Chapter 1

Layla and Dancer JULIE SYKES illustrated by LUCY TRUMAN

CHAPTER ONE The sun shone on the marble towers of Unicorn Academy as Layla ran to the stable block. She couldn't wait to show her beautiful unicorn, Dancer, the new sparkly hoof polish that had arrived from her parents. She planned to brush his velvety coat and then paint his hooves. Layla had loved unicorns for as long she could remember. It had been a dream come true when, just after her tenth birthday, she'd travelled with her parents across Unicorn Island to become a student at Unicorn Academy. On their first day at the academy, students were

paired with their very own unicorn. Each pair spent the next year working together and learning to trust each other so that they could bond and graduate to become guardians of Unicorn Island. Layla had been delighted when Ms Primrose, the wise headteacher, had paired her with Dancer. He was very handsome and his snow- white coat had pink, yellow and indigo patterns that matched the colour of his mane and tail. But Layla loved him most for his kind, thoughtful nature. He was perfect! I'm so lucky, she thought as she reached the stable block. Being at Unicorn Academy was amazing. It wasn't just because she had a unicorn of her own, she also loved the lessons and, although she'd felt quite shy at first, she'd made firm friends with the five other girls in Sapphire dorm. The stable block's shiny automatic trolleys full of hay trundled down the aisle in front of

her as she walked in. Layla called out, "Good morning!" but there was no reply. The stalls that the Sapphire dorm unicorns slept in were empty. As it was such a lovely morning, Layla decided the unicorns must have gone out to play. She hurried back outside and found them gathered beside a rainbow-coloured stream that ran through the meadow. All the streams and rivers in the land contained water that flowed from Sparkle Lake, the huge magical lake in the school grounds. The water was very important because it nourished the people and the land, and strengthened the unicorns' magic. Layla paused. All the Sapphire dorm unicorns– Dancer, Blaze, Rainbow, Star, Cloud and Snowflake– were standing on one bank of the wide stream. "I bet you can do it, Dancer!" said Rainbow, tossing his brightly coloured mane. "You're the best at jumping," said Star. "Go, Dancer! Go!" chanted Blaze, stamping

her front hooves, her fire magic making sparks fly into the air. Each unicorn had their own magic power that they discovered while they were at the academy. Dancer still hadn't found his magic yet. Layla hoped it would be something like healing magic. It would be lovely to be able to make people well again. She definitely wouldn't want him to have something scary like fire magic! She watched as Dancer reared up on his hind legs. He balanced for a moment and then rushed forward. Galloping towards the stream, he leapt into the air, soaring across the water with the grace of an eagle. He landed safely on the far side of the bank and the other unicorns all whinnied. "You're so good at jumping!" called Cloud admiringly.

Dancer's eyes shone with the praise and Layla's heart sank. Dancer was brilliant at jumping and Layla knew how much he enjoyed it, but she hated galloping fast and jumping and avoided both at all costs. "The rest of us will never be able to jump that far," said Star. Rainbow's eyes sparkled. "Then I guess we'll have to use magic to get across!" He tossed his mane and multicoloured light shone from the centre of his forehead. It arched across the stream, forming a rainbow bridge.