Operation Northwest Passage

Excerpt from Tales of Mysterie and Magick, Canterlot Archives, Page 140 (translated to modern Equestrian):

The Tale of the Sun Dragon

Once upon a time, there was a peaceful farming village in the far west. The village lay on the largest plain in the land, and the soil was soft and fertile. Everypony worked together to tend the farms, and they lived in comfortable prosperity.

But in the sky far above, the Sun watched the little village. It was jealous of their happiness and wealth, and thought that the ponies there did not need the sun to be happy. And so, on the sixth new moon of the year, it sent a disciple to teach the village a lesson: the Sun Dragon.

It came from the sky at midnight, trailing its gigantic tail of fire. It had a hundred eyes, and flew on no wings but those of wind and fire. When the dragon came to ground, the very earth beneath it trembled and flew away on the wind. The Sun Dragon, colored of the storm and larger than the sea, landed on sixty legs with a sound to wake every villager from their beds. As they drew nearer to the great beast, they felt that it glowed and burned with the heat of a thousand times a thousand forges at its anger toward the village. Wherever it cast an eye, those fixed by its gaze became fire and ash.

For forty days and nights the Sun Dragon lay near the village. The torn and sickly earth it cast up whilst landing blanketed the fertile plain, and the fire in its belly turned the land to so much dust and poisonous ash. Those who came too close to it were either burned away or died from the plague days later. All the while, the villagers prayed to the Sun for forgiveness, promising never to take its might in vain again. And on the fortieth day, the Sun obliged and told its disciple to return to it after one final lesson.

Glowing once again with the Sun's power, the Sun Dragon raised itself to the sky, roaring like a thunderstorm all the while. Opening its maw, it pulled every pot, kettle, plow, and tool through the village and towards it, where they were obliterated. The great dragon flew back to the Sun, never to return to Equestria. The mighty nest it made became known as Dragon's Landing, and the people moved their village far away from the blighted lands. And never again did they forget the might of the gods.