LEGEND OF THE GODDESSES
Twixt, 1,088 years ago
A caravan of merchants trekked through the Whispering Desert. The troupe consisted of an eclectic mix of ponies, horses, camels, and other creatures, some pulling the wagons, some walking along the edges to protect the merchandise, some simply tagging along.
They arrived in a small town, really nothing more than a circle of large huts centered around a stone courtyard, itself built around a single well. In the hills beyond this circle, the land was dotted with more huts, some of which had managed to set up little areas of farmland in the otherwise barren desert.
The caravan circled around the courtyard, the wagons forming a ring around the well. From one hut, a green horse trotted out toward the caravan. He had a blond mane with two long strands that popped out comically, and orange eyes.
"Greetings!" he said to the merchants at large. "I'd like to welcome you all to Twixt. I received a message that one family among your caravan was seeking permanent residence here?"
"That's us," called a maneless gray pony, stepping forward. "I'm Chronus Twister, sir. This is my wife Rhea, and our little daughter Kolassa. We're just looking for a place to… settle down."
The horse grinned down at them warmly. "Well, good to meet you. I'm Elan. I'm something of a community leader around here. One thing about Twixt: there are always empty huts. Come with me."
The three ponies, laden down with their bags and possessions, followed Elan around the ring of simple homes.
"You don't have a cutie mark," Kolassa noticed.
Rhea chuckled and patted her daughter's head. "Mr. Elan is a horse, sweetheart, not a pony."
Elan beamed at Kolassa. "That's right, no cutie mark for me. You're one of the special ones. Must be nice, knowing where you're going. Personally, I think my cutie mark if I had one would be one of these huts. Home is an important concept to me."
Chronus nodded. "I can see that. We've been on the lookout for a home for quite some time."
"So," said Elan, "you sound like you came from the pony nations across the sea. What brings you here?"
"Oh, just got tired of the dismal winters, I guess," Chronus said evasively.
"I see. Well, if there's anything you need, the community will gladly help you get settled."
"Ah, you know what they say," said Chronus. "Ask not what your community can do for you…"
"Hmm, well, that's the perfect lead-up into my next question," Elan said jovially. "What can you do?"
"I was a soldier back in the day," said Chronus. "A pretty good one. I think maybe I've still got it."
"Good, good…" Elan muttered. "Twixt has a militia, of course, but it's almost never seen any action. Perhaps you should look into another trade, if only for the sake of your own stimulation."
"Hmm, all right. I just might do that. As for my wife here—" Chronus draped a front leg across Rhea's shoulders. "She's the best damn blacksmith you'll ever meet." The beautiful blue mare blushed.
"I look forward to seeing that," Elan said sincerely. He turned to Kolassa, grinning at the pale purple-pink filly. "And what about you?" he said playfully.
"I see things in my dreams," Kolassa said solemnly. "I knew months ago that Twixt would be our new home. I'm the one who knew to go with this caravan."
Elan blinked at her in concern, then turned inquisitively toward her parents.
"Oh, she's for real," Rhea assured him.
"We can't explain it, but she's yet to steer us wrong," Chronus said solemnly.
Elan nodded. "Well… I suppose that's… just something that happens in our world, isn't it? Regardless, here is our free hut." He stopped in front of one and gestured to it. "You'll find the basic necessities within: a place to sleep, to eat, to cook. You'll enjoy your new lives in Twixt, my friends."
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That night, Rhea and Chronus tucked the little filly into her bed. Rhea gently ran a hoof through Kolassa's tattered orange-and-red mane.
"Your dreams were right on the money as always, my dear," she said. "I think your sleep will be pleasant and untroubled from now on."
"Oh, I've had sweet dreams for a long time," said Kolassa. "Dreams of here." Her huge blue eyes started to close.
Chronus kissed her forehead. "Goodnight, sweet Kolassa. If you need us, we're right here on the other side of this curtain."
He closed the curtain that divided the two beds in the hut, then extinguished the lantern on his and Rhea's side. The hut went completely black.
Kolassa drifted off, but it was only a short two or three hours before her eyes fluttered open again. She blinked in the darkness, trying to make sense of the shape by the side of her bed. As her eyes adjusted, she saw that it appeared to be an enormous green frog with bulging red eyes, standing on its hind legs.
The creature hissed and opened its mouth, revealing a maw full of sharp canine teeth. The frog put its weight on one leg and raised its hands in a blatant fighting stance.
Kolassa did the only thing she could do: she screamed.
In an instant, Chronus was at her side, jumping over the bed to tackle the frog-monster and pound it repeatedly in the head with his hooves. The creature rolled out from underneath him and grabbed Kolassa's bedside table, ripping off one of its legs and brandishing it as a weapon against Chronus.
Chronus reared up and slammed the creature in the chest, knocking it against the wall. It retaliated with a crack across the stallion's jaw. Chronus snarled and spat out a mouthful of blood. With one hoof, he pinned the monster's leg-wielding arm against the wall by the wrist; with the other, he pressed hard against its head, making absolutely sure the back of its skull was against the hard wood of the hut so there would be no yield when he punched it hard in the face.
It made a dazed gurgling sound and clasped its free hand over Chronus's muzzle. Kolassa looked on and sobbed helplessly. Rhea rushed to her side and wrapped her arms around the filly, comforting her and staring worriedly at Chronus's battle.
Chronus threw his head around wildly, forcing the frog-monster's hand off, then lifted his front hoof again for one final, mighty punch that pounded the creature's skull with a sickening crunch. The monster collapsed to the ground, dead. Chronus heaved in exhaustion.
Kolassa looked between her mother and father, her face desperate. "You said that moving away from home would make the monsters go away!" she squeaked. "You said they wouldn't find me anymore!"
"I know we did, dear," Rhea said in a choked voice, stroking Kolassa's mane once more. "We said that because we really believed it." She turned to Chronus in horror.
"We were wrong," Chronus said gravely. "I'm so sorry, Kolassa. It hasn't stopped."