As we continued to travel upwards, the air went from freezing to warm. Unusual, you'd think that as we went further it would get colder. But the sun shone perfectly on the top of the mountain, and the warmth seemed to swirl through the wind and kept everything at a comfortable temperature. 

Spirit stopped at the furthest peak, glancing down at Ranger and myself. I kept strong, hauling myself up the steep mountain. I was only doing it to get to the top, which was right there. 

Right there. 

I couldn't help but celebrate once my hooves met the gravel of Ipwsich. 

Ranger and Spirit raised their heads, smelling the air and watching around the grounds. 

I lifted my head to observe the town. The houses were made of stone, and were extremely clean. The stones were unnaturally clean, shining dully in the sun. The centre of town was layered with grass, gravel and dirt. Colourful flowers sat around the outskirts of the town and scattered through the paddocks of the livestock. 

There are people around doing work; weeding, tending to crops, looking after the livestock. There were also a few people riding around on short, stocky horses. 

The three of us travelled further into the town, watching everyone continue to do their work. Kids who ran around playing stopped momentarily to view us wandering through their home. 

We came to a horse tied to a wooden post, dozing. 

"Excuse me." I interrupted. 

The horse raised her head, licking her lips. 

"Yes, dear?" She asked. 

She sounded older, and extremely calming. 

"Would you be able to tell us where to find the horse Bastion?" 

She laughs, her head raising far enough to pull on her ropes.

"The horse? No, honey. Bastion is a goat. But sure, I can help you find him." 

"Thank you."

She points her head towards the far end of the town and her tail swishes up in the air. 

"Bastion lives on the far west border. He lives with orphan livestock in a small pasture." 

I exchange a glance with Spirit. 

"Thank you. It's appreciated. Sorry to bother." 

It's silent for a few moments as we try to leave, taking only a few steps past the mare. 

"Wait." She calls. 

I turn back to her. 

"Are you here to avenge them?"

I prick my ears curiously. 

"Avenge them?" I ask. 

The mares ear flutter back, her face drooping to match her emotion. 

"A few kilometers to the West. The massacre. Those horses..."

She chokes on her words, facing away.

"The folk here let loose horses they can't afford to feed during the winter. They didn't understand why all those horses didn't come back. The majority were young horses who hadn't been put to work yet. The majority were babies..."

She faces me. 

"Some were my babies." 

Her expression turns to stone cold hatred. 

"I need... To see..."

"I need to see them avenged." 

I raise my head, trying to compose myself to seem as strong as possible. 

"Why am I the one to do that?" I ask. 

"You are the saviour, aren't you? You're Amazon, the mare who fought in war. The mare full of fight. That is you?"

I was torn. Yes, I am Amazon. But I'm not a saviour. I'm just a horse.

"You have the right name. But not the right mare. I'm no saviour." 

Her ears prick in disbelief.

"You are Amazon. You are our only hope. The wild horses will all be slaughtered, and then what? All of us. We're innocent. We don't deserve to be killed, neither do they. If you're not our saviour, than who is?" 

I tried to keep myself centred. How many of these horses think I am their saviour? How many are relying on me to keep them and their families safe?

"I'm here to kill Kuno. Once he is dead I can rest in peace." I mumble.

She blinks softly. 

"Than you are our saviour." 

Ranger nudges me, insisting we keep going. 

We all begin walking away from the mare. She's right. Kuno is not just my enemy, he's an enemy to all of us. I have to do this not only for me, but for my mother, for Spirit, and for all of the innocent horses left victims of Kuno's rage. 

I turned to face her. 

"If I kill Kuno... If I get to him. I will avenge you, and all of the horses who didn't come back after winter." 

She nods her head in praise, as we continue to make our journey to Bastion. 

As we marched further West, on the border of Ipswich, a paddock appears next to a rundown old shack and a shelter. 

The grass was long and far overgrown, but the shack was visibly in decay and was presumably abandoned. The shelter that sat in the far back corner of the paddock seemed in half decent condition, but it, too, looked abandoned to some point. 

I called out to anyone. 

"Bastion? Anybody? My name is Amazon, I come with my colt and my stallion. We wish to speak about Kuno."

I'm cut off by a dark brown, matted ram who jumps out of the long grass. 

"Do not speak that name!" He shouts, as he disappears into the grass again, before appearing at my feet.

He looks around cautiously, and then whispers: "Do not speak that horrid name in front of my children." 

He looks up at me, one brown eye and one blue. 

"Amazon, the fire mare?" He presumes. 

"The fire mare?" I ask confused. 

He laughs softly, as he eyes Spirit and Ranger. 

"The mare born from lighting and made from fire, as the myth says, yes?" 

God, animals talk. I didn't realise I was such a topic of conversation. 

"I'm not a myth. I'm just a mare. I want to kill-."

The half crazy goat cuts me off.

"Walk with me, I want to show you my children." 

He begins walking away, and we have to join him before he's lost in the grass. Hopefully he's not entirely insane and will help us find Kuno. 

We approach the paddock, which is surprisingly well-trimmed in the way of grass, and the trough is full to the brim with clean water. The shelter is lined with fresh hay and dry leaves. 

"It's okay, little ones. They're friends." Bastion announces. 

Then suddenly, like it was a dream, foals, calves and all sorts of young livestock appears from the most unlikely of hiding places... Bushes, logs, holes.

"Hello, darlings." I nicker, putting my nose down to greet a few of the ones daring enough to get closer. 

Bastion turns to me, as the young animals surround him lovingly. 

"These are my children. I find them, I look after them, I set them free. I offer them a home when their's has been taken away." 

I raise my head and prick my ears. Of course, that mare said orphans. Surely they don't mean...

"The thing you are looking for doesn't come around here, I make sure of that. This is a safe haven for all animals: young, old, wild, tamed. This is where all your worries are made into daydreams."

He steps forward, his hoof sinking slightly into the dirt.

"What you are looking for has taken the lives of many, and left many without families. Most of my children are a result of that monster."

My head fills with emotion, too many to understand. Anger, fear, sadness. I can't think straight. 

"You mean..?"

Bastion looks glumly at his children. 

"I mean that Kuno has done more damage then could ever be repaired. No one is going to help you. Can you hold up against what terrifies almost every creature alive?" 

I step forward. I look at all of the little ones who've lost so much. 

"I... I don't know." I mutter doubtfully.

To be honest, I didn't have much confidence in myself. What if everything went wrong? This bear has taken out stallions far stronger than me, far smarter than me. What if I really am setting myself up a death sentence?

A small caramel coloured foal steps towards me, a glimpse of hope on his small face. He was only three weeks old, at least. 

"You're going to save us?" He asks, trying to understand the situation. 

"No, Moose, she's not." A calf responds, with an emotionless voice. 

I don't care if I lose my life. I don't care what happens anymore. I had to do something. 

For my mother, for Spirit, for the innocent victims... I have to remember that. 

I close my eyes and see a vision of that same palomino mare, her gentle eyes helping stable my thoughts and emotion to make a decision.

I open my eyes and am faced with Bastion and his family of young souls. 

"Yes, I am."