mesec</style>

I had gone against my very own words. I had wandered away from the safety of the Foothills, or at least what I hoped was safe, and I hadn't left a single trace of my departure behind.

I had to see if the threat was spreading, if it had moved closer to our home.

If one were to set out in search of me, it would be impossible for them to gather any sort of lead, for I'd taken to traveling by the shadows gifted from Mother at my birth. The shadows that consumed me, took me wherever I pleased, were still very much comforting to me despite the terror I'd experienced in the marsh just days ago. The creeping shadows there were of another type entirely, and I couldn't help but wonder if Mother was even aware of the happening. Did she care, or know if it was even worth paying attention to? Had it all been in my head? If it was something evil, was she prepared to defend the earth as she had obviously done during the endless night?

With a long exhale, I pushed the thought out of my head. As much as I wished for it, I knew Mother wouldn't leave her throne to answer me.

As the shadows gave way and revealed the light of day, I found myself standing in the thickest part of the southern forest. For a moment I kept stock still, nostrils flaring to take in the scents surrounding me and ears flickering every which way to assure that I wasn't in for a surprise. Here, my hair did not stand on end and the air was much lighter than it had been back in the marsh. Overall, the world seemed alright here; and I never thought I'd be so happy to hear the distant chirping of birds.

Unaware I had been holding my breath, I let it out slowly, pulling my wings from my sides briefly before settling them once more. "I'm alright," I reassured myself out loud, "I'm a shadow, after all; this is my job. I can do it. I have to." And with that, I picked up my feet and headed deeper into the forest, though it wasn't but a few minutes into my journey that a distantly familiar shape caught my gaze.

Stopping myself short, I looked upon the dark form of a mare from afar, my heart thrumming viciously within my chest. Could it really be...? There was no mistaking that this was Psyche, the very Lady of the Basin, but what was she doing so far away from the tundra herdland? My teeth ground together behind pursed lips, ears pinning at the memory of the hatred she'd harbored towards me. Oh, how I had tried to show her and the others that I wasn't so bad, that I only wanted to be a part of the family that was the Aurora Basin... But I had come to loathe her and every other fool who called the Basin home, who thought that a simple horn put them above the rest.

Horn...

Suddenly, realization had dawned on me. Narrowing my gaze, I strained my eyes to focus on the one that should have been protruding from the Lady's forehead, but try as I might, I saw no hint of the gnarled, branch-like horn. For a moment I wondered if I had made a mistaken, that this wasn't Psyche at all, but the four white stockings and myriad of feathers hanging from her black mane proved that I'd been right all along. I blinked slowly, wondering if this too was a trick, but dared myself to move closer just a second later.

"... Psyche?" I spoke up, voice softer than I previously would have liked it to be. I continued my approach until I stood but ten or so yards away, every weary of the Basin leader. My eyes ventured again to where her horn ought to be, again surprised to see that it was no more. "What... What are you doing out here?"

"talk talk talk"