A Unicorn Adventure! by Chloe Ryder Page B

what’s happening.”
    â€œNo!” Stardust dug her hooves into the ground. “You can’t go into the Cloud Forest. It’s far too scary.”
    â€œI’m not scared,” Honey said stubbornly.
    â€œWait!” Pippa said, as Stardust started to trot away. “If most ponies are too afraid to enter the Cloud Forest, doesn’t that make it a perfect place to hide a horseshoe?”
    Stardust stopped and stared at Pippa. “You’re right,” she agreed.
    â€œLet’s go then,” Pippa said bravely. “We can look for horseshoes and singing unicorns at the same time.”

Chapter 2
    Stardust hesitated, but Pippa and Honey were already stepping toward the line of trees that marked the entrance to the Cloud Forest. A thick mist swirled around the trees, making it impossible to see more than a tail’s length ahead. Pippa took tiny steps, squinting to try to see her way.
    â€œWatch out,” Honey called, tossing her red-brown mane.
    Pippa stopped. A thick green bundle of vines, coarse like old rope, wound down from an enormous tree and blocked their way.
    â€œAre they poisonous?” she asked.
    â€œNo, just heavy,” Honey said, pushing them back with her nose as Pippa and Stardust joined her. “The first time I came here, the vines took me by surprise and I walked straight into them. You should have seen the bruise I got—it hurt for days.”
    â€œThey’re very easy to miss in this mist,” said Pippa.
    Pippa walked past the vines, holding them out of the way, then let them go when Stardust and Honey were clear.
    â€œVines like that could knock out an elephant,” Pippa giggled, watching them swing back across the path like a giant pendulum.
    â€œWhat’s an elephant?” Honey and Stardust asked together.
    â€œWell,” Pippa began, searching for the right words. “Elephants are much bigger than ponies, and have thick gray skin. They have long trunks that extend from their faces that they use to drink water.”
    â€œNow
that
sounds like a creature for a bedtime story!” said Honey.
    â€œNot if you want a good night’s sleep!” Stardust laughed. “They sound scary.”
    As they walked farther into the forest, the mist closed in behind them and seemed to swallow them up. Pippa stared around nervously, half expecting a dinosaur to lumber out of the oversized trees. The ground was springy with a thick carpet of leaves. A huge, green plant grew everywhere, with leaves like airplane wings and vibrant red flowers.
    â€œIt’s like an ancient forest,” she whispered.
    â€œIt is an ancient forest,” Honey whispered back.
    â€œIt smells wonderful.” Stardust stopped to take a deep breath.
    â€œListen.” Pippa tilted her head to one side. She could still hear voices singing in the distance, but now there was a new, burbling noise competing with them. “What is that?” she asked.

    The sound was familiar but she couldn’t figure out what it was.
    Stardust tossed her head. “I can hear it too.”
    â€œIt’s a stream,” said Honey. “The forest has lots of brooks and ponds. They’re partly why everything grows so well here.”
    The ground became spongier as they followed the sound of the beautiful voices. Water oozed through Pippa’s sandals, making her toes wet. Stardust daintily flicked her hooves, showering Pippa’s legs with sparkling droplets of moisture. Pippa couldn’t help giggling. The noise sounded out of place in the impressive forest, like laughing out loud in a library.
    â€œThat was cold!” she said.
    â€œSorry.” Stardust hung back so that she didn’t splash Pippa anymore.
    The ground grew boggier until, finally, they reached a brook. It was small enough to jump. Honey went first, clearing it easily, then turned back and called for the others to join her.
    Before Pippa could go anywhere though,