Prologue
Screaming. There was screaming all around her. Sounds of screaming, running ponies.
"Melody! Melody! Wake up!"
She opened her eyes, to see her mother standing over her, crying.
"Mommy?"
"Star! Get your sister!" Her father called from the front of the house. "You have to leave now!"
"Come on dear," said her mother. She struggled to rise, then was overcome with dizziness...
"Hurry! They're coming!"
The dizziness passed, and she found herself running down the dirt road. It was the middle of the night, and only the fires in the street lanterns lit the way. The air was moist, and filled with the sounds of other ponies crying... screaming... running. Turning to the voice, she saw the outline of her older brother running next to her.
"What's going on?" she tried to ask.
He turned his head and forced a weak smile. "Just keep running Mel." Then the dizziness returned...
When it cleared this time, she found herself crouched down in a bush, her brother hovering over her. He was watching the sky, looking for something. Then she heard it, the loud whine coming from above.
"Keep still!" he ordered. She froze, and finally spotted the object, drifting slowly overhead, like a large predator looking for prey. It looked like a flat wedge, with large spikes sticking out from both the top and bottom. The tips of the spikes were glowing a bright orange. Then, just as fast as it appeared, it drifted past them and disappeared into the darkness once again.
"Hurry!" urged her brother. "We gotta get to the caves!" He led her out into the open, and ran right into the scariest thing she had ever seen. A large lizard-like creature, walking on two legs, standing twice as tall as her brother. It hissed, and raised some sort of orange-glowing staff, pointing it at her. From the corner of her eye, she saw her brother charge, then the orange flash took her...
She opened her eyes. The sounds of the rain storm continued outside of their cave. She shook her head, trying to escape the fright of the dream. The same one she had been having for the past five nights. Raising her head and looking around, she saw the other ponies still lying on the rocky floor, huddled around the remains of the camp fire. A flash of lighting caught her attention, and she turned to the mouth of the cave. There, as he was every night, was her brother, standing watch. She smiled, and lowered her head back to the ground. It was always easier to sleep when she knew Star Gaze was protecting her...