(A crossover sequel to both "Batmare Triumphant" and "Dragon of Steel II".) The worlds of two costumed superheros: Batmare and Super Dragon, become intertwined. And the two heroes must adjust to their shared universe quickly.
(This story is a sequel both to Batmare Triumphant and Dragon of Steel II. Familarity with both works and their universes is highly recommended. Dedicated to the legacy of both Adam West (1928-2017) and Kevin Conroy (1955-2022), also dedicated in memory of Akira Toriyama (1955-2024). Loosely based on "World's Finest" from Superman: The Animated Series.)
Prepare yourselves for an out of this world crossover event between two caped crusaders' from separate universes: Batmare, the dark knight. And Super Dragon, the dragon of steel. Watch what happens when their universes are merged together by an unlikely chain of events!
Batmare finds herself hot on the trail of Starlight Glimmer, a pony who has stolen a scroll capable of time travel and with ties to a criminal organization known only as The League of Assassins. Meanwhile, Super Dragon and Twilight are preparing to explore other universes through the use of a special machine and spell Twilight perfected.
As a result of magical imbalances and combinations, the two universes are merged into one, and Super Dragon and Batmare soon find themselves learning of the other's existence. Naturally, circumstances eventually cause the two to meet face to face, as they must figure out how to restore the balance before the entire multiverse is irreperably altered!
But while our heroes try to get their bearings and make plans, events are set into motion that will test the mettle of both heroes. An unknown benefactor arranges for The Joker's escape, and upon his release the clown prince sets his sights not on Batmare but on Super Dragon, plotting a scheme designed to get the dragon's attention by any means necessary.
It all started with a break-in at the Canterlot Archives. A very unusual break-in at that. Very few details were revealed to the public, especially once the royal guard was called in to investigate.
Photographs of the scene of the crime were taken, the area within the archives where the break-in took place was thoroughly investigated for hoofprints, and any potential clues were carefully inspected. To prevent public panic, the archives were closed down and the area that had seen the break-in was sealed off with yellow crime tape. Even Princess Celestia had nothing to say on the matter when asked about it, though it only served to fuel speculation among some citizens that something was amiss.
Still, there was very little anypony could do except wait for the investigation to be completed.
"I'm telling you, this doesn't make sense," One guard whispered to another as they patrolled the crime scene together. "As soon as we got word about the break-in, everypony fell silent. Even the princess wouldn't tell us what was going on, said it was on a 'need to know' basis. What doesn't she want us to know about?"
The other guard just grumbled back. "How should I know? We're just supposed to stand guard and not ask questions. If the princess isn't worried, you shouldn't be either."
The first guard could only sigh. "I know, I know. But still, you think the least the princess or our captain could do would be to clue us in on what we're supposed to be keeping an eye out for."
"It's a top secret matter. The break-in happened in the Starswirl the Bearded section of the archives, and that's where they keep the most powerful spells." A gruff, mysterious voice spoke up from the shadows. As it spoke, a sudden chill seemed to fill the air.
The guards flinched! "W-who's there?!" One demanded, trying not to show how intimidated he really was. "W-whoever you are, y-you'd better show yourself right now... o-or I'll have to take you in for questioning."
Emerging from the shadows was a figure cloaked in a long, flowing black cape. Matching it was a costume that consisted of a solid dark-gray suit reinforced by thick armor, black gloves and boots, and a black mask roughly rectangular in shape. Emblazoned into the center of the suit's chestpiece was a black symbol that depicted a bat. The gloves and boots appeared to have spikes along the outside of them. And was it the guards' imagination, or did the eye holes in the mask appear to be glowing?
There was only one figure who looked like that. It was one that some ponies still believed to be just a myth or an urban legend: It was Batmare, the self-proclaimed "Dark Knight"!
Batmare walked slowly, a dark-blue belt holding various gadgets could now be seen as she emerged fully from the shadows. As she did so, the glowing lights of her mask vanished. Still, it wasn't possible to see who it was underneath the mask. "Easy," She spoke in a low, gruff tone of voice. "I'm on your side."
"Oh yeah?" The first guard snapped! "Who invited you anyway?! We have everything under control here, Batmare! We don't need you interfering with our investigation!"
Yet it was then that another voice familiar to the guards spoke up. "Stand down, men. I specifically asked her to be here. Her detective skills are quite legendary. And for a case like this, we need all the help we can." Soon, who should come trotting up on the scene but Captain Shining Armor himself? He was even clad in his usual captain's attire, including his purple helmet and matching suit of armor.
The guards reluctantly parted ways, allowing their captain to approach the costumed crime fighter in all her mysterious glory. "About time you showed up, Batmare. You really do live up to your reputation it seems."
Batmare gave a slow nod and cleared her throat. "So, what's this all about, captain? It's obvious this is no ordinary break-in. Why all the secrecy?"
The captain took a deep breath and explained. "Probably better to show you than to tell you. Follow me," When Batmare did so, he began laying out what information he was willing to reveal. "It's the Starswirl the Bearded section that was broken into. The weird thing is, though, that there's no sign of forced entry. No broken locks, no knocked down walls, nothing. But we know there had to be a break-in, 'cause one of the scrolls housed in that section was reported missing."
Batmare followed Captain Armor into the aforementioned section, quickly taking notice of the royal guards stationed throughout it. They stood at attention next to every row, spears at the ready. She was soon led down one such row, only to be stopped midway through. A quick look at the shelf off to her left revealed a gap that had been left by the missing scroll that was undoubtedly stolen. She tapped one of her gloved hooves to the side of her mask, causing the mask to emit a ghostly white glow for a second. Then it stopped. "Whoever took the scroll was in a real hurry," She told the captain. "The other scrolls were put back on the shelf in a very disorganized fashion."
"Yeah, we noticed," Captain Armor replied. "No clue what could've been on it, though. Since this is the Starswirl the Bearded section, it could've been anything. That old wizard did just about everything under the sun during his time. Naturally, Princess Celestia has made recovery of said scroll a top priority. But we haven't found any leads yet."
"What about the security on the night of the break-in?" The costumed crime fighter questioned the captain. "Did the guard on duty report any strange sounds or sights?"
"He was the first pony we asked after we started our investigation," The captain gave a firm answer. "Says he had his keys on him the whole time, they never left his sight. We checked them ourselves, and they were still firmly on his outfit. He was the one who reported the break-in and the stolen scroll. Neither he or the other guards reported ever hearing a thing the whole night."
Batmare didn't reply with words. She instead turned and trotted back towards the entrance of the Starswirl the Bearded section. Something had caught her attention. When she drew close, she kneeled down and examined the object she'd caught a faint glint of in the early morning light. "How curious." She muttered to herself as she held it aloft.
Captain Armor came running over. "Hey, what have you got there?!" And he was quick to warn. "You can't take anything with you! This is a crime scene, you know. I may have invited you here, but even I can't turn a blind eye to a violation of the law. If you're even thinking of taking something away, you'll answer to me!"
The caped crusader simply turned around, displaying the object which had attracted her attention. It appeared to be an ordinary looking set of keys. Nothing about them stood out to the naked eye. However, as she rubbed her gloves across the ring that held the keys, she noticed a faint powder that settled onto the gloves. "Powder like this could only come from a magic spell, a hastily cast one at that. Somepony made a copy of the keys, that's how they were able to slip in unnoticed."
"Figured that might be the case. No guard would just give up their keys to a random stranger," Captain Armor replied. "Whoever it was, they clearly put a lot of thought into the break-in. They were looking for something specific, and they didn't want to draw any attention to themselves," He sighed and frowned. "Problem is, they could be anywhere by now. And I don't think I need to remind you that there's thousands upon thousands of unicorns in Equestria. Even if we narrowed it down to high level spell casters, that could take ages. Princess Celestia's practically breathing down our necks already, we have to find the culprit fast!"
"Did the princess happen to mention that the scroll stolen was a time travel spell?" Batmare questioned.
Captain Armor jumped back in surprise and blinked rapidly! "How did you know that?! That information's on a need to know basis only."
The caped crime fighter just vaguely answered. "I have my resources," Then she tapped a glove to the cowl of her mask, emitting a bright blue beam that was aimed at the floor. "Well, what have we here?" She spoke up, and turning to Captain Armor she requested. "Mind telling your guards to turn off the lights for a minute or two? I've spotted something, but it'll be easier to trace it in the dark."
"Fine, make it quick," Captain Armor reluctantly agreed and shouted to a nearby guard. "You heard her! Kill the lights!" Sure enough, a second later, the entire room was cast into darkness.
Amidst the darkness, Batmare spoke not a word as she looked down at the floor. The lights came back on a moment later, and when they did Batmare was nowhere in sight.
Captain Armor blinked in surprise once more. He'd been standing right next to her just a minute ago. How had she slipped away from him that quickly? "Just who is that masked mare anyway?" He thought to himself. "She knows far more about this case than she's letting on. And that voice sounds vaguely familiar to me. But why?"
Batmare, meanwhile, was pursuing something that she had discovered while in the Canterlot Archives. It was a set of concealed hoofprints. They had the same magical powder-like residue on them as the copied key ring. The thief who had stolen the time travel scroll had clearly sought to cover their tracks, but had done so in a hurry. Although the spell they'd cast did mask the hoofprints from sight of the naked eye, it left behind a trail detectable by special technology, the kind of technology Batmare had ready access to.
Batmare followed the trail through Canterlot, ducking into side streets and alleys to avoid detection. She rarely made daytime appearances, but had made an exception as a result of Captain Armor requesting her assistance. Given what she knew about the break-in, however, she was determined not to lose any time! The thief had already gotten a head start. Who knew what they were planning to do with that stolen scroll? Twilight had mentioned once an attempt to use a scroll from the Canterlot Archives to travel back in time. Perhaps the thief was going to do something similar?
Suddenly, however, the trail vanished! The lingering magical residue left no doubts that the thief had teleported away. However, they had still inadvertently left something behind: It was some sort of calling card that took the form of a small dagger.
Picking up the dagger, the caped crusader could just make out the words "League of Assassins" etched into the blade's handle. A gasp escaped her lips! She had seen this sort of thing before, once. Shortly after Two Face had been arrested and sent to jail, there had been a reported attempt to break him and a few other high profile criminals out. The attempt had been thwarted, thankfully, but the ones who'd tried to stage the breakout had all said they'd been working on behalf of the "League of Assassins". Yet when Batmare had run a computer database search afterward, no information could be found on such a group or organization. It was like they had just appeared out of thin air.
The costumed crime fighter decided then and there that she had best return to her lair to plan out her next move. So after carefully tucking the dagger into an open tab on her utility belt, she pressed a button.
In the distance came the roar of an engine! Soon, the familiar form of the motor-carriage that was the Batmobile appeared in its long, drawn-out roadster design. The roof of the cockpit slid back and opened up, enabling Batmare to climb into it before the roof slid back over her head. Tapping a few buttons, the Batmobile's rear engine roared to life and the vehicle sped away!
"Computer," Batmare said to the vehicle's onboard operating system as she carefully removed the dagger. "Analyze the magical residue on this blade, and run it against a database of all known magical criminals currently at large."
The computer obeyed, scanning the dagger thoroughly and quickly cycling through the database Batmare had suggested. It took only a minute or so for it to declare in an automated voice. "Match found: Starlight Glimmer. Wanted for crimes involving cutie mark theft and abuse of cutie mark magic. Whereabouts: Currently unknown, still at large. One thousand bit reward for any information leading to her arrest."
"So that's it!" Batmare gasped as she pressed the accelerator to the floor. She could well remember that as her alter ego Applejack, she and her friends had had an encounter with Starlight Glimmer in a remote village far beyond the mountains. The unicorn had taken away the cutie marks of all the villagers, ruling over them to ensure they followed her ideology of equality to the letter. When it had come to light that she still had her own cutie mark and hadn't given it up, the villagers had turned against her. Yet the unicorn had ultimately escaped, vowing to get her revenge.
Knowing how powerful Starlight had proven herself to be, Batmare now had a sinking feeling in her gut about where the power hungry, revenge driven unicorn might be! It was no secret at all that Princess Twilight, the most popular of the pony princesses, lived in Ponyville. And despite having obtained her own castle not too long ago (almost a year ago by now), she had no security, having expressed publicly her belief that it was not necessary.
"If Starlight's as driven by revenge as she seemed to be, she's probably plotting to use that time travel scroll to change the course of history. And if Twilight gets in the way, she might be using the league to help her eliminate the princess!" Batmare thought with a sense of urgency! She had to get back to Ponyville right away, she had to stop Starlight and save Twilight before it was too late!
Alas, events were already being set into motion. Only later would Batmare learn that Starlight had already gone ahead and cast the spell, altering the flow of time.
And when that spell was cast, everything changed! All of Equestria began to shake as a huge blue wave of energy washed over it! In the sky above appeared several large bubbles that appeared to be adrift in an invisible sea! Yet nopony knew what was happening, not even Batmare herself.
Within the library in her castle, Twilight Sparkle was now activating a large mechanical device known as a portal. It was her intention to modify it and use it to view other worlds, other universes. And the only other one who was there with her was Spike, still wearing his bright blue suit and long, flowing red cape of his superhero alter ego Super Dragon.
"Hold on tight, Spike!" Twilight declared as she brought her horn to the portal and magically charged it. "No telling where we'll go or what we'll encounter if we do find other universes. After all, the multiverse theory is just that, a theory. It's never been scientifically proven."
Spike, for his part, had only one concern as he watched the portal start to glow and hum. "You're sure you'll be able to bring us back to our own universe no matter what, Twilight?"
Twilight gave a firm nod. "Yes, I'm quite certain. I wouldn't do this if I didn't have a way to get us home." And it was the last thing to be said before the roar of the portal drowned out the sounds of everything else!
Hesitating for but a second or two, pony and dragon walked through the portal and disappeared. Their destination currently unknown.
It was quite a surreal sensation for the two. It almost felt like they were having an out of body experience as they seemed to be adrift in some kind of void. Countless clocks and other symbols of time flashed by them in the blink of an eye, too far away to be touched. And there was that constant roaring, howling sound of wind.
Then, suddenly, everything began to change! The void started to shake, the vibrations growing more intense by the second! It appeared as though cracks were starting to form within it, said cracks taking on the form of white streaks of light that were dim at first, but quickly grew brighter. Yet the roar of the wind did not diminish in the slightest. In fact, it only seemed to grow louder, and the winds themselves seemed to blow with a greater fury than should've been possible!
Twilight was the first to begin to worry. "This isn't supposed to happen!" She hollered in order to be heard above the wind!
"What's happening, Twilight?!" Spike shouted back as he flew towards the alicorn. Despite his incredible strength, it was a very real struggle to reach her. Time and space themselves seemed to be fighting against him, pressing down heavily upon him. And if it was like this for him, he could only imagine how much stronger the sensations must be on Twilight. After all, ponies were not as near invincible as dragons, they didn't have thick scales and spines for protection.
"I don't know, Spike!" Twilight nervously replied. The look of uncertainty flashed in her eyes. It conveyed more than words the gravity of the situation. Then, she became aware of a faint but fast growing tugging sensation. The alicorn let out a gasp! "I think something's pulling us in!"
"Twilight, no!" Spike screamed and desperately reached out a claw to pull her close! It was a losing battle, he couldn't maintain his grip on her for long. To make matters worse, it seemed like whatever it was that was pulling on Twilight was now grabbing him as well. The dragon shut his eyes as he felt himself be flung far across the sea of time and space! He didn't even know if Twilight was with him, he was too dazed and disoriented to think. Yet he could've sworn that the last thing he heard was Twilight herself calling out to him, trying to shout some words of encouragement to him. Alas, assuming that was the case, he couldn't hear the words before everything went dark.
While Spike and Twilight were in the process of being separated from each other, events were unfolding in the universe they were being pulled into. It was the very same universe in which Batmare had been racing to try to stop Starlight Glimmer from casting her spell to travel through time.
While Batmare had been busy investigating the break-in at the Canterlot Archives, her sidekick Robin was busy tackling a problem of his own. He was staking out a small number of stallions in black and white suits carrying tommy guns and other firearms. Their suits left little doubt as to who they were working for: Two Face. Despite the fact that the literally double minded supervillain was currently behind bars, various small gangs headed by his hench ponies had sprung up across Equestria.
This particular unit was operating in Manehattan, particularly within the city's many shady back alleys. And Robin was keeping an impatient eye on them, waiting for the right moment to strike. He hadn't told Batmare about this, knowing she would disapprove. But lately, he'd grown tired of always having to do things by her rules. "These criminals deserve whatever I do to them," He thought to himself. "I don't need somepony breathing down my neck, telling me how to do things. I'll handle these thugs my way!"
So the colt clad in a dark red suit with the letter r emblazoned into the top left corner of his suit in black lettering kept a silent vigil, peering in occasionally through his own set of binoculars. He at least owed it to Batmare's teachings to get a good view of his surroundings before leaping into action. If he wanted to prove he could manage on his own, he couldn't afford to make careless mistakes. Especially not when he wanted nothing more than to get revenge on the stallion who had so thoroughly messed up his life.
The black and white suit wearing stallions with tommy guns were unaware they were being watched. They were too busy chatting amongst themselves, whilst peering over at some crates and barrels waiting to be loaded.
"What's taking those guys so long?" One stallion impatiently grumbled as his hooves started to tap in frustration. "They get lost or something? They were supposed to be here by now! Boss said they were to be here with the van at 2:22 on the dot!"
Another stallion could only shrug in reply. "The hell if I know. Maybe they're just sick of the boss' obsession with twos. It's always two this, or duo that."
"Yeah, but he specifically told us about this weapons cache," The first stallion responded with a snort and a huff. "Don't know about you, but I'd like to actually make off with the goods before somepony shows up to ruin the fun."
The second stallion chuckled. "What? You afraid of Batmare? She's been too busy chasing after shadows as of late. Nopony's heard a peep out of her in months. And of course, if the cops show up... well, why do you think we've got those workers being held hostage? 'Course, even if the cops cooperate, we'll probably still kill the hostages anyway. Make an example out of 'em, you know?" He clicked his tommy gun. "Now just stay alert. I'm sure the van will be here shortly. Won't be long before we're living like kings."
From his rooftop perch, Robin felt he had heard quite enough. He crouched down, pulling a smoke pellet out of his utility belt and holding it in one hoof. In another hoof, he clutched a long metal baton. He'd been silent for long enough! It was time for the boy wonder to make his move!
All Two Face's hench ponies knew, was that suddenly a thick cloud of smoke filled the air. It was extremely disorienting, making their mouths water and their lungs start to burn as they coughed, choked, and sputtered. And before they had a chance to react, one of them was hit over the head with something metal! The stallion fell to the pavement with a thud, immediately becoming unconscious.
"What the hell?!" One of the suit wearing stallions exclaimed! And it was all he had time to say before he felt himself be pulled down by his back hooves, almost as if something had caused them to trip. He tried to scream for help as he saw a large figure looming over him, but a large cloth was quickly pressed up to his mouth to gag him. He couldn't speak a word.
Two other stallions tried to activate their tommy guns, hoping to hit their unseen attacker with a shower of bullets. But one felt his tommy gun be knocked out of his hooves by a small, speedy pellet. And the other felt his tommy gun jam, rendering it useless to him. "Damn!" He muttered, shortly before he was knocked to the ground too.
What remaining goons there were quickly spread out as the smoke started to dissipate. Whoever was after them, they weren't about to make things any easier for him (or her, their attacker's identity was a complete mystery).
"This is almost too easy." Robin remarked in a cocky, confident tone of voice as he brought down two more thugs with the greatest of ease. For good measure, he saw fit to whack them over the head with his baton and render them both unconscious.
Unbeknownst to the boy wonder, however, one of Two Faces' hench ponies now had a faintly visible line of sight on the armored colt! And his tommy gun was working, unlike those of most of his comrades which lay useless and discarded on the ground. He brought a hoof towards the trigger, preparing to click it and fire off as many bullets as he could!
The henchpony never got the chance! A sudden blur quite literally swept him off his hooves, carrying him high into the air! "H-hey, put me down!" He nervously stuttered. "P-please! I... I'm begging you!"
A stalwart, heroic voice replied quite firmly. "Not until you call off your comrades. I've already alerted the police. They'll be here shortly. If you surrender now, they might just go easy on you."
"Y-you're bluffing!" The henchpony insisted even as his tone of voice betrayed his intentions.
"Am I really?" The voice replied as it was now possible to see the faint outline of a bright red cape. And after he spoke those lines, the figure loosened his grip on the henchpony.
The henchpony screamed and whimpered as his eyes widened! "A-alright, alright! I'll do whatever you say! Just don't drop me, please! I don't wanna die!" He hesitantly reached into his pocket, pulling a small radio device that he spoke into. "B-boys, it's me! The jig's up! We've been had! Someone tipped off the cops!"
Sure enough, the shrill wailing of sirens signaled the arrival of Manehattan's police department to the scene of the crime.
The heroic voice and the figure it belonged to was all too happy to release the henchpony after that, dropping him into a dumpster where he landed with a thud. The henchpony crawled out a moment later, unharmed but smelling quite awful. "That should teach him a lesson." The figure said to itself in a satisfied tone of voice.
Robin, who had observed the whole thing, was speechless! And he was even more surprised when he happened to get a good look at the mysterious figure. It looked just like Spike, but it couldn't be. The Spike Robin knew didn't wear a bright red cape, or a bright blue suit with a yellow shield in the center.
Scrambling up to the rooftops as he saw the caped figure prepare to fly away, Robin frantically called out. "Hey, wait!"
The Spike like figure heard Robin's shout and flew down towards him. When he got close, he seemed to be quite surprised at what he saw. "Pipsqueak?" He blinked. "What are you doing here?"
Robin nearly jumped back in surprise. "How did you..." He recovered, convinced this figure was just guessing. "I mean, I have no idea what you're talking about. I don't know this Pipsqueak."
The Spike like figure let out a lighthearted chuckle. "Come on, kid, you don't fool me. I can see right through you. I know it's you, Pip."
"Oh yeah?" Robin retorted as he rolled his eyes. "Well just who the hell are you? You're not Spike! I know Spike, and he doesn't dress like that at all."
"Just call me Super Dragon," The Spike like figure explained. "And if what you just said is true, then I think I have a pretty good idea of what's going on."
Super Dragon's heroic exploits in Manehattan quickly spread across Equestria like wildfire. It seemed the papers and tabloids couldn't get enough of this new masked marvel. In stark contrast to the brooding gloominess of Batmare, Super Dragon was like a ray of sunshine. One that more than a few citizens of Equestria felt was sorely needed.
Yet Super Dragon, at least for the time being, remained focused on one thing: Finding Twilight. She was the only one who could tell him where he was, and the only one capable of bringing him back to the universe he belonged in. Nothing about the universe he currently found himself in was at all familiar, despite the similarities it supposedly shared with his own.
But the superpowered dragon was continuing his search for Twilight (his Twilight to be precise, as he was quite certain the universe he was now occupying had a Twilight as well), he was unaware of developments occurring elsewhere that would quickly set into motion events he could not ignore.
Miles and miles away from Manehattan and Ponyville, in a remote corner of Canterlot rested a rundown and neglected facility known as Canterlot Asylum. It was a place that, much like Tartarus, was used to house the worst and most dangerous criminals known to Equestria. Its ranks had risen over the years with the addition of inmates such as Two Face: A literally dual-minded crime boss obsessed with chance and luck, or even some small time criminals Batmare and Robin had busted.
None, however, were as infamous or despised as The Joker, the self proclaimed "Clown Prince of Crime". It was hard to imagine he'd been an actual prince, actual nobility. But a freak accident had turned him into what he was now, an insane and psychopathic criminal who seemed to view his actions as a cruel joke that no one but him got. Even when he wasn't able to break out of the asylum, he had contacts that could unleash horrific acts of brutality and violence on his behalf.
The Joker was currently residing within the confines of his dimly lit cell, passing the time by playing a card game with himself. He wasn't much for small talk, especially since he was kept within a wing where he was isolated from other patients in the asylum. He had only a straightjacket to wear, yet he moved about as needed like it wasn't even there.
Picking up the top card of the deck of playing cards, The Joker held it close to his eyes and simply remarked. "A joker. Not much use to me in a game like this. Besides, the resemblance is very off." He giggled to himself as he set the card on top of a stack of previously discarded cards and sighed. How long was it now until lights out? He didn't really know, and he didn't really care.
All of a sudden, however, there came a distant rumbling sound that grew louder by the second! The Joker looked up, curious as to what the noise could be. He thought he could hear ponies shouting and running, barking out orders to each other. But from his cell he couldn't see any signs of activity.
"It's always something with those fuddy duddies," The Joker muttered to himself. "Always dashing off the moment they hear anything strange." He proceeded to turn back to his card game.
The rumble didn't fade, however. It just continued to grow louder and louder, as if the source of it was drawing closer and closer! Now it seemed like the whole asylum was shaking!
Without warning, the wall in The Joker's cell suddenly exploded outward! Brick and motor collapsed, forming a small hole as dust filled the air!
Emerging through the hole all of a sudden were strange looking ponies all dressed in black from head to hooves. They even covered up their faces and cutie marks, making it impossible to tell who or what they were. And all that could be heard from them was unintelligible muttering.
Once the shock of the situation had worn off, The Joker blinked. No, he wasn't seeing things. Someone was trying to set him free. This was a gift horse he most certainly wasn't going to be looking in the mouth. "Well now, to what do I owe the pleasure of this most generous gift?" He questioned the mysterious ponies.
Rather than speak with words, the ponies grabbed The Joker by the neck of his straightjacket and rushed back out through the hole they had made. By now, alarms were ringing and spotlights were shining as the sound of barking dogs could be heard echoing across the length of the asylum.
The psychopathic stallion looked to his apparent rescuers, and could only bring himself to say. "If you think we're going to make it out of here, you're crazier than I am. I've tried every trick in the book to give those guards the slip. Nothing's worked. I don't see what any of you could possibly do that I haven't thought of."
The stallions dressed in black simply tied a rope to The Joker, and after muttering a few words that couldn't be heard, he was lifted into the air as his eyes suddenly beheld a small zeppelin hovering overhead. Usually, said zeppelin was responsible for shining searchlights around the asylum's exterior and courtyard in order to spot any potentially escaping inmates. Yet now it seemed as if it had been hijacked, perhaps by the same individual or organization behind the ponies dressed in black.
Soon, The Joker was hoisted out of the asylum, only to be roughly and rudely deposited within the city limits of Canterlot without fanfare. He wasted no time in shedding his straightjacket, and briefly wondered what to do next.
Suddenly, a newspaper quite literally flew into The Joker's face. He took one look at it, and a creepy smile spread across his face. "Super Dragon, huh?" He cackled with fiendish glee. "Well, looks like I've found a new playmate!"
Batmare hoped that even though she was too late to prevent whatever forces had unleashed the spell which had destabilized time and space, she at least might be able to extract some answers out of Starlight Glimmer when she apprehended the unicorn.
Starlight proved to be less than cooperative upon being captured, squirming and kicking whilst trying to use her horn to overpower her captor as she felt herself be dragged out of the throne room in Twilight's castle. "Whoever you are, you're making a big mistake by making me angry!" She hollered at the top of her lungs, not caring in the least as to who might overhear her.
Batmare's response was to take Starlight outside and dangle the unicorn over the castle's balcony, maintaing a firm grip with one hoof whilst using another to tie one of Starlight's back hooves to the balcony railing so that she hung upside down. "Face it, Starlight. You've lost," The caped crusader told the unicorn with a growl. "I know you're working for someone else, for the League of Assassins. Now talk! Who put you up to this?! What do they want?!"
Starlight Glimmer snarled, trying desperately to concentrate her magic in the hopes of knocking Batmare down. She watched with dismay as her disorienting view messed up her aim, causing a blast from her horn to bounce off the balcony without hitting her captor at all. "I don't have to tell you anything!" She hissed in reply. "You're not a princess, and you're not the royal guard! Plus, I can't put my hooves on it, but something about you is awfully familiar."
Batmare could only shake her head in disapproval. "You're right, you don't have to talk," She coldly replied with narrowed eyes. "You can remain silent if you wish. But I would like to point out that in your current position, the blood is gonna start rushin' to your head. In a matter of minutes, you'll pass out. And if you stay that way afterwards, the blood will build up in your head and kill you. So the sooner you decide to talk may determine whether or not you'll live. It's your choice."
"I... I can't tell you anything!" Starlight nervously protested as she felt herself fast growing lightheaded. "I-I swear, I never met them face to face!"
"Don't lie to me!" The caped superhero snarled back. "Talk, unless you want me to hoof you over to the royal guard as soon as you lose consciousness! They're not going to go easy on you when they learn you're the one who broke into the Canterlot Archives."
Still, Starlight insisted on repeating her previous claim. "I-I'm being honest! I don't know anything! All I wanted was a little help getting the scroll so I could get my revenge! The league was just a means to an end. They told me if I stole the scroll, they'd take care of the rest! P-please, just put me down! I don't do well with heights!"
All Batmare could say in response was. "Well, you should've thought of that before you decided to break the law. You want out, and I want answers! Tell me what you do know! And you'd better do it now, because I reckon you'll pass out any minute now."
The dizzed and disoriented unicorn whimpered, shuddering with what seemed to be fright. "A-alright!" She stammered as she shook not unlike a leaf. "All I know is, the league is run by someone who goes by the name of Ghul."
"'Ghoul'?" Batmare blinked.
"No, Ghul," Starlight corrected. "G,h,u,l. Whoever it is, they've apparently been around for a long time. And desire nothing more than to topple governments and civilizations. I wasn't really paying attention, I just needed their help to get the scroll," As she felt herself on the verge of passing out, she pleaded! "Please, I don't wanna die!"
Batmare seemed to be satisfied with Starlight's answers, as a rare smile of sorts seemed to form on her face. She pulled the unicorn up onto the balcony and held her close. "Smart choice," She said with what sounded almost like sadistic pleasure. "Now you get to take a nap."
"What?!" Starlight Glimmer blinked, right before she felt a sharp blow be brought to her head. And it was the last thing she felt before she fell into unconsciousness.
"Well, at least it's a start." Batmare thought to herself as she carefully grabbed hold of her prisoner, and after unfolding her cape she descended from the balcony, gliding through the air.
Rather than deliver Starlight to the royal guard, Batmare decided to bring the captive unicorn back to the cave below Sweet Apple Acres. She hoped that maybe she could extract more information from the unicorn, or at least get a better idea of what exactly was going on.
Making use of what information she had, Batmare went over to the computer desk and powered up the computer. It was time for some database research.
Minutes ticked by, and the caped crusader fast lost all patience. The little information Starlight Glimmer had given her was failing to prove useful. No matter what was typed in: Be it "Ghul", "League of Assassins", or anything related, the results were the same. No leads could be found. The only information available about the league came from newspaper articles mentioning the imprisonment of several of their members at the hooves of Batmare. Nothing else was turned up.
Batmare lifted up her mask, and Applejack put a hoof to her forehead in frustration. "What am I not thinkin' of?!" She groaned and complained. "The league had to have gotten in touch with Starlight for a reason! What's the key I'm missin'?!"
Nothing would come to the costumed mare, which only increased her frustration and further diminished her already vastly depleted patience. If what Starlight had said about the league was true, they were a threat that was worse than any supervillain Batmare had ever gone up against before.
So why was it impossible to find any further information on them? Even the most secretive of societies had to have something about them that could turn up. Something that could prove useful.
Alas, it seemed that this search for answers had hit a dead end. Applejack pulled the mask back down over her face and sighed. Perhaps she would have to be more thorough on her next interrogation of Starlight. That appeared to be the only way any further information could be extracted for the time being.
Just then, the door to the cave opened. In rolled Robin, riding on his motorcycle. He parked it, took off his helmet, and trotted over to Batmare's location.
"Back already?" Batmare questioned her sidekick. "What did you do this time, Robin?"
Robin hmphed. "It wasn't me this time. Apparently, we've got competition. Some guy who looks like Spike and calling himself Super Dragon. He made short work of all those criminals. And, much as it pains me to admit it, he saved my life. One of those thugs was about to shoot me. Super Dragon stopped him."
Batmare was most surprised and taken aback by the news. "Super Dragon?"
"Guess you haven't heard," Robin remarked in a still very grumpy tone of voice. "Reckon he's gonna be in all the papers by now. Don't know what he's trying to pull looking like Spike. Must be a changeling or something."
The caped crusader, however, didn't reply with words. Instead, she hastily typed in the aforementioned name on the computer. Much to her shock, a newspaper article involving a rather blurry picture of the exact creature Robin had just mentioned popped up. If Batmare squinted hard enough, she could just make out the familiar face of Spike, and a shield with a big "S" emblazoned into the center.
Immediately, the gears in Batmare's mind began to turn. This other Spike's appearance in light of what had just happened not too long ago could hardly be a coincidence. It seemed highly unlikely that the same Spike Batmare had known and worked alongside could now suddenly also be this caped superhero that she'd never heard of before (and it seemed nopony else had heard of him either if this newspaper article was anything to go by).
All Robin could say was. "He mentioned something about looking for his Twilight, whatever that means."
Those words caused the caped crusader to gasp! Could it be?! Hastily, she turned to Robin and asked him. "What do you know about the multiverse theory?"
"What? That ridiculous old mare's tail?" Robin rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know I heard about it once. But it's all just a bunch of nonsense: The idea that there can be other universes besides the one we live in, and that they're all the same as ours except for one or two events that played out slightly differently."
"It's not nonsense!" Batmare protested. "If I'm right, I think I know just who our mysterious visitor is and why he's here. And if so," She swallowed hard. "He might need our help."
Filthy Rich could only sigh as he sat there in his prison cell. Although he had escaped a life sentence, he was still to serve for a very long time in light of his crimes. Even with testimony from his family and from others arguing that he'd been forced to do what he did, it had done little to convince the jury and the judge. Bail had been set so extraordinarily high that even his wife and his daughter had little hope of raising the funds needed to secure an early release.
Where had it all gone so wrong? Well, that was a silly question, Filthy knew full well where it had gone wrong. If only he had a way to go back in time and stop himself, he'd be a better stallion. Alas, that was impossible.
So the once proud earth pony stallion passed the time as best he could within the confines of his small cell. He lifted weights, made scratch marks on the walls, and occasionally lay down on his bed only to gaze longingly up at the ceiling. His thoughts naturally turned to his wife: Spoiled Rich, and his daughter: Diamond Tiara. How well were they getting on without him? Were they able to manage the family business in his absence? Was Diamond doing okay in school? How long had it been since he'd been allowed any contact with them?
The more Filthy Rich thought about these and other things, the more the gravity of his situation sank in. He was truly powerless in this situation. There was nothing he could do. Given the choice, he'd have preferred being turned to stone or even put to death.
Occasionally, the stallion's gaze turned to the lone window in his cell, his only view of the outside world. He thought he saw something off in the sky, almost like it was a different color or something. But he quickly dismissed it. "Prison's getting to me," He thought unhappily to himself. "There's nothing wrong with the sky, I'm just seeing things. Besides, a different colored sky means nothing. I'm never getting out of here."
Yet suddenly, the earth pony's ears picked up what sounded like the sounds of a scuffle. It sounded like there was some sort of commotion going on within the walls of the prison he was currently held in. He even thought he could hear the sounds of gunfire, of bodies hitting the floor with sickening thuds. Was there some sort of riot going on?!
Before Filthy had a chance to react, he saw the door at the other end of the room from his cell be blown off its hinges! Into the room, emerging from a cloud of green smoke, was a familiar looking unicorn stallion whose snow white coat had turned into a very pale shade of white. His mane and tail were a sickly shade of green, his lips were curled into a fiendish smile displayed across bloody red lips, and he wore a dark purple suit that had a strange, green colored flower on the right side.
"Hello, Filthy Rich," The stallion greeted with a smile that looked far less friendly and welcoming than a smile normally would. "Please pardon my intrusion. But I simply had to meet you, and I wasn't going to take no for an answer. It's a pity that those prison guards have such poor manners. Oh well, I suppose we can't all be like me." He proceeded to let out a wicked laugh, all the while trotting closer to the cell proper.
Filthy Rich immediately backed up against the wall of his cell, he didn't trust this stallion at all! "W-who are you?! You look like Prince Blueblood, but I know he doesn't look like some circus freak!"
The stallion only hissed in reply. "Circus freak?! You've got a lot of nerve talking to me like that!" He then pulled out what appeared to be a playing card, and threw it into the cell where it landed on the floor. "Pick it up." He said in a hushed whisper.
Hesitantly, Filthy obeyed. When he did so, he saw what the card displayed. "Joker?"
"Indeed, that's my name. I'm The Joker, the clown prince of crime!" The Joker taunted. "Obviously, you haven't heard of me. That's okay, because you will soon. After all, something tells me that you're not in your world anymore. You're in mine."
The earth pony stallion gulped as a nervous sweat ran down his face. "What did you do to those guards?! What do you want with me?!"
"Oh, the guards?" The Joker blinked and brushed aside any concern. "I simply gave them a taste of my own brand of laughing gas. It's guaranteed to put a smile on your face no matter what. And I mean it quite literally. But hey, at least they'll die laughing," He then approached the cell, motioning for his fellow stallion to approach him. "Now come on, Mr. Rich, there's no use trying to hide from me. After all, I have a business proposition that I think you'll be most interested in."
Filthy wasn't persuaded for a second. "I'm already in here for what might as well be life! I'm not doin' anythin' to make it worse! I don't know what you're after, but I ain't helpin' ya! Just please leave me alone!" He tried to sound defiant, but his body's posture betrayed him.
The Joker simply responded by narrowing his eyes, his smile contorting into a frown. "My my. And here I thought the high and mighty Filthy Rich would be a sensible pony. Seems I figured you all wrong," Grasping the bars of the cell, he hissed. "Let me make it perfectly clear to you, Filthy, I can be very persuasive when I want to be. If you don't wanna talk to me, that's fine. I'll simply pay your family a visit. I'm sure they'll be willing to hear me out once I 'convince' them."
"You stay away from them you... you... you maniac!" Filthy Rich hollered at the top of his lungs and rushed up to the bars, locking eyes with The Joker!
"You're in no position to be making threats, old chap," The Joker warned in an ominous tone of voice. "And flattery won't save you. So either hear me out, or I'll just take my talents to a more appreciative, captive audience. It's your choice."
The earth pony stallion let out a reluctant sigh. "What do you want? Make it quick." He snapped and growled.
"Oh come now, Filthy, do lighten up," The Joker replied with a laugh. "You should learn to smile more. Just because the world's a horrible, rotten place doesn't mean you have to let it get to you. You can always do what I do, and just go crazy! When you're as mad as me, you don't care what happens to anypony else," He proceeded to clear his throat. "Now, what I want from you is simple. Let's just say I've got some friends to whom I owe my new lease on life. They busted me out, and all they ask for in return is a little favor. They want chaos. Not just for your world or mine, but for every universe that's out there."
"I don't see where you're goin' with this." Filthy blinked in confusion.
The Joker's sinister smile returned. "Relax, it's nothing you need to worry about. The only thing I need from you is your money. You still have that, don't you?"
"What do you need it for?" Filthy Rich questioned.
"I told you, for chaos!" The Joker gleefully boasted! "Hook me up with a loan, give me some bits to throw around. And if I'm feeling generous enough, I might just see fit to break you out of this hellhole they call a prison. We could have it all! We'd be partners in crime across the whole multiverse! Surely, that's better than wasting away in a dusty, musty, old prison cell, no?"
But Filthy shook his head from side to side. "I couldn't help you if I wanted to. I've got no money here. All the money I do have is goin' towards supportin' my family: My wife and my daughter."
At that, The Joker suddenly reached into one of his coat pockets as his smile deepened. "Is that so? Well then, I guess I won't waste another minute of your precious time. I know where I need to go to get what I need."
A horrified Filthy gasped! "You wouldn't!"
The Joker only replied with a wicked laugh and an ominous declaration. "When you're as mad as I am, nothing is off the table. Much as I would love to stay and chat, I've got better things to do. But don't worry, I'll still come back for you once I get what I want. Oh, and don't even think about trying to tattle on me. If you do, your family will pay the price." And with that, he departed the cell, heading back into the carnage he had unleashed.
Filthy Rich could only watch as the self-proclaimed "Clown Prince" disappeared. "Oh Celestia!" He thought as his eyes went wide with horror! "Please, don't let anything happen to my family!"
Batmare was now perched high atop a roof in the city of Canterlot. The bat signal was shining brightly in the night sky, even though Batmare was already there. She was hoping the signal would draw the attention of someone and bring him to her.
"You sure this is gonna work?" Robin questioned through a com-link that had been built into Batmare's mask. "Why not just print an anonymous request in the papers or something?"
"If I'm right and he's been in our universe for long enough, he'll know what this means." Batmare replied.
Robin then asked. "Think you should be confronting him all by yourself? At least let me be up there with you. Two heads are better than one."
Batmare sharply rapped. "Negative! There's no need to make him think we see him as a threat. Stay at your post unless I specifically call for you. That's an order!"
Robin unhappily sighed and grumbled. "Fine. Let's just hope you're right about Super Dragon for both our sakes." And the com-link clicked off.
Batmare kept watch in the night sky, waiting for any sign of her intended guest. She was more than used to standing around, waiting for something to happen. The silence was very often a companion for her.
At last, in the distance, a bright blue and red blur could be seen flying overhead! The blur suddenly stopped, revealing itself to be a dragon wearing a bright blue suit with a long, flowing red cape. It was also possible to see the faint outline of a yellow shield with something emblazoned into it.
The caped crusader was certain this was the "Super Dragon" Robin had mentioned earlier. There he was, almost right on schedule.
Sure enough, the caped dragon was flying towards the signal's location, bringing him right to where Batmare wanted him. He soon touched down on the roof, surprised to find only the searchlight that had been used to displayed the signal in the sky. There was not a sight to be seen or a sound to be heard, or so it seemed.
Super Dragon looked all around, his eyes scanning his surroundings. Despite all the powers bestowed upon him, he wasn't able to see fully in the dark, or detect heat signatures. Yet his heightened sense of hearing could pick up the sound of breathing, and it wasn't coming from him. Someone had clearly wanted him to be here, for what reason he currently did not know. "Who's there?" He called to the darkness. "I can hear you. I don't want any trouble! So come out with your hooves or whatever you've got over your head!"
Suddenly, from the darkness emerged what appeared to be a pony of medium build wearing a black and dark gray costume loosely styled to resemble a bat. The costume even had the same bat symbol as display on the searchlight.
The figure soon spoke up as it locked eyes with Super Dragon. "Easy," It spoke in a withdrawn, cold, and somewhat gruff tone of voice. "I don't wanna hurt you. I just wanted to meet you. I have a feelin' you're not from around here."
"What do you mean?" Super Dragon blinked in confusion. "I've never seen the likes of you before."
"I can say the same for you," The figure replied. "You're Super Dragon, right? The self-proclaimed dragon of steel?"
Super Dragon nodded quite slowly. "I am. And I suppose you are this Batmare character I've been hearing so much about lately," Then, suddenly, his eyes noticed something! They could see right through the black, boxy mask Batmare was wearing. He could see who she really was. "Wait! You're... Applejack?!"
Batmare seemed to flash a grin. "You peeked, didn't you? Well, I guess that confirms it. Because I reckon you must be Spike. And the Spike I know doesn't have superpowers. He goes by the name of Nightwing, and he leads his own team of crime fighters."
Super Dragon could only respond in a confused tone of voice. "What's all this about 'The Spike I know'?! What's going on here?!"
Batmare simply replied. "Look up at the sky."
Super Dragon did so, and gasped! He could see the sky taking on a rather odd shade! And overhead, it was possible to see various domes and bubbles floating past! "I don't remember the sky looking like that!"
The caped crusader nodded. "Then that confirms it. Our universes have been merged together, somehow. No doubt the work of the League of Assassins."
The masked dragon growled. "And how do you know so much about them?! Why have you contacted me?! What do you want from me?!"
Batmare trotted forward, extending a gloved hoof. "I'm not sure what it is that brought you into my universe, but I want to help you get back. The universes aren't meant to be merged. No tellin' what might happen if things remain the way they are."
"So, do you know how to fix this?" Super Dragon questioned in a hopeful tone of voice. "Does your Twilight have access to the mirror portal?"
Batmare just replied in the friendliest tone she could muster up. "I can't make any promises right now. But if you come with me and tell me your side of things, maybe together we can figure out how to put things right. Maybe we can even uncover what the league's true plan is. Somethin' tells me that they didn't plan on draggin' you in, or that they even knew about ya. With our combined powers and abilities, maybe we can both get what we want."
Super Dragon was hesitant for a moment, unsure what to make of Batmare's offer. He had never really worked with another superhero before. And the only time he could remember working with another was when he had briefly been aided by another dragon by the name of Ember.
Yet something about Batmare seemed off. Why did she operate from the shadows? Why had she resorted to secrecy in order to lure him out and talk to him? And just what was this "League of Assassins" she'd mentioned?
Super Dragon was beginning to suspect Batmare knew more than she was letting on.
Suddenly, the masked dragon's thoughts were interrupted as his ears picked up a sound far off in the distance. "Do you hear that?" He asked Batmare.
"Hear what?" Batmare questioned. She couldn't hear a thing.
Super Dragon simply explained. "Of course you can't. You don't have my heightened hearing," He paused for a moment, letting the sound playback across his mind. Then he gasped in horror! "Wait, that's Twilight! My Twilight! She's in danger!" He turned to leave.
"Spike!" Batmare called out, dropping all pretenses of respecting the secret identity. "It could be a trap! Someone might have taken your Twilight to lure you out! Let's think about this!"
Super Dragon could only shake his head from side to side. "Thanks, but I don't need your help, Applejack! I just need to rescue my Twilight, and then we'll figure out a way to get back to our universe. I promise, we'll be out of your mane soon enough," He turned away from her, while respectfully saying. "I'm sorry we intruded into your universe by accident. We'll be more careful from now on. But for now, my Twilight needs me. And I won't let her down!" With that, he jumped off the roof and flew into the sky!
Batmare watched the caped dragon fly away, sighing as she retreated back into the darkness. Her proposed alliance had failed. Yet she wasn't about to take no for an answer. So she tapped a button on one of her gloves, preparing the Batmobile as its engines revved up.
Something told the caped crusader that Super Dragon was going to need her help whether he realized it or not.
Twilight opened her eyes very slowly. She was still trying to process the turn of events that had led up to this point. What had gone wrong? The spell shouldn't have pulled her and Spike into... whatever universe this was so strongly.
Looking around and getting her bearings, the alicorn found that she appeared to be in the Everfree Forest. Everything seemed much the same as she always remembered it being. Yet she could sense that something was not right. Something seemed... off, for lack of a better term. What that something was, she didn't know. But she was going to find out one way or another.
Well, first thing's first, Twilight knew she had to get out of the Everfree Forest. No telling what it might be like in whatever universe it was that she had ended up. Maybe it was as tamed and restrained as she remembered it being in her own universe, or maybe it was in a universe that had never brought it under control even just a little.
Fortunately, the young alicorn had no need to find out. With a simple lighting up of her own horn, she was able to teleport to the forest's entrance and escape. As she then slowly trotted towards Ponyville, she by chance happened to look up at the sky. That was when her fears were confirmed! Something was most definitely wrong! The sky was an eerie shade of blue, and it looked like huge bubbles displaying various images were drifting along. There was also this constant roar of wind, and crackling of lightning.
"My spell couldn't have caused all this by itself, could it?" Twilight pondered.
Well, those were thoughts for another time and place. Right now, what worried Twilight the most was that she was separated from Spike. She needed to find him so they could return to their own universe. No telling what might happen if they stayed too long in a universe that wasn't theirs. Plus, with any luck, returning to where they belonged would cause the sky in this universe to go back to normal.
That just left the question of how to get in touch with Spike. He could be anywhere, possibly even in another universe all together. But Twilight knew she had to find him and find him fast.
So it was that, with no particular destination in mind, the alicorn made her way into Ponyville proper. All the buildings looked exactly the same as she remembered them being in her own universe. The only thing that struck her as odd was that as she looked over the horizon towards Sweet Apple Acres, she thought she saw a large tower in the shape of the letter T where the Cutie Mark Crusaders' clubhouse should be. And it looked fairly recent, as if it had just been constructed a short time ago.
Was it possible that this universe had its own superheroes in the same vein as Super Dragon? If so, who were they?
Twilight was suddenly snapped out of her ponderings and observations when she heard a low rumbling sound overhead. She looked up, and her eyes widened in shock and surprise! An ominous looking zeppelin painted black all over was casting a large shadow as it slowly but surely hovered over the town of Ponyville. A few ponies happened to look up, and upon seeing it they stopped what they had been doing. None knew what to make of this airship's mysterious, sudden presence.
Slowly but surely, the zeppelin crept across the sky. It didn't seem to be affected by the strange happenings in the sky. It just floated on by, its engines humming slowly but audibly. It appeared to be heading towards the clock tower. Why that was, nopony knew.
Against her better judgment, Twilight chased after the zeppelin, keeping it in her view and following it to its apparent destination. Zeppelins were a rare sight in a place like Ponyville. And this zeppelin's presence and paint scheme suggested something sinister.
When at last the clock tower drew near, the zeppelin slowed down to a complete standstill and drifted into position. After a moment of silence, ropes dropped down from it!
Hastily, the alicorn dove into a nearby bush for cover! She then peered through its leaves, watching as several ponies clad from head to hooves in thick, black robes descended from the zeppelin. Two of them even appeared to be holding up a large object that looked like it had a timer on it, not to mention colored buttons and wires. Despite the object's size, they carried it as if it weighed nothing at all.
Twilight put one hoof forward, determined to pursue these mysterious figures and their unknown object. But then she hesitated when she saw something sticking out from their outfits. They were large, sharp sabers. It was also possible to see them carrying daggers. And both the sabers and daggers appeared to be coated with blood. Granted, the blood had long since dried on the weapons, suggesting that they had gone a long time without being used or washed. But the blood indicated they had been used at some point, and that made the alicorn nervous.
That is, until Twilight Sparkle got an idea. Lighting up her horn again, she blinked as she gazed down at a small puddle and saw that she could not see her own reflection staring back at her. She was now invisible to the naked eye. "Now to get some answers." She thought, slowly following the weapon wielding ponies as they entered the clock tower from its base.
Once inside the clock tower, the two ponies carried the large object up a winding staircase until they reached the top. They then set their cargo down, letting it rest next to the bell that would chime to mark the hour.
One of the robed ponies then approached the device, punching a few of the buttons before flipping a switch. A display of numbers in red appeared on a panel on top of the object, and began counting down.
"Our work here is done. The rest, we'll leave up to The Joker." One robed pony said to the other.
And the other robed pony replied. "Yes. Soon, all universes will be made one. And the demon's head shall rise!" They then ran back down the stairs, unknowingly phasing right through Twilight. All they knew was that for a brief second, it felt as if something had made contact with them. But the feeling soon passed.
Once certain that the coast was clear, Twilight Sparkle dropped her invisibility spell. She then hurriedly rushed to the object to get a good look at it. A close inspection confirmed her worst fears! It was a bomb! Not just any bomb, though. This bomb appeared to have been magically enchanted and enhanced. It was intended not to destroy the clock tower, but to bring about a collapse of the entire multiverse, fusing all parallel universes into one shared universe.
The alicorn looked over the panel, watching the seconds tick down. She had to find a way to defuse this bomb, and quickly! She started searching all over the bomb, looking for any clues or leads into how she might deactivate it before it was too late.
Oh, if only Spike was still here with her. She was certain he'd be able to make short work of the bomb with his powers. But who knew where he was or what had happened to him?
"Please, Spike, be safe." Twilight thought to herself, all the while she continued her search in vain. The seconds were ticking down slowly but surely. If she didn't find a way to deactivate the bomb soon, it would be too late!
Suddenly, however, the young alicorn felt herself be yanked away from the bomb as something (or someone, rather) was pulling on her tail! She spun around, finding herself face to face with a unicorn stallion who looked like Prince Blueblood. Except this stallion's entire coat was the kind of white that looked like all the color had been drained out of his fur. His mane and tail were a sickly shade of green, his lips were blood red in color, and he wore a finely pressed purple suit and white gloves.
"Well well well," The stallion spoke as he quickly pulled out a knife and pressed it up to the alicorn's neck. "I guess a certain somepony forgot about the age-old saying. What did curiosity do to the cat again?"
Twilight hastily used her magic to push the knife back, only to find that the Blueblood look alike was using his own magic to counter her, forcing her into a sort of magical tug of war to keep the knife away from her. She stood up, trying to back away. "Don't you realize what you're doing?!" She shouted in a defiant tone of voice, determined not to show fear. "Who knows what could happen if you destroy the multiverse and bring all the universes together?!"
"I know!" The stallion cackled with fiendish glee. "It'll be glorious! Chaos and anarchy will reign! And that'll be just fine for an agent of chaos like me: The Joker! I'll finally have the resources to take my skills across the whole world! No one will be able to stop me!"
Just then, however, there came the sound of crashing wood! Light suddenly flooded in through a hole, accompanied by the sound of roaring wind. And a voice very familiar to Twilight declared. "Leave Twilight alone, or you'll answer to me!"
Twilight let out a triumphant gasp when she saw Super Dragon in all his glory! "Spike's okay!" She thought to herself.
If the suit wearing stallion was at all intimidated or unnerved by the sudden appearance of the caped dragon, he didn't show it outwardly. He merely turned towards his unexpected guest with that creepy, perhaps even sadistic smile. "Oh goodie. I could use a playmate."
"Well unfortunately for you, I'm not here to play games," Super Dragon declared as he locked eyes with his foe. "Do you know the trouble you've just found?"
The suited stallion gave off a wicked laugh. "No, but I'm sure you'll tell me anyway. Oh, and by the way, Mr. Tall and Scaly, the name's The Joker: The Clown Prince of Crime. You should remember it," His eyes narrowed. "Because it'll be the last name you'll ever know!"
Super Dragon simply stepped forward, effortlessly grabbing hold of The Joker with one claw. "Guess I'll have to teach you some manners. But let's take this outside." And seconds after saying that, he rushed back through the hole he'd made in the clock tower, The Joker held firmly in his grasp.
"Be careful, Spike." Twilight whispered under her breath. Then she turned her attention back to the bomb, trying to figure out how she might defuse it. Time was already running out! Her unexpected encounter with The Joker had taken up precious seconds that could've been used to look for clues as to how the bomb functioned. If nothing else, it had to have a power source of some kind.
Meanwhile, Super Dragon found a suitable patch of flat and empty grass land not far from the clock tower. He swooped down, pressing The Joker face first into the dirt. The impact kicked up dust and made a small crater! "It's only fair to warn you," He told the self-proclaimed "clown prince". "I'm holding back. If I used my true powers, I'd kill you in a heartbeat. But I despise killing. So if you value living, I suggest you surrender now."
The Joker, however, merely brushed off Super Dragon's claw and stood up. He looked at himself, noticing that the impact had drawn blood. His suit was already stained with dirt and blood, and his body was already coated with black bruise marks. Yet he simply spat at the ground, coldly hissing. "Oh, don't be such a buzzkill! You're not playing according to the script!" He hastily grabbed his knife, brandishing it before his foe. "Even with those thick scales, you're not invincible!"
Super Dragon wasn't scared for a second. He effortlessly melted the knife with a single blast from the lasers that shot out from his eyes. "I'm not going to ask nicely again," He declared in an ominous tone as his eyes began to glow again. "I don't have time to play games with you, Joker! I won't kill you. But when I get through with you," He delivered the next line with a growl and in a low tone of voice. "You'll wish you were dead."
"Oh, you're just like Bats," The clown prince scoffed. "Here I thought you'd be more fun since you're so strong. But it seems you cape wearing types are all the same: All work and no play. When will you learn to smile and see the bright side like I do? You can't stop the madness. So embrace it, like I did!"
"You really are insane," Super Dragon sighed with a shake of his head. "Oh well, I guess some creatures just never learn," Then he flew forward, grasping The Joker and lifting him into the air a little. "Hope you aren't afraid of heights."
"W-what are you doing?!" The Joker blinked in surprise, appearing to be legitimately terrified! "Put me down, now!"
"Not until you tell me what the hell you're trying to accomplish with that bomb!" The caped dragon firmly insisted as he brought another claw to The Joker's face. "Talk if you value that pretty smile of yours."
At that, The Joker suddenly grinned as his eyes narrowed. "I have a better idea, seeing as I have you right where I want you."
The masked dragon blinked, momentarily hesitating. "What do you mean by that, clown? Is this a trick?!"
The finely dressed stallion cackled as he threw back his head. "Depends on your point of view, Super Dragon. The fact is, I knew you'd show up if I caused trouble. And you took the bait, hook, line, and sinker!" After saying those words, he grasped the flower on his suit. It sprayed a fine red mist into the face of Super Dragon.
Super Dragon immediately loosened his grip on The Joker, letting him fall back to the ground with a thud! He screamed and shut his eyes, straining against some invisible force!
The Joker, despite his body aching from the impact, looked up. Seeing Super Dragon squirm and struggle, it made his smile grow brighter by the second. "Too easy. Played him just like a piano." He thought to himself, slowly struggling to his hooves.
As for Twilight, when she heard Super Dragon's cry, she immediately ceased what she had been doing and rushed to the hole in the clock tower. She was horrified at what she saw!
Super Dragon's eyes were beginning to glow bright red, something they very rarely did. He let out a guttural roar and began to breathe fire, apparently unconcerned about his surroundings.
Something had happened to the caped dragon. Whatever it was, Twilight didn't like it.
At around the same time, Batmare finally found herself closing in on Super Dragon's position. As she did so, she looked up and saw what appeared to be a small zeppelin looming overhead, hovering near the clock tower. From the zeppelin emerged several ropes, and descending from said ropes were cloaked earth ponies carrying sharp daggers and swords.
Batmare brought the batmobile to a screeching halt, then pressed a button on the onboard computer. She hurriedly shouted. "Robin! Robin, do you read me?!"
Within seconds, another voice replied. "Yeah, I read you loud and clear. What's the situation?"
"Contact the Cutie Mark Crusaders, tell them to be on the lookout for the League of Assassins!" Batmare instructed. "If they need help, join them. The league's plottin' somethin' with the clock tower, and it seems like they've roped The Joker into their scheme."
"What about you, Batmare?" Robin asked. "What are you going to do?"
Batmare just cryptically answered. "Super Dragon's in way over his head. He needs my help." Then she jumped out of the batmobile, ready for action!
When Super Dragon saw Batmare, something inside him seemed to suddenly snap! With another roar, he flew towards the caped crusader with his claws at the ready!
As Super Dragon grew close, Batmare could see that something was clearly wrong. His eyes were glowing a very bright shade of red, drowning out all other colors. It was like a fog, clouding his vision and preventing him from seeing anything else. She hurriedly jumped out of the way. "Super Dragon, what are you doing?!" She shouted at him, only to receive no reply.
Super Dragon swung back around, grabbing Batmare and punching her hard in the chest! The resulting blow was strong enough to shove the caped crusader back several feet.
Upon seeing The Joker rushing into the clock tower, everything seemed to click for Batmare at once! How had she not realized it sooner?! The Joker had been brought on specifically to draw Super Dragon here. And the league must've tipped him off about how to manipulate the masked dragon.
Batmare sighed, realizing that she would have to find some way to free Super Dragon from the trance he was in if she wanted to have any hope of thwarting the plans of the League of Assassins before it was too late. No doubt, their goal now had something to do with the entire multiverse.
To that end, the dark knight reached into her utility belt and pulled out a large needle that contained a greenish colored liquid. She had developed it recently during a test to see how far she could push herself in extreme circumstances. The results had been... less than ideal, so she had vowed never to use it unless it was a life or death situation.
"Just hope this will be enough." The caped crusader thought to herself as she prepared to make the injection. With the increased power, she hoped to be a match for Super Dragon to the point of being able to defeat him even if it meant knocking him unconscious, or worse.
Yet it was then that Twilight came fluttering up on the scene. She had abandoned her focus on the bomb after hearing the sounds of a scuffle. She could see Super Dragon swinging back around, ready to deliver another harsh blow to Batmare. And she could see Batmare holding some kind of green liquid. What it was, she didn't know for sure. Yet she still saw fit to scream at Batmare! "No! Don't hurt him!" Using her magic, she grabbed the needle and held it aloft!
"Stop! You don't know what you're doin'!" Batmare pleaded. "That's the only way I'm gonna be able to be a match for Super Dragon! Without it, I won't stand a chance! He'll probably kill me!"
Twilight wouldn't be persuaded or convinced. "Please, let me handle this! I know him better than you do!"
"But you don't understand!" Batmare protested. "He's not himself!" Seconds after speaking those words, she was hit in the head by both claws from Super Dragon. The blows forced her to the ground, and she struggled to get back up.
Twilight turned her attention to Super Dragon, trying to reason with him. "Spike! Spike!" She shouted again and again, all the while holding the needle aloft with her magic. "Come on, Spike! You recognize me, don't you? It's me, Twilight. Whatever it is that's going on, you've got to fight it!"
Super Dragon seemed to blink for a moment, groaning as he put a claw to his forehead. Yet his eyes still retained that dark red glow. "I... I can't! Something's... wrong with me!" He began to roar! "You have to stop me, Twilight!"
"No, I won't do it, Spike!" The alicorn protested. "Please. Someone else wants to hurt you. She's not going to stop until you've been beaten to within an inch of your life, or maybe worse."
"You... have to... help... me!" Super Dragon insisted even as he stumbled back and started roaring, breathing fire once again. "I'll... I'll be fine! Do whatever it takes to stop me!" And then he flew away!
Batmare, meanwhile, trotted up to Twilight and took hold of the needle once more. "I think we need to work together on this. You know him pretty well," She said to Twilight. "He has to have a weakness. Any ideas?"
Twilight put a hoof to her chin. "There is one. For some reason, green gems seem to negatively affect him."
"And do you have any of those right now?" Batmare questioned the alicorn. "Because if not, we're back to square one."
The alicorn was quick with the reply. "Well, I don't have any on me," Yet she gasped as a thought struck her. "Hold on! I think I can get some! Just hold him off for a minute or two, I promise!" And she teleported away in the blink of an eye!
That left Batmare to handle a still raging and out of control Super Dragon. Reluctantly, she pressed the needle into one of her legs and squeezed it hard. The liquid drained out of the needle quickly! The results were almost instantaneous, she felt a surge of energy rushing through her! "Sorry I have to do this to you, Spike." She thought to herself. Then she rushed forward, operating almost entirely on instinct.
The Joker, meanwhile, could only smile as he watched the two superheroes fight each other. "Poetry in motion." He said to himself.
Batmare and Super Dragon remained locked in combat for what felt like several minutes. The energy boost enabled Batmare to hold her own against the much stronger Super Dragon, but only just barely.
Super Dragon, for his part, just continued to press his claws up against Batmare's gloves. Occasionally, he tried to swing his tail around, only to have it blocked. He was so close that it was impossible for him to draw breath to shoot out flames.
Suddenly, Twilight reappeared in a flash of magic, holding aloft some brightly colored gems! "I've got them!" She shouted, hoping to draw Batmare's attention.
It was Super Dragon, however, who saw the gems. Immediately, he became horrified and backed up! His roar grew so loud and so powerful that generated a small shock wave that shook the ground!
The caped crusader took advantage of the opening to deliver a powerful blow to Super Dragon's chin! Then, with a flip of her cape, she stunned him and started punching him again and again! It didn't matter to her that her attacks seemed to have little to no impact! She just kept pounding away!
Twilight saw the events unfold, and a terrified look flashed across her face! Hastily, she rushed to the fight, lighting up her horn! "Stop it, both of you!" She hollered, trying to get the two superheroes to part!
Being in close proximity to the gems triggered a reaction from Super Dragon. Their bright green glow began to disorient him. He wobbled, struggling to maintain his balance. He tried to desperately reach out a claw to snatch the gems. But a blow to the snout from Batmare prevented him, making him stumble back. Try as he might, he couldn't stand up. He collapsed.
Yet Batmare did not stop her assault once Super Dragon was down! She pressed forward, punching him over and over again as the mighty dragon could only raise his claws up in a desperate attempt to shield himself from the blows.
"NO!" Twilight Sparkle hollered! She flapped her wings as hard as she could, soon throwing herself in front of Batmare in the hopes of getting the dark knight to cease her relentless assault. "That's enough! You're going to kill him, Batmare! He's already down! Leave him alone!"
The caped crusader didn't seem to listen to a word the alicorn said. She brought both her gloved hooves up, preparing to bring them down on Super Dragon. Yet just as she was about to do so, she saw the look of horror and despair flashing in his eyes. Seeing that expression stirred something deep inside her, triggering memories that had been buried but now had resurfaced.
In an instant, the gravity of the situation hit Batmare square in the muzzle. Slowly, she lowered her hooves, taking several deep breaths as the fog in her mind cleared. Now, the full extent of the damage she'd taken earlier became apparent, causing her to groan.
Super Dragon also seemed to slowly come to as Twilight quickly teleported the green gems away.
"What... happened?" Super Dragon slowly blinked. "My mind... it's a daze."
"You're back!" Twilight happily exclaimed as she hugged the caped dragon. "Oh, thank the stars! The Joker did something to you that made you go berserk! Batmare almost killed you in retaliation!"
"Well, thanks to you, Twilight, that didn't happen," Batmare replied. "I knew using that adrenaline shot would be dangerous. But I never thought it would cloud my judgment as much as it did."
"Hey, you did what you had to do to stop me," Super Dragon sincerely said in response. Then he asked. "But, why did The Joker do that? Why come after me?"
Twilight glumly said with a gulp. "I think I might know. Someone's given The Joker a bomb that, if it detonates, will make the entire multiverse implode. Countless universes will all be merged into one. And the resulting chaos could very well mean the end of the world. There's no telling what could happen."
"Then we've got to stop him!" Super Dragon firmly vowed, before looking across to Batmare. "Much as it pains me to say it, I can't do it alone. Whoever's helping The Joker knows about me, about my weaknesses."
Batmare nodded. "And as long as he does, he'll be in control," Then she got an idea. "But I think I know of a way to stop him, if we work together."
Batmare and Super Dragon looked across to each other, and to Twilight. This was uncharted territory for the both of them, having to rely on someone else. They knew what was at stake should they fail. And as hesitant as they might be, neither would dream of walking away. That wasn't who they were.
"You ready to do this?" Super Dragon asked Batmare at last, breaking up the tension that hung in the air.
Batmare nodded back. "I'm ready if you are."
"Remember, our top priority is defusing the bomb," Twilight informed both superheroes. "Now is not the time to get carried away. We can worry about capturing The Joker and interrogating him after we've saved the multiverse."
"Alright then," Super Dragon firmly declared. "No time like the present. Let's do it!"
Batmare then declared. "I'll take the lead for now. Super Dragon, you just focus on makin' sure Twilight can get to that bomb and that no one interrupts her. You let me worry about The Joker, I know how to handle him."
"Right," Super Dragon agreed. "Let's go!" And just like that, the two superheroes (alongside Twilight) rushed into the clock tower! This time, they were ready for whatever might come their way. They were going to save the day and the multiverse no matter what it took!
Not long after entering the tower, the masked crime fighters found themselves confronting several ponies wearing long, flowing robes that concealed their identities. And said ponies brandished swords, sabres, and daggers, all drawn and at the ready.
"Mind if I take point here, partner?" Super Dragon asked as he looked across to Batmare.
Batmare gave a firm nod and seemed to smile ever so faintly. "Knock yourself out. Just try not to have too much fun with them."
"Please, I won't even break a sweat," Super Dragon replied, and immediately swooped forward as he said to the robed ponies. "Playtime's over, fillies and gentlecolts. Time to put away the toys!" Soon, he was effortlessly punching, kicking, and blasting with lasers shot out from his eyes. The robed ponies were no match for him. Even when their weapons managed to make contact with him, his thick scales protected him from any harm. And it was all too easy for him to bend and break them with his super strength, or melt them with his laser eyes.
All the while, Batmare occasionally helped by tossing batarangs to knock down any who tried to get close to Twilight. And slowly but surely, the two heroes were clearing a path to the stairs leading up to where the bell was housed.
The Joker could hear sounds of a scuffle from down below, but he wasn't worried. He just turned his attention back to the bomb, watching the seconds tick down. "Won't be long now," He thought to himself. "Might be time to start thinking about making a get away. No way am I missing a chance to take my chaos across the multiverse."
The super villain looked out through the hole in the tower that Super Dragon had made during their earlier encounter. From it, he could see the zeppelin hovering overhead, its ropes dangling ever so close. He was certain he could reach out and touch one if he tried.
Before The Joker could put his hastily thought of escape plan into action, however, he heard the sound of approaching hoofsteps and spun around. He was just in time to see Batmare approaching, apparently all alone. "Oh, joy," He sarcastically remarked and hissed. "If it isn't old Batsy, here to spoil my fun."
"This madness ends now, Joker!" Batmare declared in an ominous tone of voice. "I'm takin' you back to the asylum even if I have to drag you there kickin' and screamin'. As long as I'm around, you'll never win."
The Joker snarled as he took a step back, pulling out a large gun painted a bright shade of orange. "Sorry, but I'm not about to let you have your way. The ones who freed me made it perfectly clear that I couldn't let anyone try to ruin their plans," He fired off a single shot into the air. "That's right. I've got a little upgrade, courtesy of The League of Assassins. Care for one last dance, Batmare? If I'm going down, at least I'm going to take you with me!"
"If that's the way you want to play." Batmare replied in a seemingly indifferent tone of voice. Then she threw down a smoke pellet and seemed to disappear.
As the smoke slowly cleared, The Joker looked all around and growled! "Very clever, Bats! But it won't save you! I'll find you, and when I do I'll put a smile on that face if it's the last thing I do!" He kept his new gun close to him, eyeing the walls and the ceiling for any trace of his arch-nemesis.
Suddenly, the clown prince felt his gun be yanked out of his arms by a large claw like device! He turned around fast, finding himself face to face with a rather furious looking Batmare. "Oh, you brought a new toy? That's just like you, Bats, to be prepared for any situation," He lamented, before quickly grasping the flower on his suit with a hoof. "Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but I'm a very busy pony. Got places to go, things to do. Don't worry, I'll make sure to write!"
Batmare only just thought to throw up a glove a second or two before a greenish mist suddenly materialized! She hastily dropped to the floor and started to crawl!
The Joker, meanwhile, took advantage of the opportunity and raced to the hole in the tower! He jumped out, grabbing one of the ropes! "Tata for now!" He declared in a mocking tone of voice and stuck out his tongue.
Yet suddenly, The Joker felt a whoosh of wind. And then, who should appear before him but Super Dragon?!
"Going somewhere, Joker?" The masked dragon taunted. "I won't fall for your tricks a second time."
"What?!" The Joker gasped in dismay and disbelief! "But... how?! I had you where I wanted you! You were in a blind rage!"
Super Dragon simply smirked as he concentrated a laser blast from his eyes on one of the ropes. "Hope you enjoy your flight!" Seconds after he spoke those words, the laser beam cut the rope!
The Joker lost his grip and began to fall! He shut his eyes, waiting for the end to come!
It never did. Super Dragon quickly swooped down and grabbed hold of The Joker before he could fall too far. "Looks like you've been discarded, Joker." He taunted the super villain with a smirk and a grin.
"This can't be!" The Joker lamented as the reality of his situation slowly settled in. "How is this possible?!"
"Obviously, your 'friends' didn't anticipate what might happen if Batmare and I joined forces," Super Dragon explained, his grip on The Joker never loosening for even a minute. "And if I'm right, all their plans are about to be thwarted too."
Sure enough, with Batmare and Super Dragon having cleared out the clock tower of anypony or anyone who could've posed a threat, Twilight had long since closed in on the time bomb. She was currently looking it all over, trying to find a way to shut it off or power it down.
"Come on! Come on!" Twilight frantically exclaimed as the seconds continued to tick down despite her best efforts! "There must be something I'm not thinking of! But what?!"
Batmare, who had been watching from afar up to this point, came trotting over. "Maybe I can help," She suggested, tapping a hoof against her mask that caused it to emit a bright blue glow. She scanned the bomb very thoroughly and very carefully, all the while saying nothing until the glow faded. "Flip it over." She instructed to the alicorn.
"What?" Twilight blinked in surprise and confusion.
The dark knight just repeated. "Flip it over. I've spotted some wires on the underside of the bomb. Cut them, and the bomb should deactivate."
Hesitantly, the alicorn did as Batmare had proposed. Sure enough, there were three colored wires on the underside of the bomb. Their colors were dull and faded, explaining why they hadn't been noticed sooner. She then turned back to Batmare. "So, which one do I cut?"
"It seems like you have to cut all three of them," The caped crusader explained. "Whoever designed this bomb was very thorough. They didn't want it to be like any ordinary bomb. No doubt, whoever's leading the League of Assassins is no ordinary villain."
The young alicorn then concentrated her magic on the bomb's exposed wires. With a lot of grunting and squinting, she was able to pull them out and sever them from their connections to the bomb! That did the trick. The ticking stopped, the bomb's timer clicked off. The bomb had been safely defused.
Twilight and Batmare both breathed sighs of relief. "It's over." They said in unison.
"Indeed it is," The familiar voice of Super Dragon chimed in. He soon swooped in, holding The Joker firmly in his grasp. "And I think those wires will make an excellent rope to hold our prisoner captive until he can be safely returned to where he belongs." He proceeded to grab the severed wires, and quickly swung around The Joker several times, tying him up in the wires and preventing him from moving.
Batmare smiled as she looked at Super Dragon. "So, I take it you and your Twilight will soon be headin' back to your universe?"
Super Dragon nodded. "Our very existence here was a mistake. I think we'll hold off on visiting other universes for a while, at least until we know the multiverse is safe," Then he commented. "But you know, we actually made a pretty good team, you and I. If our paths ever do cross again, I would not be opposed."
Batmare nodded back. "I was thinkin' much the same. Guess we'll need to come up with a way to stay in touch, just in case somethin' like this ever happens again."
A week later, Batmare was on hoof to see Super Dragon and his Twilight off, watching as they prepared to travel through the mirror portal and return to their own universe.
"Sorry for getting you all tangled up in the middle of this." Super Dragon sincerely apologized.
"You couldn't have known," Batmare replied. "What matters is that together we stopped The Joker and the league's plans, saving the entire multiverse from certain destruction."
Twilight nodded. "And if my hypothesis is correct, as soon as Spike and I return to our own universe, that should put everything right here. Everything will be just the way it should be, it'll be like we were never here at all."
Super Dragon breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good to hear. That's the best news I've had in quite a while."
"Well, before you go," Batmare spoke up as she pulled out a small object, hoofing to the caped dragon. "Here. If I ever have to call on you again for any reason, or even if you just decide to visit my universe again for any reason, we can use this to stay in touch."
The masked dragon nodded back. "Thank you. But I for one hope our paths never have to cross again. Working with you was great, but it shouldn't have had to come at the expense of putting the entire multiverse in danger."
Twilight then declared. "I think that's quite enough, Spike. Now it's time for us to go," She briefly turned to look at Batmare, telling the caped crusader. "Thank you again for all your help. I don't want to imagine what could've happened without you."
Batmare seemed to smile ever so faintly, yet she spoke not a word as she watched the alicorn and the dragon step through the portal. Soon, they had disappeared entirely from sight.
Stepping outside a moment later, the dark knight looked up into the sky. It had returned to normal, there was no sign of bubbles or cracks. She took that as a sign that all was well, and that Super Dragon and his Twilight had gotten home to their universe without incident.
Meanwhile, across town and within the tower that served as the headquarters of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Robin was currently standing next to a chair. Upon said chair was seated the half-pony/half-machine superhero named Cyborg, her moderate pinkish-purple mane still visible despite the cybernetic "enhancements" all over her body.
"You really sure we should be doing this?" Cyborg questioned Robin as she eyed a large computer, hooves resting on a keyboard. "We could get into a lot of trouble if Batmare finds out we're conducting research like this without her permission."
Robin frowned. "You let me worry about that. Quite frankly, Batmare's too much of a stickler for the rules. Far as I'm concerned, it does no good to play by the rules when your enemies don't do the same," Then he insisted. "Now come on! Stop talking and start typing! We need to figure out who's running The League of Assassins. Those thugs we beat up mentioned 'The Demon's Head'. That must be a code word or something!"
"Alright, alright," Cyborg hesitantly replied as she began typing away on the keyboard. "Let's see what we can find." After a bit of typing, she pressed down on a key. There was an audible click. And then... silence.
The silence was soon broken, however, as the computer beeped. And an image flashed across the screen.
Cyborg and Robin gasped! Of course, it had been right under their noses all along!
The image depicted on the screen was that of a creature with various mismatched limbs: Including a bat wing and a goat leg. Said creature was officially known as Discord, the spirit of chaos and disharmony!
If Discord was the true mastermind behind The League of Assassins, that was going to make things far more complicated.
