Untamed Spirit

chapter one

A slight breeze brushes past the valley, drifting under bush and over branch. Grazing in the open fields was a herd of beautiful creatures; horses. One horse in particular, a gorgeous paint mare, trotted on the outskirts of the herd, tossing her head into the air with an excited whinny. The mare's name was Rue.

She was apart of the blue river mountain herd. they were known for having great endurance and speed, along with having beautiful glowing coats.

Rue wasn't one for sitting around doing nothing like the others, she was interested in exploring beyond the valley. It was her dream to see the great beyond.

A fairly large thick-boned stallion noticed the mare and trotted over to her, his ears angling back and pressing against the back of his skull, warning the mare to return back to the herd.

She released a small snort and hesitantly returned to the other horses, eying a foal who happened to be her kin. After Rue grew old enough, her mother had become pregnant with her younger brother. The year quickly passed, and her brother was born.

Onyx was a handsome jet-black foal, resembling his father more than his mother. Rue didn't know who her father was, she had been told that he had been beaten in a battle for herd leader by Onyx's father, and was forced into exile.

Rue slowly approached the foal and nuzzled his head gently, receiving a gentle nip back. "When can we go play? I'm bored and the other foals are boring!" he whined. "How about right now?" the mare grinned and reared up slightly, spooking the foal and causing him to bolt off.

Rue chased after him, acting much like a foal his age. The siblings continued playing for what seemed like hours, passing the afternoon by.

After quite a while, the pair grew tired and Onyx returned to his mother to rest. Rue sighed softly and gazed up to the sky, watching an eagle fly by.

Often she wished she was a bird too, able to adventure on endlessly, nothing stopping her. Rue then realized that it was getting late, and it was time to meet up with her family to sleep.

She returned back to her family, as they were already laying down, fast asleep. She folded her legs underneath her and down she went, resting her nose on her mother's flank, closing her eyes as she drifted off into a deep slumber.

★

The next morning, Rue was up quite early. She opened her eyes and adjusted them to the new light, glancing around before pushing herself up onto her hooves silently.

She then snuck off, careful as to not wake any of the other herd members up. She walked up a hill and stopped at the top, her eyes scanning beyond the valley. There was a thick forest just ahead, and right next to it was a ranch, she could make out the humans walking about, leaidng horses out to pastures.

The peaceful moment was short lived, however. The sound of a loud snort alarmed her, taking her attention away from the beyond. She cocked her head back to see the stallion from before, approaching her with his ears pinned back just like before. Rue rolled her eyes and snorted, "Why can't i just explore a little bit?" the mare asked.

"because, you know how dangerous it is out there, Rue. now get back to the herd. and i better not see you wandering off again!" he snapped and nipped at her flank to get her moving. she immediately bolted back to the herd, tossing her head with a snort.

the rest of the morning was the same as always, the herd grazed while the foals played about. it was just like any ordinary day, up until that afternoon.

Rue was grazing near her brother, who was playing around with a butterfly in the grass. It was a peaceful afternoon, like always. She lifted her head and gazed around, noticing all the other horses having their heads raised high, as if on alert, ears angled forward.

Rue grew nervous, and nipped at Onyx's flank, signaling him to follow her. She made her way back to her mother, her brother hard on her tail. "what's going on..?" Rue questioned her mother, who was looking around nervously. "i don't know, it'll be okay though." she reassured them.

Onyx was looking around frantically, and in order to calm him down, Rue nuzzled his forelock affectionately. "it's okay, calm down." she murmured.

Lifting her head up high, she scanned their surroundings, her eyes widening at what she saw.

Charging at them was about 10, maybe 15 cowboys on horses, ropes in their hands. Just in front of them, a helicopter flying towards them. oh no.. Rue thought in horror. it's a mustang roundup...

Tronto, the lead stallion, reared up high, letting out an alarming neigh that signaled the herd to run.

Rue didn't even have time to think, next thing she knew, the herd was running away from the humans. She sat on her haunches before bolting after them, nudging Onyx forward whenever he fell behind.

They ran and ran and ran, and they all scattered out. It was just her and Onyx now. the foal was growing tired, and eventually, he slowed to a trot. Rue came to a hard stop and nudged him harshly. "come on Onyx! we have to keep running!" she snorted.

"i.. i can't run anymore... my legs are on fire.." he wheezed, lowering his head to the ground. "i know you can do it!! just ke-" she was cut off as three cowboys slipped into the clearing, throwing ropes around their necks. "we got em' boys!!" one of the men shouted.

Rue knew it was best to try and run, but she couldn't leave her brother like that. she pinned her ears and kicked at their horses, almost hitting one, but she missed by an inch. she was more protective over her brother than herself, as she bit at the rope around his neck to try and free him, but it seemed like these ropes were indestructible.

she eventually gave up out of exhaustion, and followed them hesitantly, pulling on the ropes with a neigh constantly.

they were led to a few pens full of scared horses, but they weren't placed in the same pens as other horses, they were put into a small pen that could hardly fit three horses away from the others.

"W-where are we Rue? I'm scared.." Onyx mumbled to his sister. She let out a small sigh, "i don't know, but we'll be okay."

She was glad that the humans finally left them alone, only giving them a small bucket of water and no food. that was okay, Rue didn't feel like eating anyways, and she was sure that Onyx wouldn't either.

She was terrified for what may happen in the future, but she knew that no matter what, she'd protect her brother.

A/N:

hello everyone ! so i got bored the other day and decided, why not write a story about a random horse? lol

I'm actually really excited to write and finish this story, i have lots of things planned already !!

i hope you guy's like the first chapter. if you do, don't forget to like, comment, and vote on it! it'd be much appreciated ! <3