My little Short Stories 2- Paradise Edition

by Paradise Oasis


The Song of Salomare, part one

The Song of Salomare- part one

Saddle Arabia... the mysterious kingdom of the Orient. Land of gold and spices, of silks and scimitars, this sun- scorched desert is home to a mighty race of horses who maintain a proud warrior culture in these harsh environs. To the citizens of Ponyland this enchanting land has always felt like an exotic paradise, and the natives have always welcomed their barbarian cousins from the north with open friendliness and hospitality, at home with our similar faiths, autocratic feudal culture, and reverence for clan and monarchical authority both of our herds share.

But this had not been the case in the days of old Equestria, where the old empire's ideals of freedom and culture were in conflict with the customs and traditions of this proudest of nations. It was only through the friendship and good will of the ruling alicorn princesses, with the Sultan and Sultana, that relations were at least kept civil between these two proud cultures. So mistrust and suspicion existed between ponies and horses, and it was unthinkable for two equines from these extremely disparate herds to be close, let alone be friends. But here I shall relate the tale of two such friends, and how their friendship affected the world around them.

Her name was Salomare, daughter of the Sultan, and princess of the this rich desert land. Raised by her nursemaids and the gelded palace eunuchs, this young white mare with a auburn mane and tail. From the moment she was born, her blue eyes were filled with wonder and excitement at the world around her. Her fillyhood was filled with days of running around the palace, playing tricks on all of the royal courtiers and foreign dignitaries, and driving her caretakers mad by running around the palace without her veil on. The Sultan and Sultana made certain their little desert bloom knew only happiness in her young life.

And so, the delicate little jewel did grow up safe and protected within the confines on the royal palace, but the safety within the royal harem did not give her much chance to ever make friends. The companionship of servants and caretakers was not the same as the love and companionship that comes with friends. The children of the servants would play with her when she was lonely, but she soon realized they only did so because thier parents told them to; she was always a pony apart. So the little filly was left sad and alone, until the day somepony new came to Saddle Arabia.

"Your highnesses, may I present Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria, and her royal court."

The dignitaries from Equestria- Princess Salomare had heard tales of these strange ponies, equines who were smaller versions of horses like themselves, but she never could have imagined the miniature horses her parents described would be so interesting! The princess 's ladies in waiting were so colorful and friendly- especially the pink one, who played even funnier pranks than she did- but the princess herself was utterly incredible! Both a Pegasus's wings and a unicorn's horn- no horse in Saddle Arabia possessed both of these gifts!

Salomare immediately attached herself to the princess, asking a thousand questions about everything the alicorn knew. The princess of friendship, so impressed with the young mare's thirst for knowledge, became something of a mentor to the heiress to the Saddle Arabian throne during her goodwill visit to the desert land. Despite only being an earth horse, the princess soaked up all knowledge she could on both unicorn magic and Pegasus magic. But the more she learned about the wonders of other pony types, the more the future sultana wondered what she can do with no sorcery or weather magic.

"How can a lonely earth mare do anything for her subjects?" Salomare asked the princess of friendship. "I was born a princess, and I am in no way the princess you are!"

"Patience, my faithful student... your time will come soon enough." The older and wiser mare consoled her. "The symphony of life has many notes, and the time will come when the whole world will hear your beautiful, beautiful song."

And after the alicorn princess had departed back to her own land, young Salomare tried to live up to her mentor's ideals of Friendship as best she could. To her subjects she was determined to be a wise and just ruler, respecting both the traditions and customs of her herd, and to share the new teachings of the nature of friendship that Twilight Sparkle had brought to her. Salomare, who felt she had no other distinguishable talents or traits, would then make her mark upon this world by being a just and capable ruler. And when her parents passed on to the next world and Salomare ascended the throne, the Saddle Arabian mare was as good as her word.

But then the day came when misfortune would strike these horses of the desert. In that age the blarks, a proud race of mole-like merchants who dwelled beneath the deserts; Saddle Arabia's answer to Equestria's diamond dogs, and Ponyland's grundle tribes. To this day it is not recalled what brought the wrath of these mole folk down upon the desert horses- some say a Saddle Arabian merchant at a bazaar cheated a blark nobleman on a trade, others say one of the many noble sheiks who visited Queen Salomare's court had let a deragtory word slip about the 'junk dealers' who dwelled beneath the desert sands. But whatever the cause, the horses had aroused the anger of their underground neighbors.

At first, none of the Saddle Arabians took the diminutive Blark's threats and warnings seriously... until all the water sources in the desert began to dry up, that is. The mole folk cut off access on the surface to all of the wells and water sources that bubbled up towards the surface, causing all of the oasis and few rivers of the desert to dry up. Whole towns and villages of the horses became deserted overnight, and the Saddle Arabians began to quarrel amongst themselves over the scarce water supplies that still remained. Pain and suffering spread even to the capital, where the cries of the horses soon reached the ears of their benevolent ruler.

"Save us, great Sultana!" Her faithful followers cried out in their misery. "Don't let the harsh winds of the desert swallow us whole!"

Heartbroken over the suffering her subjects were enduring, Salomare was determined to find a new and clean source of water for the herd over which she ruled. An attempt to issue a royal apology to the blarks had failed, so great was whatever slight had been heaped upon the merchants that it was impossible to simply cover the wound the royal court's unicorn horse mages were unable to end the water shortage by their magic, and the Saddle Arabian Pegasus could not muster enough clouds in the harsh desert to bring the sweet, sweet rain that their lands so desperately needed. Finally, the beautiful young Sultana had no choice but to seek out aid herself, ignoring the customs and proud royal traditions of her herd.

"I must do something!" She cried aloud, asking to the desert djinns whom the Saddle Arabians honored to aid in her desperate Endeavour. Putting on her crown, saddle, and veil, the ruler of the desert horses chose a quiet moonlit night to begin her perilous quest.

Disguising herself beneath hood and cloak, the young unmarried queen snuck her way out of the royal palace, slipping past her mamluk knights who guarded the palace, and trotting her way out into the open desert. Galloping her way out into the cool desert night, the strong and steadfast mare was already formulating a plan. A bold scheme that would take her to the one pony in all of the world who controlled all of the water supply - the mare decided she must seek out King Leo the wise, cousin to the royal alicorn sisters, and ruler of all the open oceans of this world. Only he could end the terrible water shortage that afflicted her country, and Salomare was determined to convince the great monarch of the undersea, no matter what it took!

Thus ends the first part of my recounting of the Saddle Arabian classic, the song of Salomare. Look forward soon to the next part!

Paradise Oaisis