An Amazing Rescue (2 page)

‘We have to find them!’ she whispered to herself.

Pippa’s hands curled into fists. She had been brought to the enchanted island of Chevalia, inhabited by talking ponies, to do a very special job. The eight golden horseshoes that were supposed to hang on the ancient Whispering Wall in the Castle courtyard had gone missing. Without them the magical island couldn’t survive. Pippa had vowed to find the horseshoes and return them to their rightful home in time for their magical energy to be renewed on Midsummer Day.

She stared out, searching for the source of the flapping sound. It was louder now and was making the window sill vibrate. Pippa looked out of the window and up to the right.

‘Peggy!’

A huge, silver horse hovered in the sky. Pippa hadn’t seen Peggy since she helped them retrieve the first missing horseshoe from the foothills of the Volcano.

‘Hello, Pippa,’ Peggy said warmly. ‘Congratulations. Triton and Rosella, the seahorses, tell me that you’ve found five of the missing horseshoes.’

Shame and failure washed over Pippa. She felt she didn’t deserve to be congratulated.

‘But there are still three missing,’ she exclaimed.

‘It’s not Midsummer Day yet,’ Peggy said calmly. ‘Maybe I can help you find another horseshoe. Come here, child, and I’ll take you on a tour of the island.’

Pippa quickly dressed in the jodhpurs and horseshoe-patterned top that had appeared overnight especially for her, laid out neatly on a chair.

Peggy hovered alongside the window, her feathery wings outstretched like a glider. Reluctantly, Pippa moved closer. Surely Peggy didn’t expect her to climb out of the window and on to her back? Pippa recoiled at the thought.

‘I can’t,’ she squeaked. ‘Stardust is still asleep. What if she wakes and finds me gone?’

‘Stardust will be asleep for ages yet. If you’re scared of falling then don’t be. I won’t let you fall off.’

Pippa’s chest tightened. Scared didn’t even come close to how she felt. She was terrified of heights, even though she’d been learning to overcome her fear.

‘Come,’ Peggy said, her eyes gently encouraging Pippa.

Pippa wavered – it was hard not to trust Peggy. Fixing her gaze on the flying horse’s silver chest, she edged closer to the window.

‘Don’t look down,’ Peggy whispered.

Pippa concentrated on Peggy’s wide back, which was as comfy-looking as a sofa. Reaching out of the window, she took a handful of mane.

‘I can do this,’ she said firmly.

Her hands trembled like feathers in the wind as she climbed out on to the turret’s window sill. Her thudding heart made it almost impossible to breathe. Pippa paused to fill her lungs with the chill dawn air. Then, with her eyes still on Peggy’s back, she steeled herself for her next move.

‘One, two, three,’ she whispered.

Quickly, before she could change her mind, Pippa scrambled on to Peggy’s back. Once on it, she was too frozen with fear to move. Peggy turned her head to nudge Pippa’s foot with her nose.

‘Well done,’ she neighed. ‘Now hold on tight.’

A warm feeling spread upward from Peggy’s touch, filling Pippa with confidence. She could do this!

The sun was slowly rising behind them, bleeding red and gold across the dark sky, as Peggy soared up and over the Plateau. Pippa’s confidence gradually grew, until she was brave enough to look down. The island, surrounded by shimmering sea, was bathed in the soft gold glow of dawn. Even the dark Volcano was wrapped in a golden light that hung like a huge scarf around its craggy shoulders. Pippa searched for the peak of the Volcano but the wooded slopes disappeared into a summit of swirling mist. It was so beautiful that it made her heart sing.

‘How could anyone want this to disappear?’ Pippa knew that she would do anything to save Chevalia.

Peggy skimmed over the treetops as she carefully swooped over the island. Pippa strained her eyes for the slightest flash of gold that could signal the missing horseshoes. As Peggy completed her first loop of the island, she climbed higher then hovered over the Plateau. Far below the tiny ponies, opening up their shops on Mane Street, reminded Pippa of the plastic ones in her brother’s toy farmyard.

‘Pippa.’ Peggy’s voice was low and urgent, and it cut into her thoughts. ‘I want to ask you something. Take your time before you answer me. Would you like to go home, to the human world?’

A wave of homesickness washed over Pippa. When she stopped to think about it, she missed her family and home a great deal, even though they weren’t missing her since Chevalia existed in a time bubble. Pippa could stay for as long as she liked while no time passed in her own world.

‘I can’t leave now,’ she said.

‘It would be safer if you did. We might not find the remaining horseshoes and I can’t guarantee your safety.’

Pippa felt as if her heart was being ripped in two. Suddenly she craved the safety of her family, but then again how could she leave Stardust and Chevalia when they needed her help more than ever? The seconds ticked by. Wordlessly Peggy glided in huge circles over the Plateau.

‘I made a promise to find the missing horseshoes,’ said Pippa finally. ‘I’m not going home until I do.’

Peggy flapped her wings in double-time.

‘Pippa MacDonald, you are a true pony lover and a very special friend of Chevalia,’ she snorted.

Chapter 2

Peggy flew over the island again, swooping even lower to help Pippa search for the missing horseshoes.

Keeping her eyes fixed on the passing landscape, Pippa asked her, ‘Why do you never land? Don’t you get tired, staying in the air for so long?’

‘I never used to get tired,’ said Peggy, ‘though recently my wings have been aching at night. But I can’t land. The magic that lets me fly will vanish if I do and I’ll become an ordinary pony.’

‘You’ll never be ordinary,’ said Pippa.

Peggy’s laughter sounded like music.

‘A very long time ago, when Chevalia was just a small volcanic island, I was an ordinary pony. I was lucky enough to make a very special friend, a scientist-magician called Nightingale. This pony had amazing powers and a brilliant mind. She discovered the magical gold buried in the volcanic rock. Nightingale realised the potential of that special gold and she had it mounted on the Volcano. Over time the island grew larger and more magical, until it finally blossomed into the Chevalia that we know and love today. Nightingale had created a paradise, but that wasn’t enough for her. She wanted to share it with ponies from around the world.’

Pippa listened intently to Peggy’s tale.

‘Nightingale knew that some ponies were badly treated and had unhappy lives. It was those ponies that she wanted to come and live on Chevalia. So she invented a magic flying potion. The potion was so strong that it allowed the pony who drank it to fly for ever, provided his or her hooves never touched the ground. And there was more – by drinking the potion, the pony could give the temporary gift of flight to any pony whose nose they rubbed. Nightingale asked me to drink the potion so that I could fly to the human world and rescue any unloved or mistreated pony who wanted a better life. The potion also kept me young, so for hundreds of years I flew around the world rescuing ponies in need and bringing them here to Chevalia. Once they arrive and their hooves touch the land, their wings vanish. Then they’re free to live here in happiness, as every pony deserves.’

‘That’s an amazing story,’ said Pippa. ‘What a wonderful job to have.’

‘Yes,’ Peggy sighed. ‘I’ve enjoyed every moment of it. But my wings are not as young as they were. When they ache I dream of a cosy stable with a deep, straw bed where I can rest my tired bones.’ She laughed softly. ‘But I still love to fly and help ponies in need. And as long as there are ponies to be helped I shall stay airborne.’

‘And I thought you flew because you were too special to walk on the ground,’ said Pippa.

Peggy laughed again. ‘No pony is too special to walk and talk with others.’

‘It’s a big responsibility,’ Pippa said, full of admiration.

‘I made a promise to Nightingale and to Chevalia,’ said Peggy.

Pippa nodded. She understood. She’d made a promise to help Chevalia too.

After they’d flown in silence for a while, Pippa said, ‘I have to go back to the Castle soon. Stardust will worry if she wakes up and sees that I’m not there.’

At once Peggy banked left then headed in a straight line to Stableside Castle.

‘Don’t worry, Pippa. I’ll continue searching for the horseshoes from the sky.’

‘And I’ll keep searching too – with Stardust, of course,’ said Pippa.

When they reached Stardust’s turret bedroom, Peggy came to a sharp halt, sending Pippa flying through the air. It was just like her dream, only this time she sailed through the turret window before landing with a thump on her bed. She caught a flash of Peggy’s shiny hooves as she soared into the air, her silver tail streaming behind her.

‘What’s all the noise about?’ groaned the waking Stardust. Rubbing her eyes with her hooves, she struggled up.

‘You’ll never guess where I’ve been,’ said Pippa. ‘Flying around the island on Peggy’s back looking for horseshoes!’

‘Liar, liar, tail’s on fire,’ Stardust said with a giggle. ‘You’re still in bed, silly. You must have been dreaming.’

‘It wasn’t a dream,’ Pippa insisted, but Stardust said nothing as she combed out her mane.

Pippa climbed out of bed and went over to the dressing table to help her.