Outskirts

Intro/Prologue

The Beginning Part

For over a millennium, the benevolent Princess Celestia has brought happiness and prosperity to the land of Equestria. But beyond the kingdom’s seemingly endless borders lies an expanse, devoid of joy and friendship; where darkness reigns supreme, and a violent war, centuries old, wages on in secrecy.

To the citizens of Equestria, the space beyond is no more than an old pony tale. But for the dwellers of Raincap Village, a small town nestled on the edge of Celestia’s scope, it will soon be learned that some pony tales really are true.

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I’ve always felt that the most difficult part about telling a story is finding the proper place to begin. I’ve found that this is especially the case when trying to tell somepony’s life story. You can’t begin at birth, or even infancy for that matter, as I have yet to meet a pony that can accurately recollect the happenings of their life at that point. And even then, to start at a point that serves memory perfectly is an even greater challenge. Not so much do to the dichotomy of deciding when to start, but rather where to start. Within the myriad fascinating occurrences in the life of any given pony, which would serve the purpose of being an interesting point by which to begin one’s story? This challenge of choice could understandably drive a pony to give up before even getting out of the gate. I mean, if your opening is a load of horse apples it doesn’t matter if your story is Celestia tier; nopony will want to suffer long enough to hear it. Fortunately for me (or perhaps unfortunately) this is a problem I find myself completely devoid of. Life in Raincap Village wasn’t exactly what one would call ‘exciting’. It’s a secluded town that lies on the literal border of Equestria, so the fact that we were virtually unknown to anypony in civilized places like Ponyville or Fillydelphia came as no real surprise. I suppose that’s why when it happened, things seemed all the more incredible.

And look at that, in all my rambling I’ve forgotten to introduce myself. My name is Periwinkle. And yes, I do know that’s a ridiculous name. And I suppose you deserve a reward for suffering through my little rant, so I will tell you what it is. It is the story of my life, and I know just where to begin…