Okay, so the "Supernova Herd" story is now back in progress!!!

“Everyone, wake up!” Honey whinnied. Daisy, Sparrow, and Fauna jerked their heads up to see that it was still dark outside. The other Onyx herd mares were up already.

“What’s wrong, Honey?” Daisy inquired. “Did something happen? And why did you wake us up at this time of night?”

“No time to explain now, Daisy,” the zebra dun Appaloosa replied. “Now hurry up! We must go. I’ll explain everything on the way. Quickly, quickly…”

Sparrow, Daisy, and Fauna exchanged unsure glances with one another as they joined the rest of the Onyx Herd and followed Honey away from their sleeping place and towards a grove of pine trees. Icicle and Jasmine were speaking to one another, occasionally glancing over at the three mares. Ember, with her ears swiveling around, kept watch for anything unusual. Impatient Fauna pinned her ears back when she spoke.

“Can someone please explain to me what is going on?” she demanded.

Jasmine shushed Fauna as her half-sister spoke. “Hold on, Fauna,” Icicle nickered. “When we reach the trees, Charcoal will explain what is happening.”

The three former Spruce Herd mares kept silent until the Onyx Herd reached the pine trees. Once there, Charcoal and Honey stood side by side and looked at their companions.

“Mares of the Onyx Herd,” Charcoal announced. “You know that each year, the horses in Valle de Luna have a celebration called Noche del Amante. This is where young stallions choose their mates. And the mares are not allowed to protest! This crude tradition has been going on for many, many springs, and after this spring, Noche del Amante will cease to be performed.”

“Why is that, Charcoal?” Sparrow inquired.

“This year, the Onyx Herd will be the ones ending it for good.” Charcoal smiled proudly. “This is how it’ll work: we will send one of us into Valle de Luna to spy on the herd that lives in there. Once that’s—”

“Wait a minute!” Fauna cried out. “Valle de Luna is forbidden to all equines! Besides, it is haunted by the spirits of the equines of the past.”

“Who cares?” Jasmine snorted. “Besides, we must fight to prove that mares can live in herds on their own, just like bachelor stallions can.”

“Yeah,” Icicle agreed. “And putting an end to Noche del Amante is going to be a big step for all of us in making equal rights for mares everywhere, especially those who live in Valle de Luna.”

“Well…uh, that’s good, but—” Fauna was at a loss for words. Icicle did have a point. But who was going to go into Valle de Luna to spy for them? Fauna wasn’t planning on being spooked to death by ghost horses, that’s for sure. If not her, then who?

“I’ll go.” It was Sparrow who spoke. Fauna and Daisy were appalled.

“What? Sparrow, you can’t!” Fauna cried.

“Yeah, what about getting revenge on Navajo for abandoning you?” Daisy inquired, her voice sounding quite mischievous. “You still have that to do.”

“My animus against Navajo and Swift will come another day,” Sparrow retorted. “Our new herd’s orders come first from now on for me. But I promise that I’ll make my half-brother pay for his absurdities.”

“Sparrow, you will be our spy?” Honey inquired. The flaxen chestnut mare nodded. “Very well, then.”

“When does she go?” Sundance asked the lead mare.

“Soon. Sparrow, you are to eat something so you won’t get hungry.”

The flaxen chestnut mare continued staring at the zebra dun Appaloosa. “What about getting something to drink?”

“Get a drink, too, for you will have enough energy to be on patrol. Charcoal, I want you to take her to the nearest source of water you can find. Everyone else must stay by these trees until sunrise. Understand?”

“Yes, Honey.”

Altair gazed at his reflection in the pool of water before him as the other young stallions his age slept underneath an elm tree. In the final hours before Noche del Amante, all the young horses joining in for this celebration are to keep away from their families and each other, according to gender.

“This isn’t fair at all,” the bay tobiano thought to himself. “My sister will have Zircon, Galaxy won’t even talk to me if I make her my mate, and Mars will have Saturn. And Capella…I thought she was going to be eager to be with me. We were close friends when we were young…but now it doesn’t seem so.”

Only a few hours ago, Altair had snuck away from the group to find Capella, hoping to talk some sense into her and see if he could join in at the last minute. But to his utter shock and disappointment, he caught Capella with Yildun, a bay roan with yellow hooves. They were touching noses and smiling at one another. Capella was fluttering her eyes at him, too.

“Capella doesn’t like me at all,” Altair sighed. “She’s probably better off with Yildun. No wonder she wouldn’t participate in Noche del Amante this year.” His head lifted. “I have to think of a way to make sure I don’t become mateless. But how?”

Altair paced back and forth. “Maia wants nothing to do with me, so maybe forcing her to be my mate isn’t a good idea. And since Capella was flirting with Yildun, asking her to join Noche del Amante is no longer an option. She might like him more.” He shook his mane.

“Altair! What’s going on over there? What are you speaking about?” The bay tobiano stallion nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard Mars’s voice.

“Oh…uh…nothing, half-brother,” Altair fibbed, his vermillion eyes darting to him.

“I know you’re up to something, Altair. You’d better not take Saturn as your mate tonight, or I will bring pain and suffering to you. In fact, I’ll make sure you’ll never live to see your child. Do you understand?”

“Yes, half-brother Mars.”

“Good. Now, go to sleep. We must be ready for tonight.” Altair kept still until he was sure the zebra dun Appaloosa fell asleep before turning his gaze to the trees.

“Father says that there’s no need to spread our bloodlines to the ones who live outside the valley,” he thought to himself. “But there are so many mares that live out there…wait! I’ve got it! I’ll go out of the valley tonight, find a mare, breed with her, but then I’ll take her home with me and say that she’ll be here to stay forever. After all, it might’ve worked with the Friesian ancestor on Proteus’s father’s side.” Altair nickered softly. “It’s perfect! I’ll still have a mate. Fare thee well, Capella; I need you no more. I hope you’ll be good with Yildun.” He trotted over to where his friends and half-brother were and fell asleep with them.

In the early light of dawn, Honey allowed Sparrow to go off into the woods, with the promise of the Onyx Herd awaiting her safe return. Daisy and Fauna hugged their friend goodbye before the young flaxen chestnut mare set off.

“Farewell Sparrow, daughter of Hawthorn and Wind!” Honey whinnied after her. “And good luck.” What they didn’t know was that it would be the last time they would see the flaxen chestnut mare as the way she was now.

Tall pine trees as well as sycamore and elm rose on either side of Sparrow as she began her trek into the valley. For a fleeting moment, she thought she heard Honey call out something to her, but she didn’t quite catch it.

When the flaxen chestnut mare was out of sight, Fauna and Daisy looked at Charcoal and Honey, who were standing side by side.

“What do you think will happen to her?” Fauna asked. “Everyone knows that Valle de Luna is home to the Supernova Herd!”

“Hopefully, she’ll stick to the trees and watch them for the entire day, then come back at nightfall and report to us,” Honey explained. “If something bad happens to her though…”

“No, don’t say that!” Daisy snapped, flaring her nostrils. “She will return.”

Sparrow jerked her head around when she heard a distant whinny. “H-Hello?” she called out. “Is…is anyone th-there?” Another whinny sounded out. The mare pinned her ears back. “Fauna, Daisy…if this is some kind of joke, then it’s not funny.” A third whinny sent her galloping forward in fear.

She dashed into a thicket and landed on her knees inside, breathing heavily. All around her were the distant neighs of horses…the ones that guarded Valle de Luna, perhaps?

“I can’t back out now,” Sparrow thought to herself. “The others are counting on me to get into the valley in one piece. But…who is out there?”

“H-Hello?” she called out again, emerging from the thicket. “Is anyone there? Hello?”

Fog crept towards Sparrow’s hiding spot, making her more nervous. She struggled out of the thicket, small cuts across her chest and forelegs thanks to the twigs, and galloped away.

“Come, we must go to graze,” Mars curtly ordered the other young stallions as they stood up. Altair held back. His half-brother glared at him.

“Altair, come.” The bay tobiano shook his head and replied, “I’ll stay behind. You go on ahead.” Mars snorted before giving Zircon a rough nip on his hindquarters and forcing him and the others away.

Altair stood all alone in the same place he and his companions slept, watching them go. As soon as they were gone, he turned his attention towards the foliage. “All I have to do is sneak out there, swipe a lone mare, and come back here before Noche del Amante,” he thought to himself. “If anyone asks, I’ll just say she’s very shy and quiet. That, or I’ll just hide her in the forest, away from the others. And once I make her my mate, they’ll have to let her stay.” With a nod of his head, Altair began walking into the forest, where outside the valley would roam thousands of mustangs…and his future mate.

He’d barely gotten into the coolness of the forest when he felt something slam into him. Altair let out a squeal of pain and shock as he tumbled over. For a few moments, he was completely dazed, but when he came to, the bay tobiano looked up at what had crashed into him and gasped.

A young mare his age was right in front of him, chestnut in color with a blond mane and tail. The only markings he saw on her body were a large, white star on her forehead and a stocking on her left hind leg. No colorful stripes ran through her mane, no ring around her legs.

A non-Supernovan mare.

Altair couldn’t believe this! He was expecting to go out of Valle de Luna to find a mate for himself…but this mare had come into the valley to him! Fate must’ve been favorable of him today, he decided.

“Hello, who are you?” he asked her. The chestnut gazed at him, unable to find any words. Altair tilted his head at her. “Hello? I asked—”

“Y-Y-You…” the mare stammered.

“You what?”

“Y-Y-You’re of the S-Supernova Herd…” The mare’s ears pinned themselves back.

“Yes, I am a member of the Supernova Herd,” Altair stated matter-of-factly. “I am the firstborn son of Leader Komarov and—”

“Altair, come over here, now!” Both became startled when they heard Mars’s shouts. Altair looked in the direction where he heard the call.

“Mars, what is your problem today?” the bay tobiano stallion thought to himself. When he looked back towards the chestnut mare, he was shocked to discover that she was gone.

“What? No, this can’t be!” Altair thought to himself, panicking. “She was right here heartbeats ago…how could she’ve fled that quick? I have to find her! I have to—”

“Altair, you better come here right now!” Mars whinnied at him. He was no more than five feet away from his half-brother, with Betelgeuse and Zircon standing on either side of him.

“Yeah, come on, Altair,” Zircon added. “Mars wants you to come with.”

“B-But…w-w-well, I—” The bay tobiano shut himself up when he saw the stern gaze of his half-brother. When he saw him give him that look, Altair knew it meant now. With a dejected sigh, he walked towards the others with his head low. The only thing on his mind was the lovely chestnut mare that he might never see again.

Sparrow hid herself in the trees, not believing what she’d just seen. She’d been running from the ghosts when all of a sudden, she collided into a stallion her age. But he wasn’t just any stallion.

“He was a Supernovan stallion,” she whispered. “A Supernovan stallion.” She could remember his wisteria eyes as they gazed into her own…so powerful.

And how timid she had been in front of him! Sparrow mentally kicked herself for that. Had she not been startled by the ghosts, Sparrow would probably have taken him hostage. Then she would’ve let him go if the Supernova Herd promised to never celebrate another Noche del Amante again. Yes, it would’ve been perfect had she not been so…stupid and cowardly.

“Now what do I do?” Sparrow thought to herself. “I don’t think I can go back to the others and tell them what I saw; Honey will be so disappointed.” But what if she could lure him back to the forest and then take him hostage from there?

“It might not be a bad idea,” the flaxen chestnut mused. “I’ll just bring that stallion to the others, they take him hostage, and then we’ll demand to the Supernova leader Konia or Kumar or whatever he was called to end Noche del Amante in exchange for his safe return.” She smiled to herself. “This could still work.”

“What do you suppose Sparrow is doing right now?” Daisy asked Fauna, who merely shrugged in reply. The two were still with the rest of the Onyx Herd.

Icicle and Jasmine grazed nearby as Honey and Charcoal kept watch for bachelor herds. Ember and Snowcap, meanwhile, were engaging in quiet conversation as they groomed themselves. The sun was presenting itself to whoever saw it as it began its trek skyward once again, as it had done for past generations.

“Going into the valley, no duh,” Sundance stated stolidly as she trotted up to the two, her sister River close to her side. “What did you think she was doing? She’s on a mission for the Onyx Herd. She should not being doing anything else but be focused on what was assigned to her.”

“Yeah, but I’m worried for her,” Fauna said, standing up. “Daisy and I have been friends with Sparrow ever since her half-brother, our ex-herd’s leader, brought us into her herd. If you’ve heard the stories of the Supernova Herd—”

“Not many of them,” River piped up. “In our birth herd, Sundance and I barely got a single snippet of information off the Supernova Herd from our elders, who said that they were like gods. The only ones who’ve told us about them were Charcoal and Honey.”

“Well, in case if you haven’t heard about them…” The bay roan mare began to tell Sundance and River as much knowledge she gained on of the famed but never seen herd, adding that once you wandered into their territory, you were never seen again.

“Do you think that’ll happen to your friend?” River whispered as she got close to Fauna. Sundance rolled her eyes and chided her sister for getting too close to the new mares.

“We hope not,” Daisy murmured in reply. “As Fauna mentioned, she, Sparrow, and I were friends from the start.”

Flashback, Seven Months Ago

Fauna and Daisy walked side by side through the snowfall as the black overo Navajo marched behind them, making sure neither of them ran for it. Minutes ago, the two mares were biting down on what grass they could find when he came up from behind them and ordered them to start moving. Daisy looked over her shoulder at Navajo and nervously asked, “Where are you taking us?”

“Hush up, goldie,” Navajo snorted, giving her a nip on the hindquarters. “I’m taking you two to my herd, where you will be welcomed by my lead mare, Swift, the most gorgeous mare in the land. She will explain what she and I expect of you.”

“It might not be so bad, Daisy,” Fauna assured her. “We’ve been looking for a herd since we me up at—” She was also silenced by a nip on the hindquarters.

At last, the two reached a grove of fir trees, where a silver buckskin mare stood waiting.

“Swift, I’ve returned with two new mares,” Navajo neighed. Swift nodded and paced up to the two.

“Good day, new mares,” Swift promulgated. Within the trees, Fauna could spot five other mares peering through the fir needles at the newcomers. “My name is Swift, and I am the lead mare of the Spruce Herd. Who are you two, and where were you from?”

“I am Daisy, from the Butte Herd,” the buckskin sabino proclaimed, raising her head.

“And my name’s Fauna, from the Burdock Herd, which was named after my great-grandsire,” added the bay roan, her attention on the other horses in the trees. Swift frowned at her before giving Fauna a sharp nip on the withers.

“Don’t look away when you talk to your lead mare; it isn’t polite!” the asparagus-eyed mare snapped before changing her tone to a softer one. “Now, since you are both new members in the Spruce Herd, you must know the rules. One: you are fully aware that if you try to run away from the herd, Navajo will make you come back and punish you for it, so don’t try anything. Second: we are strict when it comes to obedience, so if I ever speak to you, you are to keep silent and listen, and if Navajo speaks to you, you both are to do the same thing. Do not speak unless you are spoken to. Third: in the breeding season, you are to be good mares if our leader chooses you to carry an offspring of his. No biting or kicking or anything, or it will not be a pleasant experience. And one last thing: you must refer to me and Navajo as ‘Leader Navajo’ and ‘Leader Swift,’ respectively. We’ll correct you if you forget. Do you two understand?”

“Yes, Leader Swift,” Fauna and Daisy chimed. Navajo nodded at them and ordered Swift to go and introduce them to the other mares while he patrolled the area for lone stallions and cougars.

“Follow me, please.” Swift led them into the grove, where the five mares murmured their welcomes to them. But it was here that Fauna spotted a sixth mare, a flaxen chestnut to be exact, at the other end of the grove, her copper eyes watching them.

“Leader Swift, who is that?” Fauna inquired. Swift glared at the flaxen chestnut mare before gazing at Fauna.

“Oh, don’t mind that fleabag, Fauna,” Swift explained as she shook her mane of some snowflakes. “Her name is Sparrow, and she’s Navajo’s annoying younger half-sister.”

“That little pest has been a part of the Spruce Herd since the day she was born,” a mare called out.

“Yes, indeed,” added another. “This is hers as well as Leader Navajo’s birth herd. Our leader has had a hard time chasing her out. She refuses to leave for some reason.” The first mare gazed at Sparrow and snorted.

“She’s an incompetent fool,” the mare called Autumn sneered. When she looked at Daisy and Fauna, she smiled in a polite fashion and added, “I hope she won’t be so much trouble to you two. If she is, you come get me and I’ll report to Leader Navajo, and he’ll take care of her. Okay?”

“Uh…yes,” Fauna said. Autumn smiled at the two newcomers before sending Sparrow a dirty look. The flaxen chestnut mare sighed and looked away.

Once Swift introduced Fauna and Daisy to their new companions, she went off to guard the grove (or at least their section, since Sparrow was not allowed near anyone else). The rest of the Spruce Herd mares and the three foals that had been born earlier in the year huddled together for warmth as Fauna and Daisy gazed at the half-sister to their new herd’s leader.

“Daisy, Fauna; aren’t you going to join us?” inquired a silver black mare named Jana.

“Yes, come here and keep warm with all of us,” Autumn said.

“Uh…no, we’ll be fine,” Daisy quickly replied.

“Yeah, we’ll be okay,” Fauna agreed. “We may be new to this herd, but don’t go worrying for us already.”

“But don’t go wandering off, you hear?” one of the mares demanded. “Leader Navajo won’t like it.”

Fauna and Daisy moved away from the group and towards Sparrow, whose eyes widened when they reached her.

“A-Aren’t you two going to join the others?” was the first thing that left the flaxen chestnut’s lips. “They…they told you about me, didn’t they? How I am a nuisance?”

“Of course,” Fauna responded.

“But aren’t you cold, too?” Daisy asked. Sparrow nodded. “When my half-brother brought the herd to this grove earlier today, he said I could come in, but not get anywhere near his mares,” she explained. “If I did, Autumn would snitch on me to Swift.”

Fauna snorted. “We don’t care; all we care of is that you are going to freeze to death,” she said before she and Daisy stood on either side of Sparrow. After a long moment, Daisy asked the flaxen chestnut about her past. But before Sparrow could begin, Autumn cantered over to them, emitting a whinny.

“No, you two!” she snapped. “Back away from Sparrow right this instant! Bad mares!”

“Autumn, please,” Daisy begged. “Let us stay near this one for a little while. Please? We’ll join you and the others when Leaders Swift and Navajo return.”

Autumn looked at the trio, frowning. “Well, they might get in trouble with Leader Navajo, anyway,” she thought to herself.

“All right,” she sighed, which pleased the newcomers as well as Sparrow. “You two can stick together…for now. But if Leader Navajo or Leader Swift catches you three together, the whole lot of you will be punished. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Autumn,” they chimed.

“…We should look for her,” Fauna said to Daisy. “Maybe something bad has happened.” The buckskin sabino nodded in agreement.

“No, you two,” River said. “Honey only sent Sparrow and no one else.”

“That’s right,” Sundance agreed. “Our leader has not proposed a rescue mission. Besides, it’s just begun. So just stay with us for now; your friend will return, safe and sound.”

Neither of them knew what to expect in the hours to come.