New Friend (9780698143852)

by Bentley, Sue; Swan, Angela (ILT)

Comet was full of surprises. She wondered what else he could do.

  Sunlight slanted through the trees and made dancing yellow coins of light on the grass path as Eleanor, Comet, Frankie, and Jake rode along together. Eleanor felt a stir of happiness. There was nothing better in the whole world than to be out riding on such a glorious morning—especially on a magic pony!

  Eleanor felt pleasantly full as she lay on her stomach in the warm grass. Frankie’s cheese and tomato sandwiches and chocolate brownies washed down with apple juice had been delicious.

  It was beautiful in the grove under the spreading beech trees, with the stream bubbling over rocks some distance away. After a long drink of cool water, Comet was nibbling a patch of sweet grass a few feet away. Frankie’s pony, Jake, stood beneath a tree, dozing in the shade.

  Eleanor had just finished telling Frankie about her aunt’s three ponies. “They’re called Mary, Jed, and Blue. We’re going out looking for them after lunch. I hope we get to see them.”

  Frankie laughed. “Well, don’t hold your breath! Forest ponies can wander off and be gone for weeks and then just when you think you’ll never see them again, they’ll start hanging around at the end of your road for ages. It’s a good thing your aunt’s got Comet, too, so you can ride him while you’re staying with her. I’d hate it if I couldn’t ride.”

  “Me too. It’s what I love doing the most,” Eleanor said. She thought it was best to let Frankie assume that Comet belonged to Aunt Pippa; otherwise she didn’t know how she was going to explain him. “How many ponies do you own?”

  “We’ve got fifty at the moment. I won’t tell you all their names, you’ll never remember them!” Frankie said, grinning.

  “Fifty!” Eleanor echoed. “How do you keep track of them all?”

  “It takes practice, but I’m used to it. We’ve always had forest ponies. Our family has been commoners for generations. Dad’s great-great-grandmother had six mares. All our ponies are descended from those.”

  “Wow! That must have been a really long time ago.” Eleanor was very impressed. She’d love to live in the forest and work among the ponies like Frankie and her family. It would be her dream job when she grew up.

  Eleanor glanced at her watch.

  “Oh gosh! Look at the time. I’ve been gone for a long time. Aunt Pippa will be wondering where I am. I’d better go!”

  “You can blame me for making you late by inviting you to lunch, if you’d like!” Frankie said cheerfully. “It’s the least I could do after blaming you for that loose dog. Why don’t I ride back to Oak Cottage with you? I can explain everything to your aunt.”

  Eleanor was tempted. She was eager to spend more time with this friendly girl and her pony, but she could hardly ride up to her aunt’s house on Comet. She imagined trying to explain to her astonished aunt how she came to be riding a fully tacked-up pony.

  “Thanks, but I’ll be fine,” Eleanor said, hoping that with luck she and Comet might even beat Aunt Pippa back to the cottage.

  “Okay then, but if your aunt gets mad at you, tell her to call me!” Frankie gave Eleanor her number. “Are you busy tomorrow? I could show you around the forest tomorrow morning if you’d like. I know all the best rides.”

  “I’d love that,” Eleanor said, mounting Comet. “Bye for now!” she called as he broke into a trot.

  “Bye!” Frankie called after them.

  Comet had no trouble finding his way back. He stopped in a clump of trees just out of sight of the cottage to let Eleanor dismount. The moment her feet touched the ground, the tack disappeared in a small shower of sparks.

  “It’s too bad you can’t make yourself invisible or something, then you wouldn’t have to hide in the forest. You could stay here in the back garden, and I’d be able to sneak out and see you all the time,” Eleanor suggested.

  Comet blinked his intelligent violet eyes. “That is an interesting idea. I will try out these new powers. I am not yet sure about all the things I can do in this world,” he mused.

  Eleanor felt a surge of affection for the chestnut pony. She reached up and gave him a swift hug. “Maybe we’ll find out more about your magical powers together?”

  Comet twitched his ears. “Yes, Eleanor. I think we will.”

  Eleanor lowered her arms and stood back. “I’d better go. I’ll come out to you again soon, and we can look for Destiny again,” she promised.

  “Very well.” Comet tossed his mane and sped away.

  Eleanor watched him until he was out of sight and then walked out into the open. She was opening the garden gate when her aunt came out of the kitchen.

  “Oh, there you are, Eleanor. I hope you haven’t been too bored,” Pippa said.

  Eleanor smiled. “I’ve been fine. I had a great time…um, exploring.” If my aunt only knew!

  Pippa suddenly looked at her in astonishment. “Why on earth are you wearing your riding gear?”

  Eleanor could have kicked herself. She’d completely forgotten about the boots and hat! She thought quickly. “I was…um, in the garden when Frankie Boyd came past on Jake,” she said, improvising like crazy. “We were talking about her family’s ponies and stuff. She offered to let me ride one of them. So I ran inside to get my gear, while she went to get the pony. We didn’t go far, just for a short ride.”

  Her aunt smiled. “I’m glad you met Frankie—you were safe enough in the forest with her. The Boyds are well respected around here. It sounds like you had a good time. I’m glad the two of you got along well. Especially since I ended up taking longer than I’d meant to.” Pippa shook her head slowly. “I’m starting to think that I should postpone this exhibit until after you’ve gone home. It’s not fair for you to have to spend so much time by yourself.”

  “I don’t mind!” Eleanor said quickly, sensing an opportunity. “Besides, I don’t have to, now that I’ve met Frankie. We’re going to hang out again tomorrow.”

  “It sounds like you and Frankie have things all figured out,” Pippa said, smiling.

  “We do!” Eleanor replied spiritedly.

  Pippa put her arm around Eleanor’s shoulders, and they went into the cottage together. “To be honest, I’m relieved. I was starting to worry that you’d get bored and wish you hadn’t come to stay after all.”

  “I wouldn’t think that, Aunt Pippa. I love being here with you!” Eleanor assured her truthfully. She didn’t mind at all that her aunt was so busy. It meant she could spend lots of time with her new, magical friend.

  “I’m very glad about that,” Pippa said, smiling fondly. She handed Eleanor a paper bag, which Eleanor hadn’t noticed until now. “I was passing a bookstore and thought you might like this.”

  Eleanor opened the bag and took out a book. “Big Book of Horses and Ponies of the World,” she read. “Thanks so much. I love it!”

  “Time for lunch, I think,” Pippa announced. “And didn’t I promise that we could go out and look for Mary, Jed, and Blue this afternoon?”

  Eleanor beamed at her aunt, wondering how she was going to eat a second lunch. “I can’t wait!”

  Eleanor spent a happy afternoon roaming in the forest with her aunt. They seemed to walk for miles. They often saw glimpses of ponies through the trees, and Pippa took a few photographs. Predictably, there was no sign of Jed, Blue, or Mary.

  That evening, Aunt Pippa cooked a special dinner. Eleanor was allowed to help make an apple pie, which made her feel very grown up.

  She slipped out into the garden to speak to Comet before she went to bed, but he didn’t answer her call. Eleanor guessed he was deep in the forest looking for Destiny and couldn’t hear her.

  That night she had a vivid dream. In it she saw Destiny disguised as a forest pony, galloping along one of the winding trails. Comet’s twin sister leaped across a stream and left a single glowing, violet hoofprint in the soft mud. Eleanor awoke abruptly with the strangest feeling that her dream was true. She decided she would tell Comet tomorrow morning.

  The next day Eleanor got u
p early. After breakfast she said good-bye to her aunt. “I’m off to meet Frankie. See you later!”

  “Have a good time!” Pippa called, waving.

  Eleanor walked a little into the forest and called to Comet. She planned to ride him out of sight of the cottage to meet up with Frankie where they’d parted yesterday.

  Comet stepped out of the trees and snorted and tossed his mane.

  “Hello, Comet!” she greeted him warmly. She noticed some small patches of dried mud on his side. Picking a large handful of sweet dried grass, she began brushing him down. “I came out to see you last night before I went to bed, but you were gone. Were you looking for Destiny?”

  Comet nodded. “I searched for a long time.”

  “Did you find any signs of her?” Eleanor asked him.

  Comet shook his head sadly. “I saw many more ponies, but Destiny was not with them. And I did not find any glowing hoofprints to show that she had passed by.”

  “But I think I did!” Eleanor said excitedly. “I saw Destiny in a dream. She left a glowing hoofprint in the mud near a stream. It’s almost like Destiny sent me a message in my sleep!”

  Comet’s bright violet eyes lit up with fresh hope as he reached around to nuzzle Eleanor’s arm. “Perhaps she did. It would be just like her!”

  Eleanor smiled, pleased to see that he looked less sad. “We can keep a lookout for her today while we’re out with Frankie and Jake.” She flicked the last traces of mud away and then threw the grass down. “There, finished.”

  “Thank you, Eleanor.”

  She felt a familiar tingling down her spine as deep-violet sparkles glimmered once again in Comet’s chestnut coat. When they faded, he was fully tacked up, like last time. Eleanor mounted and they set off at a canter.

  They were just in time. Frankie and Jake were riding toward them through the trees.

  “Hi!” The girls greeted each other, while Comet and Jake touched noses—saying hello in pony fashion.

  “It looks like Comet and Jake are already friends!” Frankie said, grinning as they set off, riding abreast.

  It was fun to ride into the heart of the forest with Frankie and weave through narrow, lesser-known trails without worrying about getting lost. They glimpsed a number of wild ponies, spread out among the trees. “That herd belongs to one of our neighbors, Mr. Toms,” Frankie commented.

  “How do you know?” Eleanor asked. She was glad for a reason to stop, so that Comet could check if Destiny was one of them.

  Frankie explained that you could recognize different commoners’ ponies by the way their tails were cut. “See that one?” She pointed to a gray pony that stood with its back to them. Its tail was cut into a series of blunt steps. “All of the Tomses’ ponies have their tails trimmed like that.”

  Comet had been looking around. “Destiny is not here.” He blew air out of his nostrils sadly.

  Eleanor patted his neck as he rode down a track, which was bordered by hedges of hawthorn and brambles and then opened into a long, flat clearing. It was a clear run that stretched to the edge of some open fields.

  “We can let the ponies have some fun,” Frankie said, urging Jake on.

  “Yay!” Eleanor yelled, pressing Comet into a gallop.

  She could sense the magic pony’s enjoyment as he went faster. He was exciting to ride, and she loved the feeling of the wind whistling past them.

  “That was amazing!” she said when they had slowed their ponies to a trot.

  Frankie smiled. “Wait until you see where we’re going next!” She led the way to where there were some fallen logs. “I often come here to practice jumping,” she said. “Jake loves it. Watch this.”

  She pressed her pony on so that Jake sped up and easily cleared the log. Frankie patted the bay pony’s neck. “Good boy! Now you!” she urged Eleanor. “Let’s see what Comet can do!”

  Eleanor clicked her tongue. Comet didn’t hesitate. He leaped forward. Three strides, two strides, one stride…

  Comet soared through the air and landed safely on the other side of the log.

  “Way to go! He almost looked like he was flying!” Frankie exclaimed.

  Eleanor bit back a grin.

  “You were fantastic!” she whispered to him with her back to Frankie.

  “I enjoyed it, too,” Comet said.

  The ponies took turns going over the jumps. After a stop for lunch and a chance for the ponies to have a drink, they went for a more leisurely ride along the grass border beside one of the public roads.

  As the afternoon wore on, the girls and ponies headed back to Oak Cottage. Eleanor stopped under the cover of the trees to say good-bye to Frankie and Jake. “Thanks so much. We had a wonderful time! Can we meet up again tomorrow?”

  “I don’t think I can. Some of the commoners are having a roundup,” Frankie explained. “It can get a bit hectic so I’ll probably have to give Dad a hand. I know! Why don’t you and Comet come and watch? It’s pretty exciting. Visitors aren’t usually allowed, but you’ll be okay with me. I’ll talk about it with Dad. It’ll be great for you to see so many forest ponies in one place.”

  “I wouldn’t miss it for anything!” Eleanor waved as Frankie rode away.

  That evening it poured with rain—an intense downpour that lasted for hours and cast a dark veil over the forest.

  Eleanor was curled up on the squishy sofa, reading her new horse and pony book, but she couldn’t concentrate because she was worrying about Comet. She knew he’d probably found shelter under the trees, like the other sturdy forest ponies, but unlike them, he was all alone and missing Destiny.

  Her aunt was working in her office at the front of the house, so Eleanor decided to risk going outside to check on Comet. Grabbing an umbrella, she hurried through the back garden and entered the forest clearing.

  “Comet,” she called softly.

  There was no answer. No chestnut pony stepped out of the trees and came toward her. She waited a little longer, but the magic pony still didn’t appear.

  “Comet? Where are you?” Eleanor called again. She thought she heard his voice, but it was very faint, as if it came from far away.

  “I am here…”

  Where was he? Puzzled, Eleanor went back into the house. She decided that she would have to wait until morning to go out and look for him. She was just dumping the dripping umbrella into the stand in the hall when she heard his gentle whinny again.

  “Eleanor. Come closer. I am here…”

  Comet sounded a tiny bit louder than before and seemed to be calling from upstairs. Curious, Eleanor went up to her bedroom.

  She stood in the open doorway and looked around. She could sense that something was different, but what? Her gaze fell on the table next to her bed. There beneath the lamp stood a little toy horse with a fluffy chestnut coat, a pale mane and tail, and sparkling deep-violet eyes.

  As Eleanor watched, the toy horse shook itself and twitched its tail.

  “Comet?” Eleanor gasped. “Is it really you? That’s so cool!”

  “I found another way of using my magic!” Comet told her proudly in a tiny soft neigh that matched his new size. She smiled delightedly at her amazing friend. “Now you can stay in my room whenever you want and sleep on my bed. I can even carry you in my shoulder bag and take you out with me!”

  “I did not think of that. It sounds like it would be fun!” Comet said.

  Eleanor picked him up very gently and sat on the patchwork quilt with him on her lap. Comet was handsome as a chestnut pony and very beautiful as his true golden-winged self—but right now he was the cutest and fluffiest miniature pony she had ever seen.

  She was so engrossed in admiring Comet’s tiny neat hooves and little pointed ears that she didn’t notice the bedroom door swing open.

  “I thought I heard you come up here. I was just going to make some hot chocolate and wondered if…my goodness! What do you have there?” Aunt Pippa exclaimed, her eyes widening.

  Eleanor froze in shock, but it wa
s too late to hide Comet.

  “It’s…um…I was just…,” she faltered. Her mind was a total blank.

  “What a gorgeous little toy pony!” Pippa’s face softened as she came forward. “It’s perfect in every detail. Did Frankie give it to you?” she asked.

  Aunt Pippa thinks Comet is a toy? Huh? Eleanor frowned in confusion. She could feel Comet’s heartbeat against her fingers and see him twitching his ears and tail. She couldn’t believe that her aunt hadn’t noticed.

  “Um…yeah. It’s cute, isn’t it? I’m calling him Comet,” she said. “It was nice of Frankie—I really like her. She asked me to go out again with her tomorrow. There’s going to be a roundup of some of the commoners’ ponies. She said that I could go and watch.”

  “You really are pony-crazy, aren’t you?” Pippa said, looking thoughtful.

  “I am! Ponies are the most wonderful things in the entire universe!” Eleanor sang out.

  Her aunt laughed fondly. “I won’t argue with that!”

  Eleanor quickly slipped Comet behind her back and gently tucked him between her pillows, just in case her aunt felt like looking at him more closely.

  “You’ll enjoy the roundup,” Pippa said. “The Boyd herd has the best pedigree around here. Their ponies bring in good prices. There’ll be other commoners with their herds there, too. I think I’ll come with you. It’ll be a chance to get some good photographs.”

  “Sounds good,” Eleanor said, so relieved by the change of subject that she wasn’t really concentrating. As soon as her aunt had gone downstairs to make the hot chocolate, she turned to Comet. “Phew! I was so worried when she came in. What just happened? I don’t get it.”

  “I used my magic again, so that only you can see me move and hear me speak,” Comet said. “Anyone else will think that I am just a fluffy toy.”

  “I never know what to expect with you. I love having you as a friend,” Eleanor said, grinning from ear to ear. Suddenly, her face fell. “Uh-oh. Did Aunt Pippa just say that she was coming with us tomorrow to take photos of the ponies during the roundup?”