This story is rated G. Anybody can read it, all ages.
Prologue[]
As dawn swept over the little farm,the animals began to stir.Inside the large barn,in a stall at the end of the row,a mare was lying.
A foal was at his mother's side.Struggling to stand on his thin legs,the colt stumbled into the hay.His fuzzy brown coat made him a beautiful chestnut,in contrast to the piebald color of his mother.
Kaylie watch the colt take his first wobbly steps.
“Pa,"she said softly,“What we gonna call 'im?"
Papa,a smile on his face,said in a hushed voice,“You can name him,Kaylie."
The girl pushed her dark black hair out of her face,tan from being in the sun.Trying to take in every aspect of the foal,she watched,mesmerized,as he unfolded his fuzzy wings,still covered in baby fluff.His feathers would match his chestnut coat,she was sure.
Fierce Beauty,the mare,stood beside her baby,between him and her owners,as if worried they may hurt him.
“Could call 'im Eagle,"Papa said absent mindedly.
Kaylie thought for a minute.“Soaring Eagle.That's what we'll call him."
The foal moved behind his mother,peering out from behind her as if sensing he had been named.Soaring Eagle snorted as Kaylie left the barn that night.
Chapter 1[]
Kaylie heard a sharp sound from the paddock where Beauty and her foal were grazing.The girl took off,her braid flying behind her.
Breathing hard,she leaned against the fence.Inside the fenced off ring,Eagle was flapping his tiny wings,kicking his hoofs off the ground.Kaylie knew he was too small to get into the air - his wings were too small to hold him - but Fierce Beauty wasn't eager for her colt to fly off.
There was a mesh covering over the paddock so that pegasi couldn't escape,but Soaring Eagle was only a foal and if he got into the air he wouodn't be able to hold himself.
Unlatching the simple gate,Kaylie walked into the paddock towards the foal.
Eagle stopped,blinking at her with curious eyes.His little legs were tensed,ready to bolt,or stumble trying.
The girl had taken care of pegasi her whole life.Cautiously approaching him,she stopped,near enough to touch him.
His ear pricked,Eagle stood,watching Kaylie.
Pushing her braid over her shoulder,she gently stroked his neck.The pegasus tensed again.
Eagle turned to her,his brown eyes soaking her in,trying to figure her out.Meanwhile,Kaylie was watching him.
His head was small,like Beauty's,and his color matched that of his sire.
Thinking of Dragon,Kaylie stopped stroking the foal.There was plenty of time to train the colt for racing.Right now,Kaylie had to prepare for the race coming up.
The paddock sat across from the stable,where the horses were sheltered.The stable was a big,wooden building with high ceilings and rows and rows of stalls and a huge tack room that dominated the western end of the building.
Kaylie looked in each stall,though she knew which one she was looking for.
Number 12,Dragon.
Kaylie patted Dragon's nose and headed to the tack room to get the saddle,the bridle,the stirrups,the ropes...
Dragon snorted as Kaylie led him out of the stables.Climbing aboard the stallion,she trotted him to the practice track.
The track was a large oval with lanes marked for pegasi.Different obstacles could be rolled in,but Kaylie preffered to just fly the track.
The large chestnut stallion spread his wide wings.His gleaming feathers ruffled in the wind.
The reins gripped tightly in her hands,Kaylie whispered,“Come on,Dragon."
With a burst of speed,the stallion was in the air,his wings pounding the air in unison to his steps.Dragon gave a snort as he builded speed.Just as he came over the starting point,the girl clicked the stopwatch around her neck.
Dragon's strides lengenthed,and everything passed them in a blur.
Kaylie adjusted the reins,signaling him to go faster.The stallion responded instantly,flapping his wings harder and lengthening his stride more still,until he glided above the track.
The stallion slowed as Kaylie gently pulled back on the lines,and immediately clicked off her stopwatch.
“YES!"She said in excitemnt as she looked down at the time.Sliding off of the leather saddle,she patted Dragon's neck.“10 laps in 1:20.The race is as good as ours,Dragon."
Dragon gave a snort.
“As good as ours..."