What if the bat ponies are the dwarves of Equestria? Follow along as Faina, a young thestral from the Crystal Mountain Mines, becomes the first of her clan to experience the outer world in thousands of years. How will the rest of the world greet her?
For more about Faina and her home, check out A New Life and The Mine in the Mountain, this story is no longer considered cannon in the New Life universe.
What if the bat ponies are the dwarves of Equestria? Follow along as Faina, a young thestral from the Crystal Mountain Mines, becomes the first of her clan to experience the outer world in thousands of years. How will the rest of the world greet her? Will she return home with a smile, or in the dead of night with tears running down her face?
Another backstory for another DnD character I made! Inspired entirely from this.
Update: Got a commission! Thanks to Ferris for a job well done!
Far to the north on the border between Equestria and the Crystal Empire lies a mountain range, the mighty Crystal Mountains. Although contrary to their name, they are in fact comprised of dirt and stone just like any other mountain. But unlike other mountain ranges, these held a special surprise.
Princess Luna flew through the frozen air, her horn alight to show the way as her magic warmed her joints. Her mind flashed back a thousand years, back to the time she and her sister had made a similar flight to confront Sombra…
“Sister!” Luna called out over the howling winds, the snow and hail pelting her body mercilessly. “Sister! We must rest to gather our strength for the coming battle!”
“I will not rest until his head is on a pike!” Celestia roared as she poured more energy into her powerful wing strokes. “I should have known… I should have known…!” She muttered again and again.
Luna sighed, Celestia had been beyond furious when they had learned what the northern king had done, what he had become. They had taken flight immediately, pushing themselves to fly as fast as possible, the sight of that single brave crystal pony burned into their minds pushing them faster than ever before. That was until the storm came.
“We know you want vengeance against his crimes, but we will fail if we’re not at our full strength!” Luna cried out as she fought to stay near her sister.
“Luna! Every second wasted is another second those ponies suffer! I will not continue to fail them!” She yelled back, her sore wings causing her to slow just enough for Luna to catch up.
“Tia, you couldn’t have known what was happening! Discord caused trouble for a lot of cities, and we lost contact with nearly every country! We both know we had too much at stake to send guards out to the other lands!”
Celestia shook her head, “We should have done so sooner, the moment we felled Discord!”
“Done what!? Send battle weary guards across the continent, away from their worried families?!” Luna gestured widely, implying the impossibility of those actions.
Celestia snorted in contempt, “If doing so could have prevented Sombra from committing his atrocities, then so be it!”
Luna flung herself in front of her sister and pushed against her, shoving her back in the air several feet. Celestia steadied herself in the brutal winds after a moment before glaring at Luna.
“Listen to yourself! You’re furious, I am too, but you have to think for once! You’re the one always telling me to calm down and think objectively, and now I’m telling you! If we get there and lose, how much longer would those ponies suffer?! How far would he spread his filthy reach?!” Luna pleaded.
Celestia winced at her words, the truth cutting deeper than the numbing chill. “I…”
Luna sighed, “Come, Sister, we must rest. We’ll make camp and gather our strength as we wait out the storm.”
Celestia nodded and dove down beneath the clouds to the mountains with her sister to find shelter for the night.
Luna cleared her head of the memories as the sight of a familiar peak faded into view through the storm. She veered off to the left and dove down; the sands of time haven’t been kind to the mountain. The once familiar crevices now broken to pieces, boulders ground to dust as wind, snow, and ice carved out new valleys and caves.
She smiled though, as she landed on a familiar outcropping, magic older than her and her sister combined preserving the stone against time immortal. Ancient runes and designs were beautifully entwined within themselves as their magic worked to prevent any snow from hiding the platform.
Luna turned her gaze toward the massive cliff of the mountain, where a pair of ancient doors sealed away the outside world. They were beautifully crafted with a most caring hoof, but their material was unique to the rest of the world. Their color was a golden bronze, while the strength of the metal and stone was tougher than diamonds.
She placed a hoof against the doors, their warmth coming as a slight surprise against the chill of the mountains. Suddenly over the howling wind she began to hear ancient mechanisms whirring to life, the grind of steel on stone reverberating through her skeleton as the ageless doors dutifully opened, and just as they did a thousand years ago, took her breath away…
Luna and Celestia stared in awe at what greeted them inside, the enormous hall made the doors look tiny in comparison. Statues and designs carved and molded from pure gold lined the great hall while an unknown light source illuminated the entirety of the hall.
“It’s… It’s just beautiful…” Celestia commented as she began to come down from her shock. “To think, such master crafters have been here the entire time, and we had no idea.”
“I only know of the diamond dogs who live in tunnels and caves, but this was built, not carved like the diamond dogs.” Luna said as she stepped up to her sister to examine the statues. “These statues are of pony design, for the most part at least.”
The golden statues, though great in detail, did not resemble any type pony they knew of. At best they appeared to be either pegasus or earth pony, but the wings resembled more of a bat, the ears were too long, and ponies didn’t have fangs.
Celestia hummed in thought, hoof to her chin. “Perhaps we should meet with them?”
Luna was about to agree but was interrupted as a thunder of voices rushed up to them from the far end of the hall. They followed the sounds at a brisk trot and followed them down a long staircase, each step carved and spaced exactly as the last. As they continued they began to recognize the sound of a song. They smiled to each other and they rushed deeper into the mountain, excitement welling up in their chests.
They stopped at the base of the stairs, the exit led into a massive cavern. It looked like the entire mountain itself was hollowed out, massive pillars of metal and stone disappeared into the darkness overhead, while impossibly far below they submerged into an ocean of lava.
Crossing the entire cavern were countless stone paths and bridges, just as meticulously crafted and carved as everything else they’ve seen so far, each one part of a massive network of paths and stairs leading to hundreds of different tunnels. But from one tunnel nearby they hear a new song start up.
They gave each other a look and took flight, crossing over and into the tunnel. They stopped just inside as the wonderful carvings gave way to rough stone that was recently carved away. They made their way forward as the song continued. Celestia and Luna stopped when they found who, or what, was singing. They looked just like the statues from before, but in life they were something else entirely. Their fur was of a darkest blue, almost black in some cases, and each one seemed to have the strength of a hundred ponies. Their hooves were shod with horseshoes made of that odd metal the door was made of, cutting through the stone like bread. They arrived in time to see them work to the beat of the song, singing about their race's skills in mining and combat.
“I wonder how skilled they truly are…” Luna commented.
“Shush!” Celestia chided.
The next several lines of the song began detailing the depth of the mountain, how they mined the ores and gemstones, followed by singing of their great feasts in the past
“I would really like a feast right about now.” Luna commented, the thought of food making her stomach churn.
“Same here, although we should also make contact and speak with their leader for permission to wait out the storm.”
“I’m glad you think so.”
The mine was filled with a pair of terrified shrieks and roaring laughter. The thestrals stopped their activities and looked to investigate. They saw Celestia and Luna smiling in embarrassment and one of their own laughing like mad. Coming to the same conclusion they each belted out more laughter of their own.
“The name is Night Wing, been following you two for a while to see if you were a threat.” He said.
Luna was holding a hoof to her beating heart, “To sneak up on me is a feat in itself.”
“Thanks, we take a number of precautions; damned dogs keep trying to steal our tools and with other monsters in the mines after us for food we’ve had to train ourselves to survive. Follow me; I’ll take you to the elders.”
“Thank you.” Celestia said as they made their way out of the mine, the bat ponies behind them raising their voices in song once more, the entire mine echoing their chorus of victory and strength.
Luna shook her head of the Nostalgia, coming to a stop before one of the newer additions that stood before her. A statue stood twice as large and three times as immaculate as the others in the grand hall. Looking closely at its perfection indicated that it was carved from the same material, a diamond of the deepest blue.
So entranced she was that she failed to notice she wasn’t alone. “Welcome back, Your Majesty.”
She turned to see an elderly thestral garbed in fine robes standing behind her. “Still sneaky as ever I see.”
He smiles mirthfully, “Indeed! We pride ourselves in our stealth, on top of our mining operations and forging, as we have been for generations. Oh, where are my manners, my name is Kraden, one of the Council of Elders.” He said with a bow.
“I am glad your people are still prosperous after all these years.” She said, bowing in return.
The elder seemed to glow with the praise, “Thank you princess, however, some of our more recent generations are growing restless, and I’m glad you came when you did.”
He began to stride deeper into the chamber, Luna following behind. “What do you mean, restless?” Luna inquired.
“Well, I suppose it’s not such a bad thing, but they want to go out and explore the outside world. Not all of them mind you, but enough to form a sizable club dedicated to learning of what lay beyond the mountains, and we simply don’t have enough books to quell their interest.”
Luna looked him over carefully, “But that’s not what worries you, is it?”
Kraden avoided eye contact, “No, not the slightest. Myself, and the other elders included, believe that our absence from Equestria and the world at large caused the races to forget us, or worse, fear us.”
“And you think these other races would harm the thestrals that venture out?”
“Yes, your majesty. We have enough worries as it is with the diamond dog attacks on our supplies to worry about several of our clan being mistreated because their different.” Kraden said with a hint of depression in his voice.
Luna pondered for a moment, ‘It sounds like what they need is just some publicity to help them integrate with the rest of Equestria, but how?’ Her eyes suddenly lit up as the answer came to her.
“I may have thought of a solution, Elder Kraden. Gather the council, I wish to hold a meeting.”
Kraden smiled in relief, “Yes of course, right away!”
He led her to a large room, the key defining feature being that of a large, round table carved from the stone of the chamber, as though the stone was removed from around it. The six chairs spaced around it were fitted with gold and gems alike, each as immaculate yet unique as the other. Lining the wall were various tapestries, some for decoration, others for virtues the clan stood for such as honor, mobility, stealth, and strength of kinship.
The door soon opened and Kraden ushered in the other elders, each bowing to her in turn as they moved to their seats. Kraden took his own seat and cleared his throat, “Today we welcome the return of Princess Luna of Equestria to our humble abode.” This earned a few chuckles and a polite welcome from the others.
“As we have discussed previously, some of the youths wish to go out and see the world beyond the caverns of our home. We have been against it, but the princess has come up with an idea. Princess, if you will?”
Luna took the opportunity to step forward a moment and presented her idea, “It would seem that the only thing really needed is to familiarize the public of your existence. I am sure that if one or two of these youths were to live in a small town not far from our own castle they would be able to experience everyday life in Equestria without having too much drama that accompanies a larger city.”
“And you would assist with sleeping arrangements, food, and other necessities?” One of the elders asked.
“It would be my pleasure to help provide, as for living arrangements I am thinking they could live with my sister’s student, she has a few spare rooms and I think she would relish the opportunity to help your clan integrate into society.”
The elders began to murmur to each other as they discussed the pros and cons of such action, several looking her way with thoughtful looks before turning back to their comrades. After a few more moments they returned to their seats and focused on Luna.
Kraden stood from his seat, “We have come to an agreement. We will send one to this town you speak of. We also agree that in the interest of being prepared should the worst happen, she will be one of our most capable combat specialists. Her skills are unmatched by any here, and we believe she would be able to handle herself well. Besides this, we think her personality will greatly assist with the integration process as well.”
Luna nodded in approval, “I doubt there will be a need for combat but better prepared than not. If there is nothing else I shall inform my sister of this development so she may prepare her student. I suggest getting ready for her departure as well. What is her name?”
Kraden stepped forward proudly, “Her name is Faina, my great granddaughter.”
Princess Celestia sat upon her throne in Canterlot, sipping her favored tea as she mentally prepared for a long day of petitions that await her. She set the tea down with a sigh, usually she would be sharing her morning with her sister, but she had already left for the northern mountains to get back in contact with the thestrals that lived there.
Her musing was interrupted by a flash of light to her left on a small stand usually reserved for various documents, to see a scroll written in a deep blue ink. Recognizing it as her sister’s writing she plucked it from the stand and unrolled it.
Her eyes darted from left to right as she scanned the missive, a smile forming on her face. “Well, this should prove to be an interesting challenge for Twilight.” She said as she began writing her own letter to her student. A few minutes later she sent it off in a burst of magical fire, and as she expected a reply came soon after.
She unrolled it and smiled serenely once more, the words of her ecstatic student happily accepting the responsibility, as well as listing numerous activities she and her friends could do to help the young thestral make plenty of friends.
She plucked another blank scroll from the stand and penned another letter, this time addressed to her sister detailing Twilight’s decision in the matter. With a final flash of magic the scroll was gone, leaving Celestia to finish her tea. That was until the throne room doors were thrown open and Prince Blueblood strode in arrogantly.
“Auntie! I demand my staff be fired and replaced at once! One of the maids improperly folded the sheets of my royal bed!”
Celestia’s eye twitched as her serene smile was forced to remain on her face, silently wishing she was with her sister.
Luna stood patiently in the conference room awaiting her sister’s response. Kraden had left to inform his great granddaughter of the news and the other council members dispersed to inform the rest of the clan in preparation for a farewell.
A scroll suddenly appeared in a burst of magic, which she caught in her own aura. She quickly unfurled it and grinned at the good news. With another burst of magic she stored it in an arcane pocket. She turned and headed out back into the main entrance hall, where hundreds of thestrals had gathered.
They made a path for her as she strode toward the front where a mare in a traveling cloak was hugging Kraden and several others presumed to be her family. She was wearing a wide grin and giggling in excitement as she said her farewells, her family calling out their own well wishes that seemed to echo through the chamber as hundreds of others offered their support as well.
“Quite the farewell.” Luna commented as she neared.
The mare, Faina, blushed in embarrassment, “Oh, um, thanks!”
“No need to be embarrassed, this is a great opportunity for you and your clan, I’m sure everyone is very proud of you.” Her statement was met with echoes of agreement from those gathered. “Got everything you need?”
Faina nodded, “Yep, got some gear that might come in handy, extra warm clothes for when I go outside, snacks, and a few pictures and stuff.”
Luna smiled, “You know, not all of Equestria is covered in snow.”
Those within hearing distance furrowed their brow in confusion, “You mean not everything outside is really cold?” Faina asked, voicing the questions of many.
“It seems there is much for you to learn. I think finding out for yourself would be best, don’t you?” She nodded, “Well let’s be off, we shouldn’t keep them waiting.”
“Who?” Faina asked as Luna’s horn began to glow.
Luna winked at her, “You’ll see!” there was a bright flash and both Luna and Faina were gone from the chamber.
Luna flew steadily through the eerily quiet Crystal Mountain Mines; compared to the last time she was here everything appeared to have fallen into disuse. Mighty machines and massive mine carts now lay on their sides in ruin, overcome by rust as they slowly deteriorated.
She hovered in the center of the main chamber, the maze of paths and bridges littering the floor of now cooled lava, the darkness pressing in on all sides. She focused her eyes along the walls of the massive cavern, soon finding a cave with a bit of light in it. She flew through the tunnel and was met with much the same, all the wonderful devices and beautiful works of art had been destroyed long ago. He hoof kicked something as she headed into the light. She looked down and illuminated the floor, she was standing among the remains of long dead bat ponies.
Her eyes widened in horror; had the Nocturne been attacked? Was it a disease that killed them all off? What happened to the race of such noble creatures? She closed her eyes for a moment and payed her respects to the remains, then headed deeper into the caves in hopes of finding out what happened.
She had soon become lost in the extensive cave system, but before she decided to teleport back to the main entrance she heard the sound of laughter, and screams. Horrid, blood curdling screams. She rushed ahead to aid those in peril, all the while the sound of a young mare’s laughter echoed off the walls.
When she entered the next chamber she was met with a gruesome sight, several diamond dogs lay dead in pools of blood, their throats ripped open, while another was on the ground in a broken heap, begging for mercy. Another giggle directed Luna’s gaze toward the left, where a young thestral, just past foal hood but not quite a full mare, was trying on different horseshoes with a casual air, as though her coat wasn’t dripping fresh blood as she licked it from her lips.
“Why should I show mercy to diamond dog scum? I think all those years in the past where we would simply send you beasts running was mercy enough.” She turned back around, her hooves now ending in thestral steel claws. She flexed them experimentally, watching them spark against themselves with satisfaction. “But no, you had to keep coming back with more and more dogs. I don’t know how you filthy beasts overpowered us a few generations ago, perhaps they were too merciful and didn’t really fight back. I’m sick of being your slave. I thought I could grin and bear it, take the beatings, survive. But beating my sister to death because you were bored?”
Luna looked to the other side of the room; another young mare lay chained and beaten, her smaller form marking her still a foal. She narrowed her eyes in focus as she examined the body, she was still breathing!
“You see, that was when I realized something. I can either die a slave, or die for our freedom. I think you realize by now, but I don’t plan on dying anytime soon.” She plunged her clawed hoof into the dog’s chest, easily tearing through flesh and bone as she carved him open.
While she was distracted, Luna hurried over to the wounded mare, her horn lighting up as she stood over her prone form.
“You’re too late, you know. Nothing can save her.” Luna glanced up at the young bat pony, slightly surprised at being found out already. The bat pony was standing over the diamond dog, staring into his open chest.
“I have to try.” Luna responded, returning her focus to the young foal in front of her. She let the healing magic seep into the younger bat pony. The flesh slowly nit back together as her breathing began to strengthen. “My healing magic is more potent than most, she’ll live.”
The other mare let out a pained gasp, Luna looked up to her. She was standing as she was, but tears were flowing down her muzzle and mixing with the bloodied carcass as she tried to hold back her tears. “She, she’ll live?” she was wracked with another sob, “But look what I did… I thought she would die so I wanted to die too! I wanted to be killed fighting them but I won! How am I supposed to live with all this blood on my hooves?!”
Luna frowned, “Taking the life of another is never easy, you must learn to live with what happened. If smiling and laughing helps bear the burden, I would suggest doing so. Live on for your sister; find solace in the fact that by taking their lives, hers is saved. Make the sacrifice of your innocence have meaning, and you’ll be okay.”
She looked up to Luna for the first time and offered a small smile, “So in other words, I’ll never forget what I did here.” Luna smiled softly in confirmation, “I take it your speaking from experience?”
“You could say that.” Luna cut off the flow of magic, the foal now in a stable condition as she placed her across her back. “Are there any others?”
“No, it’s just us and these dogs, the others were taken away a few years ago… our parents among them.”
Luna sighed, “Let’s get out of here then, I’ll teleport us to Canterlot and get you both looked after. I’ll inform the guard what happened and set about liberating your people from their bindings.”
She made her way toward the exit of the cave before pausing and looking to the bat pony, “I don’t think I’ve introduced myself, I am Princess Luna.” She said, holding out her hoof.
“Faina, and my younger sister Ana.” She said, grabbing Luna’s hoof with her own.
“It is a pleasure to meet you.” Luna said as her horn shown bright, and with a flash they were gone, leaving behind the decayed remains of a once great civilization.
Faina and Luna appeared in a flash of light in the center of Ponyville in front of a great tree, the sign out front marking it the Books and Branches Public Library. “We have arrived.” Luna stated as she turned to Faina.
However, Faina was looking around wildly, a trio of vicious looking claws extended from the gauntlets on her fetlocks, ready to rip apart anything within reach.
“Faina.” Luna said. She visibly jump and spun around, eyes searching for a target. “Calm down, it was a teleport, you’re not in danger.”
Faina seemed to calm down slightly, relaxing her stance and looking around once more, this time with curiosity. “Maybe you should warn me next time.” She said with a pout. She flicked her hooves and the blades retracted back into their gauntlets.
“So, where are we?” she asked. She looked around, studying the flimsy looking houses with their thatched roofs. Oddly there weren’t any other ponies out on the streets besides them, ‘Perhaps the teleport scared them off?’ she thought with a snicker. She turned her gaze up to the sky, a smile quickly forming, “Don’t know about the huts but the view of the sky is nice.”
“What’s wrong with the houses?” Luna asked, curious as to her thoughts.
“Well just look at them, they’re flimsy and will fall apart at a moment’s notice, not to mention they look really flammable. How do ponies forge without setting the town on fire?” She exclaimed with a wide gesture.
“There are specially made places for forging tools and equipment, although I am not sure if there is such a place in Ponyville, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask. Does forging happen to be your special talent?” Luna asked.
Faina shook her head, “No, but it’s something everypony is good at and expected of them to a certain degree. My special talent is that I can mold the shadows around me, making me invisible to everything, and then I attack from the darkness.” She said with a playful pounce at Luna, then held up her claw gauntlet for her to see, “I made these babies myself, I’ve been re-forging bits and pieces and improving them for years.”
“Fascinating…” Luna trailed off for a moment, before shaking her head. “But I believe we have kept the others waiting long enough.”
“Others?” Faina looked around for a moment once more, noticing the absence of any ponies seemingly waiting for them. “I don’t see anypony.”
“Well in that case how about we wait for them in the library?” Luna suggested, motioning toward the tree they had been standing in front of.
“Yeah, okay. I could set my bags down for a while.” She followed Luna toward the large tree they were in front of. She tilted her head back to take in the three story height of the tree-made-library. “It’s pretty small.”
“I’m sure you’ll find it rather comfortable.” Luna said as she opened the door and ushered her inside.
They were met with nearly solid darkness and an eerie silence. Faina’s senses went on high alert; her ears perked and picked up the subtle shifts in weight from multiple sources around the room, the displacement of air holding several more along the ceiling. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness almost instantly, easily making out the shapes hiding throughout the entire room. Not wanting to take chances, she decided to wait and see what was going on the best way she knew how.
She reached out to the darkness and it bent to her will, compressing and consuming her form until she herself was nothing more than a shadow amidst shadows. Once in her shadow form she sped toward a nearby corner, unseen and unheard by all. The moment she settled down and began to observe, the light flared on, the curtains drew back, and about fifty ponies jumped out shouting
“SURPRISE!!”
Faina let herself relax, but patted herself on her back at her quick thinking and reflexes. She then took a moment to watch the ponies look around in confusion, the princess included.
“Hey, where did she go?”
“I saw her come in with the princess...”
“Oh no! Did we surprise her so bad that she EXPLODED?!”
“Oh, that wouldn’t be very nice...”
“Pinkie, ponies don’t explode from being surprised.”
“But what if she was the first pony to explode in the history of ever and it’s ALL MY FAULT?!?”
While several of the mares attempted to calm down the hyper pink mare, Faina snuck over to a table in the back of the room that was overly burdened with various food items. Looking over the table, she was able to recognize one or two things, such as various fruits, bread, and what appeared to be a wine of some sort in a large bowl, but the rest left her confused.
She carefully morphed out of her shadow form, allowing her to return to her true shape but still molding the darkness around her to stay as hidden as possible behind the table. In a swift motion she snagged one of the new things topped off with an odd cream, swirls of every color she knew of. Oddly enough, it had a paper-like foil around the base of it. Peeling it away showed that it was made of some type of bread, but she had never heard of any bread with so many swirling colors.
Figuring if they were served at a party thus they wouldn’t be dangerous, she popped the entire pastry in her mouth and chewed once before the explosion of flavors and sugar made her taste buds squeal in orgasmic delight. All thoughts at that moment focused on savoring the flavor, causing her to lose focus on the shadows and reveal herself.
“By the elders, this is amazing!” She exclaimed, her bliss clouded mind forgetting she was supposed to be hiding. If she realized this she no longer cared, the pastry was too good to care about much else at that moment.
All eyes in the library turned towards the sweets table, where the mare of the hour was popping a second cupcake in her mouth and moaning in bliss, her body shivering in joy as the sugar coursed through her veins.
As always, the silence was broken by none other than Pinkie Pie. “Wowie zowie! We tried to surprise you but you surprised us! Hahaha!” She fell over laughing; laughing in both joy and relief that she hadn’t caused the new mare in town to explode to dust.
“See Pinkie? I told you she was fine, she probably just flew over us in the dark.”
“No way Twilight, I was hovering up there and I would have seen her, she can’t be that sneaky to get past me!” Rainbow boasted.
Applejack rolled her eyes, “Why don’t we just ask her? Probably before she eats all the food.” Faina had indeed started on her seventh cupcake, the amazing flavor just as powerful as the last six.
“Whoa there partner, might wanna slow down a bit, else you might get sicker than a pig on a roller coaster.” AJ said as she watched her shove the eighth cupcake in her maw as she swallowed the last one.
Faina stopped suddenly mid bite to stare at AJ in shock. She thought over her words and mentally examined herself: heavy breathing, pounding heart, quivering limbs, and blood rushing through her face and ears. She slowly removed the last of the cupcake from her maw and stared at in hurt betrayal.
“This… This is poisoned? And you served it at a party?!” She screamed, “What’s the cure!? Get it out of me! Why would you do this?! WHY ARE YOU JUST STARING AT ME?!?!”
Everypony stared in stunned silence for a few moments as Faina began attempting to throw up the cupcakes she had eaten. She tried to induce vomiting by pressing hard on her stomach, and when that failed she tried reaching a hoof down her throat, but the gauntlet prevented it from getting far enough. She then broke down, her fate sealed as she curled into a ball, tears streaming down her face as she heaved heavy sobs.
The silence hung in the air, punctuated by her wails of despair, even Luna was struck speechless. Surprisingly it was Fluttershy who calmly stepped forward to try and comfort the poor distraught mare.
“There there, you’ll be okay. The cupcakes aren’t poisoned, but they do have a lot of sugar that can cause an upset stomach.” She said, running her hoof along her back in a comforting manner. Soon the sobs slowly evolved into joyous laughter, tears in her eyes as she laughed and pointed at the ponies gathered around her.
“You- you should see the looks on your faces!” she cried out. After sharing a look at each other they soon realized they had been played by the new addition to the town and soon joined her in laughter.
“Alright everypony,” Princess Luna called out, “I’m sure there is much more fun to be had, but I must be leaving. Twilight, make sure our new guest is comfortable.”
“We will Princess.” Twilight said as she and the others bowed.
“Farewell Princess.” Faina added with her own flourishing bow.
“Farewell Faina, I am sure you will have a good time, just relax and have some fun, okay?”
“Of course Princess.”
Her horn flared for a moment and Luna was gone, leaving the others to return to the party. Faina quickly lost herself amidst the ponies as she was introduced to them all at a rapid fire rate thanks to Pinkie herself.
“Sooooo what do you think?!” Pinkie asked after dragging Faina through the crowd several times.
“It’s… nice?” She said, not completely sure what she should say anyway.
Pinkie smiled even wider as she shot up toward the ceiling before she was gone in a flash of pink.
Faina turned to her new problem, she soon found herself in the middle of a strange room surrounded by stranger ponies doing strange things, she was beginning to feel the effects of the cupcakes and the room was beginning to spin as it closed in on her. She tried to make her way to a larger area to get some room to breathe, but everywhere she turned there were more ponies, their bright swaying colors making her head grow dizzy.
Luckily she managed to find the far wall, and a door attached to it. She ducked inside and closed the door behind her quickly. Instantly the noise and lights of the party were cut off, the comforting darkness taking her in its embrace. Looking around she was standing in what appeared to be a study of some sort that appeared to have been remodeled into a bedroom on short notice. Glancing to the bed shoved into the corner she saw her saddle bags placed upon it.
“So, this is my home away from… home…” Her throat clenched shut as her thoughts returned to her clan in the mountains, the stress of the party and all the new sensations bombarding her from every angle suddenly taking effect on her body.
Her limbs began to quiver and shake as her chest tightened, her eyes burned as tears forced their way out. She managed to crawl onto the bed and curl around her bags, breathing in their familiar scents of stone, steel, and ash. She lay there, crying softly with shuddering breaths as she tried to calm herself down, but every time she thought about going back out she just couldn’t pull herself from her bed.
Suddenly she heard a soft thump not far from the door. Her head shot up and stared at the source of the noise, which turned out to be Twilight herself standing there awkwardly.
“Ever hear of knocking?” Faina asked acidly.
“I’m sorry, I was knocking but you didn’t say anything so I came in, I didn’t know you were having a moment, I just wanted to grab a few books for the night I had left in here.”
Faina sighed as she sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes, “It’s okay. I just needed some time alone; this is all a bit much.”
Twilight nodded with a small smile as she sat on the bed next to her. “I understand, I went through something similar my first night here too. At the time I was too focused on Nightmare Moon’s return than the party.”
“I remember hearing about what heppened, we were all excited about Luna’s return, she and Celestia were the first outsiders our clan met in hundreds of years. And I suppose I should apologize to you all as well.” Faina cast her gaze to the side.
“For what?” Twilight asked, if anything she should be apologizing for causing such a culture shock in her new roommate.
Faina took a moment to gather her bearings, wringing her dark blue tail in her hooves, “I… I actually thought I was about to… die, earlier.”
Twilight’s jaw went slack, “So, you weren’t kidding? I-I’m so sorry, I didn’t know what to do, everypony knows eating too many sweets makes you sick…”
Faina quickly cut her off, “I understand, everypony here grew up with that lesson, probably having experienced it themselves at some point. We don’t have those things in the mountains, nothing can grow outside in the constant snow storms, but we have our cave plants and mushrooms to feed us, not to mention the animal pens for food.”
“Animal pens? Wouldn’t having pets cut into your food supply?” She asked, mentally recording what she was learning from her strange new friend.
Faina looked at her in confusion, “Well, some of the food is given to the wild animals to fatten and breed them before we eat them, but it’s much more food that route as they eat some things we can’t.”
Twilight’s mind crashed to a halt, “Wh-what…?”
“Yea there are some plants that taste really bitter and don’t really sit well with us so we feed it to the animals.” Faina said, completely mis-interpreting Twilight’s astonished question.
“No, you said-you said you EAT them?” There was a flash of light and Twilight now found herself on the far end of the room, not realizing she had teleported away having learned her housemate’s eating habits.
Faina glanced to the side in thought for a moment, “Um, yea? Why else would we keep livestock?”
Twilight stared at her in shock for several long moments before she seemed to remember herself, and began pacing. “Okay, it’s okay Twilight, so she eats meat, so what? Cats eat fish and Fluttershy’s bear friend eats meat and I’m sure that Griffons eat meat too so it can’t be out of the question that thestrals eat meat, and she’s intelligent so it’s not like she’s going to eat me in my sleep-”
“TWILIGHT!” Faina yelled, snapping Twilight from her rambling. “I take it ponies don’t eat meat?” Twilight shoot her head vigorously, “Relax, we don’t eat anything that’s intelligent, mainly some stray goats and some cave beasts, so don’t worry, I won’t eat you or your friends… unless you ask nicely.” She added with a sultry tone.
Twilight sputtered in confused embarrassment, much to the entertainment of Faina. “Aww, you’re cute when you’re flustered. We’re going to have a great time!” she exclaimed and leapt from the bed to embrace her in a tight hug.
“Eh heh heh… I can’t wait.” Twilight said as the foreign bat pony nuzzled deeper into her chest with a content sigh. ‘Oh Celestia, what have I gotten myself into?’
The next morning Twilight got up per her usual time, after sunrise but before noon depending on her late night studies. She groggily went through the motions of her morning routine, and half an hour later she was prepared to face the day. When she arrived in the kitchen she was greeted with a familiar yet strange sight. Spike was going about his chores and preparing breakfast per usual, while her guest watched him work attentively.
As she neared it seemed Faina wasn’t paying any attention to Spike, but the various kitchen utensils. Faina examined the sink with curiosity as she turned the water on and off, experimenting with the temperature as she smiled to herself. Then once Spike had finished with it, she cleaned the knife then bent it experimentally, followed by running her hoof along the sharp edge.
“Careful! You might cut yourself!” Twilight exclaimed as she stepped forward.
Faina scoffed and threw the knife in the sink with clear distain, “How could anypony use something so dull and flimsy? I couldn’t cut myself with that if I wanted.”
“So? It was made to be dull so it can cut fruits without accidently cutting ponies. What type of knives did you use?” Twilight asked as she seated herself at the table.
Faina joined her as Spike set out plates piled with pancakes, syrup, and butter. “We put our all in everything we do, and I can safely say our blades can cut through stone as easily as these vegetables without losing their edge.”
“Ha! No way, only dragon claws can do that, and even they get worn down eventually.” Spike boasted.
Faina said nothing, instead setting a bottle of wine down on the table. “Why do you have a bottle of my wine?” Twilight asked. Faina responded by swiping at it faster than they could see, missing is completely as she settle back into her chair.
“Uh, okay. What was that all about?” Spike asked.
Faina was silent once more, instead lifting the same hoof she swiped at the bottle, revealing three long claw-like blades extending from the gauntlet attached to her leg. While staring at them, she tapped the tip of a claw against the top of the bottle, where it toppled off onto the table. The bottle neck was cut clean through flush with the bottom of the cork so precisely it looked to be manufactured that way.
“Just a demonstration.” She said as she grabbed the bottle and downed it in several large gulps. “Hm, not bad.” She said as she smacked her lips.
Twilight stared in shock, “Are you trying to get drunk!? It’s not even noon!”
“Me? Drunk off of this watered down grape juice?” Faina asked with a boastful laugh, “The strongest of mead flows through my blood, only the greatest can out drink me!”
Twilight sighed, “Great, somepony else to challenge AJ and RD.” She stood and placed the various plates back in the sink, “So anyway, I was thinking of showing you around town for today, starting with several of my friends.”
“Okay, was wanting to get a better look around anyway. Is there a blacksmith in town? I’d like to have a word about the quality of their blades.” Faina asked as she returned to her room. She returned a few moments later bundled up in heavily insulated full body clothing. She stopped at the door and turned to look at them, “Well? Are we going or not?”
“Um, are you sure you want to go out like that? It’s a pretty sunny day…” Twilight asked with a slight hesitation.
Faina glanced out a window and noted the cloudless clear sky. “So? There are a few times between storms where it’s safe to go out onto the mountain but it’s still cold enough to freeze you solid in a few minutes. I’m actually more concerned about you two; will you be using magic to stay warm?”
Twilight glanced at Spike who simply shrugged, before she sighed and dropped it. “I guess we’ll just see then. Come on, I’ll take you to Rarity’s.” Twilight lead the way out the door, Faina closing the door behind her while Spike began his chores.
They had been walking for about three minutes and Faina was sweating profusely as she took gasping breaths, ‘This gear is a lot warmer than I remember!’ She thought.
Twilight glanced back as her roommate began to fall behind, “Are you alright? I think you should take off a few layers at least. It’s not cold out at all; didn’t you feel the warmth yesterday when Princess Luna dropped you off?”
“I-*GASP*-assumed it was-*GASP*-magic!” She puffed out as she collapsed into the middle of the road. Twilight rushed to her aid, she was still conscious but she was fading fast.
“Oh my gosh! Hold still, you’ll be okay!” She lit her horn and in a flash all the heavy winter gear was returned to her room in the library, leaving only the clawed gauntlets and what appeared to be a belt of some kind.
In an instant Faina gasped a lungful of fresh air that wasn’t pre-heated in her clothing, relief flooding through her as a light cool breeze played over her matted fur.
“Come on, let’s get you to Rarity’s.” Twilight hoisted her in the air with her magic and quickly carried her the rest of the way. Twilight didn’t bother knocking, instead letting herself inside the boutique and depositing the overheated thestral onto a couch before running to the kitchen for some water.
“Welcome to Carousel Boutique, how may I- Oh! Faina, dear, what happened?” Rarity cut her greeting off when she saw her guest panting and sweating profusely all over her couch, although she was secretly glad it was the older, more worn down couch than her fancy red sofa.
“She thought that since we were going outside the weather was obviously very cold, so she bundled up.” Twilight explained as she gave a large glass of water to Faina, “I thought she would just take them off when she realized how hot she was going to get, but she’s more like Rainbow and AJ than I imagined.”
Faina gasped as she finished off the water, life flowing through her once again. “Ah, that was good, I needed that.” She set the glass off to the side and sat up on the couch. “Sorry about that, I really thought it was cold out. So this is your place huh?” She said as she glanced around the shop.
“Indeed it is, this is my little shop where I create the most beautiful and fashionable suits and dresses, as well as accessories for all sorts of important ponies from across the country!” Rarity was beaming proudly while Faina looked around curiously at the dresses currently displayed. “So, what do you think? Are they not just marvelous?”
“Well, we don’t really have things like this. Most of the clothing we wear is to ward off heat or cold or for utility purposes. Like my belt here, or my gauntlets.” She said, opening her wings to show off the rather thick belt as she lifted a hoof to better show her gauntlets.
Rarity leaned forward and inspected the gear with a keen eye. “My, this is defiantly function over fashion, but it’s crafted so majestically it speaks of its own beauty.”
Faina chuckled, “If you like that you should see these babies.” She turned her hoof to the side and flicked it, causing three deadly blades to quickly extend. “Custom designed hoof made Night Fang Steel Claw Gauntlets, purely from yours truly.”
Rarity gasped, followed by Twilight as she got her own close up examination. “Oh my, the craftsmanship! These are a work of art! And you made them? You are truly a pony of extraordinary talent!”
“Amazing! This metal is unlike anything I’ve ever studied! How is it made? Did your people invent it? Can I visit your home sometime and look at more samples?!”
Faina sat soaking in the praise for several moments before sheathing the claws, “To forge anything less than perfection is considered an insult, and no, Twilight, you may not learn the secrets of my clan. But,” She said as Twilight’s face turned sullen, “I don’t see why you wouldn’t be able to visit, Twilight, our great halls and works of art are worthy of ages and worth beyond any amount of gold.”
Twilight visibly brightened at this prospect, “Oh that’ll be so exciting! Maybe we could all go?!” She squealed like a fangirl as she beamed at Rarity.
“Well, I must say such a sight would be wonderful, but I think Faina has the final say on who can come. Besides, that’s months from now! Plenty of time to prepare so there’s no need to rush.” Rarity said as she continued to eye Faina over, who in turn took the opportunity to subtly show off her features to the other mare.
“Something catching your eye?” She said with a sultry tone.
If Rarity caught the subtle undertones she paid them no mind, “Yes, actually. I’ve never seen a pony of your unique colors, and with your permission I would like to have you stop by some time to model a few of my ideas for some dress designs, perhaps a few for you to show off to your clan when you go back, if that’s alright?”
Faina was caught off guard; Rarity wanted to make a dress, for her? A pony she just met, and a foreigner no less? “I… Wow, I’m not sure what to say…”
“A thank you is usually sufficient darling.” Rarity said with a smile.
Faina giggled, “Yeah, really, thank you. I’ve never really had a dress, we don’t have much use for them outside of formal ceremonies but those are rare anyway.”
“Does your clan have a lot of ceremonies?” Twilight asked.
“A few, we only dress up for the really big ones though, like weddings, funerals, whenever the council gets a new member or one of them retire. We have a lot of smaller ones too, like birthdays and stuff.” Faina said as she eyed a lacy pink dress, her keen eye dancing from gem to gem.
“That doesn’t sound too different from our own ceremonies.” Twilight observed.
“I don’t see why it would, we were integrated with pony society several thousand years ago if the legends are true, back before the three tribes betrayed us and we found our own way.” Faina commented as she moved on to another dress, this one blue with several dark opals.
“That’s strange; thestrals aren’t mentioned at all in the fables…” Rarity trailed off.
Faina just shrugged. “I don’t know, although the princess might. Anyway, who cut these gems? They did a pretty good job, and they accent the dresses nicely as well.”
Rarity beamed and strode forward, “I’m so glad you noticed! I cut every gem to perfection for each dress I design; it’s what makes my talent so special.”
Faina eyed the trio of gems adorning Rarity’s flank. “Interesting, the only reason I ask is that they are on par with our own gem cutters. See?” Faina sat down and removed her belt; the brooch was encrusted with an opaque blue diamond with perfectly even and smooth cuts.
“Oh my, this is beautiful, and it’s a blue diamond? Those are so incredibly rare, one that size could buy all of Ponyville and the surrounding land for miles!” Rarity stared at it intently, hardly believing her eyes.
Faina’s smile faded, “I’m sure it is, but it’s worth even more to me.” She sullenly put the belt back on before clearing her head with a firm shake. “So, where next?”
As Faina headed towards the door Twilight and Rarity shared a look before they began following behind her. “I was thinking of heading towards Sugar Cube Corner for a mid-morning snack.” Twilight said.
“Oh that sounds marvelous, I haven’t eaten yet and could use a little pick me up.” Rarity said as she donned a fancy traveling hat. “And it will give my new design a way to test the waters!”
“Rarity, that looks exactly like your other hats.” Twilight said as she pointed to a display along the wall with very similar looking hats.
“Oh ho ho ho, silly Twilight, this hat I used a quadruple stitching method instead of my usual triple stitch!” Rarity said as she patted Twilight on her head.
“But it’s the same thing!” Twilight yelled as she swatted away Rarity’s hoof.
Rarity held up her nose with a ‘Hmf!,’ “And that’s why you’ll never be anything in the fashion industry. Come Faina, let’s make a statement on the way to Sugar Cube Corner and show off our fashion sense!”
Faina giggled as Rarity led her out the door, “BUT IT LOOKS EXACTLY THE SAME!!” Twilight yelled out behind them as the door closed and locked her inside.
“Come Faina, we mustn’t tarry.” Rarity said as she started down the road at a slightly rushed pace.
Faina quickly caught up, “Uh, why did you lock her in there? And why are we going without her?”
“There is something about Twilight you probably don’t know.” She was interrupted as a flash of purple light illuminated the area around them followed by a distant scream of frustration. “She’s incredibly smart, and very organized. Unfortunately when she’s met with two conflicting pieces of information, she works herself into a frenzy that causes her to become destructively irrational. Like the one time she couldn’t find anything to report to Princess Celestia so she thought it would be a great Idea to cause a problem, fix it, and then report how well she did.”
“I take it that backfired?” Faina asked with a raised eyebrow, that sounded a little too ridiculous for her tastes.
“Absolutely, she enchanted an old doll she had so that anypony who looked at it wanted it for themselves, badly. It caused the entire town to riot over the doll within minutes, luckily Spike sent a letter to the princess and she came just in time to dispel the effects.”
They rounded a corner and came within sight of a house made of what appeared to be the candy and cakes at Faina’s party. “So since then we convinced Twilight to enchant every building in ponyville to teleport her out of town whenever she starts having one of her episodes, then she would just blast her magic around until she calms down.”
“Is it normal for unicorns to be so good at magic?” Faina asked as she began to get stronger and stronger cravings for the sweets that awaited them.
“Oh goodness no, Twilight is the Princess’ personal student for a reason. Her special talent is magic, and I think someday she may surpass her idol Starswirl the Bearded, or even the princesses themselves!” Rarity said in excitement. “And we as her friends will help her every step of the way!”
“You bet!” Pinkie exclaimed, suddenly appearing between them and pulling them into a hug.
Faina had time to flare her wings but was soon trapped against her fuzzy fur alongside Rarity, whose hat had seemed to flee the scene.
“Pinkie! Release me this instant! I won’t have you ruining my coiffure!” Rarity cried out as she pushed against Pinkie, but she was no match for the earth pony’s impossible strength who merely grinned in satisfaction and snuggled them closer all while humming contently.
“Okay!” she said and released them both before another word could be said. Faina landed with a subtle grace that resulted in her landing on her back with her eyes spinning about dizzily, while Rarity managed to land in a dignified heap in the middle of the road.
“Pinkie!” Rarity sputtered as she cleared the dirt from her mouth, “How many times have I told you not to do that?!”
“Hmm…” Pinkie trailed off with a thoughtful look on her face while Faina stood herself up and shook the dust from her coat. “I think it’s around four hundred and seventy three times?” Her mane seemed to quiver as she spoke, “Yep! It is! I was right! What did I win!? Do I get a prize?! Is there a prize this time?! There should be, because last time you said there would be a prize so where’s the prize where is it where is it?!?!”
“Yes!” Rarity cried as Pinkie continued to bounce in front of her, “Your prize is showing Faina around Sugar Cube Corner and she’s willing to taste test your new treats!” Rarity leaned around Pinkie and mouthed ‘I’m so sorry!’ to Faina, who merely shrugged. Free snacks sounded pretty good about now anyway.
“OH MY GOSH THAT IS THE BEST PRIZE EVER!!” Pinkie called out to the heavens. The clouds seemed to part as a rainbow extended down towards her, as though blessing her with a gift of its beauty. Needless to say, Faina was rather confused as the rainbow turned out to be Rainbow Dash flying towards them at high speed.
“PINKIE! Stop yelling! Some of us are still sleeping and just want some peace and quiet!” She yelled down at her pink friend.
“Yay you’re here too! Now we can all have some fun!” Pinkie ignored her completely and bent reality to her will, grabbing Rainbow, Faina, and Rarity against her protests, then dove into the madness that is Sugar Cube Corner.
Cancelling this fic because I just could not figure out a way to properly introduce the character to the pony universe. If you are interested in her and her people I have merged her into this fic here:
