by Chloe Ryder
The Grasslands stretched ahead of them, flat and open, dotted with farm buildings, a forest in the distance. There was no sign of the Night Mares at all.
“They must be hiding,” Stardust panted, dropping back to a canter. Her white coat was lathered with muddy sweat.
“Should I walk?” Pippa asked, running a hand down the pony’s damp neck.
“I’m fine. We’ll be quicker if you ride,” Stardust said.
“Which way do you think they went?” Pippa asked as Stardust cantered on.
“It’s got to be this way if they’re going back to their home at the Volcano. We’ll head toward the farm—it’s the only place they can be hiding.”
As the farm drew nearer, Stardust and Pippa whispered. Stardust placed her hooves carefully so that she was as quiet as possible.
“Over there,” Pippa said suddenly, “by the small barn—I saw something move.”
Stardust switched direction. They’d almost reached the barn when there was a scuffling noise and the two Night Mares darted across the farmyard. One of them had the golden horseshoe in its mouth. Its eyes were wide with fear as it ran behind another barn.
“There!” called Stardust.
She chased after them but was too late—the Night Mares had disappeared.
Stardust stood very still, her ears swiveling as she tried to figure out where the Night Mares were hiding. Pippa listened too. At first all she could hear was her own heart pounding. Then a soft clatter grabbed her attention.
“Behind the grain store,” she hissed.
Her stomach fluttered as Stardust went over to the building on hoof tips.
“Well, they’re not here now,” sighed Stardust.
Pippa stared in disbelief at the empty space. Some stones crunched behind her. Stardust turned around just in time for them to see the Night Mares run across the farmyard. The golden horseshoe shone tantalizingly as they jumped over a fence and galloped away.
Chapter 6
“Hold on,” said Stardust.
Pippa’s hands shook as they cantered toward the fence. It was bigger than anything she’d jumped before. A shiver of fear ran down her spine. Stardust leaped at the jump. Just in time Pippa remembered to lift herself up off Stardust’s back and grip with her knees. The wind whipped past her face and for a second she felt as if she was flying. All her fears vanished—the jump felt fantastic. Then Stardust’s front hooves hit the ground with a loud thud, and she raced after the Night Mares. The two scruffy ponies thundered on ahead, but they kept changing direction suddenly. Pippa quickly lost all sense of where she was. She was surprised when Stardust pulled up.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
“Yes,” panted Stardust. “And I’ve had an idea. If we stop chasing the Night Mares, then they’ll think we’ve given up and are heading home. I know another shortcut. I’m going to take it and hopefully we can cut them off.”
“That’s a brilliant idea,” Pippa agreed.
Stardust waited for the Night Mares to get totally out of sight so they wouldn’t guess her plan. Once they’d disappeared, she headed into a nearby grove of trees. Pippa had to keep ducking her head to avoid being dragged off by low-hanging branches. Bushes and twigs snagged her legs as they hammered along the narrow path and jumped the fallen logs blocking their way. It was almost fun, but Pippa thought it didn’t seem right to be enjoying the ride when there was so much at stake.
“Nearly there,” Stardust called. “I just hope we’ve made it in time.”
“Me too,” said Pippa.
They burst out of the woods and into a clearing, where Trojan and a group of ponies were lifting the newly harvested rectangular bales of grass from an open-topped cart and arranging them into an enormous haystack. There were snorts of alarm as Stardust pulled up, and work stopped immediately.
“What is going on?” A proud voice cut across the commotion.
“Crystal!” cried Stardust. Lowering her voice so that only Pippa could hear, she added, “I never thought I’d be so pleased to see her.”
“Princess Stardust, why aren’t you out in the fields picking up grass?” Crystal glared at her little sister and then at Pippa.
Stardust quickly explained how they had found two of the golden horseshoes and then how the Night Mares had stolen one back.
“I see,” said Crystal. She took charge at once. “If the Night Mares see us here they’ll run away, so everyone must hide in the trees. I’ll wait behind this haystack and challenge them when they arrive. As next in line to the throne of Chevalia, I’m sure they’ll give me the horseshoe when I ask for it back—”
“But I thought—” interrupted Stardust.
Crystal gave her a steely glare. “Don’t argue. I’m older than you.”
“That’s so typical of Crystal. We do all the hard work and she takes the glory,” Stardust grumbled as she went to hide with the other ponies.
“It’s very brave of her to challenge the Night Mares on her own,” Pippa pointed out.
“Or stupid,” Stardust said angrily. “Sometimes Crystal doesn’t think things through. What happens if the Night Mares refuse to give her the horseshoe?”
“Then we’re here to help,” Pippa replied, running a comforting hand down Stardust’s neck. “She didn’t tell us to stay hidden, did she?”
Stardust whinnied with laughter, then instantly fell silent as Trojan sent her a stern look and said, “Ssssh.”
Pippa and Stardust hid in the trees a little distance from Trojan and waited. When the Night Mares didn’t arrive, Pippa wondered if Stardust had been mistaken and they’d gone another way. She tried not to think about the three days left until Mid-summer. If only the magic time bubble could stop time in Chevalia too! She’d stop it right now and only start it again when they’d found all the missing horseshoes.
Suddenly Stardust threw up her head. Her ears twitched, then swiveled to the right.
“Night Mares,” she whispered softly.
In the distance Pippa could hear the drumming of hooves. She shivered with excitement. This was their chance to grab the golden horseshoe. They couldn’t mess it up.
As the Night Mares ran closer, Pippa saw that they were being chased by a swarm of angry horseflies.
“You tricked ussss,” buzzed the horseflies. “Now give the golden horseshoe back to usss.”
The Night Mares were scared. Their eyes were wild and their nostrils flared as they approached the clearing.
“Where’s Crystal?” said Stardust. “She’s supposed to challenge them. If she doesn’t hurry up, it’ll be too late.”
“There she is.” Pippa pointed as Crystal’s head cautiously appeared around the side of the haystack, then quickly disappeared as she pulled back again.
“Oh no!” gasped Stardust. “I get it now. Crystal is scared of horseflies.”
“Then it’s up to us,” Pippa replied.
Up close the Night Mares were frightening to look at, with wild eyes, straggly manes and tails, and bodies covered in gray volcanic ash. Stardust shook for just a moment before bravely stepping out of the woods and into their path.
“Stop!” she commanded. “Give the golden horseshoe back to us.”
“Never!” the Night Mares shrieked, rearing up.
Stardust stood her ground as the Night Mares came closer, still pursued by the angry horseflies. Pippa was terrified that she and Stardust were about to be run down, and her knuckles whitened as she clutched Stardust’s mane. The Night Mares were so close that she could see the whites of their eyes and feel their hot breath flecked with spit. Her eyes watered at the bad smell that wafted toward her.
At the last moment the Night Mares neighed angrily, then changed course. In their hurry, one of them backed into Stardust, hitting Pippa’s leg. Pippa winced but there was no time to examine the damage. The Night Mare with the horseshoe in its mouth was close enough for her to touch. Pippa reached out and grabbed it.
“No, it’s mine,” the Night Mare grunted,
trying to tug it out of Pippa’s grasp.
Pippa refused to let go, twisting her body so that she could keep hold of the horseshoe as Stardust turned around to kick into the air to scare the other Night Mare away. Pippa could feel herself slipping, but she held on tightly to the horseshoe, blinking back tears when a tail flicked in her eye. The Night Mares shoved Stardust sideways. Pippa was dimly aware of Stardust grunting as she pushed them back and Crystal whinnying for everyone to stop. Stardust was barely holding her ground, until together the two Night Mares forced her toward the haystack. The horseflies buzzed angrily overhead.
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Pippa felt as if she was watching herself in a film as the haystack loomed right in front of her. There was an ominous creak, and then it was raining bales of hay. Pippa covered her head with her hands and gritted her teeth as she willed the avalanche to stop. But a hay bale whacked into Pippa and knocked her off Stardust. The next thing Pippa knew, she was being flung through the air.
Chapter 7
Pippa was lucky that she only fell onto a pile of hay rather than a hay bale. She lay on her back, grateful for such a soft landing, listening to the thundering hooves of the retreating Night Mares as the horseflies chased them away. A tall wall of rectangular hay bales towered above her—the only part of the haystack that remained. The rest of it littered the ground in messy clumps. She looked down at her hand and saw that she was still clutching the horseshoe.
“Look! I’ve still got the horseshoe,” Pippa said, struggling up.
“Well done.” Stardust had managed to stay upright, but she looked slightly dazed.
“Just look at the mess!” said Crystal, who had narrowly missed being hit by the avalanche of hay. “We’ve been working on this haystack all day.”
Pippa started to laugh—trust Crystal to worry about the mess when they’d just managed to rescue a horseshoe! She wrapped her arms around Stardust’s hot neck.
“You were fantastic,” Pippa said, hugging her.
“So were you,” Stardust said proudly. “Mom and Dad are never going to believe us when we tell them what happened.”
“They’ll be absolutely thrilled!” said Pippa.
The ponies filed out of the woods led by Trojan. When they saw Pippa holding the golden horseshoe, their eyes widened and they whinnied excitedly.
“Are you all right?” Jet asked.
“What happened?” asked Comet.
“Pippa snatched it back from a Night Mare,” boasted Stardust.
“Stardust and Crystal helped,” Pippa said quickly.
Trojan sent Crystal such a look of admiration that it made her blush.
“Actually, I didn’t do anything,” she said. “It was all Stardust and Pippa’s work.”
Trojan was even more impressed that Crystal had been honest and not taken any of the credit, especially when it was offered to her. He softly brushed his nose against hers. Crystal blushed so deeply that even the blaze on her apricot-colored face turned red. She shyly rubbed her nose against Trojan’s, causing him to blush too.
“Aw! Sweet,” Stardust whispered to her friend.
“Stop staring.” Pippa giggled, pulling her around. Every single one of Pippa’s muscles ached, but she didn’t care.
The horseflies returned, having chased the Night Mares far away.
“Thank you so much for all your help,” said Crystal. “And I’m sorry I never took the time to listen to you before.”
“Come back to the castle with us,” Stardust said.
Zimb shook his head politely. “Our work isss done here,” he buzzed, bowing low. “We’re sssorry we caused you ssssso much trouble. In the future we will send a team of horsefliessss to guard the horseshoessss hanging on the ancient wall.”
“Thank you,” Stardust said gratefully. “I’ll have to ask Mom and Dad about it first, but it sounds like a brilliant idea.”
The horseflies swarmed off, and Pippa, Stardust, Crystal, Trojan, and the princes walked back to the stream. By now the news had spread that two more horseshoes were safe, and as they walked through the Grasslands more ponies joined them.
Mucker was still guarding the other horseshoe and looked very impressed when Stardust and Pippa made their triumphant return.
“What happened to keeping clean?” he asked.
Stardust blushed prettily. “There’s nothing wrong with a bit of muck and a good day’s work,” she answered. “We’re taking the two horseshoes back to the castle to hang them on the ancient wall.” Then she added, “In fact, everyone’s invited.”
An excited murmur rippled through the gathering of ponies. Cinders pushed herself to the front of the crowd.
“You can’t appear in the Royal Court like that,” she said. “Look how dirty you are! Give me the horseshoes. I’m clean—I’ll take them back.”
A cunning look flashed across her face, but it was gone so quickly that Pippa decided she must have imagined it.
“No, thanks,” said Stardust. “Pippa and I did all the work. We’re not letting you take the glory. We’ll hang the horseshoes ourselves.”
“It’s true—you are very dirty,” said Crystal.
“We promise to be careful,” Pippa said. “And we won’t get the horseshoes muddy.”
Crystal looked thoughtful. “Maybe it’s time I lightened up a bit and was less proud and bossy.”
She glanced at Trojan and a pink flush crept up her neck. Trojan was flushing too. Stardust nudged Pippa’s arm and they giggled together. Crystal quickly recovered her composure.
“You can take the horseshoes back to the castle,” Crystal said. “Then afterward I’m treating you both to a luxury session at the Mane Street Salon. You deserve some serious pampering. Pippa, ask for the strawberry mane wash—I think you’ll love it.”
“Thank you,” Pippa said. “That sounds wonderful.”
Stardust turned to face the crowd. “So who’s coming to the Royal Court with us?”
“Me! And me!” all of Canter’s whinnied excitedly.
Side by side and both clutching a golden horseshoe, Pippa and Stardust led the procession back to Stableside Castle. Pippa’s muscles still ached and she felt very tired, but extremely happy.
It took a while to get back and even longer for everyone to crowd into the ancient courtyard. All the prince and princess ponies lined up together to watch. Queen Moonshine and King Firestar smiled proudly at Stardust and Pippa as they made their way to the Whispering Wall.
Cinders stood next to her mom, Baroness Divine, at the front of the crowd.
“There goes Princess Grunge,” she said meanly.
Dipping her square face, the baroness whispered to Cinders, “The Royal Family has definitely lowered its standards.”
Pippa didn’t hear Cinders’s answer but Baroness Divine chuckled quietly and whispered, “That’s right, my dear. Things will soon be different in Chevalia.”
The menace in her voice gave Pippa goose bumps. What did the baroness mean? But there was no time to think about it now. Reaching the queen, Pippa bowed her head and forced her aching legs into a low curtsy.
The queen lightly touched the top of Pippa’s head with her nose. As Pippa stood up, she saw that there were tears in her beautiful dark eyes.
“Pippa MacDonald, you are truly a very special girl. You’ve worked hard today and weren’t afraid to get your hands dirty. You were also very brave. Chevalia salutes you.”
To Pippa’s embarrassment, everyone cheered.
“Thank you, but I didn’t do it on my own. Stardust helped, and the horseflies, and Mucker and Crystal,” Pippa added generously.
“Hush, child,” the queen said, smiling.
First Stardust and then Pippa handed a golden horseshoe to the king, who carefully hung them on the Whispering Wall. He stood back to admire them, and the crowd cheered again.
The wall didn’t look so empty with four horseshoes hanging there, but Pippa was very conscious that time was running out. There were only thre
e more days before Midsummer. Would they find all the missing horseshoes? The days ahead would be difficult and dangerous, but Pippa felt ready. Chevalia needed her more than ever.
“Congratulations,” said Queen Moonshine. Then, as if echoing Pippa’s thoughts, she added, “However, your quest isn’t over. Midsummer Day will soon be here, and there are still four horseshoes to find. Go safely, my children, and please remember—don’t count your horseshoes before they’re hung!”
“Thank you, Your Majesty—and we won’t,” said Pippa.
Stardust reached out and nuzzled Pippa’s arm.
“To Chevalia,” she whispered.
“To Chevalia,” Pippa replied softly.
As Pippa got up, she remembered something important–Chevalia existed in a magical bubble. No time would pass in her world while she was on the island, meaning that none of her family would miss her. Pippa’s homesickness vanished immediately.
She skipped to the window to see where the singing was coming from.
Princess Stardust’s bedroom was in the smallest tower of the castle, topped with a pink flag, and it had a marvelous view. Pippa glanced at the sea sparkling in the distance before looking at the courtyard below.
“It’s the Royal Court,” she breathed.
All the ponies of the Royal Court were gathered together, with the princesses and princes in the front. Their colorful sashes and jeweled tiaras shimmered in the morning sun. Crystal, Stardust’s bossy oldest sister, was conducting the singing with a riding crop, and the music made Pippa want to dance. When she had first arrived on Chevalia, Pippa had been so shy, but now she was starting to feel as if she belonged here and she couldn’t wait to join them.
Pippa quickly put on the new outfit that had magically appeared overnight especially for her–a denim skirt, a striped T-shirt, leggings, and a sweatshirt– then she hurried down the tower’s spiral ramp.
“Excuse me,” she whispered as she made her way to the front of the courtyard. The royal ponies smiled as they parted to let her through. “Thanks,” she said.