My Secret Unicorn (5 page)

Lauren felt her legs tremble with panic. Sidra had known they were there all along! Would she refuse to help them because they had watched the ceremony? Slowly, clinging on to Twilight's mane, she peeped round the boulder. Sidra was standing just in front of it – but to Lauren's relief, her brown eyes looked soft and welcoming.

‘Don't be afraid, Lauren,' said Sidra.

‘How … how did you know we were here?' Lauren stuttered.

The Elder chuckled. ‘Unicorn Elders
know all sorts of things,' she said. ‘I am very happy to see you both. Watching the ceremony is a great honour, but you are worthy of it. Believe me, we would have stopped you if we thought you weren't.' She stretched her neck towards Twilight, who stepped forward eagerly to greet her.

‘We didn't come to spy,' Lauren promised. ‘We've come to ask if you can help Twilight's friend Shadow. He's really sick and Mrs Fontana told me that you were his only hope.'

Sidra nodded. ‘Yes, I know,' she said, her voice becoming grave. ‘Shadow is in great danger, and you were right to come here. We must hurry because soon
it will be too late to do anything to help him.'

Lauren glanced at the unicorns above her, hovering in the air while they waited for Sidra.

‘But … but … we're not going to Arcadia, are we?' she stammered, her mouth going dry. ‘Can't you just give me something to cure Shadow?'

The Unicorn Elder reached forward and blew gently into Lauren's hair. ‘No, my dear,' she said. ‘You must come with me, and Twilight must come too.'

Lauren leaned against Twilight's shoulder, doubts flooding through her. They had already travelled so far, and now they were heading to Arcadia itself!

What if they couldn't get back once they'd got there? Or what if Twilight decided to stay?

‘Don't worry, Lauren,' Twilight whispered. ‘We must do this for Shadow. Remember how badly he needs us. I'll make sure we get back safely.' He turned his head towards Sidra. ‘I am ready to come with you.'

‘What about you, Lauren?' Sidra asked. ‘Are you ready to come to Arcadia?'

Lauren met the Unicorn Elder's gaze, and felt Twilight's warm, strong shoulder against hers. Twilight was right – they had come all this way for Shadow and they couldn't let him down now. She took a deep breath and pushed all her doubts to one side. ‘Yes, I'm ready,' she said bravely.

Sidra's eyes glowed. Then she turned on her haunches, galloped across the plateau and took off from the centre of the circle. Her hooves left a trail of silvery sparks as she rose into the sky to join the waiting unicorns.

Lauren scrambled on to Twilight's back and he set off after the Unicorn Elder, his hooves ringing on the rocks as he entered the glowing circle. Then he too lifted into the air and soared upward. Lauren glanced down and felt dizzy. They were so high up that even the top of the mountain looked a long way down. But strangely, she had stopped feeling cold, and the wind seemed to have lost its icy bite.

Sidra circled around them and then swooped in close. ‘We are going to follow the others to the edge of Arcadia,' she said. ‘Shadow needs water from the Waterfall of Stars, which is the source of all unicorn magic.'

‘Is the waterfall
inside
Arcadia?' asked Lauren. She realized that she would love to see the wonderful place that she had read and heard so much about, but she was still feeling a little bit nervous.

‘No,' said Sidra. ‘The Waterfall of Stars falls from the sky and enters our magical
land as a giant cascade of water and light. It lies just outside the boundary of Arcadia.'

‘How amazing,' Lauren breathed. Seeing the Plateau of Light was wonderful enough, but the Waterfall of Stars sounded even more incredible!

Sidra tossed her mane and touched Twilight's neck with her horn, which glowed even more brightly than before. ‘I'm giving you some of my energy,' she told him. ‘You will need it, especially as you've already flown a long way tonight. We're going to fly quickly, so we reach Arcadia before morning. Stay close behind me, Twilight.'

She turned away and galloped towards
the flock of unicorns. Lauren buried her hands in Twilight's mane as he raced after the Unicorn Elder. When Rohan and Ira saw them coming, they whinnied loudly and plunged forward, a stream of silvery hoofprints lingering in the air behind them as they led the unicorns into the starry night.

Lauren felt a thrill of excitement as Twilight caught up with the other unicorns. There was a beautiful young unicorn to their right, who turned her head as Twilight drew alongside. Her coat wasn't pure white like the others, but had the faintest peachy tinge, like the sky just before dawn.

‘Welcome, Lauren and Twilight,' she
whinnied, a little breathlessly. ‘My name is Frost. You are both very brave to have come on this long journey.'

Twilight reached out his nose towards her. ‘We just want our friend Shadow to get better,' he said.

Frost nodded, and blinked her long eyelashes. ‘Yes. But not everyone would be brave enough to come all the way to the Plateau of Light.'

Lauren wondered who had been Frost's Unicorn Friend, and whether it had been a sad parting. It must have been – she could hardly bear to imagine how it must have felt for the unicorn or the child left behind. She gripped Twilight a little bit tighter with her
knees, feeling very glad that he had promised to stay with her.

Frost looked up at Lauren. ‘I can guess what you're thinking, Lauren. You are right that it was hard to part with my Unicorn Friend. But it was the right time for me to leave – we both knew that. I wouldn't have agreed to return to Arcadia if he hadn't been ready for it. And I know I'll always be able to watch over him.'

Lauren hugged Twilight's neck. It was good to hear that Frost hadn't left her Unicorn Friend against his will. Maybe the Elders never allowed that to happen. She hoped so – she really hoped so …

The unicorns swept on and on into the night. Lauren was beginning to feel
exhausted. Her fingers felt almost frozen to Twilight's mane, and her back ached from riding for so long. They were so high up that it was difficult to tell what lay below. Every now and again they galloped through a drift of fluffy clouds, and she felt refreshed by their soft, moist touch, like the softest cotton wool.

Then, just as her eyelids began to droop, she saw something twinkling up ahead. She craned her neck, trying to work out what it was. When they drew closer, she gasped. It was as though a thousand diamonds were tumbling through the sky, their light reflecting in all directions. It was the most incredible thing Lauren had ever seen, like something out of a beautiful dream. It must be the Waterfall of Stars!

She looked down. The sky was growing lighter, and she could see through swirls of mist and cloud to the land below. There were lush green meadows dotted with trees and wild flowers and sparkling, crystal-clear
streams. Lauren felt puzzled because she could see quite clearly, but the sun still hadn't appeared over the horizon. Then she realized that not one but two moons shone above them, casting a soft glow over the landscape.

Sidra circled the clouds and came back alongside Twilight. ‘We are flying over Arcadia,' she explained. ‘But we will not stop here. The others are about to descend, but we will carry on without them. You can see the Waterfall of Stars ahead, which is where we must go.'

Rohan and Ira were beginning to canter in wide circles, getting gradually lower and lower. The other unicorns followed, their manes and tails streaming
behind them as they swooped after the Elders.

‘Goodbye, Lauren and Twilight,' Frost called as she passed them.

‘Goodbye,' cried Lauren. Twilight tossed his mane and whinnied.

Sidra and Twilight hovered in one place until all the other unicorns had gone past. As well as the twin Arcadian moons, the light from the Waterfall of Stars was very bright, reflecting flashes of light from the unicorns' hooves as they galloped through the air. Twilight gazed after them with his ears pricked up. Lauren reached down and stroked his neck. She hoped he wasn't feeling too disappointed at being left behind.

As the unicorns became small white specks below, Sidra turned to them. ‘It's not far now,' she said. ‘When we get nearer, Twilight, stay close beside me.' And with a swish of her moon-coloured tail, she set off at a gallop once more.

On they flew, until the waterfall seemed to stretch out to fill the whole sky ahead of them. Up close, it was so dazzling that Lauren had to screw up her eyes to look at it. She felt very small next to the shimmering curtain of stars, but at the same time the light filled her with happiness, as though she'd just opened all the birthday and Christmas presents she'd ever wanted.

Soon, the waterfall was towering above
them, and Lauren could see that the thundering cascade was made of pure, sparkling water mingled with millions of tiny stars. Water and stars tumbled down into a pool far below. Lauren felt fine, cool spray on her cheeks and eyelashes, and saw tiny droplets settle in Twilight's mane.

‘You need to take some of the water back to Shadow,' instructed Sidra.

For a second, Lauren panicked. How were they going to do that? She hadn't realized she needed to bring an empty container!

Twilight turned his head to look at her. ‘What about your water bottle?' he suggested. ‘We could carry some water in that.'

‘That's a great idea!' she said. She pulled the plastic bottle out of her rucksack and unscrewed the top. She poured out what was left of the regular water and gave it a shake to make sure the last drops fell out.

‘Do I just lean into the waterfall to fill it up?' she called to Sidra. The noise of the water was pounding in her ears, and the pool of splashing starlight seemed a long, long way below. Lauren gulped as she imagined being swept off Twilight's back by the force of the water, down, down, down …

Sidra nodded. ‘You'll need to get closer,' she warned.

Lauren told herself that the Unicorn
Elder wouldn't ask her to do something that was dangerous. But it still felt very scary as Twilight cantered towards the roaring, sparkling water. Lauren held the plastic bottle firmly and stretched it out towards the waterfall. But she couldn't reach the water even when she leaned over as far as she dared.

‘We'll have to get even closer, Twilight!' she called, clinging on to his mane.

Sidra drew alongside Twilight, so close that she was almost touching him, and the air between them seemed to crackle with magic. Sidra's horn glowed, and Lauren knew that she was giving Twilight some of her strength.

‘Now try!' said Sidra.

With a huge effort, Twilight cantered one stride closer to the curtain of rushing water and Lauren took her chance. Gripping tightly with her knees, she stretched out and plunged her hand into the water.

She expected the water to be freezing, but instead it felt fresh and clear and comforting and warm all at the same time, like ice-cold lemonade on a hot day or a mug of hot chocolate on a cold one. Lauren laughed out loud. It was wonderful! She brought out her hand and saw that the water bottle was full, so she screwed the top back on and stowed it carefully in her jacket pocket.

‘I've got it!' she cried breathlessly.

‘Well done!' Sidra called. ‘Now we must go!'

The two unicorns backed away from the tower of water and stars. Being so close to the waterfall seemed to have
given Twilight even more energy. He bounded after Sidra and they sped through the sky, back towards the Plateau of Light. Lauren's fingers were still tingling with the lovely feeling from the sparkling water, and when she looked down she could see the faintest sheen on her skin, like a dusting of diamonds.

They passed over Arcadia once more, and Lauren gazed down at it, wondering how Frost and the other new arrivals were settling in.

‘I would love to show you Arcadia,' said Sidra. ‘One day, perhaps, you will be able to visit. But now is not the time. Shadow needs you. You must take the
water to him as quickly as you can.'

The journey to the plateau seemed to speed past, and Lauren soon saw the mountains looming ahead. Sidra circled the peak and landed gently in the ring of rocks, her hooves pounding against the stone.

‘You have both done well,' she told them, her brown eyes shining. She touched Twilight with her silvery horn, and it glowed strongly once more. ‘Twilight, you have shown yourself to be strong and tireless as well as brave. I give you now the energy you will need to reach Shadow in time.'

‘Thank you, Sidra,' said Twilight, his ears pricked up.

Sidra looked at Lauren. ‘Farewell, Lauren. I'm sure we will meet again, but meanwhile, continue to be a good friend to Twilight. I know you will always do your best.'

Lauren nodded. ‘Goodbye, Sidra,' she said breathlessly. ‘And thank you. It was amazing to see the waterfall.'

Sidra arched her neck and gave a trumpeting whinny that carried over the mountains. Then she rose into the air and flew off, back towards Arcadia.

Lauren patted Twilight's neck as they watched her disappear into the indigo sky. ‘That was the most amazing adventure ever!' she whispered. Then she took the bottle out of her pocket and
gazed at the starry water that sparkled inside. ‘Come on. We'd better get back to Shadow.'