Dusky Sky

"Unfortunately, Yellow Hoof Fever is still around, and is highly contagious. Ponies have to wear full body suits to even go near the victim. Symptoms may include paralysis of wings or horns, mane falling out, internal bleeding and brain damage. If any of those symptoms appear, call a medic at once. And that includes our session on Dangerous Diseases and Avoidance's." The elderly stallion trotted out of the room.

The second he left, I face planted the desk. "That was the most boring  seminar I have ever been in. Ever" I complained, raising my head to look at my sister, who simply smiled. "I found it interesting" she shrugged bright purple eyes twinkling. Oh yes, I never told you. Starry has purple eyes and coat, just like mother, and her mane and tail is all wavy like, like Princess Celestia or Luna.She's, in a word, beautiful. Beyond beautiful. And smart, and kind, and . . . .

I knew I was jealous of Starry Night, but it's not like I could help it. You can't reason away jealousy, not forever, anyways. Ask Luna. But anyways, back to the matter at hoof. Now that our daily classes were finished, we could do whatever the buck we wanted! I left my older sister in the dust as I zoomed out of the nearest window, to freedom and beyond! And by that I mean the library.

But, in my defense, Canterlot's library is amazing! They have books on everything! I bet if I asked, I could find a book about capes. But that wasn't what I was looking for today as I passed countless of shelves, expertly navigating the maze of knowledge. I cae to a stop in a small carpeted room with a single desk and stacks upon stacks on either side of it.

I didn't sit at the desk, instead I took the book I had already almost finished.  It had this stupid long title to impress ponies, but it really was just 'How to negotiate peace talks without looking like an ass. YAY!' I had already worked my way through most books o war tactics, and so after this, I was moving on to the good old murder mysteries.

But, I'm getting sidetracked. I was nearing the end of the book when I noticed something odd. At the very last two pages was a map of Equestria, showing the Empires of the past, and the Empires of the present.  There were some now extinct empires that I have  heard of - selkies, shadow ponies, cloud horses, but there was an empire of the past.  And, to make it weirder, it was huge, a lot bigger than Canterlot.

Flicking back to the Empires of the Past, I found out that it was called 'The Lunar Empire.' Now, to anypony else, it might just be a curiosity, as maybe it was so unimportant they didn't study it. But I had been tutored so I would know be able to walk all of Equestria blindfolded before I was five, in case I had to speak for my sister.

I trotted up to the librarian, an old, chubby mare, with sparkling blue eyes. "Excuse me, ma'm?" I asked, using my 'respectful' voice, the one I use around guests or with my teachers. She looked down at me, eyes twinkling. "Yes, dearie?" She asked. Even her voice sounds old, I thought, before asking "do you know anything about The Lunar Empire?" I ask, still keeping my voice respectful and quiet.

She brought me to a small section, and pulled out a medium sized book, with the words "Lunar Empire" scrawled on it. I politely thanked her, and started to read.

Two hours later, I closed the book, frustrated. The book was ancient, so I wasn't able to figure out exactly what happened. But, thanks to basic knowledge, I managed to piece a few things together. As mother said, when in doubt, make a list!

1. The Lunar Empire mostly consisted of batponies, Thestrals and Sleiphnir, ponies that slept in the day, and worked at night

2. It was mostly ruled by Princess Luna

3. Assuming that when Princess Luna was trapped in the moon, it's possible that The Luna Empire fell into despair.

4. It is also possible that their land was taken from them, explaining why there's no giant gap of free land on the map.

That wasn't my actual list, but that was more or less it. Next I checked my map, and, sure enough,  I discovered that one particular empire had swallowed the empire whole. I rose to y hooves and trotted out the door. Time to ask Princess Luna about her kingdom and the Griffin Empire.

Not pegasus' fly in Canterlot. It's like an unseen law, but, thankfully, my mom is the freakin' princess of magic, so I play by my own rules. And, if push comes to shove, I can, well, push and shove. Mom said I gained dads temper. Dad said I gained mom's temper. It usually ends up a screaming match, which kind of answers that inquiry.

Flying is amazing. I feel sorry for earth ponies and unicorns, who will never really know what it's like to fly. The speed, the adrenaline, the wind that almost pulls my mane from my head, it's amazing. And I was pretty fast too. Faster than most pegasus', including most of the Wonderbolts. I may not be an alicorn, but I do have Alicorn blood in my veins.

Flying is the one thing I'm better than my sister at. Well, that and arguing. I am the master of arguing. Specifically with my parents.

But, putting aside teen angst, I loved adrenaline. It was the ultimate drug, and the best reward as well as the greatest feeling. It wasn't until much later when I met my match in speed. But, sadly, all good things have to come to an end, and I came to a stop just outside the throne room, throwing the door open on impulse.

The door made a loud thud, drawing everyponies attention to the slightly too tall orange pegasus with a windswept mane and a wild look in her eyes. It was no wonder that the guards made to go and subdue me, until mom facehooved, before raising her eyebrow at me. "Sweetie? Is something wrong?" She asked, and the security realized who I was and stood down.

"Uh, actually mother, I was wondering if I could talk to Luna alone for a few minutes" I said, trying to ignore the fact that if I had been Starry, the guards would of have fallen to their knees and begged for forgiveness. The matter at hoof, Dusky, the matter at hoof, I reminded myself, shaking my head briskly, before turning my five-sun smile on the oblivious alicorn's before me.

Looking bewildered, if not a bit suspicious-as the last time I had 'talked' to her, I had lost my temper and almost ripped her crown off. I was grounded for a moon, despite it being a misunderstanding- she rose and followed me into an empty hall, leaving behind a confused congregation.

I explained what I had discovered, showing her the book I borrowed from the library. She examined both pages with inscrutable intensity, before smiling sadly as I hesitantly relayed my theory. "Thou is not false, Dusky Sky" she said, glancing up at me. "You mean-" I gasp, feeling strangely excited at being proven right.

"Yes, after 'The Nightmare Moon' incident, as thee call it, y kingdom fell into despair, which was quickly capitalized on by the griffins. I'm afraid only a few escaped. Their descendants now work for me, either as chariot drivers or as guardsponies." I was intrigued, as any young pony would be, so I had to ask "and the others?"

"To be honest, I don't know" the dark horse sighed, shaking her pretty head. "The Griffin Empire is so far away, and we are needed here." It was then that my genius idea took hold. My already wild and slightly crazy eyes lit up even more, and I blurted out. "I could do it!" The fact that I said it with the biggest smiles on my face probably didn't help my cause, but, to her endless credit, she didn't instantly shoot me down. In fact she looked interested. "What does thou mean?" She asked, cocking- ew! Surprise not like that! Cross that out! tilting her head to the side.

"I could travel to the Griffin Empire, and see how well they're doing" I said, bouncing on my backhooves lightly, so absorbed in excitement I was. "And! If anypony wants to come back, I could help lead them back!" Luna shook her head doubtfully, "We can't allow that. Your mother would skin us alive and turn our pelt into a wondrous blue flag."

I didn't try to deny it, instead pushing my next argument forwards. "But I'm not needed here, and most mares my age travel the world at some point. Didn't mother move to Ponyville? And Fluttershy lived on the ground since she was a fillt- at least!" Luna frowned at me. "It is not we who you have to convince, young one, it is your mother." I rolled my eyes skywards. "Yeah, but if you backed me up, I stand a better chance" before breaking out the one thing that I swear I haven't used since foalhood. "Pweeaaasee?"

If I threw a rock at a sheet of glass, Luna wouldn't of have broken faster.

And so, after waging a verbal war with my parents- one that lasted two days- I was off. I can't think of a time I had ever been so excited! I was traveling! I was on a journey! To meet griffins and batponies, and thestrals and who knows what else! And, maybe, just maybe, if I pulled it off right, I was one hoofstep closer to becoming an alicorn, or at least famous.

I didn't know of the bloodshed and tears and death that would come from this journey, but, it was like you said Surprise, I was an arrogant, selfish, naive and manipulative pony back then. I'm not still arrogant! I only said that because I'm smarter than him!

. . .  I see your point.

But, nonetheless, I was really and truly excited. I had taken the train to as far as it could go, before flying away. If my map was right, the remains of what used to be the Griffin Empire was just over a gigantic mountain. It was a lot bigger than the one that Canterlot lay on, with snow at the very top of it, but I beat my wings determinedly until I reached the top.

Most pegasus' would be exhausted by then, but my endurance was astounding, so all I did was just sit down in the cold snow, and peer down at a large town. It was mainly made from stone or wood, but I could spot some dark stones, maybe obsidian? And some light ones- probably Lunar Basalt, which was the Lunar Empires major building material.

I had already written a letter to the ruler of the griffin empire, King Sharpclaw, an apparent escessity.

Dear King Sharpclaw,

My name is Dusky Sky, daughter of Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Magic

Just west of the town was a gigantic lake, probably their main water supply. It was beautiful, the suns rays hitting it, making it shimmer and sparkle. I flew down, and my hooves were just hitting the ground, when my mind finally registered what was happening around me. To be honest, dear Surprise, I had to do a double take just to make sure I was seeing things right.

But there was no denying it. Grey ponies with fuzzy ears , some with batwings, some without, as well as strange black skeletal horses and a couple of six hoofed pegasus' were walking in and out of a mine. Those who walked in were carrying empty carts, those who walked out had carts filled with rocks. But that wasn't the horrifying part.

All of them had chains that bound their wings, and wrapped tightly around their necks. Griffins hovered over them, holding long, thin pieces of leather. Whips. They were whipping them. Whip marks grazed their backs, from the oldest Thestral to the youngest batpony. Bile rose in my throat.

As if my rage and horror couldn't get any higher, I noticed that all the ponies manes were shaved. Shaved! The one sign in olden times that would a hundred percent mark you as sexual livestock.

I noticed one of the batponies, this one with no wings, balking at the entrance. He was clearly terrified, and rightly so, as he couldn't of have bee more than ten. I was completely frozen as I eyed the whip marks littering the young ones body. One of the griffins grabbed him and dragged him onto a strange podium, before taking out a curved piece of wood. A bow and arrow.

I snapped out of my rage induced stupor and let out such a guttural noise that a nearby rabbit ran for cover. And then I was off, clearing the distance in a millisecond, with a ferine snarl frozen on my face. The colt, unable to move anything save for his head, glanced my way, and our eyes met.

Hope lit up his eyes, and he started to smile-

Before the arrow struck him straight in the heart.