A Unicorn Adventure! (5 page)

“Thank goodness for the mist,” Pippa said, staring at the blackened leaves. The tree was too damp for it to burst into flames.

Because Pippa had pulled back from the nest, the dragonflies seemed to have forgotten about her and were now competing to see who could produce the longest stream of fire. Slowly Pippa edged closer again. All she had to do was grab the horseshoe while the dragonflies were busy playing. But the nest was too hot and there was no way she could reach the horseshoe without getting scorched. Disappointment almost overwhelmed her. She couldn't go back empty-handed. There had to be a way of getting the horseshoe! Pippa's thoughts were tangled like knotted string. Below her the unicorns were still singing. She let her thoughts drift as she listened to their music. Suddenly she had it—the solution to her problem! Trembling with excitement, she leaned out of the tree.

“Unicorns,” she called down, “please can you sing me a lullaby?”

The unicorns stopped singing and stared up at Pippa with blank faces.

“A lullaby,” she called again. “A song for bedtime. Something gentle . . . She trailed off, feeling unnerved by the unicorns' collective stares.

Then one voice began singing. “
Hush, little dragonfly, stop that fire. Listen to the lullaby and you'll soon tire. Don't breathe flames, close your eyes. Go to sleep, good dragonflies.”

“That's it, Misty!” Pippa exclaimed in delight.

Misty stopped singing and the tree began to sing back to her in the same soft tone.

“Now everyone join in,” called Pippa. “Including you, Honey!”

When the tree finished, Misty started again, and this time Goldie and Stardust joined in. Honey opened her mouth, blushed, and quickly closed it. Stardust nudged her encouragingly. Honey looked uncertain but Stardust kept smiling, until at last, Honey joined in too.

Pippa smiled at her. It was good to see that Honey had overcome her fear of singing in public. The lullaby was making Pippa feel sleepy, but the dragonflies weren't listening. They were having too much fun huffing out streams of fire. Misty, Goldie, Stardust, and Honey sang on.

Pippa joined in with them. “
Hush, little dragonfly, stop that fire . . .”

Was it her imagination or were there more voices singing? Snatching a very quick look down, she was thrilled to see that all the unicorns had joined in. Soon their singing and the beautiful echo of the tree began to drown out the roars of the baby dragonflies.

“Listen to the lullaby and you'll soon tire. . . .”
Pippa sang on.

The flames shooting from the nest were slowing down. The littlest dragonfly was swaying as if she could hardly keep her eyes open. As Pippa watched, she settled down with her head tucked under a pretty pink wing. The purplewinged dragonfly was next. Yawning sleepily, he lay down and within seconds he was snoring. The red dragonfly's head was nodding. Collapsing in the bottom of the nest, she closed her eyes. Only the turquoise dragonfly was left awake, roaring and spitting out red jets of flame. Suddenly he looked around. He seemed surprised to see he was the only baby who still wanted to play. With an angry snort and one last puff of fire, he snuggled down in the nest.

Instantly Pippa reached for the horseshoe. The dragonfly opened an eye and stared at her.

“Hush,” she whispered, staying very still.

The dragonfly flapped his wings halfheartedly. Then he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Pippa grabbed the horseshoe, wedged it in her pocket, and began the long climb back down the tree.

Chapter 5

As Pippa scrambled back down, Stardust positioned herself under the lowest branch.

“Thank you,” said Pippa. It was such a relief to land on Stardust's back and slide safely to the ground.

“You were wonderful,” Stardust said, nuzzling her nose against Pippa's neck.

“So were you . . .,” Pippa said, aware that it was now very quiet.

Misty was staring at her accusingly. “What have you done to our tree?” she challenged.

“Um,” Pippa said weakly, knowing exactly what Misty meant.

“It's stopped singing! Listen.” Misty hummed a bar of the lullaby and waited, her golden horn pointing at the tree as if inviting it to hum back to her.

The tree remained silent.

“You've hurt our tree,” said Misty.

“No,” Pippa said, pulling the horseshoe out of her pocket. “It's not my fault. You see, it's because of this horseshoe. It's magic—that's what made the tree sing. But the horseshoe doesn't belong here. We have to return it to the ancient Whispering Wall at Stableside Castle before Midsummer Day or Chevalia will fade away.”

“You didn't say that the tree would stop singing,” Misty replied.

Behind her, the watching unicorns nodded in agreement.

Misty quickly tossed her head. There was a flash of gold and suddenly she was wearing the horseshoe on her horn. A loud cheer rang out, and the unicorns stomped their hooves.

Pippa stared at her empty hands and gasped.

“Give that back,” Stardust said, walking up to Misty. “The horseshoe doesn't belong here.”

“It does now. We unicorns love our singing tree. We're keeping the horseshoe.”

Pippa didn't want to upset the unicorns, but she knew she had to get the horseshoe back to the Whispering Wall, for their own good and the good of Chevalia. She did some quick thinking, then went and stood between Stardust and Misty.

“Chevalia is your home too, and if you keep the golden horseshoe, then you will lose more than just this tree. The whole Cloud Forest will disappear. That's why you have to give the horseshoe back. But if you love to sing, how about singing with the royal ponies? Your voices are so beautiful, they could learn from you. You wouldn't even have to leave the Cloud Forest,” she added quickly, as Misty started to protest. “We could ask the Royal Court to come here.”

Misty turned her back on Pippa and spoke to her family in urgent whispers. Pippa strained her ears, trying to figure out what they were saying.

At last, Misty turned to Pippa and said, “They don't believe your story about royal ponies, a castle, and a wall that whispers. It all sounds like make-believe. They want me to keep the golden horseshoe, but if you bring the ponies of the Royal Court here to sing with us, then they would believe you.”

Pippa hopped onto Stardust's back.

“We'll bring them here right away,” she promised.

Pippa was very glad that Honey was with them—she'd been to the Cloud Forest many times and had a good idea which way to go. But even Honey got lost in the large forest, and twice they had to retrace their hoofsteps.

It was lunchtime when they finally returned to the castle. Pippa's stomach grumbled as they made their way through the packed dining room. The rosy red apples piled in the feeding troughs looked delicious. There was no time to stop for food, though. With Stardust and Honey at her side, she made her way to the top of the room, where Queen Moonshine and King Firestar were eating from their golden trough.

Pippa, Stardust, and Honey curtsied.

“Your Majesties,” Pippa began, “we're sorry for interrupting your lunch, but we have something important to ask.”

Queen Moonshine pushed aside a large carrot. “Go on, my child,” she said.

The dining room fell silent. Pippa's ears burned as she quickly explained in a loud, clear voice what had happened that morning.

When she'd finished, she heard Cinders snort and whisper loudly to her mother, Baroness Divine, “She expects us to believe that?”

Several other ponies added exclamations of disbelief. There were whinnies of “Make-believe!” and lots of laughter.

Pippa was angry. “It's true,” she said, turning around to address the dining room. “Why would I make it up? Come to the Cloud Forest and see for yourselves.” She paused to stare around the room. “If you're brave enough, that is.”

The laughter turned to mutters. Pippa noticed Divine whispering something in Cinders's ear. Cinders nodded, and then she quietly left the room.

Pippa turned to Stardust. “I'm sorry,” she began. “I tried my best—”

Someone was banging a hoof for silence. A hush fell as Baroness Divine stood and addressed the dining room.

“I say we give the girl a chance. Maybe she is telling the truth. And if she isn't, well, maybe it's time she left the island.” She stared at Pippa, her square face tilted, her brown eyes challenging.

Pippa stared back. Her heart was thumping so loudly she was amazed that no one else could hear it.

“Thank you, Baroness Divine,” she said.

Divine nodded. “If Your Majesties agree, then I suggest we leave for the Cloud Forest immediately. And if the horseshoe isn't there, then Pippa must return to her home.”

Pippa opened her mouth to protest but thought better of it. Divine was challenging her. If she didn't agree to her terms, then Divine would accuse her of making the whole story up. But the story was true, and soon she'd be able to prove it.

“Pippa, are you happy to take us to the Cloud Forest?” asked Queen Moonshine.