652 years before Nightmare Moon’s Return…

The salty ocean breeze mixed with the acidic bite of smoke and the coppery tang of blood, the midnight air echoing with screams of terror as the little village burned. Ponies ran in every direction to escape the oppressive onslaught of fire and destruction, but most were cut down before they were able to make it beyond the town wall. The wooden palisades, once standing strong against invading bandits and other such threats, now lay in splinters with its ballista ripped apart or tossed from the cliffside into the raging surf below. What few guards the town had were little more than ash now, reduced to cinders and molten slag as their enchanted armor buckled and melted in the flames.

It was in this hellish nightmare that two small shadows, unseen or just too insignificant to bother chasing, raced into the darkness beyond the remains of the village wall. They could hear the thunderous wingbeats above them as their foes continued to hunt and kill the other villagers, their eyes swimming in tears as sorrow ripped through their peaceful hearts. The two ponies tried to run into the forest, away from the coastline and what they hoped was towards safety, but in their haste to escape, they had forgotten something vitally important. While the rest of the villagers were trapped in the burning town, it also provided them with places to hide. Out in the open as they were, there was nowhere to escape the watching eyes above, and their hearts clenched in terror as they once again heard the thunderclaps above them, drawing closer before a torrential wave of fire was thrown over their heads. Both mares ducked and screamed as they expected to be boiled alive that very moment, but quickly realized that the fire had not been aimed at them, merely at the tree line in front of them.

Now, faced with a wall of flames before them, and a deadly beast behind, the two mares backed up, the larger shielding her daughter behind her body as the massive snout and horned head smiled down at them in sadistic glee.

“There is nowhere to run little ponies.” Its deep voice was like a rock being ground against bones, sending shivers up the mares’ spines as it advanced on all fours, “You might as well give up. There is no point in trying to escape any longer.”

Morning Dew looked up at her mother, hoping that there was something, anything, that the older unicorn could do to save them. The dark blue mare glanced back at her, their matching ocean green eyes locking for just a moment before a sad smile came over her mother’s face.

“I want you to know that no matter what, I will always love you.” Morning Glory turned her back on the dragon as it drew closer to them, hugging Morning Dew close as she whispered in her ear, “Make sure to stay alive. I do not want to see you in the Golden Fields for a long time. You hear me?”

Morning Dew was confused, terrified, and most of all, very aware of the fact that with the cliffs behind them, there was nowhere to go. “What do you mean mother?”

As the dragon sucked in a final deep breath, Morning Glory simply smiled, lit her horn, and tossed Dew from the cliffside with all her magical might. Morning had just enough time to realize what was happening before the dragon unleashed its fire, incinerating her mother in an instant as the flames shot over Dew’s head. A scream of anguish forced its way from her throat as she plummeted into the ocean water below, the impact driving the rest of the air from her lungs as the ice cold liquid gripped her body in its terrifying embrace. Waves washed over her body as she was tossed back and forth, her lungs screaming for air as she kicked and struggled to get to the surface. And yet, even as she could feel the tips of her hooves breaking the water’s surface, there was nothing more her exhausted body could give. Even if she had the strength to keep swimming, the dragon would surely come looking for her. Either she died now, in the water and on her own terms, on at the claws of the creature that had just murdered her mother in front of her eyes. Survival instinct warred with a losing will to live, and in the end, Morning Dew decided that she had seen enough. One hoof sank back beneath the waves as her lungs emptied, her vision going black before flashing brilliant white. The only thing Dew could think of as her final moments came upon her was that she was at least glad that she would be able to be with her mother again, promise or no promise.

Two years later…

“Princess,” the guard saluted as came to a stop before his ruler, his golden armor shining in the midday sunlight as he looked up upon the radiant form of Princess Celestia, “there’s been another attack. Brookshire.”

The great crown that rested upon her head dipped in sorrow as Celestia gathered her composure. There would be time for mourning after she had properly dealt with the latest afront against her little ponies, “How many?” She did not need to specify to what she referred.

The guard dropped his salute and his head at the same time, bowing low as he choked the words out, “All reports say there were no survivors. Either eaten, turned to ash, or carried off.” The young stallion lifted his tearstained eyes to meet his ruler’s, “What should we do, Your Highness?”

Celestia sighed. There was very little that they actually could do, save for go upon the battlefield herself and slay every dragon that came into her sight. But she was only one pony, and with a threat as great as that against them, the dragons were sure to come up with a countermeasure quickly.

“I will brief the captains of the guard once I have made a decision concerning this matter.” Celestia replied, “until then do your best to keep my little ponies safe. I am counting on you and your fellow guards to get everypony to safety should the unthinkable happen.”

The guard nodded, wiping his eyes with a fetlock before straightening, “Yes Princess. It shall be done.” With that he turned and walked out of the throne room, leaving Celestia alone for a moment as the true weight of their loss came crashing down on her.

“Over six hundred ponies dead or missing, and there was nothing we could do to stop it.” Celestia’s gaze swam as unshed tears fought to fall to the polished marble floors, but she refused to let them go. She had to be strong, to stand stoic for her little ponies. It was the only way to keep hope alive.

“You know it won’t hurt to let some of the soldiers see you have a heart or show emotion other than that motherly love you so often like to mask yourself with.” Celestia quickly wiped her eyes and turned to face the only pony who would ever dare to speak to her in such a manner.

“I must remain strong in the face of these tragedies,” her words sounded hollow even as they left her own lips, “to bolster the minds of my little ponies and to help them feel hope that there will be a better day.”

“But what hope will there be for us if you fall into despair yourself?” Lord Ivory Inkwell, Celestia’s personal aid and one of her only true friends, countered. “You are the beacon of light in our darkness during these times. Do not forget that if you fall then the rest of us will fall with you, but at the same time, we are not tender little foals that you need to shelter from the world’s evils. We have seen enough of them for ourselves to know better.”

Celestia found herself nodding, much as she did not want to agree with her personal aid, “Was there something you needed to tell me, other than to lecture me on showing emotion?”

Ivory nodded, “There have been odd reports coming in about some of our costal towns. Dragon attacks similar to the others, but with an additional element that is not adding up.”

Celestia raised her head, smiling slightly as she turned her full attention towards her aid, “And what additional elements could befuddle even your brilliance?”

Ivory ignored the jab at his ego, the white unicorn continuing on as if nothing had been said at all, “While the raids have been fairly standard in their patterns and frequency, there is something that just doesn’t make sense from what our scouts have been able to report back.” He pulled out a scroll with his aqua magic and listed off several of the report’s key points, “There appears to be a female dragon that is operating on our eastern coastline, alone from what our scouts have seen, but has not attacked any of the local villages or cities. All we know is that the only time the dragon has ever come into a village was during a raid by its brethren, only instead of attacking with them, it defended against them.”

Celestia’s eyes widened in shock, “Defended against them? Are you certain?”

Ivory nodded, “I’ve had several other scouts confirm the information, and each time the dragon appears in the midst of an attack, it always acts to protect ponies. Also, there was one other thing that a scout was able to see before he was forced to retreat.”

“What else could there be to it than a dragon working with ponies?” Celestia mused to herself.

“The one time the dragon attacked without using claws or fangs, its breath weapon wasn’t fire like the other dragons. It was a concentrated stream of water.” At that point Celestia’s jaw dropped to the floor, and an immediate proclamation was made to locate this mystery dragon, if for no other reason than to thank it for saving her little ponies from certain death.

Author's Note

Hello again to all of my faithful readers. Hope you are liking how my newest creation is going so far. Please leave comments in the towel section below and make sure to smash that like button and follow for more amazing content if you enjoy my work.

Thank you so much for my Patron Earthpatriot117 for his continued support through the years, and I hope that others may join the cause later on if anypony feels so inclined.

Once again, welcome back, and I look forward to seeing you next chapter,
Shadow Quill, Messenger of the Moon.