Dreams Come True Read online

  As she made her way through the twists and turns of the maze, the pathways grew more narrow, and the tangle of branches and leaves got thicker. Maya stopped in front of a high hedge with a path running through it that was so narrow, it was more like a hole. She plucked up her courage and peeked inside. She couldn’t see anything! The hole was pitch-black, and Maya was afraid of the dark!

  She forced herself to concentrate even though she was trembling in fear. Had she chosen the wrong path? Maybe she should return to the beginning and start over. But when she turned around, a vine wrapped itself around her ankle. “Hey!” she cried, trying to pull away. The harder she tugged, more vines slithered out from the hedges and tried to grab her.

  Maya looked around in a panic. Using magic without permission was forbidden at the Castle of Destiny. She would definitely fail the entrance exam if she did that. Going back was impossible, but if she stayed here, she would end up a prisoner of the vines. The only way out was through the hole in the hedge! Maya took a deep breath, shut her eyes, and went in.

  She stumbled around in the dark, trying to find her way. Branches scratched her neck and face, but she kept moving forward, and even managed to open her eyes.

  But the moment she did, she saw something that made her scream in fright! A pair of eyes stared back at her.

  “Aaah!”

  A young pegasus with bits of twigs and leaves caught in her coat stood in front of Maya.

  “Wait, please don’t run away!” cried the little pegasus. “It’s me, Cleo. We met in the castle earlier, remember? I came in here by mistake. I have to get out of here before Principal Gia finds out, or I will be in big trouble!”

  “Get out of here?” repeated Maya as soon as she was over her fright.

  “Yes, but I can’t find my way back,” explained Cleo. “I’m not a Melowy, you know. I can’t take this test the way you girls can. How did you get in here?”

  “From over there,” said Maya, pointing to the hole in the high hedge.

  “Thanks.” Cleo smiled. She was about to go, but Maya stopped her.

  “Cleo, do you think you could you stay with me?”

  Cleo bit her lip thoughtfully. “I don’t know if I can. I could get into so much trouble with Principal Gia.”

  “Oh, pretty please!” Maya begged. “I promise that I’ll do everything I have to do to pass the test myself. But could you stay with me, please? I don’t want to be alone.”

  Cleo thought for a moment and nodded. She couldn’t leave the poor filly alone and scared. Side by side, she and Maya headed off to find their way through the maze.

  Not long after, Maya and Cleo came upon a big hole in the ground. Careful not to fall in, they leaned over it and looked down. The pit was deep, even bottomless, and icy-cold air rose up from the darkness. Far, far below they could see a golden light.

  Maya shivered and held on to Cleo. The two pegasuses looked around, trying to find another way out of the maze. The roof of branches and leaves was gone, but there was a huge glass dome in its place.

  When they looked down again, Maya and Cleo discovered that they weren’t alone. Standing around the top of the pit, and at the end of paths that looked a lot like the one they’d just come from, were Selena, Cora, and Electra.

  “I had to crawl through a tunnel full of thorny plants!” Selena yelled over the howling wind that was coming from the pit.

  “I got lost in a forest!” cried Electra. “The trees were so thick that there was barely any sunlight!”

  “What about you, Cora?” asked Electra.

  Cora was about to answer when she noticed Maya and Cleo across the pit. She stared coldly into Cleo’s eyes. “You’re the one who got tangled up in the flag,” she said.

  “That’s me,” nodded Cleo.

  Electra introduced herself “Hi, I’m Electra, from the Day Realm. Miss Icicles here is from the Winter Realm, and the one who doesn’t speak very much is Selena, from the Night Realm. The chicken next to you is Maya. But I guess you already know that because you came with her. She comes from the Spring Realm. Which realm are you from?”

  “Oh, I’m not a Melowy,” explained Cleo. “I’m not supposed to be here. I got lost.”

  “Oh.” Electra shrugged. “Well, you might still come in handy. We’re in a real mess!”

  “But she just said that she’s not a Melowy! She can’t stay with us!” Cora snorted.

  “What does it matter? We’ll probably never get out of here anyway,” Maya groaned, a worried expression on her face. “There’s no going back. I’ve already tried that. And I don’t know about you, but I’ll never be brave enough to jump down there.”

  Electra nodded and said, “I tried to, but watch this …” She stepped into the pit, but instead of falling, she floated. The powerful wind kept her from sinking. She just hovered there in the icy gusts before struggling back to solid ground.

  One by one, all the Melowies tried it, and the same thing happened. The wind ruffled their manes, but none of them fell as much as an inch. Flapping their wings didn’t even help.

  Electra tried getting a running start and jumping straight down, but only ended up colliding with Selena.

  “Oww!” groaned Selena, rubbing her sore head.

  A smile spread across Cleo’s face. “Didn’t you see what happened?” she asked in excitement.

  Maya nodded, her eyes widening. “For just a moment, you were falling!”

  “Maybe the weight of one pegasus isn’t enough,” suggested Cleo. “Maybe if we all hold on to one another, we’ll be heavy enough to fall to the bottom.”

  “See, Cora!” cried Electra with a wink. “Cleo might not be a Melowy, but she is useful!”

  “On the count of three, we all jump and try to stay together,” said Cleo, wrapping a wing around Maya’s back. “Ready?”

  Cora, Selena, Maya, and Electra all nodded. Maybe working together was the solution!

  “One … two … three!” shouted Cleo as she jumped into the pit, pulling Maya after her—just in case.

  “Whee!” screamed Electra, grabbing hold of Cora’s wing.

  Cora rolled her eyes. That silly girl is ruining a serious moment, she thought. But she had no time to complain because it looked like Cleo’s plan was working. Selena grabbed hold of her left wing. Maya wrapped a wing over Cleo, who’d wrapped a wing around Electra.

  All five pegasuses had soon formed a tight circle. Slowly but surely, they started drifting downward, floating on the wind like a flower, a giant dandelion in the breeze. Without letting go of one another, they got closer and closer to the golden light at the bottom of the pit.

  But there was no time to celebrate. Suddenly, everything around them changed!

  The Melowies drifted through a golden pool of light and found themselves in a room lit by a thousand candles that danced in the silence. Principal Gia appeared from the shadows with two of the school’s teachers.

  “Congratulations!” she announced. “You are the first group to pass the test.”

  Cleo looked around in amazement. She had lived at the Castle of Destiny since she was tiny, but she’d never seen this room before. She stared at a realistic model of the castle with a lifelike sea of clouds all around it that sat in one corner of the room. But Cleo was too worried to be amazed.

  “Well done, all of you!” said Principal Gia. “Even though you are all very different, you were able to work together as a team.”

  Cora, Selena, Electra, and Maya all smiled proudly. But Cleo grew more and more uncomfortable with every passing second. She knew she shouldn’t be there!

  “I’m so sorry, Principal Gia! I didn’t mean to sneak through the examination door!” Cleo said all in one breath when she’d found the courage to speak. “I promise it won’t happen again!” Cleo hung her head and started to walk away.

  “Cleo, step forward, please.” The principal gave her a serious look.

  Cleo gulped and did as Gia had ordered. But Maya immediately stepped up to join her.
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br />   “Principal Gia … ,” the shy Melowy began in a whisper. “Please don’t punish Cleo! She didn’t mean to make trouble. And she was a huge help! We never would have gotten through the maze without her.”

  “It’s true!” Electra joined in. “Cleo was wonderful!”

  “Yes!” Selena nodded.

  Cora was silent for a moment, but then said, “Cleo acted like a true Melowy.”

  Cleo was so surprised that she almost didn’t hear Principal Gia start speaking again.

  “Calm down! I don’t plan to punish her. Anyone who passes the test has what it takes to attend school at the Castle of Destiny. Cleo, even though you don’t have a symbol on your wings, we are ready to welcome you as a new student. I’m sure you’ll do very well.”

  Cleo couldn’t believe it. She was going to be a student at the Castle of Destiny, just like the Melowies!

  Once the test was complete, the girls were led to their new rooms in the Butterfly Tower.

  “Me first, me first!” Electra shouted, pushing her way through the door. “Hey! My case is here already!”

  At the Castle of Destiny, every Melowy brought a case full of memories from home to decorate the wall behind her bed. Some Melowies, like Electra, started packing their cases when they were very young, dreaming of their first day at the school. The rest of the group trotted in after her. Even Cleo was excited to settle into her new room.

  “Where should I put these, my little cupcake?” asked Theodora, who burst into the room carrying a stack of Cleo’s books.

  Cleo smiled. She might not have a case of memories for her wall, but she did have something special of her own: her favorite books.

  “Just over there, please, Theodora. I’ll sort them out later.”

  The cook looked at her with tears in her eyes. Before Cleo could escape, Theodora gave her a great big hug. “My little girl is growing up!”

  “Theodora!” Cleo felt a little embarrassed but still enjoyed the warm hug and the smell of chocolate and cinnamon on Theodora’s mane.

  “I’m so proud of you, my little cream cake! It’s going to be hard to see you go!”

  “I won’t be very far away.” Cleo laughed. “I’ll be right here inside the castle!” But she knew that Theodora was right. Cleo was starting a whole new life!

  Theodora pinched Cleo’s cheek. “I have to go now. I have some work to do in the kitchen,” she said as she trotted off.

  “Hey, Cleo!” cried Maya after the cook had left. “Look, your case is here!”

  “My what?” said Cleo in amazement. There, sitting next to her bed was a bright blue valise. There must be some mistake, thought Cleo. The case probably belonged to another student. It had to have been brought here by accident.

  Just to be sure, Cleo opened it. Inside she found something that warmed her heart. “My blanket!” she exclaimed, and buried her cheek into the soft orange fabric that she had been wrapped in when she was left on the front steps of the Castle of Destiny. “And my stuffed pegasus. You’re squished, you poor thing! And my first writing book. And photos of me and Theodora!”

  The case was almost empty, but Cleo noticed something shiny down at the bottom. She picked up the mysterious object. It was a necklace with a star-shaped pendant that seemed strangely familiar to Cleo even though she’d never seen it before.

  “It looks like a locket,” said Selena when Cleo showed it to the others.

  The pendant was a glittering blue stone with a small oval shape in the center. Cleo tried to open it, but nothing happened. She put the necklace on and it made her feel happy, as if it were some kind of precious amulet.

  “So who packed the case for you?” asked Cora.

  “I think it must be my arrival day present,” answered Cleo with a smile.

  “Arrival day?” asked Maya in surprise.

  “Yes, the anniversary of when I arrived here. Principal Gia found me on the front steps of the castle when I was a baby,” said Cleo, heading for the door. “Every year since, we’ve had a party to celebrate. But I’ll tell you all about it later. There’s something I have to do!”

  Principal Gia sat behind an imposing crystal desk in her office on the top floor of the keep, talking to Theodora. “The maze for our test is planned so that the students find one another just before they come to the biggest challenge,” Principal Gia was saying. “They can only pass the test if they work together. I wasn’t expecting this.”

  “Has a pegasus who was not a Melowy ever passed the exam before?” asked Theodora.

  “Not in many years,” the principal said. “It hasn’t happened since—”

  “Gia! Gia!” cried Cleo, trotting into the office. Theodora slammed the drawer of the crystal desk shut. Cleo thought she looked strangely embarrassed. But she had more important things on her mind. “Tell me the truth, Gia! You made sure I took the Melowy test and packed my memory case of memories!”

  “The case was a gift from me, yes,” the principal said with a smile. “But I had nothing to do with your taking the test. I see you are wearing the pendant. It looks lovely on you.”

  “Did it belong to my mother?” asked Cleo.

  “It might have. Unfortunately, as you know, I never met her. But this pendant was with you when I found you,” said Principal Gia, growing serious. “Now you’re old enough to care for it.”

  “It looks like it opens, but I can’t seem to make it work.”

  “Things don’t always work the way we want them to, hmm? Perhaps it will only open when it’s ready to open. Or when you are ready to see what’s inside. Happy arrival day, Cleo!”

  Cleo looked at Theodora and asked, “You weren’t hiding something from me when I came in, were you?”

  Theodora coughed. “Um, sugar pie, where do you get these ideas from? You’ve always had far too much imagination!”

  Cleo was sure she had noticed a piece of blue cloth hanging out of the drawer that Theodora had rushed to close. It looked just like the cloak worn by the stranger who’d guided her to the examination door. But Cleo didn’t push the issue. She just smiled and ran off.

  When Cleo got back to her room, there was a surprise waiting.

  “Happy arrival day, Cleo!” cried Maya.

  While Cleo had been away, her roommate had gone to the kitchen and gotten permission to make an arrival-day chocolate-cream cake. “I couldn’t find any candles, though,” said Maya. “And someone used up all the frosting. Sorry.”

  Cleo was touched. “Thank you so much, Maya! The cake is wonderful, and so are you!”

  “It was the least I could do, after what you did for me in the maze,” Maya answered with a blush. “I don’t know if I would have been brave enough to finish the test without you.”

  Just then, Selena came into the room and gave Cleo a smile. “Happy arrival day!”

  “Thank you,” Cleo said, looking around. “I like how you’ve decorated your part of the room. It’s so cool!”

  Selena grinned. “Thank you! If you like, I could help you decorate your wall.”

  “Cake! Cake! Cake!” Electra came in next, squealing. “Finally! Maya wouldn’t even let me lick the spoon! Wait until you see what I’ve got for you! Are you ready to party?” Electra reached into her messy case and pulled out some speakers. She turned them on, and soon the room filled with wild music.

  “What’s all this noise?” asked Cora, rushing into the room.

  “Hey, Cora, chill out,” said Electra.

  Cora looked her up and down. Then, surprisingly, she did a perfect pirouette. She smiled and said, “Let’s dance!”

  Everyone joined in, and soon they were giggling like old friends. Each of the girls was so happy to be there. And so ready to discover what her future had in store.

  Meanwhile in the Night Realm, four pegasuses stood around a darkened room and exchanged grim looks in the trembling candlelight.

  “Your Immensity, the new Melowies have arrived at Destiny,” said a low voice. “With them, there’s—”

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bsp; “It changes nothing,” interrupted the Queen of the Night. A crown of dark stones glittered on her head. “Nothing can distract us from our goal,” she added. “Our time is coming. We will seize the Castle of Destiny and Aura will be ours …”

  The Castle of Destiny changed at the beginning of every school year. The castle’s silent corridors, high ceilings, and steep spiral staircases filled with laughter and friendship. The castle turned into a place where promising young Melowies came to search for their own destinies.

  “Hey, girls! The first week of school is finally over!” cried Electra. She ran out of the science lab like a cyclone of red curls. “When do we start lessons in the Art of Powers? I can’t wait to learn how to use mine! In the Day Realm, Melowies make beams of light! I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

  “Not yet,” said Cora, throwing cold water on Electra’s enthusiasm. “First we have to take our core lessons, which will be hard. I almost fell asleep in pegasus science today!”

  “Me, too!” Electra said. “But that’s because I was too excited to sleep last night! Just think! We survived our first week at the Castle of Destiny! We made it!” She found a gap in the crowded corridor and skipped away.

  Cora shook her head. “No one behaves like that in the Winter Realm.”

  “Come on, Cora!” teased Cleo with a chuckle. “Do you always have to be Miss Icicles?”

  Selena was so deep in her own thoughts that she passed right by her two friends. Maya, though, was still dragging her hooves. “Is something wrong?” asked Cleo.

  “It’s true. We have made it,” whispered the pink filly. “But what if I’m not up to it? They have already given us a mountain of homework to do. I still haven’t finished the geology project, and now we’ve got two chapters of science to finish by tomorrow!”

  Cleo just smiled. “Come on, Maya! You’re doing just fine. Even Ms. Pangea said so when you answered that question about the Spring Realm!”