‘Of course!’ Lauren exclaimed.
‘Turn me back into a pony and we can follow him to Max together,’ Twilight said.
Lauren looked at Twilight in concern. ‘But you’re not well. You’re too weak.’
‘I don’t care,’ Twilight said, looking determined. ‘I want to help you find your brother.’
‘Are you sure?’ Lauren said.
‘Yes,’ Twilight insisted. He nudged her with his nose. ‘Come on, we’re wasting time!’
Lauren didn’t argue with him any longer. She turned him back into a pony, then she went into the house to tell her mother her plan, before fetching Buddy.
‘We’re going to find Max,’ she told the puppy. She saddled Twilight and led him and Buddy to the place where she had last seen Max.
‘Find Max, boy,’ she said to Buddy. ‘Good dog. Off you go.’
Buddy put his nose to the ground and began to snuffle round. Suddenly he seemed to pick up Max’s scent. With a woof, he bounded up the path and into the woods. Lauren mounted Twilight and they trotted after him.
Lauren’s heart was beating fast as they entered the trees. What if this idea didn’t work? What if they all got lost trying to find Max? She pushed the thoughts out of her mind and concentrated on encouraging Buddy.
‘That’s it!’ she called to the puppy. ‘Good boy!’
Buddy set off down a narrow trail away from the main path. Lauren had to duck under low-hanging branches as the path twisted and turned. Brambles caught at her jeans.
She frowned as she tried to work out where they were. They seemed to be heading in the direction of…
The gorge!
‘Buddy! Be careful!’ she gasped in alarm. ‘The path ends just ahead. It’s dangerous!’
But Buddy started to run even faster. He disappeared from sight.
Lauren wondered what to do, but Twilight took the decision out of her hands. Breaking into a canter, he set off through the trees after the puppy. Lauren flung herself down against his neck. Clinging to Twilight’s mane, she looked ahead as best she could.
Suddenly Lauren heard Buddy bark and then Twilight jerked to a stop. Her breath came in short gasps as she pushed herself upright in the saddle. Buddy was just ahead of them. He was standing beside a faded wooden sign that read:
Her heart pounding, Lauren dismounted.
Twilight nuzzled her arm and she could tell he was also worried. Slipping the reins over her arms, she walked cautiously forward. She didn’t dare walk right to the edge of the gorge in case the crumbling ground gave way. Letting go of Twilight, she dropped to her hands and knees and crawled the last few metres. She felt sick. What was she going to see when she looked over?
‘Buddy!’ she called as Buddy inched right to the edge. ‘Be careful!’
‘Lauren!’ a faint voice called.
Lauren felt her heart leap. ‘Max!’ she gasped.
Eight
Throwing herself on to her stomach, she looked over the edge of the gorge. Max was crouched on a rocky ledge about four metres below the cliff edge. Beneath him, the gorge tumbled away steeply, ending in a pit of rocks and brambles far, far below. His eyes were wide with fear.
‘Lauren,’ he cried. ‘You found me! I didn’t think anyone ever would.’
‘Are you OK?’ Lauren asked.
‘Yes. I was having a look over the side of the gorge and the ground just sort of crumbled,’ Max said. ‘But I landed on this ledge. I’m OK. I just can’t get back up.’
Lauren went cold as she thought about what might have happened if he hadn’t landed on the outcrop.
‘I’ll go and get help!’ she said.
‘No! Don’t leave me!’ Max looked terrified.
Lauren looked desperately at her brother. ‘I’ve got to go. I can’t reach you.’
‘I don’t want to stay here alone,’ Max said tearfully.
‘But you wouldn’t be alone,’ Lauren said desperately. ‘Buddy’s here.’
‘Buddy!’ Max gasped in delight. Buddy barked, as if in reply.
‘Look, I’m going to have to go and get Mum and Dad, Max,’ Lauren said. ‘Buddy will stay with you.’
Max looked up. ‘OK,’ he said bravely.
‘I’ll be back as soon as I can,’ Lauren promised.
Edging away from the cliff, she stood up, commanded Buddy to stay and ran to Twilight. ‘Quick, Twilight!’ she gasped as she mounted. ‘We’ve got to get home!’
‘Lauren! Where have you been? I’ve been out of mind with worry!’ Mrs Foster came running down the path as Lauren and Twilight galloped out of the woods towards the farm. ‘How could you have –?’
‘Mum! I’ve found Max,’ Lauren interrupted her mother as Twilight slowed to a trot. ‘He’s stuck in the gorge.’
‘Oh my goodness,’ Mrs Foster said, going pale. ‘The gorge!’
‘He’s all right,’ Lauren said. ‘He’s on a ledge. Buddy’s with him.’
‘I’ll ring your dad,’ Mrs Foster said. ‘He’s in the woods.’ She turned and ran back to the house.
‘I’ll go back there,’ Lauren called after her. ‘I told Max I’d get back as quickly as I could.’
Mrs Foster stopped. ‘OK,’ she agreed. ‘If you get there before your dad, then tell Max that help will be along very soon.’ She ran into the house.
‘Are you OK to go back, boy?’ Lauren asked Twilight.
He nodded and swung round, pulling eagerly at his bit. He suddenly seemed much livelier, almost as if he had got all his energy back. Lauren leaned forward and they cantered back into the woods again.
Lauren reached the gorge just as her dad, Tom and Hank jumped out of the pick-up truck.
‘It’s OK, Max,’ she said, crawling to the edge. ‘Dad’s coming.’
‘Thanks for getting help, Lauren,’ murmured her brother.
‘Lauren! Thank heavens you found him!’ Mr Foster said, hurrying to the edge of the gorge. Lying down on his stomach, he looked over. ‘It’s all right, Max,’ he said. ‘We’ll get you up.’
Lauren watched as Tom and Hank tied one end of a long coil of rope securely around a thick oak tree and then, using it to hold on to, her dad lowered himself over the edge.
‘We’re ready to come back up,’ he called, once he had been down there for a few minutes.
There was a bit of shouting and then Tom and Hank began to pull on the rope. Mr Foster and Max soon scrambled over the edge of the gorge.
Lauren sighed with relief as her dad hugged Max as if he were never going to let him go. ‘Oh, Max! Why did you go off like that?’ he said.
‘I’m sorry.’ Max looked close to tears again. ‘I was just cross with Lauren. I’m really sorry, Dad.’
Mr Foster hugged him. ‘Just don’t do anything like it ever again.’
‘I won’t,’ Max said, as Mr Foster put him down. Max looked at Lauren. ‘I’m sorry I got upset with you, Lauren.’
‘It’s OK. I should have let you teach Buddy to fetch,’ Lauren told him.
‘I was being silly,’ Max said. He looked at the ground. ‘I’d… I’d like you to help me train Buddy if you want.’
Lauren smiled. ‘You don’t need me. You’re doing fine on your own, Max. Anyway, I don’t think Buddy needs much training,’ she said, looking at the puppy. ‘No dog could be cleverer. He was the one who found you.’
Max crouched down and hugged Buddy. ‘Thanks, boy.’ Buddy wagged his tail in delight.
‘Come on, Max. Let’s get you home,’ Mr Foster said. ‘The pick-up is just through the trees.’ He looked at Lauren. ‘Will you be OK riding back on your own?’
‘I’ll be fine,’ she said. She waved as her dad, Hank, Tom and Max set off through the shadows. The pick-up started and Lauren listened as it drove away. Once the woods were quiet again, she took off Twilight’s bridle and saddle. Then, taking a deep breath, she said the words of the Turning Spell.
Almost before the last word was out of her mouth, there was a bright purple flash and Twilight was a
unicorn once more.
‘Oh, Twilight,’ she said, hugging him. ‘Thank you for helping me.’
Twilight pushed his nose against her chest. ‘I’m just glad Max is OK,’ he said. ‘I wish I could have used my magic to help you find him more quickly.’
‘It doesn’t matter now,’ Lauren said. ‘Your idea to use Buddy was brilliant. If you hadn’t thought of that, Max might still be stuck. And anyway,’ she went on quickly, ‘it wasn’t your fault that we couldn’t use magic. It was mine. I was the one who used it all up by getting you to look at my friends.’
‘You were only trying to help people,’ Twilight reminded her.
‘I know,’ Lauren said. ‘But I didn’t really need magic for that. I could have seen that Mel was upset about her fractions and I should have realized that Jessica was feeling left out, and the other people I tried to help – Joanne, David, Max – well, they didn’t really need my help at all.’ She looked down. ‘I think I just liked feeling important.’
Twilight nuzzled her. ‘Don’t feel bad. It turned out all right in the end.’
‘Yes,’ Lauren said slowly, ‘thanks to you. You’re the best, Twilight. Even though you were feeling really ill, you still let me ride you so that we could follow Buddy here.’ She hugged him. ‘How are you feeling now?’
Twilight considered the question. ‘All right, actually. I don’t feel tired at all.’
‘Maybe it’s because we’ve just helped Max,’ Lauren suggested. ‘Perhaps your powers have come back now that we’ve actually helped someone truly in need like the book said.’
‘I’m sure that’s what has happened,’ Twilight said, tossing his head, ‘because I feel great!’ He pranced on the spot. ‘Let’s go flying, Lauren!’
‘But it’s not dark enough,’ Lauren protested.
‘I’ll stay in the treetops,’ Twilight said. He pushed her with his nose. ‘Come on! I want to fly!’
Lauren couldn’t resist. ‘OK then!’ she said, scrambling on to his back.
‘I could always use my magic…’ Twilight began teasingly.
‘Not a chance!’ Lauren interrupted him with a grin. ‘From now on we only use your magic powers to help people who truly need help. Agreed?’
‘Agreed,’ Twilight said. He started to trot out of the trees and then he stopped. ‘Am I really the best?’ he asked, almost shyly.
Lauren nodded as she hugged him. ‘The very best,’ she smiled.
Stronger Than Magic Page 4