Sparkle!â As Sparkle began to touch things again, Rosie said her friendâs name. âEllie.â But because Sparkle didnât touch any of the rose quartz nothing happened.
Try the rock. Try the rock
, Lauren thought.
âIt isnât working!â Rosie cried in frustration.
Feeling equally frustrated, Lauren dug her hands into the pockets of her jeans. Her fingers closed on a packet of mints. An idea sprang into her mind. There was a rock of rose quartz only about a metre away from her. She stepped towards it, pulled a mint out of her pocket and dropped it just in frontof the rock. As Sparkle came over he smelt the mint and bent his head to the ground to eat it. His horn touched the rock and at the same moment Rosie said, âEllie!â
There was a bright purple flash.
Sparkle snorted in surprise and jumped backwards as the surface of the rock began to glow.
âWhatâs happening?â Rosie said, running over and putting her hand on Sparkleâs neck. They both stared as a picture of a red-headed girl sitting up in bed, arms wrapped around her knees, swam slowly into view in the rock.
âOhâ¦ohâ¦wow!â Rosie breathed. âItâs Ellie!â
Lauren backed away towards Twilight. He nuzzled her shoulder and she knew what he meant.
Without saying a word to Rosie she swung herself on to his back.
âLetâs go,â she murmured.
âYes,â he whispered back. âTheyâve found the power they need â we should leave them to work out how to use it.â
He soared into the air.
Rosie looked round. âWhere are you going?â
âYou do not need us any more,â said Lauren, speaking in her mysterious Mrs Fontana voice. She thought for a moment. âNow you know how to see, you will be able to help your friend.â
âBut how? Oh, please stay,â begged Rosie. Lauren shook her head. She was feeling a bit guilty about the way she had used the mint to help. She couldnât imagine Mrs Fontana having done such a thing. But it had been so hard to watch Rosie getting more and more frustrated.
âYou will work it out,â she said. âUse the rose quartz wisely â and use it well.â
She felt pleased with herself. That was just the sort of thing that Mrs Fontana used to say to her.
âBut how?â Rosieâs eyes suddenly lit up. âOh, hang on â I think I knowâ¦Of course, we can see Ellieâs mum using the magic! Iâll be able to make Ellie feel so much better tomorrow night.â
Lauren smiled to herself. âGoodbye!â she called and Twilight swooped away.
She hugged him as soon as they were up over the trees. âWe did it! We helped her to find out what her power was without telling her â though maybe I shouldnât have used the mint.â
âI donât see why not,â Twilight said. âYou didnât tell her what the power was. I thought it was a really good idea.â
âYeah, and now Rosie will be able to check on Ellieâs mum and think up a way to let Ellie know that everything is all right.â
âWhy do you think she said sheâll be able to make Ellie feel so much better tomorrow night?â Twilight asked.âWhy isnât she going to do it in the morning?â
âI donât know,â Lauren said, frowning. It
was
a bit of a strange thing for Rosie to have said. She shrugged. âMaybe Ellieâs out tomorrow or something and Rosie wonât be able to see her until the evening.â
Twilight nodded. âShall we watch them tomorrow night? See what happens?â
âDefinitely,â said Lauren. As she spoke, something white floated past her face. She blinked. It was a snowflake! And another. And anotherâ¦
She looked around. âTwilight! Itâs starting to snow!â
He whinnied in delight and soared upwards. The snow drifted down all around them. Twilight plunged through it
Glynnis Campbell, Sarah McKerrigan