"Miss Esperanza...?"

Cattle saw one of the older mares begin to walk off from the others of the herd. Curiously, he followed as she began to stand alone, her head low and the expression of grief painted on her face.
''Miss Esperanza, are you alright?'' Cattle asked timidly as he approached her from behind.
The palomino looked up to see the youthful and tall pinto walking towards her. She mustered in a shaky voice, ''Oh, yes. I suppose I am fine.'' Cattle looked at her, his face pained to see Esperanza in such anguish.
''You know, my mother had her foal taken from her when the filly was only a yearling. She was so devastated, and died of a broken heart.'' He paused and swallowed his upcoming tears, ''And all I could do was stand by and watch it happen, and try to comfort her.'' Cattle's face was twisted with sadness, ''I miss her everyday, just like I bet your colt misses you everyday.''
Esperanza looked up at Cattle and embraced the younger stallion. ''Thank you Cattle, you and Salt have been so kind to us these past few months.''
''No Miss Esperanza, you showed us the greater kindness by giving us a home.''

- - - - - -

Naww, Cattle treats Espy so kindly <3 (FYI, he's Spirit's age, so no romance in that department) Cattle's pretty tall, so Espy "hugging" him must've been a little bit of a challenge...
Cattle is mine.
The original image is Dreamwork's.