//------------------------------//
// With Gentle Song (Cries the Silence) 
// Story: The Mare Who Fell In Love With The Wind 
// by canonkiller 
//------------------------------//

Tell me how to be one of her kind. Shadow hissed, stomping a hoof. 

It is not right. The other Windigoes answered. You cannot.

Shadow snorted, mane billowing wildly. I have always been different! I have never thought with the herd!

That can change, their gentle voices crooned, you are young.

He glared at them through dark eyes, hating their brightness, their purity, their oneness. I was never one of you! I never will be! He turned away, towards the shimmering barrier of the city. I will be one of them!

You will never be one of them, their voices echoed as he galloped away, when you are one of us.

A few minutes prior and a few miles away, a small family sat around the table.

"Mom? What's going on?"

The Crystal Queen looked away from her daughter. "The city has been in danger for a long time from the Arctic weather, you know that."

Her father nodded solemnly. "In order to protect the ponies here, we have to make an artifact that will protect the city. But such an artifact requires huge amounts of energy. In order to get that much energy, somepony on the royal line must be... sacrificed. Someone untainted by the feelings of common folk."

"Y-you mean, all those times other ponies acted like I didn't exist?" Tears welled up in her eyes. "It was all so you could kill me?"

"Don't think of it like that." He mother whispered. "You'll be protecting the city for a long time. Forever, even."

"You can't!" Crystal shouted, pushing away from the table. "I fell in love, mom! You would know that, if you ever paid attention to me!"

Her parents exchanged glances. "In love? With who?"

Her eyes narrowed and she turned, galloping from the room. Her father's pale wings flapped once, and he was blocking her way. "With who?!"

"With the wind." She hissed before dropping to her belly, skidding under his feathers and continuing down the hall.

Crystal charged through the hallways, dodging capture with only hairs to spare. Free of the castle, she tore down the streets, taking off towards the wide meadows to the outskirts.

The King landed on the front yard of the palace, frowning. His Unicorn wife flashed into existence beside him.

"We cannot use a tainted heart to protect the city." She whispered. "We cannot endanger our kind."

He nodded. "We will need new kin."

A deep hollowness danced across the Queen's eyes. "Of course." She breathed into the warm air.

"For now," the King replied, trotting back into the castle. "Find her a proper husband."

"Of course." She waited on the grass, listening as her husband returned to the castle. She sighed, turning away after a few silent moments. "Good luck, my Princess."