Justice:

A Reclaiming Equestria Story Featuring DCAU Batman and Woman Woman

Chapter 9: Unknown Dangers

The entire city of Oneigh had officially been liberated. Diana listened as she learned about the area itself. It was near something called Splendid Valley, which was home to a race of beings called Diamond Dogs. The Diamond Dogs themselves went into hiding when the Caribou came through. Because there had been tensions between the ponies and the Diamond Dogs there had been no help from the Diamond Dogs. Unfortunately she could understand the reasoning. While there were a great many things she respected and admired her amazonian sisters for their decision to remain separated from man's world was one she felt was the wrong one.

There were hundreds of times that her sisters could have been a huge help, instances where they would have helped turn the tide quicker, and possibly reduced the risks taken, but they distanced themselves from the larger world. In doing so they had left the world without the help it could most certainly use. In the same instance the ponies here could have used the help of the Diamond Dogs. It was something she understood, but not something she agreed with. She watched as Luna, together with Sunset, crafted a spell that Luna had used to free some of the others from the thrall the Caribou had put on them. The result was much the same. Males that had tried to fight against them, who shouted lewd and disgusting things, and who had viciously attempted to grab and abuse them were getting sick. One, a young stallion stood there, the knowledge of what he had done obvious on his face, and Diana acted quickly as he ran toward the edge of the building they were sitting on.

She caught him before he could fling himself off, and he broke down. Shame and self loathing had taken the place of the arrogant assurance in male superiority. He was broken, and she felt it as his entire body shook. She felt it in every attempt he made to pull away and throw himself off of the building. She held him, attempting to calm him, and the entire time she knew that he would never be at peace. Since coming here she had realized that there was more than one victim. The males, the stallions, that had done the terrible things they had done. There were several of them that had done so only because the magic the Caribou had cast changed them. It changed who they were fundamentally.

It had been a violation that was deep inside of their true self. It had been a change to their very souls, and it was done with such malicious intent. She could not hold them completely responsible for what had occurred. It was true that there were stallions that had resisted the thrall cast by the Caribou. She respected them for what they had done, but a good number of them had either been killed or turned into females. She had learned that Diamond Tiara's father had been one who resisted, and then he had been mercilessly killed by the Caribou when he refused to rape his daughter, hand over his wife, and then formly join the Caribou's cause.

Sunset had said the magic was still very present, and it had even affected Clark to an extent. But Bruce, her Bruce, had no signs of being affected. She understood the reason for it. She and Clark might have superhuman strength. Either of them could easily do feats that Bruce couldn't do without the help from various tools and gadgets that he had in his arsenal, but Bruce had a will that far surpassed Clark's. She truly believed there was nothing that the Batman couldn't do.

After a few moments the stallion had calmed down, and she led him back with the others. Sunset shook as she dealt with the effects of removing the magics that had enthralled the stallions. She had felt every vile thought, every dark compulsion, and every single drive to enslave every female within range of her magic. She looked at Luna who seemed to be dealing with the myriad of dark thoughts and feelings far better than she was. She remained calm, looked toward Diana, and she noticed that the Amazonian Princess seemed to be lost in thought.

"What do we do now?" a stallion asked.

She looked at him.

"How do we go forward from here?" he asked, "Because I did terrible things, horrible things."

He looked at the ground, "There are things that I did… I should be banished, or put in a dungeon, or put into a dungeon where I'm banished to," he said as he looked at both her and Luna.

Luna shook her head, "That which has happened has happened. We are unable to go back and remove it, but I suggest that you work this moment forward in attempting to make up for it."

Diana walked forward, looked at the stallion, and knelt down, "From this moment forward you do all you can to make up for your actions. You live and breathe every moment knowing that there isn't anything that will make up for, but you do everything you can in order to make it better. You do that, and at the end you hope that by some miracle you have done enough to earn the forgiveness you so desperately desire."

The stallion looked at her and then at the roof they were sitting on, "I promise I will."

With the freed stallions, and mares, the rebellion had grown. Bruce looked at it, and he could see the first hints of things changing, but he wasn't a fool. With everything that was changing was the simple fact that they were going to be noticed. The Caribou were cowards, arrogant, and foolish. They shared much of this with common criminals, but one thing he did notice that they weren't was individuals that ignored growing signs. The entirety of Ponyville going silent, and now another town joining it didn't scream complacent civilians.

Even to a complete moron this was a sign that there was something happening in the background. The Caribou were superstitious enough to not venture into the Everfree Forest, and that had been the reason why it was the perfect place to set camp. But with this happening eventually they would venture into it. As much as he wanted to take time, build, and prepare an effective fighting force there was no doubt that he most likely wasn't going to have the time table he needed.

Having the inner council, minus J'onn did help matters, and in truth if they were just going after Dainn then they were ready. But they weren't just going after Dainn. They needed to free as many Equestrians as they could, teach them all how to fight, and then remove Dainn. They needed several more members of the expanded league. If the portal that the others came through was still open then there was the possibility that they could get extra help.

It could potentially be an idea, but it would have to be something to explore later. Leaving the roof he stopped by a closed off room. The building itself seemed to be a hospital, and the room was some kind of observation area, or it had the signs of it. He opened the door, after messing with the lock, and inside he saw a strange looking mare. She was tied up, a black color resting on her neck. There was a blindfold over her eyes, but it appeared that she wasn't like the others.

She seemed to have insect-like wings, a place where a single horn had been, and a set of fangs that looked as if they were pressed out in the open for any and all to see. He neared her and those wings attempted to buzz.

"I won't betray the hive!" she cried.

"I'm not asking you to," he said as he knelt down and began to loosen the straps that tied her down.

The moment an arm was free she wrenched it away from him. Her eyes never left him, her hand moving quickly to unbind her other hand. She was loose, but it was obvious that she was unable to do something she was attempting to do. He watched as she covered her chest, backing toward a corner, and a small series of clicks came from her before she studied him.

"Let me go."

He motioned that she could go past him, and she moved, trying to observe what he would do, and the moment she was past she was out of the door. He heard a gasp, and turned to see a mare.

"Oh Celestia… I had no idea," she said.

"She didn't look like a pony," he replied.

Another voice sounded behind the both of them and he turned to see Princess Luna, "Indeed she was not. She was a Changeling, but not one of Thorx's tribe. I suppose it gives some credit to those that believed that Chrysalis' hive was not the only hive of Changelings."

He studied her for a moment, "What are changelings?"

She neared him, "Pony like insectoid creatures that are able to take the form of any being. They can easily blend into the society, and they feed on love. To see one that is not redeemed means that they were obviously checking in on the Caribou. I am uncertain as to why, but I believe it was likely they were checking for weaknesses."

Hidden Cavern outside of Oneigh

She landed near the opening of the cave, and her hand touched the place where the Caribou had cut off her horn. She couldn't change anymore, and it was likely she would be cast outside of the hive, but she had to warn them. She neared the edge of the pool that frightened the Diamond Dogs away. The pool itself hid the entrance to the hive, and she dove into it. As the pool got darker she continued forward. Without her magic to transform she had to hurry. She would run out of air at some point. She headed almost to the bottom of the pool, moved to the right, and headed into an underwater cavern. Her lungs were burning from the lack of air, but finally exited the cavern, swam up, and found the opening to the entrance of the hive.

Two others moved toward her, and she saw that it was Antenna. The other Changeling studied her for a moment and slowed.

"Force Wing, what happened to you?"

Force Wing bowed, "I… The Caribou took my horn, they realized that I was not a male, nor was I a pony."

Antenna touched her, "You cannot enter the hive," she backed away, "You have to leave."

Force Wing nodded, feeling completely alone. Without her horn she couldn't hear the voice of her queen, and now she couldn't even be with her fellow drones.

"Before I go, there are strange beings freeing the ponies. They are the enemies of the Caribou, and perhaps our… perhaps Queen Sodalite can use them to ensure that the Hive is never discovered."

Antenna nodded, "Very well, Do not ever attempt to return."

Force Wing moved away from the other drone, and she walked toward the pool. It would be easy to simply allow the pool to claim her, and she considered it, but the darkness that came would be just as lonely. She considered the strange beings, perhaps she could observe them. Being alone while watching would be better than nothing else.