Chapter 11-- Those Damn Sugar Cubes!
When we arrived at the stable, Ice immediately went to the fence and just stood there. Sunshine, Piñata and I decided to stretch our legs. I approached Ice.
"Ice, don't you want to stretch your legs?" She gave me a look of such pure hatred that I just walked away without saying another word. We ran around the pasture about four times before we were ready to just settle down. Sunny (as I began to call her) and Piñata went to the far end of the pasture to rest, and I approached Ice again.
"Ice, what's the matter?"
"Magick, do you still love me?" she blurted. I was taken aback, and I had to think for a moment.
"Y-yes, of course I do." She looked me right in the eye.
"Then knock off playing with Sunshine and Piñata. If you love me, you love ME. Not those other, prettier, younger, unwounded fillies." She turned away from me and began to munch the grass. I just sighed, and went over to the middle of the field, halfway between them, and ate some grass.
"Magick?" came the whisper. My eyes opened.
"What?" I muttered sleepily.
"I'm sorry." At that moment I knew it was Ice speaking. "I was really upset from the whole day… I'm very sorry."
"Don't worry your pretty little self over it. It's fine."
"Thank you, Magick."
"You're welcome, Ice. G'night."
"G'night, Magick. I love you."
"I love you, too."
After two month of being at this new stable I felt myself becoming bitter again. I had a new rider, Jasmine, and she hated me. She used a crop that stung my rear, and I had bruises from where she'd used it. She ran me too long and too hard and she was just a very bad rider, if only just for me. She also rode a mare called Red, and Red loved her. Said she was the most gentle, sweet, caring rider she'd ever had. She said Jasmine gave her apples, and carrots sometimes but everyday she got sugar cubes.
Sugar cubes. Those damned things that made me love Danni even though I resented her for riding me.
That's when I realized-- I was becoming tame. When I'd first come to the stable I'd refused to let them even touch me, and now I let Jasmine hop onto my back every morning, even though she hated me.
I trotted over to where Sunshine was standing. We whuffed noses.
"What's up, Magick? You look upset."
"Sunshine, I want you to escape with me."
"What?"
"Escape. Will you escape with me?"
"Why- what- MAGICK!"
"What?"
"Are you nuts? You can't escape!"
"I need to. And I want you to come with me."
"Why wou-"
"I think I'm falling in love with you. That's why. Now, yes or no? Don't think, just answer."
"Yes. I mean, Magick, I-"
"Good. We escape in three nights, when the there is no moon. Notify Piñata, and I'll notify Ice."
"Ice is coming?" Ice and Sunshine had never really gotten along. Ice was not very social since coming, and Sunshine resented her snootiness.
"Yes. Ice is coming. Now got tell Pinny and NO ONE ELSE." She turned around and walked towards Piñata, and I went over to Ice.
"Hello," I said to her.
"Hello."
"I have a question for you." Ice made her four-year-old body look as big as possible, and let her mane fall into her face.
"Yes?"
"Will you come with Sunshine, Piñata, and I in three nights?" She shook her mane out of her face, looking a little annoyed.
"And where are you going?"
"Escaping."
"Escaping!" she yelled. Red looked over at us, seeming interested. I gave her a meaningful glance.
"Yes, Ice. Escaping. Will you come. Yes or no, don't think."
"I'm coming."
"Good." I just turned away from her, and walked away. I saw that, although her body was turned away from me, Red's eyes had been on me. She knew we were going to escape. She saw me approaching, and began to chat up the nearest horse, which happened to be her two-year-old filly Lisa. I just walked away, and began to plot the exact escape.
Finally the night was here. I waited until the rest of the horses were settled into their stalls for the night before Sunshine and I started nudging the locks on our doors.
"Ice? Start nudging the lock." At the moment I got out, Red began to whinny very loud and kick her stall. Ice and Sunshine both couldn't open their doors, and I was stuck choosing between the two.
The mare that I had always wanted to be mine, but had changed?
Or the new mare that I had only known a few months?
Sunshine made the decision for me. She gave me a very strict look, and then glanced at Ice. She was telling me to help Ice and get out of there. I kicked the lock on Ice's door and it swung open. We ran out the door just as the front was opening. We ran down a trail in the back of the barn, and ran in the mud and pouring rain down a path.
"Ice! Run in the grass! In the mud they can track our prints!" We ran into the grass, and I found a large, hidden cave that Ice and I went into. Two horses galloped by us, and Ice and I grabbed our chance to go back and get Sunshine and Piñata. We emerged from the cave, and there in my face stood Sunny and Pinny.
"How did you guys get here?"
"Don't ask questions, let's get out of here!" We ran and ran and ran, until we were far far away from the stable. I looked up to the sky, and followed the big star for a long time. So long that the sky began to turn pink. We continued to run and we came to a patch of mud, which I chose to ignore. We ran across it, and Ice slipped and fell… right on her leg that had never fully healed from the accident.