It wasn't often Thornfate found herself by the sea, but today was an exception. She was on a mission to visit a herd that was fairly far from where she usually lived, an important message in her mind to be delivered to one of that herds members. She'd repeat it to herself daily to ensure she didn't forget the message, word for word. She prided herself on her memory as well as the ability to help others, going above and beyond for strangers. The stallion that she was helping was hardly a stranger, but she wouldn't call herself close to him, either. Besides, Thornfate had a love for travel that she didn't get to indulge very often so this was a perfect opportunity to help and to explore.The sea had always been a bit intimidating to her, the waves beautiful but always had her on edge. You never really knew when one might creep up the sand further than you thought, the pull of the water tugging at your hooves. It was for that reason that Thornfate kept to the grass, the sea and sand to her right as she walked, the tall blades tickling her legs and belly. From this distance she felt safe and could enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells that the ocean had to offer. The gulls overhead and the little pipers running around in the wet sand were mesmerizing to her, making her almost step into a surprisingly wide stream that cut the land before her in two.
"Oh!" she exclaimed, quickly taking a step back. She looked to her left and saw that in the very far distance was a pond of some sort, the water spilling into the river and down to the sea. Turning to the right, she watched the water rush into the ocean, the fresh water mixing with the salt and making that area a bit murky.
"Oh dear," she murmured, once again facing forward to examine the river. It wasn't so wide that she couldn't ford it, but she could see even from the banks that the center was very deep, the current cutting into the soft sand and making a trench. She'd not be able to touch in the very center, but it could be overcome with a few quick kicks with her legs.
Hopefully.
She could go around the pond, but as she examined the far-off body of water it didn't look like it would be an easy trek. It could add hours to her trip whereas crossing the river would take much less time. The only problem was she was terrified of being swept out to sea. Deciding to literally test the waters, Thornfate found a stick nearby and tossed it into the stream. It rushed down towards the ocean at an alarming rate, making her reconsider simply walking across.
"Come on, Thorn, you can do this," she told herself, her voice a little shaky. She was much larger than a little stick! Trying to summon her courage, she stepped forward and put one leg into the small river. The current rushed around her leg, making ripples and little waves form on the other side. The pull was there, but not so much that Thornfate felt threatened. She stepped in with her other front leg, finding it more secure now that she had two legs in the water.
"All right," she said, taking a deep breath. She slowly began to wade into the water, the current becoming stronger the deeper it got. Soon she was chest deep even though she was only a few paces from the shore and only a few paces remained to close the distance to the other side. All that was left was the deep gorge directly in front of her. The water tugging at her body was intense and she knew she couldn't jump with how deep she was in the water, she'd probably get knocked off her feet and end up underneath the quick-moving surface. The best thing would be to step forward, swim those few paces, and then come out the other side.
"You got this, Thorn, you got this," she said softly to herself, taking a deep breath just in case before stepping off the safety of the bottom. Her hooves flailed wildly as she was taken down river, no sandy bottom to arrest her movement, and for a moment she thought she was done for. Adrenaline kept her from sinking, her legs kicking hard and fast if not coordinated, and after what seemed like ages but was really only moments, her hooves dug into the soft sand again. She plowed her way through the rest of the stream, charging out of the water with none of the caution of how she'd entered.
"Phew!" she gasped as she shook herself off as best she could before glancing back to the river. It looked as it had before she'd crossed it, swift and undisturbed. She'd floated only a few meters down from where she'd entered, still a safe distance from the sea.
"That was so scary," she said, her voice shaking still as she looked ahead once more. Scary, but over with. She'd be sure to plan her return journey to not walk along the sea, but rather inland so she could go around the pond. She wasn't going to get back in that river if she could help it!
{WC: 902)