Prologue
A beautiful young mare with snow white fur lay, panting, on the dew-ridden grass. Labor pains coursed through her beautiful body, all swollen and round. She was obviously foaling. Moaning in pain, a bright red foal's head began to show. A second push and his body appeared. He slid out onto the grass, and was already quite firey, moving his head about like a cobra, feinting to attack.
The mare tore away the membranes and nuzzled the foal gently, her nostrils flaring as she breathed out on his tiny forehead, breathing in his sweet scent.
A black stallion trotted up to her, and sniffed the foal. "It should look just like me or you!" he snapped. "Why does this foal look so different?"
"Perhaps he is... Part of your father's blood." the mare nickered weakly, slightly raising her head to look at the foal, before letting it flop back onto the ground. Her belly was still swollen. "Another foal is coming..." she gasped.
The father snorted. "He'd better look like me or you, Snowflower! Or I'll kill him along with this red foal!" and with that, the father leaned his head down to grasp the red foal's neck in his massive teeth.
Snowflower watched in horror. In seconds, his bone-crushing grip would break the foal's neck and he would toss the bleeding body away! "Shade, wait!" she nickered.
Shade paused, his eyes rolling up to look at her, his jaws still poised threateningly over the unsuspecting colt. "What?' he snapped irritably.
"Perhaps he could just be... Allowed to live?" Snowflower said hopefully, her dark eyes wide and open with fear. Then she slammed her head against the ground as another pain ripped through her body.
"No," Shade said, after some consideration. "No, I won't allow it, and you'd better hope that that foal is a filly, or it'll die, too!" That said, he grasped the foal's neck in his strong jaws and trotted away to do away with it.
Snowflower's cries could be heard echoing over the valley as she watched Shade's tall form lope over the hill and out of sight. The white foal, a young colt, was born shortly afterwards.
A beautiful young mare with snow white fur lay, panting, on the dew-ridden grass. Labor pains coursed through her beautiful body, all swollen and round. She was obviously foaling. Moaning in pain, a bright red foal's head began to show. A second push and his body appeared. He slid out onto the grass, and was already quite firey, moving his head about like a cobra, feinting to attack.
The mare tore away the membranes and nuzzled the foal gently, her nostrils flaring as she breathed out on his tiny forehead, breathing in his sweet scent.
A black stallion trotted up to her, and sniffed the foal. "It should look just like me or you!" he snapped. "Why does this foal look so different?"
"Perhaps he is... Part of your father's blood." the mare nickered weakly, slightly raising her head to look at the foal, before letting it flop back onto the ground. Her belly was still swollen. "Another foal is coming..." she gasped.
The father snorted. "He'd better look like me or you, Snowflower! Or I'll kill him along with this red foal!" and with that, the father leaned his head down to grasp the red foal's neck in his massive teeth.
Snowflower watched in horror. In seconds, his bone-crushing grip would break the foal's neck and he would toss the bleeding body away! "Shade, wait!" she nickered.
Shade paused, his eyes rolling up to look at her, his jaws still poised threateningly over the unsuspecting colt. "What?' he snapped irritably.
"Perhaps he could just be... Allowed to live?" Snowflower said hopefully, her dark eyes wide and open with fear. Then she slammed her head against the ground as another pain ripped through her body.
"No," Shade said, after some consideration. "No, I won't allow it, and you'd better hope that that foal is a filly, or it'll die, too!" That said, he grasped the foal's neck in his strong jaws and trotted away to do away with it.
Snowflower's cries could be heard echoing over the valley as she watched Shade's tall form lope over the hill and out of sight. The white foal, a young colt, was born shortly afterwards.
