Beautiful Lies

The Hounds - Chapter 3

"Water?" Socks repeated in utter disbelief.

Without thinking Pea dashed off into the dead forest to find where the sound was coming from. Her hooves pounded against the dry dirt furiously, she had to find that water. Leaping over a broken log she crashed back into the dirt to see a tiny trickling stream flowing across the soundless forest. It wasn't very much but it was indeed something and the smell of the fresh stream tickled her nose with delight. Behind her were the somewhat relieved faces of her friends and mother.

Pea shaking her body happily trotted to the tiny stream of water, her bright blue eyes glistened from her relief. The rest followed by her side excitedly lapping up the little water that they could find. The coolness of it trickled down Pea's dry throat easing its cracked edges inside. Once she had enough she lied her body down to rest on the side. The others followed curling up in a tight gathering together, so they could keep safe from the weather and the night.

Her eyes were trained on the stream that made a soft trickling sound, it soothed her mind a little. With her mother and friends beside her she should feel more than safe, but something pulled at her like they were in danger. In the middle of the tight group she wiggled and squirmed from her restless feeling, she knew something wasn't right. Just to be sure she flicked her ears about to hear for trouble, nothing was heard but suddenly she got a whiff of fresh blood. Even if it wasn't the them, they couldn't risk staying.

Before Pea had the chance to speak her mother leaped to her hooves, "I smell blood, we must keep
going."

"I was just about to say as well, I have a horrible feeling in my gut" Pea confirmed with her mother as well.

Socks and Melody didn't have the keen sense of smell that Pea and her mother shared so they glanced oddly at them for a moment. However Socks being rather cowardly didn't want to take the chance which was the best choice he could make. Melody on the other hand hesitated but didn't want to be alone so she pushed herself upwards as well. Freya took a moment to sniff the air and hear for sound, once she was finished Pea watched her trudge forward in large strides. They were all very exhausted but their thirst was quenched and they were able to keep moving.

The dead open forest reminded Pea very much of ancient stories that her mother always told her. She hoped that somewhere had food and water for them to share, otherwise they would die. Almost at the other edge of the forest Pea's mother immediately stopped in her tracks with a fearful stare on her face. Everyone stopped along with her and they began to all smell an odd scent something they never had even smelled before. It was a strange smell that mixed of bug carapace and wet dog, almost how Pea imagined dragons would have smelled like. Freya darted her head around quickly and then stopped to glare at a pile of mud near a large rotting log.

"Drop into that mud now! roll until you stink and hide in that log!" Freya demanded suddenly with a harsh whisper.

Pea's mane rippled at the pure fear in her mothers voice, it wasn't something that she often displayed. Socks, Melody, and Pea followed her orders quickly as they leaped into the pile rolling in the disgusting mud. It had already stunk like feces and probably partially contained it, but they were not willing to lose their lives today so they reluctantly kept rolling. Her mother began to dirt herself in the mud as well as if she had done this before, she had no expression on her long face. Once full of mud they crammed into the log her mother even made fake tracks forward while Pea wasn't watching and she only just noticed.

The young blue eyed horse could see a tiny bit outside of the log, she hoped that the rest of them could see it too. The wait had killed her with every passing moment, she couldn't stand the thought of being hunted it was terrifying. As Freya predicted they could suddenly hear the pounding of paws toward them. However they did not come to where they were, in fact they continued forward and stood straight in the eyesight of Pea. Their paws and legs could be seen from the small opening in the log, all over their legs had been massive scales and their paws were huge.

Pea's eyes widened when they walked further pacing around a small group of trees where Freya left some tracks and scents. She couldn't believe her eyes, there were only two of them and they were pitch black even the horns on top of their head. Their bodies were covered in spikes and they did not have wolf tails, they looked like black lizard tails attached to the body of a dog. The last thing that terrified her were the large bat like ears, it was unnatural and just how Freya had explained them in her stories. One was slicker with sharper spikes and had blue eyes, the other was a bit bulkier with larger horns and red eyes. At this distance she could only assume them to be male.

The red eyed male spoke in a rough manner, "I've lost the scent how is that possible?"

The blue eyed one sniffed the ground impatiently, "Shut up Dementra I'm trying to focus..."

"They moved so fast, we almost had them! Illusieo you must have lead us the wrong way!" The Freybug named Dementra protested

The blue eyed Illusieo stood calmly with erect ears, "Don't be so pea brained, I have the strongest sense of smell out of us two. They simply must have gone forward at a faster pace that's all."

"We don't have time for this! If we don't kill the blue eyed horse and bring her to War soon he'll have our heads!" Dementra's deep voice hissed in anger.

"You think War is one to worry about, what about Death? He'll take our souls and send us back to the under realm..." Illusieo shivered at the mention of his name, "We may work under War, but Death is supposed to be a monster. I've never met him but I've heard terrifying things, we'll keep moving until we catch the scent again they can't have gone far."

The two began to move forward once again and the sounds of their pounding paws made Pea shiver. She remember those names, and the blue eyed horse was referring to her they really were after her but why? The mention of Death sparked her memory though, the horse of Death the first of the apocalypse, the one to bring back the end. Pea only thought that was a myth but it must have been true, was War supposed to be one of the four? Shivering from her own fear she lifted to her hooves once the two monsters had disappeared.

"They really are after you..." Melody whispered tripping over her words.

"I always thought it was just an odd coincidence that you had blue eyes" Socks claimed with fear in his gaze, "I never knew it was something special..."

Freya paused for a moment and then began to trot another direction, "There was an ancient rumor that a regular horse with blue eyes would save the world and mend that which was broken. No other horse before her had natural blue eyes without being blind that's all I know, and I have to protect her."

Pea and the others began to follow, however Pea was troubled, "I don't understand, what's so special about me? I'm just a horse."

"I guess we'll just have to find out, but I won't let anything happen to you" Freya reassured her with a weak smile.

******

A couple of days passed as they approached a long desert that once used to be the plains. There was not a blade of grass in sight, and no water either. By now they were down to their last leg, they were close to starvation and already severely dehydrated since the last time they saw water. Pea noticed that even her mother Freya was beginning to show weakness, her legs wobbled with each painful step. None of the places they passed had anything to eat, everything was horribly bare.

"I don't think I can make another step..." Socks cried with utter pain, his body was terribly scrawny.

Melody nudged into his side to help support him, "We need to keep moving, you can't give up..."

Pea exhausted to her core kept walking, "This was the work of one of the four horses wasn't it?"

"Yes, I believe that the Buraq called him Famine. His work is to starve out all life, but you can't take the strongest away..." Freya answered in a tired tone.

"The Buraq? How did he know what their names were and what they'd do?" Melody piped in questioning Freya.

Pea's mother trotted with weak strides while explaining, "The Buraq knew a lot of things that could possibly have happened in the future. The horse with blue eyes was his telling. He also told of the four horses coming back to reap the world of all life. However even though he knew much, it was also very vague. He can't predict the exact outcome, he can only predict strong factors and events. Otherwise he would have tried to take them down on his own, but he has no idea where they are."

"That's insane, mother if I may ask where are we going?" Pea wondered hoping that the destination was to The Buraq.

"I was hoping you wouldn't ask but I won't lie to you, even though it is important to find a new place to live the game has changed now. We need to warn The Buraq, and he will take care of the rest. He may even know how to help you realize your importance my dear" Her mother replied in a soothing voice.

Socks leaped from his aching bones, "Where in the world are we supposed to find The Buraq?"

Melody followed along with him, "Yes the chances of finding him without evidence is slim!"

"I've met him before, I know where to find him. You see we used to be very close..." Freya explained her head weighing heavy, "The journey to find him though is very far. I only hope that we will survive the trip but bigger things are at risk right now."

"Bigger things? What could possibly be more important than our lives?" Socks hissed in annoyance.

Freya snorted at him angrily, "The entire world right now is at risk and if you think that it isn't important you are very foolish!"

"She's right, this is more than important and we have each other for support!" Melody agreed with Freya for once.

Their flanks were heaving in the harsh sunlight as everyone slipped into silence once more. Pea had always dreamed to meet The Buraq, but she tried her best to match the low mood because she didn't want to seem too excited. Attempting to ignore her hunger and exhaustion she pondered about what he looked liked and how wise he must have been. There was a tiny leap in her step but nobody noticed, she was in absolute glee at the moment.

In the middle of the roasted field was an old skeleton of a dead cow, she only just fazed back to reality and seen it there. Underneath the beaten bones they could see bright green grass poking through the ribs and other holes. Pea didn't really desire eating grass from a dead animal, no matter what kind even carnivores the idea made her upset. However this time she had to make an exception since they were all starving, with a heavy heart she trotted over to eat with the rest of her tiny herd.

Once all the grass was gone they felt mildly satisfied but still thirsty, it would have to wait one more day. The worry of being able to make it another day throbbed inside her head. She couldn't possibly go one with her friends and family, she wasn't emotionally strong like Socks. That horse made it through so much because he had a desire to live, but Pea was afraid to be alone she couldn't make it without them. With clouded eyes they carried on towards a tiny hill that carried a small puddle of water on top of it.

Thanking the stars they drank with glee, it was a miracle that they were able to both eat and drink in one day. However while Pea was distracted with the water she failed to see what was right in front of her. Lifting her head she noticed the others with their faces in awe, so she gazed in their direction. Right in front of her eyes was a wide field full of grass with a decent sized pond in the middle. It was more than enough to fill up on for their journey, Melody, Socks, and Pea chased through the grass with glee.

The sun began to set on the horizon but Freya continued to stay put atop of that tiny hill, her eyes were full of suspicion. Pea glanced over while the beautiful long grass touched against her legs, why wasn't she eating with them? Her mother caught her confused gaze and she gave her a weak smile, but Pea did not believe in that fake grin. Trotting over while her friends ate their fill she cocked her head with a mind full of worry.

"What's the matter mom?" Pea asked in a soft tone.

Freya sighed with her knees weakened, "This doesn't make sense for a field in the middle of this desert. It's very odd and suspicious."

The younger horse shot a look back at the grass, "It might be, but you're so weak and you need the fuel. One night might not hurt and we can leave early, we all need rest or we might not even make it..."

"My sweet pea, as much as I'd love to rest this is not trustworthy" The mother whispered weakly.

"Mom please, I can't see you suffer anymore. If it is a trap, or something like that we can keep alert and on watch, turn their trap into a gift" Pea attempted to compromise with her mother.

Freya grinned with a defeated sigh, "Fine, but we keep watch just to make sure. I guess I do need to rest..."

With a wide smirk Pea bounced into the field once more as her mother followed with a less buoyant hop. The body of her mother seemed like it was withering from the exhaustion, but once she began to take in the grass and clear pond water she began to regain her strength. The odd herd was satisfied to bursting in a few moments of their joy, they were in such a comfortable state and there was not a sign of danger. Pea felt a sensation of hope and pride from making the right decision, she felt they wouldn't have made it without the fuel.

The night quickly swallowed up the bright sky, and above stars twinkled brightly. They illuminated across the world and reflected beautifully off the tiny pond they had found. The ripples in the water seemed to make their bodies dance gracefully atop of the surface. In the serene beauty they curled together and observed the stars above with awe, they all took in the immense black sea above them.

Half asleep Pea yawned loudly, "What's The Buraq like mom?"

"He's extremely kind, he's wise, and has a great sense of justice. I think you'll enjoy meeting him, there's so much you could learn from him" Freya responded as if to be talking about the greatest thing in the universe.

"Do you think he'll help us?" Pea pondered again gazing up at the sky.

Freya nuzzled the top of her daughters head, "Of course he will, and he'll know exactly where to go next."

"That sounds wonderful..." The young horse yawned again her eyes closed and snout in the grass.

"Yes, yes it is. Goodnight my sweet pea" Pea's mother assured her while she fell asleep.

In moments they all began to fall asleep, the night seemed to almost hypnotize them into a solid rest. One after another until they all faded into their dreams, Pea had been the first to join her slumber. Her head winded around a golden spoon of hopes, the images of a new world playing through her mind.