Ok, I'm sorry I'm not working on my other stories, but this one shot came to my mind as I was watching Racing Stripes last night. It was actually a pretty good movie. This is based on that and Seabiscuit, since the situation is kind of the same. I hope you enjoy, I think it turned out pretty good.
Her breath came out in steamy clouds, as she peeked out over the white fence, looking dark blue in the night-light. The full moon shone out in a magnificent aura, lighting the dew-wet grass, a million little lights on the track.
She tugged on his reins gently, getting him to follow her out into the middle of the open track. To the right was a giant stadium with thousands of seats, in her mind; she could see them filled with screaming fans, standing up on the edge of their seats.
Her hazel eyes closed for a moment, her mind blocking out everything but her breathing. Deep inside her chest, her heart was barely thumping, just beating enough to keep her alive. Next to her, he jiggled his reins and she felt her heart skip a beat, then start to gain speed.
Around her, there was the roaring crowd, her friends on the sidelines. Though it was hard to hear through the thundering applause, she could tell they were cheering the loudest, especially him. His hair floated up and down as he was jumping and shouting like the rest, his fist shooting forward and back, telling her to go on.
She gasped and threw open her eyes, revealing the empty, moonlit stadium. Her once slow and calm breaths had turned into frightened and hurried pants. Her eyes dashed around from still bench to still trashcan, feeling like someone else was there.
Beside her, he neighed reassuringly and nuzzled into her shoulder, making her attention snap back to him in an instant. She smiled and petted his long face and scratched his nose, him greatly adoring the affection.
She glanced one for time at the stands, before pulling him into the center of track, right at the starting line. A sudden nervousness appeared and shown brightly in his eyes as he looked at the familiar situation around him and started to buck. Her hand touched his cheek gently and he calmed down, still snorting and swaying his head back and forth restlessly.
A wave of doubt came out of nowhere, slamming into her system ruthlessly. Her knees almost gave out when his head bowed down and pulled her up by her arms, now wrapped around his neck and mane. Tears filled her eyes to the brim, but she refused to let them fall. She buried her face into his neck, his bristly mane tickling her face.
She sobbed dryly as he waited patiently, blinking at her, before turning and looking up at the moon, neighing softly. She stopped suddenly and looked up as well, the radiant moon glowing brilliantly. A soft smile made its way to her lips as she wiped the unshed tears on her jacket.
She glanced at the saddle and he swiftly and grandly, nodded his head up and down, whinnying excitedly. Smiling, she patted his cheek and stepped towards the saddle.
She stared at it for a moment, before thousands of memories flashed through her mind like lightning.
A little girl standing with her eyes wide and a chestnut pony before her, a boy riding on a white stallion, the girl stepping on the boy's head while trying to mount the steed, much to his displeasure.
She was sitting in front of him on the saddle while he had his arms loosely under her armpits while trotting slowly, her face buried in his back as he encouraged the stallion to go faster, already galloping through the prairie.
The happy childhood ones jumped from preteen to late teen years. She was brushing the stallion's mane when he walked into the barn shirtless and carrying a strung barrel of hay. He set it down in the corner and wiped his brow and saw her out of the corner of his eye, her body ducking behind the horse and brushed his fur hastily.
She unbuckled the white mustang's muzzle and watched dreamily as he galloped away into the pasture, the boy coming out of nowhere and wrapping his arms around her waist, picking her up and twirling her around.
She strolled into the barn, whistling when she got to the stallion's stable, halting and staring at the three wild daisies lying there, the boy hiding behind the barn door. She raised an eyebrow and smiled, placing her hands on her hips and swirling on her heels to find the entranceway empty, then turning back and softly caressing the petals.
The girl was lying down against a tree while the mustang grazed in the wild grass a few feet away. She leaned over to her lunch pail to find a tulip sitting on top. Her eyes dashed around before the boy fell from the branches above, squishing the flower. He looked down, biting his lip before holding out the other five in his hand, smiling sheepishly.
The girl had become a teen and sat on a dock on a small lake, her feet dangling in the water while the moon shown down. Her head went from bowed, to up as she turned her head to look over her shoulder, where he was standing. He walked forward and bent down, pulling a bouquet of roses out from behind his back. She gaped in awe as she took them and closed her eyes, bringing them close to their face and breathing in their scent. The boy blinked as she put them down gently and turned to him, raising her hand and pulling him in by his collar, her soft lips pressing against his.
That was when there were no more happy memories, horrible nightmares started to grow like a sudden hurricane, flooding her mind, the time of the accident.
It was really dark, no moon showing through the trees as the rain started to fall. The pair looked up, the boy on the white stallion while she was riding a filly with white and brown spots. She could feel herself shaking as she told him that they should head home. He opened his mouth to try and persuade her to stay longer, but one look at her terrified face made him nod.
They started out with a slow trot, but the girl made her horse go faster with her racing heart. In no time, she was racing again, racing against time and fear while he tried to keep up with her panic-driven pace. The ivory mustang easily caught up and the boy reached over to try and make her calm down, it was too dark and the rain had drenched them to the bone, no telling what it did to the road.
His hand just wrapped around the reins when a string of lightning cracked and hit the tree in front, the filly immediately terrified. The spotted horse reared up on her hind legs, bucking and trying to run away, but his hand kept her firmly in place. The rain had soaked the saddle and when the filly reared again, the girl screamed as she slid off, landing harshly in the mud. In that instant, the boy panicked, he let go of the spotted filly's reins as she reared up again, and her back legs sank into the muck as she reared back to far.
There was a sickening crunch as the filly's flank landed on the girl's right leg, her face wincing as she let out a deafening shriek. If the horse had fallen any closer, she would have been dead, that's what made the boy's heart stop. He rounded the stallion so when the filly struggled to her feet, he caught onto the reins and refused to let them go, pulling both horses away from the fallen girl, still grimacing in pain.
Another crackle of lightning made the filly loose it completely. She charged forward, jerking the boy and making him fall out of his saddle, leaning like a bridge, while the spotted horses reins cut deeply into his hand, turning purple and his foot caught in his holster, the stallion not moving. The white mustang was obedient, stay put when his master told him so. So when the filly kept pulling, the boy cringing and arching his back in pain, but the ivory horse didn't move.
The spotted horse reared up again, and with a revolting snap, the boy fell to the mud, gasping and holding his leg tightly as it hanged limply in the wrong direction. Thunder boomed across the land as the filly reared up once again, leaning too far and pawing the sky, as the boy's eyes opened as wide as a mile as she fell back towards him.
All the girl remembered was a heart-stopping crunch as two bright lights filled her vision, inaudible voices calling and shouting, before her world turned black.
Her eyes snapped open as she gasped and stepped away from him and back towards the stadium, her metal sprint clicking as it locked her knee, the rest of her body stumbling. She raised her right leg up into the air, the metal shining in the moonlight, as she spread out her arms and hopped back over to him. Wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, she buried her head deeply in his mane, tears falling freely as she remembered what they said.
The girl opened her eyes, fluttering, as she groaned and tried shifting her weight. The doctors ran over immediately and asked how she felt. Her mind was puzzled by their questions as she gazed around, looking at the white hospital room, her eyes resting on another bed with a white curtain drawn around it.
She turned to the doctors and asked them what happened, when they hesitated, she sat up, shaking, as she demanded to know. The doctor spared a worried glance at the nurse before telling the story.
When she and the boy went out on the horse ride, storm suddenly brewed up before they could make it home. The girl's horse had freaked and threw off the saddle, sitting down and crushing her leg.
She gasped and ripped off the white sheet, clasping her hands over her mouth at the sight. There was a metal frame around her right leg, blood soaked bandages wrapped around it as it still lie limply and facing the wrong direction. The doctor gripped her shoulder like a father, tears building up as he told her she might not ever walk again, much less ride.
"What happened to him?" she choked out, turning to the nurse and demanding, "What happened to him!"
The doctor nodded to the nurse, and she went over and pulled the curtain drawn over the other bed. The girl screamed, and tears poured out of her eyes and drenched her face in seconds.
He was lying in that bed, his body all contorted. His leg was bending backwards and his elbows had snapped, sending his arms in the wrong directions. There was a humongous indent on his chest where the filly had sat on him. Only his face looked the same, worn and battered by the rain and mud, he looked like he was just sleeping peacefully, not dead.
She sobbed into his mane, holding him closer as she remembered how she wept and wept for him, just the memory of him lying there was enough to make her stomach churn. Next to her, he neighed softly, and nipped at her jacket, making her roll her head and look at him.
"I know boy," she patted his head, "You miss him, too."
He whinnied and nodded his head, his mane flapping up and down. Smiling, she patted him once more before sliding her hand down his neck until it hit the saddle, as she limped next to it once more. She fingered with the leather before nodding to herself and positioning her hands.
She tried to jump up onto the saddle, but her arms couldn't support her and she stumbled backwards, falling on her butt. Biting her lip, she grimaced as she fumbled around with her metal sprint and was able to stand up, awkwardly.
He neighed, getting her attention as he lowered on his knees and sat down, coming to a level where she could get on the saddle easier. She limped over and ran her fingers through his mane gratefully, then jumped up and held herself up with her hands on the saddle. Swinging her good leg over, she sat pretty comfortable in the leather seat and pulled bad leg into the holster.
Clicking her tongue against her mouth, he recognized the signal and stood up on his all fours, standing proudly. She smiled and pulled lightly on the reins, having him trot forward very slowly. She winced slightly as her leg moved up and down along with him as he walked a few feet down the lane.
She pulled the reins to stop and he obediently halted, bringing his head down to the ground and started grazing. She bent down and rubbed his side affectionately as he searched around on the ground for green grass.
Her heart started to beat louder and faster with each second, adrenaline pumping through her veins. This would be the last time she would be able to do this, but in her mind, it was worth it.
She clicked her tongue again, his head rising and he turned his long neck to look at her curiously. Nodding her head, he started to trot, before she squeezed his sides and he went a little faster. In her mind, he wasn't going faster enough, she wanted to fly, feel the wind rush through her hair.
She snapped his reins, the desire to fly one last time in both of their hearts. He sped up eagerly, and soon, they were running at full speed around the track. The night air felt like it was pricking her skin, as her body and his moved fluently together. Unfortunately, his old muscles started to burn, his breath coming more rushed but she refused to let him stop.
Behind her, a transparent figure appeared, riding on a slower and younger white stallion. They easily caught up to the girl and she looked over, tears flying off her face into the wind as a smile etched the boy's features. She choked, feeling the breath in her lungs just disappear, as she shakily held out her hand, struggling to keep it straight against the high winds.
His smile grew wider as he easily brought out his hand and laced his fingers with hers. He caressed her hand before letting go. She watched him with sad and longing eyes as he galloped ahead and started turning around the corner.
When she ran after him, she gasped when the track was empty; there was no trace that he had ever been there. She looked down and balled her fist, bringing it to her chest, her eyes opening wide as it still burned with his warmth.
He stood there, panting heavily as she massaged his neck, leaning over to whisper in his ear.
"One more time. Please, just one more time. For Yoh."
His ears twitched and his head shot up, hearing his master's name. A new strength grew in the old stallion as he reared back, neighing proudly. Running forward, he ran as fast as he ever had before, pushing his body and heart to the limit as she did as well.
They ran once along the track, memories of sights and sounds filling their minds and hearts, as they ran through the entrance gate, slowing only when they reached the stables. He walked right to his stable and stopped in front of the gate, falling to his knees to let her off.
She stepped off and unbuckled his saddle while he was down, and placed it on the shelf in front of his stall. Unlocking the gate, she grazed his flank as he walked past, then shut it as he turned around and rested his head on the top of the door.
Smiling softly, she scratched his nose and patted back his bangs, kissing him on his long face, before limping back to get a good look at him. The golden nameplate below shown in the moonlight the name "Amidamaru", he had named it after his former sensei.
She hobbled down the corridor to the next stall, where a beautiful young mare stood, his head nodding up and down happily to see her. Smiling she scratched his face, thinking how much he looked like his father with that spotless ivory coat.
A single tear fell from her face as she limped down the corridor and out into the moonlight, that single tear falling on the golden nameplate beneath him on the gate. The first rays of sun peeked through the giant window, making all of the nameplates sparkle and shine. The tear glittered as the sun outlined the three letters etched into the metal.
Yoh.
OH. MY. GOD! I KILLED YOH! What the hell was I thinking! Oh, well. I spent a while making this while my brother was wringing my neck because I was on the computer for so long. I'm surprised I actually wrote angst, it's really a surprise. What next? I'm going to write a story without an OC? Keep dreamin'. Please review, I really like this and I want to hear if you did too. Peace!