The only glitch in Sirocco’s plan to rescue his scared friends was this: They weren’t so scared.
In fact, while Sirocco was dashing to the fillies’ “rescue,” Sumatra, Kona, and Brisa were passing their time in the dark giggling and telling stories!
“So, then,” Sumatra said, grinning into the darkness and stroking her ribbon blanket as she finished a funny tale she’d been telling Kona and Brisa, “I said to the bee, ‘Hey, I don’t even know you. And you call me honey?’”
Kona burst out laughing in great, wheezy neighs, while Brisa giggled with staccato whinnies.
“Sumatra,” Brisa said, “you should really take your show on the road! Don’t you think, Siroc— Oh! I almost forgot. Sirocco isn’t here with us.”
“I sure hope he’s okay,” Kona said, her laughter dying quickly. “I don’t think this adventure is turning out the way he expected.”
“Please,” Sumatra scoffed. “If I know him, he’s flown up above the clouds to zip around in the moonlight.”
“Ooh, I don’t think so,” Brisa said. Her voice sounded as concerned as Kona’s now. “We all know that Sirocco’s been acting sort of funny tonight.”
“Yes, and not funny as in ha-ha,” Kona noted. “But funny as in scared—OW!”
Kona had been interrupted by something that hit her with a giant whomp!
And at exactly the same time as the whomp, the cloud that had been covering up the moon (or the moon that had been hiding behind the cloud, depending on which Wind Dancer you agree with) shifted. Sumatra and Brisa blinked in the sudden burst of moonlight. Kona was nowhere to be seen!
But in her place was—
“Sirocco!” Brisa burst out. “You’re back!”
“I’m back!” Sirocco replied, looking around blearily. He seemed just as surprised as Brisa. “But where’s Kona?”
The leaves of a nearby maple tree rustled.
“Over here,” came Kona’s muffled voice.
A moment later, the violet filly emerged from the tree, looking a little woozy but uninjured. She grinned at Sirocco. “I know you wanted some sweet shoofly pie, but tossing me hard enough to knock maple syrup out of that tree is going a little too far, don’t you think?”
“Sorry,” Sirocco muttered. “That wasn’t part of my plan.”
“So, where were you all this time?” Kona asked him as she rejoined the group.
“Were you lost in the dark?” Brisa asked Sirocco sympathetically.
“And scared witless?” Sumatra added kindly.
“Lost?” Sirocco cried indignantly. “Scared? No, I was flying around looking for you guys!”
Sirocco’s eyes looked shifty.
“You know,” he added, “to rescue you!”
Then he puffed out his chest a bit.
“And I was definitely NOT scared,” he continued.
“Oh, no?” Sumatra said skeptically.
“No way!” Sirocco said with a grin. He held out his front hooves to the fillies. “You girls are sure lucky I kept my cool in the dark.”
While Sumatra stifled a snort, Kona and Brisa exchanged a playful look.
“Speaking of keeping cool in the dark,” Kona said to the colt, “I bet there are a lot more things you’d like to do before the sun comes up, huh? You know, like explore the darkest corners of the barn at Leanna’s farm.”
Sirocco looked a little uncomfortable.
“Or go for a midnight swim in the pond,” Brisa suggested with a glint in her eye. “You know, the deep one in the middle of the woods.”
Now, the colt squirmed.
“Or,” Sumatra added with her own grin, “we could go dig in that big hollow log near our apple tree. It’d be real fun in the dark, don’t you think?”
“No, no, and NO!” Sirocco burst out.
When the fillies looked at him in mock surprise, Sirocco quickly added, “I mean … that’s a nice offer and all. But I dragged you out of your sleeping stalls for this. I’d understand if you wanted to go home, to our nice, warm, cozy stalls instead.”
The fillies exchanged one more secret smile. Then Sumatra stretched and yawned loudly.
“You know,” she sighed, “I am actually pretty tired.”
“And I didn’t realize I’m hungry,” Brisa said.
“And carrying Charles around all night has made my neck sore,” Kona added, glancing over her shoulder at her teddy bear. Then she cocked her head and looked at Sirocco.
“I don’t suppose you’d carry Charles home for me, would you?” she asked.
Kona turned her head and nipped her teddy bear out from under her flower necklace.
Sirocco didn’t hesitate. He grabbed the teddy bear with his teeth, then placed Charles between his front hooves.
As Sirocco gazed down at Charles, he didn’t notice Kona, Sumatra, and Brisa exchanging one more playful grin.
“So home, then?” Kona said soothingly. “Maybe we can even make you shoofly pie when we get there.”
This time, it was Sirocco who answered with a glint in his eye.
“Oh, I don’t know,” he said, noticing that the sky started turning toward dawn. “I’ve suddenly got a second wind. Care to go on one more adventure?”
The three fillies gaped at the colt.
“Sirocco, you can’t be serious?” Kona said.
In response, Sirocco burst out laughing. And he laughed—loudly and confidently—the rest of the way home.