The Thunderbolt Pony

The Thunderbolt Pony
Stacy Gregg

A dramatic and emotional story about one girl’s determination to stand by her beloved animals – and her refusal to give up, even in the face of impossible odds.When a devastating earthquake hits Evie’s hometown of Parnassus on New Zealand’s South Island, she and the rest of the town are forced to evacuate. Evie’s injured mum is one of the first to be rescued by helicopter and Evie will be next. But when realises that she will be forced to leave her beloved pony, Gus, her dog, Jock, and her cat Moxy behind, she is determined to find another way. Before the rescue helicopter returns, Evie flees with Gus, Jock and Moxy in a race against time across difficult terrain to reach the port of Kaikoura, where she has heard that people will be evacuated by ship in three days’ time. Surely there will be space for her, Gus, Jock and Moxy there?But the journey is harder than Evie could ever have imagined, and with aftershocks constantly shaking, Evie will have to draw on all her bravery, strength, and resilience to bring her and her animals to safety . . . and hope that they reach the boat in time.

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Children’s Books in 2017

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Text copyright © Stacy Gregg, 2017

Cover design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2017

Cover images © Shutterstock.com (http://Shutterstock.com)

Stacy Gregg asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of the work.

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library

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Source ISBN: 9780008257019

Ebook Edition © 2017 ISBN: 9780008257026

Version: 2017-09-05

My heartfelt thanks to clinical psychologist Hilary Mack for his support and advice, and to Suzanne Winterflood, who kept my feet on the ground in this year of earthquakes.

Contents

Cover (#u178e00fd-1bc3-58fa-af77-8bd302f3d43d)

Title Page (#u8dda8dd9-480e-5d85-be8c-1901d1c38e2e)

Copyright (#u99b21abd-62d2-59dd-9e70-d4cddf211ba2)

Dedication (#ubf3abfa9-89a9-502f-a262-a4797be39b26)

Chapter 1: The Bringer

Chapter 2: One Year Ago – How I First Became a Thunder God

Chapter 3: The Minotaur

Chapter 4: The Sacrifices

Chapter 5: Pegasus and Athena

Chapter 6: Seven-Point-Eight

Chapter 7: Moxy and the River Styx

Chapter 8: Trapped

Chapter 9: The Odyssey

Chapter 10: Helen of the Hundalees

Chapter 11: The Riddle of the Sphinx

Chapter 12: Creatures of Poseidon

Chapter 13: The Gates to Tartarus

Chapter 14: Six Legs at Dusk

Chapter 15: Pegasus, Son of the Sea God

Chapter 16: Coming Home

Epilogue – Six Months Later

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About the Publisher

CHAPTER 1 (#u0da94f02-8b39-50da-a1f1-f90eb477e6c1)

The Bringer (#u0da94f02-8b39-50da-a1f1-f90eb477e6c1)

On the top of Mount Parnassus, in the grand temple where the gods hang out, I am struggling to load my thunderbolts into the two white sacks strapped on to Gus’s back.

“Stand still!” I use a firm tone with my pony as he fidgets. “This is hard enough without you messing about.” The thunderbolts have these sharp, pointy edges that make them almost impossible to stuff into the sack and I’m trying not to jab Gus in the flank, but I’m in a desperate hurry. The white fluffy clouds beneath my feet are trembling. The whole mountain is shaking from the bottom up. There isn’t much time – we need to get out of here.

“Evie!”

A voice booms through the temple and I turn round to see Zeus striding towards me across the clouds, white robes flowing behind him.