Username: Valerian Flames
Galingale Strider(s):
TerraquinStory:
- Halloween 2015 Event -
-- The Twins --
The Strider whinnied quietly as the wind picked up around him and the fallen leaves blew in. It was the first day of October. His bright green feathers trembled feeling the brisk cold around him. As the sun began to fall past the horizon the Galingale Strider made his way to what he called home. It was a little in-the-middle-of-nowhere type of places, cozy and remote where very little happened. Finding his way into the blue and grey painted stables he could see that his human companion and caretaker, a short but bright eyed woman, stood waiting for him. "Why hello there," she said smiling. Terraquin nickered softly and walked closer to her. "It's getting colder out there Terraquin, stay closer would you bud? I wouldn't want to loose you once the weather really turns. Let's hope it stays off before Halloween gets here." He listened to her and blinked his bright blue eyes, looking behind him as if wondering about the winters here.
It was different from where he used to live. Here it was farther north, this place was full of mountains, the high elevation making it prone to snow. Hearing Halloween being mentioned he focused back on Valeria, the excitement in his eyes obvious. In previous years he would watch but never participate. Now things would be different. "I know you're excited, Skeleton King," the woman said, "but you have weeks before that. Now get some rest." As he walked to his paddock he felt something like a gentle touch grace his side, but when he looked back to see if it was Valeria the woman had already left, gone to close the doors to keep out the cold. What was that, he thought curiously, his side shivering slightly before he made his way into his room.
~~~
It was nearly a week before Halloween, but the Strider's passion for this event that he had yet to participate in had plummeted. Throughout the weeks he had encountered something all too surreal for him. After he had that strange feeling in the beginning of of the month there had been more odd events. Days after his exploration he had come home to his roomy paddock feeling cold, freezing. But when Valeria came around it was as cool as the outside, still much warmer than what it had been like. A few days after that he could hear hooves behind him, almost matching his pace. Alarmed at the sound of it he looked back to see what it was. But the stallion found nothing. Since then he had been staying in his paddock but whatever it was still "following" him.
"You seem spooked as ever Terraquin. What is it?" Valeria said one afternoon.
He looked at her with sad blue eyes and whinnied, but the language barrier was quite wide between the two of them. She put her hand out to pet his nose, but the Strider was wary and only after sniffing her hand did he let her comfort him. Valeria spent some time brushing his light brown pelt before going back inside to work. Once she was gone the stallion was alone again and he could sense something there. Something that wasn't supposed to be there. After walking around a bit in the barn he noticed a light blue trail of light going behind the feed room. Following it out of curiosity he still walked with trepidation. Once he had rounded the corner he could see two equine like foals playing. Though they looked like little Galingale Striders they were only the remnants of them. Ghosts of the past.
They seemed to be siblings, twins. But I've never seen twins before, he thought, watching them play. After a moment one of the ghostly foals caught sight of the stallion and froze. Once the other sibling stopped to see Terraquin both whinnied and in what seemed to be a poof of light blue dust vanished, the faint sound of little hooves following their trail. Out of curiosity and interest he followed them, in a few minutes coming to a paddock that was about the same size as his, though the flooring felt different. Taking a whiff of the air here it faintly smelled like a mare and a foal, or perhaps foals.
Walking into the paddock, there being a non-existent door, the smell grew slightly stronger. Under his hooves the floor felt softer, something like grass and earth. Suddenly one of the twins appeared, sitting down on the soft floor. Looking up at the stallion he nickered softly and continued to watch the brown and green Strider. The other twin then appeared, standing up and watching Terraquin as well. Both of them were curious. And they had the right to be. They hadn't seen another Galingale Strider in a long time.
A long time ago they were born this barn with their own owner, a kind English Gentleman. He bred Galingales for a living and one day one of the mares he had bore twins. Unlike others they seemed strong at first but once fall came around and the days grew colder they passed to illness. Over time the spirits of the foals manifested into something more, from little gentle cool breezes of wind to sounds and then actual manifestations of themselves. By the time this had happened the Gentleman had moved on to another farm, wanting some place warmer for his stock so nothing bad like this would happen again.
"Why are you here?" Terraquin said to them. The one laying down tilted his head curiously at the stallion. "We don't know where to go," he said. The other foal, a filly, chimed in, "Out mama's gone. Where did they go?" Terraquin's feathers drooped in sadness. There was no way to figure out who the mare could be, and he didn't know how to help them. "I... I don't know," he told them. The colt whinnied sadly and lowered his head in the floor. "Can we stay with you?" the filly asked Terraquin, "with you be our friend?" Terraquin was silent for a moment before he could hear footsteps behind him. "Terraquin?! Where are you, you flamboyant pony?" Valeria's voice could be heard throughout the barn. He looked back, trying to see if the woman was neat but when he turned forward at the spectral foals they had disappeared.
Gone.
~~~
It was Halloween and he had yet to see the foals again. It was somewhat eerie not having them around. The barn was silent. As his human companion painted him like Galingale skeleton he looked around and often ended up smudging the body paint on him, causing the woman to grumble and sigh. After a while she stopped and looked at the stallion. "What is it that's bothering you so much?" she said. He looked at her and whinnied quietly when suddenly a trail of spectral light zoomed past them. Slightly spooked he reared up before cantering off to follow where the path was going. This was more erratic than the twins, frantic even. Valeria, unbeknownst to what was going own followed carefully.
Following the ghost around the barn it seemed to go in circles before stopping at that one paddock he had found a couple week earlier with the twins. Materializing out of thin air it was a mare, an adult Strider with indistinct color and markings. Just a remnant of the past. It neighed and whinnied loudly before catching the sight of Terraquin. "Where are they?" it whispered, a delicate ghostly voice in the air, "my twins where are they? Where? Where" He stepped forward slowly and said, "They were here. What happened to them Why are you-." But he was cut off. Again the mare whinnied "Where? Where? Where?"
Like a sad broken record.
He walked through the ghostly Strider, receiving a confused and offended look for a moment before her melancholy tune played again. This was his first encounter of a ghost but all he could think of was to show the ghost mare where her foals were. "They're in here," the Stallion said. And as if by clockwork the foals appeared. They looked like they had slumbered since they had disappeared, little downy feathers in a mess. The mare looked in the paddock confused. "What do you mean they are there. No they aren't. Where are they? Where?" The foals looked up at Terraquin, silent but confused. "Why are you here skelly Strider?" one of them said happily. And with that an idea came to mind.
"To play," he said. If their mother can't see them here then maybe they have to be outside of the room,he thought. "Come on you two lets play," he said, trying his best to seem goofy. Amused by his lack of funny skills the ghosts followed after him and into the hallway. As soon as they placed a hoof in the main corridor their colors grew brighter. "My babies!" the mare whinnied going up to them. Forgetting about Terraquin they seemed happy as ever. It was something of a family reunion that was long due.
Valeria, having caught up with the Galingale watched in silent awe the events that passed by. As they disappeared, their earthly lives resolved, she said, "Well that is one way to validate your Halloween." Terraquin looked at the woman and whinnied, this time it was something happy, glad to have this mystery resolved for the time being.This would be a hard Halloween to beat next year.
"Do you still want me to finish your costume?" the woman said, holing up white and grey paint covered hands.
