The Sea Pony

By John Quinn

Six circus ponies are shipwrecked on a remote island. Abandoned, they survive, form families and create a happy community for themselves. After many years a third generation of young ponies become curious about the outside world. They have heard many stories told by their elders about exciting adventures on strange lands. These stories can tell step by step how their lives came to be on this island. One young pony in particular is destined to have an adventure of his own.

• Language: English
• Publisher: John Quinn
• Release date: Apr 21, 2022
• ISBN: 9780578397733

Book preview

Chapter 1

Apple Island

Did you ever look far down a street and wonder what might be found there, maybe around the corner? And if you looked out over the sea you might wonder what might be there, just over the horizon. Even if you stood at the far edge of a beach with your feet about to touch a wave you would still be no closer to knowing what is beyond those waves.

There could be an island far, far out at sea, farther than a person’s eye can see. And yes, it is over the horizon, but a little farther still. This wonderful place we will call Apple Island. A tiny island covered with high rolling hills and valleys of sweet green grass, but best of all are the apple trees. The hills are topped with apple trees and few others.

Many years ago this little island became the home of the Sea Ponies. Now these ponies look very much like their cousins on land, but sometimes their manes and tales might have a lovely sea green color. They were happy and content for the most part since they came to this ocean home, but they were a curious and inquisitive race. As you will see, sometimes their curiosity led them to many wonderful places like their Apple Island home, but at other times it could lead them to seemingly endless trouble.

One of the most curious and adventurous of all the ponies was young Sea Star. He was named Sea Star perhaps because he was born with a nearly perfect white star under his tousled forelock. Sea Star lived happily on Apple Island with his mother Eve, his father Graymore, and his sister Moonlight. There was also Grandmother Minerva and, finally, Midnight his Grandfather. Even though Star loved all his family very much, Midnight was his special friend. Midnight understood Sea Star’s adventurous spirit very well because he was even more of a wanderer himself. When Grandfather Midnight was a young pony he spent many years roaming over strange seas and strange lands. Midnight lived and worked with people and animals of the land and learned their ways. He helped fishermen pull their nets onto shore and learned how they made fires to stay warm in the cold wind. He walked deep valleys and climbed high mountains. He saw buildings as tall as a mountain and a statue as tall as the highest building. There were great ships with wings like a seagull that could take to the air and fly away. These are only a few of the stories Midnight would tell Sea Star along with his friends and neighbors. On some cool nights when their work was done, they would build a big drift-wood fire on a high hill over the sea. There Midnight was like one of the shadows around the fire because his coat was as dark as the darkest night with only a few white spots that looked like stars. Around the fire ponies would gather to listen to Midnight and the elders tell stories of their past. But for the young ponies of Apple Island, the memories of their past were also the dreams of what could be. They played for hours along the shore and beneath the waves below their home and dreamed of adventures of their own.

Star was especially anxious to see what lay beyond the horizon. He patiently watched the sea for a glimpse of a vessel from the land of the people. He searched the sky in hope of seeing one of their great flying ships, but he saw only seabirds drifting lazily around Apple Island.

Don’t go too far! Don’t swim too deep! mother often called to Star and his friends. At first only the bravest of the young ponies would dive from the high cliffs into the sea far below, just like the elders taught them. But bolder still were the ponies who first ventured beneath the waves at the shore. The elders taught them to dive, but the younger ponies loved to swim and explore below the waves. They tried to stay below longer and longer but could not stay as long as the Grays. The ponies thought the Grays looked like fish, and swam like fish, but they would often pop to the surface for a breath of air just like ponies. The Grays were wonderful friends when they came to visit.

Mother didn’t understand why anyone would want to return to the depths of the sea. Only Grandfather and the elders remembered the terrible storm that brought them here. They came from that wild and stormy place to this comfortable island home where the grass was sweet. And the apples!

Now horses and ponies of the land like apples, but the Sea Ponies had their pick of the most delicious apples red and gold and green almost all year ever since Midnight and his friends found this beautiful place.

Sea ponies love apples. They would eat them every day all year long if they could but they could not. Because when the long cool nights of fall came, the last apples of the year fell to the ground. Ponies gathered heaps of apples, some gold and green but most the reddest red, all bruised and turning to mush. If only they could keep them longer—but there was nothing that could be done. They tried keeping their apples in cool caves by the sea, but the piles were too heavy and the floors of the caves were too damp. They dug great holes in the ground and made soft beds of grass in which to lay their apples but the cold rains of winter ruined their plans.

Chapter 2

Treasure

But the day came when Sea Star, with his adventurous spirit found the solution to their problem. That was the morning when Star was feeling especially curious. He swam and walked along the shore of Apple Island for hour after hour. Every cave and cove along the way was explored thoroughly. Eventually Star had ventured so far that he found himself on the far side of the island. The ponies rarely visited this shore of Apple Island. There were no soft sandy beaches, only hard pebbles and great jagged rocks sticking up out of the wild surf. Star had seen this shore once before, but only looking down from the high rocky cliffs from which it was very difficult to climb down. Now, to his excitement, he was down at the water’s edge and he anxiously pushed beneath the waves to see what might be there.

Whoa Nelly! Star exclaimed as he half slid and half fell down a steep undersea bank, skidding and bouncing trying to avoid jagged rocks all the way down. He landed in a heap at the bottom of the hill onto a soft bank of white sand. Below the bank was deep and black. Whoa Nelly! he said again as he looked up from the bank. Star had often heard Grandfather Midnight say this same thing when he was a surprised or astounded by something. Star didn’t know what it meant exactly but it seemed like the appropriate thing to say at this moment because what he saw before him certainly was surprising and astounding.  

Through the waving seagrass and swirling sand he saw the remains of a very old ship that was ruined on these rocks. It was a great ship of the land people—the first that Star had ever seen. Star felt a little sad as he looked at this unfortunate craft, but he was sure that its people had