Ember: *popping out of the chimney* Hello people! I, Ember am here to remind you all that Jupiter's Magic does not own anything related to the Yu-Gi-Oh series. She only owns us OC's.
Alister: What is it with you always popping out of our chimney?
Ember: It's fun. And I feel like Santa Claus
Alister: He doesn't exist
Ember: Yes he does.
Alister: How do you know?
Ember: *takes off hat and shows elf ears.* Because I am an elf
Alister: Oh. Wow. Okay. *walks away*
Ember: *takes off fake ears* Sucker. Anywho, please review!
Raphael: But seriously, why do you like to -"
Ember: See ya! *goes up the chimney*
Raphael: Strange child
"Okay, child. It's not that hard to get on your horse. It's actually really easy," said Skye wisely. The four of them had decided to take advantage of the stables located behind their house that day, since they were doing nothing else anyway.
"Easy f'r you t' say, mate," he retorted, looking up at the white horse uneasily. "Tha' thing's mockin' me, I know it."
"No she's not. Now, get on the horse!"
"How?"
"You're on a wooden platform, that's the easiest way to get on the horse."
Valon sighed but looked to her for direction.
Skye nodded sagely when she noticed that the boy was directing his attention to her and said instructionally, "Put your left foot in the stirrup and grab the saddle horn."
"The wha'?"
"The thing sticking up from the saddle, Valon."
"Hey guys!" Lola called to them, hurrying into the clearing. "What's Valon doing?"
"Trying to get onto the horse," Raphael and Skye said in unison.
"And failing," Alister added with a chuckle.
"Shut up!" Valon growled, throwing his other leg over the saddle. Unfortunately he slipped off the saddle the moment he got up onto the saddle only to fall off...again. "Dammit!"
"How many times has he done that?" asked Lola, watching as Valon rubbed his behind with a grimace.
"This'll be the fourth time."
"Dios Mio!" she snapped, stomping over to Valon when she saw that he was now draped over the horse's back on his stomach. "Get off and let me help you."
It took a few minutes, but at last Valon was finally atop of his horse. He was much happier now that he wasn't falling off the horse. "Sweet! 'm taller than everyone else!"
"Quick question. Why is there a stable between your houses?" Alister asked. "I don't understand how that works."
"Because both of us love our horses but the nearby stables were awful," said Skye over her shoulder, disappearing into the barn to get her spare saddle; Valon had to borrow her other saddle since she'd found out that her third saddle's girth strap had broken in her absence. "Today, though, the stable's getting renovated and we need to get the horses out."
"Why?"
"To install air conditioning," Lola said dismissively, handing the reins to Valon. "Also just to weatherproof it from the elements—my family uses this as a storage place."
"Oh."
"Your turn, Alister," Skye said as she dumped the saddle on the ground, gesturing to a black Appaloosa that had been waiting patiently for several minutes; Skye had already put the necessary tack on it earlier, but she'd had to help Valon mount his horse and she had almost forgotten it. "This is Star-Night."
Alister came over to the horse, arched an eyebrow at it briefly, and then mounted it with ease.
"You're a fast learner," Lola commented, impressed.
Alister snorted. "I've been riding motorcycles for years now. A horse is really nothing more than a living motorcycle when it comes to mounting one."
Valon promptly scowled. "You coulda told me that sooner," he grumped.
"You didn't ask," Alister and Lola said at the same time. Both shot each other startled glances before looking away from each other.
A few minutes later Skye and Lola once again went into the barn, this time leading out two more horses: a Spanish Mustang and a Døle.
"Want to ride, Raphael?" asked Lola as she threw the blanket over her horse's back.
"I'll just watch," he replied with a wry smile. "I'm not a horse kind of guy."
"You sure?" questioned Lola. "My dad rides a Friesian horse; if you're worried about weight, Friesians are draft horses and can support a lot. Besides, you're not fat—you're just muscular."
"No thanks."
"Oy! We aren' jumpin' these 'orses, are we?" asked Valon, tugging back on the reins of his mount when it fidgeted in agitation.
"We are, actually. We haven't ridden these guys in a while and we need to let them stretch their legs," said Skye with a laugh. "Don't worry, though—the horse you're on doesn't like to jump."
"Well, tha's good," said the brunette, visibly relieved. "Not sure 'ow 'm s'pposed t' ride on it, let alone jump."
"Nah. Just leave the jumping to me and Skye," said Lola proudly.
Skye giggled. "It's been a few years since I jumped, Lola. I may eat dirt today," she responded with a rueful smile.
"You were and are an excellent jumper. There is still some left in you," declared the Hispanic girl proudly.
"Fine," she said, gently nudging the sides of her Mustang—Summer—to urge it forward and into the arena. Lola came next on her own mount, followed by Alister on Star-Night. Valon came last on his own horse.
Skye nudged Summer into a canter toward the jumping block, leaning forward into as the horse leapt into the air. She slid into the proper position just as Summer's hooves contacted the ground once again; doing a fist pump when she successfully landed and patted Summer's neck. "That's my girl," she crooned.
Valon sat back in his saddle and whistled. "She's good a' tha', innit—GAH!"
Skye pulled back on the reins sharply as a shrill whinny from behind her sounded in the air, breaking the tranquility in the ring.
Valon's horse, which had been fidgeting uncomfortably the entire time since Valon had mounted it, had completely gone nuts the moment the teen had put his full weight onto the saddle. It began to jump and buck, lashing out with its hooves; Lola and Alister instantly moved away from the bucking animal.
"Valon!" called Skye sharply, wheeling Summer around and kicking her horse into a canter. "Valon, grab the saddle horn!"
But Valon had never been on a bucking horse before and the boy simply couldn't hang on. One second he was still on the horse—the next found the Australian airborne, a stunned expression on his suddenly pale face as he flew through the air.
Valon did not make a sound as he hit the ground. He did not get up again.
Skye spurred her horse faster, but already Raphael had leapt over the fence into the arena and had caught hold of the frantic horse's reins, firmly steering the horse away from Valon's prone body. Alister slid off his horse and moved to where Valon was lying on the ground; Lola moved to secure Star-Night.
"Is he okay?" Skye demanded as she slid off the saddle and sprinted to where her friends were gathering. There was a noticeable edge to her voice.
Alister frowned, checking Valon quickly for any spinal injuries. To their relief, the Australian began to stir and his eyes opened blearily. "Tha's the last time 'm ever gettin' on a 'orse," he moaned, trying to sit up.
"Sit still," Alister said severely. "I don't know if you have anything broken. Don't move until I establish that."
"I can already tell ya my arm's broke," said Valon, hissing in pain when Alister's hand briefly brushed against his left arm. "'eard it snap when I 'it the ground, right b'fore I blacked out."
Lola came up to them, looking shaken as she took the now calm white horse's reins from Raphael; the blond immediately moved forward to check over Valon for himself. "None of the horses have ever thrown us like that before," she said in a small voice. "Not even when we first got them—what happened?"
"I don't know," said Alister, taking note of Valon's eyes with a frown. "He wasn't wearing a riding helmet…Valon may have a concussion too. We need to take him to the hospital. Ember's mom could help with that."
"What about the horses?" asked Skye anxiously. "I can't just—"
"If you and Alister get them back to the stable, I can put them back in their stalls. Raphael, you can carry Valon. Get him to the car and then take him to the hospital," said Lola, all traces of her previous fright gone. "Alister and Skye can catch up later."
"That's the last of them," said Skye as she led Summer back into her stall, shutting the door behind the horse.
"You two didn't have to help me out," said Lola, but Alister shook his head.
"Don't worry about it. Valon's been hurt worse than this before," he said. "He wasn't doing that badly when Raphael left with him."
"I just don't understand. Meeko's such a sweetie and she's never thrown anyone before now," said Lola, looking troubled.
"Meeko?"
"The horse Valon was riding. She's a young horse, yeah, but she's never shown any signs of being skittish. It couldn't be because Valon did something wrong. All he did was sit in the saddle."
Alister frowned. "I don't know what's happened either, but we need to go. Lola, I can give you a ride back; Skye, go to the hospital and find out how Valon's doing."
Sometime later, in the arena…
A shadowy figure dropped the leash to the dog they had with them, allowing the dog free rein. "Come on Jasper. There has to be something," a girl's voice whispered fiercely.
Jasper kept sniffing, moving out of the arena and into the barn and sniffing around the tack. The dog stopped in front of one of the saddles and then growled, its hackles rising and baring its teeth.
"What did you find?" she asked, flipping the saddle over and investigating its underside thoroughly. A few seconds later, she said a triumphant, "Ah ha!" and removed something from the middle of the underside. "A clue. Looks like we have a mystery on our hands, Scooby Doo."
Jasper looked up at the girl with a distinct seriously-are-you're-shitting-me look. "Fine. Sorry Jasper." the figure said, taking off into the night.
Yea...I don't own Scooby Doo. Please Review?
