27

Party Favor breathed in the fresh evening air. The sun was just beginning to set, and the crest of the moon was barely peeking out from behind the distant mountains. Silhouetted by its pale glow, he could just barely make out Canterlot hanging precariously onto the side of a great cliff. He breathed a sigh and watched contentedly as the sky began to darken. Within minutes, the stars joined the moon, and the sky was painted in a beautiful late day cascade of purple and blue, with only the faintest trace of vibrant orange visible behind the rolling hills.

A couple pegasi were flying above him, carrying with them large, hefty boxes. They waved to Party Favor, and he smiled back at them. Not pausing for conversation, they continued on past the houses of their town and towards it's edge. Excitement began to build in his chest as the lights of the town flicked on one by one, and ponies began to settle down in their cozy little cottages.

The Sunset Festival was only three days away, and Party Favor couldn't be any more elated. Finally, the first festival the town could enjoy without an iron hoof on their shoulder. He debated going back down to join the group of ponies still working on the setup, but he was still a small bit upset. Though to be fair, he was really only upset at Double Diamond. Why would he even think of inviting Starlight to the Sunset Festival? He wanted just one festival everyone could enjoy without seeing her smug face stare down at all of them with that infuriating look of superiority. Though, when he asked around, it seemed he was in the vast minority. Had everyone really forgiven her that quickly? Had they forgotten all of her manipulation, her instigating, her stealing of their life's purpose?

He sighed again, though this breath was much drier than the last, more charged. Maybe he was overthinking things. He was the party guy, not the worrywart guy, it wasn't his job to worry about things like this... that was for... more qualified ponies.

Party Favor shook his head. It was no time to dwell on things, not with the deadline for the Sunset Festival so close. He had party work to do.

The stairs to Party Favor and Night Glider's house creaked with age as Party Favor made his way downstairs. Night Glider hummed as she made herself a quaint evening meal. He smiled at her, though she hadn't seen it. Ponies really were happy here, and he was happy that they were happy. But if they invited Starlight, what if she tried to take away their cutiemarks again? What if she got jealous of how happy everyone was, and decided to-

"Oh, hey Party Favor. I was just making dinner. You don't want me to make you some, do ya?"

Party Favor snapped out of his stupor at Night Glider's offer. "Oh... n-no thank you. I'm just going to take a walk for a little while, maybe go up to the old hill where Starlight..."

Glider turned to him and gave him nothing more than an impassive stare. "Is this that thing with Double Diamond again?"

"H-how do you know about that?"

"Dude," Night Glider placed her hay sandwich on the table and reached to put a hoof on Party Favor's shoulder, "There's only 27 of us in this village, word spreads pretty much instantly. So... is it?"

"Whuh... W-well yeah," Favor shouted in surprise. How was it so shocking that he wouldn't forgive Starlight? "How can you guys forgive her so quickly, after all she's done to us?"

"Well what's the point in making enemies when you could make new friends? What if she's changed?"

"How could we know that, Glider? What if she tries to take our cutie marks again?"

Glider sighed. "Look, I get that you're still upset about the whole 'dictator Starlight' thing, but we think she at least deserves a second chance."

It took all of Favor's strength not to scoff. He again reminded himself that it was Starlight he was mad at, not his friends. "Ok... fine... I'm still going to go take a walk."

"Ok. Just be careful. We still need you to help set up streamers."

"I thought the pegasi were doing that."

Glider huffed. "You know nopony does it better than you."

She gave Favor a warm smile. He returned it with a smile of his own, albeit with much more strain. He quietly closed the door behind him and took a deep breath. He savored the chill of the evening air, and raised his head up to fully feel the flowing wind through the curls of his mane. The sky was almost pitch black now, but both the harsh shine of the streetlamps and the haunting, blue moonglow provided more than enough light to allow him to go for a quick walk.

The thing Favor always enjoyed about living in the middle of nowhere was the tranquility of it all. Out here, there weren't any roads to follow. No bustling city noise, no squawking birds or chattering neighbors, just the silence of the desert. Of course, there was the wind, though. It howled and screamed as it rode through the sky, fluttering Favor's mane and forcing him to squint slightly as he walked.

Another good thing about the dunes was its simplicity. All that really grew around here were shrubs, maybe the occasional cactus, but it was mostly rocks and dirt. And frankly, that was just the way Favor liked it. Out here, he didn't need to think about troubling things. Out here, he didn't need to worry.

For a while, Favor watched the stars slowly creep across the sky, led by their mother moon, trying to reach the other side of the horizon. The stars were so calming to him, in both their still consistency, and their calming, pale presence. Dozens of dim, white twinkles decorated the sky like sprinkles on a celebratory cake, but the only thing that was being celebrated was the passing of the day. To Favor however, that was a good enough party for him; just him, the stars, and the wonderous black pool that was the sky.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, a star moved ever so slightly. It was jittery, almost like the buzzing of a fly, but when Favor turned to look at it, there was nothing there. The same still stars continued to decorate the sky, all of them still in their cozy, astral beds. He began to look back down, but there it was again. This time, it wasn't just a single star, but a small pack. A trio of comets swayed in the sky, each of them a different but equally vibrant shade of purple. Favor watched with amazement as they flittered in the sky, dancing and weaving like courting hummingbirds. Then, one of the comets passed a dormant star still locked onto the sky, and he saw the comet flap its small, leathery wings.

Favor gasped. He had never seen a glowing bat before, much less out here in the desert. His gasp must have alerted the bats, as the second he did, the light on their bellies dimmed to pitch blackness. He scrutinized the sky as best he could, but try as he might, the bats had vanished back into the ink of the night sky.

Behind him, pebbles tumbled down from atop a stone plateau. He whipped around to look. At the top of the short, rocky cliff, barely illuminated by the moonlight, a flock of glow-bats watched Favor with cold, uncaring eyes. He smiled at them, and surprisingly, they turned to one another. He could hear nothing, but some of the glow-bats had leaned close to those nearest to them, a few even gesturing as they chattered amongst one another.

The bats were so enveloped in their chatter, they hadn't the mind to notice Party Favor as he walked up to their perch and cleared his throat.

"Ahem, hi, hello there! My name is Party Favor! I live in that village just over there," he pointed to the faint, warm glow in the distance that signified his village.

All at once, the bats turned to look at where he was pointing. Some glowed slightly as they stared at the distance village. Favor reasoned they'd probably be able to actually see the village from their vantage point, but he was fine with seeing only the glow of the streetlamps in the distance.

"So," he continued, "I haven't seen anything like you guys around before. Are you all from somewhere else? Somewhere farther south?"

The bats continued to say nothing, but again, they huddled amongst each other. After a minute or two of incomprehensible deliberation, the bats stared at him. All of their eyes were a haunting, pale white, thanks to the moon. Favor's smile wavered slightly. It hadn't been until this point, with all of these never before seen creatures staring at him at once, that he considered that perhaps these creatures were not of the friendly, fantastical sort that he had imagined.

Fortunately, his fears were abated as soon as the bats began to soar. In synchronized patterns, rows upon rows of glow-bats flew into the inky sky. Through some form of coordination that Favor didn't quite grasp, the bats began to synchronize their colors as well. In brilliant waves they flashed gleaming sapphire, beautiful violet and even the occasional speckle of brilliant lime green. It was a spectacle the likes of which Favor had never seen before. He was utterly captivated.

The bats swirled around him like a hurricane. Then, through another unseen feat of cooperation, they aligned themselves into two thin rows and flew off into some uncertain direction. Their bellies all flickered in brilliant patterns. To Favor, it seemed as if the bats had made a path for him, a guide to some uncharted place that nopony had ever seen before. And frankly, he was more than happy to get away from the village for a little while.

The bats continued to glow, the twin rows of purple and blue glowing like ghosts as they hovered in place above Favor. He laughed at their beauty, at their intelligence, and at whatever was about to come next. He followed them, taking their directions to heart as they guided him away from the village, and towards somewhere unknown, untouched, and best of all, unseen.

Favor, in his enraptured entrapment, had of course failed to realize that, while the wind was howling and billowing as much as ever, the screaming had stopped long ago.