Ghost Horse-Spirit Stallion of the Cimarron

Chapter 12-Jump

Desert lifted her head lazily as she reached for the last apple. Noticing Eagle stretching out towards it, she lowered her head. "You can have it, I've had enough." she smiled, dropping her muzzle to the grass and snatching up mouthfuls of grass.

"No, we can share it." Eagle replied softly, pulling the apple from the tree and biting into half of it, waiting for Desert to take the other half. Tentatively she did so, their eyes meeting.

"All aboard!" a man yelled, pulling the lever and closing the back up.

"Now! Go now, Desert!" Eagle hissed, watching as the paint crunched the rest of the fruit and took off at a flying speed towards the ship. What he was about to do would break his heart, but he had to. Desert soared high and just managed to leap up to the boat, looking around for a stick with a rubber ball on the end. There wasn't one.

"Eagle! There isn't a lever! What do I do?!" she whinnied, scared that he would be left behind.

"I know... Your land is just over the mountain..." his voice faltered as he saw her face.

"What?! Eagle I can't do this on my own! I..."

"Desert, I..."

"I love you." Desert finished off his sentence, staring down at him lovingly, her eyes filled with sorrow. Eagle nodded and gave a small smile, stepping back into the shadows as he watched the only mare he had ever loved slowly depart from the beach.

As the ship disappeared into the slight fog of the sea, Eagle turned and sighed, squeezing a tear from his eye. "She loved me, and I let her go." he whispered to himself, staring at the ground as he walked away, back towards his homeland. Their worlds were different. Eagle was a wild stallion, scavanging and changing his location along with a small band of friends, doing whatever they wanted, whenever. Desert had a herd. She had a family and a great life as a leader ahead of her. And spending time with a loner stallion would only make her more reluctant to return to her rightful place at home.

"Well your head looks pretty deep in the sand. What's up?" a deep voice said from infront of him. It sounded familiar. Glancing up, Eagle realised that it was the strange stallion from Alaska's herd.

"The love of my life just sailed out of my life."

"And who might that be?" the black horse asked, standing in the middle of the path so Eagle couldn't continue to walk.

"This... beautiful, kind, sweet mare. Desert. Desert Solis, to be exact."

"Hm. Sounds special."

"Yeah, she was."

"Well, I used to have a mate. A beautiful palomino mate. We created a herd, and about a year or so later, wanted a family. My mate and I were overjoyed when we found out she was pregnant! I mean, a little foal of my own, to teach, to love, to care for... But before the foal was born, we had a fight. A massive, stupid fight, and she split me off from my herd and my foal. So I ran. I ran and ran as far as I could so they could never find me. There were rumours that I was killed by another stallion, Forrest I think, but they weren't true, of course. I was too much of a coward to return and apologize. And now... I don't even have the choice..." he finished, looking down at his hooves. You should chase after her, because when you truly love someone, that feeling never goes away."