A bat-pony is rescued by a strange pony unlike any other she's met before. A pony who is, quite frankly, one of a kind. A story about acceptance and love for being different.
Maia Baterra didn't have an easy life. Being a bat-pony, she was the victim of much ridicule and cruel judgement. She was accused of being a vampony, a bloodsucker of the night, as well as a demon from the pits of Tartarus, among other things.
She didn't think she'd ever find acceptance.
Until that one night, when she was cornered by a couple of low-life thugs. They were intent on raping her. Then he came along. He saved her life. He took her somewhere safe, and looked after her.
He was unlike other ponies. He walked on two legs, not four. The legs he walked on bent forwards, not backwards. He had no cutie mark, and had a strange mark upon his chest. He was as unique as she was different to other ponies.
These differences, in which they find similarities, will bring them together, and together, they will find acceptance and even love in one another, in world that doesn't want them.
- Can abnormality find love and acceptance in a world of normality? If my followers and subscribers can accept me for who I am, and the creature I am, then I believe that even the most unique of us can find that most precious and rarest of treasures in the world.
Love.
Chapter One - I walk alone back to my home, enduring the hatred and the insults thrown...
I walk alone in sorrow and contempt, Judging eyes stare at me, they harshly scorn, Hating me, loathing me, simply for being different, My crime is being the abnormal among the norm.
- UniqueSKD
Celestia's magnificent sun, earlier that day a bright warm golden-yellow, steadily made its departure from its throne above the world, changing its colors to a crimson shade of red as it began to make way for the sister's marvelous moon, along with the darkness of the night it would bring along with it. In the Equestrian capital of Canterlot, everypony was hurrying to make their ways home, leaving their friends with farewells and goodbyes before making their journeys back to the comfort and glamour of their luxurious homes.
All around the city, shops and stores were beginning to close down, the owners of these establishments switching their 'OPEN' signs to 'CLOSED', and tidying up whatever mess had been left behind by a previous customer that day. When they were satisfied with the cleanliness of their workplace, they exited their buildings, locking the doors behind them, before they too made their trek back to their homes, to relax in front of a warm fire, tuck in to a delicious supper, and just relax.
For one pony in particular among the crowd of those returning to their metaphorical palaces and castles to be waited on by their butlers and maids, the sun's slow descent into the horizon was nothing more than a reminder of the cold night forthcoming, another cold night she would have to endure, until the morning's first rays of light revealed itself to the world once again, the cycle repeating itself.
Maia's eyes were fixed upon the hard cobblestone ground beneath her hooves, as she slowly made her way through the crowd of ponies. Some of them shot her a look of disgust, a glance of disapproval. Some ponies moved away from her as she passed them, as though she were some contagious disease. Maia simply tucked her bat wings tighter against her body, and continued moving through the masses, her eyes still fixed upon the floor, her head hung low in sorrow.
Their sneers and offended expressions were nothing new to poor Maia. For as long as she could remember since coming to Canterlot, she had been treated this way for most of her life, and it was all because she was different to the rest of the ponies who lived here. All because she was a bat-pony, or as the nobles often called her in the streets, a 'bloodsucking mare-devil with a false mask'.
Maia looked at the cold hard ground as she tiredly continued the trek home, knowing without needing to raise her head that most of the ponies she passed by were still giving her looks of disdain and disgust. A couple of wealthy-looking ponies - nobles, no doubt - who were busy talking to one another suddenly spotted her as they were trotting close to her, and recoiled upon the sight of her, s though she were some dreadful vermin who had taken them by surprise.
"Sweet Celestia, it's one of those awful bat ponies, my dear!", Maia heard the stallion of the couple say with shock and repulse in his voice. What a surprise, as if she hadn't heard that tone before.
The mare of the couple gave what sounded like a shriek, and huddled closer to her supposed husband. "Oh, by Celestia! It is one of those things!", she pleaded, panic-stricken. "Keep away from it! I hear these bat-ponies enjoy the taste of noble blood!"
Blood-sucking. That was one of the reasons why Maia was feared in this city. Everypony believed that because she had the wings of a bat and a pair of fangs, she went around attacking innocent bystanders and sunk her teeth into their necks to drink their delectable life force away, and smack her lips as she consumed the red-drink. It was all lies. A horrible pack of lies made up and told by the nobles who hated the thought of a pony who was not a unicorn living here in what was apparently their city. Nothing more than a bunch of rumors spread about by the upper-class in a cruel attempt to make others fear her and try to make her life so hard and miserable that she'd leave this luxurious place, and no more cause offense to the magnificent city of white-stone homes with her very presence.
"Come along, dear", the unhappy bat-pony heard the stallion say, as he placed a hoof around his wife and hurried her along. "We should move on before it decides to feed." Oh, please. Even if those lies were true, your blood would probably taste vile and sour anyway, thought Maia to herself.
"Why in Equestria would the princess allow such a wicked creature to live among us?" the voice of the mare loudly asked her partner. "Isn't she concerned for the well-being of her subjects? Why doesn't she do something and make that thing leave?"
Oh, how little they knew of. Maia would have LOVED to leave this place. She would often go to sleep at night and dream of leaving this place and never returning, never looking back at the city who, ever since she was just a little filly who moved here with her family, had been treated terribly by the inhabitants of this Luna-be-damned hellhole. But where else could she go if she did?
She would have gone long ago, but fear kept her here. She knew only of the life she had lived within these walls of this so-called 'great city', and nothing of the world outside Canterlot. She was afraid, and it was this fear that made her stay. Fear of how the world would treat a pony like herself. Fear of perhaps being branded as a monster by some small village of pious worshipers of the Sun goddess, who might see her as an abomination, an affront to their ruler. Fear that what she would experience out there might be far worse than what she'd been experiencing for years here.
The same cruelty that her parents had endured -
Maia shook that thought out of her mind before it could settle into her trail of thoughts, but already her eyes began to water up. The memory of the only ponies in the world who made her feel loved and wanted, the only ponies whom she loved and was loved by...the only ponies who cared about her, who were no longer there with her...
The ponies who now lived only as a memory, a fragment of her consciousness that reminded her of a happier time, a time that existed, but was no more.
Not wanting to be seen out here in public view crying, knowing that it would no doubt only feed the crowd ammunition with which to use against her, Maia did her best to hold back the tears as she ran as fast as she could, eliciting gasps and shocked cries from ponies who moved out of her way, more so out of fear that she was looking for a supple neck to bite, than out of consideration for a mare who seemed to be in a hurry, and close on the verge of sobbing.
Not caring for where she was running off to, only concerned with finding somewhere out of the sight of the public, Maia fled into a darkened alleyway. When she was convinced that no judging ponies would hear her, least of all come to investigate any noise that might escape the narrow hallway of white brick and concrete, Maia threw herself down onto her haunches, and allowed the water-clogged dam in her eyes to burst, her tears streaming down her face, to the tip of her nose and down her chin, dripping and falling to the ground. She threw her head into her forelegs to muffle out her cries, not wanting any of those horrid wretches to find her and add to her torment.
Why did she have to suffer like this? Why was she the monster in this life? What had she done to earn this cruel, cruel fate? She had never, ever harmed another living soul in her whole life, and yet here she was, living each day the same way; enduring cruel insults and being feared by ponies whom half of which didn't even know what she was, merely joining in the crowd with their jeering and sneering and rants of disgust and hate.
She cried and cried and cried, her tears forming a puddle on the ground. No pony heard her sorrowful moans, though no pony in this city would have cared enough to offer comfort to a lonely soul, broken, and scared.
The sound of a newborn's cries, Born into this world, a new life created, Born as part of a plan, or as an accident, or for reasons they deem complicated.
No life is without flaws, and flawed are we, To never walk, to never talk, to never hear, to never see, And so begins the struggle for acceptance, The flawed ones ask, why do they not love me?
Ridiculed, bullied, and insulted for their flaws, The abnormal living among the normal, seen as sin, A sin for the imperfect to tread the earth of the perfected, Undeserving of this world in which we live in.
And cast asunder are the flawed ones, banished, exiled, They are made to walk life alone, to distances great and far, And for what crime? The sin of being different to the others, Unwanted, unloved, all because of what They are.
- UniqueSKD
Chapter Two - They meant to harm me, my hopes seemed bleak, until my savior came along, a hero most unique...
The world resenting me, I became a wreck, I decided to take my life, and end it all, But before Death's noose could embrace my neck, There stood my guardian, a white knight standing tall - UniqueSKD
The city was bathed in the magnificent glow of Luna's majestic midnight sun, her brilliant moon accompanied by a blackened canvas of thousands and thousands of scattered stars, by the time poor Maia had finally exhausted the last of her tears, her throat coarse and sore from what must have been a few hours of constant crying and weeping in that white-stone alleyway, all alone, silence and darkness her only companions.
Maia sniffled and dragged her foreleg across her face, wiping away what few droplets of tears remained. She took a deep breath and sighed. Crying made her feel a little better, getting all of her pent-up sadness and fears out of herself, though it did not change the reality that she struggled with.
Stretching out her leathery wings and wrapping them around her body to warm herself against the coldness brought on by the fall of night, Maia raised her head and looked to the heavens, at the great white moon looking down upon her, a featureless blank face that made no conversation, but listened to her sorrows.
As it was commonly known, bat-ponies were usually quite active at night-time, a similarity shared with most actual bats. Not Maia, though. A long time ago, as a small child she would flap her little precious wings with all the strength she could muster in order to keep up with her family, as they traversed the sky, their path made clear by the illuminating light of the Lady of the Night's marvelous moon. But then the lies were made and spread to everypony within the city, an infectious rumor that brainwashed the minds of the citizens like a cancer, and over time Maia resorted to drastic measures just to try and fit in, even altering her active-inactive cycles. For the first couple of weeks, she found it hard to wake up during the day, and then going to sleep as the sun departed and made way for the moon to rise, but she adapted to her new changes afterwards.
Years of living in the day and sleeping during night became a normal routine for her, and It helped to ease the bullying for a while, at least, until the nobles accused her of being a special breed of vampony, one who could walk in the light of the day, and this gave incentive for others to be wary, even fearful, of her.
As Maia looked up to the heavens, she realized that she had almost forgotten how beautiful the moon was.
She stared up to the moon for about minute, before deciding that it was probably time to get going. It was getting cold, and her home wasn't that much further away from where she was now. Besides, with the exception of the Royal Guards, she wouldn't encounter anypony out on the streets at this late time, so she needn't worry about being ridiculed or harassed as she made her way back to her shelter.
Maia straightened out her mane, running her hooves through her length of hair, and started to pick herself up from the ground. Folding in her wings against her body again, Maia turned to make for the exit out of the alleyway, stepping out of the shadows of the narrow space, and into the pale moonlight.
"Good evening, miss", spoke out a stallion's voice close to her side. Maia jumped out of surprise and gasped upon hearing somepony speaking to her. She turned her head and saw a large mint-green earth pony stallion, with a messy orange mane with darker orange streaks running through it. His brown eyes looked at Maia with an unnerving stare, his lips twisted into a small smug smile. On his flank, his cutie mark depicted an image of an ace of spades playing card.
He stood close by the exit of the alleyway, leaned against the wall, staring at the bat-pony in front of him. "Nice moon out tonight, don't'cha think, sweet thing?", he asked, his tone of voice not sounding at all friendly. "A pretty mare like you shouldn't be out at this time." The stallion shot a quick glance at her folded wings, and resumed looking at her. "Then again, bat-ponies do usually come out at night," he added.
Maia took a few steps back away from the stallion. "P-please, sir," she said weakly, "I don't want any trouble. I just want to go home, that's all."
The stallion pushed himself from off the side of the wall he'd been leaning against and stepped in front of Maia. "And there won't be any trouble, missy," he replied. "We just wanted to do our lovely city a massive service, that's all."
Maia raised an eyebrow in confusion. "'We'?", she asked.
Somepony tackled her from behind to the ground a second after she had questioned the stallion's comment. Taken by surprise and shock, Maia was too late to stop her attacker from pushing her snout into the alleyway floor, a strong hoof keeping her head face-down, which muffled her cries. Her wings opened and began flailing around in a panic, but the stallion from before stepped in and forced his hooves down on them both, eliciting a muffled cry of pain from the poor mare. In desperation, Maia writhed and shook her body as much as she could in some hope that she could shake her captors off of her, but to no avail.
A nasty chuckle made her cease her struggling. "This one's a bit of a fighter, don't you think, Ace Dealer?", a deep rough voice above her laughed to his accomplice.
The mint-green stallion from earlier, apparently named Ace Dealer, nodded his head in agreement, still pinning Maia's wings down,. "She looks it, Sledge, she certainly looks it. And that's just how I like em'," he responded. He leaned in closer to Maia's head, who managed to somehow free her head from the other stallion's hold. She stared up at him with frightened eyes, into his wicked and cruel expression. "I like my mares to have a little energy in em'. The longer they last, the better."
Maia yelped as she felt a hoof grasp her tail and lift it up, an embarrassed blush appearing upon her face. "Oh ho! Looks real nice down at this end, Ace! I think we got ourselves a jackpot catch here!", the stallion now known as Sledge laughed with perverted joy.
Maia's eyes began to well up with tears again, as she looked up to Ace Dealer with a look of pleading, begging. "P-please, don't do this. I-I promise I won't tell anypony about this. Just let me go. I swear, nopony will know about you both. Please!", the bat-pony whimpered.
Her response was hearty laughter. "Oh, don't worry, sweetie. We know you won't tell anypony! We know about your reputation around here. Nopony's gonna listen to you even if we did let you go!". He raised his head to look at Sledge, still on top of Maia. What kind of pony he was, Maia had yet to see, as her head was still being held against the ground by the stallion upon her back. But if she had to guess, she would assume that it was another Earth pony, given his overpowering strength. "Nopony around here will listen to you, nor will they let you anywhere near them. But we can't be too careful now, can we, Sledge?", the stallion asked his companion.
"Nope. Never too careful," came the response.
Ace Dealer turned his attention back to Maia. "So you see, sweetheart, I'm afraid we simply can't let you go. Besides, Canterlot doesn't really seem to like you being around very much, so ridding you after our little...", he pondered in thought for a moment over his next word. "...'playtime'," he continued a few seconds later, putting emphasis on the word, "would be a favor to everypony here. Hell, we might get a reward for removing trash like you from the street!"
Maia's eyes widened, filled more with fear now then before. Ace Dealer showed no sympathy for her, and leaned his head closer to her ear. "So, this is how it's going to work," he whispered to her, a smile present on his face. "Me and my friend here are going to take turns putting your body to the only use it has. After we're done 'playing' with you, we'll do you a kindness, and end your miserable existence. If you scream for any reason other than when we pound your marehood, we'll kill you a lot quicker. We'll go home and have a goodnight's sleep, and Canterlot wakes up a bat-pony-free world." He chuckled maliciously. "Everypony wins. Well, the ones who actually matter, anyway." Above her, Maia heard Sledge chuckled along with his accomplice.
Maia was terrified. No, 'terrified' wasn't the word to describe what she felt right now. Her heart skipped a hundred beats, her thoughts swarmed with images of herself, being violated by these disgusting excuses for stallions, and of herself being disposed of after they were done with her, her body never being found, nopony willing to look for her, or even mourn for her.
Despite wanting so badly to put up a fight, to wriggle and squirm and thrash about, anything to just maybe make the big stallion on top of her lose his hold so she could wrestle herself free from their hooves, Maia instead let her body go limp and closed her eyes, preparing herself for the torture yet to come, a single teardrop running from her eyes and down her sweet face.
There is no point trying to resist. Even if I were to live this night, tomorrow will only be the same as every other day, as would the next day, and the next day after that. Nopony wants me. Nopony cares about me. Better to endure just one last torture than live a lifetime's worth of it.
"Alright, Sledge. You won the coin toss earlier, so you get first turn with her. Just don't take too long - it's bucking freezing out here."
Maia felt the weight on her back shift lower down towards her rear, though Ace Dealer still kept her wings pinned to the ground. Although Sledge had gotten off her back, she made no attempt to struggle, having already accepted that this was her fate. She felt Sledge grab her hindlegs, and raise them into the air, held firmly in his powerful hooves so she couldn't kick at him if she even wanted to. She braced herself for the stallion to begin defiling her.
*CRACK!*
"AAARGH" "What the buck?!?"
Maia felt her hindlegs being released from the stallion's grip, dropping to the floor as the sound of a jawbone being struck by a forceful blow, followed by a loud cry of agony and shock, made Maia open her eyes in time to see a dark-purple Earth pony with a brown mane suddenly fly over her head and past Ace Dealer, barely just missing the bewildered mint-green pony, who whipped his head around to watch his friend impact headfirst into a stone brick wall, making a large indentation splattered with a few drops of blood, before falling and landing on his back, laying very still.
Ace Dealer's attention was no longer on the mare, but on his injured partner, and without realizing it he had taken his hooves off her wings. Her body now back under her control, and with renewed will to live, Maia did the first thing that came to her mind. She raised her head up, and opened her mouth, revealing two tiny fangs. She clamped her jaw down upon Ace Dealer's foreleg, eliciting a loud scream of pain as her fangs pierced his flesh, causing him to bleed.
Maia didn't know what had just happened to the other stallion, or what or who had attacked him, but she didn't want to stay and find out. The only thought on her mind as of now was to get as far away from here as she could, while she had this chance.
Releasing his leg from her mouth, and spitting out the blood that had seeped in, Maia used the small distraction she had caused to quickly get onto her hooves and make good her escape. But Ace Dealer recovered from the attack much sooner than she thought, as he threw himself at her as she tried to take off into the air. He grabbed her tail and pulled her back to the floor
"Noooo! Let me go!", cried Maia, thrashing her hooves about, trying to get the stallion off her. He pushed her to the floor, and brought his head close to hers, his face a terrifying visage of fury and murderous intent. "You bucking whorse!", Ace Dealer roared, as he raised his injured leg high, bringing the hoof straight across Maia's face.
Maia's painful cry echoed throughout the alleyway, as her head began to spin, her vision becoming blurred. Pain exploded and ringed everywhere from the force of the blow, the side of her face hurting the most. Through her distorted sight, Maia saw Ace Dealer rearing his other foreleg back, preparing to land another blow to her, a snarling expression on his face. But just as he was about to strike her again, something caught his attention, for he looked up away from Maia, only to have a white hoof appear out of nowhere and slam straight into his face.
Maybe it was a result of being struck in the face, or her blurry vision, but Maia could have almost sworn for a second that Ace Dealer's face caved in a little upon being struck by the owner of the white hoof.
Ace Dealer flew out of her sight from the force of the blow, and it was at this moment Maia's consciousness began to fade in and out. Her hearing was wonky, but she heard what she took to be the sound of hooves running along cobblestone, which gradually became fainter and fainter.
Before her world blacked out into total darkness, the last thing Maia saw was a tall figure leaning over her, a pair of bright, glowing sky-blue eyes looking down on her. A pair of warm hooves slid beneath her body, gently and cautiously, the last thing she felt before she gave in, allowing her mind to be taken by the shadowy void of unconsciousness.
Who will be the one to stand up for the weak, When their life is in danger, when their hopes seem bleak? Who will be the one to do what's right, When those without strength are oppressed by evil's might?
Will no one take a step for the people who can't walk? Will nobody speak up for the people who can't talk? Won't someone listen for the people who cannot hear? Won't somebody give them a reason for being here?
Will someone please help feed the hungry, By giving, sharing, growing food a-plenty? When will a righteous man rise up and speak? When will there be a hero to stand up for the weak?
- UniqueSKD
Chapter Three - That night, I was spared a great danger, and I owed my life to a peculiar stranger...
The gentle warmth of a kind soul, Erasing the coldness within my very being, A stranger was he, but then to him, so was I, Two strangers in a lonely room, Their Fates to be both entwined soon. - UniqueSKD
Maia's eyes opened slowly, the world a little hazy as her consciousness steadily returned to the bat-pony. Her head throbbed, but the pain was not as bad as it was before she was knocked out. A bright light was shining downwards onto her face, causing her to blink a few times before raising a hoof to shield her vision. She immediately took notice of the fact that her hoof was dripping with water, which splashed upon her face, which seemed to help in making her a little more alert. Peering down at herself, Maia saw that she was laying in a bathtub, her body submerged in warm, and slightly grimy, water. She was in a small white-tiled bathroom, its design stereotypical of a common motel's.
As she straightened herself upright, confused and a little scared as to where she was, and why she was here, a stallion's voice spoke to her. "Ah. You're awake."
Maia whipped her around to the side, frightened that it was one of the depraved ponies who had attacked her earlier, and her mouth dropped agape at the sight of the stallion sitting on a chair next to her.
He was a pegasus pony, made obviously clear by the wings upon his back, stretched out and revealing blue-colored feathers at the end of his wing-tips. His coat was a magnificent color of white, and his mane was spiky-ish, and the color of midnight black. He looked at Maia with bright sky-blue eyes, which had a soft, gentle expression to them, the smile on his face bearing the same. He was sitting on the chair in a rather unusual fashion, his body upright with his chest out, upon which there was a strange blue mark of some sort.
Taking into consideration the terrifying ordeal which Maia had went through not long ago, and the fact that she had woken up in a bathtub with a stranger sitting next to her, it was not surprising that the first thing she did was scream and flail her legs about, splashing hot water over the sides of the tub and soaking the floor.
"No! NOOOOO!", Maia cried in mad panic, as she scrambled about in an attempt to get out of the tub, but a pair of white hooves grabbed a hold of her, struggling against her frenzy. "No! Please! Let me go! PLEASE!"
"Wait just a minute! I'm not going to hurt you!", the stallion grunted as he tried to calm her down, getting splashed with warm water as he wrestled with the panic-stricken bat-pony. "Please, just calm down! I - ugh! - promise you no harm! Just - argh! - JUST CALM DOWN!"
Maia immediately stopped wrestling against the stallion's firm grip at the booming sound of his shout. She simply lay there in the bathtub, surrounded by what little water remained within it, the rest of it now soaking either the tiled floor or the stallion himself. She lay there, looking up at him with frightened eyes, trembling and shaking in terror, as she tried to curl herself up away from him.
The pegasus stallion took a deep breath, relieved that the drama was done with. "Thank you for calming down. I don't want you causing concern for the other ponies staying here."
"W-where am I?", asked Maia shakily. "W-who are you? What do y-you want from m-me?"
The pegasus smiled kindly as he removed his hooves away from Maia. "You're in a motel just outside of Canterlot. After you were assaulted by those," - his brow furrowed as he frowned - "bastard thugs, you passed out after that one stallion hit you across the face." He reached out his hoof towards the bat-pony, who flinched and closed her eyes tightly, bracing herself for the pain that was to come.
Instead, she felt a warm and gentle softness stroke the side of her face, the white hoof of this stranger before her it turned out to be when she opened her eyes. He seemed to be inspecting her.
"You had a nasty swelling beginning to come up where he struck you," he explained. He turned his head as he reached out to a low shelf behind him, grabbing an empty bottle with his other free hoof, before turning back to face the bat-pony. "Fortunately, I had this bottle of healing elixir that I came across in my travels. I only had enough left for one last use, so I used it to treat your injury." He looked at the empty container and sighed. "I never learned the name of the merchant I got this stuff from, so I can't get more of it." He shrugged his shoulders, and threw the bottle aside. " Oh well. At least its last use was a good one, right?". He smiled at Maia, who looked at him in surprise.
"Is there something wrong?", the stallion asked her, a tone of concern in his voice.
Maia gulped before she responded. "Aren't you going to...to hurt me?"
The pegasus' eyes widened in shock. "Hurt you? Why would I do that? Why would I help you if I was only going to do you harm afterwards?"
Maia stared at him. His reaction seemed genuine enough. Perhaps he really wasn't going to harm her, maybe? She eased a little bit, and straightened her position in the tub so as to feel more comfortable. "Well, if you aren't going to hurt me, why was I in a bathtub full of water? Were you going to drown me?", she questioned.
The pegasus' mouth fell open, agape. "D-drown you? You thought I was going to drown you?" He threw his hooves up in front of him in defense. "I give you my word that was not my intention whatsoever! Your coat and mane were filthy from being pushed down on the ground in that alleyway. I was merely washing away the dirt from your body while you were passed out. I didn't want you to return home in the morning looking a mess."
Maia blinked. "What do you mean 'in the morning'? Why can't I leave now?"
The stallion shook his head. "I can't let you go back to Canterlot while those thugs are still on the loose. It wouldn't be safe for you to go home tonight. Please, stay the night here. I assure you that it is safer here, and come the first rays of Celestia's sun, I'll take you back home and take my leave." He stood up and walked over to a cupboard. He opened it and rummaged about in it for a bit, before producing a large white towel. Closing the cupboard door, he brought the towel over to the chair, still next to the bathtub, and place the towel upon it.
"You might want to dry yourself off now, so I'll step out of here and give you your privacy," he told her with a small smile. "When you're done cleaning yourself, just come on through the door. I'll be making the bed ready for you to sleep in. You must be weary from tonight's events, and you probably would like to rest your head already." With that, he took a small bow, and walked over to the door.
Before stepping out, he paused, before turning his head to Maia. "And by the way," he said with a wink, "my name is Unique, to answer your other question." He turned away, pushing the door open as he strolled through, closing it behind him.
Maia continued to stare at the wooden door for a couple of minutes, as she replayed the events of the night thus far in her head, from her being attacked by those depraved thugs, to waking up in the care of this...strange pegasus.
It was then that another thought entered her mind regarding the pegasus, something she only had just realized now. It was about the way he had walked out of the room. He wasn't walking on all fours like a normal pony.
He had walked out of the bathroom on his hind-legs. How peculiar for a pony to walk like that.
Maia's attention turned to the towel laying on the floor, as a slight chill shot straight her back. She considered her options as of this moment. She could try to escape from this place, but there were no windows here in the bathroom, and even if there were, the pegasus would probably hear her trying to get out. But then, he seemed genuinely hospitable. After all, he could have simply drowned her in the tub if he wanted to, rather than wait for her to awaken if he really had meant her harm. But maybe his kindness was a ruse, a means to lower her guard before he showed his true colors.
But then there was that look in his eyes, that look that spoke volumes of real care and consideration for her well-being. He had brought her to a safe place, and even treated her supposed injury. He had even cleaned her mane and body of dirt, which could be proven by the coloration of the bath water. Perhaps he might actually be friendly?
Maia climbed out of the bathtub and grabbed the towel with her hoof, throwing it over her back and began to dry herself off. This stranger had helped her when so many others would not have done. At the very least, she could play along until she had real reason to be afraid of him. But for now, she pondered to herself as she worked the towel on her mane, she'd see where this would go.
Indeed, this night had taken an interesting turn for the bat-pony.
The sun rises to bring forth the day Shining rays of light to show the way To those who from the path did stray While wandering through the dark forest
And high above, the sun shines alone Watching over us from its heavenly throne As we laugh and play, until it's time for home And then the light must go away
And the sun, once bright, now turns pale And spreads white light across the vale Joined by a thousand tiny lights in detail This is the Moon and they, her stars
And the wolf does cry an eerie tune To herald the arrival of the pale moon Who, the heavenly title, she does assume Guarding those who dream in the dark
And the sky stays black for many an hour, Until the sunlight returns to power And thus repeats the cycle, night to day Forever rising, forever fading away.
- UniqueSKD
Chapter Four - Your form was strange, but your heart was kind, and soon did you cast the doubts clouding my mind...
I have been alone for so long, I've forgotten how to trust But in your eyes, I see a good heart No trace of lies or lust
- UniqueSKD
Maia opened the bathroom door and peeked into the room before her. As the stallion had said, it was indeed what you would normally expect of a typical motel - just a large room with a large bed, a small closet and dresser, and a little wooden stand with a television on it. Lying next to the television was a remote, and on top of it, a small box of tissues. Maia cringed at the appalling thought of their 'other use' other than for blowing one's nose.
With a slight shudder, Maia stepped out of the bathroom, cautiously, and into what would seem to be the bedroom. The bat-pony immediately felt a wave of pleasant warm wash over her body, the coziness of the room caressing her lovely form with the radiating heat. Maia noticed a small little alcove in the side of the wall, something she didn't see before from the bathroom door. There was a small wooden counter that separated the little room on the other side from the main one.
The pegasus from earlier was in there, and he seemed to be preparing some sort of meal, mixing various herbs together with green salads and lettuces in a bowl. He looked up from his culinary task upon noticing Maia, and the same kind warm smile appeared on his face. "Ah, you're finished, I see," he said as he splashed a little dressing oil into his mixture. He placed the oil down and picked up the plates of vegetation in his hooves, as he walked out from behind the counter, and into the main living area. Maia remained where she was, a part of her still unsure whether to actually put any measure of trust towards this stranger.
He set the plates down on a small table and turned to Maia, that same warm smile on his face. His smile changed to a frown as he took notice of the bat pony's uneasiness. "Ma'am, I told you before. I understand that after what happened earlier this night, there's no reason for you to trust me, and I'm not going to ask you to. But I do ask that you at least try." He gestured to the plates he had set down. "Here. I made you something to eat. You look like you haven't had a bite to eat in a good while."
Maia looked over at the food, and she suddenly felt her stomach contort in hunger. He was right - she hadn't actually ate a single thing all day. When you lived in a city filled with restaurants that were mostly owned by bat pony-hating snobs, it wasn't easy getting a meal every day, or even getting food at all for that matter. The nobility of Canterlot made sure that things were hard for the poor Thestral.
Slowly, Maia walked over to the table, flinching slightly as she passed the pegasus, as if expecting him to suddenly throw aside his deceptive disguise and assault her, but he made no such move. She sat herself at the opposite end of the table to the stallion, wanting to keep distance between herself and him. He gave her a sad smile, complimented by a look that reflected his gratitude that she was at least giving him the benefit of the doubt, and sat himself down at his end, resting his...'arms'...on the table, as he watched Maia stare at her food.
She looked at her food with suspicion. While it did look invitingly appetizing for so simple a dish, Maia kept on her guard, prodding at the vegetation on her plate, and even lowering her head to sniff at her lettuce in case the pegasus had perhaps added something more than dressing oil to her share. Finding nothing out of the ordinary, she tore off a piece of lettuce and chewed it. Tasting nothing unusual, she began to tuck into her food with more enthusiasm.
When she had finished her meal, in no less than a minute, she looked up at the pegasus, who gave her another warm smile. Her eyes drifted down to the other plate of lettuce and vegetation hungrily, her first feed not having quite sated her hunger. The pegasus took notice of this, and chuckling lightheartedly, pushed the other plate of food towards Maia. When she looked back up at him, he simply bowed his head. "Both plates were meant for you, miss," he explained to the bat pony. "Please, eat up by all means, and perhaps we can talk when you are finished."
Maia pulled the other plate closer to herself, and began to dine upon her second helping. The pegasus waited patiently for the bat pony to finish, and when she had done, he took her plate away and stacked it on top of the other, pushing them aside as he turned his attention to Maia.
He gave her a moment to swallow her mouthful, before clearing his throat, causing her to look up at him with curiosity in her eyes. "Now then," the pegasus began, shuffling a little in his seat, "perhaps you'd like to tell me your name now, miss?"
Maia looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Why would you want to know my name?"
Replied the pegasus, rubbing the back of his head, "Well, I can't keep calling you 'miss', can I? And besides, I already gave you my name earlier, so I figure I deserve to know yours at least, right?"
Maia brought a hoof up to her chin in thought. He had a point. And besides, he was only asking her for her name. "Well...then, my name is...Maia. Maia Baterra," she answered a while later. "Forgive me for my ignorance, but...I'm afraid I missed your name earlier, mister...?"
The pegasus chuckled. "My name is Unique, and it is nice to meet you, Maia," he said, as he reached out to Maia with his hoof, offering her a hoofshake. She looked at his hoof for a few seconds, before slowly taking it with her own.
"It's...nice to meet you too...Unique," Maia said as she released Unique's hoof. He beamed as he heard his name uttered by his guest.
"So, Maia, if you don't mind me asking, what happened in that alleyway?", Unique queried. Maia flinched, shuddering as she thought back to that moment in the alleyway, that event which she had assumed would have been her last in this world.
Unique's eyes widened in sudden realization upon seeing her reaction to his question, and he quickly raised his hooves up. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I-I didn't mean to frighten you with that question! I was just curious about what had led up to that moment, that's all!". He got up from his seat and rushed over to Maia's side, putting his hooves on her shoulder and her back. "Please, calm down. I'm sorry for worrying you like that, Maia. I only wanted to help, honest!"
The touch of Unique's hooves felt gentle and warm, an odd and rather new, if not rare, feeling for Maia. And his voice had a sincere politeness and concern to it for her well-being. It was something Maia had not known in a long time while living in the city of Canterlot. It was a very welcoming change from the coldness and despise that she normally received from the nobility.
Quickly, Maia's shaking subsided, and she found herself looking up at the pegasus standing by her side, with a look of concern and worry in his expression. She blinked a couple of times, before turning her head away from his gaze. "I...I'm sorry, Unique. That was silly of me..."
Unique knelt down beside the distressed mare and wrapped a wing around her back. "No, no, not at all, Maia," he said to her quietly, his voice soft and comforting. "I shouldn't have brought up what must have been a terrifying ordeal in front of you. The blame is my own, and I am sorry for that. I just wanted to know what in Equestria happened this night. Did you know the two stallions?"
Maia shook her head. "No."
Unique nodded. "I see. Well, have you ever seen them before?"
Again, Maia shook her head. "No."
Unique sighed, but nodded. "Very well. You were lucky I was around when it happened. I was taking a nightly stroll when I heard all the commotion in that alleyway. When I went to investigate, I saw those two brutes holding you down and," - he paused for a moment to pick his next words carefully so as to not upset the bat-pony - "'checking' you over. I did the first thing that came to mind and, well, you can fill in the rest of the gaps, I hope."
Maia looked at Unique again, and for the first time prior to waking up in a bathtub some moments ago, she managed to give him a weak but genuine smile. "Thank you," she said quietly.
Unique gave her another warm smile. "You are welcome, Maia. I was just doing what any decent stallion would have done."
Maia suddenly chose that moment to let out a loud yawn. A quick glance at the clock hanging on the wall showed it was nearly an hour-and-a-half past the point of midnight. Taking notice of her weariness, Unique gestured to the bed, which Maia then only noticed had been made ready for sleeping in, covers pulled back and all. "You must be exhausted after everything you've gone through, Maia. Please, get some rest, and we'll discuss these matters in the morning."
Maia shifted a hesitant glance between the inviting bed and Unique, before the stallion spoke up again. "Don't worry, Maia. If it makes you feel feel more at ease, I can sleep elsewhere away from you." He walked over to the side of the bed, where he pulled out a pillow and a blanket out from underneath. "If it makes you less uncomfortable being around a stranger, I don't mind sleeping outside. On the plus side of things, I can keep an ear and eye out for those stallions if they should by chance come here." He opened the door, and stepped outside into the night.
"Hey, wait!", Maia called out as she rose from her seat. Unique stopped and turned around, the bat-pony having gained his attention. "Yes? What's the matter?", he asked.
Maia took a few steps towards him, a quizzical look on her face. "Why are you doing all of this for me? You don't know me at all, and I don't know you," she asked.
Unique looked thoughtful for a moment as he pondered over how to answer her question. He then turned around while looking over his shoulder back at Maia. "Because," he replied with a small smirk, "why not?"
He closed the door behind himself, and all Maia heard from the other side from him was a quiet, "Goodnight, Maia."
Maia stood there for a short while, alone in this warm room, before her focus turned towards the bed, her weariness taking over her mind and trail of thought. Climbing into the bed, which she noted was much more comfortable than the mattress she slept on at home, and draping the covers over herself, Maia laid her head upon the pillows and curled her body up, as her eyes slowly closed and her mind dragging her to sleep.