The New Girl

Chapter Three

   The next day, the horses were talking while they waited for their riders to arrive. "Hey, Bella. I was curious. How did you meet Epona?" Aztec asked suddenly. Bella smiled. "You have heard of the Great Herd, yes?" she quizzed. The other animals shook their heads. "Well, the Great Herd is made up of Epona's personal horses. They are all immortal, and are said to be the finest horses in existence," Bella informed them. Button shook her head, confused. "But what does the Great Herd have to do with how you met Epona?" she wanted to know. Bella smiled at the mare. "Because I'm part of the Great Herd. The flowers in my mane are what mark me as Epona's Chosen Mount. The story of how I met her and the story of how the Great Herd came to exist are one and the same," she stated calmly. Everyone was listening intently at this point. "Long ago, before I met Epona, I was a wild horse. My herd was the largest in Ireland at the time. Men constantly tried to capture us, wanting to tame our spirits and put us to work on their lands. Try as they might, however, none could ever catch us. All we had to do was enter the Gap of Dunloe, a canyon leading to the pass between two mountains. You see, we knew the land, and could easily navigate through the canyon. The men would not follow us in, fearing that they would get lost. And so it continued, whenever the men would come, we would simply run to the canyon and hide there. Little did we know, however, that our sanctuary would soon become our prison. The men had started venturing into the canyon, and would leave markings to find their way back out. One night, while the herd slept, the humans entered the canyon and started blocking different routes, so that we would only have one path available to us. When the dawn came, we were once again chased into the canyon. This time, the men followed us, driving us forward. With the other passages blocked, we had no choice but to run straight into a trap. They drove us into a meadow, surrounded by sheer rock. The only way out was blocked by the men. They tried to get ropes on us, but we began to fight back, charging them and lashing out with our hooves and teeth. That was when the humans apparently decided they would rather see us dead than free. They started shooting us. Some of us were able to get away by running past them, but most of the herd was killed trying. When we got out of the canyon, we ran as far as we could. That night, Epona appeared. She said that our pain and fear had called her to us. Epona healed the wounded, and granted us all immortality. She told us that we would become her personal herd. This is how the Great Herd came to be. Then she said she was in need of a Chosen Mount, and asked if any of us would like to become her personal steed. The others were too frightened from the men to accept a rider, so I stepped forward. I have been with her ever since," Bella told them. "Woah," Aztec breathed. Then something occurred to him. "Wait, you said this all happened a long time ago. And if you're immortal, that means you live forever. How old are you?" Aztec asked. Bella ducked her head. "I was only three when Epona found us," she said. "Yeah, but how long ago was that?" Button asked her. Bella looked the other mare in the eye and said, "1,492 years ago."