‘Definitely!’ Hannah replied. ‘Maybe I can stay for a whole week then. Oh, Lauren! Thanks for reminding me how much I like being with ponies. I’m never ever going to let myself forget again.’

‘I won’t let you!’ Lauren said, smiling at her. ‘I’m going to be emailing you photos of Twilight and Magpie all the time.’

‘You’d better be!’ Hannah said. She yawned. ‘I’m tired. It must be all the riding.’

They hugged each other and said goodnight. Lauren went to her room and waited for her parents to go to bed too. Luckily they liked to go to bed early because of having to be up to feed the animals on the farm in the morning. While Lauren waited, she looked through the chest. The book was very old and seemed to contain lots of information about the different types of unicorn magic and what it could be used for.

Lauren rubbed her head. It was fascinating but she couldn’t take it in. She still couldn’t quite believe that she was supposed to be one of the Keepers of the Unicorns’ Secrets. How could she be? Surely she didn’t know enough about unicorn magic.

As soon as the house was quiet, she pulled her jeans back on and crept outside.

Twilight was waiting for her. She said the spell and turned him into a unicorn.

‘Oh, Lauren!’ he snorted. ‘I can’t believe Mrs Fontana is dead.’

‘I know,’ Lauren said. ‘And I’m supposed to be the next Keeper of the Unicorns’ Secrets. But how, Twilight? I don’t know enough.’

Twilight looked at her, his eyes deep and dark. ‘Mrs Fontana wouldn’t have chosen you if she didn’t think you could do it, Lauren. And you’ve got the book and I’ll help you.’

‘I suppose,’ Lauren said, feeling slightly comforted. ‘What do you think we’ll have to do?’

‘Help unicorns and their friends, just like Mrs Fontana did.’ Twilight looked thoughtful. ‘I guess it means we have to start looking out for unicorns to help, instead of just helping your friends and the people that you meet with their problems.’

‘So everything’s going to change,’ Lauren said.

‘Things always do,’ Twilight told her softly.

Lauren remembered the words of Mrs Fontana’s note. This is the way it has to be, she thought. She leaned her head against Twilight’s warm neck. ‘Do you think when Unicorn Friends die they get to go to Arcadia with their unicorns? Maybe that’s where we saw Mrs Fontana going last night?’

‘I’m not sure,’ Twilight replied doubtfully.

‘Maybe they are in Arcadia together,’ Lauren said. She had an idea. ‘I know. Why don’t we use the rose quartz stones to look for them!’

Twilight could use his magic to see people wherever they were in the world. All he had to do was touch his horn to a rock of rose quartz.

Lauren swung herself on to his back and they flew to the far end of the field where there were some rocks of rose quartz.