It was a cloudy and dark night in Goth'horn City, Ponies were just heading to home hoping to avoid criminals along the way, but felt a tad safe as a black armored car drove through the streets. Driving it was the most feared being in Goth'horn, a suit as black as night with a bat on her chest, the only visible part of her was her muzzle, navy blue in a neutral expression. Luna Faust, The Batmare, the Dark Knight and protector of Goth'horn. In her back seat was A mare tied up with her own mane, which was comprised of long green tentacles, she wore a purple jumpsuit and had a purple coat with double irises of Red and Green. The Mane-iac, her arch-nemesis and more dangerous then all of her foes put together. "Don't move or I push the trigger! Oh wait you did." The Mane-iac said before cracking up hysterically until Batmare stopped the car causing the Mane-iac to slam into her seat knocking her out. She then sped up as she made her way to one of the most dangerous places of all Goth'horn, Arkhoof Asylum, a place where only her most crazy enemies would be locked up. As she approached the front she pressed her eject button out and the seat in the back pushed the Mane-iac out to which she fell on Batmare's back. The door opened and coming through were several guards who took the Mane-iac off her back and put her into a chair restraining all of her appendages. Luna could've left her at that, but continued on as Mane-iac was to easy to catch this time. Mane-iac awoke and giggled a little as Batmare stayed with the guards. "What's wrong Mary? Wanna check yourself in too?"
"No, not trusting how you're so peppy to be back." Batmare responded.
"What can I say, there's no place like home." Mane-iac chuckled as they passed an identical hallway with Several mares dressed like the Mane-iac passing by. "Hey it's the boss. Boss is it still on tonight?!" A mare shouted before a guard hit her in the leg. "Kind of a coincidence that the fire that burned down their prison forced them to be transferred here isn't it?" Mane-iac said raising Batmare's suspicions even more. As they moved on they came to the scanner to see if Mane-iac was hiding something and she if needed be she would have to strip so they could check. A thought like that made Batmare gag inside but than a quick alarm went off. A voice rang over the monitor. "Have Mane-iac searched again."
"It's not her...It's Batmare." A second voice said hesitantly. Mane-iac than looked at Batmare with curiosity. "What'cha got tucked away? Extra Batarang? Batmedication? A Moon Pie or two?"
"Ok they're clean, let them through." The door ahead opened and they guards and Batmare stepped through with Mane-iac in tow passing by a Pegasus with a light brown mane, royal purple coat and deep red eyes, Vanessa Venom, veteran officer of Arkhoof. She also had a hook for her left hand after an unfortunate incident with an inmate. "V old buddy. How's Specs and Little Silvy?"
"You keep away from them you fruitcake!" Vanessa shouted at the Mane-iac who merely chuckled at her retort
"Oh I'll try my best but, tick tock tick tock. Is there a dragon around here?" Mane-iac laughed as that made Vanessa growl at the villain.
As they continued, they came upon an elevator shaft that was rising. "Caution, prisoner transfer occurring, lethal force authorized." A voice said as something big and purple was seen in the elevator. "Huh, might be one of my guys." As the door opened, heavy and guttery breathing was hear. "Spikey Wikey! Is that you?"
The figure in it lumbered out and stood tall, revealing it as a large purple dragon with Green spike going down its back and a very light green underbelly. Around his neck was a collar and his hands were held by chains. It was Killer Spike, notorious for his appearance and biting off Vanessa's left hoof. A light shined down on him and causing him to put his claws over his eyes but then he looked like he was smelling something and looked Batmare in the eye as he smirked revealing a few of his razor sharp teeth. "I've got your scent Batmare."
"Keep him in line." Vanessa shouted over the intercom causing Spike's collar to shock him making him stumble a little. "A toy collar won't stop me. I'll lick you clean. Suck out the marrow. And then, I'm finishing you Venom." Spike said before being escorted to the door opposite of where Batmare came out of on the right. There was a brief silence after that until Mane-iac spoke up. "That reminds me I really gotta hit the weights." A few guards chuckled and one guard, who would tell the story to his children and on his death bed, swore he saw Batmare chuckling a little and made a small smile.
They moved into the elevator and proceeded down into the asylum, Mane-iac groaning as the same message she always heard before came on, spoken by the warden of the Asylum, Starlight Glimmer. "Hello new inmate, and welcome to Arkhoof Asylum."
"Sweet Stars her speech is annoying. 'Hi I'm Warden Fruit Cake, everyone's equal here but you'll never escape.' Someone should really shut her up for once."
"What're you planning, Mane-iac?" Batmare asked.
"Moment I get to my cell, plan a way to top off this time and relieve some pent up stress alone."
Batmare suppressed a gag in her mouth from the thought. "Not that. What're you really after?"
"Nothing much. Nice view of the city, Me and you on top of a pile of the corpses of all our enemies and friends laughing at a burning Goth'horn. But I can wait. The night's still young." Just then the lights went out freaking out the guards as Mane-iac laughed. They came on a moment later and Batmare had her hoof on Mane-iac's throat. She let go and allowed the guards to wheel her forward. "Don't trust me?" Mane-iac queried.
"You don't even need to ask that." Batmare responded. They continued until they reached first cell area, a few of Mane-iac's henchmares behind electric walls of their cells. A guard stopped Batmare as she walked to the guards releasing Mane-iac than putting her in cuffs. "Sorry Batmare, staff only beyond this point."
"I understand." Batmare said
"Don't feel sad Bats, if you ever get tired of it out there, you'll always have a spot in here!" Mane-iac shouted as she walked away with the guard and doctor. Batmare turned to her left seeing an orange mare with a blonde mane, green eyes and a trench-coat finishing up a cup of cider in the room overlooking the floor. "Another long night Applejack?"
"Let's see. The mayor, City Hall, all the panicked ponies, S.W.A.T. Teams, and you. I'd say I've had worse. Just glad this night's finally over."
Mane-iac stumbled as she walked and a guard walked to her. "Hey get up." The Mane-iac grinned and she tackled the guard and pinned him to the ground and choked him with her cuffs. The doctor panicked than pulled out the key. "Hurry Doc we're losing him!" The doctor unlocked her cuffs to which The Mane-iac snapped the guards neck and threw his corpse at the doctor. She then simply grabbed the key and unlocked the cuff on her mane allowing it to move freely. "Hope you'll be here for my follow up on Wednesday." Mane-iac then laughed while Batmare growled and pushed against the pexi-glass causing it to crack. Mane-iac looked at a camera and smiled. "Honey~ I'm home!~"
"Welcome back Misses M." A voice responded, turning off the gate allowing Mane-iac through just as Batmare pushed through the glass. "I set a trap, I can't believe you didn't see it to begin with. Now let's skip into the Mane event." The gates on the cell's around Batmare shut off and the inmates stepped through smirking. "7 mares, Combined sentence of 666 years, wonder if these girls are working for my Devil buddy, Let's get ready to rumble!" Mane-iac shouted as one ran for Batmare with a right hoof. "This is for Bludhooven!" she yelled but Batmare grabbed it and threw her into three more of them. She then jumped for one of them on the ground and knocked out in time to catch the kick of one that ran over and made her knee herself in the face. A henchmare pulled a pipe out of a wall and tried to swing at Batmare with it only for her to catch it, than hit her in the crotch with it before applebucking her into a cell with some blue question marks in it. Two more ran at her in time for her to kick one of them into a wall then it another in the chest before throwing her into the one in the wall. Batmare dodged a punch of one behind her and elbowed her in the nose. The last one made the straight sprint of her only to be thrown into the repowered gate The Mane-iac went through, electrocuting and knocking out the mare. "My my, aren't we excited tonight? Don't worry Batsy, I'm just getting started on what's in store for tonight."
The gate deactivated as Batmare looked at Applejack. "You know it's a trap."
"My specialty." Batmare simply responded before walking forward. She walked through the corridors taking note of some familiar things such as a poster advertising The Hen House, Night Club owned by one of her enemies Scootaloo AKA The Penguin. She flund a guard looking around who sighed in relief upon seeing Batmare. "Thank Faust It's you. We need help in the electro shock room!" Batmare ran to the room and found some guards gathered behind the walls and was stopped by Vanessa. "Slow down. Blueblood's on there and he's got Lily."
Batmare peaked around the corner and saw a white maneless unicron stallion with vaious cuts all over his body holding a trigger with his magic while looking insanely around as she shocked a pink mare in the electro therapy chair. "If I even see a cape, I end this pig's life." Blueblood said crazily. Batmare moved upstairs and found a perfectview of below. She looked up and found gargoyles around the room. "Perfect." She brought out her grapple and shot it at the ceiling above the Gargoyle than grappled onto the statue. She jumped across them until she was right behind where Blueblood was and merely dropped down. Something poked Blueblood in the shoulder and he turned around to see a smirking Dark Knight. "Boo." Batmare punched Blueblood in the face causing him to lose his magic grip on the trigger as Batmare slammed him into the ground knocking him out before she unstrapped Lily. She looked around and saw everything was taken care of out here so she was about to make her way to the door when someone shouted from that spot. "The door locked up! We're stuck in here!"
"Gee I wonder who could be responsible for something like that?" A voice said from the TV on the wall to which Batmare looked and scowled seeing the Draconequis staring back at her. "Should've known you help her Discord."
"Guilty as charged Dark Mare. But don't worry, for guessing right, you get a prize." Discord disappeared and reappeared with a shout of "Voila!" with Starlight glimmer taped and tied to a chair with a scared expression on her face. Discord simply walked around, twirling her cane in his claws. "You won't believe the trouble it was to make sure she was tied up." He then tore the tape off allowing Starlight to speak. "Why?! I did everything I could so everyone would be treated equally but safely! Also I need to pee!! How evil can you be that you let a pony's kidney's back up-" Discord whack her with the cane, knocking her out and chuckled a little. "Puddin's right. She's annoying but that's pretty funny. Can't wait until she wakes up finding herself covered in her own pee."
"I'm only gonna tell you once to give it up."
"Let me think about it." Discord than cut the feed to the camera turning the TV to static to which Batmare touched her earpiece. "Oracle you there?"
"Yes Luna, how's Mah sister? Is she ok?" A mares voice on the other end said. Apple Bloom, a young mare and sister of Applejack that grew up to be Batbloom as to not confuse the two of them until Mane-iac shot her in the spine crippling her to which she then took on the name Oracle and still helped Luna but never told her sister the secret. She recently went into a program for physical therapy with slim but probable chances of walking again, but now she was taking it easy as to not force it too soon. "She's fine. I need you to find me a way out of here so I can find Mane-iac."
"She broke out again? Why didn't anyone think of keeping her in that chair?"
"All I know is Luna Faust is gonna bring this up at the next meeting on their protocols."
"As for a way in you could try a vent that's supposed to be somewhere around there." Oracle said before cutting the transmission allowing Batmare to think and look around. She turned on her Detective Mode, highlighting anyone living as a blue skeleton while only things that she could she could use were orange. She looked at the floor and found a vent cover she could use. She than pried it off and crawled through the vent and heard screaming that turned into laughter and jumped down into the next opening seeing guards and inmates alike coughing in the purple gas around them before breaking into Mane-iac like laughter and falling dead. A guard on the other side next to Batmare looked appalled at this. "What the heck is that stuff?!"
"Mane-iac gas. Don't worry I'll save the rest." With a flap of her wings she got back up into the vent and walked forward until she dropped out and onto a platform above the gas. She found two hanging, one guard one inmate hanging while a wirewolfess was trying to lift up her griffon friend. "Just hold on Gretta." Batmare walked to her and helped her pull up Gretta with relative ease. "Thanks Batmare, go get that psychotic bitch." Batmare jumped onto the next platform and pulled the stallion up who mumbled. "Can't believe I'm getting saved by the Bat." Batmare than knocked him out before looking for a way to get rid of the gas. She found some vents with a button but it was in the gas so she took out a batarang and threw it at the button allowing the gas to clear. 'Note to self, have Tia add a mask to the suit as to prevent trouble with anymore Mane-iac gas.' Batmare thought before walking through the door and found arrows on the floor leading her through the transfer loop. In place of some of the arrows was a body or two, some with a smile carved on their faces. As she reached the door it was pointing to, with a painting of the Mane-iac's butt. Batmare sighed annoyed but then looked suspicous as the door's locks unlocked slowly unlike the rest of them. "Either Mane-iac did something to this one, or there's something here they don't want out." Batmare than walked in and found Mane-iac on top of a steel cage dangling over an abyss. "Took you long enough. I thought I was gonna have to kill more guards to get you to come."
Batmare threw a batarang at Mane-iac who grabbed it and tossed it away. "You have to try better then that if you want to grab me." Mane-iac than used her mane to turn the valve on the door, allowing the door to open and the figure inside to walk through. It looked like a dragoness, but it was a hulking deformity, looking at Batmare with angry red eyes. she roared before charging at the night who instinctively threw a batarang at it's face causing it to ram into a wall and stumble. She than proceeded to beat the monster up a little until it shook it off than punched the ground with it's right fist making a shockwave to which she jumped back. She saw a security barrier behind her and threw a batarang at the beast as she charged so it ran into the barrier shocking it as she then hit it some more before jumping back expecting a shockwave. But the beast simply held its chest as if in pain then seized up as it sounded like something burst and the red from it's eyes dimmed. Mane-iac just blinked groaning a little. "Well that was one big old lemon.Note to self: check formula for any flaws." That last part Mane-iac mumbled to herself.
"I don't care what freaks, robots, even aliens you send against me Mane-iac, i'll end your plans tonight."
"You so sure? Why don't we see on it?" Mane-iac than stood on the edge of the cell ready to take a hit and fall below. "One hit, and end my insanity once and for all."
Batmare readied a batarang but realized this is what she would want. If she were to kill Mane-iac, it would make her no better than the very mare she fought against for years. She than dropped it as Mane-iac laughed. "Thats my favorite thing about you, Batty, you're always so predictable. See ya at dinner with AJ!" Mane-iac said before laughing as the cell moved through the large door that then shut behind her. Batmare realized what that meant but a voice called her over. "Batmare!" She looked to one of the security rooms and found a blue unicorn tending to a yellow one. "Thank Faust you came, Mane-iac came in and none of us stood a chance, I was lucky enough to make it in here with Lemon Hearts and put up the security barrier. We both fell asleep and woke up in time for you to fight that...thing. Name's Minuette. Do you have telekinesis or something, cause you killed that thing without even touching it."
"No. It must've had a heart attack. Where does that door lead to?"
"Extreme Isolation. It's where we put all of your biggest fruit loops. Let me see if I can..." Minuette then went into mutters as she fiddled with the controls and but a look of confusion came upon her face. "That's odd, it's locked for some reason."
Discord appeared on the monitor with a smirk. "Wow. Looks like some devilishly handsome hybrid disabled them. Oh and found a police commissioner. Is anyone using him?" Discord than pulled out Applejack who struggled before a red teenage dragon in a security suit knocked her out with the but of his gun. "Thank my buddy Garble here. Oh an if you follow us, we waste the farmer. Byesies." Discord then cut the feed and Minuette looked at Batmare sadly. "The best I can do is open the door you came in."
"Don't, keep it shut. I'm gonna do something I haven't done in a long time." Batmare stepped out and concentrated, a faint glow appearing under her cowl before she disappeared. Both mares looked surprised before Lemon Hearts spoke up. "Told you she was an alicorn."
"Ok, but that then leaves Celestia and... wait you don't think-"
"Considering her parents got shot in front of her makes sense. Kind of cool that we'll be the only two in Arkhoof that know."
"If we hopefully survive the night."
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Batmare reappeared in the same room she left Applejack in, finding signs of a struggle and smelt something old. She used Detective Mode and found traces of Cider with a hint of bourbon in it, most likely owned by Garble. She isolated at particles and found a trail going outside and saw a guard tied to a chair. She ran to him and untied him. "Thanks. Don't use the elevator, Discord booby trapped it." Discord's voice could be heard over the speakers and chuckling. "You said trapped." The elevator came flying down and blew up, Batmare covering the guard from the smoke. "Go to the Transfer Loop and head for the door with Mane-iac's deiry air on it, ask for Minuette and tell her Batmare sent you."
The guard nodded before leaving as Batmare grappled up going across some grates and making it to the top but stopped as she examined the stone marker with a single star in it in front of her. As she scanned it with her Detective mode a ghostly mare's voice echoed in her ears. "I am the spirit of Angelica Arkhoof. Through my actions, I have salvaged and spared what I could of this once great city, though my own curse is to forever remain in the shadows. My story is carved into the very soul of Arkhoof, and will be told if you are lucky enough to find it."
She pulled up and found another one behind a wall she could easily destroy with some explosive gel but that was in the Batmobile and she could make out what was on it through her Detective mode. She scanned it and was not surprised at the mare's voice returning. "My family's blood ran through the heart of Goth'horn. We were doctors, politicians and teachers; we have been the organ cleaning the arterial harm from the city. We have been its servants giving all to protect it. And still it decided to hurt me while the rest of us were spared my suffering."
Batmare felt a bit of sadness for this spirit which quickly ended when a henchmare tried to hit her hit a pipe and was easily knocked out. She looked at found 4 more and cracked her hooves. She then landed a few blows and counter a few punches allowing her to move freely and land crunching blows on them and threw the last one into the locked door. She found a grate on the side of it and pried it open before crawling in. She heard some gunshots and stopped briefly as she saw a guard be propelled into the door by a gunshot. She activated her Detective Mode seeing 3 inmates wielding guns. '3 gunmares. Easy enough but Mane-iac's the main priority.' She than filtered her Detective Mode so mares with guns would appear in red as opposed to blue. She found a gargoyle above and grappled to the one above her before moving to the one above the nehcmares. She than glided over them before finding a gunmare talking to the Mane-iac via her TV screen. Batmare choked the gunmare out then pried off the grate on the side. "I'm starting to think I need more competent mares, but its good to see you didn't get stuck there BM." Mane-iac cackled as she realized what she called the Dark Mare. Batmare crawled and stopped, finding herself back by the entrance of the intensive treatment center, 4 gunponies patrolling. "Listen up losers, Bats is in there. First one to capture her alive will get herself squeezed by Discord. The good kind of squeeze."
One of the mares smiled at the thought while the rest of them shook a little at the though of taking on the bat. Batmare smirked at the easiness of this as she grappled and looked at the layout and their locations. She went for the one farthest from the others and put him in a choke hold. When he was knocked out, she grappled to a building in time for a mare to pass under her, to which she hung from the gargoyle and grabbed her and hung her from the gargoyle. As they others ran to her, Batmare flew for the stallion farthest from the others and glide kicked him before jumping on him and knocking him out. The last one ran to her but findng she was the only one left was shaking in terror before passing out from legs giving from under her. "Are you kidding me? Why do I even bother using you Blackgate Jackasses? You next guys fail, I'll rip your lungs out. And I will too."
Three mares armed with Ak-47's walked in from the entrance, the middle one shaking while the two on her sides spread out. Batmare grappled right above her and grabbed the Mare than hung her from the gargoyle by a rope from her legs. The two mares ran over seeing their friend strung up, so they didn't see Batmare walk up to them and bang their heads together knocking them out. The lift was down so she climbed up and walked down the hallway but was appalled at what she saw. Garble was strapped into one of the chairs, a smile carved into his face stuck in horror as blood seeped from the wounds in his chest. Batmare spat on him, the loogie landing in one of wounds. "You earned such a fate Garble."
"Oh and if you found Garble, I didn't even know you were following him, I just stabbed him and left him in the chair." Mane-iac said speaking into the intercom. Batmare saw the door was locked and was about to search for a way out when static came into her comm's and a familiar mare's voice came into it. "Hello Dark Knight."
"Double Question." Batmare answered remembering Trixie Lunamoon AKA Double Question, responsible by killing severa innocents of Goth'horn with her deathtraps meant to 'make the Pliohippus of this city evolve and the rejects to thin out the idiots.'
"What do you want?"
"To finally prove I am the superior intellect that will save this trash city." As Trixie continued her monologe, Batmare took the time to use the Batcomputer to pinpoint her location narrowing it down to somewhere in lower Goth'horn. "I will leave you with riddles and you solve them. There is no penalty for it other than it saying that you're too dumb to even try. Might as well begin. Riddle me this, She wants equal right for us all, but it's says otherwise being, on the wall." Batmare looked around and saw Starlight's picture on the wall to her right, It was a rectangle, so the sides weren't equal. Batmare scanned it and Trixie spoke up. "Well...looks like I am gonna have fun tonight." Trixie then cut her feed to Batmare as someone said her name "Batmare! Over here!" Batmare looked over at the bottom floor seeing a pink mare with a purple poofy mane opening a door. Batmare glided down and walked to the mare, a dead light blue stallion with a dark blue mane behind her. "Name's Sugar Belle. Thanks for taking out those guys."
"What happened?"
"Garble came through saying for everyone to clear out, when one of the guys saw Discord with him they wasted everyone. I pulled Party Favor in but he died a while after I sealed the door. At least I comforted in his last moments."
"Head for the transfer loop, give this to a pony named Minuette." Batmare said as she gave Sugar Belle a communicator than walked away passing some pipes, seeing a radio titled simply Lyra. "If you never heard of this mare, you don't have the Heart she has." Trixie said over the transmission. Batmare looked at the radio and scanned it as Trixie was easily referring to Lyra Heartstrings, famous newsmare as well known as Thunderlane. Batmare than moved on, hearing the very mare she thought of speaking. "This is Lyra Heartstrings, not too long ago, Arkhoof Asylum was captured by the Mane-iac as she went back in, Police were on their way to the island when a message from the Mane-iac went off, threatening to blow them up if anyone sets hoof on the island, stay tuned for details."
"How did she get it down so fast?" Oracle asked at how coincidental this was.
"No it's not, she's been planning this for months, but what for exactly I still don't know." Batmare said as she continued to walk and went through the door taking her outside but climbed up the rocks in front of her, finding Applejack and stopping Mane-iac top priority.