28th day of Sun's Height
Solar Calendar Year 1000
Several days after the defeat of Nightmare Moon

Sundae Best woke up in a start to the sound of breaking glass. She lived above the ice cream parlor and general store that she owned, and from the sound of it, somepony had just smashed her front windows. She got up carefully, not wanting to make any noise on the squeaky floorboards, and grabbed the crowbar she kept near her bedroom door ever since the Diamond Dogs had started raiding the town.

It was quiet downstairs, but not silent. Somepony – or something – was trying to be quiet about it, but she could hear boxes being moved, a door opening, and heavy hoofsteps punctuated by an odd hollow clop that rang like a dull bell.

Sundae Best took a deep breath, calming herself, and opened the door slowly, fear making her heart beat like a drum inside her white, speckled coat, so hard that she thought it was sure the Diamond Dogs or whatever other monster was downstairs was going to hear it.

There was a pause in the noise, and Sundae thought that was exactly what had happened for a moment, holding her breath as if that would help make her quieter. Then the silence was broken with groaning and a pained gasp. Sundae frowned, unsure of herself now. She let out the breath she'd been holding and quietly walked downstairs, avoiding the squeaky step near the top with some careful hoofwork.

The door to her stockroom was cracked open; there was panting and soft, almost subvocalized cursing from within. Sundae crept up to the gap and peered inside, her soft brown hair falling in her face until she brushed it away, her usual red beret still sitting next to her bed, forgotten in her fear and haste.

Within the stockroom, there was a huge, black shape. It was even bigger than the few town guards that had come through from time to time to keep the Diamond Dogs away, though the canines always returned the moment the armored stallions left. Sundae stepped in something wet. She looked down and saw a trail of dark blood, still warm. She looked back towards the windows. Something had smashed through them, dripping blood the whole way to her back room.

There was grunting and more muttering. Sundae swallowed. If it was wounded, whatever it was, she might be able to chase it off. She took a deep breath and slammed the door open, holding the crowbar high with her hoof to try and look more intimidating.

“Get out of-” She stopped, eyes going wide, as yellow, slitted eyes looked at her. The huge shape stood quickly and turned, heavily favoring one side and looking down at her. It was easily a head taller than the mare, only hints of a navy, almost black coat visible, most of the pony hidden by dull ebony armor that almost seemed to absorb the light, heavy and scaled like the hide of a dragon and nearly silent in motion despite the obvious weight of it. It spread leathery wings, the membranes scarred and ragged around the edges. Brighter metal gleamed along the bony joints, thick wingblades, long and heavy enough to cut through dragonhide, held tight against both wings.

There was a sweeping motion, a blur of speed that should have been impossible for something that size.

Half of the crowbar fell to the ground, the other half still held in Sundae's hooves.

One of the shelves collapsed, the supports severed. The shape lowered its wings, backing down.

“My apologies. I was startled.” It sat down heavily on its haunches, one leg splayed out awkwardly. It sounded like a mare, with an odd accent. Sundae hit the switch on the wall, the light switching on. It hissed and turned away, and Sundae's eyes went even wider. Blood seemed to coat its armor thickly, dripping onto the floor from every seam. The awkwardly splayed leg was, from the knee down, made entirely of a dull metal, like silver coated with a thick layer of dust, ending in a cloven hoof. Medical supplies, mostly bandages, were on the ground in front of it, along with a needle and thread.

“Turn it off!” The pony hissed, tufted ears folding back in pain. Sundae quickly turned the light back off.

“Sorry,” Sundae whispered. “What... what happened to you?”

“That is a long story,” the armored pony said.

“All that blood... you're seriously injured. You should go to the hospital!” Sundae slowly crept closer, hoping she wasn't about to be cut in half herself.

“No. No hospitals or doctors,” the armored pony growled. “I am not as badly hurt as it looks. Most of this blood isn't mine.” She reached down and finished wrapping one of her fetlocks in bandages. Sundae caught a glimpse of crude stitches holding a wound shut.

“That looks bad,” Sundae whispered.

“I have had worse.” The dark mare pulled her barding tight over the bandages. As she did, there was commotion outside, a loud bell ringing. She looked up, eyes narrowing. “No time for the rest. I apologize.”

“What's going on?!” Sundae demanded, as the large mare stood, wrapping a black cloak around her armored form, and pushed her aside to walk back towards the front of the store, her prosthetic hoof making that distinctive hollow clop Sundae had head before. The mare didn't answer, walking out through the broken window and into the streets beyond, a black cloak whipping behind her in the wind, the edges fading oddly against the shadows like it was barely real. Sundae could see light now, the flickering orange light of a huge fire. Her eye went wide, and she rushed to the door.

Outside, there were screams, ponies fleeing away from the fire, and the howl of dogs. Sundae could see them, getting closer and closer, eerie shapes against the flames.

The black-cloaked mare walked out into the middle of the street and waited, flexing her wings, the blades sliding free to their full length.

“What are you doing?” Sundae yelled. “Those are Diamond Dogs! They'll tear you apart!”

“Finishing what I started,” the mare said. She was outnumbered almost ten to one. Three of them raised crossbows. The dark mare calmly closed her helm, letting it fall over her eyes. it was a hideous thing that gave her the visage of a dragon, made in two parts with the lower jaw and its jagged teeth as the chinstrap. They fired just as it clicked into place, the eyes in the helm glowing a bright yellow for an instant.

The bolts were knocked out of the sky as the mare spun on them, her left wingblade swiping them away. Sundae watched in horror as the dogs got closer, circling around her, each of them armed and armored. The dark mare struck first, a blur of shadows as she seemed to loom large over one of the bow-armed dogs, a blade catching him in the side of the head.

There was an explosion of gore, blood spraying into the air as the wingblade cut entirely through his skull, the weight and power cutting cleanly through it. The dog slumped forwards, neck spraying in a fountain overhead, to lean against the mare. She lifted the entire dog up above her head with her wings, the dragon helm's eyes glowing like yellow stars, and tore the already-dead dog apart, ripping it in half.

Before the others could react, she dropped the two halves to either side of her and bounded into another dog, her weight carrying them through a window and into one of the burning houses. She grabbed his spear with her teeth, the helmet's maw moving with her own, and struggled with him for control.

Growling, the mare stomped on his knee with her metal hoof, the dog screaming and letting go of the spear. She pulled it free and stabbed the end into his eye, the dog spasming and grabbing for it even as he bled out into the ashes under him.

The dark mare roared with enough force to send the dogs closing on her stumbling back, jumping out the broken window towards the closest and cutting with a wide sweeping motion, catching the dog's arm and severing it near the shoulder. Sundae fell to her knees and trembled as she saw the dark mare turn around as she passed the dog and grab his neck with her hoof, twisting his head and pulling, putting her weight into it until, with a crack, the dog went limp.

Before the body could even fall, a flurry of bolts was launched at her. The armored pony held up the dead dog as a shield, throwing the corpse at the attacker. She limped forwards, lunging to attack, and her overextended blow was parried by a dog with a huge axe, protecting the crossbow-wielder.

The armored pony roared with a sound no pony should be able to make and slashed, sparks flying as the axe blade was cut apart. The dog stumbled back, eyes going wide. The black mare brought a wingblade down, catching his right shoulder and cutting deep into his chest, passing right through his armor as if it wasn't even there.

The dark mare shoved the mortally wounded dog out of the way just as the crossbow dog reloaded, diving in close. The bolt went wide, skipping off her armor with the sound of steel on steel. The mare cut sideways, her wingblade slicing through the dog's waist, completely cutting his body in half, the force of the blow sending his torso tumbling up and through the air, blood spraying in a wide curtain.

The red curtain parted as the armored mare jumped through it, her wings spread wide, eyes gleaming with bloodlust. She hit the next dog like a freight train, cutting down from her jump, blade ripping through his thigh and letting him fall to the side screaming and clutching the stump, bleeding out in a jet of blood that joined the river of gore trickling down the street.

The next dog tried to get the jump on the mare, grabbing her wings from behind where she couldn't reach him with the attached blades. The shadowy mare struggled against him, spinning around, but he kept his grip somehow, even as he was dragged behind her. She roared and kicked back with her prosthetic hoof, sparks rising from the road as a blade slipped out from where the hoof was cloven, stabbing the dog grappling her in the gut.

He fell to the ground and the mare reared up, spinning and coming down on him with her front hooves. There was a crunch as his skull exploded under the weight, just a splattered mess on the ground. The mare turned to the last two, breathing heavily, drenched in blood, her helm's grin almost seeming to grow larger.

The armored mare rushed at them, tackling one into the other, knocking both of them off-balance before they could flee. As they fell to the ground, she was on top of them, stomping with her bladed hoof over and over again, letting out a primal scream that made Sundae's blood run as cold as the dry ice she used to make her ice cream.

When she stepped away, there wasn't anything left of their chests except paste.

“Master will kill you!” Screeched the dog with his leg cut off, still alive, if only barely. “Black Pony will not escape again!”

The mare growled, the sound deep and with a ragged edge like a punctured lung.

“He comes!” the dog screamed, pointing to the sky. Sundae looked up and saw a dark shape against the starry sky, hanging against the moonlit clouds on leathery wings. It swooped, landing on one of the burning buildings, the flames beating against its iron-like scales, looking down over the street with gleaming reptilian eyes.

The drake sniffed at the smoke and bodies in the street, a long black tongue licking at the gore covered cobblestones for a moment. It was nearly the size of the house it was perched on, the timbers groaning under the weight and the fire.

“Master! This pony-” Before the dog could finish, the drake snapped it up in its teeth, the dog screaming as it was devoured whole.

The darkly armored mare watched impassively, turning and lowering her blades as she looked up at the dragon. Sundae could feel an aura around her, not of fear, but of a kind of perverse excitement, as if the beast and the battle was all that mattered in this world, a drink of bloody water to a mare dying of thirst.

“Useless,” the drake growled. “They can't even beat one pony.” It dropped down to the street, the house collapsing as it left. “You are the one that has killed my mate. I can still smell her blood on you.”

The pony growled, limping closer. The drake laughed.

“Despite how wounded you are, you still wish to fight? Let it never be said you lacked courage. I will enjoy devouring you.” The drake snapped forwards, and the mare reacted instantly, rearing and hitting the drake's snout with her forehooves, her rear legs digging into the ground as she fought for traction, being pushed back several paces by the attack as dirt and dust kicked up around them.

The mare snapped forwards with one of her wingblades, catching the drake's nostril and tearing it open, hissing blood sizzling on the ground as it roared in anger and pulled back.

“That stink...” it hissed. “You're under quite a curse.” It narrowed its eyes and turned around, whipping its tail into the armored pony and sending her into a brick wall hard enough to almost put her through it, the bricks cracking from the blow. A second swipe from the tail sent her the rest of the way through.

“Why do you stink like Nightmare Moon?” It demanded. “Answer me!” The black-armored pony pulled herself out of the rubble slowly and deliberately, either dizzy or badly injured. The dragon brought its tail around in another sweeping motion. The black pony jumped.

It was absurd to think that anypony with armor like that would be able to get off the ground for long. Even Celestia's Royal Guard only wore thin plating compared to the thick iron the black pony wore. It seemed like nopony had told her it was impossible, though, as she flew, her wings pounding at the air, a streak of armor and leathery wings with the black cloak trailing like an ebon comet.

She landed on the drake's back and slammed her blades into his dense flesh like a rock climber driving spikes into a cliff. The monster roared, throwing her free and tearing its own flesh as the wingblades came free in a torrent of dark gore.

The dark mare landed, blades sparking on the street as she rolled to a stop in front of Sundae. The dragon roared, and she and Sundae looked up to see it lunging maw-first, snapping her up in its jaws. The drake reared back, swallowing.

Sundae's eyes went wide, backing up a step as it focused on her. The dragon growled and lunged for her, stopping halfway with a choking sound, coughing up blood. It scrambled back, clutching at its throat, confused and afraid. Sundae was splattered with hot gore as a blade erupted from the dragon's neck.

The sword slid sideways, opening up a long tear, hooves appearing at its edges as it was forced open from inside, the black pony emerging from the wound like some terrible demon being birthed from the dragon's death. Jets of blood shot thirty paces into the air as the dragon fell, the black mare ripping free and landing on all four hooves, completely soaked in the sanguine shower.

The drake looked at her, the dragon's expression one of pure terror, before it finally expired, the beast's blood running in a river down the street.

The black mare locked eyes with Sundae Best. Sundae felt her breath catch in her throat as the mare took a step towards her. Before her body could go from paralyzed with fear to full-on fleeing in terror, the black mare stumbled and fell, collapsing in a heap in front of the store.

Sundae looked at the gore around her. The fires at the other end of town. The blood soaking the streets. The lunatic lying at her feet and barely breathing. She could hear ponies running around and screaming, though most were avoiding the immediate area for various, all extremely good, reasons.

“What am I supposed to do?!” She yelled, though there wasn't anypony around to answer her.

Author's Note

I'm going to include dates at the start of each chapter, with another entry in case of any significant time jumps. I'm basing the Equestrian calendar off of that of the Elder Scrolls (I like the feel), with a few minor changes.

Dates are going to be written as

(date) day of (Month)
Year
(Any Significant Notes on the Date)

Don't get too used to having the Solar Calendar there. After this we're going back in time, just a little over a thousand years.