52stories

(2 votes, average: 3.5 out of 5)

 Loading …

Seven ponies walked in a circle. Day after day, their existence was bleak. They could no longer remember much about growing up, or playing as little ponies with their friends and families. The only place they could find solace was in telling stories as they trudged around and around, carrying little children, listening to their laughter, licking up their spills.

“In Mary’s Land, there’s an ass named Teague. He has an island where the horses and ponies still run free,” said Splinter, the unofficial leader of the group.

“Let’s go!” said his best friend Shadow.

“I don’t even know where Mary’s Land is,” Splinter said. “Grandpa says you have to follow the water’s edge for a long time. Then you can be free.”

“My dad was free.”

“No he wasn’t. He had to pull a plow.”

“I know,” continued Shadow. “But he got to be out in the big fields all day, and they let him run around in the woods every night. The lady he carried even fed him treats.”

“We get treats.”

“Only little pieces in that slop they feed us. He got whole ones. Big ones. Long, thin orange ones that were crunchy and sweet. Round, red ones that were super juicy. Boy, I could sure go for one of those right now. It’s too hot for all this work. And why do you keep dumping your, um, leftovers right where I walk?”

“It cools my feet off,” Splinter scoffed. “Why do you think? I can’t just walk out to the grass to do my business.”

“Well, anyway, I’m ready to go see the donkey.”

“Yeah, me too. How do we get out of here?”

“What are you boys talking about?” asked Sheila, a position ahead of Splinter.

“We’re getting out of here!” said Shadow.

“How?”

“We’re planning,” said Splinter.

“Planning won’t get you out of anything. Except boredom. I’m in. What’s the plan?”

Splinter watched her walking ahead of him. “I don’t think you can walk that far.”

“I can once I get this kid off my back.” She was the only one with a rider, and the other ponies welcomed the free time. Usually, it lead to this brand of discussion.

“You think the big horses will let two little pony boys like you run free with them?”

“Do you think you’ve got a better chance?” asked Shadow.

“Of course. I’m a girl.”

Splinter and Shadow both nodded their heads. Of course. Anything for a girl. Even if she was only a cousin. The ride ended, and Sheila’s child ran to its parent.

“Quick,” whispered Shadow. “Make a run for it!”

“You can’t stupid,” said Splinter, leaving Shadow another nice package to finalize the point. “We’re still tied up.”

Shadow hung his head, deriding himself for the obvious oversight.

Two kids were coming through the gate. They both wore orange shirts, and had been watching the ponies for a while. “Not me, not me, not me,” hoped Sheila.

The little girl helped her younger brother onto Shadow’s back, and then took her place astride Strider. “That’s what you get for planning,” snickered Sheila.

Strider shook his mane. “I can take care of this one!”

“Stop it, you’ll scare her.”

“So? She’ll get off my back.”

“Right, and you’ll get whipped,” reminded Shadow.

“Oh, yeah.”

Around and around they went. Eight times was a normal ride. They had figured it out, Splinter and Shadow, but counting it on their hooves. But after the eighth round, they continued going.

“Well?” complained Splinter.

Two more times around. Splinter was getting to the limits of his counting abilities, and the little girl was just getting heavier.

“Well?” echoed Shadow.

Finally, the grueling ride ended. But the two children stayed in place. They were joined in the pen by another handful of children, all wearing the bright orange shirts. The ride started again.

Strider started to grumble under his breath.

“Quiet down,” Sheila chided. “This will help keep your mind from too much planning.”

“Don’t you ever shut up?”

She whinnied with glee. “Not when I’m in front of you.”

“Well, when I’m gone, you won’t have to listen any more.”

“Unless I go with you.”

“Not if you’re so petulant.”

“Only if you’re so belligerent!”

The ride lasted forever. Or it seemed to. Splinter lost count again. He was so tired. He could hear Shadow panting, thirst draining his strength. When would this ever end?

And then it ended. The children ran off to their parents, and the man brought a bucket for them all to drink. It was finally the end of the day.

“Sheila, Shadow. Keep your eyes open for a good time to run.”

The man unlocked the ponies from their harnesses, and the first four crowded around the exit gate. The three conspirators held back. Planning. Hoping for a good escape.

The gate opened, and the four ponies in front diligently followed their master. But before the others could follow, the man stopped and started talking to someone else.

“What are they talking about?” Sheila asked.

“Who cares?” said Splinter. “Now’s our chance. Run!”

All three of them ran, sprinting for the nearby tree line they had picked, knowing the man couldn’t chase them without losing the other ponies. They were free!

They ran and ran, happy now to feel the sun on their backs. In a short time, they found the water’s edge. After a drink, and a playful romp in the shallow water, they started to follow along, sure of their directions to Mary’s Land.

“How long will it take?” asked Shadow.

“I don’t really know,” answered Splinter, “but probably not more than a few days.”

After a few hours, they started to see hoof prints, and a few deposits that would make Splinter proud. “There must be others ahead of us,” he pointed out. “Maybe we’re not as far away as we thought.”

By nightfall, they were seeing even more traces of pony passings, and were getting quite excited about meeting their future friends even sooner than they expected.

In the morning, they continued on. Every few hours, the tracks became thicker and thicker. “There must be so many ponies that they can’t be counted,” mused Shadow.

“I hope there are other boys there,” said Sheila. While these were two of her best friends, their habits of cleanliness were certainly not something to tell mother about. But her hopes were falling as she noticed more and more droppings as they continued.

In fact, by late in the afternoon, the trail was so full of tracks and droppings that it was getting hard to walk comfortably. Sheila started walking in the water from time to time, to keep at least a modicum of cleanliness, but it was slowing her down.

Suddenly, in a clearing ahead, there was a man in an orange shirt. He had handfuls of treats. Orange ones, Red ones. All the things they had been told were true. They were free!
The three ponies galloped to the man, and eagerly munched the things he offered.

“Splinter, isn’t the man from…” Sheila started.

“It’s a man come to feed us in this free land,” he interrupted, hoping to maintain the illusion for Shadow. It was their master, the man that took care of them. He had never fed them like this, though.

“Where are the other ponies?” asked Shadow, bits of food falling from his mouth.

“Maybe they’ve gone ahead. I’m sure this is just a welcoming committee,” Sheila explained.

“Is this Mary’s Land?”

“I don’t know,” said Splinter. “But it’s good enough for me. We made it, Shadow. All these days of freedom, running through the woods and along the water’s edge, all the treats we can eat.”

“We’re free!” whinnied Shadow.

The man smiled at the ponies, and looked over them across the water. From the other side, the Ranger waved. The Ranger had found the ponies this morning, and called the man to come and retrieve them. For two days, the ponies had been circling the pond, never leaving its side.
But now they followed the man, chewing contentedly on the treats he proffered, finally having their own story of freedom to share.