Welcome.
When I was little,
My father would tell me stories about magical horses that would visit late at night and invite you to ride with them into the midnight sky.
Each night I would lie still when all the house was sleeping,
Waiting and hoping for the sounds of hoof beats outside my window.
But they never came until one night my father whispered,
If you really want them to come,
You have to quieten your body and your mind and imagine it's already happened.
All the beautiful details you can imagine,
And then they'll come.
That night I snuggled down under the covers just like you are now and I closed my eyes.
I lay so still I could feel the beating of my heart,
The sounds of crickets outside the window.
All the house was asleep and I took a nice slow deep breath and began to imagine the sounds of footsteps and hoof beats on the gravel outside.
I imagined they grew louder and louder and that I heard a snort and a snicker of the ponies outside.
In my mind I crept down the staircase,
Avoiding the ones that creaked and groaned and opened the front door wide,
Taking in a deep breath of the cool night air.
Up above I could see the shining bright moon that lit up the garden and made all the trees sparkle with moondust.
I heard the ponies stamping,
Restless and eager,
And when I stepped outside I saw a man riding a golden horse towards me,
The cream flowing mane and tail.
His face was weathered and his eyes sparkled kindly.
Behind him was a long line of ponies.
He was wearing a battered hat and a feather in it and an old dusty jacket to keep out the night chill and he winked when he saw me and with a toss of his head motioned for me to choose a pony.
There was a white pony,
Its head held high with a silver bridle,
And a black pony behind it,
A little taller,
Who lowered his head to me as I approached and rubbed its muzzle on my arm.
The steam rose from its nostrils and I heard it say to my heart,
Pick me,
Pick me.
The black pony smelled of sweet hay.
I could feel its heart beating in time with mine as I patted its neck.
Moonbeam I'll call you,
I said to myself,
And the pony nodded in agreement.
I thought about how much my friends would enjoy this and in my mind I called them to meet me in the garden.
In just the blink of an eye they were there,
Giggling with excitement.
Dressing gowns wrapped around them as they shuffled in warm slippered feet.
They each chose a pony,
Or perhaps the ponies chose them as there was so much excitement with hoof stomping and snorting I really could not tell.
And then with a wave of his arm we climbed up onto our ponies,
Gathered the reins in our hands and set off at a canter.
It felt like riding a rocking horse,
I felt my body rocking gently as we leapt over fences and rode down through fields.
The town streets had disappeared and we were riding back through time to a magical place of forests and castles.
Sometimes I could hear their hooves on the rough ground and at other times we simply floated above it.
I felt safe and comfortable as my pony knew the way and all I needed to do was trust him.
I could feel the wind in my hair,
Smell the faint smell of trampled grass below and heard the shrieks of delight as my friends urged their ponies on.
At the top of a hill we came to a stop,
We were in a clearing surrounded by ancient standing stones.
Beneath the moon we shared cake and lemonade that our leader had brought.
The wind whipped through the circle of tall stones and they began to sing a song of crystals and precious jewels that can only be heard when your heart is ready to hear it.
And then with a shriek we were off again racing downhill and through rolling fields until eventually we reached the ocean.
A winding path led down to a beach of soft sand,
The sea was calm and inviting.
The ponies swam with us on their backs and the moonlight sparkled on the water.
Eventually I saw dolphins breaking through the ripples beside us and if you listen very carefully you might even hear them now.
Our ponies swam out further to a small island,
It was the home of the mermaids of long ago.
I could hear mermaids singing in their sleep,
Tucked up tight in their beds.
The song of the mermaids is whisper soft and slow and can be heard in the rise and fall of gentle waves.
The ponies rested on the island shore whilst we explored the island caves and rocky cliffs in search of pirate treasure.
We filled our pockets with beautiful shells and made magic wands from feathers of seabirds that nested in the rocky cliffs.
As the first colours of dawn kissed the sky our leader called us back to the beach,
It was time to return.
The ponies floated high into a magical sky of dusty pinks and yellow and blue and with a deep sigh I found myself back in my bed with the sun shining through a crack in the curtain.
My heart felt light,
I was excited to invite the ponies back again the following night,
Knowing that every time we met a new dream would guide us to ancient places where old stones whispered the secrets of time and mermaids called us to their stories for healing and adventure.
That morning I found a feather in my pocket and I waved magic into the air,
For every morning holds the opportunity for us to cast a spell of knowing and feeling and seeing what we want.
The people we are ready to create magic with and the knowing that the ponies can return.
So maybe as you drift and dream your very own special pony adventure will carry you to the stars and beyond,
To a land of magic where you can be anything you want to be.
Knowing that the magic is yours to play with each and every night and as you can see them,
Smell them,
Sense that they are coming,
The ponies are waiting for you to summon them.
And maybe you can see your favourite one now,
How it looks at you with kind eyes,
Its fur soft and warm,
Inviting you to come closer.
You can carry that picture in your heart,
Your magical pony will travel with you wherever you go.
As you sleep deeply now,
Dreaming of ponies and inviting them into your heart.
