//------------------------------// // Emotions // Story: The Bat and the Teacher // by Ximer //------------------------------// Cheerilee glanced up at her student as they walked the streets of Canterlot. During his stay with the Princesses, he hadn’t been allowed to explore the rest of the city. Since this was the centerpiece of Equestria, the teacher thought that a visit would be a good break from the books. With all the progress Benjamin was making she felt he had earned it. Cheerilee noticed Benjamin’s face twist briefly as his eyes zeroed in on something. Following his gaze, Cheerilee saw a shop that said Doughnut Joe’s on the hanging sign. She turned back to the human who was still staring at the building. “Is everything okay?” Cheerilee asked, poking his leg. “Yeah, it just looked so familiar…” Benjamin replied, snapping out of his trance. “The shop?” the mare tilted her head in confusion. “No, the things in the window,” Benjamin pointed at the display case that Joe set up to draw in customers. “The big weird ones.” “Bear Claws?” Cheerilee asked. “I guess...” Benjamin let out a frustrated sigh. Cheerilee’s ears fell flat as she realized what was wrong with her student. “Your memory still has gaps in it, doesn’t it?” “Yeah,” Benjamin nodded. “It’s weird sometimes. I can remember a lot of things from my world, but some stuff I still can’t remember, like my last name.” Cheerilee started to walk away from the shop, hoping it would prompt him to follow her and take his mind off his memory, or lack thereof. Benjamin cast one last look towards the shop before following her. From his expression, the mare could tell it was still weighing heavily on his mind. “I’ve kind of grown used to it, actually, “ Benjamin said. “Before the nurses knew anything about me, they used healing magic on me, since my fall was pretty bad. In the process, their magic affected my memory, or at least that’s what they told me. I’m lucky it didn’t wipe out everything.” “Do you remember your family?” Cheerilee asked. “I can…see them,” Benjamin replied. “But I can’t remember things I think I should. Like time they might have spent with me and stuff.” “I’m sorry Benjamin,” Cheerilee said. “As much of a gentle stallion as you are though, I would like to believe that your parents were good at raising you.” “Yeah, I guess so,” Benjamin chuckled. “What do you say we call it a day?” Cheerilee asked. “We’ve been walking around Canterlot for a good portion of the day.” Benjamin nodded and followed the mare to the train station. Given her experience as a teacher, Cheerilee could tell that he was still dwelling on their conversation. Under their student, teacher relationship she felt just as protective of him as she would any of the foals that attended her school, even with the size and age difference. When they finally boarded the train, Cheerilee didn’t waste time climbing into a seat. Her legs were tired from walking around Canterlot all day, as all she wanted to do now was sit down for a bit. Tending to the soreness in her legs, she tried her best to rub one of her hind legs to relieve some of the tension. Benjamin took a seat next to her, letting out a sigh of relief as he stretched his legs. Cheerilee looked down at her own legs, still impressed by how large they were compared to hers before her tired muscles screamed at her for relief, metaphorically of course. Cheerilee let out a surprised gasp as she felt Benjamin’s warm “hands” start to run across the leg she had been tending to. A part of her was opposed to the contact, but the human’s hands felt way better than hooves ever did. Benjamin was in close competition with the Spa Ponies as far as she was concerned. “You okay?” Benjamin’s question brought Cheerilee out of her thoughts. “Yes, why wouldn’t I be?” Cheerilee asked. “I didn’t know if I was hurting you or not,” Benjamin replied. “Oh not at all,” Cheerilee quickly shook her head. “It felt…kind of nice, actually.” “Oh well, do you want me to keep going, stop or...” Benjamin trailed off waiting for her answer. “Maybe just a little bit more,” Cheerilee smiled. The human nodded and started rubbing once more. Ponies were much more open to contact than other tribes around the world, but Cheerilee never guessed Benjamin would be so calm, or bold, as to just start without being prompted to. Still, it was better than no contact at all, far better than it had a right to be. Before Cheerilee knew it, she was starting to drift off under the trance like sensations. Cheerilee slowly opened her eyes when she no longer felt Benjamin’s warm touch. She was still in the train car, but her human student was no longer in sight. She assumed he had gone to the bathroom or gotten up when she fell asleep. Something the mare did find odd was how quiet it was on the train, with light streaming through the window, blocking out any of the trees that should normally be there. A snort broke the eerie silence in the train car, causing Cheerilee to turn her head in the direction of the sound. She tensed up when she saw Big Mac sitting across from her, just staring at her. The stallion wore his normal neutral expression as she locked eyes with him. It was that same expression that frustrated Cheeerilee as she tried to read his body language. “Big Mac?” Cheerilee finally spoke up. “I didn’t know you were on the train.” Big Mac remained quiet, his emotionless eyes just staring at her, making the mare uneasy. Only when a series of soft hoof falls came from the right of her did Big Mac’s expression change. Cheerilee felt cold when she saw the stallion smile at the mare that had stolen his heart from her. Cheerilee realized now that he hadn’t been staring at her, he had just been waiting on her. He had just looked right past her without even a courtesy nod. A cold feeling crept over the mare making her shiver as she watched the two ponies express their affection for one another. That should be me, Cheerilee thought. That was me. Marble Pie was younger, in shape, and strong. She was everything Cheerilee wanted to be, a thought that only sent her deeper into a masked depression. Benjamin had helped to take her mind off of them, but like a weed the memories and thoughts simply refused to be ignored. IT was as if her insecurities were lying in wait, forcing themselves to the front of her thoughts whenever she felt happy. The chill she felt spread across the rest of her form as she sulked and looked away, trying to ignore them. Cheerilee started to shiver and tucked her legs beneath her as best she could; trying to get warm again. Her efforts did little to stave off the cold that penetrated her coat of fur, until an odd warmth seemed to embrace her. Cheerilee could no longer hear the soft laughter of the two ponies that plagued her inner thoughts with pain, now focusing solely on the source of heat that seemed to be warming her from the inside out. She felt surprisingly happy in the warm embrace, soft tingles of electricity dancing along her back and tried to seek out the source of the warmth, wanting to get closer to its source. The heat seemed to wrap around her now, becoming a bit uncomfortable. She tried to wiggle away from the once comforting warmth, but it only intensified the more she tried to get away from it. The shifting heat was enough to chase her from the comfortable sleep she had slipped into on the train. Cheerilee found herself surrounded by red, and was worried for a second she had done something wrong. She rolled her eyes when she realized it was only her bed comforter that she had tangled herself in. Why she had even used a comforter at all was beyond her. Given the season she had simply removed it, adequately shielded from the cold by her fur. The last thing Cheerilee could remember was riding the train home with Benjamin. She also remembered the way he rubbed her sore legs, which must have sent her to sleep. “That means that somepony carried me home…was it really Benjamin?” Cheerilee asked. Cheerilee tried to reason that another pony had just brought he home and off Benjamin’s hands, but she would have woken up if she had been carried by one, and they certainly wouldn’t pull sheets over her with the weather as warm as it is. She blushed at the realization that the human had seen her room. Thankfully, nothing worth mentioning was out in the open. Her eyes quickly scanned the room, making sure everything was still in place, assuring her that nothing had been moved or disturbed. “Well, he certainly is a gentle stallion for bringing me home,” Cheerilee smiled. ---- Vesper smiled as the last out going train left Ponyville station. The letter she had been anxiously waiting for had finally arrived from Princess Luna. While the bat pony hadn’t fooled herself in thinking it would be a quick fix, she never thought it would take her home. The answer to walking in daylight was not where she thought it would be, and wouldn’t be easy to obtain either. Deep in the gnarled forest of near Hollow Shades there was a special fruit that thestral warriors had used hundreds of years ago when they realized that the other ponies intruding in Equestria were active during the day. After the sisters had come and stabilized the relationships between all ponies there was no reason for it to be harvested, since no bat pony really wanted to be out in broad daylight…until now. At first, Vesper was a bit surprised and hesitant to go home. She had a job to do, albeit one that offered a great view, but the thing that made her stop and consider her options was going back to her family. The one pony she knew who wouldn’t approve of her reason for returning, however briefly, would be her father. He shunned the light and all that walked in it. Even though she joined the Night Guard, he still disapproved because Celestia ruled over both sets of guards until Luna returned. Even after Luna’s return to power, he still labeled the others who lived in the major cities as weak, and praised those that caused mischief and havoc during the night. Vesper didn’t doubt for a second that he would curse her name if he found out about Benjamin. Despite his off putting opinions, he was still her father. There was no doubt in her mind that her parents loved her, even though he made his disapproval of her career choice known. It was her fear that her love for Benjamin would put a massive strain on their relationship. Vesper spent a good portion of the train ride psyching herself up for the conversation they would inevitably have regarding the stallion of her affection. Hopefully her mother would be more understanding of her plight than her father, and perhaps her brother would be willing to cover for her as well for the time being. Her family would find out one way or another, especially if she was able to have foals with Benjamin. The thought of foals was enough to distract her from thoughts of her father, and brought a small smile to her muzzle. If she could have foals, what would they look like? Vesper closed her eyes, trying to envision a small foal that had traits of both Benjamin and herself in their offspring. Would they be more human or pony in appearance? Would their little bundle of joy have a solid mix of both? If it was a solid mix, would it be accepted by others, or mistreated? The mare shook her head, chasing the last unpleasant thought from her mind. She was getting ahead of herself, there was till the matter of winning her human’s heart. After she had finished that task, then she could worry about foals. Vesper was pulled back to reality by the loud whistle of the train as it started to slow down. This was the moment she had been dreading, stepping back into the darkness of night and leaving the world outside of the forest behind. What made Hollow Shades special was the canopy of trees that surrounded the town, which blocked out almost every trace of light from the sky above. To a nocturnal creature like Vesper, it should be paradise. After she had seen the outside world she couldn’t bring herself to go back except on special occasions and the odd visit. While Hollow Shades was beautiful, it couldn’t compare to the world outside the dark forest village. The first thing that came into view from the windows of the slowing train were the light polls, since the odd unicorn or earth pony called Hollow Shades home. They gave off a very gentle glow, not bright enough to harm a thestral’s eyes, but not too dim to not provide any visibility for those who couldn’t see in the dark. The houses that the train passed brought a smile to her face as she saw both those of normal ponies and thestrals beside one another. It was easy to tell the difference, as the door to a bat pony’s house was elevated to what would be considered the first, or in some cases, second floor of a normal house. A few of the Night Guard officers referred to them as “bat boxes” when speaking of their homes with ponies of the Day Guard. The train finally stopped at the Hollow Shades station, the doors sliding open to reveal a familiar looking bat pony. The filly was in her teens, and looked just like Vesper for the most part, except for the color of her eyes which were a beautiful bright red. “Us’tal!” the bat pony chirped excitedly. “Be’s’unodtalinVesparaanteo?” What sounded like gibberish to an outsider, Vesper picked up on the meaning behind the excited teen’s words. To her, it was the friendly greeting of her younger sister, Ruby, which brought a smile to her muzzle. Even if a regular pony were to master their language, the hardest part was picking up on the separate words in a sentence. “Sister, what have you been doing all this time?” Ruby asked, Vesper’s mind shifting from the customs of the outside world to that of her culture. “Keeping the kingdom safe, watching out for bad ponies,” Vesper nuzzled her little sister. “We got your letter the other day,” Ruby said as the two mares left the station. “How long are you staying?” “I’m not sure yet,” Vesper replied. “I just wanted to do a little soul searching outside of the castle.” “Well, I’m glad you’re back, and so are mother and father,” Ruby smiled. “I would hope so,” Vesper fought to keep her emotional mask up at the mention of her parents, knowing this could potentially be a horrible trip, even if she did find the fruit. “Wraith also missed you,” Ruby added. “He’s been a bit grumpy lately, but I bet seeing you will put him back into a good mood.” Vesper nodded as Ruby continued to bombard her with questions about the rest of Equestria. Being too young to venture out on her own; and with a family that had little desire to see the outside world the chances of her seeing anything but the dark before she was an adult was slim. After traversing the dark streets, the two mares finally found themselves in front of a large house that had the door set on the third story. Vesper could fly up to the door, but was feeling a bit tired after her train ride home. While her sister flew up to the door, Vesper proceeded to place one hoof against the wall, and then another, slowly walking up the side of the house as if it was second nature to walk on walls. She had been told countless times that it was unladylike to enter the house in such a manner, but never listened. Only later in life did she realize why entering the house in this manner was unladylike, as it gave a nice view to whomever happened to be looking out the window that she might walk over. Vesper walked in the door and was bombarded with the smell of blood oranges and bananas. Following her sister into the living room, she saw her father sitting in the chair she had seen him in when she was younger, reading the newspaper as he always did after work. “Welcome Vesper,” her father said without looking up, his ears easily picking up the distinct difference in his daughter’s hoof steps. “What brings you back home?” “Oh you know, just wanting to get away from everything for a bit,” Vesper replied with a wave of her hoof. “Hmm,” Her father responded as he turned to the next page of the paper. “Given the infrequency of your letters, news of you coming home raises suspicion.” “I just wanted to leave the daylight behind for a bit,” Vesper chuckled nervously. “You’re a terrible liar,” Her father replied, putting the paper down. “But I’m glad you’re home all the same.” Before Vesper could respond or move, she felt a powerful set of hooves wrap around her, picking her up in a hug. She winced upon being taken into the powerful hug of her father, but did her best to smile and pat him on the back. Vesper could already tell this week was going to be a difficult one. Her father was already onto her, and a part of her dreaded the possibility of some sort of mind power gifted only to parents would see through any excuse she had to offer. ---- I sat in silence as the ponies that had gathered in Dee Em’s basement spoke about monsters and lovely maidens. Dice of all sides and colors were scattered about the sizeable table alongside identical looking books and sheet that had several numbers on them. One of the sheets sat in front of me with what appeared to be traits adorning most of the page. "So, is that everypony?" one of the other ponies asked. "Nope, waiting on Twig," Dee Em replied. "Twig?" I rather audibly thought out loud. "What kind of talent do they -" Before I could finish my thought, the door to the basement opened and quickly closed. The sound of descending steps didn't match that of a ponies clopping hooves. Instead it was a weird mix between scratching and thumping. "-have?" I squeaked when I saw the source of the odd combination. A griffon walked up to the table and took the free seat at the table, which happened to be right next from me. It was the same griffon i had seen the other day, I was sure of it. Aside from the griffon population being small in Ponyville to begin with, the fact that he had a prosthetic leg was confirmation enough. "Ah, Twig's here," Dee Em said. "Benjamin this is Twig, our paladin that's been off and on when he's visited." "Now that I live here, I don't see why I can't be the regular paladin," Twig said, his voice reminiscent of a frat boy’s which surprised me a bit. "And you're going to have a newbie warrior under your wing," Dee Em said, earning a few chuckles from the gathered group. Twig and I locked eyes for a moment, which did little to settle my nerves. His eyes were predatory, despite being at peace with the rest of the room's occupants. I could only assume both of us were familiar with the events that took place hundreds of years ago. “Alright,” Dee Em said, gaining everyone’s attention. “Last time we left off your party had learned of the Order Serpentina, an evil group who charmed all manner of cold blooded creatures…literally cold blooded.” “So like reptiles and stuff?” I asked. “Yeah, more or less,” one of the other ponies said. “You’ve found your way down into a cave that is oddly illuminated by strange vines and other fungi,” Dee Em continued. “You notice the path narrows slightly, leading to a door, and to the left of the door is a cage that contains a tied up pony.” “Can it be over a pit of snakes?” asked the mage of the party. “Can’t I be something a bit more…bipedal?” I sighed. “Sure, and no, that’s what the default warrior is,” Dee Em replied. “ It’d take too long to make something from scratch, now as I was says, you see an earth pony tied up in the cage. Shady, you won the initiative roll off, it’s your move.” “I check to see if there are any traps,” the stallion said. “You only see the pit of snakes that the captive pony is dangling over, the cave doesn’t look very sturdy,” Dee Em said. “This is kind of boring,” I mumbled. “Try to picture what’s happening in your mind,” Twig said. “It’s better if you play along.” I nodded and tried to picture the cave as best I could. A dark, gloomy cave that had glowing fungi and torches slowly became clear in my mind’s eye. I could picture a pit of snakes, and a group of ponies with…a griffon. “I call up to the earth pony, and ask him if he’s okay,” Cerulean said as his turn came around. “Oh, um, I’m doing good I guess,” I replied, picturing the scene unfolding in my mind. “Aside from the looming death by snake.” “Well, like move back or hold onto…something, I’m going to try to shoot the rope,” Cerulean replied. “Wait won’t that just drop the cage into-“ “You need a fifteen or better, since it’s a small target,” Dee Em said. Cerulean rolled a twenty sided dice and got a eighteen. I was hoping that he would miss, but the thought occurred to me that if he missed spectacularly it could probably hurt me, or my character anyways. “The rope snaps and begins to fall towards the pit of snakes, all of the reptile’s eyes locking onto their potential meal,” Dee Ems said. “I try to catch him with my magic,” a unicorn spoke up. “You catch him with your magic, only a few feet before hitting the pit of pony eating snakes,” Dee Em nodded. “Levitating him in front of your group.” “I guess I pass action, since I’m tied up and stuff,” I said when it came to my turn. “I crack open the cage and untie him,” Twig said. “And then ask what he’s doing here.” “Getting captured for the sake of the plot?” I shrugged. As the session progressed I started to feel more comfortable with the group and with the other players. While there was still a bit of awkwardness between Twig and I, it didn’t distract me too much from the fun through the game. I was actually sad when Dee Em brought the game to a close, leaving us right in front of a hydra’s cave. We all said our goodbyes and went our separate ways for the night. I could hardly wait to get back to the castle and tell Vesper about the evening. As playful ass she’s been, I assumed that she would want to join in as well, since it would give her something interesting to do. I was surprised to find a stallion in my room, flipping through the paper. Like Vesper he was a thestral with dark grey fur and a purple mane and tail. His eyes were a typical yellow with green pupils. He looked up at me with a bored expression and waved before returning to his paper. ---- “Umm…hi?” I said, not receiving an answer. “Where’s Vesper?” “Vesper went to see her family, so I Was asked to fill in” The stallion replied as he turned the page. “Just call me Fang and we’ll be good…and yes I know it’s a generic name, but I didn’t have any input at my birth.” “Oookay, well, nice to meet you Fang,” I said walking over to pet the stallion on the head. “Whoa, whoa!” Fang jumped back with alarming speed. “Sorry, did I do something wrong!?” I asked, a little surprised by the stallion’s response. “You can’t just do that to a stallion, human, especially one that doesn’t swing that way….not that I’m judging you or anything…” Fang replied. “What are you talking about, that’s how Vesper and I have always been, she said that’s how you guys interact,” I said. “Sorry to disappoint you, but not all stallions are as hugy feely as mares,” Fang said. “Though if I’m being honest, I don’t see why Vesper would be drawn to you, again not my place to judge.” “We’re just friends, I tho-“ “Friends?” Fang raised an eyebrow towards me. “Tell me something, how do you guys interact…normally.” “This is already off to a weird start,” I commented. “Like petting and stuff, she lays on my stomach sometimes while I scritch her ears and stuff…there was one time where I woke up with her snuggled up next to me.” “And you’re still just friends?” Fang asked. “Have you told her this?” I was starting to get a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. I had only met this stallion two or three minutes ago and already we were off to a rough start. Thankfully this wouldn’t be a permanent arrangement, but I was starting to worry about Vesper and why the stallion was asking so many questions. “I don’t see why I would need to tell her,” I replied hesitantly. “If you two are that comfortable with each other, Vesper might think of you as a bit more than a friend,” Fang shrugged. I was about to dismiss him until I actually stopped to dwell on the possibility that Fang was right. The late night talks, her being protective of me, and the other night….she wore makeup for the first time around me. She looked beautiful, but I thought she had just been putting all of that on because Rarity and Starlight were. As I dwelt on the possibility that the stallion was right, another dilemma popped into my mind. If Vesper really did have feelings for me, could I return them? Did I want to return them. To complex the matter further we were two completely different species and on different time schedules. “I get the sinking feeling that there’s some stuff we need to talk about…you might want to sit down and make yourself comfortable.” Fang said to which I only nodded.