Puzzle: The Runaway Pony

by Belinda Rapley

  “I know it was bad, but I couldn’t think what else to do,” Pixie explained desperately. “And Phantom’s always had this unusual neigh – not like a proper one at all, more like an echo of one. It’s kind of what gave me the idea about keeping him here. I already knew about the Legend of the Old Forge, and I thought if anyone got close and heard him, well, they’d be spooked and steer clear. I thought it would mean he wouldn’t get discovered.”

  Mia suddenly clicked. His strange neigh was probably what Mrs Millar was going to tell them about when they visited her, before she got interrupted by the phone.

  “Anyway, I didn’t want Mum to feel bad about Dad not paying the bills, and not being able to afford them herself. She makes jewellery, but it doesn’t pay much and there’s no way she’d be able to afford stabling anywhere. Or feed. So I told Mum that Phantom had gone missing.”

  “And that’s why you took our pony nuts,” Rosie nodded as Pixie hung her head.

  “I didn’t plan to,” she said, going pink, “but Mum made me promise to come and see you and, well, you weren’t around and I popped into the feed room for a bit to get out of the rain. I thought I’d take a few. I hadn’t planned on coming back. Only, you were all so friendly and Puzzle seemed so sweet that, well… I couldn’t stay away. And each time I came I ended up taking a few more pony nuts for Phantom. I’m sorry – I didn’t want him to starve and I didn’t know what else to do.”

  “It was one of those nuts that helped us solve the mystery,” Rosie said. “Charlie matched one from Blackberry Farm to one at the scene. It was a vital clue which linked you to the Old Forge.”

  “Well, it wasn’t exactly vital,” Charlie interrupted, rolling her eyes at Rosie’s exaggeration, “but finding the pony nuts did help us place you at the scene.”

  Pixie nodded, then explained that she’d carried bottles of water to the Forge and had snaffled some hay from Compton Manor as well as the nuts to keep Phantom going and visited him like clockwork every day after school.

  “I hated lying to you all. That’s why I tried to say as little as possible whenever you asked me anything. I’ll have to sell Phantom now I suppose,” she sighed, “but it’s a muddle in my head, just like you said it was with Pirate, Charlie. You’ll do anything you can to hold onto him because he means the world to you, even if that means you have to give up riding. That’s kind of the same as me and Phantom. I can’t sell him, because he’s all I’ve got left of Dad. But he scares me to death so there’s no way I can ride him and anyway, I can’t afford to keep him. I just don’t know what to do.”

  “Er, hang on a sec,” Rosie said once Pixie had finished. “Sorry, but did I just hear that you were thinking about giving up riding, Charlie?”

  The three girls stared at her, open-mouthed.

  Charlie shrugged miserably.

  “I can’t afford to buy another horse,” she explained, stroking Phantom’s neck absently. “Not without selling Pirate.”

  “But you’re the best rider out of all of us put together!” Alice said. “You can’t just give up like that!

  “Alice is right,” Rosie added indignantly. “Ponies need you!”

  Everyone sat quietly for a moment, reeling from everything Pixie had told them, not to mention the revelation that Charlie was seriously considering giving up riding after she outgrew Pirate, which was going to be very soon.

  “Well, we can’t stay here all night,” Mia eventually said. “We’d better get back to Blackberry Farm.”

  Pixie looked up, anxiously.

  “Don’t worry,” Alice said, smiling at her reassuringly. “There’s one more spare stable there.”

  “And it’s got Phantom’s name on it,” Rosie added. “Come on, let’s get these ponies home.”

  PIXIE hid her bike in the Forge, after Alice told her that her mum could drop her back home. Pixie thanked her, then uncovered the tack that she’d hidden.

  “I went back to collect it last Sunday and brought it here,” Pixie explained, “but there’s no way I’m riding Phantom back.”

  “Well, I guess I could?” Charlie suggested warily, looking round at the others who all made it clear that they were with Pixie on this one. “You could ride Pirate if you like.”

  “My hat’s at Blackberry Farm,” Pixie replied quickly, looking relieved to have an excuse not to ride Charlie’s spirited little bay. “But I could lead Pirate back if you don’t mind riding Phantom?”

  Pixie was too scared to even help tack Phantom up, and the girls quickly realised why. The black horse backed away as Charlie tried to put on his bridle, then when she finally managed to, he restlessly paced the stable as she attempted to put on his saddle and do up his girth. She was pretty worn out by the time she’d finished and they hadn’t even left the stable.

  “Steady boy,” she whispered as she drew back the loose bolt. Phantom charged out, skidding and almost squashing Charlie, who only just managed to hold onto him. Then, as he followed the other ponies out through the creaky door, he exploded into life, plunging forward and half-rearing.

  “I think it’ll be safer if I just lead him home,” Charlie said through gritted teeth as the reins got pulled painfully through her gloved fingers. “I don’t think riding him after he’s been cooped up in here for a week is such a good idea after all.”

  Mia stood Wish as close to Phantom as possible to calm him, while Alice tried to get the purple rug back on over the tack, to keep the black horse warm on his walk home. He pawed the ground, lifting his fine-boned leg high and smashing his hoof on the cobbles. It just missed Charlie’s foot. She felt her hands start to shake and took a deep breath as they set off. She hung onto the reins with both hands, struggling to hold Phantom as he twisted and bucked and squealed with every fresh swirl of cold wind and rain. Mia tried to keep Wish close, but she was worried about the mare being kicked or struck into. The others stayed at a safe distance, with Pixie leading a jogging Pirate and looking on in fearful awe.

  “I think we should avoid any lanes,” Alice called out, taking them down another bridleway to avoid stepping onto a small, windy road. But it led to an open, windswept field which ended up being just as hair-raising. Phantom plunged forward, skittish as the wind blew under his tail. He looked huge prancing along and shaking his head, spooking at every leaf that was blown up and starting at every rustle in the bushes.

  “My arm is so stretched!” Charlie groaned, clinging onto Phantom. As Blackberry Farm finally appeared through the dusk she was seriously relieved to still have him at the end of the reins.

  “Right, let’s get his box ready,” Mia said, as the other four raced around putting their ponies away, untacking them and rugging them up. Then they quickly cleared all the mucking-out tools and wheelbarrows from the last spare stable, swept it out and laid a deep, fresh straw bed, then filled a haynet and a water bucket.

  Phantom sniffed the stable suspiciously, then rushed in. Finally, exhausted after all their stable chores, the girls got ready to leave the yard.

  “Thanks so much for leading him back, Charlie,” Pixie said, coming over to where Charlie was standing leaning over Phantom’s stable door. “You handled him brilliantly.”

  “Thanks.” Charlie smiled, feeling worn out but strangely captivated by the black horse, who was lingering in the shadows of his box. “I bet he’s awesome to ride.”

  “Terrifying more like,” Rosie chipped in.

  “He terrified me all right, but I’ve never seen anyone else try,” Pixie sighed, “so I’ve got no idea how good he is. I’d love to know, though.”

  She looked up at Charlie. Charlie noticed that the others were staring at her too.

  “Is anyone else thinking what I’m thinking?” Pixie said, starting to smile.

  Charlie looked round. Everyone was nodding and she broke into a grin.

  “Looks like I’d better bring my back protector tomorrow in that case,” Charlie laughed, spooking Phantom, who tossed his head in the depths of his box.

  T
he next evening, after school, Charlie noticed her fingers were shaking slightly as she tried to do up the buckle of Phantom’s noseband. The black horse was electric beside her, an awesome dark force. He was standing still as she worked around him but she was aware of his sense of power, aware that she didn’t know what he was thinking, as if they were a million miles apart even though she was there, standing next to him. She patted his silken neck and he tossed his head, irritably. She felt butterflies flutter as she opened the stable door and led the tall, commanding black horse out of his stable, feeling nervous about riding for the first time since she could remember.

  As soon as Charlie swung her leg over the saddle it was obvious that Phantom had star quality. He was so much taller than Pirate, his neck stretching out in front of her and his withers narrow in front of the saddle. He immediately walked forward, head up, ears flashing backwards and forwards as he felt his new rider. His stride was all power but still light, and was enormous compared to Pirate’s choppy pony-sized one.

  “There is no way I’d get on him,” Rosie whispered to Pixie. Alice and Daisy nodded vigorously in agreement as he strode past. “I don’t blame you for being scared!”

  They ran along ahead of Charlie as she lifted one leg in front of the saddle and tightened Phantom’s girth. He started to jog, pulling at the bit anxiously. Pixie held her breath, but Charlie just sat quietly with a long rein while he danced about beneath her on the way to the paddock.

  “Just start off at trot once you get here,” Mrs Millar called from the middle of the ring. “He’s too hot to keep at walk, and we need to get him working.”

  Mia had called Mrs Millar as soon as they’d found Phantom, and again later to ask her to be there while Charlie first rode him. Charlie knew that calling Mrs Millar had been the right thing to do, especially when Phantom started to put his weight into his haunches and half-rear before she’d even reached the schooling paddock.

  Charlie felt herself tense. She was used to Pirate going up a bit when he was really excited, but this was something else. She swallowed hard, determined not to be scared by him. As Pixie watched Charlie, she gripped Daisy’s arm, almost as nervous as if she were back on top of Phantom herself.

  “Get him moving forward, Charlie, nice soft hands,” Mrs Millar called out. “He’s just a bit unsure, that’s all.”

  Charlie put her legs gently on Phantom’s sides, keeping her hands soft as soon as he came back down. For a moment he cantered beneath her at a walking pace, still with no weight on the reins. Charlie sat quietly with her legs still touching his sides and patted his neck. Finally, he plunged forward and started to cover some ground.

  Charlie brought him quietly back to trot then put him through his paces. He fought her to start off with, bucking a couple of times and slowing right up, and threatening to rear when she asked him to do something that he didn’t like, but as Mrs Millar gave them a lesson, they both started to settle. The others watched through the drizzle, captivated, as Phantom transformed in front of them with Mrs Millar’s expert tuition and Charlie’s skill, and they saw flashes of a beautiful, rounded trot and a stunningly smooth canter. Charlie couldn’t help grinning as she circled Phantom and brought him to a halt.

  “Let’s try him over a fence,” Mrs Millar said, directing the girls, who leaped down at once and ran to set up a place pole and a single cross pole. “Bring him in trot, Charlie.”

  Charlie shortened her stirrups, feeling a rush of excitement. She kept Phantom on a light rein and, in an even, bouncy trot, turned him towards the fence. He saw it, pricked his ears and rushed, but slowed for the pole and dipped his head and neck low, really arcing from his ears all the way to his tail and ballooning over the cross pole. Charlie almost laughed – she couldn’t believe the feeling she’d just had. Pirate was such a good jumper and would fly over anything, but he jumped flat. Charlie had never felt a horse that jumped so cleanly and cleared the poles so effortlessly.

  Mrs Millar put up another fence in the school. Phantom fought Charlie for his head on the approaches but rounded over each fence easily when he got there, tucking up his hooves neatly and clearing them cleanly. Charlie crouched lightly on top of him, her soft hands following his movement.

  The watching girls held their breath as Charlie and Phantom popped over the fences. Phantom was awesome. When she pulled up, Charlie patted the black horse. He shook his head, irritated by the fuss.

  “He needs plenty of work,” Mrs Millar boomed, finding a mint for him which he ignored. “Got to keep his mind occupied. Lots of changes of rein, changes of pace, circles. Mix it up.”

  Pixie sat on the fence, looking transfixed, understanding for the first time how good her horse really was.

  “I think you should try him in the Compton Manor competition, Charlie,” Mrs Millar said with a smile. Pixie had filled Mrs Millar in on what life had been like at Compton Manor and Mrs Millar was keen to go there and see it for herself. She wanted a word with Mrs Compton, too, after her failure to make sure that Pixie got the help and support which had been promised. “Let you experience what he’s capable of.”

  “You really think so?” Charlie asked, jumping off and loosening Phantom’s girth, dodging his teeth as he turned to nip her, his ears back. It was Tuesday and the show was being held on Saturday. That didn’t give her long to get to know Phantom.

  “With the owner’s permission, that is,” Mrs Millar laughed, slapping Pixie on the back as they took Phantom to his stable and went to fill in the Compton Manor entry forms.

  MRS Millar popped over to Blackberry Farm after school for the next three days to give Phantom lessons. He looked amazing, powerfully striding along under her watchful eye.

  The others always watched from the fence, oohing in unison every time he put in another huge buck.

  “His back hooves are literally going higher than your head, Charlie!” Rosie called out one time, only to be silenced with a single stare from Mrs Millar. Charlie just managed to sit to each buck, staying in the saddle as she worked to keep Phantom’s head up. She reminded herself over and over to keep breathing. It felt as if Phantom was picking up on the slightest bit of tension in Charlie, so she had to make an effort to stay relaxed. It was so strange – riding with Pirate was something she did without trying, because she and her pony knew each other so well. Now she had to think about everything for the first time in ages, and it felt exhausting.

  On the first evening after Phantom had been put away, Mrs Millar had told the others that she’d give them all a lesson, and Charlie a second one, this time on Pirate. Charlie had suggested that Pixie try him, but she’d said no way. Puzzle was the only kind of pony she’d want to ride from then on. Even though for a fleeting second Charlie had hoped it would be the perfect solution, she knew deep down it wasn’t right – Pirate wasn’t the pony for Pixie, so Charlie didn’t press it.

  Knowing that Pixie’s confidence had been shattered by the lethal combination of Sasha and Phantom, Mrs Millar concentrated most on Pixie and Puzzle during the lessons. Within a couple of days of Mrs Millar’s teaching, Pixie was starting to believe in herself again and was riding Puzzle brilliantly.

  “You’re clearly a good, sympathetic rider,” Mrs Millar announced as Pixie patted the blue roan. “Anyone can see that, and if someone says differently then they can’t be a horseman in my book.”

  Pixie smiled, her cheeks glowing pink at the praise.

  Daisy came along each day too, joining in the lessons as they swapped ponies, so that they all got to be taught by Mrs Millar ahead of the show. Everyone had insisted, as they untacked and stood about the yard after the final lesson on Friday, that Daisy should come with them to Compton Manor because she’d become part of the team.

  “After all,” Rosie pointed out, “Puzzle wouldn’t be going anywhere if it wasn’t for your care.”

  “Okay – I’ll ask Hope Farm for the morning off,” she finally agreed, “but I’ll only go as veterinary consultant and holder of ponies. My competing
days are over!”

  Everyone cheered, and Alice said that Daisy could hack Scout over to Compton Manor. Alice was shorter than Charlie and she could ride Pirate instead. Charlie had decided to enter him in the 80cm class.

  “Good for you,” Mrs Millar nodded approvingly. “It’ll be the last time you get to compete on Pirate, so you might as well make the most of it.”

  “Oh, yes, I hadn’t thought of it like that,” Charlie lied, trying to smile, but with Mrs Millar’s words the stone cold, hard reality of the situation hit her. She turned back to Pirate’s stable, suddenly remembering that she’d forgotten to give him the mint in her pocket.

  “Oh, Sasha, look!” Jade shrieked as the six girls rode into Compton Manor on Saturday morning. There were loads of people and ponies milling about but worse luck, they had bumped straight into the CM club. “The entertainment’s turned up, and it looks like she’s riding some kind of scruffy cob – what a comedown from Phantom!”

  Pixie went bright red and patted Puzzle’s roan neck, while Daisy told her to ignore them. Pixie had spent ages with Daisy, grooming Puzzle until he was beautifully clean. They’d even plaited his mane and tail, which Pixie had loved doing. According to Mia, who didn’t often give praise for grooming, she had a real talent for turnout, only now Pixie was back at Compton Manor, she looked as if she wished she could disappear again.

  “And there’s Phantom!” Alice heard Bex say, sounding relieved and earning a scowl from Sasha, who turned round and scrutinised the black horse. He looked a million dollars, but Sasha wasn’t impressed, or at least didn’t show it if she was.

  “I wouldn’t enter that horse into any of our classes if I were you,” she sneered. “He hates the indoor school here.”

  “Something to do with the loudspeaker used to make the announcements,” Jade laughed. “We tried to get him used to it by talking in it while Pixie was schooling, but I think we may have made him worse – shame.”