I had a dream I stood beneath an orange sky.</style>
The palomino mare turned to him, offering him an apology. Whatever for, he couldn’t decipher. “No need to apologize, you weren’t being rude.” He said with a gentle tone. Fear wasn’t necessarily a sign of rudeness in his eyes. There could’ve been a perfectly good reason to be fearful of him, even if it wasn’t related to him himself.
Solace noticed the slight change of the mare’s demeanor. He sensed her tension came from the recent invasion, one that he hadn’t partaken in. That he looked upon as one large mistake, but it was a mistake the herd had learned from. There were no wrong feelings toward the mare or her reaction, Solace would’ve felt no different had he been upon the opposing side. Part of him feared that one day they would be, and they would be forced out of the land they called home. Vulnerability was a terrible thought, and Solace knew to his core that his family was vulnerable.
Africa spoke of the two herds desiring friendship. This came as quite the surprise to the stallion, especially the way she had reacted to the very mention of his homeland. Both of these mares were leaving him simply confused, that’s what often happened when he was in the presence of the opposite sex. Their estrogen filled minds were in a far off place that a male could never even get a peek at. Their moods could be delightful one moment, and dark and foul the next. Now, this didn’t cause him to believe they were less than him or anything. It just simply placed them under the label of, enigma. Mares were exquisite, both to be around and just aesthetically, but Solace believed he would never quite understand them.
Vanity asked for more knowledge about their herds, and Solace permitted Africa to answer first. All the information she spoke of he committed to memory, in case it should come in handy within the future. Once Africa fell silent, Solace waited several moments to allow the information about the Throat before he himself spoke about his own home.
“The Foothills is at the base of a high mountain range,” Solace began, “It lies in the northeast, and in its center is a vast waterfall. The weather is mild for the most part. As for our patron, we serve the Earth God, who is strong and kind.” He hadn’t encountered the god, but he had heard of him. Our leaders are Apollo the Merciful, who is an excellent healer and kind stallion. Then there is Phaedra the Opulent, who is an intelligent and friendly soul. We welcome everyone of every species, and provide a home to everyone from any walk in life. My home is a family, that shall remain loyal till the end.” The last words held the slightest bit more warmth and emotion to them than any other. It was obviously a truth the stallion believed whole-heartedly, and he had seen the loyalty in Apollo and Phaedra. As various other members that had been working slowly to revive what was dying.
Solace didn’t take offense to Africa’s uneasiness toward the Foothills, but he hoped at least someday she would let go of the past and see what it was now, not what it was then.
| | 
.svg/2000px-Google_Chrome_icon_(2011).svg.png){kind=icon}
