11-12-2019, 06:23 PM
<center><div style="position:relative;z-index:2;width:550px;background:#000000;font:12px 'Times New Roman', serif;border:2px solid #000000;box-shadow:0 0 10px #000000;"><p style="padding-top: 40px;font-size:12px;text-align: center;letter-spacing: 4px;color:#363636;text-shadow:0px 0px 5px #363636;margin:0;"><I>they're gonna eat me alive.</I></p><p style="text-align:justify;padding:40px 45px;color:#707070;letter-spacing: 1px;margin:0;">Nadya had been forgotten in life.
So she had forsaken those she loved in death.
At least, that’s what she’d told herself. Her desire to be <i>included</i> had driven her to worlds unknown. It had destroyed her. It had doomed her. But the longing still flickered. Even now.
Even in death.
The sound of rushing water roars in her ears. Death had always been quiet - but not this, not now. Her amber eyes fluttered open as she tried to comprehend where she was and what was happening.
Nadya stands with those who hadn’t fallen in battle. She hadn’t succumbed to broken bones, but rather a broken spirit. Once her will had been broken, her body slowly slipped away. The pale blue mare can hear the water as it rushes over the edge. Her amber gaze is drawn to where the water falls away - crashing against hidden rocks below.
It takes her a moment to notice the others. To realize that one mare stands on <i>both</i> sides of the expanse of rushing water. Had <i>she</i> brought her here? Idly, she turns to stare back over the edge of the waterfall - it’s alluring in a way she cannot explain. <i>Would it hurt, if she tumbled off the edge?</i> Pain had not been able to reach her in death. But now? She wasn’t so sure.
She could feel the angry droplets of water stinging her skin, and as she let out a little sigh and turned - something on the other side of the river caught her eye. Her heart lurched in her chest. She staggered forward a single step, her body responding automatically.
<b>”Father,”</b> she breathed, the exasperation evident even though her voice was weak. She blinked in disbelief. Because there stood Trashlip - not has he had been in her lifetime, but as he had been in her dreams. He was not a creature born of death and decay as she had known him. He stood firmly - flesh and blood - no aura of death surrounded him. She felt as if his bright yellow eyes could see straight through to her soul.
It was in this moment that Nadya realized she hadn’t forsaken her family. Not really. Not completely. She had simply buried the want (the <i>need</i>) to be a part of the family she’d been so isolated from. Even death had not extinguished her desire for family.
She took a single step into the river and recoiled when she could feel the strength of the current. She could feel the water pulling the silt and stones towards the edge. She knew it would take nothing for her to be swept away. One more step and she’d be pulled under.
But another glance to her father was all the motivation she needed. <b> “Father, I’m coming!”</b> she managed, louder this time. And in response, she could hear his voice in her mind. <I> “Come, daughter,”</i> she could hear clear as day, the voice from her memories. The navy stallion stepped closer to the water, watching and waiting to see what she would do next.
Nadya closed her eyes, drawing all of her most treasured memories to provide her with the will to do what must be done. When she opened her eyes, she felt the calm settle into her bones. After all, she wasn’t afraid of death. She had welcomed death when it had come for her. What did she have to fear now?
As she drew in a deep breath - she could swear she smelled the Chamber. The sharp smell of evergreens and the thick mist that wove between them. And as she looked back towards her father - that mist began to materialize before her. A path, of sorts, leading her to her father.
The Chamber was leading her home.
So with a tentative step, she placed a single hoof upon the fog that hovered above the river. The mist seemed to give under her weight, but kept her hoof above the rushing water. So she repeated the process.
A second step. And a third.
Until all of her hooves were settled onto a seeming bridge of mist.
She proceeded slowly - her gaze jumping from her father to the mist below. But her gaze didn’t drift to the waterfall any longer. Nor did she focus on the water and debris rushing below. A few times she struggled, a hoof slipping from the makeshift bridge and into the water below.
It took more concentration than she thought she possessed. She was soaked by the time she made it across the center - not just in mist and spray but in sweat as well. Her muscles screamed at her - having been dormant for so long. But soon she drew near to the other bank - to her father.
For just a moment, her concentration wavered, and with it her balance. She struggled to find purchase on the misty path, which seemed to be rapidly disintegrating under her feet. Her eyes widened as she considered what to do. Did she try to leap the rest of the way? Did she try to run?
She looked up at her father - her eyes pleading.
<b> “Father,”</b> she breathed, again, paralyzed with indecision. The yellow-eyed stallion simply nodded.
And so she leapt...
</p><p style="padding-top: 10px;font-size:12px;text-align: center;letter-spacing: 5px; color:#363636;text-shadow:0px 0px 5px #363636;margin:0;"><I>n a d y a </I></p><img style="width:550px" src="https://i.postimg.cc/HkZydwjB/nadya.png"></div><center></center>
So she had forsaken those she loved in death.
At least, that’s what she’d told herself. Her desire to be <i>included</i> had driven her to worlds unknown. It had destroyed her. It had doomed her. But the longing still flickered. Even now.
Even in death.
The sound of rushing water roars in her ears. Death had always been quiet - but not this, not now. Her amber eyes fluttered open as she tried to comprehend where she was and what was happening.
Nadya stands with those who hadn’t fallen in battle. She hadn’t succumbed to broken bones, but rather a broken spirit. Once her will had been broken, her body slowly slipped away. The pale blue mare can hear the water as it rushes over the edge. Her amber gaze is drawn to where the water falls away - crashing against hidden rocks below.
It takes her a moment to notice the others. To realize that one mare stands on <i>both</i> sides of the expanse of rushing water. Had <i>she</i> brought her here? Idly, she turns to stare back over the edge of the waterfall - it’s alluring in a way she cannot explain. <i>Would it hurt, if she tumbled off the edge?</i> Pain had not been able to reach her in death. But now? She wasn’t so sure.
She could feel the angry droplets of water stinging her skin, and as she let out a little sigh and turned - something on the other side of the river caught her eye. Her heart lurched in her chest. She staggered forward a single step, her body responding automatically.
<b>”Father,”</b> she breathed, the exasperation evident even though her voice was weak. She blinked in disbelief. Because there stood Trashlip - not has he had been in her lifetime, but as he had been in her dreams. He was not a creature born of death and decay as she had known him. He stood firmly - flesh and blood - no aura of death surrounded him. She felt as if his bright yellow eyes could see straight through to her soul.
It was in this moment that Nadya realized she hadn’t forsaken her family. Not really. Not completely. She had simply buried the want (the <i>need</i>) to be a part of the family she’d been so isolated from. Even death had not extinguished her desire for family.
She took a single step into the river and recoiled when she could feel the strength of the current. She could feel the water pulling the silt and stones towards the edge. She knew it would take nothing for her to be swept away. One more step and she’d be pulled under.
But another glance to her father was all the motivation she needed. <b> “Father, I’m coming!”</b> she managed, louder this time. And in response, she could hear his voice in her mind. <I> “Come, daughter,”</i> she could hear clear as day, the voice from her memories. The navy stallion stepped closer to the water, watching and waiting to see what she would do next.
Nadya closed her eyes, drawing all of her most treasured memories to provide her with the will to do what must be done. When she opened her eyes, she felt the calm settle into her bones. After all, she wasn’t afraid of death. She had welcomed death when it had come for her. What did she have to fear now?
As she drew in a deep breath - she could swear she smelled the Chamber. The sharp smell of evergreens and the thick mist that wove between them. And as she looked back towards her father - that mist began to materialize before her. A path, of sorts, leading her to her father.
The Chamber was leading her home.
So with a tentative step, she placed a single hoof upon the fog that hovered above the river. The mist seemed to give under her weight, but kept her hoof above the rushing water. So she repeated the process.
A second step. And a third.
Until all of her hooves were settled onto a seeming bridge of mist.
She proceeded slowly - her gaze jumping from her father to the mist below. But her gaze didn’t drift to the waterfall any longer. Nor did she focus on the water and debris rushing below. A few times she struggled, a hoof slipping from the makeshift bridge and into the water below.
It took more concentration than she thought she possessed. She was soaked by the time she made it across the center - not just in mist and spray but in sweat as well. Her muscles screamed at her - having been dormant for so long. But soon she drew near to the other bank - to her father.
For just a moment, her concentration wavered, and with it her balance. She struggled to find purchase on the misty path, which seemed to be rapidly disintegrating under her feet. Her eyes widened as she considered what to do. Did she try to leap the rest of the way? Did she try to run?
She looked up at her father - her eyes pleading.
<b> “Father,”</b> she breathed, again, paralyzed with indecision. The yellow-eyed stallion simply nodded.
And so she leapt...
</p><p style="padding-top: 10px;font-size:12px;text-align: center;letter-spacing: 5px; color:#363636;text-shadow:0px 0px 5px #363636;margin:0;"><I>n a d y a </I></p><img style="width:550px" src="https://i.postimg.cc/HkZydwjB/nadya.png"></div><center></center>