Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE After lunch, Isla went to find Ms Nettles to tell her about Buttercup's finding magic. The head teacher's study door was shut and there was no answer when Isla knocked. Ms Rosemary, the Care of Unicorns teacher, looked out of her room. "Are you looking for Ms Nettles, Isla?" Isla nodded. "Buttercup found her magic this morning." "That's wonderful news!" said Ms Rosemary, beaming. "But I'm afraid Ms Nettles was called away last night on urgent business. I'm sure she'll be delighted to hear about Buttercup's magic when she gets back though." Isla smiled and headed to the stables. "Can we practise my magic?" asked Buttercup

when she arrived. "Pleeeeeeease!" she added, fluttering her eyelashes. Isla grinned. "Of course we can." "Yay! Miki lost his ball last week and Golden Briar wants me to find Valentina's favourite scarf, and Monsoon said Ms Bramble lost—" "Whoa!" said Isla, holding her hands up. "Maybe we should just find one thing at a time!" "Oh, OK," Buttercup said with a huff. "We'll start with Miki's ball then. He was on the sports field when he lost it." They went out to the sports field. Buttercup took a deep breath. "Miki's ball!" she exclaimed. "Find it!" A glittering arrow formed. It looped the loop then darted away. "My magic's working! Yippee!" said Buttercup as she raced after it. The arrow flew in the direction of Sparkle Lake but as it got closer it whizzed from side to side as if it couldn't decide which way to go. Buttercup galloped after it. Isla began to feel alarmed. "Slow down, Buttercup!" she cried. The arrow flew over the fountain then darted to the right and pointed at some rushes close to

the bank. It stayed there for a second then it shot to a nearby bush before flying back to the fountain. Buttercup pricked her ears and increased her speed. "No, Buttercup!" Isla gasped. "We can't follow it into the lake! Stop!" The arrow suddenly returned to the bush. Buttercup swerved to go after it but she was galloping too fast. Her hooves slid from under her. Isla shrieked as they skidded towards the multicoloured water. SPLASH! Buttercup's hooves hit the lake and a tidal wave of ice cold water splashed over them. Luckily Buttercup just managed to stop herself falling in completely. "Whoops!" Buttercup regained her balance. "Are you OK, Isla?" "Well, I'm pretty wet," said Isla, shivering. She had water dripping from the ends of her hair and droplets were already freezing on her clothes. "Sorry!" said Buttercup sheepishly. "I was just trying to catch up with the arrow." She looked

around. "Oh, it's gone," she said in disappointment. "Why was it jumping around like that?" Isla asked. "I don't know. It pointed at the bush before it vanished. Maybe Miki's ball is there." Buttercup trotted towards it. "Wait! There's something in those rushes," said Isla, spotting a flash of colour. Buttercup went over. "Valentina's scarf!" she said, pulling the scarf out of the rushes with her teeth. Isla leant over her neck and took it from her. "Valentina will be happy to have it back. I wonder why the arrow pointed to it when we were looking for Miki's ball." Buttercup frowned. "I guess I was thinking about both things at the same time– the ball and the scarf. Maybe it confused my magic.

Let's see if there's anything in the bush." She cantered over. "Miki's ball! Hooray!" Buttercup nudged it out with her nose. "Aren't I clever? I found both things!" Isla hesitated. She didn't want to hurt Buttercup's feelings. "That's great but you need to practise controlling your magic. Perhaps you should concentrate on one thing at a time?" "I think I did very well," said Buttercup, slightly huffily. Isla patted her neck. "You did, but let's start with small things first."

"I don't need to," Buttercup declared confidently. "I'm super good already!" "Let's go and get you some sky berries," said Isla, changing the subject. Doing magic sapped a unicorn's strength and sky berries helped them to recover. "OK, I guess I am a bit tired," admitted Buttercup. They headed back to the stables. As they passed the play park, they saw Rosa, Matilda, Freya, Ariana, Violet and their unicorns in a huddle by the swings. "Shall we say hello?" said Buttercup. Isla wasn't sure. "It looks like they might be having a private talk." "So? They'll want to see us!" said Buttercup confidently. "They're our friends!" She cantered over. "Hi, everyone! What are you talking about?" she whinnied. Isla cringed. "It's OK," she said quickly. "You don't have to tell us if it's a secret." "Don't be silly. We haven't got secrets from you two," said Violet. "We were just talking