Yay! My Halloween fic! This was fun to write and it's not done yet!
So Horseland was a kid's TV show and it belonged to Cookie something or other. Honestly, I thought the show was adorable. I loved it! Judge me if you will but I live for kids' shows. Plus, there were horses so that is just amazing on its own.
I hate introductions. I hate writing them, I hate reading them. In fact, when I'm reading a book and I come to introductions, I generally skip ahead a couple paragraphs and then when it doesn't make sense, I grumble to myself and skip back and read the introduction. I just hate introductions. But I wanted to write this so Horseland-lovers and horse-lovers alike could read this so I felt like I had to introduce the characters with a bit of personality and background views. Goodie goodie.
Incidentally, every fact you will see about horses in here (I'm talking about general facts) is legit. I know what I'm talking about when it comes to horses. I've riding for eight years and I teach riding lessons. So don't argue with me.
Halloween at Horseland
"Did you get Sarah and Bailey's note about Will's change in lesson times?" Molly asked.
"Sí, it was very strange, no?" Molly's Spanish best friend, Alma, replied.
The two girls were riders at Horseland. They were boarders, along with their other best friends, Sarah and Bailey.
Sarah Whitney was the newest addition to their group. She was a wealthy girl with a caring and encouraging personality but tended to get emotional easily. Scarlet, her mare, was a beautiful black Arabian with red highlights. Sometimes Scarlet could be a bit of a loner but she was tolerant and levelheaded. Like her owner, she could get herself worked up easily and was very high-strung but Sarah was a natural with horses and knew how to calm her down. The running joke amongst the four of them was that Sarah was a horse whisperer, but she was very modest about it.
Out of her three friends, Sarah was closest with Bailey Handler, whose parents owned Horseland. A bit of a risk-taker and daredevil, Bailey had a habit of going into situations head first without thinking about the outcome but he loved animals and treasured his friends. His Kiger Mustang, Aztec, was a bay with a darker mane and tail with blue highlights. He had boyish indifference that could infuriate his friends but in truth he could be overly-protective of his mare friends, which infuriated them all that much more; still, Aztec was brave, kindhearted, and a true friend.
Their Hispanic friend Alma Rodriguez was a down-to-earth, serious girl who loved to read. She could be a bit ambitious and competitive when it came to rivalries but on the whole she was a smart, thoughtful girl that enjoyed both reading about horses almost as much as she enjoyed riding horses with her friends. Her father, Jorge, was the stable manager at Horseland. Alma's mare, Button, is a black and white pinto with green highlights and a playful personality. A skilled show-jumper, Button could be ambitious and serious like her owner but on the whole she was levelheaded and steady.
Molly Washington, a playful African American girl, always looked for humor in a situation. She always looked for ways to tease her friends and make of them all, including herself. Sometimes, she didn't know when to stop and be serious but she was a reliable rider and friend to both her friends and her mare, Calypso. Calypso was an Appaloosa with a fair mane and tail that had pink highlights. A calm, compassionate horse, Calypso could be a little slow to understand but warm and determined.
The four friends sometimes rode with two other girls, the sisters Chloe and Zoey Stilton. Like Sarah, they were rich and rode horses but the likeness stopped there: the sister could be mean-spirited, vain competitive, lazy, and rude. However, the sisters' had another side to them where they could be kind, supportive, and sensitive. The two of them had a large crush of Bailey and always strove to impress him though he barely paid any attention to either of them except to tell them to shut up. Their horses, Chili and Pepper, were shallow and egotistical, with confidence to match. Chili, a light gray Dutch Warmblood stallion, thought himself the best horse at the stable at everything, especially dressage. His friend, Pepper, a dark gray Dutch Warmblood mare, could be snarky and competitive, primarily in jumping.
Lastly, the friends were often taught riding and life lessons by Bailey's older cousin, Will Taggert. Will was mature and perceptive, and, though he had dyslexia, he was an advanced rider. He was somewhat of a model figure to the rest of the gang. He liked to ride both Western and English, and taught both. Besides riding, he loved listening to Country music. His horse, Jimber, was a palomino stallion with black highlights in his mane and tail. Like Will, Jimber was an understanding and sensible leader, and older than most of the other horses.
Today was Halloween and Molly and Alma had a suspicion that Will, Bailey, and Sarah were up to something. Instead of their normal afternoon lesson, the note their friends had left said that the lesson was going to be later, when it was almost dark out.
"Why are we going to ride so late?" Alma asked with a frown. Their daily chores were done so the two girls were sat in the tack room waiting until they could get ready for their lesson.
"I don't know," Molly shrugged, "but it's Halloween! Anything could happen. Like . . . some ghosts of dead riders could turn up during the lesson!"
"Don't even joke about that." Alma said, shuddering lightly. "Ghosts give me the creeps." She twirled a lock of dark brown hair nervously, much to Molly's amusement.
Molly grinned at her friend and said in a low, ominous voice, "Do you want to go riding with the ghosts, Alma? Oooooooh!" She narrowed her large brown eyes and bared her teeth, trying to be scary.
"You will wish you were riding with los fantasmas in a minute!" Alma threatened, though she was smiling as well.
"Maybe I am a ghost!" Molly countered, wiggling her fingers at Alma threateningly.
"And maybe I am a witch." Alma replied with a giggle and an eye-roll of her light brown eyes.
"Bailey's a zombie." Molly retorted.
"Sarah is a mummy." Alma noted.
"Will is . . . What's Will?" They stopped short to contemplate Molly's question.
The two of them pondered Will's true identity for a moment before Molly perked up again.
"I got it! Will is a vampire." She and Alma exchanged a ceremonious high-five then giggled together.
"Will is what now?" A familiar deep voice asked. The two girls looked over to see Will come into the room. He was the tallest boy at the stable, and had spiky blond hair and bright blue eyes and his usual horseshoe pendant around his neck. Unlike most of the riders there, Will wore jeans and a t-shirt when he rode whereas the others generally wore jodhpurs and traditional riding shirts. Bailey often wore jeans like his cousin.
"You're un vampiro." Alma informed him with a straight face. Molly had to clamp one hand over her mouth to hide her smile. Will chuckled and grinned at them both.
"Ah, my secret's out, then, it seems." He shook his head good-naturedly.
"Yep, we're on to you." Molly announced cheerfully.
Suddenly, Alma remembered their previous discussion.
"Will, why did you change our lesson time?" Alma asked with a slight crease between her eyebrows. Molly stopped smiling and looked at their instructor curiously.
"Well, it wasn't so much me as Bailey and Sarah. They didn't give me, the vampire teacher, much choice." Will said, still smiling widely.
"How come?" Molly asked.
"They've got something up their sleeves." Will told them mysteriously.
"Tell us, por favor!" Alma pleaded, aroused now.
"Yeah, what are they doing to our lesson?" Molly demanded, grinning again.
Will laughed at their eager expressions. "Alright, alright. Bailey and Sarah have been out on the trails all day, putting together a haunted trail ride for your lesson."
"A haunted trail ride?" Molly repeated excitedly.
"A haunted trail ride?" Alma repeated less excitedly.
Will caught sight of Alma's nervous expression and said comfortingly, "Don't worry. They're just setting up a few decorations out there. And yesterday, Bailey and I walked up and down the stable aisle, waving around sheets of paper and making noises so that the horses are desensitized of all of the stuff we put out there."
Alma perked up and grinned, caught up in Molly's enthusiasm. "This sounds fun!" She exclaimed.
Molly nodded eagerly. "Yeah!" But then her face fell slightly and she said, "Too bad we don't have costumes for us and the horses."
Will grinned crookedly and said, "Oh, Sarah took care of that. While Bailey and I ran up and down the aisle, Sarah worked on making costumes for everybody."
Alma and Molly beamed at Will and all but squealed at their wonderful surprise. "Forget Halloween!" Molly crowed, "It's Horse-o-weene!"
They could still hear Will laughing even after he'd closed the door to the tack room once he'd left.
"I wonder what Sarah made for us." Alma mused more seriously.
"Knowing Sarah, they'll be great no matter what!" Molly said, thinking her delight was shatterproof.
"What'll be great?" Asked a distinctly snobby voice. Two girls entered the room following the question. Molly's joy died right down and she scowled, crossing her arms over the front of her pink riding jump and sat down with a quiet huff.
Alma sat down as well and averted her eyes to avoid frowning at the two Stilton sisters. Instead, she pulled down the hem of her white shirt and adjusted the green riding vest she wore over it. Then she brushed dust off of her jodhpurs until someone cleared their throat impatiently. With an internal sigh of defeat, Alma looked up to see two beautiful faces glaring down at her.
Chloe Stilton, the girl who'd asked the question, was the older and more outgoing of the two. She had long, straight strawberry-blond hair that was held back with a light purple headband and large green cat eyes that were rimmed with kohl. Her light purple jumper was designer and matched her headband perfectly.
Zoey Stilton was quieter and sneakier than her sister but could be just as conceited and insolent. She had wavy, fiery red hair, the same green eyes as her sister, and freckles. She wore a designer light blue shirt and the same expensive jodhpurs and riding boots as her sister though in different colors.
"Hola," Alma said sweetly. She heard Molly muffle a snort beside but kept her gaze on the Stilton girls.
"What will be great?" Zoey repeated for her sister, completely ignoring Alma's greeting.
"When you two take your horses to another barn." Molly replied quickly. "We'll have to throw a party after you're gone."
Chloe sniffed and Zoey huffed at her response and they simultaneously put their hands on their hips and cocked their legs. Zoey shook a lock of red hair out of her eye and Chloe rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"You won't be able to keep it from us forever." Chloe snapped snottily. "We'll find out what you're planning."
To Alma's surprise, Molly sighed in defeat and nodded her head slowly. "You're right." When she saw Alma's shocked expression, Molly shrugged. "She's right." It was then Alma saw a mischievous twinkle in her friend's chocolate brown eyes. Chloe and Zoey both looked surprised but quickly smirked triumphantly.
Molly leaned forward conspiratorially and whispered loudly, "It'll be great when we get to go visit Bailey in Colorado."
"What?" Chloe and Zoey shrieked instantaneously. They both clutched at their hair and squealed in fright.
"It's true." Molly said sadly. "He's leaving for three years and we were just saying how cool it'll be to visit him when he goes to stay with his relatives."
"NOOOOOO!" At the same time, Chloe and Zoey dove for the doorknob, nearly ripped the door off its hinges and bolted out the door, screaming Bailey's name as they went. When they door swung shut, both Molly and Alma erupted in fits of laughter.
"They are hopeless!" Alma giggled when she'd finally regained control of herself. "¡Bailey pobre!"
"Bailey can take care of himself." Molly said, fighting to keep the smile off her face.
"I hope so." Alma chuckled then picked up her book and started reading about the history of horses while Molly went over and started cleaning up her area which was always cluttered and disorganized with brushes, hoof picks, mint wrappers, and stray horse cookies. Alma was so engaged in her book that she didn't even notice that she and Molly weren't alone until Molly spoke up and made her jump.
"¿Qué?" She asked, closing her book and looking up at her friend.
"I said, it's almost time for the lesson." Molly repeated more slowly, enunciating for Alma's benefit, who smirked in response. In a normal speed, she said, "I wonder where Bailey and Sarah are."
At that moment, their two friends opened the door to the tack room and walked inside. Alma grinned and pointed her index finger towards them.
"They are there." She said with a giggle. Molly grinned and shook her head, her black curly ponytail quivering with the movement.
Bailey had a dark brown mullet and striking dark blue eyes that had a boyishly rogue twinkle to them. He wore blue jeans and a dark blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and he had his leather wristbands on as well. He had one arm slung over Sarah's shoulders and the other tucked casually in his jean pocket.
Sarah smiled sweetly at her two friends and tucked a strand of wavy, highlighted blond hair behind her ear, exposing her silver earring and studs. She blinked her large light blue eyes and her long eyelashes brushed her cheeks as she did so. The sleeves of her red designer riding jacket were slightly dirty and her red necktie was coming undone. Her jodhpurs and boots were fairly clean if not slightly dusty but then again, it was a horse farm; dust was not rare.
"Hey Alma, Molly." Bailey greeted them informally.
"Hola, Bailey. Hola, Sarah." Alma returned the reception.
"Hi, you two." Molly acknowledged them with a wink.
"Hello." Sarah said in her soft voice, offering a light little wave.
"What have you guys been up to?" Molly asked, flashing Alma a knowing look.
Bailey grinned broadly. "We've been putting up decorations on the trails. Will's gonna lead us on a haunted trail ride."
Alma smiled. "We know, Will told us."
Molly looked at Sarah and raised her eyebrows pointedly. "And he mentioned something about somebody making us some costumes."
Sarah blushed but beamed in delight. "Do you want to see them?" She asked bashfully.
Alma and Molly nodded eagerly and Bailey obligingly removed his arm from Sarah's shoulders when she walked over to where her area was. She pulled back her tack box and uncovered a large black trash bag behind it. Bailey grinned and leaned against the wall calmly, folding his arms over his chest and crossing his legs comfortably while Alma's and Molly's eyes widened and their mouths opened slightly in delight as Sarah opened the bag and revealed its contents.
"I made costumes for all you guys." Sarah said, blushing deeper. "They're nothing special; just simple, small outfits I made for my friends and their horses."
"I hope you made one for yourself and Scarlet, too, chica." Alma said, almost scolding.
Sarah nodded quickly. "I even made one for Will and Jimber."
"It's not a vampire is it?" Molly immediately asked.
"What? No." Sarah answered, confused. Alma giggled and shook her head.
"Show us the costumes, Sarah." She urged and Molly nodded willingly in agreement.
Sarah flashed a nervous smile at Bailey, who gave her an encouraging nod, and then began to empty the bag of its contents.
Outside the tack room, the horses were conversing with one another. There were three other friends as well; the wise sheepdog, Shep, the proud cat, Angora, and the excited pig, Teeny.
"Shep? What is Halloween?" Teeny asked frantically.
"Well, Teeny," The sheepdog said with a grin, "Halloween is when the kids dress up in costumes. Sometimes they scare one another or play pranks, or sometimes they get candy."
"Candy?" Teeny immediately perked up.
"Teeny," Angora shook her head with a disgusted snort. "The candy is not for you."
"Oh." Teeny's ears drooped and her excited expression fell.
"Now, Angora." Shep gave the gray cat a disapproving look, which she pointedly ignored as he turned back to the little black and white pig. "Halloween is meant to be both fun and scary."
Teeny brightened again and she asked eagerly, "Can we dress up, too, Shep? Huh? Can we? Can we?"
"I don't see why not." Shep said kindly. "Go and see if you can put together a costume." He leaned down and whispered so that Angora wouldn't hear him say, "And see if you can give Angora a good old Halloween fright."
Teeny giggled and squealed in delight then pelted away to look for parts for her costume.
"I don't see what a pig could dress up as for Halloween." Angora sniffed. "She is a pig and will never be anything else but a pig."
Shep looked sagely at Angora and shook his head. "Be that as it may, the humans do the same thing. Halloween is a night for everyone to be something they're not."
"Well, you won't catch me pretending to be something I'm not." The pretentious cat purred. "There is nothing finer than being a cat."
Shep chuckled but did not reply, and instead went off in search of Teeny to help her in making her costume.
"What do you think our costumes are going to be?" Button asked curiously.
Aztec tossed his head crossly. "I don't see why we need costumes at all. I thought Halloween was for humans." He grumbled.
Calypso pawed the floor impatiently and pinned her ears at Aztec. "Would you cheer up, Aztec? Dis will be fun!"
"I agree." Scarlet whinnied happily. "Sarah has never done anything like this with me before."
"We've never done anything like this here." Jimber told her. With the change in routine, even the usually-calm older horse was a bit riled up.
Across the aisle, Chili and Pepper swished their tails and tossed their handsome heads in irritation.
"How very juvenile." Pepper noted icily.
"I agree. Why would you want to dress up and prance around like a circus horse when you are clearly not one?" Chili commented cruelly.
"If you're not going to join in the fun, at least let others enjoy it." Calypso retorted.
"If this is your idea of fun, I definitely don't want to join in." Pepper fired back.
"Then mind your own business." Button suggested coldly. "If you don't like it, don't participate in it."
"Don't worry, we won't." Chili scoffed.
"Fine by us." Aztec scorned.
Scarlet snorted to help release the tension in the room then stomped one hoof as though she were trying to get rid of flies. "I for one," She whinnied smoothly, "am eager to see what Sarah has made for us!"
Jimber nodded his handsome head in agreement. "And what she and Bailey put out on the trails today."
To their relief, Aztec, Calypso, and Button turned away from Chili and Pepper and looked at their friends.
"I want to know why Will and Bailey were running up and down the stable in sheets yesterday." Calypso commented.
"They looked pretty silly." Button noted with an amused snort.
"I don't see what all the fuss is about." Aztec said carelessly.
Button twitched an ear at Aztec but otherwise ignored him and turned to Calypso to discuss the reasoning behind Will and Bailey's strange behavior. Chili and Pepper simply huffed and turned away from the other horses. Jimber retreated into his stall for a short doze before the lesson and Aztec turned to Scarlet, who braced herself for Aztec's virile approach.
"I really don't." He insisted. Scarlet tilted her head to the side and exhaled softly.
"It's all in fun." She replied patiently.
"Why do we need fun?" Aztec complained.
Calypso overheard his comment and pinned her ears at him again. "You sound like those two." She said, jerking her muzzle towards Chili and Pepper, who huffed again in indignation.
Aztec glared at her. "I do not." He retorted.
Button rolled her eyes and Calypso shook her head. "Mustangs." She stated with an exasperated sigh before turning back to her conversation with Button.
"Mares." Aztec snorted in annoyance.
"Oh, Aztec, relax." Scarlet urged her friend. "Just think about it for a second: for one night, you get to be something other than somebody's lesson horse."
"I'm more than Bailey's lesson horse." Aztec snapped heatedly.
"I know you are." Scarlet soothed. "You two are a team, and tonight you get to dress up and be an entirely different team. Think of the possibilities, Aztec! You could be a racehorse or a zebra, anything."
Aztec slowly let his mind begin to picture him in all different costumes with Bailey on his back, and slowly his ears began to perk up.
"This . . . could be fun, I guess." He said, trying to maintain his careless façade, but his forward ears gave him away.
Scarlet nickered happily. "That's better!"
"Listen!" Button whinnied suddenly. The others instantly went quiet and Jimber woke up with a soft snort. They all pricked their ears and listened carefully.
"They're coming out!" Calypso snorted excitedly.
The horses danced in place and shook their heads energetically, except for Jimber, Chili, and Pepper. Jimber watched with amusement as his friends pointed their muzzles towards the tack room door, eagerly awaiting their riders and their costumes. Chili and Pepper scoffed in disdain but were ignored by the rest of them.
The tack room door opened and excited voices poured from within it as their riders came out into the aisle, each carrying a load of colorful fabrics and strange items that the horses had never seen before.
"Wait 'til you see, guys!" Bailey called out to the horses as they approached the stalls.
Hint of a cliffhanger there. Maybe. I can't tell if it is or not. Ah, well. Hope you liked it! If you did, please review. If you didn't, please keep it to you.
Oh, and if you DID read the story and if you DID like the story, I would love some requests/suggestions as to what the costumes should be! When I say costumes, I guess I mean the pairing. At my barn's Horse-o-weene, all of our costumes and our horses' costumes were related! If you still don't get it, here some examples of the costumes:
I made my horse a king and I was his jester. He was so cute, with his crown and his purple bedazzled blanket, and me looking like a freak with my Mardi Gras mask. I was going to wear this cute lil' jester hat but it wouldn't fit over my helmet (because this was a while ago and it was barn rules, I had to wear a helmet) so I made my friend Blake wear the hat and walk along with us. He was not enthused.
My close friend dressed herself up as Wanda and her horse as Waldo from Where's Waldo? (reason being because her horse's name is Waldo).
Another lady dressed up as the Wicked Witch of the West from Wizard of Oz and made her horse a flying monkey (which, by the way, I hated the flying monkeys, they gave me the creeps)
One girl dressed up in a princess outfit and made her horse her steed. It was kind of a lame costume because basically her horse wasn't dressed up and she was but all well.
My little sister dressed herself up in camo clothes and put a camo blanket on this short fat horse who we lovingly call "The Tank" and made him an army horse!
The only other one I can remember was this girl who dressed up as a Native American and put fingerpaint on her horse, putting a circle around his eye and a handprint on his butt, to make him a Native American pony. Not very original, but still cool all the same.
Yay! A long author's note! You're welcome. Or not. I will update like, tomorrow or the next day. I poo you not.
In case you've forgotten after that speech I just gave, if you would be so kind as to review, I would thank ye for it!
-Ro