by Justin Luther

Created on: December 04, 2009

~Sky Full of Lanterns~

Stagart was always one of the odd ones. Born to his mother with a shell on his back, he was instantly despised by all of the other horses. His father was the only one that really cared for him. He always told him how great it was to have a shell. His father pointed out that it would provide shelter for him during storms. True, it did provide shelter during storms, but when he was inside he was just reminded of all of the hardship it brought him.

His mother was constantly urging him to get rid of the shell. "I know a giant otter that could help crack that shell." "He lives in a nearby river and I'm sure he'd be glad to do it." Stagart still kept his shell though. Even though it caused him grief at times, he felt connected to it, it was a part of him.
Eventually his mother started trying to trick him. She trotted up a flight of stairs that led to the sun. When she reached it, she took a small piece of it and grinded it up with some straw. She then went up to a pretty mare and offered her the straw. The mare delightfully accepted. This allowed Stagart's mother to take control of the mare. The mare trotted up to Stagart and tried to seduce him. Her gentle coo of a voice started to bend Stagart's will power. Then she requested that he get rid of his shell. As he was considering it, Stagart's father came trotting up and instantly knew what was happening. He interrupted the two and started telling fowl stories of disfigured creatures. The mare was so repulsed by the mental image of the creatures that she vomited up the piece of sun.
Once again, his father told him of the shell's worth. Still torn, Stagart sighed and lazily nodded. Understanding his son's predicament, he took out the piece of the sun stolen by Stagart's mother. "Here, I can use this piece of sun to fasten the shell to you, you may still remove it afterwards, but I doubt you will be tempted too." After much consideration, Stagart accepted. His father took the piece of sun and placed it under Stagart's shell where it spread and became one with both the shell and Stagart.
After that day, Stagart was rarely tempted to remove the shell. There were a few moments where he briefly considered it, but then the piece of the sun did its magic. His mother saw this and felt powerless. "I'll show you, I'll show everyone how powerful I am!" she thought to herself. Then she developed a diabolical plan.
The next day she trotted up the stairs to the sun and took a little piece. She then took

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