Lorewalker

Spring had finally fallen over the Crystal Mountains and the ice and snow had begun to melt in rivulets cascading down to pool into Diamond Lake.

The air was crisp with the tinge of the cold atmosphere of the mountainous region but the Lord's Passage was finally clear and the human royalty would arrive within the hour according to the scouts.

The report was of a train as long as a mile made up of carts, blacksmiths, herders, knights, nobility, and the royal body itself. It was of course not unexpected for the humans to make such a show of their coming to Equestria but many had hopped for a small and quick peace treaty signing. There was much unrest in the south with this sudden truce and many had turned to violence to prevent it. This small army could easily be used as a pretext to instigate more infighting that the Horselords did not have time to deal with.

Coming of age at this time in history, some would have said that Lore was the luckiest centaur alive for he would be the first, after his father, to rule over his own Run in times of peace and mutual habitation with humans.
Lore, himself, thought himself unlucky in that view. He was just as pleased as his father about the end of a long war with the humans but he knew the fighting would not stop until their great-great-grandchildren came of age and their parents died along with the last bits of mistrust and hate.

He supposed it was better than to rule his Run, one who ran the lands near the Diamond Lake, during times of peace than of a war that few remembered why it had started in the first place.

“I see them!” Called out his nameless young brother as he pointed excitedly at the head of the approaching column at it turned inside the Lord's Pass.

“Don't point,” Chastised his sister Belle Bloom, “it's rude.”

The younger brother hunched his shoulders but his hoofs stamped at the ground excitedly.

“Let him enjoy it, Belle,” Lore said amiably, “he has never seen humans before.” That earned him a smile from his brother but he turned away quickly when he heard his father shouting.

“Call the other Horselords here,” Black Ice hollered to his guards, “it won't do for them to believe we think lightly of their coming here.”

The two centaur behind turned and cantered off quickly to find the other delegates whom represent Equestria on this day.

“I think they'll have enough issues with the princess not being here either way, father.” Lore whispered but his father gave no indication whether he heard.

Idiot. Lore thought to himself. He should have kept his mouth shut as he well knew this day was stressful enough without being reminded what had gone wrong before it even started.

The ruling princess of Equestria, Celestia, had no choice but to stay behind in the only city of Equestria, Canterlot. The princess had decided to keep the opposing Horselords busy at the palace and try and soothe them in case they had any notions of leading their Runs across the land and disturb the signing of the peace treaty.

Equestria is ruled by mares known as Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. They are the ultimate law and the mothers of the entire centaur race from times immemorable. Runs and flights themselves are mostly lead by solely stallions that are strong and hotblooded enough to protect those they lead from opposing Runs and Flights as well as humans.

A Run or Flight would cut itself a piece of Equestria and run through it endlessly as they fed off the lands living in peace and mostly in seclusion from the others but there are always those who wish to harm others and fighting was a frequent part of life in Equestria.

The princesses were goddesses of a sort their people and stayed out of most affairs that did not directly concern them but their love and justice had been felt by many and no one ever feared complete chaos overtaking Equestria.

The other Horselords began to arrive one by one with their coats smoothed down and their manes brushed to a shimmer. Some wore leather vests that clasped at the base of their necks, letting everyone see their great bulging biceps while some had adopted the custom of buttoned or clasped coats that officials wore in the human cities.

The women had adopted hairstyles, makeup, and large gems as part of their attires but rarely covering up the breasts or arms with cloth much to the contentment of every stallion.

Though, they themselves horselords, they all parted when two of the Great Lords of Equestria made their way to stand side by side with Black Ice.

First came the pegasi Sky Runner; a great bellowing male who had rallied the disorganized fleets of pegasus fliers when the last Great Lord, Thunder Flash, had perished while protecting the shores of Equestria from the human ship fleets over thirty years ago. His sudden death, with no heir, made the more influential members of his Run vie for power and ultimately caused the great Flight under Thunder's command to disband into small roving flights that assimilated any weaker Flight they could to strengthen their numbers.

Sky Runner, a simple rank and soldier at the time, had his Flight under siege by one of the roving Flights and when their Horselord died he was the one who rallied the others and fought the enemy back successfully. From then on, stories had been written and sung of his exploits as he and his men in turn assimilated all the roving Flights and became the next Great Horselord Pegasus; a spiritual heir of Thunder Flash.

Next came Wild Rose, the Great Horselord of the Unicorns. A tall white coated mare who, despite being a battle hardened soldier, had never lost her feminine beauty though her muscles were greatly defined on the her bare body.

Like all unicorns, Rose is magically trained and had been brought up by the greatest of teachers in her youth. Her powers have grown formidably and quickly so to attract the attention of the dearly departed Horselord Red Iris. Wild Rose became the elder's protege and groomed to be Iris' replacement when her time came to pass on the great Run amongst the stars.
Her powers are said to be formidable but few have ever seen them and her Horselordship is a fresh one giving many pause as to what kind of Horselord she will be.

“I heard they are riding horses to greet us.” Sky Runner mouth twisted. “Are they trying to provoke us?”

“No doubt they want to show that they are getting the better part of the deal.” Mused Wild Rose with a shrug.

“There is no need to take this as an affront,” Sighed Black Ice. “they come as humans come: on horseback.”

The horse was a sacred animal to the centaur and seeing one bound and ridden was a terrifying sight. Some humans had even tried saddling centaur and ride them but quickly learned every mare and stallion will break their backs by crushing their rider underneath them rather then be treated like an animal.

“I am King Logan of the Iceland,” A barrel chested man spoke from his white stallion, draped in the finest of soft leathers and satin and velvets money could buy. His cape was crimson trimmed in gold with the frozen heart of Iceland embroidered upon it. “This is Mary, my wife, and my two children Logan and Frederick.”

From their own white stallions, the young man gave a court nod to the Horselords assembled before them but Lore could see that they were nervous. They could not have been more than five and twenty each but their demeanor made it seem like neither had ever seen a centaur before.

“We thank you for inviting us to your lands on such amiable terms.” On a chestnut mare, the Queen smiled down at them, only a head taller than most centaur.

“This peace is greatly desired by the Princesses and every centaur alike, your highness.” Black Ice began. “Open battle between two people should never be allowed to last as long as ours had for such petty matters. How much have we both lost in all those years?”

“We have all paid dearly for our mistrust and hatred.” The queen's voice was warm and full of sincerity but the king's expression wasn't as sympathetic.

“My pardons,” Began Wild Rose. “We are the three Great Horselords of Equestria and each speak for their respective kind.” She gave a deep bow and continued once she straightened. The bow was more than necessary and showed just how unaccustomed centaur were to the human customs of bowing and speaking with etiquette. “I am Wild Rose, Great Horselord of the Unicorns. This here,” She gestured to her left with a wave of her hand, “is the Great Horselord of the Earth: Black Ice and next to him is the final Great Horselord Sky Runner of the Pegasi.”

“It's a pleasure.” Sky Runner squinted in confusion, obviously trying to remember how to properly behave before the human royals.

“And these princesses of yours?” The king asked, seemingly bored. Mary cleared her throat behind a gloved hand and the king took a deep breath. “Princess Celestia and Luna; we had hoped to meet them here to greet us.” His sudden warm tone made it clear to Lore just how much the queen influenced the king's actions. He doubted the king was for this peace as much as he proclaimed to be and now believed the queen was the strongest ally the centaur had against any opposing forces of the peace treaty.

“The Great Horselords speak for the princesses on this day.” Black Ice spread his hands. “The princesses had no choice but to remain at Canterlot and keep the peace as many demanded their attention to have the peace treaty explained to them.”

“It is a shame that some hold the prejudice and hate between our two people so close at heart that they cannot seize the opportunity for a peace so easily as we do today.” The queen replied just as the king opened his mouth to speak. Lore choked down a laugh of pure joy to see that the peace was in such good care on the human side. “And this smiling your man?”

“Ah, my pride and joy!” Black Ice thumped his chest with a fist. “This here is my son and one of our greatest historians, Lore. Along with my daughter Belle Bloom and my nameless young colt.”

“It's an honor.” He and Belle both said with a court bow but the nameless brother remained mute.

“You don't name your young?” The king, incredulously, spoke before he could hold it back.

Does he know nothing of us? Lore sighed inwardly and wondered how a man could command war without knowing the first thing about his foe. “We are given names when our own unique special talents are found which is when our Mark appears on our flanks.” Lore moved forward and showed them his side. “I am called Lore because, as my father said, history to me is the same breathing and my Mark is an open book.”

“I am called Belle Bloom for I am beautiful and every plant that I grow turns out stunning to behold.” She showed her flank too but with more grace than Lore had. “My Mark is a floral bouquet of twisting vines and colored petals.”

“We have so much to learn from one another.” Exclaimed the queen with mirth in her voice. “And I do say you certainly are a beauty, Lady Belle Bloom. I might be beautiful as well but I'm afraid my name is just Mary; nothing special about that.” She laughed. “I've heard that the skies here are always the color of liquid silver and your greenery is rusty orange like color and that your dirt is midnight black.”

“It is, your majesty.” Lore replied. “Humans and centaurs alike pass through the Lord's Pass just to see green grass or orange grass. I've seen it once and it was so strange. Your skies are blue and seemingly never ending while ours is like a plate of metal above our heads to keep us from falling out into the stars.”

“So much time wasted on hurting one another instead of being sharing our two amazing worlds.” She said sadly as she looked about at the unblemished silver sky above her.

“Well, let's not waste any more time and start for Canterlot.” Black Ice turned and the other Horselords flanked the royal procession as he lead them down the road.

They moved slowly so the carts and mules could keep up and the human royalty spent most of their time inside their lofty gilded caravans. The Great Horselords were too bulky to fit inside so they stayed near the windows where they could speak comfortably with the king and queen.

The noble entourage kept mostly to themselves, easily unnerved by the harsh voices of the centaur and their imposing statures but many of the knights took up to sparring matches and inviting the stallions for hunts and gambling which made everyone forget that only a few short weeks ago they had been knee deep in each others blood.

There were of course a few arguments and some of it came to blows but the Horselords wasted no time in breaking these up. They knew better than to allow any negativity rise up along the followers or the entire peace could dissolve then and there especially if some group decided to no longer listen to their king or their horselord.

It was on the third day that Belle Bloom woke Lore from his sleep under a willow tree he had spotted not too far from the column.

“Have you seen our brother?” She asked as she poked her fingers between the drooping leaves to scan for him.

“Not since the Lord's Pass.” Lore straightened himself and rubbed the sleep from his face. “Are you alright? Your mane is all disheveled.” He approached her and ran his fingers through her mane and tried straightening it out. The green strands parted easily and he plucked a few dried flowers from her lower back where she kept her mane short.

“I'm worried.” She admitted. “It's not unlike him to runoff or to find himself some other colts to play with but I've been asking around and no one's seen him.”

“There's so much going on that I'm sure no one paid any special attention to another young colt running about. He's probably somewhere down the line; you saw how uncomfortable he was in front of the royalty.”

“Did you see how uncomfortable Sky Runner?” She let out a soft giggle. “But honestly, I'd feel much better if I knew he was alright.”

“Well, we are getting rather close the Everfree forest, I suppose.” Lore made his way out from under the canopy of branches and looked toward the dark and gloomy forest. Even in the brightest of days, there was a rolling fog that drifted out in long tendrils before retreating back into the darkness of the leaves and pine needles. “The others who brought their young would most likely look for them to keep them firmly at their side. If we take a look, I bet we'll find him parting with some friends.”

“I hope you're right.” Belle said nervously as they made their way to the front of the column.
They spent most of the morning move down the column and stopping to ask every young filly and colt if they've seen their brother and asked the parents if they've seen him as well.

Their search was fruitless by the time the white sun reached its peak and started his slow descent down across the sky.
“We could go lower, where all the camps and herders are. Maybe he's met some of their young and has been playing with them?” Lore scratched the hair on his back as gazed around himself for any sign of the young colt.

He had not been worried at first, certain they would find him safe and sound but now he felt as if his sister had been right.

“Lore,” She sighed. “he's far too timid to be around the humans I think but I suppose he'll be in the last place we look.” She smiled to assure herself but could not summon the hope to believe in it.

“Excuse me,” A small voice came from Lore's flank and he saw a young colt that he had talked to earlier. “you haven't found your brother, have you?”

“No.” Lore shook his head. “Did you remember something?”

“I didn't say anything in front of my parents because I didn't want to get in trouble.” He said nervously.

“Don't worry.” Belle lowered herself to look straight at the colt's eyes. “We won't tell if you tell us.”

“Okay, I guess.” He looked behind him to make sure no one was listening. “He said he had bad dreams about the Everfree forest and I think I saw him go inside this morning.”

“You think?” Lore asked, suddenly alarmed.

“It was just a shadow, I don't know.” The boy fretted at Lore's tone. “It was from faraway and something was moving really fast like if it was running and went straight inside. It could have been an animal I suppose but...”

“No,” Lore sighed. “You saw right. Why else would he be missing and no one else?” He looked back at the young colt. “You did the right thing, little colt.” He gave him an affection shake on the shoulder. “Now, go back to your parents and we won't tell them like we promised.”

Nodding his head quickly, the young colt darted away back up the column.

“Maybe it was just a hunter from the human camp thinking to find himself breakfast?” Belle added with a reassuring smile but it quickly withered when she saw Lore's face. “I'm just thinking wishfully, aren't I?”

“Hopefully, you're right.” He placed his hands on her shoulders and squeezed gently. “Let's go see if we find any tracks before we tell father and then he'll go find him with some of his other lords.”

“Shouldn't we just tell him now?” She was scared to approach the forest and that was plain to see.

“No, that would only cause a commotion if we're wrong and father needs to remain with the royal family. Let's just go have a look, alright?”

“Okay, but just a quick look on the outside.” She stamped her hooves as she braced herself and followed Lore back toward the trees so they could approach the forest without raising any suspicion from the others.

At full gallop, it took them only minutes to move across the field as they slid from the shadows of trees and rocks to hide themselves from wandering eyes.

The forest was even more imposing up close with its tall black trunks and soaring red and orange leaves that blotted out the sun to cast all sorts of shadows and strange sights in the dark gloom.

Lore himself had never ventured so close and he knew better than most was the forest was and the stories that were told of it. It is not true that no one ever made it out but most had suffered horrific sights and had stated to have been watched and followed by things they could not identify.

Some had said they had been lost for months despite the forest being rather small when compared to the wild lands to the south east where there were no Runs to cultivate or log the land.

“I don't see anything.” Belle Bloom moved about with her head low as she inspected for hoof prints.

“Those,” Lore pointed to prints that were spaced out as if a centaur had run straight in. “they look fresh and, if I'm not wrong, are the right size.”

“Sweet silver skies...” She gasped. “Let's go tell father.”

“Yes let's g-” A shriek filled the air. “What was that?” Lore turned his head toward the sound and found himself peering through the fog of the forest.

“That sounded like him, didn't it...” Belle's voice trailed as she watched horrified.

“Don't just stand there!” Lore urged and galloped ahead into the darkness without looking to see if Belle followed and soon found himself swallowed in the gray mists of the Everfree forest.