//------------------------------// // Prologue- Roll call // Story: Cracked Vision // by Dry Monkey //------------------------------// Prologue "Dad?" I said with endearing eyes. "Yes?" Father replied with soft affection. "What's that group of stars?" I asked as I snuggled up into his orange mane ever so warmly. "You told me about the Big Dipper and the one about about Draco the dragon, but what about that one?" I pointed with haste. "That one is Cygnus," He pointed out. "He was a great warrior who was punished for not honoring the god, Dionysus." "What happened to him?" I responded with worry. "Well, he was transformed into a swan and put next to a lyre." He answered bluntly. "What's a lyre?" I asked with a dumb, innocent kid voice. He chuckled at the sight. "A smaller harp, kind of." "Oh." An awkward silence came until there was a rustle in nearby bushes. My father had sprang up into action, putting himself in front of me. "What was that?" I cowered in fear. "I don't know, get behind me." He said protectively. The tension was getting higher. I was trembling behind my dad's legs and he was nervous as to who or what would come out of those bushes. The rustling got louder and transformed into growling and we saw the sight of multiple red, glaring eyes. The suspense was rising fast and I didn't know what to do, I had only wished for it to be over with. Mere seconds that felt like an eternity and the feeling was as if thousands of spiders were crawling inside your skin, then not more than a second later black spikes shot out of the bushes and lunged at father. He bucked one spike, but the the others had grazed his face and his legs, shielding me from any harm. Father had quickly recovered from his cuts and boltered himself for the monster that was trying to kill us. "Hawkeye..." The monster said with a raspy voice. "Hawkeye..." It said again more menacingly. "WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!" Father demanded. "You must pay for your crimes, the price of treason," The monster answered. "A price that cannot be bartered. A price that you will pay for...WITH YOUR LIFE!" The monster screamed, then shot its spikes like a cannon. Hawkeye's pupils widened. It was too late. The damage had been done. Hawkeye's mangled body was presented to his son as it were a statue at a museum. "Dad!" I cried with agony in my voice. "Run Silver." Father had let out a weak breath for air. I stumbled trying to run away from the horror. With tears in my eyes I had ran. I ran as fast as my foal legs could take me, but to no avail. The Voice screamed out, "None will escape from the penance of their sins!" The monster's spikes were gaining speed, quickly coming towards me. As I was being chased by this demon, everything went fuzzy and bright. It was if I was heading towards the end of a tunnel. To me that could only mean one thing. Sweet safety and freedom. The adrenaline was coursing through my veins as I was approaching the light's sweet embrace. Then for a second, I was stopped immediately in my tracks. The sight of the bloody, would-ridden corpse that was my father was in front of me, blocking the sweet embrace of freedom. "No...No...No." The words creeped out my mouth as I was backing away on the soft grass. The monster that was chasing me overshadowed me, spikes ready to kill. I was crying my eyes out as my father was approaching me with a sword in his hooves. "No." I begged as tears fell down my cheek. "Yesssss," The monster eagerly responded. "Kill your son and your sins will be forgiven. Send him to Tartarus." Father didn't respond. He had only raised his sword which was enough to fill my eyes with tears and the monster with an evil laughter. I closed my eyes not wishing to see my coming fate. "Please...don't." These were my final words as fathers sword then came down. I opened my eyes for a split second to see that the monster was Nightmare Moon. Then I was awoken. I gasped for air. I saw my pegasus friend Ace Fire aside my bed with worried looks. "You alright there Silver?" He still had a worried look on his face. "Yea...Yea. Just a nightmare. That's all" I said sheepishly. "Might wanna get yourself ready. Shining Armor's about to take roll call." He pointed outside the window. "Th-Thanks. I'll meet you outside." I stuttered then clumsily got out of bed. "Alright. See you out there." Ace said as he left the room as I was putting on my glasses. I had left my dorm and proceeded out the door to be fully awakened by the cold breeze passing through my blue and orange mane. I was by far not a stranger to the cold had being grown up in Stalliongrad, but this day I felt a chill in my spine. A chill that would make an average filly just sick by breathing in the air. This cold was different. I left the dorm and out the Castle gates to be greeted by familiar faces in the Royal Guard and the other mutterings of scholars and students, but then I was confronted by Princess Luna. "Oh! Princess Luna! A thousand apologies. I hadn't seen you there." I bowed my head in secluded fear. "At ease soldier." Luna replied with dignity in her voice and then proceeded. What seconds felt like days before Luna passed me on. With fear slowly rising into my heart I quickly trotted towards the mess hall to get something to eat. Luna had felt estranged by this pony. She had felt he had resentment and fear towards her. She sensed this though her shift at night. A negative energy emitting this pony's dream and had a little, but noticeable effect on her magic. She had shrugged off this feeling of negativity and went about her day, but she still wondered; Who was that pony?