Chapter 1
Mun'Thul loved the night far more than the day, the night cooled his hot scales, he loved the icy winds that came to his mountain to catch his wings. He loved the darkness, comforting, allowing him to fly alone in the beautiful black sky. He loved the eternal beauty of the great Moon that hung in the sky and he trumpeted his love of the Moon every night, asking her to grace him with her presence.
One night the Moon came down when he called, she was a beautiful dark mare, more beautiful than he imagined. His howl of love pierced the otherwise silent night. She asked him to prove his love for her and, as swiftly as she arrived, she vanished, the great shining orb back in it's rightful place.
He yelled his love for her again, vowing to create something to make himself worthy of her as she was worthy of him.
He first vowed to reach her home, so she would not have to descend to earth to be with him. He stirred the molten earth beneath the soil, causing it to rise sharply into the sky, and the great Spire of Mun'Thul was born of his testament of love, but it was not enough to reach her home in the sky, she would be forever from his reach.
He bellowed his rage and disappointment and vowed anew to impress her.
He then vowed to create a place of beauty, where the shadows cast would mean there would be night eternal, his love could see the beauty that arose even when the sun only nurtured the great trees. His magic stirred within the soil, saplings erupted from previously barren earth, swelling and growing with untimely vigour, their leaves grew so packed and thick that only specks of light could reach the bottom, even in the daylight. He shouted that this forest was borne of love and wove his green flame into the trees, the air, the earth, so that none could have power over the forest. And so Mun'Thul spawned the Everfree Forest to show his love of the Moon.
Again, the Moon did not reply.
Mun'Thul, disheartened, went back to his cave, where he brooded. He did not know why nothing he did caught her attention. He vowed, one last time, to impress her.
Mun'Thul gathered up the most beautiful gems in his great hoard and one cool, calm night he cast them into the night sky, where they settled. His gems now speckled the night sky, and there was no-one who was not awed by the beauty of night.
The Moon descended once again, she expressed her love for Mun'Thul as well as admiration for his gift.
They bound themselves together, and each night, a cooling breeze would catch his wings and he flew far and wide, roaring their love to the world.
When the Moon pronounced endless night, great flames issued forth from Mun'Thul's cave in delight and he leapt from his home, ready to take to the wing. But the cooling breezes were gone, the night was still. The darkness was not comforting, but suffocating. Chills crept up his spine and he shrank back into his cave, unable to leave.
The Moon descended a third time, to ask her love why he did not ride the night winds as he had always done. When Mun'Thul answered her, he gazed upon her form, and saw she was twisted. He could do nothing but turn away and the great dragon knew, as sure as she had died, he had lost the mare he loved.
In bitterness and rage, the Moon spat cruelties and taunts at the drake before departing his cave, never to return.
When he heard of the imprisonment of the mare he loved so dearly his heart broke anew. And the Sun descended on him and gave him the great powers she had used to defeat her sister, asking him to secret them away, to keep them safe.
The great dragon carried the powers into the dark forest, where he constructed a great temple to house them, and magical wards to keep them safe. But in his sadness his magic waned, and it took him great effort to properly ward the powers. And when his task was done his magic was utterly spent. He crept to the deepest part of the Everfree, to the grove he had made in the night's image. A cooling breeze swept through the trees, and for a moment, he was reminded of the Moon, and he knew it was not real, but it comforted him for the last few breaths the dragon took.
Celestia closed the book, it was one of her favourite old tales, one of the few that were left from before Princess Luna was Nightmare Moon. But she knew the story did not end there, that Mun'Thul had been reborn and eventually he would become the drake he once was, remember his previous life and take his place beside her sister until the end of eternity, but that was many centuries coming and right now he was far too busy assisting her favourite pupil.