The Beginning of the Tail
It was another warm, sun filled day in Equestria. In Ponyville, ponies were outside going about their normal everyday lives as they trotted around from place to place. However, in a small house located off to a little street, some ponies were doing other things. Sparkly Breeze was sitting down at the dinner table early in the morning as she sipped her morning coffee. Sparkly was a mare unicorn with a slight purple fur color with a tan mane and tail, as well as a green and somewhat lime-green streak. Her bright pink eyes were quite a sight to see, the kind that was easy to get lost in. Using her magic to levitate the coffee, she lifts it up to her lips slowly drinking it down. It was quiet inside the house... for now, that is. She liked mornings the best of all the day. Everyone still being asleep in bed as she rises up early in the morning enjoying the silence and alone time she gets to spend. She sighed happily as she looked out the window seeing the soft green grass swaying in a gentle wind. However, the silence was quickly disturbed by a loud thud. She sets down her coffee and looks towards the stairs to see Rose Tinder standing there, rubbing her eyes with her hooves.
Rose Tinder was a brownish-red colored earth pony with a bright rose red mane and tail, which Sparkly always found kind of funny given her name. Rose glanced over to Sparkly and gave a soft smile before trotting over to the sofa in the living room. Sparkly returns the smile gently as she picks up her coffee again and starts sipping it again. She was glad that it was at least Rose who was awake and not the other one. She always liked Rose the most. Rose was always so soft-spoken and innocent, never asking questions to anyone who told her what to do. A bit manipulative of her to like that, but Rose doesn't mind, she never does. However, Rose always did have a fascination with the petals of roses. Call it irony about this 'coincidence' but Rose never seemed to explain why. She would always watch the petals of the roses and catch them with her mouth storing them in her mane. She always pondered what she saw in them, or possibly what she used them for. The thought was interrupted by another thud, only louder this time, followed by a voice shouting,"STUPID BED, LET ME LAY IN YOU!"
The voice was obviously Comet Dancers. She had that very powerful voice and very idiotic way of thinking. Don't get her wrong, she's pretty smart, but a bit quick to jump to a conclusion. Clearing her voice Sparkly yelled up the stairs much quieter than Comet's outburst "Comet! I think your body is telling you it's awake! It's not the bed!" There was a long silence afterward before another thud was heard.
"I KNEW THAT!" Comet shouted down again
"Comet get down here!"
"YOU'RE NOT MY MOM!"
"And I'm thankful that I'm not! Now get your flank down here!" Grumbling could be heard from upstairs as hoof-steps could be heard getting closer to the stairs. The sound stopped but was shortly replaced by the sound of tumbling as Comet fell all the way to the bottom. Comet was unfazed and just chuckling a little as she picked herself up off of the floor. There she stood, a blue Pegasus smiling at Sparkly. She had a navy blue main and tail and the center of both was a slight light blue color. Everything about her was blue, even her eyes which were a bit stern and powerful. She moves up to Sparkly's face grinning and starts to ruffle her mane hard getting it all messy. "Well if ain't miss Sparkly, my obnoxious bossy friend." With a heavy emphasis on the friend, anyone wouldn't be able to clearly tell she was joking with her. Sparkly just rolls her eyes and straightens her mane back out, only to go back to sipping her coffee. Comet watched smiling as she swiped the mug out of her magic aura and chugging it all down.
"Help yourself I guess," Sparkly said not really fazed by this. She was used to Comet's over zealousness and just plain up annoyance. After all, she did live with her. She gets up from her seat walking over to the couch sitting next to Rose who just smiles softly seeing Sparkly approach her. She was a strong silent type who only ever spoke up when she felt the need too... which was never very often. Sparkly turns her head back towards the kitchen where Comet was still holding the now empty coffee mug. "At least you have to wash the dishes this time."
"But I did that three days ago!"
"Yep. We agreed that to be the schedule. We all switch every day!"
"I don't remember agreeing to it!"
"Oh, but you did."
"I really dislike you sometimes." Comet sighed and put the mug on the counter washing the dishes one by one. Being the over ambitious pony that she was, tasks like these were nothing but a nuisance to her. Grunting every time she got a plate clean and putting back where it belonged. Finally finishing up with the mug she stole the coffee from, she grunts again as she heads over to the main room going to sit in her recliner. It was the one thing she couldn't take up to her room that she owned, except she didn't really care. The only place to sit besides the couch was her recliner, which like her, was also all blue. She turned her whole body to her front side burying her face in the cushions of it wanting to go back to sleep. Sparkly just sat back watching her with a smile.
"You know I love you, Comet," She said smiling.
"That's so gay, Sparks" Comet replied smiling back chuckling just a little. Yeah, even though there are some moments Sparkly wish she didn't have to deal with... she really did like her friends. They were the one thing she could never replace in her life. Life without them would just be boring and no fun. She liked to reflect on the time they were all fillies and exceptional friends with high hopes. It was a miracle they had scooped up enough bits to get a big enough house for all three of them. It was tidy at most times unless there was a recent fight that got a bit out of hoof. The worst condition the house had been in was when it looked like a mini tornado had formed inside the house. Comet and Sparkly where the most often to get involved into trouble inside the house. Rose did get in trouble sometimes, but never with the other two. It was usually her innocence that did so. Sparkly looked over to Rose seeing her eyes and ears droop and a very tired and blank expression on her face. So she decided to disturb the silence to talk to her.
"Hey Rose, you feeling all right?" Sparkly asked with genuine concern. It took Rose about a minute to respond back.
"I'm just a bit tired..." She answered back softly
"Morning coffee helps"
"You know I don't drink that stuff..." It was true. Rose always refused a mug of coffee every time Sparkly had asked her. It was only concerning to her now since Rose had seemed to be getting more and more tired with each passing day. Sparkly had assumed it was because she always went out of the house so often that she was so tired... except every time she came back after an hour, or sometimes longer, she always looked perfectly fine. Was there some other way she got her energy? She smiled to herself thinking that she works exactly like a flower getting energy from the sun. The thought made her giggle softly to herself. It was silly, but it was the only thing she could see. Rose's eyes were green, so maybe she just stared up directly at the sun for a long time. Painful, but only to an animal, not a plant. Rose slowly picked herself off of the couch yawning slightly. "Well, I need to go out for a bit..."
"Mind if I come with?" Sparkly jumped at the opportunity to see how she got her energy. Anything to see how her friend went about her day, just to understand her better.
"I don't see why you'd want to... I'm not going anywhere special or anything."
"I'm just curious is all. You always leave at this exact time of day, so I just wanted to see where you go."
"I'm just..." She paused for a moment "Going out for a bit."
"I can go with you this time to make sure you come back safe."
"I'll be fine, Sparkly..."
"Okay..." Sparkly settled back down into the seat. She had gotten close to seeing it, but it was made obvious by the pause that Rose was hiding something. Rose nods over at Sparkly before heading to the door and walking out, closing the door behind her. It was just Sparkly and Comet now. Sparkly could hear Comet's snoring signifying that she had fallen asleep again. It was a bit annoying that she got herself up, just to steal her coffee and use it just for sleeping. She thought back to what had happened last night. It was dark out as she was reading her book. She couldn't remember what it was about, she just remembered she was reading. Comet had opened the door stepping inside the living room. She was teetering a bit. The heavy smell of alcohol was lingering around her. Comet has been visiting the bar weekly, wasting the money she had earned from her work just for liquor. That thought kind of annoyed Sparkly, her friend being so quick to just toss bits away like that. Sparkly was the one that paid most of the bills. Rose helped sometimes with the money she earned from her flower shop, but Sparkly keeps insisting Rose hold on to that money for herself instead of the bills.
Sparkly looks back to Comet as she drools fast asleep onto her recliner. She got up from the couch and picked up Comet using her magic and slowly started to make her way up the stairs. Comet's snoring constantly going on as Sparkly took each step. Opening the door to Comet's room she takes a step inside and lays her down on the bed. The bed sheets were across the room, probably from Comet's ridiculous thrashing during the night. She lifted the covers up moving them over her friend softly as to not disturb her even slightly. After her friend was in the covers she turned to the right and saw an open drawer in the corner of the room. Taking a slow pace over the creaking floor she pulled it open just a bit more to look inside. Nothing. Either the drawer had flung itself open from the earlier thuds, or Comet took whatever was in there out of it. Sparkly assumed it was the second reason. Comet always tried to hide things from her, despite being told that there should be no secrets when living together.
Sparkly steps out of the room closing the door behind her to let her friend sleep. It was just her now. No Rose for some quiet company, or Comet for a nice competitive game to play. She started to move down the stairs again humming a soft tune to herself in the quietness of the house. She liked the quiet, it was a nice break from the chaos that usually happens here. But, she put up with them. They are her friends and she treats them like that. Back downstairs she steps towards the window looking outside seeing the surroundings. She expected to see the same old things. Ponies walking back and forth, soft swaying grass, and the clouds above slowly making their way across the sky. She did not expect to see Rose being persuaded by a dark figure to follow them.
Sparkly Breeze didn't know what to make of it at first. She stood there hesitant on what she would do next. Should she give chase and stop her? Is this just a friend she hasn't met and is just overreacting to it? She couldn't make up her mind in so little time. She stood upright and bolted to the door, flinging it open at an instant. She ran outside into the open, forgetting to close the door behind her. She shook her head, thinking it was trivial at a time such as this. Her hooves carried her as fast as she could muster. She wasn't athletic, but when she was needed she always would give her best.
Sparkly steadily approached the turn where she saw her friend go around. Skidding roughly to a halt against the rough pavement, she turned and started running into the opening of which her friend entered. It was broad daylight outside, but as soon as she took a few steps into the alley, it was pitch black and impossible to see her own front hooves in front of her. Wasting no time, she started to make her horn glow, lighting up as much of her surroundings as she could. The walls by her side were closer to her than she thought. There was no way to ponies could walk side-by-side in this cramped space. The ground beneath her was cracked and broken in, as if in disrepair for years. She took a look upwards, the light created by her horn shifting with her movements. There had seemed to be some sort of covering on the top of the two walls, which was odd since when she entered there was nothing above her head. When she looked back down, she saw a dead end, and Rose was standing there in silence.
Rose wasn't moving, but she was standing upright which was always a good sign that she wasn't attacked or anything. She seemed to have not noticed Sparkly's presence yet. Sparkly made her way to Rose, cautiously looking around for the shadowy figure she saw earlier, wondering if it could be an ambush. There was no presence there, she didn't feel or hear anything nearby. Feeling that the coast was clear, she reached out and touched Rose by her side. Rose immediately jumped up, startled from her touch as she turned around to face Sparkly, who was looking at her in genuine concern. Realizing it was just her friend, Rose sighed contentedly as she spoke up very quietly, "Oh, Sparkly, you startled me there..."
Sparkly took another look around before answering "Yeah, I saw you get led in here by some sort of figure and I got worried... So I came running after you."
Rose tilted her head slightly, her mane falling a bit over her eyes. "I wasn't led in here by a figure... I thought I saw something shiny." When Sparkly heard this, she rubbed her eyes with her front right hoof, wondering if her eyes were just playing tricks on her. Rose ended up saying the next sentence, "I didn't find anything here... I thought I found something valuable... I thought I could maybe sell it for some bits to help you with this months rent."
Sparkly smiled softly at her friend's kindness. "I appreciate the thought Rose, but next time just be a bit more careful about where you wander off to." Rose nodded and yawned softly. She started walking back the way Sparkly had entered.
"Anyways... I need to get back in bed... I'm so very tired..." Rose said as her voice got a bit weaker.
"Here let me help you." Sparkly chimed in, holding a hoof around her friend's side to lead her back out of the alley. The journey back home was more calming. Rose was being more... quiet than usual on the way back. Sparkly would have assumed it was just her tiredness that was doing so, but she was acting sort of strange. It was if her mind was being slowed down, which is the lightest way she could put it. She looked around Rose's body and found out that the side of her neck had a light cut on it. It wasn't bleeding and it didn't look new. "When did that happen?" Sparkly blurted out loud.
Her tired friend looked at her with soft, droopy eyes. "What Sparkly...?"
"N-Nothing!" She blurted out again. She smacked herself inside of her own head. She could've just asked her but yet she didn't. It was probably her fear of her friend thinking she was bossy and controlling, but she did have concern for it. She let out a soft sigh as she continued the walk back home, hoping no one barged into it when she left the door open. It was only a minute or so when they came back, and the door was closed now? They arrived at the door as Sparkly knocked to see if Comet was awake and closed the door. After a minute, there wasn't a single answer. Sparkly grew impatient and knocked again when she heard a grumbling coming from the other side. After about 10 seconds, a grumpy Comet answered the door and walked back upstairs to her room.
Sparkly brought Rose inside and set brought her to her room to rest. Making her way back to the living room, it was silent once again. She reopened the front door and stepped outside, closing the door behind her. The streets were surprisingly empty this early in the morning. She noticed a single stallion walking out in the distance. He was wearing some sort of all black suit which made him stand out in the bright outside. From what she could see from where she was, he had a purple mane and tail, both with black vertical stripes going down. She could only see his gray hooves as the top of his body was hidden by his mane, and the lower half of his body by his suit.
The stallion had stopped walking suddenly, and looked over his shoulder, looking out for something. His eyes met with Sparkly's and he gave her a soft grin and turned around, now walking towards her. She stood there in silence watching him approach. She could see his face now thanks to him turning around. His face was like his hooves, a dull gray. His eyes were the same color as his mane, a deep purple. She squinted her eyes a bit, noticing his ears. Both of his ears had two black piercings on them which overall made him stand out more than anything. In a few seconds, he was already standing in front of her, introducing himself. "Well, hello there. I couldn't help but notice you were, quote-on-quote 'Checking me out' I think." He let out a deep chuckle, which Sparkly didn't understand the subtlety of his 'joke'.
"I wasn't, you were just the only one out here so you caught my eye. Especially when you stand out with... that." She said as she gestured to his suit.
"Oh, this? I just like being casual where ever I may go." He says as he fastens up a white tie around his neck that Sparkly somehow failed to notice. Or did she miss it? It felt like it wasn't there before. Her eyes were probably just playing tricks on her again.
"You really do stand out, even if the streets were crowded like they usually are."
"So you've noticed that too?" He said as he raises his hoof to his chin as if stroking a non-existent beard.
"Noticed?" Sparkly questioned him.
"Yes, 'noticed'. It's as if something has happened to this town that has made ponies not want to leave their houses. Ponies seemed to be getting more and more tired up to this point where no one has left their home. Tell me..." His voice suddenly grew a bit more stern. "Have you or anyone you know been getting tired at a rate more intense than usual?" His questioning sternness made Sparkly's fur stand up, as chills went down her spine. It was seemingly eerie the way he said it.
Sparkly responded with a nod, "My friends Comet and Rose seem to be. Well... Comet is always usually napping heavily but Rose has been seeming a bit ill..." Her voice fell sad as if she thought of this as a plague.
The stallion raised his left eyebrow slightly, squinting at Sparkly, "Have you felt it yourself?"
Sparkly was unnerved by the sudden questioning, but she didn't want to make herself feel like someone this pony should avoid, so she answered anyways with a nervous gulp, "N-No, I haven't... just my friend... or friends..."
The stallion reared back a bit, seemingly satisfied with that answer. "Peculiar, it appears the effects aren't reaching out to every single pony after all..." He had said this so quietly Sparkly had almost missed it.
"Pardon?"
The stallion looked over to Sparkly, for a moment seemingly in confusion before he closed his eyes and gave off a warm smile while rubbing the back of his head. "Oh nothing, just thinking out loud here."
Sparkly nodded but still felt a bit strange to his response. "May I ask who you are?" She inquired.
He smiled faintly "Ah, you have good questions. You may ask. But does that always give the answer?" Sparkly shook her head in confusion, not catching a single meaning of what he had just said. It was only a moment before he bowed courteously to her and cooed lightly "I am but a simple unicorn who desires to seek truth and find the mysteries hidden in this world. My full name shall remain but a mystery, but you may call me Dark." His actions and words were so surprising to her. She just asked for a name and he gave her an entire speech.
"W-Well, I'm just a humble mare known as Sparkly Breeze... Sparkly for short." She mimicked him, trying to make the same appearance to him as he did to her.
"Ah, that is quite a beautiful name if I do say so myself." He said lifting up her front right hoof and kissing it quickly. At this quick gesture, a blush appeared on her face as she pulled her hoof away from his grasp. Dark responds with a chuckle as he shrugs and turns around slightly.
"Not much for a sweet talker, huh? That's alright, I'm a bit busy at the moment so I have no time to be flirting any longer. Maybe later we can go out on a date when I'm finished with my studies." He laughs a bit out loud as he starts walking away.
Sparkly looks down and rolls her eyes and mumbles under her breath. "Yeah right, in your dreams." When she looked back up, Dark was gone, nowhere to be seen. She looked back to her house and it was still quiet. The streets were quiet too. Not a single pony out in the street since when Sparkly had looked out that window. She slowly began to back up and open the door, taking one last quick look outside before shutting it. "Dark... What a weirdo."
She said it in the nicest way possible. He certainly was an interesting stallion, to say the least of course. But the way he had presented himself, the way he spoke, how he knew about what was happening to ponies not coming out of their houses and that sentence he mumbled thinking only he heard it. She couldn't think of anything truly positive. Why did he choose to be so ambiguous to her? He was hiding something she could tell. He wasn't what he seemed to be. She thought to herself for a moment 'Maybe I should go out and look for him and-'. Her train of thought was caught off as she heard a loud thud. Comet flew down the stairs and crashed into Sparkly full force.
"Ow! What's the big idea you...?!" Comet looked down at Sparkly and immediately shrieked in fear, trying to pull her up off of the ground as if that didn't happen. "Sparkly! I'm so so so so sorry! I-I was just sleep walking a-a-and..." Her voice was shaky, and still very loud and obnoxious as Sparkly shook off the brunt force of that blow.
"Comet, what did I say about flying in the house in the first place?!" Sparkly shouted angrily towards her.
"Well I know I'm not supposed to do it but I was asleep anyways! I'm not in control when I'm asleep!"
"Well, why didn't you close the door to prevent you from leaving the room."
Comet was silent for a moment. "I did... let's just say the door isn't so closed anymore..." Sparkly looked up the stairs and sure enough, the door was blasted right off its hinges. Growling, Sparkly walked over to Fruity's room, seeing if she was still asleep after that racket. Sure enough, she was still fast asleep.
"Sleeping just like a filly." Sparkly whispered to herself with a smile. She slowly stepped into her room and kissed her gently on the forehead. "I hope you get over whatever's ailing you real soon." She stepped away from the red mare's bed and looked around her room. It was decorative for sure. I soft luminescent glow coming from the walls at the deep red that felt so soothing. It made Sparkly feel so fit and healthy, her room always did. It reminded her of an outdoor field in a flower garden. Relaxing was the best word to describe it.
Sparkly's ears perked as she heard her friend shuffle out of bed. The mare seemed to be sleep walking but she opened up a dresser drawer and stared at it for a moment. Her eyes turned to face Sparkly as she spoke, with a bit of fear in her voice, "Sparkly... My grandmother's rose... It's not here..."
