CHAPTER NINE
The first week of training was challenging. All Sophia wanted to do was ride—to show the world what she could do. Wildstar, it seemed, had other ideas. Her unicorn match was friendly enough, but Sophia could tell that she didn’t trust her yet. It felt as if everyone else in Sapphire dorm was getting closer to their unicorns, leaving Sophia to watch from behind as they galloped farther and farther ahead. This really wasn’t how things were meant to be. Didn’t Wildstar know how much she had to offer? That she was ready to shine?
“I get the feeling you don’t think I can do this,” Sophia said one afternoon as she and Wildstar watched Rory and Storm tearing around the academy race track, flurries of dust kicking up behind them.
Wildstar snorted breezily.
“I’m the daughter of the best Unicorn Rider ever!” Sophia insisted. “He was the one who taught me how to ride. You do know that, don’t you? And if we don’t bond soon, I’ll be sent—”
Sophia was interrupted by a terrified squeal from the other side of the field. It had come from a unicorn—River. Sophia saw Isabel struggling to stay in her seat as the spooked unicorn pranced from hoof to hoof. Ms. Rosemary cantered over at once, but even Rhapsody looked frightened.
“What are those?”
Two furry creatures shaped like enormous balls of fluff were hopping across the field, devouring everything in their path. Their adorable appearance did not match their destructive behavior at all. In fact, Sophia had never seen anything move so fast. Hay bales, buckets of sky berries, even fence posts were being gobbled up in moments. She felt Wildstar’s body stiffen with nerves.
“Everybody stay calm,” instructed Ms. Rosemary, trying to stop Rhapsody from bolting. “Those are Fluffhoppers. They’re not easy to catch.”
Even from across the field, Sophia could tell this was an emergency. The Fluffhoppers split off in different directions, causing destruction with every bound. Sophia spotted Isabel speaking in River’s ear. River’s eyes were wide, unsure, but on his rider’s command he sprung into a gallop.
“That’s it!” shouted Isabel, leaning forward as they rode into the wind. “You’ve so got this!”
And somehow, River began to believe it. The beautiful blue stallion raced with such energy, he let out a whinny of pure joy, thrilled to discover what he could do. A magical shimmer of popping stars and light started to swirl around them as they galloped. Sophia spotted strands of electric blue appear in Isabel’s blond ponytail and realized they were bonding.
“Yes!” cheered Isabel. “My unicorn is awesome!”
Proudly and with confidence, River lifted his pink unicorn horn up toward the sky. His new magical markings glowed brightly as swirls of magic danced up and down his majestic horn. A sparkling flash of magic pulled a fountain of water from the stream by the training ground. The water gushed over one of the runaway Fluffhoppers, encasing it in a big, transparent bubble.
Sophia gasped. River had Water Magic! She wanted to ride over and congratulate them, but there wasn’t time for that—the second Fluffhopper was now chomping and leaping its way toward the academy building. Valentina and Cinder took off after it.
“This is our chance, Wildstar,” Sophia whispered, shaking her reins. “Let’s catch it!”
Reluctantly, Wildstar cantered forward, trailing after Valentina and Cinder. Sophia urged her faster and faster, until at last they were neck and neck. The Fluffhopper zigged and zagged through the academy gardens before bouncing over the bubbling moat that wound around the central courtyard and academy entrance.
Sophia and Valentina glared at each other, both determined to be the one to succeed. With an extra surge of effort, Sophia managed to take the lead. She turned her focus on the water up ahead, leaned deeper into Wildstar’s saddle, and got ready to jump.
“Whoa!”
Sophia was sent tumbling forward over Wildstar’s neck, landing on the ground with a bump. The unicorn had refused to jump for her! Wildstar quickly nuzzled her rider to check that she wasn’t hurt, then stood stubbornly rooted to the spot. All Sophia could do was watch as Valentina and Cinder jumped over their heads, rounding up the Fluffhopper in an amazing display of skill and speed.
While Ms. Furi rode up to help take the furry pest away, sparks of red light whizzed and flashed around Valentina and her unicorn. Sophia’s heart fell. Of all the students to bond next, did it have to be Valentina? Cinder shot a swirl of Fire Magic from his horn as his rider’s hair began to glow with the color of warm flames.
“Well done!” exclaimed Ms. Furi. “Ms. Rosemary informed me that we had a Fluffhopper situation, but I can see that Isabel and Valentina have it under control…and bonded with their unicorns.”
Valentina smiled in triumph.
“You’ll both get extra credit for this,” Ms. Furi went on.
“Thank you, Auntie!” Valentina said, then added, “I mean, Ms. Furi.”
Sophia bit her lip. Her own dreams had never felt so far away.
“Better get packed,” sniped Valentina as she rode past her. “The last fairy boat off the island leaves at six.”
The class headed back to the stables, while Sophia struggled to get back on her feet. Wildstar tried to help her up with her nose, but Sophia shrugged her away.
“I thought we were in this together,” she said, upset. “What happened to the plan? Don’t you want your magic back?”
Wildstar’s eyes widened. For a moment, Sophia could almost see all the feelings swirling around inside her unicorn.
“When we matched, I thought you were a second chance to have a piece of my dad with me,” she whispered, struggling to keep back her tears. “But maybe the Fate Fairy made a mistake. You obviously don’t think I am worth bonding with.”
Sophia passed Wildstar’s reins back to her, then slowly walked away.
That evening, Ava and Sophia had a long talk on the balcony. Ava couldn’t bear to see her friend looking so heartbroken. After their classes, Sophia had checked Wildstar was safe in her stall, then gone straight up to her room. Even Rory’s jokes couldn’t cheer her up. Wildstar was such a beautiful unicorn, Ava wished she could find a way for her friend to get close to her.
“How can I bond if Wildstar won’t let me show her how good a rider I am?” Sophia asked.
“I think bonding with a unicorn might be about more than just riding,” Ava said kindly. “It’s about connecting, understanding each other. It’s like getting to know a friend.”
Sophia’s eyes filled with sadness. “The friend thing isn’t really my specialty. I haven’t had a lot of them since…”
Ava looked puzzled. “Since…?”
“When my dad died, I didn’t want to feel that kind of hurt ever again,” Sophia admitted. “Loving someone and losing them was the worst. So I decided that I’d be better off on my own.”
Sophia clasped her star pendant tightly, then hung her head.
“Maybe,” Ava said quietly, edging a little closer to her friend, “you and Wildstar have something in common. She was probably hurt when she lost your dad, too. Maybe she’s being extra protective of you because she feels like she couldn’t protect your dad.”
Sophia’s head shot up. She hadn’t thought of it that way. “Oh! So it’s not that Wildstar doesn’t trust me. It’s that she doesn’t trust herself.”
Suddenly everything fell into place. Poor Wildstar! Sophia had to talk to her, to say sorry, to tell her she understood.
Neeeeigh!
A haunting, high-pitched squeal echoed across the academy grounds.
“Wildstar?”
Sophia and Ava exchanged worried glances. The sound of fear had come from the stables. The girls raced along the landing—they had to get down there!
“Did you hear that?” squeaked Layla, poking her head out of her bedroom. “What’s happening?”
Sophia, Ava, and Layla took less than a minute to rush down to Sapphire dorm’s stable, hearts pounding in their chests. Outside, Ava noticed a barrel, shaking and rocking as if someone was banging from the inside. She forced open the lid and discovered poor Fernakus trapped at the bottom.
“Fernakus!” cried Sophia. “What happened?”
The Dwerpin smiled weakly as the girls helped pull him out. “I was cleaning Carebrushes one minute and tossed in a barrel like a rotten sky berry the next!”
Inside the stable, more unicorns began to bray and call. Something felt terribly wrong. Sophia charged inside.
“Wildstar!” she shouted. “Where’s Wildstar?”
The other unicorns tossed their manes and stomped their hooves, eyes wide with fear. Wildstar was nowhere to be seen.
“I am sorry,” said Fernakus, hurrying in behind her. “It was a Shadow Sprite and an ogre. They took her away!”
“Oh no!” gasped Layla, remembering what she’d read in The Sparklebook. “They’re part of Ravenzella’s army!”
“Did they say anything?” pleaded Sophia. “Where are they taking her?”
Fernakus’s voice was still shaky. “It was all so fast, b-b-but I believe they mentioned the Crystal Caves.”
“But the caves are off-limits to students,” Layla pointed out.
“I don’t care,” said Sophia. “I have to save Wildstar!”
Ava was already running to get Leaf’s saddle. “I’m coming with you!”
Layla looked across at Glacier. The unicorn pawed the ground impatiently with her hoof. “I guess now would be a good time to start breaking the rules,” she admitted. “You can ride with me, Sophia.”
Sophia crouched down and took Fernakus’s hands. “Please. Tell Ms. Primrose.”
“Of course!” The Dwerpin nodded and hurried away.
As soon as Ava and Leaf were ready, Sophia climbed up onto Glacier’s back and put her arms around Layla’s waist.
The unicorns turned away from the academy and its glimmering white marble towers. It was time to ride into the darkness of the night.