Phoebe and Shimmer

by Julie Sykes

  Zara studied her hands.

  “Phoebe, be honest. Is this just another of your stories?” asked Lily, her eyes meeting hers.

  “No, it’s the truth,” insisted Phoebe. “Cross my heart and hope to die. Come and see!”

  Aisha and Lily got to their feet. “Are you coming, Zara?” Lily asked.

  Zara sighed. “All right, I’ll come. But you’d better be telling the truth this time, Phoebe.”

  They trooped outside and went to Shimmer. He’d called the other unicorns over.

  “OK, everyone, are you going to watch my magic?” he said. “Stand back then, it’s very powerful,” he boasted.

  With a lot of show, Shimmer brought his hoof down on the ground. Nothing happened. He tried again and all he managed to do was to dislodge a clod of turf with his hoof. The other unicorns snorted and looked at each other.

  Zara exclaimed in disbelief and stomped back to her tent. “I knew it!’ she called over her shoulder. “I just knew you were lying, Phoebe!”

  “Phoebe!” Lily said in frustration. “I really believed you. How could you upset Zara again?”

  “Wait, Zara!” Aisha called. She and Lily ran after her. Their unicorns all went too.

  Phoebe fought back tears as she watched Aisha and Lily put their arms round Zara.

  “Phoebe, I’m so sorry.” Shimmer’s eyes were huge. “I think I must have worn myself out using my magic before, and now I’ve let you down and made you look like a liar in front of everyone.”

  “It’s all right.” Phoebe buried her face in Shimmer’s mane so that he couldn’t see how upset she was. “It’s not your fault, it’s mine. I do always make things up. I don’t blame Zara and the others for not believing me this time.” She shook her head. “I tried to change before but didn’t manage it. From now on, I really am going to tell the truth. If I start exaggerating, then you must stop me and not encourage me.” Phoebe looked Shimmer in the eyes. “If we’re going to make good guardians of Unicorn Island then we have to bring out the best in each other, not the worst.”

  Shimmer nodded solemnly. “You’re right, Phoebe. I love the way you tell stories and make everything so exciting but people need to be able trust us, particularly now that I have my magic, whatever it is.”

  “I’ll help you find out. We’ll start tomorrow.” Phoebe cuddled up closer to Shimmer. “I love you, Shimmer. You’re the best unicorn ever.”

  “I love you too, Phoebe,” he said, nuzzling her.

  Shimmer lay down and Phoebe snuggled under his mane, cuddling it like a soft silky blanket. It had been a long day and she suddenly realised how tired she was. She was just dozing off to sleep when Aisha and Lily came out to find her.

  “Are you OK?” Aisha asked softly.

  Phoebe nodded sleepily. “I think I’m going to sleep under the stars tonight with Shimmer.”

  “But you haven’t had any dinner,” said Aisha.

  “I’m OK,” said Phoebe. She didn’t want to go back to camp and face Zara. “I’ll have a big breakfast in the morning.”

  “Wait here!” said Lily. She and Aisha hurried away and came back with Phoebe’s dinner of sandwiches and an apple.

  “Thanks,” Phoebe said.

  “See you in the morning,” they said.

  She smiled as they crept away. At least Aisha and Lily didn’t hate her. The hard knot of upset inside her began to loosen. She ate her cheese sandwiches, shared the crusts and her apple with Shimmer, then closed her eyes and seconds later she was fast asleep.

  Phoebe woke at first light to the cry of seagulls as they swooped overhead. Sitting up, she ran a hand through her tangled hair.

  “Morning,” Shimmer whickered, his breath warm on her cheek.

  “Morning,” said Phoebe, stretching.

  Shimmer got to his feet. “I feel much better after a good night’s sleep. I’ve got loads of energy. I bet my magic will work again now.”

  Moving away from Phoebe, he stamped a hoof. Sparks fizzed up into the air and a nearby rock shattered into hundreds of pieces.

  Phoebe clapped with delight. “That’s awesome, Shimmer. If only we knew exactly what magic it is. I wish we could ask Zara about it. She’s really good at scientific stuff like that.”

  “There’s Zara now,” said Shimmer, nodding towards the coastal path. Phoebe followed his gaze and saw Zara riding Moonbeam down towards the beach.

  “I think I might go after her and try apologising again,” she said.

  “Let’s both go,” said Shimmer. Phoebe jumped on to his back and they cantered after Zara and Moonbeam. They caught them up on the beach. Zara had dismounted and both she and Moonbeam were staring out at the distant sea. It was really far out, leaving a vast expanse of bare, damp sand. Slipping from Shimmer’s back, Phoebe ran over to stand beside Zara.

  “Zara, I’m sorry,” she said. “I really didn’t mean to upset you yesterday. I shouldn’t have lied about seeing the man. It was stupid of me and I’m going to try to tell the truth from now on and not make stuff up. But I wasn’t lying about Shimmer, he really does have his magic.”

  Zara glanced at her. “Really?”

  “Yes, it didn’t work yesterday because he’d tired himself out. It’s working again now.” Phoebe flicked her hair. “I can show you—”

  Zara gasped. “Phoebe! Your hair.” Reaching out she lifted a long strand of pink and pale blue. “You and Shimmer have bonded!”

  “We have?” Phoebe squinted to look. “Shimmer, we’ve bonded!” she squealed, kissing him.

  “It must have happened in the night,” he whickered, nuzzling her back.

  “Aw! Well done, you two.” Despite the argument, Zara looked really pleased for them. “So, I guess that means you really were telling the truth? Shimmer actually did find his magic?”

  “Yes, I did,” said Shimmer. “Watch this.” He flicked his hoof and a bolt of magic scorched across the beach, hitting a jagged rock that exploded. Zara’s mouth dropped open.

  “Wow!” she breathed. “Energy magic! That means you can create bolts or balls of pure magical energy. My great-aunt’s unicorn, Thor, has energy magic. No wonder you tired yourself out yesterday when you found it. It’s very powerful.”

  “Zara, something doesn’t feel right,” Moonbeam said uneasily, staring out over the sand. “The air feels wrong.”

  Phoebe followed her gaze. “The sea is really far out, isn’t it?”

  “Yes,” said Zara, her forehead crinkling. “It shouldn’t be. It should be halfway in by now according to the tide times.”

  “It’s coming,” Moonbeam muttered.

  “It doesn’t look like it is,” said Zara, giving her a puzzled look. “It looks like it’s going out.”

  “Beware the man with the cloak,” Moonbeam said.

  “The man with cloak! Why are you being weird again, Moonbeam?” Zara demanded.

  Moonbeam blinked. “I … I don’t know. I’m sorry. I don’t know what I meant.”

  “Hey, everyone,” Shimmer interrupted. “It’s gone really quiet all of a sudden. There are no birds and I can’t see the sea any more.”

  Phoebe realised he was right. There was no sign of the sea at all now, just miles and miles of sand that rolled on as far as the eye could see. “What’s happening?”

  Zara’s face paled. “Oh no! I’ve read about this. It happens before a tsunami hits.”

  “What’s a tsunami?” said Shimmer uncertainly.

  Zara gulped. “A giant tidal wave that sweeps away anything and anyone in its path!”

  “Quick! We’ve got to warn the others!” Phoebe cried.

  Phoebe and Zara leapt on to their unicorns and thundered back up the cliff path, yelling loudly to wake their friends up.

  “What’s all the noise about?” Aisha said as she and Lily stumbled from their tents, pulling on clothes.

  “Phoebe! Your hair!” Lily gasped. “You’ve bonded with Shimmer.”

  “Yes, and he really does have his magic – energy magic �
� but that’s not important right now,” Phoebe said. “What matters is that everyone is in danger!”

  The words tumbled out of Zara and Phoebe as they explained about the sea.

  “What can we do?” asked Aisha.

  “Nothing,” said Lily, ashen-faced. “There is absolutely nothing that can stop a tsunami. The only thing to do is get as far away as possible.”

  “We need to warn everyone before it hits,” said Phoebe frantically.

  “Let’s go!” said Lily.

  “Wait!” cried Zara. She pointed at Lily. “There is something that can stop a tsunami! I read about it in one of the books last night. Scientists have a new theory. There are special types of sound waves called acoustic waves that can move really fast through the ocean, and scientists believe that if these waves of energy could be shot right into a tsunami, they could break it up and weaken it. They haven’t found a way to do it yet, it’s just a theory.”

  “Well, how will that help us?” said Phoebe. “If the scientists don’t know how to fire acoustic waves into a tsunami then what can we do?”

  “Use magic!” said Zara, her eyes gleaming. “If Shimmer shoots the tsunami with pure balls of energy, it might just have the same effect as firing acoustic waves. It may break up the tsunami before it hits the coast.”

  “Could it work?” said Lily.

  “I don’t know. But it’s our only chance.” Zara looked at Shimmer. “Would you try, Shimmer?”

  He glanced uncertainly at Phoebe. “Do you think I can do this?”

  Phoebe stroked his cheek. “I think you can do anything you set your mind to.”

  He seemed to grow several centimetres taller. “Then I’ll try!” he declared.

  “You’d better be quick!” whinnied Moonbeam.

  Phoebe gasped as she looked out to sea and saw a huge blue wall of water rolling towards them. It seemed to blot out half the sky. We’re doomed she thought, but then she realised she had a very important job to do and she had to stay calm. She didn’t speak her thought out loud. “You can do this, Shimmer,” she told him fiercely. “I know you can.”

  “We believe in you, Shimmer!” cried Zara, lifting her voice above the thundering of the water.

  “Try, please try!” begged Lily as their unicorns whinnied encouragement.

  Shimmer reared up and stamped both front hooves on the ground as hard as he could. A massive blue ball of energy exploded from his hooves and shot through the air, towards the incoming tsunami. Phoebe held her breath as it smashed into it.

  “Again, Shimmer!” she cried.

  Zara whooped. “We’re combining magic and science. This is amazing! Go, Shimmer!”

  Shimmer stamped his hooves over and over again. Huge balls of energy bowled through the air, hitting the tidal wave one after the other. Shimmer’s sides heaved and his legs began to buckle, and still he kept on.

  “The wave is slowing down!” yelled Lily. “I’m sure of it.”

  “Keep going!” shouted Aisha

  The gigantic wave had slowed but was still approaching. The thundering was so loud, Phoebe could hardly hear herself think. Her heart thumped for the villagers who wouldn’t have time to run for their lives – for her school friends on the clifftops, for the teachers and all the unicorns. Shimmer was their only hope. Her throat tightened. “Keep trying, Shimmer! Don’t give up!” she begged. “You can beat the wave!”

  The wave peaked, cresting in a huge curl of white froth.

  It’s over, thought Phoebe. But … wait … was that a wobble? The giant wave teetered as if it no longer had the strength to carry on. Gaps appeared in its body, holes breaking through the thick blue wall as the water splashed back into the sea and the wave slowly shrunk.

  “Fire again!” gasped Phoebe, giving Shimmer a kiss. His body trembled with tiredness but he cracked his hoof down on the ground, sending the largest bolt of pure magic yet spinning into the centre of the wave. The wave folded over as if it had been punched in its gut.

  As the wave teetered, a man’s voice could be heard bellowing furiously above the fading roar of the water. “You think you can stop me but you can’t. I will return, and next time, chaos will reign.”

  The tsunami collapsed into the sea, shooting a jet of water into the air.

  “We did it!” Shimmer panted.

  The frothing sea calmed to a gentle swell. Shimmer swayed too, exhausted from using so much magic. Hearing shouts, Phoebe looked round. The teachers and other students were galloping towards them and Mr Longnose was running from the opposite direction, from the coastal path by the village.

  “Is everyone safe?” asked Ms Nettles as Thyme skidded to a halt on the grass.

  Behind her, all the students were yelling.

  “Did you see that wave?”

  “It was massive!”

  “I thought it was going to hit us!”

  “What is going on here?” yelled Mr Longnose. His face was pale and his suit was creased and sandy. “What happened to the tsunami?”

  “It was Shimmer! He saved us!” cried Zara. “He’s got energy magic!”

  “It’s thanks to Zara’s science knowledge – she got Shimmer to use his magic to stop the tsunami and it worked!” gabbled Phoebe. She and Zara hugged in delight.

  Mr Longnose’s mouth gaped open. For once, he was lost for words.

  Ms Nettles also looked completely shocked. “Shimmer stopped the tsunami?”

  Zara nodded and smiled at Phoebe. “Tell everyone what happened, Phoebs!”

  Phoebe beamed as everyone turned to her. She was centre stage and this time she didn’t even have to make everything up. The truth was exciting enough!

  As she described their adventure, Ms Nettles’ glasses rattled so hard that they almost slid off her nose. “You saved everyone!” she said. “Thank you, Shimmer, for confronting danger head on to protect your friends and our island. And thank you, Phoebe, for being there for him. He could not have conjured enough energy if he hadn’t had you by his side, believing in him.”

  “I couldn’t have done it either if my friends hadn’t been there,” said Phoebe, smiling round at her dorm.

  Everyone surged forward to congratulate Amethyst dorm. Mr Longnose hung back awkwardly until Ms Tulip went over and helped brush his suit down, then Phoebe saw him start to smile and chat to her.

  Finally, Ms Nettles shooed everyone away. “Shimmer needs to rest and the girls should, too. I declare this a day off for everyone. We will spend our time at the beach.”

  “What about the tsunami and the man’s voice we heard? It was definitely the same one that we heard in the purple tornado,” Zara said.

  “Leave that to us,” said Ms Nettles, firmly. “The staff will investigate the matter.”

  As the teachers left, Phoebe fed Shimmer handfuls of sky berries until he began to get his energy back. “I’m so proud of you!”

  “I’m proud of you too,” he countered. “And guess what I’ve learned today? Being centre stage is so much nicer when you’ve actually worked hard to get there, especially if you do it with a friend. Defeating the tsunami was the most difficult but best thing I’ve ever done. I couldn’t have managed it without your help. We’re great partners! We’ll be guardians together for ever and that feels amazing.”

  Phoebe smiled. “I feel the same.”

  “Come on you two,” Zara ran over. “Ms Nettles said we can have our breakfast on the beach. Sausages cooked on the barbecue!”

  A short while later, Phoebe and the others were sitting on rugs on the sand, finishing off their sausage sandwiches while their unicorns splashed in the sea. “This is the nicest breakfast ever,” Phoebe said with a contented sigh. “Food always tastes better when it’s cooked and eaten outside.” She looked round at her friends. “Look, I just want to apologise to you all, but especially to Zara, for telling stories. I promise not to tell a story ever again!”

  “Don’t do that!” Aisha was alarmed. “We all love your stories.”

  “Ye
s, don’t change too much,” Lily added. “We really do like you just the way you are.”

  Zara grinned. “Just promise me you won’t make up stories about important things like suspects and clues any more, OK?”

  “OK,” said Phoebe. “I promise I won’t do that and I promise that I’ll always tell the truth when it matters.” She felt a rush of happiness. Her friends were the best!

  “You know, I keep thinking about that voice in the tsunami,” said Lily with a shiver.

  “I’ll return,” Phoebe mimicked in a spooky voice.

  “Who is he and what’s he going to do next time?” said Aisha.

  “We’ve got to try and find out.” Zara pulled the button out of her pocket. “I wonder if this is a clue. After all, even though you didn’t see the strange man in the ruined cottage, Phoebe, the villagers said they’d seen him near there. This could be from his clothes.”

  “I bet it is,” said Phoebe.

  They passed the button round.

  “I wonder why he wants to harm the island,” said Aisha.

  “I don’t know, but it’s a mystery I plan to solve.” Zara’s eyes shone. “Who’s with me?”

  “Me!” they all shouted back.

  “We’ll work out who the mystery man is and solve the crime!” whooped Phoebe. “Amethyst dorm are the best!”

  “Look at Shimmer,” said Lily suddenly. The unicorns were playing in the surf. Shimmer was stamping his hooves, sending mini bolts of magic bouncing across the water, soaking the other unicorns as the magic exploded in the waves.

  “Yay! Water fight!” shouted Phoebe, jumping up and running down to the surf line. She squealed with delight as Shimmer shot a ball of energy into the water, soaking her from her head to her toes. She flung her arms round his neck. “Do you know something?”