Stormchaser and the Silver Mist

by Belinda Rapley

  As they plumped down into their seats near the middle of the single decker bus, Charlie looked at Mia, and shook her head. Somehow Mia was the only one who didn’t have half a bale of hay stuck to her coat, or her hat. She’d even managed to keep her nails clean and, unlike the others, there was no lingering pony smell about her.

  Sophie Pope, one of the girls from their class, was sitting just behind the four of them. She collared them before they’d even caught their breath.

  “Are you coming to the show this weekend?” Sophie smiled hopefully. “Mrs Greenfield asked me to remind everyone about it.”

  Mrs Greenfield ran Greenfield’s Riding School, not far from the Abbey. Sophie was one of the helpers. A few months ago she’d started to part-loan one of the Greenfield’s school ponies, a pretty skewbald mare called Molly.

  “I’ve got a schedule.” Sophie dived into her bag, and pulled out a piece of paper as the bus trundled along, in and out of pockets of low lying mist.

  The Pony Detectives turned and knelt on their seats to look at the schedule. “I’m doing the Christmas themed fancy dress class,” Sophie grinned, “and some of the gymkhana games. What about you four?”

  “I’m doing the fancy dress, too,” Rosie beamed, “and the clear round jumping, although I’m not sure if Dancer will appreciate jumping with a Christmas pudding on her back!”

  “Er, you can get changed in between,” Charlie laughed. “I’m doing the Puissance.”

  “You’re so brave,” Sophie gasped, “there’s no way you’d catch me and Molly jumping a fence that keeps getting bigger each time you clear it!”

  Alice and Mia were both doing the clear round jumping. They sat chatting about it, and about what time they’d need to be there. Rosie got excited when Sophie told them that there’d be a jacket potato stall, and Mia was thrilled to hear there would also be a stall selling horsey gifts.

  As they talked, the Abbey broke into view through the fine mist, and up ahead, Billy Pyke, with his shock of red hair, appeared in the lane. He was riding a polo pony bareback, sitting gracefully on top of the pony’s rug, holding onto just a head collar and leadrope. From the pony’s back, he was leading three more ponies into the Abbey from one of the estate’s winter paddocks on the opposite side of the lane.

  The bus hissed to a halt at the corner. The doors opened, and Archie climbed aboard. He waved to Billy, who grinned back.

  Archie sank into a seat near the front. The bus paused, its engine rumbling. This was the highlight of the Pony Detectives’ school day, and they rubbed patches in the condensation on the windows to see out better. Estoni was in the arena, exercising Stormchaser, who was spinning and rearing. As the girls gasped in horror, Archie turned in his seat.

  “It’s the bus,” he explained. “Storm doesn’t like it. Estoni says that if he could, Storm would jump out of the arena and take the bus on, like it’s some monster horse. He’s madly brave.”

  “Just mad more like,” Sophie said, stiffly, with a shake of her head.

  At that moment, India came rushing out from the direction of the stables, her long pale blonde hair bobbing behind her. She flew towards the bus, her tie loose around her neck, yanking on her winter coat and carrying her blazer.

  The bus driver moaned, as usual, about India being late. She grinned apologetically as she climbed on board.

  “I’ve told you before,” she explained, “I have to ride Rumour before school – she needs to be fit for the Winter Cup!”

  The driver muttered something under his breath, and the bus jolted forward. Stormchaser took off along the long side of the arena, kicking out at the wooden boards.

  “It must be like trying to sit on a fire-breathing dragon!” Charlie laughed, amazed by the powerful force surging out of the bay horse. Phantom was bad enough, but Stormchaser was about a hundred times worse. Nevertheless, Charlie was transfixed by him. She pressed her face against the window until the bus rounded a corner and Stormchaser disappeared from sight.

  “Estoni has to ride him at least twice a day,” Archie explained, “just to try to keep him under control.”

  “He’s the most talented polo pony there is, though,” India smiled, as she paused in her journey to join the year elevens in the back seats. “He came over from Argentina with a huge reputation. It’s just been about finding the key to riding him – no one but Estoni can sit on him. Estoni seems to have the magic touch, though, and he absolutely loves Storm. You should definitely come along to the Winter Cup – that’s when you’ll see Storm really come alive. There isn’t a polo pony out there that can touch him. We’re so lucky to have him.”

  Alice noticed that despite India’s confident words, for a fleeting moment her face looked slightly troubled. But then, just as quickly, the smile returned as she moved on towards the back of the bus and Archie picked up the conversation enthusiastically.

  “You get to have a go on some of the quieter polo ponies after the Winter Cup, too,” he told them. “It’s really good fun!”

  “You mean we’ll actually be allowed to ride inside the Abbey?” Sophie said, slightly sarcastically. She turned to face Archie. “I went on a hack this weekend, from Greenfields. Only your dad made it very clear that we couldn’t put one hoof inside the Abbey grounds. He was waving his gun all over the place. So why should we support the polo match? I think we should boycott it.”

  Archie’s eyes blazed, and he opened his mouth to retaliate. But Alice saw him lock eyes with India, further up the bus. She was giving him a warning look. Archie turned back round sulkily and put headphones on. The beat of music thumped out seconds later. Any hope the Pony Detectives had of finding out more information from him about the Abbey rides had evaporated.

  Sophie wasn’t finished, but she continued in a quieter voice. “Mrs Greenfield was furious about what happened on the hack. Everyone is, but they’re all doing what they can to get the paths reopened,” she explained.

  “Like what?” Charlie quizzed her.

  “There’s a petition, it’s up in the village shop,” Sophie explained. “You should sign it too. The more people that do, the better.”

  Alice felt a bit awkward, and turned slightly to see if India had heard. It seemed pretty clear that she had. She was looking down the bus towards Sophie, only half listening to her friends. Her bright smile had faded. Alice swivelled back round quickly, before Sophie noticed her watching.

  The bus finally left the countryside behind, and houses and congested streets took over. It slowly wove through the heavy morning traffic before pulling up at the school gates. Everyone piled out, but instead of disappearing into school with her friends like normal, Alice noticed India make a beeline for Archie. India glanced back once to Sophie, then she walked in through the huge doors, bending close to Archie, deep in conversation.

  AS the week passed, the girls got increasingly exhausted. They were getting up extra early to sort out Cracker and Frostie, along with their own ponies, before school.

  “Maybe Fran had a point when she said how tired we’d get,” Mia yawned as they flumped onto the bus on Friday morning. Even Mia’s hair was slightly dishevelled and her school shoes a little bit muddy, for the first time ever. Alice and Charlie had to keep nudging each other in double Maths to stay awake, while Rosie’s face nearly dipped into her lunch after she dozed off mid-mouthful.

  Archie had sat on his own at the front of the school bus all week, making it impossible for the Pony Detectives to strike up a conversation with him. When Rosie did try, on the Friday, he replied with one-word answers and gave her no chance to ask him about their brief conversation in the woods. The only time he brightened slightly was when Rosie mentioned the Riding School show, which was taking place that Sunday. Archie told her he was going too, on his pony, Rascal.

  “See you this Sunday, then,” Rosie said, as Archie got off the bus in the gathering gloom on Friday afternoon. Archie smiled awkwardly at the girls, but Sophie blanked him. The Pony Detectives watched through the bus w
indow as he and India walked through the entrance to the Abbey.

  Nick Webb and Archie’s brother Billy were huddled by the grassy entrance to the floodlit arena, mounted on ponies. Mr Pyke was standing next to them, his gun propped over one arm, and Estoni stood facing them all, talking animatedly. He was holding a saddle, and had mud all down one side of him, including his hat, like he’d been flung off a horse. India must have noticed, because she suddenly broke into a run towards him, her blonde hair flying out behind her.

  “I bet that beast, Stormchaser, chucked him off,” Sophie quipped.

  Alice felt her throat tighten. Her first thought wasn’t for Estoni, even though he looked like he’d had a hard fall. It was for Stormchaser, and she hoped that he wasn’t hurt. As the bus pulled away, Alice turned her head, watching out of the window for as long as she could. But there was no sign of the bay horse. Alice settled back in her seat and caught up with the conversation. It had turned towards the Greenfield’s show, which was now in two days time.

  “It’s my first one with Molly,” Sophie smiled nervously. “I can’t wait, but I’ve got butterflies at the same time!”

  “That’s still how Alice feels now,” Rosie said, nudging Alice good naturedly, “and she’s been to loads!”

  Alice rolled her eyes, nudging Rosie back.

  “I’ve got lots to do tomorrow,” Alice said, “including giving Scout a major groom. He’s got brown patches up his neck and face where he lies down overnight. He must lie on his droppings. I’m sure he uses them as a pillow.”

  “I bet they’re nice and warm, though,” Sophie giggled.

  As the bus neared the Blackberry Farm drop off point, the girls wished Sophie luck with all the preparation. Normal lessons were being put on hold so that Greenfield Riding School could be transformed into a winter grotto, ready for the show. On top of that, Sophie had said she was going to groom Molly until she shone, and attempt to plait her mane.

  The Pony Detectives jumped off the bus, with Sophie waving from the window. The lights inside the bus glowed bright yellow in the darkening afternoon. The girls didn’t turn down the track to the farm, but carried on walking the short distance along Duck Lane.

  As they got nearer to the scruffy patch of common ground they saw Cracker and Frostie’s heads poking over the gate. The horses’ ears were pricked, looking for them. Cracker, as always, was in front of Frostie, and he whickered a soft welcome. The girls gave them loads of fuss, and the apple cores they’d saved from their lunchboxes. The horses wolfed them down happily, then wandered back to the piles of hay that were left over from that morning.

  Alice sighed. “I’m going to really miss them when they go to Fran’s next Friday.”

  Rosie nodded. “Me too. I wish this week could last forever.” She paused, and thought about it. “Although, we break up from school on Thursday, so on the other hand, I kind of hope it flies by…”

  “Well, at least they’ll be nicely settled into their new home for Christmas, anyway,” Mia pointed out, rubbing Frostie’s forehead with her gloved hand.

  “Come on, we’d better get Cracker and Frostie’s feeds sorted,” Charlie said. As the girls headed through the sheep field to the yard, they heard the horses blowing through their nostrils contentedly.

  First thing on Saturday morning, the four girls checked on Frostie and Cracker. Then they went out for a quick hack, after Mr Honeycott warned them that mist was forecast to set in again at lunchtime. They ate a hasty lunch in the hay loft, which was too cold to linger in for long, even with blankets, and once they’d tidied up, they headed to the stables to start getting their ponies ready for the Greenfield’s show.

  They kept the ponies out of the damp, chill air, and groomed them in their stables, chatting to each other through the slatted top halves of the inner stable walls. As the afternoon wore on, the mist masked out the sun, and soon it felt like they were cocooned in the small square yard, with nothing but a sea of silvery white beyond.

  “This weather’s so grim,” Alice sighed, as she looked out into the gloom. “I wish we could bring Frostie and Cracker in.” Then she stood back to inspect Scout. He turned his liquid brown eyes on her, listening to her voice. “I bet you’d like them both.”

  Scout lifted one front leg, tucking his hoof under and waving it slightly. Alice smiled. “I’ll see what I can find.” She scrabbled in her pocket and pulled out a mint. Scout bobbed his head up and down. Alice had damped his mane down; it had been lying neatly, but had now sprung back up again. Unconcerned, Scout lipped the mint and crunched noisily.

  Alice gave her pony a huge hug, then slipped his rugs back on. They were still warm from his body heat, and she almost wished she could wrap them round herself, too. With one last kiss on the softest part of Scout’s muzzle, she went to see how the others were doing.

  Alice looked over Phantom’s door. “He looks amazing – as ever!” she told Charlie.

  Charlie shoved her escaping fringe back under her bobble hat, smudging a dirty streak across her forehead. Alice grinned. Charlie was always scruffy, but she made sure that Phantom, with his sleek black coat, looked immaculate. His skin was so thin that he was really ticklish, especially by his back legs and under his girth, so Charlie had to use the softest body brush for him. His coat glistened like satin under the bright stable light. His mane was exactly the same length all the way down, and his oiled hooves finished off his look of perfection. His arched neck looked powerful and Charlie still couldn’t believe that he was really hers to ride. Phantom was tied up, but still danced at the end of his lead rope until Charlie folded his rugs back over him and he was snugly tucked up once more. He gently nudged her arm.

  “You’re welcome,” Charlie grinned, and she and Alice bobbed their heads over Wish’s stable. Mia was putting the finishing touches in place. Her mare stood calmly, her eyes blinking contentedly as she soaked up the attention, loving every second of being pampered by Mia. Mia had a wide selection of brushes, and she used every single one until Wish stood fit for any judge in any show ring.

  As Charlie and Alice admired Wish, they could hear grunts and squeals coming from Dancer’s stable. They giggled to themselves, as silently as they could, until Rosie came to join them, looking red faced.

  “She’s tried to squish me with her bottom three times now!” Rosie puffed. “All because I wanted to plait her tail. Well, she’ll have to go without.”

  “I wouldn’t worry,” Charlie smiled, as Mia dropped a kiss on Wish’s cheek and let herself out of the stable. “Christmas puddings don’t normally have plaits, anyway.”

  Once the girls were finished they spent the afternoon in the kitchen. They wrote Christmas cards to give out at school, which Pumpkin walked all over with his damp, muddy paws. Then they decorated the stables by trailing little coloured lantern lights under the eaves, and hanging their ponies’ stockings on the outside of the stable doors.

  Back in the cottage, they helped Rosie put the finishing touches to her fancy dress outfit, which mainly involved shoving lots of stuffing into it. Then they sliced carrots, apples and oranges, and mixed them with chaff, treacle and banana to make two sticky Christmas cakes – one for their ponies, one for Frostie and Cracker. Most of the mix seemed to end up on the table or the floor, where it was gobbled up by an ever watchful Beanie. After a vigorous stir from Charlie, one spoonful even flipped out and thwacked the back of Mrs Honeycott’s oversized artist’s overalls. The girls fell into silent hysterics, as Mrs Honeycott looked behind her for a vague moment, then wandered off to her painting studio humming a Christmas carol.

  Once the cakes were made, they realised that Cracker and Frostie wouldn’t be there on Christmas Day. So they took two big, messy chunks straight out to the far field. The two horses slurped and licked their lips, rummaging around the ground for any spare, dropped morsel. Then they came back and licked the girls’ hands for ages, their eyes closing softly. It was a while before the Pony Detectives realised how quickly the light was fading. />
  “We’d better go,” Charlie said, patting the horses. She looked across the dark, misty field.

  The horses followed them to the gate. They stood watching – Cracker with his handsome head and Frostie with his speckled face and large eyes – until the girls had disappeared out of sight.

  The low lying mist wafted in from the meadows, floating just above the yard floor while the girls rushed round sorting out their own ponies. Once evening stables were finished, the girls waited in Wish’s stable for Alice’s mum to turn up to give her, Mia and Charlie a lift home.

  “We haven’t got much further with solving any of our mysteries, have we?” Mia sighed, as she automatically stroked Wish’s forelock into a neat shape. She looked at the others, feeling a bit guilty.

  “To be fair, we haven’t had much time,” Charlie pointed out. “Not with the evenings being so dark, and this show to get ready for.”

  “Not to mention two extra horses to look after,” Rosie added.

  “Mia’s right, though,” Alice said, thinking about Cracker and Frostie out in their field without any lock on the gate. “I think that as soon as the show’s finished tomorrow, we should take another look at all our cases, to work out what we do next.”

  “Agreed,” Charlie and Rosie said, grinning at each other.