by Julie Sykes
“So, what do you think?” Rosa looked at everyone. They were all standing in a group outside the stables with their unicorns. She had even managed to pique Freya’s curiosity enough to make her join them with Honey. “I’m sure the magic map gave me a definite sign that we should go to the Glittering Cavern. It’s in some mountains that are not too far away. We could ride there in about four hours I think. We could be back by dinner if we leave soon.”
“I think we should go,” said Violet. Twinkle nodded.
“I still think it’s too dangerous,” protested Ariana. “And it’s a really long way.”
“Please let’s go,” said Whisper, her unicorn. “It sounds really exciting.”
“We’ll have a vote,” decided Rosa. “All those in favour of going to the Glittering Cavern today, raise your hands or nod your heads.”
All the unicorns nodded enthusiastically and all the girls, apart from Ariana and Freya, raised their hands. Freya hesitated for a moment and then nodded and raised her hand too. Honey whinnied in delight.
“It’s decided then!” Rosa exclaimed. “We’ve voted and it’s agreed. We’re all going to try to find the Glittering Cavern – and the missing model of the academy.”
“All right,” said Ariana reluctantly. “But we must be careful, and what will we do about food?”
“I’ll deal with that,” Rosa declared. “Meet me back here in an hour and we’ll set off then!” She was thrilled. Finally Diamond dorm were going to do something all together, and just imagine how pleased the teachers would be if they came home with the missing model!
“You’re the best, Rosa,” Crystal said, nuzzling her as the others went off to get breakfast. “I love the way you organise everyone.”
Rosa hugged her. “We’ll find the model,” she told her. “I know we will!”
Rosa arranged for Cook to give everyone a packed lunch and gathered together some blankets, packing them into a rucksack with some rope and a compass.
At last they all set off, riding their unicorns northwards, keeping on course with the help of Rosa’s compass. All the unicorns seemed very excited to be riding out on an adventure. Rosa kept noticing a flurry of pink sparks swirling around Crystal’s hooves as she trotted along. The February day was sunny and cold, but Rosa, in the lead, went at such a fast pace that it wasn’t long before Crystal was thirsty.
“I need a drink,” she declared, changing course and trotting towards a babbling brook at the far end of the meadow they were riding through.
“Water!” squealed Pearl, splashing straight into it with Matilda still on her back.
Rosa, Freya, Ariana and Violet dismounted. Freya let Honey take a long drink while she stood with a faraway look on her face.
I bet she’s thinking about making some sort of machine, thought Rosa, with a flicker of irritation. Why can’t she just focus on what we’re doing now?
Crystal finished drinking and shook her head, spraying everyone with rainbow-coloured water droplets.
“Eeew!” screamed Matilda, getting splashed. “Water fight!”
“Yay! Water fight!” Pearl stamped her hooves in the brook.
Whisper retaliated, creating a mini whirlpool with his hooves as he kicked up the water.
“Stop!” cried Ariana desperately. “Please stop. Whisper, you’re soaked. How can I ride you when you’re that wet?”
Whisper was having too much fun to listen. He stamped a hoof, sending a wave of coloured water cascading over Twinkle and Honey, and an even bigger wave over Crystal.
“Take that!” whinnied Crystal. Pink sparks swirled around her as she stamped in the brook, over and over again.
Rosa’s nose wrinkled as she caught a whiff of something sweet in the air. “Crystal!” she gasped. “Look at you!”
For a second, Crystal was lost in a whirl of snowflakes that spun around her in a sparkling white mist. The unicorns stopped splashing and stared, their mouths hanging open in wonder. Gradually the snowflakes stopped spinning and melted away.
“That was awesome!” Pearl exclaimed. “Do it again.”
Crystal seemed dazed. “W… W… What just happened?” she stuttered.
“You made it snow,” said Honey, staring at Crystal’s hooves. “I think you must have got your magic!”
“Did I?” Crystal lifted a hoof, holding it awkwardly as if it didn’t belong to her. “I was just thinking how cold the water was and that it reminded me of snow.”
“Do it again,” urged Rosa.
Crystal concentrated hard and smacked her hoof into the brook. Snowflakes spun around like a mini whirlwind then danced along the surface of the water.
“Oh, Crystal,” said Rosa, her breath catching. “You’ve definitely got your magic.”
“Snow magic!” Crystal exclaimed, rearing up with her mane and tail streaming behind her. “Just the same as my grandma. I can’t wait to tell her. This is my best day ever.”
Matilda and Violet clapped and cheered as Crystal cantered out of the water and Rosa threw her arms around her neck. Her unicorn had found her magic! The first of the unicorns in Diamond dorm! She felt like she was going to burst with pride. She sneaked a look at her hair. Had they bonded too, like Miki and Jester had? Her heart sank when she saw there was no coloured streak in her hair. Never mind. Rosa shook off her disappointment. She was sure it would happen soon.
“You know what else I can do with snow magic?” Crystal said to Rosa.
“Er, build a snowman?” Rosa asked.
Crystal puffed out her chest. “No, silly, I can make a snow twister! It’s a special kind of whirlwind made from magical snow that doesn’t feel cold at all – in fact it’s lovely and warm. A snow twister can be used to move things from one place to another. I bet I can make a snow twister that will take us all to the Glittering Cavern!”
“Really?” Rosa gasped.
Crystal nodded. “Gather round. It’s easier if we all stand close together.”
“Are you sure this is safe?” asked Ariana.
“Perfectly! I’ve ridden in Grandma’s snow twisters and it’s totally safe.” Crystal fell silent as she concentrated on using her magic. Rosa laid a hand on her mane for encouragement as Crystal stomped on the grass with her hoof. “Take us to the Glittering Cavern!” she whinnied.
Pink sparks flared up then died away. Everyone looked at each other.
“Try again,” urged Rosa. “You can do this, Crystal. You’re the best unicorn in the world.”
Tossing her mane in delight, Crystal banged on the ground again. This time, sparks crackled around her, twirling into the air as a pink snow twister curled from under her feet and began to whirl in a tight circle around the girls and their unicorns. A dark curtain of silky hair blew over Rosa’s face then her tummy swooshed as the snow twister swept her from her feet and twirled her high into the air.
“We’re off to the Glittering Cavern!” she cried.
Rosa clung on to Crystal’s mane, pink snowflakes spinning around her as the twister carried them all away. She was surprised how warm she felt. The snowflakes whirling around her face and catching in her hair were soft and cosy, like a fleecy blanket. All too soon, the twister slowed as it began to descend. The snowflakes shimmered and turned transparent and then Rosa hit the ground with a jolt, tipping forward and landing on her knees.
“Whoops! Sorry about that,” panted Crystal.
Rosa got to her feet and clutched hold of Crystal, her legs feeling wobbly. “I think I might need to work on landings,” gasped Crystal.
The others were picking themselves up beside Rosa. In front of them was a snowy mountain range. The ground they were standing on was frozen solid, covered with frost.
“We’re really here,” said Freya. “That was such cool magic, Crystal.” She frowned. “Are you OK?”
Rosa looked at Crystal, whose sides were heaving. “You do look exhausted,” she said in concern.
“It was hard work,” Crystal panted. “But I’ll be fine in a bit.”<
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While Crystal got her breath back, Rosa and the others gazed around.
“Look at that giant cave,” said Violet, pointing. “Do you think that’s the entrance to the maze?”
Matilda went over and peered inside. “There are lots of those long icicle things in here,” she called. Pulling out her sketchpad, she started to draw.
The others joined her. The cave was enormous, with a high domed roof, silvery-white stalagmites twisting up from the floor and pointed stalactites hanging from the icy ceiling, which glowed a silvery blue. Three tunnels led out of the cave. Rosa shivered into her hoodie as she pulled out the scroll taken from Ms Primrose’s study. “This must be this entrance here,” she said, spreading the map on a nearby boulder and stabbing her finger at one edge of the drawing. “To get to the middle, we need to take the third tunnel.”
Rosa went to roll up the map, but Freya stopped her.
“Wait, the picture doesn’t match these tunnels. On the map, the passages twist away, but these tunnels –” Freya pointed ahead of her – “don’t seem to twist at all. They each go in a straight line. I think we’re at this entrance here,” she continued, placing a finger on the opposite side of the map. “Which means we should probably follow the second tunnel.”
“No, no, no. You’re wrong,” Rosa insisted. “The tunnels might start off straight, but I bet they then begin to twist.”
Freya went over to the tunnels to investigate.
Crystal nudged Rosa with her nose. “Rosa, maybe you should listen to Freya,” she said softly.
Rosa was surprised. Crystal never told her what she should do. “But I’m sure I’m right,” she whispered.
“Rosa, these tunnels really do go straight into the mountain for quite a long way before they start to twist,” said Freya, looking back over her shoulder. “That’s not what the map shows.”
Rosa realised everyone was looking at her expectantly. She couldn’t back down. “It’s a hand-drawn map. It’s not going to be that accurate,” she said. “I’m good at map-reading so just trust me.”
“Last week Ariana came top in the map quiz Ms Rivers gave us in Geography and Culture,” Freya said. “Perhaps she should look at the map and see what she—”
“No!” interrupted Rosa forcefully. “I’m in charge of this adventure and I say we go down this tunnel.”
Crystal nudged her arm as if she wanted to say something, but Rosa ignored her. “This way, everyone!”
She vaulted on to Crystal and set off. Matilda and Violet shrugged and followed on their unicorns.
Rosa glanced back. Ariana and Freya were deep in conversation at the tunnel’s entrance. “Hurry up or you’ll get left behind,” she shouted.
Ariana and Freya exchanged a look before joining her with their unicorns. But the argument had left an awkward feeling in the air and now they all rode in silence.
After a while, Rosa’s teeth began to chatter. “If only the passage was as cosy and warm as your snow twister,” she whispered to Crystal. “I wish we could go faster.”
“The path is too icy,” said Crystal as she carefully picked her way around the weirdly shaped stalagmites. “If we go faster, we’ll start to slip and fall.” She pulled up suddenly as the path split, one way rising up and the other sloping down. “Which way now?”
“That’s easy,” said Rosa. “The cavern is in the middle of the map and underground so we have to go west, which is left.”
“How do you know which side of the cavern we are?” called Freya. “We might be the other side, in which case we need to go east.”
“I just know,” said Rosa, exasperated.
“But you might be wrong,” Freya pointed out.
“Fine, I’ll show you the compass,” sighed Rosa, wishing Freya didn’t always have to argue with her. She pulled out her compass. “Oh, that’s weird. The needle won’t stay still.”
“That is odd,” said Violet. “The compass should work underground.”
Ariana looked uneasy. “Magic can make compasses behave strangely. What if it’s gone all crazy because of something magical? What if we’re walking into a trap?”
Rosa laughed. “A trap? Why would Ms Primrose leave a trap for herself? No, I think the compass must just have been damaged in the snow twister.”
“But how could a snow twister damage it?” asked Freya.
Rosa didn’t know, but she couldn’t admit that. “I must have sat on it when we landed,” she lied. “Come along. If we go down here, I’m sure we will reach the cavern soon.”
“Rosa…” Crystal began.
“It’s OK, Crystal. I know I’m right,” said Rosa, trying to sound confident.
But after continuing on for a very long time, riding through caverns and splashing through a stream, the tunnel they were in grew narrower and the ceiling lower so that the girls had to lie over their unicorn’s necks to avoid bumping their heads. At the back, Ariana and Freya started whispering together again.
Let them whisper, thought Rosa. They’d soon be thanking her when they reached the Glittering Cavern at the centre of the ice maze. According to the map, they were almost there.
“Hurry,” she whispered to Crystal. Rosa imagined how amazing it would be if they returned to school with the model. Suddenly a noise startled her out of her thoughts. It started like the rustle of wind through leaves, but it quickly grew to a roar. The tunnel turned even colder as the roaring noise came bowling towards Crystal and Rosa.
“W… What is it?” whinnied Crystal, stopping dead.
“I don’t know. I—” Rosa broke off with a yell as a squeaking, whirring cloud of creatures came flying around the corner, filling the tunnel. Rosa felt icy cold as the black mass buzzed over and around her, wings snagging in her hair and tickling her ears. The air rang with high-pitched squeaks.
“What are they?” she yelled, batting the creatures away while shielding her head with her other hand.
“Ice bats!” Twinkle whinnied from behind them. “We must have disturbed their roost!”
Crystal and the other unicorns hopped from side to side in a futile attempt to avoid the icy creatures.
“Everyone stay still,” called Violet from the back. “The ice bats won’t hurt us.”
“They’re sooo cold,” gasped Ariana, her teeth chattering loudly.
As the stragglers passed over, the air grew warmer and the unicorns stopped leaping around. Rosa stroked Crystal’s trembling neck. “It’s OK,” she soothed. “We can go on now.”
“Those poor ice bats,” said Crystal guiltily. “We scared them away.” She continued around the corner. “Look,” she said as the tunnel ended in an icy wall covered with jutting-out ledges. “This must be where they were roosting.”
Rosa stared at the frosty wall ahead. They’d come to a dead end. She reached out and pushed on it with her hand as if it might suddenly melt away. “Is there definitely no way through?”
Crystal pushed the ice with her nose. “It’s solid,” she said. “We’ll have to go back.” Her eyes met Rosa’s and Rosa felt a sudden flicker of shame that she hadn’t listened to Crystal.
“So, this isn’t the tunnel we were looking for, Rosa?” called Freya.
“No,” Rosa muttered, hating to admit that she’d been wrong. “We’d better turn round.”
Slowly, the unicorns shuffled around. There wasn’t much room and Pearl got stuck when she tried turning too fast. Then Matilda got stuck trying to dismount to help her and somehow ended up sitting backwards on Pearl’s back, facing her tail! Eventually Matilda managed to right herself, but then she got so muddled directing Pearl where to put her hooves as she turned in the tight space that Violet and Twinkle had to take over, calling out instructions for her. At last everyone was facing the right way, but now Rosa and Crystal were at the back of the group.
“Move over,” said Rosa. “Let Crystal get to the front.”
But no matter how the unicorns squeezed up, there simply wasn’t the room for Crystal to pass, and Fr
eya had to take the lead. Disgruntled, Rosa had to ride at the back until the path opened in to a tiny grotto surrounded by frost-covered rocks. Rosa and Crystal joined the others as they stopped at the edge of a cluster of stalagmites.
“We’re lost, aren’t we?” Freya said.
Rosa dismounted and opened the map. It was beginning to crease and the edge was torn. “No, we’re not,” she said, not wanting to admit she didn’t have a clue where they were. “We’re here.” She pointed to a grotto marked on the map.
“I don’t think we are, Rosa,” said Ariana, looking at the map over her shoulder. “That grotto’s bigger than this one and has only one path leading out of it. This one has two.”
“First you led us to a dead end and now you say we’re in a grotto that’s nothing like the one shown on the map,” said Freya. “Admit it, Rosa – you don’t know where we are.”
Rosa’s face flushed bright red.
“It’s OK,” said Ariana quickly. “I think we might still be able to find the Glittering Cavern. The map shows a pool in the centre of the cavern. It’s fed by a stream. Water can’t flow up hill. When we leave this grotto, we need to find our way back to the stream we passed earlier and follow the direction it’s flowing in. It should lead us to the cavern.”
“Luckily I made a list of identifiable things so we can retrace our steps,” said Freya. She held up her notebook. “The path we need to get out of here has a stalagmite that’s so tall it almost reaches the ceiling.”
“I remember seeing that,” said Rosa grudgingly.
Freya held out her hand. “Maybe if Ariana and I have the map we might be able to find the cavern.”