Day 0.



Anon returns from work to his apartment, pulling in the driveway. Walking up the stairs to his door, he sees a small gray and purple body sitting in front of his door, 2 big blue eyes staring at him as he summits the final steps. Apprehensively, he continues his approach to his door, the creature not moving, only staring at him. 10 feet from the door Anon stops, and the being stands and begins to walk towards him and asks.



>"Well? Aren't you going to ask why I'm here?"



Anon stumbles back, knowing what the creature was, but not sure if it was a dream or not. He answers tentatively:



>"Are you lost?"



The bat replies with a toothy grin:



>"Far from. I'm here to learn about this place, and I'm staying with you while I am here on this planet.



Anon deadpans, not believing what he's hearing. The bat looks at the confused hairless ape for a moment before inquiring:



>"Are you just going to stand there or are we going to go inside? It's freezing out here."



Fumbling, Anon grabs his key and opens the door for them both, leading inside to a dingy little apartment. While he pulls off his jacket, the bat makes herself comfortable on his ratty sofa.



>"Forgive me for forgetting, my name is Nova. You?"



>"Anon."



>"Nice to meet you at last, Anon."



After hanging up his jacket, Anon takes a seat on the sofa next to the strange pony and begins his battery of questions.



"First off, why me? Second, who sent you? Third, why didn't I get any forewarning about this? And more than anything, HOW did you get here?"



The bat-winged pony looked at the human with curiosity in her eyes.



>"First answer, lottery selection of compatible, reliable humans, a lucky chance for you. Second answer, can't say specifically who, just higher forces within Equestria keen to learn more about other inhabited planets. Third answer, if you'd known ahead of time it would have spoiled the surprise. And lastly, same way everyone gets around quick in Equestria: magic."



Anon looked at the small horse with a look of confusion, interest, and concern, and Nova could sense it.



>"If you really don't think you are up to this, tell me and I will find somewhere else, but the research on roommates hasn't been wrong yet."



"Roommates?"



>"Isn't that what we are, living in the same place?"



"Well, I guess so, but…"



>"But what?"



"Well, I wasn't exactly prepared to provide a place to stay for anyone else."



>"Just provide me with a place to sleep and food and I'll be fine."



"And what exactly do you eat?"



>"Don't let the fangs fool you. Fruits, mainly, although a red steak once in a while wouldn't hurt."



"Fair enough. So, what exactly are you looking to learn about then?"



With wide, yearning eyes, the bat drew her face right up to Anon's, looking deep into his slightly scared eyes, and said softly:



>"EVERYTHING."



After staring into the giant blue eyes of the bat for a spell, Anon slowly backed away.



"I'm… I think I'm gonna get some dinner ready…"



Settling back down on the couch, Nova bounced around a bit, feeling out the old cushions.



>"Do you usually sleep on here?"



Anon pointed to a doorway from the kitchen area.



"No, I've got a bedroom right over there."



Stretching her wings and then relaxing again, the bat flops back down on the couch.



>"Good, this is where I will sleep then."



Shrugging, Anon continued to pull out foodstuffs from his small fridge, trying to make something respectable as a first meal for his new roommate.



"I don't have steak, but I've got roast beef cold cuts, good enough?"



>"Eh, it will do… Do you have anything to drink?"



Anon pulled out a couple bottles of hard cider.



"Good enough?"



The bat flew over from the couch to the counter to take a closer look at the bottle. After quickly scanning the label, she popped the cap off with a fang and drained half the bottle. With a little hiccup and a smile, the bat answered happily:



>"Yes, this is fine."



"Take it easy how fast you plug through those, that cider isn't cheap."



Batting a hoof at Anon, Nova hovered over the counter to get an eye on what was being made.



>"What exactly are you making?"



"The most complex thing I can make with an oven, sandwich supplies, and limited cooking knowledge: toasted roast beef sandwiches. Veggies and condiments are in the fridge still."



Rolling her eyes at the rather poor attempt at making a gourmet meal, Nova nose open the fridge to see what was inside. Much to her surprise, many of the shelves were empty.



>"Is that all you really have for food?"



"Not usually, I was planning on finishing out what was left in there tonight and going shopping to restock tomorrow."



>"Why not go tonight?"



"Because I've already started tonight's dinner, and I need to save money."



The bat plopped her rear down on the counter dead in front of Anon, a pout on her face.



>"Well I want better food."



"This is as good as it will get until tomorrow when I go shopping after work."



>"But what if I do not want to wait?"



"Well you'll have to."



Nova glared at Anon, and Anon back at the bat for a long, tense minute before he pushed a plate with a steaming sub towards the bat.



"Just eat it and enjoy it, there will be more tomorrow."



Not moving her eyes from Anon, the bat picked up the sandwich and took a bite. It may not have been much, but at least it was still something in the grey bat's belly after a long day of travel and waiting for her human.



>"Promise me you will have more tomorrow."



"I will get the nicest meal I can find for us after work tomorrow, I swear."



With a little snort, the bat finally broke her stare and went back to her sandwich.



As the 2 ate, the questions resumed.



"So, I'm providing you with food, shelter, and apparently knowledge. What do I get out of this?"



The bat looked up from her sandwich at Anon, not entirely sure if he would like the response.



>"The candidates selected for the project were all living alone, a factor the higher ups decided was vital to the project. Basically, I get to live with you and learn about this world from you, and you get a friend who will always be there if you need them."



Anon set his sandwich down, realizing the depth and meaning of her words. Since he had moved out to the west, he hadn't had much of a chance to make many friends, and the only folks he really talked with where his coworkers. Having someone, even a batpony living with him, a new friend, someone he could trust, that was something he'd never thought about.



>"Are you alright?"



"I'm fine, it's just, well… You are the first person, uh, pony, to ever come to me for anything outside work."



>"I do not understand."



"Let me be blunt then: I have no friends around here."



>"Oh…"



"That being said, how can you guarantee things will work out? That you won't drive me off the deep end?"



With a smile, she replied.



>"I said earlier, silly, the research hasn't been wrong before."



"So I get a friend who supposedly is guaranteed to not drive me crazy and you get a home, food, and knowledge, right?"



>"Pretty much."



Shrugging, Anon turned back to finishing his meal, thinking over how this deal would pan out in the future, and how he would be able to afford to feed another mouth.



The deal does seem awfully sided in her favor, so some fair rules are set in place.



"Alright, if you are to live here, there are a few rules you will need to follow, along with a few things you'll need to do to help me out, since I doubt you're paying for your own food."



>"I'm listening."



"Rule 1, keep the place clean. If you use it, put it back, if you mess it up, fix it, etc. Rule 2, no half hour showers, limit water usage, but at the same time, don't go forever without cleaning up, the landlord doesn't look kindly upon pets to begin with."



>"But I am not a pet."



"That's not how he'd see it. Anyways, like the water usage, if you leave a room , turn the lights off, save energy. Now that I'm paying to feed 2 mouths, every penny counts. Rule 3, although the TV is open game, DO NOT touch my computer! The thing is old to begin with, the last thing I need is that getting broken again. Other than that, just help around the place, keep it clean, and keep the landlord happy."



>"Easy enough. Just one question."



"What's that?"



>"What is a computer?"



Anon points to the old laptop sitting on the coffee table in front of them.



"Its for entertainment and online research, some other time I can show you more, but not tonight. It's a Monday and I've got several days more work ahead of me. For now, I'm just looking to try to relax before I pass out for the night."



Flipping on the TV, Anon reclined back on the sofa, Nova scooting over next to him.



>"So that is a TV?"



"Yes, just use the remote to turn it on and change channels. I don't get a lot of channels, but there should be something interesting you can find. You find something, I think I'll take a nap for a bit."



Anon hands the remote over to the curious bat, who begins skimming through the limited channels on the light-up box, stopping on a channel with 3 strangely-accented men talking about loud, fast-moving metal boxes with wheels.



A couple hours later, Anon wakes up to find Nova staring keenly at the TV watching BBC.



"Found something you like?"



>"Yes, and I have a question about them."



"Go for it."



>"Can we get one of those?"



She points to one of the 6-digit price tag cars on the screen.



"I only wish…"



>"Why not?"



"Because those cars cost about 10 times what i make in a year."



>"Can we at least see one of those 'cars'?"



"Maybe sometime on the road if we're really lucky, but I don't guarantee that, at least not around this town."



Anon turns off the TV, having seen enough for one night.



"I'm heading to bed, I suggest you do so as well, work starts early."



>"How early?"



"6 A.M. I'll have an alarm clock set, will you need one too?"



>"No, just shake me awake, I'll try to be up to go with you."



"Alright, just don't make me late."



Anon leaves the bat in the living room and heads for a shower. 10 minutes later, he comes back out of the bathroom to find the bat staring at the TV again, listening to the 3 Brits bickering about super cars again. Walking over to the TV, Anon shuts it off again.



"Enough for tonight, time for bed, 6 o'clock will arrive fast."



>"Just a little more?"



"No, maybe tomorrow after we get home from shopping, but no more tonight."



>"5 minutes?"



"NO."



>"PLEEEEEEEASE?"



"NO. The show will be on again, you only get one chance to sleep."



Pouting again, the bat glared at Anon, but after a minute finally gave up again and flopped on her side.



>"Grr, fine. But tomorrow I get to watch it for as long as I want."



"You will get to watch it until bed time. But now, sleep."



And with that, Anon turned back for his room, set his alarm, flopped into his own bed, and fell asleep.



The next morning, Anon was awoken by nt his alarm, but instead by a modest weight upon his chest, warm breath on his face.



>"Hey. Hey, Anon."



Anon looks over at his clock, 4 A.M.



"Nova, it isn't even close to time to get up yet. What do you need this early?"



>"I wanted to do something for breakfast for you, so I did this."



She presents a couple scrambled eggs on a plate with some of the remaining roast beef diced up and sprinkled on top.



>"I hope its good enough for you, mine tasted fine."



"How many eggs did you use?"



>"Just 4."



Sitting up in bed, Anon takes a bite of the bat's cooking, surprisingly good for how simple it was. Finishing off his ridiculously early breakfast, he rolls out of bed to start his day a couple hours early. Heading into the kitchen, a small bomb appeared to have gone off from the mess everywhere.



"What did you do?!"



Following in Anon's footsteps, Nova replied happily:



>"I made breakfast!"



"You made a catastrophe!"



>"Oh, it isn't that bad, a little scrubbing and it'll be fine."



Rolling his eyes, Anon knew the next 2 hours would be spent cleaning up after Hurricane Nova in the kitchen. While he began toiling away at the bat's mess, Nova headed off to the bathroom to take care of her own business. A few minutes later, Anon heard a shrill scream from the bathroom. Running in, he saw Nova with her butt stuck in the toilet. For half a second Anon was impressed she had figured out what the toilet was, what it was used for, and how to open the lid, but that quickly vanished when he saw the panicked look in the bat pony's eyes.



>"Help! I slipped!"



Grabbing her forehooves, Anon began to pull, but the bat's butt was trapped tight in the seat. Thinking quickly, Anon ran back out to the kitchen and grabbed the first slippery thing he could find: butter. Running back into the bathroom, he began to smear the stick of butter around the frightened bat's bottom and toilet seat. Grabbing her hooves once again, Anon pulls hard. Finally, the poor mare pops free from the toilet, a stream of water droplets following her as she flies free from the porcelain bowl. Trembling, she plops down on the ground, relieved to be free from the white monster.



"Dare I ask how you got stuck?"



Still shaking, she answers:



>"I was just doing my thing and I slipped in."



Hugging the scared bat, Anon tried to comfort the bat. She accepted the hug, although it would be some time before she stopped shaking completely. A couple minutes later the 2 finally released each other, covered in toilet water and butter, desperately in need of a shower. Anon gave Nova the chance first, backing out of the bathroom to allow her to clean herself up. A few minutes later the bathroom door reopens, and Nova steps out cleaned up and thankful for the help escaping the toilet. Anon then takes his turn, showering again to clean himself up before work. Upon finishing washing up again, Anon returns to finish cleaning the kitchen only to find it done, the bat sitting happily on the counter.



"Nova?"



>"It's ok, I finished the cleaning."



Looking around, Anon confirms this, seeing all the dishes washed and put away, no sign of the disaster from earlier. Just in time as well, as the alarm clock was going off in Anon's bedroom, signaling the start of his day.



"Time to go, if we get there early enough I can check with my boss to see if you'll be alright following me around."



>"Why would it be a problem?"



"Because not all work places like to have non-employees running around watching what's going on."



>"Well, let's go find out."



As the two set off on their trip to Anon's job, Nova's questions resume.



>"What is this thing we are in? Is it safe? What exactly do you do for a job? Is it fun? How far away is it? Can I help with it?"



"Slow down there, one question at a time. First, this is a car we are in. Second, yes it is safe, as long as no one else drives unsafe around us. Third, I work as an aircraft technician assistant, been doing it for about 2 years now. I'm hoping to get my full certification by the end of the year. Fourth, yeah its pretty interesting, fun when I get to go up with the lead technician to make sure our work is sound. Fifth, we're only a few minutes out, its nice to have a job not too far from home. And sixth, unless you have some kind of experience working on complex machines and basic certification to work on aircraft [she doesn't], I doubt my supervisor will allow you to assist."



>"Can you at least ask him?"



"I'll see what he says, but I can pretty confidently say he'll say no."



A few minutes later, Anon and Nova arrive at the place, a small local airport, home to small private aircraft. After parking the car, the two walk into a nearby hanger and on into a small office, where Anon clocks in for the day.



Walking back out of the office, Anon heads for a nearby plane with the cowling removed from the front, a middle-aged man leaning into the engine compartment.



“Hey Chuck, got a second?”



The man pulls himself free from the plane’s engine compartment to look over at his assistant, and does a double take upon seeing the odd creature standing next to him.



“I thought you didn’t have a pet?”



“I don’t, Nova isn’t a pet, and she’s, well…



>”I’m not just some dog or other stupid animal, I’m here to learn as an equal.”



Chuck almost fell off his ladder upon hearing the small equine speak.



“She can TALK?!”



>”Oh, I can do much more than that.”



To prove her point, Nova hopped into the air, flying over and hovering right in front of Chuck’s face.



>”I’m here with Anon to learn, and if you have a problem with that, you will answer to me about it.”



Anon grabbed at the bat’s hooves, pulling her down from his supervisor’s face.



“Sorry about that Chuck, she can be a little defensive.”



Anon turns to Nova, whispering quickly.



“Take it easy, don’t go making a bad impression like that or you may be banned from here AND get me canned!”



>”Sorry, I just don’t want to be treated like some animal. I’m just as smart as any human!”



“Don’t get too carried away with that, if the wrong people hear you say that, they may be inclined to take you away to test that statement.”



“I’m alright with pets as long as they behave, but if that’s how she’s gonna act around here, she has no place being here.”



“She’s fine Chuck, just do me a favor and try to treat her like more than a dog. This is going to sound crazy, but you need to believe me.”



Anon goes on to explain the whole story of how Nova was found on his doorstep the night before, how she was sent from Equestria to learn from him, and how he had been chosen out of all the other candidates. All the while, Chuck listened with a curious, slightly disbelieving face.



“So your telling me she needs to follow you everywhere, watching what you do, and report it back to her supervisor, like someone recording some show about your life?”



“I guess that’s one way to look at it.”



Chuck sighs before looking over at Nova.



“Just stay out of the way. Now for you.” He looks at Anon. “Get over here, you’re already late.”


After assisting Chuck with the removal of an aircraft engine shroud, Anon set off for his own aircraft, a simple oil change and mechanical inspection. Nova followed close on his heels. Pulling back the cabin and engine covers from the small personal craft, Anon began his day's work, carefully unbolting this plane's engine shroud to reveal its heart. All the while, the curious bat hovered above him, watching his every step in the maintenance process. Landing a couple times on the plane's wing to rest her own, her eyes followed Anon's hands as he peeled away cover plates and caps to inspect the engine's vital components. After an hour's meticulous work, Anon finally spoke up.



"So, you know a little about me, what about you? What's your story?"



Raising an eyebrow, Nova looked a little cautiously at the oil-smudged human still bent over in the engine compartment. From her prone position on the aircraft wing, she batted a hoof at him.



>"Nothing special, and I'd rather not go into it, it's a long story."



"We've got all day."



Sighing, Nova rolled over onto her back, crossing her fore hooves over her chest in slight discomfort.



>"I'd really rather not."



"Then looks like you'll be just sitting around just watching me all day."



The bat grunted in annoyance.



>"Fine, but if you tell so much as one other person, I'm gone."



"Deal."



Taking a deep breath, the small mare began her story.



>"I was born to a normal family, 2 parents, no siblings. Younger years were fine, got through foal school without problems, but thats how it is in a school strictly for bats. Once I hit my teen years, everything started falling apart. Turned out my father had been cheating on my mother for the better part of my life, with us during the night, out with some slut moth pony during daylight hours, horny fuck he was… Anyway, I found this out when I came home from school one day to find my mother in a sobbing mess on the floor, a note from my father saying he was leaving us on the kitchen table, swore him off after that."



Anon pulled his head out of the engine compartment to analyze the tense bat telling her story from the wing of the plane. With a sniff she continued.



>"Within the coming weeks my mother decided rather than try to find another father for me she'd turn to drugs to cheer herself up. Needless to say, I suffered, ate less with less money at home, and dropped out of my first year of high school. After a couple years of wandering around doing odd jobs for food and spare bits, nothing illegal, mind you, I tried applying for the crew all bats wanted to join, the Night Guard. But, because I'd dropped out, I never got a diploma and was barred from entering. I tried to go back and finish the classes, but the damage was done, and I just couldn't stick it out, so I gave up on the Guard."



Nova sniffed a little at the sour memories being stirred up, but soldiered on, determined to finish the story.



>"A couple years ago I saw a flyer going around about a second way to serve the princesses, not in the guard, but for missionary work. I looked into it and learned about this whole abroad study thing. Best part was the lack of requirement for finishing school. I wanted to get out of that dirty hole of a life I was in, and this was the chance. First year was spent training in what to do, how to act around other species, all the boring stuff to make yourself look professional. Second year my group was sent to a few locations across Equestria and surrounding nations to learn about other species from that planet. A couple months ago when we returned from a trip to Griffonia a hooffull of us were taken in for additional screening and interviews, and were then given the option for off-world missionary work. They told us it would be indefinite, but I'd had my share of Equestria, of the problems with home, so I went for it. After a few weeks of training, my group was ready, and we were sent here to begin our work."



"So you weren't the only one sent to Earth?"



>"Oh heavens no, there was at least a dozen of us in my group, and rumor was there were a few groups that went ahead of us to do some scouting for safety."



"So it's fully possible that other ponies could be close by?"



>"I know for a fact other bats are nearby, I can't say where for our security, just that we can still support each other for emergencies."



Anon leaned back into the engine compartment to resume his work, this new information weighing heavily on his mind.



"Was it just bats or other ponies too?"



>"Mainly common ponies, you know, pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies, but a few bats and moths made it into the group."



"And is there any way for me to call on them or their human friends if I need help?"



Nova perked her head up, looking at Anon with slight confusion.



>"Of course, but why would you need help? You've done fine so far."



"Just wondering, it never hurts to have some backup in case you need it."



Laying her head back down on the cold metal of the plane wing, Nova relaxed a little bit, glad to have finally finished her life's abridged memoir. Moments later, a loud clang from below jolted her back upright.



"Sorry, dropped a wrench. Just as well you get up, this bird's almost done. Once I've got these last few bolts in we'll take break and then take the plane for a test flight to make sure all's good."



>"Can I come with you on the test flight?"



"If Chuck allows you in the plane, I don't see why not."



>"IN the plane? I meant flying along side you outside the plane!"



"You think you can keep up with a plane like this? You don't even know how fast it can go."



>"I'll tell you what, if I can keep pace with you on the runway, I'll fly along side, and if I can't, I'll just it back in here in the hangar and wait for you to return."



"Alright, just don't get yourself hurt trying something stupid."



                                                                       

With a smile, Nova hopped down from the wing and followed Anon over to the hangar's break room, eager to finally get back in the skies.