The Zebra and The Bat

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Bat ponies have long been believed to be extinct; they vanished along with Princess Luna a thousand years ago, or at least that's what the diurnal ponies believe. But when Princess Luna returned, so did the bat ponies, emerging from their hidden village in the Everfree Forest! Candle is one of those ponies; a young bat pony stallion, yearning for exploration. And what better place to explore than the far reaches of the Eastern Desert, the homeland of the zebras?

But when a mistakenly translated letter ends up getting him hitched to his handsome pen-pal, Candle will get far more than he bargained for, including setting off on an adventure across a strange continent! Candle and Zeffir will have to contend with the rainy season, fierce predators, and much worse. But what if, at the end of it, he's not sure he wants a divorce after all? Find out what happens to our daring duo in The Zebra and The Bat!

Written for contest: M/M Shipping Contest

Chapters (8)

Dinner For Breakfast · 4th Oct 2021 · 2,488 words
2,488
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Journey To A New World · 4th Oct 2021 · 4,290 words
4,290
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The Party · 12th Nov 2021 · 4,496 words
4,496
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The Hungover Groom · 12th Nov 2021 · 2,904 words
2,904
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Wings Over Troubled Water · 12th Nov 2021 · 3,514 words
3,514
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A New Friend · 12th Nov 2021 · 1,911 words
1,911
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Not All That Shimmers... · 12th Nov 2021 · 2,049 words
2,049
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The Storm · 12th Nov 2021 · 1,832 words
1,832
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Comments ( 17 )

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Bicyclette

Bicyclette #1 · Oct 7th, 2021 · 1 · 2 · Journey To A New World ·

thanks for the submission! really looking forward to reading this once it's done!

Apple Bottoms

Apple Bottoms #2 · Oct 8th, 2021 · 1 · 2 · Journey To A New World ·

11006280
Thank you!! Oh gosh you already found it! I was gonna wait to submit it until it was a little closer to done, I'm just already in love with my boys! I want everyone else to love them too!!

Grainne Ni Bhroin

Grainne Ni Bhroin #3 · Oct 9th, 2021 · 1 · 2 · Journey To A New World ·

I am greatly intrigued by this start.

Furzade

Furzade #4 · Oct 12th, 2021 · 4 · 1 · Journey To A New World ·

I can’t wait for the moment when one of them realizes “Oh shit, I’m gay and I have a boyfriend.”

Apple Bottoms

Apple Bottoms #5 · Oct 12th, 2021 · 1 · 1 · Journey To A New World ·

11008468
Thank you very much! I'm excited too!!

11011916
Right?! I'm so excited! I want to read this story so bad, it's making it harder to write it! I just want to jump to the feelings part!

bahatumay

bahatumay #6 · Nov 12th, 2021 · 2 · 1 · A New Friend ·

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

bahatumay

bahatumay #7 · Nov 12th, 2021 · 3 · 1 · The Storm ·

tenor.com/view/i-want-more-wheres-the-rest-of-it-that-cant-be-it-zuko-atla-gif-15434522.gif

Apple Bottoms

Apple Bottoms #8 · Nov 12th, 2021 · · 1 · The Storm ·

11046793
Ha, sorry about that!! There will be more adventures between these two!!

Bicyclette

Bicyclette #9 · Dec 3rd, 2021 · · 1 · Dinner For Breakfast ·

Candle could write passably now, but he was much better at reading.

i mean i'd hope he was pretty good at reading it!

It was hard to imagine what his life might have been like if he’d been born even twenty years earlier!

#relatable

Zecora, after all, had been viewed with the same suspicion and distrust that a bat pony would be, until very recently.

aww! that is true

Candle thought it was sweet that his parents were trying to be inclusive.

aww, that is nice! and the inverted schedule reminds me of how the seasons are inverted in the southern hemisphere, and the oddities in talking to people from there

“I know you do, Mom. It’ll be okay. It’s just one trip.” Candle reassured her, and bit back the thought, What could go wrong?

i guess we will see! since your zebra society will both be original worldbuilding and something seen through a first-time visitor's eyes

Bicyclette

Bicyclette #10 · Dec 3rd, 2021 · · 1 · Journey To A New World ·

The trip could have been its own novel, in the story of Candle’s life; but it would have been a boring, upsetting novel, and would likely receive bad reviews.

meta! and yes, very smart to skip over any part of the story that's unnecessary

Oh, guano; he was going to have to rhyme for his entire trip, wasn’t he?

and the author was going to have to write the dialogue in rhyme!

Isn’t that funny! She must be Zebian.

and yes! Zecora coming from a specific zebra culture instead of representing all zebra is something very much in my headcanon as well, so i am glad to see it here

Earmuffs. Candle wasn’t sure where he’d found them, or how he thought to bring them, but the relief was so instantaneous that Candle could have kissed him.

aww! so very thoughtful. and foreshadowing???

some were hip-high

hmm would quadrupedal beings use "hip-high" as a reference? lol

But this village looked, despite all of that, like his own, and like Ponyville. There were houses, built with brick or wood, and a packed-dirt road running in the middle. There were shops, and a road that led to what looked like the center of the town, with a fountain and cobblestones. There were differences, sure; the streets were filled with zebras, and the windows looked different, with some kind of mesh hung over them. The roofs were shaped differently, too, and Candle figured that might have to do with the heat. It was definitely much hotter here than in Equestria!

also very fitting with my own personal worldbuilding! this is like seeing the fic i wanted to write but never set aside the time to

On the ship, he’d looped his tail around the upper bars of the bunk bed, but there were no bars here. He’d have to just tough it out for the next few months, it looked like.

aww! but it's such a simple structure, a single horizontal beam! you'd think somezebra could whip up a quick solution

Bicyclette

Bicyclette #11 · Dec 3rd, 2021 · · 1 · The Party ·

He was used to the dark, and his pupils expanded to fat ovals to drink in all of the available light.

mmm dellicious!

Guards were something bat ponies were raised to fear, because they were the ones who watched the Everfree Forest with keen, predator eyes; but Zeffir was kind, and smart, and so curious about him. Zeffir was - different.

aww! i am smelling a hint of your Hitch Discourse here

Candle stared at Zeffir, longer than he meant to; it was only when the air started to feel electric that he realized that he may have made a mistake. His pupils widened further than necessary as his heart raced, and tried to come up with something to say.

ugh, yes! excuses for deep eye contact! sorry, eye contact is one of my Things and i love it

It was a curious lamp style, one Candle had never seen; it was more like a glass orb that one carried with a rope, and the orb in Zeffir’s room was simply much larger and kept on a shelf.

ooh, intriguing! love highlighting cultural differences through the differences in material culture

If only Mom could see me now, Candle thought with amusement, bringing home my own stripes.

hehehe, fun callback

“I tried to match it to your mane. I mean - not me, I didn’t dye it, but I did help find the flowers to dye it with, so -” Zeffir was babbling a little bit, and Candle took the folded fabric out of his hooves to stop him.

aww, love the awkwardness

This ambassador business was getting too real too fast!

i mean what did you expect an "ambassador" to do? silly Candle!

If it is too much for you, I will bring you home. I mean - back here.

hehe, fun slip

“A toast: To Candle and Zeffir, may their bond and the town’s strength grow - ever stronger - oh, you know what I mean!”

foreshadowing!

“You don’t have bat pony shamans?” Zeffir asked, his brows lifted. “Well, it’s sort of like a mayor, I suppose; they’re generally elected, or selected from a pool of candidates. They keep track of important moments, they have registers of births, deaths -”

ooh, loving this cultural worldbuilding! dang, i might have to steal some

And the pair leapt neatly over the fire wall, and despite how small the hurdle was, Candle felt himself very nearly giddy with elation as he landed.

this reminds me of broom-jumping, hmm...

“Zeffir: ?nwo ruoy ton si taht efil a ot eit eht ,nevig yleerf si taht dnob eht tpecca uoy oD”

lucky for me, i can read backwards!

“You fell asleep at the table. You tried to roll upside down - I found you when your hind hooves were up near the mayor’s ears.”

aww! that is adorable

Sober Candle would have fretted about it half the night; drunk Candle fell straight asleep.

well, we'll see how sober Candle feels once someone tells him just what kind of ceremony that was!

Bicyclette

Bicyclette #12 · Dec 3rd, 2021 · 2 · 2 · The Hungover Groom ·

Candle wouldn’t admit it, but he was grateful when he saw a normal-looking sandwich waiting for him.

sandwiches are universal! there is a version of it in every culture (if one is a bit of a structural anarchist)

Candle’s first kiss. He’d been prepared for earth pony stallions to have rougher lips, somehow, but Zeffir’s were so soft, and his breath tickled along his skin as he sighed through his nose. Up close, Zeffir’s white muzzle had hints of pink, especially on his lips and nostrils; Candle wondered if they flushed even pinker when he blushed. It was brief, but Candle did his best to return the gentle pressure before Zeffir pulled back. Did he close his eyes? He thought he did, it was all happening so fast!

yes very nice yes

Candle’s eyes widened. “You’re - you’re married?” Oh no! Was Candle’s first kiss as an adulterer? Was this going to color the rest of his dating career?!
Zeffir’s odd look intensified. “Yes … to you.”

hahaha

“That’s - that’s not what I meant,” Candle said softly, his stomach dropping to his hooves as he scanned the stanza. His wings were so folded so tightly against his back that they vibrated with anxiety. “I - I was trying to find a rhyme, and ‘partner’ wouldn’t - see, the next line talks about showing me the land,” Candle stumbled over himself, his throat closing up on itself.

ah, a comedy of errors! i really like how it tied back to how hard it is to write rhyming dialogue, too

Candle yelped involuntarily as he launched himself onto his hooves, the mental aversion to the memory so strong it had translated into a physical motion.

ooh, i hope we get to see this

The panic spiked again, but the moment had passed; when the alarm pressed Candle to action, it wasn’t herky-jerky as in the midst of the panic attack, but shaky, weak, left exhausted in the wave of the adrenaline crush.

aww, what a depiction of a panic attack. though i lack the personal experience to know how accurate it is, i could feel this

Zeffir had seemed to handle it well enough, but maybe he had realized he didn’t want to be harnessed to someone like Candle for the rest of his life, either.

oof! this is certainly an interesting trajectory for a shipfic! it almost feels upside down to how these things normally go

If he breathed deeply enough, he could still smell some of the Everfree Forest that still clung to it.
Sleep did not come easily.

aww! the contrast...

Bicyclette

Bicyclette #13 · Dec 3rd, 2021 · · 2 · Wings Over Troubled Water ·

For all that it was a strange land, and he was on a journey to get a divorce from the admittedly-handsome guard walking in front of him, the night felt like home.

that is quite a situation to be in the middle of!

“Honey badger. Not a friend,” Zeffir had confirmed quietly, and they waited until Candle couldn’t hear it anymore before they continued.

i have heard a lot about this creature

It wasn’t much longer than one of his pencils, but it had felt so much bigger in his memory.

ah, scars can be like that sometimes! and this is about what i expected from that earlier mention about not being able to go over the crowd

But the day my mother found out, she wept like I had died. And she said it was okay, but …

oof, sadly #relatable

They would wake up in the searing heat of the Eastern Desert sun, but for now, both stallions were warm under the blanket.

aww, a nice contrast to his earlier difficult sleep

Bicyclette

Bicyclette #14 · Dec 3rd, 2021 · 1 · 2 · A New Friend ·

“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!

Bicyclette

Bicyclette #15 · Dec 3rd, 2021 · 1 · 2 · Not All That Shimmers... ·

One of the maids (the familiar grey and black of Zecora) shook her head briskly, and gestured to a tufted seat in front of a mirrored vanity. “We will dress you. Please sit.”

making me think the house is drawing from Candle's memories

“Oh, a collection implies a group of items!” Pantaloons laughed gaily, and Candle’s skin crawled. “You are absolutely one of a kind, my dear. Perhaps I can start a collection of one-of-a-kinds, though; you will be the first, the jewel of my collection of unique oddities. And always my most treasured, never fear.”

haha, contradicting himself in the very next sentence! and this is my favorite kind of villain: aristocratic and decadent, very fun

Candle eventually dragged himself away from the window, so that at least he could muffle his weeping into the silk pillows of his gilded prison.

oof! and only one chapter to go!

Bicyclette

Bicyclette #16 · Dec 3rd, 2021 · · 2 · The Storm ·

“Let’s go,” Zeffir called quietly, and Candle would have sworn that he saw a stray spark dance between his pointed ears.

ooh, magic lightning powers? secret pegasus zebra?

“No! No I’m not!” Candle cried out, and dragged his foreleg across his eyes, trying to banish the tears. “I - I wake up every day, and I wish it was over before it even begins! I’m scared, all the time! I’m scared of - of my mom not loving me anymore! Of my dad being disappointed in me, because of who I love! I wake up, and I hate where I am! I want to go back to sleep, and - and wake up somewhere else! Or not wake up at all!” Candle was crying again, fat tears rolling down his shimmered cheeks. “I’m afraid of everything, all the time! I’m afraid of things I love - I’m afraid of flying! I’m afraid of - I’m afraid of being married, even to someone I like! Someone I really like!”

big oof! this feels like something semi-autobiographical that i would write

And in that moment, despite the tears and the dissipating storm clouds, they both were.

and i definitely see how you rushed to cap this off to stay under the word limit! there's so much love i see in the worldbuilding and these two OCs, and i hope you can continue to explore it as fully as you intended.

ShivalWolf