Sapphire's Special Power Read online

  4 Meeting Ms. Green

  After getting Sapphire’s notebook and Twilight’s paints, the two unicorns hurried to the Magic Meadow to meet up with their class. The Meadow was farther out on campus and was used a lot less than other spaces, but Sapphire thought it was one of the most beautiful places at Unicorn U.

  When they arrived, Twilight and Sapphire could see that the rest of the class had already gathered under the large weeping willow. It’s long, delicate branches and dark green leaves hung around the students like curtains. Some branches extended over the stream bank, and some dipped into the glittering water. Everyone was clustered around Professor Sherbet, who stood next to a tall tree stump. When Twilight and Sapphire joined the group, they could see that Fairy Green was perched atop the stump, which allowed her to look at them at eye level. Her wings were made of what appeared to be large, green leaves, and her hair was piled high atop her head in a swirl that reminded Sapphire of the drippy sandcastles she would build at the beach. Fairy Green’s face and hands were forest green, and her dress was made of different types of moss, all woven together in a striped pattern. Fairy Green looks like she’s part of the meadow, Sapphire thought.

  “Hello, students!” Professor Sherbet called out in her usual warm and friendly way. Today the professor wore a crown made of moss that looked just like the moss of Fairy Green’s dress. “I am so excited to introduce you all to my very good friend, the one and only Fairy Green! Please gather round while she tells us some things about her life, and later we can ask her some questions.”

  Fairy Green flew smoothly from her perch and hovered in front of the students. Now she was slightly above them, making the very air her stage. “Thank you, my friend,” she said, turning to Professor Sherbet. It was clear the two had known each other for a long time. Sapphire hoped she would stay friends with Twilight, Comet, and Shamrock for just as long. “And thank you, students, for the wonderful banner! I’ve been all over the world, but I’ve never felt so welcome.” She paused to smile at them all. Sapphire could feel her heart swell with pride.

  “I’m on my way to the annual Fairy Gathering,” Fairy Green continued. Her voice was much louder than one would expect, given her size. She was as loud as any unicorn, or even a dragon. “It is my favorite time of the year, for it is when fairies throughout the five kingdoms come together in our Woodland City to meet to discuss the world’s news. There are parties and so much music! It is the true meaning of magic.” Her forest-green eyes lit up when she spoke. “There are lots of different types of fairies with different types of magic. We may seem very different from you but unicorns and fairies have something very important in common. Does anyone know what that is?” She let the question hang in the air as the first years struggled to figure out what she meant.

  Sapphire’s heart soared as she raised her horn. She knew just what Fairy Green meant.

  “Yes, you with the magnificent blue coat,” Fairy Green called out.

  “Hello, Fairy Green. My name is Sapphire,” she said in a loud, clear voice. “Like unicorns, fairies draw their magic from the Four Magical Elements.”

  Professor Sherbet neighed merrily, clearly proud of her pupil.

  Fairy Green clapped her hands together softly, filling the air with the sound of rustling leaves. “Very good, Sapphire!”

  Sapphire felt as if she were floating on the ocean, buoyed up by happiness. This was the best day of her life.

  “All fairies draw their strength from one of the Four Magical Elements: light, water, earth, and air. As a Forest Fairy, I am most connected to the earth element. But I do have wings, and while they are not as strong as the Flight Fairies’ wings, I am connected to the air as well. Just as you unicorns, no matter where your ability comes from, are connected to all four elements too.” Fairy Green paused again to let the words sink in.

  “Both unicorns and fairies come from Sunshine Springs,” she continued. “And so we all share a very special connection and friendship, one that goes back thousands and thousands of years. Does anyone know this story?”

  This time it was Shamrock’s turn to wave his horn in the air. He was so enthusiastic that it was surprising he managed to keep his glasses on straight. Fairy Green gestured for him to answer.

  “I have read only a little about this,” Shamrock began, “but I think it has something to do with your basket of fairy dust? Unicorns and fairies found it together.”

  Sapphire nodded as he spoke. She and Shamrock had been doing some research and they had read this in one of the books the librarian, Professor Jazz had recommended.

  “Your unicorns are very quick, Professor Sherbet!” Fairy Green turned to her friend with a smile. “I see great things for your class.”

  Professor Sherbet beamed.

  “Quite right, Shamrock,” Fairy Green said. “Long ago, fairies and unicorns sent out an expedition team to map all of Sunshine Springs, and this team found the Sacred Forest. You see, at one time all the fairies lived in different parts of our kingdom, not in the four sacred cities as we do today, and together they found the Tree of Knowledge. Legend has it that the pollen swirled and covered the team completely. It looked as if powdered sugar had rained from the heavens.” Fairy Green gave them all a little wink. Clearly Professor Sherbet had told her the story of their class picture.

  Sapphire looked over to Twilight, who was blushing but still had a big smile on her face. The rest of the class was laughing along.

  “The pollen made the unicorns sneeze, but to the fairies it was magic. We learned that it would make us stronger. And would allow us to travel far distances without wearing out our wings. I can’t tell you how, as we fairies have some secrets, but it is only with this basket that I am able to travel the five kingdoms. You may know this pollen as fairy dust.” She flew back to her stump to pick up her basket. It was made of a deep brown bark with a lid that fit perfectly, and a long strap made of woven ivy that allowed her to carry it over her shoulder. Putting the basket down, she resumed her story. “The unicorns helped us build our city around the tree, which would become the Woodland City and our capital. In return, the fairies brought builders from throughout the five kingdoms and helped create libraries, like your Crystal Library, all over Sunshine Springs. The unicorns wanted to record all that they learn from us, and from all the other creatures of the five kingdoms for generations to come.”

  The students started chattering immediately after Fairy Green had stopped speaking. They’d had no idea that this was where the libraries had come from. Sapphire couldn’t wait to discuss it with Professor Jazz, later.

  “Okay. I think it’s about time for questions!” Fairy Green said, and she was met with an immediate wave of horns. The first years wiggled and jumped to be called on, looking like a rainbow flag waving together. Sapphire thought about all the questions she wanted to ask. Comet was called on first, probably because she had hovered so high in her excitement that Shamrock had to pull her down by her tail. “Is ‘Fairy Green’ your real name? It seems sorta plain for you, if you don’t mind me saying.”

  Fairy Green chuckled, and Sapphire thought it sounded just like a swirl of leaves whipping together in the wind. “Very good question. No, ‘Fairy Green’ is not my full name. It’s the name I use when traveling. My real name is known by all fairies, but I share it with only very few other creatures, for it holds great power. Does anyone else have a question?”

  Fairy Green answered all their questions, from “Where do fairies sleep?” (in hammocks) to “What is your favorite kingdom to visit?” (Soaring Spires) to “Do you ever travel by bird?” (She did when she was too young use fairy dust).

  Sapphire was swept away by it all, making mental notes to record later in her notebook. Her mouth hung slightly open, and she only noticed that a little bit of drool had escaped when she was called on for the last question.

  “I believe the final question should go to Sapphire, since she answered my first question. And I do love symmetry,” Fairy Green said smartly
.

  “You said that you have to use fairy dust to travel the five kingdoms. Does everyone have to have something magical in order to explore?” Sapphire felt good about this question. She’d have to know what she’d need to be an explorer, and she truthfully didn’t know where to start.

  “You know, no one has ever asked me that before,” Fairy Green told her. Then she paused for much longer than she had for the other questions. “Yes,” she said finally. “I do believe all creatures who travel widely must possess a certain type of magic.”

  “Like a magical ability?” Peppermint asked.

  “Yes, I suppose so. Something like that,” Fairy Green answered.

  Those words hit Sapphire like a bag of crystal bricks.

  But I don’t have a magical ability, she thought.

  Professor Sherbet thanked Fairy Green and dismissed the first years to their break, but Sapphire couldn’t hear any of it. It felt like pixies were buzzing in her ears, repeating what Fairy Green had said. There can never be any exploring for me, thought Sapphire. Tears welled up and threatened to fall.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Comet, Twilight, and Shamrock move toward her with sad looks on the faces, but Sapphire just shook her head and walked farther into the meadow.

  5 Taking Flight

  Sapphire decided to run. She ran as fast as she could through the low stream, feeling the cool water splash around her hooves. It cleared her head, and soon enough she had a thought.

  I just have to find my magic.

  Sapphire stopped abruptly, causing the water to form a wave big enough to splash onto her chest, cooling her off. After stepping out of the stream and shaking the water off her flanks, Sapphire headed up the grassy bank. She thought all about what Fairy Green had said, and how fairies had not had the magic to travel before they’d found the special pollen. After that, they’d been able to go anywhere. Even her friends hadn’t had magic before they’d discovered their abilities. What if Sapphire had simply not found her ability yet? After all, she’d never cared to search for one before. Perhaps she just had to give her ability an extra push. Then she’d have the magic she needed to reach her dreams.

  Using her horn, Sapphire pulled her new notebook from the bag that hung around her shoulders, and laid the book out in front of her. This will be called my quest book, she thought. Then she took out the little inkwell. The notebook was plain, just made of a simple bark, but the inkwell was spectacular. It was made from an extra large pearl that had been hollowed out. Sapphire pulled the cork stopper out with her teeth before dipping her horn into the bright blue ink. It was a little awkward, writing without a desk, but she decided to go for it anyway.

  Very carefully Sapphire wrote “The Magic Quest” at the top of the page. But then she paused. Where do I start? she wondered.

  Sapphire’s mother could breathe underwater by asking air bubbles to come together to create a sort of helmet around her. She harvested seaweed, and this ability with air was very helpful. Sapphire wondered if she had some sort of air gift as well. Maybe she could even fly! That would be the perfect way to explore. She could simply fly to all the five kingdoms, like a fairy! Sapphire decided to find Comet to see if her flying friend could help her unlock this ability.

  Sapphire was so excited to have a plan that she felt like singing. She dipped her horn into the ink once again and, under the title, wrote “Learn to fly.”

  After packing up her bag again, Sapphire skipped to the Friendly Fields. Luckily, she and Comet had hoofball practice together, so it was perfect timing.

  Coach Ruby was blowing her final huddle-up whistle as Sapphire joined the group. She and Comet were on the junior hoofball team, made up of first and second years. In the spring they would play junior hoofball teams from other schools in Sunshine Springs. Sapphire had joined the team because she loved playing with her sisters and cousins at home, and she was usually the MVU (Most Valuable Unicorn) when they played over the holidays. Comet had decided to join the team too because she thought it would be fun to run around all day. Plus, she liked the uniforms.

  Sapphire saw Flash directing the senior hoofball team on the other side of the arena, in complicated plays Sapphire didn’t recognize. The junior team was still learning the basics.

  “Pair up, everyone,” Coach Ruby said. “I want you all to find your hoofball strengths this week. We’ll be doing some practice games next week, and you all should figure out which positions you’d like to try. If you love to kick, and can kick in the right direction, think about being a forward. If you like the horn toss, think about being goalie. If you love to run, think about defense. And if you have questions, ask.” Coach Ruby blew her conch shell horn once in dismissal. Sapphire liked Coach Ruby. She always got to the point quickly.

  Sapphire and Comet walked away from the group and started passing the hoofball back and forth, warming up.

  “Comet,” Sapphire said, trapping the ball underneath her front right hoof. “What do you think about figuring out our strengths a little differently today?”

  Recognizing Sapphire’s “adventure voice,” Comet cheered, “Oh yeah!” And then she said a little more softly, “What do you mean, though?”

  “Okay. You know I want to be an explorer more than anything else, right?” Sapphire asked.

  Comet nodded. “Of course!”

  “Right,” Sapphire said. “But Fairy Green said I’d need magic.”

  “Yeah, but, Saph—” Comet started to argue.

  Sapphire just shook her head and kept going, “Well, I think I just haven’t developed my magical ability yet. And it needs a little push, you know?”

  “Totally makes sense,” Comet said. “I mean, it’s not like I started flying randomly. I was baking with my aunt one day, and my oat doughnuts were always getting messed up. Like, I could not figure out how to get the holes round enough so that I could serve them with my horn. Sure, they tasted okay. But I wanted to be able to slip them off my horn onto a plate like the real chefs do.”

  “Yes…,” Sapphire said impatiently, motioning with her horn for Comet to get to the point.

  “Right, right,” Comet went on. “Well, my whole huge family was over—like, everyone—and it was after dinner and I had put the doughnuts into the oven to be ready for dessert. So I pull them out, and there they are, super round! Not wanting to mess it up, more calm than I’ll, like, ever be again, I slipped them onto my horn and carried them out to the table in the garden. With a perfect flourish I slipped all the doughnuts onto the table, just like a chef! Well, I got so excited, I felt lighter than air. And I just started flying and flying. And that’s when I got stuck in a tree. And then my uncle flew up—he has the flight gift too—and got me back down again. But anyway, it was when I was super excited. So, why don’t you try thinking about your favorite things?”

  So it was all about feeling lighter than air. That made sense to Sapphire. She closed her eyes and took a breath, like Twilight did when she needed to calm herself. Actually, Sapphire was pretty sure that Shamrock had taught her that trick, because he used it when he started going off on a long explanation.

  “This is a great idea, Comet. My favorite things.… Water and swimming, learning about the five kingdoms, reading,” Sapphire started. She felt happy thinking about everything she loved, but not lighter.

  “Maybe more specific?” Comet offered.

  “What do you mean?” Sapphire asked.

  “Think like Twilight. Details,” Comet suggested.

  Sapphire bit her lip, thinking. “My absolute favorite thing to do is jump from the big rock by our house into the ocean. The best part is before you land in the water. It actually is like flying.” Now she definitely felt better, remembering all that. But she still wasn’t flying. She looked up at Comet to see her friend with a big, secretive smile on her face.

  “You should for sure jump off something,” Comet said. “I mean, you basically just described flying. That’s what we need to do!”

  “Makes
sense to me!” Sapphire said. She and Comet tended to just go for things when they were alone together. She wondered what careful Twilight and Shamrock would say. But she shrugged it off. This was the day to take chances. She was discovering her magic!

  “What about the bleachers?” Comet suggested.

  Sapphire looked over. They didn’t seem too high. Not high enough for her to get hurt, anyway. “Perfect,” she said.

  And that was how Sapphire found herself sprawled on the ground feeling very bruised.

  “Sapphire! Are you okay?” Coach Ruby ran toward them from across the field. Even from far away they could feel her concern.

  “I’m okay, Coach,” Sapphire said, slowly getting back to her hooves, shaking off the fall.

  “What in the five kingdoms were you doing?” Coach asked.

  “Um, trying to see if I had a jumping strength?” Sapphire tried.

  “Well, don’t do that again.” Coach Ruby laughed a little, relaxing after seeing that her player wasn’t hurt. “Why don’t you go see Stella and Celest? They can give you a tonic and make sure you’re okay.”

  Stella and Celest did all the cooking for the school, and all the medical stuff, too.

  “Oh, can I go too?” Comet asked. She spent a lot of time baking and cooking with them, even if she wasn’t technically supposed to.

  Coach Ruby shook her head. “Join up with Storm and Peppermint, and try to keep things safe this time.”

  “Maybe we can try to fly again later?” Comet asked Sapphire after Coach Ruby had left to help another teammate.

  Sapphire shrugged. “No. I think we can agree that I do not have the gift of flight. But I wonder if Stella could help. I mean, she’s a dragon! She has to know loads about traveling and magic.”