“Shadecloud! My….. foals are…... coming! Get…… Sweetroot!” I nickered over the pounding rain. Shadecloud stomped her hoof and nickered nastily to me. “Morningleaf, you make me do EVERYTHING. Don’t forget our deal…. I’m excited to get my hooves on twins, I want them to be like Echofrost and Bumblewind… one boy, one girl. Hurry up and birth! I want this to be over with! Sweetroot!” I shuddered when the cruel lead mare said my best friend’s name, Echofrost, and her deceased brother, Bumblewind. If Echofrost knew how a sweet filly named Shadepebble turned into the youngest and cruelest lead mare in the history of Anok, she would be really upset. Sweetroot came out of the deep jungle we call The Trap with my former stallion, Star. He trotted over to rub my stomach, as he is the sire of my, er, Shadecloud’s, foals, but before he could, Shadecloud walked in, blocking us from each other. Star greeted her. “My sweet Shadecloud, my mare, my life, my love. Are our foals almost born? Morningleaf is birthing slowly with our twins.” He nickered to the spotted filly. I blinked back my tears as she started talking about her foal, which was already known to be born dead. It was her deceased sire, Rockwing’s, curse. I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood as the first foal started to come out. I sobbed through the pain and looked at Star’s joyful expression. I gulped a mouthful of air as a tiny chestnut filly poked her head out. I stared at the beautiful filly’s eyes, dark and thoughtful like Star’s. Her tiny wings were silver, like my mother’s wings before the Ancestors took her home to the Golden Meadow. Her name came to me quickly. “Ashsong. Her name is Ashsong.” Shadecloud snatched Ashsong away from me. “Wrong. Her name is Smokeheart. I am her dam, I get to name her.” Shadecloud brayed with teeth bared. I sobbed when she said that, remembering the night I was tortured. I had just told Star I was carrying his twin foals. He was overjoyed at the sound of that. He laid me down in his over stallion nest Moon Herd had made him and laid next to me all night as I slept. I awoke to the sound of Star’s voice. “Morningleaf! Fly away! Don’t let Shadepebble get you! Go! NOW!” I spread my aqua wings and flew high and fast. Shadepebble sent her guard to catch me. He was a Mountain Herd steed like Shadepebble, so he was much faster than me and caught me quickly. Shadepebble was standing on a high rock, drawing all of Moon Herd’s attention. I caught a glimpse of two strong stallions wrestling Star to the ground. “I am your new lead mare, Shadecloud of Moon Herd. Do not fret though, Star is still your over stallion. He is my new mate. Morningleaf, formerly Morningcloud, is expecting twin foals. I am expecting Brackentail’s colt, who is already deceased before birth. Her foals are now my foals. Morningleaf will be executed after she gives birth to me and Star’s foals.” The small mare said. Star brayed loudly in protest. Shadepebble trotted over to him. Before he could say anything, she told her guards to take him over to the Lake Of Moonshine. I was furious. I was going to be executed. I would never truly meet my foals. And most importantly, my stallion was being stolen from me! I watched from the stallion’s jaws as Shadepebble hit Star multiple times in the head with rocks. I knew what she was doing. She was making him lose his memory. Before he was knocked unconscious, I squealed in outrage. “Shadepebble, don’t do this just because Brackentail died!” I said, referring to her deceased stallion. She turned and charged me, knocking me off my hooves. She reared and hit me in the head. As the world slowly evaporated into darkness, I watched the final rock hit Star in the head, then him slump to the ground.