The Windigos soared on freezing winds through the Equestrian night, passing past travelers on a chilling breeze, searching every nook and cranny of the pony diarchy… They soared into Trottingham, gusting over tall houses and clock towers, drifting down slipping in underneath windowsills and through the cracks of doors, drifting through the houses on a cold breeze, wrapping their tendrils around ponies huddled in their beds, causing foals to shiver and pull the blankets over their heads, and parents to snuggle together for warmth. But Trottingham did not have what they needed, so they glided on.

They burst through the windows of upscale houses in Canterlot on angry gusts, soaring through the halls of the wealthy and the noble, seeping in beneath the floorboards, into servants quarters and basements, seeking out dirty little secrets… And they found many. But nopony within was what was needed, so they continued.

They passed on a breeze over Appleloosa, finding naught a pony there miserable enough to qualify, curling into the homes of the settler ponies, sending their shutters to slamming and their doors to hanging open, breezing over the frontier dwellers, ruffling their fur with chill winds and setting their teeth to chattering in their beds… But none among them were needed.

On aggravated impatient winds the Windigos soared the freezing gusts of the Crystal Empire, soaring through the crystal structures and encircling the crystal spires, passing harmlessly over the Crystal Ponies and their protective coats, before leaving in a huff of anger, not a single one of the long abused race fit to their needs.

Only for thoroughness sake did they stop over Ponyville, and soar down through the open doors and windows of the beautiful small-town houses, avoiding the dwellings of the Element Bearers. Touching across the mares in their beds and rustling the mane’s of the stallions on their impatient search. Though they found more darkness than expected it was still sickeningly sweet and bright, and they left in an increasingly desperate wind, rustling and howling in the night, the powerful gusts crashing against the trees of branches, waking more than a few ponies up as the Windigos left.

On these strong gusts they came to Manehatten, battering windows and running across the glass, frost spreading over the towering spires as they filled the air with their cold wrath, rushing over empty streets and gusting through alleys, throwing trash and papers up into the winds, slamming against the sides of buildings and then creeping into air vents, passing through countless apartments as they disturbed the rests of the pony-folk and left them awake and shivering with cold in their beds.

The Windigos were about to leave once again in a roaring gust, when an errant chilled breeze caught a pony’s coat, and the Windigos stopped their raging… Circling, they brought their chilled winds to their bodies, and formed an invisible breeze above this newly found pony, gazing down to his form, alone on the street, walking through the night… And slowly they descended running their chilling breezes along his body as he walked through the night, examining him, searching over every part of his body and soul…

Their quarry shivered under their searching winds, and tried to pull his shabby dark-grey coat closer to his body, as he continued down the street, trying to hurry through the dark as the Windigos began to gust about him excitedly, delightedly, rejoicing as they searched deeper and deeper into him, and found exactly what they craved! The pony stopped moving forward as chills overtook his body, rooting him to place, unable to put one hoof in front of the other for his shivering.

The Windigos swirled around him with glee, faster and faster, their eyes starting to glow a brilliant blue as the pony finally started to panic, far too late as his hooves were lifted off of the ground, dangling in the air as his coat was torn from his body by the violent wind, and sent flying across the night, the Windigos swirling faster and faster around their prey, becoming a swirl of blue and white, racing and racing until-

FLASH!

The pony disappeared in a brilliant blue light and the Windigos scattered apart, vanishing into the breeze, their prey captured, their gift sent, their dark purpose fulfilled…

… … …

“You’re kidding me.”

Pyrus’s coat was once again a deep blood red, and his teeth razors in his mouth. His slit eyes narrowed in anger as he stood with his black wings stretched out wide, Cryon to his right, standing with his head cocked curiously to the right, both of them with their eyes glued onto what had been deposited onto the frozen ice floor of Cryon’s throne room. Namely the single most unimpressive stallion they had ever seen.

The Earth Pony stallion lying unconscious on their floor was young. Just barely past the veil of adult-hood. He had a shabby grey coat, and a messy uncut black mane upon his head, dirty, with his tail not faring much better, messy, long, and tangled. His eyes were closed so his dark green eyes were hidden, but his malnourished form was easy to see, his body smaller than most stallion’s with ribs poking out against the fur. His rough and ragged hooves twitched slightly in his sleep, as he shivered from the cold…

“You’ve got to be bucking kidding me! This is our new great threat!? This dilapidated whelp!? RRRAAAUUUGGHH!!!” Shouted Pyrus, his eyes shining red, embers sparking up from his wings, feathers beginning to turn red.

“I’LL RIP THOSE USELESS WINDIGOS INTO PIECES!!! I’LL-” A hoof on his leg caused Pyrus to stop mid-rant and look down to his brother. Cryon stood calmly with his front-left leg reaching out to Pyrus’s front right, still looking at the unconscious stallion, before speaking in a calm voice.

“Calm yourself brother… Look.” He stated moving his hoof from his brother’s leg to point towards the mystery stallion’s flank.

“So?! He doesn’t have a Cutie Mark! What of- … it… … ah.” Spoke Pyrus, his wings quitting their sparking as they went back to black, and his fur quickly turning from red to black, his teeth blunting in his mouth as he looked to the stallion’s flank, as blank as any foal’s.

“Ah indeed.” Replied Cryon, looking at the spot with his calm unchanging gaze.

“In a society dedicated to finding one’s true self and fulfilling their natural role, one who does not do so is considered an outcast.”

“More than that, he’s a freak, an abomination, abnormal and utterly unfulfilled. An entire life without knowing who he is or what he was meant to do in life, an entire life of failure after failure, having to hide his shame… Hahahahaha! He’ll be easy for us to manipulate!” Spoke Pyrus, grinning wide, licking his lips slowly with a glint in his eye.

“No.” Stated Cryon calmly, causing Pyrus to blink in surprise and turn to look at his brother with an arched brow.

“No?”

“No. Not us. Them.” Replied Cryon, turning to face you… And raising his front-right hoof to point directly at you, cold-blue eyes staring at you calmly as Pyrus followed his gaze up and looked to you, before his eyes dilated, followed rapidly by narrowing his brows into an angry glare, coat turning red.

“THEM!?” He hissed, his teeth growing sharp once more.

“Them.” Replied Cryon simply, lowering his hoof.

“Brother please! We’re more than capable of-”

“No.” Spoke Cryon, looking over his shoulder to Pyrus.

“If we engage directly in the pony’s we risk being revealed as his mentors. If Celestia is able to track him back to us then we will fall. He must never set eyes on us, and nopony must ever know the influence we had on him.”

“B-but… THEM!?” Asked Pyrus, aghast and disgusted as he looked up to you with obvious hatred in his eyes.

“Yes. We have none left of our own stock fit for the job. They are the only source capable of proper manipulation available.” Stated Cryon, before looking back to you.

“They don’t even know what’s going on!” Shouted Pyrus, clenching his teeth and stomping his hooves against the ice, causing it to crack beneath his frustrated blows.

“So we will tell them.” Responded Cryon simply still looking at you with an unflinching gaze.

“Alter yourself to hear them.” He continued, and Pyrus blinked, before stammering with a-

“B-but-” He started, before Cryon turned to look back to Pyrus… … … Pyrus met his brother’s eyes for a few moments… and then lowered his head, muttering a low-

“Fine…” As his horn glowed red. The Alicorn’s entire body was enveloped in a red aura for a moment, a slight shimmer appearing around the ears, before the aura faded away. Pyrus wiggled his ears experimentally, then looked back up to his brother and nodded. Cryon then turned his gaze back to you, before bringing his front-right hoof up across his chest, and bowing forward slightly, bobbing his body forward.

“Hello Watchers. I am Cryon.” He stated simply, before lifting himself up and motioning with his hoof back towards Pyrus.

“This is my brother Pyrus. We will be able to hear you, and respond to any queries.” Stated Cryon placing his front-right hoof back on the ice as his left raised up and pointed towards the unconscious stallion.

“This pony is to be the next threat to Equestria. While not the most desirable subject we do not have a better option available to us.” Stated Cryon simply as he brought his hoof back down to the ice.

“To make him a viable threat we are going to gift him with a unique… condition. For lack of better terminology. We are going to infect him with the “Star of Woe” an ancient affliction that will amplify the darkest impulses in his mind and increase the potential for corruption of spirit, as well as allow for vast physical mutations. It is however far from absolute, and can be expelled if the subject becomes too… good.” Continued Cryon, still staring at you with his expressionless eyes.

“He will require proper guidance to the dark path. You are currently the only influence capable of acting as an appropriate guide. As you are outside Celestia’s rule you have been exposed to worlds filled with malice and darkness. All potentials within this world are removed from play, and we cannot enter the field. A threat is needed, and this-”

“Pathetic pile of discarded filth.”

“-… stallion, and you, are our best chances to create such a threat. Do you understand and accept the assignment?” Asked Cryon, his voice perfectly calm as he continued to levy his unblinking gaze straight at you.

Author's Notes:

Next part, you can talk to the brothers and ask them questions, address concerns and what-not.

I'm going to post up important characters as they become important characters instead of assuming they will be. You might choose to have the fledgling villain go cause trouble in Zebrica instead of go after the Mane Six, for example. So slight change to the character bar, hope this is entertaining enough.