#also once upon a time luna was supposed to have black fur

[shukuchiisms]

Cindy being Cindy

[fanartfunart]

@broadwaytheanimatedseries​ said: Wait @fanartfunart YOU HAVE PONY OCS??? MAY I SEE THEM PLEASE (mentioned on my Sides as Ponies art)

Love how you enable me. I redrew them just for you.

[Image ID: 6 original characters in the style of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. From left to right- Day Tricker, a masculine orange pegasus with green eyes. He has a short black mane and long tail with yellow and green jaggedly striped through the middle. His cutie mark is the happy/sad theater mask. He is flying slightly above the others, looking towards them with a smile. Lotus, a masculine brown unicorn with a white diamond on his nose, a spot on his rear, and freckles, and silver hoofs framed with fluff. His eyes are purple, and he wears a purple scarf. His hair is short and white fading into black. He looks up at Day Tricker with a relatively neutral expression despite the blush on his cheek. His cutie mark is a purple lotus flower. OraVez, a white feminine alicorn (unicorn-pegasus) with a long dirty blond mane and tail, with white stripe in the center. She has golden eyes and is looking to the right with a contemplative expression. She is sitting front and center, one front hoof crossed over the other. Her cutie mark is a hourglass with flourishes on one side, mirrored top and bottom. Kiya, a feminine zebra with predominantly grey fur and dark gray stripes and belly. She has golden eyes, and wears a set of gold rings over the base of her tail. Her mane is braided up to the end of her neck, where it is long, falling over in a bob style. Her cutie mark is an african adinkra symbol Nokore, which is a pair of diamond shapes separated by two dots and surrounded by oval shapes. She is looking towards the right with a smile, one hoof gesturing. Star Chaser, a feminine blue pegasus with purple wings and underbelly and silver hooves. She has pink eyes, and a purple mane and tail with pink stripes. Her mane is short on the neck, and tied into a long ponytail at the start of the back of her head. Her tail is tied into a braid. Her cutie mark is a pink diamond with white wings. She is flying above the 6th pony, Blue Leaf, and looking towards the rest of the group with a smile. Blue Leaf, a purple earth pony with blue eyes. She has a long dark blue mane and tail with a light blue stripe. She is laying on the ground looking up towards Kiya and Star Chaser, one hoof curled under her, framing a blue flower. Her cutie mark is a red heart-shaped leaf with a blue swirl-like shape inside. The background is a simple flat colored grassy scene with mountains in the background. End ID]

As stated in the Image ID, their names are Day Tricker (a play on Day Tripper), Lotus, OraVez (basically Time Time in two different languages), Kiya, Star Chaser, and Blue Leaf.

I shall ramble about who exactly they all are/their story in the read more now. :P

So to start off, I will say I created these guys like... 2014, so their story very much reflects that lol.

OraVez is the older sister of Celestia and Luna. We first see her as a filly (her super old design was literally an inverse of the current one lol).

[Image ID: OraVez as a filly, traced over one of the show’s Cutie Mark Crusaders template art. However, she has light gold fur and a white mane and tail with a light gold stripe and blue eyes. End ID]

She ran away from home (in the old castle), wrapped in a cloak to hide her wings, and finds herself in the modern-day ponyville, having time-traveled there without realizing it. Ponyville is entirely new to her, and she quite literally crashes into the Cutie Mark Crusaders. They assume she’s the normal kind of new to town, and take it upon themselves to show her around town. Eventually they find out she’s an alicorn when she looses her cloak (I think I had her use it to save one of them from something.) BUT instead of ya know, focusing on the fact that she’s an alicorn and probably royalty, they notice she has no cutie mark, and think “OH that’s why she had that cloak on, she was embarrassed she didn’t have a cutie mark yet!” She accepts this idea readily.

They eventually drag her into Finding Cutie Mark montage, which includes visiting the Mane 6 to help them find things for her to try out (while she hides her wings from them all once again). Last they go to Twilight, who, with her obsession with lore, recognizes OraVez (mostly by name). Twilight is obviously is excited and confused, and goes on a rant about how OraVez was the missing princess from so many hundreds of years ago, and that no one knew what had happened to her. Twilight and the CMC prompt her for explanation, to which she explains he didn’t ever want the responsibility of being a Princess and eventual ruler of Equestria, and so she ran away. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell then ask “what about your sisters?” and OraVez realizes she’d be sad without them, and resolves to go home. After this, they all try to figure out ways to reactivate whatever magic made her come forward in time. Eventually, they try casting a spell Twilight refined while diving in the air, which Rainbow Dash helps coach. OraVez does a Sonic Rainboom as she time travels back to her original time, and Rainbow and Twilight realize that’s probably where the legend of the Sonic Rainboom came from, which makes Rainbow very happy that she’s probably the actual inventor of the maneuver. OraVez, back in her time, finds she now has her cutie mark.

The CMC wonder if she went back in time then why doesn’t she exist now, while lamenting the loss of their new friend. Although she occasionally returns, now getting the hang of time travel.

OraVez, as an teenager/adult fought a evil being (which I remember less) and eventually somewhere in there, like Discord, was turned to stone as a way to insure she can protect the fabric of time. (this would be where it becomes very Not current mlp timeline, because.... there’d already be a protector keeping the timeline in check with her there lol)

Eventually she is released, and has to adjust to life in the current time. Finding she doesn’t have to help Celestia and Luna rule Equestria, and technically no longer the oldest as she’s spent years in stasis, she’s a little lost for what to do with herself. Twilight suggests she finds some friends. However, in the background, the evil she’s been holding back awakens as well.

She happens upon Blue Leaf and Lotus, co-owners of a flower shop. They have been fighting about something that OraVez realizes she can fix with her time-magic (reverting something back to the way it was) and they become friends. The rest of the group had known each other before, but either never got to actually becoming friends, or something had fractured their relationship.

Star Chaser is a night flier weather pony and occasional delivery pony, Day Tricker is a comedian and theater pony, and I don’t remember what Kiya did. Star Chaser and Lotus used to be friends but their relationship fractured for reasons I forgot. Lotus has a crush on Day Tricker, but never Really talked to him, and pretends to be aloof. Random fact, Day Tricker has a younger sister named Spindrift (a turquoise unicorn who I swear I had art of but can’t seem to find), who is relevant somehow, but I also forgot that. Kiya is relatively new to town, and keeps coming to Blue Leaf and Lotus’s shop, but hasn’t really talked to either of them outside of buying more plants than she probably needs.

They reflect the Elements of Harmony, Day Tricker- Laughter, Blue Leaf- Loyalty, Kiya- Honesty, Star Chaser- Kindness, Lotus- Generosity. Moreso as a symbol of them having the potential to be a similar friend group to the mane 6 than anything. (although I think I have them eventually take up the mantle at some point, temporarily) They and OraVez learn to be friends, and they help her with her time-keeping duty.

-

I also have these two, Imperis (one in armor) and Neit (one laughing) (again, before later episodes)

[Image ID: Two MLP style changelings, grey with blue wings. One has blue armor on, walking towards the other with a glare, and the other is laughing, flying in the air. End ID]

[Image ID: A feminine orange unicorn with a short blue mane and a grey masculine pegasus with a short black mane with a white stripe. The unicorn’s cutie mark is a pair of fencing swords crossed over each other. She has one grey eye and one gold eye, and is glaring at the pegasus. The pegasus is smiling, flying on his side next to her, eyes closed. End ID]

Imperis is a scout for Queen Chrysalis who takes the form of the unicorn, a famous fencer who is touring Equestria. Neit chose to ‘mix and match’ his appearance, and choose a cat-in-the-box cutie mark. The pair of them were supposed to find a good place to invade, but, Neit’s inability to focus and sit still for five seconds and Imperis’s uptight nature works against them. Eventually, they learn to become friends, and learn basically the same lesson that the changelings learn in later episodes, that love as friendship is something they can make themselves.

...and yea, that’s basically all my mlp ocs.

[thesoftdumbass]

a tale of two kitties

Bucky Barnes x reader

word count: nearly 3K

warnings: basically none. fluff. passive-aggressive names to call your pet. (also ididntproofreadthissorrynotsorry)

summary: when your kitten escapes your apartment, you find help from your neighbor Bucky to get her back

masterlist  

A nearly overflowing garbage bag and a shoebox or two full of junk held aloft, you make your way from your bedroom and into the main living space of your apartment. This morning, you had been overcome with the urge to clean and organize your closet after letting it go cluttered for far too long...which lead to completely reorganizing your entire bedroom and getting rid of unneeded items. Marie Kondo might just have a point with that whole ‘sparking joy’ thing.

Turning the doorknob while trying to balance the items in your hands, you open the door to the hallway and peer around before walking out. “I’ll be right back, Luna,” you call needlessly into the living room, your cat won’t even notice that you’re missing. Trying to close the door once outside your apartment proves a little bit difficult, as the trash bag keeps getting caught on the edge of the doorway. You shrug, deciding to just leave the door cracked. You’d only be gone for a minute, anyways.

As the trash chute is busy gulping down your garbage, a shadow slinks out your cracked doorway, going completely unnoticed by you down the hall.

Bucky curses as he practically tosses the sheet pan on top of the oven, heat seeping through the thin kitchen towel and into his hand. His ma would be disappointed, the orange-hued cake batter leaking over the sides of the jelly roll pan and collecting in the bottom of the oven. It looks like he’s going to have to wait until Christmas to have his granny’s homemade pumpkin roll. Sighing, Bucky looks down at the old-fashioned cookbook in front of him and hangs his head. Maybe he’ll make one more attempt at the recipe before giving up completely.

When the smoke alarm sounds into the silence of his apartment, Bucky decides that maybe he should wait a few minutes before the second attempt.

He presses the reset button on the smoke alarm in the door to the living room before rushing from room to room, opening windows but leaving the screens in place. The last thing to do is head to the front door, opening and nearly closing it a few times to try and clear the smoke that has started wafting throughout the dwelling. Somewhat satisfied, he leaves the door standing open to the hallway so the smell of smoke may dissipate. 

Bucky walks back into the kitchen, taking another look at the weathered and hand-written page of directions that he should be following. He sighs as he notices the amounts needed for baking soda and baking powder, having switched them the first time. That must be why the batter practically exploded, he realizes. Shaking his head at his own dumbassery, Bucky scrapes out the remaining cake mix before washing the bowl and readying the ingredients to start over.

Bucky is leveling a scoop of flour when a fuzzy paw reaches out and pats the hand holding the measuring cup, and he gently pushes it away with his free hand, pausing in his action. While he is used to cat paws intruding on his actions, the black fur of the paw reaching for his measuring cup is not what he is used to from his own white cat, Alpine. Turning from the bowl of dry ingredients and over to his left side, Bucky’s blue eyes are met with bright green, the curious gaze staring back igniting confusion in him. Nope, that’s definitely not Alpine.

Bucky sits down the measuring scoop of flour, dusting off his hands before slowly reaching towards the black kitten.

“Hey little kit, are you in the wrong apartment?”

Bucky’s brows furrow while he glances around his apartment, “how did you even get in-” and mentally facepalms as the ajar door catches his eye. “Right. Maybe that’s how.” 

A bright white lump of fur appears from out of nowhere, mrowwing loudly. “Oh, good morning, your highness,” Bucky rolls his eyes at his own cat, the spoiled princess that must have become curious and left her bed to check out the newcomer. 

Alpine moves towards the kitten, her pink nose sniffing at her new acquaintance. When the kitten goes to move away from the older cat, Bucky hears a jingling noise and finally notices a black collar that blends into the cat’s fur, finding a small metal tag attached.

“Luna, huh? Apartment 911,” Bucky reads aloud to himself. “I suppose I should help you find your way home, little Luna.” 

As he reaches out to pick up the kitten, she darts from within his grasp, and the next he sees of the kitten, her green eyes are peeking out from the darkness beneath his couch. “Later it is, then,” Bucky sighs, deciding to wash his hands and continue his adventures in baking. 

After clearing out the junk that had been cluttering your bedroom, it was an easy task to find a rightful place for everything and tidy up the rest of the room. You decide on no more cleaning or organizing tasks like that for a while as you walk into the kitchen, that had taken a lot out of you. Now all you want is to find a quick dinner and curl up on the couch with your cat. Speaking of…

You spoon some wet food from a can and into Luna’s food bowl, calling for the kitten to come eat. You wait a few seconds to hear the tinkling of the bell on her collar, the one that helps you know what the kitten is up to. There were a lot of instances before the belled collar of Luna tripping you up by darting under your feet.

Not hearing the telltale jingling, you start to wonder where your kitten may be hiding. Luna usually runs to the food bowls when you fill them, even if she waits to dig in, she takes a look to see what flavor food you’d given her. Now with no sign of the cat, your mind starts to race. 

“Oh, God…” Realization hits you, and you could almost hit yourself for not thinking of it earlier. “I left the door cracked when I took out the trash.” You sigh, “and now I’m talking to myself. Great!” 

You swear the empty apartment could hear the sarcasm in your voice at the end of your sentence. 

You sigh once more, muttering a curse or two beneath your breath before heading out into the hallway to search for the little troublemaker.

With the (hopefully successful) second cake baking away in the oven, awaiting being made into his granny’s pumpkin roll, Bucky takes a minute to relax, leaning into the back of his couch as a comedy plays in the background from the tv. A soft thump reaches his ears and Bucky looks to his left side, where the curious black cat is closely inspecting his prosthetic hand. He turns his hand so the palm is facing up, wiggling his fingers in an invitation to play. The kitten readily accepts, wiggling her butt for a few seconds before pouncing on his hand, landing on the forearm and trying to send a bite into the wrist. When the metal doesn’t give under her teeth, the cat settles for licking Bucky’s palm for a moment before finding her way into his lap, turning in circles before curling up in a ball, purring contentedly.

Alpine watches lazily from the arm of the couch while Bucky sits with the new kitten, right hand stroking from head to tail. The tinny sound of a bell faintly reaches Bucky’s ears, and he looks down at the bell on the kitten’s collar to make sure she’s still resting, a little puzzled until once again he hears the bell, this time accompanied by a woman’s voice.

“Luna!” 

At hearing what Bucky assumes is the voice of her owner, the kitten shakes herself out of her catnap, standing and stretching her spine idly. 

“Luna, where are you, you little gremlin?”

Bucky’s breath leaves him in a laugh at the not-so-scathing insult aimed at your pet. He looks down at Luna, scratching behind her ears with his left hand, the kitten preening under his attention and rubbing her face affectionately against the metal appendage. 

“I guess it’s time to get you home, huh, little one?” She lets out a mew, the disconnected sound is the first noise that Bucky’s heard from the kitten. The side of his mouth turns up in amusement, as he stands up, bringing the cat with him, cradled against his side and resting upon his arm. 

Bucky walks to the front door which he’d closed earlier and opens it slowly, looking out at the hallway to see if he can still catch the cat’s owner. When he sees you about to turn the corner down another hall, he speaks up quickly, not wanting your obviously distressed self to worry over your pet any longer.

“Miss?” You turn around when you hear a voice calling out, since you’re the only other person in the hallway you assume that they’re talking to you. The sight that meets you brings relief, but also a little bit of confusion. Before you can ask what your cat is doing in his arms, the man caught your attention before is talking. “Is Luna yours?”

Your face relaxes at the mention of the kitten, and you walk toward the man standing in the doorway to what you assume is his apartment. “She is. And I’m guessing this is where she disappeared to earlier?”

The man in front of you chuckles, the sound rich and filling you with warmth. “Yeah, I left the front door open and found this little munchkin in the kitchen just a few minutes later.” Oh goodness, his voice is just as beautiful as his laugh.

You shake your head at the cat, though affection fills you. You’re glad that she’s safe and didn’t get out a window somehow to the city below. As much as it pains you to leave behind what you are now noticing is maybe the most attractive man you’ve seen, you reach your hands out toward the black kitten in his arms. “Alright, Luna Tuna, it’s time to go home now.”

Upon seeing you reaching for her, Luna, the little shit, jumps down from her temporary perch and darts into the open doorway from which she and Handsome had originally come.

A sigh leaves your lips as you reach a hand up to your forehead, trying to quell the headache that you can feel coming. The stranger, your neighbor you suppose, laughs under his breath. “She has a habit of doing that, doesn’t she?”

You laugh tiredly, “she certainly does. I’m sorry about all this,” you gesture towards his apartment, indicating the cat. You introduce yourself, to the man quickly, stating that you live in the apartment 911 down the hall. “And you’ve already met Luna,” you add with humor back in your voice.

A smile lights up your neighbor’s face and you melt a little. “Yeah, I guess I have. I’m Bucky, apartment 904. Though I guess you can see that,” he adds, gesturing behind him to the apartment number on his door and rubbing a hand across the back of his neck almost nervously. Your head tilts curiously but you don’t say anything. “Come on in and we can try to get your cat back.”

Any apprehensions you might have had about going into a stranger’s apartment dissipate at the warm smile he sends your way, and you lead the way through the door, and Bucky follows, closing the door softly behind you. 

As you take a look around the apartment, searching for your wayward kitten, you take in the neat interior and tan leather furniture that gives the place a homey feel. Your eyes catch on reflective green ones, watching from behind a couch leg while you walk across the room. 

“Luna,” you coo to the cat, clicking your tongue against the roof of your mouth to try and lure her out. When she makes no move to leave her hiding spot, you drop your head into your hand, a tired sigh leaving you. 

Bucky speaks up next to you, and you jump a little, not having noticed him walking to your side. “There are some treats in the kitchen that my cat likes. If you want, I can grab a few and see if she’ll come out from under the couch,” Bucky offers and you smile, grateful for how much help he’s been.

“That would be great, thank you,” you nod, “I didn’t think to grab any before leaving my place.”

After Bucky returns with the treats, you both kneel in the floor a few feet away from the couch, calling to the kitten and offering treats. When she rolls onto her back to stretch and closes her eyes, you give up. 

Bucky stands to full height next to you and offers a hand up, which you accept. He plops down on the couch and pats the cushion next to him, indicating that you should sit. You happily accept and nearly groan at how comfortable the seat is. 

“Sometimes I feel like that cat’s sole purpose is to exhaust me,” you snort, reaching a hand up to rub at a spot on your forehead. “Thank you for helping me with her, though.”

“It’s no problem. And you can stay here as long as you like, there’s no rush to leave when she does come out. To tell you the truth, I think Alpine likes the company.”

At the mention of her name, the cat in question jumps down off the back of the couch and struts over to you, bright blue eyes checking you out. The plump white cat stations herself at your side, between yourself and her owner, looking up at you expectantly. You chuckle, stroking from the top of her head down to her tail a few times. Alpine settles onto your lap, purring loudly, relishing the touch of a new human.

You sit for a while, petting Alpine and talking with Bucky, learning about your neighbor and laughing at That 70’s Show in-between lulls in conversation. Eventually, Luna comes out of her hiding spot, climbing into her spot on your shoulder and burrowing herself in your neck. You chuckle at the kitten, the exasperation from earlier having left by now. “Hey gremlin, ready to head back now?” 

You go to pet Luna and she wraps herself around your arm, claws making an appearance in a sudden show of playfulness. You wrap your hand around her middle and bring her down from your shoulder and into both arms, sending a glare that doesn’t affect the cat in any way.

Bucky’s hand comes into view and scritches the kit between her ears, earning her attention...and teeth. You laugh at the surprised look on his face as his mouth opens in faux betrayal. “So that’s how it is, huh, Looney? I thought we were friends!”

You shake your head, a fond smile on your face. “I’m sorry about...all of this,” another light chuckle escapes you and Bucky smiles at the sound. “My cat is such a nuisance.”

“No it’s fine. Luna’s not a nuisance, she’s…” Bucky glances down at the cat currently gnawing on the meat of his flesh palm, “cute.”

“I guess there’s no denying that,” you admit to Bucky, and then to Luna, “let’s go, Tuna. Time to let Bucky and Alpine have their evening back.”

You stand and stretch, feeling as if you should get out of your cute neighbor’s hair. You thank him once again for his help, turning towards the door to head back to your own apartment. 

“I’m making a cake roll!” 

Bucky’s exclamation stops you and you turn back, an eyebrow raised and waiting for an explanation for the outburst. 

Bucky curses lowly, furrowing his eyebrows and running a hand through his hair in what must be a cute habit. “What I mean is,” he takes a deep breath, preparing the words in his head, “I was baking earlier. I’ve been craving my granny’s pumpkin roll and I thought I would try my hand at it. I mean I already ruined one but I tried again, and the second one should be done any minute now. When I checked it earlier it looked alright, and once I assemble it, I won’t be able to eat it all myself,”

“Bucky?” you interrupt with a giggle. The man is now rambling and you can tell that he’s trying to reach a destination with his words, so you figured you would try to help him along with it.

“Would you like to have coffee tomorrow? With-with cake?” He finally manages, looking up from where his gaze was previously on the floor and eyes landing on your smile, gentle amusement highlighting your features.

“I’d like that,” you say simply.

“And you can bring Luna too, you know, so the cats can hang out for a while,” he adds, not wanting to seem too eager to see you again.

“Of course, we wouldn’t want the cats to get too lonely,” you add, only a little bit of teasing in your voice.

“Of course,” he parrots, and the smile that reaches his lips is contagious and brighter than the sun.

“We’ll see you tomorrow, Bucky.” You reach up on your tiptoes, pressing a brief kiss to his scruffy cheek. “I’m looking forward to coffee.” 

You take your leave, closing Bucky’s apartment door behind you and keeping a firm hold on the cat in your arms. Bucky watches you go, one hand resting over his chest in admiration before he brings both hands together in an excited clap, startling Alpine who meows in indignation. 

“Okay then…” a happy sigh escapes Bucky’s lips and he looks toward his kitchen as the oven timer goes off, “time to make a cake.”

author’s note: Did I insert my own cat into a fic? Yes I did, and I’ll do it again. Shamelessly. This was written for @the-omni-princess​ 1K writing challenge (congrats lovely!) and my prompt was Neighbor AU. I’m a little surprised I finished it AND posted in time, but here we are!

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[theveryworstthing]

Pictured: three blooming Luna Mandrakes.

Field Notes: Fruit Bats

From my experience you suddenly know exactly what’s happening when you see the Blooming begin but you don’t really care about it more than any other seasonal marker. It happens every year to specific people and for some reason it just slips your mind when the physical signs are less obvious. It’s just the way things are. One of the natural mysteries here that no one really thinks about but that we all reflexively keep from outsiders.

Maybe it’s the smell that triggers the return of memories? During the day you’ll start to get tiny whiffs of their musty fruity aroma if you stand too close to the Luna Mandrakes. Not that most people stand especially close once they remember what they are, but in some cases it’s unavoidable (or just rude) to keep your distance. They’re a part of the community after all. They’re the soft spoken neighbor who lives in the house where grass grows up through the floorboards. The kind butcher who’s bare feet are always caked in blood and dirt. The school janitor who stared at the sun, eyes unaffected by the glare, every lunch break when I was in high school and told us stories about the founding of the tribe that settled here before this town was built. Every spring they and others like them go about their lives as the days grow warmer and their skin grows paler and nobody mentions the way they gently scratch at their too-long necks when the the time to bloom grows near.

The process has always reminded me of those time lapse videos of seeds sprouting. For some the buds bubble up through their flesh and squeeze cascading blossoms through the widening pores that begin to honeycomb their throats. You can even hear the thin protective membranes that re-form every morning pop open under the pressure if you’re nearby during their evening transformations. For others the flowers don’t wait for an opening to spring from, instead their skin simply twists and puffs itself into fat white knots that always reminded me of oiled balls of dough. By day they hang heavy from the knobbly stem formed from spines shrink-wrapped in velvety white skin. At sundown the buds begin to split and separate, until they eventually fan out into dramatic manes of thick white petals. The flowers themselves come in different sizes and configurations, but they all finish their evening blossoming by unfurling blood-red clusters of pistols and stamens that pulse like gentle heartbeats. Personally I find them all breathtakingly beautiful in that gross way that nature is beautiful. Almost makes me wish I had studied botany instead of biology.

How do I always forget that they aren’t human?

How does anyone ever forget?

I’ve always felt like I should be terrified by the cycle of forgetting and remembering and maybe if I hadn’t been born here I would be. It could just be that my endless curiosity about the ecosystem around my home trumps the fear. Or I’m just weird inside. Probably a mix of the three. I don’t even think I’m supposed to notice that I should be upset by it. No one else feels the same way.

No one else gets anxious around the bats either.

I think they’re harmless, I’ve been told all my life that they’re harmless, and I tell every classroom of children I visit that they’re harmless. They show up every year right as the Luna Mandrakes start blooming to feed on their nectar and in turn, pollinate them. Just like regular bats. Regular bats that are large enough that their combined wings of their relatively small population completely black out the sky for at least ten minutes every evening, the sight of which has always given me such a rush of smothering claustrophobia that witnessing and recording the the spectacle for my research leaves me shaking and lightheaded. Regular bats that only thrive in a neighborhood on the south side of the city with the densest population of Luna Mandrakes, where harsh restrictions and curfews send any human on the streets at night without a botanical license straight to jail for encroaching on the habitat of a protected endangered species. Regular bats that my mentors and I, even with our exhaustively thorough paperwork are only allowed to observe through field cameras in approved locations or by studying the occasional disfigured body found at the edge of the desert.

Regular bats that I finally saw alive and up close last night when I grabbed a burner phone and slipped out of my apartment with a fake botanical license and the promising seeds of a future panic attack.

So.

Right off the bat (no pun intended) something is wrong with the cameras we’re using.

Something about them is distorting the images into visions of creatures both more bestial and less monstrous than the bats I saw attending the lavish night market that has apparently existed here for god knows how long. Draped in finery and walking upright with ease they wandered the streets freely, stopping ever so often to converse with each other in a language I couldn’t understand or flitting from one open door or window to the next. I peeked inside one dimly lit bar and found it converted into a sort of small theater where a few bats munching on mealworms crowded around a huge flat screen tv and a human woman with a lanyard matching my forged one flipped through movies on Netflix and described each one in detail, pausing between summaries to gauge the half hearted chirps coming from her audience before moving on. Next door a supposedly closed for renovations bed and breakfast was transformed into a makeshift spa where human attendants rubbed shimmering oils into the sprawled out wings of bats being meticulously groomed by other bats with white beads braided into their fur. In the open garage of a closed auto shop yet more bats sat around watching chickens in a makeshift pen. The chickens weren’t fighting, in fact I think they were both hens? At one point a bat reached down to pet one before being aggressively clucked at and recoiling back to their seat. I still have no idea what the point was with that one.

I should have taken pictures. I mean I’m glad I didn’t because I drew enough attention to myself without snapping Polaroids like a tourist every five seconds but I have a feeling once I get some sleep this is all going to feel much less real and I’ll forget important details before I can get some solid sketches of the bats done. I wish I could draw right now but I’m still too jittery.  

Also I am procrastinating because writing out my thoughts about chickens and giant bats trying to agree on if they were in the mood to watch Spice World means I can avoid talking about the Luna Mandrakes.

As I said before, this area of the city is where most of the Mandrakes lived. I was confused at first because I saw so few out on the streets where the bats mingled but the ones that I did see looked…off. They were all bare foot and either wore off the shoulder garments or went topless, probably to comfortably make room for their floral manes. Angel hair thin tendrils of flesh peeled away from their ankles every time their feet touched the ground for more than a few seconds and gently prodded the sidewalk beneath them until they continued walking. Their half-lidded eyes had a reflective sheen to them in the glow of the street lamps and they rarely blinked as their focus darted back and forth from the market wonders to the bats that watched them with open curiosity or kept pace just steps behind them. They moved like they were swimming through warm molasses. Smooth and purposeful, but easily too slow to lose their admirers. It gave them a kind of floaty quality that would have been quite elegant if not for the fact that their hands seemed to be just out of sync with the slow down, flexing and fidgeting as if untethered from the strange spell the rest of their bodies were under.  

I followed one of the plants deeper into the residential area and watched them disappear into a darkened home. I was too afraid to join their entourage inside, but I did decide to look at some the houses with less traffic. Even with fewer bats or human officials to potentially discover my ruse, the Mandrakes’ homes were eerie enough to give myself a three house limit on investigations before I turned around and made my way back.

I made it to one.

It was a small house tucked away on a dead end street, totally unremarkable outside of a couple of trees and bushes out front that shielded much of it from view and the fact that the door was open but the windows were all shut. I should have left when I heard the guitar from just inside the dark entryway, but I didn’t. Mostly because the high of curiosity and the possibility of catching a giant man-bat monster thing maybe having a chill jam session overpowered my common sense. Instead I followed the meandering melody down the hall and tried to dodge the sticky sections of the wall that coated the hand I used to guide myself in the dark with what felt like watered down syrup. I followed it all the way to a slightly open door in the hallway where the moonlight through the windows was more than enough to make out the carpet of red stained petals I had been walking on.  

There were at least five bodies on the floor of that room.

Whatever did it had torn through the blossom manes of the Mandrakes, leaving their heads barely attached by strands of viscera to chests that seemed to have been crushed and gnawed on by some massive creature. All evidence pointed to them being dead but those who had them still slowly followed me as best they could with their cloudy eyes.

I took a step inside and tried not to meet their gazes as I tried to mentally process the destruction. Besides a few thin smears and splatters there was surprisingly little blood at the scene. Or maybe it was all nectar. I feel like my clothes stink of both now. I also think I’m probably dangerously deep in shock because my first move upon getting home from such a scene was to write it all down instead of sitting in the shower and screaming for days, which seems much more up my ally when it comes to finding a room full of corpses that track you with their eyes but that’s neither here nor there.

The Mandrake with the guitar sat in a chair by the window, clearly also a victim of whatever mauled the others but mostly intact and still breathing fairly easily. He didn’t respond to my intrusion, I don’t think he even knew I was there. The tendrils around his ankles had rooted him in place, threading themselves into the rug at his feet and winding around similar limp and blackening tendrils branching from the fallen bodies nearby. He played as if in a daze and I debated on whether I should try to get his attention or simply haul him out of there before whatever did this came back to finish the job.

This dilemma is probably what distracted me from the footsteps until I felt the clawed hand gripping my shoulder.  

“You’re not supposed to be here,” The bat said in a deep feminine voice. Their tone was light and neutral as if merely giving me a friendly reminder, but they extended their wings just enough to block my exits while long red fingers reached for my lanyard. I felt just as rooted as the Mandrake while it turned my fake id back and forth in the moonlight, purring to themselves in an inquisitive tone before eventually smiling and setting the piece of plastic back against my chest with a little pat. Their hand came back up to my shoulder and paused for a second before sliding up to grip my collar bone and smearing something warm and wet against my throat with a clawed thumb.

“You are not,” they said, quieter now as they leaned down and forced me to stare into their giant brown eyes for what felt like hours, “supposed to be here.”

I nodded.

And then they just…let me go.

They strode past me into the room, sparing the other bodies only a glance as they headed for the Mandrake with the guitar. I only stayed long enough to watch them gently brush the dark brown curls out of his eyes before my body’s flight response finally kicked in and I bolted.

And now I’m home. I kept calm and got past the barricades like I was supposed to. I discovered that a species I thought I knew all my life has a secret society that mirrors our own which brings us up to two sapient non-human species living alongside us that the rest of the world has no idea about. My plan totally worked despite the fact that it totally shouldn’t have. And I’m not sure if any of that matters because to be honest I have no idea what to do with this information. What I do know is that I got a news alert on my phone about an hour ago when a home on the south side of the city was destroyed in an electrical fire that claimed the lives of the five people inside before firefighters could arrive and thankfully extinguish the blaze.

No word on a sixth body.

No word about any dangerous creatures on the loose.

And I can’t even focus on the implications of these new mysteries because all I can think about is the shadowy courtyard just outside my apartment where I swear I’ve spotted a tall dark figure with nectar-stained hands at least twice now. I don’t think they can do closed doors and windows but mine are all locked and bolted just the same. All I can do is wait.

Forty-five minutes until sunrise.

over on patreon Shannon Leigh Legler  asked for 'big fat flowers', Sabrina Gross asked for 'cute girls of any kind', and he_walks asked for 'April showers bring May flowers.....but what else do they bring?'. the first two prompts inspired the sketches and the last prompt plus the sketches inspired the short story :)

[mordenheim]

Dr. Mordenheim’s Travels, Book 1:  De Writer’s Equestria, Ch. 8

Dr. Victor Mordenheim has traveled to many different realities in his many centuries of existence.  This series, which I shall add to from time to time, will explore some of them, beginning with the world of @ask-de-writer. Note:  This tale takes place before the Hearthswarming story.  It is actually the night after the Nightmare Night Celebration. =============================================================

The huge zebra sat at the table, waiting for the entrance of the two sisters.  Luna had essentially twisted his foreleg until he finally agreed to meet with her sister, Celestia.  Given that in his own world, Celestia was responsible for his curse and much of the suffering he experienced in his long, long life it had taken a LOT of twisting.

He clucked his tongue against the roof of his mouth and wished silently that he had brought his pipe.  He imagined that it was likely bad manners to smoke inside of the royal palace, but his nerves were shot.  He gazed around the room, which was smoothly tiled and decorated mostly in white and gold with deep midnight blue and black highlights.  The black of a few of the tiles was so deep that he felt he might fall into one if he stared at it for too long.

He glanced back over his shoulders to the four guards posted by the huge double doors.  Three of them stood at attention, their heads scanned the room as proper, well trained guards would.  The fourth had his eyes locked on the “good” doctor, sneering with disdain at what he obviously considered a “lesser” creature.  Victor turned away and rolled his eyes, sighing softly.  There really was no escaping ignorance.

After a few moments there came a knock at the door.  A new guard leaned in and whispered something to one of the others before the two nodded to one another and she backed out and closed the door.

“Night court is running late, I am afraid.  Princess Luna will be unable to attend tea with her sister this evening.  However, Princess Celestia shall be appearing in a few moments.

The zebra swallowed hard and felt his heart sink into his gut.  This was not at all what he had agreed to. Meeting the two of them together was bad enough, at least he would have Princess Luna to lean on a bit and guide him through the ordeal, but this?  This was almost too much to bear.

Victor stared wordlessly into the cup of milky tea swirling before him.  His hooves tapped nervously on the tabletop as he waited.  He turned his head to the left, casting furtive glances towards the door.  The door where a mare who was the spitting image of the one who ruined his life would soon enter.  He cast his eyes over to the side of the room and briefly considered hurling himself through the glass to escape.  It might be poor form, but he wouldn't have to face his fear alone. He knew in his head that she was not the same mare who had been responsible for his centuries of torment, but he was not so sure of how his heart would react to seeing her face to face.  He took a deep, cleansing breath through his nose and slowly exhaled through his mouth as he tried to get his nerves under control.

The door opened and he felt his heart freeze like ice.  He turned to see the Princess of the Sun enter the room, alone.  She was slightly taller than he, her rainbow mane seeming to blow in an eternal solar wind even in the still air of the room.  He felt a sudden urge to flee settle into him until he met her gaze. Her eyes met his and studied him with curiosity.  Where the Celestia he knew would only look upon him with coldness and disdain, there was none of that here.  Her eyes held genuine concern. Her violet gaze seemed warm and inviting, like being bathed in the gentle light of the sun after a cold storm.  He started to speak, then stopped.  Unused to the process he bowed low as he did for her sister, if a bit stiffly.

The princess smiled brightly, “My sister told me that you were quite nervous about our meeting, yet it seems something has changed that already.  What was it?”

He cast his gaze downwards, ashamed of how frightened he had been.  “One look into your eyes and I could see that you were not the tyrant ruler of my old home, despite many physical similarities.  Your eyes speak of inviting kindness, while hers spoke of solitude and hatred.”

Celestia, let out a musical laugh.  She moved about a few of the massive array of cakes set before her to make eye contact easier.  No doubt many of these were part of her sister's bribe.  “I am glad to see you are so observant.  The ability to see more than one's appearance is a very important trait to have.”

The zebra finally took a small sip of his tea. He enjoyed the milky richness and the slight sweetness on his tongue.  He thought about her words and tilted his head a bit. “And what do you see beneath my appearance?”

The tall mare looked thoughtful for a moment.  Her first few words were muffled, spoken as they were around a mouthful of cake.  “Power...  Great power and intelligence, and a kindness and wish to help others.”  Her wistful look turned to one of sorrow, “Beneath that, however, is pain..  More pain than anyone should have to endure.  There's a darkness down there, and that makes you a dangerous stallion.” Victor sat his cup down with a shaking hoof.  The porcelain made a soft clattering noise against the saucer.  How much did she know, he wondered.  Steeling himself, he forced his eyes to meet hers and was stunned to see not judgment, but compassion in her gaze.  “I have done many things I am not proud of over the centuries.  Things I wish I could go back and change, but I can't.  All of this power and all of the time in the universe...” “Yet you can't change the past...” Celestia finished for him.

He nodded mutely and stared down into his tea for a moment. The princess reached across the table and lightly touched his shoulder with a hoof.  The zebra was so tense it was like touching a moss-covered stone.  “I don't know what you've done in the past, but that was another place, another world entirely.  Here, I want you to know that you can start over.  A clean slate, as it were.”

She stared into the depths of her own tea for a moment.  “I know what happened at the celebration last night.”

Victor had gripped the edge of the table with his hooves so tightly that the wood sounded like it was beginning to splinter.  He glanced at the guards, his voice a hoarse whisper.  “They were inciting violence around children, I couldn't just...”

She smiled softly, “I know...  I know everything that happened, Victor.  Luna knew what had happened and we do not keep secrets from one another.”

The zebra was confused by the smile, but relaxed a little.  She hadn't shouted for the guards so all may still be well.

“My apologies.  A transgression like that where I come from could result in several years in the dungeon, if not becoming a permanent addition to the royal statue garden.” He rubbed a bit at his eye patch and chuckled nervously, but could see genuine concern in Celestia's eyes.

“I'm sorry to hear that.  To think that a punishment for a crime would be levied without looking into all circumstances involved, or worse that the circumstances did not matter is horrible.  To think that it comes from a version of myself, even more so.”  The tall alicorn helped herself to another piece of cake from the rapidly dwindling pile.  As she took a bite, she mulled over a few thoughts.

“It doesn't sound like you are in any particular hurry to go back there,” she said softly, taking a sip of tea.

“Not at all.  There is nothing left for me there anymore.  Everything was taken from me.”  He picked up the mug of tea in his hooves and sipped at it sparingly.  It had gone cold while they were waiting, but that was fine as far as he was concerned.

Victor was once more bathed in that comforting warmth as Celestia smiled at him.  “You may, of course, stay here for as long as you wish.  You are after all a citizen of Equestria, if not this particular version of it.”  She giggled a bit, “Luna has also told me that you were so anxious to open your clinic that you forgot to get the proper licenses even after she told you directly.”

Victor blushed, a deep crimson showing through his pale fur.  “Y..yes, well...”  He stammered for a moment before nodding, “Very true.  If Princess Luna had not been visiting that day I could have ended up in a rather large spot of trouble.”

“Ah!  Before I forget!  Luna was extremely impressed with the demonstration of your prostheses.  She even said that it has pushed her to try improving on her own design. Perhaps the two of you should compare notes with one another and come up with a single design using your combined knowledge?”

Victor hummed and rubbed his chin, “I think that is an ingenious idea!  If you think she would be willing, of course...” Celestia chuckled to herself, “I think she would be delighted.  After all, who knows what breakthroughs the two of you may devise?”

Victor slowly took another long, cleansing breath and allowed himself to relax at last.  “Lord and Lady, I had been so nervous about this day.  Thankfully, I see that it was for no good reason.”

The tall alicorn tilted her head at that statement, “Lord and Lady?  I must admit that's an expletive I have not heard before.”

“Ah..”  Victor blushed a bit and thought he had gotten a bit too comfortable.  “It is in reference to the parents of Princess Luna and Celestia from my own dimension. Lord Kraken and Lady Faust.”

The princess nodded.  She took a very large bite of cake and chewed thoughtfully as she mulled it over, “Yes, I suppose that would make sense.  Though it is interesting to hear that a version of myself and my sister came from an entirely different set of circumstances.”

The zebra lifted a fork in his hoof and took a small piece of the sugary sweet cake onto it, “Well, the circumstances, unfortunately, created a very different version of you both.”

Celestia took one look and could easily read the hurt in the doctor's voice.  She cleared her throat a bit and smiled once more at him, “Perhaps that is something we can discuss another time.  This being our first meeting perhaps we should stick to more pleasant conversation.”

He placed the sugary treat into his mouth and let it melt upon his tongue.  There was so much sweetness to it it made his teeth tingle, but it was still very flavorful.  It wasn't sweet just for sweetness sake, but crafted with love and care by someone who knew precisely what they were doing.  “Mmm.. sorry..”  He took a sip of his tea to clear some of the stickiness from his maw, “Did you have something particular in mind?”

“Well, the running of the leaves is in a few weeks.  We've changed the route a bit so it runs past your clinic and will clear some of the mess out in that area.  I was wondering if you were going to participate in the running itself?”

His ears perked up at the sound of that.  How long had it been since he'd gone for a run and just really let himself loose?  He could actually feel his true cutie mark trying to push its way pas the wolf-head curse mark on his flank for a moment.  “I..  would like that very much, but I don't know if I should...”

The princess blinked in surprise, sitting upright, “I don't understand.  The running is open to any creature who wishes to join in.  What could be the problem?”

Victor chuckled a little, “Simply put, my skill as a scientist is purely due to study, hard work, and dedication.  It has nothing to do with my talent.”  He smiles, actually puffing up with pride a little, “While I may be a bit rusty, my true talent is running.  I just don't know if it would be fair to the others if I were to participate.”

She laughed a little, a high, cheerful piccolo like sound.  “Oh, now I wish to see you run even more.  If it is something you are skilled at and enjoy enough to brag about it in front of me, you must be impressive indeed!” He blinked as he realized that he had just stepped in a mess with this turn of conversation.  He sighed softly and shook his head, “Alright then, I will participate, but I just hope the other ponies won't be upset if I show them up too badly.”  He finished his small slice of cake and drained the last of his tea before smiling at her.  However, the hour is late, and I still have a bit of paperwork to do before bed.” “Of course, of course.  I should be getting to bed myself.  It is a shame that Luna could not join us, but I did exercise enough restraint to save her a slice of cake.” Victor turned and bowed to the Princess, his head low to the carpet, “By your leave, your highness.”

She smiled and nodded, “Of course.  I look forward to seeing you again soon, Doctor Mordenheim.  I also look forward to what breakthroughs you and my sister may come up with.” The zebra stood and turned to trot out of the room. He took great delight in the look of impotent rage on the face of one particular guard as he passed by.