Moonlight Lanterns

Gwen roamed out into the field a lantern in her hand more for formality’s sake than a real need. She could see in the dark well enough it didn’t matter, but she’d startled a few too many people accidentally sneaking up on them in the dark that she decided it was better to have a light. And in the fields at night, it kept other things away as well. 

She recognized all the hoses as she passed them grazing in the fields, or sleeping wherever they’d decided to. It was a quiet night at least, the moon a narrow slit in the sky but the stars clear and spread like a blanket across the darkened sky. 

She lit the first lantern along the fenceline, a tradition she’d started keeping since the first time someone had missed a turn and crashed into her fence. One of the nearby horses took note, but the sight was so familiar all she got was a sleepy snort. 

She walked down to the next post and lit that lantern, turning to find herself face to face with a horse she didn’t know. “Oh dear… where did you come from?” 

Blue and purple eyes blinked at her as the shale colored horse sniffed the hem of Gwen’s blue tunic. Her white tuxedo markings were the most visible thing in the darkness at the moment, along with the little flecks of glitter in the moonlight.  

“I don’t have a break in the fenceline. I just walked it this morning, and I’ve already walked a good part of it lighting the lanterns. So I’m guessing you jumped it.” Gwen studied the horse much the same way the mare was watching her. 

The mare pawed at the ground with white stockinged legs, her hooves kicking up dirt with surprisingly delicacy as she continued to look at Gwen expectantly. 

“If you’re looking for a treat, you’ll have to wait a moment. I’ve still got a few more lanterns to light, and I’m fairly certain you belong elsewhere.” 

The mare nuzzled at Gwen, and then attempted to chew on the lantern. 

“Maybe let’s not…” Gwen pushed the shale husky mare’s nose away from the lit lantern and turned to finish her original task. 

“You’re following me, aren’t you?” Gwen looked over her shoulder, the mare just a few inches away and still regarding her with the same expectant look. “Why? You’re not mine and you’re such a pretty thing I can’t imagine you don’t belong to someone else. You should go home.” 

The mare swished her tail, the shale and white hair far longer than that of a normal loshenka, the white strands almost seemed to float while the purple hued shale seemed to be lost in the darkness. 

“You’re very pretty, yes.” Gwen chuckled, petting the mare’s nose as she pressed it up against Gwen’s hand. “But you’re still not mine, and contrary to my current life, I’m fairly certain horses aren’t supposed to work like cats.” 

The mare shook her head and then tried to nibble on Gwen’s tunic. 

“No, hey!” Gwen pushed her back again. “I’m not food and you’ve an entire field to explore. You got in here somehow, so I can only assume you’ve done some roaming about. At least let me finish getting the lanterns lit so I can figure out what on earth I’m going to do with you for the night.” 

The mare backed off a bit, looking slightly disappointed. 

“Oh, fine!” Gwen surrendered and pulled a piece of carrot from her pocket, holding it out to the mare. “You win, but only for tonight.” 

The mare took the carrot, crunching at it happily as she once again started to follow Gwen to the last two lanterns that needed lighting. One of these days she’d get someone to help her do so magically, but there wasn’t a rush and she enjoyed her nighttime strolls. 

The strange new mare followed her the entire time, poking at things occasionally with playful curiosity. She seemed particularly fascinated by the lantern, continually trying to nip at it or look at it more closely. 

“I’m not giving it to you.” Gwen laughed as she pulled the lantern away from the mare once again. It wasn’t hard. The shale mare wasn’t overly tall, though that long tail was proving dangerous. Gwen had gotten clipped by it a time or two when the horse had gotten excited. 

The look she got next was about as close to pouting as she’d ever seen a horse get, and she’d have laughed if it wasn’t so pathetic looking. She almost did anyway. 

“You can’t have the fire. You wouldn’t like it, and I don’t think the rest of them would either.” She gestured further into the field where all the rest of her horses were happily ignoring them. So far there hadn’t even been a glimmer of curiosity over the new mare. 

The horse huffed and stomped the ground, sending dirt flying. 

“No. I don’t want glass in my field either.” Gwen laughed, patting the mare’s neck. “But I’ll get you one that’s similar and doesn’t have glass in it. Okay? Something you can play with.” 

The mare gave an excited whinny, flicking her tail wildly as she turned in a circle and then tried to nuzzle Gwen, who was in the process of spitting long hairs from her mouth in amusement. Gods that hair was long. 

The strange mare circled her twice and then took off towards the rest of the herd. She wasn’t too worried about introductions as the way the other horses had been ignoring the Rapunzel tailed horse, she figured the mare had been in the field for a while. 

Her assumption proved right when the herd simply looked up and shifted to make room for her, acting as if she’d been a part of their numbers for years rather than what could only be a few hours. She really hadn’t planned on another horse. Then again, she hadn’t planned on most of her horses. She really shouldn’t be surprised it happened this way. Lunaris seemed to think it was a grand idea. Gwen paused on her way back to the house… she’d just named the mare, which meant she was probably keeping her.