Bi-colored tresses rustled and frisked in the wind before the large mare's cloudy hazel eyes. The sight she saw was a beautiful one: her friends and family finally safe in their old home. Her older brother, who could be her twin if he were smaller, stood breathing contentedly at her side. However, Heather was not satisfied. She kept expecting herself to settle in to her brother's home, but it wasn't happening. When she first came here she was full of hope for the future, but now there was little to stay for rather than Allegro. And he was obviously occupied with this new mare and her young filly.
Her eyes shifted towards her older brother and she smiled. "Allegro?" she asked, her voice shaking. "Allegro, you're happy, right?"
The alpha of the lands was very confused with his sister's question. "Of course I am," he said, smiling a genuine smile (which he wasn't exactly known for). He couldn't help but let his smoky blue eyes shift towards the small roan mare not too far off. She was beautiful, and he had some feelings for her that he was unsure of how to act on. However, he had felt this satisfied in years.
He turned his attention back to Heather and perked his ears curiously. "Why?" he asked. "Aren't you?"
Heather was embarassed to let her brother know that she wasn't happy in the land that he ruled, so her eyes were adverted towards the ground as she nodded solemnly. "It's just . . ." she started, "It's just, I think there's more out there for me. Do you know what I mean?" Her dark eyes met Allegro's with sadness, but longing. "I thought that by coming here, you'd have all of the answers for me, but now I see that that's not going to happen. I have to go out on my own. I'm a full-grown mare, now, and honestly I don't want to waste my times sitting around on my rump here." She noted her brother's confused look and quickly added, "It's not you. This place is wonderful. I just need to find my own future."
Allegro smiled down on his sister with pride. "Don't worry, Heather, I'm not upset with you," he assured her. "If you want to go and find a home and life of your own, then I'm happy for you. Just promise that we'll see each other again and you won't stay away forever."
A large, giddy smile spread across the mare's ivory muzzle. "Really?" she asked excitedly. "Oh, Allegro, don't worry. I'll be back some time to visit." She gave her brother one last loving nuzzle and a smile. Her eyes glinted as she moved slowly from the lands which she had grown up in. She grinned at the memories that she held with every herdmember, and her grin only grew wider as she dreamed of the future ahead. "Good-bye," she whispered. And with a flick of her bi-colored tail, she was off on her own.
The Upperworld Herd, Part II
