Echo walked through the forest, flanked by three others- two weanlings like her, and one four-year-old, her ears swiveling.

“How long will this take?” whispered Greenfern, a chestnut filly with piercing green eyes.

“A few more hours,” the young mare replied, ruffling her golden feathers.

“Can’t we fly?” muttered a bay colt, Rainheart.

“No,” the mare, Dawnfeather, snapped. “And stop talking.”

Echo sighed. The black foal knew she was being hunted. Sun Herd’s over-stallion wanted to kill her. No one dared to go against him, so the four had made a plan of their own. They would hide her until her first birthday.

Dawnfeather stopped suddenly, raising her wings. The steeds tensed. “Run,” she whispered as the first stallions came into view.

Echo ran, followed by Greenfern. The black filly heard hoofbeats behind her. They were coming closer.

Greenfern cried out. Echo spun around to see a stallion holding her by the wing. She had no time to help, though, as the two other stallions were racing at her.

Echo turned back around and ran. A stallion dived into her back. She cried out, falling to the floor. The stallion was pinning her down. “Help!” she screamed, kicking at him, but it was no use.

Echo heard Greenfern’s voice. “Dawnfeather! Rainheart!” Lifting her head, relief filled her as she saw the two run into the clearing, followed by three stallions. Dawnfeather rammed Echo’s captor, and they entered a fierce battle.

She staggered to her hooves, glancing around wildly. Greenfern was struggling against her captor. Rainheart rushed over to help her, but a huge buckskin stallion intercepted him and broke his wing. Rainheart screamed.

Dawnfeather finished off her stallion and raced towards Greenfern, but the stallion threw her into a tree. The green-winged filly slid down, unconscious.

“GREENFERN!” Rainheart screamed, staggering up over to her sister. He fell down next to her. “Please don’t be dead! Please Greenfern! Please!”

“Greenfern!” Echo cried, but had no more time to think as a stallion charged her, missing her by a featherlength. He kicked her in the head. Stars danced in front of Echo’s eyes.

Dawnfeather ran over and pulled the stallion out of the air. “Run!” she panted. She was covered in blood that was not her own.

“I can’t,” Echo cried, nodding in Greenfern and Rainheart’s direction.

“I’ll take care of them. Go.”

Echo nodded and fled. She didn’t stop running until she slammed into the chest of a pegasus. Echo fluttered to the ground. The stallion put a hoof on her so she couldn’t rise.

She gasped for breath. “Help,” Echo said weakly. “Help..”

“Don’t kill her yet, she may be useful,” a female voice said.

“Killing her now is easier.”

“She might be useful.”

“We’ve been sent to kill her, not to make her useful.”

“Still-”

“Who are you taking orders from? AGGHH!”

Echo had sunk her teeth into his leg. He let go, and she scrambled up, heading blindly into the forest. Two sets of hooves followed her, driving her forwards. It was only when she galloped into the chaos she realised that they were herding her the way they wanted her to go.

Four stallions charged her. Echo screamed. Within seconds they felled her. “Help!” she cried. “HELP!”

Dawnfeather galloped over. She was injured, her pelt covered in cuts and bruises, her ribs broken. Leaving Greenfern, Rainheart staggered over, his teeth gritted and body shaking. They attacked.

A stallion grabbed hold of Rainheart by his uninjured wing. He screamed, thrashing and trying to kick the stallion, but he just snorted. “You’ll meet the same end as her.” He nodded at Greenfern.

Dawnfeather fought her way to Echo. “Are… you... OK?”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

Rainheart suddenly screamed. Echo looked up to see him dangling from two stallions above the trees. One spoke. “Give us the black foal or he dies.”

“HELP ME!” Rainheart screamed, terror in his eyes.

“Rainheart!” Echo cried.

“We’ll... never... surrender... her to... you,” Dawnfeather gasped.

“Are you sure about that?” The stallion asked.

“No!” Echo cried.

“Yes…”

“We can’t let him die!”

“We… won’t..” Dawnfeather was looking at Rainheart, her golden wings open.

“But-”

“Save… your breath…”

The stallion shrugged. “If you say so.” With that, they dropped Rainheart from the clouds.

The bay colt gave a piercing scream. Dawnfeather flew up and caught him, but they were still falling. When they hit the ground, Rainheart went limp.

“It’s... OK, he’s... alive,” Dawnfeather reassured Echo.

The remaining stallions attacked them. Echo fought as hard as she could, but she was no match for them. She lay on the ground, kicking any stallion that got too close to her. Dawnfeather saved her multiple times. Blood ran down her coat, a mixture of others and her own, pooling on the ground.

“Flee…” Dawnfeather panted.

Echo didn’t argue. Staggering to her hooves, she galloped away, grunts and cries of pain filling her ears.

She ran until she was far away. Echo sat on her haunches, stunned.

A few minutes later, Dawnfeather and Rainheart came carrying Greenfern, who was still unconscious. Rainheart looked in pain and Dawnfeather looked exhausted. They laid Greenfern gently on the forest floor and collapsed.

“Are you OK?” she asked.

“Yes..” Dawnfeather gasped, “but Greenfern… she may… not… survive…”

“D-don’t say that,” Rainheart said.

Dawnfeather shrugged weakly. “It’s… the truth.”

“It’s not true!”

“But… Echo… your birthday… It's tonight… you can heal us.”

“If I’m the healer.”

“You… will be..”

With that, she closed her eyes.

Rainheart spoke. “Dawnfeather’s right. You will be the healer.”

He also closed his eyes.

Echo looked at the hundred year star, then at her friends. She would heal them. They protected her. She would not let them down.

Tonight, she would become the healer.

Echo- Solid black filly, black wings, black mane and tail, white snip on nose

Dawnfeather- Light bay mare with golden feathers, black mane and tail, two white hind socks, blaze

Greenfern- Chesnut filly with green feathers, chestnut mane and tail, four white socks, white star on forehead

Rainheart- Bay colt with dark blue feathers, black mane and tail, four white socks, white star on forehead

Constructive criticism is welcome.