Born Wild {Completed}

My Little Shadow

Chapter 22

Four days have past and we are still traveling. I haven't seen that white horse in a few days. Nor have I told either of the stallions. The eye piercing white colour of the forest stings my eyes as we walk. I look over at Wildfire and his coat is ragged and scruffy. Riptide's coat is thick and fluffy. I stare into a pond when I stop and spot the pinto before my eyes. Her coat is thick, but her ribs show beneath her coat. We haven't eaten much in two days. I start to walk after the stallions, but I halt and both stallions swoop their heads towards me.

" Guys, I'm exhausted. Can we stop?" I beg.

" Yes, we all could use the break." Riptide agrees. They go for a drink and I manage to dig up some grass. While I'm chewing, I take a double take and standing thirty yards in front of me, is the white horse.

I don't even think but I lope after it. It swiftly turns and gallops off, with me following. I can barely watch as the snow white horse jumps the logs that I trip over and dodge the trees. Suddenly, it disappears. Gone. Poof! Nowhere. I stop in my tracks and paw the ground. I think of turning around but when I hear a horse whinny, I freeze. Just behind Some bushes, a midnight black stallion rears and gallops through a bush. I, being my curious self, follow the stallion's tracks and am amazed by what's in front of me. A horse herd, with about ten to twelve horses, are grazing in a field. How could we not have seen or heard them? I shake my head and gallop back. When I'm on my way back, I bump into Wildfire.

" W-where did you go?! You galloped off and I couldn't gallop as fast as you. Why did you run off?" He exclaims.

" I saw something and it... spooked me." That's all I say. He nips me on the side and we trot off. Riptide lopes up to us and nuzzles me.

" Willow!" I don't have anything to say before the black stallion explodes out of a bush, spooking me. Riptide gallops off into the woods and Wildfire jumps in front of me and bares his teeth. The stallion is taller, stronger and faster than Wildfire, maybe faster than me.

The intimidating stranger snorts and steps forward with thundering steps.

" I want to talk to that mare." His voice deep and bold. Wildfire shakes his head and paws the snow.

" You aren't getting any where near this mare!" the black stallion looks at me.

" Come on. Just a few seconds?" I agree and only step ten steps away from Wildfire.

" Why were you spying on my herd?! If you want to join, just ask. Myth may not agree, but I will make sure you will." he points his muzzle over to a tan mare, who is impatiently waiting by a tree.

" I wasn't spying! I just saw something. We kinda need a herd... just to stay for a few days." his eyes went wide when I said; 'something.' he neighs at the mare and she lopes back to the herd. He arches his neck and whispers.

" You can come with the herd with your stallion." making sure Myth doesn't hear.

" Stallion's." I correct.

" Oh, okay. When your ready, you know where we are." and he gallops back to through the forest. Wildfire comes and asks what he asked me and I reply.

" We found ourselves a temporary herd!"
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Finally, after two hours of looking, we find Riptide. He was drinking from a creek.

I approach the herd and most of them toss their heads and nicker curiously to the three newcomers. Myth ignores me, a couple of foals play around and some younger looking stallions prance their way around me. Riptide finds where they find the grass, and Wildfire and I talk and get to know the herd. The black stallion is named History, a palomino mare and her colt are named Juno and Misty, an older bay mare named Crisp, a flea-bitten grey mare named Swifty, an appaloosa foal she was named Jass, a chestnut filly named Starstruck, another bay stallion named Ruthless, a blood bay colt named Cypress and I didn't catch the name of a blue roan paint stallion. I bed down beside Misty and Crisp and sleep deeply that night.
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A nudge on my left shoulder wakes me up. Crisp nickers and walks over to History. I shake the extra snow off my body and dig up some grass. Chewing, I search the area for the familiar white ghost horse, but it is nowhere to be seen. Wildfire is talking with History and Misty. I've kind of bonded with Crisp, so I walk over to her.

" It seems that you have a little shadow." she nickers to me. I turn my head and spot Jass hiding behind my tail.

" It's okay little one. I'm not going to hurt you. Come on out." she carefully steps forward, her coat is beautiful in the morning sun and stands out against the snow. Her little hooves barely make a sound against the snow, she looks only a few months old.
Earlier, Misty told me that her mother died of starvation. She squeaks and nuzzles me. She nudges my flank and tries to nurse, making me swish my hind away.

" No, sweetie. I don't have any milk. I'm sorry." She shakes her head and jumps over to Misty and starts to nurse.

" Juno and Jass share my milk. He doesn't drink it all because he understands her situation." She explains. Crisp and I follow over to History and Wildfire, they are talking about winter.

" Yes, but it gives us time to travel back to the valley." History exclaims.

" I know. It's just, Willow and I still have to find our herd, so if they all follow us, we might be able to join herds." Wildfire whinnies. Then they start to argue like total stallions, so the mares walk away to graze. Jass still follows me, like a shadow. She suddenly neighs/squeaks and gallops about three horse lengths away and rears up, then starts to buck. Her legs fly into the air and then come back down onto the snow. All the mares nicker at her, amused. She trots over and nuzzles me, lays down under me and falls asleep. She is so cute, the mares are just staring at us.

" She is normally so shy! I'm surprised she isn't hiding behind Misty's tail. We are trying to wean her later, so in a few weeks, she could be yours." Crisp happily nickers. I'm overjoyed and nuzzle her, thankfully.
I have my own foal now. Well, I didn't give birth to her, but she is going to be my filly. This pretty much changes everything.

Authors note-
Sorry it took so long to update! I hope you like the chapter!Thanks for reading ( and maybe voting!)!
-Acacia
{Edited}