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As the pair neared the barn, they saw another one of the queen bee's victims ride off, Scowling as she thought about Jessikka, Nora and Veronica. Kami watched them ride out on their poor, abused horses. She always thought they were on steroids they ran so fast. Bullet's run was completly natural, no steroids, just praise.

The three rode over to Kami. "Great, this is just what we need, Bullet! A prep talk!"

The paint whinnied in agreement, making Veronica roll her eyes.

Quickly, Kami turned her horse back toward the woods and trotted away.

"Where do you think you're going?" Jessikka called. She fiercely kicked her horse into a canter, catching up to Kami.
"How is Miss Ugly and Sir Rowdy doing this fine day?" She asked hastily.

Kami turned her horse but it was too late. The other girls had made a circle around her. "So you wanna play that game, huh?" The girl replied, kicking Bullet into a gallop and darting through a gap in the circle.

Night Creature sped down the pathway, and Joie let her hair become whipped by the wind, until she saw the trail that led towards the woods.

"THIS way, Night Creature!", she commanded adventurously, steering the stallion to perform a hard right, so that they were both flying past a small number of trees. As they sped further and further down the path, Joie just barely noticed that the foliage was becoming thicker and thicker.

"FASTER, Night Creature! You've gotta dry me OFF, now, my sweet steed!" Laughing, she patted Night Creature's side, urging him to run faster and faster, until everything that lined the path became two long blurs of green.

After what seemed like a short eternity, Night Creature began to crash through a small body of water! Hearing the sound of his hoofs, Joie gasped, looking down.

"WOAH!", she shouted, pulling back on the reigns. Looking around, she sighed deeply, inhaling a breath of air that was so pure that it almost made her breathless. She had never ridden out this FAR before, and the sights that lay before her were more beautiful than anything that she'd ever seen, including paintings, illustrations, and images from movies! She was face to face with a Mideval fairyland, and, at this very moment, it was all hers!

Glancing all around her, she took in the entire scene. At Night Creature's feet, a mysterious pool of water spread itself out flatly, calmly. All around grew ferns, and other wet, green plants, from which rose a mist-like vapor. The air in front of horse and rider was murky and mysterious, yet somehow dankly protective. The entire atmousphere seemed to be right for the birth of fairies and elves, and such.

"Night Creature! WE'VE DISCOVERED this place, and it's ALL OURS!" Joie's voice echoed in the stillness, and, for a moment, she was startled by the sound that the echo made. Then she looked around her again, and then behind her, and she sighed with relief, glad to leave the foolish behind, and glad to have such a cool, green heaven all to herself.

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See Ya' Later,
Dixie Baby

"Hey! Get back here!" Veronica yelled, angrily kicking her poor horse into a gallop. The other two followed. They edged closer and closer to Kami and Bullet, pushing their horses to the limit.

"Go! Go Bullet!" Kami yelled, leaning forward so they could go faster. "Lets go! Heeeya!!"

Bullet continued on, faster with every step. Kami turned her head and looked back at Jessikka and smiled devilishly. She was riding Bullet like a jockey without a saddle at almost top speed. She knew her horse could go faster but decided to take it easy on the bees.

Jessikka, Veronica and Nora yelled at her, "You're just wasting your horse's energy! Wait till later at practice! He'll be exhausted!" They slowed their horses down and waited to see what Kami would do. Gradually, They started to slow down untill they were trotting. Kami knew better to let Bullet run all of his energy out before practice. He wasn't going near as fast as he could.

"Come on, Night Creature," whispered Joie. "Let's get your FEET out of the water." She smiled at the stallion.

"Unless you WANT to get a hooficure here!" Laughing at her own joke, Joie urged Night Creature to leave the pool, and he did, whinnying his slight dissatisfaction at her.

"Oh, now don't YOU start disapproving of me, TOO!", she exclaimed, tethering him to a nearby tree. Walking back around to the side of the pool from which they'd begun, Joie knelt down. Looking all around her, she allowed the magic of this green place to fill her eyes, and then, gently and quietly, she bent over the pool.

Glancing up at her horse from across the water, she raised one eyebrow.

"I'll PROBABLY get SICK, HUH?", she laughed, daringly scooping some water up in her hands and drinking it.

Night Creature's face seemed to say "You're doing what's natural," AND "Are you CRAZY! You're gonna be sooo sick later on today!"

"If I cared ALL of the time, I'd die from frazzled NERVES!", she said, looking right at Night Creature. Wandering over to Night Creature's side of the pool, she sat down at his side; sighing, she let herself fall backward, upon a bed of damp greenery.

"Now, if only we could stay here FOREVER!", she smirked, closing her eyes, and, to her surprise, yawning a yawn of relaxation.

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See Ya' Later,
Dixie Baby

"Wanna bet on that?" Kami yelled as she trotted back over. "I'll betcha my horse can beat all yours in any event!" She exclaimed confiedently. The three girls stared at Kami and laughed. "YOU! Beat us! Not a chance!" Jessikka said, still laughing uncontrollably.

"Yes! Me! Beat ALL of you!" She held her chin high and let the girls laugh. She knew Bullet wouldn't let her down. He would try his best no matter what it was. From a simple run to state shows, Bullet wouldn't go out without a fight.

"Fine! Let's bet then!" Nora sneered, glaring at Kami and waiting for her to break away from her stare. "Lets! If I win, You have to leave everyone alone! No bullying, No nothing! Everyone at the stables!"

Veronica smirked as she came up with a punishment. "And if we win more events than you, Little girl has to be our slave for a whole week!" The other two girls nodded in agreement.

Kami smiled mischieviously and Bullet stepped forward closer to Veronica. "Deal! I'll see you at practice, Ladies!" She said, trotting away on Bullet. "We're going to win, Bullet. You'll beat them without even breaking a sweat!" She whispered to him, patting his side gently.

The brown-haired little girl pulled at Joie's hand.

"HEY, Joie! Come look at what I found!", she urged, looking back, even as she took a few steps forward.

Joie followed her little cousin to the edge of the water, and, gazing down, she saw the most peachy, shiny shell that she'd ever seen in her entire life!

"Oooh, how PRETTY, Lynette!", she breathed, bending down to pick up the shell. Turning the ridged miracle over in her hand, she took in every detail of its beauty, and then, she placed the shell in her cousin's hand, smiling secretively.

"YOU found it," she said, "so it's YOURS!"

Lynette hugged her, gazing up at her with the prettiest, most thoughtfully sweet, sea green eyes that she'd ever known.

All too soon, Aunt Priscilla was grabbing her daughter by the hand.

"Come AWAY from that water, Darling," she fussed, glaring at Joie. "The DOCTOR doesn't want you getting EXCITED in YOUR condition, and he means BUSINESS, Darling, so..."
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So...her professor father's sister led the five-year-old little girl away, back to the picnic table, and she refused to allow the two girls to play together after that. Everything within both households became stuffy, stale, inflated by drama, as a great Victorian silence grew between the hearts of all involved.

Eight-year-old Joie could only watch, frustrated, as everybody fussed, twisted, and destroyed their relationships under the strain of Lynette's slowly fading life.

Then, just like that, Lynette was gone! Having been whisked away to the cold, white city hospital, she had lived out her terminal life, surrounded only by the adults, until she had fallen into her last sleep at the age of five and a half.

The funeral was quite an experience for Joie. She watched from her serious father's side, as death was presented as a friend, as her cousin was misrepresented as a larger-than-life figure, her image surrounded by the same level of spectacle that one would expect to see at a Broadway show.

The sorrow was not expressed by Joie until later, but for the rest of her life, she remained haunted by memories, by guilt, by a small wish that flickered like a secretive candle: the wish to join Lynette someday.
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Joie Sunvale awoke with a gasp, but as soon as her mind drifted back to its subconscious thoughts, she only rolled over on the grass, crying deeply upon her newly folded arms.

Night Creature's soft whinnying did nothing to comfort her, and even the presence of his velvety nose upon her elbow was not enough to dry her tears, or to turn her thoughts to more comforting subjects.
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See Ya' Later,
Dixie Baby

Confiedently, Kami rode Bullet back into the barn. She filled a bucket with water and gave him a drink. "Atta boy Bullet, You'll beat those girls without any problem!" Smiling, Kami wrapped her arms around Bullet's neck. "You're a good boy.." She murmured.

When Joie finally rolled onto her back, Night Creature was whinnying loudly, as though he was hungry.

"I'M sorry, Night Creature," murmured the girl, forcing herself to her feet. Gazing at the ground, she suddenly caught sight of herself in the pool of water, and she knelt down briefly to splash her face with some water, deliberately wiping the cold water over her red eyelids.

"I might as well TRY to look perfect, huh?", she asked, giving a wry smile to her horse. The stallion only stared back at her.

"I KNOW that that's hypocritical," she said, untying her horse, who was by now pawing at the grass beneath him, "but I...Oooh, I don't even know what I'm SAYING anymore today!" Rolling her eyes, Joie laughed as she mounted Night Creature.

The horse tossed his head, and when he received the signal to return home, he flew through the forest, his mistress laughing as her hair whipped wildly behind her.
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Joie and Night Creature returned to the barn more quickly than anybody had expected them to return, so that when Joie brought her horse to a whinnying, skidding halt at the barn's doorway, a gasp came from within the building.

"Sorry," called Joie cheerfully, "but we just sort of...slid up to the door just now, so you'll have to forgive us for being dramatic!" Laughing, Joie leaped from Night Creature's back, leading him into the barn.
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See Ya' Later,
Dixie Baby

Bullet whinnied, a little surprised, but kept calm with Kami at his side. She patted his shoulder and smiled up at Joie.

"No, You're fine. Don't worry about it." Kami replied, glacing at Joie's horse. Bullet stuck his big nose out and sniffed him, making Kami a little nervous. Jerking on the lead rope, She made him back away to be safe. "Don't wanna start anything now, Bullet." She grinned.

Joie laughed, glad to be away from her sad memories.

"Oh, HE'S alright, Kami!", she said. Sighing, she added, "I don't know about NIGHT Creature, though! He loves adventure, and I think that today's adventure may have ended a little EARLY for him!" Reaching out, she patted Bullet's nose.

"Sweet boy!", she said, smiling at Kami's horse, and then at her own.

Suddenly, she looked across at Kami.

"Is...has anybody been...hasseling YOU lately...around here?", she asked, all at once, blushing slightly, knowing internally how unlikely she usually was to confide in others.
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See Ya' Later,
Dixie Baby

"Hasseling? Well, Nora slapped Bullet from behind this morning." Kami replied. "Oh, and the three bees decided to chase me this morning." She added, not noticing Nora, Jessikka, and Veronica coming in on their horses.

"But their horses were no match fo Bullet! He can outrun almost anything!" Kami boasted, Jessikka giving her a dirty look.

"Could you take that to the BANK, Kami?", asked Joie, suddenly flashing a devilish smile, and raising one eyebrow.
"I challenge YOU to a RACE, O FAST RIDER of ALL TIME!", she declared, causing the other girl to wonder weather or not SHE was being cruel.

Joie returned Kami's quizzical look to her, and then she smirked again.

"Oh, c'MON!", she said. "I'm challenging you to a RACE, so agree or DECLINE already!" After a moment's silence, she raised that eyebrow again.

"The winner gets to take the loser's HORSE for a secret, midnight RIIIIDE!" Smiling broadly, she laughed slightly, hoping to let Kami know that she was a friend, and NOT an enemy.
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Smirking, Kami climbed up on her horse and then replied. "I don't know if I could let you take him! He doesn't trust other riders as much as me.. But I accept your challenge!" An idea came to her and she smiled devilishly. "Bareback." She smirked again and hoped Joie would agree to it. Bullet ran pretty fast without a saddle, but easier to control with one.

"BAREBACK?" Joie pretended to look as though she was surprised. Then she sighed.

"I don't KNOW," she said. "I'm going to have to check with Night Creature on THAT one, because, ultimately....it's HIS choice!" Raising that famous eyebrow again, Joie laughed.

"After all, WE'RE just the RIDERS, ya' know!", she exclaimed, smiling. "It's the HORSES who REALLY run everything around here...or, at least, it SHOULD be...maybe...," she said, weighing her anger about certain riders with her selfishness.

After a moment of silent contemplation, Joie turned to Night Creature, bending slightly at the waist.

"Well?", she asked, "What do you THINK? Should we TAKE this dare, or should we LEAVE it?"

The horse blinked his eyes, giving her a blank stare.

"Well, c'MON, now!", she said, her hands flying to her hips. "Let's HAVE it already!" She glared, but she couldn't glare for long, because Night Creature was strangely adorable, even when he was being difficult.

Laughing, she looked up at Kami.

"One MOMENT, please," she quipped, rolling her eyes and sighing smilingly.

Turning back to the horse, she folded her arms in front of her chest.

"Now, you CAN'T keep us WAITING!", she said. "You've just GOT to-"

The sudden whinny came right out of the blue at her, and then, she was being forced backward by a stubborn equine nose.

"NIGHT CREATURE!", she gasped, leaning close to kiss the top of his nose.

"Okay, okay. I guess that THAT counts as a sign." Turning to Kami, she nodded.

"It's a DEAL!", she said.
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Kami smirked and patted Bullet's neck. "After practice?" She asked reigning Bullet to the side, watching his feet carefully. Bullet had a few hoof problems a few years back, but Kami was always careful to make sure they didn't occur anymore. They were highly rare now, but it seemed to become an instinct to always keep an eye on the paint's feet.