>Be Lullaby, owner and operator of Bats, Beds, and Beyond.
>Not like you sold much beyond beds.
>Well you do sell pillows, blankets, and other bed type accessories.
>But who are you kidding, it’s a bucking mattress shop.
>However you’re one for alliteration, and come on, what else would you call a mattress shop in Shady Hollow.
>Just about an all batpony town.
>If you couldn’t work “Mango” or “EEEEEEEE” into the title, you sure as heck had to work “Bat” in there.
>Arghhhh why are you even thinking about such silly things? It’s been the name of your shop for five years.
>Currently you’re plopped on a chair behind the counter, lazily resting your tired head on your fore hooves. 
>You let out a little yawn.
>Through your yawn you think you can see the last rays of the sun fading over the horizon.
>Luna damnit, you just opened and you’re already yawning.
>This wouldn’t be the first night you’ve spent yawning through your whole shift.
>It’s actually how most nights go… It’s what your bucking cutie mark is.
>Your special talent is being a tired filly.
>And subsequently this made you a master of helping other tired ponies choose the right bed to rest their weary heads.
>Too bad mattresses last a decade or more.
>And what’s the population of this town again?
>Like three or four hundred bats? 
>That made for a lot of uneventful nights in your little shop.
>Usually you’re lucky if you sell a mattress a week.
>The bread and butter are sheets and pillows.
>Young couples have such a way of going through sets of sheets.
>You shift your head a bit, resting the side of your head against your fore leg.
>You’re kind of envious of them sometimes…
>How they’d try out different mattresses together.
>Hopping on them like little school fillies and colts.
>Pressing their snouts into all the different pillows.
>Feeling up every kind of sheet and comforter.
>Coming back a week or two later, all red faced, to buy another set of the same sheets after their first set “wore out”.
>A smirk crosses your muzzle for a moment.
>Is it all the spilled juices staining them or the wing talons tearing up the fabric…?
>You’ve seen Talon Tips™ in magazines. 
>Little plastic doohickeys bats can put on their talons to keep them from getting in the way for… reasons.
>Maybe you’ll get a few pairs and put them on a shelf.
>Sell two sets to a new young couple when they buy their mattress and sheets, and see if they come back to buy more sheets in a few weeks.
>A social experiment on a young couple…
>Because you couldn’t really do it yourself.
>You let out a sigh, yawn hybrid, further nestling your head into the crux of your fore leg. 
>Alone in the quiet store you let your eyes drift closed.
>Be an Earth Pony stallion walking along the streets of his new home town, pulling a small empty wagon.
>A few odd stares and the occasional EEEEEE pierce the night.
>But nothing that really unsettles you.
>You always did feel at home with the bats of Fillydelphia.
>And deep down you knew these bats were fragile and skittish creatures.
>Nothing of concern to a strong backed Earth Pony like you.
>But what did concern you was furnishing your new town house.
>It was your first night in your new town, and you needed a few essentials immediately.
>Essentials like a bed.
>The old owners were kind enough to leave the bedframe and box spring, but no mattress.
>Probably for the best anyway, who knows what that mattress could have seen…
>You’re coming up on your destination now: Bats, Beds, and Beyond.
>Well you’re certainly no bat, but a bed is certainly what you need.
>Unhitching yourself, you trot to the door.
>Open and dimly lit; your kind of store.
>With a single confident motion you push open the door and proceed inside.
>Lined on either side of you are mattresses with various signs above them proclaiming their virtues.
>’Squeak free for a sound EEEEEE!’, ‘Springless foam fantasma!’, ‘Made with real mango scent!’, and the marketing went on…
>Sometimes you wonder if it’s bats who come up with these marketing catchphrases, or regular ponies pretending to be bats.
>But you go on to peruse the selection, occasionally planting a firm hoof on a mattress to test the rigidity.
>After a few minutes your desolation begins to sink in.
>Kind of odd how nopony has even approached you.
>No sales pony, nothing.
>You peer up toward the front of the store and you see the answer snoozing on her desk.
>Well, you did sort of like that no squeak mattress… better do this thing.
>You trot over to the sleeping bat mare.
>A cute little thing really, slouched over with her purple and black mane spilling over her snout.
>The idea of disturbing this little mare sort of hurt you a little somewhere in your subconscious.
>But you’ve done worse.
>Loudly and intentionally you clear your throat.
>It’s ineffective.
>Frowning, you try again, louder.
>Still no response.
>Well… time to do this thing.
>You reach out a hoof and shake her foreleg a bit.
>It doesn’t take long.
>She awakes with a start, emerald eyes locked onto you.
>You can see the gears beginning to turn in her sleep addled mind.
>Sheepishly at first, she begins to speak, confidence growing by the word.
>”Welcome to Bats, Beds, and Beyond! I’m Lullaby. How can I help you today?”
“Well first, sorry about waking you-“
>”No no, it’s fine!” She cuts you off, “I shouldn’t have been sleeping anyway.”
“Yes, no, don’t worry… I was wondering if I could purchase that mattress over there.”
>You point toward the ‘Squeak free for a Sound EEEEEE’ mattress.
>She looks past you to where you’re pointing.
>”Hrmmmm…. Are you sure you don’t want that one?”
>She reaches across the desk, gently pushing your hoof a bit to the left, toward a budget foam mattress.
“Nooo, why wouldn’t I?”
>”Advertisers always market their product’s weakness as its strength.”
“So what you’re saying is…”
>”Your neighbors will hear you on it in a year” She deadpans.
“How would you know?”
>”I sold my neighbors one two years ago.”
>You nod in concession.
>”Foam mattresses never squeak, springs always do eventually.”
“I’ll take your word for it”
>Turning away you trot over to the mattress to take a closer look and feel.
>Be Lullaby.
>Well this isn’t the first time a customer has woken you up.
>You just hope this one was the first who’s tried tonight.
>You can be a bit of a heavy sleeper.
>And who is this customer anyway?
>As he trots away you take a few moments to inspect him.
>Pale tan coat, muddy red mane, trots with a bit of a limp… what’s that cutie mark? 
>You can’t quite make it out from this distance, he’s already across the store.
>He looks a little on the old side to be in a mattress shop all alone, maybe just a tad bit older than you.
>And then it hits you, he’s not a bat… just an Earth Pony.
>You were too busy focused on everything else you didn’t even notice the elephant in the room.
>Well no time to question too much, you’ve got a mattress to sell.
>Fluttering over to him, you land at his side.
>He’s a bit bigger than you, and a fair bit more muscular.
“So what do you think?”
>He hops up on the mattress, shifting around a bit.
>Resting his hooves behind his head, he looks over toward you.
>”Pretty nice, but do you have one a bit bigger? I like a lot of room when I sleep.”
“Sure thing!”
>You flutter over a few mattresses.
“This is the same thing, just in our king size.”
>He rolls off the first one and quickly hops onto the second.
>Feeling around a bit he comes to settle himself in the middle of the huge block of comfort.
>Nodding a bit.
>“Yah, yah… I’ll take this one.”
“Great! So one king size super soft with mango scent… don’t worry the mango smell goes away fast.”
>He chuckles to himself for a moment before speaking up.
>”Heh bummer, don’t mangos attract bats?”
>Your ears press flat back against you head.
>Did he just really?
“Ummm well… you’ll be needing sheets too right!?”
>Yep this room just got a degree hotter.
>He rolls off the mattress to land in front of you.
>“Sure will! What’s your comfiest?”
“Just follow me this way.”
>A minute later your looking at your selection of sheets, pointing out your personal favorites.
“This one here keeps you cool and comfortable, this one is the softest, and this is the plushest…”
>Your rattling off sheets now trying to get your mind off his earlier comment.
>You could have guessed he was single, being alone in a mattress shop and all… but wow… just wow…
>You got ample time to inspect him form this distance.
>His cutie mark was definitely a boxing ring.
>So a fighter of some kind…
>Probably strong, and vicious, and virile-Whoa mind, easy there!
>But still, what’s he doing in Shady Hollow?
>”Excuse me, Lullaby, I’ll take these.”
>He was holding a set of midnight plush sheets in a hoof.
“Oh great! Now a pillow?”
>”Over there right?”
“Yah…”
>The both of you start walking over to the wall of pillows in the corner, but your mind is bugging you.
“Say, ummm, what can I call you mister?”
>He glances back for a moment; you catch his sharp blue eyes for a moment
>”Roundhouse.”
“Like the kick?”
>”Like the kick.”
>Yep words, you can do them.
“So, ummm, House?”
>”Lull?”
“What brought you to Shady Hollow?”
>He chuckles again.
>”And here I was thinking you were going to ask me a difficult question. Short answer is I like bats.”
>He takes two large pillows from a shelf, and throws them over his back.
>”These’ll do.”
“Oh… ok.”
>The both of you walk back to your desk.
>As you’re writing down his receipt your curiosity can’t help it.
“But did you move here for family, business, what?”
>He gives you a look, like he’s looking into you.
>You turn away, back toward the paper.
>”I told yah I like bats. I relate to bats. And that’s it. But on that note, do you want to get something to eat tomorrow, before sunrise?”
“What, wait, really!?”
>Be Roundhouse.
>You just asked this cute little bat out on a date.
>You literally just met her.
>But damn if she’s not one of the most adorable bats you’ve met.
>Besides, you’ve got to get back into the whole dating thing… it’s been a while.
>One night stands will be the death of you if you keep it up.
>And you’ll make sure of it too.
>Something you shouldn’t be able to do too well in a small town like this.
>But still… old habits… are you jumping into this a bit too fast?
>Buck it, just do this.
“Yes, really. I don’t know the town too well. Think you could show me around?”
>”Absolutely! Do you think you could meet me here at say 4:30 in the morning?”
“Yah no problem.”
>A silence grows for a second.
>Seems like she’s thinking a bit.
>”Ummm House, I forgot something on the list of bed supplies… do you think you’ll want a plastic stain guard for your new mattress?”
>You shift your head a little.
>You’d left that out for a reason… you didn’t want to make it too easy for yourself to pick up old habits again… at least not without more physical consequence to yourself.
>”You know what, I’ll just grab you one anyway… on the house you know.”
>You fight hard to bit your tongue, but mutter a weak
“Thank you.”
>She throws the plastic sheet atop the pile of other sheets and pillows.
>”Ok! So with the sheets, pillows and mattress it comes out to one thousand three hundred and forty-five bits. Will you be needing the mattress delivered?”
>You wave a hoof.
“No, I’ve got it. Don’t worry.”
>You take out quite a few hundred bit pieces, placing them on the counter.
>A few minutes later you’re saying your goodbyes to Lullaby with your brand new bed set in your cart, and images of the purple maned bat pony in your mind.