Steppe ponies are not very remarkable creatures. They’re not very different from, say, zebras or any other kind of ponies, if only because they’re more robust, covered by a compact coat of short wool.

They refer to themselves as "the Takhi". They live in nomadic clans, guided by the strongest colt or mare. They are almost permanently traveling: looking for green grasslands on spring, all the way until summer, and then down to their shelters for the winter.

It could seem like an unpleasant life for other creatures, but Takhi themselves seem to be comfortable with it. Even with some of the dreadful dangers of living in wild country...

That morning, at the beginning of spring, the Big Stone herd was resting around the kopje they called their winter home. Everything looked like just a normal, quiet day.

It was a long time staying inside, and everypony was eager to start traveling. Fillies and colts were, as one would expect, prancing happily around, playing hide and seek in the tall grass of the surroundings. Although big snakes and beasts often lurked in tall grass, the little ones were under the attentive vigilance of the watchers, on top of the rock.

Now, ground predators were fearsome, but the most dangerous hunter of the steppe wasn’t hiding in the bushes.

Suddenly, an alarm call from one of the watchers: everypony looked up to the sky, and an ominous black silhouette loomed above them.

“Everypony run to the shelter!”

All steppe inhabitants knew Pouakai, the great golden eagle, and most of them feared him. There were few things he couldn’t hunt: even the wooly mammoth calves were taught to not wander away from their herd, if the eagle was flying near.

The monster bird glided right above the fleeing ponies, shrieking, trying to scatter them to isolate one.

The watchers, however, did their work just right. By the third time the giant bird soared above the area, almost every member of the herd was safe.

Every member, except that one little colt, playing too far from the shelter and now trying to hide himself trembling at the sight of the raptor. The color of his coat was supposed to be enough to keep him safe, but the fear was telling otherwise.

When Pouakai drifted away, the frightened pony made a run for it.

The watchers and all the other members of the herd began to shout desperately: “Go back to the grass! Hide! Hide!”

The colt froze on his hooves, suddenly aware of what he was doing. The moment he wheeled back to his hideout, the eagle was landing… right on him!

The claws missed for very little, but as the giant eagle passed above, the fierce blow of his wings made the colt roll on the ground. With no time to worry about the bruises, the little pony ran with all his might, straight to the rock.

But Pouakai was turning again, and now his prey was on the clear. The eagle folded his wings, keeping them close to his body to gain speed. As his victim grew closer in his sight, he extended his talons, ready to claim his prize.

The little colt, still running, looked back, tears of terror flowing from his eyes. He let out a terrified scream…

And suddenly Pouakai was spinning on midair, and then fell awkwardly on his back!

The colt opened his eyes, realizing he was moving impossibly fast, right into the anxious hooves of his herd mates. Something –fortunately, not the eagle- carried him through the air, and put him safely again on the ground, jut a few steps from the shelter entrance.

When the colt turned to meet his savior, all he could see was a pair of wings, a blur of light brown and something darting back to the air.

By then, the eagle was back on his feet, and jerked his head one way and the other, searching for the insolent creature that interfered with his hunt.

And there it was, flying right above, staring fiercely down at him.

All steppe inhabitants knew Pouakai, the great golden eagle, and most of them feared him… most of them.

The pegasi, if smaller than the vicious bird of prey, weren’t less brave or ferocious. The eagle knew the taste of their flesh, but also that they were a meal hard to gulp down.

Pouakai was in the air with only one powerful flap of his wings, ready to meet his rival. The chase began, and both of them flew spiraling higher and higher, until they were out of sight from the bewildered herd on the ground.

The pegasus knew his fighting chances were better beyond the layer of clouds. Once passed it, the eagle lost track of his enemy, and now was flying in wide circles, looking for it.

Suddenly, a hit! And another! And another yet!

The little winged pony was attacking the eagle like an angry wasp. It was hitting, and passing, hiding in the clouds, and turning and hitting again, with such speed that Pouakai couldn’t certainly know what was going on. From the ground, the Takhi could only see, gasping, the frame of the great eagle falling, and a fast moving dot flying in narrow circles around him.

Pouakai shrieked furiously, and one of his powerful talons moved forward; it was a lucky hit, but was the one thing the eagle needed: the Pegasus was knocked out, falling fast to the ground.

Now the eagle had a moment to catch his breath. He stabilized, turned with deadly majesty and set course to catch his victim before it hit the ground… but another pegasus caught it first.

Pouakai was about to chase this new foe, when glimpsed another one flying at his left… and another one on his right, and another one yet… a flock of them flying in circles around him, all of them ready to strike.

Even the great eagle knew it was time to give up. A lone pegasus he could pick on, even two or three. A fearless gang of them was too much to face on his own, and Pouakai left the battle with an angry, frustrated cry.

The pegasi didn’t chase after him. They were exhausted after a long journey across an entire continent, and the eagle was not a threat anymore.

With the same grace of birds, they circled above the kopje, lower and lower, until they landed next to it, to be welcomed by the herd of earth ponies.

“That was a heck of a first impression!” Dust Whirl elbowed a smaller pegasus mare, trotting next to him. She almost fell on her side, still stunned by the raptor’s mighty blow.

“Cut it, will ya!” she pushed him.

“Keep it shut, both of you!” turned the reddish coated mare trotting in front of them.

Both pegasi bowed their heads humbly; still, when Dawn turned forward again, the little mare didn’t miss the chance to hit Dust Whirl with his hoof.

The chieftain of the earth ponies moved forward to meet the pegasi. He was a dark blue unicorn –an even stranger sight among Takhi than pegasi- wearing a bizarre plume on his head.

“Be welcome!” said him, “We expected you a pair of days earlier!”

“It was early enough, I think,” Whispered Dawn.

The pegasus on the right gave her a stare. The dark, scarred stallion, nodded to the unicorn.

“Excuse us, Mist. It was a long journey,” said him.

“Hum!” said the unicorn, “I won’t complain. Come in, Kestrel. I’m sure you all could use some rest and food.”

“Gee, I sure do!” Dust Whirl licked his lips. A growl from the mare’s innards and a ravenous look on her face agreed with him. Then both straightened when Dawn stared back at them, with an anger shine in her eyes.

Followed by the pegasi, the entire herd moved into the shelter.

“Your little mare has grown, Kestrel,” said Mist to the dark brown stallion; though he nodded, the compliment did not appear to amuse him.

The young pegasi were held behind the main group by a bunch of steppe ponies –most of them colts and fillies- admiring and asking all kinds of questions to them.

“That was amazing!”

“Were you scared?”

“Of course she wasn’t scared, hay-for-brains!”

“Yes she was!”

“Did you hurt?”

“How fast can you fly?”

“I wanna be a scout too!”

“Only pegasi can be scouts, silly!”

“Is that so?”

Just when they were about to, finally, answer one of the questions, a voice thundered from the shelter.

“Dust Whirl, Hasty Cloud! Hurry up, you dumbutts!”

Obeying the polite suggestion from Dawn, both scouts and their admirers made it to the stone refuge.

“Sweet, sweet flavor of heroism!” said Dust Whirl, gulping down an entire half of an apple.

“Yah, shome ‘ero you fwere out ‘ere…” Hasty Cloud answered… sort of, with her mouth full.

“You ain’t a big red stain on the ground, are you? And thank who?” the stallion pointed at his own chest with a large carrot.

Hasty Cloud mumbled something and kept eating, hearing the “You’re welcome!” from his scouting partner.

“Now, I have to admit, taking on an eagle like that, all alone, was pretty awesome,” conceded Dust Whirl.

“It was risky, I’d say” opined another Pegasus.

“Aw, c’mon, big ol’ Poui is not that bad!” said yet another one, “I could have done the same, had sent me instead of her!”

“Ha! Yeah!” said Hasty Cloud, “I would have LOVED to see that!”

There was an upheaval of laughter and dares. Nopony understood what the other was saying, but at some point, there was fruit flying to everypony faces, and all of sudden it was war.

Dawn stormed inside the chamber and all scouts froze where they were. There were sparks glaring from the scout-mare’s eyes, but she said nothing.

“Cloud,” she snarled, “Kestrel wants to talk to you”

The young mare had to let go of the neck lock she had on one of his partners, and went out the chamber. Behind her she could hear the roaring Dawn’s voice, scolding the other pegasi.

Kestrel was on top of the kopje, watching the red and golden colors of the clouds, as the sun was setting. Hasty Cloud sat next to him.

“Look, I know you’re, like, upset because I kind of disobeyed the ‘don’t fight a frigging eagle all by yourself’ rule…” said she “But c’mon! Is not as if anypony died! And look! I even get a butt-kicking scar out of it, like yours!”

Hasty Cloud showed off his black eye. Her cynical smile vanished, however, when Kestrel turned to see her, staring severely.

She looked away, her head bowing. Kestrel let out a sigh.

“How many times…” he started.

“Oh, don’t start with that again!” groaned the mare.

“Yeah, that’s the point, I’m telling you all this, yet again!” said Kestrel, “What the heck were you thinking?”

She just sniffed.

“Cloud…?”

“What was I supposed to do? Just, like, turning away?” she said, staring right at the stallion’s hardened eyes.

“You were supposed to come back, inform and then we, all together, could have taken action on the matter, safely!” answered the stallion.

“Yeah, in time to clean pony ground beef off the floor …” she hissed.

“At least not made of my daughter!” growled Kestrel.

“I can’t belie--! Well, alright, sorry! Next time I’ll just sit down and watch somepony die!”

Kestrel growled, and then took a deep breath, trying to calm down.

“Listen, I’m trying to be reasonable here,” he said “yes, you did well today, I’m giving you that. But you were reckless. All you had to do once you saved the colt was to stay in the refuge and wait for us”

“But -!”

The stallion gave her a stare. She sighed heavily, nodding.

“Hey, I know I can be a pain in the flank,” he said, “but I worry about you and the others, okay? It’s my job”

“But you made me scout during winter! You know I’m good!”

“Yeah, you’re good. ‘Kicked unconscious by an eagle’ good, that’s the problem”

“That was a low blow! …” she folded her arms, angrily.

Kestrel had to smile. He rustled his daughter's mane with his hoof.

“Alright, you’re good-good. It’s just that I don’t want you to end up like bird food, okay? And I think I’m being fair by saying you need more experience before all that head-butting, Am I right?” he said.

“Yeah… I guess” Hasty Cloud admitted.

“I will try to not kill my dumb butt the next time, dad” Kestrel mimed her.

“Knock it off!” she said.

“Right,” nodded Kestrel “now go get some rest, we’re leaving tomorrow early!”

“Alright,” the mare went back inside the refuge.

“A black eye doesn’t count as scar!” shouted Kestrel.

“Good night, dad!”

Author's Note

English is not my native language, so if you see any weird sentence or whatever, feel free to point it out. It will be located, cut and cauterized.