As Sirocco and the fillies flew into the night sky, they gasped.
“Everything is so different than it is in the daytime!” Kona said.
At least, Sirocco was pretty sure it was Kona who’d said this. In the dark night air, lit only by silvery moonlight, the violet-black filly was hard to see! Sirocco could just make out her snowy white forelegs as she flew.
Other night-time things felt odd to Sirocco, too.
The full moon floated eerily in the sky. Sirocco felt like it was staring down at him! And the stars were so distant, they made Sirocco feel even tinier than he already was.
The dandelion meadow felt huge, too. During the day, Sirocco could see the entire field, from Leanna’s tidy farmhouse to the horse paddock to the forest. Now, Leanna’s yellow house had been reduced to the faint glow of the front-porch light. Sirocco couldn’t even see the paddock. And the forest was a dark blot on the horizon.
While Sirocco tried (a little desperately) to get his bearings, Sumatra sighed happily.
“I think this must be what it’s like to swim in the ocean,” she said, gliding lazily on an air current. “You’re just floating around in a whole lot of nothing.”
“Ooh, you’re so right,” Brisa agreed pleasantly.
Yeah, you are right, Sirocco thought—not so pleasantly.
“You know the strangest thing about being out at night?” Kona said. “It doesn’t feel scary! In fact, I kind of like it out here!”
You do?! Sirocco thought as he warily eyed the giant moon.
“I know!” Sumatra replied in surprise. “I feel the same way. Sure, the air’s a little chilly, but my buddy blanket is keeping me warm.”
Sirocco, who didn’t have a blanket or a buddy, just shivered.
“The only thing I don’t like about the night,” Brisa noted, “is that nobody can see how pretty I am in the dark.”
“Oh, that’s not true,” Kona said kindly. “Your pink coat gives off a beautiful glow in the moonlight.”
“Really?” Brisa cooed. “Well, then I love night! And so does Brisina.”
It was Sirocco’s turn to say how fabulous the dark was. The only problem was—Sirocco couldn’t think of anything fabulous to say!
“Uh, Sirocco?” Kona asked. “Are you having fun on our night out?”
Sirocco jumped.
“Of course, I’m having fun!” he brayed.
Or rather, he tried to bray. But the sound that came out was more of a … squeak.
A frightened squeak.
But that’s impossible! Sirocco thought to himself with a frown. I’m not scared. I can’t be scared. I don’t do scared.
And just to prove the point to himself—or to any other Wind Dancer who might be watching—Sirocco did a loop-de-loop in the cool, damp night air.
“Ha, ha!” he laughed. This time, his voice sounded a bit stronger.
See! he told himself triumphantly. I’m not scared at all—
Suddenly, Sirocco’s thought froze in his mind. His body went cold, as well. And his wings began to flap in panic.
He’d seen something!
Something skimming silently along the grass beneath him.
It was black.
And swift.
And it pulsated madly, like a beating heart!
Sirocco pointed a trembling hoof at the ground.
“There’s a g-g-gho—” he stammered to his friends.
“What, Sirocco?” Brisa asked breezily, as she swooped around in the dark.
“Look down,” Sirocco gasped, his little horse knees practically knocking together. “It’s a g-g-gho—”
“Wow, look at that!”
That was Kona. And she was pointing down at the gliding ghost! But instead of being terrified, she was smiling!
Sirocco wasn’t sure what was going on. And he would definitely have said so if he wasn’t scared speechless by the ghost—which was still directly underneath him!
Inexplicably, Kona chattered on.
“Sirocco’s shadow looks so neat in the light of the moon,” she said. “It almost looks like a ghost!”
“Eeek! I’m scared!” Brisa joked, while Sumatra laughed along. The two of them began giggling and swooping around in the air, hooting like ghosts.
Sirocco looked again at his “ghost.” He waved one hoof at it. It waved back at him! Sirocco’s mouth dropped open.
My ‘ghost,’ he thought to himself, was nothing more than my shadow?!
Sirocco snuck a glance at the fillies. They were still playing.
Whew! Sirocco thought in relief. His friends had been so busy having fun, they hadn’t noticed his fear.
Then he looked again at his shadow, which now seemed perfectly harmless.
You know, he mused in his head, maybe I was a little scared when I thought my shadow was a ghost. But mostly I was … just getting ready for action.
And—as Sirocco joined his friends, swooping and hooting himself—he almost believed his own story!
* * *
“What should we do now?” Sirocco asked exuberantly after the Wind Dancers had almost worn themselves out flying in the night air. All memories of his fright had by then melted away.
“Well,” Kona said thoughtfully, “shadows are so different at night. Let’s go see what else is different when it’s dark out.”
“Ooh, let’s!” Brisa agreed.
“We’ll go to the woods,” Kona declared. She flapped her wings eagerly. Charles the teddy bear, who was still perched on her neck, seemed to nod.
But Sirocco felt himself get a little shivery.
“The woods?” he asked. “Um, I thought you preferred Leanna’s farmhouse, Kona. You know, the one with the lights.”
“Isn’t the whole point of this adventure to be out in the dark?” Sumatra pointed out. “You’re not scared, are you?”
“What?” Sirocco said quickly. He felt his face go hot. “No! Of course I’m not scared. No way! Not me! Not even a little bi—”
“Okay, okay,” Sumatra interrupted with a laugh. “You’ve made your point, Sirocco.”
Triumphant, Sirocco grinned at the fillies.
“Okay, so we’ll go to the woods,” he said brashly. “In fact, I say we race. I’m sure I’ll win. You guys are going to be slowed down by your teddy bear and blanket and toy horse.”
Brisa turned toward Brisina, who was still dangling from a jewel in her halo. She gave the doll a sweet nuzzle with her nose.
“Don’t listen to him, Brisina,” Brisa said loudly. “Sirocco’s just saying that because he misses Jeepers.”
“Do not!” Sirocco said with a grin. And before he had a chance to imagine Jeepers’ comforting fuzzy face, he pawed the air with his hoof.
“Last one to the woods is a rotten apple!” he declared. “OnyourmarkgetsetGO!”
He zipped toward the forest.
“Hey!” Sumatra neighed after him. “No fair getting a head start!”
“Well, you better get moving then,” Sirocco yelled over his shoulder with a laugh.
The three fillies flapped their wings and began flying after him.
Still laughing, Sirocco flew with all his might. Racing with his friends was just like their usual daytime fun! Sirocco almost forgot that they were doing it at night, surrounded by black sky instead of blue.
That is, he almost forgot until he dove into the forest!
The moment Sirocco ducked between the trees, the blackness got blacker.
The shadows got more shadowy.
And the chilly, clammy air got chillier and clammier!
But all that was nothing compared with the horrible sounds that met Sirocco’s ears.
The noise was deafening!