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This land captured the mare. It was as if the murky ground had trapped her soul in its grisly hands, refusing to let her leave its gruesomely beautiful horizon. The shadowed screams that lurked below the undertones of the wind lulled the mare into a calm. Oh how she loved the death that permeated this place. In truth this land resembled what the mare believed her soul would look like. Old and worn. Broken trees growing from the ground. The ground so murky and forlorn that one could easily get stuck in its snares. It was the perfect resemblance, and it captivated Epona, made her long to spend hours upon hours in the magical place. And so she did. Her day had been spent surveying the land, exploring much like a young filly would. The day had worn on over her proud head; the sun’s light succumbing to glorious night. The small pathway that had once provided Epona with comfortable steps was now sunken below the muddy water, but the mare did not truly mind this. The girl liked the challenge of trudging along the murk, it gave her muscles a bitter burn; one that the mare reveled in. Along this destitute ground lay the littering bodies of equines that were too weak to survive. The beast stepped over what seemed like hundreds of broken bodies, all fitting together like a devilish puzzle. This land was not prejudice; it took one breed just as easy as the rest. Here laid the worn wing of a Pegasus, their feathers becoming tangled and torn apart by the roots of trees, the wings cracked into unimaginable positions. Next the mare gracefully lurched over the bloated body of a unicorn. His eyes had sunken into none existence. His horn was torn from his body, floating in the murk only a few inches away from his now raw forehead. Then came a normal equine, one without the appendages of a horn or wings. This beast’s two front legs snapped in opposite directions, his maw still curled up in a scream. Epona allowed a wicked laughter to bubble from her frame. These poor beasts. All gone before what they believed to be their time. All believing that they were strong enough to survive the permeating hand of Death that covered this land. But Death held his secrets, never allowed one to know when their time was up. The proud must have been his favorite targets. They believed that nothing could defeat them, and so death had the pleasure of ripping such a notion from their thoughts; just before he ripped their lives from their souls. The girl’s laughter seemed to echo over the empty world, jumping from one tree to the next.
Then something caught the mare’s attention. There was an ebony form emerging from the bog before her. It was easily known as real, no dead thing that Epona had ever come across stood straight up and moved their long legs. As Epona trudged forward to the creature she found it to be a mare, one who seemed younger than the beast. Though she was young her height caught up to Epona, a trait that very rarely fell upon any equine. Upon the beast’s proud head twirled a long horn. Upon her shoulders hung two beautifully painted wings. The youngster’s eyes were painted a deep coal. The mare smiled to herself, there was something about this beast. A haunted appearance that brought the younger mare to Epona’s attention, that coupled with the mare’s love of any creature that fit the definition of young caused the mare to smile slightly towards the unknown creature. But as Epona’s hooves landed only a few feet away from the mare a sound caught her attention. Close to the now grouped mares stood a stallion with a grizzly burn placed upon his face. Anger boiled obviously under his façade, an aggression that Epona did not understand but would in no way tolerate. The stallion spit words towards the ebony mare, about how she was a freak; a mutant. At these names Epona dipped her ears back to her neck, a snarl ripping down her lips. She would not tolerate prejudice around herself. The mare had heard of the hatred between nations. How the Unicorns, Pegasus, and Equine all hated one another with a passion. Epona lived in a land that would only accept Unicorns. But that in no way meant she held any kind of hatred for the other breeds. Any type of equine was worthy of respect if they so deserved it, so far the ebony creature had done nothing to receive such vicious words. The only one worthy of speaking lowly of was the stallion. ”Tsk. Sir, one would do good to hold their tongue. Only a fool speaks ill of one he has no notion of.” Her words were icy cold, emotionless eyes looking down upon his smaller form. He was unworthy of her and the mare was not afraid to show it. Once the tiny speech was over Epona turned to the younger mare, an eyebrow raised gently. With a gentle movement the mare’s head dipped in a bow, a sign of respect the mare hardly ever gave away. ”My calling is Epona. I will apologize on behalf of this oafish brute. Stallions believe they can throw their words around without using what small brains they are granted. Do not hold his stupidity against his kind or the inhabitants here of Hellovia.”
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