> Stella Eventide: Wings on my Back
>  by Shepherd Sheild92
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prolog: Meet Stella
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a cold night, the moon glimmered clearly over the tips of the Canterlot buildings. At this time of night, the busy city was all but silent, every sensible pony was tucked away in their bed dreaming happily of whatever it was those sensible ponies dream about. The only interruption to this peaceful night was the rare sight or sound that escaped the stealthy movements of batponies. If one knew where to look, and what to listen for, they would see and hear many of the nocturnal creatures going about their nightly business.

One such creature, teal in hue, could be seen gliding through the night, a smile on her face. Again, to any sensible pony, the already present chill combined with the speed of flight would likely warrant at least a scarf, if not a full jacket to break the wind, but batponies were born for this. As such, she rather enjoyed the cool breeze. It helped clear her head after a long night's work.

As she flew, the batpony would bank right, then left, and then right to glide between the peaks of structures. Once again, a sensible pony, on such a flight, would likely desire some form of torch or lantern to illuminate the buildings, to avoid surprises in the dark night, but a batpony would have no use for such devices. This one's golden, cat-like eyes hungrily devoured the scant light, making the cityscape before her appeared as clear as if the sun had paid no heed to the hour, and decided to position itself directly overhead.

As she flew through the seemingly bright night, hooves tucked beneath, ears folded back, and both sharp teeth peeking through her grin, she spotted her destination, and not a moment too soon. The flight from her work at the castle down to her apartment always seemed longer than it should have when all that was on her tired mind was her warm sheets and fluffy pillow. Being a maid was much harder than she had ever anticipated.

The creature flapped her wings hard to slow her descent and adjust her aim as she entered her home through its open bedroom window. Her hooves thudded dully on the carpet as she came to a halt just in front of the window. The teal addition to the room then closed the window and drew the heavy blinds she had added before rushing to her sheets, and diving in. Her world became a dark, warm cocoon; a loving embrace from the inanimate objects created solely for her comfort, and soon the world, which at this point consisted only of her comforting cocoon of manufactured love, faded to black.

--0-0-0--

A young Pegasus mare stepped gingerly down the cloud halls of her family's house. Her blond mane was clean and orderly, her light blue coat shone like crystal. Every step she took was precise, official, and despite her comparative youth, she gave off the sense that she was much more sophisticated than any pony would give her credit for. However, she was not stuck up, giving a genuine, heartfelt smile to every servant pony she passed.

She was raised to eventually be a respected, socially elite pony, and showed promise in the eyes of her parents. She approached her brother's door, and upon opening, found the room empty. After a moment of confusion, and thoughts such as, ‘He never wakes up before noon’, her waking mind caught up, and the realization struck. Daystar was in Manehattan, going to school.

She let a sigh escape her lips before going down to the living room area where she found her little sister showing off her new dress to her young friends. The proper mare decided to avoid the cringe-worthy scene and doubled back to the kitchen to grab some baked goods.

In the kitchen, she found three cook ponies making breakfast for themselves, as well as the family of the house. The intoxicating combination of muffins, waffles, and freshly baked bread filled her nose and painted her muzzle with a genuine smile. When the ponies working saw the young mare, they waved at her, which she returned in kind. As she walked further into the kitchen, she gradually relaxed more and more. She could be herself among them.

"The food smells amazing as always. Keep up the great work." She reached for a muffin, and continued, "I just wish the others in the house would give you more credit."

"Well, Daystar always treated us with respect," replied one of the kitchen staff.

"Yeah, I know he did." She paused, as memories of her older brother leaped unbidden into her mind's stage. She dismissed them with a shake of her head and changed the subject. "Say, have you seen Mother?"

"Yes. She left to go drop off some new uniforms for the Wonderbolts about an hour ago."

"Thank you, kindly." Stella bit into the muffin, the warm steam filling her nose. A powerful cascade of blueberry and oats exploded in her mouth as if she had really taken a bite. "Have a great rest of your morning!" she called out as she returned upstairs with her breakfast.


She had almost reached her room when her little sister caught a glimpse of her. Before she could escape, she heard the dreaded voice break the calm silence of the house.

"Hey, Stella! Can we go shopping this afternoon? I saw this dress at JC Filly that I can't wait to buy! Everypony's talking about it, and I need to be the first filly at school to have it!" She ended with a far too practiced and entirely unnecessary puppy dog pout. The older sister hated shopping with a passion.

Her mother and younger sister went at least once a week, if not more, for clothes, dresses, or other things, all of which were entirely too girly. She had to keep up appearances, though, even to her own family.
She swallowed what food was in her mouth before putting her socially-elite-pony mask back on. She turned around, and with, what appeared to be a genuine smile, said, "Sure, sounds like fun. Just let me eat breakfast real fast."

The younger filly lit up and exclaimed, "OK! I'll get some breakfast, too! I'll meet you at the door!" She then ran to the dining room to summon her own breakfast, and Stella let out the stress she was already feeling in anticipation for what the afternoon would hold in a pained sigh, then entered her room for a few more precious minutes to herself.

She knew it wouldn't be all bad, as much as she entertained the thoughts of contempt toward her younger sister, she still loved her and felt a pang of regret knowing she had lost the opportunity to be around her so often since she had left for school in Canterlot. These thoughts confused her, as they conflicted with her current reality, but began to make sense as her conscious brain took more and more control until she surfaced in her soft, warm bed, with the sun glaring in her face.
> Chapter 1: New Roommate
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

With her oh-so-special sleepy time having been completely used up and her eyes being assaulted by the inconsiderate sun, Stella was tempted to simply roll over and just forget about the world. She sighed and dragged herself out of bed, knowing she needed to clean up a bit since her new roommate was due to arrive later that day. Just what I need, she thought, a roommate to complicate my life. Her room wasn't the worst it's ever been, but it sure would make a poor impression in its current state, and the last thing she wanted was to start off on the wrong hoof.

As she began putting things back in their places, she uncovered a picture that had fallen off of her bedside table, and after turning it over to see the image, she felt a twinge of guilt. She hadn't even noticed its absence. How long had it been there, upside down under garbage? Why hadn't see noticed and looked for it? The reason it hit her so hard was the contents of the ill-fated photo. It was a picture of her and her family. The five pegasi in the picture looked so happy. Memories of her parents, older brother, and younger sister came unbidden into her still clearing head, compounded by the fresh experience of the conversation with her little sister in dream. Tears began to flow. The memories, the dream, and her neglect of the picture all mixed in her bleary mind, and, though she couldn't make sense of the emotion, she had no choice but to let it run free through her body, destroying her resolve, and making her knees give out. The poor bat pony hadn't realized how much she truly missed her family. The four months since she had last seen them felt like an eternity.

Once she regained control, she put the picture back on her bedside table and continued cleaning her room. She was almost done and had stepped out into the living room on her way to the kitchen to replace a knife, that even she hadn't remembered why or when it had migrated to her room when she heard a knock at her door. She dropped the knife and ran into the bathroom to see how much of her stilled looked like a batpony. All that remained of her nocturnal life were her fangs, and slitted eyes, though her eyes had returned to their normal blue hue. They were still a little red and puffy from her breakdown earlier, she noted. It definitely could've been worse. The knock came a second time.

“Coming!  I’ll be right there,” called out the tired Pegasus, picking up some sunglasses that she had just rediscovered during her preparations. She then rushed to open the door. She couldn't think who it could be. Her new roommate wasn't supposed to arrive until later in the day. Even though the sunglasses, she was not prepared for the bright sun. There's a reason Batponies are nocturnal. The sensitive eyes that allow them to rule the night don't just turn off when the sun rises, and her eyes still hadn't reverted to her original ones.

“Hello there! Are you Stella Eventide?” asked the bright orange earth pony.
After recovering from the sun's assault, Stella responded, a hoof still hooked above her head. “Yes, I’m Stella, and you must be Brighteyes. I, ah, wasn't expecting you so early,” she said, trying to fight back a yawn, and testing out how fast, or rather slow, her eyes were adjusting by slowly removing, then quickly returning her hoof above her muzzle.  

“I wasn't either, but my train was ahead of schedule." There was a brief, awkward pause as Stella finally brought herself to replace her hoof on the ground. Brighteyes continued with a friendly demeanor, "So, did you go to some kind of costume party last night?”
Brighteyes looked at her new apartment. She was worried she had moved in with a slob, but she wouldn't let that bother her. She decided she'd just keep her room, and the shared rooms once they had been cleaned, and not even worry about the mess that was sure to occur in Stella's room. She felt bad for judging her new roommate so soon, and decided to be as friendly as she could to her to make up for it. “Well," she began, "Your mane is all messed up, you're wearing vampony fangs, and you’re most likely hiding the bags under eyes with those sunglasses,” realizing her explanation could be taken a little offensively, she decided to cap it off with a big friendly smile.
Stella didn't mind the comments, she was just happy that her new roommate had no idea she was a pegasus turning batpony. She, however, disapproved of how friendly Brighteyes was towards a pony she just met. Stella decided to humor her. “Wow, you’re pretty smart.  I guess wearing sunglasses in a dark apartment was a dead giveaway about the lack of sleep I had last night.”
Brighteyes, with the same smile plastered on her face, just nodded, and added, "That, and your messy mane!" She pulled off her saddlebag, and set it next to the sofa. Stella rolled her eyes and beckoned the happy mare to follow.

"This is the living room, with the couch," Stella began, "And that's the kitchen over there. There's not too much space in the cupboards, but it's enough, as long as we share. That's your room and bathroom on that side, and this is mine." She concluded with a gesture at the closed door with a slightly crinkled lined paper taped to it that displayed a quickly written "ALWAYS KNOCK!" in black sharpy.
Brighteyes was a little taken aback by the shortness of the quick tour, and the sign on the door, but she decided she was going to make this work. "Sounds good to me! I think I'll go start unpacking. Let me know if I can help you with anything!" She offered with as genuine a smile she could muster.

"Thanks," Stella answered. "I will." She wasn't expecting such an offer and wondered if it was sincere, or just fluffy words to try and manipulate. She hoped it was the former. She slunk quickly into her room so as not to let her new roommate catch wind of her surprise, and continued to prepare for the day.
By the time she entered the common area again, her eyes where normal and her teeth had returned to their original shape and size. She found her possibly new friend on the couch with her phone positioned in front of her. The bright mare looked up when she heard the door, and at the sight of her definitely new friend, jumped up and suggested, "Hey, wanna go sign up for classes? I just got in town, so I haven't done that yet, and I think it would be a perfect way to get to know each other better!" There was a pause. "Unless you've already done that. I guess it would make sense since they start next week."
Stella realized she hadn't responded, and shook her head. "Oh no, I haven't. That sounds like a great idea." Even though she put more enthusiasm than she normally would into her voice, next to the happy pony's response, she sounded as if she had just come from a funeral.

"Wooohooo!!", Brighteyes exclaimed. "I was hoping you'd say that! Are you ready to go? Let's go! This is going to be so much fun! You can show me all the cool sights, and awesome places to eat! And don't forget all the hot hang out spots!" She was already heading for the door.
Stella signed and smiled despite herself. This is going to be a long day...She thought, but something inside her was happy it was turning out this way.

--00--00--

Though her Batpony eyes had changed back to a normal appearance, Stella was having a hard time with the sun. Her eyes hadn't fully given up their sensitivity, so she had to shield them with her hooves. Brighteyes noticed but didn't think much of it. After all, it made sense that she hadn't fully adjusted to the light after what she could only guess was a pretty crazy costume party. Stella, however, was very conscious of how she was appearing to others, and couldn't stand that she was acting suspiciously. She incrementally braved the light and was able to walk normally again with just squinting a bit.

She now looked around. Canterlot was swimming with ponies. So many ponies. She just realized how few times she had actually stepped outside during the day in the 4 months she had worked at the castle waiting for School to start. Canterlot was a completely different city during the day. She couldn't fathom where they'd all come from, or where they were going, or why they were here. Some seemed in a hurry. Maybe they were late to their jobs, or maybe they were on a lunch break. Others were just wandering leisurely, or socializing. There were just so many! As she thought about the city, she had seen many apartment complexes in addition to her dorm apartments, and maybe if you were to add in the ponies who lived in the town at the base of the mountain who might commute to the city for work or entertainment, you might find this many, so it made sense to her how they all fit, but thinking about it conceptually and seeing the real number, just didn't compare. She was simply amazed. The buildings looked different as well. She could see the castle from here, but that wasn't hard, as you could see the castle from nearly everywhere in the city, but nothing seemed familiar. She hoped they wouldn't get lost.

As Stella was lost in thought, gazing around, her roommate was doing the same, only instead of shock, confusion, and fear, her thoughts were centered on shock, wonder, and excitement! This was only the second or third time Brighteyes was able to stroll around the iconic city, and it still hadn't lost its luster yet. She gazed at each sign sticking out above their heads, marking the locations of retail along the road, for future reference. No matter where they were, or what they were doing, she felt the need at least every minute to gaze up at the castle. The beautiful Canterlot castle! It was her dream to go inside one day, and meet the Princesses, but it was only a fleeting hope. She wasn't here to vacation through her fantasies, she was here to make her father proud! Nothing could get in the way of that goal. After looking back forward from the castle, she noticed Stella had stopped, and quickly snapped back to reality, and lurched back to her.

Stella had caught sight of a sports shop, and out of reflex, stopped to stare. They were ahead of schedule for heading to register, anyway.

“Wow, I never thought a blond would be into sports,” said Brighteyes jokingly. Stella was unsure how to interpret that comment, so she just filed it away in the back of her mind until it could be useful in some way.  

On one of the ponikins in the window was wearing a flight suit that was quite pleasing to the eyes, yet equally as effective, if not more, than the competitors. Brighteyes took in the suit with awe, then glanced at the designer and saw the name Eventide. “Say do you know this Eventide by chance?” asked Brighteyes with a lovestruck gaze.

“Yea,” Stella sighed. “She's my mother. She designs fashionable clothes with a purpose and not just for looks.  She does work for the Wonderbolts and the Equestrian 500, but she also designs dresses when the Grand Galloping Gala comes around,” replied Stella with a proud smile. If she had been looking at Brighteyes, she would have noticed that she was thoroughly impressed, but she stood staring at the window display a few beats more before shaking her head, and adding, "Well, enough missing home. Let's get going."

Without further discussion, they continued their journey to the University bookstore. Upon arrival, the mares were met with a sizable mob of freshmen waiting for the store to let the next batch of students in. This gave them both some time to think. Although a cacophony of voice was continually erupting around them, neither pony desired to break the silence that had formed between them. Stella was enjoying it, but her roommate was fighting an internal battle whether or not to attempt to fill the, as she perceived it, awkward silence between them, or to simply let it sit. She wanted to make a good impression on her roommate. Fighting with your roommate is probably the worst thing you could do in college, because you can run back home away from almost any problem with others, but there's no escaping a feud with your roommate. Whether because of indecision, or by deliberation, no one would know, but a half-hour of silence later, they were finally allowed in.

Stella entered, and trotted up to a table with three ponies seated behind. The table held many papers with students’ names on them in a somewhat organized, but frazzled array. "Name?" an older mare more demanded than asked in a voice that screamed, "Let's get this over with". Shocked by the harsh request, and it didn't,t help by all the ponies crowded so close to her, the pegasus hesitated to which she received a single raised eyebrow from the mare at the desk. She them promptly obliged, not wanting to find out what would happen if she waited 2 more seconds before responding. After some rifling the older mare more tossed than handed a piece of paper to Stella containing a list of books on the subjects of Business and Psychology, and classes to match. She, then, continued with the flow of ponies to the next stop.

Brighteyes, after a similar encounter, followed Stella to the next line at the head of which, several ponies were frantically scattering up and down a few sectioned off shelves behind the counter and back to the the ponies in the front of the line who then received the books listed on their individual sheets of paper. Determined not to let fear of failure foil her again, Brighteyes looked over at Stella’s list, saw that they shared a Psychology class in the morning, and decided to start up a conversation. "Hey look! We're both studying Psychology! We even have the same teacher!"

Stella, having been interrupted from her thoughts, simply turned and looked at her over excited roommate without responding. 

"And the same time!" Brighteyes added, followed by additional silence. "It's the same class!" Still, no comment from Stella, making Brighteyes feel very awkward and slightly discouraged for attempting to have a friendly conversation. She continued, however, undeterred. "Isn't that cool?"

Stella, now having processed the single sided exchange, decided that Brighteyes meant well, and even if she currently wanted to escape into her mind to get away from the massive crowd of obnoxious and loud ponies in line, Brighteyes didn't know what was going on in her head, so she decided to brave reality and  throw her a bone. Her expression changed from that of indifference to that of compassion and interest. "Yeah, and since it's first in the morning, we can even walk there together."

Brighteyes visibly relaxed and, through her face, expressed gratitude for Stella's decision to participate.

Stella continued, “So what other classes are you taking?”

“Besides Psychology, I've got a full plate with Math and Chemistry. I want to either be a nurse or a Pharmacist, since I like helping ponies so much.”

Attempting to be helpful, Stella suggested, “Or you could be a shrink.”

Visibly perturbed, Brighteyes responded, “Stella, they are called Psychologists, not shrinks,” followed by a whip of her tail for punctuation, then continued, “You should know that since you’re taking a Psychology class."

Already regretting her decision to participate, Stella elected to let caution control her mouth, and simply walked to a different line. She hoped Brighteyes didn't take it the wrong way. She wasn't angry, yet, but simply needed some space, else she feared what would escape her mouth next. 

Brighteyes watched Stella leave, very confused at the abrupt end to the conversation, and thought about what she had said. Stella had used in the improper slang term for a possible future career path, and Brighteyes had informed her of the correct terminology, so she wouldn't embarrass herself in front of somepony important. It must not have been something she said. She just decided it was of little importance, and began thinking about what her classes would be like.

Stella, on the other hoof, was letting it get to her. Of course she knew the proper term for a shrink, but it was easier to say shrink, so that's what she said, and Brighteyes had to come in and act like she was smarter than Stella, and then proceeded to insult her further by saying she should've known better. This was going to be harder than she thought. By the time she had reached the counter, she had calmed down. The worn-out pony at the counter asked for her paper, then, upon receiving it, quickly left on a brief journey around the shelves behind him to retrieve the books Stella would be getting all too familiar with during the next few months. Once she had paid for them, she waited outside for that know-it-all Earthpony to get through her line, and finish paying. She knew a fight with Brighteyes would not be fun, and likely accomplish nothing, so she put more effort into not thinking angrily toward her for fear that one of those innocent thoughts would turn into a not so innocent statement, and feelings would be hurt. 

She decided to wait at the smoothie shop right next door, so with a sigh, she put her books in her saddle bags and ventured in. She glanced at the menu out of habit, already knowing what she wanted.  She ordered a strawberry blueberry and peach smoothie with vanilla ice-cream as a base. It took longer than Stella expected, but eventually, Brighteyes came outside looking around for Stella. She had just finished her smoothie when she spotted Brighteyes, so she left the shop to flag her down. The two of them walked home in silence.

Upon arriving home Brighteyes began unpacking and Stella went straight to bed so that she would be able to function at work that night. Her efforts were slightly frustrated, however, by the sound of her roommate cleaning the apartment outside her shut door. Brighteyes wasn't being particularly loud, and that apartment did need some cleaning. The issue resided in her new batpony ears. With the improved hearing, she could tell exactly what Brighteyes was doing. She could hear water running, and clacking of dishes for a while, then she could make out what sounded like a bathroom being cleaned, followed by the rest of the living room. Eventually, the sounds blurred together, and she was able to drift off to sleep.

--00--00--00--

Stella woke up around 6 that night. She felt that she had gotten just enough sleep to make it through the night, and then leave her tired enough to be able to take a nap in the morning before Brighteyes would likely wake up. She decided to check on her. She opened her bedroom door and found the sleeping form of Brighteyes on the couch. The second thing she noticed was how clean the living room was. It was spotless and Stella was very grateful for that. She returned to her room and grabbed the necklace Princess Luna had given her. She fastened the pendant around her neck and let it fall to her chest. With a flash of dark blue magic, Stella's form was replaced by that of a Batpony. 

She was more conferrable as a batpony. She felt like she could really be herself without wearing a mask in front of others. It was a liberating feeling that gave her the drive to keep going when life was too much. She took a moment to appreciate it all. Her wings, her eyes, her ears. This is how she was meant to be. Once she was finished, she leaped out of her window and after a brief moment of free fall, opened her wings to catch herself, and begin her accent to the castle. 

One such creature, teal in hue, could be seen gliding through the night, a smile on her face. Her bat wings were foreign to her at first, but, just like every night, she learned to like them. While they could carry her more quickly through the night, it was harder for her to make turns, forcing her to slow down significantly to do so. Luckily, it was a fairly straight shot to the castle by air.

Upon her arrival, Stella headed downstairs to the maids’ locker room to dress in her maid outfit and check her cleaning duties for the night. There were several batpony mares getting ready to begin their night shifts, and some Earthponies and unicorns preparing to leave after a hard day's work.

“Why hello there Stella. How are you?” asked one of the Unicorns. She was an older mare that liked making new friends, so she could gather and share more gossip.  

Stella couldn't care less about gossip, however. “I’m doing alright," Stella stated in an attempt to end the conversation there. The unicorn, however, stared expectantly for her to continue. So as to avoid the awkwardness, she continued, "My roommate moved in today. Not sure how I feel about it yet.” She tried to show as little interest in the conversation as possible by focusing on her mane in the mirror.

“Just don’t kill them, okay?” another maid shouted out followed by a few snickers from surrounding mares. Stella rolled her eyes and went over to the bulletin board to read her duties for the night. 

She was to do the day shift’s laundry, help clean Luna’s side of the palace, and then do whatever else the night Princess could think of, which was no easy task. That mare was a slave driver. Not that she wasn't entitled to be, it was just that Stella had never cleaned anything other than her own room while she lived at home. She wasn't used to this kind of labor. Familiarity aside, she was getting the hang of it, and she wanted to do her best. Princess Luna expected every pony on her staff to work their absolute hardest. Nothing less would do. She, in return, would help her staff with anything they needed. She demanded their best not as a ruler, but as a friend. Stella would always remember when she had broken into tears after three weeks on the job. Being, as she saw it at the time, forced to do servile, stressful things, such as, scrubbing the bathtub tiles, polishing Luna’s armor, and cleaning the guard barracks, which smelled like sweat, had taken its tole, and she was at the breaking point. If Luna hadn't helped her through it, she likely would've given up, and gone back home.    

“I think it will be just fine if both of you work hard to make living together work out,” said one of the only Earthpoines on the night staff. Stella just raised an eyebrow at the thought. She had work already, and school was starting soon. She didn’t want to add living at home as another job to work at.

“I, for one, agree with Ruby, you two should try to be friends.” Every pony turned around to see a majestic black and blue Alicorn with a soft, ever-flowing mane that appeared to contain the entire night sky within its sheen. Stella and the others bowed. Luna simply laughed.

“Luna what are you doing in the maids’ locker room?” asked Ruby still bowing.

“Ruby, please stand up. Stella," Stella visibly flinched as her name unexpectedly left the lips of her lunar Princess. "Could you come with me for a moment, please? Also, I need three of you to clean the bath,” Luna turned and departed in the direction of her chambers.

Stella was stunned and confused. The only other time Luna asked her to come to her chambers was when she had broken down crying. Fearing the worst, but hoping for the best, Stella quickly followed the Moon mare.

Luna’s chambers were full of drawings, paintings, and a surplus of art supplies. The decorations were breath taking, and the atmosphere let peace penetrate to the very soul. With each available surface covered in her craft, there was little room for anything else. Stella was just as impressed and in awe as the first time she had been invited into Luna's personal habitat. She couldn't help but think, however, that a few of the maids, where they let do their thing, could help a little bit with the organization, and minimizing clutter.

“Luna, why am I here?” Stella asked her curiosity beating discretion.

“I just wanted to tell you that you have been doing a great job here. I have taken notice of your hard work, and diligence, and wish to grant you these college text books.” She finished with an eager grin, levitating a bundle of books from behind her to set at the feet of the still stunned and confused Batpony.

“Wait, what?" Stella responded, her confusion deepening. "You got me text books?”

“Yes, I did. Stella the Batpony will be taking drawing and astronomy this Semester in addition to the classes Stella the Pegasus will be taking.”

“Wait…really? I mean I love drawing and looking at the stars, but why would you pay for my college?”

Luna smiled down at the, now excited little pony. “You certainly are full of questions tonight aren’t you, Stella,” she laughed. She then extended her arm to beckon Stella in. The maid practically leaped into the hug. Luna finished in a playful voice, “Now, you have a lot of work tonight, so get started”. Stella didn't need a second command. She flew out of Luna’s room to do her chores. She felt lighter than air all night.
> Chapter 2: Stella's Horizon
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

On her way home from the castle, before the sun rose, Stella considered her route. Normally she would fly in through her window, but now that she had a roommate, she needed to keep her in mind. The normal way to return home from work was through the front door, so she altered her path to end on the other side of the building where the non-flying entrance was located. She walked in, relocking the door behind her. Another habit she needed to get used to.

Stella wasn't ready for bed quite yet. She had important things to take care of, but who would want to write with an empty stomach. She opened the fridge to see what snacks she had left. She would need to reorganize the fridge to give Brighteyes a good portion of it because now, she had just as much a right to space as Stella. More and more changes, but she'd get used to it.

She settled on apple juice and slammed the fridge door shut with her bat wing as she turned toward her room. As soon as she felt the door part from her wing, she knew she messed up. She winced in anticipation and was met with a loud bang. It was no harder than she normally shut the fridge door when she was alone, but she wasn't alone anymore. She looked toward Brighteyes's door. It was thankfully shut, but there was no doubt that she would've felt it if she were still awake. Stella really didn't want to explain herself while she was still a bat pony.

She rushed to her room and hoped if she had woken up her roommate, she could apologize in the morning with a normal Pegasus appearance. After taking a deep breath, she removed the magical pendant around her neck, so her transformation back would begin. Even though it took a while, it was definitely worth it to be a part of Luna's personal staff. She sat at her desk with her apple juice and began writing a letter. She liked writing letters after work. Even though her classes were starting in the morning, she needed something to do to calm her mind, and slow her thoughts before she would be able to sleep.

As she wrote, she heard a creak from behind. She quickly turned around, and spied one of Brighteyes's bright eyes before it went wide, and vanished. This was the last thing she wanted. She jumped up to try and explain, but before she got halfway to her door, she heard a slam and a click from across the apartment. Great, Stella thought, Oh well. I guess I'll clean up this mess in the morning. She returned to her desk to finish the letter to her brother. It had been a while since she had seen him, and after realizing how much she missed him, she decided to reach out once again. It had been a few weeks, after all. He was usually pretty good at responding from Manehattan. She let out a yawn, and rolled up the completed letter, then moved to her bed, and curled up in the warm blankets. The alarm clock beside her informed her that her business class was in six hours. This was going to be tough.

On the other side of the apartment, Brighteyes laid in bed with her bedsheets over her muzzle, eyes fixed on her locked door, and entire body shaking in fear. She had just seen a vampony, and it was in Stella's room, in her own apartment! She just hoped a lock could hold it, so it didn't eat her, too. Then a thought occurred to her that was even worse. What if that was Stella, and she was turned into a vampony earlier that night. Eventually, her eyes refused to stay open, but her sleep for the rest of the night was fitful and best.

In the morning, Stella emerged looking normal. That is if normal included ruffled, feathery wings and bags under her eyes. At least she had brushed her mane into something presentable for the first day of School. She wasn't an animal. She found Brighteyes at the table eating from a bowl of oats. Stella was hoping she wouldn't say anything, because she was already running late, and couldn't afford to spend the time to explain everything now. To her pleasant surprise, her roommate remained silent even as Stella hastily grabbed a juicy apple from the counter, and bit into it as she passed by the table squirting some of the juice onto Brighteyes's muzzle. Stella halted and tried to say "Sorry" around the apple clenched in her mouth. Brighteyes just brushed the liquid from her nose and continued shoveling oats into her mouth even as her eyes seemed to be focused beyond Stella. She took that as forgiveness and headed out the door without a second thought.

It had happened so fast. She wanted to say something to Stella that morning, and confront her if she still was Stella, about what she had seen the previous night, but this morning, Stella had normal wings again. Did she imagine the vampony she saw last night? Of course, I did, she tried to convince herself. Vamponies aren't real! But there was no denying what she had seen with her own eyes. She began to sweat. Of all the scenarios she had imagined of this morning, and this might have been one of the worst possible outcomes just shy of being eaten as soon as she opened her door, which hadn't happened. She had no answers; no explanation for what she had witnessed. After the nightmares of Stella eating her, she was now convinced she had let an evil loose in Canterlot, and wouldn't be surprised if she heard about ponies starting to go missing. Brighteyes shook the idea out of her head. There has to be a logical explanation for what I saw. With that thought to fortify her, she decided to read her textbooks in preparation for her own classes.

-00--00--00--

Stella wanted to die. It had only been two hours, but the class was over, she was overjoyed. Learning about business trades and how to earn the most bits with the least amount of work had no interest to her. She was not an entrepreneur kind of pony, so she braced herself for a few months of jumping through hoops for her instructor, and feigning interest to get a passing grade.

She walked over to the library so she could get her homework out of the way. She had plans tonight to go drinking with her co-workers after her art class and was not about to let some boring business homework get in her way. She sat down at a table and started to read her textbook. The book was talking about bits and the power they held, as well as how complicated coin exchange businesses like the stock market worked. She forced a smile as she mentally dubbed the class get rich 101, something she had next to no interest in. Her father grew up rich and he worked hard to stay that way. Stella just found life to be a chore if it was all about earning bits to stay rich or become rich. All that running around, chasing after bits that her father did while providing comfort to her and her family, did not replace her father well. She was certain all she wanted was to eventually have a simple life and a family, so she could care for them personally, not have some hired babysitter raise them for her.

She realized she had reached the bottom of the current page she was on, but couldn't remember any of what she had read from it. She sighed and pulled out a snack while she re-read the page, and focused through to the end of the reading assignment. She then began work on an essay about the chapters she had just read, making sure that none of the juice from the fruit she was eating got on her book or paper.

Hours later, after concluding her final draft, she packed up her bags and entered the bathroom. She checked the stalls, and finding herself alone, pulled the magical pendant from her saddlebag, and tossed it around her neck. Transforming into a bat pony was much quicker than turning back, because the more time she spent as a batpony, the more magic would build up that needed to dissipate. She smiled at the mirror as her fangs became visible. Her wings morphed from feathers to a membrane, and her eyes shifted and began to glow. No matter how many times she watched the transformation take place, it never lost its appeal. Already, she could feel the added strength in her wings that came with the transformation. She stepped out of the bathroom a new pony. A batpony. Once outside, she let her new power propel her through the air toward her art class. This would be much more pleasant than Get Rich 101 had been.

Stella arrived and found a seat. Not a minute later, a Unicorn with a pink stripe in his mane sat down next to her. She smiled at the Unicorn stallion.

“Hey there, good-looking,” the Unicorn began the conversation with a smile. Stella couldn’t tell if he was playing around or not. How cheesy was this stallion trying to be?

“You think I’m good looking?" She responded, "Well then, what about me pleases you?” She finished in a playful tone.

“Well, I have to say that you're different, which is why I wanted to sit next to you. But the thing right now that I like the most is your smile,” the Unicorn replied back.

Stella was not expecting an answer like that, so she thought for a moment. That was surprisingly sincere sounding after the cheesy opening. There must have been something she was missing. “Thank you. So, you like my fangs?” She said with a smile that was sure to show them off.

“No, I just think your fangs are cool. Your smile, on the other hoof, says a lot about you. Also, a cute face to go with it doesn't hurt.” Stella was unsure how this encounter was going. She concluded that he was either playing a game or flirting with her. If it was a game Stella didn’t want to lose.

“That was sweet, but what makes you think I would want to be friends with a pony who’s trying to flirt with somepony just because she's different? It's like you couldn't make any normal friends, so you need to lower your standards,” Stella shot out with a sweet tone in her voice.

“Do you need some ice for that burn?” Asked the stallion. Stella's smug look turned into confusion. Seeing her reaction, he continued to explain in a whisper, “You just claimed I'd need to lower my standards before trying to flirt with you." Stella’s eyes shrunk to pinpricks. She had lost the game. She wanted to slap him so hard, but, if she did, it would only make her a sore loser. Luckily, she didn't have to think of a way to salvage the situation.

The professor entered the classroom followed by a hush and the end to the various conversations between students. He turned to face them, and asked in a high, soft voice, "Why are you here?" He waited.

One of the slower students on the other side of the classroom started looking around, and asked, "This is an art class, right?" Followed by some snickers from the back row.

"This is, indeed, art class. That is not what I meant. Why are you in art class, Mr...?" He trailed off.

"Inkquill, sir." The professor waited. Inkquill, realizing he was asked a question, continued, "Oh, uh. I'm here because I want to learn how to draw better. I wanna make comics!" He concluded with a smile.

"Good", the professor responded. "Thank you, Mr. Inkquill. Let's go around the room. I want to know your name, and why you are here."

Some of them wanted to get better at drawing or painting, A few wanted to learn how to do shading and other higher techniques, but for Stella, it was to learn how to paint. After, they had a classroom discussion about what got them into this class, as well as their favorite painting, drawing, and/or artist. Stella raised her hoof to say that her favorite artist was her boss, Princess Luna, for she was the one who created the night sky like she was painting on a canvas. The class was so much fun. She found out a lot of things about different kinds of art. She also learned the stallion sitting next to her was named Broad Horizons, and he kept glancing at her throughout the class. She mostly ignored him. Her mind was busy soaking in an ocean of ideas that could only be released through her pen and pencil. As she pondered about the idea of drawing her family, a note was slipped under her hoof. She opened and read it.

It read, “By the way, my friends call me Rize. Do you want to come drinking with me after class?” Stella smiled a little bit, wrote a reply, and gave it back.

After reading her note, “So, does that mean I can call you Rize? I’m already going drinking afterward, you’re more than welcome to come and buy my drinks;)” ”, Rize smiled at Stella, however, Stella was still unsure how she felt about Rize. She had decided to give him a chance, though, because it gave her the chance to slap him later tonight, and blame intoxication.

The two of them started walking to the bar and talked on the way. Stella liked that he was a painter trying to learn how to draw. She told herself that she would only like this odd Unicorn as a friend. Stella was having fun just walking to the bar, but she wanted to see if Rize could be just as smooth while he was drunk. Once they got to the bar they headed over to the counter and ordered drinks.

“So, do you really like fruit enough to get a fruit cocktail?” asked Rize, drinking his beer.

“I love fruit. It’s a batpony thing. You see we can’t digest grain or hay very well, and it sometimes just sits in our gut for a long time, giving very few nutrients. Fruit seems to be the best thing for us,” replied Stella with a smile. Some other Bat-ponies joined them and Rize stopped drinking to see how Stella would act when drunk. The night continued on, and Stella had a few drinks before she caught on to what Rize was doing. Having waited patiently for her moment of payback, Stella took the opportunity to slap him with her wing. Rize grabbed his face in shock.

“What are you trying to do?” Stella snapped.

“I want to be your friend, and I want to know if you’re a good drinking buddy,” Rize said with caution in his tone.

“Just make sure that is all you want to be: my friend. Got it?” she shot back with a firm voice so that there was no room for any mistranslation. Rize grabbed another beer and Stella, seeing her ultimatum was accepted, drank some apple cider. The night went on and Stella started to feel bad about lashing out at Rize. So she wanted to make it up to him somehow.

Later that night, they left the bar together so Rize could walk Stella home. For the most part, she had a great time. Once they got to the apartment, Rize hugged Stella and started to walk off.

“Wait…”

“Yes, Stella?” He half turned back toward her, but she had closed the distance between them and planted a kiss right on his mouth. She held it for about three seconds before pulling back and blushing. “What was that for?” asked Rise in shock, but it was obvious that he wanted more.

“That was for slapping you", she replied, not meeting his eyes. "So don’t get any ideas!” she concluded, her wits re-gained, looking right at him. He smirked, clearly disappointed, but happy it had gone as well as it had.

“I’ll see you in class, Stella,” he said as he walked away.

Stella opened the door and walked inside only to be hit in the head by an onion hanging in the doorway. She closed the door behind her, and stopped the onion from swinging, but being too tired, and too drunk to care why it was there, she continued into her room. She sat down at her desk and began to draw, not knowing what, in her state, she would come up with, but confident that she'd have fun doing it.
> Chapter 3: Bat out of the bag
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stella was positively brimming with excitement, after all, today was her day off, as well as the weekend. As such, she decided to take a warm shower to start the day. As the soothing water cascaded across her body, she thought about the last three weeks. The most noteworthy was her date with Rize, which while not the most exciting was still something she enjoyed, quite a bit if she was honest. Additionally, she’d done more than her fair share of drawing, studying star charts, and reading books for psychology and business class. Though along with the pleasant memories, her time working for Princess Luna, as well as dealing with Brighteyes, weighed on her mind more than a bit.


Brighteyes had been acting very weirdly since Stella met her. Granted, she always thought that a pony who spent that much time in her books wouldn’t have any time to be weird. However, this pony had proven her wrong, as among her unique excentricities included waiting for Stella to get home before she went to bed, sprinkling salt in front of her door, and keeping garlic in the fridge. And as a result of these little quirks, Brighteyes was becoming one very sleep deprived pony.

These thoughts persisted, even as steam rushed out of the bathroom along with Stella herself. She went to grab a snack and saw Brighteyes sleeping on the couch, an open comic book resting on her belly about what looked like zombies. Strewn about the couch were two more comics, one about Vam-ponies and the other was about Werewolves. The sight of the comics made Stella roll her eyes, having always thought of such things as rather, cheesy for lack of a better term, made more silly by the idea of Brighteyes using the comics to actually scare herself awake... Curious though, she picked up the one about Vam-ponies and started to read it.

The comic was alright, talking about a blonde, teenage pony fighting Vamp-ponies with her friends. Its plots were a little on the silly side but seemed harmless enough. Quickly putting it down, she could hear her roommate breathing in the peaceful slumber, though the bags under her eyes were a painful reminder of her sleep deprivation.

“I’d better do something soon. I don’t know how many more of these sleepless nights she’ll be able to handle.”

Her eyes drifted back to the comics, covered in images of monsters and blood. “Whatever her problem is, these comics aren’t helping her at all. Maybe I can get some insight if I find whoever gave these to her.”

Her task set, she grabbed her saddle bag and put in some drawing supplies, a hoof-full of bits, and her necklace before heading out the door, making sure to close it quietly to avoid waking her roommate.

--00-00-00--

As she made her way out into the street, Stella was met greeted by a beautiful, sunlit sky, that shone all across Canterlot. Though she didn’t have much time to admire it, flying over to the local comic book store to find out what her roommate had been up to for the last three weeks. Upon entree, she was met with the sights of numerous comics, action figures, and posters. Throughout the store there were ponies reading comics, playing tabletop games, and some ponies just hanging casually chatting. If she were more interested in comics she’d have considered visiting in the future.

She began she started looking around the store, noting it might be a place where Rize would like to hang out in the future. Eventually, her eyes landed on the horror section and she made her way over to see if she could find any of the comics like what Bright had. As Stella picked up a comic a voice called out to her.

“Hey there! So, you like horror stories?”

Stella turned around to see a mint green Unicorn stallion, with a short messy mane, smiling casually at her.

Stella laughed and shook her head. “Not really, I’m just not a huge fan of scary stories, sorry. It’s just that my roommate started reading them a little while ago and she’s been scaring herself pretty badly,” replied Stella. “By the way, my name’s Stella, Stella Eventide. Nice to meet you.”

“I’m Dawn Trotter, and it’s nice to meet you as well. By chance are you talking about an Earth Pony named Brighteyes?” The Unicorn replied back.

“As a matter of fact yes, I’m her roommate. I take it you showed her these comics?” She asked in a stoic tone, Dawn’s heart had practically stopped in place for a moment before he composed himself.

“Well, yes  I did. Sorry about that, but she’d been so focused on her school books I figured she could use a little escapism. Didn’t mean to scare her.”

A quick look in his eyes and his tone told Stella all she needed. “I understand, sorry if I was coming across a little harshly, I’m just worried about her is all.”

Dawn nodded, his posture relaxing once it was clear he wasn’t provoking any ire from Stella. “Well, I’m actually meeting Brighteyes in a little bit. Don’t know if she mentioned it but we have a date planned. I can talk to her if you want, see what I can do to help?”

“I’d really appreciate that, thanks.”

“Happy to help.” Dawn’s eyes drifted to a nearby clock, widening at the sight of the position of the hands. “Sorry, but I’m gonna need to cut this short. I’ve gotta get some studying in before I see Brighteyes. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to talk to her.” In flash, he was out the door.

Stella waved goodbye as he left, she decided to walk around the store looking at some Power Pony comics. However, she found herself drawn to some X-pony comics, in particular, one called 'X-24.' Once she had a copy in hand she promptly planted herself on a nearby couch to read it and quickly found herself completely immersed in the story.

To her surprise, unlike the horror comics she’d seen earlier, this story felt far more fleshed out and well written. She especially enjoyed how the main character Silver Wind, or her code name of X-24, was written. However, before she could get really into the tale, she noticed the time and quickly opted to buy the comic for later. c. After Stella put her new comic in her saddlebag,  she left to go hang out with Ruby.

After a short stint of walking from the Comic Shop, Stella met up with Ruby at the Canterlot Day Spa, finding her friend waiting outside the doors. Ruby was quick to run up to Stella when she saw her, hugging her once she got close, which Stella reciprocated. As the two headed inside, Stella felt a slight sense of discomfort, generally have no interest in going to a spa. However, it was Ruby’s birthday, so she was going to give it a try for her friend’s shake that. This thought helped carry her through the doors and towards the front desk the Spa.

“So, Stella, I must say, it took me a while to figure out that you were in your Pegasus form,” Ruby admitted rubbing the back of her head. Stella smiled to herself, realizing that her friend knows her as a Bat Pony and not a Pegasus.

"Yea, I will go back to my Noc-pony form once we are done with our massages, I didn't want deal with the sun," said Stella giving her wing a good stretch. "So what are we getting?"


“Well, first we’ll be getting some massages, then some time in the bathhouse, and finally some hoofacures. I know you don’t like doing this kind of thing, but I think after some time you’ll actually find it to be pretty fun,” said Ruby as she waited to talk to the pony at the front desk.

--00-00-00--

Still, in the house, Brighteyes awoke with a start, quickly rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she grabbed the nearby glass of water and quickly downed her medicine. A single glance at her clock let her know Dawn Trotter would be over soon. With a quick hop off the couch, she walked to the bathroom to wash up, the warm water helping to melt away her remaining exhaustion. As she was in the process of exiting the shower,  she could hear knocking at the front door.

“Be right there, Dawn!” Brighteyes called out. As she went to the door to let him in, she quickly realized that her roommate was nowhere to be found. Panic started to grow in her chest as she ran to the door to let her friend in.

“Hey there! How goes it?” asked Dawn Trotter, though was quick to notice sweat was starting to form on her brow and her breathing at a higher rate. “Uh, you doing okay?”

“Oh me, I’m just fine. It’s just my roommate is gone, before I could wake up before her and she strangely didn’t drink my blood this morning. Honestly, I’m mostly surprised I’m still alive,” she replied with a squeak as her friend tried to process what he’d just heard.

“Oh, you mean Stella. Funny thing, I just saw her at the comic book store. Not sure about the blood-sucking since she didn’t look like a Vam-pony. Honestly, she seemed pretty nice to me.” Dawn said with a grin.

“Really? Well, she is pretty…during the day at least. Hey, you shouldn't be looking at other mares!"

“Brighteyes, joking aside she’s worried about you. I know you two don’t get along very well, but you ever consider just asking her if she is a vam-pony? Pretty sure she’d tell you if you just ask.” Dawn Trotter said to his worried friend. “Now let’s go eat some breakfast, a little time out should do you some good.” Brighteyes gave him a hug and the two of them walked off to go eat while enjoying the warmth of the sun.

The two of them found a breakfast place that specialized in pancakes. They walked, being almost overtaken by the smell of waffles, pancakes, and fruit as they sat down at a nearby table.

“Say, Dawn, even though you scared me out of my wits, thanks for showing me those comic books. They’ve been a nice change of pace,” Brighteyes said moving closer to him.

Dawn Trotter just smiled at her. “Well, you are very welcome, though you might wanna mention that to Stella, she kind of scared me a little about introducing them to you. Might wanna mention you enjoy them.”

“Noted.”

“On the subject of interests, do you enjoy dubstep by any chance?” asked Dawn.

“Sorry but no, I’m more into classical music. Why?” asked Brighteyes wanting to know where this could end up. “This have anything to do with why you’re taking two kinds of music theory classes?”

“Kind of, I have a hard time picking just one music genre. I play classical because it’s very beautiful to listen to, and I create dubstep because I can remix it to create how I feel at that moment in time. They both have something to offer and so I want to explore them both.” he explained. “So, why do you dislike Dubstep?”

“Honestly, I guess it just sounds like loud noise to me,” Brighteyes spoke truthfully as she put her menu down. “I know you told me that you sometimes mix the two and that sounds cool, maybe it’ll even change my mind. Though at the moment, I just don’t find it to be that good.” A waiter walked over to take their orders, with Dawn ordering some blueberry pancakes, while Brighteyes got herself red velvet ones. The waiter left, and the two of them continued to talk about music, comic heroes, as well as the psychology of others.

--00-00-00-

Stella and Ruby walked back to Stella’s apartment, planning to hang out a little bit more, though made sure to go into Stella's room so Brighteyes wouldn’t freak out. If she was being honest, Ruby was a bit excited at the prospect as she’d never been in Stella’s room before, so she was having fun putting her nose into whatever Stella would let her.

“You know, for a maid, your room is kind of messy,” Ruby laughed at the sight of clothes, bits of trash, and even food crumbs scattered all over the floor. Stella rolled her eyes.

“You’re one to talk, your room looks like the aftermath from one of Rainbow Dash’s Sonic Rainbooms,” Stella laughed back.

“So, when are you telling your roommate the truth?” asked Ruby, looking at a picture of Stella’s family. Stella pawed at the floor for a little while before answering the question.

“Today, when she comes back home. I know you talked to her last time you were over, so I want to make sure she doesn’t run away this time.  Do you mind staying till then?”

“No problem. I know Brighteyes is a little weird and you two don’t get along very well, so I’m glad you are trying to make things a bit easier for you both.”

The sound of two ponies could be heard at the door as it quickly opened. Brighteyes and Dawn Trotter walked in, talking about how Stella was worried about her. Ruby quickly went out to meet with the two of them while Stella put on a hoodie. When Ruby called out to Stella she came out in her Noc-pony form, taking the hood off when she was ready. Brighteyes saw Stella and was a little scared until it was explained why she looked like a Bat-pony.

“This is just who I am, and I hope you can live with a Noc-pony,” Stella said to her roommate, who looked confused for a moment.

“So you don't drink blood?” She asked looking nervous.

“Nope, just all that fruit juice you can find in the fridge,” Stella replied with a friendly smile.

“So you're a bat-pony?”

“Well, she's a Noc-pony. Other ponies would call her a bat-pony, but she is just the night version of a Pegasus,” explained Ruby.

“So Noc-pony stands for Nocturnal pony?” Asked Dawn Trotter. Ruby nodded her head.

“Well, I’m glad you told me. To be honest, I’m glad the world is how I remember it, vam-pony free. If it wasn’t for my special somepony telling me how you cared for me, I may not have trusted you enough to give you a chance to explain things to me,” Brighteyes replied with a smile.

The four of them talked a little bit before Stella left to take a nap before her astronomy class that night. Ruby left shortly after that, and Dawn Trotter and Brighteyes went into her room to hang out.
> Chapter 4: Sweet and Sour
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stella was not used to being at work while Luna was lowering the moon, and now was an especially inconvenient time. Between the hours alone and having two tests yesterday, she was in the mood for some sleep.

Thankfully, she had just finished her last chore for the night and was making her way back to the maids’ dressing room. As she drew closer, her eyes caught sight of one of her drinking buddies coming her way. Ordinarily, she’d be happy to see him, but right now she just wanted to find a bed and sleep. Still, it’d become a routine for them to go out drinking after work and he was simply coming to confirm this. Best to just nip the issue in the flank right here.

“Hey, how are you doing this morning Gloomwing?” asked Stella with a yawn.

“I’m doing okay I suppose, though clearly better than you Stella. You look about ready fall asleep on the floor,” He said, noting the bags under her eyes and the obvious yawn. “I don’t suppose you’re up to going drinking tonight, are you?”.

Stella had to fight back another yawn as she tried to answer him. “Honestly, I don’t think so, I’ve had a long week and really just want to sleep for a bit if that’s okay.”

“No, I get it. Busy week and all that, it happens.” Stella practically let out a sigh of relief at his response, eager more than ever to get some shut-eye. Sadly the conversation wasn’t over.

“Say, um, before you go. Do you think maybe Ruby would be interested in going out for drinks later? ” He asked, his tone making it fairly clear this was the main point of the conversation.

Stella had to fight back a scream as it felt like she was being tortured with how long this conversation was going on. However, she managed to bite back her anger as she contemplated her response.

“ I think I can get Ruby to come with us, I’d have to ask first, but I don’t see why she wouldn’t be interested. But, for now, I really want some sleep,” replied Stella with a yawn.

Gloomwing smiled, satisfied with the answer and went off to guard something, Stella didn’t really care, though noticed a slight spring in his step. Stella took a few steps down the hall when she heard a voice call out her name. Stella was in no mood to talk to anypony, so she turned, all but hissing at whoever was talking to her, even baring her fangs as well, only for her mouth to drop at the sight of Princess Celestia. Any sound Stella had been making effectively died in her throat as she suddenly forgot how to breathe. Celestia looked at the small batpony, with slight alarm and then slight amusement.

“Princess Celestia. I’m terribly sorry, I didn’t see you. How can I help you out?” asked Stella once she could breathe again and properly form sentences.

However, as Stella spoke, she again barely held a yawn in, which was not lost on the Princess, as she could tell at a glance the pony before her was exhausted and practically asleep on her hooves. Under any other circumstances she would have simply put business aside and had the young pony go straight to bed, but she regrettably needed immediate help.

“You don’t have to apologize for anything. Honestly, I should be apologizing for what I’m about to ask of you, but my sister has told me a lot about you, young one.” Stella froze, not sure if she should be happy or worried. “Regrettably, my hoof-maid is sick and I need somepony to take over for her, just for today. Could you please aid me, just for two hours, if possible?” Celestia asked in a sweet tone. In her mind, Stella wanted to say no, however her soul said otherwise.

“Just the two hours, right?” asked Stella with a yawn to confirm what she just heard. The white Alicorn smiled, nodding in the affirmative, “I know it’s a bit last minute, but I would really appreciate the help.”

Seeing little point in arguing, especially with the Princess of all ponies, Stella merely nodded and followed the Princess to her chambers, though Stella had to all but drag her hooves every step of the way.

Celestia’s room was a stark contrast to Luna’s, lacking much of the artwork and drawings Stella had become accustomed to seeing. Put another way, Celestia’s room was more what you expected from a ruler, very regal but simplistic. If Stella wasn’t so tired she would be impressed by what she could see, but at the moment all she could think about was a pillow and a bed

“Alright Stella, I’m going to take my bath, so I want you to do what cleaning you can, and make sure you get my schedule for the day,” said Celestia grabbing her bath towel.

“You can trust me,” Stella yawned. “I’ll get the job done.” Celestia smiled and walked off towards the bathroom. Seeing little point in standing around, Stella decided to start reshelving books and made sure the Princess had a properly made bed. A knock came at the door and a blue Unicorn walked in, holding some paper. She trotted over to Stella and giving the batpony a raised eyebrow.

“So what are those papers you got there?” asked Stella, grabbing the papers from their magical grip.

“They are Celestia’s To-Do list and court papers, as well as what we have planned for the Gala this year,” replied the Unicorn. “Make sure she gets them.” Stella nodded and set them down on Celestia’s desk.

Once the Unicorn was out the door, Stella did a quick scan of the room for something else to occupy her time with. “She certainly keeps her chambers clean, though I suppose I shouldn’t expect anything less from the Princess. Almost makes my job a little pointless.”.

Feeling her drowsiness quickly start to set in again, her eyes zeroed in on the nearby bed, which much like the rest of the room was exceptionally large, beautiful and clean. In short, very inviting and the Batpony couldn’t help but feel drawn to it.

“I shouldn’t, but it’ll only be for a couple of minutes. A quick nap wouldn’t hurt, right?

Too tired to argue with herself, she barely laid down on the mattress before her mind shut down and sleep consumed her.

-Sometime Later-

Stella’s eyes slowly opened, letting out a yawn as she sat up to collect herself, only to now find herself back in her own bed, Ruby sitting in front of her bed reading a book.

“Oh, glad to see you’re finally awake.”

Stella wanted to scream at her friend for being in her room, but she took a deep breath and let her curiosity lead her words.

“What happened to me?” asked Stella, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

“Well I went to pick you up from work and when I got there I found out that you were sleeping in Celestia room.” Ruby looked at the floor, before speaking again. “I had to cancel my plans today, needed to make sure you were okay.”

“Sorry about that, didn’t mean to worry you or anything. Guess I underestimated how tired I was.” Stella offered what little of an apology she could to her friend, a little ashamed she’d let such a thing happen. “By the way, don’t suppose you could tell me what time it is, could you?”.

“It’s 3 p.m., you’ve been asleep for about six hours since I brought you back,” replied Ruby looking over at the clock. Stella just gave out another yawn, as she moved to get out of bed. “Well, guess I’ve slept enough for now. Might as well get up.”.

Stella walked out of her room and sat down at the table in the living room with Ruby, who had poured herself a glass of grape juice, Stella catching sight of Brighteyes studying on the couch.

That was one less concern for Stella, though it also served to remind her of another thing she’d almost let slip her mind.

“Say, Ruby, do want to come drinking with Gloom and I in a few hours?” asked Stella with a smile, showing her fangs.

“Stella, I had to miss my train to Ponyville because I had to carry you back here and now you want me to go drinking with you?” replied Ruby with a stern face. “You expect me to go drinking with you after what happened today.” Stella was a little taken aback. ”

“Besides you need to study for your psychology test, which is on Monday,” Brighteyes chimed in.

Stella however, rolled her eyes at the comment, even if there was validity to it. Yes, she should study, but between all the hours she’d already clocked in the last two days, a little break was all she wanted.

Though a quick look at Ruby, whose eyes were practically burning holes into her skull, she was almost tempted to just crack open a book right then and there. The tension was almost becoming suffocating, though mercifully, Ruby quietly got up and made her way to the door, leaving without another word, almost slamming it as she did.

Stella practically felt her whole body flinch at the obvious anger that had been radiating off of Ruby. Now she was just left in the apartment with Brighteyes, the only sound being the nearby clock, and that wasn’t helping ease her mind. Without another word, she made her way out the door, Brighteyes only sighing slightly at what had transpired before returning to her book.

Stella walked down the streets of Canterlot, mulling over what had just transpired, tuning out the sounds of every pony that passed by her, as if the entire bustling city, was completely silent.

“Guess I might as well see what Gloomwing is up to. Hopefully, I don’t see Ruby until she’s had some time to cool off.” She quietly groaned as she made her way to her friend’s apartment.

Despite never having visited it before, she was able to find them, thanks in part to directions Gloomwing had given her earlier. They lead her to some, rather unkempt looking complexes, that were a far cry from inviting. The only problem now was finding out which building was the right one, which provided to be more difficult than Stella would have liked.

“Where in Luna’s name is that apartment?” shouted Stella, losing her nerve after looking for ten minutes.

“Hey, I’m trying to sleep! What do you want?” asked a very upset Batpony mare screamed from an open window.

“Oh, sorry. I’m just looking for my friend, Gloomwing. Do you know where he lives?” asked Stella with a hopeful smile.

“Yeah, he’s my little brother. I’ll unlock the door, and you can come in. Just keep quiet,” she said before closing her window.

“Well, thanks, mind telling me where the front door is too.” Stella uttered sarcastically. She quietly entered the complex as instructed, and thankfully found the correct door, after a few more minutes of searching. Upon being let in, she found Gloomwing reading on the couch, while his sister, still crabby mood, walked over to the fridge, allowing Stella to get a better look around.

Most eye-catching, we were two mannequins wearing sets of dark purple amour, obviously belonging to the siblings, with a Princess Luna flag hanging proudly on the wall behind the armor, a Night Guard recruitment poster directly below it. There were similar ornaments and decorations throughout the apartment, which coupled with the dim lighting allowed the room to give off a strong sense of pride for the siblings' profession.

Gloomwing was quick to take note of Stella’s presence and offered her a wave. “Oh, hey Stella. I thought you said you wouldn’t be able to come drinking we me today.”

“I did, but right now I just wanna take my mind off of some things and drinking seems like the best option.”

Gloomwing only nodded, not wanting to pry. “Hey, Hazeveil, since you’re up, do you want to come drinking with us?” asked Gloomwing with a bright smile. Hazeveil just shot him a look that could kill and took her drink to her room, slamming the door. Stella’s ears dropped a little bit, fearing she’d likely contributed to the ponies bad mood.

“So…what’s up with your sister?” asked Stella, looking over at Hazeveil’s door.

“Hazeveil is super critical of ponies. She loves to find the weaknesses in others and tear them apart. In other words, she is ruthless. Believe it or not, though, she does care about others. It’s like a tough love…very tough. She actually happens to be one of Luna’s Honor Guard.”

“Wow, guess she must be a real piece of work,” replied Stella looking away from the bedroom door.

Gloomwing nodded and chuckled, “Well, that’s one way of putting it.” He quickly grabbed his saddle bag.

“Shall we go get Ruby?” asked Gloomwing, pulling Stella off the couch.

“No, Ruby doesn’t want to come drinking tonight…she’s kind of mad at me,” Stella said quietly, holding back a tear. Gloomwing wanted to find out why, but first, he walked over to the kitchen and grabbed some hard cider.

“Say, Gloom, can you tell me what life in the colony was like?” asked Stella, wanting to get off the topic of Ruby. Gloom gave her a glass of cider and sat down next to her.

“Where to start…” Gloomwing began. “First, family history was a huge topic for the colony, so we don’t inter-breed with each other. Second, living in a cold, damp cave was really depressing, but we had faith that Luna would return someday,” Gloomwing said, taking a gulp from his drink. “We were told, ‘the stars would aid in her escape, return where the battle raged, and the elements would wash away the darkness and the pain.’ This had brought us hope that our Princess would return,” Gloomwing finished. Stella was surprised that her friend believed that her Princess would return, in spite of her having been banished long before either of them were even born.

“Wow, I can’t even begin to imagine what that’s like. Guess we all have hard times in life,” She said being reminded of her own past.

“At least you didn’t have to deal with dust in the cave,” replied Stella rubbing her friend’s shoulder.

Gloomwing just laughed a little bit.

“Yeah, dust really sucks….”

“Would the two of you just leave already so I can go to sleep?” Haze yelled from her room, causing the pair to jolt up in fright before the door opened wide. Haze came out, wearing one of her spare bladed hoof guards, looking at the pair with an unsettling air that made the pair quickly flee out the door, taking flight at high speed the second they got out of the building.


The two friends eventually landed in a nearby park to catch their breath, Stella actually laughing at the fact that she was still alive, while Gloomwing fell over into the grass, still recovering from the sudden exertion.

“You have one scary sister,” laughed Stella, as she laid down three feet from her friend.

“Haze is a complicated one I can say that much., though you wouldn’t know it from that little encounter.” Gloomwing laughed back.

“What’s so complicated about her?” Asked Stella wanting to know.

“The best way to put it, normally she keeps her emotions pretty locked up. Most of the time it’s impossible to get a lock on what she’s feeling and when you can, it’s usually just anger. Honestly wish she’d open up a little more once and a while,” replied Gloomwing.

Stella nodded but didn’t say anything, the pair just laying in the grass for a short amount of time, before the sounds of hoof steps approaching them could be heard.

“Well, look what we have here, two succubuses lying in the grass like a pair of snakes,” a mare’s voice spoke out.

“Indeed, shouldn’t the two of you be on your side of town?” asked another mare. Stella stood up and showed off her fangs, causing the two Unicorn mares to take a few steps back. Gloomwing stood up, prompting the pair to take a step back, only to then flee the instant the two Batponies advanced a step towards them.

“What was that about? They shouldn’t be treating other ponies like that?” asked Stella.

Gloomwing lowered his head in shame.

“The colony did what it needed to do to live, even if we had seduced other ponies to open up the gene pool,” replied Gloomwing with his head down. She looked over at him and put a hoof around him, trying to offer some form of support. The two quietly walked through the park, coming upon a rather calm pond in the center, meriting a smile from Stella.

“You know, when I first became a Batpony, I always wanted to visit the colony,” said Stella with a smile.

“You’re in luck because Luna is going to go visit the colony in a few weeks. You should ask her to see if you could join her,” Gloomwing told her with a smile. The sun was getting ready to set and the clouds were a nice orange and pink. Canterlot was slowing down, and everypony was going home to have dinner with their families.

“I have to say; this is a really fun day for me. I wonder if Rize is doing anything?” asked Stella out loud to herself.

“Am I just that boring that you want to go find your coltfriend?” asked Gloomwing with a laugh. Stella smiled and shook her head.

“Do you have a marefriend?” She asked.

“Nope, no mares and not for lack of trying. I think I need to try some new pick-up lines.” Stella laughed harder than she had all day at that.

“You’re silly Gloomwing,” replied Stella as she took to the air. “Come on, let’s go find Rize.”

----------------------

A few days passed since Stella and Ruby had their fight. Brighteyes was reading a comic book when a loud knock came at the door. Brighteyes walked to open the door hoping it was Ruby wanting to talk to Stella. Sadly, what she got instead was a Pegasus stallion standing on their welcome mat.

“Can I help you?” asked Brighteyes with a smile.

The stallion returned the smile and pawed at the welcome mat.

“Does Stella Eventide live here?” he asked with a hopeful look. Brighteyes looked surprised, mainly at the seemingly ever-increasing number of stallion friends Stella seemed to have.

“She’s still in bed,” she replied. “Sorry, can I get your name so I can tell her you came by.”

“Still asleep at eleven a.m., Well, I don’t know if Stella has even talked about it with me before, but I’m her brother, Daystar,” the stallion said, raising his head. Brighteyes was quick to allow the pony in, allowing him to scan the apartment, zeroing in on Brighteye’s comic.

“You a fan of comics?” asked Brigheyes as Daystar picking up one of the comics.

“Yes, while I’m preferable to X-ponies, I’m also a fan of Power Ponies and Mega Mare.”

“I thought Mega Mare was an arcade game?” asked Brighteyes tapping her chin with her hoof.

“It is, the game came out first before the creators released the comic to dive deeper into the lore of the series,” he replied, scanning over Brighteyes X-ponies comic. Brighteyes would have continued to talk to him, but noting the clock she remembered she was meeting Dawn Trotter for lunch.

“Sorry, but I’ve gotta leave. Just wait here until Stella wakes up, make yourself at home.” She quickly ran out the door, leaving Daystar by himself.

Finding himself alone, he quietly sat on the couch and continued to read the comic, contemplating taking something from the fridge, but opted against it so as not to impose on his sister. Though after ten minutes without any response, he was tempted to grab something just to curb his boredom.

Stella did eventually wake up...forty-five minutes later, and made her way to the kitchen, completely oblivious to her brother’s presence. As she was grabbing some blackberries, however, she finally noticed him as he offered her a wave.  The sight of him quickly burned away any remaining fatigue as she practically tackled him, beaming with joy at his presence.

“What the hay are you doing here, brother?” Stella said, smiling as wide as a mile. Daystar could not help but smile in return, noting how cute his sister’s fangs were.

“Well, I’m here to meet with the city’s weather managers for a conference, so I thought I’d pay you a visit and see how you’re doing,” Daystar replied hugging his sister.

“I have to say, this week has been busy, sad, and now super happy.” Stella was beaming with energy for a pony that just got up. In fact, she could no longer stay still, so she started flying around the apartment. Daystar laughed to himself and just watched his sister make a fool of herself.

“Well, I’m glad I could make your week. I kind of wanted to meet your special somepony, Rize, as well as take you out to lunch.” Daystar said flying up to his sister, in order to get her to stop flying around the room. While still full of energy, Stella played with her brother’s mane with her hoof.

Stella and Daystar want to pick up Rize, so he could join them to go eat lunch, but when Stella went to talk to Daystar and she saw he was no longer there. They saw him looking at an arcade, and so Stella knew they were going to be here all day.

“Bro, I thought you wanted to go eat?” asked Stella, trying to pull her brother away.

“We are in luck, it looks like they sell food in there,” replied Daystar flapping his wings with joy. They walked into the arcade and were met with the sound of games, laughs, and children. Colts and fillies playing was a sight to behold, due to the fact some shared the games, some fought over them. Stella and Rize went to grab food while Daystar had his fix playing games.

Stella and Rize found a booth and sat on one side of it. Stella playfully bit Rize’s ear before kissing him. Rize returned the favor by booping her nose. They laughed to themselves while trying to keep things PG, so they wouldn’t get kicked out.

“Your brother seems very nice, Stella,” said Rize, kissing his special somepony, only for Stella to push him away.

“We need to keep things PG, Rize,” Stella giggled. “Daystar is a very silly pony at times, and I love him for it, but he can also be a bit overprotective, so let’s have a little restraint okay?” With a nod from Rize, Stella decided to go check on their food, leaving Rize to practice his drawing. Daystar came over to the table with a sad look on his face.

“Why so down?” asked Rize, starting to draw.

“I’m out of bits. I wanted to beat one of the bosses in Mega Mare, but I ran out,” said Daystar, with his head on the table. Stella came back with their fruit salad and Hay burgers. Stella smiled at her brother before bopping him on the nose playfully.

“It’s just a game, bro. It will still be here tomorrow and the next day,” smiled Stella. Daystar just looked at her with his best puppy dog face. Stella reached into her saddlebag and pulled out six bits and gave them to her pouting big brother. With gratitude, he smiled as he flew off to go play more games.

“So, how old is your brother?” asked Rize, adding some shading to his drawing.

“He’s twenty-four, just two years older than I am.”

“Wow, and still acting like a colt.”

“You’re one to talk, mister ‘I want to play tabletop games, and read comic books’,” Stella grinned before she kissed Rize’s cheek. “You are getting a lot better at drawing, I just wish I could say the same thing about my painting.”

“Oh yeah, totally random but, is your brother the only family member that knows you’re a batpony?”

“Sadly, yes. I just don’t know when to tell them. Princess Luna told me I have to tell them before Hearth’s Warming,” said Stella, drawing circles on the table.

“Why before Hearth’s Warming? “Asked Rize with curiosity.

“Well, Luna promised she would help me change if I told my family about it. To be honest, she gave me a due date to tell them. It could be any day of the year. Luna also told me, if I didn’t tell them that, it would be hurting my family if they never saw me again.”

Daystar trotted over with a huge smile that Stella understood to mean that he had defeated his foe.

“Oh yeah, Stella. Mom wants to take you some time to do ‘ladylike things’,” Daystar said his smile going away.

“Do I have to?” asked Stella lowering her head.
> Chapter 5: Family dealings
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stella sighed quietly to herself, currently sitting in the middle of her astronomy class, the room filled with ponies reading books on the Twelve Zodiac signs and why ponies had created the constellations. However, while they were taking notes Stella was in the midst of doing a little doodling in her notebook. Though this was more of distraction to cover up the concern she had at spending tomorrow afternoon with her mother.

Her mind was so distracted she barely heard a word from the teacher, currently in the middle of giving a lecture while using star charts as a visual aide. Whatever the purpose was, Stella couldn’t be bothered to care, her eyes instead focused on the clock, counting down every second to the point of insanity, waiting for the class to end.

“Come on, would you please end class already,” Stella grumbled into her book. Mercifully, the old Unicorn’s lecture gradually drew to a close, as the last five minutes of class winded down. The instant he said the class was done, Stella quickly shoved her book into her saddlebag and left the classroom. Or, rather, she tried too.

Unfortunately, two of her classmates approached her and it was obvious she wasn’t leaving until she had some kind of communication with them.

“Hey Stella, you interested in joining our study group?” asked a unicorn mare about her same age.

“We could use a smart pony like you, certainly making learning these assignments a little easier.,” The other pony, a male Earth pony, added in.  Stella quickly took a few steps backward.

“I would love to, but I’ve got plans right now” she informed the two ponies in front of her, trying to sound as sincere as she could. “Sorry, but I’m in a hurry, maybe some other time.” She quickly made her way past the two and out the door, eager to escape the confines of the school.

As Stella trotted outside, she was met with a light breeze of cool air, while taking in the now visible night sky, having not realized how late it was. Another glance allowed her to spot the leaves on the campus’ trees, now in the process of changing colors, which brought a nostalgic smile to Stella’s face.

Stella never quite understood why she liked Autumn, yet whenever she saw the leaves colors shift, it always brought a smile to her face. Maybe it was the fact the weather was much more pleasant compared to summer or maybe that the trees looked now like a painter was having fun with various warm colors. Either way, she didn’t mind.

“Hey, Stella!” a pony called out, ripping her from her moment of silent admiration. Stella took a deep breath to try and relax, wanting nothing more than to simply head home.

“Look, whoever you are, I just wanna go home so I don’t have much time to talk” whispered Stella. However, her emotions shifted when she saw it was Ruby approaching her,  now in her Nightwalker form. “Ruby, what are you doing here?” Stella asked in confusion.

“Well, I swung by your apartment, but no pony was home, so I came here. Though I had another reason.”

Ruby’s expression and tone turned slightly somber and ashamed as she looked at the ground, “I wanted to apologize for blowing up in your face the other day. I was angry about missing my train, but I know you weren’t trying to hurt me, you just got overworked is all and I know it wasn’t all your fault. Though more important;y, I just don’t wanna stay angry at you.”

Stella’s shock slowly shifted to understanding and hidden joy, while Ruby just gave her an apologetic smile. “I’m hoping this won’t ruin things between us and if you’d be interested, I’d like to hang out tonight.”,

Stella was more than eager to nod in acceptance at the request, though her excitement shifted as she was reminded of something.

“Not to change topics, but why are you in your Nightwalker form?” Stella asked, genuinely curious.

“I just got off work, and I didn’t want to put off apologizing to you”

“Well, I’m just glad you’re not mad at me anymore.e Also, If you want to do something we can go dress shopping tomorrow,” replied Stella with a smile

Ruby laughed a little bit, “That sounds wonderful.”

Stella looked similarly excited, though Ruby caught a brief frown on her face before Stella spoke again. “In the meantime, I’m on my way to talk to Luna if you want to come,” said Stella.

“What was that frown I saw, and since when did you like shopping for dresses?” Ruby asked with a half-smile.

“Never, I hate dresses, but I’m hanging with my mom tomorrow night. I wanna make sure it goes off without any problems, so I was hoping you’d help me pick out a dress,” explained Stella, her dread the night to come etched all across her face.

“Wouldn't Brighteyes be a better option. I mean that seems like something she’d be into?”

“She has to study, but she was going to join me for a quick drink later.”

“Well, if you insist, I’d love to tortur….I mean help you find the perfect dress for your meeting with your mother.”

Stella could practically taste the amusement dripping from Ruby’s every word but shrugged it off as the pair continued on their way.

The pair’s search for Luna persisted for some time, they found two of Luna’s Honor Guard outside of the throne room. One was a Charcoal Nightwalker stallion with a long Orange and Black mane and tail. The other was also a Stallion, but he was a Batpony. His body was light gray with a really short silver and orange mane, with a tail to match. Stella all but immediately recognized the two, not by name though, but having been mentioned by Gloomwing, in that they were both his first cousins.

However, this knowledge didn’t do much as Stella trotted up to them, only to be met with a loud, “HALT!” The pair glaring at her with matching scowls.

Stella quickly took several steps back, Ruby following her, as the two guards kept their gaze locked on the pair Once the two maids backed off a little more,  the two guards started to relax. Stella was about to make a request from them until she heard a voice from behind.

“I’m going to need to ask you two to leave.” Stella knew that this voice belonged to Hazeveil. Stella turned to see she was correct, though she seemed much calmer than their last encounter. Ruby started to walk away, till Stella opened her mouth.

“I would like to see Princess Luna please,” asked Stella with the cutest face she could pull off.

“Stella, what are you doing?” Thought Ruby, biting her lip as Hazeveil looked at the two maids with an ice cold expression.

“You two need to leave, now! If you want to talk to Princess Luna, then wait by her chambers. She will be on her break in about an hour,” Hazeveil said with the calmest voice she could muster.

“Stella, you’re an idiot! She is letting us go, so don’t open your mouth again.” Ruby thought, now drawing blood from her lip.

“I need to see her before―” Stella was saying before Ruby put her hoof in Stella’s mouth, which she was more than a little annoyed/disgusted with. Hazeveil meanwhile, just looked at the two with confusion at the odd display.

With a quick nod of the head, Ruby dragged the struggling Stella back, “We understand completely and will do just that, thanks.” With another pull she dragged her friend down the corridor, though once she took her hoof from her friend’s mouth she started yelling the whole way back, making her friend regret her action.

“What was that all about Ruby?” snapped Stella. Ruby wanted to yell back, but acted against that impulse, not wanting to get into a shouting match with her friend. The two were just outside Luna’s chambers and got hushed four times for the ruckus that they made, or rather Stella made, by one of the guards.

“We can wait, Stella. Luna will be back sooner than you think, we just have to be patient,” Ruby whispered, hoping the low voice would calm Stella down.

“I still can’t believe you dragged me away,” Stella growled.

“Sorry, but I had to, anymore arguing and you were liable to get in a fight with that guardpony.” The thought of that actually made her chuckle slightly, finding the mental image just a little amusing.

Stella however, looked almost insulted by the comment and the smirk on her friend’s face. “And what’s with the smirk, do you find the idea of me getting beaten up amusing perhaps.”

“When you’re like this, maybe just a little.”

The two ponies looked at each other, almost looking like they were about to start a fight, only to begin laughing up a storm. Though they quickly silenced each other when the guard shushed them, leaving them chuckling lightly as the guard quietly rounded the corner.

The sight of two ponies chuckling to themselves was the sight Princess Luna found at her door and it left her naturally perplexed.

“What are you two laughing at?” asked Luna in her Royal Canterlot Voice.

In response, a guard ran around the corner. “Keep it down…Oh, Princess, I’m sorry,” the young Batpony managed to choke out, turning beet red. The two mares meanwhile, exploded into laughter, prompting the pony to quickly fly off. Luna meanwhile just shook her head.

“So, Stella, Hazeveil said you wished to speak with me. So, pray tell, what is on your mind, young one?” asked Luna with a comforting smile on her face. Stella took some time to breathe before talking to her Princess.

“You see…I’m meeting with my mom tomorrow and I was hoping you could cast an illusion spell on me,” requested Stella hopefully. Luna gave Stella’s request a lot of thought.

“Why do you want me to do that, Stella?” asked the Alicorn, standing before her. Stella and Ruby didn’t understand what Luna was asking. Stella just told Luna why. Luna could tell that the two of them were a little confused, due to the dumb looks she got.

“Stella…mmm…Stella, you remember that I gave you the ability to turn into a batpony to help you, on the condition you would tell your family why you decided to become a Batpony. I’m afraid I cannot help you in this matter and you must inform your family of the truth, before Hearth’s Warming Eve.

“Luna, why would you move it up? That’s not fair!”

“Stella, your family loves you. Luna is right to do this,” said Ruby putting a hoof around Stella. Luna smiled and cleared her throat.

“Very well Stella, if I fulfill your request then you must give up your weekend and work the next two nights. I believe that is a fair compromise for what you are asking, don’t you agree?” Luna asked with a smile, showing more than Luna was letting on.

Stella looked slightly apprehensive at the notion of working all weekend but was quick to shake off any apprehension and nodded. “I accept.”

Luna’s horn was then illuminated with a dark blue aura, before a beam of similar colored energy hit Stella, a cloud of smoke forming, before revealing Stella, now in her originally pegasus form.

“As requested, you will remain in this form for twenty-four hours, I recommend you make the most of them.”

With her request granted, Stella, as well as Ruby, thanked Princess Luna and made their way back home, as they had a long day ahead of them.

Having solved one problem, Ruby and Stella made their way around Canterlot in search of a clothing store. They were eventually able to find one, thanks predominantly to Princess Twilight modeling a dress from the store in question. Stella opted for this one as she knew her mother would approve of anything coming from this new store, the Canterlot Boutique. They quietly made their way inside, marveling at the stores glimmering interior, with dresses in every corner and on both floors of the building.

A white Unicorn with a purple mane walked up to Stella and Ruby. “Welcome to Canterlot Boutique. I’m Rarity, how may I help you today?” she asked with a friendly smile.

“Well, I’m having a special dinner tonight and wanted a dress for it,” replied Stella already looking at dresses.

“Ah, a special occasion. Not to worry, I guarantee you we have dresses for every possible occasion. I’m certain we can find something you’ll like.” Beckoning them to follow, she led them to one of several racks and thus began the process of looking through the many dresses.

Ruby, wishing to help, begin pulling out dresses for Stella to try, while Rarity looked over the racks with a critical eyes.

“By the way, Darling, do you have any particular style, color or preference in mind?”

It was here Stella was reminded of something she’d completely forgotten. She knew nothing about dresses and had next to no clue what she should wear. The realization almost caused her to start hyperventilating as her eyes quickly darted in every direction, looking at every dress, trying to find some clue or something that would give her an idea of what to pick.

However, a comforting hoof quickly halted her eyes rapid shifting as she noticed Rarity standing next to her. “I recognize that look, not quite sure what you want. No need to worry my dear, if you just leave it to me, I’ll find something you’ll both enjoy and look positively radiant in. You have my solemn promise on that.”

Stella could only offer a thankful nod, calmed in the fact she’d put this matter in the hooves of a professional. Of course this lead to her trying on many different dresses, more than a few she rejected outright for simply being “too girly” with Ruby chiming in to offer her own input.

By the time they’d managed to leave, it was already midday and Stella promptly head to the Canterlot Spa, still requiring some prep work done for her mother. Once all was said and done, she made her way to the restaurant, now clad in her new dark purple dress, complemented by a pair bright crystal shoes on her front hooves.

A quick scan of the entrance allowed her to spot her mother waiting for her. With the exception of a few wrinkles on her face, her mother, Aurourus Eventide, looked quite pristine for her age, her dark blue coat and silver mane making her quiet  eye-catching.

Said mare’s face quietly lite up at the sight of her daughter approaching, quickly embracing her in a hug.

“Stella, it’s so good to see you,” Aurorus said walking inside with Stella, who was working to make every step as precise as possible.Once they were, they were able to take a few quick glances at their menus before a fancily dressed Saberhorn waiter walked over to them, and Aurorus good mood died a little bit.

“What are we eating tonight?” the waiter asked in a friendly tone.

“I’ll have a daisy salad with a glass of green tea,” replied Aurorus with a calm but sharp voice.

“As for me I would love to have some fruit salad with a glass of appletini please,” Stella said with charm.

“Superb choices, I’ll be right back with your drinks.” Aurorous good mood didn’t return till the waiter was gone.

“You lost some charm Stella, did you just stop using it when you moved out,” asked Aurorus smiling.

“Wow, Mom, that’ very tactful of you. I could say the same way on how you acted around that pony.” “Well I didn’t need the charm for my classes and you are acting like I ordered a beer. I don’t drink beer.” Her mother took a breath of relief to know Stella didn’t lose all her charm. “By the way do you not like our waiter for some reason?” Stella asked.

“I just don’t like that Princess Celestia would let her so called ‘sister’ turn ponies into her very own drones. I guess I’m just not fond of the idea of Luna having her own subjects.” Aurorus shot out while staying calm the whole time. Stella couldn’t believe how her mother was acting. “Stella, on a side note, I do like your dress,” she finished.

“Thank you. I got it from the Canterlot Boutique. I believe it's owned by somepony named Rarity,” Stella replied with great pride in her clothes, for once. “However, you don’t seem to like Luna’s ponies. Have you ever met one?”

“No, I just know that the Canterlot elite doesn't like them either. They think Luna is going to try to overthrow the Princess again.”

“I have to say, I have two Nightwalkers in one of my classes, and they seem alright,” Stella said trying to defend her friends. However, that was the extent of any kind of verbal back and forth they would have. The night went by without incident, though the conversation had become slightly more awkward, at least for Stella.

Outside of a few casual bits of discussion, they went through their drinks and dinner without much communication. Eventually, once the check was paid, they exited with Stella giving her mother a hug and a ‘Goodnight’ before flying off into the night.
> Chapter 6: True friends
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stella sat down at the table in her apartment, studying rigorously for a test she had coming up. Next to her, was an empty bottle of cranberry juice, having been drank dry sometime prior.

This was what Brighteyes walked in on when she entered the room. She could tell that Stella had been crying, as well as drinking pretty hard, if the empty vodka, wine, and scotch bottles in the trash, along with the bloodshot eyes were any indication. Given the vomiting, she heard last night and Stella’s still intoxicated expression, confirmed she also wasn’t in the best of shape.

“Hey, Stella, what are you reading there?” Brighteyes asked, knowing she was studying. Stella however, only acknowledged the question by a quick glance out of the corner of her eye. Seeing she wasn’t getting anywhere by asking, Brighteyes instead opened the blinds. It had the desired effect, as Celestia’s light quickly assaulted Stella’s eyes, leading the pony to hiss angrily at Brighteyes.

“Stella are you alright?” asked Brighteyes. “You haven't been acting like yourself for two days now. This isn’t healthy behavior and whatever is bothering you, you can’t keep doing this.” Stella however, simply packed up her books and started to walk towards her nice, dark room. However, Brighteyes quickly blocked the hungover pony’s way. A low hiss escaped the batpony’s lips.

“Step aside Brighteyes,” Stella hissed. Brighteyes didn’t give an inch. “I know you’re not one who likes to fight, so move.”

“Stella wake up already, ever since you hung out with your mom you’ve been in a constantly bad mood. I know you've been crying at night and I’m sick of the bathroom smelling like alcohol and vomit. I just want to help you.” Brighteyes said these words in a way she knew her roommate would not mishear her.

Stella however, was not moved, wanting to simply smack the Earth Pony out of her way. However, she opted to simply fly away, only for Rize to appear in front of here. Stella stepped back, looking like she was ready to cry, her cold faced slowly melting away. Rize walked up to her and gave her a hug, telling her that he loved her. Stella broke down crying. Rize just held her close to him as she sobbed into his chest.

“What happened between you and your mom?” asked Rize lifting her head up.

“My mother is going to hate me,” sobbed Stella. Brighteyes was happy about Stella letting her feelings out. “At Dinner, she made it perfectly clear how she feels about Batponies and once she finds out I’m one, she’ll….” The now hysteric mare was all but choking on her words, struggling to get them out.”

Rize merely held her close as she cried. “Stella, you don’t know that for sure. And even if that does happen, you’ll still have me, I promise I won’t leave you.” Rize whispered in her ear as he gave her a loving hug. Stella cried harder into his chest. Brigheyes walked off, letting the pair have their moment. When Stella was done crying, she looked up into her coltfriend’s eyes. Rize smiled down at her, moving some of her mane out of her eyes; and kissed her forehead. They walked into her room, so they would not bother Brigheyes.

The two lied down on the bed, Stella grabbed her pillow and Rize just waited for Stella to talk.

“I just don’t know what I’ll do if my mother hates. I don’t want to lose my family.”Rize held her in a hug, Stella began to cry.

“You won’t lose it. Even if, Celestia forbid, that does happen my family will accept you.?” Stella looked up at Rize with hopeful eyes. “Did I mentioned that when they saw a picture of us together, they thought you were the cutest thing they ever saw.

“They did? Well, that’s nice of them. Still won’t stop my mom from hating me,” Stella whipping a tear off of her cheek.

“Stop that, I don’t want to hear any more of this negativity. You need to stop worrying about this and focus on the positives.”  Rize said lifting his marefriend’s head. Rize kissed her. “No matter, what path you choose, your friends and I will still care about you. I just want you to be you.” Stella smiled at her colt friend whipped away the last of her tears away as the pair simply embraced each other for the rest of the day.


Stella was in the library, getting ready for her business class, and it was really stressing her out. “Really wishing my brother lived here right now. He’d be able to help me with this dumb class.”

At least the library was quiet, that helped somewhat. However, two ponies were making a lot of noise, and Stella could other ponies shushing them. Stella could have sworn one was Princess Twilight, but she was too busy reading to care. Instead, Stella thought about going to Manehattan with Brighteyes and Rize, along with a trip to the Crystal Empire and the Noc-Pony colony with Princess Luna. The later especially intrigued her, if only to learn more about Noc-Pony culture. These thoughts, along with the stress of finals and her friends had managed to pull Stella out of her funk. Her anticipation of winter break had effectively taken central focus in her mind.

“Hey, Stella, I didn't know you knew where the library was,” laughed Brighteyes, sitting next to Stella.

“ We went to the library before the first day of school, hell, I showed you where it was,” Stella lightly snapped back. “So, unless you want to help me study, please leave.”

“AHHH!” came the voice of a mare, followed up by more shushing, meriting an angry growl from Stella.

Deciding to try and be helpful Brighteyes looked over at Stella’s books and homework. “The answer is B by the way, Stella. I understand why you choose D, but a clause is the end of a contract, like think about a cat's paws.

“Paws, really?”

“Yea, a cat’s paws comes before its claws, and a contract pause comes before a clause.”

Stella rolled her eyes at her friend.

The studying over the past few days proved most helpful as the morning of Stella’s first exam quickly arrived, with her and Brighteyes standing outside the exam building with several others students. The doors opened up and an older Earth Pony came out.

“All ponies taking the Psychology Final please come in and take your seats, no talking is permitted during the exam. Once the exam begins you will have 2 hours to complete it,” the mare calmly said with a smile. Stella sat down at a seat and started the test when the instructor gave the okay.

“I really should have studied a little bit more for this. I can’t even tell if my answers are right or not,” Stella thought to herself, trying not to panic. She looked to her right and left to see ponies getting ready to burst into tears. However, there were others blazing through it with ease. In particular, Brighteyes somehow managed to turn the exam in after only 45 minutes. Despite Stella’s apprehension, she quickly shook off any doubt and pushed forward, answering the questions as best she could.

“Here’s hoping I at least managed to pass this time.”

Sadly it wasn’t over for Stella, on top of her stupid Psychology Final, she had her Astronomy Final as well  She knew that is was going to be hard since she had to draw the constellations, talk about the zodiac, what it meant to be born under each sign, and the laws that the cosmos follows. Of those elements, it was the laws of the great cosmos she’d struggled with the most. For Stella, this was her hardest class, even with Luna’s help.

Stella walked with the herd of students into a darkened room, illuminated only by the glow from the dark star charts, before each student took their seats The exam itself was odd. The students were to use ink that would glow in the dark, and the questions were lit up with magic. As expected, the questions were extremely difficult, leaving Stella sweating bullets through many of the questions, though there were a few she could answer without thinking twice, mainly questions about her own zodiac sign, Pisces.

The following day was her Business Final and it was odd, even by Stella’s standards. Each classmate was given 150 bits, plus some kind of stones, about thirty of them. The idea was to sell or buy these stones and earn a minimum of over six-hundred bits as well as have no stones left in order to pass. Before the exam started they had a half-hour to socialize and plan.

When the exam started it was a madhouse, students buying, selling, and waiting for the right time to strike. Stella, along with three other ponies, managed to work together to pass the exam and managed to do so without much trouble, finally ending Stella’s testing days.  By the time it was all over, Stella’s mind needed a rest, and she planned to sleep the rest of the day away. Even more exciting was that for tomorrow, Luna, her guard, and a few maids are going to the Crystal Empire and the Noc Pony colony.

Stella and Brighteyes went out to the Canterlot market to grab some food to eat at home. The marketplace was full of vendors and all sorts of goods. Yet despite the occasional chaos of the location, Stella enjoyed the market, mostly because the high and mighty ponies would never step hoof in this part of town. Stella hated how other ponies would call her a Vampony or demon who wanted to steal foals from their families, and at least here that wasn’t a problem.

However, what Stella hated most of all was ponies who thought that Noc Ponies were some kind of invading army. Luna only had sixty Noc Ponies from the colony in Canterlot, and only twenty of them were in the guard. Stella remembered the Changeling attack on Canterlot during the wedding. While they tried to help as best they could, like the other guards they were overwhelmed by the sheer number of Changelings. That fact alone made the idea of the Noc Ponies as an invading army laughable at best.

The sound of Brighteyes talking to her snapped her back into the here and now.

“Stella that is a lot of fruit, even for you. Why are you buying so much?” asked Brighteyes, nudging her roommate. Stella took a few steps away from her friend.

“Rize is coming over tonight to hang out.” Stella grabbed some peaches and gave the salespony five bits. “We are planning on…well, I’m not sure yet to be honest.”

“You two always spend time in your room. Plus didn’t you say you were going to the Crystal Empire as well as the Batpony colony?”

“NocPony,” Stella cut Brighteyes off, assisting her due to the fact Stella was so adamant about referring to all three of Luna’s created races as Noc Ponies.

“I’m sure you two will just be making out or more,” Brighteyes smiled to herself with a small laugh, meriting a death glare from Stella.

“You really think Rize and I would lose control tonight. I may be playful and a social drinker…” The Earth Pony just rose up an eyebrow. “Okay, I’m a very social drinker. But, do you think that I have zero standards?” The Batpony snapped. However, despite the tone, the two ponies chuckled at each other, knowing the comment bore no ill will. It was bits like this, where the pair could casually disagree with each other and yet not be at each other's throats that reminded Stella why she enjoyed having a roommate.

While they walked home, Stella decided to think about the time she and her sister had similar disputes about treating their parent’s servants with respect, as well as the times they fought about clothes. Looking back at it, they were pretty foolish during those times. Stella smiled to herself and gave her friend a friendly smile, which the Earth Pony returned. The two of them laughed and opened the door to their apartment.

That night Rize came by to be with his marefriend. Stella and Rize hung out in her room, which was still kind of a mess, but cleaner then it had been in awhile. The two of them sat down on the bed. Stella finished the book she was reading, whileRize decided to draw some random doodles until Stella put her book down and bit his ear playfully. Rize just smiled as he tried to get his ear out of her mouth.

“Stella, what is it with you and the biting?” Rize laughed as he freed his ear. Stella licked her lips and kissed him.

“I’m just a playful little bat, and you don’t do anything to stop me, so I decided to bite your ear,” Stella laughed and looked at Rize’s doodles, which were random drawings of animals, ponies, and some random scribbles.

“So you're leaving tomorrow, right?” Rize asked putting his sketchbook away.

“Well don’t you just know how to kill the mood, Rize,” laughed Stella. “Yes, the train is leaving at Nine A.M. Of course, Luna is not too happy about the hour of it.”

“I don’t understand you ponies sleeping during the day,” Rize said pushing Stella on her back. He turned around to lie next to his cute Noc Pony marefriend.

“You know the sun is blinding to me right?” She kissed the Unicorn next to her. The two of them smiled. A knock came at Stella’s door, and Stella just rolled her eyes in annoyance.

“Stella, do you know if Rize is spending the night here?” asked Brighteyes, her voice muffled through the door. Stella just faced-hoofed and mumbled something to herself, mentioning something about Luna’s royal plot.

“Yes, and it will be on the couch. Thanks for killing the mood, Brighteyes,” Stella hissed as she opened the door.

Brighteyes walked over to her closet and pulled out a blanket and a pillow and placed them on the couch. She sighed and retreated back into her room, which was in one word a disaster. Her room was full of comics, tabletop character building guides, her college books, and some papers she wrote for class on her desk.

She looked down at her floor, picked up a book and sat down on her bed. The sound of Rize leaving Stella’s room was a tad loud, do to Stella’s laugher. Brighteyes smiled to herself and put the book down on her desk. She picked up a pill bottle, to take pills for her heart.
> Chapter 7: To the Empire
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stella and Rize walked towards the train station, intending to follow Princess Luna who was making her way towards the Crystal Empire. Upon arriving at the station, the couple caught sight of Ruby and Gloomwing waiting for them.

“Guess this is where we part for now huh?” Stella said, her previous excitement replaced with apprehension.

However, Rize offered her a comforting hoof. “Don’t sound so down about it. You’ve been looking forward to this for a while, so try to enjoy yourself. And I’ll make sure to write to you.” With a light nudge, he pushed her towards her two friends. “Now go have fun, okay?”

Stella offered a nod and a kiss on the cheek before walking towards Ruby and Gloomwing. As the group got to together, they started to board, though  Stella and Ruby along with a few other maid ponies worked to load  Luna's suitcases on the train. Meanwhile, Hazeveil, Mercury, and Venus stood at Luna's side,  smiling and greeting everypony that went to talk to her.

"So, anypony know how long we’re going to be gone for?" Asked Ruby as she threw the suitcase on the train.

"I think a better question would be, how many suitcases does one princess need?”

Stella laughed to herself. "I can’t really speak as far as the suitcases, but we’re gonna be gone for about two weeks. Guess Princess Luna just likes to be prepared,” said Stella.

The pleasant atmosphere halted when a gust of wind started up, promptly blowing some of the suitcases away from their location. Before Ruby could jump out of the way a dark purple aura stopped them in their place. Stella and Ruby looked over to see find the source of the magic to be a white unicorn they were unfamiliar with.

"Are you two alright?" the Unicron asked politely, earning the attention of Hazeveil.

"Not that we don’t appreciate the help, but I require that you identify yourself immediately?" Hazeveil growled with restrained hostility. However, Princess Luna quickly pulled Hazeveil back, offering the strange unicorn a bow.

"I do apologize for my guard’s rude behavior. Ever since the Changeling invasion, she’s become a bit overprotective," Luna chuckled.

“Oh, please think nothing of it, Princess. She’s just doing her job, if I were in her position I’d probably be the same way.” With a simple node, he made his way towards the train, while Luna had a brief discussion with Hazeveil regarding, proper etiquette.  This left Stella and Ruby to continue packing, while Luna, Mercury, and Venus made their way into the V.I.P car, with Hazeveil and Gloomwing patrolling the rest of the trains. Once Stella and Ruby and the other two maids had finished packing, they joined Princess Luna on the train.

Once all were on the train, the trip to the Crystal Empire started without much in the way of excitement. The most notable thing was, Hazeveil walking through each car, keeping both eyes open for any potential danger to the Princess. As there were some ponies just there to go on vacation, they were a little off put by Hazeveil, though thankfully due to her prior experience she was able to tell when somepony was a threat and when they weren’t, so there would be no incident. However, she eventually came across the unicorn from earlier and despite looking him over as thoroughly as she could, she couldn’t get any kind of read on him. That alone made her uneasy, forcing her to make a mental note to keep an eye on him.

In the meantime, Luna was talking with her four maids with regards to a plan she had. Unfortunately, she wasn’t the best speaker, making it rather difficult for Stella to stay awake. Thankfully, Ruby gave Stella a playful nudge her in her ribs, causing her to sit up straighter. Luna, who caught the exchange, gave out a small chuckle, Stella blushed.

"Now, we shall be staying in Princess Cadence's castle so I expect you to get along with the Crystal Ponies. In addition, I’ve been invited to attend the Opera, and I hope all of you will be in attendance as well," Luna asked, but all the maids knew she was telling them in the form of asking. Regardless, though neither Stella, Ruby or the other maids particularly minded.

As the trip wore on, Hazeveil and Gloomwing returned to Luna’s private car to switch places with their fellow guards. Hazeveil decided to simply sit on the train bench looking out at the countryside. As she did, Stella caught a glance at some scars on her back. While she figured it was a sensitive matter, she was tempted to inquire about them, only to be stopped by Luna.

"Maids, if you don’t mind I would like to have a few moments with my guards. Please go and enjoy yourselves," Luna sweet voice rang. While Stella thought about objecting, Ruby practically pulled her along towards the dining car.  Both ponies quickly took a seat at a nearby table, enjoying the sights and sounds, while also pulling some food along.

"Say, did you see the scars on Hazeveil's back?" asked Stella taking a bite of her ice cream sundae.

"Wait, what do you mean Stella?" asked Ruby. "She couldn't have any scars, she is too much...lack of better words, bad-ass," replied Ruby picturing the pony that could stare down a Hydra.

"I’m telling you, I saw like four scars on her back, and they looked pretty deep.” Stella only stopped to take another bite. "Maybe she had a fight with a dragon?" Ruby gave Stella's words some thought.

"If it ruffed her up like you say, it has to be like an Ursa Minor..."

"Hate to ruin your fantasy, but those scars are too small for either a dragon or an Ursa. Though I can promise you the story behind them is still pretty grand," came a voice from behind the two mares. The two maids whipped their heads around to see Venus.

"So you know what happened to your cousin?" asked Stella and Ruby.

"Indeed, I do. Actually, I was kinda there when it happened. Though I’m not gonna tell you, so don’t ask.” Both Stella and Ruby’s attempt to question was quickly shot down. “Sorry, but it’s not my story to tell if you’re that curious ask her yourself," Venus said continuing on his way to the passenger cars, leaving the pair to take a glance at Hazeveil and consider their options.

Meanwhile

"Hazeveil, are you certain the train is secure, there’s no danger correct?" Luna chuckled to herself. "While I appreciate your thoroughness I doubt any pony would want to cause me harm." Hazeveil rolled her eyes at her Princess.

"If I may say, are you not aware of some ponies plotting against you?" Hazeveil said stomping her hoof. Gloomwing prepared for the worse.

"You think me blind young one, I know about the revolts. Celestia is working on a way to calm it down peacefully. As for me, I'm making sure that you and my children are safe," Luna replied calmly. Gloomwing got ready for Hazeveil's outburst, but to his surprise, she only walked out of the room. Luna and Gloomwing looked at each other.

"Please forgive her your majesty," Gloomwing pleaded.

"There’s nothing to really forgive, after all, she’s simply doing her job. I wouldn’t have made her third in command if she wasn’t good at her job. Regardless of that,  did she find anything?" Luna asked looking towards the door.

"She found three ponies she doesn't trust, which from her could be something serious," Gloomwing said as he to looked towards the door. "In fact, she may be trying to find evidence to bring to you."

"Well, I know I have both Shining Armor and Captain Cyclone are looking into the case. Hopefully either they’ll find something or we will. Now, Gloomwing would please join me to go find your sister," Luna said. Gloomwing bowed his head, and they were on there way.

-00-00-00--

Meanwhile, Ruby and Stella were in the midst of dragging two of their co-workers in their gossiping.

"So what do you think Luna does when we're not around?” Asked a brown Nightwalker.

"I bet you she plays some kind of arcade game Dusty," replied Ruby.

“Don’t be silly, I heard she spends most of her time playing with a possum.”

"Say, have any of you noticed that Gloomwing, Venus, and the other Noc-Ponies don’t cutie marks?" an orange pony whose name Stella couldn’t remember. All four ponies look towards their flank to see if their cutie mark was still there. This turned out to be fruitless, Stella looked at the black cloud, that was in front of the moon, which had a star between it's to points.

"I wonder if it's because they are a different they don’t get cutie marks?" asked Stella.

"I doubt it, I mean Zebras are a different species and they get cutie marks. Though, what do you think Church Bell, I mean you brought it up," replied Ruby taking her eyes off of her cutie mark.

"You gals know that it's rude to gossip," came a voice which belonged to Hazeveil. "You're half right Stella, we are different from Sol-Ponies, however, we were cut from the same cloth.

The four maids just stared at the guard pony, before them. Hazeveil smirked and started to walk past them, till a voice stopped her.

"Do you care to explain?" Asked Stella with a hopeful smile. Hazeveil looked back at her.

"No, well not now at least. I need to find subspecies looking ponies," she replied. With that, she walked out of the dining car.

Luna and Gloomwing walked into the train car, the four maids stopped their gossiping and looked at their princess. Gloomwing flew off seeing the back of his sister's head. Luna pulled a chair towards her and joined Stella and the others.

"So, staying out of trouble I hope," Luna said with a smile, telling the four ponies at the table; she knew more than she let on. 

The four maids saw some movement in Luna's mane and a possum poke out of it. The possum rubbed its head against Luna's cheek.  The maids could only "awww" at the sight of their Princess and her pet being so cute. To their next sight of unbelief, Luna teleported a Joyboy before and fired up a game. The four maids simply just stared in bewilderment. 

Has Luna played her game her possum tried to reach for some of the Joyboy's buttons. Luna just tried to Nuzzle her friend's paw away. Stella couldn't help but laugh to herself. 

--00-0-00--
Hazeveil made her way to the second dining car, to grab a bite to eat, while her cousins patroled the rest of the train. Gloomwing was eating some ice-cream. There was an odd looking pegasus eating food, his only standout feature was the goggles resting on his forehead. Hazeveil decided to sit next to him, to interrogate him. 

"Do you mind if I take a seat?" Hazeveil asked with the most convincing smile she could wear. 

"Not at all," the blue stallion replied. 

"So you heading to the empire to?" Hazeveil asked in a sweet voice. 

"Why yes, I am. Spitfire let me have a small vacation, so I'm decided to head to the Cyrstal Empire." I'm Slipstream, by the way," the odd pegasus said, stuffing his face with a hay burger. 

"Wait, Spitfire?" Hazeveil said with confusion. "She a Wonderbolt, right. so that would make you a..."

"Wonderbolt," Slipstream said. One shallow later. "Yea, I'm not the fastest of flyers, but I'm a very good acrobat. When it comes to tricks I'm one of the best." Hazeveil tried and tried again to read Slipstream, but she couldn't read him and it pissed her off.

"That's pretty cool, well I hope you enjoy your food," Hazeveil smiled and she went to go sit with her brother. 

"Soooo, who was that you were talking to?" asked Gloomwing with a mischievous smile.

"Shut up!" Was Hazeveil's only reply. 


After a few hours, the train conductor informed the passengers that Crystal Empire was only moments away.
Stella and the other want back to the V.I.P. car to make sure Luna's belongings were ready to go the palace. Hazeveil and the other guards stood by Luna's side much to her annoyance. Once the train came to a stop, Princess Luna and her accompaniment went to go meet with Princess Cadence and shinning Armor. Luna and Cadence talked while Shining Armor and Hazeveil exchange words while Stella and the others started to bring Luna's luggage to the palace.