"Glimmer wake up, its already noon, it's time to get out of bed!"
The pink haired teen sighed as she buried her face in her pillows, ignoring her mom who was pounding on her bedroom door trying to get her out of bed. "Mom, it's summer break, can't I sleep in?" she protested, pulling her blankets over her head as the knocking subsided. She heard her door creak open and within seconds her blankets had been pulled off of her and her mom was standing over top of her.
"You've been sleeping in everyday Glimmer. You've barely even left the house this summer and that all changes today."
Glimmer glared up at her mom who was currently rummaging through her dresser tossing clothes at her to wear. Most people would say she looked like nothing like her mom but all their similarities were in their facial features. Glimmer had her mom's nose, her smile, her eyes but everything else was from her father. Her skin was mildly tanned like his and her hair was naturally brown but she'd taken to dying it a light pink and keeping in a pixie cut where as her mom had fair skin and long blonde hair. Her mom was tall and lean where as Glimmer was short and curvy. Sometimes people asked her if she was adopted and the question always made her blood boil. If they saw her with her dad they wouldn't be asking those questions except for the fact that he wasn't around and hadn't been for years.
She begrudginly sat up in bed as her mom finished tossing a pair of socks at her. "Fine I'll get dressed but can you at least tell me what this plan of yours is?"
Angella shook her head as Glimmer let out an irritated sigh in response. "Just do as I say and get ready. We're leaving in half an hour." she said before exiting her room and leaving her all alone.
It wasn't long before Glimmer was ready to leave and before she knew it she was sitting in the passenger seat of her mom's car watching the clouds roll by as she pestered her mom with incessant questions about where she was going. "Can you please tell me where we're going?" she asked as they exited the city and were now driving out into the countryside. "I can't think of anywhere fun that's out in the country."
"You'll see when we get there." Angella stated, ignoring any further questions from Glimmer on the matter which frustrated the 17 year old greatly.
Eventually they pulled up into a long driveway of what appeared to be a barn and Glimmer cocked her head in confusion as she tried to figure out what they were doing at a barn of all places. "Why are we here? Is there a petting zoo or something? I don't understand."
Her mom shook her head and sighed as she clasped one of Glimmer's hands in her own, the pink haired teen staring up at her mom in confusion as she felt her mom stroking the tips of her fingers in a soothing rhythym. "Glimmer darlling, I know you won't like this but please hear me out." Angella started slowly, brushing a strand of hair behind Glimmer's ear as she smiled at her. "You've been spending all your free time cooped up in the house and I think this will be good for you. This isn't exactly a barn, its a riding stable to be precise. I've arranged for you to come help out here five times a week and in exchange you'll get one or two lessons a week on one of their lesson horses. Its a great environment for you to be around and you could possibly make some new friends here!"
Glimmer's eyes widened as she pulled away, tears in her eyes as she tried to bite back her anger. "Mom, how could you? After what happened to dad?" she yelled, her words burning in her throat as she felt her heart beating a mile a minute in her chest. "You know he was killed by a horse, you of all people should understand why I don't want to be around them!"
"Your father's horse did not kill him, Glimmer. It was a rotational fall, a freak accident."
Glimmer's dad had been killed when she was only five but she still remembered it like it was yesterday. Her dad was an olympic show jumper and had been competing for years, he had four gold medals, one silver medal and a bronze medal to his name and he had won several international championships, he was good at what he did and he had a real connection with his horse. She was a light grey holsteiner mare named Mara and when Glimmer was little her dad used to put her on her back and he would lead her around the arena in circles, every time Glimmer would squeal with joy and beg to go for another round. She had grown up around horses and had loved them back then.
And then the incident happened. Her dad was competing in the olympics once again, that year it had took place in Portugal and her and her mom had been given free tickets to come see him live. She remembered sitting in the stands, her hands glued to the railing in front of her as she screamed with joy, waiting for her dad to ride into the arena at any moment. She still remembered the moment he rode out, Mara trotting gracefully around the arena as she squealed, waving at him from her seat until he noticed her and gave her a quick wave before blowing her a kiss. Then he cued Mara into a canter and their round began.
Their first couple jumps went smoothly, the duo jumping gracefully over each jump like it was nothing and every time Glimmer grew more and more excited. She watched as they were approaching a solid 2.2 metre jump and she pulled on her mom's sleeve as she yelled at her to watch. The jump was huge and Glimmer's eyes were wide as saucers as she watched her dad, waiting for him to clear it like he did every time.
Mara cantered up to the jump and Micah went into two point as the mare's front legs left the ground. And then it happened. Mara's front legs hit the jump and in a blink of an eye her body somersaulted over the jump as she landed on the other side on her back, crushing her father beneath her weight as the mare went limp, the impact killing her on the spot.
Glimmer could only watch in horror as her mom screamed behind her, watching as the paramedics came rushing out onto the field to try and help her father. By the time they got the mare off of him he had already been pronounced dead. After that horses were never the same for her again.
Glimmer couldn't handle even looking at a picture of a horse or being out in the countryside as it reminded her too much of Mara and her dad. She was petrified of being around horses and even though she knew it was an accident she still blamed the mare for her dad's death.
"I don't care if it was a freak accident mom! If dad had never gotten into riding horses he would still be here. You're scared of them too after what happened, why do you have to force me to like them?"
"You used to love horses Glimmer. Your dad could have died from anything, yes riding killed him but we have to take risks in life and he knew the risks going into it. Your dad wouldn't want you to be scared of riding because of what happened to him, he'd want you to keep pushing forward and pursue your love of them once more. If your father knew you were avoiding them because of him he'd be crushed."
Glimmer sniffled as she looked down at the floor of the car, her mom's hand stroking her cheek as she felt her plant a gentle kiss to her forehead. "It's just not fair mom." she whispered.
"I know it's not sweetheart and believe me I miss him too. But he would want you to go out there and enjoy riding like you used to. Can you give it a chance for me? Besides I already met your instructor, she's around your age and I think you two will get along."
Glimmer chuckled as she rolled her eyes. "Please, she's probably some snooty rich girl who owns some expensive horse and acts like she owns the world."
"Now now you haven't even met her, don't be so judgemental." Angella said sternly as the pink haired girl rested her head against the car window. "Just trust me, Glimmer. Would I put you in a situation that's dangerous?"
"Yes." Glimmer muttered under her breath which earned her a gentle whack on the shoulder. "Ugh fine, no you wouldn't purposely put me in harm's way. There are you happy now?"
"Not until you go inside and give this place a try. If you truly hate it after today is over I won't make you go back, do we have a deal?"
The young girl smiled as she nodded her head. "Deal." she replied although she'd already convinced herself that she wouldn't be going back after the day was done.
Angella smiled as she got out of the car, motioning for Glimmer to do the same as she led her into the barn. They stepped inside the door and Glimmer immediately recognized the scent of hay and manure, some smells you just couldn't forget no matter how long it's been. She followed her mom down the aisle full of stalls with horses poking their heads out at her and whinnying at her. Glimmer couldn't help the gnawing pit of dread in her stomach but she tried to push it down as she kept forcing herself to move forwards.
"Hmmm I don't see her out here, perhaps she's in the arena." Angella muttered as she continued walking down the aisle. Eventually they reached an opening that led to a closed off arena where a girl was cantering around on her horse.
The horse was a buckskin gelding and the girl was riding him over jumps that were easily over 1 metre high. The gelding tossed his head as she slowed him down into a trot and the girl patted his neck as he whinnied at her.
"Excuse me, you're Adora right?" Angella called out as the girl looked over at her from across the arena.
She halted the gelding and hopped off, pulling the reins off of his head as she led him towards the arena door, taking her helmet off to reveal a blonde ponytail that bobbed behind her as she walked. "That's me! You're Angella right?"
"Yes and this is Glimmer."
The blonde smiled at the pink haired teen as she stuck a hand out. "Hey nice to meet you, I'm Adora. I'll be in charge of you while you're helping out here and teaching you how to ride."
Glimmer felt her cheeks flush slightly as she stared at the other girl's toned arms as she hesitantly grabbed her hand. "Nice to meet you too."
"This is my horse Swift Wind but I call him Swiftie for short. He's a 5 year old off the track thoroughbred gelding. Want to pet him? I promise he won't bite."
Glimmer shook her head as she watched the buckskin horse with fear in her eyes as he snorted at her. "No thanks, I'm kind of scared of horses."
Within seconds Adora had grabbed her hand and was gently leading it to his forehead, gently placing both of their hands down on the smooth surface as she smiled at the other girl. "Here, just gently rub your hand up and down, I promise he's one of the friendliest horses here."
Glimmer sighed as she shut her eyes, hesitantly rubbing her hand up and down before she heard a soft nicker in response. "I can't remember if that's a happy sound or a bad sound." she admitted, looking up into the horse's eyes as she tried to relax her trembling body.
Adora laughed as she patted the other girl on the back. "Nickering is a happy sound. He's a good boy, he just loves to be petted. Your mom warned me about your fear, don't worry you're safe here. All our horses are extremely friendly."
Angella smiled at them as she pulled Glimmer off to the side. "I'm going to head home now, I'll see you later alright?"
Glimmer nodded as she felt her mom wrap her arms around her. "Alright." she replied quietly, hugging her back tightly before letting go. She watched her mom walk off before she felt a tap on her shoulder and when she turned around she was greeted by the sight of Adora handing her a large manure fork.
"Here you go, your first task of the day is you're going to muck out some stalls!"
The young girl cocked an eyebrow at her as she hesitantly grabbed it from her hand. "And how exactly do I do that?"
Adora laughed at her as she gestured for her to follow her. "Don't worry Glimmer, I'm going to teach you everything."
/
Author's note: Hey I hope you guys liked this so far. I had an idea for this as a oneshot but it would have been crazy long so instead I'm starting it as a story (Not that I have the time when combined with all my sailor moon stories on the go but oh well) so hopefully you'll like it. I ride in real life so all information is from there. Also I am basing Swift Wind off of what he looked like before Adora transformed him. He looks like a buckskin so thats what I went with for his colouring. I know the first chapter is a bit boring but I hope you like it, the next chapters will be more interesting. Thanks for reading and have a great day!