There was a new darkness that seemed to have taken hold of the lands. Helovia was changing before our very eyes, the crippling ambiance enhanced by the suffocating winter. Something was happening, something ominous was stretching it’s shadowed arms to pluck the weak from the earth and strangle the mighty. No one was able to predict what was happening, nor was anyone aware of what was happening or coming. But I wanted to find out. My arrival to Helovia was not that long ago, but to ensure my survival as well as the desire to find my pet and take hold of my own ruling, I had to solve this puzzle. Sure, I may act as though it was to assist my ‘Lord’ and ‘Lady’ as well as the entirety of the Basin, but the truth was that I only cared about myself in all of this.

So in my attempts to learn more about the happenings of Helovia, I set off to explore lands I had never come across before. Aimlessly I wandered through the snow, thankful that the frozen particles had all settled upon the earth. The light of the moon and stars beckoned me forward and lit my way, and soon I found myself walking along a partially frozen brook. The motion of the water would break away chunks of ice that managed to form along the shallows, the icy tendrils rooting their way into the bank. I’m not sure how long I followed the water, but it wasn’t too long before my path was blocked by a strange structure.

My muzzle lifted to the sky as I looked up at the intricate rooftop, studying the rainbow of colors that were locked into the ironwork. Never before had I seen such a structure. The old stone was weather worn, but it appeared as though the building could stand the tests of time. As my gaze lowered down the building, I noted the drapery that was hanging within. My curiosity grew as I slowly approached, wondering what the curtains could possibly be hiding. But as I stepped closer, a feminine voice shouted from within and caused me to stop in my tracks. Auds pricked forward as whoever it was began to announce a rather pompous introduction to seemingly no one. Had I been noticed? Certainly not, I hadn’t said a word and she acted as though she was answering someone.

Just as I decided to poke my head in and see what the nonsense was about, a tiny little mare leaped out from between the curtains into the snow. This weak little flame had the audacity to claim herself as a Goddess? Even worse, an Emporer? As much as I wanted to laugh, I decided it best to wait a moment, pursing my lips to keep any chuckles choked down in my throat. Dark orbs studied her figure, instantly noting that she was without a horn or wings. Finally, I had found another equine! Granted, my instant judgment of her was that she was cursed with Napoleon complex. Standing nearly three hands beneath me, I had little to worry about her. It was like a wolf facing a Chihuahua. Oh but what a figure this mare had, coated with flames dusted in ice. The utmost primal urges within be began to ignite by her fire, and a smirk began to pull at my lips as fantasies began to play in my mind.

How long at it been since I had felt the gentle touch of a vixen? Whether it was a freely given brush granting me permission, or the feel of her neck against my cheek as she broke down into submission beneath me. This tiny little mare was easy pickings, and I was a greedy bastard who had been patient for far too long in the Basin. As the sadistic thoughts began to worm their way through my mind, I lifted my crown with the pride I had carried since ruling over the Pit. The moonlight reflected a dangerous glint in my eyes while a deep, rumbling chuckled emerged from my lips. “Pompeii, is it? Can’t say I have ever heard of you before little pet.” Slowly I took another step forward, positioning myself so the vixen was in between the myself and the building. I’ve waited too long. Playing nice and behaving was far too taxing on a stallion such as myself, and I had made up my mind that I would be damned if I would let this little fire slip away from me.

@[Pompeii]