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CV|Ajax|Double Trouble — Description

  Another year had passed for Ajax and his growing herd. In that time, things had changed quite drastically. His foals were now yearlings, and a pair of colts decided to tag along with the herd – possibly attracted by his daughters. Another mare came around a few times, luring Ajax away for... obvious reasons, but once she'd gotten what she wanted they never saw hide nor hair of her again.

  Then spring rolled around once again and Ajax had a whole new batch of foals to play with. Temara, Deidra, and Geneva's foals were his own blood, but Meadow and Vivian's foals each had different sires. Nevertheless, Ajax treated them all like they were his own. He couldn't believe how big his herd was getting; He never would have believed that he could have such a beautiful family just a few years ago.

  With six yearlings, five newborns, and nine mares to care for, Ajax was feeling the strain. Times like this made him wish that Damon had stayed, as he certainly could use his help. It had become almost impossible to go unnoticed in an area and it lead to some issues with other stallions. So far, Ajax had been able to ward off most pesky bachelors with some posturing, though a couple only retreated after a short dust up.

   The winter had offered a reprieve for Ajax, as most of his mares were pregnant, the rest weren't in season, and most stallions were focused on feeding the mares they already had or themselves. Though, as the snow melted away and grass began to carpet the land, Ajax knew it would all begin again. With his mares having foaled and the others came into heat, Ajax's anxiety level began to rise once more...

***

   Ajax grazed contently beside his beloved Myrtle, enjoying the strong breeze that was keeping the worst of the flies off of them. Still, he flicked his tail absentmindedly at a persistent fly. It was not dissuaded and landed on him again, forcing him to shake it off. It buzzed around him and landed on his other side, and Ajax stomped his leg in response. The fly clung on, starting to bite into him. With a snort, Ajax stopped grazing and turned to squash the pest. “Stupid flies... they sure don't waste time once the snow retreats...” Ajax grumbled, annoyed that his peace had been disrupted by the miniscule creature.

   Myrtle lifted her head up from grazing and smiled softly at Ajax, “They certainly don't.” She moved over to his flank and began to nibble on him, causing the stallion to jitter slightly. “Then again, neither do you” She said coyly, holding his gaze.

   Ajax's frown turned upwards into a grin at Myrtle's not-so-subtle suggestion, his irritation dissipating quickly. “Well, like I always say, there's no time like the present.” Ajax replied playfully, glancing around the herd to assure that everyone was accounted for and that they were thoroughly distracted.

  Myrtle snorted softly, shaking her head at her mate as she pointed out, “I don't think I've ever heard you say that.”

  Ajax chuckled, nuzzling the mare's rosy nose, “Well now you have.” He was about to suggest that they go somewhere more private when he thought he heard something. Narrowing his eyes, Ajax scanned the area around his herd from the rise he was on, ears swiveling as they sought the source.

  Myrtle was caught off guard by his sudden change, but soon became unnerved by his stillness. “Ajax, what is it?” She asked quietly.

  It was a moment longer before he responded, the tenseness reluctantly leaving his body as he brushed off his worries, “It's nothing, I thought I heard something is all.” He could see the worry in Myrtle's eyes, so he nuzzled her again to try to reassure her. “I'm sorry, I kind of ruined the mood” He offered awkwardly.

  Myrtle sighed, shaking her head, “It's fine, don't worry about it.” She gazed out over the herd, watching her yearlings fondly for a moment. The wind was beginning to die down and the flies were returning with avengeance. “Perhaps we should all go down to the lake and find some mud to help with the bugs?” Myrtle suggested.

  Ajax looked in the direction that he knew the lake was, knowing it wasn't too far of a walk. It would certainly be worth it if it meant they'd have a break from the insects. “Sounds like a great idea, let's go tell the others.” Ajax said with a nod, then added with a smile, “I'm sure the foals will be excited.”

   “I'm sure they'll be ecstatic” Myrtle laughed softly, smiling at the silly stallion. He certainly adored his foals.

   With the whole herd in agreement, they began the short trek toward the lake. The foals were indeed excited about getting to play in the water, even as their mothers warned them softly about swimming out too far. This was not helped by Ziva challenging the other yearlings to a contest of “who can swim across the lake the fastest.” Though, all the chatter and merriment suddenly died as a mare burst out of the trees just ahead of them, a stallion close on her tail.

   Some of the horses squealed in surprise or fear, turning to dart away from the strangers. Estraya swiftly gathered the herd, moving a short distance away in case the stallions started fighting. Ajax cursed under his breath, but quickly moved forward to deal with the stranger.

  The grey overo stallion snorted as he watched the mare he'd been pursuing for the last hour disappear into the trees around the lake. “You just cost me a mare.” The bachelor said snidely to the band stallion as the latter moved between him and the herd.

  Ajax glanced at where the mare had disappeared to, snorting as he turned back to the bachelor, “By the looks of it, she wasn't all that interested.”

  The grey paint flattened his ears and stomped a hoof, shouting indignantly, “How dare you! Just because you have a herd doesn't give you the right to belittle all of us who don't!”

  Ajax felt his blood begin to boil, but managed to restrain himself. He puffed out his chest and arched his neck, hoping to intimidate the stallion into backing down. “Though I sense you will not see the reason behind my words, I will say them anyways. I could tell that you had run that mare for quite a while; The fact that she still refused to be claimed by you should have made it clear that it was a lost cause. You cannot force loyalty on those who don't wish to follow you.”

  The stallion scoffed, “Oh, and all of your mares just stay with you because they love you?”

  Ajax snorted, “They stay because I treat them with respect and protect them. Love is a by-product of that.” He cast a glance toward his herd, noting that they were hovering nearby and watching the events anxiously. He wished they wouldn't watch, as he doubted this encounter would end peacefully.

   “That's bullshit! They stay because they're weak and need protecting!” The grey snapped. “Tell me, when's the last time you've seen a herd of mares with no stallion to lead them? Never. They need us, not the other way around.”

  It took everything in Ajax's power to not charge the bigot of a stallion and beat some sense into him right then and there. “If you truly believe that, then I feel sorry for you. You must have had a horrible role model for you to have become so -” Ajax didn't get to finish his sentence as the grey stallion launched himself towards him.

  Ajax reared up and struck out, blocking the stallion's attack. The grey took a step back, and reared up to face Ajax head on. They met in the air, legs flailing before finding purchase against each other's chests. Balancing on their back legs, the stallion shoved and bit at each other. Ajax was larger than the grey paint, but the grey had a lower center of gravity which made him harder to knock down. Finally, they pushed off each other and landed back on the ground. The stallions tensely eye'd up each other for a moment.

  “Do you concede?” Ajax snorted angrily.

  “Like hell!” The stallion shouted as he lunged, teeth barred.

  He aimed low for the larger stallion's legs, trying to bring the bigger stallion down. Ajax was quicker than him and he wheeled around to kick, landing a blow to the other stallion's chest. The grey didn't back down though, sinking his teeth deeply into Ajax's flank and not letting go until he was kicked in the knee. Ajax wasn't done with him, as he turned around and snapped at the stallion's face. Just as the stallions reared up to face one another again, the frightened squeals of the mares drew Ajax's attention away.

  Another stallion had burst out of the trees taking advantage of the distraction provided by the fight and was trying to steal Ajax's herd. Estraya lead the herd away, bucking at the stallion as he nipped at her flanks to try to turn her. Fletcher tried to stand up to the stallion, but one look from the dark roan had the colt ducking away. The stallion paid Ajax but a glance as he continued to drive the herd off.

  Ajax's distraction allowed the grey paint a free hit, and he sunk his teeth into the muscle of the Ajax's neck. Ajax roared in anger and threw him off, taking off in pursuit of his herd. The grey bachelor hesitated a moment before running after him. Clearly, he too wanted a chance to steal Ajax's mares.

  Ajax's hooves pounded the earth as he thundered after the stallion that dared to steal his herd. As he came over a rise, he could see the stallion struggling to turn the herd. Ajax smirked, knowing Estraya was giving the stallion hell. She would never let a single herd member get stolen, at least not without a fight.

  “Get away from my family!” Ajax screamed at the dark roan stallion as he streaked toward him, the stud's head turning his way as his steps hitched. Good, he was nervous. He should be. Ajax lowered his head as he closed in on his target, barely slowing down. He just prayed no one would get in his way.

  The dark roan realized too late that the band stallion was not slowing down and he felt the full force of the angry stallion's muscular frame slamming into him. He was nearly bowled over by the initial impact, but managed to remain standing despite having the wind knocked out of him. Ajax gave him no time to recover as he sunk his teeth into the thief's neck, using the hold to try to pull the stallion down. Just as he forced the stallion to sink to his knees, Ajax heard one of his mare's call out to warn him,“Ajax, look out behind you!”

  He released the stallion below him and turned around in time to see the grey bearing down on him. Ajax growled, rushing forward to meet the challenger head on. He dodged to the side to avoid being barreled into and used the move to let fly a couple kicks. But the grey had smartened up, turning instead to face the stallion head on and avoid his hard-hitting kick. The stallions reared, striking at each other before landing on their hooves again. The circled around each other, biting and kicking at every opportunity.

  The dark roan bachelor had shaken off his earlier beating and was moving closer to make a go at the stallion. It was clear he was willing to turn this into a two on one fight, even if it meant sharing the prizes. But there was someone who wasn't willing to stand for that. The stallion found his path blocked by a mare, and she was soon joined by others. He balked as the mares stood defiantly between him and their leader. “Move!” He yelled at them.

  “Get lost, you're outnumbered!” Estraya shouted back, the other mares echoing the sentiment.

  “You'll never touch us!” Robin declared, moving toward him with her ears pinned and a snarl on her face.

  “We'll never let you claim us!” Deidra proclaimed, standing protectively in front of her terrified filly. She'd dealt with her fair share of stallions trying to forcefully claim her, so there was no way she was going to just sit back and watch this guy rip the herd apart.

  The stallion tried to puff himself up and stand his ground, but with nine angry mares facing off against him he decided he didn't like his chances. With a snort, the stallion decided to cut his losses and galloped off with his tail between his legs. As it was, his whole body ached from the body slam and his neck throbbed painfully with every step. The stallion would definitely think twice before trying that again.

  The mares turned their attention back to their leader who was still dealing with the grey paint stallion. The pair were both panting heavily, and bleeding from multiple blows. Still, the grey wasn't backing down, apparently feeling like he had something to prove against Ajax. The two would bounce up onto their hindlegs, swatting at each other before coming down and nipping at each other's shoulders, necks or flanks. The fight finally ended when the grey's injured knee gave out and he crumbled to the ground.

  Ajax stomped his hoof as he stood over the downed stallion. The stallion flinched, closing his eyes as he apparently awaited further harm. But, Ajax didn't make another move against the stallion. The other stallion realized this, looking up at him in confusion as he stumbled to his feet. He gingerly tested out the leg, finding that he could put a little weight on it. The stallion looked at him again, asking “Why?”

  “Why what?” Ajax asked, still watching the stallion cautiously.

  “Why didn't you finish me off?” The stallion asked almost hesitantly.

  “Oh, was I suppose to?” Ajax retorted, quirking a brow.

  The other stallion was thrown by the reply, looking away for a moment before saying quietly, “All those things you said... about respecting your mares, and about loyalty...”

  “All true. When you give respect, you'll find more often than not that you'll be respected in return.” Ajax answered calmly, starting to relax. It seemed that he might have beaten some sense into the young stallion after all.

   The stallion looked at the mares that were still standing resolutely behind their leader before looking back at Ajax, pointing out “They defended you...”

  Ajax cast a glance back at his ladies, smiling at them, “Yeah. They're pretty scary when they gang up on you.” He grinned when a couple snorted at him, the tension starting to ease in the herd. He looked back at the stallion who seemed to be dealing with some emotional turmoil. “Listen, I can tell you had a lot of those bigoted notions drilled into you by someone in your past, but this is the present. You are your own master and their words can no longer control you, so it's time to start making your own decisions. I would start with taking a good long look inside yourself and listening to what your heart has to say.” Ajax finished softly, smiling at the stallion.

  The stallion looked confused and conflicted, but finally said, “You clearly had a better father than I did.”

  Ajax snorted, “No, but I learned what's really important in this world.”

  The stallion looked at him curiously, asking, “And what is that?”

  Ajax smiled, saying proudly, “Family.”

Stallion: Ajax (#82)
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In response to: The herd's peace is broken by a mare being chased by a bachelor. Another stallion appears and things get even more chaotic. (Encounter Stallion (#22) + Encounter Stallion (#33))

Art features:
Ajax (#82) , Deidra , Meadow , Robin , Sarafina , Nikita , Bachelor #22 , Bachelor #33
Story features:
Ajax (#82) , Myrtle , Estraya , Geneva , Temara , Chloe , Finn , Ziva , Bentley , Sybill , Deidra , Meadow , Vivian , Robin , Dustan , Fletcher , Avalon , Sarafina , Sven , Mica , Nikita , Bachelor #22 , Bachelor #33
Word Count: 2637

Destination of Bachelor: Both unclaimed

Items Used: Peanutwood, Elderberry
Companion Animals: Warren (Rabbit - Caring)

Other notes:
- Fancy is on Pregnancy Protection
- Tansy is on Pregnancy Protection
- Camilla is on Pregnancy Protection
- Naomi is on Pregnancy Protection

Artist Notes:
So, this was a thing. I rolled a couple bachelors and decided that I wanted to combine them into one piece. I had a few different versions of this planned out, but decided to go with the roan being an opportunist rather than the two stallions having planned this out or going for a straight up two vs one fight.

I'm fairly happy with the end result here, but it's clear I need to work on getting my characters to look more natural in my backgrounds. I feel like they stand out too much, but I'm not sure how to achieve that without colouring my lines. I also need to remember to not work with such small lines, as it's such a pain doing itty bitty details.

Refs:
Ajax & Grey Overo Bach – Horse Stock 039
Grullo Roan Bach – Desi Stock 5
Nikita – Starlord 49
Robin, Deidra, Meadow, Sarafina – Barbara Wheeler Photography
Art (c) DaSassy