Orion plodded through the endless forest, legs feeling heavier with every step. They had been travelling for almost four hours, and still hadn’t made much progress.

  “Why don’t we take a break? We’ll be more efficient if we take it one step at a time,” Marmalade advised.

  Orion stopped in the grove begrudgingly. “Alright. A few minutes won’t hurt.”

  The little band of horses sat in a circle, already tired from their journey. They still had several days left to go. Orion had managed to convince Marmalade, Ariel, Knight and Rune to go with him to track down Laci. He hoped the five of them together would suffice. It seemed so strange to him how everything had shifted. Back in the day, he only needed himself and a partner to break out an entire lot of horses from Services. Now he practically had to have an army to get a single horse free. He leaned back and rested his head on the tree behind him, letting his eyes close for a moment to block out the sun.

  “You know, you don’t need to go all the way there to know where she is. You can use your magic to find her,” Onyx said.

  Orion snapped to attention. “Why didn’t you tell me this before?”

  “Steady yourself, colt. It’s very difficult. I didn’t want to discourage you. But I see that your worries are eating at you. You may as well give it a try,” he said.

  “Show me what to do,” Orion said, holding his hooves out.

  Onyx led him to a quiet place in the forest, a little ways from his friends. They both settled into the grass, sitting tall and relaxed.

  “It will be hard at first. You must give up your whole body and mind to her if you find her. Think of a memory of her, a recent memory,” Onyx told him.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Orion pictured her in his mind. The confident, unbreakable mare he met at Services. She was sharp, decisive, light on her feet, and came with plenty of young horse sass.

  “Okay. I’ve got her pictured. What should I do?” Orion asked.

  Onyx shook his head. “Normally, if you’ve got the right memory, your magic will lead you there. As I told you, it is difficult. Especially with her so far away. If you cannot align your memory of her with what she feels now, you will not find her.”

  Orion closed his eyes again, determined to find Laci. He fed into his darkest nightmares from her being taken away. He remembered what she looked like when she was in the corner of the Services cell. Pining. Defeated. Her eyes were empty, it was like she had lost her spirit. He felt himself getting closer, the magic whispering of her.

  He broke through into her reality. She was panicking, panting and sobbing on the ground. Sultan was beside her, rubbing her aching neck. Her legs stung too greatly to get up, and she was soaked in sweat that stuck the arena sand to her body. The only thing that was comforting her was Sultan’s soft voice in her ear.

  “Come to me, Laci. You’ll be alright,” Sultan encouraged.

  She pushed as hard as she could on her forelegs, and slowly began to pick herself up. She shook her whole body to try to get the sand out of her coat, but most of it wouldn’t come off.

  “That’s a girl. Good. Easy now. Just walk steady,” he cooed.

  She took a few gentle strides, and Sultan never left her side. They made it all the way around the ring, and she started to gain her confidence back.

  “That’s my little dove,” Sultan praised.

  Orion gasped with shock as Laci’s world drifted away from him, and he came back to the woods. Onyx sat watching him with pride.

  “You found her, didn’t you?” he said.

  Orion nodded. “She’s in massive trouble. Whoever these animals are, they’re torturing her.”

  “We can’t delay any longer. I have no doubt in my mind that they are horse breakers,” Onyx said.