An Orchestra, A Filly, A Stallion, and A Beginning
The first stars twinkled high in the early-evening sky over the ancient city of Canterlot. Elegant trees and intricately-stitched banners that shivered in the warm summer breeze bordered streets of polished white stone, all around sparkling marble buildings that could only belong in the capital of all Equestria.
The royal capital was bustling with the ponies of high society, some striding in groups showing off their finest evening wear, others in grand coaches entertaining their guests with the latest gossip. However, none of these sights could compare to the grandeur of a stunning white royal carriage that made its way towards Canterlot Music Hall.
Indeed, the carriage of the goddess of the sun was a sight to behold. The opalescent structure glinted in the rays of the early evening sun. Gold adorned the chassis and spherical cabin, forming intricate sculptures symbolizing the vehicles inhabitant’s glory and importance. It was pulled by eight strong, bleach-white pegasi of the Royal Guard, each outfitted with gilded gold armor so polished it would gleam even in the darkest of caverns. As a whole, it seemed as if the carriage could have been the sole source of light for the entire city were there no such things as a lantern or candle.
Well enough, crowds of ponies erupted into a fanfare as the carriage descended upon the court in front of Canterlot Performance Hall. The carriage door slowly opened as everypony gathered around, only to be pushed back by the guards as they escorted Princess Celestia down the marbled brick path to the entrance of the hall. The Princess waved to the throngs of onlookers as she progressed through the crowd that split like the sea before her until heard a familiar voice call out.
“Princess Celestia!” A young, purple pony cried with glee as she rushed to meet her mentor.
“Twilight, my faithful student.” Celestia replied coolly to her protégé, “I’m so glad you could make it tonight, seeing the Canterlot Symphony Orchestra perform is a wonderful experience for anypony.”
She said this with a slightly absentminded look on her face, as if something troublesome was on her mind that in her excitement, Twilight failed to notice.
“Come on, everypony else is inside already.” Twilight implored as she blissfully cantered through the tall oaken arched doors into the grand hall, the Princess following.
* * * * * * *
“Hey, Twilight’s been out there for quite a while, do you think the Princess is here yet?” Rainbow Dash wondered out loud to the rest of the mane six after zipping around the lobby of the Music Hall for the umpteenth time. “Should we go check that she’s okay?”
“She said she’d only be out fer a moment. I’m sure she n’ the Princess are headin’ on over here righ’ now.” Applejack replied. The orange earth pony was leaning against a catering table with her signature cowpony hat, trying to remember those darn table manners she learned the last time the Princess came to Ponyville. She had returned to deep thought when suddenly her hat floated off her head by blue magic.
“Dear Applejack, please do take your hat off while indoors, it’s so rude!” Rarity scolded AJ as she levitated the hat and placed it on a nearby hat rack, much to Applejack’s annoyance.
“You know what’s RUDE?” Pinkie Pie blurted out as she bounced around the crowded chamber. “There’s no confetti or streamers here! How can they call this a party???” She then whipped out her party cannon from seemingly no where and proceeded to explosively adorn a very old looking statue with the aforementioned party fare.
“Oh, Pinkie, please don’t be so loud. You’ll get the attention of all the other ponies.” It would be redundant to describe the softness of Fluttershy’s voice as she attempted to stay out of sight of the crowd among her friends.
The mane six - minus one were grouped together among a mob of unfamiliar Canterlot ponies waiting for Twilight to get back with the Princess, who had invited them out of the blue to join her at a performance of the Canterlot Symphony Orchestra. Despite the seemingly innocent invitation, they were sure it was at heart an attempt to discuss something urgent with them without causing alarm. Although they appreciated the gesture, they were suspicious nonetheless. The only times the Princess had ever requested them was always for some serious threat to Harmony or something. Whatever the reason though, they didn’t have time to discuss it as a familiar face approached the group.
“Ah, Rarity! What a pleasant surprise.” A voice with a Canterlot accent rang behind Rarity. She turned, and to her slight horror saw Fancy Pants approaching.
“Oh, hello F-Fancy Pants, it is quite a surprise.” His appearance caught Rarity quite off guard. Of all times to run into Fancy Pants, it had to be while she was wearing one of her less favorite gowns. How could she impress such an important, consequential, not to mention handsome colt if she was not in her best attire? She knew she should have gone with a more glamorous ensemble and redone her hair. But there’s nothing she could do about it now. “I was invited here tonight with my friends by Princess Celestia.”
“Really? Is that so?” Fancy Pants exclaimed in slight shock. “Why Rarity, you again prove you are quite the important pony. I myself have been appointed as a courtier on the High Canterlot Royal Court. I don’t get around to the fashion business as much as I used to, and I have to deal with many more to put it politely unpleasant ponies but it is a living. I can’t complain.”
Fancy Pants is part of the Royal Court? Rarity thought to herself in disbelief. He just becomes more amazing every time I see him. She had been fond of Fancy Pants from the very start, but in the few other times she’d seen him since, she was beginning to feel something more. She hadn’t told anypony, she didn’t really believe it herself. “That sounds like quite the life, mingling with royalty and such all the time.”
“Indeed, my dear.” Fancy Pants continued. “I do say, if you aren’t too busy, there is somepony I would like you to meet from work.”
This is too good of a chance to pass up, I hope the others wouldn’t mind if I went with Fancy Pants for a bit. Rarity turned to the others. “None of you would mind if I- if I went out with Fancy Pants for a while, would you?”
Applejack was quick to catch on. “Not at all, Rarity,” She said with a reassuring grin. “Go have yourselves a good time. I’ll tell Twilight you wen’ off with a friend fer a bit.”
“Much thanks, Applejack. Let’s go, Fancy Pants.” Rarity couldn’t tell why she was so worked up all of a sudden; nonetheless she gave a small leap of excitement as she turned to follow Fancy Pants to the opposite side of the room. As soon as Rarity was gone, AJ got her hat and put it back on her head where it belongs.
Rainbow Dash chuckled then said teasingly, “She always gets like that when she’s around that guy. How long do you think it’ll be till they start dating?”
Applejack playfully nudged Rainbow Dash with her elbow.
"Leave’r alone RD, I think that Fancy Pants really is a nice colt fer her.”
“Yeah, well why is she going off like that when we’re supposed to be meeting the Princess here together?” Rainbow Dash went on.
As if on cue, the Royal Guard marched through the door with Twilight, Spike, and the Princess behind. Immediately, everypony in the lobby bowed down to their Princess, who acknowledged their respect before coming over to the group of her most loyal subjects.
“Good evenin’ Princess Celestia.” Applejack and the rest saluted their princess. “It’s mighty gen’rous a’ you to invite us here tonight.” No matter how many times she saw Celestia, Applejack was always struck by her awesome presence.
“It is my pleasure, I am quite glad you could come as well.” Celestia still had the slight look of worry thinly veiled by a calm façade, and the ponies noticed it. Twilight and Spike too, as they had walked to the lobby with Celestia had noticed her troubled demeanor too. But before any of them could ask about it, the tapping of a glass caught everyponys attention.
A well dressed colt unicorn with a dark green coat and black mane stood next to a series of antiquated wood doors tapping a spoon against a cider glass with telekinesis. “Attention everypony,” he called loudly enough to silence the room, but not enough to break decorum. “The Canterlot Symphony Orchestra will be performing in fifteen minutes, please make your way to your seats.”
When he ended his announcement, the crowds began to shuffle their way into the concert hall, some through the doors, others went up stairs to balcony seats. Celestia led her party up one such flight of stairs.
As they came up to the Royal balcony their eyes were met with a sight of awe. Gilded gaslights filled the gallery with a golden glow like the setting sun, sparkling off marble walls lined with gorgeous bannered oak pillars. A stepped ceiling of a beautiful maroon wood and polished tile gleamed almost as much as the marble. Rows upon rows of masterfully carved chairs lined with red velvet cushions spanned out to he stage, which was – if possible – even more stunning than the rest of the hall. Thick curtains, perfect acoustics, and glorious art-deco-esque ornamentation made the frame for what seemed to be the centerpiece of the room while there was no orchestra. Towering above all else, a monstrous pipe organ stood, forever at attention to the hall before it.
It’s so beautiful. Twilight thought to herself as they took their seats. Rarity must love this. It was just then that Twilight noticed Rarity was missing. She turned to Applejack. “Hey,” She turned to Applejack against the noise of ponies entering the hall. “Where is Rarity?”
“Oh, Rarity, she wen’ off with a friend jus’ fore you got here with the Princess.” Applejack replied “She said she’d be back, but I figure we came in here so quick she didn’t get a chance to catch up with us.”
Twilight saw through Applejack’s innocent ruse. “Oh, Applejack, I know she must’ve gone of with Fancy Pants. Those two become quite the item whenever they meet up.”
This caught Spike’s attention. “Whaddya mean Rarity’s off with that hoity-toity fashion colt?” He was desperate to know some stallion wasn’t gonna steal away his Rarity.
“Not Hoity-Toity, Spike, Fancy Pants. Two different ponies.” Twilight reprimanded the dragon. “And he is actually a really nice stallion.” She insisted, but Spike wasn’t convinced and the conversation ended.
“Twily!” The voice that could only belong to Twilight’s B.B.B.F.F Shining Armor rang out. Twilight stood up at the sight of her brother and his wife Cadence.
“Shining Armor! Cadence! You’re here too?” Twilight nearly jumped for joy. She galloped to be hugged by her brother and sister-in-law. Despite her joy at having her brother here, she was now even more suspicious about why Celestia had brought her and the others here. She was about to turn to the Princess when the audience began hoof-stomping. She looked to the stage and saw the orchestra was entering and setting up now. Out of respect, she filed her thoughts away for later and returned to her seat between her friends and her brother.
She watched all of the orchestra members take their seats too and observed all of the different instruments. Brass horns of all different sizes, harps, different sized drums, some long black ones that looked like thin party hats. There were also several stringed instruments too. Twilight hadn’t studied pony music much, she only recognized the violin. However, she knew Shining Armor was knowledgeable in instruments having played the violin long ago. He was never great, but he knew a lot about instruments from his musical years.
“Hey, Shining Armor.” She whispered to her brother. “What are all these instruments again?”
He took a moment to think. When he rememberedeverything, he began pointing out the wind section: “Well, the small brass horns are trumpets, the large ones are tubas. Those swirley-looking ones are called Equestrian horns. The silver stick-like ones are flutes. Those black conical instruments are woodwinds. That’s a clarinet and an oboe, which is the smaller one.” He then pointed out the string section. “You know the violin, I used to play that. The slightly bigger ones are violas. The upright ones that the ponies sit with are cellos, and the largest ones are double basses. See that grey mare at first bass; she’s Octavia, one of the greatest string players in Equestria.”
“Wow, there are so many instruments.” Twilight couldn’t even imagine the time and energy it took to master one of these things. She kept looking and noticed an instrument she’d missed. It was a tall, wood one that looked like a bedpost. “Wait, what’s that tall one there”
“Oh, that one is called a bassoon.” Shining Armor answered. Twilight wasn’t sure why, but one of the bassoonists, a blue stallion with a black red-striped mane and full moon glasses, stood out amongst everypony else. She kept eying him trying to figure out why, but she couldn’t place her hoof on it.
“Who’s that blue bassoonist?” She pointed him out to Shining Armor.
“That’s the lead bassoonist. For some reason I can’t remember his name, but he’s really good, I saw him perform Nobile Finire’s concerto once, never even knew somepony’s hooves could move that fast!”
As the lights in the hall dimmed and the conductor came out on stage to take his bow, make an introduction, and set the orchestra to begin its first piece Twilight finally noticed something very strange about this stallion: he had no Cutie Mark.
* * * * * * *
DUN! DUN! DUN! DUUUUUUUN! …
The whole hall, even the organ was in applause as the lights reignited for intermission after the orchestra finished its third piece. Chattering about the performance so far, the mane six and royal accompaniment returned to the lobby to stretch their legs.
“I have to say, as much as I love my rock music, this classical stuff is pretty awesome.” Rainbow Dash confessed to the group.
“Technically, that last piece was from the Romantic era, Rainbow Dash.” Rarity corrected as she and Fancy Pants came out of the doors behind them. “I apologize for not meeting back up with you for the first part of the concert, but Fancy Pants and I here were having just a splendid time, and well, lost track of time.” She smiled wide in an attempt to show the sentiment was genuine - because it was, but she had enjoyed the alone time with Fancy Pants.
“Hi Rarity… Fancy Pants.” Spike glared at Rarity’s companion accusingly then turned away, hopping on Twilight’s back, who stared at Fancy Pants apologetically before turning to the Princess.
“Good evening, Rarity.” Celestia no longer attempted to hide the look of worry, and now had a much more serious tone than before. This finally confirmed the mane six’s fears that something bad was going down once more in the kingdom of Equestria. “Now that all of you are here, I must tell you that there really is another reason I’ve brought you here tonight.” She scanned the lobby, determining if it was safe to talk. “Please follow me.” She motioned to an empty corridor with her wing, then turned and set down it, the others in tow.
The corridor eventually came out to a small, quiet sunroom. Outside the glass walls the valley below Canterlot spanned as far as the eye can see until reaching the Everfree Forest. It was night now, and thousands of stars twinkled in the sky with a full moon. Celestia saw all the ponies and dragon in then shut the door behind them. She then bid the others to sit before taking a seat herself, Shining Armor and Cadence next to her.
Celestia cleared her throat before speaking. “Recently there has been a string of attacks all around Equestria. The first one was about a week ago in a small village not far from Ponyville; several ponies were assaulted in one evening. We dismissed it originally as an off-season Timberwolf attack as nopony could recall seeing an attacker, but two days later there was another in Manehattan, then in Vanhoover the next evening; and at least one pony is reported missing in Manhattan. At both of these, a few ponies claimed to have seen a large shadowy stallion that had a cry that pierced the night sky.” Celestia turned to look out the window into the starry sky created by her sister. “Each attack had more serious damage than the last. I fear that whoever or whatever is committing these attacks is becoming increasingly powerful, as if feeding off something.”
Everypony was silent. Very faintly the sound of the orchestra resuming its programme could be heard, it was rather fast and in minor key. What is going on? The mane six wondered to themselves. How could they have not heard about these attacks until now? Twilight was the first to break the silence.
“Do you think the changelings have returned? Could it be an escaped monster from Tartarus?”
“I don’t believe so.” the princess replied. “The changelings always attack in swarms. Also, I would have heard if anything has escaped from Tartarus, but I haven’t received any such reports.” She sighed and stood up, continuing to gaze at the violet and speckled abyss. “I’ve tried to keep things quiet, but if these attacks don’t end soon there will be panic and chaos all throughout Equestria.”
This gave Applejack an idea. “Perhaps discord’s back?” she chimed in, but before anypony could answer the sound of heavy galloping overpowered the faint bustle of the orchestra. A member of the Royal Guard burst through the door.
“Your majesty,” he crowed urgently. “It is my misfortune to inform you that Ponyville is under attack by the beast seen at Manehattan and Vanhoover! The Night Princess has already dispatched her Nocturne Guard but requests you be on guard for backup.”
The princess’s eyes flashed. “Very well,” She said in a grim tone with a hint of anger. She turned to look out at the peaceful sky one last time; in an instant she regained a calmer composure. “Ready the rest of the Royal Guard. It looks we won’t be seeing the rest of the performance.”
Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and spike stood with mouths agape is dismay.
“No! Not Ponyville!”
* * * * * * *
A young mare with a yellow coat ran through the crowds of screaming ponies along the main drag of Ponyville. Her red mane twirled in the dry summer air and a large state-of-the-art flash camera dangled from her neck.
“Huckleberry Bush, Get back here NOW!” A concerned but stern voice called out behind her above the roar. Huckleberry turned back to see her mother calling to her several meters away. “It’s not safe; you’ll get yourself hurt, or worse!” The filly paid no attention. She turned away and continued galloping against the flow of the crowd. She had reporters' instincts; she wasn’t going to let anything get away from her.
She broke free of the crowd and ran along partially destroyed houses. In the distance she could swear she saw the pitch-black silhouette of the beast. She reached the spot she was sure the monster had just been, but it was nowhere to be found.
Suddenly, a gust of wind knocked Huckleberry off a small ledge onto her back. What she saw sucked all the breath from her lungs. Standing above her was an immense stallion with furious eyes. She gazed into the gleaming eyes. Something was familiar about them; familiar, but at the same time completely strange.
Without thinking, Huckleberry immediately snapped a picture of the beast, sending a blinding flash into the sky like lightning. The stallion jumped back violently in reaction to the flash, took one look at Huckleberry Bush and wailed a horrifying sound she would never forget, and then the beast ran off into the night.
Huckleberry remained frozen where she was, breathing heavily. She was pensive. Those eyes, could that have been…? Her thoughts were interrupted by the buzz of her camera automatically ejecting a small blank photo. Slowly it developed into a grainy, black-and-white image of the beast that had stood above her only moments before, it’s face gnarled in an eternal scowl. Huckleberry has said many times before that nothing escapes her lens of truth, and tonight not even the Dark Stallion could evade metaphorical capture.
Huckleberry Bush let out a deep breath. She laid back and stared into the starry sky. In the distance the shouts of royal guards could be heard as they arrived in the city. Softly she spoke to herself, “Was that… dad?” The stars continued to twinkle in the black summer night sky.
Clattering hoofsteps and the urgent voices of ponies reverberated through the thoroughfares of Ponyville. Guards tried to bring decorum in the midst of kin checking in on kin, friends checking in on friends, and parents making sure that the family was together. Ironically, the dark stallion had attacked in the middle of a town meeting about the recent attacks, and the ensuing paroxysm of fear likely did more damage then the assailant itself.
The moon was high in the midnight sky now, and the warm evening had long ago faded into a chilly twilight. Luna, Celestia, and their respective Guards had set up a temporary camp in Town Hall where they would sort out the night’s events until the light of morning.
Princess Luna was out in the field for the duration of the night, and Twilight’s friends had gone out to make sure their families were safe, so Twilight Sparkle and Spike were alone with the sun princess in Town Hall for the time being.
While Spike helped sort out various reports and other paperwork with the Princess, Twilight sat in a corner by herself, completely silent. Miserable thoughts shifted uneasily in her mind. If only I could have been here. I could have protected Ponyville… A single small tear fought its way out of Twilight’s eye, sliding down her cheek before dropping to the oak floor with an almost tragic silence. Spike glanced at the purple pony, and seeing her state, came to her side.
“Twilight, don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s not your fault.” He sat down next to the pitiful pony. “You needed to be with the Princess, nopony got hurt anyway. Everything will be fine.” Though feeling that his words had no effect, Spike was glad to see Twilight lighten up a bit and smile slightly. It wasn’t a smile of happiness or relief, but Twilight appreciated Spike’s attempted reassurance and she could at least give him something in return. All the while, in the back of her mind, Twilight knew that Spike’s words were true.
“You’re right, Spike.” She said, embracing the little dragon. “You’re right.” She stood up with a renewed vigor and began to march toward Celestia. “Even still, I want to make things right. This beast, what ever it is I don’t care, it just needs to be stopped.” She approached the Princess and in her most confident tone said –
“Princess, Princess! I know who the Dark Stallion is!” Twilight never got to speak for a yellow foal galloped into the room shouting, and several guards unsuccessfully perusing her. A rather large camera swung around her neck. She attempted to halt, but was going so fast she instead skidded into a bookcase, knocking all of the books out onto the floor around her. Unfazed, she stood right back up and continued “I saw the Dark Stallion, I followed it to the outskirts of town, I even got a picture of it!
So that’s what they’re calling it? Celestia thought, then in her usual calm tone inquired “What is your name, young filly? You say you have a photograph of this ‘Dark Stallion’?”
The yellow foal eagerly nodded in response. “My name is Huckleberry Bush, journalist extraordinaire. Of course I got a picture of that beast, nothing escapes my camera eye!” Huckleberry held up a little black and white photograph for Celestia to see, who then took hold of it with her magic.
The Princess’ eyes grew wide as she looked at the picture. She whispered something into one of the guards ears, who replied with a gruff “Yes, my lady,” and galloped out the door.
She then returned her attention to the small pony before her. “Now Huckleberry Bush, You said before that you know who this stallion is. What do you mean by this?
At being asked this, Huckleberry suddenly got quiet. She looked at the floor and make circular motions with her hooves. “Well, I think…” She began, but then hesitated.
“Anything you know could save many lives in Equestria. Even if you are not sure, your information could make all the difference.” Celestia said, sternly, but gently.
Huckleberry looked up at the Princess; there were a few tears in her eyes. “I, I think that monster is my dad… But please don’t tell my mom, she would be devastated.”
“That is a promise that I might not be able to keep, Huckleberry. More importantly, though, how come you think this ‘beast’ is your father?”
Huckleberry took on her most serious tone yet. “I could see it in his eyes. They were different – monstrous and shining, but there was something about them and I could just tell they were his, I would recognize my father’s eyes anywhere. Even when it seemed like he was going to attack me, I took that picture of him, and suddenly it almost seemed like he recognized me for a moment. I’m sure of it.”
Celestia was pensive for a moment. She seemed like she was going to speak when guards once again came into the room, this time with a mare that strongly resembled Huckleberry who had several strawberries for a cutie mark. Her eyes were moist like she had been crying, and upon seeing Huckleberry she burst into tears once more.
“Huckleberry!” She cried out as she ran towards the foal.
"Mom?” Huckleberry called out in surprise.
The mare embraced her daughter as she wept with tears of joy. “I was so worried about you! You could have been hurt by that monster! Don’t you dare ever run off like that again! ”
Huckleberry squirmed in her mother’s grasp. “I’m fine, mom. I got a picture of the Dark Stallion!” She gave up trying to break free and relented to her mother’s will.
“We haven’t heard from your father in days! And they say somepony’s missing in Manehattan, I just can’t lose both of you in one week!” Huckleberry’s mother continued.
“Mrs. Strawberry Fields, I assure you that your daughter is fine.” Celestia addressed the mare in a soft tone. “In fact, with the chaos lately reports are still being sorted out, so I am sure your husband is safe too.”
Strawberry Fields looked up at her Princess with watery eyes. “Thank you, Celestia. Thank you for keeping my daughter safe.”
“It is my sister Luna, your Princess of the night that you should thank for this miracle.” Celestia replied with a warm grin. “However, she is out tending to her such duties at the moment.” There was a noise at the other end of the room. “Ah, finally everypony’s here.” She said.
Once again, somepony had come through the door. This time it was the rest of the mane six. Twilight, who had been sorting the books Huckleberry knocked over greeted her friends with much enthusiasm but did not get a chance to talk before Celestia began to speak again.
“We need to address this problem of the Dark Stallion before it escalates any further. Twilight, I assume you and your friends are up to the task?” She addressed the mane six. Twilight hesitated at first, but then confidently replied “Always, Princess. Just tell us what we need to do.”
“First, I need to tell you what I believe you are up against.” Celestia sounded a bit grim all of a sudden. She looked out window at the night sky, which was just starting to lighten at the edges of the mountains in the distance. “Thousands of years ago, there was a brilliant sorcerer called Drossga. He was half pony - half dragon, the last of his kind. One day he went to the mountains of the north and disappeared for many years. It is believed he discovered some sort of ancient dark magic, for when he returned he was changed. He had gone mad, the magic made powerful as a god, but sucked all emotions him leaving him forever with only anger, misery, and sorrow. Drossga locked himself in isolation, but his misery spread like a disease, creating an army of powerful but miserable creatures out of normal ponies. These became known as Fallen Ponies. Driven to insanity, Drossga escaped his own prison and with his army ravaged Equestria for years before a brave hero sealed him away and the ponies returned to normal, but the chaos left behind led to the rise of Discord. You know what comes after that.” Celestia turned to the group of ponies in front of her. “I fear now that what we are seeing is a return of the Fallen Ponies, and possibly even Drossga the Mad Mage.”
Twilight was terrified but perplexed. “How come I’ve never heard of this Drossga and these Fallen Ponies?” She asked. “I’ve read almost all there is about Equestrian history. If he is so important, why have I never heard anything about him in my studies?”
Celestia responded with a motion towards the door. “Nearly all of Drossga’s writings and records were stolen from the Canterlot archives many years ago. The few that remain I have kept secure in my private library. Let us go to the castle, we will likely be needing his works and we can continue planning there.”
As the troupe left for Canterlot Castle, Huckleberry came alongside Celestia out of earshot from her mother. “Are you sure daddy is going to be safe like you told mom?”
Celestia sighed. “If your father truly is a Fallen Pony, your father is safe from himself only in theory, but it is only a matter of time before he cannot be saved.”
Huckleberry was silent the rest of the way to Canterlot Castle.
* * * * * * *
A harsh breeze cut through the night air, cold and sharp like a razor. The silver moon glowed in the starry sky over a wooded valley several miles from Ponyville. Tall thin trees huddled together in groves, shivering not from disturbance by the sleepy animal life, but the biting, snarling wind forcing its way through branches and leaves that curled like stiff arms attempting in vain to grasp and warm their chilled bodies.
In the cover of one such grove, a large shadowy stallion crouched in the shadows. His dark purple mane and tail whisked in the breeze like fire lapping oxygen from the air, and his shining eyes peered into the darkness that enclosed upon his angular muzzle. Sharp fangs protruded slightly from the beast’s maw and strong hooves dug into the earth.
Here in this parapet of trees the stallion remained completely silent save for an occasional grunt. He turned his head every so often to glare into the darkness, flicking his flame-like tail now and then, and snapping with a great growl and toothy maw at anything that made a noise. Here in this forested fortress the beast sat for perhaps hours.
At one point in the night, the beast happened to look up into the star-speckled sky at the bright moon. The shining image reflected off the beast’s piercing eyes, giving the illusion that tears of light dripped down the face of the beast. Out of the silence a groan rose from the beast’s throat, becoming a howl that echoed with despair across the trees, hills, and valleys for miles and miles into the growing dawn.
