//------------------------------// // Home // Story: My Filly, Nightshine // by The Abyss //------------------------------// Of course there has to be a storm... Lily thought as she glided along for a few moments, letting an updraft send her soaring high. She only had fifteen minutes of flying left, a fact she was thankful for. Relief pulsed through her sore wings as she let them rest, then she felt that familiar feeling of weightlessness take hold of her as the updraft disappeared. She leaned forward, feeling the wind push her ears back as her gaze settled on Ponyville, the small town partially blocked by tall, dark clouds that drenched everything underneath. A loud thunderclap startled her, but just for a moment. She shook her head and slowed down to a hover as she rolled her eyes. Well, I do need a shower. I’m sure my mane’s a mess, and I probably don’t smell all that good, either. I really should have taken a shower before I left, but I guess this storm will just have to do. She banked to the right a little bit, delaying the inevitable. “Might as well get through it,” she grumbled as she flew downwards. “Let’s just hope Jason is home!” “Geez, this is one heck of a storm,” Jason said, peering out the window. He felt Nightshine clamber up his hind leg, her forelegs pushing his head down as she planted them on it to get a good look outside. “Yeah, I’d hate to try and fly in something like that,” Nightshine said as she sat down on Jason’s back, watching as a mare galloped down the street outside. She laid her head on his, grinning as she felt his ears tickle her cheeks. “You think we’re gonna see Lily anytime soon?” she asked hopefully. Her eyes searched the skies when a small dot off way off in the distance caught her attention. “Hey, wait! Is that her?” she asked, pointing with a hoof as the dot grew ever closer. Jason laughed. “Don’t be silly, Nightshine. There’s no way that she’d be flying in a storm this bad.” “Then what’s that?” Nightshine asked, gesturing at the dot. Jason looked in the direction that Nightshine pointed out and narrowed his eyes. “Okay, I see what you’re pointing at, but I think that’s a bird. Why would she be back so soon, anyways? It hasn’t even been a full day, and the train ride to Canterlot and back takes a long time.” “For snuggles?” Nightshine giggled as she nuzzled Jason between his ears. “Well... I can’t really argue against that. She did seem to like them, almost as much as you.” “Of course she did, everypony loves snuggles! You’re the snuggle king, and you need a queen!” Nightshine said with a squee. “So... wouldn’t it be faster to fly here from Canterlot than riding the train? It’d make sense for her to fly back instead of taking the train, right?” Jason shrugged. “Probably. I’ve never flown any kind of distance before, and I don’t know how long it’d take to fly from there to here. I think pegasi just take the train because it’s easier. Can you imagine having to fly for hours straight? And Canterlot is so high up, too. You can’t be afraid of heights if you want to go up there, after all.” Nightshine cocked an eyebrow as she felt a shiver run down Jason’s back. “Daddy? Are you afraid of heights?” she asked, puzzled. Jason felt his mouth go dry; he was glad that she couldn’t see his face. “Uh... no? Don’t be silly, of course I’m not afraid of heights,” he said, feeling sweat drip down the back of his neck. Nightshine hopped off of him and sat down in front of him, cocking her head to the side as she pointedly stared at him. “Daddy, it’s okay to be afraid of heights,” she said, standing up on her little hind legs to wrap her forelegs around his neck. She hummed softly in content as she nuzzled his soft fur, then she sat back, a light blush on her cheeks. “But you’re a bat pony now, and bat ponies aren’t afraid of anything!” “I mean, yeah, that’s true, but... well...” He licked his lips as he nodded at the couch. He took a few steps towards it, then flopped down on the soft cushions. Patting the spot beside him, he lifted a wing and let Nightshine snuggle up against his side. “So... back where I came from, I was always terrified of heights,” he said with a nervous laugh. “My legs would feel like they had turned into jelly and I was so scared that I couldn’t budge an inch; everything just locked up.” Nightshine nuzzled his side as she prompted him to go on. Jason sighed, then rubbed Nightshine’s side with a hoof. “Since you’ve always had wings, you have always had something to stop you from falling. Humans don’t have wings, or horns for that matter, so if we fell, we’d get hurt pretty bad.” “Oh... so you were scared of getting hurt?” Nightshine murmured. Jason nodded slowly. “Yeah, pretty much. But now that I have wings?” He unfurled the wing that was draped over his daughter and eyed it for a few seconds before returning it to its rightful place. “I guess I’m gonna have to get over that fear. Like you said, bat ponies aren’t afraid of anything, right?” he asked with a chuckle. Nightshine’s eyes lit up. “Right!” she said, nudging his shoulder with her own. “So you wanna go outside and show that storm who’s boss?!” she asked, pushing herself up under Jason’s wing. She spread her wings wide and shot him a confident smile. “Yeah... that’s gonna be a no.” Jason’s ears perked up as he heard the rain come down harder, pelting his roof as the wind grew louder. A loud thunderclap exploded above the house, making Nightshine’s ears flick back. “Uh, I think I change my mind!” Nightshine squeaked out. “Probably for the best, sweetie,” Jason said as he rolled off the couch, feeling his stomach growl. “Wanna help me make some lunch? I think we have enough ingredients to make another pizza!” Nightshine gasped with joy. “Yay!” she said as she scrambled over towards the kitchen. I’ll get the dough ready if you wanna grate some cheese!” With her mane thoroughly drenched, Lily landed a block away from Jason’s house, her hooves sliding in the mud. She lifted her right wing over her head and glanced around as she got her bearings. Spotting Jason’s house just a little further down the road, an excited smile grew on her lips as she galloped down the road, taking care to not slip and fall. Showing up wet was one thing, but showing up covered in mud was something that Lily simply didn’t want to do. As she neared the house, Lily slowed down from a gallop to a hurried trot. She rapped on the door with a hoof, flicking her tail from side to side. Many seconds later, she heard somepony fumble with the door’s handle right before the door swung open wide. “Jason!” she said with a wide grin. “Mind if I come in?” she asked, blushing a little bit as she panted softly. She folded her wings back in, glad that she had finally arrived. “Y-Yeah, sure,” Jason stammered out, stepping back to let her in. “Is that Lily?!” Nightshine yelled from the kitchen, her voice filled with barely-restrained joy. “Yeah, she’s back!” Jason yelled back. An ear-splitting screech of excitement bolted from the kitchen, making him wince. He glanced over his shoulder just in time to see Nightshine speed past him to wrap her little legs around Lily’s. Noticing the rain starting to make its way inside his house, he shut the door and locked it. “Hehe, hey there, cutie,” Lily said as she rubbed Nightshine’s mane with a hoof. “Betcha you’re glad I’m back?” “Totally!” Nightshine said with glee, nuzzling Lily’s legs. “I saw you flying here, and Daddy didn’t think it was you, but I knew!” “I’ll be right back with some towels,” Jason whispered with a soft smile as he trotted towards the bathroom. “Thanks!” Lily said before looking back down at Nightshine. “So you saw me coming, huh?” “Yep!” Nightshine sat back with that same endearing grin. “How did you manage to fly through that? The storm looks so scary!” she said. “Well... to be a guard in Luna’s service, they put you through a ton of super hard trials and exercises to make sure that any of her guards can handle anything and everything,” Lily said, squeezing the water from her mane and tail. “Some ponies had it easier than others, but we all stuck together and got through it as a team. Storms can be very unpredictable, especially the windier ones, so you have to already be a good flyer if you want to make it through.” “Woah... can you teach me how to fly like that?” Nightshine asked, her eyes going wide in awe. “Yeah, in time, and when you get a lot older. Those trials are really hard!” Lily said, looking up as Jason returned. She shot him a warm smile as he held out a couple of large, fluffy towels for her. “Thanks, Jason.” Lily wrapped one of them around her mane, then squeezed the rest of the water out of it with her hooves before doing the same thing with her tail. She wiped herself down with the other towel, then handed both back to Jason, who walked them back to the bathroom. “So anything new?” she called out after him. “Daddy’s afraid of heights!” Nightshine blurted out with a giggle. “Oh, is that so?” Lily laughed. “You’re joking, right?” “Nope!” Nightshine giggled again as she shook her head. “Yeah... she’s not joking,” Jason said. “Back where I come from, when I was young, I was afraid of heights because I was scared of getting hurt,” he said, pointedly staring at Nightshine. “She just left out that little detail.” He tousled her mane. “I guess I can’t be afraid anymore because of these bad boys, though,” he said, spreading his wings wide. “Got something to catch me if I fall now.” “That’s true.” Lily covered her mouth with a hoof as she let loose a long yawn. “So...” She blinked a few times, the warm air in the house making her feel a bit drowsy. “About going to the Gala for our first date, I—” “You can’t go?” Nightshine asked with fear, her ears flicking back and her shoulders drooping. “What? No.” Lily cocked her head to the side. “Gotta let me finish my story, little one,” she said. “Princess Luna had scheduled me to work the Gala, but... let’s just say we had a civil... discussion, and she said that I could go.” “A civil discussion?” Jason couldn’t help but grin as he lifted an eyebrow. “Something tells me that you’re not telling us the whole story.” Lily rubbed the back of her neck, then squeaked out, “Well, I... sorta kinda yelled at her when I saw that I was scheduled to work the Gala. And I mean I really screamed at her. I had stayed up all night fuming, and I, um... I don’t know. I was worried that you’d get to go to the Gala, and I’d have to stand guard and watch you two have the time of your lives, and...” Lily sighed as she glanced away. “Now that I have a chance to be happy, I felt that it was the only course of action.” “You could have lost your job, though! What if Princess Luna banned you from going to the Gala?” Jason asked, his eyebrows furrowing. “I’m not worth that.” You might be... Lily thought, biting her bottom lip as she stared into his eyes. She glanced away a moment later. “Nopony’s asked me to go to the Gala before, and I’ve always wanted to go; as a guest, not a guard. Everypony looks like they’re having so much fun, and as a guard, I just get to stay on the sidelines and watch. It’s not like there’s some horrible threat out there; I would know! Luna briefs us all on possible threats days before each Gala, and she always says to keep our guard up just in case, and... ugh!” She ran a hoof over her face as she groaned. “What is it?” “The Gala is this weekend and I don’t even have a dress!” she said. “It’d take too long for a dressmaker to even tailor one to my size!” She stood up and started pacing around the room. “I don’t have the foggiest clue of where we could even find a dressmaker!” she said with a snort. “I haven’t had to wear a dress in years!” “Don’t worry, I don’t have one either!” Nightshine piped up. “Do we even need dresses? Like, we’re all bat ponies! We’re supposed to be fearsome and scary, right?” She spread her forelegs wide and bared her cute little fangs, shooting a grin up at the both of them. Lily couldn’t help but grin. She stopped and sat down beside them, rubbing Nightshine’s back with a hoof. “Yeah, we do,” she said softly. “And while we might look fearsome, the princesses expect everypony to dress up for the event.” Nightshine glanced at Jason, then looked back at Lily. “What about Daddy? He can’t wear a dress; he’s a stallion! He’d look silly in a dress!” “Ha! Yeah, you’re definitely right about that,” Lily said with a short laugh, imagining Jason in a light pink form-fitting gown, long stockings, complete with a matching bow in his styled mane. She snickered at the thought, covering her grin with a hoof again as she glanced up at him. “Hehe, uh... what’s so funny?” he asked, glancing back and forth between Lily and Nightshine. “It’s nothing; I just imagined you wearing a dress, is all,” Lily said, her snickers turning into laughter. As her laughter died down, she lowered her hoof and cleared her throat. “So... shot in the dark here, but... any ideas where we could find some dresses?”