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…
What The Buck Did You Do to My Books
Chapter I – What the Buck Did You Do To My Books?!
"BAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTYYYY!" A frustrated voice filled the air, echoing through the darkened interior of the small bookshop. While the sound stayed inside the building, a few innocent bystanders would find their pleasant morning sabotaged. What followed after was a quiet squeak of “Oh buck…!” before the sound of retreating hooves were made. The scene inside the bookshop was simply utter CHAOS. Bookshelves were face-down upon the soft violet carpet, a few of them having their shelves disjointed and broken. All the while numerous books of countless genres and such lay scattered on the floor in disarray, a few of them sporting damaged covers. All the while, an angry speckled raven cawed possible insults and curses in its tongue towards the target.
“Batty, get your damn flank back here!” The voice emanated from a dark grey pony with leathery bat wings half extended in anger, his emerald eyes seeming to glow with barely suppressed rage as he swept his gaze over the destruction of the room, his normally well groomed mane sticking up in disarray. However at this moment, his eyes were narrowed into furious slits and his hooves stretched out as he chased after the menace…
“F-Fel, hold on! Hold on!! Can’t we just talk this over?!” A terrified voice cried out from the greyish white unicorn. Around his neck, a simple pair of goggles bounced around. “Oh crap…FEL NO! NONONONONONONONO!!!” Batty screamed, weeping exaggerated tears as he attempted to double his speed.
“Don’t think you can run forever!!” Fel ranted. These raging demands and panicked pleas for mercy would continue what seemed like hours, echoing throughout the store. But then at the stroke of 9 a.m., finally both stallions stumbled on the floor, panting and gasping for air. “W-Wait…Until I get…my hooves on you…” The batpony croaked his throat and body sore from his rage though he tried to reach a sole limp to grasp at his friend. But eventually he gave up and dropped the hand to the floor, sighing in defeat.
“Can’t…breathe…Too…tried…” The blond unicorn gasped, laying one hoof on his rising-falling stomach as he stared up to the ceiling. Then came the awkward silence between the former foes, one that seemed to linger for what felt like eons. In that brief period, the raven that perched itself began to preen out itself though it cast an angry look at the two ponies. Batty shuddered when his blue eyes met the bird’s, knowing as the fact that creature always managed to frighten him out whenever it was possible. “F-Fel…” He soon looked over to his friend, green cat-like eyes now gazing to him. “What…? What is it Batty?” Fel grumbled his question, still annoyed at what Batty had done. “Have I ever…told you…that that bird always freaks me out..?”
Again, silence between the two. But soon this too was interrupted as a faint smile managed to surface on Fel’s muzzle, slowly growing as a quiet noise came out from his throat. Batty blinked in surprise as he listened to the sound getting louder until he soon gave a goofy grin and chuckled. Eventually within seconds, both colts rolled on the floor with booming laughter. The noise startled the raven from its preening, though it returned to glare death at the duo and cawed angrily. After a few short minutes, batpony and unicorn soon gasped again for a fresh breath from their hysteric fit, their sides now sore as the rest of their bodies.
“Hehe…Batty…” Fel soon wheezed, still giggling a bit as he rose to his hooves, brushing himself off. “You know you still need to clean…” He added, sporting a deadpan glance down to the unicorn. Batty gave a sigh, lowering his eyes as he soon hopped back up. “Crap…” The unicorn muttered. Fel gave a sigh as he bent down to scoop up the fallen books from the floor, organizing them according to genre and author and always double-checking if he had them in the correct order. Batty followed his lead of course though his organization was lacking at best. The raven above them soon gave a silent sigh, spreading its wings as it flown off the bookshelf, feeling now hungry for some bird seed that was kept in the back.
For Fel Leatherwing, these had been the four longest months of his life and yet they were also the most bizzare. For any pony like Fel, reason and logic were what kept him sane from first climbing out of bed to a working day’s end. However, he had the fortune (or misfortune as the batpony secretly thought) to know one certain Batsfeld Crecentshine or “Batty” as the unicorn preferred to be called. Although it was Batty who helped him gain the employment at the Whispering Pages as the owner was an old foalsitter, it didn’t really help when his said friend happened to be a bad luck magnet. Somehow, it seemed that when Batty would show up, trouble would eventually follow.
But nonetheless, the pay was decent which helped to pay for his home and his employer was a sweet old mare whom Fel swore was the inspiration of the fictional Daring Do, rather bold and adventurous for her age. However the only other downside from his beloved job was her pet – the feisty raven brilliantly named ‘Nevermore’ who apparently saw himself as in charge of the store whenever she was not around and tended to caw constantly as if barking orders. That annoying bird only behaved once his mistress came by much to the batpony’s dismay. But once again, pay was pay and the workplace was his preferred.
Fel sighed to himself as he continued to gather up the fallen tomes, placing each armful carefully onto the counter before resuming while his friend managed to do the same. His eyes soon fell upon one book cover-down and its pages exposed. He knew better than to leave anything unchecked, so he managed to grasp the tome with a hoof and began to look it over. The book bore a simple blue paper sleeve with an image of a sole batpony warrior thrusting a blade through some kind of colossal beast, a dragon in appearance. Fel suddenly winced as his eyes noted the design of the warrior’s armor. Though it was merely a drawing, already the stallion began to remember things which he preferred not to. Quickly, he placed the book on the counter and shifted away from it as if it were poisonous.
“Uh…” Batty stood by with his arms filled with a dozen books, blinking to the odd reaction given by Fel. “You…Alright?” He soon asked, his head tilting a bit to the side. “Hmm?” Fel turned his head, looking a bit off before letting out a sigh. “Oh…I’m fine. Just fine.” The unicorn looked not truly convinced but soon gave a shrug and continued to clean. “Again, sorry about the mess… “ Batty apologized but the batpony making a gesture of shooing with a hoof. “It’s fine…Accidents happen. Just don’t let it happen again…Understand?” Fel answered, although there was slight warning in the last word.