//------------------------------// // Prologue/Strange Beginings // Story: The Faint Sparkle in a Dark Twilights End // by wolfbain //------------------------------// Prologue/ Strange Beginnings Crossmane was sitting on a solitary mountain watching the goings on of Ponyville and it's inhabitants, when the sun froze just before the sunsets end, shrouding Ponyville in an ethereal light that made Crossmane's coat shimmer with the faintly with glee as he jumped off the mountain. His cloak flapping in the wind, gaining speed, his hood fell back revealing his battle-scared face from its dark imprisonment, his tail as still as a boulder, not shifting as the tremendous force rushed passed it. He released his wings half a league from the ground as he broke his fall with the wind and landing without a sound. He replaced his hood on his head again before he headed off. The town was in chaos, nopony had any idea what was going on but when the sun stopped, terror struck. Crossmane was walking unnoticed through the crazed ponies undistracted from his goal, solitude in the eternal shroud by which he was cursed. The horror he faced when he was confronted by a certain lavender pony he knew as Twilight Sparkle, her chivalrous attitude and undying hunger for knowledge and magic, he had noted to avoid her and her friends as much as possible. "Now what are you doing alone in this chaos my friend?" Twilight asked with as she looked at her new acquaintance, noticing the strange way his mane absorbed and reflected the sun in it's faint light and began to wonder why he covered himself in such a garb as a hooded cloak. "Well?"pleaded her eyes . The colt stopped and looked over the mare trying to comfort him, his head not moving as to risk the hood falling down, he looked towards the direction of the castle, he ignored her and kept walking towards the city of Canterlot. "HEY! WHERE ARE YOU GOING!"cried the purple mare worrying for the mysterious colt. "WILL YOU AT LEAST TELL ME YOUR NAME?" Crossmane stopped again pondering whether to risk saying his name aloud. He decided against it, ignoring her and feeling a slight pain in his chest as he disregarded her valid request. Embracing the pain, he kept walking. "I have to help him" thought the unicorn as she raced of towards the library to find the latest copy of the Equestrian census. Rainbow Dash was sitting on a cloud above Twilight watching in awe at what had transpired, and immediately began following the strange pony as she thought of her other friends. "Well Fluttershy's off helping animals, i know that for a fact and Twilight's going to the library most likely. Hmmmmmm." Thought the cyan pony as she slowly stalked the mysterious young stallion. Crossmane was aware of Rainbow's presence but did not acknowledge her for he did not know her name, only that she would a pest on his journey to end his curse, "Now how to be rid of her?" Pondered the colt who had stopped now looking at the bright coloured pegasus who was oblivious in thought. He silently flew up and broke the cloud that Dash was sitting on, only to be gone as quick as he came. "Now what in the heeeeEEEYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!"shrieked the scared pony as she fell through the skies she loved. She became faint with fear, and blacked out. She didn't see a cloaked figure standing on her yellow friends home. Rarity had started shrieking in terror when the sun stopped sinking, she had a small mark on her face from when she was recently slapped by a soft pink hoof. "Snap out of it Rarity." Said the party pony with deep pleading eyes. "Come on, you have to snap out of it, come on, pleeeeaaase Rarity. OPEN YOUR EYES!" The pink pony yelled the last part at her distraught friend as the tears crawled down her silky white coat. Rarity's tears were streaming by this point and could not see her friends slowly saddening face and deflating mane. She took a deep breath and held it only to shudder as another ear piercing cry echoed through the still air that would cause the angels themselves to shudder. Then, she stopped, and stared in terror of what was forming behind Pinkie Pie. The bipedal-creature that was forming behind the mare was shrouded in a pure black hooded cloak that's colour seemed to hold in the setting sun, despite it's condition. On his cloak was a small furry animal seemingly attached to this strange creature's shoulder. It didn't even falter it's position when the biped lifted his cloak and surrounded them both. Pinkie let out a scream like no other that made the strange creature cringe at the sound. Everypony near her heard this and as she was running by, Twilight appeared. When she opend the door all she saw was a puff of black dust now settling in a small pile on the boutique's polished floor. The Apple family was in uproar as the sun stopped. "How will the tree's grow?" Wailed AppleBloom. "I da'no sis, but we'll pull through, we always do." Said the older sister. "Eyup." Came Big Mac's solitary thought on the subject. "You guy's jus' stay here kay?" Advised Applejack "I gotta go find Twilight." She said as she set off to find her unicorn friend. Fluttershy was unsure off herself as she woke the sleeping animals to move them to a safer place than the stampeding town. "Come now little bunnies." Whispered the shy pony as she ushered the rabbits along. "Almost to safety." Fluttershy said as the animals entered the burrow. She stopped dead and gasped in horror as it collapsed in front of her, crushing the animals inside. She slowly slid to the ground, in shock about what she just saw, then sucking it up she tried to find more animals. Gasping once more, she saw the hill she was sitting on collapsing in on itself. She ran, she flew, she did all she could to save herself from the chasm that was forming underneath her, screaming in terror. She flew straight into her friends Twilight and AppleJack. "What'ch ya screaming for Fluttershy?" Questioned the orange earth pony. "Hello?" Said the worried unicorn. Fluttershy dared not open her eyes as she was being questioned by her friends. The other two were wondering why she was screaming, little did they know the trauma Fluttershy just went through was purely in her head. The Canterlot throne room was in complete ruin, the ponies stareing in awe at what had transpired. The two sisters, turned to stone with nothing but a touch, the fear this entaild was unheard of in Equestria(the worst the had was Discord and that was over pretty quickly). "Huh." said the bipedal creature in a matter of fact tone."That was quicker than i thought." He smiled and laughed maniacally as three mares fell out of his cloak and onto the ground, also made of stone. Please don’t hesitate to put down criticisms and corrections, I am open to all and any ideas. ^_^