//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Welcome to the jungle // by Hiver //------------------------------// I slowly felt the last remnants of the dream realm slipping away from me like wisps of smoke in the wind, leaving me lying on the bed. I didn’t open my eyes, just relaxing for a long moment, enjoying the slight breeze from the outside, the scent of rain having passed sometime not too long ago. A moment of calm, of relaxation. Just a moment of calm before fully waking up. Somewhere outside I could hear birds, some sort of monkey howling far away. Hammers against wood. I could hear ponies working somewhere in the distance. Saws. Breaths close to me. Calm. Slow. Asleep. My ear flicked. In. Out. In. Out. I spent a second listening hard. Which one was… in. Out. Sunset. That one was Sunset. In. Out. Sparks. That one was Sparks. Taking a deep breath, I forced my eyes open and rolled onto my stomach, stretching before I looked around. Sunny and Sparks were cuddled up together on the other half of the bed. I couldn’t help but smile at the sight before I slowly slipped off the bed and out of the darkness bubble that strongly limited the amount of light that got through it. Light might make me slightly sleepy, but I’m a bat. For Sunny and Sparks to sleep, we needed the bubble of darkness over the bed. Once outside, I covered it with a bubble of silence as well to let them sleep as I narrowed my eyes against the sudden bright light of the sunset outside and I stopped, blinking and shadowing my eyes for a moment to get used to it before I yawned again and slowly moved out onto the balcony, overlooking the village. It was very… green. But that was to be expected as it was built into the treetops. It had been the idea of one of the unicorns hired to cut wood actually, Shield Streak. There was a problem with predators? So why build on the ground when there were massive trees and the great majority of the population had wings? Multi level constructions in the upper levels of the jungle trees, centered around the trunks with bridges between them for the non-winged citizens or ones that didn’t feel like flying everywhere. In the distance, I could see ponies move around. The sun was still well above the horizon and most everypony was still asleep, at least the ones that didn’t choose to still follow a diurnal sleeping pattern. Mostly non-thestrals, but not only. It really was so much more comfortable not to have to keep having Sunshines little ball of fun to contend with all the time. No. The day wasn’t for us. Even after just a single year here, that much was clear. To be able to be awake when it felt right… ...It was just so much better. For one thing, the oppressive heat of the day was quickly fading away. If just my Luna was here and I could share it with her instead of just while we slept. I missed her. So much. I took a deep breath and shook my head, stretching my wings for a long moment before I folded them again and shook my head once more before I moved away from the balcony and exited the bedchamber, closing the door behind me. “Good evening, your highness,” a voice said and I looked over to Flower Rain. She was a very light grey thestral with very long white mane, almost reaching to the floor when she stood up. Which admittedly wasn’t that long as she was tiny, even for a thestral or pegasus, almost half a head shorter than even Fluttershy. Like usual, she kept her mane bundled up in a complicated bun. She was getting a small stack of papers ready by one of the tables and smiled at me when I looked at her. “Good evening, Flower,” I said, giving her a nod as I made my way over to take a piece of fruit laid out in one of the bowls, “Sleep well?” “Very nice, your highness,” she said with a smile, flicking her ears, “I… had a date yesterday morning.” I smiled at her, “Oh really? Anypony I know?” She shook her head, “Don’t think so, sir. He works at the railway station.” I nodded and crossed over to her as I nibbled at the fruit, something we had started to call a Sky Mango. They grew high in the trees and while they were purple, they tasted like a mix between a mango and a watermelon, “Well, I hope you had a nice morning. Anything interesting on the agenda today or did anything happen that I need to know about?” Flower Rain checked her clipboard, but I already knew it was mostly by reflex, she’d know of the top of her head already, “Well, as for incidents, a Rexosaurus was spotted half an hour of flight from the village and the guard has been alerted, but it shouldn’t cause a problem. Also, the shipment from Equestria seems to be delayed, none of the scouts had reported the train so far.” I frowned slightly, “That’s by almost a week. A day or two has happened before, but a week?” She frowned, “Think anything has happened?” “Too early to say. Just keep me updated.” Flower made a small note, “Yes, sir. As for the schedule today, there is a budget meeting at four and court just before then at three. At five we have an inspection of the village defenses scheduled with Princess Midnight. The rest of the morning is free so far.” I nodded, “So nothing until three?” She shook her head, “Nothing scheduled. But there is a stack of reports and other paperwork a hoof high waiting for you,” she said with a smile. I eyed her suspiciously, “...Didn’t I outlaw paperwork last week?” “I’m afraid that even the power of alicorn royalty has its limits, your majesty,” she said with a playful smile, giving me a small bow, spreading her wings elegantly. I just shook my head with a smile, taking a bite from my breakfast, “Oh well, I guess I just have to try again later.” Oh well, it could have been worse. One good thing about this place compared to Canterlot, no bucking nobles, no bucking diplomats and absolutely no boring receptions! Flower Rain jumped off her chair and gathered up her clipboard before she paused, “Oh, and you wanted me to remind you that we are a month from Hearth's Warming.” I nodded, “Well, hopefully the train will arrive with the stuff or I might be in trouble.” She smiled and nodded, “Goes for most of us. Oh, and Lady Sunset talked to me yesterday and brought up a good point, we’re not too far from the two year anniversary of the founding of Nocturnis. She was wondering if anypony has thought of making that a holiday yet. Last year was too busy for everypony to really plan much, but now...” I blinked at her, “That’s… a good point. We should do that, shouldn’t we.”