A Blocky World

Chapter 7: Marvel and the Boras Gallopers

I was sitting in our house next to the fireplace, pondering about my days on earth and my early days in Minecraftia, and then finally moving into town. Moreover, moving into town was not a bad decision. The guards were not as bad as I thought, and the people who lived there were great friends, in general. Most of the friends I made were at the barn though, one of my favourite places to hang out in whenever I could. Every evening, I rode Marvel with Aiden and Lukas and my other new friends I had made. 

The barn I rode in wasn't a majorly competitive barn, but it was a home for horse lovers of all ages and disciplines. Many competitive riders that traveled all over Minecraftia, showing, stayed at the barn for some time. The barn also featured not one discipline, but facilitated riders of many disciplines out there. Show jumping, dressage, cross country, eventing, vaulting, you name it, there is a home for you, no matter what discipline you're into. As for me, I really hadn't made up my mind (even back on earth, I must add) as to what discipline I want to pursue. Majorly, I was interested in show jumping, and secondly cross country. 

One day, while I was riding in the cross country course, unwinding after a day full of horrible experiences (I prefer not to go over them all again; in a nutshell, it involved getting lost without food, which is never a good thing.) galloping around on Marvel, when one of my barn friends, Petra, rode over. 

"Tell me something. Are the horses here in Minecraftia bred to do specific things? Like in earth they're different breeds for different actions. I mean, they could do other things if you really had to, but they wouldn't be the best at it." I asked her.

"Oh yes. That IS a good question. Look, frankly speaking, the horses here do everything. There's no one breed for one action." Petra replied.

"Do you guys have shows here?" I asked her.

"Of course! There is a show jumping event in a few days, there is a cross country as well... Whatever you want to do, let the manager know so she can write your name down. The deadline for submissions is tomorrow, so you have to hurry." She said.

"Okay, I'll think about it. Thanks." I said.

-

On the morning of the show day, I woke up extra ordinarily early. Lukas and Aiden were still sleeping; they weren't interested in the show. In fact, they weren't much interested in horses at all. I mean, they rode, but they weren't as horse crazy as I was. Anyway, I cooked some mutton and eggs and crafted myself some bread, and had breakfast.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: You really can't cook or eat eggs in the real game, but come on, that's so lame I decided to add it in my setting.

The sun hadn't yet risen. I put on a light sweater, and quietly left the house. It was a crisp, grey morning. A light, fresh wind blew, but that was it. The edge of the horizon was painted pink, and the silhouettes of houses and trees filled the skyline. It was dead quiet, except for the buzzing energy at the barn. Moreover, the town looked really different early in the morning.

I walked over to the barn, into the office and signed the register for the classes I was supposed to attend. I was really excited and nervous at the same time because this was my first ever show in my entire life. I had never showed before, even on earth. I looked in the arena, and there was a sophisticated course of jumps spread out. 

"There's no way I can do that. It's too complicated!" I muttered, under my breath.

"Don't lose hope already! I'm sure you'll win. You ride expertly." A voice said beside me. I looked and saw Petra going into the arena, and started fixing some jumps, changing their heights and angles. I was certain it had to be her who had spoken, but was still unsure.