A tan palomino with a flowing white mane leaped out of the undergrowth, eyes bright with excitement. "Rawr! I've got you now!" she cried triumphantly at an obviously annoyed gray lizard who was currently looking for her, leaping at him and lightly tapping his foot with her shiny brown hoof. 

   "Come on! That's not even fair!" the lizard insisted, jumping away from her. He turned his back and crossed his arms grumpily.

   "Oh, come on, Komodo! You're just not trying hard enough!" she laughed breezily. 

   "Easy for you to say, Capella! You're practically made for running!" Komodo mumbled angrily. "Lighten up!" Capella urged and nudged his shoulder with her long elegant snout. 

   She smiled and turned around like she was ending the conversation. "Well, I'm going EXPLORING!" she announced loudly. 

   Komodo perked up. "Wait for m-" he started to say, but Capella cut him off by scooping him up and putting him on her head. "I knew you'd want to come! Hold on tight!" she shouted enthusiastically as Komodo grabbed her mane, setting out at top speed through the forest.

   Capella loved the rushing wind against her face, the slowly falling leaves, and the soft grass cushioning each of her pounding hoof beats. Adventuring with Komodo, her best friend, was always so fun, and it was amazing just to what the world had to offer them. 

   She caught a glimpse of a stick bug dangling from a tree and watching them curiously, and a beetle fleeing in terror from their playful stampede. A deer stood, startled, staring at them as they careened through the forest. She shook her head in exasperation and watched them disappear into the woodlands, a small laugh escaping her snout. "Kids'll be kids, I guess."

   Komodo spotted a worm crawling around on the ground and called for Capella to stop. "Yum!" he shouted enthusiastically and gobbled it up as fast as he could. 

   Capella wrinkled her snout and took a big bite of grass. "That's disgusting, Komodo! I prefer grass because it doesn't taste all slimy!" she asserted in a high voice, as she stared at Komodo's hungry face.

   "Oh really? I dare you to eat one!" Komodo cried, laughing at Capella's taken aback expression. 

   Her eyes widened in surprise, though she really should have expected her small friend to say that. It really was like him.

   "Well there's no way I'm doing that!" she stared pointedly at Komodo's laughing face. He gave her a look that said 'Oh really?', though there wasn't really a debate. Capella was about as stubborn as a boulder in a light drizzle.

   Komodo grinned, letting Capella push away the idea for now. "How about we go bother people?" he suggested. "Great idea!" Capella said, shocked into laughter by his blunt phrasing.

   They found themselves walking around the forest with enormous grins on their faces. Finally, they encountered someone. A deer who was smiling thoughtfully and chomping on some lush grass.

   Komodo approached them. "Hello!" he suddenly yelled. The deer's head swiveled around, her eyes widened in surprise. Her gaze lowered and landed on Komodo, and she smiled. 

   "Oh, hello there," she said. She sounded quite old, and spoke in a creaky voice. "You're that lizard from earlier..." she said, her gaze turning upwards as she spotted Capella. "And you're that horse?"

   Capella nodded, grinning. Komodo popped his head back up into her vision and confirmed "That's us!" in a excited voice. The deer's still slightly wide eyes shifted back to Komodo, who seemed thrilled at being spoken to. He was ignored quite often for his small size and non-threatening appearance. Capella laughed quietly at her friend's antics.

   The deer smiled. "Well, nice to meet you, youngins'. I'm Autumn," she said. "What are your names?"

   "I'm Komodo, and this is Capella!" Komodo chirped before Capella could introduce herself. Autumn smiled at the two obviously close friends. Capella gave Komodo an unimpressed look as he grinned knowingly at her. He loved to talk.

   Autumn's ear flicked and her eyes shone with happiness. "Would you like to hear a story?" she asked. The deer seemed almost dying to tell them. Maybe they didn't meet people very often. 

   "Of course!" they said in unison, beaming. Autumn chuckled. 

   "It's a fairy tale I heard from my ancestor who's ancestor passed down to them. It's been from ear to mouth for centuries, and perhaps even 200 years, like it said in the story." Capella and Komodo seemed eager to hear the deer's story.

   Autumn seemed happy that they were excited, as she'd wanted to tell this story for so long. Perhaps one of these youngins' will pass it down to the next generation? she pondered.

   "There is a land, very, very far away, filled with strange creatures who possess magic and power unlike any we've ever seen. There are two kingdoms, the evil and the good. Together they could be strong, and help their world, but the evil doesn't listen to the good. The good doesn't believe the evil would be a good ruler unless they could be reasoned with by the good. The evil wants to fight. It is very good at fighting, so when it sees a problem, it fights instead of coming to an agreement. The evil wants the world all for itself, so they fight." 

   The two listeners took another step closer, sitting down in the grass and watching the deer's shining eyes. 

   "They war for very long, so long that they don't really remember the days where there was no war anymore. The magical place collapses into anarchy, until a beam of hope shines through. One of the creatures has a very rare power, and they can see the future and create something important to pass down of it. They carve their poem of what is to come into stone tablets and give it to the queen of good. The poem foresees that in two hundred years from when the fighting began, an adventurer from far away will come to save them from their battles. The good is happy with this, as their homes and the homes of their descendants will soon be peaceful, and they won't have to worry of the evil."

   The deer finished her tale. "Remember this story well, young ones, as you might have to tell someone else soon."

   Capella nodded, her eyes shining of awe. She wondered how, if the story was true, it could get from such a far land to theirs. The story left a strange serenity in her heart, but also a somber feeling. It was, no pun intended, a magical effect, from a magical story. Komodo seemed to have the same feeling; it was painted clearly on his face.

   Autumn seemed to note the affect her story had on them, and smiled. "Well, I best get going now. I have a lot to do." 

   "Goodbye!" Komodo said, some admiration shining through into his voice. They watched the deer turn and leave and Capella yawned, blinking sleepily.

   "I think we should get to sleep..."  She gestured to the moon tiredly, which was completely full and glowing brightly. Capella circled around and curled up next to a curved tree trunk, staring into the darkness. 

   I'm so tired... I think I sprained my throat from laughing so hard, she thought, exhausted. She blinked and closed her eyes tightly, thinking about the day, and tomorrow, and yesterday, and the day before that. 

   Not that far away, in a dark and dreary cave, sat a goblin with large bulging eyes and an imp who was staring off to the side of the grotesque creature. Why do I have to work with such disgusting creatures?... thought the imp spitefully. He should at least boost my position a bit! I've done much more for his cause than the useless goblin in front of me... He stared at the rest of the creatures- 2 hobgoblins, and a cyclops.

   "Okay, so, we're going to have to attack before dayl-" began the goblin in a voice like nails on a chalkboard, but was immediately interrupted by the crimson imp. "Are you even sure this is them? I mean... they look just like a normal horse... also, who made you the leader?" he glared at the goblin aggressively, flicking his spiked arrow tail.

   The goblin just gawked at him. "I'm sorry, Tavor, you're going to have to keep your ideas to yourself!" he spat. "Wh-what?!" the Imp, Tavor, stuttered in anger, balling his gnarled claws into fists. "I'm the only smart one here! I should be the leader!" he growled, glaring daggers at everyone in the cave. 

   "Well then tell us your ideas, oh grand master!" the goblin mocked him. Tavor glared at him, and then angrily spat "Let's just attack them when they're asleep and get this stupid meeting over with!"

   "No, Tavor, we need them alive! I've located a swamp near where they are where we'll chase them, and they'll get stuck in the mud!" the Cyclops joined in and explained calmly. "Shut up, Calrick!" Tavor snapped, shaking with anger. He didn't like to be corrected.

   "Well, let's go..." the Goblin finally said, exasperated. "Ok, Gornok..." Tavor seethed, attempting to hide the fury in his crimson eyes. They all stood up and stepped nimbly out of the cave, soaking in the moonlight. "Yes... it does not hurt us..." the Hobgoblin spoke, purring in a gravely voice. The five creatures set off into the night, heading directly towards where Capella and Komodo, their targets, were sleeping soundly.

   Back in the forest, Capella was finally in a restless sleep. The leaves under her shifted and crunched from her tossing and turning. Her eyes flickered around under her heavy eyelids.

   She dreamed of the worm, swelling to an enormous size and eating Komodo- yuck. She dreamed of playing tag with Komodo, but he turned into a monster and stabbed her- where did that come from?... She dreamed of her parents- well, whatever parents her brain thought she might've once had- walking with her.

   She was parentless, an orphan, as long as she could remember, but she dreamed of having someone to care for her quite often. Sometimes they were a horse just like her, or maybe they were a giant lizard made out of clouds. Perhaps the occasional octopus, but that was only if she was really tired.

   She was lucky, though. Her and Komodo took care of each other, though he wasn't exactly powerful, which she often worried he may be self-conscious about. She tended to remind him quite often that he was just as important as her in their friendly duo. They were best friends till the very end.

   She suddenly jolted from her sleep when heard a stick break, and opened her soft brown eyes tiredly. She pulled her head upwards and looked around, scared of the dark as she had always been, and whatever had broken that stick. It wasn't that loud, but she was a very light sleeper, and she felt danger emanating from the darkness even more than usual. She blinked the sleep away, about to get up and look around when she heard hushed voices. 

   "You idiot! You could've woken one of those animals up!" she heard someone snap angrily in a loud whisper. "Whatever, let's get on with it..." muttered one, who sounded quite exhausted, perhaps of the angry one's, well, angry, behavior. 

   Capella heard footsteps coming towards them and jumped up, all sleep shaken from her once-tired limbs. "Komodo!" she shouted in alarm, staring at the spot where the footsteps had suddenly halted. The lizard looked up, alarmed, as a grotesque monster with sagging skin leaped out of the foliage. "Darn it!" it scowled, glaring at her, as 4 other malformed animals leaped out of the greenery. "Get them!" shouted a crimson creature, who was holding a shining black halberd. 

   Capella's eyes widened and she scooped up a disoriented Komodo, breaking out in a full gallop, adrenaline pumping through her veins. She heard branches snapping haphazardly behind her, as the creatures chased her and Komodo. It felt so natural with him sitting on her head and the sound of her hooves thumping over the dew-littered grass, but it felt wrong, now, and needless to say different, in a bad way.

   "Capella? What's going on?!" Komodo yelped, clutching her mane for dear life as they flew through the forest. "I don't know!" Capella cried. It was a question she'd obviously already thought.

   The night was bright as she weaved in between trunks with Komodo sat atop her head. Her hooves barely touched the ground. The forest canopy hid the brightly glowing moon, which illuminated each and every leaf.

   What is happening? Why are they so ugly? Is this a nightmare?.... Capella thought frantically. She continued to bolt through the trees until she saw a muddy swamp through the looming branches of the oaks ahead of her. Oh no! They're trying to get us stuck in the mud! she thought, and began to frantically skid to a halt. 

   She suddenly felt a strange peaceful feeling as she came closer to the muddy depths. The best way she could describe it was oddly ethereal. 

   Her limbs froze in surprise and she tried to veer to the side instead of plunging into the marshy land. She felt Komodo freeze as well, his grip on her mane tightening. 

   She was going too fast, though, and began to topple forwards into the mud, which looked like it had started rippling. Waves of mud crashed over the sides of the tall healthy trees like an angry storming sea. 

   Capella had started to doubt any of this was actually happening, though it did feel very real. Maybe it was just a very vivid dream? 

   She fell straight into the glossy, glowing mud, which was a quality that mud should not have. Komodo toppled off of her head and she had a sensation like she was flying through the air. 

   She cried out in pain as she felt something stab through her head and something  stabbed its way out of her shoulder blades. Capella hit the ground, though she didn't know how she could've got into the air in the first place, and was jolted into unconsciousness.