Chapter 8

Chapter eight Count Thornberry aimed his weather machine at the group and pressed a grey button. "No!" Shimmer whinnied in alarm. Aisha gasped, convinced they were about to be frozen, but instead a tornado spiralled out of the machine and swept towards them, getting bigger by the second. "Run!" cried Zara. But before they could try and escape, the freezing wind had swept them up. Aisha felt like a marble being catapulted down a twisty tube. Several breathless minutes later the wind started to slow. Aisha felt Silver nudge her urgently. "Aisha! Hold my mane!" he whispered. She grabbed hold just as the wind died and they dropped to the ground. Aisha's legs wobbled as she clambered to her feet, still hanging on to Silver's mane. She saw they were at the end of a tunnel outside a cave that had a door made of metal bars. Green glowing icicles hung from the ceiling, providing the only light. The count was facing them. Aisha smelled a whiff of burnt sugar and was suddenly sure that Silver was using his magic. He started to back slowly away from the others. Aisha moved silently beside him. She wished she knew what he was planning but she trusted him completely. She could feel Silver breathing heavily. Doing magic took a lot of effort when unicorns first discovered their powers. She rubbed

索恩伯里伯爵把他的气象机对准这群人，按下了一个灰色的按钮。 “不!”微光惊恐地呜咽着。 艾莎倒吸了一口气，以为他们要被冻住了，但不料一股龙卷风从机器中盘旋而出，向他们扫来，而且一秒比一秒更大。 “快跑！”但在他们试图逃跑之前，凛冽的寒风把他们卷了起来。 艾莎觉得自己就像一个弹子被弹射到一个扭曲的管子里。 几分钟后，风开始慢下来。 艾莎感到西尔弗急切地推了她一下。 “艾莎!抓住我的鬃毛！” 就在风停了，他们倒在地上的时候，她抓住了他。 艾莎爬起来的时候，双腿颤抖着，仍然抓着西尔弗的鬃毛。 她看见他们来到一个山洞外的隧道尽头，山洞的门是用铁条做成的。 绿色发光的冰柱悬挂在天花板上，提供唯一的光线。 伯爵正面对着他们。 艾莎闻到一股烧焦的糖味，她突然确信西尔弗在使用他的魔法。 他开始慢慢后退，远离其他人。 艾莎默默地在他身边移动。 她希望知道他的计划，但她完全信任他。 她能感觉到西尔弗喘着粗气。 当独角兽第一次发现自己的力量时，施魔法需要付出很多努力。 她擦

Silver's neck, silently sending him her love and support. Silver nuzzled her gratefully. "Get inside," said the count, waving his device. "No, wait!" He took a step forward. "There were eight of you. Now there are only six. Where's the energy unicorn and his partner? What have you done with them?" Aisha held her breath as she saw the others look around and realise the count was right. Please let them work out what we've just done, she prayed. Phoebe suddenly stomped forward, looking outraged. "What have we done with them?" she cried. "First you kidnapped us from our school and now you've brought us down to this dump, losing our best friend and her unicorn on the way. It's not what we've done with them, it's what you've done!" "Your magic machine must have left them behind!" Zara shouted, joining in. "Pah!" the count spat. "Get in that cave and I'll go and fetch them!" They filed inside. The count slammed the metal door shut and turned a key in the lock, then he marched away, his black cloak rippling behind him. As his footsteps grew fainter, Silver let out a sigh. "Phew! I wasn't going to be able to keep us invisible for much longer!" He leaned against the icy wall, panting for breath. "You were brilliant." Aisha kissed his neck. She searched in her pocket and found a few remaining sky berries from earlier. "It's not much, but these might help." Sky berries gave unicorns strength and helped to replenish their magic. Silver gobbled them up gratefully. "Aisha! Is that you and Silver out there?" Zara hissed through the door. "Yes! Silver used his magic to trick the count," said Aisha, hurrying to the bars. "Ha!" said Phoebe. "The count's not as smart as he thinks!" "Definitely not. He left the key in the door," said Aisha. The lock was stiff, and it took both hands to turn the huge key but, finally, there was a click and the door swung open. The others raced out, apart from Moonbeam, who was swaying on the spot. "Beware the falling ceiling… Watch for the spears of ice… Take the left turn…" A grating noise rent through the air. Glancing up, Aisha saw a crack run

西尔弗的脖子，默默地给他她的爱和支持。 西尔弗感激地用鼻子蹭了她一下。 “进去吧。”伯爵挥舞着他的武器说。 “不,等等!”他向前走了一步。 “你们有八个人。现在只有六个了。 能源独角兽和他的搭档呢？ 你把它们怎么了？”艾莎屏住了呼吸，因为她看到其他人环顾四周，意识到计数是正确的。 “请让他们知道我们刚刚做了什么，”她祈祷道。 菲比突然大步向前，一脸愤怒。 “我们把他们怎么了？”她嚷道。 “你先是把我们从学校绑架出来，现在又把我们带到这个破地方，在路上失去了我们最好的朋友和她的独角兽。 不是我们对他们做了什么，而是你做了什么！”“一定是你的魔法机器把它们落下了！”扎拉也喊了起来。 “呸！”伯爵啐了一口。“进洞里去，我去把他们找来！”他们鱼贯而入。 伯爵砰地一声关上了金属门，把钥匙插进锁里，然后大步走开了，他的黑斗篷在身后飘动。 西尔弗的脚步声越来越微弱，他叹了口气。 “唷!我没法让我们隐形太久了！”他靠在冰冷的墙上，喘着粗气。 “你太棒了。”艾莎吻了吻他的脖子。 她在口袋里找了找，发现了一些早些时候剩下的天空莓。 “虽然不多，但这些可能会有所帮助。” 天空莓赋予独角兽力量，帮助它们补充魔力。 西尔弗感激地把它们吞了下去。 “艾莎!那是你和西尔弗吗？”扎拉嘶嘶地走进门来。 “是啊!西尔弗用他的魔法骗过了伯爵。”艾莎说着，匆匆走向吧台。 “哈！”菲比说。“伯爵不像他自己想的那么聪明！”“绝对不会。 他把钥匙忘在门上了。”艾莎说。 锁是硬的，我得用两只手才能转动那把大钥匙，但终于，咔哒一声，门开了。 其他人都跑了出来，只有月光在原地摇摆。 “小心掉下来的天花板……小心冰矛……左转……”空中传来刺耳的声音。 艾莎抬头看了一眼，看到了一条裂缝

across the ceiling. "Maybe he is quite clever!" she gasped. "I think the cave might have a spell on it and it's just noticed you've gone!" "Moonbeam!" cried Zara. Moonbeam jerked out of her vision. She cantered out. Zara leapt on to her back. "Gallop!" she shrieked. "Before the roof comes down!" The walls began to shake as the crack spread along the ceiling of the tunnel. The unicorns hurtled along the icy passageway, the girls clinging on desperately as the crack snaked after them. The glowing icicles smashed down one by one as the crack passed them. The unicorns raced by a brightly lit lab in an enormous cavern. It must be where the count ran his experiments! But they couldn't stop. They had to get out! The crack was outpacing them now. Aisha shrieked as one of the icicles fell right at Silver's hooves.

穿过天花板。“也许他很聪明！”她喘着气说。 “我想这个洞可能中了咒语，它刚刚注意到你不见了！”“月光！” 月光突然从她的视野中消失了。 她跑出去了。扎拉跳到了她的背上。 “快跑！”她尖叫道。“在屋顶塌下来之前！”裂缝沿着隧道的天花板蔓延，墙壁开始摇晃。 独角兽们在冰冷的通道上狂奔，女孩们拼命地抓着，裂缝蜿蜒而过。 当裂缝经过时，发光的冰柱一个接一个地碎了下来。 独角兽们从一个巨大洞穴里灯火通明的实验室里跑过。 那一定是伯爵做实验的地方！但他们停不下来。 他们必须出去！裂缝现在已经超过了他们。 一根冰柱正好落在西尔弗的蹄子上，艾莎尖叫起来。

The tunnel began to widen. Aisha glimpsed two tunnels ahead, one leading to the left and one to the right. The one to the right had extra-long icicles hanging from the ceiling and there was a frozen bear in the entrance. "That's the way out!" she shouted. But as she spoke, the crack in the ceiling finally overtook them. Moonbeam pulled up suddenly and the other unicorns almost crashed into her, their hooves skidding across the ice. "Turn back, NOW! That cave was in my vision!" whinnied Moonbeam. She swung round, forcing everyone away from the tunnel. "Back! Back!" Just as they retreated there was a colossal whump and the icicles hanging from the ceiling of the tunnel all fell like deadly spears. Phoebe's face was whiter than the ice. "That was close! Imagine if we'd been in there!" "I think you just saved our lives, Moonbeam," said Feather shakily. "We've got to find another way out," said Zara. "Moonbeam, you said turn left when you were having your last vision," Lily said. She pointed to the left-hand tunnel. "Let's go left." They set off again. "Faster, Moonbeam!" urged Zara. They galloped along the twisty tunnel, the unicorns' hooves slipping and sliding. "Crevasse ahead!" Zara yelled over her shoulder, as they approached a gaping crack in the ground. Moonbeam leapt into the air and cleared it. Aisha caught her breath as Silver leapt too. For a terrifying moment, the crevasse stretched beneath them, a black void, but then Silver landed safely on the other side. Fresh air blasted Aisha as they followed Zara around a bend. Daylight streamed in from a wide opening. A few steps later and they were galloping out on to the glacier with its snow-covered cliffs on either side. Phoebe whooped. "We made it! We escaped!" Looking higher up the glacier, Aisha saw the frozen sabre-tooth polar bear at the entrance to the cave where they had met Count Thornberry. She flung her arms round Silver and hugged him tight. "Silver, you're amazing! I was terrified when you said you were Shimmer. But you were so brave. Your idea of turning invisible to help everyone escape was genius, and–" A shudder ran through he– "I was so scared, I thought the count was going to do something horrible to you."

隧道开始变宽。 艾莎瞥见前方有两条隧道，一条通向左边，一条通向右边。 右边的房间天花板上挂着超长的冰柱，入口处有一只冻僵的熊。 “这是出去的路！”她喊道。 但就在她说话的时候，天花板上的裂缝终于压住了他们。 月光突然停住了，其他的独角兽几乎撞上了她，它们的蹄子在冰面上打滑。 “现在就回去！”那个山洞就在我的视野里！”月光呜咽着说。 她转过身来，迫使所有人离开隧道。 “回来!回来了!”就在他们撤退的时候，突然传来一声巨响，从隧道顶部垂下的冰柱像致命的长矛一样全部掉了下来。 菲比的脸比冰还白。 “好险啊！”想象一下，如果我们在那里！”“我想你刚才救了我们的命，月光。”羽毛颤抖地说。 “我们必须找到另一条出路，”扎拉说。 “月光，你上次看到幻象的时候说左转的。”莉莉说。 她指着左边的隧道。 “我们往左边走吧。”他们又出发了。 “快点，月光！” 他们沿着弯弯曲曲的隧道疾驰，独角兽的蹄子滑来滑去。 “裂缝!”当他们走近地上一个裂开的裂缝时，扎拉扭头喊道。 月光跃入空中，把它照得干干净净。 艾莎屏住了呼吸，西尔弗也跳了起来。 在那可怕的一刻，裂缝在他们脚下伸展开来，变成一片漆黑的虚空，但西尔弗随后安全降落在了另一边。 他们跟着扎拉拐了个弯，新鲜的空气吹得艾莎喘不过气来。 阳光从一个大洞口照进来。 走了几步，他们奔向冰川，两边都是白雪覆盖的悬崖。 菲比发出一阵骚动。“我们成功了！”我们逃脱了!”艾莎向冰川高处望去，在他们遇见索恩伯里伯爵的山洞入口处，看到了那只冻僵的剑齿北极熊。 她猛地抱住西尔弗，紧紧地搂住他。 “西尔弗，你太棒了！”你说你是闪光的时候我吓坏了。 但你是如此勇敢。你变隐形来帮助大家逃跑的主意真是天才，而且——”他浑身打了个寒颤，“我吓坏了，我以为伯爵要对你做什么可怕的事。”

Silver nuzzled her. "I felt just the same when I thought he might turn you into ice. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you." Aisha buried her face in his mane. Suddenly she realised that though her music was important, nothing in the world mattered as much as Silver did. "Oh, Silver, I'm so sorry. I didn't listen when you wanted to talk about how worried you were that Moonbeam had seen you vanish. I promise I'll always listen in the future. You're the most important thing in the world to me." "More important than music?" asked Silver shyly. "Even more important than that," said Aisha. Silver snorted happily. "And I'm sorry that I worried you. I can be impulsive at times. In future, I'll try to tell you what I'm planning before I do it." Anxiously, Zara looked around. "Hey, guys, we need to get a move on. Let's try and follow the glacier down—" She broke off as a low rumbling filled the air. As the noise grew louder, a familiar voice echoed across the glacier. "You will never escape me! Never!" The rumbling became a roar. Aisha stared in disbelief as the top of the mountain seemed to slide closer. Blinking, she realised a gigantic wall of snow was falling from the top, straight towards them. "Avalanche!" she shrieked.

西尔弗用鼻子蹭她。“当我想到他会把你变成冰的时候，我也有同样的感觉。 如果你出了什么事，我不知道该怎么办。” 艾莎把脸埋在他的鬃毛里。 她突然意识到，虽然她的音乐很重要，但世界上没有什么比西尔弗更重要的了。 “哦，西尔弗，我很抱歉。 你想说你有多担心月光看到你消失的时候我没听进去。 我保证以后会听你的。 对我来说，你是世界上最重要的人。” “比音乐还重要？”西尔弗害羞地问。 “比这更重要。”艾莎说。 西尔弗高兴地哼了一声。“我很抱歉让你担心了。 我有时很冲动。 以后，我会在行动之前告诉你我的计划。” 扎拉焦急地环顾四周。 “嘿，伙计们，我们得快点了。 我们试着顺着冰川往下走吧——”空气中传来低沉的隆隆声，她停住了话头。 随着声音越来越大，一个熟悉的声音在冰川上回荡。 “你逃不掉我的！”从来没有!”隆隆声变成了咆哮声。 艾莎难以置信地看着山顶似乎越来越近。 她眨了眨眼睛，意识到一堵巨大的雪墙正从山顶向他们倾泻而下。 “雪崩！”她尖叫道。