‘Hi, Mrs Fontana,’ she called.

Mrs Fontana smiled with her usual warm smile. ‘Hello, my dears,’ she said as Twilight flew down and landed.

‘How are you?’ Lauren asked.

‘Oh, I’m as well as can be expected.’ Mrs Fontana coughed and pulled her mustard-yellow shawl around her. Lauren looked at her in concern. Mrs Fontana didn’t seem any better. So what was she doing out in the cold November night?

‘You look so lovely flying together,’ Mrs Fontana said with a strange, sad smile. ‘Sometimes you really remind me of my old unicorn, Twilight. He was called Midnight Star and had a silver horn like yours. His mane reached to the floor and he had the deepest, darkest eyes I’ve ever seen.’

Lauren looked at her. There was something she’d wanted to know ever since she’d first found out Mrs Fontana had once had a unicorn but she’d never found the right moment to ask. ‘Mrs Fontana, why did you let your unicorn go back to Arcadia? Why did you say goodbye to him?’

Mrs Fontana paused before answering. ‘Things change,’ she said at last. ‘The time came for me to let him go.’

Twilight whickered anxiously.

‘You’ll understand one day,’ Mrs Fontana said.

But Lauren knew she never would. ‘I couldn’t do it,’ she breathed. ‘I couldn’t say goodbye to Twilight. Not ever.’

‘It was hard,’ Mrs Fontana said, her eyes clouding with memories. ‘The hardest thing I’ve ever done but it had to happen. Still, I know that one day we will meet again and then we will never be parted.’

‘You’ll meet again?’ Lauren said, confused. ‘But how? And when?’

‘How and when are not questions I can answer, my dear,’ Mrs Fontana replied softly. ‘But enough about me. Are you having a good time now your cousin is here?’

Lauren sighed. ‘Not really.’

‘Hannah doesn’t like riding any more,’ Twilight said.

‘Oh dear,’ Mrs Fontana sighed. ‘And you were so looking forward to doing pony stuff with her.’

‘I wish people didn’t have to change, Mrs Fontana,’ Lauren said wistfully.

Mrs Fontana looked at her. ‘Oh, usually you find that people haven’t really changed deep down, however old and grown-up they get. I don’t think Hannah will really have changed. I think she probably just needs reminding of how much she loves ponies.’

‘My mum said the same thing,’ Lauren said. ‘But it’s not true. I’ve been trying to get Hannah to do pony stuff but all she wants is to sit inside. Can you think of anything, Mrs Fontana?’

‘Lauren’s been trying really hard,’ Twilight added.

‘Hmm.’ Mrs Fontana frowned thoughtfully. ‘Perhaps you’ve been trying too hard, Lauren. Most people don’t like feeling they’re being forced into things. Is there any way you could get Hannah to do stuff without it seeming like you were trying to make her like ponies again? Then she might remember how much she really loves them.’

Lauren thought hard. ‘Hannah’s very kind,’ she replied slowly. ‘I guess if I couldn’t look after Twilight and Magpie for some reason, she might offer to look after them for me.’