ghost ~ a starstable fanfiction

one

The sun had never shone brighter.

Typically competitions weren't horrible; the stress and anticipation usually beat out the blazing rays. But a mid-August afternoon brought a different kind of heat to Jorvik.

"Number 52, Eva Grayforest, please enter the ring."

Eva breathed out before clicking Rai forward. "We got this girl," She murmured, patting the horse's sweaty neck.

She urged the mare to a slow lope, approaching their first jump and counting each stride to ensure their takeoff went smoothly.

Eva cued Rai to jump and they soared over the cross rail without a problem. The rest of the pattern felt just like they had practiced: perfect.

"That was Eva Grayforest on Raven Queen, with a score of 46 seconds. No faults or penalties."

Eva walked Rai out of the ring, patting her neck and smiling while looking at their score. They had moved up to first place! She high-fived a few of the other girls before riding Rai back to her trailer, passing several of Mistfall's famous large mushrooms on the way.

"Good girl, Rai! You got us over every single one of those scary jumps! You deserve some warm grain tonight," Eva said while dismounting.

She quickly untacked her horse and tied her to the trailer. She wanted to hurry and watch her friends finish out the last heat of the day. Eva ran a brush over the spots that dotted Rai's coat before dropping it in a bucket and running back to the arena.

"Number 46, Heather Wintersmith, please enter the ring."

Eva cheered and stood up on the fence, watching the dark bay approach the starting line. Heather looked tiny on top of him. They started their pattern and were doing fine up until the third jump. Milo refused the oxer and when he did jump, he hit a pole. He proceeded to misjudge every stride after that and knocked several more jumps.

"That was Heather on Mouse Cry, with a score of 79 seconds. Six faults."

"Nice job, Heather!" Eva smiled up at her.

"Thanks! I had fun. This guy just doesn't know what's good for him," She shook her head, laughing off their horrible performance.

"Well you did great."

"You should consider a different horse. He has never had a clean round!" One of the girls scoffed.

"My lease will be over with him in two weeks, I can hold on until then!" Heather defended, still grinning. She seemed to be aware that she had made a bad decision when choosing to lease the clumsy gelding.

"And when you do, we are finding a real horse for you," Eva added, shaking her head.

She walked back over to the trailer where Rai was standing quietly, eating out of her hay net and swishing away the flies that were landing on her spotted pelt.

"How are you girl?" Eva asked, stroking her horse's white blaze.

"Hey Eva! I have a meeting so we'll have to head back early. That alright with you?" Heather asked, dismounting her horse.

"Sure! Anything to get out of this sun."

"Isn't it something? I always thought that Mistfall would be cooler for some reason. Oh well. I'll get Milo loaded right now if you want to pack your stuff." Heather smiled before leading Milo to the other side of the trailer to untack.

Eva did as she was told and hurriedly packed. "If we can get home in time, I'll let you wander for a bit!" She looked up to her horse, who caught sudden interest in being allowed to be turned loose.

The horses loaded easily and within ten minutes the two girls were on their way back to Valedale.

The ride was mostly quiet as adrenaline and excitement from both horses and riders was replaced with exhaustion.

Heather finally spoke up when they reached the road that lead into Valedale. She looked to her left, staring into the woods across the river. "The girls and I are heading to the abandoned house tomorrow night, wanna come?"

"I probably can't. I have to study."

"Study for what? We literally live in a horse paradise! No need for education around here," Heather scoffed.

"I've told you like a million times that I'm trying to become a horse breeder."

"You don't need to take school to learn how to do that, hun." Heather shook her head, driving into the village and pulling to a stop in front of Eva's house.

"I know, but I think people will like me and my horses more if they are actually good quality and if I know what I'm talking about."

"Guess so. Get out of here," Heather teased, "Call me if you change your mind."

"I will," Eva chuckled before getting out of the car and unloading Rai.

"See ya later!" Heather said through the open window before driving across the bridge and towards the barn.

"Well girl, I'll follow through with my promise. Go explore a little and be back before it gets too dark," Eva slid the mare's halter off and watched her trot across the bridge and pick up a lope towards the woods.

Eva walked into her shed and dropped her tack and bags carelessly before heading inside her house to get some food.

She never blinked an eye at letting her mare go into the woods alone, but today she felt like something was different. She was actually feeling worried.

And she didn't know why.

~

hello all!

welcome to ghost, a new star stable fanfiction that i'm starting! i'm excited to write this story and share it with all of you!

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have a wonderful day!