It was not long before she found herself a comfy-looking chair, one with a plush cushion and back, tucked into an alcove of the library. Shelves towered above her, but there was still plenty of light, both from a window and from a torch being lit nearby. Lyric unshouldered her lute and leaned it against the dark wood end-table, ensuring that it would not fall, before settling in.
She slowly scanned through the pages, anxious to read the first-hoof accounts contained within. As she did, she found some stories that she already knew, but it was a thrill to be reading them in Dashing's voice. She also found some stories that she'd had no idea about, ones that made her laugh until tears ran down her cheeks and others that made her cringe as she read of his harrowing escapades. Those she would have to tuck away for later.
And then, as she flipped to a new page, she found herself in the middle of an entry. Must have accidentally skipped a few pages. As she went to turn the pages back, a certain phrase caught her eye. "Bat pony?" She knew of these ponies, of course, had even met a few on her journeys. But what could Dashing Hoof have written about them? She returned to the start of the entry and began to read.
~*~
Year 5, Day 141 of the Royal Sisters' Reign
As night fell, a storm broke out in the skies. The pegasi had warned me it was coming, but I, in my stubbornness, wanted to press on and reach the other side of the mountains I found myself in as soon as I could. There was no real danger as I was still well within Equestria's borders, but the land beyond had been uncharted since at least the Princesses had begun their rule. Who knows what was there, if anything, before? I searched the area and took shelter in a nearby cave, looking about to see if I would find any more star stones as I had the first time I set out. Instead, as I glanced upwards, I was greeted with many pairs of frightened and distrusting eyes.
"Go away!" something hissed. I heard wings flap, felt a whoosh of air, and it alighted before me. I could see now that it was a pony, and I guessed that the other pairs of eyes I had seen belonged to ponies as well. He was old, if his rasping voice was any indication, and he was thin, but his weight was not from age. Instead, it seemed that this poor chap had not had a proper meal in Celestia knows how long.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize that this cave was occupied. I'm simply seeking shelter from the storm."
"Look, I don't wanna fight, so jus' please go away," he said, rearing up and spreading his wings. He was trying to appear threatening, but he wobbled unsteadily on his hooves.
It was only when a flash of lightning struck outside that I realized the stallion had bat wings. And then it dawned on me that he had been clinging to the ceiling! Not only he, but every one of the ponies I had seen earlier! It was quite a shock to me, but even greater was the shock when he passed out cold on the stone below.
"Papa!" a younger mare cried as she glided to his side. She tucked her wings in against her body and tried to shake him awake. "Papa, Papa! Please, wake up!" More of these bat ponies glided down and worked to rouse him. It seemed he was important to them, if the way they rallied around him was any indication.
I put a hoof on the mare's shoulder and, in as gentle a voice as I could manage, said, "Here, let me." She also hissed at me, baring fangs, and tried to appear threatening in the same way her father had. But when she saw me hold up my canteen, she stopped. Every eye was on it, and on me. Finally, she conceded and gave a nod. I don't know what she expected me to do, but she and everypony were shocked when I poured the water over his head instead of into his mouth. He coughed and sputtered and soon came to, and the mare threw her hooves around him.
"S'okay, Onyx," he murmured as he patted her back. "I'm okay. Jus' feelin' a bit... faint, is all."
"Onyx? That's your name?" I asked, but then the stallion glared at me again.
"What're ya still doin' here? I told ya ta get!"
"Papa, stop! He just helped you!" Onyx cried.
"I don't care! What if he's in league with Sombra, huh? Didja think of that!?"
I was completely lost. "What? Sombra? Who is this Sombra? I've never heard of him."
"Lies!" the stallion screamed at me, and tried to charge. It seemed he was past the "asking nicely" phase. Fortunately for me but unfortunately for him, he was still woozy and just flopped onto his side.
Onyx shook her head and lay down beside him. "Papa, rest. Please," she begged, and when the lightning flashed again, I could see dried blood and old scars on his flank and legs.
I sighed, feeling only pity for the stallion. "I'll take care of this." I dug in my saddlebags to find the medicinal ointment and bandages I always carried on my travels, and showed them to Onyx and the others as I did. When they all agreed that these were harmless, I cautiously approached the stallion. He protested weakly and attempted to stand, but Onyx put a hoof on his shoulder and he fell back to the ground. Surprisingly, he lay there and let me treat him.
"I'm Dashing Hoof, by the way," I told everypony as I spread the ointment on his wounds and applied the bandages.
The mare nodded and told me, "Like you heard, I'm Onyx, and this stubborn lunk is Obsidian, my father."
Obsidian grumbled at that, but didn't have the strength to do much else. After feeling just how thin he was—his bones jutted out at all angles under his coat—and seeing him lie there as I treated his wounds, I reached into my bags once more and produced some fruits, bread and cheese. "Here," I told him as I held out an apple. "It's not much, but you look like you could use it more than I."
He eyed it suspiciously, but finally took it into his hooves and ate. I gave Onyx another apple, and passed out what food I could spare among the others. Any ponies left on the ceiling floated down and swarmed around me now. Tears flowed in their eyes as each received their share. Some scarfed their food down right away while others ate slowly, savoring every bite. They were little more than skeletons held together by skin, every single one of them. What happened to these poor creatures? That was the only thought on my mind as I then took out some cheese for myself and bit into it. All was silent for those few moments, until Obsidian finished his apple and cleared his throat.
"Dashing Hoof, was it?"
I nodded, and he sat up.
"Look, sorry 'bout earlier. As ya can guess, it's been a hard life for us. I still don't exactly trust ya, but ya had no reason ta help any of us, so I'll give ya that."
"Thanks... I think." I fell silent for a few moments longer. "So, can I ask... what happened to all of you?" As I sit here and write, I realize it was probably a rude question, but seeing their mistreatment, I had to know. Perhaps there was more I could do.
Now it was the bat ponies' turns to be silent. They all looked amongst themselves, chittering to one another as I had only ever heard actual bats do before. The discussion must have been quite heated as the chirps rose in frequency and pitch. Finally, Obsidian returned his disapproving gaze to me.
"Ya sure ya ain't in league with King Sombra?" He spat the name out like a curse.
I raised myself to my full height and put my hoof over my heart. "I swear to you, I do not know this King Sombra, nor have I ever heard of him before this night."
I held this pose as Obsidian looked me over. Then he muttered, "Very well." He turned to face me, and I seated myself in front of him. Onyx remained at his side as the rest of the bat ponies took their places around the pair. "We're from the Crystal Empire. Ever heard o' it?"
I had to admit that I did not. He let out a heavy breath. "It used ta be a beautiful place, but I ain't seen it like that fer a long time.
"Ya see, it used ta be peaceful, with crystal ponies jus' livin' their lives and helpin' each other out. Then an evil unicorn named Sombra took over the place and crowned hisself King. Now, he's enslaved all the ponies o' the land an' doin' horrible experiments."
"Like what?" I asked.
"Like us," was Onyx's bitter reply. They all gave a melancholy nod of their heads. Now it was her turn to take up the tale. "It wasn't enough for Sombra to take over the land and turn everypony into slaves. He was smart, and he knew that it was only himself against hundreds. Sooner or later, he'd need somepony to watch his back.
"He started stealing ponies off the street, those who had no families, no home, or those he didn't think anypony would miss. He also lured some in with false promises of power or restoring order. He arrested ponies for crimes real or imagined, taking the prisoners because there was nopony able to protest. Or some..." She shuddered. "Some volunteered themselves willingly, believing in his cause. Whatever he did to bring them in, the results were the same."
"Sombra used his dark magic an' changed us forever," Obsidian told me sadly. "He used a mutatin' spell on us ta turn our beautiful crystalline bodies inta these dark forms, an' crafted these wings fer us ta strike fear inta the hearts o' his 'subjects' an' enemies alike." He unfurled one of his bat wings and viewed it with sorrow. "Next he gave us these eyes," and he leveled his slit-eyed gaze upon me, "an' these fangs in his despicable image. An' if that weren't enough, he granted us abilities befittin' our new appearances ta make it easier for us ta sneak up on somepony unawares.
"He also tried ta warp the minds o' the ones he changed, make us more like him, but he jus' couldn't do it. Some ponies broke and completely lost it. These ones he had no use for. ...Ya can imagine what happened ta 'em. So those who're already loyal ta Sombra became members o' his Shadow Elite. The rest o' us were thrown deep inta his mines ta slave away, day in an' day out. Didn't take us long ta become accustomed ta sleepless nights an' the dark."
I was in shock, trying to contemplate all of the atrocities that must be going on in the Empire. "How..." was all I could manage at first, then, "how did you escape?"
Obsidian got a dangerous gleam in his eye. Onyx beamed proudly. "We tunneled ourselves into the armory. It took us months, and the stupid guards didn't even realize what we were doing. I knew that the armory wasn't too far from where we were forced to dig for gems because my mother was a member of the Diamond Guard before Sombra's rule. So we made a plan, prayed we really did have the right heading, and began to dig. When we broke through, we grabbed any weapons—or anything that could be used as a weapon—close at hoof and armed ourselves.
"The Shadow Elite didn't figure it out until Mother and I led the attack and were fighting them off. They thought we'd be easy to keep down and only had a few guards on us the whole time. What they didn't know was that I'd wanted to be a member of the Diamond Guard, too, and that my mother and I already knew how to fight. I helped her rally the slaves and we ganged up on the Elite. Soon we overpowered them and were free. Free! We flew away into the night as fast as we could. Of course, even though their numbers were few, they were all trained warriors. Some of us didn't make it..." Her voice trailed off, and she hung her head.
Her father put a hoof around her shoulders. "S'okay, go ahead. Let it out. Least yer mother died fightin' ta protect others an' not stuck in that thankless pit..." Obsidian's voice choked up as he spoke, and soon he and Onyx were sobbing into each other's manes. I stepped back and let them grieve, turning away to give them some semblance of privacy.
It was a while before Obsidian had recovered enough to continue their story, his voice still thick with sorrow. "We lost more o' us in the bitter cold surroundin' the Empire, but we didn't have the time ta stop an' pay our respects. We jus' had ta keep on goin' if we were gonna escape Sombra for good. We've been on the run ever since. We tried ta run in the night, but it turns out the Elite could see in the dark now, too. So then we were only travellin' durin' the day, though it stings our eyes and blinds us somethin' fierce. But at least that way we know Sombra's guards can't easily follow. Though, truthfully, we don't even really know how long it's been or where we are."
It seemed as if all eyes were on me, waiting for an answer. "I can't tell you how long it's been, since I obviously was not with you at the time of your escape, but I can tell you that you are now in the land of Equestria. It is a land ruled by two kind alicorn sisters. Princess Celestia is the ruler of the day, and she raises the sun. Princess Luna, the younger sister, is the ruler of the night, and she raises the moon." At the mention of the princesses, but especially at the mention of Princess Luna, my audience leaned in, enraptured. It was then that I knew what I could do.
"I will take you to meet them." Everypony chittered and gasped. "I am sure that once they hear of your plight, and the horrors being faced by those still in the Empire, they will be willing to help."
"But how long will it take us to get there?" Onyx asked. "We're not exactly at our best right now."
"Well, it should only take a fortnight if we head in a straight line."
"That doesn't seem so bad," she said, thinking. "Some of us are injured still, but we've made it this far." She surveyed the bat ponies around her, and they all gazed upon her with exhausted, but hopeful, eyes. "We'll press on." The others agreed.
"Alright." I looked around at this group that I found myself to be a caretaker of. "I can guess that you're all more comfortable in the dark now, but as you said, we don't know if Sombra's forces are still after you. And because I cannot see as you can, I would only be hindered in the night and slow us down. I propose that we travel during the pre-dawn and twilight hours, when we can all see, and rest when daylight and full dark comes. That way, we can make good time and hopefully evade any pursuers."
Obsidian looked to me, then to the bat ponies, then to Onyx. They chirped amongst themselves once more. Whatever Onyx said to him, Obsidian scrutinized me, sizing me up once and for all. He sighed. "I guess we got no choice. Either ya help us out, or we keep runnin' forever." He held out a hoof to me. I took it, and we shook. "We'll leave soon as the storm lets up." He took his hoof back. "Get some sleep 'til then. I know ya other ponies don't do so well stayin' up through the night."
"Indeed, and you all look like you could use the rest yourselves." I lay down and yawned while some of the bat ponies took their places on the ceiling once more. Onyx asked for the ointment and bandages, and I gladly gave them to her so that she could tend to the injured. I had a feeling that, even if I slept, their eyes would be watching out for us all through the night. I don't know what they all thought of me, but at the moment, I was their only hope.