"Yes!" she agrees. "I can’t imagine anything bigger than the Ridge. When we were up there I could see everything!" It had been exhilarating. Well worth the drills she received as punishment from the red mare: relays, running a certain length between two objects and turning swift as she could to return. Over and over and over. Shararat shakes out her mane and tries to imagine a height even higher than the ridge. Would she be able to see over the ocean?
"I didn’t know stars fell," she admits as she follows her golden friend into the calm water. "What happens when they hit the ground?" She lifts her head at his instruction as the water rises past her chest, and soon the ground slopes away from her small hooves. Shararat churns her legs instinctively, her rapid movement broken as her body dips a little and her hooves drag suddenly on sand and she bobs back to a shallower area. Too fast? She snorts, though no water invaded her nares this time, and tries again.
This time she steps out with confidence, as if she cannot fail, and works her legs under the waves as steadily as if she was running. It is weird at first: she expects her hooves to brace against solid resistance and spring her forward, but it is like running through solidified wind. Her hooves touch nothing but resistance is everywhere, and she finds a rhythm that acknowledges this strange new sensation and keeps her above water.
"I’m doing it! Look look, I’m—" and down she goes, concentration broken in her excitement. This time she pinches her nostrils shut and slicks her ears back as soon as she realizes she’s going to sink, and resurfaces without any frantic splashing as she kicks her legs and forces her way back to the surface. "See?" she grins at the golden stallion, then works on turning herself in the water. "This is harder than running," she says as she feels sand under her hooves again and moves so that the water only laps at her chest. Her breath comes hard but she’s smiling, eyes alight and looking afar as she considers all the possibilities opening to her. |