Falls

"Again," she whispers as his hooves cease the dancing and the dust settles over the tender grass shoots. In a flurry of motion she dives toward him, brushes her muzzle across his skin and continues the dance. He eyes her for a moment. A single moment. Before he too let the rhythm flow from his beating heart to his hooves. He can feel the excitement, it tingles in the air and breathes life into every living creature. He can hear the whir of the cicada in the branches overhead, the chatting of a songbird and the buzz of the bee. His glacial eyes meet her honey dark gaze as her pirouette finishes and her twirling hooves find the earth once more.

A smile crawls across his whiskered lips as he pulls his foreleg back in an invitation bow. "May I have this dance, m'lady?" he asks with a wink.

"Follow me," he whispers into the narrow space. With a few steps he settles abreast and takes the first electric step. He can feel the thrum of her heart against his side and the excitement as they both begin to dance. Foot forward. Back. A breath. and again. At first it is awkward. Robotic. But as they both settle and the rhythm once again begins to flow through them it becomes. Beautiful.

The world around him is forgotten. They dip low, swing back, and soar into the air. Flashes of greens and yellows, a blur of motion.

As the dance comes to a close, sunlight filters through the dust that floats in the air around the couple. He once again faces her and pulls one leg behind him in a bow. "Thank you," he whispers as he brings his gaze to meet hers. His nostrils flare with every breath and his sides heave. "... for the chance to dance."