Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6 Star was very understanding when she saw the tiny portion of sky berries mixed into her feed. "I'm sure it won't be for long," she said. "Ms. Primrose and Sage will fix the problem." Ava hardly ate anything at dinner. She kept thinking of how Star had eaten her meal that evening, chewing her food slowly, making every mouthful of the sky berries last. It made Ava feel guilty about the huge amount of food available to her. From the subdued atmosphere, Ava sensed that most students felt the same way. Everyone spoke in whispers, and the delicious food was only picked at. After dinner, Sapphire dorm usually hung out in their lounge to play games, listen to music, and chat. Ava didn't have the heart for it. After a quick visit to the stable to say good night to Star, she went to bed. Her dorm-mates joined her. "No riding tomorrow," said Isabel glumly.

"We're going to miss our cross-country jumping lesson," Scarlett said. "Blaze and I were really looking forward to it." "I hope the unicorns will be all right. What if they get sick because they don't have enough sky berries to eat?" Layla worried. "I'll braid Dancer's mane and tail tomorrow. I hope that cheers him up." Ava lay in bed, staring at a patch of moonlight shining on the ceiling. Thoughts whizzed around

her head until she thought it might explode. Ms. Primrose was the wisest person she knew. She never made mistakes, but she had to be wrong this time. The mountain range was huge. Ms. Primrose couldn't have checked the whole thing in one day. The more Ava thought about it, the more convinced she was that there had to be healthy sky-berry bushes growing somewhere. A little after sunrise, Ava gave up trying to sleep. Quietly, she got up, dressed in jodhpurs and her favorite lilac hoodie, and then headed to the stables. Passing the lake, Ava heard someone calling her name. "Sophia!" Ava waited for her friend to catch up. "Why are you up so early?" "I couldn't sleep." "Me neither." Ava stared at the multicolored lake, its waters glittering with a fiery glow in the sunrise. "I'm sure there have to be sky berries somewhere in the mountains. If only we knew where to look." "Rainbow might be able to help," Sophia said slowly. "His magic lets him see things that are in other places, so he might be able to show us where there are some healthy bushes."

"That's a brilliant idea. Let's ask him," said Ava. "But we can't." Sophia's face crumpled. "Ms. Rosemary banned the unicorns from doing magic, remember." "Unless it's an emergency," Ava said slowly. Her eyes met Sophia's. "This is an emergency," said Sophia, nodding. "It really is," said Ava. "Our unicorns need sky berries to stay healthy and magical, and Unicorn Island needs our unicorns!" Ava spoke passionately, pushing the hair back from her face and almost crushing the sprig of blue forget-me-not that she always wore in it. "You're right," said Sophia. "Let's ask Rainbow to help." Ava and Sophia ran to the stables and found Rainbow taking a long drink from his trough. He turned to face Sophia, multicolored water droplets spinning through the air as he shook his head in surprise. "You're early this morning. Are you helping Ava with her garden?" Sophia explained. Rainbow stamped a hoof. "I'll try to help," he

said. "But that part of my magic only works if I am helping someone see something they desperately want to see—their heart's desire." "I desperately want to see if there are any fruiting sky-berry bushes," said Ava. "Me too," chimed in Sophia. Rainbow tossed his mane. "Then here goes!" He frowned in concentration. Sophia stood at his head, stroking his neck for support as he stamped his hoof sharply on the ground. "Oh!" squeaked Ava as rainbow-colored sparks spun up into the air. She breathed the sweet scent in deeply. Burnt sugar, the smell of magic, was one of her favorite things.

The sparks became a disk of rainbow-colored light spinning in the air. Inside the disk an image began to form. Ava leaned forward, soaking up every tiny detail. Sky-berry bushes, a thick cluster of them. Ava studied the picture for clues to help her find the bushes. There were shadows on the ground, cast by the early-morning sun. "East," said Ava. "See the position of the sun? Those are the eastern mountains." There was a sharp pop and the ball of light exploded in a shower of glittering sparks. Ava