Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT Sunshine stopped galloping and reared up, stamping her hooves down hard on the ground. Magical sparks crackled around her, shooting into the air, followed by a deafening bang. The walls about to crush her and Evie exploded into dust. Evie screamed and covered her head as she was pelted by flying rock. Luckily Sunshine's explosion had been so powerful that the pieces were very small. "Sunshine, you saved my life!" Evie said, hugging her as they staggered out of the dusty chamber. "You're the best unicorn ever!" Lyra jumped down and scrambled over the rocks to feed Sunshine handfuls of sky berries to get her strength back. "What happened?" asked Ivy, waving her hands around at the remains of the cave. "Why did the walls move?" Lyra looked grim. "The cave's been booby-trapped." "By Dr Briar?" asked Sienna in horror. "I don't think so," said Lyra. "There'd be no point in her setting the traps if she'd already been here and found the diamond. I think they were set by Ms Evergreen when she hid the Unicorn's Diamond to try to stop anyone finding it." "Well, her traps won't stop us!" declared Sienna. "Agreed," said Ivy firmly. "But we'd better be careful. There could be more traps," Evie added.

Sienna nodded and led the way along the tunnel. After a while it began to narrow and slope downhill until it came to a crossroads. Sienna shone her torch around and spotted a carving of a door above one of the tunnels. It had a compass face above it, the arrow facing north. "The Northernmost Door!" she breathed. "Looks like we have to go this way," said Lyra, setting off. She stopped herself. "Sorry, Sienna, you go." "It's OK," said Sienna. She'd stopped thinking about getting to the diamond first. All she wanted was for them to find it and get out safely! They rode slowly on, the unicorns placing their hooves with care. Sienna heard a dull roar in the distance. Was it a waterfall? The roar got louder and louder and eventually they pulled up on the edge of a vast river that roared and foamed. "How do we get across that?" Ivy said. "There," said Sienna, nodding at a series of flat stepping stones that started at the bank and crossed the river In a wonky line. Evie's face creased with worry. "They look very wobbly." "Sparkle and I will go first," said Sienna. "Don't worry." "But, Sienna, it really doesn't look safe," Sparkle protested. "It'll be fine," Sienna told him.

Sparkle took a tentative step forward, putting a hoof on the first stepping stone, but as he transferred his weight the stone rocked violently and disappeared into the frothing water. Sparkle leapt back in the nick of time, but his back hooves slipped, and for one horrible moment Sienna thought they were going to slide into the rushing river. "Sparkle!" she shrieked. Sienna's unicorn managed to regain his footing but she could feel him shaking with the shock. "That was close," said Lyra, wide-eyed. "The stepping stones must be booby-trapped too," said Misty. "Why don't I use my bubble magic to float us across? "Go for it, Misty," said Lyra, stroking her. Misty stamped her hoof and a silvery bubble rose around everyone. It

picked them up and carried them safely over the rushing water. It came to rest on the other side before popping and releasing them. They all breathed a collective sigh of relief. "Well done, Misty!" said Evie. "That was brilliant!" said Ivy. Sienna joined in too. "Your magic's amazing!" Misty looked pleased. "Thank you!" Sienna felt the same warm glow that she'd felt when she'd complimented her after they'd escaped from the outdoor maze. "Misty did really well, didn't she?" she whispered to Sparkle as Lyra fed her some sky berries. "Mmm," Sparkle muttered. His head was low and he didn't look at her. Sienna frowned. He was being very weird. She was about to ask him what the matter was when Lyra called out, "Misty's recovered now. Let's go on." They set off down a tunnel leading away from the river. A short while later it ended in another dead end. There were some carvings on the stone wall in front of them. They all crowded round. Lyra's torch beam picked out a picture of a spotted lizard facing sideways. Its eye was large and staring. "That's a salamander," said Ivy, who knew a lot about animals. "And the clue was The Salamander's Stare," said Lyra. "Look at its eye!" Evie exclaimed. They all looked more closely. The salamander's eye wasn't actually an eye at all; it was button that had a picture of Daybreak on it. Evie pushed the button, and slowly the wall began to rise before disappearing into the tunnel's roof. "Whoa!" Sienna's eyes grew wide as she took in the cavern now open in front of them. Its roof arched high overhead. Its walls were made of rose quartz and there were unicorn statues inside it carved from the same sparkly pink rock, some playing, others leaping and galloping. "What a beautiful place," Ivy breathed, riding Flame inside. But then Sienna heard the sudden grinding of stone. "What's that?" To her horror a huge boulder detached from the far wall of the cavern

and started rolling towards them like a giant bowling ball. "It's another trap!" she yelled.