Angel woke the next day unusually tired. It took her an extra fifteen minutes to get ready for the day, something the corporal of the bunks didn't like. As she trudged down to the mess hall to grab a piece of fruit, she couldn't help thinking about yesterday and how everything went wrong. She had gotten Comet more angry than she could remember, all because of her lack of tact. Of course just barging in and confronting him about his beloved sister wasn't a good idea, especially when Comet cared for her as much as he did. She gave a large sigh and kept her head down. Her eyes were still puffy from yesterday when she sobbed into her pillow, fully believing Comet now hated her. Valyrie had brought Philomena to the bunks, something she got yelled at for as well, to attempt to comfort Angel, but Angel was too upset.
When she was crying, it felt like tons of little needles were being stabbed into her chest. It hurt her to remember, but her parents used to fight like how she and Comet just did all the time. It would usually start with her mother wanting to save the bat pony race and her father arguing against it, saying she had a family to take care of.
"You can't just run off and abandon your family!" her father shouted from down the hall. Angel felt her heart freeze for a second as she played with a couple crayons and a piece of paper.
"I'm not going to run off!" her mother replied, "I'm going to help save our species!"
"We don't need saving, dear! Our colony is doing fine."
"Then why are we on the brink of zero increase? We need help and I can do that."
"Sweetie..." her father pleaded.
"You know this! Why are you arguing with me?!" her mother shouted angrily.
"Because of what you want to do! I don't care if you can help, you're my wife and Angel's mother! You can't just leave us!"
"You know well enough I should. Angel also needs to know why I have to leave because she will be needed for the same reason!"
"No," her father said in a deadly serious voice.
"What?"
"No, I will not let that future befall our daughter,"
"And why not? It's a glorious future for her!"
"To be the colony's whore?!" her father shouted.
"No, to be the mother of the next generation of bat ponies!" her mother yelled.
Angel wasn't the smartest pony, but even as a filly, she learned her mother was one of the last fertile mares of her colony. Bat ponies, after years of breeding in their own colonies, had developed a genetic disorder where most mares could not successfully have foals. It usually took a regular mare nine failed attempts to have one successful pregnancy. A lot of bat pony foals were miscarried, causing their population to drop to an insanely low number. Most fertile mares, meaning those who could have foals on one try, were often kept in the colonies to breed new life and were heavily guarded. By a stroke of luck, Angel's mother was one such mare and Angel was suspected of carrying her mother's fertility gene.
Angel snapped back from the mental replay of her parents argument and past to find herself holding up the line in the mess hall. She grinned awkwardly at the chef, picked up an orange and darted off. Angel staved off the urge to cry again as she approached Philomena's room, but with her head down, she didn't realize there was a pony in front of her. She ran headfirst into a piece of gold and her head made a loud ringing noise as the pony shouted, "Whoa!" and the two toppled over. Angel's head hurt as she lay on top of the other pony, so she rubbed her forehead. "Hey," came the other pony, "Watch where you're... Angel!"
Angel opened one eye as the pony twisted on the ground beneath her to see a white pegasus stallion reach up and hug her. "C-Comet?" she asked nervously and the hug got marginally tighter.
"Well, duh," he responded, "Who else would just randomly hug another pony who tried to run them over?" His tone was unusually happy and sweet, something Angel was not used to. She didn't really hug him back, so she just kinda stood there, feeling awkward until he let her go, smiling widely at the sullen bat pony. "Hey, what's wrong?" he then asked, his voice losing the happy tone.
Angel looked away, ashamed, and mumbled, "I'm sorry."
"What?" Comet replied.
Angel turned her head back to him, eyes red and puffy, and said, "I'm sorry Comet! I'm sorry about talking about Nova!" Angel's head dropped and a couple small sobs escaped her and Comet felt a horrible rotting sensation in his chest. He took his mother's advice and was cheerful to her, but apparently Angel didn't let it go.
Steeling his will, he said gently, "Angel. Hey, Angel."
"I'm sorry, Comet." Angel spoke, ignoring his words, "I didn't mean to make you so upset. I just, I didn't know how to tell you, so I just blurted it out. I know you probably hate me and you don't want to date me, but can we still be friends? I just, I can't..." Angel trailed off, sniffling and gritting her teeth. She was sure he was going to yell at her again, just like her first coltfriend back in the caves she lived in. Instead, a calm and gentle hoof reached out and placed itself on her own. Angel looked at it and still sniffled. However, she managed to follow the white hoof back to the white chest, neck and head of Comet.
He smiled gently to her, trying his best to keep himself composed as he spoke to Angel. "Angel, I'm the one who's sorry," he spoke as gently as he could, "I overreacted to you and I'm sorry for that. I treated you like a jerk and I feel horribly about it." He reached up with his other hoof and gently wiped away a couple tears off Angel's face, just like he used to with Nova and sighed. "You know," he stated tactlessly, "The sad look isn't one for you."
Angel managed a chuckle out of that, halting the flow of tears and Comet gently pressed his forehead against hers. "Angel," he said with a smile, "I promise you, I won't get angry at you like that ever again. I've always been touchy about Nova, but you are not just some other pony I can get angry to. If you want, I would definitely like to keep dating you." Angel's big golden eyes flicked up and met Comet magically blue eyes and they just sat there, staring at each other. Finally, Angel broke the silence and said, "Yeah, I would like that."
A huge grin broke out on Comet's face and he gave her another hug and this time Angel returned it. The sad and lonely pegasus and the loud and obnoxious bat pony just sat there, feeling happy that the little spat hadn't ruined their relationship. As Comet sat there, he could almost see Nova smiling at him. The odd pair didn't end the hug until a set of guards rounded down the hallway and the two bolted off for their post, happy to be friends again. Inside Philomena's room, they took up their usual posts as Valyrie stood there, clearly unhappy with their tardiness. As punishment, Comet agreed to clean the room while Angel played with Philomena. The trio of females resumed their assault on the only stallion in the room, playing pranks and passing the day, only resuming their stoic looks when a corporal popped his head in to investigate the noises.
Later that day, after the shift had ended, the trio sat in the guard relaxation room, playing a game Comet dominated the gryffon and bat pony at. "Luna to E4," he stated proudly as he moved his minuature black figurine of Luna to a white sculpt of Celestia. Angel's jaw dropped as she lost yet again and put on her pouty face.
"This game is too hard to play!" she complained, "I liked checkers better."
"Yeah," Valyrie chimed in while she was playing with a deck of cards, "I want to play Prodder. This game is boring."
"Aw, come on!" Comet whined, "I played both of your games and got my flank kicked. You both can stand losing a bit in chess."
"It's more fun when you lose," Angel piped up, causing Comet's face to redden as Valyrie laughed.
"That isn't very nice," Comet stated flatly. Angel just sat back on her hind legs and shrugged, tilting her head slightly to the side. "Whatever," Comet grumbled, "I'll get the checkers." Angel squealed happily and reached across the table to hug him, knocking over a lot of the pieces at the same time. Valyrie laughed as Angel squeezed Comet's neck to the point she began to choke him and Comet tried to force her hooves from his neck. Flustered, he went off and got the checkers game while Angel and Valyrie cleaned up the chess pieces.
A long while afterwards, the trio sat around the table, each clearly tired but staring at each other suspiciously. They each held a set of five cards and a deadly silence permeated the air until Valyrie said, "You both ready?" Angel and Comet nodded and at once, all three slammed their cards on the table. Under Angel's dark hoof sat three nines, a Princess Celestia and an ace. Comet's hoof was two fours, two princes and a seven while Valyrie's claw was a six, three Princess Lunas and an eight. "I win again!" Valyrie shouted happily as Comet's face soured. Angel narrowed her golden eyes at her, but smiled.
"I gave you that win," she stated smugly and Valyrie clicked her beak.
"Then you shouldn't have let me win," she retorted and Angel's smile melted into a frown.
DAAWW! I'm so happy they made up!
Sad Angel makes me sad. Very touching scene. Only wish it was longer.
So where are the changelings?
2117019
Being disguised. Bidding their time
yay you made my day
The trio the trio the trio the trio the trio
But I really like the story, dude! Keep up the good work.
so... i thought the first part with comet he was a changeling
2117003 Is he repairable?
Selective breeding never help anyone at all, surely the must have known it would not last forever!!
2117047
If I did, then the chapter was successful.
I'm glad you like it.
Ive always been confused. What is prodder equvalent to?
2117101 I'm pretty sure it's Poker.
2117101
It's pony Poker.
2117117
Would it be okay if Angel helped? You know, adult supervision.
angel is best OC
YAY they made up
a short and sweet chapter
when are they gonna kiss
2117083
whoaorno.com/images/986.jpg
I like how you added more depth to Angel. I wonder how that little bit of info with the decreasing population of Bat Ponies is going to factor in the future. I look forward to finding out.
MOAR!
I'm so glad you updated! It makes my day better when I read a chapter of this!
"We spilled some of the Genophage, and it hit a race of-"
"Do they have space ships?"
"No, but-"
"Then ignore it, we've got Krogans to infect."
2117274
I read that in Mordin's voice. I lol'd. A lot.
The feels are attacking again!
Another great chapter in a sweet saga. Keep 'em coming!
Hm, I don't really agree with your portrayal of a fertile female as a 'whore' in the bat pony colony. I am assuming here that it's a sentiment shared by majority, not just by Angel's father. Where you have a class of people with an inherent quality that makes them better than the rest, gives more worth or simply puts them in a spotlight, they tend to quickly accumulate power.
In the bat pony scenario, the society would transform itself into a matriarchy, with the females at the top of the decision chain, this position secured by their innate ability to pick out desirable mates and bear children. Such change would begin just a couple of generations in and the whole notion of sexual promiscuity as a bad trait would be eradicated pretty hastily, replaced with praise for any action that would result in birth of more offspring.
Bringing "normal" human values in makes sense only if a society has a similar dynamic to ours.
Your characterization of Angel's father makes sense only if the population decline was a very recent thing, which from your description of it's cause, inbreeding, it isn't. Well, this or he's just weird like that.
They are so adorable together,
2117361
So much for explaining it later in the story...
The idea is more like controlled breeding. Fertile mares have no real power since infertile mares can breed as well, it's just the odds of a successful birth is very low. The fertile mares are given one job, and that's to have foals. They don't get to raise them because they are expected to get pregnant again soon after the birth by means of another stallion.
I was going to go more in depth later about that.
Yay! Happy friends again!
My D'awww meter maxed out! I still say poor Comet whenever it's a full blown female assault on him.
Good chapter, but I just wanted to point something out. The bit where Angel's thinking about her parents and colony seems a little redundant. You just had a flashback with dialogue that made it pretty clear what the situation with her parents was like. In the following paragraph, the last two sentences kind of reiterate the same point again. I don't know, it just kind of made me think "Yeah, I get it" after reading that. Not too major, just though I'd let you know.
Have a great day!
I like how Angel and Valyrie have contrasting problems back home. Valyrie is treated as a lesser griffin because thats how all females are treated and Angel, being a potential fertile female, would of been prized and protected. I speculate Angel ran away from her home to join the guard, probably just to get away from both her parents.
yea! they made up!
now all we need is to get rid of the changlings, get a kisse between Comet and Angel, and to find Valyrie a date......
.... or do what you think is necessary for this awesome story.
Why do I get the feeling that isn't really Comet? *shudder* Incoming doozie! Glad "Comet" and Angel made up anyways.
Why do I get the feeling that isn't really Comet? *shudder* Incoming doozie! Glad "Comet" and Angel made up anyways.
Legit.
They made up....Good...good.
Well that's new.
Chapter ended kind of abruptly, don'cha think? Oh well, at least it made me ---><---
anothe awsome chapter in an epic story.
2117416 World building is definitely good. It's nice to see something more creative than the usual cliche. As for the power of a fertile mare, I think about it this way:
"Hey, I can give any of you stallions a cute little baby pony - and chances are that is going to be your only shot at having a kid! Any takers?"
Ten hooves go into the air.
"Well, I have hard time choosing, so lets see who can give me the most stuff in exchange for the rent on my uterus."
This continues for a few generations and suddenly you have a matriarchal society with a mother-queen on the top.
2117567
All I can say is
Blargleschmetzen
2117126 2117113
Thought so... just checking! Now, what would the suits be? and joker? jack? queen? king?
now, from the story, I think that the
King=Celestia
Queen= Luna
Jack=Cadence
Joker=Pinkie(?)
-----
hearts=alicorn sigil
spades=Earth pony sigil
clubs/clovers= pegasi sigil
diamonds=unicorn sigil
2117746 so this one time at band camp... (band camp is awesome, btw. being field commander/drum major rocks)
2117672
That's how it usually works, but mine works like this:
"Hey, who can have foals?"
Two hooves go up.
"Alright, get to making foals pronto. When you're done with one, make another."
"Wait a minute! She's my wife!"
"Who cares? Her job is to make foals, now get to work."
2117750 Ah! Well, I'm looking forward to seeing more now.
2117416
Reminds me of a book I had to read once, where women were degraded into nothing but baby factories.
"The Handmaiden's Journal" I think it was called. Can't say I was a fan of it, really.
2117852
"Ow! Will you ever run out of babies?"
"NO, because I am ze baby factory!"
you know, i kind of see changelings as having the potential to be the equestrian equivalent of dittos, perhaps they could help solve the bat-pony population problem?
2117567 PLOT TWIST!
2117567
No idea; nothing suggests that. He's still got the same qualities and tendencies a changeling wouldn't know to copy, like being terrible at checkers and prodder.