The Life Of A Horse

Chapter 7

I wake up at what must be dinner time and lift my head to look at the sky. I notice Ashley picking apples from a tree. My mouth waters at the thought of apples. I pull back on my rope. I glance at Ashley and make sure she isn't watching and then bite my rope. It doesn't cut on my first try so I try again. Still no luck. I pull back as hard as I can and feel something loosen. I pull again and fall backwards when it comes undone. I silently trot away leaving Sunstruck by himself. I stop for a second.

Looking back towards them one time before I leave, I think over if I should leave them behind. They are my friends and if I leave them I will be completely alone. By myself I am vulnerable. "I am sorry Ashley, but I need to do this. I will come back some time, but until then, you have Sunstruck," I whisper even though no one can hear me. I start to walk away but I look back again just to make sure it is what I want to do. I start to trot away again, leaving them for I don't know how long.

After thirty minutes, I realize how big this forest is. It could take days to get to the end. I look back the way I came from. I could go back now to the only ones I have left. I look ahead of me in the direction of discovery. What did I say earlier about feeling free? With this way I can be wild, by myself. I can explore and make my own choices. I can finally be free. But Ashley and Sunstruck. After realizing I can always come back, I head in the direction of discovery.

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After another hour of trotting, the sun has completely set. I try to continue in the darkness anyway, but I can't see anything and my only source of light, the moon, is constantly hidden behind the treetops. I stop to rest for the night by a tall tree. I look at the small sliver of moonlight that is visible through the leaves before falling asleep.

A thin ray of sunlight shining through the trees is what wakes me up. A wave of hunger rolls through my stomach. My only choice of food is grass. At first I didn't like the earthy taste of it, but then I got used to the chewy and stringy taste of the green blades. I eat from the ground for a few minutes to refill my energy partially before continuing my journey forward.

Several hours of walking pass. My dry mouth longs for a cold drink of water. I look for any streams, rivers or waterfalls, but there is no water source in sight. Birds chirp overhead and I start following them in hope that they will be by water. However, a few minutes pass and I do not see any birds or water, so I head straight again.

My mind starts to wander to Ashley and Sunstruck. I need to head back before I get lost. When I start to turn around I notice a clearing. The treeline ends abruptly. Is there a stream in the small meadow? When I walk forward I realize that it is not, in fact, a clearing. It is the edge of the mountain forest. I look over the edge of the cliff to see a large prairie. It seems endless, stretching miles in every direction for as far as I can see. Cascading peacefully over the cliff several yards away is a beautiful, glistening waterfall.

I look left and right for a way down. The only way I see is a path of loose rocks from a previous rock slide. It will be dangerous, but the next closest path could be miles away. I test out the first stone to see if it is safe to walk on before taking more slow steps down, testing every rock before putting all my weight on it. After a few minutes I am only a few steps down. An orange glow lights up the area and I realize the sun is setting. I need to get down before dark. But it will still take twenty or thirty minutes.

Suddenly a shrill neigh pierces the silence. Frightened, I jump and a few stones tumble around me. I continue walking, making sure to be even more careful. Another rock falls behind me. I turn around to see what is happening when several little stones fall, loosening a big boulder. The huge rock starts to roll and I panic, jumping into a canter. Immediately hundreds of stones start moving around me, falling straight towards me. They cut the back of my legs and lodge into the bottom of hooves. I feel blood drip down the back of my legs from a particularly sharp rock, but I ignore the pain as I try to beat gravity as it pulls more and more stones toward me.

With one last jump, I escape the land slide and gallop several yards so I don't get hit by boulders falling from above. Unfortunately, the jump pushed the stones painfully deeper into the bottom of my hooves. I wince and yelp in pain when I try to take another the step. The pain catches up all at once and I limp toward the edge of the cliff so I can sleep with my back protected. Every step makes the pain worse, as if I was adding gas to a forest fire.

When I am a few steps away from the cliff's edge, a horse appears. A chestnut mare with a bright white blaze. Her angry facial expression shows that she is not impressed with what I have just done with the rock slide. "Hi," I say awkwardly in an attempt to be friendly. She doesn't answer so I am not sure what to do when another horse appears from around a corner in the cliff edge.

It's a bay, a dark bay, stallion. "Who are you? Where did you come from?"

"My name is Dakota. I left my herd."

His gaze moves to my legs that are dripping blood. "Do you need help? Do you want to join our herd?"

As he says this a group of horses come from behind the corner where he came from.

"Yes, but I need water. Can I get a drink?"

I move to the waterfall without waiting for an answer. I drink for a long time before returning to the two horses. When I return the whole herd is talking about me. I stay far enough away so they can't tell that I am eavesdropping, but I stay close enough to hear what they say about me.

It's mostly between the bay stallion and the chestnut mare with the blaze so I am guessing they are the lead mare and lead stallion.

"She needs help, did you see her legs?" The bay says.

"I don't care, I don't trust her."

"You didn't trust Secret at first but now look, she is an important part of the herd,' he answers.

The conversation continue like this for a few minutes before they take a vote. Only two people vote against me. The bay walks up to me and the chestnut walks away, pouting. "We agree to let you join the herd if you want to."

"Ok, thank you. I will join," I say even though I probably won't stay long.

The lead stallion smiles, "Welcome to the herd. My name is Mystical Magic but everyone calls me Magic. The chestnut, the lead mare, is Willow." Then he tells me all of the herd members' names. By the time he is done I forgot almost everyone's names. He starts telling me about the herd rules and when he is done everybody congratulates me. "Welcome," they say in unison.