| EVEN THE STARS THEY BURN, SOME EVEN FALL TO THE EARTH.
I still wasn’t sure what to make of this place. The Rift was strange in ways that I’d never thought to imagine. Near the Cliffs, I’d seen trees move. In the Isles, I’d seen fish jump from the sea in an attempt to hunt on land. That hadn’t ended well for the beast, I thought bitterly. In Helovia I didn’t think I possessed the stomach to kill. The Rift had quickly proven me wrong. This place seemed more primal than my birthplace. Hesitation could very well be your downfall here. Rectifying that with any sort of moral compass was going to take some adjusting to. And then there was Kaos.
Kaos was something else entirely. I found that I was unable to forget what he had done. Every time I closed my eyes I replayed the explosions of light that marked the combustion of an entire life, burning away to nothing in a shower of ash. I was willing to play the game, for the sake of my family. I was willing to simply watch. To abide. I’d play the part of sheep for the time being. But I’d never be able to erase the memory of what he’d done to Grandmother and the others that day. And I wouldn’t be a sheep forever.
I hadn’t been to this particular land of the Rift. Traveling with the twins had limited exploration to the lands nearer to the portal. But today I wanted to see just how far the coastline of the Rift stretched. This was as far as we got before Everly began to feel unwell. Almost as soon as my hooves found earth, Everly tucked her head under a wing and was lost to sleep. Ever since we’d come to this place she’d been prone to these sleeping spells - some without any warning at all. I frowned, but turned my attention to oversaturated land before me as a means of distraction. It was a welcome change from some of the more shadowy lands of the Rift, but I certainly felt out of place here. Though that seemed to be the story of my life now.
I was however, surprised, to see a familiar figure amongst the impossibly bright hues. I made my way towards the familiar shape. A memory from her childhood. “Nothing like this back at home. That’s for sure,” I murmured, in place of a greeting. “Certainly not in the Edge.”
But before I could offer more formal introductions, there was a rush of movement and a quite a loud crash and another filly, not too much older than I was, ended up in a pile on the ground. I took a half step closer to the girl and lowered my head. “Are you alright?” I asked, cocking my head slightly to the side as the filly was lost to a fit of giggles.
-- V E S P E R -- |
Solanis
