My Secret Unicorn Read Online Free Page A

better by now.’
    Lauren crossed her fingers, hoping desperately that it was true. Maybe the vet would have found out what waswrong and been able to treat Shadow after all. And then she wouldn’t have to take Twilight to the Plateau of Light.
    They picked up Max and Buddy from Steven and Leo’s house. Buddy bounded into the car and covered Lauren’s face in slobbery licks, which cheered her up for a few moments. Max was full of what had happened that day. Buddy had sniffed out an old bone buried in the garden, and he’d got covered in mud digging it up with Leo’s puppy, Buggy. The boys had ended up giving both dogs a bath, but of course the dogs hadn’t wanted to stay in the tub. They had jumped out and run downstairs, covered in soap bubbles!
    Lauren listened and laughed, glad of something else to think about. But as soon as they were home, she went to the phone to call Mel.
    It was Mel who answered the phone. ‘Hi, Lauren,’ she said in a flat voice.
    ‘Is Shadow any better?’ Lauren asked, but she guessed from Mel’s voice what the answer would be.
    ‘No,’ said Mel. Her voice wobbled. ‘I think he’s worse. He hasn’t moved all day. He just lies there in the straw and he’s breathing so heavily …’ She stopped, and Lauren could hear that she was crying. Lauren felt her own throat closing up.
    ‘The blood-test results have come inbut it’s still not clear what’s wrong,’ Mel went on, sniffing. ‘The vet came back this afternoon. He says it must be some kind of respiratory virus, which means there is something wrong with his lungs, but he doesn’t understand why Shadow is getting worse so quickly.’
    ‘Oh, Mel, I’m so sorry,’ said Lauren. ‘I’ll come over first thing tomorrow.’ She wished she could tell Mel what she was planning, but that was impossible. ‘Don’t give up hope. Shadow’s such a strong, brave pony. He’ll fight as hard as he can to get better.’
    ‘Thanks, Lauren,’ sniffed Mel. ‘I’d better go. I don’t want to leave Shadow on his own for too long. Mum says Ican spend the night with him in his stable.’
    ‘OK. Bye, Mel,’ said Lauren. She put the phone down, imagining Mel curled up sadly in the straw next to her dapple-grey pony. The thought made tears prick her eyes, and she knew there really was no choice. She and Twilight had to go to the Blue Ridge Mountains to speak to the Unicorn Elders.
    Lauren went out to the paddock to tell Twilight what they were going to do. She couldn’t change him into a unicorn while people were around – it was too risky. But she knew he would understand what she had to tell him.
    She fetched some pony nuts from the feed store and climbed over the rail at the edge of the paddock. Twilight greeted her with a whinny, as he always did, and she fed him the handful of nuts. ‘I’ve been to see Mrs Fontana,’ she told him, stroking his soft muzzle. ‘She says there’s nothing wrong with your powers. It’s just that Shadow is too sick for you to cure him.’
    Twilight stopped chewing the pony nuts, and his head drooped a little.
    ‘But it’s not our fault,’ Lauren added hastily. ‘Mrs Fontana says we might be able to help Shadow, but only if we make a special trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains to meet the Unicorn Elders.’

    Twilight perked up again, his big brown eyes looking curious. Lauren hesitated, wondering whether to tell him about the unicorns going back to Arcadia, and the Plateau of Light.
    ‘We have to get there by midnight,’ she began. Then she stopped. She couldn’t tell him why the unicorns were gathering. She just couldn’t. She was too scared that he might want to join them.
    ‘I’ll come back out when everyone has gone to bed,’ she whispered, and Twilight nuzzled her affectionately. Lauren knew he was trying to tell her that everything would be all right, and she felt bad for not telling him the full story. But she’d tell him later, when they could talk about it properly. She fetched him some