Chapter 4

4 Stella, Rosie, and Phoebe flew through the shimmery force field and out into the Magic Forest. They flew higher and higher, until they were way above the treetops. Stella preferred flying very high. There were fewer things to crash into! The darkness closed in around the Night Dragons, but this didn't bother them. Their eyes were perfectly adjusted to seeing in low light.

"I guess the stars in the Magic Forest are totally different from the stars in our world," Rosie commented as they flew. "I've looked at stars through my cousin's telescope. They're not normally something you could hide." "I was thinking that, too," said Stella. "The sun is a star, after all. That would NOT be easy to steal." "Which way to the Star Fields?" Rosie asked. As Rosie spoke, the little ball of thread around Stella's neck begin to unwind. The end of the thread rose, just a little. It was pointing toward the horizon. "I guess we go that way." Stella pointed. She flapped her wings harder, loving the feeling of the cool night air rushing past. Stella wasn't perfect at flying yet, but that didn't stop her from loving every moment of it. Phoebe swooped alongside her, wobbling a little as she tried to straighten up her wings. She scanned the forest below.

"Watch out!" Stella laughed. "You nearly crashed into me." Phoebe also had a little bit to learn when it came to flying. But like Stella, she was improving every time they visited the forest. "Sorry!" Phoebe said, swerving away. "I got distracted by that glow down there. Can you see it? Between those trees. It's pale. I am not sure if I'm imagining it." "You're not imagining it," said Rosie, flying closer. Stella felt the ball of thread give a gentle tug, and when she looked, the end of it was pointing toward the pale glow Phoebe had noticed. "Here goes, Night Dragons," said Stella, taking a deep breath. "Get ready for landing." The three friends flew lower and lower. Soon they were flying between the trees. The strange glow grew brighter. Stella stretched out her paws to brace herself for landing. It was about to be the

best one she'd done, except that she bumped into a tree right at the end. "I swear that tree wasn't there just before." Stella groaned, picking herself up. Rosie laughed. "Yep, it just jumped into your way at the last minute," she teased. "Anything is possible around here," Stella said. Phoebe, who had landed near a dense row of trees, pressed a talon against her mouth in a silent shushing motion. With the other paw she beckoned them over. Stella and Rosie crept closer. On the other side of the trees was a strange sight. Dozens of tiny star-shaped creatures were lined up in rows. Their points were sharper than LuckyStar's, so Stella knew they were not starfish. "They look like the sort of stars you draw!" Stella whispered in delight. "I know, right?" Phoebe whispered. "Or like star-shaped cookies." "Do you think they are the missing stars?" Rosie asked.

"Maybe," Stella replied. Phoebe moved a branch to get a better look. "What are they doing? Having a dance class?" Rosie nodded. "I think so. And that must be their teacher." In front of the little stars was a small pink pony with a glittery, golden mane. She stood on her back legs and clapped out a rhythm with her shiny pink front hooves. "Right now, junior stars. Five, six, seven, eight! And float to the left. Then twinkle! And float to the right. Then twinkle!" neighed the pony. She tossed her mane and pranced around.

The junior stars did their best to follow the pony's moves. But they kept making mistakes. Some of them twinkled when they were supposed to be floating. Some floated when they were supposed to be twinkling. They kept crashing into one another. "Now spin!" called the pony. The junior stars tried to spin, but most of them lost their balance and ended up in a heap on the