Sunrise

Thousands of small pearls appeared on the meadow as the first light of the rising sun reached the frosted dew on the tall grass. As winter was fast approaching, the nights became gradually colder with each day passing by, and many times the frozen drops transformed meadows into crystal fields.

One larger spot, however, wasn’t shining like the rest of the valley. Near a small forest, as a dark patch radiating heat, stood a herd of wild horses. Tightly packed together to keep each other warm with their bodies as living shields against the fangs of icy winds. The horses were still fast asleep, only a few of them lifted their sleepy faces upwards to greet the long awaited, shining king of the sky.

The golden light slowly showered the valley, reflected faintly on the steamy breath of the herd. Besides them, only birds were sometimes dancing in the slight breeze, trying to catch as many insects as possible, before they all freeze away. The huge valley gave home to many forests and rivers, where numerous animals were living in peace. The only way to enter this almost sacred place was to swim down the largest river, which came from the chilly north. The mountains surrounding the valley were so high and barren that even the bravest and strongest would not risk fighting against their mighty peaks.

As the awakening birds filled the air with their beautiful songs, the mood shifted from the night’s darkness into a magical peace. As the herd slowly came to a wake, silent snorts joined the song of the birds. Even though this could be a tranquil morning, something was slightly out of place. On the side of the herd, facing the forest, three horses were standing a little further from the rest, as if they didn’t belong to them. They were young, tall and beautiful, what would make them separate?

One of the three, a black colt standing on the very edge of the herd, was already fully awake, with his striped head lifted, curiously glaring at the darkness of the forest. He thought he saw something moving in there, but since nothing happened again after a few minutes, he turned back towards the sunrise. He took a short glimpse at the two other horses standing beside him, a flea-bitten grey colt and a palomino mare. They both were still sleeping.

The black colt shook his head to rearrange his mane and let out a snort. For a while he felt a little restless. He realized that no matter how close are those strange, colorless horses that sometimes appear around them, nobody else can see them. And this has bothered him.

A figure appeared on the side of the herd, slowly walking around the horses. It was the lead stallion, patrolling to check if everyone is okay. He passed by multiple times at night, making sure that nothing disturbs the slumber of his herd. He was wise, strong and majestic, everyone respected him, including the colt.

— Good morning Ashrake — the colt whispered as the stallion came close enough to hear it.

— Good morning Rhonak — the stallion came close enough to gently bump heads with the colt, as a form of greeting. — You’re up early as usual.

Ashrake stopped for a bit next to the colt. The difference in age and life experience was clear even from the outside. The huge, dark grey stallion was built like a tank, filled with muscles. On the contrary, the colt was still somewhat uneven, with longer legs than he should have had, and his muscles also didn’t fully develop yet.

— I like watching the sunrise — Rhonak replied. — Who knows when will the clouds come, and then I won’t be able to see it for months.

The stallion smiled, nodded, then continued on his way.

— Then I’ll let you enjoy it to its fullest.

Rhonak silently snorted, and after Ashrake disappeared behind the herd, he turned back towards the mountains. As he watched the sun slowly appearing between the peaks, he wondered why the three of them are different. It was very obvious that they were not born in the herd, yet in his first memories they were already with Ashrake and his mate, the lead mare. They were raised by the lead couple, yet the horses of the herd remained somewhat distant towards them. But horses are just like this. They don’t like those who are different.

As he sighed at the thought, he noticed that the two younglings next to him started to wake up. First the flea-bitten grey colt shook his head and looked around with sleepy eyes. Then slightly later the mare also snorted and moved her legs a little.

— Good morning Brahim, Gorine — Rhonak greeted his friends with a smile. The sun has already passed the top of the mountains at this point, so he gave full attention to them.

— ‘Morning Rho — the mare spoke, but the colt just gave him a friendly snort. She liked calling him just Rho, since they were foals.

— How was the sunrise? — Brahim asked after a big yawn. He was the slowest of the three to wake up in the mornings, and the quickest to fall asleep at night. Seemingly he liked sleeping.

— Beautiful as always — Rhonak replied, as he bumped muzzles with Gorine. — But the color of it is fading rapidly. Winter is coming.

— I wonder where will we spend winter this time — the mare lifted her head to muzzle with the other colt as well. — I really want to go back into those warm caves, the others weren’t so cold there.

— I think those caves were flooded this autumn — Brahim spoke with a silent voice, even though all the horses were now awake, he didn’t want to disturb their mornings. — I heard Ashrake saying something like that to Aira.

— That would be sad — Rhonak nodded. — I liked being up in the mountain. Though I’ve heard that this year’s foals are also somewhat weak. They might not be able to climb the path.

The three exchanged a worried glimpse, as they turned towards the herd. The yearlings always stay in the middle of the group, surrounded by the might of the others. With them stay their mothers, and from there the youngest stay the closest to the middle, and the oldest stay on the edges.

This was another reason why everyone could tell that something is wrong with this group of three. They were barely two years old, and yet they stood on the edge, a few steps away from the last horse of the herd. They should have been well within the herd.

The cold didn’t seem to take a toll on them, however, they also didn’t have the fluffy winter fur growing on their bodies like all the others did. The question wasn’t if they were different, it was why they were different.

From within their thoughts, the voice of Ashrake pulled them back to reality. He stood in front of the herd on a hump, overlooking the horses, with the lead mare on his side.

— Good morning everyone! — he spoke after a loud snort to get the attention of the herd. — As you all know, winter is very close. Today we need to get moving towards out winter sanctuary.

The herd became a little noisy from the slight stomps and snorts of the horses. The journey to the sanctuary is earlier year by year.

— After a long time of consideration, I decided to spend this winter…

Children of the Sun

They stopped for the first rest when the sun was already high up in the sky. Though most of the horses weren’t tired yet, the foals grew weary of the continuous walking, and they needed some time to recover their strength. The herd left the safety of their meadows behind, and now they are crossing unknown plains.

The valley is home to multiple wild horse herds, a few packs wolves and some big cats which usually scouted the feet of the mountains for easy prey. Needless to say, all of these threats grew more worrisome as the weather slowly changed over the years. Everyone was pushed to their limits by the winter that arrived sooner and left later each year.

During the rest, the three youngsters stood close to the lead couple and their latest foal. This little filly inherited her deep, dark bay color from her mother, but it seemed that was the only positivity that she got. Her legs seemed weak and stiff, almost as if she was walking on sticks. Both Ashrake and Aira noticed the signs of weakness on all of the foals that were born this year, but they stood clueless before the problem.

— Maybe the grass wasn’t as nourishing due to the long winter? — this was Gorine’s guess, she spoke as she bowed down to sniff the grass.

— I didn’t feel anything unusual about the grass — Aira replied. — Though I did feel quite weak during pregnancy, compared to the previous years. I’m sure that something is going on.

— Do you think we can reach the sanctuary before the first snowfall? — Brahim said, turning towards the lead stallion.

— I’m afraid we can’t — Ashrake was looking through the scattered herd, and even though he sounded worried, his expression was unchanged. — But only time will tell. What I’m more concerned about are the predators that may strike us during the journey, rather than the snow itself.

— This strange weather change is taking its toll on everyone in the valley. I’d not be surprised if we lose a couple of members this winter.

At the words of the lead mare, the group fell silent. She sighed, and gave a loving gaze to the three youngsters. She or Ashrake never told them, but the weather change only started after they arrived to the herd. They didn’t think the youngsters had anything to do with it, but rather their arrival was the first sign of disaster.

The other horses though, they weren’t all this cool headed about the three. Some believed that the weakness of this year1s foals is also their fault, not to mention the long and harsh winters.

Ashrake found the three of them as foals, on a summer night, while patrolling the edges of the herd’s summer meadows. They were helpless, curled up closely next to each other, shaking in fear. The stallion took pity on them and decided to bring them back to the herd to raise them as his own. His decision was also influenced by the fact that the foal of the lead couple was born deceased that year, and this shook him up badly. When he saw the three foals, he knew that the death of his own was meant to save these lives.

The herd doesn’t like outsiders, therefore a natural distance was formed between the foals born to the herd and the three orphans. They didn’t make any friends besides the lead couple and their oldest daughter. But after the winters started getting longer and longer, some of the herd’s horses started to link the arrival of the orphans with the change.

Not a very welcoming society, but as long as they had each other and the lead couple, the three youngsters remained content where they were.

— Can you come wit me a bit? — Rhonak passed by Brahim and snorted towards him, as a sign of calling. The grey colt followed him without a word, and they walked far away from everyone so that they do not hear them talk.

— What is it? — Brahim asked, though he had a very good guess what Rhonak may want to discuss with him away from all ears. They stood alone on the huge grassland, with grass reaching up until their knees. In the distance they saw the forests that they left behind. The herd was heading towards the edge of the valley, where the mountains touched ground and a wide river creeped between the rocks, the last signs of a mountain crumbling down many years ago.

— You saw it too right? — Rhonak shook his head, as if he was trying to get rid of the memory. — That abomination.

— Yeah I did. But it didn’t follow us.

— I don’t think that it’s alone — the black colt looked around, then his gaze stopped on the lead couple and Gorine standing next to each other. — I’ve seen many of them and in many places. They were always just… standing in a shady spot, looking at us. I feel like they are after us…

— By “us” you mean the herd?

— No, the three of us… I have…

Rhonak became seemingly restless, as he remembered.

— I have a picture in my mind. I think it might be a memory from before Ashrake found us.

Brahim just waited for him to continue.

— You don’t find it strange that we don’t remember anything about who we are and where we came from?

— I certainly do. I think something bad may have happened to our herd and we forgot everything because of the trauma.

The black colt snorted, it almost sounded like a laugh.

— Yeah, that is the simplest explanation. But… do you think we’re the same as everyone else? — he started walking in a small circle around Brahim while speaking. — Why can’t anyone see those grey, glowing eyed horses? Why is everyone so distant just as if they had an instinct to avoid us? Do you think if Ashrake’s foal didn’t die that year he would have still adopted us?

— Where are you going with this? — the words of Rhonak made Brahim uncomfortable. He suddenly asked all those questions that he had in his mind, but never spoke about.

— I remember the feeling of falling… — Rhonak stopped for a second as the memory came back to him, then he continued walking. — With the sound of thunder… And then there were us, on the ground, together… And one of those grey horses was coming towards us from the forest. But then it stopped when Ashrake approached us.

— Are you sure this is a memory and not a nightmare?

— Damn it Brahim, I know very well the difference between a dream and reality! — the colt stomped with his front leg, then shook his head as he collected his calm again. — I’m trying to make a point here.

— If your point involves even the thought of leaving the herd, I don’t even want to hear it — Brahim lifted his head and gave a strict look to his friend. — We don’t stand a chance surviving out there just the three of us. And I don’t wish to endanger Gorine even for a second!

— Are you even listening to me? — Rhonak lifted his head as well, but Brahim as taller than him, so he couldn’t intimidate the grey. — Something strange is happening to the herd, and it’s clearly because those weird horses! And they are following us. Almost like they are predators themselves, stalking their prey. And the prey is us. By staying, we endanger not only Gorine, but everyone else! Innocents like Ashrake and Aira are affected by whatever we brought with us when we fell.

— I’ve heard enough — Brahim started walking back towards the group.

— Aren’t you curious what we are and where we came from? — Rhonak yelled after the grey colt, but that pretended to not even hear him. He stomped again, and turned his back on Brahim and the herd.

As upset as he was, he walked a little further to a small creek. He thought maybe the cold water will calm him down a little before he could return.

As he stood there, watching his reflection in the water, his emotions were swirling within him. He was in conflict with himself. While he wanted to put an end to those strange horses and find out what he was, he also held Gorine and Ashrake very dear. He wished to protect them both with all he had.

After a while he heard steps from behind, so he raised his head to check who’s coming. To his surprise, it was Gorine who was walking towards him. He turned around to greet his friend.

— Gorine! What brings you here?

— I just thought “Ah those two fought again” and you looked quite upset, so I came to check on you — she smiled and tilted her head, her silver forelock fell from one side to the other. She was as beautiful as ever, and her presence warmed Rhonak’s heart.

— Oh, it’s nothing too bad — he turned his head away to cover up his slight embarrassment. — And I started it, so I guess I deserve it.

— You two are quite on the edge with each other lately — Gorine stepped to the creek to take a few sips as well. — I just hope it’s not the weather change that does this to you guys, I don’t want you to stop being friends.

— Me neither.

Both Rhonak and Brahim felt that they don’t work together as well as before they became conscious about the grey horses. It seemed like Gorine couldn’t see them, because she never spoke a word about them. She never looked scared or concerned either. Secretly Rhonak was hoping that it always stays that way.

From the distance, they heard the call of Ashrake, and they both trotted back to the herd. It was time to move on.

When Brahim and Rhonak met again, they both turned their ears back at each other, but Gorine knew what to do, and she stood right between them. The colts quickly focused their attention to following the herd, and their temper calmed down with time. Ashrake was walking right behind them, and he was no fool. He clearly saw that something was going on between the two colts.

They didn’t stop to rest until night. Aira wanted to find a safe place to spend the night, somewhere in the open where they couldn’t be snuck upon from bushes. The place she found was quite small, so the herd had to gather tightly to fit int, but it was their best bet. There was a mini peninsula that stretched into the wide river, the soil was surrounded by water on three sides. The safest they could get.

As the herd was settling for the night, the three youngsters decided to stay with Ashrake at the entrance of the peninsula and help him with watching the entrance for threats. The stallion was thankful for the help, this time it was extremely important to spot danger in time, for their only way out of here was through the one path they came from.

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