October 31st: The Candy Colt

"Nightmare Night! What a fright! Give us something sweet to bite!"

The cheerful chanting of fillies echoed through Manehattan as they went from door to door in bright and colorful costumes and collecting candy as it was costume on October 31st. More commonly known amongst the fillies and colts of Equestria as Nightmare Night. This night was the dream of every foal come true. Lots of candy, no bedtime and spending the night hanging out with their with their friends, telling scary stores, laughing at each other's costumes, pulling spooky pranks they normally would have gotten in trouble for and watching scary movies their parents thought they weren't old enough to watch yet.

While the spirit of Nightmare Night was always well known among them, the parents living in the city were reluctant to let their foals out at night to go trick or treating. Which was understandable given the city's notorious reputation as the most crime filled in the entire country. But everything changed once the Batmare showed up in town. The consumed vigilante sent dozens of mobsters and hundreds of street thugs into prison and made the streets infinitely safer for them. So much so that the parents now let their foals go into the night without much concern, knowing that their guardian angel - or guardian bat to be more precise - was out there, looking out for them.

Perhaps it goes without saying, but the caped crusader was the most popular choice among the foals to dress up as for the holiday. So much so, that even the they were getting upset with each other for so many of them having the same costume. Eventually, the foals of the city made a silent vow between each other that none of them would dress up as Batmare. Partly because of their respect for the hero and partly because they didn't want nine out of every ten foals to look the same.

Even the appearance of the several consumed rogues in the city wasn't able to deter the candy hunters and their parents. The Joker's rampage put everypony in the city on the edge, but almost a year has passed since then and with the Dark Knight foiling all the superpowered threats that emergered since then, the populace has grown largely complacent. Besides, the costumed criminals usually went after bigger prizes than a few foals on the street.

The unicorn stallion known as Sweet Dreams should know as he used to be one of them. He had a bright future ahead of him. He was one semester away from finishing summa cum laude at the University of Psychology and already had a clinic that was awaiting him with open hooves.

And then Caramel Falcon destroyed his life with a swipe of his hoof. His father refused to pay Falcon the protection money for his bar and so he took revenge by having him thrown out of university. That is why he adopted the mantle of the Scarecrow. He used his knowledge in psychology and various magical illusions to create havoc and fear across the city and rob the stores connected to Falcon's criminal empire.

It all went well until he crossed paths with the Batmare. Their battle ended in the favor of the latter and he went from a promising university graduate to an incarcerated criminal. He was no lawyer, but he was certain he was facing a lengthy prison sentence.

But then he heard of the Joker and how she escaped prison by the insanity plea. As a last ditch effort, he decided to pull the same one himself and to his surprise, it actually worked. He ended up in the psychiatric ward along with the Joker and the rest of the psychos rounded up by the Batmare.

After a few months of therapy, he actually started to question his decisions that lead to him becoming a supervillan. At first, he felt satisfaction from getting back at Falcon, sure, but after he gave it some consideration, he honestly had no idea what he would have done once he was finished. In the end he decided to accept his therapist's help and take his first step on the road towards reformation.

A few weeks ago, he's been released from the psychiatric ward, gotten a job that paid enough for him to rent a small house in the suburbs and one of his professors from the university he grew very close to even offered to him that if he behaved as a model citizen for a few years, he could help him get back in university and get his degree in psychology after all. To put it plainly, things were looking up for him and he was close to turning his life around.

Suddenly, he heard the doorbell ringing and his lips curled up into an amused smirk. Given the current day, it could have only been another group of trick or treaters. He was prepared for them of course but he wondered if the same could be said for them. While he did his best to reform, some aspects of his Scarecrow persona must have rubbed off on him because he found himself still taking amusement from spooking others. It was all harmless fun now, of course and Nightmare Night was the one time in the year he could indulge in this passion without his parole officer's disapproval.

He picked up a bowl of candy that was running so low that this would probably be the last group he will be able to satisfy with it and went to the door. When he opened it, he saw four foals standing outside. One dressed as a cowcolt, another as an astronaut, a third one as a ballerina and behind them was a fourth one dressed as a cliché bedsheet ghost.

"Nightmare Night! What a fright! Give us something sweet to bite!" The group sang, holding out their baskets to him. Sweet Dreams smiled. He reached into his bowl and put one candy into the baskets of the first three foals but when he reached out for the last one, his hoof stiffened. His eyes widened in panic as he shook his hoof vehemently in an attempt to make it move again, but suddenly the limb fell off of his body in front of the foals followed by a huge gush of red liquid flowing out his sleeve. The foals screamed in terror and ran off into the night, almost dropping their candy in the process.

The stallion laughed heartily as he watched them go before sticking his actual hoof out the sleeve holding a ketchup bottle. He reached down to pick the plastic hoof up and noticed that the bedsheet ghost was still standing there with his basket reached out, expecting their candy.

"Wow! You must have nerves of steel." He complicated with a soft smile before reaching into his bowl again. "Here, have an extra piece for that." The bedsheet ghost thanked him with an appreciative nod before turning to leave but as they left the porch, a piece of candy fell out of their basket. Sweet Dreams picked it up and was about to call out to them but they were in such a rush that they completely disappeared from view before the stallion could open his mouth.

He looked down at it and saw that it was a caramel bar, which just happened to be his favourite treat. He shrugged. 'Oh, well. Lucky me, then. And after such a long night of giving away free candy, I think I deserve a little reward like this.' He then gathered his props from the porch, cleaned up the mess he made before heading inside and locking the door.

He still had a bit of energy left in him so he decided to do some reading before heading to bed. He sat down in an armchair in the living room and picked up a book he was in the middle of. As he read, he helped himself to his leftover candy from the night. He's probably been visited by all foals from the neighbourhood at this point so he didn't think any more would come and there was no reason to let them go to waste.

He started with the caramel bar dropped by the bedsheet ghost and gently unwrapped it. He began to consume it as he resumed his reading and found himself surprised at how bitter it tasted, but he didn't think anything of it and quickly finished the treat. He then reached for another one before he felt a sudden wave of nausea overcoming him. The whole room started to spin with him as he grabbed his head. He dropped his book on the floor as a heavy coughing fit came over him. It was so bed that he was afraid he was gonna throw up. He tried to get out of the chair and head to the bathroom, but he found all of his strength leaving him. He couldn't do nothing but fall back in his chair as everything around him went black.

Captain Jam Garden of the Manehattan Police Department really hated his job sometimes, but never was that so prevalent than when duty called him away from the side of his family. It was supposed to be an uneventful, relaxing night. His two foals would be out there collecting candy with their friends like everypony else on Nightmare Night, he would spend a quiet evening at home with his wife that only should have been interrupted by the occasional trick or treaters.

Instead, it was interrupted by a call from his partner, Hardy Bulldog about a murder case. Just his rotten luck, the psychos of this city couldn't wait for him to be back on duty before they started killing each other. At times like this, he really regretted not listening to his mother - Faust rest her soul. 'Police academy? What's wrong with dentist school?' At least then, he'd only need to worry about the state of his foals' teeth instead of another psycho killer roaming the streets and their potential body count.

With a sigh, he put out his cigar and crossed the police line tapes to enter the house that served as the crime scene. Hardy was already waiting for him at the door.

"You're not making my life easy, partner." He said gruffly as he followed the earth pony inside. "Finally I get a night off with my wife and you can't find anypony else to bother with this case."

"I'm sorry, partner." Hardy retorted. "I'm gonna go ask the homicidal maniacs of the city to start offing each other at more considerate times regarding your work schedule." The unicorn rolled his eyes.

"Let's just get this over with. Has the victim been identified?"

"You're never gonna believe it?" Hardy said as he lead his partner into the living room. "You remember Sweet Dreams? AKA, The Scarecrow?" Garden's eyes widened as he saw the former fear mongering super criminal sitting in an armchair in the middle of the room, pale, stiff and dead as a doornail. "Looks like his crimes have caught up with him." Hardy finished.

It took Garden a few moments to get over his shock. He was well aware of the crimes of the unicorn stallion in front of him but that didn't mean he believed he deserved to die like this. But even more so, he was shocked that somepony was able to murder this former criminal mastermind like this. Speaking of which, he saw nothing that indicated foul play here.

"What makes you think it was a murder?" He asked. His partner gave him a questioning look.

"Can't you smell it?" It was the unicorn's turn for a questioning look.

"Smell what?" Hardy pulled a robber glove onto his hoof and picked up a candy wrapping.

"Cyanide. It's so bitter it stings my nostrils. The candy he ate was bathed in the stuff." This earned an angry frown from the captian.

"Poisoned candy on Nightmare Night. Is nothing sacred anymore?" Garden fumed, thinking of his own foals trick or treating out there. "Where did he get it anyway? If he was the one who poisoned it, he wouldn't have eaten it." Hardy shrugged.

"Probably thought he'd eat the leftovers from the trick or treating himself. My guess is it was already poisoned when he bought it." Garden looked down at the dead body in the armchair, already knowing that this investigation was gonna be a pain in the flank.

"Uh, listen, Jam..." Hardy started nervously. "I know you're buddy-buddy with you know who. Don't you think we should let her in on this investigation? Given the identity of the victim, this case could be bigger than we realise." But Garden was unconvinced.

"I don't think that's necessary, Hardy. So far, we have no reason to assume this isn't an isolated case." Hardy sighed and looked down.

"Yeah, that's what I thought too. Until I checked the inside of the wrapping. You should take a look too." Garden did as he was instructed and picked it up with his magic. He raised the wrapping under the lamp's dim light and he saw the writing on the paper.

I gave him something sweet to bite.
The Candy Colt.

She still hasn't gotten used to it. Though she probably should have, given how many times it was used in the past few months. But she still found herself surprised whenever she saw that bat symbol appear on the sky, reflected from the police headquarters.

She was being called again. Captain Garden was putting the Flash's creation into good use. Because, heaven knows, the city needed it. It's been over a year since she began her crusade against crime and while the mob may have been all but wiped out, the costumer rogues were thriving.

It was like fighting a hydra, no matter how many of them she put away, two more took their place the next day. She still hasn't managed to track down Killer Croc, the Clayface killer or the newest addition to the bunch, the crossbow huntress picking off criminals on the street. This wasn't exactly the example she wanted to set when she donned the cowl.

But that was a problem for another day. Right now, she had to make her way to the police station to see what was the problem this time. She felt bad about leaving Spike alone at the library to deal with the trick or treaters by himself, but since they were giving away candy and not gems, she knew he won't be eating them all himself. And she also knew the captain wouldn't summon her unless it was important.

When she reached the roof of the station, she was greeted by the familiar image of Captain Garden standing with his back to her, smoking a cigar. She landed on the top of the reflector, making a loud clanging sound that got the attention of the officer.

"Happy Nightmare Night, Captain." The vigilante greeted before hopping off of the device and standing in front of him. Garden sighed.

"I wish I could say the same, but it looks like it's gonna be anything but. At least for us." He then put out his cigar and turned back to the costumed crime fighter questioningly. "You took your time. Is everything OK?" Batmare nodded.

"I'm still getting used to the signal. That's all." She said, motioning at the reflector.

"You and me both." The captain replied. "Imagine my surprise when two of my subordinates barged in to the courtyard, carrying this thing. They tried to pass it off as their own creation. Maybe I would have even believed it if they weren't two of the most dimwitted cops I've ever met." Of course, Batmare told him the device's real story when he first summoned her with it. "But let's get back to business." He sighed and reached inside his coat, pulling out a dossier. "Somepony murdered the Scarecrow."

Now, that caught her off guard. She was aware of the former psychology student's release from prison and she's been monitoring him long enough to know that he was no longer a threat. He was really trying to reintegrate into society so why would anypony do this? Unless...

"Revenge?" She asked, unable to think of any other possible motive.

"We don't know, but our guess is somepony trying to make a name for themselves as a supervillan killer." Garden answered, pulling out the signed candy wrapping in a translucent evidence bag. "He was poisoned with a caramel bar. One specifically meant for him. The poisoner signed his "work"." Batmare held up the wrapping and saw the Candy Colt's message.

"If that was the case, the killer would have sent this message in a more public way. This was meant for the police to find." She told him. "Scarecrow was the specific target. This has to be more than just a psycho's cry for attention."

"I really hope you're right because the last thing we need is another Joker on the loose." Garden said as he pulled out another cigar and lit it with his magic. "All the details are in the dossier. How are you going to..." When the captain looked back at the vigilante, he found that she was gone as if she never stood there. "...start?" He sighed before taking a puff. "At this point, why am I even surprised?"

It was way past midnight by the time the Batmare got back to her own headquarters in the old abandoned tunnels beneath the Atheneigh Library. As she entered her crime lab with the dossier in her hoof, she pulled off her cowl to reveal Twilight Sparkle, former student of Princess Celestia before she lost her horn while protecting the princess from a magical assassination attempt, forcing her to leave her side.

She moved to Manehattan to start a new life where she met and fell in love with a unicorn stallion who ran this library before her. But one fateful night, her fiance was murdered by a hitpony sent by the city's the biggest crime lord, Caramel Falcon for his meddlings in his affairs. Ever since that night, Twilight spent every waking hour to make sure that this tragedy will never happen to anypony else again in this city. She owed her love's memory that much.

She clapped her hooves together twice and the entire place was suddenly illuminated with bright lights. She turned around to access the large computer behind her but before she could sit down in her chair, she was greeted by the angry scowl of her young dragon assistant, Spike.

"You owe me big time, Twilight." The purple drake growled. "Do you have any idea how hard it was to withstand the siege of hordes of greedy little foals on a sugar rush?! It was like a zombie apocalypse up there! I almost wished there was another big case I could be helping you with instead already!"

"Well, Spike, your wish is granted." Twilight replied as she held up the dossier. "The Scarecrow is dead." Spike's anger faded away and was replaced by shock.

"Really?! How?!"

"Poisoning. By somepony who calls himself the Candy Colt." Spike's fear exploded into full blown panic.

"Poison and candy?! On Nightmare Night?! But all those foals out there! Have the ponies been warned?" Twilight shook her head.

"From what Captain Garden told me, they don't want to cause mass panic."

"I fail to see how dozens of foals dying from poisoned candy is any better!"

"Calm down, Spike!" Twilight shouted, finally silencing the frantic dragon. "I'm more than certain he was the only target. The killer left a message for the police in the wrapping of the candy he ate." The mare then sat down in front of her computer and opened the dossier. "But I share your urge in catching the killer. Captain Garden believes somepony might be after the costumed rogues who have been popping up in the city."

"Is it wrong not to feel too concerned about that?" Spike asked cynically. "At least you won't have to risk your life out there so often in stopping them." Twilight turned to glare at the young dragon.

"You know that's not what I believe in, Spike!" She said harshly, perhaps harsher than she meant. "Whoever did this is just another killer! A criminal no better than the ones they're targeting! And they need to be brought to justice!" Spike winced at her tone and decided it would be better to make himself useful.

"So how should we start?" Twilight looked down at the documents.

"We have no leads, no suspects, no motive. I can only guess this was done by somepony as revenge. Seeking their own form of justice."

"You do realise that doesn't do much to narrow it down, right?" Spike asked dryly. "That guy terrorised the entire city."

"Maybe not." Twilight replied before her gaze landed on the autopsy report. "But perhaps the murder weapon could help us. They identifed a very specific form of cyanide in his stomach. Let's check the list of ponies who have access to it." Spike nodded and pulled up a seat next to the mare and began his own search on a separate computer screen.

The duo have been at it for hours and the list of ponies who could have access to such a substance was only growing longer. Twilight found herself becoming groggy by the time the clock struck 3 am. Spike tried to get her to go to bed, but her stubbornness refused to until the list was complete.

But eventually she realised that she won't be able to do solid detective work if she was exhausted and finally gave in. As she shut the cave down and headed back upstairs, the last words shared between them before they headed to bed was Spike joking about how they'll finally have a good excuse for sleeping through the day.

November 1st: MCPD Under Siege

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The next time Twilight woke up the sun had barely left the top of the sky, indicating that she had slept through the entire first half of the 1st of November. When she processed this, she jumped out of her bed in such a hurry that it would have impressed even the Flash.

Without even bothering with breakfast or stopping at the bathroom, she opened the secret door beneath her bed and hurried down to the Batcave to continue her investigation. She would give Spike a piece of her mind for not waking her up earlier.

But when she got down, she saw that her draconic assistant was already hard at work at the computers, continuing from where they left off the night before. Next to him was a table full of food, no doubt for her. Her anger subsiding, she was about to join him, but the rumbling of her stomach drove her towards the dining table instead.

"Good afternoon, Twilight." Spike said, taking notice of her growling stomach. Twilight raised an eyebrow.

"What happened to good morning?" She asked as she sat down.

"You sleeping through the whole morning happened." Spike retorted. "Not that I didn't expect that and prepared lunch for you instead of breakfast. I also took the liberty of continuing the work to give you time to rest." Twilight smiled fondly. Spike really knew her better than anypony and he always put her in front of him.

"So, did you find anything?" She asked, taking a bite of her food.

"Several ponies could access or create this kind of cyanide, but I think you will find this the most intriguing." Spike pressed a few buttons on the keyboard and the screen highlighted two images. The first one was a mugshot of a mare with creamy white skin and a coal black mane. The second was the same mare but wearing a wooden black mask, resembling a pony skull. "I believe no introduction is necessary.

Twilight's eyes narrowed in contempt when she saw her. The despicable waste of an equine life was Romance Cyan. AKA, The Black Mask. She was one of the few remaining mob bosses of the city who adapted to the costumed villain craze that took hold of the city since Batmare's first appearance. She was the head of a cosmetics company she inherited from her parents who died in a very suspicious fire in their mansion, but she proved to be a terrible CEO and her decisions soon ran the company into the ground. The last nail in the coffin proved to be a cosmetic cream that made ponies fur fall out and the company went on sale.

But that wasn't the end. Unable to cope with her failure, the mare gathered a few thugs for herself and began hunting down the bidders of her company, killing them with the same hazardous cosmetics she once manufactured. With an extra touch.

"Let me guess, the cyanide that killed Scarecrow is the same one she used in those killings." Twilight said.

"Bingo." Spike replied. "But why go after Scarecrow? What connection was there between them?" Twilight put on a thinking face. That was actually a good question.

"Scarecrow robbed a lot of powerful ponies during his rampage, not just Falcon. Maybe she was among them?" Twilight theorised.

"Even if that was the case, the MO still doesn't match." Spike countered. "Scarecrow was poisoned by a candy bar. Black Mask killed her victims with poisoned masks."

"Still, the fact that they used the same poison is one hay of a coincidence. She may not be the killer, but could have hired somepony to do it. This is definitely a lead that's worth investigating." Twilight argued. "Do we know about Cyan's whereabouts right now?" Spike turned back to the computer.

"Well, she was released after they couldn't find enough evidence against her. That mask hides her identity well. Ever since then, she went underground and has been controlling her operations from behind the scenes. Her whereabouts are unknown." Twilight groaned upon hearing that. This was the only lead she had right now. She had to find this mare.

"Spike, I want you to access every security camera in the city that is based around any building that has any connection to her. When you spot any suspicious movement, alert me immediately!" Spike sighed half-heartedly. He really hated this part of the job.

"Well, it's a good thing we're closed on the day after Nightmare Night."

In the meantime, Twilight began a little research on her own. She began to dig up anything she could on Black Mask. She didn't have as much knowledge on the mare as she would have preferred. Their encounters were few and far between. The police could actually bring Cyan in without her so she didn't pay much attention to her case. But then they failed to connect her to her alter ego, making Twilight regret not digging up anything incriminating on her before.

Given the case she was investigating, she first try to find a connection between her and Sweet Dreams, but it yielded no result. She didnt't want to admit it, but she also has doubts that she was connected to his death and they were becoming stronger as her research went on.

The one interesting thing she could find was that Cyan had an ongoing feud with the MCPD over some of her personal belongings that were still confiscated at their headquarters after she was arrested. Mainly a pearl necklace that was a family heirloom but the police still suspected it might be stolen so they refused to return it to her. That sounded like it might be worth looking into in the future.

After a few hours of research, Twilight was snapped out of her work by her assistant calling out to her.

"Hey, Twilight! I've got something!" Spike yelled to her from the computer.

"What is it?" She asked, running over to him. Spike pointed at one of the screens.

"A group of masked ponies are gathering around an old warehouse still belonging to Cyan's old company. They look like they're up to something. They're loading stuff onto several carriages." Twilight looked at the screen and saw three carriages lined up, being filled with weapons and other suspicious items such as signal jammers and explosives.

"Those are Black Mask's goons alright." Twilight commented. "But what are they..." A horrible thought occurred to her. Black Mask hasn't made any moves around the city. Her only current affair was her bureaucratic battle to get her possessions back from the police. Perhaps she got tired of the paperwork.

That theory was further validated when she saw the masked ponies begin to weld armor and ramming devices onto the carriages, perfectly capable of penetrating the walls of the police station. Twilight gasped. She needed to alert them immediately.

The one downside to being given a day off on Nightmare Night was that you had to come in the next day. Almost nopony had to come in on November 1st as everypony was recovering from the craze of the previous night, but at least that gave Captain Garden a chance to work in peace and access to information he normally wouldn't have been able to get without days of damnable paperwork.

The unicorn police officer was sitting in his office, doing a little investigative work on his own regarding the murder of Sweet Dreams. Not that he doubted the detective skills of the Batmare, but this case just refused to leave his mind at peace. Maybe it was the conversation he had with the vigilante last night, but he also started believing there was more in the background than met the eye.

So he decided to help his friend's investigation by trying to find something useful. He checked the list of ponies who knew about the murdered stallion's release, ponies who had investments in the stores he robbed as the Scarecrow and the stores that sold the type of candy that they poisoned him with. He hoped that Batmare had more success than him though, as he failed to find anything useful so far, even after hours of reading. He was just about to fall asleep at his desk when he heard an incoming call on his walkie talkie.

"Captain Garden here." He said into the device, glad to finally have something to distract him from the tedious paperwork. But his relief quickly faded when he heard who was on the other side of the line.

"Garden! Shut the station down immediately and gather as many cops down there as you can!" The unmistakable voice of the Batmare warned. "The station is about to be attacked!" The captain's eyes widened in shock.

"How did you..." He was about to ask how she got onto his frequency, but then he remembered who he was talking to. "Never mind. Attacked by who?"

"There's no time to explain! Just do as I say..." Before she could continue, Garden felt the entire building shake, nearly making him fall out of his chair.

"I think I know what you mean." He responded. Batmare growled.

"Damn! They're already there! Head to the underground garage with everypony you can find! I'll be there as soon as I can!"

Batmare ended the call and shifted her focus back on gliding across the city's rooftops. She will really have to come up with a more effective way of transport at some point, but for now, she'll have to focus on the job at hoof.

She finally reached the Manehattan Police Station and from the roof, she could see a group of armed ponies wearing several different masks around a carriage with a battering ram on it as they pulled it back and smashed it against the garage door of the building.

She counted about twelve attackers, but she was certain that even somepony as bold as Black Mask wouldn't attack the main police station in town with this few ponies. She had to have some more hiding around somewhere but she couldn't afford to wait until they showed up.

She jumped off the roof and glided towards the attackers. They noticed her instantly and aimed their weapons at her, but she threw a barrage of batarangs and managed to disarm all of them. She landed on top of one goon with a bear mask and smashed him into the ground, knocking him out before turning to the rest.

She rushed at the closest one wearing the mask of one of those mexicoltan wrestlers and punched him so hard his head was smashed into the carriage behind him. She turned right and saw two more running at her. She jumped over the first one in a snake mask, grabbed him by the neck and pulled him along with her, throwing him at the grey alien masked one behind him.

She then turned around and found herself facing a unicorn wearing a dark cloak as a poor imitation of the grim reaper. This image was further played out when he used his magic to levitate several scythes around him and began to rotate them before pushing them forward. Batmare jumped forward and dodged the sharp tools flying at her with graceful ease before slamming herself into the unicorn with enough force to knock him back.

She was about to move on to her next target, but then she found herself in the hold of the front legs of a huge stallion wearing a lion mask. She struggled with all her might but she couldn't break free, the stallion began to squeeze her so tight that every inch of their bodies were touching. Batmare took advantage of this and reached for her utility belt, pressing a button on it that sent a huge shockwave through the stallion's body and incapacitated him.

She turned to see a goon with a mask that resembled a huge eyeball open the door of a carriage and pull out a rocket launcher. Batmare reached for a batarang but found that she used all of them up on their weapons. Fortunately, she managed to come up with something else by the time the rocket was launched.

She jumped out of the way and took out her grappling gun, firing it at the rocket. The hook wrapped around it and she hurled it right back at the carriage. The goon's eyes widened as he jumped out of the carriage just in time before the missile struck, blowing it to smithereens. As an additional bonus, it was the carriage with the battering ram, so the goons have lost their way to get inside the station. This angered the remaining criminals so much that they were about to throw themselves at the vigilante, but they were interrupted by a sudden loud voice.

"THIS IS THE MCPD! CEASE AND DESIST AT ONCE!" The goons stopped and looked around to see a bunch of police ponies charging out of the building and aiming their weapons at them. They knew the game was up and they surrendered without any further resistance. As the goons were cuffed and carried away, Batmare saw Captain Garden in the crowd.

"The False Facers." He growled as he looked over the masked ponies. "That can only mean one thing. Where's Black Mask?" The cops and the vigilante quickly checked the remaining two carriages, only to find them empty.

"Not here." Batmare remarked frustratedly.

"What was she playing at here?" The captain asked. "The only reason she would attack the station can only be to retrieve the Cyan jewels. But those are locked up in the..." The eyes of two ponies widened at the same time as they both reached the same conclusion. "...the evidence room!"

They immediately rushed back inside the station and didn't stop until they reached the evidence room. The captain's heart nearly stopped when he saw it's door wide open with several incapacitated officers in front of it.

"Damn you!" He growled before running to check on his comrades while Batmare went inside the room. He leaned down next to a petite earth pony mare and tapped her cheek to wake her up. "Come on, sarge. I know you're tougher than this." The mare groaned as she slowly opened her eyes and regained her consciousness.

"Captain... Is that you..." Before Garden could answer, Batmare came out of the evidence room.

"It's gone." She told him angrily. "Not just the jewels but all other evidence related to Black Mask." Garden cursed under his breath as he helped the mare to her hooves while Batmare did the same to the other two officers.

"I'm sorry, captain." The mare apologised in agony. "I have failed you. I was supposed to keep ponies out of there but they overpowered me. They took the keycard from me and..." Garden softly put a hoof over her lips.

"Shh..." He said calmingly as he embraced her. "It's not your fault. I'm sure you've done everything you could."

Batmare watched the scene with equal parts sadness, anger and worry. Sadness over the mare and her colleagues for what they went through and for obviously having to be questioned later. Anger for how easily Black Mask managed to fool both her and the police with this little diversion and worry about what is going to happen next.

Romance Cyan sat inside her own personal carriage on her way home. She took off her equine skull shaped mask and raised her hoof in front of herself, holding her precious pearl necklace in it. A satisfied and arrogant smirk grew on her face as she thought about how easily everything went tonight.

She knew that the first night after Nightmare Night would be the perfect opportunity to hit the station and reclaim what was rightfully hers from those pesky cops. Not to mention getting rid of every bit of dirt they have collected about her. It may not have been anything too incriminating, but it was better safe than sorry.

But getting her prized jewel was her biggest victory tonight. It may have more sentimental than monetary value, but it was still more important to her than almost any of her other possessions. She chuckled to herself and put it around her neck.

Suddenly, she started feeling very lightheaded and nauseous, but at first, she wrote it off as a side effect of the bumpy roads. But when breathing also became a difficulty to her, she began to feel a little worried.

She started taking heavy breaths but even that didn't work and only resulted in her getting a heavy coughing fit. In a desperate attempt to ease the sudden pressure on her neck, she removed her necklace and leaned towards the window to get some fresh air, but she never reached it.

By the time the carriage made it back to the Cyan mansion and the two ponies pulling it went to open the door for their boss, all they found was a dead body oozing with a bitter almond smell.

It was a bittersweet morning to Captain Jam Garden. He learned that one of the current most wanted mob bosses of the city, Romance Cyan had been killed. As awful as it sounded, that would have been a huge relief for him under normal circumstances, but the current circumstances were far from normal.

"Cyanide poisoning." The coroner said as he entered his office and put his report on his desk. Garden took a gulp of his coffee before picking it up.

"That's the second one in two days. You think there's a connection?" He asked the slim, yellow unicorn. The coroner's sigh and downcast eyes were the only answers he needed.

"At first I thought that would be a way too conspirative assumption, until I checked the murder weapon." He said, placing Cyan's pearl necklace on the table in an evidence bag. Garden raised an eyebrow.

"Her necklace was the murder weapon?" He's seen a few peculiar ways of killing in his time, but this was outlandish even for him.

"That necklace wasn't all pearls." Garden looked at him in confusion before turning his attention to the report he was given. "One of them..." The coroner began, unsure of how his boss would take the news. "...one of them was a piece of gumdrop. Laced with cyanide and tiny needles that syrenged it into her body."

November 2nd: The Penguin and the Huntress

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"The Candy Colt strikes again! Alleged mob boss killed with poisoned candy necklace. The press sure loves these words." Spike the dragon remarked dryly as he read the the morning's paper. Twilight sighed. Romance Cyan was officially off her list of suspects and that meant she was back to square one. But at least she had a new lead.

"It had to be an inside job. Only the police had access to the evidence room." She stated as she was typing on her computer's keyboard.

"That sounds kinda far fetched." Spike commented. "So the police knew the evidence room would be robbed on the exact day the killer swapped that one pearl with the poisoned gumdrop?"

"Maybe the police didn't." Twilight replied, pressing the enter key. "But the Candy Colt did. Somepony or some other creature must have known Cyan was about to pull that attack last night. A creature with widespread underworld connections."

"Old fashioned underworld figures are a dying breed." Spike added. "And with Black Mask out of the picture, there's only one I can think of." Just as Spike finished that sentence, the computer displayed another image. A mugshot of a tall abyssian with orange fur and purple hair, wearing a black top hat and a black coat.

"Capper Dapperpaws. AKA, The Penguin." Twilight announced. Capper was a mystery even to Twilight. The only thing she managed to dig up on her was that he hailed from a town far beyond the borders of Equestria that was said to be an even worse, lawless wretched hive than Manehattan.

At least until he took over. Twilight only heard rumors but in his hometown, they said he was just another con-artist trying to get by who owed a great deal to the previous reigning crime boss, Verko. When he failed to pay him, he had his claws removed, broke one of his legs and threw him into the sea to drown.

No creature knew how he survived but he soon resurfaced and overthrew Verko his entire crime family by feeding them alive to a flock of starved birds. Twilight wasn't sure how much of it she believed but there has to be some truth in it as the abyssian had a permanent limp and had to carry himself around with an umbrella that he used as a cane.

He showed up in town a few months ago when he took over Verko's old casino resort called The Molehill and remodeled it into the Iceberg Lounge. Apparently, he was fully embracing his Penguin nickname he received for his limping and his tuxedo.

Twilight's attention was first brought to him when she heard that his thugs have been stopped from executing a few of Verko's remaining loyalists at the docks by another hero called the Green Lantern. He denied any involvement in it but he's been on Twilight's radar ever since.

Still, he proved to be a necessary evil of a sort as he's acted as an informant to the Batmare on several occasions in the past and he's been even supporting and funding the mayoral election campaign of the current district attorney. Which was very unusual, since this practice was more in common with corrupt politicians, but Twilight knew the attorney well. He was the most sincere mayoral candidate she had ever seen. He was gonna clean up the streets of both organised crime and the costumed maniacs. Why would an organised crime boss support such an endeavour? Regardless, Capper was perhaps the last of a dying breed.

"With Black Mask's death, he would be able to take over perhaps the entire underworld of the city. Sounds like a pretty decent little motive." Twilight noted.

"But where does Scarecrow come into the picture?" Spike asked. Twilight looked up at the Batmare suit standing proudly on the ponyquin inside the glass cabinet.

"I don't have an answer to that, Spike. But the Batmare will get them."

As per usual, the Iceberg Lounge was buzzing with activity. Ponies gambling, dancing, feasting and enjoying all sorts of other pleasures only allowed for the wealthy. For anypony in Equestria, this decadent display was probably like heaven on Equus. But to any other creature from beyond the borders, this was less than ideal.

Capper Dapperpaws belonged to that latter category. When he was living back in Klugetown, this seemed like everything he could ever want. Until he witnessed it for himself. Back home, he was used to the harsh environments and the even harsher companions. In this festive, careless atmosphere surrounded by these fancy, pretty ponies, it just didn't feel like home.

With a sigh, he got up from his table and limped his way towards the staircase to get back up to his office. Once he was inside, he locked his door and put a record in his phonograph before sitting down at his desk and pouring himself a glass of wine. After the constant noise down there, he could really use some actual classy entertainment.

He was surprised at how quickly he grew tired of the luxury and peace. Ever since he could remember, his life has been a constant struggle and day-to-day survival and he never thought it possible, but he missed it. Once he renovated this place to suit his new nickname and reputation, he was set for life, but he was bored out of his mind by just the second day.

He supposed that's why he kept running his illegal operations when he really didn't need to. Being handicapped thanks to that bastard Verko meant he was no longer fit for physical encounters with cops and costumed vigilantes. When he first crossed paths with this Batmare, he was surprised that no creature ever took a similar approach to bring order to Klugetown before him.

But Capper wouldn't have survived this long if he didn't know how to adapt. He quickly realised the opportunity to keep himself away out of trouble with both the authorities and other criminal elements by becoming the crimefighters' informant. He had helped her take down several rival crime bosses which made sure he had less competition and in turn, she would leave him alone as long as he didn't cause too much trouble.

And he was quite content with laying low and live off his casino and occasional arms dealing, or at least he would be if it wasn't so boring. Recently, he even tried to dabble in the city's politics to pass time by backing the district attonery's mayor campaign. He promised to keep the criminals off the streets and the costumed lunatics who have been popping all over town lately were not exactly good for his business so he was more than happy to assist.

As he enjoyed the music and his drink, he felt a sudden breeze swiping over him from the direction of the window. He didn't even have to look to know what was the cause of it.

"Am I in trouble again?" He asked with a sigh as the Batmare entered through the window, slowly walked over to the desk and sat down in front of the abyssinian.

"We'll see." The vigilante growled before tossing a copy of the newspaper in front of him. Capper gave it an expressionless stare.

"The mailpony already delivered today's paper. And a lot earlier, I might add." He said sarcastically before taking a sip of his drink. His humor didn't amuse the Batmare, but she managed to restrain herself.

"Do you know anything about this 'Candy Colt'?" Capper raised an eyebrow.

"Just what the papers say. Offed two really nasty ponies with some poisoned treats. Good thing I'm too old for trick or treating and I don't eat candy." He told her casually.

"His latest victim was Romance Cyan. The Black Mask. She was killed by a poisoned piece of gumdrop that was on her necklace secured inside the evidence room at the police station. This could have only been an inside job. Orchestrated by some creature who has the influence to use dirty cops and a bone to pick with Cyan. Ring any bells?" Capper looked up at the costumed mare for the first time that night. Batmare didn't know what reaction she should expect from him, but the amused, mocking laugh she got still caught her by surprise.

"You think I was scared of this little upstart?" He asked, pointing at Cyan's picture in the paper. "Don't make me laugh. I'm sure somepony as well educated as you would be aware of how I handled Verko back in Klugetown. Compared to him, she was just high school mean girl wannabe. If anything, she should have been scared of me. Besides, I think you should be the one worrying about the competition." Batmare raised an eyebrow beneath the mask.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't tell me you haven't heard of the new girl in town." Capper replied and she noticed that his tone grew much darker and angrier. "You know, the one with the crossbow. She's been taking my guys out and my operations down for weeks."

"I'm not here to talk about her." Batmare replied firmly. The amused smile returned to Capper's face.

"Oh, yes. The Candy Colt." He chuckled, pouring himself another glass of wine. "You think I'm the only one who would have loved to get Cyan out of the way? Maybe you should take a trip down memory lane. The answers could also lie in the past rather than the present." Batmare was beginning to lose her patience.

"Enough with the riddles!" She growled, barely able to resist the urge to punch the table. "Tell what I want to know!" Capper wasn't intimidated though. He merely kept drinking.

"Here's the deal." He said once he finished put the glass down. "You get this little crossbow killer off the backs of my boys and I'll give you something to go on. I think you're gonna find it very interesting but I suggest you hurry." He then stood up and made his way to the door. "Because I don't think the Candy Colt is gonna wait with handing out his next treat until you make up your mind. Know what I mean?" He chuckled before opening the door and leaving. "Oh, and please close the window on your way out."

Batmare glared after the abyssinian under her mask. She had no time to waste to play bodyguard to gangsters, even if they were a reluctant ally like Capper. But he was the only lead she had right now and even if the ponies working for him were criminals, it was her duty to protect all citizens of the city.

Besides, Capper had a point. She had zero tolerance for lethal vigilantes in her city. And as much as she loathed to admit it, it did rub her sense of pride the wrong way that somepony else was doing her work the wrong way. So if she played her cards right tonight, she could kill two birds with one stone. She could get the information she needs to crack this case and put an end to the crossbow killings. But she knew one thing, Capper will better have a damn good lead for all this trouble.

Lively and buzzing with activity the Iceberg Lounge may be, there came a time when even Manehattan's number one nightclub must close it's doors. This time was welcomed by Capper who was eager to finally get home and have a good night's rest. Or whatever was left of the night anyway.

Once the last guests have left, Capper limped his way to his old fashioned black carriage. One of his henchponies opened the door for him and allowed the cat to use him for support as he got into the vehicle. Two other ponies then got in front of the carriage and began pulling it away into the direction of their boss' home.

Given all the losses their forces suffered at the hooves of the crossbow killer, the two ponies were understandably nervous. The Batmare was bad enough but at least the worse she gave you was a few broken bones. But she didn’t kill you. This other mare… this Huntress however was like a ghost. She could strike from anywhere, send her arrows into any part of your body from any distance with pinpoint accuracy like bolts of divine retribution.

The ponies before the carriage looked around in terror before every turn they took, even though they knew they won’t be able to see anything before their doom came in the form of an arrow. But the fat cat himself inside the carriage was completely calm, for he knew they had a guardian angel watching over them.

On the rooftops above them, the Batmare trailed the carriage like a hawd did its prey. Normally, she would do this to follow them to the scene of a crime, but this time, she would have to protect them from another criminal. One who presented Batmare with a terrifying new challenge. She’ll have to face not only a deadly vigilante, but the concept of what would happen if she went off the rails. If she ever crossed that one line she drew for herself when she began this crusade against crime in the city. Which was interesting considering the possibility that the Candy Colt himself might be from the very same breed. So this could be like a test for her when it came to the inevitable confrontation between them.

As she leapt from rooftop to rooftop, she kept scanning every corner she could see. So far, there was no sign of anything unusual. The streets were mostly lifeless and even the few ponies that were out there jumped aside swiftly when they recognised the approaching carriage. Looks like Capper’s reputation preceded him. But suddenly, in the distance, she saw something that not only fled from the crime boss’ ride, but sped towards it faster than anything she’s ever seen.

The object became unbearably loud as it got closer to the carriage. It was so fast that the two ponies pulling it had no time to stop and get out of it’s way. Just when they thought they were going to crash, the object came to a halt. The pullers and Capper who leaned out the window to see why they stopped saw a rather peculiar sight. It was white earth pony mare wearing a purple cloak and a cape tied together on her body by white belts. The object she was sitting on looked like the miniaturized version of a locomotive engine with two wheels on each end and a pair of sticks on the upper front part of it that the mare used to steer the thing.

The pullers were still amazed by the strange vehicle when the mare pulled out a crossbow from beneath her cloak. Their eyes widened in terror. They knew they won’t be able to escape, but before the arrows pierced their hearts, a huge shadow leapt over the carriage, throwing itself upon the mare and tackling her off of her motor bike.The Batmare pulled her hoof back and knocked the crossbow out of her hoof, but before she could hit her, she kicked her in the stomach with her hind legs.

Since she was wearing armor. it didn’t hurt, but her opponent had enough strength in her to push her off of her. She reached for her crossbow, but the Batmare threw a batarang into the ground in front of it before she could reach it. She then tackled the huntress to the ground where they continued their struggle. From his carriage, Capper watched the scene with intrigue but felt like they probably shouldn’t hang about to see the outcome.

“As entertaining as this is, we should probably take our leave.” The pullers didn’t need to be told twice but before they could continue their trek, Capper told them to stop. “Just a moment, boys. We should probably make sure that nopony follows us." He picked up his folded umbrella and pointed it towards the Huntress' motor bike. The tip suddenly opened up and revealed a small rocket that flew out of the umbrella and blew the vehicle apart. "This outghta do it. Alright, go!"

The two vigilantes paused their fight and looked to see the Capper's carriage getting away and the flaming wreckage of the motor bike. The Huntress turned to glare at Batmare.

"You cost me my quarry tonight." She growled. The Batmare narrowed her eye lenses.

"Your hunting ends tonight. For good." The Huntress rushed at the Batmare who got into a defensive position, but the earth pony surprised her by jumping over her and pull a huge web out of her cloak and throw it down at her. Batmare couldn't react in time and found herself pinned to the ground.

She pulled out a batarang and began to cut the web cut at the web but it was made of very tough material so it took time until she made her way out of it's grasp. When she stood up, she looked around for the Huntress and noticed with dismay that she retrieved her crossbow.

She fired a couple of arrows at her, but Batmare hid behind her cape which hardened to the point that they deflected the arrows easily. When she ran out and had to reload, Batmare pulled out her grappling gun and fired it at her. Huntress stepped aside in time and the hook struck a wall behind her, but Batmare grappled herself towards her, knocked her weapon out of her hooves once more and slamming her into the wall.

The earth pony still had some fight left in her. She put her hoof behind Batmare's head and slammed it into the wall. She tried it again only for Batmare to slam her head into her muzzle, knocking her away. Huntress quickly recovered, pulled out a huge knife from her cloak and launched herself back at Batmare.

To Batmare's surprise, the knife was sharp enough that it managed to pierce her armour combined with the earth pony's strength. She hissed in pain before punching Huntress in the muzzle to knock her back. It succeeded but the other mare quickly stabbed again. Batmare grabbed the knife in her grasped and pushed back. The two mares found themselves locked in a stalemate as they tried to push each other away.

"If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem." Huntress growled. Batmare threw herself back on the ground and used Huntress own momentum against her to kick her in the stomach and launch her over her head.

"The only problem is you and other murderers like you." She growled. Huntress stood back up.

"You were always weak willed! Weak willed to protect this city and the ponies who live here! And that allowed scum like Penguin to massacre my family!" She ranted before looking down and allowing a tear to fall from her eyes. Her moment of weakness was short lived though as she quickly glared back up at Batmare. "Criminals deserve no mercy!"

"That is not for us to decide! You have become no better than your family's killers and you must be stopped!" That comment sent the Huntress into a fit of rage. She rushed at Batmare with her knife in hoof and ready to strike but Batmare threw herself back once more kicked the frenzied mare upwards toward the lamppost over them.

She quickly reached into her belt and pulled out a bola before throwing it at the Huntress. It wrapped itself around the mare's body and tied her to the post, leaving her unable to escape. As she struggled in vain to break free, Batmare turned away from her, reaching up to her ear.

"Spike, tell the MCPD that they can pick up the 'Crossbow Killer' at my current location." She spoke into her communicator.

"Got it, Twilight. And what about Capper?" Twilight was about to answer when she was interrupted by a rather bizarre sight. Out of the city's darkness, an actual penguin was waddling towards her with a letter in it's beak. Once Twilight got over her shock, she took the envelope and opened it.

'You kept your end of the bargain, now it's my turn. Meet me in my office tomorrow night, same time as tonight and I'll tell you everything I know.'

November 3rd: The Flightless Falcons

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If there was one thing Twilight Sparkle hated more than anything, it was interia. Add to that having to follow a crime boss' instructions in order to move an investigation forward and she was understandably more than a little peeved the next day.

For twenty four hours, all she could do was pray that the Candy Colt won't strike again until she had the information she needed. And to her relief, it looked like her prayers have been heard. When she went through the paper the next morning, she was glad to see no report of another underworld figure or costumed rogue poisoned by candy. The Batmare's capture of the 'Crossbow Killer' made the headlines instead. Twilight recalled an old joke she heard from Spike about how the Batmare was making journalism the most well paying job in the city.

According to the paper, she was a pony named Holly Baroness, the heir to one of Manehattan's oldest crime families and the massacre they were killed in was a mob hit that she was the sole survivor of. Twilight should have probably felt some sympathy for her. She probably would have if she was still Princess Celestia's student. But now, she couldn't. As far as she was concerned, it was just another criminal getting put where her place was.

She was far more interested in the transportation technology she retrieved from her. Or what was left of it anyway. Capper's rocket sure did a number on it, but she and Spike were able to salvage enough to understand how she built a motorised bike for herself. That was something they could use for their own advantage.

But for now, Twilight had to concentrate on her meeting with the abyssinian crime boss. All throughout the day, all she could think about what she would hear from him. She couldn't even focus on her work at the library properly. Good thing Spike was always there to cover for her. She spent the whole day pacing in her room, looking out the window every five minutes to see if the sun had set already.

When the time had finally come, she headed straight down to the batcave, got into her suit and headed out into the night. She didn’t even stop until she reached the Iceberg Lounge. She knew Capper said to be there exactly when she arrived last night, but knowing her luck and this city as well as she did, she knew that she will find plenty of things to keep her busy until then.

Once again, she wasn”t wrong. If there was one good thing about the criminals of Manehattan, it was that they always gave her a way to kill time and take some of her frustration out on something. Five assaults, three attempts of robbery, two of rape and even an act of arson that ended up being part of an insurance fraud. Just a night in the life of the Batmare.

By the time she took care of her last remaining business, it was long past the time she met Capper last night, so she was worried that she wouldn’t find him there when she jumped through his office window. Thankfully, he was still there, sitting behind his desk with a bored expression on his face, pushing small figurines around on a map of the city. When he heard the vigilante land in his room, he looked up at her before checking his watch.

“You’re late.” The cat stated. Batmare just stared at him blankly and Capper threw his hands up defensively. “Oh, don’t get me wrong! I am not offended at all. In fact, I am glad I was actually prepared for your arrival for once.” Batmare had to resist the urge to roll her eyes.

“Let’s just get this over with.” She growled. “You said you would tell me who else had the means and the motive to kill Cyan.” Capper sighed.

“Always so crude.” He said, but he quickly decided not to push his luck any further. “Alright, listen here.” He then arranged his figures around the map. “Here is me in my little casino and night club in the middle of the city and here is everything owned by the late Black Mask.” He placed a penguin figure over the Iceberg Lounge on the map and black skulls over the other areas he mentioned. “Notice how nothing we have interlaps with each other.”

Batmare looked over the map and indeed, she saw nothing that would imply that Capper and Cyan were in a conflict. Capper went on. “Now, here are all the other major players in the city.” He then placed cocktail glasses over the places still owned by Silver Martini’s family in the absence of the imprisoned stallion, a wooden pony over some outskirt establishments that have been recently taken over by a new guy who picked up the supposedly cursed puppet of a former ventriloquist turned bank robber.

“Now, tell me if you see anything interesting.” Capper said before placing one last figure on the table.on an old mansion. Batmare’s eyes widened in realization as soon as she saw what the figure was. Between a few of Manehattan’s most profitable nightlife attractions, was a residence most of the city had completely forgotten about in the past year. For it’s residents have slowly faded into obscurity. But she would never forget about them.

A small wooden falcon was placed on the mansion’s drawing surrounded by clubs, restaurants and bars currently owned by the late Romance Cyan, that formerly belonged to none other than the stallion that ruined Twilight Sparkle’s life in Manehattan. The stallion who took away the pony she wanted to spend the rest of her life with from her. The stallion who was the reason she began her one pony war on crime. Caramel Falcon.

Capper turned away only for the duration of pouring himself another drink and by the time he turned back, the Batmare was nowhere to be seen. The abyssinian chuckled to himself before taking a sip of his glass.

“Leaving without even saying goodbye? How ill-mannered. Well, at least she’s out of my hair for the time being.” As he leaned back in his chair, he heard a knock on his door.

“Yes?” He called out and a gray pegasus stallion entered carrying a package..

“Sorry for disturbing you boss, but this arrived for you earlier today.” Capper raised an eyebrow.

“And you’re only telling me this now?”

“You said you didn’t want anypony to bother you until your business for the day was concluded.” Capper sighed.

“Fine. Just put it on my desk.” The pegasus obeyed and left, leaving Capper alone with the strange package. The cat finished his drink and picked up his umbrella, unleashing a blade from it’s tip and slicing the package open, revealing a brown box. He observed it for a while before poking it with his umbrella, using it to tip the lid open, his eyes widened as he saw thirty pieces of chocolate balls interconnected by a wire and a timer counting back.

He did not panic. He pressed a button on his umbrella’s handle and placed it on the timer which stopped immediately. Good thing, he had an electric jammer built into it a while ago. He closed the box and pressed a button on a small intercom he had on his desk.

“Boys, I want the list of every mail delivery to the Iceberg Lounge today, pronto.”

“Right away, boss.”

Capper then opened his laptop and begin reviewing the security footage recorded at the entrance that day. He couldn’t count on the Batmare alone to discover the identity of the Candy Colt. And once it comes to light, so will his address. Capper did not appreciate the little gift he sent him. He would have to return it.

Caramel Falcon, the former biggest crime boss of Manehattan leaned back in his seat with a heavy sigh. He had just finished another uneventful day of boring accounting to see how much longer would his savings hold out.

Ever since his criminal empire fell and he lost everything he built for himself by the hooves of the Joker, the stallion finally decided to retire and dedicate the rest of his life is raising his son. The only thing he had left.

Fortunately for him, he still had a vast fortune left on his accounts from his time as the most influential crime lord of Manehattan since it wasn't like he could just go and get himself a daytime job. Who would hire him? Almost every pony in this stinking city had been wronged by him at some point during his career one way or another.

He also lost his illegal incomes as well. Half of them was taken down by that accursed Batmare and the other half was taken over by the smaller fish of the city's underworld. That spoiled heiress, Romance Cyan turned out to be the most ambitious one of them. She was the one that scooped up a vast majority of them, much to his dismay. It was a small comfort when he read in the paper that she choked on some poisoned candy. But it wouldn't give him back the things he lost.

He had lost every bit of influence and respect he once had. Only his son kept him going. Young Alabaster Falcon, bless his soul fully understood the magnitude of their situation. With his father's status gone, he knew his only chance in life would be to earn himself a proper education and spent almost all day studying.

But what he did during his free time, Caramel couldn't imagine. And that really bothered him. The boy hasn't been himself ever since his mother died right in front of him. And who could have blamed him? He tried to get the boy to open up to him but it seemed that each day, the two grew more distant from each other.

As he pondered on how to improve the situation between them, he felt a breeze sweeping over him from the direction of the window. Strange, he could have sworn that he closed it. He got up from his chair to check only to bump into a shadowy figure standing in front of him. He bumped into it so hard that he stumbled back into his chair. When he looked up, he saw none other than the Batmare glaring down at him.

"Caramel Falcon. We need to talk." It took Caramel a few seconds to process what just happened, but when he did, he felt an incredible rage well up inside him upon realising who the intruder was.

"You!" He snarled before lunging at her and striking her across the muzzle with her foreleg. The attack had visibly no effect on the mare in front of him. If anything, it made the stallion's hoof hurt. He was not a weakling by any means, even in his elderly age, but he was not going to do any damage to the armor she was wearing.

"What the hay do you want?" He asked, rubbing his aching hoof. "Did it take you so long to come and rub my fall from grace in my face?" The former crime lord was a pathetic sight to behold. His classy suit was gone and he was wearing a tattered robe, his wrinkles were much more visible than ever before and it was obvious he's been drinking heavily. If he wasn't the stallion who ordered the assassination of her fiance, Batmare would have even felt sorry for him. But he was. She wanted to get this visit over as soon as possible.

"The Candy Colt. What can you tell me about him?" Falcon's lips curled up into a taunting smile.

"What? You lost your edge with me no longer there to keep you on the tip of your hooves?" The costumed vigilante growled and advanced onto the stallion, forcing him back into the chair.

"Don't test me, Falcon! Do you know anything about him or not?!" Falcon just laid back in his chair smugly.

"You're the detective, you tell me."

"Both the victims had connection to you, Caramel." She replied. "They were both thorns in your side at some point and even with you being a shadow of your former self, you could still have the influence to put them down like that."

"You call this being influential?" He snapped back at her, motioning across himself. "I am nothing anymore! You and the clown saw to that." Falcon could tell the Batmare wasn't having any of it, so he decided on another approach to convince her.

"Besides, do you think if it was me, i would have handled them in such an amateur way? You of all ponies should know me better. I also don't leave my calling card on the scene like one of those psychotic freaks you enjoy playing with so much. I'm not like them."

Batmare watched him as he talked. He seemed like he was talking genuinely, but she's been wrong before. She was good at analysing any kind of evidence, but unlike ponies, they never lied. Before she could say anything, she heard the door open and a young voice entered her ear.

"Dad? What's going on?" Alabaster Falcon asked as he peeked into the room. "Why are you yelling?" Batmare turned around and saw the young colt's eyes widening when he recognised the consumed mare in the room in front of his father. "What… What is she doing here?" Falcon narrowed his eyes at the vigilante before getting up and walking over to him.

"Nothing, son. She was just leaving. I suppose she wanted to make sure we're still 'behaving'." He snarled. But Alabaster wasn't convinced.

"Haven't you done enough damage to our family, already?!" He yelled at the Batmare. "You got what you wanted! Our family is ruined! We're no longer a threat to you, the law or anypony! Can't you just leave us alone?!"

Batmare was thankful she was wearing a mask because she wasn't sure she would have been able to keep her face stoic in front of the small child. He may be a mobster's son, but he was still just a foal. A foal who was still grieving his mother. To top it off, he looked so lost and angry at the whole world, just like she was when she lost her fiance to his demonic father.

She saw the fire burning inside the colt's father's eyes and decided it would be better to make herself scarce for now.

"We are not finished." She snarled before making her way to the window and disappearing into the night.

"No." Caramel said, pulling his son into a comforting embrace. "Not by a long shot."

On the other side of Manehattan, another one of the city's demons was sitting in a cell, playing with a deck of cards in front of her on the bench she was sitting on. The unicorn reached a hoof out and picked one of them up revealing the five hearts.

"Five carved out hearts." She chuckled.

Next, she turned up the four pikes.

"Four poisoned apples."

Then the three clubs.

"Three grenade launchers."

The two diamonds.

"Two bloody daggers."

And the joker.

"And a dead bat in a burning city." She laughed to herself. Before picking up all the cards, shuffling them, then placing them in front of herself in random order again. She had lost count on how many combinations she had drawn in the past few months, but in the psychiatric ward of Manehattan prison, this was her only entertainment.

It's been almost a year since she last had a blast when she wiped out nearly all of the Falcon crime family and tried to drown Manehattan in the same laughing gas she used to accomplish it. That was the time when she met her lifelong playmate, The Batmare.

Of course, she tried to have some fun with the guards and the doctors here. Just a few weeks after being thrown in here, the guards found her in the middle of a therapy session with her doctor’s face melted off from her spraying flower. A few weeks ago, she dismembered a guard with her razor edged cards after putting a smile onto his face with them and they still didn’t find the one she fried with her joy buzzer. She laughed as she wondered whether or not they ever will. Though given how clueless they were about how she smuggled her toys in, she doubted it.

Still, it just wasn’t the same. This place was fun and all, but it had nothing on the fun she had with the Batmare the last time. She hated to leave the ponies of this place without her company, but she needed to get out of here and visit the town the next chance she got. Little did she know. that chance would present itself far earlier than she expected.

As she shuffled her cards, she heard a knock on her door. She looked up to see an earth pony mare - a police officer, judging from her uniform - looking down at her with disdain as she held a package.

“Hey, Trixie! Somepony was stupid enough to send you something.” The unicorn formerly known as Trixie grinned so widely that the scars at the sides of her mouth almost split apart. Her visitor nearly recoiled at the sight.

“Well, it was about time I got the recognition I deserved! I finally have a fan! How delightful!” She already began to plan what lovely surprise she should send them in return. She wondered if they would settle for the deliverer’s decapitated head.

“Well…” The officer said once she got over her disgust at the other mare’s sight. “...are you gonna get it or not?” She asked, opening up a hole in the cell door and pushing the package through it. Trixie raised an eyebrow. Usually the guards were wary about sticking their hooves inside her cell. Getting joybuzzed with an almost lethal level of electricity at every occasion tends to have that effect. This mare must have been very eager to give her that package and she couldn’t help but wonder why.

“Oh, I would love to but I’m feeling so cozy on my little bench here.” Trixie said, feigning a sad expression. “Would you bring it to me, please?” The officer just stared back at her blankly in response.

“Just come here and get it!” She said. “It’s just a few seconds.”

“Aren’t you the deliverer?” Trixie asked. “Well then, why don’t you deliver it to me directly?” She laughed, much to the officer’s annoyance.

“Look, clown! Just get here and take this damn package!” She snapped at the unicorn. but it merely served to amuse her.

“That reminds me of a a joke.” She said, ignoring the officer’s outburst. “What do you get when you take a little earth pony filly in the 32nd street school and deliver a box rigged with explosives to her?” She asked, grinning up at the officer demonically. “A dead filly and a grieving police mommy.”

The officer paled so much that it was visible through her coat. She had no idea how the clown knew she had a daughter and which school she attended, but the implication enraged her more than anything ever did in her entire life. She glared down at Trixie murderously as she pulled the package back, closed the hole in the door and opened the door itself and entered the cell, cracking her hooves before slamming the door shut.

A few minutes later, when a guard passed by the Joker’s cell, he was stunned to find a police mare sitting on the cell’s bench, incapacitated and tied up with the bedsheets and the Joker’s prison uniform with the clown nowhere to be seen and most alarmingly, a bunch of ticking chocolate balls stuffed into her mouth with a timer on her chest counting down.

Batmare was still waiting outside Falcon’s mansion, waiting for something to happen while planning her next move. She kept prowling around the mansion, hoping to catch a glimpse of anything suspicious, but what she saw when she took a turn around a corner was definitely not what she expected. It was her sign on the sky.

She looked back at the mansion. She really didn’t want to leave as she was sure she would find something related to the Candy Colt case here. She just felt it and her detective instincts were rarely wrong. But she also didn’t want to let Captain Garden down, so in the end, she reluctantly abandoned her post and headed towards the police station.

Captain Garden was already waiting for her there and when she landed in front of him and when she saw his face, she already knew the situation was dire.

“What’s wrong, captain? Is it the Candy Colt again?” Garden looked down with a sigh.

“It’s worse. Much worse.” He replied before looking back in her eyes. “The Joker’s escaped.”

November 4th: Case Closed

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Twilight didn't get a blink of sleep that night. How could she? A deranged serial killer poisoning ponies with candy being on the loose is bad enough, even if those ponies are scumbags. But this combined with that homicidal maniac formerly known as Trixie Lulamoon also being out there made things infinitely worse. She didn't discriminate between her victims based on their morality or who they crossed in the past. She just killed. Horribly and painfully. If she didn't find her soon, she didn't even dare to think about the bloodbath that might ensue.

Surprisingly, the night Joker escaped passed without incident. At least as far as she knew. She was probably laying low to make preparations for whatever she was planning. She'll have to find her before she had the chance to carry it out.

Her only lead was the police mare who delivered those explosive chocolate balls for her. No doubt another one of the Candy Colt's little tricks. They managed to defuse the bombs before they went off but the mare was hospitalised after passing out from the stress and panic she went through. She still wasn't ready for questioning. As much as Twilight hated it, she was once again forced to wait.

But there was something suspicious about this whole situation. When Twilight saw the police mare, she immediately recognised her as the same mare who guarded the evidence room during the night Black Mask broke into the MCPD to retrieve her pearl necklace. The night she was killed by a poisoned piece of gumdrop on the exact same necklace. That was more than suspicious.

While she waited for the mare to wake up and be questioned, she conducted a little research about her. She learned that her name was Silver Bullet. A perfectly ordinary mare who has been serving on the force for over ten years. Twilight and Spike didn't find any dirt on her. No police brutality, no suspicious dealings, no gambling debts. She was completely clean.

Next, Twilight checked the prison's security footage for any clues, but she failed to find anything useful there either. Silver came through the main entrance with the package that contained the bombs and made no stop anywhere to tamper with it. She headed straight to Trixie's cell where the unicorn lured her into her cell and trapped her while she made good her escape. The key was obviously the package, but for some reason, it was gone. Apparently, Trixie didn't want her to find it. But why?

Searching for the Joker took up all of her free time for the day. The Candy Colt could wait, compared to the death and destruction the crazed street magician could dish out, he was a small fish. But she had little to no lead on the clown either. None of the cameras recorded her leaving the building and since she took the package, Twilight had no lead. She could go to Capper to ask if he or his henchponies heard or saw anything, but she didn’t like to rely on his help too much.

Eventually, the blessed night came and Twilight quickly suited up, heading out into the night as she did everyday once the sun went down.

Her first destination was the hospital where Silver Bullet was recuperating. She already discussed with Captain Garden that they would meet there once she woke up. As expected, the officer was already at the hospital by the time she got there. Most of the staff have already left for the night so she had no trouble getting around unnoticed. The door to Silver Bullet’s room was just next to a window and when Batmare crawled through it, she saw Garden already waiting for her.

“You’re becoming predictable, my friend.” He said. Batmare elected to ignore that remark.

“How is she?” She asked simply.

“Doctor says she's gonna make a full recovery.” Garden replied. “In fact, she woke up an hour ago. I tried to question her about what happened but she said she'll only talk to you. And before you ask, no, I don't know why. She just said you're the only one who can make use of what she has to say. Whatever that entails.”

If Batmare’s suspicions were correct - and they usually were - she already had a pretty good guess on what she wanted to talk about. She thanked her police pony friend with a nod and headed towards the door.

Inside, all of the beds were empty except for the one where the mare she came to visit was lying. When she entered, the squat mare looked up at her and when she saw who her visitor was, she cast her eyes down in shame.

“I know why you are here.” She began. Batmare slowly walked to her bed and sat down in a chair next to it.

“How are you doing?” She asked in genuine concern. The wellbeing of citizens have always been her first priority.

“That doesn't matter now.” Silver shook her head. “What matters is that you find that maniac before she carries out whatever twisted scheme she has planned.” Batmare watched her thoroughly and decided give voice to her suspicions.

“You were the same mare in front of the evidence room the night Black Mask died. This isn't a coincidence, isn't it?” The police mare's long silence was all the confirmation she needed.

“Yes. I was the one who put that poisoned gumdrop on her necklace. And I was fully aware of what I was delivering to Trixie's cell last night. But I badly underestimated her. And now she's on the loose.” She said regretfully. Though her regret rang more than a little hollow given that she just confessed to a murder and an attempted one.

“Why did you do it?” Batmare asked firmly. There was no anger in her voice, but the compassion she felt when she first entered was gone.

“I acted under orders. Orders from the Candy Colt.” Even under the mask, Silver could tell the other mare's eyes widened. “Yes, I know who he is.”

“Did he blackmail you?” Batmare asked with a faint sense of hope. “Does he have something he can use to force you into it?” But to her surprise and disappointment, Silver shook her head.

“No. I helped him on my own free will.” If there was no anger in Batmare until now, that statement certainly evoked it.

“Why?” That was the only thing the vigilante could ask.

“Because they deserved it.” Silver said curtly and full of determination. “Every last one of them. I didn't buy Scarecrow’s reformation crap for one second. Black Mask laughed into our face during all of our investigations to bring her in. Penguin is no better and Joker… She is the worst of them all. This new breed of criminals makes the Falcons and the Martinis look like model citizens.”

“If you feel this way, why are you giving up the Candy Colt to me?” Batmare asked. Silver sighed.

“Because she's going after him. The Joker. She's going to be out for his blood after he tried to have her killed and I know you're the only one who can stop her.”

Batmare was uncertain. She wasn't sure she should trust the word of an officer who turned out to be a hired assassin. But if there was even the slightest chance that she could lead her to the Joker, she should take it. She already wasted too much time.

“Tell me everything.”

A few minutes later, Batmare marched out of the hospital room, slamming the doors open and greatly startling Captain Garden in the process.

“She will talk to you now. She has one hay of a story to tell.” She told him before making her way to the window.

“What happened?” Garden asked, confused by her hasty leave.

“Ask her yourself. And call a few more officers to stand guard at her door.” Batmare replied as she pulled out her grappling gun. “All I'm gonna tell you is, the Candy Colt case gets closed tonight.” She said before firing the device and pulling herself out of the building.

Batmare raced towards her destination at breakneck speed. Chances were she was already too late, but she might still have found some clues about where to go next. In fact, she was sure of it, because the Joker will want her to find her. She had come to know her well.

She leapt over the edge of a building and spread out her cape to glide over the walls surrounding the Falcon mansion. She wasn’t bothering with the stealth this time. She ran to the front door and kicked it in before running inside. The mansion was eerily silent. Even her forced entry didn’t attract any attention which was a dead giveaway that the Joker has already been here and she could only pray the occupants were still alive.

She decided to search through the mansion. She began with Caramel’s bedroom but she found nothing out of the ordinary. She then went to his son’s room but once again, she found nothing to suggest what had taken place. But in there, that wasn’t the only thing she was looking for.

Being an expert of hidden areas herself, she examined the entire room, looking for anything that might disguise a secret entrance. The bookshelf was a good start - cliche as it may have been. She pulled out all the books and flipped through them but nothing happened. She then remembered her own hidden entrance of the Batcave, she pulled out all the drawers and checked under the bed as well, but once again to no avail.

In frustration, she kicked the trash can next to the bed, causing it to fall over and a bunch of chocolate wraps rolling out of it. Either Alabaster Falcon had a huge sweet tooth, or Batmare had found what she was looking for. She searched through the contents of the trashcan and between the chocolate wraps, she found a crumpled note.

She unfolded it and began to read. As she suspected, the note it was written by Silver Bullet, telling the colt about the successful delivery of a box of explosive chocolate to the Iceberg Lounge to a certain abyssinian crime boss and waiting for the next one that they were gonna deliver to Trixie. Her eyes widened. The Falcon foal has been doing this in his room out in the open? If that was the case, he was even better at hiding secrets than she was.

Believing the note could be an important piece of evidence, she placed it in her belt before making her way out of the room. She still had to find the occupants of the mansion. She checked the bathrooms, the kitchen, the living room and any other place she could have thought of before finally arriving at Falcon's workroom.

She opened the door and saw that the stallion’s chair behind the desk was turned back towards the window, but it was clearly occupied as Batmare saw a hoof on the armrest. But strangely enough, it didn’t look like it belonged to Falcon. It was of a different color and looked too feminine. She slowly walked up to the chair and spun it around.

She backed away in fright. A dead pegasus mare in a maid outfit was sitting in the chair behind the desk with a wide, unnatural grin across her face and something stuffed inside her mouth. Batmare walked over to the body and reached for the object which turned out to be a CD case. The disk in the case had the words “PLAY ME!” written across it with a smiley after it.

In front of the body, there was an open laptop on the desk obviously left for her, so she placed the disk inside it and launched the media player. When the video started, she saw the Joker’s smirking face greeting her, much to her chagrin. She watched with a frown as the deranged clown mare moved the camera around her head and began to talk.

“Hiya, Bats! Long time no see, huh? Way too long for my taste. So I arranged a little get together just for us. But don’t be sad! I have a present for you that you will really appreciate. Check it out!” Trixie moved the camera and pointed it at the tied and struggling figures of Caramel and Alabaster Falcon. Batmare narrowed her eyes. So she did take them hostage. But at least they were still alive.

”That’s right!” The crazed mare continued. “I’ll bring you the Candy Colt himself! And his father as well! The big bad former mob boss, free of charge! But don’t expect me to be all give and no take! If you want them back alive, get your little batty flank over to the old Ace Chemicals building before midnight. If you won’t make it, these two will take a dip in the exact same chemical waste that fixed me! And we both know you won’t allow that, will you?” Suddenly, the video was interrupted by the laptop launching another program. A loading bar appeared on the screen that began to slowly fill up as the Joker continued to speak.

“Oh, before I forget, I installed a self-destruct program on this laptop and left a little TNT under the desk!” Batmare’s eyes widened in alarm. “If you’re still in one piece after this video ends, come see me! Later!” She finished before breaking out in psychotic laughter. Batmare jumped back and ran to the window, bursting through the glass just as the laptop detonated and the hidden TNT took the entire room with it as well.

The blast threw Batmare’s flight off course and she ended up crashing into the ground. She slowly got back up, groaning in agony from the crash and looked back up at the room she just escaped from now being engulfed by flames and smoke. Once she got herself together, she gave a quick call to Spike at the Batcave to call the fireponies to the mansion before grappling herself to the top of the mansion and staring out at the Ace Chemicals building in the distance.

“Alright, Joker!” She growled as her eyes narrowed in determination. “You want to play with me? Get ready to lose!”

The Ace Chemicals building was a perfect testament of Caramel Falcon’s fall from grace. The chemical plant has been completely deserted after the fall of his criminal empire, even the vats full of chemicals have been left there to rot without anypony doing anything about it. Once it was buzzing with activity, both legal and illegal, now only the rats and the bats sought refuge in here. But there was one bat who wasn’t there for refuge.

Batmare knew her way around the place. She had studied it very carefully when she attempted to stop the fake burglary that was meant to steal the documents connecting this place to Falcon, which would have been enough to finally put him away for good. But instead, the goons escaped with those papers and Batmare ended up accidentally creating the biggest menace that this city had ever known. The menace she was here to stop. even if it meant saving the pony she despised most.

She pushed the vent grate out of the way to crawl out of the duct that lead inside the building. Unorthodox way of traverse it may have been, but it allowed her to get in unnoticed and try to get the drop on the Joker. Seriously, who kept making these things big enough for a full grown pony to crawl through?

She glided onto the floor level of the plant and took out a flashlight to look around. There was no sign of either the Joker or the Falcons anywhere. She quietly went up to the upper floor to get a better look of the plant. She crossed the platforms over the vats of chemical waste and remembered the last time she was here. The time she failed to save a desperate pony that she pushed to crime and indirectly created her greatest nemesis. But she was done beating herself up over that. It was her responsibility to stop her then, just as it was now.

She kept looking around, but she still couldn’t find any trace of anypony. She started to think the Joker took her for a fool, but deep down she knew that wasn’t her style. She wanted to play with her and if she said she wanted her to come here, then she was here. But where? She got the answer to that question when suddenly heard the rattling of chains over her head and looked up to see a large wooden board being lowered from the ceiling towards one of the full vats of chemical. When the board reached the level of her eyes, she saw Caramel and Alabaster Falcon chained, gagged and unconscious. The lights in the building suddenly came to life as the intercom released a screech.

“Welcome, Batmare!” The Joker’s voice echoed through the building. The door to the top floor office opened and the Joker appeared in the doorway before slowly making her way down the stairs. “Nopony can say that I am not a clown of my word! As promised, there they are! The Candy Colt and his father. Now whether or not they’ll leave this place alive, is up to you.”

“I don’t think so.” Batmare replied as she began to advance on the clown. The other unicorn lit up her horn and the board began to descend towards the vat, along with the two ponies chained to it. This immediately brought Batmare to a halt.

“Now do I have your attention?” Joker asked before stopping the chains. “Good. Here’s the deal. I’m gonna give you twenty seconds. And if you don’t want Candy Colt and Candy Daddy here to take a chemical bath, here is what you’re going to do… You’re going to finish what you started. You’re going to kill me.”

“I told you before, Trixie. I am not a killer.” Batmare replied. “I’m not going to kill you.” The mare with the bleached coat sighed in disappointment.

“That is unfortunate.” She said before turning her attention to her hostages. “For them!” She reignited her horn and pulled the board down towards the chemical waste.

“NO!” Batmare jumped forward to tackle the clown, but she pulled out her boxing glove gun and knocked her back before she reached her. She looked up in horror, watching the board fall towards the vat, only stopping before an inch above the liquid.

“Last chance, Bats!” Joker tried to keep her cool, but Batmare could sense the rising anger in her tone. She’ll have to be careful from here on. “Twenty seconds, starting now! Your choice: me or them?!”

Batmare looked over at the hostages, thinking hard about the situation. They were criminals, rotten to the core. Murderers, thieves, ponynappers and who knows what else? They committed at least one of every crime in Equestria’s lawbook. Why should she care if they died? Everypony she met and/or saved used to ask that of her. Spike used to ask that of her. But the Joker was even worse. She vowed that she would never kill, but would she do it to save a life? Two lives? Including one of a child, rotten as he may be?

“Tick-tock, Bats!” Joker interrupted her thoughts. “Ten seconds left!”

Slowly and hesitantly, Batmare pulled out a batarang. Joker’s lips curled up into a grin. This was it, she finally had her. But in the blink of an eye, the bataring split into two. Batmare raised her hoof and threw them away… up at the chain winches holding the board with the Falcons on it. The projectiles stuck between the winch and the chainlinks, stopping them from moving. Joker’s smile instantly faded.

“NO!” It was her turn to cry out in shock, but before she had the time to do anything else, Batmare charged at her and tackled her to the ground. She raised a hoof to punch her, but Joker managed to grab her boxing glove gun and pushed the vigilante off of her. Batmare groaned in pain but managed to grab the glove before it retracted and broke it off before throwing it away.

Joker was not happy upon seeing the destruction of her toy, but she still had a few surprises up her sleeve. She used her magic and summoned a deck of cards. “Pick a card!” She said before sending several of them flying towards the hero. Batmare pulled up her cape in front of her to shield herself, but apart from their razor edge, she found that they were also explosives. They blew up upon impact and sent her back on the metal floor. When she managed to get up and get her cape out of her face, The Joker was nowhere to be seen.

She heard a sinister chuckle coming from somewhere in the darkness, but the echoes made it difficult to locate the source. As Batmare kept spinning in a circle in an attempt to locate the other mare, she felt her hoof contact something soft. She spun around and saw a small plush doll sitting on the floor, looking up at her. The doll let out a slow, mechanical laughing sound and Batmare’s eyes widened as she realized what was about to happen.

It was too late to escape it, however. The doll exploded and the the blast sent Batmare crashing against the railing. She was becoming disoriented at this point. She needed to cut this fight short. Though the world was hazy and her vision was rotating around, she could still make out the Joker’s silhouette come out of the darkness and stop in front of a window.

“So selfish, Bats.” She tsked. “You could have killed me when you had the chance and save the Falcons, but no! You had to hold yourself to your stupid vow of never taking a life. Was it worth it? Does it make you feel better knowing they’ll die along with you, knowing that you stayed true to your ‘no killing’ nonsense?! Is that the only thing that matters?!”

Batmare slowly got back on her hooves and reached for her belt, pulling out another batarang. Her only response to the clown’s taunting was throwing it at her opponent but she missed by a good one meter and the projectile burst through the window behind her. Joker laughed at this futile attempt.

“Too late for that, I’m afraid.” She laughed. “You had your chance and you blew it royally. Now it’s…” Whatever she was about to say, she never got the chance as the batarang came back in through the other side of the window. Joker turned to see what just happened, but it was too late. The batarang hit her in the face with enough force to knock her back and Batmare took this chance to run at the murderous clown, jumping at her and pushing her through the window.

As the two ponies began to fall towards the ground several hundred meters below, Batmare pulled out her grappling gun and fired it upwards. It wrapped itself around the neon letters of the building and stopped their fall halfway between the window and the ground. The Joker slowly recovered and when she finally realized what just happened, she laughed again.

“Sneaky, sneaky, Bats! You never cease to surprise me! Where do you get these wonderful toys?” Batmare ignored her and simply began to pull them back up with the grappling gun. Just before they reached the window they crashed through, Joker spoke again. “Here’s an opportunity of a lifetime for you! Drop me! End this between us once and for all!”

“Don’t tempt me!” Batmare groaned as she desperately tried to hold onto the clown. She tossed Joker back inside the building through the broken window before jumping after her and smacking her head against the floor, knocking her out. Once she was sure she was out cold, she finally allowed her exhaustion and pain to catch up with her and collapsed on the ground.

It was over. The Candy Colt’s reign of terror was brought to an end and the Joker was going back to where she belonged. The Long Nightmare Night is finally over.

November 5th: Aftershocks

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For the first time in almost a week, Twilight Sparkle was able to get a full night's sleep. With the Joker and the Candy Colt finally put away, the long night of death and misery was finally brought to an end. Though the Joker's words as she was being hauled away by the police still haunted her.

“What's eating you, Bats?” She asked upon noticing her distressed look when she saw the Falcon colt being loaded into the ambulance. He would be taken to hospital and then to a juvenile detention center for the Candy Colt killings. But even after everything he did, it was still hard to stomach a foal committing all these atrocities and getting imprisoned for it. “Are you embarrassed that a foal had the guts to do what you never could?” The clown continued her taunting, earning a glare from the vigilante. “Oh, don't give me that look! I know you're thinking it! You're worried because you're not sure he was wrong! Deep down, you think they deserved it, huh? You think they deserved it! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

The psychotic laughter she burst out in after she finished that sentence would stay with her for the rest of her days. This was the first time she actually believed Trixie Lulamoon was no more and she was fully and irreversibly consumed by the Joker. These thoughts and the things she said bothered her so much she had trouble falling asleep, but once she did, she didn't wake up until 10 in the morning. Much to Spike’s joy.

The next day was spent without any significant incidents. For the first time since Spike could remember, Twilight actually went through an entire day of managing the library without heading down to her cave. He could actually pretend for a day that they were just a pair of normal, completely irrelevant library owners. It was a feeling he relished. A feeling he could get used to.

But once the library closed, the duo went back to working in the Batcave. Twilight promised him that she won't head out to patrol that night, but they always head fun in the workshop together. They were very close to replicating the motorbike of the Huntress. While they managed to recreate the frame around the engine based on what Twilight saw during their fight, the correct working of it still eluded them.

Twilight only saw one solution, she would have to visit the mare in prison and ask her in person. She hacked into the frequency of the police radio to contact Captain Garden at the MCPD.

“Captain Garden? Are you there?” She asked, switching to her Batmare voice.

“Right here, Batmare.” The stallion replied form the other end of the line. “What can I do for you?”

“I need to speak with the Huntress. She has information that may prove useful to me. Can you arrange a meeting between us?” To Batmare’s surprise, Garden’s only response was a lengthy silence. “Captain, are you there?” She asked.

“Yes, I am.” The stallion replied uncertainly. “ I… I don’t know how to say this, but… the Huntress isn’t here anymore. She was transferred yesterday. Twilight’s eyes widened in shock.

“Transferred?” She asked incredulously. “And you allowed this?”

“It wasn’t up to me I’m afraid.” The captain defended himself. “The order came from a higher level. The highest level, in fact.” Twilight’s eyes widened. as she and Spike shared a glance.

“Princess… Celastia?” She asked haltingly. Even after all this time, the name of Equestria’s monarch still left a bitter taste in her mouth.

“Well… to be more precise, the second highest level.” Garden corrected himself. “Princess Luna. From what I understand, she wants to make sure these costmed lunatics are looked after in a maximum security prison near Canterlot where they can be monitored closely. The best I can do is send the transfer document to you. Oh, what am I saying, you’re already checking it, aren’t you?”

Sure enough, Spike already hacked into the police’s online archives and found the document they were looking for. As they studied the document, they exchanged another pensive glance. The motorbike project will have to be put on hold. Their primary concern in the foreseeable future will be investigating Princess Luna and her personally established prison facility called Belle Reeve.

Caramel Falcon was more angry than ever before in his life. After he lost his wife and his crime empire, his son was the only thing left in his life. The only thing left that was worth going on for. And now he lost even that. Even worse, it was all the colt’s fault.

The boy was too weak emotionally to deal with what the clown and all the other costumed psychopaths have done to their family and his mother. He was so deeply traumatized that he ended up becoming one of them. Secret vigilantes, trying to punish criminals in their own way. Only by criminals, he meant the enemies of his family.

“Stupid boy.” He growled to himself as he laid back in his chair in his mansion’s dining room. He couldn’t go back to his workroom since the clown blew it to smithereens. He will be able to have that replaced. But his son? He will never be replaced. He was currently in the hospital, recovering. But then he will be taken to juvenile hall and what will he be left with? Nothing.

Of course, he understood the colt’s feelings. Back when he was in his prime, he would have gone after anypony who hurt his family. But not like this. He wouldn’t have created himself a phantom murderer persona that always kills the same way. He would have handled things the old fashioned way.

He wasn’t sure what to do now. He still had a few of his lawyer friends from the past who could make sure his son got off easy, but he wasn’t sure he could afford them anymore. He also had some of his more dangerous friends who could bust him out, but that would only be a short term solution. One thing was for sure, from now on, he'd be focusing all of his limited resources to taking out that damn clown. This was the second time she directly attacked his family and no matter how low he fell, he will die before he let that go unpunished.

Suddenly, he heard a knock on the door. Due to force of habit, he waited for his maid to get it for him, before remembering that she was no longer available, so with a sigh, he stood up to do it himself. At the door, he saw a mailpony with a package in his hoof.

“Delivery to Mr. Falcon.” He announced. Caramel raised a brow.

“I didn’t order anything.” He replied in confusion. The mailpony just shrugged.

“This is the address I was told to deliver this to, sir.” He said before hoofing it over to him. After collecting his signature, the mailpony bid him farewell and left. Caramel walked back inside the dining room, examining the package curiously. It was a rectangular shaped box wrapped up in green packing paper. He tore it open to reveal a box of chocolates.

“What kind of sick joke is this?!” He yelled furiously. Apparently, somepony thought it would be funny to send him this as their idea of a joke after it became public knowledge that his son was the Candy Colt. Well, he definitely wasn’t amused. He checked the wrapping to see if he could find any clue about who sent this but to no avail. He checked the box from every angle and finally opened it to see if there was anything inside.

As he did, he heard a huge blast and the whole world went dark.

Capper Dapperpaws was sitting in his office at the Iceberg Lounge, reading over a contract in front of him about the transfer of property off every single establishment formerly ownde by the deceased crime boss, Romance Cyan.

“I suppose everything went smoothly.” He asked as he looked up at an orange earth pony with gray mane, wearing a black tuxedo vest, a top hat and a monocle.

“Yes, Mr, Dapperpaws.” The lawyer replied. “With Romance Cyan not having any descendants or other living relatives, all of her properties went to the city. And they were more than happy to get rid of it given their negative reputation with their alleged ties to the underworld.” The abyssinian smiled in satisfaction. The lack of any other relatives was probably self induced on Black Mask’s part, given her greed and ambitions. But that was none of his concern.

“Excellent. And the other contract?” The lawyer reached into his briefcase and pulled out the document in question.

“I have it right here, but it still needs the signature of the other party.”

“No problem.” Capper replied, taking the document into his paw. “We shall have that very soon.” As if on cue, Capper’s intercom rang on the desk.

“Yes?” He answered, pressing the button on the receiver.
“Boss, we have him. We just arrived back at the club.” Capper smiled.

“Good. Escort him up here, please!” A few minutes later, two of Capper’s henchponies entered the room with a smaller, rather frail looking pegasus stallion wearing glasses and a vest. Capper jovially invited them.

“Ah, the new Ventriloquist, I assume! Please, come in. And boys, please close the door behind you.” The henchponies did as they were instructed. The pegasus sat down in front of Capper’s desk, shaking like a leaf.

“Please, Mr. Penguin, sir! It wasn’t my idea!” He pleaded on the verge of tears. “I didn’t want to build that gang and cause you any inconvenience! It was Scarface! He forced me to do it.” Capper stood up and reached over his desk, causing the pegasus to flinch. But the cat merely put a paw on his snout in a soothing manner.

“Shh! It’s okay! I believe you!” He said calmingly. “In fact, I brought you here to help you!”

“H-help me?” The pegasus asked uncertainly. Capper nodded.

“Yes. I'm going to rid you of the influence of that nasty, mean puppet for good. Now, do you have him here with you?” The pegasus looked uncertain on how to answer, but eventually, he spread one of his wings, revealing the wooden puppet shaped like an earth pony in a blue tuxedo with a cigar in his mouth and scar across his left eye.

Capper snapped his fingers and his henchponies took the puppet away and carried it to a glass cabinet at the back of the office before locking it inside before concealing it with a sheet.

“There.” Capper told the pegasus reassuringly. “Do you feel better now?” The pegasus stopped shaking and let out a relieved sigh.

“I… I actually do!” He yelled happily. “It's voice! It's gone! I can hear my own thoughts again! It no longer hurts to think!” He laughed hysterically. Capper was rather creeped out by this, but ignored it.

“I'm glad.” He replied before pulling out the document his lawyer gave him and putting it on the desk, pointing at the dotted line. “And all I'm asking for in return is that you sign this document for me. Over here.”The pegasus couldn't care less that he just gave away everything the Ventriloquist owned to Capper with his signature. He was just happy to be rid of the puppet’s influence and signed it with no hesitation.

“Thank you.” Capper mused before giving the now signed contract to his lawyer. “Please have these notarized as soon as possible.”

“Yes, Mr. Dapperpaws.” The stallion replied, putting the two contracts in his briefcase before leaving.

“What about him, boss?” One of the henchponies asked, pointing at the still delirious pegasus in the chair.

“Simple.” Capper answered. “The Ventriloquist came over in an attempt to rob our casino. We managed to subdue him and like the good citizens we are, restrained him until the police arrived. Isn't that right, fellas?” The henchponies smiled at each other.

“Of course, boss. How could we have forgotten?” One of them replied before grabbing the pegasus and escorting him out of the office.

Capper was finally free to savour his triumph in peace. In one swift motion, he was able to take control of the entire Manehattan underworld. And the best part was, he didn't even need to lift a finger to do it. The Batmare and the Candy Colt took care of everything for him. He was now the undisputed ruler of the criminal underworld of two cities. The world was his for the taking.

After a few hours of celebrating, he heard a series of knocks on his door.

“Yes?!” The door opened and Captain Jam Garden entered his office. “Ah, Captain Garden! Always a pleasure! Please, come in! Can I offer you a drink?” The stallion shook his head.

“No, thank you. Not while I'm on duty.”

“Of course! How silly of me.” Capper chuckled. “So what can I do for you?”

“Well, we are here to take in the Ventriloquist.” Garden replied. “We were told that you caught him from trying to rob your club earlier tonight and stopped him from escaping.” Capper nodded.

“Just doing my duty as a citizen of Manehattan, Captain. Happy to be of assistance to the law.” He poured himself a drink, but when he finished, he saw that the Captain was still in his office.

“There was another thing I wanted to discuss with you.” He said.

“Go ahead.” Capper offered with a wave of his paw.

“Caramel Falcon was found dead in his mansion earlier today.” Garden informed him. Capper just stared up at him expressionlessly.

“That is unfortunate, Captain. But I fail to see what this has to do with me.”

“Well… the investigation showed that he was killed by the exact same type of bombs the Candy Colt used in an attempt to assassinate the Joker. There's only one person among his targets who hasn't received his deadly package. You.” Garden explained.

“I appreciate the warning, Captain, but from what I've heard, the Candy Colt has been caught. What relevance does this have now?” Garden struggled with what to say next. It was apparent that he didn't want to make any unfounded accusations.

“Well, it's just… it's rather peculiar that Falcon was murdered by the exact same explosive package that was meant for you.” Capper finished his drink and looked back up at the Captain with a sly smirk.

“I wouldn't know anything about that.”

MLDC: The Batmare - The Long Nightmare Night

by littleman001

October 31st: The Candy Colt

November 1st: MCPD Under Siege

November 2nd: The Penguin and the Huntress

November 3rd: The Flightless Falcons

November 4th: Case Closed

November 5th: Aftershocks