N:   "It's alright. The death of his horse hit the prince hard and to see a reminder of him is difficult, so we understand," spoke Anglo, the other Englishmen nodding, "besides we could check up on your father in the meantime."

"I would like to go to the stables," Johann piped up, "it's weirdly calming to take care of horses, plus someone has to tell Cinnamon ... what happened."

"I'll go with you then," England said, "you guys can go but I'll go with Johann to the stables."

M:   "Ok, we'll meet up with you after we see how Father is doing," Mandara said as a compromise, "though like he said, don't expect Derogan to join."

The two groups left the dining room and went their respective ways, Mandara of course taking the lead to his father's room. When they got there, however, they were denied entry since Mandoria was sleeping.

"But we won't bother him, we just want to see how he's doing," Mandara protested.

"And you can when he awakens, young prince," the guard reassured him, "I will even fetch you when he does, but for now you must let him rest."

N: "Are you sure we cannot enter?" Anglo asked, but the guard shook his head. The winged country nodded at the guard, thanking them for taking their time.

As the group walked away, Saxon asked, "what now? I doubt we will meet up with the other group immediately."

—————

"So, Sir England," Johann began as they made their way towards the stables, "why did you decide to come?"

The country walked silently for a moment before answering, "I was the last person to see Thunderstrike alive, and I feel that I have stolen a precious moment from the horse reserved for Derogan," he sighed, "that's just going to bother me."

The human hmmed as he took it in, and eventually, they reached the stables.

M:   "Doesn't mean we can't go," Mandara said, "and there is another reason I want to go down there; I want to see if we can't pick out a new horse for Derogan. I know it's still pretty early but the nursery section of the stables has a few foals and I thought that it might help cheer him up to at least go take a look at them."

—————

The stables weren't too crowded today, there were probably one or two knights and a few stablehands, but the horses themselves were acting differently. They figured out that something must have happened to Thunderstrike and were either down in the dumps or restless. Cinnamon herself was clearly very upset, she stood with her head down in the corner of her stall and her food bucket was still full from that morning.

Xanthos on the other hand was getting worried that his owner hasn't come yet, he was constantly whinnying and bumping up against the stall door, wondering where Mandoria was.

N:   Johann marched towards Xanthos, and England gave him the side-eye, "Are you sure that you won't get trampled under him?"

"I'm sure," the boy answered uncertainly, and as he approached the horse, he had to be careful that he wouldn't get knocked over. Eventually, he got a small stool, stood on it, and slowly reached for his muzzle. "Hey, you remember me? I was with King Mandoria and Sir Rowen the other time," he said, and he was able to calm Xanthos down. He attempted to comfort the steed, "King Mandoria can't come now, but he's resting and I'm sure that he hasn't forgotten you."

Meanwhile, after some directing, England found Cinnamon's stall. Not wanting to frighten her, he sat down right outside the stall door, and muttered, "hey there. Don't be afraid. I know the princes and about ... Thunderstrike."

He hung his head, "he was such a strong horse, and I'm sure that you already know that, and someone who is close to him, you deserve to know. He's not coming back; he's gone to a better place where creatures like him can live peacefully and happy. And I'm deeply sorry that you weren't able to say goodbye, but remember: he will always be with you even if you don't know it." He didn't know if Cinnamon understood but all he could see was the dying horse lying in front of him, so he buried his head in his hands.

—————

Saxon nodded and Anglo agreed, "I do believe it is somewhat early, but any attempt to make Derogan smile is something we should do."

The English followed Mandara as they went to get Derogan.

M:   Derogan was sitting on his bed facing away from the door, he had a plushy of a black horse that he's kept since he was a baby. He used to love how much it looked like Thunderstrike, but now it was just a sad reminder. He tossed the plush on the ground and buried his face in his pillow, silently sobbing.

—————

Cinnamon didn't move when England was talking to her, but she did nicker like she was saying she already knew. The horses pawed at the ground a few times then decided to just lay down, her head still in the corner while making a few noises that could only be described as crying, Thunderstrike was like a brother to her, they were raised together and grew up together, now he was never coming back.

N:   Johann walked up to the country, and when he saw his sad appearance, he hugged him to comfort him. England was caught by surprise but eventually allowed the boy to hug him.

"It was not your fault, Sir England," the human boy spoke, "what is done is done and you can't change it. All we could do is live with it," he glanced at Cinnamon's also saddened expression, "losing someone as close as family is hard and horrible, and things like that needs time to heal."

—————

Anglo detected Derogan's sadness from his wings when they entered the room, so he walked over to the prince's bedside and knelt down. He wrapped his wing over the prince and muttered words of comfort.

Saxon also walked in, and when noticing the plushy, picked it up. Turning it in his hands, he realized the resemblance it had to Thunderstrike and muttered, "this thing is not very helpful."

M:   "Shush," Mandara said to Saxon sternly, taking the plush out of his hands, "Mother gave it to Derogan before she died, he actually picked out Thunderstrike because of it."

Derogan couldn't be bothered by the conversation between Saxon and his brother, he just kept sobbing into his pillow.

"I just can't believe he's gone," he muttered into the cushion, "I've had him since he was born and raised him like my own child, he wasn't even fully grown yet, why did he have to go so soon, why?!"

N:   "He's not gone," Anglo hushed, "he's always with you. My Mutter used to tell me that when someone we love passes away, they hover near us, being our guardian angel in times of trouble and a good friend whenever we are down. Derogan, Thunderstrike is and will always be with you wherever you go.  Grief is a fickle thing, and I could never imagine how I will be if I lost England, but I did not make this up for the sake of cheering you up. I believe what my Mutter said with all my heart, and there will be days when you can feel your friend watching over you."

Meanwhile, further away, Saxon whispered, "Sorry, I didn't know."

M:   Derogan sniffled a bit then suddenly jumped up to hug Anglo tightly, "I miss him so much, he was my best friend, my only friend really, I just want him back!"

Mandara hated seeing his brother so upset, it wasn't like him to show emotions let alone be sad, he went over and hugged his brother.

"He never left brother," Mandara consoled him, "We might not be able to see him anymore but he is still here, and as long as we keep his memory alive, he'll never die."

He handed Derogan the plush, who wordlessly took and hugged it. Mandara then added, "and who knows, he may come back in a different body, it may take time but he'll never be gone forever.

—————

Little did Mandara know that time didn't want to wait, in the stables one of the horses who looked a little on the bigger side started becoming a little distressed, she was whining and breathing heavily. One of the stablehands noticed her change in behavior and went to check on her, then yelled, "hey Fredrick, go get the ropes, we need to get Gemstone to the nursery quickly, her baby is on the way!"

N:   Anglo was temporarily startled by Derogan's sudden movements, but he hugged back. He made quiet hushing noises while Mandara comforted his brother, sending calming wing vibrations to Derogan.

—————

Both England and Johann looked up when they heard the commotion, and the country got up on his feet. They looked at each other when they realized what was happening, so the country said to the boy, "I'll go and get the others; we were going to meet anyways and this might cheer up Derogan. You stay here." With that, the country darted out of the stables.

Johann stayed near the stable hands, but not too close to be intrusive. Trailing behind them, he was eventually let into the nursery; however, he wasn't allowed to enter, so he sat outside the door and waited for the others.

While this was happening, England rushed into the castle, searching for the other group to tell the news. He first went to Mandoria's room, and when he heard that they couldn't enter, he searched the rooms that he knew to find them. Eventually, he found the right room, poking his head in, he announced, "A foal is about to be born right this moment."

M:   The brothers looked up when England popped in, surprised at the news.

"I guess he's coming back sooner than I expected," Mandara said, very surprised.

Derogan was silent but looked equally surprised, he looked down at his plush and whispered "could it be" under his breath. He jumped off his bed and ran for the door.

"Come on guys, I don't want to miss this," he insisted.

N:   England jumped aside as Derogan rushed out of the room, quickly followed by Mandara and then his fathers. The moment Anglo passed, he asked "who's coming back?"

"Thunderstrike," the winged country quickly answered, leaving a puzzled country behind until he connected the dots and understood why everyone was rushing.

Johann looked up from where he was sitting and saw the countryhumans coming, in the forefront was Derogan. "If England was any slower to get you guys, you would have missed it," he spoke, standing up from where he was sitting, "but I think you're just in time."

M:   "I hope so," Derogan said, he walked up to the stablehands and spoke with them in Mandorian, and after a little bit, Derogan was allowed in but the others had to wait till after the foal was born.

Several minutes later and the others were let inside, Derogan was looking into a stall with a palomino mare in it, and next to her was a Marwari Dun foal, still trying to find its footing.

"It's a boy," Derogan told the others, a big smile on his face, "isn't he pretty?"

N:   "He's a beautiful foal," agreed Anglo, smiling as he watched the small animal attempt to stand. The winged country rested his hand on the prince's shoulder, "he came back for you, Derogan, and he will always be with you."

"He's a fine one," Saxon said, observing the foal, "he's definitely got spirit in him."

M:   "Yeah, he does," Derogan said, tears running down his face but this time they were filled with joy.

The foal saw them all watching him so it stumbled over to the stall door, Mandara couldn't help but giggle at its wobbliness, it was very cute.

Derogan reached out his hand for the foal to sniff him, and not only did he sniff his hand, but the baby rubbed his hand affectionately and wanted chin scratches, which Derogan happily gave.

"That is a good name, Saxon," the prince said, "what do you think little guy, do you like Spirit?"

The horse let out an adorable little whinny and did some sort of excited dance, clearly happy with his new name.

N:   Johann laughed with joy, happy for the foal that he's welcomed. When he saw Derogan's happy tears, he wrapped his arm around him, "seems like you two are going to get along just fine."

The English were all happy that the Mandorian has found his smile again, and that Saxon has contributed something good, even if it was unintentional.

M:   "So l guess you're choosing this one as your new horse, Prince Derogan," the stablehand from before asked.

Derogan nodded eagerly, "yes, I want this one, when he's a little older of course."

"You hear that, little Spirit," Mandara said, "now you have two mommies."

The foal whinnied excitedly and the mare nickered approvingly, causing the siblings to chuckle.

"Hey Derogan, we still have to take care of Cinnamon and Xanthos, but I'm guessing you're staying here?"

"For now, yes," Derogan confirmed, "I'll be over there in a minute."