Chapter Five: Normal at Last

Lisa rushed over to the limp figure sprawled across the snow. Carole and Phil had started to run over, and Red sprinted from the office. "Stevie?" Lisa asked worriedly.

Phil dropped to the ground beside Stevie. "Stevie! Stevie, say something!" He yelled. Stevie did not move. Phil grabbed her by the shoulders and laid her in his lap. Her eyes were closed, and her face was pale. Her arm hung limply at her side.

"What's wrong?" Red asked, as he paused to catch his breath. He glanced at Stevie.

"I don't know! She was catching snowflakes in her hand and all of a sudden she collapsed. I don't know what happened!" Lisa was on the verge of tears. Carole pat her on the shoulder.

"It's okay, it's not your fault." Carole whispered.

"Let's get her inside, she'll freeze out here." Red motioned to the office. Phil gently stood up and he and Red walked towards the office. Carole and Lisa followed. Once inside the office, Phil laid Stevie across the couch. Red grabbed a blanket from the cupboard and draped it over her.

"Will she be alright?" Lisa asked fearfully. A few tears had slid down her cheeks. Red scratched his head.

"I'm sure she'll be fine." He answered.

Phil kneeled on the ground next to Carole and Lisa. They were all up against the couch, waiting.

Drew burst in the room. "What's wrong?!" He asked impatiently. "I saw what happened from the ring, is everything alright?"

"No, something's really wrong with Stevie, we don't know what." Red replied.

Lisa gave a sad whimper and leaned into Carole. Carole gave Red a glare. He threw his hands in the air innocently.

Drew looked over at Stevie. "Do we need to call an ambulance?" He asked.

"No, I think we'll be alright." Phil replied. His face was almost as pale as Stevie's.

Red rested a hand on Phil's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine." Phil angrily swat Red's hand away. "She'll be fine." He snapped.

Red glanced at Carole. She shrugged and motioned to the door. Red nodded.

"Alright, um….we'll let you have your space." Red escorted everyone out the door. Before he shut the door, he turned.

Phil had rested his head on the couch next to Stevie. He was clearly upset. Red thought about saying something, but he didn't want Phil to snap at him again. He closed the door quietly, and they left. Well, Carole and Lisa spied from outside the window again, but Drew and Red left.

Inside…..

"Stevie, why you?" Phil asked. "Why did it have to be you?" He cried. Tears rolled down his cheeks and onto the blanket. He gingerly grabbed Stevie's hand. It was cold, and pale. Phil gently stroked her hair. She didn't stir, her eyes remained closed.

After about ten minutes, Phil got up and walked over to the coffee maker. Without thinking, he picked it up and threw it on the floor. The glass smashed into a bunch of little pieces on the floor. Phil didn't bother to pick them up. Instead, he walked back over to the couch. He sat at the base of the couch, near Stevie's feet. The room was quiet; all that could be heard was the quiet breathing of Stevie, and the snuffling from Phil. Lisa and Carole watched.

Lisa was trying not to cry, and Carole was attempting to comfort her. They watched, waiting for a sign of movement. Eventually Drew had to get into the office to do some work. He offered to move Stevie to the lounge, but Phil shook his head.

"I'll do it." He said quietly. Carole and Lisa hid, as to not be seen, and watched as Phil carried Stevie towards the lounge. After about five minutes, Carole and Lisa followed him. This time however, they went inside and sat on the chairs across from the couch.

"How is she?" Carole asked Phil.

"The same." He replied, still watching Stevie.

They sat for another ten minutes, staring, and waiting.

Phil got up and walked into the kitchen. He had his hands over his eyes. Lisa glanced at Carole worriedly, but Carole was watching Stevie intently.

Lisa followed her gaze. They sat for a few minutes when Stevie's eyes fluttered open.

"Errrrrr, where am I?" Stevie groaned as she sat up.

"Stevie!" Lisa ran forward and hugged Stevie.

"Whoa, Lisa! Stop it! You're choking me!" Stevie coughed.

Carole smiled and motioned to Phil.

Phil walked over slowly. "Stevie?"

"Hmm?" Stevie turned. "Oh hey Phil, good to see you're still around."

Phil ran over and kneeled in front of the couch. He was crying, but they were happy tears.

Stevie smiled and looked around. "Whoa, have I been in the lounge for….two days?" She shrieked.

Lisa glanced at Phil, worried. "Um….no, do you not remember?"

"Remember what?" Stevie asked hesitantly. "What happened?"

"You've been acting weird for almost two days now. You don't remember any of it?" Lisa asked. She was a little scared.

"No. I don't." Stevie looked around. "All I remember is grooming Belle, and then talking to Veronica. Then I came to the lounge and laid here on the couch. Phil came in, we talked and I fell asleep. Everything else is blank. Oh, but I remember something about snow….." She looked around. "What did I do for two days?"

Phil scratched his head. "Um….you don't want to know." He said quietly.

Stevie raised her eyebrow. "Uh, no, I think I do want to know!" She looked at Lisa, expecting an answer.

Lisa explained everything. When she was finished, Stevie was laughing. Lisa looked at Phil, but he shrugged.

"Oh, my, gosh!" Stevie laughed. "I can't believe I did that!"

Lisa frowned. "You really had us worried!" She said truthfully. "We were really scared!"

Stevie stopped laughing. "Why don't I remember any of this?" She asked. Fear had crept into her voice.

"I don't know." Carole piped up.

Everything went quiet. Stevie stared at Carole for a minute before turning away. She slowly got up. Phil shot up and grabbed Stevie's shoulder.

"I'm fine, thanks Phil." Stevie said as she walked towards the door.

"Wait! Stevie!" Carole cried. Stevie froze, and turned around slowly. "I need to talk to you!"

"Oh, so now the expert jumper wants to talk." Stevie snapped. She had clearly returned to normal.

"I need to apologize!" Carole said. She got up and walked over to Stevie. "I'm so, so, so, sorry for how I acted. I didn't mean it! Everything I said was untrue. I am not the best rider at Pine Hollow. We are all, the best!" She said with a smile. Stevie remained silent for a minute.

"Sorry Carole, but I'm not sure I can forgive you so easily this time." She said. Lisa walked over to them.

"Please Stevie? She didn't mean it!" Lisa said. "We are the Saddle Club! We need to stick together!"

Stevie frowned. "Well, you should have thought of that before you followed me on the trail." Stevie said. "All it did was make things worse." And with that, Stevie walked out the door. Phil followed her, throwing Lisa a sympathetic look.

She shrugged and turned to Carole, who was almost in tears.

"I'm sorry Carole." Lisa laid a hand on Carole's shoulder.

"No, it's my fault." Carole turned away. "I shouldn't have expected things to be alright between us so easily. I should have known better." She turned and walked over to the kitchen. "Soda?"

Lisa smiled and joined Carole.

Meanwhile…

Stevie walked towards the barn. Phil ran after her.

"Stevie! Stevie wait up!" He caught up to her quickly. "Stevie, why couldn't you forgive Carole?" He asked.

"Because, it didn't feel right to me. I'm not ready to be friends with her again." Stevie said plainly.

Phil sighed. "All right, just don't make Lisa and I miserable because you two can't get along!"

Stevie chuckled. "I'll try not to." She stopped and looked at the ground. "Sorry Phil."

"Sorry for what?" He asked.

"Sorry for making you worry. Lisa told me about everything you did…..and….I'm so sorry." Tears welled in her eyes.

"Hey there, it's okay!" Phil put and arm around her. "I know you didn't mean to. I shouldn't have worried so much. I just got a little freaked out." He said calmly.

Stevie turned and hugged Phil. "I'm glad to have someone like you as my friend." She whispered in his ear.

Phil gulped, and asked her a long awaited question. "Did you mean what you said that night in the lounge?" He asked.

Stevie stepped away. She smiled. "Of course I did!" She laughed. Phil let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and grabbed Stevie's hand. Together, they walked towards the barn.

"Hey Stevie," Phil turned to her as they walked.

"Yes?" Stevie asked.

"Um….would you…..would you…." He stuttered, unsure of what to say.

"Would I what?" Stevie raised her eyebrow. "Spit it out!"

Phil took a deep breath. "Wouldyouliketogowithmeonatra ilrideinthesnownextweek?" He asked quickly.

"Um…what?" Stevie asked. "English please!" She cried. "Somebody! I need a translator!"

"Stop it!" Phil playfully nudged Stevie with his fist. He took another breath. 'Would you like to go with me on a trail ride in the snow next week?" He asked, slower this time.

Stevie smiled. "Sure!" She replied. "I love taking trail rides in the snow!"

"Cool! I was thinking we could go out by the lake, and by the old barn where you guys hid Prancer that one time!" He said excitedly.

Stevie sighed. "That was such a brilliant plan." She looked off, as if remembering the event like it happened yesterday.

"Yes, it was, until you got caught." Phil smiled.

Stevie stuck out her tongue at Phil. "Yeah, yeah, I know. But it was still a great plan. We just…..um…..didn't work out all the kinks!"

"Uh huh, sure." Phil rolled his eyes dramatically. Stevie gave him a playful punch. Phil raised his hands in defeat.

"Okay! I get it!" He laughed. "Hey, if you get Belle saddled up, I'll get Teddy! We can go on a miniature trail ride! I could get Lisa and Carole to come too!"

Stevie scowled at the mention of Carole's name, but otherwise seemed to agree. As she ran towards the barn, she looked back at Phil. "Just couldn't wait till' next week could you?"

Phil smiled and watched as she ran off into the barn. He was overjoyed everything was back to normal. At least, that's what he thought.

Stevie ran into the barn. Prancer whinnied at her as she ran past her stall. She finally arrived at Belle's stall. Stevie grabbed her bucket and slid open the stall door. She walked in and started brushing down Belle quickly.

Veronica walked by with Garnet; she had a private lesson soon. As she walked by, she glanced at Belle. She was surprised to see someone in there grooming.

"Phil? Is that you?" She asked, guessing.

"Huh? Phil? Why would you think that?" Stevie appeared from behind the black mare. "Veronica, do you need glasses?"

Veronica stood, stunned. The last time she had seen Stevie was at the lesson the other day. And Stevie certainly wasn't herself back then.

"You-you're-what?" Veronica stuttered. Stevie glanced at her watch.

"Hurry up Veronica! Your lessons start soon!" Stevie motioned to the ring. "You wouldn't want to be late, would you?"

"Huh?" Veronica was speechless, but she obeyed and led Garnet out of the barn, still pondering over what she had witnessed.

About ten minutes later, Stevie walked Belle out of the barn. Phil and Lisa were waiting.

"Hey guys!" Stevie smiled.

"Hey Stevie! Can I just tell you how glad I am to see you're alright!" Lisa said joyfully.

"I'm glad too, though, probably not as much as you. I didn't even remember what had happened!" Stevie laughed. She started walking towards the trail head.

"Wait Stevie! Carole's coming too!" Lisa called. Stevie brought Belle to a halt.

"Oh. Okay!" Stevie replied with false happiness. She turned Belle back around as Carole and Starlight walked out of the barn.

"Hey guys, thanks for waiting." Carole said.

"That's what friends are for!" Lisa said cheerfully. Stevie rolled her eyes.

"Come on! Let's get going! It gets dark earlier now, remember!" Stevie reminded them.

"Oh yeah!" Phil shook his head. He had forgotten about that. "So what trail are we doing?" He asked.

"Well, I was thinking the trail to the marsh. There's a really good picnic spot on the way!" Lisa replied. "I even brought sandwiches!" She pulled out a small sack.

"Cool! Marsh trail it is!" Carole said.

"Okay! Lisa, since it was your idea, how about you lead the way?" Stevie suggested. Lisa smiled and nodded. She asked Prancer for a walk, and they walked off along the marsh trail. Carole followed close behind, and Stevie and Phil brought up the rear. Red, who was teaching lessons from the arena watched as they went. He thought he saw Belle with them, but assumed he was just hallucinating. Stevie was in the lounge! He reminded himself.

Out on the trail….

"So, Stevie, how are you feeling?" Phil asked.

"Actually, I feel fine!" Stevie replied happily. "I'm glad to be out with my friends…" She trailed off as she looked around at the trees. Phil was glad to see her okay.

They approached the picnic spot at 4:30 PM. The sun was already setting behind the hills. Everyone dismounted and the horses grazed on the little grass left alive. Phil laid out a blanket he had brought, and they all sat down.

"Okay, I have peanut butter and jelly! Who wants one?" Lisa called.

Everyone but Stevie raised their hands eagerly.

"Stevie, do you want one?" Lisa asked.

"No thanks, I'm not hungry." She replied.

Lisa cocked her head a bit before handing out the sandwiches. She was a bit concerned. Stevie hadn't eaten anything since yesterday morning, and all she had then was one bite of toast!

They ate and talked for half an hour before it started to get dark. They cleaned everything up and headed back. When they arrived back at Pine Hollow they were all laughing. Over all, they had a pretty great time. Red approached them as they walked back into the stables. He gasped a little as he saw Stevie lead Belle into her stall. Red walked over to Lisa.

"Hey, um, what's with Stevie?" He asked impatiently.

"Oh! She's fine now! All back to normal!" Lisa smiled. Then she frowned, remembering something.

"What?" Red asked. "What's wrong?"

"Oh….well…..um….you see…." Lisa looked for what to say.

"What? What is it Lisa?" Red asked impatiently.

"She's fine! She just…hasn't eaten in a long time…" Lisa looked away.

"How long?" Red asked, grabbing Lisa's shoulders. "How long has it been?!"

"Two days." Lisa let out a whimper. Red let go of her.

"Sorry, I guess I just got worried." Red looked away.

"It's okay. I'm worried too. She needs to eat something." Lisa thought for a moment. "Oh! I know! We'll stop at JB's tomorrow morning on our way here! She loves their milkshakes!" Lisa said excitedly.

"Good idea. Let me know tomorrow if she didn't eat anything. I'll discuss it with her if it's a problem." Red pat Lisa's shoulder.

"Okay. But please don't be too rough with her! She's just got over her…um…..mental tragedy." Lisa reminded him.

"Of course, I won't be too hard. Don't worry." Red guided Lisa towards the door. "Your mother's waiting for you."

Lisa looked outside. Her mother's car had pulled up. Stevie and Carole appeared to have already left, and she saw Phil leading Teddy into the trailer. Everybody was going home.

Lisa waved goodbye to Red as she got in her mother's car. She looked out the window the whole way home. Her finger's crossed for the next morning.