The Old Cold
Princess Celestia let out a heavy sigh as she trotted down the hallway of the castle she and her sister shared. It had been a long day, and any sight other than the diplomat’s faces or the banners that hung from the ceiling was more than welcome.
The once lightweight royal regalia she wore was now a burden. She could’ve sworn she heard it make a heavy clunking sound every time she took a step. The crown came off first, it levitated to the side. Without it, Celestia felt like she could raise her head again without wanting to collapse.
Next, she undid the clasp on her peytral. She let the cool metal slide across her fur as it fell off, though she caught it with her magic before it could hit the floor. Normally she would be worried about taking off her royal wear before she’d reached her room, but it was nighttime now. Most ponies were busy attending to the needs of the dignitaries, or off doing their nightly duties. She was alone.
She pushed open the doors to her private wing with another pulse of magic. Her hooves dragged across the floor, the weight of the royal hoofwear almost too much to bear. She opened the doors to her private quarters with a groan, then gave a relieved sigh as she stepped out of her hoofwear.
Silver moonlight flooded in through the only window of her room. It gave everything a luminescent glow, and helped the princess feel at ease. Her royal regalia floated away to set itself neatly on the nightstand, and all semblance of professional composure fell as she gave a big, loud yawn.
She strode over to her dresser next. She pulled a brush out of one of the top drawers on the dresser it was seated on, then began to hum as she ran it through her long, flowing mane. An unintentional giggle escaped her lips as she remembered a fond moment of when she taught Luna how to brush her mane, after she did it for her for so long.
“I wanna do it!” The young filly complained.
“Okay, but just remember that a mane as long and pretty as yours has to be treated with delicacy.” She’d chided as she handed the brush to her sister.
“Delicacy, schmelicacy!” Luna began to brush her hair vigorously until it began to puff up.
Celestia giggled and took the brush away. “It may not sound important, but when you’re a real princess someday, you’re going to be one of the most beautiful mares in all the land.” Celestia bopped her on the nose. “Does the most beautiful pony in all the land want to have puffy hair?”
Luna crossed her forelegs and stuck her lower lip out as she looked down. “I guess not…”
Celestia smiled. “I’ll tell you what, I’ll let you practice on mine until you get it just right, okay?”
“Okay!” Luna jumped up and began to vigorously comb her sister’s hair.
She had spent hours in the mirror after all their combing sessions to make her mane presentable again, but eventually her sister learned. With her mane combed nicely, Celestia stepped in the bathroom to clean herself up before bed.
Before long, the memory faded as Celestia returned to reality. She opened the top drawer of her dresser again and pulled out a nightgown and a nightcap. Her head tilted to observe the dress ever so slightly before it draped the comforting fabric over her shoulders, then pulled her nightcap on tight as she finally slid under the covers and surrendered to the warm embrace of sleep.
The door to her chambers burst open. “Princess! There’s been a development!”
Celestia cringed in her bed. She groaned and slowly sat up, then turned to face a pony clad in golden armor in the doorway.
“Lieutenant Bulwark?” She rubbed her eyes, then let off another yawn. “W-what is it?”
“I’m terribly sorry for the interruption, your highness!” He began to run in place, looking down the hallway while biting his lower lip. “It’s the Dragons, your majesty! They’re leaving the negotiations! Princess Luna is doing her best to convince them to stay, but they’re not having any of it! They’re leaving by the dozens!”
The dragons. Princess Celestia remembered being wary about inviting them over here. Dragons were known well for their wise words and powerful forms, but they were known even more for their greed and ferocity. She’d decided to give them a place in the negotiations, at the dismay of her advisors.
News that they were leaving the negotiations didn’t sit well with her. She looked towards the window before she looked back at Bulwark. “Tell my sister I’ll be out shortly. Have the guard on standby in case something happens.” Lieutenant Bulwark saluted before running out of the room, already giving out orders as he galloped down the hall.
It wasn’t long afterwards that Princess Celestia found herself trotting towards the front castle doors, her eyes narrowed in determination. While normally she would be grumpy or cranky at being woken up, this was no trivial matter. She needed the dragon’s cooperation as much as she needed every other species’. They could be powerful allies, if the need arose.
As she opened the door, she stopped to stare in awe at the night sky. Dragons of all shapes and sizes darted across the star lit expanse, they roared and shouted as they began to make their way towards the horizon. Other dragons remained on the ground, just beginning to lift off. One creature in particular caught her attention, though.
Luna was shouting at a silver, smaller dragon who was perched on the railing just at the edge of the grand staircase. He supported himself on two legs rather than four, and was only slightly taller than Celestia and Luna themselves.
“Oh mighty dragon, why do you not heed our calls? We implore thee, why do you scatter your brethren to the skies?” Celestia recognized such a dragon. A wyvern. They may not be as big or nearly as menacing as the great and majestic dragons that she had come to know, but what they lacked in size and strength they made up for in speed, ferocity, and cunning.
Celestia trotted towards the two, and as she neared Luna caught sight of her.
“Sister!” Luna ran up to her, ears flat as she looked back at the departing dragons, then back at her. “I have been trying to talk to them, but they do not listen! They are leaving, and I do not understand—”
Celestia held up a hoof to calm her sister for a moment. “I know, Luna. Lieutenant Bulwark told me everything. Let me talk with them.” Celestia stepped forward, then steeled herself and bowed low. “Ambassador.” She spoke in the dragon’s tongue.
The Wyvern cast a look over its shoulder in surprise, then turned and gave Celestia his full attention.
“Ahhh, the sun princess. Phoenix Feather.” He bowed his head low in return. “May the eight guide you.”
“And also you.” She lifted her head to look the wyvern in the eye. “May I ask what it is that you’re doing?”
“An unforeseen circumstance has called us back to our homelands.” The wyvern looked back up towards the sky. “While we drakes may have come here of our own ambition, when traveling back to the homeland we always travel as one. It is tradition to travel in such a way. A great migration, if you will.” His mouth twisted into a slight frown as he cast a glance back at Luna. “I was overseeing the migration before this one exited the castle and began to yell at me. She did not greet me as an equal, so I did not treat her as one.”
Luna’s ears bent backwards as she watched the conversation, then slowly mouthed ‘I was only trying to help!’ to her older sister.
Celestia smiled and laid a hoof on the wyvern’s shoulder. “My sister was only trying to keep the negotiations going. This is a very important time for our country. Which is why I have to ask, why is it that you’re pulling out of them now?”
The wyvern looked off towards the airborne dragons now as the last of them flew from the castle. He flapped his wings once, and ascended into the sky. “Among our kind are certain customs. Traditions, if you will.”
Celestia nodded in understanding. “When approaching one another, you must be certain to greet them as an equal. To imply otherwise is to bring the wrath of the eight upon thyself.” Celestia quoted from her lessons in dragon customs.
The wyvern nodded. “Unspoken and unwritten is the tradition that tells us to stay clear of land that does not belong to us. To do so is to also to invite the wrath of the eight upon thyself. Phoenix Feather, this land, though you may think it otherwise, does not belong to you.”
Celestia tilted her head. “I do not understand. Ponies have laid claim to this land for one hundred years now, who else could there be? I assure you that our lands belong to us.”
“You are firm in that belief, I can tell.” The wyvern nodded. “That belief, however, is soon to be tested.”
Celestia’s wings extended from her back ever so slightly. “Enough with the riddles and the obscurity! If I need to worry about my little ponies, I need to know what the issue is that causes you to flee!”
“To speak its name is to invite death itself to your door, princess.” the wyvern shook its head. “I can’t tell you, but I can warn you. The old cold approaches.” With those words, he flew off to join his comrades in the sky with a roar.
Celestia watched him go. She sighed and let her wings droop to her sides. “So much for their cooperation…” she mumbled. She suddenly felt a cold hoof prod at her side.
Luna was there, face full of worry and confusion. “Sister, I do not understand.” Luna gestured towards the dragons disappearing into the distance. “What was he saying? Why are they leaving?”
Celestia looked out over the forest, her usual warm and cheery self replaced with a grim, dreary feeling that worked its way into her heart and left it cold and empty. “I don’t know Luna.” She finally answered. “But whatever the reason, we need to be ready.”