The New Girl

Chapter Seven

   Bella slowly approached the herd. "What's the plan, Epona?" she asked. The dark haired Goddess sighed, "Still working on that." The mare stopped a few feet away from the wild horses. Epona dismounted and drew closer. To the disbelief of the other riders, the mustangs quickly accepted her into their huddle, some lowering their heads as she passed. Epona soon spotted the lead stallion, a strong young black horse. "My Lady, please help," he said when he saw her. "What is the situation?" Epona asked, laying a soothing hand on his neck. "My name is Strider," the stallion introduced himself. "My mate, Esperanza, is stuck at the bottom of the gulley, and she's carrying our unborn foal. Please, is there anything you can do? I'll do anything to help." Epona walked to the edge of the gulley and looked down. Sure enough, a palomino mare stared back at her. Her white blaze was half-covered with mud, and the fear in her eyes was evident, even from this distance. She whinnied and tried to climb out of the pit, but the rocks gave way beneath her and sent her tumbling back to the bottom. Epona thought for a moment before walking back to the riders. "Does anyone have a halter and some rope I can borrow? I have a plan to get the mare out of the gulley," she stated. Alma quickly gave her a halter while Will pulled a length of rope from his saddlebag. "Whatever you plan to do, please be careful," the blonde boy said. Epona nodded. Moving over to the horses again, she used the rope to fashion a make-shift harness for Bella. Then she sat down at the edge of the gulley and began to slide down. Bella followed, carefully testing the ground where she placed each hoof. When they reached the bottom, Epona neared Esperanza. "Easy, girl. We're going to get you out of here, but you'll have to trust us," she soothed. Esperanza calmed enough for Epona to slip the halter over her head and adjust it to fit properly. Tying the ends of Bella's rope harness to the halter, Epona walked to the black mare's head. After explaining her plan to both horses, she started slowly walking Bella back up the muddy slope. Whenever Esperanza began to slip, Epona would get behind the palomino mare, pushing on her hind quarters and speaking soft words of encouragement. Slowly but surely, they made their way up the slope. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Bella placed her front hooves on solid ground. Getting behind Esperanza one more time, Epona gave a final push to get the mare out of the gulley. Strider quickly ran to his mate and started nuzzling her. Suddenly, as Epona was climbing out of the pit, the ground gave way beneath her and she started to fall. Bella tried to save her, but Strider beat her to it. The dark stallion lunged, grabbing Epona's shirt in his teeth and pulling her to safety. Everyone, both horse and human, breathed a sigh of relief. After catching her breath, Epona removed the halter from Esperanza and turned to Strider. "Thank you for saving me," she said. The stallion shook his mane. "You saved my dear Esperanza. It was the least I could do," he replied. With that, Strider bowed before her, bending one front leg and lowering his head to the ground. Esperanza and the herd eagerly followed his example. After a few moments, the horses rose and galloped away. Returning to the other riders, Epona gave the halter and rope back to Alma and Will. "Shall we get going?" she asked. Struck speechless, the teenagers could only nod and urge their horses forward.