Common

Brooding ominous clouds hoovered overhead, swollen with the promise of torrential rains. Like a divine orchestra tuning its instruments, the heavens rumbled with the impending symphony of clapping thunder and cracking lightning. The Paradise King, emerged from the ocean's embrace onto the hardened sands. His gaze, piercing and enigmatic, shifted towards the dark skies, his breath held on his lips. The humidity weighed down on him with its oppressive promise, a tangible reminder of the tempest that was about to break.

He pressed deeper onto the crossing, his hooves finding the familiar path that led him further inland. Each step, a rhythmic thud against the hard-packed earth, echoed the thunder of his own heartbeat. His glacial blue eyes swept across the throngs of horses who now gathered nearer to each other, their forms huddled together like frightened birds against the growing darkness. The wind, a harbinger of the impending storm, whipped through their manes and tails, carrying whispers of unease. Instinct, primal and undeniable, told him that he should join them, seeking safety in numbers. But a flash of movement, a fleeting glimpse of her dusky grey coat, drew his eyes away from the huddle. A solitary figure, a mare with a mane like spun midnight, trotted across the clearing.

Then, a flicker of curiosity, a tug of something more he couldn't quite name, replaced the primal urge to seek safety. He let out a soft whinny, a call to her, even though he knew she couldn't hear him over the howling wind. And then, with a newfound resolve, he shifted his weight and followed after her, his hooves tracing the path she had taken, his mind filled with a sense of adventure that was as exhilarating as it was reckless.

The raindrops, initially gentle, intensified with time, their heavy droplets staining his patched hide. He slowed as her footsteps faltered and finally stopped. "It's best that we remain together," he uttered, ""for the storm is fast approaching, and I confess that I would rather not endure it in solitude." He offered a reassuring yet anxious smile. Since his youth, storms had instilled terror within him, their deafening thunder, erratic nature, and the primal fear that coursed through his veins.