//------------------------------//
// Prologue 
// Story: Veil of Shadow 
// by Kavian Shadow 
//------------------------------//

Prologue

Warm tears streaked down the bristled fur of her dark orchid cheeks, leaving a glistening trail that was obscured by the wet fur matted to her flesh. Pain consumed her mind, an intense burning in her chest that left her breathless with each step that she took. It was quiet, save for the heavy clank of her metal armor amid the restless downpour that bathed the world in a shimmering veil of rain.
Memories of her foal-hood years passed through her mind as she trudged along down the empty streets of Canterlot, most ponies having chosen to remain inside during this planned storm. Years of bitter hatred had driven her to forsake the land that she had once called home, departing as a broken spirit, only to return as a conqueror in the shadow of a tyrant.
Now, in the wake of the Storm King's demise, who was she? What had once been her guiding purpose in life, her hatred fueling her resolve for revenge, had been blown away by the compassion that a certain princess had shown her. What now was her purpose?
Puddles formed in the slanted slopes on the sidewalk, forming tiny mirrors that were just slightly obscured by the ripples of rain. It was in one of these imperfect mirrors that she caught her reflection, finding a hollow shell of her former, confident self. Her beautiful moderate opal eyes no longer burned with an intense fire, but instead, were dull, as if a lifeless husk.
Beyond the veil of her former glory she could still see the lingering touch of The Storm King's shadow, a clawed hand that was as tangible as a black cloud of smoke. Repressed emotions, things that she had locked away for some many years, were now foreign to her. Assailing her heart was a wave of regret and guilt, but it was pale in comparison to the fear that now griped her in an iron vice.
A heavy sigh escaped her then as she continued along down the road, her steps of steel a comfort to the land that, until recently, was her conquest. She was an outcast, a betrayer, a murderer. She walked where the eye could not see, nor the mind behold. Alone, in a land that she had forsaken, now, with an even harder start.
For too long she had been denying herself the very things that made the land of Equestria magical to begin with; friendship, love, compassion. What have I become? She thought as she turned down another empty street.
Fresh tears tainted her cheeks, having only taken a few steps before, with a rather loud grunt of discomfort, she was knocked onto her rump. She quickly shook her head to clear away the slight daze of surprise before she said, “Watch where you're go...” She bit her tongue before she could say anymore, letting out a sigh. “I'm sorry.” She quickly said.
Astonishment washed over her as her eyes lifted from the cold cement pavement to behold who, or in this case, what, she had run into. Knocked off of its own feet before her was a dragon, whose brilliant topaz orange scales shone like a mirror's sheen beneath the downpour of water. Beautiful topaz orange eyes, which seemed to give off a sparkle like that of the purest gems, looked around briefly before landing on her.
A hint of rose tainted both of their cheeks as they looked at each other, both waiting for the other to break the icy wall of silence that had surfaced between them. It was the dragon who spoke first after only a few seconds, “I'm so sorry ma'am.” His voice was deep, carrying a baritone that betrayed his young appearance, and yet, it carried with it too a subtle hint of kindness that she had never known dragons to posses.
When he rose to his feet, she was surprised to find that he stood just slightly a head taller than Celestia herself, his chest and arms rippling with defined muscle. Running down from just above his left eye to the bottom of his muzzle was a long, jagged scar that, when he blinked, passed over the eyelid too.
It was only when she made to stand herself that he quickly rushed to her side, helping her back onto her hooves with only a slight clank of her armor. Words escaped her as she looked at him with a queer expression, finding that it was odd for him to help her instead of scurrying away like anypony else would have done. It took her a moment to find the right words to say, the concept of thanking somepony genuinely still foreign to her. “Thank... you....” She managed to stutter out.
“Navarehn.” The topaz dragon said rather too quickly. Once more her gaze passed over him from horn tip to clawed toe, noticing that although he had some measure of bulk, he held himself as though it didn't mean anything. Around his left shoulder was a sash that held up a tan messenger bag, which was just slightly obscured beneath a soaked raincoat.
The drake swiftly struck his hand out towards her in a friendly gesture of a claw/hoof shake. Hesitantly, she stretched out her own arm, getting a strange, yet comforting feeling from his claws as she accepted his gesture. “Tempest, Tempest Shadow.” She finally said.
“It's nice to meet you Tempest.” Navarehn said swiftly. For a moment they just stared at each other, waiting for something, anything to break-up their awkward greeting. When at last it seemed like no such instance would occur, he asked, “If I may ask, why are you out in the rain?”
“I could ask you the same thing.” She swiftly said, her face contorting into a grimace when she realized what she had said. “I'm sorry.” She said again.
“What for?” At first she thought she had heard him wrong, but when she saw his truly puzzled expression, she knew that he was indeed confused.
“For responding so... rudely.”
“You weren't rude. Just startled is all. Hey, I can't blame you. It's not everyday that you get knocked over by a pony, or dragon.”
Tempest was sure that the drake was playing with her, from his calm tone to his friendly demeanor. What gave her pause then was his smile, how genuine it seemed, and, how happy he seemed to be by just meeting her. It was obvious that he wasn't a native to Canterlot, otherwise he would have known exactly who she was.
Navarehn rubbed the back of his head with his claw, curious about the mare. While she seemed nice, there was something else about her that he couldn't place. She wasn't like the other ponies that he had meet while living in Canterlot, nor Ponyville for that matter. Like him, she was lost when it came to the whole 'friendship' concept. Nevertheless, he couldn't help but ask, “Could I maybe buy you a cup of tea?”
“Tea?” She asked curiously. All the lessons that she had been learning within the past few weeks came to mind; how to make friends, how to invite strangers out for daily... activities, how to decline politely. Yet, despite everything that she had been taught by Princess Twilight no less, she was at a loss on what to say. “Sounds like.... fun.”
“Fun?” The topaz drake tried not to laugh at her word choice.
“I'm sorry, I'm new to this whole 'friendship' thing.”
“That's alright. I am too to be honest. Tea sounds very nice.



A roar of laughter filled the nearly empty tea shop when Navarehn finished recounting his tail of how he had first learned to breath fire. A glance at the clock above the entrance indicated that it had been several hours since they had arrived. On the simple wooden table between them was a plate of mixed assortments of gems and muffins. Steam billowed out from their recently filled cups, with smiles plastered across both of their muzzles.
Over the course of the past few hours the two had been endlessly divulging information about their pasts, for Tempest, it was a relief to finally spend time with someone who understood the things that she had done. Although she hadn't told him much about what she had done in the service of the Storm King, she had told him about her attempt and seizing control of Equestria until her change of heart. She had however been comfortable enough with him to tell him her real name, though, she had asked that he refrain from using it in public. It still felt weird to hear her real name after all these years.
Navarehn had shared much about his youth with her, but he had refrained from divulging too much about his teenage years. From the look in his eyes whenever she tried to brooch the subject she could see the pain that was buried inside of him.
Silence quickly replaced the merriment of their laughter after a few minutes, both pony and dragon looking each other over, as if they were searching for something about their respective pasts that would tell them more about the other.
“Ever since the Friendship Festival I've been kind of hesitant to leave the safety of my apartment. Ironically, it was a gift from Princess Celestia after everything was said and done.” A sigh escaped her then as she looked down at her cup of tea, watching the steady wisps of steam roll off of its perfectly still surface.
“Well, I'm glad that you chose today to venture out.” The drake said. He suddenly adopted a queer expression, “I'm sorry if I'm intruding, but why did you chose today to go for a walk in the city? You had to have known that a storm was scheduled today.”
It was weird for the drake to admit, but he had taken a liking to the military mare ever since he had bumped into her on the street. He couldn't quite put a claw on what it was, but there was something about her that attracted him, not romantically per-say, but an attraction all the same. Even with all of the armor that adorned her body, she was beautiful beyond compare.
A heavy sigh escaped the mare, her eyes drifting slowly up from the cup of tea to fix on some random point on the ceiling. “I knew that nopony would be crazy enough to be walking out in this storm. After all of the time that I've been spending with Twilight and all of her friends, I guess... I needed some time alone. A chance to gather my thoughts.”
“I can relate to that. During a storm though?”
Tempest could tell that the drake wasn't dumb, he could easily read between the lines of what she had said. “I was hoping that the storm could wash me away from here, carry me by flood maybe to one of the coastal cities, where I could have a new start.” Despite her rugged exterior, the facade of bravado that she normally displayed, a few tears still managed to snake their way down her cheeks.
It pained him to hear that his new friend, maybe even his only friend, was feeling so lost. After hearing about her having served the Storm King, he sort of understood where she was coming from. There was a connection between them that he couldn't explain until now, a sort of silent revelation that coursed through his mind.
“I'm sorry to hear that.” He said with a solemn expression. “For what it's worth, I'm glad I bumped into you.” A clawed hand was laid on the table, though it didn't move any closer that halfway across. Unsure of herself, the mare laid out her hoof until his talons brushed along the soft fur.
Tempest felt her smile return as she looked down from the ceiling and into the swirling abyss of topaz that were his eyes, feeling something deep inside of her chest igniting. It was a faint, ghostly touch, but she still felt it all the same.
It occurred to her that she had neglected to ask him what he had been doing out in the storm, or what he did for work for that matter. “Why were you out in the storm?” She asked with interest.
Navarehn blushed, running a claw down the back of his neck. “Well, I've been so busy lately with work that I kinda forgot to get my younger brother and sister their birthday gifts.”
“You have siblings?”
“Yes, twins actually. Lakara and Kavoren, but I just call them Laka and Kavo. It's their third birthday, so I wanted to get them something special.”
Tempest felt something inside of her heart that she hadn't felt since she first left home, a deep, long forgotten yearn that seemed to reawaken when he mentioned his siblings. She dismissed the feeling as quickly as it came however. “You mentioned that you were too busy. Would you mind if I ask what you do for work? Surely it can't be too easy for a dragon to find work here in Equestria?”
“Actually, you'd be surprised how many pony's could use a dragon's help. Manehatten and Phillydelphia are a bit harder, but here in Canterlot, Ponyville, and even Los Pegasus its pretty easy.”
“Really?”
“Yes ma'am.” He responded with a smirk. “Los Pegasus employs dragons all the time for security at their casinos. Kinda hard to get past a dragon, even with the use of magic.”
“Somehow, I'm not surprised actually.”
“Here in Canterlot its kind of the same thing, Princess Celestia and Luna have both made their guard captains dragons in honor of the new relationship between ponies and dragons. As for me, well, I may not be a soldier, but I am gifted at gem cutting.”
“Gem cutting?”
“Yes, I work with Rarity to make stunning, high quality jewelry for some of her clients to go with their dresses. Necklaces, rings, medallions, whatever they need. I even cut the stones for one of Twilight's regal crowns.”
Of all the things that she had been expecting the drake to say, hearing that he preferred to work with jewelry instead of being a royal guard through her for a loop.	 “So, how long have you lived in Equestria?”
“Probably about eight months now. My father is an ambassador for Dragon Lord Ember and volunteered to move her when she assumed the title.”
“That couldn't have been easy to just move your whole family here like that.”
“It kinda was actually.”
“Didn't you leave any friends behind? A mare... I mean, dragonessfriend behind?”
Navarehn adopted a solemn expression when she mentioned a 'special somepony', a haze seemingly falling over him as she looked away from her suddenly. A silent gasp escaped her when she noticed a few tears trailing down his scaled cheeks, leaving behind a glossy surface upon the scales. She felt guilty for what she had asked.
As if sensing her guilt, the drake wiped away the tears with the back of his thumb before saying, “She's gone.” It was all he said, and while she knew that there was more that was to be told, she knew that if he wanted to, he would tell her in time.
“Another cup?” A gentle, soothing voice polity asked. Beside them was an elderly mare, the owner, who gave them both a warm, comforting smile.
“No thank you ma'am.” Navarehn said sadly. “It's getting late, and I have a party to attend to.” He withdrew his claw from the comfort of her hoof to fish into his bag for a few bits, laying them on the table. “Remember Tempest, who you are is not defined by your past, but by what you doing moving forward.” With that, he slipped the bag over his shoulder, and, casting one last glance at her, departed with a slight grin.
Tempest released a sigh of content. For all of the pain and misery she had caused ponies over the years, it felt good to finally connect with somepony again, even if it was with a dragon....