Gone, it was all gone. Everything that Shenzi had known. Everyone she’d loved. Swallowed up in one night by a ravenous horde that had outnumbered the band of misfits that had taken Shenzi in as a filly when no-one else had wanted her. The bachelors she had called family treated her like one of their own. Shenzi had never asked why, and now there was no-one left to answer her unspoken question. Had it merely been an act of kindness? Had they seen something in her that was bold, brave, and larger than life? Whatever the reason, Shenzi would be forever grateful for the time she’d had with them.
They were gone, now, dragged down to the earth by creatures that looked like Shenzi, but were empty inside, void of all the things that make one honourable. Respect, mercy, control. Her band of brothers had been rough around the edges, and had certainly got into their fair share of scrapes with the stabilised herds they’d come across during their roaming. One or two even dared to get pushy with Shenzi during breeding season, but the poor fools had forgotten how well they’d taught her to fight and defend herself. Never once, though, had they treated the seal brown mare as though she was different from them, acknowledging that she felt as much as they did, knew many useful things, and had her own needs and desires.
It was for this reason that she’d been prepared to fight for them even to death, but the cruel, mindless stallions that had struck her bachelors down turned lustful, leery eyes upon her, and it was for selfish reasons, and not a show of mercy, that they spared her. But she would be slave and plaything to no-one. The first that dared lay teeth upon her Shenzi overpowered, sending them both toppling. Despite her small size, she was not delicate and dainty. Shenzi had been born with a fighting spirit, and it was this that helped her now, striking out with hooves, snapping her teeth at throats and faces alike. She hoped she’d bleed and blind the beasts that surrounded her, with more swarming in the shadows.
Shenzi ran. Some chose to pursue her, but the desperation in her and the will to survive won out over the base desires that led the savage stallions as slaves. They fell away before long, allowing Shenzi to slow her pace, and conserve what little energy she had left. It turned out she was not the only one to have escaped. That night, Shenzi was startled out of a light, fitful sleep by the sound of a clumsy approach. Baako. The grey stallion was covered with blood, and he collapsed at Shenzi’s hooves. The mare collapsed beside him, overcome by grief and ragged pain that crippled her. ‘I… I tried… to…’ Blinded by tears, Shenzi gently shook her head, hushing her beloved companion, whispering one last lullaby into his ears as he drifted off into his endless sleep. “Baako, Baako, it’s okay. You were brave, and you were strong. You fought so hard. You saved me, Baako, many times and in many ways. Rest easy now, my brother, my friend. I will always love you.” And she stayed hunkered down beside him for hours, her muzzle buried in his matted mane, his body growing cold, his blood sticky and drying on her skin.
The sunrise woke her, and she blinked her tired, scratchy eyes as golden rays slanted towards her across a field that seemed painted blood red in the dawn light. Pressing one last kiss to the forehead of the stallion who had been precious to her, Shenzi rose, her body heavy with her grief. The mare hobbled the stiffness from her legs, and did not look back. Baako was gone, but he lived on in her memories, and in her heart. A lone survivor without a home, Shenzi wandered for days, the scent of Baako’s blood lingering on her coat, matted in the tresses of her mane. Eventually she found her way to land’s end, but beyond the shore the silhouettes of islands upon the horizon beckoned her. The swim took its toll on her, and by the time she stumbled ashore, she was exhausted. Physically, mentally and emotionally.
For several more days she kept to herself, needing time to process her great loss. But she found a place that reminded her of Home. Home had never been a place, the stallions she’d run with had never stayed anywhere long. But there had been a sense of belonging and acceptance among them that she needed. Shenzi’s heart had been torn to pieces, but she was determined to piece it back together. Time would tell if this Lagoon could ever come close to the Home she had lost, but for now, the battleworn mare was willing to give it a chance. Already mud had caked her legs, and she had taken to prowling the outskirts of the Lagoon. Many of the bachelors who lived here, she’d observed from a distance, but she’d only allowed one to get close – a stallion similar in colour to her, save for the patches of white, and his golden eyes that had gleamed like a wolf’s.
Today, Shenzi ventured deeper into the Lagoon, slinking through the shadows between the trees, head held low. Despite all she had been through, she carried herself with a confidence that was born from a sense of belonging, familiarity. It was clear that she felt comfortable here, and was in her element. Pausing for a moment, Shenzi slaked her thirst from the first source of running water she’d come across in this part of the Lagoon. Sensing another nearby, she rose her head slowly to regard the stallion. Recognition flickered in her eyes briefly – she had spent some time observing him from a distance the day before. The stallions had a similar presence here as her old band had - where there was one visible, there were sure to be others cloaked in shadow and hidden from sight nearby.
Her dark eyes regarded the male in the open with renewed curiosity now, which momentarily covered over the haunted look she wore so well. Whether she stayed here or not, she would carry no more unknowns upon her shoulders, for the weight she bore was already great. “Why are you here?” Her question is rasped softly, heavy with an accent that’s likely never been heard among these islands before. There is no elaboration, and the query remains vague. She lets it hang in the air as her focus widens and her gaze drifts, as if inviting any others nearby to reveal themselves to her. Her eyes darken slightly, and she stretches her muzzle closer, as if eager, hungry, for something from the stallion, from those who might be watching her from a distance now. She craves a connection of some kind, mental stimulation perhaps, or empathy. Maybe even physical contact, even a fleeting touch would be enough for her.
Everything had been taken from her, and she had been broken by her grief. But Shenzi had picked herself up and brushed the dirt from her bruised and bleeding form. All she wanted was a new start, a place where she might belong, and she was desperate for a sign that perhaps the stallions here would see her with the same clarity as the ones she’d run with before. Never wold anyone take the places of those who she’d lost... But Shenzi’s heart, damaged as it was, was fierce and strong, still capable of loving, learning and being loyal, if it were only given the chance.
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