Fear the Bats!

by Evowizard25

The Finish

“Fear is your enemy,” Nidra trotted back in forth in front of Del. “To overcome it you must first find it.”

“Uh, Nidra.”

“And then you must crush it into the ground so hard that ponies will never once again know the fear that you hold. You must destroy it utterly and without conviction.”

“And ah’m supposed to find it out in the middle of the Everfree Forest?” Del waved his hoof around at the dark forest. The forest raged around them as the wind kicked up. The dark clouds above sparked now and again as lightning flashed in the sky. “In the middle of a storm?”

“Of course,” Nidra smiled. “It is the perfect atmosphere for fear. Fear breeds here and you will be the one who neuters it.”

“...That’s somethin’ ah’d rather avoid doin’,” Del cringed at the thought. “Ah mean, ah’m real busy with chores-”

*whack*

“OW!”

“No chores,” Nidra glared at him, levitating the bat in her magic. “You are going to grow past your fears even if it kills you.”

“Ah don’t think ‘fear’ is what’s gonna do me in,” Del mumbled to himself.

“To quell your fear,” Nidra thankfully hadn’t heard him. “You must face it head on.”

Whap!

Screech~

“AHHHHHHH!”

*WHACK*

“FACE IT!” Nidra hollered.

“Ah did face it!” Del shook the bat off. “Ah’ve been facin’ it all day. Ya know what that’s got me? A headache!”

“You would have no ache of the head if you would simply forget your fears,” Nidra snorted.

“Ah can’t just do that, Nidra.” Del glowered. Yes, she was a princess. Yes, she was an alicorn. Yes, she could smite him right now, but he had enough. “Ah ain’t no princess, alicorn, or nothin’ like that. Ah ain’t even a bearer of some Element. Ah’m just a farmer. That’s it. Plain and simple. Ah’m not a hero. Ah’m a pony like everypony else and ah assure ya that most of us have a little fear of somethin’. Ya can’t change that. So stop hittin’ me with that mallet and get that thing away from me!”

Nidra’s jaw dropped at that. Del felt a little smug, but not too much so. The little bat, though it still gave him shivers, was clinging to Nidra’s neck. It was sniffling. “Is that how you would treat me? A friend of a friend and your own princess?”

“Nidra,” Del sighed. “Ah’m not tryin’ to be mean or anythin’ like that. Ah….Ah just don’t like bats is all.”

“...So you hate me?”

“NO!” Del shouted. “Ah don’t hate ya. Ah’m mighty miffed about ya whackin’ me with yer mallet, but that’s it.”

Nidra stared at him for a moment. Then she opened her wings out wide. “Look Del, these are mine. My eyes, my ears, my wings. I have bat running through my veins. I am that which you fear…..If you are indeed so adament as to keep your fear, then…..I will leave.” She turned. “Good day.”

Del wanted to say something. To say he was sorry, but...he wasn’t really. Well, he might have been if his head wasn’t throbbing so much he couldn’t get in a clear thought. He didn’t want her to go however he sliced it. Of course, fate seemed to hear his plea.

Or rather, it heard it, twisted it, and turned it into a sick joke.

For that moment, a large lightning bolt smashed into a large tree. It shattered into several pieces and unfortunately, a rather large one collided with Nidra’s head. It sent her to the ground.

“NIDRA!” Del rushed over to her. He nudged her, trying to get her to awaken. She was out cold, but thankfully, he could see her chest rising and falling like normal. “Gosh dang it!...Well Del, look on the bright side. The storm’s probably driven off most of the predators. This can’t get any worse.”

It was then he heard a familiar growl. Gulping, he turned to see several glowing green eyes staring at them.

“Me and my big mouth.”

Timberwolves. A whole pack of them. By the sounds of their growls, they were definitely hungry. He had to think fast. Which wasn’t hard really. He just scooped Nidra onto his back and prepared to-

Screech

Del turned his head to see the little fruit bat trapped under a large piece of bark. The wing was probably crushed underneath it and he looked pitiful. Del was torn over whether to do anything. Any second now, the timberwolves would strike. Any second now…..

Wow, these were very patient predators. Letting Del have the time to think over this crucial-

“BARK!”

Oh buck you dogs! Couldn’t even let me finish!

The Timberwolves charged. There was only one conscious pony at this time and they thought they could easily tear it to shreds.

It was as though time slowed down for Del as he looked down at the bat. He wanted to leave it there. It was a stupid bat. It scared the living daylights out of him….but seeing it’s weeping little eyes so filled with fright?

Del acted fast. Putting away his fears, he quickly picked up the back and lightly put him on his neck. It felt wrong being so close to a bat, but right now he had other problems. Even with his heavy load, he still had enough strength to buck one smaller dog into pieces. This caused the dogs to pause and gave Del just enough of a window to rush out of them. It wasn’t a large pack, or they had just sent a few to take him so it wasn’t that hard. Out running them would be tricky though. Animated forest creatures had more endurance than a normal pony.

The chase lasted several minutes, with Del galloping so fast that he’d make Rainbow Dash proud. Well, at least he thought so. Guess running and the fear of death cleared up his-

“BARK!”

Oh, you are just asking for it!

Finally, in a cruel twist of fate, Del ran right up to a large river. “DARN IT! Ah knew ah should have turned left back there.”

The timberwolves howled, knowing they had cornered their prey. Del turned around, putting Nidra on the ground with the bat at her side. If he was going down, he’d be cursed to let it be so without a fight. No one laid a claw on his friends….Or friends of a friend. Even if they smashed him with a mallet over and over again. Even if they were creepy bats that smashed into his face….

Why was he saving them again?

Just then, a rather large Timberwolf stepped out of the tree line. It was easily twice Del’s size. He took a wild guess as to it being an Alpha of sorts. It growled at him as it advanced. Del snorted, pawing the ground in defiance. He made sure to keep himself in between his protectorates. The timberwolf stopped and stared at him for a moment, eyeing him up. Then it glanced at Nidra. Del could swear he saw a smirk on its face.

It howled and charged, making a beeline for Nidra. Stepping in it’s way, Del charged headfirst. The timberwolf lowered its own head, hoping for its thick skull to crack Del’s own. Thankfully, he was an Earth pony so when they collided, it did nothing but stop the pair. The timberwolf cried out in pain and pulled back. Del could see cracks on the wooden head as the beast pawed at it in dismay.

“There’ll be more of that if’n ya don’t skedaddle,” Del snorted.

The timberwolf growled and howled. The pack howled back.

Timberwolves were notorious for not playing fair.

The rest of the pack made their move to attack. Del knew they were done for. He couldn’t fight all of them by himself. The pack knew this and they weren’t going to let him get away a second time. This was it. They were going to feed on pony flesh. Oh, they were going to revel in it.

“Oh you nasty brutes. Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?” A rather posh voice spoke up.

HA! No food for them!

Del was rather surprised however by it. It honestly sounded similar in a way to Fancy Pant’s…...except way more feminine. He looked up to see a moustached, haired, river serpent.

“Well, don’t that beat all?”

“Oh?” The serpent looked down at him. “Hello little pony. My name is Steven Magnet.”

“Steven?” Del knew that name from somewhere….AH HA! “So yer one of miss Rarity’s friends?”

“Such a sweet mare,” Steven smiled. “And has such lovely children. Oh how I wished they visited more often, but let’s not derry on that. I think we might have a more pressing issue to attend to.”

“Right,” Del nodded and turned to the Alpha. It was growling and trying to make itself look bigger, but the way it was taking steps back told a different story. The timberwolves were wary of the large river serpent. “Go on, skedaddle.”

The rest of the pack left without a word. Well, except for the Alpha. He wasn’t going to let this prey escape him. Not after the splitting headache it gave him. The Alpha charged, jaws open wide. It was hoping to snag something quickly enough before the serpent could react. Surely, the serpent, thought the timberwolf, would try and snag the larger winged pony. It was so sure of that, it didn’t notice the tail wrapping around it. It was stopped just short of the accursed head breaker.

Del smirked. “Nice knowin’ ya.”

Growling a the usually threat of ‘revenge’, the timberwolf cried out in fright as Steven hurled him further into the Everfree Forest.

“Well, that’s dealt with.” Steven nodded in satisfaction. He then peered down at the trio. “Oh dear, your friends are hurt. Quickly, hop on.”

_______________________________________________________________

*later, at the farm*

Del waited outside his room, or rather, Nidra’s room at the moment. His mother had been furious with him for going out so late in a storm like this. Absolutely furious. He could’ve told her it was Nidra’s decision. She dragged him out there, but...He couldn’t. Nope, he just took it. She’d already suffered enough, his mother’s tirades were overkill.

The door opened and out walked Nidra with the little fruit bat on her back. She had some bandages wrapped around her bruised head.

“Yer awake,” Del smiled.

“Thanks to you,” Nidra smiled. “Your actions were indeed very brave. I commend your spirit and so does he.” She nodded over to the bat. The little fella had his wing bandaged up as well as a few other places. Still, he managed a smile.

Screech~

Del flinched, but only slightly. “Yeah...Don’t have to thank me though. Just doin’ what’s right. Couldn’t leave y’all.”

“Indeed you couldn’t,” Nidra paused.

“Something’ wro-”

Nidra bent down and kissed him on the cheek. Quickly pulling back, she looked away stoically with a light blush on her cheeks. “I must depart. My mother will surely be worrying about me at this late of an hour.” She used her magic to put the bat on the now, stunned and blushing stallion. “Good day and may we meet again soon.” And just like that, she teleported.

Del stood there for a moment, not moving a muscle. The little bat crawled up on top his head and onto his face. The fruitbat smiled.

Screech~

“.........Ya like apple fritters?”

Author's Note:

Well, there's more action then comedy in this chapter. Sorry about that, but that's how I roll.

I hope you all enjoyed this story and please leave a comment. I loved Kilala's universe and possibly, I might write another story for her one day. Till then, I wish you all the best of luck.

Comments

[dracone]

Oh dear, your friend are hurt.

I think you meant "Oh dear, your friends are hurt." or "Oh dear, your friend is hurt."

I enjoyed this.

[Evowizard25]

5808196 Thanks and fixed.

I'm glad you enjoyed this. HOnestly...I'm kind of saddened no one really paid much attention to this one....Guess my hopes of winning were far-fetched....Well, at least I had fun and made someone smile.

[dracone]

5810846 Don't feel too bad, my stories really don't see that much traffic either. What counts is you had fun writing the story and got to see some people were interested as well.

[Bregon]

Great work! This is one of the best and funniest story portraying Nidra