My Secret Unicorn (3 page)

‘I told my mum I'd be back before dinner,' she said. ‘I'm sorry I can't stay longer, Mel.'

‘That's OK,' Mel said. ‘Thanks for coming, Lauren. It's really helped.'

But she still didn't look very happy.

The two girls headed back out to the yard, and looked over the stable door. To Lauren's dismay, Shadow hadn't moved. In fact, his sides seemed to be heaving up and down more than ever.

Mel's face was pale. ‘His breathing sounds worse,' she said, her voice barely above a whisper. As Lauren led Twilight out of his stall, she saw one lonely tear roll down her friend's face.

Mel scrubbed at her face with the back of her hand. ‘I don't know what I'll do if something happens to Shadow,' she said.

Lauren gave her friend a hug. ‘I know exactly what you mean,' she said, desperately wanting to comfort her. ‘We
just have to hope that he gets better. I'm sure he will. That's what the vet said, wasn't it?'

Mel gave a watery smile. ‘Yes. Thanks, Lauren.'

But as Lauren rode away, she wished that Mel had something better to thank her for. Somehow, she and Twilight
had
to find a way to help Shadow.

When Lauren reached home, her mum was singing in the kitchen as she scrubbed potatoes. Lauren knew that meant she'd finished her manuscript.

‘Hi, Lauren,' said Mrs Foster, waving the potato brush at her. ‘Have you had a nice day?'

Lauren shook her head. ‘Shadow's really sick,' she said. ‘And the vet doesn't
know what's wrong. He had to do a blood test to find out what it is.'

‘Oh dear,' said Mrs Foster, her smile fading. ‘Is Twilight OK? You don't think he's caught it too, do you?'

‘No, he's fine,' said Lauren. For a moment, she wished more than anything that she could tell her mum how upset Twilight was feeling about his friend, and about the fact that his powers couldn't heal Shadow. But she stopped herself just in time.

‘Well, I'm sure Shadow will get better once they've found out what the problem is,' said Mrs Foster, pricking the potatoes with a fork. ‘Try not to fret too much, honey.'

She put the potatoes into the oven. ‘Maybe you need to take your mind off it. Do you want to come into town with me while the potatoes are baking? Your dad can keep an eye on them. I have to collect some dry-cleaning. We'll pick up Max and Buddy on the way back.'

Lauren instantly had a spark of an idea. A trip into town meant that she could go to the bookshop and speak to Mrs Fontana. She was the only other person who knew that Twilight was a unicorn. In fact, it was Mrs Fontana who had helped Lauren to discover his wonderful secret. She knew so much about ponies and unicorns – maybe she
would know what to do to help Shadow! ‘Oh yes, that would be great,' she said. ‘Can I go to the bookshop?'

‘Of course you can,' said Mrs Foster. ‘But it will have to be a short visit this time.'

Lauren ran upstairs to change. Before dashing downstairs again, she looked out of her bedroom window to check on Twilight. He was standing by the fence with his head hanging low, looking gloomy.

‘We'll find a way to help Shadow,' Lauren whispered. ‘Mrs Fontana will have some ideas, I'm sure she will.' Then she bounded down the stairs and out to the car, where her mum was waiting.

Ten minutes later, Mrs Foster pulled up outside the bookshop. ‘See you soon,' she called, as Lauren clambered out.

‘OK. Thanks, Mum,' said Lauren, and she hurried inside the shop.

Lauren breathed in the faint aroma of blackcurrants that always seemed to fill the shop. It made her feel safe and welcome. There was a tapping of tiny claws as Walter, Mrs Fontana's black and white terrier, trotted up to greet her. Lauren bent down to stroke his soft little ears. There was no sign of Mrs Fontana, so she headed further into the shop, peering round several bookshelves to look for her. She found the elderly lady standing on a little stool, putting cookery books on to a shelf.

‘Hello, Mrs Fontana,' she called.

‘Oh! Lauren,' said Mrs Fontana. She stepped down from the stool at once. ‘I'm pleased that you've dropped by. I
had a feeling that you would. I have something very important to give –'

‘Actually, I've come about my friend Mel's pony, Shadow,' Lauren blurted out, not waiting for Mrs Fontana to finish. ‘He's very sick.'

She stopped as Mrs Fontana held up one hand. ‘I already know,' she said, pulling her soft yellow shawl around her shoulders. ‘That's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about.'

Lauren tried not to let her mouth drop open. She knew Mrs Fontana quite well by now, but it was still a surprise when she knew things before Lauren had mentioned them.

‘Poor Shadow is in a very bad way,'
Mrs Fontana went on. ‘But there might be a way you can help him. Follow me, my dear.'

She walked to the back of the shop with Walter at her heels. Lauren followed, her mind buzzing with questions.

‘I don't understand why Twilight couldn't heal him,' she said, as Mrs Fontana reached a green beaded curtain hanging in a doorway. ‘We went to Goose Creek Farm last night and Twilight touched him with his horn. But nothing happened – Shadow just lay there and now he's even worse. Has something happened to Twilight's magical powers? We haven't been wasting them, I promise, and I've been
trying my best to be a good Unicorn Friend …'

Mrs Fontana nodded. ‘You don't need to worry about that,' she said. ‘You've been a wonderful Unicorn Friend to Twilight, and you haven't been wasting his powers.'

She led Lauren through the curtain and into a cosy living room, with a big green sofa and two comfy-looking armchairs. There was also a marble fireplace with a big mantelpiece, and above it hung a beautiful painting of a unicorn drinking from a mountain stream. Lauren stared at it, enchanted. The unicorn's coat looked so glossy that she wanted to reach out and stroke it.

‘Now, sit down for a moment,' said Mrs Fontana, indicating the sofa. ‘There's something I need to explain.'

Lauren sank on to the squashy sofa
and picked up a cushion to hug, hoping that Mrs Fontana wasn't about to give her bad news. Mrs Fontana sat down next to her and adjusted her shawl.

‘Now,' she said, reaching over and taking one of Lauren's hands. ‘You need to understand that Shadow's illness is not your fault, or Twilight's. Twilight's magic is getting stronger all the time, but there are some things that even he can't cure.'

Lauren's heart pounded. She'd thought Twilight's magic could cure anything! He'd even mended her friend Jo-Ann's broken leg when she fell off her pony in the woods. Lauren thought of Shadow lying in the straw, struggling to breathe … and there was nothing they could do about it! ‘Does that mean Shadow will just get sicker and sicker?' she said, her voice trembling.

‘Well, he will if we don't do anything to help him,' Mrs Fontana said gently. ‘But there is a more powerful kind of magic that might just work.'

She got up and went over to the big, marble mantelpiece. She reached up towards the painting and pushed it gently to one side. Lauren could see a little cubby hole in the wall behind it.

‘This is what we need,' said Mrs Fontana as she opened the door to the cubby hole and pulled out a rolled-up sheet of parchment paper, tied with a
little red ribbon. She moved the painting back into place, then walked across the room and handed the scroll to Lauren. ‘You can open it later.'

‘What is it?' Lauren asked, fingering the rough paper curiously. It felt very old.

‘It's a map,' Mrs Fontana explained. ‘It will show you how to reach a place called the Plateau of Light up in the Blue Ridge Mountains.'

‘The Blue Ridge Mountains?' Lauren frowned. The mountains were not far from her home – in fact she could see them quite clearly from Granger's Farm. But she'd never been there, certainly not on her own. And she had never heard of the Plateau of Light.

Mrs Fontana smiled. ‘It's not too far for Twilight to fly,' she assured Lauren. ‘The plateau is a magical place that appears just once a year, on a full moon. On that night, the Unicorn Elders gather there to welcome the unicorns that are returning to Arcadia. You know that some unicorns are chosen to return home, don't you?'

Lauren nodded. She knew about this all too well because Twilight had been offered the chance to go back to Arcadia himself. Unicorns were chosen to return to Arcadia when they had shown themselves to be especially brave and helpful, and it was a great honour. But it meant that they could never return to
Earth. Sidra was the Unicorn Elder who had visited Twilight to tell him that he had been chosen to return to Arcadia. Lauren had met her when Twilight had asked to stay on Earth. Thankfully Sidra had agreed, and allowed Twilight to stay.

‘Well,' Mrs Fontana went on, ‘tonight is the night that the Elders are gathering. Their magic is the strongest of all unicorn magic. If anyone can make Shadow better, they can. You need to go and ask them for help.' She looked at Lauren kindly. ‘It's a long way to go, especially in the dark. You must make sure that you have plenty of warm clothes, because it can get very cold in the mountains at night. But I'm sure
that you and Twilight can manage it.'

Lauren stared down at the rolled-up map, her mind whirling. ‘You mean, we actually have to go and meet the unicorns that are going back to Arcadia?'

‘The returning unicorns will be at the plateau,' said Mrs Fontana. ‘But it's the Elders that you need to talk to about Shadow.'

Lauren felt fear clutch her heart. Taking Twilight to the ceremony at the plateau seemed like a huge risk. What if he saw all the other unicorns going back to Arcadia, and decided to go with them? She might lose him after all … But she couldn't say that to Mrs Fontana.

‘What if we get lost?' she asked instead.

‘The map will show you which way to go,' Mrs Fontana replied. ‘But you will have to make sure you arrive at the right time. The unicorns are only there for a little while before they set off for Arcadia. You need to get there by midnight.'

Lauren took a deep breath. All sorts of thoughts were going through her mind. She wanted to say that she couldn't possibly manage a journey like that in the middle of the night, especially as it might mean losing Twilight! But then she thought of Shadow lying in the straw, and she knew she couldn't let him and Mel down. ‘Thank you, Mrs Fontana,' she said. ‘We'll do our best.'

Mrs Fontana smiled. ‘This will be the most difficult task for you and Twilight so far, but I'm sure that you will find your way. You're a brave girl, and that's one of the reasons why you're such a good Unicorn Friend. Twilight is very lucky to have you.'

Lauren was very quiet on the journey back home to Granger's Farm. Right now, she didn't feel like a brave Unicorn Friend. In fact, she felt more and more nervous about her trip to the mountains with Twilight. It would be scary going so far at night, and they might get lost however hard she studied the map. But deep down, she knew that
she wasn't really worried about the journey. The truth was that she was terrified of what might happen if she took Twilight to the unicorns' meeting. What if he decided he wanted to go back to Arcadia after all, with all the other unicorns?

‘Is everything all right, Lauren?' asked Mrs Foster, breaking into her thoughts.

‘Oh – I'm just thinking about a few things,' Lauren said hastily.

‘You can phone Mel as soon as we get home,' said Mrs Foster. ‘Maybe Shadow will be feeling better by now.'

Lauren crossed her fingers, hoping desperately that it was true. Maybe the vet would have found out what was
wrong and been able to treat Shadow after all. And then she wouldn't have to take Twilight to the Plateau of Light.

They picked up Max and Buddy from Steven and Leo's house. Buddy bounded into the car and covered Lauren's face in slobbery licks, which cheered her up for a few moments. Max was full of what had happened that day. Buddy had sniffed out an old bone buried in the garden, and he'd got covered in mud digging it up with Leo's puppy, Buggy. The boys had ended up giving both dogs a bath, but of course the dogs hadn't wanted to stay in the tub. They had jumped out and run downstairs, covered in soap bubbles!

Lauren listened and laughed, glad of something else to think about. But as soon as they were home, she went to the phone to call Mel.

It was Mel who answered the phone. ‘Hi, Lauren,' she said in a flat voice.

‘Is Shadow any better?' Lauren asked, but she guessed from Mel's voice what the answer would be.

‘No,' said Mel. Her voice wobbled. ‘I think he's worse. He hasn't moved all day. He just lies there in the straw and he's breathing so heavily …' She stopped, and Lauren could hear that she was crying. Lauren felt her own throat closing up.

‘The blood-test results have come in
but it's still not clear what's wrong,' Mel went on, sniffing. ‘The vet came back this afternoon. He says it must be some kind of respiratory virus, which means there is something wrong with his lungs, but he doesn't understand why Shadow is getting worse so quickly.'

‘Oh, Mel, I'm so sorry,' said Lauren. ‘I'll come over first thing tomorrow.' She wished she could tell Mel what she was planning, but that was impossible. ‘Don't give up hope. Shadow's such a strong, brave pony. He'll fight as hard as he can to get better.'

‘Thanks, Lauren,' sniffed Mel. ‘I'd better go. I don't want to leave Shadow on his own for too long. Mum says I
can spend the night with him in his stable.'

‘OK. Bye, Mel,' said Lauren. She put the phone down, imagining Mel curled up sadly in the straw next to her dapple-grey pony. The thought made tears prick her eyes, and she knew there really was no choice. She and Twilight had to go to the Blue Ridge Mountains to speak to the Unicorn Elders.

Lauren went out to the paddock to tell Twilight what they were going to do. She couldn't change him into a unicorn while people were around – it was too risky. But she knew he would understand what she had to tell him.

She fetched some pony nuts from the feed store and climbed over the rail at the edge of the paddock. Twilight greeted her with a whinny, as he always did, and she fed him the handful of nuts. ‘I've been to see Mrs Fontana,' she told him, stroking his soft muzzle. ‘She says there's nothing wrong with your powers. It's just that Shadow is too sick for you to cure him.'

Twilight stopped chewing the pony nuts, and his head drooped a little.

‘But it's not our fault,' Lauren added hastily. ‘Mrs Fontana says we might be able to help Shadow, but only if we make a special trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains to meet the Unicorn Elders.'

Twilight perked up again, his big brown eyes looking curious. Lauren hesitated, wondering whether to tell him about the unicorns going back to Arcadia, and the Plateau of Light.

‘We have to get there by midnight,' she began. Then she stopped. She couldn't tell him why the unicorns were gathering. She just couldn't. She was too scared that he might want to join them.

‘I'll come back out when everyone has gone to bed,' she whispered, and Twilight nuzzled her affectionately. Lauren knew he was trying to tell her that everything would be all right, and she felt bad for not telling him the full story. But she'd tell him later, when they could talk about it properly. She fetched him some hay and went back inside.

She went straight upstairs to her bedroom to look at the map. With
trembling fingers, she undid the scrap of red ribbon and let the parchment unfurl. The map was drawn in spidery silver ink that glimmered in the fading light from her bedroom window. Lauren pored over it, tracing her finger over the mountains and valleys criss-crossed with winding rivers. The Plateau of Light was marked with a glowing, golden square halfway up one of the tallest mountain peaks. It looked like such a long way. She took a deep breath and looked out of the window at Twilight. He looked up at her from the paddock and whinnied. He was obviously waiting for their adventure to begin.

Lauren's heart did a little somersault.

Please, please, Twilight, don't ever leave me. Please don't go back to Arcadia.

Her dad called her down to dinner, so Lauren put the map to one side and went downstairs. There were sausages and green beans to go with the baked potatoes, and Mr Foster began to serve it up.

‘Feeling hungry, Lauren?' he asked, as he held up three sausages with the serving tongs.

Lauren smiled weakly. Usually, sausages and baked potatoes was one of her favourite dinners, but today there were butterflies fluttering around her stomach and she didn't feel like eating at all. ‘Not very,' she admitted. ‘Two will be plenty, thanks, Dad.'

Mr Foster raised his eyebrows in surprise. ‘Well, that means all the more for the rest of us, doesn't it?' he commented cheerfully.

Mrs Foster flashed Lauren a sympathetic smile. ‘I expect you're worried about Shadow, aren't you?'

Lauren nodded. ‘Mel says he's getting worse,' she said. ‘And the vet still doesn't know what's wrong with him. The blood tests didn't show anything.'

‘Oh dear,' sighed her mum. ‘We'll just have to hope that a good night's rest will do Shadow some good.'

Lauren picked up her fork and played with her green beans, but she could only manage a few mouthfuls. She kept
thinking about the journey ahead, and the moment when she would have to tell Twilight the truth about the Plateau of Light. The more she thought about it, the more nervous she felt, and she just wished it was time to go and get it over with. It was a relief when dinner was over and she could finally leave the table.

‘I think I'll have an early night,' she said, heading for the stairs. ‘I'm going to get up early tomorrow to go and see Mel.'

‘That's fine, honey,' said her mum. ‘Try not to worry. Shadow might be a lot better by then.'

In her bedroom, Lauren had another quick look at the map. She wondered what it would be like in the mountains at night. Mrs Fontana had said it would be cold, so she would have to be prepared. She'd need warm clothes, an apple for Twilight and some water, but she couldn't do anything until everyone else had come upstairs. So she lay down on her bed and stared up at the ceiling, listening to what was happening in the rest of the house. She heard Max going to bed, then she heard the faint sound of the TV in the living room. She guessed that her mum and dad were watching a film. The minutes ticked by very slowly.

At last, Mr and Mrs Foster climbed the stairs and Lauren heard the click of their bedroom door closing shut. She got up and took her warmest jacket out of her wardrobe and rummaged for her rucksack in her cupboard. She shrugged on the jacket and put the map into one of the zip-up pockets. She packed a little blanket, just in case it got really cold, and then crept out of her room and down the stairs. As quietly as she could, she stuffed a plastic bottle of water and an apple in with the blanket and slung the rucksack over her shoulders. Then she slipped out of the house. It was quite chilly already, but there was a full moon, so she could see quite clearly.

Twilight was waiting for her at the gate. ‘It's time to go, Twilight,' she whispered. She muttered the words of the Turning Spell, and Twilight turned into a snowy white unicorn.

He shook his mane, making it sparkle in the moonlight. ‘Thank you for trying to help Shadow,' he said. ‘I can tell you're nervous about the journey to the mountains, but I promise I'll look after you.'

Lauren felt a stab of guilt. She still hadn't told Twilight about the ceremony for unicorns returning to Arcadia. She couldn't let him know she was more nervous about that than the journey.

She gave him a hug for good luck, then vaulted up on to his back and fished the map out of her pocket. ‘OK, Twilight,' she said. ‘There's a big craggy mountain that we have to head towards. I think we'll see it once we've flown
over the woods. Fly as fast as you can!'

She gave him a little nudge with her heels. The unicorn snorted and tossed his head, then soared upward into the night.