My Secret Unicorn (4 page)

Twilight plunged forward, and Lauren buried her hands in his mane. He galloped into the starry sky faster than she'd ever known him go before, and the wind made her eyes water as they sped towards the Blue Ridge Mountains. They flew over the woods and then she started looking out for the big craggy mountain.

The full moon made the landscape below surprisingly bright, and Lauren peered down, trying to match the trees and winding rivers with the lines on the silvery map. There was the sweeping bend of a river, and a big, sprawling farm on its banks. Then, up ahead, she spotted the dark bulk of the mountain range and the craggy mountain that was marked on the map, and she realized in relief that they were going in the right direction.

Twilight flew confidently over the foothills and then through sweeping valleys with the mountains rising up on either side. Lauren gazed down at the hickory forests that covered them, and
heard an owl hooting somewhere in their depths. Another owl replied, its call echoing eerily along the valley. Lauren kept her hands twisted in Twilight's mane, trying not to feel afraid.

As they drew closer to the mountains, the wind grew stronger, and Twilight sometimes had to struggle against it as he climbed steadily upward. Lauren huddled on his back, feeling glad she'd worn her warmest jacket. Tugged by the wind, the map flapped wildly in Lauren's fingers. Suddenly it was whipped free and snatched into the air.

‘Oh no!' Lauren gasped. ‘Twilight! I've lost the map!'

She peered down in dismay as the
piece of parchment fluttered towards the forest.

‘Fly after it!' she cried desperately. ‘Otherwise we'll never find our way to the mountain!'

Twilight swooped down after the fluttering paper, so steeply that Lauren was afraid she would slide over his head. She clung on to his neck as the map reached the forest and disappeared among the mass of branches and spring leaves.

‘We
have
to find it!' Lauren exclaimed, and Twilight plunged in between the treetops, snapping twigs and sending branches springing back into Lauren's face. She ducked and covered her face
with one hand to avoid being scratched. At last there was a gentle thud, and Twilight landed on the forest floor at the foot of a towering oak tree. It was much darker down here because the branches kept out the moonlight.

Lauren looked around, trying to see what had happened to the precious parchment. ‘Can you see it, Twilight?' she whispered.

‘Not yet,' replied the unicorn. ‘But we'll find it, I know we will.' He wove in and out of the towering tree trunks while Lauren peered into the darkness. How could she have let the map go? She should have gripped it more tightly …

A little stream glimmered up ahead and Lauren's heart gave a leap. She could just see the map, one edge poking up among some reeds. ‘There it is!' she cried.

Twilight broke into a canter. When they reached the stream, Lauren
scrambled down from his back and stretched out with one hand to pick up the map. It had landed face down among the reeds, and the bottom half had dipped right into the water.

‘It's all wet,' she said anxiously. She smoothed the map out with her fingers and looked at it closely. She could just see some of the silvery lines, but at least half of them had been washed away. ‘I can't read it any more! How will we find the way now?' She felt like bursting into tears. ‘I can't believe I dropped it – it was really stupid of me!'

‘It wasn't your fault,' said Twilight. He blew gently into her hair. ‘It was
the wind. And you're not stupid at all – you're trying to save Shadow. I know you can do it. I trust you, Lauren.'

Lauren looked up at him. ‘Do you really?' she asked.

Twilight snorted, and nudged her arm. ‘I trust you more than anyone else in the world, Lauren. Now, we have to work out where we're going. How much of the map do you think you can remember?'

Lauren let go of Twilight and looked down at the map again. She concentrated hard, trying to picture the bits that had been washed away. It was difficult, but when she looked more
closely, there were just enough silvery lines left to jog her memory. ‘I think I can remember enough,' she said. ‘We'd better go. It must be nearly midnight!'

She vaulted on to Twilight's back and he took off, making his way swiftly up between the trees. As they cleared them, Lauren directed him once more towards the craggy mountain. As they drew closer, she could see a deep cleft in the mountainside and knew that this was what they must aim for. She remembered the way it had been drawn in silver on the map.

‘That way!' she cried, and Twilight changed course, flying strongly against the buffeting wind. Lauren sat tight,
screwing up her eyes against the icy gusts. But inside, she felt much warmer.
I trust you more than anyone else in the world, Lauren
– that was what Twilight had said. Maybe if he trusted her so much, she should trust him too. Enough to believe that he wouldn't change his mind about staying with her if he found out about the Plateau of Light …

‘We're almost at the top of the mountain,' said Twilight, as he swooped up towards the highest peak, where little patches of snow lay on the ground. He puffed as he struggled to fly against a powerful gust of wind. ‘I don't think I can fly all the way up. What if you get blown off? Can we land somewhere and walk the rest of the way?'

Lauren looked around. There were no more trees, and she knew the plateau must be very near. ‘Maybe you're right,' she agreed. ‘You can land here, Twilight.'

Twilight came to a stop on a big flat rock and waited for Lauren to get down.

‘Now what happens?' asked Twilight,
looking at Lauren with his trusting brown eyes. ‘Where are we meeting the Elders?'

Lauren took a deep breath. She knew that the moment had come for her to tell Twilight the whole truth. ‘We're … we're going to the Plateau of Light,' she told him. ‘It's the place where all the chosen unicorns go before –'

‘The Plateau of Light?' Twilight echoed, his eyes stretched wide. ‘Sidra told me all about it; how all the unicorns who are going back to Arcadia gather there once a year.'

Lauren felt a little stab of anxiety. Twilight knew about it already! And he seemed really excited about the
ceremony. Did that mean he wanted to go back to Arcadia with the other unicorns? Suddenly, she didn't want him to come to the plateau with her, in case he decided to leave her after all. ‘Well,' she said. ‘I have to go and speak to the Elders, but maybe you should wait here …'

Twilight swished his tail. ‘But I want to come!' he insisted. He looked up at the steep, rocky mountainside. ‘And anyway, you can't go up there on your own. It's too dangerous.'

Lauren swallowed, trying to remember what she'd been thinking about trust. It felt awful, not knowing for sure if Twilight would want to stay with her
once he had seen the ceremony. She turned away, feeling tears prick her eyes.

Quiet hoofbeats followed her, and a moment later she felt Twilight snuffle her hair, his breath warm on her neck. ‘What's wrong, Lauren?' he asked.

Lauren swallowed hard. ‘I didn't want to tell you we were coming to the Plateau of Light because I was afraid you would change your mind about staying with me,' she said all in a rush. ‘I thought you'd see the other unicorns, and the Unicorn Elders, and want to go back to Arcadia with them.'

She turned round to see Twilight looking at her in astonishment. ‘Of course I won't!' He lowered his head
and nuzzled her hands. ‘I'm sorry you were so worried about it. But you can trust me, I promise. I came here with you because I believe we can help Shadow. I love having adventures with you! I just want to see the ceremony, that's all.'

Lauren threw her arms around his neck and gave him a big hug, until his mane tickled her nose and she had to step back before she sneezed. ‘I love having adventures with you, too,' she said. ‘And you're right, we need to concentrate on helping Shadow!' She fished in her rucksack for the apple and fed it to Twilight, then shared the bottle of water with him, pouring some into her cupped hand so that he could drink it.

‘OK, Twilight,' she said, when they had finished their snack. She rested her hand on his mane. ‘Let's go to the Plateau of Light.'

Lauren and Twilight began to struggle up the steep slope against the biting wind. Lauren kept her fingers twisted in the unicorn's mane, just in case she slipped on the icy rocks. Sometimes they dislodged stones with their feet, sending them clattering down the mountainside. They seemed to fall a long, long way. Lauren was very glad
Twilight was beside her. It would have been very scary, scrambling up here on her own.

‘Not … far … now,' she muttered between gritted teeth. She concentrated on placing one foot in front of the other, sometimes bending down to use her free hand to haul herself up.

At last they reached the top of the mountain, and Lauren leaned her shoulder against Twilight's to get her breath back. Then, side by side, they peered over the peak. Miraculously, the wind dropped, and Lauren gasped out loud.

The whole of the plateau was bathed in gentle, golden light, which came from a wide circle of glowing rocks. In the
centre of the circle stood three lines of unicorns, their white coats gleaming and their horns shimmering. They were all standing with their heads bowed, facing a rock that glowed more brightly than the others. The unicorns seemed to be waiting for something, and the air fizzed with magic and expectation.

As she looked more closely, Lauren realized that there were three more unicorns, taller than the others, standing right in front of the great rock. They stepped further into the circle, out of the dazzling light, and Lauren saw them more clearly. One of them had a bronze horn, one had a golden horn, and the third had a glimmering silver horn.

Lauren recognized the silver-horned unicorn at once.

‘It's Sidra!' she breathed, and Twilight nodded.

Lauren placed her hand on Twilight's neck and together they ducked down behind a boulder. It felt strange for her to be spying on the special unicorn ceremony, even though she knew that Mrs Fontana had sent her here. After a couple of moments she heard Sidra's voice ringing out clearly.

‘It is time for the ceremony to begin,' she announced. ‘Ira, Rohan, let us take our places. Our chosen ones must begin their journey to Arcadia.'

Twilight whispered to Lauren that Ira and Rohan were the other two Unicorn Elders, with the gold and bronze horns. Lauren was growing more and more curious to see what was going on.
Standing on tiptoe, she peered over the rock.

One by one, the chosen unicorns walked up to the great rock. They bent their heads to be touched in turn by the gold, silver and bronze horns of the Elders. The Elders' horns glowed as they touched the earthly unicorns, confirming that their lives were about to change forever as they returned to Arcadia.

‘Well done,' Sidra said to each one. ‘You have shown yourself to be a wise and giving unicorn. We are proud to take you back to Arcadia with us.'

Lauren couldn't help noticing that each earthly unicorn raised its head proudly when Sidra spoke to them.

Returning to Arcadia was making them so happy! She felt her heart twist at the thought that Twilight could have gone through this ceremony too – but she'd encouraged him to stay on earth. Had it been the right thing to do? Was he really as happy living with her as he would be in Arcadia with all the other unicorns?

She glanced at him. His ears were pricked up and his eyes were shining, but when he felt Lauren looking at him, he turned and rested his head reassuringly on her shoulder. Lauren reached up to stroke his nose. She had promised to trust him, which meant she had to believe that he truly wanted to stay with her.

The ceremony was coming to an end. Lauren watched as the last of the unicorns received their welcome from the Elders and trotted to join the others, whinnying happily.

Then Sidra addressed them all. ‘Arcadia is waiting for you. You will now join your brothers and sisters, who, like
you, have all gained wisdom from their important lessons on Earth.'

The unicorns listened intently. Then the unicorn with the golden horn stepped forward, his snowy coat rippling under the light of the glowing rocks. ‘I am Rohan. I will lead you to Arcadia,' he announced. ‘Say your farewells to this Earth. You will never return, and I know many of you must be feeling sad to have left your loyal Unicorn Friends behind.'

There was a murmur of agreement from the gathered unicorns, and Rohan bowed his head, as though he was acknowledging that even this exciting moment had a sad side. ‘But always remember this,' he went on after a
while. ‘Your Unicorn Friends are still there. They have not ceased to be your friends just because you have parted from them. You will be able to watch over them from Arcadia, and make sure that they are safe.'

He looked round at Ira, who stepped forward and gave a piercing whinny. ‘And now, dear unicorns, it is time for us to go!'

There was a ripple of excitement among the unicorns. Many of them appeared to take one last look at the mountains. Then Rohan reared up, his hooves flashing in the night air. ‘Follow me!' he cried, and leapt into the starry sky.

Ira joined him, and one by one the chosen unicorns took off from the plateau. For a few moments, Rohan hovered in one place as the unicorns circled around him like a flock of graceful snow-coloured birds.

Lauren's heart was pounding. Sidra hadn't taken off yet. She had to speak to her, but Lauren was terrified that the Unicorn Elder would be angry with her for watching the ceremony.

But then she thought of Shadow, lying in his stable, struggling to breathe. He needed their help! And that meant they had done the right thing by coming here. She just had to show herself before it was too late –

A voice interrupted her thoughts.

‘Lauren! Twilight!' Sidra called. ‘I know you are there. Come out from your hiding place. I must speak to you!'