>Be Anon
>You're running for dear life through the halls of what you can only describe as some sort of enormous fantasy-esque castle.
>Oh yeah, and you're naked.
>How you got here, you'll never know.
>One minute you were taking a nice relaxing shower after coming home from the gym; then, *poof*.
>Your bare ass fell smack down onto the cold stone floor of whatever this place was.
>The first thing you remember seeing upon being so rudely taken away from your shower was what seemed like some sort of gray demon horse thing.
>That was maybe two minutes ago, and now you were sprinting as fast as your legs could carry you away from whatever that /thing/ was.
>You could hear the flaps of its bat-like wings as it chased behind you.
>Making a sharp turn as you reached the end of a hallway, you looked for some sort of escape.
>The right side of the hall had the occasional closed door, but you weren't up for risking any of those being locked.
>Along the left side were windows which opened up to the cool night air.
>A quick glance out one of those as you ran by showed how long of a drop that would be.
>Yeah, no thanks.
>At the end of the long hallway was a set of double doors with crescent moon decor along its edge.
>You continue sprinting down the hallway; Hopefully there might be somewhere to hide after the next turn.
>"Stop, beast! You trespass on the grounds of the princesses' castle!"
>The voice that came from behind you was definitely male, but had a sort of screech-like ring to it.
>Wait a second, Did that fucking horse demon just talk?
"Fuck that!"
>Yeah, that'll show him.
>You can't help but feel like there's more flapping coming from behind you than there was before.
>Are there more of those things chasing you?
>You steel yourself for a quick look behind you to check, before turning your sight back to the hallway ahead.
>You double take, this time staring back as your heart began to pound.
>Holy shit!
>There had to be at least a dozen of those things not twenty feet back.
>You just keep pumping your now tired legs, unable to tear your eyes away from the mass of demon horse behind you.
>Then you notice that there's a whole lot of hallway back there, and realize that it's probably not the best time to be looking backwards.
>Before you can even twist your head back to look ahead of you, you hear a *whoosh* as a gray and blue blob comes hurtling out of the last window of the hallway.
>Right into your legs.
"Agh!"
>You scream as you go hurtling into the double doors ahead, elegantly swinging them open with your face.
>Your vision begins to fade as you lay face up on the floor of the room you just smashed into.
>The ceiling is painted blue-black, with silver stars and crescent moons dotting the background.
>Another horse's face slides into your vision as your sight goes hazy.
>It has a dark blue coat and flowing indigo mane.
>You could swear it looks like there are stars floating around in there.
>Must just be seeing stuff from that hit to your head.
>Huh.
>Sleepy time now.

>You are still Anon.
>You wake up in the same room you passed out in, now leaning against one of the walls.
>Looking around, you note that none of the demon horses are anywhere to be seen.
>There's a large circular bed in the center of the room, and next to it an opening to a balcony.
>From the looks of it, it's still pretty fucking night time outside.
>Not that it makes it that hard to see.
>Somehow everything in this castle is perfectly lit up by the soft white glow of the moon.
>"Oh. Welcome! We were wondering when you would wake up."
"Huh?"
>You slowly pan your head across the room, looking for the source of the voice.
>Standing just next to you is the blue-indigo horse from earlier.
>Your eyes go wide as you take in the creature before you.
>You realize now that it has a set of wings at it's back and a horn coming from its head.
>Oh yeah, and you're still naked.
"Clothes!"
>You scream at it, frantically jumping up and hopping onto the bed, pulling the covers over your crotch area.
>The colorful horse scrunches as you yell in her face and run off, still staring at you where you now sit on the bed.
>Probably her bed.
>She took a step towards you, tilting her head.
>"What are you?"
"No. What the fuck are /you/?"
>She scrunches harder when you swear at her.
>"We are Luna, princess of Equestria's night."
>Holy shit.
>Was this real?
>Where the fuck even are you?
"Where am I? Did you bring me here? Why the fuck am I here?"
>She takes another slow step towards you.
>"You are in Equestria. More specifically, Canterlot Castle. Sadly, we cannot say why you are here. We did not bring you here, and one of our guards said you appeared out of thin air right in front of his post."
>Her guards?
>She was talking about those scary fucking demon horses, wasn't she?
"Wait, so you're telling me those crazy fuckers who were trying to tear me apart are your guards? And you still haven't told me what the hell you are. How is a colorful unicorn horse bird... thing... even talking to me right now?"
>The princess sighs, sitting down on her haunches with an annoyed expression.
>"You are not being a very kind guest to your princess."
"Nope, nope, and more nope. You're not my fuckin' princess, Princess."
>The scrunch returns.
>You can't help but admit that it's sort of cute.
>"We already told you where you are. Equestria. Canterlot Castle. Do you live under a rock?"
"Nope. I live on a rock. It's called Earth."
>"Earth? You named your rock home?"
>You facepalm.
"Aren't princesses supposed to be smart or something? Earth is the planet I'm from."
>"Planet? You are an Alien?"
>She stands up again, moving closer to you.
>"That would explain your strange appearance. We almost mistook you for a minotaur. Minus the horns."
"Uh, no. Not a minotaur. Members of my species are called Humans. And, uh. My name's Anonymous."
>She continues her approach, stepping up onto the edge of the bed you were sitting on.
>As she moves closer, you notice that the decor of the room resembles the silver crescent and black splotch on the princess's rump.
>Definitely her bed.
>"We have never met a... Hoo-man... before."
>She was nearly upon you now, and you started to shift backwards on the bed as she climbed up toward you.
>She was clearly looking at your body.
>Hopefully that was just because she had never seen anything like you before, and not because-
>Oh shit, you completely forgot you were still naked.
>The blanket you held over your groin was the only thing covering you.
>You could feel the heat going towards your face as you began to blush.
"Uh. Luna, was it? Could you maybe not stare at me like that? Or keep walking towards me? Im sorta... exposed."
>You grin sheepishly.
>She blinked, looking back up at your face.
>"Oh. Are you not comfortable with our attempts to familiarize with your physique?"
>You scratch the back of your head.
"Well, where I'm from we sorta don't usually go around naked in front of people. I was actually washing up when I appeared uh, in here."
>She stops, sitting down in front of you and squinting at your body.
>She made a little hum of thought.
>Was her horn glowing?
>Holy shit why are you glowing?
>She smiles and you look down at your body.
>You are now clothed in a snazzy black suit and white undershirt, with a red tie.
>Damn.
"Thanks."
>You remove the blanket from your groin, sitting upright against the back of the bed.
>"It was our pleasure."
"So. Can you magic me back to my home like that, too?"
>She frowned.
>"We are afraid we cannot do that, Anonymous. We can only teleport people to places we know, and only so far. Attempting to send you back to your planet may prove less than beneficial."
>You sighed.
>So much for that new bar tending job you finally landed.
>You'd spent so long looking for some place in the city that would take you in.
>You did drop out of college, after all.
>"All hope is not lost, Anonymous. You may not be able to go home to your Earth, but you are welcome to stay here. As princess, we will grant you an Equestrian citizenship, and housing wherever it is available."
"Uh, Thanks. So I can't just stay here in the castle? Place looks pretty big to me."
>She gave a sad smile to you, shaking her head.
>"Unfortunately not, Anonymous. The castle guard are rowdy enough as it is, and our sister is not very fond of long term guests."
>Her horn glowed again and a scroll appeared floating next to her, she unraveled it and began looking down what must have been some sort of list.
>"Let us see."
>She hummed, looking through the scroll.

>You twiddled your thumbs awkwardly at the prolonged silence.
>She had been staring at that scroll for what seemed like hours now.
>And it looked like she was near the bottom of it.
>"Hmmm."
>just as the last bit of the scroll was about to roll up with the rest of the list, she piped up.
>"Hurrah! There is housing available for you in Hollow Shades! It has been empty for years now, so it should be easy enough to write you a deed for it."
>She smiled.
"Thanks. So where exactly is this Hollow Shades? Sounds spooky."
>"We visit Hollow Shades often to meet with retired members of the night guard, and sometimes for company at night. It lies to the east of the castle, in a dense forest."
>Retired members of the night guard?
"Retired members of the night guard? You mean those demon horse things that were chasing me around?"
>She frowns.
>"They are known as bat ponies. And yes. The whole town is full of them! Is it not exciting? You will make so many friends!"
>She smiled at you, standing up.
>Her horn - and you - began to glow again.
"Whoa whoa whoa."
>She lifted you up in her magic, placing you standing upright next to her bed.
>There was now a small luggage bag sitting on the floor next to you.
>"We have supplied you with some things to help you start off your new life in Equestria. However, you will need to support yourself from here on out. We are sure the ponies of Hollow Shades will be happy to let you work somewhere. We will visit you occasionally to check up on you, Anonymous. Enjoy your stay!"
>You look around, still not quite sure what's going on.
"Wait, you're just gonna send me out so-"
>The world flashed around you as the decorated interior of Luna's room transformed into a dark clearing of woods.
>When you say clearing, you mean there were still trees everywhere, and you could barely see the sky.
>But there were still less trees where you were standing right now.
>You look around, and take note of the large Gothic style house that has been behind you this whole time.
>At least your new home was pretty big.
>At least ten times the size of your apartment back on earth.
>There's also clearly some dim lights back in the direction away from your house.
>Upon further inspection, you can see that there's an entire town built into the woods.
>This must be Hollow Shades.
>Well, you may as well check inside the house.
>You had a long life ahead of you if you were going to be stuck here, after all.
>Who knows, maybe it won't be that bad?

>Walking into your new home, you take in the atmosphere.
>Everything is so old and dark looking.
>The floors are a black hardwood, and the walls dark brown of the same material.
>It smells like your grandmother's house.
>It's pretty hard to miss the lack of furniture, as well.
>The princess did say that nobody had lived here for years, though.
>You wonder how long that meant.
>Walking through the main hallway, you see a few rooms.
>On the right are what look like they would be a bathroom and bedroom.
>Luckily the bathroom actually has a toilet and bath installed.
>They're both really small, though, and no shower head either.
>You move back into the hallway.
>On the left side of the hallway are the kitchen and living room.
>At least those two rooms had some windows, and they were looking out at the town, too.
>That'd be useful for letting you know who was coming to visit while you were just lounging around.
>That's assuming anyone wants to come and visit.
>And that you have something to lounge on.
>Man, the lack of furniture is really depressing.
>There's not even a bed in the bedroom.
>Just one more place to check.
>There's a stairwell at the end of the hall - probably going up to some sort of attic.
>The House looked like it was only one story from the outside, after all.
>Walking up the stairs confirms your speculation.
>The ceiling was extremely low and pointed from the roof of the house, but there was at least something of use up there.
>At the back of the Attic by a solitary window was a comfy looking red sofa.
>Unlike the toilet and bath, it looked like it was about average Earth sized.
>You decide to take it down into the living room/kitchen area.
>You pick up the seat, walking down the stairs carefully so you didn't trip.
>Carrying the chair was a bit of a struggle, it weighed at least eighty pounds, and you only just got back from a workout before having to race a bunch of flying horses.
>Setting the seat down so you could watch the town through the window while sitting in it, you stretched out your sore body.
>The realization of your physical condition made you wonder where you'd sleep tonight with no bed.
>You could always sleep on the sofa, but that'd probably give you a sore neck in the morning.
>Oh yeah, the princess gave you a suitcase, didn't she?
>Of course you left that outside like a fool.
>Somebody could've stolen it if they'd known you were here.
>You walk out the front door of the house, snagging the suitcase from the ground where you first warped in and carrying it inside.
>Sitting down on the sofa in your living room, you unzip the suitcase to check for its contents.
>At the top of the pile is a folded piece of paper with a red ribbon sealing it.
>You undo the knot, opening it up.
>It's a deed to the house, which is apparently called Hollow Creek Manor.
>Huh. You don't remember seeing a creek near the house.
>Then again, you never did look around anywhere but the front of the house's outside.
>You put the deed into a pocket in your suit; it'd best to keep that safe.
>The next thing you notice is a leather sack.
>Lifting it up, you feel that it has a bit of weight to it, and it made a metal clinking noise as you moved it around.
>It was filled with a bunch of coins.
>Figures that she'd give you a bit of money to start you off.
>You wonder how much money it is.
>If the black print on the side of the bag is any indication, then it's 100 of whatever the coins were.
>If these coins were anything like your dollar back home, it probably means this is enough to keep you fed for about a week or so before you run out.
>She did say you were on your own after this, didn't she?
>Looks like you're going to have to find a job, then.
>You're not liking your chances.
>It was hard enough to pick up that bar tending job back on Earth, and everyone there was actually the same species as you.
>There must be something for you to do, though.
>That princess pony was pretty small, so if here size is any indication then all the other ponies would be small, too.
>You were a pretty big guy even back home, so surely you'd be a powerhouse of muscle for anyone who wanted to pay for it around here.
>Maybe not the most interesting line of work, but it'd keep you alive.
>You pocket the sack of coins, looking back down at the suitcase.
>The rest is just a bunch of spare clothes - most of which is a lot more casual looking.
>Hoodies, sweatpants, jeans, t-shirts, even underwear.
>How the hell did she know what kind of clothes humans wore?
>Maybe minotaur clothing was similar.

>You step out of your house wearing a grey hoodie and some black sweats.
>Time to head to town and see what's going on.
>It was still dark outside, in fact the moon looked like it was about halfway up in the sky.
>Night must have just started when you first got sucked into this world.
>Hopefully some of the residents are awake.
>Coming up into town, you follow the main path down to wherever you think there might be some job openings.
>There are actually a few... what did she call them?
>Bat ponies.
>There were a few of them going about their business in town.
>Bats are nocturnal, right?
>That must be why they're all out and about at this hour.
>This must be the residential part of town, these all looked like houses.
>Each one shared the same gothic theme as your own previously abandoned home.
>As you're walking by you notice one of the doors open, and a grey bat pony mare walked out.
>It had amber colored eyes, and its mane was a split sapphire and steel blue.
>Inside of her mouth was a mango, which it looked like she was happily sucking on.
>At least was, until she saw you.
>"Eeeeek!"
>It gave a sharp screech, dropping the mango and flying back into its house.
>You were pretty sure you heard the door's lock click after she slammed it closed.
>You just stood there watching the house for a second, caught off guard by the whole thing.
>Sure, you were probably different from anything they'd ever seen before, but you weren't /that/ scary.
>A pair of glowing orange eyes peeked out from the corner of the house's window.
>You shook your head, continuing along the path further into town.

>After a few minutes of walking you realize that there aren't any ponies out and about anymore.
>Did they all go to sleep?
>You looked up at thee tree canopy above, and saw the glint of the moon above.
>It was still night time, so if they were awake before they probably were now, too.
>They must all be scared of you.
>Now you sort of feel like shit.
>Not only did this mean that you were basically terrorizing the town, but it also meant that the inhabitants pretty much outright hated you without you even having to fuck up while talking to anyone.
>So much for finding someone who would hire you.
>You finally come up to what you think is the market district of the town.
>There are a few market stalls along the road, all of which are abandoned.
>Word must travel fast in this place, nobody even had to see you before they ran away to hide.
>You sigh, turning to go back home before you notice a familiar looking building with some dim lights on the inside.
>Was that what you think it was?
>You walked up to the building, and saw a plaque above the door that said "Tavern".
>This was your kind of place.
>Who knows, maybe you could even get a job here?
>You push the door open, hunching over to fit through the building's tiny doorway.
>You almost didn't fit width-wise either.

>Stepping into the bar, you found where most of the bat ponies were.
>The whole place was packed full of bat ponies sitting at tables and chatting, some eating snacks, most drinking.
>As you stood back upright, the ceiling only a few inches above your head, everything stopped.
>The whole building went dead quiet, and every single set of slitted eyes was staring at you.
>You silently gulped, hoping they weren't all planning to murder you or something.
"Hey there..."
>You say to nobody in particular, sort of just talking to literally every one of the ponies staring at you.
>"Well what're you all doing staring at the poor guy? Go back to your own business!"
>A masculine voice had spoken, sounding like it was coming from around where the bar was.
>Maybe it was the manager?
>At least you knew he was a bro.
>Maybe he'd even be nice enough to give you a job?
>It seemed like everyone had calmed down, as most of the inhabitants were talking to one another again, if slightly more hushed than before.
>You couldn't help but think they were talking about you.
>You took a deep breath and started off towards the bar.
>Time to see if the business owners in this world were any better that the ones back home.

>You walk up to the bar, sitting down on one of the stools lined up next to the counter.
>Getting yourself settled, you noticed the bartender looking at you with a brow raised.
>He had a cup in one hoof and a towel in the other; and looked to be drying off the inside of the glass.
>His coat was a similar gray to most of the ponies around, but it was a hint darker and more faded.
>His windswept mane was a milky blue with a black stripe down the center.
>There was a scar across his right cheek that continued down his face to his neck.
>Oh god, did he have... a beard?
>How was that even possible?
>You realize you've just been staring at him this whole time.
>"Can I get you somethin', lad?"
>This guy sounds like fucking Brynjolf from Skyrim.
>This world was fucking weird, man.
"Hey. You sell drinks here?"
>He gave you a deadpan look.
>No shit he sells drinks, it's a fucking bar.
>You gave a nervous chuckle.
"Uh, sorry. My mind's sort of all over the place right now. I'll have whatever's cheapest. I'm sort of short on money right now."
>He nodded, putting down the cup he was drying earlier and going to grab a bottle of something that looked like whiskey.
>You still have no idea how the hell he was holding that thing with his hoof.
"So, you're not gonna ask me what I am or something?"
>He turned back around, pouring the golden fluid into your cup and sliding it over.
>"'S long as you pay and don't cause trouble, it doesn't matter to me what you are."
"I guess that's fair. How much do I owe you?"
>"First one's on the house."
>What a nice guy... horse.
"Thanks."
>You take a sip of the liquid, wondering how you should go about asking him for a job.
>He seemed a lot more accepting than most of the other ponies you'd seen.
>Maybe it wouldn't be so hard.
"H-"
>Wait a second.
>Was this apple juice?
>What the fuck?
>You frowned down at the drink.
"Uh, is this apple juice?"
>He nodded, smirking at you.
>"What's the matter. Too strong for ye?"
>This guy was fucking with you, right?
>Better not piss him off, he might be serious.
"Uh, nothing. I love apple juice."
>He nodded again, leaning his fore hooves against the bar.
>"So I heard you say you were short on the bits. You lookin' around for a job?"
>He had gotten himself a drink as well, and was now drinking it.
>Holy shit, does this guy read minds or something?
"Uh, yeah, actually. I'm not really from around here, so I only have a few bucks that the princess gave me."
>"The princess, eh? She sent you here?"
"Yeah, she gave me a house and everything. It's a bit outside of town, but it's still nice."
>He smirked.
>"Which one was it that you met, then? Let me guess, it was the one with the moon on her ass?"
>This guy seriously must read minds or something.
"Yeah, actually. How'd you know?"
>He shrugged.
>"I doubt Celestia would've sent you to live here. She'd have put you someplace nicer."
>Celestia?
>The moon princess's name was Luna.
>That one must be like, princess of the sun or something?
>You wonder if she had a sun on her butt, too.
>Nah, that'd be silly.
>"So you're lookin' for a job, then? How about workin' for me? I could use an extra set of hooves at the bar, and you look like you'd double as a fine bouncer."
"Yeah, why not? That'd be great."
>Man, you're glad you chose to come through this place.
>You made your first friend in this world and got a job.
>"Perfect. I'll let you rest for the day, but you'll start tomorrow. I'll be here before nightfall to open up, but I won't expect you until at least an hour afterwards."
>You nodded, and he walked off to serve another bar patron.

>Taking another sip of your apple juice, you notice something brushing your side.
>Looking over to your left you notice you've been sitting beside a mare this whole time.
>Her dark blue tail is rubbing your stomach.
>"Hey, screw you too, buddy! I bet you're shit in the sack anyway!"
>She was yelling at a bat stallion that seemed to be walking away from her with an annoyed expression on his face.
>You try to move her tail away from you without alerting her.
>So much for that.
>The tale flicks your hand as she turns around to look at you.
>"Who the hell's touch-"
>Her lilac colored eyes went wide and her pupils turned to tiny slits.
>"Keeeee!"
>She screeched at you as she reared up, falling off of her stool.
>She bonked the back of her head against the stool behind her, falling to the floor in a pile between the two stools.
>Well shit.
>You hastily stand up, kneeling over to pick her up off the ground.
>She's out cold.
>And holy shit she was soft.
>If you were some kind of sick fuck you might consider poaching these ponies and making pillows out of their bodies.
>No, shut up, brain.
>That's fucked up.
>The pony in your arms groans and opens her eyes.
>She makes that screech noise again as she realizes you're holding her.
>"Kee! What the hell are you? Put me down!"
>You move her down towards the stool she was sitting on to put her down.
>She jumps out of your arms to get away from you, shakenly sitting on the stool.
"Woah, man. Calm down. I'm not gonna rape you or some shit, just helping you off the ground. I'm a human."
>She slits her eyes up at you.
>You notice that she has no wings coming from her gray-blue coat, and instead has a horn protruding from beneath her mane.
>Sort of like the one the princess had, except a lot smaller and stubbier.
>"W-what's a human? Are you here to eat me?"
"Humans are, uh..."
>What were humans similar to in this world?
>Monkeys?
>This world had to have monkeys, right?
"A human is like a monkey with less hair, and a lot bigger most of the time. And no, I wasn't really planning on eating anybody."
>She stares at you for a second, then lets out a short squeaky hiccup.
>She lids her eyes as she sits more comfortably in the seat.
>"Huh. You look passable."
>She frowns as she looks down from your face at the rest of your body.
"Why do you have to be wearing so much clothes, though?"
>Was this drunk bat horse trying to flirt with you?
>What the fuck?
>Shit, now you're blushing.
>She grins at you as she notices this.
>"So where are you visiting Hollow Shades from... name?"
"My name's Anon. Not visiting from anywhere, actually."
>She gives you a confused look.
>"What do you mean 'not visiting from anywhere'?"
>You scratch the back of your head.
"Well, uh. I sort of live here now, I guess."
>Her eyes widen at this and she gets a sly grin on her face.
>She mumbles something to herself a little too excitedly.
>You thought she might have said "Perfect".
"So, uh. I gave you my name, but you never gave-"
>"Aquamarine. I own the inn down the road from here."
>She inspects her hoof as if disinterested with you all of the sudden.
>Was she trying to impress you or something?
>Then again, she did own a business.
>That was more than you could say.
>"Yeah, pretty successful place. All the travelers stop by. I got my workers watching the place for me."
>She was pretty eager to tell you all this considering you nearly scared her to death a few minutes ago.
"Sounds like you're pretty well off. So who was the guy you chased out before you tripped off your seat?"
>She scrunched as you mention her fall.
>Oh god that was even cuter than when the princess did it.
>"Some guy I was talking to. I don't know what his name is."
>You take another drink from your apple juice, finishing the cup off.
>You wonder if juice was like alcohol to them or something.
>As though she were trying to one up you or something, she grabbed her wine glass of... wine?
>It was probably grape juice or something.
>She picked it up and chugged it down, wincing and putting the glass back down on the counter.
>She only managed to drink half of it.
>Giving out another squeaky "hic", she lidded her eyes again, swaying in her seat.
>"That'sh some shtrong stuff..."
>She swayed one more time before falling over in her seat.
>This time you caught her before she could hit her head on anything else.
>Reaching over, you grabbed her glass, sniffing it and taking a sip.
>Fucking grape juice.
>You tried to shake her lightly to wake her up.
>Nope, this time she was pretty solidly passed out.
>You sigh, and decide you'd better take her to her home.
>You were starting to get tired, anyways.
>You walked out of the tavern, small wingless bat horse in one arm.
>You were holding her like you might hold a football.
>Where did she live, anyways?
>You remember her saying that she owned an inn that was just down the road.
>Looking down the street your eyes fell upon a single building at the end which looked bigger than most of the others around it.
>It also had a little sign hanging above the door with a bed on it.
>That was probably it.
>Setting off towards what was hopefully this pony's home, you wonder what her employees would think of seeing a big hairless monkey walking in with their boss in it's arms.
>This'll be interesting.

>Pushing open the door to the inn, you come into the main dining hall.
>It looks a lot like the inside of the tavern except a lot smaller and with a really short bar at the end.
>That's strange.
>There's nobody in here.
>You're sure you remember Aquamarine saying that her inn was very busy.
>And that her workers were watching the place.
>As if on cue, an particularly small female bat pony hops up from behind the bar.
>"W-welcome to the inn! Are you loo- Eeek!"
>Just as quick as she had appeared, she vanished behind the counter.
>Figures.
>You sigh, approaching the counter slowly so as to not scare her even more.
>Peering over the top of the bar, you see the petite bat pony hiding curled up in a shivering ball with her hooves covering her head beneath the seat she had been standing on.
>Her coat is a lighter gray than most of the other ponies you've seen around, and beneath her striped mane of two light tints of blue, a slitted turquoise eye peeked up at you.
>"P-please don't hurt me! Y-you can t-take anything you'd l-like from the b-b-bits b-box. J-just don't hurt me! P-p-please."
>She was practically sobbing at this point.
>This is probably the most terrible you've ever been made feel in your life.
>And it wasn't even your fault that it was happening.
"Shh. Hey, it's okay. I'm not here to hurt you!"
>You try to console the pony, but it's no use.
>You're pretty sure she didn't even hear you through her fear.
>Her tone slightly changes as she takes notice of what you're carrying.
>She immediately bolts upright, tears in her eyes and wings erect as she faces you.
>"T-thats my m-mom! G-g-give me back my mom! Y-you can't eat her y-you creepy monster f-f-freak!"
>Aquamarine has a daughter?
>This wasn't exactly what you were expecting when she said she had people working the inn.
>That explains why it was so small; it was probably still a kid or something.
>You catch yourself as she begins to shrink away again, her courageous bout all but fading away.
>Probably because you sort of just stood there staring at her with a brow raised after she stood up to you.
"Hey, I'm seriously not gonna hurt you. Look, you can even have your mom back. She's just sort of a bit drowsy right now."
>You gently place Aquamarine down on the counter before her daughter, hoping that would calm her down at least a bit.
>"I-is she dead? W-why isn't she moving? Y-you killed my mom!"
>She begins sobbing even harder as she frantically flaps up onto the counter and hugs her mother's sleeping form, shielding her with her tiny bat-like wings.
>"M-mom! W-wake up! Y-y-you can't be dead!"
>You let out a groan, backing away from the scene to give her some room.
>Of all the things to happen to you.
>Why did it have to be this?
>You would've been fine with Aquamarine just trying to come onto you and you having to reject her.
>But this was a whole new level of nope.
>You were half tempted to just walk out of the inn right now, but that'd just make shit worse.

>Alright, Anon.
>Think.
>What were you supposed to do when you had to calm someone who was batshit crazy?
>Heh, /bat/shit cra-
>NOT HELPING!
>You look over to the two ponies.
>Aquamarine is still being held by her sobbing daughter, who is now incoherently blubbering into her mom's chest.
>You begin moving back towards the pony to say something that would calm her, but she notices you and tries to pull her mother away.
>"N-no! G-get away! D-don't hurt us!"
>She tugs at her mother with her wings, pulling her off of the counter and falling off with her.
>You hear a thud as the two ponies hit the floor.
>Shit.
>Hurrying around the bar counter, you kneel over to help her out.
>She managed to make Aquamarine land on top of her, and was now pinned to the floor.
>That couldn't be healthy.
>You lift Aquamarine off of her daughter, setting her down off to the side.
>The small pony just tries to cling to her mother as you pick her up again.
>"S-stop! D-don't take her f-from me!"
>You calmly pluck her away from her mother and attempt to hold her still and hug her.
>She begins flailing her wings wildly in an attempt to fly away.
"Shhh. It's alright. Your mom's okay. She's just passed out from being drunk. Everything's gonna be fine."
>You hold the bat pony to your chest, repeating the phrase over and over again, but it doesn't seem to be working.
>She just keeps making a high pitched squeak-screech and flaps her wings.
>Out of desperation, she even digs her two sharp little fangs into your forearm.
>That fucking stings.
>How the hell are you supposed to calm this pony?
>You decide that if you sit here long enough, eventually she'll have to calm the fuck down.
>You begin to slowly pet here mane with the hand who's arm wasn't being bitten.
>At first she tries to nip at your hand when it comes close, but eventually after you move it away enough times she goes back to biting your forearm again.
>That was starting to bleed quite a bit now with the addition of a new pair of holes.
>Luckily her fangs were pretty small, so it wasn't bleeding profusely.

>Eventually after about 10 minutes of holding her back and petting her mane, she has calmed down to letting her wings lay limp over your arms as she sobs.
>She isn't biting you anymore, and your arm has stopped bleeding.
>Finally, she manages to squeak out a word between sobs.
>"W-why?"
"Huh?"
>You look down into her bloodshot turquoise eyes.
>Wait, that probably wasn't a very calming response.
>You're fucking terrible at this.
>"Why'd you k-kill my mom?"
>You take a deep sigh, purposely smacking the back of your head into the counter you were leaning against.
"I already told you. She's not dead, she's just unconscious."
>"Are y-you s-sure? W-why isn't she m-moving, then?"
>You deadpan, looking down at her.
>She shrinks away a bit.
>Oops.
"Because she's unconscious?"
>There's a long pause, and you realize she isn't crying anymore.
>She sniffs.
>"Oh..."
>Another sniffle.
>She looks down at your arm and gives out a tiny gasp-eek.
>"D-did I do that? I'm so sorry."
>You sigh.
"It's fine. You didn't do much damage, and you were pretty frightened there. I forgive you."
>You lightly ruffle her mane.
>She instinctively shrinks back at first, but then pushes her head into your hand and allows it.
"So what's your name?"
>She rubs her eyes to get rid of some of the gunk that had caked on from crying so much.
>"M-my name's Whisper. What's yours?"
"Nice to meet you, Whisper. My name's Anonymous. You can just call me Anon if it's easier, though."
>She smiles tinily up at you.
>"Hi, Anonymous. C-can you let me down now? I think I'm calmed down. T-thanks for bringing my mom home. She always gets herself into trouble like this. I-I'm just glad you didn't take advantage of her like most stallions would."
>Wow, she was pretty aware for a kid.
>You wonder how old she was.
>On earth animals usually got to their adult size after a couple of years.
>But then again, ponies here seemed like the humans of this planet.
>Maybe the aged like humans, too?
>You remember her request, and loosen up your grip on her so she can slide out of your arms.
>"Thanks."
>Whisper walks over to Aquamarine, putting her ear against her mother's chest.
>She probably doesn't fully trust you yet.
>"Hey, A-Anon? Could you um... help me with something?"
"Sure. What do you need?"
>She looks between you and her mother.
>"Can you bring her to her bed? She's too h-heavy for me to carry without struggling."
"Of course I could."
>You stand, walking over to Aquamarine and picking her up off the floor.
>"Thanks. F-follow me!"
>She trots off, leading you to the single door on the first floor of the building.
>You follow her through the doorway, which leads into what you guess is their home.
>You pass by a large kitchen, a living room, and a bedroom.
>The last room you come across must be Aquamarine's room.
>Stepping in, you set Aquamarine down on the room's queen sized bed.
>You wonder why these ponies had human sized beds when they themselves were so small.
>"Thanks again, Anon. So, did you want anything else, or were you just here to drop my mom off?"
>The two of you begin walking out of their living space.
"I was really just here to drop Aquamarine off. I was actually getting pretty tired before all this happened, and it's starting to come back to me now. I think I should head out for the night. Err, day."
>You take a mental note that it was probably morning time, considering the night had just begun when you first came to Equestria.
>That was some hours ago now.
>"Oh. A-alright, then, Anon. See you around, I guess. A-and thanks again for bringing home my mom!"
"Yeah, see ya."

>You leave the inn, taking in the cool outside air.
>Glancing up at the canopy above, you notice the slightest bit of orange poking through the trees.
>The sun must have just come up.
>You yawn, stretching out.
>You'd better get back home and sleep.
>You did have a day of work ahead of you tomorrow, after all.
>Or was it today?
>This time adjustment thing was going to be weird.
>You were going to have to become nocturnal if you were going to live here, though.
>Otherwise you wouldn't really be able to do much socializing.
>There's a clear lack of ponies outside, which probably means that they've all gone to sleep.
>Well, better not waste any more time.
>You set on the path back home, taking no notice of the pair of sky blue eyes watching you from a nearby alleyway.

>You let out another involuntary yawn as you walk up through the clearing where your house was located.
>From here it was somewhat easier to see the orange sky of the dawning sun through the canopy above.
>Pushing open the door to your house, you step inside, familiarizing yourself with the strange smell that all old houses seemed to share.
>You pass through the main hallway and into your "bedroom" where you had left your suitcase.
>Despite your hopes, no bed has magically appeared in your absence.
>You should really buy one of those.
>Getting an idea, you walk into your living room, approaching your single piece of furniture.
>Kneeling over, you pull the sofa's cushion out from where it's wedged.
>This should work as a decent pillow for tonight.
>At least your neck wouldn't hurt in the morning.
>You take the cushion into your bedroom, flopping it onto the ground against the wall.
>You slowly lay down on the cold wooden floor, resting your head on the cushion and closing your eyes.
>Man, you were tired.
>Sighing into your makeshift pillow, you slowly begin to drift off to sleep.

>Then you hear a creaking.
>What the fuck?
>It sounded like your front door opening and closing.
>Why the hell wasn't there a locking mechanism on that thing?
>These ponies were fucking crazy, man.
>What kind of people just make lock-less doors?
>Then again, what kind of people follow some guy home and sneak into his house when they get there?
>Hopefully not the kind that want to slit your throat.
>You were about to find out, though.
>You try to steady your breathing, pretending to be asleep.
>You open your eyes the tiniest bit to be able to see through them without giving away that they were open.
>You can just barely see through your eyelashes.
>It takes a bit of time, but eventually you hear a faint tap-tap on the floor that might be made when a pony was walking really slowly along a hardwood floor.
>There was definitely somebody in your home.
>A pair of sky blue eyes slip into your view as another small bat pony sticks its head into the doorway.
>It just stands there with its head poking around the corner, staring at you.
>You wonder what it wants.
>It seems to steel itself as it creeps slowly through the doorway and approaches you.
>Oshitnigger.
>You keep yourself calm, waiting to see what it does before you hurt it for no reason.
>It's another female, about the same size as Whisper, maybe a bit smaller.
>Her coat was a mustard color, her wings and swirly mane striped with two shades of pale minty green.
>As she got closer to you, you could hear her tiny breathing begin to grow excited.
>Holy shit was this tiny horse going to molest you or something?
>She scrunches her face up into a little frown, furrowing her brows.
>"H-hey."
>She said this sternly at you, trying to wake you up.
>You just stay there, keeping up your act.
>"I said hey!"
>She jabs at your ribs with a hoof this time.
>You make a fake sleepy groan noise, opening your eyes fully and sitting up to face her.
>She backs up from you with a gulp, then furrows her brows again, her wings fanning out as she looks up at you.
>"Who are you? What're you doing in Hollow Shades?"
>She almost yells it at you.
>This bitch is cray.
"Who are you?"
>You raise a brow at her.
>"D-don't play stupid with me! I asked you first!"
>You scratch your chin, thinking of some way to play around with her.
"Yeah, but this is my house. So you first."
>She looks around, realizing where she is.
>Did she just waltz in here in a trance or some shit?
>"That doesn't count. This is my town, and your house is in my town! You first."
>Her town, huh?
"So this is your town? Does that make you the mayor? Didn't know I was talking with a government pony here."
>She scrunches.
>You think your heart might give out.
>"Yeah! I'm the uh, the mayor! So you'd better tell me who you are now or else!"
"Uhuh. Or else what?"
>She looks down at her hooves in thought before turning her head back up to you.
>"I'll uh. I'll repossess your home! Then you'll have to go live somewhere else, and you won't be able to terrorize our town anymore!"
>She begins breathing heavily, taking a step towards you as she furrows her brows harder.
>"O-on second thought, I'll go do that now! You'd better run away and stop scaring ponies, because the princess is going to send her guards to kick you out! Your reign of terror is over!"
>She moves even closer, her little wings fully erect now.
>If she weren't so adorable this might actually be scary.
>"What are you waiting for? R-run!"
>You bite your lip, holding back laughter.
"I dunno. This Hollow Shades place is real cozy. Plenty of potential pony slaves to do my bidding."
>You give her your best super villain grin.
>She gulps again, then backs up a step.
>"Y-you can't do that! Who do you think you are? Everyone in Hollow Shades is a free pony. You can't just round us all up as slaves! That's not fair! I-I won't let you! I'll fight you!"
>She stands up on her hind legs, giving her wings a little flap to keep herself upright as she swings her forehooves back and forth like she was a boxer getting ready to punch you out.
>You can't contain yourself any longer
>You fall on your back, bursting with laughter.
>You feel your eyes welling up with tears as you let it all out.
>You're cackling like a madman.
>The bat pony plops down onto her hooves, looking flustered as she watches you.
>"What's so funny?"
>Your laughter finally dies down and you wipe the tears from your eyes.
>You sit back up, looking down at her.
>You try to speak, but your words are still jumbled up with uncontrollable chuckling.
"You actually fell for that? Oh, man. You ponies are so gullible. I can't take it any more. C'mere, let me hug you."
>"W-what? No!"
>You just keep chuckling at her.
"Come on. Did you actually think I was here to enslave your whole town? Look at me, I don't even have one of your magic horn things, how would I manage that?"
>The bat pony scrunches her face up again.
>"But you're a big scary monster. Of course you're here to do something bad to the town!"
"Psh. That's racist. Just because I look different than you doesn't mean I'm a monster."
>You scoff at her with the last sentence.
>She looks down at her hooves and mumbles something at you.
>"But you made my sister cry."
>You thought this bat sort of looked familiar.
>It was Whisper's sister.
>You sigh.
>No wonder she was all pissed off at you.
>She must not have seen you two make up at the end.
"That wasn't my fault, she just overreacted when I brought your mom back to the inn. She was drunk and passed out, but Whisper thought she was dead."
>Her ears perk up at hearing her sister's name.
>"How do you know her name?"
"She told it to me?"
>She squints at you.
>"How do I know you didn't torture her for it?"
>You roll your eyes at her.
"Yeah. Right. Because if I was all about torturing people you'd totally be sitting there right now and not tied up in my secret torture dungeons."
>Her eyes widen.
>"You have a torture dungeon?"
>You facepalm.
>Hard.
>It actually hurt a bit.
"No. That was sarcasm. You know what? How about you go check for yourself. I'll stay here and finally get some sleep, and you can go home and see that your sister is fine. That sound cool?"
>"How do I know you won't run away to escape the crime scene as soon as I leave?"
"How this, how that. Why do kids have to ask so many questions? I just got plucked out of my world and thrown into this one less than a day ago, and I've got no way of going back. This house is just about the only thing I own anymore. Where do you think I'm gonna run off to? Now if you don't mind, I'm really tired, and I want some sleep."
>You emphasize your point by plopping your head back down onto your pillow and turning away from her.
>After about a minute you hear a sigh, and the light tap tap of hoofsteps makes its way out of your room.
>That was all you heard before you finally drifted off to sleep.

>You shift in your bed, yawning and stretching out as you awaken.
>Why was your bed so stiff?
>Oh, right.
>You were sleeping on the floor of your new house in Equestria.
>You open your eyes, and you can notice the tiniest bit of light finding its way through the canopy and into your bedroom window.
>It must not be night time yet.
>It definitely looked close to it, though.
>You yawn, closing your eyes again as you think over what happened to you yesterday.
>You really should be getting ready for your first day on the job right now.
>But then you remember that you don't actually have anything to do to get ready.
>All you have is a few changes of clothes.
>You sigh, deciding to rest for another few minutes.
>Wait, what was that noise?
>It sounded like... snoring.
>What the hell?
>You get up from your makeshift sleeping arrangement, stretching as you look around your bedroom.
>Nothing in here.
>You walk out of the room and into the hallway, then down to the living room.
>The sound of snoring grows louder.
>You stop as you step into your living room.
>The pony from last morning - Whisper's sister - is sleeping in your suitcase.
>She managed to get it open, and she's curled up like a cat on top of your extra sets of clothes.
>You stand there staring at her, and a smile breaks its way onto your lips.
>She was pretty cute sleeping like that.
>If really loud.
>Like damn, you don't know how her little body could make that much noise.
>You decide to wake her up to figure out why the hell she's still in your house.
>Walking up to her, you kneel over and begin scratching her withers.
>She makes a little squeaky "mrrr" noise as you do this.
>"Five more minutes..."
>She grumbles at you, her head instinctively pushing against your fingers as you scratch her.
>Suddenly her eyes dart open and lock onto you.
>"W-why are you touching me?"
"Trying to wake you up."
>She tries to pull her head away from you, but she's enjoying it too much.
>Her head keeps pushing into your hand.
>"S-stop..."
>You chuckle at her, moving your hand away.
>She clears her throat.
"So why are you still in my house?"
>She scrunches, looking down at her hooves.
>"I, uh. I had to... um... to make sure you didn't leave and... uh... murder anyone?"
"Yeah, sure you did. So, I'm gonna need you to not be inside of my suitcase. I sort of need those clothes."
>She looks down at the clothes, kneading them with her hooves.
>"But I'm still tired. Can't I just stay here for a bit longer?"
>She looks at you with pleading little bat eyes.
>Nope.jpg
>Not looking at that heart attack fuel.
>You pick her up, eliciting a "Kee!" from her.
>"Hey, what gives? Put me down!"
>Her little hooves flail through the air, trying to find the ground.
"I need to change."
>You walk her over to the hallway, putting her down outside the door and closing it.

>Walking back over to the suitcase, you pick out a black tank top and some jeans.
>You get started at undressing.
>There's a knock on the door to your bedroom.
>"Can I come back in yet?"
"I'm still changing. Why don't you just go home?"
>She doesn't respond.
>Maybe she left.
>You pull your jeans on, still not wearing a shirt.
>Then you hear the door creak open.
>You turn around to see what she wanted.
>Her eyes went wide as she stared at your bare chest.
>"O-oops."
>She slammed the door shut.
>Stupid silly bat horse.
>She isn't even wearing clothes, why is she getting embarrassed by you being shirtless?
>You slip your tank top on, stepping up to the door and opening it.
>She's just sitting there blushing and looking at the floor.
"You okay? You look like you just walked in on your mom having sex or something."
>"W-what? Thatsneverhappenedbeforewhywouldyoueversaythat?"
>Wat.
>"-Nothing."
>She scrunches, looking up at you.
>You scratch the back of your head
"So, you still haven't told me your name since you broke into my house."
>"It's Jubilee."
"Nice to meet you, Jubilee. I'm Anon."
>She paws at the floor with a hoof.
>"Hi, Anon."
"So, are you going to go home yet? I sort of have a job to go to..."
>"I-I can't just let you leave. I don't even know if you were lying to me last night yet or not. For all I know you're going to go eat somepony while I'm not watching."
>You sigh, rolling your eyes at her.
"Alright, bat horse. Let's go bring you to your sister, then."
>You walk past her, heading out your front door.
>Outside in the clearing you can see that the sun has set.
>There's nothing but the black backdrop of the night sky and a bunch of twinkling stars.
>"Hey, wait up!"
>Jubilee calls out to you as she trots behind you.
>You forgot her tiny little horse legs made it hard for her to keep up without having to run.
>You slow down a bit, letting her keep pace more easily as you continue down the road into town.

"Aren't your mom and sister going to be wondering where you've been all night? You are still a kid, right?"
>She coughs.
>"I'm not still a kid! I'm fifteen. And I usually stay away from home a lot; they won't be worrying..."
"Uhuh. You scared of your mom or something? Or do her drinking habits just embarrass you to be around?"
>You two were coming up on the residential area of Hollow Shades now, passing by a few early rising bat ponies.
>The one with the mango from yesterday is there, watching you.
>She was sucking on another mango.
>At least she wasn't freaking out this time.
>"I guess it's sort of annoying to be around her when she's like that. It's more because of the inn itself, though. I hate working there."
"Most people don't like their jobs. It's sort of something you just gotta deal with. Otherwise you aren't really going to be living that healthy of a life."
>"Do you?"
>Huh?
>"Enjoy your job, I mean."
>You think to yourself.
"Uh, I don't really know if I can answer that properly. I only really just got the job offer yesterday, so I don't have much to go on there. It is in the same area as I'd wanted to work back on my planet, though, so I'd guess I would sort of enjoy it."
>"That's nice. Hey, maybe I can work with you? Whatever you're doing is probably better than working at the inn."
"Uh..."
>You probably shouldn't tell her that your job was basically going to involve you fueling her mother's addiction.
>Besides, she wasn't even old enough to drink, right?
>You doubt she'd even be allowed in the bar.
"I dunno about that. You probably wouldn't like my line of work."
>You were passing by the tavern now, the inn just up the road."
>"Oh. Alright, then."
>She deflates a bit from your rejection.
>Why do these ponies need to be so damn cute
>Makes you feel so guilty whenever you even hurt their feelings a little.

>You push open the door to the inn, hunching over so you don't smack your face into the top of the doorway.
>Jubilee follows in behind you, and trots ahead into the inn.
>Whisper pops up from behind the counter like the first time you came in.
>"H-hi! W-welcome to The Nightsh- Oh. Hey, Jubilee. H-hi, Anonymous!"
>You give a little wave to Whisper as Jubilee hops up onto the counter with a flutter of her wings, talking with her sister.
>"Where's mom, Whisper?"
>Whisper turns to look back at the door to their quarters.
>"S-she's still asleep. W-wait. What were you doing with Anonymous? Were you with him a-all night? ... W-were you two doing... lewd things?"
>Now it's your turn to scrunch.
>What the fuck, Whisper.
>Jubilee is blushing.
>"W-what? No, Whisper! Why the hell would you think that?"
>"I j-just thought that b-because-"
>"Well stop thinking, then!"
>Jubilee grabs Whisper's head between her hooves, shaking it up and down until her eyes were bouncing all over the place.
>Whisper tries to pull away from her sister.
>"J-Jub- staa-aa-hp."
>You walk up to the two, picking them both up by the scruff and separating them.
"I don't know if your mother would approve of this or not, so I'm just gonna stop it now before she wakes up and blames me."
>Jubilee crosses her hooves over her chest, looking away from Whisper.
>"She started it."
>Whisper just looks down at the floor.
>"N-no I didn't..."
>Your stomach grumbles, and they both look up at you.
>Oh yeah, that's right.
>You didn't have breakfast because you didn't really have any food.
>"Whisper, you're sure he isn't gonna eat us, right?"
>Jubilee gulps.
"Hey, inns serve food, right? How much does breakfast cost?"
>"W-well. Usually w-we don't serve food to p-ponies who aren't staying a-at the inn, b-but since you helped our m-mom..."
>"Dibs on not cooking it."
>Jubilee flaps her wings to get out of your grip, and let let the two of them go.
"So how much am I going to owe you?"
>"Y-you can have it for free t-today. Y-you were nice to my mom a-and didn't get m-m-mad at me when I... bit y-you..."
>Thinking about that makes the sore spot on your forearm act up again.
>Damn she got those little fuckers in deep.
"That's real nice of you, Whisper. Thanks."
>You give her a warm smile.
>"I-it's n-nothing. Just wait out h-here at one of the tables and i'll b-bring it when it's done. I h-have to wake my m-mom anyways."
>She trots off to her living quarters, disappearing behind the door.
>You look around the bar, but Jubilee is nowhere to be seen.
>Maybe she snuck back outside while you were talking to Whisper.
>You wonder how she manages to not get kidnapped while she's out all alone like that.
>You sigh and take a seat at the table closest to the bar.
>You wonder how they manage to make a living here.
>So far you haven't seen a single person other than yourself come or go from this place.
>You decide to rest your eyes while you wait for your food to come out.

>The sound of a door opening causes you to open your eyes.
>A very tired and hungover looking Aquamarine walks out from the door behind the bar and walks up to your table.
>"G'night."
>She mumbles sleepily.
>You wonder why she was saying bye when she just sat down next to you, then remember that night was the new morning here.
>She drags her stool closer to you so it was nearly pressed up against the one you were sitting on.
>Hopping up onto her seat, she sighed, resting her head against your side.
>The fuck?
"Uh. Why're you leaning on me?"
>"Cause I'm still tired and my head kills. Why else? Why, are you gay or something? Don't like mares touching you?"
"I dunno. Your daughter Whisper is real timid, though. Aren't you afraid you're gonna embarrass her when she comes in?"
>"Shut up, Anon. Let me have my fun."
>You decided not to reply, shaking your head and sighing.
>This world was going to take some getting used to.
>Sitting there with Aquamarine leaning on your side, you wait for your breakfast to get you started on your first day of work in a new world.
>Hopefully Whisper wouldn't take too long, You were starting to feel a bit awkward here.

>Aquamarine sighs, sitting upright and scooting her stool a small distance away from yours.
>Not ten seconds later, Whisper comes through the door with two plates in tow.
>Damn, Aquamarine either timed that perfectly or just has a really good sense of hearing.
>Remembering that she's basically a bat, you assume it's the latter.
>Whisper walks up to your table, using her wings to place the plates on the table before the two of you.
>"O-order up!"
>You readjust your plate to be closer to you on the table.
"Thanks, Whisper."
>It looked like she made you a plate of scrambled eggs with some toast on the side.
>She gives you a proud smile as she waits for you to taste it.
>Damn, this seating was really awkward.
>The table was really low to the ground, given it was made to be pony sized.
>Your knees were higher up than the table was.
>Hopefully you don't get a sore back from having to lean over so far.
>Then you realize you don't have a fork.
>How did she expect you to eat this?
>You look over at Aquamarine, who's digging into her eggs with her face.
>How is she managing to do that without having anything left over on her muzzle?
>"Anon? Is something wrong with the f-food?"
>Uh-oh, you made her sad.
>She's looking up at you as if she's about to tear up.
"Nope, it's fine!"
>You pick up a piece of toast and use it as a makeshift spoon, taking a bite of eggs and toast.
"Mmmmm."
>Now that you think about it, it must have been an entire day since you last ate.
>And these eggs were delicious.
>You begin stuffing your face with eggs and toast.
>Whisper beams at you, enjoying the fact that you liked her eggs.
>After you finish the eggs, Whisper takes your plate back through the door.
>Aquamarine is still stuffing her face into her eggs, floating a slice of toast beside her head and occasionally taking a bite from it.
>You decide it's probably about time to leave, since you don't want to be late for work.
"Hey, Aquamarine. Could you tell Whisper I had to go? I don't want to keep my boss waiting. I just don't want her to think I left because I didn't want to be around you guys or anything."
>She gave an affirmative grunt.
"Thanks."
>You get up from your seat, walking towards the front door.

>The door to the tavern creaks open as you bend over to fit through the doorway.
>There's nobody here aside from your boss at the back of the bar, wiping down the counter.
>Now that you think about it, you never actually asked for his name.
>He waves at you with a wing as you enter the tavern.
"Aey, b0ss."
>You call out to greet him as you approach the bar.
"So I never actually caught your name yesterday. Sorta thought I should ask so I know what you want me to call you."
>"Boss is fine. You'll be doing more interaction with the patrons than with me, anyways."
>He nodded over to a door labelled "Cellar".
>"The main product ponies order here is cider. We go through between one or two barrels a day. Other drinks are usually less common, so we get them as they're ordered. Usually I have a group of young stallions carry the barrels up for me, but then they expect some free cider in return. You're gonna get down there and bring me up two barrels. Take your time, most ponies won't turn up for another few hours, but there are a few regulars that practically live here."
>You give him a quick salute, heading off to the cellar.
>Stepping through the doorway, you head down the wooden stairs into the dank cellar.
>It smells like campfire in here, despite the obvious lack of fire.
>Or light.
>It takes your eyes a while to adjust to how dark it is in here.
>How the hell does this guy see shit down here?
>Walking past the rows of barrels, you bend over to inspect one.
>You can just barely make out the black print labeling it as "CIDER" in the minuscule lighting that's available to you.
>Bingo.
>Standing up, you head over to the end of the row closest to the stairs.
>These barrels were actually pretty large, and you wondered how the ponies even managed to carry them.
>It must be at least four and a half feet from top to bottom.
>You'd think they would just magic them up the stairs or something, but then you remember that pretty much nobody in this town had a horn save for Aquamarine.
>Wonder why that was?
>Bending your legs, you get your arms around the girthy barrel.
>Your body flexes as you straighten your legs, re-positioning your hands to be beneath the barrel for better grip.
>Fucking hell this thing was heavy.
>You really hoped you wouldn't end up falling down and killing yourself what with the stairs and lack of light.
>Cautiously, you begin walking back towards the stairs, making sure not to collide with anything that might cause you to lose your footing.
>Eventually you make it up the stairs with the barrel, bringing it through the doorway and into the light.
>Boss is washing up some pint glasses and points with his wing to a spot behind the bar that looked to have been used to keep barrels of cider before, judging by the circular stains on the floor of about the same size.
>You carry the enormous thing over, carefully planting it onto the ground.
>You release a breath, breathing heavily as you wipe sweat from your brow.
>It was a good thing you chose to wear a tank top today, otherwise you'd probably be sweating all over from the heat of your body.
>Alright, Anon, just one more to go.
>You could do it.
>Even if your arms already were sore.
>How fucking much did that thing weigh?
>It felt like it was at least two hundred pounds.
>It was definitely bigger than any beer cask you'd ever seen back home.
>As you turn around to go back for the second keg, you notice the first few ponies coming into the tavern.
>They were all looking at you nervously.
>Those must be all the "regulars".
>You give a short hailing nod to the bat ponies as you pass by, heading down into the cellar again.
>You head over to the row where you'd grabbed the first cask, warming up to grab the second one and allowing your eyes a moment to adjust to the lighting again.
>You heave up the second barrel of cider, taking a deep breath as you start back towards the stairs.

>As you come through the cellar door, you notice a familiar voice at the bar.
>"Aww come on, Gloam. Can't you just break tradition this one time? I could really use some of that cider right about now."
>Aquamarine was there chatting up the Boss.
>"Aqua, you know I always open the one on the right first, lass. You're just gonna have to wait for the second barrel to make its way up."
>She groaned.
>"Fiiine. Tell those stallions to hurry up, then."
>You hobble on by with the keg, bringing it over to the place where you had put the other one down.
>This time you let it hit the floor with a less gracious thud, as your arms were already protesting from the weight.
"Phew."
>You take a few deep breaths, pulling the bottom of your top up to wipe your forehead off.
>You absentmindedly wonder why Aquamarine and the Boss stopped talking.
>Turning around, you notice Boss is back to drying off glasses, and Aquamarine...
>Aquamarine is just staring at you with a glazed look on her eyes and her jaw wide open.
>And is that drool coming from her mouth?
>Damn, she must be really thirsty for some cider.
"Oh, hey, Aquamarine. Didn't expect to see you here so soon."
>You walk over to her from the serving side of the counter, leaning against the bar.
"So how are the girls doing?"
>She comes to her senses and snaps her mouth shut.
>On her tongue.
>Her eyes go wide with pain as she does this, making a muffled whimper as she slowly pulls it back into her mouth.
"You, uh... alright?"
>"Mphmmhmm"
>She nods at you, blushing.
>Boss calls to you from the sink, and you look over at him.
>"Anon, I'm going to head out for a couple hours to run some errands and stock up on the good stuff. Watch the place for me, will you? Anybody comes to the bar you give them what they want, and try your best to make them want something if they don't. Prices are beneath the counter."
"Alright, b0ss. Got it."
>He comes close to you, motioning for you to lean in so he can tell you something.
>You do so and he whispers to you.
>"And, Anon. I know I hired ye' as a bouncer on the side, but try not to rough anyone up too bad if they start a fight. I know just about everyone in this town, and they're all good ponies. Sometimes they just need a little setting straight, so just toss em out and make sure they go on their way without breaking any bones."
>You nod affirmatively.
"Aye aye, cap'n"
>He walks off, leaving the tavern to go do whatever "errands" meant.
>You sigh, turning back to Aquamarine and leaning against the bar again.
>She was just staring at you again.
>These bat ponies must take a while to adjust to new faces.
>Aquamarine clears her throat, sitting straighter in her seat.
>"So, Anon. You must be /really/ strong to be able to pick up a big barrel of cider like that."
>She almost coos it at you, biting her lower lip.
>D'aww, she was so cute when she tried to flirt.
>At least now you know why she was staring at you earlier.
"Yeah, I guess I worked out a bit back before I got pulled into Equestria. Why?"
>"You know, I've got a room on the top floor of the inn that needs some new furnishing. I'd /really/ appreciate a strong stallion like you helping me out with it..."
>Seriously have no idea why people keep referring to you as a horse.
>You were pretty sure you looked nothing like one.
"Sure, why not?"
>She makes an excited "Keee" at this.
>Remembering what Boss had said, you decide to change the topic of the conversation.
"So, you want something to drink?"
>"Yes, please. One pint of cider."
>You turn around, grabbing one of the pint glasses and filling it with cider from the barrel on the right.
>You place the cider down infront of her and raise a brow.
>"Thanks, Anon."
>She smiles at you and begins chugging the golden fluid.
>You clear your throat.
"You gonna pay for that?"
>She puts down her drink, giving you the biggest set of pleading bat pony eyes she can muster.
>"P-pay?"
>You try to deadpan at her, but she's too adorable like that.
>Instead you look away.
"Yeah, it says here that a pint of cider is uh..."
>You stop as you look at the piece of paper beneath the counter.
>The words "PUT IT ON AQUA'S TAB" are in bold at the top of the page.
>You look back up at her, and she's already got a sly smirk on her face.
>Her glass is completely empty.
"'Nother."
>She slurs out at you, giving a tiny "hic" as punctuation.
>This was gonna be a long work day.

>You sigh, walking out of the tavern after your first day of work.
>Despite how excited you were before it all started, you were actually glad to be out of there.
>The majority of the bat ponies didn't want to strike up conversation with you, so you were stuck either sitting alone or having to deal with Aquamarine's lewdness.
>Speaking of Aquamarine...
>She was skipping along ahead of you drunkenly, singing some sort of pony song at the top of her lungs.
>It sounded a lot more like she was just screaming than actually singing.
>You start to feel bad knowing that you'd actively contributed to her alcoholism.
>Especially since you knew Jubilee didn't really enjoy it.
>You couldn't imagine Whisper was any more thrilled by her habits either.
>She quiets down as you reach the inn, and then swings the door open for you.
>Following her in, you notice Whisper at the counter, and she's actually talking to what you assume is a group of customers.
>They were a family of 5 ponies of varying colours.
>There was something strange about them, though.
>That was it: none of them had bat wings or horns.
>They must have been regular ponies, then.
>After all, Luna did say that this was a town of bat ponies, and a quick look at all the locals pretty much confirmed that.
>That must mean there were a lot more different ponies someplace else.
>Whisper gives you and Aquamarine a wave before turning back to the customers.
>"Follow meeee."
>Aquamarine calls drunkenly to you as she ascends the stairs to the hotel rooms.
>There were actually quite a few floors to this place.
>Once you've reached the fifth, you assume it's the top floor, as there aren't any more stairs going up.
>This place is pretty well insulated; you can't hear the group of ponies that were downstairs at all.
>Aquamarine giddily hops along, still in a drunken stupor.
>She points a hoof at a set of sofas at the end of the hallway.
>"Y'gotta put 'em inside the room. B'side th-hic- the bed."
>You nod.
"Which room?"
>She looks up at you like you just asked her how to get to the moon and back.
>Then her eyes widen in realization.
>"Oh. Did I not open th' door already?"
>She hobbles along, kicking the door at the end of the hall on the right wide open.
>"Ta-daa!"
>The door bounces off of the door stopper and smacks her in the rump.
>She falls over on her face.
>You can't help but giggle at her.
"Sure you didn't have one too many drinks back at the bar?"
>You hear a muffled reply.
>"Mpfshuddub."
>She sits back up, scrunching at you.
>You walk over, opening the door like a civilized person and looking into the room.
>There's a bed pressed up against the center of the wall.
>You assume she wants one sofa on either side of it.
>You make short work of the job, though your muscles protest somewhat because of the workout from earlier.
>Finishing up, you make sure the sofas are lined up in an aesthetically pleasing way before walking out the door and closing it.
>Aquamarine is sitting there staring at you with a grin on her face.
>"So, you must want some pay for that, huh?"
>She was offering you bits for your work, too?
>Sweet.
"Yeah, sure. I'll take whatever I can get."
>She pretends to look in pockets that she doesn't have, then makes a pouty face up at you.
>"Uh-oh, Anon. I don't seem to have any bits. How ever will I repay you for this?"
>Oh god no.
"You could always pay me back late-"
>"Anon. I meant, how /ever/ could I repay you for your services?"
>She leaves her mouth hanging open after she finishes speaking, letting the pearly whites of her top row of teeth and fangs show as she puts her hoof up to her mouth in "thought".
>You gulp.
>Why the hell did this pony have to have the hots for you?
>Sure they were fluffy and cute, but you don't think you'd be able to stick it in one of them.
>Especially not after knowing her for like, a day at the most.
"I know what you meant, Aquamarine."
>"Weeeeeell?"
"No."
>She frowns at you.
>"Oh come on. This isn't about the girls, is it? I promise they won't hear. Look, I can yell out for Whisper right now and she won't hear a thing."
>To demonstrate this, she closes her eyes and takes in a deep breath, then screams Whisper's name at the top of her lungs, putting as much pissed-off-soundingness as possible into it.
>You're sure if Whisper had heard that she would come running.
>But there's nothing.
>"See?"
>She smiles slyly at you.
>You sigh.
>"It's not that, Aqua. It's just that I've only really known you for a day now, and in my culture that's not exactly something most people do so casually. Sorry."
>She reluctantly sighs, giving up.
>"No, you're right. You're actually one of the nicest stallions I've met in a long time, Anon. I dunno why I expected you to be as lustful as I am. I'm sorry for asking."
>You nod, beginning to walk off for the stairs.
>"Anon?"
>You stop, turning around.
"Yeah?"
>"I really should pay you for helping me out, though. I don't want you to feel like you're a slave or something."
>You nod again, and follow after her as she heads down the stairs.
>Maybe she wasn't so bad after all.

>The main lobby of the inn was once again empty save for Whisper.
>She smiles at the two of you as you approach the counter.
>"Whisper, hon. I need the money."
>Whisper eyes her mother nervously.
>"Why?"
>Aquamarine looks between you and Whisper.
>"I need to pay Anon for his- *hic*... services."
>You almost forgot she was shitfaced drunk.
>Whisper's eyes go wide.
"S-services?"
>She looks up at you skeptically.
"I helped her move some sofas around."
>"Oh."
>Whisper smiles up at you.
>"H-how much do you want me to take out, mom?"
>Aquamarine hums in thought.
>There seems to be a bit of a groan hidden beneath it.
>Was she already starting to feel the tail end of all her drinking?
>"Would 40 bits do it, Anon? I'm sure that's enough for the work you did."
>Honestly you felt like you didn't even deserve pay for the work.
>All you did was move a couple of seats.
>But hey, you're only human, and you need the money.
"Yeah, that's plenty."
>Aquamarine smiles, nodding at Whisper.
>"O-okay. Just a minute!"
>Whisper trots off through the door to the family's apartment.
>You look down at Aquamarine, raising a brow.
"Your daughter handles the money for you, too?"
>She rolls her eyes at you.
>"Don't remind me. She makes sure it's somewhere where I can't find it. Honestly I've given up trying to sneak up on her when she goes to get it. Somehow it always manages to be somewhere other than where I see her taking it from."
>You snicker.
"Maybe it's for the best. You'd probably blow it all on drinks if you could get your hooves on it."
>Damn that was savage.
>You hope you didn't just make her feel shit about herself by saying that.
>She scrunches, then forces a smile, scratching the back of her head with a hoof.
>"Yeah... hah..."
>There's an awkward silence before Whisper bursts through the door with a brown bag in her mouth.
>"Hrmmph ers vee brrts."
>She's finding it a bit hard to speak with that in her mouth.
>Hopping up onto her stool, she spits the bag out onto the counter with a squeaky "Pwegh".
>The bag catches on one of her little fangs and she has to push at it with her hooves to nudge it free.
>"Sorry."
"It's all right, Whisper. I'm grateful that you're even giving me anything at all."
>She smiles up at you.
>"O-okay."
>You pocket the bits, beginning to head out.
"I've gotta go for today, girls. Have to grab some things to make my house more livable. I'll see you around."
>"See you, Anon."
>They both wave at you as you leave.

>The cool night air envelops you as you step out from the inn.
>Your current attire wasn't exactly the best thing to be walking around in at this hour.
>You had to go home and figure out what you'd need to furnish the house with anyways.
>May as well put something warmer on while you were there.
>As you walk down the dimly lit streets of Hollow Shades, you can't help but think back to the incident with Aquamarine not twenty minutes ago.
>Did she really want to do... /that/ with you?
>Or was it just the alcohol talking?
>For all you knew, Aqua's family was basically completely split apart.
>Whisper clearly didn't trust Aquamarine at all with running the inn or taking car of herself.
>Jubilee didn't like being around her family at all for whatever reason, considering you hadn't seen her stay longer than a couple minutes at the inn.
>What time she did spend there was trying her best to argue with her sister.
>And whoever their father was probably wouldn't ever be coming around, considering that Aquamarine was actively looking around for somebody to bed.
>Part of you wished you'd never bumped into her at the bar in the first place.
>Your better half felt like it was your job to somehow fix things for these ponies.
>After all, you never really amounted to much back on Earth.
>Your parents kicked you out the first chance they got, and you never even made it past your first year of college.
>Hell, you hadn't ever even held a relationship together longer than a month or two.
>It's not like anybody on Earth would miss you being gone.
>This was your new life now, and you're damn well going to do it the right way this time.
>You come to the realization that you've walked through the whole town, and now find yourself in the clearing before your home.

>As you are walking up the path to your house you hear a rustling in the leaves above.
>You look up, and immediately regret that decision.
>A ball of fluff is plummeting down at your face, flapping it's wings fruitlessly.
>It lets out a terrified "KEeeee!" as it collides with you.
>In an attempt to move your head away from the poofy bullet you end up falling flat on your ass as it collides with you.
>The flustered bat pone flops off of your face, now laying on your chest.
>She sits up, leaning over your head.
>It's Jubilee.
>"Oh. Hey, Anon."
>She grins at you sheepishly.
>You frown at her, spitting out some of the fur that got stuck in your mouth when she fell on you.
"What the hell were you doing up there, Jubilee?"
>She laughs nervously.
>"I was uh... napping."
>You sigh as you sit up, causing her to roll off of your chest into a mass of limbs on the ground before you.
>She screes at you as she goes rolling.
>"H-hey, what gives?"
>She harrumphed, rolling herself upright.
>"So where are you going, Anon?"
"Home."
>You stand up, dusting off your jeans.
>"What about after that?"
"Who says there's an after that?"
>She snorts at you.
>"Pfft. There's like five hours left in the night, and you've got nothing to do in your house. Of course there's gonna be an after that."
>You roll your eyes.
>"So can I come?"
>You sigh.
"You should go home, Jubilee. Your family is probably worrying about you, even if you don't think so."
>"Yeah, yeah. I'll go say hi in the morning. So where are we going?"
>You give in, turning to face her.
"First I'm going to my house to put something warmer on and check out what I really need to buy for the place. Then I'm gonna head out and actually buy that stuff. Boring stuff that you probably won't enjoy doing."
>"Sounds like fun."
"Uhuh."

>It took almost an hour of Jubilee arguing with you about how you needed a lot more furniture, despite your protests of only having so much money.
>But you finally managed to convince her that all you really needed right now was some sort of cooking surface, a fridge, and a bed.
>Oh, and food, of course.
>The house already had running water, so you wouldn't have to worry about that.
>You step out of your house, now wearing a black hoodie over your tank top from earlier.
>Jubilee is following behind you, occasionally flapping her wings and fluttering around the trees playfully.
"Say, Jubilee, where can I get furniture from in Hollow Shades, anyways?"
>She stops playing, floating in front of your face and flying backwards as she spoke to you.
>"Uhhh, There's a place called I-*Kee*-A that mom usually gets furniture for our hotel rooms from."
>How the hell did they just happen to have a furniture store with that similar a name to the one back home?
>You snicker at the adorable bat-like pronunciation anyways.
>You were pretty sure that "kee" sound was part of some sort of secret bat pony language or something.
>"What're you laughing at?"
"Nothing. Come on, show me the way to the furniture store."
>She salutes, flapping her little wings to keep herself aloft as she lead you onward.
>"Yes, sir, Anon, sir!"
>One day these girls were going to manage to give you a heart attack.

>You're in a part of town that you've never been before.
>Which isn't all that surprising, given that the extent of your visits to town was walking down a single road that lead from your house.
>It only takes a few minutes to get to the "I-*Kee*-A" from your home.
>It's considerably smaller than the similarly named superstore on Earth.
>Probably about double the size of one of those shoddy "Antique" shops you see around tourist cities all the time.
>And similarly decorated, too.
>Most if not all of the furniture is made of dark woods carved into Gothic style designs.
>You look over some of the price tags, and have to double take.
>A pretty large hand carved coffee table was only 60 bits.
>What the hell?
>You were pretty sure bits were about the equivalent of the dollar back home.
>The drinks at the bar definitely reflected that.
>These ponies were crazy to sell this stuff for so cheap.
>At this rate, you might actually be able to furnish your house pretty well after a while.
>It seemed like a lot of the ponies in town came by the bar, and you were being paid well.
>An eight hour day got you just over a 400 bit cut out of the day's income.
>Then again, having an alien as staff did bring in a lot more patrons than usual.
>At least that was what Boss had told you.
>You take a look around the rest of the store, looking for some sort of fridge or stove.
>You can't find either one for the life of you, but manage to find a nice king sized bed for only a hundred bits.
>You call over the shop owner, a plump looking bat pony mare who's wings were definitely way too tiny to carry her around anywhere.
>Her wings instinctively flapping as she trotted over, as if that would make her move faster.
>Damnit, man, even the mildly obese ones were adorable.
>"Hello, Sir! Are you that Alien been poking around town? I saw you at the tavern earlier tonight!"
>She squeaked giddily at you, grasping your hand with her hoof and giving it a shake.
"Uh, yeeeeaaah. So I was looking at this bed here for my house. Also wanted a stove and a fridge, but I didn't manage to find one myself. You guys got any of those around?"
>Her wings flapped harder as her eyes widened.
>"A stove? But there's one right over there!"
>She points at a black wooden looking thing with four stone plates along the top of it.
>The stove was made of wood? That couldn't be even remotely safe.
>"And a fridge? Hmmm."
>She looked around the shop, sratching her chin with a hoof."
>"Will any fridge do? I'm sure we must have one around in the back of the shop, I can have it sent to your house along with the stove and bed!"
>She squeaks at you as she smiles.
"Yeah, that sounds fine. So how much is this gonna total up to?"
>"F-for you? Well, you can have the VIP discount. So that means it'll total 120 bits!"
>She smiled with a glimmer in her eyes, wings flapping so fast that you swear you saw her hooves leave the ground briefly.
>What was with all these ponies trying to impress you?
"Thanks."
>You pull out the 100 bit sack, and count out 20 more bits from another pouch to put in with it, then hand it to her.
>"Thank you, sir! I'll have your purchased items delivered to your house within the hour!"
>She smiled at you as she trotted off, swaying her thick hips just a little bit too much.
>Damn that horse was jiggly.
>You give your brain a mental slap across the face.
>Stop thinking about that shit, Anon.

>You and Jubilee leave the furniture shop, and you follow after her as she hovers at eye level, guiding you to the grocery store.
"So what kind of food does this place sell, anyways?"
>She scrunches up her face in thought.
>"Well. There's a lot of fruit. You know, mangoes, apples, oranges, mangoes, watermelon, pears, mangoes, strawberries, mangoes..."
>She taps her chip.
>"Oh-oh! Did I mention mangoes?!"
>She was practically drooling at this point.
>She must really like mangoes.
"Uh, yeah. More than once."
>Her ears press flat against her head as she scratches her mane.
>"Heh, sorry. I really like mangoes, is all."
"So there's nothing but fruit there?"
>"O-oh! There's also stuff like bread, eggs, vegetables, blood packs, meat... mangoes."
>Blood packs?
>What the fuck?
>More importantly: Meat!
>Your eyes glaze over as you snatch Jubilee from the air and stare into her face.
"They sell meat?"
>"Uh, yeaaaah?"
>She gives a sheepish grin.
"What the hell are you waiting for, Jubilee? Fly your ass over to that grocery store!"
>You toss her into the air, giving her a completely nonsexual smack on the rump to get her going.
>"K-keee!"
>She squeaks as her wings get going, flapping with all their might.
>Her face is redder than you ever thought possible.
>You chase after her, eager to buy some of that delicious bacon you've been missing.

>Jubilee finally stops, flopping to the floor in a panting heap before a store labeled "General".
>Her wings are still slowly flapping even though she's on the ground.
>She points up at the shop.
>"Food..."
>She pants scratchily, gulping down as much air as she could between words.
>"In..."
>heave.
>"There."
>Her head plops face down into the grass, and you give her a pat on the head for her effort.
"Thanks, Jubilee."
>She grabs your ankle with a hoof before you can leave.
>"Anon... Mango..."
"Got it."
>You walk off into the grocery store, looking through the aisles for that which you desired.
>You grin as you see the meat aisle at the end of the shop.
>Giving out a gleefully triumphant laugh-cry, you run off towards the succulent meaty goodness.

>You step out of the grocery store with two handfuls of paper bags in tow.
>The bag on your left is full of assorted vegetables, fruit, and some spices and oils.
>The one on the right is full to the brim with glorious meat.
>You're pretty sure you almost bought out the shop's small supply.
>Sausages, bacon, steaks, ribs.
>You had it all.
>Man you can't wait to get these home and have a proper meal.
>Jubilee hops off of the ground where she had been waiting for you.
>"Anon! What took so long? Did you get it? Did you!?"
>She flutters up onto your shoulder, peering down into the fruit/veggies bag.
>Jubilee gasps, then dives into the tall paper bag, writhing around in it.
"Hey, be careful. Don't spill it all, now."
>Her head pops out of the top of the now bloated bag, and she has a small mango stuffed as far into her mouth as possible.
>Which isn't very far, given that the mango was more than half the size of her head.
>Her neck is clearly struggling with the weight of holding it in her mouth, but she seems happy nonetheless.
>Her wings flap excitedly.
>"Fhankz, Uhnohn!"
>Jubilee slurps on the mango as she begins to drool around it.
>She decides that the paper grocery bag is more comfortable than walking on the ground, and stays inside of it for the walk back to your house.

>Upon arriving, you notice that the furniture you purchased from I-*Kee*-A had already arrived sometime earlier.
>You step into your home and Jubilee hops out of the bag, still suckling on the mango.
>Was it just you, or did that fruit look... deflated?
>Was that even possible?
>Jubilee followed close behind you as you made your way to the house's living room/kitchen.
"Jubilee, don't you have mangoes back at the Nightshade? Why did you make me buy them for you?"
>She blushes, taking a long slurp from the mango before spitting it out into her hooves with a "pfweh" noise.
>"Uhh. Mom doesn't usually buy mangoes. Can't say I know why not... heh heh heh."
>She has a mock innocent look on her face.
>You wonder what all the fuss was about mangoes.
>Probably some weird bat pony custom.
"She afraid they're gonna give you cavities or something? Or is that not a thing in this word? Mangoes do have a lot of sugar in them, you know."
>"Yeeaaaah. That's why! But you can be like, that cool foalsitter that lets me eat them anyways, right?"
>She puts on her most pleading smile, her eyes widening to maximum cute overdrive.
>How can you argue with that face?
"Sure, Jubilee. Uh... foalsitter? Aren't you a bit old for one of those?"
>She blushes, turning her head away.
>"Y-yeah. I didn't mean it like /that/. I'm a cool pony."
>She says this as she blows on a tuft of her swirly bangs and rolls her eyes at you.
>You snicker at her.
"Totally."
>She scrunches, following close behind you as you head towards the exit of your house for your new furniture.
>If your time in the construction business back on Earth meant anything here, you were expecting this to be a huge pain in the ass.
>Everything they made was wood, and wood had the tendency to be deceivingly heavy.
>Especially when it was as solid as that stove and bed had seemed to be.

>It took you over half an hour of swapping between dragging the furniture and taking breaks to cool off, but you finally got your small kitchen/dining area set up.
>After she realized that moving your furniture would take a while and she wasn't going to be much use, Jubilee went back to do whatever Jubilee does in her free time.
>You decide to have a small dinner today, making some broccoli and onion stir fry with a bit of sausage mixed in.
>It's only been a couple days, but you still missed the taste of meat a lot.
>The fact that you were in a completely different world now made everything seem like it was going by so slowly.
>There was still a few hours left in the night, so you decided to start running the water for a bath.
>You wished they had given you a shower instead, since that would take a lot less time; you were still grateful that there was at least some sort of cleaning station thrown in for free, though.
>Sighing into the warm bath, you think over everything that had happened earlier today.
>Aquamarine trying to come on to you, Jubilee being strangely attached to you for all the time she spent away from her family.
>At least Whisper seemed to be reasonably composed.
>You'd never really asked what happened to their father, but you'd only known the girls for two days now.
>Best not go prying that far into their personal lives.
>Then again, they were already warming up to you pretty well for being people you'd only known for a short time.
>Now that you think about it, pretty much everyone in this world had been that way.
>Once they got past the fact that you were completely different - and somewhat imposing - than them physically, they were all really friendly.
>It must just be how people were in this world.
>Everything here seemed so much more innocent than back on Earth.
>For all you knew, this town was some sort of slum here in Equestria.
>Well, you were pretty sure it was a slum, anyways.
>Everything was creepy, the ponies were all nocturnal, and they were ruled by the black princess horse of the night.
>That shit had sketch written all over it.
>Yet at the same time, this place would put upper class America to shame with how civilized it was.
>You try not to waste too much time in the bath, cleaning yourself off as you think.
>You decide you were going to pay a visit to the Nightshade before the night was over.
>There was nothing to do at this house anyways, and they were pretty much the only friends you had on this planet.

>You yawn as you walk through town on the road connecting your house to the Nightshade.
>Feeling clean was nice, but a warm shower also makes you a bit tired.
>You stifle another yawn as you step through the door to the inn.
>There's nobody in the lobby, but you can hear muffled voices from the door behind the bar.
>As you get closer, you can more clearly make out the sound of Jubilee and Aquamarine yelling at one another, but you can't tell what they're saying.
>Shit, you should probably get out of here now; nothing good could come from you snooping around right now.
>Instead you decide to get in closer, pressing your ear against the door.
>The yelling was crystal clear, now, and you could hear Jubilee screaming at the top of her lungs.
>"...who do you think you are, anyways? You come in here shitfaced after spending half your day at the bar every single night! All you do is spend all the money that you do none of the work for, and it's not like we have all that much to begin with!"
>"You listen here, young lady. Who do you think I am? I'm your mother! Maybe if you'd actually spend some time around home instead of out fucking Luna knows who, you'd actually know what's going on around here. Maybe then I wouldn't have to worry so much about you and drink myself out of my mind to forget about it!"
>Jubilee lets out a laugh positively dripping with venom.
>"Oh please, mom. If I came around more often? Who the fuck are you kidding? Do you think I don't watch you as you come and go from that honky tonk every single night!? Don't you fucking dare try to put the blame on me just because I have the decency to stay away from this place so I don't scare the shit out of Whisper by doing this with you! Fuck, I don't know why I even bothered coming in the first place."
>The voices are moving closer to the door now.
>Shit shit shit.
>You really shouldn't have stayed here.
>You hastily back away as Jubilee bursts through the door, tears in her eyes and wings flapping furiously.
>She stops briefly as her eyes fall on you.
>"And, /you/. Don't think I'm not catching on to how you're feeding my mother's shit fucking obsession with alcohol. I can't believe I let you fucking con me into coming back to this Tartarus damned shithole."
>She let out a raging screech to punctuate herself as she pushed past you, nearly throwing the door to the inn off its hinges.
>Looking back behind the bar, you see Aquamarine just sitting there watching.
>Was this your fault?
"Don't just stand there, Aqua! You're not just gonna let your kid run out like that!"
>She shakes her head at you as she turns away, closing the door with her magic.
>Fuck that horse.
>You turn to the door to the inn, running out after Jubilee.

>You feel the chill of the early morning air through your thin layer of clothing as you burst out from the Nightshade.
>Your eyes dart from side to side, searching for any hint of where Jubilee had gone.
>You catch a glimpse of the end of a minty green tail dip around the corner of a house down the street.
"Jubilee! Wait!"
>You break into a full sprint as you call out for her, determined to get to the bottom of this.
>You round the corner after her, straight into an alley between two shops.
>Jubilee is standing atop a scaffold near the end of the alley, staring back at you.
>"Leave me alone!"
>She punctuates her words with a piercing screech as she takes off into the air, flying past the scaffold which blocks your way.
>You cover your ears and cringe at the noise.
>It feels as if the very sound reverberates through your muscles and locks them down.
>You regain control of yourself as the sound fades into the distance and ultimately cuts off.
>Reviving the chase, you quickly climb the scaffold and run in the direction which she had last been flying in.
>You know she could've turned anywhere by now, but you had to try.
>Part of you hoped that she was just testing your loyalty, and would let you catch her in the end.
>As the chase takes you past countless more alleyways, you begin to feel a throbbing in your chest.
>You taste the iron on your breath as your lungs struggle to keep up with oxygenating the blood your muscles need.
>Your eyes water from the pain, but you press onward.
>With each passing set of buildings your eyes dart from side to side, searching the roads for any sign of Jubilee.
>It reminds you of when you were a kid, lost in the grocery store and running down the aisles looking for your mother.
>Except this time you were even more afraid than as a child.
>Your legs joined the crying of your lungs as they grew tired from the prolonged exertion of the chase.
>Finally after what seems like dozens of streets having gone by, you come to a halt.
>Jubilee stands down the road on your right, panting.
>Her wings are still erect, but drooping at her sides.
>She turns her head to look back, and her eyes widen as she sees you.
>You can't bring yourself to run the next hundred feet towards her, as your legs refuse to move.
"Let's just talk about this, Jubilee!"
>She glares back at you, her wings standing at attention once again as she yells in response.
>"I don't want to talk, Anon. Go home!"
>She turns tail and breaks into a gallop, beating her wings hard and taking off down the road.
>Down the road that lead out into the woods.
>There was no possible way that that could be good.
>You groan as you force your legs to push forward, starting down the road after her.

>You're not sure how long it's been since you left town chasing after Jubilee.
>You were sure it had to have been at least half an hour.
>Somewhere around the five minute mark your body had decided to shut down almost entirely, forcing you to keep up a slow jog as opposed to running.
>You were practically heaving, your every breath catching in your throat as you press on.
>This lasts for another few minutes before you collapse, falling to your knees as your lungs try to swallow as much air as they can.
>You slump backwards into a laying position, looking up at the canopy.
>You were now in a densely wooded forest area, and the canopy above was so thick that you couldn't see any hint of the backdrop of the sky.
>So thick even that you swore if you could manage to get up there, you would be able to stand on it.
>You sigh as you turn your head to the right, watching a group of leaves fall to the ground.
>You finally manage to catch your breath as you watch the green foliage float slowly to the ground, no wind to prevent each leaf's perfectly vertical descent.
>You find yourself almost at ease watching this.
>Until you remember something.
>Leaves aren't green in the fall.
>And if there's no wind, and it's not fall...
>Why are there leaves falling from the canopy?
>Your eyes pan upward to the point where the leaves originated, and you see another set begin its descent as the canopy silently rustles.
>Gotcha.
>You push yourself onto your knees, then up onto your feet, careful to be as silent as you possibly can.
>Walking over to one of the trees that was closest to the rustling leaves, you test the trunk.
>It's just wide enough around that you can't touch your hands together on the other side.
>But it's sturdy enough that it doesn't budge as you put your weight on it.
>You thank whatever deity this world has that you decided to put on sweatpants today.
>If you were wearing jeans you wouldn't have any hope of climbing this without alerting Jubilee.
>You take a deep breath as you begin your climb.
>Your legs were almost useless to help you push upwards, as they were still exhausted from all the running.
>Your arms, however, were still perfectly fine with pulling you up the tree's trunk.
>As the canopy grew close enough that you could nearly touch it with an outstretched hand, you looked down towards the ground.
>And immediately your stomach sinks.
>You had to be at least thirty feet off the ground, but the fear nagging at the back of your mind was telling you it was more.
>You steel yourself as you pull yourself up the last few feet of trunk, finally making your first hint of noise as you push out through the canopy.
>Your earlier fears are confirmed as to the time spent out in the woods as you look around you.
>Jubilee is perched atop a leafy branch, her outline almost black against the rising sun.
>She was still crying.
>"You shouldn't have come, Anon. This happens all the time. I'll be fine..."
>You begin to crawl out towards her along the web of branches that made up the canopy.
"This happens all the time? Come on, Jubilee. That doesn't make it any better, if anything it makes it worse."
>She looks back at you, then shamefully turns her head back towards the rising sun.
>"I'm sorry I yelled at you."
>Your mouth curls up into a tiny smile as she begins to cooperate.
>You begin to slowly make your way out towards where she's perched.
"It's nothing, Jubilee. It's my fault, anyways. I shouldn't have let her get away with having so many-"
>There's a loud snap from beneath you as the branch you were moving along snapped.
>"Anon!"
>Jubilee lunges at you to try to catch you as you begin to fall through the leaves.
>You feel her hooves catch hold of your right hand and she beats her wings.
>It's no use, you weighed way too much.
>Her wings catch on the web of branches as you fall through alone.
>First you lose sight of Jubilee as you fall out of the tangle of branches and leaves.
>Then you lose sight of everything else as the world goes black.

>You wake to the feeling of an aching pain in your lower back and hindquarters.
>As you attempt to sit up, you're greeted by the feeling of being unable to move your limbs.
>Opening your eyes, you find yourself in a Victorian style clinic.
>There's some sort of tube hooked up to your arm, and all four of your limbs are locked in place to the bed you're laying on by small cloth belts.
>You hazily look around the tiny room, and see some sort of fluid container connected to the tube in your arm, as well as a small doorway on your right.
>As you try to sit up again, the pain in your back returns.
>You groan and fall back onto the bed.
>Immediately you hear the sound of hoofsteps upon the hardwood floor rushing towards your direction from elsewhere in the building.
>After a few seconds, Whisper pops her head into the doorway, then steps into the room.
>"Anon?"
"Whisper? What're you doing here? Can you get these straps off of me?"
>You attempt to sit up again, but Whisper stops you by fluttering up onto your chest.
>"N-no! You'll hurt yourself, Anon. You need to stay there."
>You frown at her, sighing.
"Can I at least have these straps taken off, then?"
>"N-no."
"Why not?"
>"B-because..."
>She scrunches at you.
>"I-I don't know why not. But you have to keep them on. Okay, Anon?"
"You're asking me that as if I have a choice."
>You tug at your binds, eliciting a "Kee!" from Whisper.
"Pretty sure I can't get these off on my own.
>The sound of hoofsteps once again fills the building as a white bat pony with a red and black mane walks into the room.
>"Whisper, why are you sitting on my patient's che... oh. Good night, Anonymous. I didn't expect to see you up so soon."
>She steps fully into the room, and you notice that her cutie mark is some sort of heart with a lifeline running through it.
>More importantly, is what that cutie mark is resting on.
>This pony had an ungodly large ass.
>It might even be as big as yours, and you were at least four times her size.
>She notices you staring, and makes a muffled "Kekekeke" noise that you akin to laughter.
>Whisper turns around to face her, and hops up onto her hooves, still standing on your chest.
>"I-is anon going to be okay, miss Arrhythmia?"
"Wait, Whisper. Where's Jubilee. The last thing I can remember is chasing her through the woods for a while after she ran out of the inn."
>Whisper turns back to face you and bites her lip with one of her little fangs.
>Arrhythmia speaks up for her.
>"You had quite the tumble, Anonymous. Fell from the top of a tree and landed right on your back. You were in surprisingly good condition for a heavy, wingless creature falling from that height. I'm sure most ponies wouldn't be alive to tell the tale if they had been in your position. Jubilee is here, too, just in another room. She had a small injury when she tried to stop you from falling, one of her wings was caught in the canopy and twisted. Otherwise, she'll be fine."
>She smiles at you as she moves closer to you.
>You now realize that you were fairly low to the ground, low enough that Arrhythmia's head was level with yours, despite her only being around three and a half feet tall at the top of her head.
>In addition, you took up two tables, one of which was supporting your legs while the other supported your torso and head.
"So how bad were my injuries that I'm not allowed to be untied?"
>Now it's Arrhythmia's turn to bite her lip as she trots over to a clipboard, picking it up with a wing.
>She looks it over, humming as she begins to list of your injuries.
>"Four broken ribs, both your shoulder blades were dislocated, a cracked vertebrae, and a fractured coccyx. I've managed to get the majority of your wounds mended with the help of potions brewed from local herbs, but you'll still need to rest for at least another week."
"Another week? How long have I been in here for?"
>You notice something is tickling your chest.
>Looking down, you realize you're shirtless and there's a large bandage wrapped around your midsection.
>Whisper is sitting on your stomach, and her tail is tickling your bare chest.
>"You were out for two days and one night. Right now marks the start of your second night. That puts your visit at being around thirty six hours. Jubilee came straight here after your fall, so you were only out in the woods for about an hour."
>You tug on your restraints again, getting annoyed by your lack of movement capability.
"Explain to me again why I need to wear these?"
>She puts her clipboard away, trotting over to your side.
>"Well, now that you're awake you shouldn't need to have them on. Just try not to move around too much, and stay laying on your back."
>Arrhythmia walks from limb to limb, undoing the braces with her mouth.
>How she manages to maneuver the buckles with her tongue to undo them you have no idea.
>But it definitely arouses you to watch it.
>You mentally slap yourself, getting those thoughts out of your head.
>Giving off a relieved sigh, you stretch out your arms, wincing as you feel your sore shoulders.
>You hear the rhythmic sound of soft snoozing, and look down to see Whisper has fallen asleep on your chest.
>You raise a brow, looking between her and Arrhythmia.
>"She's been awake all day watching you. Both of them blame themselves for what happened to you. Jubilee doesn't really need to be here anymore, but she's been watching you at night while Whisper watches you in the day. Do you want me to take her into another room to sleep there?"
>You begin to pet Whisper's mane, and she "Kee"'s happily in her sleep, cuddling up to your chest.
"No, it's fine."
>Arrhythmia smiles, and trots off to the door.
>"If you need anything just call for me. I'll be here all week."
>As she leaves the room, you feel that she left one buckle still done on your left leg.
>Damn, no hope of escape.
>It was probably best that you actually got some rest, anyways.
>Falling from forty feet couldn't be healthy for your body.
>Resting your head back against your pillow, you begin to drift off to sleep with your hand resting on the back of a snoozing Whisper.

>When you wake up Whisper is no longer on your chest.
>Jubilee lays curled up in a seat on your left, looking out the room's solitary window.
"Hey, Jubilee."
>Her fluffy ears perk up as her head turns to face you.
>"Hey, Anon."
>She looks down at her hooves, and seems like she's about to cry.
"How are you feeling?"
>"Like crap."
>There's an awkward silence as you lay there staring at her, and she lays there staring at her hooves.
>A single tear drips from her eye, and she breaks the silence.
>"I'm sorry about your back."
"It's not your fault, Jubilee."
>She looks up at you.
>"Of course it's my fault. If I hadn't run off you wouldn't have chased me, and if you didn't chase me you wouldn't have climbed the tree and fell off. You got hurt just because I was being stupid. If I hadn't-"
"Jubilee..."
>"Hadn't overreacted at my mom like I always do, then everything would be fine. I wouldn't have a bum wing, my mom wouldn't hate me, you would still be able to walk-"
"Jubilee."
>She doesn't seem like she's stopping, so you decide to reach out and lift her off her seat.
>She stammers as you do this, and stops talking.
>Lifting her up on top of your torso, you press her to your chest in a hug.
"It's not your fault, Jubilee. It's mine."
>"B-but-"
"Shhhh."
>You muffle her by pressing her face into your chest, and she makes a "mph" noise.
>You lay like this for a while, and eventually Jubilee stops crying.
>There's a creaking as the door to your room opens, and Whisper steps in.
>"A-anon, can I sleep in here, too?"
>You sigh, and wave Whisper up.
>She hops onto your chest, and Jubilee makes room next to her.
>The two sisters cuddle up to each other on your chest, and you rest an arm over their backs.
>Even if you'd never get to see anyone from Earth ever again, it made you happy to know that you had new friends here in Equestria that cared for you.
>The sound of the girls' light breathing as they doze off lulls you to sleep for the second time.

>Taking in the dim light of lamps strung from low tree branches, your gaze falls upon the tavern across the street.
>You are Anon, and it has been a while.
>After your tumble from the treetops, you spent just over a week resting in Arrhythmia's clinic.
>Since then You've been taking it easy, mostly sticking to your own home, but occasionally sitting by the creek nearby.
>Unfortunately for you, your injuries had prevented most all forms of extended travel.
>Until last week, you'd barely been able to make it to the creek before collapsing.
>Now, however, you were finally back in shape and able to at least walk wherever you needed to go.
>You take a tentative step toward the tavern, hoping your boss didn't expect you to lift any barrels today.
>Beyond that, hoping that you still had a job.
>With a slight limp you step through the door to the tavern.
>Conversations hush and heads turn as you stand staring like a deer caught in the headlights at a thousand dagger-like eyes.
"Hey."
>Every head turns back to their own tables, as if they were reassured by your speaking.
>Fucking creepy bats.
>You shuffle along towards the bar, a one-eyed bat pony waiting for you behind the counter.
>"Oi, Anon, you fit to be workin', lad? Last I heard you were bein' dragged to the hospital after you chased that inn filly out the town."
>You slump into one of the stools on your side of the bar.
"Yeah, I think I'm good. I've still got the job, right?"
>"Well of course, lad. You bring in the customers by bein' all suspicious like, and I only have to pay you one stallion's wage for doing five ponies worth of physical labor. I'd have to be brain dead to throw you out just because you had a little accident."
>At least it was nice to know you weren't the only desperate one in this situation.
"So do you want me behind the bar, or am I on cleaning duty today?"
>You man the bar. Cleaning's less stressful for me, anyhow."
"On it."
>You strain to push yourself up off the chair, strafing the bar counter to get to the other side.
>You'd noticed starting two weeks into your rest period that you were losing some of the muscle that you'd worked so hard to build up.
>There was now a thin layer of squishy fat covering your belly and upper arms, and you weighed a bit less.
>Your legs and ass were a bit jiggly, too.
>You'd have to fix that when you got back into good health.

>The first few minutes behind the counter were a bit uneventful, as most of the ponies took their orders from their table.
>You wondered to yourself why Aquamarine wasn't at the bar, as she was one of the regulars.
>... and a drunk.
>She must've already passed out and been carried home; it was late into the night, after all.
>Your train of thought is cut short by a familiar looking mare flapping up onto a stool.
>She looked like the same one that had run screeching back into her house when you first arrived here.
"What can I get for you, maam."
>"Echo, and I'll have a mango punch."
"Alright then, Echo. One mango punch coming up. You want any ice in that?"
>You turned, dragging yourself towards the fridge to find some mangos."
>"Kekeke. Not your mangoes! Use these."
>Raising a brow at the little mare, you turned to face her.
"What's wrong with our mangoes?"
>"They're not /my/ mangoes! How am I supposed to know what you put in them? They probably have worms!"
>Your roll your eyes, limping back to the counter and grabbing a clean glass.
>She had pulled three ripe mangoes -- each nearly the size of her head -- out of god knows where, and placed them on the counter.
>You picked them up with your left hand, stashing two in the crook of your arm and then tossing them into the juicer.
>Magical thing, that juicer.
>Literally.
>Probably.
>It somehow managed to make more juice than fruit that was put in to it, and there was no mess to clean afterwards.
>Flicking the switch to turn the machine on, it began emitting a hum, dimmed by the ambient sound of ponies chatting in the bar.
"Those are going to make a lot of juice, you know."
>"That's the plan. Kekekeke."
"Somebody's got an addiction, huh?"
>Her amber eyes went wide, and she stammered out a squeaky, "N-no!"
>"I just like mangoes. Everypony likes mangoes!"
>She gave an innocent grin.
"Huh. I'm allergic to mangoes."
>"And you're not a pony. My point still stands."
>You shrugged.
"Got me there. So, ice or no ice?"
>"Ice, please."
>The juicer's hum dies down, and you check its contents.
>About half full. Should be enough for around six pints of juice.
>This mare was going to be hammered when she was done.
>You still didn't understand how juice did that to them, though.
"So, six glasses is going to total you... Six times four bits... Twenty four bits."
>She stares at you in shock.
>"But they're my mangoes..."
"Yeah, and it's our machine that made the juice. Plus, you wouldn't have come here for juice when you had the mangoes at home if you weren't interested by something here. I'm assuming that something is me, so you'll pay for the chat you get to have while you're drinking, as well as the being carried home that will probably follow."
"Stingy humans..."
>She mutters to herself, forking over the bits she owed.
>You half expected her to call you a Jew, but then you remembered where you were.
>You tossed some ice into the glass, then filled it up to about half an inch before the brim.
"One mango punch. So you came all this way and faced your fears. What is it you wanted to talk about?"
>She took a long slurp from her glass, then looked up at you.
>"Did you know that there are over 400 known varieties of mango?"
>This was going to be a long day.

>The rest of your day in the tavern had been spent listening to various mango facts from Echo.
>She got more and more into it the more she drank.
>Eventually she finished all of her juice and just passed out, so you let her sleep on the stool until your shift was over.
>Sure enough, when you got to her house she conveniently woke up to unlock the door.
>She quickly but drunkenly shooed you away, something about not liking having people inside.
>What did she have in there, a bunch of dead bodies?
>Or worse yet, thousands of mangoes?
>Probably nothing.
>There was still some time left in the night, so you decided you'd pay a visit to the Nightshade.
>You hadn't had any visits from the trio of inn ponies since you left the care of Arrhythmia's clinic, so you were curious what they were up to.
>Hopefully Aquamarine was okay, you were slightly unnerved by her not showing up at the bar all day.
>Walking from the edge of town to the inn took a considerable amount longer when your legs were half broken.
>It gave you some time to think about everything that had happened.
>It also made you think about why you kept going back to the inn.
>You sort of felt obligated to check up on them to make sure they didn't somehow kill each other while you weren't watching.
>As if somehow they would manage that despite having lived for a long time before you came to Hollow Shades.
>Still, they were a really dysfunctional bunch.
>By the time you made it to the inn, the moon was nowhere to be seen.
>Hidden somewhere on the horizon by the thick stretch of trees and canopy in all directions.
>You let out a breath you didn't know you'd been holding before you pushed open the front door.
>It came then to your surprise that it was not Whisper standing behind the greeter's desk, but Jubilee.
>She sat there boredly, her eyes bloodshot and mane frazzled, head resting on her hooves.
>Instantly she perked up when she saw you.
>"Anon?"
>Suddenly, her face changed its demeanor, contorting into a frown.
>"Anon!"
>She bounded over the desk, flapping her wings furiously as she barreled towards you.
"Shit."

>Thirty five pounds of fury send your still recovering body crashing into the wall behind you.
>Groaning, your back slides down the wall until you sit upon the floor, one flustered teen bat in your arms.
>Jubilee gives you a quick, fruitless smack on the chest, igniting the dormant pain of your fractured ribs.
>"You've been gone for a month!"
"I mean," you grunt, "I was only at my house the whole time. You could've just come to visit..."
>She hits you with another smack on the chest, followed by a third; her forehead pressed into you.
>You wheezed.
>"I didn't want to go and find you dead because of me."
>Wincing, you began to lightly pet her mane.
"Well now you know I'm still alive. Keep on hitting me like that and I might not be for long," you manage a pained chuckle.
>She does as well.
>You feel Jubilee's ear twitch under your hand, "Someone's coming."
>The door next to you creaked open, and in trotted Whisper.
>She hadn't seen you two yet, but turned immediately after hearing Jubilee sniffle.
>"Anon!"
>Fuck.
>Whisper joined her sister in embracing you, the added weight piling more pain on with it.
>She definitely had a bit more heft to her than her younger sister.
>Must be putting on her "mare weight".
>Another form steps through the doorway, following in Whisper's hoofsteps.
>Please, no.
>"Anon, you look great," Aquamarine comments as she wraps her hooves around her daughters, just barely able to reach them to your sides.
>More weight on your poor, poor ribs.
>You only manage to groan.
"Mhhmmm~"
>You think you feel a tear trickle down your cheek.
>And it isn't from the feels.
>Finally, Whisper gets the idea and comes to your rescue.
>"I-I think we're hurting him," she tries to wriggle out from under her mother's embrace.
>Aquamarine lets go, allowing the two girls to roll off of your chest.
>You let out a relieved breath.
"T-thanks."
>"Sorry," says Aquamarine, "I guess we were just really happy to see you. Completely forgot about the whole..." she motioned to your everything with a twirl of her hoof, "Yeah."
>There was something off about Aquamarine, she seemed on edge.
>Similarly to Jubilee, her mane was disheveled and eyes somewhat red.
>Fortunately, Whisper at least seemed to be in order.
"So. You were all too afraid of me being dead to come visit?"
>Aquamarine and Jubilee both look down at their hooves.
>Whisper rolls her eyes at her family, a confident little smile on her face.
>"I knew you'd be fine, A-anon. Arrhythmia's a real good nurse, a-and you were okay the day she took you home."
>She nuzzled her mother's chin and gave Jubilee a side-hug with a wing, "Besides, these two were j-just overreacting because they both thought it was their f-fault you were hurt."
"I already told you it wasn't your fault. It was my choice to chase after you, Jubilee."
>Aquamarine gives a soft smile, moving to rest her head on your thigh.
>"That's just it, Anon. It shouldn't have taken a--no offense--almost complete stranger to do the right thing. I should've helped her myself... a lot sooner."
>You sat silently for a while, the three mares doing the same.
>Finally, Aquamarine spoke up again.
>"Why did you do it anyways, Anon? You didn't owe us anything."
>Hadn't you just been wondering that yourself only minutes ago?
>You shrugged.
"It felt like the right thing to do, you know? I was never really nice to anyone back home on Earth. All my 'friends' were really just people that I knew, not that I cared about. I guess getting thrown into this place was like a slap in the face for me, a wake up call that I've gotten a chance to be something for once. I guess I was looking for a purpose here, then I ran into you guys and your... state of affairs. I guess at some point I decided that purpose was you three."
>The three smiled at you, then Jubilee spoke.
>"I'd hug you again but you'd probably cry like a little bitch."
>"Jubilee!" Aquamarine interjected.
>Whisper tried her best to hold in a chuckle behind her smirk.
>You smiled, feeling like this moment was just right somehow.
"Hey, Aquamarine. I didn't see you at the tavern at all today. What's up with that?"
>Jubilee shoots you a dirty look, "Don't give her any ideas."
>"I stopped drinking, Anon."
>She was shitting you, right?
>She must be drunk, there was no way that mare would give up drinking.
"No shit? Good for you."
>You sighed, realizing how tired you were after the walking you'd done.
>You weren't sure you'd be able to make it back to your house tonight.
"Hey, you guys don't mind if I stay here for the night, do you? I'm feelin' real pooped out after today."
>"No problem, A-anon," Whisper chirped, "We've got a-a spare room in the apartment that we don't use, so you won't even h-have to use the stairs!"
>You wondered if you should be surprised that it was Whisper who'd given the confirmation that you'd be allowed to stay.
>Then you remembered that she basically ran this place.
>Slowly, your eyes slipped closed.
"Yeah, spare room. Sounds great."
>Before you knew it, you had already dozed off.

>You slowly shift awake in your bed, yawning.
>Your chest hurt something fierce.
>And for some reason, it felt like your legs were hanging off the bed.
>Opening your eyes, you sit up and look out at your feet.
>Taking in the unfamiliar and cramped room around you, you remember that you aren't in your own home.
>Yawning, you slowly get up off of the pony sized bed, trying your best not to agitate your sore everything as you move.
>You suppose that it's sometime around dusk.
>Your internal clock had gotten good enough at waking up at around the same time after your month of time spent in Hollow shades.
>Sadly, the majority of that time had been spent injured and secluded from the rest of the town.
>it was time to make up for all those lost opportunities.

>The first thing you notice as you open the door to your room is that there's a hell of a lot more noise outside.
>These bats have some damn good soundproofing.
>You make your way down the hall to the right, seeking out the smell of bacon and the overwhelmingly loud sound of what you could only describe as Godzilla running his claws along the largest chalkboard ever made.
>Oh, and a really faint sizzling sound, too.
>The noise gets louder and louder as you trundle through the hallway, nearing the end.
>You turn right into the kitchen as you reach the end of the hallway, stopping dead in your tracks at the sight before you.
>Aquamarine is standing by the stove, nonchalantly pan frying some strips of bacon that are on fire.
>Like, actually, literally on fire.
>Across the kitchen, Jubilee and Whisper have one another in choke holds, wings flapping erratically as they roll across the floor, screeching loud enough that you're surprised every glass in this room hasn't shattered yet.
>How are they not deaf from that?
>You duck under the doorway, stepping into the kitchen unnoticed.
>You begin making your way over to the two sisters as Aquamarine contently watches her bacon die a fiery death, unaware of your presence.
>It takes you crossing half of the room before either of the two notice your approach.
>Jubilee's eyes go wide as she sees you walking towards her, and for an instant her screech is even louder before she stuffs a hoof down her own throat.
>Whisper does one more roll with Jubilee in her grasp before ending her ear-raping cry in a triumphant straddling of her sister.
>"I win! Finally! Your three year win streak is over, Jubilee!"
>The bout gives you just enough time to make it all the way to the girls, now looming over them.
>Jubilee has had her eyes trained on you the whole time, an embarrassed blush forming on her face.
>Whisper's fluffy ears press back against her head as she realizes that she's now sitting in the shadow of something much larger than herself.
>Like some sadistic horror movie murderer, you decide to perfect the scene by leaning over her with a shit-faced, toothy grin.
>Her head slowly turns around to face you, and her eyes widen larger than you thought possible when they meet your own.
>"KeeeEEEEEEEEeaaa~non!"
>She flops onto her back--hooves flailing like they're suddenly made of rubber--and lands on top of her sister.
>This sends Jubilee's hoof further down her own throat.
>Jubilee gags, her right eye twitching.
>Before you can laugh at the scene, Aquamarine pops up beside you.
>"Good morning, Anon. I made bacon!"
>Sure enough, she's holding the flaming pan of fiery death in her magic.
>Now it's your turn to scream as you flop away from the pan, falling towards the two girls.
>The fear in their eyes reignites as they watch you topple towards them like a... human falling towards two small bat horses.
>Whisper screes and Jubilee makes some sort of muffled, gargled imitation of the same.
>Luckily, you catch yourself on your hands before you crush the poor fillies.
>Holding yourself up in push-up position mere inches from the two teen bats, you turn to look back up at Aquamarine.
"Why the hell is that on fire?!"
>She turns to look at the still flaming pan.
>You were pretty sure there wasn't even any bacon left in there, just ashes.
>"It got hot. Oil catches fire when it's hot."
"No shit! Maybe learn to cook before you burn your whole house down?"
>She shrugs. "Whisper usually does the cooking, but..."
>Aquamarine glances at her daughters, and you do the same.
>Whisper smiles sheepishly and gives you a little hoof-wave.
>Jubilee pulls her hoof out of her mouth with a "~Bwegh~" noise; it's covered in batpony saliva.
>Ew.
>"Yeah," Aquamarine says from behind you, "So I decided I'd try to make something before you woke up. Enjoy?"
>She blows on the fire, and it miraculously snuffs itself like a candle.
>There are definitely ashes in there.
"I think I'll pass, Aqua."
>"I figured."
>She tosses the whole pan over her shoulder, landing it directly into the sink across the kitchen.
>You push yourself up off the ground to give Whisper and Jubilee some space.
"I should probably head out, anyways. I'm probably late for work by now."
>"Work?" Whisper asks.
"Yeah. You know, the job that I do to make a living?"
>Jubilee flutters over onto a nearby couch that you didn't notice was there until now, giving you a look like you'd just told her that the moon was made of cheese, "It's Saturday, idiot. You don't work today."
>Was it really Saturday already?
>And you'd almost forgotten about Equestria's no work on the weekend law.
>You'd figured out that one when you limped your way to the market the first day that you could walk far enough to.
>Apparently it was a serious crime to work on the weekend, according the bat pony you'd asked to buy some bread from while she was locking up her shop.
>She said she knew someone who'd been sent to prison for trying to keep his store open during weekend hours.
>You couldn't imagine Equestrian prisons were anything bad, given what you'd seen of the place so far.
>They probably even served complimentary pudding cups.
>Maybe.
>You shake yourself back into reality.
"I guess you're right."
>Whisper trots by giddily, searching for another pan, "I'll make you some breakfast, Anon."
>From behind you Jubilee calls out, "Hey, Anon. I bet I can beat you in a hoof wrestling match!"
>Psh, bullshit.
>This little bat was gonna learn today.

>The night air fills your lungs as you slowly make your way down a side road near the edge of Hollow Shades.
>Aquamarine walks by your side, keeping your slow pace while Whisper and Jubilee trot slightly further ahead at their own speed.
>The girls said they wanted to show you someplace where they went to have fun on the weekends, and that it was just a little ways outside of town.
>Aside from Jubilee and Whisper's playful screes ahead, it was pretty quiet out in this part of town.
>Aquamarine hadn't spoken at all since back at the inn, and you were starting to get a little bit bored after walking in silence for nearly half an hour.
>Your eyes wander the dark woods that stretch out into forever before you, then down towards Aquamarine at your side.
>She was smiling, watching her daughters playfully lead the two of you to wherever you were going.
>Until now you'd never really noticed how small she or any of the other ponies around were.
>After all, that princess horse had to have been at least as tall as your chest.
>Aquamarine, however, was only just barely making it to the middle of your thigh.
>Staring at her like this for at least a couple of minutes, you finally come to your senses as you realize she's looking back at you.
>"Looking at anything in particular?"
>You give a nervous cough, looking away for a moment before turning your head back to her.
"Yeah. I never really found out why you don't have--you know--wings? I mean, everyone else I've seen so far has them, and your daughters do, too."
>She gives you a look like you asked something silly, "What, it's not obvious? My parents were a bat pony and a unicorn. I got the unicorn part and kept a little bit of the bat, too." She smiles slyly at you, baring her little fangs.
>"So what about you? Why don't you have wings?"
"Humans don't have wings."
>"Really? None of you can fly? Who takes care of controlling the weather on you planet, then?"
"Momma Nature."
>She looks at you quizzically, "Momma who?"
"You know, Mother Nature?"
>"Nope. No clue."
>You scratch at your head, trying to think of how to describe this to her.
"It's like a saying for how things just happen naturally. Then people give it a name to make it seem like nature is a person or something."
>"Wait. So you're telling me one person controls all the weather on your planet? How's that even possible?"
>You sigh, shaking your head.
"Nobody controls the weather, it just happens."
>Her eyes widen, and she looks down the path ahead of her in thought before squinting back at you.
>"So who is this 'Momma Nature' anyways? Have you met her before? How do you even-"
>You abruptly stop, dropping to a knee and smooshing a finger onto her muzzle to stop her.
"No."
>"~Mphh?"
"There is no Momma Nature."
>She looks like a little girl who just had her parents tell her Santa isn't real.
>Her eyes seem to widen the same way a Shepard tone increases in pitch, infinitely widening into the saddest looking puppy dog eyes you've ever seen.
>You roll your eyes at her.
"It's like you're the child and those two are the parents. Come on, Aqua."
>You get up to your feet, slowly continuing after the two girls that were getting further ahead by the minute.

>After another twenty or so minutes of walking, you finally found yourself in front of a cave mouth along the side of a ravine.
>Whisper hops giddily next to you, her little wings fluttering as she does.
"This is what you wanted me to see?"
>You look into the mouth of the cave, and see literally nothing but blackness.
>Jubilee hovers by your side, punching your shoulder like a boxer, "It's gonna be fun, Anon."
>You rub your shoulder, it still feeling sore like everything else after the fall.
"Uhuh. Am I expected to be able to see anything while I'm having this fun?"
>She doesn't say anything, just makes a "Kekekeke" noise as she floats backwards into the darkness.
>Whisper smiles at you and follows after her, disappearing into the cave.
>You turn to look at Aquamarine who smirks and creates a little ball of light at the tip of her horn, making her way into the cave.
>You hurry after her as fast as your legs are comfortable with, not wanting to be left in the pitch black alone.
>The light from Aquamarine's horn illuminates just enough around you that you can see the tightly closing cave walls to your left and right.
>They are just barely an arms length away on either side, and getting narrower.
>After a minute or so of walking, the corridor is so tight that you can almost feel the walls touching your shoulders.
>Soon enough the ceiling begins to close in as well, and you're stuck crouching to follow behind Aquamarine in single file.
>Whisper and Jubilee have been nowhere in sight since you first entered the cave.
>They must be somewhere ahead of the two of you, as this cave seemed pretty linear so far.
>It might just be in your head, but you thought you heard running water coming from up ahead.
>Aquamarine's light begins to slowly dwindle away until it's once again pitch black around you.
>You feel in front of you to make sure she's still there and feel nothing within reach.
"Aqua? You there?"
>Her voice came from a little bit farther ahead than you'd expected.
>"Just keep walking. Keep your hands in front of you, there's a turn coming up."
>You stretch your right arm out ahead of you, continuing on.

>After another minute of walking with your arm in front of your face, you wonder if Aquamarine was just fucking with you about the wall coming up.
>Just as you think this your hand smacks into something hard.
>Turning to your left, you look out and see nothing but black.
>Moving your hand out in front of you, you feel that it's just wall that way.
>Slowly, you turn left, your hand trailing the wall.
>Eventually your hand only meets open space, and you see a faint light coming from ahead.
>As you move toward the light, the sound of flowing water becomes clear.
>After only a few more steps, you find yourself looking down upon something amazing.
>The tight corridor opens up to an expansive circular cavern space illuminated by dim blue light.
>Along the far side of the space a waterfall sprouts from the roof of the cave, pouring crystal clear water into a large pool that fills most of the room's floor.
>The only floor is a small ridge circling the pool that looks to be made of some sort of blue crystal; a faint light finds its way through the network of cracks that adorn its surface.
>You almost forget to notice the ponies that await you there as you take in what you've seen.
>Whisper and Jubilee are already playing in the pool, splashing each other with water and occasionally bursting out of the pool on their wings before diving back in to create even larger splashes to barrage one other with.
>You slowly make your way into the room, approaching a grinning Aquamarine that waited for you on the dry ground.
"Did somebody make this place?"
>She shrugs, nodding at the poo.
>"No clue. The girls found it a while back, and they've asked to come here occasionally ever since."
"How's the water?"
>She dips hoof into the water, then turns back to look at you and slips into the pool.
>"Want to come in and find out?"
>Hell yeah you wanted to swim in this magical cave pool.
>"I'll be right in."

>You sit at the edge of the crystal slab that makes up the walkway beside the cavern pool.
>Aquamarine is floating meters away, eagerly awaiting you entering the pool.
>Maybe just a little bit too eagerly.
>Fucking creepy bat-horses.
>You have stripped down to your undergarments, and you slowly dip your legs into the warm water of the pool.
>The soothing heat sends a chill down your spine as you slide fully into the water.
>Your feet hit the bottom of the pool when the water just barely reaches your shoulders.
>"How's the water?" Aquamarine asks.
"It's really warm. Hot, even. Is there a hot spring nearby here or something? I don't think I've ever seen anything like this before."
>Aquamarine effortlessly slides through the water on her magic, circling you like a little blue shark.
>"Yeah, it's really hot in the pool today," Aquamarine almost coos at you. She gestures at the small waterfall at the far end of the cavern, "The water's warm when it comes from there. If there's a hot spring it comes from whatever that comes from."
>You look for any way that you might be able to see where the waterfall is coming from, but the hole it spouts from is too dark to see anything through.
>"Hey, Anon. My ears have this awful itch between them that I can't reach properly with my hooves. Do you think you could scratch it for me?"
>Raising a brow, you look down at the pastel vampire horse's pleading eyes.
>You know what this horse is pulling, but that face is impossible to deny.
>Besides, these ponies are softer than anything else you've ever felt in your life. There was no way in hell you were going to say no to some consensual petting.
>As you move your hand to scratch at her wet mane, she let out a muffled whinny and pushed into your fingers.
>Gradually, Aquamarine leaned into you as you continued to pet her mane.
>The two of you sat like this for a few minutes; Aquamarine enjoying the scratching with her eyes closed, and you absentmindedly massaging between her ears with your fingers while watching Whisper and Jubilee splash each other in the water.

>You must have fallen asleep at some point, because you awake with a start as you feel the sensation of drowning and hear the sounds of a thousand tidal waves crashing down atop your skull.
>Your eyes fly open and you realize that you are not drowning, and instead are being assaulted by a relentless wave of splashes originating from Whisper and Jubilee's wings.
>The two girls giggle at your shocked expression, and when you look over to your left you notice that Aquamarine has the same look on her face.
>She must have dozed off, too.
>"Hey, Anon. Did we wake you up?" Jubilee asks, "Sorry about that, but it's just that we were getting really bored out here on our own, you know? So. Do you two want to play marco-polo with us?"
>Horses know what marco polo is?
>You blink a few times, still not fully aware what was going on.
>Whisper's pleading stare grabs your attention, and she gives a shy smile as she notices you making eye contact with her.
"Uh. Yeah, sure. Who's it?"
>"You!" Whisper chirps, splashing you one last time before paddling away with her hooves and wings, Jubilee following her example.
>You turn to look down at Aquamarine, who looks like she's wondering why you're staring at her.
"Are you going to swim away too, or do you really want to be it that bad?"
>Her eyes go wide with realization as she exclaims, "Oh!" and slides off on her magic.
>You make your way to the center of the circular pool and close your eyes once you arrive there.
>You begin to spin, counting out loud.
"One, two, three..." all the way to twenty.
"Marco," you call out.
>"Polo," all three girls reply.

>It was already well into the better part of the night by the time the the four of you had left the cavern pool.
>And it was another quarter way through by the time you made it most of the way back to town.
>Whisper and Jubilee were trotting side by side to your right, and they look a lot poofier from drying off after their swim.
>You had to hold in your laughter when you first noticed it.
>Aquamarine's fur was fine, as she must have magicked it back to being proper.
>Damned magic horses and their cheating of physics with their magic. You wanted to laugh at some poofy ponies.
>And so you did, because you couldn't hold it in anymore.
>Whisper and Jubilee looked at you with confused expressions before looking back at one another and bursting into laughter along with you.
>Even Aquamarine was giggling at them.
>The two girls ended up laughing so hard that they collapsed onto the floor, and decided to use that as an excuse for you to carry them the rest of the way back to the inn.
>You didn't complain. They barely weighed anything and they were pretty adorable, so it was a win-win for the three of you.
>Aquamarine did look sort of jealous of her daughters, though.
>That's right, magic bat. You cheat physics and you don't get the taxi service.
>The rest of the walk back to the inn is fairly uneventful, and you mostly just enjoy the scenery.
>Whisper and Jubilee manage to fall asleep along the way despite it only taking ten minutes to get there.
>Aquamarine and you step through the door to the inn and then into the back apartment where the three lived.
"Do you want me to put them in their beds or do you think they'd want to do something else before they hit the sack?"
>Aquamarine snorts, saying, "They spent three times as long at that pool today than they usually do. They probably wouldn't wake up if you tried to wake them."
>You nod, trying to at least unpoof their fur so it didn't mat while they were sleeping.
>It's no use, but Aquamarine comes to the rescue and smooths them out with her magic.
>You had to get one of those horn things.
>You step into the girls' room, taking in the scenery.
>It honestly didn't look anything like you'd expected.
>Where were all the girly pink ribbons and fake furs?
>Everything was the same homey cottage furnishing and woodwork as the rest of the place.
>You hear Aquamarine walk away from through the hall and into the kitchen as you set the girls down on their single shared bed.
>Turning, you start to leave before hearing a rustling and light "kee" from one of the teen bats.
>You look back to see Whisper's wide eyes looking at you. Jubilee was still fast asleep, and lightly snoring.
>Walking over to her, you kneel down next to the bed and scratch between her ears gently.
>She squeaks at the touch before speaking, "Anon, do you like my mom?"
>You stop scratching for a moment, then start up again.
>That was a loaded question, Whisper.
"Yeah, she's a pretty cool pers - er - pony. What's not to like?"
>She rolls her eyes at you, pushing your hand off of her head with a wing.
>"Uhuh. B-but do you... like like her?"
>You sigh, letting your hand plop onto the bed as it's pushed away.
>You'd never really given it any serious thought, but it was definitely eating away at the back of your mind.
>Now that Whisper brought it up, it was sort of hard not to think about it.
>The "She's a pony and I'm a human" argument didn't really make sense anymore.
>Let's face it, you weren't going to be seeing any human women any time soon.
>Probably never.
>After realizing you were sort of leaving Whisper hanging, you spoke up.
"Maybe... I mean, I think so. Probably. Yeah."
>Whisper smiles, latching onto your forearm with her hooves and hugging it.
>"I t-think you be an awesome dad, Anon..."
>You think your heart may have just exploded. Twice.
>Before you could say anything in response, Whisper was already happily dozing off.
>She let go of your arm and rolled over, hugging Jubilee's back.
>You stood, light headed and barely feeling your legs as you walked towards the door.
>Time to go talk with Aquamarine, you guess.