Bridges Pole Ranch And Academic Centre | (PAUSED)

     Leslie just sat on her bed for awhile her face buried inside of her pillow. Never did she imagine all the events of that day to happen. She had to be dreaming it. Had she? Leslie didn't know what to think about anything at that point. She couldn't tell if she was dreaming or not, so she pinched herself. Unfortunately she felt it. It all was real. It wasn't a dream. Leslie sighed as she shakily got up. Leslie walked into her bathroom, and wiped up the messed up makeup on her face. She never wore a lot of makeup, but with all the crying she'd been doing, it was definitely enough to mess it all up.

     Soon after that, Leslie looked out her window seeing London continuing to trot around like she had been, "Oh London...I don't know how to help you..." she sighed before turning away. She did notice that all of the horses were out in the pastures, which she thought was odd. Why would all the horses be out in the pasture? No one seemed to be training. In fact there was no one in sight. She knew everyone was up to something, but she didn't go to see what. It probably didn't even matter if she was there or not. It didn't matter for the past year, so why should it now? She had every right to be upset. 

     Leslie decided to just clean up her dorm. She had been so focused on training that she didn't even bother cleaning it. So, she picked up all the clothes, and put them where they belonged. She fixed her bed, and cleaned up the bathroom. After that, it looked a whole lot better then it did. At least that was something she did that made her feel better. Though was interrupted when she heard another knock on the door, "Go away," she said again. It was clear she didn't want to talk to anyone.

     Before she knew it, a letter appeared from underneath the door. Leslie hesitated before walking over to grab it. She looked at it, and was about to open it, but she couldn't bring herself to. Not yet. Instead she placed it face down on her nightstand. Leslie sighed as she looked at it before she went to go fix her ponytail. It was always a low ponytail, and it was always loose. She put her hair up the same way everyday unless it was a show day.

     Soon later Leslie looked out her window once more to check on London, but she shocked when she didn't see the mare. Leslie rushed to put her riding boots on, and she rushed out the door. Though she forgot she had locked it, so it took her a minute to open the door. Then she rushed out. Leslie ran over to the pastures to check the fencing for anything being broken, but all the fencing seemed fine. She started to worry that London jumped out. Their main discipline was showjumping with a side of dressage. She wouldn't be too surprised if her mare had jumped the fence.

     It wasn't until Leslie heard commotion in the barn, that she turned away from the pastures. She looked at the barn, and took a deep breath before slowly walking over to it with her head down. Leslie stopped as she slowly looked up while she rubbed her arm, something she did to comfort herself. She froze at all the change she saw in the barn. She couldn't think of what to say. Everyone was there...even London! Leslie was so relieved that she ran over to the mare's stall. She noticed the stall was fixed too. Though London seemed to calm down quite a bit, she still seemed a bit panicky. Leslie didn't blame her.

     Leslie pat her horse before looking at everyone, "How did you all get her in here...? She refused to step into the barn earlier.." she said slowly as she looked back at London. She did however notice Jacob didn't have his crutches anymore. She said nothing. She was still in a bit of shock from creature jumping out at her earlier that day. Chills ran throughout her body as she pictured and thought about it. Leslie ran her hand up and down the mare's face to calm her some more, "Shh it's ok girl..no more wolves. I'll make sure no more wolves hurt you or take you away from me.." she said in a bit of a whisper to the mare as she calmly nudged Leslie. Leslie smiled as she did forgetting everyone was there for just a moment.

Then without notice, Mrs. Wolf stepped into the barn once more, she giggled to herself as she went over and pulled out the plague where the black arabian's name should be, then she pulled out a marker from her pocket and wrote the horse's name down, "Void.." Mrs. Wolf read the plague aloud, then looked back at everyone.

She didn't hesitate as to walk over to Leslie, where she was standing in front of her mare's stall, "It's quite easy getting a spooked horse into their stall, though I'm not gonna say how or why." Mrs. Wolf paused before continuing to speak..

"But, I will say that Tyler thought of this idea, the idea of rebuilding the barn back, and back to a newer version. Every rider helped out, whether or not you trust them." Mrs. Wolf said as she grabbed London's plague and wrote out her name.

"Oh and Ava gave your mare some sugar cubes and some carrots to help your horse calm down, what a caring friend that you have." Mrs. Wolf spoke again "And Ava knows how you feel, she lost a very dear friend, not to a wolf or some type of creature, it was.." Mrs. Wolf paused and thought out her words..

"It was because of Amy, that Ava lost someone special, Winter was someone like you, Leslie. And that you remind Ava of her, that's why she wanted to be friends with you, she just didn't know your personality yet. Mostly because she had to cope the third year of grief.." Mrs. Wolf looked at Leslie, not dead in the eyes but something sad twinkled in Mrs. Wolf's eye, then she began to again.

"Three years later after Wnter left the barn, I never even thought Amy could get jealous enough to make someone leave, that's why I am hanging around the barn more, to make sure that you have a more welcomed feeling after the barn just had it's refurbished self." Mrs. Wolf said calmly, as usual because she was always calm and had a bit of a sweet, quiet voice.

Then Mrs. Wolf looked over at Ava who had her hand on the back of her neck and looking at the ground before Mrs. Wolf called her over, she looked tired and sleepy, probably because of all the crying.. "Ava why don't you give Leslie a more welcoming greeting then last year? It would be more of a welcoming feeling, and that you can reset your friendship too if you wanted too." Mrs. Wolf told Ava, and right in front of Leslie, though both didn't mind as Ava stuck out her hand for a proper handshake!

Then without doubt, everyone else took turns and greeted Leslie a bit more, trying to make her more comfortable in the barn, then Mrs. Wolf added onto what she said earlier "Oh and since that the barn had it's transformation, everything is moved again and that the rider's lounge is a bit more lighted and more welcoming and comfortable as well." she smiled happily at Leslie, this was her plan as a piece of parchment paper fell, it was an application about Winter..

Though Mrs. Wolf didn't realize that the paper fell out and was then looking in her pockets for a piece of paper.. "Oh and now what did I do with that parchment paper? I was gonna give it to you Ava, and now I can't find it in my pockets, it was going to be a surprise for this very occasion!" Mrs. Wolf said, she convinced Ava that Winter was coming back.

"Wait- three years after.. Are you saying that Winter is coming?!" Ava shouted very happily, she was so excited and happy that she began petting London right in front of Leslie..

"My dear, that is very true, your best friend is coming back after she had left. I had a talk with her during the three years, I convinced her that Amy had changed, and that the barn was back to being it's new self!" Mrs. Wolf confirmed of Winter's return that Amy ran over crying happily as she hugged Mrs. Wolf right there and then..

"Winter is returning?! I can say so many apologies that I wrote down on a piece of pape, I kept it to write more and more, I think I have over 1000+ apologies that I could think of." Amy said as Mrs. Wolf bent her knees to hug Amy back, but Mrs. Wolf was surprised at Amy's change now.

As Mrs. Wolf patted Amy's head, she told her to go train and Ava too, "Leslie, I'll help you calm down your mare and help train her to enter you both into the show, and since someone has dressage as one of their disciplines, they can show with you. So that you don't have to get so anxious. I think it's either Jacob, Tyler, Amy, Ava or Lilithe, that one of them has dressage, I bet it's Amy. She's always showing her horse into shows even though she's very low experienced. So your able to show with her. Amy also has some tricks to learn faster in dressage, and I think she's also working on show jumping along with Ava, so your able to train with them faster as well." Mrs. Wolf told Leslie, she smiled at her as she put the plague back into it's spot.

"There! So that rider's don't get confused on where their horses are supposed to be, you don't also mind if I keep London next to the black arabian right? I've been training him on manners but he's already trained in that! Either he was captured and trained then put out to be wild again to roam, or he has some intelligence that he's far smarter then an average horse should be." Mrs. Wolf said as she looked at the black arabian, his name was officially "Void" by everyone's comments, Mrs. Wolf also could tell that she was thinking of the word void when looking at him.

"So anyways, I'll be off now, you can have him if you need someone to talk too or to ride with when you need an extra buddy, but I'll be showing him. Also the show was delayed three weeks, so we have lot's of time to train!" Mrs. Wolf said, then she began again. "Anyways, I've already got to get the other horse's names written down before chaos arrived again." then Mrs. Wolf ran off to write down the other horse's names down on the plagues. It was important after all!

     Leslie was distracted by London for a quick moment as the mare had nudged her. She gave the mare a bit of a look before looking over at Mrs. Wolf. She could tell London wasn't as fidgety and spooked as she was, but Leslie could still see it in her eyes. She glanced at the arabian stallion for a moment. The name fit him perfectly. Void. Leslie eventually looked back at Mrs. Wolf nodding slightly, "London tends to get spooked easily with growling, wolves, and sometimes dogs...she didn't always.." she sighed looking at her mare once more, "A few years ago we were on a trail ride, when we were ambushed by wolves...we were both injured, but it affected her a lot more then it did me," she said as the last part was a bit obvious.

     She then turned her attention back to the fixed stall, and new barn. She would admit it looked a lot better then before, but maybe not out loud since she didn't want to upset anyone. She then looked at everyone else. Leslie looked down, and went back to rubbing her arm. It was calming to her, and she did it often. She listened to Mrs. Wolf as she spoke feeling a bit bad until it was announced that a old rider was returning. Ava's old best friend. 

     Leslie didn't really say anything about this Winter person. She was nervous. She was just now getting noticed by everyone, and sure it was overwhelming, but she somewhat liked it. She finally had people other her horse to vent to if she ever needed it. That is if she forgave them. When Ava started to pet London, Leslie was about to step in knowing London was still a bit spooked, and wasn't always the best with new people. Though she stayed away seeing London rather enjoyed it. "Well..she usually doesn't warm up to somebody quick like that. Probably just the treats," she said with a small laugh.

     After that, Leslie was nervous and shy again. She hardly looked at everyone before they took the time to properly meet her, but afterwards she couldn't help but to look them all in the eye and get at least one answer. "I want to know why you guys all ignored me as long as you did...it was hard just coming out to the barn knowing I was just a ghost. I struggled, and I couldn't get the help I so desperately needed..and I want to know why. I want to know why I didn't just pack my things and left. I decided to stay time after time, and I want to know if I made the right choice."

     That was one answer that she wanted more then any other. She went through a lot because of it. Leslie hoped the others gave her a answer. She hoped things would be different from then on. She hoped she wouldn't be left out of everything. Leslie only ever wanted a barn that her back when she needed it. Maybe now she would?

     Leslie listened to Mrs. Wolf once more as she looked at London again, "I'm just going to spend the rest of the day doing some small things I need to handle...London and I went through enough today, and I'll have spend the next couple days getting her confidence back up." London only nickered and nudged her owner again which caused the girl to smile. One of the first times she did that day.

     Then her gaze turned to Void a second time then back at London. Leslie wasn't sure about how she felt about a stallion being in a stall beside London's, but she saw how it didn't effect the both of them. Then again London was never too interested in stallions or other horses for that matter. It always cracked her up whenever a stud tried to get that mare's attention, but no matter how hard they tried, they all failed. Every. Single. Time. After a couple minute of thinking, Leslie just nodded.

     Before Mrs. Wolf left, Leslie noticed the box that contained the necklace. She walked over, and grabbed it. She looked at the box then smiled. She turned to Mrs. Wolf walking back over to her, "I don't know how, but this necklace brought the most important thing to me, back to me..I'd like to return it." she said handing over the box.

Mrs. Wolf was confused on what Leslie said, so Mrs. Wolf had just decided on her word play, "Oh dear, you don't have to do that, it brought you the most important thing a rider- or practically an owner could have, plus it's not mine anymore, I've actually been keeping it so that when something happened to a specific person, then I wouldn't keep it anymore. And besides, I have a lot of necklaces that I made anyways, so I don't need this one. Anymore actually, I don't need it anymore." Mrs. Wolf told Leslie, everyone then looked at the two, Mrs. Wolf was surely in her cheery mood now.

Then she patted Leslie's head, very gently so that she could get used to the patting, like everyone else did, Jacob secretly went up to London and snuck some more treats into her stall, then Mrs. Wolf caught him in the act. "Jacob, what did I tell you about sneaking more treats into a horses stall? And ones that are already had a treat or two?" Jacob turned around to face Mrs. Wolf who was giving him a mad but not angry staring face at him.

Jacob looked around the barn but couldn't think of anything, then Mrs. Wolf walked up to him and had her hand out for her to collect the treats from him, Jacob handed the treats to Mrs. Wolf then he walked off, but Mrs. Wolf gave him a little "psst" and he turned around to see her wink privately to him, Jacob smiled then walked off smiling happily.

Mrs. Wolf giggled to herself, then she faced London and gave her a couple of gentle and calming pets, Mrs. Wolf even tapped her lightly and quickly on London's snout, she could see a mare's amusement once in a great while, "Now aren't you a pretty mare?" Mrs. Wolf asked London herself, then she giggled to herself again and faced Leslie.. For some odd reason..

"Hm, Leslie, if London could ever refuse ground training (which she wouldn't), just call anyone that's available! Including rider's that stick around here, they are excellent with multi-tasking. Something that I appreciate, especially since we have a reboot now, it'll make things easier for everyone here." Mrs. Wolf said, as she looked up at the barn..

Anyways, Tyler was wheel barrowing around horse manure and used up straw, he didn't mind the chore, but he did always complete the task! But as he did his chore, he looked over at Leslie and Mrs. Wolf, but he shifted his gaze to something else..

Jacob came out of his stall with his stud, the big beaut if he ever was.. Compared to a rare black arabian stallion, he didn't has a chance to stand out, the barn did house lot's of wonderful coated horses, some hailing from their eccentric time. Other's more regal and well-known!

But as Jacob noticed Tyler running to the other side of the barn, he then to saw the samething that Tyler saw, the horse just sighed and walked up towards Mrs. Wolf and Leslie, he nudged Mrs. Wolf to get attention then at Leslie, the stallion was calm and collective compared to the other horses, except Void..

"Oh attention seeker again? You must been getting ignored, hm, anyways I'll take you to the wash and groom you down after. I'll even clip your hooves! or toes that their really called, oh and good bye Leslie." Mrs. Wolf calmly said good bye, her greeting was surely different as she was so sweet to rider's, except if they ever got into trouble. Then yeah..

Anyways as Jacob's horse was getting more attention from Mrs. Wolf, the other horses were getting jealous as they see him get more care and attention from the barn owner, which was pretty cool to a horse that is used to getting attention. But as a calm mare trotted up to Leslie, the mare backed up and lowered her neck to Leslie, so that she could pets from her. Lot's of different horses require different types of attention.

Especially if it's a calm mare that knows her place and where she belongs, because she loves all humans, except the really bad ones.. She hates those, but- anyways, as the mare awaits Leslie's movements she huffs a little bit and shows her a bit of tender horse love, then Mrs. Wolf came back with Jacob's stallion following her with her holding the halter, "Oh? A retired therapy horse wants attention? But girl you've always gotten attention!" Mrs. Wolf told the mare, she didn't care and sense how Leslie feels, she just awaits her movements and is patient with her.

"Hm, looks like she can sense more then just hurt feelings, I'll make a special stall for this lady, at least the kids that want to let it all go can." Mrs. Wolf said before leading the stallion back to his stallion, she then began petting the retired therapy mare, and she pulled out a brush and began brushing the mare down, the mare didnt mind it as the rthymic brushing was making her fall asleep a little bit. Mrs. Wolf giggled and hummed to herself, enjoying the little bit's of company.

"Such a good horse, not even needing to use a crosstie to hold her in place, because she knows what to do, that's what good a horse can do since they remember quite well, even older mares like this girl know what to do." Mrs. Wolf as she told Leslie but didn't face her, the mare then plopped her head into Leslie's hands.. What a wonderful moment!

     Leslie opened the box again as she grabbed the necklace. She'd never seen anything like it before. Even London seemed to like it as she tried to grab hold of it. "London! You can't have this!" she said carefully pushing the mare's head back. Though London didn't seem too amused. Leslie only shook her head amusingly. London was getting back to her normal antics which made Leslie feel a lot better then she had been. She then looked back at Mrs. Wolf, "Are you sure?" she asked looking back at the necklace. She merely just gave a small nod as she placed the necklace back into the box, and Leslie set it down once more.

     Leslie chuckled to herself as Jacob attempted to sneak her mare some more treats. She would normally mind, but the treats seemed to help calm the mare. Maybe she should have just tried treats in the first place. London absolutely could not resist any treat if it was offered to her. Leslie only pat the mare seeing she didn't seem to happy about the treats being pulled away from her before she could enjoy them. 

     "She is quite the mare. I've never seen another horse with the markings she has. She stood out to me when I was at that horse auction those years ago. I'm lucky I was able to afford her," Leslie laughed as London tried to nibble at her hair. She gave the mare a stern look, "You know the rules girl. Teeth off the hair," she muttered pushing the mare away. 

     Leslie looked over to see a stallion right beside her. "Oh why hello there big guy," she chuckled as she pat him on the head before Mrs. Wolf took him away to get a good grooming. She chuckled as she pat London some more to keep her from nibbling at her hair. Leslie was relieved to know London was no longer frightened of the creature from that morning. She couldn't see it in the mare's eyes anymore. London was herself once more, but Leslie still wanted to give her the rest of the day to rest. 

     That was when she turned around after feeling something nudge her side. Leslie turned to see the old therapy horse. She didn't hesitate but to rub her hand up and down the mare's face. London seemed to now start to get jealous with all the horses coming up to her owner, but Leslie just simply ignored it. She just continued to pet the mare as Mrs. Wolf came back over with the stallion, "Don't know how these horses are getting loose, but I think they like me," she said as the mare placed her head in her hands. 

     Leslie had never experienced anything of the sort. No horses had come up to her searching for pets from her except for London. For the first time since she has been there, Leslie felt like she was needed there. These horses she didn't know were all loving towards her and she returned it to them. She looked over at London, "Oh it's ok girl. Your still mine, and you forever will be. No horse will change that," she chuckled before petting the old mare some more. Maybe she did indeed sense the feelings she had. Maybe all the horses did. Oh well she felt a lot better then she has before in over the past year. 

     Leslie felt more like her self. She felt like a new person. Like she was given a new start even though she wasn't. She overheard Mrs. Wolf humming as she brushed the old mare, but Leslie stayed silent. This wasn't a time meant to speak. For once Leslie felt free. She wasn't a transparent figure around the barn anymore. She was known. She now had a purpose here, and even though she didn't know what it was, she would learn it over time. She just had to learn about this place and the people some more before she did.

As Mrs. Wolf finished up grooming the mare, the old girl lifted her head then she gently placed her head straight onto Leslie's face, the mare swished her tail happily, then she just gave her a little bit more attention to her, then the old girl gently pulled back her head and walked away, though she did look back at Leslie before going back to her stall. One of the rider's waited and then gently closed the door for the mare, Mrs. Wolf just sighed to the mare.

"Maybe it would be a good idea to train a horse to be another therapy one, oh, and what an interesting story that you had there!" Mrs. Wolf said before she couldn't resist petting Leslie's head again, Amy saw Mrs. Wolf pet Leslie on the head and she laughed to herself, smiling brightly.

"Y'know, before I was known for having this barn, I actually used to own over 100+ horses from the auction and slaughter house, I could never resist equines, so I grew a love that soon turned into an obssession, I know that for a fact since I used to be close to a horse of mine.. Sadly she's gone, but I have a picture of her and me when I was little. And that was when I started to love horses! I-" Mrs. Wolf paused before continuing to speak "Nevermind, but you all- no, nevermind to that." Mrs. Wolf acted like she couldn't say anything else.. Which was a bit sad and confusing..

Anyways, as Mrs. Wolf cupped her hands gently to London's mouth, she smiled but she also snuck some grounded treats that were actually healthy but she didn't know that, as Mrs. Wolf stopped cupping her hands and wiped them against her sides, she looked back at Leslie once more.

"Anyways, my real name is Rose, but everyone here and everywhere call me Mrs. Wolf, I never understood that but I'm used to it now, and besides, I love the flower rose and I do have some cologne that's scented to be rose's, honestly I love the smell of rose's. But I guess that's why my parents gave me the name Rose. I can't really blame them after all." Rose chuckled a bit to herself then smiled again at Leslie.

As Rose searched an upper pocket for something, she felt a thin piece of paper and it was her and her mare, a beautiful tobiano mare with dapples, knee high stockings that the front and back to up to the shoulder's and hindquarters, the mare's face was shown to have a bald face that revealed a badger mask, the mare's coat also shown some flaxen mixed into the white and black mane and tail, and her coat is shining like silver coins! Rose smiled greatly and humbled herself before showing Leslie, Rose was just humbled by this..

"Oh! Um, Leslie, how did you get your name? If I may ask? I'm just curious.." Rose asked Leslie, she was patient and awaited her answer.


Meanwhile, Ava was doing some decorating at her dorm, then as she got done she had a letter slid in from under the door, which confused her, but then she read it and she was surprised and when she opened her dorm door and exited it, she found someone familiar.. She started to cry happily at the person.. "Remember me Ava?" the person asked Ava, she just ran into the person's arms..

After Ava stopped hugging the figure and grabbed the person's hand, she led the person from the dorms to the barn, Ava then peeked her head around the corner, then she told the person to follow her. Ava saw Mrs. Wolf or Rose and hugged her very eagerly, "Look who came back a week earlier!" Ava pointed at the girl standing there, her long white hair down; sorta braided, her white clothing, and deep, black abyss boots, the girl also had a golden, silver and bronze badge on her front jacket to be shown. Ava just stared at the badges.

"Well, welcome back Winter! I hope you remember what to do here, but you may not since Tyler and the other rider's redesigned and relocated a lot of things, we even organised the horses! But look at our member! Meet Leslie!" Rose said introducing Leslie to Winter, Winter nervously put her hand out and her hand began to shake a little bit.

"O-oh, is s-she new or been here?" Winter asked nervously, Mrs. Wolf told her that she has been her for a year, "Oh, okay then! Hi Leslie, I'm Winter Lovesworth, a bright and fun cheery girl! I'm kinda like Mrs. Wolf but add the exra anxiousness and that's me!" Winter said happily introducing herself, and sharing a bit of info about herself as well.

"But I forgot to bring my horse with me, so is it alright if I ride the black arabian stallion over in his stall? Until I get my horse shipped over to me or here?" Winter asked Mrs. Wolf, she smiled and petted Winter's head, Winter remembered what it felt like being petted again. It made her lose her anxiousness and it also helped her calm down.

Winter then spotted London and was amazed to look at her, she has seen no horse like her, but then a memory popped up into her head, "Oh, I think I saw a horse like you girl! Or boy.. But I definately saw you two days before an auction, it probably wasn't you since you look like you have a different personality then the other horse, because the other horse was very gentle and sweet! And that the horse was a stallion, so like I said; it probably wasn't you, since I can you look very different from the stallion." Winter said as she examined the mare more, completely interested in her and she was losing her train of thought.

"Oh right, Mrs. Wolf, have you gotten a plague with the name "Snow" on it?" Winter asked Rose, which to her surprise Rose did pull out a golden looking plague with the word "Snow" on it.

Winter was estatic and grabbed it quickly from Mrs. Wolf's grasp, she looked the name over and over again until she gave it back, Leslie was probably surprised to see Winter's personality change very quickly! "Mood swings.." Mrs. Wolf told herself, Leslie probably heard her say that, but it was because of her mood swings that allowed her to socialize with everyone and every horse.

"Oh and since Winter is back, you can ask her if you can join our little group, she was the leader and I was the second leader that made little to no say in what Winter says, but it's cool if you do join because we could hang out and all that other stuff!" Ava estatically said, Amy walked up next to Ava and nodded her head in agreement as Lilithe also walked up next to Amy, the girl's smiled brightly as Winter was off catching up.

Amy then pulled Ava into a tussle and she nuggied Ava's head, it looked a bit hard but Amy was actually gentle with it, Lilithe also laughed at the two, Lilithe then looked at Leslie and stood next to her, as Ava and Amy stopped nuggie-ing and stood up next to each other, the two just laughed at each other very happily!

"Amy it's been so long since you nuggied my head, but I guess I can't really say that, but it's quite fun interacting like this again. But, I'm just not used to it so please don't do that again.." Ava asked Amy, and she apologized for hurting Ava but Ava accepted the apology. She also hugged Amy and she blushed and looked away. Ava just laughed.

     Leslie couldn't help but to quietly laugh at the old mare. She may have been old, but that didn't matter to Leslie. If she had the funds, she would definitely have a second horse. Though London would still be her heart horse. Nothing would change that. Nothing. She smiled as the mare eventually turned away back to her stall. Leslie may still have hundreds of questions about everything, but she felt a better then she had in a long time. It was almost strange to her.

     Leslie looked at Mrs. Wolf listening to her as she rubbed her hand up and down London's face. The mare was needy, and always expected some kind of attention. Whether it was in the show ring, or just getting pets from someone walking by her stall. "I was looking for a good horse of my own since the horse I was getting lessons on was starting to get too old. Unfortunately, my instructor didn't have a younger horse suitable for me to ride. That's when I had to start looking for my own."

     She paused looking at London again, "I wasn't expecting on getting a fancy horse. Just something to start small with, and continue with my training, but then I saw her. I knew I had to get London no matter what, and surprisingly the bids weren't extremely high even though everyone had eyes on her. London may be a lot more then what I was looking for, but she's perfect. She for sure jump high, and after training for the past few years, I can too. Right now we jump 1.40."

     London perked up at the word "jump" but Leslie just shook her head, "Sorry girl. I'm not going to jump you for a day or two. Not after you spooking off. Just some groundwork." London just snorted not happy with that answer. The mare's ears went back, but they almost always were back. She just had that common mare face, and she used it often. Leslie only shook her head at the mare.

     She turned her attention back to Mrs. Wolf as she started to speak again. Rose. That was a beautiful name. It was always strange to her how parents always seemed to pick out the perfect names for their children. She couldn't imagine herself having a different name. Leslie looked at the picture Mrs. Wolf, or Rose, had showed her of her old mare. "She's stunning. I'm sure she was really special." 

     What Mrs. Wolf asked her next, surprised her. Leslie just looked down slightly, "I never really thought about it..." she sighed, "I was never really close to my parents. I just always focused on my studies, and my training. I was usually only home for dinner and bed. My parents never came to my competitions, but I never expected them to." That was all she said on that subject.

     Leslie looked up as she heard somebody walk into the barn. She saw it was Ava...and a girl she had never seen before. The girl had white hair, which she'd never seen before, and she wore white clothes except for black boots similar to her own. That was when she realized it must have been Winter. 

     Leslie grew a bit nervous. She rubbed her arm a small bit to comfort herself as Winter reached out her hand to shake her's. Leslie hesitantly shook Winter's hand. She looked up at her a bit giving a nod. When Winter seemed to grow quite distracted by her mare, Leslie got a bit protective.

    She put her hand on her mare, "I got her from a auction a few years ago. She's always been kind, but not to everyone. I'm surprised she taken to most of everyone here so far." Leslie got a bit distracted by London as she started nibbling on her hair again, "London you know the rules. You can't be nibbling my hair." she said pushing the mare's muzzle away. Leslie was just protective of London that's all, and she didn't know this Winter person.

     Truthfully, the only one she did seem to know was Mrs. Wolf. She only knew everyone else by their name nothing more. Plus, she didn't know what Winter's intentions were. She seemed nice, but then there was how she looked and easily got distracted by London. Leslie just wasn't sure if she could trust her just yet. She only somewhat trusted Mrs. Wolf so far. Leslie just stood silent watching Ava and Amy before London started nudging her.

     Leslie sighed, "I should probably do a small amount of groundwork with her. London is getting energetic, and I should probably check her properly for injuries. I don't think there are any, but the way she broke the door and galloped off...can't be entirely sure." She then grabbed London's halter and lead rope before opening the stall door. She placed the halter on the mare's head, then attached the lead rope. After that, Leslie led her out to one of the round pens. "Just long enough to make sure your alright. Nothing more." she muttered to herself as she asked the mare to trot around.

Winter waved good bye as she noticed another pretty mare, Mrs. Wolf was humbled and giggled a bit, but she then asked Ava to leave the barn for some training, Ava nodded her head away and ran off to get her horse, as Winter walked back up to Mrs. Wolf. Rose patted her head away and then walked her to the rider's lounge, Winter felt like a new girl again and couldn't help get nervous again.

Rose noticed Winter shaking a bit, then she stopped her and ran off, as Mrs. Wolf came back again she took a breather and had Winter hold a bridle, she was confused on why she was told to hold a bridle, then the two stopped in front of Void's stall. Winter got excited and she asked if Rose was allowing her to ride a stallion this time..

"Of course! I know you are used to horses, so why not try out Void? He's a handsome stallion, and very well mannered and intelligent by heart!" Mrs. Wolf said before opening the door, Void jumped out and ran to the dressage arena, Winter and Mrs. Wolf then chased after Void to have him wear a bridle for a bit.

As the two girls spotted Void training Amy's horse, Amy was confused but still sat in the saddle and let it be, "My word, I didn't expect him to this intelligent." Mrs. Wolf said before whistling to Void, the stallion looked at her and trotted over to her, Winter just took a deep breath and Void lowered his head to have the bridle on his face.

"You weren't kidding when you said that he was this intelligent!" Winter remarked a bit, she was still taken by surprised, then Void turned his body and Mrs. Wolf smiled and helped Winter onto the horse's back, and without a saddle.

As Ava rode her horse to the show jumping arena to change disciplines, her horse instantly started training as Ava was in shock by this, but she didn't mind jumping for awhile, but as she controlled her horse more and more, the mare slowed down the training as she took a breather. Ava had to take a sigh and breath as well, the adrenaline running in her veins made her want to calm down.

"I didn't know you already knew how to jump excellently, I guess by your jumping and how high you go, I'd say you jump 2.10, or somewhere between that." Ava told her horse as she made her go back into the barn, Mrs. Wolf watched the whole thing but she also kept and on Void and Winter.

When Jacob hopped back up onto his horse, the stallion sighed and began walking as Jacob moved around to get comfortable as he got back up on his horse, the stallion didn't mind retraining Jacob on their discipline, he just listened to Jacob and stopped every now and then to have Jacob balance himself out.

"I know boy, I know, your not used to me on your back again. But at least we can continue training on where we left off! Jacob said as his horse started running to the selected arena, Amy was passed by as Tyler was giving her a beautiful rose for her to wear. "Oh Tyler, I'm so sorry, I forgot to give you something to wear as well!" Amy told Tyler, he just laughed and was amused by her.

"Don't worry about it Amy, I never even want something back in return, even though if you want to give me things that are good enough for me, then I'll take them anyways!" Tyler said to Amy, she just put her arms into a cross and looked down.

As Ava was passing by the round pen to train the foal, the little [censored] wasn't there so she got worried, her horse also sniffed the air for the little foal, then a little neigh was heard as the foal watched London get some ground training done, Ava looked over where the foal was and laughed. The little [censored] was half way through the fence as he wanted to train with London.

"I guess we could call him "Little [censored]", it fits him since he is a little [censored]. Right girl?" Ava asked her mare, the mare just lifted her head up and down quickly for a nod, then Ava got off her horse and walked up towards the foal, Little [censored] was trying to bug Leslie and London while they were training.

"And a oop from me." Ava said as she picked up the foal, the little colt was certainly heavy! Then Ava's mare nudged the colt a bit, the little foal just tried just to escape from Ava's grasp. "Oh no you don't, you are not trying to bug Leslie and London training. You are getting that halter on and you are training by yourself." Ava sternly said to the foal, the little colt looked at Lodnon before disappearing into the barn to get a halter on. Ava's horse just chilled next to the fence, she then went to graze.


Anyways, as Winter was getting the hang of training with Void, the stallion bucked a tiny bit before deciding that he is being ridden by her, he then started to get back into training the discipline that she wanted, "Y'know, I've never seen an arabian doing show jumping, I'll train him on that!" Winter told herself and Mrs. Wolf, Rose just nodded and walked away before deciding that Winter could manage a stallion on her own.

As Mrs. Wolf was walking back to the barn, she saw Lilithe riding a new horse that she has never seen before, and as she ran over to Lilithe, Lilithe's new horse fidgeted at the woman, then Lilithe patted her neck and calmed her down. Mrs. Wolf started examining the new mare, "Your new horse looks exactly like my old mare that I used to have." Mrs. Wolf was confused before Lilithe giggled at her.

"It's because of the genetics that this girl has!" Lilithe told Mrs. Wolf, she just continued to examine the mare, "Well, whatever the case, she just looks exactly like my old mare." Mrs. Wolf added on, Lilithe just humbled herself before she took the mare and put her in a stall nearby, actually she took the mare and placed her next to the older mare.

Mrs. Wolf was showing interest in Lilithe's mare as she was exactly like hers, but she had duties to do and she walked around the barn, tending to other rider's, getting supplies and all the like. But then a rider went up to Mrs. Wolf and started asking her questions, the dark hair the girl had reminded Rose of her as a young lady, so she helped the young rider and showed her where all the supplies were kept, but it was slightly in the same spot but a bit more organised by the tack, and cleaning equipment and other things as well!

The girl giggled and smiled at Mrs. Wolf, "Thank you Mrs. Wolf for helping me to find the equipment! And thank you for answering my other questions as well!" the young lady told Mrs. Wolf, Rose just smiled and patted her head before she left to help anyone else for the day..

     Leslie had London trot around in circles for awhile around the round pen. She studied the mare's gait closely checking for any changes that could indicate a injury of some sort. So far, Leslie wasn't seeing anything out of the ordinary. She thought it was strange with how London broke the stall door, but she was grateful the mare seemed alright. Though she wasn't entirely convinced just yet.

     She then asked the mare to pick up to a slow canter. London didn't really seem to want to, so Leslie clicked her tongue every now and then. "Come on girl. I just need to make sure you're alright. You gave me quite the scare when you spooked off like you did..." she sighed as she brought London back to a trot. She did however notice the smallest change in her movements.

     That was when Leslie got distracted from a noise she heard. She brought London to a halt noticing a foal, "Oh hello there little one," she said chuckling softly seeing as how he got himself halfway through the fence. She dropped the lunge line, and helped him out of the fencing as Ava came over. "Oh he's just curious that's all. That's what foals are," she chuckled as she pet the foal for a minute before Ava took him away.

     London just stood there watching not too amused by the foal. Instead, she turned around, and grabbed the lunge line before tossing it over Leslie even though it was still attached to her halter. Leslie slightly jumped and turned to look at London, "Alright alright we'll get back to it." she grinned before grabbing the lunge line, and bringing the mare back to a trot.

     Leslie noticed a small change in London's movement again, and after a few more minutes, she brought the mare to a halt. She then went over, and ran her hands down the mare's front left leg better then when she did when the mare returned. "Hmm...nothing serious just need some nice on it for the rest of the day, and you'll be fine. Maybe over night too," Leslie then led the mare out of the round pen, and brought her back to her stall.

     She removed the halter, and went over to the tack room. It was different in there like everything else, but she managed to find a ice boot. Leslie grabbed it, and put ice in it before taking it back to her mare. "Alright girl. This won't hurt, it's just a bit cold," she said as she let London sniff at it before she placed it on her leg, "There." 

     Leslie then looked around. There wasn't much she could do now. London needed to continue to take it easy, so she couldn't train. She already cleaned her tack, and her dorm. Everyone else seemed to be training. She sighed before walking out of the barn watching everyone for a moment before walking over to her dorm. She grabbed the box that contained the necklace on her way out. 

     When Leslie reached her dorm, she set the box on her nightstand. Though before she did, she opened it and grabbed the necklace. She was still unsure of how it brought her horse back to her, but it didn't really matter since London was back. Leslie just dusted off her clothes, and put the necklace on. She wouldn't ride at all that day, so why not just wear it? She then looked out of her window before moving around a little bit of stuff in her dorm before heading back to the barn to find something to do.

(sorry I didn't post!)

As Rose walked into the barn with a check list, this time bringing out a pen, when everyone got back from training, they lined up as Mrs. Wolf checked them off one by one, still everyone was a bit nervous and they could tell that the mood had changed as Mrs. Wolf finished checking everyone off of the list.

"Alright, bring your horses out everyone, time to check mark them off as well." Mrs. Wolf said as Ava ran over and got her horse quick and easy, Rose then scanned the mare for a bit before check marking the mare. "Alright, next horse for me to check mark." Mrs. Wolf said again as everyone stood in a line with their horse. Winter hadn't gotten hers yet so she had no reason to participate in the check marking.

"Winter do you mind if you grab Void? I need to check mark him off since he stays and lives here." Mrs. Wolf asked Winter, Winter didn't hesitate to grab Void, but Rose scanned the arabian very delicately and patiently, then she told Winter to put the stallion back into his stall.

When Rose got finished at looking at the horses, minus London, Mrs. Wolf then started walking back to her office, but she began to hum to herself. Winter just admired London for a little bit before petting Void, "I can't remember when I saw an arabian as black as you! But then again, you do remind me of Black Beauty." Winter told the arabian stallion, he didn't mind being called Beauty's Brother, mostly because Winter did have the memory of the black horse in the book.

"Maybe that's because you've read Black Beauty for a whole year or so." Ava told Winter, Winter was spooked when Ava went up to her, "Ah, maybe you're right Ava. I did read it when I was bored." Winter told Ava, the two seemed to get close like before.

"Also, Winter can you let Leslie join our group?" Ava asked Winter, she didn't mind having another girl in the group, "Of course Ava! You know you have the say in the group, you're the leader, not me. I just formed the group so that we can hang out!" Winter hugged Ava tightly, Ava just blushed and looked dazed.

Ava smiled greatly and hugged Winter more, the white haired girl just laughed as her sorta braided hair flew into the wind a bit, Amy then rushed over and knocked the thre of them down, Lilithe just caught up and looked at them happily but not taking part in the huddle. Lilithe also stood next to Leslie.. "Leslie you know you can join the huddle right?" Lilithe asked Leslie like she was going or not going to take part in the huddle, "It's also fine if you don't want to join the huddle, I know that your not comfortable yet, and neither am I. But heck! I've been here the same as Amy, even Tyler." Lilithe then looked back at the girls having fun laughing.

"Oh I also got to show you this horse, it looks just like Mrs. Wolf's horse!" Lilithe grabbed Leslie's hand quick and began to run with her being dragged behind a little bit, as Lilithe got to the stall with the new mare, the old mare stuck out her head from the left side. Which meant that the new mare was on the right side.

"Oh hello, Old Lady! I didn't know you wanted more attention, here let me take you out of your stall." Lilithe said as the mare wobbled out of her stall, Lilithe then let the stall door stay open. The old mare then put her head in Leslie's hands again, enjoying the touch of her hands. Lilithe also began to lightly groom her, with gentle and careful strokes and circles.

As Lilithe braided the old mare's mane, the mare looked at Lilithe before swinging her tail to tell Lilithe that she wanted her tail braided, "I forgot how gentle older horses are, especially if they're therapy horses, then that way we can calm down and enjoy the nice moments that pop up from time to time with Old Lady here." Lilithe said as she finished up with the mare's mane and tail, seeming to have managed a successful and neat braid.

Then the new mare stuck out her head and softly neighed to Old Lady, the mare slowly lifted her head to greet the other mare with a gentle face to face, then Lilithe noticed that Old Lady started to groom the new mare's mane, unsual.. Lilithe didn't paid to attention as horses do have children in the wild and in barns.

"Hm, I forgot that you knew Secret Biscuit, no wonder why you act like a mother to her." Lilithe told Old Lady, the old mare didn't mind and went back to her stall after she got a little nibble of hair from the two girls. Lilithe just laughed when Old Lady did that.

"Mares." Lilithe just said for no reason. The other mare; Secret Biscuit, looked at the two girls and neighed at them, seeming to have enjoyed the moment that passed, Lilithe just laughed again. "This is my life, and it's perfect!" Lilithe whispered to herself, sounding like she enjoyed what she had.

Then Ava hugged Leslie from behind and then did the same thing to Lilithe, but Lilithe raised her hand and planted it on Ava's hair, Lilithe seemed have gotten used to it, Ava sure did enjoy the pats like a horse. But she was also gentle like a whale, but she also had some charismatic in her as well.


Anyways, as Lilithe pushed Leslie back to the front of the barn, the arabian gently took out his head and sniffed Leslie's scent in the air, he seemed to have calmed down so much, then Winter walked up to him and put her hand to the stallion's muzzle. He seemed to enjoy it as sparkles reflected in his eyes..

     Leslie walked back to the barn noticing all the rider's where in a line with their horses. She was about to grab London, but she was told it wasn't needed. She thought that was strange, but London needed the rest of the day to rest anyway. She didn't want to grab the mare unless it was needed. Whether or not London liked stall rest, it was just for a short while. Leslie just pat the mare real quick so she didn't get fidgety. Mares. 

     London always had attitude. Whether it was just being stubborn and sassy, or goofy and loving. It just depended on the day and the mood. Though Leslie suspected London to be stubborn in the next day or two because she was only going to do groundwork. London tolerated it every now and then, but she never liked doing it for a couple days straight. The mare just loved to jump, and hated it when her owner kept her from doing so. Though, she almost never jumped the pasture fence.

     Leslie was thinking about things as she watched London rubbing her hand up and down the mare's white face. She was daydreaming a bit. That was until she heard Lilithe's voice. Leslie slightly jumped as she turned around embarrassed. She looked at the three for a moment, "O-oh..I guess I'm just not used to all of this attention...guess I just got so used to being ignored..." she sighed looking down as she rubbed her arm. 

     Before she knew it, Lilithe grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to the new mare. It took Leslie by surprise, and she couldn't even say anything before she was in front of the mare's stall. "She's gorgeous." she said as she looked over at the old mare. The old mare just went right over to Leslie, and put her head in her hands again. Leslie just chuckled, "Someone seems to like me," she said as she ran her hand up and down the mare's face. 

     London stuck her head out of the stall seeing her owner pet the old mare. She snorted pawing at the stall door slightly. Leslie only shook her head, "Ignore her. She's just jealous." she told the mare and Lilithe. She the two mares interact, and smiled. She never really seen two horses act like that with each other much before.

     Though it made sense because she was always watching London, and London wasn't much for interacting with other horses. London just wasn't interested in stallions or even mares. She just kept to herself. Leslie wasn't sure if that London's choice, or the other's stayed away from her, but either way it seemed London didn't mind.

     After the little moment the two mares had, Leslie jumped as someone hugged her from behind. She never really had friends before, not even at her old barn, and everyone had just took the time to get to know her. Though part of not really having friends was partly her fault since she used to spend most of her time training.

     Soon after that, Leslie looked over at London, "Alright alright girl I'm coming," she muttered as she walked over. Leslie opened the stall door, walked in, and shut it behind her. "Let's see if that ice boot is working at all," she said as she took it off. It seemed the ice had melted, and it wasn't as cold anymore. "Looks like I'm gonna have to replace this a few times during the night." she mumbled as she walked out of the stall, and dumped the water. 

     Leslie grabbed more ice, and went back over to London's stall. She placed the ice boot back on. "There. That'll help you," she said before giving London some peppermints, her favorite treat. Leslie felt like Winter watched London every now and then, but she tried not to think about it. She spent a lot of time out of her day to spend time with her mare. London was quite the sight to behold, Leslie couldn't and wouldn't deny that. The markings on her neck were unusual, but they only added to the mare's beauty and grace.

  _____

     it's fine

(Okay)

As Secret Biscuit went out into the pasture with a push from her nose and had opened the door, the old mare just looked at her and sighed to her, Secret Biscuit turned her head around to see the old mare sighing to her, she walked up to her and nuzzled her this time, some of the stallions poked their head's out to see the two mares interact with each other. They then ignored it and stuck their head's back inside, Void was just asleep on his bedding.

Mrs. Wolf then came back into the barn and had some bridles in her hands, she also smiled like she was smiling evily.. Unsettling, but then Ava walked up to her, a bit distressed and uncomfortable. Mrs. Wolf then just ignored her and took the bridles back into the tack closet, everyone hesitated as she kept smiling and then looked at someone. The person got nervous and was about to run when Jacob went up to her to check on her Tyler was also worried about her..

"Hey, Mrs. Wolf, are you alright?" Jacob asked Mrs. Wolf, she shifted her eyes straight into his, "I could've been better!" she replied back, her gaze never once looked away at Jacob, Winter was also worried so she had Ava, Amy, Lilithe and Leslie behind her to protect them..

"C-could've been better? Don't tell me-" Jacob was about to say something when Mrs. Wolf made a more evil smile at him, "Don't." she just said, and that was all until she walked back into her office. Tyler was worried as he ducked back into the rider's lounge.

"What's up with her?" Jacob asked himself, Ava ran up to Jacob and asked if her was alright, "I'm alright, just nervous and a bit scared from Mrs. Wolf staring at me.." Jacob looked back at the front entrance of the barn, Mrs. Wolf was certainly gone as Tyler went to check if she did go back to her office.

Ava also looked at the front entrance, clearly shaken up from that experience, "I've never seen her this mad.." Ava said as Winter, Amy, and Lilithe +Leslie as Lilithe dragged her with her. Jacob was confused for a second, Mrs. Wolf smiles evily just from being mad?! What?! That makes no sense!" Jacob shouted at Ava, Winter pulled Jacob's ear as she wanted him to stop shouting at her. "Be nice!" Winter commanded Jacob, he stopped and apologized to Ava..

"And plus, we gotta go see what made her mad in the first place." Winter told the group, Ava just walked up next to Lilithe and Leslie, "We'll just stay here and calm down, the mood did change after all." Ava told Winter, Winter nodded as she dragged Jacob and Tyler with her. "Com'on boys, your coming with me."

Ava then just looked at Leslie and Lilithe, confused at the time, then she told Leslie to go calm down in her room in the dorms, "Hopefully that'll make you rest enough, and plus, you do look like you need some deep breathing." Ava told Leslie, Lilithe put her hand on Leslie and tried to smile happily at Leslie, approving of her to go relax.

"And don't worry about London, we'll make sure she's calm down and happy as well." Ava added onto her sentence, Lilithe nodded her head, and then went to London to make sure she was alright and happy.

As Amy walked into the rider's lounge to relax, Lilithe stopped her and dragged her over to London, examining the mare intensely, "Don't worry London girl, we're here to make sure your comfortable and happy, like we promised your owner Leslie." Ava told London calmly and collective, Amy nodded and so did Lilithe.

As Winter, Jacob, and Tyler came back to inform everyone, Winter noticed the girl's talking and looking at London, she walked over there calm and like. Amy just waved at her and went to talking, Winter then waved at London happily, she also gave her a sweet sugar cube. "My treat girl, here, I added a little bit of extra sugar, in case you need it." Winter told London happily as she went to talk within the group, Jacob and Tyler looked at each other before they decided to go into the rider's lounge.

Then.. For some reason, a black shadow of smoke came from within the barn, the dragged on until everyone looked at what was causing the smoke, the alarms didn't go off, but when they looked at where it was coming from.. A black smoky horse, with green glowing eyes looked at everyone directly, then she continued to walk in as if she owned the place..

"No.." Winter said, Ava looked at her confused. "What do you mean by no?" Ava asked her, the other rider's showed fear and backed up to something to feel more comfortable, the mare then galloped forward a bit before she stopped infront of the girls, Winter then brought everyone in the group behind her. The mare blew some wind and smoke into her face before she looked up at London, the smoky black mare then shifted her green eyes somewhere else before leaving the barn to go into the forest ahead.

"Why did she have to return?" Winter asked herself again, Ava then showed more confusion..

     Leslie had just finished up replacing London's ice boot when Mrs. Wolf appeared again. She just walked out of the stall, and closed it behind her when she felt things get tense again. The feeling ran down her spine, and she didn't like it. She gave her mare a reassuring pat before she turned around to see what was going on. Though she saw Mrs. Wolf, and the look she had on her face.

     It was unsettling for sure, but it only made Leslie think about the creature from that morning. She had hoped it wasn't anything about the large dark creature that took the form of a large wolf. She shivered as she thought about it and how it jumped at her when it had broke out of the rider's lounge. Now that she thought about it, Leslie had never even been near the rider's lounge since the whole incident. She'd mostly been around London, but that was kind of normal for her.

     After taking a quick glance at Mrs. Wolf, several cold chills ran throughout her body. Leslie quickly had to look away, and before she knew it Ava, Amy, and Lilithe were standing beside her with Winter standing in front of the three of them. Though she stood protectively..? Leslie still wasn't sure how she felt about Winter, but it was probably because she was still getting used to the events of the past few days, and the ordeal with the creature.

     Before she even realized it, Ava was telling her to go to her dorm. Well that wasn't surprising. Sure the experience sent chills to her body, but it didn't shake her up nearly as much as the creature did. The shock from it had finally left her, and London wasn't spooked anymore. Leslie just sighed and looked at London running her hand down the mare's face as London closed her eyes as Leslie did so, "She seems fine.....but alright," she sighed.

     Leslie hesitantly left the barn to go to her dorm despite not wanting to. It still seemed everyone was keeping things from her, and she had enough of it. Why they wouldn't tell her, she didn't know, but she hated secrets. Especially when they were being kept from her. When Leslie got to her dorm, she just looked at herself through her window. "Do they not trust me enough to tell me what goes on here? Like what was with that...creature this morning?" she sighed talking to herself as she looked at the necklace she decided to wear. She'd do whatever she could to make sure she wouldn't loose it. It brought London back to her, so it was now special to her.

     Meanwhile London just started munching on her hay pretty much unfazed. It wasn't until she noticed the treats that she turned to look at girls for a quick moment before turning her attention to the sugar cube. She sniffed at it for a moment before gratefully taking it. Moments later, and London went back to munching on her meal. The mare wasn't much for distractions when she was eating her meals, except if it were for a treat.

     Leslie just sighed and sat on her bed, when she looked out of her window. She noticed smoke coming from the barn, and she rushed to put her boots back on. Though she was so rushed, that it took her a minute. Once she got her boots on and zipped up, Leslie ran out the door and to the barn. Though when she got to the barn, she stopped short as a black horse with green eyes and..smoke when out of the barn almost running into her. 

     Leslie nearly fell from it, but she luckily kept her balance. She just shakily turned to look at the strange horse before shakily walking into the barn. London even seemed a bit spooked again. She stopped at her stall calming the mare, "Shh easy girl whatever that was..it's gone...I'm fine.." she said talking in the best calm voice she could.

     When London was calmed down enough, Leslie looked at everyone else, "I'd like to know what is going on. I'm tired of being left out of everything. It's time you guys start talking. That's the second time today I've almost been hurt by something." she said clearly not happy even though her body still shook a bit due to nearly being trampled by a horse.

Winter sighed and looked at Leslie a bit saddened, Ava completely looked away and turned around to face the other direction, Amy and Lilithe did the same thing, "Sorry Leslie, but you have to talk with Mrs. Wolf to be informed of everything. We don't even know what's going on with the barn and the horses, only Mrs. Wolf knows everything, I mean.. She's the only person to know what's going on.." Winter told Leslie, she then looked away and a tear formed in her eye.

"But I will tell you about that smoky black horse." Winter turned her head to look at Leslie, "You see Leslie, you may or may not believe it, but- certain creatures come from all directions to be here. At this location. No one here knows why, not even Mrs. Wolf herself, but she does believe because of the black horse, that everything will become black and large. It's scary, and it's frightening, but I've seen.. A black giant bird come through here years ago, Ava told me to stay, but three years after the incident, I've decided to move to a different town. Hoping to find some good friends, but.. No one there seemed to like me, my hair, and how I dressed.. So I came back a week earlier then my due time to come back." Winter told Leslie, she was unsure if Leslie would believe her.

"Anyways, I'm getting off topic, the black horse that you saw. She's actually one of the past mares that passed away, we don't know which one, but Mrs. Wolf says it could be her horse since she cared for her so much that.. She was devastated to lose an animal that built a strong bond with her." Winter paused before continuing, "And the wolf incident.. Ava filled me in on that, but it seems like no one knows which animal of dog, that has passed away happily and wanted to stay, or it's just a giant wolf with a mutation. Obviously it's a mutation, because I saw one on the TV a week earlier." Winter continued the rest of her sentence before finishing it, she prayed that it answered at least some of Leslie's questions.

"And if you still have questions, just ask away and we'll answer to our best!" Ava told Leslie, the girl then hugged Winter and she hugged her back before Ava hugged Leslie, a bit gentle with her though.

"We're not sure about answering all, but some that we can answer!" Winter cut into what Ava said and reworded it. Then a lightning bolt struck outside of the barn, "Holy tolitos! What in the world?!" Winter shouted, getting scared as she grabbed Leslie and yanked her into the barn.

The smoky black horse, with their green eyes, the eyes glowed in the black abyss that the smoke was coming off of, Winter widened her eyes as she started backing up. She ran over to both barns doors and closed them fast, the horse neighed and started galloping to the barn, Winter made sure to lock it..

But the horse went through the doors like a ghost, her green eyes fixatied on Leslie, Winter just kept the girl's behind her.. "NO!" Winter shouted at the horse, the smoky black horse just reared and started galloping towards the girls, Winter kept the girls behind her as she embraced for impact.

Then she closed her eyes, but then, a sound of an axe piercing an object was heard, and when she opened her eyes, the horse looked frightened and vanished, but before it vanished Winter looked the horse in the green glowing eyes, the frightful look the horse gave off made Winter tremble, then the horse vanished as the horse went through Winter..

"Hah.." Winter said shaking hard, Ava hugged her but she didn't move, the horse that looked her in the eyes and went through her to vanish, made her tremble hard, Ava looked at Winter as she fell to the floor trembling..

The someone opened the barn doors and came in, "What happened in here?!" Mrs. Wolf shouted, she sensed that Winter was trembling badly, "Oh, Winter!" Mrs. Wolf said as she picked up the trembling girl, she held Winter in her arms, hushed her, and sang to her like a little baby that needed attention..

Not soon after, Winter began crying in Rose's arms, everyone looked at the protective, silly, fun, and kind girl and saw only a scared, trembling, frightened girl..

Ava felt bad for Winter, and Amy began counting something, "Hey, are black dots supposed to come off of a smoking black horse?" Amy said as she began counting the black dots, Mrs. Wolf pierced an eye at her.

"What? Black dots?" Mrs. Wolf asked very confused, Winter kept crying in her arms..

     Leslie just looked at London calming her some more with her shaky hand. She didn't expect the mare to calm so easily with how shaky she was, but somehow London calmed. The fright in the mare's blue eyes seemed to vanished. "That's it girl," she whispered to the mare as she listened to Wolf talk. She sighed looking down. After seeing Mrs. Wolf earlier, Leslie was almost scared to ask her no matter how much Mrs. Wolf seemed to talk to her the past few days.

     She looked at everyone after a moment, "That was for sure no dog that wanted to 'stay'. It looked at me dead in the eyes like it wanted me dead. I don't know what that thing was, but I almost lost my horse because of it," Leslie stopped talking. London was fine, but if it weren't for the necklace she was currently wearing, London could still have been out in the forest. She wasn't though. The mare was in the safety of her stall. Safe and sound.

     Leslie completely jumped as lightning struck just outside the barn. It made no sense since the sky was clear. London seemed to do the same, but quickly calmed. Before Leslie knew it, she was quickly grabbed and pulled back when they all noticed the black horse again. She felt chills like never before as the horse's green eyes looked her in the eyes. Why did it seem everything and everyone was interested in her? Why was she so important? 

     Unfortunately, Leslie froze when the mare had her eyes focused on her. This couldn't be real could it? No it was just a dream. It was just a dream. She tried convincing herself, but it was no use. This WAS real whether she liked it or not, but why were these things happened now? Why didn't anything of the sort happen within the past year? It all confused her, and scared her.

     Leslie shook her head as the mare eventually fled, and soon noticed Winter in Mrs. Wolf's arms. She looked around almost unsure of what happened since she froze. After a moment Leslie just sighed, checked on London, and left the barn to get fresh air to think. She stood by the pasture fence, leaning on it as she put her head down taking a deep breath or two.