December Story Contest

Robin Ridge Stables: Missing A Friend part 2 part 1
By: Spacehorse88
Age: 12

Chapter 1
                 
“NO!” I cried, tears streaming freely down my face. “No, Alfalfa will get better!” I buried my face in my hands. “No, No,” I moaned over and over again.
“Honey,” Ms. C. tried to calm her daughter. “Dr. Scott says that it’ll help Alfalfa.” Julia, my best friend, stood noiselessly in the corner, trying hard not to cry.
“Heather, Alfalfa’s in pain. If the vet puts… if he puts Alfalfa out of his misery Alfalfa won’t be in pain any more.” Mom explained. “Do you want him to live in pain?”
“No,” I whispered.

They all remembered the accident. One week ago Alfalfa and I had been practicing on the RRS cross country course when a hawk soared by. Alfalfa spooked and ran right into a fence. Heather wasn’t hurt, but... 
“All right,” I said. “The vet can. . .can put him out of his misery.” That’s when I broke down and cried furiously and ran to my room, too miserable to say good bye to Julia. Alfalfa had been with me for a year, he was my first pony, and I loved him dearly.
Downstairs Julia said good bye to Ms. C. and walked dejectedly out to the barn. Julia had come to depend on her pony Milky Way for support when times were hard.
“Oh, Girl,” Julia cried. “I don’t know how to help Heather, but I want to SOOO badly.” Milky Way nuzzled her shoulder gently. “I don’t know what to do!”
“Are you okay?” A hesitant voice asked. “What’s wrong?”
Julia turned around. “Oh, um, nothing. I’ve never seen you here before, are you new?”
“Yeah, I’m Amber Collins. I just moved here. Do you want to see my pony, Venus?”
“Venus?” Julia asked. “My pony is named Milky Way!”
“REALLY?!” Amber gasped. “That’s amazing! Their names both involve space.”
“Let’s go see her!” Julia smiled; her day had just gotten a whole lot better!

I sat in my room. All my tears had been cried, I couldn’t cry anymore. The vet came two days later. I had spent those two days in Alfalfa’s stall, stroking his head, brushing him and sobbing. My life as I knew it was over.

Chapter 2

I gazed out the window of the car. My mom was dragging me off to the worst possible thing right now, a horse sale.
I wonder what Julia’s doing. Amber was nice when I met her the first time. They’re probably having so much fun.
“We are almost there, Honey.” Mom said.
“Whatever,” I sighed.
We drove up a long drive way. Mom parked the car in front of the barn. We walked in.
“Ellen!” A woman with blue green eyes exclaimed.
“Jess!” Mom gave the woman a hug.
“I haven’t seen you in ages!” Jess said. “And this must be you daughter Heather!”
“Yep,” Mom answered. “We came to buy some ponies.”

We followed her into another section of the barn labeled: HORSES FOR SALE. There I came face to face with a black pony. The gelding looked so much like Alfalfa, same blaze going down his face, same white socks on his front legs and when I looked on card with info about him tacked to his stall I found he was a Welsh Pony, just like Alfalfa. That’s when the tears I didn’t know I had left came. I rushed from the barn.
                 
A few minutes later Jess came out to sit by me.
“Your mom told me about Alfalfa,” She said. “Universe must look a lot like him, huh?”
“Universe?” I asked.
“The horse you saw.” Jess answered. “The black one,”
“Jess can you help me?!” Mom called.
After a half an hour we were on our way to RRS with three new horses: Universe, a chestnut named Rugby and a buckskin mare named Cora. My mom gave me the impossible task of riding Universe until he could be ridden by the students. Goody.
“Hey, Heather,” Julia called. “Do you want to go on a trail ride with Amber and me?”
“Sure, I guess,” I agreed and continued grooming Universe. “I hate you, Universe; you’re too much like Alfalfa!” I had no idea why I had just yelled at my mom’s horse, I was just out of control with gloominess.

Universe’s gait was silky smooth and he jumped the occasional jumps with grace.
Amber and Julia had become pretty good friends and I was getting to be pretty good friends with the spunky girl.
Suddenly the ponies spooked and galloped off the trail. Julia turned to look what had spooked our mounts.
“MOUNTAIN LION!!!!!!!!” She yelled.

Chapter 3

I gazed after Amber and Julia as they galloped off. Somehow Universe had bucked me off, but luckily I landed in some snow covered moss.  Unluckily I landed on my arm awkwardly. Then I heard a growl.
The cougar was in what I assumed was his hunter’s crouch. I know you’re supposed to make a lot of noise to scare off mountain lions, but my mouth was paralyzed by fear.
A horse’s furious whinny pierced the air. From my eyes it was a blur. All I saw was a black coat, flying hooves, and flashing claws. In the end a very mad (and possibly a very embarrassed) cougar scampered off into the woods. But the black horse was also gone.
As I stood up and looked at the tracks I realized the horse was limping.  I noticed the horse  wasn’t putting his full weight on his left front foot. One thought entered my mind. Universe! “NO,” I gasped. 
I was crying as I searched for Universe. My arm was in terrible pain and I was pretty sure I broke it. After ten to fifteen minutes my eyes rested upon a motionless black shape.
“Universe,” I wailed and rushed to pony’s side. Sure enough there was the black pony I’d come to love in two minutes.
A few minutes later Julia and Amber rode up. Everything after that was a blur. Amber galloped back to RRS to get my mom, Dr. Scott, and a doctor for me.
As it turned out Universe had lost a lot of blood, but would be all right. As for me, I had a bruise on my rear end, a broken arm, and a sprained ankle. I would be OK as well.

Christmas 2010

On the morning of December 25, 2010, I sat in the living room surrounded by wrapping paper. My mom handed me the last present. I carefully opened it and read the papers that the wrapping paper had once concealed. My heart almost stopped beating when I read this line:
UNIVERSE, A PUREBRED WELSH PONY, IS NOW OWNED BY HEATHER LOUISE CHARLES.
“MINE?” I gasped. I got up and hugged my mom as best I could with a cast and then I dashed outside. Lilac, the little German Shepherd puppy we had received from an anonymous person, barked and followed me to the barn.
My arm was screaming in pain as I threw my arms around Universe’s neck, but I didn’t care.
As I stared into Universe’s kind brown eyes I knew for sure that Alfalfa would always have a place in my heart but right now Universe needed a place there too. I smiled and whispered, “Merry Christmas".