I can’t remember when the war started. Or remember when chaos first descended upon Equestria. I was only a little colt, and my memory has been somewhat lacking over the years. From what I can recall from this blur I call my memory, it started when it was discovered that Dragons lead to unimaginable power; more powerful than Celestia herself. Though in order to acquire this, the dragon needed to be slayed, their blood harvested. Their scales taken and ground up and drank with the blood. Their meat eaten gave unprecedented strength; thank the griffons for discovering that. Yet, it drove the ponies mad with power, wrath, lust, and greed. It was a slow discovery at first, though no one knows who was the first the drink the blood and scales or to eat the flesh, but it wasn’t long for the knowledge to spread. Soon, nearly everypony was entranced by this magic.
It wasn’t also long for Canterlot to fall. The ponies, mad with power assaulted Canterlot at sunset, taking the palace by storm. Celestia’s Royal Guards were no match for the power of these mad ponies and their griffon allies. Countless guards fell in combat. Both Princess Celestia and Luna were able to escape and forced to live a life of exile. Both of their whereabouts are unknown. When Canterlot fell, chaos. Discord couldn’t match what fell on Equestria. From Manehattan to Trottingham, Fillydelphia to Dodge Junction, and Appleoosa to Cloudsdale. It was all a mess. Because of the attack the sun was left hanging in the sky, neither day nor night for the past twenty-five years. Which is about the time The Shadows came to power. Under the leadership of a griffon named Talon. He ruled with an iron fist. Cracking down on dissidents to his order.
For years after the hostile take over, Talon extended his shadow over all of Equestria. Shadow troops began occupying all of the cities. Because these ponies and griffons drank the blood, they were changed and different. They showed no remorse, no mercy for anypony. They stole, killed, even raped. We were to them what a bug was to a lion. Weak, small, insignificant.
About that time, I was born. My father, from what my mother told me, was a humble unicorn who worked the printing press and newspaper of Ponyville. His dark blue coat and black mane were constantly dirty from the ink of the press. When Talon's troops first arrived, he had little choice when The Shadow's troops demanded either he shut his workplace down or print out propaganda for the regime. He had no intentions of causing problems and only agreed because he feared harm on his family.
My mother, a regular house pony, took care of my sister and I. Her white coat was worn gray with worry from taking care of the two of us. Her maroon mane was kept in a bun, and seemed to lack the shine it once it had. But she always seemed to always keep a smile. My sister, from what I can remember, kept her brown mane clean and her turquoise coat shone from over scrubbing.
Then there was me. I don't quite understand why I was born. Why in this world, so divided and torn by chaos, was I born. My parents barely had enough to support my sister as it is. The Shadow barely paid anything for the posters and banners, it was barely enough to get by. From what I can gather now, with my auburn coat and white mane, I gave them hope. Such a strange thing to show hope.
The rebel force, no matter how small and insignificant was there. They were in all shapes and forms. Whether it be by tearing down or defacing the poster of Talon or engaging Shadow troops with hit-and-run tactics. It was like trying to tackle an Ursa Major as a mouse. Clearly impossible. But they still did it. They wanted to return Equestria to the way it was.
That’s how I lost my father. He wasn’t a true rebel. Not in the sense of open conflict, but he would speak his mind when he shouldn’t have. At least that’s what mother said about him. Again, I was very young when I lost him. I only remember vague images and dreams of this man, who I call my father. My sister even said he would trot around the house with me on his back. How I would wait by the door for him to get off work everyday. The stories he would read to me every night I would go to bed. It's only unfortunate that I was unable to met this man. But he was taken from us. During dinner, right in front of his own family. My mother fought and pleaded with the guards not to take him away. But his fate was sealed after making a comment in a crowded market about where "Lord" Talon could put his laws about curfew. Problem was there happened to Talon’s men nearby who heard the statement and "arrested" him. No trial, they just hanged in the town square as an example for all of Ponyville. They let his body rot on that rope.
My mother was never the same after that. I guess as unicorn, we have a special bond with those we love. She was defiantly a shadow of her former self. It was heart wrenching to she her go. Though at a young age, I never fully understood it. My sister was what kept me going. That is till some griffon soldiers took them from me. Both of them, right in front of me. Well, not quite in front of me. My sister was able to put me in the cabinet when the soldiers arrived. Watching from the cracks in the wood, I watched them. Pulled by their mane out of the house, kicking and screaming, at least from my sister. My mom went more quietly, accepting her fate whatever that may be. That was thirteen years ago. I've been searching and have yet to find a sign of them anywhere.
From then, I was under the care a kind pony named Ms.Cheerilee. A pony who, up until recently, was a school teacher. Talon's regime forced to close down schools that were not in keeping with the law of the land. She spoke of Celestia and Luna as leaders and as symbols of peace. She nearly committed "treason" in the eyes of law. The regime thought she was brainwashing the young fillies and colts, she was lucky enough to have kept her own life. They showed some form of mercy and only burnt down her school and her home. Though I was very young, I offered her to stay in my home. I was the only one living it it. Why not share? She cared for me, treated me like her own child. I even called her mom a few times. Every time I did such, she only smiled and fought back tears.
In our home, she taught me how to be a better pony, what it meant to be an Equestrian. To be a good citizen. Though she was still young, she was remembered what it was like before The Shadow descended over Equestria. Back when there was both day and night. She even spoke different times of the year when the weather was different. Like spring, when the flowers would grow across the land. Or a time called winter, when something called "snow" would fall from the sky. How very strange.
That was around the time my cutie mark appeared. A star, hidden behind a cloud. A symbol of hope, Ms. Cheerilee called it. I gave the people around us hope. I never fully understood, but now I say that I was given something great. But I always hide it under my clothes. I suffer enough pain everyday, why give the griffons and ponies to beat me more, now that I give hope. And hope for what? That this will all end soon? Sometimes I wonder if I was given the right cutie mark.
But now, Dragons have been hunted down. Too keep the powerful in charge, and the weak in line. Talon himself has been rumored to have killed seventeen. Rumored to have feasts and banquets all to himself full of dragon meat, blood soups, and assorted drinks. He feasts while his populace starves. There has been a rebel force, but while rebel against something that is outmatched you in strength, speed, and magic. It’s impossible. We are left to suffer. Dragons are just sport, there used to be plenty of dragons everywhere. Now? No one has seen one in forever.
Walking past people on the streets, I can easily see the hollow eyes, hollow souls of everypony. Whatever hope these ponies had has long since been sucked out of them. Lifting my hood over my auburn head with my magic, hiding my face from the world, I keep walking. There is nothing I can do, nothing I can change for these ponies. Hope requires more than one pony; hope requires inspiration. I wish that maybe inspiration would come soon. I’ve had enough of this. I’ve seen enough innocents killed, enough corrupt ponies and griffons sipping their dragon’s blood. But what can one pony do? Slam his head into a bucking wall and watch nothing change. It’s just a waste of blood and energy.
I pay a vendor over thirty bits for four scrawny apples at the market. It’s a heavy mark up, but I tip the man anyways. He’s got to make a living with all the taxes the regime imposes. He’s got more mouths to feed than I do. I'm just a lonely traveler, he has more use for the bits than I do. “Thank you, Starwood,” he manages to crack a smile as well. I only reply with a smirk from behind my hood and continue on my way. Hope, you’ve got to give them hope.
