Dave the Unicorn: Welcome to Unicorn School

by Pip Bird

  “Maybe he just doesn’t like you?” said Darcy.

  “What?!” Mira spat out her Rainbow Pie.

  Darcy shrugged. “Just saying. He’s getting you in trouble a lot.”

  “We can swap if you like?” said Freya. She hadn’t been able to eat yet because Princess was hugging her so hard she couldn’t move her arms. Raheem looked up. He was having a unicorn-free lunch. Brave had gone outside to charge around and leap over jumps.

  “You can’t swap your unicorn!” said Darcy, shocked.

  Mira was a little sad. She didn’t really feel like she’d bonded with Dave yet. Mostly he’d been asleep, grumpy, or naughty. BUT he was who he was. And he was her unicorn!

  Mira shook her head firmly. “No,” she said. “Dave does like me. He’ll get the hang of school soon.”

  “He’d better hurry up,” a voice chimed in. They looked up to see Jake standing by their table looking smug. “If you want to go on the quest that is. You already have TWO Havoc Points and if you get three then that’s detention and you have to stay here while we all go questing.”

  “I wouldn’t mind getting detention and staying here,” muttered Raheem, as Jake and Pegasus strode away. Mira crossed her arms. There was NO WAY she was getting another Havoc Point and missing the quest!

  * * *

  Mira and Dave managed to keep out of trouble for the rest of the day. And the next morning it was time for their first riding lesson!

  Miss Glitterhorn had said that the best rider would be given the honor of leading the quest. Jake had told them all that he’d been taking riding lessons since he was a baby, so he was 100 percent sure he was going to be quest leader. Mira knew she wouldn’t be the best, but she didn’t care about being particularly good at riding—just as long as she and Dave made it on to the quest.

  Class Red filed into the meadow at the front of the school. It was being decorated for the first quest party. Glittery flags hung from trees and hedges. Class Green was blowing up balloons and Class Indigo was helping Miss Ponytail, the art teacher, set up a giant knitted scene of the Great Quest of 1488 (that was when Unicornardo da Vinci invented a horned helicopter and flew it over Diamond Lake).

  The first quest was a BIG deal at Unicorn School. When Class Red had completed their quest, the entire school would come out to celebrate with them.

  “What do you think the quest will be?” Flo said, hopping from foot to foot with excitement. She was wearing a homemade horn that wobbled back and forth.

  “I bet we’ll have to climb a mountain and then probably fight a witch,” said Darcy, pointing at the glittery ice-capped mountains that loomed behind the forest.

  Raheem looked alarmed.

  Jake smirked. “My dad said the first quest is always super dangerous and not everyone makes it back—only the BEST unicorns and their riders.”

  Raheem had to go sit down.

  Miss Glitterhorn rounded up Class Red by clapping her hands. “It’s time for your riding lesson, class! Please escort your unicorns to the stables to glitter-shoe their hooves.”

  “Miss, Miss!” Darcy waved her hand in the air. “What are glitter shoes?”

  “Don’t you know ANYTHING?” Jake scoffed. “They’re not glitter shoes, it’s ‘glitter-shoe.’ Unicorns need glitter to protect their hooves before they can be ridden. There’s a glitter-shoe box outside every stall.”

  “Thank you, Jake, but be nice, please,” said Miss Glitterhorn. “Yes, glitter is very important for unicorns. It keeps their hooves safe and makes their horns sparkle. But the horn glitter is only for very special occasions. Now, hurry up, everyone. Glitter-shoe your friends!”

  Once the unicorns all had glittered feet (and Darcy had glitter-rimmed her wheels), they lined up in the paddock. Miss Glitterhorn showed them how to mount a unicorn using the mounting block. Darcy had an awesome harness that helped her out of her chair and onto Star. Raheem thought it looked like a much safer way to get on Brave, but Miss Glitterhorn wouldn’t let him use it.

  Dave stood very calmly next to the mounting block while Mira put her helmet on. That was a good start, she thought. But then she tried getting onto him, and Dave kicked up his back legs and tipped her into a bush.

  Mira picked a clump of leaves out of her hair. She stroked Dave’s muzzle and gently placed both hands on his back and climbed onto … nothing as Dave trotted to the other side of the fence. Mira landed with a thump on the grass.

  This. Was. Not. Fair!

  The others were happily mounting and dismounting their unicorns and practicing going from a walk to a trot around the edges of the paddock.

  Mira could feel tears pricking at her eyes. Why didn’t Dave let her ride? Why wouldn’t he behave properly? WHY was he making Unicorn School so difficult? All Mira had ever wanted was to come here and make a unicorn best friend and earn tons of medals so she could put them on the shelf at home. Was that TOO MUCH TO ASK?

  Mira was really crying now. She put her hands over her face so that no one could see. She felt a nudge at her back.

  Looking over her shoulder, she saw Dave. Mira sniffed. “Leave me alone, Dave.”

  But Dave ducked down and, with a flick of his nose, tipped Mira up and onto his back. Then he trotted over to the rest of the class and joined the back of the line, as the unicorns took turns weaving in and out of sparkly cones set up all around the field.

  Mira sniffed loudly and wiped her nose on the sleeve of her shirt. Then she leaned down to give Dave a hug. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  Dave flicked his ears in response.

  Over the next couple of hours, they practiced walking, trotting, and cantering, plus communicating with their unicorns using their voices and their bodies. Dave didn’t put a hoof wrong—and Mira couldn’t stop grinning!

  Then it was time to learn the unicorn and rider’s most important skill: prancing. The unicorns had to pick their feet up high and bounce along. It was a bit like trotting and very bumpy. Miss Glitterhorn shouted words of encouragement. “Good, Jake, but straighten your back. Not so bouncy, Flo! Raheem, just GET BACK on your unicorn … Excellent. Who’s that? Mira! Mira?! Oh! Gosh! Well—excellent, well done. Lovely prancing!”

  Mira was so surprised at getting praise from Miss Glitterhorn that she nearly fell off Dave!

  Darcy grinned and held up her hand for a high five when Mira got back to the line. “You guys are totally going to get a Best at Prancing medal!”

  Mira couldn’t quite believe it. For the first time, lessons were going well at Unicorn School. She stroked Dave’s scratchy mane between his ears. He gave a proud fart.

  Miss Glitterhorn clapped to get their attention again. “I’m delighted to say that, for the loveliest prancing I’ve seen in a long time, our leaders for the first quest will be … Mira and Dave!”

  Mira thought she might actually burst with pride.

  “But…,” Jake blurted out.

  “Yes, Jake?” said Miss Glitterhorn, looking surprised.

  “But my dad was quest leader on all the quests he ever did. He…” Jake’s voice wavered, and he looked down and twiddled his fingers. Mira thought he might be crying.

  “Oh, Jake,” said Miss Glitterhorn, “there will be plenty of chances to be the leader. Now, one more prance around the paddock, then it’s dinnertime!”

  The unicorns got into line, but Jake was still looking down and fiddling with something in his pocket. Mira nudged Dave with her foot and they rode over to Jake and Pegasus.

  “Are you okay?” said Mira. And then she stopped. “Is that a doughnut? Why do you have…?”

  With a sly grin, Jake threw the doughnut across the paddock. Dave bolted after the snack, which sailed over the fence.

  Mira clung desperately onto Dave’s mane. Everything around her was a blur! Dave soared over the fence and thudded down on the other side.

  Mira could see people and unicorns scattering and objects flying in all directions. Something was ahead of them … A colorful, glittering rectangular shap
e stretched across their path.

  Then suddenly, Dave skidded to a halt—Mira lurched forward, but she clung on. She saw the doughnut lying on the ground just in front of them.

  “Phew!” she panted, sitting up straight. Then Dave gave a buck and Mira was tipped off his back. She went straight through the glittery shape and landed with a bump on the grass. She could hear voices saying strange things like “The mural!” and “I spent five years knitting that!”

  “That—Mira Desai—is a Havoc Point,” said a very angry Miss Glitterhorn.

  Mira stood up dizzily. “But, wait … No! Three Havoc Points means…”

  Miss Glitterhorn frowned. “No quest for you.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  An Unexpected Quest

  Mira sat in the classroom, looking at her drawing of Princess Delilah Sparklehoof. Everyone else had gone to the first quest farewell ceremony. She could hear them all cheering outside. Mira didn’t want to go to the ceremony. She knew she’d feel even worse watching the rest of the class going off on their quest and seeing how excited they all were.

  Jake had denied all knowledge of the doughnut and was made quest leader. The mural that Mira had sailed straight through, making a big hole, was currently being repaired by Class Yellow.

  Mira sighed and put the Princess Delilah Sparklehoof picture in her bag. Then she set off for the PE office, where she’d been told to go for her detention. As she walked down the corridor, she heard a snort and turned to see Dave trotting beside her. He nosed around in her bag.

  “I don’t have any snacks, Dave,” said Mira. Dave pulled out the Princess Delilah Sparklehoof picture.

  “NO! Don’t eat that!” Mira snatched the picture back and smoothed it down. “Princess Delilah wouldn’t have gotten me in trouble,” she said quietly.

  Dave looked at Mira and blinked. Then he continued trotting down the corridor.

  When they reached the office, a fierce-looking PE teacher named Miss Hind was sitting behind a desk.

  But she wasn’t the only person in the room.

  “Darcy!” exclaimed Mira. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be on the quest?”

  “TELL me about it,” cried Darcy. “It’s an absolute outrage! I have been making a VITAL contribution in every lesson.” Star snorted in support.

  “Yes,” said Miss Hind, “but you haven’t done any of your work.”

  Just then, in walked Raheem and Brave.

  “What are YOU doing here?” said Mira and Darcy together.

  “I’m in detention,” he said.

  Darcy frowned. “Really? What did you do?”

  “I put unicorn poop in Miss Glitterhorn’s bag and got three Havoc Points at once!” he replied, his eyes wide, almost as though he couldn’t believe it himself.

  “WHAT?!” said Darcy.

  Unicorn poop was very small and neat and glittery, but it was still poop.

  The teacher grunted from her desk and gestured for them to be quiet.

  “Why would you get put in detention on purpose?” Mira whispered, as Raheem sat down.

  “I thought you might like some company!” Raheem grinned.

  Mira wondered if it was more about not having to go on the quest, but she didn’t say anything.

  Brave seemed quite angry with Raheem and was refusing to look at him.

  “Did you hear what the task was?” asked Darcy.

  “No,” said Mira glumly.

  “It’s GLITTER PICKING,” Darcy replied. “It sounds absolutely awful. I’m glad we’re not going.”

  I’d happily go glitter picking, thought Mira, as the teacher told them to stop talking.

  * * *

  Miss Hind led them into the stables. She pointed to a pile of dustpans and brooms and a poop shovel, and told them that their detention task would be mucking out ALL the unicorn stables. Then she turned and headed into the PE office. They heard her turn on the TV.

  “What?” said Raheem, horrified. “I thought we’d be writing lines or tidying up the stationery cupboard!”

  “More poop for you, Raheem!” Darcy giggled. “Well, have fun. Star and I have stuff to do.” They scooted off to the other side of the stables, where they appeared to be looking at photos on Darcy’s phone.

  Mira wondered if you could get medals in detention. She hadn’t imagined her first medal would be Best at Picking Up Poop, but at least it would BE a medal.

  “Come on,” she said. “We have a lot of poop to get through.”

  It wasn’t so bad at first—the neat little unicorn poops were pretty easy to pick up. But Dave’s poops, of course, were different. They were sloppy and messy. And giant. Every time they cleared a stable, he would add a new poop on top of the straw, like it was a fun game.

  Mira paused for a moment and stared out toward the forest. She wondered what Class Red was doing now.

  Then she saw a bolt of glittery light shoot up from the trees and into the sky.

  “Guys!” she shouted. “Quick!”

  “What?” said Raheem nervously.

  Darcy wheeled over. “Hey, how’s it going? Oh, Raheem, you missed a bit.”

  “They set off a flare!” said Mira. “I read about flares in the handbook.” She tried hard to remember what it had said. She had been distracted by the photos of the unicorns … Then she remembered something Rani had told her. “OH! It could be a DISTRESS FLARE! It’s a signal that means they’re in danger!”

  Raheem’s eyes went wide, but Darcy looked unsure. “They’re glitter picking,” she said. “The worst that could happen is someone could get trapped in a trash bag.”

  “Actually, they collect the glitter in special boxes,” said Raheem. “And it’s really valuable. And they said at the farewell ceremony that they need to collect tons to fill the Great Horn at the quest party, and they collect it at the Glitter Glade, which is an amazingly special place. So glitter picking is a really important que— Ow!”

  Darcy elbowed him and looked pointedly at Mira. “It’s a silly quest and we are not missing out.”

  Mira looked out one more time, but the forest was still and silent. She sighed. The Glitter Glade sounded completely magical. She wished she were there now.

  A few minutes later something made them all stop. A long, low howl rang out from the forest.

  It got louder and louder, and then was accompanied by other sounds—screeches and rumbles. They all looked at one another.

  “The Dangers of the Forest,” whispered Raheem fearfully.

  “What?” Mira frowned.

  “I read a book before I came here about all the possible dangers that lurk within the Fearsome Forest,” Raheem said. “There were ninety-seven. And lots of them can be identified by their sound. That could have been a bear, or a werewolf, or an earthquake—an avalanche…”

  More howling and moaning rang out from the forest.

  “A land whale?” suggested Darcy.

  “Should we go and get Miss Hind?” said Mira. She felt weirdly excited. Obviously she didn’t want Class Red to be in danger, but if they were, they would need rescuing …

  “She might think we’re being silly,” said Raheem.

  Miss Hind did think they were being silly. She said the forest made all sorts of noises and that they’d probably imagined the flare. And she was very annoyed that they had interrupted her during a crucial moment in Champion WUWF (Worldwide Unicorn Wrestling Federation).

  “I’m sure something’s wrong,” said Mira, as they walked into the yard. “What if they ARE in danger and we don’t do anything at all? We can’t just stay here and do nothing!”

  She paused for a moment and stared at Dave and then back at the forest. “Team. I think it’s time for a RESCUE QUEST!”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  The Fearsome Forest

  Darcy was very much up for the adventure, and Raheem reluctantly agreed that they should make sure everyone was okay, as long as he could take some essential items with him on the trip. The items that Raheem considered
essential were: his Dangers of the Forest book, a first-aid kit, a flashlight, sunscreen, antibacterial ointment, two changes of clothes, a waterproof coat and pants, a reflective jacket, knee pads, a notebook, his special rock collection, his lucky teddy bear, three packed lunches, and an extra pair of emergency socks.

  Brave was stamping his foot at the entrance to the stable yard, impatient for them to get going. He had stopped ignoring Raheem now that they were going on a quest, and he was only a little annoyed when he realized how heavy Raheem’s backpack was.

  “RIGHT!” shouted Mira. “We are going. On a QUEST. And we are going to rescue our class and we are going to get a medal for it. And we are going to have THE TIME OF OUR LIVES!”

  Mira rustled some treats until Dave woke up, and then she jumped on his back.

  “Okay, people,” said Darcy. “It’s showtime. Which way are we going?”

  Mira blinked hard and held out the map of the school grounds. Dave turned around and sniffed at it. “Class Red was heading to the Glitter Glade. So, we … we take that path and follow it into the forest, and then just as the path splits we—”

  Dave ate the map.

  Raheem sighed. “Well, now that we don’t have the map, we’d better stay here.”

  “We don’t need maps,” said Darcy. “We’ll follow our HEARTS! Or … just pick a random path and go for it.”

  Star set off on the bridle path out of the school grounds. Raheem squealed as Brave galloped after them.

  Mira gave Dave a pat on the neck. He did one last poop, and then they set off after their friends.

  * * *

  Everything seemed so much more bright and shiny to Mira as they rode to the edge of the paddock. This was a quest! An ACTUAL quest!