Dragons migrated only once in a generation, leaving the great mountains in the south and traveling to more gem rich areas to gorge themselves. Dragons coveted gems and precious metals so much so that they grew in size the more they collected. This is often why larger dragons could be found guarding a horde of shining objects. Most were entranced by things that nearly anything that shined, but this rule hardly applied to one that stared up at the mass of dragons taking off to find gems in their migration.
Night was recovering from his most recent beating, his attackers were different from those that had attacked him since hatching. He was 23 years old by his count, though he would have gladly traded away each of those years for one away from the hell that was his life. He slowly extended his wings, giving them a gentle flap before stretching his weary muscles. He had a vanishing scar on his left shoulder from a less than playful bite seven years earlier. “Beasts.” he muttered, shaking as he remembered that night.
He looked over his body, burning any wounds closed before he gave a pained look at his tail. A chunk was missing from the middle if its length, a pale scar marking the spot of missing scales. He turned his head to the sky once again and watched every dragon in the mountains fly over his head and towards the northern horizon. My turn, Night took to the skies, making sure to stay well behind the flock of blood thirsty brutes. I shall leave damnation and travel to salvation.
The dragons didn’t stop in their journey, flying for miles before their first destination even came into sight. A valley known to the inhabitants of the land as The Badlands. Most dragons landed on the rich soil, digging for gems the second their feet touched ground. Several looked to the sky lust in time to see a blue dragon fly right over them, still pointed north. Several jeered at what they though was one of their own, but they were wrong. The lone dragon had long since forsaken his kind and welcoming change of scenery.
Night set his sights on a crumbled structure that was surrounded by trees. He landed by a river to the east of the structure with the sunlight quickly failing as the night approached. Night drank deeply from the river, his mind buzzed as he looked around. Never had he seen so much color in one place, even the sky looked different from back in the mountains. Paradise, he thought, looking around for a place to rest for the night ahead.
He settled for a room with several pedestals in its center, admiring the stone work as he rested against a wall, a hole in the ceiling providing him a grand view of the moon and stars. He listened to birds singing outside the walls, he relaxed as the sweet sound filled his ears. He began to sing with them, his whistling turning into words as time progressed. “Sweet sounds fill the world. Teeming lights brighten the dark. Air, cold and crisp, swirls around us all. Rambling wilds speak, should you choose to listen. Secret wonders revealed in star light.”
Night’s eyes closed, exhaustion finally taking its toll, but he sang on into the night. “Nocturnal creatures stir. In the the pale light. Glades fill with life. Heightened senses rule over the dark. Total peace overcomes us all.” Night drifted off to sleep as thoughts of a new life filled his mind, I can finally know peace. Thus, Night fell into a deep slumber, unaware of events that were unfolding in the world around him.
Night stirred, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he began to stand. He stretched his numb limbs and looked around, unable to remember the last time he had slept so peacefully. He could see the darkening sky outside. I slept through the day? he wondered, his mind catching up with his body at last. He watched the leaves sway slowly in the breeze as his eyes became familiar with the darkness around them.
Night smiled as he took flight, soaring higher and higher until be pierced the clouds. He held out a hand to the moon, a feeling of desire creeping into his mind as he stared at the lonely crescent of light. He shook his head, attempting to clear his mind, “Why am I thinking like that? The moon isn’t alive, so it can’t be lonely.” Night breathed deeply, hoping to be rid of these odd thoughts.
The silence was broken by roar in the distance, echoing up into the clouds that Night was hovering above. Night instinctively looked for a place to hide before he realised that is wasn’t a dragon he had heard. “What was it then?” Night asked as he began to descend, scanning the ground for any signs of combat. He ceased his search once he saw some strange creature battling with a dark blue pony at the northern edge of the forest. He could see several other ponies behind the blue one, though none of them were like the one fighting. None of them had horns or wings, most of them appeared to be children.
Night hesitated for only a moment before pointing himself at the beast and diving down. He focused one each pony below, noticing the fear that filled each pair of eyes and the courage of the one that fought a beast far larger than her. He stared in amazement as he realized that it was a mare that was protecting the others. Night gasped as the beast knocked the mare over and stood over her, it mouth wide open around her head.
“No you don’t!” he exclaimed, adjusting himself and crashed into the beast’s side, both of them carried away from the mare by the impact. Night recovered and rolled back, standing feet away from the strangest thing he had ever laid eyes on. He growled out a warning, a sign among predators that a fight would happen if one didn’t back down. The beast only growled back, returning the warning.
Night breathed in deeply, heat filling his body as he felt his fire grow. He roared, a great jet of blue flame erupting from his open mouth and engulfing the beast. Night could hear heavy beating on the ground and saw the beast run into the darkness of the trees. He ceased his attack, the flames dissipating as Night stood in place, his mind racing as he felt victorious for the first time in his life. “I beat it,” he muttered, turning slowly to face the mare.
The very air was knocked from his lungs as he was blasted by some strange force and forced onto his back. The mare walked up to him and her horn began to glow, her expression one of severity. “Speak, what are you doing here?”
Night was unnerved by her tone, she isn’t playing around. “I am just passing through. I saw you were having some trouble with that thing and I thought I would help out.” Night would have run, but something was holding him in place. “Might I ask who you are?”
The mare appeared dumbfounded by the question, “We would ask the same of you, since you don’t know who we are.” she paused and backed away, beckoning Night to stand. “Who are you, and why would you assist us?”
Night was puzzled by this manner of speaking, he chose to avoid making a greater fool of himself and speak as he always had. “I am no one, ma’am. I helped you because I didn’t want that thing to use its strength to harm others. I hate that type of behavior.” Night straightened his posture and spoke as evenly as he could. “Who are you?”
“We are Princess Luna, ruler of Equestria. How long have you been here?”
“I have only been in this land for a single day. I rested in the ruins towards the south of here last night.”
“Was it you we heard singing, then?”
Night cringed, he had never expected someone to have heard his singing. Realization slapped him in the face and Night kneeled on the spot. “Yes, Your Majesty, I was the one who sang out in your glorious night.”
“Do you have a name, young one?” Luna questioned, eager to know how this being was.
“No, ma’am.”
Luna appeared shocked by this statement, not by the respect, but because this dragon claimed to have lived about twenty-five years without a name. “Then you are in need of a name, young one.”
“I would be honored if you were to give me a name, Your Majesty.” he preached, respect pouring over his words. “Might I be so bold to ask what you see fit for me?”
Luna stopped to ponder this for a moment, unsure of what she had just gotten herself into. What should we choose? She poured over what little she knew about the kneeling dragon before her. She knew that he sang, and fought to defend those he didn’t even know. Minutes passed in absolute silence before a chirping came out of the dark. A small brown bird came from the shadows of the trees, it twirled around the dragons head before it landed on his left shoulder and began to sing. “Nightingale.”
“Pardon me, Your Majesty?”
“We name you Nightingale, a defender and of the night with both show of strength and song.” Luna explained, her tone one of kindness and compassion.
“Nightingale,” he muttered, “I am your soldier, Your Majesty.”