=Father of the Night 9=

>You cough a few times and crack your eyes open, sunlight seeping into them from an open window.
>Wait...sunlight? You were alive?
>You remember some goons from the Diggers and Razorclaw's coming by last night...then they torched the house.
>Oh god, that heat. You thought you were gonna keel over right then and there before Bruce shoved you into that closet.
>Wait, Bruce.
>You had to make sure he was safe.
>You roll off of whatever mat you were sleeping on an tr-OHSHIT!
>A moment of sheer terror passes as you tumble through the air and land in a pile of hay.
>You pull yourself out of the pile to find Big Macintosh staring down at you.
>So. Sweet Apple Acres then.
>You spit the hay from your mouth. 
"Hey Mac."
>"Anonymous." he says in his standard tone of voice.
>You climb to your feet.
"Your sister around.
>He moves aside to show the barn house behind him. "Eeeyup."
"Thanks.
>You make for the house and cough up the last of the smoke and hay from your throat as you walk.
>You open the door to the house and step inside to find Twilight, Applejack and Bruce sitting around the kitchen table.
>"Mister Anonymous!" Bruce exclaims first.
>"Anon!" the girls follow in unison.
>A mass of purple and tan from two ponies slams into you and almost knock you down. The third climbs up onto the table.
>You lean down and hug Twilight and AJ.
"Hey guys..."
>AJ clocks you upside the head. "Darnit Anon! Y'all had us worried sick!"
>You rub the back of your head where the hoof contacted.
"Well it's not like I WANTED my house on fire! How did we even get here?"

>Twilight speaks up. "Applejack and I saw the house go up late last night. Once the fire was out, we came in and found Bruce trying to drag you out of the rubble."
>You glance at Bruce who gives a nod in affirmation.
>"We got you out before the fire department or the guards arrived and took you both here." she finishes.
"...Why?"
>AJ scoffs. "We'' it aint like we can just let them find out who The Batmane is, right?"
>Oh...wow.
"You guys..."
>You give them a tighter hug which they return. It was nice to have friends like these two that you could count on, as well as not being the only one to have to keep the secret.
>Bruce clears his throat. "While it is...nice to see all this, we were talking about something important?"
>Twilight nods. "Right. We were talking about the gangs."
"What about 'em?"
>"The Razorclaws and the Diggers are both setting the stage for a large confrontation in the fields at the edge of town, their largest to date." Bruce says.
>Right...
"That'd bad..."
>Twilight grumbles. "It gets better. Their leaders are apparently going out too and the winner will get control of whatever's left of his rival's gang."
>AJ hangs her head. "They're gonna swallow up the town whole at this rate..."
>Damn...
>The three of you hang your heads a bit.
>"Not. They will not."
>The three of you look up to the boy on the table.
"Why not, Bruce?"
>You looks out the window to the direction of the Razorclaw's mountain fortress.
>"Because I've got a plan."

>Day turned to night and Bruce informed you of each of your parts in his plan.
>The three of you ran around informing who needed to be informed and setting things up.
>Now you stand at the gates of the Razorclaw's stronghold on the eve of the planned attack.
>Bruce stands next to you in his full getup.
>"You didn't have to come along." he says.
"I didn't go all the way to Goatham to get you only to have you die in this pit."
>Bruce is silent as the gates begin to open before utter a quick "Thank you."
>The two of you are lead through the camp similarly to how you were before and ushered into the Thane's tent. He was getting strapped further into his armor by aides that he waved away before turning to you brandishing his axe in your direction. "You two are lucky I don't have you slain where you stand for what you've done to me..."
>You're about to speak up when Bruce raises a hoof and walks forward. "And why is that, Thane?"
>He snorts. "Because unlike you two or some of the freelancers my idiot advisors told me to hire, I have honor."
>"Then I will hope that you will continue to abide by that honor." Bruce says.
>The Thane arches an eyebrow.
>"I challenge you to single combat."
>You take a step forward. [spoiler][/spoiler] "Batmane, that's insa-"
>He holds up a hand. "It is the only way."
>The thane looks down at the pointy eared vigilante and laughs a large laugh. "You? Want to fight ME!?" he says.
>He starts walking around the tent, some sounds come from outside it but he doesn't seem to notice.

>"Boy, I am the leader of the Razorclaw's! The most feared band of mercenaries from here to Gryphus. It was I who raided Thatchholm in the dead of night and got away, I who held the eight legion at bay with a band of only twenty, and I who destroyed the Southern Raiding Fleet without firing a shot."
>He slams a claw on his armor. "Do you see this, boy? Every scratch, scrape, and dent is a story of a different battle. I have perfected my style of fighting over the long years and have bested all her stand before me."
>The Thane leans down to look in Bruce's eyes. "What in Equestria do you think will enable you to defeat me?"
>You see Bruce's eyebrow arch. "I'm not trying to defeat you, I'm trying to stall you."
>The Thane rears back and laughs again. "Stall me!? What for?"
>The sounds outside die down and the Thane's wings are bound in a magenta glow. He squawks and tries to break free, but the same glow wraps around his legs and pulls him to the ground. In a few moments he is in a contained magical sphere on the floor.
>Through the tent flap comes a white unicorn in purple combat armor, his horn aglow with the same magic that now bound the Thane.
>"Thane Weisshaupt. I am Captain Shining Armor of the Canterlot Royal Guard and I hereby place you under arrest."

>The Thane struggles in the sphere and glares daggers at Bruce. "You impudent brat! You lied to me!"
>Bruce remains still. "Your hubris was your weakness. I knew that if I challenged you, it would give Captain Armor and his guards time to take care of the rest of your gang."
>Weisshaupt snarls. "Honorless litt-BWAK!"
>Shining Armor tightens the sphere a bit more and lifts it into the air. "Enough out of you."
>As the Captain takes the Thane out, you and Bruce follow. The other members of the Razorclaw's are rounded up by the rest of the royal guard.
"I still can't believe they came..."
>"The evidence warranted a response. They could not ignore it anymore." Bruce says.
>As the two of you head to the exit, you look out over the landscape and spot the town.
>That had hundreds of dots pouring into it from the nearby mines.
"Bruce!" you shout pointing your finger.
>"Damn! They started early!"
>Bruce leaps off the cliff edge and slides on his hooves down to the bottom towards Ponyville.

-Music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6frI0Xjufg-
>You run after Bruce as best you can, but the little bugger is a league apart from you in terms of fitness. It wasn't long before you fell behind.
>The outskirts of Ponyville are punctuated by the occasional beaten and bruised Diamond Dog laying unceremoniously on the ground along the way.
>You run towards the center of town when you notice the number of beaten Dog's increasing in that area.
>Running was a bad idea, because you shoot around a corner and end up behind a wall of Diamond Dogs.
>You silence your shout of surprise before it comes out and dart behind a wall, peeking out when you're sure it's safe.
>In the center of Town Square, the Dogfather stood with a stolen guard axe. What looked like his entire gang and a collection of civilians stand in a circle around him as he shouts to the town.
>"Alright kid, c'mon out and we'll make this quick, eh!?"
>A shadow behind him jumps around and draws his attention to where it once was. You follow it with your eye until it leaps from the roof of a building and lands behind the Dogfather.
>"Alright." Bruce says. "Show me."
>Dogfather wastes no time in pointing to Bruce. "Get 'im!".
>The town square remains silent as what must be a hundred Diamond Dogs don't move an inch.
>Dogfather seems to not like that one bit. "What's wrong with you mutts!? This kid took Alexandria! Tear him apart!"
>Bruce takes a few steps towards the Dogfather. "They won't."

>Dogfather wheels around and looks at Bruce.
>"They're obeying their pack nature, something that's been drilled into their brains since day one." he says.
>Dogfather backs a step away as Bruce talks. "The biggest Dog runs the pack. And they just saw someone issue a challenge."
>Bruce pauses. "They won't move a muscle until either you or I are lying on the ground bleeding."
>Dogfather snorts once and lunges at Bruce. "Fine then!"
>Bruce jumps to the side still being chased by the Dogfather. 
>"Let's see just how good you are, kid!" he shouts.
>Bruce and the Dogfather exchange blows. You're surprised to see how high Bruce jumps when he kicks him in the jaw or how well he recovers when thrown.
>Bruce delivers two quick blows to the head and wraps his forelegs around the Dogfather's neck, dragging him to the ground.
>Bruce rolls into the landing and gets to his feet in a flash. He lunges at the Dogfather's head but stops midair when he grabs him.
>The Dogfather takes advantage of Bruce's one greatest weakness: His weight. Bruce goes sailing into a wooden stall which shatters on impact and collapses.
>You wince.
>The Dog climbs to his feet and wipes his mouth. "Hehe...you're pretty good, kid."
>Bruce throws the wooden planks that made up the stall out of the way as the Dogfather draws a cut down version of the Razorclaw's rifles from his jacket. 
>"But you aint me." he says.
>A trio of loud metallic BANG'S ring out through the square as the Dogfather fires his handgun.
>Bruce ducks and dodges and weaves through the fire...but is a second too late on the third shot.
>He clutches his shoulder and spins through the air before landing in a heap.
>No!
>"Ha!"

>The Dogfather runs over and points the gun square down at Bruce's head. "You know what happens when you play with fire, kid..." he gloats.
>Bruce clutches his shoulder and looks up at the gangster and his gun. "Yes...we get burned!"
>Bruce grabs the gun and twists it to the side, causing it to fire into the ground. The Dogfather screams bloody murder as Bruce twists the gun upwards and jams the still hot barrel into his chin. He scoops Bruce up and tosses him hard and far into the nearby fountain.
>"DAMN KIDS! THINK THEY CAN BEAT ME!" he shouts as he runs over.
>The Dogfather grabs Bruce and slams him into the bottom of the fountain under the water.
>"No..."
>Every muscle in your body screams at you to run over and get him off Bruce, get him off before he kills him, but these damn Dog's are making that impossible.
>The Dogfather continues to stand in the fountain shouting. "YA THINK YOU CAN JUST GET AWAY WITH TAKIN' MY LITTLE GIRL FROM ME!?"
>"I'M GONNA KILL YOU AND THEN BURN DOWN THIS WHOLE STINKIN' TOWN YOU BAT EARED FREAK!"

>You can't take it anymore.
>You break cover and nudge and push your way through the crowd, one thought racing through your head the entire time.
>Get to him.
>You break through the line of Dogs and Ponies just in time to see a small silver cylinder break through the water next to the Dogfather.
>The cylinder shoots up into the air and wraps around a tree before its cable goes taut and it pulls Bru-Batmane out from under water.
>He releases the line and drops on the Dogfather, both his hooves coming down hard on the back of his head and sending him down into the water Batmane was just in.
>"You don't get it, mutt. This isn't a fountain." he growls
>He grabs one of the Dogfather's legs. "It's a pound."
>A sickening snapping sound you are all too familiar with echoes through the town square coupled with the pained yelp of a now ex-crime lord.
>"And I'm the Dog Catcher."

>Bruce climbs out of the fountain with the still whimpering Dogfather in it and walks still dripping to the middle of the square.
>"Listen up!" he shouts.
>When did his voice sound like THAT? It was normally a growl or flat and emotionless, not loud and commanding.
>"Let this be a lesson to you! To anyone who dares try and hurt the people of this town!"
>Every Dog and Pony in the town was enraptured by the child who had just defeated a mobster.
>"This town and it's inhabitants are under my guard! At all times! If you try to harm them..." he points to the Dogfather. "This is what will happen!"
>"Do not kill! Do not steal! Do only what you would have done to you to others! These are tenants that anyone from any walk of life can embrace! If you do not, you will answer to me!"
>A pony at the edge of the circle, a mint green mare named Lyra poked her head out. "Wh-who are you?"
>Batmane eyes the collected mass of Dogs and Ponies, his eye slits narrowing.
>"I am vengeance!"
>"I am The Night!"
>Bruce rears up onto his hind legs and tosses a trio of smoke bombs into the air. Once they hit the ground, a voice loud enough for the entire town to hear rings out.
>"I! AM! BATMANE!"

>You leave the town square pretty fast after that scene.
>The Dog's were scared out of their wits after someone defeated their leader. Last you saw they were running back to the mines with their tails between their legs.
>You found Bruce leaning against a barrel in an alleyway a block or so from the square. His shoulder looked bad so you scooped him up and ran the two of you back to Twilight's house.
>Twilight wraps Bruce's wounded shoulder in bandages as he rests his head in your lap.
"Tired, Bruce?"
>He rubs his face. "Yes, Mister Anonymous...defeating two gangs in under twenty four hours is rather taxing."
>You pet his mane. [spoiler][/spoiler] "You did great, Bruce..."
>Twilight nods and cuts the bandage off. "You sure did. You saved the entire town!"
>Bruce smiles a weary smile. "It was the right thing to do."
>Twilight levitates a box over to the two of you. "We salvaged this from the wreckage of your house...I'm sorry there wasn't more." she says with a downtrodden face.

>You look inside the box. Inside was a baby blue blanket, a spray bottle, and some assorted other items.
"Heh. Thanks Twi, this is more than enough."
>You nudge Bruce.
"You want James?"
>The boy is barely awake but answers a weak. "Yes please..."
>You take the blanket out of the box and wrap Bruce up in it before laying him down on the bed. He dozes off the second his head hits the pillow.
>You chuckle and look up at Twilight.
"Thanks for letting us stay here, Twi."
>She smiles. "Anything for Ponyville's little hero."
>You pet Bruce's head as Twilight trots upstairs and turns out the lights.
>The two of you would need a new place to live soon...you could open up the block on Bruce's money...
>But that was a thought for tomorrow.
>You lay down and put Bruce on your chest, hugging him close as you yourself drift off.