A Unicorn Adventure! (4 page)

“You're funny,” she said.

“Excuse me?” stammered Stardust.

“Did your horn fall off? You look really silly without it.”

Pippa tried not to laugh. That was just the sort of thing that Stardust often blurted out without meaning to. But Stardust wasn't laughing. Hanging her head, she pawed at the ground.

“I don't look silly, do I?” she whispered to Pippa.

“Of course not,” Pippa replied.

“I'm sorry,” the unicorn said quickly. “My name's Misty and I'm always putting my hoof in it. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings.”

But Stardust was too upset to listen and began trotting away.

“Come back,” Pippa said, hurrying after her. “Just because you don't look exactly like someone else doesn't mean you're funny or strange. It's not nice to tease others about the way they look, whether they're people, ponies, or unicorns. But I'm sure Misty didn't mean to be unkind. We all do things without thinking about the consequences. You know, like laughing at someone when she doesn't sing very well.”

Stardust started to blush. “I understand,” she said.

Pippa wrapped her arms around Stardust and gave her a big hug. As she pulled away, she noticed something shining in the branches above her. Pippa squinted at the redwood tree. Was she imagining things or . . . ?

“Stardust,” she said, her voice squeaking with excitement, “what do you see up there?”

Stardust looked up to where Pippa was pointing and gasped. “A horseshoe!”

“It's the fifth one,” Pippa said happily.

The horseshoe was resting on the edge of a huge, messy nest. It was a long way up. Pippa shivered. She was scared of heights, but she'd been learning to overcome her fear during the hunt for Chevalia's missing horseshoes. The tree looked easy to climb. There were lots of handholds on its rough trunk, and if she stood on Stardust's back, she could easily reach the lowest branch.

“What have you seen?” Misty asked, joining them.

Pippa quickly explained about the missing horseshoes and how the island of Chevalia couldn't survive if they weren't returned to the ancient courtyard wall in time for Midsummer.

“I see,” Misty said doubtfully. “But you'll have to be careful.”

“Why?” asked Stardust.

“That's not just any old nest. That nest belongs to a dragonfly.”

Pippa and Stardust stared at each other in horror.

“What do we do now?” asked Stardust.

“There's only one thing we can do,” Pippa said. “We need the horseshoe so I'll have to climb up and get it.”

Chapter 4

For once Princess Stardust was at a loss for words.

“That's far too dangerous,” she whinnied at last.

“We don't have a choice,” Pippa said firmly. “Neither you nor Honey can climb up there.”

“Definitely not,” Honey agreed, anxiously glancing at her sparkly pink hoof gloss.

Worry lines creased Stardust's snow-white face. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Yes,” said Pippa. The giant seahorses had brought her to Chevalia to save the island. She was the only human ever to go there. Many of the island ponies had been suspicious of her at first, but now they trusted her and were counting on her—she couldn't let them down.

Misty raised a hoof to show that the unicorns should pause for a moment in their circling of the tree.

Quickly, before her nerves got the better of her and she changed her mind, Pippa waved at Stardust to move closer. The dragonfly nest looked empty. If she was quick, she could grab the horseshoe before the dragonfly returned.

“Please stand here, under this branch,” Pippa said.

Reluctantly, Stardust stepped forward. “You don't have to do this—” she began.

“I do,” Pippa said. She made an effort to sound cheerful, and knowing that Stardust was scared for her somehow made her feel braver.

Swinging herself onto the princess pony's back, she carefully stood up on it. Once Pippa had gotten her balance, she was able to reach up and grab the lowest branch of the tree. The rough bark bit into her hands, but Pippa gripped it tightly as she began to climb up the tree trunk. Before long she had straddled the branch in the same way she would a pony. Relief made her feel light-headed.

“Easy-peasy lemon squeezy,” she called down to Stardust.

“Lemon squeezy? Is that something humans drink?” Stardust asked.

“No,” Pippa said.

“It must be what those elephants drink,” Stardust explained to Honey.

Pippa was too out of breath to explain that it was just a rhyme.

She looked above her. There were only a few more branches to go before she reached the dragonfly nest. She tried to ignore the prickle of fear that was giving her goose bumps. Pulling herself up so that she was standing on the branch, she reached up for the next one. Pippa climbed slowly, checking that each branch could hold her weight before stepping on it. Every time she went higher, she worked out the best places to put her feet before she moved them.

Far below, Stardust and Honey were whinnying encouraging words. And softly in the background, the unicorns sang as they continued to circle the tree. Their lyrical voices gave Pippa courage, and, as the tree echoed their beautiful music, Pippa climbed faster and higher, until she was sitting on the branch directly below the dragonfly's nest. She was out of breath, and, even though she wanted to keep climbing, she made herself sit still until her heartbeat slowed.

“Are you all right?” called Stardust.

“Yes, thanks,” Pippa shouted, glancing down at her friend.

Immediately she wished she hadn't looked down. The ground was much farther away than she'd expected. Stardust, Honey, Misty, Goldie, and the circle of unicorns were toy size. No wonder their singing seemed to be fading in comparison to the tree, which was loudly singing back to them. There was a sick feeling in Pippa's stomach, and she became dizzy. Unable to tear her eyes away from the ground, she realized the unicorns were all staring up at her. It was very scary. All at once it hit Pippa that she hadn't asked the unicorn herd's permission to climb their tree, but it was too late to ask now. She wondered if the unicorns realized that it was the horseshoe magic that was making the tree sing back to them. Nervously she wondered what they would say when she removed the horseshoe and the tree stopped singing.

“Well, I'd better get on with it.” Pippa took a deep breath and then sighed. Now that she'd stopped, she'd lost the urge to climb any higher. And she didn't want to climb back down either. She was tempted to just sit there for a little while.

“No—I can do this,” she said firmly.

Quickly, before she could change her mind, she reached up for the last branch and pulled herself onto it. The nest, huge and untidy, reminded Pippa of the crows' nests high in the city trees at home. It was filled with four large, green, oval eggs. Pippa saw herself in the shimmering surface of the largest egg. The eggs were beautiful and seemed out of place in the scruffy nest. Pippa's heart lifted as she saw a sparkle of gold.

“The missing horseshoe!”

It was wedged between the largest egg and the side of the nest. When she leaned forward, the horseshoe was just within her reach. Wrapping one arm around the branch, Pippa stretched out her free hand . . . and froze.

“Oh no!” she gasped.

The eggs were moving. She watched in horror as long, jagged cracks ran across the eggs' smooth shells. The cracks grew and the eggs began to rock, then to split open. A chunk of shell the size of a marble landed on Pippa's hand.

“Ouch!”

The shell was hot! Pippa quickly flicked it away. A long, slim leg emerged from one of the eggs. It was soon followed by a second leg. The legs waved in the air. A loud snap startled Pippa, and she clung tightly to the branch as the egg cracked in two. A round head with two huge eyes looked around in surprise. More legs were appearing from the other eggs. Soon there were four heads and eight startled eyes peering out of the nest. The baby dragonflies kicked away the broken shells and slowly unfolded their delicate, tissue-like wings.

“Oh!” Pippa sighed, mesmerized by their beauty.

Each dragonfly had a different hue to its silvery body and wings. The largest was turquoise, the second largest was red, the third had a purple hue, and the smallest was pink. The colors sparkled in the weak rays of sunlight that had managed to filter through the thick canopy of trees.

Without meaning to, Pippa had leaned forward for a better view. A tiny roar, followed by a jet of orangey-red flames, made her jump back in alarm. Snatching at some leaves, Pippa stopped herself from falling. Now all four dragonflies were hissing fire. Pippa's nose twitched as she breathed in the sharp smell of smoke. To her left, a cluster of leaves was smoldering.