Firedance [Sunfrost]

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It was another beautiful day, the weather reflecting the time of year. Clear skies, a hot sun and a very slight breeze all added together to create the kind of atmosphere you might go on holiday during the winter to find. The sort of weather which was perfect for relaxing and having a good time. With the kids out of school, the world had a new sort of energy. Full of life and enjoyment, but not every one had the time to just kick back. The racing world was still, as always, on the go. There was never a day off when it came to animals, you couldn't just go on holiday and forget everything. It was a high-paced world and keeping on top of it meant working hard.

Mona was a beautiful animal, and she definitely deserved her rank as a grade one horse. With three wins to her name this year so far, she had made the rank and she was showing herself to be worthy of it. Race after race she came up against competition which was nothing short of tough and she proved herself time and time again by placing in the top three. In fact, Mona was probably one of the top three dirt horses at that moment in time and she could only continue to improve with her recent form.

Other horses, however, had not been performing so well. Through business relations, Silver Stride Stables had kept a strong link to Mona's birth stable - Stride Of Perfection Stables. The stable which had not only housed Mona when she was younger but continued to house her half-sister of the same age. A mare who had not been doing so well. It was because of this, and the fact that the competition would do both mares good, that Alexia had gained permission from Matthias to contact the other stable and arrange a workout. Sister on sister.

Mona walked out of the transport box with the conformation that had become part of her signature. A beautiful, flawless gait which would not have been out of place on a dressage horse. Her head was held high, her ears perked and she showed all signs of being alert. Mona did not know why she had been brought to the racecourse - no horse really could - but she did know what it usually meant. Running, and a chance to show off her beauty and superiority. Two of the things that she loved most.

[S u N f r O s t ~]

DASHING IN THE FIRELIGHT AND HENNA TURATH
FEATURING SPECTATOR KRYSTAL YHATE

Henna Turath was a changed, conflicting woman.

When she had won the Preakness Stakes after placing second in the Kentucky Derby aboard Flashy Wings, she had been ecstatic. And when Fire had finally won in the Summer Cup, she had still been ecstatic. But coming in fourth in the Who's More Youthful Stakes, after they had worked so hard for it, and worked hard all year, had been tough. Fire had been a champion last year, but was like she was losing her touch or something. She was stuck in grade two, with the potential for more but with huge obstacles somehow appearing in her path. It was like she couldn't surmount them as she had last year, and Henna could not figure out why. Fire was perhaps being worked the hardest out of all the SOPS horses. She rarely had a day off, but she wasn't being overworked, either. It was just the right amount of work for the five year old. Yet something had changed, and Henna had no idea what it was.

When she had been approached by Silver Stride Stables about this pair workout with Moondance, she had been curious. True, they had maintained a business relationship with the stable, but Mona was a grade one racehorse now who was doing better than her half sister. It had been a complete reversal of fortunes, as formerly Fire was actually doing better than Mona. Yet Henna couldn't refuse the chance to work with Fire's half sister. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up. Perhaps this was the missing ingredient into making Fire tick again. Perhaps all she needed was a little sibling rivalry to rev her up? Fire's determination still knew no bounds; perhaps she would channel that to her running today even more so than usual and reach new heights as a result?

Krystal Yhate walked alongside Henna, eagerly looking for her former mount. Mona had been hers at SOPS, and though she had been sad to see her go she had been thrilled with how Mona had clicked with the SSS crew. She was here today to see how her former mare was doing, and she was dying for the moment. She was also here for Henna, who looked like she needed some support after finishing fourth in her latest race. So here she was! And then she saw the beautiful bay mare ahead of her, and nearly left Fire behind. With a quick glance back at Henna and Fire, Krystal walked forward quickly, a broad grin already in place on her face. Hey. You must be the crew from Silver Stride. I'm Krystal Yhate. Henna is over there with Fire. How's Mona today? Krystal was excited and bubbly. Henna hung back with Fire, not yet approaching, appearing to be preoccupied in her own thoughts as her fingers played with strands of her mare's mane.

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Mona was certainly ready for a challenge. Her head held high, her dark eyes were scanning for her next opponent, her next opportunity to show off. Why else would she be here? This was her showground, she ruled the track in her own unique way and it seemed that her name had become a household one. Ever since her win in the Breeder's Cup Classic the previous year she had been considered a serious contender and while it was with Silver Stride Stables that she had managed to gain the title much of the foundation work had been done by Stride Of Perfection Stables. Alexia refused to take the credit for getting Mona to where she was, after all much of the work had already been done when she had taken the role of the mare's jockey from the Stride Of Perfection Stables staff.

Seeing Mona's sister struggling as she had been had somehow, and she was not really sure how, touched Alexia. The mare had performed well the previous year, had performed better than Mona on many occasions and would have easily matched her in a race right up until the end of December. At the end of the previous year, Alexia had seen the other mare as a good source of competition for her own ride and a serious competitor. At the beginning of this year, Fire had been able to easily keep up with Mona. Now she was slipping behind, and it was a shame to see the sibling rivalry waning.

Outside of Alexia's thoughts, something had caught the bay mare's attention. She had stopped and was staring in the direction of a van. Outside of the van were two women and a bay horse. From back here, she was unable to decipher the gender but was more than willing to take a guess that it was the SOPS team with Fire. Running a hand down the unsuspecting mare's neck she encouraged her to walk forwards and stopped to greet the woman who approached, leaving the other with the mare a small distance away.

"Hi Krystal. Thanks for coming out here today. As you can see, Mona is doing great," she said looking to the mare who had stretched her neck to try and greet the familiar face - someone she had been close to from the time she had been a young filly. "How is Fire doing?"

[S u N f r O s t ~]

Krystal ran her eyes over Mona's form, appraising her. Mona had left SOPS as a four year old that they hadn't had the hands to take care of. She had blossomed later on that year and even won the Breeders Cup Classic. Krystal had regretted selling the mare on but had thoroughly enjoyed watching her blossom. Now she would be a foundation mare for Silver Stride, their first champion, and Krystal was proud of this. You would think she would be upset to have lost such a horse, but Krystal was not. Though she rode only five horses for SOPS, the last of the three jockeys, her rides were amazing - Sillenia, Fire Dancer, Eternal Phantom...It was even more amazing that Krystal couldn't be upset with Henna for being upset with herself. Henna was a brilliant jockey. She rode Pegasus Wings, Flashy Wings, Sugar Jayde - and, of course, Fire. Yet she was upset. But Krystal understood why she was upset. It was performance that upset her.

Mona is doing great. She looks even better than she did last year. She's really grown into herself commented Krystal adoringly. As for Fire - well. You know just as well as I do about her lag in performance this year. I first I attributed it to the fact that Henna had so many mounts. She rides the most horses out of all of us. But there's something else missing now. Henna's a capable jockey. There's something up with the horse. Fire's worked with our best - Mystical Melody, Eternal Phantom, Fire Dancer, TDI Live This Lie - but something isn't clicking. I personally believe that if she works with her old stablemate, something will perk up in her. She grinned hopefully, but cast a concerned glance back at Henna and Fire. The pair were slowly walking over now, content to take their time.

The one I'm truly worried about is Henna. She's taking these losses to heart. It's been both a tough and rewarding year for her. I think she needs this she whispered. And here she comes...

Henna stopped Fire right in front of Mona and Alexia, to the side of Krystal. Fire was perking right up, as per usual, in the presence of competition. Her eyes stared straight at Mona unflinchingly, and a certain stillness about her betrayed great concentration. It was like every fiber of her being was currently attuned to Mona, waiting for her first move. Henna appeared to still be off in her own world. Her hand was still tangled in Fire's mane, still stroking the mare's neck. After about ten seconds of awkwardly standing there, Henna met Alexia's gaze and nodded a quiet greeting. Mona's looking good today she commented, eyes scanning her opponent's form. What kind of run were you planning to do?

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The truth was, Mona was doing nowhere as well as they had hoped. After an amazing win in the Classic last year, she had found herself with second-and-third-itis. Wins were far between, and she was so much more talented than that. She had what it took to deal with the likes of Born To Soar and Vindictive Fury yet time and time again she failed. It wouldn't have been so bad if she had been pulling in second places, but the majority of her results so far this year had been thirds and their was no real explanation for it. It was as if Mona was slipping away, yet to look at her she was on great form. Why she had stopped winning, having reached the heights she had, was not really clear. But whatever it was bugged Alexia more than a little. Fire, it seemed, had come across the same issue. If they wanted to keep performing well then they would need to step up the game.

"Here's to hoping, Krystal. Mona seems to be lacking a little of the competitive spirit as well. This work should kickstart the pair, and then we can show the world that these two sisters aren't going down for nothing." As Krystal mentioned her worry for her sister she nodded understandingly. Losses could weight heavy on a jockey, but if they let it get to them too much it was never a good thing. It could damage their performance further if they started to take everything to heart.

As Fire and Henna approached, Mona noticeably lifted her head, her audits flicking slightly. Of course, she recognised the horse before her. They had grown up together, were half sisters, and between them lay a great rivalry. Her tassel flicked slightly behind her, and she seemed unaware of what was going on with their human counterparts. What mattered now was her competition, and it was clear that there was something between the two mares. Alexia smiled to Henna. "Thanks, Henna. Fire's looking good too. I was thinking of perhaps running them over eight furlongs today. It gives them the distance to really get into things, and of course there will be sparks in the home stretch. What do you think?"

[S u N f r O s t ~]

The response from Fire as Mona approached was immediate and rewarding. The bold mare lifted her head up high, ears slightly back and eyes trained on her sworn competitor and half sister. Not only was she glaring, but she was daring, too, daring Mona to attempt to defeat her. Sure, they had raced against each other, and Mona had beaten her the majority of the time, but Fire appeared to be as unaffected as Henna had seen her this year. Fire had been down lately, suffering from her bad performance and the low spirits of her rider. But it was like seeing her rival perked her up. Henna wondered if this had been what Amber had felt when she rode Ario against Anarchi. Had this rush been the same? Had their mounts reacted the same, or differently? It almost felt like the crown of rivalry had been passed down to them.

Krystal grinned at Alexia's response. She was growing to like her already. It was good to know that Fire's plight may be shared by her rival. It meant they were on the same level, meaning Henna would have some extra motivation working for her. Krystal listened to Alexia's friendly but professional response and smiled when Henna responded in kind. There'll be more than sparks in the homestretch, there'll be Fire she said, and then grinned at her own use of words. Krystal felt relieved to see that smile breaking like a new dawn over Henna's face. It meant that she was looking past her inner depression over the failure of planned goals and maybe even moving on from it.

It sounds good to me. Fire personally prefers races a furlong longer, but she'll be fine if it's Mona she's racing against. Shall we warm up first? She sat in the saddle poised for action and ready to get the show on the road. Her words were an invitation to begin this race, this deadly dance between Fire and Mona.