thank you to all who reviewed! oh yeah, elleestJenn, reread the paragraph, the first time it says skirts the second time its shirts yeah...ummmmmmm...any suggestions? my plot is working well in my mind, but any extra side sttuff would be useful. let me know

this is gonna be really long, but really good.


When Mustang woke up, the rest of the newsies were already up and getting ready. She swung her feet over the side of the bed and blinked for a moment, becoming aware of her surroundings. As the first of the boys started down the stairs, she grabbed the shoelace that had fallen out of her hair and ran down into her room. Her shoes were still damp, but they'd have to do. She realized with a frown that she'd have to wear the skirt the rest of the day, as the window had been leaking and both pairs of pants were still wet. She brushed her hair just enough so that it wasn't crazy and put her hat, deciding the shoelace was needed more in her shoe than her hair. She ran out just in time to meet up with Kid Blink.

"Dutchy's up ahead," he said as she fell into the crowd next to him.

"It's not like I'm not allowed to be near anyone else. I like talking to you." She smiled, but her face quickly dropped.

"Hey, don't worry, we'll find her." He placed an arm around her shoulders. She nodded and looked up at him. He was, of course, wearing his eye patch again, as well as the blue bandana he always wore around his neck. They walked the rest of the way to the distridution office in silence, pausing only as Jack pushed past, followed by the Delanceys and a small crowd of cheering newsies. Mustang was glad someone was enjoying the beautiful sunny day that the storm had left in its wake. As they joined the line, Dutchy came from the front and stood with them. None of them spoke until after they had gotten their papers.(mostly cause i dont feel like writing dialouge)

"You guys mind if I sell alone? Won't be too heart broken?" Mustang asked as they reached the gate. Both boys nodded, but as she turned and left, Dutchy looked worried.

"She can take care of herself."

"I'm not worried about what other people might do to her, it's what she might do to herself. If she goes crazy again like she did last night..." He shuddered at the memory and subconciously rubbed his neck.

"I'll follow her. Just ta...keep an eye on her, ya know?" Blink laughed.(ha ha, get it, eye, cause of the eye patch? its funny!) Dutchy had to smile as he nodded and headed toward the harbor. Blink waited for a moment and then followed Mustang. He sold out quickly, only having bought 30 papes in the first place, and also making an effort to be amidst big crowds. On a normal day, he would have gone back and gotten more, but that would mean losing track of Mustang. She too sold all of her papers quickly and began to wander through the alleys in the general direction of Central Park. She froze where one opened into the park and stared out. All Blink could see from his hiding place behind a trash can was a grove of trees. Her footsteps echoed as she ran forward. He stepped out quietly and saw her on her knees next to a fallen tree.

"No," he whispered, stepping forward a little. The word echoed softly back to him, but no matter how many times he heard it, there was no denying what he saw. Hardly thinking, he ran out of the dark alley, past Mustang's dropped hat, and up to wear she knelt. He sat down beside her, but she didn't seem to notice. She was cradeling Cowgirl's head, which stuck out from beneath the leaves. She was alive, but even Blink, who knew nothing about horses, could tell she was seriously hurt. One leg was bent akwardly and all around her the sun glinted off of deep red blood.

"It's alright lovey. Everything will be alright my baby, I'm here," Mustang whispered, gently stroking Cowgirl's ears and face. There were no tears in her eyes, but as she glanced up at the body of her beloved horse, Blink could tell she knew things were bad. "We have to do something to help her." She looked up at him.

"Mustang, what can we do?" He hated to say it, or even think it, but there didn't seem to be any way she would survive. "Do you want me to find a doctor or something? I don't think they could help her."

"I know they can't," Mustang whispered. Her voice was thick and sounded like she was crying, but no tears fell. "I just want to get her out of this tree. I want her to be happy, even if it's just for a few more moments. See if you can find Jack. He always seems to know what to do." Blink stood and started to leave, but stopped.

"Promise you won't do anything crazy while I'm gone." She looked up at him.

"I can't do that."

"Well, promise you won't go crazy again."

"What do you mean?" He came back over and knelt in front of her.

"I mean like you were last night. When you almost strangled Dutchy and attacked me. It scared me." She nodded.

"I promise." He stood and ran off to find Jack. Mustang turned back to the soft eye that was watching her. "It'll all be ok lovey, I promise. You know I don't break my promises. Jack's going to come back and he'll help you. He can fix everything, can't he." She laughed a little. "Never mind. But he'll fix this. You just relax babe." She leaned forward and kissed Cowgirl''s forehead. Then she started to hum. It was a tune almost everyone knew that was very special to both of them. Soon, she started to sing as well. "Greensleeves was all my joy, Greensleeves was my delight, Greensleeves was my heart of gold, who but my lady Greenesleeves." It was strange that she should even remember the words, she hadn't sung or even heard the song in years. Every once in awhile she would hear the melody, especially around Christmas time. Now she could hear each word in her head just as her mother had sang it years before.

Cowgirl's ears twitched and Mustang looked up as footsteps approched them. Kis Blink was leading Jacvk to wear she knelt, and behind them came a police officer. She was somehow relieved he wasn't riding a horse. The officer surveyed the scene slowly shaking his head. She didn't see him do it, but Mustang knew his gaze was resting on her horse's broken leg.

"Ma'm, no one could do anything for it." Mustang nodded and turned back to her horse. It seemed sad and wrong that she should have to say good-bye to Cowgirl when she was trapped in tree branches.

"Could you at least move the tree? It'll make it easier to move her afterwards." Blink and Jack were surprised that she said it so easily, and moved to help her. As the boys and the policeman moved larger branches, she carefully pulled out twigs and smaller sticks that had stabbed into her horse's sides. Cowgirl didn't move, but Mustang knew it was hurting her. As the branches were cleared, she began to guess what happened. The base of the tree, where it had broken, was charred, it had been hit by lightning, which had caused it to fall. It had scared Cowgirl, who had reared up and been knocked over backwards by the falling tree. She closed her eyes, trying to erase the image in her mind.
About half an hour later, the branches were all cleared away into a sort of mess ring around Cowgirl. The three newsies knelt next to her, each knowing her in a different way, but all wishing she would get up and walk back to her field. Jack didn't know her well, but she was a connection to a far away world that seemed to be fading more. To Blink, she was a hero. She had been there, saved him and Mustang from the Delanceys, and carried Mustang home after they saved her from the river. And she was something deeper too, some sort of extention of Mustang. To Mustang, she was everything. A memory of home and better days, her best friend through everything.

"Only thing left ta do for her is end it fast," the policeman said from behind them. His voice wasn't harsh, but they could tell he was getting impatient. "Longer she stays here, the longer she suffers." Mustang nodded. Blink and Jack looked at each other and stood, giving her a final moment. She turned back to Cowgirl and ran a hand down her forehead. Then she pulled a few strands of hair from her mane and soktly sang the last verse of the song.

"Ah Greensleeves now farewell, adieu, to god I pray to prosper thee, for I remain thy sweet-heart true, come once again to meet me." She pressed her face against Cowgirl's, felt her warm breath one last time. With a final kiss she stood and moved next to Kid Blink. "Good bye lovey," she whispered. Her eyes didn't break away from Cowgirl's even as the officer slowly pulled out his gun and pointed it at her head. She didn't even blink until the shot shattered the peaceful morning. Only then did she look away. Only then did she allow herself to gasp a sob and let tears fall. She had no one left to be strong for.She felt like she would collapse until she felt Blink touch her elbow. She fell into his arms and just cried and cried on his shoulder.

When the men with the large, flat cart arrived some time later, Mustang had only one request. That Cowgirl's body be burned. She didn't want it sent to a slaughter house, or left to rot in a landfill somewhere. She wanted it burned, she didn't care what they did with the ashes, but that was the only fate she would allow.
"And I'll know if she isn't, and you'll be sorry."Were her final words to the man who climbed into the driver's seat, took the reins of his own horses, and clicked them on. Then she blew a kiss and waved as the cart carried her dearest friend in the world away. As it turned the corner, she had her last glimpse of the red-brown coat glowing in the sun.