by Julie Sykes
“This is so much fun!” said Rosa gleefully, slowing to a walk.
“I love adventures!” said Matilda, taking her notebook out and starting to sketch.
“I vote we go down that path and then start looking out for animals,” Freya said, pointing to the left.
Ariana pulled the whistle out of her rucksack, just in case she might need it. She glanced around, her eyes scanning for danger.
Suddenly, Rosa and Crystal pulled up. Ariana fell forward, banging her nose on Whisper’s neck. “What are you doing?” she exclaimed.
“Quiet!” hissed Rosa.
Ariana looked in front of Rosa and froze. On the path in front of them there was an enormous scarlet-horned snake. It reared up, its blue hood spread out wide and its mouth open, showing a flickering tongue and pointed yellow fangs!
“A scarlet-horned cobra,” Ariana breathed. She’d never seen one in real life before, but she knew they were very dangerous.
The snake was right in the middle of the path. Its tiny black eyes glinted with menace as it uttered a long warning hiss.
“What do we do?” whispered Rosa.
“We could turn around,” said Ariana. “After all, we’re not supposed to be going far into the woods.”
“We can’t turn around yet!” said Matilda. “We’ve hardly come in any way at all.”
“We could try and trap it so we can get past,” said Freya. “All we need is a branch with a forked end and a piece of string. Luckily I brought some string with me.” She slipped her rucksack off and rummaged inside, pulling out a length of string.
Ariana couldn’t believe her ears! How could Freya even think about catching the cobra?
“We haven’t got time for you to make something, Freya,” said Violet anxiously as the snake started to sway menacingly from side to side. The unicorns skittered backwards. “Steady, Twinkle,” she soothed him.
“We need to make it go away,” said Rosa.
Before Ariana could stop him, Whisper trotted forwards and stamped his hoof at the snake. “Shoo!”
A spark seemed to fly up from his hoof and Ariana’s nose caught the faint smell of sugar. The scarlet-horned cobra shut its mouth and sank down towards the ground. For a moment, she thought it was going to do what Whisper had said, but then it suddenly reared up again and struck out. Whisper leaped back in alarm as the snake’s fangs missed his nose by centimetres.
“It really doesn’t seem to want to go!” he said, retreating to a safe distance. The snake swayed angrily on the spot. Ariana gulped.
“If only we could frighten it away,” said Rosa.
“But how do you frighten a snake?” said Matilda.
“They don’t like bright lights,” said Freya.
“Light!” gasped Ariana. She pulled her rucksack off her back and rummaged for the torch she had packed. “Let’s see what happens when I do this…” Taking a breath, she switched on her torch and shone it straight into the snake’s mean eyes. It recoiled with a hiss and shrank back.
“It’s working!” cried Violet.
Whisper advanced and, with a final hiss, the snake sank to the floor and slithered quickly away.
Matilda whooped. “Way to go, Ariana! That was a seriously scary snake. You were really brave.”
Ariana glowed.
Matilda shot a grin at her. “Lucky it wasn’t a butterfly!”
Ariana smiled back, for once not bothered by the teasing.
“That was awesome, Ariana,” said Rosa warmly. “Come on, everyone!” She urged Crystal on and they cantered away down the path. The others charged after her. Ariana’s heart was beating fast, but although she still felt nervous she also felt fired-up and excited. She’d got rid of a snake! The others thought she was brave!
“Isn’t this fun?” said Whisper happily to her as his hooves pounded on the track.
Ariana hesitated. “It is,” she said cautiously. “But I don’t think we should go too much further in.” She raised her voice. “Rosa! Remember we’re supposed to stay near the edge of the woods.”
Rosa slowed down to a walk. “I guess,” she said reluctantly.
“We could stop here,” said Violet, looking around. They were on a wide path with a thick canopy of branches overhead. “We could get out the list and start ticking off the animals we see.”
“And eat our sandwiches.” Matilda grinned. They all dismounted from their unicorns and took their sandwiches out of their bags.
“Yum!” said Rosa, biting into a ham sandwich.
“I wish lessons were cancelled every day.”
Ariana nibbled on the crust of her sandwiches. She wasn’t that hungry. She didn’t like being in the woods and she wanted to get out as soon as possible. She took the list out of her bag and started ticking off every creature she saw – a squirrel climbing a branch, a hedgehog in the leaves, a robin in the trees…
When the girls had finished eating, they lay on their backs in the grass while Ariana perched awkwardly on a rock and kept a look out.
“Tick crows off the list,” Rosa said to Ariana as three huge crows with sharp beaks swooped from the trees to peck at the sandwich crumbs.
As Ariana put the remains of her sandwiches into her rucksack, the largest bird hopped towards her.
“Shoo!” She flapped her arms at it.
The crow fixed her with a stare and hopped closer.
“Go on, shoo!” Ariana clapped her hands.
The bird fluffed out its feathers and looked at her with its beady eye. It didn’t seem scared at all. Whisper broke away from the other unicorns and came to stand beside her. He locked eyes with the bird and stamped his hoof on the ground.
“Go away!” he told it.
Ariana caught a whiff of a sweet smell like burnt sugar. The crow’s feathers flattened and it backed away. Whisper stamped his hoof again and a spark flew up.
Ariana frowned. “Whisper did you just make that spark? Could it be your magic?”
She squealed and ducked as the crow suddenly flew up and flapped at her face. It snatched the sandwiches from her hands with its scaly talons before cawing triumphantly and swooping into the trees.
Whisper snorted in alarm. “Horrible bird.”
“It’s taken the rest of my sandwiches!” said Ariana in dismay.
“That’s really weird,” said Freya. “Birds are usually scared of humans.”
Ariana looked around uneasily. There were rustlings in the bushes. Maybe something else was planning on trying to attack them?
“Look! Look over there!” said Rosa. She pointed into the trees. “There’s something moving! An animal – a large one.”
“What type of animal?” said Violet.
“I don’t know.” Rosa’s eyes gleamed. “But I think we should follow it and find out!”
“No,” said Ariana. “We’re supposed to stay on the outskirts of the woods.”
“We’re not that far in,” said Rosa. She hurried over to Pearl. “And we are supposed to be noting every animal we see. Who votes we go after it?”
The others all raised their hands and the unicorns nodded eagerly.
“It’s decided then,” said Rosa bossily.
Ariana swallowed as they all jumped on to their unicorns. She wished the others hadn’t voted for Rosa’s plan. She really didn’t want to go further into the forest at all!
As Diamond dorm went deeper into the trees, trying to catch up with the animal Rosa had seen, the woods became noisy with chatters and squeaks. There were lots of mysterious rustles coming from the bushes, and Ariana felt shivers starting to run down her spine.
“Whisper,” said Ariana softly. “I feel like something is wrong in the woods.”
“What do you mean?” Whisper looked around. “I can’t see anything strange.”
Ariana saw two squirrels watching them from a nearby tree. Squirrels were usually cute, but these two were staring in a strange way. “Look at those squirrels.”
But as Whisper followed her gaze, the squi
rrels scampered away. “They look normal to me,” he said. “Stop worrying. We’re having an adventure – enjoy it!”
Ariana bit her lip. Maybe she was just being over cautious. Whisper trotted on after the others, but just as he joined them they all heard a loud howling and snarling noise. “What’s that?” said Pearl, stopping.
“A wolf and a bear!” gasped Violet as the two animals came charging out of the trees.
The huge wolf and grey bear faced each other. The bear had two small cubs with her. The adult animals circled around each other, teeth bared.
“They’re going to fight!” said Freya.
“We need to stop them,” said Violet, her voice wobbling. “We can’t let them hurt each other – we’re guardians of the island.”
“It’s too dangerous,” Ariana protested.
The wolf and bear lunged at each other, snarling and growling.
“Stop it!” Whisper stamped a hoof on the floor. Blue and yellow sparks flew upwards and the same smell of burnt sugar filled the air.
“Whisper!” gasped Ariana. “It is you making those sparks!”
The wolf, who had been crouched ready to spring, all of a sudden seemed to lose concentration. His nose twitched and he sniffed the air. The bear dropped down on to all fours. Shaking her head, she stared at the unicorn. Whisper looked at his hoof as if he couldn’t quite believe what had happened. He stamped it again and even more sparks shot up. The bear and the wolf both relaxed, the tension leaving them.
“Please leave each other alone,” said Whisper. “Be friends. Don’t fight.”
The wolf trotted up to the bear, licked her nose and bounded away. The bear shuffled over to her cubs, nuzzled them and, with a last look at Whisper, ambled away happily into the trees with the cubs scampering beside her.
Ariana realised she and the others were all staring after them with soppy expressions on their faces.
“Ah, how sweet,” breathed Freya.
“So cute,” nodded Violet.
Ariana blinked. The smell of sugar was strong. She was sure she knew what was going on. “Whisper! You’ve found your powers! You’ve got soothing magic.”
Whisper looked shocked and delighted. “Soothing magic is used to calm animals and people and make them be friends. It’s not a showy magic, but it’s very useful.”
“I think it’s brilliant,” said Ariana. You just saved those animals from getting hurt.” Relief rushed through her. She could definitely cope with a unicorn with soothing magic – it was so much better than something scary and unpredictable like fire magic.
She hugged Whisper. “I’m so proud of you!”
Whisper nuzzled her shoulder. “Have we bonded?”
“I don’t know.” Ariana tilted her head, the beads in her braids clacking as she looked for a purple and pink streak in her long black hair. “Not yet,” she added, hiding her disappointment. “But you got your magic. That’s so cool!”
“It’s awesome!” Matilda cried, coming over to them, blinking as she came out of the peaceful, trance-like state Whisper’s magic had put her into.
“I’m so happy for you both,” said Violet. “And we’re much safer with Whisper’s magic. He’ll be able to stop any dangerous animals from hurting us.”
Ariana nodded, but she remembered what Ms Rosemary had said in their first ever Care of Unicorns lesson. The teacher had warned the class that performing magic was very tiring and not to expect too much of their unicorns, especially when their magic first appeared. Would Whisper have the energy to calm another fierce animal if they met one?
“Let’s keep going,” said Rosa. “And keep your eyes peeled for more animals.”
They continued along the path. They hadn’t gone much further when Ariana had the same feeling that something was wrong. She stiffened and swung round, and then smiled in relief. It was just a group of chipmunks. They had come out from the bushes and were trotting after them. A fox and two raccoons joined them. They were all staring intently at the girls.
“Um, everyone, have you seen what’s happening behind us?” said Ariana, anxious now. The animals looked a bit strange. It was the way their gazes never wavered, like the squirrels she had seen earlier. The others all looked and stopped.
“It’s like we’re playing follow-my-leader,” Matilda observed as a pink porcupine with sharp quills came out too, followed by four wolves, a group of mice and a three-antlered stag.
“How weird! Why are they all following us?” said Rosa.
“Maybe they’re hungry?” Violet suggested. “And they think we’ve got some food?”
Freya cut her off. “Um, I don’t want to worry anyone, but we’ve been surrounded.”
Ariana realised she was right. While they had been standing still, even more animals had come out from the trees and encircled them. Ariana looked around nervously. The animals were all staring fixedly at the girls and their unicorns, not making a sound.
“What are they doing?” said Violet nervously. “Why are they watching us like that?”
The animals began to advance on the girls and their unicorns.
“They’re under a spell!” cried Freya. “Someone must have used dark magic on them!”
“Let’s get out of here, everyone!” shouted Rosa. She urged Crystal on. Crystal galloped straight at a gap between the stag and a wolf. The watching animals lunged at her, but Crystal galloped past them, leaping in the air to avoid their teeth and claws.
“Come on!” Rosa shrieked at the others. “Quick!”
The other unicorns charged after Crystal and thundered down the forest path. The enchanted animals chased them. Branches snagged on Ariana’s clothes and dirt flew up in her face.
“Faster,” she urged, not caring when her hoodie ripped. Glancing behind, she could see the animals still pursuing them. The wolves’ howls echoed towards her.
“Hold tight,” Whisper panted as he galloped towards a fallen tree that was lying across the path.
Ariana leaned forward, sliding her hands up Whisper’s neck as he flew over it. He landed and then suddenly slammed on the brakes. They skidded along in the mud, stopping when they crashed into Matilda and Pearl. Ariana was catapulted over Whisper’s head. For a second, she was flying towards a tree, but suddenly a huge bubble shimmered in the air around her. She bobbed in the air inside it, a few inches above the ground, and then she found herself floating back to Whisper. Once she was safely sitting on his back, the bubble popped.
“Eek!” Ariana almost wished she could have stayed in the bubble – she’d felt much safer inside it.
Ahead of them was a muddy river. Crystal had stopped too late and skidded into it. She was thrashing around in the water, trying to find her feet and get out while Rosa clung to her back. Freya and Violet were at the edge of the river, up to their knees in mud, shouting encouragement.
“We’re trapped!” exclaimed Matilda to Ariana in alarm.
Looking behind them, Ariana saw the animals racing along the track towards them, getting closer and closer, their teeth showing, their claws unsheathed.
Crystal staggered out of the water, her sides heaving as she gasped for breath. She was safe, but Ariana knew there was no time for her to gather her magic power to transport them away in a snow twister.
“Whisper,” said Ariana urgently. “Can you use your soothing magic?”
“I might be able to calm some of them, but I don’t think I’m strong enough to take them all on,” said Whisper, trembling as he looked at the amber-eyed wolves leading the pack.
Ariana leaned forward and hugged Whisper tightly. He was their only hope. The howling was filling her ears now, and her skin prickled with fear. “Please try. I know you can do it, Whisper.”
“I’ll do my best,” said Whisper. “Please stay by me – I feel braver when you’re with me.”
Ariana stroked Whisper’s neck. “I’m not going anywhere. We’re in this together.”
She felt his muscles tense as he lowered his head, pawing the
riverbank with one hoof before striking the ground with it. “Stop! We’re your friends!” he called as the animals surged over the fallen log. A flurry of coloured sparkles exploded up from the ground and showered down on the heads of the snarling creatures. Eyes flashed and glowed, then gradually the glow faded and they turned dreamy, their roars and growls softening at the same time. They slowed to a stop.
“I’m so tired!” Whisper gasped.
“But you’ve done it,” Ariana told him in delight. “Look, the animals are turning back to normal!”
The animals were shaking their heads in confusion, looking as if they didn’t know what they were doing there. They started to amble away, disappearing into the bushes and trees. A young red fox lagged behind. Once or twice it stopped to look back, but finally it disappeared into the undergrowth.
“You did it, Whisper!” Violet said in delight. “You made them friendly again.”
Ariana slid from Whisper’s back as he staggered and sank to the ground.
“What’s the matter?” Ariana asked him in alarm.
He sunk to his knees in the mud, breathing heavily. “Doing that magic has used all my energy up.”
Ariana flung herself down beside him and hugged him. If only she had something that would help him! She suddenly realised she did. She’d packed a bag of sky berries along with the other just-in-case things in her rucksack. Sky berries were brilliant for giving unicorns their energy back after doing magic. She pulled the bag out of her rucksack.
“Here,” said Ariana, offering the berries to Whisper. “Eat these.”
Ariana fed the berries to Whisper one at a time until his breathing slowed and the sparkle returned to his dark eyes. “Thank you,” he said gratefully, standing up and shaking himself. His white coat was streaked with mud. “I almost feel normal again. I’m so glad you thought of bringing those berries. You’re the best.”