The Lagoon lost its appeal quickly. It had been exciting enough as a new place to explore, but after a couple days, Rogue had learned that it was not a particularly fun place to live after all. There were few women and even fewer foals - in fact, as far as the roan filly had been able to determine, she was the only one to be found in the entire Lagoon. What was up with that?
In any case, with no playmates to keep her occupied, Rogue took to wandering, and was soon the recipient of more than one physical rebuke from bachelors who resented having an energetic child in their way. The skin on her neck still smarted from the last pinch of teeth she'd gotten, when she'd unwittingly approached a particularly mean dark bay yearling on his blind side. After fleeing from the frightening sight of the pale scars that puckered his face, Rogue decided it was time to revisit her old home outside the Lagoon. There had always been something interesting to see there, if not other foals to play with. And there weren't half as many grumpy men to avoid.
Flicking her short little tail and lifting her delicate skull high into the air, Rogue trotted haughtily past a palomino roan stallion who made no effort to stop her, following a stream toward the muted roar of the Falls.
She emerged from the forest directly across from the still pool, and continued across the clearing with all the confidence of one who belonged. There were no other foals in evidence, but plenty of other mares and even a few stallions. Giving the latter a respectful berth, Rogue raced along the water's shore, enjoying the crystalline patterns each splash of her hooves threw into the air. Then she folded her legs beneath her to roll in the water, loosening the crust of dirt that the Lagoon had left on her dusty red coat.
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