This idea came from Tomoe Mami. Instead of Rusty getting his leg broken in the carriage crash, what if it was someone else? Some other creature that would devastate their life. What if it was one of the horses?
I own nothing. The Lady and the Tramp belong to Disney. Original story idea belongs to Tomoe Mami. I don't own the cover image either.
Enjoy the story!
The night was wet and cold. A short rainstorm earlier had made the dirt and cobblestone pathways slippery. The dim light from the streetlamps did little to light their path. It wasn't an easy load either. Pulling a heavy carriage with a driver and dog held up in the back. They nearly tripped several times in the mud just trying to pull through it.
One of the horse's ears perked up as it noticed its companion had sneezed and was beginning to lag from exhaustion. Both their coats were soak in raindrops and they shivered. Tonight was not the right night to be out. Chances were if they didn't slip and fall they'd get at least a cold from the freezing water on their pelts.
All of a sudden, a long wailing sound broke out into the night. Both flinched as the loud, ghost-like moans hit their ears like the driver's switch on their backs. They became even more uneasy as the sound of rapid footsteps splashing against the wet ground grew louder and closer.
In a mere moment, all of hell broke loose. A bloodhound rushed up to them and began barking at their legs while on the other side a terrier began yapping at the carriage's wheels. Their legs instinctively moved forward, trying to outrun the vicious animals. However, they had not accounted for it to be as fast as them and to sudden veer right in front of them.
With the combined force of from their acceleration and the slickness of the muddy road, they both rose onto ther hind legs to avoid collision with the dog. Scared whinnies erupted up along with the frightened yelps of their master as they tried to get both themselves and the carriage behind them to stop. Their hind legs slipped across the wet earth like it was ice and the carriage lost control. The sudden stop, combined with the weight of the load, caused inertia to take hold and send the carriage tipping and falling over, along with the driver and the horses with it.
A few moments later, a car stopped behind it, its headlights shining upon the extent of the damage. A group of people had gathered around it to watch. The driver, successfully unharmed, went to check upon them.
In the back where the mutt was being held, a cocker spaniel went to check on him, relieved that he was fine. The terrier and bloodhound rushed over to them, both muddy and tired, but unhurt as well.
Then from out of the commotion came out a frightfully painful sound. A shrieking whinny broke out louder and more urgent them all the people talking in concern for what had happened. The spaniel took first to seeing what had happened, though she barely had to round the back of the carriage to see what had happened.
In the midst of the pouring rain and in front of the trashed vehicle one of the horses lay on its side. Its chest rose and fell quickly as it screamed it in pain. Its companion lay next to them, neck draped over neck to give whatever comfort it could. Slowly, the dog came closer to see what had happened to it in the crash.
Though it was dark and the horse was still spasming, she could briefly make out what it is. Instantly she felt nauseated and felt the urge to vomit when she had a quick glimpse at the bent and bleeding leg right beside the wheel.
Her mind went back to the lessons she had learned about life from her two neighbors. She had once spotted a lame horse pulling a light load and when she had asked about t was then when she received the facts about death and the cold truth about the end of one of the world's creatures.
If a horse had a lame or broken leg, it was of no service to anyone. And if it had no service or usefulness left, it had to be put down.
For the second time that night, she gelt a wave of sadness rush over her. Here was supposed to be a rescue mission where nobody would get hurt and they'd all be happy in the end. Dooming an innocent creature had never been the intent.
On numb legs she walked over to the two horses. The injured one had stopped flailing all about and was just crying out hoarsely, no pun intended, while tears streamed out from its eyes. The one laying its head across its neck suddenly sniffed and looked over to her. A loud snort came from its nostrils, a sign of intimidation from the horse even more so wary about dogs then ever. She stopped and bowed her head while bending her legs, trying to appear calm and submissive towards it. The horse paused and stared at her, considering whether or not to let her come nearer. Finally, it resumed trying to comfort it partner, leaving room for her to come closer.
The horse's eye was surrounded by drops of moisture from both the rain and the crying. In the dim light of the streetlight it stared out blurrily at the figures surrounding it. It could feel the warm breath of its companion on the back of its neck and could faintly hear the mumbling tones of the people standing above them. The pain in its leg was growing numb and it could feel that numbness spread long with the cold throughout its body.
It finally caught sight of the cocker spaniel standing right above its head. It's throat was already raspy from crying out and it no longer had any strength left to move. The dog sniffed and they could see the glistening moisture gathering out of the corner of each of her eyes. Slowly, it leaned forward and a pink tongue came out and began licking off the water off of their face. It slowly made it's way up the bridge of their nose, towards their eyes to brush away the tears, and then up to their ears to take away the cold wetness from them.
In a small, quiet voice, like the whisper of the wind, they could make out the faint echos of an apology.
"I'm sorry."
For those of you who don't know, when a horse breaks their legs, it's common that they be immediately put down to put them out of their misery. It sounds cruel, but really it's merciful. The reason for doing this is because when a horse breaks their legs, the bone just doesn't snap like with human bones, it shatters. There is no compromising for healing once the damage has been done. Putting the horse done is kind instead of allowing it to live in pain.
Thank you Tomoe Mami for providing me with this idea. It is a very sad idea, but it is a very valid point about the film when you think about it. Let's just be glad no one had to die in the original film and thank you again for giving me this writing challenge.
Thank you all for reading. Go check out Tomoe Mami's stories, please leave a review and feel free to check out any of my other stories. Sincerely, v.t.7