Chapter 1

Ivy and Flame

CHAPTER ONE

"Look, Flame. A three-horned deer! Isn't it cute?" Ivy crouched down on her picnic blanket so as not to disturb the little creature that was grazing nearby. She munched her chocolate-chip cookie and watched the deer. "Mmm," said Flame. He tossed his head and the sun lit up his golden mane, making its pink and green streaks sparkle. Ivy gave Flame a curious look. "Are you OK? You've barely touched the picnic." She looked at all the food she'd brought– cheese rolls, grapes and chocolate cookies for herself, and apples, sky berries and special unicorn cookies for Flame– and frowned. She had hoped the picnic would help them to bond. At home she loved having family picnics and sit-down meals with her brothers, sisters and cousins, but Flame seemed distracted. "Don't you like that?" she asked, looking at the cookie on the grass that he had only nibbled at.

Flame sighed. "I do, but I'm not really in the mood for a picnic. Don't you think we should be trying to find my magic instead of sitting around?" Ivy put her own cookie down and went over and hugged him. "Oh, Flame, don't stress. There's plenty of time for you to find your magic. Autumn's barely started and we don't graduate until December." "But I really want to discover my powers," said Flame impatiently. "Misty and Sunshine say it's so much fun doing magic." Misty and Sunshine were paired with two of Ivy's dorm-mates, Lyra and Evie. Misty had bubble magic and Sunshine had exploding magic. Lyra and Evie also had flashes of colour in their hair to match their unicorns' manes, which showed that they had bonded with their unicorns. Bonding was the highest form of friendship. Students and unicorns were

paired up when they arrived at Unicorn Academy and had to discover the unicorn's magical power and bond before they were able to graduate and become guardians of the beautiful Unicorn Island. Flame stamped a hoof. "There must be something we can do to help me find my powers." Ivy stroked him. "Chill, Flame. I know it will be amazing to be able to do magic, but just being at Unicorn Academy is loads of fun. So far it's been the best year of my life! Be patient and let it happen." "What if it doesn't? What if we can't graduate and have to come back next year?" asked Flame. Ivy kissed his nose. "Then we'll come back. Anyway, Sienna and Sparkle haven't discovered Sparkle's magic yet either so it's not just us. Stop being such a worrywart." In the distance Ivy heard Lyra's voice then Sienna and Evie joining In. She pulled a face. Lyra, Sienna and Evie were her best friends but they always wanted to do stuff instead of just hanging out and chatting. She bet they were looking for her now so they could make plans about the treasure map. Back in January the four girls had discovered part of a treasure map hidden in a secret room in the school. They'd solved the riddle that was written on the back and found a second piece of the map behind an underground waterfall. The next riddle had led them to an old tower in the school grounds where they'd found the third quarter of the map. Now they just had to find the final piece so the map could show them how to reach the treasure, the legendary Unicorn's Diamond, a precious jewel that could grant people their hearts' desire. "Aren't you going to answer them?" asked Flame. "I will," said Ivy, "but I'd really rather stay here. I wish I'd brought more food, then we could all have had a picnic together."

Flame plucked a long feathery strand of grass from the meadow and tickled Ivy's nose with it. "I like having adventures together. Maybe one of them has solved the final riddle and we can go on another scary quest!" Ivy squirmed away. "OK! OK!" She reached for her cookie. "Hey, Flame, have you been eating my biscuit?" she said, frowning. "No!" said Flame In surprise. "Weird." Ivy held the cookie up. "It's definitely smaller than it was." "That deer probably ate some while we were talking," said Flame. Just then they heard Lyra shouting their names again. Flame whinnied. "We're over here! By the oak tree!" Ivy packed away the remains of the picnic as the others cantered into sight. "We've been looking for you for ages!" Lyra said as Misty halted. "I've had another idea about the third riddle and we need a meeting right now!" Ivy smiled good-naturedly. "OK. Here, come and share my picnic rug." Everyone dismounted and sat down. Lyra eased three rectangles of old yellowing paper from her pocket and spread them out. The paper crackled as she fitted the pieces together, smoothing them with her hand. In one corner of each piece there was a tiny picture of Daybreak, the first unicorn to have ever lived on Unicorn Island, crying a teardrop of happiness "So, a recap," said Lyra, taking control as usual. "We've got three quarters of the map now and we think that the treasure is the Unicorn's