Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Hush now, hide, all you little ones

Rush now, into the middle of nowhere

Singing and laughter will die

Dreamless sleep follows the Nowhere King

When his kingdom comes, darkness is nigh

Quiet, crawl through the in-between

Silent, secretive feeling

Of fearsome hatred that reaches the skies

You will bring joy to the Nowhere King

When he sees the light leaving your eyes…

Horse woke up with a jolt when the image of the skull lunged forward, trying to swallow her into the void.

She looked around her to just make sure that the herd was still in their usual sleeping pile in the center of their new houseboat. It had been quite an adjustment, receiving a houseboat, becoming a shaman, living without the cloud of war hanging overhead.

Actually, that was an understatement. It was a crazy lot to go through at once. After all, she was born into the war. She’d never had a home or seen a time of peace until she met Wammawink and the others. She thought it’d be okay now. Horse knew she wasn’t alone anymore; she had a heard now, and the Nowhere King was gone. She, Rider, and everyone from both worlds wouldn’t have to fight anymore. Things could finally be… happy.

But not soon after that, she started to have strange reoccurring dreams. Or rather the nightmares. Most involved the familiar inky black void. The portal was always glitching, fritzing, and displaying a myriad of different colors. Sometimes she saw the Elktaur, when he was whole, reaching out to her before being consumed by the dark mass. Other times she was running away from the outstretching shadows. The maw of the Nowhere King springing forth from the sea of black to try to pull her back inside him. Trying to fill the emptiness inside him. She never saw the end of the dream; she usually woke up with fright before it reached its conclusion. So as a result, she had a tough time getting a good night of sleep. Every dream seemed to go back to what she saw in his backstory.

She yawned, blinking away the bleariness of her eyes before rising out of her bed and trotting over to the window to see the purple hues of the sky as dawn broke, along with the screams of some distant roostaur that made her question the logic of this world. She gave a slight stretch as she yawned, shaking off the last bit of tiredness before getting ready to start the day.

“If I’m not going back to bed, might as well get some chores done before the others wake up.” Horse said, remembering how the group often made a bigger mess when trying to help out. There was still a Ched shaped stain on the ceiling from last time.

It was just a bit of dusting and putting things back in their rightful place. Little things that made her feel a little more at ease, even with the haunting lullaby still playing in the back of her mind. He was gone. She just needed to remind herself of that. There was no he was coming back.

Right?

“Good morning, everyone! Who’s ready to start the day!” Wammawink suddenly said, springing awake, startling Horse in the process.

“Ack! Wha? Wammawink?” It took a moment to get her thoughts back in order. Taking in her surroundings just in case the black entity really was there. But, to her relief, it was just Wammawink being her usual energetic self.

Wammawink turns her torso to look before turning around all the way around. “Ohhh, Horse! Already up and ready to start the day?”

“Y-yeah. Sure.” Horse didn’t want to worry the others with her trivial problems. She already felt guilty about always complaining about her problems when they first met. Dreams couldn’t hurt you.

“ That’s the spirit Horse! Come on, everyone rise and shine~!”

There was a collective groan from everyone.

Wammawink put her hands on her hips, looking at everyone with an exaggerated pout.

 Surprisingly, it seemed no one was in the mood to wake up at the crack of dawn. Maybe it was because they all began to get settled into their own lives since the war was over.

“ Five more minutes, pleeeease!”

“ What he said! I need my beauty sleep.”

“ I had never gotten more than 3 hours of sleep a day when I was fighting in the army. Nothing will me get up today.” Rider deadpanned, turning over to sleep further.

“ Me and portal tummy is still pooped out from all the stealin’ we did yesterday….”

“ I am gonna be a dad any day now. So I need as much sleep as I can get.” Ched said, with a bathrobe on and dark circles.

He was perched atop his nest that he made from Wammawink’s wool, a t-shirt that belonged to Zulius, and what some suspected were strands of Horse’s hair. After the “Horse Nowhere” incident, where he admitted to eating her hair in her sleep and a few other things, the herd decided best not to point it out to Horse. Somehow he managed to lay an egg ( no one questioned it) and now was waiting diligently for it to hatch.

Wammawink stood quietly for a moment, smacking her lips a little as she observed the energy in the room. After a minute, though, she figured out exactly what would get everyone up.

“ Alrighty then. But it’d be a shame if my supreme ultimate sunny-surprise happy times giggle cakes~.”

Just like that. Everyone sprang to life, practically jumping out of bed. All except for Rider, who sat up confused.

“ Sunny times what ?”

“ Wammawink is gonna make her supreme ultimate sunny-surprise happy times giggle cakes!” Glendale says excitedly, pushing her wiggly eyeballs into her face, “ They’re the bestest, most amazing giggle cakes ever !”

“ Uhh, okay sure, but what’s the difference?”

“ The secret ingredient, duh.” Zulius said like it was obvious.

Rider just blinked confusedly before yawning and shrugging. “Whatever, I guess, beats eating stale bread and meat chunks for breakfast.”

“ You used to eat meat chunks for breakfast?”

“ Only when the kill was good.”

The herd all exchanged looks as Durpleton whispered to Horse, “What kind of world did you live in ?”

“ Durpleton, you were there. You saw it when we were fighting the nowhere king. You adopted a Minotaur soldier!” Horse said a little bit peeved.

Durpleton didn’t seem to register and just went along with the others, watching Wammawink whip up her famous giggle-cakes. Rider just folded up her sleep stuff to put it away where it belonged. It was clear that Rider hadn’t completely adjusted to living in such a … ‘bubbly’ group setting. She ended up changing her hair back to normal after the first few days to her typical style, though it still remained a bright purple where her ponytail was. Rider just wasn’t someone who could express her emotions easily.

Horse let them have their fun. Stepping out onto the deck to admire the sky as the sounds of everyone’s silliness filled the houseboat. The war was over now. They didn’t have anything to be afraid of anymore.

So why couldn’t she shake the feeling things were amiss?

Chapter Text

Wammawink was the first one to notice something was off with Horse. For instance, while she was making her famous giggle cakes, Horse seemed to be checking under crevasses and things for something. Then after breakfast, when they left the houseboat to explore, she seemed to jump out of her skin when they bumped into Gebbrey. This was so unlike her. Usually, she was so reckless and courageous that she’d run headfirst into danger.

Now she seemed almost fearful.

“Hmmm. I wonder what’s up with her today….”

“Pfft, she’s probably doing something stupid. Typical Horse.”

Ched sat atop Wammawink’s head with the egg in a dark turquoise sling.

“Now is not the time for your agenda against Horse, Ched. Our friend is troubled! It’s up to us to help.” Wammawink said, following behind the group. They had to help her out of this funk. But how? What could she do?

Ched couldn’t stand seeing Wammawink so worried. Maybe it was these new fatherly instincts? He still wasn’t a big fan of Horse, but if helping her made Wammawink feel better…

He groaned, rolling his eyes. “Okay! I’ll help, I’ll help!”

“Really?”

“Ugh, yes. Just to get you to stop worrying so much!”

Wammawink just squeezed him in a big hug. “Ohhhh, thank you so much Ched! Let’s cheer up, Horse!”. No sooner had the words left her mouth she ran over to Horse. No longer visibly upset and ready to take on whatever was getting her friend down.

Ched just rolled his eyes and flew over as well.

As for Horse, she was in a world of her own. Her mind kept tracking back to the nightmares, no matter whatever else she tried thinking about. She felt so helpless and on edge. It felt like the Nowhere King would jump out of any nearby dark crevasse.

“Horse~!”

“Ah! Wammawink, stop sneaking up on me!”

“Sorry! It’s just that I realized we…” she started to think of some kind of made-up ceremony like before, “we never had your shaman graduation party! And it’s been a little while now, so I thought maybe we should finally have one?”

Horse had the sneaky suspicion that this was another one of those made-up things that Wammawink tried to convince her that it was real. But, without any evidence or reason why she would refuse, she just shrugged and went along with it. Hey, maybe it would ever detract her attention for a while. Keep her mind off any bad dreams.

“Sure.”

“Now I know what you’re going to say-” Wammawink said before blinking bewildered. “Wha?”

“Yeah sure, why not? I mean, as long as it’s for both of us. You never got to graduate shaman school either, so why don’t you guys can make it a double party.”

Wammawink teared up and pulled Horse into a bone-crushing hug. “Ohhhh, Baby girl, this will be the best party ever!”

…

The herd started decorating while Wammawink went on a walk with Horse to get something called a ‘Kaplonk.’ Another made-up item courtesy of Wammawink in order to get her away and to get at the heart of her problem. This left plenty of time for Ched to get the others on board and organize the party to cheer her up.

Everyone got on board with it pretty quickly.

Durpleton and Stabby were busy making the cake. Glendale was busy pulling random bits out of her portal tummy to find something to give as a gift, most likely with the intention of stealing it back at some point. Zulius was in charge of decoration. All of them very eagerly volunteered for their respective jobs.

While Zulius was busy sorting out what color streamers to use, he looked over at Rider. She was standing by a tree, just sort of casually observing.

“Say Rider? Do you know what Horse’s favorite color is?”

“Uhh. I’m not really sure….”

Zulius seemed to take a second to hesitate before saying, “Alright, I’ll just use all of them!”

Glendale spoke up, pulling out an amulet from her portal tummy. “Hey, think Horse would like this?”

“I don’t know. Sure?”

“Okay!” Glendale says, pulling out a ribbon tying a neat bow onto the gift. “Did you and Horse ever braid each other’s hair?”

“Horse doesn’t have hands, and no, we didn’t. Could you guys just stop asking?” Rider couldn’t handle all these questions about their relationship. When she thought no one was looking, she stalked off into the trees away from the group. Once she was far enough, she sat down at the base of a nearby tree. Hugging her knees close to her chest. Closing her eyes as she tried to block out the doubt in her mind. All these questions about Horse from her new friends made her feel like she didn’t honestly know the person she considered her best friend.  

Sure, they fought a war together for as long as they had known each other. But in reality, they never really knew each other. They were just together. A perfect fit. In just a short time, they were worlds apart. Even though they were together and safe now. Just like they always dreamed about. They were almost strangers now.

The longer she thought about it, the more she realized that…she never really knew where Horse came from.

…

Rider met Horse just a little after she lost her parents. Both her mother and father fought for the General’s army against the Minotaurs. They believed in making a better world for their daughter and told her every day that things would be alright. If only she could go back and tell them how quickly things could have ended if they only looked a little closer at the man who had been leading them.

There was little she could do then, and there was little she could now.

She was all alone in the world, that is, until the day she went into the stables with a sword and a chest plate of armor.

“ Nghh… ugh, this is heavy…” she was dragging along the broadsword across the ground.

Rider had nearly made it to the stalls when she got caught.

“Uh Uh shortie.” The General said, plucking away both items. “Sorry kid, you’re not old enough to fight yet. So give it some time and put your energy towards training.”

“Hey! I’m 12. I’m basically a teenager.”

“I know you’re upset kid. You want to make those Minotaurs pay. But you can’t just go rushing in because of your emotions. Plus, your parents would want you to take care of yourself. Grow strong and fight for this world as they did.”

He gave a great speech, but all Rider did was pout and fold her arms. Looking away as she fought back the tears.

The General tapped on his chin before lighting up. “Hey. You know what. I think I have a special task for you.”

The girl turned to him in surprise. He gently took the girl’s hand and led her to a stall. Inside was a young gray, almost blue-colored Horse with a light streak down her muzzle and a very fuzzy mane.

“This little guy turned up not too long ago. Not sure where she’s from.” He said, gesturing to the stall.

Rider looked down at the tiny creature, who gazed up at her with curiosity. Tilting her head at the two looking down into the stall. Rider playfully tilting hers too.

The girl smiled just a little. “She’s cute. What’s her name?”

“She doesn’t really have one. So we’ve mostly been calling her Little Horse.” The General says, reaching out to give her a pet, only for the youngling to retreat. “She’s not big with people, as you can see.”

“She’s probably just scared and confused. Her family’s gone, and everything is so scary without them here.”

The General gave a small, almost sad smile. “Yeah, probably. Which is why I think she could use a friend right now.”

Rider took a moment before remembering what she had with her. She felt around in her bag, pulling out an apple. Looking down at the sadden Little Horse made her feel less alone. That there was someone who was going through what she had gone through.

“Here you go, Little Horse.” She said, extending out her hand with the apple.

At first Little Horse seemed hesitant. Then reluctantly, the Horse inched closer and closer until she could smell the apple. She looked at Rider for a long moment before gently taking a bite out of the apple. Reveling in it before taking another.

“She really likes apples! Just like me.”

“Yeah. Looks like you two have got a lot in common.” The General said, smiling with pride. “Think you two can handle each other?”

Rider looked back at Little Horse, who whinnied in her direction. Coming up close as her other hand. Rider began to stroke her mane gently before smiling. “I think we’ll get by.”

…

Wammawink and Horse walked through the grassy fields. The rolling hills were filled with such calm. The grass wavering in the breeze with the blue sky dotted with cotton ball clouds overhead. They were in all sorts of silly shapes, like centaurs, food, and … butts.

“What is with this world and butts? Like whatever you go, boom. Butts. Butts everywhere. I can’t be the only person that notices this, right?” Horse says in passing conversation before feeling the wind and whipping her head around to look.

Wammawink waited a moment before speaking. “You know, these past few days you seem…I don’t know. You seem a little on edge.”

“What? No, I’m fine. Really.”

“Horse. We are a herd now. We’re a family. If something is wrong, we can get through it together. I know that things have changed rather suddenly for you. It’s not every day you discover that everything you’ve ever known is nothing that you thought. Err, what I mean is you don’t have to feel alone anymore. Rider is safe, we’re safe, and we all just want the best for you. We want to let you know that we care about you.” There was the thinly veiled desire to add something, but she refrained.

Horse couldn’t really look at Wammawink after she said that. Not because of what she said or how it made her feel. Just that … she couldn’t take her eyes off the figure of Elk standing there on the hill. The air around him seemed dark. Just standing there with glowing eyes. His rasping breath seemed to echo in the space, with black inky sludge leaking from the corners of his mouth.

Horse… this isn’t over… it’s only begun.

“What do you mean! I did what you told me to. The Nowhere King is gone. The General is gone. You are gone! Why can’t I get you out of my head?”

Wammawink blinked, confused. “Baby girl, I just want to help.”

He’s coming. WE are coming …

“What do you want with me!”

The magic is broken. The rift is broken. Find the pieces. Horse…

“Get out of my head!”

The lullaby seemed to emanate from him, that same haunting melody. Deciding she had enough, Horse charged at the figure. She ran at full force, only for him to disappear in a strange glitching effect. Horse tripping over herself and rolling down the hill landing at the bottom.

“Horse!” Wammawink quickly ran after her at the bottom of the hill. It was like she was trying to run at someone.

Find the pieces…

“Horse, what just happened? You charged at nothing!”

“You didn’t see him?” Horse said, gesturing to the hill. “He was there, and then he was gone.”

“Who was there Horse?”

“The Elk, the one I told you about in the Nowhere King’s mind. He was there saying something about pieces and the rift. Ugh, it was bad enough I was seeing him in my dreams and now-”

Suddenly Wammawink grabbed Horse’s face and pulled it close to her own. Her eyes were no longer bright and sunny. Instead, she seemed to hold a clear sense of fear in her eyes. Her mood and everything dropped instantly. Her tone seemed serious “Horse, stop and tell me everything from the beginning.”

She told her everything about the dreams. Since she started having them, she began to see them even when she was awake. It was always the same, but small details seemed to change every time. For example, the order she saw the events was random. Sometimes Elk seemed happy other times, he was fighting against the Nowhere King. But the one constant was the end. The black entity chased after her at a deadly speed. The lullaby was sung by an unseen choir as he tried to pull her back into the void. The most unnerving was how the rift seemed to be going crazy. The sparks flying, the swirling colors. The more she told Wammawink, the more her face seemed to grow into one of shock and fear.

“Horse, these aren’t plain old dreams. You are having visions!”

“Wait, like when you said you could predict the future?”

“No no no, predicting the future is when you have a feeling something is going to happen. Visions are when you see what could really happen. It’s sort of like glimpses into the future. Only truly powerful Shamans can have visions. Usually, it happens by choice, but whatever you are seeing is so likely to happen it’s bleeding into your dreams and even into what you see.” Wammawink explained, looking somewhat nervous about it.

“So you’re saying that my visions mean something?”

“Well, if it really is the same things over and over again, then I think so.”

They didn’t hesitate to get back to the others. The party could wait. Right now, they needed to find The Woman and make absolutely sure that the Nowhere King was gone.

…

“Here Horse! We got this gift for you! It’s a necklace. If you don’t want it -”

“Oh, thank you, Glendale.” Horse said and quickly accepted the gift as they were in a bit of a hurry to the Beartaur’s cave.

Everyone running at full speed. Rider hanging onto Durpleton as they’d sort of plucked her from her spot and he’d thrown her onto his back.

“Why are we running ?!”

“Long story short Horse is having visions, now we need to make absolutely sure the Nowhere King and the General are dead.”

“Why ?” Ched said looking concerned as well. “ We saw what happened . They went over the edge and whats her name finished them off. Right ?”

“Horse is having visions for a reason  and we need to get to the bottom of it!”

“There’s the cave !”

Inside the cave. The Beartaur and the Woman were busy inside with their everyday life. You see, ever since the woman fell through the rift portal the two had been living together. He was sort of just a big nerd who was a little intimidating given his stature. He was nice enough to let her live there though. In no time at all the two became roommates of sorts, then later on they were friends.

Their friendship was odd, but given all she’d gone through he never once faulted her for her eccentric and near feral nature.

“Get down from there so I can clip your nails ! Oh hey guys, you sort of caught me in the middle of something.” The Beartaur said greeting them as they came in.

They looked up to see the woman on the ceiling with the Beartaur trying to get her down. Horse was still skeptical about him, given the fact he nearly made her into a figurine. But this time it now seemed he was harmless.

“Don’t make me come up there!”

“Uhh, sorry to interrupt. But we really need to talk to her. It’s about the Nowhere-”

The woman then skillfully jumped down, cushioning the fall on the couch then sprang forth in front of the group. “ What about the Nowhere King.”

“Ah well… umm Wammawink you explain it to her.”

Wammawink gave a long explanation about Horse had been having visions, that they were leaking into her dreams, and that they were worried that he’d somehow come back.

“We just wanted to make sure, you definitely killed him right ?”

The Woman stood quietly for a long time before giving a sigh. “ Yes.”

“Oh thank goodness.” Everyone breathed a collective sigh at that.”

“And No.”

The herd grew stiff and everyone seemed to look at the woman with increased intensity.

Horse responded with a look of horror on her face“ Wait, what !?”

Chapter Text

The group stood silently. Jaws gaping. Eyes all fixed on the woman.

“Hold up! What do you mean by that? It can’t be yes and no.”

“Uh, actually, Horse, I use that answer a lot-” Zulius was cut off by everyone screaming. Running around like chickentaurs with their heads cut off.

“Oh my gosh, what are we going to do? I can’t let my baby boy child go back to war!”

“This is exactly the kind of stress I’m supposed to be avoiding right now.” Ched started becoming delirious, his usual stress response. “I’m gonna need to build a bunker. Maybe I can fly back in time and warn future me!?”

Rider took out her sword, which just had everyone screaming even more.

“Everyone, calm down!! Look maybe you could explain this a little better for everyone, you know, so we’re not panicking and everything.”

That ship had clearly sailed.

The woman gave them a little time to calm down before explaining it further, revealing the staff. “I know of all the evil he’s committed. However, once he was whole… I saw the man I fell in love with, the kind and inventive centaur I once knew. I couldn’t bring myself to destroy that.”

There was a long pause of silence, a brief moment of passing grief before her anger for the monster he had become surged back.

“But I also couldn’t leave it to chance the Nowhere King and the General would not return. So, I used a forbidden spell that I discovered in my early days wandering around Centaurworld. Sealing him inside this….” She then revealed a strange crystal. A broken, jagged-looking gem about the size of a soccer ball: it was saturated in a dark purple glow.

Everyone jumped back at the sight of it. Rider still had her sword drawn.

“So, you’re saying that the Elktaur…and all of the different parts of him… all that is in there?” Horse says, gesturing a hoof towards the crystal.

“Yes…” the woman sighed “, but also no. His essence is what’s in here. The only way his body could reform is with the other half of the spell, and thankfully I’ve hidden it well. Thus, he will serve out his punishment here. Where he can’t hurt anyone.”

“After everything that he has done. Prison is too good for him.” Rider said, sheathing her sword once again.

The Woman seemed to look upon the crystal piece with deep sadness. The woman had moved on from his feelings for him a long time ago. Everything that was love and good had turned to an intense hatred for what he had become as well as the guilt of not telling him her feelings when she had the chance.

…

“What are you doing?” The princess said, playfully peeking over the counter of his workshop.

“Gah! Please don’t sneak up on me like that. You know I hate it.” He said in a tone that held no seriousness behind it. She knew that he loved it when she’d appear in his workshop. It was one of the few places that there wasn’t a sea of judging eyes looking at each tiny action. It was their safe space. Where he could be serious and where she could be just a little silly.

She chuckled and ran her finger through an etched line in the wood. “Aww. I thought you loved surprises.”

“Surprises and being sneaked up on are two very different things-.”

“That doesn’t necessarily need to be unrelated.” She finished for him. The two laughed a little at the exchange. Then, after a moment of reprieve, she leaned over the counter space to have a better look at what he was working on.

It was a beautifully intricate device, hexagon-shaped with a different colored dial on each side. A winding crank was at the top that you turned in a clockwise loop. He seemed very proud of his work. His chest puffed out with pride as he looked it over.

“Is it a music box?”

“I suppose you could call it that. Though it would be more appropriate to call it a memory box.”

“A memory box?”

“Yes. You see, each of the parts is controlled by a small key, and when all six keys are in the keyholes, it allows you to”

She didn’t wait for him to finish and started to turn the crank. A beautiful melody began to play as the six-colored sides glowed. Each colored side lit up. Purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red. The glow got brighter and brighter with each turn of the crank. The sides of the box began to turn also, rotating counterclockwise. It seems to be building up to something, but it quickly died out after hitting a particular note. It just stopped.

He seemed embarrassed by the abrupt ending and so quickly put it away under his workbench. Hiding it away.

“I um … haven’t quite figured out how to get it working. It’s like something is missing.”

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out. After all, you’re the smartest person in both Centaurworld and my world.”

“Well, after you maybe.”

The two looked away, a light blush across their faces.

…

The woman stood silently. Her mind elsewhere. Glendale attempted to steal the staff, but Wammawink slapped her hand away and proceeded to dissuade her with a no-no wave of her finger.

Horse eventually gave a long sigh of relief. “Oh, good… looks like we were worried about nothing.” 

“But Horse, your visions.”

“Maybe it was just a fluke? Come on, guys. Let’s just get home.” Horse was eager to get away.

The group walked out as the two roommates resumed… whatever they were doing earlier. It seemed the Beartaur took the opportunity to let her guard down to grab her to clip her nails finally.

Outside the cave, Horse was still pretty shaken up. Wammawink set a gentle hand on her back as a way to comfort her. “Hey. Don’t worry, Horse. I’m sure your visions will make sense in time. For now, we just need to focus on helping you control it. It’s no fun if you can’t get a goodnight of sleep.”

“Thanks, Wammawink. Sorry about ruining the whole shaman graduation ceremony thing.”

“Oh yes. That was a thing. Err. I mean, don’t sweat it!”

The group headed back to the houseboat. It sure was a lot of excitement for what seemed like very little. There was no threat to their safety, nothing that could jeopardize their happy future. They could just go back to smashing cake in their faces, like they were doing just now. Durpleton insisted on sharing the barely edible cake, and everyone agreed to not to hurt his or Stabby’s feelings.

There were still licking away smears of icing when they saw Waterbaby waiting by the houseboat. She looked pretty shaken up herself. That was saying a lot given everything the Hippotaur went through while helping them win the war.

“Something’s wrong with the rift… isn’t there?” Horse said with great reluctance.

Waterbaby didn’t even say a word, she just nodded, confirming her fears. Silently the group just clambered onto the houseboat and steered towards the rift at max speed. Part of her already knew what she was going to say when they got there.

In her visions the rift was a cascade of many different colors, glitching out randomly with streaks of energy shooting out. It hadn’t started to happen yet, but she could see the way the rift rippled unevenly. The beginning of the deterioration already making its appearance.

“This morning when I came to check on the rift, it started crackling and then it flashed some colors. It’s back to normal as you can see- “

“But it’s still unstable isn’t it?”

“How did you know?”

She looked at the group before gaining the courage to step forward “Wammawink says I’ve been having visions. I’m afraid to say that it seems like she’s right. If that’s really the case, things are only going to get worse if we don’t fix the rift as soon as possible.”

“That’s easier said than done sugar. Most, if not everyone who worked on the rift was taken by the Nowhere King a long time ago. Even still, those who survived the war don’t even remember how it works, let alone how to fix it.” Waterbaby said with a shrug.

“Come on! There has to be someone!”

“I’m sorry honey, it’s before my time.”

“Time… Wait that’s it! Time. When I went back in through the Nowhere King’s memories, I saw the workers who worked on the rift. The Elktaur was the one who fixed the rift when it got busted the first time. I know this is going to sound crazy. But what if we brought back the Elktaur and he can tell us how to fix the rift.”

“You’re right that does sound crazy.”

“Ched! Seriously?” Wammawink said giving him a look before focusing back on Horse. “Do you really think that could work Horse?”

“I don’t know. But we have to do something. If we don’t, bad things are going to happen. I can’t let you guys get hurt again. After everything you’ve done for me.”

“We are a herd. Nothing bad will happen as long as we are together. We fought a war together if we could get through that we can conquer anything. And we will do it as a family.”

The two embraced one another in a big hug, soon joined by the others all glomping together in one big hug pile with Horse at the center. As she reveled in the warmth of her friends, part of her wondered if her plan was the right thing to do. She could still hear the distant lullaby playing in the back of her mind.

She really hoped she was wrong this time. 

Chapter Text

“They’re gone?! But they were just here!”

It was already nightfall when they got back to the cave. The stars were shimmering so brightly against the backdrop of dreamy blacks and blues. The lightning-bugtaurs were floating around aimlessly. The air had become cold and smelled of chilling peppermint.

Zulius took notice of the note pinned to the front door. Did we forget to mention that a giant door had appeared?

“Uh-huh. Hmm. It says that they left and won’t be back for a while. Also, under no circumstances would they give you the shard even if you asked. And aww, they drew a little smiley face how cute.”

Horse was about to lose it. Why did this always happen? Why were things always this problematic? Couldn’t things be simple for once!

Ched turned his head as he heard something like jingling bells and a giggle stick when you shook it hard. “Glendale? What is that thing you’re shaking?”

“Definitely not the crystal I stole from the woman while she wasn’t looking,” Glendale said while still shaking it.

“Oh, okay.” He said, turning back, continuing to be oblivious.

She shook the crystal so hard that she lost her grip, which caused it to go flying right towards the back of Horse’s head.

It collided with a light thunk before it fell back to the ground.

Horse winced at the impact, feeling the sore spot with her hoof. “Ow! What the heck, Glendale!”

“Uhh, guys?” Zulius said, pointing to the crystal that began to pulsate with a rainbow-like glow.  

They all watched as the crystal shook, bright bursts of light starting to shoot out from the center.

When it stopped, they all stood by in silence?

They watched in horror. Some inky shape pulled itself from the crystal prison, gasping and flailing. An inhuman screech came from the figure as it twisted and formed into something more familiar. A skeleton.

Not just any regular skeleton, but a centaur skeleton. Hollow eyes and eerily familiar antlers nearly made Horse pass out in terror. But the horrific light show wasn’t over yet.

It moaned as more brightly colored, somewhat rainbow-colored inky masses started to climb all over the skeleton. Utterly covering it as it writhed and fought the onslaught. It reminded her too much of when the Nowhere King nearly consumed them in the void.

As soon as it was covered, the glow became so bright that nearly everyone had to turn away. The shrieking reached its crescendo as the high-pitched wails gave into lower octave screams that sounded far too human.

The cries dimmed as the bright light suddenly burst. Falling down like sparkling bits of stardust.

When the horror was over, all that there remained to be a hollow-looking empty crystal and a dazed Elktaur stumbling around in the space. Somehow, without even meaning to, they had brought back the Elktaur. Splayed across face-first on the ground, completely unconscious.”

“Oh, hey! We did the thing!” Glendale said, putting her hands on her hips. “Great Job!”

“How did we… who… what just happened?!”

He picked himself up from the ground as he woke, rubbing away at the grit. Little sparking gems fell from his eyes as the centaur tried to regain his vision. He moaned as he felt his whole body ache. What had happened to him? Where was he?

He could not remember anything from before… what even was before? A blurred face crossed his mind, but little else seemed to come to him. Everything felt unfamiliar and new. Maybe he had just been born? That would explain this feeling, wouldn’t it? Yet there was something familiar in this feeling. It was a long-forgotten part of him, or perhaps it simply was part of him he didn’t remember. Was there a difference?

So many thoughts were spinning in his head.

His eyes opened to see a group of different centaurs staring at him, their eyes all shiny and sparkly. Well, most of them. However, this one weird-looking centaur made him feel very afraid for some reason.

The Elktaur attempted to back away from the group only to fumble to the ground. Unsteady on his own legs. Face planting to the ground in a spectacular display. He managed to get back up a few moments later, only to lose his balance again. The poor Elktaur ended up rolling down the side of the hill. 

“Yeah, something tells me that this isn’t going to be as easy as we thought.”