The Trio of Friends

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..."