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Contents
1. Just Like Me
2. A New Friend
3. The Toucan Brings
a Message
4. Who Are You, Really?
5. Let’s Dance
6. Gone!
7. Bend, Cross, Spring!
8. A Big Sneeze
9. Two Friends
CHAPTER
1
Just Like Me
“Wait for me!” cried Sasha. She tried to
catch up. She flew higher. She flapped
her wings faster, but she still couldn’t
reach them.
Thick clouds rolled in, making it hard
to see. Now she didn’t know which way
to turn. Then Sasha’s breath caught in
her throat.
Three horses flew out of a large
cloud! One was yellow, one was blue,
and one was purple. Their colorful wings
shone bright against the gray sky. They
were just like her. They were horses
that could fly!
Sasha had never met another flying
horse before. She just had to talk to
them—now!
The three horses darted in and out of
the clouds. They flew in crazy patterns.
“Wait for me!” she called again.
The three flying horses didn’t wait.
Sasha was the fastest horse in her
valley. She had won every running race.
But flying was different than running.
Horses didn’t fly in a straight line.
“Keep going!” Wyatt called to her
from the beach. The sand at his hooves
sparkled with magical jewels. He raised
his tail in a salute.
Sasha saluted back. Wyatt was her
best friend. He had traveled all the way
from their home in Verdant Valley to
Crystal Cove with her.
“That must be Sapphire!” Wyatt
pointed at the blue horse.
Sasha flapped her wings as fast as
she could. She had heard stories about
Sapphire, but she’d never met her. Sasha
had never met any flying horses. Until
now, she’d thought she was the only one.
She had so many questions for them.
“Sapphire! I’m back!” cried Sasha.
Sapphire swooped low and out of
sight.
She didn’t hear me, thought Sasha.
Then Sasha spotted the yellow horse.
She sped over to him.
“I just learned to fly!” she called.
The yellow horse soared higher and
out of sight.
He doesn’t care, thought Sasha.
The purple horse zoomed by.
“Hello!” called Sasha.
The purple horse didn’t answer.
Instead, she tucked her head and
somersaulted in the air.
Sasha gasped. That was amazing!
“Your turn,” called the purple horse.
Sasha looked around. Who was she
talking to?
The purple horse pointed her braided
tail at Sasha.
“Me?” Sasha gulped. She didn’t know
if she could do gymnastics and fly at the
The purple horse waited.
Was this a test? If she passed, would
the purple horse answer her questions?
Sasha took a deep breath. You can do
this, she told herself. Head first, legs in,
tuck, and roll. Go!
The world spun upside down. Wind
rushed up her nostrils, and her stomach
twisted. Then she was upright again and
flying. She heard Wyatt cheer. She had
done it!
The purple horse smiled. “Fly with
me!” she called.
Together, they soared through the
clouds. The warm wind blew their
manes. Sasha smiled. She had made her
first friend in the Land of Flying Horses.
CHAPTER
2
A New Friend
The purple horse and Sasha glided down
to the beach. Sasha’s hooves kicked up
a huge spray of sand and jewels as she
skidded to a stop.
The purple horse laughed. “What’s
with your landing?”
“Sorry.” Sasha bit her lip. “I just
started flying.”
The purple horse’s violet eyes grew
wide. “You just got your wings? So cool!
I got mine last year.”
Sasha admired the purple horse’s
shimmering wings. “Yours are so much
fluffier than mine. Why?”
“I put honey on them to make them
fluffy,” said the purple horse.
“Really?” Sasha wrinkled her nose.
That sounded gross.
“Not really.” The purple horse laughed
again. “Honey would make my feathers
stick together. I made that up. There’s
no big secret. Your wings will grow
fluffier the more you use them.”
“Does that make flying easier?” asked
Sasha.
“So much
easier! Fluffy
wings are
powerful.” She
fanned out her
wings and struck
a pose. “Don’t I
look superpowerful?”
The purple horse
laughed again. Sasha
found herself laughing,
too.
“I’m Kimani.” The purple
horse stood nose-to-nose with
Sasha. “I’ve never seen you
here in Crystal Cove.”
“I’m not from here,” said
Sasha. “I live in Verdant Valley.”
“Where’s that?” asked
Kimani.
“It’s down the beach, over the lake,
through the
fields, and on the other side
of the big trees,” said Sasha.
“You live on the other side of the big
trees? For real?” cried Kimani.
Sasha nodded. “I was left there when
I was a baby. There was a note on my
golden blanket. I don’t know who left
me or why. I came here to find out. My
name is Sasha.”
Kimani reared up on her hind legs.
“You’re Sasha?”
“You’ve heard of me?” Sasha’s heart
thumped with excitement.
Kimani looked a little nervous. “You’re
the real Sasha?”
“I guess.” Sasha wasn’t sure what
that meant.
Kimani scanned
the sky as if she
were looking for
someone. Then she
twirled her tail.
Three twirls one
way, and then three
twirls the other way.
Sasha had never seen a tail move like
that. “Is everything okay?” she asked.
Kimani quickly stopped spinning her
tail. “Of course! I just, um, think the sky
looks really pretty today,” she replied
nervously.
“Okay . . . ,” Sasha said, but she
wasn’t convinced.
“Hey!” Kimani exclaimed. “Who’s
that?”
3
The Toucan
Brings a Message
“Ouch! These red gems get hot in the
sun!” Wyatt galloped toward them.
“That’s my friend, Wyatt,” Sasha told
Kimani.
Kimani stared at him. “Didn’t you get
your wings yet?”
“I’m never getting wings. Horses don’t
have wings,” said Wyatt.
“Are you sure?” Kimani spread her
wings wide.
“Horses don’t have wings where we
come from,” explained Sasha. “I was the
only one.”
“That sounds like a terrible place,”
said Kimani.
“Not at all,” said
Sasha. “Verdant Valley
is great. We have a
school and big fields
to run in.”
“We have a stream
with cold water and
a tall mountain with
wildflowers,” added
Wyatt.
“My family is
there.” Sasha told
Kimani about her
mother, her father,
and her older sisters
Zara and Poppy.
“None of them have wings,” Kimani
pointed out. “You should stay here.
Crystal Cove is the Land of Flying
Horses.”
“Stay here?”
Now Wyatt reared
back.
“Don’t worry,”
Sasha told Wyatt.
They’d left home
at sunrise, and now
it was sunset. Sasha missed her family.
“I’m not staying. I only came to find
other winged horses.”
“It’s getting dark.” Wyatt tugged
Sasha. They had a long journey back
home.
“Don’t leave!” Kimani looked at the
sky again. “You have to wait.”
At that moment, a toucan
swooped down and landed
on Kimani’s back. “I got
your signal,” said the
toucan.
So that’s what the tail twirling was about,
thought Sasha.
“I have a message from Sapphire. She
wants to see the new horse now.” The
toucan spoke in a booming voice.
Sasha turned to Wyatt. Many years
ago, Sapphire had met their old teacher,
Caleb. They were both foals, and Caleb
had helped her when she’d hurt her wing.
Before she flew away, she’d given him
a magical map. Sasha and Wyatt had
used that map today to find the flying
horses. Wyatt knew how important
meeting Sapphire was to Sasha.
Wyatt nodded. “Okay. Let’s go.”
“Not you,” said the toucan. “Just
Sasha.”
“Wyatt is not one of us,” explained
Kimani. “He doesn’t have wings.”
Sasha’s ears flattened against her
head. The horses at home used to say she
was different because she daydreamed
about faraway places. Sometimes they
wouldn’t be her partner at school.
“I won’t go without him.” Sasha’s
voice sounded strong, but her knees felt
wobbly.
Kimani shared a secret look with
the toucan. Sasha was worried. Had
she ruined her big chance to talk to
Sapphire?
Kimani shrugged. “Okay. Wyatt can
come along.”
Sasha and Wyatt grinned.
The toucan led the way. The
three horses headed down the beach
and entered a jungle. Thick tropical
plants crowded close together. Fuzzy
caterpillars chewed fan-shaped leaves.
Blue dragonflies swarmed above their
heads. The air grew warm and sticky.
Sasha blew her forelock out of her
eyes. She wished for the cool shade of
the cottonwood tree back home.
Wyatt tried to munch a big flower.
“I wouldn’t eat that,” warned Kimani.
“Whoa!” Wyatt jumped back as a
red horse poked her nose out from
behind the flower.
Sasha was about to tease Wyatt for
being a scaredy-cat. Then she saw them.
All of them.
CHAPTER
4
Who Are You,
Really?
Sasha turned slowly in a circle.
Pink. Lavender. Turquoise. Horses of
all colors hid in the leafy plants. They
stared at Sasha and whispered. Were
they talking about her?
“What’s going on?” whispered Sasha.
“They’re friendly.” Kimani pushed her
forward. “They came to greet you.”
“Me?” asked Sasha. “They don’t know
me.”
“Everyone knows you,” said Kimani.
Sasha chewed her lip. How could they
know her?
“Why are they hiding?” asked Wyatt.
“They’re shy, and—” Kimani didn’t
get to finish. A beautiful blue horse
stepped into a clearing.
“Sapphire!” Sasha began to trot
toward her.
“Whoa!” A yellow horse jumped out
and blocked her path. “I need to check
you first.”
“Check me for what?” asked Sasha.
“I need to be sure you are who you
say you are,” he said.
“Who else would I be?” Sasha was
confused.
“We should go,” whispered Wyatt.
Sasha knew if she was going to get
any answers, they would come from
Sapphire. She locked eyes with the
yellow horse. He was larger than any
horse Sasha had ever met. “Fine. Check
me.”
He walked around Sasha. “She has a
white patch on her back. It is the shape
of a cloud.”
A horse in the plants let out a ga
sp.
“I’ve always had that patch,” said
Sasha. “That’s where my wings come
out from.”
The yellow horse
looked inside her
mouth. “She is missing
a back tooth on the
left side,” he said.
“It’s been missing since I was born,”
said Sasha.
Another horse gasped.
The yellow horse nodded at the
ground behind her. “Are these your hoof
prints?”
“Yes.” Sasha saw for the first time
that her hoof print was different from
Wyatt and Kimani’s. Hers had a heart
shape in the middle.
“The patch, the tooth, and the hoof
print all prove it,” said the yellow
horse. “She really is Sasha. Sasha has
returned!”
The colorful herd of horses burst out
of their hiding spots. With a whoosh,
they opened their wings and let out a
huge cheer.
They were cheering for her!
CHAPTER
5
Let's Dance
Sapphire walked toward her. “How did
you find your way back to us?”
Sasha showed her the blue feather
and the magical map. “You left these
with Caleb.”
“He saved my life.” Sapphire closed
her eyes, remembering him. “If he
hadn’t fixed my wing, I would’ve been
in danger.”
“Danger? Why?” asked Sasha.
Sapphire let out a long breath. “That’s
a story for another time.”
Now that Sapphire was here, Sasha
was nervous. Sasha decided to ask her
most important question first. “The note
on my blanket said: ‘Please keep Sasha
safe until we can see her again.’ Did
you write that note? Did you leave me
in Verdant Valley?”
“It wasn’t me,” said Sapphire.