//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: Journey of The Untold // by Zhenra-Khal //------------------------------// The first thing he knew was the cold. It was bitter, and biting, like a blade cutting into his side, yet a comforting reminder that he was alive. "Am..Am I alive?", He thought blearily. He tried to move, but found he couldn't, so he tried to open his eyes, and with great difficulty, they fluttered open. The Sun's glare blinded him when he first opened his eyes, and open wide they did, to the cold of a world he had no memory of. In fact, he had no memory of any world, much less whatever this one is...But he intended to find the answers, just as he always did...Wait.."Who..Who am I?". As he struggled to remember, he made an attempt to rise to his hooves, only to fall again. "Again..?", He thought, just the effort draining him of all energy, "Again? I...How..?". His thoughts were blurry, his sight was nil, except for that most painful light, which he had no way of blocking...So he endured. After awhile, he regained enough energy to look around, and much to his surprise and disdain, he found that he lay at the bottom of a huge crater, directly in the center. He wondered how he got there, at the bottom of a crater that he had no idea what had caused...But he barely managed to make sure there was nothing in the immediate area that would harm him, before he blacked out. His broken body lay there, his fuzzy mind dodging and weaving in and out of consciousness for...Hours? Days? He could not remember, for sometimes when he awoke, it was bright, the sun in his eyes, and other times it was dark and cold. His senses smothered and mind numb from the cold , nothing was clear anymore. So he lay there, waiting. He decided then that, perhaps he could even tolerate the light, provided he never had to look directly at it again, but that he would always prefer the dark. A long time had passed since he first awoke, only, nopony could be seen or heard anywhere, no help, only cold, silence and unbearable light, flashing by in a slideshow of pain and grief. "Grief?..Who do I grieve for? For, it would very much appear, that I am completely alone here.". With that final thought, lost in the sea of cold, bitter hopelessness, he lost consciousness for what felt like both the first, and last, of endless times. Then it came...A dream. In the dream, he saw himself, swords dancing wonderfully and gracefully, guided by...He did not understand. A strange, dark light was emanating from the horn on the center of his forehead, and he appeared to be directing them, causing them to dance wildly in a display of flashing steel, sparkling, crystalline light, and his own mental fog. Before his mind's eye, the light grew brighter, and the spread to the other two horns, those near his ears, and grew brighter still, until the light was blinding. His dream-form closed his eyes. As he watched in amazement, the energy of the light suddenly went from one end of his horn to the other, and disappeared into his head. His form grew still. Then, with a spine-chilling shriek, the light erupted from his body, destroying him, and went out. * * * * * The tall stallion stood on the edge of the crater. He shook his head violently, the memory frustrating, terrifying yet somehow comforting at the same time. Some things would never change, yet some things were only stable or orderly in the fact that they were chaotically unstable..."Much like my life", He mused as he turned away from the crater, toward the cliff at the edge of the clearing. "Too much like my life", He remarked, taking to the sky and leaving his past in the dust for what he hoped was the last time. But hope would soon prove false. * * * * * The welcome he got down in Ponyville was as frigid as his memory, as usual. Nopony gave him a passing glance, And everypony avoided him like his was a baby dragon with a grass allergy. He wished for perhaps the octillionth time that he could just window-shop in harmony with the other market-goers, even though he hides his appearance as it is. "Just let them catch a glimpse of what I really am.", He rambled. He needed to find some advice and some spell components, as well as a few...Questionable...Items. "Okay, first thing first - Visit Twilight Sparkle for the components you need, then go find the one they call..." , He paused to think, "Rarity? To find the gems and cloth I'll need...Then I should visit Zecora for everything else.". He sighed. This was going to be an incredibly long day...But for him, every day is long. * * * * * The knock on the door was soft, yet firm, and carried an air of wisdom behind the sound, which worried Twilight. Only older beings such as Celestia herself have that way about them. She began to panic, quite forgetting to answer the door, and thought frantically, "Oh my gosh, did I forget to write her again!?". She rushed about, worrying over each paper and quill... ...At least until she tripped over Spike, who was very unhappy at the rude awakening. "Gee, Twi, do ya have to rush around like that every time someone knocks on the door? It really hurts my head when ya do that.", He grumbled. Still worried, Twilight helped him up. "I just got an odd feeling, Spike, I didn't mean to knock you down like that." "I know Twi, I just wish you would stop worrying." "Yeah Spike, you're right." The knock rung against the door again, this time more insistent. "Oh! I've got it!" She exclaimed as she rushed for the door. When she opened the door, she was amazed at the beauty of the stallion standing there. "Hello. I am here to find some components for a new spell I'm working on. Do you have the things I desire for my research?" With that, he passed her a list using his magic, which came from not one, but oddly, three horns on his head. Spike took the list and headed for the supply room, leaving Twilight to converse with the customer. Not that she did much talking; she just stood there, staring at his horns, and his eyes, gold-colored and much like the eyes of a serpent. The odd hue of his magic and the curious structure of this stranger distracted her so much, that she was startled when he asked, "Are you just going to stand there gawking, or may I come in?". That snapped her out of it...Somewhat. "Y-yes, yeah, uh...Make yourself at home, i'll go, uh...Help Spike find the components you need!", She blurted, and ran to the back room while the stranger settled himself in. He sat down in the corner while Spike and Twilight rummaged around in the back room for the components, Twilight complaining about having to rearrange everything in the morning. They finally found everything, and returned to the living room to find the stranger reading a very large tome that he had apparently brought with him, though, Twilight hadn't seen him bring anything in...The book disappeared, though, as she and Spike entered the room with the sack of items he'd requested. "That'll be seventy-two bits, sir.", She told him. "Wait!". She looked in the sack and corrected herself, "Sorry, I mean seventy-three.". With that, she passed it to him, noting the hue of her magic was similar to his. He began to leave, and as he did, Twilight called out, "Hey! Are you going to...". "I already did, young one, check the table by where I sat. I am far smarter than I look.", He interrupted. With that, he turned and left. She ran over to the table beside where he sat, only to find a pouch barely big enough to contain a small apple. "That can't possibly contain..." She said as she dumped to contents of the bag onto the table, but stopped herself short. the bag just kept pouring and pouring. After a few seconds, It seemed to empty, but by this time, the coins were overflowing off the table and into the floor. She counted them, and was awed to find exactly one thousand bits. "How...?" She wondered, staring at the bag. "I am definitely going to study that bag.". With that she snatched up the bag and ran to her lab. * * * * * The stallion chuckled at the reaction he imagined had resulted from his "gift". "Perhaps a waste of time, but it was entertaining nonetheless.", He mused. It wasn't his fault he had an overabundance of bits and didn't mind giving heavy tips. He was only adding his part to the community, after all, he rarely went shopping, so he didn't spend nearly as much as the other ponies did. He was just making up for all those days he never went anywhere or did anything. Besides, he needed to test his spell, which meant he needed components, so today he had to shop; his supplies were getting low. "Speaking of my spell, I should get back to it", He thought as he hastened his steps, heading in the direction of Rarity's Boutique. "Dealing with a scientifically-oriented pony like Twilight obviously is was easy, but dealing with an apparent drama queen would probably be the worst possible thing for me today", He thought, dreading the upcoming conversation he would have to have with the gossiping boutique owner, "I'll have to make this quick, because this is definitely the worst. Possible. Thing.". He gritted he teeth as he knocked on the front door of the boutique. * * * * *