Chapter I

The thinner of the two, a handsome, black stallion, stopped at the top of the hill.
'Come on, Dawn,' it whinnied, 'You know we're almost there.'
Dawn, a pale golden mare, grumbled. 'Flame and Feather never had to do so much work, Midnight.'
Midnight sighed. 'Yes, those two went through uncharted territory and were never seen again, remember? ' the stallion reminded his sister.
'Good point, ' she gave in. 'Well, are we going to stand here gossiping all day? We'll not reach there by moonturn!' With a high pitched neigh, Dawn galloped up the long winding road.
Midnight followed her at a slightly slower pace. 'I don't enjoy it either. But you know what happened to our old home.'
'Not this again.'
The black stallion looked down sternly at his younger sister. 'It's not funny, Dawn. You were only a kit. Do even remember our parents?'
'No! Who were they? '
'Our father- Spark, he was called- was the bravest scouter in the forest. He could spot a everrear just like that. ' Midnight stamped his foot, making the ground tremble under his hooves.'
'Wow!' Dawn's blue eyes widened.
'Our mother Dolphin was a field-guard. She was beautiful, and very small, so she could camouflage herself and spy on others easy as anything.' There was a sad look in his eyes.
'I want to be like both of them, ' she whinnied.
Down the mud track there was a vast amount of hills. The sun was resting on a cloud as Midnight and Dawn trotted at a brisk pace through the fields.
'I'm tired.' The young mare's eyes suddenly lit up. 'I think I smell horse.'
Sure enough, a dark shadow had appeared further down the path. Both horses took off down the track.
A grey, with dark dappled spots and brown eyes, was walking steadily down the path. 'Hi!' she neighed. 'Who are you? I'm Smoke.'
Dawn readily greeted the pretty mare. 'I'm Dawn Star, and this is my brother Midnight Star.'
'I'm Smoke Thunder.'
Smoke let out a whinny. 'Where are you going? '
'Us?' Midnight Star spoke for the first time. 'Eversky, we call it. '
'Oh, Eversky?' The dappled mare nodded. 'Me too. We can travel together.'
'Don't you have travelmates?' Midnight asked before he could stop himself.
'I used to.' A dreamy look came into Smoke's eyes. ' Volcano, Aurora and Ox. They all died in the fire. I was born in the fire, you see, though. That is why I'm called Smoke.'
Dawn gave the other mare a sympathetic glance.
Midnight let out a low growl. 'Excuse me you two but we kind of need to carry on.'
Both mares jumped. It was late dayfall, already.
All three horses cantered on, until the day ended, and they stopped to rest for they were all exhausted.

Pale shadows loomed above Dawn and Smoke as Midnight woke them up. Pale pink lit the sky and a few wispy clouds dotted it.
'Midnight.' Dawn whinnied sleepily. 'It's the crack of dawn.'
'Exactly! ' Midnight's chestnut eyes were gleaming with a kind of mad enthusiasm. 'Then we'll get a head start on all the others. Do you want to get to Eversky or not?'
'Of course. Do you even know where it is? '
'Duh!' Midnight snorted. He slashed the earth with his silver hoof.
Slash.
Slash.
'And that is where the lake is. Eversky is just beyond there. We'll reach the lake by sunfall if we get a move on.'
'Relax,' sighed Dawn. 'We're not snails!'
'Never said you were!' Brother and sister started to tumble playfully about on the sandy dirt.
'Hey, it was you who said we should get a move on!' Smoke had risen from her slumber.
'She is right.' Midnight pointed out.

Later that day, as Midnight, Dawn and Smoke journeyed through the hills, Smoke whinnied, 'look the lake!'
What had earlier been a gleaming spot on the horizon was now a rippling flat expanse of blue water. Soon they had reached it, and the sun was setting in an array of beautiful colours. Midnight walked to just by the lake and took a long lap out of it, feeling ecstatic. They were almost at Eversky.