1 “When do we actually get to start flying the pegasi instead of just riding them like normal horses,” Chloe said boldly, putting her hand on her hips as I galloped around the arena on Clifftop, a short and stubborn mountain pegasus. Ms. Lilac, the teacher of the flying bootcamp, shot a dirty look at her, “You need to know how to gallop before actually flying. Actually, I didn’t want to ride normal pegasi. I wanted to ride Soar. Soar was a flying tiger with brilliant hazel eyes. Her ears seemed to pick up every sound and her nose seemed to smell every smell. Her teeth and claws were extremely sharp and could make a seasoned warrior with a shield and sword run for his life. Soar’s legs were long and she could run faster then a swift cheetah hunting a herd of speedy gazelles. Her striped fur was sleek and glossy, like a smooth river of lava with paths of obsidian crossing over it. Her tail trailed out behind her when she zoomed threw the sky, even faster than how fast she ran on the ground. But Soar’s wings… Soar’s wings seemed like the most beautiful thing in the kingdom of Braylon. They seemed to spread out as wide as a river. The feathers on them were full and lush and it seemed as if none of them had ever fallen out. They blew backwards in the wind as Soar sped through the air, making the flying tiger fly even faster. They were even more beautiful than the wings of the— “Leia! Focus!” Ms. Lilac’s yelling voice cut into my thoughts like a sharp rock. I sighed. I would never get to ride Soar. She was kept in the Grand Staples in the Great Palace. She was fed the best food and never taken out to battle or even allowed to go off of the castle properties, even though Soar was built for battle. I had only seen her once when me and my family had visited the castle so that my father, who was a messenger, could drop of a message and we had been fortunate enough to see Soar. At least someday I’ll get to ride an actual field pegasus or river pegasus. Or a cloud pegasus, but they’re so rare that I’ll probably never get to ride one. Maybe I’ll even get to ride a unicorn someday, I thought as I jumped over a high hurdle. Mountain pegasi were known for 2 not being able to fly nearly as fast as the three other kinds of pegasi or unicorns, which were even faster than pegasi. Mountain pegasi were also known for being stubborn, and Clifftop was definitely stubborn. “Leia! Do a cloverleaf!” Ms. Lilac yelled. But when I tried to turn Clifftop to the left to do a cloverleaf, he yanked his head the other way. I tried to turn him a little more gently, but instead of galloping to the left he slowed down to a trot. When I clicked my tongue and moved the saddle back and forth to tell him to go faster, instead of galloping Clifftop halted. “You can take a break,” Ms. Lilac said in a growly voice. Sighing with relief, I dismounted and led Clifftop to the side of the arena. I was in the Laurel Canopy School of Pegasus and Unicorn Riding, which was owned by a prince from the royal family. I was taking a four week overnight bootcamp, but even though I was on my third week, I was still just riding on the ground. But that night, I was planning to sneak out of my tiny dorm, find a pegasus, somehow teach myself how to get that pegasus to fly, and fly around the castle grounds. And maybe see Soar if I was lucky. It was a crazy idea, but I had been planning it for a week. I had told my two best friends, Kailee and Lydia, about my idea, and they had decided to join me. But little did I know about the thing that would happen that night. Carrying a heavy saddle and a bridle in my arms, I walked through the stable. I paused as a river pegasus stuck her brown, glossy, head out of a stall. She whined and pawed the ground. “This one looks good,” I walked towards the pegasus’ stall and read the name tag on the door, which read Wave. I fed Wave a carrot and opened her door. “Are you sure? She looks pretty big. And she’s a water pegasus,” Kailee said suspiciously, “You know how much you hate swimming.” Kailee was leading a field pegasus, Stalk, and Lydia had decided to ride a tame-looking unicorn named Goldcrown. I shrugged, “Its not like she’ll dive into a river.” I started tacking Wave, tying her to the wall with a rope. One she was tacked, I leaped onto her back and untied her from the wall. 3 Wave was tall and graceful with long legs. Riding her wouldn’t be as exiting as riding Soar, and Wave wasn’t as beautiful as Soar, but it would still be much more exiting than riding Clifftop on the ground. “Come on!” I yelled as I made Wave gallop towards the doors, Kailee on Stalk and Lydia on Goldcrown following me. Once I was out of the stables, I made Wave fly.! # I started like I was just going to do a normal jump, but I kept lifting the reins up instead of lowering them. Just like I had planned, Wave didn’t land. She kept going higher and higher. I was flying. The wind whipped in my hair as Wave’s wings spread out gracefully, which were much bigger than I had expected. They spread out as wide as a tree with lush leaves. The feathers on them weren’t as lush as Soar’s feathers, but they were still beautiful. I felt like Wave was flying 100 mph as she zoomed through the air. Everything was good until Prince Evan saw me, Kailee, and Lydia. Prince Evan was the youngest prince of all seven princes, so he had decided that, since he was never going to be king, to start Laurel Canopy. He was riding directly towards on. But not on a pegasus. Or a unicorn. Prince Evan was riding Soar. Soar was rarely ridden, and she was defiantly not supposed to by ridden by princes. Especially the youngest prince. And she was defiantly not supposed to be ridden off of castle properties. Soar was defiantly not supposed to be ridden of off castle properties by the youngest prince. What was even more astonishing that Soar’s fur was matted and her gaze was dull. She looked sick, another reason why Prince Evan shouldn’t have been riding Soar. The prince immediately veered to the right when he saw me and my friends. I made Wave fly even faster as I chased after him. Then I took a huge risk. I dropped the reins, stood up in the saddle, and grabbed Soar’s long tail. The flying tiger was so sick that she stopped even when I just tugged on her tail a little. 4 “What are you doing?” Prince Evan growled as Kailee and Lydia lined up beside me. “May I ask, what are you doing?” I responded, “You’re the youngest prince. You shouldn’t be riding Soar. And we’re off castle property, and Soar is not allowed to be off of castle property. And Soar is sick. You really shouldn’t be riding her.” Without responding, Prince Evan knocked my hand away, “That’s none of your business.” He prepared to fly away. Then I took the biggest risk in the history of risks. I leaped off of Wave’s back, knocked the unsuspecting Prince Evan from Soar, and jumped onto Soar’s back. Prince Evan screamed as he fell through the air, arms and legs flailing wildly. Goldcrown swooped down and grabbed him with a hoof. “Take the prince back to the stables,” I instructed Lydia and Kailee, “I’ll take Soar to the Grand Stables.” Without waiting for the response, I started zooming through the air on Soar. A spark of realization hit me. I was riding Soar.