"To him, I was a way to reconcile his duty with his conscience. To me... he was someone to talk to at a time when I had no-one." -- Princess Celestia
Lord Ragnarok, newly crowned King of the dragons, stands upon a hill overlooking the country of Equestria, an army at his command. Princess Celestia is urgently roused from sleep with a dire warning of impending attack. Thus begins a chain of events that would bring together two of the most powerful rulers of the age, and forge the unlikeliest of bonds. One that would bring salvation to one, and solace to the other.
"I won't call him an enemy, and he won't call me a friend. Make of that what you will."
A precursor / companion piece to Eclipse.
Chapters (5)
A precursor to Eclipse and more of Ragnarok!?
Yes, please! 
I'm liking Sky already.
I missed you 8686
This is a very good start! Please keep up the good work i love this story already!
I loved it! Great story!
You have my attention.
As blatant a reference that is, Ragnarok's response makes this perhaps my single favorite use of it I've seen yet.
Nice tactical use of the ponies demonstrated abilities.
Mares and genltecolts, I give you The Princess Snide.
Before I say anything else: a full length story about one of the best OCs ever made?
Yes please.
As for what is in said story so far - this is amazing and awesome and lots of other good words that I cannot articulate right now because my brain is still squeeing.
Hi folks, sorry for the delay putting this chapter up. There was dialogue that I thought I was happy with... then wasn't... then was, and so it goes. Hope you're still enjoying it.
--Author
Good story.
I can't get enough of the interactions between these two - the way their mind-sets clash on so many levels, and yet when they mesh...
Awesome as always. Thanks for sharing.
And so it all falls into place. I love this story, and its sequel, no bones about it.
This was a wonderful prequel.
This was a truly wonderful story. I really enjoy Ragnarok's character, and the tricky relationship he and Celestia share. Very nice way of tying in Spike's egg, too.
If this is the last thing you post on this site, it's one hell of a swan song. Well done.
This was an amazing story and a worthy companion to Eclipse, thank you for writing it.
Typos and errors
___1
Then she lit her horn and a moment later, from the exact spot she had pointed to, a warm glow began to appear even as the moon overhead began to descend.
(That's some error there Celestia; it's brilliant author!)
___2 (from chapter 3)
with far more more tact than he had ever shown before.
far more tact (remove one of those 'more's)
___3 (from chapter 3)
and then headed for cave entrance and took wing.
for the cave entrance
___4 (from chapter 4)
with a blue mane and a fresh face,
and a fresh (remove one of those spaces)
___5 (from chapter 4)
“As opposed to, ‘it’, said Ragnarok dismissively.
'it'," (add a quotation mark)
___
That was a great story!
One of the best things about it was that every time I thought there was an error or some part overlooked it was rectified a little later on, you made a very solid story here, and the characters are so delightful to read.
This story does justice to Eclipse and stands by itself quite well, too.
Not to undermine Ragnarok's life here but I have to disagree with him, to me this story deserves a comedy tag ...yeah that might look out of place but I loved Ragnarok's sense of humor and found most of the story to be hiliarious! You might not have been going for humor but I thought it was funny and it's enough of a highlight for me to feel like I needed to mention that I was laughing most of the way through this story; I still took it seriously but in a good light hearted way, I didn't feel like any of this was sad... but maybe that's just me, or hindsight for having read Eclipse already; all in all I loved the story, so thanks for it!
5692777
Much appreciated!
1) Since she's late in starting the day, this was actually supposed to be Celestia 'saving time' by raising the sun at the same time as lowering the moon. I suppose a few extra words of explanation might have been helpful there.
2) Fix'd. (You're right, that was just a little *too much* tact, wasn't it?)
3,4 & 5) Fix'd.
Really appreciate you taking the time. I know how much a simple spelling or grammar nit can pull you out of the flow of a story. I try to give readers the best experience I can, so I like to make stuff as good as it can be. But when you know the chapters inside out you just kind of skim over them and assume everything's alright. I miss stuff sometimes, and it's a tough thing to break out of.
Sounds like you enjoyed it. I'm glad you had a good time with it. I know it's not a 'sad' sad story, but it's not exactly solely an adventure piece. There wasn't much else that fit. Ah well,
c'est la vie.
Have fun!
--Author
5693561
Or did you not intend that...? Just take credit for it anyway it's too good to pass up!
About number one: there was no error there in the writing the error is that Celestia raised the Sun right where she lowered the Moon... in the west!
It's cool if I read this before Eclipse, right?
ヽ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ﾉ W E D I D I T B O Y S ヽ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ﾉ
Oh man. I had to mentally prepare myself before finally reading this.
I don't think it was enough. I was not ready for this.
Valkyrie hype!?
You monster!
I don't even... Words... How do they work?
Oh man
I still don't know how words work quite yet.
But man.
This story does so many things, answers so many questions, and it does it all so fluidly. It's amazing.
Oh geez, the letters stopped because they were redirected to go through Spike. Oh man. That realization makes the whole thing so neatly put together... Oh man.
Oh man, what a story. This was everything I could have dreamed of and more. This is a truly amazing story. I might come back later in an attempt to be more articulate, but right now, I'm trying to figure out how words work. They're not cooperating right now, and they're not letting me express how much I enjoyed this story.
Oh man.
Wow, I really, really enjoyed this. It's a worthy companion piece to Eclipse, and a fantastic story in its own right. Well-written, well-paced, and well-characterized as always, and very emotionally rewarding, too. The fact that you can accomplish all of this is impressive enough, but you make it seem so effortless. I also really enjoyed the tie-ins with the show (Spike's origins, Sunset Shimmer, the explanation of how dragon!mail works, etc); I wasn't expecting that, and yet it makes for solid headcanon.
I truly hope this isn't the last story we see from you, but if it is, you certainly left on a high note. Thanks, 8686. Until next time (deities be willing).
In which Ragnarok makes a valiant attempt at becoming best pony.
Ah, I can just taste the weariness of the speakers. This story is a delight to read.
"and the cave itself..."
This story is amazing. Both the characters--Celestia and Ragnarok--are perfect. Just amazing.
5829238
OH I totally missed that being the reason Ragnarok wasn't getting anymore letters! I'm so relieved--that makes so much more sense and is so much kinder
5693561
Since you seem to be one of the authors that responds to minor errors pointed out by readers... There are a number of places where the commas are a little weird. I don't know if it's some cultural difference or what, and the errors didn't really pull me out of my immersion, but I did notice them as I came across them. Would you like it if I went back and found all those spots?
6094089
)
Only if you have the time, my friend. I may not get around to correcting them in this piece, but seeing these sort of nits laid bare would only help me in the future. (Either so I can avoid them... or make them on purpose, as opposed to by accident.
"But she hasn't taken the entrance exam yet. I know this because her entrance exam was to hatch a dragon egg; the one you just gave me. And since she hasn't hatched the egg, much less taken the entrance exam, there is no way I could possibly know who she is at this time."
DAMN IT, 8686! This was going so well...
Oh... whoops.
This was a very nice companion piece to Eclipse. Nice read.
Damn. Sky is a wonderful person.
And then the cave echoed with facepalms and facehooves.
♫bababa-baaah!♫ Celestia acquired Dragon's Egg!
♫bababa-baaah!♫ Celestia acquired Special Gift!
6104199 My thought process exactly.
Why the hell did she stop sending him letters? About a decade ago, she practically proposed to the guy!
Well written and well composed, this story deserves way more attention than it has received. I actually read this without knowing that it was a prequel to Eclipse, which I have also enjoyed, (though honestly it isn't a prequel if you just lop off the last paragraph) so that was a pleasant surprise at the end.
Writing: 4 / 5 (above average)
Story: 5 / 5 (far above average)
Stunning as always. Thank you.
I can imagine Ragnarok singing the Song of the Volga Boatman.
Man, why did it take me so long to read this? Eclipse fucking rocked and Ragnarok is an amazing character.
99 likes, you say?
Well then, Mr. Author, allow me to make it 100!
Hmm, I predict Sky will die several dozen times before this fic is over.
I mean, if I read my tropes right, Murphy's Law is pretty much ready to throw the book at her by this point.
E-yup.
Genre-savvy, thy true name is Alondro.
Aww, she didn't get gobbled up. ANIME TEACHINGS HAVE FAILED ME!!
This section says so much, and I love it every time I read it.