White Lightning (Spirit Stallion Of The Cimarron)

Chapter 4

The night was a long one for White Lightning, waking up at random moments, tossing and turning as the frigid night wind blew. It seemed like years before the Sun barely popped over the horizon, again turning the world he knew into an assortment of yellow and orange.

The stallion stood up slowly and stretched, his thoughts were swimming, most of the previous day was an unfamiliar blur. He turned towards the camp and walked, slowly, the feeling of grogginess overwhelming.

The camp was eerily quiet, even for how early it was, he expected to hear something going on, anything. Nothing but the wind to keep him company.

The stallion sighed, not really caring, he felt like something deep inside him had been ripped from his body, like an organ missing from the body, he felt incomplete. On the other hoof, he felt a slight warmth, very, very far down in his soul, this comforted him.

White Lightning decided it would be best to stay off the grid for a while, he ventured forth to the base of the mountain range before stopping. He looked up, the mountains were a comforting purple shade.

The stallion tromped groggily around the base of the mountain, looking for a footpath of sorts, if there even was one. Eventually, he came to one, leading up the shallow side of the mountain.

The stallion proceeded up the footpath for what felt like hours, he was only about halfway up, he looked down to the camp, it seemed so much smaller from up there. He then looked to his right, seeing nothing but vast valleys and mountain ranges, some higher than this one.

Thoughts raced through the stallion's mind as he stared into the valleys, yesterday, the days previous, dreaming. None making much sense.

White Lightning turned his head down to look at the camp, it was surprisingly far behind him, the white tents were now small fluttering caps, far below.

The stallion stood there, surrounded by vast emptiness, he closed his eyes for a minute, taking it all in, the smells, the feeling of floating, everything flowing together into a relaxing aura.

White Lightning felt a tug on his tail, the blissful sensation faded quickly, the stallion grimaced and opened his eyes, it was sunset.

The stallion blinked, surely he had just woken up, he'd only been standing up here for a few minutes.

He shook his head and looked behind him, surprised to see Shadow standing a few feet behind him.

The other stallion looked down the slope and away from White Lightning,

"S-sorry...you've been gone all day and no one could find you..."

White Lightning rolled his eyes and turned around, passing Shadow, the other stallion followed quickly.

The pair continued down the footpath to the base of the mountain without saying a word..

***

Shadow kept his eyes on White Lightning the rest of the night, he was acting more off than usual. Not only that, but he'd have a great view of his backside.

The stallion stopped at the corral and tried to get a better view on White Lightning, who was standing idly by the river.

The other stallion flicked his tail a few times, exposing his underside, Shadows heart skipped, he felt fire burn in his cheeks and told himself to look away, but he couldn't bring himself to move.

Shadow continued to stare, hoping to catch another glimpse of the other stallion's privates.

The stallion shook himself out of his trance and took off in the opposite direction, he couldn't shake the feeling of love for the other stallion, no matter how hard he tried.
I

t was overwhelming, the farther he moved away the closer he wanted to be. He had to tell him, it had to end. At least then he'd know if it was possible.

Shadow took a deep breath in, and sighed. He turned to the forest and walked, thinking through his plan carefully, everything had to be perfect.

***

White Lightning stared into the gushing water, his reflection shooting a blank stare back at him, his face was void of emotion, "I can't live like this..." The stallion thought to himself, "The longer I wait, the harder its going to be..."

The stallion turn to face the corral, then walked, slowly and quietly. When the stallion finally got to the fence, Rain was half asleep in the other corner, "Hey! Psst! Rain!" The mare jolted and stumbled, "Wh-wha's?!"

White Lightning grimaced and snorted, "Over here, stupid..." Rain shook and looked over, "And just who are you calling stupid...?" The stallion groaned, "Look, I wanted to tell you this so you're not wondering. I'm leaving."

The stallion instantly turned to leave, Rain suddenly blurted, "You're leaving me here?!? Come ON! At least take me with you!!" The stallion turned his head back slowly, then quickly looked forward with a sigh, "If I let you out, don't follow me."

Rain felt her heart sink a little, "Wait, what? Why?" The stallion nodded off in the direction of the mountains, "Just trust me, I'd rather be alone, you know where the herd is. I'm not going back to them."

The mare gave him a confused look, "Well, why the hell not?" The stallion kept his gaze on the pointed mountain range, "Something out there is calling me... I can't explain it..." He took a few steps back to the corral before stopping, "Get the idea?" The mare gave him a look of disbelief, she shook her head and sighed, "Whatever, dude, I just think you're crazy..."

The stallion snorted and shook his head, unlatching the gate, "Now, go, get outta here." The mare bolted forward, took a last look at him and galloped off towards the South. The stallion took flight as well, heading to the valley below the range as quickly as he could, he felt something pulling him forward, of what, he had no clue.

White Lightning continued on like this for a while, moving farther and farther into the valley, slowly, thoughts of the bay stallion entered his mind, he felt a slight tugging on his heart as the real weight of what Shadow was going through hit him.

The other stallion was clearly in love with him, why? He had no idea, the scenery slowly pulled thoughts of the bay stallion from his mind, every now and again popping back into thought.

Slowly, White Lightning completely forgot of the village, Shadow, Rain, the herd, he was driven on moving forward to whatever this calling may be, a name kept ringing in his mind, "Moon-", always halfway cut off.

The stallion dug through his mind, searching for a name in the past, but it came up empty, whoever this "Moon" was, he had a feeling that they where the reason for this sudden urge to go to the mountains...

...•••°°°•••...