by Julie Sykes
Everything blurred. Violet’s hands numbed as she desperately hung on to Twinkle’s neck. Then they were falling. Violet tensed, expecting the worst, but Twinkle’s hooves sunk into the ground and he landed with a bounce as the world came back into focus.
Above them, the inky night sky glittered with thousands of stars. Their light was reflected by the thick ice of a huge frozen lake, and Violet realised that they were standing just at its edge. At the far side, a strip of land separated it from a vast black sea. Beneath the layer of ice, the water looked dark.
“Where are we?” said Twinkle.
“I think it’s the Frozen Lagoon!” breathed Violet. “We learnt about it from Ms Rivers a month ago. It’s bottomless, it’s always frozen, and supposedly no one’s ever been able to find it because magic keeps its location secret.”
A thin mist swirled like ghosts above the dark ice. Beneath it, they could see the water bubbling like a volcano on the verge of eruption. Violet shivered – there was something unnatural about the way the mist was moving and the sickly sweet smell was rising from it that scared her.
“Why do you think Ms Willow brought us here?” said Twinkle.
“I don’t know,” said Violet. “I can’t believe she’s the cloaked figure, Twinkle. She’s always seemed so nice.”
“I can’t believe that Daffodil has been helping her,” said Twinkle, shaking his head in astonishment.
“I don’t understand. Whenever we saw the cloaked figure with a unicorn, it didn’t look anything like Daffodil,” said Violet. “It was taller, with a long golden mane, just like Prancer, the stolen unicorn. It didn’t look anything like Daffodil.”
“Maybe Ms Willow has two unicorns,” suggested Twinkle.
It seemed the only explanation. Violet looked around. “What are we going to do now?”
“Try and escape?” suggested Twinkle.
There was a flash of green and Ms Willow and Daffodil landed nearby.
Twinkle reared bravely, slashing the air with his forelegs. Then, wheeling around, he galloped away. Ms Willow’s laughter echoed after him.
“You can run but there’s no escape from me!”
Violet ducked as something whizzed over her head. A bolt of magic hit the rocks in front of them, which exploded into shards. Twinkle swerved, and the sour smell of bad magic filled Violet’s nostrils.
“Don’t try and get away – you’ll only get hurt,” Daffodil called anxiously.
Twinkle swung round. “Daffodil, why are you helping her? I thought you were my friend!”
Ms Willow smirked. “Oh, dear sweet Daffodil has no choice! Those ribbons – the ones you admired so much, Violet – contain a powerful binding spell and, while they are in her mane, Daffodil must obey my every command. For some reason, she thought that she could warn you tonight about what was going on, but she should have known better. I have forbidden her to speak of my plans so, even if she had met with you, she couldn’t have told you anything.”
Daffodil gave Twinkle a desperate look. “I thought I would find a way and…” she gasped and fell silent as Ms Willow glared at her.
“Let us go!” Violet cried.
“What?” sneered Ms Willow. “And have you return to school and tell everyone about me? I think not. You will stay here while I see out my scheme to force every unicorn on Unicorn Island to do my bidding. I have spent years preparing for this. I am not going to let one foolish girl and her unicorn, who hasn’t even found his magic, stop me.” She dismounted. “Daffodil – lock them up!”
Daffodil reluctantly trotted over to Twinkle and Violet and started to herd them towards a stone hut, her sharp horn digging into their backs.
“My friends will wonder where I am. They’ll try and find me!” Violet shouted defiantly.
Ms Willow’s eyes narrowed. “Hmm, you may be right. They have interfered before – sticking their noses in where they are not wanted. I’ll deal with them, too.”
Violet caught her breath. “What do you mean? What—”
Ms Willow clicked her fingers and the door to the hut flew open.
Twinkle swung round and charged at Daffodil, but Ms Willow sent a bolt of green magic from her fingertips. It flew straight at him and Violet, knocking them off their feet and sending them flying backwards. As they tumbled into the hut, the heavy wooden door slammed shut and the bolts shot across. They were trapped!
Violet thumped her fists against the door and Twinkle battered it with his hooves, but it held firm. Eventually, they sank back, exhausted.
“What are we going to do?” Violet said in despair. “We’ve got to get out of here and warn the others. If Ms Willow captures them, it’ll be all our fault.” She threw her arms around his neck.
Twinkle nuzzled her. “I’m sorry, Violet. I got us into this mess. I shouldn’t have insisted on meeting Daffodil.”
Violet shook her head. “I agreed to go with you. But I wonder why she asked you to meet her. It sounds like she wouldn’t have been able to tell you anything about Ms Willow’s plans anyway.”
“I don’t know,” said Twinkle. “She just said she wanted to meet me somewhere outside in the starlight to tell me something important, but that doesn’t matter now. We need to try and get out of here.” He pawed at the earth with a front hoof. “Maybe we could dig our way out.”
The sudden sound of voices and whinnies outside the hut made Violet shudder. “Twinkle, we’re too late!” she gasped.
“Where are we? Why have you brought us here?” she heard Rosa shout angrily.
“Let us go!” exclaimed Matilda.
“So you can ruin my plans, you annoying girls? Never!” Ms Willow sneered. “I warned you about snooping around the school at night. You should have stayed in your dorm!”
“We were looking for Violet. She’s missing.” Ariana sounded close to tears.
“I’m in here, with Twinkle!” Violet yelled, hammering on the door.
“Violet!” yelled Freya. “Help me, everyone. Let’s get her out!”
“CHARGE!” Rosa shouted.
Violet’s heart leapt as she heard the thunder of hooves. Ms Willow shrieked, and suddenly the bolts of the hut door grated and it swung open. Violet could hardly believe her eyes. Rosa, Matilda and Ariana, riding their unicorns, had clearly charged at Ms Willow, cornering her at the edge of the frozen lagoon. She was lying on the ground. Meanwhile, Freya must have used Honey’s superspeed to reach the hut and pull the bolts back.
“We’re free!” gasped Twinkle, as he cantered out.
Violet saw Ms Willow raise her hands. “Watch out!” she cried, guessing what she was about to do.
Three fiery bolts of green magic shot at Crystal, Whisper and Pearl’s legs, sending them and the girls tumbling on to the ice. In the chaos of shouts and whinnies, Ms Willow scrambled to her feet and sent another two bolts of magic flying towards Freya and Violet.
Honey used her superspeed to get Freya to safety. Violet smelt a faint scent of burnt sugar but the next moment she felt Twinkle barrelling into her, knocking her to the ground. The green bolts of magic flashed past her head, burning through the ends of his mane. They hit the back wall of the hut, exploding in a shower of sparks that stung like needles as they hit Violet’s face. There was no time to waste. Leaping up, Violet threw herself on to Twinkle’s back. Freya and Honey were already at the lagoon, slithering on to the ice to help the others get to their feet.
Twinkle raced to join them.
Ms Willow hurled more firebolts at the girls and their unicorns. Hissing and spitting, the magical bolts cut through the ice like a laser, melting a circle around them.
“We’re going to fall in!” cried Ariana, as the circle of ice they were standing on began to sink.
“We’re not – Crystal can save us,” gasped Rosa. “Use your freezing powers, Crystal!”
A cloud of pink sparks swirled around Crystal as she refroze the ice around them as fast as it melted.
“No, you don’t!” Ms Willow aimed a fireb
olt straight at Crystal’s head.
“Crystal!” screamed Rosa.
“Pearl – help her!” The next second, a swirling tornado of snow rose up around Crystal, hiding her from sight. With a frustrated cry, Ms Willow threw the firebolt blindly at the snowstorm, where it flew harmlessly past Rosa and Crystal.
Fast and furious, Ms Willow threw more firebolts, but Pearl made the snow twister illusion bigger until all the girls and their unicorns were hidden behind it. The firebolts flashed by, exploding with ferocious bangs far behind them.
Meanwhile, Whisper started to use his magic. Skating to the edge of the snowstorm, he focused his attention on Daffodil until the little unicorn began to relax and sway.
“Pull yourself together, you stupid thing!” screamed Ms Willow as Daffodil rocked on her hooves beneath her.
“Whisper! That’s brilliant! Don’t stop!” said Ariana as Whisper kept using his soothing magic on Daffodil. The little unicorn’s eyes started to close and her knees began to give way. For a moment, it looked like she was about to fall asleep completely, but then Whisper began to tire. Doing magic used up a lot of energy.
Ms Willow kicked Daffodil’s sides viciously. “Get back on your feet this instant!” she snarled.
With Whisper’s magic fading, Daffodil obeyed Ms Willow’s command, raising her head and straightening her neck.
“Matilda!” Pearl gasped, breathing heavily. “I can’t hold the glamour. I’m… I’m too tired.”
The snow twister faded, revealing everyone to Ms Willow. She stood before them, her eyes wild and her hair crackling with magic. Triumph lit up her cold eyes. “Now you shall all suffer for the trouble you have caused me!” She raised her hands to blast them.
“No! You’re not going to hurt my friends!” whinnied Twinkle bravely. He charged at her, but his hooves slipped on the treacherous ice and he fell over. Violet was flung from his back. The island’s protective magic made a bubble form around her and it set her gently down on the ice before popping.
Twinkle struggled to his feet just as Ms Willow threw a bolt of magic straight at his heart. “Twinkle!” Violet exclaimed. She leapt in front of him.
“Violet!” she heard Rosa yell in horror.
Violet shut her eyes, waiting for the bolt to hit her, but instead she just saw a flash of light through her closed eyelids. Her friends squealed and Violet smelt burnt sugar. Blinking her eyes open, she was astonished to see that the air in front of her was shimmering as it bent around her and the others like an enormous transparent shield!
“What… What’s happening?” said Twinkle in shock.
“It’s your magic!” cried Violet. “It must be!”
Ms Willow screamed with rage. Dismounting from Daffodil, she strode to the edge of the lagoon, her eyes fixed on the magic shield. While her attention was diverted, Daffodil saw her chance. She galloped past Ms Willow and dived behind the shield with the others. Instantly, she grew taller, and her yellow and orange colouring faded to be replaced by a splendid golden mane and tail.
“It’s Prancer!” cried Matilda.
“You can use starlight to make a protective shield, Twinkle!” Prancer gasped. “I guessed you had starlight magic when you told me about your night-time ride with Violet, and how the snow stopped falling on you for a moment when you wanted to protect her.”
Twinkle whinnied in delight just as Ms Willow shrieked, “Prancer! Return to me this instant! I command it!”
Violet expected Prancer to obey, but the unicorn didn’t. Her eyes shone. “This is why I wanted to meet you in the starlight tonight, Twinkle!” she rushed on. “I hoped this would happen. When I’m protected by your starlight magic, the binding ribbons don’t work and I can reveal my true form and speak freely. I’ve been desperate to tell someone what’s been happening. I’ve been wanting to warn people how evil Ms Willow really is.”
Twinkle’s sides heaved as Ms Willow threw firebolt after firebolt at the shield. “This is hard work! I don’t know how long I can hold it,” he panted.
Prancer looked at the others. “You need to escape and warn everyone about Ms Willow. She’s been stealing all the island’s magic and storing it here in the lagoon so that she can take over the island.” Ms Willow’s firebolts continued to batter at the shield. “She’s held a grudge against the unicorns ever since she didn’t get a place at the academy when she was younger. She vowed she would use magic anyway and spent years learning dark magic, then she stole me from my home so that she could use my spell-weaving powers. She put binding ribbons in my mane and commanded me to disguise myself. You have to stop her. She has an evil plan to put all the unicorns on the island under her command. She—”
“I can’t hold the shield any longer!” Twinkle interrupted, sinking to his knees.
“Twinkle!” cried Violet, throwing herself down beside him. “Keep trying.”
But the shield wavered and Ms Willow screamed with delight as a bolt of magic tore through the top of it.
“You must leave now!” insisted Prancer. “Crystal, take everyone back to school in a snow twister. Tell everyone there what is going on. I’ll hold Ms Willow off. She must be stopped!”
“But what about you, Prancer?” cried Violet.
Two bolts ripped through the shield. “Don’t worry about me. Just go!”
Crystal stamped her front hooves. Pink and purple sparkles swirled up from the ice and surrounded the girls and their unicorns in a glowing cloud, as a snow twister rose around them. Faster it whirled, whisking the girls and their unicorns into the air as Twinkle’s starlight shield split into millions of sparkling pieces. Violet sighed in relief as they spun away, with Ms Willow’s furious screams echoing in their ears.
Violet felt her feet hit grass and, as the sparkles cleared, she saw the turrets of Unicorn Academy and heard her friends and their unicorns all talking at once. Crystal’s snow twister had brought them to the lawn outside the school. Crystal hung her head, taking deep breaths, and Twinkle dropped to the ground, exhausted.
“We need to get the teachers straight away!” said Matilda.
“You all go!” Violet told them. “The unicorns need sky berries to help them recover.”
“We can get some, can’t we, Rosa? I feel stronger already,” said Crystal, who was more used to using her magic than the others. Rosa nodded and the pair left for the stables while the others galloped off to rouse the teachers.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t have enough energy to hold the shield any longer,” Twinkle said to Violet, his sides heaving. “I hope Prancer is OK.”
“Me too. It must be horrible being under the command of someone like Ms Willow, but now we know we’ll be able to try and help free her. You were amazing, Twinkle. You saved us all and held the shield long enough for Prancer to tell us what’s going on.” Violet threw her arms round his neck. “I’m so proud of you.”
Twinkle nuzzled her. “I wouldn’t have found my magic if you hadn’t jumped in front of me to protect me from Ms Willow. I thought you were going to be hurt. It was really brave of you. You shouldn’t have done it though. I’m meant to protect you.”
“No, that’s wrong!” Violet said hotly.
He looked at her. “We protect each other, Twinkle,” she told him, more gently. “We’re a team. It’s not just you protecting me. We’re partners.”
“Partners,” he said slowly, as if getting his head around the idea.
Violet smiled. “Yes. So, from now on, no more thinking you are the only one who has to do the protecting. And,” she took a deep breath – she didn’t want to ruin the moment but she knew that now was the right time to say something – “no more bossing me around all the time, OK?”
“What do you mean?” said Twinkle in surprise.
“You keep making decisions for both of us without asking what I want,” Violet told him.
Twinkle thought about it. “I suppose I do.” He looked at her through his eyelashes. “But if you don’t want me to do that then you need to tel
l me what it is that you want, Violet. I can’t be a mind reader.”
Violet realised he was right. She’d spent so much time thinking about how bossy he was, but really she was as much to blame for not speaking out. She needed to stop always agreeing with him and make sure she told him what her opinion was. “Agreed,” she said firmly. “From now on, we’ll make decisions together. We’ll be a real team.”
He snorted happily. “I’d like that.”
Rosa came cantering back with a bucket of sky berries. She jumped off Crystal then shared the sky berries out. “Here you go, Twinkle. Eat these and you’ll soon feel better. Oh, my goodness!” She broke off with a gasp. “You’ve bonded!”
Violet lifted her plait and saw a strand of purple and blue hair running through it. “We have! Look, Twinkle!”
Twinkle’s eyes sparkled in delight. “We’re going to graduate after all, Violet.” She flung her arms round him and hugged him tightly. “Violet! Matilda!” Ms Nettles came hurrying across the grass with Ms Rosemary. Rosa, Ariana and Freya followed them. “Are you and your unicorns all right?”
They nodded.
Looks of relief crossed the teachers’ faces.
“I can hardly believe Ms Willow is behind all this,” said Ms Rosemary. She turned to Ms Nettles. “What are we going to do?”
“We must find her and stop her,” said Ms Nettles. “We must also free poor Prancer of the binding.”
“We’ll help,” offered Rosa.
Ms Nettles’ strict face relaxed into a small smile. “I think you’ve all done quite enough for now,” she said. “Thank you, Diamond dorm. You’ve been very brave. Now, take your unicorns back to the stables and then off to bed, all of you. I’ll arrange for some hot chocolate and cookies to be sent up to your dorm for when you get back.”