Forever Home

Part 4

I woke up to the sound of high-pitched chirping. I slowly opened my eyes to find a bright, cloudless blue sky above me. I lifted my head and shook my mane, finding it still soaked from the storm. I groaned as I tried to stand. My legs shook under my own weight, weak from what I put them through. I felt like a newborn horse again as I struggled to my hooves. Once I was on my shaky legs, I looked around. The ground was more muddy than grassy. Birds, happy that the storm was over, flew in the sky to welcome the creatures of the Earth coming out of hiding. The side I was lying on was completely brown from mud. My body was still soaked. From sweat or water, I didn't know. I needed a bath either way.

For a moment I didn't realize that I was alone. I was away from my herd. When it dawned on me that I was now in the middle of nowhere, my heart sank. I did exactly what my mom feared. I got separated from the herd during a storm just like my father. My ears dropped and I looked at the ground in shame. Tears found their way out of the corners of my eyes and I suddenly regretted everything.

I cried like never before as I stood in the middle of open plains, surrounded by nothing but green fields stretching for miles on end. My heart tore in half and I couldn't feel anything but the waves of sharp pain that ripped through my body, both emotional and physical. I was suddenly free, but not the way I wanted to be. My hooves sunk into the mud I was standing in. I sniffled and tried to gather myself. I used whatever strength I had left and stepped forward.

As my hoof touched the ground, a sharp pain shot up through my leg and almost knocked me over. I gasped and caught myself. My new priority was to find a waterhole to wash off in. I was carrying extra weight with all this mud on me. I continued to take steps forward, attempting to get used to the pain. My tolerance grew with every step, and eventually I was walking normally again. I walked for a long time before coming upon a waterhole that was large enough to contain my body. I stepped into the cold water and shivered. I forced myself to fully submerge into the water and when I came out my coat had returned to its original gold. Now that I was clean, I could focus more on more important things.

I was still alone with no idea of where to go. The best I could do was to start walking in a direction and stick to it. Perhaps I'd come across help of some sort, or even my mother and the herd again. I decided to follow my plan with little internal argument, but eventually my mind returned to my many regrets and I suddenly hated myself.

Why couldn't I just control myself?
Why couldn't I obey my mother?
Why was I so stubborn?

I asked myself questions that I couldn't answer. After a while my tears returned to create stains on my cheeks. I continued on my path until nightfall. I found a small gathering of trees and decided to spend the night under one. After a long day, I quickly fell into a light sleep.