Stout silver legs scaled their way down rocky cliffs. They did not catch on the jagged rocks that lay scattered all through out the trail, instead each moonlit pillar flowed seamlessly over the uneven steps. The vessel that they carried had climbed down this staircase only once before, yet she felt that she knew where each dip or bump grew, like she had made countless journeys to the rhythmic waves below. If that had indeed been true, however, maybe the young mare would have noticed the three pulsating orbs before her hooves had met the sand.

Raising her striped head to switch her gaze from the ground to the shoreline, Sulwyn stopped in her tracks at the sight of the moonlit beach, and the first orb that hovered a good few feet over head. The shy mare cautiously drew closer to the sand directly below the fiery substance, craning her neck skyward to take a closer look. From what she could make out, the ball of light resembled a miniature version of the sun, but as far as the silver mare knew, the sun only came out during the day. Had this source of light been put here by the God of Fire? Was it a sign for the sun-branded mare; would it unlock the secrets behind her own mystifying orbs? Remembering that she did indeed have her own fiery essences of energy -- or, in Sulwyn's case, essences that stole energy -- the grulla tentatively called one into being.

The sphere that she had conjured started out at the size of a large nut, gradually swelling until it almost resembled a flaming apple. The eerie purple flames surrounding the midnight colored sphere made no sound at all as they burned, which was still disconcerting for the fae. She was used to hearing the roar and crackle of natural fire, not the ominous glow and absence of sound that came from this unknown substance. Suddenly not wanting to see it up close any longer, Sulwyn tossed it upwards to float beside its heavenly brother, panting slightly from the effort of willing it there. She had only recently discovered that the balls of matter existed and, since finding that out, the fae had had no interest in learning how to master them. It was best to leave the flaming things alone, in her opinion.

Staring at the twin flames, the petite mare concluded that they were in fact the same size, and they both looked to be made up of the same substances. Although she had no idea how either one came into being, she knew that she could only control her own essence of magic and not the foreign copy of it, so she smothered the purple sphere with her will.

The fae left the orb where it hung in the obsidian sky, fixing her golden eyes on the forms of other gathering equines. Relief flooded her body as she sped off to join the lonesome figures, praying to the Gods that these creatures might have an answer as to why the miniature sun was just floating there. The distant glow of a second flame appeared in the outskirts of her vision, and Sulwyn turned her lithe head to look at it as she ran. This time, the foreign object hung above the lapping waves of the ocean-- too far out for the mustang to consider swimming to, and too high above the black sea for her to reach it even if she did. A darker speck in the sky alerted her of a pegasus that was studying the sphere himself, so she didn't bother thinking too much about it. Is my God playing on tricks on me? the mare mused, her hooves still gently pounding at the moonlit sand.

It was in the moments before she met with the striped unicorn and her companions that a soft, almost-familiar voice rang in her ears.

'You know I need you, we all do.
You are life, but you kill too.
Little by little, you can torture the mind.
We can leave our mother, but not you behind.
A simple formula, your creation.
With moonlight, lovers' fascination.'

All of Sulwyn's senses suddenly just stopped. Her heart froze; her naves stopped taking in the salty air; her agile legs slammed into the ground; the sound of the lapping waves no longer reached her ears. The mare felt as if she had been kicked in the head, and the whole world had stopped moving. The only thought that had made it through to her was, What was that just now? The edges of her vision started to go black and, remembering to breathe, Sulwyn stumbled forward, the world slowly beginning to turn again. The wind whipped at her silver tresses as she turned her face to stare at the flames once more, her shock now turning to wonder. How can this be? Tuning her fine ears into the low murmurs and speculations that came from the small group of horses, the mustang decided to join the conversation.

"It has to be a sign. Can you feel their energy? Look, the light given off by them pulses with something." Pulling her petite form closer to where a third orb lay in the sand, nestled within a blanket of broad leaves and thick vines, the mare became aware of a slight tingling sensation. It could only be felt on the parts of her body that were lit up by the glow of the entangled orb, convincing the sharp-minded fae that her suggestion was viable, if not true. Puzzling over the purpose of such a celestial object, Sulwyn thought back to what the voices had spoken of.

You know I need you, we all do. The first line of the 'riddle', as she had come to call it, had no significant meaning to the grulla. It was the verse that followed that, however, that did strike her as fairly personal.

You are life, and you kill too. How did the little glowing suns know of her unnatural ability to summon life-draining orbs? She wasn't sure that they could kill anything, but she was more than convinced that they caused extreme harm to whoever touched them, and might be capable of such a violent act if used in excess. Personal experience with touching one of the floating balls out of curiosity had informed the mare of such things.

Maybe if my lights take energy, these ones give it? It wasn't necessarily an improbable thought -- any guess at all would certainly be fitting of their current situation -- but it was still just a thought, and it had not been proven. But that didn't mean that it couldn't be. There's no harm in trying, now is there?
"I have an idea, but I'd prefer if someone else tried their own idea first."

{Got a little carried away, sorry >.<}