My first day at work did not go well.

The first thing the guard told me about was the bribes. The criminal leaders here had the whole guard in their pockets, and they were allowed to do whatever they want and let the guard watch it happen, as long as the fifty bits was given to the right people. It was revolting. I thought about quitting almost three hours into the job, but I knew I couldn't, because my little sister needed me more than ever. I figured I would just get over it and move on; if I didn't take the bribes, I wasn't a bad person, right?

Then the flare.

The guard flare fired off from the old sawmill down at the Whitetail Woods, which sent the guard into a frenzy. Apparently, someone had payed them off to stay away, and they were not worried about a potential guard member being maimed or killed, they were angry at him for going in there. That alone almost had me walking out the door, but it turns out that there wasn't even a member of the guard there, but the guard did find something they couldn't believe.

The guard arrived to bodies sprawled upon the floor; everypony thought they were dead at first, but it turns out that whoever did it merely knocked them out. Along with these ponies was a massive drug stash that had to be worth half a million bits all together; it wasn't destroyed, and it seemed as if it hadn't even been moved for months. The first pony to wake up was this mercenary from the Crystal Empire who went by the name of Lance Glacier, and he told us the most ridiculous story any of us had ever heard.

Apparently, some mare in a bat costume showed up and kicked everypony's ass; she had technology, too, like smoke bombs and apparently some sort of grappling hook. He was the first one knocked out, and when he came to, she was there, and asked about the operations going on in the building before telling him to spread the word of her existence and knocking him out again. Ridiculous, right? I actually had a laugh with some of my partners. Then we interviewed everyone else, and it wasn't a joke anymore, because they all said the exact same thing. We couldn't get any information out of them, because they claimed that we were petty and that they didn't fear us, and that we were Ponyville's running joke.

They were, however, afraid of her.

So we arrested all of them, because we had no choice now, and we went back to the station. We sat in the meeting room and were silent for a few minutes, just because the thought of a vigilante in a bat costume was so insane, until the Chief of the Guard Noble Law (as if), spoke to us. He decided that this "Batmare" had to be brought in for her crimes. "Nopony takes the law into their own hands," he said, and the whole station seemed to agree; a large part of me did, too, because that's the law and I need to do my best to uphold it.

That part wasn't the dominant part, though. The guard in this town lies, cheats, and steals, and they break the law constantly; they're so corrupt, in fact, that the criminals of this town don't even fear them anymore; they know nothing is gonna happen. But here she is, the Batmare, delivering justice as it should be, and giving the criminals the one thing that'll stop them for good; fear. We can't do that. She can. I'm on her side.

We issued a warrant for her arrest. We told the papers. We made sure everypony in Ponyville knew who she was, because we wanted her captured. I wouldn't dare speak up, lest I get fired, but it pained me to help them with this whole deal; I wanted Ponyville clean, something the guard couldn't do. Eventually, everything was complete, and I made my way out the door of the guard station with Batmare being public enemy number one. It bothered me, sure, but I didn't think about it at all on the way home; I had more pressing issues on my mind.

My little sister, Blaze Sentry, was currently taking her final test at Celestia's School for Gifted Ponies in Canterlot. Should she pass that test, she would be relocated to Ponyville in order to pursue her field of study, Technology, and be placed in one of few technological research centers here. After tonight, I pray to Celestia that the test fails; this is no place to live. Unfortunately, Blaze is so smart that she'll definitely pass that test, and she'll be here within the next two weeks; I knew I'd have to do all I could to clean up this Celestia damned city, and I made it my mission. That brought my mind back to the Batmare, and how she was doing more to clean up this city than all of the guard combined. I told myself to stop talking about it; there was nothing I could do, after all.

Before I knew it, I was home. My house was at the nice area of Ponyville, one of the many that made the circle around Town Hall. It wasn't as glamorous as Apple Manor, which could be seen in the distance, but it was a nice little place, with two floors and two bedrooms. It had taken me a little bit to get used to it, but hey, that's a part of moving. I opened the door and walked into the house; it was unusually cold, though I attributed that to the weather. I reached around the wall for the light switch, and when I found it, flicked it on. When the light flooded through the room, I let out a bloodcurdling scream.

In the middle of the room was the very vigilante we had been discussing earlier that night. She was extremely frightening, covered in what looked like light black armor, with a slightly darker bat symbol on her chest. Her entire body was completely covered, including her mouth, and her eyes were somehow an eerie off white. There were curved blades on the sides of her hooves, and a thin belt seemed to wrap around her midsection. She was also fairly large for a mare, standing slightly taller than me and definitely more muscular. A deep but soothing tone came from her voice as she spoke.

"Hello, Commissioner. I assure you, I mean you no harm," she said. Despite her mouth being completely covered, her words came clear as day. I stood there dumbfounded for a moment before regaining my bearings. For some reason, I believed what she had said.

"What do you want?" I asked. I expected her to move or sit down somewhere, but she stayed right where she was; it would have calmed my nerves if she had laid on the couch and kicked her legs back, but she didn't seem like the type of mare to do something like that.

"I want your trust. I have valuable information that I know you couldn't get from any thugs at the scene. I also know that as of a few minutes ago, I'm Ponyville's Public Enemy Number One, so all I ask is that you work with me," she said. How she knew all of this was baffling, but I didn't question it; I didn't know what this mare was capable of. Carefully, I nodded my head, and she spoke.

"Those ponies were employed by one of Ponyville's most powerful mob bosses, who calls himself the Black Mask. While the biggest, that drug cache was only one of hundreds around Ponyville, and they're all being closely guarded by paid mercenaries; he has none of his own, loyal men. I don't know who Black Mask is, or where he is, but I was hoping we could work together to help find that out. I'd like access to guard records, but seeing as I'm currently wanted by them, that'll be very difficult; unless you can help me," she finished. She obviously learned a lot from those thugs, and seemingly had a passion for what she did, but there was one thing bothering me that I had to bring up.

"Why are you so sure that I want to help you? I'm Commissioner of the guard, for Celestia's Sake! I should have called the guard here and had you arrested!" I exclaimed. Even though I couldn't see it, I could somehow detect a smile through her cowl.

"Well, you haven't done that, have you?" she replied. "Also, I know your sister is Blaze Sentry, and that she's coming to Ponyville soon, if she passes that exam of hers. I know you don't want her to live in Tartarus, Flash. I don't want anypony to live in this cesspool, and I want young people like her to feel safe in this town. I can do that, Flash." My mouth was agape as she brushed past me and opened the door back out. As she was about to leave, she turned her head back to me.

"I'll be in touch. Congratulations on the job, by the way," she said. She whipped extended her front hoof towards the sky, and like that, she was gone.

I quickly ran outside to see where she was going, but there was absolutely no trace of her. Well, I thought there wasn't; when I squinted harder, I could barely make a figure out on one of the many houses in the area. The longer I looked and the more details I got, I quickly realized that the figure I was looking at wasn't the Batmare.

It was a mare, that was for sure. She had a full body suit on as well, but it wasn't black; it seemed like it was dark blue. Her eyes were also similar to the Batmare's but instead of being white, they were bright blue. On top of that, she wore a dark colored fedora, and some sort of jacket over her suit; she had a long, billowing cape, and her hooves were all wrapped with some sort of gauze. She seemed a little bit smaller than the Batmare, but at this distance it was hard to tell, and she seemed to be looking towards the west side of town, away from me.

Who in Celestia's name is that? I thought. She seemed like she could be affiliated with the Batmare, but there was no way to tell, and she would be alarmed if I tried to move any closer. Knowing attempting to make contact with the mare would be fruitiless, I closed the door and headed back inside. I knew I couldn't get to sleep, so I sat down on the couch and began to think.

I had only been here for three days, and since then, I had figured out the guard in Ponyville is a corrupt, fragile mess. I met the force that was striking terror into the hearts of all who do no good, the Batmare, and I even indirectly agreed to help her in her crusade. Finally, I saw something on the horizon that I wasn't entirely sure I should have, something I would indefinably make sure to tell the guard; and the Batmare herself. The sheer craziness of the whole ordeal made me chuckle, and I couldn't help but think one thing as I climbed the stairs and hopped into bed.

I wish I was in Canterlot.

Author's Notes:

This old one runs forever, but never moves at all. He has not lungs nor throat, but still a mighty roaring call.