Remember Who You Are
Dynasty found herself being made to travel for just over a day to another set of buildings similar to those she had just left behind. She had been uncharacteristically quiet for the trip, deciding to keep a low profile with these humans until she saw what fate they had in store for her. Snake-Eyes came over, untied the rope from the cart and led Dynasty towards one of the buildings. Once she was inside, the filly saw that there were many horses inside, but they weren't running free as she had been accustomed to seeing. They were standing in narrow boxed-in areas with barely enough space to turn around. Before she knew what was happening, Dynasty too found herself being forced into one of these enclosures. Snake-Eyes removed the halter from her head roughly and gave the mustang's head a rough shove, pulling his hand back just in the nick of time to avoid her snapping jaws. His loud laugh rang out through the air to her ears as she began pawing the ground restlessly, snorting and tossing her head up and down. Once more, her restless and wild nature was driving her mad at the situation she was now in.
"Will you shut up in there!" a loud whinny reached Dynasty's ears and caused her to stop. She looked around, trying to locate the owner of the voice. She could tell it belonged to a female, but the walls at either side of her were so high the filly couldn't look over them. The only direction she could see any horses standing in was directly in front of her and none of them were acknowledging her presence. Directly across from the stall she was standing in, Dynasty saw a black and white horse standing. It was the most pitiful looking creature she could recall seeing in her life, with a look of emptiness in its eyes and its body was very malnourished.
"Who dared to speak to me in such a manner?" Dynasty snorted loudly, angry at an unknown horse being so assertive to her. This time, when the other female spoke, Dynasty could tell she was standing in the stall to the left of her own.
"I did, you're pretty full of yourself to demand who told you to shut up," the unknown mare responded, "I can tell you're a mustang. Full of attitude and arrogance, you'll learn your place soon enough!" This only served to stir Dynasty's temper further.
"I'm not just a mustang, you human carrier! My father is Wild Wind, the mightiest mustang of them all!" This came out in a full blown neigh, her anger surging at full strength. The other horse didn't seem too intimidated or upset at Dynasty's explosion.
"I know of this Wild Wind, many humans have tried to catch him, but none have succeeded," she whickered calmly, "it really doesn't say a lot about you if they were able to catch you. Your father must be so disappointed to have sired such a weak filly." Drawing in a breath to argue further, Dynasty decided instead to let it go. This mare was obviously hung up on fighting with her, and as such she wasn't going to rise to the bait any further.
"I would ask him, but I'm here with a beast of burden for company instead," she replied dryly. Lying down on the hay in her stall, Dynasty let sleep claim her as it had been an exhausting day and night. Let tomorrow bring its new challenges when they arrived.
Over the following months, with the change of seasons, Dynasty was to endure more rough treatment and heavy-handed brutality at the hands of her human captors. She barely understood all that was happening to her, let alone had time to make any friends among the horses she shared the stable with. The day after she arrived, the men took the filly to an enclosed arena and strapped a series of leather pieces around her body, one behind her forelegs and one around her stomach. Running between these straps was a modified saddle and upon this a man Dynasty had never encountered before sat down and she was let loose with this man holding onto a part of the saddle. She bucked and threw her hind legs up for all she was worth, trying desperately to throw the intruder from her back. He held firm, but that day she eventually managed to throw him off and he landed a good distance away from her. This was to become her daily routine, each time with a new rider and always with a crowd of jeering men and women, watching the rider try and break her spirit and always failing. Thoughts of freedom were now nothing other than a remote memory, Opalana and her birth herd only an occasional occurrence in her dreams. With the passage of time, the maturing mustang's temperament changed as she became more ill-tempered and filled with hate. One evening, as she was being led back to her usual stall, Dynasty glanced up at the stall to the left where she knew the horse who had taunted her on her first night was in residence. As she was carrying her head low, the filly just made out a set of white ears and nothing else. When she was left alone in her stall, she tried her best to lie down and become comfortable. This was becoming more of a challenge with each passing night, as the leather straps she was made to wear cut relentlessly into her body each day.
"If you lie on your side, it will be easier," the horse from the stall beside her whickered kindly. Dynasty was hardly in the mood to listen to this horse's attempts at being social, but she was also exhausted and in pain. Lying on her side, she drew deep breaths as she felt the pain in her body begin to subside.
"What makes you want to be kind to me now?" her reply wasn't loud, but still full of bitterness, "the first night, you made it clear you thought me weak! Perhaps before long, you will be proved right. I fight every day against them, yet it does very little. They love the fact I fight so strongly against them, perhaps that is why they use me day after day!"
"I can sympathise with you better than you know, mustang," the mare whickered softly, "I've seen how the men use horses such as yourself for pleasure, delighting in trying to break you. I hope you will not give up, that you will continue to fight. I thought you could use a friend, even though I was harsh to you before." Dynasty lay her head down and let her eyes close slowly. Perhaps once upon a time, a friend would have been welcomed more than anything else in the world. Now, she was too angry and tired to care.
"It matters little, human-carrier, so leave me alone!" her whinny came out harsh and aggressive. Nothing mattered to her now.
The months Dynasty spent in this ranch slowly bled into years as they continued to use her as a "bucking bronco"; for she heard the men refer to her as this. She grew from a filly into a fully grown mare and with this came the added strength from her sire, Wild Wind. Her neck began to grow thicker and she found it easier to throw any man who climbed upon her back. However, with her added strength, her temper also continued to grow darker and more savage so that even Snake-Eyes had difficulty in handling the mare. Every time he approached, the man had to be extra vigilant to avoid her razor-sharp teeth. One morning, Dynasty was slightly surprised when Snake-Eyes didn't come to fetch her alone. Beside him was the older man who had purchased her all those years ago and whom she had hardly seen since.
"Well, well, so ma little filly has grown up to be every bit as wild as her sire after all," he commented out loud, "and you say the best bronco rider in the country's coming along today to have a go on ma black devil?" Snake-Eyes nodded in agreement, never taking his eyes off Dynasty the whole time.
"Yes sir, Mr Smith," he replied, "as you know, word has travelled far and wide about this black devil. She's really got a reputation going as one of the most vicious broncos in the circuit. This set-up today should see you earn quite a tidy little bundle, sir." The man Dynasty now knew was called Mr Smith smiled and nodded his head in agreement before walking away, signalling Snake-Eyes to open the door to the stall and leading the mare out. She had areas of roughened skin and no hair where the leather straps had rubbed her raw. Head held high, she defiantly walked into the arena and greeted the jeering people with an air of dignity. This was her way; she wanted them to know she wasn't intimidated. The latest rider came strutting into the dirt arena with an equal air of dignity and arrogance. He was wearing a Stetson, a checked shirt, leathery trousers and a set of boots that had shiny objects on them that Dynasty had never seen before. They were small and spiral in shape, with tiny barbs sticking out from them. As soon as the man was on her back, he dug those things into her side and she learned immediately they represented pain. Kicking and bucking as hard as she could, Dynasty was surprised to find this man was staying on her with relative ease. He continued to drive his spurs into the mare's sides, whipping her into frenzy as her coat became coated in a thick white lather. She spun and bucked, kicked and rolled, trying desperately to get this painful creature off her back. Soon, she had descended into a blind rage, not really seeing anything or feeling anything but intense hatred. It began to feel like she wasn't really in her body, that she was somewhere else. The fence enclosing her in was suddenly looking a lot more appealing as she stopped bucking and kicking and galloped head on at it. Rearing up at the last second, Dynasty turned slightly to the side and threw her entire bulk into the fence. The section of fence that she fell onto splintered as her weight fell through it and she lay on the ground, eyes closed, not moving.
"Dagnammit!" Mr Smith shouted as he marched swiftly over to the fallen horse and rider, "that fool mustang's went and done herself in! If only you hadn't driven your goddamn spurs into her over and over again!" Snake-Eyes dragged the fallen rider from beneath his fallen mount. The young man was groaning in pain and from the odd angle one of his legs was sitting at, an observer could tell it was broken. During the ensuing commotion, neither Snake-Eyes nor his boss noticed a young woman slip in and approach the fallen mustang. She was a slight girl with long raven-coloured hair and a slightly-tanned complexion. Running her hands gently yet quickly over Dynasty's prone form, the woman only addressed Mr Smith and Snake-Eyes when they were both aware of her presence.
"Mr Smith, this horse isn't dead," she explained calmly, "however, she has sustained a rather nasty break in her right fore leg. I'm afraid if she recovers she'll never be able to do this kind of thing ever again." Mr Smith cast his eyes suspiciously over the girl before a glint of recognition appeared in them.
"You're the young lady who bought a horse off me last week, aren't you?" he enquired. Once she nodded, he continued talking, "Well, little Missy, if this mustang's broke a leg, then only thing I can do with her is stick a bullet in her head. Ah certainly don't have the time or expense to nurse a crippled horse back to health, especially one that won't be fit for her original job." The girl whispered some soft, sweet words into Dynasty's ears, finally resulting in the mare opening her eyes and looking around weakly. She was too tired to lift her head, too tired to feel much of anything except the relentless pain in her leg. Once the woman saw that the mustang was awake, she left her side and went over to speak with Mr Smith to one side while the other people in the arena were leaving, talking loudly about what had happened among themselves. Dynasty felt nothing but dead inside, completely adrift and for the first time in her life just wishing she would die.
Sound the bugle now - Play it just for me.
As the seasons change - Remember how I used to be.
Now I can't go on - I can't even start.
I've got nothing left - just an empty heart.
I'm a soldier - wounded so I must give up the fight.
There's nothing more for me - lead me away...
Or leave me lying here.
Sound the bugle now - Tell them I don't care.
There's not a road I know - That leads to anywhere.
Without a light, I fear that I will - Stumble in the dark.
Lay right down - Decide not to go on.
Then from on high - Somewhere in the distance.
There's a voice that calls - Remember who you are.
If you lose yourself - your courage soon will follow.
So be strong tonight - Remember who you are.
You're a soldier now - fighting in a battle.
To be free once more - That's worth fighting for.
For Dynasty, the next few hours and days passed in a blur. She wasn't aware fully of what was happening around her, partly due to the fact that the young girl who had awakened her in the arena that fateful day kept feeding her something to take the pain from her leg. Soon, though, she found herself being taken to a new place, far away from the ranch she had been forced to call home for just over two years of her life. Lying on a cart, the mare became the most lucid she had been in days, taking in the sights and smells of her surroundings. There was something undoubtedly familiar about everything she was seeing, everything she smelt. After a short time of travelling, the cart drew into the middle of a wide field. It had indeed been many years since Dynasty had last seen an open space, and this field was the largest she had ever seen aside from the open grasslands themselves. She was carefully led from the cart and the halter taken off her head. Painstakingly, the mare limped over to a shaded part of the field where trees were growing. She stood there and looked back at her new owner, the young woman. This human had not tried to break her spirit or forced her to work against her will, but instead had provided her with the closest thing to freedom. Freedom, I remember! I remember what that means! Her heart surged with joy at the memory and also when she saw that other horses were here with her, running loose and enjoying it. Carefully, she lay down so not to lie on her sore leg.
"If you lie on your side, it will be easier," Dynasty's head immediately snapped up at this wicker. The voice was familiar; she had heard it before back at her old place. Now, she finally got to see whom it belonged to. Standing beside her was the palest horse Dynasty had seen in her life. The mare was a beautiful shining white all over in the sunlight, including her mane and tail, while her eyes were a subdued shade of pink. She stood out in stark contrast to Dynasty's blackness and the young mare could only look in surprise at the sight of this creature.