*No One's POV*
It's a beautiful day at Horseland.
Shep and Teeny were walking down a path while Angora walked along the fence beside the path. Mage Wolf, the spirit partner of Syrus, floated between them. Mage Wolf has gotten close to the three animals in the short amount of time since he's been coming to Horseland with the sky blue haired Duelist/horse rider. He also found their way of breaking the fourth-wall amusing.
"Hello, folks. Glad to see you back in Horseland." Shep said to no one in the group of four could see. "Big day coming up. We-"
The trio stopped when Angora fell into a filled water trough. "ARRGGH!*splutters*" The gray haired she-cat yowled as she tried to climb out. Mage Wolf had to keep himself from laughing as he watched. Once Angora final got herself out, she jumped to the ground and shook out her fur in hopes that it would dry faster.
"Went for a swim, Angora?" The brown and white dog asked her. Mage Wolf snickered. "I thought cats don't like water." The Wolf themed Duel Monster Spirit said teasingly. "I don't! It was an accident, and it was Teeny's fault!" Angora said, pointing accusingly at said pig. Mage Wolf narrowed his eyes at the she-cat. 'Why does she have to blame Teen for something she didn't do?' He wondered with a flick of his ear.
"*oink*Oh-oh-oh, I'm so sorry. So very, very, very sorry. Bad pig. I'm a very bad pig!" Teeny said.
'I don't like how Angora takes advantage of when Teeny believes stuff like her lies.' Mage Wolf thought. He's got to remember to teach the white and black pig how to see through Angora's lies and other stuff like that.
"OK, Angora. What's your pathetic excuse for picking on the pig?" Shep asked the she-cat as she jumped back onto the fence and started cleaning herself. "Yeah, what's your excuse." Mage would said with his front legs crossed.
"She's a pig." Angora replied. "Pigs draw flies, flies buzz by, pedigreed feline gets grossed out, loses balance...KERSPLASH! That's what."
"Of course, Angora. It couldn't have been your fault." Shep said in a slightly sarcastic way. But Angora didn't notice the sarcasm. "You can say that again." She said as she walked along the fence once again.
"*chuckles*Come on, Teeny. We'd better get movin'." Shep said as the three of them continued walking, floating in Mage Wolf's case, down the path. "Yeah. Big things goin' on 'round Hoseland today." Mage Wolf said as he floated above the two of them with a smile.
~A little later~*Syrus' POV*
"Alma? Alma..." Sarah said as we looked for my prima.
"Where are you Alma Rodriguez?" I said as the two of us stopped along the path. There was a big jumping competition coming up real soon, and we all needed to practice. During the short amount of time since I first came here, I have gotten close to all of Alma's friends. And a silver howling symbol was painted on the door to Loba's stall while a dark and light turquoise yin yang symbol was painted on Senshi's.
Me and Sarah then went to the tree where my green wearing cousin usually reads.
"Alma!" Both me and Sarah called out.
"Hey, Sarah! Syrus! Over here." We heard Alma called to us.
We turned around and saw her reading under the tree while Button ate some grass close by. We walked over to her. 'Doesn't she knows we have one more practice before we head over to the competition?' I wondered.
"Did you know the first horse was about the size of a rabbit?" She asked us.
"I didn't. But I think my friend Bastion might." I said to her. 'Speaking of Bastion, is he still being influenced by the Dark Light? Or did Ja free him when he beat it?' I wondered.
"Very nice. Now do you think you could put the book down just for a little while?" Sarah asked Alma.
"Why? What's up?" She asked as she closed the book. 'Did she forget?'
"Practice time." Sarah said. I nodded my head. "Five minutes ago, prima." I said to her.
"Ha ha, OK, Mom, Dad. Relax." She said to us while waving her hand. I rolled my eyes at this. "Alma, the Huntington Downs Invitational is tomorrow. And we're counting on you to win." Sarah said to her as she grabbed her hand. I nodded my head in agreement. "Yeah, prima. You're the best jumper Horseland has."
"That's right. I am." Alam said as Sarah let go of her hand and my cousin flicked her hair. "So there's nothing to worry about, is there?" She said as she walked over to Button. Both me and Sarah watched her.
I head over to the arena and saw Angora napping on a bail of hay.
That is...until a fly started bothering her and she tried to swat it away after a minute of it buzzing around her. But instead she fell off the bail of hay when Alma, who was riding on Button, and Sarah came. I went to pick up Angora before I sat down on the bail of hay she was napping on before they fly bothered her.
"I got this nailed, you two." She said to us as she rode into the arena. "Verdad, Button?" She asked the black and white paint.
*Snorts*
"You know you're good, and me and Sy know you're good, but everyone needs to practice." Sarah said to her. I nodded my head in agreement. "Yeah! My friend Jaden is an amazing Duelist, he tied with Zane the last time they Dueled. But he needed a lot of practice when he got his new Neo-Spacian cards." I said, remembering when I first saw Ja use those cards. Practically when Aqua Neos returned to Jaden's Extra Deck at the end of his turn and he stared at it in shock and started asking Neos what was the big deal.
"Oh, come on. Just watch this." Alma said before she and Button started demonstrating their jumping abilities. Button neighed as they did the jump.
They then returned to us.
"You see? I don't need any practice." She said to us.
"Hmm." Both me and Sarah said.
"The first place trophy is in the bag." Alma cheered before she and Button walked away.
"Guys, that girl has a whole lot of confidence. Maybe too much, huh?" She said to us as I petted Angora as she licked her paw and cleaned her ear. I nodded my head in agreement, worried for my cousin.
"Is that who I think it is?" Chloe said as she and Zoe walked up to us. Causing me to stand up and let go of Angora, who jumped onto the fence, as the three of us turned to look at them. Angora jumped down and walked up to them. "Yeah, it's little Miss 'I'm too good for practice'." Zoe said as Angora rubbed against their feet before the two of them started laughing.
~A little bit later, in the stables~*No One's POV*
Button was in her stall, eating some green hay.
From his own horse's stall, Syrus was brushing Loba's mane. "You're going to look amazing for tomorrow girl." He said to the white mare. "It's going to be our first horse themed competition ever and we both need to look our best."
Syrus admits, he's really nervous about his first competition. True he dueled in front of a crowd a few times, he dueled under pressure once, and he competed in the GX Tournament. But those all involved Duel Monsters, not horses. 'Too bad Zane is having his first Pro Duelist Duel during the competition. So he can't be there to cheer for Horseland.' He thought. "Let me guess, feeling nervous about tomorrow?" Zane said as he and Senshi got back from a ride and walked up to the younger rider.
Syrus turned around and was about to answer when-
"Brushes, brushes." They heard Alma say from Button's stall. "You and I can make the jumps with our eyes shut. Wait till the meet tomorrow. We'll show those girls, won't we?" She said to her horse as Syrus, Zane, and Sarah walked up to the stall.
Both the two brothers looked worried about their cousin's over-confidence.
While Sarah, even though she was worried too, hid it as she walked away to the tack room. Once there, she went to her locker and opened it. She then grabbed a piece of paper that was taped to the door and then closed it.
Meanwhile, the two brothers were talking to Alma about her over-confidence in a subtle way. "I'm just saying Alma, it wouldn't hurt you to practice. It never hurts to do some extra practice." Zane said to her, hoping she would listen.
"Okay. Whatever, Zane." Alma said, obviously not listening to her older cousin's advice as she reached into her pocket and pulled out two pieces of apple. "Want some apple, Button?" She said to the black and white mare. "A healthy snake for you. High in potassium. So good for your muscles."
The two brothers looked at each other as Sarah walked up to them.
"Hey, Alma. Did I ever show you this? My dad gave it to me." Sarah said before she gave the piece of paper to the green wearing a horse rider.
"'Compete against yourself and now one else. Go for your personal best.' Ha ha! Thanks, Sarah. But you're totally off base on this one. I mean, of course I'm going to do my best." Alma then handed the piece of paper back to Sarah. "That's good to hear." Sarah said.
"I mean, how else am I going to beat Chloe and Zoe?" Alma said to the three of them.
"*Sighs*Oh, Alma." Sarah said before the three of them walked off and Alma went back to tending to Button. "Hey, Sarah. I think I can sneak this into the jacket of Alma's riding jacket." Syrus said as he took the piece of paper. "Can you do that without her knowing?" Sarah asked him. Syrus just nodded his head before he walked off to the tack room. Sarah then turned to Zane. "How can he..?" "I don't know, but Sy has always been able to do stuff like that." Zane said to her, knowing what the red wearing rider was going to ask.
"How's Sy been doing at home? Settling in I mean." Sarah asked.
"He's doing better. He's calming down on over-studying himself, since his first day at his new Duel Monsters school is the day after the competition. But he still calls Jaden and the others every day. He really misses them." Zane answered.
~The Next Day~
The next day the riders and horses that were competing in the Huntington Downs Invitational, plus Shep, Teeny, and Angora, had just arrived at where the competition was taking place.
"This place is huge! And I thought Horseland was nice." Zoe said when they saw the place. Syrus just nodded his head in agreement, unable to think of what to say about the place that Zoe hasn't already said.
"I can't see!" Teeny said in the back. "HUNH...UHH! HUNNH...UHH!" The white and black pig tried to jump up to see the place, but couldn't get high enough. "Anything.*squeal*" She then turned to the others. "Can you guys see anything?" She asked them.
"Uh, let's just say it's not a pretty sight." Angora replied from where she sat at Chili's tail(you all know what I really mean to say)."*sniffs*Hello! What have we here?" She said as she jumped to an open window. "What's up, Angora?" Chili asked for all the other animals, plus one Duel Monster Spirit, that were curious about what Angora smelled. "You smell a rat?" Loba then looked over at him. "That's nothing to joke about Chili." She said with a roll of her eyes.
"*sniff*Smells more like... Caviar!" She then jumped out of the moving vehicle and headed off to find the caviar. "You better go tell Syrus that Angora got out, Mage Wolf." Loba said to the Wolf themed Duel Monster Spirit. "Way ahead of you Loba." He said before he returned to his partner.
"Are we there yet, Shep? Are we?" Teeny asked the brown and white collie. "I think we might be there. Oh, goody. Goody!" As she said that, the truck and trailer stopped. "We're there." Shep said as soon as they did.
Once they did, Syrus quickly got out and started looking for Angora. "Good thing you told me Mage Wolf." He said to the mainly black Duel Monster Spirit as he started looking for the green eyes cat.
After a few minutes, they were able to find her. And she was eating someone else's caviar. "Sorry!" Syrus said as he grabbed her and walked off back towards the others. "Angora! Don't do that again! You could get in trouble! Plus, what if we were unable to find you before we head back to Horseland?" He said to the cat as he petted her. "You also could have gotten us in trouble."
He then placed Angora down on the ground, went back to the trailer, got Loba, and the two of them started heading to the stables.
"Well, Button...won't be long now." He heard his cousin say as he walked to an empty stall.
"Ha ha ha." They both heard Chloe and Zoe laughing, causing the two cousins to turn and face them. "And our next rider..." Chloe started to say only for her sister to finish. "Deserves a trophy." After that Chloe spoke again. "Just for thinking she's better than everyone else." The two sisters started laughing again. Once they stopped laughing, they walked away.
Syrus rolled his eyes at them and then walked into an empty stall with Loba.
"They won't be laughing when I win the competition." Alma said as she took her riding jacket off of a hanger. As she did, a folded piece of paper fell out. "Huh? What's this?" Alam wondered as she picked it up. Syrus smirked at himself for putting the paper in her jacket pocket without anyone noticing. "'Compete against yourself and no one else. Go for your personal best.'" Alma read the paper. "Sarah, you never give up, do you?" Alma said as she tossed the paper into a bucket of brushes.
Syrus, who was watching, frowned.
Now he was really getting worried about his cousin's over-confidence.
~Later~*Syrus' POV*
Me and Sarah were once again looking for my over-confident cousin while riding on Loba and Scarlet.
I was still nervous about my first horse riding competition, so I was mainly riding to help calm down my nerves. "Don't worry Sy. Everything is going to be okay. Plus, you look great." Sarah said.
"Thanks." I said as I looked down at what I was wearing for the competition. It was the same kind of outfit Bailey wears during competitions, but the shirt was red, the jacket was yellow, and the pants were blue. Zane said that the clothing I wear during horse riding competitions should reflect my time during Duel Academy, as well as me getting good in enough that I was going to be promoted to the Blue Dorm is I did my third year there.
We then walked over to Button, who was tied to a nearby tree.
"Hey, Button? Where's Alma?" Sarah asked the black and white Tobiano mare.
*Snouts*
She pointed to one of the tables with her snout.
Me and Sarah saw Alma sitting down, reading a book. "What's she been doing?" Sarah wondered. "I think it's obvious." I sighed. 'And it looks like I was right to get more worried about my prima's over-confidence.' I thought as me and Sarah got off our horses. Once we tied them to the tree, we walked over to Alma.
"55 million years!" Alma exclaimed when we reached her.
"What?" Both me and Sarah asked her.
"That's how long horses have been around, basically." She explained to us. "Oh." I said. 'Looks like I need to study more then just stuff that involving Duel Monsters.'
"Alma, you know it's almost start time." Sarah said, getting me back on track. "Yeah. Have you checked out the course yet?" I asked my prima. "Huh. I looked at it when I first got here." She answered us.
"But, Alma, you missed the walk-through." Sarah pointed out. "I didn't need to do the walk-through. Hey. I'm the best jumper from Horseland." Alma said in a kind of smug way. "But they changed the jump order!" I said to her as I closed her book. "They what?" She asked us. "Didn't you get the new course plan?" Sarah asked as she pulled out a piece of paper from her jacket and showed it to Alma. "No, When did this happen?" She asked us while standing up. "Alma, if you had been there when you were supposed-" Sarah started to say, but was interrupted by the announcer
"Last call! First round of show jumping starts in one minute! Late participants will be disqualified."
The three of us then returned to our horses.
Me and Sarah untied Loba and Scarlet's bridles and got on our horses. I looked over at Alma and saw that she was having a hard time unting Button. "Oh, this is just ! Why didn't I use a slip knot? Uh, come on! Come on!" She said.
I then got off Loba and went to help Alma untie Button.
~Later~*No One's POV*
"*sighs*Seems we have all our competitors in place. At last." When the announcer said that, Syrus looked over at his cousin.
"So, welcome everyone to the 15th annual Huntingtom Downs Show Jumping Invitationals. We have riders from all over the state competing today. And let's give a round of applause to our judges, Mr. Tom Mark, Mr. Alistair Graver, and our lead judge, Ms. Caroline Reed!" As soon as he said the lead judge's name, Syrus heard both Chloe and Zoe gasp.
"Caroline Reed?" They both said at the same time. "You know her?" Alma asked them. "Uh, Yeah." Zoe said, but the way she said it made Syrus think it wasn't in a good way or something like that. "She and our mom grew up together. They rose and the same stable." Chloe explained.
"And now, our first round of competition begins with Miss Alma Rodriguez from Horseland Stables."
"Go get 'em, Alma!" Sarah said.
"Buena suerte, Alma." Syrus said to her, wishing his cousin good luck in Spanish.
"Caroline Reed, Zoe." He looked over at the two sisters. He saw that they both had worried looks on their faces. "I know, I know." He then looked back at his cousin as she rode into the arena.
"Man. I can't believe they changed the course on us." Alma said. Button neighed in agreement.
"Ok, girl. Here we go." Alma said as they rode to the first jump.
"Too soon, Alma! Too soon!" Button said as they jumped. As they landed, one of Button's back legs hit the pole and knocked it off. Alma gasped when it happened.
"Missed it." Shep said when it happened. "And that was an easy one." He looked over at Teeny. "You...comfortable, Teeny?" He asked the black and white pig when he saw that she was scratching her side against the wall. "Oh, yes. Thank you, Shep." She said as she finished scratching and when to lay down beside the collie. "How's Alma doing out there?" She asked him. "Not too good, I'm afraid." He said as the watch Alma and Button head over to the next jump.
"Here we go, Button. We can do this." They then run towards the jump. "Faster, Button. Faster!" "No, Alma. Slower! Slower!" Button said, even though Alma couldn't understand her. "Alam and Button are going too fast." Syrus said quietly from where he watched on the sidelines. The crowd gasped when one of the poles fell to the ground by the tailwind Alma and Button caused.
"That was Miss Alma Rodriguez, with a time of one minute, 12 seconds. 3 faults." The announcer said.
"Is it over?" Teeny asked as Alma and Button rode out of the arena. "It's over." He replied.
"And next up is Miss Megan Shaw, representing Blue Meadow Stables." The announcer said as Syrus and Sarah went after Alma.
"Alma, wait!" Sarah said. But Alma didn't listen.
~Later~
"That was Carrie Jacobs with a time of 58 seconds, moving Piedmont Valley Stables into first place. And our next rider, Sarah Whitney, representing Horseland Stables." The announcer said later on in the competition. The crowd cheered for Sarah.
Syrus and Loba watched as she and Scarlet did the jumps.
"She made it!" Shep said as Sarah did the first jump. "She made it! She made it! Oh, oh, oh!" Teeny cheered. "She missed it." Shep said when Sarah caused a fault. "She missed it. Oh, phooey. Not good. What a shame." Teeny said when she heard that. "Made it!" Shep said when Sarah did the next jump. "Made it! Oh, goody, goody, goody!" Teeny cheered once again. "Missed it." As he said that, Shep lied down and covered his eyes with his front paws. "Missed it. Oh, that's too bad. Too bad." Teeny said, shaking her head. "Made it?" Shep and Teeny wondered as Sarah did the last jump. "Missed." They both said when Scarlet knocked down one of the polls.
"Not bad? Teeny asked Shep.
"Not good enough to win." They then looked at the leader board. "Oh, dear. Horseland's dropping in the ratings." He said when he saw that Horseland was now in second place. "Oh, my. It did drop. There it goes again." Teeny said when she saw Horseland going down to third place. "Oh, Syrus' stage-fright is causing him to have a hard time concentrating, with it also affecting Loba a bit." Mage Wolf explained to them when he went up to them.
"Our next rider is Zoe Stilton, also from Horseland Stables." The announcer said.
"Come on, Pepper. Let's get Horseland back up there." Zoe said to the Dutch Warmblood mare.
They did each of the jumps without any faults.
"This is the big one, Pepper. Go, girl! Go, go, go!" Zoe said as they headed towards the water jump. But Pepper stopped just before they could jump it.
"First refusal." The announcer said as Zoe and Pepper got ready to try again.
"You can do it, Pepper!" Zoe encourage Pepper. But Pepper stopped just before they could do the water jump.
"Doesn't look good." Shep said when he saw it.
Zoe and Pepper then got ready to try the water jump once again. As they rode towards it, Zoe had a determined look on her face. But, once again, Pepper refused to do the water jump.
"Third refusal, and that's an elimination, I'm afraid, for Zoe Stilton." The announcer said.
"Poor Zoe." Syrus said as Zoe and Pepper returned to the other riders.
"What happened out there, Zoe?" Sarah asked her. "Pepper wasn't up for that water jump. Just wasn't our day, I guess." Zoe answered her as she rode away. As she did, both Sarah and Syrus looked at the ratings. Horseland fell to second-to-last place.
Syrus then rode after her. "Hey, Zoe. Don't worry about it. Everyone has their off days." He reassured her. "When my friend Jaden lost to Aster Phoenix, he was so shocked that he wasn't able to see his own cards for a while. And everyone knows what happened after Zane lost to Aster." Zoe then looked at him. "Thanks Sy." She said with a slight smile.
"Our next rider is Miss Katie Green of Shenandoah Stables." The announcer said.
"Oh my. Oh, dear. Horseland isn't doing so well." Teeny said.
~Later~
"And our next rider, Chloe Stilton of Horseland Stables." The announcer said as Chloe and Chili rode up to the arena.
"Hope you have better luck than me, sis." Zoe said as she rode by her sister. Giving her a high-five.
Syrus and Sarah stood by the fence as Alma and Button walked up to them.
Syrus noticed that his cousin looked a bit down as she tied Button to the fence.
"*sighs*Okay, boy. Here we go." Chloe said to Chili, obviously feeling a bit nervous.
Chili pawed at the ground a bit before he started running towards the first jump. They did it perfectly. "Way to go!" Chloe cheered.
"Woof! Way to go, Chloe!" Shep cheered.
Everyone cheered as Chloe did another jump perfectly. "Oh, yeah! Horseland is back on the map." Shep said.
"Okay, Chili. We're going over that monster." Chloe said as they ran towards the water jump. Chili then made a worried sound. "It's gonna be okay. We practiced plenty of times. I know you can do it." Chloe reassured him.
"Now!" Chloe said when it was time for them to jump.
And the did it perfectly.
"Whoo-wee!" Sarah cheered. "Awesome, Chloe!" She said as Chloe rode up to them. "Yeah. That was amazing." Syrus agreed. "Too bad I didn't do that well. Guess me and Loba are more nervous than we thought." He then rubbed the back of his neck. "Ha ha! No, he was amazing. And we all feel nervous our first time in an actual competition." Chloe reassured Syrus. This caused the sky-blue haired teen to smile.
"Look at the ratings!" Syrus said when he saw the ratings change, with Horseland in first place. "Do you see that score, Alma?" Sarah asked the green wearing rider. "Yeah, I see it." Alma said as she untied Button.
"And now for the final round of the day." The announcer said. "First up, Alma Rodriguez for Horseland Stables."
"Look, Alma. I know you're having a bad day, but I just want to wish you good-" Chloe started to say, but Alma interrupted her. "Look, I can still win this thing. And I won't need luck to do it." As Alma walked off the trio looked at each other, wondering why Alma acted the way she did when Chloe tried to wish her good luck. 'Why did she act like that?' Syrus wondered as he looked towards his cousin.
*Neighs*
"That's enough, girl. We're the best, remember?" Alma said before she and Button started heading towards the next jump.
As they headed towards the jump, Syrus saw that his cousin had a determined look on his face.
When they knocked down one of the polls, Sarah, Syrus, and Chloe started to worry. And they became more worried when it happened to again.
"They're heading to the water jump." Syrus said, worried about what might happen.
"Come on, Button. Faster, Faster! Got to look good for Chloe's friend, the judge." Alma said.
"What's she doing?" Chloe asked.
"She's not focusing!" Sarah replied.
"Alma, what's wrong? You never act like this." Syrus said.
"*gasp*We're not gonna make it!" Alma said as they did the jump.
As they did the jump Syrus, nor Sarah, couldn't look.
When Alma and Button did the jump, they knocked off one of the polls. "Woah!" Alma exclaimed as she and Button fell into the water. "Alma!" Sarah, Syrus, and Chloe said when that happened. "Button, you okay?" Alma asked her horse. Button nodded her head before shaking water off of it. They two then got out of the water.
"Alma Rodriguez is leading her horse off the field. And I'm afraid that's disqualification."
"Alma!" Sarah said as she and Syrus went up to the green wearing rider. "Are you all right, prima?" Syrus asked as Chloe and Zoe came up to them. "Yeah, I'm fine, thanks." She replied. "Look, Alma. Everyone has an off day now and then." Chloe said to her. "Just be there for the walk through next time. You'll do better." Zoe said. "I couldn't have won anyway." Alma said, slightly glaring at Chloe. "What are you talking about, Alma?" Sarah asked her. "Their friend, the judge, would have scored me low no matter what I did." She explained to them as she got on Button. "What?" The two sisters asked, clearly startled. "Alma." Sarah and Syrus said, almost as startled as Chloe and Zoe. "Alma, that's not-" Chloe tried to explain, but was interrupted by the announcer.
"Next up, Chloe Stilton."
Chloe got on Chili as Alma rode away on Button.
Later, Sarah and Syrus found Alma was in the stables, brushing Button.
"Alma?" Sarah said as she and Syrus walked up to her.
"You can't blame everybody else because you weren't riding well." Sarah said as they reached her. "Yeah. You shouldn't have skipped all those practices, prima." Syrus said, agreeing with Sarah.
"What does it matter? Chloe's going to win." She said to them. "Her friend the judge will make sure of that."
"Yeah, Chloe's going to win for Horseland." Zoe said, causing the three of them to turn and look at her. "And not because the judge is doing her any favors. She's going to win because she's been working at it and practicing more than anybody, including you." She then pointed at Alma.
"Oh, come on, Zoe. The judge is a friend of your mother's." Alma said to her.
Syrus then started the small tape-recorder he had on him. Because he had a feeling about Caroline Reed, and it wasn't a good feeling.
"No, she isn't! They know each other. They grew up together, but they don't like each other. That judge is always hard on us. Chloe's up next, and I'm going to be there for her." She said to them she started heading back to the arena.
"Hold on, Zoe. Wait for us." Sarah said as she and Syrus followed her. The three of them then looked back at Alma. When the saw that she wasn't following, they continued heading to the arena.
Alma just stared at them with her mouth opened but turned around when Button knocked down the bucket with the brushes in them. "Button, what'd you do that for?" Alma asked as she walked up the bucket. "You mad at me, too?"
When she bent down to clean up, she saw the note Syrus slipped into her coat pocket.
"'Compete against yourself, and no one else. Go for your personal best.' Guess I wasn't doing that, was I?" Alma said when she read the note. "Guess I was being a jerk, wasn't I?"
*Nicker*
Button gave Alma a reassuring nuzzled.
"Ha ha ha! Mwah. I'll be back, girl." Alma said, before heading to the arena.
Chloe was riding up to the arena. "Oh." She said before she looked towards Sarah and Syrus. "Sarah, Syrus, does Alma really think that judge is going to help me?" She asked them as Zoe pet Chili. "Don't think about her, Chloe." Sarah said to her. Syrus nodded his head. "Think about your ride." He said.
"And now, our final rider, Miss Chloe Stilton, representing Horseland Stables." When the announcer said that, everyone started to cheer.
"Ohh..." Chloe said as she and Chili continued to head towards the arena.
"Chloe, wait!" Alma said as she ran up to them. Chloe stopped Chili. "I want to say I'm you know-I'm-well, you can win this , Chloe, I know you can." She said as she gave Chloe the piece of paper that had Sarah's advice on it. "'Compete against yourself, and no one else.'" She read. "Go for your personal best, okay?" Chloe smiled at the green wearing rider. "Okay, Alma." She said.
"Hee-yah!" She and Chili then rode into the arena.
"You heard her , Chili. Personal best!" She said to Chili as they headed towards the first jump. The crowd cheered as they did it perfectly. Shep and Teeny stood up as Chloe headed towards the next jump. She did it perfectly again. They then headed towards the water jump. Chili neighed as they did the jump perfectly.
"A perfect score and record time for Chloe Stilton of Horseland Stables!" The announcer said as everyone cheered.
"She did it, Shep! She did it! Oh, goody goody! So happy, so happy happy!" Teeny said while doing a little dance as Mage Wolf floated up to them. "So hungry!" She said as she finished, causing Mage Wolf to let out a small chuckle. "She sure did her best." Shep said. Mage Wolf nodded his head in agreement. "That's for sure!"
~A little bit later~*Syrus' POV*
Me, Sarah, and Alma stood by the fence as Chloe held up the trophy with the horse that helped her win it by her side.
"Yeah, Chloe! Way to go!" Alam cheered. I smiled to see that my prima was back to her old self again. "Viva, Chloe! Good Job!" Both me and Alma cheered at the same time. Chloe gave us a thumbs-up. Alma gave her one back while smiled.
"Okay, Sarah, Syrus... I admit it. The two of you were right from the start." Alma said as she turned to face me and Sarah. "Hey, sometimes we're not totally off base, huh?" The three of us laughed when Sarah said that. We then continued to clap for Chloe and Chili.
~Later, as the Sun was setting~*No one's POV*
Everyone was loading everything up before they started heading back to Horseland.
"What a day this has been." Chloe said to Zoe. "You said it, sis."
"Anyone seen Alma or Syrus?" She asked them. "Yeah, saw Alma a while ago walking Button. Over there somewhere." Chloe said, pointing in the direction she saw Alma and Button heading. "And Syrus went to get Angora, who ran off again." Zoe said.
Alma and Button were at the arena.
Syrus, who was carrying Angora, saw them. He stopped to see what they are doing.
"One more time. We're competing again nobody, just ourselves. You up for it?" Alma asked the mare. Button nickered as she nodded her head. "Let's do it." They then started going through all the jumps. Syrus smiled as he watched. "Okay, Button. Now!" Alam said as they reached the water jump.
Button neighed after they did the jump perfectly.
"I think that was our personal best!" Alma said as she hugged Button. "That's for sure, prima." Syrus quietly said. Angora nodded her head in agreement.
~Later, back at Horseland~
Shep and Teeny were once again walking to a path. With Mage Wolf floating between them and Angora walking on top of the fence.
"Shep, what made Alma change?" Teeny asked the collie. "Well, guess she just grew up a little, you know?" He explained to her. "Well, no, Shep, I don't know. I'm confused, and my tummy is rumbling." She said.
"Growing up means taking responsibility, and know that sometimes there's no one to blame but yourself." He explained. Mage Wolf nodded his head in agreement. "Right, Angora?" Shep asked the cat.
"Huh? BWAAH!" Angora once again fell into a water trough again. "You okay, cat?" Mage Wolf asked as he, Shep, and Teeny went up to the trough. Angora coughed as she climbed out of it. She continued to cough a bit as she shook herself dry. "It was Teeny's fault that time." When she said, that Teeny smiled. "It was your fault, Shep!"
"Huh?" Shep hummed.
"You distracted me, made me lose my balance. It certainly wasn't my fault. I'm a cat! I don't fall. It was Shep's fault. It was Shep, Shep, Shep!" Angora said as she walked away from them. Mage Wolf then turned to the collie. "She's not wrong. Your question distracted her." He said.
Okay! First off, Syrus and Sarah aren't a ship! they're just good friends! Nothing more, nothing less.
Syrus will be shipped with an OC that you'll meet later!
Also, be sure to watch the original version of Horseland episodes before reading a chapter!