My Secret Unicorn (6 page)

Twilight shook his silky mane and took off again. Lauren stroked his neck and did her best to encourage him – even with Sidra's help, she knew he must be exhausted by now. Her eyelids were beginning to feel very heavy and she had to concentrate hard on staying awake.

‘Are you feeling all right?' she asked
Twilight, as they cantered above the forest that stretched over the lower slopes of the mountains. ‘I'm almost falling asleep.'

‘I'm fine,' said Twilight. ‘But I'd be worn out if Sidra hadn't given me that extra boost of strength.' All the same, he did sound a little bit tired, and Lauren wondered if he was feeling sad too, now that they'd left Arcadia behind.

Lauren forced herself to ask a difficult question. ‘Was it hard, seeing all the other unicorns going back to Arcadia?'

Twilight twitched one ear. ‘Not really,' he said. ‘It was lovely to have a look at Arcadia but I know we didn't have time for a proper visit. Anyway, seeing the waterfall was exciting enough.'

‘Are you sure?' Lauren said. ‘You really didn't want to stay in Arcadia with Frost and the other unicorns?'

Twilight shook his mane vigorously. ‘Lauren, I've told you. I really want to stay with you!'

‘Oh …' Lauren breathed out happily. ‘Thank you, Twilight.'

As they cantered onward, Lauren recognized the winding river that they'd flown over on the way to the mountains, and the big farm nestled on its banks. ‘We'll be there soon,' she promised Twilight.

There was a faint glow over the horizon to the east. It was almost dawn. They had been out for the whole night! They began to soar down towards Goose Creek Farm, and Lauren felt for the precious bottle of water in her
jacket pocket. It had to make Shadow better – it
had
to.

The yard was deserted, and Twilight landed right beside Shadow's stable. Lauren slid off his back and peered over the door. Shadow was still lying down, and Lauren could see his sides heaving painfully. His breathing sounded harsh and noisy, as if he had a sore throat. Mel was fast asleep beside him, wrapped up in a striped, woollen horse rug.

Very, very quietly, Lauren slid back the bolt and led Twilight inside. She knelt down beside Shadow's head and stroked his face. It felt damp with sweat, and he only half-opened his eyes at her touch. Lauren's heart lurched. He was even
sicker than before – had they arrived in time?

‘We've come to give you something to make you better,' she whispered, pulling the water bottle from her jacket pocket and unscrewing the lid. She lifted Shadow's head on to her lap and gently opened the corner of his mouth. She trickled some of the starry water in, and watched his throat to check that he had swallowed. A few droplets escaped and stayed on his velvety muzzle like tiny, quivering diamonds. Once Shadow had swallowed, Lauren trickled in a little bit more.

Shadow gave a huge sigh, as if drinking two mouthfuls had worn him
out. Lauren gently laid his head back on the straw. Then she sat back and waited anxiously. A couple of minutes ticked past, and Shadow still didn't move.

‘I've given him half the water,' Lauren whispered, looking up at Twilight. ‘Do you think that's enough?'

Twilight nuzzled her shoulder. ‘Wait a little bit longer,' he said. ‘Look. His breathing's getting quieter.'

Lauren listened. ‘Yes,' she said. ‘And his sides aren't heaving up and down quite so much.'

As she spoke, Shadow's eyes flickered open and he gave a soft whicker. Then he closed his eyes again.

Twilight whickered back gently and turned to Lauren. ‘I think he's going to be all right.'

Lauren leaned forward and arranged Shadow's forelock neatly. His skin already felt cooler, as if his fever had gone away. He was asleep now, and he looked peaceful and relaxed. She got to her feet and hugged Twilight.

‘We did it!' she whispered.

Just then, Mel stirred and murmured something in her sleep. Lauren cast a final glance down at the sleeping pony. ‘We'd better go before Mel wakes up.'

They crept out of the stable. Lauren climbed on to Twilight's back and he cantered into the air, keeping to the
grass at the edge of the yard for the first few strides so that his hooves didn't make a noise on the concrete.

Lauren realized she was still gripping the half-empty bottle of starry water. ‘What do you think I should do with the rest of the water, Twilight?' she asked. ‘I don't think I should keep it, do you?'

‘No,' Twilight agreed. ‘It's much too magical. But we shouldn't just throw it away, either – that would be a waste.'

‘It's a pity we don't have our own Waterfall of Stars,' Lauren said wistfully. ‘Then we'd be able to fill a bottle whenever we needed it.'

Twilight arched his neck and whinnied. ‘But maybe we could make
one!' he exclaimed. ‘We could pour the water into the creek that runs through the woods. It wouldn't make it as powerful as the real waterfall but it might give it a little bit of magic.'

Lauren beamed. ‘That's a great idea! Maybe it will protect any animals that drink from it and stop them from getting sick.'

Twilight flew over the woods and landed by the creek, where the water bubbled over some rocks. The first pale yellow rays of sun were just beginning to filter through the trees, and as Lauren poured the starry water out of the bottle, it seemed as though the whole creek danced with light.

As they watched the pretty sparkling water, a young deer appeared on the other side of the creek. It walked slowly to the edge of the bank, looking tired and thirsty, and bent its head to drink. After a few sips, it glanced up, its eyes
shining. With a twitch of its ears, it bounded back into the woods, seeming full of energy once more.

‘I think it's working already,' Lauren murmured happily. She leaned against Twilight's shoulder, then wearily clambered on to his back for the last time. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. ‘Time for us to go home.'

To Lauren's relief, the house was quiet when she crept inside, leaving Twilight in his paddock with a bucket of pony nuts. Even Buddy was still asleep, curled up in his basket beside the range. She tiptoed up to her bedroom, took off her jacket and peeled off her jeans and sweater, then crawled under her soft,
comfy duvet. Within seconds, she was fast asleep.

‘Lauren!'

Lauren was dreaming of a beautiful land far away, where herds of unicorns grazed among meadows full of red and yellow wild flowers. But there was a voice pulling her back …

‘Lauren! You've overslept!'

Lauren opened her eyes and saw her mum smiling down at her.

‘Hello, sleepyhead! I thought you were planning on getting up early,' said Mrs Foster. ‘Weren't you going to Mel's first thing?'

Lauren sat bolt upright. How could
she have forgotten? She threw off her duvet and jumped up. ‘Sorry, Mum,' she said. ‘I … I don't know what happened …'

‘Don't worry,' said Mrs Foster, heading back out of Lauren's room. ‘You must have been very tired last night. But Mel phoned, so I said you'd call her back when you were awake.'

Lauren reached for her jeans and tugged them on. She glanced at her bedside clock. It was half past nine, so she'd only had a few hours' sleep. But to her surprise, she didn't feel tired at all. In fact, she felt full of energy! She quickly finished dressing, then dashed downstairs and phoned her friend.

Her heart was hammering as she dialled the number for Goose Creek Farm. Hopefully Shadow would be much, much better – but she couldn't be totally sure, not yet.

‘Lauren!' Mel answered the phone. She sounded excited and happy, and Lauren felt relief sweep over her. ‘You've got to come over right away! Shadow's
loads better. When I woke up this morning, he was standing up and eating his hay!'

Half an hour later, Lauren and Twilight were trotting along the lane that led to Goose Creek Farm. Now that he was a shaggy grey pony again, Lauren couldn't ask Twilight how he was feeling, but she was pleased to see that he didn't seem too tired either. Maybe their visit to the Waterfall of Stars had done them both good, as well as Shadow.

As they trotted into the yard, Mel's face appeared over Shadow's door. She was smiling from ear to ear. ‘Hi, Lauren!' she called. ‘Thanks so much for riding
over. Come and see Shadow. He's a
million
times better!'

Lauren dismounted and led Twilight across the yard, feeling butterflies of happiness tumbling around in her tummy. Sure enough, Shadow was standing by his haynet, looking as though there had never been anything wrong with him at all. When he saw Lauren and Twilight, he stopped eating and greeted them with a deep whicker, as if he knew exactly what they had done for him.

Mel let herself into the stable while Lauren tied Twilight outside, then Lauren followed her friend inside. Mel stroked Shadow's neck, then hugged him. ‘The
vet has been back,' she said. ‘He looked really puzzled when he saw how much better Shadow was. He thinks Shadow must have fought off the virus on his own.'

‘That's fantastic,' said Lauren. ‘I'm so glad, Mel.'

She wished she could tell her friend about the unicorn ceremony at the Plateau of Light, or their amazing journey to fetch the bottle of starry water. She knew Mel would find it all so exciting! But it didn't really matter. The most important thing was that Shadow was better. And what was more, Lauren knew she could trust Twilight more deeply than she'd ever trusted him
before – he had seen the beautiful land of Arcadia and he'd
still
chosen to stay with her!

Mel and Lauren watched as Twilight stuck his head over the half-door. The two ponies touched noses. Shadow's brown eyes shone as he whinnied softly, and Lauren guessed he was thanking Twilight for helping him. She felt a glow of pride light her up from inside. Twilight was so brave, and loyal, and clever. She was the luckiest Unicorn Friend in the whole world!

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