by Emily Bliss
“Sounds like Ernest made another mistake,” Flash said, grimacing.
“What will we do?” Sunbeam asked.
“Well,” Breeze said, “Cressida says she has one last idea.”
All the unicorn princesses turned toward Cressida. She smiled and nodded. And then she said, “I do have a plan, but we’ll need Moon’s help.”
Moon shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I have to admit I really want the Blast to be canceled. I still have bad dreams about the time I fell off my kite. I don’t think I can help you.”
Flash, Sunbeam, Bloom, Prism, Firefly, and Breeze all began to talk at once, trying to convince Moon to change her mind.
“Excuse me,” Cressida said, politely but loudly. The unicorns stopped talking and turned toward her. Cressida remembered again how scared she had felt of swinging after she had fallen off her swing—and how much she wouldn’t have liked anyone pushing her to swing again before she felt ready.
“Moon,” Cressida said, “would you be willing to help get the bats off the kites if your sisters agreed to stop trying to get you to fly in the Blast? Maybe you could just watch this year. Or, if that’s too much, you could come back to stay in the palace during the Blast.”
Moon thought for a moment, and then she nodded. “I know how much the Blast means to Breeze and my other sisters. If everyone would just stop putting pressure on me to fly, I’d help get the bats off the kites in any way I can.” She looked at Breeze and continued, “I don’t actually want you to have to cancel the Blast. It’s just that I feel much too scared to ride a kite this year. And I don’t like all of you trying to convince me to do something I really don’t want to do.”
“That makes perfect sense to me,” Cressida said to Moon, smiling reassuringly. Then she looked at the other unicorns. “I know all of you really want Moon to fly with you in the Blast, but she’s saying she’s not ready and it won’t be fun for her. If she agrees to help get the bats off the kites, will you agree to stop trying to get her to f ly?”
“Yes,” Breeze said. “I’ll be sad if Moon doesn’t fly with us. But I don’t want to cancel the Blast.” She paused and thought for a moment. And then she looked at Moon. “I really do understand that you’re just not ready to fly this year.” The other unicorns nodded in agreement. “And I’m sorry we all kept trying to convince you to fly with us,” Breeze continued. “I just always think things are more fun when we’re all together. But Cressida is right. I should have listened when you said you were too scared.”
“I forgive you,” Moon said, grinning at her sister. “Now let’s go get those bats off the kites before it’s too late!”
“Great,” said Cressida. “If Breeze, Moon, and I go back to the Windy Meadows now, I think we’ll be able to get the bats off the kites in time to hold the Blast.”
Breeze kneeled down so Cressida could climb on her back, and, with Moon following right behind them, Breeze galloped out the front door. “See you very soon!” Breeze called.
The first thing we need to do,” Cressida said as she rode Breeze through the forest toward the Windy Meadows, “is pay another visit to the metamorflowers.”
“Oh, I love the metamorflowers!” gushed Moon, who was galloping alongside Breeze. “My specialty is making extra-long earthworms!” Moon grinned, and Cressida felt relieved that the unicorn now seemed much happier.
“Cressida and I made an octopus together,” Breeze said.
“It must be pretty neat to have fingers and thumbs,” Moon said.
“It must be pretty neat to have magic powers,” Cressida responded.
The three of them laughed.
Soon, Breeze, Moon, and Cressida stood in the center of the Meadow of Metamorflowers. Breeze kneeled down, and Cressida slid off her back and into the sea of orange flowers. “I bet you need me to make a pile of petals for you,” Breeze said.
“Yes, please!” Cressida said.
“I can’t wait to see what plan you have in mind,” Breeze said as she pointed her horn up into the sky. “You always have the most creative ideas.” Her aquamarine shimmered. Glittery light shot from her horn. And a blue gust of wind swirled and danced through the meadow, sending all the orange petals into the air before they formed a pile at Cressida’s feet.
Cressida picked up a clump of petals and rolled it into a ball. Then, she carefully began shaping the petals into a mosquito.
“What is that?” Moon asked, staring at the bug and scrunching up her nose.
“A giant mosquito,” Cressida said.
“I don’t think we have mosquitoes in the Rainbow Realm,” Breeze said.
“I’ve never even heard of them,” Moon said.
“That’s lucky!” Cressida said, remembering a time she’d gone on a camping trip with her family and gotten covered in bites. “The real ones aren’t any fun to have around. But I’m pretty sure mosquitoes made out of flower petals are harmless.”
When Cressida finished sculpting the mosquito, she didn’t throw it into the air to make it come alive. Instead, she turned to Breeze and asked, “Could I put this on your back?”
“Sure!” Breeze said.
“Thank you,” Cressida said. With the mosquito safely balanced on Breeze’s back, Cressida got to work making seven more. She rested four on Breeze and four on Moon.
“Do you think,” Cressida asked after she finished, “that if you both walked very carefully, you could get all the way to the bats without the mosquitoes falling off?”
“Definitely,” Breeze said.
Moon nodded in agreement.
“I’ll come back and tidy up the petals after the Blast,” Breeze said. “I don’t want the gust of wind I create to knock over and ruin your mosquitoes.”
“Good idea!” Cressida said.
The three slowly made their way under the canopy of elms, across the Meadow of Melodies, through the willow trees, and back to the Monarch Meadow, where they found the gigantic bats still sleeping on the blue kites. Several orange-and-black butterflies perched on the bats, slowly opening and closing their wings.
“Before we wake up the bats, I think we’d better ask the butterflies to leave,” Cressida said. “I don’t want the bats to accidentally eat them.” In school, Cressida had learned that monarch butterflies are poisonous to predators, and that their bright markings were supposed to warn lizards, birds, and frogs to stay away. She figured it wouldn’t be good for the butterflies or the bats if the butterflies became an accidental snack.
“I’m glad you thought of that,” Breeze said. And then she called out, “Attention! This is Princess Breeze. Monarch butterflies, could you please go to the Meadow of Melodies for a few minutes?”
All at once, the butterflies lifted off the bats and wildflowers and fluttered away.
Cressida looked at Moon. “Could you make the meadow pitch black?”
“Absolutely,” Moon said, and took a deep breath. She pointed her horn toward the enormous, snoring bats. The opal on her ribbon necklace shimmered. Black, glittery light shot out from her horn. And suddenly, the meadow was pitch black.
Within a few seconds, Cressida heard rustling. Then she heard yawning and giant bat wings unfolding and stretching.
“Is it night already?” a squeaky voice asked.
“I could have sworn I just went to bed a few hours ago,” another voice squeaked.
“How strange! It feels like the sun just came up,” piped a third.
“I guess we’d better look for some food,” squeaked a fourth.
Cressida reached for the mosquitoes on Breeze’s back and quickly threw them into the air toward the bats. Then she tossed the mosquitoes on Moon’s back in the same direction. In a few seconds, she heard the loud, high-pitched buzzing noise of eight large mosquitoes.
“I hear breakfast!” a voice squeaked, and then she heard the sound of eight giant bats flapping their wings, followed by very loud gulping and chewing noises.
“These are the strangest-tasting mosquitoes I’ve ever
eaten,” a voice squeaked.
“I swear they taste like flower petals,” squeaked another bat.
“These are tasty! Let’s go find some more!”
Soon the sound of flapping bat wings faded into the distance.
“Moon, I think you can make it light again now,” Cressida said.
“Sure thing!” Moon said. And suddenly the Monarch Meadow was sunny again.
Cressida blinked and squinted as her eyes adjusted to the brightness. She stared into the distance and spotted the bats, which now, with their wings extended, looked even larger than she had imagined they were. She wished she could tell Corey that she had seen bats that were even bigger than the ones he had told her about. But she knew he would never believe her.
“Do you think they’ll be able to find somewhere to go back to sleep?” Cressida asked.
“Luckily, they’re headed straight toward Firefly’s domain, the Shimmering Caves,” Breeze said. “I’ll bet they’ll find somewhere good to rest there.”
The kites slowly stood up, balancing on their tails. They blinked their long, oval eyes and stretched their diamond-shaped bodies. Then, they began to chatter:
“Phew!”
“The bat lying on me smelled terrible!”
“And the one sitting on me was so heavy I couldn’t even move my tail!”
“Plus, they snored so loudly!”
All the kites looked at each other and then at Cressida.
“Thank you!” they called out.
“Yes,” Breeze said, looking at Cressida and Moon. “I feel so grateful to both of you. I’m very relieved I won’t have to cancel the Blast.”
“I was glad to help,” Cressida said.
“Me too,” said Moon. “I’m glad you’ll be able to hold the Blast after all. And I’m excited to watch the rest of you fly up into the clouds.”
As the kites stretched and jumped, Cressida spotted Flash, Sunbeam, Bloom, Prism, and Firefly trotting toward them.
“We’re here and ready to fly!” exclaimed Flash.
“Yes,” said Sunbeam. “We can’t wait.”
“Plus, I’m so hungry I could eat an entire froyanana tree, even the trunk and the leaves,” Bloom said. Cressida heard a loud rumbling noise, and the unicorn blushed. “That’s my stomach!” Bloom admitted. Cressida giggled.
“I can’t wait for the dragon’s special feast!” Prism said.
Cressida noticed that Moon was staring at a kite, almost as though she might want to climb onto it. Cressida decided not to say anything, though—she wanted to let Moon make her own decision, at her own pace, and without any pressure.
“Let’s go!” Breeze said. “I can already smell the feast.”
Cressida inhaled, and sure enough, she could smell food cooking. She looked all around for the dragons and their gigantic vats, but they were nowhere to be seen. “Where are the dragons?” she asked.
“Up in the sky!” Breeze said. “The clouds above this part of the Windy Meadows are special, magic clouds that we can stand and walk and bounce on.”
Cressida’s eyes widened with excitement. She had always wanted to walk and jump on clouds, but she had never thought that might be possible.
“Well,” said Breeze, grinning at her sisters, “are you ready?”
“Yes!” cried Flash, Sunbeam, Bloom, Prism, and Firefly. Moon smiled and said, “I’ll be here cheering you on.”
While Cressida and Moon watched, the other unicorns raced over to the kites. Each unicorn stepped onto a kite so there were two left—one for Cressida, and one that would have been for Moon.
“Come on, Cressida!” Breeze called out. “Climb onto your kite!”
Cressida turned to Moon to say goodbye, but to her surprise, the unicorn had tears in her eyes. “I’ll be right there!” Cressida called out to Breeze. Then she put her arms around Moon’s neck. “You look like you’re having a hard time deciding what to do,” Cressida said.
Moon nodded. “Now that I’m here looking at the kites, I really want to fly in the Blast. Look at how much fun my sisters are already having,” she said. “And the dragon’s feast is always the best meal I have all year. But I’m still terrified of falling off again. It was just so scary last year.”
“I completely understand that,” Cressida said. She looked over at the kites and then up at the clouds above them, where she knew the dragons were cooking. She realized she didn’t feel so worried about falling off that she couldn’t share the cape Ernest had made for her. After all, she wasn’t afraid of heights, and she hadn’t felt afraid the two other times she had soared through the sky in the Rainbow Realm—first on the boulders in Flash’s domain, the Thunder Peaks, and then on the Rainbow Cats in Prism’s domain, the Valley of Light.
“Moon,” Cressida said, “after you left the front room of the palace this morning, Ernest gave me this special magic cape. It’s supposed to keep me safe if I fall off a kite or a cloud. Would you like to share it with me? I don’t want to put any pressure on you to get on a kite. But if you’d like to fly in the Blast, I’m sure it’s big enough for both of us.”
Moon’s eyes widened. Relief, and then joy, washed over her face. “Really?” she asked, smiling.
“Really!” Cressida said.
“Are you sure?” Moon asked.
“I’m absolutely, positively sure!” Cressida said.
“I would love that,” Moon said. She paused, and furrowed her brow. “But how will we share it?”
“Hmm,” Cressida said. “That’s a good question.” Even though the cape was roomy enough to fit over both of them, a single kite didn’t look like it could safely hold both a girl and a unicorn.
“I can help with that,” Breeze said, bounding over. “Just hold up the cape in front of you, and watch this!”
Cressida took off the cape and held it up. It was as wide as one of her bed sheets.
Breeze pointed her horn at the cape. Her aquamarine glittered. Blue, glittery light shot from her horn and a tiny but fierce gust of wind danced above the cape before it plunged downward, ripping the cape in two.
“Voila!” Breeze exclaimed. “Two magic capes!”
“Perfect,” Cressida said, laughing. “Thank you, Breeze.”
“My pleasure,” Breeze said. She reared up with excitement and trotted back to her kite. Cressida draped one sequined cape over Moon’s back and tied it around the unicorn’s neck.
Then she put on the other one.
“How do I look?” Moon asked, twirling around with excitement.
“Ready to fly!” Cressida responded.
“I’m coming too!” Moon called out, and with her blue sequined cape flapping, she galloped over to her kite and climbed aboard. The other unicorns whinnied and cheered.
Cressida, thrilled her friend felt so much better, sang out, “Here I come!” as she skipped over to the remaining kite.
As soon as Cressida stepped onto her giant blue kite, the kite grinned and said, “Pleasure to meet you! My name is Kelly the Kite. We kites drew straws to see who would get to fly with the very first human girl to fly in the Blast. I was the lucky winner!”
“I can’t wait,” Cressida said. And then, realizing she felt just a little bit nervous, she added, “I’ve never ridden a kite before.”
“I promise to be extra careful so the ride isn’t bumpy,” Kelly said. “Just bend your knees a little, hold onto my reins, and you’ll be fine.” Cressida looked down and saw two sparkling blue strings. She grabbed them, bent her knees, and made sure her feet felt steady.
“Here we go!” Breeze called out. The aquamarine on her ribbon necklace shimmered. Blue, glittery light streamed from her horn. A gentle breeze riffled through Breeze’s mane and tail before it blew toward the Meadow of Melodies. Soon Cressida heard “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” playing once again. She smiled at the beauty of the wind chimes’ music. Then, as more glittery light shot from Breeze’s horn, the strongest gust of wind Cressida had ever felt swirled around Cressida and the u
nicorn princesses.
Cressida turned to Moon, who looked both excited and scared. “Just remember,” Cressida said, “I don’t think you’ll fall off, but if you do, you’re wearing a magic cape.”
Kelly and all the other kites lifted off the ground. They formed a line in the air and began to fly in circles, each one higher than the last, as though they were climbing a spiral of wind. She looked down at the Windy Meadows, and then, in the distance, at the other unicorn princesses’ domains: Sunbeam’s purple Glitter Canyon, Flash’s metallic Thunder Peaks, Bloom’s green Enchanted Garden, Prism’s rainbow-colored Valley of Light, Moon’s dark Night Forest, and Firefly’s glittery Shimmering Caves. Then she looked at each of the unicorns. All the sisters, including Moon, were grinning from ear to ear. No wonder Breeze and her sisters had been so excited to fly in the Blast.
When they reached the clouds, the kites—with Cressida and the unicorns aboard—flew upward through a long tube made of white fluff. At the end of the tube was an enormous floor made of clouds. They looked, Cressida thought, just like cotton balls. The kites landed, and Kelly said, “Hop off! And congratulations on taking your first kite ride up to the magic clouds.”
Cressida watched as the unicorns leaped off their kites and began jumping on the clouds and giggling. She dropped Kelly’s reins and stepped onto the white fluffy floor. It felt soft, like a combination of a bouncy sponge and a cotton ball, under her feet. She jumped and found that she went high up into the air. It was like jumping on the biggest, bounciest mattress she could imagine. “This is so much fun!” she called out.
Breeze bounded over and jumped alongside Cressida. Sunbeam and Flash quickly joined in. And then Bloom, Prism, Moon, and Firefly rushed over, so Cressida and all the princess unicorns were jumping and laughing together.
“I’m so glad I decided to fly after all!” Moon sang out, jumping the highest of all the sisters.
“And I’m glad it was your decision to come with us, and not anyone else’s!” Breeze said.
