Chapter Track: Run Free - Hans Zimmer, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron soundtrack

The filly looked no more than two years old. Though she hadn't yet filled out, the mustang boasted a muscular black body and sturdy, strong legs. Her flaxen mane and tail swayed in the cool breeze as she grazed alongside her herdmates. The band of ten mustangs had crossed Montana Ford onto the Great Plains, and now that they had found an abundance of fresh grass, the band settled into their new home.

Maddie had never seen any horse like it. She sat atop her late mother's white mare, transfixed. In the months of her exploration across the Great Plains, she had seen many horses adorned with some of the most beautiful and rare hides imaginable, but this filly was by far the rarest of them all.

"Look at her, Isabelle," the fourteen-year-old girl whispered. The horse beneath her stared at the band that grazed two-hundred-fifty yards away, ears pricked forward and nostrils flaring. Maddie felt her mount's sides expand and retract with every breath as she took in the scents of the mustangs. The mare stood in the shade of Broken Tree overlooking the plains.

"Isn't she just a beauty."

The mare flicked an ear back to listen, then turned it to the side as the sound of approaching hoofbeats. Isabelle and Maddie looked to their right as a horse and rider ambled up beside them. The man pulled up his grullo gelding to a stop beside the females. Maddie and the man exchanged brief glances before turning their attention to the mustangs before them.

"Look at them mustangs, Pa," Maddie said. "Aren't they gorgeous?"

Phillip Ross nodded. "They sure are." He looked at his daughter and smirked as he noticed her enraptured gaze. "Just like your mother, just head over heels for horses."

Maddie's countenance drooped into a sad frown. It had only been six months since her mother was killed; the shock and pain of it still held her in its tight, cold grasp. She had stepped into her mother's shoes and took care the house and cook for and her father; she had drug her drunken father out of the depths of his alcoholism and helped him get back to his feet; she had to go on without the love guidance of her beloved mother, the one person she adored and couldn't imagine living without. But it had happened all too painfully fast. Time had knocked her down and trampled her into the deepest, darkest hole of depression, and she was still trying to rise back up and come to terms with that happened.

Phillip frowned and looked away from his daughter, ashamed to have brought up her late mother again when they had been doing so well the past couple days. It was an endless cycle, a relentless ebb and flow of mourning. A wave of pain washed over him. Father and daughter watched the mustangs for a time in painful silence; their horses stood staring at their wild brethren.

The silence was ended when Isabelle took a deep breath and trumpeted a greeting.

All ten mustangs' heads shot up. Their eyes and ears locked onto the two horses with the strange creatures atop their backs. Nostrils flared and tails rose in alert as the mustangs studied the oddities before them. The colts and fillies nearest to the black stallion turned their heads and muzzled his thick neck, seeking guidance and bravery in the face of a potential predator. The stallion nudged them reassuringly before looking back at the intruders. Neither moved as they stood staring at each other.

"You gonna rope one?" Phillip asked, glancing at Maddie.

She nodded and pointed to the rocky mountain filly. "Her, I like her."

"She sure is somethin' else. Never seen a horse like her before in all my life." Phillip tore his gaze away from the filly long enough to look down at the lasso tied to his saddle. He gathered the rope in his hands.

"No," Maddie said. "I'll catch her myself. "She untied her lasso and hefted it in her hands.

"You sure?"

She nodded.

"Alright, then. I'll keep my rope ready if you need help."

"No need, Pa. I can rope her just fine."

Phillip chortled and smiled at his recalcitrant daughter. "If you say so, darlin'."

Maddie transferred the reins and the slack of the lasso to her left hand and held the loop of the lasso with her right hand down by her horse's side. A determined blaze lit up her brown eyes as she kicked Isabelle's sides. The mare lunged forward at a fast lope towards the filly. The band of mustangs bolted the second the white mare moved; the thunder of their hooves rumbled across the Great Plains as they galloped away.

"Get after her, Maddie!"

Maddie glanced back over her shoulder. Just as she suspected, her father rode behind her closely with his lasso at the ready. Anger seared in her; she turned back around in the saddle and kicked her horse again. "C'mon, Isabelle! Go get her!"

The horse responded with a burst of speed the likes of which she didn't know the old mare had. For being fifteen years old, the horse wasn't showing her age. Maddie guided her after the filly she yearned for. As Isabelle closed the gap between them, her rider began swinging the lasso above her head. She kicked Isabelle once more, and as the mare drew nearer to the filly, Maddie threw the rope at the mustang's head.

It missed by three inches.

"Shit!" Maddie hissed and hastily gathered the rope up in her hands, being careful to rein her horse away from the end of the rope. The filly sprinted on, keeping pace with the herd.

A grey streak of horsehide caught Maddie's attention out of the corner of her left eye. Her father was closing the gap between him and the mustang she had her sights on, his lasso a tan blur above his head. "No!" she commanded and kicked Isabelle once more; the mare was quick to match the gelding's pace, and as Maddie rode up beside her father, she shouted, "No, Pa! I've got this mustang!"

"Like hell, Maddie! You almost tripped up your horse back there. I ain't takin' any more chances. I'll get her."

"I said NO, goddamn it!" She spurred her mare faster. Isabelle shot forward, overtaking the grullo and shortening the distance between her and the mustangs. Maddie widened the loop and began swinging it over her head, spinning it faster this time.

C,mon, c'mon, c,mon, she thought as, little but little, Isabelle came closer to the rocky mountain filly. Almost there… With only eight feet between the horses, Maddie gave her rope two more swings before she aimed her sights on the mustang's head and threw.

She gave an elated shout as her aim proved true. Maddie quickly dallied the rope around the saddle horn and pulled back on the reins, easing her horse to a lope. The black filly fought hard against the rope, jerking her head and body forward, her flaxen mane and tail a white swirl behind her. Maddie eased Isabelle and the filly to a slower gait. As her herdmates left her behind, the filly fought even harder, straining against the strange thing around her neck.

Half a mile later, the filly was still going strong. Isabelle fought hard against the filly, keeping her front hooves rooted to the ground as much as possible while the youngster jerked her forward. The rope creaked and moaned in protest all the while, pleading to be released from the constant strain.

Hoofbeats approached them from behind. Maddie looked over her shoulder just in time to see her father come riding up to the filly and throw his rope at her head. The little mustang gave a terrified squeal and reared high, her front legs flailing and the muscles in her hindquarters bulging. As Phillip dallied off his rope, the filly landed back down on all fours. Together, he and his daughter slowed the feisty filly to a stop.

"Hellfire, that was quite a ride!" Phillip laughed. His grullo's hide was drenched in sweat, and foam had begun to accumulate around his mouth and neck. The gelding tossed his head as his rider reined him to the other side of the filly to face his daughter and keep the mustang in place.

It was easier said than done: the filly reared and bucked, tossed her head and snorted, and bellowed terrified cries. She called out to her herd, pleading for help, but the band was long gone.

"You sure picked the spirited one of the herd," her father shouted over the mustang's whinnies.

"Guess I got a good eye for 'em," Maddie said. She shook her head in awe at the tenacity of the mustang: though her muscles trembled from exertion and her body was slick with sweat, she still fought for her freedom. "She's a fighter alright."

"You sure you can handle her? She looks a little too wild, Maddie."

The young girl scoffed. "Of course, I can handle her! It'll be a breeze to tame her."

The buckskin stallion trotted nervously about in the round pen, eyes wide and nostrils flaring as he searched for a means of escape. He carried his black tail high in alarm as she trotted around the fifteen-year-old girl standing in the middle of the pen. She didn't hold his attention, but she certainly didn't help his stress, especially with the lasso dangling from her right hand at her side. The horse was more concerned with the growing number of dark-skinned humans that congregated around the pen. As more of Chuparosa's citizens gathered around him, the buckskin began to lope around in fear.

Maddie wasn't fazed in the slightest: she had worked with wild horses before, had worked with colts that didn't know what a saddle was until they accepted her as a rider. She had been bucked off, kicked, stomped on, and bitten many times before. As she studied the nervous stallion, she knew that taming him would be no different. He had yet to accept a rider: every single Latino in town had tried to buck him out, but each time the stallion bucked them off before they could get a good seat and the reins. The horse had become known as Combatiente.

What did faze her, however, was the constant taunts, jest, and laughter coming from all around her. Many Latino men gestured to her with an unimpressed flick of their hands; scoffs and snorts of derision soon followed. All around her, snippets of conversation could be heard.

"¿Quién se cree que es? ¡Esta chica va a morir!"

"Mirala. Ella no tiene ninguna posibilidad contra ese caballo."

"¡Esto es trabajo de un hombre! ¿Que hace ella aqui?"

"¡Salir de esa pluma, chica estúpida! ¡Deje que un hombre te enseñe cómo hacerlo!"

The taunts nipped at her flesh like horse teeth, swelling under her skin like bruises and poisoning her with self-doubt. She began to feel dwarfed by the stallion as he loped around her, not caring that she stood there. Maddie felt a frown tug at the corners of her lips; a dark cloud of self-deprecation began to enshroud her thoughts.

Before her mind could taint her confidence, a pair of grey eyes caught her attention. Amidst the laughing citizens of Chuparosa, Landon Ricketts stood silently watching her. The old man nodded towards the stallion encouragingly. "Se fuerte, mi niña," he said. "Ignorarlos a todos, Maddie. Yo soy el unico aqui. Estos imbeciles no importan."

She stood drinking in every word, hoping his statement would fill her with confidence.

"Muéstrame lo que puedes hacer."

A soft smile spread across her lips. "Gracias, mi maestro," she said and turned to the stallion. She squared her shoulders, lifted her chin, and took a deep breath as she turned her attention to the buckskin beauty. "¡Mesteño!"

The stallion continued to lope around her; his attention was split between the girl and the crowd of nonbelievers.

She lashed the lasso in front of him. "¡Mesteño!"

The horse slid to a stop and faced her fully, ears pricked and nostrils flaring. He spooked and ran away from the rope as Maddie threw it at him again, this time towards his shoulder. As he loped around her, going in the other direction, she proclaimed, "¡Estoy aqui! Mirame, escuchame, prestame atencion. No te temo, Combatiente."

The stallion appeared puzzled as she tossed the rope at him again, making him stop and turn around. He had been accustomed to the humans roping him and forcing a saddle and bridle on him; he became aware of the cruel routine of being shoved in the chute, being forced to accept a rider on his back, and then buck them off. Each time, they'd get back on. None of the two-leggeds were getting the clue, but this little female was doing something completely different, and that made him uneasy.

He pinned his ears back and shied away from the rope as Maddie tossed it at his b; he flinched when the end tapped his hide, and he gave an angry kick as he loped away. He tossed his head in frustration when the small humans flicked the rope in front of him, making him slide to a stop and turn around.

A puzzled hush began to settle over the crowd as they watched the young woman work the horse in a way they'd never seen before. Instead of chasing the horse down and roping him, she chased him away with the lasso. The change in her demeanor befuddled them; the insignificant little girl that cowered in the middle of the pen transformed into a commanding woman with the character of a queen. She stood tall and proud; she squared her shoulder and faced the horse fearlessly; she glared him down as if he were no more than a disrespectful child. No more did taunt her and laugh; instead, they stood in awe.

The dirt within the round pen became a turned-up mess; thousands of hoofprints treaded alongside the fence while footprints dotted the center, creating a circle within a circle.

"¡Corre, mesteño!" Maddie shouted, lashing the rope out to the buckskin yet again. Her eyes were fixed on his proud, beautiful head, waiting for the sign of submission.

And then it happened… The stallion turned his inner ear to her.

"Muy bien," she said and sent him in the other direction with the rope.

He spun around gracefully, like a dancer in reaction to his partner's movements.

Maddie smirked as she watched him lower his head and made chewing motions with his mouth. She waited a moment longer, and when he bobbed his head several more times, she turned her back to the stallion and stood still, listening to his hoof-falls as he slowed to a stop and face her. She listened as he approached cautiously. Her smile grew as she felt his hot breath on her shoulder; his soft muzzle brushed her shirt.

Slowly, Maddie face him, eyes downcast so as not to alert him. She lifted a hand to his ebony muzzle, and he nuzzled her palm as he breathed in her scent. Horse and human came together in a quiet moment as Maddie slid her hand up his muzzle and petted him underneath his black forelock.

"Good boy," she murmured. "Gracias."

Silence ensued as she turned and walked away, with the stallion obediently following her beside her right shoulder. She led him around the pen, smiling at the slack-jawed men and women of Chuparosa. When she came up to Landon, she stopped and met gazes with him. The buckskin stood beside her, eyes and ears fixed on his new leader and herd-mate.

Maddie nodded to the stallion. "So? What do you think?"

The old man shook his head; his grey eyes shimmered with wonder. "I have never seen anything so beautiful."

The black filly leapt high, and for the fifth time that day, she bucked her small rider off her back and sent her sailing through the air and landing hard onto the churned-up dirt in the round pen. Maddie lay prone, gasping in pain and surprise as she tried to breathe—the wind had been knocked out of her, and hard. It had been a long, hard week of working with the mustang; she was proving to the most spirited horse she'd ever come across.

Rushed footfalls approached her, and she was lifted to her feet by strong hands.

"Are you all right?" her father asked.

Maddie nodded and dusted herself off. Little by little, she felt her lungs taking in air.

"She's gonna kill you, Maddie. Do you want me to buck her out for you?"

"No, Pa." She lifted her chin and met gazes with her stood over her with a worried countenance. "You're too big for, and she is my horse. Ain't nobody gonna tame her but me." She rested her hands on her hips in a saucy manner.

Phillip looked her over and shook his head. "Look at you, you silly girl. She's got you all busted up."

"What else do you expect, Pa? She's a mustang."

"I'm not just gonna stand by and watch you get beat up, darlin'. Let me buck her out."

"No!" she shouted and stormed off towards the filly, who stood across the pen watching. As she approached, the mustang pinned her ears back and lifted her head. "Don't you give me anymore of that sass, you little shit. Now stand." Maddie criss-crossed the reins on top of the saddle horn and jammed her left boot into the corresponding stirrup. The black beauty tossed her head. Horse and human stared at each other in anticipation.

"Stand, girl," Maddie commanded.

The horse swished her tail and flared her nostrils.

"I. Said. Stand."

She shook her head and tossed her mane.

"Mount up, Maddie," Phillip said. "Ain't no time but the present. She's tired."

His spirited daughter shot a glare over her shoulder at him. "What do you think I'm doin'? Gimme a damn second to catch my breath!"

He narrowed his eyes. "Watch your mouth, Madeline Anne Ross, or else I'll give you an even bigger ass-whoopin' than that horse is givin' you."

To this, Maddie said nothing. Her scowl refused to fade as she turned back to the mustang. Her left hand came to rest back on top of the saddle horn and reins, while her right grabbed the cantle. She took a deep breath; the filly tensed.

Carefully, she pulled herself up, with her right leg dangling and her weight mostly on the saddle, but she did not yet her leg over and mount up. The filly lifted her head and tail, not necessarily liking the girl's weight but not objecting to it either. Maddie stayed there, waiting for the horse to get used to her, before she dropped back down to the ground.

"What are you doin', Maddie?" Phillip asked. "Mount up!"

"I'm goin' at the speed she's comfortable with, Pa. Ain't no sense in rushing."

He was silent as he watched his daughter repeat the process, only this time, she put most of her weight on the seat. The filly took a few uncertain steps, one ear cocked back, but she didn't offer to buck. Maddie petted her neck, saying, "Good girl, good girl."

Two more times, she draped herself over the saddle, and when the mustang took her weight without fear, she slowly brought herself up and draped her right leg over onto the other side and draped her right leg over onto the other side of the horse and carefully put her boot in the stirrup. She eased herself down onto the seat and sat there, calmly waiting for the mustang to get used to her weight. What she once considered a predator on her back now became a partner as the mustang stood there silently. She turned her ears back to her rider and listened to her breathe as she waited for her next move.

"So far, so good," Phillip murmured.

"Don't jinx it," Maddie said.

The moment she squeezed her heels to her horse's sides, the filly baulked and gave a crow hop. The mustang bucked around the pen, but not as furiously as before. Maddie stuck her boots deep into the stirrups and leaned back in the saddle; she rode with the horse, riding out the buck as the filly slowly became less aggressive and more accustomed to the rider and the saddle.

"That a girl!" her father shouted. "Ler 'er buck, Maddie! Stay with her! You've almost got her!"

A long, tiring minute later, the filly went from bucking to loping. Maddie guided the filly around, changing direction and keeping her feet moving and her mind working. When she was satisfied, she pulled her to a stop in the middle of the round pen and gave her a chance to catch her breath and relax. The horse's body was slick with sweat; her sides rose and fell with every labored breath. Maddie leaned forward in the saddle, and with tears brimming her eyes, she stroked her mane and neck graciously, saying, "Good girl. See? That wasn't so bad, now was it? Good, good girl!"

She leaned back and sat up tall and proud, smiling as she locked eyes with her father, who strode up to her with a twinkle in his eye and smirk on his face. "That's my girl," he said.

Gingerly, Maddie set the saddle upon the stallion's blanketed back. She and the buckskin met eyes; the horse cocked an ear back to her.

"Easy, boy," she cooed and patted his neck. She reached underneath his belly and grabbed the front cinch, slipping the latigo through the rigging and steadily tightening at a pace the horse was comfortable with. The mustang stood quietly; there was no trickery here, no mistrust or force. Once she was done with the front cinch, she went to the back cinch and finished saddling the mustang.

A silence like no other enshrouded the corral as the horseman of Chuparosa stood staring. Where once the stallion shied from a human's touch, he now stood calmly whenever Maddie stroked his smooth hide. Anxious and disbelieving eyes watched her as she bent down and retrieved the bridle from the ground. Maddie reached around his neck with the left cheek piece unbuckled, and after he accepted the bit, she buckled it back up and fastened the throat lash. The reins hung to the ground as the stallion obediently stood still for her as she checked his tack to make sure he was comfortable, and after her inspection, she criss-crossed the reins atop the saddle horn.

Murmurs of skepticism echoed around her as she raised her left boot up into the stirrup. In the week that she'd joined up with the buckskin, she had yet to ride him. At first, he was petrified when she would walk into the pen carrying what he hated the most, but she sat the tack down in the middle of the round pen and let him inspect it on his own free will. By the end of the third day, she had him accustomed to the saddle and bridle; by the fifth day, he willingly accepted it. However, when it came to him accepting her as a rider, his traumatizing experiences with the Mexicans forcing themselves upon him kept him in flight mode, and Maddie didn't know if she could correct the stallion of the bad lesson they had taught him.

She could feel the horse tense as she pulled herself up and draped her body across the saddle. The stallion looked back at her, nervous but not offering to buck… yet. She lay there for several more seconds before she climbed back down and stroked his neck.

Several more times, she did this. The murmurs crescendoed around her, and one man shouted, "¡Monte el caballo! What are you waiting for?"

"¡Silencio, idiota! Be patient and watch; there is much to learn from my methods."

The people lowered their voices and waited. Maddie stood beside the stallion with her left foot in the stirrup and her hands on the saddle. Quietly, cautiously, she hoisted herself up onto the saddle and draped over it like before, but after a moment, she righted herself and slowly draped her right leg over the horse's other side. She graciously petted his neck and mane before leaning back and sitting up tall and proud in the saddle.

She clicked her tongue, and the horse took a step forward. He baulked and crow-hopped, squealing with fright as recollections of the previous attempts to break him overtook him. He bucked hard and sailed high, desperate to escape, but when no pain of sharpened spurs cut his and crops smacked his rump, when he didn't feel any excruciating pressure in his mouth from the bit being yanked about by the reins, he slowly began to understand. Maddie rode the buck out as best she could, keeping her boots deep in the stirrups, her legs straight, and the reins loose. As he leapt about the round pen, his buck became a tired crow-hop, which then became a lope, then a trot, and finally a walk.

As he came to a stop, Maddie leaned forward and patted his neck. In between pants, she said, "Good boy. You did wonderful." The stallion lowered his head and did his best to catch his breath.

The crown around the pen erupted into applause; the fifteen-year-old girl blushed as she sat up and looked around her. The citizens of Chuparosa beamed at her, astounded to see her success and her strange method. However, the second she dismounted, the horsemen that had tried to break the stallion became irate.

"¿Que es esta hechiceria? ¿Es esto un trunco?" one shouted.

"¿Donde aprendiste a domesticar caballos?" demanded the other.

She laughed. "¿No es obvio? I earned that horse's trust. I earned the right to ride him, and it wasn't through force. This isn't a trick, this isn't sort of magic-this is just trust and common sense." She shook her head, astounded at their machismo and ignorance. "You men think it's all about domination, about breaking the horse's spirit, when in fact you should be working with the horse, earning his trust, and becoming his partner. Un caballo no es un enclavo do un ser humano, y un humano no es el amo de un caballo."

The men bristled and flinched away from her, as if her words nipped at their skin like a moody filly. In a fit of rage and denial, they stomped to the cantina to drink their frustration away and nurse their pride. Gradually, the crowd dispersed and went back into town.

Maddie chuckled as she watched them storm away. She turned back to the stallion and smiled, feeling pride blossom in her breast as she looked him over. He was beautiful and proud as ever, standing with untouched regality in his black tack. His muscular neck bowed up as he carried his head high, ears pricked forward, dark eyes staring back at her intently. His black tail floated behind him like a dark flag as he walked up to her.

She smirked and gingerly stroked his muzzle. "Those fools do not understand, and they never will. They are too proud and too hell-bent in their ways. If only they could unveil their eyes to other methods-that way none of your kind would ever be treated so poorly ever again." She shook her head once more. "Such a shame… such a waste."

Maddie turned and smirked when she saw all but one man had retired to the cantina for the evening. Landon Ricketts stood leaning against the round pen with his elbows resting on top of the fence. A smirk grew under his large white mustache; his grey eyes glimmered as he watched her.

"I think it's safe to say you showed them up," he chuckled. "Muy bien, mi niña. Eres un caballista experto."

A bright smile graced her lips, and she blushed as she tilted her hat to him. "Gracias, mi maestro."

The moonlight peaked through the curtains in her room, sending milky streaks through the windows and washing the floorboards with an ethereal light. Maddie lay in bed, staring up at the bland ceiling and frowning. Her enervated body lay heavily atop the mattress, but her mind was a whirlpool of activity. As the night progressed, she listened to the townsfolk in the cantina and mentally arguing with herself whether to rise and carry out the plan she been mulling over ever she unsaddled the mustang earlier that day. Midnight came and went, and by the time two o'clock lulled around, restlessness took over and she hopped out of bed. Quietly, she pulled on her boots, duster, and hat, and left her room.

In the days that followed her successful ride on the supposed untamable horse, Maddie continued to work with the stallion and the men who tried to break him. She did her best to practice patience with the men, especially when they became enraged that the mustang would not allow anyone else but her on his back. Time after time, they attempted to do so, but the horse would pin his ears and flee, sometimes even nipping them.

"The horse is bewitched by you, jinete!" one of them said. "He is no good to us!"

"There is no magic here, mi amigo," she explained. "It takes time and patience to earn his trust. Por favor, do not give up now. He may accept you yet."

So when no progress had been made after another week, and the men had all but given up, Maddie knew what had to be done.

The cool air shocked her after being in her warm bed for several hours, but she brushed off the chills and concentrated on the task at hand. Her boots thumped across the dirt as she quickly made her way past the church and alcalde. No one was in sight, as far as she could tell, but she didn't waste time dallying about. As she approached the corral, a familiar whicker greeter her.

Maddie smirked as the buckskin stallion approached her, his dark eyes alight with mirth and his ears pricked forward. He brushed her hand with his velveteen muzzle, his whiskers tickling her skin, and she ran her hand up his muzzle to his forelock and scratched between his ears.

"Ven conmigo," she whispered. "Montemos."

The stallion stood calmly as she climbed over the fence and strolled over to the stalls nears the white wall of the town. The rope halter and lead rope she had been using on him hung on a fence post, just where she'd left it. She grabbed it, went back to the stallion, slipped the halter onto his head, and tied the end of the lead rope to the bottom of the halter, creating a single rein. She stood with her left shoulder to his left wither, swung her right leg back and forth several times to gain momentum, and on the fourth swing, she leapt up onto his back and picked up the lead rope.

She squeezed her heels to his sides, and he walked forward. She rode him around the corral, steadily increasing speed, until he was at a corner, at which point she reined him towards the gate. She kicked his sides as he neared it; the stallion knew exactly what she commanded and jumped the fence. He sailed gracefully over it with plenty of space to spare him west and kicked him into a gallop following the railroad tracks.

The night was cold but beautiful as the stallion soared across the land at breakneck speed; his black mane shimmered in the moonlight and his hooves pounded a glorious three-beated rhythm of freedom. Despite the wind, Maddie found herself smiling, laughing even, with glee as she rode with wild abandon. The mustang's speed and power reverberated through her small frame, and for a moment, she felt insignificant stop his back. She was no more than a horse fly upon him, a blemish on his hide, and yet, he responded to the slightest squeeze of her heels and the softest of caresses-he was neither her slave or acolyte, but rather an extension of his magnificent body. White sand and cactus streaked past them; the millions of stars and the bright round moon illuminated the landscape like a stage for them to perform their flight to freedom.

When the horse all but exhausted himself, she slowed him to a stop as they entered Punta Orgullo. The mustang's sides heaved, and his nostrils flared as he tried to catch his breath; he blew loudly and shook himself with giddy fatigue, looking overjoyed to have finally been able to stretch his legs and gallop freely. Maddie relaxed from her bent stance and sat up straight, letting her legs dangle beside his barrel. Horse and rider panted almost in unison and looked about them, taking in their surroundings while they regained their stamina. For five minutes, all that could be heard was their labored breathing and the sighing of the wind.

When his breathing slowed back to normal, Maddie urged him onward at a walk across the sloping sandhills dotted with cactus and shrubbery. Horse and rider enjoyed each other's company in silence as they explored. South of them lay Tesoro Azul, and off in the distance ahead of them sprouted Crooked Toes. Maddie stopped the horse, deeming it far enough from town.

With a sigh, she leaned forward and ran her fingers through his thick black mane, whispering, "Que hermoso caballo eres. Buen chico." The stallion nickered in response to her caresses and flicked his ears back to listen to her.

The thundering of hooves brought them out of their touch moment; horse and human snapped to attentions as, off in the distance amidst the vegetation and moonlight, a herd of fifteen mustangs loped by. Beneath her, the stallion stood stock still except for his flaring nostrils and pricked ears. Maddie chuckled when he trumpeted a mighty whinny to the band, and as she expected, the horses stopped and looked.

The stallion stood shaking with excitement; his long tail raised in unison with his proud head. He nickered and flicked an ear back to Maddie. Maddie dismounted and lifted a hand up to his thick neck and long mane. A smirk graced her lips as she watched the mustang stare intently at his fellow creatures. She stroked his neck gently, feeling his coat one last time.

"They're never gonna ride you, boy… and no one ever should."

Tears began to swell in her eyes as she reached up and untied the knot in the rope halter. The stallion locked eyes with her and stood patiently waiting as she slipped the halter off his head and stepped back several paces. He turned his head to her and nickered.

Maddie smiled. "Go on. You've earned your freedom."

He cocked back an ear and blinked, but when she untied the lead rope from the halter and flicked it towards his rump, he understood. With a joyous bob of his head, he took off at a gallop towards the herd. His hooves kicked up clouds of sand in his wake as he charged forward, and as he neared the band, he slowed and bucked with joy as a palomino mare and a brown and white filly greeted him with warm whickers. The rest of the herd encircled him, sniffing and muzzling him. When at last the reunion was over, tossed his head and reared before galloping off into the distance, and the herd followed, bucking and kicking with excitement.

Maddie watched until she could see them no longer, and with happy tears streaking down her face, she turned and headed back to Chuparosa.