TorchicLover presents:

Silver Dreams

Chapter One

Freefall

Her muscles screamed. She galloped down a hill. Her herd had been scattered by the men on horses. She could see a colt over there, and a stallion over that hill. She saw her mother trip and land on her side. She neighed frantically to the dark bay mare. Thankfully, her mother responded.

"Sleet! Sleet, run! Run until you can run no longer!" Her mother called out to her as she sped past. She hated feeling helpless. She hated seeing horses roped all around her. She knew, deep inside, that she could do nothing about it. So instead, she ran. She ran as her mother instructed. Sleet crossed lush, grass filled pastures. She soared over fallen trees. The silver mare took a deep breath, almost afraid to look over her shoulder. She closed her eyes and craned her neck to look behind her. The men came. There were at least five of them, riding their horses. All of them had ropes. They all came to restrain her, to take her away to who knows where. All she knew is that she had to escape. She had to discover her herd, to gallop down that steep, grassy hill to her beloved herd. Sleet shook her head.

"Enough daydreaming. Live in the moment, you have to if you want to escape." The mare cleared her mind and focused on the task at hand. She did not focus hard enough. She had to dig her hooves into the ground to avoid a rock face she almost slammed headfirst into. She had forgotten that the men had chased her into a canyon. Sleet changed direction as quick as she could. The men were gaining. She could not make another mistake. Not another… not… another… Sleet's thoughts drifted again. She thought of her days as a filly, running carefree through long grass… The hoof beats of five horses snapped her back to reality. She stumbled, but kept on running. Her eyes widened. She stopped hard again. Swinging her head back and forth frantically, she began to panic. "Crap."

She had run into a dead end, and the men blocked the exit. She gritted her teeth. There was no chance of escape. No ledge in the rock surrounding her. No gap in her enemies' ranks. She was confused and afraid. She bolted. She bolted straight at the men and their horses. Some of the horses balked when the men tried to urge them forward. She smirked. Hopefully they were all cowards. She got ready to jump… but she felt something rub against her neck. The thing tightened, choking her. Sleet slammed to the ground. She tried in vain to run, but another rope went around her neck. She bucked. The men resourcefully used that to their advantage. A rope went around her back legs, and she tripped and fell on her side. She was breathing heavily. A man dismounted his horse and came to examine her. She did not retaliate. She knew when she was beaten.

After her examination, the men hauled her up and fitted a halter onto her face. The rough material irritated her skin. She bucked and reared a few times, but she was too drained from the run to put up a real fight. She was tied to three horses' saddles, and they walked off the capture site. She could do nothing but follow. Her confidence was broken.

Sleet saw some kind of structure in the distance. She could hear horses' hooves pounding. From the sound of it, a lot of horses. She stopped to listen to the sound for a while, but the men quickly pulled her forward. She snorted and walked on. Their pace soon increased to a slow trot. She could tell that structure was their destination. The thunder of hundreds of hooves grew steadily louder as they got closer, and the party of horses and men soon reached a great, wooden door. Sleet's jaw dropped as it creaked open. Many horses were in perfect formation, trotting about. Most of them were a dull brown color, of average height and build. Some she could tell used to be wild. They were of varying color and build. She did not want to become one of them. She would fight the men every day, every hour of her captivity. Once she regained her strength, so help her, she would…

Her thoughts were interrupted as she was pulled forward. The other horses had passed and were trotting about, like dumb puppets, somewhere else. She was led into a corral of some sort. Already she hated the place. It was dusty ad infertile. There was little grass to be had. It was the pure antonym of her homeland. Grassy, fertile… habitable… Her thoughts wandered once more. She shook her head, clearing her mind.

Sleet was untied and left to walk around her corral. She got rather bored of her surroundings, and took entertainment from watching the cavalrymen and their horses drill on the dusty ground. She laughed inwardly at the bored expressions on most of the animals' faces. She got tired of that, too after a few hours. She then took to walking in circles. Sleet was relieved of her bored state when a rather fat man stepped outside. She watched him in awe as he heated up something in a fire. He kind of unnerved her, with his constant staring.

In a few minutes, he finished heating up his… his… thing, and a few uniformed men tried to fit her with a halter. She was not amused, and fought them, biting and kicking. After a few minutes, they managed to get the thing on her, and they led her outside. She balked when she saw the fat, pudgy man carrying the smoking metal. The soldiers cross–tied her and backed away. The man was also carrying some scissors, and he set down the brand to cut her mane and tail first. She wasn't really expecting much, but she thrashed around anyway. The man frowned. He tightened her ties, and snipped the scissors once before grabbing a lock of hair. He snipped it off. Sleet saw the piece of her black mane fall to the ground. She bucked and struggled, but to no avail. The man simply tied her feet to the posts. She snorted and hung her head as he clipped her mane and tail. He then moved to the hooves, untying her back hooves first.

"Oh boy. He is just asking for it." Sleet thought. She craned her neck to look at him. The moment he lifted a foot… Bam! Boy, she did give it to him! Right in the chest. He shook his head, dazed. Sleet shook her head. "Eh, he's ugly enough already. No use making him uglier." She decided not to kick him further. He cleaned out her hooves and gave her shoes. She pinned her ears at that part. He did the same to the front hooves, and then tied them up again. He approached her with the glowing metal. She could tell this probably was going to hurt. She struggled against her bindings. He waited until she calmed down, before pressing the hot metal to her skin. She cried out in pain. The metal singed her fur and skin, making a permanent mark.

After her ordeal, she was turned out in that corral she was housed in previously. She was tied to a fencepost; luckily she had a long rope. Sleet sighed in boredom and lied down. Her legs nearly buckled under her. Today had been an action–filled day. She shook out her mane, forgetting that it was not as long as it was. She longed for the satisfying feel of her mane on her neck. The mare sighed. Would she be stuck here… forever? She raised her head and looked at a sparkling star. The North Star. Her mother once said it would guide her home. To her it just looked like a cold, mocking thing. It was free, and she wasn't. Sleet snorted loudly and lied her head back down on the dusty ground as sleep claimed her.

Author's note!

How do you guys like this story? Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Original Characters? Please PM me or leave a review! It will be gladly appreciated and I will respond to your reviews the chapter after.

The image is supposed to be Sleet, I give credit to ferrasoul on deviantArt for that one. Beautiful art, is it not?

I was thinking about including a love interest for her at the fort… but I have no idea what he is to look like, act like, or what his name should be. Please leave suggestions in a review, and I will pick the one that appeals to me the most. I'll give you credit in every chapter.