2
THE WILD WINDS
The pony showed more speed than she ever had before, dashing through the twilight evening, and Princess Sophia was at once both terrified and exhilarated. In one moment, the young princess thought to pull the reins with all her might to try slowing the pony, yet at the same time, with the wind whipping the air from her lungs and the pounding hooves beneath her, Sophia held on to Sky’s mane, and smiled.
‘Stop her! Stop her!’ The king’s call could be heard in the distance, as the sound of heavy thundering hooves made their way towards Sophia and Sky. Sophia found herself looking behind her shoulder, hoping not to be caught. She realised this was the first time she had ever been alone. She always had company and always had someone to keep an eye on her. It drove her mad. At home in the castle, despite the numerous rooms, despite the labyrinth of corridors and tunnels, she could never read a good book, play in the gardens with imaginary fairies, or even bathe in peace. She had maids and servants and guards, and she felt their eyes on her with everything she did. No wonder she was so bad tempered!
So bearing this in mind, Sophia leant forward, lifting her weight out of the saddle to help Sky gallop faster. She let go of the reins and whispered into her pony’s ears, ‘Fly, Sky! Fly!’
And Sky, so unaccustomed to doing what she wanted to do, flickered an ear, and flew towards the woods that led to Faerie.
‘Quickly!’ screamed the king, as he and his chargers followed in hot pursuit. ‘Once they go into the woods, there’ll be no stopping them! We’ll never see them again!’
The tree’s long shadows reached out towards the girl and her pony as they galloped onwards. The wild wind continued to call, and Sky continued to gallop, unaware of what would happen once they reached the woods.
Twilight darkened and the moon raised itself from behind the trees. A cool purple mist rose up from the land. The smell of lavender and bubble gum wafted through the air. Sophia breathed deeply, as did Sky. In one more stride, they would reach the woods, and…
Snap!
The king and his men’s horses shrieked and came to an abrupt halt. Other than a sizzle of indigo smoke, there was silence.
‘She’s gone!’ cried the king in astonishment. He urged his horse forward, much to the protests of his men.
‘You can’t go in, Sire. This land cannot be ruled without a king and, if you enter Faerie, you are sure never to return,’ his closest royal aide advised.
‘But I have to try to find her,’ said the king, kicking his horse a little harder. The horse (quite rightly so) refused to go anywhere near the sizzling grass of the wood’s boundary.
‘But, Your Majesty, you cannot find her, for you know once inside the wood of Faerie, your daughter and her pony no longer exist. They have gone. Forever,’ said the aide.
And with nothing more to do, the royal parade turned their horses and rode slowly towards the castle in the distance, under a dark blanket of grief, and sadness, and night.
3
THE LAND OF FAERIE
When the king’s royal aide had said the princess and her pony no longer existed, he was right – but only partially right. For although they did not exist in the royal county of Loveheart Heath, they did, however, exist in the strange land of Faerie.
They arrived with a burst of purple-tipped flames, which dispersed into glitter and butterflies that quickly flew away, taking with them a slight smell of gunpowder.
Sky stopped galloping immediately and Sophia’s eyes opened wide.
‘Oh my! Now we’ve done it!’ Sophia said, and then giggled. ‘Look, Sky, your mane is standing up on end… and so is your tail.’
Sky pivoted her long neck to look back at herself and her princess.
‘Why, your mane is standing up on end too,’ said Sky, who jumped with surprise at the words coming out of her own muzzle.
‘Wow! You can speak!’ Sophia said, running her hand along her long blonde ponytail, which indeed reached towards the sapphire-coloured clouds above her.
‘Well, this is very strange!’ Sky said, her soft black muzzle twitching as she spoke.
‘But which is stranger,’ said Sophia, sounding not in the least bit as stuck up as she did in her own land (perhaps with nobody around to overhear or correct her), ‘the fact that you can talk, or the fact that we seem to be upside-down?’
The two of them shrugged their shoulders and with no better idea, they decided to carry on walking through the wood. The princess and her pony walked along the crunchy forest floor, branches snapping and leaves rustling in their path.
Trailing behind them were golden shimmering lights indicating where Sky’s hooves had been. Every single step they had taken twinkled like burning stars and flickered as though lit by a thousand tiny flames.
‘There’s no chance to hide!’ said Sophia, looking behind her with a furrow of worry across her brow.
‘Are we trying to hide?’ asked Sky.
Sophia realised she didn’t really know. All she knew was it was becoming darker and darker by the moment, and the air around them had become quite black. Little glowing eyes could be seen among the branches of the trees all around them. Some eyes were wide. Some were mere slits. Some blinked with incredible speed, and others remained open and did not blink at all.
‘Hullo?’ Sophia called out, quietly at first and then a little louder. But there was no reply other than the rustling of leaves behind them, never getting closer but also never getting further away. Sophia reached as far forward as she could in the saddle, and cupping her hand around her mouth she whispered into her pony’s ear, ‘I think we are being followed.’
Sky stopped suddenly. So too, did the rustling behind them.
‘What do we do?’ asked Sky nervously. ‘Shall we run? I can gallop as quickly as I did before.’
Sophia thought about it, but neither of them knew the wood’s paths, or the twists and turns and the dangers that may be awaiting them in the darkness.
‘I am not sure how wise it would be to run away. Look what happened last time!’ Sophia looked around the strange land but, other than the glowing eyes and the sparkling footsteps, she saw nothing but the night’s heavy colour. She suddenly wished she had a maid or servant to tell her what to do.
‘Well, child, that will not do at all!’ said a slithering voice, both raspy and as smooth as honey all at the same time. ‘There’s little point in wishing for the very thing you once wished to leave behind.’
Sophia was sure she could hear the tinkling of laughter like wind chimes in the summer night’s breeze.
‘Sophia, isn’t it?’ The voice came closer, as did the rustling. ‘Yes, yes, that’s right. The spoilt princess.’
‘I am not spoilt!’ Sophia said at once, caring not a fig that her voice had become loud and bitter. Any fear she felt disappeared with her anger.
‘Pampered little princess!’ the voice continued. ‘Mollycoddled, ruined child!’
‘How dare you!’ Sophia retorted, her haughtiest voice returning. ‘You must not speak to royalty like that! My father…’ she paused for dramatic effect ‘…the KING…’ she spat out with emphasis ‘…will have you hung up for the court to throw rotten tomatoes and soggy cabbages at day and night.’
Beneath her, Sophia could feel Sky walking backwards ever so slowly, and heard the tiniest whisper from her soft muzzle.
‘Sophia, I don’t think you should be speaking like this,’ Sky said, her voice shaking as much as her knees.
‘I can talk how I ruddy well like!’ raged Sophia, before feeling all the air around her getting sucked away as if the entire forest took a short, sharp gasp of breath. The glowing eyes that had blinked furiously stopped blinking altogether, and the eyes that had been mere slits opened wide.
‘Uh oh!’ Sophia and Sky said together.
A swirl of green smoke appeared on the ground in front of them, coiling and spiralling upwards and outwards. As it became larger, small sparkling frogs emerged, leaping out of the smoke
and into the forest darkness, croaking and moaning about bad language. They left wisps of tadpole-shaped shadows as they disappeared. Once the green smoke cleared, a tall, snake-like creature with a top hat and rather fetching waistcoat appeared. The waistcoat was decorated with zodiac signs of silver, which moved around and changed position every few seconds.
The snake-like creature smoked some sort of long pipe, which he removed from his slit of a mouth with a skinny arm and pointed towards Sophia.
‘Carry on talking like that and you’ll find you’ll no longer be able to talk at all,’ said the snake. He raised an eyebrow and tilted his head as Sophia thought about giving her pony a good kick in the ribs to gallop into the night. ‘Don’t think you can outrun me, foolish girl!’ he said, and cocked his head towards the trembling pony. ‘And what would poor Sky think if she knew you wanted to kick her belly so?’
‘You can read my mind?’ Sophia asked, remembering all the books she had read about magic and folklores in the kingdom beyond the bridge.
‘I am no mind reader, but I can always see two futures for everybody I gaze upon. From there, I can guess what you may or may not choose to do. I encourage you not to run, but to listen.’
Sophia thought about demanding to be taken home immediately, but the stern look on the snake’s face changed her mind at once. She bit her bottom lip to stop her words slipping out.
‘Firstly,’ said the snake, waving his pipe in a circular motion. ‘Let us get the ground below us, and our heads from the clouds.’
With that, the entire world felt like it bounced under Sophia and Sky’s feet and in a flash, their hair was no longer standing up on end and everything looked a little more as it should.
‘Many of your folk who cross the boundary between there and here fall off the ground with their first few steps!’ laughed the snake. Tittering could be heard amongst the trees.
‘Fall off the ground?’ asked Sky.
‘Yes, right down into the clouds below!’
Sophia and Sky were confused, but there were a lot of confusing things happening in the woods, so one more did not seem to make that much difference.
‘Now tell me,’ said the snake. ‘Why did you come here?’
Now that was a very good question, and as with most things in life, a simple answer would never truly explain.
‘I wanted to be free,’ said Sky. ‘So, I galloped as fast as I could and brought both of us here.’
‘I wanted to be free too!’ said Sophia. ‘So, I encouraged Sky to continue and did not once pull on the reins to try to stop her.’
Both were true statements. There was, however, so much more to each story, but the snake was not interested in those details. He did not deal with the past, oh no. He dealt with the now and the changing of the later.
‘I like to give folk a chance,’ the snake explained. ‘I see both versions of your futures and I want to set you a challenge. Win and you will indeed be free. Free to roam Faerie forever if you so choose, or free to go home. Lose and you must give up the one thing you love the most.’
But before either Sophia or Sky had the chance to ask any questions, there was a puff of green smoke, a flash of silver stars, and the snake had gone. So too had the eyes in the trees. The young princess and her pony were quite alone.
4
THE BOG OF ETERNAL ENDURANCE
After a worrisome sleep under the stars, the princess and the pony awoke to the most beautiful sunrise either had ever seen. There were several suns rising at the same time, sending golden rays across the land in every direction. The sky swirled with reds and amber, before turning into a daisy yellow, and eventually to the colour of a bluebird’s under-feathers. Before they had chance to think about eating breakfast, their conversation returned to the snake.
‘What on earth do you think the challenge may be?’ asked Sky.
‘I’m not all together sure,’ said Princess Sophia through a wide-mouthed yawn. Her hair stuck out in all directions. ‘I’m rather worried though. How can we win if we don’t know what our challenge is? It’s dreadfully unfair.’
‘I agree,’ said Sky, stretching out her pony legs where she lay on the floor, and hoisting herself up to stand. She gave her body a good shake and asked, ‘What is the thing you love the most if we do lose?’
Princess Sophia shrugged. She had never considered anything she owned or wanted ever being taken away. In her life at the castle, she always had everything she asked for, whether she truly desired it or not.
‘Well, right now, the thing I would love the most is breakfast!’ the princess said, rubbing her stomach.
Sky whickered a gentle laugh and suggested they make their way deeper into Faerie to discover what they could find to eat.
They had not gone far when things went dreadfully wrong. They followed a well-worn track within the woods, which opened up into a large meadow.
‘Golly, how beautiful!’ cried Princess Sophia.
‘Makes me want to gallop and gallop and gallop!’ Sky said, prancing on her pony toes with excitement.
The meadow had long soft grass swaying gently in the summer breeze. It was filled with enormous dandelions in seed, sending thousands of soft white seedlings drifting through the air like magical snow.
‘Is that the thing you love the most, Sky? To gallop?’ Princess Sophia asked.
‘Well, now you mention it, I believe it is!’ Sky replied.
‘Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s fly, Sky!’
The pony did not need any more encouragement. She immediately sprang into a hearty gallop, enjoying the wind blowing through her forelock and nostrils. Sophia whooped and cheered, enjoying the speed and freedom as the landscape whizzed past her eyes. They were going faster and faster, then…
Thwack.
The princess hit the ground with such force, the air in her lungs escaped in a sharp whoosh. Winded, she lay on the grass trying to catch her breath, which burnt in her chest. Her head rung with the impact as even though the grass was soft, the ground below it was hard. When the ringing in her head quietened, she heard a voice. Sky’s voice.
‘Help me! Help me, Sophia, I’m sinking!’ Sky neighed desperately.
Sophia got to her hands and knees and saw her pony submerged up to her shoulders in dark, sticky mud. Sky struggled and fought but the more she thrashed, the further she sank into the bog.
Despite the pain in Sophia’s winded chest, her dizziness from hitting her head on the ground and the aching she felt all over from her fall, she scrambled to her feet.
‘Stop fighting it, Sky! You need to stop moving,’ she called, and raced as much as her hobbling legs could carry her towards the sinking pony.
‘But I’m scared if I stop I may sink completely,’ whinnied the pony.
‘Just wait; I’ll help you,’ Princess Sophia called, not knowing in the slightest how she could help, but hoping she would work it out all the same. Sky continued to sink deeper than her shoulders, and towards her withers.
Just as Princess Sophia got within touching distance of her pony, her own foot sank into the ground. She stopped suddenly, pulling her foot free to stand on the edge of the bubbling brown mud.
‘It’s a bog!’ the princess called, wondering how on earth she would get any closer to help her pony.
‘Save yourself!’ cried Sky. Her body was completely submerged by now, and only her head and neck were above ground level. ‘I can’t be rescued, please save yourself.’
Princess Sophia looked at Sky sinking. Only yesterday she would have quite happily let her pony sink. Only yesterday, she wanted a new pony.
But now they had travelled to Faerie together, sought freedom together, and looked after each other in the strange land. They had become friends, and there was no way she would let her pony disappear into the ground below.
‘No, I’m going to get you out, no matter what!’ And Princess Sophia tentatively tiptoed into the bubbling bog.
As her toes sunk in, she smelt stale coffee an
d liquorice. Princess Sophia hated both, but still she continued to make her way towards Sky, sinking a little deeper with each footstep she took.
Snap!
Suddenly, there was an explosion of green smoke and with it, the snake-like creature appeared. This time, he wore a waistcoat of suns and rainbows, and a wicked smile upon his face. He took his pipe from his mouth before he spoke.
‘This is The Bog of Eternal Endurance. Once sucked down into its depth, you will continue to seek escape for the rest of time and beyond. But of course, there is no escape!’ said the shrewd snake, his slit of a mouth wide in a smile. ‘Will you save yourself, Sophia, and leave your pony?’
Princess Sophia looked into his sly eyes and not for one second did she consider his proposal.
Wordlessly, she waded in, feeling the mud below her feet pulling her harder and deeper into its depths.
‘Stop, Sophia, it’s pointless. Leave me and save yourself,’ whinnied Sky. ‘I’ve had what I wanted, I’ve tasted freedom and it was the most beautiful thing in the world. Now, save yourself so you can savour your own freedom.’
Princess Sophia thought about all the times she had her grooms keep Sky locked up in a stable to ensure she stayed clean.
She thought about all the times Sky was whipped or told off, and all the times the pony was forced to do things she would rather not have done.
These thoughts made the princess’s heart pound with guilt and sadness.
‘How could I ever have been so cruel to see you as just a possession?’ she called out to her pony, whose entire neck was submerged within the Bog of Eternal Endurance, leaving only her head held high out of the mud. ‘I promise to get you out and when I do, I will never make you do anything you don’t want to do, ever again!’
Princess Sophia sobbed but she continued to make her way towards her sinking pony. She was now waist deep and getting deeper with every step. Sky’s cheeks were under the mud and she began to neigh with fear.
‘Please stop, save yourself!’ Sky called one last time as the mud closed around her face, threatening in any moment to submerge her completely.
Magical Adventures & Pony Tales Boxset (Vol 1 - 6) Page 5
