Born Free

Chapter 6

I'm awaken to the sound of squealing and whinnying. My eyes snap open and I look around, finding Tallon and Wildfire reared up and clipping each other with their hooves. I glance over to Jass, who is standing in front of Thunderstorm, ears back with glossy eyes.

" Get out!" Wildfire screams as he switches around and kicks his chest. He falls over, struggling to stand. And when he does, he bursts away, not a word to his family.

Wildfire turns around, forelock in his face, nostrils flaring, teeth bared, and eyes squinted on Thunder. He charges him and his mother, Jass rears and bolts away, leaving Thunder alone. My father strikes him with his hoof, sending him down into the dirt.

" You are not blood. Not my own. And not my son." Thunder scrambles, trying to get away from the red, fiery monster in front of me. I neigh at them.

" Stop it! Stop it! Let him go!" Wildfire spins around and charges up to me, stopping just pebbles away from my face.

" Silence! You are not in charge here," his hot, grassy scented breath travels over my nose. I back away, watching Thunder get up and scramble behind the tree line. When Wildfire turns around to finish off my best friend, he huffs in frustration, throwing his nose in the air and taking in a deep breath. Sadly, I too smell Thunder still. My father takes off into the bushes, and when he disappeared, Jass neighs out. And like a gunshot, we hear a low neigh and an awfully loud crunch!
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Startled, I spring up, searching for any signs of a fight. All of the horses in the herd stare at me as my eyes flash side to side, nostrils flare and my heart beats as fast as a thoroughbred, which mom says are one of the fastest horses that live with humans.

As depressed as she is, Kona trots over and asks what's the matter.

" J-just a nightmare." I whisper, breath shaky. She nods and trots off, back to where she came from. I turn around and almost run into my father's chest.

" What, in your dream, was so scary that you had to startle the herd, Rora?" I force a breath out of my nose, ignoring the nickname.

" Umm... A bear?" He looks at me sternly.

" A bear." I repeat. He makes a low noise from deep inside his throat and walks off. I sigh in relief. I did not want to tell him what happened. Thunder lopes up to me from out of nowhere and nips my hide, continuing down the creek side. I barrel after him and he rounds a tree, making it back home. I slow to a trot and take my time coming back. He soon turns around and comes loping back, so I show him my behind and start bucking and galloping about. He whinnies, calling me back, and as I watch him, he all of a sudden looks concerned, almost nervous. But since I'm so far away, I can't tell. When I look ahead, there stands three of the most tall, strong and intimidating stallions I've ever seen. An all too familiar bay named Kayne, a large chestnut with a star and a grey, almost black one.

The dark one sparks behind me and the chestnut and Kayne flank my sides, pushing me away. I stead of fighting them to go back, I go with them. And after all the shoving and nipping, we finally break the tree line. A small herd, almost all bachelors, with one mare, catches my eye. Ashes stands, waiting for my return. Suddenly, the loud thundering of the stallion's hooves disappear and I'm left standing in front of Ash.

" You finally made it. I hope they treated you well." I show him my shoulder, showing a fresh and bloody bite mark.

" You can thank the chestnut for this one," and I show him my hip, where another bite mark tore at me.

" and the black one for this one." He looks at them, almost in shock.

" Those two..." He mutters under his breath.

" Aurora, I'm so sorry about Cracker and Vines. You wanna lay down in the creek, or..." He trails off. I stamp my hoof, impatient.

" I want to go back to my herd." I demand. His ears pin back, and he is not happy.

" I try to make time for us to hang out, try to be nice to you, and you don't even want to see me?!" I don't know if I should feel bad, or mad or even in danger. As my mother calls it, mixed emotions.

" Its not that. Or you. Why didn't you just walk on in and ask to hang out?" He stares at me, looking amused.

" I saw how your father and herd leader treated your friend the other day, and it doesn't really work that way. Normally, when a stallion-" I interrupt him.

" Colt." He stamps his foot.

" when a colt walks into another herd's territory, it means he is going to take a mare, or challenge the leader. And I didn't want to risk it. So I used some of the strongest stallions to bring you here. And I swear, I did not mean for you to get hurt." The adrenaline seems to be wearing off, because now I'm really starting to feel the stinging on my shoulder and hip. I nod, and Ash started to walk over to the three stallions who are grazing along the trees. Ashes tries to scold the two who bit me, but they just kick him away. Honestly, who does he think he is? The herd leader?! I toss my mane happily and watch him walk back. He has an embarrassed expression put on his face and I start to feel bad for him.

" Can I go back now?" He nods.

" Follow me." And I do so. We casually walk to the creek and bolt into the trees. He drops me off just before our meadow and nuzzles me goodbye. I just stand there, unfazed of the flirting before me. I snort and pop out of the bush, spooking the herd. But when they realize it's just me, my mother rushes over to me, sniffing me all over. And when she finds the bite marks, I can feel the hot sighs from her nose over my back. I tense up, expecting her to blow up and over to the herd, but she just tossed her head and claws at the ground with her hoof, sending chunks of dirt everywhere.

" It's okay, mom. No reason to-" and I said it too soon, this is when she blows up.

" Freak out?! Well, I just let three stallions take my daughter and I didn't do anything! I just expected for you to trot back home, perfectly fine but no. You come back with double bite marks and seem to not even care that you just got kidnapped by my least favourite horse!" Her breathing is very loud and heavy, every horse slowly inches away and returns to their grazing, except Thunder and mother. She still stands there, making up her mind if what she's going to do. Thunder and I meet up and he can smell Ashes on my face.

" What did he do to you?"

" Nothing! He just wanted to hang out.. Without my father knowing. That's it!" But there's no convincing him that he doesn't like me.

A/N
Okay, I did not realize how much I wrote in one night. This chapter went from 100 words to 1200 words in an hour or two! Hope you like it! Starting chapter 7 soon!
-Acacia