Resonance (a Spirit: Stallion of The Cimarron fic)

Disc.: Dreamworks will always own this production of a very popular book series, and I will always own none of it…just fics like this one will always be mine, as well as any events hereinto the fic.

A/N: So, I made the ending to the last chapter really sad and I'm sorry if you guys hate it but it had to be done to make everything else better near the end. Also, I was thinking that maybe I should have Little Creek pray to the Lakota fertility goddess and make Raineth able to carry Spirit's foal, which would temporarily make him a female but if Marta came looking for him in a fit of rage then she wouldn't be able to find him…if you think I should do that, then please let me know in a review or a message ok? Anyway, here's the rest of the chapter- enjoy!

Ch.7- Coming Home

Spirit felt his heart grow heavy with despair that was so deep that he felt as if his life wasn't worth shit, his mate was hurt or possibly even dead…and he wasn't there to help him through any of his pain, he'd been cruelly yanked away from the one he loved more than air as he was lead on a halter with a rope and into a train car. The humans this time around were nice to him and ushered him up the plank with kind words and a gentle pat on the rear.

When the door closed and he was alone, the gold-bronze stallion walked over to a corner and stood there in the dark all by himself as he looked out of the open space and out at the falling snow. The cold air did little to lift his heart, in fact it seemed to make him more depressed as he thought of his mother and his herd. Thunder walked over to him and placed some hay in front of him, but Spirit wasn't hungry as he cried before turning away to look back outside.

"Spirit?" the gray stallion asked him concernedly, he and Spirit had become friends after their first few days of interacting with each other around the Lakota village. The gold-bronze stallion knew that Thunder was madly in love with Marta and had encouraged him to pursue her, but she only seemed to have eyes for Raineth.

"What is it, Thunder?"

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry…I know that you and Raineth are perfect for each other, and I hope that you two can be reunited."

"It's not your fault, so don't apologize…just leave me alone."

Knowing that he couldn't convince the gold-bronze stallion any further, Thunder turned back to chat with his friends Luca and Kiernan until the train came to a stop. The four horses were led off the train and attached to a harness, along with roughly 200 other horses and were forced to pull a train over the horizon. Spirit looked up through determined eyes and felt his heart stop when he realized where exactly the train was being pulled to.

They were gonna plow right on through his homeland where his herd was currently living, and he had to stop them no matter what. Instead of making a huge racket and getting the other horses hurt, Spirit feigned fatigue and let himself pass out. The other humans saw him drop to the ground and released him from the harness as they proceeded to drag him away.

That was when Spirit made his move, the gold-bronze stallion began thrashing as the humans became scared of any one of his hooves connecting with their bodies and breaking bones. Spirit took off as soon as he was up on all four legs again, ignoring the humans' cries to catch him as he released the other horses with a few well placed kicks. Thunder and his three friends followed after the gold-bronze stallion as he charged through a wooden house, the train rolling down the hill behind them due to there being nothing to hold it in place.

After the train exploded it set the forest behind them ablaze, the flames quickly catching up to and surpassing them as the four stallions jumped over a fallen tree and landed on the other side…except Spirit, who'd gotten caught on a thick branch by the chain around his neck and was dangling just high enough that his rear hooves could dig into the ground. He let out deep wheezing neighs of protest and fear as he tried in vain to loosen the chain from the branch but it was wedged up too far underneath the piece of wood sticking out from the tree to come loose without assistance.

Thunder ran back to help Spirit try to calm down while he told his friends to go seek help before they all burned to death from the flames of passed out from smoke inhalation, Luca and Kiernan running off to the edge of the forest to try and find help. They didn't have to wait long, because Little Creek had come running up the hill and was shocked that they were alive.

"Luca, Kiernan, what's wrong?"

"(Little Creek, Spirit's in trouble!)" Luca neighed fearfully while Kiernan whinnied out in concern for their fellow stallion fried.

"(He's trapped on a branch, Thunder is with him but they need help or they'll die!)"

"I understand, go back to the encampment and I'll make sure they both get home safely."

Both stallions nodded as the Lakota boy ran to where Spirit was struggling to get loose as the flames drew closer, he dismissed Thunder while he cut away at the branch until it was broken and freed Spirit just as the flames reached them. The two males jumped into a deep lake at the bottom of a canyon, the gold-bronze stallion unable to stay above water due to his struggling that sapped his strength so Little Creek grabbed him by the chain under his skull and dragged him to shore.

(2 days later)

Spirit woke up to a familiar sight, a grassy field around him and a pile of apples near him. The gold-bronze stallion eyed the fruit appreciatively, after nearly 2 days of not eating he could stomach just about anything…even the blue-green apple sitting on the very top of the small stack of fruit, Spirit not thinking much on the fruit as he ate it along with the rest of the apples, the blue-green apple tasting a bit sweeter than the others and upon swallowing all the fruit down into his empty stomach he spotted Little Creek at the river.

"Little Creek, you really did come for me…thank you."

Spirit quietly trotted over to the Lakota boy and pushed him into the water before jumping into the river to play with him, the two males playing as Spirit ran around Little Creek in a circle and stopping to face him.

"I told you I'd bring you home."

"(And so you did, my friend…thank you so much.)" Little Creek gently stroked Spirit's nose as they locked gazes for a short while, their joy coming to an abrupt halt as they heard the Colonel and his men start coming for them on their horses. Spirit gestured for Little Creek to climb onto his back, the Lakota boy shocked that this horse who would never let anyone mount him was letting him climb onto his back of his own free will.

They didn't have much time to revel in the feelings of kinship overcoming them, so as soon as the Lakota boy was on the gold-bronze stallion's back he took off faster than any of those other horses could keep up. After an hour of running through fields, over trees, and up cliffs, Spirit was standing on a long and wide ledge that had a wide canyon dividing it and the land on the other side. The soldiers would catch up to them any minute and the gold-bronze stallion knew that the only way to get away from them was to jump the divide. Steeling his nerves and resolve, Spirit took a running start and the next thing he and Little Creek knew, they were flying across the gap and landing safely on the other side.

The soldiers were amazed that a stallion could jump that far but knew that there was no way they could do the same so they turned back and went to their fortress. Little Creek and Spirit were both happy as could be, they'd managed to elude the soldiers and now it was time for them to go home.

The Lakota boy climbed onto the gold-bronze stallion's back once more and the two of them went back to the encampment, an hour later found them standing on a hill overlooking the settlement. Spirit was happy that they'd all made it here safely, Thunder and Marta talking about something that he couldn't hear from where he was standing while Kiernan and Luca were speaking with a couple of mares and Silver Flash was watching over the little village alongside Hidalgo.

All of this brought relief to Spirit's soul, and yet his heart was still in so much pain. He missed his mate, the one who was his destined partner for as long as time stood.

"(Raineth, I wish you were here with me right now my love…nothing in this world could ever replace you, this happiness I feel isn't the same without you here to share it with me. I love you, Raineth, I need you by my side again.)" Spirit looked away sadly as he let out a small nicker that seemed to convey his need to have Raineth by his side, Little Creek letting out a whistle that had the gold-bronze stallion confused.

A cloud of smoke from a nearby campfire blocked the view of another horse coming towards the two males, but as it cleared Spirit's heart began beating happily and a smile appeared wide upon his face as the other stallion also smiled at him.

"R-Raineth?!"

"Spirit?"

"Raineth, it's really you!"

"Spirit!"

The two stallions ran to each other to make sure they weren't seeing things, neighs and whinnies of happiness coming from each of them. They nuzzled each other appreciatively, their love for each other clearly displayed in their eyes as they held a gaze.

"Raineth, I'm sorry you got hurt but I'm here now and I'll never leave your side ever again."

"Spirit, it's alright…and I too will never leave you again, I love you more than life itself."

Little Creek watched the display and felt pride well up in his heart at how happy he'd made them by reuniting them. It was at this moment that he knew they were meant to be together, but not in the village…they belonged together in the wilds of the mountains and grassy fields beyond the tiny Lakota village.

The Lakota boy walked up to them and hugged each stallion around their necks, tears brimming in his eyes but he knew that it had to be done.

"You will always be in my heart, Spirit Who Could Not Be Broken."

The gold-bronze stallion nodded happily at Little Creek, watching his mate grow sad at leaving behind the life he knew but also seeing the glimmer of happiness in his eyes at the start of a new life at Spirit's side.

"Take care of each other, alright?"

Both horses nodded at Little Creek before taking off for the mountains and leaving the Lakota village behind for good. Spirit felt his heart soar with elation, he was finally going home to his mother and his herd but he wouldn't be going back alone.

He was going home with his loving mate, Raineth, and their lives were definitely gonna change for the better.

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T.B.C.- So, all that's left now is the ending to this story and maybe some foals? I've decided to include a twist at the end as a gift to all of you faithful readers who've stuck with the story from start to finish, and thank you again for being so nice to me and this story!