It was dark.
Of course, I had been sleeping, so I assumed it was still night. Which was true, I suppose - but there's a difference between something that's true and the truth.
I laid my head back down and tried to sleep, but something was wrong. I couldn't say what - I was and still am a Brave, not a Shaman of any sort - but I could not calm my mind enough to return to sleep. Restless, I rose and left my thipi to see if the moon and stars might calm me.
I was not the first to seek that solace. I saw a great many of my tribe out amongst the night who looked just as uneasy as myself - perhaps more so.
It was here when I became truly concerned. A single Buffalo Brave having a restless night is bad luck, but not unusual. For so many to rise all at once was beyond mere luck - it was an ill omen.
With my gangly legs I wandered about the camp. Whispers were exchanged between those standing together, huddled close for comfort and warmth. I received a few nods of acknowledgement, but none were willing to truly talk. I was grateful for that, for I did not wish to speak myself.
The sense of unease only grew as I walked, and I felt my tail and ears lash about in frustration despite my attempts to remain calm. Frustrated, I sat myself down and closed my eyes. Taking deep breaths, I waited until my extremities were under control before turning my eyes to the sky. I thought perhaps knowing the hour might help calm me, so I searched for the Moon.
On the first glance, I thought perhaps I had confused my directions. After the second, I stood and turned to view the whole bowl of sky for the third. Even as I rose to my feet I felt my stomach fall and drop cold. I could only stand and stare as fear chilled my bones, even as Chief Thunderhooves' powerful bellow carried out from near the center of camp -
"What do you mean the Moon is gone?"
I was the fastest runner, and so I saw it first. Or rather, did not see.
We were not far from the Pony settlement of Appleloosa - it had been only a couple days, walking uphill and without concern for speed. Running, a young Buffalo Brave like myself could make the trip in much less time.
I cannot remember the words that were said before I was sent. I was paralyzed by panic and lost in the chaos of my own thoughts. I could not forget what the Shaman said, though my memory cuts it far simpler than her words.
The Moon is gone. Perhaps the Sun, too.
Chief and Shaman had argued even as Warriors worried about - unsure of what to do. Mothers and children had risen from their beds as well, and I suspect they had been awake for some time. Thunderhooves has a great voice, but my tribe has slept through louder in the past. It's far more likely they had awoken when I had, but chose to stay in bed and try to rest rather than wander, for which I could not blame them. My eyes followed the motions of my kin, and my ears fell deaf to the words of my leaders. Here a calf buried her face into her mothers leg - there a warrior tore at the ground. All the while the yelling grew ever louder.
I know not how much time passed before I was called over. Again, the exact words fell apart the moment they entered my ears, but I found myself running north shortly after, with simple instructions.
Find the Ponies. Find out what happened.
It was not a short run, and when I was forced to rest I found the warmth of my blood had dispelled the frozen clutches of fear, to my detriment, for now suddenly I could think. If there was no Moon, no Sun - what was to become of us? What would we do?
I did my best to banish these thoughts - it was for the Chief and Shaman to decide what should be done. I was to speak to the Ponies, and find out what they knew. The Sun and Moon were their charges - they would know better than any what happened, and what could be done.
I consoled myself as resumed running. The Ponies were skilled and clever with their magic - it was likely they would have a solution soon. There is nothing to worry about. We simply must make sure that they know we offer our help, if they need it - though surely they would not. A thousand years and more of handling the Sun and Moon, with little incident. Surely, it was not really a concern. Certainly.
I caught sight of the orchard and slowed myself - I would need my breath to speak, after all, and Appleloosa would not be far behind. I thanked the Stars for their light, in guiding the way through the darkness - but here fear found me again.
There were no lights. The Ponies always had lights.
Appleloosa was gone. I still do not know where it went. Trails the Ponies had walked through the trees remained packed down, but the border of the settlement was a sharp line in the soil, as though they had never been. I wandered through the dust, though what I hoped to find I cannot say. I saw disturbed earth where I knew a building had once been. An unfinished fence and two bales of hay. An old horseshoe.
There was so much missing, simply gone. The only thing that had come in place was air that tasted of sand and storms. I remember feeling lightheaded and standing still for a time - it may have been moments, minutes, or hours, I cannot say. At some point, I emptied what little was in my stomach and screamed.
I sought and found the well. The water helped, but I could not bring myself to touch the hay.
I was much faster returning.
Time is so hard to keep when there is no Sun or Moon, but unless I had become one with the Wind I knew it must have been a days worth and then some by the time I returned. I had not stopped to rest, because I could not - my people needed to know.
Their faces shone with hope when I returned, though I watched it fall like leaves in an autumn wind as I passed them by - breathless and dripped with sweat despite the cold air - every figure was huddled around a blazing fire and swaddled in blankets. I dared not stop and speak to any who called my name.
The central fire was the largest, and had the most Buffalo around it. Our Warriors and Medicine Women huddled together, speaking in quiet tones that stopped as soon as I rounded the corner - or perhaps they continued, but I could not hear them over my pounding heart.
I stood and shivered in the shadows thrown by the fire until I saw two large figures rise and approach - the Chief and Shaman.
I looked them in the eyes as best as I could - my vision was blurred - and told them what I knew.
"The Ponies are gone."