Peace radiated from the trees. The shadows spoke of solitude – secrecy. I suspected it meant something different to most than it did to me; the occasional smell on the air, the noise of furtive movements in the green, did quicken my blood when I passed them by, but the more fleeting pleasures of life belonged to an era past. Leave the young to their youthful pursuits; I shook my head and moved on.

      Though it had drawn me to the Grove previously, curiosity had little influence on my second foray into the trees. The sensation of solitude (however false) pulled with far more strength. If I had grown reclusive in my old age, could I really be judged harshly for it? Things I had done to others – things done to me – wore heavy on my mind. And if the World’s Edge was a land for peace, what would they do to achieve their goal? What would become of them if harder creatures wearied of their pursuit? I was settled – however roughly – among their ranks, but was I a part of them? A lowly creature, stripped of dignity, never possessing grace… The Grove reminded me of a happier past, a history in which I had been welcome and respected (a history I tore apart).

      But the trees were not the trees of my old home, and my titles had ground to dust along with that place. Rangy and unkempt, I lurched abruptly from the shelter of the boughs, hooves sighing over the pond’s thin bank. My reflection confronted me, gaunt and uneven: staring. With a snort, I turned away. Movement drew my attention, somewhere ahead: another mare, this one winged. My ears pricked up. I had not been well acquainted with a pegasus in so long… The only such individual I might have considered well-known was lost years ago, a bright spirit disintegrating out of memory.

      Perhaps this mare was like that one. Perhaps not; I did not particularly care, in the moment. I had grown strong enough to weary of exploring and eating, and I wondered again about the nature of things unlike myself, such as things that flew. She stood poised near the water, light – elegant, perhaps, in the curve of one forelimb over the blue-glass. I did not wish to disturb, particularly – if she meant to bathe, I might learn if pegasi proved more buoyant than other creatures. And if she did not… well, I lingered in plain sight, if she only wished to turn around.