Partner RP
Keantha FWC 1,475
Andranis FWC 1,315

Many years ago now, before the great fire that swept through the lands changing Soquili forever, there was a herd that lived deep within the western swamplands, somewhere between the wild jungle and the mountain springs.

A herd of magic and might, where those of horn, wing, and find came together as one, but it wasn't always this way. No, once there was bloodshed and violence, hatred and jealousy, and prejudice against those different than their own kind. Join us now as we listen to the tale of how love from two different herds saved them all.

There was a tiny squeak followed by a louder whinny, as the slender body of Peach's tiny daughter bumbled through the clearing drawing chuckles from her father and older brother. The gangly little filly was not long from the basket, still all long legs and knocky knees. The tiny horn on her brow glowed brightly as did the stubby rocks along her back and patches of what might be scales or might be crystals on her legs and tail did the same.

"Mam," Kel called louder, "She's awake."

Blind though the young warrior was, it wasn't hard for him to follow the sounds of the little filly as she stumbled about, squeaking for her mam.

Lifting her head from what she'd been working on, Peach chuckled. "Aye, I see that." She turned, tail waving just a bit and her head and ankle winglets fluttering.

"Here, my wee lass, Mam is here." She went over, nuzzling her daughter before gently touching the tip of her own horn to the glowing crystals. "Such a spirited lass ya are." Around them, other members of the herd chuckled, and there was the plunk in the nearby waterways as the kelpies found some amusement as well.

She heard the fluttering of the wings of two of the kelpie siblings, just younger than Kel but just older than this tiny filly before they came to investigate. The pink one sniffed at the tiny filly, then said, "She's so little!" The blue sister nodded along with the first, mesmerized by somebody so tiny.

"She is, aye, not long from her basket." Peach offered the sisters a smile, then tucked her legs to lay down, nuzzling again at her daughter.

The filly in question squeaked again as she tried to figure out how to fold her legs to get down beside her mam before just flopping herself onto her mother's side and sliding down to snuggle close looking pleased with herself.

Bright emerald green eyes finally seemed to notice the kelpie sisters, causing her to squeak in alarm. Who was this?! They were like da but not like da! Strangers!!!

Kel chuckled again amused at the little one, "Don't be alarmed Winnie, tis only friends. The warring is long done."

Winnie blinked at her elder brother curiously, tipping her head to the side and nearly falling over. Only a quick nudge would have saved her (not that she noticed, her curious mind wanting to know what he meant.)

The blue sister, Keshira, let out a surprised sound as the filly flopped. Her wings flared for just a moment, then settled. She watched Winnie, then looked up at Kel, tilting her head. "Warring?"

Amorette, the other sister, reared slightly and flapped her own wings against Keshira. "For fish, I think! Or flowers."

The older mare chuckled, then nuzzled her daughter where she'd flopped. "Nae, twas a war between herds over the swamps. The magic folk and the water folk didn't get along in the early days, y'see." At the curious looks from the sisters, who both tucked down and curled their tails over each other, the mare wondered if it was story time now.

Given that Kel shifted over to settle in too, it was definitely story time.

"How was it you always used to start? Ah yes, I remember now." The young stallion teased, "A long long time ago, when the world was young..."

Peach laughed. "Oh, ya know the start, aye! Well..." Her head wings fluttered, a grin on her face. "As he said, a long time ago, when the world was younger, for always remember the world is older than some'a the mountains we look at now, the herd was not livin' where it lives now." She lifted her head and looked eastward, to some distant place. "Long ago, the herd lived far away from here. There were... Well, nobody's sure now, but some say they were nomadic, and others say driven from their old home. Regardless of why they were on the move, they were."

Wiggling some, Keshira asked, "What were they looking for?"

The mare smiled, head wings twitching. "A home."

Kel rumbled amused as he slowly made his way over, ears flicking this way and that as he let the sounds of his hooves guide him to his mother's side. He lowered his head to touch his nose to her rump so as to figure out where she and little Winnie were before the young stallion folded himself down beside them.

"In those days, few mixed outside their own. Oh perhaps those of the blessed kind might mix with those of the horn, but water and sky? Never, doubly so for those that ate flesh and those that did not. Never mind the hunters might only be hunters of fish or wild game. It was still seen as too dark for the purity of those with three wings and horn."

He chuckled faintly feeling soft little snuffles/sniffs as little Winnie scoots to scent him. Kel lowered his head to playfully nudge her making her squeal at him before continuing.

"So it was that those blessed of the wing and horn came into the swamps seeking to claim what they thought was unclaimed land."

Watching her son, Peach waited for him to settle, then chuckled as he spoke. "I wouldn't say they never mixed... But it was a touch less common in those days. It wasn't helped the herd got called witches everywhere they went, driven away from other herds for fear'a the magic and knowledge possessed. Twas in those days that, aye, the herd came to the swamp. They found no herd, at first, and set up camp on one'a the many islands around the area. But they soon enough found the swamps weren't empty."

The sisters gasped, looking at each other, then their tails. In unison, they turned back to Peach and Kel and said, "Kelpies!"

"Aye, there were kelpies!" She shifted just a bit, nuzzling Winnie, smiling a bit. "In those days, the kelpies were of pure water breeding. If they mixed with anythin', it was only the merfolk. They didn't take kindly to the landwalkers in their land and made their presence known. Nobody knows who attacked first, even now, all that's known is things quickly went, ah... Badly."

Kel huffed at her faintly, amusement evident in his tone, "I did say few mam." He nosed at the tiny filly where she had cuddled to his side.

"It was many years of bloodshed and violence on both sides. The kelpie defending what they saw as their lands while those of wing and horn fought against what they saw as savage beasts. Who knows how long the fighting might have gone on for if not for Ciaran and Pavati."

He was quiet for a moment as he gathered his thoughts before continuing, "Ciaran was the eldest son of the unicorn leader. Stories tell us he was a strong and capable warrior, undefeated in battle until he met her. Pavati was the youngest daughter of the kelpie queen and had argued long against what she saw as pointless violence. Determined to put a stop to the fighting, she had snuck away from the safety of her mother and sisters only to end up facing the fierce warrior prince. Ciaran was at once struck by her beauty, able to see the goodness and kindness in her heart. Stories will tell us that he fell in love with her that very night even though he knew they must part to return to their families."

Peach leaned over and nipped her son. "Cheeky."

Then she settled back in her spot, tail flicking some. "The way I heard the story from me nan, Ciaran at first only saw another kelpie, another... As he'd been taught, another monster, bloodthirsty and vicious. He was prepared to strike her down, charged in..." Her ears twitched, as did the corner of her mouth, as the sisters gasped. There were other gasps, as other foals of the herd had started to gather, foals of land, sea, and air. "But he stopped when he saw her. As Kel said, she was the most beautiful mare he'd ever seen. While she bore her teeth initially, he could see it twas only in reaction to bein' startled. 'Oh,' she declared, 'You're one of those land monsters!' Now obviously Ciaran took offense to that, and the start'a the relationship was rocky for it, but as they traded insults, circlin' each other, the insults started turnin' to compliments. With the insults turnin' to compliments, they soon realized... There weren't much difference between 'em, in the end, they were both still horses."

Keshira sighed, smiling. "So romantic..." Then she gasped. "But the herds!"

"Aye, the herds. They were still at war, the swamp water still ran red. So they had to start meetin' in secret, sneakin' off at every opportunity. But the thing with many secrets is, they come to light, and this one came to light on a scorchin' day where no clouds were in the sky but the sun sat high."

Kel huffed and swatted in her direction with his upper wing not even coming close to actually touching her, even though Peach well knew he could have. Instead, he played up his blindness by 'wildly' missing just to make little Winnie giggle.

"You've not a romantic bone in your body mam." Kel tutted shaking his head sadly before picking up his own version. "Now as she said, their secret became a secret no more when Ciaran and Pavati met, planning to finally flee so they could be together only Ciaran had been followed by his younger brother and cousin who had noticed his sneaking about. Sadly though, Pavati's eldest cousin had also noticed her baby cousin sneaking away and instead of Pavati meeting him it was Havyna who awaited them in the glade."

Little Winnie gasped her eyes wide, she only understood half of what was being said but she could recognize the tone.

Kel dipped his head to nuzzle her, "It's alright sweetling. For you see, just as I would protect you, Havyna wished to protect Pavati. I still wonder if Ciaran had been alone if the tragedy would have been avoided but it was too late. By the time he arrived at the glad where they had planned to meet, his brother and cousin were attacking Havyna. Ciaran knew his beloved loved her family dearly and he could not stand aside and watch her lose one so dear so he rushed in, trying to separate them but it was too late. Even as Ciaran shouldered Havyna aside, his own beloved brother collapsed never more to rise. In his wild grief, Ciaran slew Havyna. Realizing what he had done, he fled deep into the swamps unable to face the one he had given his heart to nor his family who he knew would blame him for his brother's death."

"I've plenty romantic bones in me body, lad, I romanced yer da." She played at leaning away from the wing, making the gathered foals giggle and laugh.

Amorette, trying not to flutter her wings, asked, "What happened? What about Pavati?"

"Well, she found out, but couldn't believe it. Her Ciaran wouldn't do such a thing! So she went looking for him. When she found him, she got his side of the story, about the ambush, how he'd tried to stop them. How he'd been too late." There was a wave of sadness on the faces of the gathered foals, as they felt the ache of the loss. "He begged her forgiveness, he'd not intended ta hurt anyone, grief took over in that moment."

Kel settled his wing back over little Winnie keeping the smallest of them warm as he took up the story again, "Knowing his heart and the story now in full, Pavati and Ciaran decided they could no longer wait to leave as it was obvious that their secret was no more. The young lovers began to make their way out of the swamps but before they reached the edge of the kelpie's claimed lands they heard the sounds of battle. A battle bigger than any that had come before. Unable to ignore the sounds, the two raced as one toward the battlefield, hearts pounding with one beat. For you see Ciaran's cousin had taken the word of his brother's death back to the family who called then for an end to the wicked kelpies who had 'stolen' both of their princes."

Nodding, Peach said, "And somehow, word had gotten back to Pavati's herd about her cousin's death. Eyes are everywhere in the swamp, after all. Oh, the battle was terrible and the lovers didn't know how they could stop them. Then they both spotted them - His mam and her mam, fighting fiercely with teeth that rend and a horn that stabs. They knew, then, how t' stop the fightin', at least for long enough to be heard."

Leaning in, a pawed foal asked, "How'd they stop the fighting?"

"By doin' the fool-hardy thing and chargin' in between the warrin' parents!"

At the collective gasps, Peach nodded. "Aye, and they did get bit and stabbed for their efforts, which made everybody stop and their parents reel back in shock. Why, the leader of the kelpies had torn asunder her own daughter's shoulder! And the leader'a the land ponies had injured her own son with her very horn! Bleeding, barely standin' from their injuries, the pair pleaded with their parents and the rest to stop, to see how alike they truly were. Were they not all, in the end, horses? In those days, they all had hooves, they all had a similar body shape, head shape, neck, they all breathed the same, bled the same, loved the same. They all had family they cared deeply about."

"The two proud queens, having both already lost so much to this senseless fighting could only stare in horror as they finally looked around at what they had wrought between them. It was with tears in her eyes that Cirana's mam lowered her horn to banish his wound only to have him refuse saying 'Let this heal and scar so that any who look upon me shall know what fools we had been.' 'But son, you will be disfigured!' Cirana looked to his beloved with a soft smile and said, 'What I look like does not matter to the one who loves me.' Like her beloved, Pavati too refused any more than for the bleeding to be stopped saying, 'Let this scar remain to show what blind hatred we may carry in our hearts.' The two queens knew then that their children truly were wiser than they were."

Kel smiled softly, "In the days to come, both the kelpie queen and the unicorn queen agreed to step down from leading their herds having only brought death and pain to their people. Ciaran and Pavati were put forth to guide their people in a new way, one of peace where no one was judged for their looks only what heartbeat in their chest."

As the story ended Kel ducked his head to check wee Winnie and he had to laugh as the filly was fast asleep, snoring conently against his side. "Seems we bored her mam!"

Many of the foals let out assorted pleased sounds at the story's end. Peach smiled, then leaned to nuzzle her sleeping daughter. "Don't think she was bored, I think she liked it. We might tell her again when she's older." Then she looked at the other gathered foals, smiling at them lovingly. "Always remember, sweetlings, though we look different, our hearts beat just the same. Now, of ya all go."

Getting up and stretching their wings out, Amorette and Keshira started back toward the water. The pink sister stopped, looking over at the mare and older colt, smiling. "" Then she turned and went after her sister, playfully nipping at her tail fins.