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// 00. Prologue 
// Story: Synchronicity 
// by Sev 
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	An eye watched the purple pony from the cold waters of the Canterlot canal as she clopped lightly down the cobblestone streets of Equestria's royal city. Not an eye by any pony standard; at least none that an Equestrian citizen would recognize. A clear eye, made of domed water, no more noticeable than a bubble on the surface. It viewed the world through a fisheye lens, and focused its one clear image in on Twilight Sparkle, as it had for months now. The cheerful unicorn hadn't noticed. She was too busy chatting cheerfully with her herd of friends, all of whom had exited the palace theater not minutes before, only to be enveloped in a clamoring crowd of congratulatory ponies celebrating their recent performance of the founding of Equestria.  A tale of harmony and unity. A collection of the finest examples of overcoming adversity through friendship. A classic.

A lie.

Well, not entirely, but by now the owner of the domed eye that swam silently through the snow-graced waters of Canterlot's deep waterways had seen the play run and rerun a dozen times through the city's streets... and had grown annoyed at its glaring oversights. The reason for the deception was clear enough, but that didn't make it sting any less. Especially considering what was coming. Especially considering who was coming.

Because it had a name now, where it hadn't before; the dark, silent threat descending from the sky that had been foreseen in the frigid depths of the oceans and hidden away from the frightened eyes of the public. It wasn't vaporous any longer. It had shape, substance, a mind, a will, and a cold, ancient power. And the little, cheerful purple pony still blushing from the attention of an adoring crowd, now dispersed, had no idea how pivotal she was to stopping it.

The glistening orb of liquid fidgeted and winked in the water, as though troubled or pained. Its owner's expression, shrouded in the dark of the deepest parts of Canterlot's expansive water systems, felt likewise. The time for observation was ending, and the next task was far less… passive. The faces of Twilight's friends, all beaming with smiles and holiday laughter, swooped into view of the domed threshold of the eye, one by one. Each was examined individually, sized up by the eye's controller, assessed, and ultimately, silently apologized to. Because it had come to know each of them well over the past months. It cared for them. Liked them. Loved them. And very soon, it was going to meet them, and tell them what they had to do.

Nothing could scare it more.