Dreams Come True

you,’ Twilight told her as Shadow whinnied in reply. Twilight listened to the dapple-grey pony for a few moments. ‘He’s scared,’ he told Lauren. ‘He says that when he was a foal, he was jumping over a tree trunk with the other foals in his field and he banged his legs really hard. Ever since then, he’s been afraid of jumping. He hates making Mel upset but he just can’t do it.’
    ‘Have you got any magical powers that could help him not to feel so scared, Twilight?’ Lauren asked.
    ‘I don’t know,’ Twilight replied doubtfully. ‘I know I’ve got some magical powers, but I’m not sure what they are. I guess I might be able to help, but I don’t know how.’
    Lauren felt disappointed. She’d been hoping that Twilight would be able to do some magic and make everything OK. She thought hard. If they couldn’t use Twilight’s powers to help Shadow then maybe she could come up with a more practical solution. ‘If I put the poles from the jumps on the ground do you think you might be able to walk over them?’ she asked Shadow.
    Shadow snorted.
    ‘He says he might,’ Twilight translated.
    ‘Well, that would be a start,’ Lauren said. She got off Twilight’s back and took two poles and laid them out on the grass. It’s lucky that Shadow’s paddock is hidden from the farmhouse, she thought.
    ‘Try walking over these,’ she said to Shadow. ‘At least it’s a step towards jumping.’
    Shadow looked very nervous.
    ‘It’ll be OK,’ Twilight encouraged him.
    Shadow walked up to the first pole and stopped. Then, snorting loudly, he stepped over it, picking his hooves up high.
    ‘Well done!’ Lauren cried. ‘Now try the other one, Shadow.’
    The same thing happened.
    ‘You did it!’ Twilight exclaimed as Shadow trotted back to them, suddenly

    looking much happier.
    ‘I’ll put up a tiny jump now,’ Lauren said. ‘Let’s see if you can do that.’
    But Shadow backed off, whinnying.
    Twilight sighed. ‘He doesn’t want to. He’s still too frightened to try a jump.’ Shadow neighed. ‘If we can come and help him some more, he might get braver.’
    It was better than nothing. ‘OK, we’ll come again tomorrow,’ Lauren said. She gave Shadow a hug and then got back on to Twilight. ‘We’ll help you, Shadow. No matter how long it takes.’

Four
    ‘ C ome on, Lauren!’ Mrs Foster called the next morning.
    Lauren checked her reflection for the last time in her bedroom mirror. She was wearing new jeans and a blue T-shirt. Her freshly washed hair was tied back in a ponytail. She swallowed nervously. Her first day at a new school. What was it going to be like?
    Taking a deep breath, she ran downstairs. Her mum and Max were waiting by the door.
    ‘Feeling nervous?’ Mrs Foster asked her.
    ‘A little,’ Lauren admitted, yawning.
    Her mum frowned. ‘Didn’t you sleep well last night?’
    ‘I’m fine, Mum,’ Lauren said quickly. She’d got back into the house safely after her adventure with Twilight and she didn’t want her mum getting suspicious now. She picked up her school bag. ‘Come on. Let’s go.’
    Silver River Elementary School was only a ten-minute drive away from Granger’s Farm. It was a low brick building. As

    Mrs Foster parked the car, Lauren saw Mel standing at the school gates. ‘There’s Mel!’ she exclaimed.
    She jumped out of the car and ran over. ‘Hi!’
    ‘Hi!’ Mel said. ‘I thought I’d wait for you.’
    Mrs Foster and Max walked up to them. ‘This is my mum and my brother, Max,’ Lauren said.
    ‘Pleased to meet you,’ Mel said politely. ‘I’m in the same class as Lauren, Mrs Foster. I can show her there if you want.’
    Mrs Foster looked questioningly at Lauren, who nodded. ‘Yeah, I’ll be fine, Mum,’ she said quickly.
    ‘Well, in that case,’ Mrs Foster said, ‘that would be a real help, Mel. It gives me more time to get Max settled into his classroom. I’ll stop by the office, Lauren, and tell them you’re here.’
    ‘Bye, Mum,’ said Lauren, giving her a quick kiss. ‘I’ll see you this afternoon.’
    Mrs Foster nodded. ‘I’ll pick you up here at the gates. Have a good day, honey.’
    ‘She will,’ Mel said, swinging her school bag on to her shoulder. ‘Come on, Lauren. I want to show you around.’
    By morning break, Lauren’s nerves had totally disappeared. Mr Noland, her new teacher, was strict but fun. Even better, he’d let her and Mel sit together. The other kids in the class seemed really keen to