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Flip's eyes softened and he nuzzled Twilight's buckskin coat. "I know, too. I-" Here his voice cracked. "I owned a human once. A little girl, a beautiful little girl with silken blonde hair. And then one day, when she came out to me, she was crying. I tried to comfort her, but she wouldn't stop. Then, in the weeks following, she seemed to get weaker by the day. After a while, I thought I began to see her hair fall out, but I decided it was just me. Then I knew there was something wrong. She stopped coming to me as often - her father usually was the one who cared for me. When she did visit me, I noticed that she - she - she had no hair." Flip sighed and looked at his feet. "She wore a hat after that. The last time I saw her, she was very weak and looked like a male child without any of her hair. She could barely stroke my mane. And then - one day, her father came to me. He was crying. I'd never seen an adult male creature of any kind cry before. I could barely make out his words, but I knew what he said. Lily was dead." Flip turned away. "And then I ran. They were loading me into the horse trailer. I'd never run from a human before. I was scared, though. The new human they were taking me to was evil - I could smell it on him. He had one of those horrible-smelling, choking, smoky white sticks in his mouth and he was grinning like a - like a - like a crazy man. Like Levi does when he's happy, but with a mean glint to his blue eyes that were so dark they were almost black. I had to run, so I did. I ran for the woods. I must've run miles, and by then I was slathered with sweat and the most tired I'd been in months. Then I found Silver, and I came here." Flip shook his head, and the memories disappeared as if by magic. His voice returned to the normal, commanding type he usually used. "Anyway, I'd better get around to meeting these new horses," he mumbled, and walked away.
