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Name: elvyralani
Prompt: #2
Foal name: Alinda

Alinda looked back and forth between her parents, her brother and sister were both standing next to their mother. The decision was before her of which of her parents she'd rather live with. Being a carefree foal, she rarely ever made decisions that were hard, for now she would rather dance through life. Why did there have to be tough decisions.

She looked at them both again and shook her perfect mane in slight frustration. Why was this her decision to make, couldn't she just go off and play. Neither of her siblings ever liked to play much. They'd like to do what was good for them and listen. No, Alinda would rather run off and have fun, though while up-keeping her looks, those were very important.

Would life with mother be full of rules? And her siblings, she'd have to tolerate them more. Though father was not the most nurturing one, if she did not pick him, he'd have none of his family. Alinda wished she could just go off and deal with this later. Father was nice though and she felt close to him, she did not know it but she got her carefree attitude from him.

"I want to go with father." Part of her said this so he wouldn't be lonely. Her logic on this was that if he did not want one of them to come with him, he'd have said so. Alinda wanted to be with her father since her siblings did not want to. Besides, they were similar in the behavior, she could have more fun with him. She would not have been true to herself if she didn't pick him. Perhaps now they could glide where turf was smooth.

Prompt 1
filly
Meryl

Meryl eyed the trail with big, wonderous eyes. Her mouth fell open adn she lowered her head until her nose touched the ground. She looked over to her brothers and smirked. They were playing macho games. Seeing who was tougher. Mommy was trying to convince daddy to stay. This would be a perfect time to wander off a be back before anyone even noticed she'd gone! She'd stay clean and hustle back. She turned her attention back to the trail. She cocked her head as she lowered her head to the earth again, running it along the trail as she followed it. Soon she noticed what she was doing.

Meryl gasped and looked towards her family. her nose was dripping mud but no one noticed, she decided. She turned back and shook off the mud. It splattered on her sides and back and rest of her face. She gasped again and tried to roll around in the grass to get it off. but under grass is dirt. It had rained and raid and dirt make mud. Meryl got up, her whole side covered in mud and grass. She didn't want her mommy and daddy to see her like this so she ran for it. She ran into the forest, there had to be a lake or river or SOMETHING!

She was immideatly snagged by pine needles in her mane. She twisted and took a branch away as she ran. She fell over a log and landed face first in a puddle. She got up and found her face and chest covered in dirty water and dead leaves. She squealed and ran faster, her hooves stamping up more mud all over her legs. Meryl stopped short of hitting a pile of leaves and veered to her left where she ran into a dead tree. Now not only was her mane and tail covered in bugs and dead bark but her head hurt. She began to cry as she ran through a berry bramble, her hooves squishing berries, making them stain her hooves and legs. A few even got stuck in her tail.

Just when she thought it couldn't get any worse, Meryl came out of the forest right infront of her parents. She sniffed and they both turned. Even her brothers stopped. they looked at each other and fell over laughing. Her father looked disgusted as he jumped up and cantered in place before he made a bee line opposite of Meryl. Her mother laugh too, but only for a second. "Oh, my poor baby." Meryl burst into tears and said, "I only wanted to see a trial, and I got my nose dirty, then I tried to wipe it off, then I got my side dirty, then I tried to wash it off and then all this happened! I don't even remember what happened," she sobbed. Her mother only laughed and lead her to the lake to clena her off, Meryl couldn't wait to be clean again.

Lesson learned: trails=BAD!

Name: JadeEye
Prompt: #2
Foal name: Elizjah (colt)

Elizjah was not a sucking colt any longer and even as he stood on the brink of adolescence, he recognized that the power he had been given in that moment of "Choose, come with me or with your father" could be the best or worst thing to happen to him. The foal issued a soft whoosh of breath, uttering a soft, uncertain "Oh..." that hung in the air.

Even as Elizjah stood there, a bridge between the two parents he loved without question, an uneasy flutter rose in his stomach. The soft smile on his mother face contrasted the almost indifferent, uninterested facade his father seemed to ooze by simply keeping his eyes averted and his chin held just a touch too high. Elizjah never questioned his mother's love for him as the mare had always made it clear in her words and actions. To suggest otherwise was a bold-face lie. Yet, sometimes Elizjah wondered about his father. Dorian had never been cruel or hateful, but he had never been particularly warm either in comparison to Anolani. Dorian was Dorian and if one couldn't accept it, then so be it. Even though the cool exterior of his father left less of a 'warm fuzzy feeling' in the young colt, Elizjah still felt drawn to him. Anolani and the foal were close. Dorian and the foal were not.

The logical decision was to go with the mother. Nature always spoke silently that a mother was always better adapted to raise young than the father and that the life of offspring could be compromised if the father alone attempted to raise the child. Mother nature had this unspoke law in the books long before Anolani and Dorian were even in existance. Elizjah knew nothing of the laws of nature and everything about the yearning of full acceptance and closeness a child requires of a parent.

"I think I will go with Dad," Elizjah finally spoke, his voice echoing a slight uncertainty to it that showed in his eyes as he searched his father's for a sign of approval. "Just 'cause I'm going with him don't mean I can't see you Mama, right? Or my brother and sister? Or what about Grandmama and Grandpapa?" If this decision came to a full cut-off from the rest of his family, that might have persuaded the colt to stay with his mother. To lose them in an attempt to win over an indifferent father was too much.

'Lani continued to smile at her son, even as the corners of her mouth turned just ever so slightly in disappointment, but nodded confirmation and gave the foal an affectionate cheek rub. "Of course dear. Where ever you go, you know the rest of us will be thinking of you and eager to see you again. I know we will see each other often." She withdrew her muzzle and lifted her head to look at Dorian, who was now casting an appraising look on his new charge as though seeing him for the first time. For all 'Lani knew, this could be the first time that Elizjah was penetrating the cloud of Dorian's self-centeredness.

Elizjah lifted his eyes to meet those of his father's, looking for that spark of fatherly affection that he desired more than anything at that very second. He needed to know his decision was the right one.

When that spark did not come, Elizjah knew he had made the right choice. He would find it, even if it meant stepping away from his mother and siblings to do so.

Name: Shadowlink005
Prompt: 2
Foal’s Name: Flynn
Foal’s Gender: Male

“Wha…what do you mean you two are splitting up?” Flynn gasped, looking between his two parents. His mother, a beautiful Flutter, was standing there in front of him, tears streaming down her long, graceful face. Yet, she was trying to give him a smile, telling him it would be okay.

His father stood a distance away, snorting impatiently, stomping the ground with one hoof and flapping his wings. He wanted to get on with his life, with or without Flynn.

His siblings had already chosen their mother to stay with, and looked at him with eyes screaming for him to go with them, and take care of their mother. Yet, something about Dorian’s posture was calling to him, as though Dorian actually wanted Flynn.

Flynn looked between both of his parents; tears streaming down his face. Didn’t mom and dad love each other? Wasn’t that how he was born? Wasn’t that how his friend’s families were? Why was his different?

It was too much for him to handle, and he broke down, sobbing as he ran away. His tears clouded his vision, as he went into the nearby woods, sobs ringing out and echoing. Once he had finally slowed down to a trot, and his tears were dry, he realized where he had gone. Light barely seeped through the limbs and branches of the thickly leaved oaks, creating an eerie gray light, with an even creepier atmosphere. Flynn felt as though there were millions of eyes, their respective owners’ lips being smacked, and their tongues lazily hanging out of the side of their mouths, panting with hunger.

A twig cracked, sending Flynn into a panicked spree of running, which took about a minute to end, and Flynn began trotting again. He began to reflect upon what had happened that morning. Mom and dad were talking in hushed voices, while Swell and Rift, his brother and sister, had been playing tag. Flynn, not one for active play, in fear of mussing his hair up had decided to sit this game out. He watched the birds with interest, until a sob rattled his half awake state, and his father was walking over to him, telling him to get up. He told them he and his mother were splitting up, and he had to choose whom to go with.

He sighed, hanging his head. It must have been his fault they decided to split. He didn’t know why it would be, but he was probably to blame for it.
Suddenly, he heard heavy breathing, and footfalls that were not of any horse he had heard. He turned around, to find himself nose to nose with a bear. The giant grizzly’s eyes were bloodshot, its breath smelt like rotten fish, and his teeth were caked in blood. It reared its body upward, letting out a terrible roar. Flynn closed his eyes, awaiting the first strike to come, and puncture his skin. But he never felt it.

“You will NOT hurt my son!” Flynn heard Dorian yell, and give a grunt. When Flynn opened his eyes, he saw his father pushing against the bear, fighting for him. Eventually, the bear backed off, realizing it was outmatched.

“Ugh, my hair.” Dorian complained the second it was over, sticking his tongue out. He shook his head, attempting to make it right, but only made it messier.

“Flynn, you’re in so much trouble when we get back young man.” He scolded, walking over to his son’s side. “Now come along, before I get anything else caught in my coat.”

Once back in the clearing, Flynn was in the middle of his parents once again. But this time, he knew whom he would go with. He trotted over to his father’s side, looking at his siblings and mother.

“Don’t worry, I’ll come visit you some time, I promise.” He assured them, nodding. They nodded back, a fresh well of tears springing up into his mother’s eyes.

“Hey! Flynn! When we meet again, I’m gonna kick you’re a-mrph!” Swell, his brother, had been cut off by his mother’s tail, and she gave him a smile, nodding back, tears starting to run down her face.

“Come on Flynn, it’s time to go.” Dorian ordered, turning around to walk away. Flynn took one last look at his mother and siblings, before turning around and catching up with his father.

“So tell me, why did you not go with your mother?”

“Well, you came to protect me. And besides, someone’s gotta keep you in check, right?”

Name: Eff Em
Prompt: Two
Foal Name: Keagan (colt)

"So, you have a choice to make..."

Keagan had asked for a bit of time alone to mull this over. If he was honest with himself, he would acknowledge that this split wasn't entirely unforeseen. In fact, he had always found his parents' relationship to be odd, strained. His father's actions as a parent had been halfhearted at best, and his mother always seemed to have a lingering sadness and uncertainty in her eyes.

The choice, he found, was obvious. Dorian had made it fairly clear from the get-go that his personal happiness and wellbeing took precedence over that of his kids. Anolani, on the other hand, had always seemed a devoted and doting mother. What fool would choose to follow the egotistical stallion?

For one of the first times in his life, gentle little Keagan felt angry. He had tried so hard to be a good son, to win his father's affections. What was he doing wrong? Was he actually doing something wrong, or was his father simply too self-absorbed to give a damn about his kids?

Keagan dug his hooves into the dirt, suddenly with half a mind to tag along with his father, just out of spite. But just as quickly as the anger rose, it faded away, and so the slightly undersized colt was left tired and emotionally drained.

With a sigh and a heavy heart, he went back to his family, each step slow and planned. When he stood before his parents, he glanced between them quietly.

"I want to stay with Mama," he said, unable to look at Dorian longer than a second or two. "With Mama," he repeated.

That was what Dorian wanted, right? Perhaps, with this decision, he could finally please his father.

my name tuesdayscat
prompt choice 1
name of foal / gender prudence / filly

Oh, temptation was never a good thing. If there was one thing that terrified Prudence more than anything in the world, it was displeasing her father. Her mother was easy enough to please (thankfully, as she honestly doubted her little heart could take much more stress), but it always seemed as if her father had one hoof 'out the door', so to speak. That constant fear that he might leave them was always above her head, and so Prudence was always acting, well, different. At heart, Prudence was the biggest tomboy you could ever meet. She loved romping around; she loved rough housing with boys; and, most of all, she loved getting dirty. Unfortunately, her father felt quite the opposite on all these things and very much loathed getting dirty especially.

Still, that little path looked so interesting that she could feel her insides quake with curiousity. The mud was glistening in the sunlight, adding the proverbial cherry on top, and Prudence flicked her tail almost impatiently as her gut urged her to take the forbidden trail. One shiny little hoof raised before it halted in midair, her forehead creasing as her bright eyes glanced back to her primped father. What would he have to say about this whole ordeal? He would be absolutely flabbergasted at her apparently sudden desire to be dirty, that's what. Dorian had never seen Prudence with even a speck of dirt on her. Those few times she had given in to temptation, she had been quick to either wash away the muck or avoid him until she could do so. There would be little chance of her avoiding him out here, besides that everyone would be looking for her before long. She had no idea where a washing place would be around here!

Shifting uncomfortably as she set the tiny hoof back on the ground, she dropped her head to look at the mud more closely. That was what did it. The next thing Prudence knew, she was darting unceremoniously down the trail, flicking dirt up and about as if it were naught but water. She couldn't have resisted, not with the evidence so close to her face. She was lost in the pleasure of the cold, heavy substance as it stuck to her pelt. Once she started, there was no turning back and she stubbornly continued onward despite the dread that was creeping up her spine. She would have to return to her family eventually. A blind hope filled her mind; perhaps there would be a spring at the end of the path!

But there was no spring. Infact, there was nothing at the end of the short path at all. It ended quite abruptly at the roots of an old, dead tree. The tree might have been fascinating if she hadn't, by then, been completely overwrought with the sensation of disaster. Her father was going to leave them right then and there. She was so wonderously, devastatingly dirty that she had no doubt he would be disgusted at the very sight of her. Nevertheless, return home she must. Ears flicked back and head dropped low, she started her way back to where her family was still meandering down the main path. They weren't far off now, and imagine her grim surprise when her father was standing directly before her as she appeared through the tall shoots. His own shock was evident, and she cringed as he exclaimed, "Prudence! What ... you're filthy!"

Fumbling about for an answer, Prudence squinted her eyes together for a few moments before looking up at the dark stallion. Her tail, sodden with mud, flicked against her flank as she mentally grasped for some sort of explanation. He was more flabbergasted than she could have imagined. Finally, she gasped her reply mid-grimace, "A mud bath, daddy! Didn't you know? It's good for your coat."

prompt choice 2
name of foal / gender prudence / filly

She should have known that would have been the sorriest excuse in the book for her behavior on their walk the other day. That had been the straw that had broken the camel's back apparently, because now her parents were splitting. It had to be because of her little escapade with the muddy trail. She had been so good about staying clean around her father before and she was sure the shock had scared him clean off their little family. Dorian and Anolani had tried to explain it to her and her siblings multiple times, claiming time and again that it wasn't their fault but they had to make their own decisions.

Prudence hadn't the faintest idea on what kind of decision she was expected to make. Of course, she knew that she had to chose between tagging along with her father or joining her siblings with their loving mother, but what did they expect her to say? Her parents. Her heart tugged her towards her endearing mother and the comfort of the majority of her family, but it also yearned to provide comfort and companionship to her father, even if he would never admit that he needed either from her - even if he didn't really need them at all.

"Really, Pru, if you want to wait a little while, Dor -... Daddy will stick close for a day or two so you can make your decision." She caught the pleading look that Lani shot Dorian, and the little filly winced, "But you do need to make a decision, dear."

Now that certainly didn't make it any easier. Shifting from one foot to another, her clear brow furrowed as she looked from mother to father as if one or the other would answer for her. It was obvious that neither would, and both were looking pointedly away from as if afraid to influence her decision. "I..." She murmured, watching her mother glance down at the little filly with nothing but warmth and hope in those pretty gem eyes. Prudence couldn't bear hurting her mother any more than this already was, whether or not the drama was all made up in Prudence's head. It was her fault her family had to suffer through this, but though she knew it would be proper punishment to follow her father, she couldn't do it. She couldn't leave her mother behind. Maybe she was selfish, for she couldn't bear to never see her family again either. "I'll stay with mother."

The reply was breathed with such relief that she hardly dared to look at Dorian, but she did. He seemed to be hiding complete elation behind a thin veil of depression. It was almost like he couldn't get his expressions right, but Prudence stuck on with the idea that her father would miss her, and that this was all her fault, "I'll find you one day, Daddy. I promise. I'll make it up to you."

Dorian didn't seemed particularly enthused by the idea, but if it kept the little rascals out of his mane for now, so be it.