Winning Prompt!​

This horse wandered away from the crowd of horses at the clearing. Describe or draw how he was found.

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It hadn’t been fear that drew Church from the crowd, rather, curiosity. It was rare that he had the chance to explore, the humans back at Hawthorn always kept such a close eye on him. Freedom was a temptation that he couldn’t resist, and, as the others huddled together in a group, he snapped at the bait. Wandering deeper into the woods, instinct kept him close to the group, but eventually, he wandered out of eyeline, and finally, out of earshot. He’d find his way back though, he was sure of it.

He didn’t hear the commotion of the others being found, he had been too far away... And too preoccupied. The ground beneath him was cold, far colder than he’d ever experienced before, but he didn’t let that deter him. Dropping to his knees, he tried not to flinch as the icy dirt collided with his belly. Snorting with the effort, he pushed himself over onto his back, rolling in the mud. It was a rare treat, he didn’t often get the chance to roll.
The movement didn’t work as intended, however, as the ground was too hard to coat his oh-so-precious pelt in mud like he had wanted it to. He was just a little bit more ruffled than before.
Snorting, tossing his head with disapproval, Church soon realized that the woods were much quieter than before.

Flicking his ears, trying desperately to hear what was making the world so eerie, a snap caught his attention. Whipping his head around, he spotted the worst thing he could have possibly imagined.
“Hey, there’s another horse over here!”

No.
No. He had just gotten away from the people. He wasn’t going back.
Pushing his energy into his hind legs, he powered himself forward, thundering through the dense forest. He heard the thunderous hooves of the chase behind him, and, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the blonde horse powering closer. Church dug down, snorts ricocheting from his chest every time a hoof collided with the hard ground, but it wasn’t enough. The other stallion was far fitter than he was, and, as he glanced back, Church could see him gaining on him. The human on his back had a rope in her hand, ready to wrangle him back to their clutches.

Not today.
He pinned his ears, the spotted pelt melting almost perfectly into his mane, he dug deep, taking a turn so sharp it caused the human to use a swear word he had never heard before. The other stallion wasn’t as nimble, stumbling in a wider arc of a circle and giving Church a short lead. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for the stallion to formulate a plan.
He allowed the others to get close, then performed another sharp turn, then again, and again. But each time, they got just that little bit closer. Snorting, Church turned again, this time lashing a kick out to the horse on his tail. He heard the other stallion grunt, but didn’t make contact, and, to his horror, he felt his hooves slip out from beneath them. Landing heavily on his shoulder, the pearl stallion slid for a couple of metres, and then, when he stood up, the rope was already hanging around his neck.
Snorting in protest, he tried to back away, but the rope just tightened. Growling, rearing up with a kick of his foreleg towards the other stallion’s hind, hoping to rile up the other horse, to his disappointment, the other stallion just rolled his eyes, beginning to walk at the command of the human on his back, and, with a huge sigh, Church lowered his head, beginning for follow.

Hey, freedom was sweet while it lasted. His ears were starting to get cold anyway.