The Savage Skies series is a series of fanfics by moguera
. During a trip through the Everfree Forest to see Zecora, Fluttershy is attacked by timberwolves, only to be saved by a colt with a pair of peculiar eyes. Grateful and moved by the colt's lonely demeanor, Fluttershy takes him in to care for as her own. However, Dawn Lightwing's condition proves to be a source of danger in and of itself as his presence in Ponyville attracts the attention of an ancient and dangerous cult that worships Princess Celestia.
There are presently nine stories in the series.
Foal of the Forest: After being saved by Dawn, Fluttershy brings him into her home, only to find that his presence may turn one of her closest friends into a threat.
The Promise of a New Day: Dawn has been officially adopted by Fluttershy and has the opportunity to experience the life of an ordinary foal. Unfortunately, his previous experiences have left him with scars on his heart that may make Dawn a danger to the ponies he cares about.
Storm on the Horizion: Ponyville suffers from a severe drought as the delivery of clouds from Cloudsdale ceases with no sign of relief. Rainbow Dash enlists Dawn's help to investigate the situation, only for them to find out that something sinister is going on within the pegasus city.
Shadow of the Sun: Twilight Sparkle goes to Canterlot in order to do some additional research into Dawn's condition. However, doing so places her in the sights of the Canterlot Nobility, who have their own designs for her. Meanwhile, Dawn must contend with the consequences of his presence in Ponyville as an assassin threatens his friends and home while seeking his life.
Seasons Turning: As Ponyville's harvest season is in full swing, some of Applejack's relatives come from Appleloosa to help out. However, their presence becomes a threat when their ties to the mysterious cult that has been seeking Dawn's life are revealed.
Rescue on Diamond Mountain: With Twilight's help, Dawn takes the offensive against the Cult Solar with a newspaper interview that announces his existence to the whole of Equestria. While it does attract the response he expected from the cult, Dawn's place in Ponyville is threatened from an unlikely angle as some ponies begin to question Fluttershy's suitability to remain his mother. Dawn must team up with an unlikely ally to put an end to this dilemma.
Cold Days and Warm Hearts: The first months of Dawn's stay in Ponyville have been tumultuous, to say the least. Fortunately, winter is coming, not only offering the colt respite from his enemies, but also giving Dawn the opportunity to enjoy the season with his new friends and family. Little does he know that this is to be a season of many firsts for him. Meanwhile, a new pony has come to Ponyville in response to Twilight Sparkle's call for research subjects. Unfortunately, this stallion's past experiences have left him bitter and paranoid. It will be up to Rarity, of all ponies, to make this unexpected guest feel welcome in Ponyville and heal the wounds in his heart.
The Breaking of the Storm: The winter passes into spring, bringing with it many changes, both for good and for ill. Dawn Lightwing must contend with the pending disaster as a powerful adversary approaches with designs to end his life. Rainbow Dash finally leaves to join the Wonderbolts, but finds her dreams jeopardized by somepony from the past. Meanwhile, Twilight Sparkle and those close to her are drawn further into the machinations of the Noble Court.Oh...and somepony is planning to destroy the world...probably...maybe...let me get back to you on that...
Dark Matter: In the wake of Terra Heart's attack on Ponyville, Princess Celestia leads the Royal Guard against the Cult Solar in an effort to eliminate them once and for all. But, while the cat's away, the mice will play. The Noble Court puts their own plan into action, threatening to throw Canterlot and Equestria into chaos. And behind it all, the mysterious Morning Star continues with his plans, which could spell the end of the world.
Flying to the Future: The world has been saved and the years have passed. But for Dawn Lightwing, not every challenge is behind him. He finds himself faced with something possibly even more difficult than a murderous cult or a mad scientist performing a world-ending experiment, finding what it is that he truly wishes to do with his life. Both Dawn and Scootaloo will go through experiences that challenge their desires for the future and their relationship with each other as they navigate along the final stretch of the convoluted path to adulthood.
Tropes found in the series as a whole:
- Abusive Parents: Dawn's birth parents threw him out the window of their cloud house when he was an infant.
- Affably Evil: Morning Star.
- A God I Am Not: The Cult Solar worships Celestia as a goddess. Celestia does not like it, especially since they demonize Luna.
- Aristocrats Are Evil: Excluding Fancypants, Blueblood and Arcana, all of the Nobles of Canterlot are self-centered and greedy.
- Attempted Rape: Flash Spark tries to rape Fluttershy, beating up Caramel when he tries to protect her. Fortunately, Dawn is there to protect her note .
- Ax-Crazy: Perlin Bluestreak.
- Big Damn Heroes: Numerous occasions.
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: Morning Star thinks on a level that is incomprehensible to most ponies.
- Church Militant: Zigzagged. A big part of the conflict is that the Cult Solar is mostly comprised of ordinary if misled ponies; the ones at the top, however, are eager to kill Dawn.
- Determinator: After Spark attacks Caramel and Fluttershy, Caramel crawls away, beaten and bloodied, so that he can get Rainbow Dash's help.
- Easily Forgiven: Applejack, after she tries to kill Dawn.
- Somewhat played with, in that Dawn initially has a Heroic BSoD when she apologizes (he takes a while to realize she actually means it, which means she's actually changed), and Applejack has been shown not to have fully forgiven herself for some time after.
- Everyone Can See It: Dawn and Scootaloo.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Elderflower completely fails to understand the concept of Twilight and Arkenstone's relationship, as he believes that love is a luxury with no benefits.
- The Noble Court in general cannot grasp the true nature of the Elements of Harmony, seeing them as only powerful artifacts and refuse to believe that they get their power from immaterial concepts like friendship and love.
- Exotic Eye Designs: Dawn has eyes like Nightmare Moon's, called the "Eyes of Nightmare".
- Fantastic Racism: Dawn is hated by the Cult Solar for his eyes.
- Tribalists, ponies who believe one tribe is superior to the others, show up as antagonists multiple times.
- Fate Worse than Death: Celestia's ultimate punishment; Excommunicare-Equestris, involves not only banishing a pony, but erasing all knowledge and evidence of their existence.
- Graceful Loser: Wight Shade. Their reaction to all of their plans coming undone at once is basically "Huh. Oh well, I tried." Combines with Face Death with Dignity.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Scootaloo's father, Cirrus Stratus, hates Rainbow Dash for being more successful than him despite being kicked out of Flight School. Unfortunately, this had affected Scootaloo too, as she hated Rumble at first for being a flight prodigy while she was a late bloomer.
- Happily Adopted: Dawn is adopted by Fluttershy.
- Heroic BSoD: Happens to Dawn twice, the first time was when Red and Storm were going to execute him, the second was after Willow kills herself.
- It Amused Me: Perlin Bluestreak.
- Knight Templar: Some of the more zealous members of the Cult Solar are this, especially Terra Heart.
- Properly Paranoid: Flaxseed, another pony who has the Eyes of Nightmare.
- Put on a Bus Flash Spark in the first story, and Cirrus Stratus in the second.
- The Bus Came Back: Spark returns in the eighth story, and is now more dangerous than ever.
- Real Men Wear Pink: Red River, a mercenary whose talent is flower arranging.
- Red Baron: The Knights of the Celestial Order each have epic nicknames:
- Arkenstone of the Dancing Blades/the Relentless
- Spitfire of the Undying Flame
- Arcana Lulamoon of the Creeping Cold
- Firefly of the Shining Heavens
- Sparrowhawk the Magpie
- Sunset Shimmer the Shadowlight
- Swift Stride the Mad Bomber/Laughing Mad/Lost Cause/False Tongue and True Heart.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Red River and Storm Front.
- Smug Snake: Most of the Noble Court.
- Stalker with a Crush: Perlin towards Coco Pommel.
- Supernatural Martial Arts: There's a set of three martial arts, designed for each sub-type of pony, that utilizes their inherent magical abilities.
- Wild Card: Perlin again.
- World of Badass: There are too many badass characters to list here, even excluding canon examples like the Mane Six, with many of the canon characters becoming even more badass.
- Worthy Opponent: Dawn is this to Perlin Bluestreak.
