For a long time there was silence, and Apollo drowned in it. Not complete silence, for even though is mind was slow and sluggish, lazy and lame, the world around him continued to spin. The day continued to progress, and the trees continued to dance as the breeze brushed past them. Miniscule waves lapped at the shores of the grove, and bugs and butterflies flitted through the air like flying charms... But it was all lost to the monochromatic stallion, as he had shut his eyes against the beauty of the world.

'Apollo?'

A dream... It had to be a dream.

Yes, a dream... A beautiful dream where he belonged again. The stallion's muzzle dug further into the blades of grass that pillowed him, a soft breath of an exhale leaving his quivering nostrils and buffeting the strands of greenery. A wonderful dream with his dark mistress played in his half-conscious mind, of how they were together again, smitten and playing in the moonlit hills of the Heavenly Field, dancing and flirting like lovesick yearlings... What a wonderful, beautiful, heartbreaking dream, so real that he could hear her voice.

... And yet, he had never told her how he felt, because like a fool he had realized it too late.

'Apollo!'

The Merciful's name came from elegant lips, spoken in that lovely, smooth voice, and it was simple real-ness of it that caused the stallion's honey-brown orbs to snap open, wide and unseeing for the shortest of moments before they focused on the beautiful goddess standing in front of him. Apollo's breath hitched, his lungs stuttering, and his heart faltered... No. He didn't need religion, not now, not when he had finally found the dark goddess that for so long had eluded him. With her, he found salvation. With her, he found nirvana.

"... K... Ktulu?" He asked, head lifting, the crystalline form of his horn catching the last few rays of sunlight that filtered down through the thick canopy of treetops. Slowly, as though his body ached to simply do so, the overo pushed himself upwards and to his feet, his hooves finding trembling purchase in the grass. His neck outstretched, searching for her, yearning for her, as though to realize that this was real and not a dream, not a figment of his cruel imagination. "Is it... Is it really you?"

One hoof took a step closer, his neck stretching further, muzzle seeking her familiar scent and touch... And upon brushing his muzzle against hers, ever so faintly as though she may vanish at connection, his eyes slipped shut and overflowed with tears, heart aching in such a beautiful way that he couldn't hope to find the words to explain it. "Ktu... It's you. You're here, you're here... Oh Gods, you're here."

@[Ktulu]