Fel the Average Batpony

Once upon a time in the magical land of Equestria, ponykind was ruled over by two noble sisters. These powerful beings or alicorns were named Celestia and Luna. The eldest, Celestia, was a soul with passion as warm as the sun. The youngest was Luna, who was gentle as the gleaming moon. Together, they bore a majestic power that allowed them to raise and lower the celestial bodies at sheer will. And by this divine power, the two established a kingdom of harmony across the land and ponies of all creed rejoiced. It cannot be said that the princesses could be everywhere to help their little ponies in times of disaster and invasion. It was then that two branches of noble soldiers were forged, united to defend harmony while defending their chosen mistress. Together, these separate brotherhoods became known as the Royal Guard.

The first branch, the ones elected to defend the Princess of the Sun were dubbed as the Solar Guard, adorned in shining armor of gold as they patrol the land by day. By nightfall, Luna would keep watch over all with the aid of her silent Lunar Guard, the second branch. However while the Solar Guard gained their recruits from the races of pegasi and unicorn, what formed the Lunar Guard came from a rather small and secluded breed of pony simply known as batponies. With their leathery wings and glowing feline eyes, batponies were born to dwell in the stillness of night. It was no wonder why Luna chose them to serve her though many saw these beings with much suspicion…and fear. Nonetheless, both Solar and Lunar Guard were loyal to their princesses and the message each sister swore to uphold together. However…Such unity would not long forever.

In the span of 1000 years, many ages after the sisters sealed the tyrannical Discord in stone through the power of the fabled Elements of Harmony, they were soon called again to action when a savage king came into power over the peaceful domain of the Crystal Empire. His name was Sombra, a mighty unicorn stallion who became corrupt by the essence of dark magic, a magic that had begun to seep into the neighboring lands including Equestria. Both sisters could sense the danger brewing if the sinister energy was not stopped at its source. Thus when the three met in the field of battle, it was hardly any surprise that the result was fierce and nearly devastating to the landscape. Sombra’s shadowy powers were terrible at best, but in the end the sisters’ bond and love proved to be the victor. But what happened after…would change the fate of Equestria forever.

When the battle against Sombra ended, young Luna suddenly began to act off from her usual. Many a night, she would remain inside her tower away from her sibling and servants. Nonetheless, she continue utter her commands though slowly these became more and more few. The royal advisors soon wondered and worried for the Princess of the Night and her strange behavior. Celestia was among the most worried, hoping and praying daily for her sibling’s wellbeing. However, such prayers would not be answered that fateful night when Luna finally emerged from her chambers…Only for the young alicorn to emerge in a new dreadful form. Envy and resentment towards those who seemed to favor day over her soft night had taken hold of Luna’s mind, eventually becoming anger for the ponies that slept away when she displayed her masterpiece. And from this bitter anger, youthful Princess Luna had allowed darkness to forever change her into the Mare of the Moon, Nightmare Moon.

The truth of the conflict between the sisters, known as the Nightmare War in the years that followed after, has always been long to the bindings of time but few know of how went through the Lunar Guard when their princess reemerged as a revengeful entity. Lunar Guard became divided immediately which spurred the sisterly feud into a full-out war, many choosing to side with Nightmare Moon out of loyalty and hidden resentment for being seen as outcasts among ponykind. But the few that stayed with Celestia stood firm to the original goal of their brotherhood – loyalty to both Luna and Celestia and maintain harmony for all of ponykind. These same few also shared Celestia’s inner hope that Nightmare Moon would come back to her senses and cease the fighting peacefully. Sadly that wish never came to pass when Princess Celestia was forced to unleash the Elements and banished her dearest sister to the distant moon in the sky. But by then…Much of the land had suffered the scars of war but none could imagine the toll it took upon the Lunar Guard, now a shadow of its former glory.

To make matters worse, the conflict had awakened terrible beasts born of Tartarus once Nightmare Moon was defeated, roaming across the land freely to leave behind death and destruction in their wake. These same creatures even attacked those loyal to the insanity of Nightmare Moon, driving the batpony race close to extinction. But what was equal to the terror of monsters was the hatred and spite among other ponies for the batponies as earlier fears shifted into open assault upon countless innocents. Equestria’s harmony now hung on barely a single thread and the morals of love and tolerance meant nothing to many. And to worsen it, poor Celestia had locked herself away to grieve for the fate of her beloved sister, now burdened to raise both sun and moon in order to keep the daily cycle in check. And thus suffering reigned in place of peace.

But in the midst of these grim times, one young Lunar Guard would rise to face both the beasts and mounting prejudice head-on, standing to fight to redeem both the honor of his kind and the Guard. While the truth of his exploits would be lost in time merely to become fables and legends, his name however became famed throughout the batpony species, matching that of the legendary Starswirl the Bearded. Even the races of unicorn, Pegasus, and earth have noted him as an exceptional character that stood for honor in duty and race.  His name was Starblade, now known as Starblade the Valiant, Starblade the Swift, Starblade the Silent among many other titles. Canterlot nobility has attempted to claim this batpony as a distant ancestor to further themselves (but these claims have been proven false).

However, this is not one of the tales of heroic Starblade, rather this is a tale of a simple batpony which the blood of the Lunar Guard ran thick like oil. But instead, this young stallion chose a different path, the path of the knowledge-seeker instead of the Guard. However this path would lead our hero to an adventure unlike any other. But how does the life of a typically average batpony fit with the legacy of a hero long ago? Our tale humbly begins in the tiny Whispering Pages bookshop just located from the center of Canterlot…