The Special Secret by Chloe Ryder Page B

high-pitched laugh. “You can’t be a princess because a real princess would never get her hooves dirty. You’re just an ordinary farm pony like Mucker.”
    â€œOf course I’m a real princess,” Stardust said angrily.
    â€œNo, you’re not,” Cinders replied. “That’s what my mom says anyway.”
    With that, Cinders swept past Stardust, taking great care not to step in the mud.
    Stardust’s brown eyes glittered with tears. “What did she mean?” she asked.
    â€œIgnore her,” Pippa said, stroking Stardust’s mud-splattered nose. “She was just being nasty to upset you.”

    â€œAre you sure?”
    â€œYes,” Pippa said, even though she wasn’t convinced. Cinders had sounded threatening and as if she knew something, but Pippa didn’t want to frighten Stardust. She continued to stroke her nose, until she stopped shaking and calmed down.
    â€œCinders is right, though,” Stardust said at last. “If I have to help with the harvest, then I should be given a cleaner job.”
    Mucker let out a snort of surprise. “Getting dirty has never bothered you before. We’ve always had a lot of fun together on the farm.”
    â€œNot anymore,” Stardust said firmly. “It’s time I started acting like a real princess.”
    To Mucker’s dismay, Stardust flatly refused to help further. Instead she tore up some grass and used it to wipe the mud from her face, legs, and hooves.
    â€œI’m going to ask Crystal for something else to do,” she announced. “Something cleaner and more worthy of a princess pony.” And she trotted off.
    â€œI’ll never get to see Stardust if she stops visiting the farm,” Mucker said sadly. “I’d love to visit her at the castle but that’s not going to happen—not when I come from a farming family. Besides, I’m too busy with farmwork to attend the Royal Court.”
    Pippa started to go after Stardust but quickly changed her mind. Poor Mucker was so upset—she couldn’t leave him now. Keeping one eye on Stardust, she continued to help with the harvest while also keeping a lookout for shiny objects in the mud.
    It was a long, hard morning. Pippa’s back ached and her hands grew sore from gripping her tools and from all the cutting work. In the distance she could see that Stardust wasn’t making much progress with her new job of collecting the cut grass. A cloud of horseflies was buzzing around her head, and each time Stardust swatted them away with her tail they just flew at her again.

    â€œGo away, you awful things,” Stardust shouted, angrily stomping a hoof.
    The horseflies were becoming even more agitated. Buzzing loudly, they flew in circles around Stardust’s head. Pippa ran over to see if she could help. But after swatting repeatedly at the horseflies with her hands, she realized that it wasn’t making any difference. She stood still and listened. The horseflies were making the same funny buzzing noise, like whispery voices, that she’d heard earlier. She decided to try something.
    â€œAnyone would think that the horseflies were trying to talk to you,” Pippa said.
    Stardust stopped being cross and whinnied with laughter. “Talking horseflies? That’s crazy!” she exclaimed. “That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard all morning. Oh, look—there’s Mucker’s older brother, Trojan. He helps run the farm with Mucker’s dad. He must have come to check on us. Let’s say hello.”
    â€œWait,” Pippa said, still trying to figure out if she was imagining things or if the horseflies really were trying to tell them something.
    But Stardust was already on her way over to the two brothers. Pippa followed.
    â€œHi, Trojan. Have you come to help or are you here to boss us around like Crystal?” she asked.
    Trojan blushed at the mention of