Prologue
It was a brisk morning with frosty winds biting through the air. The fact that the sun had yet to rise only heightened the chill that wafted through the air. Soft grey clouds hovered overhead as it was supposed to snow later. There was no doubt in the air that it was winter. A very small number of ponies were about the streets that morning and the ones that were passed hurriedly by. One such pony trotted quickly to the photo shoot she needed to be at with her camera bouncing along at her side. She wore a cloak over her due to the chill and it hid her icy blue wings and part of her coat. Her short yellow and white mane fell over one side of her face so you could only see one of her pink eyes on the other. She moved quickly through the clear streets that she knew very well. Her eyes were on her destination and she paid little attention to the ponies that she passed by.
She jumped as she suddenly noticed a pony trotting along with her just to the right. She looked over and pulled back slightly as she took in their appearance. A mare trotted beside her matching her pace perfectly. There was a bright smile that spread across her face from ear to ear, but it looked unsettling. She wore dark glasses so she couldn’t tell what color her eyes were, but just looking at the lenses made her feel uncomfortable. A disheveled curly white and purple mane fell to either side of her face. She was an earth pony with a purple coat and as she looked for her cutie mark she saw a baseball with a screw lying next to it. She didn’t know what to make of that and did her best not to think about it at all. The quicker that she could be on her way the better. She picked up her pace and left the strange mare behind her.
“Hello!” the mare called in a childish voice as she quickened her pace to catch her.
“Good morning.” she replied coldly before extending her stride further to move away from her.
“It really is a beautiful day isn’t it!” the mare replied as she lengthened her own stride to keep up.
“I’m afraid I would have to disagree.” she argued trying to end the conversation. She picked up her pace once more almost reaching a canter. She didn’t understand how the mare could possibly believe that it was a beautiful day. It was cold, dark, and windy. That was not her idea of a beautiful day.
“Oh, well I don’t mind if you don’t agree. Friends accept each other even if they have different opinions.” she responded once again matching her pace to that of the pony she was pursuing.
As fear rose in her heart and she cut off the conversation saying, “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I can’t stick around and chat. I’m quite busy and have places I need to be.” She shot off at a gallop leaving the strange mare far behind her.
She ran past buildings and other ponies walking about, down streets and sidewalks before she finally broke to a trot. Even when she did allow herself to stop cantering she kept her trot quick. She didn’t want to be anywhere near that mare anymore and was glad that it looked that she had lost her. She was quite glad that she had the knowledge of the streets that she did. As she looked around her she saw that the street was empty and let loose a sigh of relief. She had indeed gotten away from her pursuer. As she let the fear die down it was replaced with annoyance. What a creep, she thought silently to herself. But she sounded so young, she thought in confusion, she must’ve been a mare though. Plus, what had she meant by the friends comment, she thought worriedly, I’ve never seen her before in my life. Just don’t worry about it, she told herself as she slowed finally to a walk, it’s over. She continued towards the photo shoot silently scolding her paranoia.
She looked up towards her destination and jumped back in shock letting loose a gasp as she found the mare standing before her. “Busy huh? It’s alright. You don’t have to worry about that you know.” the mare promised her with an eerie grin.
“Actually I do believe I have to. Now I should really be on my way right about now.” she retorted moving to step around her. When she put her hoof to the concrete however it wasn’t met by a solid structure. It sank right through the sidewalk like it was nothing more than liquid. She tried to pull it up, but suddenly the concrete solidified once more and her hood was stuck fast in its place. As she tried to pull at it once more she felt her other three hooves start to sink. As she tried to take off in horror she found that all four were embedded in the concrete. She continued to pull at no avail.
When she looked up at the mare there was nothing short of certain terror in her eyes. Her fright only strengthened as she found the earth pony mare hovering a couple of inches off of the ground. She cried out in shock and tried to back away, but couldn't seeing as her hooves were completely entrapped. The mare hovered closer to her and she leaned as far away as she was able to. “Now c’mon! I wanna talk to you! You don’t have to worry about being busy now so we have all day to get to know each other!” she proclaimed excitedly.
“Any second somepony’s going to walk by and see this you know!” she retorted as she continued to struggle fruitlessly against the concrete.
“Oh you silly mare, I already thought of that! Now that daddy’s no fun anymore I have to make my own. I’m getting really good at it too! Trust me, we have all the time in the world! Now why don’t you introduce yourself, I don’t even know your name yet!” the mare told her leaning even closer. She kept her mouth clamped shut and refused to answer the strange mare that was holding her there. “Are you shy? Don’t worry! I’m a great friend! I swear!” she promised adopting the disturbing grin once more onto her face. I really doubt that, she thought silently. “All I wanna know is your name!” she complained in a whiny tone. She maintained her silence just hoping that it wouldn't get her into any deeper trouble. She certainly didn’t want to do anything to anger the mare before her. “Fine! I’ll just give you some more time to warm up to me! It’ll be fun! You can wait to talk until you’re ready to! Let’s go home!” she cried enthusiastically. Her eyes widened in horror, but before she could react both of them had vanished from the area. The only evidence that anything that had happened was four hoof shaped imprints in the ground.