Chapter 1: A New Nocturnal World
Twilight was excited. More excited than she has been about anything else in a long time. She had done it. After all that time researching and experimenting, she had finally done it. She was also excited to show her friends the fruits of her labor.
Soon enough, all of her friends were gathered at the statue that acted as the portal between their world and the pony world of Equestria. But the statue looked different.
The statue was hooked up to a large Frisbee-shaped device by a series of wires and tubes. In the middle of the device was a small orb that gave of a rhythmic pink glow.
Sunset Shimmer, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash all gathered at the statue per Twilight's request to see what is is she'd gathered them all to see.
"Alright, Twilight. What did you want to show us?" Sunset asked her bespectacled friend.
"I just wanted to show you my new multidimensional portal device" she said with a Pinkie-like smile.
"'Multidimensional portal device'? Darling. remember what happen the last time you tried to fuse magic with technology?" Rarity asked.
"That was just a slight miscalculation brought on by a mind boggled by three days without sleep" Twilight said.
"'A slight miscalculation'? You almost turned the school into a smoking crater! Mr. Doodle is still sore at you about that, sugarcube" Applejack responded.
Twilight winced at the memory of that disaster. "Hopefully his hair grows back. And that he gets out of that wheelchair. And that his urine won't be bloody. And that he can get a new liver"
"I should throw him a 'Get Well' party to cheer him up!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"Somehow I get the feeling he wouldn't appreciate a Pinkie party" Rainbow said to Pinkie.
"Girls, we're getting off track. We're her to see the new device Twilight made" Fluttershy said to the gang.
The girls' attention was now completely on Twilight. She gesture to the device laying on the ground.
"Girls, what if I told you that this device could allow us to travel to other universes in the multiverse besides Equestria?" she asked.
That had the girls interested to be sure. Twilight continued her presentation.
"If I turn the dial on this device, it'll select a new world for an outside observer" she stated.
Twilight turned the glowing dial on the device to demonstrate. The portal had a very visible reaction. The portal switched from Equestrian pink to another world's indicating color, which was blue in this case.
"That's so awesome Twilight!" Rainbow exclaimed with a fist pumping the air
"That's a rather lovely shade of cerulean" Rarity noted.
"It's sooooooo pretty, Twi!" Pinkie shouted.
"That is rather amazing that you've changed the portal to lead to another world" Sunset praised.
"Uh, Twi. Is the portal supposed to be glowin' like that?" Applejack asked.
Before Twilight could respond, the portal absorbed them all in a bright light. After being momentarily blinded by the light, the girls all began to get the weirdest feeling of their bodies somehow changing. Then everything went black.
Twilight woke up with the feeling of having the best sleep of her life. She couldn't really make out her surroundings, but she felt like she was being wrapped in a warm blanket.
However, once she shook the sleep out of her eyes, she realized that she wasn't in the same surroundings she and her friends were recently in. From what she could see, she was in what looked like a badly made wooden shed. The wood was very splintery, rotten, and uneven.
She looked around to really get her bearings and discovered something even more bizarre: she was covered in fur and was hanging from the very wood she was surrounded by.
"What?! I'm covered in fur?!" she exclaimed.
She checked herself further to see that her arms have changed into wings. Her arms and fingers have gotten longer and have membranes of skin forming between them.
The wings clinched it. She was a bat! She was an actual bat!
"I'm a bat?! This... is strangely cool. I wonder what species I am" Twilight said.
She looked down at herself to see black fur with a decent amount of silver fur within.
"So, let me get this straight: the device overloaded, and transported us to to a new world as well as turning us into bats?" Twilight asked herself.
Speaking of which, she had finally realized that she needed to look around for the others. But first, she needed to look for a way out of her apparent roost.
"Wait, since I'm now a bat, I can use echolocation"
She tried to send out a call. The results were phenomenal! In an instant, the entire inside of her roost, a hollow tree, was illuminated with picture-perfect detail. She could make out everything in that hollow tree. Twilight could make out the individual nooks and crannies of the trunk. She could even see the thin spider web at the bottom of the hollow.
"This is amazing! It makes me a bit jealous that humans can't do this!"
Now she wanted to play with her echolocation a little bit. She sent out more calls to make out the full layout of her roost. When she turned her calls upward, she could see that she wasn't the only bat in this roost.
There were six other bats in the roost. From what she could see, they were all of different species. They were all asleep with their wings held to their sides.
"I should see of I can communicate with them to see if I can make out what's going on here" Twilight said.
Using her thumb claws, Twilight crawled up the walls of the roost to get to the other bats. She made her way to the closest bat, an eastern red bat, and gently nudged her awake with her muzzle.
"Excuse me, but can you tell me where I am? I'm kind of lost" Twilight said in a soft voice so as not to disturb the other bat too much.
"Mmmmm, Twilight, just let me sleep" the red bat said in a familiar voice.
Twilight recognized that voice instantly. Sunset. Sunset has changed into an eastern red bat.
"Sunset, wake up! You gotta wake up!" Twilight said shaking her friend with her wing.
Sunset woke up with some instinctive flapping of her long and pointed wings. She looked around and looked at Bat Twilight.
"Twilight?! What's going on?! Why are you a bat?!" Sunset asked in panic.
"Well, you're a bat, too" Twilight replied pointing to her with her thumb claw.
Sure enough, Sunset looked down at herself to see that she too was a bat.
"What happened Twilight?!" Sunset asked in panic.
"The best conclusion I can come to is that we were transported to a new world and were changed into bats"
This new intake of information was quite a lot for Sunset to take in. They got transported into a new world and were changed into sapient bats. What in the name of Jeebus Christopher was she supposed to make of this?!
"Well, I guess this isn't the worst thing to happen" Sunset said after a while.
"Come on, let's go wake up the others" Twilight said.
Both Twilight and Sunset crawled up to the others and woke them up one by one. After getting over to the initial shock and disbelief, Twilight managed to explain the current situation.
"So, we got transported to a new world due to the device overloading and got turned into bats?" Rainbow asked.
"Yeah, that's basically the long and short of it" Sunset replied.
Now that the explanations were out of the way, everyone took the time to look at their new forms.
Applejack was a Pallid Bat, a desert-dwelling species that eats large insects and arthropods such as centipedes and scorpions. Her pale fur, large ears, and large dark eyes made her look adorable. Pinkie was a Hoary Bat, a species that can found all over the western half of the United States and is the only bat species to be found in Hawaii. Rainbow Dash was a Brazilian Free-Tailed Bat, which can fly even faster than peregrine falcons when flying horizontally at speeds of one hundred miles per hour. Rainbow's eye's lit up when Twilight told her that bit of info. Rarity was a Tricolored Bat, a colorful species found in the midwest. Fluttershy was a Gray Bat, an endangered species found throughout the southeast US.
Once everyone was done looking over their new bodies, they had begun trying to come up with a game plan.
"Well, how are we going to get back to our own world?" Rainbow asked.
"It's not like I'm going to be able to build a new device with this form" Twilight responded.
"Can we even still use our magic?" Fluttershy asked.
"Somehow, I don't think we can use our magic as bats, Flutters" Applejack answered.
"Well, we're not going to get any answers just roosting in here" Twilight said. "We should all go outside and see if we can get our bearings"
Twilight and the others crawled up to a hole in the tree to look outside. It was night, the perfect time for bats. Judging from the warmth in the air, it was summertime. Twilight and the other girls sent out calls to look around. It seemed like it was just regular forest as far as their calls could tell them.
"Well, we're definitely not at Canterlot High anymore" Sunset said.
The Rainbooms, or rather "Rainbats", were staring out into the darkness of a nighttime forest they didn't recognize. Twilight and the others were scanning their surroundings with echolocation.
All they saw around them was seemingly endless forest. Although, they could make out large amounts of flying insects. The "sight" of all these insects made the girls lick their lips in response.
"That's interesting. I'm finding this abundance of insects to be... appetizing" Twilight said.
"I know, darling. I'm too hungry to find focus on the fact that these are insects" Rarity chimed in.
"I think it may be because of the fact that since we're all insectivorous bat species, we must have the instincts of bats" Fluttershy guessed.
"Well, since we're hungry for bugs, let's not sit here with our bellies growling! Let's eat!" Rainbow said before jumping off the tree.
"RAINBOW!!" the girls cried out in unison.
But Rainbow didn't fall to the ground as they feared. Instead, she flapped her wings and took off like a lightning bolt. Being a Brazilian Free-Tailed Bat, Rainbow was fast. She was eating insect after insect at an incredible rate of speed. The Rainbats took this as the cue to take off and eat.
The Rainbats launched themselves into the air all at once to fly off and hunt. Applejack spotted a centipede crawling up a tree and threw herself at the creature, crunching it with her teeth. Pinkie ate several June bugs, which left a strangely sweet taste on her tongue. The others were focusing on mosquitos, gnats, and moths. The girls were all surprised at not only how good the insects tasted, but the amount of insects they ate.
After a few hours of hunting, the Rainbats met back at their roost to rest and digest. They all had the contented looks on their faces that came with having full bellies.
"I can't even remember the last time I ate that good" Rainbow said.
"I ate more than I thought was possible" Fluttershy chimed in.
"That centipede tasted like pork" Applejack said.
"Those mosquitos are surprisingly filling" Sunset said.
"Who knew June bugs could taste like cupcakes?" Pinkie asked.
"Well, now that we've eaten, we need to decide what to do about our current situation" Twilight said.
"Twilight's right. We need to figure out how to return to our world. Obviously, building another portal device is out of the question" Sunset said.
The rest of the girls started to put their heads together to figure out what to do next. After a few more minutes of thinking, Pinkie's ears shot up.
"I have an idea! Why don't we try to find other bats and talk to them to see if they anything about our situation?" Pinkie suggested.
"Talk to other bats? I'm not sure how many of them would know about the subject of humans turning into bats or transport between worlds" Sunset said.
"How do we know unless we try? Besides, if we can understand each other, we should be able to communicate with other bats" Fluttershy said.
"Well, it's the best idea we've had so far" Rainbow said.
"Agreed. Investigating by interviewing other bats might just be our best shot" Rarity said.
"Alright, let's go find other bats" Twilight said before taking off flying. The rest of the Rainbats followed suit.
A Few Hours Later
The Rainbats have been flying until their wings were sore. The found a good tree to stop and rest their wings for a bit. They were all panting from the effort of flying.
The girls hadn't found any other bats. No matter where they looked or how far into the forest they flew, there didn't seem to be any other bats to talk to. It did explain why the insect population was so abundant in the area, though.
The girls could make the beginning of dawn with a sliver of sunlight rising over the horizon. They had to find a place to roost for the day. It wouldn't be safe for them to be flying around in daylight.
The Rainbats made it back to the hollow tree they first woke up in and decided to roost there for the day. It was best for them to rest before trying again the next night. Perhaps some bats will be passing through the area. They hooked their claws into the wood and were quick to fall asleep.
At Dusk
The girls were woken up by unfamiliar voices coming from outside their roost. They were voices that the girls could understand. This meant that these voices must be coming from other bats. Finally! Other bats to talk to.
Twilight crawled to the entrance of the roost and looked outside with her echolocation. In her mind's eye, she could make out two other bats perched in some of the branches above them. The other girls gathered and tried to make their way to the other bats.
These other bats were different species. There was a female Eastern Red Bat and a male Silver-Haired Bat perched on the same branch having a conversation. Twilight decided to be the first one to greet themselves.
"Uh, hello!" Twilight greeted.
The two strange bats looked at Twilight and her friends. The male Silver-Haired Bat looked at them a waved his right wing at them.
"Oh, hi. We're new to this forest. My name's Shade Silverwing", the young male said.
"Hey there. I'm Marina Brightwing" the female greeted.
"Hi, my name's Twilight. These are my friends" Twilight said gesturing her wing to the others.
The others all introduced themselves in kind. Once the introductions were over, Shade and Marina looked at them with confused looks on their faces.
"Is that how bats name themselves in this forest?" Marina asked.
"Yeah. Is there a problem with our names?" Rainbow asked defensively.
"No, it's just a bit new to us" Marina replied.
"So, what brings you to this forest?" Applejack asked.
"We're looking for Shade's colony" Marina said.
"Were you separated from your colony somehow?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yeah. A storm blew me off course. I woke up on an island where I met Marina" Shade replied.
"Were you and your colony heading somewhere?" Rainbow asked.
"We were heading to our Hibernaculum after our summer roost, Tree Haven, got burned down by the owls" Shade replied.
Twilight's eyes widened. "Wait, owls burned down your roost?! How?! Why?!"
Shade looked away from them in shame. He was obviously upset about something involving this incident. Marina wrapped one of her wings around him in comfort. It took a while for Shade to respond.
"The reason the owls have fire is because they keep fire burning in secret nests hidden somewhere. As for why they burned our roost, it's because I broke the greatest law known to all bats: I looked at the sun" Shade said.
The Rainbats looked somewhat confused by this. So Shade committed a great taboo by being a bat that looked at the sun, a law enforced by the owls, and the owls punished his entire colony for it.
"That's awful" Fluttershy said.
"Yeah. What gives those owls the right to burn down your roost?" Rarity asked in anger.
"It's because of the Great Treaty. Don't you know your history?" Marina asked.
"Sorry, but we don't really know about this Treaty. What is it?" Pinkie asked.
"Basically, all bats were punished for not taking any sides in the Battle of the Birds and the Beasts. As punishment, bats have to fly at night. But the great Nocturna gave us gifts to act at night" Marina replied.
If the girls had to guess, this "Nocturna" they spoke of was some kind of deity the bats worshipped.
"This is quite interesting. Where were you heading again?" Sunset asked.
"We're on our way to Shade's colony's Hibernaculum and reunite with his colony" Marina asked.
"Hibernaculum?" Rainbow asked.
Now Shade and Marina were looking confused. They were probably thinking that these were the strangest bats they ever met before. Twilight decided to answer for them.
"A Hibernaculum is where bat colonies migrate to to hibernate" Twilight informed Rainbow.
Bat colonies, especially those species that lived in temperate climates, tended to split up depending on the time of year. In the summer months, bat colonies split in to nursery colonies and bachelor colonies. Nursery colonies were made up of mother bats and their pups. Bachelor colonies were made up of adult males. But in the fall, bat colonies would reunite, mate, and migrate to their hibernacula to hibernate.
"What about you? What's your story?" Sunset asked Marina.
Marina showed the Rainbats one of her wings. Fastened near her thumb was a metal band. It was obviously placed there by humans, showing that humans did exist in this world. Marina then pulled her wing close to her in shame. Sh obviously seemed to hate her band.
"What's wrong?" Applejack asked.
Marina took a little while to respond. "I have no colony anymore because of this stupid band. I was banded by the humans in the spring. I immediately went home after that, but when the other Brightwings saw the band, the elders banished me. They think the band is a curse"
Sunset flew over to Marina and gently nuzzled her ear with her nose. Marina gave a small smile at the gesture.
"I found a nice island with no other bats around. I've been living there with no one else to talk to until Shade arrived" Marina said.
"Our leader, Frieda, has a band just like Marina. Frieda will accept Marina with open wings, no questions asked" Shade said.
"This Frieda sounds like a great leader" Twilight said.
"She is. She defended me even when the owls threatened to burn down our roost" Shade said.
"She sacrificed your home just to save you? She really sounds like a great bat" Rainbow said.
"Yeah. She's kind and wise" Shade said.
Twilight suddenly got an idea. "Is it alright if we join you in looking for your colony? We've been meaning to look to join a true colony for a while"
Shade and Marina seemed to be considering this. After a bit, they looked back at the Rainbats.
"Alright, come with us. If you want to join the Silverwing colony, I know they'll accept you all" Shade said.
"Alright, then. Let's all go to Hibernaculum!" Marina exclaimed before taking the lead to fly off.
Shade, Marina, and the Rainbats took off to head for Hibernaculum.
In a Human City-Nighttime
Two pigeons were happily joking and laughing while perched on the roof of a human building. Their backs were facing one of the building's ventilation shafts.
"So get this, Mark kept trying to fight this other pigeon, right? But he just kept hitting the other pigeon in the head with his own head. But then I realized he was trying to fight his won reflection in a window!" one of the pigeons said.
His partner laughed hysterically. They were both laughing so hard that they didn't see the two dark shapes coming out of the vents.
The first pigeon was laughing with his eyes closed. Over the sound of his laughter, he could hear the laughing of his friend suddenly stop. He opened his eyes to see that his friend was no longer there. But the next sound he heard was even more terrifying. He heard the sounds of bones snapping and flesh ripping.
He turned to see the horrifying sight of his friend being seemingly absorbed by a giant black shape. The shape was eating his friend! Another dark shape was looking at him with hungry eyes.
The pigeon realized that these two creatures were bats. But they were bigger and more dangerous than any bats he had ever seen before. They were also big enough to kill a pigeon easily. He didn't want to stick around to get eaten next.
He flew off before the second shape had a chance to pounce on him. He had to go and report this to his superiors.
Author's Note
I'm going to be sticking more closely to the book than to the show because the show took a lot of liberties. Please read the books before watching the show.
