April Story Contest

Alex And Windy- The Series
by: horseypalgal
Age: 10
 
Introduction:
When Alex Eller was only four years old, she really wanted a pony. She asked her parents if she could have one and they said "no."  But on Alex's sixth birthday, her parents bought her a welsh pony named Windy. Alex fell in love with the mare at first sight!

This is only one of the many adventures of Alex And Windy- The Series.
  
Alex walked into the barn on sunny afternoon in July. She ran into her pony Windy's stall. "Hey Windy! Let's go for a trail ride!" Alex said excitedly. Windy nickered as if to say, "OK! Lets GO!" and tried to jump right over Alex in attempt to get out to the barn aisle. "Oh, no you don't! I have to groom you first! And if you stay still, I'll give you a pony cookie." Alex said, trying to bribe the pony to stay still, and as Windy heard her two favorite words,"pony cookie" she stood stock still. Alex groomed her beautiful chestnut welsh pony as thoroughly as possible. When she was done she tacked up and tied Windy in her stall and went outside to the vending machine to get a pony cookie, just when Pam walked by to take her pony Lightning out for a ride, too.

"Hey Alex! Wanna go over to Anna's house for the surprise party for Mrs. Harley?" Pam asked eagerly.
"Of course! I helped get the stuff ready for WEEKS, so of course I'm going!" Alex answered. It was Mrs. Harley's 36 birthday surprise party, and no one was going to miss it! So Alex and Pam got their ponies and set off for Pony Pal Trail. But when they got to Badd Brooke, the girls and the ponies started hearing construction noises. Windy looked around and tried to find that noisy thing in the woods. "It's okay, Windy", Alex said, trying to calm her down. So they rode on through the woods, but all they could hear were construction sounds. Windy reared up and bolted away. "Whoa!!!!!"Alex shouted over and over again, but it was no use! Finally Windy just decided to buck Alex off!

Alex landed with a loud thud, right on her back! Windy kept on galloping away until Alex couldn't see her. Alex ignored the terrible pain she felt in her stomach and back and shouted, "Windy! Come here, girl!"  But Windy didn't come! Finally, Pam came riding toward Alex.
"Alex, are okay?! What Just happened?! Where's Windy?!" Pam shouted. "Well, I fell off because Windy bucked me off, and stomach hurts sooooooo badly! And I don't WHERE  Windy could be!" Alex cried and sobbed. Pam dismounted and helped Alex walk over to Anna's house.
"Do you need help grooming Lightning?" Alex asked when they got to Anna's house.
"No thanks. You have to relax and  sit down for while!" Pam said. When she was done grooming, the two girls turned out Lightning and walked  to the house.
"Hi" Anna and Lulu said. "How are you?" Lulu asked.
"Okay! Well not really okay. You see, my pony got spooked on the trail, so she bucked me off and ran away" Alex answered. I hope I can find her soon! Alex thought. She remembered how Windy can rear and buck gracefully, and when she bolted, she felt like she was flying! Alex loved that pony so much she thought she would never lose her, but that day changed it all.
"Let's make some brownies the Pony Pal way!" Anna shouted.

So they got to work, cooking, baking and even frying! This cheered Alex up, but she still couldn't keep Windy out of her mind. Alex was in charge of baking the brownies, Pam was in in charge of frying onions for the cheese steaks, Lulu had gone out to buy some buns for the cheese steaks, and Anna was in charge of the snacks and party platters. It was lots of fun for the girls, and when Mrs. Harley came home from work, she was very surprised!

"Surprise!" the four girls shouted.

"Wow!" Mrs. Harley said, "You four went through all this trouble, just to surprise me! Thank You so much!"
So after everyone ate dinner, Alex grabbed a candle and a brownie, then she found a packet of matches and lit the candle. Everybody sang "Happy Birthday" to Mrs. Harley, then they all dug into the best brownies they ever tasted. After the party, the Pony Pals decided to have a barn sleepover.
"Wait, I have to call my mom first!" Alex said. So she called her mom. "I get to come too! YAY!" she shouted.

So Alex had to walk home beside all the ponies, while Pam, Anna, and Lulu rode their ponies. When they all got back to the Crandal's Barn, Mrs. C offered to make popcorn and put on a movie. The girls picked the movie "Flicka" and munched popcorn the whole time. After that, they went down to the barn and fed the ponies. Alex almost forgot to ask if she could take care of and ride Splash until she found Windy.
"Of course you can! Splash has been really upset about that new rider that keeps jabbing him in the ribs. He'll be glad to have an experienced rider around him!" answered Mrs. C answered. Alex took a bucket full of oats to Splash. Alex loved the sound of oats being crunched in his mouth.
"I'll be riding you for a while, or at least until I find my other pony, Windy." Alex said to the spotted pony.
Splash nickered as if to say," Hooray for SMART riders!"  
Alex laughed as Splash nibbled her hair. She loved the pony's cute little exclamation mark on his forehead. She walked calmly out of Splash' stall and went to the hayloft to set up the sleeping bags. Pam got her portable DVD player and played a video of the four girls at their first horse show. They all had the same ponies back then, and the ponies and girls were all a lot shorter back then, and the ponies weren't as well trained as they are now. Alex's favorite part was when the ponies started getting crazy when they saw all kinds of new things. She got tears at the sight of her pony getting kicked and bitten by another pony, who was obviously angry at Windy for some odd reason. Alex fell asleep before the video was over. She slept soundly until Lulu woke her up the next morning.

"Wakey, Wakey, eggs and bakey!" Anna said.
"Sorry, guys! I'm just kind of tired," Alex said. She got up and threw on her breeches and polo shirt. She climbed down the ladder and walked to the house where Mrs. C was sweeping the patio.
"Good morning, Mrs. C!" Alex sang out.
"Good morning, Alex! Pam says she's gonna help you find Windy at Olsen's farm. You know she finds lost ponies sometimes!" Mrs. Crandal replied.
"Really? Cool!" Alex said merrily. She ran into the house where Pam was waiting.
"Hey Pam! Today we are gonna look for Windy, right?!" Alex asked.
"Yup! First we can check Olsen's then ALL the trails!" Pam answered, "But first, try my special blueberry pancakes!"  
After Alex took one bite, she dug right in! When she was done, there was not one crumb left on the plate.
"Lulu and Anna left for their homes already." Pam said. The girls ran outside, grabbed their bikes and set off for Olsen's. When they got there, they heard a dreadful whinny coming from the barn. Alex and Pam ran into the barn to find an injured welsh pony lying down in the straw.

"That's Windy!" Alex said. She walked into the stall and rubbed Windy's neck.  
"It's OK girl, it's me!" Alex murmured softly to the injured pony. Just then, Mr. Olsen came by.
"Hi! Can I help you?" He asked.
"Yes! This is my pony!" Alex answered.
"I'm sorry, but you have to show ownership of this pony before you can take her home. I suggest that you prove your ownership before someone buys her!" Mr. Olsen said.
"All right, I can prove she's my pony, because I'm the only one who can lead and ride her safely! We've been together since my sixth birthday, and I'm ten years old now!" Alex protested.  
"All right, let me see how you do it!" Mr. Olsen replied. Alex grabbed a halter and slowly put it over Windy's head. The mare got up on Alex's command. She clucked for Windy to walk, and she did! But when Mr. Olsen tried, Windy dug her hooves into the dirt.
"OK, she's yours!" Mr. Olsen said.
"YAY!" Alex and Pam cheered.
They rode their bikes home, with Windy tagging along. That night, Alex groomed her pony until she shone in the moonlight. The Pony Pals decided to have another sleepover to celebrate Windy's return. That night when the Pony Pals were all sleeping, Alex dreamed about how great it was to have her Windy back to her again!

The End!
 
Hint: In the next book, Windy might be gone forever!