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October 2020 Story and 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

October 2020 Story and 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	Jane Crandal & JB
2020-09-28 23:50:54
Accident In the Pasture I shivered under my coat. Gray clouds hid the sun as I walked to the barn to get the horses' usual ration of hay. I climbed up into the hay loft and tossed a couple bales down. They landed with a bouncing thud. After getting out of the loft, I grabbed a bale and carried it to the pasture. The coarse twine rubbed against my fingers and palms. I took the strings off and tossed out sections, spreading the bale out. The horses nibbled at the hay, chewing happily. Smiling, I went to the porch and grabbed five apples from the box we'd gotten from a friend. I stuck them in my pockets and went back to the pasture. None of the horses looked up to watch me, too busy eating. I walked over to Barbie, our little palomino pony. She sniffed at me and I hand her an apple. Next I walked over to Magnum, our black gelding. I stood by his shoulder, but he didn't lift his head to greet me. His eyes were closed as he chewed on his hay. To tell him I was there, I rubbed his neck. Big mistake. He spooked away and throttled both hind legs in my direction, kicking the side of my leg. I landed on the ground, right on a pile of manure. Long story short, I limped back to my house, got my mom, took a bath, ate lunch, then went to the hospital. Thankfully, we found out that nothing was broken. I had to use crutches for a couple days to get around, but I'm walking now, and I rode my mare yesterday to celebrate ;). Point is, don't be afraid of horses just because of this story. But, you should still respect them. Magnum reacted that way because he is a prey animal, and he thought whatever was touching him was a predator. He was scared, and I should have been more careful. He's still a good horse, and he responded like any horse would have. I should have made some noise before I approached him. It was my fault, not his. I just wanted to point that out. All in all, stay safe, be smart, and have fun.	Adeline HC & Esprit Ellis
2020-09-30 17:51:19
The Runaway: Epilog By Nat2 The reason for Dolf’s cowboy hat was becoming more apparent all the time. Trudy had always assumed he wore it constantly for the reason that anybody else would wear a hat—it shaded his eyes, or stopped the rain, or was a mere vehicle for fancy hatbands with feathers stuck in them. But now that Dolf had been all but living on their living room couch for a week, convalescing on doctor’s orders while complaining about having nothing to do, she knew his deepest, darkest secret that no comb could tame. “You *could* try hairspray,” she told him one day while serving him lunch. Sleeping on the embroidery-stiff accent pillows had wreaked havoc on his hair and only made his cowlick worse. “Or Brylcreem. A little dab’ll do ya, y’know.” He glared at her over his soup bowl. “That kind of stuff is for wussies,” he said stolidly. His tone implied he had been battling opinions such as hers for a very long time. “If we were intended to have perfect hair, God would have given it to us from day one.” “If you got the hair you were intended,” she countered, “then why hide it with a hat?” “Keeps the rain off,” he muttered. She eyed him doubtfully. “Inside?” “I’m not wearing it *now,”* he protested. “Whaddaya want from me, Miss Trudy, I can’t be perfect all the time, can I?” “It’s not what we pay you for,” she admitted. “But you could put forth some effort now and then.” “Effort?” He looked affronted. “Who fixes all the busted corral panels around here? Who hauls the feed sacks and the hay bales and replaces the top boards on the fences when your nags have cribbed them half to death?” “All right, all right,” she soothed him, patting his arm. “Take it easy, you’ll break something.” “I *did* break something,” he muttered, “goin’ after someone’s deranged little string bean of a horse.” “Little Boots is a Paso Fino,” Trudy informed him stiffly. “That means he has a delicate build. It does *not* make him a *string bean.”* Clearing her throat, she regained her composure. “Eat your lunch, Dolf, you’re talking too much. Look—your hot chocolate’s cold. It’s forming a skin.” He frowned at it critically. “That’s because you boiled it,” he said. “You’re s’posed to heat it gently. Who has hot chocolate *with* lunch, anyhow?” Trudy scowled at him. “Can I help it if I was in a hurry? You aren’t complaining, are you?” “No, no,” he said quickly, settling back into the pillows. “Fact is I think I could get used to this if I let myself.” “Well, let yourself. I’ll go reheat this—*gently,”* she added before he could remind her. She picked up the mug and tossed the TV control at her couch-bound friend. “That Gary Cooper flick comes on in ten minutes. And I think Starsky & Hutch is on Channel 9.” His brow furrowed. “The Western channel?” “6, then. I don’t know. I don’t watch TV, remember?” “That’s half your problem right there,” he commented, turning on the big flat-screen. “Y’need to broaden your mind a little before you become all old and crotchety at the tender age of twenty.” He stopped suddenly, eyes narrowing in suspicion as a crockpot commercial unfurled across the screen. But the crockpot was not the target of his reservation. “Why you bein’ so nice to me all the sudden, anyhow?” he asked, giving Trudy a distrusting glance. “You savin’ up all your meanness for something?” “What?” She put a hand to her throat, feigning shock. “Dolf, I’m hurt. I’m only trying to help you get better as fast as possible.” She headed for the kitchen. “Enjoy it while you can, anyway. You can’t spend your whole life on the couch watching television.” She knew it was heresy to accuse the most active individual at Near Heaven of such scandalously-sedentary behavior, but the impish part of her was enjoying the payback for all the times he’d dragged her from sleep at 3:00 AM for inane questions and random salutations because he was bored and wanted someone to talk to. “Besides, you’ll get all wound up and won’t be able to go to bed, and I’m getting you up at 4:30.” “4:30?” he squawked in alarm, shooting upright and staring at her over the back of the couch. “Why?” She smirked at him. “You want an early start, don’t you? I thought you liked those.” He only gawped at her in wide-eyed alarm. “Your Cooper movie’s coming on,” she told him. “You’ll miss the opening credits.” Then she turned and went into the kitchen to heat up his hot chocolate.	Nat2 & The Price of Valor
2020-10-01 21:56:39
“Midnight First Aid” By CBehnke It was nighttime - 8:30 pm to be exact - and I couldn’t sleep. I knew how normal 11-year-olds fall asleep. They read or draw or write. Not me. Don’t get me wrong, I love to draw. I have practically fifty horse drawings on my bedroom wall. However, this is what I do during the day, it has absolutely no effect on my sleep. Luckily, my neighbors, Sandra and Baltimore are just like me. I should explain, Baltimore is a pony. He is a cute dapple grey Connemara gelding. He loves to jump. In fact, Baltimore and Sandra compete in hunter paces. Well, Sandra is like me because both of us can’t sleep without a little horse time - just us and our ponies alone in the barn. My pony is named Emmy. She is a white - well, grey I guess - connemara mare. I love her dearly, which is why I am going outside to see her. I sat up, and hopped off my bed with a “boing!” I scurried over to my desk and grabbed my phone. Texting Sandra, I peeked out the window. ‘The coast is clear’ I thought to myself. I hurriedly jogged past my parents’ bedroom door - thank goodness they have a tv in their bedroom. Sandra has to sneak past her parents on the couch! Finally, I reached the door, without waking Ariel. She was my snobby little 5-year-old sister. If I woke her up, she would stomp her little behind to Mom and Dad’s room to tell them what I was doing. Then she would sassily smile at me while Mom and Dad gave me a long lecture about how I need my sleep and otherwise would be a grumpy, bratty, “tweenager” in the morning. Mom would literally put her fingers up as quotation marks as she says tweenager. I tip-toed over to the yard, looking at Sandra who was standing in the barn aisle, waving me over. Then I sprinted across the lawn, praying Ariel wouldn’t wake up hearing footsteps in the grass. That’s when it happened. Sandra’s face turned from smiling, to...well, I don’t know, but she wasn’t happy...just as she looked at Emmy. I said, “what?” in a very sarcastic tone. Sandra just looked to the ground, frowning, and wiggled her foot. “Well…” She stopped as soon as I saw. There, in front of me was my horse. She was laying on the ground, panting and bleeding. Just out of the corner of my eye, I saw something. But I only got a glimpse of its tail, black and gray stripes. A raccoon. My thoughts were racing in my head. They were like the tape balls people made at school just to throw at the wall. I immediately went into action, grabbing bandages, Emmy’s halter, and some Banamine. She looked like she was in pain, so I figured why not give her a dose? Then, I came into the stall with her and whispered, “shhhh, you’re just fine. You’re going to be okay.” But I wasn’t so sure. I swallowed hard, making Emmy twitch her ears. Luckily, all those years of coming with the vet paid off. Dr. Anderson taught me all kinds of stuff, and I’ve even witnessed some colic surgeries through a window. None of this made me too upset...not until now. I couldn’t restrain my tears, they came out like a river. Flowing out of my eyes, onto my cheek, and dropping onto Emmy’s nose. I then quickly wiped my eyes and got control of myself. ‘I can do this. I’ve got this,’ I thought. I rushed to the tack room, grabbing, gauze, betadine, and a bucket of hot water. I unlatched the gate to Emmy’s stall, dropping my knees to her as I did so. I took the bucket of water, and realized I forgot a sponge. “Sandra,” I said in between gasps, “could you please grab a sponge?” She didn’t even reply, just went off and grabbed what I said. I took a deep breath, and rubbed some water onto Emmy’s wound. It was a long gash down her leg. She flinched, but I soothed her by singing 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'. After I was done with the water, I took the betadine and rubbed some on her leg using cotton balls. Then came the bandages. I took those, wrapping them snuggly around her leg. The tears finally held back. I looked at her leg, took a deep breath, and sighed. “You should be okay until the vet tomorrow.” I couldn’t help but smile at my work.	CBehnke & Emmy
2020-10-06 20:49:18
Work by msjane Leave before dawn Back after dark Pony in pasture While I'm gone at work. On a day off He reaches out a nose Got carrot? he asks That's how his day goes.	msjane & AE
2020-10-11 01:52:12
A surprise Ten ravens, a surprise, and a death. Majesty, the dapple mare. Dead. She was healthy. She was fit. But now she is dead. Unknown, unknown are the ways of nature. Three ravens, a girl, a birth, a second surprise. A small foal, she looks the same as Majesty. We will name her Magestic	nightsong & Dream Catcher
2020-10-11 22:32:53
"From The Ashes" By ChestnutPony93 Mom said Jake had gotten his love of horses from his dad. Jake didn’t remember much about his dad. He had died when he was 4. But he knew his dad was smart, and brave, and played football, and ridden horses. His mom still kept his dad’s trophies in a cabinet in the living room even now. Jake wanted to ride horses like his dad. Jake’s dad had traveled around the country competing in rodeos. He had won buckles and money, and he and his horse, Docs Spinnin’ Out, had made quite the name for themselves in cutting and reining class. After he and Mom got married, Dad and Spinner had settled down and Dad had started training horses. But that was before he had gotten sick. His big brother, Todd, had ridden horses before they had moved too. Todd was the coolest. He played basketball and football and swam. And he was really good. His teams had made it to state every year when he was in high school. He had even made it to nationals in swimming! After graduation Todd had foregone college and went to trade school instead, and eventually gotten a job as a mechanic. Jake had ridden an old pony when he was younger but he hadn’t gotten to consistently ride since his Mom had moved the family to a bigger city so she could get a better paying job at a bigger hospital. Jake had been on trail rides at a local barn and taken lessons on and off when mom could afford it, but he hadn’t been able to ride consistently. Todd was picking Jake up from school today. Usually, Jake took the bus home, or if his mom wasn’t working dayshift, she picked him up. Todd usually worked during the day. But Todd had taken the day off, he had said he had a surprise for Jake. Todd hadn’t said much when Jake had gotten into the car. He had just started driving towards home. Except instead of turning onto their street, he had kept going until they were turning down a long winding driveway, lined with trees. And Todd started talking. “I had a customer come in yesterday, Mr. Torez.” Todd explained. “He was telling me he had some animals he needed help with now that his daughter was gone to college and I thought of you.” “My surprise is manual labor?” Jake questioned. He didn’t mind helping with animals, he probably would have volunteered but it still seemed like an odd thing for his brother to claim as a surprise. “Just wait” Todd grinned. Mr. Torez met them in front of a dark green barn. His skin was a deep tan, and he had laugh lines accenting his kind eyes. His hair was a salt and pepper black and he wore relaxed jeans and a UCLA shirt. He smiled kindly as they approached. “Good to see you again, Todd.” He smiled, “And you must be Jake” “Yessir” Jake replied curious as to what animals waited for him in the barn. “Well, let me show you around” He turned, walking into the barn. “I’ve got two horses, some hens, and an old milk cow I could use some help with. As well as general help keeping this place clean and functioning.” The barn was clean with a wild aisle, 4 stalls, a tack room, and a wash rack. The feed and stall cleaning supplies were kept in one of the stalls. The rest of the stalls had names on them; Dolly, Ace, and Ash. “The shavings and hay are in the shed out back next to the chicken coop. But if you follow me outback, we’ll get to the fun stuff and meet the herd” In a paddock behind the barn were three animals. A golden-colored cow, a big bay horse, and a smaller leopard appaloosa. “The cow’s Dolly. She used to be a milk cow but now she’s just a pet. The big bay is Ace, he’s my trail horse. He’s mostly retired other than a trail ride here or there. The appy’s Ash. He was my daughter’s jumper. He’s the one you could ride.” Jake perked up at this. He would have helped take care of the animals without being allowed to ride. But getting to ride Ash would be the icing on the cake. “Your brother says you have a bike, if I remember correctly there’s a trail from the back end of your street that lets out across the street from my driveway,” Mr. Valdez explained. “You can come over a couple of days a week after school and one weekend day and pick some stalls, feed the hens, clean water buckets, and groom Dolly and the boys. In exchange, you can ride Ash whenever you want. What do you think?” “I would love to. When can I start?” Jake was practically vibrating. “You can start tomorrow if you want. Have you ever jumped before?” Mr. Torez questioned. Jake frowned; he hadn’t jumped. Or even ridden in an English saddle. But he was more than willing to try if it meant he got to be around the horse. “No problem.” Mr. Torez smiled. “How about this, you can ride on the flat as often as you want but once a week, I’ll give you a jumping lesson and teach you the ropes” Jake smiled, this sounded perfect to him. Jake had worked hard. He had gone to Mr. Torez’s at least 4 days a week for over a year and a half now. Often going more than that. He had taken his jumping lessons seriously, and he had gotten pretty good! Good enough that Mr. Torez had let him start competing. They had started at small local shows, before moving up to competing in B-, then A-rated shows in the area. And the hard work had paid off. Paid off enough that it had led to them loading Ash on the trailer and heading to Kentucky for Pony Jumper Finals. Jake hadn't expected to go this far with jumping. But it had been so fun, and he had taken to it. He had always wanted to be just like the Dad he could hardly remember, and it may not be rodeos but he felt like his dad would still be proud. Jake took a deep breath, let it out, and squeezed Ash forward, into the arena. ‘Now entering the arena: From The Ashes ridden by Jake Whitlock’	ChestnutPony93 & Seamus
2020-10-22 18:07:08
From The Ashes Pt.1 by ChestnutPony93 Mom said Jake had gotten his love of horses from his dad. Jake didn’t remember much about his dad. He had died when he was 4. But he knew his dad was smart, and brave, and played football, and ridden horses. His mom still kept his dad’s trophies in a cabinet in the living room even now. Jake wanted to ride horses like his dad. Jake’s dad had traveled around the country competing in rodeos. He had won buckles and money, and he and his horse, Docs Spinnin’ Out, had made quite the name for themselves in cutting and reining class. After he and Mom got married, Dad and Spinner had settled down and Dad had started training horses. But that was before he had gotten sick. His big brother, Todd, had ridden horses before they had moved too. Todd was the coolest. He played basketball and football and swam. And he was really good. His teams had made it to state every year when he was in high school. He had even made it to nationals in swimming! After graduation Todd had foregone college and went to trade school instead, and eventually gotten a job as a mechanic. Jake had ridden an old pony when he was younger but he hadn’t gotten to consistently ride since his Mom had moved the family to a bigger city so she could get a better paying job at a bigger hospital. Jake had been on trail rides at a local barn and taken lessons on and off when mom could afford it, but he hadn’t been able to ride consistently. Todd was picking Jake up from school today. Usually, Jake took the bus home, or if his mom wasn’t working dayshift, she picked him up. Todd usually worked during the day. But Todd had taken the day off, he had said he had a surprise for Jake. Todd hadn’t said much when Jake had gotten into the car. He had just started driving towards home. Except instead of turning onto their street, he had kept going until they were turning down a long winding driveway, lined with trees. And Todd started talking. “I had a customer come in yesterday, Mr. Torez.” Todd explained. “He was telling me he had some animals he needed help with now that his daughter was gone to college and I thought of you.” “My surprise is manual labor?” Jake questioned. He didn’t mind helping with animals, he probably would have volunteered but it still seemed like an odd thing for his brother to claim as a surprise. “Just wait” Todd grinned. Mr. Torez met them in front of a dark green barn. His skin was a deep tan, and he had laugh lines accenting his kind eyes. His hair was a salt and pepper black and he wore relaxed jeans and a UCLA shirt. He smiled kindly as they approached. “Good to see you again, Todd.” He smiled, “And you must be Jake” “Yessir” Jake replied curious as to what animals waited for him in the barn. “Well, let me show you around”	ChestnutPony93 & Seamus
2020-10-22 18:08:59
The great wind pony edition by:bauger The great wind blows through my ponies mane The great wind blows a breeze on a chilly autumn morning The great wind blows to those how have a bond with a magnificent creature god created, The Horse.	bauger & acorn
2020-10-30 14:38:20