Enter the Truck

“Gotcha.”

Another cloud whizzed past Rumble, and he left his opponent behind. This race was in the bag.

Rumble had come to enjoy the races with his new flying buddy. Soaring through the air under the watchful eye of Rainbow Dash, rushing past one cloud after another, it sent a thrill through his little heart.

It certainly helped that his partner was an even match for him. Rumble had held back for the first leg of the race, but now that they reached a long straight end he could burst forward at full speed, leaving the other colt in his vapours.

That is, until he spotted another flag sticking in a cloud. That’s when he knew he was in trouble.

“Gettin’ slow, bud,” the orange colt taunted as they went into another turn.

Rumble gritted his teeth as he forced himself to slow down for the turn. Truck was more manoeuvrable, and they both knew it. Rumble muttered under his breath. “Stupid, stupid, stupid.” He should have noticed that one final turn. He’d worn out his wings bursting forward, and now found himself having to suffer the sight of Truck’s hind quarters.

Truck was a pegasus colt with a dark orange fur and a purple mane and tail, not that different from Scootaloo. Unlike Scootaloo, though, Truck was a boy, and very much so. He had a very boyish snout, the thick, fuzzy hooves of a future stallion, and the most robust and masculine chest a ten-year-old boy of above average fitness could wish for.

He was a worthy rival for Rumble, both an excellent measure for his own skill and a good motivator to do better.

Rumble bobbed to the left behind the colt, Truck followed suit. Rumble weaved to the right, Truck blocked him. They were on the final straight end, going down towards Rainbow Dash and the finish line, where their spectators waited.

“Come on, Truck! You can do it!” Apple Bloom cried out.

“Go, Rumble!” Sweetie Belle chimed in.

Rainbow Dash just smiled up at the pair as they came in.

Rumble took a deep breath, biting away the burn in his wings. If he wanted to win, he only had one option left. There was one thing Rumble was an expert in that Truck barely even knew about: pegasus magic.

With a force of will, Rumble calmed down his body. His wings stopped beating, everything around him slowed down, but he could feel the power holding him afloat. He didn’t need his wings to fly, no pegasus pony really did. He could fly on magic alone if he wanted to, just like Rainbow Dash.

A quick shift to the side gave him the opening he wanted, then he let out a burst of magic through his hooves. The thunderclap propelled him forward, almost knocking Truck off course. Rumble didn’t have time to worry; he had to steady himself against the forces knocking him back from his sudden acceleration. He kept his front and hind legs stretched out, kept his abs taut to stabilise, and most importantly he remembered to breathe; Rainbow Dash had warned him about that.

He swooped in for a landing, and judging by the sound of hooves scraping dirt behind him, Truck wasn’t far behind. Rumble plopped his rump down to catch his breath. “Whew. That was a close one.”

Truck walked up and extended his hoof. “Yup. But just wait ‘till I can dash like that, dude, then we’ll see.”

Rumble chuckled and shook hooves like a good sport. “Right. I’ll show you sometime.”

“That was amazing!” Sweetie Belle jumped up and ran towards the pair. “You know, you two should really try competing out of town sometime.”

Rumble turned towards the girl. “You really think so? We’re that good already?”

Sweetie Belle nodded, and so did Apple Bloom. “Yup. Well, I think so.”

Rainbow Dash nodded in kind. “Me too.”

“Me three. Are you training them, Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow’s ears perked towards the sky. Apparently a certain mailmare had found her nap interrupted by the sound of a bang, if the cloud she was on was any indication. Rainbow chuckled nervously. “Heya, Derpy. Sorry about the noise, I forgot to warn him about that.”

Derpy waved the notion away. “Oh, that’s okay, silly. It’s nice to see a little pony race around here.” She hopped down from the cloud. “But um, I haven’t seen you around here, little boy. Who are you?” She looked the orange colt over, then squinted. “Are you related to Scootaloo, by any chance?”

Truck shrugged. “Me? Nah, we just know each other from, like, stuff and things. My name’s Truck.”

“Ah, gotcha, stuff and things are my favorite, too. I’m Derpy. Well, my name is Ditzy Do, but my friends call me Derpy.”

Apple Bloom, meanwhile, was busy inspecting Rumble’s wings. “Hey, Rumble? You might wanna get yourself some salve for your muscles. You’ve got a little twitch goin’ on right above your wings.”

Rumble frowned and tried to crane his neck to see. “Really? Where?”

The girl carefully reached out for the twitching spot. “Right the-”

“Rumble, what do you think you’re doing?”

“Gah!” The children all jumped.

Rumble took a moment to steady his pounding heart. “Thunderlane! What do you think you’re doing?”

Rainbow Dash put up a coy smile. “Yeah, Thunder, what are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to check the winds over Tuber Lane.”

“I did, and then I came to check up on my little brother. You know the rules, Rumble; no playing around before you’ve done your homework.”

“I already did my homework,” Rumble protested.

Thunderlane raised an eyebrow. “What about studying? Are you ready for the test tomorrow?”

Sweetie Belle frowned. “Umm, there isn’t any test tomorrow.”

“There could be a pop quiz,” Thunderlane argued.

“Aww, come on, Thunderlane, let him have his fun. You raced when you were his age.” Derpy smiled at the cute, if slightly awkward, scene unfolding.

Thunderlane rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but that was different; I raced after I was ready for school. Now come on, Rumble, let’s go.”

Rumble groaned. “Fine.”

Thunderlane took off, and Rumble followed.

“See you around, Rumble,” Apple Bloom called after him. “Take care of those wings.”

Rumble didn’t reply. He kept his lips sealed shut, though it looked like he had to try hard to do so.

Derpy furrowed her brow. “What was that about?”

Rainbow Dash smiled nervously. “It’s nothing. Thunderlane just thinks Apple Bloom and her friends are trouble, that’s all. Or any girls, really. He’s just trying to protect his little brother.”

Derpy looked at the three kids. “Now that you mention it, where’s Scootaloo?”

“Up in the clouds, with her parents,” Sweetie Belle quickly answered. “You know, now that she can fly and all.”

Rainbow nodded. “And speaking of which, I should get you home, Truck.” She lifted off gently, and the colt followed.

“Well, it was nice to meet you, Truck. Hope to see you race some more. Oh, hey, you know what’d be fun? You could try running one of the official courses sometime, do a race like the Wonderbolts do.” Derpy smiled, jumping up and down on her cloud like she always did right before one of her accidents. She didn’t get any lightning this time, though.

Rainbow winced at the suggestion. “Err, that’d be nice, but I don’t think I can set that up for them. I can barely get the tracks all to myself around here, it’s not worth the hassle if you can just fly out in the open. Besides, Truck and Rumble are done training with me now, they’re better off going at their own pace.”

“Really?” Truck arched an eyebrow. “For really real?”

Derpy pondered it for a moment. “Well, you could always ask Diamond Tiara, then. Her dad sponsors a lot of the clubs in town, and a lot of the events, she’d know where and when you can race.”

Truck chuckled. “Dude, that’d be totally awesome, but I kinda gotta jet right now. Catch you later, Derpy Ma’am.”

“Catch you later, Truck!” Derpy waved him goodbye as he flew off with Rainbow Dash.

Once they were out of earshot, Rainbow Dash whispered to the boy. “Well, you fooled Thunderlane, and now you’ve fooled Derpy. Guess that magic of yours does count for something.”

Truck chuckled. “Yup. Totally tubular, huh?”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Just try to lay off the surfer talk, okay, Scootaloo? Just because you’re a changeling, doesn’t mean you can go acting like just any pony. It’s gotta be believable.”

The changeling groaned. “Ugh, I know. But it’s fun!”

“So it’s not awkward for you, being a, you know…”

“A boy?”

“Yeah.” Rainbow winced.

“Not really, but there is one thing that’s kinda bugging me.”

“What’s that?”

“I have to go pee really bad.”

Rumble lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Somepony knocked on his door.

Thunderlane came in, ears perked and lips tightly together, trying to gauge his little brother’s mood.

“Most ponies wait ‘till you say ‘Come in’, you know.”

The stallion sighed and sat on the bed. “Look, I’m sorry for barging in like that and startling Truck.”

Rumble shook his head. “No, you’re not. You’re just sorry I don’t put up with it any more. If it was up to you, I’d be locked up in the house all day.”

“That’s not true.”

Rumble sat up and huffed. “No, that’d be too subtle. You’d want me to go out with a shock collar or something, like a dog, just to stop me from talking to girls.”

“Oh come on, now you’re overreacting.”

“I’m overreacting? I’m not the one who jumped out of nowhere just because some girl in my class wanted to talk to me.”

“She was going to touch you, Rumble,” Thunderlane’s voice went deep and serious. “You know that’s not okay.”

“She was trying to show me where my muscles were twitching. Her brother’s a workhorse, she was trying to help because she knows about that sort of thing. But she can’t, because she’s a girl and you don’t think that’s right.”

“It’s not my call, Rumble, it’s tradition.”

“If it’s tradition for us to avoid ponies, why is it that the Night Guard protects ponies at all?” Rumble retorted. “Why do rousettes even live in Equestria if they hate ponies so much?”

“Rousettes don’t hate ponies, Rumble, you know that. We just-” Thunderlane caught his breath. “ We just don’t mix that much most of the time. They’ve got their way of doing things, and we have ours. It’s better that way.”

“Easy for you to say.” Rumble huffed.

Thunderlane groaned. “Fine. If you’re that hung up about it, just find a girl for wedlock and then you won’t have to worry about me keeping tabs on you.”

“Sure. I can prove I’m responsible enough just as long as I have a girl I’m tied to. If I’d just played along for Blue Moon Bloom you’d leave me alone. Wouldn’t be having this problem if I wasn’t so choosy, is that it?” Rumble huffed again and turned his back to his brother.

Silence fell.

“You know that’s not what I mean,” Thunderlane tried.

Rumble shrugged. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For being me.”

Another groan followed. “Look, I gotta go get ready for my next shift, or Rainbow Dash will have my head on a platter. Chitter will be here in a little while, you can pick a game to play or something. I’ll be downstairs. Nectarine’s on duty tonight, so she’ll be checking up on you, but other than that you won’t have anyone in your hair. Does that sound okay?”

The colt closed his eyes and nodded. At least Chitter would try to cheer him up.

Scootaloo gave her mom another big hug. The yellow mare with the blue mane and tail rubbed along her daughter’s forehead, checking that black, dagger-like horn. “You’re sure this thing doesn’t hurt?”

“I’m sure, mom,” Scootaloo replied. Her voice came through in an odd double echo, one voice that sounded like her normal one and another that sounded like her aunt Vinyl’s.

Rain Dancer had needed some time to adjust to that, along with the other changes Scootaloo had gone through once her blood and magic shifted, but, if anything, the ordeal had only made it more abundantly clear to Scootaloo that her parents loved her unconditionally. She certainly got a lot of love energy from them.

“Dinnertime!”

Right on cue, Sun Dancer came out with their meal: caramelised pears with goat’s cheese and honey. Scootaloo found herself pondering if she should ever tell Apple Bloom that the Dancer family’s favorite meal involved pears, not apples.

Then there was the fact that Applejack had repeatedly tried to get in touch with Cloudsdale’s Head of Sunlight Department, and that the mare had thus far only managed to get descriptions of a mysterious, possibly fictitious, chestnut brown stallion with a reddish brown mane and tail who apparently had enough stamina to fly halfway across Equestria and back in one day. And that wasn’t even mentioning the same experience Rarity had suffered in inquiring after the Western Region Precipitation Manager.

Truly, it was a good thing nopony knew who Scootaloo’s parents were, because if anyone did, she’d never hear the end of it.

Not that these musings distracted her from her appetite, of course. She dug in with full abandon, sinking her teeth into the succulent, sweet, flesh of a warm pear.

“So, Scoots, how was your day? Have fun being a boy?” Rain Dancer asked, nervous smile on her face.

Scootaloo just nodded, her mouth still full. She always minded her manners, after all, ravenous hunger or no.

“And no side effects?” Sun Dancer inquired. His eyes and smile showed about as much stress as his wife’s did.

Scootaloo swallowed the bite and stared. “No. Why?”

Rain Dancer chuckled nervously. “W-well, sweetie, it’s just that… you know, if you’d rather live your life as a boy, we respect that.”

Scootaloo groaned and slapped herself.

Sun Dancer nodded. “We love you just the way you are, even if that means you want to be a boy instead of a girl.”

Reluctantly, the changeling removed the hoof -- or whatever the appendage was called in changelings, she hadn’t checked the anatomy books on that one yet -- from her forehead. “Mom, dad, I appreciate it, but I’m fine. Everypony in class knows I’m a girl, and I’m still a girl while I’m in class. I only change ‘coz it lets me avoid some dumb questions.”

“So, err, no lifestyle changes you need our support for?” Rain Dancer asked. “We’d still love you if you did, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“No, mom, nothing like that. Being a boy is fun and all, and I’m gonna keep doing it, but I like being a girl better. And I know you love me, really. I feed off of that now. I’m fine, I’m just really, really hungry.”

“Do you want me to cook up something heartier?” Sun Dancer asked.

“Not hungry like that. I think I’m going to need more love, or more energy, but don’t worry, I know how to get it without draining anypony. I’ve got a thing planned, if that’s okay with you.”

Rain Dancer gulped. “And what kind of thing did you have planned, sweetie?”

“Um, kind of, sort of, a race thing.”

Rousettes had always been a very social bunch. At least, with other rousettes, that is. Creatures with bat wings and horse hooves were a rare sight in Equestria, despite their impressive numbers, and that’s just how they liked it. Indeed, from how they’d suffered because of the vanity and greed of ponies, not to mention those questionable morals they taught their young, who could blame them? Certainly no one with a sense of history. No, rousettes were content to live away from the prying eyes of ponies, only interacting for the bare necessities, and with a great deal of mutual trepidation at that.

But socialising and remaining inconspicuous are two mutually exclusive priorities, unfortunately, and in smaller communities it was hard to keep finding new sources of gossip, trade, or wedlock. The latter, in particular, was crucial in maintaining rousette society, for children had to be wedlocked for their own good. What that good was supposed to be, only the noblest and wisest of their kind could really say. The rest of them just strove to uphold the good name of their race. So there they were, the rousettes of Ponyville, Trottingham, and Canterlot, in the latter city’s convention hall. All of it was arranged via proxy, of course, rousette to pony contact was kept minimal as always.

Glasses of wine were left on the tables, no music was needed except that of the chatter of rousettes mingling, it was to be a grand night out. Old friends could meet and exchange stories, rousette of lower ranks could speak to the honourable nobles of their race, and all could feel equal and speak freely for one night. Such was the way of the so-called bat party, an ancient rousette tradition. Such it was written by the old rousette scholars.

And of course, in the days of the old rousettes, all that was true. Nowadays, it was more of an excuse to get together and brag about the kids. After all, children were sacred in rousette society, and nothing could give any bat a greater honour or distinction than to have successful offspring.

How said offspring felt about being used as little more than bragging trophies, no one really knew. Nor did anyone particularly care.

“Honestly, darling, you simply must come see Night String’s performance sometime. I’m sure your family would appreciate a bit of culture.” Rareté struck another blow to the heart of her partner in conversation.

Rareté was a fashionista, through and through. At least, that’s what she called herself. Everyone else called her a snob, and rightly so. She’d stolen her mane and tail style from a Ponyville fashion designer, and some even claimed she’d changed her name in the hopes of somehow acquiring some talent or glory through association, but this was lies and slander. Nevertheless, the whitish grey rousette was a formidable adversary in the arts of bragging, and the child at her disposal for just that purpose was a fine weapon indeed. Musicians were common but highly valued among their kind, for rousettes were a very sound-sensitive bunch, and a high-level harpist could count for something in bragging terms.

But Rareté was a young thing compared to Strife Gale, Chief Inquisitor in the illustrious Night Guard and wife to the also illustrious Captain Nighted Blade. Blade was busy scaring some younger rousettes out of joining the Night Guard by recounting the tales of his expeditions to the dreaded regions outside of Equestria’s borders, and the scars that had resulted from them, though with healing magic being what it was they had to take his word for it. He had a knack for compensating for a lack of physical evidence with the graveness of his voice. It didn’t matter. Missus Strife did not need her husband’s aid for this; she had her riposte at the ready.

“Oh, I would love to bring my boys along, darling, but you know how my dear Thunderlane’s schedule gets. If it’s not clearing the skies over Ponyville, then it’s some silly trial run for the Wonderbolts,” came the counterattack.

Rareté did not miss a beat. “Oh, of course. I’m sure I’ll have to keep that in mind once little Strings is grown up. How is Nectarine doing, by the way? I haven’t seen her around. No problems, I hope? I mean, being wedlocked to a pegasus pony and all.”

Strife felt a pang in her chest at that, but no one would ever notice. As far as anyone could tell, the greenish grey rousette with the short -- but stylish -- hairdo was just chatting away to an old friend, rather than desperately hoping a certain hot topic wouldn’t come up. “Oh, this time of night Nectarine is patrolling Ponyville, same as any other Night Guard on duty. And no problems, no, my little angel takes good care of his girl. I suspect they’ll be getting engaged to marry soon, actually.” Strife took another sip from her wine, if only to hide her nervousness.

The rousette in front of her knew, though. She knew the chink in Strife’s armour. “And what about little Rumble? Is he still, ah, out on the market, as it were?”

Strife’s heart sank. Little Rumble, indeed. One boy born a pegasus? That was an accident, a statistical outlier, nothing that couldn’t be fixed with proper education and care. The second one? A curse on the family, and a sure sign not to try for a third. “Oh, he’s fine. He’s becoming very proficient in cloud manipulation, and he’s been training with Rainbow Dash, a prospective Wonderbolt.”

“But no wedlock yet?”

There came that blow again. A rousette who was not wedlocked was incomplete, immature, and irresponsible. That’s what tradition and common sense among rousettes dictated, at least. If Rumble had just been born normal, he’d have been wedlocked to a fine girl at the age of seven. Thunderlane had, and Nectarine had never complained about it. In fact, even before the wedlock Thunderlane had been the perfect son, never so much as talked to a girl he wasn’t introduced to. His teachers had been baffled by it, though only slightly less by that than by the parent-teacher conferences having to be done through an official mediator, or via letters.

Rumble, though, was different. Rumble was a problem child, and had to be watched constantly, lest he trip up and make contact with a girl. It wouldn’t be right, not before he had a wedlock, not before he had just one girl he was tied to and who was his responsibility, and who looked out for him, that’s just how bats did things. Of course, with the variable schedule of the Night Guards and Rumble’s obvious inability to go to a bat school, he was left unsupervised, and unlike Thunderlane, Rumble couldn’t be left alone around any girls, not without knowing how to handle them. He kept trying to socialise and talk with them, the silly thing. Why, just today Strife had heard a pony girl had almost managed to touch him -- the scandal! -- and he’d have let it happen if Thunderlane hadn’t been around. It wasn’t proper for the genders to mix when they were that young. Boys just couldn’t be trusted to grow into the necessary skills on their own. Neither could girls, of course, that’s why the whole system was there. Well, that and several other, more practical reasons that only the nobles really knew of, but those were trivialities compared to the moral side of things. The ways of wedlock had served rousettes well for centuries, and would continue to do so for centuries more.

How any pony child grew up without the tradition of wedlock was a mystery that still baffled rousette scholars all over Equestria.

Strife didn’t answer. Rareté felt a smile form at the corner of her lips.

Why did it have to be like this? Why couldn’t my little angel just find the right girl? Oh, noble Sovereign of the Moon, my eldest son grew into such a fine stallion, why can’t my youngest? Is there no one right for him? Surely he cannot be condemned to a life of shame and loneliness?

“Honey, look who I ran into,” Nighted Blade came cantering along with a companion.

Rareté and Missus Strife had to catch their breath. Where Nighted Blade, living up to his name, had the standard uniform grey coat of any Night Guard beyond a certain level of power -- bequeathed during his nighting ceremony, which tinted his normally blue fur into nighttime camouflage and elevated him to a bodyguard of the Princesses -- his companion had a darker, more ocean blue coat with a more silvery shine. And while Nighted Blade was certainly a fine-looking rousette with thick legs and a hard chest, this other specimen stood a whole head taller than him.

This fellow’s features were noble, his eyes deep and gentle, and his voice rumbled with an innate power that only those of royal descent possess. The mark on his flank was a simple star-shaped flower, with five petals and a red, slightly orange colour.

This was a noble from the House of Malpertuus, the bloodline of Princess Luna’s adopted family, practically a blood relative -- or at least an heir, whatever that might mean to an immortal -- to the Sovereign of the Moon. This was a living legend. He needed no introduction.

But of course, it wouldn’t have been very noble not to.

“Hello, ladies. I am Lord Nox, of the House Malpertuus.”

Rareté shivered. “Pleased to make your acquaintance, Lord Nox. What brings you to Canterlot? I thought you would be in the Eastern Provinces, negotiating peace between the buffalo and the dragons?”

“I was, my dear, but the peace has been established. And now, it seems, I find myself having to negotiate a far more difficult matter.”

“And what might that be, my Lord?” Strife asked, before taking another much-needed sip of her wine.

Blade chuckled. “Our Lord has a bit of a hard case.”

Lord Nox chuckled. “Indeed. I find myself at a loss concerning my ward, a young girl named Stella. Her parents, peace on their souls, died of the plague.”

Silence fell.

“She’s quite an active girl, my Stella, and quite picky when it comes to boys,” Lord Nox continued. “She is, as yet, not wedlocked. And believe me, she’s had her fair share of candidates. Most of the rousette boys around these parts are either three years younger than her or taken. Except yours, I’m told.”

Strife winced. “I see. And I take it then you would want my son to be saddled with a hard case, my Lord?”

Blade and Nox chuckled. Nox weighed his words carefully before continuing. “Well, now, I wouldn’t say that. It’s just that I’ve been talking to your husband here, and, I have to ask, how good is your son, honestly?”

Strife put up her best smile. “Oh, he’s fine boy, really. He’s very dedicated, I never have to tell him to do his chores, he does those on his own-”

Nox waved his hoof dismissively. “D’oh, nonono, how good of an athlete is he?”

Rareté and Strife exchanged glances at that. “I beg your pardon?”

“Mister Blade here tells me your son is something of a stunt flyer, capable of working the weather already. Surely that’s an exaggeration?” Lord Nox had an odd way of huffing out the air when he tried to emphasise his words, something rousettes had associated with authority for over a thousand years. Few mastered the craft of authoritative speaking like Nox, though.

Somewhere in Missus Strife’s mind, the possible comeback began to form. She might save face in front of Rareté yet. “Oh, that. Why, yes, he does have a wing power of six point five, six point eight if he pushes it, but that’s a little bit dangerous.”

Nox whistled, impressed. “That high? And he’s only, what, twelve?”

“Ten,” Nighted Blade corrected. “And he did take part in raising the water when Ponyville’s turn came, filled in for his brother just fine.”

Lord Nox quirked an eyebrow. “Your youngest son filled in for a prospective Wonderbolt? Surely you jest?”

“You know Thunderlane, my Lord?” Rareté asked.

“I make it my business to know of all important members of any rousette family, Missus Rareté. And, if your Rumble is such a dedicated athlete at his young age, what does he do for entertainment? Comic books? Games? He’s not a fan of the Wonderbolts, per chance?”

“Actually, he is quite a fan, especially of Rapidfire,” Blade admitted. “He’s got the dedication, but he’s not Night Guard material, if that’s you mean. I’m not sure if you’d want a girl of nobility to go with that, Milord.”

Nox let out a hearty huff. “Ohohoh, truth be told, at this point I’d rather just see her wedlocked with a boy she likes, and, well, to be perfectly blunt, despite all the tutors and dancing classes and whatnot, my little Stella’s a bit of a jock, really. She likes racing, what can I say? The problem is, every boy I’ve introduced her to wanted to be a Night Guard or a musician or something along those lines. Our kind has a bit of a scarcity regarding proper athletes, I’ve found.”

“So… you honestly want to pair her with our Rumble? You do know he’s a pegasus, right? A pegasus pony?” Strife tried.

“D’oh, come now, anyone born from a rousette mother is clearly a rousette, regardless of what their wings look like. It wouldn’t hurt to try, at least. I know my Stella, and from what I hear, she and your Rumble would get along famously. If his wing power is as high as you say it is, then I’m sure he’s a good match for her. Pray tell, which one of you is the boy’s mediator? I’d like to arrange a meeting at your earliest convenience.”

The world fell away under Strife and Blade. Blade was the first to recover. “Ah, that’d be Chitter, actually, my brother’s daughter. He’s right over there.” He pointed towards the mass of rousettes in various hues of grey.

“Excellent. Missus Strife, Missus Rareté, as you were.”

With that, they were off.

Strife Gale couldn’t believe it. After three long years of searching, worrying, and arguing, finally there was a fit candidate for Rumble.

He’s going to be so happy.

Making Deals

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Rumble met up with the Cutie Mark Crusaders as usual. School had been the same as always. Scootaloo sneaking off and turning into a boy had become a routine.

Scootaloo flying as a boy was still very much a hit-and-miss affair.

“Come on, Truck, you’re not even trying.” Rumble bucked with his hooves and dashed forward again, waiting for his flying buddy to catch up.

Truck looked like he bucked the air behind him, but it didn’t amount to much. “I am trying, dude. I just haven’t got the same magic you do.”

From below, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle tried to make sense of the situation.

“Well, Rumble’s gettin’ better at turning,” Apple Bloom observed. “That’s a plus.”

“Yeah, but why can’t Scoot-”

Apple Bloom glared Sweetie Belle to silence. “Ahem.”

“Um, I mean, why can’t Truck use pegasus magic? After all, he is a pegasus pony with pegasus pony magic, right?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he’s only figured out a part of pegasus magic, but not the whole deal.”

Sweetie Belle nodded. “Maybe. Maybe we should think about that racing idea Derpy had. It might help with the you-know-what since you-know-who’s a whatchamacallit now.”

Apple Bloom felt a knot form in her stomach at the very thought of it. “I dunno, Sweetie Belle. It might work, but it’s awful risky.”

Up in the sky, Rumble looked around. Truck was getting tired from the failed attempts at magic and Thunderlane was nowhere in sight, so it was safe to land and talk to the other Crusaders.

As he landed, Rumble noticed Apple Bloom checking his wings. She smiled at him once her inspection was done. “Thanks again for, you know, teachin’ Truck and all.”

Rumble smiled. “Oh, don’t mention it. It’s fun, even if we can’t race properly.”

Just as Truck landed, a pink filly jumped out of a nearby bush. “Did somepony say ‘race’?”

The Cutie Mark Crusaders and colt barely had time to turn their heads before they were surrounded by their classmates.

“Dude, what is going on here?” Truck started.

“Hi, there, Truck! I’m Diamond Tiara, and this is Silver Spoon. We know all about racing, and we’d really like to see you and Rumble perform.” Diamond put up her brightest smile to introduce herself.

Apple Bloom cocked an eyebrow. “Seriously? You wanna see Truck and Rumble race?”

Diamond Tiara nodded. Silver Spoon followed suit. Archer, Featherweight, Shady, Lance, everypony around nodded.

Diamond kept up her smile for the boys. “My daddy sponsors all the big races in Cloudsdale, and he sponsors a lot of the clubs around here, too. Trust me, I know where and when you can race, with nopony to get in the way.”

Sweetie Belle furrowed her brow. “Why exactly would you want them to race?”

“Because racing’s fun to watch, duh,” Silver Spoon replied. “But every time we go watch races, it’s all grownups. There aren’t any racers our age around here, except you two. I think everypony would love to see you two go at it, right?” She looked around for confirmation.

One by one, all the kids nodded eagerly. And for some reason, Truck’s wings looked a little stiffer at that last remark.

Diamond Tiara shot Truck a confident smirk. “What do you say, new kid? Are you game?”

Rumble heard Lance whisper something towards him, and Featherweight was doing some weird motion with his hooves to subtly try and get Rumble moving. It didn’t take.

Apple Bloom noticed Dinky Do and Archer tensing up. Sweetie Belle saw the same reaction in Shady and Archer.

But what they all noticed was Truck. The boy’s breath turned slow and steady, his muscles seemed to ripple ever so gently, and whatever fatigue he had from trying to use his magic was gone now.

He was enjoying this. Truck -- or rather, Scootaloo the changeling -- was enjoying her classmates’ excitement. This did not bode well.

Truck smirked right back at the girl and even leaned in close. “Totally. Just say where and when.”

Apple Bloom would have slapped herself if that didn’t give away her friend’s secret. But on the other hoof, Sweetie Belle had a point: if Scootaloo could feed on excitement and admiration, putting on a show would help. It would give Scootaloo the opportunity to practise flying without anypony asking questions about her sudden spike in skills, it would let her feed without hurting anypony, it was perfect.

Except, of course, for one minor obstacle.

“What about you, Rumble?” Silver Spoon asked.

Rumble looked around to his classmates. “I-I don’t know. I don’t think I should. Let me think about it, okay?”

A collective groan went through the crowd.

Apple Bloom pulled him aside from the rest and pushed him behind the same brush their class been hiding behind. “Could y’all excuse us for a second?”

Once she had him in private, Apple Bloom lowered her voice. “Okay, look, Rumble, I know you like bein’ on your own in your little corner or whatever, but think of what they’re offering here! You could practise racing, for real, like the Wonderbolts.”

Rumble sighed. “That sounds nice, but I don’t really want to practise like the Wonderbolts do.”

“You’d be practisin’ like Rainbow Dash did. Why would you not do this? Don’t tell me you have stage fright? Truck is okay with it.”

The colt looked away. “It’s not that. It’s a long story. My brother wouldn’t like it.”

“Well, your brother ain’t here now, is h-”

“Rumble, what do you think you’re doing?”

“Gah!” The children all jumped up in fright.

Rumble was the first to recover. “Thunderlane? Again?! What is the matter with you?”

“Come on, Rumble, it’s time to go home,” Thunderlane motioned his head towards Ponyville.

Rumble gestured towards the girl he’d been hiding with. “But Apple Bloom was just asking me something.”

Thunderlane just stared his little brother down. Even Apple Bloom could feel the pressure emanating from him. It felt like Thunderlane was mad, outraged, even. His cold response certainly didn’t say otherwise. “She can ask you in school tomorrow. Now come on, you need to get ready for the party.”

Sweetie Belle walked up to the colt. “You’re going to a party? On a school night?”

Rumble looked up to his big brother, then to the crowd. “Yeah, guess I am. Sorry about this, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow, Rumble,” Apple Bloom said, meekly waving her hoof as he lifted off.

Diamond frowned. “What was that all about?”

Truck shrugged. “Rumble’s family’s kinda traditional. They don’t like him hanging out with girls that aren’t his girlfriend.”

Silver Spoon’s jaw nearly dropped. “Rumble’s got a girlfriend?”

Truck grimaced. “Sorta, I guess. I dunno, dude, he didn’t tell me.”

Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Anyway, we can get some clouds and flags set up, and we know what fields will be clear, I just need to ask my daddy. All you’d have to do is race.”

Truck backed away. “Err, actually, on second thought, I might have a couple of issues. I’m kinda busy, you’re gonna have to ask my agent about that.”

“And who’s your agent?”

“I am!” Sweetie Belle dashed forward to stand in between Diamond Tiara and Truck. “You want to get Truck to do a race, you have to go through me.”

Apple Bloom was not about to be outdone. “And I’m Rumble’s agent. I’ll handle the communications with him.”

Silver Spoon shot the girl an incredulous glance. “Really? You’re his agent? Does he know that?”

“Not yet, but I’m sure he’ll be happy to have me on board.”

Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes. “Ugh, fine. You just get him to race, and we’ll get the crowds, and all the setting up.”

“Deal.” Apple Bloom extended her hoof for Diamond to shake.

“Come on, everypony, let’s leave the agents to talk business with their clients.”

Just like that, the crowd dispersed. The girls -- and one changeling who really needed to consult the dictionary on gender pronouns -- were left to their own devices again.

“Did we just sign up Rumble for a race he didn’t agree to?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe you shouldn’t have been so excited, Truck.” Apple Bloom prodded the boy who was usually a girl.

“I couldn’t help it.” Truck shrugged. “I’ve never had that much attention before. It feels really good.”

“Actually, you have, but that was before the thingamajigger,” Apple Bloom remarked. “Okay, first we gotta go apologise to Rumble, and hope he doesn’t mind racing in front of a crowd.”

Sweetie Belle tapped Apple Bloom on the shoulder. “There’s just one problem.”

“What?”

“Thunderlane’s getting him ready for a party, remember? And he doesn’t want us talking to him anyway.”

Apple Bloom grumbled. “Right. Guess it’ll have to wait ‘till tomorrow.”

Rumble stood in front of the mirror in his parents’ bedroom, again. Thunderlane had managed to drag him away from talking to some girls, again. He had to get ready for a party where everyone but him and his brother were rousettes, again.

And everyone would stare at him, and he wouldn’t be allowed to talk to any girl without his mediator there.

Again.

He put the rolled-up sleeves of his shirt just right to make his strong arms stick out some more, he adjusted his red bow tie, but it didn’t make any difference.

He still looked like a plain grey pegasus colt. There was a tightness in his stomach that wouldn’t go away, one that had settled once Thunderlane had gotten him home.

It wasn’t fair. He couldn’t even talk to Apple Bloom, a fellow blank flank. He couldn’t even be nice, say what was on his mind, just because of how he was born and how she was born.

And Scootaloo had to wear a disguise just to hang out with him, one that was also blank-flanked just to make it easier to remember. At least he had that. He wasn’t completely alone in Ponyville anymore now, just sort of alone.

Such was the fate of a rousette who wasn’t protected by the rites of wedlock. That’s what happens when you’re born of a rousette mother.

He saw a dark grey figure approach him from behind. “Hey, Chitter.”

The rousette girl trotted up to him, all smiles as always. “Heya, Rumbley Wumbley Bumblebee.”

Rumble frowned. “Chitter, we’re not in kindergarten anymore. How much longer are you gonna call me that?”

Chitter replied with a hug and a nuzzling to his neck, the traditional greeting for rousette family members trying to cheer each other up. Rumble chuckled softly, but it didn’t change his sour mood.

Chitter withdrew and inspected his outfit. In her own black dress, she looked like a proper lady, if a slightly odd-looking one. The bat wings had a way of making any rousette look menacing, not to mention the slit eyes. She’d combed up the fuzz on her eartips and everything. She bit her lip and sighed. “Looking forward to tonight?”

Rumble shrugged with a pout. “I guess.”

“What’s the matter? Aren’t you happy to go out again? I thought you wanted your mom and dad to take you places?”

“I do, but… I don’t know anymore. It just feels kinda pointless, you know?”

Chitter nodded knowingly. “How are you holding up?”

The boy shrugged and resumed his staring into his reflection. “Okay, I guess. Mom and dad will be here soon, Thunderlane and Nectarine aren’t on duty tonight, so we’re all good to go.”

“I mean in school, with the ponies. Thunderlane giving you a hard time?”

“You heard about that, huh?”

Chitter nodded. “Sounds like he’s been getting worse ever since Blue Moon Bloom.”

Rumble groaned. “You have no idea. I’m not even doing anything wrong: I’m just talking to girls in my class, because they want to know what I’m like, and then all of a sudden, bam!” He stomped a hoof on the ground, loud enough for his brother downstairs to hear. “Thunderlane comes dive-bombing in and snatching me away. He doesn’t even care about what I’m saying or why, I’m not allowed to talk to any girl for any reason, he’s driving me nuts!”

Chitter winced in sympathy. “Maybe we should’ve switched places then, huh?”

“Nah. I wouldn’t have been able to find any boy for you, and at least you’ve got an excuse not to get wedlocked. Not yet, I mean.” He smiled. He did still feel some amount of pride in sparing his cousin from the same fate, even if it was only a delay.

The batty girl nodded. “Yeah, I’ve got a little more time, but I’ll still have to do it, just like you. And in the meantime, I’ve got to follow the same rules you do, remember? It’s different rules because I’m a mediator, but I still have to follow them. So does every rousette. It’s tradition, and every one of our kind has to do it.”

“That doesn’t make it okay, Chitter.”

She pouted, albeit cutely. “Well, what do you want? Do you really like girls that much that you’d wanna upset your family? Break tradition?”

Rumble shook his head. “You don’t understand. Scootaloo wanted to ask me for help with her flying, and I needed help with my turns. And I couldn’t hang out with her, I still can’t, just because of that tradition.”

“No one said it was easy, Rumble.” She patted him on the back, right on the soft spot in the middle of his shoulders and the bases of his wings.

“No, but it’s supposed to be fair, isn’t it? If Scootaloo was a boy, there wouldn’t be any problem. Don’t you get it? If I see a boy crying, I’m allowed to walk over and ask what’s wrong. If it’s a girl, I have to walk away. How is that fair to them? How is that fair to me? Out of all the ponies I might like, half of them I’m not allowed to talk to. There’s already not a lot ponies I can talk to, and having to cut out all the girls doesn’t leave anypony for me at all, just because I’m not wedlocked.”

Chitter looked away casually. “Well, then, would you maybe consider wedlock with a rousette you can talk to?”

“I’m never gonna find a girl like that, but I don’t have any choice. I’ll probably end up tied to some hard case who doesn’t even like me.” Rumble let his head hang.

Chitter smirked mischievously. “Not necessarily.”

Rumble cocked an eyebrow. “Chitter, are you saying you found another girl for me to meet?”

“Oh, maybe. I haven’t talked to her much, not yet, but she was really interested in meeting you. She’s pretty, too.”

He gagged. “Ugh, another ‘Princess of the Night’ girl? You know how much I hate all that drama stuff.”

Chitter chuckled to herself. “Actually, she’s not the princessy type, but she is related to one, if that’s what you mean.”

“Huh?”

Chitter wiped away some nonexistent dirt from Rumble’s shoulder, and put on her best impression of a serious voice. “I have been asked to introduce to you a young lady named Stella, the ward of Lord Nox himself.”

Rumble’s eyes widened. “Lord Nox is in Equestria again? And he has a ward?”

Chitter nodded eagerly. “Uhuh. She’s just your type, too.”

“I kinda doubt that.”

“She’s a fan of the Wonderbolts,” Chitter leaned in, smiling brightly.

“Really?” Rumble’s suspicions were aroused. “Which one’s her favorite?”

“She told me her favorite’s Rapidfire, but she also keeps track of the rookies in the racing circuit, and apparently she likes a certain rainbow-maned mare from around here.”

Much to her disappointment, Chitter could tell from his face Rumble didn’t believe her. He kept his brow furrowed, weighing his words carefully. “You’ve found a rousette girl who likes Rainbow Dash? Seriously?”

“Totally seriously. Stella’s a real athlete, too, just like you. She’s done ballet dancing and duelling, but she doesn’t like the idea of being in the Night Guard, or doing recitals, so she mostly practises on her own now. She does like to race, though.”

Rumble rolled his eyes. “Rousettes can’t race, Chitter, not without training their wings; they’d break too easily. And no rousette trains their wings before they join the Night Guard; it’s tradition to wait. You’re the only rousette kid around who knows how to race, you’re the only one in Ponyville who’s sharpened her wings.”

“Yeah, about that: she told me she’s done the Iron Saddle and Iron Wing training up to level four already.”

Rumble’s cocked an eyebrow. “Level four? Don’t you have to be a grownup to do that?”

“I guess not. Her wings are sharper than mine, and yours.” Chitter smiled inside when she felt the thunder clouds hanging over her cousin dissipate. She had his interest, surely.

Rumble pondered it. “And does she work out? Who does she race against?”

“No one! That’s the best part! She was raised by Lord Nox after her parents died, so she wound up travelling a lot, getting groomed to be his successor and all. But Lord Nox is settling down and moving to Ponyville soon, and she figured she might make some new friends around here.”

“Oh, I get it. Another excuse to get me to mingle with rousettes some more.”

Chitter prodded her cousin with a hoof. “No, silly, she’s tired of being around rousettes all the time, she’s seen a lot of what’s outside Equestria and she likes it. She thinks most of us bats are boring, and she wants to start meeting ponies instead. I told her about Scootaloo and her friends, and she sounded really excited to meet them. Think about it, it’s perfect! You just tie the knot with her, you’d have a perfect excuse to hang out with any girls you like, together.”

He kept his head down. “You really think that’d work?”

“From what she told me, sure. Stella sounded like she wasn’t into tradition all that much herself, so she probably wouldn’t get jealous if you just hung out with friends who happen to be girls. You could finally make friends with whomever you want, and help Stella make friends, and explain why you didn’t do it sooner.”

Rumble squinted, thinking. “What’s the catch?”

“What do you mean?”

“There’s gotta be a catch, Chitter. A girl like that ought to be spoken for, unless she’s way younger than me. Is she?”

The girl bit her lip. “No, she’s as old as you. A little taller, but the same age. As for the catch, um, there is one thing. She’s kind of a flirt, I think.”

“A what?”

“A flirt. Lots of swaying her hips, lots of coy smiles, I think she likes just playing around with boys, push their buttons. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’d want to compete with you, honestly, see if she can make you blush? Stella’s one of those girls, I think. She’s probably going to be kinda clingy, too.”

Rumble sighed. “Okay, that might be kind of an issue, if she’s mean or anything. But clingy isn’t that bad, if she just likes to hug. You hug and nuzzle me a lot, it doesn’t bother me.”

For the briefest moment, Chitter feared she might have put him in shock or something, or that he was just desperate to accept any girl at all now. She couldn’t have that, of course. “So? What do you think? Do you want me to get you introduced to Stella, or do you want me to just block her? I can do all the talking, let her know you’re not interested. You just have to show up.”

Rumble nodded. “I guess if she is into the same stuff I am, it couldn’t hurt to just talk to her, right?”

“Great! I promise, this is gonna be great. I’ll make sure she likes you.”

It wasn’t common for the Cutie Mark Crusaders to have a sleepover on a school night, but given Scootaloo’s recent changes and the sudden drop in crusading that had resulted from it, they could afford some time together.

And while Sweetie Belle’s bedroom at Carousel Boutique wasn’t quite as official-looking as their clubhouse, at least it was warm and comfy in the chilly afternoon hours. Ponyville Weather Patrol had managed to shift away a storm front a few months earlier, but the cold northern wind that had brought it still managed to sneak past every now and then. Even with the setting sun out and no clouds in sight, the evenings had a way of chilling out of the blue.

All the more reason for ponies to seek warmth and comfort with each other.

“Thanks for letting us stay over, Rarity,” Sweetie Belle said.

“Don’t mention it, darling,” Rarity replied. “As long as you don’t cause a mess, it shan’t be a problem.”

Scootaloo sighed. “Sorry I can’t stick around, though.”

“Aww, that’s okay, Scootaloo.” Apple Bloom patted her friend on the back. “We’re not gonna let a silly little curfew get in the way of our fun, are we?”

“As long as she can be home by seven,” Rarity added. “Octavia was most insistent.”

Apple Bloom needed no further cue. With only two hours left -- less, considering dinner -- she was determined to make the most of it.

“Alright, then, Cutie Mark Crusaders, the first order of business: do we want Truck and Rumble to race in front of everypony?”

Rarity was about to leave, but her inner gossip couldn’t resist some new information, even if it was classified. “Who, pray tell, is Truck?”

Scootaloo summoned her magic and covered herself in green flames. When they cleared, a pegasus colt with a slightly darker coat and hair sat in her place. “I am.”

“So I didn’t recall incorrectly, then. And, remind me, darling, exactly why are you turning into boys again?”

“She needed Rumble to teach her how to fly better, because Rainbow Dash couldn’t do it for her,” Sweetie Belle said. “Only, Rumble’s family has this thing about boys talking to girls. Thunderlane’s come and pulled Rumble away twice now. It’s kind of scary, don’t you think?”

Apple Bloom winced. “Uh huh. Rainbow Dash said Thunderlane doesn’t like us, but I think he might just hate us altogether.”

Rarity pondered that for a moment. “Huh. That doesn’t sound like Thunderlane at all. But I suppose if it is merely to follow tradition, it can’t be that bad. He’s probably just stressed, darling, I’m sure he’ll come around.”

Scootaloo turned back into her pegasus girl form. “Anyway, I say we do it. If we start racing for real, we’ll be the most popular kids in school.”

“But isn’t that exactly what ya shouldn’t be doing, though?” Apple Bloom asked. “I mean, the more ponies pay attention to you, the more likely it is they’ll find out about you.”

Scootaloo waved that concern away. “No, they won’t. I can keep my disguise up, I haven’t had any accidents for a whole week.”

Apple Bloom wouldn’t relent. “I don’t know, you looked kinda funny when everypony was around you. Almost like you were feedin’ off the attention.”

The changeling in disguise rolled her eyes. “Well, duh, of course I was feeding. How else am I supposed to get energy without draining ponies?”

Rarity found herself sitting down to serve as the voice of reason. “I suppose she does have a point there, girls. Putting on a show in front of a crowd can be very exhilarating. I don’t even feed off of that and I can attest to it. Perhaps it would be beneficial to Scootaloo’s growth to perform in public.”

“What do you mean, her growth?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Scootaloo only changed a matter of weeks ago, did she not? If she must feed on love to survive, it stands to reason that she had some reserves from her time as a pony. But reserves can run dry, and a growing filly can’t afford to be malnourished, now, can she?”

“See? Rarity agrees with me.” Scootaloo pointed a hoof to the unicorn.

“Of course, I wouldn’t know, darling, but I’m sure Twilight would. There isn’t any standard for what regular changelings need, let alone a pony that’s become one, but at the very least you should consider it.”

“But that leaves us with one big problem: Rumble. He has to agree to it, too. We can’t force him,” Apple Bloom noted.

“And Thunderlane would probably come pick him up again if we tried to talk,” Sweetie Belle remarked.

“Just do it,” Scootaloo said.

“What?” Apple Bloom felt the first twinges of outrage forming.

“Just set up the race. Tell Diamond Tiara she can set it up over the running track, we can get Derpy to be in charge of safety, Rumble will agree once he sees we can set it up.”

“Scootaloo,” Rarity warned, “it is not okay to force a boy to do something he doesn’t want to do.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. He wants to do it, he’s just shy like that. And Thunderlane won’t go snatching his little brother away when there’s a big enough crowd; he wouldn’t dare.” Scootaloo smirked confidently.

“Are ya sure?” Apple Bloom quirked an eyebrow.

“Trust me, we can get Rumble to do it. It’ll be good for him.”

An Agreement on Terms

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Chitter steadied herself with a deep breath. Another night, another bat party, another girl for her dear cousin to meet. Oh, how she hoped he’d like this one, if only to get that oh-so-important tradition out of the way. She couldn’t stand to see Rumble get upset.

They were thick as thieves, Rumble and Chitter, always had been since Rumble’s time in the bat kindergarten. All the other rousettes had thought it was merely strange to see a bat with feathers on his wings, but, as time went on and the criticising looks and whispers started coming, Rumble had been forced to go to school in Ponyville just like Thunderlane had before him, to avoid shaming his family.

But shame them he had. While Thunderlane had a reputation among rousettes to be traditional and well-behaved, Rumble had forced his mother to dance around the issue of him being around girls he wasn’t introduced to.

Rumble wanted to make friends, and there weren’t any boys who really cut the mustard. That was Chitter’s understanding of it, at least.

So, needless to say, she was quite happy to see Rumble’s face light up once he saw Stella approach with Lord Nox not too far behind.

“I told you it was seven,” the burly rousette started.

“I said I was sorry, I lost track of time,” the girl replied.

Lord Nox sighed as he reached the pair waiting for him. “Alright, then, Stella, this is where I leave you to discuss. Chitter, I wish you a fine evening, and Rumble: good luck.”

Chitter didn’t pay it any heed, as Rumble’s reaction to seeing the girl said enough. He flicked his ears up nice and high, a sign of attraction among rousettes, and Stella did the same. The first hurdle was passed.

Not that Chitter had had any doubts about the first impressions. After all, she’d met Scootaloo at the Defense Against Changelings class, and she knew full well Rumble thought Scoots was, at the very least, cute. As such, it was a fair guess that he would like Stella’s hairstyle, which was brushed flat and into a peak just short enough not to fall in the noble filly’s eyes. Rousettes never let their manes fall in their eyes. Chitter wasn’t entirely sure about his colour preferences, but she figured royal blue with dark blue in the mane wouldn’t hurt his eyes that much. The lack of prominent fuzz on Stella’s ears may have been a concern for other bat boys, but Stella apparently liked to comb hers down, probably so she’d resemble a pony more closely. Likewise, she kept her fangs in as she walked towards Rumble, possibly for the same reason. As a future ambassador, looking like a pony might be a necessary sacrifice, though Lord Nox made no such concessions on his appearance. Perhaps it was just a silly phase.

Whatever the case, Stella had more of a rogue-ish look to her than Scootaloo’s brutish one, at least by rousette standards. Keeping with the look her mane and tail gave her, Stella’s physique was also something Chitter knew Rumble would like. While Chitter herself was in more than decent shape -- partly due to training with her favorite cousin -- Stella looked properly toned, again not that different from Scootaloo. Unlike Scootaloo, though, Stella was half a head taller than Rumble, and she had the slender shoulders and belly of a royal, a ballet-dancing one at that, though she only did that in private nowadays. While her hooves were just as thick as anyone else’s her age, her arms and legs narrowed more as they went up. Her eyes, finally, were a vibrant bluish green, a familiar colour among the bats.

All in all, Stella looked a lot like what some rousettes speculated was what princess Luna looked like when she was young. That was probably why the girl had been named after the Sovereign of the Moon in the first place.

Chitter waited patiently for Rumble to make the first move. When he didn’t, she prodded him.

Rumble snapped out of his reverie. “Oh, um, sorry. Hi, I’m Rumble.” He extended a hoof towards Stella.

Stella smiled warmly and shook it. Her whole demeanour just oozed grace, but a little tension at the corner of her mouth betrayed that it was still just an act. “I am Lady Stella, of the House Malpertuus. Pleased to meet you, Rumble. Sorry it couldn’t be in better circumstances.” She spoke very carefully and deliberately, enunciating every vowel like a proper lady.

Chitter tensed. Rumble hated that type of girl, she couldn’t let that act continue. She had to get them talking normally somehow, she had to step in before everything was lost.

“So, um, Chitter says you like the Wonderbolts?” Rumble asked.

Chitter’s left eyelid twitched. A personal question to a noble young lady he didn’t know for five minutes? Not waiting for his mediator to make the first move? Very much a faux pas. He was toast.

“Oh, darling, I love the Wonderbolts. I always keep track of the new recruits,” Stella said with a vague hint of excitement and a smile creeping at the edges of her mouth. Like a true aristocrat, she didn’t show it too much.

Chitter relaxed at that, though. Conversation, that was good. A topic Rumble and the girl were both familiar with, that was a rarity. Rumble had a chance to salvage this yet.

“But just to keep track of them or do you, you know, race? For real, I mean?”

Stella looked away wistfully. “I don’t really have anyone to race against, I’m afraid. I’d very much like to, if that’s what you were implying. I do enjoy seeing how I measure up against my peers, if I can find any. Does that answer your question?”

Rumble chuckled, wings rubbing against his sides from the nerves. “Uh, yeah, sort of.”

Chitter found herself needed. “Rumble’s a real athlete, Stella. He’s got a six point five wingpower, and he even helped Ponyville raise the water last time it was their turn.”

Stella pursed her lips, impressed. “Oh, my. You must train a lot, then.”

Rumble blushed and shrugged. “Just here and there, little bits. I do what I can.”

“I see. And what about rivals? Any, ah, boys in Ponyville who can keep up with you?” She looked away, doing her level best to sound as casual as she could, given the circumstances.

“Not really, no.”

“Girls, then?” She slid closer and flashed him a coy smile, close enough for him to feel the air from her nostrils.

Rumble bit his lower lip. “Chitter’s told you about Scootaloo, right?”

Stella winced, but didn’t back away. “She has. I gather your family has a problem with her and your attitude towards her?”

“It’s complicated,” Chitter interjected. “So what about those Wonderbolts, huh?”

“Chitter, it’s okay, I got this. Um, look, here’s how it is: I don’t know if I really am that good at flying. I hear ponies telling me I am, but I don’t have anything to compare against, not without joining a club, and I’m just not a clubby sort of pony, you know?”

The noble girl rolled her eyes. “Ugh, tell me about it, darling. Dear Nox keeps begging me to join the Duelist Society, but there’s no fun in that. All that does is put you on a schedule that you don’t get to choose and pit you against opponents you might not even want to face. I’m sure it’s fine for some, but I like my freedom, thanks very much.”

Rumble threw his head back in exasperation. “Exactly! There shouldn’t be anything wrong with wanting to get better on your own, or trying something new when what you’re doing isn’t working out. It’s just so hard to find ponies who feel the same way.”

“Indeed, darling, bats are the same. I’ve run into so many future Night Guards by now, I shudder to think where Princess Luna’s going to put them all. They’re more preoccupied with just spending a few hours mucking about on schedule than they are with getting ahead and trying something new for a change. All form, no substance. No choice in the matter, either.”

“I know. Like you have to be in a club, you have to have a piece of paper to prove you’re a member, just to show that’s something you like to do.”

Chitter couldn’t believe her ears. Rumble was actually having a full conversation with a girl who agreed with him. She’d expected progress, sure, but this was beyond even her expectations. At this rate, they might agree to tie the knot that very evening.

“But I take it Scootaloo and her friends aren’t like that?” Stella asked.

And there went Chitter’s hopes, fluttering out the nearest window.

Rumble shrugged. “No, they just decide to go do something and then they do it, mostly to try and get their cutie marks.”

“And have you ever joined them?”

“No, never,” Rumble quickly replied. “I mean, I’ve talked to them, sure, but never a lot. My brother usually snatches me away before I can really say anything, especially now. I’d like to join them sometime, but I can’t. I can’t even ask right now. I’ve never really gotten that close to a girl either. Any girl, except Scootaloo, but I only talked to her and tried to show her how to fly properly.”

Stella’s smile faded. “So you have had contact with another girl. You’ve spoken to girls you weren’t introduced to. That’s a clear breach of tradition, and a shame on your family.”

The colt sighed and nodded. “I guess, yes.”

Rather than being outraged, though, Stella looked curious. “Why would you do that? Why would you consort with a girl when you know it’ll get you in trouble?”

Chitter felt her heart skip a beat.

Rumble let his head hang. “I only do that because I want to be nice. I’m allowed to hang out with ponies, even if my family doesn’t like it, but only if I don’t hang out with girls. That’s not fair, not to me, not to them. When Scootaloo… when anypony needs help, I don’t think it should matter if they’re a boy or a girl. She has this thing with her wings so she couldn’t fly right. She’s really good on her scooter, her wings are, like, insanely strong for that, but she couldn’t fly at all for, well, forever. Then, when she finally could, it was big relief, but she was still clumsy and nopony could help. She didn’t have anypony else to ask, so she asked me, and I helped her fix it. I helped out a girl my parents didn’t pick out for me, without my mediator. I fixed it so well that she doesn’t even need my help for it anymore, not really. But to do that, I talked to her, she talked to me, we ended up spending time together and getting to know each other, that’s what happens when you help each other out. So I, umm, consorted with her, yes. That’s all there is to it.”

Chitter mentally slapped herself. The one thing he had to lie about, and he couldn’t do it. Rumble was just too good for his own good.

But to Chitter’s surprise, Stella didn’t walk away. Instead, she slowly moved towards Rumble and put her head on his shoulder, before rubbing her cheek against his and gently puffing out a little gust against his left ear.

Stella approved of him.

“That is very noble of you, Rumble. I’m glad to finally meet at least one rousette boy who thinks honour is more important than tradition. And it sounds like you have a fine set of friends just waiting for you to properly introduce yourself. I’ll be moving to Ponyville myself soon, you know.”

Rumble chuckled. “I know. You’ll love Ponyville, and Scootaloo and her friends will like you a lot, too.”

“I wouldn’t mind if we introduced ourselves properly, actually.” She blew another puff of air along his ear.

Chitter was frozen with nerves. Had she forgotten to tell Rumble what the ear thing meant? Had he forgotten? She was sure he knew, but he wasn’t responding.

Rumble gulped. “A-are you sure? There’s probably other boys you’d like. You know, boys without feathers.”

Stella backed away and looked at Rumble’s now erect wings. “I happen to think feathers are quite cute, actually. They make you look like an angel. And is this that ‘wingboner’ phenomenon I’ve heard tell about?”

Rumble’s cheeks turned red like a tomato. He reached behind him and tried to push those flappers back against his sides. “Err, yeah, it does that sometimes. It’s kind of awkward.”

She smiled brightly at him. “Well, I think it’s adorable, and I cannot think that there is any boy I’d rather tie the knot with, certainly not under these circumstances. What about you? Would you rather be wedlocked to another girl?”

Chitter held her breath while Rumble thought.

Rumble walked up, rubbed his cheek against Stella’s, and gently let a little puff of air towards her left ear. “No rousette girl I can think of, no. It’ll be nice to get it done, especially with a girl like you.”

Stella smiled and put one of her bat wings over Rumble’s back. Rumble did the same, though his feathers didn’t reach as far as Stella’s digits.

Chitter was overjoyed. Rumbley-Wumbley had finally found a girl he liked, and who liked him back. He could finally perform the rite and be considered an adult. “Umm, okay. I guess we’d better go tell everyone and make it official, then.”

Lord Nox smiled as he saw the trio coming towards them. Missus Strife and Mister Blade looked surprised. Thunderlane looked suspicious.

“Mom, dad, I think I’ve found a girl for wedlock,” Rumble announced proudly.

“Excellent!” Lord Nox exclaimed. “I’ll start making arrangements tout de suite.”

Strife smiled at her son. “Oh, that’s great news. I knew you’d find a girl soon, I’m sure you two will be very happy together.”

“Yeah, and now Thunderlane doesn’t have to keep tabs on me all the time, right?” Rumble blurted out.

Thunderlane cleared his throat. “Ahem, well, err, I’ll still keep an eye on you, big guy, just to make sure.”

Rumble grumbled. Stella rubbed his back in comfort. “Don’t worry about it. You can’t break tradition, after all. We are going to be together, darling, so you answer to me now, not to him. And that goes both ways: if you don’t like me talking to any of the boys in Ponyville, you need only say so.”

Rumble winced. “Oh, right, umm, now that you mention it, my classmates don’t know about my family. They think I don’t talk to girls because of a pony tradition.”

Stella nodded knowingly. “Say no more, darling. If any pony asks, we have been pen pals for years and we swore our undying love to each other, except for that one day I broke up with you.”

“You broke up with me?” Rumble frowned.

“Of course. All high class couples break up at some point; ‘tis tradition. If anyone asks, it happened on a charming day.”

“Wait, but why would you break up with me? Especially if the day was so charming?”

“Because I am a lady, Rumble. ‘Twould be rude to break up with you on a rainy day, now, wouldn’t it?”

Strife snickered. “Yes, I think you two will be just fine together.”

Stella hugged him with her wing. “This is going to be great.”

Rumble nodded in agreement. “Yup. Just great.”

Diamond Tiara gestured towards a cloud in the distance. “A little more to the left!”

Featherweight gave the thing a slight nudge to put it in place.

Diamond and Silver nodded in approval. “Perfect!”

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom came trotting towards the track, with Truck already catching up. They’d only managed to ask Rumble to show up, which he’d agreed to, but he hadn’t made any formal announcements about his participation just yet.

Apple Bloom caught sight of him just as he flew by. She rushed towards him to block his path. “Err, look, Rumble, I know I’m not supposed to talk to you because of your family, but-”

“It’s okay,” Rumble interrupted. He looked up to see Derpy and Thunderlane up on a cloud, chatting away. Thunderlane kept his eyes on the boy, but that didn’t stop Rumble this time. “There’s been sort of a change of plans, so it’s not a problem anymore.”

“Oh. What kinda change?”

“It’s a long story. I’ve got something to tell everypony, but it can wait until after the race. I think they’re waiting for me.”

“Yeah, about that, would you mind terribly if I pretended to be your agent?”

Rumble smiled more brightly than she could remember him ever doing. “Nah, it’s okay. So what’s all this stuff for?”

Diamond grabbed a checkered flag and motioned for all the kids assembled to take their seat. “Okay, everypony, welcome to the first race between Rumble and Truck!”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle kept still, but all the other foals from class applauded. Lance and Featherweight even whistled to cheer their friend on.

Rumble looked around. “Doesn’t this track belong to the Ponyville Twisters?”

Diamond shook her head. “Not really. It’s a public track, but the Twisters just end up keeping it, like, reserved for them all the time. They won’t get here until after dinnertime today, though.”

“Uhuh. And how do you know that, again?”

“My daddy sponsors them, and I know what pony to ask about the tracks around here.”

Rumble didn’t press the issue. The Ponyville Twisters’ track was the same one he’d gone practising on for the waterspout, but there hadn’t been any clouds hanging over it then.

Silver Spoon cleared her throat. “This course is, like, a warm-up for the more serious stuff. It’s three laps, and every one hundred metres there’s a cloud with a flag on it. You have to fly under the ones with a blue flag, and over the ones with a white flag. Don’t worry about how close you are to the flags; as long as you’re high enough and still on the track, it’s okay.”

Truck took his position at the starting line. “Three laps, huh? Easy peasy.”

Rumble rolled his eyes. A quick look at the track told him the best course of action: stay ahead of Truck on the straights, try not to fly out the curves, and bolt on the final stretch.

He just hoped Scootaloo wouldn’t mind being beaten so soundly.

Derpy landed on Apple Bloom’s left, Rainbow Dash appeared on the filly’s right.

Apple Bloom gulped when Rumble took his position next to the disguised changeling. “Are ya sure this is safe? Do we have a first-aid kit?”

Derpy held up a white box with a red cross on it. “I do. Never leave home without it.”

Sweetie Belle furrowed her brow. “Really?”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “You’d be surprised how often it comes in handy.”

At the starting line, Diamond raised the flag. “Ready?”

The two boys -- one lifestyle, the other recreational -- bent down to get the right angle for takeoff.

“Set.”

They spread their wings.

“Go!”

The cheer from the crowds that followed the takeoff almost blotted out the boom the pair had caused from their burst of speed. Rumble zoomed under the first cloud, then hopped over the second. The first turn came up, forcing him to hit the brakes.

Truck didn’t catch up to him, but as they went into another straight, bobbing and weaving around clouds, Rumble knew he’d lost precious inches on his flying buddy.

They crossed the finish line almost simultaneously. The crowds cheered.

Rainbow whistled, impressed. “Truck’s gotten a lot faster all of a sudden, huh?”

Apple Bloom was inclined to agree. She idly wondered if that had anything to do with Scootaloo cheating by having Truck just have a faster body, or cheating by feeding off of the excitement from the crowds.

The second lap ended with the two boys neck to neck. Truck gritted his teeth trying to keep up with Rumble’s pace, but Rumble miscalculated and flew out of a curve, giving Truck ample room to take the lead. The dark orange pegasus -- mostly a pegasus, at least -- was already halfway the last straight by the time Rumble recovered.

Rumble growled and sped up again. His strategy was sound, he knew it.

And the crowd wanted a show, so he might as well give them one.

Stopping his wing motion and concentrating his magic in his hind hooves was second nature to him by now. He tensed up his whole body, then, like a cannonball, he released.

Apple Bloom felt something knock her chest when Rumble exploded. Looking to her sides, Sweetie Belle, Derpy, and even Rainbow Dash looked impressed.

Rumble came to a skidding halt, Diamond Tiara waved the flag.

The crowd went wild.

Truck’s arrival wasn’t that much later than Rumble’s, as it turned out. He certainly got enough attention to think he nearly won, and with a casual smile he accepted the praise that was showered on him.

Rumble, however, didn’t know what to make of Dinky Do and Twist jumping around him, not to mention the awkwardness of Lance and Featherweight giving him hoofbumps.

“Wow, Rumble, I didn’t know you were that fast,” Featherweight started. “No wonder you have trouble finding flying buddies.”

Rumble looked away, smiling nervously. “You really think so?”

“Yeah, totally,” Lance attested. “Why’d you never tell us you were an ace flyer?”

“Umm, I, uh, guess I just needed a little confidence booster.” Rumble looked up at the sky again. Thunderlane was watching him intently, still.

“Well, you sure put on a good show,” Silver Spoon added. “And not just for a couple of blank flanks, I mean. So what do you say about doing this again sometime?”

“You need to talk to my agent about that.” Rumble grabbed Apple Bloom by the arms and dragged her in between him and Silver.

“Well?” Silver persisted.

“I’m gonna have to ask my client about that.” She turned to face the boy. “Think you’re up to it?”

Rumble looked to Truck, then to all his classmates. His agent had only bought him a few seconds of thinking time. He sighed. “I’ll do it. Name the time and place, and me and Truck’ll race. We need the practice, anyway.”

Rainbow Dash had to suppress a grin at that.

“On one condition,” Rumble added.

“Name it,” Diamond Tiara said.

The boy took a deep breath and jutted out his chest ever so slightly to look bigger and more imposing. He didn’t want to falter saying this. “You don’t call anyone who shows up a blank flank or anything like that, and anyone who wants to join, gets to join. You have to let anyone who wants into the race.”

Silver Spoon frowned. “Hey, those are two conditions!”

“It’s a two-parter,” Rumble retorted stoically.

After letting the single two-part condition stew in her mind a bit, Diamond nodded. “Sure, okay, but there aren’t any pegasus ponies in town who can race, like you. Unless you mean Scootaloo, of course, she can join too.”

Truck shook his head. “Scootaloo can’t race, not like we do. She’s got, like, a thing on her wings. She can fly, but she’s not allowed to do much of it anymore.”

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom exchanged glances. Truck’s excuse sounded genuine, to the point that it might even be true. Truck could certainly race now, but considering changeling abilities that may have been due to the crowds. Maybe Scootaloo was flying on borrowed strength. Either that, or she was a really good actress now.

Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara exchanged glances of their own. Diamond shrugged. “Fine, if she gets better, you can let her know she can race if she wants to. And if she thinks she can keep up. Everypony’s invited. Well, everypony who can fly.”

All eyes fell on Featherweight, Alula, and the other pegasus ponies in class. They all quietly took a step back.

Rumble, however, wasn’t finished. “I don’t just mean every pony. Everyone who can fly.”

Diamond cocked an eyebrow. “You know someone else to race against? You mean like a griphon?”

Rumble looked away and gulped. “Uh, yeah, sort of like a griphon. My girlfriend.”

A tense silence fell over the crowd. Silver Spoon was the first break it. “So you really do have a girlfriend? Since when?”

Rainbow Dash’ heart skipped a beat. She stole a glance towards the cloud Thunderlane was on. “Rumble, careful what you say now.”

Rumble rolled his eyes. “It’s okay, Rainbow Dash. The truth is, I haven’t really gone out racing or talked that much before now because, umm, I’ve been pen pals with a girl named Stella, and we really like each other. Only, her family’s really traditional, so I kind of had to follow a couple of rules, or my letters wouldn’t get to her.”

“So this Stella girl is a griphon, she’s your girlfriend, and she’s coming over here to race?” Diamond asked.

“Not quite.” Rumble winced embarrassedly before smiling eagerly. “She’s going to live here, and since she likes to race I thought it’d be a good way for her to make friends.”

Lance furrowed his brow. “Wait, this isn’t Chitter you’re talking about it, is it?”

Rumble chuckled nervously. “Err, no. Chitter’s friends with her, and she’s just friends with me. And you should know, Chitter and Stella are both rousettes. They have hooves just like ours, manes like ours, they look like pegasus ponies, except they have bat wings. But you can’t call them bat ponies, ever. They hate being associated with that animal, really hate it.”

Apple Bloom frowned. “They don’t want to be associated with bats?”

Rumble shook his head dismissively. “No, no, ponies. They, umm, ‘self-identify’ as pure bats, so make sure you call them bats first. Never, ever, call them ponies. But other than that, you’ll like Stella, I’m sure. Especially you and Sweetie Belle. She and Chitter are, umm, active kind of girls. And you’ll like Stella too.” He turned to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. “She’s the ward of Lord Nox, a very important rousette in high society. So, is it okay if Stella and Chitter race, too?”

Diamond smiled. “Of course it’s fine. I think everypony would like to see some bat po-err, ahem, rousettes racing. As long as Truck’s okay with it, too.”

The changeling in disguise looked on for a second. If anypony had known, they might have guessed she had pangs of jealousy from hearing all this. As it was, Truck looked like he thought Rumble had gone crazy, which most of Rumble’s classmates would agree with. “Dude, like, the more, the merrier, right?”

“I promise you’ll like her,” Rumble said again. “And as long as she’s here, I don’t have to worry about upsetting her family by talking to anypony else.”

“Okay, Rumble, that’s enough.”

“Gah!” Truck jumped up when the stallion landed behind him. “Dude, you need, like, a bell around your neck or somethin’. And what’s up this time?”

Rumble glared up at his brother. “Yeah, big bro, what’s up this time? I’m allowed to talk to Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara now, aren’t I?”

Thunderlane stared his brother down. “We’ll see what Stella and Lord Nox have to say about that.”

“And I’d better get you home too, Truck. Your parents should be back by now,” Rainbow Dash gestured to the boy.

Thunderlane squinted. “You need somepony else to fly you home? I thought you said you lived in Ponyville?”

“I’m, like, movin’ around and stuff now. My mom and dad are lookin’ for a new dig, you dig?”

The stallion thought that over for a second, confused. “Then why did you tell me you live in Ponyville?”

“Because you’re scary, Mister, and you’re a stranger.” Truck casually strolled past him and took off alongside Rainbow Dash.

Thunderlane shook off the remark and did the same, little brother in tow.

Looking down, Rumble found it didn’t take long for the crowd to disperse. “Why did you have to pull me away again? I was just asking if Chitter and Stella could race.”

“You’re not supposed to talk to girls, Rumble, you know that. You have to follow tradition.”

“I am following tradition, you’re the one who’s breaking the rules. I’m gonna be wedlocked to Stella now, remember? As soon as she said yes, you stopped getting any say about what I do. She’s the one who decides if I can talk to my friends, not you.”

“Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara are not your friends, Rumble; you hardly know them.”

“And whose fault is that? Besides, I’ve started talking to them for about as long as I’ve known Stella. I know them just as well as I know her.”

Thunderlane groaned as they landed in front of their parents’ house. “Whatever. You just get inside and start practising your vows, I’ve already set up a mirror in your room. That girl’s gonna have her hooves full with you.”

Rumble scowled. “Maybe Stella likes her hooves full.”

Apple Bloom scanned the sky. “Rainbow Dash is gone, and looks like Scootaloo’s gone, too.”

Sweetie Belle shrugged. “Octavia said she was with her parents.”

“Uhuh.”

“But you don’t believe that, huh?”

Apple Bloom shook her head and looked the unicorn in the eyes. “You thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’?”

Sweetie Belle nodded. “I think so. But if her wings are getting worse again, why wouldn’t she tell us?”

Not what Apple Bloom had in mind, but part of her concerns. “Probably her darn stubborn pride again. But if she’s really sick, she’d tell us, right? She wouldn’t go behind our backs if it was that important.”

“Maybe.”

Apple Bloom sighed. “And what do you make of this Stella business?”

Sweetie Belle shrugged. “What about it? Rumble’s got a girlfriend, and he follows her tradition. What’s there to make of it?”

Apple Bloom looked around as they reached Carousel Boutique. There was nopony in sight, but still she waited until they were inside. Even then, she lowered her voice to a whisper. “I mean, isn’t it strange that Rumble’s talkin’ about this batty girlfriend nopony’s ever heard of this soon after youknowho finds out they’re a youknowwhat and starts hanging out with him? He knows about her, but nopony knew about Stella, not even Scootaloo?”

Sweetie Belle shrugged and whispered. “You think Stella and Scootaloo are…”

“I don’t know. It’s a mite suspicious, ain’t it?”

“Apple Bloom, no offence, but you’re being paranoid. And wrong.”

“How?”

Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes. “Well, for one thing, if what you say is true, then Stella is Scootaloo, who is also Truck, right?”

“Right.”

“So how is Stella ever going to race against Truck?”

Apple Bloom pondered it for a moment. “I guess you’ve got a point there. But then they have to race. If Truck or Stella gets some silly excuse to not show up, we have to confront Scootaloo about it.”

Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes. “Oh, don’t be silly. I’m sure the next race will go through without a hitch.”

Reaching Out

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Apple Bloom was lost in thought once she left Sweetie Belle at Rarity’s place. While watching the race between Rumble and Scootaloo -- or Truck, whatever Scoot liked to call herself -- had been fun, without any crusades for cutie marks there was nothing for her to do.

She found Applejack in the middle of selling a cart full of apples to Diamond Tiara’s father.

“Pleasure doin’ business with ya, Mister Rich.” Applejack shook the stallion’s hoof with a content smile on her face.

“Likewise.” Filthy Rich strapped himself in and took off with a steady trot. “See you around Applejack, Apple Bloom.”

“See you around, Mister Rich.” Apple Bloom did find it odd that a pony as rich as he was would still pull a cart of apples, but then again, Filthy Rich was an Earth pony like her and her family, so presumably he was strong enough for it. Maybe he liked doing some of the work on his own.

Applejack caught her sister pondering as she made her way to City Hall. “Somethin’ on your mind, sis?”

Apple Bloom pouted. “I don’t know. I got this weird feelin’ something funny’s goin’ on, but I can’t quite tell what.”

“Oh?” Applejack quirked an eyebrow and started walking homewards, little sister following right beside her. “Funny, how?”

Apple Bloom winced. “You know how we were gonna watch Rumble race?”

“With the new kid Scootaloo knows from way back when?”

“Yeah.”

“The new kid who’s a youknowwhat and you’re not supposed to talk about in public?” Applejack whispered.

“Yup, that’s the one.” Apple Bloom smiled half-heartedly.

“What about it?”

“Uh, well, turns out Rumble had a bit of a surprise for us.” Apple Bloom wasn’t a fan of sugar-coating things, but this occasion certainly called for it.

“I’m sure he did; a quiet pony like that must have somethin’ interesting going on. Big Mac was just like that too, when he was your age.”

“Yeah, but did Big Macintosh ever have a girlfriend when he was my age?”

Applejack froze. “Come again?”

Apple Bloom shrugged. “I know, right? Rumble’s got a girlfriend.”

Applejack ran that detail through her head again, but it came out sounding just as ridiculous as it did the first time. “Nah, he couldn’t. He’s too young. You heard wrong, you must have. What girl do you even mean? I thought you said he kept to himself all the time.”

Apple Bloom shrugged. “He does, but the way I understand it, they’ve been pen pals for a while now, and she’s coming over to live in Ponyville.”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Oh. Well, he was probably just joking then, Apple Bloom. There aren’t any new ponies moving to Ponyville anytime soon, or else I’d know about it. Pinkie Pie always knows, and she always tells me about it.”

Apple Bloom spotted the mayor coming out of the market square. “Are you sure? Maybe we should ask.”

“Apple Bloom, what are you-hey!” Applejack called out after the filly after she’d bolted.

“Missus Mayor, do you know if there’s any bat ponies moving to Ponyville? I heard Rumble say there’d be a new girl in town soon.”

Leading Lady, known around those parts as Mayor Mare, had just finished shopping, by the looks of it. Still, even off duty she always had time for Ponyville’s populace. “Oh, you mean Stella and Lord Nox? Yes, they’re already getting settled in as we speak.”

Applejack’s eyebrow quirked again once she’d caught up with the filly and the news. “Really? Huh, that’s weird. I’d have thought Pinkie Pie would roll out the welcome wagon by now, then.”

“No, she never does that for the rousettes of Ponyville. In fact, I’m not so sure if she even knows any live here. Might be for the best, though, right? I mean, with Lord Nox being so close to the princesses and all, think of the scandal that might ensue.” The mare chuckled nervously.

Applejack’s jaw dropped when she realised what her little sister had been saying, and what the mayor had just admitted to. “Beggin’ your pardon, Missus Mayor, but just on the off chance that I heard you wrong: did you just say we have bat ponies in Ponyville?”

The mayor’s smile faded. “Why, yes. We’ve had quite a few families of them since shortly after Ponyville was founded, I thought you knew. And they’re not bat ponies, Applejack, they’re called rousettes. Don’t ever remind them of that animal, they don’t like it.”

“Bat ponies don’t like bein’ called bats?” Applejack scratched her head.

“No, they don’t like being called ponies,” Apple Bloom remarked.

“Indeed,” the mayor added. “Honestly, Applejack, I don’t know what to say. I mean, sure, rousettes don’t mingle with ponies much, but I just assumed they at least knew the farmers and traders in town. Certainly with your family being so close to Ponyville’s history, I should think you of all ponies have some connections with them.”

Applejack shook her head, confused. “Well, I don’t. I’d never even seen one of them bat folk before last Nightmare Night. If they’re livin’ in Ponyville, where are they? Doesn’t the Weather Patrol keep an eye on them? I mean, their little ones can fly, right? Who looks out for them?”

“You’d have to ask Thunderlane about that, he keeps track of the goings-on in the rousette community here. As far as I know, the Weather Patrol has never had any issues with rousettes, and the Night Guards stationed here have never had to intervene in pony affairs, at least not openly. Of course, nowadays the Weather Patrol is doing some of the Night Guard’s duties, and vice versa. It usually works.” Leading chuckled nervously as the exceptions to that particular rule never failed to give her nightmares, even in broad daylight.

This day was just full of surprises for Applejack. “There’s Night Guards in Ponyville, too?”

The brown mare nodded. “Mhmm, they’re the police force around here, sort of.”

“Then why ain’t we ever seen’em policing the place?”

“Oh, I see them all the time in my function, of course, but I don’t pry in their business with other ponies. I suppose you’d have to ask them that if you see them.”

“I think I will.” Applejack made up her mind right then and there. “If there’s whole families in Ponyville avoidin’ ponies, the least we can do is make sure they feel welcome in their own town. I’d hate to think they lay low ‘coz they think we don’t like’em.”

The mayor smiled. “I’m sure if anyone can bring our communities closer together, it’s you, Applejack. I’m afraid my hooves are tied, given the rules regarding politics respecting traditions and all.”

“I’ve still got enough salads from Princess Celestia’s last visit, I can round up somethin’ fancy in a hurry, maybe we should host a little get-together.” Applejack turned and trotted off. “Thanks for the help, Missus Mayor.”

“Any time, Applejack.” The mare continued on her way.

“Umm, Missus Mayor?” Apple Bloom piped up. “Could I ask just one more teensy, tiny thing?”

“What’s that, Apple Bloom?”

“You never actually said where the rousettes live. I don’t really mind the rest of them hidin’, if they want to, but I’d still like to go say hello to Stella before she races tomorrow. Ya know, be sociable like.”

Leading Lady gulped. “Right. Stella and Lord Nox live on the east corner of Ponyville, on the road to Canterlot.”

Apple Bloom saw the hesitation in the mare’s eyes. For whatever reason, Missus Mayor really didn’t want to reveal the whereabouts of the rousettes. Luckily, Apple Bloom had a secret weapon for just such an occasion: the big Puppy-Eyed Pout. “Can’t you tell us the street?”

The ocular onslaught was enough to melt even a politician’s heart. “Oh, alright. The rousettes all live on Tuber Lane, and Lord Nox’ property is on number 23. But I should warn you, Applejack, they do not like being intruded upon. If Nectarine tells you to leave, you should do so.”

“And who is Nectarine?” Applejack asked.

The mayor sighed. “The Captain of the Night Guard here. She doesn’t have a lot of titles, but she commands a great deal of respect, and she’s very powerful, in more ways than one.”

“And I take it she doesn’t hang out with ponies much, either?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that. Nectarine is different. She, ah, she’s the liaison between the Night Guard and the Weather Patrol, she and Thunderlane are together quite often. Thunderlane’s family is quite close to them as a result, Rumble especially,” she lied. It wasn’t the first time she’d had to cover for the boy, after all.

“That just makes it even more confusing. Why ain’t I seen Thunderlane and her together, then?” Applejack asked.

“They are a secretive breed, Applejack. They have their own ways, and they’re very strict about them. Any pony involved with rousettes lives by bat traditions, not pony traditions. We have our ways, they have theirs. Rousettes keep to their own, Thunderlane included. He might ask you to leave too, actually, if he’s around.”

Applejack took a moment to let that sink in. “Come on, Apple Bloom. I’m gonna see if I can find any rousette to talk to about this, you get to the farm before any more surprises pop up. I’ll send Stella my regards if I see her.”

The filly pouted. “Aww, but I wanted to go welcome her.”

“No buts. If they really avoid ponies that badly, I ain’t takin’ you there if I don’t know it’s okay. So you head on home, and tell Big Mac to heat up the stove, just in case I can get anypony to come over.”

Applejack couldn’t make sense of it all. Tuber Lane was supposed to be abandoned, that’s what Granny Smith had always said. A little while after Ponyville had been founded, the street had succumbed to some sort of noxious weed related to potatoes, which had earned it its official name: ‘Nightshade Alley’. The plants had covered all the houses like kudzu, and eventually ponies had moved away from the area. A few trees here and there kept the whole street in a perpetual shade, but it made the houses look even more neglected.

Applejack sniffed the air as she saw the road disappear into the shadows. Granny Smith had always told her never to go here, that the plant life was highly poisonous, that it would make her eyes water and her lungs burn. It wasn’t doing any of that now. In fact, the first house looked pristine, like a proper pony home. Applejack walked up to the front door on a hunch and knocked. Maybe only the houses with overgrowth were rousette homes.

She saw something dart away in the window. Something small.

A familiar grey pegasus colt opened. “Uh, hi, Applejack. What are you doing here?”

“Hey there, Rumble. I’m just here to see if what I heard was true.”

Rumble flinched. “Um, w-what did you hear?”

“That you’ve got yourself a girlfriend with bat wings. Did Apple Bloom hear that right?”

The boy nodded with a sheepish grin. “Yeah, kinda. It’s complicated.”

“And I guess you hang out with rousettes because…” She nodded towards the other, more overgrown houses in the shade.

“They live closer to me, yeah, and Thunderlane’s friends with a lot of them, too. It’s just because I live close to them, really.” He blushed.

Applejack turned towards the shaded residences. “So all the houses with those vines on’em are rousette homes?”

“Yup, they’ve all got bats in them. Why do you ask?”

“Oh, no real reason. It’s just that I’ve never seen any bat po-” Applejack stopped when she noticed Rumble cringing. ”Err, I’ve never seen any rousettes around town, and I thought maybe I’d go and see why they don’t mingle much.”

The grey colt looked away, embarrassed. “Um, that’s because they got cursed by ponies once, and it was pretty bad. You don’t wanna go down Tuber Lane, trust me.”

“Really? But I thought this Lord Nox character was close to the princesses?”

“Um, yeah, he is sort of related to Princess Luna, but-”

“Good, that means we’ve already got somethin’ in common. Number 23, right? Stella’s place, I mean?”

Rumble gulped, but he didn’t press the issue. He wasn’t capable of stopping an adult anyway, certainly not an Earth pony. “Okay, then. Stella’s new place is down the road, just follow it right here and then you take a left.”

“All right. Wish me luck, big guy.” Applejack winked at him before continuing.

Entering the shadows of the trees, Applejack didn’t see what the big deal was, really. The houses looked fine, aside from being covered in vines. The air wasn’t at all what she’d expected. The leaves of the trees gave everything a vague smell of fruit and, aside from the slight chill of the shade, the air felt fresh and wholesome, just like it did in any Ponyville street on a good day.

Every window she passed was dark, though, making her wonder if anypony, or any bat, was home. She didn’t know if rousettes were nocturnal, or if they had busy jobs, or if they simply liked their houses dark.

Reaching number 23, Applejack realised she didn’t know the first thing about rousettes, which was of course part of the reason she was there in the first place. She walked up the porch and, finding no doorbell, knocked on the door.

A big, burly Titan of a rousette opened and greeted her with open wings and a smile that was all kindness and fangs, though one decidedly more than the other. “Miss Applejack! To what do I owe the honour of this invasion of my principality?”

She suppressed her first instinct to bolt, which wasn’t an easy feat considering the good Lord had a set of teeth that would make a Timberwolf jealous. “I-invasion? Look, sir, I ain’t tryin’ to invade nothin’, I’m just looking to make your acquaintance.”

The titanic pony with bat wings -- or bat with a pony body, Applejack wasn’t sure which -- gave a hearty chortle. “I kid, my dear, I kid. But seriously, how might I be of service?”

Even after the initial terror wore off, Applejack found herself taken aback by the bombastic and yet strangely familiar presence. “Uh, you are Lord Nox, I presume?”

He gave her a curt bow, furling his wings ever so slightly and jutting forward that big, broad chest. “Lord Nox, of the House Malpertuus, the very same. And I am not mistaken in thinking you are Applejack of the Ponyville Apple family, am I?”

“No, that’s me. How do you know my name?”

The big lug smiled warmly. “From dear Princess Luna, of course. Our Shadow Sovereign speaks very highly of you, you know.”

“Really? What did she s-”

“What is going on here?”

“Gah!” Applejack jumped up in surprise.

Lord Nox chuckled. “Miss Applejack, this is Nectarine, the resident Captain of the Night Guard. What seems to be the officer, problem?”

The moment Nectarine took to realise that Nox had deliberately messed up that sentence gave Applejack the time to take in this mare’s appearance. Nectarine was an orange rousette, though her coat colour looked like a jacket that had been washed once too often, so it was more of an orange-ish grey. Her mane was a darker shade, more reddish, and cut short both on the head and neck, as was the style for ponies in guard positions. Still, this particular guard couldn’t be too hung up with appearances, because her mane wasn’t brushed flat, but rather brushed up a notch. Her cutie mark looked like an ornate blade with some sort of liquid dripping from the tip, presumably poison.

It was only when Nectarine replied to Nox that Applejack realised that this mare’s hairdo was in a similar style to Thunderlane’s and Rumble’s: cut shorter than a pony do, then combed up and away from the eyes. Lord Nox had the same thing, but his style looked more like a Royal Guard’s, or Prince Blueblood’s style. Was there a barber in Ponyville who had bat wings, perhaps? Rarity probably wouldn’t mind visiting that one, if only for a different look from everypony else.

“I heard reports of an interloper entering Tuber Lane.” Nectarine shot the Earth pony a glare that made her heart skip a beat.

Applejack was about to reply in an outraged fashion, but the rousette stallion beat her to the punch. “An interloper? Why, Nectarine, Miss Applejack here was just trying to make my acquaintance. I should think the neighbours don’t suspect an Element of Harmony of any horseplay or shenanigans, let alone a felony? Especially when the weather is so charming?”

Nectarine didn’t buy it for a second. “Perhaps. But what is your business here, Miss Applejack, and why would you not conduct it in Ponyville’s main street?”

“Me? I just heard there was a new bat po-” Applejack wasn’t sure what exactly, but something seemed to shoot out of Nectarine’s eyes and hit in her dead-on in the chest. She didn’t flinch too hard, though. After all, this Nectarine gal looked about as old as Applejack was, and Applejack did have royal ties going for her. “Err, I mean, I heard from my little sister that we’d be gettin’ a new noble in town, so I thought I’d say hi. And I was wondering if maybe the Lord and his little Lady would care for a little welcoming party at Sweet Apple Acres. Every rousette’s welcome, actually, although I’m not sure how many that’d be.”

“It wouldn’t be any,” Nectarine replied bluntly. “Our kind does not mingle all that much with ponies, Miss Applejack. It doesn’t matter what date you set, by the time it actually happens, everyone would have found an excuse not to show up.”

“How does seven tonight sound?” Lord Nox asked. He took a step outside, far enough for Applejack to catch a glimpse of his cutie mark. It was a bright red, almost orange flower with yellow stems, it was purple in the middle, and it had five petals. She remembered seeing it somewhere before, but it wasn’t a local plant, not from Ponyville. Probably some foreign symbol of nobility.

“I beg your pardon, Milord?” Nectarine’s eyes went wide.

“Well, with everything that’s going on, I’ll be frightfully busy the next few days, but I’d very much like to meet the famous Apple family. Tonight would be perfect, if Miss Applejack can set it up on such short notice, of course.”

“Oh, that won’t be a problem. Me and my family do this kind of thing all the time. I just hope you like apples. And come to think of it, I’m not sure what’s the proper food for you, bein’ a noble and a, you know…”

Lord Nox gave another hearty chuckle. “D’ohohoh, my dear, I just spent the last six months negotiating peace between buffalos and dragons in a place where the juiciest fruit for miles comes from a ruddy cactus. I’m dying to sink my teeth into some of those famous Sweet Apple Acres apples. Aside from that, pony food will suffice, just serve it with olive oil and we’ll be fine.”

Applejack tried her best not to let her ears flatten against her head, but down they went anyway. Why these guys avoided ponies, whilst simultaneously being so intimidating, was a puzzle she couldn’t put together. Still, socialising would help. “Alright, then. I guess I’ll see you and… Stella, was it?”

“Stella, yes, but I think she’ll have to take a rain check. Moving around like this has worn the poor girl out, I fear, and she’s in dire need of a long batnap. Acclimating to new timezones, you know how it goes.” He cocked his head towards the back, where Applejack could see a flight of stairs towards what she presumed were the bedrooms. “But you have my word of honour I shall be present. Don’t worry about inviting any of the others; they wouldn’t show up anyway.”

“Very well, then that’s settled.” Nectarine announced. “Now, Miss Applejack, if you would be so kind, I’ll escort you off the premises.”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Fine. I know my way back, officer.”

“Oh, I must insist. Tuber Lane is a tricky place for newcomers to navigate.” The rousette followed after the mare.

Applejack grumbled to herself. Sure enough, these rousettes proved hard to reach. She hadn’t spotted a single one in the windows, or even flying about. And yet, they couldn’t be asleep, since Lord Nox was wide awake and so was Nectarine.

It confused her, to think that there were bat-winged ponies in Ponyville, and always had been, without her or her family knowing.

“You do realise that Lord Nox cannot come alone, do you not?” Nectarine said, her voice raised loud and clear.

“How’s that?”

“He’s an ambassador, after all, a noble, and a relative to Princess Luna, the Shadow Sovereign of the Moon. He cannot go to an unfamiliar place without any bodyguards present.”

Applejack withheld a groan, barely. “Oh, right. So he’ll be flanked by even bigger guys the whole night, huh?”

Nectarine made a great show of shaking her head. “No, no, no, Miss Applejack, you misunderstand. As Captain of the Night Guard, I shall be obliged to join Lord Nox tonight, as a precautionary measure, of course.”

Something clicked in Applejack’s head. “So it’ll be you and Lord Nox?”

“Naturally. And of course, if any of our neighbours happen to be available, and wanting to follow me or our illustrious Lord, I simply shan’t be able to deny them their right, either.”

Applejack looked around. While she couldn’t spot any distinct figures, she did see shadows moving about in the windows as they passed the houses. “Of course not. But that’d mean they have to actually know when it’s happening and where.”

“Oh, indeed, and even then you wouldn’t get many to turn up. But since it is my job to keep the peace in Ponyville, I am duty-bound to extend your invitation, regardless. Say, to one or two rousettes who are have a history of poor integration. You know, as a means of, ah, encouraging social cohesion.”

They exited the shadows of the trees. Nectarine squinted when the light hit her eyes. Applejack turned and extended her hoof. “Well, sorry for any disturbance I may have caused, officer. I didn’t mean to scare your kin.”

Nectarine shook that hoof and lowered her voice. She actually had quite a soft voice when she wasn’t trying to be intimidating. “No harm done, Miss Applejack. And please, it’s Rin. ‘Officer’ is what my bosses call me.”

“Your bosses? Not any criminals you apprehend?”

“They usually aren’t capable of speaking by the time we get them.”

“Ah, gotcha. And you can call me AJ, then, Rin. ‘Miss’ is what you call a horseshoe that didn’t hit the nail.”

Rin chuckled. “Right then, AJ, I’ll see you tonight at seven. Actually, I might be around at seven twenty, with guard duty and all. It’s just a stealthy run around town, won’t take too long. And don’t worry about the rousettes being so elusive. We have our ways, you have yours, we try not to get in anyone’s way. You know how it goes.”

Applejack nodded, though half-heartedly. “I suppose I do.”

“Besides that,” Rin leaned in to whisper. “We have a very, very sharp hearing, and we’re good at hiding. Turning invisible and sneaking up on others is second nature to us. If I do not act like a strong enough protector to my kind, they will catch wind of it, and I lose my authority. The same goes for any rousette. Don’t worry if any of them ever raise their voice in public. It’s nothing personal, I assure you.”

“No problem. I guess Thunderlane took a lot of getting used to, too, huh?”

Nectarine flinched, and Applejack thought that for a moment, she may have shattered what chance she had of getting to know these batty ponies.

“Who told you about Thunderlane?”

“The mayor did. You and him work together, she said, and that made his whole family close to the rousettes here. Doesn’t that get tricky if you have different ways of doing things?”

Rin was an expert at hiding her emotions. She had to be, in her position. And like a true professional, she barely let out a sigh of relief when she realised Applejack did in fact not know anything about Thunderlane’s complicated family. “Oh, yes, but Thunderlane’s practically one of ours now, and so is little Rumble. We don’t really exclude ponies, we just keep to ourselves, is all. A little gathering won’t hurt, though.”

“Well, then, I’ll see you tonight, officer,” Applejack said loudly enough for any nearby rousettes to hear.

“Yes, see you tonight, Miss Applejack. And rest assured that I shall not tolerate any chicanery against my kin,” Nectarine called out with the same amount of flair.

Applejack rolled her eyes as she trotted off. Chicanery? Wow, they really are close to Princess Luna.

She passed by Rumble’s house, and something got stuck in her head.

Thunderlane is practically one of theirs? And so is Rumble? She didn’t mean that them bein’ ponies wouldn’t be good enough, did she?

Nah, couldn’t be. That’d be an awful thing to think.

Author's Notes:

Not quite as many last-minute edits on this one, just a minor detail I could've sworn I'd added in much sooner.

Nectarine is a fun character to write: the girl who wedlocked a boy with feathers, and who's seen him prep his little brother to join in bat traditions. The one who sees both sides of the conflict, and an official at that. The reason Applejack has a tag in this story is because of the interactions with her and Nectarine, mostly.

The phrase 'invasion of my principality' was taken from an anecdote about Brits vs Americans or some such, by Richard Williams in "The Animator's Survival Kit". Someone would say 'invading the principality' instead of just saying 'visit'.

As for Mayor Mare's real name... I dunno, I just can't imagine any parent naming their child Mayor on one hoof and Mare on the other, when she's just a baby. But Leading Lady, well, that suggests aspirations of the theatre, which is totally sensible.

Bats in the Orchard

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“Well, this wasn’t exactly what I was hopin’ for,” Applejack remarked quietly, a ways away from the dining table outside. She’d set up everything she had to, drizzled the salads to perfection, and given the invitations to whomever she’d figured would accept, though obviously not in that particular order. All that was left was to serve everything.

Mister and Missus Cake were there, which in turn made for a good excuse to exclude Pinkie Pie from the gathering, if only to avoid upsetting the rousettes with any loud noise. Leading Lady, the mayor, had been more than happy to turn up, both to socialise with some of her more elusive constituents and be a buffer between the communities. Finally, Derpy had been thrilled to accept because she was curious to hear why exactly she always had to turn over any letter meant for Tuber Lane to Thunderlane. Derpy was very strict on her deliveries, after all, and for all his virtues, Thunderlane wasn’t a postal pony. If he was going to drag her record down, and he had, she wanted to know the reasons

The rousettes that had accepted the invitation were a nice enough bunch as well. Aside from the large, loud and intimidating Lord Nox, a young couple had turned up: Trip Wire and Sunset Red. Trip was a blue-ish grey stallion -- Applejack made a mental note to ask what rousettes call their males and females, if they didn’t use pony terms for it -- with a short mane and tail, both of which were brushed neat and flat. Sunset Red was that rarest breed of rousettes: one that wasn’t a reddish shade of grey but a greyish shade of red. Her coat was indeed coloured like the very sunset that was happening that instant, and her mane was more of a greyish autumn brown. Her mane style wasn’t that far off from Derpy’s or Applejack’s, but it was cut shorter than either. Presumably the pair were Night Guards.

Not that Applejack, or any of the ponies present, would know, because the three rousettes and four ponies didn’t talk to each other. The ponies were talking amongst themselves, mostly the Cakes talking about their adorable but tricky to manage twins, while the rousettes were preoccupied with whatever exploits Lord Nox had had to pull to make peace between dragons and buffalo, and dragons and goats, and dragons and some strange species of talking panda.

From the sound of it, Ponyville had gotten lucky in having only one dragon to contend with, and a fairly well-mannered one at that.

Applejack grumbled at the sight of the ponies and rousettes sitting in their own little corners. “Well, we can’t have this.”

“How do we get ponies and rousettes to talk to each other?” Apple Bloom asked.

Applejack looked to Big Macintosh on her right, then Granny Smith on her left. “Okay, time to start servin’ the appetisers. Apple Bloom, you remember what I said after the Running of the Leaves? And after that Mare Do Well thing?”

Apple Bloom pondered it for a moment. “Do as you say, not as you do?”

“That’s the one. Your big sis is about to do another somethin’ you should never do yourself.”

“What’s that?”

Applejack snorted and picked up the dishes. “The old Apple Family peace offering. Granny, get the good glasses. Big Mac, fetch the cider.”

Scootaloo sunk into the couch. Her mom hummed a merry tune as she went back and forth, getting the snacks ready for a nice, cozy evening in front of the television. Her dad sat at the living room table, checking the numbers and sunshine schedules for cities all over Equestria, going over the numbers one last time.

The girl felt a heaviness descend over her head. Her stomach started to grow a knot, and she could feel the blood draining from her face. Her arms were getting heavy, and she found herself sighing for some reason. She sunk into the couch more.

“M-mom?” She tried, letting out another sigh. As Rain Dancer went back to the kitchen to get some glasses, Scootaloo found the walls of the room spinning.

“I know, sweetie, I’ll get you your lemonade.”

The girl felt a headrush wash over her. When it passed, her face was soaked. Her whole body felt damp with sweat, and the heaviness in her head had turned into an insistent throbbing. Her mouth went dry, and her breath slowed.

“M-mom?” Scootaloo croaked, sighing again despite herself. She tried to move, to get out of the couch, but her hooves couldn’t find the traction, they just passed through the cloud like jelly. “I-I don’t fuh-feel so good.”

Sun Dancer looked up from his paperwork. Rain Dancer quickly put down the glasses and dashed towards her daughter. “What’s wrong, sweetie? Are you alright?” She kissed her daughter’s forehead to check the temperature. “Honey, you’re cold. What’s the matter?”

Scootaloo blinked hard again to try and clear her mind. “U-um fuh-falling, mom. I-I can’t fuh-feel my wings.”

Sun Dancer walked over to her. “Scootaloo, can you sit up straight?”

The filly shook her head. “No. I’m f-falling…”

Rain Dancer grabbed her daughter by the arms before the girl could sink into the clouds any further. “Sun, this isn’t normal. She’s covered in sweat, she’s sick. Something’s draining her magic, she’ll fall through the floor at this rate.”

“Scootaloo?” Sun Dancer tapped the girl’s chin slightly. “Scootaloo, honey, can you hear me? Can you breathe? Do you need water, or sugar? Do you need a hug, maybe?”

Something twitched in the filly’s stomach, like she was trying to gag. Rain Dancer hugged her tight just in case that helped. Scootaloo groaned. “I hear you, dad. I can’t muh-move, I’m burning up and freezing at the same time. My wings, they hurt…”

Sun Dancer and Rain Dancer checked those little wings. They felt so cold to the touch it was like they were frozen.

Sun Dancer shook his head. “Okay, I’m going to go grab a blanket and then we’re taking you to see Twilight. Just stay awake, okay? You’ll be fine.”

Scootaloo found herself nodding off, but her mom shook her to keep her awake. She sipped a glass of lemonade she hadn’t realised was being offered to her, just on the off chance she needed sugar. It didn’t do much. “Okay. Stay awake. I can do that… I think.”

The Apple family was known for its celebrations, of course. The Sisterhooves Social, the annual turkey-calling contest, the regular family gathering where ponies outside of the family were invited -- though occasionally they’d end up becoming part of the family a little while after -- yes, the Apple family knew how to host a gathering.

But this one was different from the others. Where normally Applejack and her kin could count on a relaxed atmosphere to start a conversation and keep it going, the mix of rousettes and ponies seemed to form somewhat of stumbling block.

Which is where the cider came in, of course.

Applejack wasn’t fond of cheating, but when it came to awkward gatherings, she recognised the importance of proper social lubrication. It wasn’t too hard a cider, but hard enough for the occasion. All the ponies and rousettes had scooted closer together after a few sips, and now Lord Nox was set to entertain his pony audience as well as Trip Wire and Sunset Red.

Lord Nox cleared his throat after another brief sip of the cider and gulping down the last of the entrees. Applejack tensed. Everyone had their food and drink now that the main course was served. The sliced carrots and cucumbers would surely go nicely with the cherry tomatoes and apple slices, the goat’s cheese was fresh, and Lord Nox had advised her that rousettes liked olive oil, so the food should be to everyone’s liking. Still, no rousette had spoken to a pony, aside from the hosts.

Nox was about to address the mayor, smiling that toothy smile of his.

And then the police showed up.

“Nectarine! Just the bat I was waiting for. Grab a seat and dig in. Oh, and you must try the cider, it’s a delightful accompaniment to the meal, and a most wondrous aperitif,” the big rousette was practically roaring by now.

Nectarine was dressed in her Night Guard uniform, standard Royal Guard plating with a slightly different colour scheme, and the shape of an eye over her chest. Judging from that and what the Night Guards had been wearing last Nightmare Night, apparently the eye meant something to them. Rin was also armed now. She carried a dagger right where her cutie mark of a dripping dagger would have been. Still, the mare -- again, assuming that’s what the bats called their females -- looked very proper and even pretty, by Apple standards. Applejack could see why Thunderlane would want to hang out with them.

“I’m afraid I can’t try the cider, Lord Nox.” Nectarine sat down in front of the last plate with a lot of aplomb and grabbed a piece of bread from the basket Granny Smith was reaching out to her. “Thank you. I’m not allowed to drink while I’m on duty, remember?”

Lord Nox looked back towards the mountains. “I see. And if I recall correctly, that would be until the sun no longer reaches the tip of those hills there, right?”

Everyone looked at the hills in question. When they turned their heads back, Nectarine had taken a good, long sip of the cider. She licked her lips and smirked. “Sure, give or take a few minutes.”

Everypony -- and every bat -- chuckled and dug in. Silence fell for a moment, before Lord Nox remembered what he was going to ask the mayor. “Ah, Missus Mayor, I’ve been meaning to ask about the customs around here. I’m told Ponyville has some rather quaint annual traditions. What can I expect from my stay here? My fellow kinsbats were quite scant on details.”

Applejack’s ears perked for just second. Kinsbats. Okay, that’s a word now.

Trip and Sunset nearly choked on their food when Nox mentioned the lack of information coming from them. Clearly this guy was a big deal among their kind, even besides the obvious title.

“Oh, goodness, where do I even start? Well, we do have the Summer Harvest Parade coming in a few weeks. And then there’s the Sisterhooves Social, the annual turkey calling contest, the Running of the Leaves in autumn, and of course Hearth’s Warming Eve and Winter Wrap-Up, but I’m sure you know those by now. Come to think of it, Applejack, will you be hosting another Iron Pony competition this year?”

Applejack winced before swallowing another bite of her salad. “I don’t think so. I don’t think there’s any real way to make it fair without turning it into a rodeo, and if we’re gonna do that, it ain’t an Iron Pony competition anymore.”

Lord Nox furrowed his brow before working down another honey-drizzled piece of goat’s cheese. “You host the events of Ponyville?”

Applejack nodded. “Oh, a couple, yeah. Me and my family, we’re pretty well-known around these parts, and I think everypony in town’s been around here at least once, and every donkey I’ve seen in Ponyville, too. Heck, even Zecora comes by sometimes to restock on some herbs.”

Nox mumbled as he chewed, unashamed about talking with his mouth full. “Zecora? Who’s that? I don’t think I’ve heard that name yet.”

“She’s a zebra, and a medicine mare. Taught little Apple Bloom here a thing or two about makin’ potions,” Granny Smith explained. “Don’t ask how, though.”

Nox swallowed his bite, leaned back in surprise and, like everything he did, he did it with a flair for drama. “Really? There’s a zebra all the way out here? In Ponyville?”

Nectarine shook her head. “No, Milord, Zecora lives in the Everfree Forest.”

Nox nodded knowingly. “Ah, suppose she would.”

The ponies were all confused at that. Apparently Nox had had enough dealings with zebras to know what was normal for one. “Well then, it sounds like Ponyville is quite an exemplary tight-knit community.”

Applejack chuckled nervously. “Err, yeah, it is. That’s kinda why I was so surprised to hear y’all were livin’ in Ponyville for as long as you have with nopony noticin’.”

Big Mac, Granny Smith, and Apple Bloom all went quiet. The Cakes, the mayor, and Derpy followed suit. All the ponies looked anxiously at the rousettes.

Trip Wire looked up. Having stayed quiet so much, he was nearly finished with his meal, though Big Mac made sure the rousette stallion had plenty of cider. The liquor wasn’t hard enough to be worried about yet, anyway.

Lord Nox arched an eyebrow. “Whatever do you mean, Miss Applejack?”

“Well, it’s just that we didn’t know we even had rousettes in town. It was kind of a surprise to hear.”

Leading Lady nodded and turned to Nectarine. “To tell you the truth, Rin, I always thought you had at least introduced yourself to the Apples, being the local Captain and all.”

Rin hadn’t said a word before finishing her meal. She dabbed her lips with a napkin and shrugged. “It was never necessary. My predecessor never did, nor did his predecessor.”

The ponies fell silent again. Mister Cake cleared his throat. “But, err, I thought you were the police. Shouldn’t you be available for policing, then?”

Nectarine gave a nervous chuckle. “Ah, my job description is a little more complicated than that, but rest assured I am doing my duty. We all are.”

“Without anyone knowing who you are or where they can reach you,” Derpy remarked.

Lord Nox looked from one side of the table to the next, sensing the tensions mounting. He carefully sipped some more cider before turning to Granny Smith. “Tell me, Missus Smith, how long have you lived in Ponyville?”

“Since before it was founded, and that was… oh, how long ago wazzat now?”

“And you did not know rousettes lived in this town?”

“Honestly? I didn’t even know there were ponies with bat wings ‘till last Nightmare Night. I just figured they had a spell on’em or somethin’.” The old mare shrugged.

Nox chuckled. “My, my. I’m impressed. You run a very tight ship, Miss Nectarine.”

Rin smiled. “Thank you, Milord.”

“I don’t follow,” Mister Cake said.

“Night Guards operate in secret,” Sunset Red explained. “We’re not a proper police force; we’re closer to the military than we are to the justice system, and we, the ones at the city level, mostly respond to monster threats. The highly ranked Night Guards, the national level, do black ops, nighttime operations, but most of our work is still peaceful. We do apprehend criminals from time to time, but mostly that’s a Royal Guard duty, not ours. The point is: since we do so much night work by nature, we rousettes consider stealth one of the greatest assets one can have, even a virtue, part of humility. Most of our children’s holidays involve presents left by a creature that never shows itself, for example. We consider being unnoticed while doing good a good thing in and of itself, you might say. It’s a cultural thing.”

Apple Bloom frowned. “But what kind of work do you do, then, if nopony’s ever seen you do it?”

“Apple Bloom, behave,” Applejack chided her. “Sorry, my little sister’s kinda curious.”

“It’s alright, AJ.” Rin unsheathed the dagger on her waist. She held it up, showing off the markings carved into it. “See this? This is a runic dagger. Say the right incantation, use the proper magic, and it can carve through dragonhide like butter. Say another incantation, and it becomes covered in a blue flame that freezes the blood of a changeling, forcing it into hibernation but leaving it alive. And then, of course, there’s one to defend against Windigos.”

“Windigos?” Apple Bloom quirked an eyebrow. “Why would you need to defend against Windigos? They ain’t been a problem since the first Hearth’s Warming Eve.”

Rin stared at her dagger, lost in thought before sheathing it again. “Oh, they can be a problem all right. We had a few not too long ago, even, causing accidents and sowing misfortune all over the place. Missus Mayor asked us to solve it, and solve it we did.”

Trip and Sunset nodded with a wince.

“And when was this, exactly?” Applejack asked.

“A few months ago. Right around the time that Mare Do Well character showed up, actually. Good thing, too; those Windigos were powerful devils.”

Sunset nodded emphatically. “Very. We had to wrangle them up and take the fight up high.”

“Those things put up one heck of a struggle. It’s weird, you’d think a town like Ponyville doesn’t give them any feeding grounds. They must have fed off some petty grudges or something, a lot of petty grudges,” Trip noted.

Applejack felt a knot form in her stomach. A change of subject seemed appropriate right about now. “Oh, right, of course. So it’s not so much that you don’t mix with ponies, it’s just that your job is done in secret and you think secrecy is like honour?”

The Night Guards all smiled broadly. Rin nodded. “Yes, yes, exactly that.”

Nox gestured to Applejack. “D’oh, it’s nothing personal, mind you, it’s just that before the tribes united, ponies cast a curse on our race. Several, actually. Our history’s been one full of secrecy and, well, just trying to stay out of everyone’s hair, really.”

Derpy tilted her head. “Wait, so rousettes and ponies don’t make friends, ever?”

Rin turned to Nox, Sunset, and Trip. The Captain shrugged. “Not usually, no. We have our ways, you have yours. Our way is not yours. We live separately, so it just doesn’t happen.”

Missus Cake smiled coyly. “Oh? What about Thunderlane then, dear?”

Rin’s jaw clenched. “How do you know about Thunderlane?”

“I did hear you all lived in Tuber Lane, and Thunderlane is the one in charge of that area. The Weather Patrol meets up at Sugarcube Corner sometimes, they bring it up all the time. Ponies always ask to take over from Thunderlane, he never lets them, and he never tells anyone why he insists on sticking to it. He must be very close to you and your kind, then? You must know him, at least. In your function, I mean, dear.”

Next to her, Sunset and Trip desperately looked for an excuse to not say anything, but found their plates empty and their glasses likewise devoid of any excuse to stay quiet. Nox grumbled to himself, though whether he was amused or annoyed was hard to tell.

Rin gulped as Granny Smith and Big Macintosh took everyone’s empty plates away. “Err, well, Thunderlane is… Thunderlane and I are, ah…”

Scootaloo was barely awake when her parents entered the library. She vaguely recognised the voices of Twilight, Spike, and Rarity. No one else was around, and all three of them knew Scootaloo’s secret, so that was a relief.

Scootaloo groaned when Twilight put the back of a hoof on her forehead. The unicorn said something, but Scootaloo didn’t quite catch what.

“She’s slipping. Maybe we should take her to a hospital,” Rain Dancer started.

Rarity put her front hooves up. “Calm down, darling, I’m sure everything will be all right. You are Scootaloo’s parents? I’m Rarity, pleased to meet you.” She extended a hoof in greeting, which was just enough of a distraction to let Twilight lift Scootaloo up and put her on some pillows.

“Sun Dancer, this is Rain Dancer. Pleased to meet you. Sorry about the circumstances,” Sun Dancer clenched his jaw, clearly holding back his frustration.

Twilight took Scootaloo’s pulse and smelled her breath. “Weak pulse, no abnormal smell. Did she eat anything strange, do anything out of the ordinary?”

Both pegasi shook their heads. Rain Dancer suppressed a sob. “No. She’s been doing everything she normally does, and she hasn’t changed her diet at all, either. I mean, we hug her and we love her, she can’t be starved of love or food, so what else is there?”

Twilight sighed. She wracked her brain for an answer. “Okay, let me think. She’s not diabetic, or we’d smell it. She’s not starved of love, or her colouration would shift. She’s not overcharged, either, or she’d be sparking. Maybe she has enough love, but not the right kind.”

A spasm went through the filly’s body. Spike jumped up. “I’ve got it! She needs a date!”

Rarity furrowed her brow while Spike rushed off. “Darling, I don’t think finding a boy at this hour is the right answer.”

Spike came running back in with a piece of fruit in his claw. “Not a date, a date. Here, Scootaloo, eat this.” He held the date in front of the changeling’s mouth and put an empty dish on the ground.

She carefully took a bite and munched it down. It was sweet, sickeningly so, and it tasted heavy, even mushier than bananas. Her stomach groaned as she swallowed the bite down.

But it did make the pounding in her skull stop. She carefully rolled over and stood up to take another bite.

Spike breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed it was working. “I’ve got a whole basket in the kitchen. Want me to get another one?”

Scootaloo found her strength returning and took the date in her hooves. “Y-yeah, thanks, Spike.”

Twilight, Rarity, and the Dancers sat down close to her. Twilight checked the girl’s pupils for any dilation. “You okay now, Scootaloo? Do you know where you are, who’s with you?”

Scootaloo nodded. “I’m in Ponyville Library, and you’re here, and Spike’s here, and Rarity’s here. And my mom and dad are here. I don’t think I passed out, but something went wrong really bad.” She took one final, big bite of the date and munched it down, carefully putting the seed aside on the dish Spike had set up.

“What happened?” Twilight asked.

“I don’t know. My head started pounding, and my arms felt heavy all of a sudden. My magic went out, too.”

“Have you ever felt like that before?”

The girl shook her head. “No. Well, maybe. Like, when I’m doing a lot of homework, and if it’s really hard and I get hungry from thinking so hard. It felt kinda like that. I don’t think I’ve been thinking that hard. But I don’t think I should be thinking about that now if it’s making me sick.”

Spike came back with the bowl and handed her another one. “You gotta be more careful, Scootaloo. You need to practise your magic, or else you’re going to end up all dizzy, and then your stomach’s going to start twitching and you could start barfing fire all over the place!”

The Dancers looked at the dragon. It finally dawned on the ponies how Spike knew what was wrong when they hadn’t.

“But if it’s my magic, then shouldn’t my horn hurt? You know, even if I’m not wearing it right now?” Scootaloo rubbed her still bare forehead.

“Not if the magic that’s unbalanced isn’t in your horn. You just had a convulsion in your abdominal area. And there is one kind of magic that’s rooted there that you’ve probably been neglecting.” Twilight winced as she reached the only logical conclusion.

Scootaloo’s whole body sagged. She shook her head. “No, come on. You can’t tell me that, not now. I’ve done everything right so far.”

“Have you been hiding this, Scootaloo?” Twilight asked.

The girl let out a dejected sigh. “Maybe a little. I thought I’d be fine.”

Rain Dancer felt her heart quicken. “I’m sorry, what exactly are you saying? What just happened to my daughter?”

Twilight gulped. “What happened is… well, when you neglect to use certain muscles, they start to degrade. And some muscles, when they haven’t had any exercise at all, and I mean total lack of movement, just complete stillness for too long, they umm, they start to twitch.”

Sun Dancer pondered it for a moment. “Wait, so Scootaloo nearly fainted because her magic was twitching?”

“Sort of. Magic is like the mind, or the soul, flexing its muscles. And like any muscle, if it’s left completely immobile for too long, it starts to suffer decay. To stop that, some muscles will convulse uncontrollably from time to time. Only, magic doesn’t involve muscle action, but mental action. She hasn’t been using her magic, so her mind tried to do it for her, and without conscious control she ended up burning out a lot of energy.” Twilight explained.

Rain Dancer shook her head. “But Scootaloo has been practising her magic since she changed. She can fly now, she meditates every now and then, she’s even levitated the dishes. What else is there?”

Twilight sighed. “Do you want to tell them, Scootaloo, or should I?”

“I don’t want to. I don’t get it myself.” The girl let her head hang.

“All right, then. The reason Scootaloo had her little episode here is because she hasn’t fed off love.”

“But that’s ridiculous,” Rain objected. “We’ve given her plenty of our love, she’s fed off the admiration of her classmates. She races and feeds off of what her classmates feel.”

“Yes, she’s been feeding passively, without using any magic of her own. But whatever it is that makes changelings require love has been activated now. Like, when you get larval stages of certain animals, they’re not born with fully functioning stomachs. It takes time for certain parts of the body to degrade. That’s what’s happened: Scootaloo’s love stomach, if you can call it that, is active now. It is still just magic, but it’s a part of her. It’s part of her bodily functions that’s not going to go away. If she doesn’t start feeding actively, this will happen again.”

“Can’t I just keep eating these things?” Scootaloo held up what was left of the date.

“Sorry, no,” Spike replied. “Dates just give you the sugar you need when your brain’s been burning it off without you knowing it. That’s why your head feels like you’ve been reading a lot: your brain’s trying to do magic out of control. But on top of that, dates fill up your stomach, a lot, so your head gets less focused on magic and more focused on what’s going on in your stomach. It can keep you going, but you need to flex your magic or this is going to keep happening. It’s the same thing when I don’t breathe fire for a few weeks: I get sick and I start to throw it up by accident.”

Scootaloo let her disguise fall, revealing her black, leathery skin and that dagger-like horn. Her wings buzzed just once, before she swallowed the second date. “Are you sure there’s no other way?”

Rarity patted the girl on the back. “Sorry, darling. Unicorns get this all the time, as well. We just have different magic to worry about.”

Sun Dancer put his hoof in front of his daughter. “Go on, drain me. Big guy like me, you won’t even make me dizzy.”

“No, I’ll do it,” Rain Dancer copied the motion. “If I have to take a day off, everypony’ll think it’s just mare troubles.”

Twilight cleared her throat. “Umm, just so we’re clear here: the object isn’t how much love Scootaloo can drain from either of you. The object is for her to perform the act of draining.”

The Dancers stared blankly at the unicorn.

“That means it doesn’t matter how much she eats, but how hard and how long she can chew. You’re agreeing to let her feed until she’s tired, not ‘till she’s full. That’s why she’s not in her disguise; she can’t afford to feed passively while she does this. On the bright side, it’s only magic. You can avoid this if you learn other forms, get your brain to flex harder every now and then, work your energies more. You’ll probably need to get more from passive feeding, but as long as you practise any kind of magic, anything that involves your new abilities, you won’t pass out like this again.” Twilight smiled nervously, to just try and offer a silver lining. “You do need to fill up now, though. If this is your body’s reacting to magic inactivity, you’re not going to recover if you don’t feed right now.”

“But I don’t know how to give energy back yet,” Scootaloo replied. “I don’t know when I’m hurting anyone.”

“You will. I’ve been reading into it, it’s not that hard once you get the trick to it. You can work around this on the long term, but right now you need to feed.”

“I don’t know,” Scootaloo said, looking to her parents. “I don’t want to hurt you. And how do you know I won’t just feed off how they feel already?”

“Drain me, then.” Spike extended his claw towards the changeling.

Rarity had to stop herself from gasping. “Spike? Are you sure?”

“Sure I’m sure. I’m not related to her, and I’m not any more than a friend, so she won’t feed off that. Plus, I’m a dragon, so she probably can’t do that much damage to me even if she tried.”

Twilight grimaced. “I don’t know, Spike, you’re only a baby dragon, and we don’t know that much about your magic, either. Do you understand what risk you’re taking here? She could knock you out for days.”

“Exactly, that’s why it should be me in the first place. I take eight-hour naps all the time, remember? If I get knocked out, nopony’ll notice.”

As much as Twilight worried about the dragon, he did have a point.

Scootaloo gulped as her stomach grumbled. “Okay, Spike, if you’re sure.”

“Hold on, Scootaloo. Just one more thing: is that your real form?” Rarity asked.

The girl stopped dead in her tracks.

“Yes, that is what she normally looks like,” Rain Dancer replied. “Why, what’s the problem?”

“Oh, I mean no offense, darling. It’s just that I couldn’t help but notice her tail is at least three inches longer than it normally is and her legs seem to have shrunk.”

Scootaloo shivered. Neither her parents nor Twilight had noticed, but Rarity was used to closely inspecting ponies’ sizes and proportions. “Um, can I just try to feed so I don’t get sick again?”

Sun Dancer took a step closer. “Scootaloo, are you still hiding something?”

“Well…”

Spike took a step back. “Are you?”

“It’s okay, sweetie,” Rain Dancer cooed. “We just need to know so you’re okay.”

Scootaloo took a deep breath. “You said this is my love stomach acting up, right?”

Twilight nodded. “That’s what started it. Your brain then tried to kickstart your magic, and that’s why you’re exhausted. What do you not understand?”

“Umm, just suppose for a second that my love stomach isn’t the only thing that’s gotten started. Would that be bad?”

Twilight tilted her head, thinking. “What are you saying, Scootaloo? Have you noticed anything different?”

The changeling sighed. “It happened a few weeks ago, after I started hanging out with Rumble. I thought it would go away, but it’s gotten, umm, bigger.”

“And what exactly is it?” Rain Dancer asked.

The girl gulped. “Promise you won’t freak out?”

Everyone nodded.

Scootaloo let out another deep sigh and covered herself in green flame, for just a split second. When it cleared, the room went quiet as the grave.

Twilight’s eyes went wide with shock. “Ho-ho-hokay, this… this might complicate things.”

Applejack nearly slapped herself after that remark from Missus Cake. Nectarine was obviously sensitive about her relationship with Thunderlane, why else would they both keep it a secret?

He was her boyfriend, that had to be it. That’s why the mayor had warned Applejack about him, that’s why his family was so close to rousettes. And now it was out in the open.

Poor Rin was going to lose face in front of the rousette Lord, in front of her subordinates.

“Oh, Thunderlane’s practically one of us,” Trip interjected.

There came that remark again, that ponies who were friends with rousettes were not really ponies at all.

Carrot Cake quirked an eyebrow. “Really?”

Sunset Red nodded in agreement. “Of course. He always manages the weather over our residences, he mingles with our kind, he partakes in our traditions, he’s a fine lifemate for our Captain and we appreciate him.”

Rin blushed. “Thank you.”

“Your lifemate?” Applejack asked.

“Yes, lifemate. It’s a tradition we have,” Rin explained.

Sunset smiled warmly at her Captain. “Exactly. As far as we’re concerned, Thunderlane’s just another bat like us.”

Derpy scratched her head. “Wait, you mean you think Thunderlane is a bat? But he’s a pegasus pony. Even if you think you’re bats, which, you know, is fine and all, you can’t just say a pony is a bat. Unless he’s mentioned it, maybe, but I’ve known him for a long time and he never talked about it.”

“It’s a cultural thing,” Nectarine explained. “He and I are… well, we’re close, and to be close to rousettes one needs to adhere to our rules and traditions. Thunderlane does, we’re both very happy that way, and we’re practically married by now, but not officially. Not yet, at least.”

“And Thunderlane does all the Weather Patrol work over your houses? No other Weather Patrol pony goes over your street, ever?” Derpy asked.

Trip nodded. “Sure. Why, every rousette knows Thunderlane, and Rainbow Dash doesn’t mind.”

“But do y’all mingle with ponies or not?” Applejack asked with just a hint of an edge in her voice.

Lord Nox cleared his throat and fixed Nectarine with a glare. She shook ever so slightly. “Of course we do, just not many of them. I talk to Rainbow Dash about distributing the duties between our patrols, occasionally. I have to report to the mayor, like any public servant in Ponyville. And as Trip rightly pointed out, some ponies are practically bats anyway. Thunderlane is one, like you said, and Rumble’s practically one of ours too.”

“So you talk to ponies ‘coz you have to, but you do only hang out with other bats.” Applejack’s tone hardened.

Nectarine felt a bead of cold sweat begin to form on her neck. She couldn’t just admit Thunderlane’s parents were rousettes; it would destroy him. Not to mention Rumble. Stars, things were finally looking up for that little angel, he was on the verge of being accepted by rousette society, like his brother before him. He was this close to being considered a full-fledged adult bat and still have some connection to these silly, xenophobic, prejudiced ponies. She couldn’t destroy the illusion the poor boy had so carefully constructed over his young life. No, she couldn’t do that to little Rumble. She had to think of something, some excuse.

“It’s just a name, really,” Lord Nox insisted. “A positively trifling little habit of our kind, nothing more. You don’t think we rousettes hate ponies, do you?”

Rin suppressed a sigh of relief. Oh, my Lord and Saviour, thank you.

The ponies went quiet.

“We don’t, you know,” Rin said once the stress had worn off. “If we did, we’d have protested by now, or moved elsewhere.”

“But if you don’t hate ponies, how come y’all don’t call yourselves ponies anymore?” Apple Bloom asked.

Lord Nox chuckled. “Well, my dear, that there’s a matter of self-identification and its relation to magic. We rousettes employ the morphic field paradigm of magic with shamanic roots.”

“Huh?”

“It’s easier for us to think of ourselves as bats, little girl, it helps our magic.”

“Oh.”

Applejack folded her arms in front of her chest. “Pardon me, Nox-”

“Lord Nox,” Rin interrupted. “It’s kind of a big deal, that title.”

“Thank you, Rin,” sayeth the Lord.

“Lord Nox, sorry, but if I understand this correctly, you’re saying there’s been a whole group of families in Ponyville who’ve never shown their face in broad daylight, act like a secret police force when they never do any police business for ponies, and don’t even talk to ponies if they can’t call them bats instead. Did I get that about right?”

Nox shrugged nonchalantly. “Ho, sounds about right, yes. Nectarine?”

Nectarine sat dumbfounded. “Well, now, when you put it like that, it sounds a lot worse than it is. It’s umm… it’s complicated.”

“Why would you do that?” Applejack asked. “If you don’t hate us, why don’t you mingle? Why ain’t I ever seen any of your kind at Ponyville Market, or why ain’t anypony ever seen one of your little ones at Ponyville Elementary? Do you even help during Winter Wrap-Up?”

“Oh, they do,” Missus Mayor replied. “They’re just private, that’s all. Isn’t that right, Rin?”

Rin gulped. “Yes. We like our privacy. And if it’s all the same to you, I’d rather we not discuss the matter any further. This friendly invitation of yours is starting to feel more and more like a trap, and I don’t think we like it one bit. Right?”

Trip and Sunset both nodded at their Captain’s request.

“Humble pie, anyone?” Big Mac presented the big pie the Cakes had brought along.

“Yes, please.” Nectarine replied. Once she had her slice, she made a point of eating as slowly as possible, if only to avoid talking more.

Applejack didn’t press any further. She’d heard enough.

The evening had come and gone. Apple Bloom wriggled under her covers to get comfy while Applejack tucked her in nice and tight, just the way she liked it.

“Can you believe those guys? All this time and they don’t even bother to show themselves. They think they’re so much better than us they don’t call themselves ponies anymore. The nerve!” Applejack was still fuming.

Apple Bloom looked up. “Well, they did get cursed by ponies once, and they do have some sorta magic goin’ for’em. Maybe it’s just their tradition.”

“How long ago has it been, Apple Bloom? Do you think it’s normal for them to shy away like that for that long? They’ve never once helped ponies in Ponyville, and they’re Night Guards, for cryin’ out loud.”

“Umm, sis? Are ya sure that’s what’s buggin’ ya? ‘Coz it sounds like you’re upset over something else.”

Applejack sighed. “Never mind.”

“At least Rumble and Thunderlane talk to them,” Apple Bloom said as her sister turned. “Their mom and dad must be really proud, bringing rousettes and ponies closer together like that.”

“Maybe. That’s not the point, Apple Bloom.”

“Then maybe you oughtta tell Nectarine what your point was? She looked pretty upset. And it’s not like she’s gonna tell the others to make friends with ponies if she’s upset with you.”

Applejack groaned. “Yeah, you’re probably right. How did I end up with smart little sister like you, huh?” She ruffled the girl’s mane up with a hoof.

“Guess I just paid too much attention to you. Good night, sis.”

“Good night, Apple Bloom.”

Apple Bloom wriggled into position some more and closed her eyes once Applejack turned off the lights.

Tomorrow, after school, I’m finally going to meet Chitter and Stella. I wonder what they’re like. Stella’s probably a big loudmouth like him. Scootaloo’ll like that kinda gal.

Apple Bloom let out a satisfying yawn.

Applejack’ll make up with Nectarine, probably, and then the rousettes’ll come out of hiding.

And if they don’t, I’ll just have to be extra nice to the ones Rumble brings along.

Author's Notes:

There's a recurring thing with Rin and Gale calling their beloved pegasi 'angels'. Thought that might be kind of cute, and a subtle reminder that despite outward appearances, there's no general disgust for a rousette born with feathers, not to the point that their own family hates them. I wanted the rousettes to have their own look and feel for this story, for their traditions to make sense from a certain perspective, but that perspective has to involve jumping through a few logical hoops first. They think stealth is like honour? Sure. Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny deliver gifts for children, and while they make their appearances, as a rule they're not visible while in the act. Combine that with the attitude of wanting to emulate saints down to the details - which is also present in a lot of belief systems - and you get a culture that thinks stealth is a virtue in and of itself. I'll leave the considerations of open meddling in the affairs of others vs gentle nudges in the right directions open for interpretation.

And again, Rin is an interesting character to write, because she's still a sort-of normal rousette. She's not a noble like Nox or Stella, and she doesn't have any blood relatives with feathers. At the same time, she has her opinion of ponies while also being a guard to them.

As for Apple Bloom, she's caught between her conspiracy nut side and her 'Can't we all just get along?' attitude.

Also, no, Scootaloo's issue is not gender-related. Get your mind out of the gutter.

New Players

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“I thought you said this track would be free?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“We did,” Silver Spoon replied, looking up at the pegasi going through the cloud rings. “And in just a few seconds, it will be.”

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom looked down and to the side, where nearly all their classmates were. The track was huge compared to the one where Rumble and Truck had raced before, but then this one was set entirely up in the air. There were bleachers to accommodate the crowds, several cloud rings in a position Diamond Tiara swore was identical to the one they had at Flight Camp, all in all it was the perfect spot for a pegasus race.

“Remind me again why nopony’s ever heard of this place?” Apple Bloom asked.

Diamond shrugged. “Club ponies just like to keep to themselves. They’ll tell the ponies in charge when they need the tracks or the courts, but they don’t hang up the schedule anywhere. So most ponies just assume the clubs own the tracks. But they totally don’t: the town does.”

“Uhuh. And those fellas are just gonna leave when they’re done? They’re not gonna make any trouble? It feels kinda weird usin’ a track that’s made for grownups.”

Diamond Tiara was about to make a snide remark, but she bit it down. “Look, don’t worry about it, Apple Bloom. The clubs still have to follow the rules, that means they have to clear out when their time’s up. When that happens, it’s open for everypony again.”

“If you say so.”

In the distance, a bell sounded. The flyers of the Cloudsdale Cloud Cutter Club lined up in front of their instructor, got some words of encouragement, then dispersed.

Diamond Tiara smiled. “See? Just like I promised. Now where’s the racers? I wanna see some sonic booms and magic trails already!” She jumped up and down excitedly.

“Hold your horseshoes, Diamond, I’m, like, tryin’ to get in the zone and stuff.” Truck kept his eye on the rings of the track, way up high, as he came flying in at a leisurely pace. “Whoa. I didn’t know you had one of these in Ponyville.”

Diamond’s smile grew wider. “I know, right? This is an official track, Wonderbolts certified.”

“Yeah, they use the same one at Flight Camp, so if you practise here, you’ll be ready to race there sometime, too,” Silver Spoon added.

The boy chuckled as he landed down below at the starting line. “Well, I wouldn’t mind gettin’ a leg up on the competition.”

Apple Bloom felt a pang in her chest at that. Scootaloo really would like to get a leg up on the competition, no doubt, considering how long she’d been flightless.

“Now all we gotta do is wait for Rumble and his friends.” Diamond scanned the skies for any bat-winged flyers.

“Yeah, where are they, anyway?” Shady Daze looked around. “Where do those rousettes even live?” He looked to Featherweight and Lance, the only two boys in town who were on speaking terms with the mysterious Rumble.

Lance shrugged. “As far as I know, Rumble’s place is right near Tuber Lane. That might be where they are.”

Silver Spoon winced. “Right near the poison weeds? No wonder he never invites anypony over.”

“Actually, they haven’t been poisonous for ages.”

“Gah!” Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon jumped up when they heard the voice behind them. When they recovered, they noticed the two grey girls with bat wings standing on the top of the bleachers.

Rumble landed beside the pair of rousettes. “Eheh, yeah, I forgot to warn you about that: rousettes are really good at sneaking around.”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle took in the sight of the two bat ponies Rumble had brought along. It was pretty clear right from the get-go which one was Stella: that lean, slender build of a royal, that dark blue hair that looked like it came from Princess Luna’s bloodline -- even if it wasn’t technically a bloodline, Lord Nox hadn’t been too clear in that department -- but, most of all, the intensity behind those slit eyes. The Cutie Mark Crusaders had seen their fair share of princesses, and the look of a noble was very distinct, even to them. She was still a blank flank, though, which was a bit of a surprise, all things considered.

Chitter, on the other hoof, looked more of a playful trickster, especially with her eager smile and bright eyes. Contrary to Stella, her mane was groomed in the same style of Rumble, but with with a bright blue colour, like Scootaloo’s aunt Vinyl. Both girls were a shade of grey, but Stella was more bluish than Chitter was. And like Stella, Chitter was a blank flank.

All in all, everypony was relieved to find that rousettes were not that hard to tell apart from one another, and presumably the pair they’d seen pulling Princess Luna’s chariot last Nightmare Night had just been made up to look similar.

“Everypony, this is Chitter, and this is Stella. Chitter, Stella, this is, well, everypony.” Rumble gestured to all the kids below.

Chitter smiled at the ponies beneath her in the bleachers. “Hi, there! Sorry for scaring you, force of habit.”

Stella waved. “Hello, everyone.” Her voice was soft, her words calm and collected, almost entrancing.

Diamond shook her head to clear it. “Oh, hi! I’m Diamond Tiara, and this is Silver Spoon. Umm, so you two are new in Ponyville?”

Chitter nodded towards Stella. “Stella’s new, I was born here.”

Diamond and Silver exchanged glances. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle did the same, and the rest of class followed suit.

Silver Spoon smiled nervously at Chitter. “Umm, so you’ve lived here since, like, you were born, then?”

Chitter let out a nervous chuckle. “Yeah, but we rousettes have kind of a rule about kids going out. We’re not supposed to go out alone.”

“Then why hasn’t anypony seen rousettes around here in, you know, bunches?” Silver asked.

Chitter gulped. “Umm, that’s kind of a touchy subject.”

Rumble put himself in between the mess of girls to stop things from getting any more awkward. “Hey, how about that race, huh? I’m sure Truck’s getting a little anxious.”

“Truck?” Stella glanced towards the dark orange colt down on the ground. “Is that your rival?”

“Yo there, little batty lady.” He did a salute motion. “I’m the other hotshot in this town.”

Stella glided over the bleachers to land next to him on the starting line. “Very well then, darling, I look forward to seeing your skills. Rumble speaks very highly of you.”

“Hey, Rumble, try not to let Truck embarrass you, okay?” Lance whispered. “I think he might be up to something.”

Rumble shrugged it off. As always, the boys of Ponyville had each other’s backs. And technically, Truck was not one of them, so some caution was justified. Still, Rumble knew the girl behind the boy. “He’s just trying to psych himself up.”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle took their place lower on the stands. Apple Bloom gestured towards Silver Spoon. “Who do you think’s gonna win?”

“I’d say Rumble again,” Silver Spoon replied. “Unless, like, Truck’s figured out pegasus magic by now.”

“No way,” Diamond Tiara started. “Stella’s gonna win, you can tell.”

Sweetie Belle pouted. “Nopony thinks Chitter’s gonna win?”

Lance shook his head. “Chitter’s not much of a racer, not compared to Rumble. She’s his sparring partner for self-defense class, but she doesn’t have the speed he does.”

The little unicorn would not take that as an answer. “Come on, Chitter! Show’em what you’re made of!”

Chitter’s ears perked as she took her position. “Rumble, is that girl cheering for me?”

“Yeah. That’s Sweetie Belle, one of the girls I told you about. One of Scootaloo’s friends.”

“And she’s cheering for me,” Chitter noted.

“Yup.”

Chitter furrowed her brow in confusion. “Not that I’m complaining or anything, but umm, she only just met me two minutes ago.”

Rumble nodded again. “Yup. She does that.”

Stella looked over the bleachers and the crowd that was watching their every move. She noticed Rumble and Truck doing their warm-up stretches, so she did the same. “Is it just me, or does that unicorn look familiar, Chitter?”

Chitter pondered it for a moment. “Now that you mention it, wasn’t she in that Gabby Gums thing?”

“Yes, I remember that now,” Stella said. “They were in the papers, were they not? Something about a scandal regarding Princess Celestia and a cake?”

Rumble cleared his throat nervously. “Yeah, that’s her.”

“Wait, Scootaloo is one of those girls? So your classmates embarrassed Princess Celestia herself?” Stella chuckled. “I like them already.”

“The girl next to her is Apple Bloom,” Truck added. “She’s from the Apple family.”

“Ah, yes, Nox told me about them. And where is the other girl you mentioned? Where is Scootaloo?” Stella scanned the stands, looking for a girl who matched the description Rumble had given her.

“She’s not around right now,” Rumble replied. “Wing trouble.”

Silver Spoon stood at the edge of the track, flag on the ground. “Okay, now we just need to wait for the medical po-”

“I’m here! I’m here! Don’t start without me!” Derpy came rushing in, medkit strapped to her waist as before. “Okay, ready when you are. Hi, girls, I’m Ditzy Do, but you can call me Derpy.”

Rumble sighed. Introductions were taking a while. “She’s the mailmare. Don’t let the eyes fool you; she’s really smart, and she’s a really good flyer on the longer stretches.”

Silver Spoon held up the flag. “Everypony ready?”

The contestants lined up and assumed the pose.

“Rumble?” Stella asked.

“Yes, Stella?”

“If I should win this little race of ours, would you be upset?”

“Only if you try to rub it in.”

Stella smiled. “I shall endeavour to make your defeat as painless as possible, then.”

Truck rolled his eyes. “You two lovebirds-”

“Love bats, darling. Taxonomy is your friend.” Stella winked.

“Whatever. Don’t forget there’s two other flyers in this race. And I don’t know about Chitter, but I’m in it for real.”

Silver Spoon raised the flag higher. “Set!”

Rumble took a deep breath to steady himself. “Let’s just try our best, and put on a good show. And try not to hurt each other, please? We’re doing this for fun.”

“Agreed,” Stella said.

“Agreed,” Chitter added.

“Gotcha,” Truck replied.

“Go!”

Apple Bloom wasn’t entirely sure what had happened once the starting signal had sounded, but whatever it was, it was big. All four flyers had dashed off, rushing towards the first ring in the wake of a blast of pegasus magic and whatever it was rousettes had to serve as replacement.

She looked on in awe as Chitter was the first to lag behind, Truck and Rumble going neck to neck with Stella flying slightly above and behind them. Rumble lost some distance in a sharp turn, though, and that gave Stella the opportunity to pass him by.

The crowd cheered.

Truck struggled to keep up with the rousette, but he managed it. Stella was flapping her wings like crazy, and her face was contorted in a toothy grimace that let her fangs show even from that far.

“Looks like it’s between Truck and Stella now,” Diamond started. She bounced up and down with excitement, and so did half of their class. The other half sat there with their mouths agape. Apple Bloom reached up with a hoof to close hers. She could certainly see the appeal of racing now, with the sounds of wind and wings in the air.

Rumble tried to catch up, whizzing through one ring after another just milliseconds behind his competitors.

Apple Bloom gritted her teeth. “Come on, Rumble…”

There came the final stretch. Just three more rings, then the finish line. Truck whizzed through the first in the lead. Stella beat him to the second one. Rumble was inching closer to them, but he didn’t have a lot of room to maneuver.

Then his wings stopped, and a hushed silence fell over the crowd.

Scootaloo was panting when she landed. Rumble wasn’t doing any better. Chitter had to sit down after the exertion.

But the winner hid her fatigue well.

“Goodness, Rumble, you should have told me you knew how to do a dash. I was under the impression you only learned that at Flight Camp,” Stella chuckled, ignoring the clamouring kids around her.

Scootaloo felt someone pat her back. “You did really well, Truck,” Sweetie Belle said. “You almost had it in the bag.”

Truck nodded. “You’re a lot faster than I thought you’d be, Stella.”

Rumble chuckled. “Told you she was good. Chitter, are you okay?”

“Can’t… breathe… need… water…” The girl guzzled down a sports drink Derpy gave her.

The mailmare rolled her eyes. “She’ll be fine. Just nooby sickness, that’s all.”

“You were really awesome, Truck,” Diamond Tiara prodded the changeling. “Looks like you’ve got the bursting down too, huh?” She leaned in to whisper. “Think you could beat those two next time?”

Truck whispered in kind. “Yeah, I’m pretty close. If the track’s got more sharp turns, I’ve got Rumble beat. We’re pretty even now, though.”

Stella walked over to the two boys, a herd of new fans swarming the girl. “Indeed we are, darling. Ah, Rumble, what am I supposed to say now?”

Rumble caught his breath, and only now noticed everypony in class was asking Stella questions.

“Where are you from?”

“Are you a vampire?”

“What does your kind eat?”

“Where do you live?”

“Are you a princess?”

“How’d you get so fast?”

“One at a time!” Rumble called out. “Guys, one at a time, please. If you wanna ask Stella questions, at least wait until the ground stops spinning?”

Stella winced embarrassedly. Chitter got back on her hooves. She sighed to catch her breath. “Why are you so excited, anyways? You act like you’ve never seen a race before.”

“Well, we have, but we don’t usually get any rousettes around here,” Apple Bloom noted. “And my sister didn’t get a lot of answers when she invited a few of them over the other day. So, umm, since you are gonna live in Ponyville now, Stella, do you really mind if we’re curious?”

“But I’ve lived in Ponyville my whole life,” Chitter argued. “Lance and Featherweight know who I am.”

“Umm, actually, all we know is what Rumble told us,” Lance replied. “And I think the only thing you know about us is what Rumble told you.”

Chitter furrowed her brow. “Really?”

Rumble shrugged. “He’s got a point there, Chitter. I’ve never seen you talk to any boys besides me. They thought you were my girlfriend, remember?”

Stella chuckled. “A minor misunderstanding, I’m sure. Right then, what is it you want to know?”

“How come you talk all fancy-like?” Apple Bloom asked.

“That would be because of my guardian, Lord Nox. I rarely leave his side, even for negotiations, since I’m meant to be his successor. I’m told I speak like a Canterlot girl as a result.”

Sweetie Belle nodded. “Yeah, you do, trust me. My sister talks just like you, and she likes the high-society stuff, too.”

“Are you nocturnal?” somepony in the back asked.

Chitter and Stella exchanged a glance. Chitter shrugged. “Umm, no? We rousettes don’t sleep the same way ponies do. We don’t fall asleep for longer than four hours, tops, and it doesn’t matter much when we sleep, as long as we do. That’s why we tend to get the night shift a lot: it doesn’t bother us like it does ponies. But no, we’re not nocturnal.”

“Then, umm, why is it you live so far away from the rest of Ponyville?” Sweetie Belle asked carefully.

Chitter gulped. Stella took it in stride. “Oh, that. That’s just because of a silly tradition, nothing more.”

Derpy raised an eyebrow. “It’s tradition to not be around ponies?”

Stella cleared her throat. “Actually, Miss, or Missus Derpy?”

“Just Derpy.”

“Well, Derpy, the truth is that we rousettes are very traditional. Because of our traditions, everyone knows who they are and what they must do, and they have kept our kind alive for a very long time, through some very hard times, even. Most of our traditions only involve other rousettes, not ponies. When it comes to interacting with rousettes, there are a lot of rules to follow, even for outsiders.” Stella nodded towards Rumble. “Rumble and Thunderlane are friends to rousettes, but they had to, ah, jump through some hoops, let’s say, to be accepted by our kind. We have our ways, you have yours, and we try not to get in anypony’s way, that’s all.”

The kids and mare all made a face of confusion.

“I suppose what I’m trying to say is: we have traditions and rules for social interaction, but the rules only speak of interacting with other rousettes. Ponies do not live by rousette traditions and rules, so if we want to keep living by our own rules, we’d have to account for ponies somehow. We can’t force you to live by our rules: that would be wrong. We have to adapt to that. Only, our kind never actually got around to writing rules about ponies, not since, well, you know…”

Derpy nodded. “Right, that curse thingie from way back when. I heard about that.”

Chitter scratched her head. “Huh. Is that really the only reason?”

Stella shrugged and put a wing around Rumble, pulling him close with no objection on his part. “Mayhaps there are other reasons, but that’s what I was taught, darling. But enough about all that, I’m dying to hear about my new home. What manner of ponies live in this fair town?”

Silence fell over the crowd.

Rumble rolled his eyes.

“This is where everypony gets a chance to introduce themselves and make friends with her, guys.”

“I don’t think I got to, like, make your acquaintance proper, girls.” Truck extended his hoof towards Chitter and Stella. “How’d you get so fast?”

Chitter still panted for breath. “Mostly trying to keep up with Mister Hurricane over here.”

Stella chuckled. “I fly in solitude. The Western Provinces have no shortage of wide, open airspace.”

Apple Bloom quirked an eyebrow. Something was off here, but she couldn’t put her hoof on what. “And I guess you’ve seen a lotta dragons there, too?”

“Oh, yes, darling, there are several families who make their dens and hoards right outside the Equestrian borders.”

“And are there any other rousettes there, too?” Apple Bloom asked.

Stella winced. “Hardly any, I’m afraid. I do go to what bat parties I can, but those require an extensive trip.”

“Must be nice, though, being the ward of a noble,” Chitter said. “Lord Nox is the highest-ranked noble in Equestria, after all, second only to the Princesses.”

Stella chuckled nervously. “Yes, it does have its perks. But I’m not a blood relative to Princess Luna, nor to Lord Nox.”

“Wow,” Diamond Tiara said. “But doesn’t it get boring, having to follow all those rules? I heard high society can be really strict, especially if you make a mistake.”

Stella was about to answer, but Chitter cut her off. “Oh, that’s not much of a problem. See, in rousette high society, you can only really criticise someone of a lower rank, and you can earn a higher rank depending on how good you are or what you do. Since Lord Nox is the highest in rank, no one can really criticise him, and he’s allowed to break the rules. It’s kinda like your Princesses, actually. Ambassadors are to us kinda like what immortals to ponies: they always groom their successors to be exactly like them. Since Lord Nox has to deal with dragons and all that, he’s supposed to be a little different; he’s supposed to act exactly like the ambassador before him. And so does Stella, obviously, since she’s, like, going to fill in for him once Lord Nox retires.”

Stella chuckled, before leaning in to whisper in Chitter’s ear. “Darling, please, I know you’re used to running interference for dear Rumble, but do let me speak for myself, would you? We’re here to make friends, both of us.”

Chitter blushed. “Eheh, sorry. Force of habit.”

Truck cocked an eyebrow. “So, what, are all rousettes as sporty as you, then, or is it just the fancy ones?”

Chitter opened her mouth, then closed it under a firm glare from Stella. Stella smiled at the boy. “Not all of us like sports, no, but we are all raised in the ways of aristocracy, regardless of our rank. Some of us take fencing lessons, some of us learn to play music or do fine arts, and there are several schools of dueling. We have our own system of knighthoods, different orders depending on whether we prefer the arts, combat, or serving the kingdom. Some of those orders are in fencing or dueling, so we do compete. Usually not in races, though.”

Rumble smiled. “Yeah, Stella’s kind of… special. That’s why I like her, after all.” He wrapped a wing around her shoulder to illustrate.

Truck grumbled. “Uhuh. So you two are, like, together together now?”

“Yup.” Rumble smiled brightly.

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon looked at each other. Silver Spoon pouted. “What about Scootaloo?”

Stella blinked. “What about Scootaloo, darling?”

“Yeah, Rumble, I thought you and Scootaloo were together?” Truck asked. “Wasn’t she your flying buddy before me? What happened there?”

Rumble shrugged nonchalantly. “She needed my help. I helped her. Now she doesn’t need me anymore, so we don’t hang out. Why, has she told you anything?”

Truck let out a quiet snort. “Nah, dude. Just checkin’. Wouldn’t want you to hurt a friend of mine.”

Stella chuckled. “Oh, my, it seems this Scootaloo girl has very loyal friends. I do hope she comes around, she sounds like an interesting pony.”

Truck had to stop himself from grunting. “Yeah, dude, she is. Come to think of it, maybe I should go get her.”

“Aww, come on, Truck, don’t leave now,” Silver Spoon said. “We’re just getting to the interesting part!”

“Sorry, Silver Spoon, but I’ve got to, like, do another practice run up in Cloudsdale, anyway. Racing’s fun, but a guy’s gotta keep his schedule. Need to keep these big guns working.” He flapped his wings once, then twice, then took off. “I’ll be sure to tell Scootaloo you asked for her.”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle winced. Nopony in their class noticed, but Truck’s departure reeked of jealousy. Maybe the girl behind the boy was feeling heartbroken about Rumble’s choice of company. Or maybe Scootaloo was just feeling unpopular when it came to romance.

Diamond Tiara swooned when Truck took off. “He’s so dedicated.”

“And so cool,” Silver Spoon added.

The boys in their group, aside from Rumble, frowned at that remark.

As for Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, they were suddenly busy trying to figure out if they should be laughing or terrified at the notion of Diamond and Silver getting a crush on Truck.

Impending Culture Shock

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Rumble and Stella trotted along, side by side, as the other kids led the way.

“Oh, you should see the spa first,” Diamond Tiara started.

“No, Sugarcube Corner,” Twist objected.

“Why not the bowling alley?” Apple Bloom suggested.

“Ponyville has a bowling alley?” Chitter asked.

Silver Spoon turned to face the girl.

Chitter smiled nervously. “What?”

“I thought you said you lived in Ponyville?” Silver Spoon started.

“I do live in Ponyville. So do my parents.”

“And you don’t know where the bowling alley is?” the grey filly raised an eyebrow.

The rousette girl shrugged. “I never really go that way, wherever it is?”

“What about Sugarcube Corner?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Or Carrousel Boutique?”

“Err… I don’t usually go there, either?”

Lance frowned. “Wait, what about City Hall? You know where the gazebo is, right?”

“Dead centre of town, I guess?”

“And Ponyville Market?” Apple Bloom asked.

Chitter tilted her head away from them, slightly offended. “I don’t know, I could just fly up to check. Why are you all looking at me like that?”

Rumble cleared his throat. “Umm, Chitter, I think it’s because you just don’t get out that much. I mean, you were born in Ponyville, you live here, but nopony’s ever seen you out before sundown, or after. You don’t even know where you can get food around here. In your own town. Don’t you think that’s just a little weird?”

“Oh.” Chitter rolled her eyes. “Well, I know where to get pizzas in Tuber Lane, that’s something. And it’s not like you’re any better. Do you know where the Night Guard headquarters is?”

Button Mash, who’d been quiet this whole time, looked up in surprise. “We can get pizza in Ponyville?”

Sweetie Belle furrowed her brow. “Ponyville has a Night Guard headquarters?”

Apple Bloom thought it over. “Tuber Lane?”

Chitter groaned. “Okay, maybe you know where it is, but that’s only because of your sister. And come on, you’re acting like I’m some kind of freak just because I don’t know where the bakery is.”

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon flanked the blank-flanked bat girl. Diamond put up her best smile. “Don’t worry about a thing, we’ll show you all the best places in Ponyville. You don’t really need to know every little spot in this boring old town.”

Rumble rolled his eyes, Stella chuckled. “Sorry, Chitter. I guess you’re the odd one out here, even if I’m supposed to be the new girl.”

“That’s okay. I know some of you already.” Chitter nodded towards Lance and Featherweight. “But actually, girls, now that you mention it, I don’t suppose either of you knows where you can get some fresh citrus?”

Silver Spoon raised an eyebrow. “Citrus?”

“Blood oranges, I mean, or some soda. I’m getting a little thirsty, and the fruits we get down Tuber Lane are usually canned.”

“Actually, I’m getting a little thirsty, too,” Rumble said.

“Me three,” Stella concurred. “Is there any place we can get milkshakes around here, mayhaps?”

“Sugarcube Corner’s got those,” Apple Bloom said. “It’s right this way.”

Chitter found herself at the back of the herd again as they all went off towards the local bakery, one she hadn’t been aware existed. It was normal that she didn’t know her way around town, though, it had to be. None of the other rousette kids in Ponyville knew where anything was, aside from maybe the train station and everything in Tuber Lane, of course. And rousettes all knew each other despite the rules of keeping boys and girls separated: that’s what parental gossip was for. It wasn’t her fault that these silly ponies didn’t believe in such a time-honoured way of keeping communities together.

Plus, she’d never joined as a junior watchbat on a Night Guard patrol, what with her dancing routines and all, so of course she’d never needed to know anything specific about the town she lived in. She knew where everything in Tuber Lane was, she knew where she could get bat food, bat clothes, and bat first aid.

But even then, a tiny part of her nagged at herself about the simple fact that bat food often had to be delivered, bat clothes were really the same as pony clothes at the end of the day, if a little greyer, and bat first aid involved a train ride or a quick flight to Canterlot. It kind of defeated the purpose of having bat first aid if pony first aid could get there first.

“Don’t worry about it.” Sweetie Belle lagged behind a bit to talk to Chitter.

“Yeah, really, there’s lots of ponies around here who don’t get out much,” Diamond Tiara added. As if on cue, Fluttershy came flying overhead with a basket of frogs in her mouth.

“Thanks. It’s nothing personal, though. It’s just, umm, tradition, you know? We’re not supposed to go out much before we’ve matured.” Chitter blushed.

“You mean like how ponies don’t do much without a cutie mark?” Silver Spoon snickered ever so slightly.

Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes. Chitter, though blank-flanked herself, didn’t take it as an insult. “Sort of, I guess. We have this thing about rousette boys and girls not consorting with each other. Ponies don’t have any traditions about that, and we can’t ask everypony to follow our rules, so it’s just easier to stay away from ponies if we wanna follow the rules.” She parroted the explanation from Stella more to convince herself than anyone else.

“But what about them?” Diamond nodded towards Stella and Rumble, who were still the centre of attention. “Does that mean you can’t talk to boys because of tradition?”

“That’s different. I’m still sort of allowed to talk to boys, because I do something different in our tradition. And Rumble and Stella are, well, they’re okay according to our rules now, but they weren’t before. So a normal rousette girl? No, she wouldn’t get to walk out on the street like this, unless her parents know she won’t talk to boys,” Chitter explained. “Same thing with boys talking to girls. But that’s a trust thing.”

“Wow, that’s a little extreme, isn’t it? How old do you need to be before you can? Are the grownups not allowed to do it, either?” Silver Spoon asked.

“It’s not an age thing, it’s more of a rite of passage thing. We don’t care that much about cutie marks, either, in case you were wondering. Cutie marks don’t matter much since most of us end up as guards one way or another. For the grownups, I guess they don’t mix with ponies because by the time they’re allowed to, they’ve gotten used to not doing it.”

“So, basically, the only reason nopony ever sees rousettes around town is… tradition,” Diamond said.

“Tradition,” Chitter replied.

“Tradition,” Sweetie Belle repeated.

“Tradition,” Chitter confirmed.

“Wait, hold on. You said rousettes usually end up as guards. So aren’t there, like, bat barbers, or bat farmers, or bat builders?” Silver Spoon kept up the questioning.

“Sure there are, but since we don’t sleep like ponies do, we usually get some other job on the side. A lot of the rousettes on my street are night shift builders; they help clean up the mess when something destroys part of Ponyville. You’d be surprised how much work they get doing that.” Chitter grimaced. ”But they’re also volunteer Night Guards, so in the day they help patrol the skies. You just can’t see them because that’s outside the residential areas and, you know, we’re stealthy and all.”

“Huh. So are you a guard, too?” Silver nudged the batty girl.

“I’ve hardened my wings a little, which most rousettes don’t, but besides that I’ve only done basic training.”

“And what’s basic trai-”

“Artillery! Get down!” Chitter rushed in front of Sweetie Belle, Diamond, and Silver, and spread her wings out as protection before bracing herself for her impending fiery demise. Like any good, properly trained rousette, she threw herself straight into danger, no questions asked.

When no shots came, she opened her eyes.

“Pinkie Pie, this is Stella, and that’s Chitter,” Rumble started, after gently folding Chitter’s wings back down. “They’re my rousette friends. They’re rousettes, not ponies and not bat ponies, they don’t like being called ponies.”

“‘Tis a cultural thing.” Stella winked at the pink mare.

Chitter blinked and slowly backed away. She looked up, down, and found that what she was seeing was still as confusing as before the closer inspection. “Why does that mare have a cannon?”

Pinkie Pie blinked just as confusedly. “Why didn’t anyone tell me we had bat-winged ponies in our town?”

Applejack took a deep breath before going down Tuber Lane again. She couldn’t be sure this would work, but it was the only thing she could think of.

“What are you doing here?”

“Gah!” Applejack turned in mid-jump. Like clockwork, Nectarine was standing right behind her. The rousette’s jaw was clenched, and her lips curled up just enough to show off the fangs.

“Well?”

Applejack cleared her throat to regain her composure. “I’m here to apologise about last night. I was out of line, and I didn’t mean to offend you or your kin. I was just tryin’ to get some of the confusion out of the way. And I probably shouldn’t have pushed it that hard. So, sorry.”

Rin’s jaw unclenched. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Can we continue this conversation elsewhere?”

Applejack raised hers. “Anything you say, officer, Ma’am.”

Nectarine escorted the farmer mare out of the shadows of the trees and out of earshot from any of the locals. “I wanted to apologise too. It’s not your fault you don’t know anything about us.”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Exactly. I just want to be a good neighbour here and get to know some of y’all, but I’m startin’ to think rousettes just don’t want anything to do with ponies. It’s like you still hate us for whatever some ponies in the past did to ya. Or that you think you’re better than we are.”

“Oh, come on, you must know that’s not true. We just cling to tradition, that’s all.”

“Clinging to tradition’s one thing, but y’all are using it as an excuse to stay away from anyone who doesn’t follow them. That ain’t what traditions are for, is it?”

Rin groaned. “Okay, that’s just being dramatic. What’s wrong with how things are now? Why do you even care so much?”

“I care because Ponyville is supposed to be a place where everyone can live together in harmony. I care because I just found out a few days ago that the town my family helped build has had a whole community of rousettes in it that never showed their face to anypony. And I would hate to think that any of y’all feel like you’re not welcome to share our streets in the day.”

Rin chuckled to herself. “That’s a very noble thought of you, Applejack, really, but we do consort with ponies, mostly the Weather Patrol and politicians. We don’t need to do more. We have lived like this for centuries, and we get on just fine. We have our ways, you have yours.”

“You know, you keep saying that like it means something, but all I hear is ‘We don’t want to be around you because you don’t do things our way.’ And that kinda stings.”

“What if it was the other way around, then? Would you be okay with us getting offended because ponies in Ponyville don’t use magic for Winter Wrap-Up? What if we wanted to join in the Running of the Leaves? Would you allow us to use our wings to stabilise our run or would you tie them down so we can barely breathe?”

Applejack flinched. “Err, no, no, I see your point, there’s obviously some differences no one can help, and tyin’ up anypony’s wings would be an awful thing to do, and I would certainly speak up if I saw anyone do that. But, umm, you don’t feel like you need to go, I don’t know, shopping for fresh fruit from Ponyville Market, then?”

“We get our food delivered to our doors most of the time. We’re a busy bunch, with our sleeping rhythms being what they are. We don’t need to go to the market.” Nectarine shrugged. “So we don’t.”

“Wouldn’t you like to, though? Or do you really get everything you want delivered?”

The rousette thought that over for a moment. “Well, it does get a little dreary, sometimes. We do only get one kind of apple, that’s unfortunate. I think it’s one you grow, actually. I assume you know Filthy Rich and his family?”

Applejack nodded. “Sure do. But not everything we grow goes to Filthy Rich. Most kinds of apples, we sell ourselves. Do you really get that much variety in deliveries?”

Rin sighed. “Not especially, no. We do have a culinary tradition, mind you, but our home cooking isn’t that refined, I’ll grant you that.” She quickly shook her head to break that train of thought. “But you don’t understand, isolation is just part of our culture. We have a tradition of minding our own business and only acting with stealth. We just don’t like being out in the open, that’s all.”

“But you’re part of Equestria, and correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t most of your kind Night Guards in some capacity?”

Reluctantly, Rin nodded. “The vast majority are low-ranked or volunteers, but yes.”

“Don’t you think you deserve a little recognition for what you do, then?”

“We do get recognition, in private ceremonies where our nobles conduct the rites. We don’t invite ponies to that.”

“Why not?”

Again, Rin sighed. “Because it’s not how we do things. In our culture, those in high esteem wear it through their conduct, nothing more. I don’t expect you to understand, but in rousette tradition, real heroes do not brag.”

Applejack felt a bead of cold sweat roll down her neck. “Really? That’s your tradition? Real heroes don’t brag? That’s the rule?”

“Yes, that is our way. That’s how my parents taught me, and my parent’s parents. Why, is something wrong?”

“No, no, it’s fine, just… seems kinda weird not to brag, ever, about anythin’, is all.”

“Not about our own accomplishments, no, but parents do like to brag about their children, obviously, that’s totally different.”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Totally. So there’s nothing you’d really want to mix with ponies for?”

“No, thank you. Our kind will accept invitations, sure, but we’re not going to mingle in our daily lives. We don’t feel the need to.”

The farmer nodded. “Okay, I get that you don’t, but what about the ones that do?”

“What do you mean?”

Applejack shrugged. “Are all rousettes the same, then? Isn’t there a single one who would like to be around ponies?”

“Oh, I suppose Lord Nox counts. Ambassadors tend to live by their own rules, not to mention grooming their successors.” Rin wriggled her wings nervously. Good thing no one could see her get this blindsided by a simple question.

“There ya go. If y’all stick to yourselves because of traditions, what do you do with the ones who don’t like those traditions? Do they get a choice in the matter?”

Rin’s gaze and voice hardened. “That’s out of line, Applejack. If you’re suggesting we force our traditions on our children, you’re getting dangerously close to hate speech.”

“Am I? How am I supposed to know if there’s no one I can ask? And you haven’t answered my question, officer. If a rousette decides they don’t like tradition, that they don’t like your ways and want to do things their own way, what then? Suppose they wanted to make friends with ponies who aren’t bats according to you, or whatever’s not allowed in your tradition, within the limits of Equestrian law, would y’all accept that?”

Rin tried, but she couldn’t shake the image of Thunderlane’s little brother from her mind. And, to her shame, Applejack’s reasoning had brought forth the one question that could keep Rin from her slumbers: what if Thunderlane ever gave her a pony child? Would their own son or daughter have to be raised by rousette traditions, isolated from ponies? Would it get a choice?

“Yes,” Rin lied, “We do accept that some of us break with tradition, and it doesn’t bother us at all. Really, we’re fine. You just don’t understand the importance of keeping a low profile in our culture.”

“Oh, I think I am starting to understand, actually. I just don’t see how you deal with all the problems you must get from doing it.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“I mean I get it. I get that you’d want to avoid crowds or like to be alone or away from ponies, I really do. You know Fluttershy?” Applejack nodded towards town.

“The animal manager, yes, we get reports from her on occasion. Can’t say I’ve met her.”

“You know she doesn’t get out much either, right?”

“Yes, I have heard that about her.” Rin chuckled carefully.

“Well, there you go, there’s a good example. Fluttershy likes bein’ on her own with her animals sometimes, because she feels safe like that. And we all respect that, we just give her a little nudge when we think she needs one, but we don’t pressure her. Not anymore, at least, it never ends well.” Applejack winced at the thought. “Thing is, when she’s feelin’ lonely or scared, she comes to us. Where do y’all go when something happens on your end of town?” Applejack leaned in for effect.

“I don’t follow.”

Applejack shrugged. “You’re the Night Guard, right? You said you protect Ponyville. Who protects you?”

“Well, we err… we have the rousette communities of Canterlot and Trottingham to rely on. And me and Thunderlane can contact Rainbow Dash for any Weather Patrol assistance we might need. We don’t need to be out in the open for that.”

Applejack cocked an eyebrow. “Really? So you don’t see any problem with all your families hiding like that, lettin’ nopony know what you look like, what you like to be called, not even showing your face or nothin’? That doesn’t bother you?”

“Why should it? What’s your point?”

Applejack locked eyes with the rousette. “If one of your little ones went missing, wouldn’t you want ponies to join the search?”

Rin felt a jab in her chest. “If it was needed, yes.”

“But that’s never happened, right? There’s never been any accidents, anything bad, for the whole time that your kind has lived in Ponyville?”

If it had been any other rousette, Applejack might have gotten blown off at that. But Rin was the current Captain of the Ponyville Night Guard. Nothing ever happened without her knowing, not when it came to her bat-winged kin. “You’ve made your point, Applejack. No, we have our accidents and our tragedies just as you have yours. But, as I keep reminding you, we are a race of tradition, we live and we die by it. If we were to mingle, how do you know we could keep those traditions? If they knew us, how do you know ponies would even let us live as we do now?”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Come on, you make it sound like your traditions would be weird or somethin’. What’s so different about your ways that you can’t mix them with pony ways, anyhow? Ponies get up to all kinds of crazy stuff, you can be yourself and still mix with ponies all ya want. I mean, really, aside from the stealthy stuff and the not-bragging rule, what kind of traditions could you possibly have that ponies wouldn’t understand?”

“Well, for one thing, there’s-” Rin froze. Her heart skipped a beat and her throat tightened.

The tradition of wedlock.

Ponies don’t know about wedlock. They wouldn’t understand.

And Rumble’s about to go through with it.

Where everypony can see.

“There’s… what?”

Nectarine shook her head. “I need to go. Night Guard emergency. Sorry again for the misunderstanding, hope we can talk again soon. Bye!” She bolted off in a blur.

Applejack found herself pondering that. “Now what was that all about?”

Chitter let out a private moan as she sipped on the banana, blood orange, and vanilla milkshake. The cold, sweet milk went down and soothed some of the heat she’d been building up from being out in the sun. “Hmm, this is really good.”

“Tell me about it. But you gotta ask for the special; it’s a little pricier, but the extra vanilla is totally worth it,” Silver Spoon remarked.

Apple Bloom had her eyebrows quirked at the two rich girls. They were being uncharacteristically nice, considering they were the only two kids there with cutie marks. Maybe it was a safety in numbers kind of thing.

The group of school kids had split up at Sugarcube Corner, with most of class heading off to the playground or the park. Scootaloo had made her entrance without much fanfare, and with enough time between it and Truck’s leaving that it wouldn’t arouse suspicion. That just left the three Cutie Mark Crusaders, Silver Spoon, and Diamond Tiara to hang out with Rumble and his bat-winged friends.

“So, Scootaloo, I hear my Rumble’s been giving you flying lessons?” Stella asked in that quiet and distinguished tone of hers.

Scootaloo nearly choked on her chocolate milkshake. “Huh? Oh, that. It’s more of a training thing, actually.”

Rumble nodded. “She helped me with my turns, I helped her learn how to dash forward.”

Chitter once again found herself slipping into obscurity as Stella and Scootaloo made their acquaintance. It didn’t bother her, of course, as rousettes prided themselves on being able to go unnoticed. Being ignored by everyone was a feat she could be proud of. And yet, something felt off. Maybe she should have stayed home.

Or maybe she hadn’t counted on what it would mean if her favourite cousin didn’t need her to look out for him anymore.

She sipped her milkshake again. This was getting silly, it’s not like she couldn’t make friends. She was already on good terms with Scootaloo, after all, they both liked Rumble a lot. But it was Stella’s turn to talk to the pegasus filly.

“So what do you do for fun around here, anyway?” Chitter asked Diamond.

“Umm, there’s actually not that much to do, fun-wise,” Diamond replied. “I mean, not our kind of fun. You might think there’s fun around here.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Stella and Rumble fell silent and turned their heads as one. Diamond and Silver threw up their hooves quickly. “Oh, nothing, nothing,” Silver Spoon stammered. “It’s just that we don’t usually hang out in Ponyville, and we don’t know what you’d think is, like, fun. What do you like to do?”

Apple Bloom was really pondering that overly nice tone now. Sweetie Belle caught on to it, too. Why would the two rich girls, who only ever treat anypony nicely if they got something out of it, suddenly be nice to two rousette girls? Why would they treat the bat-winged blank flanks any better than the other ones? Why would they not bring up the lack of business the rousettes had in Ponyville?

Then it hit them: Diamond Tiara’s father must have had dealings with rousettes, maybe Silver Spoon’s had as well. This wasn’t just courtesy, it was a business meeting.

“I like dresses, but not the frilly ones,” Chitter started. “I kind of like martial arts, but I’m not in any club. I do like dancing, especially ballroom dancing.”

“Yeah, Chitter’s a real gala-goer,” Rumble noted.

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon groaned.

“Oh, you too, huh?” The pink filly started. “Well, that can be a problem here in Ponyville. You might as well just keep hanging out where you usually hang out, because Ponyville doesn’t have any balls.”

Silver Spoon gently slapped her friend on the shoulder. Diamond jumped. “What?”

“Don’t say it like that, Diamond Tiara, it’s rude.”

“What is?” Diamond asked.

“‘Hanging out’. Try to be a little more sensitive,” Silver Spoon whispered.

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom took note of what was going on. Scootaloo looked from one end of the table to the other, clearly confused.

Diamond Tiara didn’t see the point. “Why is ‘hanging out’ an offensive thing to say?”

“Umm, it’s racial? Because she’s a bat? Duh.” Silver Spoon rolled her eyes.

“Actually, darling, we like being compared to bats; it’s ponies we don’t like to be associated with,” Stella explained. “So it’s not racist, I assure you.”

That got Apple Bloom’s attention fixed on Stella, right then and there. Something was off about the girl, but she couldn’t tell what. She spoke like a noble, sure, but that’s because she was a noble. So what was it?

“Oh. You know, that’s kind of confusing. My daddy told me to watch what I say. Like, umm, you’d get mad over any little thing,” Silver Spoon said.

“Nah, it’s fine.” Chitter started. “We don’t go rabid over any little thing, really. I’d know when you’re trying to offend me. And I don’t go to that many balls, Rumble.”

Rumble chuckled. “No, but you do go dancing every single night.”

“That’s not true.” Chitter pouted. “It’s not every night. Sometimes it’s in the morning, too.”

Apple Bloom squinted. “You take dancing lessons in the morning?”

“No, I put on some music and I practise in front of a mirror. That’s what most rousettes do.”

“Really?” Diamond Tiara raised an eyebrow. “Every day?”

Chitter nodded. “Pretty much, why?”

“What time do you do that, usually?” Diamond asked.

“Oh, you know, midnight, one, two in the morning.”

The ponies at the table, except for Rumble and Scootaloo, dropped jaws at that.

“What?” Chitter shifted nervously in her seat.

“Don’t you sleep at night?” Silver Spoon asked.

“Sure I do. Just, like I said, four hours at a time, max. You gotta do something when you’re awake in the middle of the night, and most bats do the aristocratic stuff anyway, might as well try to get good at it.”

Sweetie Belle perked her ears. “So, wait, you play music in the middle of the night and you dance in front of a mirror? Every night?”

“Pretty much,” Stella replied.

“Don’t your neighbours complain about that?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Why would they? They’re all awake by then, too, since, you know, they’re bats like me.”

Apple Bloom shook her head. “Huh. I guess that’s why y’all don’t live on the pony side of town. Yeesh, that’d be a mite nuisance if any of y’all ever moved. No wonder you fall asleep in class, Rumble. You must get a lot of noise from your neighbours.”

Rumble shrugged. “You get used to it after a few years.” Or they try to turn you into one of them so you wake up when they do.

Chitter pondered it for a moment. “Huh, I guess that is a pretty good reason not to live too close to ponies, now that you mention it. I live right next to a family of cellists, and that can be really annoying. You don’t wanna be practising your waltz when the neighbours are doing the Shadow Imperial March, trust me.” She shuddered at the thought. “But not all the bats in town do midnight learning. Some of them join in on Night Guard patrols, get some fresh air and help out.”

“Umm, excuse me, Chitter, is it?” A squeaky voice came from the edge of the table.

Scootaloo shuffled closer to check. “Hey, Pipsqueak. What’s up?”

“Scootaloo, that’s harsh. It’s not his fault he’s so short,” Chitter started.

The colt chuckled nervously. “Umm, thank you, but, Pipsqueak’s my name, it’s not an insult. I just overheard you talking about guard jobs and all, and I was wondering… is it true that there’s a Night Guard patrol stationed in Ponyville?”

Chitter nodded at the pinto colt. “Has been since before I was born.”

“And does that Night Guard deal with, umm, monsters, by any chance?”

Chitter looked around, Diamond winced. “Is this about that monster you think is in your closet again?”

“It is there, I tell you! It really is!”

Chitter’s ears perked. “Really? There’s a monster in your closet? What does it do?”

“It keeps me up at night, it does.”

“Pip, there’s no monster in your closet,” Silver Spoon started. “That kind of thing doesn’t exist.”

“Oh, it exists all right, and it can get bigger if you don’t get rid of it quickly,” Chitter replied. “Pip, what does it do, exactly?”

“Well, every night at midnight it starts rumbling around in my closet, like it’s trying to dig its way out. I’ve tried burying it in more of my toys, but I’m scared it’s going to come get me and my parents won’t listen! Neither does any grownup I’ve asked.” Pip only now noticed that a certain pink grownup was coming near.

“Aww, you just gotta give that ghostie a giggle, Pip!” Pinkie Pie piped in, carrying a tray for the empty milkshake glasses.

Pip shuddered. “I don’t think giggling is going to make it go away, Pinkie Pie. Do you know where I can ask someone about it?”

Chitter shrugged. “Um, sure, the station is right down Tuber Lane.”

“Really?” Pinkie asked. “But I thought Tuber Lane was full of poison? My Pinkie Sense goes off every time I go there.”

Chitter shook her head. “I don’t know what your Pinkie Sense is supposed to do, but Tuber Lane doesn’t have any poisonous plants. That only happened once, and it got cleaned up pretty quickly.”

“So all the Night Guard ponies are in Tuber Lane?” Pinkie loaded up the finished drinks.

“All the rousettes live in Tuber Lane, yes. They’re not ponies, and they’re not all Night Guards, not official ones, at least. But, umm, Pip, if it’s just something in your closet, even if it is a monster, it’s probably not a big one, not yet. I can ask the Night Guard for you, if you like.”

“That would be swell. Thanks a lot. I’ll see you around, then?”

Chitter took in her surroundings and smiled. “Yeah, I think I am gonna hang out around here in the day more often. I’m starting to see why ponies like it so much.”

“Me too,” Stella added. “It’s easy to forget all the fun you miss out on when you’re hiding your true self.”

“Yeah,” Scootaloo noted. “It sure would be.”

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom exchanged a glance. Pinkie Pie casually strolled over as Missus Cake came in to take over the shift.

Nopony saw Pinkie sneaking her cannon out towards Tuber Lane. “This is gonna be the best welcome party ever.”

Rin trotted about the gazebo. As expected, she caught Leading Lady overseeing some decorations by the local Weather Patrol. Thunderlane wasn’t there, though.

“Missus Mayor? Can I have a word with you?”

“Of course, Rin. Move the garlands a little to the left! Yes, just like that, perfect!” She turned to leave the pegasi to their job. “What’s the matter? If this is about that dinner with the Apple family, I just hope you know-”

“I know, Applejack apologised already. And I apologised as well. We’re fine, no hard feelings.”

For the briefest moment, Nectarine could feel a wave of warmth wash over the mayor. The tiniest of genuine smiles almost got out, but the mayor was nothing if not an experienced politician. She was a master at hiding her emotions when she wanted to, and that discipline was one of the reasons the rousettes of Ponyville respected her so much. “Glad to hear it. Then what is the matter?”

Rin led the mayor out of earshot from the ponies overhead. “You are aware of what Lord Nox’ ward is doing in Ponyville?”

“Oh, yes, I saw her with Cheerilee’s class just a few minutes ago. Looks like she’s already making friends, and so was her companion. Was that little Chitter, then?”

“Yes, that was her.”

“Oh, good to see they’re socialising, then.” The mayor’s smile brightened, despite her best efforts to hide it.

“Yes, that’s actually what I was hoping to talk to you about. Do you know what Stella and Rumble will be, umm, doing soon?”

“Well, I would imagine that, given rousette traditions and Rumble’s sudden socialisation efforts, along with his, ah, issues, he and Stella are to be wedlocked, yes?”

Rin gulped. “Yup, they are.”

“Then what’s the problem? Do you have any objections to it, as Captain of the Night Guard?”

“Well, no, but, umm… I was just thinking, if Rumble is going to be wedlocked, that means he’s going to invite his friends along, no?”

“I should hope so. It’s rare for ponies to see rousettes around here. Not that I’d question your lifestyle choices or traditions, of course,” Missus Mayor added quickly.

“I understand. But what’s going to happen when ponies find out rousettes have basically been marrying kids for all these centuries?”

The Earth pony shrugged. “I fail to see the problem, Rin. Your tradition is legal, and Equestria has freedom of speech in its laws. If ponies don’t like what they see, I’m sure they’ll say so in a calm and civilised manner.”

Nectarine groaned. “You and I both know that’s not what’s going to happen. What’s going to happen is: Rumble will tell his class he’s getting wedlocked, they’ll tell their parents, and then all the hysteric ponies in Ponyville will come stampeding up to here. I’m going to have to explain why we rousettes are so secretive, they’ll think we’re child abusers, and by the time the ceremony rolls around the whole town will be up in arms.”

Leading Lady winced. “I suppose that is quite likely, given the circumstances. But honestly, Nectarine, don’t you think maybe Ponyville rousettes could stand to mingle just a little bit? I’m having a hard enough time explaining why the Weather Patrol does Night Guard duty. You’re lucky Rainbow Dash is as understanding as she is.”

Rin rubbed the sides of her head. “Look, all I want is to keep the peace around here. And if ponies start massing on Tuber Lane, they’re going to end up seeing the ugly side of the Night Guard. I’d rather avoid that, and I know you do too, Leading.”

“But what do you want me to do? I can’t just put a ban on ponies attending a rousette ceremony if Rumble wants to invite them. Thunderlane hasn’t said anything, I haven’t seen Rumble’s parents come to me about it. Come to think of it, I’m not sure I even know what they look like.”

Rin nodded in defeat. “So if I alert the family and they alert you, can you stop any riots from happening?”

“I’m sorry, Rin. Rumble decided that he would follow rousette tradition. Even when he was feeling down and he talked to me, he never said he wanted to abandon your kind’s ways. As far as I know, he wasn’t pressured into this by his family, so I can’t forbid him doing anything to follow through. And that includes inviting ponies to the ceremony. If you don’t want any upset ponies, you’re going to have to use your authority to stop Rumble from inviting ponies.”

Rin bit her lip. ”I see.”

“You don’t think that’s right, either, do you?”

Rin shook her head. “The whole point of the tradition is to protect children. I can’t just tell a child he can’t invite his friends to one of the most important days of his life. Especially when he’s had trouble making friends, and even more so when it’s my lifemate’s little brother. I’ve foalsat for him, for crying out loud, I can’t be the one to do that.”

Leading Lady put a hoof on Nectarine’s shoulder, a warm attempt at comfort. “Then don’t. Talk to his parents, talk to Lord Nox about it, see what they have to say. But if you ask me, Rin, you should let ponies see your traditions. Let them see rousettes for once. As crudely as Applejack may have put it, she did have a point. You’re our neighbours, we share our history and yet we don’t know anything about you. You have your ways, we have ours, but we don’t know what yours are. We don’t know you. One little introduction, with children, can’t be all that bad, can it?”

The rousette let out a dejected sigh. “There’s going to be some very upset ponies when they hear about this.”

“Hear about what? Oh, hey, Rin.” Rainbow Dash trotted through the door towards the pair. “What’s up?”

“Do you know where I can find Thunderlane right now? He’s not at the dam. He said he’d be at the dam.”

Rainbow Dash nodded towards the woods in the distance. “Work’s finished at the dam, he’s helping Fluttershy get some frogs to a new pond now.”

“Of course. Froggy Bottom Bog, I take it?”

Rainbow Dash didn’t get the time to reply. Rin had already departed with a quiet ‘woosh’.

“What was that all about?”

Leading Lady pondered it for a moment. “I think we may need to start reconsidering the work distribution between your patrols and the Night Guard. It looks like poor Rin’s getting too much on her plate all at once.”

Rainbow nodded. “If she’s flying out in the daytime, she must be. I’m all for shuffling stuff around to make it work better, if she is.”

“I’ll make the arrangements. Oh, and on a completely unrelated note, Rainbow Dash, would you mind terribly staying on guard in Ponyville tomorrow? There may be some public disturbance coming, and I might need you for crowd control.”

“Crowd control? It’s that bad?”

“It might be, it might not be. Just in case.”

“Would this have anything to do with a certain boy and a certain girl doing a certain ceremony sometime soon?” Rainbow Dash whispered.

“If it did, would that present any, ah, moral dilemma for you?”

Rainbow smiled and nodded. “I’ll stick around, and I’ll keep a raincloud ready in case Rin gets one too many hotheads on her case.”

“Thank you, Rainbow Dash. You’re a real lifesaver.”

Author's Notes:

This chapter's weird, in the sense that by the time I was writing this, there were a lot of other things I had planned, or other ideas that came up but had to be scrapped. There's a whole oneshot to be written about Button Mash and his mom going to the local bat pizza place, and trying to keep a conversation going with Chitter's father. There was a scene where Chitter did join the Night Guards for a patrol, and she'd check on Pipsqueak's monster problem. The 'monster' would turn out to be a bat clock that was set to go off in the middle of the night because he didn't realise what it was. It would end with the guard she's with bringing up the notion of consorting with ponies, to which her response would be that she's a mediator: she's supposed to know all sorts of boys and try to understand them, including pony boys.

I have sort of a policy regarding not using references to things I've not seen the source of. I kind of broke that with some of lines in this chapter and the previous one, by citing the opening song of 'Fiddler on the Roof'. Just look up "Tradition! Tradition!" on YouTube and you'll see what I mean.

That's totally not an implication that bats are like Jews, even though they have the same 'if you're born of an X mother, you're X' attitude. As for Rumble's motivations, yes, he is going through with the wedlock, for his own reasons, even though he did say he didn't like it. That will get some resolution at some point in the story.

Oh, and yes, the bats do only live in Tuber Lane for practical reasons: they tend to make noise at night. As for the wedlock thing, I'll spell it out soon. The opinions on whether or not it constitutes marrying children are divided, even among rousettes and ponies. I expect nothing less from the humans reading this. The furries reading it might all agree, though. The next few chapters are a little iffy on the last-minute editing. Starting from this chapter, if it's not already obvious, you'll start noticing how things spiralled out of control in the writing process.

The End of a Long Day

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The girls all let out a content sigh when they got to Carousel Boutique. Apple Bloom was still reeling from the idea that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were nice to a pair of blank flanks, Sweetie Belle was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that Rumble had to live by rousette rules, just because he was friends with one -- and presumably his whole family followed suit, but then Thunderlane had probably set an example there -- while Scootaloo had to recuperate from racing and changing identities.

“What a day,” Apple Bloom started. She let herself fall backwards on the rug in Sweetie’s room.

“I know.” Sweetie Belle yawned. “What do you wanna do now?”

“Nothing, I’m plum tuckered out. I just wanna lie down and wait ‘till Applejack picks me up, and let her carry me home.”

“You got off easy,” Scootaloo commented. “You didn’t have to race in a different shape.”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle sat up. Scootaloo’s wings were shaking, but it didn’t look like it was from exertion.

“Are you feelin’ okay, Scootaloo?”

The pegasus filly huffed. “It’s nothing.”

“Girls?” Rarity called out from below. “Are you in?”

“We’re here, Rarity!” Sweetie Belle called back.

“Well?” Apple Bloom asked again. “What’s wrong?”

Rarity entered just as Scootaloo had her answer ready. “Nothing’s wrong, okay? I’m fine. I’m just tired. We all had an exhausting day, so I’m exhausted.”

Rarity smiled knowingly. “You met Stella and Chitter, I take it? It seems those two girls are the talk of the town now.”

Scootaloo groaned. “Yeah, they’re real eyecatchers.”

“Are you jealous, Scootaloo?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“No, I am not jealous. Chitter’s a nice girl, and Stella’s a nice girl, and we’re all gonna be great friends. Why would I be jealous?!”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were taken aback by that little outburst. Rarity sat down in between the fillies. “Girls, please don’t get into a fight over this, it’s not worth it. Scootaloo, care to tell us what’s really bothering you?”

Scootaloo folded her arms in front of her chest. “Nothing is bothering me, okay? There’s nothing wrong with me.” She shot a glare at Rarity that had the vaguest hint of a green glow to it, though only Rarity knew the reason.

“Really? So the idea of a community hiding in Ponyville for as long as anypony can remember, that doesn’t have any bearing on your situation now?”

The changeling in disguise looked away. “N-no. Why would it? It’s not like everypony’s acting like the rousettes are some kind of monster for keeping to themselves.”

Apple Bloom nearly slapped herself. “Wait, that’s what’s bothering you? Come on, Scootaloo, this has nothin’ to do with what you’re goin’ through.”

“Oh yeah? How’s that?”

Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes. “Well, for one thing, you still hang out with ponies, and you don’t get upset when we call you a pony instead of a changeling, even though that’s what you are. You’re totally different from them: you’re one of us.”

Scootaloo bit her lip.

“Yeah, plus: you don’t know what to expect, they do. Nopony knows anything about you because you don’t know either. Nopony knows anything about rousettes because the rousettes don’t want anypony to know.” Apple Bloom shuffled closer for comfort.

The girl groaned. “It’s not that. It’s just that… I don’t know what to think anymore.”

“About what?” Sweetie asked.

“Well, are they ponies or not? Am I?”

Apple Bloom almost laughed at that. “Of course you are. Why wouldn’t you be?”

Scootaloo wrapped herself in flame again to reveal her changeling form. Apple Bloom noticed Rarity’s expression changing, but she figured that was more a concern about leaving burn marks on the rug than anything else.

“Because ponies don’t have bug wings like mine, or a horn like this one, or a voice that sounds like two ponies at once.”

Sweetie Belle shuffled closer. “Those things don’t make you a pony; what you do makes you a pony. You hang out with us, you’re one of us. You’re our friend.”

“That’s fine for you, but what about the rest of town? Am I gonna have to hide this all my life? Are they still gonna say I’m a pony once I show what I really am? When they find out this is… contagious? Look at how everypony’s making such a big fuss over those rousettes, they’ll kick me right out of town if they ever find out I’ve been keeping this a secret.”

“Darling, the ‘fuss’ over the rousettes in town has nothing to do with them being a different race. It’s just that they’re supposedly a part of Ponyville without ever being a part of anything ponies do, not to mention their insistence on ‘their ways’, as if ours aren’t good enough for them. Even the Cakes weren’t sure what to make of it, and that’s the Cakes. Rousettes are the ones at fault here, darling.”

“But that’s their traditions, and their way of life. They’re not ponies because of what they do, or don’t do. So doesn’t changing shape and feeding off love make me not a pony, either?”

Rarity pondered that. “Well, I suppose that all depends on whom you ask, and if you think their opinion matters.”

“Do you still think I’m a pony?”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle nodded, so did Rarity.

“What about Chitter, is she one?” Scootaloo looked to her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders.

Apple Bloom pondered it. “Well, that’s a tricky one.”

“What about Stella, then? Is Stella a pony because she hangs out with Rumble?”

Sweetie Belle shrugged. “I’d guess, but what does that really matter? It’s not like Rumble cares about what you are.”

Scootaloo’s jaw clenched. Her whole body went rigid. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing. I’m just saying it’s a good thing Rumble knows about you, that’s all. You already know he’s okay with rousettes, and you. Doesn’t that mean the rest of town might be, too?”

“Are ya sure you’re not a teensy, tiny bit jealous of Stella, Scoot?” Apple Bloom asked.

“I am not jealous of Stella! Why would I be? She’s just some girl Rumble likes, and she’s nothing like me. She talks all fancy and proper, like… like… “

“Like me, darling?” Rarity asked.

“Yeah. No offense.”

“None taken.”

Apple Bloom’s ears perked. Stella did talk like Rarity, everyone had noticed. Why was that bugging her so much? She felt like she was missing something here. “So you knew Stella was his girlfriend already, then?” Apple Bloom asked.

Scootaloo looked away. “I kind of knew, yeah.”

“And you didn’t tell us about the rousettes either?”

“What’s with the third degree all of a sudden? Am I supposed to tell you just every little thing I hear?”

“Well, no, but, it’s just that even Applejack’s kinda confused about the rousettes. I heard the Weather Patrol does some of the Night Guard’s work, so they must know each other at least a little. I just don’t get why ponies in Ponyville didn’t know about the rousettes, and I don’t get why you didn’t tell us, either,” Apple Bloom furrowed her brow, pondering.

Scootaloo sighed. “It’s complicated.”

Rarity sighed in kind. “Apple Bloom, consider this for a moment: Scootaloo told Rumble her secret, yes?”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle nodded.

“Has he kept it to himself, do you think?”

The two girls exchanged a glance and shrugged. “Nopony’s asked about Scootaloo, so he must have.”

“Then doesn’t it strike you as simple courtesy for Scootaloo to keep his secrets in return?”

Reluctantly, Sweetie Belle nodded. “Okay, but that still doesn’t explain why rousettes wouldn’t just walk around in Ponyville, like ponies do. Even if they don’t sleep like us, they do go out in the day, but not into Ponyville. It doesn’t make any sense.”

“Chitter already told you, didn’t she? It’s their tradition. It’s their way of life. Fine way of treatin’ their neighbours,” Apple Bloom said.

“You can’t just say their way of life is bad because you don’t understand it,” Scootaloo retorted.

“But isn’t that how they feel about ours?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Silence fell.

“It’s true, isn’t it? They don’t want to be called ponies, they only let ponies hang out with them if those ponies follow their rules, they don’t join in on anything ponies do and they only help when we don’t see it, or when they don’t have to see us.”

Apple Bloom sighed. “Yeah, that does kinda sting.”

Scootaloo shook her head. “You can’t change their way of life just like that. You’d just be wasting your time, like we’re wasting it now.”

Rarity patted the girl’s back. “Quite right, Scootaloo. We have more important things to do than worry about some silly bat-winged ponies who don’t want to be called ponies. Sweetie Belle, how about you and Scootaloo practise your magic again ‘till you get picked up?”

“Fine.” Scootaloo took a deep breath and blew out a glob of green energy, that condensed into a glowing flame before she swallowed it again. “There.”

Sweetie Belle winced. “How do you do that?”

“It’s easier for us to do through the horn, Sweetie Belle. Just concentrate on the base and let the energy flow, don’t try to swallow it back in. That’s for Scootaloo’s kind of magic.”

Apple Bloom kept a close eye on her two friends, one squinting to get the magic through her horn, the other keeping her belly moving to center her magic. It struck her as odd, but she didn’t remark on it. Last she knew, Scootaloo’s magic had to run through her horn as well. Or did it? Something was different about Scootaloo now, but she couldn’t figure out what.

It couldn’t be her wings, could it? Not now.

Rarity caught the girl pondering. “Apple Bloom, why don’t you try and practise Earth pony magic with one of my flowers. Just try to make it wilt and recover by touching it, it should come natural. Don’t wilt it too much, mind you.”

Then again, ponies did differ in magic. So that couldn’t be what was bothering her changeling friend.

She’d tell us if somethin’ was really wrong. Wouldn’t she?

Nectarine let herself fall backwards on the couch while Thunderlane walked back and forth with the dishes. She wasn’t in much of a mood to be doing any cooking, and while he was no masterchef, her lifemate could be trusted to at least heat up a prepackaged pizza. He had a flair with adding herbs, too.

“So why’d you rush off to Froggy Bottom Bog like that?”

Rin cringed. She’d rushed off too soon there. She’d forgotten Fluttershy would be there as well, making it impossible to talk about the subject of Thunderlane’s family. She could never embarrass her love like that. At least that mare was quiet, and not likely to go gossip about Rin and Thunderlane’s relationship. Not that the whole town wasn’t about to find out one way or another, but she still felt anxious about the whole thing.

“Oh, nothing, really. I just thought, since I had some spare time, I’d go help. You know, Weather Patrol and Night Guard working together in perfect harmony and all that.” She just kept lying there on the couch, staring at the ceiling.

She heard the oven get turned on. With all the setting up done, Thunderlane poked his head out above the headrest of the sofa. “Rin, what’s wrong?”

Nectarine groaned. “It’s Rumble’s wedlock.”

The stallion grumbled. “Breaking the rules again, huh?”

“No, no, not that.” She sat upright and sighed. “What are we going to do when he invites his friends to the ceremony?”

Thunderlane chuckled. “Rumble’s not gonna invite his friends: he doesn’t have any.”

“Yes, he does, Thunderlane. He has pony friends, and I think Stella’s made a few, as well. They’re going to want ponies at their ceremony, I’m sure of it.”

The stallion winced. “But they can’t. Ponies don’t know about wedlock, they wouldn’t understand. They’d probably call it child abuse or something awful like that.”

“I know. But if Rumble goes through with this, they’re going to find out.”

Thunderlane threw his head back in frustration. “Why can’t he ever just listen? Why can’t he just follow the rules, like a normal rousette?”

Nectarine got up and hugged her lifemate. “Sorry, angel. I didn’t mean to upset you. But Gale and Blade are going to have to have a talk with Rumble soon. When is he due to be locked?”

“This Friday.”

“That early?”

Thunderlane shrugged. “The officials said they couldn’t do it any other day, with the other rousette pups doing it together in two weeks.”

“Right. Suppose you did let him do it, though, how bad would that really be?”

“Are you kidding? It would be awful. Ponies would riot, demand the traditions be changed, or just stopped. Somepony would get Twilight Sparkle or Rainbow Dash or Applejack on it, and then they’d get the Princesses to force us to change the rules. And it’d be my fault.”

“You mean our fault, angel.”

Thunderlane looked away. “Yeah, that’s what I meant.”

Nectarine gently pushed his chin so he’d face her again. “Thunderlane, stop beating yourself up. You’re only trying to do what’s right. It’s just… you might not be right all the time, you know. Even traditions have exceptions.”

Thunder glared at her. “No, they don’t. Traditions kept our kind alive, we can’t break them.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Sure I’m sure.”

“I see. Then have you told Blade and Gale you made Rumble drink the Blood Cup Nectar?”

He flinched. “N-no. There’s no reason to tell them. It’s embarrassing.”

Rin shot him a glare. “It’s not embarrassing, it’s wrong, and it was dangerous. And if you hadn’t done it behind my back, I would have stopped you myself. You could have gotten arrested.”

“Why? Rumble had to drink it because of his condition, that’s what tradition says.”

“That doesn’t make it okay, angel, and you know as well as I do that is not what that tradition is for, not by a long shot. There is nothing wrong with your little brother, there’s nothing wrong with you, when are you going to see that?”

He didn’t have an answer to that. “So you think we should let him invite ponies over? Even if they’re gonna riot?”

“You could try explaining it?”

“Why? What’s gotten into you all of a sudden? I thought you wanted to protect the rousettes in Tuber Lane?”

Rin backed away with a sigh. “I do, angel, you know I do. It’s my job, after all. But ponies don’t hate us, and we stopped hating them a long time ago. The Night Guard and the Weather Patrol are already exchanging tasks, too much of it, if you ask me, even, but that’s beside the point. You work with ponies all the time yourself.”

“Yeah, well, I’m different.” Thunderlane looked morosely at his wings.

Nectarine lifted his chin so she could look him in the eyes again. “Just because you’re different, doesn’t mean you’re bad. And, you know, maybe if Rumble does have ponies over, it could make it easier for the rest of us to go out in Ponyville by day.”

“Why would any rousette want to go out by day?”

“Maybe to get some fresh fruits and vegetables from the market, or to see what kind of books the local library has, or to go to the spa here instead of the one in Canterlot. Or maybe so ponies know what we look like. We’re supposed to be serving the community, and the community doesn’t even know we’re here.”

“Wait, is this about Applejack sneaking around here?”

“She was not sneaking around, she was trying to be a good neighbour. And she did make a good point.”

“Which was?” Thunderlane cringed.

Nectarine bit her lip. “Not every rousette is the same, love. Sometimes, there just aren’t any bats around who are like you. And when that happens, if you can’t even walk down the street and see if there might be any ponies who are, well, that’s not very fair, now, isn’t it?”

Thunderlane snorted. “I never consorted with ponies before I was wedlocked, boys or girls, and I turned out fine. Why shouldn't Rumble do the same?”

“Because your little brother is not you. He doesn’t like the same things you do, or the same bats. You never consorted with ponies out of wedlock, but you had rousette friends then, you had a couple of things in common with them, at least. You never had to consort with ponies. But Rumble has his own interests, and he’s been stuck with no one to talk to but his cousin, just because he came second.”

He sighed. “So you think I’m doing a bad thing here, then? I’m the bad guy now?”

“Thunderlane, come on. I wouldn’t have wanted you all to myself if I didn’t think you had a good heart. And yes, I do think you’re wrong, but I don’t hate you for it. You’re just looking out for your little brother, I get that. But, really, just stop and think for a second. Who do you think Rumble looks up to most?”

“Rainbow Dash?”

“Sure, go with the obvious one,” Rin joked. “Strong athlete, dedicated to getting better, a pegasus pony like him, no reason he wouldn’t idolise her. But in his own family, who’s he got to look up to?”

“Dad?”

“No, that’s the one you looked up to most, because when you were growing up, Nighted Blade was making his way up the ranks. Your father was moving forward in life when you were little. But who’s moving forward now, huh?”

Thunderlane rolled his eyes. “Me, I guess.”

“Exactly. Weather Patrol duty on your own area, prospective Wonderbolt, a lovely girl to keep you warm at night…” She nuzzled him.

“That does have its perks.” He chuckled.

“And you got through it all, sticking to traditions. Rumble listens to you because he respects you, because you got through what he’s going though. But you still did it on your terms, and you’re not letting Rumble have that freedom. The only reason you get away with it is because he still admires you and he thinks you’re still the perfect bat, but we both know you’re not. He’s not going to take that from you for much longer. You can’t tell me you’re not friends with Rainbow Dash, or anyone else on the Weather Patrol.”

“But that’s different! That was only after I met you. And I had to, if I wanted to get better at flying.”

“You mean like how Rumble wanted to get better at flying?” Rin asked coyly.

“He still consorted with Scootaloo before he met Stella. That’s against the rules.”

“Yes, he did. But did you ask why?”

The stallion looked away. “Yeah.”

“And? Was it a good reason or a bad one?”

Silence fell between them. Eventually, though, Thunderlane had to concede the point. “He said Scootaloo needed help flying.”

“And did she?”

“Scootaloo? Yeah, she definitely needed some help. Everyone in Ponyville noticed.”

Nectarine smiled and stroked his mane. “Well, there you go, then. When you were that old, wouldn’t you have helped out a girl you weren’t introduced to?”

Again, Thunderlane looked away.

Nectarine nudged him in the chest. “I’m waiting. Would you have cared if it was a pony or a rousette? Would you break the rules if you knew it was the right thing to do? Is Rumble really being a rebel just for the sake of it, or is he doing what he knows you would have done in his shoes?”

A bell sounded. Thunderlane motioned to the back. “Pizza’s done.”

Nectarine didn’t press the issue any further. She sat down and waited for Thunderlane, ever the gentlecolt, to take out the pizzas and put them on the plates. “You know, I was thinking if we couldn’t get something fresh. Maybe some goat’s cheese, puff pastry, some honey, maybe, and cherry tomatoes.”

“I’ll go get some at the market tomorrow, then.”

“No, I want to go.”

“What?”

Rin smiled at him. “I’d like to go shopping at Ponyville Market sometime.”

Thunderlane gulped. He couldn’t just start another argument about this now. He didn’t have the heart for it. “It’s not just Rumble’s problem, you know. My parents, your parents, their friends, Lord Nox… are you really sure you’d want to tell Rumble it’s okay to ask his friends over?”

Rin stared at her food before taking a bite. “Talk to Blade and Gale. If they don’t want their son to have his friends over, they can be the ones to tell him.”

Author's Notes:

One of the issues that propped up fairly late is how Scootaloo is supposed to react to her changes. In the original version, she'd be draining Apple Bloom, and Apple Bloom figures it's the worry about what might happen that's bugging her friend. I like this version better, showcasing the differences in magic a little. There's a Death Touch thingie coming up in the Flight Camp sequel (which has also been way too long in the making) which will explore it further.

I didn't want Thunderlane to be a complete villain in the first story, especially considering Rumble still goes along with all of it. So I gave him a little more motivation here. As for the Blood Cup ritual, I don't cover the specifics of it in this story, but I did have sort of a concept for a sequel where Chitter introduces her wedlock partner, and it's also someone who's gone through that rite. That would showcase the intended effects of the ritual as well as provide some final 'What have I done?' vibe for Rumble's family. There's a very, very subtle reference to that coming up in the next chapter. Subtle enough to be considered coincidence.

For those curious: the actual effect of the Blood Cup Rite is that it turns the recipient into a vampire. But not the classical 'race' vampire: the Vampire class from Forsaken World. It's a pretty awesome concept, and it's closer to my own beliefs/preferred tropes of where vampires and vampire myths come from. It's been a very long time since I've played that game, though. I recommend it as a good timesink, and a very pretty one at that, but I can't guarantee you'd like the gameplay.

Sleep, or Something Like It

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Rumble had gotten used to this hall by now. It was big enough to hold the rousette communities of three cities, and not too long ago it had been where he’d met his lifemate, even. He wasn’t too used to being here this late after dinner time, but he could manage. He was even used to being scrutinised by older rousettes who felt they were somehow above him in rank.

He wasn’t used to it feeling so awful, though.

Stella and Rumble looked up at the caped rousette on the stage. As was tradition, only a Night Guard Captain who’d undergone the Trials of the Moon could form the bonds of a wedlock. But this dark greyish blue one, incenser Starlight, didn’t seem to like the look of the kids.

“So, Gale, Blade, you mean to tell me your son has reached the ripe age of ten without a wedlock? And while having consorted with girls, pony girls, no less?” He scowled at Rumble’s parents.

“Well, our son was looking for a very particular kind of girl, which he’s now found,” Blade replied. “And as for the pony girl; he’s explained it to his mate, and she accepted it. So, is that going to be a problem, Captain Starlight?”

Starlight scowled. “You know full well it’s a problem, both of you. Your son is impure, his heart corrupted. If he can’t even keep fidelity towards the rules of our kind, who’s to say he won’t break the bonds of wedlock? I can’t just perform the rites for him.”

“Star, if you’re implying my son is somehow less reliable because he’s a pegasus...” Gale started.

“He broke the rules. Regardless of how he was born, I can’t just ignore that. Our Sovereign would have my head.”

“Begging your pardon, sir, but I was under the impression that fidelity was a matter between those wedlocked, not the one performing the rite,” Stella objected, in her usual calm and lady-like fashion.

“It’s a little more complicated than that, little girl. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m trying to explain something to the grownups.”

“We are grownups, sir,” Rumble said with a distinct edge in his voice. “As soon as a rousette pair declares intent to wedlock, they’re considered of age. That’s what the books say. Those are the rites, those are the rules, that is our way.”

Starlight glared at the little colt, then to his parents. “I see you failed to teach him respect for his superiors as well, Blade? Really, I’d think a colleague would know to teach their child some manners.”

Blade gritted his teeth. “Watch your tongue, Starlight. My offspring may not have my wings, but you do not get to insult my sons, either one of them. I know my place, and I know how far yours is beneath mine. Now, are you going to let them practise the rites, or do we need to find another minister?”

“I agree.” Stella unfurled a wing and pulled Rumble closer. “Given what we’re supposed to be doing, I’m finding a distinct lack of love in the air here.”

Starlight crooked an eyebrow at the girl. “I should think so, little girl. I take my job seriously. I’m not about to be responsible for a pair of careless infidels to tie the knot.”

“Sorry about the delay, everyone!” Lord Nox called out as he trotted across the hall. “Apparently some buffalo were stampeding into dragon territory.”

“They’re not going to start arguing about that again, are they?” Stella slapped herself in an as ladylike manner as she could muster.

“Not to worry, dear, I’m sure they’ll be alright. Now then, how’s the practice coming along?”

“L-Lord Nox?” Starlight asked. “This girl is-”

“His ward,” Stella answered. “I am Lady Stella, sir, of the House Malpertuus, and I have chosen this boy as my lifemate. Now, may we please proceed to the rites?”

It was a rare sight to see a highly ranked rousette gulp in fear, especially during peacetime. But Starlight was soundly beaten, and by a little girl, no less.

Blade and Gale exchanged a glance. Once Starlight had his back turned to them to fetch the incense, Blade whispered to Lord Nox. “You taught her well, Milord.”

Nox chuckled. “You have no idea. I trust Starlight will mind his manners during the ceremony?”

“Oh, he will,” Blade replied. “He just has to get his say in. Some silly bats are always trying to ice skate uphill.”

“Right then, do you know the vows?” Starlight asked, lighting the censer.

Stella nodded, and so did Rumble. The boy’s nose curled from the smell.

“Let’s start off slowly, shall we? First you are bathed in the Sage’s Smoke.” Starlight swung the censer in their direction to get waft of aromatic smoke around them. “Then once the smoke envelops you entirely, you close your eyes and clear your mind, same as channeling your magic.”

“That won’t be too hard.” Rumble did as he was told. Stella hadn’t let go of him yet, and he couldn’t help but feel comfort in the little throb of the veins on her wing. She was just as nervous as he was.

“Then, when the smoke clears, you turn towards each other, lock eyes, and say your vows. Try not to break eye contact while you do. If you break eye contact, you have to start over.”

Rumble’s heart skipped a beat when he did just that. He’d been prepped on the specifics many times, of course, and he’d seen the wedlocks of some of his fellow rousettes, when they were seven. Not that he’d made any friends going there, or that it mattered if most rousettes did it in group. He knew the incense was just a standard smudge stick, meant to get rid of bad influences. He knew clearing his mind was just to make sure there wouldn’t be any lingering magic tampering with the vows. He’d done this in front of the mirror the past few days, making sure he’d be able to do it for real.

But actually standing there, in front of the girl he’d be tied to for the rest of his life, eyes locked -- so their souls were open only to one another, according to legend -- he felt overwhelmed by it all.

Still, he endured.

“By my wings, I’ll be your shelter. By my voice, I’ll be your guide. By my will, the world will know, that my soul, to yours is tied.”

Stella bit her lip, and almost broke eye contact, but she kept her composure up just enough.

“You weren’t kidding when you said he was good,” Lord Nox remarked. “Your boy’s a natural. I can almost smell his magic up to here.”

Gale chuckled. “Yes, he is very, um, dedicated, Milord. Especially when it comes to weather control and pegasus magic.”

“All the better. A lot of boys can’t hold their focus that well, certainly not on their first try.”

“Yeah, our boy’s full of surprises,” Blade added. “No idea where he gets it from.”

Stella finished her vows, just as Rumble had. Starlight gave them another swing of the censer and clapped his hooves together. “Very good. Now that that’s done, you can get to the next part of the rite.”

Gale and Blade gulped. Rumble had seen this, he knew this by heart, but his parents still weren’t sure he could do it. Truth be told, he was having second thoughts on the matter himself.

Starlight grinned. “The traditional pounce. There’s lots of details to get right, so you’re going to have to bring your full attention to it and just keep trying ‘till you get it right.”

Lord Nox cleared his throat loudly and held up something he’d stashed away under a table. “Captain Starlight? Here, I brought a helmet.”

Blade and Gale quirked their eyebrows.

Lord Nox shrugged. “D’oh, what? Just because it’s tradition doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be careful. I’ve seen boys get some nasty concussions doing this, you know.”

Rumble rubbed his bleary eyes as he got off the train. “What time is it?”

“It’s almost one in the morning,” Stella replied. “You must be tired, huh?”

“A little.”

The two went ahead a few paces so the grownups wouldn’t hear. Rumble lowered his voice to a whisper. “Are you sure you’re okay with this? I mean, after all this is done, you and I are gonna be-”

“I’m sure. You shouldn’t have to put up with the things that awful Starlight said, not from him, not from anyone.”

Rumble smiled. “Thanks.”

Stella gave him a gentle nuzzle, raising her voice again. “Any time, little angel, any time.”

“Alright, then,” Lord Nox said. “I take it you’ll announce the good news soon?”

Rumble was going to answer, but only realised halfway that Nox had asked his parents. Blade nodded. “Oh, yes, we’ll send out the invitations tomorrow, friends and family. They’re all close by, shouldn’t be a problem. And you, Milord?”

The burly rousette shrugged and chuckled in his usual hearty tone. “D’oh, plenty of friends, no family. Well, aside from our fair Shadow Sovereign, but I doubt she can make it.”

Rumble leaned his head against Stella’s as they walked up front. The pouncing practice had worn him out, apparently.

He clenched his eyes shut, then when he opened them they were already in Tuber Lane, right where they had to split up. He turned and nuzzled Stella, just as she had. “Good night.”

“Good night, Rumble. Sweet dreams.”

Rumble wasn’t sure what happened next. His mom and dad were trying to talk to him, but he didn’t catch any of it. He just yawned and moved along in a daze. Something nudged him from behind, then lifted him up. It was warm and fuzzy, and smelled like his mom.

“Come on, little angel, you need a batnap, stat.”

Rumble closed his eyes again. Everything felt so cold around him. It wasn’t normal to be so cold and so tired. Being sleepy was supposed to be warm, and soft, and with a good pillow under his head.

“Mom, dad? Can I talk to you for a second?” Rumble heard Thunderlane’s voice. He didn’t catch their conversation, but he was awake enough to realise he still had to brush his teeth before bed.

Nighted Blade had a knack for smelling the fear in his adversaries. Usually it was a boon, and one that had saved his life as well as that of his fellow Night Guards on many an occasion. Now, though, it alarmed him. “What’s the matter, Thunderlane?”

After settling down on the sofa with his father, the stallion nodded towards the stairs. “Is everything on schedule? Rumble’s doing it this Friday?”

Blade nodded. “Yes. He’s surprisingly good at it, actually. Never even broke eye contact. Why? You think Stella’s not the right girl for him?”

“It’s not that I’m worried about, dad. Are you sending the invitations tomorrow?”

Again, Blade nodded. “It’s a little on short notice, sure, but it’ll do. Now what’s the problem, son?”

Thunderlane bit his lip. “So Rumble’s going to invite his friends tomorrow, too?”

The rousette chuckled. “His friends? What friends? Rumble doesn’t have any friends.”

“He doesn’t have any rousette friends, dad, but he does have pony friends.”

Nighted Blade could feel the blood drain from his face. “Oh, no.”

“Yeah. You see the problem?”

“Well, what did Rin have to say about it? Does the mayor know?”

“She knows, but it doesn’t matter. The mayor can’t stop any ponies from showing up to the ceremony if they’re invited, and she can’t stop him from doing that, either. But you could.”

“Could what?” Strife Gale asked as she joined them.

“Honey, is Rumble asleep already?”

“Went down like a log.” Gale rolled her eyes. “Why?”

“How are we going to keep ponies out of his ceremony?” Thunderlane asked.

“Why would there be ponies at his ceremony?”

“Because he has pony friends, remember? He’s been socialising since he met Stella. It’s probably the only reason he agreed to it in the first place,” Blade remarked.

Thunderlane nodded. “And turns out he’s pretty good at it. At least half his school is gonna show up if he’s allowed to invite them, and they’re gonna bring their parents. So, is he?”

Gale sat down with the other two. “Goodness, we can’t just have ponies to a wedlock ceremony, can we? If they found out, they’d think it’s child abuse or something horrible like that.”

“That’s what I was thinking,” Thunderlane said. “We can’t stop them from showing up if Rumble decides to invite them.”

“So we just have to tell him he can’t ask anypony to come to the wedlock,” Blade concluded. “If we allow ponies at the ceremony, we’d be shamed ‘till the fifth generation. We can’t let them, can we?”

Gale shook her head. “I don’t think so, no. My parents wouldn’t approve, neither would yours, and great-uncle Dashing would have a fit. That’s not even mentioning what the ponies might do if they saw it. I mean, they’re a judgmental, panicky bunch of herd animals who only listen to whomever’s shouting loudest or smells nicer. They’d take one look at our customs, then get the torches and pitchforks.”

“Especially Ponyville ponies,” Thunderlane added. “They could get the Princesses in on this, force them to ban the whole thing. And it’d be because of our family.”

Gale sighed. “So what do we do? Can’t we ask Rin to just try and buffer things a little?”

“Rin was the one who told me about it. She can’t intervene, not legally. And the more she talked about it, the more she started thinking Rumble should just let ponies come. I can’t force her.”

“Then why don’t we have a separate party for Rumble’s pony friends? They wouldn’t have to see the rite itself, or even know what it’s for,” Gale suggested.

Blade grunted. “Then Rumble still has to go his wedlock without his friends to see him. It’s as simple as that.”

Thunderlane winced. “I’m sorry, dad.”

“Not your fault, son. Should have seen this one coming sooner.”

“Are you gonna tell him now?”

Blade looked to Gale. Gale shook her head emphatically. “No, sirree, you are not waking that boy up for a shock like this. He won’t catch a wink of sleep if you go up there now.”

Blade yawned. “Right then. I think we can all do with some shuteye, I’ll talk to him when he wakes up.”

Scootaloo tossed and turned in her bed, before settling down to stare at the ceiling. Sleep wasn’t happening tonight, not with everything going on. Something gnawed at her mind, and knotted up her stomach. She turned again to look at her clock. Two in the morning, and she was wide awake.

She heard the front door open and close. Octavia was fast asleep, but aunt Vinyl was just coming back from her gig in Canterlot, hosting some talk show, not Canterlot Radio this time. Mom and dad were out of town again, both called to oversee some potential weather problem or another on Equestria’s border. And Aunt Vinyl could be pretty smart when she wanted to be...

Scootaloo sighed. She wasn’t going to get any sleep at this rate, so she might as well.

Vinyl yawned and stretched out her arms and legs, before getting the remote in her magical grip. “You should be in bed, kiddo.”

Scootaloo wasn’t surprised her aunt had caught her. Vinyl Scratch had a notoriously strong sense of hearing, to the point some ponies in the music scene suspected she was part bat. While Scootaloo couldn’t be sure about that, she did know from experience her family had some changeling heritage running through it, at least.

She hovered over the railing of the stairs and gently landed on the sofa where the unicorn had taken a seat. “Is it okay if I just sit here for a little while?”

Vinyl took off her sunglasses and lowered the television’s volume. “Sure. What’s on your mind?”

Scootaloo shrugged and folded her arms so her hooves would be under her belly. “Nothing. I just couldn’t sleep.”

“If nothin’ was keeping you up, you’d be in bed by now, squirt. So what’s keeping you up?”

Scootaloo bit her lip. “I’ve been thinking about, you know, what’s happened with me. And with Rumble, and all the rousettes.”

“What about it?”

“Are rousettes ponies?”

Vinyl Scratch shrugged. “I dunno. You’d know better than me. Or they would.”

“They say they’re not.”

“That just means they don’t wanna be ponies. Do they act like ponies?”

Scootaloo shook her head. “Not really. They don’t join in on pony holidays, or mix with ponies, they’ve got traditions that ponies don’t have, and they’re really attached to them. They don’t do things the same way we do, and they don’t want us to call them ponies.”

“Then it sounds like they’re not ponies, Scootaloo.”

“But then what does that make me?”

Vinyl tensed up. She knew a bombshell question when she heard it. She muted the television and looked her little niece in the eyes. “What do you mean?”

“Well, like, I change shape, right? Ponies don’t do that. And I lie and pretend so I can hang out with Rumble.”

The unicorn nodded. “Because of that thing with his brother.”

“Yeah, that. Ponies don’t do stuff like that, but I do, so I’m not a pony.”

“Maybe not, but you hang out with ponies. You still follow pony rules, so you’re a pony,” Vinyl argued.

“Except I’m not a pony anymore. I have changeling magic, but that doesn’t make me a changeling because I still follow pony traditions? If I’m a pony, then why do I have to drain someone to stop from getting sick?”

Vinyl sighed. “Is this about you having to stay in Ponyville again?”

“No, no! Of course not; I know mom and dad have to do important stuff, I get it. I know they can’t be around all the time, even if I can fly.”

“And you know they love you.”

“Well, duh; I feed off that. I’m more sure of that than any kid in Equestria.”

The unicorn ruffled the filly’s mane.

Scootaloo sniffled ever so quietly. “But… like, rousettes used to be ponies, and now they’re not, or they say they’re not. But they know what they are. I don’t. I can be a boy if I want to, or a girl. I can be an Earth pony, or a unicorn, or even a rousette. I can change everything about me, and ponies can’t do that, so I’m definitely not a pony. But I’m friends with ponies, I love doing pony stuff, and I don’t even know what changelings are supposed to do, so I’m not a changeling, either. What am I?”

Vinyl shuffled closer and rubbed the girl’s back to comfort her. “Oh, you are waaaay too young to be worrying about this kind of heavy stuff, Scootaloo. You’re talking about some high-falutin college stuff now, not something you’re gonna learn in school next week. But I think I see what the issue is here. You think you’re just one thing or another.”

“What?”

The unicorn smiled. “Let me ask you something, kid: when you ride your scooter, all fearless and speedy, who do you think you take after, your mom or your dad?”

Scootaloo shrugged. “Umm, dad, obviously. He turns everything into a race.”

“Okay. What about when you dance in front of the mirror in your tights?”

“You’ve seen that?!”

Vinyl chuckled. “Same question, squirt: who else does that, your mom or your dad?”

“I don’t know. I guess mom, sometimes. She does like wearing tights. And so do I.” The girl blushed.

“Good answer. And how about you being so clean around here? Why do you do that?”

This was a silly question. “Because Octavia likes it clean.”

“Just for her? And you don’t like things clean?”

“Sure I do. Can’t have fun in a big mess. You gotta be able to find your stuff when you’re done.”

“Exactly. So Octavia’s rubbed off on you too, then.”

“Maybe a little, sure.”

Vinyl gave Scootaloo another warm rub. “And your taste in music? Which fine, awesome musical genius is responsible for teaching you to appreciate a good tune, huh?”

Scootaloo chuckled nervously. “Umm, sorry, but that’s you and Octavia and mom and dad.”

“Very good answer. So really, what you’re saying is you take after your parents and me and Octy, at least a little.”

Scootaloo weighed it in her mind. “Umm, I guess?”

“So you’ve got a little bit of two pegasi in you, and a little bit of an Earth pony, and a little bit of a unicorn, don’t you?”

Scootaloo pondered that for a moment. “Hey you’re right. I do, sort of.”

Vinyl nodded. “And what about your friends? The way I remember it, there was a time you couldn’t even read a line on a stage, let alone sing. Who gave you the guts to do that, huh?”

“Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.” Scootaloo shuddered. “But that’s different, I just didn’t want to get outdone. And Rainbow Dash doesn’t get stage fright, either, so-”

“No, that’s not different. They taught you to be something you weren’t, to be like them, just a little bit.“

“So what you’re saying is: nothing I am is really me?”

Vinyl rolled her eyes. “I’m saying, squirt, that every pony changes a little when they hang around another pony. Your teacher, your friends, your family, Rainbow Dash, Octy, and me, we all rub off on you, whether you know it or not. And what you are is all the bits of us that you decide you wanna hold onto. Do you understand that?”

“A little. But how does that help me? That just makes it more confusing!”

Vinyl smiled. “You are a pony, Scootaloo. You’ve got little bits of me, Octy, your mom and dad, your teacher, your friends, all of those ponies that you let in and learn from. And you are a changeling, and a good one, because you’re using your changeling powers for all the right things. Plus, now that you’re hanging out with rousettes, you’ve probably got a little piece of them, too. Bet they made an impression on you today, huh?”

“You have no idea.” Scootaloo groaned.

The unicorn chuckled. “The point is, ponies who care about you, who want what’s best for you, will rub off on you. When you get inspired, or encouraged, or taught something new, that’s them sharing a bit of themselves so you’d be better off. Most of the time you won’t notice. But you know the best part?”

“What?”

“When you do your best to help your friends, or inspire an audience, you rub off on them, too. That’s what I try to do, at least. Me, I play records to cheer up anypony on a night shift, and I talk about stuff thinking it might help somepony feel better. I throw out a little bit of myself every night for anypony listening, and that’s all I gotta do. Other ponies just have to decide if they want a piece of me or not. The same thing happens with everypony, including you. If you think the world needs more of you, all you gotta do is give it. The world’ll decide if it wants it.”

“So I’m not just a pony, I’m lots of ponies? And lots of ponies are a little bit of me?”

“A little bit. Although I guess in your case, you being lots of ponies is a bit more literal.”

Scootaloo chuckled and lay her head on Vinyl’s lap. “What about the rousettes? They don’t hang out with ponies, they don’t join in with us. No pony’s rubbed off on them.”

“They don’t want a piece of ponies, I guess. Maybe they just don’t know what they’re missing. Somepony should show’em sometime.”

Scootaloo’s mouth curled up in a smile. Everything felt heavy all of a sudden. Something warm and fuzzy landed on her back, and Vinyl made sure the blanket covered her properly without squishing her wings.

“And then there’s Rumble, of course.”

Scootaloo’s stomach groaned at that.

Vinyl chuckled. “Are you sure you’re okay with this whole Stella business?”

Scootaloo shrugged. “It doesn’t matter if I am. Rumble has to go through with it, I just have to put up with it.”

Vinyl sighed and rubbed over her little niece’s back some more. “Just remember that if it ever goes too far, he has rights nopony can take away from him, same as you.”

“I know. It’s just complicated.”

Vinyl groaned. “Tradition usually is.”

“I’m sure things’ll be better once that dumb wedlock is done. After that, Rumble’ll be allowed to pick who he hangs out with, even if it is a pegasus pony.”

“And Stella?”

Scootaloo winced. “As long as she says she’s okay with it, Rumble can do what he wants. Simple as that.”

“If you say so.”

The girl let out a weary sigh. “Aunt Vinyl?”

“Yeah?”

“Is it okay if I just close my eyes like this?”

“Of course, kiddo, you just go ahead and nod off. I’ll put you to bed nice and gently, you won’t even notice I’m carrying you.”

“Hmm, your legs are really comfy…” the filly rubbed her cheeks against that white fur. “Aunt Vinyl?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for the talk. I think I needed that.” Scootaloo’s voice grew slurred as she got comfy.

“Anytime, kid. Anytime.”

“How’d you get so smart, anyway?”

“Same as anyone else: I made friends with ponies who are smarter than me.” She chuckled and rubbed the blanket against the girl’s back.

The filly went out like a candle, snoring peacefully.

“Good night, Scootaloo.”

Nighted Blade got up and stretched out his legs. He gave his wings a cursory flap as his darling wife got out of bed.

“You going to have the talk with him now, Blade?”

“Might as well. It is Twilight Time, after all.” Blade walked out towards his son’s bedroom.

Every rousette knew the tradition of Twilight Time: it was the early hours of the morning before a child was out of bed, and a parent who was up and about could sit with them to talk. The subject was usually something embarrassing for the child, and, as tradition dictated, as soon as the child got out of the bed there would be no mention of whatever had been spoken of during the day, unless it was an emergency.

Blade had had a lot of talks like this with Thunderlane, but never with Rumble. Blade had never really had anything to talk about with Rumble. Thunderlane had been an absolute dream child all the way to adulthood, and the boy had known since he was little he wanted to be a Wonderbolt. Of course, while most rousettes would have preferred a more low-key lifestyle, or at least something that involved performing for fellow rousettes only, becoming a Wonderbolt was a fine ambition to have, almost as good as a Night Guard.

Almost.

Rumble, despite his drive for improving his flying and weather control skills, didn’t seem to have much in the way of ambitions, and it bothered Blade, not to mention Gale. Still, like any good rousette father, Blade supported his son in any endeavour, and had made every effort to ensure Rumble had plenty of opportunity to find his true calling, and be surrounded by well-mannered, proper rousettes to call his friends. More to the point, Blade and Gale had made sure that Rumble had a fine example to follow in Thunderlane, and that their boys could spend as much time together as Rumble needed to become a fine young stallion like his brother.

Not that that had worked at all, but at least they tried.

Blade knocked on Rumble’s bedroom door. When no answer came, he entered.

Rumble was still in bed, so tradition said the talk was a go.

“Rumble, are you awake?”

The boy stirred under the sheets. He had his back to Blade, but that was no surprise. Being around rousettes who judged him the way they did, combined with the embarrassing feathery predicament of his wings, it was less painful to just try and ignore the fact that he wasn’t like his parents. Turning his back on them was a mere reflex action, and nothing personal. His brother had been just like that when he was younger.

Of course, Thunderlane had grown out of that habit around the time he got wedlocked. As he sat down, Blade hoped his youngest son would do the same soon. “Rumble, I think we need to have a talk.”

“I’m listening.”

Blade sighed. “Look, son, I know we haven’t always seen eye to eye, and that it’s been rough on you, having to live around ponies when you’re really a rousette.”

Rumble curled up tighter under the covers.

“Actually, scratch that. I know it’s hard, having to hide your family from everyone you know, and having to stay away from ponies because of our traditions. Especially going to school with them.”

“That’s a pretty hard trick,” Rumble muttered under his breath.

Blade nodded. “I know. But, now that you’re going to be wedlocked, everything will be fine. The other rousettes won’t avoid you anymore, or look at you weird. You’ve just gotta try your hardest and they’ll accept you, like they accepted your brother. Stella’s a fine match for you, you just need to present yourself as being worthy of her respect, and then everyone will see you’re worthy of respect, period. I know you can do that.”

“I think I can do that.”

“Good.” Blade gulped. “Then there’s just one more thing. When you go to school, don’t tell anyone you’re getting wedlocked, okay? It’s between you and the other rousettes, you don’t need to have your friends there.”

Silence fell.

Blade bit his lip. “Oh, stars, what am I saying? Of course you need your friends there. I-I… I don’t know what to do here, son. If you bring ponies to a wedlock, they might get upset and demand the entire tradition be banned. They’ll find out you’re a pegasus pony in a rousette family, and they might even try to take you away from us. We do not mix with ponies, son, we just don’t. They’re too different from us. We can live side by side, but not together. We never could. So… if you could let this pass without bringing any of them, that’d save everyone a lot of trouble.”

Rumble shivered under his sheets. He still wouldn’t face his father.

Blade shook his head. “But if you don’t, then you have to go to the most important day of your life all alone, and you don’t deserve that. You didn’t do anything wrong, you shouldn’t have to choose, I know. But, Rumble, if you go through with it, you’ll bring shame on our family. You know rousettes are too damn proud for their own good, and it’s gonna come back to bite us in the rump one of these days.” He rubbed his temples.

Blade looked at his son’s prone form. He could only guess what Rumble was thinking, or how angry or disappointed the boy’s face might look. “It’s already biting us in the rump, I suppose. Heh, a Captain in the Night Guard can’t even let his son invite some friends over on his big day. It’s not right. But that’s how it is.”

“I understand,” Rumble whispered.

“Look, I’ll tell you what: you go to the wedlock, no ponies invited. You put up with the stares, the comments, whatever, one last time. After that, you can have a party in Sugarcube Corner, in broad daylight, any pony you wanna invite is welcome.” Blade sighed to catch his breath. “And then that’ll be the end of it. You won’t have to pretend to enjoy yourself when we drag you off to another bat meeting, you won’t have to worry about any matchmaking anymore, you and Stella can just be together however you like. No more forcing you to be something you’re not. As long as you stay in touch with Stella, we’ll know you’re okay. We’ll know you’re safe.”

“I don’t know.”

Blade suppressed a sad growl. “Please, son. I’m not gonna lie: we’d lose face if you got ponies to the ceremony. But your mom and I, we’re Night Guards, we’re both Captains, and we’re both up high enough on the ladder that we can take it. We’re known, and respected. You’re not. I don’t want to see you get hurt, or to have to watch you carry that kind of burden all your life. I don’t want to lose you, okay?”

“Okay. I think I’ve got it.”

“Good. Now come on, time to get up.”

“Alright, Rainbow Dash, here goes.”

Blade’s ears twitched. “What?”

Rumble’s body twitched under the covers. He made a motion like he was trying to flap his wings, then kicked his legs like he was running.

Nighted Blade had seen a lot of disturbing things in his day. He’d been on expeditions beyond Equestria’s borders, where threats stopped being ‘creatures’ and started being ‘things’. He’d earned his medals facing predators that fed in ways that couldn’t be described without a degree in psychology or physics or, in some profoundly unsettling cases, both. He was Captain in the Night Guard and, while that was a relatively common position, he happened to be one in the royal black ops branch, the mere membership to which came with bragging rights usually reserved to demon hunters in other nations, along with a very generous life insurance.

Blade was not, by any stretch of the imagination, easily spooked.

But seeing his son like that, and seeing his alarm clock, that sent a chill down his spine.

It was four in the morning. Rumble was just talking in his sleep. He didn’t wake up at this time of night, not like other rousettes did. The thought got stuck in Blade’s mind. All this talk of wedlock and rousette traditions had made him forget that Rumble was, despite everything, a pegasus pony and not a rousette.

The only reason Blade could talk with his other son like this was because Thunderlane had learned to get by with strange sleeping habits. Thunderlane had been the perfect son, after all, a rousette with feathers. Rumble was a pegasus in a rousette family.

The silly little thing hadn’t heard a word Blade had said.

The rousette let out a deep and dejected sigh. He should have noticed. The great Captain of the Night Guard, always alert, couldn’t even tell when his own son was awake.

“Some Captain.”

“Dad?”

Blade looked up. “Rumble?”

Rumble sat up and rubbed his bleary eyes. “What are you doing?”

“Oh, nothing, I just…”

“You… wanted to talk?” Rumble looked out the window. Sure enough, his neighbours were up, getting a nightly snack or something or other. He could tell by the lights in the distance, and the odd dark form flittering about in the treeline. The sound of cellos and violins filtered through the treeline, as well.

Blade looked at the ground. “Sort of.”

“Well, what did you wanna say?”

Blade was about to say something, but it got stuck halfway his throat. “Never mind. It’s not important enough to lose sleep over. You just rest up. Me and your mom will be downstairs for a bit, we’ll try to keep quiet for you.”

Rumble got back under the covers. “Umm, okay. Good night.”

“Good night.”

Blade closed the door and shook his head.

“Love you, son,” he whispered.

The next morning, Rumble had forgotten all about the nighttime talk, it seemed, which was good, because Nighted Blade hated putting his hoof in his mouth like that. Unfortunately, that meant the matter of inviting ponies to the wedlock was still under question.

Rumble chewed on his breakfast of crumbled wheat mix and sliced banana with milk while Blade braced himself.

Gale took the initiative when no words came. “Honey, there’s something we need to talk about.”

Rumble swallowed. “What?”

Gale and Blade exchanged a glance. Since Blade hadn’t managed to do it, it was only fair Gale took over. “It’s about your wedlock, Rumble. Were you planning to invite anyone?”

Rumble shrugged. “Well, yeah. It is a pretty big deal, right?”

Gale nodded. “But it wouldn’t be too many invites, right?”

“Actually, me and Stella were planning to invite everypony in my class. And I guess they’d bring their parents, too.”

Gale felt the blood drain from her face. “R-really? But… come now, you’re not really friends with all the ponies in your class, are you?”

“No, I don’t know them that well, because I wasn’t allowed to consort with girls, and rousettes don’t really like ponies that much. But I’m still friend-ly, and now that Stella’s here they are friends. Why, what’s wrong? Is the hall gonna be too small?”

Gale looked to her husband, but he held up a hoof to tell her she was free to do this on her own. Gale sighed. “It’s not that, Rumble. It’s just that we’re not sure if it’s a good idea to invite ponies to a rousette ceremony.”

Rumble’s ears fell flat against his face, and his mouth curled up in that heartbreaking pout that Gale and Blade had learned to avoid at all costs. While he was a rule-breaker and a bit of a rebel, Rumble had never been manipulative with his parents. He’d never tried a fake pout or sob to get what he wanted, which made it all the more painful when he showed sincere sadness.

The two Night Guards had a better defense against a cockatrice’s glare than their son’s puppy dog eyes.

“Why?” he asked. They could practically hear his heart breaking as, once again, him being a pony was somehow a bad thing.

Gale sighed again and shook her head. “Try to understand, Rumble, ponies aren’t like us. We have our ways, they have theirs. They don’t follow the same rules we do, they live differently. And if they saw how we lived, well, they’d want us to stop living the way we do.”

Rumble let his head hang.

“It’s not that we don’t like them, it’s just that we don’t mix with them for a good reason. We all know who we are and what we have to do because of our traditions, and ponies aren’t a part of that tradition.”

“So even if I get wedlocked, I still wouldn’t be okay?”

Gale groaned. “No, sweetie, that’s different. You were born a rousette, that’s what you are, doesn’t matter if you have feathers. But we can’t let ponies into our ceremonies. It’d bring shame on the family.”

Rumble took another bite. “So it’s not just tradition, it’s because of our family? They wouldn’t want me to bring ponies?”

Gale sighed. “None of the rousettes would want to be around ponies, Rumble. You’ve been around ponies, you know how they can get. But that doesn’t mean we don’t like your friends. We know we can trust your judgment, at least, you deserve that much. We just can’t afford to have our kind mix with ponies, not on that kind of scale. We can organise a party for you at Sugarcube Corner, though, have all the ponies you want there. Say it’s a welcome party for Stella, no one would have to know.”

That sent Rumble’s ears in a twitch. “Well, what about Stella, then?”

Blade finally spoke up. “Excuse me?”

Rumble carefully chewed and swallowed another spoonful of his fruit and cereal before speaking. “Stella’s made friends with ponies, too. Actually, come to think of it, doesn’t Lord Nox consort with other species all the time?”

Gale rolled her eyes. “Well, yes, but that’s different; Lord Nox is an ambassador, and a noble. Sure, we’re highly ranked, but that’s nothing compared to him. The rules don’t apply to him like they do to us. If anyone in his family decided to bring their friends along, he could do it without any-” She froze.

Blade looked to his suddenly flummoxed wife. “Honey? What’s wrong?”

“Oh, gosh, Blade, I don’t think we thought this through. Our family’s in the Night Guard; it’s in our nature to work in secret. Tradition demands we keep to ourselves. But Lord Nox is a noble, and so is Stella. And we can’t go against the will of a noble, now, can we?”

The pieces finally fell into place. Blade hummed to himself. “Gosh, I suppose you’re right. Well, that settles it, then: Rumble, you are strictly forbidden from inviting any ponies to your wedlock. You’ll just have to make do with any ponies Stella is allowed to invite.”

Rumble finished his milk, wiped his chin, then flashed them a bright smile. “I think I can handle that.”

Gale looked to the clock. “Best get going, then, you wouldn’t want to be late for school.”

Rumble grabbed his bag and rushed out. “Okay, see you later, love you!”

Gale chuckled. “Love you too, son.”

The front door opened and closed.

Blade heaved a heavy sigh. “The ponies are still going to cause trouble, though.”

“Maybe. But even if they do, this is a pony town, and they have the right to argue.”

“Do they have a right to tell us how to raise a child, though?”

Gale shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. I’m sure Nectarine will have a good explanation ready to calm everypony down, if she needs to. Besides, it’s not like they’re going to find out about our son’s heritage, right? As far as they know, we’re just two pegasi who aren’t in town very often.”

Blade caught the hint of an edge in her voice. He grabbed her in a warm hug and rubbed her back. “We’re doing the right thing, Gale, you know that.”

Gale nodded. “I know. Everything will be better for him soon.”

Author's Notes:

The part that I'm worried about in this chapter is the confusion regarding social castes: in case it's not clear, ambassadors are the highest in rousette society, as close to the Princesses as a mortal can get. Below that, there are many rungs of artists and Night Guards who are knighted or nighted. They are considered nobles in pony terms, but it's not the same as how rousettes see the term.

It's basically the old 'If everyone's special, no one is' schtick.

Also, yes, I did reference the 'Blade' movie there. Because with a name like that, I can't really resist a golden opportunity.

Vinyl Scratch' explanation is based on part of Grant Morrisson's Disinfo Speech, and full disclosure: I do believe in that as an ideology. 'As above, so below', psychology mimicks biology and all that jazz. I've been meaning to blog about it to get it out in-depth, never got around to it.

The Announcement

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Rumble was anxious all throughout the day. Fortunately, it was Wednesday, so he only had half a day’s worth of class.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders noticed something was up, though, and so did Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. They couldn’t get him to talk about it during recess, or at least get more information out of him other than ‘It’s a surprise’, but when Stella walked into class at the sound of the final bell around lunchtime, they knew whatever was happening, it would be big.

“Okay, class, Rumble and Stella have something to announce,” Cheerilee said as Rumble walked up to join Stella at the front of the class.

Rumble cleared his throat. “Umm, well, err, first of all I wanted to say again that I’m sorry I wasn’t always as friendly as I should have been. It’s just that with me and my brother being so close to rousettes, we kinda ended up following their rules, and, well, it got a little tricky.”

Stella nodded. “Rumble was just trying to do what was right by rousette standards and pony standards, even if those two don’t mix very well.”

Smiles lit up the class, except for where Scootaloo was sitting. She was almost rigid with nerves.

“Anyway, what I wanted to say is-” Rumble started.

“What we wanted to say is-” Stella continued.

Rumble took a deep breath. “We’re getting wedlocked this Friday night.”

A deathly silence descended on the classroom. The pupils all froze, and the pupils’ pupils narrowed to dots from sheer shock.

“And I would like to invite you all to the ceremony,” Stella announced.

Cheerilee was the first to snap out of it. “Wait, you two are getting married?”

Rumble idly kicked the ground. “Umm, sorta, but not really. It’s not like a pony marriage.”

Stella nodded. “No, it’s completely different. We just have to swear undying loyalty to each other and have our souls be bound by the rites of the bat ancestors. It is completely different from a pony marriage.”

Cheerilee’s left eye twitched. “Are you sure it’s not a marriage, Rumble?”

Rumble smiled at his teacher. “Sure, I’m sure. Marrying kids is against the law, and this isn’t against the law, so it can’t be a marriage. This just, umm, makes you more acceptable to rousettes, which I wanna be.”

Stella nodded. “And most of the time, whomever you wedlock is whom you marry when you’re grown up, so the two rites are separate. Related, but separate.”

Cheerilee shook her head to try and make sense of it all. It did not work. “But you’re ten!”

Rumble rolled his eyes, embarrassed. “I know, I know, I should have done it three years ago, but something kept coming up. And now that we’re together, we wanna be wedlocked just like other rousette children.”

Stella smiled up at the mare. “I assure you it’s perfectly normal for a rousette to do this. In fact, our kind has been doing this for several centuries, and every rousette in Ponyville has either done it or is going to. ‘Tis tradition.”

While she wasn’t always the most proactive when it came to correcting her students’ behaviour, Cheerilee couldn’t see how child marriages were okay, nor how this was, in fact, not a child marriage. “What do your parents have to say about that?”

Stella didn’t break eye contact. “I lost my parents to the plague, Miss Cheerilee. But I know that they would want me to be wedlocked. It’s a rite of passage for rousettes, a sign that they are ready to take on adult commitments. As for Rumble’s parents-”

“They’re out of town,” Rumble interrupted. “You know, for Royal Guard business.”

Cheerilee glared at the boy. “They’ve been doing that an awful lot lately, Rumble. Are they okay with this?”

Rumble nodded. “Uhuh. Thunderlane’s okay with it, too; he did the same thing when he was little. It’s just a ceremony where we make vows to each other, it’s not like we’re getting married for real.”

“Goodness no, darling, that’d be outrageous. You’d have to get a job,” Stella remarked.

“Me? You’d have to get a job, too, you know.”

Stella chuckled. “Obviously, but I’m of noble descent; I’m already going to be an ambassador like dear Nox. You, on the other hoof, would have to start looking for a job.”

Cheerilee wondered if her jaw could go any slacker without dropping to the ground. It seemed to hold for the time being, but this conversation wasn’t exactly helping.

“Well, then, will you come?” Stella asked the class.

The class was still flabbergasted. Diamond Tiara, ever in the lead, spoke up. “Why would you want us there? Isn’t it a big ceremony for you two?”

“Yes, it is. It’s one of the most important ceremonies in a rousette’s life, in fact,” Stella replied. “And I would like to have my friends there. You are the only friends I’ve managed to make here in Ponyville, so… your answer?” She winced ever so slightly, that aristocratic façade finally showing cracks.

“I’d love to!” Diamond Tiara exclaimed. “I’ve never been to a rousette party before. Are there going to be princes and princesses there?”

Rumble shrugged. “I think Lord Nox is gonna be the highest ranked noble there, and Stella’s technically a Lady, so she already counts. But there’ll be lots of Night Guards, probably, and some of those are knights and dukes. Does that sound okay?”

“Sounds perfect. Count me in.”

“Me too,” Silver Spoon agreed.

“Me three.” Lance raised his hoof.

“And four.” Featherweight chimed in. “Assuming the groom’s allowed to bring his friends, too?”

Rumble didn’t answer that painful question, but Stella happily took it off his chest. “Of course you may show. Can’t have my little angel be lonely on his big day, can I?” She pulled him closer with a wing, eliciting a bright blush.

Meanwhile, most of the class had raised their hooves. Only the Cutie Mark Crusaders hadn’t joined in.

Rumble looked at Apple Bloom with a concerned on his face. “Apple Bloom?”

The girl grimaced. “I don’t know, Rumble. It sounds like it’s kind of forced, for no good reason. Do ya have to wedlock Stella for some reason?”

Rumble and Stella exchanged a glance, pondering. “Umm, sort of. I like her, and that’s a good enough reason for wedlock. It’s either that or not be around rousettes at all.”

Stella nodded in agreement. “Try to understand, Apple Bloom, that in our culture a rousette isn’t deemed pure of heart if they cannot share their affections with another. A wedlock ceremony is a purifying rite, and a protecting one. It’s a mark of adulthood, like cutie marks, except unlike cutie marks we get a choice in the matter.”

That remark stung, but Apple Bloom had to admit it was a fair point, somehow. “It still feels kinda wrong, sorry.”

“Look, it’s okay, Apple Bloom, really. This is what rousettes do, and I’m doing it with one of them. It’s tradition,” Rumble said.

That got the filly’s attention. “Tradition, huh? It’s tradition for you to exchange vows when you’re that young? Then I suppose it’d be rude for a pony not to respect your traditions, right? I mean, rousettes respect pony traditions, too, don’t they?”

“Exactly,” Stella answered. “Just think of it as a cultural exchange. I promise it’s not as bad or as strange as it sounds. You don’t have to show up if you don’t want to, of course.”

Apple Bloom thought it over for a moment. The seed of a plan had formed, and was beginning to take root. “Where and when is it, exactly?”

“Canterlot Hall, the day after tomorrow, seven at night sharp,” Stella answered.

A murmur went through the class, and no objections were voiced. By train, it was a fairly close event, after all.

“Okay, I’ll show. Are we supposed to bring any gifts?” Apple Bloom asked.

“No, Apple Bloom.” Rumble rolled his eyes. “That’s only for a real wedding. What about you, Sweetie Belle?”

Sweetie Belle had her arms down. She let off a grunt. “I had my hoof up the whole time, you just weren’t watching! Of course I’ll show up!”

Rumble chuckled. That just left one pony. “Scootaloo?”

Scootaloo shook her head dejectedly. “I can’t make it.”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle winced. They both knew Scootaloo liked Rumble a lot, but they hadn’t quite thought that she’d be romantically interested in him, certainly not enough to care he’d be doing a mock wedding to someone else. Scootaloo and romance just didn’t blend.

Diamond Tiara frowned. “What? How can you not make it? It’s a rousette ceremony, why’d you wanna miss that?”

Scootaloo kept her eyes planted firmly on her desk and shrugged. “I don’t want to miss it. I just can’t show up.”

“Listen, blank flank, I don’t know what your problem is, but-”

“Diamond,” Cheerilee interrupted. “That’s enough.”

Scootaloo was tense. Her hooves were shaking, and her wings quivered. She looked like she was about to cry.

Diamond huffed. “Sorry, Miss Cheerilee. I just don’t get what the big deal is.”

“It’s my wings, okay?” Scootaloo blurted out.

And there it was, the thundercloud that had been hanging over the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

“There’s something wrong with my wings again and I have to go to Trottingham Hospital to get it checked out. I have to be there at five Friday night, and I have to stay there all weekend so the doctors can, I don’t know, watch me or something. So I can’t make it to the wedlock or whatever.”

Apple Bloom felt something catch in her throat. She was about to say something, but Silver Spoon beat her to punch. “Wow, that sucks.”

“Yeah,” Diamond agreed. “Sorry, I didn’t know.”

“Well, I didn’t tell you. No biggie.”

Diamond still pouted. “Hey, I could tell my butler to videotape it for you, so it’d be like you were there. You wouldn’t have to miss anything.”

Scootaloo forced out a smile. “Thanks. Sorry to be a downer, you two.” She turned her head towards Rumble and Stella.

Stella, for her part, gave the girl a sympathetic smile. “That’s quite alright, darling. I hope everything turns out well for you. And we can visit you afterwards, can’t we?”

Rumble nodded. “Sure we could.”

That forced smile of Scootaloo’s relaxed just a tad. “That’s okay, I’ll be fine. You don’t have to worry about me.”

Sweet Apple Acres farm was, as always, a quiet, calm place. How could it not be, when it was managed by a family of level-headed, calm, and above all, understanding ponies?

“They’re doin’ WHAT?!” Applejack shouted loud enough for the cupboards in the kitchen to rattle.

“Wedlock. That’s what they called it,” Apple Bloom replied. She’d given her sister the message right after getting home, of course. She didn’t mention her own thoughts on the matter, but the Apple family seemed to be in agreement on the whole thing: this was not okay.

“Oh, for pity’s sake. First Scootaloo turns into a changeling, then there’s a whole buncha bat ponies hidin’ in town, and now Rumble’s gettin’ hitched to one? I’m startin’ to think Ponyville just ain’t a good place to raise a child anymore.”

Granny Smith finished her pumpkin soup, always the last in the family to finish her meals. “Well, it ain’t goin’ to the flyin’ dogs just yet, but havin’ youngins say their vows already just ain’t right. Doesn’t matter if it’s a pony or a bat or whatever they like to call themselves.”

Big Mac nodded in kind, cleaning out his dish with a piece of bread. “Eeyup.” He munched it down, thinking, as he always did. “Ain’t the pony thing to do, that’s for sure.”

A whistle sounded in the kitchen. Quite appropriately, the tea kettle’s noise mimicked what was going through Applejack’s mind.

Apple Bloom winced. “I know. It’s so weird. I mean, Rumble’s just a boy in my class, but it still feels like we should do somethin’ about it. Do you think maybe we oughtta protest with the mayor?”

Applejack sighed and took a deep breath to calm herself down. No sense getting into any silly shenanigans over nothing, after all, certainly not when she’d already made friends with Rin. Nectarine’s talks with her, combined with this new information, made her rethink her stance. “No, Apple Bloom. We have our ways, bat po-rousettes have theirs, that’s just how it is right now. We gotta respect their traditions, same as they respect ours. If they’ve been doin’ this with their own kids for this long, and if a pair of pony parents would let’em do this with two sons, it can’t be as bad as it sounds. What did Rumble say, exactly? What’s this ceremony for?”

Apple Bloom shrugged. “I think they said it was somethin’ about adulthood, that a boy and girl being tied to one another made them adults, and it’s purifyin’ and protectin’, or something like that. But he did say it wasn’t a marriage. The ones who wedlock just end up married eventually, I guess.”

Applejack pondered. “That’s still awful close to marrying kids. And Rumble’s parents are fine with this? They know?”

“The way I heard it, they’re out of town again, but they know. And apparently, Thunderlane did the same thing, when he was only seven. Can you believe that?”

The facts fell into place. Of course Thunderlane had done it already; he was Rin’s lifemate, that’s what that word meant. Whatever connection the two had formed, Rumble wanted the same with Stella. Rumble was doing the same thing his big brother had: trying to get closer to rousette society by living by their rules. She had to admit, it was a noble endeavour, and part of her was impressed at the colt’s dedication, not only to his girl of choice but to his supposed mission.

But still, being tied by a vow was a decision a child simply couldn’t make. It was almost as bad as children being indoctrinated to say a pledge of allegiance.

Granny Smith went to get the kettle off the stove while Big Macintosh grumbled to himself.

Apple Bloom looked up. “So what do we do?”

Applejack sighed. “I don’t know. If they’ve been hidin’ just to stop us from objecting to something worth objecting to… well, I think we have a right to object to that.”

“Too right,” Granny Smith agreed. “No good bat ponies, never even so much as said howdy for as long as Ponyville’s been around.”

While no one at the table would admit it, Granny Smith hit the nail on the head on that sentiment. If the rousettes had been a part of Ponyville for as long as they had, they’d have had to go through some extreme measures to hide from the Apple family. The town had started with Granny Smith’s family, every family that came afterwards knew the Apples to some degree. And yet these ponies, or bats, had avoided them, shunned them.

It was hard not to feel offended by that, just a little bit.

“So do I have to tell Rumble I’m not gonna show, then?” Apple Bloom asked.

It then dawned on Applejack that the problem itself made no sense: if rousettes wanted to hide from ponies, why invite ponies to a ceremony at all? Some of them, evidently, did want to mingle with ponies, even at the risk of exposing some questionable rites.

The mare shook her head. “No, no, that wouldn’t be right either. Even if it’s not okay, we’ll show up, dressed nicely, and we act civil. We’ll just watch what Rumble and that Stella gal do, and if anything happens to be goin’ on that we don’t agree with, then we let them know nicely. No bickerin’, no threatenin’, no raisin’ your voice just ‘coz you don’t see eye to eye. That means you, Big Mac.”

Big Mac nodded without a word.

“That’s settled, then. We just show up, like good neighbours, and we won’t make any fuss that ain’t worth makin’. But if’n there is a fuss worth makin’, we’ll fuss about it all we like,” Granny Smith said.

Applejack sighed. “Let’s hope it’s not as bad as it sounds, then.”

Nectarine sighed along with the mayor. “Maybe I should have stayed in Tuber Lane.”

“Nonsense, Rin. It’s a lovely day out in Ponyville, and besides, we do need to talk.”

“Here you go, Missus Mayor, Miss Nectarine. One scone plate and tea. Let me know if you need anything else.”

“Thank you, Missus Cake,” Rin smiled at the mare.

Rainbow Dash came flying by, before landing and entering Sugarcube Corner. “All the rain clouds are set up, just in case. So, we good to go?”

Leading Lady nodded. “All set. Take a seat, Rainbow Dash, have a scone.”

Rainbow Dash sat next to Rin, opposite the mayor. “Okay, so what’s the plan? Are we gonna change the schedule?”

The mayor got out a book, before nabbing a teacake. She nodded, once she’d swallowed a bite. “I think things have gotten a bit out of hoof with how the jobs are distributed around here, don’t you agree?”

Nectarine shrugged. “Can’t say I’ve noticed.”

“Come on, Rin, it’s just us. You don’t have to put up a brave face for us ponies,” the mayor remarked.

That was true enough. The rousettes under her command counted on her to be strong at all times, but here, it didn’t matter quite as much. She didn’t have any authority to lose here. “Okay, here’s how it is: we’ve let the Weather Patrol take over some of our daytime duties. But in exchange, we’ve been doing nightly Weather Patrol runs on top of the regular security detail and the magical creature patrol.”

“So your guys only get quick or stealthy runs in the day and then a ton to do at night, while my flyers have to do a Guard’s job they’re not really qualified for,” Rainbow Dash concluded.

“Exactly. I get why we do things like this, mind you, we did all vote on it. It’s a fine system as far as I’m concerned,” Rin lied.

“But it has contributed to rousettes lacking public exposure, and our Night Guard patrol isn’t as accessible as it could be,” Leading Lady concluded.

“This is Ponyville. You don’t really need us around here; there’s hardly any trouble to speak of. And unless I’m mistaken, what little trouble you do get, the citizens usually deal with on their own.” Rin nodded to the Element of Harmony next to her.

Neither of the two ponies got the hint. Rainbow Dash just shrugged. “Maybe, but there’s still a big difference between the Weather Patrol and the Night Guard, and if you wanna get ponies to listen to you, you need to let them know what your job is. That goes for my patrols and yours. We’re supposed to deal with natural disasters, not monsters. Monsters are your department, you’re trained for that. And you have to admit, we have gotten one or two monsters in town that the Weather Patrol couldn’t deal with.”

Rin nodded. “Sure, I’ll grant you that much. The parasprites…”

“The Ursa Minor,” Rainbow Dash added with groan. “That one couldn’t have come at a worse time.”

“Poor Spike,” Missus Mayor finished. “The Wonderbolts did their best, but he could have hurt them. They could have hurt him. Honestly, I’d feel a lot better knowing we have at least a few rousettes we can count on during the day, if only to neutralise a threat without harming it. It didn’t take a lot of ponies to deal with those monsters the way they did, but if we want to make it safer, would it take many rousettes, then?”

“I suppose not. But I don’t think any rousette would be happy to patrol during the day, especially around ponies, no offense.”

“None taken,” Rainbow replied. “But you could, I don’t know, maybe do a rotation, once every two hours? You’ve got a lot of Night Guards to shuffle around.”

Rin nodded. “If that’s what’s required of us, such a system would work. It doesn’t take us long to get reinforcements, anyway, and you only need one to get the crowds away in an emergency.”

“Exactly,” Rainbow agreed. “It wouldn’t hurt if ponies knew Ponyville’s a rousette town, too.”

Rin took a sip of tea. “No. But we still like to keep to ourselves, you understand that, right?”

“You are also natural guardians,” Leading Lady remarked. “And you can hardly guard something that you avoid, now can you?”

Nectarine chuckled. “That’s a very clever remark, Leading, and very, ah, political, if you don’t mind me saying so. Mind if I use that line sometime?”

“If it can make some of your colleagues feel better, be my guest.”

“Okay. What about the civilians, then?” Rin asked.

“You protect them,” Rainbow Dash said. “That’s your job.”

“No, it is supposed to be my job, but certain, shall we say, elements in this community take it upon themselves to do it for me, without informing me, but still saddling me and my kind with the paperwork.”

The two mares went quiet at that.

Rin sat back, a fake mask of confusion on her face. “You didn’t know? I’m sure there are some files in City Hall on the matter, a few complaint letters from my flight, as well. Of course, I know things are very busy here in Ponyville, but still, do I need to go over the list?”

Rainbow and the mayor exchanged a glance, the sort of glance two lemmings would share when they realise they both took the same wrong turn at the cliffside.

“When our Sovereign of the Moon returned, what were we supposed to do? We knew her from our legends, we respected her. What did we get? Orders not to enter the Everfree Forest, to let ponies handle it, in case of, if memory serves, ‘conflicting allegiances’. All these years we’ve served without complaint, and the greatest joy in our generation, the return of our patron, we’re branded a security risk.”

“Now, that was out of my hooves, Rin. That came from a royal decree.”

“Oh? Okay, I’ll concede to that. What about everything that’s happened afterwards? Fluttershy found a Parasprite and spread its offspring over Ponyville, did anyone think to call us? No, not even the ponies who know we live here. When Discord returned, what were we to do? We’ve dealt with monsters like him, we know how to stop that. What did we get? Nothing but the message that Twilight Sparkle and her friends would solve it. And Spike, that poor little boy. There were mothers crying in sympathy over what happened to him, what ponies almost did to him. We know how to take a dragon alive, the Wonderbolts would have cut his throat trying. So why do ponies call them, all the way up in Cloudsdale, even when they know we can handle it?”

To that, Rainbow Dash shrugged. “They don’t know you’re here, maybe?”

“You know I’m here, both of you, and so does the whole Weather Patrol. Every time something happens that we are supposed to deal with, every single time we’ve moved out, there’s been an Element of Harmony already there, interfering with official business. Now, I can take that kind of action from you, Rainbow Dash; you’re qualified for most of it, and you do have your friends to look after. You, no one in Tuber Lane has a problem with. But everypony else? Honestly, what else was going to happen?”

Silence fell between the three.

Rin sighed. “I mean, are you really surprised? All we have ever heard since Princess Luna returned is ‘Let Twilight Sparkle handle it’. So we have, and the messes that came from it all are the result. If you are seriously suggesting we step up our activities, that’s going to mean the Elements stepping down from theirs.”

“Come now, don’t make excuses, Rin, it’s not becoming of you. You know as well as I do that rousettes have been isolating themselves for far longer than Twilight’s been here.”

“Yes, but we still did our jobs. We were still able to do our jobs without interference, with some amount of personal pride. The Ponyville Night Guard had a reputation, operating this close to the Everfree, but every time the Elements of Harmony take matters into their own hooves, it’s our names that are tarnished. Read the complaint letters again sometime, Missus Mayor. The reason the Night Guard lets the Weather Patrol take over their duties is because we are being phased out. Any time there is a threat to Ponyville, ponies scatter and panic, and no one thinks to call for help from the ones who know how to deal with it. Now, I’m willing to take responsibility for what’s happened to our duties, but the fault doesn’t lie on one end alone. So, if we are changing the schedules, Rainbow Dash, can I count on you and your Patrol to start following protocol in times of emergencies?”

Rainbow Dash gulped. “Err, yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I’ll tell the rest of my flight.”

“Thank you. I’ll see what I can do to improve our public ima-” Rin froze. Her eyes became fixed on the ceiling. Rainbow Dash and the mayor quickly turned to look at what had the rousette so startled, but it didn’t make sense to either of them.

It was just Pound Cake walking on the ceiling again. Pinkie Pie went up after him with plungers attached to her hooves and got him back to his crib in the private quarters of the bakery.

Rin did her best to hide her anxiety, but she couldn’t stop the tips of her wings from shaking. She took another long sip of tea, hoping the warmth would soothe her nerves.

The mayor was about to ask what was wrong, when a distraction most fortuitously stopped her.

Whatever possessed Fluttershy to try and talk to the three, Rin would never know. But Fluttershy struck her as a calm, understanding mare, and most of all: a mare who appreciated the virtues of keeping a low profile. So Rin was more than happy to give Fluttershy all her attention and not deal with the fright Pound Cake had given her.

“Umm, excuse me? I’m sorry to bother you, but, umm, I heard there was something going on with Rumble and a rousette ceremony, and I thought you should know there was a little bit of trouble on town square.”

Nectarine breathed a sigh of relief, then pretended to groan. “So ponies are rioting now?”

Fluttershy winced. “Umm… sort of, I think.”

Author's Notes:

Rin's subplot was added fairly late, and her motivations are a little messy as a result. I needed a good reason for the bats to be letting their duties be taken over whilst simultaneously preserving their aura of badassery. This was the best midway solution I could come up with. Why is Rin suddenly scared of Pound Cake? Meditate on it for a bit, it's pretty obvious.

Things to note, though: Rainbow Dash is respected among the bats. She's an official, after all, and she's shown understanding of their customs despite not agreeing with them.

This takes place after the events of Canterlot Wedding, when a pair of supposedly powerful ponies were laid low by a magical parasite. So if you're wondering why the bats are so obsessed over wedlock: there's a good reason for ya. The bats believe that kind of sabotage/draining can't happen between individuals who are already bound by the rites. I might write out the mechanics behind it sometime, but it's not completely relevant to the actual plot. The rite itself is important, the reasoning behind it is icing on the cake.

And Apple Bloom is planning something, while Scootaloo is sulking. This can only end well.

Might end up uploading an extra chapter this Sunday or next week, so I can finish the story with some half-decent timing. It's personal reasons, people following my blog will know what I mean.

On a final note: I loved writing Rumble during his little troll moment of 'it's not illegal, so it's not child marriage'. This is the way actual law works, as it turns out. Mere months ago, there was some uproar about the very same principle in my country. Go figure.

Coming to Terms

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Nectarine felt a shiver go down her back. But then she remembered this mare was known for exaggerating the negative side of things on occasion. “What do you mean, ponies are ‘sort of’ rioting?”

“Oh, everyone was talking about it in the park. Lily, Rose, and Daisy were so upset.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Yep, they would be.”

“And, um, if you don’t mind me saying so, I’m a little upset about this, too. Are you in charge of the rousettes at Tuber Lane?”

“Nectarine is the Captain of the Night Guard here, yes,” the mayor replied. “She’s quite the authority.”

Nectarine smiled as politely as she could muster. “Technically, Lord Nox is higher in rank than I am, though.”

“But he hasn’t lived here as long as you have,” the mayor remarked.

“Point taken. Yes, you could say I’m in charge of them. What’s the problem?”

Fluttershy looked away. “Um, it’s nothing, really, it’s just that… Rumble’s such a nice little boy, and he’s so quiet. I’d hate to think he’s getting in over his head. Are you sure he knows what he’s doing?”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “He’s sure, Fluttershy. I know him, and so does Rin.”

“Yes, we’ve both foalsat him. He’s not being forced into anything.” Even as she said it, she felt a pang in her chest. Technically, Rumble wasn’t under duress, but if he didn’t go through with the wedlock, he’d be considered a shame on his family.

He really didn’t have a choice, but Rin wasn’t about to admit that in front of ponies.

“Oh, well, um, if you’re sure. You might want to tell that to the other ponies in Ponyville, if, you know, you think that’s best. We don’t really see much of your kind around here, so we don’t know what to expect. Not that that’s a bad thing, of course.”

Nectarine nodded. “I know. We were just discussing that, actually.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to interrupt you, then. I’ll just leave you alone.” Fluttershy turned to leave.

“Fluttershy, wait,” Nectarine called out. “Just so we’re clear: if you ever spot any more dangerous creatures, or if you should find the Everfree becoming louder, just head over to Tuber Lane. There’s always a Night Guard on duty, even if you don’t see them. They’ll show if you call out.”

“Umm, I thought Rainbow Dash was the one I was supposed to tell?”

“We’re switching things up a bit.” Rainbow pulled Rin closer with a wing, as if to advertise the newfound friendship between Weather Patrol and Night Guard, even though they’d been cooperating for years.

“Oh, okay. Bye, Nectarine!”

“Bye, Fluttershy.”

Rin clenched her teeth. Just being around ponies made her uneasy. They were herd animals, the lot of them, prone to xenophobic panic at the drop of a hat, especially a striped or bat-winged hat.

And yet, they were nice, and they lived together in harmony, mostly. As much as rousettes liked to remind themselves and each other that their neighbours were crazy, even casual observation would tell anyone that ponies, despite their faults, were not monsters.

The fear was a fear of the unknown, nothing more.

Her thoughts wandered back to Pound Cake. Part of her wanted to get up and ask the Cakes how they managed as Earth pony parents to a pegasus child. Rousettes didn’t go airborne until they were three, at least, which was just fine considering the trouble they might get into if they could fly that early. If pegasus babies had that mobility, without the maturity to stay away from danger, and considering neither of the Cakes nor their apparent foalsitter could fly, their knowledge on the topic must have been immense. If Rin ever had a pegasus child, she’d be lost. She’d have to resort to pony sources to check. She wouldn’t have minded a word with the Cakes right then and there. She held herself back, though.

It just wasn’t the rousette way to ask.

The mood in the library was split right along the middle: on the bottom floor, ponies were panicking and rummaging through any works on rousettes and rousette culture they could find. In the top room, the Cutie Mark Crusaders had their post-lunch post-homework meeting.

Scootaloo didn’t talk. Apple Bloom opened the meeting and immediately made the changeling the topic. “Okay, Scootaloo, what’s really goin’ on here?”

The filly shrugged. “Nothing you need to worry about, honest. I’m fine.”

Sweetie Belle cringed. “You don’t look fine, and you sure sounded like you weren’t fine. Are your wings really getting worse?”

Reluctantly, Scootaloo nodded. “Yeah. I’m losing my pegasus magic, and my regular shape’s not holding up so well, either.”

Apple Bloom gulped. “So are you gonna drop your disguise, then?”

“It’s not like that. I’m fine, really. It’s just like Rarity said: my pegasus magic’s run out, and now I have to do everything with changeling magic. I think it works, but it’s, well, different.”

“What did Rumble have to say about it?”

The girl shrugged. “He said I just need to practise some more, race as Truck again. Can’t even take credit for winning if I do.”

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom could almost hear Scootaloo’s heart breaking. They didn’t blame her, either, considering Rumble had only opened up to anypony mere days ago. Apple Boom tried to see the bright side of it, though. “It’s okay, Scootaloo. Once Rumble gets hitched, you can hang out with him and Stella. That’ll be fun, right?”

“I guess. I still need to get the hang of being a boy, though.”

Sweetie Belle grimaced. “Yeah, and you need to make sure Stella doesn’t find out you’re a youknowwhat, too.”

Even that prospect didn’t get a response other than a shrug. “I don’t think it’d matter much.”

Apple Bloom squinted. Something was off about Scootaloo, and it wasn’t the dip in energy. She couldn’t put her hoof on what it was, though.

“I still don’t get it,” Sweetie Belle said. “Rumble’s always been kind of a loner when his brother wasn’t around, and if he talked at he only ever talked to other boys, but he was like that since kindergarten, I remember that. Isn’t kindergarten a little early to start living like a rousette?”

“His brother started it,” Scootaloo lied. “Thunderlane hung out with a lot of rousettes when he was little, Rainbow Dash told me. To them, Thunderlane is one of theirs. And now Rumble’s gonna be one, too. That’s what he told me.”

“Maybe you should ask Chitter next time you do that self-defense class.”

“They stopped teaching Defense Against Changelings, Sweetie Belle. Now it’s all sumo wrestling, and I don’t wanna make myself fat enough for that.”

Sweetie Belle pondered it. “Apple Bloom? What are you thinking?”

“It doesn’t make any sense. They’ve been livin’ right under our noses. They’re a part of Ponyville, always have been, and we never knew. What did ponies do to them that they’d be that skittish about even today?”

“Sorry I’m late, girls, but things are a little bit hectic right now with Rumble’s announcement.” Twilight said as she entered, Spike in tow.

“I heard that,” Spike added. “That’s five times I had to tell somepony rousettes aren’t vampires. You’d think when ponies go to a library for research they’d check if their book says it’s fiction or not!”

Twilight nodded in sympathy and sat down. “That’s just mass hysteria for you. And to answer your question, Apple Bloom, you may have heard that they were cursed.”

Apple Bloom nodded. “I did hear that. Ponies cursed them, didn’t they? Over somethin’ silly, vanity and greed and whatnot?”

“How do you know?” Scootaloo asked.

Apple Bloom made a mental note of the question, as well as the fact that Scootaloo apparently knew more of the finer details. “Applejack was here once or twice to read up on our bat-winged neighbours. I didn’t get the details, though. Was it really that bad?”

”From what I read, yes. Because of the vanity of unicorns, Earth ponies, and pegasi, a lot of rousettes died. That’s the story, at least. They say that shortly after the first Blue Moon Bloom, the rousettes started falling ill. Some lost their mane, their tail, even their wings started getting eaten away.”

Scootaloo looked around and lowered her voice to a whisper. “You mean like the kind of stuff changelings are immune to?”

Twilight shook her head. “I doubt it. Whatever disease or curse the rousettes got, it apparently killed them quite quickly, and, if I read it correctly, quite gruesomely.”

Sweetie Belle winced. “Exactly how gruesome are we talking here?”

“Let me put it this way: if they made a movie out of it, you wouldn’t be allowed to see it even with a responsible adult there.”

Apple Bloom shook her head. “Okay, that part kind of makes a little sense, even if it is a little long to hold a grudge about that. But I still don’t understand why they’d have to get married, or wedlocked, whatever they call it. They can’t seriously think boys and girls can’t be together if they ain’t hitched to somepony already. Where did they come up with that stuff?”

“Apple Bloom, it’s good that you’re concerned for a classmate, especially if it’s a boy you don’t even know that well, but rousette history separated from pony history after the curse. When the pony tribes united, we shared our friendship and banished the Windigos’ power. We stood together, the rousettes stood alone. And yet today, apparently, Equestria’s main defense against creatures like Windigos is the Night Guard, who are all rousettes. How do you think rousettes survived that blizzard that nearly destroyed the old tribes? How do you think they protected their children, when they were still weakened?”

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. “By makin’ sure every family was connected somehow. Of course. But that doesn’t explain why they keep boys and girls apart like that.”

Twilight smiled in approval. “Probably to enforce a discipline so the bond actually works as protection. Or maybe it has something to do with their class system, who knows? Now, I know this is hard to accept, but Rumble is doing a good thing here. He’s going to be one of the few ponies who is accepted into rousette society. I hear he’s already introduced you to Stella. Do you like her, at least?”

Apple Bloom’s ears perked again. Something was off here, but she couldn’t put a hoof on what. “She is kinda nice, and Diamond Tiara’s nice around her, too. It wouldn’t be that bad if Stella was around Ponyville more,” Apple Bloom said.

“Or Chitter,” Sweetie Belle offered. “She already lives in Ponyville, even if we haven’t ever seen her around. You think maybe she’d want to switch schools?”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Okay, then, let’s not forget why we’re here. Scootaloo, if you please?”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes and took a deep breath, before changing back into her dark-skinned and dagger-horned form.

Apple Bloom squinted as her friend started blowing out balls of energy and swallowing them again.

Is it just me, or is that horn bigger than it’s supposed to be?

Rin groaned in relief as she stretched her legs out. Ponies passed her by without noticing her, thanks to some of her innate stealth magic, but Rainbow Dash still knew she was there.

They took off, both headed in the same general direction.

“You’re not still mad, are you, Rin?”

“Mad? No. No, I suppose it’s true: the Night Guard’s been muddling the mixtures with their duties, and we can’t just rely on the the Weather Patrol to do all the more public things. At least a few rousettes should be less skittish about working with ponies. And if they’re not, they ought to learn. We shouldn’t have let it get as far as it has.”

“I’m sorry, you know, for stepping out of line. I’ll try not to anymore, and I’ll make sure ponies around here stop asking Twilight to do everything for them.”

Rin sighed in relief. “That would help a lot, thank you. It’s not your fault, either, Rainbow; you’ve got too many loyalties to juggle around. Honestly, I don’t know how you stay sane.”

“It helps to kick back and just fly around a bit every now and then.”

“I’ll have to try that sometime, then. And I’ll try to get some presence in town, see if the communities can come a little closer together.“

“So does this mean you and Thunderlane are gonna, you know…” Rainbow Dash smirked.

“No, I don’t know. Me and Thunderlane are going to what?”

“Make it official that you’re together? I mean, you’ve been wedlocked since you were seven, for crying out loud, and you just said rousettes should be a little more public. Don’t you think Thunderlane’s deserved a little reward by now?” Rainbow did a spin around the rousette to burn off some of her excitement.

“I appreciate the sentiment, and your loyalty towards my mate, as a friend. But really, I don’t think he needs to be treated differently from any other rousette. He’s kept it a secret, too. The mayor knows, you know, Applejack knows, the Night Guard knows. Who else needs to be told?”

“Oh, I don’t know. There’s Cloud Chaser, and Flitter, and Blossomforth.”

“What?”

“Oh, and then there’s Rose, and Daisy, and Lily.” Rainbow Dash started counting on her wings, just using her magic to stay aloft.

“I don’t follow.”

“Oh, and then there was Rarity. Ooh, and don’t forget Fluttershy! That was just painful to watch. Cute, but painful.” She winced.

“Rainbow Dash, what are you saying?”

“I’m saying that Thunderlane might be a rousette to you, but to pretty much every pony in Ponyville, he’s still a pony. And single.”

“So?”

Rainbow Dash chuckled and flew closer, even bumping her hip against Nectarine’s. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Rin, but Thunderlane’s pretty good-looking. He always has been. Trust me, he had a lot of girls to choose from back in Flight School, and he’s got a lot in Ponyville, too.”

“I see. And, err, do you know if he ever, ah, after we were wedlocked, I mean.”

Rainbow shook her head. “Did he ever date anypony? No, not ever. Actually, when he was in grade school, before he met you, he had to get checked by a doctor because he didn’t talk. Did he never tell you about that?”

“A doctor? Goodness, no. What happened?”

“They thought he was a… what did they call it? Selected mule? Celery hoot?”

“Selective mute?”

“Yeah, that’s the one. That he couldn’t talk around ponies who weren’t in his family.”

Rin winced. “It was that bad?”

“Oh yeah. Teachers thought he was being beaten or something. They thought he was sick because he slept in the day, too, and he didn’t wanna tell anypony it was because he was used to batnaps. He didn’t tell me until we were in Flight School. And then, you know, I kinda started covering for him. I still do.”

“Like how you covered for Rumble by introducing him to a girl he was supposed to stay away from?”

“That was different, and that’s not my point. My point is: Thunderlane’s done a lot to keep this whole thing a secret, and if you’re gonna be more out in the open, sooner or later ponies are going to see you two together.”

Nectarine stopped in mid-air. “Was Thunderlane really that popular?”

Rainbow stopped right alongside her. “Uhuh. He was pretty cute when he was little. And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Rumble is one cute kid himself.”

Rin chuckled. “I did notice that, yes. I’m surprised he made so many friends so quickly, though. I thought he was always alone, like Thunderlane was?”

“He was, as far as I know. But that didn’t stop him from doing what he liked. Turns out a lot of girls wanted to know what that was. Only now they can’t really have a crush on him.”

“Not now that he’s spoken for, no.”

Rainbow nodded. “Exactly. Can you imagine how hard it must be to have to tell that many girls he can’t hang out them, without telling them why?”

“Are you talking about Thunderlane now, or Rumble?”

Rainbow Dash answered with a sigh. “Look, I know it’s not any of my business, but Thunderlane’s my friend, even if I don’t agree with him all the time, and Rumble looks up to me. Rumble’s managed to lie his way out of it now, he’s out in the open about the fact he can’t be with other girls, and he’s not even old enough to like girls, not like like them. But Thunderlane’s an adult stallion, and there are adult mares who are interested in him. As far as most ponies know, Thunderlane is just single, and weird. If you want to keep it that way, that’s your call, but if you ask me, it’s pretty unfair that you bats get to call dibs on a boy when he’s seven without letting the rest of us even get to know him.”

Rin mulled over that a bit. Rainbow Dash took a turn down, towards the library, presumably to calm the ponies there.

Rin flew on, towards home.

Someone down there had some affection due.

Thunderlane barely had time to say ‘Hi’ before Rin pounced and pinned him down on the couch. She planted a kiss firmly on his lips, and licked his nose as she came up.

The stallion blushed as red as a tomato. “Umm, not that I’m complaining or anything, but what was that for?”

“I just had a talk with Rainbow Dash about you, and I thought you deserved a little something special.”

“Wait, what?!” Thunderlane squirmed under the Night Guard who was not only his lifemate, but also capable of hitting at least five pressure points in quick succession, two of which could make him vomit. “I swear, we were just friends.”

“I know, angel, I know.” She leaned in and nuzzled his forehead. “She told me about all the mares you’ve had to turn down.”

“Eheh, well, that’s just Ponyville for you. Not a lot of guys on the Weather Patrol.”

“Doesn’t make a difference. I’ve been hogging you all to myself for years, and none of the other girls in town knew. That’s hardly fair, is it?”

“It’s the rousette way,” Thunderlane replied.

“Yes, it is our way. But ponies don’t live by our ways. And you had to live like a rousette among ponies while you were little.”

“Oh, come on. You’re acting like you didn’t know. You knew I went to pony school, you knew I only hung out with other rousettes, you knew-”

“Shut up and take my cuddles.” She draped her whole body, wings and all, over his and squeezed, rubbing her face against his neck.

Thunderlane sighed. “Well, if you insist.”

“I’m going to go to the market tomorrow, you know.”

“You already told me.”

“And now I’m telling you again. I’ve made up my mind, and I’ve decided I’m going to work on our image, make some contacts with the ponies in town. And if anypony asks, I’m your lifemate, and future wife. Assuming you want me to be.”

Thunderlane hugged her back, though the confusion still ran through his head. “Of course I do. Why wouldn’t I? What’s gotten into you all of a sudden? Is this about Rumble?”

“Yes, actually it is. Rumble’s done a very brave thing, something no rousette in Ponyville has done before him: he’s admitted he’s in love with a rousette to ponies, and he’s told every girl who might have a silly crush on him that he’s spoken for. He’s made it clear that he is with Stella, even though that meant he had live by rules his friends didn’t. He’s gone public, to ponies, and he’s only ten. I think it’s about high time I did the same with you, Mister. I want everypony in town to know that until further notice, you are mine and I’m happy with that.”

“Won’t that cause any trouble? I mean, think about your job. You know how ponies can get around rousettes, or anything that’s not a pony.”

“If any rousette wants to question me, let them. I may not be knighted and nighted like your parents, but I’m a Captain in the bordertown of the Everfree, that counts for something. My boss is a pony, the highest authority who can judge me is a pony, and besides, have you been around Lord Nox lately? He’s barking mad, and a loudmouth, yet no one questions him. I think I’ve worked hard enough to deserve the right to consort with whomever I choose, in public. And so have you. Who’s going to fire me? There’s not a pony in town that would dare. If they’re not scared of me, they’re scared of what I help keep out.”

Thunderlane reached up and kissed her on the lips. “Can’t argue with that, I guess. So you really are sure you’d want to marry me some day?”

“Some day soon, I hope.”

“What about, you know…”

The playful cuddle turned into a vicegrip. “You don’t have to worry about that anymore, angel, and neither will I. No child of mine is going to be pressured, or shunned, just because of how they were born. Can’t have another little heartbroken heartbreaker running around here, can we?”

Thunderlane would never admit it, and Nectarine would never bring it up, but there was a shine in Thunderlane’s right eye then. He’d say it was just dust, she’d insist it was an allergy. But in reality, a tear went down Thunderlane’s cheek as he lay there with the love of his life, just locked in an embrace, enjoying each other’s warmth.

Author's Notes:

A bonus upload so I can end this thing before next Friday, and avoid any spoilers regarding the last few episodes of the Season. I'll catch up sometime in December, like I did last time, so there won't be any major distractions in the writing of my other fics. Expect a blog post in the near future regarding those.

Thunderlane gets a little bit of a treat here, the issues that ponies have with wedlock is lightly explored from the perspective of mares who might actually like stallions with bat wings (kind of like how Stella has a preference for feathers), but don't worry: Thunderlane will get one final jab from the pony he least suspects it from.

I may be slow to reply to comments next week, both to avoid spoilers of the Season and to stop myself from spoiling the ending to this too much. Suffice to say, if you didn't like Rin in the previous chapter, you're gonna hate her batty guts in the next one, mostly because of a last-minute edit of her conversation with Twilight. And the usual Wise Cracker twist at the end has been guessed by some, but not all of it. I'm really tempted to point out the one big early clue everyone's missed, but I'll wait until it's all done. You need to have been following my blog for a long time to know what to look for. It's one of those 'love it or hate it' things, so covering my donkey here, just in case.

Layin' Down the Law

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Rin shivered as she walked out of Tuber Lane the next day, facing the light of the morning sunshine. Trip Wire flew down from the canopy to stop her. “Is there an emergency?”

Nectarine smiled at him. “No, Trip, no emergency. I’m off duty for a few hours, so I’m going shopping.”

“But it’s daytime. And you’re not glamoured, or carrying a weapon. What if the ponies notice you?”

Rin shrugged. “Let them notice me. I’m off duty today.” She cast a glance to the side. “Why is there a road block sign on the ground?”

“Pinkie Pie came over the other day. We had to think fast.”

“Uhuh. And why does the sign say ‘No artillery allowed’?”

“Again, Pinkie Pie.”

Rin squinted and took a closer look at the thing. “Are those crumbs? Did you eat a pie on duty?”

“Well, I had to make sure she wasn’t delivering poison, Ma’am, so I risked my health for the sake of our kin. The rest of the squad suspected it might be cyanide or poison joke. Turns out it was pineapple.”

“Ah, yes, that most insidious of poisons,” Rin joked. “Very brave of you to take all of it for yourself, Trip.”

Trip Wire blushed. “Well, technically we’re not entirely sure if she thought that pineapple would poison any of us, but at least it wasn’t garlic.” He gagged.

“And you’re sure she meant to bring it here? She didn’t take a wrong turn?”

“It was an upside-down cake.”

Nectarine rolled her eyes. “Of course it was. Right, you seem to have everything under control, Trip. If you can handle Pinkie Pie, I’m sure you can handle things while I’m out.”

Trip didn’t stop her, but he sounded anxious as she passed him. “You know ponies are going to stare at you.”

“I’m counting on it. I’m a Captain of the Night Guard, after all. If I have to suffer them staring at me so they know I’ll protect them, I will. No harm in socialising with a few ponies, after all, we do live and work in the same town. I’ll be back before nightfall, Trip.”

With that, Nectarine took off. She didn’t have her dagger on her, she only had her badge concealed in her saddlebags, and no armour. She was, for all intents and purposes, naked. But, as she set down on the street, she noticed so was every pony. She would blend right in.

And she did, at least, for about three seconds. Memories of the inconvenient truths regarding pony culture bubbled and churned in her mind as the ponies stopped to stare and gasp and gossip behind her back. They were herd animals, she knew, and would unite against a common foe at the drop of a hat. They feared strange things, and would undoubtedly shun her for her bat wings.

But that’s what every thinking creature with a sense of danger did, and it wasn’t their fault that they did not know her. For all their flaws, ponies were still rational creatures deep down, she reminded herself. Very, very deep down, but it was there. Nectarine had sworn she’d protect them, as had every other Captain before her. Unlike every other Captain before her, she thought she’d do that best by letting ponies know she could be addressed without fear. So it was with a genuine smile that she greeted her new pony friend, rocky though their start may have been. “Good morning, Applejack.”

“Top of the mornin’ to ya, Nectarine. Or is it still officer?”

“Not on duty right now, AJ.” Rin scanned the stall and did her best to hide her surprise. She’d seen fresh apples before, of course, and she’d occasionally had Night Guard duties near Sweet Apple Acres, or near the Everfree Forest, rather, but she’d never have guessed there would be so much choice in apples and apple products.

“So what can I get ya?” Applejack grabbed a paper bag and shook it to fluff it open.

“Hmm…” Rin looked over the stall and realised she hadn’t thought this through. Behind her, a threesome of mares with flowers for cutie marks -- the drama queens of the town, Rin knew, but in Ponyville that title wasn’t much of a distinction -- were making gestures and preparing to gasp.

Applejack quirked an eyebrow at the trio, and to any onlookers who caught themselves staring. “I guess pony folk just ain’t used to seein’ bat folk around here yet.”

“No, but we can get that sorted out eventually. I’ll have six apple fritters, that apple pie over there, and… six of those, please.” She pointed to the shiny red apples to her left.

“The Red Delicious?”

“Yes, that. I’m going to have to learn what they’re all called now.”

“Oh, you get used to it,” Applejack said. “Most ponies don’t keep track of it much, either, they just say if it’s for fryin’ or bakin’ and that’s all I need to know.”

“Right, speaking of needing to know, I don’t suppose you have any ideas for increasing social cohesion between the Night Guard and ponies?”

Applejack winced. “You mean regarding the wedlock thing?”

“That was my first concern, yes. I’m afraid ponies might get the wrong idea about the whole thing.”

Applejack placed the bag on the counter of her stall and gave Rin the bill. “Then what is the right idea about it, really? ‘Coz I’ve tried explaining it when ponies come ‘round here, but I didn’t have any answers for them and the library got swamped. And frankly, I don’t know what to think of it myself. Why would you make a child do somethin’ like that, just so they’d be allowed around your kind?”

Rin sighed and paid her dues. “It’s just to make sure children learn to handle the other gender safely, nothing more. They learn how to act as individuals as well as a pair that way. And it ties families together. You ponies have Hearth’s Warming Eve, we didn’t have any unifying event like that. We didn’t get the Magic of Friendship or Harmony, which, by the way, is pretty ironic considering what ponies did to us around the same time. We had to make do and wedlock helped us survive, it still does. It teaches mutual respect, and creates bonds of power that protect our children from dark magic, just like Harmony protected your kind from the Windigos. Not to mention it provides a second family if one of the pair is orphaned, which was a lot more common back in the day.”

Applejack folded her arms over her chest. “Huh. Hadn’t thought of that yet. That sounds kind of reasonable, actually. I don’t think I agree with it, mind you, but at least it makes sense. But why still do it now? And do y’all really need to be so split off from ponies?”

“We do it now because we know it works. We avoid a lot of problems doing it like this. But, as for being so split off from you, not anymore, no, not all the time, but we have our traditions and we can’t afford to have them destroyed. It would tear our kind apart with infighting, what with all our different classes. Honestly, I don’t get how you ponies stay together at all, and I don’t think most rousettes do, either.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Think about it. You’re an Earth pony, you’re born into a tradition of farmers. Unicorns are born into a tradition of magic, pegasi are traditionally born as warriors, or weather manipulators. How is it that you get along with all your different traditions?”

Applejack shrugged. “We don’t. They’re all the same traditions: pony traditions.”

“Really?”

“Really. Pegasus ponies are the most isolated ones of the bunch, but even them ain’t that separate from us. We have the same holidays, the same hobbies, we teach our youngins the same things. There’s Royal Guards of all kinds of pony, and donkeys, too. Same with farmers; there’s unicorns that use magic for pest control, pegasi that grow the really finicky plants you can’t water too much or too little, stuff like that. We’re different, but we’re the same where it counts.”

“And rousettes are not,” Rin concluded.

“Sorry to have to break that to ya. It sounds like you’re just not gettin’ the exposure you need. If ponies knew what a rousette was and what they did, I’m sure they’d come around to ya. That’s what happened with Zecora: the spa twins and her get along just dandy, they just didn’t realise they had something in common. What do rousettes usually do? What kind of circles do they hang out in?”

Nectarine chuckled nervously. “Funny you should mention that. Our kind has somewhat of a preoccupation towards the finer delicacies in cuisine and the upper echelons of society in our social activities.”

“Beg yer pardon?”

“We’re a bunch of snobs, AJ.”

“Ah. Wish I could help you there, but I don’t know any pony snobs myself. Not around here, at least. I’m sure there’s a few, though.”

“Excuse me, darling,” a mare behind Rin said.

“Oh, sorry, am I in the way?” Nectarine turned. Uh oh.

Applejack smiled. “Captain Nectarine, I’m sure you know Rarity, right? Rarity, this is Nectarine, Captain of the Ponyville Night Guard.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Nectarine said, extending a hoof.

“And pleased to make your acquaintance too, dear.” Rarity gave that hoof a curt and ladylike shake. “I do apologise for eavesdropping, but I couldn’t help but overhear you were saying something about, ah, social cohesion?”

“Umm, yes, it’s just that the Night Guard haven’t exactly been accessible for, well, ever. That’s working out fine in the bigger cities, but Ponyville’s a tighter community, and it’s starting to cause problems.”

“I see. And I understand you were planning on making some introductions, then? Just to the ponies who might relate to your kind a little more than others?”

Rin shrugged. “Wouldn’t hurt. Most of the Weather Patrol knows me by now, or knows of me, but that’s about it. I mean, we’re not going to get every rousette and every pony together just like that, but there’s bound to be some who can relate to each other.”

Rarity chuckled. “The usual, Applejack.” She paid in exact change, as she always did, then propped up her mane to, supposedly, stop some sagging that wasn’t due to happen for at least another fifteen minutes, but really was an excuse to show off her hairstyle.

Rin recognised the vain gesture, of course; it was rousettes who’d invented that one. She idly wondered if this mare also knew the ancient technique of baring her pearly white teeth to wipe away some nonexistent food remains, but given the lack of fangs, that was probably a no.

“If you need any help getting to know ponies, darling, you need only ask me. I know most everypony in Ponyville, certainly all the artists and the high society. Or what passes for high society around here, at least.”

Applejack shot Rarity a glare that, to Nectarine, came off as practiced and mostly harmless.
Rin took the hint. “I’d be delighted to meet some of the artists in town. I presume you’d wish to partake in a mutual cultural exchange, then?”

“Oh, now, I wouldn’t want to intrude, but I did catch wind of your kind being made up solely of pairs. Just out of curiosity, if rousettes wedlock when they are seven, does that mean they decide whom they marry at that age?”

Nectarine chuckled. “Oh, no, not at all. That would be illegal. Most of them do because those are the partners they know best, and it is tradition to marry whom you wedlock, but there are cases when they remain single, or marry someone else. Wedlock is important, but it’s still only a an initiation rite, trumped by marriage. And, of course, not every rousette has the same, ah, preferences, shall we say. Can’t force a wedding when the two aren’t, ah, mutually inclined, if you catch my drift.”

“I see. So the odds of, oh, I don’t know, a pony meeting an exotic, noble and, dare I ask, unspoken for rousette would be-”

“I know three dukes and nine knights who are single, minimum.”

Rarity barely withheld the squee that had been building inside her. “Let’s talk socialite, darling.”

Twilight let out another sigh of exhaustion. The past two days had been quite the mixed bag for the poor unicorn. On the one hoof, she was thrilled to see that at long last, Ponyville Library was becoming popular among the general pony populace. Truly, she’d never seen so many ponies in the place for reading before. The occasional library party or Weather Patrol gathering, sure, that’s what a public house such as hers was for, after all.

But while she was happy to see more intellectualism in her town, she wished it didn’t have to involve racial prejudice.

“So you’re absolutely sure they don’t drink blood?” Daisy asked.

“For the last time: yes!”

“And they’re not supposed to sparkle?” Rose continued.

To that, Twilight planted a hoof on her forehead. “No, that’s just something some pony made up about vampires. Rousettes are not vampires.”

“So they’re not going to go away if we start planting garlic?” Lily asked.

“You want us to go away, then?”

“Gah!” The three mares jumped in surprise.

Twilight shot a glance to the pair who’d just entered. “Hello, Rarity. And you must be… Nectarine?”

Nectarine nodded in greeting. “Hello.”

“May I help you?” Twilight asked.

“Ah, darling, I was just showing Nectarine around, let her get to know the ponies in town with the Night Guard upping their overt operations, as it were,” Rarity said.

Nectarine arched an eyebrow at the trio that had stared at her at the market. Most of the morning had whizzed by with Rarity by her side. She knew a few more ponies now, at least, that was a plus. How she was going to redistribute guard duty, that was a different matter, especially if there were ponies who wanted her gone. “Well? You were saying something about garlic, I believe? I’m quite fond of it myself, especially on a nice salad. So hard to get it fresh, though.”

Rose, Lily, and Daisy all quietly backed away towards the door. Lily was the only one who got a word out. “Oh, we know everything we need to know, really. We’ll get out of your hair now. Bye!”

They bolted out with naught but a puff of dust in their wake. Rarity tried to cover the awkwardness of the situation with a chuckle. “Right, don’t mind them. They’re just quick to scare, and drama queens at that,” said pot regarding kettle.

“It’s okay. We do have a bit of an image problem to set right. Speaking of which, pleased to meet you, Twilight Sparkle. I’ve heard a lot about you,” Rin said.

“Wish I could say the same. Nectarine, was it?”

“Yes, I’m Nectarine, the local Captain of the Night Guard here. My colleagues and I have mostly been performing covert operations, but given recent events we thought the time was right to start making our presence more public, as it were. I’ve been going around town with Rarity here to see what the good citizens are concerned with. So, if you don’t mind my asking, what do you think of the Night Guard around here?”

Twilight recognised rote repetition when she heard it. She also recognised a ploy when she saw one. “What Night Guard?”

Rarity winced. “She means the one in Ponyville, darling.”

“Oh, I’d be very happy to see them in Ponyville. The Weather Patrol gets positively swamped from time to time.” It had been a while since she’d used her Canterlot accent, but Twilight was nothing if not a good student, and the occasion certainly called for it.

Nectarine raised her eyebrows. “Really? By what?”

“Well, I’m sure you’ve heard of the parasprite infestation, and the Ursa Minor-”

“And the dragons. Both of them, yes. If I recall correctly, for those occasions, there was a vigilante group who took matters into their own hooves. And correct me if I’m wrong, but those same ponies even became masked vigilantes and thereby intruded upon the jurisdictions of both Weather Patrol and Night Guard.”

Twilight and Rarity both felt their cheeks blush at that.

Nectarine smiled. “Oh, yes, I know all about that little stunt. You can’t keep taking matters into your hooves like that, Twilight Sparkle. Sooner or later you’re going to get in trouble with the actual laws of the land. So I do hope that you’ll think twice next time you decide to play the hero. After all, you are the Element of Magic and a personal student to Princess Celestia. We are Night Guards, and your brother is a Royal Guard Captain, same rank as myself, though he is more powerful than I am.” She bared her fangs a tiny bit. “Slightly more powerful. And not to be pedantic, but you of all ponies ought to know better. It’s a bit disheartening to have your purpose taken away with no warning.”

That was a sentiment Twilight could relate to, not to mention seeing it in Spike once or twice. “Yeah, it can be.”

“Then can I expect you to leave matters to the proper authorities next time something happens? Surely you understand the importance of protocol?”

“I would if there was any protocol to follow,” Twilight replied in reflex. “As much as you might dislike ponies taking matters into their own hooves, that’s what happens when you don’t even let anyone know it’s your job they’re intruding on.”

Rin smiled and nodded. “Well, I’m not the one responsible for that attitude, as you may be aware. But I am trying to mend it, one pony at a time. We’ll be making the proper announcements soon. Rest assured, we have no intention of bullying or harassing anyone. Just: next time you see any form of verbal abuse in the streets, or if you should notice a potential riot forming, or if, I don’t know, a monster should appear, please don’t try to handle it on your own? You’re not qualified for it.”

Twilight squinted, confused. “With all due respect, I’m the Element of Magic.”

“Oh, I know. You’re the Chosen One, I understand that. But, while we are being frank with each other, I didn’t vote for you.”

It took Twilight all her Canterlot high training to stop from gasping. “I don’t think you realise what you’re saying. The Princesses are the ones who tell me to step in. They’ll keep telling me to step in, and they’ll tell you to let me handle it.”

“Oh, if that’s the case, then by all means continue, and my apologies for the confusion. I wasn’t aware that it was Princess Celestia who ordered you to dress up like a superhero and upstage one of your so-called friends. I thought that Her Highness showing up and dispelling the mass mind-control spell you cast on a bunch of little girls and then the whole town was a sign that she didn’t agree with your actions. And, silly me, I was unaware that she taught you not to take any suspicions of a national attack to the higher authorities of the Royal Guard, and instead go on a tantrum without letting anypony in charge know of your suspicions.”

Twilight nodded. “Right. So if I’m hearing you correctly: you’re telling me you don’t want the Elements of Harmony to protect Ponyville anymore because you think we’re incompetent?”

“I’m not telling the Elements of Harmony anything. I’m telling you to stop acting like the ringleader of a lawless militia. What missions the Princesses send you on is between you and them. What laws you break in Ponyville is between you and me. Your friends are only getting in trouble because you lead them to it.”

“Now hold on, darling,” Rarity said. “There have been plenty of occasions where we did just fine. Rainbow Dash-”

“Rainbow Dash is a fellow Captain who knows the risks. She knows how to handle danger.”

“Oh, and we don’t?” Twilight asked. “Maybe you didn’t hear, but we are the Elements of Harmony. We beat Discord.”

Rin glowered at Twilight. “You’re not the Elements of Harmony. The Elements are locked away in a vault in Canterlot right now. You’re just the ones who pull the trigger. As for Discord, tell me: how did you, as you say, ‘beat’ him, huh? Did you have to duck and weave as he attacked you? Did you have to sidestep any lightning bolts to get a clear shot? Or did you, as witness reports indicate, just stand there and think happy thoughts until he kindly let that rainbow laser hit him?”

“I did what Princess Celestia told me to. And I’d like to see you do better,” Twilight retorted.

“What, with half a dozen state-owned weapons of mass destruction? Going against someone who doesn’t even budge when you take aim, six to one? I’d have loved the chance of wielding a piece of Princess Celestia’s private collection. So do a lot of rousettes, actually. But sadly, that’s not in the cards for most of us. She, apparently, prefers to let you pull the trigger and only use one of the many weapons she holds. Perhaps she’s trying to make the most of things before the batteries run out, who knows.”

Twilight was flabbergasted. “Are you jealous?”

“Jealous? Oh, Heavens no, I’m not one to question Princess Celestia’s judgement. But again: what you do on royal missions is official, what you do here is not. Now, I understand that you come from a military family and that maybe you think you’re close enough to being able to do a Guard’s duty. But you are still, until further notice, a civilian. Leave the dangerous stunts to ponies who are qualified for them, like Rainbow Dash. Start letting her take command. She knows the risks and how to avoid them. She -- unlike you, as you admit -- knows the protocols. She has the insurance in case she needs it, you do not. You’ve been tolerated for this long because of your ties to the Princesses, but that will not help you when you are hospitalised. If you get hurt trying to do our job, we’re the ones who take the heat for that, even though you’re responsible.”

“I know what I’m doing, Nectarine.”

“Do you? That’s not what I heard. Any threat you’ve dealt with so far has always gotten worse because of your actions. The Parasprites managed to eat Ponyville’s food before eating Ponyville itself, did they not?”

“Well, now, that was a little miscalculation on my part.”

“Discord managed to disarm your precious Elements, did he not?”

“That was only temporary. I did dispel his influence over my friends.”

“And how long do you suppose it took for you to even realise they were under the influence?”

Twilight’s ears fell flat against her head. “Okay, now, that had some extenuating circumstances.”

“And let’s not forget that changeling Queen managed to get to both you and your brother, without anyone in the Royal Guard realising what was wrong, even though you had vital information that trained military personnel might have had a use for. You didn’t even let his best stallions know what you were doing, they didn’t even realise you were missing. The Royal Guard was left unaware of what you knew: that your own brother, the centre of Canterlot's defences, was compromised. You see where I’m going with this?”

Twilight growled. “You think you’d have done better in my situation?”

“You really don’t get it, do you? It’s not me you need to consider; it’s everyone you put in danger. If you keep ignoring the proper channels like you do, sooner or later you’re going to run into a threat that, by your own actions, is allowed to grow beyond your control, beyond anyone's control. If you’re not careful, you’re going to end up putting yourself in a situation where the only reason you manage to defeat your foes is because you’re destined to do so. The rest of us just have to trust that fate will let you clean up whatever mess you cause. And that’s not good enough for me or the Night Guard. It’s not good enough for the Royal Guard, either.”

“What?”

“I’m not the only one who feels this way, Twilight Sparkle. The Night Guard aren’t the only ones who have voiced objections to how you do things. So I’m telling you again: either you earn your rank by joining the Royal Guard and going through the same trials they do, the same ones your brother went through, or you run for office and become democratically elected to a position of authority, or you stop acting like you have any rank beyond civilian. Do we understand each other?”

“Crystal clear, Rin. I look forward to seeing you deal with the next monster that hits Ponyville, then. Provided one shows up, of course, and the princesses don’t tell me to take care of it.”

Nectarine turned towards her unicorn companion. “Good, have a nice day, then. Okay, who’s next? Fluttershy?”

Rarity raised a hoof to her chin to ponder. “We’ll make better time if we stop by Sugarcube Corner on the way, darling. I’m sure the Cakes would be thrilled to hear there’ll be some new faces around.”

“Lead the way.” Nectarine was about to leave when she almost tripped over a little filly. “Oh, sorry, Apple Bloom, didn’t see you there. Until next time, Twilight Sparkle!”

“Until next time, Nectarine.”

Twilight groaned when the pair left. “Thank goodness she’s gone. Hi, Apple Bloom. What brings you here?”

“Do you really not like rousettes, Twilight? She did have a point: you're not in the Royal Guard or the Weather Patrol.”

Twilight looked at the door. “Sure I like them, and it’s great that she’s trying to reach out, really, even if she is being so aggressive about it.“ Twilight moved to the window to make sure she wasn’t being eavesdropped on. “She’s still a Night Guard, though, and if she’s going to start taking patrol duties in Ponyville more seriously, that could mean trouble. Especially if she’s willing to confront me about it.”

“Trouble, how?”

Twilight’s left eyelids twitched. “Have you forgotten one of your friends is a changeling now?”

“Oh, right. Guess we will have to look out for that. But they’re only doin’ their job, they wouldn’t go attacking her if they found out, would they?”

“I sure hope not, but no one seems to know how they operate, and if they do, no one’s telling. I’ve asked Rainbow Dash about it, but she said that was classified information, even for her. I’d have to grow wings and ascend to royalty to be qualified to hear the full details, and I don’t think I can do that anytime soon. But speaking of jobs, what brings you here? I take it you wanted a book on rousette traditions?”

“Actually, no. Since Rumble’s goin’ through with a rousette tradition, I thought I’d look into pony traditions myself. I remember Granny Smith mentionin’ somethin’ from back in the old days, have ya got anything on the Pioneer Era? Right before Ponyville was founded?”

Twilight looked around and grabbed a book with her magic, letting it land gently on the central reading table. “Do you know the name of the tradition?”

Apple Bloom read through the table of contents, then flipped through the pages to find the section she wanted. “Ahah! This one oughtta do.”

Twilight looked at the section in question. “You’re not seriously planning to-”

“Why not? The rousettes want us to respect their traditions, and we will. But that means they gotta respect ours too, don’t it?”

Twilight bit her lip and sighed, before looking back at the door. “I suppose. I don’t approve, but it would be pretty funny if you could pull this off.”

Apple Bloom replied with a confident nod. “And if they don’t, then we’ll see who’s got no respect for others around here.”

Author's Notes:

Hoo boy, this chapter... this one was tough to get through. Having to explain wedlock without spelling out the exact mechanics (because the implication is that even modern-day rousettes don't understand all of it), and having Rin actually go toe-to-toe with Twilight was, err, tricksy to do. Lots of last-minute edits on this one.

It only occurred to me just now that Rin's lecture to Twilight would prove pretty hilarious if she could see the future. I don't think the Ponyville Night Guard would take Twilight's coronation very well.

And what's Apple Bloom planning? Nothing too bad. A minor thing. (As in: something involving minors.)

Next chapter: Rumble finally has the talk with his parents, and the wedlock happens.

And Apple Bloom does what she does best. I only just now realised it's sort of a callback (callforward?) to the Rape Culture thing.

Wedlocked

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Rumble took a long, hard look at himself in the mirror in his parents’ bedroom. His tuxedo was ironed crisp, his sleeves were up slightly to show off the thickness of his arms, and he had the Moon’s Eye crest buttoned to his chest like every proper rousette boy would. All in all, he looked like a fine match for any girl, at least as much as he could at his age.

Still, he couldn’t help but sigh. He heard a knock on the door. “Come in.”

His mom and dad were standing in the doorway. Gale smiled at her little boy. “Big day today.”

He nodded. “Yeah. Big day.”

Gale frowned. “You look great, you know. I’m sure you’ll be turning heads at the wedlock. Probably going to break a few hearts, too.”

Rumble groaned.

Blade quirked an eyebrow at him. “What’s the matter?”

Rumble didn’t look at them. He just kept staring at his reflection, even as his parents moved behind him. “Nothing.”

Gale let out a sad sigh. “Look, I know things have been hard for you, but everything will work out now. After today, we won’t make you go to any more bat meetings, and you can hang out with your pony friends as much as you like.”

Rumble shook his head, still staring at his reflection and his parents’. “What about the other rousettes? Aren’t they going to be upset?”

Blade chuckled. “You don’t have to worry about them, son. We understand.”

The little pegasus grumbled. “No, you don’t. You don’t understand, you never did.”

Gale sat down and put an arm around her son, rubbing gently over his back. “Hey, now, what’s wrong, little angel? Isn’t this what you wanted? You’ll be free to be around ponies now. You don’t have to put up with our silly old ways if you don’t want to.”

“It’s not that, mom.” Rumble wiped his eyes and suppressed a sob. “You don’t get it.”

“What is it, then? You don’t have to be a rousette anymore if you want to be around ponies, we understand.”

“No, you don’t. I don’t want you to cut me loose from rousette traditions. I don’t want to be an embarrassment to our family.”

Blade sat down on the other side of him. “What are you talking about?”

“You just don’t understand. I don’t want you to be embarrassed because of me, I want you to be proud of me.”

“But we are proud of you, son,” Gale said.

That was the final straw. “No, you’re not! You have never been proud of me, or anything I did! Every time you’ve told me I was doing well, it was because I was doing what you told me. Every time I do something for myself, you ignore it, or you pretend I didn’t do it. The only times you’ve been happy is when I acted like Thunderlane, like I was gonna turn out just like him. But I can’t do that, mom, I just can’t. I’ve tried so hard to be like him, but I’m not. I’m still not.”

Blade rolled his eyes. “Of course you are. You’ll make a fine Wonderbolt some day, just like him.”

Rumble threw his hooves in the air and stomped them down. “You’re not listening to me! This is the whole problem, dad. The only time I can do anything right is if I do everything exactly the way you tell me to, if I just act and talk like Thunderlane. Do you have any idea how horrible that feels? Nothing I do is ever right, just because of how I was born. And just because Thunderlane turned out okay doesn’t mean I will. I’m not him, and I’m tired of trying to be. I’ve been tired of it for so long, I just want to be me.”

Silence fell between them.

Rumble panted to catch his breath. “Just once, I want you to be proud of me for something I decide to do. I want you to brag about me for something that was my idea, not just something you told me to. I flew with a Wonderbolt, I filled in for Thunderlane when he was sick, and that still doesn’t count for anything because it’s not Night Guard duty or organised by the Duelist Society or the Canterlot Night Opera, because it’s not something proper rousettes do.”

Rumble found his voice cut off. His mother’s arms were wrapped tightly around him, as were her wings. Her bat wings: the warm, the tight, fleshy sheets of a rousette mother. Not the feathery ones of her misplaced son.

“Oh, little angel, how did you get that awful thought in your head? Of course we’re proud of you. You’ve got nothing to be ashamed of, you’re just different. There’s nothing wrong with that. There’s nothing wrong with you, never has been.”

Blade nodded. “She’s right. Respect is respect, and how you were born doesn’t make a difference.”

Rumble shivered. “Then why can’t you be proud of me for who I am?”

Gale clutched him tighter. “Sweetie, do you really think that when I heard about what you did at the reservoir, I wasn’t the proudest mom in Equestria? Do you really think that when we show up for those bat parties, we don’t throw that six point five wingpower into those snobby little faces every chance we get? You’ve got more dedication, and more honour, than a lot of so-called nobles ever had, and no one can take that away from you. Of course we’re proud of you.”

Blade nodded and stroked Rumble’s mane. “What made you think we weren’t?”

Rumble shook his head. “I can’t say.”

“Rumble,” Blade leaned in closer. “Be honest. Why would you think something awful like that? Has someone been filling your head with lies?”

Rumble sighed. “It’s Thunderlane.”

Gale blinked in confusion. “Thunderlane? Why would he make you think we’re not proud of you?”

Again, he sighed. “Right around Blue Moon Bloom, that bat party Chitter took me to? Thunderlane had me drink the Blood Cup Nectar.”

Gale shuddered. Her breath got caught halfway in her throat. “He did what?”

“He told me I had to drink that stuff, so I’d be a proper rousette. He planned it right after you got the word about your missions, he got a minister and incense and everything. He said you’d be happier if I did, that it’d make things better. He said it was a surprise, for you.”

Gale shook her head. “But the Blood Cup is a healing ritual, it’s for when you’re sick. It purifies rousette magic, blood magic. We don’t know what that does to a pegasus pony.”

“No, we don’t,” Rumble replied. “But I’m not a pegasus pony, remember? I was born in a rousette family, and that makes me a rousette. That’s what he said, that’s our way. If you’re born from a rousette mother, then you’re a rousette. And that’s what you keep saying, too.”

Blade groaned. “Oh, son, we didn’t mean it like that. Thunderlane didn’t mean it, either, you know how he gets about our traditions.”

“Yeah. I’ve noticed. But you see what I mean? Thunderlane and Chitter all those other rousettes who were there, they were fine with it, they just let it happen. They thought it was gonna give me bat wings or make me less, you know, me. Like I’m sick, or worthless. And you…”

“I know, angel, I know. You got a lot of conflicting messages thrown at you. We didn’t mean to make you think you had to turn into your brother. But you don’t have to be a rousette to make us proud, or to impress all those others.” Gale petted his mane, cooing as she clutched him to her chest. “We’ll talk to Thunderlane. He had no right to do that to you, and it’s about time we reminded him he doesn’t need to be so fanatic all the time. He won’t do that again, we’ll make sure of that.”

The boy chuckled and nodded. “Thanks.”

“And if you really want to, we can compromise on the family reputation,” Blade said.

“What?”

Blade looked to Gale, and when she nodded, he continued. “If you really want ponies to know you were born in a rousette family, you have our permission to tell them so. And you don’t have to go through with this wedlock if you don’t want to. No matter what anyone thinks, we won’t force you to do this. You can back out if you want, we’ll settle it with Lord Nox.”

“No, I don’t want that.”

“Wouldn’t that make it easier on you?” Gale asked. “You can be a pony, if you really want to.”

Rumble shook his head. “You don’t understand. I don’t want you to get in trouble over me, and I don’t want Thunderlane to get in trouble, either. I just… I can’t be a pegasus because I was born in a rousette family, and I can’t be a rousette because my friends are ponies, and I have feathers. So I’d rather be a bat and a pony, if that’s okay. If I can make friends with ponies, that’s fine, I can still pretend to act like a regular rousette. I’ll even join a club, take dancing lessons or fencing classes if that makes you happy.”

Gale chuckled and ruffled his mane. “Well, you do have a good partner to share the ballroom with now. But I thought you hated that stuff?”

“Maybe I will, maybe I won’t, but I can try it, to fit in, like other rousettes do. As long as I get to pick for myself, it’s okay. I just… I wanna belong with you, like I belong with ponies. I can talk to them, they understand me, even if I can’t say much. But us, we never do anything together. It’s like I’m always home alone, even when you’re not on duty. We never go anywhere, ever.”

“But Thunderlane takes you places, doesn’t he? Isn’t that fun?”

“Thunderlane doesn’t think I’m a proper rousette, remember? He’s embarrassed by me, too. And it’s not the fun, mom, it’s being alone all the time. I’m supposed to be part of our family, but it’s like we’re not even a family at all. Every time I go somewhere, it’s with a foalsitter or Thunderlane. Even when you’re home, we don’t do anything together.”

Gale sighed. “Well, what would you want us to do about that, then?”

“Huh?”

“What do you want us to do? After today, you’ll be an adult by rousette standards. So, as one adult to another, what would you really want? Do you want us to start picking you up at school, in public? Let everyone know you’re from a rousette family? Do you want us to start taking you to the bat meets again, where everyone stares at you like you don’t belong?”

“No, not like that. I don’t want to be a hassle, or an embarrassment. And the bat parties… I don’t know what to think about those. I just wish we could go someplace sometime, together, where nopony would think it’s weird. Or at least do something when you’re not on duty, something we can do. It doesn’t have to be much, just… just something. I don’t wanna feel like an orphan in my own family anymore.”

Gale sighed. “Well, what do you think, Blade?”

Blade shrugged. “I suppose we can work with that. If you really want to hang out with your parents sometime, there’s bound to be some places we can go. Gonna take some figuring out where, though.”

“And what about Stella?” Gale asked. “Are you absolutely sure you want to go through with this? We won’t force you.”

Rumble looked up at his parents. “Do you like her?”

Gale chuckled. “Oh, sure. She’s an interesting girl.”

Blade nodded. “Good sense of decorum, nice sense of humour, and she treats you well. Of course we like her.”

Rumble smiled. “I picked her. I decided I like her, so I decided to wedlock with her. I want to go through with it, for me… and you. I’m always gonna be a pony, but I’m always gonna be kind of a bat, too.”

They both hugged their son at that.

“I love you,” Rumble said.

“We love you too, son,” Gale said. “And after today, all the rousettes we know will accept you as one of their own.”

It didn’t take Applejack long to find Nectarine in the crowds. She trotted over to her batty friend and looked around. “Hey, Nectarine. Where’s Thunderlane?”

Rin cocked her head towards the mass of rousettes chatting in the hall. “Catching up with some of the harpists and cellists. Old friends.”

“Of course. Speaking of catchin’ up, how did the introductions go the other day?”

“They went fine, I think. Most of the more aristocratically inclined ponies know me by name and face now, and I’ve told Twilight Sparkle not to interfere with the Night Guard in case of emergency, start respecting protocol, so that’s a start.”

“I heard about that. Did ya have to be so, err, assertive about it?”

Rin shrugged. “If she didn’t hear it from me, she was going to hear it from somepony else.”

“Don’t you mean somebat else?”

“No. No, I don’t. Unless she gets a royal decree going her way, she needs to step down and leave things to ponies and bats with actual training. This whole mess started when we were told to step down from our function and she was allowed to take over without the proper mandate. If we’re not letting the Weather Patrol do part of our job anymore, wouldn’t make sense to let a civilian do it instead.”

“I guess. I don’t think you’ll get a lot of sympathy that way, though.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I was never going to win any popularity contest with ponies, anyway. I’ll let the royalty decide on that matter, they started it, in their infinite wisdom, they should know the consequences by now. If they want her to keep doing what she’s doing, fine by me, but any consequences will be on her, then, not me.”

“Let’s hope things don’t get out of hoof, then.”

Rin chuckled.“Indeed. Where’s Apple Bloom, by the way? Is the rest of your family here?”

Applejack nodded towards the left side of the hall, where all the ponies were talking amongst themselves. “Talkin’ to their friends.”

An awkward silence fell between them.

“I, err, don’t suppose you know what to expect from this whole shindig?” Applejack asked.

“Of course I do. These are ancient rites, most of the time we do it in bunches. Why do you ask?”

Applejack reached up and scratched the back of her head nervously. “I haven’t quite made up my mind about what to think of this whole thing yet. And it doesn’t look like any of the rousettes and ponies are gonna mix. So…”

“I’d gladly explain it as it goes,” Rin said. “It should be getting started soon, actually.”

Lord Nox smiled at the little girl. Despite her longer legs and her distinct manner of speech, he’d never forgotten just how young she really was, especially compared to him. And yet, today she’d be made an adult, at least among rousettes.

He walked into the back room where she posed in front of a mirror, admiring her dark blue dress. “Big day today.”

Stella nodded. “Yes. Big day.”

“Are you absolutely certain you want to go through with this?”

Again, the girl nodded. “Wouldn’t be fair to Rumble if I didn’t.”

Nox sighed as he took position right behind her. He towered over the girl, and with his musculature one would scarcely think they were related. Then again, it was only a piece of paper that bound them. “It’s a shame your mother and father couldn’t be here. I’m sure they’d be thrilled.”

Stella managed a weak smile at the notion. “Yes. But I still need to do this, on my own. Thank you, for everything. I don’t know what I’d do without your help.”

Lord Nox chuckled heartily at that. “A smart girl like you? My dear, considering what you’ve accomplished already, I think you’d have achieved quite the glory. A glorious mess, mind you, but glory nonetheless. You are well on your way to greatness, but I only cleared the path for you.”

Stella’s smile widened. “Thanks.”

Nox smiled right back, beaming with pride. “You’ll make a fine ambassador someday, I know it.”

“One can only hope.”

Apple Bloom felt she could cut the tension with a knife. After someone had sounded a bugle horn, the rousettes had all moved as one swarm towards the seats on the right side of the hall, while the ponies had moved as one herd to the ones on the left. The only pony on the right side was Thunderlane, the only rousette on the left side was Rin, and she was seated right next to Applejack, dead centre row. Apple Bloom kept her ears perked as her sister tried to clear everything up with the only rousette around who’d speak to them.

“So what happens now?” Applejack asked.

“Try to keep your voice, down, AJ. Now the two children will walk up to the stage and the minister will cleanse them with special smoke. Then they say their vows, go through some traditional motions, and that’s it.”

“Really? Just that? That’s awful short,” Apple Bloom remarked.

Rin put a hoof to her lips to motion for silence. “Keep in mind, most of the time this is done in bunches, that makes it a little longer. For only one pair, it’s a short ceremony today, with a long celebration. You’ll like it, trust me.”

On the stage, Captain Starlight strode forth, shining medals pinned to his chest and chained censer slung over his shoulder. He spread out his wings wide and smiled at the right side of the of the hall, before letting out a quiet snort at the left side. “Dear kinsbats, we are gathered here today to witness the binding of two fine young rousettes by the ancient rites of wedlock.”

Apple Bloom took note of the fact the good Captain only acknowledged the bats in the crowd and referred to the wedlock as a ‘binding’. Not the most cheerful of descriptions.

She smiled when she saw Rumble, though. He looked like a proper gentlecolt when he came out from behind the curtain, and Stella looked positively stunning in her pink dress with all the flowers. It really made her legs stand out, and the flower crown made her look like a little Princess Luna, except for the wings, of course. No fangs on display right now, probably for the sake of the ponies present. The flower crown looked familiar, though: it had the usual daisies in them, but they were alternated with the same orange-red flower that Lord Nox had on his cutie mark. Definitely a symbol of something.

The two kids walked towards each other to meet right in front of Starlight.

Starlight waved the censer back and forth, covering them in incense smoke.

“The incense is meant to banish evil spirits,” Rin whispered. “So the bond is pure. Now they close their eyes and they bathe in the smoke. Once they’re both cleansed, they lock eyes with each other. The eyes are the windows to the soul, and looking into each other’s eyes forms the connection. They cannot break eye contact.”

“Now, your vows,” Starlight said.

Apple Bloom felt her heart skip a beat when she saw the look in Rumble’s eyes. His gaze was fixed upon Stella’s, and she could almost feel his steely resolve all the way.

“By my wings, I’ll be your shelter. By my voice, I’ll be your guide. By my will, the world will know, that my soul, to yours is tied.”

Apple Bloom nearly gasped when she heard that. Shelter her? Tie his soul? This really was a marriage, it was exactly the same. And yet, no pony was objecting to it. Were they really all that concerned with not offending any of the bats?

“By my wings, I’ll be your shelter. By my voice, I’ll be your guide. By my will, the world will know, that my soul, to yours is tied.”

Something felt strange when she heard Stella say the same vows. Something about that girl’s voice was off. Apple Bloom couldn’t put her hoof on what, though, but something was up, she was sure of it. Stella had been off since their first encounter, but why? What was Apple Bloom missing?

Rin smiled. “Now their vows have been said, the pair seal their bond as tradition dictates.”

Stella jumped him and knocked him to the floor. The entire left side of the hall gasped, and most of the right side looked their way to see what those silly ponies were getting riled up over this time.

“The traditional pounce,” Rin whispered. “The girl makes it clear she is not weak, and the boy accepts her strength by letting her take him down.”

Rumble rolled the girl over the floor and pinned her down, never breaking eye contact.

“Then the boy flips positions, to indicate that while he accepts her strength, he will not let her abuse his kindness.”

Apple Bloom nearly cried out at that. Rin noticed, even if Applejack didn’t. “We’re very big on honour, and that’s easy to abuse. Some boys need the reminder. I’m told there’s a gnostic element to it, too, but that’s not my area of my expertise.”

Starlight cleared his throat. “By the powers of the Night and the Laws of Old, I hereby declare you both bound by wedlock. May your ties to one another guide your way.”

Apparently that was the rousette equivalent of “you may kiss the bride,” because Rumble and Stella wrapped their arms around each other and started nuzzling like crazy. The rousettes started clapping, Thunderlane and two others Apple Bloom presumed were Rin’s relatives taking the lead.

The ponies joined in half-heartedly, but eventually the clapping grew to a proper applause.

After all, a pony boy had become a bat stallion.

That was something worth celebrating, right?

Diamond Tiara kept the camera planted firmly against one eye, maneuvering on two legs and carefully taking in all the surroundings. “Here’s the bride and groom, Scootaloo.”

Rumble and Stella were surrounded by their pony friends. They waved at the camera, all smiles.

“Wish you could be here, Scootaloo,” Stella said.

Apple Bloom quirked an eyebrow. “I thought you said you’d get your butler to do the videotaping?”

“I was going to, but-”

“We didn’t want Scootaloo to just see things from a grownup’s point of view,” Silver Spoon said.

“Yeah, that. We wouldn’t want her to be bored watching this, right?”

“That’s really nice of you, Diamond,” Sweetie Belle remarked.

“Don’t mention it. Seriously.”

Apple Bloom looked around again. Something was off, still. But what?

“So are you two going to live together now, or how does it work?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Apple Bloom sensed something was wrong. This was too smooth. Something about all this had the air of an act.

Stella sighed. “Well, I certainly hope so. But…” She turned her head towards Lord Nox, who was busy talking to a pearly white Royal Guard and from the looks of it he didn’t like what the guy had to say, not one bit. Nox’ booming voice was louder than any of the banter between the rousettes or ponies. He was a real loudmouth, that Nox, actually.

Apple Bloom looked towards the Royal Guard as well. Right on cue…

“You think the dragons are causing trouble again?” Rumble asked.

Stella winced and wrapped a wing around Rumble’s shoulder. “It would seem so.”

“Wait, does that mean Lord Nox is gonna leave again?” Silver Spoon asked.

“Probably,” Stella replied. “It was too good to be true, I suppose.”

“Why not stay with Rumble’s family?” Apple Bloom asked. “You are related now, after all.”

“I wish I could, but I can’t. I’m Lord Nox’ designated successor. I have to go where he goes; the dragons have to become accustomed to my presence, as they have been to Nox’.”

“You don’t say…” Apple Bloom had heard that explanation the first time, of course. It stuck with her more now, though, for reasons she couldn’t quite put a hoof on.

Lord Nox came walking towards them. Applejack and Rin saw the stallion’s foul mood and joined him. Rin lowered her voice so the other bats wouldn’t hear. “Is something wrong, Milord?”

Nox nodded and once again forgot to turn down the volume of his voice. “D’oh, yes, it seems the Zwelbasts decided to come out of the Black Mountains again. And you know how they get when they reach a civilisation. I’ll have to depart again soon.”

Apple Bloom felt that nagging feeling pop up again. “With Stella?”

Lord Nox nodded. “Yes.”

“I don’t suppose we have a few more days, then?” Apple Bloom asked.

The burly noble smiled. “Yes, if you wish to arrange any more activities, that would be fine. We leave Monday.”

“Perfect, because I was thinkin’: you’ve been so generous showin’ us this fine rousette tradition and mingling with ponies,” Apple Bloom lied, noting that the ponies and rousettes were still sticking to their own little cliques. Well, aside from Thunderlane, who was busy talking to the two older rousettes she’d noticed before, definitely his in-laws. “Maybe Stella would like to partake in a pony tradition?”

Stella blinked, confused. “And what tradition might that be, darling?”

“Clear Moon Night,” Apple Bloom said.

Applejack nearly choked on her drink when she overheard that. She turned around, aghast. “Say what?!”

Apple Bloom suppressed a grin, especially when she noticed Thunderlane tensing up. He’d heard it, she was sure. “Clear Moon Night. After a binding of love and souls, regardless of the tradition followed, any member of a major landholder family in the region can ask to spend the night with either party of the wedded couple. I looked it up, turns out we used to do that sorta thing.”

“You can’t do that.” Thunderlane came stomping in angrily, with his two in-laws in tow. “That’s a despicable pony tradition, it’s a callback to slavery, when nobles imposed themselves on any commoner marriage.”

Apple Bloom pouted at the stallion. “But it’s tradition, Thunderlane. You wouldn’t want to disrespect tradition, would ya?”

“I would most certainly not!” Nox declared in his usual booming voice. “I think the ponies present here today have exceeded every bat’s expectations, and I would be appalled if any bat, be they feathered or not, did not treat pony traditions with the same amount of respect. So, Thunderlane, given that the Apple family are the chief land holders in Ponyville, I grant permission for Apple Bloom to hold Clear Moon Night for Stella. Do you grant permission?”

“What?”

Lord Nox glanced towards Strife Gale and Nighted Blade, who were both behind their eldest son. “Since your parents are not present, Thunderlane, and as such they cannot give us their opinion, you need to give permission to let your little brother go.”

“W-well, I, err…”

“Technically, he doesn’t have to anymore, Lord Nox,” Rumble remarked. “Now that I’m wedlocked, I can choose for myself. And I’d love to.”

“But, Lord Nox, you know what they do on those nights.”

“D’oh, pish posh, Thunderlane. I’m sure that little pony tradition isn’t as immoral or damaging as it sounds. After all, ours is perfectly harmless, and I’m sure wedlock isn’t any easier to explain to an outsider.”

“Wait, so what happens on Clear Moon Night?” Rumble asked.

“Oh, it’s just your average sleepover, Rumble, it’s nothin’ fancy, and I’ve got a big bed, anyway,” Apple Bloom said with a flourish.

“See?” Nox said. “Nothing fancy. Now, whence has that wine gone? I’m in dire need of a refill.”

Nectarine rolled her eyes. “Right this way, Milord.”

Apple Bloom caught something in the corner of her eye as Nox plodded off. “Hey, Nectarine, could I ask you somethin’?”

“What’s wrong, Apple Bloom?”

“All rousettes are wedlocked when they’re kids, right?”

“Yes. All of them.”

“So which rousette is Nox-”

“Lord Nox, Apple Bloom. It’s a very important title, you don’t want to miss it.”

Apple Bloom’s ears perked. “Right, sorry. Anyway, Stella’s wedlocked to Rumble now, right? And I guess you’re wedlocked to Thunderlane?”

Rin nodded. “Yes, I am. He’s my lifemate, that’s the proper word for it.”

“And all rousettes do this wedlock thing when they’re young, right? Because it protects them against stuff or somethin’?”

“Right. It allows us to have something close to what you ponies call Harmony, but on a smaller scale. We do it when we’re young because we’re weaker then. It’s like getting your shots, you might say, being inoculated against foreign magics. At least, that’s my understanding of it. You’d have to ask one of our ministers for the details. They don’t all agree on how it works, we just know that it does.”

“Oh, that’s okay, I get the idea. But, err, they all do it, you say. All of’em around the same age, then?”

Nectarine pondered that for a moment. “Hmm, no, if a child is considered a mediator, it’s normal for them to wait and build up more advanced skills first. And future ambassadors have to be groomed as successors first, so they tend to be slightly older, too.”

The filly’s ears twitched. “Uhuh. And that grooming for bein’ an ambassador, that’s like makin’ sure you can stand tall to a dragon, right?”

“Oh, yes. Ambassador families are highly regarded: they’re the closest thing we bats have to an immortal representative. One generation to the next, they’re practically carbon copies, it’s quite uncanny.”

The same explanation as Chitter had given it. This must have been a very deeply ingrained part of bat culture, then. “Huh. So they only get wedlocked after they’re prepped, then?”

“Of course.”

“And there’s no exceptions, ever? There’s no rousette that ain’t wedlocked?”

Rin shook her head. “No exceptions. Like I said, it’s quite complicated. Gnostic rites, inoculation against magics, it depends whom you ask, but they all agree it’s essential to our culture.”

“So which bat is Lord Nox wedlocked to, then?”

“Hmm? Oh, Lord Nox is wedlocked to another ambassador, one who works in the Saddle Arabian provinces. I can’t think of her name, though. She doesn’t come around to Equestria anymore. Wedlock isn’t always like marriage, you see, sometimes it just ends up being an official friendship. A lot depends on the context.”

“Uhuh. And his mom and dad?”

“Apple Bloom, stop bothering Nectarine,” Applejack said. “You’re too darn nosey, you know that?”

“Sorry,” Apple Bloom said.

“It’s okay, really. I’m sure you and Stella will have much to discuss on your sleepover.”

Something clicked in Apple Bloom’s mind. Hang on a rock-pickin’ minute here, did I just...

As if on cue, Stella and Rumble were called away by some of the older rousettes. Diamond Tiara was making her rounds with the camera, Lance, Featherweight, and Pipsqueak were talking with Chitter under the watchful eye of some irked-looking rousettes. Something still felt off about all this. There was a piece missing to this puzzle, and it eluded the girl.

“What are you thinking?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Then Apple Bloom saw it, the one thing that made her realise.

Rarity.

Rarity was blending right in with the rousettes, laughing quietly and heartily and pushing up her mane from time to time. The rousettes around her sounded the same as she did: quiet, calm, collected. They moved with the same grace she did, in every motion. And of course they did: rousettes were a social bunch, with other rousettes. They lived for the high society, they had their knights and dukes who’d earned their titles through whatever means the silly bats thought were appropriate. Regardless of the reason, rousettes thought very highly of their nobles, and aspired to be like them.

The same way Rarity aspired to high society. The ‘darlings’ and ‘dears’ crept in Apple Bloom’s ears, her eyes settled on the delicate arm motions of rousettes sipping tea, along with Rarity doing the same with every bit of their grace. The sounds of their hooves on the ground, gentle taps and clips and clops, it was exactly the same between the unicorn and the bats.

The longer she watched, the more Apple Bloom realised that Rarity was, in a very real sense, the only pony she knew who could walk up to a rousette she didn’t know and blend right in. Stick some fangs and wings on her, no one would know the difference. Rarity was truly the only example any Ponyvillian could hope to have to mingle with rousettes.

At least, with regular rousettes.

“I’m thinkin’... we’ve been had.”

Author's Notes:

Still a little messy, this chapter, but I'm fine with it, at long last. Rumble's motivations are cleared up at last: it's not a matter of picking whether he's a pony or a bat that's the problem, it's that he has to choose at all. Kind of like Hellboy 2: the Golden Army. Do you sympathise with the Elves or with the humans? Doesn't matter: you're supposed to sympathise with Hellboy, who's caught in the middle. Same principle. Added a little more to Rin's dialogue so the talk with Twilight gets some context. Again, Rin is as flawed a character as anyone else: she's big on responsibility, and the sort of 'proper channels' advocate you see in other stories. There are reasons to like her or dislike her.

The final chapter, to be uploaded this Friday, has been edited quite a bit at the last second, but not because of the ending. Turns out that after about a dozen edits spanning who knows how long, I forgot the most obvious way of getting Apple Bloom to handle her suspicions.

Still avoiding comments, because I don't want to accidentally spoil everything. What exactly is it Apple Bloom suspects and how will she manage to prove it, or fail to prove it? You'll see in two days.

Mixed Sleepover

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“So, darling, I must say I was somewhat surprised by your invitation. Might I ask why you wanted us to come over?” Stella asked as they walked up to the farm.

“I just wanted to make sure you got the full pony friendship treatment, is all. I’ve done sleepovers with my other friends, why not you? Besides, I’ll bet you ain’t ever done it yourself, growin’ up in dragon country and all,” Apple Bloom replied.

“Well, I suppose you have a point there.”

Sweetie Belle snickered. “We’ve never had a boy over, though.”

“Not to worry, I’ll keep him entertained,” Stella said with a smile.

Rumble rolled his eyes. “It’s only a sleepover, I think I can handle it.” Right as he said it and they walked through the front door, Rumble was rushed by the family pet. Winona barked and circled around him excitedly, pressing her muzzle against his face at random.

“Umm, Apple Bloom?” Rumble wiped his face and tried to keep walking despite the canine blocking his way.

“Oh, don’t mind her. She does that to everyone that walks through the door. She’s just tryin’ to make sure she’s got your scent, she only does that once.”

Applejack sighed. “Down, girl.”

Apparently satisfied with her inspection, Winona returned to her usual spot in front of the fireplace.

Stella chuckled. “My, quite the guard you’ve got there.”

Apple Bloom had to try her darnedest not to smirk. “Yeah, you might say that.”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were both tired after the wedlock, of course, and Rumble and Stella were no different. Rumble had brought his light blue peejays and grey socks, Stella wore a dark blue nightgown with stars on it, and Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle just had peejays that matched their coat colours with apples and gems on them.

Applejack knocked on the bedroom door and came in. “You youngins ready to hit the hay?”

Rumble yawned. “Yeah.”

“We’re almost ready, Applejack. Stella’s not ready yet,” Apple Bloom said.

Stella looked herself over. “What do you mean, darling?”

“I think you know what I mean,” Apple Bloom said, fixing the rousette girl with a glare.

Applejack sighed. “What is it now?”

“You mean you ain’t noticed, Applejack?”

“Noticed what, darling?”

“Yeah, what are you talking about?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Apple Bloom chuckled. “I gotta admit, you’re good, Stella. You almost had me. But you’re not perfect yet.”

“Apple Bloom, what are you saying?” Rumble said.

Apple Bloom sat down and jutted her chest forward in defiance. “I’m saying the girl you wedlocked is a fake, and that whole ceremony back there was a sham. There is no Stella, is there?”

Stella froze. Her eyes darted from Apple Bloom to Applejack to Rumble. Rumble gently shook his head, Stella chuckled nervously. “I’m afraid I don’t follow.”

“Drop the act, Scootaloo. I know that’s you under there,” Apple Bloom said.

Rumble froze. “Apple Bloom, are you crazy? Why would you even think that?”

“Two things. First: Rarity gave you away.”

Stella still wouldn’t flinch, or even move. “How so?”

“You act like Rarity, you move like Rarity, even your voice sounds a lot like hers. Sweetie Belle, back me up on this would ya?”

Sweetie Belle weighed that in her head. “Umm, yeah, that’s true. You do sound a lot like my sister.”

Stella chuckled nervously. “And exactly how does that make me a fake, darling?”

“Where’d you learn to say ‘darling’ all the time? From your tutors?”

“Of course.”

“The tutors you had while you were in dragon country. Because you had to be around Lord Nox, as his successor, right?”

“Right.”

Apple Bloom smirked. “So then there were other rousettes in dragon country, then? That’s not what you said before.”

“W-well, of course there were a few, darling. Not anyone I could talk to, though.” Stella looked away.

“Did you invite us to sleep over just so you could accuse us?” Rumble asked.

“I invited y’all over to see if rousettes really respected pony traditions, like they want us to respect theirs. I got my answer. Now drop the act, Scootaloo.”

“I still don’t see how you can be sure it’s an act,” Sweetie Belle said.

“Think about it for a second,” Apple Bloom said. “You saw Lord Nox at the wedlock, and you saw Rarity. Did Lord Nox act like Rarity did?”

“Of course he didn’t,” Sweetie Belle replied. “He’s way more, um, loud and heavy.”

“Exactly. Lord Nox acts and talks like somepony who knows no one’ll ever get in his way, like someone who’s used to dealing with dragons and stuff that’s way bigger than him. He stomps and talks real loud, makes sure everyone pays attention to him. You walk and talk all delicate like. I met him before I met you, Stella, and right when I first saw you, I knew something was off. You’re calm, quiet, and collected.”

“Well, Lord Nox isn’t my biological father, as you know. He is my guardian, and he taught me.”

“Then why is it you walk and talk like Rarity and not like him?”

Stella didn’t have an answer to that.

“See, the whole set-up with you and Nox, it’s clever, but it kinda has a hole in it: if you’re really his successor, you’re supposed to be just like Lord Nox. If you really have to follow him around all the time, I’d imagine he expects you to act like he does, that’s what the other rousettes told me. Even if you have tutors, you said yourself you ought to act like him, you’d be taught to be as loud as he is. You ought to be prepped to deal with dragons. But you don’t act like that. You act like a regular lady, one who grew up in Canterlot. You act like someone who’s still tryin’ to follow the rules, who only deals with other ponies, or other nobles. Lord Nox acts like someone who knows the rules don’t apply to him. In fact, if no one had told me you two were related, I would never have guessed Lord Nox has anything to do with you.”

“You mean not a single rousette would notice one of their Lords lying about his family? That’s just silly,” Stella retorted.

“No, no it ain’t. The rousettes wouldn’t notice because they respect Nox too much; they’re scared of him. He throws his weight around, like what you’d expect from someone who has to deal with dragons all the time. But you don’t, and that don’t make a lick of sense.”

“But I am his successor, Apple Bloom. I just haven’t been around him for long enough, because he didn’t raise me as a child. He only became my guardian after my parents died. But I am trying to act like him in every way.”

“No, you don’t. And I can prove it.”

“How?”

“If you’re really supposed to be a future ambassador, how come it was Chitter who explained to us that you’re gettin’ groomed as a successor, and not you? As I recall, you didn’t want her to explain that part. Seems like that’s one of the first things you’d explain when you’re makin’ introductions, ain’t it? And more to the point, if you’re really just like Lord Nox, how come he introduces himself as Lord Nox, and every rousette says to address him as a Lord, but no one, not even you, ever calls you Lady Stella?”

“W-well, I’m not used to standing on my title yet. None of that proves anything,” Stella said. “And I’d be careful if I were you, darling; you’re sounding delusional.”

“Nice try. You’re not really Lord Nox’ ward. You just act like any old noble filly would and hope no one’ll notice the difference. But there is a difference. You overcompensate and act like a pony noble instead of a bat noble. And if that part of you is fake, then the whole thing is fake. You just put up an act and copied whatever you could from Rarity, or any other fancy ponies you might know, because you couldn’t be around Lord Nox for long enough to learn. That’s why you didn’t show up at our dinner, either: you were up in the clouds with your parents.”

Applejack nodded. “Lord Nox said you were asleep when I came around, but really, you weren’t even in the house, huh?”

Stella growled. “You believe her? You’re just throwing baseless accusations at me. You have no proof.”

Apple Bloom smirked. “Maybe not, but I know someone in this house who does.”

Stella stiffened. “You really are delusional.”

“We’ll see. I like to keep track of all the stuff we do as Crusaders. Sweetie’s sister doesn’t like it when we use her place for storage.” Apple Bloom went to her closet and opened it to rummage through one of the boxes.

“She says it makes her workshop smell, just because we don’t wash every single time we wear something,” Sweetie Belle explained.

Apple Bloom whistled loudly when she got what she needed. Stella’s eyes widened when the Apple family dog came running in.

Apple Bloom held up a mass of dark fabric, a bodysuit of sorts. “This here costume was only worn once, by Scootaloo. Now, I’m willin’ to accept that the whole acting different thing doesn’t prove anything, but one there’s one thing that’d be too big to ignore.” Apple Bloom held the costume in front of Winona’s nose. “The smell. My dog’s a herdin’ dog, you see. She’s trained to go find lost sheep and such. All we gotta do is give her the scent and say ‘search’.”

In a heartbeat, Winona positioned herself in front of the rousette, wagging her tail and barking excitedly. The dog looked back and forth between her masters and her target, confused at this pathetically simple task of finding a girl who was in the same room as them. But ponies, as all dogs knew, were silly creatures, and it was best to indulge them. So Winona sat and sniffed at little Buzziwings. The appearance was different, but then Buzziwings was a strange pony who’d been trying on different looks lately. Didn’t fool Winona, though. Winona was a good girl, and a smart one. She pointed her snout straight at her target and sat in front of it, waiting for the command to herd the girl closer to the rest or drive her away. Regardless, Winona expected a treat, even for such a simple task.

“T-that doesn’t prove anything, either. Winona’s caught the wrong scent, you washed that costume.”

Applejack arched an eyebrow. She and Apple Bloom exchanged glances. “How did you know our dog’s name is Winona?”

“L-Lord Nox-”

“Never heard me say that,” Applejack said. “I made sure she wasn’t anywhere near the bats because I didn’t want to risk anyone gettin’ bitten. That really is you, isn’t it, Scootaloo?”

Apple Bloom nodded. “I wasn’t a hundred percent sure until you came through the door. Winona always checks the scent of a new visitor, of a new pony in her herd. She checked Rumble, but she didn’t check you. Only reason she’d ignore you is if she already knew your scent. You may have changed a little, but your smell hasn’t, not to a dog, it wouldn’t. Like I said, you’re good, but you’re not perfect yet.”

Rumble let his head hang and groaned. “Okay, stop. No more arguing, please. You win, Apple Bloom. I should have known somepony would notice.”

Stella snapped her head around. “Rumble!”

“It’s okay, Scootaloo. You don’t have to lie to your friends anymore. You can drop your disguise now.”

Stella wrapped herself in green flame. When they cleared, sure enough, there was Scootaloo in all her changeling glory. Black skin, web-like hair, the works.

Winona panted happily at the girl, and kept darting her snout back and forth, as if to say “See? Told you. Now where’s my treat?”

“You lied to us?!” Sweetie Belle cried out. “How could you?”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “I’m sorry, Sweetie Belle, but I had to.”

“Because of your wings?” Apple Bloom asked.

Scootaloo plopped her rump down on the wooden floor, prompting the others to do the same. “Yeah. Like I said, I’ve been running out of pegasus magic lately, and I, umm, I’ve been getting sick. Twilight knew, and so did Rarity, but I made them promise not to tell. The truth is, I got another growth spurt, and now… promise you won’t freak out?”

Applejack, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle all nodded. Winona, not that familiar with pony language, presumed her treat would have to wait. But get it, she would.

Scootaloo wrapped herself in that green flame again to change shape. This time, when it cleared, her legs had turned slender, as had her belly. Her horn had grown and was going into a more angular curve, from the looks of it. That, along with a longer mane, reminded everyone of just one thing.

“You look like a changeling queen,” Apple Bloom said.

“Yeah. You know how bees are born regular, but they get fed something that makes them queens? Turns out changelings have something kinda like that, too. If I want to grow up normal, or sort of normal, I need to have different kinds of love. I started getting hungry for, umm, the kind of vibe nobles get, I guess, it’s hard to explain. I never knew it, but ponies don’t feel the same way if you’re a boy or a girl, or if you’re normal or a noble. I had to at least get a little bit of all that so I’d know how to use it for my magic.”

Rumble bit his lip.

“I lied because I needed to feed, and-”

“Stop lying,” Rumble interrupted. He raised his head up to look Applejack in the eyes and gulped. “This wasn’t her fault. It was mine. She didn’t need to feed, not like that.”

All eyes fell on Rumble then. Scootaloo cringed. “Wait, you can’t-”

“Yes, I can. Scootaloo didn’t turn into Stella to cover her feeding. The feeding thing, she just had to, like, learn to chew on stuff, she could do that without hurting anypony after a few days. She would have been fine without this whole mess.”

“So that’s why Twilight had her chewin’ on energy balls instead of focusing on her horn,” Apple Bloom said. “I was wonderin’ about that.”

Rumble rolled his eyes. “Well, now you know. She didn’t do this for herself, she didn’t have to. She turned into Stella to cover for me,” the boy admitted.

Applejack quirked an eyebrow. “What do you mean, ‘cover’ for you’?”

The boy sighed and looked up. “All rousette children have to be bound by wedlock, it’s tradition. And that includes me. My mom and dad are both rousettes.”

Applejack’s jaw went slack. “Oh. So those two I saw talking to Thunderlane?”

Rumble nodded. “My mom and dad. Our mom and dad. Me and Thunderlane are both one in a million. We were born with the wrong wings and the wrong magic. Kinda made things complicated.”

“You knew about this?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Yup,” Scootaloo replied. “He told me after he found out about me. We agreed to keep it a secret.”

Rumble nodded. “We did, because we’re friends. And I want to be friends with you, too, so you should know, too. I was going to tell you in a few days, when everything had died down a little, I’m sorry. I had to get wedlocked to be allowed to hang out with girls, it’s bat tradition. That’s why Scootaloo turned into Truck, and that’s why she turned into Stella after that. If she hadn’t, I’d have had to wedlock a girl I didn’t know.”

Applejack heard all those conversations with Rin in her head again. “So… what would have happened if you’d made friends with a pony girl, and you weren’t wedlocked?”

Rumble bit his lip. “Shame on the family.”

Scootaloo nudged him. “He thought they were going to kick him out of the house.”

“But that’s awful!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed. “They can’t do that just because of how you were born.”

Applejack nodded. “That’s right. No parent should do that to a child. And if it ever gets to that, we’ve got a spare bed in the barn. It’s chilly, but it’s a bed.”

“I know, Applejack, thanks. Missus Mayor said there’s a bed ready for me in City Hall, and one in the library, too, if I ever need it. But I won’t. I know my family loves me now, even if I’m not like my brother. I… I finally got to talk it out, and they listened. I listened, and I understand now. Now I can hang out with whomever I want, and my parents don’t have to feel embarrassed about me doing it. I’ve got nothing to worry about anymore. Plus, ponies know about rousettes now, they’ve gotten a little closer together. They’ve started talking, for real. And that’s thanks to Scootaloo. Thanks to Stella.”

Scootaloo smiled.

Applejack winced. “Well, I guess that’s one way of bringin’ bat folk and pony folk closer together. Awful risky if you ask me, though.”

The changeling shrugged. “I couldn’t just leave him hanging. I have changeling powers, I should use them.”

“But why not tell us?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Didn’t you trust us with that?”

“It’s not about trusting you,” Rumble replied. “Or maybe it is. I just couldn’t risk you doing something on your own and getting Thunderlane’s attention. You’re always doing stuff like that.”

“We are not,” Apple Bloom retorted.

“Oh, yeah? So if you’d known, you wouldn’t have come up with some scheme to embarrass him?” Scootaloo asked.

“Me? Never.”

“Then what do you call this Clear Moon Night thing, huh?

Apple Bloom opened her mouth to retort, but found the actual retort caught halfway in her throat. “Okay, point taken.”

Rumble chuckled. “It’s okay, really. I’m sorry I had to pretend, really, I wasn’t gonna do that forever. I just didn’t want you to do any of that stuff while we were, you know… plus, a lot of rousettes can read emotions, you might have given it away. But now that it’s over, I do want you to know.”

“So what are you going to do now?” Sweetie Belle asked. “You did all that just so you could hang out with ponies?”

“I was already sort of allowed to hang out with ponies, but not girls. So, now that I am, I was kind of hoping maybe I could, maybe, possibly, hang out with you sometime?”

Apple Bloom shook her head. “Wait, what? You mean you want to be a Cutie Mark Crusader?”

The boy nodded sheepishly. “If it’s not too awkward for you, yes. I’ve wanted to ask for a while now. You guys are always trying new things, and ponies know you. I’d like to be like you, if I could.”

Apple Bloom shook her head again to clear it. “Well, gosh, I never thought about that. I guess we could get another member, but, umm, we’re all girls, so it’d be more awkward for you than it is for us.”

“It wouldn’t have to be,” Sweetie Belle replied. “We do lots of stuff boys like to do, and some stuff girls like to do. He wouldn’t have to be around us all the time. Plus, we’ve still got Truck to even things out if we have to. We can get Chitter to do a race again. And it would be nice to have at least one full-time boy around if we want to do a play or something. Having a male lead does open up more storylines.”

“There is that, I suppose.”

“Besides, you were the one who invited Rumble for a sleepover with three girls and just him,” Sweetie added.

Applejack nodded towards Apple Bloom’s bed. “Yeah, speakin’ of which, it’s way past your bedtime, youngins. Come on, you can talk in the morning.”

The kids all crawled into Apple Bloom’s warm, soft, cozy bed. Scootaloo nestled up against Rumble, and the pair was sandwiched in between Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom.

Applejack tucked them in and yawned. “And no funny business tonight, you hear?”

“I promise I’ll behave, Applejack,” Rumble said. “After all, I’m a responsible adult now.”

“I was talking to the girls,” Applejack replied. “I don’t want to see him wake up with make-up on his face or bows in his mane, and no pigtails, either, you hear?”

“We weren’t gonna prank him, Applejack.” Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. “‘Besides, his mane’s too short for pigtails. His tail might do, though.”

“What?” Rumble wriggled under the sheets, feeling oddly exposed.

“Right then, good night.” Applejack walked to the door and turned on the lights, before heading to her room for some much-needed shut-eye. A bark from Winona reminded her to get a treat first.

Sweetie Belle let off a happy sigh. “Don’t worry, Rumble, I’m sure you’ll have fun with us. You can help us out sometime. Maybe one of us can get their cutie mark doing boy things.”

“Maybe.” Rumble chuckled. “You never know.”

In the dark, Scootaloo stealthily wrapped her arms and legs around her new lifemate. She squeezed ever so gently with all four limbs, and rubbed along his sock-covered arms just like she could sense he liked. On a whim, she even nuzzled his neck, like it was the most normal thing in the world. Under the sheets, it was almost like she laid claim to him, just a subtle reminder, purely on instinct, that he was all hers now. He didn’t protest, and neither did the other two girls.

If anything, they took it as a hint to shuffle closer to add their friendly warmth to the loving one of the newly minted couple.

“So, are you two, ya know, in love, then?” Apple Bloom asked.

“No, of course not,” Scootaloo replied, squeezing her lifemate tighter.

“We just like keeping each other warm, that’s all. You gotta keep your muscles warm if you work them a lot.” Rumble wriggled with his wings, enough so even Apple Bloom could tell he was stroking Scootaloo’s sides.

“But you’re wedlocked,” Sweetie Belle said. “Your souls are tied now. Doesn’t that mean anything?”

Rumble yawned. “I don’t feel any different. Do you, Scootaloo?”

The changeling nuzzled his neck and found herself smiling in the dark, just being so close to her lifemate’s warm presence sent an electric tingle through their bodies. A completely non-magical, non-mushy electric tingle that most certainly had nothing to do with the rite they’d gone through that day, and nothing would persuade her otherwise. “Nope. Totally the same.”

Apple Bloom shuffled closer still and hugged her friend from behind. Sweetie Belle did the same with Rumble, completing the foal sandwich.

“You’re gonna fit right in with us, Rumble,” Sweetie Belle said. “Assuming you’re okay with hugs, of course.”

Rumble chuckled. “I am.”

Apple Bloom squeezed Scootaloo tighter. “And you don’t have to worry about doin’ things on your own like that anymore, Scootaloo. We got your back.”

“I know,” Scootaloo replied. “And I’ve got yours.”

Rumble dozed off just like that, surrounded by hugs from friendly girls, and one who was now his lifemate but, if asked, whom he totally did not have a crush on and, likewise, who certainly did not have a crush on him, and nothing would persuade him otherwise. Scootaloo held him close, and didn’t bother pushing Sweetie Belle away when she hugged him tightly, too. She could tell what kind of a hug it was, after all; warm and welcoming, not greedy and thieving after her rightfully earned prey.

Not that she really considered the boy prey, of course, but try telling that to magic-driven instincts. Scootaloo was content, and almost nodded off right after her lifemate.

“There’s just one thing I don’t understand,” Sweetie Belle said.

“What’s that?” Scootaloo let out a yawn.

“You were playing Stella and Truck. But I’ve seen you and Stella in the same room, you’ve talked to each other. How did you pull that off?”

Apple Bloom sighed. “Obviously she had help, Sweetie Belle.”

“What?”

“There were two ponies who could play Stella, there had to be,” Apple Bloom explained.

Sweetie Belle furrowed her brow. “Huh?”

“She’s right,” Scootaloo said, before wriggling to get comfy again. “I met the other Stella not too long after I changed. We, uh, we talked and we got the idea from there. That’s how I met Lord Nox.”

“Really? So who was she, then?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Apple Bloom wriggled closer to the pair. “Actually, that’s been buggin’ me a little, too. Who was the second Stella? Was it the real one?”

Lord Nox stretched out his limbs with a content sigh. The trip to the Western Plains had been quick, as always, but somewhat exhausting, given the timezone difference. Still, he only needed a few minutes alone with the leaders of the Zwelbast dragons to stop them from flattening another town in their wild party. A few more days and he’d have the matter sorted once more.

On a whim, Nox decided to pen down a letter for somepony dear to him.

“Dear Celestia,

I have learned a great lesson recently, and found a new joy in life. I’ve learned the joys of passing on my teachings to a willing, understanding, and, above all, noble apprentice. Scootaloo has exceeded my every expectation, and I am confident she is on her way to becoming a fine asset to the nation of Equestria, as well as a shining example to ponies and changelings everywhere. She has been instrumental in bringing the rousette community of Ponyville out of the shadows, with the help of her new consort, Rumble.

As for Rumble, his affairs are finally in order, and will require no further intrusion on our parts. The boy put on a splendid show, even without the benefit of changeling instincts. Not a single pony or rousette suspects our deception, except for some of your students, of course. Though, granted, Rumble managed to fool even them for quite a while.

Physically, I must say he is a fine specimen, too, by any standards. He hasn’t shown any signs of contaminated magic, nor of any muscle decay. I can’t say I’ve noticed it in any others, either. So I concede the point on our earlier argument: the curse on his ancestors has been bred out, quite thoroughly. I’m not entirely sure what to think of the things that have been bred in, though. He even gave me a run for my money in a race, would you believe that? Mind you, I was somewhat inconvenienced by the smaller wingspan, but still. I cannot say what Rumble’s future holds, but I know a strong alpha male when I see one, and that boy has all the makings of an exceptional alpha. Which is just as well, I suppose, considering the only ponies he can really connect with are girls. He’ll make a fine role model for other boys when he’s grown up, I’m sure.

Ponyville will have its hooves full with those two, especially when they are together. It’ll certainly spruce up our family reunions.

The stallion looked at the letter and furrowed his brow.

I expect to be back in a week, two at the most, depending on how rowdy the dragons are.

My regards to dear cousin Blueblood,

Luna.

Author's Notes:

Originally, Rumble just caved under all the accusations levied at Stella, but in hindsight, that came out looking a little too tame, so I added Winona as a more concrete proof. If you're wondering that the smell would change a lot more through changeling magic: that's kind of the point of 'not being perfect'. Body odour isn't entirely caused by your own cells: it's bacteria. Bacteria that don't share your DNA. Now, if the changes had been more drastic, like turning into a boy, that would fool a dog, I imagine, if only for the hormonal shifts. But besides that? I doubt it. And hey, there's always the magic excuse; animals pick up on things that civilised creatures do not.

Now, regarding the last part of this: there have been a lot of occasions where I've wanted to point people towards the clues, and it's really hard not to, so here's some things that I snuck in:

-In Blue Moon Bloom, there's a legend similar to how the Trojan War started, with Princess Luna taking the role of Eris. Lord Nox is named after Nyx or Nox, the mother of Eris. At the time, I was under the mistaken impression that Nox was both male and a Titan, hence Applejack referring to the Lord as such. Serves me right for not checking wikipedia on it first. I wouldn't have made the Titan reference if I'd known, but he'd have stayed male, regardless. Creatures of chaos don't really care much, either way. Bottom line: Nox' name already references Luna's family. Nothing too big there.

-The House Malpertuus is taken from the story of Reynard the fox, more specifically 'Van den Vos Reynaerde', the one where he's called to court. Now, Reynard is to foxes what the mythical Pegasus is to pegasi: a mythical figure so influential that members of his species are named after him. The French word for 'fox' came from him, basically. That, I did check on wikipedia. Anyway, Malpertuus is the name of his fortress, known as Malperdy in English. Reynard himself, in that particular story, gets out of trouble by lying, even fooling the clergy and the nobility. As such, his story is considered a parody of/within medieval literature, mocking the ones in power for their hypocrisy. See the resemblance? But one thing he doesn't do is turn on the badger, who is both family and has Reynard's best interests at heart. Reynard cares about family, and eventually flees abroad to get his kin to safety. Rousettes are megabats, flying foxes. The House Malpertuus is literally the Fortress of the Fox. His other stronghold is called Malcroix, btw, but that sounded a little too much like something from Harry Potter.

-Lord Nox' cutie mark is the same flower that's in Stella's dress and crown in the cover art. It's a little flower known as the scarlet pimpernel. The Scarlet Pimpernel, in literature, is also credited as introducing the modern concept of a secret identity, and it's basically a fanfic of the French Revolution. When Chitter is saying 'Oh, how she hoped he'd like this one', that writing style was copied from the Scarlet Pimpernel, it's actually one of the common criticisms on the work. What does the Scarlet Pimpernel, the hero, do, you ask? He saves aristocrats from the terror of the Revolution and escorts them to safety, to England. What does Lord Nox do? He gets children, so-called 'hard cases', out of a bind by wedlocking them into high nobility: they're wedlocked to an ambassador who, wouldn't you know it, is away most of the time. The clue was in the cover art, though I'll admit it's a tough one to see. I mentioned reading the Scarlet Pimpernel while I was writing this in one of my blogs, but that was so long ago I suppose I was being paranoid. If anyone had read it on the Gutenberg project, they might have caught on. Just to be clear: there are genuine rousette ambassadors, it's just that you can't tell which ones are real and which ones are a Princess in disguise. Why do it for Rumble and not Thunderlane? Because Thunderlane was fine with the whole thing. He's a bat with feathers, they found a good partner for him. Rumble was too different to find a partner for. And yes, so was Blueblood, presumably. Celestia probably wasn't as adept at it as Luna was. Noblesse oblige and all that.

Anyway, there's my story. I may put out a bonus chapter eventually, showing Rumble's family going places with him (again, there's an obvious place they can go), but not anytime soon. It's taken a long time, but this story is done.

Hope you all enjoyed it.

Bonus Chapter: Family Outing

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The Ponyville Cinema was made for days like these. Outside, the clouds were already dropping their rainy payload, making the ponies either dash indoors or grab for an umbrella.

Cheerilee waited in the main hall for the showing room to be opened. Today would be a day to relax, watch a movie on the big screen. Starship Trotters, the latest Verhooven film. Looking around, it seemed she hadn’t been the only pony with that idea.

That was one of the beautiful perks of having a good Weather Patrol: the rainshowers and the movie showings could be synchronised, so ponies never had to spend a sunny day in a dark theatre, nor cancel moviegoing plans because of an unexpected storm.

Her ears twitched when she heard a familiar voice. Before she even realised what was happening, a grey form dashed past her hooves.

“Rumble?” She asked.

He skidded to a halt and looked up. “Hmm? Oh, hi, Miss Cheerilee.”

She smiled at him. “Come to see the latest Verhooven film, I take it?”

“Umm, yes, Miss.”

“Aren’t you too young to see this? It’s quite violent.”

“N-no, Miss. Not with an adult there.”

“Uhuh.” She looked around. “So where is Thunderlane, then?”

“He is working above the clouds at the moment, Miss.”

“Gah!” She jumped and turned in mid-air. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry, you startled me there.”

Before her stood a pair of pegasus ponies, at least judging by the bulge under their long coats. Even their cutie marks were covered. The mare was a greenish grey, the stallion a uniform grey that Cheerilee recognised as being administered through magic on Royal Guards.

“Oh, that’s quite alright. Bad habit of mine, my mistake,” the stallion said.

Cheerilee’s eyes darted from the adults to the boy. “Rumble by any chance, are these…”

“We’re Rumble’s parents,” the stallion said. “And Thunderlane’s. I’m Blade, this is my darling wife, Gale.”

Professionalism and courtesy quickly took over from instinct. “Oh. Pleased to finally meet you. I’m Cheerilee, I’m his schoolteacher. I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for some time now.”

“Yes, we know, and we apologise for the inconvenience,” Gale said. “It’s just that with our jobs, it’s hard to go out in the open, you understand.”

Cheerilee thought for a second, before nodding. “You are both in the Royal Guard. The higher Royal Guard. Of course. I understand.”

“Well, this is certainly an unlikely place to meet, but… what is it you wanted to tell us, about our son’s performance, exactly?”

“Ah...”

Gale nodded towards her son and gave him some bits. “Go on, you know what we like.”

With a curt nod, he trotted off towards the concession stand.

Cheerilee waited until he was out of earshot. “Well, nothing I haven’t passed on through my notes, I should say. Rumble is a good student, his grades are slightly above the average, except when it comes to Equestrian history and his speaking skills. Those are very good for his age. I can only assume he gets that from his family?”

Gale nodded proudly. “Indeed he does. We try to make sure he keeps an open mind, but we do teach him the basics of debating. You know, besides what he’s taught in school, just to get a little edge.”

“Oh, yes, I understand that completely. And, err, with regards to him, you know…”

“Him... what?” Blade asked.

“What do you think about your son deciding to be part of rousette culture, instead of pony culture? If you don’t mind my asking?”

“I don’t mind,” Gale said. “We let our son choose. Both our sons.”

“I can only imagine you have close contact with rousettes, on the job, then? You know a lot of Night Guards, I mean? Enough for your children to come into contact with them?” At that point, the only thought going through Cheerilee’s mind was: Don’t look at the cloaks, don’t look at the cloaks, don’t look at the cloaks.

Which was an odd coincidence, because the only thought going through Blade and Gale’s minds was: Don’t show the fangs, don’t show the fangs, don’t show the fangs.

“Oh yes. Why, is that a problem?”

“No, Ma’am, not a problem for me. But I, err…” She turned to look back at Rumble then. “I do have two remarks on the matter. For one thing, Rumble is very quiet. He doesn’t speak unless spoken to, especially around girls. But he is a good speaker, he should learn to use his voice for his own sake sometime. Honestly, there are times when it’s like he just disappears when he’s sitting right there.”

A wave of pride washed over the pair of bats then.

“I understand rousettes have some kind of stealth magic that allows them to do something similar, and I think Rumble might be holding himself back on purpose.” She quirked an eyebrow at the boy, keeping track of how far he was from the conversation. “I’d appreciate it if you could get him to stop doing that in class. Besides which, your son has been falling asleep in class from time to time, it’s one of the few times he does make himself noticed. And I gather the reason for that is because he’s trying to fit in with rousettes who don’t have the same sleeping rhythm as him.”

“And what would you have us do about that, exactly?” Blade asked.

“At the very least, I’d consider some kind of adjustment to his sleeping rhythm, so he doesn’t need to nap during class, and not let him stay up on a school night. I’m all for being tolerant of other cultures, you understand, but if one of those cultures requires my students to sleep in the day, I’m not going to abide by that. You do realise that, don’t you?”

“Oh, of course. We’ve already made some arrangements to insulate his room from noise. It’s mostly our neighbours that keep him up, you see. A mere practicality, nothing more.”

“Glad to hear it.”

“I think they’re opening the halls, love,” Gale said.

“So they are. Miss Cheerilee, ‘twas a pleasure to meet you. If ever you have any concerns about our son, please don’t hesitate to tell us. You never know what might happen, in our line of work.” Blade extended his hoof for Cheerilee to shake, which she did.

“Will do, Mister Blade.”

Rumble galloped towards them with a load of nachos and soda on his back.

“Rumble?” Cheerilee said, quietly.

He froze while his parents walked ahead of him.

“You could have told me about your parents, you know.”

He winced. Busted. “I know. I didn’t want anyone to worry.”

She flashed him a comforting smile. “It’s okay. I understand. Your mother and father are in a precarious position, aren’t they?”

“Uhuh.”

“May I ask, how bad is it?”

He gulped. “How bad is what?”

“The scars they’re hiding underneath their cloaks. Do they ever talk about the things that did it?”

Scars. Right. She thinks they’re hiding scars. She thinks they’re with the monster squads. Nice glamour, mom. Why didn’t I ever think of that? “Oh. Umm, it’s getting better, but they’re still kinda… you know…”

“Painful-looking. Of course. It’s not a problem, Rumble, I understand. I’ll be discrete about it.”

“Thank you, Miss.” He scampered off to join his parents.

Cheerilee, for her part, decided to indulge in some snacks before going into the theatre herself.

She chuckled to herself. What a strange boy that Rumble was, joining a different culture and having to put up with his undoubtedly disfigured parents hiding away.

Still, when she found her seat, she was happy to know that Rumble was fine. The three of them sat a few rows in front of her, enjoying their day, watching a movie, like any normal pony family would.

Rumble let out a content sigh when the movie started. Just a simple afternoon off, enjoying some time with his parents, in the dark, where no one would see them.

Just like any normal bat family would.

My Big Batty Not-Wedding

by Wise Cracker

Enter the Truck

Making Deals

An Agreement on Terms

Reaching Out

Bats in the Orchard

New Players

Impending Culture Shock

The End of a Long Day

Sleep, or Something Like It

The Announcement

Coming to Terms

Layin' Down the Law

Wedlocked

Mixed Sleepover

Bonus Chapter: Family Outing