"In The Precocious Princeling's Guide to Diplomatic Relations, there are three rules for how a royal ought to conduct himself abroad.

1. A diplomat of Equestria must obey all local laws of the nation they are assigned to.
2. A diplomat of Equestria should advocate for the interests of Equestria to the best of their abilities.
3. Under no circumstance should a diplomat of Equestria get involved in the following: Political parties, popular uprisings, peasant revolutions, class solidarity movements, coups d'etat, or other attempts at regime change, violent or otherwise.

By the time I had finished my tenure in Saddle Arabia, I had broken all three."
-Prince Blueblood, First of His Name

"What happens when you change so much that you don't recognize yourself? What happens when you push everypony away to fit in, even going so far as to shatter your own heart in the process? What do you do to fix everything while you still can?"

Over the years Spike and the rest of the Elements of Harmony have seen a dramatic change with Rarity, even going so far as to degrade the quality, the uniqueness of her dresses. Only after confronted by Twilight and breaking Spike's heart does she finally see what has become of herself. Determined to fix it though, she sets out across the land of Equestria to try and rediscover who she is.

This story is a sequel to Batmare: Birth Of The Dark Knight

(Note: If you have not read Batmare: Birth Of The Dark Knight I suggest you do so in order for the events of this fic to make sense.)

Ever since the defeat of The Joker, Batmare and Robin have become known as Equestria's greatest defenders. Thanks to them, the citizens of Equestria can sleep peacefully at night.

But when a new foe named Miss. Freeze shows up, her icy powers aren't the only problem the Dark Knight and Boy Wonder must contend with. Robin is starting to feel insecure about being a sidekick, and Batmare is begining to have doubts about her ability to make a difference.

To make matters worse, an old enemy is scheming to take revenge on a pony he blames for ruining his life. And no one is aware of it.

With things spiraling out of control left and right, do our heroes stand a chance? Or is Equestria doomed to suffer under the wrath of new super villans?

Crime, is something that is present no matter where you look. Sure there are places that seem free of its influence, but scratch below the surface and you'll see signs of crime and corruption.

Even a seemingly peaceful land such as Equestria has its secrets. For unknown to many, the world of crime has quite the influence.

Applejack is aware of this fact, but when Granny Smith reveals how it ties into the deaths of Applejack's parents, Applejack is furious.

Before long however, she decides that there's only one thing to do. Teach the world of crime a lesson. And she intends to do so using their greatest weapon, fear.

And so, Equestria's greatest, and most mysterious defender is born.

The law exists to protect Equestrian citizens, and must be enacted in a fair and even manner. Prince Blueblood knows this; he's accepted punishment for his numerous minor disturbances of the Equestrian legal system, without ever trying to slip out of it.

Fluttershy is in violation the law. Ergo, she must be brought to justice. That's just logic.

Now if only he can get the captain of the guard and his annoyingly lackidasial aunt to cooperate...

Made for the eighth FTP competition. Cover art by hwaho.

(This is based on characters created by a friend (Richard79). I really liked his unicorn Wild Rose and so drew her though a little darker than his usual cute appearance.)

Wild rose, newly ascended alicorn, is sent by the royal sisters to investigate a series of forest fires and rumours of strange creatures in Equestria but when she and her dragon companion Rogus arrive they find the threat is much greater than they ever imagined.

On every full moon once a pony is chosen to be an upcoming princess of Equestria. It is said that they will undergo a metamorphosis once given coronation to the throne to be the new ruler that they must complete the trials of their more vigorous instinctual side before they accidentally hurt anypony or worse. She must get her training done before time runs out.

"They say opportunity comes when you least expect it. I've never been one for believing in that kind of shit myself, but there she was."

Strike - a private detective working out of an old, rundown office building in Detrot - is a simple individual. It doesn't matter what the job entails, if there's money involved, he's interested. Usually, it's small things like catching others having an affair, finding a lost pet, finding a family heirloom; things most people could probably do for themselves but are too lazy to. But that's where she comes in.

Now faced with ghosts from his own past, Strike takes on a case unlike any he's ever seen before. It could very well cost him his life, but at the end of the day, a quick buck is more important, right?

Author's Note: This is a complete rewrite of 'Equestrian Noire: Echoes of the Past'

Author's Note: Contains use of vulgar language

A Enemy has returned of horrific and fearsome. In times past he did a menace and performed a cruel, now he is back and the pony's know not what to do. All that they know is they must prepare... to face The Gorilla.

On this blistering day, a Colonel brings his troops southwards to cross a border.

A one chapter experiment to try and get better at show and not tell.
Thanks to Stinium_Ruide for helping proofreading and editing this.