“Stay AWAY!” Aleta yelled between her teeth as she delivered a strong kick to the stallion following her. Her hooves hit his chest directly and the other mustang stumbled back. Once Aleta was sure that the grey stallion was too out of breath to follow, she reared high in the air, taunting him, then leapt off, digging into the soft dirt as she ran. Grinning to herself, the buckskin pinto mare didn’t give the other horse a second thought. Ever since she had left her father Spirit’s herd, it seemed like every other day was like that. Who thought that that many bachelor colts could be running around?! 

     Only a few short months ago, she had been a part of her parent’s herd. A freak flash flood had separated her from her family, but she had already been thinking about leaving anyway. Before getting lost, she had planned to leave with her brother and friends, but being on her own seemed to be working out better then she planned. Rozene, her younger sister, was too young to leave the herd and Aleta had nearly been connected by the hip to her brother Tauri. Tauri could be a bit over protective at times, but after all, he was her brother. Paint and Plattoe on the other hand, were her best friends. They could’ve made their own little herd! But besides a little loneliness, traveling alone seemed to suit Aleta well. With her father’s spirit, her mother’s level head and both of their speed, she didn’t have a thing to worry about.

     After her encounter with the grey stallion, Aleta took a victory gallop. She was only a 3-year-old. She’d have plenty of time to look for a stallion when she wanted one. For now, it was fun enough to make them feel slow and dim-witted. In the middle of her day-dream, her hooves hit rock instead of grass and the loud clopping noise made her snap out of it. Then realizing where she was, she barely stopped in time just as she came to the edge of a canyon, sending a spray of rocks down the red-striped canyon walls. Eyes wide and heart racing, Aleta took in the new landscape. 

“What is this place?”

There were no green fields in sight. Just endless red rock with little puffs of sparse dry grass. It was barren. But Aleta loved it. She’d never seen something so beautiful in her life. She scanned around and when she spotted a little ledge leading down, she pranced right over to it.

     By the time Aleta had found a steady, widening trail, the sun had started to set, making the day’s heat drop to freezing temperatures. In her first year, Aleta had been a late foal and the cold had been hard on her. Now that she was older and stronger, she enjoyed it. Aleta travelled down further until she was on the floor of the canyon, where a river had cut its way through the rock. The heat had made her thirsty. She dipped her face in the water almost up to her eyes. Nothing seemed so refreshing! Something clacked on the rock behind her, and Aleta froze for a second, nose still underneath the water. Quiet followed, so the mare brushed it off. Still, it felt as if someone was watching her... Aleta stepped lightly away from the water, shaking her mane and galloped a few steps. Why didn’t any other horses live here? This new place was wonderful!

Another loud crack followed, making Aleta freeze. That one had almost sounded intentional.

“Maybe it’s time to sleep” Aleta mumbled to herself. “Or just go away from here”

Aleta hurried away, nervously glancing over her shoulder ever few steps. She didn’t stop until she had found a little crevice in the wall just big enough for her to fit into. Then she settled down and drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

     The next morning, a familiar noise woke Aleta up. Aleta’s blue eyes flickered open and she sighed to herself. It was the sound of another horse. A stallion.

“Hey girrrrrly!! I can smell ya from a mile away! I know you’re around here somewhere!”

Aleta rolled her eyes. The smarter they thought they were, the dumber they ended up being. Aleta peeked out around the corner and the sleek, black-brown stallion was yelling in the opposite direction. Aleta smirked to herself. This would probably be the easiest horse to get rid of yet! 

The golden mare came out of her hiding place, loosening herself up for a good run, then turned to face the lone stallion.

“Girrrllll-”

“I’m right here”

The stallion looked over his shoulder and grinned. “I knew you were hiding around here”

“Of course you did” Aleta snorted. “You all do” she added under her breath.

“Well come on over here”

Aleta snorted and trotted off in the opposite direction. As expected, the stallion charged. Aleta sprang forward, bursting into a full-out gallop. Running through the canyon was much funner then on flat ground even though it was a bit more slippery. She dodged around a tall rock, over a gap and up a new trail. The stallion stayed right on her tail. He must have been born in the canyon. Aleta was fast, but she had no clue where she was running. And that was about to catch up with her.

Aleta whipped around a corner and found herself in a blocked off canyon. But that didn’t surprise her nearly as much as what she saw in the canyon. Above her was a second stallion, redder then the rock walls and marked with scars.

“Are you stupid?!”

Aleta found herself speechless.

“No, really! Did ya really think yer just the fastest lil’ twit out here?!”

Aleta furrowed her brow but before she could say anything back, the first stallion tore around the corner, chuckling to himself when he saw how Aleta was trapped. He didn’t even see the other stallion.

“Got yourself trapped, do ya?”

“Oy! I thought you’d already learned ta keep outta here?”

The dark brown stallion’s eyes jumped to the red one. Not giving him another second, the red stallion leapt right off of his high-up perch and thundered after the first stallion. Aleta scrambled out of the way, running after to watch the fight but when she turned the corner, the red stallion had disappeared. In the distance, the brown stallion was still running for his life. Aleta searched around but she was the only horse left in the area. 

“Where’d you go...?” she mumbled to herself.

No one answered her, but Aleta was still confused. After a little thinking, she shook her head. She’d worry about the whole ordeal later. She needed to learn her surroundings so nothing like that happened again.

     Nearly a week later, Aleta had gotten much more confident. In her little section of the canyon, she learned the trails that led in and out of the canyon and which ones would lead her to the top of the rocks or all the way down to the river. Despite exploring and learning all the spots, she still hadn’t seen any signs of the red stallion. She did, however, spot the two-leggeds that her parents had often talked about. She wasn’t afraid of them... but the ones she saw looked like they were out for something. So far though, she’d had no trouble avoiding them. But they did seem like they came closer and closer to her hiding spots every time. The sleek mustang that had chased her before already had a brush with them, but they showed no interest in him. Her curiosity had started to get the better of her. So far, she’d managed to keep away. She doubted they’d try to get her anyway.

* * *

     Aleta bent down to graze from the few sparse patches of grass that grew by the river. Off in the distance, she heard the whistles from the two-leggeds but they hadn’t come as far as the river yet, so she didn’t worry.

Something snorted to her right. Aleta lazily lifted her head. She hadn’t seen any other horses in a while so she wasn’t afraid. A mare could mean a friend and if it was a stallion... well, she hadn’t had a good run in a while! Her blue eyes scanned the rocks then stopped and widened. There was the red stallion!

“Long time no see, ay?”

Aleta didn’t know what to say. After their first meeting, she’d thought up a whole list of clever comebacks but now she couldn’t think of any of them.

“Well... it’s been a long time... unless I, uh, didn’t want to see you”

The red stallion shook his head, tsking his tongue. “Not at our brightest today, are we?”

Aleta snorted and pinned her ears back. “Well at least I don’t hide all day!”

“I don’t hide” the stallion said with an almost evil grin. “Ya just can’t see me! Betchya can see them though” he added, motioning behind her. Aleta glanced over her shoulder. The two-leggeds had their horses galloping full-speed right at her. She whipped back around but the stallion was gone.

“Doesn’t matter” Aleta fretted. “I needed exercise anyway”

The mare took off, flashing through rock structures and into a trail the she knew led her into the middle of the canyon. The two-leggeds stayed right on her tail. Apparently, they knew the canyon too. It didn’t matter though, as long as she didn’t get cornered, she could tire them out. Suddenly, another horse with a two-legged aboard jumped out from another trail and cruised right alongside Aleta, forcing her into a brand new trail that she hadn’t explored much before.

Aleta pinned her ears back and picked up her speed, surging ahead of the other horse. The red rock sped