Sophia and Rainbow

by Julie Sykes

  “What do you mean?” Rainbow plunged his whole head into the water and then shook droplets everywhere, making Sophia giggle. “It seems the same to me.”

  Star looked puzzled. “Don’t you think it smells a bit different, and the colours look a little dull?”

  “Possibly,” Rainbow said slowly. “But if there’s a problem, Ms Primrose will definitely know about it. Sage said she knows everything!” He snorted. “Come on, we’re supposed to be exploring! Where shall we go next?”

  “I don’t mind,” said Sophia. “But I want to see everything!”

  Rainbow whinnied eagerly and the four friends set off side by side.

  The stable block was amazing! Everything was so clean and shiny. Sophia loved the silver water troughs that filled up magically with the brightly coloured lake water and she was impressed with the remote-controlled trolleys that moved bales of straw and piles of sky berries around. There were six rows of stables, each with a storeroom that doubled as a feed room. Outside were two sand schools and one that was covered with a dome of hexagonal glass panes with jumps laid out inside. Sophia looked at them in excitement. She couldn’t wait to jump with Rainbow.

  Rainbow sensed her excitement. “We’ll jump really high together, won’t we?”

  “We will,” Sophia promised him.

  Rainbow whinnied happily.

  After looking around the stable yard, Sophia and Ava rode Rainbow and Star back into the grounds. Rainbow suggested they galloped again but Sophia made an excuse. Galloping had been amazing but she didn’t like that it had made her forget about Clover so easily.

  The school was surrounded by gardens, where an army of gardeners was hard at work. Where the gardens ended, there was a maze and a play area with jumps for the unicorns and a roundabout and swing boats for the students. Beyond that was a wood, and in the other direction a cross-country course with notices saying that both were out of bounds unless students were accompanied by a teacher. Someone was riding a unicorn with an electric-blue mane and tail over the jumps. Sophia recognised the unicorn and his blond-haired rider. “Billy and Lightning!” she called.

  Billy didn’t look embarrassed at being caught breaking a rule and waved cheerfully.

  “Race you back to the stables, girls!” Billy yelled, wheeling Lightning round.

  “We’re not racing!” shouted Ava.

  “I am!” shouted Rainbow.

  “Wait!” cried Sophia.

  But Rainbow wasn’t listening. Head stretched forwards, he galloped after Lightning. Wind rushed at Sophia’s face and her hair streamed behind her as Rainbow flew along. He was galloping so fast that his hooves barely touched the ground. It felt amazing and she gave in to the rush of excitement that was surging through her, leaning forwards and urging him on.

  Rainbow caught Lightning up and they raced along side by side.

  “We’re gonna beat you!” whooped Billy.

  “Come on, Rainbow!” Sophia cried, as the stable yard came into sight.

  Rainbow leapt forwards and reached the gate first.

  “We won!” Sophia’s brown eyes shone as Billy and Lightning pulled up alongside.

  “This time,” said Billy amicably. “But you wait, we’ll get you back.”

  “Never!” declared Rainbow, stamping his hoof, his dark eyes shining.

  Dinner was eaten in the refectory, a long room with glass windows overlooking the lake. At night, it was lit by hundreds of tiny white lights and it sparkled prettily in the dark. Sophia was hungry after such a busy afternoon and she piled food on to her plate from the dishes set out on a long counter. The drinks fountain was a miniature copy of the one in the lake and dispensed water and twenty different types of fruit juice. It was the perfect accompaniment to the cheese-topped lasagne, freshly baked garlic bread and salad.

  “It’s been a wonderful day,” said Ava as she and Sophia walked to their dormitory after dinner.

  “Wonderful,” agreed Sophia.

  Sapphire dorm had a sparkly blue door with matching curtains. There were six beds, three on each side, all covered with blue and silver duvets. Each girl had a small wardrobe and chest of drawers to put her things in. Lamps lit by shiny sapphire stones softly illuminated the room.

  Sophia set out her things: a lucky horseshoe – Clover’s of course – and a photo of Mum, Harry and Clover. Despite her amazing day, her stomach twisted suddenly with homesickness as she picked the photo up. She missed her mum and brother but most of all she missed Clover. She looked at Clover’s cute face, his sweet eyes and diamond-shaped blaze. Was he missing her too? Oh, Clover, Sophia thought. I wish I knew that you were OK. She brushed a small tear away quickly.

  “Is this your first time away from home?” Ava appeared at Sophia’s side, her face full of concern.

  Sophia nodded, not trusting herself to speak in case she burst into tears. She didn’t want anyone to think she was a crybaby, she just really missed Clover.

  “The first night is always the worst. You’ll feel better tomorrow. We’re going to be far too busy to be homesick once lessons start.”

  “Thanks,” mumbled Sophia. It was kind of Ava to comfort her but she didn’t think she would feel better in the morning, not without knowing how Clover was managing.

  Ava looked at the photo in Sophia’s hands. “Is that your pony? He’s really sweet. I guess you must be missing him lots?”

  Sophia nodded. Ava glanced at her face and then gave her a quick hug. “You’ll see him again soon,” she said softly. “It will be half term before you know it.”

  Sophia hugged Ava back. “Thanks,” she said.

  Ava smiled understandingly and they got into their night-things.

  The narrow dormitory beds were very comfortable. The moment Sophia snuggled down under her feather-filled duvet her eyes started to droop. She was surprised when the next thing she knew the room was lit with bright sunlight.

  “It’s so cold,” she muttered, shivering as she pulled on a thick hoodie. Sophia came from the west, where even in the rainy season the weather was warm.

  Ava rolled out of bed and landed in a heap on the floor. “Ouch, she groaned. “This bed is narrower than my one at home.”

  After breakfast, all the new first years were split into two forms. Everyone from Sapphire dorm was in a form along with the boys from Diamond dorm and the girls from Emerald. With both cheeky Billy and stuck-up Valentina in her class, Sophia knew things would be interesting. She was pleased that the first lesson was in the stables with Ms Rosemary, who was both her new form tutor and the Care of Unicorns teacher. Valentina led the way there, bragging loudly about the fantastic Golden Briar to two girls from her dorm.

  “Golden Briar and I are practically bonded already. I expect he will be the first unicorn to discover his magic as well. I can’t wait to tell my parents! They’re both governors, you know.”

  Ava raised her eyebrows and Sophia giggled.

  Ms Rosemary was waiting for the girls in the stables with her own unicorn, who had a pink and purple striped mane.

  “Our first lesson is in unicorn care,” Ms Rosemary told the assembled students. “Who can tell me what unicorns like to eat?”

  Valentina yawned loudly. “Easy peasy, lemon squeezy,” she whispered in a bored voice.

  Ms Rosemary fixed her with a steely glare. “Wrong, Valentina. Unicorns don’t eat lemons or peas.”

  There was a shout of laughter. Valentina looked like she might stamp her foot. She scowled, silencing the giggles of her two new friends.

  A girl from Sophia’s dorm put up her hand. “Yes, Layla?” said Ms Rosemary.

  “A unicorn’s favourite food is sky berries, collected from the mountains behind the school,” Layla said shyly. “They also need to drink the lake water every day, as this strengthens their magic.”

  “Very good,” said Ms Rosemary. “If unicorns do not drink the lake water their powers will start to fade and they may become ill.”

  The teacher looked round at the group
. “Don’t forget, your unicorns love your company. They also love being groomed and made a fuss of and this will help you to bond, so our first lesson is going to be learning how to plait your unicorn’s mane and tail. Follow me, girls and boys!”

  Clutching a length of sparkly silver ribbons in one hand and a grooming box in the other, Sophia joined Rainbow in his stable. The unicorn whickered in delight.

  “Are the ribbons for me? Are you going to plait them in my mane and tail?”

  “I am,” said Sophia, stroking Rainbow’s neck. “But first I’m going to groom you. You’ve got sky berry juice on your face.”

  Sophia hung the ribbons in Rainbow’s stable but before she could reach for a brush a scream rang out.

  “Aaargh! Help! There’s a gross frog with bulgy eyes in my grooming kit.”

  Valentina! Sophia recognised her shrill voice at once.

  “And there’s one in mine!”

  “Mine too! Ugh! Yuck!”

  Sophia went to her door. There was chaos in the stables. Valentina had clambered into a hay manger for safety, where she was fending off three other girls who were trying to climb up too. The floor was covered with frogs, with knobbly blue skin and huge orange eyes.

  “Don’t hurt them! Everyone, stand still,” said Ava, rushing past Sophia with a bucket half-filled with water. Kneeling down, she began carefully putting the frogs into it.

  Sophia went to help. There was a large frog in her own grooming kit and she scooped it up in her hands then went in search of a bucket too. When the last frog had been rescued, the boys sauntered in, led by Billy. Sophia guessed at once from his amused expression that he’d been behind the prank.

  “Boys!” said Ava crossly, and strode towards Billy. She didn’t even reach his shoulder but she put her hands on her hips and glared at him. “That was really mean of you. The poor frogs! You shouldn’t treat animals that way.”

  Sophia blinked in surprise. Ava was so gentle and sweet but she clearly had a temper too.

  “I hate it when people are unkind to animals!” Ava continued. “I won’t let it happen!”

  Billy lifted his hands. “Whoa! OK, we’re sorry. We won’t do it again.”

  “You’d better not!” said Ava, fixing him with a glare that was worthy of Ms Nettles. “Where did you find these frogs?”

  “In a pond in the woods—” Billy broke off as Ms Rosemary came up behind them.

  “What’s going on here?” asked the teacher.

  The boys shuffled their feet uneasily.

  “Nothing, Ms Rosemary,” said Ava, holding the bucket behind her back.

  Sophia was glad Ava hadn’t told Ms Rosemary that the boys had been responsible. As annoying as the prank had been, the frogs hadn’t been hurt. Sophia had a feeling that the boys would think twice about playing a trick like that again – especially when Ava was around!

  At lunchtime, instead of going to the refectory, Sophia, Rainbow, Ava and Star sneaked away to the woods. Sophia and Ava each carried a bucket of frogs.

  “Are you sure this is a good idea?” asked Ava. “The woods are out of bounds and I’ve heard they’re really dangerous.”

  “We won’t need to go far,” said Sophia. “Billy said they’d only just started exploring the woods for a dare when they found the frogs.”

  “Be careful, everyone,” said Star. “There are dangerous creatures in here.”

  Rainbow snorted. “I wonder if we’ll meet any!”

  The four of them entered the woods. The thick canopy of leaves overhead blocked out the sunlight and the air felt cold as they rode down a path that twisted its way round thorny bushes and ancient tree trunks.

  Sophia shivered and wrapped her hands in Rainbow’s thick mane to keep them warm. The woods did feel scary and dangerous. She glanced at the shadows, wondering what might be hiding there.

  Rainbow pushed through some brambles as the path narrowed. Sophia looked into the bucket to check the frogs were OK and frowned. “Weird. The water in this bucket has changed! It was dusty and dirty before but now it’s totally clear. Has yours changed too?” she asked Ava.

  Ava checked. “Yes!” she said in surprise.

  “It must be something to do with the frogs,” said Star.

  Ava looked thoughtful. “It could be. Maybe there’s some magic in them.”

  “Look! Is that the pond?” exclaimed Rainbow. He trotted down the path towards a grove of small trees and pushed his way through the branches. “Yes! We’re here!” he said as he stepped into a clearing. The pond water was glittering just like the water in the buckets. There were lots of frogs perched on lily pads or diving into the water and butterflies fluttered through the sunlit air.

  The frogs in the bucket started croaking excitedly.

  “I think we’ve come to the right place,” Ava said with a grin.

  She and Sophia dismounted and carefully carried the frogs over to the pond. They knelt down and the frogs leapt happily into the water.

  “Home at last,” said Sophia, emptying the water out of the bucket.

  “Now we’d better get back home,” said Star, looking round anxiously. “I don’t like these woods. They feel creepy.”

  They remounted and the unicorns cantered back down the path. As they burst out of the trees into the warm rays of the sun and saw the lake sparkling in front of them, Sophia felt a rush of relief. “Race you back!” she cried. Rainbow and Star whinnied and galloped across the short grass towards the stables.

  The first couple of weeks whizzed by. Sophia’s favourite lessons were the ones taught outside with the unicorns. Often, her class would ride around the grounds learning about different environments and how best to care for them. Ava loved outdoor lessons just as much as Sophia. She persuaded the head gardener to give her a patch of the kitchen garden. Ava was proud of the herbs and edible plants she started to grow, and spent hours tending them. Sophia helped her and in return Ava rode out with Sophia, jumping fallen trees and having races.

  The days were so busy that Sophia didn’t have much time to think about Clover. But at night, lying in bed, Sophia couldn’t stop worrying about her old pony and feeling guilty at how well she was getting on with Rainbow. The unicorn was such fun and Sophia loved his lively nature.

  One afternoon at the end of the second week, Sophia and Ava were out riding, looking for some rare blue winter poppies so Ava could collect some seeds, when they came across Lucy, a girl from Ruby dorm, sitting on the path. Her unicorn, Cherry, was peering down at Lucy’s ankle.

  “Are you all right?” Sophia asked.

  Lucy grimaced. “Not really. I tripped over and now I can’t stand up.”

  As Sophia and Ava dismounted to try to help, Cherry nuzzled Lucy’s ankle, blowing softly on it. Pink sparkles flew out of her nostrils and the air smelled of burnt sugar.

  “Oooh, that feels nice,” said Lucy as the sparkles swirled round her ankle. “It’s taking the pain away.”

  Cherry’s eyes widened. “I don’t know where those sparkles came from.”

  “It must be magic!” said Ava.

  Cherry continued to blow sparkles on to Lucy’s foot until she was able to scramble up again.

  “That’s amazing, Cherry!” she cried.

  “You’ve got healing powers,” gasped Sophia, staring at Cherry in awe.

  “Yes, I do,” said Cherry, snorting with excitement. “I can feel magic tingling inside me. Hooray!”

  Magic sparkles hung in the air as Cherry and Lucy hugged. Sophia felt a pang of envy but she smiled brightly.

  “That’ll be you soon,” she whispered to Rainbow. “I wonder what your powers will be! You’ll discover your magic before long. I just know you will!”

  Cherry was the first unicorn to discover her magical power. The news spread through the school like wildfire and everyone buzzed with excitement. Apart from Valentina, of course, who just scowled and said it had been a fluke. Sophia ignored her and wondered who would be next.

  One morning, after a
grooming lesson, Ms Rosemary asked her class to line up with their unicorns for an inspection. Rainbow’s coat shone in the winter sunlight and he arched his neck, proudly showing off the ribbons that Sophia had plaited through his mane.

  When Sophia and Rainbow joined Valentina at the start of the line, Rainbow tickled Golden Briar with his tail. “Look at me,” he said proudly. “Don’t I look smart?”

  Golden Briar whipped round and nipped Rainbow sharply on the neck. “Keep your horrible tail away from me!”

  “Ouch, that hurt!” cried Rainbow, shocked.

  Tossing his head, Golden Briar turned his back on Rainbow, aiming a kick at him for good measure.

  Valentina put her nose in the air. “It’s your own fault, Rainbow. You shouldn’t stand next to a unicorn like Golden Briar. You haven’t got any gold on you anywhere and everyone knows the best unicorns have to have gold. You should go to the end of the line where you belong.” Her two friends giggled. Valentina smirked at them. “In fact, if you don’t move away from me and Golden Briar right now, I shall speak to my parents. They’re governors here and they’ll make sure that you know your place.”

  “Excuse me!” Sophia was so cross she spluttered out her words. “How dare you speak to Rainbow like that! He’s brilliant!”

  Valentina laughed meanly. “Brilliant at being stupid.”

  Sophia lost her temper. “You’re the stupid one, Valentina!” she snapped. “You think you’re so great and so important but hardly anyone likes you! Maybe you should go to the end of the line?”

  There were a few whoops and cheers from the rest of the group.

  “You tell her, Sophia!” called Billy.

  Valentina’s eyes narrowed. “Why you…!”

  “Whatever is all the commotion about?” said Ms Rosemary, hurrying over with her unicorn, Blossom.