Wings That Shine Read online

  To my son, Jack, who is as strong and awesome as Duke. Love you!

  CONTENTS

  TITLE PAGE

  DEDICATION

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  SNEAK PEEK

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  ALSO AVAILABLE

  COPYRIGHT

  Skydancer rustled her wings in excitement as she listened to plans for the Homecoming celebration. It was her first month at the Enchanted Pony Academy, the magical school hidden beyond the clouds. At the academy she and the other Glitter Ponies worked on their magic to become pets for the royal children of the hundred kingdoms.

  “Homecoming is our first competition between the four barns,” explained Belissima, the lead pony of Skydancer’s barn, Earth barn. There were four barns at the school: Earth, Sun, Sky, and Water. “Homecoming is so much fun!”

  Skydancer’s best friend, Daisy, swished her tail and smiled. Every pony had a Glitter Gift, but Daisy had one of the most incredible ones. She could turn invisible! And she was a wonderful friend.

  “We must have the best float for the school-spirit contest,” Belissima went on, pacing up and down at the front of their barn. “We’ll use our magical talents to create an amazing float and then enter it in the parade around the exhibition field. Earth barn almost always wins, but we need some great ideas. Anyone have something spectacular in mind?”

  “I could put on a fireworks show,” said Stone, stomping his hooves. His Glitter Gift was making sparks shoot from his horn and he loved playing tricks and surprising other ponies. “Turn my sparks into fireworks!” A few pops fizzled from his horn.

  “Your spell didn’t rhyme. Of course it didn’t work!” said Lavender, making a row of posies bloom at her feet. She loved showing off her cool Glitter Gift. “I can certainly provide some flowers for the float!”

  Skydancer swished her tail. “I will ask my bird friends if they can fly along with the float and sing.” Since her Glitter Gift was talking to other winged creatures, she knew she could get them to help.

  “Great! We have to work together to create something amazing,” Belissima said. “But the student who works the hardest and contributes the most out of all the students in the four barns will be named Grand Pony Marshal of the Homecoming parade. The marshal even gets to pull the golden chariot around the track, leading the floats! All our former students will be returning to the school with their royal children for the celebration! Your families can come, too. It’s a wonderful day.”

  The ponies started whinnying and chattering.

  “And you get to wear this.” Belissima levitated a beautiful medal in front of the group. The rare gems from each barn were embedded in a gold circle. “This medal has been worn by the Grand Pony Marshal at Homecoming for hundreds of years. Usually, second-year ponies win that honor, but you never know! Maybe it’ll be your turn next. Pass it around for a closer look at it. But be careful. It is very old and very precious.”

  The ponies took turns admiring the incredible piece. Skydancer could imagine it shining brightly on her chest as she pranced around the exhibition field. Her parents would be so proud! She was their only pony, and they expected big things from her. That medal would prove she was as special as they hoped she’d be. And wouldn’t that be a great way to prove she’d be a perfect pet for the royal children someday? She was going to work her hardest on the float so she could be named Grand Pony Marshal.

  “Let’s get busy. Homecoming is in less than a week.” Belissima took back the medal.

  Skydancer couldn’t wait to talk to her bird friends for some float ideas. Maybe she could lasso a cloud and make it look like the float was … floating? Skydancer chuckled, amused by the funny thought.

  As the ponies started leaving, Belissima stopped Skydancer. “Could you fly this back to Headmaster Elegius? He wants to put it away for safekeeping. We’re lucky he even let us look at it.” She gave her the medal.

  “No problem.” Skydancer liked being helpful, especially here at the academy. Someday, she’d be helping her future owner, one of the royal children of the hundred kingdoms. She and the other ponies had to practice being of service.

  With the medal hanging around her neck, Skydancer flew toward the castle. The headmaster’s office was in one of the tall turrets. Skydancer soared through the air feeling positively majestic.

  I don’t have to go straight to his office, do I? she wondered. I’ll take it back in a little while. I’m going to enjoy this a bit longer.

  She swooped through the air over the training fields, then above the apple orchards. She had to be careful not to leave school grounds. That wasn’t allowed.

  She flew over the river, wondering if she’d see one of the seaponies rising to the surface. Skydancer and her friends had ventured out to spy on them when they’d first arrived at school. Later, Daisy befriended a seapony named Marina, trading apples for their delicious seaweed that grew in great forests underwater. Marina loved hearing about the Enchanted Pony Academy and comparing it to the school the seaponies attended to become helpers for the royal mer-children.

  Wouldn’t Marina be impressed if Skydancer became Grand Pony Marshal? Her parents would be, too. Everyone would be impressed. She was only a first-year student.

  She flapped her wings in the breeze, closing her eyes as she imagined the cheers she’d receive as Grand Pony Marshal.

  “Skydancer! Skydancer!” everyone would chant. She could almost hear her name ringing out across the field.

  She opened her eyes. She really could hear her name being called. Several bird friends were flying alongside her trying to get her attention.

  “Skydancer!” a bird called. “Stop!”

  What’s wrong?” Skydancer asked.

  “You’re too far away from the academy!” a sweet little red bird cried.

  Skydancer slowed down and realized she was in the middle of a cloud. “Where am I?” she asked nervously. She didn’t like being lost. And she definitely didn’t like feeling scared.

  “You’re in the cloud bank right by the craggy canyon!” a big black bird told her, angrily. “You’re not supposed to be here! It’s so far away from school!”

  “We tried to warn you, but you weren’t listening!” a blue bird said.

  Flapping her wings, Skydancer hovered in the air. “Thanks for stopping me,” she said to the birds. “I can’t imagine going anywhere near the craggy canyon.” The huge canyon surrounding the school helped keep it hidden so outsiders would stay away. She’d never seen it, but had heard it was incredibly scary, with jagged rocks jutting out and wild creatures filling it with their cries. The cloud bank formed a barrier between the canyon and the school as extra protection. Most ponies had never even seen the canyon. Most ponies had never even come near the cloud bank.

  “Hurry up and go back to school before you get in trouble!” the birds called as they flew away.

  “I will! Thanks!” She hadn’t even had time to ask them about helping with the float. But that was the least of her worries. Skydancer had no idea which way to go to get back to school. She flew straight ahead, but she was still in the cloud. She flew to the side and then in the other direction until she realized she was flying in circles! Would she be stuck in this cloud bank forever? She was terrified.

  Frustrated, Skydancer sped straight forward, certain she was headed toward the castle. Her racing heart slowed as she saw the cloud disappearing ahead. She must be going in the right direction.

  But th
en she heard shrieks and howls, and she knew she wasn’t flying toward the castle. She was flying right above the craggy canyon!

  She skidded to a halt in the air, terrified to fly too far over the deep gorge in the earth. But when she did, something awful happened. The medal flew off Skydancer’s neck and tumbled into the canyon.

  “Oh no!” She watched it fall into the deep abyss until it caught on a branch jutting out from the canyon wall. She could just barely see the bright glint of metal far below. Screeches and howls rose from the bottom of the pit.

  Tears filled her eyes. She was going to be in so much trouble—if she could even find her way back home. For a moment, she thought about flying down into the canyon to get it. But she was much too scared. What if her wings caught on a branch? What if something reached out and grabbed her?

  Skydancer hung her head. What child would want such a frightened pony for a pet? She was concentrating on guardianship in her studies. She would have to be brave to help the royal children rule their lands. How in the world could she ever learn to be more courageous?

  She turned straight around and flew as fast as she could through the clouds, hoping she was headed toward the castle this time. Her heart stopped pounding so hard when she heard her bird friends calling for her. She really was headed in the right direction.

  “Skydancer! Skydancer! Where are you?”

  “I’m coming, I’m coming!” She flapped her wings, feeling exhausted.

  “Hurry, we need your help!”

  Skydancer flew toward their voices. Whatever could be the matter? She’d been the one in trouble—now they were, too?

  Finally, she flew out of the cloud bank.

  “There’s something on the edge of the forest, just ahead!” cried the big black bird. “Something … scary.”

  “What is it?” Skydancer asked nervously.

  “I’m not sure,” said the red bird. “I think … I think it’s a dragon.”

  Stunned and tired, Skydancer landed on the ground. She laughed softly, certain the birds were joking.

  “It’s not a dragon. The dragons left years ago, during the Age of Recklessness.”

  Many, many years ago, careless spell casting had weakened the magic in the land, and most of the magical creatures had fled. According to legends, they still lived, but remained hidden in their own secret worlds. But no one had seen a dragon in hundreds of years. There certainly wasn’t one lurking in the forest by the school.

  “Stop teasing me,” Skydancer said.

  “We’re not!” the birds shrieked. Something had genuinely spooked them. Skydancer wasn’t so sure she wanted to see what it was. She was good at many things, but being brave wasn’t one of them.

  “I’d better get back to the school,” she said, wondering how she was ever going to find the courage to admit she’d lost the medal.

  “No, you have to come and see it and then get help!” a bird called.

  The birds must be mistaken. Whatever they were seeing couldn’t be a dragon, Skydancer was sure. Still, she was frightened, frozen in place. “Where is it?” Why was she such a scaredy pony?

  “Just ahead, come on.”

  “Well, okay, I guess. I’ll just fly over it.” That way, she could speed off if it truly was something terrifying.

  Slowly, Skydancer took to the air on gentle wings. She soared above the trees with the birds.

  “Up ahead, right there at the edge of the woods!” they called to her.

  Skydancer spotted something dark lying on the ground. It wasn’t that big. It wasn’t moving, and it wasn’t roaring or bellowing fire, so she flew lower for a better look.

  As she got closer, dark-blue scales came into view, as well as a long, spiky tail wrapped tightly around the creature’s body. Skydancer’s heart started racing.

  She heard the soft puffs of snoring and flew in front of the thing. Its wings were tucked tightly against its body, but she could see its ribs rising and falling with each breath. It had dull, ragged scales. It was a dragon! A baby dragon.

  And just then, it opened its big yellowy-orange eyes.

  Skydancer nickered in fright and flew off to the castle without looking back. Her heart raced and her teeth chattered; she was so scared.

  As the school came into view, she noticed a crowd was gathered outside the main entrance to the castle. It was close to dinnertime, and ponies were probably headed to the banquet hall. She spotted Headmaster Elegius’s tricorn immediately, with the three horns meeting at the tip—silver, gold, and iridescent—sparkling in the sun. He would know what to do.

  She landed next to the group, struggling to get any words out of her mouth.

  Headmaster Elegius looked concerned. “What’s wrong, Skydancer?”

  “Drag … Drag …”

  “You don’t seem to be dragging anything,” her friend Electra said.

  “Dragon,” she finally managed to say. “I just saw a dragon on the edge of the forest!”

  Everyone was silent for a moment. Then all the ponies laughed. “Dragons are long gone,” Stone said. “What a joker you are.”

  All the ponies laughed even harder.

  “Skydancer, we don’t have time to fool around,” Belissima said, stomping her hoof. “We have a lot of work to do on the float!”

  “But I saw it! It was a baby dragon. Dark blue. It was sleeping. But it saw me.”

  “What color were its eyes?” Headmaster Elegius asked.

  “A yellowy orange.”

  Headmaster Elegius shared a look with Headmistress Valincia. “We better investigate. You ponies stay here. Gather in the great hall and stay together. The lead ponies are in charge. I’ll send out a message.”

  A shiny orb sailed into the air from his horn, and then it popped, releasing his message in a voice so loud, every pony across the campus could hear it. “All students report to the great hall immediately. Teachers, join me at the main gates. This is not a drill.”

  None of the other ponies was laughing now. They stood silently, eyes wide.

  “Get to the great hall!” Headmaster Elegius commanded.

  The ponies galloped into the building, which was soon filled with all the students and their worried whispers.

  “What’s going on?” Skydancer’s friend Razzle asked.

  “Skydancer says she saw a dragon. The teachers are going to investigate,” Electra explained.

  Daisy hurried over. “You really saw a dragon?”

  Everyone was listening. “Yes. At the edge of the forest. It was a baby, sleeping on the ground. It looked sick.”

  “What were you doing over there?” Belissima asked.

  Skydancer’s heart dropped, remembering her other big problem. The medal, now lost forever. “I was out flying, thinking of ideas for the float, and I got distracted. I ended up lost in the cloud bank.”

  A few ponies gasped. “The cloud bank?” Electra asked.

  “That’s off school grounds,” Daisy said.

  “And it’s near the craggy canyon,” Duke said. He was an enormous allapony, with wings and a horn. He was strong and brave, and even he looked concerned.

  Skydancer didn’t reply.

  “Did the dragon say anything to you?” Daisy asked.

  Skydancer shook her head.

  The ponies gathered by the front door, looking out the big windows on either side of it. The teachers were headed toward the forest.

  “I wonder what’s going to happen?” Electra asked. “Why would a dragon come here?”

  “I don’t know,” Belissima said, her beautiful voice sounding calm. “But don’t worry. The dragon is far from the academy, and the teachers will take care of it. Let’s not spend one minute thinking about it. Why don’t we use this time to break into groups and work on plans for Homecoming?”

  The ponies followed her suggestion, but everyone was talking softly, glancing out the windows instead of working on Homecoming ideas. The teachers were now out of sight.

  “I wonder how a baby got here by
itself?” Daisy whispered to Skydancer.

  She gulped. “That’s a good question.”

  “There was just one, right?” Daisy asked.

  Skydancer nodded. “Thank goodness. I can’t imagine a baby dragon could do much harm.” Then her ears pricked up.

  “What is it?”

  “I hear something.” Skydancer ran to the other side of the room where windows faced the school courtyard. And there sat another dragon. A much bigger dragon, about twice the size of a pony, with dull-green scales and those big yellowy-orange eyes.

  Staring right at Skydancer.

  Behind Skydancer, several ponies whinnied in fright.

  “A dragon! Right here at school! What are we going to do?” Electra asked as she huddled in a group of other first-year ponies.

  “We’re going to head to the banquet hall,” Belissima said.

  “Line up by barns,” said Ranger, the leader of the Water barn. “Follow your lead pony.”

  But no one moved. They were all staring out the window. Then they jumped as the dragon roared.

  Skydancer gasped while the other ponies shrieked. It wasn’t trying to scare them. “You guys, it’s calling for help,” she said.

  “It’s a dragon! They’re dangerous,” cried Rose.

  The other ponies all started talking at once.

  “What should we do?” Razzle asked.

  “Nothing!” Stone said. “It’s a trap! The dragon is trying to get us to go outside so it can attack us.”

  The dragon roared again, not so loudly this time. Then it slumped its head to the ground, its eyelids drooping.

  “What did it say?” Belissima asked.

  “Water,” Skydancer said. “It needs water.” She backed away from the window as the dragon softly whimpered.

  “What should we do?” Daisy asked.

  “Get to the banquet hall, like we said,” Ranger said sharply.

  “But the poor thing could die,” Daisy whispered.

  “And so could we!” Stone replied. “We can’t risk helping it.”