She hadn’t had much in the way of freedoms lately, and despite loving her family with all her heart, her father had just become so controlling that she couldn’t take it anymore. Ozzie was a grown mare! She could go anywhere she liked, and there shouldn’t be any reason for her to not simply wander away when she pleased.Of course, ‘as she pleased’ was right when a storm hit. And it was supposed to be nice! It was the first day of spring!
Though she’d been caught in gentle flurries before, she had never been in a storm this bad, let alone all by herself. The only saving grace the small mare had was when she espied the cave that she was now hunkered down in, watching out the mouth of the cave nervously. Everything was white, everything was cold, and she didn’t know if she could get back to her family’s grotto without having her own trail to backtrack. She didn’t know what to do. There was no food, no water source that she could see around, and it…it was cold and it was lonely. Not that she wasn’t used to being lonely, what with being all but forced into solitude in order to be ‘protected’. Hers was a lonely existence, and Ozzie was both wishing she hadn’t left, and glad she was out.
“I don’t….know wh-what to do…” She whispered into the storm, taking a few steps back and shaking her bangs out of her face. While she could step out and see if she would be able to face the storm head-on, she also knew that was a very, very bad idea. She could fall off a cliff, walk into a trap, fall through a bottomless pit and other awful things that she’d heard stories of befalling others who got lost in storms.
The best thing she could do now…was sleep. To curl up in the warmest part of the cave that she could find and rest. Sleeping through the storm would very easily pass the time at least, and if not, maybe she’d wake up with a better idea of what to do. Contrary to the beliefs of others, she was not stupid, she just needed some extra time to think things through. And even if her ideas ended up being…not so great, at least she could think about such things!
But that all would have to come later. When she drifted off into dreamland…things were much the same.
For many moons now she had followed the same path. The same steps in the snow. Not hooves, but pawprints that were too big to be a wolf’s. To an area reminiscent of her family’s grove, but less like a prison and more like a…She didn’t know what it was. It wasn’t a *bad* place at all, it was simply a place she couldn’t describe. It felt warm. It felt Safe. It felt like so much love and care had been taken in it’s cultivation, and all for her to be there. To be there and loved and…No, it couldn’t be. Every time it was the same dream. Follow the steps, find nothing at the end, and then wake up.
It seemed the snow and the storm had other ideas, however, and this time there was a figure at the other end of the grove. Shadowed. She didn’t know if she should approach, but heart and body told her to go forward. She was meant to see who he was. But as she got closer, he walked away. She could chase him. She chased him. He never led her through places that were too dangerous, though he weaved between trees with ease. More than once she caught sight of a fluffy tail, only to lose it at the very last second. Right as she could have gotten a closer look. But she couldn’t go any faster, she was too small, too weak. But he never made her run. When he stopped, she stooped. And at one point when she stopped, she realized they were in snow. The same snow as the snow she was taking cover from, perhaps? Maybe, and maybe not.
The dream continued. He led her away from the grove and into the snow. Then back to grove. Then out and farther, then right back. Each time she left the grove the amount of snow was different, but there was still *snow*. What did he want from her?? What was he trying to show her? It was only when they returned a fith time to the grove did she realize…it had never been the same grove twice. Still beautifully cultivated, yet not the same. Not the same at all. He had been leading her father and farther away. Taking her out of her home and intothe unknown.
“What do you want from me…?” She finally asked once they were back in the snow.
The shadowed stallion approached her, close enough that she could see his paws and his glowing eyes. Yet, she was not afraid. Only curious. He would not harm her, or send her into danger. In fact, though he remained shadowed, he stood by her side, leaning down to nuzzle her. While he was not massive, he was still large in comparison to her. She had always been small.
“I want you to be free. And safe.” The voice was…calming. Soothing.
“I’m p-perfectly safe…I’m perfectly free…” That was a lie. She was no more free than…well, no. She had her freedoms. Just not many. In the interest of being *safe*. According to her father who so desperately wanted her to never feel any of the bad things in the world around her. Heartbreak, illness, violence…he wanted to keep her from that. But she wanted the joys, too. She wanted to fall in love again. She wanted to see the world.
“I can offer you that.” The Stallion said, stepping ever closer as he nuzzled her cheek affectionately. “I may not be good for everything, but I can offer you freedom.”
Ozzie tilt her head into the nuzzle, though she remained wary. “I don’t even know who you a-are. I don’t know why you would want to offer me such things…”
“Because I know you.” He continued. “You will weather this storm and return home. You will leave. Then I will find you. I will take you wherever you want to go.”
“You’re not my father, are you?” She asked curiously, though…no. He couldn’t be.
“No. But I have seen you, my dear Ozzie. My soulsong.”
Soulsong. That was a new word. Strange, but not a word she found to be so strange she disliked it. She…Liked it, in fact.
It was only then that she realized the world around them had changed. From the harsh winter to a soft spring. Purple flowers blossomed and bloomed, filling the air with such a sweet scent Ozzie could swear she was *actually* smelling it. The stallion remained by her side until she moved, then he took a few steps back. If only she could see his eyes…
“I m-m-may not survive this winter…” Ozzie whispered, knowing what would happen once she awakened.
“You already have.” The stallion assured her in a soft, calm voice still.
About to ask how he would know that, how that could possibly be when she was stuck in a cave with a roaring blizzard outside, Ozzie started as the stallion very suddenly galloped past her, back the way they had come. “W-wait!” She cried out, wheeling to race after him. It was funny, in all the dreams before he hadn’t dared appear, and she had been far too afraid to search farther, either. Now she was chasing after what could only be a spectre, a being who would have no hoof in her waking world. But he had said so many thing that she desperately wished to be true. She was desperate to be with him. Even if only in her dreams.
He stopped.
She stopped.
“I will meet you, someday.” The stallion said, standing tall and gesturing for her to leave the grove that once was.
“B-but…How will-” She started to ask, obediently walking closer, stopping and turning just as she entered the small tunnel.
“I will find you.” He assured her with a gentle smile. “But first...You must wake.”
About to ask how he knew that she was asleep, He leaned forwards and gently blew into her face.
The same warm ar from his breath hit her in the waking world.
Blinking her eyes rapidly as she stirred, Ozzie squint against the harsh light that filtered into the cave. Light…warmth...How?
Shaking her head, she slowly stood up, taking weak, jelly-kneed steps towards the entrance. The world outside no longer black and white and harsh. But green and red and pink and purple, the sky bright and blue and the only winds a gentle breeze that could only remind her of her dream stallion’s breath.
Stopping near the very edge of the cavern, where grass neatly met stone, Ozzie hesitated to take one more step. He would find her, he said. He wanted her to be free. He wanted to be with her. And even if that only happened in her dreams, she would be looking for him on her own. Everything that had happened in her life past wouldn’t matter anymore once she took her first step on her own out of the cave.
As her hoof touched the soft green grass, a small purple butterfly flew just in front of her. Just the sight of it caused her to smile. It was Spring. It was a time for rebirth. A time for new life. A life she had little to no intention on wasting waiting to be told what to do. She was going to, quite literally, follow her dream.
It was an awakening, and one that was a long, long time coming. A new life lie ahead of her as she slowly walked down the slope after the butterfly.
“Hello, S-spring.” She whispered, head tilt to the skies. “Hello, life.”
(1,683)
