A Special Surprise

by Chloe Ryder

  ‘I bet they were up all night listening to Stardust’s stories. They’d better not be too tired to take part in the gymkhana.’

  Pippa entered the yard and stopped dead. Her mouth opened but the words were stuck in her throat.

  ‘Stardust, Snowdrop, Sunflower, Rose . . .’ Pippa rushed from stable to stable – they were all empty. The ponies had gone.

  ‘Hello, Pippa dear. You’re early this morning. I haven’t mucked out yet but you can tie Snowdrop up in the yard to groom her if you like?’ said Mrs Woods as she walked into the yard.

  Pippa swung round. Her riding teacher was dressed in her old clothes – a faded top, a torn pair of jeans and green wellingtons. Her hair was tied back in a neat ponytail.

  ‘The p-p-ponies. They’ve gone,’ Pippa stuttered.

  ‘Gone?’ The colour drained from Mrs Woods’ face. She rushed around, looking into every stable. Then she pinched herself hard.

  ‘Ouch! It’s not a nightmare then. This is terrible. Someone’s stolen my ponies.’

  Mrs Woods’ hands shook as she pulled a mobile phone from her pocket and called the police. Pippa was shaking too. It was bad enough that the riding school ponies were missing but worse still for Stardust, who didn’t even belong there.

  ‘Yes,’ said Mrs Woods, speaking into her mobile. ‘I was the last person to leave and I definitely locked the gate.’

  Pippa froze. Shame flooded through her. Mrs Woods hadn’t been the last person at the stables last night. She had. Had she locked the gate as she left? To her horror, Pippa couldn’t remember.

  Mrs Woods ended her call. She patted Pippa on the arm.

  ‘I’m so sorry but I’ll have to cancel the gymkhana. I’ll phone the parents of the other children and tell them in a moment, but first I want to look in the stable next to Snowdrop’s again.’

  Pippa followed Mrs Woods into the stable where Stardust had spent the night. Her face burned when Mrs Woods said, ‘This stable was empty only it looks like a pony has slept here.’ She gave a little laugh. ‘How silly of me! I can’t have mucked the stable out properly after it was last used.’

  Pippa stared at the straw scattered over the floor. Stardust must have had a restless night, or maybe there’d been a struggle when the horse thieves captured her. Pippa shivered. Poor Stardust! She must have been so frightened.

  ‘You might as well go home, Pippa,’ said Mrs Woods kindly. ‘I’ll call you if I hear anything. I’m very sorry. I hope it hasn’t spoilt your holiday.’

  ‘Could I have a look round before I go?’ asked Pippa. ‘In case there are any clues?’

  Mrs Woods hesitated. ‘You can look but please don’t touch anything. If you find any clues then let me know. The police will need to see them too.’

  ‘OK,’ said Pippa.

  Mrs Woods walked off to her office and Pippa began to look round the yard. Apart from Stardust’s rumpled stable, it was spotlessly tidy. There wasn’t anything out of the ordinary at all. Except . . . Pippa crouched down to look at a series of black marks that crossed the yard and ended at the stable block. Her eyes widened in disbelief. ‘It can’t be.’ She stared at the black marks again. They were a series of tiny horseshoes. ‘That’s impossible!’ Pippa traced a finger around one of the hoof prints. It made a black mark on her finger – as black as the rock from the volcano on Chevalia, where the Night Mares had once lived under the rule of Baroness Divine. Pippa’s finger tingled unpleasantly.

  ‘Dark magic,’ said Pippa. She now had a very good idea who had stolen the ponies – wicked Divine. She also knew where to start looking for them – Chevalia. ‘Chevalia, here I come,’ said Pippa as she hurtled down the drive.

  Pippa ran all the way down the winding path that led to Horseshoe Cove. She burst out on to the beach. Her riding boots sank into the powdery sand and she reached the surf line hot and panting. Pippa stood with her hands shielding her eyes from the sun-spangled water, while she got her breath back.

  ‘Triton, Rosella.’ Pippa shouted the names of the giant seahorses that had first carried her to Chevalia. ‘Triton, Rosella, I need your help.’

  She touched her tiara and felt the magic of Chevalia fizz through her fingers. Seconds later there was a whooshing noise. The sea reared up in a huge wave, in the shape of the head and forelegs of a galloping horse. Relief flooded through Pippa as two giant seahorses exploded through the motionless wave and stared expectantly at her.

  Chapter 4

  ‘Triton, Rosella,’ Pippa reached out to stroke Rosella’s pale pink face and Triton’s freckled green one. ‘Something terrible has happened.’

  Pippa quickly told her story. She was coming to the end when she heard the muffled thud of hooves on sand. She spun round to see a white pony galloping along the sand.

  ‘Stardust!’ The relief made her heart soar. ‘You’re safe.’

  Stardust blew through her nose at Pippa. ‘Yes, because I didn’t sleep in that horrible stable. I was halfway through my story of how we saved Chevalia when I realised that Snowdrop was snoring. Snoring!’ Stardust repeated in disgust. ‘She wasn’t the only one. All of the ponies had fallen asleep. I tried to get comfortable but the straw was scratchy, the ground too hard and there was a funny smell.’ Stardust gave a dainty shudder. ‘I need my beauty sleep or I get saddlebags under my eyes. That’s when I decided to sleep outside in the field. It was a bit like the time I went camping with Honey and Comet, except that the horseflies here aren’t as friendly as the ones back home.’

  ‘Where are the riding school ponies?’ Pippa interrupted.

  Stardust’s eyes were huge with fear. ‘I was just getting to that part. Divine took them. I’m sure it was her. I was woken by the sound of hooves. Then I heard a cackling laugh. There was a lot of grey smoke and a very bad smell. It made my eyes water. When the smoke cleared the riding school ponies had gone.’

  Pippa’s blood turned to ice. ‘But what would Divine want with a stable full of ponies?’

  ‘Maybe she’s lonely,’ said Stardust.

  ‘Perhaps she needs new ponies to do her dirty work, since the volcano ponies discovered how mean she was,’ suggested Triton.

  ‘I knew it was Divine,’ said Pippa. ‘I’m going back to Chevalia to find the ponies. That’s if you’ll take me there?’ Pippa looked at Triton and Rosella.

  ‘Of course we will.’

  ‘What about me?’ Stardust wailed. ‘I lost the wings that Cloud gave me when I landed here. How am I going to get home?’

  Triton put his nose inside his pouch and brought out a small blue bottle that glowed mysteriously.

  ‘Can you keep a secret?’ he asked.

  Pippa and Stardust nodded.

  ‘This bottle contains a powerful growing potion. It’s made to an ancient formula that was invented by Nightingale.’

  ‘Nightingale, the horse who made the golden horseshoes?’ asked Pippa.

  Triton nodded.

  ‘Yes, she’s the pony that changed the volcanic rock into the island of Chevalia,’ added Rosella. ‘Long ago my seahorse ancestors took messages from Chevalia to the human world. We’re still needed to take messages back and forth between the worlds. The work can be dangerous, especially if the weather is stormy. Every pair of seahorses has a supply of magic potions, just in case we need help. ’

  Pippa’s eyes widened. She thought she knew everything about Chevalia but it still continued to surprise her.

  Triton flicked up a shell from the seabed with his tail. He sprinkled two drops of the potion on it. The lilac-coloured drops sparkled and the shell began to grow until it was twice the size of Stardust.

  ‘Climb aboard, Stardust,’ called Rosella.

  Stardust trotted through the surf, splashing water everywhere as she jumped on to the shell.

  ‘Ready, Pippa?’ asked Triton in a kindly voice.

  Pippa nodded mutely then scrambled onto Triton’s back. She just had time to grab hold of one of his spines as the seahorse took off. Even though Pippa was worried abo
ut the riding school ponies she couldn’t help enjoy the journey to Chevalia. Riding a seahorse was as much fun as riding a pony. After a while Pippa saw a smudge on the horizon. The smudge grew larger and turned into an island fringed with soft, white sand. Pippa’s heart swelled with excitement. It was good to be back in Chevalia.

  Triton and Rosella stopped in the shallows. Triton gently tipped Pippa into the clear blue water and Rosella helped Stardust down from the shell.

  ‘Thank you,’ said Pippa.

  Triton pulled another bottle, green this time, out of his pouch and sprinkled the shell with two drops of liquid. In a flash of green light it returned to its normal size and sank into the sand. Both of the seahorses dipped their heads in farewell.

  ‘Good luck,’ they called as they swam out to sea.

  Pippa and Stardust splashed on to the beach.

  ‘Get on my back,’ said Stardust. ‘It’ll be quicker if you ride me.’

  Pippa twisted a handful of mane around her hands and gripped on to Stardust with her knees. The Princess Pony galloped through the Wild Forest, across the grassy Plateau and up the twisty path to Stableside Castle.

  The Castle, with its eight tall turrets, was even bigger than Pippa had remembered. They clattered across the wooden drawbridge and rode into the courtyard. Seeing the eight golden horseshoes hanging on the ancient wall, Pippa swelled with pride. Stardust drew up sharply and Pippa nearly flew over her head.

  ‘Mum, Dad! What are you doing here? I thought you’d gone out.’

  A dainty palomino with a golden coat and pure white mane and tail and a tall, handsome copper-coloured pony were standing underneath a horseshoe-shaped glitter ball. Their eyes were sad and their shoulders hunched. The courtyard was decorated with fresh flowers, coloured rosettes and streamers.

  ‘Your Majesties.’ Pippa slipped off Stardust’s back and bowed to Queen Moonshine and King Firestar.

  ‘Pippa MacDonald! Welcome back to Chevalia. And Stardust . . .’ Relief flooded the King’s face. ‘We were starting to worry about you.’

  ‘You were worried about me?’ Stardust looked confused.

  ‘The guests are arriving for your surprise birthday party,’ said the Queen. She straightened a lock of Stardust’s mane. ‘Your father and I pretended to go out so that you wouldn’t guess about the party. But when you ran off so quickly after school we thought we might have been too convincing. Were you upset when we didn’t make a fuss of you?’

  Stardust turned redder than a platter of strawberries. ‘I was a bit.’

  Princess Crystal trotted into the courtyard.

  ‘There you are! And Pippa too!’ She turned to the Princes and Princesses who were following her. ‘See, I told you there was nothing to worry about. Your sister hadn’t run away. She’d gone to fetch her girl friend, Pippa. I don’t know what you’ve been doing. You look like you’ve been dragged through a haystack sideways. Trot along and tidy up before the guests start to arrive.’

  ‘I can’t,’ said Stardust. ‘I’m sorry to spoil my surprise birthday party but I’ve got something more important to do first. Some ponies have gone missing from Pippa’s world. I think Divine might have something to do with it.’

  ‘Divine!’ The ponies gasped with surprise and horror.

  As Stardust told her family all about the missing ponies Pippa couldn’t help feeling impressed. When she’d first met her, Stardust would have hated to miss her own birthday party. She sounded very grown-up as she explained that she couldn’t enjoy herself until all the riding school ponies had been found.

  As Stardust finished speaking her big brother Jet said, ‘Divine’s been spotted recently near the haunted castle ruins in the Horseshoe Hills. Some ponies say that she’s living there.’

  ‘Really?’ Comet was miffed. He scowled at Jet through his round glasses. ‘Why didn’t you tell me before? You know how much I’d like to interview her for the book I’m writing.’

  Jet shrugged. ‘There isn’t any proof and I don’t spread pony tales.’

  Princess Crystal snorted loudly. ‘The only interview Divine will be giving, once she’s captured, is to the Royal Court. She still has to answer for stealing the horseshoes.’

  ‘If Divine’s been seen near the ruins then we should start there,’ said Stardust.

  A haunted castle! Pippa shivered. Why couldn’t Divine have chosen somewhere less scary to hide?

  Bravely she said, ‘The spooky ruins of a castle sound just like the sort of place that Divine would make her new home. Let’s go there now.’

  ‘You can’t go on your own. We’d better come with you,’ Crystal said, bossily.

  ‘We found the missing horseshoes without any help and it’ll be quicker if Pippa and I go alone,’ said Stardust.

  Princess Crystal opened her mouth to argue but Queen Moonshine was already speaking. ‘Stardust, Pippa, go. Go and rescue those poor riding school ponies.’

  Chapter 5

  Racing across the island on Stardust’s back was so much fun that Pippa almost forgot where they were going. She held on tightly, leaning forward to shout encouragement in Stardust’s ear. The wind whipped through her curls and blew it over her face. Pippa gave up trying to push it out of her eyes and put her trust in Stardust as they galloped up the craggy paths through the Horseshoe Hills. The higher they climbed, the fiercer the wind grew and the more rugged the path became. Stardust slowed to a trot and then to a walk. She edged forward one hoof at a time. Pippa looked down and immediately wished she hadn’t. They were travelling along a ridge with a river hurtling through the gorge below. Pippa’s stomach dived and she tightened her grip on Stardust’s mane. ‘Look up,’ she reminded herself, but even though she didn’t want to look down at the jagged cliff face it was hard to pull her eyes away.

  ‘Are you OK?’ called Stardust. She twisted her neck to look at Pippa.

  ‘Yes,’ replied Pippa through gritted teeth. She wished Stardust would concentrate on the path and not on her.

  ‘I think we’re nearly there.’ Loose stones rattled under Stardust’s hooves. Her neck was lathered with sweat and she was breathing heavily. Pippa knew she should offer to walk but she didn’t dare. The path was too narrow to dismount safely.

  Stardust’s steps became slower until at last the path widened. Spiky-leaved plants with small flowers clung to the rocks. The path dipped then rose. They came over the hill and into a grassy hollow. Stardust stopped dead.

  ‘Oh!’ gasped Pippa. She slid from Stardust’s back and stood with her hand around her neck. ‘It’s really creepy.’

  This castle was nothing like Stableside. It was smaller and mostly in ruins. Ivy grew everywhere, blackening the outside with its thick woody stems and dark green leaves. The turrets were crumbling and through the tumbledown walls Pippa saw a dismal round room with plants growing through the floor. The massive front door was covered in cobwebs. Pippa shivered and clamped her jaws together to stop her teeth from chattering. A thin curl of smoke rose from the back of the building.

  ‘Someone’s home,’ said Pippa. Her arms broke out in goosebumps. Taking a deep breath she added, ‘Shall we find out who?’

  Stardust nodded. Her eyes were round and her nostrils flared. On the tips of toes and hooves Pippa and Stardust crept closer and round the side of the building. The ivy grew thicker here, covering the window slits. Pippa tore it aside. Dirt flicked in her face and something pricked her finger.

  ‘Ouch,’ she said as she sucked it to stop it from stinging. This time she was more careful as she ripped the ivy from the walls. The first few rooms they looked into were empty save for dust and cobwebs that hung from the ceiling like thick, grey curtains. They found the kitchen, a vast room with a huge stone fireplace. There was a stone feeding trough draped with a few wizened carrots and another for water.

  ‘Eeew! I wouldn’t drink from that,’ said Stardust.

  They carried on until they reached almost the end of the building. Pippa had a hard time pulling the ivy from the window
slit. She was about to give up and go round to the back of the castle when she heard a noise. She put a finger to her lips to warn Stardust. With extra care Pippa pulled back the ivy. A familiar voice drifted through the air.

  ‘Volcanica was mine . . . stole it from me . . . if I can’t have it . . . so you see . . . pony world . . . here . . . mine . . . all MINE!’

  Pippa stared at Stardust. ‘She’s power crazy. Listen to her, mumbling to herself.’

  ‘What did she mean by “pony world”?’ asked Stardust.

  ‘I don’t know.’ Pippa pushed her face right up against the window opening. It was dark inside and it took her eyes a while to adjust. A sour smell drifted towards her. Pippa’s throat constricted. She swallowed hard, choking back the cough that threatened to give her away.

  ‘Can you see anything?’ hissed Stardust.

  Pippa’s eyes swept the room. It was set up as a laboratory. A complicated piece of glassware, supported with a metal stand and clamps, sat over a small fire. A vile yellow liquid bubbled inside a round bottomed flask. Clouds of smoke billowed from the opening and over to the window slit. Pippa turned her head away, took a deep breath of fresh air then looked through the window again. Her pulse raced as she spotted Divine, dressed in her long dark cloak, leaning over a sturdy oak table. Her lips were moving and suddenly Pippa realised she wasn’t talking to herself after all.

  ‘No!’ she gasped. ‘It can’t be.’

  ‘What?’ asked Stardust, bumping Pippa as she tried to look.

  Pippa stepped to the side. ‘Mini ponies,’ she breathed. ‘On the table. They look like . . . but that’s impossible.’ She rubbed her eyes with her fists then stared again. ‘Oh no! It’s worse than we thought. That tiny, white pony is Snowdrop.’ She stared at the ponies. They were the same size as the animals in her brother’s farmyard set. ‘Divine has shrunk all the riding school ponies.’