Text Bid for Bagliore Saddlebred import #13

Aponi held Helen several metres away from the Bagliore Saddlebred portal, waiting in anticipation for the new Saddlebreds to come out onto Earth. But these weren’t just any old Saddlebreds. These horses were special mutations unique to Bagliores.

Several weeks earlier, the Bagliore Saddlebred Registration had sent out invitations to all of the horse owners, telling them about this special event. Members were invited to bring their own Bagliores to partake in this day. So Aponi had bought tickets to fly down from Canada to Puerto Rico for herself and Helen. She just hoped that the plane would be high-class enough for Helen, who was pickier than some humans about her accommodations.

The low chatter that had spread through the crowd was instantly hushed as the president of the Bagliore Saddlebred Registry came onto the stage near the portal. She cleared her throat and smiled. “Hello everyone! Thank you all for coming to this very special day! It makes me so happy to see all of you and your horses here. I expect all of you know what will be happening today, but I will talk a little bit more about it just to refresh all of your memories.” She went on to explain what was going to happen that day, then she talked about the types of mutations they were going to see, such as the rust mutation and the jeweled mutation. Finally, she clapped her hands and asked, “Who’s ready to see some horses?”

In reply, she got a chorus of cheers from the crowd.

The group of people and horses craned their necks to see the horses as they came out. The first horse, a rust mutation, was lead out. Aponi looked at Helen to see the mare’s reaction, as she was thinking about bringing one of these horses home.  The dunalino seemed bored, flicking her ear dismissively at the rust Saddlebred.

Several more horses were lead out, each posing elegantly as they stepped outside. Some of the studs even looked Helen’s way, but she pinned her ears at all of them. Aponi patted her mare’s neck a bit sadly. She had really been hoping to bring back a friend for Helen.

“And now for the last horse, a lovely blending mutation stallion!” the president called out. Aponi wasn’t very interested, but looked up anyway, craning her neck to try and see over a few people; her 5’1” frame wasn’t helpful in these situations.

The stallion stepped out of the portal, considerably wilder than the rest. Aponi felt her breath catch in her throat at the sight of his gleaming chestnut coat. His flaxen mane and tail blew softy in the warm air, and his blue markings shone. He took high, prancing steps and had pulled his lead rope as tight as it would go; his handler was having a bit of trouble with him. As the stallion passed them , he swung his neck around and neighed loudly. Helen had her ears perked right up, and was nickering deeply. The two horses reached forward and touched noses like old friends. Neither pulled away, they just stood there, blowing in each others noses. Finally, the handler pulled the stud away. Immediately both horses became upset, the stallion half rearing and tossing his head; Helen straining to get back to him. Aponi wondered what their story was…

Back in the Dimension, two young horses played. One was a dunalino overo filly; the other a blending flaxen chestnut colt. They had been born in around the same time, and were the only two foals in the herd. The colt’s mother had immigrated from another herd, bringing with her a unique colt. As time went by, the two young horses grew closer, soon doing everything together; exploring, playing in the creeks, even racing each other.
But as time goes on, young ones grow up. Soon it was time for them to leave their herd. Neither of them wanted to leave the other, their bond was so strong. They bid farewell to their families and headed off to start their own lives.

They found a nice area to claim as their own and settled down. They did gain a few more horses, mostly pairs of mates. In time, the two founding horses decided to become mates as well, and lead their herd well for several years. The other herd members had foals of their own, but the leaders never did.

Life was happy, calm and peaceful for these horses. One day, the herd was all out grazing. Suddenly, strange forms appeared over the hills. Some of the horses looked up, but none were really bothered; the creatures were far enough away not to pose a threat. But they began to creep closer and closer. Soon, they were very close, and before any horse could move, they had lassoed a bay mare, who cried out in alarm.
The horses heads all snapped up, and the blending leader called out the signal to run. The group took off, galloping top speed, long manes and tails flying. The strange beings captured two more horses, a grey stallion and a pinto mare. The blending horse started towards to creatures to help his herd mates, but the dunalino mare blocked him off. Go, she said. Care for the others. I will save them. He looked at her and briefly touched his muzzle to hers before running off. She turned towards them and reared up, front hooves slicing the air. She lunged at the beings, calling out fiercely. She managed to free the bay and had knocked down one of the creatures before she felt something rough coil around her neck. She reared up again before two more attached themselves around her front legs, pulling her towards the ground. She hit it with a thud, and when she tried to get back up she felt two more go around her hind legs.

The blending stallion watched all of this happen, and called out in fear as he galloped towards his mate. But all he saw before the world went black was a long silver stick being pointed at him and his mare struggling with vine-like things wrapped around her, calling out in trepidation.

When he awoke, his mare and the two other herd members were gone. He and the remaining herd searched for them, but they were never found. When they stopped the search, he hung is head in defeat, wondering where his beloved mare had gone and if he would ever see her again.

Helen still hadn’t settled after seeing the stallion. He nostrils flared, she had her head high and was looking around for him. Aponi set off to find him again. He was in a stall in the large barn, kicking and calling. Helen pulled free of Aponi’s hold and cantered over to him, nickering and blowing happily in his nostrils. Aponi caught up to Helen and grabbed her lead rope, scolding the mare, who paid her no heed.

Aponi shook her head. I wonder, she thought. What is your story?

The president came over to her as she stood by the stall. Aponi started to apologize for Helen’s behavior, but she held up her hand. “No, that’s not it. I was just wondering if you noticed how they acted around each other. It’s quite bizarre, almost like long-lost friends or something. Very human. Most people don’t think horses have the same emotions as us, but I don’t know…these two seem to defy that idea. ” She smiled and patted Helen’s shoulder. “Anyway, if he ends up being one of the horses for sale, I think you will have first call. I don’t usually do things like this, but I feel an exception is due…they seem to share a history. I’ll see you two around, I’m sure. Goodbye and have a lovely day.”  She turned to leave, and called back over her shoulder: “Wouldn’t it be ironic if they turned out to be from the same herd, but we just didn’t know it?”

Aponi stared after her for some time, then looked back at the two Bagliore Saddlebreds before her, eyes half closed, heads side by side. “Wouldn’t it just be ironic…” she murmured to herself.