New Moon


                                            >You live alone in a big city.

                                            >Shit's been going down recently.

                                            >People have been... disappearing. Not just homeless people and not just the normal amount. And the authorities have been taking this very seriously.

                                            >A strict curfew is imposed. The number of police patrolling the area has increased dramatically. They got the FBI on this shit.

                                            >But the weirdest part of it is the sightings of strange creatures. Tons of people report seeing them flying around, often stealing things but they seem incredibly hard to get a photograph of or even catch more than a glimpse. And they only come out at night.

                                            >Eventually, one person gets a good pic of one. Relatively speaking that is. It's just the creature's silhouette standing on the road with its eyes glowing but...

                                            >It's a fucking bat pony!

                                            >It's the talk all over 4chan and the usual brony hotspots. But the news isn't saying anything about it. True it might not be real...

                                            >You had a friend on Discord who was huge into ponies, lived near the city you're in and took this very seriously. He started investigating... and promptly disappeared shortly into it.

                                            >All you have are the few notes he was sharing online before vanishing. He pinpointed that the bat pony sightings are most concentrated near an abandoned shipyard to the south and that there were a good number of them in a smaller town near a forest just outside the city. Given that the city is under curfew, he went to this second location shortly before vanishing.


                                            >You head to the town north of the city. You suspect your friend lived here (or maybe still does) but aren't sure.

                                            >Things seem even worse here. You notice several missing persons pictures up. 'Only' ten people have vanished here but since it's not a city that's felt much more.

                                            >Because of the curfew, you decide it's best to get a motel room here instead of trying to get back at night. You feel some tension towards any strangers.

                                            >There's a trail leading into the woods but it's been blockaded with all sorts of warning posters put up. You're sure you can get past them, though.


                                            >You head deeper into the woods late at night. Not only do you not fear the worst, you actively hope it will happen. Those bat ponies are bound to kidnap you and turn you into one of them... right?

                                            >Only how to get their attention.

                                            >Maybe if you light a fire they'll get all territorial and get up in your grill.

                                            >But as you get deeper, looking for a good spot, you realize that bat ponies aren't the thing you need to be worried about. You see brightly lit area not far ahead... floodlights and headlights.

                                            >The police! You think.

                                            >You turn off your flashlight and creep closer...

                                            >You're less sure these are the police now. There's three armored vehicles. You're not sure if they're military or a swat team or what. The only normal car says 'FBI' on it.

                                            >You're close enough to hear them from the bushes.

                                            "With all due respect, which is to say none, your team has failed to capture even a single one of these creatures in the past month. They should have called me to begin with."

                                            >The man you decide is in charge is wearing a heavy trench coat, gloves and some weird headgear. It's hard to make out more than that. He's talking to some FBI guy.

                                            "Do you have any idea how fast these things are?"

                                            "I do."

                                            "I'm still not sure what we're dealing with..."

                                            "And you don't need to. But you do need to stop this from spreading any further or we'll end up with an infestation of these bats in every city on the planet."

                                            >The leader suddenly stops and looks in your direction. He rubs his index against his thumb as if considering whether or not you're there. Just when you feel you're about to pass out from a heart attack, he looks away.

                                            "Now then... I know more about these 'bats' than anyone else. We will find the layer of this new group and we will capture at least one of them tonight. You and Lawrusso will scan the forest north of this point with the special black light gun for traces of them... but don't actually touch their layer. I will try to lure out one of the less experienced bat with this... a mixture of fruit and O negative blood. Remember that this will draw their curiosity but once. the more experienced ones are already privy to this trick. It won't work in the city... only in newer infestations like this."

                                            >You remember that you're O negative...

                                            >You watch as the creepiest guy gets in his armored vehicle and drives off. The second group proceeds deeper into the forest on foot. They hold big ass flashlights that don't do much to light things up, but it does give everything they shine it on a faint purple glow.

                                            >You should have brought some fruit apparently.... but you prick yourself just in case and begin slowly following the group with flashlights.

                                            >You can't get close enough to hear what they're saying, too worried about making noise.

                                            >They move to an area with thicker brush and begin cutting through it with machetes.

                                            >The going becomes much slower after that. You'd wish they'd hurry when...

                                            Whack

                                            >Something heavy hits your back. Before you know it, you're on your back with something pressing down on your stomach. You feel something covering your mouth.

                                            >You look up to see it...

                                            >The glowing eyes of a bat pony! She doesn't feel that heavy but damn if she isn't strong. You're not sure if you could get up if you wanted to.

                                            "Shhhh. Looks like I got a hostage, hmmmm? If you scream, I'll turn you into one of us right now. But you can save yourself a lot of trouble by answering my questions."

                                            >She smiles to show off her fangs. They're bigger than you were expecting and razor sharp.

                                            "Who are the other group? I don't care about the FBI, but the rest of your team... tell me just that much and we can forget I ever caught you. I promise."


                                            The mare eyes you suspiciously as you tell her why she's here...

                                            "You're saying you're another one of... those humans? Why are there so many of you who want to feed yourselves to us? Hmmm..."

                                            >You ask if she's not afraid of the FBI

                                            "Normal police are to slowly and clumsy to find or catch us. But... the leader of that other colony in the city told us that there are humans who aren't normal police and they are dangerous."

                                            >You ask her about being lured out by the smell of blood.

                                            "I can smell you bleeding but I don't lose control at the scent... maybe he knows something I don't. The bat ponies in the city know much. But most of us in this colony have only been bats for a month at best. Even a brand new bat should be too nimble for a normal human to catch but..."

                                            >She looks back at the group cutting their way through the forest.

                                            "If you're really on our side, I want you to help us... I want to waste their time until daylight. Run screaming towards the FBI. Tell them I attacked you and you just barely got away. I'll get them to follow me. If you do that, I promise you we'll take you to the leader of our colony on favorable terms. Just remember you won't be going back home..."


                                            >The bat pony hisses and bites into your shoulder hard, leaving you bleeding pretty bad! You let out a shout despite yourself.

                                            >Then she flies off to the trees in the blink of an eye.

                                            >The flashlights turn in your direction. There's no room to hesitate now.

                                            >You run towards the FBI, shouting for help. They take out their guns but thankfully don't shoot you. One cop grabs you and asks you what happened.

                                            >You told them a strange creature was trying to catch you.

                                            >Then she appears again. The bat pony lands on a nearby tree. Everyone opens fire on her. She falls out of the tree, but clumsily regains control. It's convincing enough that you're no sure if they actually hit the bat.

                                            "I think we got it! We never managed to hit one of those fuckers before! We should go after it."

                                            "We're supposed to be scanning the area."

                                            "There's no reason we can't continue with that tomorrow. Having such a clear shot at one is too much to pass up. Don't you want to figure

                                            out what's actually going on here?"

                                            >The head officer considers his options for a minute before ordering that everybody give chase to the (maybe) injured bat pony. Only one police officer doesn't follow. The head officer whispers something to him before leaving.

                                            >He instead he wraps up your badly bleeding shoulder, taking careful notice of your neck... which had no puncture marks on it. He seems to relax a little upon confirming that. Then he starts leading you back to where that armored car was still parked.

                                            >He asks you questions on the way.

                                            "Did you... did you actually get a good look at that thing? Did it say anything to you? Can they actually talk?"


                                            >The police officer sits you down in the back of the armored vehicle and you start to get nervous they’ll take you off for ‘questioning’. In the front seat, he starts saying some coded jargon over the radio.

                                            >You’re stuck there for a good while…

                                            >And then!

                                            >You see glowing eyes peeking in from outside the car window. Another bat pony, you’re pretty sure this one’s male. And he’s wearing a little scarf. He points down, gesturing to the lock on the car door. It doesn’t look like it unlocks from your end so you shake your head and he vanishes.

                                            >A second later, there’s a knock on the front door. The cop gives a horrified look in the direction, catching a brief glimpse of the bat. He shouts into the radio for backup.

                                            >A louder pounding on the door gets him to panic. He kicks open the passenger door and immediately fires a round into the dark. He cautiously moves toward the door with his gun ready. He fires off one more shot before getting dragged out of the car.

                                            >A few more gunshots… then the bat pony hops into the car. He fiddles about up front and the backdoor unlocks. You decided to get out. And find the bat pony looking up at you.

                                            “You won’t die.” He promises.

                                            >He pounces on you and bites into your neck way harder than a vampire was supposed to! It was more like a werewolf bite. You could feel you blood pulsing out in gushes and, a lot of your blood already missing, you quickly black out.

                                            >You wake up sometime later. You feel weak, so weak you can barely move but you’re on a bed or something… and something licking you.

                                            >You turn to see the first mare right next to you, licking the huge wounds you incurred. They don’t hurt any longer but… she does seem younger to you now. Part of you just knows that she’s a teenager, though it wasn’t obvious before. Which makes you think you might be changing…

                                            >You try looking over yourself but are mostly covered with blankets. Perhaps for the best. You’re only half transformed you soon find. Your left arm and leg appear fully changed. The right half of your body is still furless and you right hand it a twisted, knotted mess. You can see and feel it pulsing… it’s changing fast.

                                            >But you’re too tired to move much.

                                            >You’re in a cave, you think. Your eyes are slowly getting better at seeing in the dark. A pile of clothes surrounds the pile of blankets you’re on. There are some wooden cabinets along one wall and a row of queen sized beds against the other.

                                            >The scarf pony is on top of the cabinets and gives you a sharp look before deciding to ignore you. On the beds are four more bat ponies. They look badly scuffed up.

                                            >A bit further into the cave you can see a group of glowing eyes and hear voices.

                                            “We broke even in a sense,” said one of them.

                                            “That’s not funny,” an authoritative, female voice answered it. “Having even one of us in their hands can be a huge problem.”

                                            >That mare, with red and black hair, was wearing what looked like a tattered cape. You could already tell she was the one in charge here, could feel it on a deeper level.

                                            “Should we go to Eldest?” Another one of her followers asked. “He tried to warn us.”

                                            “This is happening because of him in the first place,” said their leader. “Even still. The main colony are the only ones with any hope of getting our friend back. We should at least tell him. And we may need to retreat deeper into the wilderness soon, until this blows over. Make things ready so we can leave at a moment’s notice.”


                                            >You ask the mare licking your wounds if all that went according to plan.

                                            "Well MY plan worked. We kept them from finding out home. That creepy guy went out into the town though. That's where he caught..."

                                            >She notices you looking at scarf-pony with some worry.

                                            "Ah, yes. That one's name is Swift. And I am Bloodmoon. Abducting you was part of the plan. You would have ended up locked away if we didn't extract you immediately. And it is the policy of our colony to convert anyone who expresses interest in joining us without delay."

                                            >The head bat notices you are awake and comes over to you quickly.

                                            "You. Tell me about that man. He was wearing gloves, wasn't he? Did you see his hands? Was there something on the back of them? Did he use anything that looked like magic to you? Was he wearing anything else unusual? I want to know exactly what he said. It's very important that we know what he had on the back of his hand if you saw it."


                                            "I see... you didn't see much."

                                            >She trotted back towards the rest of the group.

                                            "We managed to live in relative peace until Eldest threatened them too much. Though I have no idea why they're going after my colony instead of his..."

                                            >She speaks next to the group as a whole.

                                            "I hope this confirms it to all of you. There is a group of humans capable of using magic. You can tell who they are by the mark on the back of their hands. Be suspicious of anyone wearing gloves. And from now on, none of the unmarked bats may travel alone."

                                            >A lot of them look unhappy with that declaration but they don't question their leader. A mention of marks gets you to take a look at their cutie marks... the teenage, Bloodmoon, Swift and their leader are the only three who aren't blank flanks so to speak.

                                            >You look down to see your right hand has finally finished becoming a hoof but you're not 100% pony just yet.

                                            >The leader returns her attention to you.

                                            "The transformation is irreversible. But those who wish to feed themselves to us always seem to think that's a good thing. You are now part of my colony... one of my children."

                                            >She approaches and nuzzles you. That brief touch is enough to make you forget your worries for a moment.

                                            "You probably have some questions... many of them things even the other bats here don't entirely know. But first let me tell you this: I was not transformed into a bat pony. I am Shadow Star. I was born in Equestria, though I don't remember it, and was summoned here by that group of humans when I was a foal."


                                            "How many bat ponies are there...? Well there were thirteen of us brought to this world some seventeen years ago. Five more of us have been born since then. However..."

                                            >She sits down on a pile of blankets. All the waking bats gather around to listen. You count fifteen bats present in this 'colony'.

                                            "I will recount what happened as I remember it. I do not remember Equestria because I was only a year old at the time I was summoned. Eldest took that name because he alone was a young adult at that time. Most of us were very young, him and his wife are the only ones who remember Equestria."

                                            "There has been a group called The Arcana who have had very weak magic powers for a long time, magic too weak for anyone to take them seriously. It was them who raised me and for a few years it wasn't bad. They said they summoned us by mistake. But sadly... they told the government about us."

                                            "Those with real power saw our incredible magical potential and immediately thought of ways to weaponize and monetize it. Their ultimate dream was to give humans the power of a cutie mark. Only a few can be given this power, as most humans will die when the ritual is performed."

                                            >She looked over her colony again, you assumed most of them had at least seen the show...

                                            "I think most of you know what a cutie mark is. But it gives you one incredible power. There are a few humans who have one on the back of their hands. They alone are a threat to us."

                                            "I was still young at the time, but Eldest and the older bat ponies eventually decided that we were being treated too cruelly by the government. We escaped and hid for many years. It seemed we could stay that way for a long time until..."

                                            >She looked to the south

                                            "It was six months ago. when Eldest's daughter New Moon got her cutie mark. And the power... was to transform humans into bat ponies. And any of her 'children' would be able to do the same and so on for at least six generations, perhaps forever."

                                            "Eldest wanted to expand the number of bat ponies until we had colonies all over the world and the government would be forced to negotiate with us. But it seems he forced a violent response."


                                            >Shadow Star looks confused by your statement.

                                            "You're on board with the plan? I'm not sure why ex-humans are so eager to spread this as far as possible. Myself I'm not... entirely convinced. I wanted to start my own colony away from Eldest but that was it. I have no real intention of making colonies everywhere... though I don't intend to get in his way either."

                                            "Perhaps we're looking at it through a different lens. Those directly transformed by New Moon are fanatically devoted to the filly. They seem almost unable to disobey her. And even those transformed second-hand, even by force are more than okay with being bats. that... unnerved me which is why I came here."

                                            "But bat ponies can't live without a colony. We're too social. My fear for our captured companion is most that he isn't with another bat pony. So... I needed to create a colony and I suppose further Eldest's vision either way."

                                            "As for being useful, there's only so much you can do without a cutie mark. It will take time but we can help you find your mark faster."


                                            >>40448333

                                            "There's a few things we need to do before we leave," Shadowstar announced. "We need to gather supplies, contact Eldest and our newest member needs to learn to fly. If all goes well, we'll leave tomorrow night. We'll begin packing in case things go poorly."

                                            >The others don't seem happy about working during the day but this is an emergency.

                                            >You look down at your body... you're finally a full pony! Bloodmoon nuzzles you to encourage you to stand up on all fours for the first time.

                                            >Your pony instincts don't give you automatic control, but you do quickly pick it up. Cleaning turns out to be great practice.

                                            >The other ponies in your colony are super friendly and social. They all crowd around you with questions. Any social anxiety you had before is suddenly gone. You managed to get that much in the instinct category. You find yourself far more talkative than ever before.

                                            >The bats don't appear to be living in great luxury, however. It seems they only have what they managed to scrape together from old possessions or salvage.

                                            >You weren't taking the furniture with you, obviously, only what could fit in various backpacks.

                                            >That included your food which was mostly bags of fruit and... frogs!

                                            "I don't get why you're all so nervous about eating frogs," said Bloodmoon. "They're really good! and you all seem to get used to it."

                                            >All the other transformed bat ponies agreed that frogs tasted great now. That was, all of them but Bloodmoon and Shadowstar, the former of whom you learned was actually born on Earth. She was the first bat pony ever born on this planet, even.

                                            "My life has always been hiding and living off scraps," Bloodmoon explained. "But talking to you humans... I feel like I had it good. All of you are always complaining about your lives and you all seem so alone. Like... towns and neighborhoods are supposed to be your versions of colonies but most of the time you can't name more than one or two of your neighbors. How does that happen?"

                                            >There did seem to be a general agreement that life as part of a colony was far less lonely... if less luxurious.

                                            "Oh! And as for getting your cutie mark... you just try to use whatever power your supposed to have. It works sometimes! Usually the fastest way to get it. That's how I got mine. You could like... just try magically cleaning this place up. See if you have amazing cleaning powers. Or whatever other ability you can visualize."


                                            >You fall asleep on the row of mattresses. There’s fifteen bat ponies total in your new colony and they all seem happy to just sleep in a big pile. Allegedly it’s difficult to even sleep without another pony nearby.

                                            >The following night was when your first real ‘mission’ would occur. That being mostly learning to walk around.

                                            >The entire colony crawled out of a hole under a large willow tree. You were briefly wondering how this escaped notice for so long until Shadowstar spread her wings and her eyes began to glow. The area grew foggy and you lost sight of the whole entirely.

                                            “My power is concealment.” She explained, showing her cutie mark, a moon obscured by fog. “I can hide all manner of things. You and Bloodmoon bought us one night. This will get us at least one more. But after that we can’t take chances.”

                                            >Swift showed off his magical talent next. His movements could become so fast that he all but teleported from tree to tree before disappearing.

                                            >He came back soon after to tell you all where the investigation was. Glove guy, having chastised the FBI yet again, was determined to lead the search for your new, albeit brief home himself.

                                            “Good. We can guess where they’ll be. We’ll forage some first.”

                                            >The lot of you swarmed off towards the pond to catch more frogs.

                                            >Looking through the dark forest, you find your eyesight at night has become far better than it ever was during the day as a human. You could see everything so easily, details like small bugs and frogs moving about became clear.

                                            >And you immediately felt more agile than you ever had before. You were only a clumsy flier compared to the other bats, who could nimbly dart from branch to branch with incredible smoothness.

                                            >You only got a little practice with pouncing at frogs before this part of the foraging was declared complete. You would all head into town next, where you didn’t expect any dangerous humans to be.

                                            “I want you and Bloodmoon to find a place where you can contact the other colony,” Shadowstar told Swift. “And take the new pony with you. They need to gain experience sneaking around.”

                                            >Apparently, two bat ponies with a cutie mark would be able to handle a special human.

                                            >So the three of you began your way down the streets of the town, though the other two had to wait for you. Even with just a little experience you already felt untouchable to a normal human. You could skip across rooftops with zero difficulty and your footsteps were so light they hardly touched the ground.

                                            >You tried sneaking up on a human out for a walk on your own. You felt you got so close to them, followed close behind for some time, and yet they didn’t notice you at all. Humans really did seem clumsy and half-blind now.


                                            “Eldest’s colony must have over 150 bats by now,” Bloodmoon mused. “And a lot of their ponies have cutie marks. So that colony has all kinds of magic powers at their disposal.”

                                            >They fiddled with the base of the phone tower for just a little while and then…

                                            >The crackling fuzzy image of a slender stallion appeared… another bat pony. You could tell this was only a holographic image of some kind.

                                            “Ah!” The stallion smiled sharply. “Have our little strays had a change of heart already?”

                                            “There’s been an emergency,” Swift cut to the point. “The Arcana are coming after us. They managed to capture one of our bats.”

                                            >He paused, looking more confused than anything else. Behind him, you noticed a much smaller muzzle materializing.

                                            “Why would they send someone after YOU instead of us? Did they think you were an easier target? Or…”

                                            “That one’s brand new!”

                                            >A filly just a little younger than Bloodmoon jumped into existence and looked at you with a huge smile on her face.

                                            “Look at how beautiful they are now! There’s nothing more perfect than a human who’s become a pony. You agree with me, right? You’ve become the most beautiful thing in the world!”

                                            >The holographic stallion gave her an annoyed look and pushed her backwards with one of his rear legs, her form vanishing when she crossed an invisible line. But her muzzle came poking back into existence right after. You knew she was still listening.

                                            “Anyway, I assume you’re here to beg us to clean up your mistake?”


                                            >You try to boop the filly but your hoof goes right through her. You tell her you agree that you're much better like this.

                                            >Swift sends you an annoyed look at you speaking out of turn but the filly comes back into 'frame' with a huge smile that shows off her fangs.

                                            >She's grey like most of the bat ponies and her hair is black and green. You missed it at first because it was hard to see but she does have a cutie mark: a black circle barely visible against her dark grey fur.

                                            "You see? They're always so happy to become like us. Being a bat pony is a gift. I've never met a human who wasn't happy to become part of a colony. I'm soooo happy to see the other colony is growing. Shadowstar is just a scaredy cat, but you understand why we need to keep growing, right?"

                                            "Oh! and you should say thank you to me! Please."

                                            >She holds her head up with a big smile, but she's still tiny.


                                            >The filly smiles, nearly exploding with pride as you thank her and mime ruffling her hair, she even plays along with is.

                                            >You tell the other pony that there's nothing he can do to stop you from petting his sister.

                                            "Fist of all, that isn't my sister..."

                                            >To your surprise, the filly seems more offended by your statement than the stallion. She puffs her cheek out angrily at you.

                                            "If anything he's your brother," she says. "Bat ponies shouldn't be fighting each other! We're all part of the same tribe. Those humans are your only enemies... at least for now. Maybe their attitudes would be better if you bit them, hm?"

                                            >The stallion shoves her out of the picture again and looks at you.

                                            "We have no official policy on biting these humans yet. As for you... you do talk a lot for a blank flank whose begging for our help. How about you free your captured herd mate and THEN brag? Or at least get your cutie mark at all."

                                            >He smirks, then vanishes. Swift chastises you as soon as the 'call' ends.

                                            "I'd appreciate it if you not try to start anything with the other colony... not when we need their help."

                                            "You should be more careful around that filly too," Bloodmoon warned. "That was New Moon, Eldest’s daughter. She wanted you to thank her for... well being the origin of humans turning into bat ponies."

                                            >The three of you start trotting back north.

                                            "I know you think of it as a bad thing but she is a little... well those directly transformed act like she's some kind of goddess! And she really does have a sort of god complex. You know that TV show that has ponies in it? Well she's obsessed with the idea of ascending to an alicorn like Twilight did."

                                            "I'm pretty sure she dreams of a world where bat ponies are at least the majority," Swift added. "She doesn’t' seem at all against the idea of turning humans by force. That's sort of why a few of us broke away from the original colony."


                                            >You feel somewhat conflicted about New Moon, deciding to keep quiet for now as you begin back home.

                                            >You're sneaking back through the streets... then suddenly stop.

                                            >Something... just to the west. It's a strange but irresistible feeling. You take a few steps towards it while the other two watch you confused.

                                            >They run in front of you. Bloodmoon gives you a small nip on your wing, breaking you out of the trance.

                                            "It must be that human," said Swift. "I understand now. He was using magic to lure us in and made up that excuse about the smell so he wouldn't have to explain magic to the FBI."

                                            "I felt it too," Bloodmoon said. "Something like that would only work on a pony inexperience with magic. It all makes sense now. Though I'm not exactly sure what his mark would be."

                                            >You remember thinking the bats must have been stupid to fall for such a trap before...

                                            "We should head back home immediately," Bloodmoon said.

                                            "Not yet." Swift stopped her from leaving. "I think I might be able to figure out what his ability is... I already have some idea."

                                            >Bloodmoon fidgets. She seems like she wants to leave but also doesn't want to go against an older bat from her colony.


                                            >You remind Bloodmoon that splitting up is a bad idea and that you should go with Swift's plan, offering yourself as bait.

                                            "My worry," said Swift, "is that his talent may be traps. If you're volunteering to go first so be it, but we should move in a single file line to make us less likely to be caught."

                                            >You proceed to the edge of town, near where the train tracks are. You can see the bait... but the creepy guy is nowhere in sight.

                                            >You start creeping slowly towards the trap, Swift is second then Bloodmoon.

                                            >A ring of blue light appears around a huge track of land, leading all the way up to the train station.

                                            >Swift alone is fast enough, flying out of the ring right as it closes.

                                            >Then he appears... that guy with the gloves and goggles. He throws a few branches aside and seemingly just materializes. No way you missed that... it had something to do with magic. He's standing inside the ring with you, only a few feet ahead.

                                            "You see? They aren't that hard to trick," he says. "I got two this time."

                                            >Five swat team looking guys come out of a similar 'disguise' with guns and immediately open fire on Swift. They don't manage to get close to a shot.

                                            >Swift flies all the way around the barrier, smacking into one of them from behind, knocking him out cold.

                                            "Get inside the ring!" Gloves commands.

                                            >The swat team hurries inside, keeping their guns pointed squarely at you. Swift slams up against the edge of the barrier but doesn't manage to get through on the first go.

                                            "Okay, what the fuck is this? A forcefield? How much experimental equipment do you people have, exactly?" One of the humans on his team asked.

                                            "Please don't ask me anything stupid." The strange man puts a gloved hand against his forehead.

                                            >You take a step back but are soon stopped.

                                            "I would be very careful if I were you, little pony. Place the restraints on these two." He held up a gloved hand, signaling one of the swat team members to begin moving in with the cuffs.

                                            >You notice the gloved man is flitting his head around, trying to think up an escape route while Swift is around. Escape won't be easy for them but...

                                            >Now might be a good time to try using magic


                                            >You recall being told you’d be able to feel out your power, whatever it’s supposed to be. And you know you had a certain vision of magic in your head. Even knowing nothing about the dream realm you knew you should be able to use it somehow.

                                            >You focus first on the main threat. You do feel… something. Like your on the verge of a breakthrough but can’t quite get there! He simply adjusts his goggles and watches you curiously.

                                            >The first swat team member is right next to you now. You have to try something else. You turn your attention to another member of the swat team. Your hunch turns out to be right. It feels like nothing is pushing back against you at all.

                                            >You still have no idea what you’re doing but you send him a vision, a dream, something with the new fabric you can feel. An image of yourself charging forward while the arcana stepped back.

                                            >The officer turns and fires right at the leg of the arcana, where the image of you should be. He grits his teeth and falls to one knee but his reaction is far more muted than you’d expect from getting shot.

                                            >Still, that blue ring vanishes!

                                            >Swift appears the second its down, slamming in to another Swat member. That only leaves the one hallucinating and the one with the cuffs. The later fumbles to get his gun back out but by the time he does you and Bloodmoon are already gone.

                                            “I got it!” The officer proudly declares.

                                            >The arcana taps one finger against the ground and a pit-trap opens up beneath the man who shot him. He falls in with no way to react. Thankfully, you could fly.

                                            >But you’re certain now. You’re not strong enough to make HIM hallucinate but the others…

                                            >The arcana makes a small circle with his finger while the Swat member turns around pointing his gun at utter darkness.

                                            >another blue ring appears around you, much smaller than the last, and constricts a moment later. You can feel it squeezing you, crushing you, too hard for you to think or react.

                                            >Swift comes out from behind and bits his arm hard. It’s enough for you to escape again.

                                            >The arcana pulls out a revolver from his pocket and fires it at Swift with his free hand. It just barely grazes the other bat who manages to escape mostly unscathed.

                                            >He turns the gun on you and fires another round, narrowly missing.

                                            >With a grunt he takes off the glove on his right hand. You can see it glowing in the dark, the mark, something similar to a crude icon of a bear trap. You’ve effectively confirmed you theory but…

                                            >He taps his fingers against the ground one by one until all four rest. He holds his left hand up as if ready to signal something. The Swat guy looks scared out of his mind, pointing his gun in your direction. The arcana is injured and Swift is behind him in a tree.

                                            >The stallion shakes his head at you from across the battlefield. You consider whether to press the attack.


                                            >You fly off with Bloodmoon as fast as you can. As you leave you see the Arcana stand up. But he doesn't seem up to chasing you with his current wounds.

                                            >He's gone... for now.

                                            >You find quite a lot more police in the woods tonight. Thankfully, none of them are wearing gloves as far as you can see. They have the blacklights on but can't find their way in the thin fog Shadowstar had created.

                                            >Some of them are talking worriedly about going in circles.

                                            >But it doesn't effect you. You manage to get back to the big willow tree with the hole in it.

                                            >Swift appears soon after, landing in front of you. It looked like he was holding something in his mouth....

                                            >And he spit it out a second later... blood! You could tell by the smell. Even though it smelled like food now, it was still gross seeing it get spat back out.

                                            >But Bloodmoon seems happy to see it. She runs forward to look at the small puddle.

                                            "You got some of his blood!" She looks back at you. "Oh! I haven't told you yet. My power allows me to affect people in a few ways if I can get some of their blood. With this much, this far away... I should be able to track his location."

                                            >She puts her hoof on the ground. The blood glows, then evaporates. You remember her drinking some of your blood when you were still human... probably a bit of 'insurance' in retrospect.

                                            "I can feel him!" Bloodmoon announce. "He's moving fast... probably driving somewhere, but away from here. I should be able to keep tracking him for the next day or two."

                                            "He most likely found out about the mist and gave up for tonight," said Swift. "He'll likely return to where our friend is being kept... we can at least find out where he's staying."

                                            >You feel you came out on top of that encounter!

                                            "And you!" Bloodmoon trotted up to you. "You got your cutie mark after just one day! That almost never happens. Most ponies need at least a month."

                                            >She looks down at your flank. You hadn't even noticed it appear yourself but you could feel its magic flowing through you. The symbol is a comfy looking cloud obscuring some stars.

                                            "Now might be a good time to choose a new pony name," she suggests.


                                            >After some deliberation you decide on the name 'Lucid Dream'. You have all sorts of questions about the dream realm now.

                                            >Bloodmoon starts shaking her head as you start to ask questions.

                                            "We.... really don't know a lot about the dream realm."

                                            >You ask how that's possible.

                                            "Almost all of the natural bat ponies were foals when they came here. Even the three older ones were just teenagers, seventeen at best. None of them were going to know a lot about how it works. And worse it seems like it works different here."

                                            >Different?

                                            "There's so few ponies that Eldest thought the dream realm didn't even exist here at first. I guess because there's so few ponies around it's all broken and fragmented... normal humans don't have magic dreams unless you make them. But it should be growing as more bat ponies show up."

                                            "The important thing," said Swift. "Is it will be easier for us to contact the other colony now. We need a pony who's talent is related to the dream realm to send messages over it in its current state. We should tell them where the captive is tonight."

                                            >Shadowstar and the rest soon return. One of them is airlifting by way of strings what looked like the back half of a truck cut off filled with equipment.

                                            "Somepony got her cutie mark!" Shadowstar announced.

                                            "We got one too."

                                            >Bloodmoon excitedly shows you off, the airlifting pony looking slightly one-upped by your talent.

                                            >After recapping what happened you all agree to leave immediately. Shadowstar would be able to shroud you group as you travel.

                                            >The targeted location is a much deeper and more isolated forest to the north.

                                            "How many of those guys are there?" Bloodmoon asks Shadowstar as you start walking. "The Arcana people I mean."

                                            "I'm not sure. Originally there were twelve of them. Humans who can naturally use magic are rare and their powers are weak... borderline useless which is why they never revealed themselves until... well that turned out to be a mistake."

                                            "Are any of them still around?"

                                            "The original arcana humans were nice to us. They were the ones who raised me. But as the government and that corporation took over... they kind of all just disappeared. I don't know if they're even still alive. They found a way to give normal humans magic, but the process kills them instead almost 90% of the time. I swear it only works on cruel people. There can't be too many of them. They couldn't kill thousands of marines without getting noticed."


                                            >Your colony continues north until the sun begins coming up just a little. You'd never been out during the day before and something about the idea is unsettling to you.

                                            >The terrain is rockier and thankfully before daybreak you find a crack in a stone cliff just big enough for a bat pony to get through. The 'cave' is hardly big but it doesn't need to be. You like cuddling together with the others.

                                            >While the others begin falling asleep, Shadowstar beckons to you.

                                            "You got a cutie mark relating to the dream realm," she says. "All of us can enter it but it is... difficult in the current state. I don't even bother showing most of my colony how. But I need you to send a message to the other colony."

                                            >She boop Bloodmoon who tells you the approximate coordinates of where Bear Trap has gone to.

                                            "I'll contact you when you're asleep."

                                            >You fall asleep.


                                            >And in a lucid dream, you find yourself hovering over a dark ocean. You fall through the water and sink, nearly back into the oblivion of sleep.

                                            >But you feel something grab onto your scruff. It's Shadowstar. She picks you up and sets you down on...

                                            >There are sort of small lines of light running across the vast ocean. They act like mini-tight ropes you can just barely balance on. No way you'd be able to do this if you didn't have the nimbleness of a bad pony.

                                            "Apparently in Equestria this is solid ground," she said. "but here you sink into it. Do you see those rings?"

                                            >You look behind you. There are many bright rings of light floating on the water as well. Turning around there are some more but far away and much dimmer, barely visible.

                                            >Save three more, far away but brighter, like stars.

                                            "These act as a sort of portal to the dreams of ponies. Very few of us can enter the dreams of humans and only those with magic. The more you know a pony, the easier it will be to enter their dream. Most of the other colony will be too difficult to enter into. But if you met a couple of them, you can enter their dreams or that of their relations."

                                            >You figure two of them are New Moon and hologram pony. The third... perhaps Eldest based on what you heard?

                                            >Shadowstar confirms it.

                                            "Next, you find a stream that leads to the ring you want. Concentrate and it will take you to your desination."


                                            >You manage to glide all too swiftly along the fiber leading to Eldest's dream. Too swift for you to control. You feel yourself flight right into what appears to be a much larger constellation of much smaller rings... but you fly right past your target.

                                            >Thankfully, somepony else is there to pick up your slack... or so it would seem.

                                            >Some magnetic force grabs you and pulls you into the correct ring without much gentleness. You almost feel as though your being pulled aside like an intruder into somepony's home.

                                            >It doesn't take long to realize that Eldest has much more control over the dream realm than you. At least in his own mind. You find yourself unable to control the scene very much.

                                            >For you he constructs an ally that might be similar to where he's living now. And then he comes out of that darkness.

                                            >He has the blue hair and grey fur of your stereotypical bat pony. True to his name, he's quite a bit older than the other bat ponies you've seen thought that only makes him middle age.

                                            >He easily mogs you on top of that, standing a few inches taller... which makes a huge difference in size for a pony. But curiously he has no fangs.

                                            "Tell me who you are."

                                            >He speaks sternly but not cruelty. You quickly tell him everything you know.

                                            "I see. So you got your cutie mark in a single day. That happens rarely. I will make a note of you, Lucid."

                                            "As for your captive colony mate, you don't need to do anything. My ponies will free him and this 'Bear Trap' human will be killed or transformed. There can be no peace until the humans realize they can't push us around anymore. I hope you see that too."


                                            >Eldest smiles at your interest in his idea.

                                            "I see. I was worried you would be more hesitant. Though the way my daughter spoke of you maybe I shouldn't be so surprised."

                                            "I hope you realize that we need to do the same to all humans with magic and destroy the Arcana facility. Such people can only be allowed to survive as ponies. Once we have a monopoly on magic and are too widespread to be easily killed we can talk about making peace with the humans."

                                            "I hope you don't get the impression that I want to forcefully transform all the humans. But I will use the threat as a bargaining chip and will use whatever weapons are at my disposal. Make no mistake that we are at war. If you understand that, then you can help me."


                                            >You ask if you can talk to New Moon again.

                                            "Yes... she does seem to have an affect on ponies who used to be humans. Her goals are more... ambitious. But she's still just a child.

                                            I'll allow you to talk to her but I'd prefer it if you not feed her ego too much. It's already too big as it is."


                                            >Eldest watches you look upset that his plan isn’t going far enough.

                                            “I think I doubted your disposition too much. Very well. I’ll allow you to help. But you’ll have to head back south to the town you just left from. I have a pony scouting out the facility now. You can join up with us after that.”

                                            >With a nod your evicted from the dream.

                                            >But… you still want to talk to New Moon again before leaving. You slide past the correct ring a few times before making it in. Nopony is pulling you inside like before.

                                            >You make it inside to see a dream already in progress, rather than one being constructed like before. You’re in a massive throne room filled with far too many balloons and tables filled with snack and tea. You make your way to the front where you find New Moon sitting on a huge throne.

                                            >She’s an alicorn in her dream, wearing a black tiara and bouncing her head back and forth, humming to a tune. She notices you and her eyes lit up.

                                            “Ah! My beloved subject!” She holds her head up and points down. “Please bow to me and call me princess and we can begin. Thank you.”


                                            >You laugh at her request and fly up to her throne, rustling her hair and telling her dream is ‘cute’.

                                            >New Moon looks grumpy about one of her ‘subjects’ acting out of turn at first. But her expression begins to soften as you thank her and then proceed to talk about how eager you are to spread bat ponies.

                                            >By the end she seems quite happy knowing you want to spread her kind and is back to smiling and allowing you to rustle her mane.

                                            “Well I’m glad you want to help my children!” She hopes off her little throne and starts trotting down to the tables. “But you really should call me princess!”

                                            >You sit across from her and ask why she would want that.

                                            “Because it’s destiny! I knew it ever since I saw that one episode everybody hates.” She pours some tea and slides it towards you. “That’s what’s wrong with the world, you know? Equestria has an alicorn to lead them but not here! Don’t you think the world would be better off if an alicorn princess like me who loved all her children was running it? Instead of all these stupid, mean human politician guys?”

                                            >She drinks her own tea. You’re still not sure if you can actually taste things in these dreams.

                                            “But I understand if you don’t believe me yet. Neither does Daddy. Course, even if you don’t you’re still helping me become a princess by helping bat pony colonies grow and multiply. Dad is helping me too. And once there’s enough I’ll get to take my rightful place as ruler of this nation. It’ll be me and all my bat pony children and I’ll be the best ruler ever. All the humans will get jealous and wish they were my children too.”


                                            “Princess Luna?”

                                            >New Moon frowns.

                                            “No, no! Don’t you get it? I read all those stories about humans turning into ponies too. Luna would show up and stop us from transforming everybody! She’d set up rehumanization bureaus and work with the horrible government of mean people.

                                            “And she wouldn’t take over the planet for us either. She’d be all ‘oh, I wasn’t born here I have no right. Blah blah.’ But I WAS born here so I DO have the right to become this world’s princess. So we can’t make a portal until we’re the government. Get it?”

                                            >You point out that 12 humans were able to open a portal.

                                            “No, no! One human did it. Daddy said they were the only one who could have and they’re gone… I think. But um. If you do find that person make sure to turn them into a bat pony and bring them to me right away, okay?”

                                            >You say that IF she becomes an alicorn it would change things. New Moon is delighted by your seeming willingness to accept her under those conditions.

                                            “That’s great! Just remember… if you find any magic humans you gotta turn them into bat ponies. Especially the ones who were born with magic powers. I just know… that if their magic becomes my magic. If my magic is all there is in the world…”

                                            >She smiles wide showing off her tiny fangs.

                                            “Then I win!”


                                            “Daddy did tell me about Luna…” She says it like talking about eating vegetables. “He says Luna loves us and we should see ourselves as her subjects still but… but she’s not doing anything now! And she won’t take over the world. He’s just upset at the idea because he sees another pony becoming an alicorn as insulting to her or something… he finds that one episode where Twilight becomes an alicorn to be really offensive, you know?”

                                            >You see her as a bit more of a rebellious teen after that. She is almost that age, pushing back against her father’s religion or at least doubting it.

                                            >New Moon sends you off with the imperious air of a princess giving you a mission: convert as many humans, especially magical ones, as possible. You rustle her hair and call her a cute kid leaving her slightly pouty.

                                            >You return to the real world some time later.

                                            >It’s morning… or nightfall rather.

                                            “You got the message across, right?” Shadowstar asks.

                                            >You tell her you decided you want to help Eldest in the retrieval mission.

                                            “What? You know they can likely rescue our captured friend themselves, right?” Shadowstar asks. “And…”

                                            >You ask why she wouldn’t want to go.

                                            “I’m just worried about their methods and… and about New Moon becoming an alicorn potentially. I’m worried about helping them in general. If you go there, they might want you to begin converting the Arcana and fight against the humans for real!”

                                            >You say you don’t see any other possibility…

                                            >Shadowstar herself seems unable to give you an alternative other than hiding and staying out of the conflict… her younger companion steps up to offer one instead.

                                            “Well,” said Bloodmoon. “I always wanted to… to just leave and go to Equestria! All of us bat ponies could just go back to Equestria and to Luna and leave this stupid world behind. She’d take us all in.”

                                            “It’s not that easy,” said Bloodmoon. “Hazel was the one who opened the portal and it looks like that’s an extremely rare ability. But she…”

                                            >Shadowstar bites her lips. This seems to be a sensitive subject to her.

                                            “The government made her disappear. I don’t even know if she’s still alive. Or…”

                                            >Shadowstar tears up a little and grows silent. Bloodmoon watches her with a frown before continuing.

                                            “But like! If she is still alive! And we do turn her into a bat pony,” said Bloodmoon. “I’m sure she wouldn’t mind becoming like us! And if she got like… like a portal cutie mark then it’s basically done. Wouldn’t you be a lot happier if she was a pony too.”

                                            >Shadowstar doesn’t look like she wants to answer or even entertain the hope that this ‘Hazel’ woman might still be alive. Bloodmoon instead looks to you for your opinion.


                                            >You express some concern with New Moon and say that the plan is good, at least for a backup.

                                            “You see?” Bloodmoon smiles at her leader.

                                            >Shadowstar just shakes her head.

                                            “I’m sorry… I just… can’t.” She hangs her head low. “But… knowing that you aren’t devoted to New Moon is enough for me to let you go. Just be careful. Some of them are fanatically devoted to her.”

                                            >Shadowstar sighs and looks to the north.

                                            “We’ll set up a new home just over these hills. The rest of us will be busy getting out new base ready. When you return, we’ll have somepony find you.”


                                            >You fly back down to the town you just escaped from. Surprisingly fewer police were around now… though they did have the roads blockade. You weren’t supposed to actually go inside the town, just around the edges until you found a certain van…

                                            >A little ways off, just on the side of the road you saw it. A van with a few green glowsticks lying in a pile behind it. You make sure the coast is clear before landing next to it.

                                            >The heavily tinted window rolls down and you see a bat pony mare’s face appear. She gives you a nod and the van door slides open.

                                            >Inside you find two more bats sitting in the back with you and some equipment. No guns. But smoke bombs, rope… things like that.

                                            >The van starts off. You’re not sure how that mare is working the peddles but she begins driving the car. She doesn’t look too talkative. There’s another bat pony in the passenger seat bringing the total up to five. And all of you have cutie marks.

                                            >The stallion in the passenger seat looks back at you. He’s a bit too sleek and sharp looking with a giddy smile.

                                            “So you’re from the other colony, huh? Guess there’s some hope for you all! New Moon’s vision for a greater world will be achieved soon, trust me!”

                                            >He says her name with reverence and turns his eyes back to the road.

                                            “Name’s Dagger. I’ll be leading our half of the operation. We go in from the north. Remember, we don’t want to actually kill the arcana. One of us has a power that can easily contain them. We bring them back to New Moon and let her turn them. Then they’ll cooperate. That’s our secondary objective next to freeing the bat.”


                                            >You express some concern that Luna might ultimately be a better ruler than New Moon. Nopony in the van seems to particularly like the suggestion.

                                            “Oh, I’d choose the mystery pony over the people running things now.” Dagger loses his smile briefly before turning his eyes on the road. “You have no idea how deranged the people in charge have become. They want a world where a few magic humans rule and the rest of us live in their little sleeping pods. Course, that does mean a total bat genocide has to happen.”

                                            >Another mare who seems less enthusiastic about the mission, one clutching a brief case and even has a brief case cutie mark, speaks up next.

                                            “We have no idea if Luna will want to take in humans who have been transformed or how much she’ll ‘respect’ the sovereignty of the human nations. We don’t know how naive she is towards smiling jackals. The idea of a permanent portal frightens me because the humans might end up turning Equestria into a nightmare as well. These fake Arcana humans would do that.”

                                            >You open your mouth to try and introduce yourself to the new mare but Dagger does it for you first.

                                            “That’s Pockets. New Moon is our only safe bet,” said Dagger. “And not just for us but for all the people The Arcana would enslave. Eldest talks Luna up but the guy was raised to think she’s…”

                                            >the mare driving the car makes a gesture. Dagger looks out the back with a frown.

                                            “That car is following us.”

                                            >You do see a car behind you. Nothing out of the ordinary. You wouldn’t have even thought it was following you had they not pointed it out.

                                            “Someone in the car is magic,” Pockets warned.

                                            “Guess we can’t just blow it up then.” Dagger sighs, then turns to you. “Hey, hey! I heard your power might be useful in this situation…”