The Zebra and The Bat

by Apple Bottoms

A New Friend

Candle slept fitfully, and when he awoke, it was to a strange smell surrounding their little camp. It wasn’t anything he could place, but it smelled - unnatural, somehow.

Zeffir was already awake; the bags were already packed, save the blanket that was still draped over Candle. He’d mostly kicked it off in his sleep, due to the oppressive heat that was slow to fade, even once the heat of the afternoon had passed. He caught Candle’s eye as Candle sat up.

“You’re up? Good. We need to move.” Zeffir was already packing the blanket as he spoke, rolling it briskly and tying it into place on Candle’s saddlebag.

“Breakfast?” Candle asked sleepily, pushing himself up onto his hooves. Before he could even quite register what was happening, Zeffir was strapping his saddlebags to him. It was so quick that he didn’t even have time to pay any special attention to the way Zeffir’s hooves skillfully moved over his hindquarters.

“There’s yeens near us,” Zeffir said quietly, his voice urgent as he yanked Candle’s cinch tight. “They must have been circling around our camp, I can still smell them. We need to move.”

“What’s - what a yeen?” Candle asked, immediately terrified solely by Zeffir’s urgency. A honey badger, the thing that had torn up his hind leg, hadn’t even commanded this kind of quiet alarm.

“Predators,” Zeffir answered quietly, and gave their camp a quick once-over before he looked back to Candle. “Grab a mouthful of grass; we won’t be stopping to eat for awhile.”

Candle did as he was ordered.

The next hour was a silent, tense hike; the path was sunny and warm in the late afternoon, with plenty of exciting animals in the tall grass that surrounded them, but Candle didn’t have eyes for any of it.

Zeffir’s rapid, tense stride only relaxed when they reached a patch of the savannah where there was very little grass, and long swaths of open dirt surrounded them. Wordlessly, Zeffir unbuckled his saddlebags, and dropped to his knees, rolling in the dirt beside the road.

“What is happening?” Candle asked, his anxiety still at a fever pitch, unabated by Zeffir’s strange behavior. Maybe increased, even. Was he sick?

“We have to be careful travelling during the day; the sun will burn your skin, even under your coat,” Zeffir answered, rolling for a moment longer before he climbed back up, shaking a cloud of dust off. Candle danced to the side to dodge the cloud as it moved towards him. “I’ll hold your saddlebags for you.”

“I don’t want to roll in the dirt,” Candle frowned.

“Why?”

“It’s - it’s dirty!” Candle frowned harder, and took a little step back. “It’s already in the name.”

“Your coat is already grey,” Zeffir smiled, the expression as loose as it had been the first day Candle met him. “It won’t hurt.”

“If it won’t hurt, then I think I will pass,” Candle sniffed.

“If you get sunburnt, it will hurt,” Zeffir clarified, “and I didn’t bring anything to mend sunburns. And we still have several days of walking ahead.”

Candle frowned all the more intensely at Zeffir, and then at the dirt. With deep regret, he unbuckled his saddlebags, and lowered himself to the ground. With a delicacy that Zeffir wouldn’t soon forget, Candle rolled onto his back, kicking his legs in the air, and repeated the motion a few times. “Good enough?” Candle asked, coughing as he inhaled a bit of dust.

“Looks good,” Zeffir agreed, trying to hide his grin. “Let’s go.”

And so, dirty and unhappy to be so, Candle resumed his hike, following behind Zeffir. Not even the muscled hindquarters ahead of him could distract him from his discomfort. They kept a brisk pace, even though the grass remained low and scrubby around them, and eventually, Candle began to feel thoroughly worn out.

The first day hadn’t been so bad; hiking was something he enjoyed, now and again. But this was the second day, with yeens and danger surrounding them, covered in dirt, with not much sleep and even less breakfast. Candle wished for Zeffir’s comfortable bed again, or even better, the comfort of his home tree. He would have accepted anything with walls, at this point.

Candle was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn’t realize Zeffir had stopped until a moment before he would have bumped into him.

“What’s that?” Zeffir frowned.

Candle pulled astride him and considered the horizon. Just on the edge of their vision, all the more clear for how scrubby the surroundings were, was a large, expansive building. It stood out starkly among the scrub and the flat landscape, and no other houses stood near it.

“That wasn’t here when I came this way last year,” Zeffir frowned all the harder. “I think we should give it a wide berth. Let’s go this way, go around it.”

“Go around it?” Candle asked, turning to face Zeffir squarely as he began to step away. “We should go see what it is! Maybe they’ll let us stay for the night!”

Zeffir’s frown became intense. “No.”

“There’s yeens out here, you just said they were!” Candle insisted, frowning back at him. “They found us while we were asleep - maybe next time they won’t just circle.”

Zeffir frowned at him.

“I think we should at least look,” Candle insisted, and frowned back at Zeffir all the more intensely when his expression darkened. “If it’s dangerous, we’ll keep going.”

“We should keep going anyway,” Zeffir ground out, and was startled when Candle began walking ahead of him. “Candle!”

“I’d rather take my chances with ponies than with yeens,” Candle said firmly, and continued walking. He was grateful when Zeffir began to follow him after a few paces; he wasn’t sure what he would have done if he’d called his bluff.

As they approached the massive house, they got a better look at the estate - for that’s what it must be. It seemed to be built on a plot of pure paradise, with a long, paved road that branched off of the main packed-dirt road. Even from half a mile off, they could see the stark difference in the estate; the surrounding countryside was dry scrub painted in browns and greys, but within their perimeter it was like stepping onto a lush, green paradise. Palm trees and acacias grew alongside one another at perfectly measured distances, and neatly-trimmed bushes lined the road they followed, leading them to the house. It was a massive thing, large and square; it took Candle a moment to realize that it felt comforting to him because it looked like the buildings at home. Or, more accurately, the buildings in Ponyville. Big, square windows, tall colonnades that framed elegant walkways into a garden filled with plants that had no right surviving in such a harsh environment, columns framing the massive oak door; it was like something out of a fairytale.

Zeffir hung back as Candle approached the front door, but he couldn’t even get close enough to knock before the door opened, revealing a tall, cold-faced zebra.

“Oh! Uh - hello,” Candle offered hesitantly, and when he turned to look at Zeffir, he realized he was several yards back.

“Do you have an appointment with the master?” the zebra asked coolly, considering him from under half-lidded eyes.

“Well, uh, no,” Candle began awkwardly, realizing suddenly how strange it would be to ask a complete stranger for a place to stay. “I’m actually not from around here - see, we were walking down the road a bit -”

“Oh, Zeffrey!” came a voice from behind, and the cold-eyed zebra stepped back to reveal an earth pony stallion. He was blindingly white, like the columns that edged the doorway, with bright brown eyes that sparkled with excitement and a curled pink and yellow mane. “Well, as I live and breathe - who are you?”

“I’m - I’m Candle, and this is -” but Candle turned to gesture and found that Zeffir had taken a few steps back, so that he would have to shout to reach him. “Well, that’s Zeffir, he’s my - my friend,” Candle substituted a little clumsily. “We, uh, we’re on our way to Xatl, and -”

“Oh, come in, come in!” the stallion clucked, and gave Zeffir a wave, planting his foreleg firmly around Candle’s shoulders as he guided him inside. “Let’s not stand outside in this dreadful heat a moment longer!”

“I’ll stay out here,” Zeffir called, and Candle could tell that behind his cool politeness was a deep discomfort.

“Suit yourself! You’re welcome to come join us if you’d like!” the stallion beamed, and whisked Candle away.

They walked down a grand, massive hallway of white marble floors and tall, dark walls covered in paintings of serious-looking earth ponies; when the door behind them closed with a boom, Candle tried not to jump. The earth pony kept his foreleg draped over Candle’s shoulders, even long past when Candle felt it had to be comfortable. It was certainly uncomfortable for him.

“Now, what did you say your name was? Candle? What a charming name!” the stallion smiled, wide and dazzling; his teeth were almost whiter than his coat. “My name is Frilly Pantaloons - but you can just call me Pantaloons, all my closest friends do! I’m actually Frilly Pantaloons the twelfth, you see; so when people call me Frilly, I say, ‘Frilly’s my father, just call me Pantaloons!’”

Pantaloons laughed so uproariously at his own joke that he snorted; Candle managed a warm-sounding laugh in reply.

“But I’ve never seen somepony like you before! Those ears, they’re so dazzling!” Pantaloons grinned, and lifted a hoof to touch one; Candle had to resist the urge to pull away. “And dirty,” Pantaloons amended as he pulled his hoof back, considering the dusty stain on his perfect white hoof with clear distaste.

“Oh - sorry, it’s - dirt bath,” Candle offered clumsily, feeling all the more clumsy for how refined and elegant Pantaloons’ flowery language was. “To prevent sunburn.”

“I see,” Pantaloons sneered, and gave a quick one-two click of his hooves on the polished tile; within a moment, another zebra appeared, and presented him with a towel. “Thank you, Zamra. Well, I don’t think a little towel will do much for you,” Pantaloons said briskly as he wiped away the stain, “so why don’t you wash up before dinner?”

“Dinner?” Candle asked hopefully.

“Oh yes! You must join us for dinner, of course!” Pantaloons’ momentary distaste was soon brushed aside, and he clapped his hooves together in giddy anticipation. “Oh, and you must dress for dinner! It’s been such a long time since I’ve had proper company, we shall have to make an event of it!”

“Well, I - I didn’t really bring anything to wear,” Candle began hesitantly, his eyes landing on his saddlebags. He was pretty sure Zeffir hadn’t packed any evening wear in there!

“Then of course I shall have my attendants help you! I’m sure we have plenty for you to borrow!” Frilly Pantaloons clapped his hooves together again, and pranced ahead of Candle. “I shall inform the cook to prepare another place for dinner! Oh, this is so exciting! Please follow Zamra, she will show you to your chambers!”

Chambers! Like, maybe to sleep! Candle’s heart soared with hope, and as he followed the silent zebra mare down another identical hallway of polished marble, Candle couldn’t help but think that Zeffir had been very wrong about this place, indeed.

Comments

[bahatumay]

Randomly-appearing buildings are always safe! Everypony knows that.

[Bicyclette]

“What’s - what a yeen?” Candle asked, immediately terrified solely by Zeffir’s urgency. A honey badger, the thing that had torn up his hind leg, hadn’t even commanded this kind of quiet alarm.

disquieting!

“It’s - it’s dirty!” Candle frowned harder, and took a little step back. “It’s already in the name.”

that is true, and really makes you think. i'd also imagine delicately thin bat wings to be very susceptible to sunburn!

“I think we should at least look,” Candle insisted, and frowned back at Zeffir all the more intensely when his expression darkened. “If it’s dangerous, we’ll keep going.”

i don't know about you, but i would listen to the local about things like this!

Chambers! Like, maybe to sleep! Candle’s heart soared with hope, and as he followed the silent zebra mare down another identical hallway of polished marble, Candle couldn’t help but think that Zeffir had been very wrong about this place, indeed.

hahahaha wow Candle is kinda dumb isn't he? i mean wow, all of this just seems so very suspicious. doesn't he know he llives in a world full of magical monsters? not genre-savvy at all!