by Alexa Pearl
Bam! Her hooves landed back on the
ground.
CHAPTER
5
Sparkle!
Sasha opened her eyes. She trotted,
kicking up some dirt. Then she slowed.
Her heart raced from leaping.
“Sasha!” Caleb scolded. “What was
that?”
Everyone in the class watched as
Caleb slowly walked over to her. Sasha
gulped. Here comes trouble, she thought.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to jump,”
said Sasha.
“Those are your legs, right?” asked
Caleb. “Your brain tells your legs what
to do.”
“It didn’t feel that way.” Sasha tried
to explain. “I got this feeling . . . this
itching that started on my back . . . and
then I just had to jump.”
Caleb widened his eyes.
“Yeah, right!” Chester laughed. He
didn’t believe her. No one did.
Sasha wished she were better at
explaining. How could she say that she’d
felt as if the clouds were calling to her?
That sounded so . . . silly.
“You didn’t follow my directions,
Sasha,” said Caleb. “You get a zero
today.”
Twinkle gasped. “Me too?”
“Please! It’s not Twinkle’s fault,” Sasha
told Caleb. “She should get a good
grade. She’s great at walking in line.”
“You’re right. Only you will get the
bad grade,” said Caleb.
Sasha turned to Twinkle to say she
was sorry for being a bad partner, but
Twinkle turned away. “Class is over,”
said Caleb.
Twinkle hurried off before Sasha could
stop her. Chester and the other horses
hurried off too. Only Wyatt and her
sisters stayed.
“I thought you were funny, Sasha,”
said Wyatt.
Sasha hung her head. She hadn’t
wanted to be funny. She’d wanted to be
a good partner. She wished she could
have a do-over.
“Why couldn’t you just stay in line
like everyone else?” asked Zara.
“Sasha always has to be different,”
Poppy pointed out.
“It’s better to be different than boring,”
said Wyatt.
“Humph!” said Poppy. She didn’t
believe Wyatt.
Sasha sighed. She didn’t want to be
boring, but she didn’t want to get into
trouble, either.
Just then Sasha heard a squawking
sound. A group of ducks flew across the
sky. The ducks flew in the shape of a V.
Sasha spotted an empty space in the
V. She wished she could be up there too.
No! That’s crazy, she told herself. You’re
a horse—not a bird!
“Sasha, look!” cried Zara. “You’re
sparkling!”
Sasha gasped. Silver sparkles crackled
on her white patch.
“That’s so cool!” cried Wyatt.
“Does it hurt?” asked Poppy.
“Not at all.” Sasha couldn’t stop
staring. She was sparkling!
CHAPTER
6
The Big Secret
Her patch quickly stopped sparkling.
Why did it do that? Sasha wondered.
She hurried to find her mom at the
stream. The stream flowed down from
the mountains. Cool water bubbled over
the rocks. Sasha’s mom took a drink.
Her dad talked nearby with Wyatt’s
mom. All the families in the valley lived
together in a group called a herd. Wyatt’s
mom was the head of their herd. Sasha’s
dad’s job was to find the best grass for
the herd to eat.
“What’s wrong, sweetie?” Sasha’s
mom gave her a gentle nuzzle. Her
mom always knew when she was sad
or confused.
“I’m not like the other horses here,”
said Sasha.
“That’s a great thing. You have a
spark,” said her mom.
Sasha jolted. “What?” Does she know?
she wondered.
“A spark means you have much more
energy.” Her mom grinned. “You’re my
little firecracker.”
Sasha liked when her mom called
her that. Her mom didn’t know, after
all. Sasha took a deep breath. “No one
else has a white patch like mine.”
“Your cloud,” said her mom.
“My cloud?” asked Sasha.
“I’ve always thought your patch
looked like a fluffy, white cloud,” said
her mom.
Sasha twisted her neck. Her mom
was right. It really did look as if she
were carrying a cloud on her back!
“Why am I the only one who has it?”
asked Sasha.
“You’re special,” her mom said. “You
should be proud.”
“I know that other horses have
markings, like how Dad has white socks
on his legs,” said Sasha. “But my patch is
different. My patch was sparkling today!”
“Sparkling?” cried her mom.
Sasha’s dad’s ears perked up. He left
Wyatt’s mom and hurried over.
“It was sparkling,” her mom told him
quietly.
“It is time to tell her our secret,”
whispered her dad.
“Now?” asked her mom. “Are you
sure?”
“Yes. She is old enough,” whispered
her dad.
“Old enough for what? What secret?”
asked Sasha.
“Shh!” said her parents. They nodded
toward Wyatt’s mom, still nearby. They
didn’t want her to hear.
Sasha couldn’t believe it. Her parents
had a secret—and it was about her!
CHAPTER
7
The Story
of Sasha
“What secret?” Sasha asked her parents
again.
They had walked to a small waterfall
at the far end of the stream. The rush
of water blocked their voices. No one
could listen now.
“You were not born in Verdant Valley
like all the other horses in our herd,”
began her mom.
“Oh.” Sasha had thought the secret
would be a lot more exciting. “Where
was I born?”
Sasha had heard there were different
valleys. Maybe she had been born in one
of them.
“We don’t know,” said her dad. “You
were a gift.”
“A gift?” Sasha giggled. “Like a present
with wrapping paper and a bow?”
“Sort of,” said her mom.
“That’s why you’re so special,” said
her dad.
Sasha was confused. “I don’t get it.”
“Follow me,” said her dad. “I’ll show
you.”
Sasha’s dad led them across the
valley. He stopped at the bottom of
Mystic Mountain, which was the tallest
mountain. Its peak reached high into the
clouds.
“I’ll tell you the story
of baby Sasha,”
he said.
Sasha swallowed hard. She was
excited and nervous at the same time.
“One night there was a huge storm,”
he began. “The sky was dark. Rain
poured down. Thunder boomed.”
“We huddled here to stay dry.” Her
mom pointed to a nook in the side of
the mountain. A rock jutted out to make
a roof. “We had Zara and Poppy with
us. They were just babies.”
“Then the biggest bolt of lightning
cut through the sky. We had never seen
lightning like this. It turned the sky into
a rainbow of sparkling colors,” said her
dad.
“A minute later, we heard a cry,” said
her mom. “We hurried out into the rain.”
“A newborn foal was wrapped in a
golden blanket,” said her dad. “She was
beautiful. And she had a white patch on
her back.”
“And for a moment, the patch
sparkled,” added her mom.
“Was that me?” asked Sasha.
“That was you,” they both said.
“But where did I come from?” Sasha
looked up at the tall mountain.
“We don’t know. We searched and
searched in the storm. There were no
other horses around,” said her mom. “It
was a mystery.”
“There was a note on your blanket.”
Her dad walked to a small pile of rocks.
“We saved it.”
He pushed the rocks aside. A piece of
paper lay underneath. It was dirty, but
they could still see the words.
Sasha read the note aloud.
She had so many questions. They
swirled in her head. “Who left me
here? When are they coming back?”
she asked.
Her mom and dad didn’t know. They
had taken Sasha in and cared for her as
their own daughter. They told everyone
that she was found all alone in the
storm.
“We didn’t tell anyone about the
strange lightning or your golden blanket
with the note,” said her dad. “Not even
Zara and Poppy.”
“You are part of our family. We will
always love you. We will always keep
you safe.” Her mom pulled Sasha close.
“The secret is yours now,” said her
dad. “You can tell or not tell. It’s up to
you.”
Sasha didn’t want Zara and Poppy to
know how different she really was. “I’m
going to keep it secret,” she said.
CHAPTER
8
Up to
the Top
“Sasha, you’re not even trying!” Wyatt
called out the next morning.
They were playing Catch-the-Tail. It
was her favorite game. Wyatt stood
right behind her. She could have easily
reached out and grabbed his tail—but
she didn’t. She was staring up at Mystic
Mountain.
Did I come from up there? she wondered.
“Let’s go up the mountain,” she told
Wyatt.
“Why?” asked Wyatt. They had never
gone up the mountain before.
“Because—” Sasha almost blurted
out her secret. “Because there are
wildflowers at the top to eat,” she said
instead.
“Let’s go.” Wyatt never
turned down food.
They began to climb.
The path was rocky.
“Did you ask your mom about the
sparkling?” asked Wyatt.
“She told me—oops!” Sasha pressed
her lips closed. “I can’t tell you.”
“Why not?” he asked.
“It’s a secret,” said Sasha.
“I love secrets!” cried Wyatt. “Give
me a hint.”
“No way.” Sasha was bursting to tell
him, but she was worried he wouldn’t
be able to keep her secret. “Let’s play
Follow-the-Leader. I’ll be the leader.”
Sasha hoped a game would take Wyatt’s
mind off of her secret.
Sasha ate a leaf from a low-hanging
branch. Wyatt ate a leaf too.
“Come on. Tell me the secret,” said
Wyatt.
Sasha kept her lips zipped.
She flicked her tail to greet a mountain
goat. Wyatt flicked his tail too.
They climbed higher and higher. The
path snaked around the mountain.
Sasha crushed red berries with her
hoof. She smeared them to draw a big
S.
“Your turn,” she told Wyatt.
Wyatt drew a W with his crushed
berries.
“Hey! The leader drew an S,” Sasha
pointed out.
“W is for Wyatt,” said Wyatt, “but S
is for secret. I’ll draw an S if you tell
me the secret.”
“I can’t, Wyatt,” Sasha said.
Wyatt bent down to bite a purple
flower. “These flowers are yummy.”
“Don’t eat them,” said Sasha.
“Why not? You said we were looking
for flowers, and I’m hungry,” Wyatt said.
“We need to go to the top of the
mountain,” she said. “There will be better
flowers there.” She began to climb.
Wyatt snorted and climbed after her.
“I know your secret,” called Wyatt.
Oh no! she thought. “You do?” she
asked.
“You’re bossy.” He laughed. Sasha
tried to laugh too, but her white patch
had started to itch. What did that mean?
Was something going to happen?
“I’m the leader now.” Wyatt walked
in front. “Follow me!”
He hurried around a path. Sasha
followed. She peeked over the edge of
the mountain. Their herd looked like tiny
dots in the field below. The ground was
a long way down.
Wyatt jumped over a bush.
Sasha jumped, but
her jump was too
big. “Aaahhhh!” Sasha
tumbled through the
air. She had jumped
right off the mountain!
Wind rushed at her. Sasha’s body
spun around, making her dizzy. And
then she stopped spinning. Sasha
looked down. The ground was still far
below. She passed over the stream and
then over the waterfall.
Whoa! I’m moving, she thought. But
how?
Sasha turned her head and gasped.
Two huge wings had sprouted from the
patch of white on her back. “I’m flying!”
cried Sasha.
CHAPTER
9
Flying!
Sasha flew through the air. The feathers
in her wings sparkled in the sun. Her
mane glittered.
At first she didn’t know how to steer.
She flew in a crazy zigzag across the
sky. She was scared.
Then Sasha flapped her
wings. She used the wind to
push her forward. She began to
fly smoothly. She flew fast. She
flew slow. She did a fancy loop
the loop. Rainbows
exploded
from her tail.
Sasha giggled. Flying was
more fun than galloping!
Flying was amazing!
She circled back to Mystic Mountain
and landed at the very top. She looked
around. The only one here was a goat.
He was surprised to see a flying horse!
Sasha twisted to look at her wings.
They were gone!
Sasha puzzled over this. What made
her wings come, and what made them
go away?
“Sasha!” Wyatt called. He was looking
for her.
Sasha’s stomach twisted. She had
forgotten all about Wyatt while she
was flying. Wyatt was her better-than-
best friend. He never cared that she was
different from the other horses—but
wings and flying were very, very different.
Maybe he didn’t see me fly, Sasha
thought.
“There you are!” Wyatt hurried up
to her.
“Hi!” Sasha tried to act as if nothing
had happened. “What’s up?”
“What’s up?” cried Wyatt. “You were
up! I saw you. You can fly!”
Sasha held her breath. She was scared.
Would he make fun of her? Would he
not want to be her friend? “What do
you think?” she asked.
“I think it’s amazing!” cried Wyatt.
“You can go anywhere!”
“You’re right!” Sasha nodded at the
forest of tall trees. “I can fly beyond the
trees now.”
“Will you go explore?” asked Wyatt.