6 am. The sun rose above the horizon, as kindly receiving and waking up everyone in town. Sunhill was, indeed, a pretty little town were peasants lived their lives peacefully, taking care of their farms. And, even if that July 21st seemed like nothing more but another day in the calendar, Mary knew that it wasn't. She had grown a very strong attachment to Daliah, her pony, over the years, and her legacy was about to see the light of the world. She was giving birth to a beautiful pony, she was said, and the day to see it finally came. Her husband had told her not to disturb Daliah, so she waited until she was sure her spoiled horse had finished with her labor.
Mary felt like she wasn't able to control her emotion anymore. She energetically got up her chair with a childlike energy and ran to the barn, a rather strange behavior for a seventy years old woman. She opened the doors and found out a rather beautiful scene. Daliah, in the exact center of the cowhouse, lied in the floor, while all the other animals were formed in circle around her, as if they were cheering the pony. Unable to wait one more second, Mary rushed towards the baby, and found out pure beauty. The newborn was a beautiful mare, with a shining white fur and a pink mane that was hiding her face. And her face must be beautiful, too! With trembling hands, Mary pushed the hair away from the baby's face. It was, indeed, a godlike filly. Her gorgeous little eyes, her white hair, her… her… horn. A chill passed through Mary's back.
She let out a huge scream, as hard as her lungs could handle. Her husband appeared at the door, startled, with his glasses in the tip of his nose. "What happened, Mary? Another dead hen?" The old lady turned her head towards the man, revealing her wet eyes and pale face. "Witchcraft…" she mumbled. "Harold, the devil entered our barn!"
Not an hour had passed since Mary discovered the filly, and the whole village was already in the barn. "What should we do?" "It's dangerous to have such diabolic creature in our town…" The priest pushed the most curious ones in order to watch the scene. And, after a little while of examining the filly, he dictated his verdict. "Everyone, get out of the barn. We must exorcize this place, put all the animals in quarantine, and…" He made a pause, as he knew how hard it must be for Mary to hear those words. "And… kill the filly".
"No!" A feeling deep inside Mary still wanted to protect the baby. It was Daliah's legacy after all. The people gathered around fixed their eyes in her. Was she going to refuse the priest's resolution? She wouldn't be part of the town anymore then. The old lady sighed, resigned. "Forget it. Do it, Father. It's for the wellbeing of the village". "Well then," the priest's voice rose in the silence of the barn. "The exorcism begins tomorrow. I'll visit you later this night, Mary. You'll need spiritual protection". The woman shook her head, still frightened.
The night fell. The people gathered around the barn had returned to their homes, while Harold and Mary were still waiting for the priest. Daliah's neigh broke time to time the silence that came with the dark. Suddenly, the door opened. The priest had finally arrived to the house. Mary heard water pouring in a glass, some footsteps, and the priest sitting heavily in the chair downstairs. Her husband was asleep and snoring. She felt more secure, and closed her eyes.
"Mary, wake up", said the priest. The lady shivered, opened her eyes and closed them quickly, as the sun was hurting her. The Father continued. "The exorcism was about to begin, but…" "But what?" There were some seconds of silence. "The pony and her filly have escaped". The woman quickly got out of bed, surprised. "How? The barn's door was closed!" "They… both ran away as soon as I opened it. I couldn't even react…" Mary tried to look frustrated. But, deep within her heart, she knew that, wherever they were, Daliah and her filly would be safe.
Daliah found herself running towards the forest. Somehow, she felt like she was waking up from a long lethargy, a profound dream she has been dreaming since her birth. What was that? She managed to know that she was. Self-awareness? Probably. But it was no time to think about it. She had a filly to protect. She embraced her feelings and galloped faster, charging the baby on her back.
But she suddenly stopped at the sight of a bear. Big and mighty, the animal turned around and roared as he saw the ponies. Fearful, Daliah left her filly get out of her back and saw her running deeper inside the woods. The big beast began to pursue her, but Daliah interrupted its impulse. Yes, she might be scared, but her child's life was way more important than hers. The bear roared again, and rose its claws above the pony.
The filly galloped as fast as she could. She was lost, yet she kept running as looking for some sort of exit. She felt as if she could not breathe anymore, the air was becoming heavier and heavier. Her hooves, lacerated, were about to stop, and her whole body began to tremble. But she continued to gallop. And, as she galloped, she felt something warm bursting inside her. A light. A beacon. A feeling so powerful that gave her the will to continue. A magical sensation that concentrated in her horn. But she couldn't make another step, and fell to the ground as she fainted and everything turned black.
"Was that light coming out of her?" "Look, she has a horn!" "What should we do, Mylord?" The filly heard voices, but was unsure if she was awake or not. "Bring her to my castle, and search for her mother. She could not manage to get up to here by herself". She opened the eyes and saw a beautiful white and gold deer, with a somehow divine aura that revealed him as a King. "I am king Aspen, little one, and I will protect you".