My Secret Unicorn

Lauren ran down the path from the farmhouse to the stable. Under one arm, she held a carved wooden chest.

‘Twilight!' she called softly, her breath freezing in the cold dark air.

Twilight whinnied quietly and looked over his stable door.

Lauren fumbled at the bolts with her gloved hands. Twilight nuzzled her. ‘Hi,
boy,' she murmured. ‘Are you ready to go flying?'

Twilight nodded. His grey winter coat was fluffy and the feathers around his hooves were long. Lauren put down the chest, unbuckled his rug and threw it into the stable. Then she looked back. There were no lights on in the house behind her. Her parents and her little brother, Max, were all asleep in bed.

Lauren grinned to herself. If only they knew her secret – that Twilight wasn't just an ordinary grey pony, he was actually a secret unicorn in disguise.

Twilight nudged her, his dark eyes sparkling.

‘OK, boy,' Lauren quickly began to
say the words of the Turning Spell that would change him into his magical shape:

‘Twilight Star, Twilight Star

Twinkling high above so far.

Shining light, shining bright,

Will you grant my wish tonight?

Let my little horse forlorn

Be at last a unicorn!'

There was a bright purple flash and Twilight became a beautiful snow-white unicorn with a long mane and tail and a glittering silver horn.

‘Hi, Lauren!' he said happily. ‘Where are we going tonight?'

His mouth didn't move when he talked but as long as Lauren was touching him or holding a hair from his mane, she could hear the words in her head. It was part of his unicorn magic.

She hugged him. ‘To the secret
clearing.' She picked up the box and swung herself on to his back. ‘I can't work out what to do with all the different things inside this chest that Mrs Fontana gave me. I was hoping you might be able to help.'

‘I'll try,' Twilight said eagerly as he thought about the little old lady who'd owned the bookshop in the village.

Lauren wrapped her hands in his silky mane and he soared into the frosty sky.

‘Michael rang me this evening to say that he and his parents had just arrived,' Lauren said as they flew towards the woods. ‘He's going to ride Moonshine over to see us in the morning.'

Lauren's friend Michael lived in the
city, but his parents had a holiday home near where Lauren lived. A couple of weeks ago he had emailed her to say that they were all coming to stay there for three nights before Christmas. He and Lauren had agreed they would meet up every day.

‘It'll be really good fun to see him,' Lauren went on. ‘We'll be able to go flying in the evenings as well as riding together in the day.'

‘I hope it snows,' said Twilight. ‘That would be really fun. We could fly through the snow together.' Unicorns could use their magic to fly through even the thickest blizzards.

‘But only if Michael's found out that
Moonshine can use her magic to fly through snow,' Lauren pointed out. Secret unicorns had all sorts of magic powers but they and their special human friends had to find out what those powers were by themselves. ‘Still,' she went on, ‘I guess even if they haven't found out about using magic to fly through snow, we can help them discover it even if we can't tell them straight out. Now that I'm Keeper of Secrets, that's what I should be doing – helping other Unicorn Friends to find out their unicorns' powers.'

Twilight nodded.

Lauren looked at the wooden chest in her arms. She had recently found out
that there were people all around the world who helped unicorns and their Unicorn Friends when they had problems. These people were known as the Keepers of Secrets. Lauren's friend Mrs Fontana had been the Keeper of Secrets who'd helped Lauren and Twilight but just a few weeks ago she had died. She had left Lauren the chest and a letter telling Lauren that she wanted her to take her place.

So far, Lauren hadn't helped anyone. She had been too sad after Mrs Fontana's death to want to look in the chest properly. But she knew she couldn't put it off forever. ‘I hope you can help me work out what the things Mrs Fontana
left in the box are for,' she said to Twilight.

He whinnied. ‘I'll try my best.'

They flew down through the trees to the secret glade. No one ever seemed to go there apart from them. It was a very magical place: the air always seemed very still and even in the depths of winter, purple moonflowers dotted the grass.

Twilight landed lightly. Bright fireflies were dancing through the air, and around the mound of grass in the centre of the clearing, pinky-grey rocks of rose quartz were gleaming softly in the starlight.

Lauren slid off Twilight's back and placed the chest on the mound. ‘Shall we have a look inside it then?'

She felt a bit nervous. It was so weird to think that she was now the Keeper of Secrets. She didn't feel old enough.

Twilight nodded and rested his muzzle on her shoulder, his warm breath tickling her cold cheeks. She gave him a quick kiss and then opened the lid of the chest.

Inside there was a soft leather book, a thick scroll tied with a silver ribbon,
a dusty flat rock, a silver pendant shaped like a star, and five bottles, all different sizes and colours.

Lauren hesitated. She didn't want to touch the things. They felt like they still belonged to Mrs Fontana.

A wave of sadness welled up inside her and she sat back on her heels, the contents of the chest untouched. ‘Oh, Twilight. This feels so strange. How can I possibly be the Keeper of Secrets? Mrs Fontana was so wise and clever. I don't know where to start or what to do. How can I help other unicorns and their friends? I'm not Mrs Fontana, I'm just me.'

‘Mrs Fontana wouldn't have chosen
you if she didn't think you could do it,' Twilight told her. ‘I know it seems hard but we can work it out together.'

His words made Lauren feel a bit better. She nodded. ‘Thanks,' she said softly.

There was a soft whinny in the air above them. Lauren looked up and gasped.

Swooping down through the starry sky towards them was a beautiful unicorn with a shining silver horn…

‘Sidra!' Lauren cried, recognizing the tall, elegant unicorn.

Sidra was one of the Unicorn Elders who ruled the magic land of Arcadia where most unicorns lived. She had visited Lauren and Twilight several times before.

Twilight whinnied as the Unicorn Elder landed beside him. Her heavy
silver mane and tail swept all the way to the floor and her beautiful face was noble and kind.