Growing up a bat pony is tough. Growing up a bat pony in a colony of bandits, is tougher. Growing up in a colony of bandits while your special talent has nothing to do with fighting? Let’s just say it was not easy.
Alto was an unfortunate foal, blessed with a talent for music, he was shunned by others his age for not having a battle cutiemark. The bat pony colony he grew up in were all bandits, stealing and fighting to survive. Alto had no interest in fighting, which was why when the other foals beat him up, the fight was always one sided. He just wasn’t a good fighter, not as good as them at least. That, and they had numbers on their side. His family did nothing to stop it, saying that it was a way of life and that if he wanted it to stop, he’d have to make it stop.
Reaching his teenage years, he was tired and fed up with life in the colony, so he decided to leave.
***
Bardley grew up in the same colony as Alto, neither of them had said one word to each other during that time. Barely anyone talked to Bardley. He was unusually large for his age, and for a bat pony. And while he too had a music related talent, nopony picked on him. Nopony wanted to even go near him, afraid he would beat them to a pulp if they accidentally upset him. Bardley didn’t like the colony either, he had a very protective nature, so going out and attacking ponies and stealing from them was not something he wanted to do. He wanted to keep them from harm, not be the cause of it. So when he saw Alto leaving the colony, he didn’t hesitate to follow.
***
It was after one of the many fights Alto had with the other bat ponies. They were calling him names, berating him, hitting him. And he had had it.
“That’s it!” He jumped away from their kicking hooves. “Go find someone else to abuse! I’m leaving!”
“Ha! You won’t survive out there.”
“He’ll be back within the week.”
“Week, I’d say barely a day.” They all ignored him, choosing to place bets instead. He ran to the entrance of the cave, it was night time when he stepped out.
***
Bardley had been lying down near a wall of the cave, bored as he watched all that went on around him. Ponies that avoided him, others that talked with each other, and finally, Alto being bullied. It was a regular thing in the colony. Years ago, he had tried to help, but Alto ran from him, thinking he was there to bully him as well. Soon, he gave up trying to help, it never did anything. However, as he watched them make fun of Alto, he saw the bat pony declare that he was leaving. That pony wouldn’t survive on his own in the world, given that he could barely keep these bullies off him. Instantly Bardley was on his hooves and running after him.
No one tried to stop him. He was sure one of the adults would’ve told him to stay, but they weren’t here, they were out attacking unwitting travellers. It was common that they would ask him to come with them, but he always declined, saying he’d rather watch over the colony. Only the teenagers and younger bat ponies were still here. Many were confused, wondering why he was leaving, he didn’t give them a second glance. They didn’t ask, afraid he might step on them for questioning him. Alto was just as confused. He’d heard another’s hoof steps following him and his eyes widen in shock seeing the towering form of Bardely galloping after him. Alto jumped into the sky and flew away as fast as he could. Bardley followed.
They flew for some time, Alto unable to lose the huge pony following him. Finally he stopped, out of breath and tired. He flew down to a clearing and waited for Bardley to attack. Not caring anymore for what might happen. Bardley landed and stood there in front of Alto, and did nothing.
Alto was confused and angry, staring at the unmoving giant, he shouted;
“Go away already! Stop following me!” Bardley merely stared down at him. “What do you want?! Have you come to pick on me as well?! To beat me up?! I don’t care!” Alto suddenly kicked a stone at him, which harmlessly flew to the side. Bardley passively watched it bound away.
“What are you waiting for?! Just going to stare me to death!? I can’t fight! I can’t even kick a rock! All I’m good at is music.” Alto was fuming, though he was surprised to see the huge guy start chuckling. Bardley held a hoof over his mouth to stop himself and said;
“Haha, I’m sorry. It’s just,” Bardley turned his body and pointed to his own cutiemark, a shield with a treble clef in the centre. Alto looked at it and then turned his attention to his own cutiemark; a bridged eighth note with the stems pointed down, and a four pointed star next to it.
“Oh, you’re a musical pony too? I don’t think I ever saw anyone pick on you though.” He added bitterly, Bardley merely outstretched his wings so he looked even bigger than before. “Right…” Alto backed up a few steps. With his ears down turned, his head low and too tired to fly off again, he started walking away, Bardley followed along after him.
His persistent follower was annoying Alto, he was trying to get away from the colony, not bring it with him. Turning to Bardley again he yelled,
“Argh, leave me alone! What are you even doing following me?!” Calmly, Bardley pointed at him and said,
“You need me, they don’t.” He waved backwards, in the direction of the colony they left behind.
“I don’t need you!” Suddenly, Bardley pushed Alto with his hoof and sent him tumbling to the ground. Sprawled on the dirt, Alto growled,
“What’d you do that for?!”
“How do you expect to protect yourself when you can’t even stop the bullies from pushing you down? You need me.” Alto stood up and stared at the ground, he was angry at what Bardley had done. He wanted to fly off right now and prove to him that he could look after himself. But he knew that there were dangers out there he couldn’t face on his own. Finally he looked back at Bardley and said,
A black bat pony with short red hair trotted to the entrance of the cave her colony lived. The moon was high and the sky clear. With one last glance at the only home she’d known, she beat her wings and took to the winds.
Lullaby was a simple pony, she didn’t get bothered by much and was more likely to follow others than to suggest they do something else. But tonight, things were different. Her home bored her, and more than that, it just wasn’t home anymore. For years she’d lived there, and only a few of those years had her parents been there. Ponies can be so paranoid sometimes.
She wasn’t sure why tonight of all nights she decided to leave, she just didn’t feel like staying anymore.
The night air felt wonderful. She felt wonderful, and because of that, she start to sing.
There were no words, just music, beautiful music that sounded over the land, lulling all those who heard it into a comforting sleep. Like a lullaby.
Something hit her in the stomach and suddenly her wings were pushed to her sides. The music cut off as her scream echoed in its place. She was batted against trees like a cat’s toy, squeaking as she hit them. The landing was horrible, hard dirt slammed into her face like a punch. The laughing didn’t help.
Dazed and confused, she realised the laughing wasn’t coming from the ground, and instead from some ponies coming towards her.
“We got her!”
“Stupid blood-sucker should know better than to try and attack our village.” Blood-sucker… Vampire… These idiots though she was a vampire. She had to meet paranoid ponies.
“Hurry up, before she gets up. You got the axe ready?” AXE?! That was enough to clear her mind. Her head shot up as did her legs. She saw three ponies; a unicorn and two earths before she sprinted off. Their shouts followed her as she darted between the trees, her wings still tied down from the bola wrapped around them.
The tree line ended suddenly and she found herself in an open clearing. Right in front of her was a huge cliff-wall. She skidded to a stop just before hitting it, her head rising to stare up at its towering height. She only stared for a moment, but it was enough. She looked on in fright as a looped rope came around her neck and was she pulled backwards off her hooves.
***
It had been a few days since Alto and Bardley left their home behind, they had decided to find a new one, one where they wouldn’t have ponies hurting or judging them. They were stopped at a lake for a drink when they heard beautiful music. It drifted through the air and made them smile with how comforting it was. They paused, just to listen to the music. They were shocked out of their dreamy state from a shrill scream.
Both Bardley and Alto were in the air in seconds, speeding to the source.
They found a terrible sight; three ponies were coming towards a bat pony whose wings were tied. She pulled against the lasso around her neck, hissing at the earth pony who held the rope. A unicorn had an axe in his magic, slowing walking towards the bat pony.
Alto grit his teeth at the scene, angry at what they were doing to that bat pony. Bardley however, rushed forward immediately. He grabbed the axe in his mouth, it being the most dangerous thing there, and swung his head downwards, snapping the blade off the handle. The unicorn looked up in shock, and was rewarded with a harsh head-butt. Alto flew down and knocked the earth pony holding the rope over. Lullaby pulled her head free of it and Alto backed up to stand in front of her as the earth pony stood up. He didn’t beat Bardley in height, but he was certainly bigger than Alto. Deciding he wasn’t going to let this pony get the first hit, Alto ran forward and charged the earth pony, sending them both tumbling into the forest. Lullaby stood scared and shocked as the unicorn attempted to blast the huge bat pony with magic. Bardley skirted out of the way and reared up trying to kick the unicorn, a magic shield taking the brunt of the attack. The third and last earth pony, after the shock, took out his own lasso, and threw it at Bardley.
Big mistake.
Bardley scowled at the pony, with eyes burning with rage. Spreading his wings, he flew high in the air, the earth pony tried to pull against him, but he was soon plucked from the ground. When he was high enough, he dived down quickly to the earth. He watched the ground come up towards him. As did the earth pony; his scream full of terror. Bardley slowed his decent before he hit the ground, but the earth pony couldn’t do that. Just as he was nearing the ground, he suddenly stopped in mid-air. His unicorn friend was straining, but he managed to catch him in his magic. The earth pony’s heart was going a mile a minute as he sucked in air faster than his lungs could handle. He fainted as soon as he touched the ground and fell down. Pulling the rope from his neck, Bardley glared at the unicorn.
Alto wasn’t having as much luck as his friend, the earth pony he was up against was definitely a better fighter than he was, and stronger. The proof being when he was picked up over the earth pony’s head, and thrown back into the clearing hitting Bardley. While he didn’t fall over, Bardley was surprised and thrown off balance when Alto suddenly appeared crashing into his side. The unicorn hit Bardley with a magic blast he wasn’t able to dodge and his chest was singed. Biting back the gasp, he looked down to his dazed friend and told him to help the bat pony, she needed to get the ropes off her wings. Alto held his head trying to focus but quickly ran to the bat pony. Bardley faced off with the unicorn and remaining earth pony. He ran at them, head-butting the earth pony and bucking the unicorn. The unicorn jumped out of the way, and took the chance to thrown a bola at him. He aimed at his wings to tie them down, but Bardley saw and quickly turned towards them so it wrapped around his neck. The ropes were tight, and the metal balls on the ends thumped on his wind-pipe, but he could deal with that. Alto had pulled the bola off of Lullaby, but her wings were hurt from the crash landing down the trees and couldn’t fly, at least not without difficultly. Running forward, Bardley pushed the unicorn down and quickly sprinted to Alto and the bat pony.
“Get on!” Without hesitation, she climbed onto his back and they flew into the sky.
The unicorn glared up at the bat ponies, he wouldn’t let those pony-killing blood-suckers get away. Taking the rope in his magic, he threw it into the sky. It caught Alto’s leg, tugging down towards them. Alto flapped against it as he shouted for Bardley’s help. Bardley took one look at what had happened, and dived down at the unicorn. Slamming him with the full weight of his body, the unicorn was thrown to the ground. Lullaby was thrown forward on his neck from the force and saw Bardley’s hooves next to the pony’s head as he stood over him. Small craters were in the ground from the force. Bardley glared down at the pony, huffing hot air on his face. The unicorn’s eyes bulged as his entire being shook with terror. And as quickly as Bardley had landed, he was in the air, following the now free Alto, away from the other ponies.
When they were out of harm’s way, and far from anywhere those ponies could get, Bardley was looking over the bat pony’s wings, seeing how harmed they were. They didn’t look too seriously hurt, nothing broken at least. Just scratches and gashes from hitting the trees, though they would probably hurt for a while from being slammed against the trees.
The bat pony was reddening from how close and how intimidating he was. His hoof was almost half as big as her wing. Alto came forward and asked her;
“Are you alright?”
“Mmhm.” She nodded.
“My name is Alto, this is my friend Bardley.” There was a pause before she replied;
“Lullaby.” Her attention turned back to the towering Bardley.
“So is your home nearby? We could take you there.”
“Nope.”
“Um.. So it’s far is it?”
“No.” She still hadn’t taken her eyes from Bardley. Alto wasn’t sure what to say, she’s wasn’t helping much with her answers. Bardley instead asked;
“Would you like to join us?” She smiled sweetly and gazed up at him.
Far, far away to the south, on the shores of the ocean, were a rare family of bat ponies. Usually, like any flying creature, bat ponies hated water. Oceans, lakes, rain. They preferred to avoid it. But this colony of bat ponies, had grown near the water, living inside a sea cave. For years they lived there, longer than the township of ponies that had grown nearby. But while the bat pony’s presence was known, their home was not. So attempts to drive the bat ponies away had all failed. The bat ponies had learnt to stay away from the towns ponies. To keep to themselves and stay out of sight. It had been this way for many years, until one bat pony jeopardized paradise.
Calypso was a carefree soul, she enjoyed life and lived it to the fullest. Every moment she got she was out flying over the ocean, through the waves and over air. The spray biting into her skin the faster she flew. But for all her love of life, she held a selfishness about it. Her family and colony had warned everyone about leaving the cave during the day, to stay away from the towns ponies or anywhere they could be seen. It was their highest priority to protect the colony. But Calypso, she didn’t care, she just wanted to fly and be free. To kick the water as she flew over. To have fun. Their colony had survived this long, so what was flying during the day going to change?
Another pastime Calypso enjoyed, was messing with sailors. Their ships would sail far out to sea to fish, and she would sneak up next to the boats. Her blue mane/tail and wings blending with the ocean. Her dark coat working to blend with the ocean just as well. Once she was next to their ships, she would sing.
She had a talented voice, not only could she sing; as though she were a ghost from the sea, like a siren for the sailors, but she could throw her voice, making it sound like it was coming from all around the ship. A disembodied ghost, singing for the sailors. This game was just some fun for her, to waste the day and mess with the ponies. One of her favourite times to do it was when the fog was thick, and she’d fly quickly around the ship, only a dark blur to the ponies as her voice chilled them to the bone. The different pitches and things she did with her voice, didn’t seem possible, but it helped when your cutiemark was a sound wave.
***
After an eventful day of messing with the sailors, Calypso started heading back to the sea cave. Pushed up against the ocean, was a huge cliff face, it had many gigantic rock islands standing like pillars in front and around it. Calypso always found a thrill flying through them at speed. There was a few different methods to enter the sea cave, her favourite was the underwater one. Going to the bottom of the cliff-face, there was a hidden cave that could only be found by diving under the water’s surface, and swimming under the wall of the cliff. She came up in a gap for air and climbed to the shore. Within the hidden cave, she took flight once more and made her way to the top of the cave. A tunnel that lead to the colony’s centre was there and she touched down in it. Shaking herself free of water, she was then greeted by a very familiar face.
“Calypso! What do you think you’re doing?!” A young bat pony colt, a few years younger than herself, jumped out of the shadows to stand in front of her. His coat was a dark brown with a green tail and mane on top of his head, his bright green eyes glowed in the darkness.
“I’m heading inside, obviously.” She passed by him and started walking down the pitch black tunnel, their night vision coming in handy.
“You weren’t flying near the sailors again were you?” He asked catching up to her. Calypso looked at him and replied with a smirk,
“No…”
“You can’t keep doing this! They might kick you out of the colony! You’re putting everyone in danger!”
“Pfft, oh come on Limestone, we’re fine. There’s nothing this colony can’t handle, they’ve got me after all.” She puffed out her chest, the smile never leaving her lips. Limestone glared at her,
“That attitude of yours is going to get us found out by the ponies. I like living here Calypso, it’s our home. Why can’t you stay away from the ponies. They’re getting anxious with you scaring them more and more. Dad said he saw ponies along the cliff side trying to find our home again. If they find us, we’ll have to leave.”
“They won’t find us.” Calypso said rolling her eyes, “Your dad’s just paranoid. Besides how are they going to get here? Only the pegasi can fly, they can’t see in the dark, and there’s no way they could force us out. There’s far too many of us for them to fight.” And to prove her point, they had just reached the end of the tunnel where they looked out over a huge underground cave. Glow stones gave off some light, and huge stalagmites and stalactites pointed from the ground and roof. What was even more impressive, was the amount of bat ponies that could be seen. There were quite a few flying around the cave, heading from place to place, but a lot could be seen sleeping. Platforms that jutted out of the walls had hay and other bedding on them were they slept peacefully. Others were in caves dug into the walls. It was one huge community.
“So you see Limestone, there’s nothing to be worried about.”
Behind them, they heard something like a stone that was kicked, echo through the tunnel.
“What was that?” Limestone asked. Calypso however stayed silent, her ears searched for any sound back through the tunnel. Upon hearing another suspicious sound, she took off and flew to find the source. Reaching the end of the tunnel, she peaked over and saw a pegasus with a unicorn who was illuminating the cave.
“Any idea where that bat pony went?” The pegasus shook his wings and tried to look around the cave in what little light the unicorn could provide.
“It must be here somewhere, maybe there’s a secret passage?”
“Whatever, I just wish I didn’t have to get my wings wet. They’re going to puff up and go all fluffy when they’re dry now.” Calypso heard a small gasp behind her and saw Limestone had finally caught up. Instantly he started flying back down the tunnel, no doubt off in search of his father. The unicorn was much happier than the pegasus, she was giddily looking around the cave and said,
“Everyone’s going to be so excited when they find out! We’ll finally be able to get rid of those pests.”
“We have to find them first.” Calypso couldn’t believe this, ponies has found their way to their home, this had never happened before. She couldn’t let them get away. In a flash, she jumped down and flew towards the unicorn aiming to ram her down. The pegasus must’ve heard her or something, because she found herself slammed into the cave wall suddenly. Her head hit rock and something was on top of her. She couldn’t concentrate, couldn’t figure out what was happening. Everything was fading with the darkness.
“Oh my! A real bat pony! I’ve never been this close to one.” She heard the unicorn gasp. What she could only assure was the unicorn’s hoof, touched her face brushing her still wet mane off it.
“Yeah, a couple more seconds and it would’ve killed ya. What do you want to do with it? I think it’s still awake.”
“We could take it back with us! Wouldn’t this be great? We could learn so much about them and how to fight them!” Calypso did not like that plan, but she couldn’t move, the pegasus was holding her down and her head hurt so much. Just staying awake was an effort. She tried to flap her wings, only one was free and it couldn’t do much on its own.
“Fine.” Something hit the back of her head and everything went dark.
***
Calypso awoke sometime later, she didn’t know when. She was lying on a hard surface, it felt like rock, but was too even. Opening her eyes, she recognised nothing. Her head shot up in shock, but a dull pain at the back of it made her stop and wait for it to pass. Looking around, she saw she was enclosed in a perfect square room with perfect corners and perfect walls except one wall was made from many bars that reached from the ground to the roof. All of it was stones, many stones all piled on top of each other, but the bars were made from something different. Fear coursed through her when she realised she was in one of the buildings within the pony town.
She tried to flap her wings but they were tied down with rope, and when she tried to bite the rope off, she found her mouth was tied shut, she wanted to scream.
Using her hooves, she tugged on the rope around her mouth and head until it finally came off. Instantly she called out for her colony, she used a high pitched scream that was above normal pony’s hearing, but one her colony would hopefully hear if they were close enough. She waited, hoping for any reply, but heard none.
A door on the other side of the room beyond the bars keeping her here opened, and in came the unicorn, the pegasus, an earth pony wearing a large hat and gold star on his shirt, and another earth pony with a red tie around his neck.
“We put it in here Mister Mayor.” The unicorn said smiling.
“Very good.” The pony with the tie answered. They all walked towards Calypso who stood there trying to be confident, but her body trembled. “Looks like it got the bridle off.”
“Don’t worry none Mayor, even if it does get the rope off its wings, there’s nowhere for it to go. These cells have stood through rowdy sailors, they can handle one little bat pony.” The officer said.
“Still, it’s dangerous to keep it here. Those bat ponies already destroyed the entrance you two found. Probably won’t be long before they try to get this one back.”
“We’ll be ready. Those vermin won’t know what hit them.”
“We are not vermin!” Calypso couldn’t take this, they were going to harm the colony. All of the ponies present turned back and stared at her in shock. The officer looked back at the Mayor and said,
“Did it just talk?” The unicorn was staring at Calypso in awe,
“I didn’t know they could do that.” Her eyes wide with intrigue.
“I’m not an idiot, I can talk.” Calypso glared back at the far too happy unicorn.
“Can other bat ponies talk?” The unicorn asked.
“Of course! We’re ponies, not wild animals. Just like you.”
“Pfft, yeah right. We don’t eat ponies and drink their blood like you do.” The pegasus said angered.
“You idiot, we are not vampires! We don’t drink your blood. In all the years that this town has been here, how many ponies have died because they lost all their blood?!”
“Why do you have fangs then? What other reason than to suck out our blood, would you need them for.”
“These?!” Calypso points to the fangs in her mouth, “All these are good for is scaring away predators. We have a lot more problems to deal with at night than you do. If a manticore saw two ponies, and one had fangs and the other didn’t, who do you think it’d go for?”
“She has a point.” The red tied pony said.
“Mayor?!” The pegasus stared at the Mayor confused, he couldn’t believe he had started to believe this monster.
“Well she’s clearly not a mindless animal like we thought the bat ponies were. Perhaps there is some truth in what she says. Perhaps we can figure something out with the bat ponies so we can live in peace.”
“Will you let me go then? I want to go home.”
“Let you go?!” The pegasus exclaimed, “No way, you attacked my sister for no reason, you’re staying in there.”
“I didn’t attack her for no reason, I was trying to get you two to leave! What do you do when someone invades your home?! Besides, I didn’t even get the chance! You attacked then foalnapped me!”
“That is true…” The unicorn said.
“Sis?! How can you side with her?!”
“Oh come on Cardinal, this is a great opportunity! If we become friends with the bat ponies then think off all the things we could learn!”
“I don’t like this.”
“Have an open mind for once.” Cardinal sat away from them but kept a steely gaze on Calypso. She however had her attention on the Mayor who had asked the Officer to open the cell.
“You’re letting me go?!”
“Sort of. I wouldn’t mind talking to the bat ponies, but I need your help to do that.” Calypso wondered something,
“This isn’t just a trick so I’d show you where the colony is? Because if it is, you’ll be sorely disappointed. I can get in touch with them without going near the colony.”
“I promise you, this isn’t a trick. Our two towns need to sort out this business and put it behind us.”
“…Okay.” Calypso walked out of the cell with them, they didn’t remove the ropes on her wings, so she was forced to walk most of the way. Before they got too close to her home, but close enough that she knew the sentries would be able to find them, she called out with a sonic scream. This was a scream in their hearing ranch so they had to quickly cover their ears. They waited a little while until bat ponies appeared behind them. Calypso knew they were there, she just didn’t want to give away where they had come from. They group turned around and were greeted by ten bat ponies all stoically looking at them. Calypso noticed Limestone in the group as well, he looked relieved that she was alright.
“Commander Lamp Light.” Calypso said bowing her head.
“What is the meaning of this Calypso? You have lead these ponies near our home.”
“They wanted to talk to you. After they captured me, I explained that we aren’t a threat to them. Their Mayor wants to discuss peace.”
“And yet they have you tied up.”
“Well they didn’t want me flying off on them. But it’s okay.” The Mayor took a step forward and said,
“Please Commander, we don’t want to fight. Our knowledge of your kind was limited and so we were scared you. But after talking with Calypso, I believe we can all live peacefully.” The Commander stared at the Mayor for a while, thinking things over, before finally nodding.
“If it will keep your kind from hunting ours, I think peace would be very beneficial.”
“Wonderful!” The earth pony Officer released Calypso and she started happily trotting towards the bat ponies. But was halted by the Commander’s hoof. He glowered down at her,
“I need to speak with Calypso for a moment. If you wouldn’t mind waiting Mayor.”
“Not at all.” The Commander pushed Calypso over to the side with his wing and stood in front of her.
“Umm, so what did you want to talk about Commander?”
“Calypso, myself and the other council members have been discussing your behaviour lately. It is appalling.”
“What?” Out of all the things for Commander Lamp Light to talk to her about, she had not expected this.
“You are reckless, arrogant, and have no care for our rules. You have put the colony in danger multiple times and it has been decided that you are hereby banished from the colony.”
“What?” Her voice small, her eyes wide, and her heart pumping. She couldn’t believe what he’d just said.
“From this day onward, you are not to have contact with anyone from the colony or to go near the colony. You are exiled and forbidden to return.” Taking the saddle bag he had on his back, he dropped it on the ground in front of her. “Any belongings you owned have been put in here with some provisions. Your exile begins immediately. Leave.” He said grinding his teeth in anger.
“But-But you can’t do this!!” The Commander flared his wings and yelled,
“We can and we have! You’ve put our home in danger too many times! This is just the latest!” He pointed back the group of ponies watching them awkwardly.
“But they aren’t a danger! I’m the reason our homes will be in peace now!”
“They could have been a danger, all a trick to find the colony and kill us! But you weren’t thinking about that were you?!”
“But-“
“Enough! The Council has spoken and the choice made. Take your things and don’t return.” Tears built up in her eyes, she couldn’t stop them. The Commander turned and walked back to the group of ponies. Calypso looked to all the bat ponies, none of them looked to her. Her eyes met Limestone’s though, but he looked away, pain in his eyes. Tears fell down her face, grabbing the saddle bag, she sprinted away. Away from her home and away from the bat ponies. She wasn’t sure how far she’d gone, but looking back showed her the town in the distance, the cliff face where her home used to be, and the ocean reaching until far into the horizon. She loved the ocean, but right now, it only brought pain. It was the reason she had always left the seacave when she shouldn’t have, just to fly over it and dive in it. All the memories burned her mind, anger built up inside and she screamed. A rage and sadness filled scream that echoed down to everypony down near the sea.
Sailors thought the ocean was crying.
***
Weeks had passed since the day she was banished. At first she had flown further down the coast, making camp near the shore. But she found it impossible to sleep with the rolling waves crashing on the beach. She tried taking a flight over them to clear her mind like she used to, but her stomach was filled with guilt as soon as she was over the water. Her eyes would become hot and threaten to fill with tears. Annoyed at the feelings and memories the ocean gave her now, she flew back to shore and didn’t stop going until she could no longer see or hear that infernal ocean. Further inshore now than she had ever been, she was wandering aimlessly over the land. Paying no attention to her surroundings, or where she was going. The only thing she made sure of, was that the direction was away from her home.
***
Alone, cold, hungry and tired; she fell unconscious by the bank of a river. By chance or luck; three lone bat ponies found her. They checked to see if she was okay, and waited for her to wake up. Hours passed before her eyelids fluttered open. A large yawn escaped her.
“Guys, she’s awake!” A noise passed through her ears. Lifting her head, she looked around and suddenly became still upon spotting the source. Three bat ponies; all by themselves, were walking up to her. What did they want? Could she trust them?
“Hello,” the biggest one said. “Do you feel okay? We tried to wake you earlier but you wouldn’t get up.”
“… Um, yeah. I’m fine.” She started scooting away from him but stopped when she realised something was on top of her. Looking back, she saw a blanket was over her. Had they put it there? Her stomach growled fiercely, as it had been doing so for the past couple of days. What she had been able to gather for the past days just wasn’t enough to feed her. Embarrassed, she covered her stomach and said;
“I should be going.”
“Hey wait,” One of the others called; the shorter stallion. “Are you hungry? We have some food to share.” Calypso stood there uncertainly, mid-way between flying off and sitting back down. “Come on, have some.” He said, pulling out a big juicy apple from his bag. He threw it towards her and she awkwardly caught it with her arms. Greedily she bit into it without a word, tasting it’s sweet apple-y goodness.
“Are you headed anywhere?” He asked. Calypso paused her meal, before slowly shaking her head.
“No, just trying to get away.”
“Oh, did you leave home too?” Looking up at him to meet his eyes, she saw him gesture to the other ponies of their group. “We’ve all left our homes. We’re on a search for a new and better one. You can join us if you want?”
“But I’m a complete stranger to you all.” Cheerfully, the larger stallion stepped up and said,
“Well then, we’d better change that. Tell us about yourself Miss?...”
“Piper!” A shrill voice shouted through the house.
“I’m coming!” A small pale white bat pony called back. He hurried to put tea cups on trays while he flipped pancakes and poured milk into glasses. He was trying to cut bread slices and spread them with butter, chop bananas and peel apples. All while an annoying bell jingled on the wall behind him. Another bell joined the first as a screeching voice shouted out his name.
“Piper!!”
“I’m coming! I’m coming!” He shouted back. Everything was done on the trays so he placed them on a metal cart and pushed them out of the kitchen. The cart was far taller than himself, so it was hard to steer, but not as hard as the ramp to upstairs was. He pushed against the huge cart trying to take it upstairs to the screaming ponies all demanding their breakfast.
“PIPER!”
“In a minute!” He shouted back, straining to push the cart. Finally he had made it to the second floor and quickly sped the cart to the bedrooms. Reaching the first, he opened the door and said,
“Good morning Drizzle. Sleep well?”
“As if you care.” Sighing, he went back to the cart and carefully pulled the tray out. It was far too big for him to hold with just his hooves, so he rested it on his head and pulled it further down his back until it rested entirely on his head and back, his wings outstretched to keep it balanced. Completely covered by this tray full of breakfast foods, he carefully made his way into Dizzle’s room and waited at the side of her bed until her magic lifted it into her lap. On his way out, a pile of clothes was dumped on him as she said,
“Take that ironing and have it back in an hour. One hour!” He pulled himself out of it and took the straw basket by the door to put the clothes in. He dragged the handle by his teeth out of her room. “Did you hear me?!” Her shrill voice cutting through his ears.
“Yes Drizzle.” He replied. Leaving the clothes outside the door, he proceeded onto the next room where the screeching shouting was still going on. Opening it, he repeated his usual greeting;
“Good morning, Analyst.”
“Well, it’s about time!” He walked into the room with the tray on his back once more and placed it on her bedside table. A hoof pointed past him and said,
“Don’t forget the washing. And don’t be all day getting it done either!”
“Yes, Analyst.” He dragged another large basket of clothing out of the room and proceeded onto the last room. Breathing in deep, and gulping back the fear in his stomach, he slowly opened the door.
“Um-m-mm.” He whimpered.
“Well?” A cold voice spoke out of the darkness, “Come in, foal.” With the last tray on his back, he carefully made his way into the room. This tray was lifted from his back by a dark blue aura, but he kept his eyes to the floor.
“Good morning… Lady Tremane…” His meagre voice spoke out. Although he did not look at her face, he knew she hadn’t given him even a glance in his direction.
“Pick up the laundry and get on with your duties.”
“Yes Lady Tremane.” He proceeded to drag the last of the baskets of clothes out of the room, but a screeching voice screamed through the house.
“Mother! Oh, Mother, Mother!” Analyst came barging into the room, hoping from one leg to the next, all while shaking her hair. She knocked into Piper and glared down at him. “You did it! You did it on purpose! Ooo Mother!” Her mother shouted over her and glowered down at Piper.
“Now what did you do?!”
“He put it there! A big ugly spider! Under my teacup!”
“Piper!” Lady Tremane shouted out.
“Yes Lady Tremane?” He whispered, frightened.
“Analyst, leave. Piper, close the door.” Analyst pranced out of the room, her head and tail held high as she stuck her tongue out at little Piper. Piper slowing crawled after her and closed the door. He stood staring at it until-
“Come here.” That cold voice said. Turning around he saw that Lady Tremane had climbed out of bed and was waiting for him to walk forward. This wasn’t going to be good. He scurried up to her, knowing how she didn’t like to be kept waiting. Scared, he blurted;
“Oh please, you don’t think-”
“Hold your tongue!” She shouted at his sensitive ears. Straightening and standing tall before him, she said,
“Now… It seems some of us have time on our hooves.”
“But I swear-”
“Silence!” Another pause before she spoke. “Time for vicious practical jokes. Perhaps we can put it to better use.” A hoof delicately touched her chin, “Now… Let me see. There’s the large carpet in the main hall. Clean it! And the windows of the upstairs and down. Wash them! Oh yes… And the tapestries, and the draperies.”
“But I just fin-”
“Do them again! And don’t forget… The garden, then scrub the terrace, sweep the halls, and the stairs, clean the chimneys, and of course, there’s the mending and the sewing, and the laundry.” With every new item added to Piper’s list of chores to do today, his face fell further and further to the ground. “Oh yes, and one more thing.” she added, “See that the cake for the dinner party is done and decorated.” Sighing deeply and moaning through his teeth, Piper replied;
“Yes Lady Tremane.” A sharp pain hit him over the face and he fell backwards across the ground.
“Don’t give me that attitude, foal! I’ve raised you since the day you were born! I didn’t have to; I could have left you to die! So that attitude is not what I deserve from you! Get your chores done and make sure they are done properly!”
“Yes Lady Tremane.” He said quickly; holding back the tears that already fell down his face. He took hold of the laundry and dragged it from the room.
One by one, he brought the cart back to the kitchen and took each of the laundry baskets to the wash room. There he set to washing and ironing all the clothes, hanging some out to dry while the ironed clothes went back upstairs in the closets. He continued down the list of chores he had to do, all while listening to Drizzle and Analyst’s music lessons. Their voices were more out of tune and broken than if someone had dropped a piano off a building and played ‘Oh Fortuna’ on it. But he went on with his work. Lunch came and passed, and it was nearing evening. He decided he’d best get to the cake before it was too late for the dinner party. Piper was forced to do everything around here. He cleaned for them, he gardened for them, he looked after the animals for them. But out of all the jobs he was forced to do, it was cooking that was his favourite. While they didn’t care for his work, and their only thought was ‘When is my food done!’ He tried his best every time to give them a culinary master piece. Cooking was also the only time he had to himself. Drizzle and Analyst never stepped hoof in the kitchen, and it was a far way from any of the lounging rooms. So he was free to do as he wished as he cooked. A personal favourite past-time of his, was singing the songs Drizzle and Analyst had been trying to sing earlier that day, as he tried to figure out the proper tune of them out of their ghastly renditions.
One would ask why he; a young bat pony colt, was the soul caretaker of his huge house. Others would wonder why he even bothering to stay there and endure their abuse, or what a bat pony was doing living with unicorns to begin with. While it was true he was very busy, taking on tasks much too difficult for someone his age. And it is true again that the abuse has caused him to run away on more than one occasion. But the reason he stays... Is because he has nowhere else to go.
There are many dangers out in the world for a pony like him. His parents learnt this lesson.
Piper signed, his mind trying to think of his parents. No matter how much he tried, he could never picture them. Of course he couldn’t. He’d just been born when they died. Hadn’t even opened his eyes yet. His guardian, Lady Tremane had told him the story; two bat ponies being chased by hunters. The stallion stayed back to defend his pregnant wife while she continued. She ended up running into the garden of Lady Tremane’s home. Exhausted and wounded, she gave birth to him before dying. Lady Tremane’s now passed husband, and father to Drizzle and Analyst, had come out to find out what was going on. He found the pregnant bat pony and helped her give birth. He learnt the name of the foal from the mother before she collapsed, never to rise again.
Now years later, Lady Tremane’s husband was dead, and here he was; stuck. Having to endure every harsh word, every hoof lashed out in anger, and every chore that the Lady Tremane and her two bratty daughters could dish out. While it wasn’t a perfect life, it was the only one he knew.
***
Finished. Everything they had asked him to do today was finally done! And it was only 2am... That gave him 3 and a half hours until he had to be up to feed the animals and cook breakfast. Yay... At least he didn’t have as many things to do tomorrow...
Oh, who was he kidding? They’d make him repeat it all for a laugh.
Up in the loft of the house; was Piper’s room. He had a window to look out at the sky, and a large tattered couch cushion to sleep on. That was about it. Sitting on his “bed”, he laid his head on the open window sill, staring out at the stars. He longed for a home. A real home. Somewhere he could be happy, where he was loved and appreciated. He wanted that more than anything. He knew he should get to sleep, but.. in a moment. Gazing at a star in the sky, he sang out across the land;
“Star light, star bright, First star I see tonight.
I wish I may, I wish I might, Have the wish I wish tonight...”
He gulped in a deep breath, his eyes locked with the star.
“I wish for a home!... A home where I belong.”
Just then, a shadow passed over the star. It was for a barely a second, but he saw the star flicker from sight. Then another and another! Something was flying high in the sky, and at night! He strained his hearing and heard the flaps of wings. It had to be Bat Ponies! Or dragons.... Pushing that thought from his mind, he glared into the sky looking for their forms again. He flew out of the window and was high in the sky searching for them. He shouted out;
“HELLO?!” But the shadows didn’t look to be returning. He shouted out again; “HELLO!!!” He didn’t know why, but he had to get their attention. Frantically he screamed for them again, “COME BACK!!!” Only his voice was louder than he’d ever heard it before, it echoed through the air. He even heard it bounce back to him. How could it do that?! But he had lost sight of the shadows. It was probably for the best. Who knows what they were.
Flying slowly back to his room. He curled up on his “bed” and tried to sleep. The handkerchief around his neck was the only layer he had to cover him. Lady Tremane wouldn’t even give him a blanket for the cold. Shivering and exhausted, he closed his eyes and went to sleep.
What must have been only a minute later, he felt someone nudging him. His first thought was that he was too tired to get up. His second thought was of Lady Tremane’s hoof kicking him across the flank. In a second he bolted up from his bed and ran to the corner to avoid the swinging hoof of Lady Tremane.
“Whoa! What’s gotten you so spooked?” It was a mare’s voice, but not the cold voice of Lady Tremane. He turned and saw a Bat pony with light blue spiky hair at his window. Another Bat Pony; a stallion with a grey coat and light purple hair had pushed her out of the way and said,
“Maybe it’s because a stranger is hanging through a window and just woke him up?!”
“Lay off Alto, he’s the one who called us, remember?” This spiky haired mare climbed through the window and strode casually up to Piper. “So what’d you need kid?” Piper was too shocked to speak, the mare however was looking around his “room”. “Do you really live here? Seriously?”
“W-who are you?...” He whispered, cowering in the corner.
“Kid, you can get up, I’m not going to bite ya. I’m Calypso. What’s your name?”
“Piper.”
“Why do you even live here?”
“...” Piper looked away from her, his ears down low as his hooves rubbed over each other. “I-I don’t have anywhere else to go.”
“You must have pretty crap parents to keep you in the attic.”
“Calypso!” Another pony, a huge stallion had his head peering in the window. His body far too big to fit through it. Piper gasped at the size of him. “You can’t speak like that around a foal!”
“What?! What I’d say?” She exclaimed. A black pony with red hair gritted her teeth next to Calypso and wacked her over the back of the head. Piper hadn’t even seen her come through the window, he hadn’t even seen her in the room!
“Who are you?!” He exclaimed at all of them. His small body shook as he glanced at the staircase. Lullaby started walking towards Piper, Calypso meanwhile went to tackled her, but Alto gripped her arms and held her back. Piper pushed himself further into the corner and shrunk smaller the closer this new pony came. Soon her shadow was over him and he trembled with his eyes bulging out, staring at her.
“Hello.” There was a long pause of unblinking stillness before Piper answered.
“Hello.” His voice a tiny whimper.
“My name is Lullaby.” She looked down at him, concern etched on her face. “Are you okay?” She brought her hoof closer to him to pet his head, but he flinched suddenly away from her. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing...” Tilting her head at him, she slowly laid down on the ground and had her head down flat so she was at his level. Smiling she asked,
“What are you doing here Piper? This is a Day Pony’s town. Shouldn’t you be with a colony?”
“What’s a colony?” She chuckled a quiet laugh and said,
“A colony is what a town of Bat Ponies is called. So why do you live here?”
“Because... because they took me in when my parents died... I’ve been here since the day I was born.”
“I’m sorry to hear that about your parents Piper. My parents are gone too.” Her hoof rested on his own, but he flinched and pulled it away from her. Worry came over her. “Do you like it here?”
“It’s... It’s... I don’t know... Okay?... I guess....”
“Just okay?” Calypso butted in, “For a family that makes you sleep in the attic on a worn pillow, I’d thought you’d have more to say than just ‘okay’.”
“Calypso!” Lullaby hissed back. Her eyes locked with Piper’s again and she didn’t budge her gaze. “Piper, I know we’ve just met, but I’m worried. Worried about you. What is wrong? You can tell me. Us. We’re all family here.”
“Family?” She saw a spark in his eyes.
“Of course. All of us are family. While we aren’t all related to one another, we do care for one another. Your family are the ones who care about you, not who you’re born into.” She smiled at him, a calming, caring, and friendly smile. He looked past her to the window where he could just see the stars.
“Could it be?” He wondered, “My wish?” His tail shook happily; slowly at first, but it quickened. His head lifted from the ground and he started to stand up.
“Could... Could I be a part of your family?” He asked, hope filled him, he thought his heart might burst.
“We would love that.” Lullaby had just barely lifted her head from the ground when an adorable white puff of fur latched onto her neck and hugged her with all his might. Burying his face under her chin, his eyes filled with tears for the first time ever in joy. Lullaby paused in surprise, but returned the hug.
Piper pulled away and beamed at her, the smile was probably never going to be removed from his face again. Rushing over to a different corner of the room, he leaned over into a cardboard box. This held a few odd items that he had with him. His only possessions. There wasn’t that many to be honest.
He had a small, hoof stitched teddy bear he had made himself. Its body and head were flat since he had nothing but tiny scraps of material to stuff it with, pulling it out he placed it on the ground next to him. There was three different sized notebooks, these were his recipe books. All the new ideas for recipes, and even classic recipes, he put in there. He took those out too. Along with the pencil. And finally, two halves of a musical pipe. He signed when he picked it up. He had found it, years ago when he was cleaning out the music room. It had been lost behind a cabinet and forgotten. He’d thought... He’d thought no one would notice if he took it.
It had been lying behind there for so long. They wouldn’t mind.
So he took it.
After cleaning it up, he began to play it. It was wonderful, while he wasn’t perfect, he still loved the sounds. Wasn’t long until Lady Tremane found him and...
Piper dropped the broken instrument back in the box and turned to the group. Picking up the few items he had, he asked,
“Can I bring these?”
“Of course you can Piper.” Lullaby picked up his items from his hooves and carefully placed them in her saddle bag. She made sure that they wouldn’t get damaged by anything else she had in there. Once they were perfect. She held out a hoof for Piper to take.
“Come on, we can go now.” Tentatively, Piper stretched out his hoof. He was slow, and unsure, but Lullaby was patient. He hooked his hoof with hers, and she lead him to the window. Upon reaching the window though, he froze.
“Are you ready?” She asked eagerly.
“I don’t know.” Leaning down and whispering in his ear, she said;
“Only one way to find out.” With that she took off out the window and hovered in the sky with the other three ponies waiting for him. Piper looked back into his “room”. It was the only home he had ever known, could he really leave it? For good this time? He looked back to the group, about to tell them he couldn’t. But upon seeing Lullaby’s caring smile, and eyes that never left his, eyes that told him he wouldn’t have to be afraid. He realised something.
”I can have a family. And one who cares for me.” Without a word he shot off into the sky and latched onto Lullaby in a hug. She returned it, just as he knew she always would. These were arms he could feel safe in. So safe, that when he fell asleep in them, he knew she would never let go.
“Alright everypony, now if you could please rise, we are going to sing ‘The Heart Carol’.” The entire room rose to their hooves, it was exciting hearing all those ponies stand up at once just to sing. Singing was so powerful, so important, so.. incredible, that it could make hundreds of ponies stand to their feet. They respected it so much that sitting was an insult.
Aria was hiding in the shadows of the ceiling upon some rafters. This was her favourite part of the sermon; where the choir and everyone in the room would stand up and sing together. She readied herself, staring down at the huge gathering and room below her. The piano started playing, and everyone sang.
The fire of friendship lives in our hearts As long as it burns we cannot drift apart Though quarrels arise, their numbers are few Laughter and singing will see us through (will see us through) We are a circle of pony friends A circle of friends we'll be to the very end
And like that, it was over; done for another week. There would be times when the choir practiced their songs through the week, but only when the church was full and crowded with ponies could she join in with them. She laid down on the wooden beam that held up the roof, her head falling to its side as she listen to the rest of the sermon.
***
Everyone was leaving the church for another week, but just the same as all the times before, the same conversation was going on with many different ponies.
“Did you guys hear it?”
“Of course we did.”
“I wonder which of the choir ponies has that beautiful voice.”
“Dude, it was from someone in the crowd, I was standing near the front, and I could hear the voice was coming from behind me.”
“Dude, I was right next to you, it was coming from the front.”
“No it wasn’t.”
“Guys, I’ve heard all the girls in the choir sing, it was completely different to their voices.”
“How would you know what all the choir girls sound like?” His only reply; a playful smirk.
Every week all the ponies who went to church would hear this heavenly voice singing with the choir, but no one could place the voice of who was singing. It was like a ghost, or an Angel; as the Priest would put it, came just to sing with the choir. The strange thing was it was only heard when everyone was there for church. Never had the choir heard it during practice, or outside of that time. It was the mystery that had everyone curious. The voice would echo above and all around the church, so no one could place exactly where it was coming from. It had everyone stumped. This had been happening for years now, at the beginning, those who could remember say that it originally sounded like a young child singing, and as the years aged, so did the voice. Some thought it was an Angel; coming to sing and aging with how often it visited from heaven. Some thought it was just one of the pony’s in the crowd, who had a secret talent for singing and kept it to themselves until the choir sang. Whatever it was, everyone came to church just to hear the beautiful voice, even for just a moment. If a wedding was in the church, and they heard the Angel singing, it was believed the joining was blessed by the Gods. Ponies even from out of the town would go there just for their wedding due to this belief.
Aria; more commonly known as ‘The Singing Angel’, lived a secluded life, hidden away in the forgotten parts of the huge church. She had been there for as long as she could remember; her earliest memory being from when she was very little and was listening to the choir. She knew no mother or father, no friends or family. She didn’t even know her own name, so she chose one from the titles of scattered music pages. What she did know, came from what she heard during the church sermons, and (tried to) read from ‘The Equestrian Epitome’. She only just barely knew how to read, (she wasn’t sure how she knew, and someone had to have taught her she guessed). But from what she could tell, it detailed all about Equestrian beliefs; such as the Gods who inhabited the Sun and Moon, who watched over the Earth, and Spirits which controlled or embodied aspects of Pony life. All of it was fascinating, but sadly the information only strengthened the fact that she was different. In all its chapters she read, there was one creature that shared her appearance; a Demon. A foul wicked creature with fangs and wings like claws; fated to bring only ruin to the living world. Aria didn’t want this; but it’s what she was, how could she escape it?
To keep herself from ruining the lives of all the wonderful ponies she saw around her, she never revealed herself to any of them, and stayed at the church; the holiest of places, hoping that its purity could keep her wretched heart from becoming the Demon she knew herself to be. It was difficult living like this growing up; having to stay hidden and steal food from the church. She didn’t like to steal, so she would always leave something in return. Any old object that she found and had interest to her.
They would find a pendant where some bread was supposed to be. Drawings on paper, stone or wood where there used to be fruit. Or freshly picked flowers where there was meant to be milk. It was a usual thing in the church, the Priest decided to let it continue because he felt whoever was taking the food, needed it far more than he did. (Sometimes he would “accidentally” leave food around the place).
Aria longed to stand on that stage and sing with the choir, to stand before the rows of ponies and let them see her and hear her music. But she never did, ever since she was a foal, she had known she was different. Her appearance proved that. None of the ponies who came to the church had fangs, or leathery wings, or strange slit eyes. They called her an Angel, but what she read of Angels said that they were beautiful creatures, with light radiating off them like the sun. She had spent enough time in the shadows to know that she didn’t radiate light, nor did she think she was beautiful. She saw beauty in the ponies around her, but not in herself. She hoped that one day… just maybe… but it scared her to reveal it to any of them. So her solitude continued.
***
Everypony was gone for another week, and so, Aria made her way down to the cellar beneath the church. It was the resting place of Saints and fine sacred wines. She didn’t like wine. Once when she was little, she found a bottle and tasted it. The taste was strange and she didn’t like it, what made her hate it the most was when she pulled the bottle away from her lips quickly, it all poured out onto her face and she breathed it up through her nose. It was horrible! What’s worse is she had to deal with the smell for a couple days before she managed to borrow some water to clean herself.
She kept her gaze straight ahead, and her ears up as they searched for any pony who might be here, she headed to the very end of the cellar and squeezed behind a statue. Behind said statue was a hole in the wall that lead to an empty burial place. A stone slate was where the body would rest, and cobwebs covered in spiders to keep it company. Luckily for Aria there was no body in here when she found it, and she had kept the place clear of spiders for many years. There were only a few candles scattered around the room; unlit. She didn’t have the luxury of having as many candles as she wanted. She tried to take only what she needed, and only when she absolutely needed it. Since she could see in the dark, candles weren’t a necessity, but they helped for a little warmth. Speaking of warmth; Aria climbed on the stone slate; now covered in straw, and wrapped herself in an old and moth eaten blanket. She then pulled off the old leather saddlebag from her back and opened it. Taking out a copy of ‘The Equestrian Epitome’ and went to reading. Its pages worn and bent with constant turning. She always carried her bag with her. It held her only possessions, and odd items she found would go in there. If she ever needed to take something, she always had her bag so she could replace something with another item.
***
Hours passed and still she was secluded away in her hidden room, reading through a book she had memorized since she was 10. Her stomach beckoned her for food though. Getting up, she wandered to her corner where she stored food, but remembered that she had already eaten the last of it this morning. She’d have to go find some.
With her saddlebag again over her back, she wandered down the tunnel to the cellar’s exit, keeping an ear out for anyone coming the other way. Her long and tangled mane dragged across the dust covered floor with her tail trailing behind. The dirt and dust hid its deep rich purple shine for many years now. Her grey coat was more cobwebs than fur. But her golden eyes glowed in the darkness; vibrant as a full moon on the horizon. Reaching the cellar door, she crawled through and slunk around corners making her way to a back room of the huge church where the priest and other ponies of worship would share meals together. The cupboard was where she searched first; finding the end of some bread, and leaving a simple chain necklace that was left beneath the seats of the church one day. Another cupboard revealed a bag of apples. She took three and left three flowers from the garden in the cemetery outside. She was gleeful over the amount of food she had found and was trying to open a cupboard whose door was a little squeaky, when she heard a small gasp behind her. Jumping around to see who’d caught her, she was shocked to see a colt; one who looked as shabby as she did. It appeared she wasn’t the only one looking for food tonight. Instantly her wings snapped closed against her body, her hooves paced backwards away from the colt and she trembled trying to hide in the shadows.
“What?...” He breathed, his own legs taking him away from the scene. “A Demon!” He shouted scampering from the room, his eyes wide with pin-prick pupils.
“No! She called, her voice so loud and unfamiliar in her ears. She’d never shouted before. “C-come back!” Aria raced after him and took to the air. She saw him running down the side aisle to the front door and landed in front of him. Her wings outstretched casting shadows in the candle light. He yelled in fear and skidded to the ground onto his back.
“Please stop!” She pleaded, her eyes staring at his. He only stared at the huge fangs he saw coming from her mouth.
“You’re a Demon! A nightmare! Don’t hurt me!” His shouts echoed through the church, Aria heard many more distant shouts throughout the church all trying to find the source of the trouble. The colt turned and ran while tripping on his tatted scarf. She tried to grab him, stop him from leaving. Hoping that if she could somehow make him trust her, he wouldn’t call her Demon again and could talk to the other ponies about this. That’s what was rushing through her mind as she suddenly tackled him in the centre of the church aisles.
“No, no I-I’m not! Please!” She said, “Don’t run from me!” Tears formed in her eyes. The colt was kicking and pawing at the ground to pull himself away from this monster, this thing that was attacking him. His blood ran cold at the thought she might try to eat him.
Through the fighting and trying to pin him down, he twisted onto his back and lashed out his hooves at her face. Aria lifted her head trying to avoid the punches while trying to hold him still, but he kicked her throat in the flurry, and she went tumbling backwards. She tried to speak, but it came out as a hoarse gasp; sounding more like a freakish hiss to the colt. Like she was growling at him in anger. Soon the bells of the church were tolling and she span around to see many of the ponies who stayed at the church standing in the passageways. The priest at the front of the line staring at her in shock. She tried to call out for help, but her voice hurt. It hurt to talk. She didn’t know what to do. She ran crying to the entrance of the church, pulling open the heavy doors. She was greeted with many of the townsfolk all running towards the church, and gasping to a stop once they saw her. She heard words like ‘Demon’, ‘monster’, and ‘freak’ all being shouted at the sight of her. She couldn’t take it, she didn’t want to be a Demon, she wanted to be ‘The Singing Angel’ again. She tried to sing, show them that she was their Angel, but her voice still hurt, it came out in gasps and wheezes. The towns ponies were coming towards her. Anger and fear covered their faces, she spread her Demonic wings and took flight. She flew away from there as fast as she could and never looked back.
It had been a long flight when she finally stopped and landed down in a clearing. No one was following her, and she could no longer see any sign of the town or church behind her. Her entire life had been that church, and now it was gone. What was she to do? The land of ponies was no place for a Demon, she knew that now. She had hoped over the years that if they ever found out, they might be willing to accept her, but how could they? Who could ask that much of someone?
A river near her helped sooth her throat. She could talk again, but only a little. It’d be a while longer before her throat felt alright to sing again. What purpose did she have to sing now though? The church’s sermons had been the only time she ever sang. It seemed so pointless now.
***
The moon was high and the night air clear as five bat ponies streaked through the sky, though one of them was still getting used to sleeping during the day and was dragging behind. Little Piper was young, and small, and couldn’t fly for as long or fast as the other ponies in their group could. He also was extremely tired, more used to being active during the day than at the present time.
“Alto! Can… we.. rest for.. a minute?” He asked between breaths.
“Alright Piper.” The young stallion looked around trying to find a good place to rest. He couldn’t see any towns nearby so they should be safe. They landed between the trees and roosted in the branches. Calypso and Alto were content to sleep above the ground in its branches, but Bardley, Lullaby and Piper chose to rest on the ground. Bardley’s frame too large for the branches, and Piper was not accustomed to sleeping in a tree. Lullaby joined them to look over Piper. Piper instantly fell against her frame and slept. Bardley laid down next to her other side. His wing gently rested over her back to keep her warm. Calypso was asleep just as quickly as Piper had been, her snores reached everyone’s ears. Alto meanwhile kept watch from the top of the tree, keeping an eye on their surroundings and an ear out for danger. An hour or more passed before Alto spotted something.
Off in the distance, was what appeared to be a something that was flying. It was moving fast, but occasionally its flight would dip or steer to the side suddenly; like it was having trouble. Hidden from view in his tree top vantage, he watched what he could tell was a lone bat pony flying overhead. He could faintly hear her crying as she passed over. Instantly he knew that this pony needed help, just like the others from their group had. He took flight after her. He made sure not to be seen, he didn’t need her looking back to see a random pony following her. His plan was that once she landed, he’d introduce himself, ask what’s wrong, and see if he’d be able to help. Luckily she didn’t fly for too long. A river close by was where she landed, and the tree line was where he hid. He gazed at her from the shadows, taking in her form. Aside from all the dirt and dust that covered her coat, he could tell she was a beauty. And those eyes, one could fall and get lost in them. Carefully, he left the shadows and said,
“Hello?” Good start; something simple. Now onto phase two: ask what’s wrong. “Are you—”
“AHHHH!” Not the response he was looking for… “W-wh-what-what?! ….” She was backing away from him, walking into the shallows of the river. His eyes where mesmerized by how her tail flowed in the water, its deep purple shining through the surface in the moonlight.
“It’s alright, I’m not going to hurt you.” Alto spoke smoothly, a smile parted his lips.
“Stay away from me!” She shrieked, though her voice was hoarse.
“Hey it’s okay. No need to be frighted. Look, I’m just like you.” He spread out his leathery wings, bat ponies were always more comfortable around their own kind. She’d be calm in a moment.
“GET AWAY FROM ME!” Apparently not.
“What’s wrong?! We’re the same, I don’t see why you’re frightened?”
“No! No we’re not the same! I’m not like you! I-I can’t be a Demon.” Tears were forming in her eyes again and she looked away to hide them. Suddenly she turned and screamed; “I DON’T WANT TO BE A DEMON!”
Well this was new. Alto had never met a bat pony who thought they were a Demon…
“No you’re getting this wrong, we aren’t Demons.”
“There’s nothing else you can be! Only Demons look like you!”
“You look like this too.”
“I told you I’m not!” Alto sighed, he knew he wasn’t going to get past this easily. As he walked closer to her, he said;
“Listen, my name’s Alto. I’m a bat pony. Nothing else. I’m not a Demon. Or a vampire. Or a monster. And neither are you.” Every step he made, she took an uncertain step backwards, going further and further into the quiet river. “There’s nothing wrong with you, you’re just a breed of pony like the pegasi. Except we share our appearance with bats, instead of birds.”
“S-stay a-away from me..”
“I’m not going to harm you. I just want to know why you were crying.”
“I-I don’t…”
“There’s nothing to be afraid of. I just want to talk.” Alto stopped at the river’s bank while she stood in the middle of the river. The water reached up to her stomach. “My name’s Alto. What’s yours?” Everything was silent between them. He could see the conflicts passing over her face. Should she stay? Should she run? He only hoped it was the former.
Finally, she spoke.
“A-aria. My name is Aria…”
“You’re beautiful.” He said, his eyes half closed from staring. His head jolted up as he added, “IT’S beautiful. I-I mean it’s beautiful.” Their faces reddened like sores as Alto rubbed his leg over the other.
Aria stared into the face of this strange Demon, except he didn’t call himself a Demon, even though the similarities were unmistakable. He seemed kind, but was it a trick to make her return to Tartarus? She’d always thought she had somehow escaped from that hell dimension. Maybe he had escaped as well… Or maybe… Maybe he wasn’t from Tartarus. Demons from there were ugly, and monstrous and beastly. Yet he looked… cute? She didn’t have much experience with things like this. She wasn’t sure Demons could feel this way. So why did she? Was she attracted to a Demon? Could he be attracted to her? He called her beautiful. But also said he’d meant to say her name, so maybe it was just her name he liked. After all, it was the only thing that wasn’t Demonic about her; taken from the pages of a church’s music book.
What could she do?
“So, do you want to tell me why you were crying? Might help to get some things off your chest.” He ventured asking again.
“I don’t want to go to Tartarus!” She shouted. Her face flushing in embarrassment, having still been in her train of thought from earlier.
“Tartarus?” Alto said confused. “Why would you think you’re going to Tartarus? Is that why you’re crying?”
“Aren’t you going to make me return there?”
“Return? Aria, you never came from there in the first place. You’re not a Demon, you’re a bat pony. Born and raised in Equestria.”
“I’m not going to Tartarus?”
“No.”
“Is it because I was cast out?”
“What? No! Aria, you’re. not. a. Demon.”
“There’s nothing else I can be! I’m not an Angel, I’m different to the other ponies! I have to be a Demon!” Alto huffed and walked into the water to Aria. Before she could move, he grabbed her shoulders with his soaked hooves and stared into her eyes; unwavering.
“Listen to me Aria. You are not a Demon. Demons are tales, they don’t exist. You are however, a bat pony. Bat ponies stay awake during the night and sleep through the day. We have fangs and slit pupils and wings without feathers. We can see better in the night than any other pony and we can hear better than any other pony. So hear me; we are not Demons.”
“But—”
“No. What I said is true.” He let go of her and turned around towards the shore. Walking away he said. “If you choose to believe my words, then follow me. I doubt you have a home right now, so if you want, you can join ours. But if you don’t believe me, then there’s nothing I can do for you.” He followed the bank of the river away from her and kept walking without looking back. This was her choice.
Thoughts were swarming through her skull. So many things she didn’t know contradicted the things she did know. Could she really be a bat pony? Not a Demon like she’d thought for so long. Her entire world was flipping around her. Was there really a place she belonged? A place where she wasn’t the Demon, but ‘The Singing Angel’ once more?...
Perhaps not ‘The Singing Angel’, but Aria the Bat Pony didn’t sound too bad either.
Alto smiled when he heard the sound of splashing water come closer to him.
