The Magical Herd

He stops nearby but before he gets a chance, a mare prances into the clearing in a very odd manner. Her movements are jerky and her head it tilted up. It takes you a while before you see the leaf she is trying to keep aloft with her breath.

After a few more puffs, she steps on a tree root and stumbles, the leaf floating gently to the ground and she snorts, "Just short of my record, meh." Her head suddenly darts up, "Oh, hello. Didn't see you there. I'm Leafblower."

The stallion nods back, "And I am Ember, and my Kirrih is Tazm."

They both turn towards you, and you follow suit with the introductions. In the meantime Tazm has flown over with his delicate little wings, picked up the leaf and started playing with it. "Hey!" Leafblower exclaimed as she tried to retrieve her leaf. You realized that leaves that size were not that common here in the pine forests of the Realm.

As you looked beyond the playful pair you noticed a golden gleam in the forest. A mare stood there, tiny brown buttefly wings on her back. Then they moved and revealed a brilliant blue and yellow colour.

She smiled at the commotion and then was gone, like a magical buttefly that had fluttered out of sight.

Just then another mare, white one this time, came cantering into the the midst of the chaos, pink ribbons flowing from her mane and tail. She was accompanied by a Kirrh clutching a ribbon in her paws.

This interrupted the chase and everyone paused to look at the newcomers. She continued to prance about and came to a stop near you. She nuzzled your hand gently. "Greetings human, I am Courage and this is Mirr," to which the Kirrih chirp in agreement.

There then came a strange, haunting music. Everyone paused in confusion, each of you looking at the other in the hopes of finding an explanation. But none was forthcoming. It was as carried upon the wind and seemed to surround you from all sides. As the last few notes trailed off a mare cantered up to your growing group.

She had a cloak on her back made of the finest spun spiderwebs, and as she slowed you noticed a spider upon her tail. She stood a moment, circled by 4 equines, one Kirrih and you. She circled slowly, to glance at each of you in turn. Her expression was blank, inscrutable, but not cruel or frightening. It was just unusual. Then, without a word, she left the way she came leaving the rest of you in baffled silence.

"What's everyone looking at?"

The mare with the big hat looked around at those who had gathered, she grinned. "Alright, now everyone is looking at me now. My name's Soulsnight." But the ghostly markings on her body had everyone entranced...though the hat with the little spider hanging off the end tended to catch the eye as well.

A sharp chirp drew everyone's eyes down to Soulsnight hooves, beside which was a jack-o-lantern with a green Kirrih peering out it's mouth...and it's tail out it's nose! "Ah, that's Nikki!"

And again, another spider...perhaps that mare had left them in passing, getting the caught on pretty much everything...indeed, there were spiders everywhere!!! And soon the clearing went from silence to shrieks and cries as humans, faymaah and kirrih tried to brush them off.