(Bat) A Feeling of Fear - 2

>You and Anon left Twilight and Celestia in the library.
>You walked through the castle and out into the Garden of Space.
>Anon was quiet the entire time.
>It worried you.
>You now lay on the ground in the garden.
>Anon laid to your left and took your hoof into both of his hands.
>He held it close to his chest and looked blankly at the sky.
>You turn your head to look at him.
>You scoot closer to him and blow in his ear.
>He doesn't do anything.
"Anon? You're acting weird. Do we need to go home?"
>You pull your hoof away.
>He turns his head to face you.
>His eyes water and turn red as he threatens to cry.
>You sit up and start caressing his face, stroking his cheek.
>He holds your hooves still.
>"I don't want you to leave me."
>You squeeze his cheeks slightly and smile down at him.
"Why would I leave you, dear one?"
>He mutters something, but you don't catch it.
"What was that, love?"
>He mumbles.
>You roll your eyes and lean down to press your ear to his lips.
>He lets go of your hooves and hugs you close to him.
>"I'm so sorry, Speck."
"Sorry? For wha-"
>You start screeching and squealing as he blows into your ear.
>He laughs and lets you go.
>You jump up and start yelling at him.
"Anon! What is wrong with you! You had me all worried!"
>You sniffle and start to cry.
>He moves closer to you and caresses your cheek.
>"Hey, come on. I'm sorry. Please don't cry."
>You lean into his hand.
>He pulls you into his lap and hugs you close.
>He kisses your cheek.
>You look up at him, tears fresh in your eyes.
>"Are you okay?"
>You nod and wrap your forelegs around his neck.

>He takes a deep breath and groans.
>"It's either now or never."
>He retrieves his journal from his bag.
>You look at it curiously.
>Was he finally going to let you read it?
>You smile at him and place your hoof on it.
"Can I read it, now?"
>He shakes his head and strokes your mane.
>"No, I think it'd be better if I read it to you."
>Fair enough.
>You always did enjoy his enthralling tales of adventure in his old world.
>He adopts a very stern look and furrows his brow.
>He flips through a few pages and starts to read.
>"February 12, 2011. Started working at the local nursing home. Fed the elderly, made their beds, cleaned their rooms."
>You remember this one.
>Anon was always so kind to the elderly.
>"Hated it more than anything I've ever done."
>You shake your head and stare at him in shock.
"Anon? Are you okay? You always said you loved doing that."
>He ignores you and continues, flipping through a few more pages.
>"March 3rd, 2011. Started donating blood. It wasn't too bad."
>You smile warily at him.
>"April 3rd, 2011. Donated blood again. Almost passed out. Got mad. Never donating again."
>Your jaw drops and you leap out of his lap.
"Anon?! What's wrong with you!"
>Again, he ignores you and continues.
>"April 21st, 2011. Prom night. Long story short, caused -"
>You cut him off as you start screaming at him.
"Anon! What is your problem! Why are you telling me all of this?"
>He looks away from you and swallows hard.
>"Because, Speck. I'm not a great hero. I'm not a good person. I'm not... an Angel."
>You shake your head as your tears well up in your eyes.
"Anon..."
>"Before I came to Equestria... I tried to help people. I really did. But I always got in my own way and gave up."
>You bring a hoof up to your mouth as you start to feel sick.
>"Those stories I told you, about me saving hundreds of people and kingdoms and going on adventures? Those were from those video-games I told you about."
>You turn away from him and start to walk away.
"You know what, Anon? You could have been a thief, or a murderer, or even a genocidal psychopath when you were on Earth."
>You start to walk back to the castle.
"I don't care what you were, Anon. All I care about is that you're here, now, being the hero that you said you were. Being MY hero."
>You don't turn back to look at him.
>All you do is run into the castle and sprint through its halls with no destination in mind.

>You are now Anon.
>And that could have gone worse.
>A lot worse.
>She didn't seem too upset.
>It could have gone better though.
>You weren't finished.
>And now you had to go find her.
"And you know what?"
>You start talking to no one in particular.
"She's worth chasing after."
>You get up and head into the castle, running with no direction.
>A few guards jump out of your way as you speed past them.
>You should probably ask them if they saw Speck.
>You skid to a halt in front of the next guard you see.
"Have you seen a bat pony in a black dress with dark turquoise hair run by here?"
>He nods and points at a hallway.
>"She went down there and took a left."
>You take off down the hallway and bank left, sprinting down another large hallway.
>This castle's design sucks.
>"Looking for someone?"
>A white horse with a colorful, ethereal mane trots beside you.
>You roll your eyes.
"Yes, Celestia. I'm looking for Speck."
>She chuckles.
>"Then I take it you told her everything you told Twilight?"
"If it's everything Twilight told you, then yes."
>She hums to herself as the two of you run through the castle.
>"I'm surprised you haven't realized you've been running in circles."
>You try to stop, but you trip and roll down the hallway.
>You don't bother to get up.
"Then, would you kindly take me to where she is?"
>Celestia stands over you and shakes her head.
>"No, but I can tell you that she's in the Garden of Fallen Stars."
>You sigh.
"How many gardens does Luna have?"
>"Quite a few. After returning home from her banishment, she grew fond of gardening."
>You get up and start walking toward the east end of the castle.
>"Wrong way, Anon."
>You move to the west.
>"Are you giving up? I figured you'd try to find Speck before heading back into the city."
>You throw your hands up.
"Just take me there! I don't have time for this!"
>She rolls her eyes and starts heading south.
>"You are absolutely no fun, dear Anonymous."

>Celestia leads you throughout the castle.
>"And as I was saying, the chefs are making their special mango banana smoothies."
>You skid to a halt and stare at her.
>"Anon? What are you doing? The garden is just past the door at the end of this hallway."
"Take me to the kitchen."
>She snickers.
>"Why, are you thirsty?"
>It's almost like she doesn't realize what's going on between you and Speck.
>Or rather, that Speck doesn't exist to her.
"Just take me to the kitchen."
>She rolls her eyes and leads you down a side hall.
>You soon arrive in the kitchen, without having to turn down any other hallways.
>You glare at Celestia.
>"The neat thing about this castle, is that when we were initially planning and designing it, we made sure that all hallways connected to the kitchens and dining hall in some way."
"Oh, well that explains a lot."
>She shoves a hoof in your side.
>"Why did you want to come here?"
>You ignore her and start snapping your fingers at one of the chefs.
"Hey, Chef Boyardee, where are the mango banana smoothie things? I need one, now."
>Celestia snickers.
>The chef turns to you, about to say something until he sees the Princess.
>"R-right away, sir."
>He darts through a door and returns seconds later with a smoothie.
"THANK GOODNESS FOR CHEF BOYARDEE, AM I RIGHT?!"
>You're getting impatient with everything now.
>Every minute that Speck is alone, is one more minute that she dwells on her current feelings.
>And that's one more minute that she can use to decide she hates you.
>And you don't want to risk that.
>"Ready to go, Anon?"
>You nod and follow her as she leads you to the garden.

>You stand at the door leading out into the Garden of Fallen Stars.
>It looks very similar to the Garden of Space, except the colors of the brick walkways display thousands of different shades of blue.
>There are also many, many more white flowers specked throughout the dark grass and bushes.
>You look around and spot Speck sitting in front of a rather large ivory monument.
>"This is Luna's favorite garden. She plants a new flower every time one of her stars falls."
>You look at Celestia.
>"Her bats are her stars, Anon. Not the literal stars in the sky."
"How does she know when her stars fall?"
>"Not even I know that, Anon. She considers them her children, and they consider her their mother."
>You nod and step outside as Celestia takes her leave.
>This garden definitely felt more serene than the Garden of Space.
>You walk toward Speck.
>She doesn't hear your approach.
>You sit to her right, placing your left hand on her shoulder while your right holds the smoothie.
"Hey there, Speck."
>She doesn't answer you.
>She doesn't even look up at you.
"I know you're upset, Speck. I'm really sorry I've been lying to you."
>She keeps her focus on the ivory monument.
>You look up at it.
>It has a small plaque on it that reads: "In Memory Of My Fallen Stars. The Skies Grow Darker Each Night, But You Are Not Forgotten."
>You smile and pull Speck close to you.
"When I came to Equestria, I made up a past for myself, based on my adventures in those games."
>You kiss her ear and stroke her mane.
"I wanted to be a hero in this world. I wanted to help p0nies, and I wanted to be loved."
>She pulls away from you and looks away.
"But those five long years of being here... Of helping the Cakes and helping P0nyville."
>A tear falls down her cheek.
"When you first came out of those bushes in front of our home..."
>She tries not to sob.
"Speck, that was when I first knew I could be the hero I always wanted to be."
>You reach out and trace your fingers over her right cheek.
"I could be the hero that someone admired and looked up to. I could be someone's reason to try their hardest every day."
>You pull her face to look up at you.
>You hold her chin up and kiss her lips.
>She pulls back, her tears in full force.
>"Anon. You did everything you could for me. You took me in, you fed me, you protected me. You took me to my mom in her final hours."
>You hand her the smoothie.
>She smiles and takes it, looking up at you as she takes a sip.

>"I don't care about anything that you've ever done before I met you, Anon. I didn't fall in love with you because of those stories. I admired you for them, sure. But do you know what I really fell in love with you for?"
>You shake your head and place a hand on her cheek.
>"I fell in love with you for those banana bread muffins you made."
>You stare at her blankly.
>She starts snickering.
>You push her over onto her back, she throws the smoothie away from her in surprise.
>You lay beside her on your side and trace your fingers over her ears.
"You can be so cruel sometimes, Speck."
>"Oh, bite me."
>She covers her mouth with her hooves, her eyes widening in fear.
>You start laughing.
>For the first time since you met her, you laugh at her pun.
>She starts laughing too.
>You hold her face and she holds yours.
>Your laughter dies down a little as you kiss.
>You roll onto your back and hold her on top of you.
>She breaks the kiss and nuzzles into your neck.
>"I love you Anon."
"I love you too, Speck."
>"Ahem..."
>You look up from Speck.
>She rolls off of you and squeaks.
>Princess Luna stands over the both of you with a soft smile on her face.
>"Having fun?"
"Yes."
>Speck waves at Luna and smiles.
>"Hi Princess."
>"Hello Speck, how are you?"
>You roll your eyes and cover Speck's mouth.
"What's going on Luna?"
>Speck licks your hand, but you don't remove it.
>Instead, you just rub your thumb over her nostrils.
>"Nothing much, Anonymous. Just getting ready to tend to my gardens."
>Speck starts inhaling weirdly.
>You ignore it.
"Sounds hard. Want some help?"
>Luna shakes her head and smiles at you.
>"No thank you, Anon. This is something I need to do myself."
>Tears well up in her eyes.
>Speck continues having her breathing fit.
>She inhales deeply and closes her eyes tight.
>She sneezes into your hand.
>You slowly move your hand away from her face, a look of absolute horror and disgust on your own face.
>Luna starts to giggle through her tears.
>Speck snickers, grabs you by the wrist and tries to turn your hand and rub it on your face.
>You barely have to resist, but that doesn't mean you're going to risk it.
>You tear your arm away from her and wipe your hand on the grass.

>"You're no fun, Anon."
"Not when you're trying to wipe your snot on my face."
>You look up at Luna.
>She stares at the large ivory monument.
"You okay, Luna?"
>She nods and smiles.
>"Yes. Just wondering if, maybe... I'll have some new stars to look out for?"
>Speck giggles and blushes.
>You shake your head and smile like an idiot.
"No idea what you mean."
>Luna waves a hoof at you.
>"No, but I'm sure you will soon."
>You look down at Speck.
>She hides her face in your shirt.
>You shrug and hug her close.
>Luna chuckles and picks up a small tray she had with her.
>You are not a perceptive man.
>She carries it past you and Speck, toward the edge of another walkway.
>Oh.
>You remember what Celestia told you, just as Luna picks a small white bud off of the tray.
>She digs a small hole and places the bud in it and covers it.
>She whispers something and waters it.
>The Princess of the Night turns and walks back to you and Speck.
>She beckons you to follow her to the other side of the garden.
>You and Speck oblige.

>You are Speck again.
>You sit by a small group of white Easter lilies.
>They're really pretty.
>Princess Luna points at a small, budding flower.
>"That's the one I planted for your mother."
>You smile up at her.
"Thank you, Princess."
>You look up to the sky and hum to yourself.
>The sun was getting a little low in the sky.
>Your stomach grumbles lightly.
>You blush as Anon picks you up.
>"Food time. Come on Luna, we're gonna go raid your royal kitchen for whatever they're making for your royal breakfast."
>Luna chuckles and follows after him.
>"You two have impeccable timing, by the way."
>You peer down at Princess Luna.
"Why's that?"
>"Tonight, we're having a banquet for many of the noble class p0nies in Canterlot."
>Anon smirks.
>It's that kind of smirk he has when he's plotting something.
>"Maybe the two of you could spice it up a little?"
>It's a full smile now.
>This scares you a little.
>"I'll see what I can do, Princess."
>Luna trots ahead into the castle.
>You wrap your forelegs around Anon's neck and reposition yourself so you can look directly into his eyes.
"Why are you so casual to the Princesses, Anon?"
>He raises an eyebrow.
>"They were the first p0nies I met in Equestria. I didn't want them to think I was some stiff, so I just acted like I would have around my friends. Why?"
>You shrug and nuzzle his nose.
"Just a little curious. Maybe trying to figure out more of what makes you work."
>He laughs and nuzzles you back.
>"Good luck with that. The inner workings of my mind are an enigma."
>You giggle as he carries you into the castle and down a narrow hallway that leads into the kitchens.
>One of the chefs glares at Anon as you enter.
>"Yo! Chef Boyardee, what's up?"
>The chef grumbles.
>"Where can I find the dining room or whatever? Where the banquet's supposed to be?"
>The chef points to a door.
>"Thanks Chef. Keep up the good work with your spaghetti and raviolis."
>Anon carries you through the door and down another narrow hallway.
"You're acting weird, dear one."
>He sighs and sets you down so you can walk.
>"I'm about to sit at a royal banquet for nobles. It's about to get seven kinds of awkward."
>He takes a deep breath before opening the door at the end of the hallway.

>Celestia sits at the head of a long table.
>Luna and Twilight sit to her left and right respectively.
>You sit by Luna and Anon sits by Twilight.
>Many of the nobles stare at you in silence.
>As a matter of fact, the entire dining hall is silenced.
>Celestia stands to announce your and Anon's presence.
>"Nobles of Canterlot, I would like to introduce two very good friends of the Equestrian Royal Family, Anonymous and Speck."
>All of the nobles applaud and return to their conversations and their food.
>You look down at your mango banana smoothie and fruit plate, then to Celestia.
>She smiles at you.
>You smile back.
>The unicorn beside you taps on your shoulder, so you turn to look at her.
>"Um, excuse me."
>She stares up at you with big blue eyes.
"Yes?"
>She brushes her purple mane back behind her ears.
>"I was wondering... where did you get that dress?"
>You look down and rub a hoof over it.
"Oh, this? I found it in a little dress shop not far from the elevators leading into Canterlot Mountain."
>She smiles and looks over it.
>"You're from P0nyville, right?"
>You nod.
>"My name is Curio. I run several of my great-great-grandmother's dress shops in Canterlot, and the Carousel Opera House. You were at the Summer Sun Celebration's banquet, weren't you?"
"Yes, I was. But I don't recall seeing you there?"
>She shakes her head.
>"I popped in for a brief moment, but business called me back here."
>She looks back over your dress.
>"I remember finding that design in my great-great-grandmother's old cedar chest. It never interested anyp0ny enough for them to buy it but... It looks like it was made for you."
"It was my favorite out of all of the dresses in that shop."
>"So how do you know the princesses?"
>You shrug and point to Anon.
"He came from another world and met them, then moved to P0nyville. He kind of... took me in and here we are."
>She nods slowly.
"What about you?"
>"My great-great-grandmother was one of the Elements of Harmony, back when Equestria actually needed saving."
>She giggles to herself.
>"Oh, what an age we live in where there is no conflict or fighting."
>You sip at your smoothie.
>One of the waiters walks by to take your glass as you finish.
>You ask him for a banana milkshake before he goes.
>"So what do you do for a living?"
>You turn back to Curio and shrug.
"Not much. I kind of hang around Anon's house and harass him when he goes to work at Sugarcube Corner."
>You snicker to yourself.
"Sometimes he gets me free pastries."
>Curio smiles and claps her hooves together.
>"Oh, Sugarcube Corner! I haven't been there in so long. Their cakes are absolutely to die for!"

>A cherry hits you in the face.
>You look up to see Anon and Twilight giggling like little fillies.
>"Hey. Hey watch this."
>Anon flicks another cherry at you.
>You catch it between your teeth and wink at him.
>You roll it with your tongue, swallow it, and lick your lips.
>He has a very uncomfortable look on his face.
>As does Twilight.
>"Well, Anon. That was most certainly... unique."
>Curio blushes and giggles at you.
>Anon just sits in a state of shock.
>The p0nies sitting closest to you also sit in shock.
>Celestia and Luna try not to laugh.
>You smirk at Anon and pick a cherry up in your mouth.
"Your turn."
>"Alright, I've got this."
>He places his hands on the table to brace himself, one hand sinks into a slice of cake he has near him.
>He opens his mouth as wide as he can and nods at you.
>You spit it at him.
>He goes for the catch!
>It misses and pegs him in the eye.
>He falls backwards out of his seat.
>He doesn't get up.
>You climb up on the table and look over the edge, trying to see him.
>Everyp0ny else looks either at you, or at him on the ground.
>You cover your mouth as tears form in your eyes.
>You killed Anon.
>With a cherry.
>You scream.
"I KILLED ANON!"
>You start to climb over the table to get to his body.
>To your total surprise, Anon sits up and pegs you in the face with a piece of cake.
>The whole room is suspended in time.
>Nop0ny moves.
>Nop0ny speaks.
>You slowly wipe the cake off your face and take a small bite of it.
>Anon smirks and holds his arms out.
>"Get on with it, Speck."
>You pull back and launch the rest of the cake at him.
>Both of you scream in unison: "FOOD FIGHT!"
>Anon works fast to crush as many pieces of fruit on Twilight's face as he can.
>You dump a smoothie out on Celestia's head.
>Anon stops.
>Several of the nobles stop throwing food.
>Celestia glares at you.
>Oh no, what did you do.
>She's mad now.
>It's your fault.

>"Speck."
"Yes, Princess?"
>She continues glaring at you.
>"Come here."
>You sit on the table in front of her.
>You bow before her and start to apologize.
>"I do not need your apologies, Speck.'
>You whimper and look down.
>Don't cry, Speck.
>Don't cry.
>Luna puts a hoof to her mouth.
>Anon stays completely silent and doesn't move.
>You feel something cold fall on the back of your head and slowly start to creep through your mane.
>Luna, Anon, Twilight, and Celestia all start laughing as loud as possible.
>Curio soon joins in as she recovers from taking a piece of pie to the face.
"Et tu, Curio?"
>You stopped being concerned for your dress's well-being.
>It could be cleaned.
>You fall to the table and roll around.
>Twilight dumps a plate of strawberries and blackberries on you.
>Luna smears a cupcake on your left cheek.
"I feel... tired."
>Anon holds you close to his chest.
>"Then go to sleep Speck. You've earned it."
>You snuggle close to Anon, a tear falling down your cheek.
"Good night, Anon. I love you."
>"I love you too Speck."
>You close your eyes and go limp in Anon's arms.

>War has been brought to Canterlot.
>The Princesses killed your Speck.
>Sort of.
>She sat beside you and kicked her legs as she giggled.
>"Oh, Anon! This is so much fun."
"Speck, shush. You're supposed to be dead."
>You lob a mushball consisting of cake and various berries over the tipped over table behind which you sit.
>Curio and several other nobles sit behind it with you.
>You tap Curio on the shoulder and point at Celestia.
"I need you to hold her. I have a plan."
>She nods and starts launching as many bits of fruits and vegetables as she can.
>You, on the other hand, hop over another table, where several more nobles hide.
"Alright here's the plan. You're my group of leading scientists, and we're going to build a bomb out of food that can wreck Celestia."
>The nobles stare at you.
"Play along."
>They nod and start gathering as much food as they can.
"Alright. Shove it all into one massive pile. We'll get the unicorns to levitate it and drop it on Neighgasaki over there."
>You stretched that one.
>You don't care, it made two of the nobles chuckle.
>"And what is this so called plan of yours?"
>You squint your eyes and adopt the most serious face you can.
"I call it... the Manehattan Project."
>Aw yes.
>Nailed it.
"You guys keep prepping that, I'll be right back."
>You hop over the table back to the front line.
"I need you guys to gather as much food as you can and send it to the back line. Keep firing on Celestia, but just enough to ward their fire."
>You pick Speck up.
"When I give the call, I need all of you to move to the back line."
>Curio stares at you.
>"What's going on Anon?"
>You shake your head and sigh.
"Something that even we will regret..."
>You say no more and jump back to the back line with Speck.

>Several minutes of packing food together into a large blob later.
>Your "bomb" is finally finished.
>"What do you call it, Sir?"
>You signal for the unicorns to start levitating it toward Celestia.
>You stand triumphantly with it as it rises.
"I call it..."
>The unicorns launch it at the opposing forces.
"The Speckoning."
>That was bad by all standards of the definition.
>Speck didn't even laugh at that.
>She just glared at you.
>You shrug and watch your bomb splatter all over the Princesses and opposing nobility.
>You run and jump over fallen tables until you come to a sliding stop in front of Celestia, Luna, and Twilight.
>All three of them are covered in liquified cake and fruit.
>All you can see are their eyes.
>You clap your hands together.
"You."
>Spin.
"Just."
>Flex.
"Got."
>You drag a finger over Celestia's cheek, lick the accumulated mush off your finger, and whisper.
"Wrecked."

>The Princesses and the unicorns on their team had the dining hall cleaned fairly quickly with their magic.
>You said it was too late to catch the train to P0nyville.
>Luna took Speck's dress to the royal dressmaker to be cleaned.
>Celestia set you and Speck up in the old guest room that you used when you first arrived in Equestria.
>It made you uncomfortable the first time you were here.
>It made you uncomfortable now.
>The room was large and spacious.
>The bed felt like it was made of clouds.
>Everything was too high-end and fancy.
>You didn't like fancy.
>You liked simple.
>Speck was bouncing on the bed, fresh out of the bath, screeching with excitement.
>At least she enjoyed it.
>"Anon! This is so cool! This bed is so bouncy and comfortable and I could just sink into it and sleep forever!"
>You can feel the diabetes coming on.
>You feel a heart attack following it.
>She goes up and wiggles her legs all around.
>Then comes down and flops all over the place.
>You just sat back and watched her.
>"Anon! Come bounce with me!"
>You sigh and approach the bed.
>You catch your bat p0ny mid fall.
>She wriggles against you, escapes your grip, and flops onto the bed.
>"You are absolutely no fun, Anon."
>You smirk and hop in bed next to her.
"I can be fun."
>She smiles and looks at you with half-lidded eyes.
>"Oh yeah?"
>You hug her close.
"Yeah."
>"Well then... Maybe we can have a little fun of our own."
>You blush and grin.
"I suppose we could."
>She hops up and smiles.
>"Okay! I'll be right back then."
>She trots to the bathroom and emerges a short while later with several brushes and combs.
>What.
"What're those?"
>"Uh. Brushes and combs? Duh?"
>She gives them to you.
>"I told you on the elevator, when your hand was on my butt, that we could... partake in this business."
>Wait.
>You thought she meant...
>Oh, wow.
>Dodged a serious bullet there.

>You pick up one of the brushes and she climbs on top of you.
>You start to brush her mane.
>She buries herself against you and groans softly.
>"It's been too long since I had a good brushing..."
>She kisses your shoulder.
>"I wish I'd known you liked doing this sooner."
>Wait, what?
"What do you mean sooner? Why wouldn't I like doing this?"
>She looks up at you and blushes softly.
>"W-well, I mean... I'm really bad at brushing myself..."
>You're tripping over all of the signs and interpreting them in the exact opposite directions.
>You continue brushing her.
"So this isn't some kind of... weird lovers thing?'
>She shakes her head and laughs.
>"No, Anon. Absolutely not. It's just grooming, like taking a bath or going to the spa."
>You need to brush up on your Equestrian Culture and all of that noise.
>She continues pressing against you as you brush knots of fur loose and pull up shedded hairs.
>Her coat is definitely starting to look cleaner.
>And she feels much softer.
"I'll have to do this more often."
>She doesn't respond.
>All you hear are the steady "keekeekee's" that signal her being asleep.
>You smile and pull the bedspread over you and her, clapping to snuff the candles out.
>The candles around the room snuff themselves out.
>Magic candles.
>You'll need to invest in those when you get back to P0nyville.
>You snuggle her close and shut your eyes.