Lauren looked at her cousin’s happy face and felt a wave of relief. Hannah didn’t look upset at all!

‘Should we carry on?’ Hannah said. ‘I’d love to find somewhere to have a proper canter – with my stirrups this time!’

Lauren grinned at her. ‘Sounds great to me! Come on, the track widens out just round the next bend and there’re some logs to jump.’

They had a great time cantering through the woods and jumping over fallen logs. By the time they got back to the farm, Hannah’s face was flushed and she was looking very happy.

‘Oh, Lauren! That was the best ride!’ she said as they rode back down the track to the field, the ponies now walking calmly on loose reins. ‘I had so much fun! I’d forgotten how great riding could be. Can we go out again tomorrow?’ She glanced at Lauren. ‘Maybe we could see if your friends want to come with us?’

Twilight snorted happily and Lauren patted him. Their plan had worked! ‘Of course we can,’ she told Hannah.

Hannah smiled happily and they rode back to the farm.

They spent the rest of the morning doing pony things – cleaning tack and sweeping out the tack room – before going inside for lunch.

‘My nail varnish is really chipped,’ Hannah said, looking ruefully at her hands as they washed up the dishes after lunch. She grinned. ‘Oh well, never mind. I guess I can do it again.’ She glanced at Lauren. ‘I could do yours too, if you like.’

Lauren smiled back. ‘OK.’

‘Cool!’ Hannah said. ‘Let’s go upstairs.’

They took it in turns to paint each other’s nails while they listened to Hannah’s music. To her surprise, Lauren found it fun. She grinned to herself. Looking down at the magazines on the bed, she wondered if one day she’d be just like Hannah and be into bands and music and stuff. Perhaps things always did change, just like Mrs Fontana said. Waving her fingers in the air to dry them, she went to the window and looked out at the field where Twilight and Magpie were grazing side by side. One thing she knew wouldn’t ever change was how much she loved ponies. She was never going to need to be reminded of that!

When everyone had gone to bed that night, Lauren and Twilight went flying. ‘Didn’t our plan work well!’ Twilight said as they soared into the sky.

‘It was brilliant,’ Lauren said happily. ‘Hannah’s been talking about going back to the riding school again when she gets home. She’s not going to go quite as much as she did before but she wants to keep riding as well as hanging out at her friends’ houses. I’m so glad!’ She hugged him. ‘You were great when she came down to the field in the morning.’

Twilight gave a pleased snort.

Lauren felt a happy glow. She loved it when she and Twilight helped people together. ‘I wonder who we’ll help next,’ she said to Twilight. A picture of Mrs Fontana came into her mind and she sighed. ‘If only we could cure Mrs Fontana.’