Batty Loveby Lotus MoonChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 1Author's Note Now I'd like to introduce you to an OC, Ruby Bat. Of course, you'll know more of her back story as the story goes on. Chapter 1 It was an ordinary day in Ponyville, the same as any other had been. Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship, and her friends were in the map room discussing different issues. It was the apple-bucking season and, like any other year, the vampire fruit bats were back in town. The Southern pony couldn’t understand why Fluttershy’s stare didn’t work to keep them away or at least uninterested in the apples. “I just don’t get it. Fluttershy’s stare and Twilight’s magic worked to get them uninterested in my apple last year, granted it bounced back and turned Fluttershy into a Flutterbat. So why in tarnation did they come back to eat my apples this year? Those varmints have sucked up like 25% of my orchard! On top of what they had in the apple section, I had for them!” Applejack lightly stomped her hoof on the table. “We don’t know how the vampire fruit bats mentality works. They could have turned back to normal from then to now. And they aren’t varmint, they’re living creatures like any one of us” Fluttershy said and squeaked when Applejack stomped her hooves harder. “Then we need a much stronger and longer lasting solution! Twilight, you’re the element of magic and Princess Celestia’s prized student. Don’t you have some stronger spell that’ll fix this?” “Sadly I don’t Applejack. I’ve been reading up about vampire fruit bats and unless I could study them, even I don’t know how the spells would, or even could, affect them. Maybe we could try Fluttershy’s stare again and try reasoning with them.” Twilight said and rubbed her hoof under her chin. Suddenly the map started altering a bit, specifically around the Everfree Forest where the Castle of the Two Sisters was located. It looked to be changing from ruins to a normal castle again. Everyone’ cutie marks started resonating and gathered over the changing location. Spike, who was sleeping in the little throne next to Twilight’s, woke up. He noticed the cutie marks gathered in the one spot. “Whoa, what’s going on in the Everfree Forest? Last I checked there wasn’t a friendship problem to solve there. The only pony I know who lives out there is Zecora and she’s a zebra.” “Yeah, I know. But maybe there’s something going on? I mean, there haven’t been any incidents out there but maybe there’s something going on out there that should be stopped before it starts.” The purple pony said and stood up. “Why don’t we go check it out and see if we can talk to Zecora for advice about how to deal with the vampire fruit bats?” “Y’all go on ahead. I’m gonna go and protect my orchard.” Applejack huffed and galloped out of the map room. “Poor Applejack. The apple-bucking season is so important to her. I do hope we help her soon.” Rarity said, getting out of her seat. “Yeah, hopefully, Zecora will have some advice for us and then we’ll deal with those vampire fruit bats in no time.” Rainbow Dash hovered out of her seat. “I hope so too. Without apples, we won’t get to have any more of those delicious treats Applejack makes, or Zap Apple Jam, or any more cider, or treats during Nightmare Night! Could you imagine Nightmare Night without apple bobbing?” Pinkie Pie said, bouncing towards the door. “Oh, I’m sure Zecora will know what to do. She’s helped us many times before and she’s very knowledgeable about things.” Fluttershy said, following everyone. “Spike, while we’re out, look through the library for anything you can find about the vampire fruit bats. There might be something we overlooked. Owlowiscious will help you. We’ll check out the Everfree Forest and see what’s going on.” Twilight instructed. “I’m on it. You can count on me. Come on, Owlowiscious.” Spike said and sprinted out to the library with the owl. Getting to the Everfree Forest, Twilight and the others had no clue what to expect other than what they’ve already seen. Fluttershy stayed close to her friends, jumping at the smallest noise, a leaf brushing against her, or even just bumping up against a tree. They walked through the forest, getting to the bridge that leads to the Castle of the Two Sisters. Or rather, the bridge that was supposed to be there. The roped looked to have been gnawed through. “What in the name of Celestia did this? Ponies don’t bite through ropes.” Twilight shrieked a bit. “M-Maybe it was something in the forest? Something dangerous even! We should go back.” Fluttershy panicked a bit. “No way, we’ve come too far to turn back now. We have to investigate this.” The purple pony insisted. “I can use my magic to make the vines reconnect the bridge even if it’s temporary.” Twilight’s horn glowed and made the vines create a makeshift rope for the bridge to be held up. After testing it herself, everyone else walked across one by one. Once everyone was across, they were shocked to see that the Castle of the Two Sisters looks completely repaired just like the map showed; it just looked darker and more haunted. Fluttershy hid behind Rarity. “Oh, Sweet Celestia! Who did this? We’ve been working to fix this place up and make it look dazzling. But even we couldn’t pull off this much restoration.” Rarity said, a little jealous. “It’s as if the castle was never left to ruin. A-And the battle between Princess Celestia and Nightmare Moon never happened. This makes it even more suspicious. Come on, girls, we have to investigate.” Twilight said and started walking in, with Pinkie Pie and Rarity following her and Rainbow Dash pulling Fluttershy along. Inside the castle, the tapestries and carpet were repaired and altered drastically. The tapestries had a ruby on them with a bat in the middle. The carpet was red and black. There were no decorations to adorn the halls and everything the girls had put in the castle already was gone. The wind whistled through the quiet hallway and the only sounds there were the echoing sounds of hooves. “Wow, it’s completely different inside. It looks nothing like what I saw in my vision of the past when Princess Celestia and Princess Luna still lived here” Twilight said as she looked around. “You bet it’s completely different. It’s so bland and boring. What happened to the pictures and flowers and streamers we put up? All that hard work for nothing!” Rarity brooded a little. “Whoever did this has no sense of style.” “We can worry about decorations later, for now, we have to find out why this happened.” Rainbow Dash. Walking around more, they came to the throne room and it was pretty dark. Twilight and Rarity lit up their horns so they could see where they were going. Going further in, they say the two thrones were repaired and had the letters “Q” and “K” engraved in them. Looking closer, they saw something in the “Q” throne. It moved for a bit and then a pair of bright blue eyes was seen in the darkness followed by a loud hiss. “Who dares to intrude in my castle!” The being hissed. It was the voice of a female. “Your castle? This castle belongs to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna! You’re the intruder! Who are you?!” Twilight stood her ground. “Get out!” The being stood up, showing the outline of a pony about the same height as Princess Luna. “No way! This castle belongs to our Princesses and we’re not gonna let you take over!” Rainbow Dash charged at the pony but crashed into the throne. The mysterious pony flew up, but the wings didn’t look right. The mare flew around them, hissing and pushing them around. It wasn’t until Twilight called a retreat that they were able to lure the mare out into the light. The mare was indeed a pony, but she has the wings of a bat. She looked almost identical to Fluttershy’s Flutterbat, except her ears were the same as any other pony, just slightly curved and pointed. The mare glared down at them. “I don’t care who the previous owners were, this castle is mine now and no one trespasses in my territory!” She screeched loudly, causing Twilight and the others to cover their ears. Within seconds, a horde of bats swarmed and surrounded the other ponies before swooping in for an attack. Before the bats got to them, Twilight teleported herself and her friends out of the castle and into Zecora’s hut. Chapter 2Zecora opened the door to her hut and found Twilight and the others inside. “Dear friends and Princess Twilight, what reason would you have to come to my home so late at night?” She asked. “Zecora, we need your help. The Castle of the Two sisters has oddly been fully restored. Not only that, it’s now inhabited by a pony bat and an enormous horde of…well…bats!” Twilight explained. “Bats?! Oh my, what a mess, I can see why you all seem in such distress.” “Can you help us? She is quite violent and has enough bats to take over or destroy all of Equestria!” Rainbow Dash said. Zecora searched in her bookshelves and sighed. “I’m afraid I don’t know how to help with your situation. Perhaps you should inform the Princesses and prepare for a possible invasion.” “She’s right, we have to tell the Princesses and warn every pony. Let’s get back to Ponyville and get Spike and Applejack. Then we have to get to Canterlot and tell the Princesses what’s happened.” Twilight said and the sound of screeches and wings could be heard outside, heading fast towards Ponyville. “Come on, girls! There’s no time to lose!” The girls galloped as fast as they could towards Ponyville and the town was in a panic. The horde of bats had invaded Ponyville, but they weren’t attacking ponies, they were attacking all the apple stands and taking all the apples! “Oh dear, if these bats are like vampire fruit bats…they’ll be heading for Sweet Apple Acres as well! Applejack can’t handle all this even with her family’s help.” Rarity panicked. “Oh dear. We have to get to Sweet Apple Acres to help Applejack.” Fluttershy said and they were headed to Sweet Apple Aches as fast as they could. When they got there, everything was quiet. Except for the vampire fruit bats that were eating up a section of the western orchard. Applejack was lassoing vampire fruit bats left and right before spotting her friends. “Girls! Thank Celestia! Please tell me you found a solution to all this.” AJ muffled due to the rope in her mouth. “I’m sorry AJ, we couldn’t find anything. But it seems we might’ve made things worse. We have to contact Princess Celestia and Princess Luna before…” Before she could finish, the bat’s screeches were coming closer. Twilight’s horn lit up and she put up a shield, much like her brother’s, to protect the orchard and expelled the vampire fruit bats that were eating the orchard. “What in tarnation did you do?” AJ looked around, seeing that the bats had pretty much covered the sky. “Well, we found the Castle of the Two Sisters fully restored much more than what we had done.” Rarity started. “But the whole place was different…much creepier than before. And there were a lot of bats!” Rainbow Dash continued. “And there was a pony there who-“ Fluttershy said before Pinkie Pie jumped in. “And there was this pony who looked just like a Pegasus pony! But she wasn’t! She has pointy ears, and bat wings, and fangs, and reeeeeeeeeeally bright, shiny blue eyes! And she was all like “Who dares to intrude in my castle?” and “Get out!” and then this huuuuuuuuuge swarm of bats surrounded us. And then Twilight teleported us to Zecora’s hut and when she couldn’t help us, we came here because the bats were coming after Ponyville. So we came here too to get you and Spike so we could get a message to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. And then we found you and the bats started coming, so Twilight put up this shield to keep the bats out and then you asked what happen and then that’s how we ended up here.” Pinkie Pie said and ended with a bright grin. “Like Pinkie Pie said…we met this mare who could be a pony bat and…well…she might’ve sent her bats here. The bats are taking apples and they might take this whole orchard. We have to contact the Princesses, but without Spike, I can’t get a message to them.” Twilight said. “But I can’t leave the shield or the bats will come in.” “What about if I go? I’m a fast flyer, I can go get Spike then come back here in no time.” Rainbow Dash suggested. “I’d have to let down the shield and that’s too risky,” Twilight said. “There must be something we can do. Even if you’re a Princess, this shield was physically taxing on your brother. It might be the same for you.” Applejack said, her ears flopped down. “Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness!” Fluttershy looked around. The bats shrieked and fluttered around, some running their small bodies against the shield to get inside. Suddenly there was a sudden magical burst sunlight and the bats all scattered, heading back to the Everfree Forest. The vampire fruit bats went with them as well. Twilight let down her shield and was met by Spike, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. “I received a message from Spike saying that bats had invaded Ponyville. Twilight Sparkle, would you care to explain what has happened?” Celestia said. Chapter 3Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash bowed politely while Twilight Sparkle’s ears flopped down. She knew she would have to explain the situation to the Princesses sooner or later. She stepped forward and bowed. “Princess Celestia, Princess Luna. We saw there was a change with the Castle of the Two Sisters and we went to investigate. We found a mysterious mare that had the wings of a bat. She somehow restored the castle and claims it’s hers.” Twilight explained. “A mysterious mare with bat wings? The only ponies who have bat wings, that I know of, are my guards.” Luna stated. “So who would this mare be?” “We don’t know. We are just as curious as you are to know. But I don’t even know if we can get back to the Castle.” Twilight sighed. “I’m very sorry, Princesses.” “Fear not, Twilight Sparkle. We are not upset with you.” Princess Celestia placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “This mare might not be an enemy, but we cannot know for sure.” “We could send guards to survey the castle.” Luna suggested. “No, that might anger her.” Celestia said. “We must do something, sister. We cannot let a possible threat stay unattended to.” Luna insisted, stomping her dark blue hoof on the ground. “Perhaps this is a job the Princess of Friendship should handle. Twilight, is there anything you noticed in the castle?” Celestia asked, laying a settling hoof on her sister’s shoulder. Twilight rubbed her hoof under her chin. “Before she woke up, I saw two thrones. One was marked with a “K” and the other with a “Q”. I’m assuming they are marked for “King” and “Queen” since she was sleeping in the “Q” throne.” She informed them. “So…perhaps…she simply wants a King?” “A King? As in…a stallion?! Impossible!” Luna huffed. “Nothing is impossible, Luna. We thought it would be impossible for Fluttershy to reform Discord, but it happened. So perhaps we shouldn’t be so doubtful.” Celestia said. “This bat pony could simply be lonely. We shouldn’t judge.” “Princess, if it’s alright, I would...I would like to go back to the castle and speak with her alone.” Twilight said, earning gasps from her friends. “Have you gone mad Twilight?! You can’t go back there alone!” Rainbow Dash protested. “You don’t know what she’ll do to you.” “Please darling, we insist you reconsider going alone. We know absolutely nothing about this mare and with what happened earlier, going alone is most unwise.” Rarity stomped her hoof. “At least let one of us go with you.” “A-At least take me with you, I can understand all kinds of animals. Maybe the bats will be more cooperative than her.” Fluttershy said, being unusually brave. “No, I can’t take any of you with me. As the Princess of Friendship, I have to go alone to at least break the ice. If we all go together, it might unsettle her again and prompt her to attack.” Twilight turned to face her friend. “Please trust me. Give me a few days to go there alone and talk to her. Perhaps I’ll get the reason why she’s here to begin with.” Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash all looked at each other before looking at their Alicorn Princess. Applejack was the first to give in saying, “Well sugar cube, as much as we might wanna stop you, your eyes are saying your mind is made up. There a’int nothin’ we can do to talk you out of it.” “While reckless, I believe Twilight’s suggestion would be the wisest at this time” Celestia said and every pony looked towards the Everfree forest. “Then it’s settled. In the morning, I’ll head into the forest and back to the castle.” Twilight said as bravely as she could, but inside, she was pretty nervous. ***** In the morning, Twilight went through a checklist with Spike and their friends of things preparing her for her self appointed task. “Ok I have apples, plenty of scrolls and quills, and a book the dangerous plants in the Everfree forest so I know to avoid them.” Twilight said while Spike checked them off. “You’ve got everything Twilight. But are you sure you have to go alone?” Spike asked. “Yes, I’m sure Spike. If any pony else went with me, it could result in her attacking again. So going alone would be the only logical solution.” Twilight strapped her saddlebag on. “Now I have to go. Hopefully, if all goes well, I’ll be back before nightfall.” And with that, Twilight galloped back to the Everfree Forest and to the newly restored castle. ***** Getting back to the castle, Twilight was starting to lose her nerve a bit, but didn’t stop herself from crossing the bridge. She kept telling herself that she was the Princess of Friendship and it was her duty to show this mare a second chance no matter how long it took. Once across the bridge, she noticed soft screeching again from the bats and took caution when entering this time around. With the door creaking open, pushed by her hoof, Twilight walked carefully with her hoof steps echoing in the corridor. The morning sun illuminated the corridor, which was dark before, but it was a dim light due to the thick trees in the Everfree Forest. Twilight illuminated her horn with a gentle glow, giving off a low hum. “Teleporting or even flying here would have been faster than running. But flying in the Everfree Forest is a little dangerous…and I am still getting used to my wings. And teleporting her might upset her as well as prompt another attack.” She mumbled to herself. Flapping wings could be heard in the distance, putting Twilight on guard. The purple mare entered the throne room, seeing bats in the rafters. Looking around more, she finally spotted blue-eyed pony bat seated on her throne. Twilight gulped softly as she came closer to the pony bat and bowed politely. “H-Hello. I am Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship. I’m afraid we got off on the wrong hoof before.” She chuckled nervously. “I was hoping we could talk…I do have a few questions for you.” The mare stood up and off her throne, her hoof steps getting closer till she was in front of Twilight. Twilight looked up at her, the light from her horn showing more details of the taller mare’s face. She had a medium to dull red coat. Her mane was red and black, sleeked back with her tail matching. Her sky blue eyes were almost like focused ice daggers, glaring down at the princess. “First of all, would you mind turning off your horn? Light is slightly uncomfortable to me.” Her voice was almost demanding, but gently regal like Celestia’s. “Oh, of course.” The light disappeared and Twilight’s eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. “I’m sorry for before. My friends and I were a bit…jumpy upon seeing you. It’s just…we’ve been working together to redecorate this castle for ourselves and preserve some of the old history here.” She said, informatively. “So seeing some pony else do it was a bit of a surprise. And we’ve never seen any pony like you before…well we have since one of my friends turned into a bat pony because of a little spell bouncing off of the vampire fruit bats…but I’m getting off topic.” “I see, well you irritated me and my children. Barging in and disturbing us the way you did.” She said and turned, her wings clamped on her back. Her cutie mark, a ruby stone in between a pair of bat wings, was fully visible on her flank. “Anyway, you said you have questions. My time is brief since I have to feed my children soon. So speak quickly.” “Well…I was curious…why are you here? Who are you?” Twilight asked, standing. “And what…what are your intentions?” “Intentions? Do you see me as some kind of threat?!” Her leathery wings expanded as she glared at Twilight, her sharp teeth showing as she hissed. Twilight instantly took a few steps back. “N-No! Well…m-maybe. You attacked Ponyville, or rather Sweet Apple Acres, with your bats. It’s not a very good first impression.” Twilight tried to smooth things over, but had a feeling she was making things worse. “I just…want to be sure we can trust you.” “I attacked because you and your friends provoked me!” She stomped her hoof on the marble floor. “And bringing up trust after implying that I pose some kind of threat to your precious town.” With a powerful flap of her bat wings, she was hovering off the ground. “Out! Get out! Leave my castle immediately!” She screeched. Being hesitant at first, Twilight teleported out of the castle when several of the bats in the rafters started to fly towards her. She ended up in the cave where the Tree of Harmony was located. “That was close. Way too close.” She sighed. “I can’t believe I said those things. I should leave honesty to Applejack.” She set her saddlebag down and set up a tent, afterwards she pulled out scroll, quill, and some ink and started writing. “Day 1: I managed to meet the mysterious bat pony occupying the Castle of the Two Sisters. She is slightly prone to anger when insulted, gotta watch out for that.” She wrote down a few more things before putting her scroll away. “I have enough food to last me for about three days. Not that it’ll matter. After what I said to her today, I doubt she’ll let me close to her again.” She sighed heavily. Chapter 4Later in the day, while Twilight was reading one of the several books she brought with her, she heard the bats in the forest. Peeking out of her tent, she saw small herds of bats flying over the cave. In the middle of them was their mother. She directed them on where to go in different directions. “Go, my children, feed to your heart’s content. But don’t get caught. Ponies are too problematic.” She said. Once all the groups dispersed, she laid down on the ground. Twilight peeked out from behind some bushes. “Oh Midnight…who does that pony think she is? Princess or not, to assume I pose some threat to her precious town. For that, I should attack. But…I won’t. It wouldn’t serve any purpose.” She extended her wing and a fruit bat as blue as her eyes landed on it. “I honestly can’t get much peace anywhere. I was driven from my own home…and everywhere else for that matter. Living in caves was fine and all…but now that I found a proper place to live, I have to leave? I wish all ponies would just…go away.” The bat let out a small screech and nuzzled her. Twilight tilted her head. ‘I know I shouldn’t ease drop but…I never thought of things that way. She’s scared…more of us than we are of her or the bats.’ She thought and rubbed her hoof under her chin. ***** The next day, Twilight entered the castle again. This time, teleporting herself to the throne room, startling the bat mare. The bats in the rafters let out screeches of protest for their sudden intruder. The medium red mare flew up and settled them. “Shh, it’s alright, my children. It’s alright, no need to fret.” She cooed softly at them. Once they settled, she landed back in front of Twilight. “What…do you want…princess? Come to insult me again?” “No, I came to apologize.” Twilight said, visibly catching the taller mare’s attention. “I know that I know nothing at all about you. I, and my friends, judged you before getting your side of all this. And for that, I deeply apologize. So can we…start over?” Twilight extended her hoof. The taller mare stared at Twilight’s hoof before shaking it. “Very well. What…would you like to know?” She asked. “Well, your name would be a good start.” Twilight apparated a quill and scroll from midair, earning a hiss from the red mare. “I’m sorry, I…I just wanted to take notes.” Twilight chuckled nervously. “Hm…fine. My name is Ruby. Ruby Bat. I was a Pegasus mare who hailed from Stratusburg…till I was chased out for…well…” Ruby extended and lightly flapped her wings before folding them against her back. “Even though my cutie mark was a ruby stone, I was always treated like an outcast because there were bat wings with it. Ponies started calling me Batty Ruby because of it. It got worse when some ponies caught me in a cave talking to the bats that lived there. They laughed at me, ridiculed me.” Twilight’s quill lightly scratched against the scroll paper as Ruby spoke. “Oh that’s awful. You must’ve been pretty lonely.” She said Ruby sighed as her ears drooped. “Ignoring me changed to tormenting me whenever I was seen. The bats were the only creatures that understood me. So I started working on a way to communicate with them, to learn more about them, to find some kind of meaning and purpose behind my strange cutie mark. I was mixing potions to find ways to talk to them, but something went wrong. Some of the ponies that liked teasing me startled me one night. I bumped into the cloud counter and some of my potions mixed, causing a small explosion. I don’t know what happened after but I woke up in the infirmary.” She walked over and sat by the window. “Things were different after that. I noticed because my sight and hearing became more sensitive, I liked going out after dark more than during the day, I ate more fruit than hay or oats, and so on. When I finally stepped out of the infirmary after about a week or two of bed rest, ponies stared at me horrified because my feathery wings changed to bat wings, my soft delicate ears were slightly curved, my teeth were sharp, and my eyes were like cat eyes. No pony would come near me or even speak to me. After accidentally attacking a pony for a few apples, every pony treated me like a monster and I had to flee my home.” After finishing taking notes, the scroll rolled up as Twilight walked over and sat next to Ruby. “That must’ve been really tough on you. I can’t imagine being chased away from my own home because of something that couldn’t be controlled. What drew you to this place then?” “After being chased out, and my subsequent change, I found myself able to understand bats. Realizing this, I found myself appreciating and understanding my cutie mark more. I spent about a year moving from cave to cave, gathering more bats as my children and some of them told me about this castle. So I came here, to this castle to completely settle down. But it was in ruins…and had some childish decorations.” Ruby rubbed her forearm with her hoof. “Actually my friends and I put those decorations up. But I have been curious about how you managed to repair this castle so fast. This place looks completely brand new. But it would’ve taken weeks, no months, to do it.” Twilight said. “For some reason, I gained an almost hypnotic stare. I politely convinced a couple of unicorns to use their magic to rebuild the castle. Once they were done, I returned them to the edge of the forest unharmed. This castle, along with the dimness of this forest, makes it the perfect home for me and my family.” She smiled and stood up. “Peaceful and quiet…at least until you and your friends showed up.” “I guess, after hearing all of the facts, it makes sense why you came here. And why you were pretty upset when we ‘invaded’ your new home. Given all you’ve been through, you do deserve some peaceful silence.” Twilight glanced at the thrones. “But why have a King and Queen throne?” “Obviously the Queen is I. It’s little more than a joke, but I simply feel my children need something like a father…and I, a King.” Ruby walked over to her throne. Twilight jumped to her hooves. “So you…basically want a mate?” “Laughable, isn’t it? With how I look, what pony would love me?” She placed her left hoof on the throne next to hers. “I’m a monster after all. Just a freak.” “No you’re not. I’m sure no pony will see you as a monster when they get to know you.” Twilight flexed her wings and smiled. “You know, that’s not a bad idea! In two days, we’re celebrating the founding of Ponyville. It’s open to every pony and the Princesses will be there. It would be the perfect time.” “Generous offer, but I’m not part of your…community. I wouldn’t be welcomed.” Ruby tensed up at the thought of being around other ponies after all the time she had spent in seclusion. Midnight flew down and landed on her shoulder, nuzzling her owner as comfort. “I know you’re uncomfortable doing it. But you should give it a chance. If you show every pony your true self, they’ll see you’re not a monster.” Twilight smiled gently. “Believe it or not, when Princess Luna came to Ponyville on Nightmare Night, she had quite a hard time fitting in. Every pony was still afraid of her from her time as Nightmare Moon. But after a few set backs, things finally worked out and every pony warmed up to her. So if she can make it work, I know you can too.” Ruby gave it some thought and, after seeing the slightly hopeful and confident look in Twilight’s sparkling eyes, she sighed deeply. “I cannot. I don’t belong with other ponies, let alone socializing with them. Nothing would change. Now, if your business is done, Midnight will escort you out.” And before Twilight could protest, the blue fruit bat had transferred herself to Twilight’s shoulder and directed her to the door. “Alright. But Ruby, please consider my offer. I-I’ll be looking for you.” She said and trotted out of the door. Once Twilight was outside, Midnight retreated back into the castle and to her owner’s side. The lavender mare trotted back to the Tree of Harmony. “I wonder what I should do. I feel like I should stay out here and try to convince her. But given that the celebration for the founding of Ponyville is so close, I should be there overseeing the preparations. Even if I planned things out in advance already, I do want everything to go off without a hitch. Oh but if I go back, it’s like I’m giving up on Ruby!” She paced around about before taking a few relaxing breathes. “I think I should consult with the princesses about this.” With that, Twilight packed up her saddlebag and flew to Canterlot. Chapter 5Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Chapter 1Author's Note Now I'd like to introduce you to an OC, Ruby Bat. Of course, you'll know more of her back story as the story goes on. Chapter 1 It was an ordinary day in Ponyville, the same as any other had been. Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship, and her friends were in the map room discussing different issues. It was the apple-bucking season and, like any other year, the vampire fruit bats were back in town. The Southern pony couldn’t understand why Fluttershy’s stare didn’t work to keep them away or at least uninterested in the apples. “I just don’t get it. Fluttershy’s stare and Twilight’s magic worked to get them uninterested in my apple last year, granted it bounced back and turned Fluttershy into a Flutterbat. So why in tarnation did they come back to eat my apples this year? Those varmints have sucked up like 25% of my orchard! On top of what they had in the apple section, I had for them!” Applejack lightly stomped her hoof on the table. “We don’t know how the vampire fruit bats mentality works. They could have turned back to normal from then to now. And they aren’t varmint, they’re living creatures like any one of us” Fluttershy said and squeaked when Applejack stomped her hooves harder. “Then we need a much stronger and longer lasting solution! Twilight, you’re the element of magic and Princess Celestia’s prized student. Don’t you have some stronger spell that’ll fix this?” “Sadly I don’t Applejack. I’ve been reading up about vampire fruit bats and unless I could study them, even I don’t know how the spells would, or even could, affect them. Maybe we could try Fluttershy’s stare again and try reasoning with them.” Twilight said and rubbed her hoof under her chin. Suddenly the map started altering a bit, specifically around the Everfree Forest where the Castle of the Two Sisters was located. It looked to be changing from ruins to a normal castle again. Everyone’ cutie marks started resonating and gathered over the changing location. Spike, who was sleeping in the little throne next to Twilight’s, woke up. He noticed the cutie marks gathered in the one spot. “Whoa, what’s going on in the Everfree Forest? Last I checked there wasn’t a friendship problem to solve there. The only pony I know who lives out there is Zecora and she’s a zebra.” “Yeah, I know. But maybe there’s something going on? I mean, there haven’t been any incidents out there but maybe there’s something going on out there that should be stopped before it starts.” The purple pony said and stood up. “Why don’t we go check it out and see if we can talk to Zecora for advice about how to deal with the vampire fruit bats?” “Y’all go on ahead. I’m gonna go and protect my orchard.” Applejack huffed and galloped out of the map room. “Poor Applejack. The apple-bucking season is so important to her. I do hope we help her soon.” Rarity said, getting out of her seat. “Yeah, hopefully, Zecora will have some advice for us and then we’ll deal with those vampire fruit bats in no time.” Rainbow Dash hovered out of her seat. “I hope so too. Without apples, we won’t get to have any more of those delicious treats Applejack makes, or Zap Apple Jam, or any more cider, or treats during Nightmare Night! Could you imagine Nightmare Night without apple bobbing?” Pinkie Pie said, bouncing towards the door. “Oh, I’m sure Zecora will know what to do. She’s helped us many times before and she’s very knowledgeable about things.” Fluttershy said, following everyone. “Spike, while we’re out, look through the library for anything you can find about the vampire fruit bats. There might be something we overlooked. Owlowiscious will help you. We’ll check out the Everfree Forest and see what’s going on.” Twilight instructed. “I’m on it. You can count on me. Come on, Owlowiscious.” Spike said and sprinted out to the library with the owl. Getting to the Everfree Forest, Twilight and the others had no clue what to expect other than what they’ve already seen. Fluttershy stayed close to her friends, jumping at the smallest noise, a leaf brushing against her, or even just bumping up against a tree. They walked through the forest, getting to the bridge that leads to the Castle of the Two Sisters. Or rather, the bridge that was supposed to be there. The roped looked to have been gnawed through. “What in the name of Celestia did this? Ponies don’t bite through ropes.” Twilight shrieked a bit. “M-Maybe it was something in the forest? Something dangerous even! We should go back.” Fluttershy panicked a bit. “No way, we’ve come too far to turn back now. We have to investigate this.” The purple pony insisted. “I can use my magic to make the vines reconnect the bridge even if it’s temporary.” Twilight’s horn glowed and made the vines create a makeshift rope for the bridge to be held up. After testing it herself, everyone else walked across one by one. Once everyone was across, they were shocked to see that the Castle of the Two Sisters looks completely repaired just like the map showed; it just looked darker and more haunted. Fluttershy hid behind Rarity. “Oh, Sweet Celestia! Who did this? We’ve been working to fix this place up and make it look dazzling. But even we couldn’t pull off this much restoration.” Rarity said, a little jealous. “It’s as if the castle was never left to ruin. A-And the battle between Princess Celestia and Nightmare Moon never happened. This makes it even more suspicious. Come on, girls, we have to investigate.” Twilight said and started walking in, with Pinkie Pie and Rarity following her and Rainbow Dash pulling Fluttershy along. Inside the castle, the tapestries and carpet were repaired and altered drastically. The tapestries had a ruby on them with a bat in the middle. The carpet was red and black. There were no decorations to adorn the halls and everything the girls had put in the castle already was gone. The wind whistled through the quiet hallway and the only sounds there were the echoing sounds of hooves. “Wow, it’s completely different inside. It looks nothing like what I saw in my vision of the past when Princess Celestia and Princess Luna still lived here” Twilight said as she looked around. “You bet it’s completely different. It’s so bland and boring. What happened to the pictures and flowers and streamers we put up? All that hard work for nothing!” Rarity brooded a little. “Whoever did this has no sense of style.” “We can worry about decorations later, for now, we have to find out why this happened.” Rainbow Dash. Walking around more, they came to the throne room and it was pretty dark. Twilight and Rarity lit up their horns so they could see where they were going. Going further in, they say the two thrones were repaired and had the letters “Q” and “K” engraved in them. Looking closer, they saw something in the “Q” throne. It moved for a bit and then a pair of bright blue eyes was seen in the darkness followed by a loud hiss. “Who dares to intrude in my castle!” The being hissed. It was the voice of a female. “Your castle? This castle belongs to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna! You’re the intruder! Who are you?!” Twilight stood her ground. “Get out!” The being stood up, showing the outline of a pony about the same height as Princess Luna. “No way! This castle belongs to our Princesses and we’re not gonna let you take over!” Rainbow Dash charged at the pony but crashed into the throne. The mysterious pony flew up, but the wings didn’t look right. The mare flew around them, hissing and pushing them around. It wasn’t until Twilight called a retreat that they were able to lure the mare out into the light. The mare was indeed a pony, but she has the wings of a bat. She looked almost identical to Fluttershy’s Flutterbat, except her ears were the same as any other pony, just slightly curved and pointed. The mare glared down at them. “I don’t care who the previous owners were, this castle is mine now and no one trespasses in my territory!” She screeched loudly, causing Twilight and the others to cover their ears. Within seconds, a horde of bats swarmed and surrounded the other ponies before swooping in for an attack. Before the bats got to them, Twilight teleported herself and her friends out of the castle and into Zecora’s hut.
Chapter 2Zecora opened the door to her hut and found Twilight and the others inside. “Dear friends and Princess Twilight, what reason would you have to come to my home so late at night?” She asked. “Zecora, we need your help. The Castle of the Two sisters has oddly been fully restored. Not only that, it’s now inhabited by a pony bat and an enormous horde of…well…bats!” Twilight explained. “Bats?! Oh my, what a mess, I can see why you all seem in such distress.” “Can you help us? She is quite violent and has enough bats to take over or destroy all of Equestria!” Rainbow Dash said. Zecora searched in her bookshelves and sighed. “I’m afraid I don’t know how to help with your situation. Perhaps you should inform the Princesses and prepare for a possible invasion.” “She’s right, we have to tell the Princesses and warn every pony. Let’s get back to Ponyville and get Spike and Applejack. Then we have to get to Canterlot and tell the Princesses what’s happened.” Twilight said and the sound of screeches and wings could be heard outside, heading fast towards Ponyville. “Come on, girls! There’s no time to lose!” The girls galloped as fast as they could towards Ponyville and the town was in a panic. The horde of bats had invaded Ponyville, but they weren’t attacking ponies, they were attacking all the apple stands and taking all the apples! “Oh dear, if these bats are like vampire fruit bats…they’ll be heading for Sweet Apple Acres as well! Applejack can’t handle all this even with her family’s help.” Rarity panicked. “Oh dear. We have to get to Sweet Apple Acres to help Applejack.” Fluttershy said and they were headed to Sweet Apple Aches as fast as they could. When they got there, everything was quiet. Except for the vampire fruit bats that were eating up a section of the western orchard. Applejack was lassoing vampire fruit bats left and right before spotting her friends. “Girls! Thank Celestia! Please tell me you found a solution to all this.” AJ muffled due to the rope in her mouth. “I’m sorry AJ, we couldn’t find anything. But it seems we might’ve made things worse. We have to contact Princess Celestia and Princess Luna before…” Before she could finish, the bat’s screeches were coming closer. Twilight’s horn lit up and she put up a shield, much like her brother’s, to protect the orchard and expelled the vampire fruit bats that were eating the orchard. “What in tarnation did you do?” AJ looked around, seeing that the bats had pretty much covered the sky. “Well, we found the Castle of the Two Sisters fully restored much more than what we had done.” Rarity started. “But the whole place was different…much creepier than before. And there were a lot of bats!” Rainbow Dash continued. “And there was a pony there who-“ Fluttershy said before Pinkie Pie jumped in. “And there was this pony who looked just like a Pegasus pony! But she wasn’t! She has pointy ears, and bat wings, and fangs, and reeeeeeeeeeally bright, shiny blue eyes! And she was all like “Who dares to intrude in my castle?” and “Get out!” and then this huuuuuuuuuge swarm of bats surrounded us. And then Twilight teleported us to Zecora’s hut and when she couldn’t help us, we came here because the bats were coming after Ponyville. So we came here too to get you and Spike so we could get a message to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. And then we found you and the bats started coming, so Twilight put up this shield to keep the bats out and then you asked what happen and then that’s how we ended up here.” Pinkie Pie said and ended with a bright grin. “Like Pinkie Pie said…we met this mare who could be a pony bat and…well…she might’ve sent her bats here. The bats are taking apples and they might take this whole orchard. We have to contact the Princesses, but without Spike, I can’t get a message to them.” Twilight said. “But I can’t leave the shield or the bats will come in.” “What about if I go? I’m a fast flyer, I can go get Spike then come back here in no time.” Rainbow Dash suggested. “I’d have to let down the shield and that’s too risky,” Twilight said. “There must be something we can do. Even if you’re a Princess, this shield was physically taxing on your brother. It might be the same for you.” Applejack said, her ears flopped down. “Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness!” Fluttershy looked around. The bats shrieked and fluttered around, some running their small bodies against the shield to get inside. Suddenly there was a sudden magical burst sunlight and the bats all scattered, heading back to the Everfree Forest. The vampire fruit bats went with them as well. Twilight let down her shield and was met by Spike, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. “I received a message from Spike saying that bats had invaded Ponyville. Twilight Sparkle, would you care to explain what has happened?” Celestia said.
Chapter 3Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash bowed politely while Twilight Sparkle’s ears flopped down. She knew she would have to explain the situation to the Princesses sooner or later. She stepped forward and bowed. “Princess Celestia, Princess Luna. We saw there was a change with the Castle of the Two Sisters and we went to investigate. We found a mysterious mare that had the wings of a bat. She somehow restored the castle and claims it’s hers.” Twilight explained. “A mysterious mare with bat wings? The only ponies who have bat wings, that I know of, are my guards.” Luna stated. “So who would this mare be?” “We don’t know. We are just as curious as you are to know. But I don’t even know if we can get back to the Castle.” Twilight sighed. “I’m very sorry, Princesses.” “Fear not, Twilight Sparkle. We are not upset with you.” Princess Celestia placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “This mare might not be an enemy, but we cannot know for sure.” “We could send guards to survey the castle.” Luna suggested. “No, that might anger her.” Celestia said. “We must do something, sister. We cannot let a possible threat stay unattended to.” Luna insisted, stomping her dark blue hoof on the ground. “Perhaps this is a job the Princess of Friendship should handle. Twilight, is there anything you noticed in the castle?” Celestia asked, laying a settling hoof on her sister’s shoulder. Twilight rubbed her hoof under her chin. “Before she woke up, I saw two thrones. One was marked with a “K” and the other with a “Q”. I’m assuming they are marked for “King” and “Queen” since she was sleeping in the “Q” throne.” She informed them. “So…perhaps…she simply wants a King?” “A King? As in…a stallion?! Impossible!” Luna huffed. “Nothing is impossible, Luna. We thought it would be impossible for Fluttershy to reform Discord, but it happened. So perhaps we shouldn’t be so doubtful.” Celestia said. “This bat pony could simply be lonely. We shouldn’t judge.” “Princess, if it’s alright, I would...I would like to go back to the castle and speak with her alone.” Twilight said, earning gasps from her friends. “Have you gone mad Twilight?! You can’t go back there alone!” Rainbow Dash protested. “You don’t know what she’ll do to you.” “Please darling, we insist you reconsider going alone. We know absolutely nothing about this mare and with what happened earlier, going alone is most unwise.” Rarity stomped her hoof. “At least let one of us go with you.” “A-At least take me with you, I can understand all kinds of animals. Maybe the bats will be more cooperative than her.” Fluttershy said, being unusually brave. “No, I can’t take any of you with me. As the Princess of Friendship, I have to go alone to at least break the ice. If we all go together, it might unsettle her again and prompt her to attack.” Twilight turned to face her friend. “Please trust me. Give me a few days to go there alone and talk to her. Perhaps I’ll get the reason why she’s here to begin with.” Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash all looked at each other before looking at their Alicorn Princess. Applejack was the first to give in saying, “Well sugar cube, as much as we might wanna stop you, your eyes are saying your mind is made up. There a’int nothin’ we can do to talk you out of it.” “While reckless, I believe Twilight’s suggestion would be the wisest at this time” Celestia said and every pony looked towards the Everfree forest. “Then it’s settled. In the morning, I’ll head into the forest and back to the castle.” Twilight said as bravely as she could, but inside, she was pretty nervous. ***** In the morning, Twilight went through a checklist with Spike and their friends of things preparing her for her self appointed task. “Ok I have apples, plenty of scrolls and quills, and a book the dangerous plants in the Everfree forest so I know to avoid them.” Twilight said while Spike checked them off. “You’ve got everything Twilight. But are you sure you have to go alone?” Spike asked. “Yes, I’m sure Spike. If any pony else went with me, it could result in her attacking again. So going alone would be the only logical solution.” Twilight strapped her saddlebag on. “Now I have to go. Hopefully, if all goes well, I’ll be back before nightfall.” And with that, Twilight galloped back to the Everfree Forest and to the newly restored castle. ***** Getting back to the castle, Twilight was starting to lose her nerve a bit, but didn’t stop herself from crossing the bridge. She kept telling herself that she was the Princess of Friendship and it was her duty to show this mare a second chance no matter how long it took. Once across the bridge, she noticed soft screeching again from the bats and took caution when entering this time around. With the door creaking open, pushed by her hoof, Twilight walked carefully with her hoof steps echoing in the corridor. The morning sun illuminated the corridor, which was dark before, but it was a dim light due to the thick trees in the Everfree Forest. Twilight illuminated her horn with a gentle glow, giving off a low hum. “Teleporting or even flying here would have been faster than running. But flying in the Everfree Forest is a little dangerous…and I am still getting used to my wings. And teleporting her might upset her as well as prompt another attack.” She mumbled to herself. Flapping wings could be heard in the distance, putting Twilight on guard. The purple mare entered the throne room, seeing bats in the rafters. Looking around more, she finally spotted blue-eyed pony bat seated on her throne. Twilight gulped softly as she came closer to the pony bat and bowed politely. “H-Hello. I am Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship. I’m afraid we got off on the wrong hoof before.” She chuckled nervously. “I was hoping we could talk…I do have a few questions for you.” The mare stood up and off her throne, her hoof steps getting closer till she was in front of Twilight. Twilight looked up at her, the light from her horn showing more details of the taller mare’s face. She had a medium to dull red coat. Her mane was red and black, sleeked back with her tail matching. Her sky blue eyes were almost like focused ice daggers, glaring down at the princess. “First of all, would you mind turning off your horn? Light is slightly uncomfortable to me.” Her voice was almost demanding, but gently regal like Celestia’s. “Oh, of course.” The light disappeared and Twilight’s eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. “I’m sorry for before. My friends and I were a bit…jumpy upon seeing you. It’s just…we’ve been working together to redecorate this castle for ourselves and preserve some of the old history here.” She said, informatively. “So seeing some pony else do it was a bit of a surprise. And we’ve never seen any pony like you before…well we have since one of my friends turned into a bat pony because of a little spell bouncing off of the vampire fruit bats…but I’m getting off topic.” “I see, well you irritated me and my children. Barging in and disturbing us the way you did.” She said and turned, her wings clamped on her back. Her cutie mark, a ruby stone in between a pair of bat wings, was fully visible on her flank. “Anyway, you said you have questions. My time is brief since I have to feed my children soon. So speak quickly.” “Well…I was curious…why are you here? Who are you?” Twilight asked, standing. “And what…what are your intentions?” “Intentions? Do you see me as some kind of threat?!” Her leathery wings expanded as she glared at Twilight, her sharp teeth showing as she hissed. Twilight instantly took a few steps back. “N-No! Well…m-maybe. You attacked Ponyville, or rather Sweet Apple Acres, with your bats. It’s not a very good first impression.” Twilight tried to smooth things over, but had a feeling she was making things worse. “I just…want to be sure we can trust you.” “I attacked because you and your friends provoked me!” She stomped her hoof on the marble floor. “And bringing up trust after implying that I pose some kind of threat to your precious town.” With a powerful flap of her bat wings, she was hovering off the ground. “Out! Get out! Leave my castle immediately!” She screeched. Being hesitant at first, Twilight teleported out of the castle when several of the bats in the rafters started to fly towards her. She ended up in the cave where the Tree of Harmony was located. “That was close. Way too close.” She sighed. “I can’t believe I said those things. I should leave honesty to Applejack.” She set her saddlebag down and set up a tent, afterwards she pulled out scroll, quill, and some ink and started writing. “Day 1: I managed to meet the mysterious bat pony occupying the Castle of the Two Sisters. She is slightly prone to anger when insulted, gotta watch out for that.” She wrote down a few more things before putting her scroll away. “I have enough food to last me for about three days. Not that it’ll matter. After what I said to her today, I doubt she’ll let me close to her again.” She sighed heavily.
Chapter 4Later in the day, while Twilight was reading one of the several books she brought with her, she heard the bats in the forest. Peeking out of her tent, she saw small herds of bats flying over the cave. In the middle of them was their mother. She directed them on where to go in different directions. “Go, my children, feed to your heart’s content. But don’t get caught. Ponies are too problematic.” She said. Once all the groups dispersed, she laid down on the ground. Twilight peeked out from behind some bushes. “Oh Midnight…who does that pony think she is? Princess or not, to assume I pose some threat to her precious town. For that, I should attack. But…I won’t. It wouldn’t serve any purpose.” She extended her wing and a fruit bat as blue as her eyes landed on it. “I honestly can’t get much peace anywhere. I was driven from my own home…and everywhere else for that matter. Living in caves was fine and all…but now that I found a proper place to live, I have to leave? I wish all ponies would just…go away.” The bat let out a small screech and nuzzled her. Twilight tilted her head. ‘I know I shouldn’t ease drop but…I never thought of things that way. She’s scared…more of us than we are of her or the bats.’ She thought and rubbed her hoof under her chin. ***** The next day, Twilight entered the castle again. This time, teleporting herself to the throne room, startling the bat mare. The bats in the rafters let out screeches of protest for their sudden intruder. The medium red mare flew up and settled them. “Shh, it’s alright, my children. It’s alright, no need to fret.” She cooed softly at them. Once they settled, she landed back in front of Twilight. “What…do you want…princess? Come to insult me again?” “No, I came to apologize.” Twilight said, visibly catching the taller mare’s attention. “I know that I know nothing at all about you. I, and my friends, judged you before getting your side of all this. And for that, I deeply apologize. So can we…start over?” Twilight extended her hoof. The taller mare stared at Twilight’s hoof before shaking it. “Very well. What…would you like to know?” She asked. “Well, your name would be a good start.” Twilight apparated a quill and scroll from midair, earning a hiss from the red mare. “I’m sorry, I…I just wanted to take notes.” Twilight chuckled nervously. “Hm…fine. My name is Ruby. Ruby Bat. I was a Pegasus mare who hailed from Stratusburg…till I was chased out for…well…” Ruby extended and lightly flapped her wings before folding them against her back. “Even though my cutie mark was a ruby stone, I was always treated like an outcast because there were bat wings with it. Ponies started calling me Batty Ruby because of it. It got worse when some ponies caught me in a cave talking to the bats that lived there. They laughed at me, ridiculed me.” Twilight’s quill lightly scratched against the scroll paper as Ruby spoke. “Oh that’s awful. You must’ve been pretty lonely.” She said Ruby sighed as her ears drooped. “Ignoring me changed to tormenting me whenever I was seen. The bats were the only creatures that understood me. So I started working on a way to communicate with them, to learn more about them, to find some kind of meaning and purpose behind my strange cutie mark. I was mixing potions to find ways to talk to them, but something went wrong. Some of the ponies that liked teasing me startled me one night. I bumped into the cloud counter and some of my potions mixed, causing a small explosion. I don’t know what happened after but I woke up in the infirmary.” She walked over and sat by the window. “Things were different after that. I noticed because my sight and hearing became more sensitive, I liked going out after dark more than during the day, I ate more fruit than hay or oats, and so on. When I finally stepped out of the infirmary after about a week or two of bed rest, ponies stared at me horrified because my feathery wings changed to bat wings, my soft delicate ears were slightly curved, my teeth were sharp, and my eyes were like cat eyes. No pony would come near me or even speak to me. After accidentally attacking a pony for a few apples, every pony treated me like a monster and I had to flee my home.” After finishing taking notes, the scroll rolled up as Twilight walked over and sat next to Ruby. “That must’ve been really tough on you. I can’t imagine being chased away from my own home because of something that couldn’t be controlled. What drew you to this place then?” “After being chased out, and my subsequent change, I found myself able to understand bats. Realizing this, I found myself appreciating and understanding my cutie mark more. I spent about a year moving from cave to cave, gathering more bats as my children and some of them told me about this castle. So I came here, to this castle to completely settle down. But it was in ruins…and had some childish decorations.” Ruby rubbed her forearm with her hoof. “Actually my friends and I put those decorations up. But I have been curious about how you managed to repair this castle so fast. This place looks completely brand new. But it would’ve taken weeks, no months, to do it.” Twilight said. “For some reason, I gained an almost hypnotic stare. I politely convinced a couple of unicorns to use their magic to rebuild the castle. Once they were done, I returned them to the edge of the forest unharmed. This castle, along with the dimness of this forest, makes it the perfect home for me and my family.” She smiled and stood up. “Peaceful and quiet…at least until you and your friends showed up.” “I guess, after hearing all of the facts, it makes sense why you came here. And why you were pretty upset when we ‘invaded’ your new home. Given all you’ve been through, you do deserve some peaceful silence.” Twilight glanced at the thrones. “But why have a King and Queen throne?” “Obviously the Queen is I. It’s little more than a joke, but I simply feel my children need something like a father…and I, a King.” Ruby walked over to her throne. Twilight jumped to her hooves. “So you…basically want a mate?” “Laughable, isn’t it? With how I look, what pony would love me?” She placed her left hoof on the throne next to hers. “I’m a monster after all. Just a freak.” “No you’re not. I’m sure no pony will see you as a monster when they get to know you.” Twilight flexed her wings and smiled. “You know, that’s not a bad idea! In two days, we’re celebrating the founding of Ponyville. It’s open to every pony and the Princesses will be there. It would be the perfect time.” “Generous offer, but I’m not part of your…community. I wouldn’t be welcomed.” Ruby tensed up at the thought of being around other ponies after all the time she had spent in seclusion. Midnight flew down and landed on her shoulder, nuzzling her owner as comfort. “I know you’re uncomfortable doing it. But you should give it a chance. If you show every pony your true self, they’ll see you’re not a monster.” Twilight smiled gently. “Believe it or not, when Princess Luna came to Ponyville on Nightmare Night, she had quite a hard time fitting in. Every pony was still afraid of her from her time as Nightmare Moon. But after a few set backs, things finally worked out and every pony warmed up to her. So if she can make it work, I know you can too.” Ruby gave it some thought and, after seeing the slightly hopeful and confident look in Twilight’s sparkling eyes, she sighed deeply. “I cannot. I don’t belong with other ponies, let alone socializing with them. Nothing would change. Now, if your business is done, Midnight will escort you out.” And before Twilight could protest, the blue fruit bat had transferred herself to Twilight’s shoulder and directed her to the door. “Alright. But Ruby, please consider my offer. I-I’ll be looking for you.” She said and trotted out of the door. Once Twilight was outside, Midnight retreated back into the castle and to her owner’s side. The lavender mare trotted back to the Tree of Harmony. “I wonder what I should do. I feel like I should stay out here and try to convince her. But given that the celebration for the founding of Ponyville is so close, I should be there overseeing the preparations. Even if I planned things out in advance already, I do want everything to go off without a hitch. Oh but if I go back, it’s like I’m giving up on Ruby!” She paced around about before taking a few relaxing breathes. “I think I should consult with the princesses about this.” With that, Twilight packed up her saddlebag and flew to Canterlot.
