Chapter Four

Everyone turned towards the sound of the voice, a silhouetted figure with her mane in pigtails that stood before the door leading out of the dance room. The door that was now shut and barred behind her. Five rough and ready Hyenas stood around her in a semi circle, starting towards the stage at her command, glowering at all the other ponies so that they cleared a path leading through the room. The large bodyguard ponies before the stage looked at them confusedly, unsure if that was part of the show. Ignoring them, the Hyenas climbed upon the stage, cackling with a laugh that made everyone shudder.

"Th - That's impossible." Ake gasped, as he and Rumor backed away from the edge of the stage. He turned to run, but the figure from the door appeared before him in a flash of red and green magic. Rumor gasped and turned another way but found that the Hyenas had clambered onto the stage itself.

"Impossible, Batty Boy?" The other pony laughed, her features becoming illuminated as she walked forward into the stage light in the centre. "You know that nothing is impossible to me, Trixie Quinn!" There were cries of shock and dismay from the audience around the room, DJ, Rockin and Hip Hop took cover behind the shelter of his booth, while the Orchestra did its best to hide behind all their instruments from the hyenas as they prowled in circles around the pair.

Trixie laughed again, a sound that sent shivers through everyone's spines, her green mane and ponytails tipped with red, her green eyes lined with red shadow behind her black and white harlequin mask, her lips bright red against her milky pale coat, her horn having a luminescent quality like it was pearl. And of course on her flank, the cutey mark of the Harlequin mask with the playing cards.

The hyenas moved, circling both Rumor and Akeashar, every time the two ponies tried to make a break for a gap between them, one would hop into the place, cackling again. All the while Trixie walked towards them until they stopped moving in the ever tightening circle. Trixie stared at them with her wide eyes, her horn starting to glow brighter and brighter as she summoned up another spell. "Time to wrap things up, Bats!" she cried before the light engulfed them all.

"It's stuck!" Gossip cried, tugging at the door with her hooves, grunting as she put all her effort into it.

"Let me try. I'll help!" Trucks said, holding onto his sister and pulling with all his might, however even when he pictured he was in his truck and going 'Beep Beep Beep' to pull back away and open the door it wouldn't open. Gossip's gripped slipped and the two foals fell backwards into a pile on the ground.

"Thish looksh like a job for Secwet Agent Pony." Tumbleweed said above them, adjusting the toy dark glasses with the big nose and moustache that was a large part of his costume. He sucked on his pacifier as he flew backwards, backing up almost to the door leading outside the Town Hall before charging at the door into the dance hall. With a crash he bounced off it, spirally down to land on top of Gossip and Trucks. "Owie. My head hurts." He sniffled, rubbing his head.

"You need a hard hat!" Trucks said, tapping his own helpfully, as Tumbleweed flopped down.

"This is so annoying!" Gossip cried from the bottom of the pile. "Why'd they lock us out? We were just getting changed into our costumes for the competition, and then we saw those Hyenas, and that mare that was all funny looking, with that funny mask thing and the cards on her side and ... and..."

"And what? What, Gossip?" Trucks asked, turning to look at his older sis who had a growing expression of shocked disbelief on her face, her mouth hanging open. "You can't be quiet now. You gotta tell us!" The two colts clustered close to her as she looked from one of them to the other.

"I think that was Trixie Quinn!" After a moment of staring at her, the implication that the fiendish villainous nasty nasty meanie Trixie Quinn was in the next room sent them all into a panic, with Gossip and Trucks running around in circles on the ground (Gossip used to being grounded still) while Tumbleweed flew in circles fast enough to send papers and plates flitting about the room.

"WAIT!" Cried Gossip after several minutes of running, stopping so quickly that Trucks bumped into her, his helmet protecting his noggin but still bouncing off and landing on his rear, rubbing it lightly while going 'Owww!'. Tumbleweed did a couple more laps before she cried out, "WAIT!" again and he came to a screeching halt. "Our big sis is in there! And Ake! And Deme, and DJ Plaid Mix, and the Mayor, and Berry and Mrs Mulligan. They're all in there with Trixie Quinn. And we're out here. You know what that means?"

"We can wun away?" Tumbleweed asked, making a funny noise as Gossip grabbed him and dragged him down so she could look into his eyes.

"No. It means its up to us to save them!" She looked around the room, spotting an air vent in a wall high up on the ceiling. "We can get through there." She let go of Tumbleweed, picking up her brother. "You're heavy..."

"Am not."

"Are too." She flapped her wings, struggling at first, until Tumbleweed helped pick him up, and carrying him towards the vent. Gossip's eyes narrowed. "Lets go save our sis!"

"Ohhhh, my head." Rumor groaned as she blinked awake, stars and planets and flashes and all kinds of things exploding and dancing before her eyes. "Owie..." she moaned, her head lolling forward, surprised when she felt herself unable to move much. "Huh?"

"Thank goodness, you're awake." She heard Ake's voice, and by turning her head she could see his head behind hers, twisting this way and that so he could look over his shoulder and smile reassuringly.

"Uh... what happened?" Rumor said. looking down and seeing that she was tied a chair, Ake tied to a matching chair behind it, the ropes winding around both of them and holding them in place.

"You were snorrrr-ing!" Called a voice, as Trixie trotted into view, smiling broadly, little jingles from the bells tied to the ends of her pony tails as she trotted around the captive pair.

"I don't snore. D-do I?" Rumor asked, glancing over her shoulder at Ake again who shook his head.

"No, it wasn't you. I think that was Trixie, in all honesty." The stallion looked over at the villainous mare.

"Moi? Snore? While waiting for the two lovebirds to waken up...?" She giggled, and then looked over at one of her quintets. "Do I snore?" The hyena thought about it, then nodded and cackled loudly. Trixie glared at the hyena and her horn glowed brightly, the light engulfing the Hyena, before dimming to show a chattering Hyena doll. There was a gasp from around the room, where the other ponies from the village kept to the walls where possible. Trixie shrugged offhandedly. "I guess I do snore."

"Is she really Trixie Quinn?" asked Rumor in a soft voice to Ake, who gave a slight shrug.

"I... don't know." At Rumor's startled expression, the stallion whispered quieter into her ears. "I really don't. Trixie was always a character in my books. While I'm Bat-Pony's voice actor... she is nothing like Trixie's. But she's like I always imagined Trixie to be."

"You're Bat-Pony's voice actor?" Rumor asked, surprised, Ake nodding. "Thats neat, and explains the voice earliar. I was really wondering if you were Bat-Pony." Rumor couldn't help but grin at the sound that Ake made.

"No, there really isn't a Bat-Pony, at least as far as I'm aware-"

"Of course, there's a Bat-Pony. And its you, silly!" Trixie grinned and bounced around him. "Don't you remember when you followed me to the amusement park, and we were fighting atop the Ferris wheel? If you hadn't managed to catch me and swing us over to the top of the clock tower, then we'd both be sunk. That's why I'm not gonna do anything tooooooo bad. This is a way of thanking you!" Trixie grinned and bounced away.

"Well thats nice... Ake?" Rumor twisted around to look at Ake who was staring at Trixie, his mouth hanging open. "What is it?"

"No... that... I came up with that story on the flight here. I hadn't written it down anywhere, or told anyone. Maybe... she is? But how?"

"Ladies and Gentle-ponies!" Trixie said, as she walked to the edge of the stage, "Let me introduce myself, and tell you a funny little story. You see, my name is Trixie Quinn..."

Now that they no longer had any of the Hyenas or Trixie watching them, Ake and Rumor worked at starting at wriggling out of their bonds, shifting and pulling and pushing, but the magical knots held them firmly. "Lets see if we can make the chair fall over. It might help us get out of these..." Ake said, as they shifted and wriggled, and squirmed, rocking until the chair fell over on the stage.

Trixie scowled over at them, "Shush. I'm speaking. Anyway... so as I was saying, at the balloon factory, there was this animal, and it was all, squeaky and boingy and..."

The two ponies paused, waiting to see if she would do anything else, but when neither she nor the four hyenas or hyena doll paid them any mind, they began wriggling and trying to get free from their bonds again, scraping the ropes against the edges of the chair

"I'm a patchwork pony, I could always-" Rumor started to say, tugging her forelegs against the bindings.

"No!" Hissed Ake, "We'll find another way. No one gets hurt, we'll get out of this ok. We just-" He stopped, looking up past her towards the lighting rig above them. A shape moved from piece of equipment to piece of equipment, and he nudged Rumor's cheek, nodding his head towards the ceiling. Her eyes widened as she saw in the shadowy dimness the outline of two pointed ears, and a cape, like that of a...

"Bat-Pony?" Rumor asked, a surge of hope rising in her chest at the sight of the hero in the shadows above them. Ake nodded, his eyes bright. The figure moved and they could see the silhouette gesturing to something on the ground below, near them. Ake and Rumor turned, seeing a microphone had fallen near them. It pointed to the microphone, then them, then itself and Trixie. "Bat-Pony wants us to... distract Trixie. But how?"

Suddenly, a spot light lit up, shining brightly from behind Bat-Pony, throwing the stark silhouette of the figure against the wall, like a signal in glorious shadow form. Ake and Rumor wriggled and bumped, moving the chair over the stage towards the microphone, Ake whispering. "I have a plan." as members of the audience started to see the figure projected above the stage, pointing and a murmur breaking out throughout the crowd.

"And then, once the chemicals wore off, and I was relaxing in the jacuzzi, boy you should have seen the looks on their faces, I mean, really you'd think they'd never seen a-" Trixie was still speaking to the audience, frowning crossly as they started paying less and less attention to her. "What are you all looking at?"

"Halt, Evildoer!" A deep baritone voice rumbled from the speakers, and Trixie all but jumped out of her coat at the sound.

"Wha- why?" She stammered, glancing over at where Ake and Rumor lay upon the ground.

"Up here, Trixie Quinn, you fiendish fiend. You think you may have captured me, but... ha! You could not be more mistaken. If you think that Bat-Pony is a harmless, insignificant, hack of a writer-"

('Boy, you're modest,' giggled a voice in the background of the speakers, then 'eep!' as if realizing they could be heard)

"- then you should know better. For I am the bane of the night terrors, I am the heart that beats in the chests of all that are good. I will stand against you, and not allow you to harm any innocents. For I am your nemesis, the one that shall deliver you to justice. I am..."

The figure strode forward as a second light came up, illuminating it better, a figure in lush purple and gold trim, with piercing blue eyes and the pinkest of mane and patches.

"BAT-FILLY?" The baritone voice came out squawked and almost incoherent, as giggles echoed in the speaker and the Filly of Justice struck a pose in the light.

"And Bobbin!" called out another figure, in a red and green costume, a yellow hardhat atop his head from where he operated the controls of the light booth, playing with them as if they were a crane set, the lights swinging around to illuminate Bat-Filly.

"And Secwet Agent Pony." Came a voice from behind Ake and Rumor, as Tumbleweed touched down, starting to untie the ropes that bound them, tugging at them to and fro, releasing them from the chair.

"That's right. Bat-Filly!" A second voice came from the speakers, feminine, brighter and perkier than the more masculine voice from earliar. "I'm here to right wrongs, and triumph over evil. And that means you, Trixie!"

"Pony Tsuki?" Ake whispered to Rumor, who hushed him.

"It works better than your overly dramatic dramatizing." Rumor said, poking her tongue out at him, covering up the microphone so that at least didn't go over the speakers.

"Now, let everyone go and we'll settle this reasonably, and have a nice chat. And a cup of tea. And maybe some scones. And... and..." Trixie had regained her composure, her eyes narrowing as her horn began to glow once more, the shimmering growing brighter than the spotlights that were upon Bat-Filly. "Cripes, jee willy winikers!" Bat-Filly said, before jumping from her perch, her wings spreading out as she flew away before a bolt of magical energy struck the rig she had been standing on, balloons on strings appearing upon it. "Can't catch me!"

"One Bat-Pony, Two Bat-Filly, next I'll have Bat-Puppy, but I'll have you all!" laughed Trixie, charging up her horn for another spell. The villainous mare glanced around the room, noticing that her two captives had escaped as well, and seeing Bobbin at the lighting controls. "Quintets. Get 'em. Bat-Filly is mine!"

"I believe the phrase is 'Them's fighting words'" Ake said, eyeing the two Hyenas that were coming towards him and Rumor. He glanced over at Rumor. "Ready?"

Rumor nodded, tossing the microphone behind her towards the booth, rolling her hooves as she and Ake moved together. "Ready, hon. These two, and then we'll save Bobbin and Bat-Filly."

For the second time that night, the Bat-Pony theme started to play from the speakers, the "Nah-nah-nah-nah-nah... BAT-PONY!" playing loud and proud, occasional mixes, and deck shuffling coming from the DJ Booth.

Ake lashed out at the lead Hyena, with a "BIFF!" followed up by a "SOCK!" and then a mighty "KAPOW!", the Hyena reeling at the flurry of swings. Rumor danced past him, with a "KICK" and a "HOP" and a tight "SPROING~!" as she jumped in the air to "GOOMBA!" on top of its head, the two knocked silly.

"Help! Help! I'm being wepwessed!" Cried out Tumbleweed as he tangoed with the chattering Hyena doll, rolling around with it, with a "ROLL!" and a "WRESTLE" going back and forth on the ground. "Ha! I win!" he crowed as the doll fell into the pile of hyenas with the stars spinning over their heads.

Bobbin looked away from the controls to see the two Hyenas approaching the lighting booth, the colt hopping out from inside it. "I'm not scared. I'm not! You're just a pair of meanies and I'm... I'm Bobbin! The Truck driver! Yeah! My trucks'll win!" The colt pulling his little truck from the saddlebag he still wore. "VROOM!" went the truck as he drove it across the floor, letting go at the last moment so that it went straight toward the hyenas who gulped and started running the other way. However, one wasn't able to get away quite fast enough, the truck slipping under its' foot so it started sliding this way and that before "CRUNCH!"-ing into the wall.

The last Quintet looked around, its laughter dying as it saw Ake and Rumor crossing the room, Trixie trying her hardest to zap Bat-Filly, her blasts missing and putting up streamers, and confetti and balloons around the hall, and the pile of his Quints onstage and against the wall. Looking around, it turned and skedaddled towards the door.

Before it could get there, Sho-Time the monster pup started chasing it, yapping at its heels, and driving the Hyena around and around in circles, while it yipped until Demerara Dulce, the sweet brown sugar pony stuck out her foot and the Hyena fell over it with a "CRASH!" and a "THUD!"

"You're getting way too into the sound effects thing." DJ told Rockin who just shrugged.

"You keep playin' that music, I'll keep doing the 'ZAP!' sound effects. 'ZAP!' 'ZAP!'" she replied, doing the sounds as Trixie kept trying to blast Bat-Filly with her magic to no avail, Bat-Filly flapping her wings to rise, dodge and dive above, around and under the bolts.

"Stand still! No fair!" Trixie cried with growing frustration. Her attention broke for a moment as she went to call on her quintets and saw that they'd all been defeated and were being tied up on stage in the place of Ake and Rumor. "Awwww! THAT'S IT!" Her horn glowed brighter and brighter, the light expanding in a solid circle around her, everypony backing away from her. "ONE LAST WINNER TAKES ALL SHOT!" She cried out.

Written by  Akeashar and  Taijii
Art done by  P0nyshy
Gossip, trucks, tumbleweed aka secwet agent pony, Trixi, hyenas and whisperwind belong to  Whisperwings
MLP belongs to Hasbro

This world its environment etc are all closed currently and are not up for open enrollment. Please do not repost or reuse my character or characters, any of the ideas themes etc featured here without expressed written permission from parties involved. Any use of any of the above information without permission will be reported and considered stolen.

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