Sorry for my infrequent posting, because I have like no schedule because I am a disorganized butt. Anyways. This is something I originally posted on my dA, but I decided to share it with you guys too!!

There's something bugging me about this, maybe I'll update it later. But I wanted to get this up, at least.

Reference used: fav.me/d8o3y57

Anyways, featuring 1015 Group Horse Import—aka Cavalier (fav.me/d6bqnyu) as well as 1031 Balthazar (fav.me/dcqh5om), 1009 Fragment (fav.me/dcqh2un), 1004 EM's Maximus*** (fav.me/dc5vasq), and 1109 Group Horse Import—aka Marina (fav.me/d7ddifj) in the story below. None of these characters are mine.

Word count: 2192, huge thank you to XxTheShadowGirlxX on dA and EmeraldTheWoof on dA for proofreading and helping edit!!

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Cavalier snorted, warm breath billowing from his nostrils, forming soft clouds that hung in the air before dissipating and floating away on the breeze. Inky darkness blanketed the snowy landscape and wind whispered through the treetops. The nearby river, long since frozen over, glittered with the dull reflection of the night sky. Stars from universes many light-years away shimmered in its surface.

Cavalier shifted uneasily, glancing towards the forest. Shadows wove between the trees, melting in and out of the darkness. Unblinking glowing eyes stared back at him from the blackness. The creatures watched, but made no move to attack, seemingly more than content to stalk him from afar.

He stamped a hoof and shook his mane, unable to place the troubled feeling running through him. Ever since Strawberry Wine and Oliver's deaths, things at the castle had been subdued. Everyone was both tense and sorrowful, and, well....then Griffin's death was discovered, and the corrupted Generals weren't the same. Upon their brief return to the stables before being rehomed, Fragment and Balthazar were not the same horses that Cavalier had grown to know and respect. Cavalier had originally been overjoyed to see them both alive, and not the mangled messes that had become of Oliver and Strawberry Wine.

Both Generals had come back, looking nothing like they had before they had disappeared. Skeletal markings decorated their faces and bodies, with otherworldly veins of dark magic dancing across the new mutation that adorned them. Smoke flowed from their eyes and hooves in a constant stream, and an unsettling aura surrounded them both.

Balthazar had curled in on himself, shutting down. If he had been quiet before his corruption, he was absolutely silent upon his return. He hadn't responded to Cavalier's attempts at conversation, resembling a statue a little <i>too</i> much for the frostsplash's comfort. He just stared at the horizon, occasionally lashing out with pinned ears and bared teeth if anyone came too close. After that, Cavalier left the other stallion alone. It broke his heart to see a fellow General seeming so lost and alone in what he used to call home. After one too many incidents, Queen Alora had decided to rehome Balthazar, and he went home with someone called Kassia Feteke. Cavalier hadn't seen him since.

Fragment hadn't seemed that different upon her initial arrival. She was still kind and gentle, but after his encounter with Balthazar, Cavalier was wary. She appeared to be greatly saddened that many of her fellow Generals wouldn't approach her, and so he finally decided to give her a shot. The first conversation had been pleasant, if a bit stiff and uncomfortable. Cavalier chalked it up to shock. However, the second time around, it didn't go so well. She had turned in the middle of what had been (in Cavalier's eyes, at least) a perfectly nice discussion. It was like a switch had been flipped. She'd whirled, fury blazing in her startling red eyes. She struck him, hooves flashing, teeth snapping at his flank as he'd fled. Then one day, she simply disappeared. Cavalier had no idea where she'd gone, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know. He just assumed she'd been rehomed, just like Balthazar.

Cavalier's head drooped in tiredness, the memories taking him back to a time he'd rather not remember. He didn't want to remember what had been the shells of such wonderful Generals. He simply hoped they were doing better now, wherever they were. They didn't deserve to be tormented at the castle.

He pawed at the snow, thoughts drifting. It was that time of year again, what was called the "holiday season". Trees were put up and decorated, although Cavalier didn't understand why humans insisted on putting small hanging ornaments and funny little strings of lights on them. He rolled his eyes at the mental image.

Overall, the holidays were a joyous time. People were in high spirits, although that may have been because of the spirits they consumed. People bustled about around the castle, busy and merry. They were often whistling or singing Christmas tunes.

This year was different, though. If it was because of all the tragedy that had happened thus far or something else, Cavalier wasn't sure. But it was different for him because someone was missing.

Maximus.

Oh, how he missed his friend. Maximus had gone last Christmas, gifted away to a stable called Emerald Moor. Queen Alora had deemed him to be retired, for she felt he deserved love from one person instead of an army. It made sense when Cavalier thought about it, but it didn't make him any less sad about having to had say goodbye to him.

Maximus was a serious stallion, but always worked hard and gave everything he had towards assignments. Cavalier delighted being paired up with the older stallion on hunts or for training. He made for an excellent partner and it was always an honor for the frostsplash to join him.

Others would avoid the tiger roan, possibly because of his height and commanding aura, but Cavalier found he enjoyed his company. He spent plenty of time near or next to the fellow General, and Maximus didn't shoo him away, so he cautiously assumed the other Nordanner accepted his presence. Their time together was usually spent in silence, but it was a comfortable silence. Maximus was a horse of few words, and Cavalier appreciated that, not being much of one for words himself.

Cavalier recalled one specific memory of Maximus. It was Christmas time, and the pair had been in the paddocks under a gnarled willow, watching snow drift lazily on the land of Aleria. Clouds obscured parts of the sky, but the moon had refused to be overtaken by their hazy darkness. It shone bright, softly illuminating everything it touched.

The frostsplash stallion had been watching the clouds chase one another when a shooting star streaked across the sky.

"Make a wish," he commented softly, knowing Maximus would hear him. At such an early hour, when darkness still covered the land, it was quiet. Even the snow falling made no noise as it settled, blanketing everything with white.

"Merry Christmas, Cavalier," Maximus had responded, his baritone a soft murmur, his own emerald eyes on the sky. A small smile twitched at the edge of his muzzle, softening the grave look the stallion typically wore. The breath from his words floated up and away, and Cavalier watched it go.

"Yeah," he whispered, stars reflected in his dark grey-blue eyes. "Merry Christmas, Maximus."

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That had been years ago. Now, Cavalier stood alone on the banks of a frozen river, shadows tracing his every move with hungry eyes. How he wished Maximus were standing beside him; the stallion's presence always reassured him. But here, he was alone and cold and vulnerable.

And the shadows knew.

The Shadowstalkers melted out of the forest, darkness seeming to cling to them. They prowled towards him, eyes glowing and mist swirling around them--and not in a friendly way.

Cavalier snorted, stomping a hoof, eyes trained on the pack. He knew those glowing eyes. He knew that mist. Images of Fragment and Balthazar flashed in his mind.

<i>Balthazar standing in the same spot for days, refusing to eat or drink, staring off into the distance. Fragment, her moods unpredictable and wild, aggressively attacking other Generals with no recognition, eyes blank. The scars they wore were invisible to the outside, but manifested in actions. And it was absolutely frightening. Cavalier had faced bandits to dragons to everything in between, and yet, nothing had scared him more than seeing Nordanners he had known transformed to strangers right before him.
</i>
Cavalier was dragged from his thoughts by a movement between the trees. The matriarch slowly emerged from the cover of the forest, her jet-black fur absorbing all nearby light. She was nearly as tall as he was, standing a few inches shorter at the shoulder. Her pupil-less eyes gleamed, despite there being no light anywhere near her to illuminate them. Wickedly sharp claws extended and dug gouges in the earth, points glinting.

She let out something between a roar and a scream, a sound that grated on Cavalier's nerves and made his fur stand on end. He pinned his ears at the noise, attempting to rid it from his brain. The hunters stalked forwards, seemingly grinning through the darkness. The stallion shifted nervously, eyes flicking from one Shadowstalker to the next. His instincts were at war with each other--they told him both to fight and flee, to stand his ground and to run. He was bred, born to fight dragons. But these were not dragons. He huffed in indecision, edging backwards as the predators advanced on him.

Finally, they moved a little too close, mist anticipating their arrival and Cavalier reared, striking out at the nearest one with deadly hooves before whirling on his haunches and fleeing. The pack gave chase, cackling laughter echoing around eerily and letting him know <i>just</i> how much they were enjoying this game.

That's all it was to them.

A game.

Cat and mouse.

'<i>Some game</i>,' Cavalier thought bitterly as he galloped through the snow, hurdling over a snowdrift. The Shadowstalkers loped along behind him, sending their purple mist ahead of them. It moved over the landscape, practically swallowing everything in its path. What few plants survived the winter chill wilted beneath the fog, smothered. It swirled around his hooves, nipping at his heels, and Cavalier blinked in terrified surprise. He forced himself to go faster, breath coming in gasping snorts as he pushed his legs to move faster.

He could hear the gleeful giggles around him, although he couldn't quite tell if it was because they were flanking him or because that was all he could hear. He narrowed his eyes, glancing at the river which he had pulled nearly parallel to. If the ice broke, he would be dead. It was a risky gamble, too risky.

But he would be dead either way. And risky was all he had left; desperate times call for desperate measures.

'<i>Gods help me</i>,' the prayer flew into his thoughts and was gone just as fast.

He tossed his head and leapt off the bank. His front hooves hit the ice and it cracked, sending chilling fear flooding through his veins. He took a stride, barely avoiding the dark, churning waters as ice broke like glass a hair behind his back feet. Ice creaked, tilted, and threw him off-stride, and he struggled for a moment to regain his footing. Luckily, his shoes helped him gain traction, and he continued to race across the river. Cracks cobwebbed from his hooves with every step he took, ice shattering in his wake.

He made a desperate leap for the opposite bank, pushing off the frozen river, even as it snapped and groaned, swallowed by the rushing water below it. He hit hard-packed snow on top of ice, hind feet slipping on the slick surface. A wave of panic and adrenaline raced through him and he scrambled desperately for a foothold, shoe eventually helping him by catching on a crag in a rock. He hauled himself onto the embankment, sides heaving, cold sweat dripping down his legs.

Cavalier lifted his weary head to look over his shoulder, watching the Shadowstalkers pacing on the opposite bank. Their snarls of seething rage could be heard easily across the river, even over the sound of the furious water, having been awoken from its dormant state. The matriarch stood, glaring icily at him. She let out a yowl and the pack retreated, melting back into the darkness from which they came. Their mist, however, lingered. Cavalier could've sworn it was creeping ever so slowly towards him, seeking to devour him. He let out a snort and turned, loping back towards the castle, the creature's echoing laughter haunting him every step of the way. As he ran, Aurora Borealis danced overhead, and a shooting star streaked across the sky.

"Merry Christmas, Maximus," Cavalier whispered, the wind stealing his words and he could only hope it was blowing them to wherever the other stallion was.

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Upon his return to the castle, Cavalier was...different. He was tense and constantly on edge, searching for an enemy only he could see. Sleep eluded him, and when he could catch the few rare moments of nodding off, he was plagued by nightmares. Visions of Griffin with his head torn off, blood pooling; broken remains of Strawberry Wine and Oliver, pelts marred with vicious gouges, strips of flesh peeling back to display ribs stained crimson.

Eventually he would take to sleeping beside Marina under the cherry trees in the courtyard. With the spirits watching over the pair, the nightmares stayed at bay. He took comfort in her company, in knowing that he wasn't the only one who was troubled. He was certain her terrors were different than his, but Cavalier appreciated her presence nonetheless.

But even when he slept under the cherry trees, even when he didn't have nightmares, he would wake and their laughs would echo in his head.

Taunting.

A promise of what was to come.