[Neara]

Honorable Mention winner by Tigermay

Owner: Midnight Tails
Horse's Name: North
Height: 15.3
Gender: Mare
Rarity: Common
Story:
He didn't understand what was happening. Earlier this very day it had all been so peaceful, and now he was amidst this raging torrent of sand that had no mercy for the tiny speck of life inside. How had this come about? In his current daze he was struggling to remember the course of events that led him here.
Ah. That's right. It was my own selfishness that had me end up like this.

From an even younger age than he was now, the young native had heard countless stories of the mysterious whispers of the desert, the ones completely in tune with the earth beneath, mere mirages on the horizon if you were lucky, and bringers of rain in rare instances.
The mere magical feel to it all was enthralling for any young mind, but in particular, Rambican was wanting to learn more, to meet these pure mirages that gave you a thousand years good luck at the mere sight of one.
His child wonder had turned to selfish desires as he grew older, becoming more of an unhealthy obsession than anything else.
Jealousy did not help. Being related to the chief of his tribe, he had been in the running for being the next chief.
Then this foul little child, younger than him by four years no less, met a DAM, one of those fateful mirages, and just like that, it was the only candidate for succession. How dare they favour that instead of him.
Consequences can be devastating, and a single thought set off a flurry of events that noone could stop.
I will find one of these ugly beasts, and make it mine.
At first it appeared all was normal, Rambican went about his daily duties, caring for their tribes live food with several other youngsters, and the sparse few mounts they had gathered over the years; of course none of those were a mirage, his tribe would surely sing praises upon his return if he brought one back with him.
Gathering supplies for the journey the boy started to gain what others noticed and started calling 'an unnatural frightening glint in his eye', and by the time he felt he was prepared to set off, several of his tribe had become fearful of the young native.
Regardless of whatever motives he had, for he had told no other his plans, his people were worried for him.
Yet the current chief simply said "Leave him. He will come to his own answer."
The few farewells he was given went unnoticed to the young Rambican, eager to set off.
It took him weeks to find an oasis. It wasn't a particularly fruitful one, but he could easily live off it if he was careful, and the mirages, if they were real at all, had to drink at sometime to survive.
His expectations went unanswered for there was no sign of any form of mirage, let alone one of those horse legends. Of course there were other signs of life; a stray lizard here and there, a bird roosting for a while in one of the scraggly trees above that clinged to life at the edge of the water, ants scurrying through their everyday business...none of these were important to him however.
If he'd taken the time to find other beings important, he perhaps would have had enough time to find shelter.
As it was, Rambican took no notice of when all other life hurriedly disappeared from the oasis.
Just before the sandstorm hit, something did take his notice however it was so fleeting he could have sworn he was mistaken.
Nevertheless the child followed the direction of whence he'd last seen the movement.
Only now did he notice that the wind had substantially picked up, sand hitting him gently, but far graver winds were howling closer with every secound. It was at that moment a beast miraculously appeared next to him. How long had it been there?
Startled, quickly frightened he stumbled back, tripping over himself. The beast is just standing there, mocking me.
His previous emotional state came back to haunt him, with a suprisingly deep rage surging up; it would never occur to him that the mare was offering to guide him away from the danger.
Fumbling with his walking pole, he reaffirmed his grip before jabbing it at the creature beside him.
It was simply a blunt piece of wood, yet even that with enough force managed to graze the mare slightly on the belly.
The momentum toppled the child over, smashing into the sand beneath, the mirage had dodged and got off with only that graze, warned by his angry shout of his native tongue, it was garble to her, but she understood the threat.
Naturally the experience frightened the mustang, and she now understood why those around her had warned to keep distance from humans. Rearing up in fright she almost struck the boy, this did not help his mood, but seeing what his actions had caused made the boy numb to doing any further action of his own.
Unsuprisingly the mirage did not hesitate to gallop away, with further reason to move as the sandstorm was upon them now.
Sand furiously beat him down, pushing him against the sand, Rambican lay there, letting nature punish his actions.
If he had not been so selfish, perhaps learnt patience, or at least tolerance, maybe he would not be at risk of losing his barely started life.

And now having remembered all the events that had led him to his current predicament, as the sand tore past and painfully attacked his clothes and unprotected skin, all the while sinking him deeper into the dune he numbly lay against, the young native cried.
He cried and cried, almost forgetting the sandstorm was there at all, so upset he'd become; terrified, alone, hungry and with a mouth full of sand Rambican learnt that he wasn't the most important thing alive, and that he'd done a terrible thing.
Filled with remorse, he wished the sand would just swallow him up, how could he tarnish his heritage so selfishly like that?
Time passed. Time still continues to flow no matter what huh... At this point Rambican was so covered in sand, thanks to the sandstorm blowing it over him, that even if he wanted to get up he couldn't; the child never realised before now that sand could be so heavy like this.
Softness brushed his cheek, and moist warmth breathed over him, he ignored it until a snort brought him to alert enough to blearily open his eyes. The young native could not see all that well, the sand had been attracted to his tears and some now clung firmly to his eyelashes, yet his sight was not hindered enough that he could not see that the mustang was back.
It astounded him. Had he not injured the mirage earlier? Or was that just his imagination? With a croak he mumbled a "Why?" getting more sand in his mouth and resulting in coughing.
Ah, maybe she's here to take me to the other side. It wouldn't suprise me, they are mirages after all.
A whinny of concern was the last thing he heard as he drifted off.

Some time later, Rambican came to.
And in a situation that he did not expect.
He was cold and wet, no wonder he was; those are two things one would assume occurs every time you're repeatedly dunked water.
Rambican turned to growl at the perpetrator, and a spectacular sight befell him. The mustang was the one dunking him in the water. She was carefully holding him by the back of his clothes, slightly ripping the already tattered fabric, well they were more like rags now, and presently dropped him down once she became aware that he was indeed awake.
The sun was cheerily shining down now, and at first he did not recognise the landscape.
Ah, we're only a few kilometres away from where my tribe is. That's just a short walking distance. She took me here?
Looking around, the mustang was gone, he'd only looked away for a few secounds, and that was all she needed to once again become the mirage the spirits loved to be.
It could not end this way. He wouldn't let it. He felt he had so much to learn from these mysterious creatures that you couldn't help but respect, and they were, or at least that mare was, the kindest most forgiving creature he had ever met.
If he wanted to become a better person, Rambican felt he just had to be by her side to do so.
With an all new determination, he spotted the faint tracks that were disappearing fast, that was the only hint to whence the mirage had gone.
Only by the next day did he find her, and he had this feeling that he had not found her, instead she'd found him.
She was scared of him, keeping her distance, her kindness and curiosity however not letting her entirely leave once more.
There was nothing to tempt her with to get her to come closer, and if he was honest with himself, it had seemed impossible that he would ever see her again at all, yet there she was. For now he was content with that.
Doubting that she'd even understand, he said, "You're like a north star, guiding travelers to where they belong. People always turn to north for guidance, I need your guidance to learn a better way. I hope you don't mind me going with you from now on? And if it pleases you, I'd like to refer to you as North."

[Hell Hound]

Beautiful!

[cowgirlchrista]

Your Name: Cowgirlchrista
Horse's Name: HW's Tigerlily aka "Lily"
Height: 15.3
Gender: Mare
Story:

[Tigermay]

Your Name: Tigermay
Horse's Name: Harlequin
Height: 15.3
Gender: Mare
Story: (1,071 words (whoops cx))
“Dima!” One, two, three, four… “Dima! ” The girl called out, her hand clutching the end of her cloak, holding its flapping length to her forehead in an attempt to keep the sand out of her eyes. The wind that was gusting was the precursor to a sand storm; it would suddenly increase in strength and force her to her knees then let up to a gentle, lapping breeze.
But she couldn’t take cover, couldn’t fall back into the embrace of her clan, couldn’t admit that she’d lost the most precious thing in the world.
She was called Arwa and she couldn’t find her sister.

* * *

This was exactly what all those passers-by feared. It seemed to come straight from one of their movies, the sand rolling across the desert in a tall wave. It didn’t look peaceful to her, she knew what type of destruction the sand heralded. It wasn’t wise, but Arwa started to head towards the nearest cave, which was still far away compared to where her clan had set up camp. Still, she had to find Dima, otherwise there would be far worse things coming for her. The desperation she felt overrode all other senses, and as she sensed the sandstorm close in, she attempted to run to the cave. Arwa managed it for a bit before a large gust caused her to trip over her cloak. Tears attempted to escape as her hands buried themselves in the sand, the grains flowing over her calves as well. And with terribly perfect timing, the biting sand-laden winds reached her.

* * *

Another piece of the puzzle was about to fall into pace. A mustang mare was shuffling across the top of a dune, her head low and her nostrils blowing as she kicked sand across her muzzle. It was a bizarre habit she had developed, but she din’t do it obsessively, which ended up making the habit not as concerning as it could’ve been.
She was a curious, free-spirited thing who now broke out into a series of bucks and head tosses, launching herself down the dune, skidding along and nearly wiping out in the middle of it. However, she was saved by her athleticism as she righted herself none-too-gracefully. While she was immersed in enjoying herself, Harlequin didn’t notice the wall of sand that she had been running parallel to.

* * *

Arwa had made it. She stumbled into the cave, her right hand gripping the first rock she could find, her left unwrapping the extra fabric around her face. Grains of sand flowed from the folds of fabric as they unfurled and Arwa coughed, stumbling further into the structure. It was a combination of man-made and natural and was a strange change in the rolling waves of sand in the desert. Still, she was grateful for it as she slumped down against one of the walls. Despite the guilt ravaging her heart, she could do nothing more than wait out the slicing winds and hope that her sister had also found cover.

* * *

The clack of hooves as they nervously stepped off sand onto the hard floor of the structure startled Arwa. The girl immediately froze, her dark eyes moving across to see a mustang hesitantly entering. She wasn’t a rain-bringer, which was slightly disappointing, but her markings were very unusual. But then again, she hadn’t seen many mustangs, they were known to be elusive. The mare seemed to be dazed, she flopped down next to the wall opposite of Arwa and just laid there, her sides falling up and down visibly.
Something’s not right. The young woman though to herself, and as the mare continued to simply lay there, Arwa decided to crawl over to her. The mare seemed to be asleep, her nostrils huffing and her eyes fluttering. Arwa wiped out the mare’s nose, eyes, and ears, holding her breath and wandering back to her side when she was done. Now there was nothing else to do except wait out the sandstorm.

* * *

Harlequin woke up, taking in a deep breath and standing up within the same minute. She was surprised to see a girl quietly kneeling across from her, murmuring something. The mustang could smell the human on herself and her initial reaction of wariness was washed away. This person had been her, and had only helped. Harlequin’s curiosity took over and she took a few steps forwards to nudge the girl’s fabric covered head. She'd not encountered too many humans before and her friendly heart was ready to welcome this new creature as her friend.
Still, the girl essentially ignored her. The mare snorted and turned, trotting off to leave. She didn’t hear the whisper of Arwa arising to follow.

* * *

They had led each other to an oasis and both drank and rested, trying to make sense of the new landscape around them. The dunes had changed due to the explosive winds and amounts of sand being moved. Their serenity was broken by cries and whistles, and Harlequin started to become nervous. With a touch that was meant to be calming, Arwa tried to calm her as she had calmed the war mares. But the grip she had on the mustang’s mane did not do what she intended. Harlequin froze, and Arwa could see the mare winding up. One foot struck forwards and without another thought, Arwa swung herself up on the mare’s back. Right before she settled on the mare, Harlequin took off.
“Wait, Arwa!”
The cry was lost to their ears and as they ran further into the desert, Arwa noticed that they had passed the partial oasis where her clan had been set up. There was nothing there, and that startled her. Where had they gone? Had they left to go look for her and her sister? Or, or, or…
But still, there wasn’t any time to think about it, Harlequin was speeding up, nervousness swelling as she recognized that there was a person on her back.
Arwa had a choice; jump ship or stay on this wild ride. Grief swelled up as she thought about her missing sister and clan… What was there for her to head back to, even if she could miraculously find her clan? This amazingly accepting DAM was something new, and Arwa twined her fingers into her flaxen mane. She would fight for this; to claim a life with Harlequin.

[~punkstache]

Withdrawing ;;
I have super bad writers block >.<
But good luck everyone!

[silver ~]

Your Name:~Silverpelt~
Horse's Name:
Height: 15.3
Gender: Mare
Story:

Reserve!

[eleutheromaniac.]

Your Name: Pete rip <3
Horse's Name: Found Beauty
Height: 15.3
Gender: Mare
Story:

Unreadable. Unbearable. Untamable. Free. Well, not exactly. I'm the alpha here. No horses challenge me. But these stupid humans do. Lock me up in a pen, throw me in a rig, put heavy leather on me. Ride me. Fall of. Get hurt. Story of my life. Here I am again. Locked away. In a pen. Woe me, poor me. A very distinct feel of uneasiness passes over the tame horses around me. Unbearable silence breaks over us. Worried cries and shouts rapidly erupt from the human homes. The flood in, grabbing there own horses, leaving most behind. What is going on? Horses Whinny angrily and kick at their stalls, as do I. I'm nervous and exited at the same time. Soon enough I am the last horse locked away, and that is when I feel it. Scorching hot flames lick the edges of the rickety wooden barn. I scream in fear, and kick forcefully against my stall. The fire dances in my wild eyes as I kick harder. My lungs tighten as the smoke thickens and I gasp desperately for air. I throw my self at the stall with all of my might. I'm scared. Suddenly the stall door opens, and I am being dragged away from the glowing hot flame. I scream again and kick out, fright controlling my every move. Once far from the barn, I bolt. When I look back, I see my savior. A small, native girl. She bleeds, and her eyes are sunken. She has been lashed along her back. Something in my head clicks. That is one of the native people's children. I remember her walking past my stall as they took her to the cells. As I run back to her with my feet thundering against the floor, I ask myself, why? Why am I saving this human? You owe her. She saved you. I slow to a halt at the bottom of the hill. She looks at me, and I look back. There is a moment where neither of us says or does anything. Then it is swept away when she lifts up her hand and holds it out. I'm not sure what she is trying to do, so I gently place my mussel in the palm of her hand. A small smile creeps across her face when she says,

"Hi, I'm Naomi." With a voice like honey and eyes like the ocean, she stares at me.

I stare back. What am I supposed I say? I'm a horse! Instead of responding I whinny in acknowledgement.

"I was in trouble, and they locked me away. I couldn't get out. The dog dropped the keys and ran, so of coarse I reached for them. Nearly burned my hand off. I was going to save myself but I heard you screaming. My people don't like you much. But thats okay, because I like you. My people left us here to die. Together. Both of us. I think that gives us a connection. Don't you?" She says and sighs. She is so young... So unprepared for the harsh adult life that follows.

Suddenly I feel responsible for this child... I feel loyal to her... Me, a defiant untamable horse feel loyal to a young, oblivious child... What am I doing with my life??? I press my mussel to her cheek. A small airy giggle escapes from her tiny little mouth and she raps her arms around my neck.

"I like you. I'm going to call you... Lost Beauty, because you are lost. I can tell. Almost as lost as I am. But your lost in yourself," She says and points to my heart, "And I am lost out in this burning village. I need to find my family. Lost, will you help me?" She asks.

I respond by lifting my head quickly, and almost as if she read my mind she swings onto my back very stealthilly. She points at a spot in the distance, and before a split second passes I am already charging in that direction. It feels great to have the wind in my mane once again. Do all tame horses have this freedom?

As we walk on the terrain changes and what used to be rocks becomes sand. The golden sun slowly sets upon the horizon. I slow into a trot. I feel Naomi's grip on my mane relax, and I know she has fallen asleep. Noises sound all around me, and I quicken my pace. I am spooked. Being in the desert at night is not the best. I wonder if my brain is tricking me and I am making up the noises to scare myself, or if they are actually there. My heart thumps in my chest quickly. It is so loud I am surprised I haven't awaken the whole desert.

The moon is high in the sky and the sand is squishing below my hooves. The wind has picked up, and I have slowed down. The floor is still sand, but rocks jut up all around. After searching for a while I find a small area circled in high rocks. I walk through it and around it a few times, assuring myself there are no predators or other animals living there. Naomi mumbles and moves on my back, letting out a big explosive yawn. She lousily slides of my back and grumbles under her breath.

"Where on earth are we?" She whispers. She takes a quick look around then returns back to my side.

I shake my mane out and nicker quietly to her. Then to the nearest rock I walk and lay down. I prefer to stand and sleep, as most horses do, but that would leave Naomi very uncomfortable. She curls up and snuggles against my stomach, just as I expected her to. She pats me gently and whispers some sort of soft 'goodnight' before falling back into her deep sleep. I look up at the stars for I don't know how long. My eye lids grow heavy, and all of my muscles lose their tensity. Down, down, down I go into the void the humans call sleep.

It doesn't feel like long until I bolt awake to Naomi yelling and the whirling, whistling, ear-piercing sound of a sandstorm. She hops on my back, even though I am laying, and yells and yells.

"We need to go! This thing will only get worse and my family will only be getting farther and farther away! Go Lost, GO!" She yells. When I refuse to move she throws another tantrum. "Lost, Please! We have to go! We have to! It will take forever for us to wait this out! Lost please, please, please!"

I give in and slowly get to my feet. Joy spreads through my veins that I chose an enclosed area. Once we step outside of the rocks it will be madness. Naomi leans against my neck and presses her face in to shield herself from most of the sand. Then she does what I never thought any human could, or would for that matter, do. She reaches up, and cups her hands around my eyes so I could see, but it would save my eyes from the sand. Never has any human been so kind to me in my long terrible seven years of life. I am determined now. Naomi will see her family again. Even if I die in the process. Out of the rocky shelter I go.

Sand flys everywhere, spinning me in circles. Each grain that hits me feels like the pain of 1000 needles. Naomi's grip never fails, and my eyes are shielded. There would be no difference if she just covered my eyes completely, because its not like I could see anyways. I don't even know where I am going anymore, I just need out. We both need food and water, and we both need rest. On we run through the harsh weather. A couple of days go by, and I'm not sure how many. I lost track. The pain of the sand makes me forget how hungry, thirsty, and tired I am. Then Something happens. I'm not sure what, but Naomi lets out a pained cry, and looses her grip. She falls to the floor, rolling down the hill faster than I can process that she has released me. Then I am running after her. My feet thunder against the ground sending sand flying everywhere. I am loosing sight of her. I push harder and put more force in my steps, cause excruciating pain to shoot up my legs every time they hit the floor. It feels like forever until I reach her. I stumble, fall, neigh in surprise and pain, roll, then nearly hit her. She covers her face with her arms and whimpers. I wish I too could do that, but I can't. We would both die. I get her on-top of me in a matter of minutes, then run harder then I have ever run in my life. Harder than how I just had run. My muscles bulge and my breath sounds all wheezy and bad. I am tense as I run causing more pain for me. I just can't relax. my eyes dart this way and that, and all of a sudden my knees give out. Naomi screams, and so do I. I hit the ground with a thump, rolling to make sure not to crush her. She continues screaming even when she is on the ground. I struggle to drag myself behind her, and wrap my body around her as best I can to shield her from the sand. I try to stay awake, but the pain is unbearable...

Naomi shakes me awake. The storm is gone. She is a mess. Her hair is knotted and thrown everywhere. Sand coats her whole body, probably sticking to all of the blood. Her clothes are torn and tattered, and yet she still looks like the wide eyed oblivious, happy child I had met.

"Lost, we lived! We lived!" She cries. She throws herself at me, letting her long arms wrap around my neck in a big grizzly bear hug.

I feel weak, but I still press my mussel into her for reassurance. I know I am bleeding from all the sand, and I know I should be very badly injured, but I just don't feel it. I slowly rise to my feet and kick at the sand to test my bones, but no pain shoots through or anything. I nicker and rear on my hind legs happily. Naomi looks at me with those big ocean colored eyes of hers and smiles.

"We can go home now, right Lost?" She asks me. I do my best to nod with my big horse head, but I don't think she gets it. "I think we will." She says. She begins to walk.

I run after her, nudging her, insisting her to get on my back. She refuses. I can see a limp in her walk, and I feel a shot of guilt. That was my fault. I landed on her. But on she walks, and so on I walk too.

After a while the terrain changes into more of a mountain like area. Naomi now rides on my back and rests. I know we are terribly lost, but I'm not quite sure she does. I hear howls in the distance and know that can never be good for a horse, and probably not a human either. Naomi doesn't react so I assume she is asleep until we pass a stream and she pulls on my mane gently. She wants me to stop. We stop, and both of us hop in the water and drink, reminding me of how hungry I am. After washing the blood from ourselves and wincing at the pain of our new raw skin, we begin to splash. Naomi throws a bit of water my way, then turns and acts like nothing happened. At first I am furious and flare my nostrils, but then realize she is just a girl and wants to play. I buck, sending water everywhere. She laughs, and it becomes an all out frenzy of splashing. I jump around joyously, chasing after her.

Soon we leave the water and fall to the floor. She laughs and I, as a horse, am not able to laugh like a human so just let out a series of odd sounding snorts. Once we have calmed down she lays weakly under a shady tree as I graze. I know she needs food, I just don't know how to help her. I can eat almost anything green, so I should be fine. Some of this could be bad for her... Then what would I do? I turn to look at her, but she is gone. I let out a loud worried neigh and run for where she had been seconds before. The leaves above rustle, and she jumps from the branches with some wooden contraction in hand. She used weeds from the stream to tie some sticks together, and then made some sort of string to connect to it. She also had a bundle of sharpened sticks.

"Its called a bow and arrows." She says, as if reading my mind and seeing the confusion there. "It is how us humans get meet. I could use these," She lifts up the sharpened sticks, "As fishing spears too since they don't really have a point or fletchings." She says.

I watch from a distance as she does her thing, and catches her food. She ends up not using the thing she called a 'bow' and just places it around her neck. In the end she has three fish, and some sort of makeshift fire. She skins them and does all of these weird things the humans do to their food. I watch patiently and happily. It is such a relief that she finally has food. She eats like there is no tomorrow, stuffing those fish into her mouth. We make what the humans call 'camp' under the shady tree as night begins to fall. The howls seem to get closer and louder causing me to be more jumpy and impatient. Naomi hums and I simply stare out into the darkness, searching for the things I dread most; wolves.

Something cracks and I leap to my feet. It is none other than the worst possible thing that could ever come into our camp. It is a pack of wolves. Of coarse, just my luck. Only four of them approach us, and I let out an uneasy nicker as I nudge Naomi. She gets to her feet slowly. This is bad. Bad, bad, bad. All of us stand there, looking back at each other. No one moves.

With a ferocious bark the wolves leap into action. Two at me, two at Naomi. I turn around and buck at the one that jumps at me first. Its head clashes with my back hooves with a satisfying CRACK. The next one comes from the low ground. It manages to get a hold of my rump, tearing at it with teeth and claws. I buck repeatedly, but I can't get to it. The pain is unimaginable. I'm about to drop to the ground and roll over to crush it when it whimpers and releases. When I turn to see what happened I see one wolf running away, another with one of Naomi's spears through its leg, and the one that was on my rump nocked out at the base of the tree. Naomi stands there gasping for breath with hands on knees. Then, before I can stop her she walks to a wolf and gently pulls the spear from its leg. It whimpers and limps quickly away. Then she hops on my back, spears in hand, and gives me a kick, time to go. I burst out of those mountains faster than you can say "I almost got eaten by wolves but got saved by a young human"

I can't believe how much Naomi has grown. Not physically, but mentally. She is much braver now, and is not always speaking her mind. She doesn't seem like such a little girl anymore. She seems like and independent, defiant, brave young women. I have a lot more respect for her now.

A couple days go by, and nothing goes wrong. She hunts, I graze, we sleep. We finally end up in a jungle.

"This is somewhere my family would go." She says. on we walk, with the spooky noises of the jungle surrounding us. Then shouts arise from the bushes, and humans jump out. They make noises, almost as if they are impersonating us animals. I rear up, and Naomi grips onto my tightly. When I land, the humans fall silent.

"Papa?" Naomi asks one of the men.

"Naomi?" He says.

Naomi jumps off and falls into her fathers arms. We are taken to the village where the people rejoice and play. Naomi is asked questions. I stand beside her with my head raised.

Someone calls out, "How did you tame that horse?!?!?!?"

and she responds with, "Her name is Lost! Lost Beauty. And I didn't tame her. She cannot be tamed. I just bonded with her." and the crowd went wild.

Naomi and I ride around the jungle for fun, and when humans walk by me the pat my rump approvingly and say nice things to Naomi about me like, "Beautiful mare you have there, I understand why you named her Beauty."

On night Naomi came out real late to me (Now I have my own pasture instead of that small stall) and said, "Lost, you are no longer the Lost Beauty. You are Found; Found Beauty. I love you."

That was when I realized; a horse is only free when it lets itself. Tame or wild, it doesn't matter. If you let yourself go, you are free. Her words repeat in my head everyday of my life.

"You are no longer the Lost Beauty, you are Found; Found Beauty."

And I am.

~~~The End!~~~

[kayynine]

Your Name: Gone Forever
Horse's Name: Tide
Height: 15.3
Gender: Mare
Story: WIP

[Hobbit Geek]

Your Name: Hobbit Geek
Horse's Name: Ryöväri
Height: 15.3
Gender: Mare
Story:

I closed my eyes tight as the sandy winds blow past my face, I had gotten caught in a sandstorm after galloping away from a village with a basket of their finest apples of which came from a land far away, said to have green lands and rolling hills. A light blue blanket covered the basket, of which was made of dried sticks and twigs intertwined together with a single handle. It was what I had become known for, stealing food and whatever else I needed from the village. My name is one the villagers gave me, Ryöväri which is Finnish for Thief. Any other name I had in the past is long since gone, abandon with the hopes of my herd finding me. You see, I got separated from my herd as a foal, to survive I’ve gotten into the habit of stealing the things I need from any village I come across, though I usually stay around one place.

My ears were pinned backwards as the winds grew stronger, my body sheltering the basket as I laid there, body ridged while I waited for the sandstorm to end. My flaxen mane and tail waved and bobbed in the wind. Unable to see and hear was no advantage, thus I grew weary of what might be around me. The winds slowed and soon the sandstorm was over completely.

I opened my eyes and glanced around, seeing nothing but sand for miles. Something moved and touched my side, startling me and causing me to stand up quickly and glance at whatever thing was there. Nothing but the basket. I turned my head to the side, confused. But within moments the blanket moved as if something was underneath. Impossible! The only thing in there was apples.

Slowly I moved forward, ears pinned back and tail flicking from side to side. I was ready to protect myself from whatever was in the basket, yet I had no idea what could be in it, and that frightened me. In a quick movement I snatched the blanket with my teeth and pulled it off the basket, to my surprise I saw a human child, only about three or four years old with a bunch of apple cores around him.
I gave an irritated snort as I glared down at the child, he had eaten the very reason I had gone to the village and gotten stuck in a sandstorm for. He looked up at me and soon a broad smile formed on his face, he stood and quickly reached out his hands towards me. Startled from the sudden movement I reared, letting out a neigh as I turned and galloped in the other direction.

Once I was a few feet away from him I turned and glanced back, eyes softening as I noticed the child was now crying while he was sitting in the basket. No matter what I cannot stay mad at him, nor can I leave him. For he is like me, lost and separated from his family, only it was my fault he isn’t with them now. I let out a sigh as I walked back to him, gently nudging him with my muzzle to get his attention.

He glanced up and grinned, tear streaks on his face yet he looked happy now. I was his only hope. I might’ve been able to survive by stealing from others, yet this child needed me. He needed someone to take him home, to his family and to those who missed him. My mind was made up. I laid down and nudged the boy towards my back, waiting for him to climb on before I slowly stood and started at walk towards his home. I know this place very well, for this was where I lost my herd.

I seemed to have been walking for hours, though I know better to believe that it was true. I started to gallop, wanting to get him home as fast as possible. The desert was no place for a child to be alone, and though I was with him I’m not sure how well I could protect him. The only thing I saw for a while was sand and an occasional cactus. I grew tired and hungry, and my mouth had become dry within the last two hours.

I looked ahead and, to my surprise, there was beautiful green trees with fruit growing on them and a large pond. I smiled and galloped forwards, my desire for water and food driving me on. I was where I saw the water and trees within moments, yet I soon realize it had been a trick of the mind. There was no water or food here, only sand. And illusion my mind decided to torture me with. I frowned, laying down as I felt so tired I could no longer stand.

I glanced towards the boy, seeing he was sweating and seemed hot and thirsty but otherwise fine. He got off my back and looked at me, saying something in their strange language. I cocked my head to the side, unable to figure out what he was saying. I watched as he reached in his pocket and pulled out an apple, reaching forward as he offered it to me. My eyes widened with amazement and joy. He had saved an apple.

I gratefully ate it with a smile, soon feeling my strength returning to me. “Alright kiddo, let’s get you home.” I said, even though I know he couldn’t understand me. I let him get on my back again before walking towards his home, keeping my spirits high. Within moments I saw the outline of his village in the distance, and I galloped forward. He was almost home, were he’d be with his family.

I grew closer by the second, it seemed like seconds before I came to a halt in the middle of the village and let the boy off my back. People had begun to follow me since I first stepped into the village, and at the sight of the boy two people came running from the crowd. A young lady who had tears streaming down her cheeks and a man who was just about in tears himself as he picked up with child and gave him a hug. These were his parents that I knew for sure. I gave a small smile, watching them for a moment before turning to leave.

“Horsey?” I turned at the boy’s voice, he was standing in front of his parents looking at me with sad eyes. I walked towards him, lowering my head so I was eye level with him. “Your home now.” I said, still understanding the fact that he couldn’t understand me. Tears formed in his eyes as he leaned forward and hugged me. My eyes softened and I nuzzled him softly with my muzzle. “Now you be a good boy, and I may visit you soon.”

He’s older now, but I visit from time to time. I’ll never forget that little child I accidently took into a sandstorm with me, but I’m happy he’s with his family, and I found mine too. My herd may not have come back, but he is my family and he always will.

1210 words.. Whoops XD

[Neara]

Judging starts Monnday!