Chapter 6

Several weeks pass, and spring is almost over. As the weather changes, Yuto and Jennifer rush to get the last harvest in before summer. Luckily the horse derby has arrived in Mineral Town. Yuto and Jennifer decide to attend the festival so they can have fun and relax before they start working harder when the summer finally comes around.

At the horse derby, Yuto roots and cheers for the horses that rush past him one by one. He has placed several bets on the horses hoping that the one he picked wins first place to earn medals. Jennifer just sits on the fence watching him act like an excited child. The horses race on until they cross the finish line. Once again, the horse that Yuto bet on ends up in last place.

“Dammit!” shouted Yuto tearing up his tickets. “That’s three losses in a row! I keep picking the horse with the highest payout, and they always end up in last place! This race must be rigged!”

Jennifer giggles and says, “you do know that the horses with the highest payout tend to have the lowest odds of winning.”

“Really? I wish you would have told me sooner, I spent all my money on these races.”

“Well, is this a good idea to begin with? I mean, we should be saving up as much money as we can, but you seem to be quite comfortable spending the money on these races.”

Yuto shakes his head no and answers, “this is just my own personal spending money. My mom and dad still sends me an allowance every now and then to enjoy myself.”

Jennifer nods. Since the races are over for the day, Yuto heads over to a booth where Mayor Thomas is exchanging medals for prizes. Since he has not won any races, he didn’t win any medals to exchange for prizes. He still decides to go window shopping to see what kind of prizes he could win in the future. In the display case, Thomas has a good collection of gifts for girls such as lotion, perfume, necklaces, broaches, and other interesting items. He then looks at Jennifer wondering what types of gifts she may like.

As he continues to look through the items in the display case, his eyes widen as he notices another piece of the Jewel of Truth just resting among the other prizes. Her calls Jennifer, she then shrieks when she sees it there as well.

Thomas then notices them and greets, “good day Yuto. Do you see something that you may like to exchange for medals?”

Yuto points at the piece of the Jewel of Truth and yells, “that! How much is that gem worth?

Thomas looks down at the jewel shard and answers, “oh this thing? I’ll take a thousand medals for it.”

“One thousand medals?” Yuto asked in a shocked tone.

“Why so much? All the other items in the case is worth much less,” asked Jennifer.

Mayor Thomas sighs sadly and answers, “my dear departed wife found it a long time ago. Saibara has no idea what it is, but he says that it’s rare and surely valuable. I didn’t want to offer it as a prize, but I had no choice considering Mineral Town’s economy. I apologize if it seems expensive, but it has great sentimental value.”

Yuto and Jennifer look at one another and feels bad for Mayor Thomas. They wanted to try and convince him to let them have it, but they couldn’t do it after hearing Thomas’ story. Yuto then says, “maybe we should just give up on collecting these things. They are too hard to collect, and we don’t have that much time.”

Mayor Thomas thinks for a moment then says, “you know, there is another way you can earn it. You see, we are always looking for more people to participate in the horse derby. I always offer something in the display case as a prize along with a trophy to those who win first place. If you can win a derby, then the gem is yours.”

Jennifer looks at Yuto and asks, “should we enter in the derby?”

“It’s not a bad idea, but we don’t have a horse,” answered Yuto.

“You can get one from Mugi,” interrupted Thomas. “He breeds horses, and he participates in the derby himself. I’m sure he can help get you one.”

Yuto and Jennifer look at one another again and nod cheerfully. Once they return to the farm, they both make a plan to go to to Yodel Ranch to buy a horse. They are not sure if they can afford one, but they hope that they have enough money from the spring harvests.

The next day, they find themselves at the Yodel Ranch. They see a collection of animals being raised at the ranch including a variety of colored cows, sheep, alpacas, and horses. They are greeted by Mugi who is working at the desk in the ranch house. “Welcome you two. I’m sure you are from the farm on the other side of the road. Did you come to buy one of my prize winning sheep or cow?”

“Actually, we need to buy a horse,” answered Yuto.

Mugi is surprised to hear him say that. He strokes his beard and says, “well I’m sorry, but I don’t sell horses.” Yuto and Jennifer look at one another in shock and confusion. Mugi continues, “please don’t misunderstand, I do own and care for the horses in this ranch, but I only use them for racing in the horse derby. At least I did once upon a time. I am old now, so I hire a jockey to race in my stead.”

“But we heard that you breed horses,” said Yuto.

“Yes I do. Many horse owners from other towns come to breed their horses with mine. It’s been a long time since I bred a horse for myself,” answered Mugi.

Yuto and Jennifer sigh in disappointment. “I guess we can’t get a horse after all. I mean we can get one imported, but that makes buying one so much more expensive. Maybe we should give up on getting a horse,” said Yuto.

“I understand why you feel that way, but we need to win a horse derby. There must be another way,” answered Jennifer.

Mugi smiles and says, “if you really need a horse to race in the derby, I think I can help you.”

Yuto and Jennifer looks at Mugi curiously. Mugi then leads them into his horse stable in the back of the ranch. Inside the stable, Yuto and Jennifer sees all the pens where Mugi’s horses sleep at night. Mugi’s strong and finest horses are outside grazing on the early morning dew filled grass. Any of them would make fine race horses for Yuto to ride. On the back of the stable is a small pony tied to a post. The pony is frightened at first seeing two strangers enter the stable, but Mugi is able to calm it with nothing but his touch.

Jennifer gasps as she walks up to the pony slowly to pet it’s forehead. Seeing how gentle Jennifer touches it puts the pony at ease. Yuto also dares himself to touch it’s brown fur which causes the pony to make happy noises. Jennifer blushes as it gently nudges her, “it’s so cute! I especially love it’s diamond shaped white patch on it’s head. How old is it?”

Mugi answers, “this little guy was born in this stable last season. My last client bred his horse with mine and ended up with twins. The client only wanted one horse, so he took the other one and left him behind. I don’t have anymore room for horses in my ranch, but you two can have it if you can promise to give it love and care.”

“Are you serious?” asked Yuto excited. He then checks the pony one more time then says, “I was really hoping for a full grown horse, but-”

“We accept!” interrupted Jennifer. She then pets the pony some more before asking, “so, what’s his name?”

Mugi strokes his beard as he answers, “I never game him one. Why don’t you two give him one?”

Yuto thinks about it for a few minutes then answers, “I think we’re going to need some time before we pick out a name.”

“That’s perfectly fine. Why don’t you get your stable ready, and I’ll deliver the pony tomorrow afternoon to your farm. I’m sure he will be a great addition to your family,” said Mugi.

Yuto and Jennifer nod cheerfully. After thanking Mugi for the pony, they both rush back to the farm so they can get the stable ready for the pony’s arrival. The next day, Yuto and Jennifer spends all morning cleaning the old stable at the farm. Jennifer sweeps out all the old hay, dust, and dirt out of the stable while Yuto climbs a ladder to clean out all the spider webs and other bug infestations. By noon, the stable is as good as new. Soon after, Mugi arrives with the pony along with fodder and anything else Yuto needs to care for it.

After Mugi leaves the farm, Jennifer pats the pony on it’s diamond shaped patch on it’s forehead. She can feel it’s happy energy because of it’s very own stable and pen. She then looks at Yuto and asks, “did you come up with a name?”

“I thought about it all night, and I chose the name Dusty!”

“That is an unusual name. I was hoping for something a bit more elegant or spiritual like ‘Diamond Destiny’. Why did you choose that name?” asked Jennifer.

Yuto places his hands on his hips to announce cheerfully, “because when he is old enough to race, he will leave the competition in the dust.”

“How competitive of you,” Jennifer said sarcastically. She then pats the pony some more then continues, “but I can feel that he likes that name, Dusty it is then.”