Pony Rebellion (13 page)

“Perfectly!” I said truthfully.

Katy dragged Bean off with us, leaving the boys by themselves. “Jeez, Bean, you are tactless,” she said, frowning at her.

“Me? Why?”

“You could throw Declan a bone,” Katy said.

“What are you talking about?” asked Bean. Cat looked skyward, and Dee groaned.

“Declan,” hissed Katy.

“Declan?” asked Bean, frowning. “Why would he want a bone?”

“What Katy means, oh, clueless one,” said Cat, “is that my brother really likes you, and you could be nicer to him.”

“He's the secret admirer Gypsy Sylvia was talking about,” I told her.

“What? Who says he likes me? I'm sure you're wrong about that. And anyway, I'm not mean to him,” said Bean.

“Oh, Bean!” wailed Dee. “We're not wrong. He practically melts when you're around.”

“He can't take his eyes off you,” I said. “He totally has a crush on you!”

“It's almost disgusting, he likes you so much,” Cat added. “For goodness' sake, tell him you hate him and let him transfer his affection to someone else. He's been creeping around the house morosely ever since he started helping our activity ride—and why do you think he's helping us, anyway? My other brothers tease him mercilessly. Put him out of his misery, please.”

Bean looked thoughtful. “Awww, I think he's rather cute,” she said, breaking into a smile.

Cat groaned.

“And if Gypsy Sylvia was right about my secret admirer, she's got to be right about me going wrong on the activity ride, doesn't she?” Bean insisted.

“You've got to get that out of your head!” Katy told her.

“I don't want to worry anyone…” Dee began. “But people are actually sitting in some of the temporary seats in the arena. You don't think all these seats are going to be filled, do you?”

We looked. All the permanent seats in the gallery were already overflowing with spectators.

“But there are hundreds of seats!” wailed Cat, looking around.

“I wish I hadn't had that hot dog now,” I said, feeling really sick.

“Don't worry,” said Bean, “if you feel anything like I do, one way or another you won't have it for much longer.”

“You're right, Cat,” said Katy grimly. “There are hundreds of seats. And that means we're going to be performing in front of hundreds of people!”

“Oh no,” gulped Bean. “Maybe we should have joined the ponies in their rebellion.”

Privately, I agreed with her. Watching all the expectant faces, I was suddenly filled with an overwhelming sense of dread coupled with responsibility. What if Bean did mess up? Her track record with performances wasn't exactly impressive. This activity ride was suddenly much bigger and less fun than we had previously thought. It was serious—people had paid money to see us, and we were the finale. Looking around at the others, I could see the anxiety on their faces too.

I swallowed hard. This was turning into a pile of poo. And then things got worse.

“Pia, yoo-hoo!” shouted a familiar voice.

“Your dad's over there,” said Bean, pointing. “And he's got his ultra-girly girlfriend with him.”

Brrrr,” shivered Skinny Lynny, hugging herself, “it's freezing in here. Don't they have heating in this place?”

“Not really,” I sighed. “It's a riding school. They don't tend to equip riding schools with radiators.”

“Well, they should,” moaned Skinny. I couldn't see how she could be cold; she was wearing the biggest, puffiest down coat from her throat to her knees, sheepskin boots, big sheepskin gloves and a pair of black, fake-fur earmuffs on her head like huge ears. Usually her hair was dead straight, but today it bounced about her neck in curls. Dad had a protective arm around his trophy girlfriend.
He must have arms like an orangutan
, I thought,
for one of them to reach around that huge coat.

“How's Drummer?” asked Dad.

I nodded. “He's great,” I told him. “He's got a girlfriend. Her name's Bambi.”

Skinny Lynny snickered, like humans were the only creatures who could form relationships.
With other people's dads
, I thought.

“I see your little display is on last,” Dad said, waving the program at me.

“Which means we'll have to stay to the very end,” Skinny sighed, sounding like she'd hoped they'd be able to watch me and run. “We haven't eaten yet,” she explained.

“There's food on sale,” I said. Immediately I felt stupid. Skinny Lynny eating burgers or a hot dog? That was never going to happen. An oyster bar, perhaps, or gourmet canapés, but nothing wrapped in greaseproof paper with ketchup was going to tempt her.

“Is there a bar?” Dad asked hopefully.

“I don't know, Dad,” I said. “There might be one through there.” I pointed to a door below the gallery.

“Let's go and find out, OK, Lyn?” Dad asked. Skinny nodded, her teeth chattering, and they disappeared.

I let out the breath I'd been holding. I found them so hard to handle.

Miraculously Bean, who had sort of melted away as soon as Dad and Skinny moved in, reappeared by my side.

“I think I'll ask for a set of earmuffs like that for Christmas,” she said, looking at Skinny's retreating back. “I don't think I'll look like that in them, though.”

“What, like a panda? Anyway, Declan won't mind,” I told her. “You could wear one of Tiffany's old feed sacks and a saddle pad for a hat, and he'll still love you.”

She gave me a shove and actually blushed. “Shut up, will you? Come on,” she said. “I dare you to have your fortune told. I won't feel so bad if you do it too.”

“No way!” I replied, shaking my head. “I'm too scared after your experience.”

“Have you seen Alex Willard yet?” Bean asked, looking around as though he'd appear in front of her.

“No, not yet.”

“I hope we do. He's so cute,” Bean sighed.

“Bean, he's at least as old as my dad,” I told her.

“Yes, I know, but he's still cute,” she replied. I guess he was, in an ancient sort of way. We did another tour of the trade stands, and then Bean saw her mom and sisters in the crowd and said she'd better go and talk to them, seeing as they'd made the effort to come, so I looked around to see whether I could spot Mom and Mike-the-bike.
If they get here much later, they'll have to stand
, I thought. Most of the chairs had filled up, and people were leaving scarves or jackets on others to mark them as taken.

No sign of Mom. I saw James's parents—his glamorous mom was gazing intently at the silver jewelry, and his dad looked bored. I watched Sophie talking to Linda, the woman in charge of the RDA center. Sophie was pointing and Linda was nodding, no doubt they were finalizing arrangements for the ride. Mrs. Bradley and Nicky were munching on hot dogs—they gave me a wave—and I knew Leanne was around somewhere, having seen her in the crowd. I searched the sea of faces again for Alex Willard, knowing I wouldn't be able to see the demonstration of his I'd been looking forward to.

Still no sign of Alex, but I did spot Cat and Declan with a group of people I presumed to be their family—a woman, a man, another boy who looked like Cat and Dec (one of their other brothers, I thought)—and another woman with two young daughters. I did a double take. It was the same woman with the same two girls I'd seen at the yard a long time ago. The older girl had ridden Bambi. And before that, I remembered, she had turned up at the Sublime Equine Challenge and put one of the girls onto Bambi there, which had upset Cat. Looking at her now, Cat looked just as miserable. Declan was talking to the woman, but Cat was staring in the opposite direction, as though pretending not to be with the whole group, distancing herself. She looked completely desolate, like she was going to cry.
What is it about that woman?
I wondered. Every time she turned up she had the worst effect on Cat. And usually, her presence so upset her that Cat did horrible things. I hoped she wouldn't have the same effect on her today—it was bad enough with Bean convinced she was going to mess up.

That woman, I suddenly thought in a lightbulb moment, had to be somehow linked to the secret about Cat no one would tell me. I'd asked James and Bean and Katy about it, but they'd always hushed up whenever it was mentioned. It made total sense—every time this strange woman turned up, Cat went all crabby. She had to have something to do with it. But how?

I shuddered. I had a secret of my own—a two-thousand-year-old secret tucked safely in my riding pants' pocket that I hoped nobody would discover. Wasn't Cat entitled to her own secret too?

“Boo!” shouted a voice, and someone poked me in the ribs. I jumped about a mile, deep in tangled thoughts.

“I'd given up on you both!” I scolded, turning around to see Mom and Mike-the-bike grinning at me, their arms entwined like a pair of teenagers. “Didn't you come on the bike?” I asked. Rather unnecessarily, as there wasn't a leather jacket or a helmet in sight.

“Far too cold for motorcycles!” shivered Mom.

“Nah, you're just a baby,” teased Mike, squeezing Mom's arm.

“We've got a program—and your name's in it!” Mom said, her eyes wide in awe.

“I know,” I said.

“Well, we'll be watching you, fingers crossed!” said Mom, holding up both of her gloved hands to show me her fingers which were, indeed, crossed. Mike did the same.

“Sure you don't need it!” said Mike, winking at me.

I'd been playing the routine of the ride over in my head all day until I was sick of it. I wondered whether the hot dog I'd eaten really would put in another appearance before the night was over, my nerves were making me feel so ill.

Mom and Mike melted into the crowd. I looked back to where Cat had been, but only her family was still there. She and Dec had left them.
The strange woman looks like Cat's mom
, I thought. Only she had blond hair whereas Cat's mom was dark, like Cat.

“Aunt Pam!” I said out loud, the name popping into my head. Declan had said something about Aunt Pam coming to watch Cat and Bambi before…before what? Cat had shut him up—in the same way Drummer had shut Tiffany up before she'd let the cat out of the bag about the pony's rebellion. What had Declan been about to let out of the bag about Cat?

I heard someone else shouting my name and turned to see Katy beckoning me to go over to her, James, and Dee. Forcing my legs in gear, I wandered over to join them. Whatever Cat's secret was involved Aunt Pam, I was sure of it now.

And I was sure that I was closer than ever to discovering what that secret was.

I want you all in your activity ride gear by the time the extravaganza starts,” said Sophie bossily. “That way, we won't have to worry about lost ties and gloves. You can just tack up, mount up, warm up, and do it! Come on, get changed now. James—you can use the trailer.”

Sophie's immaculate living quarters in her motor home was transformed into a frantic changing room. We all climbed into our shirts, ties, and long boots, ready for the ride. It was chaos:

“Is my tie straight?”

“Get off my jacket, Bean!”

“Oh no, I've popped a button off!”

“Ahhhh, my shirt's all wrinkled!”

“My hairnet has a hole in it!”

“Of course it does. It's a hairnet!”

“No, one big one, I mean!”

“That's where your head goes!”

“Oh ha, ha, ha,
not!
”

“Could you move from the mirror and let someone else take a look?”

“Do you know your riding pants are on backward?”

“No way! Oh, they are. I thought they felt funny.”

“Anyone have a hairbrush?”

“Right, everyone stand still and let me look at you!” yelled Sophie, inspecting us like an army general surveying his troops, tucking in and smoothing down until she was satisfied.

“I can barely breathe in Leanne's jacket,” said Cat, looking worried.

“Mmmm, it does look a bit tight,” mused Sophie. “Do you think you'll be able to do all the movements in it?”

Cat nodded furiously, even though she looked doubtful.

“Well, you'll have to, won't you?” said Sophie. And she was right. It was too late to change things. “Didn't you think to try it on?” she asked Cat.

Cat shook her head. “I was sure it would fit,” she said, sucking in her tummy.

James arrived, having changed in the trailer, and Sophie gave him the once-over too.

“You could do with a hairnet too, James,” she told him. James grinned and rolled his eyes, knowing that was never going to happen.

“So do we pass inspection?” asked Katy, peering out of one of the windows. “It looks like the extravaganza is about to start, and I don't want to miss any of it.”

“OK,” said Sophie, satisfied. “But don't get dirty!”

We all ran to a row of seats near the door that had RESERVED on them and already held Leanne, Mrs. Bradley, Linda, and Dec. All the remaining seats were filled—which was terrifying. The arena was packed to the brim with spectators. The extravaganza was a sellout.

Sophie's friend Linda walked into the middle of the arena to give an introductory speech all about the work of the RDA and told the audience where they could get raffle tickets and refreshments and explained the program.

“I know you're all going to be thrilled by the amazing displays we have for you tonight,” she said, looking tiny as she stood in the middle of the vast arena and turned to address the sea of faces. “We've got the fantastic and famous Alex Willard who will be giving a splendid display of natural horsemanship, the incredible Jive Pony—I know you're going to love seeing the ponies dancing to the music—and our finale tonight is the Laurel Farm Activity Ride, with a thrilling spectacle of daring horsemanship.”

“Does she mean us?” hissed Katy.

“I feel sick,” Bean said.

“That's right, give us a big buildup, and then watch their faces as the anticlimax that's our activity ride hits them!” mumbled James.

“No pressure!” groaned Cat.

I said nothing. I didn't want the others to hear my voice quivering with fright. I didn't know whether I was shivering from cold or from cold, stark fear.

“But now…” Linda continued, and whoever was working the sound system activated a recording of “Silent Night” that boomed around the arena many decibels louder than intended before adjusting it to a more acceptable level, allowing the audience to lower their hands from their ears, “we hope you'll enjoy the Taversham RDA riders' and ponies' interpretation of the Nativity, and join in the carols—the words are in the program.”

The Nativity was lovely and the riders clearly all enjoyed themselves—waving to their relatives in the audience was part of the fun. The ponies were gorgeous too. From a tiny, gray pony with a forelock that reached to her nose playing the part of a sheep to a big, black-and-white pony carrying one of the wise men, they were so patient and so gentle with their riders. The helpers who were leading them clearly enjoyed themselves too. We all joined in the carol singing—forgetting our fears about the activity ride in the magic of the performance.

“Oh, that was so beautiful,” sighed Bean, wiping away a tear.

“Are you all right, Bean?” asked Declan, inching closer to the object of his desire and peering intently at her face.

“Yeah, I'm fine, really,” sniffed Bean, denying Declan another opportunity. “I'm just going to be the one to let everyone down, and you all have to remember to forgive me,” she said dramatically.

Katy shook her head and groaned at me, and I shrugged my shoulders back at her.

“What now?” asked James, leaning over my shoulder. I knew how Declan felt. I also knew that I could never let James know just how much I liked him. How embarrassing would that be?

“Jive Pony,” I told him. I'd been looking forward to this display.

Jive Pony was fantastic! A Highland pony called Ronan and his tricolored friend, Tinker, not only cantered around in circles while their riders, Rebecca and Rosie, vaulted on and off to music and did some amazing upside down stuff (and I thought hanging on to one side of Drummer while we popped over a tiny jump was impressive—it didn't even compare!), but they also did some steps to music from
Swan Lake
(with Ronan in a fluffy pink tutu) and many more amazing dances and tricks that were just incredible to watch. With Epona, as ever, in my pocket I could hear Ronan humming along to the music and scolding Rebecca whenever she was slow with the treats, and Tinker and he worked together like a couple of professional actors. Talk about cool! When Drummer and I had put a routine together for our Sublime Equine Challenge that had been hard enough even though I'd been able to talk Drummer through it—but Rebecca and Rosie didn't have an Epona to help them, which made it all the more impressive. With Jive Pony getting well-deserved thunderous applause, it was intermission time—our cue to get busy.

“Come on!” yelled Sophie, appearing out of nowhere to hurry us along. “Let's get going!”

As I got up, I caught sight of Mom and Mike-the-bike in the front row, and they both gave me the thumbs-up sign, accompanied by silly grins. I managed a half grin back in their direction.

“Who are those crazy people up there waving?” Cat asked no one in particular, pulling a disgusted face as she looked up toward the part of the gallery with a glass front.

I followed her gaze and saw Dad and Skinny Lynny jumping up and down. They'd found the bar.
Maybe they'll be tipsy enough not to notice any mistakes
, I thought. That would be a good thing. I really wished I hadn't eaten that hot dog. Huge mistake—right from the start. How dumb was I? Ugh!

Drummer was as cool as a cucumber and shared none of my anxieties.

“Is it our turn?” he asked, munching from his hay net. Pulling half-eaten, chewed-on bits of hay out of his mouth, I put his bridle on, my hands shaking.

“Oh, be careful. That was my eye!” he grumbled. “What's the matter with your hands?”

“I'm terrified!” I told him. “You won't believe the number of people out there waiting to notice the slightest mistake any of us makes.”

“Get a grip!” Drummer snapped. “We've done the routine millions of times. You must know it by now!”

“I know, I know, it's all going on in my head, over and over again. I know it by heart. It's just so scary doing it in front of so many people. What were we thinking? I mean, Bean's convinced she's going to mess up, and if she messes up, we all will. It could be a disaster!”

“They'll love it,” Drummer assured me. “And Bean's right at the back, so she only has to copy everyone else. Honestly, why are you so nervous? You know the routine by heart, you know you do!”

“What's up?” I heard Bambi ask Drummer as I led him down the ramp to join her in the parking lot.

“She's got cold feet,” explained Drummer. “What would you do with them, eh?”

“Don't ask me,” Bambi replied, yawning. “Cat's just told me she's scared to death she'll ruin it for everyone. What were the practices for?”

“Search me!” Drummer replied.

I looked across at Cat. She looked back at me.

“I'm terrified we'll mess everything up,” I told her, expecting her to poo-poo my lack of confidence.

Cat grinned at me. “Yeah, me too,” she said.

It was the first time we'd agreed on anything.

“You'll be great,” I offered, sensing an opportunity. “You and Bambi are awesome leaders.”

“I hope you're right,” Cat said grimly, pulling down her stirrups, “because we all have to be pretty amazing tonight.”

Mounting Drummer, I headed for the warm-up arena—an outside school adjacent to the big arena. The others were already riding around, and James was being extra firm with Henry who had virtually given up trying to wreck the ride, realizing that he only had to get through tonight and he could go back to being his usual horrible, uncooperative self with the soft-touch owner.

Our helpers were all dressed in black trousers and gray sweatshirts that Sophie had gotten for them, and they looked pretty cool. I hardly recognized Declan—apart from his hair, of course. He looked embarrassed because he was so clean-cut.

A few well-wishing parents gathered around the entrance as we trotted and cantered around, and Sophie yelled a few helpful comments such as, “Bambi's over-bent. Cat, loosen your grip a little,” and “Bean, shorten your reins. They're like washing lines,” and “Dee, don't let Dolly dawdle like that—she's hardly moving! Your ponies all need to be listening to you and responsive to your every command!”

“Jeez, she's wound up like an eight-day clock!” muttered Drummer.

“Yeah, like we don't know what's expected of us,” replied Bambi. “You'd think we had nothing to do with it and it was all down to the humans, heaven forbid!”

I concentrated on getting Drummer warm, without tiring him—he had a lot to do in the next ten minutes. It was freezing, and he kept trying to buck, which didn't help things. I ran the routine in my head three whole times and sighed. Drum was right. I knew it off by heart, thank goodness!

We could hear the Alex Willard demonstration in full swing—Alex had a microphone to help him explain to the audience what he was doing. I had hoped I'd bump into him outside, but our paths hadn't crossed. Gazing wistfully toward the doors, I wished I could be inside watching his fantastic and empathetic way with horses. It was something I never tired of watching. His announcement that he was starting on his final demonstration was Sophie's cue for the final countdown.

“OK, come over here one at a time to get your cloths on your ponies' front legs,” she told us. “Leanne, you're really good at this. Can you do Tiffany while I start on Dolly? And once your cloths are on, everyone, I don't want you splashing around in the outdoor school getting them dirty. Throw a rug over your pony's quarters and walk them around on the concrete to keep them warm,” she instructed us, bending down to clothe Dolly by the glow of the floodlights. With Henry and Bluey clothed as well, there was only Bambi and Drummer to do last. Drummer stood like a rock while Sophie bent down and wrapped his legs in green crepe, and Leanne did the honors for Bambi.

“You look great,” I heard Drummer tell Bambi. Bambi fluttered her eyelashes back at him and told him he looked very handsome.
They really are in love
, I thought.

“OK,” said Sophie, straightening up, “that's it. You all look very professional.”

We lined up in front of our trainer, our four helpers included, for a final inspection.

“You all know the routine,” Sophie said, eyeing us up and down. “Everyone knows what they have to do, so just go out there and enjoy yourselves!”

Was she joking?

“I don't think I can remember anything,” said Bean, shakily. Sophie frowned at her and snapped, “Don't start that nonsense, Bean. Of course you remember—once you get in there, it will all come back to you.”

No one mentioned Gypsy Sylvia. Sophie would have gone insane if she'd known about Bean's jaunt with fortune-telling. Closing my eyes, I played the routine again in my head. Left, right, pairs, two rides, line of jumps, arms outstretched, jackets off, jackets on, over onto one stirrup, pairs, broom handles in a diamond, broom handles in a cross, broom handles all abreast, line up for the backward roll dismount—it was all in there, waiting to be ridden out in the arena. I took a deep breath, letting it out slowly in an effort to calm myself. It seemed to help.