The Tournament
And with that—a lance straight to the breastplate—Sir Rides A Lot’s honor tumbled to the playroom floor as he careened off Daisy McHorsetail onto the wooden floorboards and towards the big bookshelf It wasn’t the loss per se that wounded his pride (not to mention dented his armor) but his unworthy opponent, who he has grossly underestimated This was the third annual playroom tournament and Rides A Lot was the reigning champion two years running He had defeated Texas Pete the Outlaw riding Thunderbolt (they came as a Wild West set) and before Pete, he took out the Black Knight and his stead Galahad—both from the same medieval set as Princess Penelopy and the castle that sat on the small bookshelf Despite what you may think given his name, Sir Rides A Lot did not come with his own horse He had earned the trust of Daisy over many months As Big Sister became less and less interested in the Barbie Groom ‘n’ Care set from which Daisy originated, it was easier for Sir Rides to lure her from the Dreamhouse and into the rough and tumble toy bin full of soldiers, dinosaurs and Matchbox cars Daisy turned out to be a tough and talented mare Sir Rides thought they’d be a shoe in as this year’s opponent—self selected for the ballot and voted in by the council of play things—was none other than Princess Penelopy herself Sir Rides A Lot always thought of her as his star crossed lover, the two floated in each other’s circles but never quite got the timing right She had had a thing with Texas Pete and when that finally ended, Sir Rides was seeing one of the Bratz It was casual, but he didn’t want to seem desperate by dumping her and immediately going after Penny Then the ballot opened and the princess beat out the robot, an astronaut and G I Joe to compete in the duel Penelope rode a purple-haired My Little Pony and had fashioned a lance from a barbie fork fastened to a knitting needle, unorthodox, but Sir Rides thought she looked adorable Perhaps it was his fondness for his opponent that allowed his mind to wander
