A WEE SHOCK, Page three
Copyright Mary Mannon Reeves
The pony's ears flattened and he leveled out into a rough gallop. His rough gait was worse than the bucking, but I stayed on, alternating praise with curses. It must have been a sight, Raponin the mighty horse tamer, bouncing into town on a horse the size of a hound dog and screaming at the top of his lungs. If it ever gets back to the Plains...
"Raiders!" I shouted. "Coming in from the west!"
The chuckles of amusement that had heralded my arrival were replaced by cries of alarm. Men and women scurried for weapons as the children dove into the bolt-holes. I wheeled the pony around and dashed down the few sidestreets, repeating my cries. As I rode, the Shock grew more responsive, his stride lengthening to a comfortable gait. I reached down to give him a reassuring pat, as I would any beast, only to find a thick, sinewy neck instead of a scraggly mane.
If you've ever ridden an unbroken horse, then you will know what I mean by the hump. There is a hump under the saddle that indicates the animal's about to cut loose. There was no hump in the Shock's broad back. It was in his neck, in his haunches, in his chest, in his legs. He was a living breathing hump that had grown 8 hands as I rode him and every hump promised me a ride that would not be forgotten. If it was survived.
By now the raiders, their cover blown, had burst into the town, swords drawn. Again, the houses were fired. Again, Tam joined the fray with her own Banshee cries. The Shock bellowed an answer, and leaped into the midst of it, exploding with power and anger. One, two, three of those back-breaking lunges, and I was done for. The first time the Shock came within spitting distance of Mother Earth, I slid off and rolled away.
The animal paused once, his magnificent head thrown against the sky. Flame danced from his forelock to his mane and sparks flew every time his hooves touched the ground. He fixed me one more time with that smouldering yellow gaze, although this time, I saw a glimmer of respect and a veiled promise in the topaz depths. Then, his job done, he wheeled and ran for the hills, his screams echoing after him, and through my dreams for weeks.
Tam saved her commentary until after the bandits were driven off. Helping me to my feet, she grinned.
"I told you so," she said.
"About the Shock. OK, you were right. For once."
She shook her head, smiling wider. Toeing a hoofprint burned into the grass, she shook her head and smiled wider.
"I told you that that was one horse even the mighty Raponin couldn't ride. And a wee shaggy beastie at that."
Let her laugh now. I saw the promise in the Shock's eyes, and I know that fight isn't over yet.
THE END
For my own wee shock, my first pony, "Beauty," and my own sweet Walking Horse, "Shadow."