Sassy could feel her body getting ready to give birth at any moment. Not knowing what to do, she desperately hobbled down the road in search of she-knew-not-what.
Suddenly, she stumbled across a field where a farmer and his son were working. Spotting her, they dropped everything and ran over. Quickly, they assessed her situation an took charge, leading her off the road and helping her to lie down.
Over the next twenty minutes or so, Sassy pushed and pushed, her world now reduced to getting her tiny foal out of her body. At last, the wet, gangly form of a newborn filly slid out onto the grass. She was a palomino, with an almost white mane and a honey colored coat. Instinctively, Sassy licked her clean, feeling her offspring taking her first breaths in her new life.
"Anya? Are you alright?" She whickered. The foal gave no indication she understood, and Sassy's heart fell. Anya was gone. Well, perhaps not entirely. Maybe someone at the Copperstone estate could restore them both if only she could communicate to Anya's family her situation.
"Good girl," the farmer soothed, patting her side. "Well done."
For the first time, Sassy really registered the man's presence. Recalling his aid, she felt deeply grateful. As such, she did not resist too much when the farmer put a bridle over her nose and pulled her to her feet. It was not as if she could leave and abandon Anya anyway.
Together, both farmer and mare watched as the filly got to her hooves and took her first tottering steps. An overwhelming feeling of motherly adoration filled Sassy, very different from her old love for her. Slowly, the filly came up to her and stuck her head beneath her belly to find her full udder. Then, she was nursing. Sassy sighed with contentment.
As mother and foal bonded, the farmer's son asked, "This is luck, 't's what it is, Pa. To think such a fine horse comes wandering into our farm. You think some noble's left her behind?"
The farmer shook his head. "Can't say. But we best not be getting our hopes up too high, lad. If that noble's still in power when things settle, he'll be wanting her back."
"And if he never shows?"
Shrugging, the farmer gave no answer. Stroking the mare's ebony mane, he thought for a bit. "Let's call you Fortune, for now. And for the wee one, we can call her Estrea.
The newly re-renamed Fortune sighed in resignation. She had only been Sassy for less than a day, and little Estrea was in no position to care one way or another. The only important thing for now would be to recover her strength and wait until her foal was old enough to travel. Then, it was on to the Copperstone estate.