Snack was after the first lesson, except Mrs. Connie wanted Tracey to get cooled down before he grabbed his.
He guessed that it was a mix of dehydration and the use of a lot of magic that was causing him to feel weird.
Tracey grabbed his water bottle from his bag, but was careful about not spilling it on himself.
The kids usually had a snack on the benches outside the pony ring. Two helpers went with them—in that case, Stacie and Corrine. The rest stayed inside, had their snack, and got the horses ready for Group Two. They also took out horses that were either done for a little while or for the rest of the day. Snack was usually from 10:00 am – 11:00 am, and lunch was from 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm.
Tracey took some time to search the indoor ring. He brought his snacks, fairy cookies, with him. Not only did those little cookies taste delicious, but they also gave an ailing fairy some magic back.
Tracey knew there was something hidden in the indoor, and he was desperate to find out what it was.
Behind his back, Leah took Monkey out to the pasture.
He fought her a little, but at the same time, he didn't want to hurt a little girl.
Tracey started his search by the bleachers. He slipped his snack into the pocket of his pants and fell to his knees behind them. Tracey crawled under the bleachers, looking around for anything unusual. He saw nothing, except a bunch of dust and cobwebs.
After searching the bleachers, Tracey next checked the picnic tables. Sliding under them, he rested on his back. He started to rummage around, but was unaware that Leah was coming back from the pasture.
She saw him under the tables and stopped in her tracks. "What are you doing, Tracey?" she asked.
Tracey was so shocked that he ended up banging his head. "Ow!" he yelped. As quick as a flash, he crawled out from under the tables and rose. Smiling sheepishly, he placed his hands behind him and said, "Nothing!"
Chuckling, Leah shook her head. "You are one unusual kid."
Tracey waited until she was out of his line of sight before continuing his search. Great, he wasn't doing a good job of blending in. He hoped it would get better as the week progressed.
A little bit later, he finally reached the wagon of hay where he had the feeling from before. If anything were going to be hidden, it would be in the wagon.
Tracey hopped into the wagon and started to climb up and over bales of hay. He pulled some of them aside so he could dig through the loose hay. "Come on! Come on!" he begged. He was starting to get that tensional feeling again.
Tracey dug for he didn't know long, but before he knew it, he suddenly heard, "Tracey!"
Leah was back.
For the second time, Tracey leaped with fear. He ended up front flipping down the hay and landed on his butt before the wagon.
"For the love of Pete, dude, why are you playing in the hay?" Leah wanted to know.
Tracey leaped to his feet, saying, "I'm not playing! I saw a rat!"
Leah didn't buy that. Tracey may have been handsome, but he was a terrible liar. Then again, Merlin taught him not to lie.
Tracey hated lying, but he had to keep his magic secrets safe.
"Whatever," Leah continued. "Snack is almost over. Mary Alice sent me to get you. She wants you back in the main room."
"Tell her I'll be there in just a sec," said Tracey.
"No, she wants you now. Tracey, I'm only going to ask this once. Who are you?"
"I'm just a dude who likes horses," Tracey replied.
"Yeah, but— "
"I thought you said you were only going to ask once." Tracey didn't mean to act like a brat. The first day of camp was just super stressful. Sighing, he apologized to Leah. "Sorry, Leah. I'm just a little stressed out."
"Why?"
"Because where I come from, we don't have people who constantly bully me. I also don't know if my parents survived that hurricane."
"Hurricane? Wait a minute, are you from Charleston?"
Tracey nodded. "Yes."
Oh, that made sense. Tracey was a refugee. Leah opened her mouth, but he cut her off.
"That's all I'm going to tell you."
"Fair enough." Leah was acting a little more friendly toward him now. "Come on, let's go meet Mary Alice." She led the way out of the indoor ring, but Tracey took a moment to glance back at the wagon.
***
Mrs. Connie asked Tracey to help Mary Alice with the group who rode earlier. They were going to give a detailed explanation of how to groom and take a horse out. Again, nothing too exciting.
The final five children, Diana, Jenna, Genevieve, Lyla, and Syren, could not wait to have their lesson. They wasted no time getting their helmets on and standing beside their horses' stalls. Diana was riding Haddie, Jenna Muffin, Genevieve Gus, Lyla Chuck, and, to top it all off, Syren was riding Balto.
The group who rode earlier were allowed to change into shorts, but Maria had a little trouble putting her shoes back on. Therefore, she asked Tracey for help.
While Group Two began making its way into the indoor arena, Tracey sat Maria on a bench in the rest area. He began helping her, but Tonio did not appreciate it.
He stomped to him and snapped, "Hey! Get away from my sister!"
"Tonio, please. He's just trying to help me," Maria argued.
"But why? You know I always help you with your shoes, so why are you choosing him over me?"
"Maybe because he hasn't been acting like a brat all day!"
Silence, and then Tonio huffed. Clenching his fists, he turned on his heel and stomped away from Maria and Tracey.
Tracey smiled at Maria. "Nice job, Maria."
"Ah, I'm used to it," Maria admitted.
Mary Alice chose two camp favorites, April and Kit Kat, for the campers to groom. She and Tracey pulled them out of their stalls and tied them at the front of the barn. Mary Alice watched over Kit, while Tracey was in charge of April. She went into full detail about which brushes to use and how to use them. Hoof picks were banned for campers because the horses could kick them. Only the instructor and helper could use them.
The four children broke into two groups. Maria and Mary Catherine decided to groom April with Tracey, and Maisie Claire and Tonio groomed Kit Kat. Tracey was clearly becoming one of the favorite helpers. The girls just loved his calm demeanor. And of course, Tonio did not like it.
Tracey didn't see him coming. He was drinking from his water bottle when Tonio struck.
He lifted his large, heavy boot and kicked him right in the shin.
"Ow!" Tracey yelped. He was taken by such surprise that his water bottle spilled all over his face.
"Tonio!" Mary Alice snapped. "All right, that's it! You just earned a time-out!"
Tracey quickly let go of April. He limped over to the men's restroom and dove inside, slamming the door shut. The second he did, he once again turned into a merman. Unfortunately, Maisie Claire and Maria saw the glow from under the door's crack.
Instantly, they became curious. They started toward the bathroom, only to be stopped by Mary Catherine.
"Hey! Leave him be!" she demanded.
"But didn't you see it, Mary Catherine?" Maisie asked. "There was a glow!"
"He was just turning on the light!"
For a long time, Tracey did not come out of the bathroom.
Mary Alice finished the grooming exercise with the campers, while Tonio sat on a bench. By the time the horses were ready to go out, she tried to invite him to join them. She knocked on the door, asking, "Tracey, are you okay? The horses are ready."
"Leave me alone!" Tracey yelled from the other side.
"But, Tracey— "
"Mary Alice! If you want me to feel better, then go away!" Well geez. Someone was a little grumpy.
Mary Alice glared at Tonio, who merely scoffed.
Tracey was human again, but refused to move until he was ready. He sat in the corner of the small, dusty bathroom, his knees close to his chest. Stupid Human World. He hated it; he wanted to quit, but Monkey needed him. He had to find a way to get him back to the Magic World and needed to investigate the indoor hay wagon again. There was just too much to do.
Tracey narrowed his eyes. Good thing none of the helpers were in there to witness that. They'd be swooning all over him.
"Ugh! I hate humans!" Tracey snapped. Clenching his hand into a fist, he punched the wall.
Unfortunately, Mary Alice heard his remark. Before taking April out, she stopped by to drop off another water bottle for Tracey. "What the—? Humans? What's he talking about?" she asked herself. She placed her ear to the door.
Maria and Maisie Claire wanted to join her, but Mary Catherine stopped them.
Tracey was unaware that Mary Alice was eavesdropping. He continued to speak his mind. "I know they're not used to magical beings, but that doesn't give them the right to pick on me!"
Magical beings? Mary Alice was so confused.
"Ugh!" Tracey yelled again. Rising to his feet, he unlocked the door.
As quick as a flash, Mary Alice left it and joined the campers. By the time Tracey stepped outside, she was casually talking to them. "Okay, so you hold the lead rope here, and then—oh, hey, Tracey. Where are you going?"
"On a walk," was all he said. He stomped out of the barn, not bothering to look at Tonio. Returning to the paddock, he transformed back into a fairy. Tracey shot into the sky and zoomed out toward the pasture.
Back in the barn, Group Two was starting to come back in from their riding lesson.
Mrs. Connie was leading Diana on Haddie. "So, do you like Haddie?" she asked her.
"I love her!" Diana said. "I want to take her home!"
"Maybe you can stuff her in your bag?" Mrs. Connie laughed, but stopped when she saw Mary Alice and Group One. Confusion flashed across her face. "Mary Alice, you still haven't taken April and Kit out?" Next, she searched the area. "Wait, where's Tracey?"
"Uh, yeah. About that," Mary Alice said in a nervous voice.
Maisie Claire, Mary Catherine, and Maria smiled nervously. They gave Mary Alice a thumbs up, even though they already knew they were dead.
***
Tracey always felt better when he flew. All his worries were flushed right out of his head.
He glided over the pasture's pond, his reflection shimmering on the water's surface. Tracey flapped his wings, lifting higher into the air. He performed a midair somersault.
A trail of green and purple fairy dust caught a few horses' eyes. They looked up from eating grass and watched the fairy.
He twirled like crazy. Tracey was so fast that he appeared as nothing but a green blur.
Horses galloped after him.
Before Tracey knew it, he flew between Bullet, Baze, and Chance. Just as Tracey loved to fly, horses loved to run.
They ran all the way to the pasture's back field. It was enormous. Lots of grass and plants grew there; there were tons of hills, and it was backed up to a large, overgrown forest.
Tracey and the horses soared up and down the hills. They had a few races to see who could make it down a hill the fastest. The warm, summer sun caused the horses' coats to shimmer.
Tracey was having so much fun, but his excitement quickly faded when he saw he was close to the forest. He came to a screeching halt at the sight of it.
The forest was dark and spooky. It loomed over the horses and the fairy.
Tracey peered over his shoulder when he heard a few frightened huffs.
Bullet, Baze, and Chance stopped running. They looked terrified. Before Tracey could stop them, they galloped away.
He peered over his shoulder, but the horses did not return.
Tracey remained brave. Transforming back into a human, he gently landed on the ground. His eyes caught a figure standing at the bottom of the hill. It was a white horse that had a black muzzle, four black socks, and a white mane and tail. Monkey. Except that time, he looked a little different. He was larger, with a beautiful white horn on his forehead.
He sensed Tracey was nearby and turned to look at him.
"Wow," whispered Tracey. He knew it! He knew Monkey was the alicorn! Taking a deep breath, he slid down the hill. "It's okay," he said to Monkey. "It's just me."
Monkey recognized him. He seemed to sigh in relief. He let Tracey approach him.
Tracey rested his hand on his horn. Smiling, he said, "You have a horn now," but his smile faded when he didn't see any wings. "Where are your wings?"
Monkey seemed to glare. He pointed his horn at the forest.
"The forest?" Tracey asked.
From out of nowhere, a growl came from the overgrown clusters of trees. It was low and intimidating.
"What's that?" said Tracey. He gulped, as did Monkey.
The two backed up when the sound of trees crashing overtook the area.
Tracey raised his arm to protect Monkey.
A pair of purple eyes appeared from deep within the trees. After that, a scaly, black foot stepped out of the forest, followed by another. Each foot had sword-sized, sharp claws. Then, a body appeared. It was covered in spikes and mostly black, except for the underbody, which was purple.
The creature walked on four legs. A terrifying head drew close to Tracey and Monkey. Like the rest of its body, it was covered in spikes. A whip-like tail followed the body, and then a pair of enormous black wings that had claws at the end of them.
Tracey's entire face turned white. "Oh no."
There was a dragon at Grove Station Farms.