By Mc Haven Adinail B. Tuason
The story begins with two horses living in a stable — Luna, a majestic silver-haired horse who was born with fast legs. And Billy, an average-looking horse, who appears slow because of his big body.
One day, when the horses were minding their own business, they heard the doors open and saw figures of people. The said people walked throughout the stable and stopped where Luna and Billy were. Both horses were well aware of what was happening.
It was the selection of horses for the Stallion Event, an exciting event that takes place every five years. Two horses would be handpicked and have them race against each other to test out their skills. What makes this event so special is that whoever wins will be crowned as the fastest horse of the West. They chose Luna and Billy as the competing horses. The other horses expected Luna to be selected. Billy, being the other horse, took everyone by surprise.
After the people left, the horses immediately discussed what had just happened. “Why did they choose Billy? There is no way Billy can beat Luna in the race! This matchup is just unfair!” claimed some of the horses.
Luna followed up with their claims: “Yes, I fully agree with you, fellow horses. I do not know why they chose Billy, but I see this as an opportunity to show off my dazzling performance!” She goes on to explain how she will win in a boastful manner.
With all the ongoing talks around the stable, Billy felt discouraged. When Billy went outside the stable, he saw Luna running around the farm with unbelievable speed. This lowered Billy’s confidence even more. At the same time, a drive to try and beat her in the upcoming race started to rise within him.
On the next day, Billy tried to sprint around the farm. To the other horses, it seemed to them like he was taking a stroll instead. Luna did not pay any attention to what Billy was doing. It proved difficult for Billy. At times, he would ask himself why he was doing this in the first place. Still, he insisted on continuing.
As each day passed, Billy kept improving. He can run around the farm much quicker now. The other horses slowly noticed his improvements. Still, Luna ignored Billy’s progress whatsoever.
The day before the event began, both Luna and Billy would have their last run around the farm. Billy had been practicing day and night for the upcoming event tomorrow. Luna, on the other hand, hardly practiced, believing that her naturally gifted legs would be enough.
The first one to go was Luna. As expected, she displayed an elegant performance along with her amazing speed. All the horses that were watching cheered for her. Now, it was Billy’s turn. The group of horses turned quiet. What once was cheering turned into gossiping. He ignored them and prepared himself. As soon as Billy heard the signal, he went in with explosiveness speed! Gusts of dust flew everywhere! Billy was going at such unequal speed that the horses watching could not see his legs! With Billy’s big frame and speed, they felt slight tremors from the ground! And before they even realized it, Billy had already finished.
Every single horse was stunned! Especially, Luna, no one expected Billy, a big, average-looking horse, to be so agile. What Billy did left everyone speechless. Luna was panicking and faced the consequences of not taking Billy seriously as an opponent.
She tried everything, running around the farm endlessly, doing all sorts of practice, but to no avail. As it was too late, she relied too much on her gifted legs which, led to her not practicing as much.
And so, The Stallion Event began. Billy crushed Luna at the race. The horses and people watching did not expect Billy to win. Luna felt devastated, defeated, and disappointed. If only she took it seriously like Billy, then maybe, she could have been the one at the finish line. From now on, she made sure to put in the effort, and not to rely on her talents.
END.