Dreams Come True

One
    ‘ I t’s almost time, Twilight,’ Lauren Foster whispered to the grey pony beside her. She looked down at the star-shaped flower in her hand. At the tip of each purple petal, a golden spot glowed. The pony stamped one of his front hooves and pushed at her hand impatiently.
    ‘Just a few more minutes,’ Lauren told

    him. She looked up. The sun had almost set. This was the moment she’d been waiting for all day. As the last of the sun disappeared behind the mountains, a bright star shone out overhead.
    A thrill ran through Lauren. Now!
    Gently, she began to crumble the petals of the flower between her fingers. As she did so, she whispered the secret words of the Turning Spell.
    Twilight Star, Twilight Star,
    Twinkling high above so far.
    Shining light, shining bright,
    Will you grant my wish tonight?
    Let my little horse forlorn
    Be at last a unicorn!
    Almost before the last word had left Lauren’s mouth, there was a bright purple flash.
    The patch of grass where Twilight had been standing was empty. Lauren looked up. A snow-white unicorn was cantering in circles in the sky.
    ‘Twilight!’ Lauren exclaimed in delight.
    With a kick of his back legs, Twilight swooped down and landed beside Lauren.
    ‘Hello,’ he said, putting his nose close to hers and blowing out softly. Although Twilight’s words rang out clearly in Lauren’s head, his mouth didn’t move. Lauren remembered what he had told her when she had first turned him into a unicorn the night before – as long as she was touching him, or holding a hair from his mane, she would be able to hear him speaking.
    Lauren hugged him and then looked down at the petals still clutched in her hand. ‘But I didn’t throw them on the ground,’ she said.
    Twilight tossed his flowing silver mane. ‘You don’t need to any more. The moonflower petals are only needed the first time the spell is said. You don’t even need the light of the Twilight Star. From now on, all you need to do is say the magic words.’ He pawed the grass. ‘Come on, Lauren. Let’s go flying.’
    Lauren didn’t need to be asked twice. In a flash, she had scrambled on to his back.
    Twilight plunged upwards and Lauren laughed in delight as the wind whipped through her hair. She held on to Twilight’s long mane.
    ‘I’m getting better at flying,’ Twilight said, cantering in a smooth circle.
    ‘Definitely!’ Lauren agreed.
    The day before, Twilight’s flying had been quite wobbly and she’d been very glad that special unicorn magic had stopped her from falling off! Now she looked down at the fields and woods below.

    ‘Let’s fly over the woods,’ Twilight said. ‘And jump over the treetops.’
    ‘OK,’ Lauren agreed. ‘But I can’t stay out too long in case Mum and Dad start wondering where I am.’
    Twilight turned in the air and headed for the forest that covered the mountains behind Lauren’s house.
    Lauren could see the nearby farms spread out beneath them. One in particular caught her attention – a white clapboard farmhouse with red barns that hugged the mountainside at the edge of the forest. ‘That’s Goose Creek Farm,’ she said. ‘Dad met the man who owns it today. He’s called Mr Cassidy. He’s got a daughter called Mel who’s the same age as me and she’s got a pony. Dad’s arranged for me to go and visit them tomorrow and you’re coming too!’
    ‘Sounds like fun!’ Twilight said.
    Lauren suddenly looked anxious. ‘What if Mel’s pony guesses you’re a unicorn?’ she said. She knew that it was very important no one discovered Twilight’s secret. Lauren had been given the spell to turn Twilight into a unicorn by an old lady called Mrs Fontana, and she had told Lauren that she must never let anyone find out Twilight was a unicorn. It might put him in great danger!
    ‘He’ll know,’ Twilight said, ‘but it’ll be OK. Horses and ponies understand that a unicorn’s secret must be kept.’
    ‘Do all animals know about unicorns?’ Lauren asked curiously.
    Twilight shook his head. ‘Just horses and ponies, though sometimes other animals will sense I’m different.’ He swooped down so that his hooves were skimming the treetops. ‘Now, are you ready to do some jumping?’
    ‘You bet!’ Lauren exclaimed.
    ‘Then here goes!’ Twilight galloped forward through the air and carried her over the top branches of a tall pine tree.
    They leapt from one treetop to the next, giddy with excitement. At the far edge of the forest, Twilight