Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE, "What happened?" cried Sienna, banging on the crack between the walls where the entrance had been. "Why did the walls just shut like that?" said Ivy, her eyes scared. "Listen!" Lyra motioned for everyone to stop talking. Muffled voices came from the other side of the tower's walls. It sounded like two people arguing. "There's someone out there," said Sienna, frowning. "Let us out!" shouted Lyra, thumping on the stone. The others joined IN. A sheet of paper suddenly slid through the crack between the two walls. Evie grabbed it. The paper was folded in half. Her fingers shook as she opened it and read aloud: "HAND OVER THE MAP PIECES. IN RETURN YOU WILL BE SET FREE. NO MAP, NO ESCAPE." The girls stared at each other. "Someone's locked us in here on purpose!" said Ivy. "Dr Briar, it has to be," said Lyra grimly. "She can't have the map– not when we're so close to finding the treasure," said Sienna. Evie bit her lip. "We don't have a choice. Unless we hand it over, we could be trapped here forever." Lyra's torch flickered. "The batteries are running out." She shook the torch in alarm. "You mean we're going to be trapped in the dark?" Sunshine burst out. "It's OK, Sunshine," said Evie soothingly. "Just stay calm." "I can't!" Sunshine's voice rose In panic as the torch beam flickered again. "No!" she whinnied, stamping her front hooves. Sparks flew up and hit the wall. The stone shattered, and the girls shrieked as their unicorns dodged the flying shards.

Lyra gasped. "What just happened?" "It was Sunshine!" Ivy said, her eyes wide. "Sunshine, you've just found your magic!" exclaimed Evie. "You've got exploding magic!" To her surprise Sunshine hung her head. "Actually I, um… I haven't just found it. I discovered it a few days ago. All the explosions that have been happening– they're all my fault. Whenever I feel anxious and stamp my hooves, things just explode around me." Evie stared at her. "Why didn't you tell me?" Sunshine swallowed. "I didn't think you'd be very happy about me having exploding magic." "Oh, Sunshine," said Evie, hugging her. "Of course I'm happy. Exploding magic IS cool." A thought struck her. "Is this why you've been asking me to leave you alone all week? You didn't want me to find out?"

Sunshine nodded. "I can't control it and I thought you'd find that really embarrassing. It's awful. I almost killed us when the unicorn statue exploded." "So that was you, not Dr Briar or Sam?" Sienna said. "Yes," muttered Sunshine "You should have told me. I could have helped you," said Evie. She hugged her unicorn tightly. "I thought that you wanted a different partner. I'm so embarrassing. It's true," she added when Sunshine started to shake her head. "I'm always having accidents. I know that's why you try to stop me from doing things." "It's not that," said Sunshine in surprise. "I only want to stop you from getting hurt." She nuzzled Evie. "But what about you? Are you OK about me having exploding magic? You don't like being the centre of attention and my magic IS pretty hard to ignore." Evie grinned. "I'm accident-prone and that's very tricky to hide! Sunshine, your magic makes you different and special, and I'd love you whatever magic you had." "Really?" asked Sunshine hopefully. "Really," said Evie firmly. Sunshine buried her head in Evie's arms and Evie hugged her. "Your hair, Evie!" gasped Ivy. She reached out and held up a strand of Evie's brown hair that had turned pink, turquoise and yellow. "You've bonded!" Evie felt a rush of delight. "We're partners forever, Sunshine!" "Partners and best friends," said Sunshine happily. "Now let's use your awesome magic to help us get out of here," said Evie. "Can you blow a hole in the wall so we can escape?" "I'll try," Sunshine said, tossing her mane. "Stand back, everyone, and watch out for flying stones." Lyra put the new bit of map in her pocket with the original pieces. Everyone shuffled back down the passageway, leaving Evie alone with Sunshine by the closed-up entrance. "What if I blow the whole tower to smithereens and hurt everyone?" asked Sunshine. "You won't." Evie felt confident. "I know you're going to get your magic exactly right because you're the best, Sunshine!" Sunshine took a deep breath and stamped her front hooves down hard.

Bright pink sparks shot up in the darkness. There was a strong smell of burnt sugar and, as the sparks hit the stone wall, a deafening bang. The stones exploded outward in a cloud of dust, making everyone cough. Through the swirling dust, Evie saw Flash and Solomon, Dr Briar's unicorn, rearing backwards in surprise. Dr Briar and Sam clung to their manes, struggling to keep their balance. The explosion seemed to have caught them in the middle of an argument. Dr Briar spluttered. "You're not going to get away with this!" she shouted. "Give me the map!" "No way!" yelled Lyra, galloping out on Misty. "Ruby dorm, back to the academy, NOW!"