A new world, another search

Chapters

Ch 0 Opening part 2
Ch 0 opening part 3
Ch 0 Opening part 1

Ch 0 Opening part 2

Penstrokes

Part 2

Dear diary.

Today has been Discord worthy. I came into the woods this morning and there were critters out there, the like of which I have never seen before. Little roundabout brown striped fellows stood on their tails, before scampering off. Those seemed harmless enough. A bunch of strange, but at least identifiable as bird creatures had settled in too. Mostly large grey birds and some lighter brown ones with fiery head plumes. It was scary; some of them were so large I’m worried they could fly off with Sweet Heart.

Sweet Heart, that colt is another matter altogether. After having avoided the largest red spiders and most sinister purple cat I’ve ever seen, I got my herbs, which seemed completely unscathed by these strange out of nowhere creatures. When I returned home, I find my beloved colt playing around in the garden with this strange, almost pony like thing, except it’s green, its head shape is off, it has no mane or tail, and it has a leaf on its head. He has named it Chika, probably because it keeps saying ‘Chikorita’. It turned out to be friendly enough, though it does a mean tackle, oh and it has a slightly spicy, herb like smell. Actually, the whole house smells nicer after he brought it home. The two of them are cuddled up to each other with the black and blue cat Batty brought with him.. I’m not sure how I feel about that, at least I can keep an eye on them from here. They seem peaceful enough.

There’s a bunch of these creatures that have taken a liking to my garden. One called itself ‘Sunflora’ and it looks like a sunflower with a face. It seemed content just standing in my kitchen garden soaking the sun. There’s a little shy fellow with a flower he’s very protective off out there too, hiding in the timber shed. Those two don’t worry me too much, but the clay brown mushroom with the green dots and feet worry me a little, I hope it’s not poisonous. It would probably have been healthier for my mental health to stay home, but I decided to go inform the guard about these strange creatures. I brought Sweet Heart with me, and he Chika. Imagine my surprise when I found some, in the village. I swear I’ve never seen a rat that big, nor purple before, not to mention those little pink fellows floating over the fields chanting ‘Opip.’ I’m not sure but I think they sounded a little lost. Where’d they all come from? Sweet Heart asked me the same question. It sure got Chika talking, really a shame we can’t understand what they’re saying, but at least it seems they understand one another, to some degree.

It took a little while to find the sergeant. She was busy staring dumbstruck at this strange weasel like creature standing on two legs while holding a little homemade sign in it’s front paws. ‘Help.’ Was all it said in shaky letters. Just as we arrived the thing cried a frustrated ‘Quilava’. I’m guessing it’s their names they say, and mostly it’s the only thing they say. When none of us seemed to understand, this ‘Quilava’ went and fetched a stick and started, and I’m not kidding, it started writing in the dirt of a garden path, I was absolutely dumbstruck. She told us that her name was Nathaly, and that she needed help. Seeing how things were, I found my reason for being in the village, completely redundant. Bless foals and their open minds. While my thoughts resembled Discord’s back yard, Sweet Heart did the most obvious, asked the sergeant what was going on.

She invited all of us into her guard office at the station. Nathaly got a little transportable black board. She instantly went and wrote ‘can I keep?’ on it. If the sergeant hadn’t let her, I would have sponsored one. We certainly got some questions answered right there and then, and raised even more. Turns out the creatures are something called Pokémon, and they knew as much as we did as to why or how they ended in our backyards. Nathaly said she didn’t know a third part of the Pokémon out there, seeing as she hadn’t been outside her home region before, a place called Johto. It sounded rather alien, not like any place on Equus, for all I know, it might have been in a whole other dimension altogether. With the promise that the Sergeant with whatever help Nathaly could provide would do her utmost to control the situation, Sweet Heart, Chika and I headed for home. While I remember it, the Sergeant did ask of me to look into translation spells. Most of the day went as quiet as it could, all things considered. I tried to tell Sweet Heart that he should be careful around the strange new creatures. Lot of good that did. Next thing I knew he was petting the ‘Shroomish’. The living mushroom had a small content smile on its face.

You’d think you’d seen it all by then. Celestia had finally started bringing this awful day to a close, when I stumbled upon a creature that presented itself as a ‘Mankey’ and to this moment I’m still not sure what I did, but the thing was pissed and decided to take it out on me. Looking back now, I’m a little ashamed to admit I ran, ran back home as fast as I could. I mentioned earlier that Chika does a mean tackle, she didn’t think twice when I came running up the path. She simply rammed the ‘Mankey’ thing, it didn’t like that, really threw a tantrum, then the next thing that happens is it gets blasted with a ray of sun like light, leaving it stunned and wide-eyed, rather comical expression actually, before it scampered off. The ray of light? Sweet Heart was standing beside ‘Sunflora’ cheering, I’m pretty sure that’s where it came from. I’m not sure how I feel about that, either.

Asking nicely, I brought Chika with me when I went down to the creek. We had barely plucked the first bouquet of wild herbs, before a blue bat came at us. A blue bat, in broad daylight. It started circling us, spitting a lot of noise. Whatever it said had Chika bolting after it, gesturing for me to follow. The bat, a ‘Zubat’, led us straight to a Russian blue young bat-stallion. He was lying on a small grass patch right by the creek, looking terrible. Soaked to the bone, mane and tail ravaged and mudded beyond recognition. It was a very long moment when we just stared at each other. He frowned at me and uttered the word ‘unicorn?’ with as much disbelief as I had ‘Pokémon?’ earlier that day. I couldn’t help but give him a sarcastic ‘Batpony?’ back again. In hindsight probably not the most polite to do. He took it nice and smiled: ‘point taken.’ He was soaked, cold and exhausted. I rushed to get him rushed back to the house. He could catch a cold, or worse. He however, was much more worried about a little black and blue cat, and a black fox like creature with golden lines, than his own health.

While I practically levitated him back, he carried the little ones. It took a while to get them all warmed and cleaned up. He’s nice enough, but banged up badly from whatever he’s been through, speaks with a strange accent too. His first question was where he was, How you don’t know you’ve ended up in inner Equestria is a good question. His skull looked like my yard after a mole infestation and I fear he may have some sort of trauma. The little black and blue cat with the little yellow star on it’s tail instantly took a liking to Sweet Heart, and as he pelted the bat-pony, Moon Silver, with questions, they all snuggled by the fireplace. I wish I had taken a picture of it, really. Moon Silver manages to come off as warm, friendly, and at the same time, a distant, and a little silly. He was absolutely dumbstruck when I dried him and the others with a simple quick drying spell. Apparently, he’s not used to unicorn magic.

I wonder if he’s even from one of the Equestrian colonies. Not that I’d know much about such. The night weather watch is all things considered the only acquaintance I’ve had with bat ponies face to face so far. I should really consider visiting the Canterhorn colony one of these days. I’m sending Moon Silver by the clinic tomorrow, hopefully none of these Pokémon will have raised the village by then.

Vanilla Heart.

(…)

*knock, knock*

“Hmm?”

(…)

“Oh, it’s you. I’ll be right there.”

*Click*

“Floette.”

*Click*

(…)

“Oh, you like flowers?”

“Floee”

“That’s it, I’m making a list.”

“Flooo!”

“Heh, never seen a unicorn at work either eh?”

To do:

*Get Silver Moon by the clinic.

*Visit Canterlot central Library. Translation spell.

*Ask about Pokémon illnesses and poisons

!Make remedies + check stock!

(…)

“Floette?”

“Tomorrow. Good night, and don’t lose your flower in the bunch.”

“Floee!”

“Heh, the little guy sure is protective about that thing.”

*Click*

“I don’t hope I regret letting him in in the morning… I wonder what Pokémon eat, hopefully not each other, or ponies.”

Ch 0 opening part 3

Penstrokes

part 3

*Sigh*

*Clop*

*Clip, Clop*

*Creak*

*Groan*

*Slam*

“Ow, One more for the collection.”

*Sigh* “Sure is a beautiful silver moon out tonight. I wonder if it’s common knowledge that it’s a giant reflector made out of rock and metals?”

(…)

“Well, I might as well try and finish this.”

I don’t know how long I slumbered in the dark, but I was awoken by the presence of light. Light that soon was followed by a little calling voice. I walked after the sound, rounded a corner and found myself face to face with the light source. A black fox looking thing with glowing golden rings. How that works, I really don’t know. She looked quite shocked to see me, an expression I’m pretty sure I mirrored. Some stunned minutes and a few reassuring words later, she practically pounced me. Obvious glad not to be both alone and lost anymore. I still wonder how long she walked about in there. With a light source, as strange as a luminescent fox cat thingy is for a light source, getting around became so much easier, and I only got a few bumps more, mostly because of slippery surfaces. I had hooves for Turners’ sake! I knew it was a bit of a bet, but I decided to follow the water, with a little luck it would run out into the blue at some point. I remember petting Shady reassuring from time to time, and getting a nuzzle back. When she’s not mocking me, she’s actually quite the friendly lap cat, albeit a little large for it.

Following the water was a rather dull obstacle course. Had to squeeze through gaps, crawl boulders and scale slippery rocks, even managed to turn the stream into an impromptu waterslide a few times. My plot’s still sore from that. Needless to say, Azuu, wasn’t exactly ecstatic. I don’t think we wandered that long when we finally found the place where the stream ran into the blue, literally. I found myself in an opening in a mountainside, with a free fall drop at my pa hooves. The view was amazing, a wild looking forest stretched down between mountain roots until it seemed to run into wide farmland like waves crashing on a shore. Little farms littered into the horizon, the rolling farmland broken by small streams, a larger river and a railroad that I figured wounded its way north. Large birds played under an unobstructed yellow sun, along with a few more, odd looking things. Ever seen a bunch of purple balloons fly against the wind?

As mentioned earlier, I had, have, wings, so why not use them? I figured I could at least glide in for a landing. So with an understandable sceptic foxy thing on my back, I took off, stretched out my wings, screamed ‘Geronimo’ accordingly, and dropped only a little slower than the infamous rock. With her clinging on for dear life, we hit the water hard. I’ve never been afraid of water, and I certainly wasn’t then, what I was more afraid off, was whether or whether not I could get my hooves on solid ground before my passenger made me black out. Where hooves flailed to get me moving, my wings proved much more useful than they had done in the air, and it wasn’t long til the two of us could collapse under the curtains of a large willow. I was hungry, wet and all around miserable. Shady, I’ve taken to call the living lamp post that, wasn’t much better, and I barely got a breather before the flying blue fur ball gave me a supersonic berating of the ages.

The forest offered some fruit and the water was clean enough to sip from. So after raiding a large black berry bramble I decided to head down stream. We passed beautiful butterflies, huge too. Took a few reroutes to avoid less friendly looking creatures and giant mushrooms with faces. I wasn’t sure I wasn’t somewhat delirious, it looked like something out of a morning cartoon, come to life. What the hell had I been smoking, right? Nothing I’m pretty sure.

I think it was around noon when the stream hit a larger creek. A larger fast running creek. I’ll admit I was a bit jealous of the orange otter thingy with the twin tail. It at least, had paws to grab with. I heard a cry and sounds of static electricity released. It made me turn and charge through the underbrush. Shady right behind and Azuu quickly taking the lead. What we happened upon, was not what I had expected. In a small clearing, a little blue and black cat, with a star on its tail, was facing a big blue, toad. They were fighting, and the sparks came from the cat. I stood stunned, while Azuu flew in and as Azuu does best, went supersonic on them. The toad swung an arm and Azuu went flying out of the clearing like a baseball ball. While I bolted to pick him up, Shady jumped in to the fray. The toad sent what looked like canon balls of mud towards the worse for wear kitty. Shady was all over the place. Though Azuu had hit the tree hard enough to be groggy, he seemed more indignified than hurt.

When I said that Shady was all over the place, I really meant that Shady was all over the place, as in in several places at once, or so it appeared. The bipedal Toad swung its arms violently every which way, occasionally hitting Shady clones and causing them to disappear. I ran in and threw the little cat up on my back. Little fellow thanked me by realising an electric spark upon me. It tingled and I’m pretty sure I looked like a dirty electrocuted plush toy. I stopped in a bush on the edge of the clearing to yell for Shady to break it off, just in time to have the words stuck in my mouth, watching Shady make a summersault, with her tail glowing white, as she smacked it right into a wide eyed big blue toad face. She landed nimbly back on her feet in the clearing, obviously proud of her work. The toad hit the ground hard, out cold. I was, and am still trying to process what the flying folly I had just witnessed. By now, I’ve started filing a lot of what happens around me away under the category; magic. Trust me it is a legal explanation here, and all I can do to keep myself somewhat sane. A relieved sound came from the little blue and black electrocuting cat on my back, and I turned my head just in time to watch the guy flat out from exhaustion.

I’ve named the little fellow Lyxo. She seems to like the name. Her and Shady are adorable together, though Shady tends to seem a bit annoyed. Probably something about keeping a cool image. By that time my mind had pretty much given up on giving a rational explanation for anything. So when we was attacked by a bunch of pony sized flycatchers, angry pony sized flycatchers, courtesy of yours clumsy only, I just followed Shady’s lead and ran. We ran, ran, out ran the flycatchers, and ran some more, till we hit a cliff, tumbled over said cliff, and into the creek below. Ouch. After scraping fur off my wing on a couple of sharp rocks, sinking my fangs, gently but firmly, into Lyxo’s neck and nearly being choked to death by Shady, again, we finally found a more gentle part of the creek, from which I could get some footing, and stumble ashore. A nice green patch seemed like a perfect makeshift bed.

You would figure that since I woke up as a ‘bat-pony’ and after all I had already seen, I wouldn’t be too surprised to be awoken in the late afternoon, by a speckled white unicorn mare with long evergreen mane and tail. I think my first impression left a lot to wish for. Yeah, for some reason, the fact that she was a unicorn surprised me more than the fact that she could speak. I deserved her sarcastic notion that I was in fact a bat-pony, you know, just in case I hadn’t noticed. Considering the fact that I had an electrocuting kitty between my front hooves, and a luminescent fox thingy I still managed to be dumbstruck when her horn lit up in a rose taint matching her eyes, and she hauled me to my p hooves with, magic.

With Shade and Lyxo on my back the unicorn mare, Vanilla is her name by the way, with help from a little green dinosaur thing named ‘Chika’ supported me through the woods to her home. She lives in this nice two stores cottage up a mountainside, with a pretty impressive and large garden. A garden apparently guarded by a determined mushroom and a living sunflower. Her son, erh colt, Sweet Heart, yeah, that’s his name, came charging down and met us. He’s the fluffiest pastel green pony I’ve ever seen. His rose shaded mane makes him look like something out of a candy workshop around Easter. His first reaction when he saw our little troupe? ‘Coool!’ Guess kits will be kits no matter where you go. His mother, Vanilla, hurried us all along inside, to the big treatment.

She sat us down and served herbal tea. Well, tea for me, bowls of lukewarm milk for Shade and Lyxo. Vanilla figured since they both seemed to be some strange sort of cats they’d like it. Judging by the way they attacked the bowls, heh, go figure. She really made a fuzz about me, it was almost nice, almost. I must have looked at her as if she had grown another head when she casually picked up a spoon, with one hoof! So, these hooves of mine have some inert touch triggered telekinetic powers, at least that’s the best way I can explain it. That means that I’m supposed to be able to pick stuff up, and hold on to stuff with my hooves, being a bat-pony, I’m apparently supposed to have a naturally stronger grip than certain other types of ponies. Guess once, I had no touch with such, at all.

Vanilla went and had me work on remedying that very quickly. She didn’t question it, took one closer look at me and decided that answered that. Yeah, probably wasn’t looking my best, in any sense of the word. I had a ball thrown at me, don’t ask me where she procured it, but she expected me to catch it, and not with my fangs. How do you think that went? I’ll give you one hint; my current method of writing! Argh.

“But by the First Fleet, if I ain’t gonna figure this out, and not a moment too soon.”

(…)

“Now, where did that ball go.”

(…)

*Boing*

While Vanilla had had us settled down with milk and tea, her son and Chika had prepared a bath for us. The bath tub? A large cylinder wooden tub, strategically placed in the middle of a washing room, so nothing got wet that wasn’t already moist. It was heavenly to melt into the warm water. Lyxo was splashing around in no time, while Shady preferred to just soak, not that that was easy with Lyxo jumping in and out of the tub all the time. Azuu was the only one who seemed like he did not enjoy the sensation of being dipped in warm water and scrubbed clean. I think I soaked in bliss all the way till a smell of boiling greens required someone to stop a water logged Lyxo from dragging water into all the other rooms of the house. It took a little teamwork working the towels, and yes we did you out mouths for that, and no, I’m not spitting hairballs, anymore.

* Boing* *Mph!*

(…)

“Oh crud.”

“No, come back here.”

(…)

“Stupid ball.”

(…)”*”

“By the infamous Folly, this world is absolutely impossible. No sense, no sense at all, how? No, I give up. I can’t hold unto a ball with my hooves, but I can catch it with my tail, which is supposedly just a whip of long hairs.”

*boing* *boing* *boing*

“Under the bed? Great, just great, unless.”

*swish, swish*

“Well, at least I can trust my tail. And...”

“Yay!”

“Umbreoon!”

“Sorry.”

(…)

“Look Shady, I’m hoo.”

*boing*

*Sigh*

“Umbreeoo.”

“Can’t all be night folks eh? Sweet dreams.”

“mmh”

“And she claimed the whole bed.”

*Creak*

“I’ll figure this hoof hold thing, somehow.”

We all looked a lot better after the bath, and smelled of fresh herbs. Then Vanilla, well, cast a spell that quick dried us, without the effect that doing so usually has. No fluff, no messed up hairstyles. I’m not sure how I still managed to be surprised by it, but at least it earned me a short lesson in unicorn magic. Something about focusing magic through designated spells and horns. It was, by all means, something straight out of a fantasy novel, only with horns instead of wands, and no need for funny movements or words in wanna-be Latin.

Vanilla went in the kitchen, and I found Sweet sprawled out in front of the fireplace with Chika and a hearty load of homework. Found my way down beside him. Spent the time until dinner just chatting with the colt. I helped him where I could while we snuggled with the creatures. Pokémon as they’re apparently called as a whole. Apparently, they weren’t indigenous to this strange world. Equus is its name, as I learned helping Sweet with his geography. Glad my abilities to read a map and plan flight routes translated over to exoplanetary geography. In other words, whatever caused them to appear, happened the same time as that which landed me inside a mountain. Coincidence? Not likely. I got a serious hand-out of questions myself, questions I had not a hair’s edge of chance answering. Like, what was it like to walk on clouds? How was life in a colony? How about Bat-ponies and cutie marks? Cutie marks? I have no idea what that is, and at this point, I’m afraid to ask.

They diagnosed me with amnesia, understandable and I don’t really mind. Listening to my recap of the day, they reasoned head trauma and magical mishap. Partly true at least, I mean, no way I was going to try and explain the physics and technology I had delved in. Sufficiently advanced technology is magic for those who do not comprehend anyroad, heck, some of it was pure magic to me.

I, don’t particularly like lying.

Dinner was a very delicious mushroom soup, best I ever had, and was I starving. I think I ended up eating as much as the others combined. Luckily, it didn’t seem like I managed to break any unspoken customs. Eating heartily and thanking for a great meal, definitely scored me points with both members of the household. Sweet was beaming with pride, having been the one to pick the mushrooms. Apparently, he has green hooves in more than one way. I helped clear the table the best I could, dropping several utensils on the floor, that was when I discovered that I could wrap my wings around objects to hold onto them. Wish I knew that before dinner, would have saved me a moist muzzle, and the embarrassment of being unable to use a spoon. Not that Sweet bothered. Now that I think about it, he was doing his homework with the pencil in his mouth. Apparently, this holding stuff in your hooves can be tricky even for those born with it.

After Sweet was tugged to bed, quickly joined by Chika and Lyxo who hadn’t left his side all evening, I ended up just hanging back, chatting with Vanilla. She’s been incredibly helpful, I really don’t know how I’m going to make it up to that sweet missus. It was her who gave me this diary and suggested that I should use it to write down anything I could remember or might want to remember. It still puzzles me that she thought it a good idea to give the fella who can’t even hold unto a spoon, feather and ink to write with.

We all went in for the night and that’s pretty much it. Oh, yeah, I think I’ll add here; some of these Pokémon creatures are definitely smarter than they look. Shady drew a heart and spelled out cake while I was out looking for pencils. Still not sure if she was poking fun at me, or just informing us that she likes cake. Who knows, maybe learning more about this strange world will help me figure out what is really going on here, what’s really behind the curtain, so to speak.

(…)

“And I think that’s the end of that. Wow, that ended up being quite the entry, though, I think I’ve forgotten something, probably, something about a bear? Never mind.”

*clap*

*creak*

(…)

*Shuffle*

“Better ask Vanilla for a way to make sure that others don’t read that diary… later.”

*zz..z..z*

Ch 0 Opening part 1

Penstrokes

part 1

”What the hell am I supposed to write? Dear diary? Start with my name, or something? Nah, nobody but me is going to be reading it anyway, well, save for whoever is running this show, if it is a show that is. I’m kinda hoping it is, this, it can really be real, can it?”

(…)

“Umbreon.”

“Oh, right, sorry.”

“Umbreo.”

*sigh* “Thanks, you’re too kind.”

“Umm.”

“Heh.”

(…)

“Right, recording no, writing… Now where to begin?”

“Zuu.”

“Right.”

My name is Moon Silver, and I’m, was, part of a test team, more precisely their test pilot. One of those with the whole business secret hype stuff, cool? No, not really. The craft worked it seems, just, not the way it was supposed to on the paper. Saying I know what happened or even felt it happen, would be a lie. One moment I was pressing the launch button, not a single red lamp, the next, I was blind as a bat. Did I crash? In that case, into what?

Groggy like anyone waking up with everything definitely not being as they were supposed to, it took me a moment to notice where I was, and where I definitely wasn’t. When I, well, relatively got my bearings, I figured I was on a cave floor, temperature and texture and all that. I couldn’t see, I couldn’t feel my fingers or toes, and my snout felt all out of shape. At first, I thought it was because I had hurt it, hitting the cave floor. I had, it’s still sore, but oh boy, that certainly wasn’t all. You see, when I tried to rub it in the dark, I really had no fingers, instead a hoof. A hoof covered in fine silky fur was rubbing my muzzle of my own accord. You probably noticed I said muzzle, didn’t you? It was short, rounded, nostrils a lot like something I’d put on an equine. My mind was still rebooting, and it didn’t exactly go smoothly.

Getting up on all fours was piece of cake, but about then I noticed my next issue; I had no arms! Still don’t, but I’ll leave the part about how to write for later. Yes, I know this isn’t my finest handwriting; try write with each finger the length of your arm, connected by leather sheets. Argh. At least my spelling hasn’t gone batty yet. Seriously don’t know how those ponies do it with their mouths! So, back on track. So, I tripped a bit around on the spot. Understandable I mean, I was, am, really confused. At least I didn’t panic, no not at all.

(…)

“You know, for a bat with no visible eyes you make quite the roaring deadpan.”

“Umbreon.”

*sigh* “You too? Okaay.”

“Dou’, why did I write that? Ink, why ink? Why couldn’t they use pencils or a PADD?”

(…)

“Hey, what are you?..”

(…)

“Erm, is that the kid’s crayons? You’re telling me she gave me feather and inkwell, when they have crayons and pencils lying about?”

“Zuu.”

“Arh, come on… I’ll be right back.”

“Umbreoon.”

(…)

Cake.

*Pling* - *splat*

“Umbreoo!”

*Click*

“M-wha? *!”

“Umbreoo.”

“Don’t move! Not an inch. Don’t want ink paws all over the place.”

*Slam*

“Gezz, that black fox thing as bad as Shady, At least she was a kitten.”

(…)

“Hey Vanilla? You got something to clean up ink with?”

(…)

“For furniture too. The living lamppost tackled the ink jar.”

*Clip-clop, clip-clop*

(…)

*Click*

“Wow, hasn’t moved an inch, I’m impressed.”

“UMBREOO!”

“I, wait, what? Right, magic, never mind.”

“Well, if you don’t mind, I’ll go put Sweet Heart to bed. I’ll be in the living room for a couple of hours. In case there is anything.”

“Thank you very much. Got any erasers and pencils?”

“I’ll be right back.”

*Click*

*Snicker*

“What?”

(…)

“What are you doing with that feather in your mouth?”

(…)

“I know you’re smarter than you look, but now you’re starting to worry me. Don’t you finish that.”

“Umbree.”

“Eh, nope, give me that.”

“Um, nom.”

“Dah’ give me that, I was in the middle of something here!”

*Click*

“What are you three? And why’s there a bat atop the closet?”

“Hmm, what?”

*Thump*

“ow”

“Erm, was?”

(…)

“I got you a little collection of pencils and two decent erasers.”

“Thank you. Now, if I could just… Erm, okay?”

*Snicker*

“I swear, I didn’t draw that, it was that scoundrel of a lamppost who went all hearts and, erm, cake, on it.”

“Pfft. You little scoundrel, you be nice to poor Batty now. He’s had it rough enough already, okay?”

“Umbree.”

“Good girl. Good night.”

“Thank you and sweet dreams.”

*click*

“I think. Why’d she call me Batty?”

“Zuu.”

“Right, right. Geez, give me a breather, I’m not exactly some essayist who spits out pages like a laser printer.”

Okay then, I was panicking somewhat. I was in some strange dark place with a lot of rocks cave as mentioned earlier, and somehow I had lost my arms in the process. The constant echo of my own hooves, even though they were muffled somewhat by the fur was the only thing ringing in my ears. Ears that shifted constantly on top of my head. After tripping myself to a point where I could use my own breath to determine the distance to the nearest wall. I came down again and tried to think rational.

I’ll admit, I failed pretty badly to begin with, I mean: What happened? How did I get here? What time is it? Who is going to feed the cat? And how am I going to make it for my dentist appointment the day after tomorrow? You know all those important questions, that you just have no way nor reason to try and answer the moment something goes haywire. Hey, feeding the cat and making it for my rare appointments with the dentist is, or was rather important to me; I mean, she’d be a nightmare if I forewent it, oh and the cat too.

“Dang, I miss Shady more than I thought, even her habit of pouncing me from three meters in the air.”

“Umbreo?”

“Not you, Shady. My cat back home. I hope somefur’ll be taking good care of her, nah, not hoping, somefur will definitely take good care of her. Heh, they’ll spoil her rotten they will.”

After that mangling of priorities, an issue of a more current nature got me moving. I was thirsty, simple as that. So there I was in the dark of some dusty cave, wondering where to find water. I stopped focusing on what was in my head, and what was around me, about time I guess. After having rolled around myself, hitting my head on a rock or two, I was pretty certain that it wasn’t a dream, thank you very much headache.

So to sum up; I was, am currently a bat winged, fanged equipped pony completely in my fur. Status; I was completely lost in a pitch black cave with nothing but my survival instinct, a thankful prayer to my sire’s family and the scout corps of my youth. Bunch of good that did me. I tried to find something, anything that would tell me which way to go, and hey, I did find a faint breeze. Though following it had me walk right into a big rock, or something about as hard. Next was a sound of water. So, I carefully walked on, not wanting to head-butt more rocks than necessary. Apparently twenty-seven was about the necessary amount. My head kept count for me. I’m pretty sure who or whatever is behind all this was laughing their hindquarters off at the time. I lost count of how many times ‘bloody hell!’ rang through that cave system thingy. At least something or well, somebody heard me.

If you thought my ears had rung enough from physical impact, you were wrong. I tell you, for a bat that size, the flying fur-ball really kicks up a mean rant when complaining in supersonic. Yes, I had some sort of bat complaining my ears off, and I couldn’t even see the thing. So, I broke its rant by asking for a way out. Believe me when I say I was stunned to have it actually stop, flutter around me, and then come down in front of me, sounding pitifully lost and confused. It didn’t get much better by the fact that I couldn’t see but had to rely on my hearing alone. Since it seemed to, at least somewhat understand me, and I wouldn’t mind some company, I suggested that it could hang around and we could be lost together. I was surprised when it landed in my mane, hanging on by wrapping its wings partly around my neck.

I named it Azuu later, he, at least I’m pretty sure it’s a he, doesn’t seem to mind. So I walked through the cave or cavern or whatever with Azuu in my mane and only my ears to rely on, I’m thinking in circ. Well I found a sound of rapidly running water, followed by moisture in the air, then a rather steep decline found me. Aand, I got soaked in a mighty splash. That didn’t get me popular with Azuu, little complainer went ranting for a while. ‘Well warn me next time there’s suddenly a ledge then’. I called into the dark. I’m not sure how much he understood, but at least he settled onto my rather clingy mane with a single disgruntled sound, and said no more. I wasn’t too happy either, not that I don’t like water, but wet fur is a chore, trust me I know what I’m talking about, not to mention that the water wasn’t exactly bathing temperatures. I swear after that night, coming out here and getting to soak in a tub of warm water, simply celestial. On the upside, hey, I found water and I wasn’t drowning in it. It only went to my abdomen.

Thirst clenched and hunger abated I went for shore. I went for shore and collapsed in a heap of smooth cool pebbles. Something that was surprisingly un-uncomfortable. I ran a couple of possible scenarios through in my head, some more likely that others, yet so far this world I’m on has made fun of them all. I’m starting to think that it must be a combination of several things, but that just leaves more important questions; who did it and why, why, why?

*Yawn*

“You know what. I’m so dead tired, I bet I could sleep till noon.”

“Umbre?”

(…)

“I’m not sure if you just questioned what I said, or took me up on the bet.”

(…)

“And now she’s humming contently at me. That’s it, I’m denning for the night. G’night you two.”

“Zuuu.”

“Umbreoon.”

*click*