The Dancer

By Mephala

• October 6, 2013

Age: Looks 17 or 18; real age unknown.

Gender: Female

Species: Unicorn

Appearance: With her soft light blue coat and pale eyes and mane, the Dancer is ghostlike - and that isn't far from the truth. She has a neat short mane that curls about her face and her tail is flowing. She often wears pearl jewelry. Her eyes have a very small pupil, making them appear very wide at all times. She is very slender for a pony. She also always has a white silk ribbon in her hair.

Cutie Mark: The Dancer has a white silk ribbon wrapping around the body of a light brown pony as her cutie mark, representing her talent for dancing and her illusion magic that she casts while dancing, making her appear as something she is not.

Personality: The Dancer is quiet and soft in her speech, but something about her aura is cold and gives off an almost intimidating feeling to those surrounding her. Her helpfulness relies heavily on her judgement over you; if she dislikes you it is unlikely she will assist you in any manner. She can be sharp of tongue if she is angry or disappointed, but it takes a great deal of annoyance to make her lash out or show great amounts of emotion at all.<br /><br />She is sometimes described as "dreamy"; the Dancer is constantly looking into her past and trying to remember, and she tends to be rather hazy at times unless she requires great focus. She also tends to be wary of stallions as she vaguely remembers her father being very cruel.<br /><br />Her biggest weakness is her memory, which fades very quickly.

Backstory: When the Dancer was born many decades ago, there was little fanfare. Her father was a drunken soldier and her mother wasn't the most honourable mare in tow. It wasn't even known if she was the daughter of the married couple. She certainly did not resemble either of them, her pale, pretty body contrasting with their drab village colours. They named her Galewyn (gale-en) because of her "windy colours". Their small island home off the coast of Equestria mostly had drably coloured creatures, and her paler shades were surprising.<br /><br />Galewyn grew watching her father verbally abuse her mother, but she paid little heed to this; she was always in her own dreamy world. Her father hated the way his daughter was laughed at by the other villagers for her short memory and melodious way of walking and talking, and soon his rage turned on her as well. Galewyn eventually started leaving home for longer and longer periods of time, despairing for her life (despite her selfish actions), until one day, on one of her walks, she came across a ballet class.<br /><br />She began to visit every day, copying the moves of those graceful twirling ponies, but soon found that she had mastered the dancing after a short period of time. Disappointed that she was unable to pay for classes to further her advancements due to her lack of money and the lack of parental supervision or care, she went seeking out more places to learn to dance.<br /><br />One day she was watching through the window of a new studio, practicing, when an older mare suddenly appeared behind her seemingly out of nowhere. She enthused about the young talent, and offered the pony a long piece of silk, explaining the new practices of aerial silks and expressing interest in her talents. As soon as the unicorn touched her gift, a sudden power went through her body, and she twirled it around, getting a feel for its weight. The other mare had disappeared without a trace, not even giving Galewyn the chance to thank her.<br /><br />However, the silk began to consume the thoughts of Galewyn soon, and she would twirl around on it for with it, mesmerizing all those who passed with her raw talent. More dance instructors offered her positions, but more she declined, fearing their longing for her silk. She could have sworn it was whispering to her sometimes, but she knew that was insane...<br /><br />Eventually everything got out of hand when she nearly strangled herself with the silk one night, hearing its voice in her mind constantly. However, it soon changed its tune, promising power to her if she only used it. She accepted, not realizing the deal that she had sealed, and went about her life normally.<br /><br />She eventually began to notice that she wasn't aging. Ponies she knew were getting older and older but she remained teenaged for many years, until eventually all she had known had fallen to their graves. She suspected the silk had done this, and attempted to destroy it by shoving it into a fire. All she felt were extreme pains until she pulled it out, crying, only to discover that it wasn't damaged at all.<br /><br />Only then did the new Dancer resign to her fate. She was eternally bonded to this simple item, and she might as well make the best of it. She moved to the mainland of Equestria after a time as her island lacked an audience and held bad memories, and she started performing in several circuses including the mysterious and popular Carnival Obscura. This eventually got her in the eyes of several ballet companies, but she evaded their offers every time, disappearing to the next town. She was still scared they would discover all her mesmerizing talent was because of the silk. Dancing came to her naturally, perhaps, but that euphoric feeling others got was because of her silk.<br /><br />She discovered the way she danced, the way she twirled it, could change the emotions of others around her; her more aggressive dancing caused feelings of anger and terror, but her softer side made ponies calm and kind. All of it was an illusion, but one she could use to exploit...not that she ever really did. The silk was gaining control and she tried to use it as little as possible.<br /><br />When the Princesses disappeared, the Dancer felt next to nothing. It didn't affect her at all, as long as she could keep performing. Soon, however, bad things began to happen, and slowly but surely circuses began to shut down, leaving the Dancer nowhere to hide.<br /><br />However, the silk guided her on where to go, and soon its control grew more profound as it warped her memories and mind. The silk sometimes seemed to make her dance rather than her choosing to dance herself, and the illusions became more horrific. She had lost her original purpose in life, to make ponies happy through her movements. <br /><br />The silk led her to the Six, and she joined their ranks, hiding her curse as best she could by refusing to speak. This was something bigger than her, she knew, and she was its puppet. Now, it was time to create the perfect masterpiece with her inanimate companion; the dance that would destroy the world.