Author's Note

Mild clop warning.

Explanation for after the chapter:
Yes the thestrals will get with first cousins at most (never biological siblings due to the limited number of them and how closely related all the herds of the colony are.

Ch78. Drats, Bats~!

“Come on sis~, let me have a taste.” I stirred in my sleep. I couldn’t feel the sun on my fur so I knew it wasn’t up yet. Cheese and I had set up a small camp beneath the stars since the weather was nice and I didn’t sense rain coming so it was just us, the open sky, and a few wards to announce danger.

“You know the hunting rules, you keep what you find. Go for the other one.” The second voice that sounded like she had her mouth full answered. Wait… bad touch, bad touch!

“He’s a day pony and that dingbat Mango has already started on him.” The first filly stomped her hoof and my eyes shot open.

I immediately spotted a Thestral filly licking my sheath trying to get me hard as I laid on my side. Another was watching jealously, and a third already going to town with Cheese Sandwich, both looked to be having a great time. Bucking bards.

“Excuse me ladies, mind getting off!?” My last word came out as more of an ultrasonic screech which caused the closer two fillies to pin their ears back. Huh that’s new.

When they recovered the older one who had been licking me spoke first. “Hey why’d you stop us. You don’t smell like you have a mate and we hunted you fairly!” She got into a catlike pouncing position with wings spread while the younger was still recovering.

I could hear Cheese and Mango still going at it from the other side of our camp. Well if they were a real threat my wards would have alerted me.

“Probably because I do have a mate.” I huffed. “I’ve been gone a while so her scent probably got washed off.”

“Then why isn’t she out here guarding you?” The filly tried to go from annoyed to sultry. “A real mate doesn’t let her colt go out alone during hunting age. So why don’t you just get with my sister Moonbeam and I? We will treat you like a proper stallion.” She licked her fangs. Is that supposed to be appealing?

I face hooved “And your name?” My ears flickered as I felt others nearby. “Moonshine.”

“No thanks Shine, I’m good.” This caused her to growl and re-assume her pouncing posture.

“Fine I’ll just take you.” Just before she could make a move however a few adult thestrals stepped into our makeshift camp.

“Enough!” Cheese and Mango awkwardly finished together just before the shout. All the adults crumpled their noses at the fresh smell of sex but ignored it. “Moonshine! What exactly are you doing with this unwilling colt, especially after he said he had a mate?!” The stallion yelling stomped his hoof as the mares on either side gave the fillies disapproving looks.

“But dad~ I hunted him fairly. By colony law he should be mine!” The filly flared her wings. I thought about just leaving but wouldn’t leave Cheese behind. Even if he might enjoy that.

The stallion shook his head. “If you had bothered to give him a proper once over instead of letting your instincts control you, you would have realized he isn’t from our colony so those rules wouldn’t apply to him.” The stallion turned to me. “Though that begs the question, where are you from young colt?”

Before I could answer a mare whispered in his ear. “Looks like questions will have to wait, sunrise is close and we need to return. You and your, friend?” I nodded. “You will be coming with us. Fly the fillies ahead first.” The stallion spoke to the mare on his right who then herded the fillies and flew off with them.

Once the four left, the hidden thestrals around our camp all fell into formation around us. They didn’t give us much of a choice except to follow them.

“Sorry for my daughters. Colts are highly sought after in our colony, especially ones more distantly related to the fillies doing the hunting.” He sighed. “My name is Night Whisper by the way. It’s a pleasure to meet you both especially a thestral colt not from our colony.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Balanced Dawn and this is my friend Cheese Sandwich. Also we get it. Equestria as a whole has a gender imbalance as well, but what’s with the hunting aspect?” I asked as we continued to walk.

“To encourage strength among the younger generations, like yourself, our children hunt each other and the losers become the prize of the winner. Colts typically get bested and paired off with the strongest fillies first then the lead filly must either be bested in combat or willingly accept new members into a herd while protecting her colt. During hunting and bonding age colts and fillies hardly separate.” He continued to explain a few other things that reminded me of old pegasus traditions my grandfather would talk about. Night Whisper himself hadn’t ever been defeated so was a rare occurrence of a stallion being the leader of his herd.

As we continued to walk Cheese recovered his energy and moved to trot at my side. “Ohh that was something.” He bumped my side and spoke softly just to me.

I rolled my eyes as he hummed happily. “Glad one of us is enjoying this.”

This is not at all what I expected. When our group made it to the mouth of a cave I was skeptical that there were many thestrals living around here. The cave wasn’t even against a mountain but more a hole in the ground sloped downward and hidden by the forest.

Boy was I wrong. After walking for about twenty minutes downward we leveled out and came upon a guard station with some massive doors carved into the stone.

“Welcome to the night city of Vespertilio, home of over a thousand Thestrals.” The Stallion was mostly focused on my reaction as he opened the doors. My eyes went wide at the sight of a massive underground city bathed in dim reddish light. I could just hear the sounds of ponies moving about but the stealthy Thestrals made it difficult.

With my night vision it was easy to see the magnificent city, Cheese had no such assistance. “Nice looking, cave?” To him, it probably looked like a dark open cavern.

“Ah yes, you probably can’t see it with your lack of night vision. We don’t typically allow many day ponies into our cities except to trade goods and…” he coughed. “Seed.”

“Wait, what happens if the foal isn’t born a thestral from such unions?” The guards had broken off and Night was leading us down into the city proper. The ponies on the street or flying kept looking our way but didn’t interfere.

Night paused in his steps but recovered and shook his head before looking at Cheese. “That’s not something I can share with your non Thestral friend.”

“You know, I could just tell him later.” I expected hostility at my sarcastic comment, insttead the stallion just huffed and accepted.

“Fine, but you’re also going to be answering some questions once inside as well.” Night motioned towards building that looked like a modern town hall. He then led us towards a side room and sat behind a desk. “Welcome to my office.”

“You’re the mayor?” I looked around his office as Cheese asked the question. Night looked at the earth pony colt and debated on answering before glancing my way. I could tell he didn’t really want to talk with ‘day ponies’ but was putting up with Cheese since I called him a friend.

“No, I’m in charge of external affairs such as our foraging or hunting parties, both for food and mates.” He gave a curt answer.

“You eat meat?” Cheese looked a bit green.

“Of course we do but not as much as griffin’s or some of the other races and nothing that is Sapient of course.” He rolled his hoof. “Now to answer your earlier question Dawn.” He looked my way. “Fillies not born as Thestrals are sent to be adopted or looked after by others who left before them. As they couldn’t make a living here in the dark it is viewed as a kindness as well as keeping Thestral blood stronger. Colts are allowed to remain, protected and provided for. As they have a better chance to sire further Thestrals than a complete outsider, though I’ll admit it’s not always an easy life for them to live as a stud in our caves so they are allowed to leave if they sire a few offspring.”

“But why bother hiding at all?” Cheese spoke up again.

“Day ponies came to fear us after the long night and Luna’s fall.” He huffed in agitation. “Going into hiding was the best option for our tribes survival! We were already feared before her fall and after we became the hunted.” He hung his head. “Dawn, you should know this very well.”

“The what and the who now?” Night Whisper looked at Cheese with confusion at the colt’s own lack of knowledge, so I stepped in.

“Night, most ‘day ponies’ as you call the three tribes know nothing about Luna except the holiday about Nightmare Night. She is almost all but forgotten to history.” The stallion looked as If I had just struck him across the face.

“They don’t know about our princess?” He worked his jaw. “What did Celestia do!?” He went from shocked back to angry and growling. Cheese took a step back nervously and I ushered him back out through the door and Into the hallway as Night paced behind his desk grubbing.

“Dawn, who are you? What colony are you from?” Night had stopped his pacing and focused back on me.

“I’m not. I live in Canterlot.” I had gotten sick of lying and I did still have my mission from Luna so I unhid my horn. “I’m Celestia’s student, it sounds like you don’t get much fresh news so you probably haven’t heard about me.”

“Are you even a Thestral or just in disguise?” He bore his fangs at me.

I raised my hooves. “Woah, these wings and are completely natural, I’m as much a Thestral as you are just with,” I rolled my hoof, “more, since I’m an alicorn.” I wasn’t about to tell him the horn came before the wings.

The stallion observed me for a moment then got up, said he needed to talk to a few ponies, and left me alone in the room.

Cheese poked his head back in. “Night just left but said we should stay here. What do we do now?”

I shrugged. “I guess we wait, some food and rest would be nice.”

“Nice horn by the way.” He flicked an ear. Of course he would just roll with it.

Forest Breeze was called a tough mare by many in town. She had faced down Timber Wolves, rogue, storms, and yet always humbly helped her fellow ponies of Ponyville. They quickly came to accept her and her family as one of them. Yet, when she found her first wife Morning Dew crying at the dining room table she froze like a young filly In trouble.

“Breezy is that you?” Morning’s ear flicked towards her wife and she wiped her face with a sniffle.

“Yea Dewy, it’s me, what’s wrong?” Forest glide over and gave her a big hug.

“It.” (Sniff) “It happened again.” Was all Dew got out before crying her eyes out. Forest eventually found the offending object that had her wife in tears, a letter with the royal seal.

Scanning it’s contents she began to grind her teeth and a static filled breeze picked up in the room. Forest flinched when a hoof belonging to Pear Butter found its way onto her shoulder.

“I don’t know what has you both riled up loves but I’m sure it will get better.” Pear hugged them both.

As the three hugged Forest realized they would have to leave it to the guards this time as the princess requested. Granny had gone off to visit family and they had a business to run, two young fillies to look after, and no means of hunting him down this time.

When that thought set in she joined Dew in crying just as Pear picked up the letter.

“Something to report?” Celestia asked the mare that had just been let into her study by the door guards. Even with Dawn missing the paperwork to run the country didn’t magically stop. We could have made it stop.

“Yes mam.” The mare gave a short bow and passed over some documents. “Rumors of a Minotaur bull selling off a male alicorn made it to one of the border guard outposts. They also said that the Minotaur was on the run after the ‘product’ he promised to sell never showed up.”

The mare pinned her tail between her legs and had to take a nervous step back as the air heated up.

”Thank you my little pony, you may return to your post.” The servicemare didn’t need telling twice and hurriedly left the study.

Celestia took a few calming breaths. “At least it’s progress. Now, did Dawn escape or did whoever was hired to foalnap him backstab their boss?” She closed her eyes and took a few more calming breaths. If he escaped wouldn’t he have returned to us by now?

“This isn’t a party at all.” Cheese rolled around on the floor. We had been stuck in Night’s office for a couple of hours. At first the two of us had been swapping stories about our lives but both of us had run out of stuff to talk about. His cutie mark story was at least interesting.

“Tell me about it.” I huffed. I had thought about going through the office for any information but Cheese had stopped me saying it wasn’t proper guest activity. Lawful good bards are the worst sometimes.

As both of us loafed in boredom the door opened up and yet another filly walked in. She gave me a once over with a glint in her eyes that sent a shiver down my spine before speaking. “My father and the council is ready to speak with you.”

As we both got up she held up a wing. “Just Dawn. Mango will be coming to pick up you.~” she winked at Cheese. “In a bit to take you to our home.”

Cheese and I shared a look before he nodded and I followed the filly out into the hall. Well Luna, you’re getting your wish.