Bat Adventure by DCFTEF

(Bat Uncle / Bat Fillies)

 

(06/02/2017)

 

 

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In the days before Princess Luna's return things were hard for Bat Ponies.

In theory, the laws of Equestria granted them equal rights and should have protected them, but in reality they were an underclass minority. Excluded from the best jobs...forced to live in ghetto neighborhoods...picked on in public schools.

Living in enclave communities and going out only at night seemed to be the safest thing to do but it only served to isolate the bat ponies further.

 

Belfry was one such bat filly. Her father was a trained structural engineer but could only get a job inspecting sewers. It didn't pay much by engineer standards. Her mother hadn't even been that lucky...she'd been chased out of University by bullying and prejudice before she even had the chance to finish her Library Science degree.

They lived in Canterlot; the gleaming capitol of Equestria, but not in a particularly gleaming part of the city. The bat pony neighborhood was on the North side of the mountain, perpetually in the shade of bigger buildings. Canterlot really didn't have bad neighborhoods, but Bat Town (as the other ponies called it) was pretty run down and shabby.

 

Belfry didn't go to normal school. Most bat parents had pulled their foals out of Equestrian public school, forming their own neighborhood classes where their foals wouldn't get picked on by the more numerous Unicorns, Earthies & Pegasi. Belfry's mother taught at her neighborhood school...the other bat families payed her in favors, odd jobs and extra food when they had it.

When she was younger, Belfry didn't realize her family was poor. As bat ponies went they were pretty average. No bat pony's parents had a good job...everyone was sort of living on the fringe...so life seemed normal.

But now that she was thirteen years old Belfry had begun to notice things her parents had previously been able to shield her from.

They were hard questions for her parents to answer. How can you explain to any foal that the world isn't always fair?

 

One day Belfry got some answers on her own.

She was hanging out in a public playground, playing ball with some of her bat friends when some Unicorns about her age showed up.

Her friends backed down, but Belfry was having fun and didn't see why she should have to leave.

The Unicorns didn't want to play though. Belfry was lucky to get away with a bloody snout, a black eye, a scraped wing and significantly wounded pride.

The incident worried Belfry's parents, so against her protests the young bat's suitcase was packed and she was sent to stay with her Aunt & Uncle in the country.

Uncle Chirop and Aunt Tera had a cottage in the forest near a small town called Ponyville. It was a pleasant little town but its few bat pony residents kept to themselves.

After living in the big city Belfry would have been very bored & lonely here but thankfully, Uncle Chirop & Aunt Tera had a daughter of their own. Tweet was three years younger than her cousin and the two got along great, which was fortunate because they had to share a room. At least Belfry had a friend.

 

Belfry adjusted to life near Ponyville but she was still bored. She didn't even go to a neighborhood school anymore...there just weren't enough bat pony families in Ponyville. The town had a one-room schoolhouse but no other bat foals were enrolled, so Tera & Chirop kept both fillies at the cottage and home-schooled them.

Of course the young teenager bemoaned her isolation;

But Uncle Chirop forbid it unless he went with them...and then only in the evening when other ponies were off the streets.

 

Aunt Tera & Uncle Chirop knew the fillies (especially Belfry) felt isolated, so they took them flying over the wild Everfree forest whenever they had the time. Both girls loved this...Belfry was already a strong flier and if Tweet got tired she could always hitch a ride on one of her parents' back.

Once they got high enough, over the treetops, they could see Belfry's old home, Canterlot.

Belfry knew about all these things but had to explain that she hadn't seen any of them with her own eyes. How could she explain it to her little cousin? Bat ponies were not welcome everywhere. She found herself repeating the same excuses her parents had told her, to shield her cousin from the same cruel realities.

Thankfully, Uncle Chirop changed the subject by suggesting they explore in a different direction.

Belfry saw something interesting on the horizon.

Chirop answered;

Both fillies laughed. They'd both heard bedtime stories about Princess Luna...Celestia's mythical sister that watched over the night and was patron of the bat ponies. They were both old enough to know they were just fairy tales.

But Uncle Chirop was too cautious for such an adventure.

Tweet seemed content to obey her father, but Belfry pleaded;

Aunt Tera shut her hopes down.

Tweet whispered in her cousin's ear;

So Belfry's dreams of an adventure had to wait. It was getting late anyway, so the family turned back and flew home for dinner.

Belfry could not get the mysterious castle out of her mind. After living in the capitol city of Equestria her new bucolic life near Ponyville had the filly bored stiff. An adventure seemed like just the thing.

In their beds, Belfry tried to talk her cousin into an expedition.

Tweet whispered back; the adults' bedroom was right beneath them.

Tweet was afraid to defy the adults, but the idea of an adventure with her cool older cousin was too tempting. She was sucked into the conspiracy.

That wasn't exactly true.

One of Belfry's friend's had an older sister who did it once...but it had worked so it seemed like a good idea.

 

The fillies had to wait three days for the perfect opportunity, but it finally arrived. Uncle Chirop had spent all night hauling turnips & carrots from his small farm into Ponyville. They had to be ready to sell at daybreak when the farmer's market opened. Aunt Tera spent the night churning butter to sell in town. When the sun came up both were exhausted. They were both asleep as soon as their heads it the pillows.

 

The flight to the castle ruins was longer than the cousins had imagined, but it only added to their excitement because that meant it must be really big. After the first hour it was slow going because Tweet needed to take a lot of breaks and Belfry wasn't big enough to carry her. That was fine. There were plenty of neat places to stop in the Everfree forest and during the daytime it seemed pretty safe.

 

As Celestia lifted the sun to around mid-day a new concern popped up.

Her older cousin hovered and looked around.

Belfry snatched a fat round bug out of the air and bit into it with a crunch.

Tweet was grossed out;

The older filly shrugged her shoulders.

Belfry looked around some more.

 

Belfry's eyes grew wide. While they had been arguing about parasprites neither of them had noticed that they were right next to a gigantic mango tree; its branches heavy with ripe fruit.

The two of them swooped around the tree, 'eeeeee'ing excitedly and probing it with their sonar. In minutes they each had collected enough mango's that they were too heavy to fly. Sitting on a grassy riverbank in the warm sun they feasted. Belfry had a neat, mature style; she bruised up the fruit then poked holes in it with her fangs, sucking the pulp out with a minimum of mess. Tweet had a more direct approach, ripping the skin right off and burying her whole muzzle in the fruit's golden flesh. Her entire face was covered & sticky but this was no matter as the stream provided plenty of clean water to wash up with.

Bellies stuffed with their unexpected bonanza, the two fillies lounged on the riverbank until their lunch had settled.

Tweet was shocked. Why wouldn't they tell her parents about such a bounty?

Belfry was right...they would have to keep this a secret.

 

Tweet didn't reply. She seemed deep in thought.

This was a difficult thing to explain to her little cousin. Belfry wasn't sure she understood it very well herself.

Belfry nodded and explained the trouble she'd had back home in Canterlot.

 

Tweet didn't say anything...and Belfry didn't know what else to say. Finally she decided they better get going.

Tweet burped, and nodded.

 

The fillies laughed as they took flight. They both knew Princess Luna was just a fairy tale.

 

The castle looked a lot bigger and scarier up close than it had from miles away. Even though the sun was bright it seemed dark & dreary, covered with moss. Statues carved from solid stone decorated the towers...dragons...griffons...manticores.

The fillies stood before the front gates, reconsidering the whole expedition.

Tweet was scared, but she snorted bravely.

Belfry agreed.

She was scared of the creepy castle too, but didn't want to let on in front of her little cousin, who was clinging to her side as they took their first steps through the gate.

 

The inside was no more welcoming. Empty suits of armor seemed to watch the two bat fillies as they passed. The eyes of old peeling portraits followed them. Both cousins kept their heads on a swivel, probing the dark corners with their sonar, listening for the slightest sound...ready to bolt at the first indication of danger.

 

Then the stuffy passage opened up into a huge hall. The ceiling had collapsed long ago, admitting light. Although it was in ruins, both fillies gasped at the grandeur of the Royal throne room.

Feeling braver, they walked closer to the pair of thrones. They saw the carvings on the stone seats.

Belfry shook her head. The fairy tales about a Princess of the Night couldn't be true.

 

Tweet pointed up at a huge, decaying tapestry still hanging from the wall.

 

The 13 year old could not stand. She plopped down on her rump in awe and looked up at the tapestries...there was not just one but many. Some just showed Celestia, some just showed this mysterious moon Princess...most showed them together.

 

Tweet began hopping excitedly and eeee'ing!

Belfry couldn't believe what she was seeing, but it was right there in front of her. Bat ponies with Princess Celestia and the dark blue Moon Princess. Not just as guards, but as advisers & courtiers.

 

They rushed around the throne room looking for more clues to the story. Any new carving or tapestry they found added more. They saw bat ponies serving the Princess with honor, living in harmony and equality alongside the other pony tribes. Luna was clearly their patron, just like the old fairy tales said...and at every historic event the ancient art depicted bat ponies were there.

 

In her excitement Belfry momentarily got separated from her little cousin. It was only for a minute, and when she realized Tweet was not at her side she looked around frantically. To her relief, Tweet was right there.

But the younger filly was crying.

She pointed up at the last tapestry.

Tweet was right and it was gut-wrenching. After the thrill of finding out Princess Luna was real Belfry was struck with the same question.

Belfry put her wing around her sobbing cousin.

Tweet sniffled and looked up at her tribe's history with eyes full of tears.

It made Belfry sad too. She didn't understand either, but she knew she had to cheer her despondent young cousin.

Tweet wiped away her tears and said;

 

Belfry froze in mid-sentence. Both fillies' ears perked up when they heard a noise. Voices...getting closer. They weren't alone.

Belfry shushed her cousin, but it was too late. They'd been spotted.

 

It was the most dangerous species in Equestria; teenagers.

The cousins sprinted out of the throne room but the way they'd come in was blocked by a group of older teenage stallions.

With no escape route the bat fillies blindly ran down the darkest passage, depending on their sonar and vision to provide them any advantage against the older, stronger boys. It wasn't much of an edge...among them were a few Unicorns who lit up the hallway with their magic.

Belfry had an idea what they meant by that and didn't want any part of it. She knew she had to keep her little cousin safe...already Tweet was getting tired as she ran for dear life.

They were just a few paces behind and getting closer...

Luck interceded on the fillies part.

One of the teenagers crashed into a suit of armor. He got the helmet suck backwards on his head and the other teens were distracted watching him stumble around blindly.

He bumped into a torch-holder, which triggered a trap door. Belfry and Tweet screeched as the floor disappeared beneath them. They slid down a smooth surface of rocks for a few yards and were spit out into the brightness of day.

Tweet had her eyes closed but Belfry realized they were high in the air over a deep moat. Beneath them were sharp rocks and they were falling fast. She grabbed onto Tweet and threw her leathery wings open but it wasn't enough; she couldn't slow the fall of both of them.

 

The younger filly opened her eyes just in time and threw out her wings. It was too late to gain flight but together the cousins just managed to glide far enough to miss the rocky moat, crashing into a dusty pile of ash left centuries ago by the castle fireplaces.

They tumbled through the choking gray dust eventually coming to a stop, filthy and bruised but otherwise unhurt.

Coughing, they could hear the teenagers still inside the castle looking for them.

 

Both fillies had a lot to think about on the long flight home. They said little, even when they stopped to rest. By the time they reached the cottage near Ponyville it was late in the day...too late to sneak in un-noticed. They were in no mood for sneaking in anyway. Tired, bruised, filthy and hungry they came right in the front door and tearfully confessed everything to Uncle Chirop & Aunt Tera.

At first, at least, they received the comfort and sympathy they desired.

Still covered in gray ash the filthy fillies were dumped into the tub for a hot bath and stern scrubbing.

After they'd been hugged and assured by their elders how happy they were to see them safe the happy reunion was over. Both fillies were scolded for sneaking out and Aunt Tera used her stiffest bath brush to get them clean.

 

Tweet was first to be pulled out of the bath and toweled off. To her dismay a very angry Daddy was waiting for her. Belfry could only watch helplessly as Uncle Chirop led her away into his bedroom and soon the unmistakable sounds of crying and hard wooden smacks on a little filly rump gave little doubt as to what was happening.

Aunt Tera continued scrubbing her niece clean.

Belfry gulped.

 

She nodded.

Belfry was a little surprised.

Belfry still wasn't sure she knew the truth, and was a little afraid to ask.

Aunt Tera explained;

Belfry was crushed.

Tera helped her niece out of the tub and began toweling her off.

Aunt Tera continued;

And a glimmer of hope returned to Belfry's heart.

Belfry nodded.

Belfry remembered Tweet. She couldn't hear her being spanked anymore, and that could only mean it was her own turn.

She urged Belfry on with a quick smack to the rump.

When she reached the bedroom her Uncle gave her a lot more.

 

Later on, after supper and a stern lecture about disobeying and sneaking out both fillies were tucked into bed (sleeping on their bellies tonight).

Tweet watched the stars out her window and said;

Belfry wondered how much it was okay to tell her.

Tweet liked that answer.

 

Little did either filly know, that very night a purple Unicorn was having her last night in Canterlot...eating dinner with her parents and brother before going on a errand to some small town called Ponyville tomorrow. It was an errand that would have a profound impact on all bat ponies everywhere.

 

END