My Secret Unicorn (2 page)

Twilight soared into the air, his silky mane shimmering in the moonlight. Lauren gazed down at her house. Its windows became tiny yellow boxes of light as Twilight flew upward, then they disappeared altogether as he turned towards Goose Creek Farm, where Mel lived. Lauren felt the wind tugging at her hair, and she hugged
Twilight's neck happily. There was nothing better than flying – nothing in the whole world!

Lauren loved being a Unicorn Friend but she knew that there was more to it than flying through the night with Twilight. Unicorns were supposed to use their magic to help people and animals in trouble. Lauren and Twilight had solved lots of problems since they had discovered Twilight's magical powers, but they had also learned only to use his magic for important things.

Twilight began to descend towards the farmhouse, but circled around slowly before going too close. Lauren peered over his shoulder, scanning the yard
below for any sign of people. To her relief, the lights in the tack room and the feed room were off – so everyone had gone indoors for the night.

‘I think it's safe to go down,' she said. It was very important that no one else saw Twilight in his unicorn form.

Twilight landed lightly by Shadow's stable and Lauren slipped off his back. She listened for a moment to check that there really was no one around. Then she slid back the bolt on the half-door, and Twilight followed her inside.

Shadow was lying down in the straw. ‘Hello, Shadow,' Lauren whispered, crouching down beside him. ‘We've come to see how you're feeling.'

Twilight bent his head down to nuzzle the dapple-grey pony, and he whickered a greeting. But Shadow didn't even try to get up. He just raised his head a little, then let it flop back down again.

Lauren watched anxiously as the two ponies spoke to each other in their own special language. ‘Is he feeling any better?' she asked Twilight.

‘He says he feels worse than he did earlier today, and he can't breathe properly,' Twilight said worriedly.

Lauren frowned. It sounded as though Shadow might be really ill. They had to do something to help him. ‘Perhaps you should use your magic to make him better,' she suggested.

Twilight blinked his big brown eyes, and nodded. ‘Yes,' he agreed. ‘I think I should try.' Being able to heal things was one of his magical powers. He reached down and touched Shadow's neck with his horn, which seemed to glow a little brighter.

Lauren held her breath and waited for Shadow to get to his feet. When Twilight's horn glowed, it usually meant the magic was working. But Shadow just groaned and closed his eyes, then stretched his neck out on the straw. Twilight was very worried, and Lauren was puzzled. ‘Maybe your magic doesn't always work straight away,' she said.

Twilight twitched one ear doubtfully. ‘Maybe.'

They waited for a few more minutes, but Shadow still didn't seem any better. His eyes stayed closed, and it looked as if he was trying to go to sleep.

Lauren stroked Shadow's cheek, then stood up. ‘We'd better not stay any longer,' she said. ‘But we'll come back and see you tomorrow, Shadow. I'm sure you'll be fine by then.'

She waited for Twilight to say goodbye to the sick pony. Then, as quietly as they could, she and Twilight left the stable.

‘I hope Shadow gets better quickly. He's my best pony friend,' said Twilight as they flew over the woods towards home.

They landed by his stable. Lauren slipped down off his back and gave him a hug. ‘Of course he will,' she said.

She whispered the words that changed
Twilight back into a shaggy grey pony. ‘Goodnight, Twilight,' she said. ‘I'm sure your magic will have worked by the morning.'

But Twilight hung his head, and Lauren knew he wouldn't be happy until he was sure that Shadow was better. With a heavy heart, she kissed his soft nose and headed inside. Her mum was still working in her study, and her dad was on the phone. Lauren said goodnight and went upstairs to bed.

Lauren tossed and turned under her duvet, worrying about Shadow. She wondered if Mel knew he was ill. Maybe she should have let her friend
know before they left Goose Creek Farm tonight. But how? Mel would have been astonished if Lauren had turned up on her doorstep so late at night! And now Twilight was miserable too. Eventually she drifted off, but she woke early and couldn't get back to sleep again. With a sigh, she rubbed her eyes and got up. She pulled on her jeans and a sweatshirt and plodded down to the kitchen for breakfast.

‘What are you up to today?' asked her mother.

‘I'm going to ride over to see Mel and Shadow,' said Lauren as she slowly poured out some cereal into her bowl.

‘OK,' said Mrs Foster, stifling a yawn.

‘Max has taken Buddy to visit Steve and Leo, so I'm glad you have something to do too. I'm sorry I'm so busy, sweetheart. I stayed up late working on my manuscript, but I still haven't finished. I'm going to be busy for most of the day.'

‘That's fine, Mum,' Lauren said. Her mum's job meant that she sometimes worked very odd hours but she was always at home, so Lauren and Max could call her if they needed her. ‘You know I love going over to see Mel on Twilight.'

Mrs Foster smiled. ‘Have fun then,' she said.

‘I will.' Lauren swallowed a few
spoonfuls of cereal and headed for the door. ‘See you later.'

As usual, Twilight was standing by the paddock gate. Lauren's heart lifted at the sight of the little grey pony waiting for her, and she tried to push away her worries from the night before. She gave him a hug, then fetched his breakfast of carrots, apples and pony nuts. While Twilight munched his way through the bucket, she went to get his saddle and bridle.

‘We'll go straight over to see Mel and Shadow,' she said, sliding the saddle on to his back. ‘I'm sure Shadow will be feeling a lot better.'

Twilight snorted, and nuzzled her
elbow. Lauren guessed he was saying that he hoped so too.

It wasn't far to Goose Creek Farm, and they were soon trotting up the driveway. Normally Mel would run out to greet them, but there was no sign of her today. As Twilight trotted into the yard, Mel's face appeared over Shadow's door.

‘Oh, Lauren!' she burst out the minute she saw them. ‘I'm so glad you've come. I think Shadow must be really ill!'

Lauren's heart sank. Twilight's magic hadn't worked after all. She climbed down from the saddle and led Twilight to the door, then peered in. Shadow was
lying in the straw, breathing heavily. He didn't look up, not even when Twilight whinnied to him. If anything, he looked even worse than he had last night.

‘Poor Shadow,' Lauren murmured. She tied Twilight to the ring outside Shadow's stable so that he could look over the half-door, then opened the door quietly and let herself in.

‘My mum's just gone to call the vet,' said Mel. She was kneeling down by Shadow's head, stroking his cheek. Her voice wobbled a little bit, and Lauren noticed that she was trying to blink away tears. ‘He's never been like this before, not even when he's had a cold.'

Lauren knelt down next to her and put an arm around her friend. ‘I'm sure he'll be fine,' she said reassuringly.

‘I hope so,' said Mel, biting her lip. ‘I hope the vet gets here soon.'

Lauren wasn't sure what else to say. Why hadn't Twilight's unicorn magic worked? She glanced up at Twilight, feeling anxious. Twilight was standing very still, hanging his head as he gazed down at his friend. She guessed he was thinking the same thing.

‘We'll wait with you,' she told Mel. ‘We won't leave you here on your own.'

Mel gave a little smile. ‘Thank you,' she said.

At last Mr Blackstone, the local vet, arrived and came over to the stable with Mel's mum. He examined Shadow thoroughly, listening carefully to the pony's heart and his breathing.

‘Has he been off his food?' he asked Mel.

‘Yes. He ate hardly any of his haynet last night,' Mel told him.

Mr Blackstone looked at the colour of the skin around Shadow's eyes, then checked inside his mouth.

‘Well, he's definitely feeling quite poorly,' he said. ‘But it's hard to tell what's wrong with him. It's not colic, or anything like that. It's probably a virus. I'll have to take a blood test to find out.'

‘Will it hurt?' Mel asked, as Mr Blackstone took a syringe out of his bag.

‘No, no. It's just a little pinprick,' he assured her. Mel and Lauren held their
breath while he concentrated on inserting the syringe. ‘There we are. All done.'

‘So … will he get better?' asked Mel, in a small voice.

‘Oh, I'm sure he will,' said Mr Blackstone. He packed the syringe into his bag, and stood up. ‘I'll let you know as soon as the results come in. Hopefully that will give me an idea of how I can treat him. Keep him warm and comfortable, and don't disturb him too much. If it's a virus, he'll need plenty of rest.' Then he smiled. ‘Try not to worry. I'm sure everything will be fine.'

‘Thank you,' Mel said bravely. ‘I'll try.'

As they watched Mel's mother walk
the vet back to his car, Lauren squeezed Mel's arm. She knew how her friend must be feeling. Twilight had only been ill once, when he and Lauren had been using his magic for things that weren't important. Lauren had been very, very anxious.

‘I'll fetch Shadow's rug,' said Mel. ‘That will keep him nice and warm.'

The girls went to the tack room for Shadow's rug, then went back to his stall. They couldn't put it on properly with him lying down, so they just laid it over him and tucked it in at the edges.

Mel sat down on the straw by Shadow's head. Her face was clouded with worry, and Lauren wasn't sure how
to comfort her. She wished she could discuss everything with Twilight, but she wouldn't be able to talk to him properly until later that evening.

After a while, Mel's mum appeared at the door. ‘Why don't you two come inside?' she suggested. ‘I'll be making some lunch soon. Mr Blackstone said that Shadow needs to rest. We can put Twilight in the stable next to Shadow's.'

Mel looked doubtful. ‘I don't want to leave Shadow on his own,' she said.

Just then Shadow stirred restlessly, and closed his eyes. ‘He needs to sleep,' said Mel's mum. ‘He might find that easier if you're not here.'

‘I suppose you're right. We should just
let him lie quietly.' Mel stroked Shadow's ears, then bent down and kissed his muzzle. ‘We'll be back later, Shadow,' she promised.

Lauren led Twilight into the other stable. She took off his saddle and bridle and gave him a haynet to eat. Kissing his nose, she let herself out of the stable. Mel followed her across the yard, her footsteps slow and dragging. Inside the farmhouse, Lauren suggested that they both play on Mel's game console while her mum got lunch ready. She hoped it might take Mel's mind off Shadow out in the yard. But Lauren could tell that Mel's heart wasn't in the game because Lauren kept on winning, which was
very unusual. Mel normally beat her without even trying.

Then Mel's mum tried to cheer her up with her favourite lunch – fish fingers and home-made chips. But that didn't work either. Mel just played with the food on her plate and left most of her chips.

After lunch, they looked through Mel's old pony magazines and cut out their favourite pictures to stick in a scrapbook. But Mel kept stopping whenever she found a picture of a dapple-grey pony like Shadow, and Lauren could tell she was trying not to cry. The clock at the bottom of the stairs chimed four, and Lauren realized it was time to go.