What's Going On?
Dynasty's birth herd spent the rest of spring and the entire summer in the expanse where it turned out Opalana's herd was also close to. Ever since the day she had been returned to the herd, Dynasty had noticed a change in her father's behaviour towards her. He had taken it upon himself to show her how to carry her head high and proudly, how to look out for any signs of imminent danger. It almost felt to the filly that he was training her in how to be a lead stallion of a herd. Indeed, the other colts and fillies in the herd had taken an obvious dislike to this apparent preferential treatment and had taken it upon themselves to bully and harass Dynasty as much as possible. They never bothered her when they were alone, but only when there was more than one of them together did they bully the black filly. She was growing stronger and healthier with the passage of time, her muscles growing and swelling with the strength of Wild Wind while her heart burned with the stubbornness of her mother, although there was also an added element within her that came from neither. Her heart surged with love and affection which was given to her by the palomino mare, Opalana. The two of them had formed an unbreakable bond since that first meeting, Dynasty making a point of running to where Opalana's herd grazed every so often to check on the mare. As far as Dynasty was concerned, this mare was more her mother than the head mare of her birth herd was. It was Opalana who soothed Dynasty's distress when she was relentlessly bullied by her half brothers and half sisters, Opalana who showed genuine interest and pride in the health and strength that flowed in Dynasty's veins.
"Why do you like me so much?" Dynasty finally asked one day, "I'm not like the other colts or fillies around here! I take more delight in running than I do grazing with my birth herd; I show more characteristics of a lead stallion than a mare. I'm not like anyone else." She hung her black head miserably, feeling something between joy at being cared for so much by this mare and pain because she really couldn't comprehend why the mare should care about her as much. Opalana merely continued grazing for a short time before lifting her head to respond.
"You shouldn't ask that," her voice carried a tone of wisdom, "it will make other creatures not want to be your friend." Dynasty brought her head up so sharply that the palomino was amazed there was no injury done. The brown-green eyes laid it out clear how uncertain and astounded the young one was. However, Dynasty decided not to press it. Opalana apparently really liked her, even though most other horses had shown her nothing but cruelty or ignorance. Before she could say anything else, Dynasty heard loud shouts and felt the thundering hoof beats of horses racing coupled with plenty of other sounds that she had never encountered before. Opalana's loud whinny drew her attention, however, and she followed as the palomino dashed away rapidly.
"What's going on?" Dynasty asked frantically as she galloped harder than she had ever done. She could feel the fear emanating from Opalana's body as she galloped, her ears pinned right back in terror. They were fleeing some great, terrible danger and for the life of her, Dynasty couldn't understand what. Alien shouts and cries coupled with the thundering of hoof beats were bearing down on the horses, some point unseen behind them, like a deadly pack of wolves just beyond their line of sight. The landscape flew by Dynasty's eyes faster than she had ever seen it, grass and sky bleeding into one. She kept pace with Opalana, twisting and turning as the older mare did, determined not to leave her side at any cost. It wasn't long before the horses came to an abrupt stop at the edge of a cliff. There was nothing ahead of them save for a very long drop downwards, to a quick death. Dynasty's ear flicked backwards as she heard the hoof beats coming up from where both she and Opalana had came from.
"Those things that are chasing us, they're not just horses," Opalana explained quickly, "terrible creatures that walk on two legs are riding the horses that are chasing us and they want to catch us. It is said once they catch a horse; the horse never gets to run wild ever again. Now it looks as though we're about to suffer that fate, for we cannot run any further." Dynasty's mind began racing frantically as she tried to think of a way out of this, at least a way that would protect Opalana from the things coming. Only one idea came to mind and she knew that it wouldn't rest well with the palomino if she knew, so Dynasty quickly turned her head to Opalana and rested it on her neck. If this was the last occasion she got to cuddle into the best mother figure she had ever known, Dynasty was going to savour every moment of it. Then, as suddenly as she started it, the black filly pulled back and galloped away towards where she knew the hoof beats were coming from, as she heard Opalana's cries of reason reach her ears. As she raced around the corner that she had came from, Dynasty found herself racing to meet a couple of dark brown horses with creatures she had never seen before sitting on their backs. They were hairless on the parts of their natural bodies that the filly could see, save for a circle of thick dark hair on their faces. She knew what she was doing, though, as she remembered that Opalana had a foal of her own to take care of back in her herd. This thought stayed with Dynasty as she threw herself between the brown horses, knocking one off balance so the thing riding it fell to the ground. She ran and galloped, zigzagging as she tried to stay out of the reach of the things wanting her so badly, yet not enough for them to give up the chase and go after Opalana. Eventually, though, Dynasty couldn't hear the hoof beats following her and her heart began to surge with the possibility that she had managed to out manoeuvre them. She saw that she was far enough away from the cliff that Opalana would've gotten to safety before the things went back to catch her. I'm going to get to safety, I showed them! These thoughts surged in her mind happily, but her happiness was short lived. As if from nowhere, a lasso came and flew around her neck, tightening and pulling the filly to the ground.
"Thought you'd got away, didn't you mustang?" the creature which had got her said triumphantly from his horse. Before she could react and fight her way out, Dynasty felt another rope go around her neck and tighten, keeping her exactly where she was. This didn't stop her from kicking and squealing angrily, wanting her captors to know she wasn't going to go along peacefully. Their laughter rang in her ears at her struggles, but she didn't care, for at that moment, she could see the golden form of Opalana in the distance. Dynasty had been caught in a forest, so the older mare was perfectly protected from the creatures' sight by the trees. The palomino looked as though she was about to race over and fight for Dynasty's freedom, but the filly told her in her squeals not to come near, just to go. Opalana sent out an answering whinny of sadness before leaving, but the creatures were too caught up in their own arrogance to notice the new call.
"Ah can't believe we caught us one of Wild Wind's foals," the one who'd caught Dynasty first said, "this black devil's gonna fetch us a nice sum of money back at the ranch." The other creature, also a male, rolled his eyes before responding.
"That's if we can get this beast to carry someone on her back," he said irritated, "remember, she's got Wild Wind's blood in her veins and it shows. She's as wild and untamed as he is! But, ya know, maybe we don't need to worry about getting her under a saddle to make a mint outta her." They then pulled hard on their ropes, forcing Dynasty to her feet. Every step they made her walk, she pulled back and fought with every bit of her strength and determination. They pulled and dragged her from the forest, across the open plains, into mountainous terrain. She fought relentlessly as the hours passed, continuously looking back towards where her home was, wanting desperately to return there and hating the fact she was being dragged from there.
You can't take me, yeah!
Got to fight another fight - I gotta run another night
Get it out - check it out
I'm on my way and it don't feel right
I gotta get me back - I can't be beat and that's a fact
It's OK - I'll find a way
You ain't gonna take me down no way
Don't judge a thing until you know what's inside it
Don't push me - I'll fight it
Never gonna give in - never gonna give it up no
If you can't catch a wave then you're never gonna ride it
You can't come uninvited
Never gonna give in - never gonna give it up no
You can't take me I'm free
Why did it all go wrong? - I wanna know what's goin'on
And what's this holding me?
I'm not where I'm supposed to be
I gotta fight another fight
I gotta fight with all my might
I'm getting out, so check it out
Ya - you're in my way
So you better watch out
Don't judge a thing until you know what's inside it
Don't push me - I'll fight it
Never gonna give in - never gonna give it up no
If you can't catch a wave then you're never gonna ride it
You can't come uninvited
Never gonna give in - never gonna give it up no
You can't take me I'm free
Now Dynasty found herself being steered into a field and then the creatures cut the ropes loose that were around her neck, not wanting to get closer to the wild horse than was necessary. She immediately broke away and raced to the side of the field that was furthest away from her captors, surprised to find a boundary preventing her from going further. She paced restlessly, snorting loudly with her ears pinned back in aggression as she tried to understand everything that was happening. Soon, another horse appeared beside her and stopped her from her frenzied behaviour. It was one of the brown horses that had led to her capture.
"Get away from me, traitor!" Dynasty neighed loudly, "Before I kick you to death!" The other horse remained where it was, not bothered apparently in the slightest by the filly's behaviour.
"It was not me who caught you, mustang," the horse, a mare, replied, "but the human who rides me." Her calm demeanour only served to enrage Dynasty more, invoke even more hostile feelings and behaviour from the filly.
"Don't call me mustang! I have a name!" she neighed back, "also, you let one of those puny creatures control your every move! You could so easily throw him off your back and make a break for it if you wanted!" The brown mare bowed her head sadly before walking a short distance to show her flank to Dynasty. She had a symbol of some form imprinted on her body.
"If I could break free from this place, don't you think I would rather than run with this on my flank?" her reply was slow and sad, "you'll see yourself soon enough, the humans aren't happy until they break your spirit so you bow to their will. I call you mustang because that is the name all wild horses are called by. What is your name, then?" Dynasty couldn't help but feel a strong pang of pity in her heart for the other horse. To be forced to run under a human's command, to do their every bidding while they obviously cared little for a horse's feelings made her blood boil. She made a silent vow to not let that happen to her.
"My name's Dynasty," her response was a lot calmer and steadier than previous, "I see it is night now, perhaps a sleep in this place will see me in a calmer mood come sunrise." With that, Dynasty walked to a corner of the enclosed space and lay down, drifting into a fitful sleep dreaming of Opalana.