The moon shone high above the forest, casting its precious light like a gift above the treeline.
The Forbidden Forest was silent tonight.
Firenze padded through the forest, mindful of the trees which had already begun to sprout new leaves. The season of rebirth had brought with it, a deafening silence.
The owls which flew freely from this forest and the castle to which the humans inhabited had not entered these woods in months.
Even the creatures of the underbrush were silent. Perhaps still asleep, though the frost had long melted away. The sun's powerful heat would have risen them out of their slumber by now.
Yet, the forest was soundless.
The remaining creatures were all restless among the trees.
Firenze paused his trek through the forest as a harsh, mechanical smell touched his senses.
Another one had been lost.
Firenze followed the harsh smell like a beacon calling him to its final resting place. The stronger the scent, the more the dark magic in the air combined with it. The two twirled in the air, mixing under Firenze could no longer tell one from the other.
Firenze stepped into the circular clearing, spotting the white pelts surrounding the collapsed form.
He felt the unicorns grief as if it were his own.
A beautiful mare, a white pelt whimpered from where she lay silently next to the fallen creature. The golden pelt of the foal was caked in blood.
Its heart had long since stopped beating.
A brutal attack against one so young. The Unicorns allowed him passage but he felt their wary eyes on him, tense from losing one of their own.
The young foal's brown eyes lay open and motionless. He could still feel the foal's terror in the air, taste it's last moments in the smell of the dark magic which swirled around its body.
Firenze gazed up towards the skies, spotting the one star he had hoped to see.
"The star is Mirtyu shines brightly," He remarked, turning his sad eyes towards the foal's kin. The unicorn laid its head on the foal, snorting out its answer.
"It has taken your young home. It will be loved dearly," He conveyed his sadness for the foal's death. He knew it would bring no comfort to the loss she felt.
The unicorn brushed her head against her foal once more. Firenze was not surprised to see tears in their eyes.
A mother's grief was bitter.
When at last the Unicorn had paid her respects she rose and silently padded away.
Her gratitude left unspoken in the air.
The herd followed the grieving mother. Firenze watched silently, his eyes on the long-deceased foal as the silent tears their mother had shed shone brightly underneath the moonlight.
He watched with silent eyes as the foal's body began to crumble, folding inwardly as the magic of the unicorn's tears took control. He watched, paying his own respects to the young as it's golden pelt turned into black, decaying before his very eyes.
Until at last, the foal turned to ash, the remains left to blow away in the wind. A golden blossom remained where the foal's last breath had been taken. It's petals unfurled in the emptiness, the moon casting its blessing upon the soft petals.
It would bloom for this one eve before eventually it too would fade away into dust.
Such pure creatures were not meant to be slain in such cruelty.
The sound of soft padding on the forest floor alerted Firenze that he was not alone. The soft hoofs of his kin entered the clearing.
"It is the innocent who are always slain," Bane stated. Firenze needn't have turned to see the centaur, his coat, and mane as black as the night sky itself.
Firenze did not answer. He tore his eyes away from the blossom towards the sky.
"Mrtyu is not the only star that glows brightly tonight," Bane remarked, knowingly.
"Mars grows brighter every day, my friend," Firenze said calmly, looking at the red star.
"Do not get involved, Firenze," Bane stated harshly, "It is not our place."
Firenze prevented himself from flinching at the harsh stomp of his kin's hooves against the ground.
"The forest is silent, tonight," Firenze turned to face the older centaur. "The cursed creature is killing more. To slay such a pure creature. They are growing desperate."
"Do not ignore me," Bane huffed angrily, "You are not to interfere with the human's concerns."
"The creature roams the forest, not the castle," Firenze pointed out. "Can you not feel it affecting that which we swore to protect?"
"We are gazers. It is not our place to change the fate of the stars," Bane narrowed his dark eyes on the palomino centaur. "You know this as well as I do, blood foal."
Firenze stiffened at the title, turning to gaze at the stars once more. The moonlight cast the two centaurs in a soft white glow.
Firenze knew, of course, what the other centaur was referencing.
Firenze had been born underneath these trees long ago, the moon a bright velvet red. He knew every tree, every rock, every creature in these woods.
Yet, no one could forget the harsh blood moon that soaked the earth upon his birth.
"Do not interfere with the humans, Firenze," Bane glared at his kin. "Especially the one roaming the forest."
"To slay a unicorn comes at such a grievous cost. That creature is human no longer, Bane," Firenze retorted, calmly gazing at the dark centaur. "You know this as well as I."
Bane snorted, his hoofs pounding on the ground.
"I warn you, Firenze," Bane spat out his name like a curse. "Trusting a human comes at just as high a cost."
Firenze narrowed his eyes on his kin. He heard the low threat carried just underneath the winds.
"And the moon child?"
Firenze watched as Bane's entire body stiffened, his back becoming as taut as the trees around them.
"The child of the moon has already entered the forest. Can you not feel her power?" Firenze asked, curious of the other centaur's answer.
"A human," Bane spat, "no matter what mask they may wear."
"Is it not our sacred duty as guardians of the forest to protect that which was chosen by the moon?" Firenze retorted.
"Do not speak to me of our sacred duty, blood foal," Bane snarled, stomping his hoofs on the ground. "I have seen firsthand the destruction humans cause. I watched them slaughter our kin, our forests! Their path of destruction holds no end!"
Firenze snorted softly not flinching back from Bane's anger. "And we centaurs have taken more than our share of lives. You know as well as I, magic exists in all forms. It is not a simple creation."
Firenze allowed his eyes to fall back onto the golden blossom.
"Innocents are the first to be slain," Bane snorted, though Firenze could see that he too, contained sorrow for the young one's death.
"When the moon disappears, will you still hold your stance, Bane?" Firenze asked quietly. He saw Bane pad away from him.
"Do not speak of such fairy tales, Firenze," Bane snorted, turning away from his younger kin.
"I have spoken to the sunbird. The Forest is quiet. Things are changing. They are awakening the deepest of magics. You felt it as I did. As we all have," Firenze stated, ignoring the way his kin refused to answer, leaving Firenze with the blossom.
"Do not interfere, Firenze," Bane warned, "There will be consequences."
"And the moon, Bane?" Firenze called out to his kin one last time. "Will you take up arms against the moon herself?"
"If need be," Bane only answered, his voice carrying softly against the wind.
Firenze bowed his head.
His kin are to set in their ways.
Firenze had no doubt that should the moon disappear, the centaurs would as well. Firenze would do anything to protect his kin.
Even if it meant facing down his kin in war.
"Mars is growing brighter," Firenze murmured softly, his eyes back on the two stars that shone brightly against the dark sky.
One carrying the soul of a lost soul, gone too early from this world.
The other, carrying the promise of bloodshed on the winds.