Equal to Darkstalker

This is an alternate universe where Sunny was born under the three moons and has animus magic from her father. All the books will be told from Sunny's point of view, to get the most out of this AU.
==Book One - The Dragonet Prophecy==
Kestrel watched as the Mudwing clawed its way out of the brown egg. Not everything had gone perfect, especially with the Skywing, but at least there were eight of the little squirts here in front of them. That would stop Webs from whining about them.
The little Mudwing dragonet toddled its way over all the other eggs, before pouncing on the Sandwing egg, cracking its shell and sending it rolling into the light of the skyhole.  Webs leapt for the bronze-colored Mudwing and lifted it away from the sandy egg. A small golden face shoved its way through the crack made by the Mudwing.
It had these odd silver teardrop scales on the corners of its eyes, lit up by the three moons. It looked at Kestrel intently with its pale blue eyes.
“What should we name these two? Webs asked.
“The little monster Mudwing needs a fitting name.” Kestrel said. “mmm...Clay.”
“The sandwing is very… shiny. Sunny would fit.” Dune volunteered.
“Yeah… Sunny. Sunny and Clay. Let’s just wait for the others to hatch.” said webs, finally placing Clay back on the ground as he writhed in Web’s talons.
===Six years later===
Sunny had always been good at understanding other dragons. If she was near them, she would understand how they felt. It would be like an emotional shroud that encased them and made her feel like they did. Even Starflight, who should be able to read minds, thinks it’s amazing. 
When Morrowseer came, his aura was energy-sucking and angry. Sunny was terrified when he declared Glory be killed and Kestrel chained up Tsunami, so she helped Starflight break the chains that bound Tsunami to the post. Even through all the determination and anger Tsunami and Starflight emitted, she could feel a fearful undertone- buried, but there. 
Tsunami dove into the river to follow Clay, and time passed without any sign of them. Starflight began the smoke signal, and Clay came back with Tsunami.
But something felt a little off. A very faint feeling, coming from the door. It was mischievous and cruel, and it got more and more apparent over a few minutes, until a blindingly gold-covered Skywing burst through the cave entrance, with a group of heavily armed soldiers. They killed the guardians and whisked the dragonets away.
Sunny woke up inside a tiny, gold cage with barely enough room to turn around. The cage she was in was hanging from the ceiling of a giant room made of stone with flecks of gold along the walls and tables along the floor below her. 
She had to make it out and help her siblings! Who knows how long she had been in here? What if they were stuck in the same kind of cage as she was? “Just let me out of here…” she muttered.
*K-chk*
Sunny looked up. The lock on the door had been broken, somehow, and the door had swung open.
What just happened? Isn’t the cage locked? Sunny wondered. She cautiously peered around. “Who’s there?” she asked, as it would be impossible to hear anyone’s emotions in this room over the commotion outside. She didn’t see, hear or smell anyone, so she glided down from the cage and finally rested her talons on solid ground. She creeped through the empty halls, wincing as the emotions outside got more and more powerful.
Sunny finally found the entrance to a balcony and looked up. It was beautiful. A giant silver orb lit up the black night sky, and glittering stars stretched as far as the eye could see. As she stared at the moon, faint emotions formed in her head- all coming from the towers surrounding the arena. The emotions slowly gained strength and coalesced into words and images. Mind reading? How? I thought only Nightwings could do that! Unless… Her thoughts trailed off as she lost herself in the dreams of the sleeping dragons on the towers.
Finally returning to the real world, she wandered to the edge of the balcony, spread her wings and took off. She was flying! It was so different from the gliding she had done in the caves and in the cage. She felt the air underneath her wings as she flapped. It was a steady rhythm, like the beating of a drum. She rose higher and higher, feeling as if she could touch the moon if she flew high enough. 
The thoughts of the dragons below faded as Sunny flew higher and higher, and then she twisted downward into a dive, picking up speed. Faster and faster, the wind rushed past her as she dove like a falcon. Just before she crashed into the trees, she snapped her wings open and angled upward, slowing down. She flew in the direction of the arena, to see what this massive construction was,
As Sunny got closer to the arena, she felt an oddly familiar thought. It was images of feasts and pigs and cows. It was Clay’s dream! It had to be! She focused on Clay’s dream, afraid of losing it in the other dreams. As she focused on Clay, the other dreams slowly faded away, and she was left with only one dream to focus on, the others background humms. She began to make her way forward, and only Clay got louder.
She spread her wings and flew up, following wherever his dream got loudest. Then she saw him! Chained up on the top of one of the towers, fast asleep. 
She landed on his tower, his dream nearly indistinguishable from her own thoughts. She gathered fire in her throat, careful not to hurt Clay, and tried to burn the chains. But all she managed to do was wake Clay up from the heat. 
“Cows… Sunny!” Clay yelped, shooting up. “Sunny you’re okay! How did you get out?”
“I’m not sure.” Sunny responded, “I was locked in a cage indoors, and then the cage just… opened when I wanted to leave. But I’m so glad to see you alright!” 
Clay’s thoughts raced. Sunny’s okay! Does she know where Starflight is? I wonder if the dragons who fought in the arena are alright… Will I see this Peril dragon again-
“Who’s Peril?” Sunny blurted
“You… What?” Asked clay.
“Oh, umm…”
“Did you meet her?”
“No, I just heard someone mention her… I wondered if you knew anything…?”
“She’s been bringing me charred food, and she has fire in her scales.”
“Oh... wow!”
“...Except that she killed a dragon in the arena…”
“What??”
“But she… acts nice, I guess… Do you want to sleep with me? It’s cold up here.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t… What if the guards find me here?” Sunny responded. 
“Oh... makes sense. Meet me tomorrow night?
As she left, Sunny finally began to think about what had just happened. She was hearing everyone's thoughts! Could… could she be part Nightwing? She had wondered if she was a hybrid, but never thought she could be part Nightwing! That would explain her lack of a tail barb. But… Starflight had no magical abilities, and he was a Nightwing. Maybe only some get powers? She must have been really lucky, then! 
Sunny stopped by the cliff at the edge of the arena, and snuggled up into a nook that would probably be too small for any dragon other than her. She listened to the murmur of thoughts above her as she slowly drifted off to sleep.
***
She woke up to the sound of voices- hundreds of them, all above her. She got up, clutching her ears. Covering her ears did nothing to block out the noise, however, as she soon realized that the voices were dragon’s thoughts. It turned out that conscious thoughts were even louder than real voices in the air. Her head pounded.
Letting go of her ears, she got up and flew towards the arena, hugging the side of the hill so no guards would see her. She peered over the edge, trying to think of a way to more precisely melt Clay’s chains. 
Peril! She realized, and started flying towards the castle. She wouldn’t be able to enter, but she hid in a corner where the castle met the ground. Oh, wait… Clay said she killed someone. I probably shouldn’t ask her for help. She realized.
Then she saw the two dragons fighting in the arena. Flashes of white struck her eyes, mixed with bronze jumping about along the edge of the arena. Then their thoughts reached her and she realized the Mudwing down there was Clay! 
Without thinking she leapt up and charged into the arena. A group of Skywing soldiers took off after her, but she had already crashed into the Icewing.
Except Sunny wasn’t the only one who had launched an attack at the Icewing. Sunny had only got in the way.
Sunny roared in pain and fell off the Icewing as a searing hot pain stabbed her face and neck. The guards stopped dead in their tracks as the smell of burning scales wafted off from her, and smoke rose up into the air. 
“Sunny!” Clay exclaimed, and ran for her. The vision out of Sunny’s right eye was blurring, before it darkened and she couldn’t see that way anymore. Then she collapsed on the ground, unconscious. 
Sunny woke up back inside the cage. She stood up shakily inside the tight space, and when she moved her neck, she felt bandages completely covering the left half of her face and neck. 
“Sunny! Sunny!” whispered someone behind her, and she wheeled around to find Glory clinging to the side of the cage. The bars in front of her melted with the same substance her face had been burned with. Sunny had never seen Glory so emotional. 
Oh my god how are you alive??? I’m so so so so so so so so so so so sorry aaaaahhhhh She’s gonna take you to the freak tower please don’t let her…
“Just come with me. I … we need to get out of here. I know the way out.”
“My face hurts…” muttered Sunny, and she saw Glory flinch.
“Just come on! We have to get you out of here!”
Sunny and Glory joined the rest of the dragonets and someone else far away from the Skywing palace, near a river. 
“Sunny! You’re alive! I’ve been so worried about you!” Clay scooped Sunny up into a big hug, and Sunny winced as her injured face was squished against Clay’s scales. 
“Oh, sorry…” Clay dropped her. 
“Who’s this…?” Sunny asked, pointing at the bright, blue-eyed Skywing with them in the group.
“This is Peril! Remember?” Clay said, flicking his tail in her direction. “We’re getting out of here.”
“Clay, I’m not coming. Remember?” Said Peril.
“I hope we meet each other again.” Clay said, and Peril left for the palace.
“Come on, let’s go.” Said Tsunami.
“To where?” Sunny asked.
“To the Mud Kingdom.” Clay said
***
The way there was long. Lots of flying and lots of stops, but we eventually arrived next to a waterfall on the border between Skywing and Mudwing territory.
Fresh Mudwing and Icewing bodies, gnarled and torn, littered the ground in front of them. It was cold, despite the fires still burning, and smoke filled the air. Bent and broken spears jutted out in wild directions, the flags at the end tattered and waving in the chill wind. 
“This was a recent battle,” Starflight observed. “Some of the fires are still burning.”
“I think I’ll go into the Mud Kingdom alone. I assume Mudwing soldiers are on the lookout for us.” Clay said, turning away from the battlefield and facing the marshes. 
“I can come.” Glory said, before shifting her scales a muddy green brown, hiding her frills, and stretching out her tail. 
“I’ll come too! I’m sure lots of Sandwings fight for Burn in the Mud Kingdom.” Sunny volunteered. 
“Scarlet probably told them about your scar.” Starflight put in. “Scarlet should have been the one with that on her face. She totally deserved a facial melting more than Sunny did.”
Glory recoiled at this comment. “You want to go now?” She asked Clay, trying to change the subject.
“Ok.” Clay responded and then the two of them took off into the trees.
“I hope we get to meet Clay’s mother.” Starflight said.
“M-hm.” Agreed Tsunami. “I bet she’ll be really happy to see him.”
The three of them sat in silence for a few minutes. Sunny heard their thoughts meander, thinking about the war zone, Clay, their parents, Glory, and many other random things as Sunny tried to work up the courage to tell them about her mind reading. She knew they wouldn’t believe her at first, and Starflight would be jealous, but she couldn’t keep that secret forever. But she found herself drifting off to sleep, exhausted from the flight here and everything that had happened. 
Sunny watched as the mountain exploded. Lava poured from the cap, devouring the palace and the black earth. Dragons were trampled to death, screaming as hordes of Nightwings bolted for the exit. If death had a scent, this would be it. The air was filled with smoke, and Sunny felt heat prick her scales. She could barely breathe. Rainwings with blow darts tried to manage the chaos, to little success. 
Sunny and the other dragonets leapt into the tunnel once everyone else had left. Starflight was frozen in fear. A burning rock came flying from the mountain, crashing into Starflights face. 
“Sunny! Sunny!” Tsunami shook Sunny, panic radiating off her body. 
Sunny shot up with a gasp and looked around. Mud, trees, blue sky, fresh air surrounded her. It was all just a dream! Tsunami sat in front of Sunny, her claws on Sunny’s shoulders. But the dream felt so real. Her mind whispered. She stood up, flustered.
“I was just having a nightmare. I’m okay.” Sunny told her siblings, shaking her head. “Is Clay back from the Marsh?”
“No, not yet.” Tsunami responded. It’s been a while… I wonder where he is.
Should I tell them about it? Sunny thought, before taking a deep breath and preparing to tell them. She knew they wouldn’t believe her, but she couldn’t keep this a secret forever. 
“Tsunami, I have something to tell you…” Sunny began. “I-”
“Tsunami! Sunny! Starflight!” Glory called, flying out of the trees and landing in front of them. Clay followed close behind, emitting more sad thoughts than when he had left. 
“Clay, what happened?” Starflight asked.
“My mother sold me for a couple of cows.” Clay responded. “But I met my siblings!” He was still a little sad, but he smiled at them anyway. 
“Oh no! That’s so bad!” Sunny said. “I hope your siblings were kind enough to be happy to meet you.” 
“They were super nice. Offered me to stay with them. I can’t, though. I have to stay with you guys!” He looked at the dragonets and smiled.
“Awww, thanks!” Said Starflight, hugging Clay.
Eventually everyone joined in a big group hug. This is kinda sappy. It’s so warm here! You guys are all so adorable. I love you! 
“Where are we going to go next?” Tsunami asked, detaching herself from the clump of dragonets.
“We can follow the river to find the Seawings.” Clay suggested.
“Yes!” Responded Tsunami excitedly.
I am currently working on The Lost Heir. The Lost Heir is longer, but it has more detail than the first, and also includes an amount of mindreading similar to Moon Rising. Personally, I think The Lost Heir is better than the first. 
The creator of this AU is The Lost Tribes. Here's my profile!
Category:Fanfictions
Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete)
Category:Fanfictions (Semi-Canon)
Category:Alternate Universes
Category:Genre (Adventure)
Category:Genre (Prophecy)