Maddie is desperate to keep her favorite horse from being sold in this first book in a contemporary middle grade series in the tradition of Marguerite Henry’s Misty of Chincoteague . Madison “Maddie” Martinez loves her weekly riding lessons, and she loves working with her favorite horse, Cloudy, every time. So she is shocked when she finds out Cloudy’s former owners might want to buy her back! Maddie desperately concocts various plans to stop the sale: maybe she can raise money to buy Cloudy herself, or what if she can make the potential buyers lose interest? Maddie’s online Pony Post friends—Brooke Rhodes, Hayley Duncan, Nina Peralt, who all share a love of Chincoteague ponies—can tell something is up, but at first Maddie is afraid to tell them what’s happening. If she loses her only connection to Chincoteague, will they even want to be friends with her anymore? Catherine Hapka has written more than one hundred books for children and adults. She has written for series as a ghostwriter and has also authored original titles. She lives in Pennsylvania. Maddie’s Dream CHAPTER 1 “OUT OF MY WAY!” MADDIE Martinez burst through the back door into her family’s sunny yellow-tiled kitchen. “I’m late!” Maddie’s older sister, Tillie, looked up from making a sandwich at the counter. “Whoa—it’s summer vacation, remember? What’s the rush?” “My riding lesson’s in less than an hour.” Maddie didn’t slow down as she headed for the stairs. “Where’s Dad?” “Doing laundry. I’ll warn him that you’re home.” “Thanks!” Maddie took the steps two at a time. The room she shared with Tillie was at the far end of the hall. Maddie crossed her fingers, hoping Tillie hadn’t gone on one of her cleaning sprees today. If she had, Maddie would never find her riding stuff. Whew! The place looked the same as it had when she’d left for soccer practice. Tillie’s half was spotless, her dresser and closet tidy and her bed neatly made with crisp white sheets and an assortment of throw pillows. Maddie’s half looked as if a hurricane had just rolled through. But Maddie knew where everything important was. Her breeches were draped over her judo trophies, and her well-worn paddock boots sat atop a stack of magazines. As she reached for the boots, she kicked off her cleats. One landed on a pile of clean clothes—oops!—but the other rolled through the closet door. “Score!” Maddie mumbled, already yanking off her shirt. It was bright purple and had the logo of the Inner Bay Real Estate Pelicans printed on the front in silver. Most of Maddie’s teammates considered their mascot kind of lame, but Maddie thought it was hilarious. Her family moved every few years because her mother was in the Air Force, which meant Maddie had played on four different local soccer teams since she was five years old. Two of them had been called the Tigers, and a third was the Lions. At least Pelicans was different! Maddie paused at her dresser just long enough to glance in the mirror and check that her thick, wavy dark hair was still mostly contained in its ponytail. Then she grabbed her boots and sat down on the bed, almost squashing her laptop. That reminded her—she hadn’t checked in on the Pony Post yet that day. The Pony Post was a private message board dedicated to Chincoteague ponies—specifically, the ponies owned or ridden by the four members. The girls had never met in person, but they’d bonded online over their love of the special breed. It had been Maddie’s idea to start the site, and for well over a year now the four of them had checked in daily and become fast friends. Maddie flipped open the laptop. She hadn’t had time to check in before soccer practice, so she couldn’t resist logging on now, even though she was in a hurry. She’d posted several new photos of Cloudy the previous night, but due to the time difference—Maddie was on the West Coast, while the others lived in the Eastern or Central time zones—she knew her friends wouldn’t have seen the pictures until that morning. It would only take a second to see if they’d posted yet. . . . Maddie smiled as the familiar Pony Post logo popped up on the screen. Nina had designed it with help from her mom, who was a real-life artist. It showed four Chincoteague ponies galloping through the surf with the sun rising behind them. Below that were all four girls’ names—Madison Martinez, Nina Peralt, Brooke Rhodes, and Haley Duncan. The rest of the screen provided space for the girls to share news, photos, and links. There were several new entries. [BROOKE] Wow, I can’t believe how much Cloudy looks like the original Misty of Chincoteague in that first pic!! [NINA] I know, right? The only way u can tell it’s not Misty is by looking at the background, lol. I keep expecting to see the waves of Chincoteague instead of the scenery of NorCal. [HALEY] Great pix! Hey M, did u and Cloudy sign up yet for the Snack & Swim trail ride thing at your barn u were telling us about? It sounds like soooo much fun! [NI