Face Your Fear
Over the Samarea Desert.
Batman slowly opened his eyes as the sun rose over the horizon, painting the desert in a deep purple. The ship full of ponies had flown all night, with Applejack and Twilight taking turns piloting it. Rarity had gone below deck to comfort Pinkie Pie, who was air sick. Rainbow Dash was resting on the top of the ship, watching the sun rise. Fluttershy had slept next to Batman and was only now waking up. Batman looked over the side of the ship to gaze at the endless sea of sand, wondering what part of Equestria they were in now.
"S-so," Fluttershy yawned and stretched out her back, "how did you sleep?"
"Fine," he replied, stretching out his legs, which were both numb. He was stretching his neck when Twilight walked up to the two.
"We should reach the temple area in a few minutes, so be on lookout. Okay Batman?" Twilight instructed. Batman nodded. Instead of going back to the helm, the purple unicorn remained standing in front of Batman, debating whether or not to ask him an important question.
"What is it?" he asked, breaking into her thoughts.
"Oh, um, I just wanted to ask; are you sure you want to do this?" Twilight asked awkwardly. Batman and Fluttershy both gave her an odd look.
"Um, Twilight? What do you mean 'does he want to do this'?" Fluttershy asked her friend. Twilight looked like she was trying to pick her words very carefully.
"What I mean is, when we were in the last temple we were forced to face ourselves. But what Batman faced was a lot worse than what Applejack or I fought. So what I'm saying is; we will probably face our fears in this temple. Our fears may not be too bad, but what about yours Batman? What do you fear?"
"Ha, he probably doesn't fear anything," Rainbow remarked, having been listening in on the conversation from above. "Right, B-man?"
Batman shook his head at Rainbow Dash's statement. "You have no idea of what I fear," Batman whispered, remembering all his encounters with Scarecrow. He had learned a lot about himself and what he was really afraid of when he was under Crane's fear toxin.
"Really?" Twilight asked in an interested voice. "And just what does the almighty Batman fear?"
"You don't want to hear the answer to that," he replied quietly.
"Come on, tell us!" Rainbow pushed. "I wanna know!"
"He said no Rainbow. Stop bothering him," Fluttershy demanded, resulting in the other two to look at her in amazement.
"Well, okay Fluttershy, if you want us to," Rainbow said meekly.
"I do," Fluttershy responded.
"Heh, well I know what Twilight fears. Oh no, an overdue library book! This is terrible!" Rainbow said, doing a terrible impersonation of Twilight.
"Very funny, Rainbow Dash," Twilight grumbled. Rainbow Dash continued. "And Fluttershy fears everything. I wonder if the temple will be able to make up its mind on what to pick!"
"And what about you?" Fluttershy asked with some annoyance in her voice." What's your biggest fear?"
"Ha, I don't fear anything. I'm Rainbow Dash, the most awesome and cool pony around," she bragged, leaping into the air and beginning to pose.
"Alright, let's change the subject. Rainbow, where did you get that scar?" Twilight asked, looking at her friend’s forehead.
"Oh, that. I got it when we fought that statue. It's not too obvious, is it?" she asked nervously, placing both hooves over the scar. At the mention of scars, Fluttershy turned to look at Batman.
"Um, Batman, I don't want to intrude, but at the hospital the doctor showed us what your torso looked like. It was covered in terrible scars," she said meekly. Batman gave a low groan. Didn't these ponies have respect for anyone's privacy?
"Yeah, how did you get those scars?" Rainbow asked, sitting down on the deck. Twilight sat down as well, wanting to hear Batman's story.
"By messing up," Batman dryly said. The ponies looked at him in confusion.
"What do you mean?" Twilight asked.
"I mean I got these by messing up," he said, pointing to his right shoulder. "I have a scar here from a blade that I didn't entirely dodge." He pointed to his right pectoral. "Here is where an old enemy managed to spray me with acid and burn off some skin." As he went on, the ponies turned more and more green, Fluttershy even stuck her head over the side of the boat at one point.
"When I mess up in my world, it's not just a simple 'oops, I messed up, let me try again.' No, when I mess up, very bad things happen," he muttered, remembering his past failures and mistakes. The three ponies took a minute to recover.
"W-wow," Twilight managed to get out, "I had no idea. I don't know what to say-"
"Heads up, everypony!" Applejack called out. "We're about there!" The ponies all looked over the edge of the ship, trying to spot the location before Batman. He flicked on detective vision and gazed at the endless sea of sand. Not only did he see a lot of sand, but also bones of creature that had died in the empty desert. Turning his gaze south, once again he saw through the temples camouflage. He yelled at Applejack where to land and a moment later they were descending towards another adventure.
=====----=====
"Weird, this door isn't locked," Twilight muttered in surprise, examining the entrance to the temple. "It seems that some pony already opened it."
"Or Mr. Beardy forgot to lock it," Pinkie suggested. Batman however, had a fairly good idea of who else could have possible arrived before they did.
"Everyone, be on your guard," Batman warned them.
"What good is my guard if I'm on it?" Pinkie asked. Batman gave a low growl and braced his shoulder against the massive door. With a bit of effort, he managed to push it open. Much like the previous two temples, a long, black corridor inside waited for them.
"Is any pony else getting a bad vibe from this place?" Rarity asked in concern. The others nodded their heads in agreement while Batman led the way inside. The place looked like it had been buried for nearly a thousand years. Sand had managed to get everywhere and into everything. As they walked down the hallway, torches would magically ignite as they passed. After nearly five minutes of walking, the group reached what they assumed to be the central chamber. The room was simply a very large circular chamber filled with sand. Another massive door was at the end on the room, with more ancient Equestrian writing on the front. In the center of the sand filled room was a black crystal in a basket. The group made sure to go around it as they headed for the door.
"Alright, Twilight, you know the drill. What the door saying this time," Rainbow asked.
"Huh, this one's fairly short. It says 'For the way out to appear, the seven of you must face your fears.' Wait, how did he know that there are seven of us?" Twilight asked, a little scared.
"Ah don't know and ah don't care. Let's just get this over with," Applejack said. "Ah'll go first."
"Alright, I'm pretty sure that the crystal there is where you want to go," Twilight explained, pointing at the black crystal. AJ nodded and walked in front of it. Before any pony could blink, the room changed. The sand rose off the floor and spun around the room, leaving everypony stuck in a sand storm. When it settled down, everypony gasped at what they saw. They were looking at Sweet Apple Acres, but it wasn't how they remembered it. The big red barn looked to be on the verge of collapse. The trees that were normally filled with fruit were dead and barren. And worst of all, the Apples house was worn down and broken, with a green, old mare sleeping in her rocking chair on the porch.
"No," Applejack whispered to herself. "How could this have happened?"
"Applejack, it's not real. It’s the test remember?" Twilight said, trying to comfort her friend. But AJ didn't hear her. She walked over to her grandma, completely ignoring the others.
"Why didn't she hear me?" Twilight asked.
"She's in a nightmare now. She must face it on her own," Batman stated, watching as Applejack tried to get Granny Smith to talk to her.
"Grandma, it's me, Applejack!" Applejack cried out, trying to wake the old mare. Granny Smith slowly opened her eyes, which then widened in shock upon seeing AJ.
"Applejack?" Granny asked skeptically.
"Yes grandma, it's me, yer little AJ," Applejack said in relief.
"Oh yes, I remember now," Granny Smith said with a sneer. "You left us alone on the farm to go and pursue that fancy life of yers in Manehatten."
"Wha-Granny, I never-"
"Oh and now yer telling lies to yer Granny. I see city life has done wonders fer ya." Applejack looked like she was on the verge of tears. She was trying to explain to Granny that she never went to Manehatten, but it fell on deaf ears. Twilight was in agony herself at seeing her friend’s pain. She took a step forward to help, but felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to look at Batman, who shook his head, reminding her that this was AJ's battle.
"Granny, w-where's Big Mac," Applejack asked through her tears. Granny Smith gave her another sneer.
"Yer brother. Well let's see. Since he couldn't do all the farm work by himself, he was forced to find a job in Ponyville. I believe last I heard, he was an accountant." Applejack staggered back, stunned by the news. Big Mac as an accountant? It was worse than she thought.
"What about Applebloom?"
"Applebloom? What's an Applebloom?" Granny asked. Tears started to fall down Applejacks face. Her little sister wasn't even born? How could this have happened?
"If only you had stayed on the farm, none of this would have ever happened," Granny Smith mocked. Her words sparked a memory for AJ.
"Wait a sec, ah did come back to the farm!" Applejack yelled, taking a step towards her "Granny." "Ah did choose t' help out on the farm and to become an Apple again. That's right, none of this is real, it's just the test. Which means," AJ said, facing Granny Smith, "Yer not real either."
Granny Smith let a smile cross her face. "Well done," she said and the illusion shattered. Sand flew everywhere, covering everypony in a sandstorm. The sand eventually settled down and the room was back to normal. Applejack then proceeded to fall over.
"Applejack!" everypony cried out, rushing to her side. She shakily stood back up, breathing heavily.
"That...was a lot worse than ah could've imagined," Applejack panted. "Ah need to go lie down." She walked over to a less sandy spot of the room and collapsed on the ground. The other ponies looked at each other.
"So, whose next?" Twilight asked.
"I'll do it. I'm not afraid of anything," Rainbow boasted, flying up to the crystal. Once again, a sandstorm covered the room and the scene changed. This time, they were in Ponyville. A small group of ponies, consisting mostly of foals, were standing around.
"Well, whadda know? It's my fan club," she said with a grin, walking over to them. As they saw her approach, they gave her a mean glare.
"What are YOU doing here?" one of them asked.
"I'm here to see my fans, what else?" Rainbow Dash answered with a smile. "So, who here wants to tell me how awesome I am?"
"Awesome?!" one of the foals exclaimed. "You're anything but awesome!"
"W-what do you mean?" Rainbow asked, taking a few steps back.
"Let's see. You're arrogant, a braggart and don't care about any pony but yourself."
"T-that's not true. I help my friends-"
"Yes, you only help when it's convenient for you. How about when you're not helping your friends. Your either showing off or sleeping!" another foal exclaimed.
"I-I," Rainbow sputtered.
"And we know the real reason you show off all the time. It's because you’re not good enough. You brag and boast so ponies just can't forget how awesome you are. But deep down, you're afraid of rejection. Afraid that all your friends will see you for the joke that you are. That's why you moved to Ponyville; because you were a joke in Cloudsdale."
Now it was Rainbow Dashes turn to fight back tears. With every word these foals said, it felt as if another nail was being driven into her heart. But that didn't stop the foals from continuing.
"Face it Rainbow Crash. You're just one big joke." Rainbow lowered her head in shame as the foals continued their taunts. Then a spark of rage ignited her soul.
"Wait just a second. What do you mean 'I'm not good enough'? I placed first in the best young flyer competition. I am the only pony able to pull off a sonic rainboom. I am more than one big joke. I'm the best flyer in all of Equestria! And I'm not afraid of a few foals who can't see how truly awesome I am!" With each word, Rainbow stepped closer and closer to the foals, slowly driving them back. "And I'd never leave a pony hanging. Never."
The foal in front of her smiled. "Well done." And just like AJ, the room transformed into a sandstorm again, blanketing them all in sand. When it died down, Rainbow Dash slowly shook her head and walked over to where AJ was laying, crashing next to her. Twilight walked over to make sure they were both alright. When she was certain they were, she asked the million bit question.
"Now whose next?" The ponies looked at each other nervously. None of them were certain they wanted to face their own fears now. Two of the toughest ponies they knew had been emotionally exhausted by their fears. What would the fears do to the rest of them?
"I'll go," Pinkie said after a minute. The others nodded and stood aside, allowing her to reach the crystal. When she looked at it, the sandstorm picked up again. When it finally calmed down, Pinkie found herself at her house and her five closest friends there as well.
"Girls, what are you doing in my nightmare? I don't recall being afraid of you," she said cheerfully. The others just glared at her.
"What's wrong? You guys look like Spike just set fire to all your tails again."
"Always with the jokes," Twilight said in disgust. The other nodded their heads.
"You can't stay serious fer even a minute. It's always party this and celebration that. Yer just an over grown kid," AJ said in a mocking tone. Pinkie's mane fell flat.
"I can't believe I actually hang out with you," Rainbow spat in disgust. Pinkies eyes watered.
"Yes, your parties are simply dreadful and that alligator you keep with you is like you; a freak," Rarity spat. Pinkie lowered herself to the floor.
"I can be nice to almost any pony, but I can't stand the sight of you," Fluttershy said in a disappointed tone. Pinkie Pie let out a sniffle.
"Face it Pinkie. You're just an immature kid that tries to make friends with everypony so you can feel like some pony actually likes you," Twilight sneered in a harsh tone. "And the truth is, none of us actually do."
Pinkie covered her head with her hooves and laid on the ground for a minute, before springing right back into her old self.
"That's okay. None of you are real anyway and I've still got my friends waiting for me just on the other side of this illusion. So," Pinkie said with a huge smile, "Buh-bye."
"Well done." The illusion vanished into the sandstorm, returning the room to its normal shape. Pinkie happily hopped over to her friends, who were stunned by what they had seen.
"Pinkie, I-I don't know what to say," Twilight began, but Pinkie put a hoof in her mouth.
"Don't bother. I knew it wasn't the real you all along. I just acted sad so the illusion would think that they were doing their job right," she told Twilight with a big smile.
"I hope you know that I would never say anything bad about your parties, darling," Rarity said with an apologetic look.
"Girls, I said its fine," Pinkie laughed.
"I would never say anything like tha-"
"It's fine. Drop it."
"Well then, I guess I'll go next," Rarity said with some uncertainty. She walked over and gazed into the crystal, triggering a sandstorm. When the dust had settled, Rarity found herself standing at the Carousel Boutique with Fancy Pants. He was apparently eyeing her newest fashion line. Rarity was instantly trapped in the illusion and walked up beside him with a smile, waiting to hear his remarks.
"This is terrible," he said, waving his hoof to the clothing. Rarity's jaw hit the floor. "I must say that this is the most terrible excuse of a fashion line I have had the displeasure of seeing. May I ask what you were thinking?" This was what Rarity truly feared. Not just her fashion line being rejected, but it being done by some pony she trusted. Rarity's brain stripped about ten gears hearing what Fancy Pants was saying about her clothes line. The illusion made a mistake, however. As much as this was Rarity's biggest fear, it was also her greatest source of rage. A rage that she chose to unleash.
"WHAT WAS I THINKING?! I WAS THINKING HOW I COULD'VE THOUGHT HOW AN IDIOT LIKE YOU WOLD APPRECITE TRUE FASHION!!" Rarity bellowed, nearly blowing the illusion Fancy Pants over. The sand illusion started to break under the sheer rage of the unicorn.
"Um, good job," Fancy Pants quickly stated before vanishing, resulting in the room turning back to normal. Rarity was still seething, staring at the spot where Fancy Pants had vanished. She looked over at the others, who were giving her quite a concerned look. She blushed and quickly stood up and straightened her mane.
"So sorry for the display of anger, but there are something’s a pony cannot let happen. My fashion being insulted is one of them." She walked over to the group and Fluttershy nodded her head. She walked over to the crystal and one magical sandstorm later, she found herself standing by herself in a dark room. She looked around in confusion. She didn't like the dark, but it wasn't particularly scary either. That was until she turned around and found another her staring at her.
"W-what the?" Fluttershy asked. The dark her smiled.
"Hello, Fluttershy. I'm you. Or rather, the side of you that you try to keep hidden. The side of you that keeps all the pain locked up inside."
"Pain? I don't understand?" Fluttershy said confused.
"Allow me to explain. Your pain at being the worst flyer in Cloudsdale. Your pain at being cowardly and weak. All your pains," The dark her said with a snicker. "And I know how it eats you up inside, how it makes you hate yourself." Much to the dark Fluttershy's shock, Fluttershy gave her a small smile.
"Yes, the pain used to be unbearable at times. I truly believed that I was weak and useless. But then I met some pony who has had a much more terribly pain than me. Yet they're able to remain strong and fight for what they believe in every day. Compared to what they've gone through, I have nothing to complain about," Fluttershy said with strength in her voice, staring down her dark side. "Now get back in my head where you belong."
"Well done," dark Fluttershy said with a smile, vanishing into the familiar sandstorm. As it died down, Fluttershy walked over to the group with a smile. Twilight looked stunned.
"Fluttershy? How..."
"Oh, Twilight. I deal with that nagging voice every day. This was nothing new."
"So who was the stallion you mentioned? He sounds like dashing rouge, “Rarity poked, hoping for some info.
"Sorry, but I Pinkie promised not to tell," Fluttershy said with a small smile.
"Well, I guess I'm next," Twilight said with a small smile. "Anything I should know?"
"Yeah, the moment you go in there, you forget the outside world completely," Applejack said as she walked over, recovering from her look at her fears. "You truly believe you are in that moment and you can't hear your friend’s voices."
"I'll remember that. Thanks," Twilight said with a gulp, walking over to the crystal. One sandstorm later, Twilight was standing in the royal hallway in front of Princess Celestia. Just as the others had (mostly), she forgot that she was facing her fears and believed herself to be in front of Celestia.
"Princess!" she exclaimed, running over to her majesty. Celestia turned and gave Twilight a glare that could only be beaten by Batman. The harsh look stopped Twilight in her tracks.
"Well, if it isn't the failure," Celestia spat, narrowing her eyes. Twilight gave her a confused look.
"Failure? What did I fail at?"
"Ha, she doesn't even remember. You failed to get the artifacts we needed to stop Morgaine! As a result, Equestria is under her rule and the other Elements of Harmony are dead. All because you failed," Celestia hissed. Tears started to stream down Twilight's face and her heart plummeted into her stomach. How could she have let this happened? When she had been needed most she had failed?
"My number one student? Ha! I believe Tom would've been a better student than you."
Twilight's heart fell deeper into sorrow. Not only was Celestia no longer happy with her, but now she was saying a rock could do better? Twilight couldn't hear her friends trying to tell her that Celestia wasn't real or that she hadn't failed. But what she FELT was two eyes burning into her very soul. Whatever was causing it, it snapped Twilight out of her trance. What replaced her fear was rage.
"Of course you would pick a rock to replace me. After all, it's what your head is filled with!" Twilight said in an angry voice. Celestia was taken aback by this.
"How dare you..."
"How dare I? How dare you! I have proven myself to be more than an amazing student time and time again! The real Celestia would know that!" Then the realization struck her. "That's right. None of this is real. It's fake. It's only a test. And test," Twilight said with a smile, "Are something I excel at. I'm not afraid of you."
"Well done." Twilight walked over to her friends once the sandstorm was gone. As they congratulated her, she noticed a light on the closed door. When she looked at the door, she saw six stars shining on it, with a dull one in the center. That could mean only one thing.
"Okay, Batman. You're up." Batman nodded and walked over to the crystal, not sure what to expect. But he had dealt with Scarecrows fear gas multiple times. This shouldn't be any different. Batman knelt down and looked into the crystal.
And then a hellacious laughter over took them all.
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freaking awesome
Joker?
Probably joker.
"Alright, Twilight, you know the drill. What's the door saying this time," Rainbow asked.
Other than that one error, great chapter!
1799482 Didn't even think about that but you're right! I was thinking it was Morgaine due to what he saw as her winning.
only Joker can come to this, he's the only enemy that can ACTUALLY cheat death time and time again
EDIT: that and the Joker is what batman does fear, the maniacle laughter, that psycotic grin and cruelly creative intellect make him one of Batmans worst nightmares
I can imagine Joker waltzing in and saying "well, hello bats! so good to see you again! and you brought friends, how nice of you. I can't wait to give them a smile, they'll die laughing heheheheheee"
EDIT 2: if Joker was to go through the temple of fear... would he break it? or would something terrible just come out of it... oh god
Side note: the Joker has no fear since Scarecrow tried to use his fear gas on him, but it didn't work and got beaten with a chair for wasting time on it
1800024
Not true. Joker does fear one thing. Joker fears himself, if he were sane.
It's the joker or an illusion of him at least
Good lord, another page so soon?
I'm going to start think your spoiling us.
The Joker? Given that the newest issue of Batman has him constantly reassuring himself that the Joker is just a man, not a force of nature, I can't disagree.
Time for our favorite hellacious harlequin.
HELLLLLOOOOOOO EQUESTRIA! LET"S HAVE A WARM WELCOME FOR THE CLOWN PRICE OF CRIME HIMSELF! THE ONE AND ONLY, JOKER!!!
Is that MY LAUGH OR SCARECROW'S LAUGH-?
.........
Ah What the Heck I WILL LAUGH ANYWAY
JOKKKKER
Did i just hear twilight insult Tom, the master of swag?
Figured...
I knew Joker had to be here some time, and the cliff-hanger is just going to make me love this more. Excuse me while I get that Mark Hamill Joker impression ready.
It is either the Joker or Robin after he was brainwashed by that Clown.
1800024 There is always the Creeper.
dam nice twist in this chapter
The Joker and his LAUGHTER!!
The more they learn of what HE faces, the more they'll realize that they should hope they NEVER have to face even a fraction of it. Its surprising if they will come out of all of this intact.
Shit just got Real!
and then a hellacious laughter over took them all.
Yes!yes!!yes!!!yes!!!!!yeeeeeessssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
4694687 One, Two. Joker's comin for youu~!
5320422 I
so let's see what the Mane 6's worst fears are and how they've overcome them:
Pony Fear Strategy
Applejack Letting her family down Acknowledging the truth
Rainbow Rejection Logic
Pinkie Loneliness ...Being Pinkie Pie? (I have no clue, in all honesty...)
Rarity Not being good enough Channeling the fear into rage
Fluttershy Her inner darkness Needs none: she deals with this fear on a daily basis
Twilight Failure Accepting her mistakes, but acknowledging that they don't define her
...you know, I can actually see this happening in the show...
note (10/18/2017): altered the formatting of the above list, but left the list itself unchanged
*insert Phantom Of The Opera theme here*
Let me guess,Scarecrow got to them?
Called It. Enter scene. The Joker, Clown Prince of Crime
Yep that’s Twilight alright
yeah its personall and....sad
Yeah......we know😞
AT IT GIRL!!!
oh dear......
It's time for the Joker.