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If there was one thing Psi the dragon noticed about that clear, crisp night, it was the amount of the stars in the sky and the beautiful colors that created what seemed like seas of souls. Out there, is this little one's spirit, waiting for it's chance, she thought as she laid there, curled up around her single egg. I did it. I'm going to be a mother. This... is the happiest I have ever felt. She nuzzled the egg with her hot, scaly face. “I know I don't know who you are yet, but I promise I'll love and cherish you for as long as time lasts, little one...” she said out loud to the egg. I won't be like the others... I'll love you and be there for you as long as I'm alive. I love you, egg... she thought as she drifted off the sleep.

Psi saw the change in light even through her thick eyelids. She had to be extra aware in case someone wanted to take her egg, whatever crazy reason that might be. Regardless, she was always hyper-alert, even when asleep.

“Oh, little one, Momma has to go out for food. Don't worry though, I'll hide you to make sure nodragon or pony takes you.” She smiled as she moved the egg with her front claws over to a small hole that she had dug.

When the came back, it past noon. She walked over to the rock when she had hid the egg and moved it with her nose. There was only one problem: It wasn't there. “My baby! Where is my baby! No! No no no no no! No!” Tears began to form in the corners of her eyes as she realized what had happened. “Somedragon took my baby! No! No! No!” She roared as tears streamed down her hard cheeks. She swiped every loose rock in the room with hope that this was simply a mistake.

She swiped and swiped and swiped and... found exactly what she was looking for. “Oh my! Egg! Noone took you! I'm so thankful, I'm not sure what I would have done without you.” She made a big smile. “I'm so sorry, I forgot... “ She looked down at the ground. “How could I have done that?! I'm so stupid!” She blinked with her transparent eyelids, looking down the the egg, with only a small smile left. “I'm sorry, I'll never do it again. Next time I'll remember, I promise.”

For the rest of the day, Psi laid next to her sole egg. She began to think out loud. “All the other dragons get multiple eggs, I've even heard of a dragon having ten eggs! But that's what makes you, egg, so special. I won't abandon you, egg, I promise. I swear on my life that I won't leave you alone like the other dragon's mothers do. If something were to happen to you, I'd search every last corner until the I had reached the end of Equestria, and then, if I didn't find you, I'd search till the ends of the planet! You mean so much to me, egg.” She drifted off to a restless night's sleep.

Psi walked down by the bay, saying something uncomprehensible. She kicked a stone into the water. The sky was gray, and she was scared. She saw something over the water, chasing her. It was getting closer to her. She tried to scream, but all she could do was open her mouth. The object didn't see her though, and went past her onto the village surrounded by mountains. She ran, back to a cave like her own, and when she got back, the saw the thing. It looked like a train. It changed, but she understood why. The changed thing went over to her egg. She ran, and ran, and tried to scream, but no sound came out once again. Her egg. It was getting closer to her egg. Her chest hurt from trying to breathe a scream.

Psi woke up, screaming in a high pitched tone foreign to most dragons. Her chest hurt in the real world too. She looked down at her egg, which was still safe. “Oh my, it was just a dream. I...” She sighed. “If there is somedragon or pony or thing that cares for the world, thank you. Thank you. I... I... I'm so happy. My egg: it's safe.”

Psi looked out her cave entrance, again at the night sky she had seen before all her life. Tonight, for the first time, she noticed the way some of the stars could make shapes if you drew imaginary lines between them. A long time ago, when she was hatchling, she knew a little colt. They would play together, and one night, the colt invited her, a dragon, to the local comet viewing. Psi knew it was a bad idea to be around ponies; after all, the colt was the only pony that wouldn't run away from her in the forest. Psi never asked why, now that she came to think of it. She ended up going to the comet viewing, against better judgment, and, surprisingly, nopony seemed to mind at all. She was happy about this, being a dragon, and knowing that her kind was feared by ponies. As the colt and Psi laid on a blanket that another pony had lended them, the colt told Psi about how the stars made little pictures in the sky. He told her about the stories of brave pony warriors who heroically slayed the evil kings of old. She remembered how all the other adults cooed and made d'aw sounds as they heard the colt tell her the stories—the stories to which she exclaimed “Wow!” many times. At the time though, she could never see the pictures.

But, on this night, she could. It was beautiful. She saw the pictures, and even remembered a few of the... What did he call them? Constant stations? Ah! It doesn't matter, she smiled as she recalled the fond memories.

She looked down at her egg again, scrutinizing it with the moons glint.

She looked up back out of the cave as she heard the howling of wolves.  “Don't worry, egg, I won't let those ruffians get you.”

A month passed and Psi was still protecting her egg with all her devotion. She had a funny thought in the back of her mind in which she hoped the little one would grow strong enough to break free of their mother's grip: Psi never wanted to let the little dragon go.

It was with great caution every few days that she would leave her cave for food. Whenever she did, she would hide her egg under the same rock every time, just so she wouldn't have another situation.

On one fateful morning, Psi went out as usual. On this day, there happened to be two quite crafty figures watching her cave from afar; they were the dirtiest of the dirty as far as she was concerned: poachers.

A griffon, named Hygon and a changleling, named Mrythis, were posted in a bush just bellow the the cave entrance.

“Hey, when is the old hag leavin' you think?” Hygon asked his partner.

“I'm not sure. Soon, I hope. I'd hate to be waiting here another day. She better have something good if she protects her cave like that,” she replied.

“It don't matter. Anything from a dragon is sure to do nice on the market,” Hygon said.

“You have that right. A nice scale collection or some eggs would be a nice sale to the castle.”

They waited and waited until finally they saw that the dragon had left her perch. Without words, they took their que and flew up the base of the mountain, hugging the cliff as to have less chance of being seen. When they got inside the cave, they noticed something peculiar: “There ain't no loot! What kinda dragon don't got loot!”

“I'm sure that she's just hiding it. Whatever it is it'll be extra nice, I bet. Let's move some of the rocks around. She probably hid under one of the rocks so we wouldn't find it.”

“Ha! Idiot!” Hygon exclaimed.

The duo got to work moving the rocks in the cave. Most of the stones were not very sizable so it was fairly easy to move them about the cave.

Hygon found the first poach. “I got an egg. I'll fly it back down, Mry.” Hygon flew the single egg down to his and Mry's post, then flew back to the cave.

After moving all the rocks, it was obvious that they were not going to find anything else. “Why does the old hag only got one egg? What was she doin', eatin' 'em?”

“It seems that way, I suppose. Hey, if you look at it that way, we're doing this thing justice,” she nodded over to the egg as she was talking. They both chuckled.

“Our pockets are getting some due justice, if you ask me. An egg goes big, even if it is just one,” Hygon replied.

“Anyway, let's get out of here,” Mrythis suggested.

The two left and proceeded down the mountain. Hygon grabbed the egg in his claws and they started walking down the path they had marked.

Meanwhile, Psi was flying back to her cave. I hope the egg is okay! she thought worriedly.

When she got back to her cave, her worst fears had been realized: her egg, her sole egg, was gone. The rocks in the cave had been turned and moved and she saw hoof and talon prints.

How, though, could this be happening to her? She, unlike the other dragons, cared for her egg. She loved it. She wanted to be a mother. She wanted to pass on the kindness that others had showed her. She wanted a child. This egg, this single egg, the only egg she could produce, her salvation, was gone.

When, It seemed that fate had given her her one wish, fate also ripped the dream from her grasp.

“Why! Why! It's not fair! It's not fair! Why me?! Why?! Why?! Why?! All I wanted... was... to be—“she was now crying, a rare sight  for any dragon”—a mother! Why?! Why me?! I can't have anything! This isn't fair! I thought... that... for once, I could have something... but I was wrong!” She laid on her belly in the dirt, her tears turning the ground to mud. “This... this is my fault! I hate myself! If I would have stayed with the egg, I would have saved it!” Her voice was shaky. “I hate myself!”

It was a long, self loathing session of tears, but eventually Psi collected herself to devise a plan to get her baby back: she would search to the ends of Equestria, just as she had told her egg she would.