Filly's POV -
He was silhouetted against the sky, half-rearing. Whinnying to the heavens and looking down at me. I felt very intimidated and small, there he was on top of his hill and me below him, just a little filly with a lot of freedom, but boy did I love my freedom! I was unsure whether he was friendly or not, but decided maybe if I was friendly, he will be. I neighed a greeting and waited for a reaction or response.
He galloped down the hill towards me, the fire burning in his eyes, long strides eating up the ground. He slid to a stop at the base of the hill. Looked me over sniffed the air for danger raised a hoof in greeting and galloped off. So that was my first, but not last meeting with the mysterious stallion, Later as I found out, The Phantom.
I was about to follow when I heard a car driving along the road. I never noticed it before. My fear of man made me suspicious, so I shied and galloped off in the direction of my warm cave.
Sam's POV -
"Hey Jake!" cried Sam, sitting up in her father's car, watching the landscape go by.
"Huh…what?" replied a sleepy Jake.
"Look at that beautiful horse!" exclaimed an excited Sam, she had never seen it before, so it must be new around here. It had such a lovely coat colour and boy! Was it fast!
"Where? Oh there...Hey! I've never seen that horse around here before, wonder how it got here? Maybe it's one of the phantom's foals or mares" Jake said.
"Nah, can't be it doesn't look anything like him,, and see how it runs, throwing it's whole body weight forward to push it on…" Sam whispered in awe, but the sun beaming down through the window made her sleepy and she dozed off, the bright orange globe in the sky shining on her face.
"Hey...hey...HEY!" shouted Jake shaking her shoulder. "Wake up sleepyhead!"
Sam opened her eyes. She must have dozed off again; the hot days were making her sleepy and nowadays, she would fall asleep, the gentle rocking motion of the car and the warm sunshine on her face. "Okay, okay, I'm up" shouted Sam, but Jake was gone, probably to see the horses and get more of Gram's delicious food, everyone loved Gram's cooking, but no one liked it more Jake.
"Hey Ace" Sam crooned to her horse and rubbed his nose. He whickered in response and butted her hand. Popcorn, Sweetheart andl the other horses, and even Dark Sunshine and Tempest trotted up to see what all the commotion was and to get some attention too .Butting her hand, snuffling in her pockets for treats and shoving each other to get petted. "Hey calm down you guys, I'm only one person" she called, laughing, trying to pat each of them in return and stopping them from knocking her over with their noses,While Blaze ran in circles around them and chasing Tempest until Dark Sunshine stopped him with an annoyed glare.
Linc's POV -
"Some of these horses are really dull" said Linc Slocum; he was at a sale in Kentucky looking to buy top quality horses, but he didn't think that any of them were 'top quality' most of them were just ordinary at least he thought so. He had hired a local horse breeder to help him find the right horse.
"Look at that stunning creature over there" called Hilary Hunt, the local horse breeder. She walked over to a bay stallion with a snow white blaze "hmm…short head, muscular neck, short-coupled body, broad powerful hindquarters and fine legs. Definitely a quarter horse, one with nice breeding too; see the intelligence in his eyes, not shy or aggressive or even vicious, very curious though".
Linc walked over to where Hilary was standing, "I don't see anything different, but if you say so, he will do". He gestured to a passing groom "how much is this horse?" asked Slocum looking down his nose at the groom with his beady. "He is half million dollars sir, if you wish to purchase him I will go get my boss" replied the annoyed groom and he hurried away.
"Yes Mr...Uh...Slocum? Do you wish to purchase this stunning quarter horse stallion? Asked John Goodman, the owner of Maplewood Acres "his registered name is Golden Arizona Pride and he is out of Golden Galloway by Faded Dreams" he continued telling Linc Slocum all about 'Golden Arizona Pride' or G.a.p as they called him at the stables. "Yes, yes, whatever, I would like to purchase him, here is a cheque for half a million dollars and let's go into your office and I'll sign the papers" Linc hastily replied, also irritated that the process of buying a horse of high quality took so long.
Filly's POV–
Silver Rain, the silver filly of the south stood in her cosy, warm cave puffing and trying to get her breath back. She loved running but that was too fast just then, she had been frightened and all the adrenalin that had run through her body had disappeared. She went to the back of the cave, which wasn't very far and drank from a little pool coming from a hole in the wall. The water was crystal clear and refreshing. It also was the right temperature, not too cold that it would be a shock to her belly and not too hot that it could burn her throat, It was lukewarm, perfect. The source of this little pool was unknown, but it was quite tasty and she was thirsty.
The sun outside was bright and Silver was relaxed, leaning into the wind, feeling the breeze and whispering: "I am the Silver Rain, the Silver filly of the south, I am free from man's hand and will ever be free and in my heart will stay my sister, The Merry Moon, my sire and my dam, The Silver Star and The Running Rain".
This is what she whispered to the whispering winds of the west to carry her message, her heart through the lands to the place where she was born, that she had never forgotten. Through the lands and across the plains. One other horse heard this message too…The Phantom
The filly slept lying down tonight,no longer fearing that the horrid man would come back and hit her again and again, she didn't know what he wanted her to do but she was always punished either way, whatever she did, Enough of him, she thought, she dreamt of her family and how they always used to run with her in a hundred acre fenced bit of land on the five hundred Acre property owned by her previous owners.
She remembered... the wind in her face and her mane and tail flowing out behind her as she ran towards the sunny horizon and to freedom, until...she reaches the fence and the end of the land. But then she would run back the other way and feel that glorious sensation again.
In the morning she woke feeling the sunshine on her warm body. She stood up and shook herself, the drowsiness disappearing. She cantered out to graze and caught a stallion's scent. Could it be? She followed the scent, keeping her nose to the ground; she lost the trail at times but found it again, after a few metres of sniffing around, she would catch a faint smell and she would be back again following the trail that led her toward the mysterious stranger. Onwards she trotted through rivers and mud, up a mountain path and…
The scent trailed off into a forest. Opening her nostrils wide, her muzzle squashed against the ground she was determined to find out who this stallion was and why had he come near her precious little paradise.
