“The Happy Hooves and I have never visited the mainland,” said Connie wistfully. “Will you take us?”
“For the price of a song,” squawked the parrot, who was riding on Captain Rascal’s shoulder.
Captain Rascal laughed. “Aye, for the price of a song, we will.”
“It’s a deal,” cried Connie.
The pirate ponies lent a hoof to get Rowan’s harp aboard The Jolly Horseshoe.
“Careful,” said Rowan as she edged her way across the hoof plank.
Pippa and Stardust came last. Pippa carried Connie’s bodhran and her fingers itched to play it.
Connie must have noticed. Once on board, she showed Pippa how to tap out a beat.
“You’re a natural,” she declared as Pippa beat out a rhythm to the tune of “My Pony Lies Over the Ocean.”
“You play and I’ll sing,” Connie said.
“Can I?” Pippa was delighted. “It’s truly my lucky day!” she declared.
“I feel lucky too,” said Stardust in surprise as Rowan asked if she wanted to help with strumming the harp. “This is such fun.”
“There’s a good wind blowing,” said Captain Rascal as the pirates cast off the mooring ropes. “With luck, we’ll reach the mainland in no time.”
Connie and the Happy Hooves played their instruments and sang the whole time The Jolly Horseshoe was at sea. They continued to sing as they came ashore on the beach near the Wild Forest.
The Wild Forest ponies came to the edge of the trees to see what all the noise was about. As Captain Rascal led everyone into the forest, the ponies shyly joined the musical parade. They hadn’t gone far before the Wild Ponies forgot about being shy and joined in, singing with the Happy Hooves and the pirates at the tops of their voices.
Pippa was enjoying herself so much that she was surprised when they broke through the trees on the edge of the forest. Without stopping, Captain Rascal turned right and led the parade along the Fields to Mane Street.
“Look!” cried Stardust excitedly. “Everyone’s lining the street to watch.”
The ponies’ glum faces and hunched shoulders disappeared. As the Happy Hooves and their new piratical backing band, The Jolly Horseshoes, sang and danced along Mane Street, the watching ponies sang loudly and tapped their hooves in time.
“This is such fun,” said Stardust as Captain Rascal took the parade in a circle around Canter’s, Chevalia’s prep school. “Look, Pippa, the pupils are bringing out instruments to join us. Pippa? Where are you going?”
A flash of silver in the sunlight had caught Pippa’s eye. At first, she ignored it, but when it flashed again, she stopped in surprise. “I don’t believe it!” Pippa strode purposefully toward a castle-shaped jungle gym in the school yard. “Of all the mean tricks!”
“Pippa?” Stardust went after her. “What’s wrong?”
“Up there,” Pippa said, and then pointed to the tallest tower on the jungle gym.
Stardust gasped. “That is mean!”
The jungle gym was a replica of Stableside Castle, complete with eight tall towers, each with a different colored flag pictured with a golden horseshoe. All except for the smallest tower. Instead of a pink flag and golden horseshoe, identifying it as Princess Stardust’s bedroom, someone had replaced the flag with a dark green, moldy-looking horseshoe.
“Divine,” whispered Stardust, the color draining from her face. “Why did she pick my tower? Will I get all the bad luck?”
“No!” Pippa began to climb up the castle. “Remember what Connie told us. You can’t steal someone else’s luck. It’s still a mean trick, though, leaving a bad spell in the foals’ playground.”
Pippa was so cross she didn’t remember how much she disliked heights until she reached the top of the jungle gym. As she reached out to remove the unlucky horseshoe, she caught sight of Stardust, watching from the ground. Pippa’s stomach dived to her feet, making her legs feel wobbly. She looked up quickly, fixing her eyes on the unlucky horseshoe perched on top of the tower, and she took a long breath in and out. There! That felt much better. Pippa grabbed the horseshoe. Its coldness made her shiver as she tucked it into the pocket of her jeans. The horseshoe pressed against her leg, the bad magic buzzing faintly.
“Hooray!” cried Stardust, as Pippa slowly climbed down.
Pippa was in such a hurry to get back to the ground that she grew careless and slipped. Her hand shot out for a bar, but she missed.
“Help!”
Pippa gritted her teeth, bracing herself as the ground came nearer, but to her surprise she landed on something soft. “Stardust,” Pippa said with surprise.
“I caught you!” Stardust was breathless with relief. “That was lucky! Divine’s spell can’t be working properly!”
“Thanks,” said Pippa. “Quick, take me out of the school yard. There’s something I need to do, but not here.”
Mystified, Stardust carried Pippa through the school gate.
“Take me to the cliffs,” said Pippa, pointing to the Savannah, to the east of Mane Street.
Stardust galloped and Pippa held on tight. When they arrived at the edge of the island, Pippa slid from Stardust’s back. She pulled the horseshoe out of her pocket and, with trembling fingers, held it upside down over the cliff face below.
After a few seconds Pippa heard a hiss like steam from a kettle when it starts to boil. She gripped the horseshoe more tightly. With a whoosh, the green magic spurted from the ends of the horseshoe and blew away in the wind, leaving a faint green trail.
“All gone!” said Pippa. She smiled as the air cleared. “The bad luck, it’s drained out. This is just a regular horseshoe now.”
Stardust touched it with a hoof. “No magic left at all,” she agreed. “Clever Pippa. How did you know to do that?”
“Where I live, people hang horseshoes in their houses to bring them luck. I asked my riding teacher if I could have a horseshoe for my bedroom, and she warned me to hang it the right way up or the luck would run out. Come on,” she added. “Let’s rejoin the parade with this horseshoe and show everyone how lucky it is now!”
