Mother: Did you have another nightmare?
This was the third night in a row that my daughter had the same nightmare. The details were always the same; the village was in a raging inferno and the shadows would climb from every dark crevice and corner and they would wash over her. When the shadows disappeared, she would be gone, and the village destroyed.
Mother: Why don't your father and I tell you a story, of how the stars in the sky were formed, and how you were made?
As I sat next to my daughter, stroking her mane trying to comfort her, I smiled. This was a story from a time so long ago, one that I would never forget, never could afford to forget. This was a story that would be passed from generation to generation, and each time the story was told, the stars in the sky would shine brighter, and the moon would ever be so larger.
Mother: How would like to begin this, dear?
As I adjusted myself, I looked down at my daughter and said, "Once, in a land far from here..."
5 Years Earlier
"So what you're telling me is that you're still behind on crops?" The farmer cowered back inside the doorway, fearing the bronze unicorn currently standing before him. "You know, this is the fifth time that this has happened. I'm beginning to think that you don't want to contribute to the war. I think I may have to turn you in."
"No! Wait! My kids, they have no mother. I don't know why the crops aren't growing, but I swear it’s not my fault!" The Farm Pony's face grew with worry.
The unicorn smirked a little. "Well you should have thought of that before you...” The unicorn paused, looking around as a cheerful tune drifted up from down the road. “Is that whistling?"
Indeed, there was whistling, and it was growing closer.
*Whistling*
"♫Da dada Da, Da dada Da, Ut ceciderunt in a tenebris, sed iustus lecta mea sui et impulit pulverem post. Non sensu worying de futuri, iustus fac vivere vita per dolum. Forsitan mea Latinos malum, forte ut videtur triste, sed hodie esse dicere ... ♪" I stopped walking and singing when I came across two ponies; a unicorn with a bronze coat and golden mane, and a farm pony with a light brown coat and a black mane. They were both staring at me, the unicorn in irritation and the farm pony with confusion. "Er... Am I interrupting you, Mr...?"
"The name is Prosperous, and I was just about to bring this farmer in for failing to help with the war." Prosperous nodded towards the farmer.
"Oh, and what say you, Mr...?" I asked, tilting my head to the right as I did so.
"Just call me Patch. Not that it matters since I'm about to be brought in for something I have no control over," Patch said, lowering his head a bit. "My crops aren't growing right anymore and I'm one of the main producers for the armies."
"Really?" I couldn't help but smile. It was already obvious what was going on, but a little show never hurt now and again. I stretched out my forelegs, and then my hind legs, and proceeded to lift myself onto my front legs. After finding my balance I 'walked' over to Patch's farmland and found a cabbage that was withered. I quickly shifted my balance to my front right leg and used my left to draw a circle on the ground. From the circle, I grabbed a piece of dirt... and ate it.
"What are you doing!?" Prosperous asked, staring at me like I was something filthy.
"Poisoned. As I thought, only harmful to vegetation, useful for ruining crops, but it’s quite expensive. I can guess as to who poisoned it." I looked at Prosperous, who was now steaming, and I mean that quite literally; you could see his sweat vaporizing! "After all, the price for turning in a traitor is rather high nowadays. Why, I bet it would be enough to cover the cost of the poison! Of course one would have to be rich to begin with..."
"Enough!" Prosperous yelled, obviously annoyed by my implications. "Why, I oughta strike you down here and now! You're nothing but a filthy Mud-runner!"
"Ouch," I said, holding a hoof to my heart, "that stings, you know. How about a deal then? You'll leave Patchy over here alone, and take me instead." I stood there in the field, head cocked left, staring at the unicorn whose face now took on a look of surprise.
Then he grinned.
"Yes, a Mud-runner who poisoned one of the main food providers’ fields; that would earn me quite a bit more than just a farmer who refused crops... You've got a deal!"
I walked out of the field, stopping only for a second to look at the farmer and mouth 'You're welcome.' before smiling and trot-skipping next to the unicorn. "Shall we go my dear?"
"Be quiet and walk."
"Alright... ♫O quomodo manere si a frenum ego non reddere, sum fregit et vetus terra iustus vivit off sordium sed adhuc manere et dico fecit amicum hodie." This was going to be entertaining.
5 Years Later
Daughter: What does Mud-runner mean?
Oops, shouldn't have used that word.
Mother: Well, it is a harmful term that mean ponies use on the Earth ponies.
Lucky for me her mother had been very strict when it came to instilling morals, so she would never actually use the term, or so I hoped.
Mother: So would you like to continue?
5 Years Ago
"...And stop humming!"
"Well I would sing the rest of the song, but I forgot the words!" Maybe if I actually studied the song more I would have remembered more than the first two verses. "Look, we have at least one more day of walking before we reach the city and it's getting dark. I'll stop being so annoying if we can set up camp."
The unicorn in front of me finally stopped walking and just shook his head. "Fine, but you're going to set it up!"
I watched as he trotted away, muttering to himself about Mud-runners. After he found a spot where he could lie down, I looked around at the scenery to see what I could gather for us-- *growl*-- like food. We were currently travelling on a main road that connected three small villages to the main city, so the ground was fairly flat. The field to the East had a small pond in it, and to the West was the infamous Untamed Forest. As much as I hated to, I had to approach the forest; it was the only source of food that I could see. Shaking my head and summoning up any courage that I had, I started into the dark woods.
