Even I’m shocked by my newly discovered confidence. I no longer mope around; instead, I make myself useful by doing the laundry, getting groceries or washing dishes. The hotel room is eerily quiet. (Rachel went to run errands.) Bored, I plop down on the couch and close my eyes, hoping to have a vision. But the only thing I see is Chase’s face. Frustrated, I sit up. Every time I close my eyes, he’s there, and he’s distracting me. I now only have two days left and no time for being distracted. My confidence wavers a little.

I need to focus.

For ten minutes, I lay with my eyes closed, hands clasped, whispering, “You can do this, Jamie. Concentrate.” However, because I have never tried to have a vision before, my attempts yield only a headache. I sit up, head throbbing, wondering what I’m going to do. I only have two days left, and I have had no visions recently. I have no new clues for where I need to be. Just as I’m about to give up, my vision is blackened and I find myself in the most vivid vision I have ever had. I’m in the car. I see the billboard, the calendar, the hedge, and an oncoming truck, swerving as if he has lost control of the two-ton vehicle. The usual screams fill my ears, and my instinct is to panic.

Realizing I have only a few seconds to gather clues, I take a deep breath and scan my surroundings. After only a split second, I’ve spotted a building that I recognize. I saw it in a magazine Ms. Ashton had.

Just as I am pulled out of my vision, Rachel enters the room.

“Jorvik City!” I yell.

“What?” she looks startled.

I stare at her, wide-eyed. “I need to go to Jorvik City.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, we’re in the car and on our way. My head is swimming with anxieties and the lurking knowledge that I am going to die sometime the next day. As I stare out the window, watching the scenery pass and knowing that this is only the beginning of our day-long drive, I can’t bring myself to think of my life outside of this. Miss Ashton, Rachel, Chase, Rose, the farm… For the first time I can remember, I don’t care if there’s a family and a life I’m missing out on. All I want is what I had. But I’ll never have it again.

A tear rolls down my cheeks. Tomorrow, I’ll cease to exist. I’ll still be living somewhere, but that’s not me. It may look like me, and she may have the same personality and lost memory as me, but she’s not me. What I have realized is that I stopped existing in two places as soon as I started making new memories. If that girl – the one who’s still alive – is me, then she’d have the same life and memories as me. She doesn’t. She has a family, a family that belongs to me but I will never know. She has dreams, dreams that may have once been mine but are now lost.

I no longer want my old life – her life… I just want this life.

My life.

______________

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Hi, all!

First off, I owe you all an apology. Shortly after the release of Jorvik City, my laptop struggled to support the game. It was playable but with the amount of lag and wonky physics I experienced, the game slowly lost it’s interest to me. I had stopped posting because of that. I’m sorry for not updating you all sooner. But in other news, barring unforseen computer meltdowns, I am back for good. My awesome boyfriend gifted me a (mostly complete) gaming PC for Christmas. He still had to source a hard drive and OS. We also were waiting on some changes to our apartment to be able to allow room for two computers. We’ve gotten things up and running on mine and today I logged in to the game for the first time in a long time (I was still wearing my Christmas outfit, oh dear!)

I am working on getting caught up on messages and quests on my main account and then will be updating the blog. My first order will be to update the horse guide, since that is the most frequently viewed page on the site. My plan is to have that done by this coming week. I do have family coming in to town this weekend but I have plenty of free time on week day evenings, so it shouldn’t take too long to do.

After updating the guide, I will be returning to regular quest updates. I also will be writing a section about the SSO Horses app.

I want to thank all of you for your patience and for sticking with me though this. I’m sure if my favorite site stopped updating after two months, I might give up hope for it, but many of you haven’t. And I want you all to know that has not gone unnoticed or unapprciated.

You all are the reason I do this and you really are the stars of this site.

As always, much love and happy riding!

Maggie ❤

Edit: I have gotten several questions about how to be a contributor. If you are interested, please send me an email to [ssoridethrough@yahoo.com] with a synopsis and short sample (700-1000 words) of your story. There is no age or style requirement, only a basic grammar ability. You will also be required to make an account on WordPress, as that is how you will be able to access and post on the blog.

BANG

“Hello!? Anyone alive in there!?”

Antonia started her day with a rather fun awakening. After looking around wildly and trying to hide under her covers, she finally realised no one was trying to break down her door, it was just someone obnoxiously knocking on her door. Toni groaned at her stupidity and laid back down, trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes. “Who is it!?” she yelled at the person irritably. It was too early for this!

“Who do you think it is?”

It took Toni a few seconds to figure it out, but when she realised  who she grumbled a few words under her breath. Julie. It was Julie. 

“Get up, get dressed, get moving! Justin wants to see you, now!” Julie barked at her.

“Alright, alright! Keep it down, I’ll be out in a minute!” Toni snapped back at her bitterly. With a small huff, Julie went back to her duties as a stable-hand. Once she had dispersed, Toni collapsed back on her pillow, her hair fanning everywhere. She hated mornings. Julie just made it worse, too.

About five minutes passed of her just laying there, so she finally decided it was a good idea to haul herself out of bed. After that ordeal with Julie, it was clear to her that staying here for the summer was an awful idea. Sighing, she absentmindedly threw on whatever clothes were closest to her, jeans and a plain old tank top apparently. She looked down at herself and shrugged, good enough!

Looking in the mirror and seeing the same old girl staring back was the worst part of the morning. She was tall and slender and her eyes have always been that same shade of deep blue-green, but what really struck Toni was her hair. It was very long, flowing well past her hips in gentle waves (her reasoning is she just doesn’t feel like ever cutting it), however the bizarre thing about it was how it was so light it looked pure white.

It really made her stand out from the rest of her family. Well, what used to be her family anyway. She blinked at her reflection. If only… 

BANG 

“GAH!” she shrieked as she leaped backwards, startled. Toni’s thoughts were interrupted once again by that same obnoxious knocking by that same girl who dropped by a little earlier.

“Antonia! It’s been ten minutes! Ten. Minutes!”

“Sorry, sorry! I’m coming!”

“Well hurry up!”

After taking one last glance at the mirror, she dashed outside to meet Julie, who was tapping her foot impatiently on the wooden porch. The way she was glaring down at her actually almost scared Toni, and she followed Julie with no questions asked.

Together, they walked down to the same place Toni had met Justin for the first time. In better light she could now truly see what the place looked like, but quite honestly she couldn’t care less about it. The only thing she could keep her eyes on was the dark bay horse tied peacefully to one of the many hitching posts of the stable, all saddled up and ready to go.

Toni leaned over and whispered in Julie’s ear, “is that my horse? The one I’ll be riding this summer?”

Julie shrugged back, “I don’t know. Probably.” she answered.

She clearly got over that anger this morning… Toni thought as the two stopped in the middle, where Justin turned to greet them. “Antonia! Glad you could make it.”

Julie huffed at both of them and then trekked her way back to the stables, where she resumed duty. At this Toni cracked the slightest smile. I guess she didn’t!  Toni let out a small chuckle, man, that girl was sure annoying!

Justin smiled politely at her and beckoned her over with his hand. “Come over here and meet your horse!” he said.

Toni’s smile immediately fell back into a frown and her face paled a bit, her good mood dripping away. “U-uh…” she stuttered, “are you sure I should be riding a horse, I mean I could just-”

“Antonia,” he cut her off, “I’m certain you’ll be fine. Sienna is a very trustworthy horse, she’d never hurt anyone on purpose. Besides, your father mentioned something about you having past riding skills?”

“Well, I guess…” she responded, but bit her lip in worry. Why would her father tell him that? The past was supposed to be past…

“Perfect. Now get over here!” he laughed. Toni sighed and trudged over to reluctantly join him. Rubbing her arm shyly, she scanned over all the little details of the horse. She felt her eyes suddenly widen.

Justin grinned and gently patted the horse. “I’d like you to meet Siennasecret, your horse for the summer. I think you’ll really like her…”

But Toni didn’t hear a word he said, instead she stared at the horse with her wide eyes, and suddenly her horse was staring right back at her. Her heart dropped. Sienna’s large eyes were dark amber, and staring into them told Antonia that something was horribly wrong. It suddenly felt as though she could see into future, because this twisted island’s fate was about to come crashing down.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

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Hey all!

Hope you are having a great week!

I know this week’s update news was a little misleading, so let me give you the scoop: The seal update is NOT a quest! It is only a store, located on an iceberg. There is no reputation needed to be able to access the store. You do have to have access to Harvest Counties. The iceberg is located on the coast of Forgotten Fields, near the Sleeping Widow Tree (or along the north-west coast, if you have not done that part of the story yet). The iceberg is huge, you can’t miss it! Run onto the iceberg and follow the large snow spires, out toward the sea and Cape West Fishing Village. The shopkeeper is there with the seals all lined up on a log.

The seals themselves, all cost Star Coins, and there is about 8 or 9 different ones to choose from. They are moderately priced, all about 50 Star Coins each. There are also a few exclusive saddle bags that can be purchased with either Shillings or Star Coins.

I think the seals are super cute and definitely worth the money. XD

Have a great day and happy riding!

❤ Maggie

Sorry I wasn’t able to post this yesterday, was busy with real life stuff.

I was going to post a scary video but to make up for missing yesterday, I’ll post a super cute and funny one instead!

Hope you all had a safe Halloween (if you celebrated it) and hope you all have a great weekend!

— If you did celebrate, what did you dress up as?

— How many of you think this kitten handled the giant spider better than some people would? 😉

(It’s a remote controlled spider, by the way. Not a real one!)

Hey all.

I want to address a topic that is very solemn and hard to discuss but for my own sanity it must be said.

-Deep breaths- The topic is suicide.

Last night my best friend attempted suicide. He texted me and a few other people right before, and had I not thought it weird, he would have died. I live a good distance away from him so I could not go check on him personally. I phoned his partner to go home, and he was found passed out in the bathtub, wrists slit.

If this makes you sick, it should.

We are all numb and dumb-struck. Why didn’t we see the signs sooner? Why didn’t he say something? How could he do this to us?

It’s all a tangled mess of emotions. I am so overloaded by feelings that I don’t feel anything anymore. I feel lost and confused, and my eyes hurt from crying until I can’t cry anymore.

As you are reading this, I want you to ask yourself: Would you wish this on your very best friends? Your closest family?

If the answer is no, then why do you joke about it online?

I have seen it more times than I care to count; internet bullies threatening suicide to get attention. And then there’s always the news stories about the people who actually went through with it, leaving everyone in its wake shocked and dismayed. By acting like that, all you do is take attention away from those who are serious and really need help. You mock their pain and suffering for your inflated ego.

And then there are those, like Sam, who don’t say anything at all. Their pain is hidden deep inside or disguised in other emotions; all of it desperate pleas for help.

So please, next time you decide to pretend to commit suicide, think. Who am I hurting by doing this? Whose real plea will be drowned out because of my phony one? Is this really worth it?

And if you are considering suicide, remember that you can get help and there are people who care about you. Don’t act irrationally. Think of those whose lives will be changed forever without you in it. Even if you feel you can’t talk to anyone, there is at least one person in the world who will listen to you. That person is your lifeline at the Suicide Prevention Hotline. Call anytime, day or night, to talk to someone and they will listen, and they will help. No matter what.

In the US 1-800-273-TALK (8255)

You can also visit the website to learn more about the signs or to find help in your area; Suicide Prevention Lifeline

This stuff is real, guys, and it is no laughing matter.

______________

For the time being I will be semi-hiatus. I will continue to check the blog and play SSO, if only for stress relief. Please be patient if you are waiting for a response from me.

I have a good support network of friends and family. I will be okay.

Please pray for Samuel Byrns and Jacob St. Clare.

Hey all!

I really love the discussion going on in the comments and I thought that opening a forum might be easier for friendly conversations. All of the regular info will still be posted on the blog, but I feel this will be better to allow discussion and a creation of more of a community around the game.

The board is hosted on ProBoards and it functions as a regular message board. To be able to post, you must be a registered user. To ask questions without registering, please continue using the blog pages comments. Contests and other reader participation events will now be posted on the forum. It will make entries easier to track (instead of having them spread out through my email, blog comments, and Facebook). I am still in the process of working up the forum, but registration is now open so come and check it out!

SSO Ride Through Discussion

Edit: April Fools!

Thanks everyone for being a good sport. I am still working at the stable, not taking over, and I will be still working on the blog.

Love you all!

—

Hey all.

I’ve been busy with working at the stable full time. Ted has liked me so much he has given me control of the whole stable, so I have a lot of new responsibilities to take on. I wanted to announce that I will be leaving the blog and I want to find someone else to take control.

Please comment on this post if you fit the following criteria.

• Know nothing about Star Stable Online
• Have never run a large viewer-base blog
• Has no passion for horses or helping other players
• Wants to run my blog and do what they want

I will choose the person to take over by the end of today, as I have many real horses to go take care of. Please make sure to list your qualifications and reasons for wanting to take over the blog. During the day, while I am out working with all my horses, Hazel Raindawn will be moderating the comments. So please be nice. Fighting over the blog will only lower your chances of me choosing you.

I will always love you all. Have a good day and happy riding!

Hey all!

It’s a question I seem to be getting a lot lately. I haven’t posted about it earlier because I assumed it was something that was pretty straightforward but I understand that many of you are younger players and this may be your first online game.

So allow me to explain…

First, the reason you have to verify your email is so that the game staff know you are not a spambot and also they know that your email address is a reliable way to reach you should they need to contact you regarding your account. When you sign up for websites, be sure to read the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. They are required by law to state if they will sell your information for advertising. And also by accepting the ToS, you are accepting the rules of the website, and should you break them, you can be punished accordingly, whether you actually read the rules or not. (You can read more about specific Star Stable rules you should pay attention to here: Click to read!)

To be able to use the chat boards on the game you need to have verified your email address. When you signed up for the game, you should have received a message to the address you used to sign up. Be sure to check any/all spam folders you have, as I have had them sent there once or twice, instead of to my main inbox. If the message is not there, or you accidentally deleted it, no worries! Just log into your account on the game webpage and click ‘My Account’ on the top of the screen.

This page will give you options purchase a Star Rider membership, update your account info (i.e. change your password, contact name, and email address), and this is where you will find the link to send a new email verification message. On the top of the screen, right below the Play Now button, you’ll see your email address, your account type, and a link to send a new message.

You will then be taken to a screen that prompts you to enter the verification code. You can open a new tab or go directly to your email. You can copy and paste the code directly from the message, or there is a link in the message that will take you to that screen.

Hope that helps and if you have any other questions, please feel free to ask!

Just wanted to let you know I am still here.

Unfortunately, Rita’s star rider has ended, and I won’t have the money to upgrade her again until the end of the holidays. So it will be at least another month or more. I do not want to leave the blog sitting to that amount of time, but until I upgrade her, I do not have much choice.

This is hard for me to say, because I am a bit of a prideful person and this is awkward for me to do: I would like to ask you readers for donations.

The webstore has not been generating money, and I will probably close it because of this. I thought selling stuff would be easier than asking for donations. But that has not been the case.

Even if you only donate a dollar. 

I never intended to make money from this site, and its information will always be free to access, but hosting the blog and having star rider access does cost money.

So I ask you all, if SSORT and I have helped you in the past, please help me continue to help you.

You can donate any amount of your choosing, and ALL donations, no matter the amount will get a free horse portrait and their name on the upcoming SSORT Wall of Love.

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday and happy riding!

Click to Donate!