Vesper yawned as the annoying beeping of her alarm woke her up. It had been an entire day and nothing had arrived for her. While she acknowledged that it might take a while for the mail, she had never been a patient pony. She preferred to get stuff taken care of as soon as possible.
The thestral also considered the possibility that her dream had actually been Luna free, and what she saw was nothing more than her subconscious speaking to her. Why would Luna look for the dreams of bat ponies? They weren’t supposed to sleep during the night.
“Another dull afternoon,” Vesper sighed as her grip on the ceiling was released and she began to fall towards the floor, saved by a swift spread of her wings to slow her decent.
Vesper walked past the chess board in the room, swatting the white king with her tail to knock it over. Normally she would let out a few soft squeaks of laughter, but today she just didn’t feel like laughing. She was tired, and regretting trying to interrupt her sleep schedule. The past few days had made it pretty clear that nature was not to be trifled with, and to do so could result in utter exhaustion.
The bat pony grabbed an apple from the bowl and began to drain it of nutrients, until the color faded and it shriveled. It was an act that always seemed to disturb the day walkers, even a few of the day guard.
Vesper tossed the shriveled apple and walked into the shower. Sleeping on the ceiling usually resulted in dirty hooves, since most ponies didn’t’ think about cleaning more than just the walls and floors. Despite being a bat pony, she preferred the warmth of a bed, even with her thicker coat keeping the cold at bay.
The thought of her coat made her sigh as she closed the door to the bathroom. A drawback of her kind was the extra effort on their part to keep clean. Stallions of the thestral tribe didn’t have as thick a coat as the mares, but they still faced a chore once the water stopped raining down on them in the shower.
“Here we go,” Vesper said as she turned the nozzle, triggering cold water to hit her extended foreleg.
While another pony would have recoiled from the contact, Vesper was unfazed. She acknowledged that the water was a little cold, but it wasn’t enough to make her pull away until the water warmed up a bit. Instead, the mare climbed in and then turned the nozzle for the hot water.
Soon enough, the water started to warm up, and steam began to rise from within the shower. Vesper took the hanging brush and rubbed a bar of soap across its bristles. Suds started to cling to any slick surface they could as Vesper slid her hoof into the loop attached at the base. The feeling of soap against her coat always felt weird to her.
The bat pony started to hum as she normally did when showering. For some odd reason everything sounded gross in the shower; her ears picking up smaller details no normal pony could. The afternoon had her off for a few other reasons, but the urge to shake and fly out of the shower was at the forefront of her mind, which she tried desperately to get rid of by thinking about other things.
Vesper stopped singing as her thoughts continued to wander elsewhere. No pony was around to hear her anyways. She found herself singing when she was happy or nervous. Her spontaneous vocal session had been brought about by the latter.
If she did go through with adapting to the day, what would that do to her relationship with her friends and family? Since most were nocturnal she assumed it wouldn’t bring about a positive change.
Vesper gave her wings a few flaps, ensuring that some of the suds ran across her fleshy wings, which was the only part of a shower she enjoyed. It briefly took her mind off the thought of losing all of her friends. She chuckled at the irony of being employed at the very castle that the princess of friendship resided in. All of these thoughts in her head were over a human; one that may not even like her.
Why did Vesper like him? Aside from the ear scritches, she admitted to being a bit lost on that herself sometimes. She had known him for a short time, she couldn’t deny that, but felt like she could talk with him. With her friends and family she never felt truly at peace talking about personal matters. Benjamin didn’t seem to mind though, he was unaware of customs, taboos, the does and don’ts of ponies; he was perfect.
Unlike a few stallions that had courted her, Benjamin was like a sponge and absorbed her every word. It made her feel better about things that were bothering her. He also told some of the strangest stories about his home. There were movies and games here, but the “airplanes” and other massive constructs from his world fascinated her.
Talking and scritches had become a nightly ritual after she found him awake when it was her duty to check on him for the night. It gave her something to look forward to when she woke up each afternoon. He never opposed her when she started resting on him, butting her head against his arm to prompt him to start rubbing her head. He had also been a good source of body heat when she had been out on cold nights.
Vesper turned off the water after feeling she was satisfactorily clean. No sooner had she stepped out of the shower, the urge to shake pushed itself to the front of her thought process. Almost instantly her body over whelmed her willpower and shook furiously, sending water all over the bathroom. Her mother had always told her only stallions had such a lack of manners, but she found it easier than wrapping a towel around her barrel and waiting to drip dry.
“Typical…” Vesper huffed as a quick glance in the mirror revealed a very fluffy pony looking back at her.
She rocked from side to side for a bit, watching her poofy coat and mane sway. Benjamin had mentioned he liked fluffy things, but she doubted any pony else would take her seriously. For being such a scary looking tribe of ponies their fur was rather disarmingly cute when drying.
Shower out of the way; she now had the afternoon to herself since Benjamin was out for his lessons. She felt bad for him since his progress was still at a basic level. She doubted that he would be learning any of the other languages anytime soon. Thestrilian was especially challenging for nonnatives and even some Equestrian citizens, which was odd since Equish was pretty easy to pick up, all things considered.
While she rarely defaulted to her tribe’s tongue, her father and brother seldom used any Equish at all. Normally, when one spoke her language it was like the words leaned on each other, sliding and dancing across the tongue which made it difficult for other ponies to know where one sentence stopped and another began.
Thoughts of her father cast a dark shadow on her interest in Benjamin. While most thestrals no longer had qualms with the other three tribes, there were some who had a great hate buried in their heart. The exclusion and distrust earned after Luna became nightmare moon more than a thousand years ago had long lasting consequences. It put a seemingly permanent divide between the citizens of the night and day.
Even though time healed some of the wounds, there was still an unspoken line that still lingered. Every time the moon replaced the sun it became apparent once more. Her family belonged to the night, while others belonged to the day. This was something she wanted to change, she wanted to be out during the day and not be exhausted.
She had yet to tell her family about her plans, or about whom she felt her heart was leading her to. If there was one thing all ponies could agree on, it was that fate had a very strong hold on their lives. That was a bridge she would have to cross at a later time.
“…I’m bored,” Vesper said trotting towards the door.
Still too light out to be moving too far from the grounds, the bat pony decided to take a trip to the library. As boring as that sounded in her mind, she was pleasantly surprised by the amount of books Princess Twilight had accumulated. While her collection was no match for Canterlot’s archives, it was still a hefty amount of paper in a single room.
“Eeny meeny miny…” Vesper chanted as she traced her hoof along the shelf. “You.”
The book’s cover looked interesting, as did the title. Vesper had a fascination of mystery novels and assumed the dark cover hinted at an interesting dark story. As her eyes danced from word to word she began to ponder if this story would get dark at all.
Still willing to give the story a chance, Vesper trudged through the uninteresting first five chapters, only to be pleasantly surprised by the sixth. Her eyes slowly got wider the deeper she read into the what she now realized wasn’t a mystery novel.
I raised my tail in silent answer to his question. His grin told me he enjoyed the sight before him, and he comically winked as I "winked" back at him. It didn't take long for him to rise up and plant his forelegs on both sides of my barrel; his weight pinning me beneath him.
The flared head of his shaft prodded at my backside until he found his target. I moaned as I felt him enter me and begin to move his hips back and forth in a sawing motion. There had been a spiteful snag before a brief pain interrupted the flow of pleasure. I bit my lip as I surrendered my virginity to the stallion that had taken my heart.
The magnitude of what I had done only made me slip deeper into the sea of bliss. Occasional pain registered in my lust addled brain, but it was snuffed out by the insistent thrusting of my lover.
He gently nibbled my ears and neck as he began to snort and grunt with effort. The bed was now bumping against the wall as we continued, no doubt disturbing the occupants in the next room.
" I'm gonna-"
"Vesper?" Starlight Glimmer's voice caused the bat pony to immediately drop the book and anchor herself to the ceiling.
"S-Starlight, I didn't see you there," Vesper said nervously.
"I can tell," Starlight commented. "What book had you so engrossed?"
Before the unicorn go get a good look, the thestral swooped down and scooped the book up. Starlight seemed a bit shocked by the speed the mare possessed, but caught a glimpse of the cover from the poorly concealed book and smirked.
"What?" Vesper asked.
"I didn't think a guard would find that kind of story interesting," Starlight shrugged.
“I genuinely thought it was something else though,” Vesper sighed, unwilling to admit that it had gotten her bothered slightly.
“What brought you to the library in the first place?” Starlight asked, levitating a book of her own in front of her as she sat down at a table. “There are plenty of things to do in Ponyville than stay cooped up all day.”
“My eyes don’t really agree with the daylight,” Vesper said, using her wings to hide the book as she opened it once more. The magic in her hooves kept her anchored to the ceiling as she used her forelegs to help support the book.
“Oh right, sorry,” Starlight’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
“It’s fine,” Vesper shrugged. “I’m kind of in the minority here, so that doesn’t leave much in the way of entertainment for us night dwellers.”
“There’s a nightclub in town, have you gone there?” Starlight asked.
“There’s a nightclub in Ponyville?” Vesper asked in disbelief. “Why wasn’t I told this sooner?!”
“Yeah, they have karaoke and dancing,” Starlight glanced up at the bat pony. “Typical stuff.”
“…as tempting as that sounds, I’ve got a job to do,” Vesper said.
“Oh, Benjamin…why not take him with you?” Starlight replied. “What else does he have to do at night, right?”
“Do you really think he’d say yes?” Vesper blushed.
“I don’t see why not,” Starlight shrugged, turning her attention back to her book. “You two seem like pretty good friends.”
“Yeah, friends,” Vesper mumbled quietly.
While she could mask her voice, she couldn’t keep her feelings from over taking her expression. Starlight quirked an eyebrow at the bat pony’s downtrodden expression. It didn’t take her long to begin forming assumptions about her behavior, but she kept them to herself. The bat had unknowingly earned Starlight’s curiosity.
“Do you really think a human would be up for late night ventures like that?” Vesper asked, trying and failing to hide her concern.
“I think he’d love it if he gives it a chance,” Starlight paused, smiling as she returned to her book. “How could any pony say no to a night with a pretty mare?”
“P-pretty?” Vesper stuttered with a hushed voice.
----
“My head hurts,” I groaned, finally free from the evil clutches of learning. “Too many lines.”
My lessons were at that stage where it actually felt like I could feel the process of cramming new information into my brain. It was like trying to shove new files into a cabinet when you knew it was already full of other things, but you weren’t clever enough to remove what you didn’t need in order to make room. I dreaded the possibility that there were other languages out there, and how difficult those would be to learn.
I ceased lamenting my mental struggle when I noticed several boxes near a large carriage that had a faded logo on it. I slowly mumbled the letters under my breath until I put the word “Moving” together. The small accomplishment was a little boost to my confidence, a boost that was quickly swept away before I could even begin to piece together the next set of letters.
A griffon stepped out of the house the carriage was parked in front of. Even from a distance I could tell that it dwarfed a pony. I couldn’t really put a peg on its gender until another one leapt out from the back of the carriage with a box under its foreleg. It had feminine eyelashes and had a much softer expression than the other one which led me to conclusions about each one’s gender.
The male walked past the gate of the house and into the street to collect another box, revealing what appeared to be a prosthetic hind leg that stopped just short of the knee joint. I had yet to see a prosthetic limb on any on-pony in Equestria which gave me the impression that there was probably some spell of regeneration or something to that effect.
The griffon turned his eagle like head towards me, once he noticed I was staring at him. He stared back at me, sending chills down my spine. It was as if he held some sort of power over my ability to move as our stare down seemed to intensify.
“Shadowquill, could you come here for a second?” a soft voice called out.
The griffon in front of me turned his head with surprising speed, before glancing back at me one last time. Once his tail and rounded the corner I wasted little time in quickly walking away, not wanting to give the impression I was scared.
I knew what happened over a thousand years ago was ancient history, but something came over me when I saw the griffins. What was I to the griffins now? No doubt news had spread among the higher classes of various tribes that an extinct race was among the living again hadn’t caused some sort of curiosity. Said curiosity no doubt included the griffins, who were the reason humans in this world no longer existed.
Was I just a remin-
“Look out!” A young voice shouted.
My mind quickly snapped back into reality and willed my body to stop abruptly. In doing so I ended up toppling forward, and earning myself a face full of dirt. I groaned as my headache returned, amplified by my fall onto something that felt like a rock.
“Are you okay mister?” the same voice asked.
“I’m great,” I said picking myself up. “Just super, I didn’t step on you, did I?”
“No, I’m good,” replied a earth pony colt. “Though my dice bag has seen better days.”
“Dice bag?” I looked down and noticed the torn bag which had sent dice in all directions. “Oh crap, sorry there-“
“Dee Em,” the colt said proudly. He was orange with a green mane and tail. His flanks sported a picture of a twenty sided dice. The most notable thing about the earth pony was his cape that looked like it belonged to a wizard instead a young equine. Blue frame glasses sat on his muzzle, which seemed to bring the whole look together.
“I’m really sorry about your dice bag Dee Em,” I said beginning to pick up the assortment of numbered squares and other crazy shapes that I couldn’t immediately recall off the top of my head.
“It’s the dice that matter, that bag was super old anyways,” Dee shrugged. “It’s just an excuse to get a new one now.”
“So, where are you off to with the cape get up?” I asked.
“Off for a good time with PnP,” The colt smiled brightly.
“…gonna need a bit of context for that abbreviation, because my mind’s giving me all sort of possibilities with it,” I said.
“Ponies and Perils,” Dee replied. “It’s what the dice were for…umm, which, if it’s not too much trouble, can I have some help with them?”
“Uh, sure,” I said picking up the last one before following the colt. “So is this PnP thing like an adventure game or something?”
“Yeah! Have you heard of it?” Dee looked up at me, eyes full of hope with my answer.
“Kind of,” I confessed. “There was a game called DnD where I’m from. It was called Dungeons and Dragons.”
“Did you ever play?” Dee asked me.
“I wanted to at times, since a few of my friends did, but I could never find the time, or they would play over at a friend’s house that was too far to drive for a game,” I said going over the typical list of reasons.
“Do you want to play?” The colt asked with a gasp, coming to a full stop in front of a house.
I had torn this poor colt’s bag, nearly crushed him because I wasn’t paying attention, and he was now inviting me to play a game with him. Said game involved a lot of skills I hadn’t fully developed in this world, like culture and reading and writing. Math stilled worked the same way though, that was something I was grateful for; none of that common core bullshit existed here.
I was about to politely decline when the other half of my brain decided to wake up and give a counter argument. While I wasn’t good at any of those things, getting into a game that forced me to exercise those skills might not be such a bad thing. I couldn’t get any worse at reading, so I didn’t really have anything to lose by saying yes.
“You know I can’t read that fast, right?” I asked, deciding to bring up my dilemma anyways for the sake of having everything out on the table.
"I didn't, but that shouldn't be a big deal," Dee replied. "It's mostly just telling each other what you're wanting to do and rolling dice."
"Alright then, when is this thing?" I asked.
"Tomorrow night, at my house," The colt pointed to the building we had stopped at. "If that's okay with you, I mean."
"I literally have nothing better to do at night, I'm in," I said.
-------
Thankfully I made it back to my room without further incident. I had pondered over what this PnP game would be like, and if it really was similar to the role playing games from Earth. Whatever it turned out to be I at least had something to occupy some of my nights with.
I stopped in the door way after pushing it open at the sight of two mares in my room. One being Rarity, the local fashionista. The other was my self-appointed body guard. Every so often a container of some sort became engulfed in a magical mist before levitating. A brush would accompany it before both settled back down as Rarity nodded in approval.
My presence didn’t go unnoticed for too long though, as both mares focused on me, probably for the notable shocked expression on my face. Vesper quickly averted her gaze as my eyes locked on her. She was actually wearing makeup, something I deemed too girly for the guard pony. It wasn’t thick or over done either, which was a plus.
“Um, hi,” I finally spoke up. “If this is a bad time-“
“Certainly not dear, I was just getting Vesper ready for tonight,” Rarity smiled, which made the thestral blush.
“I didn’t know anything was going on tonight,” I said, rubbing the back of my head.
“Starlight dropped the suggestion that a little night out would do us some good,” Rarity replied. “I wholeheartedly agreed, as did our night dwelling friend.”
“You mean like a nightclub or something?” I asked.
“More or less, care to join us?” Rarity batted her eyelashes.
“It’s better than being cooped up inside a castle during the night,” I said. “Why didn’t I know about this sooner?”
“You didn’t ask dear,” Rarity replied as she trotted past me.
“Such a strange mare,” I commented after she had left.
“Pinkie Pie is even stranger,” Vesper said. “I think she’s a unicorn with a really tiny horn.”
“I wouldn’t doubt that,” I chuckled. “You uh, look good.”
Vesper’s expression seemed to brighten up a bit at the complement. She really did look good, for a pony anyways. While the makeup was nice, I thought she presented herself nicely without it. I was under the impression that most guard ponies wouldn’t even bother with the stuff.
“Thank you,” Vesper smiled. “Well, we probably shouldn’t keep them waiting.”
I nodded in agreement and followed the mare outside where Rarity and Starlight were waiting for us. The two exchanged a strange smile before composing themselves. I considered the possibility of this being a trap or prank, but I knew Vesper wouldn’t let anything go amiss. While we were still in Canterlot the mare foiled a prank against me. I only know this because she marched the two ponies in to apologize before even committing it.
Small talk between the mares was abundant, touching on everything from the stars to any late night ponies we passed. I spoke up only when I was directly asked a question, still feeling a bit out of the loop on pony topics of conversation. I kept myself entertained by reading the signs we passed until we finally reached the night club.
“Well here we are, stay close dear,” Rarity said as she led the way up to what appeared to be a bouncer pony.
“He with you?” the gruff pony asked, pointing a hoof at me.
“This fine gentle colt is indeed with us,” Rarity confirmed.
Shrugging, the stallion let us through and I was met by a plethora of shifting lights. It didn’t look all that different compared to the ones on Earth. I had never been that big into drinks, but now that I had been given a clean slate it was time to do things differently.
My presence turned a few heads, but overall didn’t cause that big of a problem. One clearly drunken stallion gave me a wink before passing out on the bar counter. The purple coated bar tender rolled her eyes before pouring another customer a drink.
“So, what takes your fancy?” Rarity asked. “In drinks, I mean.”
“What do you guys recommend for a newbie?” I replied as I sat down at a table with them.
“Apple Cider,” all three mare said at once, each carrying a varying degree of excitement in their voices.
“Well, I guess I know what your friend there is having,” said a mare that had approached our booth. “What about you ladies?”
Vesper requested cider with me, while Rarity and Starlight ordered something that sounded nothing like any drink from Earth. The smell alone when it arrived was pretty strong, but not in a bad way. It carried a sweet aroma, but something told me that it wasn’t exactly made for human consumption.
“So, have any good stories from your world?” Starlight asked.
“Eh, none that would probably interest you guys,” I replied. “I mean, you guys take on world ending threats, I’m just some weirdo who happened to find this place on accident.”
“You’re selling yourself short,” Vesper nudged me, turning her attention to the stage when a pony started to sing.
“Things don’t happen in my world like they do here,” I explained. “A common guy like me can’t do much to make a difference. I donated stuff and volunteered to help, but that’s about as exciting as my life gets. I’m not a hero or anything.”
“You don’t need to be some pony important to make a difference darling,” Rarity said. “There are ponies who are blessed, encouraged and inspired to not give up because of actions both great and small.”
“That was deep Rarity…” Starlight’s eyes had grown a bit after listening to the white unicorn’s mini speech.
“Well I mean Vesper can vo-“ I turned to face the bat pony, only to find an unoccupied seat. “Vesper?”
The music that had been playing throughout the building ceased, earning the attention of its occupants. Noticing that all eyes seemed focused on the stage we turned and saw an unexpected sight. Vesper was on stage, tapping the mic before clearing her throat. She mouthed something to the pony working the sound system and received a nod from the stallion.
“What is she doing?” I thought aloud.
“Singing,” Starlight said. “Wonder what she has cooked up.”
The tune started out low and peaceful, bringing a smile to the bat pony’s muzzle. Her voice was alluring, and sent a chill down my spine. I noticed that almost all noise in the building had ceased as the mare sung.
“What is that song about?” I whispered to Rarity.
“It’s an old song that tells the story of the scar left between thestrals and other ponies when Luna rebelled against Celestia,” Rarity said. “I’ve never heard it sung in Equish before though; it’s quite beautiful.”
“Yeah,” I nodded absentmindedly. “Very beautiful.”