Innocence and youth go hand-in-hand, they say, but she has never believed it. Perhaps it is because her youth, her innocence, was marred by the maniacal tyranny of her father, stolen by his preaching of superiority. She spent her youth striving to be everything that he wanted her to be: an excellent fighter, a haughty princess, a superior figure, someone that he could hand down his high-class ideals to. She was of a plain figure, a disappointment to him, to be sure. Her siblings shared his mark in the form of blood-red manes, markings, and the like. She had never had that connection, and so she had been forced to gain his affections - attention? - in more creative ways than to simply look the part. His attention, she garnered, gaining at least approval of her hatred, if not her person; but she had never gained his love.

Was that where her problems had started? So early in her youth? Perhaps. And had she passed the feeling on to her own child? Absolutely. Why else would Sno have become the rather spoiled, bratty princess who believed that the world revolved around her? Her word was law (although perhaps only her slave acknowledged it), and she was allowed to do as she damn well pleased. She was so like her father in looks - for this, the shadow-mare had always been secretly grateful - but her personality was a creation of her mother's. She was probably just a bad parent, in retrospect, but then, why should she have had a child, anyway? To wrap the FrostHeart around her little finger, to ensure his adoration for her continued? And then she had run...

The jackal had returned from her impromptu visit to the Throat, and was now taking stock of the changes that had been made in her absence. She was proud of her General and the Time Mender for their leadership, prouder still that she could call them hers. They had done well, and she appreciated their efforts, though perhaps not in so many words. Her brethren were safe, thought considerably less secretive than she would have liked. But what was she to do? The smell of unicorns would have caught someone's attention sooner or later, so what did it matter if the other herds learned of their existence?

A noise caught her attention; right lobe flicked, pinpointing the source. Pistons adjusted accordingly, carrying her forth between a few trees and into a meadow. Before her, an oddly-marked filly was darting around, scaring the inhabitants of the Basin that were not quite used to the presence of unicorns yet. The shadow-mare watched silently, her expression unreadable. She would probably just corrupt the youngling if she approached, steal away her childhood as her own had been stolen... but she was not her father, nor was he here, so she trotted into the clearing, intent on introducing herself. Besides, the more that liked her, foal or grown, the better lead she would be, right? "Hello, little dove." Her vocals, though a bit too sweet, were gentle, the flicka's light-hearted escapades striking a chord in her memory. "My name is Lady Psyche, the leader of Aurora Basin. What is your name?"

[W/C | ---]

Walk walk walk.
"Talk talk talk."
Think think think.

The filly's motions were comical, even to the Dark Empress of the Basin. Had she held Sno too close, controlled her too tightly, to have seen this stage of her development? Or had she simply missed it, preoccupied with other things? He her daughter been so carefree once? Had the jackal molded her into the creature she was today? She was immensely proud of her daughter, it was true; and so if it was she that had contributed to the ice princess's attitude, she would claim it proudly. Even at this age, Sno had an arrogance about her that spoke of her origins, a sureness that she would not be harmed. Perhaps it was because she had grown, briefly, amongst friends and family, all of whom would protect her; or perhaps it was because she had never truly lost her mother. In any case, the shadow-mare was surprised slightly by the little flicka's wariness.

She took a moment to collect her thoughts around the filly's words, to place the names that she had mentioned and align them with the faces that she knew. Sinny. That would be the scholar, a newcomer, and a strange one, but perhaps useful to her. To them. But that was a consideration for another time. "Very much like a queen, my dear, though I a more commonly referred to as an empress." She stepped forward a few steps, slowly, so as not to startle the youngling, lowering her cranium so that she was at eye level. "Your mother was very right about strangers, darling. There are many strangers that would harm you, but you are safe here. And I cannot be a stranger, when I am charged with your, and the rest of the herd's, protection." She offered a smile.

The foal was full of questions, and she inquired as to the Empress's trinkets, a question that allowed for the corruption of her young soul. Of course, she would tell the truth - with a twist. "Those strangers that I mentioned, that would do you harm? They are pegasi and equines, and they are inferior to the likes of us," she explained. "Sometimes, they forget their place, and they are very bad. They bring great harm to little ones like yourself. I protect against them, and these feathers are memories from my battles against their evil."

The filly was falling for every word, and the Dark Empress was pleased with her work. Perhaps she had more mothering instinct than she had thought, to be able to gain the youngling's trust. But then again, perhaps the little striped one was just too trusting, something that Sno had never had a chance to be. "Neither you nor Sinny will be harmed," she promised, her voice a silken blanket wrapping around the flicka. "It is my job to protect you all, dearest, and I promise you that I take my job very seriously." She gazed calmly into the youngling's cool blue gaze, so open, so trusting, so innocent.

She had grown quite close to the filly now, and their conversation seemed all the more private for it. Like a mother and daughter. The shadow-mare found herself thrust into memory of she and Sno, though they had never had any such conversation. Sno had been born into racism. It was a part of her, never needing to be explained. So this question was new, and one that she was not entirely prepared for. But she quickly assimilated an answer. "Do you know of the gods, little dove?" she asked. "When they created the world, and those who resided in it, they made we unicorns into royalty. Equines, those without crowns, were always meant to serve our wishes. But they have lost their way," she added, adding a sad dip to her voice, as though she truly cared for the lost souls. "They will never find their place in the world unless we remind them."

Equines were easy to explain - the only difference between the higher race and the lower was the lack of a horn. Pegasi, however, were different, their mutilated bodies having no explanation available. "As for the pegasi... one of the gods played a joke once, creating a mutant equine with the wings of a bird. They did not expect such a mutant to live, much less to have children of its own, but it did. They are unnatural, you see, nor do they have a place in our world. They belong elsewhere, and the gods have left it to we unicorns, the true rulers of the land, to send them there." Little did the filly know, she was speaking of the afterlife - she would easily send them there with no qualms.

The Lady lowered her maw to gently touch the filly's, blowing a gentle breath into her nostrils, a greeting of affection, of sorts. The creation of a bond. "I would be honored to teach you, little one," Psyche told her solemnly, gracing the youngling with a smile. She would, of course, corrupt the creature, probably send her mind into the swirls of chaos that littered Sno's thoughts, probably break her beyond repair. But she would teach her, and that was what the little one had asked for. And perhaps she would even come to care for the striped flicka. She cared for Sno, after all, and was proud of her accomplishments. Farai would be a daughter to the Empress - but would that be a good thing?

[W/C | ---]

Walk walk walk.
"Talk talk talk."
Think think think.