A P O L L O

And how can you say that your truth is better than ours?
Shoulder to shoulder, now brother, we carry no arms

Terror caused his frame to tremble as he stepped forward, his hooves sinking almost frightfully into the sand beneath him. The granules gave way easily beneath his bulk, shifting and sinking downwards... The stallion's breath hitched, eyes nearly bugging from his skull, and for a moment he was completely stationary. Nostrils flared wide and wild, honey-brown orbs staring forward without seeing... Terror washed through him like the taste of a bitter poultice, memories plaguing his mind and robbing him of the 'then and there'.

"Run! Get to shore!" Water sloshing, waves crashing, so cold and numbing... Wolves barking, teeth gnashing, poisonous clouds enveloping them as the tendrils the size of two or three horses in the ocean thrashed back and forth in the ocean like headless worms....

Panic. All consuming panic. And a hint of rage. "Let her go!"

Horrors had happened here. This place... This cursed, terrible place. Why had he come back here?! What had drawn him to this damned part of Helovia?!

Over his panic, hidden from his frantic mind, the waves crashed peacefully against the shore. Where the sound might bring comfort to one, to Apollo, it brought nothing but horror. He remembered the terror he had felt on what was supposed to have been a calm, collected day. The impromptu play-date that he and Phaedra had scheduled, all those seasons ago... Back when Apollo knew that the earthy-toned Pegasus had still liked him.

Ever since foal-hood, Apollo had always had a profound fear of the water. The thought of drowning, of being pulled beneath the water as the air was sucked out of his lungs, imagining the horrors that lurked beneath the placid waves... It was terrifying. Bloody terrifying, and something that he expected no one else to understand. His fears had only been sanctioned by the arrival of that damned horror show, that monster from the deep. Seasons had passed, and yet... It was something that he could not forget, or let go.

A breeze passed him by, caressing his face and toying with the strands of his mane and tail. It was still chilly, but... Perhaps that was from his fear. A sigh escaped the stallion from his stationary position upon the sand, his hooves covered by the pale granules, and he showed no signs of moving any time soon. His muscles were tensed and bunched as if ready to turn and flee, and Apollo had to suck in many a deep breaths before he could even begin to relax. This place... This terrible place...

"I should leave," he murmured to no one but the heartless waves, "I should go. This place is not for me." Subconsciously he was nodding, the handsome form of his head bobbing slightly up and down, his eyes distant and away. It was clear, simply by looking at him, that the overo was not all there. Fear had robbed him of his mind as he stood along the beach, the unforgiving expanse of the ocean at his head.

It was as he was turning to seek the safety of inner land, his muscles finally unlocking themselves, that he spotted a figure slumped in the sands, closer to the churning waves. Apollo paused, his breath hitching once more, but from a completely different reason. Eyes quinting, he could barely make out the form of the mare who had decided that the beach was a 'lovely' place for a nap, and then realized it was Antheia.

Apollo recalled their last visit clearly, and gave a snort. The kind and caring medic in him said to go to her, to make sure that she was well... But Apollo the Merciful, the Chief, wanted to leaver her be. She had picked her own path, condemning him for his... And yet the concern for an old friend won out. With a harsh sigh and a roll of his eyes, Apollo stepped forward through the cursed sand, yet didn't venture any closer than two or three paces. He would simply make sure she was well, and then go home. Yes, that was a good idea.

He was still a ways from Antheia, but he stretched his neck out and spoke, calling out her name. All the while his honey-brown eyes glared at the churning waves of the ocean in accusation.

"Antheia? You might want to find somewhere else to rest your head... Sleep here and the monsters of the sea will have you as lovely snack."