Best Friends For Ever! (7 page)

Too soon the wonderful Midsummer evening was drawing to a close. As the ponies began to drift back to their stables, Princess Cloud swooped overhead.

‘It’s time, Pippa. I’m here to take you home.’

Stardust’s eyes filled with tears.

‘I can hardly bear to let you go,’ she whinnied.

Cloud looked at her youngest sister.

‘Would you like to come with us and fly your friend home?’ she asked.

‘Yes,’ Stardust said immediately. ‘I’d love that.’

Cloud flew over to rub Stardust’s nose and straight away she grew a huge pair of feathery, white wings. Pippa neatly vaulted on to her back amid cries of farewell from her new friends.

Queen Moonshine’s voice rose above them all.

‘Goodbye, Pippa MacDonald, friend of Chevalia. You’re always welcome here. Come back and see us soon.’

Pippa choked back her tears.

‘I will,’ she said, waving. ‘Bye, Honey. Bye, Goldie. Bye, Blossom and Misty, Comet, Jet, Crystal, Storm, King Firestar, Peggy, and goodbye, Cinders.’

With a dip of their wings, Stardust and Cloud rose into the moonlit sky and up over the glass-like sea.

‘Wait,’ Pippa cried, seeing two huge horse-like forms emerging from the water. ‘It’s Triton and Rosella!’

The giant seahorses bowed their heads as Stardust hovered above them.

‘Pippa, lover of ponies, thank you for saving our island,’ they called.

‘Thank you for helping me,’ Pippa called back.

A warm glow filled Pippa as Stardust sped away. She was glad she’d seen her seahorse friends one last time. It was with them that the entire adventure on Chevalia had started.

Stardust and Cloud flew side by side in silence. Gradually the dark night gave way to the rosy fingers of dawn and the sky lightened, until it was bright blue in the midday sun.

Cloud and Stardust both slowed, their huge wings straining with effort.

‘Can you feel it?’ asked Cloud. ‘We’ve left the magic time bubble behind. You’re nearly home, Pippa.’

Pippa wrapped her arms around Stardust’s soft neck.

‘Best friend,’ she whispered, ‘I’m going to miss you.’

‘I’ll miss you too,’ Stardust said, her voice full of tears. ‘But remember – it’s not goodbye. We’ll meet again, I know it.’

‘Me too,’ said Pippa.

They were hovering just above the sand by the horseshoe-shaped cove. Pippa hugged Stardust one last time and, as she did so, Stardust pressed something cold into Pippa’s hand.

‘To remember me by,’ she said softly.

Then Pippa was sliding from Stardust’s back and she dropped on to the soft sand. The whirr of wings overhead faded and, as Pippa stared into the bright blue sky, Cloud and Stardust vanished.

The beach was quiet apart from the soft hiss of the sea as it lapped against the shore. Pippa rubbed her eyes. Suddenly it was hard to imagine she’d been anywhere at all. Had she fallen asleep and had the most amazing dream? Her hand tightened around something solid. She unclenched her fingers and in her palm was Stardust’s sparkly pink tiara. Pippa stared at it for a few seconds then carefully slid it into her shorts. As she did so, she realised she was back in her own clothes.

‘Pippa!’

Mum was calling.

Pippa raced up the beach. Mum was just putting up a parasol over a rug that was spread with an amazing picnic. The Midsummer Ball now seemed a lifetime ago and she was ravenously hungry. Sitting down between her sister Miranda and her brother Jack, she reached for a cheese sandwich.

‘This is going to be the best holiday ever,’ Pippa declared.

Mum smiled as she handed round plastic beakers of squash.

‘And that’s even before I’ve told you about my final surprise.’

Pippa hurriedly swallowed a mouthful of sandwich.

‘What surprise?’ she asked.

‘I know how much you like ponies –’

‘
Love
ponies,’ Pippa corrected her.

Mum smiled. ‘Just down the lane from the holiday cottage there’s a riding school, and guess what? I’ve arranged for you to have riding lessons. Wouldn’t you love to learn to ride a pony?’

Pippa was speechless for a moment. Then she jumped up and hugged her mum so hard that she nearly dropped her drink.

‘Thanks, Mum. It’s a dream come true!’

While Chevalia was celebrating the return of the eight magical horseshoes and enjoying the festivities, this intrepid reporter interviewed Princess Stardust and Pippa MacDonald in between the Royal Concert and the Midsummer Ball.

TI (Tulip Inkhoof):
Well, you two are certainly the toast of the party. How does it feel to have saved Chevalia?

S (Princess Stardust):
It feels incredible!

P (Pippa):
It does feel great but, Stardust, let’s not forget that saving the horseshoes was a team effort. We couldn’t have done it by ourselves.

S:
You’re right, Pippa – the entire island came together to help.