Cave Paintings || #2

The limited light that the moon shone down wavered quietly through the firs of pine trees, the deep green painted in blue like a watercolour portrait. The birds had all fallen asleep, save for the owls hunting in the wilderness nearby, their hooting reaching the ears of tiny mice that scuttled home to their burrows. Leaves crunched underfoot as Robin wandered down the muddy path, the rocks vaguely shuffling about as he did. A pair of foxes screeched to one another in the distance, and Wolf, his older brother’s pony, shuffled about, alarmed. His ears pricked forwards when twigs snapped up ahead, and the snort of a familiar animal paired with the flick of a long, knotted tail alerted them of the pony up ahead. It had a similar colour to Wolf, a black coat with a soft brown ombre in the fur, and when it wandered out of the thick bushes, his white front that looked as though he had fallen face-first into a puddle of paint became visible. His left eye had little brown spotted markings, and his reddish-brown eyes gleamed under the moonlight as he glanced at Robin and Wolf before wandering off into the mouth of a cave.  

Robin and Wolf seemed to look at each other before walking forwards, the bags on Wolf’s back shifting with the weight of the various fruits they held. They had come out today to collect foods for the new recipes their mother had been thinking up, and being the less-grumpy one of the two siblings, Robin had volunteered. Well, maybe not volunteered so much as being the only one who might be bothered at all. He had brought Wolf along with him to carry things that he couldn’t, the little saddlebags strapped to him alongside one of the old saddles that Vyvien didn’t compete in anymore. That way, they could easily get to and from the woodlands and back to their house in quick time, with Wolf’s never-ending love for the dark wilderness and his semi-feral backgrounds of stamina. But tonight, their journey had taken an unexpected turn. 

There was a universal knowledge in the horse community about a breed called the Teddy Cobs - semi-feral ponies that roamed in various herds, their manners stereotypically friendly and welcoming every day of the week. The traditional method of adopting one of these ponies would be to knot a ribbon in the mane alongside a bell, and then when they were moved for the winter, if your ribbon remained, they would be going home with you. This gelding, no doubt, was one of them same round ponies.

The cave was dark, as one would expect of a winter’s night, but the pair didn’t stop. The little pony they were walking after might be lost, after all - there was no sign of the rest of his herd, but the gelding had walked in regardless. Maybe there was some water source in here that he knew of? Well, they wouldn’t know until they had a look.

‘Little pony?’ Robin called, glancing about and tightening his grip on Wolf’s bridle. The noises from the forest had dimmed, but the noises from within the cave were much more terrifying. Bugs crawling on the walls, mice shuffling, and hooves from both Wolf and the gelding in front echoing through the tunnels. It’s loud, but also quiet.

After a short while, the light through the tunnels began to glow brighter, but it wasn’t the sun - no, not directly; this was a bright stone in the centre that was reflecting the tiniest ray of light from the top of the cave and sparkling it against crystals from all sides. The pony was stood in the centre, whinnying to Robin and Wolf quietly, but the noise echoed and seemed louder than it was. 

‘Hi, handsome. Are you lost?’