Chapter 1: Darkest Awakening
Nine years before Nightmare Moon's return.
In this harmonious land, Celestia ruled both Day and Night, let alone to fill the gap of Princess Luna's absence and bear the burden of both her duties and her regretful decision. Despite that, she never stopped to show benevolence to her subjects and protecting them from every possible threats. Her benevolence and her sun gave to everypony a sense of hope and prosperity. The sun blessed every part of Equestria, and so did the moon despite what had transpired in the past.
Except for one place.
In contrast to the cheerful and fertile places that had characterized Equestria, there was a region that had been ignored and forsaken by everyponies. Shielded by a mysterious force that prevented anypony to find it or even being magically tracked, putting it in a state of decay and misery. And the sad thing was that nopony, not even Celestia herself know it ever existed. Because of this force, the zone wasn't even present on the map at all.
That place was the wretched region of Dregcit, a place with a rural society, a highest mortality rate and with occasional riots happening in the villages. The entire population consisted sorely of earth-ponies, which many of them tried to leave the region in order to reach Equestria. The a few ones died from starvation, thirst, fatigue, being injured or all of them, while others disappeared under mysterious circumstances. The rest simply decided to remain there for their own reasons.
And even then there are still ponies who tried to leave since they didn't had much to lose. After all, the water was almost rare to find, the crops were almost dying prematurely due to the chaotic weather and lawless bandit. were lurking to steal anypony's possession. Even lives. The inhabitants, religious or not, came to believe that Dregcit, this constantly dying land, was the ugliest side of Equestria that the land itself completely refused to see or even believe that it even existed.
Ironically, despite it's decadence, the region was mostly covered by only trees and green hills, while wastelands covering the almost the rest. The sky was rust orange or gray-azure in the day and dark-gray in the night, with the sun and the moon having their rays being weakened. There are also rivers, which made anypony thinks that the water being rare wasn't true, but nopony couldn't tell that since most of the ponies didn't know that most of them were polluted.
Even in Dregcit the legend of Nightmare Moon was known. Ironically, even the corrupted Luna was nothing compared to the horrors that somepony was about to unleash to the world.
That, however, that was just the prelude and fate was writing on paper with a bloody ink.
It was a tranquil and yet pale day on the small fruit farm located in the middle of the forest. That place seemed to be a pseudo haven, far away from the rest of the region, with rivers nearby it being mostly. It's existence being kept from anypony else, save for the family who lived there, isolated from the rest of the region. Their were poor when they first discovered this place. Their crops of strawberries, peaches and apricot was a flourishing one, which was a miracle, given the merciless weather.
"Asphodel!" A female voice said. "Just don't try another of your grafting experiments without my permission!"
"Ok, mother!" Asphodel replied.
There was Asphodel Boreal, a black maned violet filly who helped her parents in their work. She was introverted, stoic, pretty much intelligent and reactive, although she can also be blunt, sarcastic, single-minded and determined when is needed. Asphodel didn't hurt anypony and has no reason for doing so. The only flaw in which her parents occasionally reminded was the fact that she smiled only in rare occasions. She was, more or less, living a ordinary life... If wasn't for her own innate talent that put a contrast to her normality.
Her father, a beige maned violet purple stallion named Purple Scroll, and her mother, a black maned azure mare being Aurora Bliss, noticed that for a long time and grew worried about that. Asphodel didn't had a cutey mark already, and yet she had displayed something out of ordinary.
Asphodel was good at almost everything that she does... Except magical things since she's not a unicorn.
She had was able to do various things, from carrying heavy objects to grafting plants to create fruit hybrids and creating new tools out of broken ones. Asphodel had demonstrated in few occasions to have a great strength, a incredible dexterity, athletic abilities and reflexes, and a noticeable artisanship, which allowed her create various objects, artworks or utilities, something that she does only when is needed. Her intelligence was also involved due to her impressive learning ability. Her family has a large library with all of the things inside, but it took her five days to read any single book. She almost considered those things being natural to her, until the time she had realized it wasn't.
Carrying a basket full of water with her teeth, Asphodel stepped inside home put it on the floor. She was about to call her parents but stopped for a moment to reflect about them. They were acting very stranger, as if they were hiding something from them. She could feel that they were hiding something but never confronted them about it.
"I'm worrying too much." Asphodel whispered with a slightly bothered tone a she stepped into the library, only to find a red maned gray stallion compass as his cutey mark named Gray Mane, who was reading a book while waiting for her.
Gray Mane was the only traveler that managed to leave Dregcit and return inside undetected, just bring some book related to Equestria and it's history, which Asphodel finished to read in a very short period of time. The library of her home was a huge one but it took her five days to read any single book.
He didn't told anything about the region to Celestia or every pony to avoid anything that would cause a political instability and a massive riot that would had put the region into chaos. However, the real reason was mostly because Gray wanted to keep his existence and that of Asphodel's family a secret.
"Did you brought anything new from the world outside the barrier?" Asphodel asked.
"There are only these two books," Gray said, putting the book in it's place and pointing his hoof at two books next to him. "I know already that you will finish to reading them in about one hour."
"Should I demolish my own learning process to slow down my reading to enjoy it even more?" Asphodel asked sarcastically.
Gray froze up, being taken aback for a moment and then groaned. "Seriously, Asphodel. I was only joking... Besides, is not a fault having a love for books or even being able to apprehend all of that stuff in a short time."
"No, Gray, it is for me," Asphodel retorted before letting out a resigned sight. "I'm sorry, but you know. I don't even know what to think. I was able to move a rock that should be really heavy, I could use a harvesting tool without a problem annd, obviously, I can read a entire book in the ark of thirty minutes. There's no challenge in this."
"Look at the positive side," Gray pointed out, calmly. "At least you are benefiting your family."
"I don't think they were of your same opinion," Asphodel said. "I mean, you saw when we were harvesting our crops? I am the only one who had sweat less than my own parents."
"I think you are a little paranoid about that."
"Am I?"
Both of them exchanged each other's look for a moment, and after that, Gray slowly walked toward the exit, with a slightly defeated look.
"You told your parents that you had finished your job?" Gray asked calmly.
"Not yet. I was just spacing out." Asphodel lied.
"Don't tell me..." Gray replied. "Anyway, I'm going to have a talk with your father. If I can find him."
Gray went out of the library, leaving Asphodel with herself. She gazed at the two books from before, visibly eager to read them. Asphodel took a few steps forward but then stopped upon noticing a box on the corner on her right. She didn't know what contains but one things was sure to her. That was one of the things that her father was keeping for personal use but never explain what are or why.
Asphodel knows that she shouldn't even touch that, but her curiosity tempted her to give them at a peek at it. She walked toward the box and looked inside. She was surprised to see tomes with a very arcane covers and symbols, really worth of Stars Whirl. She know about him thanks to the books that Gray was bringing to her. Wanting to feel their authenticity, she slowly stretched her hoof at the book, but was then stopped by a voice.
"Asphodel!" Purple voice shouted from the entrance, startling her.
She turned around to find a slightly irritated Purple walking a her. That is not anything new to her since that happened a few times before.
"Here we go again." Asphodel thought.
"How many times I told you to not touch anything from there?" Purple said sternly.
"Three times, father." Asphodel replied.
"I know how curious you are," Purple said. "But these are things in which you shouldn't put your hooves on. At all!"
Asphodel turned her eyes away from him with a slightly bothered look. She know that would happened, except that she never saw him being this angry. Purple frowned for a moment before dissipating. He then sighted and looked at her apologetically.
"I'm sorry," Purple said calmly, caressing her head for a moment. "I know that I have been a little too harsh to you. I'm just a little tired. Besides, I was the one who had forgot to put that box somewhere else."
"I had finished to gather the water." Asphodel replied almost quietly.
"I saw it," Purple replied. "Also, you had remembered to put all of them in the wooden
Purple turned at the two books laying on the ground. He already understood who brought them there.
"I wonder where he is now." Purple inquired.
"Gray was looking for you." Asphodel informed.
"I know," Purple replied. "I heard you talk with him." He paused for a moment, having remembered one thing. "Now that I'm thinking about... There is something that I have ask to him. But first..." He then approached the box. "You should head to the kitchen. Your mother has prepared a new soup for the occasion."
Not wanting to have a argue with him, Asphodel walked out of the library, leaving Purple to move the box away from there. A pleasant aroma managed to arrived to her and made in contact with her nose. A little reminder that her mother never disappointed anypony when it comes with cooking. As she was heading to the kitchen, she found Aurora standing in front of her with a slightly worried look.
"Is there something wrong?" Aurora asked.
"No, mother." Asphodel said perplexed. "Why you ask?"
"You looked a little gloomy in these days," Aurora replied. "Maybe that was because of the stress that we had endured during the damage that the previous storm caused to our crop, one week ago."
"It is the case." Asphodel lied.
"I know you would had said that," Aurora remarked, unconvinced. "There is something else that is bothering you."
"Can we talk about that after breakfast?" Asphodel asked, feeling a little vexed.
"Asphodel." Aurora insisted. "You have to tell me."
"Mother," Asphodel said with a almost fed up tone. "You are worrying-"
Asphodel couldn't finish her phrase that a sudden she felt something burning both her flanks, causing her to let out a brief, chilling scream of pain that startled Aurora.
"Asphodel. What's wrong?" Aurora asked.
Asphodel clenched her teeth. "What the...?"
Her voice loosed it's strength as a nauseating sense of vertigo washed over her and her vision became blurry. She didn't had the time to say anything else the pain spread in every fiber of her body, causing her to scream even louder. Moaning in pain, she flopped on her side in front her frightened mother.
"Asphodel!" Aurora screamed.
As Aurora leaned toward her to help her, Purple and Gray arrived in place, rushing to the scene.
"Asphodel, what's wrong!?" Gray demanded.
"What happened!?" Purple asked worried.
"I don't know." Aurora replied, almost panicking. "We were just talking when she suddenly felt sick."
"What?" Gray exclaimed confused.
Aurora was about to put her hoof on Asphodel's forehead but stopped. She and the other two stallions noticed something happening on her flank. Suddenly, small flames spread on it, burning parts of her flesh and creating a flaming strawberry like mark with red, demonic eyes glowing on it, causing Asphodel to scream even more. The three elder ponies were frozen in place, horrified by that. Gray recovered almost immediately.
"I'm going to get the water!" Gray said before galloping away from the two.
"Hurry!" Aurora ordered.
Purple and Aurora continued to watch over Asphodel, who was still moaning in pain and her voice becoming more weaker. She felt her body becoming numb. Her senses became steadily weaker and her sight was darkening. As she felt her sense slipping away from her, Asphodel fought back both her pain and vertigo and lunged her hoof at Aurora, who grabbed it with both her hooves.
In that instant, Aurora witnessed something horrific. Multiple shadows wrapped around Asphodel's figure. They looked like ponies but their form were too horrific to even describe that. They looked like wretched ghosts coming from unmemorable stories who seemed to haunt this very body.
The whole vision vanished in one second. Aurora was left estranged and petrified by that, not knowing what happened. There was a coil of the damned one second ago and now it was gone. Asphodel pained voice snapped her out of her trance.
"It... It hurts... Make it..... Stop...." Asphodel said weakly with dizzied, pained look, a moment before passing away.
"ASPHODEL!" Purple screamed.
In that moment, Gray returned, bringing a small bucket of water with his teeth. He put in on the floor and was about use it when the flames on Asphodel's flank immediately died out, leaving the crude, burnt mark in their wake. A moment later, the glowing demonic eyes disappeared. Then the burnt mark slowly changed. The insides of the mark became filled with green and azure colors and the burnt lines became black, normal ones. They realized in bafflement what the image was.
It was Asphodel's cutey mark.
"You gotta be kidding me." Gray murmured, disturbed.
"That can't be..." Aurora stuttered incredulous.
"That must be her-" Purple interrupted, refusing to believe that. "But that's not possible!"
"Aurora, check up her heartbeat." Gray said.
Aurora didn't make him repeat twice that she put her hoof on the unconscious Asphodel's foreleg to do that. "Is still beating. But we need to put her on her bed!"
"Leave that to me." Gray volunteered.
Her parents put Asphodel on Gray's back. Slowly, the gray pony headed toward her bedroom while being careful with her, leaving them alone. A small puddle of blood stained the floor where Asphodel was laying before. Aurora covered her face with her hooves, visibly shaken by what had transpired. Purple tried to comfort her, barely hiding the fact that he was shaken as well.
"Asphodel is going to be alright" Purple assured her.
"This is so wrong," Aurora muttered. "This is far beyond sick!"
"I know." Purple replied.
"That never happened to us!" Aurora shouted. "The moment in which a pony gain it's own cutey mark should be a joyous one, like it was a miracle. That is not how it was supposed to happen!!"
Purple instantly hugged Aurora as she was crying, with tear flowing through her cheeks. What transpired was to horrible for them and Gray to bear, but was more excruciating for Asphodel, who was subjected to that suffering. Both of them didn't know what happened to Asphodel or what force decided to subject her to that cruel mockery, but one thing was sure.
It completely defies any natural law that exist in Equestria.
Groaning quietly, Asphodel slowly opened her eyes. Her sight was blurry and felt dizzied and weaker like she never was before. She hesitated to move a muscle and remained still, with her eyes being pointed to the ceiling. She noticed a fiber of feeble sunlight coming from her left, which made her recognize the room being her bedroom. Before she could make sense of her current situation, a familiar voice called.
"Asphodel, thank goodness."
Confused, she slowly turned her head at her right, only to see a red-gray blurred figure. With her sight becoming a little clear, she managed to recognize the figure being Gray, although his voice sounded slightly warped due to her jumbled hearing.
"Gray." Asphodel said weakly.
"I know you are confused," Gray said calmly. "I will explain what happened, but you have to recover first."
Asphodel looked at him even more confused but then her eyes widened in realization. "What happened?"
"Asphodel," Gray hesitated. "I-"
"You had to explain me." Asphodel demanded as she tried to move, but a dull, throbbing headache thwarted her attempt.
"Please, remain still," Gray ordered, softly. "You had to recover."
"I was..." Asphodel began. "Almost having a argue with my mother and then... A horrible pain invaded my body.... I fell on the floor and... and... that pain continued to burn me until I passed out... Did I had got some disease?"
"No, Asphodel," Gray assured. "But still, your parents were seriously worried for you. It was like you were petrified or something. Except not really."
"Petrified?" Asphodel said perplexed. "Gray, there is no cockatrice in this forsaken land. What do you mean with that?"
Gray hesitated to respond to that, but upon seeing the insistence being present in Asphodel's eyes, he felt conflicted. Sighing in consternation, he rubbed his forehead as he pondered about the words that he had to choose and them looked at her with a serious expression.
"You were comatose... For three days." Gray informed, reluctantly.
"Three days?" Asphodel exclaimed, slightly loudly.
"It's too complicate to explain." Gray explained.
"You watched me for this whole time?" Asphodel asked surprised.
"No travel or commission is more important than your health," Gray said. "I am your friend, remember?"
"Of course, but..." Asphodel paused for a moment. "You could had called a doctor."
"That wasn't possible in any way," Gray explained bluntly. "There was no doctor being available around. Besides, I couldn't even do that because we had to keep this place a secret and your parents didn't had any money for that, remember?"
Asphodel pondered for a moment about until she remembered, much to her own embarrassment "Sorry, Gray, but for a moment I had literally forgot about that."
"Nopony will blame you for having your memory being jumbled because of that," Gray said with a faint smile before turning around and walking toward the doorway.
"Were are you going?" Asphodel asked.
"I'm going to tell your parents about your awakening." Gray informed. "In the meantime, I suggest you to rest."
Asphodel sighed in reluctance. "Fine."
"Trust me, your body knows better." Gray remarked as he went out the room.
Left alone with herself, Asphodel could only wait for her health to be stabilized. Unwilling to be victim of boredom, she looked at her bedside table and noticed the two fresh new books from before. She lunged her hoof at them but they were too far from her and her debilitation made her task very difficult.
Frustrated, she barely removed her blanket and got up one her bed, only for the headache to struck her, still dull but slightly more painful than before, along with other duller pains hurting her body. She sat and massaged her head,, groaning. As she tried to ignoring it, she examined herself when she noticed her cutey mark being on her flank, much to her shock.
It was a blue strawberry, with the tip being a pointy one and two transparent, dark-blue curved crescent moons being sinister eyes, which form was almost resembling that of a pony's skull. Asphodel couldn't believe that it was her own or that it was really there.
"That can't be," Asphodel said with widened eyes. "But how?"
At that point, she recalled the atrocious pain that she felt during that time. That couldn't be otherwise. Her cutey mark had something to do with that. Asphodel was incredulous for the thought that went through her mind, and yet, deep inside, she know that was it. Such revelation struck her like a hammer. Incredulous, she laid on the bed, facing the ceiling.
"I didn't had done anything to deserve it. How did that happened?" Asphodel asked disturbed.
Asphodel looked at her hooves, wondering what kind of requirement had accomplished to gain that mark. She doesn't know how to feel in response at this strangeness. As she was about to pondering on that detail when she was then interrupted by Aurora's voice coming from outside the bedroom, making her forget her dilemma for a moment.
"Thank goodness!"
Asphodel turned her head to the entrance, only to find Aurora, Purple and Gray approaching her. Aurora in particular has a almost paled face, which was also a relieved one. She was about to cry but resisted in any case. Purple looked reassure, but was instinctively maintaining a cautious look on her health. However, Gray looked a little bothered upon seeing the blank being a little messy.
"Mother," Asphodel said before having Aurora wrapping her forelegs around her.
"You made us worry," Aurora said, relieved. "But is not your fault. I don't know what subjected you to that horrible thing, but don't worry, It's over now."
"I-I didn't mean to." Asphodel said apologetically, knowing if she doesn't need to.
"How did you feel?" Purple asked calmly.
"A little dizzied and with a headache and dull pains that were bothering me," Asphodel responded almost tranquilly. "What about our crops?"
"You don't have to worry about those," Aurora said softly. "What matters is that you are awake."
"Guys, I hate to break it to ya," Gray informed. "But I think that we have to let her rest."
"I will stay with her," Aurora said. "I have to... Seriously, I was almost going insane in the past three days."
"That's ok." Purple agreed.
"Let's go. There is something that we have to talk about." Gray said gleefully.
Both the stallions left the room, leaving Asphodel with Aurora. They were heading toward the stair leading to the lower floor. Gray stopped, leaving Purple going downstairs, and gave a brief look at the bedroom's entrance before returning on his path. Something was bothering him, but didn't want to talk about at the moment, not even to himself.
Night fell upon the the farm in the forest, made even more grim by the overwhelming dark-gray sky. Gray had already left the farm for his next journey. Asphodel was having a hard time to sleep. Too many doubts filled her head. She tried to push them away but without any result. Briefly rolling around in her bed, she tried to insist with that but then stopped. Asphodel just realized that both her pain and the headache had dissipated without her having noticed. She removed her blanket and got out of her bed.
"They wouldn't believe this," Asphodel said, scratching her head. "Now how can I explain my sudden recover?"
She pondered about a plausible explanation to give to her parents when her mind reminded her of that horrible moment that she had experienced. Asphodel looked at her cutey mark with scornful eyes. She never wanted to experience something like that ever again. But more than that, she was more disturbed with that. Asphodel was opening her mouth to talk but immediately interrupted that upon feeling a very ill sensation coming from her very being.
It was something dark. A very obscure power that was putted out of it's slumber. Asphodel doesn't know what it was, but she can clearly feel it's presence. She was about to interpret that when she heard her parents talking outside her room.
"Is not even a coincidence." Purple's voice said.
"You can't be serious." Aurora's voice replied.
"Aurora, there's no explanation. I looked at every book and every scroll regarding magic and the natural course of the things. None of them was able to explain her case. Not even the ancient books mentioned a similar episode like this."
"But then how do you explain this?"
"You had to consider this. A cutey mark that emerged on her flanks in flames and the whole suffering that she had gone through are not normal. Her cutey mark itself gave a very obscure message. But I am not just talking about the red sinister eyes that it had displayed during the incident."
"What do you mean with that?"
"That would seem a cold analysis to you, but if we interpret the mark through symbolism, we had to see that of it's color. The strawberries cutey mark are generally red, but in her case is a blue one.... Which doesn't exist and is completely impossible to even cultivate. But that's not the point. I am also talking about her talents."
"...... No, don't tell me."
"Purple, you can't be serious. You mean..."
"...... I hate to say that, but the talents that Asphodel possess are something that certainly doesn't belong in this world. Also, if the vision that you had saw was true, then that will mean one thing. She possessed a very obscure ability since her birth."
"You are seriously thinking about an absurdity like this!?"
After that, their voices fell silent. Asphodel was a little shocked upon hearing them talking like that. But was really hit her was the way they talked about her. Without any hesitation, she stepped out of her room, slowly. She spotted her parents in the corridor. Purple and Aurora where about to talk again when they noticed Asphodel being in front them. They reacted in surprised upon seeing her standing in front of their sight, no more looking dizzied.
"Asphodel!? I thought she was sleeping!" Purple thought.
"That was the thing that fomented your worries," Asphodel said calmly but visibly distraught. "That explains the some of my talents, including my strength and my apprehending skills. But I never thought to be so different from the others."
"Asphodel, is not what you think." Purple reassured.
"You weren't honest with me," Asphodel countered. "I'm not born a normal pony and this cutey mark pretty, my multiple talents and even this dark power that I am feeling pretty much cemented that." She paused. "And you..." Her eyes widened. "You don't even know who am I anymore, right?"
Her parents froze in place wide-eyed. They felt as her words stab their chests without her meaning to do that. Their faces contorted in horror upon hearing that. Asphodel stared at them, with eyes slowly feeling with sadness and disbelieve.
"I am really a monster?" Asphodel demanded.
"Stop it!" Purple shouted as he rushed at Asphodel and put his hooves at her arms, much to her surprise. "No!... Don't even think that. Ever!"
Silence grew in the corridor as they remained like this for moment. Asphodel's sadness quickly dissipates, being replaced by surprise. She couldn't tell their intention or if he was seriously truthful to his action. After a few moments, Purple recovered her composure and looked in her eyes.
"Father?" Asphodel said confused.
"Asphodel, we had to apologize." Purple paused. "We are the real monsters here."
Asphodel shook her head. "What?.... Why are you doing this?"
"When you had displayed your unnatural talents," Purple explained. "We had started to fear for you. We didn't told you anything because we didn't wanted you to feel different from us... As for what you heard coming from our discussion, we talked about you as you were something different. To be honest, I wasn't entirely thinking straight. I ended up forgetting the most important thing."
"What?" Asphodel asked.
"That you are our daughter," Purple said apologetic. "And I'm sorry for that."
"Father... That doesn't change one thing," Asphodel pointed out.
"Let me tell you something about that," Purple replied. "You talents is unnatural. I cannot deny that. But that doesn't mean that you are not a pony, because there are things that had nothing to do with it."
"Huh?" Asphodel looked confused.
"Empathy and perseverance," Purple responded solemn.
"He's right." Aurora said. "What had transpired changed absolutely nothing. You have so much good things that you can share with the others. Even with us."
Asphodel stared at them, not knowing what to say. She took a moment to think about what they said. Then, she made a faint smile.
"You don't even know much that means for me." Asphodel said serene. "But what if the somepony discovers our home or found out my abilities."
"Don't worry about that," Aurora assured. "Just stay tranquil."
"If you want to cry, don't hesitate." Purple said.
"No," Asphodel replied tranquilly. "I don't think that's the case."
After a moment like that, they returned to their rooms to rest. Asphodel was a little serene with what her father said to her, but there are some remaining doubts that are still lingering inside her. She didn't know how to deal with them, but was a little confident that she will surpass them, soon or later.
Two days ago.
Asphodel was still comatose and Gray mane was patiently waiting for her wakening. He took a look at her cutey mark and tried to find a connection. Despite all the knowledge that he gained from the outer world, Gray wasn't unable to find an explanation. However, deep insight, it has to do with his own secret. A secret on his own.
"Asphodel," Gray murmured. "I wanted to hope that your happy would continue... But-"
He was then interrupted by a very explosion of light coming from the bottom. Before he would say something, a curved knife crashed through the window and fell on the floor nearby the bed. Wanting to know what happened, Gray rushed out of the bedroom and went downstairs.
As he arrived at the entrance, he saw Purple and Aurora tossing Fire Talismans on the ground, creating a fire wall that divided them from a group of red-clad hooded ponies. He noticed something very unusual from them.
They had clawed hooves and very distinguished red eyes, and all of them talked a very strange language as they looked menacingly at Purple and Aurora.
"Ora sogut fo riet."
"Acita do ruga scion."
"GET OUT OF MY PROPERTY!" Purple roared.
The red-clad ponies turned around and leaved quietly, but they weren't scared at all and looked like they were about to return, someday. Gray slowly approached Purple and Aurora, who looked seriously worried about what had transpired. Purple turned toward him.
"You saw them, right?" Purple said.
"Yes, I saw them," Gray said half tranquil. "They didn't looked like normal ponies."
"They looked like monsters," Aurora said. "But why going after us?"
"I think they were after your daughter," Gray informed.
"Oh my gosh... But why?" Aurora looked scared.
"I think they had something to do with her cutey mark and her 'dark gift' she posses." Gray said.
"You are insinuating that Asphodel is their target!?" Purple snapped. "She's still a filly!"
"I know but these seemed to be ponies in which you cannot reason with," Gray replied.
"Asphodel is still comatose?" Aurora asked reluctantly.
"Unfortunately she isn't awakened yet," Gray said apologetically.
"Don't tell her anything," Purple said half calmly. "This attempted aggression must remain a secret."
"........ I think that's the right choice." Gray said. "In the meantime, let's just hope for Asphodel's awakening and safety. I am sure that she will be alright."
"I hope so." Purple said unconvinced.
Present day.
Unbeknownst to Asphodel and her parents, Gray was standing outside their home with a grim expression. He looked right in the upper floor. He felt the duty to murmur something as it was a confession.
"I'm sorry to say that, but fate has other plans regarding your life. All because of my secret. Forgive me..... Asphodel."