Glimmer finished putting Charlie away in his stall as heard the sound of hoof steps slowly walking into the barn. She quickly removed the gelding's halter as she stepped out of his stall, shutting the gate behind her as she turned to look at Adora and the huge horse that was walking alongside her.

Her mouth dropped as she pointed at the tall bay gelding. "THAT'S the horse you wanted to show me? He's huge!"

The gelding was easily 18 hands high with a bay coat and a white blaze down his face along with white stockings on all four legs. He snorted at her as Adora let out a small chuckle. "I know he's extremely tall but just give him a chance. This is Bailey, he's a 10 year old clydesdale thoroughbred cross gelding."

"How am I ever supposed to ride him? I'm already short enough as it is, I can't ride a giant! Besides I thought those fives horses I tried were all your beginner horses?"

"Bailey is and isn't a beginner horse. He's pretty lazy and he's really calm and doesn't spook at all. But because of how tall he is most beginners are scared of him and he has a larger stride when he trots and canters because of his height so it feels like he's moving faster then he is. We just keep him boarded outside most of the time because he doesn't get ridden a lot. I know he's kind of scary looking but I really think you might like him."

Glimmer sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. "I don't know Adora. Maybe horses just aren't for me. I don't know how I feel riding a horse that's double my height."

Adora's smile faded as she ran a hand through the gelding's mane. "It's up to you Glimmer, I won't make you ride him if you don't want to."

Glimmer glanced at Bailey and back at Adora, her mind racing a mile a minute. "Can I just walk him around the arena a bit? Like, not riding but just walking side by side with him?"

The blonde nodded, smiling at her as she handed her the lead rope. "Go ahead, I'll be out here if you need me."

Glimmer took the lead rope for her and began walking towards the arena, watching Bailey out of the corner of her eye as he walked behind her. She opened the gate to the arena and led him in, walking around the corner as he followed suit.

She began slowly walking in laps and let her mind drift to her memories of her father. She wished she could just push past her fear but she kept coming to a screeching halt everytime she got on a horse. She couldn't help but wonder if she was never going to get over her fear and she would just have to give up on horses forever. If she was being honest with herself she still loved horses in her own way, part of her was happy to be around them but the other part of her was scared to death. It felt like her heart and brain were at war. Her brain was telling her to run away because her memories told her that horses meant bad things but her heart was screaming at her to stay.

Even though it had been years since the incident Glimmer could still remember Mara clearly in her mind. The mare had been a good 17 hands high but back then Glimmer hadn't realized just how tall she was. She still remembered what she looked like, her light grey coat that was so light it was almost white. She remembered that shortly before the accident her dad had been planning on breeding her to a well known grand prix show jumping dutch warmblood stallion and Glimmer had begged him to let her keep the baby as her own. Her dad had chuckled at her as he patted her on the head, promising her that once she turned six they would go and pick out a pony for her to buy and she had cheered with joy as she'd jumped into his arms and squeezed the living daylights out of him.

She felt tears prick her eyes as she felt a furry head lightly nudging her arm. She peered over to see Bailey gently rubbing his head against her arm as he trailed behind her. She laughed at him as she stopped and turned to look at him, extending a hand towards him as he sniffed it over before licking it gently. She smiled as found herself resting her head against his neck and closing her eyes, the gelding letting out a long sigh as he remained perfectly still.

It was in that moment that Glimmer knew this was the horse she wanted to ride, she felt a connection to him that she couldn't quite explain, something about him just clicked with her and she felt safe. She pulled away and rubbed him on the forehead.

"You're a good boy." she said softly as she began leading him back to the arena door.

She led him back into the main barn area where Adora had Swift Wind tied in the cross ties as she tacked him up, the buckskin pawing at the ground as he whinnied. Adora looked up at the pair who had just entered and a knowing smile crossed her face. "You look happy."

"I think I want to try and ride Bailey. I don't know why but I just really like him."

"I knew you'd like him." Adora replied. "Tomorrow I'll give you your first lesson on him."

The fear lurking inside Glimmer was definitely still there but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't excited.

/

Glimmer woke up early the next morning, a feeling of excitment bubbling inside her as she rushed to the kitchen to grab breakfast along with an apple she shoved in her pocket for Bailey.

Angella walked into the kitchen, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as she let out a yawn. It took her a moment to realize her daughter was already up and about. "Good morning Glimmer, you're up early. We don't have to leave for another hour, I thought you'd still be asleep."

Glimmer laughed as she shook her head. "I thought so too but I'm actually kind of excited for today, I woke up early and couldn't fall back asleep so here I am!"

The older lady smiled at her daughter as she poured herself a cup of coffee. "I'm glad to see you so happy, is there any particular reason behind this sudden cheery attidude of yours?"

"Well I think I might have found a horse I clicked with... but I haven't ridden him yet so I don't know for sure."

"Glimmer that's so exciting, I'm so happy for you!" Angella exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around her daughter from behind in a tight embrace. "What is he like?"

"Well he's a bay clydesdale thoroughbred cross... He's huge mom, he's like 18 hands high. When Adora introduced me to him I was scared of him but I spent some time with him and realized he's super gentle and kind of lazy."

Her mom smiled as she sat down next to her. "He sounds like a wonderful horse. Drafts are such gentle giants. Did I ever tell you the first horse I ever rode was a draft cross? I used to be terrified until your dad convinced me to give that one a try."

"Mom you never told me you were once scared of horses! I just assumed you always loved them like dad did."

"I used to be scared of them, I thought I'd told you once. Then your dad convinced me to try a lesson on this percheron paint mare named Gypsy at the barn where he kept Mara and she was so gentle and sweet."

Glimmer smiled as she tried to picture her strong confident mother being scared of horses and she couldn't help but stifle a laugh. "Well if you can get over your fear so can I."

/

An hour later they were on the way to the barn but not before Glimmer asked to stop and pick up coffee first. At first she ordered one just for herself but decided to order a second one for Adora. She didn't know if the blonde even liked coffee but she wanted to do something for her since she'd been so patient with her and she worked so hard at the barn. She ordered a second small coffee with cream and sugar on the side and handed over the money for the two drinks.

"Who's the second coffee for?" her mom asked, a telltale smile on her face as they pulled up to the next window.

"Adora. I thought I'd do something nice for her, it's no big deal."

Her mom's smile widened as she grabbed the two drinks from the employee at the other side of the window and passed them to Glimmer. "That's so sweet of you Glimmer. I'm sure she'll appreciate the gesture."

The rest of the ride went quickly and soon enough they were at the barn. Her mom left her with a parting kiss to the forehead as Glimmer grabbed the two beverages and got out, walking into the barn as she heard whinnying in the distance.

She stepped foot inside to an empty barn and she wandered down to the arena where she found Adora riding Swift Wind. The pink haired girl smiled as she set the two coffees down on the ledge, resting her arms there as she watched Adora cantering around. Swift Wind was fast but he moved beautifully. She watched as Adora brought him up to a tall jump, the blonde going into two point as the gelding's front legs left the ground.

The thoroughbred cleared the jump like it was nothing and Adora smiled at him, patting him on the neck as he sped up. Glimmer could only stand back and watch, in awe of how well they connected with one another and the way Swift Wind moved so perfectly under her.

Eventually after another jump Adora brought the ex race horse down to a sitting trot, letting him stretch his legs before she'd bring him down to a walk. At that point she finally noticed Glimmer standing outside the arena and she brought Swift Wind to a walk, waving at Glimmer as she smiled. "Hey, I didn't see you there! I hope you weren't waiting long."

Glimmer shook her head even though she knew she'd easily been watching for a solid fifteen minutes at least. "Nope, I just got here." she said, taking a long sip from her coffee as Adora halted the gelding and jumped off. "I don't know if you like coffee but I brought you a cup."

Adora's face flushed as she walked over to Glimmer, taking the cup from her hand as she smiled at it. "Thank you, that's so sweet of you. I really like coffee so this is amazing! You didn't have to get me anything."

"You're welcome, I was already getting one for myself and I thought I'd grab one for you too since you've been so patient with me."

Adora grinned as she led the buckskin out of the arena and down the aisle where the stalls were, hooking him up in the cross ties before taking a sip from the lukewarm coffee. "Well thank you, I really appreciate it. Now are you ready to get to work? I'll give you a lesson on Bailey today if you feel up to it."

Glimmer nodded as she grabbed the manure fork. "Just tell me how many stalls to muck out."

/

The morning passed by in a blur as Glimmer mucked out stalls and helped water and feed the horses. Before she knew it Adora was already walking in with Bailey and it was time for her to groom him and tack him up.

She smiled at the bay gelding as she brought his bucket of brushes over to him, pulling out the curry comb as she began gently running it across his coat. "Hey big boy." she said quietly, anxiety and excitement bubbling in her stomach as she brushed him down.

He stood perfectly still as she brushed him and picked his hooves and she felt a sense of calm wash over her as she stood next to the gentle giant. Eventually once she was almost done Adora came walking out carrying his saddle, bridle and girth in her arms, setting them down on the saddle rack as she brushed beads of sweat off her forehead.

"There that's most of his tack. You can go pick any saddle pad for him from the back room. I'll help you tack him up once you're back."

Glimmer wandered off to the back room where the tack was kept and spotted the box of saddle pads in the corner. Crouching down she began digging through the various saddle pads before pulling out a hot pink one. She put the lid back on and exited the room, making her way to where Bailey was still standing in the cross ties.

Glimmer put the saddle pad on his back and began trying to adjust it as Adora came over to help her. The blonde stifled a laugh as she took over for the other girl. "Hot pink? I don't know if pink is his colour." she laughed.

The pink haired teen rolled her eyes as she grabbed the saddle off the saddle rack. "Whatever, I think he looks pretty in pink."

Adora could only smile as she tried to hold back her laughter, grabbing the saddle from Glimmer's hands as she put it on the gelding's back. "Suit yourself."

/

It wasn't much longer until Bailey was all tacked up and Glimmer had her helmet and boots on and was ready to go. She led the gelding over to the arena and opened the gate, walking with him to the mounting block where she halted him.

She groaned as she stood on her tiptoes trying to get the reins over his head. "Ugh, you're too tall for this!" she complained, stretching as tall as she could as the gelding stared down at her.

"Need some help?"

Glimmer nodded at Adora who had just entered the arena and was walking over to her side. "Yes please, I am way too short and he is way too tall."

Adora chuckled as she lifted the reins over his head like it was nothing. "There you go! Now you can get on the mounting block and try and get on."

Glimmer gulped as she stepped onto the mounting block, trying to push her fear to the side as she grabbed onto the reins with one hand. She closed her eyes as she put her foot into the stirrup and with all her strength she pushed herself up and over, swinging her foot into the other stirrup as she settled into the saddle.

"Impressive! Good job!"

Glimmer's cheeks went red as she rubbed the back of her neck, praise wasn't something she was used to recieving a lot. She was used to being the outcast, just an average student who her teachers didn't view as particulary special in any way. Maybe that was why she felt good about being around Adora. She was so nice to her and kept trying to encourage her and praise her even for small victories and it made her feel good, really really good.

"Thank you. I thought I was going to fall for a split second." she said half jokingly, gathering up her reins in her hands as she forced herself back to reality.

"Don't worry, if you ever fall when you're starting to mount I'm here to catch you! Now cue him into a walk."

Glimmer took a deep breath and squeezed with her legs as Bailey began walking forward at a slow and steady pace.

"Good! Now make sure you go deep into those corners when you're turning and keep him walking in a straight line down the long side!"

Glimmer nodded as she found herself relaxing into the gelding's gentle movements. He had a bigger stride then the other lesson horses and everytime she glanced over at the ground it hit her just how high up she was and she'd start to panic but he was so calm and gentle and listened to her every cue and it made her feel safe. She felt like she'd been riding for hours, lost in a daze of peace and calmness when Adora proposed a suggestion to her.

"How are you feeling on him?"

"I'm feeling really comfortable on him, I really like him."

"Do you want to try and trot a little bit?"

Glimmer paused, her chest tightening as she looked down at the gelding. Walking around was one thing but stepping it up to a trot was a whole other thing. "I... I don't know. I don't want to fall and get hurt."

"You won't fall ok? Bailey is pretty lazy and the second you ask him to slow down he will. I won't force you to but if you want to try just let me know."

The pink haired girl mulled it over as she walked the bay horse around the arena, her mind going in circles before she eventually decided to throw caution to the wind and just do it. "I'll try it, but I don't want to trot for long."

A smile grew on Adora's face as she began giving instructions. "Awesome! Shorten up your reins a lot! Remember to keep your heels down! When you want him to trot squeeze him with your legs harder then you would when you want a faster walk. He's a bit lazy so keep squeezing until you get a trot."

Glimmer nodded as she shortened her reins and took a deep breath. She squeezed with her legs and she felt him speed up underneath her. She felt like she was bouncing around in the saddle but yet she hadn't fallen. She made it around five seconds before she pulled back on the reins and he slowed down to a walk.

Adora walked over to her as Glimmer halted Bailey and the blonde patted her on the back as she grinned at her. "Glimmer that was amazing for your first try! You're doing so well. I'm really proud of how far you've come in just under two weeks."

Glimmer blinked away the tears forming in her eyes as she patted Bailey on the neck and she smiled. "Thank you. I... I want to keep going."

Adora grinned as she stepped back into the center of the arena. "Then let's get back to our lesson!"