Stella Eventide: Wings on my Back

by Shepherd Sheild92

Chapter 1: New Roommate

With her oh-so-special sleepy time having been completely used up and her eyes being assaulted by the inconsiderate sun, Stella was tempted to simply roll over and just forget about the world. She sighed and dragged herself out of bed, knowing she needed to clean up a bit since her new roommate was due to arrive later that day. Just what I need, she thought, a roommate to complicate my life. Her room wasn't the worst it's ever been, but it sure would make a poor impression in its current state, and the last thing she wanted was to start off on the wrong hoof.

As she began putting things back in their places, she uncovered a picture that had fallen off of her bedside table, and after turning it over to see the image, she felt a twinge of guilt. She hadn't even noticed its absence. How long had it been there, upside down under garbage? Why hadn't see noticed and looked for it? The reason it hit her so hard was the contents of the ill-fated photo. It was a picture of her and her family. The five pegasi in the picture looked so happy. Memories of her parents, older brother, and younger sister came unbidden into her still clearing head, compounded by the fresh experience of the conversation with her little sister in dream. Tears began to flow. The memories, the dream, and her neglect of the picture all mixed in her bleary mind, and, though she couldn't make sense of the emotion, she had no choice but to let it run free through her body, destroying her resolve, and making her knees give out. The poor bat pony hadn't realized how much she truly missed her family. The four months since she had last seen them felt like an eternity.

Once she regained control, she put the picture back on her bedside table and continued cleaning her room. She was almost done and had stepped out into the living room on her way to the kitchen to replace a knife, that even she hadn't remembered why or when it had migrated to her room when she heard a knock at her door. She dropped the knife and ran into the bathroom to see how much of her stilled looked like a batpony. All that remained of her nocturnal life were her fangs, and slitted eyes, though her eyes had returned to their normal blue hue. They were still a little red and puffy from her breakdown earlier, she noted. It definitely could've been worse. The knock came a second time.

“Coming! I’ll be right there,” called out the tired Pegasus, picking up some sunglasses that she had just rediscovered during her preparations. She then rushed to open the door. She couldn't think who it could be. Her new roommate wasn't supposed to arrive until later in the day. Even though the sunglasses, she was not prepared for the bright sun. There's a reason Batponies are nocturnal. The sensitive eyes that allow them to rule the night don't just turn off when the sun rises, and her eyes still hadn't reverted to her original ones.

“Hello there! Are you Stella Eventide?” asked the bright orange earth pony.
After recovering from the sun's assault, Stella responded, a hoof still hooked above her head. “Yes, I’m Stella, and you must be Brighteyes. I, ah, wasn't expecting you so early,” she said, trying to fight back a yawn, and testing out how fast, or rather slow, her eyes were adjusting by slowly removing, then quickly returning her hoof above her muzzle.

“I wasn't either, but my train was ahead of schedule." There was a brief, awkward pause as Stella finally brought herself to replace her hoof on the ground. Brighteyes continued with a friendly demeanor, "So, did you go to some kind of costume party last night?”
Brighteyes looked at her new apartment. She was worried she had moved in with a slob, but she wouldn't let that bother her. She decided she'd just keep her room, and the shared rooms once they had been cleaned, and not even worry about the mess that was sure to occur in Stella's room. She felt bad for judging her new roommate so soon, and decided to be as friendly as she could to her to make up for it. “Well," she began, "Your mane is all messed up, you're wearing vampony fangs, and you’re most likely hiding the bags under eyes with those sunglasses,” realizing her explanation could be taken a little offensively, she decided to cap it off with a big friendly smile.
Stella didn't mind the comments, she was just happy that her new roommate had no idea she was a pegasus turning batpony. She, however, disapproved of how friendly Brighteyes was towards a pony she just met. Stella decided to humor her. “Wow, you’re pretty smart. I guess wearing sunglasses in a dark apartment was a dead giveaway about the lack of sleep I had last night.”
Brighteyes, with the same smile plastered on her face, just nodded, and added, "That, and your messy mane!" She pulled off her saddlebag, and set it next to the sofa. Stella rolled her eyes and beckoned the happy mare to follow.

"This is the living room, with the couch," Stella began, "And that's the kitchen over there. There's not too much space in the cupboards, but it's enough, as long as we share. That's your room and bathroom on that side, and this is mine." She concluded with a gesture at the closed door with a slightly crinkled lined paper taped to it that displayed a quickly written "ALWAYS KNOCK!" in black sharpy.
Brighteyes was a little taken aback by the shortness of the quick tour, and the sign on the door, but she decided she was going to make this work. "Sounds good to me! I think I'll go start unpacking. Let me know if I can help you with anything!" She offered with as genuine a smile she could muster.

"Thanks," Stella answered. "I will." She wasn't expecting such an offer and wondered if it was sincere, or just fluffy words to try and manipulate. She hoped it was the former. She slunk quickly into her room so as not to let her new roommate catch wind of her surprise, and continued to prepare for the day.
By the time she entered the common area again, her eyes where normal and her teeth had returned to their original shape and size. She found her possibly new friend on the couch with her phone positioned in front of her. The bright mare looked up when she heard the door, and at the sight of her definitely new friend, jumped up and suggested, "Hey, wanna go sign up for classes? I just got in town, so I haven't done that yet, and I think it would be a perfect way to get to know each other better!" There was a pause. "Unless you've already done that. I guess it would make sense since they start next week."
Stella realized she hadn't responded, and shook her head. "Oh no, I haven't. That sounds like a great idea." Even though she put more enthusiasm than she normally would into her voice, next to the happy pony's response, she sounded as if she had just come from a funeral.

"Wooohooo!!", Brighteyes exclaimed. "I was hoping you'd say that! Are you ready to go? Let's go! This is going to be so much fun! You can show me all the cool sights, and awesome places to eat! And don't forget all the hot hang out spots!" She was already heading for the door.
Stella signed and smiled despite herself. This is going to be a long day...She thought, but something inside her was happy it was turning out this way.

--00--00--

Though her Batpony eyes had changed back to a normal appearance, Stella was having a hard time with the sun. Her eyes hadn't fully given up their sensitivity, so she had to shield them with her hooves. Brighteyes noticed but didn't think much of it. After all, it made sense that she hadn't fully adjusted to the light after what she could only guess was a pretty crazy costume party. Stella, however, was very conscious of how she was appearing to others, and couldn't stand that she was acting suspiciously. She incrementally braved the light and was able to walk normally again with just squinting a bit.

She now looked around. Canterlot was swimming with ponies. So many ponies. She just realized how few times she had actually stepped outside during the day in the 4 months she had worked at the castle waiting for School to start. Canterlot was a completely different city during the day. She couldn't fathom where they'd all come from, or where they were going, or why they were here. Some seemed in a hurry. Maybe they were late to their jobs, or maybe they were on a lunch break. Others were just wandering leisurely, or socializing. There were just so many! As she thought about the city, she had seen many apartment complexes in addition to her dorm apartments, and maybe if you were to add in the ponies who lived in the town at the base of the mountain who might commute to the city for work or entertainment, you might find this many, so it made sense to her how they all fit, but thinking about it conceptually and seeing the real number, just didn't compare. She was simply amazed. The buildings looked different as well. She could see the castle from here, but that wasn't hard, as you could see the castle from nearly everywhere in the city, but nothing seemed familiar. She hoped they wouldn't get lost.

As Stella was lost in thought, gazing around, her roommate was doing the same, only instead of shock, confusion, and fear, her thoughts were centered on shock, wonder, and excitement! This was only the second or third time Brighteyes was able to stroll around the iconic city, and it still hadn't lost its luster yet. She gazed at each sign sticking out above their heads, marking the locations of retail along the road, for future reference. No matter where they were, or what they were doing, she felt the need at least every minute to gaze up at the castle. The beautiful Canterlot castle! It was her dream to go inside one day, and meet the Princesses, but it was only a fleeting hope. She wasn't here to vacation through her fantasies, she was here to make her father proud! Nothing could get in the way of that goal. After looking back forward from the castle, she noticed Stella had stopped, and quickly snapped back to reality, and lurched back to her.

Stella had caught sight of a sports shop, and out of reflex, stopped to stare. They were ahead of schedule for heading to register, anyway.

“Wow, I never thought a blond would be into sports,” said Brighteyes jokingly. Stella was unsure how to interpret that comment, so she just filed it away in the back of her mind until it could be useful in some way.

On one of the ponikins in the window was wearing a flight suit that was quite pleasing to the eyes, yet equally as effective, if not more, than the competitors. Brighteyes took in the suit with awe, then glanced at the designer and saw the name Eventide. “Say do you know this Eventide by chance?” asked Brighteyes with a lovestruck gaze.

“Yea,” Stella sighed. “She's my mother. She designs fashionable clothes with a purpose and not just for looks. She does work for the Wonderbolts and the Equestrian 500, but she also designs dresses when the Grand Galloping Gala comes around,” replied Stella with a proud smile. If she had been looking at Brighteyes, she would have noticed that she was thoroughly impressed, but she stood staring at the window display a few beats more before shaking her head, and adding, "Well, enough missing home. Let's get going."

Without further discussion, they continued their journey to the University bookstore. Upon arrival, the mares were met with a sizable mob of freshmen waiting for the store to let the next batch of students in. This gave them both some time to think. Although a cacophony of voice was continually erupting around them, neither pony desired to break the silence that had formed between them. Stella was enjoying it, but her roommate was fighting an internal battle whether or not to attempt to fill the, as she perceived it, awkward silence between them, or to simply let it sit. She wanted to make a good impression on her roommate. Fighting with your roommate is probably the worst thing you could do in college, because you can run back home away from almost any problem with others, but there's no escaping a feud with your roommate. Whether because of indecision, or by deliberation, no one would know, but a half-hour of silence later, they were finally allowed in.

Stella entered, and trotted up to a table with three ponies seated behind. The table held many papers with students’ names on them in a somewhat organized, but frazzled array. "Name?" an older mare more demanded than asked in a voice that screamed, "Let's get this over with". Shocked by the harsh request, and it didn't,t help by all the ponies crowded so close to her, the pegasus hesitated to which she received a single raised eyebrow from the mare at the desk. She them promptly obliged, not wanting to find out what would happen if she waited 2 more seconds before responding. After some rifling the older mare more tossed than handed a piece of paper to Stella containing a list of books on the subjects of Business and Psychology, and classes to match. She, then, continued with the flow of ponies to the next stop.

Brighteyes, after a similar encounter, followed Stella to the next line at the head of which, several ponies were frantically scattering up and down a few sectioned off shelves behind the counter and back to the the ponies in the front of the line who then received the books listed on their individual sheets of paper. Determined not to let fear of failure foil her again, Brighteyes looked over at Stella’s list, saw that they shared a Psychology class in the morning, and decided to start up a conversation. "Hey look! We're both studying Psychology! We even have the same teacher!"

Stella, having been interrupted from her thoughts, simply turned and looked at her over excited roommate without responding.

"And the same time!" Brighteyes added, followed by additional silence. "It's the same class!" Still, no comment from Stella, making Brighteyes feel very awkward and slightly discouraged for attempting to have a friendly conversation. She continued, however, undeterred. "Isn't that cool?"

Stella, now having processed the single sided exchange, decided that Brighteyes meant well, and even if she currently wanted to escape into her mind to get away from the massive crowd of obnoxious and loud ponies in line, Brighteyes didn't know what was going on in her head, so she decided to brave reality and throw her a bone. Her expression changed from that of indifference to that of compassion and interest. "Yeah, and since it's first in the morning, we can even walk there together."

Brighteyes visibly relaxed and, through her face, expressed gratitude for Stella's decision to participate.

Stella continued, “So what other classes are you taking?”

“Besides Psychology, I've got a full plate with Math and Chemistry. I want to either be a nurse or a Pharmacist, since I like helping ponies so much.”

Attempting to be helpful, Stella suggested, “Or you could be a shrink.”

Visibly perturbed, Brighteyes responded, “Stella, they are called Psychologists, not shrinks,” followed by a whip of her tail for punctuation, then continued, “You should know that since you’re taking a Psychology class."

Already regretting her decision to participate, Stella elected to let caution control her mouth, and simply walked to a different line. She hoped Brighteyes didn't take it the wrong way. She wasn't angry, yet, but simply needed some space, else she feared what would escape her mouth next.

Brighteyes watched Stella leave, very confused at the abrupt end to the conversation, and thought about what she had said. Stella had used in the improper slang term for a possible future career path, and Brighteyes had informed her of the correct terminology, so she wouldn't embarrass herself in front of somepony important. It must not have been something she said. She just decided it was of little importance, and began thinking about what her classes would be like.

Stella, on the other hoof, was letting it get to her. Of course she knew the proper term for a shrink, but it was easier to say shrink, so that's what she said, and Brighteyes had to come in and act like she was smarter than Stella, and then proceeded to insult her further by saying she should've known better. This was going to be harder than she thought. By the time she had reached the counter, she had calmed down. The worn-out pony at the counter asked for her paper, then, upon receiving it, quickly left on a brief journey around the shelves behind him to retrieve the books Stella would be getting all too familiar with during the next few months. Once she had paid for them, she waited outside for that know-it-all Earthpony to get through her line, and finish paying. She knew a fight with Brighteyes would not be fun, and likely accomplish nothing, so she put more effort into not thinking angrily toward her for fear that one of those innocent thoughts would turn into a not so innocent statement, and feelings would be hurt.

She decided to wait at the smoothie shop right next door, so with a sigh, she put her books in her saddle bags and ventured in. She glanced at the menu out of habit, already knowing what she wanted. She ordered a strawberry blueberry and peach smoothie with vanilla ice-cream as a base. It took longer than Stella expected, but eventually, Brighteyes came outside looking around for Stella. She had just finished her smoothie when she spotted Brighteyes, so she left the shop to flag her down. The two of them walked home in silence.

Upon arriving home Brighteyes began unpacking and Stella went straight to bed so that she would be able to function at work that night. Her efforts were slightly frustrated, however, by the sound of her roommate cleaning the apartment outside her shut door. Brighteyes wasn't being particularly loud, and that apartment did need some cleaning. The issue resided in her new batpony ears. With the improved hearing, she could tell exactly what Brighteyes was doing. She could hear water running, and clacking of dishes for a while, then she could make out what sounded like a bathroom being cleaned, followed by the rest of the living room. Eventually, the sounds blurred together, and she was able to drift off to sleep.

--00--00--00--

Stella woke up around 6 that night. She felt that she had gotten just enough sleep to make it through the night, and then leave her tired enough to be able to take a nap in the morning before Brighteyes would likely wake up. She decided to check on her. She opened her bedroom door and found the sleeping form of Brighteyes on the couch. The second thing she noticed was how clean the living room was. It was spotless and Stella was very grateful for that. She returned to her room and grabbed the necklace Princess Luna had given her. She fastened the pendant around her neck and let it fall to her chest. With a flash of dark blue magic, Stella's form was replaced by that of a Batpony.

She was more conferrable as a batpony. She felt like she could really be herself without wearing a mask in front of others. It was a liberating feeling that gave her the drive to keep going when life was too much. She took a moment to appreciate it all. Her wings, her eyes, her ears. This is how she was meant to be. Once she was finished, she leaped out of her window and after a brief moment of free fall, opened her wings to catch herself, and begin her accent to the castle.

One such creature, teal in hue, could be seen gliding through the night, a smile on her face. Her bat wings were foreign to her at first, but, just like every night, she learned to like them. While they could carry her more quickly through the night, it was harder for her to make turns, forcing her to slow down significantly to do so. Luckily, it was a fairly straight shot to the castle by air.

Upon her arrival, Stella headed downstairs to the maids’ locker room to dress in her maid outfit and check her cleaning duties for the night. There were several batpony mares getting ready to begin their night shifts, and some Earthponies and unicorns preparing to leave after a hard day's work.

“Why hello there Stella. How are you?” asked one of the Unicorns. She was an older mare that liked making new friends, so she could gather and share more gossip.

Stella couldn't care less about gossip, however. “I’m doing alright," Stella stated in an attempt to end the conversation there. The unicorn, however, stared expectantly for her to continue. So as to avoid the awkwardness, she continued, "My roommate moved in today. Not sure how I feel about it yet.” She tried to show as little interest in the conversation as possible by focusing on her mane in the mirror.

“Just don’t kill them, okay?” another maid shouted out followed by a few snickers from surrounding mares. Stella rolled her eyes and went over to the bulletin board to read her duties for the night.

She was to do the day shift’s laundry, help clean Luna’s side of the palace, and then do whatever else the night Princess could think of, which was no easy task. That mare was a slave driver. Not that she wasn't entitled to be, it was just that Stella had never cleaned anything other than her own room while she lived at home. She wasn't used to this kind of labor. Familiarity aside, she was getting the hang of it, and she wanted to do her best. Princess Luna expected every pony on her staff to work their absolute hardest. Nothing less would do. She, in return, would help her staff with anything they needed. She demanded their best not as a ruler, but as a friend. Stella would always remember when she had broken into tears after three weeks on the job. Being, as she saw it at the time, forced to do servile, stressful things, such as, scrubbing the bathtub tiles, polishing Luna’s armor, and cleaning the guard barracks, which smelled like sweat, had taken its tole, and she was at the breaking point. If Luna hadn't helped her through it, she likely would've given up, and gone back home.

“I think it will be just fine if both of you work hard to make living together work out,” said one of the only Earthpoines on the night staff. Stella just raised an eyebrow at the thought. She had work already, and school was starting soon. She didn’t want to add living at home as another job to work at.

“I, for one, agree with Ruby, you two should try to be friends.” Every pony turned around to see a majestic black and blue Alicorn with a soft, ever-flowing mane that appeared to contain the entire night sky within its sheen. Stella and the others bowed. Luna simply laughed.

“Luna what are you doing in the maids’ locker room?” asked Ruby still bowing.

“Ruby, please stand up. Stella," Stella visibly flinched as her name unexpectedly left the lips of her lunar Princess. "Could you come with me for a moment, please? Also, I need three of you to clean the bath,” Luna turned and departed in the direction of her chambers.

Stella was stunned and confused. The only other time Luna asked her to come to her chambers was when she had broken down crying. Fearing the worst, but hoping for the best, Stella quickly followed the Moon mare.

Luna’s chambers were full of drawings, paintings, and a surplus of art supplies. The decorations were breath taking, and the atmosphere let peace penetrate to the very soul. With each available surface covered in her craft, there was little room for anything else. Stella was just as impressed and in awe as the first time she had been invited into Luna's personal habitat. She couldn't help but think, however, that a few of the maids, where they let do their thing, could help a little bit with the organization, and minimizing clutter.

“Luna, why am I here?” Stella asked her curiosity beating discretion.

“I just wanted to tell you that you have been doing a great job here. I have taken notice of your hard work, and diligence, and wish to grant you these college text books.” She finished with an eager grin, levitating a bundle of books from behind her to set at the feet of the still stunned and confused Batpony.

“Wait, what?" Stella responded, her confusion deepening. "You got me text books?”

“Yes, I did. Stella the Batpony will be taking drawing and astronomy this Semester in addition to the classes Stella the Pegasus will be taking.”

“Wait…really? I mean I love drawing and looking at the stars, but why would you pay for my college?”

Luna smiled down at the, now excited little pony. “You certainly are full of questions tonight aren’t you, Stella,” she laughed. She then extended her arm to beckon Stella in. The maid practically leaped into the hug. Luna finished in a playful voice, “Now, you have a lot of work tonight, so get started”. Stella didn't need a second command. She flew out of Luna’s room to do her chores. She felt lighter than air all night.