A Falling Ember

The Plan

The sun is rising. The herd stands together, comforting the mares whose babies were taken away. Even from our pen, I can hear the whinnies and bleats of the foals in their own enclosure.
I trot wearily over to Birch. Her ribs are showing through her dirt encrusted coat. I trust that I can't look any better.
"Hey," I nicker. "We are going to get out of here, you know."
"How? Our lead stallion is gone, possibly dead, and we haven't gotten anything to eat in days!" she says, her head still hanging to the ground.
"I have a plan," I say quietly. That gets her up.
"You do?"
"Yep," I turn around a casually walk away. Within seconds I feel a nudge on my rump.
"What is it?" Birch asks. I smile.
"Hello! Everyone!" I stomp my hooves on the ground. All the horses in our pen turn toward me.
"I have a plan to get us out of here."
Immediately horses start to mutter and paw their hooves against the dirt.
"It's not going to be easy, but for those of you who want to see your foals again, and those of you who long to run free, it's your only choice!"
"What is it?" mother asks.
"Two of us will make a ruckus, rear, fight, do anything that will attract the two leggeds. When they come in, they will probably leave the wall open. The rest of the herd will run out, packed together, so that the two leggeds can't close it. Then we run."
The herd stares at me.
"Will it work?" River asks.
"It has to," replies Dune.
"What about the other horses?" inquires Mother.
"We have to pass the message on! If we all do it at the same time, then the two leggeds will be too overwhelmed to catch us!" I exclaim. "Okay, Birch, pass the message on to the horses on the left and I'll do the same on the right."
I turn to the pen where the twin foals were playing the day before.
A brown mare is leaning against it.
"Hey!" I neigh. She looks at me questioningly.
"Yes?" she asks. After I tell her the plan and to pass it on, I go back to our herd.
"Who will be the fighters?" I say.
"Me and River!" whinnies Dune. I nod. Soon I hear the mare in the other pen call. I trot over.
"Everyone on this side of the cages has been notified."
"Good!" I exclaim. "Tell them to start when they hear everyone else fighting!"
She canters away and I trot briskly back to the middle of our enclosure again. Then I hear the same chattering sound from yesterday. I race to the front of the wall and see a large group of two leggeds walking toward our pen.
"-slaughter, but we can sell the foals," one is saying. I recognize the word "foals" from yesterday. They better not have done anything to our babies.
"Well, these horses are eating the grass that's meant for our live stock, and Wyomings' farmers are complainin. If the president doesn't like slaughter, then he can come out here and talk to us himself!" A two legged drawls. I turn to Dune and River, who are standing, ready for action.
"Now would be good!" I neigh.

Hello readers! Sorry for the short chapter! Please vote and comment! I love comments! 🐴