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December Story & Poem Contest Rules: Winning stories and poems will be published in Pony Pals Magazine. All entries must be original, meaning that the member who enters them must have written the text. To be eligible the story or poem must have a horse or pony in it someplace. Stories should be suitable for all ages, including younger members. All entries published in the Magazine will earn 500 Wiggins Bucks, the best stories and poems will earn 3000 Wiggins bucks and trophy for the writer. Pony writer quills are awarded every day, remember to quit the scavenger hunt and restart it after you get your quill to earn a higher score.

December Story & Poem Contest Rules: Winning stories and poems will be published in Pony Pals Magazine. All entries must be original, meaning that the member who enters them must have written the text. To be eligible the story or poem must have a horse or pony in it someplace. Stories should be suitable for all ages, including younger members. All entries published in the Magazine will earn 500 Wiggins Bucks, the best stories and poems will earn 3000 Wiggins bucks and trophy for the writer. Pony writer quills are awarded every day, remember to quit the scavenger hunt and restart it after you get your quill to earn a higher score.	Jane Crandal & JB
2018-11-29 02:11:04
Jane, if this gets put in the magazine, is there any way of making the words between the "*"s italics before it's published? Thanks! The Lesson By Nat2 “Harriet, do you know where my riding boots are?” From beneath a mess of blond bedhead a pair of groggy brown eyes glared up at her. “Tru,” Harriet said patiently from behind her coffee mug, “before my daily dose of caffeine I don’t even know where *I* am.” Trudy peeked out at her from behind the refrigerator door. “Is that a no then?” “What do you think?” Harriet went back to drowning herself in her coffee, leaving Trudy to dig in the fridge for something worth eating for lunch. She ended up with a container of questionable chicken salad and a half-a-sandwich that had probably crossed the Atlantic with General Pershing. “Harriet,” she said thoughtfully, emerging from the fridge with her prizes in hand, “what was in this sandwich?” Harriet squinted at the offending article. “Ham and cheese, I think. Why?” “It’s not now.” Trudy chucked the sandwich left-handed at the trashcan. It hit the side and splattered on the floor. Somewhat guiltily she met Harriet’s accusing stare. “I’ll clean it up,” she offered. “Later, I mean.” “I’m sure you will.” Harriet looked up at the clock. “Not that I don’t find your scintillating conversation deeply stimulating on the intellectual plane, but isn’t your riding lesson in five minutes?” “Yes." Trudy returned the chicken salad to the refrigerator and pulled out a loaf of raisin bread, plunging her arm into the bag and fishing out a slice. Harriet watched her with interest. “Not that I’m trying to butt in on your business,” she said politely, “but you’re still in your slippers. Personally I’d wear riding boots if I were you. Don’t you think?” *“Yes,”* Trudy replied, exasperated. “Which is why I need to find my riding boots. Which is why I *asked* you about my riding boots. Because I don’t know where they are.” “Hmm.” Harriet sipped thoughtfully at her coffee. “I’d hurry up and find them, then.” “Oh, thank you.” Trudy threw the raisin bread back into the fridge and slammed the door shut. Somehow it wasn’t as impressive as a regular wooden door, what with the airtight seal letting out nothing but a perturbed hiss, but it still conveyed some of her annoyance. “I’m so glad I asked you for guidance.” “Hey,” Harriet said with a shrug, the coffee giving her enough life to brush back her messy hair, “what are big sisters for?” Trudy didn’t reply, snapping off a bite of her raisin bread and chewing viciously. As she passed by the kitchen table, she glared down into her sister’s coffee cup. “I hope a fly drowns in that,” she remarked graciously, and stalked upstairs. The next five minutes were spent tunneling through the two feet of wreckage under her bed, searching for her riding boots. “Come on, come on,” Trudy muttered as she threw aside old crayons her cat had chewed on and a sock and a sweater that had gotten too small for her eight years ago. “Where did I *put* those?” “Did you try in the closet?” Alarmed, she jumped up—or tried to, anyway, but the bottom of the bed frame stopped her in her tracks. Her head connected with it hard, resulting in a hollow thunk. “Ow!” Brief footsteps sounded out, and then a pair of bright brown eyes appeared upside down at the edge of the bed. “Are, uh. . .you all right?” Trudy squirmed backwards out from under the bed, rubbing her aching head through her messy auburn hair. “Dolf, if I catch you alone I’m going to whack you to death with your own stupid cowboy hat,” she snapped. “Now help me up.” Randolf Bates, the unapologetic hired hand of Near Heaven Riding School—a family business handed down from Trudy and Harriet’s great-grandfather—offered her a work-roughened hand. “Sorry about that,” he said insincerely in his unflappable Southern drawl. “You just looked so helpless down there, with nothin’ but a pair of legs wavin’ around in jeans and bunny slippers.” “They are *not* bunny slippers,” Trudy retorted. She brushed down her pants, ridding them of years’ worth of clinging dust bunnies. “Unless you’re totally *blind,* you should be able to tell that those are plainly *cat* faces.” She exhaled sharply, brushing her hair back from her face. “What are you doing in my room anyway?” Dolf shrugged, shifting the matchstick in his mouth from one side to the other. “You’re six minutes late,” he told her. “I came up to the house to see what was keepin’ you and Miss Harriet sent me up here.” “Of course she did.” Trudy could just picture her older sister plotting at the kitchen table, hoping to have her sibling caught unawares by Dolf the goofy farmhand who had a knack for saying the wrong things at exactly the wrong time. “I’ll be down in just a minute.” “You *are* plannin’ on actually comin’, right?” Dolf asked doubtfully. “I mean, I can’t handle a bunch of insufferable little kids forever, y’know. It just ain’t in my nature.” “Yes, I’m coming,” Trudy snapped, near the end of her rope. “Where did you say my boots would be again exactly?” “The closet,” he answered reasonably. “That’s where most people keep ‘em, anyhow.” Trudy inhaled for an indignant reply—something about how she wasn’t most people and he shouldn’t assume things and he definitely shouldn’t walk over and open her closet door *like he was doing right now*—but she stopped when he stepped out of the way and let her see her riding boots sitting there, minding their own business, right between her tap shoes and her sneakers. “Oh,” she finally said. “I *did* put them up.” “No,” he corrected, his own boots clicking on her hardwood bedroom floor as he came back over to her. “Miss Harriet did. She figured that’s what you were doin’ up here so she told me where they were so you wouldn’t waste anymore time.” Trudy stopped pulling on her right boot and gave him an incredulous green-eyed stare. “She *what?* You mean she *did* know where my boots are and she told me she *didn’t* because—” She stopped, realizing she didn’t even know what nefarious purpose her sister’s plotting was angling towards. “Why did she do that again?” “She wanted you to figure it out on your own, I think,” Dolf said, shoving his hat up higher onto his pitch-black hair. “Somethin’ about goin’ on a journey of discovery and findin’ your own way.” He stared at her as she shoved the boots onto her feet and made her way to her door. “Where you goin’?” he asked. “On a journey of discovery,” she answered ominously, and slammed the door behind her. Harriet was still at the kitchen table, finishing her coffee and leisurely picking at a plate of scrambled eggs. As the one in charge of the financial aspects of running Near Heaven, she didn’t have to get up as early as Trudy; she didn’t even have to get dressed until noon. She wrangled with numbers; Trudy wrangled with horses. It wasn’t hard to guess who was the one who didn’t feel right if she wasn’t in dirty jeans. “Sister dear,” Trudy said as she approached the kitchen table with the caution of a hunter nearing a wild animal caught in a trap, “didn’t I ask you just a few minutes ago if you knew where my boots were?” Harriet glanced up, giving her younger sibling a brief inspection. “They look like they’re on your feet,” she commented helpfully. “I *know* where they are now.” Trudy put both hands on the table and leaned over it in what she hoped was her best starving velociraptor imitation. “But didn’t I ask you before?” Calmly Harriet sipped her coffee. “Yes.” “And didn’t you tell me you didn’t know where they were when in fact you did?” Trudy narrowed her eyes. “Which makes *you* a liar?” Harriet smiled at her, unruffled. “Sister dear,” she said sweetly, “if you’ll recall correctly I never said I knew where they were. You’re projecting again.” Trudy scowled, preparing to argue. And then she remembered that Harriet actually *hadn’t* said she knew where they were. “Oh.” She blinked as her entire argument structure began to collapse in on itself like a wet cardboard box. “Oh.” “You’d better get going, Tru,” Harriet told her, checking the clock on the wall. “Now you’re *very* late.” Casting her sister a glare, Trudy slunk toward the door. “Oh, and Tru?” She paused and turned. “Don’t put your foot in your mouth anymore today,” Harriet advised kindly. “You’ll ruin your leather boots, and I know how much they mean to you.” Suppressing a feral growl, Trudy left the house before her sister could puzzle out yet another witty remark. The stables had always relaxed her when she was in one of her Harriet-induced moods; they did so now. The horses all nickered greetings to her from their stalls as she entered through the big double doors. The annoyance in her died; a feeling of horsey contentment settled over her; and she let out a sigh. A moment later she let out another sigh, this one far from horsily contented, as she heard the mind-rattling noises of four cranky students wondering why they hadn’t gotten their riding lessons yet or why they were even there in the first place. “Wish me luck, Marse,” she muttered to a dun French Trotter as she went by. Marseilles gave her a sympathetic look and returned to the heap of hay in the corner of his stall. Bolstering herself with a deep, dusty breath, Trudy plunged forth into the wide walkway between the stables and the paddocks. Her students were waiting for her—although ‘waiting’ implied some form of patience, and they had none. Four lesson horses were already saddled up and tied to the fence, eyeing their prospective charges with resigned distaste. Trudy’s own horse was watching, barebacked, with mild interest from the opposite paddock. Dolf was presiding over the whole affair, having somehow slipped past Trudy and arrived at the stables without her seeing him. Briefly she wondered if he’d climbed out her bedroom window and cut through the pastures before she turned to the students with a bright smile. “Good morning,” she said cheerfully. “I’m glad you could make it.” Her four students stared at her. “You’re late,” Miles, the oldest at 15, said bluntly. In a performance worthy of the Screen Actors’ Guild, Trudy defied all her instincts to whop him upside the head and instead gave him a serene smile. “I know,” she said simply. “Let’s get on our horses, shall we? Dolf, can you help?” Dolf obligingly slunk over in his trademark Southern swagger and together they managed to sort out the children to their corresponding mounts. To Miles went The General, a haughty gold Tennessee Walker retired from the limelight and known around the barn as Bob Lee. All the students coveted him for his almost-magical rocking chair gait, but he was assigned to Miles, since as the oldest the boy had the most experience riding and could handle him with something moderately close to finesse. To April, 13, went Little Boots, a dainty black Paso Fino gelding with a flair for the dramatic; and to Julietta went a scrawny-necked Russian Trotter named Toska, a liver chestnut so dour and grim he couldn’t have bucked even if he’d tried. He endured all the lessons with a steely determination, doing everything except ride himself for Julietta—which was a good thing, because she spent all her time looking at the last student, Steven, and trying to get him to notice her. At 14, he was the same age as Julietta, but realizing she existed was low on his list of priorities; he spent most of his time keeping a firm hold on Miss Marie, the energetic young Arabian/Thoroughbred/Little Bit of Something Else cross he had been assigned. As a boy he was able to handle her inherent bounciness with a firmer hand than either April or Julietta—but, also as a boy, he complained bitterly, loudly, and often about having to ride a creature with such an undignified, girly name. “It’s girly because she *is a girl,* Steven,” Trudy had admonished, rubbing a hand over Miss Marie’s sleek red hide, “or hadn’t you noticed?” “She’s a mare,” he’d argued, reining the creature in grimly. “There’s a difference.” Even Trudy hadn’t been able to figure that one out. Now, after everyone had been put on their proper horses, helmets had been firmly placed on the correct heads, and Dolf had melted into the sidelines to wait for the next disaster to erupt, Trudy hopped the fence and went over to her own horse, leaning against his shoulder, already worn out. *I really should ask for a vacation,* she thought resignedly. Bastion, her faithful gelding, twisted his head around and rubbed his muzzle on her shoulder in a touching display of equine sympathy. A gigantic old dapple gray something-or-other, he had been her lesson horse since time began—or at least since she’d started actively giving lessons. While he lacked the refined Arabian features of Miss Marie, he was impossible to spook. Out of all the lesson horses, he’d been at this the longest, and somewhere along the way had developed the enduring habit of heaving deep, enormous sighs at the most inopportune times. Trudy didn’t particularly mind, though; she figured that he deserved it. Over the years, all the lesson horses had endured everything at the hands of young children except being tied in knots. Although, if nobody stopped Toska’s current rider, that distinction wouldn’t hold for long. “Hang on, Julietta!” Trudy ordered, rushing over and snatching the reins from the girl’s hand. “What have I always said about riding a horse?” “If you’re not in charge, he is?” the blond offered unhelpfully, peering at Steven across the paddock. “No,” Trudy said patiently. “You can’t *manhandle* a horse’s head. They hate it when you saw at their mouths like that.” She held up the reins. “It’s not an accordion, it’s a bridle. Treat it like one, okay?” “Okay,” sighed Julietta, tearing her dissatisfied gaze away from Steven, who still hadn’t noticed her, and taking the reins from Trudy. “But he’s so. . .*lifeless.* Doesn’t he trot?” Toska gave her a baleful look and snorted as if to point out that just because he was a Russian Trotter didn’t mean he actually had to perform the corresponding action. Trudy gave his wiry neck an understanding pat and stepped back. “If you ask him right,” she answered. “Go on, let me see you move him from a walk to a trot.” Obediently Julietta made the obligatory kissing sound and gently tapped his sides with her heels. With a modicum of long-suffering dignity Toska reared back his dignified head and began pacing around the edge of the paddock in his long-legged stride, slinking like a panther along the fence. Julietta twitched the reins a little too subtly, and Toska blatantly ignored her. Huffing, she tried again, and this time he obliged, making the smooth transition from walk to trot with obvious ease. “Very good,” Trudy praised them both, relieved this lesson hadn’t crashed and burned like so many with Julietta had before. “Keep trotting, will you? Remember to keep control of his head, but don’t yank on it.” “How am I supposed to do that?” Julietta whined, pulling back on the reins so much that a homicidal gleam lighted Toska’s eye. “Not like that, for starters,” Trudy admonished. “Let out the rein, and don’t press so hard with your legs. You’ll squeeze him in half.” Toska snorted an affirmation, his alert ears flicking back and forth as Julietta reluctantly made the necessary adjustments. Once Trudy was confident that they could be left to themselves, she turned to the others. Dolf had gotten them started on their respective exercises, leaning languidly against the fence and calling out an instruction every so often. Trudy had to admire his ability to get something going and then sit back to let it continue by itself; it required the perfect combination of control, patience, and restraint, which she herself obviously lacked. April and Little Boots were weaving contentedly to-and-fro between a row of poles; Steven was cantering Miss Marie and trying not to let her have her head and smash them into the fence; and Miles was trying to urge Bob Lee into his trademark rocking chair gait and so far having no success. If Bob Lee didn’t want to rock, he wasn’t going to rock. He switched teasingly from a trot to a canter and back again, and through it all Miles rode with the grim air of a cavalry officer preparing for a charge. “Good job, Miles,” Trudy called over, even though it wasn’t completely true. “Try to keep him in a trot, though. April, sit up straight; remember, there’s a ramrod down the back of your shirt.” “No there *isn’t,”* April protested, but she sat up straighter anyway and squared her shoulders. Trudy sighed; these things were so much easier with the little kids, who could pretend anything into being and had no trouble envisioning everything from a ramrod to a baseball bat down their shirts. Teenagers on the other hand had no imagination whatsoever, and if it didn’t have thirty websites devoted to it on the internet it probably didn’t exist. Steven pulled up beside her, Miss Marie affronted and snorting. “She keeps jerking her head,” he complained. “I think she’s trying to knock me off.” Judging by the way Miss Marie’s ears were pinned back, she was most definitely considering knocking him off, in more ways than one. Trudy sighed. “Don’t have the reins so short,” she instructed. “I’ve told you a thousand times, you grip with your *knees.”* “I *am* gripping with my knees!” he insisted. “But you always tell me not to grip too tight with my knees. So what am I supposed to do, glue myself to the saddle?” “It’s a balance,” Trudy explained, telling herself more than him. “It just takes time and practice to get right. So *practice.”* Then April and Little Boots knocked over a pole, and that had to be addressed. Then Miles pulled up short on Bob Lee and threatened to tell his mother that this stupid horse wasn’t rocking, and she would demand to have her money refunded since his lessons were obviously not worth the fee she paid because the *stupid horse wouldn’t rock—* After Bob Lee was coaxed into his famous gait and Miles’ frustrations were assuaged, Trudy made her way back over to the fence. She checked her watch; it had been a long day at Near Heaven. Right now, though, it was more like Near The Breaking Point. She put a hand on Bastion’s shoulder to try and suck up some of his patient strength, and fondly he swatted her in the backside with his tail. She flinched. “I’m going to assume you’re just chasing off flies,” she told him ominously. He blinked at her and twitched his lips, asking for a forehead rub. She obliged. “Honestly! It’s like handling a bunch of three-year-olds,” she confided in a low voice as she scratched beneath his long silky forelock. “These kids have had lessons since before they could walk, practically. You’d think they’d be smart enough to handle themselves by now.” Sympathetically Bastion lipped at her fingers, but as a horse there wasn’t much else he could do. Trudy leaned against his shoulder and tried to adhere to the Dolf method of instruction: sit back and let things go like they should; don’t interfere unless there were broken bones involved; wear that stupid cowboy hat tilted at such an angle that if you closed your eyes and took a nap nobody would even notice as long as you didn’t snore. It wasn’t easy—especially since she didn’t have a cowboy hat. But she found that if she took a deep, deep, *deep* breath, she could ignore all the thousands of little things that were bothering her. Sort of. When lessons were over, it took all she had to not to faint from relief. She and Dolf bundled the students off to the front of the house to wait for their parents and then collected the horses, leading them back into the stables and to their respective stalls. When she removed Toska’s saddle, he let out an enormous sigh of relief and plunged his entire head into his feed bin to block out the world. She gave him an empathetic pat and went on to the next stall, where Little Boots was waiting impatiently for his tack to be removed. Marse looked at them all curiously from over his stall door, glad it hadn’t been him out there. Bob Lee, his next-door neighbor, sent a fierce snap in his direction as if to tell him to mind his own business. “Take it easy, General,” Dolf said steadily, patting the Tennessee Walker on the neck. “I know those kids are enough to drive a man off his rocker, but that doesn’t mean you’ve got to take it out on old Marse.” “Personally I don’t think that’s a half-bad idea,” Trudy commented. Dolf gave her an odd look over Bob Lee’s withers. “What?” “Taking it out on someone, I mean,” she clarified, dragging Little Boots’ saddle from his back. “Not Marse, of course. I was thinking more like a certain Harriet who makes *me* go out and deal with snot-nosed rich kids every day while *she* stays inside and. . .does whatever it is she does.” Dolf gave her an insufferable, crooked smile. “Tanglin’ with bank accounts and bills, I think. You never seemed to particularly mind before.” “I’ve never had a day like this before,” she replied darkly. She scratched Little Boots between the ears and hauled his tack out, closing his stall door with her foot before he could escape. “I don’t have any kind of head for numbers, but I’m tempted to switch jobs with her just to let her see how *she* likes it out here surrounded by a bunch of ungrateful—” Miss Marie interrupted her with a loud, indignant whinny, reminding them all that she was still there, waiting for her saddle to be taken off and her feed bin to be filled, and why were they *taking* so long anyway? “I’m *coming,* goofy animal,” Trudy called over, depositing Little Boots’ saddle on its rack and promising herself she would clean it later. Miss Marie gave her an affronted snort and knocked a hoof against her stall door. Trudy gave her a glare. “All right, all right, hold your. . .oh, never mind.” Dolf leaned against Bob Lee’s broad golden back and watched her work, a slow grin working its way across his face. “Y’know, you’re gettin’ very good at showin’ aggression purely through adjustin’ saddle cinches.” “You know, *you* can shut up anytime,” Trudy told him, pointing an accusatory stirrup in his direction. Unruffled, he gave her a sleepy-eyed look of pure innocence from beneath his hat, and she went back to what she was doing. After all the horses had been rubbed down and taken care of, the tack cleaned up, the chores completed, and the feed measured out, Trudy turned her attention to Bastion. He’d been waiting patiently in his stall on the end, watching her with bright eyes from beneath his forelock. She went in and closed the door behind her. “Well, handsome,” she sighed, rubbing his forehead, “it’s been quite a day, hasn’t it?” He nickered and leaned his head into her chest. She started to lift an arm to his neck to return what she thought was the horse equivalent of a hug, but then he began to rub his head vigorously up and down. Insulted, Trudy shoved him away. “You brat!” she exclaimed. “You don’t love me, you just itch.” “That’s the way it goes with these animals, Miss Trudy,” Dolf offered consolingly. “One day they love you, the next day you’re just a scratchin’ post. Come on, I’ve got a thousand things to do and I can’t turn the lights off until you’re done.” “Coming, coming.” Trudy patted Bastion’s forehead fondly and exited his stall, making sure the door was firmly latched so he wouldn’t try any wild escape attempts. Pausing momentarily to stretch the kinks out of her stiff back, she joined Dolf down at the open double doors. He gave her a sympathetic grin around the matchstick between his teeth. “Another day, another dollar, huh, Miss Trudy?” “Another whoop, another holler,” she replied unenthusiastically, “or whatever the heck it is you say.” “Close enough.” He switched off the lights and gave the doorstops an experimental kick with his boot. The two weatherbeaten cinderblocks had kept the barn doors open through thick and thin for years, though, and they weren’t about to give up now. He shoved his cowboy hat back on his head and gallantly offered Trudy his arm. “Goin’ my way?” “You mean dinner, a long nap on the couch, and a good night’s sleep?” Trudy took his arm. “Most definitely.” Harriet was waiting for them, having finally deigned to get dressed and fix them dinner. She was considerately quiet throughout, sensing that Trudy’s day had been less than satisfactory. When all was said and done, and Dolf had bidden them good night and wandered out to his old Ford Ranger to drive home, Trudy was just dragging up the stairs when Harriet called to her, “Tru?” She turned and gave her sister a bleary-eyed glare. “Yes?” Harriet blinked at her. “Don’t forget, tomorrow’s an early day. Lessons start at six AM. Oh, and Tru—” She eyed her sister’s feet with distaste. “Clean your boots. They’re filthy.” Trudy, with an icy calm that Dolf himself would be proud of, withheld all the spiteful comments seething inside her head and stalked up to her room. And when she woke up the next morning, she couldn’t find her boots again.	Nat2 & The Price of Valor
2018-12-01 03:22:03
Sleigh Ride By Ponygirl08 I hear bells, Casting their glorious spells. I see a sleigh, And this is my favorite day. My horse is hitched, Him and his buddy are switched. I drive the sleigh, But somehow, it's my horse's way. A ride, not on the horse, But i am pulled by it's force.	ponygirl08 & Shooting Star
2018-12-01 20:47:18
Seaside Free ride Finding dreams Not what they seem But away,away To this day Your mane is flowing behind you You're lucky,you have no shoes Are you wild and free? Can you not see? The look in your eye Something I need to find You are free Riding free We are on highest clouds Just look at us Just look at us Riding free Riding free You and me	Wind drummer & Renaria
2018-12-03 01:25:24
Competition Day By MickeytripleX Nervous jitters, Lots of glitter, Western pleasure horses chillin'. My hands feel the pins and needles, My stomach is now a cart with wheels. I look at my best friend for reassurance, But I only realize that we might need insurance. I get into the ring and am judged by those hard, critical stares. I feel like a rabbit caught in a snare. At last, the show is over and we listen for the results. I hear my name called as number 1 and hear the insults. That doesn't matter, because the rest are screaming, "GOOD GLORY!"	MickeytripleX & Veridyen
2018-12-03 01:25:24
Kellie's Job By Dixiedoll9 Kellie was nervous. Why had she applied for this job at a horse ranch? Sure she loved horses, but she had never RIDDEN one!! Thoughts to cancel and go back home filled her mind. But no, she couldn't! She had to do this! She got out of her car and headed to the barn. When she got there she met Sunshine Creek's Ranch owner, Miss Cheryl Hopper. "Hello!" Cheryl said friendly. "You must be Kellie! I have been expecting you." "That's me." Kellie said. still wondering if she should be here at all. "Your job will be exercising our 15 horses 3 times a week to start with." Somehow, Kellie thought she would be cleaning out stalls. Not riding. "Okay." Kellie tried to sound brave. "Have you ever ridden before?" Cheryl asked. "Well, not exactly, but I love horses!" "That's alright! i'm sure you'll pick it up in no time!" Cheryl showed Kellie how to mount and put her on their most gentle horse, Candy. "A good place for beginners" She had said. In no time, Kellie was tacking up Candy. She mounted, but forgot to tighten the girth on the saddle, down went the saddle and Kellie with it. Cheryl tried to hold back a laugh. Kellie's cheeks burned. "You might want to tighten the girth a little bit more!" Cheryl said kindly. Kellie tried again and got it this time. Surprisingly when she mounted, she didn't go falling off! Kellie gave Candy a gentle kick with her heels and got Candy walking. Cheryl showed her pointers about keeping her heels down and tips about jumping. Candy became exhausted. Kellie looked at her watch. She nearly jumped at the time! It was already 5! Her work day began at 12 o'clock. She had been here already 5 hours! Kellie said goodbye to Miss Cheryl and hopped back in her car. Her city chic ankle boots were covered in horse manure. Kellie sighed and made a mental note to wear her riding boots tomorrow! on the whole, Miss Cheryl seemed nice. Maybe things could work out!	user no longer exists & ---
2018-12-04 00:53:59
Chapter 4 By Adeline HC "Sheriff, I think you may need to come out here." was the sentence that drew Sheriff Carmen Ricks to the horse rescue. The sheriff and the same deputy who had escorted them before arrived at Summerside a little before noon. They were both all business. "What's the situation here?" Sheriff Ricks asked, serious and straight to the point. Trixie quietly handed her the fax sheet. She expected the sheriff to finish reading with the raised eyebrows of surprise, but instead she gave a faint nod. "Seems a little suspicious." the deputy said openly, speaking his thoughts after reading it as well. If she had remembered correctly, the deputy's name was Thompson. And, judging by the sown in name on his shoulder, she had remembered right. And his thoughts were just a hint of what Trixie was thinking. "You have any idea who's sending these faxes?" the sheriff asked. Trixie shook her head. "Hmm. Could be some misunderstanding, but we'll look into it. Thank you for informing us." the sheriff said, shook Trixia and Rajeana's hand, then disappeared back inside the official vehicle. And just like that, they were gone. Trixie stared at the dust cloud the vehicle had stirred up. Rajeana sighed beside her. "Well, we've done all we can do. Now, we should probably start our day." she said, always the optimist. Trixie nodded, feeling a little helpless. Despite the heat, she shivered. No breeze had drafted up, and the sun hadn't been hidden by a cloud, so she couldn't figure the reason of her sudden chill. Trixie shrugged. Some things could never be explained. A week went by before they heard from the sheriff again. Trixie wondered about the delay, but decided she should be thankful that she'd get back to her at all. "We have no solid evidence that he's hiding and abusing a horse, and it wouldn't be very neighborly like to ransack his whole property," Sheriff Ricks confessed. "I see. So, you won't be able to find out anything." Trixie sighed, saying it like it was a fact. "No, now, I didn't say that. We have the right of the county on our side. Though, looking around the place under the grounds of suspicion isn't very convincing to the state. So, we're just going to be on the alert and wait for further evidence." the sheriff stated. Trixie thanked her for all her help, said good bye, then hung up. She sighed back into her office chair. Two horses had been adopted today, so it should've felt like a fulfilling and successful day, but it didn't. Sure, she didn't know if there actually was a horse on that farmer's property, being abused mercilessly, but she didn't know if there wasn't either. So, it made her feel guilty either way. She shook her head. I can't be thinkin' like this. There's still work to be done here. She stood up and marched out the door. Rocky was getting much better. He didn't keep his distance anymore. And he was much more relaxed. Trixie smiled. When she rounded the corner of the barn, to where Rocky's round pen was, she spotted Willow. It wasn't really the sight of Willow that surprised her, but what she was doing. She was inside the round pen. And Rocky was following her around like a pup! Trixie watched in amazement. Rocky hadn't done that for her. She had only laid a hand on him a couple of times, stroking him encouragingly, and now he was doing- this! Trixie couldn't believe it. She walked quietly over to the fence and watched through the slats. Willow was sweet talking the horse, for sure! She has the touch, Trixie thought to herself. Seeing how comfortable the girl was around Rocky, she wondered if this hadn't been the first time the girl had spent with him. She watched for a few minutes. Then, she stepped back into the barn, watching from a window. "Willow!" Trixie called, in no specific direction, giving the impression that she didn't know where Willow was. The girl dashed so quickly out of that round pen, Rocky didn't even have time to react by the time she had leaped over the top of the gate. Trixie hurried into her office to act busy. Willow came inside, huffing and puffing. "Goodness, you look like you ran with a pack of jackals on your tail." Trixie chuckled. "Could you take that trash to the dumpster?" Willow nodded. "I'll get right to it." She left the office, two large bags of trash in hand. Trixie watched her go, shaking her head. Who would have ever thought.	Adeline HC & Esprit Ellis
2018-12-05 01:28:02
Well, my last story died. So I'm trying a new idea, a much shorter one hopefully. If you have a grievance, shoot me a nasty W-mail. A New Start Chapter 1 By:Ponygal103 Reese looked out the car window and sank down in her seat. Her new boarding school loomed only a few minutes away and Reese was going to spend that time moping. "Reese, stop it." scolded Lou. Reese dramatically rolled her eyes and sighed. "Why do I have to go to another lame boarding school?" She asked. "Reese, this is your fifth boarding school in two years. The last one that will take you. You ruin this. That's it, I'm going to have to put you in a group home. And Bella in another foster home." Reese looked back at her sleeping sister. "No, your right, I have to do this. For her." Reese laid back, closed her eyes and sighed again. A few minutes later, the car pulled up in front of a large stone building. Reese reached back and woke her sister. "Bella, we're here. Wake up." Bella, her 6 year-old sister opened her eyes and said "Reese, do you have to go?" Reese held back tears and nodded. "C'mon, lets go." The both out of the car and Bella took hold of her sister's hand. Lou came around the car and together they walked into the building. Lou approached the front desk and introduced her self to the lady behind the desk, "And this is Reese, and her sister Bella. I'm their social worker" Reese smiled and managed a small wave as she brushed her wispy, red hair back from her face. Bella hid behind her sister's legs and frowned. "Welcome to Pine Creek School!" She said the women "My name's Andy. Headmistress Avery will be here shortly. Meanwhile" She said looking at Bella "Would you like a tour?" Bella slowly nodded and Andy came around to take Bella's hand. Lou turned to Reese "Right, Andy said another girl should be here to help you settle in. So lets go get your bags and bring them in?" Reese nodded sadly and the walked back to the car. Reese and Lou pulled out four different bags and hauled then back into the lobby. When the got there, another girl was pacing the floor muttering. When she saw the Reese and Lou standing there she raced forward with her hand outstretched. "Um hi my name's Isadora, but you can call me Issie. Andy said you were here and I was supposed to show you to your room." Reese looked at Lou, who shrugged. "Hi, I'm Reese, and this is Lou." She nodded at Lou who smiled. "Cool, well welcome to Pine Wood! It's pretty great. Follow ,me you're in room 10b. lets go!" Issie pulled a duffel bag out of Reese's and and walked off, her brown hair whipping around as she went. Lou and Reese followed her through a set of doors into a long hallway of other doors. Issie led them to a door about a third way down on the right and kicked with her foot. The door opened and a small Chinese girl poked her head out. "Oops, sorry Lynn. Wrong door. Oh, this is Reese, she just enrolled." Lynn waved and then clossed her door again. "She's a little shy at first, but wait 'til she's on Fox." She moved down one door and kicked it. Waited then kicked it a few more times. The door was thrown open and a girl stumbled out. Her blonde hair was a mess and her face was covered in blue slime. "Oh, hey Honey, this is Reese, I think she's your new roommate!" Reese looked at the girl and smiled awkwardly. "OH HI!" Honey shouted. "MY NAME'S Honey." Issie rolled her eyes "Honey, she can hear you." Honey smiled sheepishly and pulled a pair of earbuds out of her ears. "Sorry about that. Come on in. I'm so glad I finally got a new roomie." She lead them into the room and Reese set down her bags. She looked around, the room seemed nice, a large window, a couch, a lamp and bookshelf. But then she saw the small kitchen. It was splattered with blue slime then dripped off the fridge, sink and even the roof. "Heh heh, yeah, that was a little experiment. It didn't go so well." Honey blushed then ran into the bathroom. Issie sighed. "Anyways." Continued Issie, "Her real name is Hope, but don't ever call her that. She hates it." Honey returned with a clean face and brushed hair. "She readjusted her white lab coat and said "Ok, well welcome to your new home." She gestured to the room and Reese said "So, where do we sleep?" Honey pointed to a small room off of the kitchen "There's your room, mine is on the other side of the bathroom, they're all connected. Let me help you get settled in." Over the next twenty minutes, Reese, Lou, Issie and Honey unpacked all Reese's things. While Reese unpacked her cloths, Issie and Honey made her bed, complete with a blue bed spread, white sheets and a pillow. Lou unpacked Reese's books, and other belongings. Just as they were finishing, a know came from the door. Honey ran into the bathroom and Reese followed her. "What are you looking at?" Honey looked up and beckoned her "Look. I set up a camera in the peep hole of our door, it shows us all of the hall." The picture was displayed inside the medicine cabinet behind the mirrors. "Is that allowed?" Asked Reese. "Well, sort of. I only have a few, one in my door, one in the kitchen and one in the office of the barn." But before Reese could ask anymore questions, Honey said "Oh, it's Natasha. We'd better go see what she wants." The two girls walked to the door where Issie and Lou were waiting. "Well, who is it?" Asked Issie. Honey glared at her and shook her head. "Well, lets see." Honey answered. She opened the door and in stomped a girl with black hair set in tight braids the didn't move at all. "Well, I heard you got a new roommate and thought I should introduce myself. She thrust out her hand to Issie. "Umm Natasha. I'm not new, Reese is." She pushed Reese towards her and Reese smiled. "Oh, well sorry I guess." Said Natasha, who clearly didn't mean it. "Hi, I'm Natasha. It' nice to...meet you." Reese shook her hand and replied "Hi, I'm Reese." Natasha smiled and then turned and walked away. "Yeah, she's always like that." Said Issie with a sigh. "Ol stuck up Natasha." "Well," Piped up Lou "Lets go see if we can find Bella." Then walked back down to the lobby where Bella and Andy were waiting. "REESE! REESE!" screamed Bella and ran up to her. "I wish I could stay here. IT'S AMAZING!" Reese laughed and hugged her sister. Bella continued talking. "There's a swimming pool and a game room. AND HORSES!!!!" Reese shook her head and asked "Wait, horses? There are horses here?" Issie smiled "Yeah, all sorts! They are amazing! We have a riding lesson twice a week with Cassy, she is the best." Reese looked stunned. "Lou, you didn't tell me there were horses a this school." Lou laughed and said "Well, I wanted it to be a surprise." Reese shook her head. She was surprised all right. She didn't know a thing about horses, but she was going to have to learn. "Well, we need to go Bella, say good bye." Reese knelled down and hugged her sister. "Bye Bumble bee. You be good OK. Have fun with Lou." Bella sniffed and buried her face in Reese's shoulder "OK," She whispered. I love you Reese." She leaned back and brushed her brown hair away from her tear stained eyes. "Ok, write me soon." Bella nodded and Lou walked her back to the car with Reese following. As they drove away, Reese waved and held back her tears. She had to be good, for her sister's sake. She turned and walked into the lobby again. "Ok, show me these amazing horses of yours." She said.	Ponygal103 & Sai
2018-12-05 01:38:08
Part one Some dreamer By: Wind drummer "Help!" Molly cried. She had been in a running race and fallen down a rocky cliff. No one could hear her for miles and she might as well give up. Molly was a quiet girl, a dreamy girl, a true wonder and now she was stuck. But she needed to push on. Everyone was counting on her. If she gave up she would let the whole school down and herself. No. She had to do it and she did. ten hours later Miss Molly Anna Jackson was standing at the gates of Parkson ridge high school.She had done it. This was it.Detention for a week. Molly had tried to squeeze out of it but failed. And all she could do was mope. Swimming? Nope. School work? No way! Becoming one with nature? Umm no! Horses? Huh? Molly eyes lit up. Horses? She had had had no idea that her school had horses. But riding? Well she had never ridden before but how hard could it be? The next day she went out riding and found out that it was much harder then it looked.	Wind drummer & Renaria
2018-12-06 01:51:22
The Real Horse Whisperer Stormy had always had a special bond with horses, in a way that she couldn't explain. It was like she could actually talk to them and hear them,her parents thought she was insane but she knew the truth. She sat on the edge of the hay bale,picking the nylon strings of the beat up,acoustic guitar when the stable hand,Beau, came around the corner. "Stormy! The new horse is here,wanna come and meet her?" He asked excitedly. Stormy nodded,jumping to her feet and following the smiling groom to where a stunning 14hh pony stood. "This is Rain."Beau stroked the dappled grey on the next,Stormy stood there speechless. "Why don't you go and settle her in?" Beau handed Stormy the lead rope. As she settled the new pony into her clean stable,she heard a voice. "Hi!" Stormy frowned,looking for the source of the voice. "Over here!" The voice called out again. Stormy looked at the pony in the stable and it finally clicked. "You?" Stormy whispered. "Yes." Rain nodded,almost laughing at the girl who was in complete and utter shock. "B-but your a horse?" Stormy gasped. "Well,technically,I'm a pony but yes I can speak. Now go and grab a carrot for me,I am starving!" Rain whinnied. Stormy nodded and stumbled off to get a carrot,while also trying to make sense of what had just happened.	meepmeepmur & Chester
2018-12-09 21:41:06