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Back in the cavern, Rosehoof asked Ironhoof, "Do you want me to stay or go?"

The white filly whickered warmly, "I'd acshally'd rather ya stayed, Rosehoof. I ... I like ya ..."

Rosehoof smiled, walked over to Ironhoof and nuzzled the side of Ironhoof's muzzle. "I like you too, Ironhoof," she whickered.

The white filly and palomino mare simultaneously shifted their muzzles and exchanged breath with one another.

Amid the breath-exchange, Rosehoof whicker-whispered to Ironhoof, "Do you ... desire me?"

"Yes," the filly whickered back.

"I desire you," Rosehoof whickered back, "in a way I'd only desired a stallion ... and you're a mare ..."

"I'm yet a filly," Ironhoof reminded Rosehoof.

"Do you feel you are ... too young?" Rosehoof whickered, still engaged in her breath exchange.

In the darkness, Ironhoof's eyes gazed deeply into Rosehoof's. "I old enough t'kill t'defend my own life," she answered as her heart began pounding, "I'm old enough t'love ..." The white mustang cupped her lips around the palomino mare's lower lip and probed her tongue along Rosehoof's lip and lightly sucking the lip between her teeth.

Rosehoof opened her muzzle wide, cupped her upper lip over Ironhoof's nostrils, and squeezed down her own lower lip with her tongue, probing it between Ironhoof's teeth and into Ironhoof's muzzle.

Ironhoof whinneyed softly and slackened her teeth-hold of Rosehoof's lower lip, letting slip Rosehoof's tongue further into her muzzle in an intimate kiss.

The sounds and activity between the two horses could no longer translate into dialog; the intimacy transcended well beyond friendship into the deepest love. Two young and innocent souls, known to one another in the physical realm mere days, melded as though the days and years lived already and the days and years yet lived by either were congruent and simultaneous.

The Great Mother above and Quantus, the newest of the Great Mother's herd, rejoiced in sharing the larger melding of spirit bound to the youths' joining of physical form. Intimate kiss and touching between Ironhoof and Rosehoof spawned shining warmth to The Great Mother, Quantus and their herd above.

Though neither Ironhoof nor Rosehoof were coherently nor cohesively aware of this, their passion flared in their kiss, side-brush, tail-nuzzle and beyond brought their own forms their first taste of a much deeper existence than the physical. Like a foal's first vision after emerging from its damsel's womb, Ironhoof and Rosehoof's glimpse into the realm home to the Great Mother's herd was blurred and distorted at best, its brilliance too bright for their perception and denying either conscious perception of anything beyond each other and their love for one another.

The Great Healer, too, felt the warmth, for the pair's lovemaking was in a physical cavern her spirit inhabited. The Healer's and the Mother's herds both celebrated the event not often shared between the fairer equine sex.

It was not until the breaking of dawn the the pair returned to awareness of the physical realm. Rosehoof trotted around Ironhoof's rump, marvelling the new taste on her tongue, and trotted around to stand brushed against Ironhoof's side, shoulder to shoulder.

Ironhoof, for her part, savored the flavor on her own tongue. As though on cue with the first rays of sunlight streaking into the canyon, a set of hoofclops echoed into the cavern from the trail leading up into it.

"Its Shoshone," Rosehoof broke the silence, recognizing the hoofsteps.

Streaks of Ironhoof's blood from her wolf-inflicted wounds uncovered from the darkness upon Rosehoof's side, smeared onto her from their intimate touch.

Ironhoof turned to whicker something to Rosehoof when she noticed the 'evidence' and couldn't help but grin and chuckle looking at the bloodstreaks on Rosehoof's side.

Rosehoof whuffled, "What?" trying to figure out what Ironhoof found so entertaining. She turned her head back, following Ironhoof's gaze, and noticed the streaks. "Oh, DUNGHEAP!" she barely managed keeping to a whisper as Shoshone clopped ever closer up the trail.

The morning sunlight could not directly probe into the cavern because of its angle, but the brilliance of the sky and the far canyon wall lit by the light of just after dawn provided sufficient illumination to make the side-by-side pair visible (and, of course, the 'evidence').

Shoshone's muzzle appeared first to the pair, clipped by the edge of the cavern and the trail's dropoff from the relatively level floor of the cavern, leafy stems planted in her mane. She paused as she looked into the cavern, seeing Ironhoof awake standing beside Rosehoof. "Good morning," she whickered and clopped the rest of the way into the cavern. "You shoulda slept," she turns to Ironhoof, "rest is a very important ... uhhh ..." her voice trailed off a bit as she noticed the bloodstreaks on Rosehoof's side.

Rosehoof's head drooped guiltily at Shoshone's shifting gaze, Shoshone in utter confusion until she gave a further regard to Rosehoof's droop.

The impossible leapt into Shoshone's muzzle. "I don't suppose you tried rubbing the blood off her," Shoshone whickered to the young palomino mare.

"'Twas my idea," Ironhoof whickered, trying to take the fall, not wanting Rosehoof troubled for what Ironhoof getting what she wanted. "I ... desired ..."

"... no ..." Shoshone grunted. "It isn't ... by Mother ... by the Great Healer ... by ... by ..." The elder mare snorted, echoed in odd distortion off the cavern walls. "You..." she turns to the white filly.

Shoshone stomped a forehoof in frustration, then trotted around Ironhoof and Rosehoof in a circle. Neither of the pair budged aside from Ironhoof turning her head to follow Shoshone's movement around them; Rosehoof kept her head low and pointed ahead.

"I promised our herd would see your injuries through, Ironhoof, and we shall ... but when you're healed, I want to never hear from you again. As for you, Rosehoof Greenlife..."

Rosehoof drooped her head even lower ... her full name getting addressed meant serious trouble.

"I'm the lead, by the Great Healer..." Shoshone began to cursedly use the spirit's name in vane when a thunderous roar erupted around them, the entire cavern shook and bits of dust and small bits of rock fell from the ceiling, startling are but inciting the most fear in Ironhoof, setting her nerves over the edge and the filly bucked and kicked the air, sprang out of the cavern and turned to face back toward Shoshone and Rosehoof from outside, Shoshone and Rosehoof still within the cavern and stunned.

"Great Healer?" Shoshone asked as the shaking calmed and she looked upon the ceiling above her. "Do I speak badly?" the green canyon lead and healer asked.

"The spirits were with us," Rosehoof dared to whicker. "I felt them."

"Who are you to speak for them!" Shoshone whinneyed loudly to the palomino mare, the shaking promptly resuming for several more moments. "You ... you ..." Shoshone puffed in surprise "... you do speak for the Great Healer!" Shoshone looked to Rosehoof, clopping to nuzzle her, tears welled in her eyes. "Rosehoof," she cried, "I ... I am sorry ... you are correct ... the spirits were with you ... I ... this is ......"

Rosehoof's head rose not the slightest inch as a tear streamed from her own eye.

"Don't you cry," Shoshone whisper-cried to her apprentice. "Not when the spirits are with you..."

Ironhoof scraped the ground with a forehoof uncertainly. She felt angry with Shoshone for daring to tell her or anyone else what kind of love was wrong, but felt too weak and caught to back her anger up with her hooves.

"I ... don't understand ... but they are with you," Shoshone continued.

"I love Ironhoof," Rosehoof declared at last, looking out of the cavern to Ironhoof, their eyes locking from some twenty yards.

Shoshone turned her own head back to look at Ironhoof.

"Ironhoof ... I apologize," Shoshone whickered. "Nothing in my life has prepared me for this ... it feels unnatural to me ... but the spirits deem it right for you two. I ... I don't know quite what to do. You ..." she turned her head to glance between both of them from the periphery of her vision "... both must find your path from here."

Rosehoof finally lifted her muzzle with tears still dripping from her eyes, and nuzzled her mentor. "Heal Ironhoof," she whickered simply.

Shoshone nodded her head. "Of course ... of course ..." she whispered back, then shifted her gaze back to Ironhoof. "Ironhoof, come, let me heal your injuries ... I take back what I said ... I apologize," she pleaded to the white filly. "I'll not anger the Great Healer again."

Ironhoof strutted back into the cavern, not hiding her confident assertion in her righteousness. "I love you," she finally returned the palomino's declaration.

Shoshone clopped to meet Ironhoof as Ironhoof stopped in the cavern and she whickered to Ironhoof, "This bite to your neck is your worst," and gently nuzzled up at a large scab on the under-foreside of Ironhoof's neck. Shoshone flicked her tongue at the injury to gently clean off the scab. A scar emerged underneath the scab from Shoshone's cleaning. "Huh?" Shoshone whickered loudly in confusion. "So quickly?" she nipped off the rest of the scab, revealing a clean scar, no open wound or bleeding. "I ... this ... incredible ..."

"Shoshone?" Rosehoof whickered, mystified. "We both saw that yesterday ... it was bleeding very actively ... I don't get it ... how could it have healed without your even doing anything?" Rosehoof looked to the herb-bundles that had been prepared; she they wouldn't have been enough to stopped Ironhoof's bleeding, but besides which, in her and Ironhoof getting caught up in one another, Ironhoof hadn't even consumed them!

Shoshone turned her head from Ironhoof's neck to look Rosehoof in the eye as Ironhoof looked on at both of them, trying to figure out what was going on. "It must have been you, last night. You must have worked healing power ... much, much stronger than anything I ... nor any healer I have ever heard of ... could wield."

Rosehoof marvels for a moment in awe at the thought she could be so powerful. "But ... no ... I didn't even try ... we were just ... we ..."

Shoshone turned to look Ironhoof in the eye. "With my best skill, it would have taken days just stop your bleeding ... weeks before you would have been ready to travel ... but you are fully healed after just one night. Whatever you and Shoshone did ... it brought the Healer in the cavern here with you ... only she herself, acting directly ... something I've never heard of her doing ... could have done this. Do you feel any pain?" the elder mare asked, her voice excited but somewhat rational.

Ironhoof looked back to the spot she sprang to and realized, for the first time, she had no pain in the fast move that she knows should have hurt. Even the mild bruising she sometimes got when she played rough with Flamehoof would leave her sore for days sometimes when she tried to move. "None ... I feel okay," she whickered.

"Well I'll be a raccoon's aunt!" Shoshone delcared. "You're healed ... all you need is a good bath to wash off the dried blood." Looking between the two of them. "As to how it happened ... well ... if I had any lingering doubts about the spirits having been with you ... that ... well ... that dispelled it. I ... still don't feel quite right with it ... and I'd appreciate it if neither of you spoke of this to the rest of the herd, especially Bolt."

Ironhoof turned her head to look back at the black mare. "Mebbe I should juss' leave?"

Shoshone shook her head. "Please ... you should at least meet the herd ... they all know about the wolves and all want to at least see you. They might be disappointed if you don't stay ... but ... you more than earned your right to do as you please with us."

Ironhoof whickered to the black mare, "I ... err ... yer stallion ... tried t'be nice ... I juss' ... well y'know a li'l what I been keepin' t'myself ... its who I am ... all of it."

Shoshone closed her eyes and went silent for a moments, then with her eyes still closed whickered back, "The Great Mother was with you as well ... and another with the Great Mother, one I had not seen ... a large white horse ... a mare ..."

"Quantus," Ironhoof shuddered. "She ... she was with us?"

"Yes, Quantus, a spirit I do not know ... I thought you spoke with no spirit?" Shoshone's eyes finally opened asking this question.

"She ... she wasn't a spirit when I knew her," Ironhoof explained. "She ... she meant a lot t'me ... she tried t'do as I thought t'do, as I am doin' now, but cougars got her ..." Ironhoof cried, the first time Ironhoof had done so since leaving Bronze Valley. She'd cried for days after Quantus' death, but dealing with Flamehoof's blaming her took away her time for guilt. "'Twas 'cause of m'tellin' her she could liberate herself ..."

"Shhh ... shhh ... shhh, filly," Shoshone arched her head over the back of Ironhoof's neck in an equine hug. "... don't ... don't blame yourself. I couldn't fully understand the Great Mother's message as she gave it to me just a few moments ago, Ironhoof, but I do now ... you didn't fail in liberating Quantus, you succeeded ... you broke a heavy chain that a mare of every generation in your herd has suffered, over and over ... you freed Quantus of that chain, letting fate guide her to the Great Mother's herd, and you freed yourself, guided to us, your ultimate destiny ... even the Great Mother doesn't yet know herself. You did as you should have. The Great Mother regrets she hasn't it within herself to speak with you directly, nor does Quantus, but you will find some to help you speak with them. For their message today, it was me."

Ironhoof's eyes glimmered from her tears and a newfound spirit within herself.

Shoshone closed her eyes again, as though called back to something. "'You are your own horse. You are not owned nor ruled by any being. No being owned or ruled by any other being truly lives to you. No being ruled by testicles truly lives for you. You are neither ruled by nor shall you rule others. You are your own horse.'"

The words stiffened Ironhoof's spirit to solid and strong, her tears ceased in an instant. "Who ... who gave the words t'ya ... I never been told 'em ... but they're my heart, my soul, my mantra, my bein'?" the filly asked.

Shoshone re-opened her eyes and looked into Ironhoof's eyes to answer question. "Quantus ... they're her liberation to you over the guilt you feel for her and her son. They are strength you give yourself, Ironhoof." Shoshoned idly clopped around the cavern, turned toward the cavern wall and examined a small crack formed within it when the cavern shook earlier. "I guess all that needed to be done here has been done," she turned her head toward Ironhoof and Rosehoof. "Let's go see the herd ... they're grazing by the lakeshore," she smiled. "Haven't been able to graze there in a long time thanks to the wolves ... its a sort of celebration."

"Grass is good there ... and you can wash the blood off in the lake," Rosehoof chimed a whicker in, her warm gaze directed at Ironhoof betraying a terrible struggle the young palomino started fighting within herself ... she grew up in the lush Green Canyon, came to know and love the herd and came to love and admire Shoshone, excited to learn from one who speaks with not just the Great Healer but the Great Mother as well ... and as she transitioned from mare to filly looked forward to having a foal her own within the herd. Out of the blue, a white filly saved the herd ... and utterly tossed her own life into chaos. Rosehoof felt torn between her new, unexpected but no less real, intense and deep love for Ironhoof and her love of Green Canyon and the herd she had grown up with and never before considered leaving.

"Ya can wash my blood off ya there too," Ironhoof chuckle-whickered back to the palomino with no sense of the storm brewing within Rosehoof.

Shoshone led the way, trotted a good clip out of the cavern and down the path and Ironhoof merrily started after her when she sensed hesitation in the third horse ... the horse she loved no less intensely than Rosehoof loved back.

Rosehoof could no longer contain the growing pain. "Ironhoof," she sobbed, looking teary-eyed to the white filly, "I love you..."

Ironhoof shook her head, uncertain what the matter could be. "I love ya, Rosehoof, very deeply. Why the tears?"

"I don't know if I can go with you when you leave ... I don't know if I can leave Shoshone and my friends behind here," she sobbed, tears streaming down her muzzle.

Ironhoof stood flabbergasted. "I ... didn't think o'that ..." she whickered and clopped up to face her lover, arched her neck around Rosehoof's in an assuring hug. "I'm sorry ... I didn't mean t'bring ya' t'such a hard choice ..."

"I know, I know you didn't, Ironhoof," the palomino buried her dampening muzzle in Ironhoof's forechest.

By then, Shoshone had realized neither of them had followed and the echo of her hoofsteps resonated in the cavern. Her head appeared and she gazed in, noticed the lovers having a difficult moment, and decided to butt out. She trotted back down the trail a ways to wait for them.

Ironhoof, not knowing what more to say, stood in the hug and let her lover's tears soak into her fur. "I love ya, Rosehoof," she voiced, wishing very much the palomino would go with her, knowing she'd feel lonely on her journey now that she had love just to lose it.

"I don't want to be apart from you, Ironhoof ... you touch my spirit on a deep level that's never been touched before ... but I don't want to be apart from the herd, either ... I also know you can't stay with the herd. No way for me to be with both you and the herd," Rosehoof snuffled, her tears slowed but not stopped.

Ironhoof felt the crush herself a bit. For Ironhoof, the decision to leave her herd hadn't even been that ... the herd ejected her, though she already had it in her mind to liberate herself. Her mother was the only link left in her herd, and though Ironhoof knew she'd miss Sweetclover, she had a much stronger urge pulling her away from the herd that feared and blamed her for Quantus' and Flamehoof's deaths.

"I need some time alone, Ironhoof ... I should wash up myself anyway, I'll do it in a place I like to think, up the canyon at the base of the waterfall," Rosehoof whickered, looking into Ironhoof's eyes.

"Ya sure?" Ironhoof whickered, more wanting to be with Rosehoof than be the center of attention for the herd.

"I must figure this one out for myself."

Ironhoof took her turn to sniffle and rubbed the side of her muzzle along the side of Rosehoof's. "I won't go 'til ya decide ... don't matter t'me if ya need a day, a moon ..."

Rosehoof looked even more intently. "No matter what I decide," she whuffles, "I know I'll never find another love as deep as my love for you."

Ironhoof broke into her own tears. "Oh, Rosehoof..." she sobbed. "I ... I wish this weren't s'hard ..." Not knowing anything else to be said, the white filly glumly turned around after several minutes and slowly clopped away.

The elderly black mare stood waiting not far down the trail, close to the 'T' they had come up.

"She's trying to figure out whether to stay with us or go with you?" Shoshone asked.

Ironhoof said nothing, but bobbed her head.

Shoshone grunted as she led the way back down the path leading away from the cliff, as Rosehoof took the other path along the base of the canyon toward the waterfall. Shoshone led Ironhoof down the path toward the lake ... how could Rosehoof even consider it when she and Ironhoof only knew each other two days? How could intense love take hold of Rosehoof so quickly that it could measure up against the friendship between herself and the palomino, or Rosehoof's bond with her own mother for that matter, or any of her friends? Shoshone whickered not a word of these thoughts, as she knew from Ironhoof's demeanor the white filly was torn up enough herself. Love at first light? One night mares bound to inseparability? The thoughts weighed on Shoshone as the scent of the herbs in her mane distracted her ... she'd forgotten them; she'd gathered them for Ironhoof ... though they clearly weren't needed now. As they didn't keep well for long, Shoshone arched her head back as she continued leading the way down the trail toward the lake, pulling the herbal leaf stems from her mane and tossing them into the brush.

Racer was the first they met.

"Shoshone? Back so so... Ironhoof?" the scout looked on in surprise. "By the Great Healer, Shoshone ... you've outdone yourself!"

"Gather the herd," Shoshone whickered to Racer, trying to raise her downed tone to pleasant. "So they can meet Ironhoof."

Racer, true to her name, galloped away at a good clip, whinneying to the herd to gather as Shoshone and Ironhoof reached the point where the trail opened up to the field along the lakeshore Ironhoof had followed Rosehoof across just the day before ... hard to believe it was only a day; felt nearly a lifetime ago to Ironhoof. So much had happened ...

The herd gathered around Bolt, who looked more than a little flabbergasted to see the Ironhoof trotting at a good, healthy clip ... he gave her injuries a good lookover himself.

"Ugh," Ironhoof whickered, "I already met him. Can't Bolt go 'n do whatever 'tis ball-brains do?"

Shoshone whickered to Ironhoof, "Bolt is our lead, Ironhoof, he's done well looking after us. I'd appreciate it if you could show him a little respect." She's grown short again with Ironhoof, a bit jealous that Ironhoof affected Rosehoof so strong, so quickly.

The filly grunted, "Didija know he wanted t'replace ya with me? He boasted that t'try 'n get me t'stay."

Shoshone halted her trot, came to a stop and Ironhoof pulled up beside her, bringing the older black mare and white filly to stand shoulder-to-shoulder. Each turned their head to the other, then Shoshone turned her head to look at Bolt. "He did, did he?" If what Ironhoof said were true, something of her nature might make sense. Shoshone felt disheartened at the notion of Bolt seeking to replace her with some filly ... "Thinking with his balls, most likely. Usually he thinks better than that." Whether this was meant to assure Ironhoof or reassure herself, Shoshone herself did not know.

The gathering herd eyed the white filly standing beside their lead mare, whickering back and forth below what any of them could hear ... the one that slayed the six Golden Ridge wolves. A filly, by Mother! How could this possibly be true? But clearly visible were the scars telling of her fight.

Finally, Bolt whinneyed to Ironhoof and pulled his head back in a 'Come out here' motion.

"Do I gotta do this?" Ironhoof grunteded to Shoshone.

Shoshone turned to Ironhoof, grinned and nudged her. "Its the price of being a heroine."

"I can't stop thinkin' 'bout Rosehoof," Ironhoof whickered. "I ... errr ... guess ya can't understand."

Shoshone's demeanor grew stern and assertive. "She must decide on her own what's right for her, Ironhoof." The words she gave, the black mare realized, she should listen to herself. "Green Canyon is important to her ... I'm rather amazed she'd even consider ... but, then, you're right, I can't fully understand the power you have over her heart."

Ironhoof wished she could convey to Shoshone and others, but all she's ever known within a herd is how much she can not convey how truly deep her feelings and thoughts are, and how they are not merely ingrained imprints, but rather the very core of her soul. Certainly Rosehoof felt it ... there could be no denial between Ironhoof and Rosehoof of the previous night's events. Ironhoof found her gaze wandering back behind her, up the canyon toward the waterfall in the distance. Ironhoof couldn't know, of course, what it was like up there at the base of that waterfall ... but she knew Rosehoof was up there, and that was enough for Ironhoof to want to be there more than anywhere else. Instead, however, Rosehoof desired solitude ... understandable, but even understanding it did nothing to ebb Ironhoof's desire to just be with her.

Shoshone brought Ironhoof's thoughts away from that pool she has never even seen with a nip at her shoulder. "Ironhoof, Rosehoof must decide on her own what's right for her. My herd wants to see you ... it'll help get your mind off her."

Ironhoof turned her head to again look at Shoshone. "I'm sorry," she whickered sorrowfully, then shifted her gaze back to Bolt and the waiting mares, fillies and colts of the herd with a whuffled sigh. Reluctantly, she trudged forward to meet them.