Best Friends For Ever! Read Free Page A

the Night Mares. Having passed through the enormous door they found themselves in a courtyard.
    ‘It’s just like the one back home, only there’s no Whispering Wall,’ exclaimed Stardust.
    ‘There’s no wall at all,’ said Pippa.
    The courtyard stretched away and opened out into a long, stone balcony that overhung a huge pool of bubbling lava. Tearing her eyes away from the smouldering pool, Pippa stared upward and glimpsed the blue sky dotted with fluffy, white clouds.
    ‘This must be the heart of the Volcano,’ she whispered.
    Her eyes widened as she took in their surroundings. The lava pool was indeed the very centre of the Volcano, with a whole world carved into the rock around it. Pippa saw caves of all sizes linked by walkways of black stone. There were spires decorated with scary, stone pony gargoyles that spat rivers of molten lava into the pit below. There were graceful arches and stone pillars all elaborately carved with the heads of ponies. The lava pool lit the caves, turrets and arches with a soft red glow. Pippa shivered despite the heat.
    ‘Look how busy everyone is,’ Misty said in wonder.
    Ponies bustled about, nodding to each other as they hurried past. Pippa gripped Stardust’s mane as two familiar ponies trotted by.
    ‘Look!’ she gasped. ‘That’s Nightshade and Eclipse.’
    ‘Hey, you!’ Stardust shouted. ‘You stole our first horseshoe.’
    Several ponies stopped and stared but Stardust ignored them and kept shouting until Nightshade turned around. She trotted over, closely followed by Eclipse.
    ‘We did not,’ she said indignantly. ‘The Mistress gave us that horseshoe. She said it belonged to her and that we must hide it for a game.’
    ‘That’s not true,’ Stardust said, shaking her head. ‘The Mistress stole all eight horseshoes from the Royal Family. She took them from our ancient Whispering Wall, where they’ve hung for centuries.’
    ‘Are you sure?’ asked Eclipse. ‘But the Mistress is our loyal protector – she wouldn’t steal anything.’
    ‘The horseshoes belong here, where they were made,’ Nightshade argued.
    ‘They were made here,’ agreed Stardust, ‘but they truly belong on the Whispering Wall. It’s written in the ancient scrolls. If you don’t believe me then check.’
     

     
    ‘Ancient scrolls? I’ve never heard of any scrolls,’ Nightshade said. ‘And you shouldn’t go around shouting at ponies that they’re thieves,’ she added crossly. ‘Is that how they teach Royal Ponies to behave at Stableside?’
    Pippa could see that the argument was going nowhere and that Nightshade was getting angry.
    ‘Stardust didn’t mean to call you a thief,’ Pippa said apologetically. ‘We’re just really worried about the horseshoes – the last one must be found before the end of the day. We didn’t know anyone actually lived inside the Volcano. It’s amazing here – I’d love to look around.’
    Pippa smiled shyly and Nightshade smiled right back.
    ‘Thank you. I think it’s beautiful, but our home isn’t to everyone’s taste. I could show you around if you like?’
    Pippa’s face lit up.
    ‘Yes, please!’
    Eclipse stepped forward, staring at Pippa through her long, shaggy mane.
    ‘You’re from Stableside, aren’t you? A right stuck-up lot, they are, down there. They think they’re the only ones with a proper castle. You wait till you see what we have here. Our castle is the best! It doesn’t get much grander or older. This castle was here long before Stableside. It’s the very heart of Chevalia.’
    ‘Really?’ Pippa frowned. ‘So why would you want to destroy the island?’
    Eclipse exchanged a glance with Nightshade, who shrugged.
    ‘What are you talking about?’
    ‘The horseshoe that you were hiding for a game,’ Pippa said carefully, ‘is definitely one of eight magical horseshoes that should hang on the ancient Whispering Wall. The scientist-magician Nightingale wrote in her scrolls that Chevalia can only survive