Enrollment
My first night in the castle was mostly uneventful. I say mostly because Vesper was still acting a bit goofy, and tried to sleep with me; not in a dirty way, mind you. I had to remind her that she was supposed to be a body guard at night. Eventually she begrudgingly agreed and proceeded to anchor herself to the ceiling.
Drip
My dreams were less than desirable, as they included my family. I still loved them, but after being told the portal was only one way for beings such as myself I had tried to keep them out of my mind to avoid a major case of home sickness. Thankfully Vesper had helped with that, and Twilight had tried her best yesterday to make me feel welcome and at home.
Drip
Twilight and her friends seem like nice ponies, as does the rest of the town. It was far better than the “welcome” I received from Canterlot. So far there seemed to be only one pony that didn’t care for my presence in Ponyville. The odd mare in question had left before I had even made it off the train stations dock. I assumed that I would want to avoid her, since she clearly didn’t approve of me.
Drip drip
“Okay what in the world is tha-“ I huffed as I flung the sheets off of me, only to stop when I heard the light snoring of my bat pony friend.
Vesper was drooling; hanging on the ceiling by a single leg as the rest of her form was limp, save for the rise and fall of her chest. Another drool drop hit my head before I could move out of the way. Rubbing the spot only seemed to make it spread, and in my frustration I found myself on the floor.
I groaned as I rolled over to push myself up from the rather cold floor. Ponies didn’t have to endure the torture of a cold floor, as their hooves had next to no feeling. It was times like these that made me wish I had hooves instead of feet.
I looked back up at Vesper, the thestral still fast asleep. I was tempted to chunk a pillow at her, but the better part of me decided against it. Sighing, I left the bat pony to her dreams and proceeded to put on clothes to start the morning, hoping my dribbling wakeup call was the worst thing that happened to me today.
---
After breakfast and a shower, I decided to explore the castle a bit. The guards in Twilight’s castle seemed to be less numerous than the sisters’. It was a welcome change, as I didn’t have ponies looking over my shoulder, or judging me for not being able to read labels and asking them what they said.
The only downside to this freedom was that I had no idea where I was now. At that moment I would have done anything for a stiff necked guard pony to come trotting around a corner. As fate would have it, my ears were graced with the clip-clop of hooves. The only time I had ever been this happy about the sound of hooves was when the noise came in the form of two coconuts being banged together.
A mare rounded the corner with a coat that wasn’t exactly pink, per say, but wasn’t purple either. Aside from her difficult coat color, her eyes were a fair blue and her mane was a mix of purple and aquamarine. The style of her mane reminded me a bit of Rarity’s, only shorter and more colorful.
“You must be Benjamin,” the mare said with a skeptic expression as she studied me from top to bottom.
“Indeed I am, miss…”
“Starlight Glimmer,” Starlight disappeared upon giving me her name.
With an oddly comical popping noise, the unicorn appeared behind me, circling me as if looking for something specific. I saw a glowing mist surround my arm and lift it up slowly as Starlight continued her investigation of me. This wasn’t the first time I had been inspected by a unicorn and had learned not to pull against the whims of magic wielding equines.
“Weird…” she commented. “How did you even find the portal? I can’t find any trace of magic on you.”
“It was an accident,” I shrugged.
“That’s what Twilight said, I just had to see it for myself,” Starlight seemed satisfied for the moment. “So what’s the rare human doing in this part of the castle?”
“Getting lost,” I replied as I rubbed the back of my head. “Any chance I can follow you back to civilization?”
“Sure,” Starlight smiled, her demeanor towards me shifting as she motioned for me to follow her.
We walked in relative silence through the crystal halls of the castle. My mind drifting off in an attempt to make some sort of plan for today. Sadly, nothing came to mind despite my best efforts. I could explore, but I felt it would be better with some sort of guide.
“So,” Starlight spoke up, pulling me from my thoughts. “How did you get lost in the first place?”
“What do you mean?” I asked in response.
Starlight looked as if I had just asked what two plus two was before stopping to gesture her head towards a gold plate with several odd formations on it. “Twilight took the time to place labels in various places so that wouldn’t happen. She can be…a bit over dedicated when it comes to that.”
“Oh, those,” I said flatly. “I can’t understand them.”
“Wait, you can’t read what they says?” The unicorn asked.
“…no?” I cautiously answered.
“But, you spent time in Canterlot before coming to Ponyville,” Starlight’s voice started to rise slightly. “How did you get anywhere?”
“I just roamed around in the castle with a bunch of guards,” I replied. “Celestia and Luna were too busy to take the time to do that sort of thing.”
Starlight face hoofed with a groan. “Well somepony needs to rectify this as soon as possible.”
“Are you too busy?” I asked.
“I’m not the best teacher in the world, or at all for that matter,” Starlight motioned for me to follow her as we resumed our trek through the castle. “Twilight would probably be better suited to that sort of thing, but given how busy she is I suppose you’re faced with the same problem you had in Canterlot.”
“I suppose I could trouble Vesper for help, but there’s no telling how that would go down,” My shoulders slumped.
“Fortunately for you, my tall lanky friend, I happen to know a teacher here in town,” Starlight said proudly.
“You mean like a tutor or something?” I chuckled lightly. “Because I haven’t had one of those since my days in school.”
“Funny you should mention school,” Starlight suddenly had a rather mischievous smile.
---
Cheerilee let out a happy sigh for the first time since Big Mac had left her. She would have to thank Berry Punch for her little “end of school delight” as she called it. While not normally a drinker, it was a pleasant way end the last school day. She would never get drunk off the stuff, but consume just enough to get a light buzz.
“Here’s to a boring summer,” Cheerilee said, holding her shot glass up in toast to her empty class room.
As she mare poured herself another cup, she contemplated taking a well overdue trip to one of Equestria’s beaches. It would give her something to talk about with her friends during her downtime, and at the very least she could window shop the stallions that happened to be there through her thick sunglasses.
Perhaps it was the drink that encouraged such thoughts. A sober Cheerilee was far less confident in a trip to the beach. Once she got there what would she do? Where could she go that she hadn’t already seen with her family when they went? Another shot of Berry’s concoction drowned out any concern she might have had; at least until the affects wore off later.
Much to the mare’s surprise, she heard the door to the school house open. There wasn’t supposed to be anypony else here today after school let out, and she knew that no student would be within one hundred yards of the building once the bell rang for the last time this school year. Perhaps those that lived close enough would be within one hundred yards, but that was just a technicality.
She heard two different creaks in the wooden floor, both weighty enough to not belong to a foal. One set was obviously a pony, but she couldn’t quite identify the owner of the other set of hoof steps. They were certainly bigger than the second set’s companion.
Cheerilee remembered the bottle and glass as the beings approached her room. Given little time, the earth pony simply swept both off her desk and onto the wooden floor. Miraculously, only the shot glass shattered into a thousand different pieces just as the door to her room opened.
Starlight Glimmer was the first pony through the door, followed by the human that had arrived yesterday. These two were the last she would ever expect to see in her school house, especially the human that had to duck to fit in the school house.
“Hi Cheerilee,” Starlight Glimmer had a smile on as if nothing was wrong and it was completely normal for a giant creature to cram itself into a classroom built with ponies in mind.
“Um, hi, Starlight Glimmer, and…” Cheerilee struggled with the name for a moment. “Benjamin?”
The human nodded, thankfully lacking the bat pony that had accompanied him yesterday. Now that she saw him close up, Cheerilee could see that he was less threatening than she had previously thought. No claws, no sharp teeth, nothing but those odd hooves that reminded her of spiders, a true human. She had read that the humans in Equestria had been relatively docile, seeing one up close solidified that theory.
“So what brings you two here?” Cheerilee asked. “Giving him a tour of the town?”
“Sort of, I actually came to ask a favor,” Starlight replied, her human friend remained silent, but looked down at the floor avoiding eye contact.
“Oh well how can I help?” Cheerilee smiled.
“Perhaps it’s better if I show you,” the unicorn poked Benjamin’s leg to get his attention. “Benjamin, can you tell us what that says?”
The human followed her outstretched foreleg to a simple sign that listed a few historical figures in Equestrian society. Celestia and Luna were on it of course, names he should easily recognize after spending time in Canterlot.
“Nope,” Benjamin said with a shake of his head.
Cheerilee could hardly believe what she had just heard. Even if he was a foreigner, he should at least be familiar with the ruling sisters. Surely this had to be some joke Starlight was playing, having coerced the human into going along with it.
“Can you tell us who founded Equestria?” Starlight asked.
“Celestia and Luna?” Benjamin replied uncertainly with a nervous smile.
Cheerilee’s ears fell flat; this was knowledge that foals learned their first year in history, how in Equestria could he not possibly know who founded it? He had spent close to a month in Canterlot Castle according to the rumors.
“So that favor I was talking about…” Starlight said, twisting a hoof against the floor.
“You want me to teach him?” Cheerilee asked.
“If it’s not too much trouble,” the unicorn replied.
Cheerilee didn’t know how to respond, as the trifecta of booze, mental exhaustion, and boredom all assaulted her at once. She tried to say no, but then the argument of what else she had to do popped into her mind. At least with somepony needing her help she wouldn’t feel like she didn’t have a purpose over the summer. The again, this was a human, a once extinct species that very little was known about before their untimely demise. For all she knew, they could be the slow learners…but this human wasn’t from Equestria.
The more the idea circulated through Cheerilee’s mind, she began to understand Colgate’s excitement. Nopony had taught a human before, or at least in a long time. If she agreed she would at least have something to look forward to when she woke up as a bonus.
“Possibly,” Cheerilee replied rubbing a hoof against her chin in thought. “How far did you go educationally, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“I graduated college with a few certifications and a degree,” Benjamin replied.
Cheerilee looked the human over once more before nodding. “I think I can work with him.”
Her heart warmed a bit when she saw Benjamin smile. Cheerilee was already formulating the best way to go about teaching a completely different being the fundamentals of Equestrian history, language, and perhaps a few mathematics. It was a plus that he had gone to college for the mare’s grasp of how educated he was. Still, it would be a major chore to tear down the pillars of knowledge from his world, only to build new ones in their place.
“I think it would be the same principle as a foreigner wanting citizenship,” Cheerilee said as a smile slowly spread across her muzzle. “Yeah, I think this can work.”
“Great, so when do you think he can start?” Starlight asked.
“Give me at least two days to get everything ready,” Cheerilee replied. “By then I should have a plan laid out.”
The teacher’s guest gave their thanks and departed, conversing with one another with excitement in their voices. The depression she had been trying to drown out completely evaporated with this human. True it could turn out to be very difficult, but it was better than doing nothing. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she almost forgot about the bottle on the floor, almost.
“…buck it, here’s to summer school,” Cheerilee smiled, tipping the bottle back as she drank the pleasing beverage straight from its source.
---
“So,” Starlight Glimmer looked up at me. “What did you think of her?”
“Eh, I’m impressed she didn’t chase me off,” I replied.
“Why would she do that?” Starlight’s raised an eyebrow at me.
“When I was coming in yesterday, I saw her give me this annoyed look,” I said. “It was like she was the only one disappointed in seeing me, but today she’s got a smile on her fa-err, muzzle.”
“Maybe she just didn’t understand what was happening,” Starlight said. “I’m pretty impressed the ponies of Ponyville were as receptive of you as they were. Usually the town ponies can be a little slow to warm up to outsiders.”
“Pinkie seemed super enthused, but I feel like I didn’t live up to their expectations,” I lamented.
“That’s just Pinkie Pie, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her sad,” Starlight chuckled.
“So, where do we go now?” I asked.
Starlight tilted her head to the side in thought. “Well, there’s a lot of places you probably haven’t seen yet. Personally, I wouldn’t mind a trip to Sugar Cube Corner.”
“I’m going to assume that’s an eating establishment,” Truthfully, I was getting a bit hungry, and if the “Sugar” in the title was any indication of what it served I was all over satisfying my sweet tooth’s craving.
---
Sugar Cube Corner turned out to be a bakery, which came complete with the local pink party pony. The owners were very nice, all things considered. Their foals, bless their socks, were a bit too inquisitive and proceed to turn me into their plaything. I had no real complaints about being a living jungle gym though, their laughter made me smile a bit.
Sadly Starlight Glimmer and I lost track of time socializing with other ponies that happened to stop by, and Celestia was already lowering the sun. Luna would take over in a few hours if she wasn’t up already, which meant a particular pony friend of mine might be up and about now, presumably avoiding any streams of light through the windows.
When we finally reached the castle, Vesper was hanging in the grand hall, literally. She lacked her familiar sunglasses and seemed perfectly content to be up with the sun still out. I credited her lack of eyewear to the castle lacking windows every few feet, like that of Celestia and Luna’s. Upon seeing me the bat mare released whatever magical hold she had over the ceiling and dove towards me.
I mentally sighed as I braced myself for impact, noting that Vesper had been awfully playful these past few days. As I was knocked off my feet by the hyper active thestral, I fully expected to break my tail bone against the hard crystal floor of the castle. Instead, I landed on something soft, almost squishy.
I looked down to see a thick formation of mist form beneath me. I looked over at Starlight whose horn was glowing with a brilliant light that matched the aura beneath me. As I stood up with Vesper in my arms, the aura vanished, as did the light from the unicorn’s horn. The mare had just saved me from a presumably painful evening with a sore backside.
“Sorry,” Vesper blushed as Starlight cast her a disapproving look before giving me a nod and trotting down the hall of the castle.
“How long have you been waiting for me on the ceiling?” I asked, ruffling the bat pony’s mane.
“A while…” Vesper replied, tapping her hooves together. “Maybe a few hours.”
“Vesper,” I sighed as I began walking down the hall way after Starlight Glimmer. “You don’t just have to wait for me, isn’t there anything you like to do for fun?”
Vesper gave me an odd expression before turning her head. “Occasionally I do fun stuff, but I prefer to stay in for…obvious reasons.”
“You hate the light?” I asked.
“No, well, yes but not all the time,” Vesper replied. “I just feel exhausted if I do try to have fun before work. I mean, I’m a night guard. I’m nocturnal and all that, but I want to walk around with other ponies and you, maybe.”
“What was that last part?”
“It’d be brand new, baby,” Vesper spat out quickly. “A day bat pony, just imagine.”
“I can say I’ve observed one first hand,” I chuckled. “You can’t just change your nature though, I don’t think that’s healthy.”
Vesper pouted and turned from me, occasionally looking up at me when she thought I didn’t notice as I carried back to my room. I did feel kind of bad for her, in Canterlot there had a least been a few thestrals for her to socialize with after I passed out and before she had to work. Here in Ponyville, she was the odd pony out, kind of like me.
Once we were back in my room, Vesper abandoned my arms in favor of the fruit bowl on the table. Licking her lips, she hastily scooped up an apple in her hooves and opened her mouth wide. With her fangs bared, she brought the apple close to her muzzle and sank her elongated canines into the tender skin of the fruit.
A slurping sound came from the mare as she clamped down on the fruit with her lips. It was an odd eating method, but bat ponies used their fangs to puncture the skin of a fruit and would then proceed to drain it of any juices it might have. They could eat the same way as a normal pony would eat a fruit, but she claimed that she couldn’t savor the taste like she wanted to if she just chomped down on her meal.
For this reason, Vespeer had certain fruits that she would pick over others. If they were juicy, you might want to hide your supply when she was hungry. Her favorites were mangos and apples, and especially oranges; heaven help you if you had oranges out in the open.
Vesper let out a satisfied sigh as she pulled the apple away from her muzzle. Two gaping holes were left in the dried up fruit, leaving behind a white apple husk. The fruit looked as if it had just been dipped in a large bucket of white paint, save for a few red spots here and there.
The thestral picked up a banana and looked it over before peeling it as easily as I could with hands. Giving it one last inspection, Vesper used both hooves to squeeze the banana from the remainder of its peel. She opened her mouth wide and swallowed it whole as it was launched from its peel. Even if her eating habit were a bit strange, they were entertaining to watch. The banana trick in particular stimulated the imagination.
For the remainder of the waking hours I offered to play a game of chess with Vesper, which turned into a few dozen more. I never would have taken Vesper, as hyper as she is, to have the patience and mind for chess. Not to insult her intelligence, but sometimes I got the impression that she was a bit of a ditz, an adorable ditz.
“I think I’m going to turn in early tonight,” I said, flicking my king piece over in surrender.
“Aw, but I was having fun,” Vesper sulked.
“I know, but I feel exhausted,” I replied. “Besides, I need to sleep off being roflstomped at chess.”
“Roflstomp?” Vesper tilted her head in confusion.
“Don’t worry about it,” I rubbed her tufted ears, earning a happy squee from the mare. “Goodnight Vesper.”
----
Vesper watched Benjamin from above, dedicated to her job and loyal to her friend. As she watched the human from the ceiling, she started to frown as her heart ached. She was directly over the one thing she felt she could never have.
“Why…why was I born to the night,” Vesper lamented.
Vesper had always tried to act with honor, and a strong sense of duty. Said duty had graced her many times over under Luna’s guard, and it had also taken its fair share from her life as well. It eroded away any chance to take things slow the higher she rose in rank. If she had known her rank would strip from her the one pony she adored, she would never have taken the pledge. Yet she always had hope.
Benjamin gave her affection by rubbing against her with his odd hooves, the type of contact he displayed was an intimate action to a thestral. Yet he never once approached her with intentions other than friendship. So many times she had wanted to tackle him, but fought off the urge with professionalism, and the lingering fear that she might be rejected by him and never see her human again.
Vesper tried to dismiss her feelings as little more than infatuation, since Bejnamin was perhaps the most exotic creature in Equestria, or even the entire world. The mare had a soft heart for things that were different from the rest. Being a bat pony she was all too familiar with being the odd one out for virtually
everything, save for her own kind.
Some ponies were still terrified of thestrals due to their appearance. That was why Luna had instructed Vesper to check on Benjamin only after he was asleep. Even the Princess of the Night feared what a human would do if he were to encounter the nocturnal ponies. Much to the mare’s delight he was more curious than terrified.
Vesper was pulled from her thoughts when she noticed Benjamin twisting in his sleep and glided from the ceiling to investigate. She landed softly on the mattress and cautiously approached the restless human, already assuming what troubled him. It was more than likely a nightmare, and Luna was unable to truly work her magic on him for some reason which left him to suffer. Thankfully, the Princess of the Night had found a solution through an old unicorn remedy.
Vesper sighed and pulled out two smooth purple stones. She tapped the two of them together producing a gentle click, triggering the magic stored within the unassuming objects. With a satisfied smile, the bat pony placed one stone a few inches from his ears, bringing his restlessness to an end.
The thestral remained still and silent for a few minutes to ensure the magic took hold. Something was different tonight though, giving the mare reason to pause before leaping back up onto the ceiling. A noticeable disturbance against the sheets was slowly beginning to form between the human’s legs as a smile started to spread across his lips.
“I knew the stones provided sweet dreams…but, um,” Vesper blushed as she watched a tent form from beneath the sheets.
Vesper fidgeted on her haunches slightly, her wings shifting as she watched the human. If she could see herself, she felt certain she would find the heat from her cheeks turning her fur red. It wasn’t that she had never “seen” a male before, she just didn’t expect to find herself in the situation she was facing now.
Vesper was on the bed, with the human she feared rejection from….with said human sporting a boner. Benjamin was passed out though, and the magic guaranteed that he wouldn’t be waking up for at least a full eight hours. The mare fidgeted again as she processed this information, her professionalism beginning to give way.
Okay Vesper, you just need to jump back up onto…his dic-no! The bat pony shook her head as an internal battle of morals raged on. I would never-ride him like a roller-stop it!
Vesper bit her lip with her fangs as she flew up towards the ceiling. She was thankful she had enough self-control to stop herself from doing something crazy. Still, it gave her no reprieve from the lingering lusty thoughts that had broken through the filter of her subconscious.
Come on, one little peek wouldn’t hurt, right? Vesper’s mind whispered. He’s asleep, he’d never know, and you’d be satisfied.
“I’m not going to take him while he’s sleeping!” Vesper huffed angrily as her muzzle scrunched up in frustration.
So you plan to do it during the day then? Her own voice asked. When you’re sleeping and unable to truly interact with him?
Vesper’s angry expression faded away as realization sank in. She had tried to stay up for the train ride to Ponyville, was to keep him company and she couldn’t even manage that. How could a true bond form if she slept during the day, only to be awake during the night when Benjamin was asleep?
The thestral scrunched up her muzzle in determination before closing her eyes. If she wanted Benjamin, then she would need to do more than just guard him. She needed to walk with him, talk with him, and be there as he tried to adjust to Ponyville. These were things she could never do so long as she was awake while he was asleep.
“The first daytime bat pony...that will be me,” Vesper smiled.
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7306029
7311724 that was an awful pun
7311768
Punny puns are punny
I'm seeing a mental break down and/or a decline in physical health in Vesper's future should she attempt the whole "Daytime Bat Pony" thing. One does not simply (Insert Boromir Meme) abandoned thousands of generations of nocturnal behavior on a whim without major, and unhealthy consequences.
Your writing is as wonderful as ever, Mr Ximer, I hope you continue this rather interesting story.
*chuck.
*effects
Methinks that you hit enter on a sentence by accident.
And what about hearing the word ‘‘ni’’?
8065666 Actually, that word was updated to "Ekke Ekke Ekke Ekke Ptang Zoo Boing!" now.
Is it odd that I pretty much do the same thing when eating fruit?
...naaaaaah.
9420867
It’s how I eat tomatoes