My Knight in Shining Armor

Chapter V

The next morning, I wrapped my ankle for support, and got ready. I pulled my hair up into a messy bun, and pulled on a pair of jeans and a Coca-Cola shirt.

"Let's go, Steve. The boys are waiting for us at the stables."

"Which one?"

"The local one, over by the city recreation building."

"Alright. Let me grab my keys."

We climbed into his souped-up car and drove to the south side of Tulsa, almost near the outskirts—that's where the stables and stadium were located. The boys were all waiting for us when we got there. "Let's see this horse," I said, wringing out my hands.

"This horse can be pretty ornery..." Dallas started.

He pointed to a strong-looking stallion. The horse was a beautiful golden color. He was easily the prettiest horse I'd ever seen.

Sodapop stepped forward, his mouth hanging open. "Mickey Mouse?"

I gave him a puzzling look. "No wonder the horse doesn't like no one," Steve remarked. "That there is Soda's horse."

"Sorta..." Ponyboy whispered.

I cautiously walked toward the horse, expecting him to rear back or something. The stallion remained calm, and whispers could be heard behind me. "What?"

Pony laughed. "You are the only person besides Soda that can get him to stay calm around people."

I didn't plan on riding Mickey Mouse today, because of my side, but I did climb onto his back to see how he'd react. Spoiler: there was no reaction.

"You may have just found yourself a horse, man," Dallas grinned.

The day of the rodeo finally arrived. I stood in the stall, taking deep breaths. I was glad I had packed my rodeo gear—you know, like my shirt, pants, hat... all that stuff that was required by dress code in these things. My side was feeling a lot better, so I'd decided to go through with it. I was riding in the next event—barrel racing.

After the signal, I climbed onto Mickey Mouse, and led him to the starting gate. My heart started beating faster and faster, until it was finally my turn. "I'm ready. I got this," I whispered to myself.

And I was off! It was thrilling, looping around the three barrels in a sorta clover-like shape. I finished quickly and led the horse back through the gate.

I waited only a few minutes until the other event I was in started—the regular horse race. Mickey Mouse proved to be a fast horse; I was just anxious to see if it was fast enough.

I rode back out toward the starting gates. I looked down the line to see who else was racing, but I stopped after I saw the person next to me. "Dallas!"

He winked and waved at me. "Heya Penny! You ready?"

I nodded. "I sure am!"

"Well, you won your last event, so I'm confident in your riding—"

"I won?"

"Yeah! You didn't hear?"

I shook my head. I opened my mouth to say something else, but we were about ready to start. Suddenly, we were off again.

I urged Mickey Mouse to go faster. I was neck-and-neck with Dally, who was grinning wildly, knowing he was inching in front of me. "C'mon, boy. Faster!" I whispered.

Mickey Mouse wasn't going faster, but I still got ahead of Dally. A rider rode in front of him and cut him off. Dally was able to maneuver his horse. I got a good look at the guy that had pushed Dallas to the side. It was the Soc. It was the Soc that had caused me so much trouble during the previous week.

"Faster!" I pleaded, tightening my grip on Mickey's reigns. He started running a little faster, but so did the other guy. I pulled on the reigns. "Whoa!" I slowed down a little to let the guy pass me, but he slowed down with me. I used the opportunity to speed up in front of him.

The Soc rode fast again and proceeded to cut me off. He spooked Mickey Mouse, and I was thrown off. I screamed as I fell, but everything went silent and dark when I hit the ground.

Dally POV

I watched the Soc that had cut me off scare Penny's horse. She was thrown off of Mickey Mouse, but none of the other horses slowed down or stopped. I pulled the reigns on my horse. "Whoa!" We were going slow enough that I could jump off onto the ground.

"Penny!" I screamed. I didn't care that people would see emotion on the face of the great Dallas Winston. Penelope was more important.

I dropped to my knees beside her and took her hand in mine. "No, please. Not yet, Penny. I never even got to ask you out. Please don't die now. Please," I sobbed.

"He broke. Winston broke," people were saying behind me, but they seemed far away and unimportant.

"Wake up, Penelope Randle. Wake up!"

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Author's note
I'm sorry that this chapter is a couple hundred words shorter than usual... I just got so excited! I got an idea from a friend (you know who you are) and my fingers just started flying. I had a fantabulous time writing this, despite its absolutely heart wrenching ending. I'll have you know, though, that I'm not afraid to kill characters. Y'all have no idea what will happen. I shall leave you hanging on this cliff. Just keep in mind Dally's heart wrenching screams, as you realize one of the only people he ever cared about might not make it. You're welcome.

On a different note, when Penny was getting hyped up for her races, I'm Ready by Bryan Adams came on my Spotify. Also, I perished inside when Ponyboy was in the stables 😂

Your friendly neighborhood greaser, signing off...
Stay gold y'all ⭐️