The door slams violently behind you as you make your way into the empty room. In most situations, you like to think of yourself as a people-person. You may not have the most blossoming social life, but you definitely enjoy the company of others, and like to think that you love and tolerate all people. However, there is one flaw in humanity that seems to feel the need to make itself more and more apparent to you every day: there are some stupid people out there. Incredibly, unbearably stupid. There are times when you have to genuinely make a mental effort just to comprehend how unbelievably stupid some people can be. You may not know much, but you sure as hell know that when someone can make you look like Einstein, something’s wrong.
Making your way to the center of the room, you take a violent swing at your abused punching bag hanging from the ceiling. It doesn’t take much to piss you off, and with a long history of anger management issues, you’ve constantly needed an outlet to channel your rage. Martial arts is now your only true solace and has been for years. It’s the only art that requires nothing but instinct and reflexes to act, you can shut off your brain and for once feel at home in your body, now the perfect customized weapon. You feel your infernal anger burn itself out with every kick, jab, and thrust, every breath you take burning your adrenaline-fueled chest as your knuckles collide with the firm surface, sending stinging vibrations throughout your arms.
It’s when you begin to admire the human body and its muscles’ refined grace and beauty that you slip on your own shoe and kiss the rough surface of your punching bag with your whole face before landing back on the ground. You just sit there, your sore hands on your sore face and groan. Today just doesn’t like you.
“Fuck this,” you say, getting up on your feet. Still gritting your teeth, you walk out of your “dojo” (as you like to call it) and into the small living room of your apartment. It isn’t much, but living in a big city, it’s the only place you have to get away from people who’s sole purpose seems to be to piss you off. You inhale sharply through your nose and loudly release the air through your mouth as you rub your head.
“No,” you say defiantly to no one in particular. “I’m not going to let some stupid customers ruin my Friday. I’m just going to make the biggest sandwich I’ve ever made, sit on my couch and watch whatever’s on T.V. Yeah.” You force a smile and make your way to the kitchen, which is separated from your living room by just a four-foot wall running from the apartment window and stopping about midway across the floor. This is going to be one amazing sandwich. Before you begin your masterpiece, you find the T.V. remote on your stove (which isn’t unusual with organization skills like yours) and press the power button and turn back to the counter.
Suddenly a knock on your door sounds out. You squint your eyes. You are so unbelievably not in the mood for company right now, but the knocking continues, this time followed by a familiar voice.
“I know you’re in here, Caleb,” it says. “Don’t make me get the shotgun.”
You roll your eyes. “Go away,” you shout back. “And don’t say that kind of shit, people will take you seriously.”
Without warning, you hear the door open, and in walks your friend Isaiah, grinning like an idiot. He’s a bit taller than you, with beige, shoulder length hair and pale blue eyes. You’ve known him since middle school, but he hasn’t changed much since then. “What makes you think I was kidding?” Isaiah says threateningly. “And by the way, your door’s unlocked.”
You roll your eyes. “What do you want?”
“What? I can’t come to see my friend just to hang out?”
“Correct. And don’t ever say ‘hang out’ again.” You retort with disgust.
Isaiah snickers. “God, someone’s in a mood. I take it you didn’t have a lot of fun working for tech support today?”
“Fuck you.”
Isaiah puts his hands up defensively. “Hey, I told you not to apply for that job.”
You squint your eyes. “You’re the one who suggested it to me!”
Your friend look up in realization. “Oh right. Hey, what are you watching?” Isaiah gestures to the T.V.
Without turning your head back to look as you make your sandwich, you say, “You tell me. Haven’t looked at the screen yet.”
You hear Isaiah laugh. “Some kid’s cartoon. You got somethin’ you wanna tell me?” When you don’t respond to his joke, he seems to recall why he came to your apartment in the first place. Finally. “Oh hey, so uh, I’ve got a gig down at the club on Evan’s. You wanna tag along? Grab a drink? Listen to my amazing mix?”
The mere thought of that heavy pounding music causes you to wince. “Not tonight,” you say, rubbing your temple. “I just wanna eat a sandwich and watch some T.V. Alone.”
Isaiah, retreating from your fridge with a beer in his hand, groans dramatically. “Dude, you need to get out more! Drink, meet a chick, have sex with a chick, drink some more. Please man, you’re starting to depress me with all this ‘alone time’ crap.”
“I said not tonight, okay?” You snap. “I really just do not want to interact with anyone else for the next twelve hours! Could you please leave me alone for that long?”
Isaiah sighs, takes a swig of his drink, and sets it on the counter. “Alright, alright, I’ll give you your alone time. But just tonight, ya got me? Tomorrow you and I are going downtown and actually doing stuff. Stuff that involves alcohol, women, and loud music. And you are going to love it.”
You roll your eyes. “If I was still in high school.”
Isaiah points at you accusingly. “Hey, you’re in college. You’re not too mature for shit.”
You wave your hand dismissively at him. “Get out of my apartment, Isaiah.”
“Okay, I’m going, I’m going.” Your friend says in a mock-defensive voice. “And dude, change the channel. I mean, unless you want to watch My Little Pony.” Isaiah laughs.
“Stop calling me ‘dude’.” Is all you say as he walks out the door. As soon as you hear the click of the latch locking in place, you let out a huge sigh. You guess people stress you out more than you thought, even your friends. No matter. You’re not gonna let anything ruin this evening. Your masterful sandwich completed, you grab the remote and make your way to the living room. For a moment, you just stare at the screen, curious as to what’s on. You assume that the brightly-colored quadrupedal creature being displayed is a pony, since Isaiah told you what show it was, though it’s not anything like the characters in the show you used to know about. This pony’s snout is at least twenty sizes smaller, which is made up for in its dinner-plate sized eyes.
Your observation is interrupted by a large surge of thunder followed by the sound of torrential rain. Thanking your bad mood for preventing you from going downtown with Isaiah, you return your gaze to the T.V. and sit down on your couch, taking a big bite out of your sandwich. Before you can change the channel however, you notice a white flickering light coming from the power outlet behind your T.V.
“Shit, shit, shit, shit!” You whisper to yourself as you rush forward to examine the plug, from which violent blue sparks of electricity are faintly flickering. Another clash of thunder from outside shakes the building, eerily mixing with the feminine laughter of ponies coming from the stereo. Without thinking, you place your hands on the T.V. plug, attempting to yank it out. Needless to say, this is an idiotic decision, considering how close to the wall you place your hand. A hundred spikes of pain immediately seize every fiber of your being, your heart stops and you hear a howl of agony escape your contorted mouth. The last thing you hear is that wretched sound of laughter mixed with booming thunder.
~~~
A ghostly pool of pale gray vapor escapes a predator’s lips as she stands atop the cold hard surface of a boulder. Knowing she shouldn’t be here, the rapid pace of her heartbeat causes her pointy ears to throb. The vertical pupils of her bone-chillingly blue eyes dilate in the moonlight, causing pools of silver to dance within them as they pursue their target.
“That’s right, you three,” she whispers cunningly to herself as she watches her prey. “Step right on into Satin’s silk web.”
Not being able to control the adrenaline within her much longer, Satin extends her leathery wings full length, revealing the bony structure underneath them. She takes a slow step forward with a dark indigo hoof, sliding her tongue along the top row of her razor-sharp teeth. Just a few more steps. Just a few more steps, and those three bat-pony intruders will be in her own bat-hooves. She can taste the glory now. Her parents, her friends, her whole clan thanking her and giving her respect. Oh she can taste it now. Just a few more steps…
FLASH!
~~~
You don’t open your eyes yet. You know you can, but you somehow know you’ll regret it. Instead, you reach around the floor with a hand to make sure you’re in a familiar place, and come to the conclusion that unless you or someone else had recently put down a thick layer of soil on your bed, you’re not in your apartment. Deciding you’re dreaming, you’re about to roll over on your side, when you hear a whisper. It’s distant and blurry at first, but you can still make it out. It sounds like a man’s voice.
“Wh-what is it?” it stammers. Not a moment sooner does another voice, this one steadier and gruffer, respond.
“Clearly dead. We can’t afford distractions, let’s go around it and continue the mi--”
You cough, startling the voices.
“It’s not dead!” This third voice is a new one.
“We don’t know what that thing is, let’s get out of here!”
“No!” The gruff voice returns. “Kill it! Kill it now!” A moment of silence before the same voice irritably continues. “Oh for Luna’s sake!” With a snarl, it rapidly rushes towards you. Your eyes snap open and you blindly thrust your arm forward, breathing heavily. You’ve been craving to hit another living thing for a long time now, but this sure as hell is not what you had in mind. Your eyes widen in both fear and confusion as the receiving end of your fist comes into view. It’s a quadruped with large stubby hooves, but it’s muzzle is too short and it’s eyes are too big for it to be a horse. This, however is not the most distinctive or rather repulsive feature of the demonic entity. From its front shoulders two large and bony bat-like wings branch out like the limbs of some barren tree.
The creature releases a hoof from its sore muzzle, from which two fangs protrude. It laughs menacingly at you. “Clever little demon, aren’t you?” It says in that gruff voice from before. “I’ll have you know I’m a master of playing dead. Why don’t you come a little closer, let me give you a few pointers.” Seeing the mutated beast before you was enough, but seeing it talk helps drive you a little closer to the edge of insanity. Your heart feels like it’s about to explode from the pace it’s going at and you experience that all-too-familiar sensation of your common sense slipping away, and your body doing its own thing.
You hear an enraged bellow escaping your chest as your hand clutches something rough and heavy by your side. Without hesitation or thought, you swing your arm around, releasing the projectile. With a resounding thunk and a pathetic flop, your attacker falls into the dirt. You glance up at the other two creatures panting heavily and sweating like a maniac. Their eyes widen and they flee, leaving you alone in the clearing. Danger gone, you fall to your hands and knees. This isn’t happening. Can’t be happening. Your thoughts are a mess, a scrambled version of the already nonsensical events that just transpired. Nothing connects to where you were only minutes ago.
“Today just doesn’t like me, does it?” You jump, startled by yet another voice, this time coming from where you woke up. You turn around and to your horror, another one of those demons. This one is smaller and less muscular, it’s coat a dark purple rather than grey and its eyes baby blue. From its tiny snout, only one fang is visible, on the left side. Its wings are extended, and it’s muzzle is somehow twisted into a frown.
You frantically sit back and scramble backwards, as far away from the winged creature as you can. “Get the hell away from me.” You say in a trembling voice laced with both terror and rage.
The feminine creature just huffs and sits down in an irritated manner, which only confuses you more. You almost wish the thing would just attack you. She puts her face in her two front hooves and shakes her head. “I really just don’t bucking get it.” She whines, ignoring you. “How many ways can the universe possibly insult me? Really. I had the perfect opportunity. No one saw me leave my den, it was just three pathetic lackeys, and they were right in my clutches. But, nope!” The creature laughs sarcastically with an edge of hysteria and points at you. “The celestial bodies just had to align and send some lunatic alien… demon… thing in my path and take out my enemies for me! Bucking fantastic, really, that was spectacular, thank you, Luna, for your bucking contribution to my night. Really helped a lot!” She kicks a small rock with a childish grunt.
You’ve lost it. Officially nothing can make any less sense than what has become of your life in the past twenty minutes. Deciding that this animal is just as wary of you as you are of her, you speak up, hoping this time it will listen to you. “Send me home.” Is all you can manage.
The bat-horse looks at you in astonishment as if you had just insulted it. “Wha- Ho- Who the buck do you think you are? You come out of bucking nowhere, ruin my whole night, tell me to back off, and now you’re sitting there expecting me to give a flying buck? No, find your own way back to Tartarus, two-legged freak, or die out here in the woods! And while you’re at it, stay out of ponies’ business!”
Before you can respond, the pony looks down at the unconscious body and then back up to you and smiles as if an idea just struck her. “Or, better yet, follow me to my colony.”
You’re not sure you like the sound of seeing more of her kind, and you vigorously shake your head. The bat-pony rushes towards you, a scowl on her face. “That wasn’t a question, two-legs. This is what you get for bucking everything up. Now, you and this napping nopony over here are coming with me as prisoners and will be dealt with by my colony, and I will finally be able to prove myself as a worthy bat-pony while you’re scraping up the foal-pups’ guano room. You said you wanted me to take you home?” She laughs almost sinisterly. “Well, welcome home.”
Author's Note
Thanks for reading, and don't be afraid to tell me how to make it better! 
I was really looking forward to that sandwich...
Welcome home.
Although the initial shock has begun to subside, those two words echo relentlessly in your head and infest your conscience with abject terror. You can't really be trapped here forever, can you? Maybe none of this is real. Maybe it's a dream. Oh God... maybe you're dead. You keep coming up with more possibilities, each one more morbid than the last, until a sharp voice pierces your thoughts.
"Hey, pick up the pace, biped!" The winged horse leading you down a rugged path of stone snaps at you yet again. You choose to ignore her, adjusting the unconcious body slung over your shoulder and maintaining your constant pace. Hardly a few minutes have passed since you appeared in front of the forest, but it feels like an eternity ago. With nowhere else to go and no intention of aggravating another talking bat horse thing, you decided to obey the feminine equine and now find yourself trudging away from the thick forest and towards what appears to be a large boulder in the distance, silhouetted by the moonlight.
"Hey, I said move it!" the female barks naggingly. Evidently, she wants you to kill her. You simply exhale sharply through your nose and grit your teeth as you desperately try to block her and everything around you out. This technique occasionally works when on the phone with angry customers, but then again, refraining from arguing with a winged horse isn't something you're paid to do. Said horse abruptly stops and turns around, flapping her wings so she can look you in the eye. "What are you, brain dead? I don't have all night!"
Lowering your glare back to the ground and maintaining your constant pace, you try not to grind your teeth as you reply in a dry voice. "I'm holding a fifty-pound horse, I think the least you could do is be a little patient with me."
The creature, still hovering where you were just standing, races over to you and snarls. "The least I could do?" She shrieks. "I'm taking you to my home instead of leaving you stranded in the Everfree forest!"
You look up, a fire of agitation brewing inside of you and no one around to control it. "Right, to make me your prisoner, isn't that what you said? Is this something you Hell-horses do often, find people in the forest and take them captive?"
"Ugh, stop calling us that!" The hovering demon almost seems offended. "We're batponies, not horses, and you're lucky I'm not leaving you in the woods to die!"
"Lucky!?" you shout. "I was about to enjoy a nice Friday night with no one but me, my TV, and my gorgeous, hand-crafted sandwich, and now I'm walking towards what I assume to be the gates of Hell with a crazy, unconscious demon on my shoulder and an even crazier demon barking orders and insults at me for no damn reason! If anyone's lucky, it's you! Give me one good reason why I shouldn't knock the daylights out of you right now!"
The batpony scoffs. "What're you gonna do, throw a rock at me?"
"Don't tempt me!" You snarl. Even though the prospect of slamming your fist into the bratty creature's one-fanged face sounds glorious, deep down, you know you're bluffing. You're gut is telling you to follow the creature to civilization, and you can't shake the feeling that it's right.
"Go ahead then!" the blue mare commands. "Do it! Knock me right out! It's just what I need, another attempt at making my clan proud blowing up in my face!" For the fifth time tonight, you have no idea what she's talking about or if she's even talking to you. "All I wanted was for one idea, just one idea of mine to go the way I wanted it to!"
"Well, all I wanted was a sandwich!" you snap. Clearly, if she's not going to bother making sense, you might as well say whatever the hell you want. Though, you really do wish you had your sandwich.
Suddenly, from the veil of shadows ahead, a low and harsh voice echoes. "Satin Silhouette!" it roars. "Where in Equestria have you been?" The small batpony in front of you reacts instantly with a small squeak of terror. She spins around to face the source of the voice and opens her mouth to speak, but before she can, the hidden creature steps into view and locks onto you with a horrified gaze. He is, not to your surprise, another batpony, and the largest one you've seen thus far. "Satin, what in Tartarus is that thing?" he asks. You can't tell if the tremble in his voice is one of fear or anger.
"Well, you see--" the pony called Satin begins with mask calmness before the stallion interrups again.
"And why in the name of Luna's night are you bringing it to our cavern?!" He does not take his fearful eyes off of your's as the irritation and astonishment in his voice slowly escalates.
"Well, yes, I'm getting to that if you would just--" once again, Satin tries to speak and once again, the stallion cuts her off.
"And what the buck is it carrying on it's shoulder!?" Finally, he turns his gaze to Satin with a look of utter outrage. "What in blazes have you been up to this time!? Was setting our garden on fire not enough for you? Was it too difficult for you to understand when to stop after the foal-pup incident? Why does it seem like we have this conversation every single night, and why does it never get through your skull!?"
The smaller batpony winces, but snaps right back up, her wings outstretched to make her look bigger. It doesn't do much. "Would you at least let me talk, dad?!" She nearly screams. "I think if you did, you'd actually find that I did something right!" Satin suddenly turns to you and then back to her father wearing a sheepish grin. "Well, almost. Look, I know this looks bad, and I know that I broke the rules by leaving my post, but I'll have you know that this time it was for a completely good and justifiable cause, and I totally took care of the problem by myself and have proven myself a worthy heir to the Zhu throne by doing so!" She smiles proudly before her eyes flick over to you once again and back to her father. "Well, almost by myself. Eheh."
Beneath the depths of your growing confusion and restlessness, there is a deep sense of satisfaction at seeing the being that was once nagging at you relentlessly be reduced to a stuttering child after a mere scolding. You want to say some thing, to interject and yell at something, anything, until it begins making sense, but all you can do now is stand there in a frazzled daze.
Satin's father stares at his daughter with what can only be described as a "death glare" as he opens his mouth and speaks in a steady voice. "I'll ask you again. What did you do this time?"
Satin puffs out her chest and scampers a few steps backwards with a determined grin on her face. She clears her throat. "Okay, so, I was sitting in my watchtower as usual, just... you know, watching, and suddenly I saw three batponies from the Mega Colony exit the Everfree onto our territory! I knew they were planning something bad, so, as the responsible princess of our proud colony, I took it upon myself to capture and imprison them! Of course, as luck would have it, my plan was nearly ruined when this thing," she gerstures towards you, "popped out of the shadows and chucked a rock at the intruders, knocking one of them out and scaring the other two away. Now, naturally, I was pretty mad, but then my stunning intellect took control and, voilà! Two prisoners for the Zhu Colony! You see, dad, if you just gave me a chance, I think you'll... dad?"
The large batpony's eye twitched. "Could you tell me something, daughter of mine?" he says slowly. "I want you to tell me the name of the cursed, Tartarus-born demon that possesses you to actually believe that having a blatant disregard for simple orders, constantly getting yourself and others in danger, and generally not giving a flying buck about anything I say would make you a worthy princess!" Satin's wings fold up as she hovers to the ground. "I mean, you've done some bone-headed things in the past, but leaving your post instead of reporting the danger to your comrades, getting yourself into a fight with rival colony members and bringing home the Everfree Forest creature that took them out for you really sets the record! How do you expect to ever be part of the council, much less take over the throne with behavior like this?!"
Apparently something he said really got under Satin's skin, because in less than a second, her wings are flared and she's standing at full height again. "Well gee, dad," she says melodramatically. "I'm sorry for 'endangering our colony' by preventing what would have been the seventh attack on us in two weeks, bringing one of the attackers to you as prisoner, and capturing an Everfree forest creature that could be a big threat to everypony if it was just let loose! Ever think of that, dad? No, you didn't, because all you ever think about is how bad I've messed up when I'm just trying to prove to everypony in the Zhu Colony that they can trust me!"
As if by some blocked door in the back of your head opening up, it suddenly dawns on you why this female creature annoys you so much: she's an adolescent. Fantastic. Said adolescent's father stays in his fury mode for a few seconds, silently staring at his defiant daughter until he seems to give up. He sighs and rubs his temple with a hoof (how these horses can do these things with their legs is a mystery, but it's creepy as hell).
"Satin..." the stallion sighs again. "Give me the Mega Colony batpony, take that creature back to where it belongs, and then come inside and tell everypony that you're safe. I'll think of a punishment for you when I no longer have a headache with the magnitude of Celestia's sun."
Yet another mental door becomes unblocked, and you finally come to terms with what's going on. You've been watching two ponies with demonic wings, specifically a daughter pony with demonic wings and her daddy pony with demonic wings, argue back and forth in American English and referring to you as if you were a demonic creature. This does not settle right with you.
"Alright, okay," you begin with a panicky grin, drawing the attention of both batponies. "So like, uhm, sorry to skip the formalities and such, but I'd really just like to let everyone know that, uh, this is not fucking normal!" You shout that last part hysterically, gesturing all around you. "I am a human being! My name is Caleb, and you are quadrepedic, cloven-hooved creatures that should be quietly grazing in a field somewhere and letting kids ride on you and pet you and feed you apples, not arguing like a daughter and father on prom night! So, stop it! No--" you're cut short when you feel the weight on your shoulder shift, followed by a stabbing pain shooting down your spine.
You howl in agony as you feel your instincts take over for the second time tonight. You bend over, catapulting the animal off of you and onto the ground. The impact of its back on the rugged stone beneath it renders it breathless, and you waste no time in straddling the gasping creature so that it can't get back on its hooves and wrap your hands around its thick neck. Your jaw is clenched tight and you can feel your heart pounding, shooting scalding adrenaline throughout every fiber of your being as the wicked thing beneath you slowly slips back into unconsciousness.
With a few more voiceless gags and futile jabs at your side, the batpony goes back to sleep. Panting for breath, you stand up, the cold night air now even more frigid against your sweat-covered skin. Your heart still beats wildly in your chest and you can still feel the blood rushing into and out of your skull, but something inside of you has been sated, that ever burning fire that begs relentlessly for you to release hell onto something that can fight back, the fire that you fear more than anything.
You turn your head to the two conscious batponies, who now look at you in astonishment. Their presence no longer kindles rage within you, and your irritation is replaced rather suddenly by desperation. You wipe the sweat off your brow and look directly into the male batpony's reptilian eyes. "Look. I don't want to hurt you," you admit quietly. "I don't know where I am or how I got here, but if I go wandering aimlessly in that forest looking for a way back home, I'm either going to die or go insane... if either of those things haven't happened to me yet. I followed your... daughter here because I have nowhere else to go. I'll... protect you or work for you or offer sacrifices to your god or whatever, just please don't leave me alone out here. I'm just... I'm just scared and-and confused." Thoughts of Isaiah and your apartment and your family and your sandwich fill your head and you're suddenly trying to hold back the throbbing, stinging urge to sob.
The batpony stallion squints his eyes in thought, then looks over to his daughter, then back to you, to his daughter, to you, and finally, he smiles. It's not a warm, welcoming smile, but more of a mischievous, cunning smile with a hint of pride. He takes a step forward and says slowly, "Caleb, was it?"
~~~
Satin cannot believe this is happening to her. Her dad gets all pissy and yells at her for just protecting her colony, but some rabid, bald, flat-toothed monster from the Everfree forest just cranks up the waterworks and now here he is, being led down the chambers of her colony's cavern by his royal highness. Hmph. More like his royal... stupid-father-ness. The young batpony mare yet again flutters her leathery wings in irritation as she walks alongside the creature. How this thing took out a batpony stallion two times in a row is beyond Satin. It looks harmless, with its transparent flaky claws, roundish teeth and bare hide. How does he even keep balance? Not looking where she's going, Satin walks straight into a stalagmite.
"Oomph!" she grunts, her forehoof sticking straight out and her small muzzle flattened. She steps back, caringly rubbing her one precious fang with her tongue before snapping her attention back up to her father and the human. "Hey, hey, hey, woah, dad wait." Satin leaps up and rushes to her dad, who turns around.
"Yes?" He says casually.
Satin looks behind him at the large familiar entrance ahead, covered by silky white curtains. "Why are we going to the council forum?" she inquires nervously. Her nerves are not settled by the smirk her father gives her.
"I told you that I'd come up with your punishment once my headache subsides," he explains. "Seems that this season's allergies are going easy on me." With that, he saunters behind the curtains.
~~~
You really never intended to get a closer look at the sentient horses that have now made you their guest, but the antsy Satin really gives you no choice, her eyes now inches away from your own with a frantic gleam reflecting from them. "Look, human, Caleb, whatever," she whispers harshly. "I know you already don't like it here, but I can tell you for a fact that behind those curtains, only misery can exist." She places her hooves on your shoulders and shakes you back and forth. "Misery! Please, please just turn around--"
"Satin Silhouette!" her father's voices pierces through the curtains, causing her to wince dramatically. You say nothing, simply cocking your eyebrow and pushing her hovering form away. The curtains do not feel the way you expected them to. They're lighter than feathers, almost not even there, like walking through a spiderweb. As you push past the gossamer drapes, you're greeted by a large dome-shaped room. Like the rest of the cavern, it's mysteriously illuminated by a pale silver light emanating from thin, vein-like patters tracing the walls. From the edge of the circular cave to the middle, several stalagmites stick out from the ground, progressively growing in size until they reach the center of the floor, at which point they seem to form a booth-like structure, reminiscent of a courthouse.
Upon this booth sit three batponies. You recognize Satin's father immediately, his indigo coat giving off a sense of regality as he looks upon you from his spot between two elderly ponies. The one on the right is pale blue, almost grey with eyes of silver. Something about his stern face and cold eyes sends chills down your back. On the king's left is a mare of equal age, a black veil covering half of her face, letting only the golden glow of her eyes shine through. You hear the sound of slow hoof steps coming from behind you and you turn around, glad to have an excuse to look away from the intimidating creatures before you.
Satin does not look at you. Her shoulders are hunched and her head is lowered, her glowering gaze trained on her father. "Hello, council." She says bitterly.
"Midnight," the ancient pony with veil says, not taking her eyes off of you. "Do you care explaining?" Her voice seems frail yet firm at the same time, like a tree flailing in the wind. Satin's father, evidently named Midnight, explains in full detail the events that have transpired up until this point, earning snorts and scoffs of protests from Satin from time to time. You try not to shudder at the sight of the two council members staring you down. Even the king Midnight, with his fiercely long fangs, large intimidating wings and deep commanding voice simply does not compare to these two. You reassure yourself that you could definitely overcome them in a fight, but you just can't shake off those creepy stares, like they know something about you that even you don't.
When Midnight finished telling the story, the silver-eyed council member spoke up. "This creature," he began in a scratchy voice. "What do you plan on doing with him?"
The king smiled and looked at his daughter. "Oh, I'm getting to that. You see, as we all know, my daughter, the princess of the Zhu Colony has long needed to be taught a lesson in responsibility." Another scoff from Satin. "We've tried just about every position in the colony to occupy her with, but she still has yet to learn how to cooperate." The two council members listen intently as Satin visibly becomes more nervous. She tries to hide it by fanning out her wings, but they began to slightly shake.
"What does this have to do with the forest creature, my lord?" The female council member takes the thought right out of your question-filled head.
"Let him continue, Mascaraga!" Spats the stallion on the right.
"Oh, shut your trap!"
Midnight clears his throat. "If you two are quite done?" He says patiently. The two ponies turn their attention back to him. "As I was saying," he continues. "We've tried to occupy her with almost every position our colony has. Except for the one task that every princess and responsible young adult should be assigned with." Satin's eyes go wide. "Unfortunately, though this occupation always seemed the smartest idea, we've never seemed to be able to find an available partner to assign to Satin. Not to mention that I really wanted to use this as a last resort, but now I am at my wit's end, and we've got him!" Midnight points directly at you with a hoof.
Satin suddenly stumbles forward, giving a nervous chuckle. "Uhm, dad, you're, uh you're not talking about--"
She is cut off by the male council member. "Do not talk out of turn!"
"I'll tell my daughter what to do and what not to do, thank you, Chiro." Midnight says calmly. He turns his head to Satin. "Don't talk out of turn. And yes, dear, I am reffering to foalpup supervising." He states with a smile.
Mascaraga looks at her king with wary eyes. "M-my lord, while I have come to terms with the fact that your methods of leadership are a bit strategically unorthodox, as a councilmare I should remind you that we do not know the full capabilities of this creature here. He is foreign beast that could have nefarious motives!"
"Are you sure it would be wise to entrust the safety of three foalpups and your daughter to this thing? Our colony is hanging on by a thread as it is what with the drought, and is on the verge of war with the Mega Colony!" Chiro exclaims. Satin nods her head vigorously in agreement with a desperate smile on her face. None of it fazes the ingido king as he looks into your eyes with an eerily confident smirk.
"I am aware of the risks," he states. "But I'll remind you that it is because of my tactics that the Zhu Colony is still surviving. I may not know everything about him, but I do know that he is lost and in need of shelter and food. I also know that he can very well protect my daughter and anypony else, and I know that he does not wish to start a fight of any kind." He smiles at you and you can't help but gulp nervously. Satin does the same.
"Satin Silhouette," her father says, causing her to flinch. "You wish to prove your capabilities as a princess? Well, here you are. If you can go for three weeks of foalpup supervising and learn how to cooperate without anymore little schemes or attempts at escapes, you can be promoted to the guard position."
"But I am on guard duty!" She whines.
"Not anymore." Mascaraga's voice sounds hesitant. "Satin Silhouette, you are hereby removed from the Zhu Colony guard and assigned to foalpup supervision duty."
Chiro nods his head. "You are to report to your chamber along with this creature who is now your official partner and await the foalpup gatnering at dawn." Satin's mouth hangs open in stunned astonishment.
"No, dad, you can't!" Satin screams.
Her father's smirk has not faded. "I already have, daughter of mine. Now, you heard Chiro and Mascaraga. Take Caleb to your chamber and wait there to be assigned foalpups in the morning. While you're at it, you should propably explain all of this to our guest. I'm sure all of this is very overwhelming for him, and after all, he is your partner."
Satin makes several strangled irritated noises before simply grunting at her father. She turns to you and snarls, "C'mon, partner." You simply follow her, completely unaware of what just happened. All you know is that is has something to do with this nagging rebellious female creature, and that there's a good chance you're going to be spending a lot more time with her. Spectacular.
Author's Note
Ok, to those who actually cared to get this far, I'm going to apologize for two things. One, sorry for the delay, Christmas time is a hassle, and two, sorry for the lack of eventfulness in this chapter. Exposition is no fun, and it takes a special kind of talent that I have yet to learn to make it interesting. Next chapter, I assure you, will be much better. Here, have some behind-the-scenes fun facts.
1-part of the reason it took so long to publish this chapter is because I had to delete and retype the argument scene between Caleb and Satin a total of ten times before I got it to end without a fist/hoof fight.
2-Chiro and Mascaraga are both bat-related names
3-Every time I type Satin's name, my tablet suggests the word 'Satan'. Apparently, it hates my OCs.
4-Nothing the batponies discuss in this chapter is explained because I want the audience to be just as frustrated and confused as Caleb is. Also, because I'm evil.
Well, off to chapter three. Whoosh!
