The stallion raised his head. His long black forelock covered his deep brown eyes as he gazed intently over his land. His muscles bulged and flexed as he reared, thrashing out his hooves. His golden dun coat was covered in many long battle scars. As his hooves slammed back down on the cold ground, the mustang neighed a loud, echoing sound. Steam exploded from his nostrils as it disappeared into the bitterly cold air.
Heads shot up around the homeland as the stallion's fierce call touched the herd's ears. Fillies and colts scrambled away to their dams, huddling next to them for warmth. Silence hovered over the grassy plains as the horses listened and watched intently.
A beautiful paint mare loped silently up to meet the stallion. She nickered softly, her blue eyes filled with concern, "What is it, Spirit?"
The stallion stood tall, his eyes piercing his band. "They're coming."
Murmurs of worry and shock rippled over the herd. The mares whispered quietly among themselves, and the foals even sensed something wasn't right. They stood obediently and quietly, huddled in a group.
"The wolves?" The paint mare whispered.
Spirit nodded, his long black tail whipping softly against the sharp wind. "Yes, Rain. I can sense them. I spoke to Brokenheart at the time where the moon reached its peak in the sky. He and his band show battle scars from the beasts, who had attacked them as they passed through the mountains."
"But Brokenheart's herd comes from miles away from our own," Rain murmured.
"The wolves will come. They are headed our way, and our herd is weak and we have many young foals. We have to move." Spirit snorted, his ears slightly pinned back.
Rain pawed the ground lightly, "But-"
"That's enough about it! We're leaving at the sun's peak!" Spirit snorted, nipping at the paint horse, who lowered her head and took a step backwards.
Spirit turned away from her and began to descend from his hill, making his way through the herd. They stopped and stared at him, waiting for another word concerning the coming attack. Spirit stopped in front of Esperanza, nickering softly. "We're so happy here…"
"I know, son. And you have done a great job leading your herd. You've lived up to your sire's hopes for you." Esperanza whinnied, nipping lightly at Spirit's mane. The aging mare's golden palomino coat was dull, "But it is time to move on. You know what is best for the herd; go for it."
Spirit nodded, raising his head. He spun around on his hind legs, facing his herd again. "We leave tomorrow, and we will head east across the plains."
The mares nodded in approval, gathering their foals up close to them. The colts and fillies nipped at their dams, aching to go play.
Spirit stared up at the starry sky, his mane and tail whipping in the wind. "Show me where to lead my family," he whispered.
The colt raised his head. His black mane stuck up straight like a Mohawk, and his tail was thin. The horse was a dark bay color with flecks of white and black on his rump, and little white spots scattered scarcely all over his body. His brown eyes were bright, and his muzzle and eyes were mottled. The appaloosa snorted and raised his head in a joyful whinny, his striped hooves tearing up the dirt as he raced after the other foals. He stared ahead, eyes locked on a bright chestnut filly. The colt moved his legs faster, pushing his muscles to stretch out, lengthening his stride. He snorted, and wisps of steam escaped from his flared nostrils as he raced after the filly. Catching up with her, he skidded to a stop and nickered amusingly as his eyes settled on a tree stump in between them.
"I won, I won!" The colt announced proudly.
"Tonto, you're such a cheater!" The filly whinnied, prancing up next to him. However, her eyes were bright.
"Am not, Sassy!" Tonto nipped at her forelock, which fell neatly over her perfect white star.
"Race you to the-" Sassy started, but was interrupted by a dark chestnut appaloosa mare.
"No more racing for now. The humans are coming. You two better behave perfectly.
Tonto rolled his eyes and nipped Sassy's flank. "Whatever, mom."
Sassy snorted and waited until the mare turned around before biting Tonto's knees, forcing him to kneel. He scrambled to his hooves, standing up straight, ears pricked when his mother turned around.
The three horses watched intently as two men slid through the pasture gate. The first was familiar; he often came out to take care of them. The second was a new face. His hair was dark, and his eyes were black and cold. Tonto immediately took a step backward, his ears pinned flat against his head.
Sassy pranced up to the new man, nickering. Tonto cautiously followed her, his head resting over her back. The man stared coldly into the filly's eyes, running his hands over her body. He then moved to Tonto. The appaloosa colt immediately froze in place. He was overcome with fear as the man stared at him. This was not good.
The man finished searching over the horses and turned to the familiar human. "What are their stories?"
The familiar faced man nodded at Sassy. "Well, Sassy there has a pretty sad past. We raised and bred her, but her dam died just 'bout the moment she was born. So we set her out here with this one and his momma," he nodded at Tonto.
"And the appaloosa?" The cold-faced man asked, scratching his beard.
The familiar man shook his head. "Not too sure. We picked him and his momma up at a horse auction about seven months ago. He was just a newborn then. Thought we'd make some money off the coloring."
The cold faced man nodded, turning to the familiar man and shaking his hand. "I'll take both the foals. I'll be coming sometime around noon tomorrow to pick them up. Think you can have them ready for me? I'm not…"
Tonto widened his eyes as he turned to his mother. He didn't understand the humans' language, but his mother, who was ages older than he was, did. She hung her head and shook it, tears running down her face. Tonto and Sassy exchanged glances, and the colt took a tentative step towards his dam. "Momma…?"
"They're selling you both to that man. And he…he'll have you shipped off and turned into dog food." The mare whispered, shutting her eyes tightly.
Tonto snorted and straightened up. "What's that mean?"
"It means…it means they're taking my babies away and killing them. You two are getting out of here before he comes." The mare stood tall, her nostrils flared.
That's the end of Chapter 1! Let me know my reviewing if you think it's good enough to continue. Want more chapters?