Istu

Istu watched another mare approach her, but she said nothing. She only watched with mild suspicion. The mare was light, but not like the ghosts Istu ran wild with, neither was she as dark as the herd that she grew up in. No, this mare's colour was rich and soft, like the colour of the ground after rain, or like the bark on the trees around them. She was dark and warm, and around her face was a white ring, standing out from the rest of her coat like ice or diamonds. Her eyes were an empty expanse of white, and within them there seemed to be a hurricane of emotion and thoughts. She very beautiful, and her sweetened voice tugged at Istu's heart. Although she did not seem too eager to socialise with the gangly black mare.

"I'm Istu, nice to meet you," she introduced herself, smiling a little. Her eyes flashed with mischief and excitement, and she threw her head up a little before nodding respectfully at the strange dog-like creature. She'd never seen anything like it's strange, stout shape or shaggy white coat, but it was quite beautiful. "Is Helovia a kingdom? A herd?" she spoke again, this time sounding strangely thoughtful as she searched through her knowledge of the world. But the dark mare had never heard of Helovia.

Now that the expanse of forest around her had a name it seemed more alive than before. Figures of her imagination drifted through the trees; other horses walked silently, like ghosts, some alone and some in large herds. The trees and the earth around her carried stories of the past and the present and maybe even the future, and Istu lost herself in her mind as she watched the seasons change. The sun melted the ice, glittering gold on all it touched, and then there were flowers all around, their sweet smells on the warm breeze, and the world lost all it's colour except for the lush, dark green of the grass and the leaves. And then at last the world was aflame in red and yellow and orange, and the world went back to what it really is. Back to where Istu was standing with her company, who seemed weary and thoughtful, and her company's company who couldn't care less about the mare draped in black.

"It is very beautiful," Istu said, laughing as she continued to watch the seasons change in her mind's eye. And having a sudden bout of bravery and the urge to cheer the other mare up, Istu smiled kindly and searched for the right words.  "And so are you. Though, maybe you are sad for many days at a time. But you see, when you smile, the world falls in love,"  she said, her eyes shining with joy and perhaps hope for a better time to come.

"Speech"
OCC; My apologies for the late reply, I was away for a few days! 

Into the rose garden