A Year in the Life of Marg

Pt. 10

I open my eyes again expecting to see Paige still staring at me, but instead I am greeted by Jade.

"Jade!!" I jump up and hug her. She returns it by squeezing my shoulder with her head. I release her and look to see that Paige is sitting up. I stand up and smile. "Looks like we made it." I say as Paige runs over and hugs me again.

"No thanks to you! But one-- or two problems... where are Gold... and... Ydris?" Paige looks at me worriedly. I now notice that we are the only ones here.

"Uh... maybe they went to get help...?" I pick at my cuticles nervously. "We should probably just ride to the stables. The storm looks like it's over, anyway." I turn to Jade, only to see that her tack is gone. "Do I have memory loss or something? I swear Jade had been tacked up..."

I hear Paige chime in behind me, "Yeah, same."

"When Pearl found me, she didn't have any tack on. And that was a while ago," I say. Paige frowns. She walks around outside of the thicket, checking under bushes and short trees.

"Paige, I don't think it's anywhere near here," I tell her.

She scoffs, "Great. We're tackless and alone." She drops her hands by her side and looks at Pearl, frustrated.

"Let's just walk back." I pat Jade's shoulder and beckon her to follow me. I walk out into the open.

The sun is shining and mostly everything is dry. The wind has settled down to a light breeze that is very refreshing. Birds sing their lovely songs, perched high in trees. It's a shame that this nice day was ruined by all of these strange events. To think, it all started with that Allison.

Paige walks up behind me and interrupts my thoughts. She places a hand on my shoulder, "Ready to go?" She asks. Just as we start to head out, I hear soft footsteps and put my hand up to stop everyone. Quiet but harsh voices are heard. Paige and I share an alarmed look. We stand completely still, our breaths light and controlled.

It goes silent, and then I see a small head peak out from behind a large boulder.

"Woah!" The small figure says, before another person peers over their shoulder. The first person who I saw walks over to us. She stops and looks us over and over again, taking several moments to examine us. I notice that her hair is pulled into a long and tight ponytail, her striking red hair gleaming in the sunlight.

She then leans in and asks, "Do you guys need any help?" I hear a scoff from behind her and the second person follows up, with her blue hair pulled into a short ponytail. The two girls look no different; twins.

"Of course they need help, Aly! Look at them." Says twin number two. The considerate one rolls her eyes.

"I'm sorry about my sister. Her name is Caitlin, or Oak." Caitlin, or Oak, bows before us.

"If that's Oak," Paige wonders, "Who are you?" she moves her finger from Oak to the mysterious girl before us.

"Oh! Right. I'm Alyssa, or Aly. Oak's twin sister." Just as I thought. She waves tentatively. I notice that Alyssa is wearing dressage wear, and Oak looks like a knock-off police officer. We share an awkward moment as Aly and Oak debate on what they say next.

"Well, we'll be on our way..." Paige squeezes past the sisters. They both look astonished; I give them a shrug and follow Paige.

"You guys don't need any help?" Aly asks. Paige whips around and says, with quite an attitude, "We don't need any help. We can get back fine, but thank you for the offer." She gives a stiff wave and half-walks-half-jogs away. Oak whispers to Aly as we walk away.