It's almost time for the Summer Sun Celebration. Every pony in Ponyville worked so hard to set up and prepare. It was exciting, even thrilling, just to help set it up.
I suppose I should get out of bed and start getting ready to go watch the ceremony. The bat-pony that lays on top of me prevents me from wanting to do so. Her breathing is steady, so I assume she's still asleep. I take a deep breath and open my eyes, only to find her snout nearly touching my face. I hardly slept; Speck must have stolen all of the sleep that was meant for me. I check the clock on the bedside table. The ceremony should be starting in about two hours.
"Speck, wake up." She hardly stirs. I pick her up off of my chest and hold her up in the air. Her legs dangle and her wings droop. "It's time to get up." She starts to snore with her adorable little kee's. I set her back down on my chest and hug her tight as I stare at the ceiling. Not even the most stone-cold killer could resist her.
I can only pray that the world ends on the exact day that she stops being adorable; my life would not be worth living should that happen. Not even that one famous cake Mr. and Mrs. Cake only make once in a blue moon. Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness, or something. If Speck was a cake, she would be that one.
I must cease my musings; she still needs to wake her little bat-pony butt up.
I tap her on the shoulder. No reaction.
I trace a finger lightly over her nose. Nothing.
It looks like I'll have to resort to extreme measures. I stick a finger in my mouth and get it nice and wet. She yawns, smacks her lips, and snuggles close to me. It's now or never. I hold the right side of her face and caress her cheek. She's such a little angel. Too bad she's at my mercy. I plunge my wet finger into her ear.
She wakes and begins screeching. I hold fast, her wings flapping and her hooves kicking as she tries to escape. Her efforts bear no fruit.
"Why Anon! Why do you do this to me!" She screams. I cackle and push her off of me. She lands on the floor with a thud.
"Because it's time to get ready to see Celestia raise the sun." Speck gasps and hops back onto the bed. She must have forgotten. Yesterday was rather exciting.
I shower, shave, and get dressed as fast as I can while Speck eats a bowl of peaches and cream oatmeal. We leave as soon as she's done eating.
The cool night air whisks past us as we start our journey. Street lights illuminate our path, and every pony we pass.
Ponies hustle through the town, playing games and chasing each other. Ponyville hasn't been this lively since Hearth's Warming Eve. I see dozens of ponies that I've never seen around town. They've probably come from other cities for this. The main ceremony for the Summer Sun Celebration is usually held in a different town or city each year.
Speck bumps into me as we walk into the east plaza. I must have spaced out. She points towards the other side of the plaza, excited.
"Look Anon! I can see the stage from all the way back here!" Most of the festivities were set up here, since it was where the main attraction was. A large stage with nothing of note, save a small pedestal in the center. I've read a little bit about it. Celestia would jump up as she raised the sun and align the sun, pedestal, and self to cast her silhouette over the crowd. It seems rather flashy and unnecessary. I can't say much. It was this world's tradition. I suppose it might be mine as well.
Speck has climbed onto my back with her limbs wrapped around my torso and neck. I should focus more and think less.
"This is going to be my first time seeing Princess Celestia raise the sun!" She kee's as I reach back to scratch her ear. She must never have gotten to see the celebration in person. Today will be a good day for her, then. She might get to see Luna again, and she'll definitely get to play a bunch of games and have fun.
"It'll be mine too." Our first Summer Sun Celebration, together.
She nuzzles into my neck. I really should stop spacing off, but there's something in the back of my mind that's pestering me. Maybe I'm just really tired. Her stomach growls. I stop and sigh.
"I'm hungry, Anon. Can we get something to snack on?" Rumbles sound from my own stomach, which causes Speck to giggle.
"I guess." Even though she just ate. She points enthusiastically at an exotic fruit vendor. He wears a hooded cloak and hides in the shade of his tent.
Here we go. She's going to have one of her episodes over food. I walk over to the vendor with my bat-pony bat-pack on my back, cringing inwardly. The vendor waves at us. He must be visiting for the festival. He reacts to Speck in a manner similar to a treasure hunter finding untouched ruins.
"Ah, a bat-pony! I have many exotic, succulent fruits for sale. Might you be interested?" She nods, a bit of drool dripping from her open mouth, onto my shirt. Why do bad things happen to good people?
I look over the fruits. Bright yellow star-shaped fruits, mangoes, durians, coconuts, papayas; nothing that could be grown around these parts, I'm sure.
"See anything you want, Speck?"
"A mango." She points, but shies away, her snout pressing to the back of my neck. She still has a little trouble around new faces, but we're getting there.
"How much for one?" The vendor shrugs.
"I suppose, for such a cute bat-pony, I could part with one for free." Free is nice, but there's usually a catch. The vendor picks up one particularly juicy looking mango.
"What's the catch?"
"No catch." He tosses the mango to me. I go to catch it, but a certain gray blob is faster than me. She now sits on my shoulders, legs thumping against my chest as she kicks. She's going to take a bite out of the mango. Its juices will dribble down her chin and into my hair. There is nothing I can do about it.
Her fangs pierce the mango's skin, sinking deep into its flesh. Her eyes close, and she elicits a light moan. I feel the juices start to drip into my hair. It drips onto my neck; at least, I hope that's mango juice.
"Everything is worthwhile when your fruits can make a bat-pony happy. They have the most judging tastes over fruit, I've heard." If he knew Speck, he wouldn't say that. Any kind of food makes her happy, with the exception of raisins.
"How much are you charging normally?"
"Five bits for two." That's actually not bad. They all look rather perfect.
"Where'd you get them?"
"Hollow Shades, to the north-east. It's the primary home of the bat-ponies. Do you not know?"
"Actually, I do." I only know a little bit about it. It's a tree-top town, primarily focusing its residential and business districts on long walk-ways built of wood and rope. Many buildings are built into the large trees themselves, though some are build on top of large platforms and connected by suspended rope bridges. There's mostly farmland on the ground floor of the forest, with a river cutting through it. I haven't been, but it sounds neat.
I had asked Celestia and Luna once, in a letter, when the town came to be, and asked for a little bit of history on it; not many books discuss its past. Luna outright refused to discuss it, and Celestia never returned my letters.
Speck taps my shoulder and points down at the vendor.
Right.
"I'll buy twenty." Speck offers a surprised little gasp. I trade the vendor fifty bits in exchange for a bag of mangoes. He waves to us as we start walking back towards the stage.
We have some time to kill before Celestia does her thing. Maybe Speck would like to play some games?
"See anything fun to do?"
"Nah. We played almost everything yesterday while we were helping set up."
"Right. Wanna try to find the princesses? They might have an idea of how to kill time." I start to walk toward the town hall. Speck tightens her grip on me and starts screeching. She stops abruptly, as if an interesting thought had popped into her mind.
"How do you know the princesses, anyway? You seem pretty close to them."
"Nah, we're not that close. Celestia and Luna were the ones that found me when I came to Equestria. I was only with them for a day or two. I ended up asking if I could explore this world."
"How did that turn out?"
"I came here and never left."
"What about Princess Twilight?"
"I met her in the library one day, just completely out of the blue. Haven't I already told you this?" She nods.
"I like to hear you talk. You're kinda quiet sometimes." She's always loved my stories. She loves the ones about Earth the most. If I ever find a way home, I'll have to go in secret; Speck would try to follow me. Who knows how well a talking bat-horse fusion would roll over back home?
Speck climbs off of me as I stop in front of the town hall. It's an old building; clean and solid, but old. The front steps creak and groan under our weight, but they hold steady. The doors screech softly as I push them open.
Sure enough, Twilight and Luna are here, drinking tea and chatting idly. Pingpong sits between them. They notice me and Speck enter, and regard us with warm smiles. Speck immediately trots up to them and bows briefly. Pingpong waves meekly at me, casting a nervous glance to Speck. They offer each other a brief glance, but nothing more.
"Good morning, Princess Luna." She doesn't even bother saying anything to Twilight, who glances at me with a knowing smirk.
"Good morning, little bat." I sit beside Luna, across from Twilight. "How are the two of you doing this fine morning?"
"I've been alright, Princess! Anon and I have been hanging around all day." I barely get a word in before Luna opens her mouth.
"Well, I bet you've been driving him absolutely batty!" They giggle. I feel bile rise in my throat.
"Oh, I have. It's definitely helped to stirrup his emotions." Twilight watches this exchange, offering naught but a giggle.
"You should be careful! He might try to harness his anger and -" I wrap my hand around Luna's muzzle.
"Anon? What's the matter? Are you saddle so-" I grab Speck's muzzle too. Luna huffs. She slips her tongue between her lips, as does Speck. They lick my hands, causing me to release their muzzles. As much as I wipe my hands on my shirt, the feeling does not dissipate.
"That's disgusting! Why would you do that?" Before they can answer, Twilight sets her teacup down and offers her own reply.
"Because your smile is turned upside down." There is a knowing smirk on her face.
***
I ran. I ran so far away. I don't know for how long, or where I was going, but I ran. Somehow, by either a divine grace, or psychic magnetism, I got away from them.
And managed to find another princess.
Celestia leans on the railing of a bridge that leads towards Canterlot, looking up at her city.
"What brings you to this fine little bridge, Anonymous?" I lean against the railing beside her and look down into the water. It reflects all of the stars in the sky, and even the moon. It takes me just a moment to realize that she never bothers to shorten my name, though it doesn't bother me.
"Your sister and my bat-pony decided to start throwing puns around." She rolls her eyes with a musing hum.
"Luna and the bat-ponies always were fond of puns."
"Then you know how I feel. How do you deal with it?" She leans against me, her muzzle an inch away from my ear.
"If you can't bat them, leaf them behind in -" I grab her muzzle and hold it shut. Royalty or not, this alicorn is the last safe haven I have in the small circle of ponies I call friends. Twilight can't even be trusted. The look she gave me as I left the town hall; it was one of imminent pun-slinging.
Celestia starts to giggle, and I immediately remove my hand from her muzzle. Today can pass without my hand being licked a second time.
"I must apologize, Anonymous. I assumed that, since you are close to a bat-pony, you would appreciate a minor form of punmancy."
"Punmancy?"
"Yes. On top of their heightened senses and reactions, bat-ponies have a knack for puns." What a garbage racial bonus. That is absolutely useless.
We sit in silence for a moment, our eyes watching the starry sky.
"I must apologize once more," Celestia says with a sigh. It is one of great disdain. "My sister and I, despite trying our hardest, still have not found you a way home. We might have to stop searching."
I stand a little straighter, still leaning on the rail. Strange; I would have suspected to be more disappointed by actually hearing those words. Things have changed in the year I've lived here, however subtle those changes were. Though, I think I can pin one rather large change to one merely a month ago; the day I met Speck. Maybe she was the tipping point in tying me to this world. I turn to Celestia with a smile, one without fear or sadness hiding behind it.
"I can't ask you to continue, Celestia. You've been a great help to me so far, and I can honestly say... It's fine." There is deep sincerity in my voice, and she can sense it. "It's almost time for you to raise the sun. Pretty big moment, huh?"
"I have done this one-thousand-and-three-hundred times, Anonymous. Every year since..." She cuts herself off with a pained smile. "If only you knew, Anonymous. If only you knew."
"Maybe some day you'll tell me."
I follow Celestia as she departs from the bridge, headed back into town.
~~~
"You found him, I see," the armored pony said in a cheerful manner.
"I have, thank you," the bat-pony replied, an elated look in her eyes.
"How do you like it around here?"
"It's really nice. I had to live in a tree for nearly a year, just so you know!"
"Sorry."
The princesses had left moments ago, shortly after her friend fled. Speck remained with Pingpong, and discussed Speck's stay in town. Though there is a history between these two, it would best be saved for another time, perhaps in Pingpong's own memoir.
"It would have been much better if I weren't nocturnal."
"I told you to go to Sugarcube Corner as soon as you arrived!"
"I didn't want to scare anypony." Speck tapped her hooves together.
"Things worked out, though."
"Yes. I did everything you told me to do, and now here we are. I'm just curious, though. How did you know all of this would happen?"
"I can't say. Not yet." Pingpong rose from her seat and started for the door. "The ceremony should be starting soon."
The bat-pony followed, only one thought in her mind: her friend.
~~~
Twilight and Luna flank Celestia on the stage. Speck, Pingpong, and I all sit front and center. Speck sits in my lap, occasionally giving me a devilish smile. She has something planned, though I'm too focused on Celestia to fear it. I have to focus on something other than Speck; I might actually be close to needing an insulin shot. Pingpong at least stopped trying to crush my bones with her hugs.
I do, however, feel myself wrapped in a hug regardless.
"I'm sorry I upset you earlier, Anon." I look down at Speck, who has her face buried in my chest. This pony will certainly be my downfall during my remaining life in this world. I hug her back and stroke her mane; Pingpong glances over at us, almost as if she's expecting something to happen.
Speck, still sitting in my lap, lets go of me and twists her body to get a good look at Celestia.
The Princess of the Sun takes a step forward, her horn starting to glow. She raises her head and leaps into the air, wings spread as wide as possible.
Just as she jumps, the sun rises, and I feel two fuzzy lips press against my own. My heart skips a beat out of surprise, and I feel my mind race as the world around me slows.
I don't know how to react, nor would I be able to given enough time. We are cast in Celestia's shadow for no more than a few seconds before she lands, and Speck pulls back from the kiss.
She smiles as wide as she can. Four of the most powerful words I have ever heard are her only offer of explanation.
"I love you, Anon."