Applewood Acres

*By SparkleKiewert*

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Chapter 1=
A dull, autumn sun was shining above Applewood Acres, while Akira saddled up Bunny, her Appaloosa palomino mare. Over to the next stall, Kylie (or Kyl for short) was leading Serene, her white mare with a black mane and tail. Bunny stamped her foot, clearly impatient to get out and run. Akira led Bunny out to the paddock, hopped into the saddle, and had started off in a trot when a truck came up threw the drive, hauling a horse trailer. "New rider, wouldn't you say, Bunny?" Akira whispered to Bunny, patting her neck. Almost if she understood what Akira had said, she whinnied in a spirited sort of manner. The truck stopped, and a man & two girls jumped out, the two girls going toward the trailer to unload their horses. "Hi! You must be new here." Akira had dismounted Bunny, and put her in the loose pen. Walking toward the man, he replied "Yep! My daughter and niece just got new horses, and I heard that this was 4 and a half star rated for boarding and riding lessons." Akira nodded, and walked over to the girls. "Welcome to Applewood Acres!" she said happily. "Thanks for the welcome, I'm Dakota" the tall, darker haired girl answered. "I'm April.. Nice to meet you." the shorter girl said shyly. Dakota went into the trailer and led out a black quarter horse with a white marking on his forehead. "This is Smokey." she said as Smokey gave a sheer whinny. April brought out her horse as well, that turned out to be a white Orlov Trotter stallion with grey dapples and black socks. Making a gesture for April and Dakota to follow her, she led them into the stables to two open stalls. "Ash and Smokey can stay here. I'll show you where the tack room is." Akira said, walking down the way to the second door on the left. "Here's the tack room. I'm pretty sure you can figure out everything else, but just one warning, if Gwen tells you to do something, check in with Harlyn. She's the rebel here at Applewood." Akira winked and exited the stables to take bunny inside. Leading Bunny to the cross ties, Akira took the tack off of Bunny & gave her a good scrub down, putting fresh water & hay down for her in her stall. Picking up the tack, she carried it to the tack room & put the saddle and saddle pad down on her rack. Someone shouted loudly from outside, and another shout followed it. The horses spooked, the stables were filled with whinnies and sheer whistles. Marching outside, Akira and three of the other riders (Luke, Harlyn, & Joel) ran out to see what was going on. Outside, Alfie and Gwen were bickering over who knows what. "Gwen, Alfie, what on earth are you doing?!" Luke demanded. Luke looked at Alfie, who was covered in water, and then Gwen, who was holding a empty bucket. "Alfie, what happened." he asked. "I was leading Diablo to his stall after I rode him on the trail, when lil' miss water bucket over here dumped it over my head." Alfie muttered angrily. "Where's Diablo then?" Akira asked, showing a slight tone of worry. "He ran off when Gwen poured the water on me." Alfie said, calming down a bit. "Gwen go clean out everyone's stalls." Joel ordered. Gwen grumbled, and walked off toward the stables.
Chapter 2=
Staring after Gwen, Alfie started to walk off at a quick pace. "Where are you going, Alf??" Akira inquired. "I'm going to see if I can find Diablo. He was galloping toward the trail threw the woods." Alfie replied. "I'll help you look for him, if that's okay with you." she offered, and Alfie nodded. Joel, Luke, and Harlyn looked at each other, and as if they had the same idea, Luke stepped forward and said "We'll give you both a hand also." Smiling slightly, Alfie gestured for them to follow him up the trail. A few minutes later, the group reached a fork in the road. "Should we split up? 2 of us can go one way, 2 another, and 1 of us can go to the other." suggested Joel. "Me and Harlyn will take the left." Luke smiled, grabbing Harlyn's hand, the two walking off. "I'll go straight ahead, if that's alright with you both." said Joel. Alfie nodded briefly, and Akira & Alfie started walking down the right trail. "So, how long have you owned Diablo?" she asked, trying to start a conversation. "For as long as I can remember. He was my first horse." Alfie answered faintly. "Wait. Hoof prints." he uttered, kneeling down to inspect them. "Akira, these look fresh. It must have been Diablo!" Alf was starting to look excited, his eyes flashing slightly with hope. Starting to run, Akira and Alfie blazed down the trail, trying to find any sign of the black quarter horse. Skidding to a stop, they spotted a small patch of grass about 15 yards away, where Diablo was grazing. Running toward him, Alfie patted Diablo's neck, grabbed his reins, and hopped into the saddle. "Hey, is it okay if I take him back to the stables?" he asked, and Akira nodded. In an instant, they were gone. Standing alone, Akira dialed Luke's phone number to tell him that they had found Diablo. When no one answered, Akira shook her head and muttered something to herself. Putting in Joel's, she waited while it ringed. "Hello this is Joel" the phone sounded. "Hey Joel, we found Diablo a few minutes ago." Joel made a sound that was something like an mhm, "See you back at the ranch." Hanging up, Akira started to walk back, suddenly realizing how late it was.