Chapter 1

Glendale's Niece

One day, Horse was hanging out with her friend, Glendale in Centaurworld. They were leaning against a tree and talking, and of course, Glendale kept stealing any leaves that fell off the tree.

"Hey, Horse," Glendale said, "Do you want to see some pictures of my niece?"

"I didn't know you had a niece." Horse said.

"Oh yeah," Glendale said, pulling out a string of pictures, "Her name is Abigail. I haven't seen her in a while because my little sister, her mom, doesn't have sole custody of her, so they can only come to visit me together every other summer."

"She's pretty cute," Horse said, "She looks like a lot like you."

"Yeah," Glendale said, "Except she likes to braid her mane. She's so creative like that. I hope she and her mom come to visit me soon because next week is her birthday."

"Yeah," Horse said, "It would be fun to celebrate her birthday with her. How old is she turning?"

"18," Glendale said, "Yep, she's going to be all grown up."

"Cool," Horse said, "I hope you get to celebrate such an important birthday with her."

"I hope so too," Glendale said, "but I'm worried that I won't be able to. What if Abigail and my sister Sharon can't find me because we're not living in Centaur Valley anymore?"

"Well," Horse said, "Do you know where they live?"

"Nope," Glendale said, "I've never been there because when Abigail was born, I was already a part of Wammawink's herd."

"Hmm," Horse said, "That does make it a bit tricky."

"What if they already went to the valley and couldn't find me there?" Glendale asked, "What if they think something terrible happened to me? I didn't even think to leave a note for them when we left."

"Glendale," Horse said, "Breathe. Use your bag if you need to."

Glendale reached into her portal tummy again and pulled out a brown paper bag. She started to breathe into it rapidly. After a few minutes, Glendale's breathing relaxed.

"Okay," Glendale said, "I feel better now,"

"Good," Horse said, "Now, this is a bit tricky, but I'm sure if we put our heads together, we can figure something out."

Just then, a slightly smaller version of Glendale with a braided mane came racing towards them with a blue messenger bag slung over her shoulder.

"Auntie Glendale!" a young female voice exclaimed, "Auntie Glendale!"

"Abby!" Glendale shouted upon seeing the other gerenuktaur, racing to meet her.

When they met, they embraced. Horse sauntered up to join them.

"Horse," Glendale said, "Meet my niece, Abby. Abby, this is my new friend Horse."

"Hi," Abby said, "Nice to meet you, Horse."

"Yeah," Horse said, "Your aunt was just telling me about you."

"Yeah," Abby said, "Auntie Glendale is the best. Sometimes, she steals pretty things for me. I mean, I don't agree with how she gets my presents, but it's the thought that counts."

"Speaking of," Horse said, "Glendale was telling me about how your 18th birthday is coming up. You excited?"

"You bet," Abby said, "A birthday with Auntie Glendale is the best kind of birthday, and now that I'll be an adult, I can make my own choices instead of being controlled by the adults around me."

"Come on," Glendale said, "You have to come to say hi to the rest of the herd."

"Of course," Abby said, "The herd is like family."

Horse, Glendale, and Abby walked over to where the rest of the herd sat, enjoying a picnic lunch.

"There you two are," Wammawink said, "Did you two have a nice walk."

"We did," Horse said, "We stopped at a tree and talked for a bit."

"That's good," Wammawink said.

"Wammawink!" Abby said.

"Abby!" Wammawink exclaimed, "It's so nice to see you. Has it been two years already? It feels like yesterday. You've grown so big."

"I know," Abby said, "I'm looking forward to another awesome summer in the herd."

"Where's your mama, baby girl?" Wammawink asked.

"She let me lead the way this year," Abby said, "When we couldn't find Auntie Glendale in the valley, she decided to follow me. I have a sixth sense for finding my auntie, and my mama has a sixth sense for finding me. No matter how many times she had to take a break to catch her breath because she couldn't keep up with me, she'll be here as soon as she can."

"Good," Wammawink said, "I love sitting down to knit with your mama. You know, despite being Glendale's younger sister, your mom is much more chill than her."

"There's a reason for that," Abby said, "She says taking care of me takes a lot of energy, and she's been able to find a lot of coping mechanisms by helping me find mine."

"Hello," Zulius said, "Are you two done already? The rest of us would like our turn with Abby."

"Uncle Zulius," Abby said.

"Abby, baby," Zuluis said, "I swear girl, what you do with your mane is nothing short of flawless every time."

"It's nothing," Abby said, "It's just the same boring old braid every day."

"And you rock it perfectly," Zulius said, "You go, girl. Also, I'm super jealous of what you can create with your paints. You are a true artist."

"Hey, Abby," Durpleton said, "I have someone for you to meet."

"Hey, Uncle Durpleton," Abby said, "It's great to see you again. I brought some new ribbon for the annual braiding of your mane. It's so fun every time because there's a lot I can do with your length."

"Yeah, sure," Durpleton said, "but first come over here and meet your new cousin."

"Ooh," Abby said, approaching Durpleton where she found a little green lizard wearing red footy pajamas sitting in his lap.

"This is Stabby," Durpleton said, "He used to be a fighting Minotaur, but now he's my precious sonleton."

"Hi, Stabby," Abby said, "I'm your cousin Abby. Hey, our names rhyme."

"Is your name short for Ableton?" Stabby asked, "because my name is short for Stableton."

"No, sorry," Abby said, "It's short for Abigail, but I guess I couldn't have expected your name to be short for Stabigail."

Abby and Stabby laughed over this.

"Hey," Ched said from above Abby's head, "Don't you dare forget about me. What did that stepmother of yours do to you in the past five years? I have a right to know."

"I'll catch you up on everything, Uncle Ched," Abby said, "I promise."

"Good," Ched said, "because I hate how she mistreats you. It's like, if I could meet her, the first thing I'd say is, 'Wake up and realize how flonking awesome Abby is already.'"

"I know, Uncle Ched," Abby said, "You appreciate me, even if she doesn't"

"And this," Wammawink said, gesturing to a human with brown hair in a bun, "Is Horse's best friend, Rider."

"Hi," Rider said, "Nice to meet you, I guess."

"Woah," Abby said, "I love the poof in your hair. It looks like a chocolate cloud."

"Thanks," Rider said, looking uncomfortable, "I don't know how to talk to kids."

"I'm not a kid," Abby said, "My 18th birthday is in a week."

"My my my," Wammawink said, "It looks like our little Abby is growing up."

"Tell me about it," a female voice said.

A gerenuktaur with a few gray hairs approached the group. Glendale jumped up to greet her.

"Sharon!" Glendale exclaimed, hugging her sister.

"It's nice to see you, too, big sis," Sharon said, "Have you stayed out of trouble since the last time I saw you."

"Of course not," Glendale said, "We left the valley, followed the rainbow road, met all the shamans, collected pieces of the key, ended up in jail once, and fought in the war against the no-where king!"

"Yeah," Sharon said, "I heard about the war. Abby's father and stepmother wouldn't let her go to the hootenanny because they thought everyone who attended was obligated to join the war."

"What?" Ched asked, "That awful stepmom of yours deprived you of the hootenanny?"

"Yeah," Abby said, sadly, "I wanted to go so flonking much. I never get to do anything when I'm with my dad and stepmom."

"Did you know we threw that hootenanny?" Wammawink asked.

"What?" Abby exclaimed, "You mean, I could have gone to hootenanny and hung out with my Auntie Glendale, my most favorite centaur in the world besides my mom? Not fair."

"It's okay, sweetie," Sharon said, "We were already going to make your birthday party extra special this year anyway."

"You know," Glendale said, "I hate to say this, but your parents kinda had a point. The battle did start directly after the hootenanny, and I have no idea how we would have been able to protect you and keep you from joining in if you had come. Honestly, I'm glad you weren't there. I never want you to fight, and if something had happened to you, I don't know what I'd do. You have no idea how important you are to me, Abby."

"Whatever" Abby muttered, "It was still a party I didn't get to go to."

"Don't feel blue," Durpleton said, "I know your birthday party will be spectacular."

"Yeah," Abby said, "You might be right."

"Well," Glendale said, "What do you want to do today?"

Abby's stomach grumbled.

"Oh, I get it," Glendale said, "You want to steal some stuff."

"No," Abby said, "You have to remember Auntie Glendale, I don't steal things as you do."

"Well," Ched said, "Your stepmom's strict rules towards snacks combined with your insatiable sweet tooth did lead you to sneak extra sweets."

"My point is," Abby said, "It's lunchtime, and I'm hungry. Just let me eat."

Abby reached into the picnic basket and pulled out a cheese and lettuce sandwich, which she began to munch on happily. Abby knew that this summer with the herd was going to be the best.