Equestrian Superheroes: A Typical Tuesday

by Captain Lunar

The Caped Crusader

A wee grey filly with a black mane and musical note cutie mark trotted down an old alleyway with her parents, talking about the FILM they had just finished viewing.

"It was a rather odd movie, wasn't it dear?" the earth pony mother asked.

"Yes, it was. Not the traditional superhero fare I was expecting, but still, very good," the unicorn father said as he trotted next to his wife.

"I didn't understand it at all Dad. Why didn't The Phantom beat the bad guy up at the end? He knew he was the one causing the accidents, yet he walked away and called the police. Why?" the wee grey filly asked her father.

"Because Octavia dear, he realized that he would do more good by calling the cops than by beating him up. Violence is hardly ever the best way to handle a tough situation. But sometimes, superheroes have to resort to it in order to help people," her father replied.

"Oh," she said, still not quite grasping the meaning showcased to her on the silver screen not too long ago.

Octavia was still busy racking her little brain thinking about it, her parents talking about something dealing with their business, when she noticed a shadow creep up from behind them. Before she could react, the wee filly heard the familiar sound of magic being powered up, and she and her parents stopped. They swiveled around to face the source of the sudden shade.

"Give me all you've got. I want your money, jewelry, everything. The only thing I don't want is your lives, but if you try anything funny, I won't hesitate to pull this here trigger. Understand?" Octavia heard a rather shaky, almost scared, voice say from the shadows.

Slowly, her father nodded. Her mother, shaking, nodded as well. Octavia just looked at the stallion, walking out of the shadows, his horn glowing a dim dahlia. He had a look in his eyes that she couldn't yet comprehend.

"I'm about to reach for my wallet. Don't shoot." Octavia heard her father say. The mugger nodded, but kept his horn locked on the family. Her father carefully used his magic to reach into his coat pocket and slowly pull out his wallet, offering it to the man.

"Don't forget the pretty pearls around the lady's neck," the mugger said while taking the wallet, never showing any signs of powering down his horn.

"Grace, be calm," Octavia's father said. While he was removing his wife's jewelry, Octavia noticed him skip the golden band on her hoof. When he was done, her father held out the jewelry to the mugger.

"I said everything!" the man said, gesturing towards Grace's hoof.

"Sir, I don't know who you are, but please, let us keep our wedding bands. Take everything else, but let us keep those," her father said.

The mugger pointed his horn at Octavia now. "I want everything. I said I wanted everything. I meant it," the mugger growled out.

"Swift, please! Forget the rings! We can replace those. Let's just give him want he wants," Grace said to her husband.

Swift sighed and removed his wedding band. Grace removed hers as well, and both gave them to the mugger. The criminal smiled and noticed the glint of Swift's gold watch underneath his jacket. He pointed his horn at Octavia's mother.

"Hold out your right hoof mister and give me that watch. And remember, no funny business from anypony. Once I'm confident that I have everything I want, I'll leave you alone."

Octavia kept watching the stallion while her father removed his watch. She noticed how the mugger's eyes kept glancing around, looking for signs of trouble. Out of fear, she later realization, Octavia kicked at a rock on the ground. Apparently, she had kicked it with a lot more force than she had realized, as it hit the robber and startled him; a blast of magical energy fired from his horn. Grace fell to the ground and Swift cried out. Octavia yelled for her mother and ran to her side. The mugger hurriedly pointed his horn at Swift and fired. The stallion looked around and started to back up while pointing his horn at Octavia.

"Listen kid, I'm really sorry. It wasn't supposed to happen this way. Now just let me leave and I promise I won't kill you."

Octavia just hung her head low. Tears running down her face, she grasped the rock she had kicked earlier within her hoof without letting the robber notice. Octavia nodded and clenched the rock. The robber lowered his horn, backed up a little, and began to turn around to run.

"HEY!" Octavia yelled.

When the robber began to turn to face the wee filly, Octavia hurled the rock through the air and struck the stallion in the jaw with it. The robber screamed out in pain and dropped to the ground.

"You killed my parents for no reason. Why? What did they do to you? Nothing…and yet you killed them." Octavia said shakily as she held the rock high in her little hoof, as if threatening to smash it into the older pony's skull. The mugger's eyes widened in fear. Tears rolled down both of their faces. Octavia breathed out one last time and dropped the rock. The sounds of hoof steps rapidly approaching caused the mugger to panic. He quickly pushed the filly off him and ran as best he could into the night.

Octavia just walked back over to her parents, sobbing quietly as several policeponies arrived.

---

'Every time I close my eyes I see that pony's face. Even after all these years I can still remember it vividly. I still haven't found him, though I did find out his name was Joe Chill. I swore I would avenge you mother, father. I wish I could stay longer, but Trougham needs me now,' a dark figure thought to herself as she placed two roses in an old alleyway. She brought her head up, revealing a black bat-like cowl that adorned her face. She wore an all black bodysuit, a black cape, and her chest bore a yellow oval with the black outline of a bat in the middle. Looking up, she saw a light shinning against the overcast night sky.

Atop the roof of the Trougham PD, stood an old pony chewing on the end of a bubble pipe. He had a blue coat, graying brown mane, and wore glasses with a brown trench coat and tie. A bat-like shadow coasted across the roof before stopping.

"You wanted to see me?" the shadowed figure queried.

"Yeah. Found something you may be interested in. He's new in town, but he's made quite the impression. Armed robbery, double equicide. Got a taste for the theatrical like you. Plus, he leaves a calling card." The pony then presented the shadowy figure with a clear plastic evidence bag containing a playing card. A Joker.

"I'll look into it," the Batmare said as she then leaped from the rooftop and glided down to another.

Comments

[nightcrawlerfan]

Reminds me a lot of these, in terms of narrative style: