have to see what Granny Smith thinks." Batmare replied "But I hope you realize that being Robin isn't about gettin' back at Two Face for what happened to your mother." "And why not? Two Face is a bad guy, he deserves to rot in hell for what he's done!" Pipsqueak said seriously. "Revenge isn't the same as justice." Batmare told Pipsqueak "There's an old sayin' that Granny Smith is particularly fond of quotin', and goes somethin' like this 'Before settin' off on revenge, you first dig two graves.' One of the graves is for the one you want to get revenge on, but can you tell me who the other grave is for?" "No clue." Pipsqueak shrugged. "It's for yourself." Batmare said seriously, as she climbed into the driver's seat of The Batmobile "In the process of gettin' revenge, you scarifice the very virtues that make you an Equestrian bein'. That leaves you dead to the world around you, as you no longer care about who you hurt, or what you do. Revenge is a slippery slope that is impossible to climb back up, once you slide down it." "I see." Pipsqueak realized, as The Batmobile backed out of the alleyway, and headed back to Sweet Apple Acres. At first, Granny Smith wasn't too keen on the idea of having a colt with so much emotional baggage become Robin. She was concerned that Pipsqueak wouldn't be able to keep his emotions in check. But Applejack promised that she would do her best to keep Pipsqueak under control, and train him to be an effective crime fighter. And so Granny Smith reluctantly backed off. Once Pipsqueak was cleaned up, and had repayed the citizens of Ponyville that he had wronged during his time on the streets, he was ready to become the next Robin. It had taken a bit of modifying, but the suit that Spike had used during his tenure as the boy wonder fit Pipsqueak just as well. And so it was that the dynamic duo of Batmare and Robin was once again completed.