The Lucky Horseshoe

by Chloe Ryder

  The Princess Ponies series

  A Magical Friend

  A Dream Come True

  The Special Secret

  A Unicorn Adventure!

  An Amazing Rescue

  Best Friends Forever!

  A Special Surprise

  A Singing Star

  The Lucky Horseshoe

  With special thanks to Julie Sykes

  For Cody

  Contents

  The Pony Royal Family

  Chevalia

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Far away, in the middle of the sea, there’s a magical island called Chevalia, where only ponies live. Chevalia is a special place, full of love and happiness. It’s ruled by the wise Queen Moonshine and King Firestar from the Royal Court at Stableside Castle.

  But a long way from Stableside, in the middle of the Horseshoe Hills, there was a smaller, crumbling castle with ivy-covered walls. Mice and beetles scurried through the empty rooms. Bats roosted in the towers and spiders hung from thick webs.

  In a dingy room at the back of the castle, a chestnut pony with bulging eyes and a square nose was watching a band of metal glow in the fire. Green flames crackled up the chimney as the metal twisted into a horseshoe shape. Taking a long pair of tongs, the pony, whose name was Divine, removed the horseshoe from the flames and dropped it into a bucket of cold water. The water hissed and spat. Dark green clouds of steam rose from the bucket as Divine removed the horseshoe and carefully dried it on a scrap of an old horse blanket.

  “It’s ready!” Divine felt the horseshoe strain, pulling what little luck was in the room toward it.

  The dark-green horseshoe twitched and jerked, then at last it stilled. Divine shrugged on a cloak and pulled up the hood to cover her smile. She popped the horseshoe into her satchel.

  “Ponies of Chevalia, your lives are charmed. But not for long! The unlucky horseshoe is ready. With it, I shall steal all the luck from Chevalia.” Divine gave a loud cackle. “Bad luck, ponies. The spell has started. When fortune fails Chevalia, I will claim my place as its rightful ruler.”

  Chapter 1

  It was March 17, lucky St. Patrick’s Day, but Pippa MacDonald was not having a good day.

  At breakfast, Pippa’s older sister, Miranda, had finished off her favorite cereal, leaving only the dust at the bottom of the cereal box.

  “Bad luck,” Miranda had said. “The early bird gets the worm.”

  Pippa didn’t want to eat worms, just a bowl of her favorite Clover Corn cereal. Instead, she had to make do with Mom’s boring oatmeal.

  Then, in a rush to get to school, she tripped on the front steps in front of everyone. The older kids laughed at her, and Miranda said, “Get up, clumsy.”

  Later, Pippa hurried to change into her gym clothes. But because she was ready first, her teacher Ms. Tilley asked her to run back to the classroom to fetch the whistle she’d forgotten. When Pippa returned with the whistle, gym class had started and her friends were already assigned to groups.

  “You’re in teams of four today,” Ms. Tilley told Pippa. “Join in with Lucy’s group.”

  “But I always work with Cody,” said Pippa, smiling as Cody waved her over.

  “Cody’s team is full. Hurry along. Lucy’s waiting for you.”

  “It’s not fair,” muttered Pippa.

  Lucy hated gym class and so did her friends Sasha and Peter. They spent most of the time messing around, making it impossible for Pippa to focus on the exercises. Today the class was practicing climbing the ropes. Pippa didn’t like heights, though she tried her best.

  “Look at me,” called Peter, swinging from his rope. “I’m a monkey.”

  “You look like a monkey,” Lucy said with a laugh. She and Sasha started making monkey noises.

  Peter kept bumping into Pippa, making it difficult for her to climb to the top of her rope. At the end of the lesson, Ms. Tilley called the group over.

  “I’m disappointed in you four,” she said. “You can stay behind and pack the equipment away in the storage room.”

  “That’s so unfair,” whispered Cody. She hung back to help Pippa, but Ms. Tilley sent her back to the classroom.

  “This is just not my lucky day!” groaned Pippa.

  The afternoon was just as bad. In art class, her favorite green glitter pen ran out before she’d finished her St. Patrick’s Day picture. Then Cody accidently knocked a jar of dirty painting water over, ruining the picture completely.

  “I’m sorry!” wailed Cody. “Here, have my picture instead.”

  “That’s okay.” It was kind of Cody, but she hadn’t meant to spoil Pippa’s work. It was just bad luck.

  “Today can’t get any worse,” Pippa grumbled out loud as she walked home from school, her umbrella up to stop her from getting wet in a sudden heavy downpour. She thought longingly of sunny Chevalia and her best pony friend, Stardust. If only she were there now. That would be a lucky day!

  Whoosh—Splat!

  A car sped through a muddy puddle, spraying Pippa from head to toe.

  “Bad luck, Pippa,” said Miranda. “Lucky for me, I didn’t get splashed.”

  When they got home, Pippa started heading upstairs to change out of her muddy school clothes, but her mom stopped her. “There’s a special surprise in the kitchen. Go and say ‘hello.’”

  Pippa trailed after Miranda. She wasn’t in the mood for surprises. The way her day was going, she’d be lucky if it was a good one!

  A friendly-looking lady was at the table sipping a cup of tea.

  “Aunt Maeve!” Miranda ran across the kitchen and hugged her aunt.

  “Pippa and Miranda, my favorite nieces.” Aunt Maeve laughed and put her cup down. Her black hair was tied in a ponytail and her green eyes sparkled. “Well, that’s two nice hugs, one from Miranda and one from Jack. What about you, Pippa? Do you have a hug for your auntie?”

  “Hi, Aunt Maeve.” Pippa sidestepped her little brother, who was sitting on the floor playing with a toy leprechaun. She wrapped her arms around her aunt and hugged her tightly. “It’s so good to see you.”

  “To be sure. Only, your face is telling me a different story. What’s up, Pips?”

  “Not much.” Pippa sighed. “Things keep going wrong. Bad luck is following me around today.”

  “Luck’s a funny thing,” said Aunt Maeve wisely. “Sometimes you have it; sometimes you make it; but once in a while your luck runs out, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Today I’m feeling very lucky. I’m spending St. Patrick’s Day with my sister and my wonderful nieces and nephew. But I remember a time when I didn’t feel so lucky. I was the same age as you, Pips, and living in a tiny village in County Galway.”

  Pippa’s aunt Maeve was from Ireland and only visited every few years. But Pippa always loved her stories of what Mom called “the old country.”

  “Now, County Galway is a beautiful part of Ireland,” Aunt Maeve continued, “just the right place for having a pony. We even had a big field next to the house to keep one in. But there wasn’t enough money for luxuries, so I had to make do with Shanks’s pony. That’s Irish for ‘my feet!’ One day there was a huge storm that ended with a beautiful rainbow. Everyone in Ireland knows there’s a pot at the end of the rainbow full of leprechauns’ gold. I was determined to find that rainbow’s end and buy myself a pony. I put on my boots and set out. I walked for miles, getting stuck in mud, falling over in a puddle, making holes in my boots, but I never caught up with that rainbow.”

  Aunt Maeve sighed. “It was a bad-luck day, for sure. I was about to turn around, when I spotted a ruined cot
tage. In the field next door, there was a pony. I couldn’t believe it! She was a golden Connemara, and you could tell that she’d been beautiful once. Not anymore, though. She looked like she was starving, poor thing! Her bones stuck out and she needed a good grooming. Her golden fur was thick with mud, her mane and tail tangled, and her brown eyes full of sadness.”

  “Poor pony!” Pippa sighed, remembering her summer vacation and the well-kept, shiny-coated, bright-eyed ponies she’d ridden at the riding school. “What did you do?”

  “The pony needed food and, as I didn’t have any on me, I started to pull up the grass in the lane. The pony was chomping it down when a girl about the same age as me came along. No Shanks’s pony for her. She had a brand-new bicycle. It was super fancy, with a basket and everything. She told me that the pony was hers and she was fed up looking after it. She offered to swap it for my lucky necklace, a gold coin on a chain. I told her that the necklace hadn’t brought me any luck, but she said it was prettier than the pony and a lot less hassle. So I gave her the necklace, she gave me the pony, we shook on the deal, and then she cycled away.”

  “And you took the pony home,” breathed Pippa.

  “I couldn’t!” exclaimed Aunt Maeve. “I didn’t have anything to lead it with. I ran all the way home to fetch a rope and something for the pony to eat. It took me ages and when I got back, the field was empty. My new pony had gone!”

  “No! Are you sure you went back to the right place?”

  “Definitely! There was no mistaking that ruined cottage. I checked the field and it had hoofprints in it. There had been a pony but it had mysteriously vanished. I never saw the girl again either.” Aunt Maeve sniffed away a tear. “When I told my parents, Ma said it was good to have such a wonderful imagination, but I didn’t have to tell stories to explain why I’d lost my necklace. Da said the same.”

  “That’s so sad!” Pippa understood how Aunt Maeve must have felt. Adults never believed her either, especially when she told them about Chevalia, the magical island where her talking pony friends lived. “That story makes me feel lucky!”

  Aunt Maeve nodded. “Whenever I feel that my luck’s run out, I remember my poor underfed pony. I think about all the good things to eat in my pantry; my friends and family, especially my wonderful nieces and nephew; and suddenly I’m the luckiest person in Ireland.”

  Pippa smiled at her aunt. She had lots of things to feel lucky about too!

  Much later on, after a riotous sing-along with Aunt Maeve playing on the bodhran, an Irish drum, Pippa lay in bed wondering about the starving Connemara pony. What had happened to her? Ponies didn’t just disappear! Pippa closed her eyes but as she drifted off to sleep, a sharp whinny made her sit up straight. She sat in the dark listening and then she heard it again. A high-pitched whinny followed by the rattle of stones on glass.

  Pippa ran to the window. She flung back the curtain and, pushing the window wide, she gasped at the sight before her.

  It was a crew of pirate ponies!

  Chapter 2

  “Ahoy there, Pippa MacDonald,” a familiar voice boomed up at her.

  Four ponies had gathered on the lawn under the window, and Pippa recognized their leader.

  “Captain Rascal!” Pippa carefully leaned out to look at him. Captain Rascal was a sturdy black-and-white horse with a neatly cropped mane, wearing a three-cornered pirate’s hat and a purple eye patch. “What are you doing here?”

  “We’ve come to take you back to Chevalia.”

  “Is there trouble again? Do you need help?”

  “Aye, you could say that. Hurry up, there’s no time to lose.”

  “On my way.” Pippa drew back inside and silently threw on some clothes. The landing outside her bedroom was in darkness. She could hear loud snores from Jack’s and her mother’s bedrooms. On tiptoe, Pippa crept downstairs, past the pull-out sofa where Aunt Maeve was sleeping, and let herself out through the back door. There was no need to leave a note. Pippa had been on many adventures in Chevalia and knew that no time passed in her own world when she went there.

  Outside, a thin moon lit the garden. Pippa ran across the wet grass to Captain Rascal and his ragtag crew.

  “Up you hop,” said Captain Rascal. Pippa eyed him doubtfully. He was a lot taller than Princess Stardust, her best princess pony friend. Luckily, Captain Rascal was near a flowerpot. By standing on it, Pippa was able to climb on his back.

  “Anchors up and make sail!” called Captain Rascal.

  Pippa grabbed at a handful of mane as Captain Rascal trotted through the garden and into the street. He had a rolling gait that reminded Pippa of a boat sailing on the sea. The pirate ponies trotted through the sleeping neighborhood. Pippa hoped they wouldn’t wake the neighbors and was relieved when they arrived at the park at the end of the street. Pippa guessed they were heading for the river, but her breath caught in surprise when she saw the enormous boat tied up on the bank.

  Purple and gold sails hung limply from the three wooden masts. A smaller, triangular black flag drooped from the top of the tallest. Even in the dark, Pippa could clearly see the white horseshoe and crossbones pictured on it. Cannons lined the boat deck. Pippa’s stomach flipped with excitement.

  “The Jolly Horseshoe,” she whispered, reading the pirate ship’s name from the bow.

  A blue-and-red parrot perched on the ship’s wheel watched her with interest. “Pieces of eight, Pippa’s late,” he squawked.

  “Permission to come aboard,” said Pippa, smartly saluting.

  “Permission granted.” Wearing a pink tiara, a pretty white pony with a long white mane and tail stepped out of the shadows.

  “Princess Stardust!” Pippa slid from the captain’s back, raced across the hoof plank, and threw her arms around Stardust’s neck.

  “I knew you’d come.” Stardust softly blew in Pippa’s wavy brown hair. “Chevalia needs your help again.”

  “Stand by to set sail,” boomed Captain Rascal.

  The pirate ponies began to sing, out of tune but with lots of enthusiasm.

  Lift the hoof plank, one, two, three.

  Away we sail on the deep blue sea.

  A pirate’s life is the one for me.

  A pirate’s life on the bluey blue sea.

  Pippa pushed her hair away from her face. “Where in Chevalia are we going first?” she shouted against the sudden burst of wind.

  “To find a pot of gold,” said Stardust. “To pay Divine to stop using the unlucky horseshoe to steal all of Chevalia’s luck.”

  Pippa’s face creased with puzzlement. “How can a horseshoe be unlucky?”

  “Divine put a spell on it. The horseshoe acted like a magnet. It attracted all the luck in Chevalia to it.”

  “It’s a bad business,” said Captain Rascal. “Nothing’s gone right since Divine stole all the luck. We lost a sail when a rope broke and we almost ran aground earlier today. Divine’s keeping the luck for herself until we pay a hefty ransom in gold. Luckily, my grandmother, the great pirate pony Captain Scallywag, hid a pot of gold somewhere on Chevalia’s coast. And we’re going to find it!”

  Pippa was surprised. It wasn’t like Divine to simply want money. Divine wanted respect, and she wanted to rule. “Are you sure this isn’t another plan to rule Chevalia?” she asked.

  “I don’t know,” said Stardust. “But I do know this. My big sister Princess Crystal broke her tiara this morning and you know how careful she is! And remember my friend Blossom? She was training for the next Equestriathon when she tripped and sprained a hoof. Queen Moonshine’s in complete despair. She doesn’t approve of ransoms, but without luck, Chevalia is doomed.”

  “That’s awful!” said Pippa, but at the same time she couldn’t help feeling a little thrilled. Another adventure in Chevalia! “Where are we going first?”

  “We’re going to search the caves and coves of Chevalia to locate that ole treasure,” Captain Rascal chimed in. “We’d like you to join us, Pippa MacDonald, lover of ponies; you are our
good-luck charm!”

  Pippa didn’t want to be anyone’s charm, but she was happy to help since the ponies were in trouble. “I’ll do my best,” she said. “But I’m not feeling very lucky.”

  The wind picked up as The Jolly Horseshoe left the shelter of the estuary for the open sea. Pippa clutched the handrail and peered into the night. Stardust was speaking. Pippa could see her mouth moving but the howling wind caught her words and tossed them away. The boat dipped and rose. Pippa stood with her feet wide to stop herself from falling over on the pitching deck. Soon, the waves were taller than Stableside Castle. The wind tossed the spray at the ship, drenching Pippa in cold water. Stardust nudged Pippa’s arm and nodded at the cabin.

  “Good idea,” gasped Pippa, the wind snatching her breath away.

  Slowly, clutching each other, Pippa and Stardust fought their way across the open deck.

  Stardust opened the cabin door and started to go belowdecks, but Pippa stopped her.

  “We won’t be able to see when we reach Chevalia. We should stay up here, in case we miss something.”

  “Good point,” said Stardust.

  They huddled together in the doorway, but they couldn’t escape from the wind and spray.

  “It’s freezing,” Stardust said with a shiver, her teeth chattering. “Please, can we go inside?”

  The boat jumped and bucked like a wild horse. Pippa’s heart leaped with it. Were they going to capsize? Captain Rascal must have thought so too for he ordered the pirate-pony crew to take down the mainsail.

  “Whoaaa!” Stardust clung to Pippa as the boat tipped suddenly.

  Pippa hung on to the door with both hands to stop herself from sliding across the deck and into the churning water. If the pirate ponies didn’t get the mainsail down quickly, they were going to capsize!

  “The sail is stuck,” said Stardust.

  The purple and gold sail was stretched like an overfull balloon. No matter how hard the pirate ponies pulled on the rope, it wouldn’t budge. Squinting her eyes against the spray, Pippa stared at the mast. The rope was caught on a wooden cleat.