A little bit later, when Tracey felt better and was no longer a merman, he returned to the barn. Since he left, a few more campers had arrived. There was now a total of seven.
The five new campers were Diana, Mary Catherine, Maisie Claire, Jenna, and Genevieve. Diana was about six. She had long, blonde hair held back in a ponytail. She was a playful child who quickly became friends with the other girls.
Mary Catherine was older, about seven. She was a bit taller. Her hair, pulled back in pigtails, was also brown. She was the shy bird in the group. She had trouble introducing herself to the others. She mainly just sat on one of the benches before the office. Though shy, she was very well behaved.
Maisie Claire was one of the older children. She was around eight years old. Her hair was long, straight, and brown, and her eyes were light brown. There were freckles on her face.
Jenna was the youngest child, only five years old. Unlike the other children, her hair was long and black. She looked like she had a little Chinese in her, which made her even prettier. For a five-year-old, she was very well-behaved. She listened to whatever orders Mrs. Connie gave her.
Genevieve, like Diana, had blonde hair. She was around six years old as well. She was already best friends with Diana.
The two girls jogged around each other and picked one another up. Most of the children had nametags, but Mary Catherine didn't.
Tracey saw that she looked terrified. She needed somebody to comfort her, and it looked like that someone would be him. He approached her and asked in a gentle voice, "Hi. What's your name? I'm Tracey."
Mary Catherine did not answer. She was too shy. She must have never been to camp before.
She hopped down from the bench and ducked behind her mother, who was getting ready to leave.
"Mary Catherine, it's okay. I'll be back at one," she told her child.
Mary Catherine shook her head. "No, Mommy. I want to go home."
"But you're going to have so much fun. I promise." Her mother tried to pull her off, but Mary Catherine refused to let go.
She started to cry. "Mommy, please don't leave me. Please don't leave me."
Tracey gave her mom a sweet smile. "Don't worry. I'll take care of her."
"What's your name?" she asked. "I'm sorry, young man. She's just really shy."
"No worries. I know how it feels to try something new. My name is Tracey."
"Tracey." Mary Catherine's mom gave her daughter a gentle push. "Mary Catherine, Tracey will look after you." She kissed her cheek and left her.
"Mommy!" Mary Catherine cried.
Tracey knew what would calm her down. Little girls loved anything that had to do with magic. He felt like he could trust her.
He kneeled before Mary Catherine and said, "You're okay, Mary Catherine. Hey, do you want to know a secret?"
Right after he said that, Mary Catherine's sobs lightened up. "Secret?" she asked.
"But you have to promise you won't tell anybody," Tracey continued. "Can I trust you won't? Something tells me you're very well behaved."
Mary Catherine chuckled. She nodded and said, "I promise."
Tracey led her away from the other children. He took her outside into the warm, summer air. Once again kneeling to her, he whispered in her ear, "The truth is, I'm a fairy."
"You are?" Mary Catherine's jaw dropped.
"Shh!" Tracey added. "Yes, I come from another world called the Magic World, so this camp is new to me, too."
"Well, what the heck are you doing here?"
"I'm on a very important mission."
"What kind of mission?"
Before Tracey could tell her, the final two children arrived: Syren and Lyla. Syren was a pretty girl, about seven years old, with auburn-brown hair and emerald-green eyes.
Lyla, who was six, had an interesting hair and eye color combination. Her hair was blonde, but her eyes were brown.
Those girls didn't mind getting separated from their parents. They were too excited for horse camp. They instantly hustled past Tracey and Mary Catherine to introduce themselves to Mrs. Connie.
In an excited voice, Mrs. Connie said, "Hi! You must be the last two campers. Why don't we put your bags up, and then you guys can make your nametags?"
Nodding, Syren and Lyla followed her down the hallway.
Mary Catherine and Tracey came back in, but Mary Catherine shivered. At that point, she did not want to leave her fairy guardian.
Once all nine children had settled down, they sat on the benches in front of the office so Mrs. Connie could explain what would happen throughout the week. She called the whole work crew on stage: Tracey, Mary Alice, Corrine, Stacie, and Leah.
Mrs. Connie clapped, saying, "Welcome to horse camp, campers! Who's excited?"
Most of the girls, excluding Mary Catherine, raised their hands.
Mary Catherine sat at the far-right end of the bench on the right side of the office. She isolated herself from the other campers.
Tonio, who was the only boy, tried to stand and roam, but his sister pulled him down. He glared at Tracey out of the corner of his eye.
Mrs. Connie brought her hand to her chest and introduced herself. "I'm Mrs. Connie. I'm going to be your riding teacher for this week. This is Mary Alice, my assistant."
At her cue, Mary Alice waved.
Mrs. Connie explained, "Mary Alice is going to teach when you're not riding." Next, she gestured at the helpers. "And these are the helpers: Stacie, Corrine, Leah, and Tracey."
Tonio shot Tracey a thumbs down and shouted, "Boo!"
Ashamed, Tracey wrapped his arms around himself.
Mrs. Connie glared at the child. "Tonio! One more remark like that, and you won't be riding today!"
Mary Catherine saw Tracey's face. Hm, she wondered if Tonio sensed there was something different about him.
Mrs. Connie opened her mouth, but stopped when Monkey whinnied from his stall. He constantly kicked his door.
Confused, the campers looked in his direction.
"That's just Monkey. He doesn't like it in the stall," Mrs. Connie explained.
Stacie volunteered to go over there and calm him down. "What's up, Monkey? Do you see a rat?" she asked. "I'd be freaking out, too. Though that's kind of who I am. Stacie the Coward, who also likes to be sarcastic."
Monkey did not appreciate her presence. He whinnied and kicked his stall again, much harder that time.
Mrs. Connie glanced at Mary Alice. "Mary Alice, take the campers to the petting zoo. Be back down in ten minutes."
Mary Alice gave a quick nod. "Yes, ma'am. All right, kids, who wants to go to the petting zoo?"
"Me!" Diana instantly said. "I want to pet the donkey!"
"He won't mind that," Mary Alice said with a smile. "He also likes it when he gets fed." She rounded up the campers and took them outside. Together, they set out for the petting zoo.
Mrs. Connie, Corrine, Leah, and Tracey looked at Monkey's stall.
Mrs. Connie's face turned white when she saw that Stacie was stuck to Monkey's stall door. When she tried going in, he grabbed her necklace and wrapped it around one of the bars, but Stacie wasn't freaking out. In fact, she was happy.
She waved at her co-workers and grinned. "I can't believe it, guys! Check it out! I'm stuck to Monkey's stall door! This is incredible!"
Mrs. Connie was freaking out. "Stacie! What happened?"
"No problem," Stacie continued. "This is what we do. We call the Horse Whisperer. Tracey, do your business!"
Glaring, Mrs. Connie angrily snapped, "We are not putting Tracey in harm's way!"
"But, Mrs. Connie, you should have seen him with Monkey earlier," Leah argued. "He calmed him down with a flick of his finger."
"It's okay, Mrs. Connie. I can do this," Tracey told the frightened woman. Like earlier, he remained calm. He quietly approached Monkey's stall and glanced at Stacie.
She gave him a thumbs-up.
At the sight of him, Monkey stopped raging. He stopped kicking his stall.
The first thing Tracey did was free Stacie. He unwrapped her necklace from the bar and pulled her away.
"Ah!" Stacie squealed. Her entire face brightened, and sparkles appeared in her eyes. The handsome prince just rescued his damsel in distress! That was the best thing that ever happened to her!
Mrs. Connie was blown away. How was Tracey so good with Monkey?
He opened his stall and joined him inside.
The fairy and alicorn met eyes. Monkey gave Tracey a gentle bump with his muzzle.
"See, there's no need to be afraid. You're going to be okay. I promise," he told him. He patted his nose to let him know that he was telling the truth.
Things weren't peaceful for long. Mary Alice sprinted down from the petting zoo, the children following her. "Mrs. Connie! We have a problem! A big problem!"
"Just a second, Mary Alice. We're still getting Monkey calm," Mrs. Connie explained.
"It's important," Mary Alice said in a frightened voice. "I just did a head count, and Mary Catherine is missing."
"What?" Mrs. Connie asked. "Mary Alice, teach the children how to groom. Tracey, Leah, Stacie, and Corrine will look for her."
Right," Mary Alice said with a nod.
In Monkey's stall, Tracey told him, "I'll be right back, Monkey. You can count on it." With that, he slipped outside and closed the door.
To her workers, Mrs. Connie said, "Stacie, you check the back of the barn. Leah, please check the stalls. Corrine, head outside and see if she wandered down to the pony ring. Tracey, check the indoor ring."
All four helpers nodded. "Roger!"
"I'll stay here and help get the first riding group ready," Mrs. Connie finished. "Now let's break!"
At her command, the helpers took off. Leah ducked into Chuck's stall and started to call Mary Catherine's name. Corrine headed out to the parking lot, and Tracey and Stacie made their way to the back of the barn.
For once, Stacie was not cracking a joke. She looked serious. She started her search behind a wagon of hay bales, and Tracey dipped into the indoor ring.
It was one of the dustiest, if not the dustiest, place in the entire barn. Tracey sneezed the second he entered it. The ring was in a large room. There were a few cones, jumps, and poles, and a line of bleachers on the right.
"Mary Catherine!" Tracey yelled. Nothing. However, he peeked over his shoulder when he thought he heard something behind him. "Mary Catherine, is that you?" No, it was just another rat.
It scurried across Tracey's foot, but he didn't even flinch. Unless the animal was a Monster or a Fused Monster, like a Death Lion, he wasn't scared of them.
Tracey thought for a moment, and then something came to mind. He checked to ensure no one was watching, then held his hands before him. "Find Mary Catherine!" he announced.
At his command, a ball of green and purple light appeared between his fingers. It spun a few times, then zipped across the ring.
Tracey used ninja speed to keep up with it. Within about ten seconds, he had checked under the bleachers, hay bales, and wagons, but then he followed his spell.
It took him outside to the paddock. It zipped around a porta-potty that was leaning against the side of the barn.
Tracey disappeared in midair and reappeared on top of the barn's roof. He pulled a ninja star out from behind him, just in case something ambushed him. He jogged across the roof until he reached its right back corner, and then hopped down.
It was overgrown with greenery there, and a fence separated Grove Station Farms from the farm next door.
A few frogs hopped around the area, but they scattered at the sight of Tracey.
He turned his head to see where the light was heading next. It stopped over a cluster of tall grass.
Tracey squinted. He could barely see a head of brown hair poking up in the grass. "Mary Catherine," he whispered. He instantly hopped into a jog.
Sure enough, it was Mary Catherine. She hid in the grass, her head buried in her knees. The little girl was sobbing up a storm.
"Mary Catherine, what's wrong?" Tracey wanted to know. He fell to his knees beside her.
Mary Catherine recognized his voice. She took a minute to collect her thoughts and then told him, "I want my mommy."
"Is that why you're so sad?"
"Yes."
"Mary Catherine, listen to me." Tracey plopped down on his backside. "I know what it's like to feel alone."
"You do?" Mary Catherine choked out.
"It's hard to do things that are new to us," Tracey explained. "I remember when I first came to the Human World, I felt like I didn't belong. But as I explored it, I started to feel more comfortable. I made new friends, and they helped me. It sometimes just takes a few days to get used to. Trust me. If I could do it, so can you."
Mary Catherine let his words sink in. She sniffed, slowly lifting her head from her knees. "Are you really a fairy?"
"I am." Tracey hopped to his feet. He stood before the little girl, a small smile on his face. Putting his hands together, he bowed. He then held his arms out to his sides and announced, "Tracey! Time to transform!"
Mary Catherine gasped. She leaped to her feet and pressed her back against the barn.
Magic green and purple throwing stars appeared around Tracey. He again brought his hands together. A gust of wind blew his hair toward the sky.
The stars roamed to his head and spun in a circle over it. They came together to create a magic blanket. Grabbing it, Tracey threw it over him. His wings popped out of his back, and his fins appeared on the backs of his legs.
When the magic faded, he was once again a merfairy. He floated a few feet off the ground, wings flapping gracefully behind him.
Mary Catherine's jaw dropped. "Oh, my gosh!" she yelled.
Tracey chuckled. He held his shuriken out and turned his body to the side. "Ta daa," he sang.