//------------------------------// // [Hint of Dark] Prologue THREE - A Broken Soul's Second Chance // Story: A Dragon's Pain - REloaded // by D Styles //------------------------------// Prologue Three: Frost. The streets were barren, any sign that ponies had once inhabited this area known as 'Canterlot' had faded away years ago. Buildings lay in ruin, boarded over and abandoned. A thick lair of dust coated the landscape. Only seldom parts remained untouched for centuries. That's what the entire land of Equestria had been reduced into. It had become nothing but a wasteland. There was an area, however, that seemed to have been recently disturbed. The set of hoof prints embedded into the dust had shown that there had indeed been a pony that passed by. A rather silent pegasus. His coat a cobalt blue and his dark green mane covered in streaks of gray. He sat at the edge of a bridge, looking out into the water that sat there, beyond the horizon. The water that sat there, still, waiting for something to bring life back to it. What had happened? He would wonder to himself. He looked around, shivering. He was cold, oh, so very cold. He longed for something that he had seen and read within the old world magazines and books. He longed for companionship. Yet, he could never accomplish that goal. He looked down, hugging himself tightly, attempting to keep himself warm. Small ripples began to appear on the water's surface, as the young pegasus sobbed silently, his tears falling quietly, reflecting his pain. He remembered reading it somewhere. 'Friendship is Magic.' But how could he ever know? He sobbed for about a minute more, before wiping away his tears. He stood back on his hooves, and began the walk back to his den. His home, where there were ponies waiting for him. Ponies who would look to him as he entered and say, "Frost, dear! You're back!" A lovely white unicorn would say to him. He would smile and reply, "Yes, I am. I've missed you all!" and open his hooves wide, where they would all gather around him for a group hug. He smiled at the thought, at seeing Velvet, he should have brought her out with him, maybe they could have a nice picnic at the peak of a hill he knew. The colorful rainbows catch his eye, as he looked up. She's passed over here... Frost thought to himself, looking above at the rainbows that stretched overhead. As he passed under it, heading to his home, the connections of one of the rainbow streaks broke, leaving it to flutter down to the ground, it's paper form guiding gently before hitting the ground. He passed an old store, still cranking out energy to the televisions on display. Frost looked at the static, smiling, and laughing slightly. He sighed as he continued on. "As much as I love that show, I need to get home." He said out loud, to no one in particular. He looked down the road more, smiling as he seen his house appear upon the street. His wings fluttered softly, lifting him a few feet, a goofy smile plastered across his face as he got closer. He reached the front door of the building, an old clothing shop. "I'm home~!" He called out in a singsong tone as he entered, looking around. The home was filled with various pony shaped mannequins, each one dressed differently, a shoddy drawing of a face on each one. He walked to the closest one, humming a tune of some sort. "Hello there, Crescent." He said, nuzzling one of the mannequins, smiling at it as he moved to another. The next one he greeted openly with a hug. "Hello, Love..." He sighed, yet still smiling. He went through similar motions with several other mannequins. After a while, he sat down a large table, popping open an old can of fruits, he began to eat, chatting with the mannequins about their days. These were his days. For the last ten years of his life, this was his normal routine. He never bothered to find out why this was his life. He just went with it. Every day, as if everything was normal. But, no matter how hard he tried, it hit him, on that one day, when he discovered that he could affect this all... Frost had been sitting on the bridge, like any other day. He had been looking out into the distance. Wondering what life could be, if it still existed. How it would feel to have the companionship of a real pony with you, the actual warmth of another pony wrapping their hooves around your body.... Just his normal thoughts. "It feels nice, actually." A feminine voice whispered from behind him. Frost practically shat himself, the first time in his life, hearing a voice other then his own, he nearly had a heart attack. He didn't, thankfully, except he did fall back, and hit his head on the ground. Hard. After shaking himself free of the daze, he looked around for the source of the voice. "H-Hello?!" He called out, unsure if it was real, or just his mind playing a jest on him. "Hello, Frost." The voice called out again, all around the poor cobalt blue pegasus. He looked around, confused. "Who are you?! Please, show yourself!" He called out, more of a plea then a demand. The air was still, before he reverberated again. "Frost Skyline Whitehooves." Was all it whispered. Frost looked around, he wanted to cry. Who was this? Why were they doing this? Did he finally crack? Is this his insanity? "Who are you?! How DO YOU KNOW ME?!" He screamed out, frustrated. "Calm down, Pony." The voice commanded, more authority in it's voice. "No, YOU!" He screamed. "WHAT. DO. YOU. WANT?!" He screamed out again, his voice cracking. The entire area was still for a minute. "We wish for you to save Equestria from this fate." The voice whispered back, coming down in front of Frost as a floating blue ball. Frost gasped for air, he took a couple of deep breaths, cooling off slightly. He glared at the orb for a few seconds, before his gave a sigh. "Who are you? And how could I possibly do that?" He asked, looking at the orb. His crimson red eyes full of sadness, but still, within them held the embers of determination and the spark of hope needed to turn those embers into a raging fire. "You can change this all, Frost. You can become somepony important, and prevent this from happening." The orb slowly approached him. "You just need to travel back, to the time when the event that changed this all occurred. And stop it." Frost stood up, his eyes filled with resolve and the dim flames of determination slowly began to get brighter. He shook his head. "What's the catch?" He simply asked. The blue entity floated for a few. Then, a familiar rainbow colored sheet passed in between the two. "Everything here will be gone. Replaced with something better." It said. Frost stood silently. Considering it. Making up his choice, he looked at it. "Alright." Was his simple response. A blue light slowly glowed and formed around Frost, enveloping him in it's glow. He closed his eyes as he felt himself being lifted away. "Good luck, Frost." He heard that voice say to him. He opened his eyes, as he felt his hooves touch ground. He looked around, a new land. Green, and filled with life. He couldn't help but crack a smile as he looked around, his eyes filled with hope and determination for a better future.