As they entered the region of the Eastern Hills, in which Wind's Grove resided, Gelvin felt optimistic. Yes, she was, like the others, currently a mare pregnant with twins. But they were almost home! And they would finally be safe!
Suddenly, hoofbeats sounded. Gelvin looked around. She could see in the distance a blond man on a powerful Witch's Pony stallion. Some innate mare instinct made her crave the stallion as a mate before she shook it off. The blond man approached their small herd. Before Gelvin had time to think, he had looped a lasso around her neck. Gelvin reared up in protest. The man whispered a command. Magic suddenly surged through the lasso. He must have said a trigger word to set off the obedience spell Gelvin could sense was stored in it.
"You are going to come with me, beautiful," the man said. Gelvin's body acted on its own, following the man to Wind's Grove, then to the large Copperstone Estate on the edge of town. The other mares obediently followed their leader. Before long, they were ushered into a large paddock with fences too high to be jumped over. The man removed the lasso from Gelvin. He and his stallion exited the paddock.
Minutes later, the man returned with two middle-aged people Gelvin recognized as Lord and Lady Copperstone.
"The rebels took our breeding stock, but I was able to find us new," the man said to the Copperstones. He gestured to the eight mares. "These wild Witch's Ponies must have broken off from a larger herd to start their own." That did happen with wild horse herds, particularly those that contained Witch's Ponies. Witch's Ponies had a sense of independence and individuality that meant they disliked being part of a large herd. The man continued speaking. "Every single one is pregnant with twins. I checked. Hopefully I can go out tomorrow and find some stallions as well."
"You did us well, Mikhail," said Lord Copperstone. Mikhail! One of Anya's brothers! Gelvin knew he looked familiar. She suddenly became very nervous. Would the Copperstones recognize Glory as their precious daughter?