Back to the past

It was early in the morning as fog sat vacant on the grass outside, the grass glistened in the morning light as I could hear the rooster crow in the barn nearby. I stood up with a huff and turned around in a small circle before I shook out my tail with a snort- the dust in the stall was overwhelming as my black coat was dusty and covered in mud. I looked forward to being let out into the pasture soon and I could finally be free from this cramped box. I walked over towards the door and peered my head outside; the fresh morning air engulfed my nose. I perked up my ears as I could hear the old man that ran the farm talking to the chickens; the sound of the chicken feed falling to the ground made my stomach growl. The old man made his way to my broken down wooden stall as he opened the door and led me outside into the pastures. As my hooves touched the muddy ground it reminded me of my work that I had completed a few days earlier. Pulling the plow back and forth before I had the chance to rest for a few days. Once my few days were up, it was straight back to plowing the fields. As I looked back at the old man he had already closed the gate and began to walk away to continue his farm work. I perked up my ears as doves flew above me before I walked over towards the green grass in the pasture that sat a few feet away from me. I took a few steps towards the grass and ate away at the fresh greens; no gust of wind or loud tractors in the background from the neighbors. It was truly a perfect day for a ride out with the old man's wife. As I looked up at the old, rustic wooden cabin on the property I saw the old lady in her rocking chair as she drank her morning coffee. Her eyes met mine and the old lady smiled towards me, although I would admit that it was a rather sorrowful smile. She had the look on her face that made me wonder if we  were going to go to town and go get some more food later that afternoon.


It had been a few hours since I had been in the pasture under the sun. I found shade underneath my usual tree that sat just outside of my pasture fence. I perked up as I could feel my joy returning; the old lady was walking towards me with the saddle and bridle in her arms. I let out a joyful whinny and walked over towards her before I came to a halt right next to her and allowed the old lady to place the saddle over my back and slip the bit in my mouth. The old lady led me towards her usual mounting spot where she got onto my back and lightly squeezed my sides, gesturing for me to start a walk. As we walked down the dirt road I could feel a light breeze brush against my pelt. It was a great feeling to be out and about once more on the trail towards the town. It wasn’t until I could hear the old man's rusty truck start its engines and follow us down the road. I found it to be rather strange as it was usually just me and the old lady however I wasn’t bothered. There were many cars that had driven past us over the years and perhaps there was a logical explanation from the old man driving after us. We steadily made our way towards town where the streets were quite busy that day, other horses were there as well but they all seemed.. Uneasy? I raised a brow- it had turned out to be a strange day indeed. We eventually came to a halt as the old lady got off from my back and led me towards a man who was waving at us. I perked up my ears as I could hear the old lady talking to the man “Hello, I would like to buy an auctioning ticket for this horse, please” the old lady said, although I could not understand a word of what she had just said, I got an uneasy feeling in my stomach. The man then handed her a small paper before the lady led me towards a fence where she proceeded to tie me up and placed the paper on my rump. She then took off my saddle and patted me on my neck before she walked away, leaving me alone with the strange horses as she placed the saddle in the truck and the old couple found their seats near an empty pin. 

After about an hour of waiting the old man walked over towards me and untied me from the fence before he led me towards the empty pin that I had seen many horses go in and out of, followed by a loud bang as a man would shout numbers. As we entered the ring the old man walked me around the ring a few times as I could hear the man shouting from before to shout again before the loud bang from what sounded like a gavel hit the desk and the old man led me out of the ring. The old lady walked over towards us again with tears in her eyes as she wrapped her arms around my neck and gave me a kiss on my forehead. I perked up the moment I saw a young girl approach me and the old couple- she seemed rather happy to see them. Soon a middle-aged man had come up behind the young girl as the old couple, parent and child exchanged a few words, the only word I understood was my name “Elara” before the old man handed the new man my lead. The couple that had raised me all these years each gave me one more hug and kiss before they walked off towards their rusty truck, got in and drove away. I kept my eyes on the truck as they drove off, the confusion that I had felt was something different. I couldn’t understand what was happening before I could feel a hand press against my pelt. I looked over my shoulder to find the young girl petting me before she grabbed the lead from the man and began to lead me towards some big metal vehicle. I hesitated for a few moments before the young girl showed me some treats- I was sold and walked into the vehicle before the doors closed behind me and the room fell dark. I was only able to look outside of the window near me, a net filled with fresh hay and a bucket of water sat before me as I ate away with joy. It was perhaps the first time that I could eat a whole net full of hay and not worry about the wild rabbits that would often steal my hay to steal this food from me. It wasn’t long before I could feel a rattle beneath my hooves and before I knew it- we were moving and on our way to someplace new.

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Backstory breakdown:

ID/Name: 8529 Moonlit Sonata

XP Breakdown:

+12(xp) - (Base,1228 words)

+2(xp) - (Rider/Handler)

= 14 xp total

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Run down of the lit. 

This piece is a brief dive into Elara's backstory. In short, the was purchased by an elderly couple when she was a yearling and the couple raised her until she was 4 before they put her to work to hopefully help save their farm that was spirling into debt. After a year and a few months of trying to save their farm, the elderly couple unfortunately could not pay back their debt and was forced to sell their farm, including all of their animals. Elara was purchased at a local town auction by a young girl named Isla Steward. The middle aged man mentioned was her father who had purchased the horse for his 19 year old daughter. 

More of this story will be shared and progressed in the future!