The shadows danced a soothing minuet against the cool walls near the cave's opening; the soft beams of natural light and the dispersed glow from the lava buried beyond twirled each other about with unexpected grace. This darkness was twisted in the warm tones of fire and sun. It was black, but it was black with a golden quality to it that seemed somehow misplaced in the subterranean world that cried out for cool tones. Misplaced as this reddish darkness may have been, it certainly provided exceptional camouflage for a rusty dark bay mare. And so Moniz hid.

She would not have called it hiding, of course. It was a reconnaissance mission - she was gathering vital intelligence on the creatures whose upturned world she had happened upon. Biding her time, observing the dynamics, scouting out potential weakness, finding the souls particularly vulnerable to the unique brand of torment she loved to inflict…

But really, she was hiding. To hide (verb) - to conceal from view or discovery.

The ruckus of displaced rocks drew her attention. With idle curiosity, she flicked her small ears towards the shaft of light that marked the entrance to the underground network of caves. A blur of white and purple horseflesh careened its way down into the hole - a mighty contrast to the careful creatures she'd observed picking their way along the path with surefooted ease as they went about their business with a hushed and all-important air. At last the body crumpled in a heap on the cave floor with a heavy thud. As soon as it hit the ground, the unnaturally colorful legs began to flail wildly as he recklessly regained his purchase on the slick stone and shot back upright. Even if she had wanted to continue to conceal herself and spare the boy a shred of dignity, she would not have been able to hold back her bemused snort. Besides, where was the fun in that?

Before she could step out of the darkness and reveal herself in a shower of jeers and mockery, the graceless animal had lowered his head and picked up some shiny object between his teeth. Moniz cocked her head, now intrigued. Was there something edible by the entry that she had somehow not known about? How could she have missed that?

No, she reassured herself as the trinket was dropped back to the floor. Thank goodness. She had always prided herself on her ability to sniff out food before anyone else could. She thought herself a master of all things edible, and a transgression such as that would have been terribly damaging to her self-image. Shaking off her short-lived concerns, she scoffed and called out loudly from her hiding place.

“Bravo! Six out of ten.”

Moniz revealed herself with a characteristic smirk, approaching the stranger fearlessly. Her heavy hooves struck the rock floor with resounding clops, a far more substantial noise than a body as small as hers should have been expected to make. In closer earshot, she snarled quietly, “You might have done better, but there wasn’t enough blood. Don’t worry. You can try again.” She paused with mock thoughtfulness before adding contemplatively, “I can give you a push. That may help.”

It was only then that Moniz noticed the purple protrusion coming out of the horse’s forehead. She had been so caught up in her own clever teasing that she hadn’t paused to fully take in the unicorn. As her eyes finally probed the length of his body, she hesitated on his odd feline tail before returning her stare to the spike. “What, did you piss someone off so much they had to stab your face?” She did her best to sound uninterested, but the undercurrent of instinctive curiosity could not be totally quashed. She had never seen anything quite like it. Him?

Whatever.