Wherever there was adventure to be found, that’s where Oswin would be. The little gold and white filly had explored every inch there was to explore within the Prairie, but she’d not yet managed to cross over the river and go into the tangled depths of the shadowed Forest. The main cause of this was that, even a month later, Dock was even more watchful than Oswin as she’d ever been. Any move made for the Forest brought immediate alarm from her dam, who would quickly block her daughter’s path and shove her back toward the herd. It frustrated Oswin to no end, especially because any time she’d tried to question her dam about what had happened and what she’d heard, Dock had went rigid and refused to answer her. Her mother, though often exasperated with her, had never been anything but loving and this new behavior Oswin had discovered was… disturbing. Eventually it made her uncomfortable to bring it up; because she could tell it upset her mother, so she elected to just not mention it anymore.

But one day, some day, she would find out whom that freckled stallion was and why he’d said her mother had wanted to kill him.

For now Oswin was, once again, testing how wary her dam was. Dock was grazing on the long grass of the Prairie, cream tail flicking flies from her coat, and Oswin was edging closer and closer away from the herd. She’d seen one of the mares tugging another off that she didn’t know and Oswin was very, very curious as to why. So, even though it really was none of her business, Oswin thought her mother wouldn’t mind her straying as long as she was near another of the herd.

Only it was then that the stallion came rushing in. Little six month old Oswin did not cry for her mother as she might have or probably should have. “HEY!” She screeched out instead, ears turning back and pinning against her poll, “LEAVE THEM ALONE!” She didn’t know who he was but he knew he wasn’t supposed to be doing what he was doing (moving toward them in an aggressive manner with his ears pinned). Oswin charged him, fear overcome by adrenaline and a need to protect – even though she’d sure as hell be scolded for it later. Things like that didn’t occur to Oswin, she cared about nothing but showing this fool a piece of her mind!

What an idiot child, one right-aimed kick from his hoof could do ten times the damage that a strike from her might do. But, fearlessly, Oswin charged him, head low and ears pinned.