Lost

Long ago, when our country wasn’t even a dream on the horizon, there was a young mare. They say she had a coat as pure and as beautiful as gold, and a mane of white precious silk in both texture and color. This mare lived in a small village on some country side log forgotten. Everyday she and the villagers would get up, work their fields, then go to the tavern to drink and sing and laugh before going to bed and doing it all over again. The mare loved her village, and the village loved her. Everyday she would get stallion after stallion from all over the country side asking for her hoof in marriage, and every time she would send them off on a quest to find some made up flower in some made up location because she knew that if she were to be wed, she would have to leave her village to go be with her husband.

One day A new stallion came to town bearing a bouquet larger than any she had seen, in fact it was larger than any she had received combined. The stallion gave the mass of flowers to her and asked her hoof in marriage. Though shocked she knew her routine, and knew it well. She looked over the bouquet with interest and then with a crestfallen look she spoke to the stallion.

“Such a beautiful bouquet, but I see no Rose here. If you want my hoof in marriage you must present me with a Rose!”

You see, back then Roses didn’t exist and she knew full well that she was making it up. Every Stallion that had ever approached her had agreed to the terms and simply left to look for the flower, eventually giving up as it was impossible to find. This Stallion was different though, he knew she was making it up, but still he asked her to describe the rose to him so that he might know it when he see it. The mare had been asked this before and knew already the description she would give.

“The rose is a beautiful red flower that sprouts from a vine of thorns, if you can find me one I promise to marry you” with a shake of hooves this new stallion smiled and agreed to the deal quite happily before leaving.

The first day after he left the Mare noticed that some of her friends from the village had gone missing. The second day, she noticed that even more had gone missing, and on the last day, she was alone. The Stallion walked back into the village on that third day with a new Bouquet. This one was one she had never seen before, but as he drew near her heart filled with dread at seeing what he was carrying. The Flowers were a deep red and the grew from long thorny vines. They were Roses, and there were just as many of them as there had been villagers in her village. She took the flowers and wept, while the stallion spoke.

“I have brought you your roses, and as agreed we are now you be wed, come my dear it isn’t all so bad”

The stallion before her transformed into a creature composed of many. Mismatched and terrifying Discord the god of chaos laughed and laughed taking the young mare from the village and leaving behind the Bouquet of Roses. The mare was never seen again, and the roses made by Discord’s magic grew into a patch and then a field. And the the village is now lost to time, we still have Roses.