Stone Creek Academy: Faith

Chapter Thirteen

At precisely four o'clock that afternoon, I steered Sonic into the agreed ring. Sofia, Grace, and Vivian were mounted behind me, having agreed to come judge. Naturally, Desiray wasn't there yet, so I began warming up Sonic.

Scattered thunderheads made Sonic frisky and hot. It didn't look in danger of raining, so I tried to ignore the puffy grey clouds and occasional rumbles of thunder. Desiray arrived within a few minutes and warmed up also. And, of course, she had brought Bella, Taylor, and Quinn.

By the time Desiray and I had both finished, it had begun to sprinkle, and someone had raised a vertical in the center of the arena to around 3 feet. I cast a nervous glance at the darkening sky. The girls who were judging sat on the fence near the arena gate, holding their horses' reins. Even from here, the icy mood amongst them was plain to see.

"Will you please go already? I've been waiting for, like, ever!" Desiray snapped, glaring at me. I looked at her, sighed, then turned Sonic to the arena fence. He stepped into a canter, and I put all my equitation tricks into effect. If Sonic and I were to prove ourselves better than Desiray, we might as well show off while doing it.

With the vertical now before us, Sonic pricked his ears, and tried to speed up. I half-halted to keep his pace in check, and we popped over it easily. I cantered a finishing circle, then walked back to Desiray. As usual, her posture and expression was overly cocky.

"Ha! You call that riding? You're such a beginner! Try seeing how a real rider does an easy exercise like this," Desiray called, her tone mocking. She whipped her horse around, and I smirked at her retreating back. An attitude like that wouldn't get you anywhere in the horse world.

I almost couldn't watch as Desiray muscled her horse over the jump. Her mare's eyes rolled white the whole time, and every time Desiray jabbed her with her too-sharp spurs, she spurted forward like she'd been, well, jabbed with too-sharp spurs. It was a miracle the two made it over. Desiray hadn't ridden at all like this in the videos Sofia and I had seen.

"Someone raise that jump!" Desiray yelled as she fought with her mount at the far end of the arena. The mare was bucking, rearing, and plunging about in rebellion against Desiray's heavy hands and relentless legs. In response, Desiray whipped and kicked her even more. I couldn't stand it.

"Desiray! Stop! You're hurting your horse!" I yelled, furious. She just glared at me. But, after a minute, she relented and walked her horse back over to me. In the meantime, Taylor had raised the vertical to 3'6". As I turned Sonic to go take the jump, it began to sprinkle harder, becoming almost a light drizzle. If the jump got any higher, this could get dangerous.

Sonic and I rounded beautifully over the vertical and returned to where we'd been standing. Desiray was already racing toward the obstacle at a flat-out gallop. Her mare jerked herself awkwardly over the poles, miraculously managing to neither fall down in the wet sand nor rap a single black and white pole.

Desiray trotted back to me, calling out various taunts. But I wasn't paying attention. Lightning danced on the horizon. I could see it was pouring buckets from here. The clouds were advancing quickly. It wouldn't be long before the storm was upon us.

"It's time to stop, Desiray. That storm will be here in just a minute," I called over the furious winds. Taylor was setting the jump higher to around 4' in height. Desiray grinned at me like a madman.

"There's time for one more, don't you think?" Desiray smirked, shouting to be heard over the noise, "If you don't do it, we'll all know what a beginner and a loser you are."

I just stared at Desiray.

"Desiray, stop! This is madness, can't you see?" Sofia called, hopping off the fence and jogging to the center of the ring. The expression on her face was pleading.

"Aww, Regina, do you need your friend to fight all your battles for you? Poor little Regina," Desiray taunted. The drizzle intensified.

"Desiray, stop-" Sofia began.

"Fine, I'll go!" I shouted to be heard over Sofia. Thunder boomed loudly. I was soaking wet, and so was the ground. The storm was almost right on top of us, but I didn't care. I needed to prove myself. I'd had enough of Desiray's taunts and mockery.

Urging Sonic into a brisk canter, I turned him toward the jump. The whites of his eyes showed, and he threw his head in the air. I tried to force it back down, but he fought me.

Darkness swept over the ring like a wave. It was as if it had suddenly turned to night. In the loudest crash of thunder I'd ever heard, the sky opened up. Rain poured down in sheets. The sudden downpour flooded the arena, turning the sand into a muddy lake. Lightning danced all around.

In the faint glow provided by the crackling lightning, I caught a glimpse of Desiray's eyes. It was an image that would stick in my mind forever. You might think her eyes would've been startled, or horrified, or even just watchful. But no.

The look in Desiray's eyes was one of triumph.

Sonic and I were a mere two strides from the jump. The ground was a lake. It was a miracle we'd kept our footing this long. To jump would be near suicide. It was in a fraction of a second in which I realized why Desiray had challenged us to jump today.

She'd known the forecast. She knew I would come. She knew I would jump. And she knew she could manipulate me. Desiray wanted Sonic and I to get injured.

And she would get what she wanted. There was no time to turn Sonic away from the jump. I shut my eyes as he pushed off the ground. As I moved into a two-point, I felt us fly over the jump. We began to descend, and for a second, it looked like we might make it. Until everything went wrong.

Sonic's hooves slid out from under him the second they touched the ground. Instead of going forward, they went backward. My stomach clenched in dread as I realized we were going to flip over. There was nothing I could do to stop it.

I tried to jump out of the saddle as I somersaulted along with Sonic. One of my feet came with me as I pushed forward, but my other foot was stuck. In a rush of color and movement, the ground rushed toward me, and then, everything was black, black, black...

**Author's Note:**
Big twist, huh? Comment and let me know what you think!