Under the Night's Sky

The night sky spanned endlessly, dotted with glowing white orbs that made pictures if you squinted at them for long enough. The air blew by crisply and rustled the deep emerald grass. A crystal-clear brook, almost black looking from the night sky, gurgled nearby. It was a picturesque night as a small herd of loshenka mulled about their pasture. A greying chestnut mare would have stood out to anyone watching though. Her long rapunzel tail, the tips of which had gone completely white, was swaying low to the ground. Though her movements were graceful it was obvious her physical condition was taking a toll on her. Her light red belly swayed back and forth as she stepped, jutting out on both sides of her. Members of the herd gave her space and moved about as normal, a few looking similarly round as well. One horse in particular was keeping a watchful eye on her. A tall stallion whose dark pelt shone completely black in the night had his eye on her almost constantly. He had a long rapunzel tail as well and shone a smart smokey black in the day, his lighter belly contrasting his sooty back in the sun. His eyes did dart around to check on the others and make sure no shadows were lurking to close, but soon they’d wander back to the waddling mare. She was by the brook now, settling into the lush grass, letting a happy sigh out as she laid on her side.

A modest farmhouse sat at the end of a winding hill not far from the loshenka pasture. It was painted burnt red and you could tell it was old, very old. Paint was chipping off to reveal dark wood underneath but overall, it was a fine house. One you could tell had been around for generations. The house’s windows were dark with the night, and not a sound inside stirred. That was until a light clicked on upstairs and a small circular window was illuminated. An orange and auburn haired girl was on her feet in the middle of a small lopsided room, the ceiling slanted like the roof. She quietly slid on jeans and a jacket as well as a pair of sturdy looking boots. Her room was painted light blue and littered with metal band posters, drawings she’d made, and shelves filled with books and games. Quietly, she crept across her room to the door. A large cat on the edge of her bed finally opened its eyes and jumped down to join her. The girl clicked off her bedroom light and slipped out with the cat following. As silently as possible, she eased her way downstairs and left the house without alerting her parents or siblings.

One of the family’s loshenka mares was soon to give birth. She had noticed Ruby’s restlessness today, and that it had gotten worse into the evening. As the sun was setting Ruby had been up and down, swinging her head to the sides to look at her belly. The girl’s dad had promised her this foal would be hers to have and help raise, grow up with her. She had scoffed at that last bit seeing as how she had just turned 16 and felt like she had little more growing to do! Either way, she was more excited than words could describe and there was no way she was missing the birth of her first horse! Ruby was one of her favorite mares as well, the first horse she’d ever ridden, and one she most often takes care of. Funnily enough, her grandfather had given Ruby to her father as a gift when he was a younger man, not long before her birth. Needless to say, this was a very important event for her and she wouldn’t miss it, even if it meant sneaking out.

It didn’t take long before she reached a spot along the fencing where she could see Ruby and not be too far away. The horse was lying calmly on her side, taking deep and even breaths. Ruby’s eyes looked around to meet the dark stallion’s, who had taken a closer position by her now. Ruby laid like that for what might have been a couple of hours before she began making quiet noises, which the girl quickly realized were coming from a small foal now lying beside Ruby. The large stallion reared and let out a joyful whinny before running off and about into the pasture. The girl laughed a little at that and hopped over the fence to get closer to Ruby and her foal now that the stallion had run off. He wasn’t a horse she was familiar with and his size always made her uneasy. Hurriedly and walking somewhat low and slow as to not scare any of the horses, she made her way over to Ruby. “Oh Ruby, what a beautiful baby!” The girl exclaimed in a strained whispering voice. She could see the foal was a colt, a dashing sooty palomino with pitch black eyes. His black eyes blinked slowly and the stars in the night sky reflected into them. The girl let out a small gasp and was chilled by a small breeze passing by. She leaned in to hug both Ruby and the colt’s heads in her hands briefly, overjoyed in the moment. “It’s nice to meet you little guy, I’m Ishvi, but everyone just calls me Vi. Welcome to our little slice of life”, Vi laughed and stroked the top of the colt’s cream colored head, between his ears.

The small colt looked up, his black eyes looking blankly up into the night sky. Though not to him, he could see all the stars in the sky despite his eye’s strangeness. He also looked at his mother, whose neck and head were craned to look over him. Then he looked at the girl who had approached him and his mother. Her voice was excited but didn’t pierce his ears but they still swished around anyway. Then the colt let out a shrill neigh that bothered his own ears, and they swished around once more. Despite not being able to tell what the girl was saying, he decided he liked her anyway and his small head nuzzled into her hand. Vi smiled and let out another giggle before petting the little foal once more. She could already tell her and this horse would form an unbreakable bond, and she vowed to herself that they would achieve great things one day. However, this day they wouldn’t think about that. Instead, they would celebrate this new and wonderful life.