Life was a lemon. Or was that an oyster? Screw that because you didn't care. You were walking down a side street in Ponyville with a ticked-off attitude that would make a rabid pack of timberwolves proud. And why shouldn't you be this way after Hearts and Hooves Day was dying the same way the sun had lowered itself to rest? It was nighttime and late as well. It might have been ten sharp by now but there was little point in looking to any clock.
You arrived at that little bridge in town with a frown plastered on your face. Should you have stayed home? Yes? No? It didn't matter. You ground your teeth as you kept repeating to yourself “happy single, happy single.”
As a sick or perhaps insensitive joke, your best friend sent you a box of chocolates that had those two words printed into the bars. What's worse, it wasn't even name brand chocolate. A half dozen dirty words would be more fitting to those abominations rather than “chocolate” and the first few even matched the color. You were pretty sure it was that watery fake chocolate-flavored candy stuff that had become a tradition to eat on Easter. Well, a tradition for ponies who could stomach that trash anyways.
It wasn't as if you hadn't tried to score a tail for this most miserable of days. Sure, you didn't play for stands or flings but did that really lower your odds that much? It wasn't as if you were unattractive or not outgoing enough to garner some interest. Celestia hated you. That was all.
You looked down over the edge of the bridge as you stood at the peak in the middle. The water below casted a reflection of your face along with the moon, which had the countenance of a mare in it that winked at you. With heart-wrenching speed you whipped your head around to look at the lunar body with your bare eyes only to find the face gone. Disappointed, you returned to gazing forlornly at the water's reflection.
How desperate did you have to be to imagine that? Not that hitting the altar with a princess wasn't an ongoing fantasy. Heck, you'd even take your best friend at this point. That was how low you had sunk. Except, of course, for that box of chocolates. Married life with that pony had to be Tartarus in griffon form whipping your flank with a flaming violin bow. At least that was how you imagined it.
The night was dead quiet. Dead as the mummified remains of your heart. The only interruption was the peaceful trickling that came from the stream of water below the bridge and the rustle of leaves from sparse in-town trees. You related to them because you understood how the trees felt. After all, you had also received some rustling to your jimmies this fine, four-fendered day.
The distance between the lip of the bridge and the rocky stream below was looking awfully inviting. It was offering some sweet relief in the form of a cold splash of water and it was only your own height's worth in depth anyways. There was a particular rock in the stream that was splitting the water just right so as to make a little maelstrom. Maybe the Eye of Terror could score you some mutated changeling flank for midnight. That was still preferable to your best friend.
It was not as if you hadn't had a little “me” time with those shape-shifting cuties. You spent one part of your day crying into your Queen Chrysalis dakimakura as you shoveled cheap-flank imitation chocolate into your muzzle - the same abominations that tasted like hair cream. That's right. You partied like it was 1999.
So your reservations were gone. You climbed up onto the railing of the bridge and jumped like a fat pig launching at a fresh trough of slop. As Steal Rain did you drop, all inhibitions burned away by the tempting chill that the stream below seduced you with. Finally you would be soaked enough to clear your head, the imaginary army brass muzzle gone from your heart.
Just as you were sure you were about to hit the shallow water and slimy rocks square on your hooves, you were weightless once more. It happened so fast that Fili-Second would get whiplash. A yellow blur shot by, carrying you with it. Precious seconds slipped away before you could even make sense of what had occurred, what was holding you, or where you ended up.
Was this the top of Ponyville Town Hall's roof? It was hard to tell in the night. In fact, the moon's faint light was the only thing that made any deduction at all possible. One thing was for sure, though. The distance between the top of the roof you were now on and the ground below was terrifying and completely unlike the little nothing distance of the bridge you had hopped from. You may too like to live dangerously but you weren't going to go jumping off any ENCOM towers either. Only with a Tachikoma's grapple line and life insurance would you consider it.
Now what or who had scooped you up midair anyways? You turned around carefully on the slanted roof to behold a strange sight. Bathing in the lunar glow at the very tip of the roof's spire was a pony-like form with two outstretched bat wings. Normally, your heart would feel a chill and creep at the sight, but this was no Nightmare Moon. No darkness of night or soft white celestial lighting could hide the gentle contours of the lovely creature perched before you. Pink mane, yellow coat, and the most heart-jumping red eyes you've ever seen made this lithe beauty a veritable goddess.
The butter-yellow bat-pony was cracking a playful smile upon her face. It didn't matter whether or not you believed in love at first sight because the mare was exuding every notion that she did. The moment was crowned by destiny itself and emphasized only by the graceful and subtle tune of Love Shack, which was playing in your head for some reason. You had been wrong. Celestia didn't hate you. She loved you to pieces to give you this.
Wait. You tried stopping yourself from making a step towards the perfection in front of you. It was not typical for you to be such a quick and senseless robot when it came to grabbing romance. You had deep feelings and a system that had to be adhered to so that nopony thought you were lacking in respect. That hesitation did not last long though. The winged fem was smothering your reason like a Dahanese Siren with her fluttering eyelashes and cute, tiny blush on her cheeks.
The moment you opened your mouth to speak was the very one that the flawless creature spoke. It was in a soft whispery voice that somehow managed to pull off being as kind as a mother's and as sexy as that one Ivy figurine you kept on a shelf at home. Her words acted as an elixir to heat you up and make you reach for the coolant flush like a newb in a Nova Cat after the first salvo.
“I,” was her first butterfly-inducing word.
“Love,” was the heart-stopping second.
“You,” came the third like sweet honey.
Your mouth was stuck open, as unable to move as instant-death Merik in the Ice Caves. Why had she said that? You two had only met just now after she had swooped you away from clearing your head in some cold water. Oh, how you could use that water now.
The sleek mare fluttered her bat wings effortlessly and hovered right up to your face. “Call me Flutterbat,” she breathed into your ear as she leaned into it.
You still didn't get anything out of your mouth, which she closed with a forehoof before picking you up again and not missing a single beat of her wings. You were putty in her hooves and, with things moving with the pace of a high-speed Godlike instagib deathmatch, there was nothing you could manage to do except go with what you were beginning to like. With you in her hooves, she soared out again into the warm night air.
“Flutterbat,” you breathed out more as a calming and reassuring word than the name of your carrier. This was definitely a train that didn't take a credit card to ride. She even made this little half-audible giggle at the sound of your voice that paralyzed you again. Heck, you'd go Runner just to hear it once more.
The stars were passing by overhead, casting their crystal clear beauty upon the two of you and an Equestria below that you cared less for in the moment. The leisurely flight gave evidence to the strength of Flutterbat's powerful clawed wings. It did end, though. You wouldn't have minded if it went on like that because, as far as you knew, this was all an impossible dream. It was not as if you would have cared even if she took you straight into the heart of the Grand Stream.
She had taken you back to her home, a ghastly looking cottage that had once looked nothing as it did now. The previously inviting house of nature was transformed into a black scourge upon the land, spikes and hooked extrusions jutting out left and right for seemingly no reason or purpose. For all you knew, it was some devil's summer home in Tartartus. But Flutterbat lead you into it all the same after she set you down on the ground at the door. Follow was indeed what you did. There was no reason not to, all possible fates worse than death mattered as much to you now as finding out that Bridget wasn't the Venus you thought “she” was.
If there were any windows to the dark prison sucking in even the moon's faint light, you saw no light coming forth therefrom. The doors were more a pre-rusted gate that even Sauron would feel was a bit much. As if by magic, the gates parted open to allow the bat-pony to draw you inside. A light did exist on the inside as you entered, but it was a dim one barely more energetic than the moon you had left outside. In fact, the center of the house had a hole to let in that natural form of illumination.
You and Flutterbat were not the only occupants of the central room, as became immediately apparent. Steady glows from some kind of luminescent wall mushrooms attempted to mimic Tallon IV and succeeded in revealing small Flickerbat-like forms zipping about the place. A much larger form chased after them without the benefit of wings or the speed they allowed. This being bounced along rather than walked for some odd reason.
Flutterbat turned around, removing her sashaying pink tail from your view and replacing it with a cheerful smile emphasized by two pointy fangs sticking out in just the right way. “Welcome, my love,” she soothed you in that soft whispery voice.
“Oh, oh, oh!” the bouncing figure catapulted out of one of the darker portions of the room and straight into the light and your face. You could see now it was a pink Earth pony with a rambunctious-looking mane of the same color. “Another one! Another one!” she continued speaking in a too-fast and too-excited manner as she shook your hoof rapidly and roughly.
You wished it was this easy to get acquainted with somepony on normal days of your life. First meetings tended to be more random and prone to fist fights over gibberish than the laughs and giggles that this pony was giving. You could barely give your own response before the girl was hollering out to other unseen occupants of the foreboding prison-cottage and then returning her attention back to you. “I'm Pinkie Pie, by the way. Oh I just know you'll love it here once you get used to the-”
Her words were interrupted briefly as she bounced up in place and caught something out of the air with a single hoof. When the other three hooves touched the floor again, she was cradling something in the fourth.
“-swing of things,” Pinkie finished with another laugh.
Taking a closer look by leaning around to catch the thing in the right light, you finally saw what the mare had snatched. It was a very small infant – a foal. It was only set apart by a pair of wicked looking bat wings that were sure to drop a Rathian Spike or two if broken before the tranq bombs.
“Perhaps,” sang Flutterbat's delicate voice as she came around Pinkie Pie, “you would feel more comfortable after being introduced to everypony.”
“Everypony?” you parroted before you could keep the word in your mouth. What was all of this supposed to mean? That little bat-pony foal had a few facial features resembling your love-at-first-sight goddess. You hated to be pessimistic but there were a few implications here that the blue feather had been passed around more than once.
“Everypony!” Pinkie Pie parroted as well but with more energy. “Time to meet the girls!”
Before even the smallest sound could escape you, the bouncy pink pony used her one forehoof not cradling the tiny foal to wrench you from your spot and through several nightmarish corridors that the cottage-turned-fortress could not possibly have had the room for within. When the world stopped blurring around you, there was a white unicorn in front of you. At least you assumed she was white based on the colors emitting from the dim mushroom lighting.
“Oh?” the pale mare's elegant voice came out in the most charming manner.
“I knew you'd still be here,” Pinkie giggled beside you.
The new mare frowned. “What could possibly make you assume-”
“That you'd still be fussing over the same buttress banners you have been for the past week?” the bubbly Earth pony finished. “Oh, silly me.”
The seemingly refined female gave a “hmph” and then regarded you again. “Rarity,” she bowed politely. “Pleased to make your acquaintance...”
You gave your name but felt bad about it not sounding as graceful as the one belonging to the beautiful pony before you. In fact, it felt almost like the kind of occasion where one was inclined to give some intricate gesture of greeting in return. But you were not the sort to have those kind of things taking up space in your mind.
“Oh, I'll just know you'll love it here,” Rarity flipped her mane over in typical fashionista style. “I assure you our mistress is as kind and perfect as I'm sure you've noticed. Princess Celestia simply does not compare. But here I go praising my mistress again.”
Even the mare's covered and restrained laugh was further testament to her refined nature. She gave Pinkie Pie a knowing look and shooed the two of you off while she went back to staring at the large banners hanging on either side of the corridor's corner. She seemed incredibly serious about whatever she was thinking.
“C'mon!” Pinkie Pie grabbed you and lead you about as she had before.
You hardly ever had time to think or speak in this place. When you stopped for the second time, you nearly fell forward onto your face from the momentum. Somepony seriously needed to disable Pinkie Pie's hyperdrive. It was a necessity even if it required shutting the whole park down to do it. Life had a habit of finding a way even if nopony was up to the task.
“Howdy,” rang the twang of a heavy accent.
It wasn't until then that the dizziness of travel wore off of you enough to make out who was talking let alone where you were. Bearings were found, however, along with the orange Earth pony from which the greeting came. “Figures Pinkie Pie would be showin' ya around. Everypony else is always too busy for the newcomers. Save that RD. Ya think work'd be sin the way she does nothin' all night.”
You looked around curiously as you passed your own greeting on. The place you were now in, courtesy that blasted pink Laplace's Demon, was not immediately sensible to you. It was a large round room lit by more mushrooms than any other place and the floor was actually dirt rather than wood or marble as elsewhere had been. The dirt floor had also been tilled and sported some kind of small crop. At the very center was a large and luscious apple tree.
“Yeppers!” Pinkie confirmed. The young bat-pony cradled in her forehoof didn't seem to mind anything that had been going on since the start. Maybe it was used to this.
“Heh,” the stetson-hat-wearing pony continued at you. “Name's Applejack. But some just call me AJ. Got crop duty here to make sure the Miss is happy. Can't have her worryin' bout feeding us or the foals. An' ah gotta keep her favorite tree in tip-top shape for sleepin'.”
You asked if there were any other trees that thrived on such minute and unusual lightning, which the pony grinned and shook her head to.
“Hardly,” she denied. “Sides, the Miss prefers eatin' out on the orchard. This is the only tree of its kind. 'Nough of that, though. You seen Twi yet?”
At a shake of your own head, you got the feeling that you were about to get grabbed by a pink hoof for the third time. Destiny did not disappoint but you did get in a word of “bye” before getting yanked out of the normal time continuum. Next stop, Twi. Where that pony was you did not know but were certain to find out. Pinkie Pie hit the brakes to leave you in a particularly ornate room somewhat unlike the dark prison of the others. A beautiful instrumental tune was playing from some music-emitting device sitting on one large antique desk.
“Gotta get back to the foals,” Pinkie Pie said in a hurry. “Twi'll show you the rest. Later alligator!”
You opened your mouth the say something to that but the pink wonder was already gone. She was just too fast when it came to...well...everything.
“Sorry about Pinkie,” calmed the voice of another that you had not noticed before. It was a purple pony that was just now backing out of the room's enormous closet. You now recognized the place as a fancy bedroom complete with a four-post bed and all the luxuries. You also noticed the purple pony was an alicorn.
“Twi? Princess Twilight Sparkle?!” you couldn't help but gasp in surprise. You didn't expect to run into the royal here.
The princess smiled and giggled lightly. “Yes?”
“I...um...”
“Oh, it's okay,” she spoke for you instead to release you from the pressure of not knowing what to say in the moment. “Pinkie just gets carried away sometimes. She's a hard worker though – always taking care of the little ones. I promise you I won't tear you around like she does.”
“Th-thanks?” you stuttered, still feeling lost.
Twilight walked over to the desk and pushed something on it with a forehoof, which made the soft music stop. “You would have met Flutterbat and Pinkie Pie, obviously. Our mistress wants you oriented, correct? Have you met Rarity yet?”
“Briefly,” you replied troubled. You wanted to have had a more complete introduction but that would have required upgrades you could only obtain in the Bronze Age.
“Ah,” Twilight nodded. “Then AJ as well. She's just across the way. I'll show you to Rainbow Dash and then you can be back with the mistress.”
“I've been wanting to ask...” you finally tried to give voice to your thoughts.
“Yes?” the purple mare offered openly as she lead you back to the bedroom's door.
“Everypony calls Flutterbat 'mistress.' Does that mean-”
Before the suspicious words could finish leaving your mouth, Twilight tossed her mane back and looked at you with half-lidded eyes and a playful smile. “Yes, we are all a part of her harem.”
Few terms could give justice to the moment in which you found yourself trailing dream-like behind the deep sapphire tail of Princess Twilight Sparkle. It bounced left and right along with her step as if in an attempt to distract you from the dimensional rift that had opened in the Pacific Ocean of your mind. With any ounce of hope, the love at first sight you shared with Flutterbat had to be true and deliver you from what had just been indicated to be a cruel Pekoponian trap.
But no. You knew in your heart this was reality and one that you would not escape from. The colony had already entered the atmosphere and nothing could stop this Operation Meteor now. No swift race to the chopper could tear you from the deep-seated infatuation you obtained towards the lovely bat-pony.
The ghastly hallway passed along and you entered a new place as yet unexplored. Twilight stepped aside to give you a view of what laid within the hot room. Indeed, the place had a particular sweat to it that none of the other rooms did. It made sense when you beheld the large kitchen that took up every inch of the space. There was a singular blue pegasus darting around from one spot to another. First to the oven and then to the sink full of dishes and then to a table stacked with ingredients and chopping utensils.
The busy mare had a unique multi-colored mane that was a stark contrast to the dreary tones of the room. The only other thing that had hues even close to her rainbow was the mess of food piled on the table. The pegasus was breaking a sweat for more reason than the warm air and her expression read trouble.
“Rainbow Dash,” Twilight called out to the working mare. “We have a new member.”
That was probably the most distinct moment in which you decided that, heck, you didn't care if you were jumping into a harem. You loved Flutterbat and that was all that mattered.
“Just,” the blue pegasus said hurriedly. “One. Second.”
After checking and doing a half dozen things, the mare finally glided down in front of you. It was more obvious now how much her feathers were ruffled and her coat disheveled. She coughed and sighed before speaking again.
“Sorry,” she breathed out in a tired tone. “I don't have much time with all the chores that need to get done. Not to mention lunch is in the oven...”
“Lunch?” you couldn't help but let out. It hardly seemed time-appropriate to have lunch at midnight.
Twilight smiled politely again and then walked over to the table with the ingredients to begin helping out. Rainbow gave her own weak smile of appreciation but it was gone as quick as it came. If anything, this mare looked like she had been trying to make the chimpanzee exhibit completely to the inhabitants' liking, which everypony and their cousin knew was impossible. One might as well take on Vol Opt with nothing but a single monomate.
“Yeah,” Rainbow sighed out again. “In case you didn't notice, newbie, we're on Flutter's time. Breakfast is at dusk, lunch is at midnight, and dinner's just before sunrise. In case you didn't hear, I'm Rainbow Dash and I'm in charge of all the menial labor that I'm not good at,” she complained, rolled her eyes, and blew upwards at some damp strands of her mane that had slid over an eye. “Maybe you can help me get Pinkie Pie back in here or maybe AJ. Anyways, you'll be sleeping off the day from now on like the rest of us. Don't even remember last time I saw the sun at noon...or the sun at all.”
“Huh,” was all you wound up saying. You had always been kind of a night owl anyways so it didn't matter much to you if you turned full graveyarder. “Need help here?”
It was an obvious enough question and a generous offer to which the over-worked fem visibly appreciated. But she didn't let you by as she had Twilight. “Me and Twi can handle it. Maybe I'll accept next time around but this is your first night. Flutters is going to be pining for some quality time with you. Just prance on out of here. You know the way, right?”
“I'll show you!” blasted the bubbly voice of Pinkie Pie, who sprung into the room unexpectedly. “Got a quickie break. Let's get you back to mistress!”
“Uh, right...” you did your best in reply to the circumstance. This pink one certainly had a knack for speed. That or she just bamfed everywhere. In any case, you did want to be back with Flutterbat and Twilight was encouraging you to go with a wave of her hoof and a knowing wink. So you turned from the kitchen and the two winged ponies therein to follow Pinkie Pie out.
The Earth pony wasn't holding an infant this time and you thought you might as well ask about it as the two of you went back the way you had come earlier, albeit more slowly. “So what's with all the little bat-pony foals?”
It was a straightforward enough question, right? It wasn't like some kind of inquiry that would induce a cloud of radically fluctuating deviant chaotrons to penetrate the synaptic relays. It could be answered in a few short sentences. Perhaps even just one, which is barely what you got.
“Their ours,” Pinkie Pie replied joyfully. “Silly.”
If you had a cup of water you would have done a spit-take. “How?!”
You should never have asked because that was the last straw needed for the jubilant mare to break into full song, which lasted all the way to your destination. “There happens a time,” she began singing out in a happy melody not matching the environment in the slightest.
“When you stare down the biggest of fights...”
Her body swung around in dance as she carried on.
“Looking for a sign, lost in the blackest of nights. The wind races so cold. You're standing as one...before the battle's begun.”
You groaned as she took you in hoof with dramatic pose.
“But way down in your soul the future unfolds as bright as the rays of the sun.”
Grabbing you fully, she leaned you over romantically.
“You've got to believe in the power of love!”
You tried to interject at this point but you couldn't get a word in edgewise. She was really into it.
“Oh yes, you've got to believe in the power of love!”
This was ridiculous.
“Believe,” she stretched the word out in song, “in the power of Flutterbat's love!”
“Pinkie,” soothed the soft sound of a voice neither yours nor hers. It was that of Flutterbat herself.
You leaned back in Pinkie's hold to see your yellow goddess behind the Earth pony, who summarily dropped you without the faintest hint of grace. You rolled roughly onto the floor and tried to get up with some amount of dignity, which Pinkie Pie had done well to recently destroy.
“Mistress!” the pink pony bounced in place and tried to fling forward for a hug with the other mare.
Flutterbat extended one forehoof that stopped Pinkie dead in place by landing right into her face. She hadn't punched out but rather simply lifted her hoof into which the other drove straight into. “The foals need attention,” the bat-pony instructed in her honey-sweet voice. “Please tend to them while I take care of my beloved.”
“Yes, sir ma'am sir!” the Earth pony recovered instantly and saluted before zipping off in a pink streak.
Flutterbat turned to you and smiled warmly. “Let me bring you to a place,” she began in her own melody, “that you've never seen, never been, only dreamed...where I can remove all of your pain.”
You were lost in her reddish eyes and sugary yet gentle voice. You were still in one of the winding dark corridors but you had a feeling that would not be for long as she stepped daintily by you and through a nearby door. You followed like a moth to the flame.
This room was new and quite obviously the bat-pony's master room. But to describe it as a bedroom would hardly do it justice since you had found out earlier that she slept on that one special tree that AJ took care of. Like Twilight's room, it was furnished with an assortment of ornate things, such as desks, bookshelves, a vanity dresser, and even a few sofas of deep royal red silks. The place would put many a rich tyrant's palace to shame.
“Come,” Flutterbat whispered as she hovered onto the nearest loveseat. “You will be tired tonight as you adjust to the new 'day.'”
You didn't need second invitations from this mare to sidle up against her on the magnificent cushions.
“We can relax here,” she said as she nuzzled up against you. “Why don't you speak to me, my love?”
There was no problem there either. But it was just the same as having somepony ask you to say something on the spot. When asked simply to speak, one never seemed to have a single word to say. At least any that didn't sound completely and utterly stupid.
“We're together? The both of us?” you managed to speak with a greater amount of intelligence than you felt in the moment. Flutterbat was making your mind feel like mush with nothing more than a simple cuddle. The little faint giggle she let out just made things worse.
“Of course, beloved. We are together forever...”
“What's all this about a harem? The girls? The foals?” you couldn't help but wonder.
The bat-mare didn't hesitate, though, even as she continued nuzzling you. “They are mine just as you are. I love them all but don't think that means I love you less. I'm sure you will come to love them in time as well.”
“Love them...?” you blushed.
Flutterbat brought her head back up to look eye-to-eye with you. Her gaze, a mere hoof's distance from your face, was like a dream come true. “There is nothing but love here. Between us all...”
The world shifted around you and you wanted to cry. You didn't want to cry tears of sorrow, much as those you had shed upon realizing you had to go back into the water temple for that one hidden pick-up. No, you wanted to cry bitterly the tears of joy. This moment was what you always wanted. The warmth, the love, the peace, the butterflies in your stomach and on her flank.
After you enjoyed the restful cuddle, assured that this Hearts and Hooves Day had been saved, you decided to indulge your pink-maned mare with your words she seemingly desired. “The older I get,” you began, “will I get over this? It's been far too long for the times we missed.”
Flutterbat mewled cutely. “Oh, but I will see that you never feel regret for the past. For you tasked me upon that bridge. You tasked me and I had you! I would chase you around the moons of Nibia and around the Antares Maelstrom and around perdition's flames before I give you up.”
Truly no words could give just weight to the bonds that held you two together. And yet, she bore a strange ring around one hoof adorned with two serpents with emerald eyes. One was devouring while the other was crowned with golden flowers. What could this mean? You only just noticed it now that you looked at her from a different angle than you had before. The ring was wide to encompass her entire right hoof and camouflaged well with the hue of her coat.
She too noticed your noticing and stuck her tongue out playfully. “A small token of Princess Celestia's friendship. I will give it to you if you desire...”
“No,” you shook your head serenely. “The greatest gift and honor is having you as a lover.”
Her magenta eyes, nevermind arguing the precise hue, lit up charmingly. She wriggled on the loveseat to drape her bat wings around you. “So perfect...”
Was she talking about you, the moment, or her in context of being a great gift and honor? As far as you cared, all three could be correct. Not that you were egotistical or anything but she did choose you...and five other ponies. But, hey, you weren't about to be a pot calling the kettle black. Everypony dreamed of having a harem, right? Or maybe that was just you...and apparently Flutterbat.
Something smooth and a little wet trailed across your neck and you finally noticed that your new bat-pony mistress was sliding her two fangs across your jugular. Those two adorable little canines had been peeking out of her mouth since the moment you first met her and now you could feel their fuller length that had been hidden behind her luscious lips.
You unexpectedly let out a few laughs due to the sensation. “I swear I'm not – aha – ticklish!” you tried feebly to cover your sensitivity.
“Of course not,” Flutterbat giggled against you neck, her breath hot upon it.
There certainly was no worry that she shared more dark vampire tendencies to drain blood from victims. This was no survival horror game because, if it was, you would rather be fighting off rabid dinosaurs than get the “bad ending.” And who said cliches were a must anyhow?
You should never have said anything because Flutterbat went all out. She started carefully using her hooves and the claws of her wings to find every weak ticklish spot upon you. It didn't take long before you were laughing all of the air out of your lungs and literally falling out of the loveseat. Dignity was gone with the wind but your goddess was laughing with you, which made everything alright. The two of you tumbled around on the floor in play until you were both out of energy and rolled to a stop. Flutterbat was laying over you with a smile that could make the sun melt.
“I love you,” was your simple thought aloud.
“I know,” she beamed back.
Only this divine mare could perk you up so completely. You couldn't help a smirk. “Do I get extra lives if I catch you on the staircase?”
“It won't be easy,” she smirked in similar fashion. “I'm a master of the stairs.”
You could practically see a halo over her kind face. “Nopony ever got me...until now...”
Flutterbat leaned down and nuzzled your face with her own. “I'm not as clueless as my past self used to seem. Most ponies thought I was just a shy pegasus that didn't know anything.”
“And now?”
“I'm so much more,” she breathed against you, making you give a tiny laugh again in shadow of all the ones you had recently given.
“Yeah, I'd call you the queen or the ruler,” you remarked as you wrapped your hooves around her.
“You don't mind moving in, do you?” she asked gingerly in one of her first displays of timidness that you had seen from her thus far.
It wasn't really something to give much thought to, especially with how you felt now. “Why would I stay home when I've got something better to do?” you asked rhetorically while feeling like a million bits. “Especially when I've got you?”
“That's perfect,” she sighed and relaxed against you. “I'll have AJ make you a room.”
“Oh, no need for the trouble,” you resisted the notion. “I can just bunk with you.”
She giggled, which made you do the same.
“Seriously, though,” you deadpanned. “Mind if I stay with you for the night?”
“Stay with me?” she drew back up and looked you square in the eyes. “That was what I had in mind for you. For all the girls. Tonight is special, you know.”
You couldn't imagine why. Just as you couldn't imagine why anypony would be incapable of picking up on the sarcasm your thoughts were filled with. But the important thing here was what your bat-pony mistress had in mind for this night that was apparently her lunar version of Hearts and Hooves Day. You hoped it involved a kiss. That went without saying, right?
“You look really serious,” Flutterbat whispered into your ear.
You hadn't realized your determination for osculation had your face locked in stone concentration. You also hadn't realized that your thoughts just did a cheap rhythm in your head. Oh, but it was better than making silly puns instead. Dang it, you needed to stop.
The bat-mare grinned. “I'll go get some cider. It's perfect for a night like this.”
You vigorously nodded your head to that. A crisp drink with the fem was just what the doctor ordered for your ails. It would be a waste not to let her indulge you in whatever she wished, after all. And the twinkle in her eye when she mentioned cider was definitely a mark for her love of it.
You could hear the prancing and pawing of each little hoof as she walked delicately out of the room and back. She didn't take long and, when she returned, she had a rather elegant looking bottle of cider in her mouth as well as two thin, tall glasses clutched in her wing claws. You could easily imagine how convenient it was to be able to carry extra things that way.
“Is that Sweet Apple Cider?” you couldn't help but ask once you saw a familiar emblem upon the bottle. The stuff was great when you could get your hooves on it but it was increasingly difficult to find.
After your new love placed the items on one of the room's side tables, she answered you just as sweetly as you imagined the cider to be. “Yes, it is. AJ makes a few special bottles just for me.”
“A little love, huh?” you said with a grin as you walked up to your veritable master while she opened the bottle and started pouring the drinks.
Flutterbat set the bottle back down with the two glasses now filled three quarters. “I couldn't help but get one out,” she explained and turned to you after grabbing one glass in each wing claw. “This is our time. I shouldn't allow the chance of a lifetime pass us by.”
This time it was your turn to giggle, though it admittedly sounded far less cute coming from you than it did from her. She reached out one wing to give you your glass, which you deftly grabbed in your forehooves and drank just the tiny amount that she herself sipped. It really was Sweet Apple Cider and it even had a faint but extra snap to it that made it even better. Doubtless a little something from Applejack to her mistress.
You both sighed in tandem after the drink, which was needless fuel for a laugh you both shared. It was easy to keep in such light and happy spirit considering the company and occasion. But the moment was over because a new mare entered the room with no knock and only the mostly quiet creak of the door. It was Applejack herself and she had this sad look about her, but it was Flutterbat that spoke rather than her.
“I thought I told you to wait with the others,” the bat-pony's stated with far less of the nice intonation she used with you.
“A-Ahm sorry, m-mistress,” the strong Earth pony stuttered about with her scared and hurt expression. It was a far cry from how you had seen her earlier in that crop room. “It's j-jus' Hearts and H-Hooves an' all an' Ah w-was hopin' th-”
Flutterbat sighed loudly in exasperation and set her glass back down on the side table. “I'm afraid Applejack is feeling a little left out,” she looked to you and said. “It was probably because I asked for the cider. I usually have it with her. I hope you'll forgive the intrusion.”
You didn't mind in the slightest. If you did then that would make you horribly selfish and short-sighted. Okay, so maybe you did mind. You wanted that kiss, dang it.
The mistress pointed to one of the room's larger sofas with the tip of a wing claw and then filled her glass up more. Both you and Applejack proceeded to the soft silky piece of furniture and laid into it. The cushions gave enough to be wonderfully plush but not so much as to cause difficulty for you. There was no helping more looks to the orange pony since she seemed impossibly timid and worried in comparison to the attitude she had earlier when you first met her.
“I do not feel like calling for another so we will share my glass,” the sunny-coated mare declared to the other female as she came up between the two of you on the sofa. The wing holding her full glass moved to the Earth pony, who tried her best to grab it. She did and took a sip therefrom before her shaking hooves slipped on it. The drink didn't fall completely but did spill a healthy amount on the sofa.
Her face paled. “A-A-Ahm-” she rattled out in shock before she started crying.
Flutterbat sighed more quietly this time to herself and gave you a little look that said it would only be a minute before she could start returning her attentions to you. “Don't cry, Jacky,” she soothed upon regarding her farmer mare. “Just set the glass down and clean it up. You can use those.”
Applejack sniffed, nodded, and got up. She set the glass back over on the table and grabbed the papers that Flutterbat had directed towards, which she then used to start soaking up the excess fluid on the sofa. It took some doing but it did start drying out. You could have sworn, though, that the papers were some sort of script. You made out a few lines that said something about a princess, a crown, and going to the human world.
“What's with AJ?” you whispered as quietly as you could into your love's ear as the concerned pony cleaned up the mess.
Flutterbat frowned and whispered back. “She's got a tough coat but a soft heart. She gets like this when she's worried she might be out of my favor.”
“Hm,” was all you could think and reply. If the pony was really so concerned about that then you figured Flutterbat was obliged to let her know what was right and what was wrong. Give her a sign. But that was for her to decide, not you.
After Applejack was done doing as much as she could she retrieved the glass again and returned to her spot on the sofa, albeit with as much additional caution as she could muster. “S-sorry,” she apologized a tad more clearly.
Flutterbat leaned over to the mare's face and gave her a reassuring peck on the cheek. “Just calm down, Jacky.”
It was sweet but you wished you had gotten some of that sugar as well. As if reading your thoughts, Flutterbat's eyes shot over to you and she gave a conspiratorial smirk.
“I can't seem to open my left eye,” her voice turned sultry. “Maybe you could take a look at it.”
You weren't sure what she was trying to do but you shrugged and leaned forward towards her to look closer at her face. It was such a beautiful and flawless thing, every bit deserving of the “goddess” title you had thought of her with. That left eye certainly was closed, in any case.
“Closer,” she encouraged.
You leaned so close that your noses were almost touching and that's when it happened. She kissed you full on the lips as her left eye opened. Her cute fangs felt surprisingly cool as they pressed against you again and then warmed up. It took no time at all for her to take it further. You could taste the cider on her tongue as it worked over to yours, which was not at all unpleasant. But the kiss broke sooner than you wanted it to.
“M-mistress,” worried the voice of the orange pony as she tugged on Flutterbat's other side.
The bat-pony's breath sucked inwards as a thin trail of saliva extended out from her mouth to yours upon drawing back. It broke when she turned to Applejack. “Just a little and then you must wait like the others,” she whispered hotly into the other mare's ear as she drew up fully against her. “I will tend to you all before sunrise.”
You wanted to complain about all the interruptions except that you guessed from implication that this one would be the last. Flutterbat ensured the Earth pony was adequately satisfied until whatever event she had planned for her and the rest of the harem. She did this, of course, by ensnaring the simple farmer in an entwined embrace that pushed her back into the sofa whilst and at the same time deep kissing her like the world was coming to an end. Judging by the way she moaned into it, you guessed that she was indeed satisfied.
You gulped and blushed as Flutterbat came back up from Applejack, a flushed face of contentment on both of them. She turned slowly back to you. “How about I take care of you as well?”
There was no time for a witty half-flank comeback because she was on top of you faster than a parasprite on a Nightmare Night candy bag. Her tongue was in your mouth without invitation but with every ounce of joy you began feeling when she pushed you back into the sofa as well. If this was what it was like to be in a harem then you decided it should have been required by law in every country.
It just went on like that. Her warm coat atop yours, her hooves around your neck, and her tongue making an elegant dance with yours. Fulfillment had a picture next to it in the dictionary and this was what it was. Her wings even drew up around you like a veil to keep you all to herself. She really did love you.
Later, the two of you broke apart. You didn't know how long it lasted and you certainly didn't care. It was for an enjoyable length of time. But when she kept embracing you and whispered sweet nothings into your ear, it was obvious this time would not be the last. Her voice was still as gentle and kind as it had been all along.
“We should go now,” she whispered to you, though it was not for secrecy from Applejack. “This night I will love you specially, but I must care for the others as well.”
“Tonight is for love,” you agreed with closed eyes and a content smile.
Her weight left you and you opened your eyes again to see her corral Applejack from the sofa and towards the door. You followed in kind, eager to see where she had in mind to hold this night's event with the entire harem. The corridors of Flutterbat's dark hold may have felt cold at first but you knew now things would not remain so for long. She had the most peculiar sway to her tail as she lead you and the Earth pony along.
The next room you entered after some turns was the last one you would see for the night. It was nothing like the others, though it shared the plush quality of Flutterbat's lounge room. This one was smaller, decked with an enormous amount of large cushions littered about the floor, and ornate tapestries hanging about the walls that were clearly the work of somepony with a knack for design. Everything had a very unique feel to it, as if some mix of gothic and saddle arabian patterns and colors had occurred.
Like two forward weapons snapping to aim at an enemy you hadn't seen yet, both mares you were with made a dodging movement as soon as they entered the room. You did not, which was likely why you were pounced to the floor by a pink blur. It would have hurt if not for those massive cushions, which softened your fall.
“Hiya!” shouted the pony that had ambushed you. It was Pinkie Pie. Obviously. “Oh! I'm just so excited to have another friend here. And on Heart and Hooves too! You know, you really can't ever have enough friends. Especially lovey-dovey harem friends! Why, I couldn't-”
“Pinkie,” Flutterbat silenced the mare with a hoof atop her mouth. “This time is for everypony. Don't monopolize.”
It was a firm correction for the mistress pony and Pinkie obeyed with a bouncy nod. “Okey dokey lokey,” she pipped. “I'll just go to the corner and glitch out for a while.”
You watched as she got off of you and moved to the side of the room where she bent her head straight down to the ground and began twirling around in place. It was the strangest thing you've ever seen but, then again, it was Pinkie Pie and she seemed quite random. At the very least, her preoccupation gave you time to hear the door click shut behind you and take in the other inhabitants of the laid-back pillow room.
Princess Twilight Sparkle sat comfortably front and center with a mood about her that read equal parts reserved and content. Less so was Rainbow Dash, who laid on her back beside the royal. She was blowing upwards on her mane to make it flip up and down on her face. She looked either a little tired or a little bored. With Pinkie Pie off to the side, that left an unsure Applejack in the opposite direction with Flutterbat being approached by a very excited Rarity.
In fact, she looked a bit too excited, as if she was about to go trigger happy with some guns. The bat-pony eluded to as much. “Slow down, Rarity,” she tried calming her. “We have all night.”
“Oh, I know, darling,” she squealed. “That's why I'm so excited.”
“Well, lay down with the others now. There's something I wish to say to everypony first.”
The white unicorn did as she was told and Flutterbat motioned for you to join her with the girls as they all gathered together upon the cushions. Everypony was getting comfortable on the pillows around Flutterbat with not just a few of the females cuddling up to their mistress. It made you feel special in an odd way since Flutterbat made sure you were guaranteed a spot against her, covered partially by one of her bat wings.
“Look! Defenseless foals!” Pinkie Pie called out as two blurs zipped by close to the ceiling.
Flutterbat sighed. “Pinkie, I thought you put them all to bed.”
“I did!” the Earth pony pouted. “But you know how the children are. They've got more energy than I do.”
“See them to bed again,” the mistress proclaimed. “Join us when you're done.”
Pinkie Pie's mane deflated a bit at that but she didn't offer argument. She knew her duty and she would do it. Not even a Sword of Justice could change that. After all, Flutterbat was not one to be underestimated. The pink mare was out of the room and the center of all attention, the bat-pony, resumed what she was going to say.
“Thank you dearly, my little ponies,” her soft voice returned to give fuzzy feelings to all. “You have each done so well for me this past year. Creating this lovely abode, bearing my young, and loving me as well as each other so fully.”
Twilight gave a passive but glowing smile, Rainbow Dash averted her gaze but was obviously blushing, Rarity was cooing, and Applejack was slowly regenerating her kick-back farmer's attitude. The nervousness still showed a bit on her face though.
“You never gave up. You never surrendered,” Flutterbat continued. “This Hearts and Hooves Night I've decided to take in one more I...”
Your eyes locked with her own as she tilted her head around and gazed at you across the droop of her mane. It was needless flourish for how much you were already attracted to her. That look could continue the whole night as far as you were concerned. Or you could just go in for another kiss. She spoke again before you had the chance.
“...I fell in love with. I know we all have known each other longer but I don't believe it will be so difficult for everypony to welcome a newcomer just as we accepted each other.”
Twilight looked to you in a way that you couldn't possibly fail to notice. Was that...something sultry? You were so overcome with Flutterbat that you hadn't yet considered any of the harem members giving you any attention. The possibilities were like...endless.
“Now-” the mistress was interrupted.
“Sorry,” Rarity apologized as she tried to tone down her squirming. She was trying to sidle up against the yellow mare but was impeded by Applejack, who took up the space.
“Jacky,” Flutterbat regarded the orange mare. “Move over for Rarity.”
The pony didn't much like that but was more hurt-looking than mad. She obeyed nonetheless.
“Oo,” Rarity cooed again as she slipped up next to her bat-pony. She practically hung off the female's neck.
Flutterbat laughed daintily. “I think perhaps I must satiate Rarity before we begin. Twi, please prepare the games and open the chocolates and cider. Be sure to save the blueberry mix for later.”
“Yes, mistress,” the purple alicorn replied sweetly and went about her task. The items were set aside in one corner free of cushions.
While there was a good variety of personality here, you couldn't help but think that it all came back down to pleasing the butter-yellow goddess and receiving sugar in return. Put that way, it was all much more simplistic than your mind tried stringing out the intricacies to be. Well, at least none of them would randomly whip out mecha weaponry for cheap slapstick humor, right? You were probably safe from any hivemind complications as well.
What became of the next moment was better left out of minute detail. Suffice it to say that Rarity got the kiss she was pining for and so much more. That monopoly fell as each one thereafter did. Next was you yourself, locked in a heated battle of the tongues with the perfect pink-maned mistress even your dreams failed to give adequate light to.
When she got to Rainbow Dash, she practically attacked the multi-colored mare with a ferocity she had used with nopony else thus far. Applejack was satiated again as the make outs continued, each pony-in-waiting talking, laughing, smiling, and partaking of chocolate and cider. You had to admit the combination was not as unusual as you were worried it would be when you first tried it out. Perhaps it had something to do with the cider blend or the chocolate fillings.
One thing was for sure. You started to taste the cider and chocolate through each kiss after Flutterbat had made another round. Furthermore, you were pretty sure the light taste of raspberry had originated from Rainbow Dash, who had taken that persuasion of the cider earlier. You could only hope you didn't start getting some bad flavor mixes through this.
When you caught Twilight getting a turn with Flutterbat, you could see the mistress change her approach. It was more delicate and reserved with a hot passion building up rather than being the starting point. That was when Pinkie Pie returned with sweat on her brow. She smiled again when she saw how things were coming along.
“Oh good,” the bubbly Earth pony grinned. “You didn't start the games without me.”
“I thought this was the 'games,'” you couldn't help but smirk.
Pinkie got a kick out of that with little chuckles and chortles coming forth from her mouth. “I guess it is kind of like a game. But we've got other games too. Dancing ones! You'll love them. They'll make you smile!”
You shrugged and went for the corner of snacks again. Flutterbat had two ponies to go before it was your turn. Each turn was increasing with intensity, building up to a crescendo you very much looked forward to. But you still had to wait your turn and so you talked for time.
“Why's my smile so important to you?” was your question to the all-pink pony. “We only just met tonight.”
Her answer was just like many you would hear as you lived out your life with your new mistress and her friendly harem. “Oh, silly,” Pinkie Pie snuggled up warmly against your side. “More so than any candy, your smile can make the world a sweeter place.”
Author's Note
Reference Cheat Sheet...in order of appearance
Tobor Commercial – “to live, to love, to live, to pick up that support module” (Story Description)
Friendship is Witchcraft – “buy some apples” (Inner Cover)
That Really Rustled My Jimmies - “rustling to your jimmies”
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - “fine, four-fendered”
Warhammer 40,000 - “Eye of Terror”
[Definition] Dakimakura: A body pillow typically printed with the image of a character - “Queen Chrysalis dakimakura”
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory - “hair cream”
“1999” by Prince - “partied like it was 1999”
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War Soulstorm - “Steel Rain”
Plan 9 from Outer Space - “army brass muzzle”
I Too Like To Live Dangerously - “like to live dangerously”
Tron Legacy - “ENCOM towers”
Ghost in the Shell - “Tachikoma's grapple line”
“Love Shack” by The B-52s - “graceful and subtle tune of Love Shack”
Startopia - “Dahanese Siren”
Soul Calibur - “Ivy figurine”
MechWarrior - “coolant flush like a newb in a Nova Cat”
Dungeon Siege - “instant-death Merik in the Ice Caves”
Unreal Tournament - “high-speed Godlike instagib”
“The Power of Love” by Huey Lewis and the News - “train that didn't take a credit card to ride”
Logan's Run - “go Runner”
Last Exile - “Grand Stream”
Guilty Gear - “Bridget wasn't the Venus”
The Lord of the Rings - “even Sauron”
Metroid Prime - “Tallon IV and succeeded in revealing small Flickerbat-like forms”
The Sims - “tended to be more random and prone to fist fights over gibberish”
Monster Hunter - “drop a Rathian Spike”
Harvest Moon - “the blue feather had been passed around”
Star Wars Episode V - “disable Pinkie Pie's hyperdrive”
Jurassic Park - “required shutting the whole park down to do it. Life had a habit of finding a way”
Rozen Maiden - “courtesy that blasted pink Laplace's Demon”
Age of Empires - “only obtain in the Bronze Age”
Pacific Rim - “dimensional rift that had opened in the Pacific Ocean”
Sgt. Frog - “cruel Pekoponian trap”
Gundam Wing - “colony...Operation Meteor ”
Predator - “swift race to the chopper”
Zoo Tycoon - “chimpanzee exhibit...knew was impossible”
Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II - “take on Vol Opt with nothing but a single monomate”
X-Men (Nightcrawler) - “bamfed everywhere”
Mystery Men - “cloud of radically fluctuating deviant chaotrons to penetrate the synaptic relays”
Sailor Moon R (“The Power of Love”) - “There happens a time...in the power of love!”
“Fly With Me” by 98 Degrees - “Let me bring you to a place...all of your pain”
The Legend of Zelda - “go back into the water temple for that one hidden pick-up”
“The Older I Get” by Skillet - “The older I get...times we missed.”
Paraphrase from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan paraphrasing Moby Dick by Herman Melville - “For you tasked me...I give you up.”
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - “And yet, she bore...golden flowers.”
Mulan - “The greatest gift and honor”
Dino Crisis - “survival horror game...fighting off rabid dinosaurs”
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back - “I love you...I know.”
Super Mario Bros. (Turtle Trick) - “extra lives if I catch you on the staircase”
Shrek - “master of the stairs”
“20 Percent Cooler” by Ken Ashcorp - “I'd call you the queen or the ruler”
“Fun With The Funk” by Aaron Carter - “Why would I stay home when I've got something better to do?”
The Night Before Christmas - “prancing and pawing of each little hoof”
“For The Love Of The Game” by Pillar - “This is our time...pass us by”
“What Is Love” by Haddaway - “what was right...Give her a sign”
Zoids: Chaotic Century - “I can't seem to open my left eye”
The Muppet Show - “whilst and at the same time”
Tomb Raider (1996 Game) - “Like two forward weapons snapping”
Star Wars: Jedi Knight (Rbots mod) - “bent her head straight down...twirling around in place”
“Run, Shoot, Kill...and Cry” by The Living Tombstone - “go trigger happy with some guns”
Fletch - “Look! Defenseless foals!”
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War Soulstorm - “She knew her duty and she would do it”
Pokemon the Movie: Kyurem VS. The Sword of Justice - “Sword of Justice”
Galaxy Quest - “You never gave up. You never surrendered”
Infinite Stratos - “randomly whip out mecha weaponry for cheap slapstick humor”
Hive Alive - “hivemind complications”
Sailor Moon Super S - “More so than any candy...”
