A Dyslexic Ranger

Back In The Saddle

Normal POV

"So, that's why you didn't use the symbol when we got the city after we got the message arrow," Emily says.

"Yes, I was embarrassed. A Samurai is a warrior that rides a horse fearlessly into battle. I'm terrified to ride one." Traci admits.

Jayden takes a few steps forward and places his hand on her shoulder. Traci slowly looks up at him. "Traci, Everybody has something they're scared of,"

"Yes, Jayden's right," Antonio adds.

"I know that, but it's not like Y'all are going to admit them right now," Traci says.

"I have a question, when did you develop this fear?" Kevin asks.

"When I was six, my Uncle Mateo came to visit. He took me to the fair since mom had to work." Traci answers.

"Your mom couldn't get a day off of work," Mike says.

"She did have the day off, but she got called in," Traci says.

"Mike, stop interrupting," Emily says.

"I saw there were pony rides. While I was riding, a squirrel popped out from behind a bush. It reared up, and I fell off. " Traci answers.

"Then what happened," Emily asks.

"I look up, and its front hooves are about to stomp down on my leg," Traci answers.

"You should have developed a fear of Horses not riding them," Kevin says.

"I used to be afraid of horses, but I realized how hard it was to be scared of them. One of my uncles, John, lives on a ranch," Traci says.

"We could help you get over your fear of riding them," Emily suggests.

"Y'all don't have to do that, you know," Traci says.

"That's what friends do for each other, right?" Emily says.

The group nod. They walk into the forest and find an open field. Traci takes out her morpher then draws the horse symbol. She slowly flips her wrist to activate it. A few seconds later, the group sees the light brown horse with white spots, and a black main with a white spot on its nose appears in front of them.

"That doesn't look like a war horse," Kevin says.

"I guess I was thinking about one of the horses from my Uncle John's ranch when I activated the symbol," Traci says.

Traci walks over to it. She puts her left foot in the strip, grabs the reins with her right hand before pulling herself up, and swings her right leg over. A few seconds later feels her foot slip out. Antonio runs up to her and catches her in his arms right before she hits the ground.

Meanwhile, a foot away, Lauren and her mentor Aleasa are watching from behind a tree. Lauren wants to reunite with her brother, so she steps out to run over to them. Aleasa quickly grabs her student's wrist and pulls her back behind the tree.

"It's not the time to reveal yourself yet," Aleasa says.

"Why not Aleasa? I'm ready to lead," Lauren answers.

"Because the silver ranger still hasn't accepted the other rangers and your brother as her friends yet," Aleasa answers, slowly letting go of Lauren's wrist.

"You're saying that I have to wait till she calls them her friends before I can take my place as the Red Ranger," Lauren asks.

"Yes," Alease answers.

"I'm confused. Traci spent an entire summer with Jayden and me at the Shiba house when we were kids. I thought we were her friends," Lauren says.

They continue to watch from their hiding spot and see Antonio help Traci to her feet. He walks back over to the others while Traci tries to get on the horse again.

Traci's POV

I take a deep breath and let it out slowly to shake off the last of my nerves. I lightly tap my heels on the horse's side to tell it to start walking. It slowly takes a few steps forward. I smile as I begin to get used to feeling the horses' movements through the saddle.

I forgot how fun this is. Let's see if I can handle it at a trot,

I tap my heels again, and it starts to trot. Everything is going great till I see my least favorite woodland creature running across the field - a squirrel. I feel it's about to rear up. I remember my Uncle John told me what to do if a horse is going to rear up. I lean forward a bit to tip my upper body towards its neck while staying in the middle of the saddle. I don't pull on the reins; I push them towards its mouth. After its feet are back on the ground, I slowly ease it forward by gently squeezing its sides with my legs. Then lead it into a small circle to calm it down. After having it do a few right and left turns, I ride back up to everyone.

"When did you learn how to stop a horse from rearing?" Mike asks.

"From my Uncle John," I answer.

"That was impressive. I'd always bail out whenever it happened back home," Emily says.

"Thank you, Emily. Are we going to ride back to the house or not?" I ask.

"You bet," Antonio says.

I guide my horse over to the others, so there is enough space to activate their symbols. I let Jayden lead us back to the house. I click my tongue and taps its side again, and I ride off down the path.