• Published 23rd Aug 2019
  • 2,862 Views, 52 Comments

Anon's Batty Expedition - ShobieShy



You land in the middle of the Everfree Forest and meet a lone bat filly. You end up helping her get back home, and at the same time wondering if you'll be able to get home yourself. But would it be so bad if you couldn't?

  • ...
6
 52
 2,862

Prologue

You’re awoken by the combined feelings of the uncomfortable surface you’re sleeping on, as well as the repetitive motion of what feels like a furry soda can prodding your face. The first sensation, quickly determined as the unmistakable texture of grass, could be felt under your hands and head.

The prodding persists.

Your ears decide to start sending signals to your brain and you quickly recognize the sound of birds chirping, cicadas and crickets among other insects sounding off their various calls, along with the light breeze rustling through leaves emanating from every direction.

More prodding.

Your nose catches up and the scent of nature envelops you. Flora of all types combine, creating a pleasant aroma akin to that of a local garden near your home you once visited, confirming your suspicions that you are indeed in some sort of forest at the very least.

The prodding ceased as you took a large breath through your mouth, the humid air warming your throat and blessing it with the moisture you weren’t aware it needed. Your tongue now informing you of the matching tastes of your surroundings.

Your eyes slowly open, revealing the many shades of green and brown around you. A quick look around presents you with the fact that you’re lying in a small field. The trees around you, diverse in species, cover most of the area in shade, sparing you and your aching eyes from the sun’s rays.

As you finish your look around, your gaze falls on something your still waking mind can’t quite process. A quick analysis tells you it’s some kind of animal, it’s fur a medium grey in color, mane a muted purple, and large fluffy ears stood tall on top of it’s head. It’s eyes were opened wide, catching your attention, bigger than you’ve ever seen on any living creature, iris’s a vivid yellowish gold that seemed to glow in the relative darkness under the trees. It’s mouth hung slightly agape, revealing two small, yet sharp fangs. This would’ve worried you more, had the creature’s expression not been easily readable as a mixture of fear, shock, and a hint of curiosity.

You bring up a hand to wipe your eyes in an attempt to rid yourself of your grogginess, slightly spooking the creature in the process, causing it to shuffle backwards slightly. You sit up and take a better look at it, noticing it’s fur is matted and has an unhealthy amount of mud, dirt, and dried grass scattered about it’s form. It’s mane looked like it has seen better days, with tangles and strands sticking up out of place. You take notice of it’s chest rapidly expanding and retracting, along with its raised front appendage. A hoofed quadruped. A small horse? A radioactive dog?

Your confused staring seemed to give the creature more unease as it reveals it’s small, leathery, bat-like wings in what you can only assume is some sort of defensive position. A bat radioactive dog? This makes you wonder what kind of drugs you’re on, and who spiked your drink with them. But the more you think about it and look around, the more real everything seems. You’re pretty sure you’d be feeling a lot different if you were on some form of hallucinogen.

Throwing caution to the wind, you look back to the creature and slowly raise your hands, facing your palms towards it. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you.” you say, hoping your calm voice combined with the gesture would get the intended message across.

The animal visibly calms as it’s breathing slows. It’s expression morphs, replacing it’s fearful look with more curiosity. “You can talk?”

Your eyes widen and you mentally put more credibility into drugs being the cause of your predicament. It’s voice sounded feminine, and carried a tone not unlike that of a child. “You can talk?” you mimic.

Your short staring contest was interrupted by a scoff. “Of course I can talk, I’m a pony! What are you?”

Okay, so, pony then. Sure, you'll go with that. You should probably be more freaked out at the occurring scene before you, but the more logical side of your brain overwhelms you with the thought that freaking out wouldn't do you any good whatsoever. You were always more of a go-with-the-flow kinda guy, anyways. 'If you ain't got control over it, ain't no sense in worrying about it.' your grandfather always said. Sound advice you always kept in mind.

“I’m a human.” you answer, lowering your hands.

The filly cocked her head. “Never heard of them.”

“Well, I’ve never heard of talking bat ponies before. Or really anything talking that isn’t a human.” you retort. Something you said makes her hears twitch backwards slightly her and she looks down for a split second. You ignore this in favor of gathering more information. “Hey, you got a name?”

The filly quickly glances to either side of her, then looks back up at you. “What’s your name Mr. Human?”

You smirk at her terrible question deflection before answering, “Anon.”

Her nose scrunches. “You’ve got a weird name Mr. Anon.” she says, pointing a hoof at you with a smile, trotting closer til she’s only a few feet away.

You let out a chuckle. “Blame my parents for that one. What’d yours name you?” you say in a second attempt to learn the little filly’s name.

Her smile falls and she looks at the ground around you, avoiding your eyes. “Uh, I don’t know… But Mrs. Hope named me Mischievous Moon.”

There’s a slight ache in your chest caused by the filly’s drop in mood, though you brush it aside. “That’s a very pretty name.” you respond. “I think she chose it well.”

This elicits a small smile from the filly, although her eyes remain glued to the ground in front of her. She giggles weakly, and you swear you can spot a tiny amount of pink in her cheeks. “Thank you...” she responds in just above a whisper.

Another question begs at your mind. “Who’s Mrs. Hope?”

Her hoof digs at the ground softly. “She’s a really nice mare. She takes care of a bunch of other fillies and colts and makes sure we’re all fed and have a soft place to sleep until a nice family comes for us.” she explains before lowering her voice a bit, “She’s probably super worried about me right now...”

You let out a soft sigh. “I would be surprised if she wasn't. I know I am.”

Her gaze lifts up to meet my eyes with a look of confusion. “Huh? Why are you worried about me?”

“A child in the middle of who knows where, for I don’t even know how long, surrounded by who knows what, talking to some random creature you’ve never seen before, let alone met.” you say, gesturing to the scenery around you. “Not to mention you don’t look like you’ve bathed in a week, and I can hear your stomach growling from here.” Her stomach lets out a loud and low grumble, affirming your word, and causing her face to flush.

“Hey! I’m not just a child! I’m super brave! Most foals wouldn’t even think about coming into the Everfree Forest!” she argues.

“It’s not about bravery,” you say, causing her demeanor to settle. “Do you feel at home here? Do you feel safe here?” She pauses. “Cause I know I don’t. And I’m an adult.” You chuckle before sighing and continue. “I don’t even know if I’m on the same planet I was on yesterday. To be honest with you, I’m terrified.”

Mischievous sits down, again avoiding your eyes as you take another look around. The now obviously alien plants standing out to you stirring a small amount of panic within you as you fully realize the truth behind your words. Movement in front of you catches your attention and you turn to look at the bat filly now slowly stepping forward even closer to you. Her eyes, once appearing to glow with life, look defeated with small tears now threatening to stain the fur under them.

Before the sight could break your heart, she lunges forward and embraces you in as much of a hug as her little limbs can muster, burying her face in your chest and crying softly, her muffled sniffles effectively snapping your heart in half.

Okay, small, sad, fluffy bat alien pony attached to your midsection aside, you don't know where you are, you have next to nothing for supplies, and you're probably tripping on some crazy drugs in all honesty. Not a whole lot to go off of. You hesitate before slowly returning the embrace, laying one hand on top of her disheveled mane and using your other to slowly rub her back and wings while calmly shushing her in an attempt to calm her.

Whatever this is, you decide to just roll with it. Find town, get help. You can work with that. Once you can no longer hear, nor feel her cries, and all that remains is the occasional sniffle, you break the hug and look into her now bloodshot eyes. “How far are we from town?”

She shakily points a hoof behind her and answers between sniffles. “I think it’s a few miles that way, I’ve only been gone for a few days...”

She looks down, but you tilt her head up to keep her eyes on your own as you smile. “Alright, Missy, you’ve got yourself a hiking buddy.” You stand with her still in your arms, and begin your journey as she nuzzles your chest with a hum.

Author's Note:

Edited 9-15-20