The first time Princess Celestia saw him was thousands of years ago.

She had been young then. Barely 400, naïve, unsure of the world and how to rule it. Her mother had trained her and Luna has best she could, but the world was at war. The most their mother could do was, in-between every battle, try and teach them the ideas of love, kindness, and trust.

The first time she saw him was when she was standing in a pool of her mother’s blood.

Contrary to popular belief, alicorns were not indestructible. They were immortal, yes, but a dagger in the back or an arrow through the heart would kill them as easily as it would any creature.

It had been a glorious battle. The ponies under her command had been brave and valiant, fighting their brethren to stop them from taking the newly formed Equestria. Luna had been in charge of the aerial battle; leading squads of pegasus soldiers against other squads of pegasus soldiers. Bodies and blood rained from the sky as the two armies hit each other head-on in the air.

Celestia had been in charge of the unicorns. They were attempting to shield nearby buildings and civilians from the incoming spells from the enemy. They were mostly successful. She tried to block out the pained and panicked screams of the ponies she could not save as she ordered her unicorns to retaliate. Fire streaked across the battlefield at the enemy, and Celestia could not help but feel a minute feeling of savage satisfaction as she watched ponies burn.

She cast a weary eye towards the front line, where her mother was.

It had been an effective way to boost morale amongst the troops, she mused. One Alicorn for each race of pony, fighting with them and showing them that they were not alone. Her mother was leading the earth ponies as they clashed against the oncoming wave of enemies. Even from where she was, far in the back, Celestia could hear the clanging of steel. She saw her mother, the Queen, rise up into the air, shining as golden as the sun. She dived at the enemy soldiers, sending heads rolling as her blade whistled through the air.

Satisfied that everything was going alright, Celestia turned her attention back to her unicorn mages.

The battle was long and bloody, with heavy losses on both sides. Finally, after hours of bloodshed and wasted lives, the enemy retreated. Celestia sighed in relief and ordered her mages to help the wounded. As for her, she spread her wings and flew to the meeting point her mother had set up.

She looked around as she landed on the plateau. She could see the entire battlefield from where she stood. Plumes of smoke rose from the burnt villages unlucky enough to be caught in the middle of the war. Celestia felt remorse, but acknowledged that there was nothing she could do about it now. The dead were going to stay dead, no matter how much she wished to change it.

She heard someone land and turned to look at the new arrival.

Luna looked worse for wear. Her onyx armor was chipped and cracked. Luna’s face was smeared with blood, the red staining her navy coat.

“Sister.” greeted Celestia neutrally. “Do you need to see the medics?”

Luna smiled a manic grin. “Do not worry so much, Sister. The blood is not mine.” She looked at the battlefield and said proudly, “The battle was most glorious. Our foes will feel this loss.”

“As we will feel our victory.” added Celestia. “Many of our soldiers died today.”

Luna’s smile faded and she sighed. “I know. But if we can make the enemy see that attacking us is foolish, is it not worth it?”

“I do not know.” admitted Celestia quietly.

The two princesses were silent for a long while.

Luna waved her hoof, as if to clear the somber air. “Enough of this! Where is Mother? It does not take her that long to converse with our generals.” Luna smiled warmly. “I only caught a glimpse as she tore through the enemy. She was most glorious!”

Celestia did allow herself to smile at that. At 170, Luna was young and hot-blooded. She yearned for battle, as it allowed her to prove her worth as a Princess and defender of Equestria. She often attempted to copy her sister’s tone of voice when dealing with the common ponies, trying to appear older and wiser than she really was. And yet, it was times like this, were Luna spoke of their mother in an awed voice, that she seemed like an excitable filly.

“I do not know.” said Celestia. “But you are correct. She is usually with us by now…”

That’s when she heard the arrival of another pony.

She was very surprised to see that it was not her mother, but one of the higher-ranked pegasus soldiers.

Celestia felt a wave of dread go over her as she saw the tears falling from his face.

The soldier led them to where her mother’s body lay. Her golden armor was torn apart, lying in pieces all around. Her crimson mane, usually flowing with magic, lay limp and lifeless on the dirt, all magic having been drained from it. Her golden eyes were still open, widened as though in surprise at what happened to her.

Her mother’s chest had been ripped open. Massive amounts of blood pooled around the body, staining the ground red.

From off to the side, Celestia heard Luna vomit, and swallowed the bile that was gathering in her own throat. She quickly looked at the burnt corpses of her mother’s killers. There were at least twelve of them, their broken swords on the ground beside them.

According to the pegasus solider, the Queen had been swarmed by the enemy. What they lacked in finesse, they made up for in relentless brutality, hammering away at the Queen with their swords. As they butchered her, the Queen had the energy for one last spell and waves of fire scorched the soldiers, avenging her own death.

Celestia gently closed her mother’s eyes and heard Luna sob and curse and scream behind her. Tears flooding her own eyes, Celestia quickly looked away from the corpse, unable to look at it any longer.

That was when she saw him.

He was a gaunt figure, dressed in black robes. His white fur seemed almost ghost-like as he stared down at the Queen’s body. His hood was up, hiding his eyes from Celestia’s view. He had a sad frown on his face, and his back was bent, as if carrying a heavy load.

Celestia was about to ask him who he was and what he was doing, when his head snapped towards her. He lifted the hood off his face and stared at her. His eyes were a deep black and seemed darker than the night sky. Celestia had the uncomfortable feeling that he was seeing everything about her just by looking at her.

“…So young.” he said, his deep voice resonating in Celestia’s ears. He vanished, leaving no trace that he was ever there to begin with.

Author's Notes:

Trying something new with a more serious story. You guys probably know who this "stranger" is, it's pretty obvious.