Act 1, Part 1: Bats and Black Coffee
Bats and Black Coffee
The moon hung low over Equestria, almost dangerously so. The night in the countryside was still and silent, shrinking away from the cruel glare of The Mare in the Moon bearing down upon the world with a cold, steely hatred that, even one thousand years later, struck an instinctive and chilling fear into the hearts of ponies. The countryside had no defense from this chill, and so as they had for that same thousand years, the ponies had all long since retreated into their homes.
The towns fared better; their streetlamps warmed the ponies' hearts, staving off the chill of her glare, so instead she was forced to reach out with cold autumn winds. They swept through the streets, cutting through fur and flesh and straight to the bones of any pony who should be so unfortunate to be caught in them. The winds caught up dead leaves, litter, and dust, funneling them through the narrow streets of Canterlot City like a long, grasping hoof. Reaching, searching, yearning. Through the streets, the squares, finally finding a rest near ina young couple in a mighty park.
It was the largest park in all of the Upper Quarter – all of Canterlot, really, which given the caliber of the city's greenery was nothing to turn one's nose up at. In the daytime it was filled with high class families, idling their days away by the many ponds with parks, or playing games. At night, though, the true majesty of the park came alive. The open stretches illuminated as much by fireflies as by the streetlamps, suddenly seeming so small compared to the forests that surrounded them. Those mighty forests, stretching on for what seemed like forever. Nopony dared venture far into them for fear of becoming lost, or running astray of some wild animal – at least, insofar as any animal in Canterlot could truly be said to be wild.
The young couple trotted eagerly along the path, tucked close together to be warmed by each others bodies'. Their breath puffed out into the darkness, and as the clouds of mist danced above their heads it seemed, for a time, as though there were two sets of lovers in the park that night.
“Look!” the mare said, holding out a hoof for a firefly to land on. She stared at it happily, its light illuminating both their faces. “Isn't it pretty?”
“Mhmm!” He leaned in to get a closer look, but the firefly took off, buzzing away lazily and leaving two giggling ponies behind. “Well... I guess it isn't all that friendly.”
“Not all pretty things are,” the mare said, still watching it buzz away.
“Well... you're awfully friendly.”
“W-what?” The mare blushed, looking up at the stallion and then away quickly.
“I said... y-you're pretty,” the stallion stammered, flushing bright red, “and friendly. So...” The pair mulled around for a moment, laughing sheepishly and blushing at one another. “Sorry,” the stallion said, “I guess that was a bit too so - ”
“No,” the mare interrupted. “No, it's alright. I, um... thank you. That's... really sweet of you. Thanks.”
The pair fell silent, watching the fireflies buzz as their eyes settled on a nearby bug, imagining that it was the one who had landed upon the mare's hoof, and not merely some random insect. They tucked close to each other, watching it drift through the sky like some glowing early snowflake, swinging towards the treeline.
“It's beautiful,” the mare said.
“Hm?”
“Oh, I don't know... everything. I mean... the firefly... the night... the... the...” She blinked idly, squinting into the night.
“Something wrong?” The stallion looked between her and the bushes, concern creeping across his face. He shivered as a gust of wind cut through him.
“No, I... do you see that?” The mare took a step towards the bush, the stallion following her.
“See what?” he asked, looking over his shoulder. “It's probably just more fireflies.”
“I don't think so... it looks different.”
Another gust blew through the park, howling like a ghost and rustling the bushes. Suddenly, for just a moment, two pools of light shone out.
“Wh-what was that?” the stallion asked. The mare tucked close to him.
“I... think it was an animal?” she said. “I think those were its eyes...”
“Couldn't be.” The stallion swallowed, his voice trembling as though he were trying to convince himself more than the mare. “An animal's eyes wouldn't... glow like that. Do fireflies have colonies?”
“It was low to the ground,” the mare said. She inched closer to the bush, unaware of the chill in her bones, or the stallion glancing over his shoulder again. “Maybe it's a cat?”
“Out here?” For some strange reason, he gazed up at the moon, shivering again – and not because of the cold.
“Might have run away from home. Poor thing... it's probably lost and cold... I should take it home. At least for tonight, until I can find it's owner.”
“I don't... think that's a good idea,” the stallion said. “I think we should get out of here.”
“Don't be silly,” the mare chided over her shoulder. “It's just a kitty... see, it's even purring.” The stallion blinked, inching closer as well. Sure enough, he heard the low rumbling emanating from the bushes. The sound only make his skin crawl more.
“Hhhrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...”
“I grew up with cats,” he said. “That's not what purring sounds like.”
“Oh, sush.” The mare giggled. “Don't be such a scardey-cat.” She turned back to the bush, creeping in closer. “Here, kitty kitty kitty...”
“Hhrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, h-hrrrrrrrrrrrr...”
“There there... I'm not gonna hurt you, I just wanna.... wanna...”
The mare was inches away from the eyes now, and she could see them all too clearly. Behind that cold glow there were two fiery orange irises, each cut down the centre by a long, tight feline iris. Unblinking, unmoving... they did not belong to a cat. No cat had eyes this big, bigger than hers.
“Hrrrrrr-heh-hrrrrrrrrrrrr, heh-hrrrrrrrrr...”
“N-nice kitty,” she said, her voice trembling.
“Easy,” the stallion instructed. “Just... back out of there slowly. Don't say anything, don't make any noises.
“R-right,” the mare said, starting to scoot back. “I-I'll just...”
Another pair of eyes opened above her.
Beneath the cruel gaze of The Mare in the Moon, the autumn winds blew. They ran through the narrow streets all at once, as though racing to their destination. Racing to slice, to bite, to seize, they came in, grasping like some terrible claw. A scream rang out in the night, and for just an instant The Mare in the Moon seemed to smile. Then, silence.
***
The next morning a small, gaunt unicorn mare trotted hurriedly through the streets of the Upper Quarter. There were heavy bags beneath her eyes, turning her olive green coat a sickly hue around them, and her muddy brown mane was wild and askew. If it were not for the glint of determination in her eyes, gleaming out from the sunken orbs, she would have looked dreadfully ill. As it was she looked as though she had leapt straight from her bed onto the streets, only pausing just long enough to stuff the saddlebags that she wore. They had been stuffed so full that they nearly covered the large T-shape emblazoned on her flank, loose papers poking out and quivering in the wind – not unlike the ponies she passed, ducking out of the way of the pen she still clutched between her teeth like a sword.
She seemed to have very little regard for any of them, if she even noticed her presence. She was muttering to herself beneath her breath, foul oaths and strange phrases none who ventured close enough to hear could understand. She merely strode towards her destination heedlessly: the East Upper Quarter Guardhouse.
She threw the door open upon her arrival, slamming it loudly and causing the very disturbed looking guardpony standing in the lobby to jump. He whirled around, his face blanching further as he scrabbled at the state the main desk was in: papers strewn everywhere, dozens of books on various protocols, case histories and ancient laws laying open, serving as coasters to a cup of hot cocoa, and a pillow to his sleeping partner. As before, the mare did not seem to care about the state of the place. In fact, she did not seem to notice. She continued to stride onwards as the guard stepped into her path.
“Do you have business here, ma'am?” he asked.
“Yes,” she replied curtly, hardly pausing.
“And that is?”
“None of your business.” She set her eyes upon the door at the back of the lobby, changing her trajectory for it. The guard faltered slightly, but puffed out his chest and stood in her way.
“Do you have permission to go back there, ma'am?”
“No.” The mare barely broke stride, stepping around him with such vitriol that one could almost hear the unspoken “you idiot”. The guard blinked silently, staring into the place where she no longer was, before turning around slowly.
“Ma'am - ”
“Look,” the mare turned sharply on her back hoof, “do you know who I am?”
“Um, no, but - ”
“Erinaceidae. And no, you haven’t heard of me, so don’t lie. You’d remember my name.” Her horn lit up, floating a large, thick book with her name emblazoned across the top out of her saddlebags and dumping it on the desk, waking the sleeping guard with a start. “I am the foremost zoological scholar in Canterlot, and I do not need your permission,” she jabbed the guard's chest, “to do my job. Quite frankly you should have come to me first. I shouldn't have had to hear about this from some stallion in the gutter, but I did, and now I'm going to see them before some idiot decides they're best dead!”
With that she turned sharply around again, storming through the door and slamming it shut behind her.
The room beyond the lobby was dark and dank, the sort of place for ponies to sit and contemplate the true end of a life of crime. Cynically, Erin considered how played-up it all was, like some stage-play set up to scare stupid vandals straight before they committed a real crime. The walls were pockmarked with tiny cells, mere slabs of wood protruding from the walls for beds. There was only a single toilet in the entire room, along the back wall where everypony would be able to see, and there were an ample supply of chains and shackles hanging from the shelves near the entrance – no doubt for escorting the ponies to said facilities.
Erin snorted, sweeping her hoof across a shackle. Dust. Inches of it. Nothing in this room had been used in years, most likely. Not that they were any real representation of the place anypony around here would wind up anyways. Erin had seen the inside of one of those prisons. All plush beds and lavish apartments. She snorted again, her attention being drawn away from the shackles by a deep echo of her grunt.
In the centre of the room were two cages, the kind that usually stored wild animals. Sturdy, tightly-woven bars, constructed to make well sure that what was inside them was not getting out, which Erin thanked their makers for. She had studied wild animals before, and what sat before her was far more than wild.
It was a pair of ponies – or at least, so it seemed from a distance. They were large, charcoal grey stallions – demonstrated by their square features and broad, convex snouts - with night-blue manes. Even from this distance it was clear how solidly they were built, their muscles bulging beneath their tightly-stretched coats, shifting and shuddering with every step they took as they paced back and forth in their cages. Their eyes, burning embers of bright orange set deep inside their skulls, were set dead on her, almost glowing despite the pale light and never once leaving her as she walked towards them. As she approached she noticed the strangest thing about them – their wings.
Tucked tightly against each pony's body was a pair of wings, but these were a far cry from the beautifully preened feathers most pegasi had. These were the dark, tight, leathery wings of a bat. One of the ponies stretched his wings open, displaying them as though he knew he were being watched. The skin stretched over the elegant bones ran along their entire body, from haunch to shoulder, blending seamlessly with their dark fur.
All in all, the ponies cut a deeply menacing figure, prowling in their cages with their heads held low like monstrous, predatory cats. Every so often one would beat his wings, a deep growl emanating from his throat. The other kept quiet, his eyes twitching faintly up and down, watching the mare cautiously.
“Ooh, aren't you two just gorgeous?” Erin cooed, clapping her hooves together. The growling stallion took a step back, snarling quietly.
“Oh no, no, I won't hurt you!” She stepped slowly towards the cages, one inch at a time. “Just wanna get a look at you two.” She crept closer, centimeter by centimeter, and the ponies stopped their prowling. They slunk to the edge of their cages, snuffling at the air. “That's right,” Erin said, “Good boys...”
The door to the room slammed open, the flustered guard barging in. The stallion that had been growling previously roared, his voice the horrid, bestial child of a howl and a hiss, screaming through the room. From this distance, Erin saw something else peculiar about the ponies: fangs. Long, needle-sharp and gleaming in the beam of light that the open door threw upon them. The stallion threw himself up against the cage, snarling and roaring, snapping his jaws like a monster and beating his wings threateningly, his eyes alight with mad fire.
“Ma'am!” the guard yelled, “Get away from them! They're dangerous!”
The mare's shoulders seized up, but she didn't back away from the cage. In fact, the snarling pony inside hardly seemed to concern her at all.
“Oh really?” she asked, an edge that could carve through the densest skulls to her voice, “Is that why they're in cages loaned to you from the Canterlot Zoo? The ones designed for transporting lions and tigers?”
“Y-yes,” the guard said. He shut the door behind him carefully, trotting up to the mare. He kept his distance, clearly intimidated by the pony in the cage. It had stopped its gnashing, but it still growled deeply. “They've already hurt somepony – a young mare in Peak's Park last night. Got a good bite on her.”
“That's...” Erin paused. “Is she alright? The mare?”
The guard nodded, rubbing his brow as he recounted the incident. “She's fine. The doctors say the bite's mostly nothing to worry about. Clean it up, put some stitches in it, she'll be right as rain in a few weeks. Might leave a scar, but...” He shrugged. “A stallion – must have been her coltfriend or something – shouted for help soon as it happened. I was in the area... those things were crazy. Flying and jumping around.” He shook his head, sighing.
“What happened?” Erin asked, her horn lighting up and levitating a notepad in front of her face. She tapped it impatiently with the pen in her mouth, gazing up at the guardstallion before her. “Did they fly? Any peculiar behaviors? Any sort of magic you've never seen before?”
“Uh, well,” the guard looked around the room awkwardly for a moment. “Well... not really. I mean, there was nothing really unusual about them aside from... well, you can probably see for yourself. The seemed to be able to fly – they were dive-bombing the couple when I arrived. They heard me coming from a ways away, too. Must be those funny ears of theirs...” he rubbed his neck. “Thought they were muggers from that far away, really... until they yelled at me. I guess you heard that, though...” He shuddered. “Sends shivers down your spine, doesn't it? Sounds like some kinda monster... Whatever they are, they aren't ponies...”
“We'll see,” Erin commented around her pen, which had been scribbling wildly across the page. Did you notice anything else? Think hard, it's important to know what they were doing. Did they stay where they were, just chasing the couple off? Were they following them? Did they attack you as soon as they saw you, or just yell at you?”
“Er... yes, no, and they kinda... just yelled. At least until I got closer.”
“Wait,” Erin said, “let me guess. You decided that the best way to get them away from the couple was to attack them?”
“Well, no,” the guard said. For a moment, he actually looked a bit offended. “I was just gonna shoo them off... but as soon as I got close they started attacking me too, so I had to do something about them.”
Erin gave a barely visible nod. “Colour me impressed,” she said, her tone as flat as ever. “And that was?”
“I put them out with sleeping magic,” the guard replied, “and brought them back here... Managed to get some cages from the Zoo to put them in. Seemed... well, appropriate I guess.”
“Fair enough,” Erin sighed, rubbing her eyes and tapping the notepad. “Is there anything else you can remember? This is very important. Anything you can think of, anything at all.”
“Well...” the guard's brow screwed up in concentration. “I don't think so... 'cept for the eyes. You can't really see it now, but they looked like they were glowing in the middle of the night.”
Erin blinked, looking over her shoulder at the pony. “Tapeum lucidum,” she commented. “They're nocturnal? Makes sense I suppose. Well, I get too much sleep these days anyways.” She shook her head, tucking the notepad away. “Thank you very much... what was it?”
“I'm sorry?”
“You name,” Erin said somewhat impatiently, “What was it?”
“Um, Flint,” the guard replied, “Corporal Flint.” Erin looked him up and down, as though trying to deem whether or not this was an appropriate name. In truth, it probably was. His coat was slate gray, accented by a yellowish, spark-coloured mane – no doubt the source of his name. Despite carrying the look of somepony who's not had nearly enough sleep, much like Erin herself, he held himself tall and proud, wiry muscles bulging beneath his glistening coat.
“Well Flint,” Erin continued, “you have provided a very valuable asset to science, today. Possibly the most valuable in many, many years.” She turned around, taking a few gentle steps towards the cages once more. “Now... who would I speak to about having them delivered to my home?”
It was Flint's turn to raise an eyebrow, now. “Excuse me?” he asked. “You want these... things in your home?”
“Yes,” she said. “Or, well. Home... I might be convinced to bring them to Canterlot University to study, but I don't tend to play well with others.” She flashed a smirking, toothy grin. “But they need to be studied. This is a completely new species, perhaps unlike anything we've seen before, I should think. We need to research them as thoroughly as we can. In fact...” she tapped her chin thoughtfully, “We should see about organizing a sweep of the forest where they were found. There may be a colony... if we can find mares we can observe mating, gestation, birthing, rearing...”
“Excuse me miss Erinacid... Erniac...”
“Erinaceidae,” the mare corrected. “Call me Erin.”
Flint paused for a moment, the oddity lingering in the air like a buzzing insect, before sighing and rubbing his tired eyes. “Look, miss Erin,” he continued, “I don't think you quite... understand, here. These things are dangerous. Their first interaction with ponies put one of them in the hospital. We're not just going to give them to some... civilian because she asks nicely. Even if you had asked nicely.”
“I am not a civilian,” Erin said pointedly, not turning away from the cages. “I am a scientist, and these creatures need to be studied. What exactly are you going to do with them? Give them to a zoo? They'll need somepony to research them, and they come right back to me. May as well give them to me directly. What else would you do? Give them to some rich collector? Set them free?”
“We - ” Flint sighed, tapping his hoof against the ground. “We haven't decided yet. It's not my decision. For all I know, we won't even be keeping them alive.”
Erin peered over her shoulder, the look in her eyes so furiously cold it was a wonder frost did not form. Flint quickly backpedaled.
“Of course, I don't know that we won't, either,” he said. “Like I said, I... it's out of my hooves. I don't have any real say in what happens to them, I'm just a corporal.”
“And who exactly would have a say in that?” The pen in Erin's mouth shifted this way and that, almost flicking in perfect tune with her tail.
“Uh, well... We've sent the reports into the central guardhouse up attached to the palace, along with some photographs. We'll probably hear back from them regarding the decision around noon, if you'd like to come back around the - ”
“No thank you,” Erin said. She trotted sharply around the guard, making her way for the door and only pausing when she opened it, peering over her shoulder. “I will be back in... oh, say an hour and a half, or so. Depends. Anyways, I can't say I'll have much muscle with me, so keep a carriage around. And turn some lights on in here, let those poor things get some sleep.” Somehow, a smile managed to break through her hard exterior, and the pen in her mouth seemed to wave at the caged ponies. “They've been through a lot tonight. Besides, it'll be easier to move them if they're resting.”
“Ma'am,” Flint began, but he was speaking to an empty doorway. Erin had gone, trotting briskly out of the guardhouse and into the morning air. The corporal sighed, sitting down to stare at the stallions. They, in turn, stared back: one stood stock still, his orange eye locked with Flint's; the other shuffled his wings, yawning broadly and settling down on the floor of his cage. Flint rubbed his eyes.
***
The sun had risen quickly, as was its way in the Upper Quarter. Sitting upon the peak of Equestria's westernmost mountain, it had to wait some time to get its sun, but when it did, it did in force, with nothing in the world to shield it from the brilliant rays. Indeed, the entire quarter seemed to have been built upon this fact, century by century. The gleaming marble and polished white stone buildings seemed to glow, rainbows cast by stained glass windows colouring the broad, wide-open squares.
It was a beautiful sight, to be sure, but Erin preferred to stick to the shadier streets. The bright light hurt her eyes, reclusive as she was, and having lived there her entire life their glamour had lost some of its... well, glamour for her. In the end, there was no less beauty or art to the world out of the sun, after all. Every square still had its great fountain, gorgeous sculptures of mighty heroes protected by flowing pools of water. Each pool still had its flowerbeds, tended to day after day by the city's most dedicated gardeners, and the streets were still completely clear of litter. Even in the places away from the sun, the Upper Quarter was very much the picture perfect image of Canterlot. The residents would not have it any other way, of course.
The residents. Erin sighed as she considered them; yet another reason she preferred to keep to the shady areas. Not that there was anything wrong with them, but... the ponies in the sun were certainly not hers. Not ponies who loved the sun because it gave them light to work by, but because it gave them light to lay in and bleach their coats. Not ponies who loved the buildings because they understood architecture, but because they merely loved living around them. She sighed, pausing in her walk. She had come to the end of the shade. Before her lay the Central Square, the largest and most open in all of Canterlot. Across it lay the palace, and the Central Guard House, and there was no way to it that didn't require a long, long time in several winding streets. She took a deep breath, staring into the blinding white light before her, and stepped through.
She blinked for a while, standing in the entrance to the square and peering about, trying to make out anything as her eyes adjusted. Slowly she began to be able to see again, though in a way she wished she couldn't.
The square was full, as it always was this time of day, with ponies. Some tall and slender, like the princess herself. Mares, usually, though there was the odd stallion who seemed intent to play up their mareishness for all it was worth. Other stallions stood shorter, as well built as they were dressed. Indeed, all of the ponies here seemed impeccably dressed. They were taking full advantage of the cooling temperatures to show off their new fall coats and scarves.
The Beautiful Ponies. Erin simply shook her head, fully aware just how deeply unpresentable she was next to them all. She peered into a nearby window, her eyes drifting over her unkempt mane, the bags under her eyes, the pen clutched desperately in her mouth like she was some sort of recovering addict.
She sighed. Coffee. She needed coffee. At least them she could appear to be some bedraggled student of Canterlot University, instead of a simply a grown mare who was bad at taking care of herself.
She fell into line at a nearby shop, watching the ponies pass by idly. Petty as it was, she couldn't help but scoff at them all some. The scientific discovery of the decade... probably the century had just been made, and none of them realized it. They all went about their lives, same as ever, completely oblivious. Even if they knew, would they care? Or would they just keep on thinking about their jobs, their lives, about going out on the weekends with their mare or coltfriends to plays and films, or just sitting in the parks. She wondered if they realized just what had been living in the woods by those parks. She shook her head as she came to the counter to place her order, sighing. At least they served coffee. Foul, weak coffee, far cry from her usual order of “make it buck sleep in the balls”, but coffee nevertheless. She was going to need it.”
The Central Guardhouse lay through the palace's high walls. The gates were left wide open during the day; the front gardens of Canterlot Palace were something of a tourist destination. Now that the summer was beginning to dwindle to a close, though, there were not so many ponies about. Save for a few particularly dedicated bargain-hunters and the odd cross-country saddlebagger, the only ponies who were on the lawns today had business to attend to. Some were bureaucrats, dashing across the open grounds with saddlebags full of papers, to each of whom Erin gave a nod of kinship. Others were gardeners, tending to the flowers, trees, and lawns. Finally there were the guards, standing stock-still at their stations along the walls and paths. Erin nodded politely to a pair of them outside the Guardhouse before trotting inside.
Much like the guardhouse where the strange bat-ponies were being held, the Central Guardhouse somehow managed to be nearly empty and a the picture of chaos at the same time. There was a single pony, a white unicorn mare, sitting at the reception desk. She wore a loose chain-mail shirt, her helmet and heavier plate armour having been cast aside long ago, to judge from the loose papers that had been strewn across them. They had gotten off lucky compared to the desk itself, which was positively buried in binders, stacks of paper, and thick tomes on criminal history. They had begun to spill over onto the floor, and Erin noticed a few stacks had found themselves upon the waiting room chairs that lined the walls.
For a moment Erin paused in the lobby, before shrugging idly and trotting past. She stepped carefully over a few papers nearby the desk, creeping on hoof toes behind the wall the stack formed on the desk, leaving the guardpony to her mad scribbling.
The hallway was much more peaceful, a long string of shut doors leading up to a grand slab of mahogany at the end, set with a large gold plate bearing the word “Captain” in large, imposing letters. Erin nudged the door open, stepping inside without bothering to knock or announce her presence.
A pony she assumed to be the captain of the guard glowered at her from across his desk: a tall, thick, steel-grey earth pony stallion. “May I help you?” he asked, with a tone that could curdle milk. “No, let me guess: You're here about the incident in the park last night?”
“That's right,” Erin replied. The captain sighed deeply, burying his face in his hooves.
“So what is it then?” he asked. “You're family of the victim, or something? A friend?”
“I'm here about the...” Erin paused, rolling her pen in her mouth, “the animals you picked up after the incident.” The captain peered up, cocking an eyebrow.
“You're here about what now?” he asked.
“The animals. Those... bat-ponies being held in the east Upper Quarter house. They told me that you were in charge of what happened to them.”
“Gods, if only,” the captain said, rubbing his eyes. “I just give the orders, the bureaucrats do the rest of it. Those fools kill a forest for the paperwork to save a tree, I tell you. Not looking forward to THAT mess. What of it?”
“Well, maybe I can save you some work,” Erin said, smirking. The captain folded his hooves across the table, leaning in. Clearly, he was interested in avoiding the ocean of red tape that presented itself as his afternoon.
“Alright, miss...”
“Erinaceidae,” she said. “Call me Erin.”
“Alright Erin,” the captain replied, shifting in his seat. “What, exactly, do you want with those... animals? And why exactly is this going to save ME any work?”
Erin grinned, lifting her notepad out of her saddlebag and laying it down before the stallion. He glanced at it, flicking through the pages idly as she began to talk.
“I'm a zoologist. One of the foremost in Equestria. Those creatures you picked up, you may be interested to learn, have never come up in my studies before. In fact, I'm reasonably certain they've never come up in anypony's studies before.” The captain flicked the notes away from himself, leaning back in his chair as he listened to Erin talk. She had begun flicking her tail as she paced back and forth, and she had even gone so far as to levitate the pen out of her mouth to speak more freely.
“Essentially, captain, I have strong reason to believe that the animals you picked up are a entirely new species of... well, whatever they are, I suppose. I'd have to do a lot of testing before I'm able to definitively say just what they are, and as you can probably imagine I don't want to be too hasty on classifying them just yet.”
The captain waved his hoof in a get-to-the-point fashion, grumbling. “Right, that's fantastic. Good for you. Why exactly does this matter to me?” Erin rolled her eyes. Clearly, she could not afford to discuss the poetry of the discovery with him.
“These animals could be the most scientifically valuable discovery in years.” She paused for a moment, staring the captain dead in the eye. “New species don't just come along every day, especially not ones living right under our noses. We need to be able to study these creatures. In order to do that, I need you to give them to me.”
“Right,” the captain said, leaning forward and holding up a hoof. He was quiet for a moment, breathing deeply for a long, protracted sigh. “Okay,” he said finally. “Ma'am, I just got finished talking to somepony who thought they should be turned into media darlings. Before that, somepony who thought they were a menace and should be killed. These things are animals. I can't arrest them for their crime, so I've been sitting here all morning trying to figure out what to do, and I do not need another Celestia-forsaken opinion on the matter. As far as I'm concerned my options are killing them or sending them off to be some other department's problem, but I sure as hell can't just hand them over to - ”
“You can't kill them!” Erin shouted, her voice breaking sharply as she threw her hooves up on the desk. Her eyes had gone wide, her mane falling even further askew as her breathing quickened. “They're still – do you have ANY idea how valuable these things could be!?”
The captain threw up his forelegs. “No, I don't!” he shouted back, slamming his hoof on the desk, “And gods' sake, I don't care! I don't care why all you ponies seem to want these things so damned bad. But if I give them over to you, and they get out, or you get hurt, then guess who gets the blame!?”
“Then sign ownership over to me!” Erin shouted. “Or whatever the hell you do! If they're my property, then they're my problem, right? I get the blame for whatever happens with them, none of it goes to you. You don't decide if they live or die anymore, I do! Come one, there has to be something!”
“Oh, great, so give me MORE blasted paperwork to do! Fantastic!”
“I'll do all the paperwork,” Erin insisted. She threw off her saddlebags, discarding the pen, and leaned over the desk until her nose was inches away from the captain's. “All of it! Every last paper! Look, I'll do anything! They're... you have no idea what we could lose if you kill them now! You cannot! Kill! These! Ponies!”
A mighty hoof swung down, crashing into the desk with such resounding force that the varnish of the wood flew up in chips. “FIFTEEN!” the captain roared, the force of his voice nearly toppling the tiny mare. She blinked, staring at him.
“W-what?”
“Fifteen,” the stallion repeated. He spoke through clenched teeth, slowly lifting up his quivering hoof to tap the desktop. “I have spent all damn morning dealing with this whole stupid incident, and you are not the first pony to come in here telling me what I should be doing with these things, and quite frankly? I do not give a damn what happens to them. So you have fifteen words. Fifteen words to convince me to give them to you, then you get the hell out of my office. Got it?”
For the briefest of moments a look of fear flashed across Erin's face before being replaced by one of distaste and frustration, and she glared at the stallion. She tapped her hoof rapidly against the floor as she looked back and forth for a moment, shifting her jaw as though she had forgotten that the pen was no longer there to waggle back and forth, and she groaned.
“You'll receive credit for the discovery,” she said.
“Don't care about that,” he grunted, leaning back in his chair. “You've got nine words left.”
“I'll do the paperwork!”
“Already offered that. Liabilities waived. Five words.”
Erin jumped back up on the desk, screaming in the captain's face. “For fucking science!”
“I don't give two shits for science!” he roared back. “Try harder! Two words!”
“BLANK CHECK!”
The two were silent. Erin fumed, her shoulders heaving as she breathed through clenched teeth. Her eyes were squeezed shut, awaiting the stallion's final word to shoo her out of the office. It never came. She slowly opened her eyes, peeking out at the captain, who was staring back with a cocked eyebrow.
“What?” he asked.
“I... I said blank check,” Erin repeated. She paused for a moment, breathing heavily, before her horn lit up. A checkbook came flying out of her saddlebags, plopping itself on the desk as she looked around the room for her discarded check.”I-I'll pay for them. Name your price.” She levitated the recovered pen over the checkbook, staring dead into the captain's eyes. “I pay, we do the paperwork, exchange legally. They aren't your problem, the department gets a boost in bits. Gimme a number.”
The captain peered at her, his eyes slowly drifting down to the open checkbook.
“... 2,000 bits,” he said. “Each.”
“Done,” Erin answered hurriedly, but the captain raised his hoof.
“3,000 each,” he said slowly. Erin growled, her shoulders shaking with frustration, but she nodded tightly.
“Final offer?” she asked.
“Final offer,” the captain agreed. Erin nodded sharply, scrawling the number hastily on the top check and tearing it off.
“3,000 bits apiece,” she said as she slid the check across the desk. “Made out to the royal guard.” She sighed happily, lowering herself onto her elbows and letting her mane drape over the desk, hiding her mad grin. “You made the right decision, captain. Science will thank you.”
“You still gonna credit me?” He chuckled, a deep, throaty sound.
“Fuck you,” Erin said, laughing weakly. “The guard that found 'em... whassisname... Flint. He gets it.” She looked up, grinning cheekily through her panting. The captain laughed, standing up from the desk.
“Fair 'nough. Come on, let's get you that paperwork. I've got other stuff to do today.”
***
To call the afternoon long would be an understatement akin to calling the ocean damp. Erin had been made to slog through veritable mountains of paperwork regarding the animals: liability waivers, checks on her license to keep large animals, transferral of ownership (somewhat complicated by the fact that it was first necessary to designate that the bat-ponies actually belonged to the guards in the first place), and many, many more strange process foreign to everypony but the bureaucrats hiding deep within the cockles of the palace. By the end of it, Erin had begun to develop a new understanding for those ponies she'd seen rushing around the garden that day. They had probably been like her, poor mares and stallions caught up in the deadly web of red tape. She imagined that If they had been bureaucrats, they probably would have caught fire in the sunlight.
Still, the worst of it was over. Erin slumped weakly into the large, cushy chair in her lab, sagging over the arms as though she were melting. She rubbed her eyes, stretching and sighing as she peered out the window, into the sunset. The hours had spent in the palace had seemed like years. It was almost hard to believe that it had only taken a single day. Still, as she turned to look upon her 'purchases', she had no regrets.
The bat-ponies had been delivered earlier that evening under the influence of a sleeping spell, and with the help of the guards that had delivered them, Erin had had them transferred into a much larger cage set into the wall of her lab. It gave them plenty of space to stretch their legs – and wings, if they so desired. In warmer weather it could open into a larger enclosure in the back of her home, but for now she decided to spare herself the heating bill and keep them inside. They seemed relatively fond of the thick cushions she had left out, settling down into them and surveying their new home as they awoke. One was still exploring, flying around the fake branches and snuffling at the walls and bars. The other was content to sit on the bed, alternating between staring at the explorer and at Erin.
His eyes somehow managed to be cool and warm at the same time, the faint glow from the reflective film inside them making them clear even from across the wide room. He watched Erin, unblinking, his eyes never wavering. She could see his ears and wings twitch whenever she moved, though she was far too tired to even consider what it meant. She yawned widely, stifling it with a hoof, and stared back at the cage.
The curious bat-pony had returned, settling onto the bed beside his 'brother', and had joined in the staring contest. Unlike his brother though, he eyed her with great interest. He too yawned, showing off his long fangs, and Erin laughed. She pushed herself out of her chair, plodding across the room. She was careful to move slowly so as not to spook the creatures, but they seemed to have become accustomed to her. The curious brother even stood up, trotting up to the bars to get a better look at her.
“You guys have probably had a long day too, huh?” she asked, taking a seat in front of the cage. The bat-pony tilted his head quizzically, mimicking her. She smiled. “'Course, I guess you could just be waking up now. Nocturnal, and all that. Mmm... you have no idea how much I'm looking forward to being able to get a good look at you...” She smiled, a strangely sweet and earnest smile melting away her blunt exterior. “You two are amazing...”
The bat pony at the bars flicked his ears, tilting his head in the other direction, and Erin sighed and giggled. “Yes, you,” she said. She yawned again, stretching far enough to crack her back. “Mmm... but tomorrow... tomorrow.” She smiled one last time before trotting away from the cage to the door, turning to look back over her shoulder. “Goodnight, you two,” she said, flicking off the light switch. With that she left, closing the door gently behind her and heading off for bed.
The bat-ponies stared at the closed door, their eyes still glowing in the darkness. The curious pony wiggled his ears, looking between the door and his brother.
“Gaow, oan,” he growled, settling down.
“Gurff,” the other bat pony grunted, laying his head over his hooves and looking away.
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First. I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist.
Edit: Faved. Looking forward to future updates.
I did see a few typos that a read-through should fix.
Quite an interesting premise, I'm definitely gonna track this one. I look forward to more!
mmmm.... this is different. watching.
Damn, looks like somebody beat me to the premise.... I have my own vampire story, that I am just waiting to hear back from my editor... I am kinda nervous cause I have no clue if I want to read this or not. Kinda afraid on how similar this could be to mine... Hope it's good though!
1334008
It's not a vampire story.
...At least not yet.
Kegisak, if you've tricked me into editing for a vampony story, I will end you.
1334024
The moment I see Bat Ponies... I fear the worst >.< I don't want someone to beat me to my punchline! I am so close too... I am torn between publishing when the first chapter is complete, or waiting until the full first story is complete. As I said, I haven't read it... but ... I still fear the worst >.<
*chuckles* that's the image that started my Luna's Story series. I shall mark this for reading later.
My interest, you haz it.
1334008
1334024
Oh, don't you worry. No vampires here. I mean shoot, I even cut out the reference to Dracula in this chapter!
1336374
Well, I shall read this when I can! I'm kinda nervous about my story, I know its original but I don't know if I am delivering it the right method. It is going to be my first fan fic ever, and first story in at least 3 years.
Well, I know what I'm reading when I get home from work.
Oh, something that explains the Nightguard? I've been looking everywhere for a headcanon as to their origins. Tracked.
Interesting premise! I've written quite a bit about the Lunar Stallions myself, in my series "Luna's Story." This is just fantastic stuff, you've got a serious handle on your atmospheric work to say the least. I really like how you paint the city and set the scene. I wanna see the next part soon, with plenty of interaction between herself and the two bat-ponies.
Being a scientist I'm sure she's going to want hair, blood, shavings, stool, all that fun stuff. That's going to be interesting to watch, with her being an earnestly happy scientist when she's DOING something. I understand she doesn't like other ponies, but most brilliant minds don't enjoy company very much, so meh-- haha. Erin is hardly likeable but I see her making pretty good friends with those two.
Sending some of my watchers your way (1700+), make way for a few new eyes, hopefully!
1343748 you see that "aegis shield" guy in the comments here? He have written a whole series on the nightguard, they are quite popular and he have over a thousand followers. Just sayin'
the story looks awesome enough and i will get to reading it as soon as this comment is done. There, now i can read.
edit: gurff is my new favorite word
A few words from the right pony can travel quite a way. Liked and tracked, now to sift through everything else you have written...
I say good man. This is quite the good read! I look forwards to more. Keep on it. I am quite enjoying this story.
Sound Wave Reporting in from Aegis' Watcher's list! *giggles*
Awesome story you have here!! Can't wait to see more!!
If Aegis says its good. I'll read it.
1334185
Oh, the master has come to pass judgement on the world. I'll keep an eye on this, as well as actually decide to read it. Eventually. Not now.
A seemingly new take on the bat ponies, I am intrigued. I, like those before me, came over from Aegis Shield's stories to take a gander here. I must say that I do like what I see so far. Please, continue
Aegis Shield sent me. I like this story a lot. I can't wait for the next chapter.
Very intriguing.
I AM awaiting further releases!
More chapters please!!!
I'm a fan of the Lunar Stallions, and this sounds interesting. I shall track it and read when I can.
1344729
Came here from your post on it. I love it
Yay more bat ponies!
I was half expecting "blank check" to get her thrown out of the guard house.
By the Night, YES another amazing take on my favorite Bat Ponies.
looking forward to more also I absolutely adore Erin the Science Type this has soooooooooooooooooooooo much potential.
This is great, really good take on the Bat Ponies. I've read about them as a separate species, ponies wearing enchanted armour, mutants, exiles of Equestria, pony/dragon hybrids, Descendants of Luna & mad-science/magic gone awry. This is a good, fresh look into batponies, a zoologist who wants to study them, really interesting, kinda odd that so many ponies considered them animals, given how they're similarly shaped, but I'll ignore that, given how Xenophobic ponies have been shown to be.
Also I can't wait to see if Erin finds more Batponies, could be like she ends up with fifty of them in her home at some point ^_^.
Batpony story with no vampony? Hell yeah!