Berry Punch was an average pony, living in an average city, who owned an average business. In fact, everything about this particular mare was average, with the exception of one thing: her child. While bat ponies weren’t unheard of in Ponyville, one certainly would not meet one every day, let alone the first bat pony documented in the history of Equestria. As far as Berry Punch knew, there was nothing special about her adopted child named Nitevision. To her, he was simply a bat pony lost in Equestria that she had given a home to. She didn’t know that he had lost his parents over 4,000 years ago, nor did she know why he always wore the special blue goggles that masked his eyes. To her, he was a child, and to him, she was a mother, and that’s all that mattered to them.
Berry Punch was born and raised in Ponyville, who had worked for her mother’s tavern for several years before eventually inheriting it when her parents moved to another part of the country. Less than two years into her ownership of the tavern, an orphaned bat pony foal had appeared on her counter. For a week straight, she would send him off when she closed the bar for the night, and every morning she would find him napping in a basket by the door when she opened in the morning. One evening she decided to try an experiment. After she had told the foal to go home, she followed from a distance, to see where his home was. She discovered that the bat pony did not have a home, instead he lived on a low-hanging cloud bed laying underneath a tree that he had most likely pushed there. When she watched the bat pony lay down and fall asleep, she looked closer and noticed that the little bat was shivering uncontrollably. The mare looked around for a parent of the child, but she could not find one. Berry Punch had sat and watched the foal for an hour before she picked him up, laid him on her back, and carried him back to her cottage. Stopping by her tavern, she picked up his basket in her mouth and brought it with her to create a makeshift bed for the bat to sleep in.
The next morning, little Nitevision woke up in the basket, wrapped in a soft blanket and laying on a comfortable pillow inside of the basket that he would stay in outside of Berry’s tavern. However, this morning he awoke to find something very different. While he was in the basket he knew so well, this was NOT the same spot he usually found himself in. Unless the sky had somehow turned a light yellow in colour, he was not outside. In fact, now that he thought about it, the basket he commonly slept in didn’t have a blanket, either. The foal frowned and rolled onto his back. Starting down on him were two earth ponies and a unicorn, their gaze was oddly comforting. The aquamarine unicorn was the first to speak.
“You got yourself a cute one here, Berry.” She said. The light purple earth pony nodded.
“He certainly is adorable, isn’t he Sweetie Drops?” The mare asked, looking at the earth pony with a cream coat, her mane and tail divided into two stripes, one cobalt and the other fuchsia.
“Where did you say you found him again?” Sweetie Drops asked.
“Originally, he’d show up on the steps of my Tavern sleeping in that basket. I tracked him to a tree on the outskirts of town. I couldn’t find his parents, so I brought him here. Twilight Sparkle’s coming over to run some tests on him, find out where he’s from.” Berry Punch replied.
“What’s his name?” Lyra asked, her orange eyes beginning to sparkle.
“How do you know it’s a he? Look at it’s tail, it’s the length of a mare’s.” Sweetie Drops asked.
“Look at his wing colouration. Male bats have a wings that are darker grey in colour whereas a female’s are lighter.” The unicorn explained. Sweetie Drops wanted to question her further, but she was also curious about the bat’s name.
“I’m not sure what his real name is…” Berry said. “All I know for sure is that he’s a little bat pony.”
“You could call him Littlebat!” Lyra said excitedly. Sweetie Drops and Berry Punch looked at one another, and grinned.
“That’s an adorable name, Lyra!” Sweetie Drops said.
“His name will be Littlebat then.” Berry Punch decided. The bat pony frowned silently. Sweetie Drops cocked her head as she looked down at him.
“Looks like he’s awake! Does he always wear those cute little goggles?” She asked. Berry Punch nodded.
“I tried to take them off when he went to sleep, but they seem to be magically fused to his face. I didn’t want to hurt him, so I left them there. They seem rather comfortable.” The other mares nodded quietly. The bat pony shifted his weight gently, then yawned.
“Aww!” The trio gushed in unison.
“Ma…ma…” Nitevision said slowly, raising a tiny hoof to point at Berry Punch. A single tear appeared in the mare’s eye at the sound of being recognized as the creature’s mother.
“You’re a lucky mare, Berry Punch.” Lyra said happily. “Make sure he comes and visits at least once a month, alright?” Sweetie Drops nodded in agreement.
“Even better,” Berry Punch replied. “How about he stay with you when I have to stay late?” Lyra looked at her roommate, trying to suppress a shriek of excitement.
“You really mean that?” She asked happily. Berry Punch nodded enthusiastically.
“Absolutely! I’d be more than happy to let him stay with you. If you’re willing to let him, that is.” She winked. Sweetie Drops laughed.
“I don’t know, think we can handle this adorable little fur ball?” She asked Lyra. The unicorn didn’t hear her. She had rushed to the basket and gently picked up the foal, holding him against her chest.
“I’ll teach him a bunch of new tricks!” She said. “Like how to sit properly!” Berry Punch laughed.
“Sounds like you two are going to have a lot of fun together.” The mare said.
Once more, the bat pony yawned, then fell asleep, this time in Lyra’s arms.
“Sleep well, Littlebat.” Lyra said, as she nuzzled the small creature, listening to the steady sound of his breathing.
The End.