The Curse of the Pony Vampires Read online

  To

  Flanagan

  Contents

  1 The Unwelcome Intrusion

  2 The Disgusting Problem

  3 Fangley-Fitznicelys

  4 Polo and Politics

  5 The Night Match

  6 Boning Up

  7 Team Spirits

  8 Dr Swottworm Turns the Screw

  9 Quizzical Custard

  10 The Curse Lifted

  Read on for Chapter 1 of Penny’s next exciting adventure

  CHAPTER ONE

  Chapter One

  The Unwelcome Intrusion

  Penny was riding Patch in the orchard behind the farm at Fetlocks Hall. It was late May and the apple trees were in full bloom.

  It was the perfect day. The sun shone in a bright blue cloudless sky, making dappled shadows beneath the trees and giving a glossy shine to her pony’s coat.

  Penny gave Patch a hug around his brown and white neck.

  ‘Patch,’ she said, ‘who’d ever have thought, at ten years old, I’d be lucky enough to get a scholarship to a magical pony school like Fetlocks Hall and have you as my friend?’

  ‘And who’d have thought I’d be the luckiest pony in the world to have a real Unicorn Princess like you as mine?’ he replied. ‘Someone who could speak to me like this in Equalese, teach me to fly, dance and take me on exciting adventures.’

  ‘Yes – wasn’t it great when we went to Equitopia to meet the Unicorns for my coronation by King Valentine Silverwings?’ Penny continued. ‘If he hadn’t given me my special Unicorn Princess powers and my Lance of Courage, Queen Starlight’s Horn and the vial of Unicorn Tears, we’d never have defeated those nasty red, scaly Devliped ponies and stopped them stealing the Equilibrium of Goodness.’

  ‘I’ve never really understood what that is, you know,’ confessed Patch.

  ‘Well,’ said Princess Penny, ‘it’s a set of mythical scales that maintains the balance between Good and Evil. It’s the Unicorns’ job to keep the scales carefully balanced on the Goodness side. If it tips the other way our world of Terrestequinus and Equitopia would be horrible places for us all to live in. The Devlipeds want to steal the scales and get control of them. They plan to make our two worlds as evil as theirs. It’s my duty as a Unicorn Princess to defend these scales and protect them and all of us from the Devlipeds, who want to take over the school and turn it into one that teaches wicked children to help them steal the scales. Fetlocks is an important place to the S.U.S. (Secret Unicorn Society). Our head­mistress has to run it as a school for especially gifted equichildren to develop their magical pony skills. Fetlocks A students help the Unicorns protect the scales. That’s why King Despot Dragontail, King of the Devlipeds, hates the school and will do all he can to get it closed down or at least stop it running in its usual way.’

  ‘Phew! Lucky Fetlocks to have its own Unicorn Princess,’ said Patch.

  The sun was quite hot now so Penny steered her pony into the shade of a big tree. She slipped off his back to give him a rest and some grass to eat.

  ‘I could not have done anything without your help, Patch,’ she said, stroking his neck as he munched the grass, ‘or the Fitznicelys – Lady Sarah, Sir Walter, and Arabella and Antonia. It’s just as well only Potty Smythe, the dogs, you ponies and I can see them,’ she continued. ‘Arabella and Antonia get up to some funny pranks and some of their habits are a bit scary, but they’re useful spies and strong supporters of our team.’

  Patch flicked his tail and pricked his ears. ‘The other ponies and I love being in our team! The Fetlocks Hall Flyers sounds really cool, doesn’t it?’

  ‘Yeah,’ beamed Penny, picturing her special school chums and team members. ‘Pip, Sam, Carlos, Matt and Dom are just the best, aren’t they?’

  Patch nodded and nuzzled her nose.

  Penny thought how peaceful it was in the orchard that day with her pony, the sunshine, the smell of the sweet grass and the pretty pink apple blossom. She hoped the Devlipeds would never come back to Terrestequinus to disturb it.

  But that was all to change.

  As she sat dreaming under the tree a shower of pink and white apple blossom whipped up like a whirlwind. Patch snorted as the cloud of petals blew towards them.

  Penny stood up. Her heart was beating fast. Both of them were unsure what this strange occurrence meant but all became clear as Penny made out the shape of a beautiful Unicorn forming within the whirling petals.

  Valentine Silverwings, King of the Unicorns, stepped out of the cloud. This looked like Secret Unicorn Society business.

  ‘Good morning, Princess Penny,’ said the King, walking over and rubbing his velvety nose on her cheek.

  ‘Good morning, Your Majesty,’ she replied, making a graceful curtsy.

  ‘I’m afraid it’s not as peaceful as you were hoping, my child,’ he sighed, having read her recent thoughts. ‘I’ve come to warn you about more disgusting Devliped skulduggery,’ he said. ‘Fetlocks Hall is going to need your help. I have a notion that they are plotting something to get rid of the school. Our brave little Irish brothers, the Ballycorns, sneaked into Devlipeditos through a hole in a peat bog in Cork. They sent me this information they recorded by telepathy.’

  With that he blew a cloud of silvery air out of his nostrils. This formed a bubble in which Penny could see Despot Dragontail striding up and down in front of his generals, swishing his stumpy red scaly tail and blowing black sooty smoke out of his nose.

  ‘I’ve had enough of Fetlocks Hall and that little witch Penny Simms,’ he snorted. ‘It’s high time we got rid of that goody-goody school. Who wants to know about fairness and goodness and all that rubbish when it’s stopping us from getting our way? I’ve thought of a cunning plan to get the place closed down or at least stop it functioning so that it can’t turn out A students. They only strengthen the power of the S.U.S. and stop us getting hold of those wretched scales.’

  ‘What’s the plan, Your Majesty?’ asked General Firespavin.

  ‘Ah ha!’ laughed the Devliped King. ‘I’ve sent an anonymous letter to an organisation in charge of inspecting schools for Health and Safety and academic study to tell them a few things about that dump. I’ve said it’s time it was inspected and closed down as it does not meet official standards. AND I’ve cursed the place with some batty friends of mine to help things into the bargain! Hee hee hee hee hee heee!’

  Then he Catherine-wheeled out of the picture and a letter appeared in the bubble.

  Penny gasped. Her eyes nearly popped out when she read the scrawly black writing.

  ‘It’s not true!’ Penny exclaimed. ‘We all work really hard at the lessons we do get. Fetlocks children are especially selected because we can learn quickly. We don’t need as much time for school work as pupils at ordinary schools. Potty Smythe would never tell lies and she certainly wouldn’t need to fib about our exam results! OK, so the Hall is a bit wobbly in places but the stable yard is what counts and that’s as sound as a pound. No ponies are entirely safe, but if you know what you’re doing and do as you’re told there’s little chance of an accident at Fetlocks.’

  King Valentine Silverwings looked down his beautiful white nose at Penny and breathed in. The bubble disappeared.

  ‘You’re quite right, Penny,’ agreed King Valentine. ‘But I am not sure which of his nasty friends Despot Dragontail has asked to help him,’ he sighed, ‘Whoever they are there’s bound to be trouble. Just keep a weather eye out for anything suspicious. Aunt Portia is going to need all your help here. I know I can trust you to do your best, Princess Penny, so I’m leaving it up to you. I’ll be back in a few days for a report. Now kneel, child, and I’ll give you my blessing.’

  Penny knelt down in the pink petals. The King gently tapped her on each shoulder with his beautiful golden horn.

  ‘Arise, Regina Electa,’ he breathed.

  Penny stood up and he faded back into the apple-blossom cloud which floated up into the bright blue sky and disappeared.

  ‘Oh dear,’ said Patch, ‘I don’t like the sound of that.’

  ‘We’d better warn the other ponies,’ Penny said, climbing into her saddle. Together, they trotted back to the stable yard.

  Penny had a difficult task ahead.

  She couldn’t tell her school chums about the Devliped curse as this was S.U.S. or Secret Unicorn Society business and highly secret. The Fitznicely family, Potty Smythe and the ponies could be told about the curse, but no one else. On the other hand, if OGRIBS were coming, everybody would have to know what to expect. That was school business and would not be secret at all. It was so hard to jump between the real and other-worldly aspects of Fetlocks Hall without spilling S.U.S. secrets (which Penny was bound to keep).

  Chapter Two

  The Disgusting Problem

  As Penny and Patch walked back into the stable yard under the archway with its ancient tower, the clock struck four. Carlos Cavello, one of Penny’s special school friends, was riding around the yard on Budget, dribbling a polo ball between some upturned buckets with a long bamboo mallet. Budget had been a high-goal polo pony in her day. She had scored many goals for her riders in the past but had retired to Fetlocks as a school pony. The two of them made it look very easy. Dom, Matt, Sam and Pip, Penny’s fellow Fetlocks Hall Flyers teammates, were all watching the display. Finally Carlos struck the ball with his most powerful drive, the offside forehand. Penny watched the ball sail over the clock tower, the lawn and the great oak trees of the park to smas
h through the window of the headmistress’s study in the great house. It landed in a very large mug of tea which Potty Smythe was about to drink.

  ‘Nice shot, Carlos,’ she called out of the broken window, mopping the tea off her blouse with a stable rubber.

  Fishing the ball out of her mug, she turned her attention to the email from OGRIBS on her computer.

  Dear Miss Manning-Smythe,

  It has come to our attention that Fetlocks Hall is due for an inspection to ensure the school is adhering to our Health and Safety rules and regulations. Therefore Dr Sweepover and Mr Snoop, our inspectors from that branch of our office, will be paying you an official visit. We are also concerned about a letter sent to us regarding false information given about last term’s exam results. Therefore Dr Septimus Swottworm will also be visiting the school to test your pupils and teachers on their academic progress.

  Potty Smythe looked worried. What was all this about? Health and Safety standards could never be the same at Fetlocks as any other school because it is a very unusual one where certain children’s education is directed towards magical pony skills which are often very dangerous!

  The headmistress was never one for red tape, rules and regulations. If OGRIBS imposed restrictions on Fetlocks it would be impossible to run it as a magical pony academy.

  She was puzzled about the reference to the exam results. Fetlocks children were very bright and worked extremely hard at their lessons. The exam results were always good. Maybe someone somewhere was trying to get the school closed down by spreading horrid rumours implying she had somehow ‘cooked the books!’ by not telling the truth. She took a gulp of what was left of her tea and picked a bit of straw out of the computer keyboard.

  Back on the stable yard everybody applauded Carlos’s shot. He’d been playing polo since he was ten years old back home in Brazil and now had the idea of forming a Fetlocks Hall Flyers polo team. There was a suitable flat green field, big enough for a polo ground, in front of the main house. They had very game ponies who could turn a hoof to anything and enthusiastic riders who would make ace polo players. The rest of the Flyers were sold on the idea.

  ‘What do you think, Pony Pen?’ said Sam Hedges, the bravest of all Penny’s friends. Sam was always up for a new adventure. She was a fearless rider and as courageous as her parents, who had been killed in a hunting accident. Potty Smythe had always thought she was excellent A student material.

  ‘Sounds good to me,’ Penny replied, dismounting from Patch, ‘but as far as I know there are only four players in a polo team and there are six of us.’

  ‘Then we’ll find two more players and have two teams,’ added Carlos. ‘If we get good enough we can challenge other teams to matches.’

  ‘Potty Smythe will love that,’ said Pip. ‘Polo is awfully smart and fashionable. A match would look really good on Open Day.’

  ‘The Dubai Cup is the poshest match of all,’ said Matt. ‘My father’s oil company sponsors it. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind doing the same for us. We need mallets, helmets, visors, knee protectors, boots, breeches, polo shirts, posts and enough white boards to go around the polo ground.’

  ‘Fantastic!’ said Dom. ‘Let’s do it!’

  Dom was not only a champion junior dressage rider with his fabulous pony, Sir Fin, but a really good surfer. He had been brought up by his surf instructor parents to meet any big wave that came along and never to turn down a challenge.

  ‘A league of gentlemen salute, please,’ said Carlos, dismounting.

  They all formed a circle and piled their hands on top of each other’s. Then they let out a loud view holla. When the cheering ended, they broke up the multi-storey hand pile.

  Penny took off Patch’s tack and walked him back to his field. He hadn’t understood anything the other children were talking about so Penny explained to him about polo in Equalese.

  ‘Polo is a fast, competitive, tactical game for teams of four riders on their ponies. It’s played on a polo ground 300 yards long and 160 yards wide with twelve-inch high white boards round it to stop the ball going out of play too easily. At either end of the ground there are two goalposts eight yards apart.

  ‘The game is divided into periods of play called chukkas. A full game has eight chukkas, but club matches have four or six. They last seven minutes each with three-minute intervals between each chukka and five minutes for half-time.

  ‘Ponies have to gallop very fast all the time so they can only play two chukkas in a match with a rest of at least one chukka in between. Proper polo players have more than one pony – eight actually! The object of the game is to score goals, a bit like football. The team with the most goals wins the match.’

  Patch said he liked the idea of polo but wasn’t sure if he would be fast enough because his legs were so short.

  ‘Come on, Patch,’ said Penny, giving him a hug as she turned him out to join his friends in the home paddock. ‘You’re forgetting one thing. I’m a Unicorn Princess and I can do anything!’

  ‘Can’t wait to get started, then,’ said Patch. ‘I’ll go and tell the other ponies about our new team and the latest Devliped developments.’

  Penny gave him a mint from her pocket and un­fastened his head collar, and he trotted off to tell his friends all the news.

  As Penny walked back to the stable yard thinking over what King Valentine had shown her in the bubble and how she was going to have to tell Potty Smythe about the Devilpeds’ sneaky plan, she noticed Arabella and Antonia Fitznicely, her twin ghostly friends and Unicorn Princess sisters, tearing towards her across the park in their side-saddles on their matching chestnut ponies.

  They came to a screaming halt in front of her. Both twins looked very angry indeed.

  ‘Oh, dear sister Penny,’ gasped Arabella. ‘Some­thing quite horrid has happened to the mausoleum where we were buried! We are just on our way to tell Mama and Papa.’

  ‘Come on,’ said Antonia, offering her arm to Penny. She grabbed hold of it and the little ghost swung her up behind her side-saddle on Merryanzer. Penny instantly became as invisible as they were. She held on round Antonia’s waist as they galloped towards the park railings, which they jumped, followed by a great leap down the ha-ha. Then they shot across the lawn towards the Ladies’ Garden, where their mother, Lady Sarah, and their father, Sir Walter, were taking tea served from spooky teapots by their ghostly servants.

  They pulled up sharply, making skid marks on the turf.

  ‘Girls, girls,’ gasped their father. ‘Gently, please. The teacups are rattling enough to wake the dead!’

  ‘Talking of the dead,’ said Arabella, pulling Merryanzer away from a fallen apple fancy cake, ‘have you seen our mausoleum recently?’

  ‘Or smelt it?’ chipped in Antonia.

  ‘Don’t be silly, dears,’ said their mother. ‘Our bodies have been dead for years – we can’t possibly be smelly.’

  ‘Mother,’ said Antonia, ‘there’s a flock of disgusting pony vampire bats hanging out in there and the smell is appalling!’

  ‘How absolutely revolting!’ cried Lady Sarah, reaching for her smelling salts.

  ‘This has probably got something to do with that unsuitable rogue, my half-brother Faustus!’ raged Sir Walter.

  ‘My dear,’ said his wife, ‘Faustus is a Veggipire and would never have encouraged any kind of bloodsucking vampires to come to Fetlocks.’

  ‘He married one, you forget!’ continued Sir Walter.

  ‘But she is converted, is she not, my dear?’ asked Lady Sarah, shaking out her fan and flicking it to and fro in front of her face.

  ‘Of course she is, my love. He converted her to Veggipiredom with his beastly orange juice, that Fangley Zest stuff,’ said Sir Walter, taking her hand. ‘She may not be what she professes to be in other ways though.’

  ‘I feel unwell,’ said Lady Sarah. ‘I shall return to my portrait until I am recovered.’

  With that she evaporated into thin air.

  ‘Mama always does that when Uncle Faustus’s wife, the Countess Mortia-Antoinette, is mentioned,’ said Arabella.