As his eyes flitted open, Clyde slowly got up. "There we go, not too much pain." Slowly, he stretched out his new bat wing. Wincing a little, he continued spreading it out until it was finally fully spread.
"Yes!" Clyde was finally able to spread his wings out fully. It had been three days since he'd come to the Lunar Republic, and staying at the Moons' house had been not very exciting. He was very grateful for everything they had done for him. However, Ruby wouldn't allow Clyde to go outside until he could move his wings with little pain. Finally, after three days of practically laying in their guest room doing nothing, he was finally able to explore the Lunar Republic.
"Now Clyde..." Cynder said as he saw the new batpony getting ready. "You should take it easy out there. You know how Ruby worries."
"Yeah, I know." Clyde replied with a smile, strapping a saddlebag to his side. "Don't worry, I'll be fine!!"
Walking outside, Clyde looked around with his newly sharpened hearing and vision.
What he saw was astounding. All the ponies walking around were bat ponies, just like he was. He actually felt like he was accepted in this new place, and smiling he walked around to explore. He walked down the house's cobblestone pathway and into the small village. In the small town, most of the buildings had the same design. They had thatched roofs and simple yet cozy interiors. Lots of merchants were out, and one caught his eye. Clyde walked over to a small outdoor shop that contained wooden trinkets. Picking a small one up, he gasped confirming what it was. The wooden sculpture was of a Lunar Republic guard, in the stance with his hoof to his forehead. Clyde was very attracted to it for some reason, probably because it reminded him of the royal guard.
"Umm, excuse me?" He asked the pony standing at the front desk. "How much does this carving cost?"
The merchant looked it over and said, "3 bits, sir."
With a smile, Clyde reached in his saddlebag and pulled out 3 bits.
"Thanks!!" He said, waking away with his newfound treasure. As he continued exploring the island, he finally got to the shore. Telling from the lighting he knew it was sunset, but couldn't see the sun because of the buildings. Walking past the bustle of the city, Clyde took a path that led to the shore. There was something interesting about the water though... But what was it? As Clyde reached the shore, he saw that the water glimmered more than he had noticed back at home. Or could he just be imagining things? He sat down. This was definitely a magic place, but he didn't know if it could make water shine differently. Reasoning with himself, Clyde agreed that enough things had happened recently that were beyond belief that different looking water might not be too far fetched. As the sun peacefully set, he realized that he was right: as the night sky changed, so did the ocean. Glimmering, it changed from clear blue to a dark navy shade. The deeper the water, the thicker the color scheme became and at the top, the water was mostly clear. All the while, the water was sparkling with dots that looked like stars.
"Wow." He said to himself.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
Clyde bowed as he realized who it was. "P-princess Luna!"
"Don't be afraid, Clyde. She said. "I came to check up on you. To see how you were fairing as a bat pony."
"Oh, it's very nice. And thank you." He said, bowing again. "For saving my life. If you need me to do anything, Princess, I will."
Luna chuckled. "Thank you, Clyde. But you can just call me Luna. I'm just glad that you're okay and doing well in your new state."
"Mhmm. Hey Luna?" He asked.
"Yes?"
"When do you think I'll be able to let my family know I'm okay? I know that they're worried about me, but I can't do anything about it..."
"Not to worry, Clyde. If you'd like, you could right a letter to them and I' have one of my guards deliver it to them."
Excitedly, Clyde said, "You can do that??" Princess Luna nodded.
"Thank you so much, Princess!!!" She raised an eyebrow. "Um, I mean Luna." They laughed.
"It was nice talking to you, Clyde. I'll send a guard to get your letter in an hour."
"Okay, thanks again!" He replied, waving to her.
Rushing to his temporary home, Clyde started writing the letter to his family. It included everything from when he went surfing to right then, and was a few pages long. Finishing up, he said to himself, "that'll do." A few minutes later, he heard a knock at the door. Answering it, he saw the guard that Luna sent. It hit him at that moment that the Lunar Republic Guard was almost exactly like the Royal Guard, the thing he had trained his entire life for. Maybe he didn't have to wait another year to apply... Maybe he could work as a guard for the Lunar Republic.
"Umm, hold on." Clyde said, quickly scribbling on a piece of paper. "Okay, here you go." He said, handing two sets of paper to the guard. "Can the first one go to my family in Haywaii and the second one go to Princess Luna?"
"Sure thing!" The guard replied.
"Thank you! Travel safely!!"
Closing the door, Clyde smiled. He had found a new goal in his life. It wasn't to get into the Royal guard anymore. It was to get into the Lunar Republic guard.