Brian sighed to himself. Every since the jumping contest had been decided in his favor, he had been constantly overrun by reporters waiting to interview him. "There just doing there job….there just doing there job…there just doing there job…" Brian inwardly chanted to himself.
"So Brian Marks…after that DISASTEROUS practice session of YOURS you managed to shock everyone her at FCRA by coming in FIRST place. Was that simply a FLUKE? OR… some sort of BIZZARE TRAINING strategy?" A young blonde woman said enthusiastically.
Brian put on a forced smile and turned towards the blonde reporter who had just spoken. "Practice makes perfect." He said simply. "Now if you excuse me, I need to get ready for the race." Without another word he left the news circle and headed back to the stables. Once inside he started to relax. "That was not fun." He commented out loud to the air.
"There gunning for you. Of course it's not fun." Brian spun around and Earth Dancer neighed in surprise. Nearby was another boy sitting on one of the few wooden benches that were placed close by. Unlike the other riders, the boy smiled at him.
"I'm Joey Stargazer and this is Star Runner." he announced as he gestured to a black horse. Brian smiled back. I'm Brian Marks and this is Earth Dancer." Brian then blinked and stared at the other horse. "Is her mane silver?" he asked in disbelief. Joey smiled. "Actually it's white with a silver shine to it. She's one of a kind." He announced proudly before he grinned. "And so am I!"
Indeed he was. Joey's unruly hair was almost down to his shoulders and was almost white with only the slightest hint of blonde. Like Brian he wore the jockey uniform but his was a harlequin pattern in a mix of black and silver.
"Hey since you're here would you mind helping me up on Star Chaser?" Brian blinked in confusion at the sudden and odd request. Joey grinned weakly and carefully rolled up a pants leg. To Brian's surprise, the baggy pants concealed the fact that Joey wore leg braces.
"My legs may be weak, but my arm's aren't." He said firmly. Carefully Brian helped the other boy to his feet. Several times Joey had started to wobble badly. Without Brian's assistance he would surely have fallen. Finally though, Joey was on Star Chaser's back. A special strap attached to Star Runner's saddle kept his legs firmly in place.
"Thanks!" Joey said brightly. With a click of his tongue, Star Chaser wheeled around to face them. "Don't expect me to go easy on you." He warned. Brian grinned back. "I wouldn't want it any other way."
Brian continued to smile cheerfully as he followed his new friend to the track's entrance. Unfortunately someone had other plans. The moment Joey was out of sight it happened. A violent blow from behind forced Brian to let go of Earth Dancer's reigns as he fell to the ground.
Immediately it was taken advantage of. Earth Dancer let out an angry cry, but a harsh tug by several pairs of hands kept her in place. Brian himself was pinned firmly to the ground. Any attempts to get up resulted in vicious punches forcing him to lie on the ground.
"Good Dog." Bruiser Fists, Randall's right hand bully grunted his approval as he grinned nastily as Brian glared at him. "You won't get away with this!" Brian declared. Bruiser grinned and silenced the paperboy with a fierce blow. "Bad Dog!" he sneered. With one chubby hand he pointed to the stables. Getting the hint the rest of the gang started to drag Earth Dancer back towards the stables. "No!!!" Brian cried out in anguish and is once again silenced.
Patty O'Green had watched with amusement as Brian had been immediately swarmed by reporters, reminding her once again of the infamous sprite sign up…or as Brian called it the day of the million cast signatures. She giggled in remembrance. It wasn't long though before the excitement wore off. It had taken a bit of persuasion, but finally Tickled Pink and Buddy Blue had agreed to walk around with her until the race started again.
Patty's eyes were wide in horror and Tickled Pink started to cry. Brian had apparently had been ambushed by Randall's gang. Several boys held their friend down to the ground and would harm him every time he moved. Earth Dancer in the meantime was being forced towards the stables.
Buddy Blue recovered from the shock first and his eyes hardened. He then touched the blue star on his belt causing a beam of blue light to appear. Two more beams of green and pink quickly followed his lead.
The bullies forgot about their punching bag as they stared in horror at their skin which was now a mix of pastel colors. Quickly they abandoned boy and horse and fled.
Tickled Pink's finger dropped away from her belt and her eyes started to once again tear up. Buddy noticed immediately. "Pink get Rainbow!" He ordered. The pink color kid nodded and quickly ran off. Buddy turned back towards Patty who looked sadly at their friend.
"I'm glad I insisted on the walk." She said quietly. "If I didn't-" Patty's words trailed off as tears appeared in her eyes. Buddy nodded his agreement at Patty's unvoiced fear. It could have been a lot worse. He thought as he looked at the still form of his earth friend.