We’re gonna go from feelin’ fear to feelin’ free

[Feelthefreedom]

Maiara urged her tired legs to keep moving, as she navigated the dense forest. She'd digressed from a full out gallop, to a swift canter, then a sluggish trot, and finally to the grudging walk she was at now. She'd been moving for three days straight, only stopping for short periods of time to rest her weary muscles and get a quick drink. She'd been too nervous to stop to sleep even for a few hours. The branches and brambles tugged at her long white mane, and every now and then had to stop and jerk her head to free it. Roots caught her hooves as she drug them forward wearily. Thorns from the bushes she was wading through made thin red scratches across her pasterns, dying the white hair red.

She was fighting to keep her eyes open as she saw a break in the trees ahead. Her ears perked up, suddenly wide awake as she she picked up her pace to a lively walk. She broke through the trees with an excited whinny, attracting the attention of several mares grazing nearby. She lowered her head sheepishly, still wary of her surroundings. She wandered away from the mares to a shady patch under a tree, where she stood alone, for the first time reveling in the solitude.

She leaned down catching a few mouthfuls of sweet clover, closing her eyes to embrace the flavor. Suddenly overcome with a wave of fatigue, Maiara folded her long legs, bent her dark muzzle to her chest and for the first time in three days, rested.