A Unicorn Adventure! Read online

As the voices soared, Pippa stepped forward and hung the fifth horseshoe on Misty. Her fingers tingled with magic as the golden horseshoe met the golden horn. There was a brilliant flash of light, and Pippa shielded her eyes with her hands. Misty stood up on her back hooves and placed the horseshoe on an empty black nail.

  Pippa’s smile was so wide she thought her face might split in two.

  “Five horseshoes safe,” she whispered to Stardust.

  “Five,” Stardust echoed happily. “There are only three left to find now. We’re going to do this, aren’t we?”

  Midsummer was in two days. Pippa felt doubtful. Could they really find all the horseshoes by then?

  The unicorns and ponies finished their song and started a new one. Their voices swelled in the air, carrying Pippa’s doubts away.

  She nodded her head. “Yes!” she said confidently. “Yes, we are.”

  Stardust trotted deeper into the forest. It was on the side of a steep hill and they were traveling downward, so Pippa had to lean back. The last time she’d been here with Stardust, they’d been going the other way. Riding downhill at speed was much trickier. Pippa didn’t want to fall off and risk landing in the dangerous quick-stick mud.

  After riding for a while, Pippa noticed a tree with a trunk that was twisted like a question mark.

  “Haven’t we passed that tree once already?” she asked.

  Stardust glanced at it as she trotted past. “I don’t think so,” she replied.

  “Well, we’ve definitely passed that tree there,” Pippa said, pointing to a bleached-white tree trunk that stuck up in the air like a giant knitting needle.

  Stardust stopped to examine the branchless tree. “Hmm,” she said. “That’s been hit by lightning. And you’re right. We did pass it earlier.” She turned in a slow circle, then stopped.

  Pippa stared at the trees crowding in on them. The Wild Forest was dark and gloomy. Fear prickled up her neck. Stardust seemed uneasy too. Her muscles twitched and suddenly she shivered. Pippa hung on tight as Stardust trembled.

  Very quietly Stardust whinnied, “I think we’re lost.”

  Copyright

  Text copyright © 2013 by Awesome Media and Entertainment Ltd Illustrations copyright © 2013 by Jennifer Miles

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  First published in Great Britain in June 2013 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Published in the United States of America in August 2014 by Bloomsbury Children’s Books www.bloomsbury.com

  Bloomsbury is a registered trademark of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

  For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to Permissions, Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 1385 Broadway, New York, New York 10018 Bloomsbury books may be purchased for business or promotional use. For information on bulk purchases please contact Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at [email protected]

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Ryder, Chloe.

  A unicorn adventure! / Chloe Ryder.

  pages cm. – (Princess ponies ; 4)

  Summary: To save the enchanted island of Chevalia, Pippa and her best friend, a talking pony princess named Stardust, search for the missing magic horseshoes in the haunted Cloud Forest, where they encounter singing unicorns.

  ISBN 978-1-61963-294-3 (paperback) • ISBN 978-1-61963-295-0 (e-book)

  [1. Ponies–Fiction. 2. Magic–Fiction. 3. Princesses–Fiction. 4. Unicorns–Fiction.] I. Title.

  PZ7.R95898Un 2014 [Fic]–dc23 2013048652

  eISBN: 978-1-61963-295-0

  2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1

  All papers used by Bloomsbury Publishing, Inc., are natural, recyclable products made from wood grown in well-managed forests. The manufacturing processes conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin.