Sorry for that long wait!! I had other stories on my fictionpress account to work on as well as the Supernova Herd!!!

Two weeks slipped by since Lazarus, now known as Gray Hoof, had joined the River Herd. During that time, he found himself being accepted by every member of the herd. Spotted Cloud was able to introduce him to every member of the herd, including the foals, who acted very polite to him and welcomed him into the herd with open arms. For the first time since he’d been kidnapped from the High Hopes Ranch, Gray Hoof felt safe. Even though they were not donkeys, he didn’t care. At least he would be protected.

Spotted Cloud was able to successfully raise him and her son Leaping Puma together, just as she’d promised the leaders. Her colt had already taken nicely to Gray Hoof. He was thrilled to have a brother, even though his brother was not the same species as him.

Today was a calm, peaceful day. Big, puffy clouds loomed overhead as the herd settled near a pond. The adult mares scattered around the lake, Lake Eyes and Red Arrow checked the surrounding area for any signs of danger, and the foals were off to the side playing.

“Okay, Gray Hoof, if you want to be like one of us, you’re going to have to play the games we play,” Flame Gust instructed. Gray Hoof was standing in front of the blood bay colt, with Playful Cricket and Leaping Puma on either side of him.

“Okay, then. What games do you play?” the donkey foal inquired, tilting his head.

“Oh, not many,” Playful Cricket answered. “We play tag, ‘Follow the Leader,’ hide-and-seek, and even race.”

Gray Hoof perked up. “Race? I like to race.”

“That’s good, then,” Flower Song assured him. “You can beat Flame Gust in a race.” The blood bay colt snorted and piped, “Very well. I will accept his challenge.”

Gray Hoof pricked up his ears. “What? I didn’t challenge you.”

“Too late,” Yellow Lily whispered in the donkey foal’s ears. “Since he’s the leaders’ foal, he can simply put one of us in a race against him even if we do not say we challenge him. But don’t worry; if he wins, Flame Gust doesn’t rub it in your face. He races for fun.” Gray Hoof nodded.

“Come with me,” Flame Gust commanded, motioning with his head. The foals and Gray Hoof followed him, the latter asking where they were going.

“To find a spot where you and I can race,” the blood bay colt rejoined. “Now hurry up; we haven’t got all day.”

The foals trotted further away from the adults. Unfortunately, the ones born two springs ago were not around to watch this year’s young; in the River Herd, it was a custom for the two-year-olds to leave before the first mare gave birth.

“Here’s a nice spot to race,” Flame Gust declared as he and the other foals stepped onto a meadow nearby the pond. A lone elm tree stood in the very center. Gray Hoof looked over his shoulder to see that the River Herd mares weren’t far from the meadow. That was good.

Flame Gust turned to the donkey foal. “Here’s how it will happen,” he explained. “You and I will—”

“I’ll race,” Leaping Puma announced, stepping alongside his adopted brother.

“If Leaping Puma’s going to race Flame Gust and Gray Hoof, then I’ll join in, too,” Playful Cricket declared.

“So will we,” Yellow Lily and Gold Snake added. Flame Gust was astounded; this had never happened before. He glanced at Gray Hoof. Something about this foal made him suspicious.

“Fine,” he sighed. “Let’s just race now.”

As the foals prepared to race, Flying Dove and Green Fern spoke to Spotted Cloud.

“How is it?” the cremello mare inquired.

Spotted Cloud’s hazel eyes met Flying Dove’s blue ones. “How is what?”

“Raising little Gray Hoof, that’s what. You are his new mother, after all.”

“It’s just like raising a foal of your own,” the pintaloosa simply stated as she shook her mane. “You have to set limits, make sure he is fed…all those things.”

“Leaping Puma likes him as a brother,” Green Fern pointed out before changing the subject. “What do you think will happen when Powerful Wolf finds out there is a donkey among us?”

As an answer, Spotted Cloud exhaled through her nose and simply said, “I don’t know.”

“He better not kidnap or kill Gray Hoof,” Green Fern quipped, pinning her ears back. “The poor foal’s been through enough. I mean, you all saw his condition when he first arrived, right?” The bay pintaloosa nodded.

“But he’s recovered nicely and playing with the other foals,” Flying Dove pointed out. Nothing was said after that as the cremello, the bay pintaloosa, and the dunalino watched as the six foals and Gray Hoof begin their race, the whinnies and brays mingling together in an unusual choir.

Since she’d smelled that peculiar smell two weeks ago, Red Salmon was ordered by Powerful Wolf to spy on the River Herd, presuming that the smell had something to do with them. “Maybe if I find the possessor of the strange smell, then maybe Powerful Wolf will become more interested with me than his precious mate,” she thought to herself. Her position was on a ridge overlooking the River Herd’s relaxing place for today. Behind the ridge was the resting place for the Tornado Herd.

Red Salmon wasn’t as lovely as Lavender Scent, which made the former jealous. The tobiano had no markings anywhere on her face, but she did have a white pastern on her right hind leg. Her eyes were just a plain, ordinary brown, and a large patch of white went sloping down either sides of her barrel, making it seem a human had poured paint on her back.

As a foal, Red Salmon’s mother had not loved her that much because the red dun tobiano was not as gorgeous as her mother. Her father would roll his eyes every time Red Salmon would proclaim she was going to be beautiful. As soon as she was old enough to leave her birth herd, the mare wasted four years seeking a stallion who would consider her a worthy mare. But unfortunately, it seemed to her that she came across the herds that were interested with looks.

Then, one day, when she was six, Red Salmon met up with Powerful Wolf, who had only taken her into the Tornado Herd because Lake Eyes had more mares than he did. When she was being led away to her new herd, the brown-eyed mare was thrilled because she thought that the black overo stallion would make her his lead mare, even though he had not mentioned anything about it to her. But as soon as Lavender Scent introduced herself to her, Red Salmon’s heart sank, but she remained loyal to Powerful Wolf, hoping that the two would create a foal together.

“I’ve been a Tornado Herd mare for three years, and he doesn’t even glance at me during mating season!” she muttered before emitting a snort. She inched closer, keeping her eyes locked on the seven River Herd foals racing.

Red Salmon raised an eyebrow. “Wait, seven?” she thought to herself. “But there were six the last time! How could this be?” This mare was highly aware of the fact that one of the adults in the enemy herd was, in fact, a stallion, but could not reproduce. Did Lake Eyes take in a mare that was close to birthing after the failed attempt to overthrow him?

She looked towards where the mares were. “Doesn’t look like it,” she whispered. “I don’t see an unfamiliar face.” Returning her gaze to the foals, the brown-eyed mare could make out a silver gray foal among them. But there was something strange about that one. His ears were long, he did not have much hair on his tail, and he was shorter than the other six.

“It’s not a foal, it’s a freak!” Red Salmon gasped, backing up. “The River Herd’s cursed itself with a freak! This I have to tell the leaders!” She high-tailed it out of there and back to her herd.

Powerful Wolf did not have any foals the previous year, nor the year before, due to the fact that he needed to overthrow Lake Eyes so badly. However, this year was going to be different. After persuading him, he and Lavender Scent shared some “special time” together exactly six nights after the fight with both the River and Willow Herds’ leader, and the “special time” was repeated with a bay mare called Running Lark two evenings later. Right now, he was lying on the grass, with Lavender Scent cuddled against his chest and Running Lark leaned against his side. The rest of his mares, seven in total, were gathered around them and eagerly looking at their lead stallion.

“It’s about time the Tornado Herd’s leaders have a prodigy,” Lavender Scent mused. Powerful Wolf nodded in agreement.

“Will there be any other prodigies, Leader Powerful Wolf?” a chestnut mare named Dancing Fox inquired.

“Yes, Leader Powerful Wolf,” agreed Golden Oak, a silver bay roan mare with amber eyes. “A leader like you should be prosperous and have the number of foals be the same as the evening sky’s stars.” The rest nodded with her.

Before Powerful Wolf could answer, Red Salmon charged in onto the scene, neighing.

“What is it, Red Salmon?” the overo demanded, standing up. “What have you seen from the River Herd?”

“Leader Powerful Wolf, you’ll never believe this!” the red dun tobiano mare gasped. “I saw…I saw…”

“You saw a what?”

“This ugly gray foal! That’s what that smell was; the ugliest foal you’ll ever see! A total freak!” Lavender Scent and Running Lark frowned at Red Salmon, frustrated that they could not even get a quiet moment with the leader without someone ruining it. The other mares, however, were mumuring to one another.

“An ugly foal?”

“That can’t be right.”

“Lake Eyes has six mares, who all had foals this year. How could there be another one?”

“It had to have been adopted.”

“Lake Eyes and Red Arrow don’t even have a clue about what they just did! Taking in a freak!”

“Powerful Wolf, my darling?” Lavender Scent inquired as she got back on her feet. “What do we do?”

There was a long pause. “We don’t do anything right now,” Powerful Wolf stated finally. “If Lake Eyes is planning on taking an ugly foal into the herd, then that’ll be fine with me…for now.”

“What do you mean?” a mare inquired. The black overo stallion glared at her, saying, “If this foal becomes a disgrace to the River Herd, then we’ll stay away from them as the foal slowly begins to degrade Lake Eyes’s pride. Red Salmon, you are to keep your watch over the herd and report back every night to see what is going on. As soon as we hear from other herds about what they think of the River Herd’s leaders with an ugly foal, then we’ll strike and finish him off.” Red Salmon bowed her head before cantering off.

“Leader Powerful Wolf, what will become of the ugly foal Red Salmon told you about?” Running Lark asked.

“We’ll destroy it.”

“I win, I win!” Flame Gust whinnined triumphantly as he pranced before Gray Hoof and the other foals.

The race had been the first loss for Gray Hoof ever. It had started out with him in the lead and with Flame Gust right behind him. Everyone else had been tagging close behind, and the donkey foal did not know who was in the rear.

Then, halfway through, Gray Hoof was finding himself slowing down. Flame Gust snorted and pushed past him, with Leaping Puma and the others neighing towards the little colt to try and beat the blood bay foal. Try as he might, Gray Hoof could not keep ahead of the leaders’ offspring, and that was how Flame Gust won.

“Don’t worry, Gray Hoof,” Playful Cricket whispered to the latter. “Flame Gust sounds stuck-up when it comes to these things, but he’ll be nice again, you will see.”

“Foals, come over here!” they heard Crow Scratch call out. “Your mothers want you!”

“We’re coming, Crow Scratch!” Gold Snake whinnied back. The foals cantered past the gelding and towards their respected mothers. Leaping Puma and Gray Hoof went directly to Spotted Cloud.

“Mother, what’s going on?” Leaping Puma inquired.

“Lake Eyes has decided to look for the Willow Herd,” Spotted Puma replied. She looked down at Gray Hoof. “The leaders want them to meet you, Gray Hoof.”

“Me? Really?” Gray Hoof was astonished. He was going to meet more of his adoptive kin. “What are they like?”

“Storm Leaf and Whispering Swan are nice, just like the leaders,” Spotted Cloud explained as she, the donkey foal, and Leaping Puma trotted to where Lake Eyes and Red Arrow were standing. “In fact, Storm Leaf is related to Leader Lake Eyes; a half-brother, to be precise.”

“That means the River Herd is related to the Willow Herd,” Leaping Puma added. “So that means that you’ll be apart of them, too.” He smiled at the donkey colt.

“Leaping Puma! Gray Hoof! Come along!” Red Arrow neighed. “We have to get going.” The pintaloosa mare increased her pace to catch up with the rest of the River Herd, her two sons tagging along right behind her.

“Drat, they’re leaving!” Red Salmon thought to herself frantically. She whirled around and let out a whinny. In only a few minutes, Powerful Wolf was by her side.

“Leader Powerful Wolf, the River Herd is leaving!” the tobiano breathed out before he could say anything. She pointed her nose to the disappearing forms.

“I knew this would happen,” the black overo muttered. “Red Salmon, wait here. I’ll go and fetch the rest of the mares. We have a herd to overthrow and a freak to destroy.”

“Yes, Leader Powerful Wolf.”

So here it is, Chapter 11. I put up a poll in my profile that has to do with this story.

Until the next chapter, have a nice day.

—Kino Lala