by Pip Bird
Disco dancing
Unicorns prancing
Hooves in the air
Like you just don’t care
Stable strutting
Popping and tutting
Everybody get down
Glitter fever is coming to town!
Mira couldn’t believe Darcy had written a whole song! She felt really proud of her friend, and she couldn’t wait to learn the dance routine.
On Mira’s very first trip to Unicorn School, Dave had surprised her by being terrific at prancing. Maybe, just maybe, Dave would also be great at dancing. Maybe they’d get a medal at the dance! After all, dancing was a bit like prancing, but to music …
Raheem nudged Mira with his elbow and whispered, “What’s … glitter fever?”
“What?” Mira whispered back.
“In the song—glitter fever. What is it?” Raheem looked even more worried than usual.
Darcy overheard and jumped in. “Nobody knows, Raheem.” She flicked her hair. “But it’s going to get you and everyone else!”
“That’s what I’m worried about,” Raheem replied.
“Mira and Raheem!” shouted Miss Hind. “Stop chatting and get in line with your unicorns.”
The children and unicorns were soon standing in two lines, one behind the other. Miss Hind started teaching the dance. “Okay, five, six, seven, eight, and children take two steps to the right, unicorns two steps left, turn and look at your partner—snap! Two steps the other way, turn and—snap! And then, children, turn to face your unicorns, hold hands and hooves, and sliiiiiiide…”
Star gave a snort as Dave stepped on her hoof.
Pegasus glared as Dave spun around on his belly in a circle, making Mira laugh loudly.
“Come on, Dave!” snapped Darcy. “That’s not one of the dance moves!”
Mira frowned. “It’s Dave’s first time, Darcy. We’ll get it in the end. Not all the unicorns can do different things with their front and back legs.”
Miss Hind called Darcy and Star up to the front to demonstrate the next move.
The next move was actually a long series of moves. They all tried to follow Darcy and Star, but it was a struggle. Two unicorns fell over.
“It’s very complicated,” said Mira, poking herself in the eye.
“Don’t worry, it’s just armography,” said Darcy.
Jake and his unicorn, Pegasus, got the hang of it right away, and looked really cool. Freya got the giggles when she accidentally hit herself in the nose. Flo and her unicorn, Sparkles, looked like they might cry because they couldn’t do it. Raheem and Brave just looked lost.
Dave really was trying hard to get it right. But as he and Mira tried the moves, his legs got tangled and, very slowly, he toppled over and caused all the other unicorns to tumble down.
Darcy glared at them all. “Seriously! Stop messing around!”
“We’re not messing around!” Mira shouted back.
Freya put her hands on her hips. “Darcy, none of us have ever done this before. You and Star were rehearsing all through lunchtime, so you’ve got a head start.”
“Some of us are just naturally talented, actually!” said Darcy, as Star’s stomach rumbled. She looked embarrassed and hid behind Darcy’s wheelchair.
Miss Hind blew her whistle. “That’s enough dancing for now, class. Let’s move on to ab work.”
“Ab … a-a-ab work?” stammered Raheem.
“Yes,” said Miss Hind. “A strong core is essential for a dancer’s posture.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Quest Countdown
At dinnertime, when Mira and Dave sat down at the dinner table, Star had her muzzle on the table and was snoring. Dave gave her a nudge. She woke up with a snort.
“Is she okay?” asked Freya through a mouthful of mashed potato.
“She’s fine,” said Darcy. “Star, we have lots to do. Don’t get lazy like Dave.”
“Darcy! That’s not nice,” said Raheem.
Dave did not seem to be offended. Very calmly, he took a big bite out of Darcy’s clipboard.
“Mira!” Darcy shrieked. “Those are my super-important party-planning notes. Make him STOP!”
Seb arrived and plonked his dinner tray down in between Darcy and Dave. “Can I draw some posters for the dance? Firework and I had some ideas for the Glitter Fever theme.”
Darcy wiped Dave’s slobber off the clipboard with her sleeve. “That sounds great, Seb. Thank you. Star and I have already started working on some designs … but perhaps you can color them in?”
Mira frowned. Why was Darcy speaking so weirdly … like a teacher or a parent?
“Ooh, ooh!” Flo put up her hand. “Can Sparkles and I be on the Welcoming Committee? We thought it would be lovely to sprinkle glitter confetti over people as they walk into the dance.”
“Hmm, that might be nice,” said Darcy thoughtfully. “I mean, it’s supposed to be Class Yellow’s job, but I’m sure we can help them. As long as the glitter confetti is gold and matches the rest of the color scheme.”
“Pegasus and I can be in charge of the food,” said Jake. “We like baking.”
Darcy smiled. “Happy for you to help. Just make sure you follow the recipes carefully. Star, are you taking notes on all this?”
Mira narrowed her eyes. Darcy was becoming dance obsessed, and she didn’t even sound like herself anymore. What was going on?
* * *
The next morning, the first lesson was science. Miss Glitterhorn clapped to start the class, just as Jake and Pegasus jogged in.
“Sorry, miss, we were doing some extra training for the quest this afternoon,” said Jake, panting.
Mira smiled to herself. The thought of the quest made her stomach flutter. Quests were Mira’s absolute favorite thing!
Darcy raised her hand. “Speaking of the quest, Miss Glitterhorn, don’t you think Class Red is too young for such an important task? I mean, maybe we should all stay behind and work on the dance?”
“Can we have one lesson that’s NOT about the dance?” Mira said, frowning at Darcy. “That’s all you’re interested in at the moment!”
Miss Glitterhorn glared at the two of them. “Now, now, girls. Class Red is perfect for this quest. We need to collect Warming Crystals before winter comes to the land. Warming Crystals form in small, honeycomb pockets in the walls of the Crystal Maze Mine. Since you’re the youngest and smallest, your hands are the perfect size to fit into the holes and collect the crystals.”
Miss Glitterhorn drew a series of diagrams on the whiteboard, demonstrating how the crystals should be carefully removed from the cavern wall, with each human and unicorn pair working together to release the crystal. Everyone took notes, apart from Dave, who was noisily eating chips, and Darcy, who was listening to music and sketching party outfits in her notebook.
“Now!” their teacher continued. “Today we are also learning about the reflective properties of glitter and crystals! One person from each pair, please come up to collect the mirrors and flashlights.”
Darcy and Mira were supposed to be working together. But Darcy just kept whispering to Star and making her write down things about the dance. So Mira had to go up and get their mirrors and flashlights.
Miss Glitterhorn explained how light bounced off shiny surfaces and made things sparkle. Flo was sticking little squares of mirror to Sparkles’s horn to make it shine like a crystal. Dave thought that was funny and spiked a mirror tile on the end of his horn. As he turned to show Mira, the morning sunlight caught on the mirror and shined directly into Darcy’s eyes.
“Argh!” she yelled. “Dave! I can’t see anyth—OH! I’ve had a BRILLIANT IDEA!”
Miss Glitterhorn clapped in delight. “About reflection?”
“No, well, sort of…” Darcy stopped herself. “Um, when is the quest again?”
“After lunch, Darcy. Now, what was your brilliant idea?”
“Oh, nothing. I forgot.” Darcy smiled a small and very secret smile. As Mira h
elped Dave get the mirror off his horn, she wondered what Darcy was up to. She was sure it had something to do with the dance …
* * *
After lunch, it was time for the quest! Not only were quests Mira’s favorite thing about Unicorn School BUT there was always the chance of getting a medal. Mira was so excited that she was hopping from foot to foot. Dave started hopping, too, then stepped on Mira’s toe.
Class Red lined up outside the unicorn stables. Colin the caretaker was handing out coveralls and helmets with headlamps for Class Red students and hornlamps for the unicorns. The children changed into their safety gear and helped glitter-shoe their unicorns. Glitter helped to protect the unicorns, and they always put glitter on their hooves before a quest.
Raheem asked Colin if the unicorns needed helmets, too, for safety. Colin said no, unicorn skulls were much stronger than children’s, and they were so hard they could probably even win a headbutting contest with a rhinoceros. Raheem looked a bit pale and asked if it was likely they might see a rhinoceros in the mine. Colin said no and kept checking that everyone’s unicorns had been glitter-shoed.
Miss Hind blew her whistle and glared at the class. “Okay! Everyone please mount your unicorns and follow me. I want a nice, clean quest with no funny business or you can FORGET about going to the school dance. Oh, and I’ve decided that your quest leader will be Jake.”
Jake’s “YES!” was so loud that Sparkles cantered off in fright. Flo went to fetch her, and a few minutes later, they all set off into the forest.
Raheem had insisted that Brave wear a helmet, even though he did NOT look happy about it.
But finally they were on their quest! Mira didn’t even mind that Jake was quest leader. She threw Dave a doughnut and he happily trotted after it, giving Mira a little butt wiggle to say thanks.
Maybe, just this once, Mira would get to have a normal, completely amazing quest. She couldn’t wait to get started!
CHAPTER FIVE
The Crystal Maze Mine
The entrance to the Crystal Maze Mine was in a rough, gray cliff edge at the other side of the Fearsome Forest. Mira was surprised to see a railway track in front of the mine.
“We’re getting a TRAIN?” said Raheem, his eyes wide. “I thought it was just a cave! How deep underground is it?”
“We’re going to the center of the earth!” sang Flo as she trotted past with Sparkles.
“The center of the earth?” repeated Raheem, his eyes widening. “What if we never get out?!”
Miss Hind blew her whistle as Mira comforted Raheem. “Okay, Class Red, please come and get one special collection box each. These are very high-tech and very precious. You will each fill all six spaces with a Warming Crystal, and no more! We need this exact number of Warming Crystals to heat the school and unicorns through the winter. We must only collect what we truly need, no more and nothing else. Remember Unicorn School Rule 73: Leave the Forest as You Find It.”
Jake helped hand out the special collection boxes, which had six little holes and a lid.
“Are these … egg cartons?” asked Seb. “I thought you said they were high-tech.”
“No talking back!” shouted Miss Hind. “Yes, they were inspired by egg cartons—a perfect piece of design. Now, you will each get into the railway carts, children in front to steer, unicorns in the back. Keep all arms, legs, and unicorns inside the cart at all times! The way to the Warming Crystal Cavern is VERY WELL SIGNPOSTED. Do not go off the rickety railway tracks, and DO NOT GO anywhere other than the Warming Crystal Cavern. Go straight there and come straight back once you have filled your egg cartons. I mean, special collection boxes. Understood?”
“Understood!” Class Red shouted back at Miss Hind.
“Why is it called the rickety railway track?” whispered Raheem.
Before anyone had time to answer, the class raced to the railway carts, fighting to get into the front carts.
“Remember, children, please sit in the front of the railway carts. Jake will be driving in the front cart and steering, and all the carts are attached to each other, so everyone else should be able to sit back and enjoy the ride.”
Raheem buckled himself and Brave into their cart, looking pretty queasy. Mira jumped in the cart next to his and lured Dave into the back with a piece of chocolate.
Miss Hind told them all to switch on their headlamps and waved them off into the mine. As Mira was near the back, she could see Miss Hind watching a unicorn wrestling match on her phone even before the train was completely in the tunnel.
Everything went dark. Raheem whimpered a little. Mira did think this quest seemed a little dangerous. It was so exciting!
Jake started leading a teamwork song:
“1, 2, 3, 4, together we achieve much more!
5, 6, 7, 8, unicorns are really great!”
Mira joined in, and smiled when she could hear Darcy singing the loudest of all. Darcy loved singing.
Dave was scratching at his hornlamp with a front hoof. The light flickered on and off, bouncing against the tunnel walls. Brave hiccupped.
“Dave, can you stop that?” asked Raheem.
Mira turned around. “I think his hornlamp is really uncomfortable,” she said.
“It’s making Brave trainsick.”
Brave hiccupped again.
Mira fed Dave another treat to stop him from fidgeting. Thanks to the light coming from the headlights and hornlights, Mira could see that there were lots of tunnels and railway tracks leading off from their tunnel. As they trundled down the track, they saw little bits of crystals and precious gemstones all around, glinting in the walls and the ceiling. They passed a sign for the Emerald Cave, and Mira saw an incredible green glow from the tunnel.
“Raheem, I think we’re nearly at the Glitter Slime Gorge!” Mira said eagerly.
Raheem just gulped, but there were “oohs” from the rest of the class as they caught sight of the spectacularly sparkly cliff edge through an opening in the wall.
There was a huge SLURP sound, and a glitter boulder popped out from the top of the gorge, slipping down the cliff with a trail of oozing, sparkly slime. Mira thought she saw someone lean out of a cart up ahead, and Raheem yelped, “SAFETY FIRST! Stay inside the carts!”
The railway carts turned another corner and down a small slope and then stopped. Jake—who was clutching a map of the Crystal Maze Mine—announced that they had arrived at the Warming Crystal Cavern.
The unicorns and their humans climbed out of the tunnel (Dave had fallen asleep during the journey, and Flo had to help Mira lift him out of the cart, still snoring loudly). It got warmer as they left the tunnel and turned into the cavern. It was quite dark, and Mira was glad she was wearing her headlamp. Other pairs had already started collecting crystals, so Mira woke Dave and hurried to find an empty section of wall.
Mira remembered from science class how to feel along the wall for a soft section, then get Dave to poke a hole in the crystal crust with his horn. She scooped out dirt from the hole and reached in until her fingers felt something smooth and round. With a bit more digging, she just about got her fingers around the crystal. It felt warm in her hand. Gently, she pulled it out and gasped. In response, Dave gave a huge belch.
The Warming Crystal was the size of a large marble, and it started to swirl all kinds of beautiful colors, from green to blue to purple, just like the amazing rainbow lights from the last quest Mira had been on.
She carefully popped the crystal into the special collection box.
Mira worked quickly to fill her box with more crystals and gave Dave a little hug. This was fun! Someone started to sing the teamwork song again and Mira joined in, but she realized it sounded quieter than before. Something was missing …
Mira looked around the cavern. Then she realized it wasn’t something that was missing; it was someone. Darcy had disappeared!
CHAPTER SIX
Glitter Slime Gorge
Mira panicked. Where could Darcy be?
She
thought fast. Dragging Dave behind her, she scuttled over to Raheem and Brave.
“Raheem,” she hissed. “Darcy’s missing!”
Raheem looked around. “Uh-oh,” he said. “And her railway cart’s gone, too.”
“Come on! We’ve got to go find her. She could be in trouble!”
Raheem looked scared. “But … but we’re not supposed to leave this cavern!”
“Raheem, we HAVE to find Darcy!” said Mira firmly. “She could be ANYWHERE. And she’s our friend. We have to find her and bring her back safely.”
Raheem sighed nervously. “Okay, fine, but shouldn’t we at least tell Jake where we’re going?”
“NO! We’ve got to do this secretly. Follow me,” whispered Mira.
They snuck off to the last railway cart and put their egg cartons full of Warming Crystals carefully inside. Luckily, the other students and unicorns were distracted by gathering the crystals. Mira unhooked the cart from the one in front of it and put her last doughnut on the edge of the cart. Dave shunted forward to gobble it up and set the cart trundling off down the railway track. Mira pushed Raheem and the two unicorns inside while it was moving, and then jumped in.
“How … how do you know which way we’re going?” Raheem asked in a trembly voice.
“I don’t,” said Mira.
“What?!”
“I figured you would have memorized the map,” Mira said.
“Oh, right,” said Raheem. “Yes, I have. So, where do you want to look first?”
They decided to retrace their steps.
They poked their heads into the Glorious Opal Shaft, but Darcy wasn’t there. Then they checked in the Emerald Cave, but there was no sign of her there, either. Back in the main tunnel, two large glittery boulders rolled past them. They shivered. Then Mira remembered Darcy’s love of glitter … After all, she had chosen the dance theme Glitter Fever AND written the song “Glitter Fever’s Gonna Get You.” Suddenly Mira knew JUST where Darcy would be. “The Glitter Slime Gorge!” she shrieked, making Raheem jump.